The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-21
TRAGEDY OF CHINA POINT.
CHINESE GOLD SEEKERS FIND
DEATH IN MONTANA BLIZZARD.

Packed in n Stage Snow Bound on
the Rocky Mountain ROute-Chose
to Buffet the Winds Rather Than
Pursue the TriD-Their Bodies
Found Long Afterward Where
They Had Perished.
From the Anaconda Standard.
China Point, a grass-covered knoll
, which is found near the mouth OF
Beaver canyon, a few hours ride from
the Montana Idaho line and along the
old freight and stage road which leads
to-day from Utah points to Montana
has an interesting history as it was
there that one of the first parties of
| Cinnamon were ever started for Mon
tana met tragic deaths. The time was
| in the winter of 1859. Then the only
| communication between Salt Lake City
and the different cities in Montana was
the stage line run by Gilmer & Salus-
bury, which linked the territories to-
gether. For the greater part OF the
: way the route traVerSed by the stage
road was afterward followed by the
| railroad when the Utah and Northern
built into Montana
At that time Virginia City and Hell
ena were the principal towns IN the
| territory Butte, Great Falls, Billings,
| Dillon and many more of the BUSTING
/ cities of to-day were either struggling
/ camps or else they were unheard of.
Then the eyes of the entire country
{ were towald Montana and there was
scarcely a day when some of the gold
hunters, who are always looking for
! the end of a rainbow, were not at
tracted Montanaward by the stories
! of the wonderful wealth to be found
in our hills and the golden shower
which had been poured into Golfers
! of the East during the first six years
| of mining in Montana.
| Working Abandoned Creeks.
In California these Cinnamon had
! heard of the wonderful placers of Mon
| tana and as the old-time chink always
preferred to follow in the footsteps of
! the white miners and work the creek
beds after they had been abandoned by
the first owners they (the chinks) start
| ed for Montana when it was first learn
ed that the placers of Last Chance and
| Alder were on the decline.
Accordingly shortly after they reach
ed Salt Lake City from California they
engaged passage to Virginia City, then
the capital of Montana. The time was
in the early winter and their destina-
ton was over 400 miles away, with sew
eral mountain ranges, bleak plains
and tracts of sand to cross, as well as
! several dangerous streams to ford or
ferry. Then the drive from Salt Lake
to Virginia was made in three days and
! nights. The company used Concord
coaches and four and six horse teams
hauled the mails and passengers at an
average speed of ten miles an hour
| when the roads were good.
| All along the road at convenient dis
| tances, seldom less than ten miles nor
! more than fifteen miles apart, stations
were established. where fresh horses
were kept ready to resume the drive
after one team had done its turn, and
made the distance hurriedly from one
| station to the other. The fare from
Salt Lake City to Montana points was
! 800 in gold, and it was seldom that the
| coaches were not loaded by the gold
hunters who were hurrying to the new
| quartz mines in Montana.
Delayed by a Storm.
The day these Cinnamon engaged
! their passage only one other passenger
was on the coach. He was a white
man and secured the seat beside the
driver. giving the body of the coach
exclusively to the Orientals, who, with
! their luggage, were piled in as close
| as they could be packed
For the first day the ride was pleas
ant one, the road winding through the
| pleasant valley formed by Bear river
| and its tributaries but when the first
range was crossed and the descent
through the Portneuf canyon began the
weather became cold and stormy. From
/ here until the coach reached Cedar
Point, home station on the Snake river,
! fierce wind made travelling almost
! impossible. A few hours were spent at
! this station until there was a !ull in
| the storm and the journey was resum-
| ed. The lull in the storm was of short
! duration and when the Eagle Rock
bridge was reached still another stop
was necessary in order to keep the
| Cinnamon from freezing to death Here
| the driver advised the Cinnamon, who
were but thinly clad, to get lot of
warm clothes from the store and bun
! die up or else stay behind and await
warmer weather. They refused to do
| either and insisted on going on with
their journey saying it had taken all
the money they had to pay their fare,
and that they could not afford to lay
over.
Well, the driver took his seat on the
box again and threw the bud 20 his
ponies with a vengeance. Eagle Rock
station, Market Lake. Sand Holes and
| then the weary stretch of sand 10 Ca
mass creek were passed while daylight
was there to guide. Hole-in-the- Rock
was reached just about supper time
and the cold wind whistled over the
sand-covered prairie with a vengeance.
! While here the fierce wind which had
! prevailed for two days died down some
what and the moon, coming out in all
/ her glory from the encirclng clouds
for a while. showed the main range of
the Rockies glowering white and cold
against the sky line.
Facing an Ugly Blizzard.
At Northumberland Driver Britt
Briggs, whose duty it was to take the
stage and its passengers from this sta