The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-08-30

the exact truth Tor the SEVERN f'Al
that I have followed this TAD Of col
Lectirg traasuFBtrCYe data The rLp
IIcadon Of the story OF stories about (!
may bring - light the re1 who car
say definitely what 10 VIA: HoSeTe'
any man uho cares 20 set cut after 81
10 a busluess,lGke manner may Turn
himself into a mult-miiionslTo D.
tween Christmas and Fourth o. July
ThiE much !g certain some0herf
on the upper reaches Of the Missouri
river In four large barEes, lost IN
1855. la0dsd 10 their utmost capacity
with gold estimated IN amount from
5000 090 20 }o5. COZ. 900
Just al the ClosC OF the ciTii val
Eomg rumors 0! the finding II gold 10
the Black Hills Of Dakota and Mon,
tana driftcd into the OWLS on me
border OF civilization In The northwest
II se"rnB odd TO think that tty y"sFs
ago that region vas 6 frontier bN'
there are hundreds Of old Indians no"
living on the reservations who the
were fighting braves and f'ty years
ago they had never seen a "h'ls
mans face.
In the spring Of 1865 some old pros
pectors IN the back drift from tahlor
MIA found gold In one Of the tributaries
OF the Missouri, said no" 10 De tue
north fork OF the Cheyenne, why II 10
no more certain Wtil ABTHAT. Others
OF thieF Tx 'smelled The discovery
ana a oand OF no more 'hah 'o'''
are" INC the region masking " Won
derful strike, the richest mat a ever
cen MADE on America SOIL accoro'hs
10 all accounts The strike was maze
IN what Is now called Deadmeh =
Eulch' named to suit the story' u
called IN the OLD records Fedetauon'
Desperation and starvation "aiche''
The gold was ~alluvial, washed down
from the northern lodges. now being
worked by the rich Caledonia QanrE
Mine Company near peadwood, The
gravel banks and fats were ineKpres
sibIy rich with II and all summer the
forty men toiled feVerishly, extracting
as much az they could before the win
tor should descend upon them. smut
of their fish, game aDd vegetable tood
supply and drive them to civilization.
where the knowledge OF the vast
wealth OF the Black Hills and the re-
mainder OF the auriferous region would
become public property.
When the ground froEe and they
could work no longer they cut timber
and made four large bsrges Of shallow
draft and on them IaOded the gold in
provision boxes, and mule and deer
skins made into rawhide sacks, Even
then they were compelled to leave
ON 81 it behind because the barges
would not carry H.
The hostile Indians who had not
dared attack so large a party in the
mining camp with its excellent de-
lenses and those who were apparently
IN friendly terms with the miners now
took a hand in the game. After the
hardy forty hRd reached the Missouri
and had negotiated a portion Of IT'S
distance they tied UP one night, not
long before Christmas. They wero at.
tackled by a large band Of Indians
who m~Hssacred every living soul. sank
the barEes and took all their belong,
ings except the gold, Of which they did
not know the value. Some accounts
bold the Blackieet responsible, others
the OEalaia.
How the news ever got 10 the world
J cannot say, saw a. the Indians told
Of It and friends Of the dead men
traced them into the country from
which they never came out. Gradual.
ly the story took form and It set the
p~rospectors wild. They ranged the
region from the Bad Lands 10 the Big
Horn river for twenty-seven years and
then came the great discovery In the
Black Hills.
The gold left behind at the point Of
cmbarkation was finally found. Old
workings which showed the vast
quantities taken out by the forty pros.
pectors were discovered and for a few
years a torrent Of alluvlal gold poured
out OF the Black Hills. Then the whole
thing settled down to the staid and
regular quartz proposition.
The Kansaa City Star some years
ago printed a clrcumstantIal story
stating that a Young Indian student a,
i'h'NSt ia" ''iH " Pi'''oSNi haht ulb
idllleF Was one Oh lne braves In the