The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-11-14
The LURE OF COLD
Romance and Tragedy Of the Old
Bonanza Trail.
ROAD TO WEALTH AND CRIME

Tie Bonanza trail began at For
Laramie. Wyo. 1t ran east Of the ow
Greek mountains, west Of the Big
Horn mountains, In a northwest direc
ton 20 Livingston and Bozeman, theI
forEiug 70 the present Helena and Vlr
| glpia city. IN war and Indian depart
ment annals ii IS known as the Boze-
| man trail. Immediately, however, II
was given the more romantic name
and for the Jest of reasons. 1t led to
what we're the richest deposits of gold
ln a relatively small territory, that the
world had ever seen.
Out Of Alder gulch and Last Chance
gulch. within 200 miles of each other
| In Montana, was taken, in ten short
years, considerably more than $780,
OOO.O IN pure gold. 1t was anybody's
fortune. and the wonderful luck OF the
California gold diggers a few years be-
fore reused men to brave every hard
ship for these prizes.
Ii did not matter at all that these
gulches were 2.000 miles from the
nearest railroad and that other gold
fields were far easier to reach. Here
was the great FL Dorado, and with
out qualm the gold seekers hurried
into the unknown territory, defying
Red Cloud and every other Indian, out
law, renegade and holdup man.
How many lives we're sacrificed along
this trail to wealth will never be
known All that is certain is that
there never was another chapter In the
worlds history like this. The long
road into the mysterious country and
the settlements of mining camps grew
up almost in a single night. There
were only five men in the little party
when Bill Fairweather washed" the
first pan in Alder gulch and made dis.
covery even more wonderful than any
in the palmy days Of California or
even IN the later era Of the kiondike.
Two years later Alder gulch, at one
of the Bonanza trails two ends, was
among the most picturesque places In
the country. The world was ransacked
for men and women to give perform
ances at the theaters, to offer free en-
to the patrons Of the vari-
GUS resorts. The gold hunters, gorged
with prosperity, wanted amusements.
Fine restaurants were opened and food
brought in at great expense from be-
yond the seas. The smallest money
was a twenty-five cent pinch Of gold
dust, taken from a pouch, 1t bought
less than a copper cent does In any
part of the United States today.
Meantime an unending stream of
people poured into the new country.
1t is estimated by some that 10000 In
all took the trail at Fort Laramie.
The days of the trail were those of
frenzied lawlessness, and many are the
picturesque stories that have come
down. over the big road disputes
about cards were of daily occurrence.
The man who started an argument did
so with the knowledge that it was bis
life or the other mans, for he was call
ing into question the "honor" of the
shark" Swindlers sold 'mines,"
fought with their proposed victims and
killed without compunction.
Armed robbers ran Off stock, stole
horses from one class OF immigrants
and sold them to another. As the
horse was the sole means Of transpor-
tation and valuable beyond human life,
"hoss stealing was set down by the
districts as a crime punishable by
death. There were few courts, and
such as there were were miles from
the trail A Jury would hence be at
once impaneled among those present,
the man tried and II found guilty hang
ed to tree without ceremony.
Hotels tiOurlshed and were prosper
Gus beyond imagining. for every one
spent money, and there was much
Haunting, In the higher grade estab-
lishments beverages were served IN cut
glass; champagne was common. Every
resort was crowded with people. The
newcomers frequented these places in
quest OF information, paid % cents for
Il glass Of beer made from barley
grown by the ex-Confederate soldiers
at Bozeman and sold to the virginia
bFeweries for 8 cents a pound, and not
enough could be received to supply the
demand Table board cost 81 A dew
Tor the very cheapest, and If one silent
IN chair in the hotel lobby at night
when the rooms were all rented he
paid $3.50 for the privilege
Cold was the only medium Of ev-
change. A pinch of It. between the
roFehnger aud the thumb. as has been
said counted 25 cents. There wopld
be tendency with some men to taya
just O little bit more. When that tan
aency was noticed In man he was
given hours to leave towu-and II was
seldom over two hours. The wise man
aid not stand on ceremony or Drotest
ne 'Famoosed," In camp veanacular
The newspapers Of the city sold for
20 cents copy red hot from the press
ana full Of news OF lynchincs, new die.
gings' clean ups" hold ups.r "bae
Iuen and gossip Of breezy cbarac.
Ter Ham and eggs to order cost 80 "a
HssS were worth 30 cents apiece and
Sh ordinary meal of deer or bnnalo
meat, With potatoes or coffee ana
bread was never less than st5o A
ulan was very poor to get down TO fare
so coarse as that -'''
II made no difference what q man
m'sot nave been back IN 'tbe ststes.'
II ne was "on the square" in yIrgin,.
ne was accepted at par.-F ATt,na S,,i,a
In HaFper's Weekly. " AIMS