The Ronan pioneer. [volume] (Ronan, Mont.) 1910-1970, 1917-09-21
BILL FARvvE WHOSE PICK TAPPED STREAM OF GOLD THAT
YIELDED SIXTY MLl@M D@lLAR LIES I'M PAlDPER'S GRAVE

One of the most extraordinary
characters in the history of Mon
tana was Bill Fairweather, discov-
erer of Alder Gulch, the richest pla-
Ger diggings ever found by man.
which yielded upward of $50, 200
in gold.
Fairweather was said to be the
most fearless man in the territory.
He was also an honest man, true to
his world and to his friends, and a
natural leader. 1t was whisky that
brought him to his grave, a pauper,
in 1875 at the age of So
One of Fairweather's peculiarities
was his absolute fearlessness of rat
tlesnakes, and had it not been for
the fact that he was unafraid of
them and that they would not bite
him, he would have been killed by
Indians a day of two before he dis
covered the fabulously rich Alder
diggings. The story is an unusual
one.
1t was in May, 1868, that party
consisting Of Fairweather, T. W.
Cover, Henry Edgar, Barney Hughes,
Rodgers, started from where Deer
Lodge now stands, intending to pros
pect some tributary Of the Yellow
stone. They crossed the main range
by Deer Lodge pass. crossed the Big
Hole and Beaverhead rivers, struck
across the Tobacco Root range at the
head of Granite creek, tributary of
Alder, passing within four or five
miles of the Alder diggings which
they later found.
They then went down the Madi-
son, turned east, and crossing the
Gallatin and the mountains lying be-
tween it and the Yellowstone and
started down the latter stream. They
had descended the Yellowstone for
two days when war party of In
dams stopped them and made them
prisoners, threatening them with a
horrible death and torture.
Bill Had a Snake.
Henry Edgar, in his story of the
adventure, gives the following re-
markable details:
''1t was jointly through Bill Fair
weather and Lewis Simpson that we
were saved. / don't know how it
was, but a rattlesnake would not bite
Bill. When he saw one he would
grab it up and carry it for several
days. They never seemed to resent
anything he did to them, and he nev-
er killed one.
LAS We were going toward this viii
lage of Indians, Bill picked up a rat
tlesnake and just at the outskirts he
picked up another. When the In
dams saw him come in with rat
tlesnake on each arm they were
awed. He put the snakes in his
shirt bosom and Simmons told the
Indians that he was the great medi-
cine man of the whites. They took
us to their medicine lodge, where
there was a big bush in the center
They marched us around that bush
several times, and Bill said if they
marched him around again he would
pull up their sacred bush. They
marched us around once more and
Bill pulled up the bush and wallop-
ed the medicine man on the head
with it.
Prepared to Fight.
eve then formed three to three
back to back. We had refused al
| along to give up our guns and re
volvers. The old chief drove the In
| dians back with a whip. They hat
a council that lasted from noon te
| midnight. In the morning we go
our sentence. If we would give VI
our horses and go back we woul6
not be harmed"
1t was plain enough to see thai
the Indians were afraid of Fair
weather, for they did not take his
horse. They evidently thought thai
/ he was crazy, believing that no one
but crazy man or one gifted with
supernatural powers would carry {
live rattlesnake or pull up sacred
medicine bush. The Indians also
gave the rest of the party few old
almost useless horses in exchange
for their good ones.
The party then travelled with lit
tie rest until they came out of the
mountains on to the Madison valley
and crossing the river they felt safe
from pursuit and rested for a day
on Wigwam creek. They prospectec