Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-07-03

found it to yield fifteen cents 10 pan.
A second par, luckily catching several
small nuggets, he said would weigh
six dollars.
That night as they smoked before
their tent Pyrites enlightened his
friend as to the nature of travelling
before them. At times they would
be within four miles of Spring creek,
and again twice that distance. Below
the canyon was their objective, Rapid
City, where several hundred miners
were still pursuing their luck.
ANY good pickings in the canyon?"
asked DinsdaIe
Nothing for us to try Tor there, but
we can, if we have time test a yarn
that's been floating through the hills
ever since the first rush, that was
known in frontier towns long before
that: I'm speaking of the gold cached
by one of the party that entered the
hills way back in 'fifty-two and went
as far north as what's now Deadwood
Gulch."
1--WE heard that ancient yarn dozens
of times" YEARLY remarked Dinsdale.
"A hundred men bound for California.
Nineteen quit the main body at Fort
Laramie to investigate the gold stories
told about the hills. They reached a
creek, where high water prevented
mining
This very creek" broke in Pyrites.
$50 they pushed on and mace
Deadwood Gulch. They struck it rich,
but were surrounded by Sioux. Only
one man escaped. You see, know t
as well as you do. Queer how one men
always escapes Just one. And he
always dies after telling his story TO
some one. If two or more men escaped
there wouldn't be any story, as tile
other survivors would speak and say
it was a lie."
Lie, nothingl" holly cried Pyrires.
"Tom Renshaw did escape. He was
out hunting when the Indians rushed
the camp. He was returning with a
deer when the smoke from the burn
ing shacks and cabins warned him to
be careful. From the top of bluff he
looked down and saw the whole bust
ness. He hid in the woods and lived
off the deer meat till the Indians quit.
Then he went into the burned camp
and found a horse that had bolted into
the timber. He uncached six hundred
ounces of gold. Renshaw packed that
gold to one of the heads Of the Box
Elder, not far from Deadwood Guich,
and hid it in a shaft his party dug
before they entered the gulch."
"How do you know all this?" skep-
tically asked Dinsdale.
Because Tom Renshaw, nearly
starved and with his boss played out,
managed to reach the immigrant road.
He was out of ammunition and threw
away his gun. He lived on choke
cherries, roots, and the pulp of prickly
pears. He travelled by night because
1t was too cold to sleep without blan-
kets, and he slept in the daytime. One
night he staggered into hunting
camp of Mormons on Green river, and
told his story. Renshaw was fed and
cared for, and after he got on his feet
he disappeared. Probably his hard
ships killed him right after he quit the
Mormon camp"
"But why haven't you tried for the
cached gold2"
Pyrites stared at him in great
scorn. Finally he exclaimed:
ME waste my time digging out ten
or eleven thousand dollars worth of
gold when there's whole mines of it to
be had for the taking? If / was a
gambling man, as you seem to be, I'd
tell you that the limit amt enough
to interest me-"
"All right, partner" soothed Dins-
dale; well take time enough some
time to corral that dust. 1t isn't to
be sneezed at. But I've heard SO
many lost mine stories I've quit TAX
ing stock in them"