Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1924-06-27
CHAPTER VII
San Juan sends Word.

south fork OF n Rapid, ABOVE the
eight-mile canyon and near where gold
was discovered in June Of the preced-
ing yea Within two or three miles
of where the Custer trail leaves the
valley they halted for dinner. The
spot was a small bar and, despite his
haste to leave the band on the divide
far behind him, Pyrites took time to
wash out several paDs of gravel. He
said the bar would pay two cents to
a pan in fine gold.
Dinsdale was not impressed and de-
clared it would moi pay for a mans
tobacco. His contempt diminished
when Pyrites tested another spot and
found it to yield fifteen cents to a pan.
A second pam, 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. A. 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 canyon7"
asked Dinsdale.
Nothing for us to try for 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 'ifty-two and went
as far north as what's now Deadwood
Gulch."
I've 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 made
Deadwood Gulch. They struck it rich,
but were surrounded by Sioux. Only
one man escaped. You see, / know 1t
as well as you do. Queer how one man
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 the
other survivors would speak and say
it was a lie"
Lie, nothing" hony cried Pyrites.
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 a bluff he
looked down and saw the whole busi-
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
III Of gold. Renshaw packed that
gold to one of the heads Of the Box
Elder, not far from Deadwood Gulch,
and hid 1t in a shaft his party dug
before they entered the gulch."
"How do you know all this? 2" 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 ard threw
away his gum He lived on choke
cherries, roots, and the pulp of prickly
pears. He travelled by night because
it was too cold to sleep without blan-
kets, and he slept in the daytime. One
night he staggered into a 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 gold?"
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 1t to
be had for the taking? If i 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 SOM
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"