Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-24
PRESIDENT PANS
GOLD IN CANYON
Storm Spells Fishing, But
Day Is Turned Into One
of Fun for Executive.
BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG,


MYSTIC RAPID CANYON, s. Oak,
July 23.-What was to have been a
perfect day of fishing in the waters
of Rapid Canyon today. where the
trout are reported to be the biggest
and the gamest in the Black Hills.
was turned Unexpectedly by President
Coolidge into gold panning expedi-
ton.
The waters in this remote section
of the hills were swift and rolled
today, and after an hour or. so Of hard
work and no results with his rod
and reel the President yielded to the
lure of prospecting. The dust which
he cleared from the creek was esti.
mated by authorities on such matters
to be worth nearly a million. However.
old Joe Bulls, who has been a pros.
pector in this section since the gold
rush back in the 70s and who had
peep at the Presidents dust, said on
the quiet that it didn't look like
''more'n four bits worth to him.
Mrs. Coolidge Tries Hand.
Mrs. Coolidge, too, tried her hand
at this fascinating business, and she
succeeded in getting fair show of
color upon the bottom of her pan.
The value of her panniag was not
made public, but some who saw it
said it looked like more than the
Presidents. This was the first time
either the President or his wife have
PANIED for gold since coming to the
Black Hills, which have been the
scene of numerous gold rushes in the
past and which even today boast of
vast quantities of this precious metal
still to be had, as we'll as Of the rich.
est gold mine operating in the world
today.
They have listened to all sorts of in
teresting tales about the gold. past
and present, in the Black Hills and
these tales have always held certain
charm for them. Naturally enough
they both entered upon their panning
today with real zest and enthusiasm.
They both enjoyed the experience and
were proud as children of the results
of their first experience with gold
pans.
Storm Spells Roads.
The scene of all this fun and activity
was near the Summer cottage of
Samuel r. Mckelvie, former governor
of Nebraska. He had planned what
was to have been a glorious day Of
trout fishing for the President. but
the storm of last night contributed
greatly to the spelling of his plans.
First of all, the presidential party had
considerable difficulty reaching the
McKelvie camp, which is located
about miles up a mountain side
from Mystic.
The heavy rains had played havoc
with the sticky gumbo surface of the
mountain trail and the lumber wagons
used in transporting the presidential
party barely reached their destination.
The going was slow and hard.
Most interesting feature of this diff
cult trip up the mountain trail was
the sight of President Coolidge, coat
less and hatless, helping to push the
lumber wagon through the mud, up
the incline. He sweated and pulled
and his vest was riding him in the
back and at times his suspenders
looked like they were going to snap
under the strain. But the President
helped like good fellow.
With Mrs. Coolidge the President
had come over from Rapid City early
this morning on the little railroad that
winds the tortuous course of Rapid
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