Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-09-27
(By MRS. NJ. E. PLAssMANN)

tBy Mrs. NJ. T.. pLASSMANN)
TT is generally understood that In Mon
tana's infancy, when mining was al
: most the only industry. gold dust was
the principal medium Of exchange. Ag-
riculture here had not passed the ex-
perimental stage, n If, as frequently in
Utah, its products were accepted instead
OF cash, there were not enough of them
available to take the place Of money even
II the cost of transportation would not
have operated to render them unfit rivals
for something less bulky.
During the Civil war, greenbacks. as
the paper money was called, were plenti-
ful, but not in the mining districts.
There gold took the place of such cur
rency, and there was a premium on gold.
It's value was so great that a pinch of it
amounted to a dollar, and I have seen
$75 worth of gold dust inclosed in a
folded bit of paper about the size used
by a physician for the powder he gives
a patient.
Miners could not wait to have gold
coined-it would take too much time,
and their purchases demanded immedi-
ate payment. In their pockets they car
ried buckskin bags of the precious metal,
either in glittering grains, or in nuggets
OF varying size. The value of the gold
was determined by weight, the scales
NHtfto t1S okt " VA bAt ~ WIN
might or might not be honest. In either
event, the customer was absolutely at
his mercy. few of the latter owning scales
and II they did could not carry them
whenever they disposed of the gold.
Merchant Had Advantage
The merchant had every advantage over
the customer, OF which many of them
were not slow to avail themselves. After
a purchase, the miner drew his purse
from his pocket, and tossed 1t on the
counter. The merchant opened 1t, then
poured some of the contents on the
scales, all in the sight of his customer,
who accepted the statement of the mer-
chant regarding its weight, although it
occasionally CHANGED that the owner Of
the gold was in nc condition to notice
what disposition was being made of his
hard earned means. Prohibition had not
then arrived, and men not i~nfrequently
looked upon the wine, or its equivalent,
when 1t was red, or any other color; and
with liquor in, the brain was apt to take
a recess, n however 1t functioned might
easily overlook whatever cheating took
place.
Nuggets were of different sizes, rang
ing from that of a grain Of wheat to
Jumps Of pure metal weighing several
ounces. One of liz ounces was discov-
cred near Virginia City in 1867. The
nuggets were OF many shapes, and miners
often had them mounted by local jewel
ers as rings, stick pins, or brooches, as
articles of adornment for themselves, or
as gifts for friends or relatives black
east" Beautiful chains were also made
of the smaller nuggets.
AS they varied in size, 80 these gold
formations differed in color, some being
deep yellow and others with a tinge Of
green. The most amous nugget known
to early Montana, was the one taken
east by my father when he went to
Washington d. c., in 1868, as the repre-
sentative of eastern Idaho. to secure its
division.
There was then little accurate knowl-
edge of this section. at the capital of
our nation, except that its inhabitants
were chiefly Indians whose sole contribu-
ton to the wealth of the country con-
sisted of buffalo hides and furs.
Mining Only Industry
In order to present the claims of east
ern Idaho to the rights of a separate gov
eminent, 1t was necessary to prove 1t was
the source of more than wild animals,
and wild men Of any color. The cattle
industry had not been dreamed of, and
mammoth potatoes and Macintosh apples
belonged to the distant future. What
then could enlist the attention of the
lawmakers on whose decision our fate
depended There was but one thing OF
universal interest, n that was gold.
My father n others took 1t with them