Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-05-30
T ONARGA, ILL, Charles Rumley,

4 T ONARGA, ILL, Charles Rumley,
n at the time librarian of the His
torical Society of Montana, took the
boat Emily, Captain La Barge, at st.
Louis, for the head waters of the Mis-
souri,. On the same boat were Gov
ernor Hauser, Judge Walter D. Dance,
James Gurley and Hon. Granville Stu
art, all of whose names are household
words in Montana. The discoveries OF
gold, no doubt, had something to do
in kindling the spirit OF adventure with
in the breasts of these men.
Gold had been discovered on Benet-
see, or Gold creek, in Deer Lodge, as
early as 1852, and in 1858 had been
mined by James and Granville Stuart.
Florence and Salmon river mines were
then the center of attraction. Mr..
Rumley, with his fellow voyagerS,
reached Fort Benton about the last Of
June, 1862. The mines at Bannack
we're discovered about this time, but
their discovery was unknown at Fort
Benton. The Alder gulch mines were
not discovered until February, 1863, and
the Last Chance mines, where Helena
now is, until September, 1864. /.
Mr.. Rumley passed Last Chance and
Alder Gulch and GrasshOpper creek to
go to the John Day mines, in south
CdobClll OlCSOll-6OllS PlOOdDly W WAC
Mullan road. Travel in those early
days was entirely on foot or horseback
with pack animals to carry baggage.
There we're no troops then in the un-
settled country, everyone was armed
and took turn in standing guard. For
tunately the Indians encountered were
peaceful and it was before the advent
of road agents. Mr.. Rumley had an
ticipated meeting with Indians n had
equipped himself with a supply OF such
trinkets as would delight the aborigin-
al taste. He found no trouble in max
ing friends with such Indians as ne
met and n tribe almost insisted on
his accompanying them, perhaps with a
view to installing him as a medicine
man." And it was with some difficulty
that he got away from them.
Life in this wilderness as 1t then
was, and with such uncongenial sur
rOundings and associations, with NO
convenient communication with his
family, except as letters were carried
some hundred miles, and no means OF
writing letters, except by using the
juice of the wild gooSeberry for INK
was not at all to his taste, so alter
two years Of frontier adventure he re-
turned to his family in the autumn Oh
1864, by which time the mines OF Alder
gulch were yielding up their fabulous
stores of gold, and thousands were
flocking there from all the western
mining camps and the border states
to the east.
BY the spring of 1865 the great Civi
war was nearing its close, but all klnd'
of business was deranged and society
was still unsettled. There was some
thing more in prospect to invite or
to this country and Mr.. Rumley lount
little trouble to persuade his heroic WIZ
and daughters to accompany hin OF
his return by the Missouri river route
The family left st. Louis on the da.
that President Lincoln was buried, b.
the steamer Twilight. The voyage tina
season, owing to low water, was a lonl
one, occupying rs days, full OF interest,"
ing incidents, connected with vlslts u
Indian camps on the lower river, ant
the sight and slaughter of buffalo ant
other game, was not without its spice Q
danger, for the Indians on the uppe
Missouri were hostile, and the uppe
works Of some of the returning boat
were riddled with shots from hostile
along the river banks. One OF ines
returning boats was so disabled ina
the Twilight was obliged to take aboar'
some OF It's passengers. This, with Tn
long voyage, caused a shortage Of pro
visions and the passengers were o.
short rations before reaching Fort Ben
ton.
When the boat reached the mouth Q
Marias river 1t was learned that te'