The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1935-08-02

of them settled on homesteads IN Pig
Eye basin after the rush at Yogo. Bill
Babcock was one of those characters
who seemed to live only in pioneer
days. He could tell the tallest stories
in the neighborhood. He came into
Montana from the South Dakota gold
fields, where he was one of the earliest
prospectors, but he almost didn't get
here. He picketed his mules n night
in making camp somewhere in eastern
Montana, and in the morning found
that they had gotten loose and he could
mo- get near them on foot. He decided
to grease them with his rifle; that is,
shoot so that the bullet hit the little
nerve right where the name started,
which, if properly done, would stun the
animal. Bill, however, wasn't as good
at Singing bullets as he was at sling
ing words, and killed both his mules.
Other travellers found him sitting
disconsolately on n of his fallen steeds
ana gave him a lift into Cotton, Bill
was responsible for the story of the
trapper who trained a jack rabbit to
act as decoy to catch coyotes and foxes.
The rabbit would scare them up and
get them to chase him to the trapper's
cabin, where he would rap two times
with his hind legs as a signal. When the
run into a large, open cage inside, with
a little hole in the back through which
he could slip after drawing his eager
and u"nsuspecting victim into the trap.
1T would have worked out all right"
said Bill, IF the darned rabbit hadn't
got ambitious and brought in a whole
family OF polecats."
Jake Hoover was another Judith bas-
in prospector and rancher with the
gift of gab." Stop me if you've heard
this one, but it is supposed to have
started with Jake.
Harness was very scarce in the eally
days." said he, land I made a set out
Of green buffalo hide. I used the new
of wood, but on the way back it beg IN
to rain and the harness began to
stretch. The horses kept travelling and
the harness kept stretching, but the
wagon remained right where it vas.
So I went on home with the team, drove
them around a tree two or three times
and went to bed. In the morning the
sun was shining brightly, the harness
had shrunk and brought up the wagon
and there was my load of wood stand
ing by the tree"
oalAer was D. SiAVe! All!e VI Cile e1gtlI-.
les. It, too, was in the Little Belts, but
easier to reach from the other side,
There were three towns in the early
days and one, Hughesville, is still run
ming. The ore was worth about $45 In
silver, with a high percent of lead. A
man by the name of Hi Wright was one
of those to discover it and when it was
sold his share was about 10000. II
went the way of most easy money, in
the resorts of Fort Benton, and he was
soon back on the job-broke. He said
They called me a prince when I went
n with 100000, but when I was broke
they called me a bum. They can make
a bum out of a prince quicker in For
Benton than any place I ever saw"
Barker was the first camp in this
section to get a railroad. This was
particularly significant of the way il
was regarded as a mining camp. II
was not long after the railroad wa:
completed before the camp began to q
down hill and the railroad was aband.
Oned. Until the St. Joseph company
took over the diggings there were onl!
a few prospectors hanging around thu
once prosperous town just anothe,
dead village, waiting for new processe!
and uses for its metals to come alive
again.
To nearly everyone in central Mon
tana, and particularly in Fergus county
the name Maiden is synonymous will
mining. It was discovered in the judith
mountains in 1880. There were a mum
Der of prospectorS in the hills at tina
time, but the discovery is usually at
tributed to Skookum Joe. But whoeve
discovered it, it was a lively spot for tn
next couple of years.
The Spotted Horse mine is usual
, accounted to be the richest of the tw
t most important mines, the other bein
t the McGinnis. There were about fiv
i. mines out of "a that paid we'll an,
l many others made grubstakes.
P. W. Maiden, who was the trade
at Cotton for many years, developed tn
Spotted Horse mine and the Spotte
Horse mine developed Maiden. Whe
Fergus county was divided fror
4 Meagher county, Maiden was though
of as the new county seat and, bein
e the metropolis of the county, as Made
g went. so went the elections. BY 18e
it was on the toboggan slide and tn
S new little town Of Lewistown becam
y the county seat.
As Yogo had its Black Milly, so Mait
en- had a Black Fanny. She lived Q
e the outskirts of Maiden and washe
the miners shirts for a living. It is sal
e that one prospector, in alcoholic gra'
itude for the snowy shirts she did U
III for him each week. rave her a Gil