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

posedly worthless claim. While it lever
became a Spotted Horse, or indeed q
horse of any other color, she is suppos-
ed to have sold it for enough to supply
her simple needs for as long as she
lived.
When trouble hit the mines, hard
times were reflected everywhere. There
was the Collar mine on the far slope
OF the JudithS. It wa the leading
silver mine and when it failed to pay its
miners they headed down the road with
blankets on their shoulders. Most OF
them were glad to work for their board
on homesteads in the valley hat win
ter and, as Maiden was also on the
doWnhill slant, money was pretty tight.
There was plenty of pay dirt left il the
mines, but it was too expensive to take
it out. Harry Kendall and AL Stough
made money out of tailings at Maiden
after the mines were shut down and.
when he finished there, Kendall and
another partner. Joe Wanderlin, who
was Tom Murray's "sidekick' in Castle
days, discovered the mines that later
were called Kendall.
There were many small placer mines
around this last discovery. One Of
them. was owned by two brothers, Buck
and Bill Buchanan. Mr.. Murray teIIs
a story about Bill. He was coming
from Fort Benton one time, had made
a fire n was cooking supper when he
noticed that a blaze had crept away
from the fire and was making a flam-
ing path through the dry grass toward
the forest. Bill had a pan of bacon in
his left hand and a pancake cooking in
another pan in his right. He hurried
to the fire and commenced pattinG
out the little flames with the pans
They persisted in running ahead Of
him and he kept following with the
pans. When he finally sat down to eat
camp.
The old-timer of Lonesome hollow
then said, Mice bunch of fairy sto-
ries you've gathered together"
I said, Indignantly, Fairy storiexs
These are all true incidents which have
been told me by perfectly reputable
people. You don't think George Evans
or Ihomas Murray would stretch the
truth, do you?"
For answer, he grinned, handed me
BACK the manuscript and remarked, Il
could tell a story just as good as them
yarns. I been around a little myself.
Gould YOU? Well let's hear it." I
cried, reaching for a pencil. If it1
good I'll put it right here in the story
Old-timer sat down, crossed his knees
and gazed at the ceiling reflectively.
We'll, maybe I could tell you about
) n time I was lead mining for st, Joe.
We was down at the 60O-foot level when
an awful snoWstorm came up and pretty
} near buried the town. The wires Were
all broken, the cages wouldn't work and
nelther would the compressor so We
dldnt have fresh air except a littIe
that got down the main shaft. We an
croWded out there and sat around wait
ing 1or somebody to rescue us but they
) never did. We were there nine DAYS
5 ana were getting powerful hungry so
t we decided to kill the italian, since hi
was the latest one of the bunch, and
COOK him for a square meal. We'd no
sooner than got through killing him
: than someone said if we made a fire
to cook him we'd use up all the re-
naming oxygen in the shaft and prob
ably smother. Well, the boys was pretty
well divided about the subject. Half od
s 'em were for leaving things as they
= were and saving the air, even if they
starved to death, and the other hall
were for cooking the Italian and divine
;, happy.
\ I'VE sat around beside the body foz
h three days, trying to decide what tc
90 and things were getting bad. W.
t had a lot of fist fights between thu
cookers and the conservers and the sur.
VlVors were lying around binding III
e their wounds. One man had gonf
crazy and we could hear him scream.
ing and shrieking back there in a stop,
o and it didn't help our peace of min
none. I had just enough tobacco b
e make one last pipeful and I had beer
saving it religicusly for the time wher
I just couldn't stand it any longer, q
now I took it out and filled my pin
e and struck a Observation-Disclosures! Al
I heard was a big bang and I felt my
n self shooting through the drifts q.
n top of the shaft and on up into tn
It blue winter sky. When I came dow
Ig I landed on the roof of the boardin
house, which was sure providential be
"a cause I was nearly starved by this tim
le I was the only survivor in that terribl
mine catastrophe"
There was silence in the room afte
l. the story was finished. Then I sail
n We'll, there are places in the worl
d where folks would believe that sto1
Id and other places where they'd Civ
you a rubber medal for it for what IL
p worth and let everybody make the
0Uyn 6oricion - ca ho,o u 10