Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1935-08-01


posedly worthless claim. While it never
became a Spotted Horse, or indeed a
horse OF any other color, she is suppos-
ed to have sold it fcr 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 OF the far slope
OF the Judiths. 1t was 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 that win
ter and, as Maiden was also on the
doWnhill slant, money was pretty tight.
There was plenty of pay dirt left in the
mines, but it was too expensive TO take
it out. Harry Kendall and Al Slough
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
wa 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 tells
a story about Bill. He was coming
from Fort Benton one time, had made
a fire and was cooking supper when he
noticed hat 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
his meal he was IL miles away from
camp.
The old-timer of Lonesome hollow
read what l had written solemnly and
then said, Nice bunch of fairy sto-
ries you've gathered together"
1 said, Indignantly, Fairy stories!
These are all true incidents which have
been told me by perfectly reputable
people. You don't think George Evans
or Thomas Murray would stretch the
truth, do your"
For answer, he grinned, handed me
back the manuscript and remarked, II
could tell a story just as good as them
yarns. / been around a little myself"
Gould you? Well let's hear it," /
cried, reaching for q pencil. IF it's
good I'll put it right here in the story"
Old-timer sat down, crossed his knees
and gazed at the ceiling reflectively.
well, maybe I could tell you about
n time 1 was lead mining for st. Joe.
We was down at the 600-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
neither would the compressor SO we
didn't have fresh air except a little
that got down the main shaft. We all
crowded out there and sat around wait
ing for somebody to rescue us but they
never did. We were there nine DAYS
and were getting powerful hungry so
we decided to kill the italian, since he
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 OF
'em were for leaving things as they
Wtit anu SdFlllS TIE ar, even III IDey
starved to death, ani the other half
were for cooking the Italian and dying
happy.
I'VE. sat around beside the body for
three days, trying to decide what to
do and things were getting bad. We
had a lot of fist fights between the
cookers and the conservers and the sur
vivors were lying around binding up
their wounds. One man had gone
crazy and we could hear him scream
ing and shrieking back there in a stope
and 1t didn't help our peace of mind
none. | had just enough tobacco to
make one last pipeful and / had been
saving 1t ~religiously for the time when
l just couldn't stand it any longer, so
now | took 1t out and filled my pipe
and struck a NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. All
l heard was a big bang and / felt N.Y.
self shooting through the drifts on
top OF the shaft and on up into the
blue winter sky. When I came down
l landed Oh the roof of the boarding
house, which was sure %providential be-
cause / was nearly starved by this time.
l was the only survivor in that terrible
mine catastrophe"
There was silence in the room after
the story was finished. Then / said.
We'll, there are places in the world
where folks would believe that story
and other places where they'd give
you a rubber medal for 1t for what it's
worth and let everybody make their
y own decision" So here 1t Is.