Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1937-11-13


turgid waters OF the Missouri
river, or buried beneath the sod
of one Of its former channels
now left high and dry by the treachery
Of the current, lies q half million d0liars
In Montana gold dust The treasure
was wrung from the rich pockets and
sluice boxes Of Alder gulch In sweat
and toll and hardship Of pioneers; Il
went to its secret resting place hap
tized i'm the blood Of its owners; the
mystery of its location, at first guarded
by disaster and misfortune which be-
fell those who sought 1t, and always
uncertain, has become more so with
the receding years. Since the death Of
}. g. Emerson Of Basin. more than
IS years ago. no one has ever searched
for t.
The story Of the lost treasure, which
came to Emerson third hand, he be-
neved implicitly and until his last
moment, almost, he had hopes that
some day he would find 1t. Its location
according to the now legendary tales
told about 1t, was two days boat travel,
as distance on the river was made by
the craft which piled the river in the |
SOS, above old Fort Rice in North /
Dakota, which would probably place /
1t by today's reckoning, rs or 80 miles /
below Bismarck.
Indians Sank Boat
gonautS who had made their pile IN
Alder gulch and were returning with
their riches to their eastern homes.
They were maSsacred by Indians, their
boat destroyed. Their wealth, unknown
to the Indians. sank with the wreck
Of their craft. Its weight alone would
guarantee that it is now, after u years,
not far from where it went down, for
even the gigantic power of the racing
currents of the Big Muddy have not
the strength to do much with the ire
rnendollS weight of a half million
dollars in gold dust and nuggets. 3
AS men searched fruitlessly for the
lost fortune down the years, its ex-
istence has been doubted, the truth of
the story regarding it pooh poohed. !
There seems no doubt, however, but
that it is real and that the only thing |
lacking to prove 1t is knowledge OF
where to dig.
1t was in 1865 that a party OF miners
from Virginia City started for their /
homes in the east taking with them ;
in the shape of dust and nuggets the
accumulated savings of several years [
of hard work.
The names Of the members Of the
party have been lost to history with I
one exception, that of Pierre Lavelle, I
Frenchman who had married a Sioux |
Indian woman. And even Of him 1t Is {
not now known whether he was MEM {
Der of the original party or whether {
he and his wife joined it at some point '
down the river as employees. The latter :
theory seems more the credible. AT any
rate, when all Of the others OF the
party were maSSacred by Sioux IN
dams the lives of he and his wife were {
spared, hers because she was a mem
Der Of the tribe, his because she pleaded
for him.
Told Story to Friend
Lavelle knew of the gold. He him.
self searched for it in vain, and need
ing help, told the story to another, h
who in turn confided it to Emerson. Il
The departure of the gold hunters v
from Virginia City was but the in b
cident Of a day. Their absence went a
unnoted. That was true also Of their S
leaving Fort Benton. Hundreds Of men
In those early days returned to civili- h
cation by the river route. Their mode 4
Of travel was so common as to attract !,
little or no attention. They would build =
their own boat, stock it with necessary :,
supplies and cast off. II misfortune :. =
Oefen the craft or any OF its occupants, y
hose who survived told the story. In y
his instance, however, none survived,
except, as stated, the Squaw man, La l.
1elle. He, 1t would seem, did not reveal p
{ so long as there seemed to exist Ia
nope for personal gain by reason of his CT
lime stationed at Fort Benton In the tie
employ of the Northwestern Fur Co. In
lie became acquainted with Pope. The
I'D man was without money and an T.
cous to return to his old home In Ohio. pl
Emerson was planning trip down the hi
Missouri river to Omaha In a small
,oat and offered Pope passage. They tn
we're alone in Emerson's boat but vi
raveled in company with fleet Of ne
and when that hope faded, m
e disclosed it then only to one man. by
The 90 miners built crude scow at
'ort Benton. The boat was crude and NJ
0ugh, but it was strong and Seaworthy ha
nd calculated to take its passengers sa
yer the most turbulent of the Missouri of
ver's waters in safety. br
Each mans gold was tied in indt- hi
Idual sacks, labeled with his name ba
nd secreted in a water tight compart- ha
tent in the bottom of the scow, and 70
overed with floor boards. Above the
-easure box were piled provisions and
quipment for the trip, guns and am
lunition. sa.
The voyage was through hostile In ne