Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1941-02-22

their senses. On way out OF the coun'
try. two Of the miners were killed bJ
savages and the third reached civiliza-
ton more dead than alive. He related
I his experiences, but could not give thS
exact location OF the ledge. As a re-
suit OF the privations endured and the
I constant bordering over his supposedly
/ immense wealth, the survivor lost his
( reason, according 10 the story and was
never able to return TO the lode. Inc
samples, however. which he brought
back with him proved that the mine
was not altogether myth.
Ore Copper, Not Gold
Later, q prospector stumbled upon
a vein IN the Big Horn canyon. which
ne believed 10 be the outcrop OF the
famous lode The news was telegraphed
10 all parts Of America stating: Lost
Cabin mine found" However. this
proved 10 be a premature assertion for
the ore was copper, with no gold con-
tent.
In the fall OF 1877 "A little more than
q year after the Custer massacre, a
cavalry officer Of the regular army was
scouting after hoStlles, who led him
a wild goose chase among the peaks
OF the Big Horn mountains. For days
he followed them, finally lost their
trail and became lost himself. One day
about noon. after travelling since day
light, he called a halt, dismounted and
ordered a rest for a half hour.
The soldiers threw themselves on
the ground. holding their steeds while
the captain tossed his bride rein to
an orderly and went off little 10 one
side and sat down on a mound Of rock
In gazing about, the orderly noticed
that the earth upon which the captain
was seated had q rather unusual APP
pearance. A closer examination proved
that the mound upon which the cap
tain was seated was a dtsintegrated
highly mineralized rock. Reaching I'M
der a projection OF the quartz-for the
rock was In truth decomposed quartz
the excited men broke off rotten rock
IN which yellow particles sparkled in
the sunlight.
Kept Find Secret
As the remainder Of the command
had neither seen nor heard the little
drama enacted by the discoveries the
two men agreed TO keep the find
secret. A sample of the mound was
taken with them. The assay made Of
it later proved that It was rich In
gold
For a number Of days, relates his
torian, the command wandered about
among the glilches and bad lands and
finally struck a trail which carried
them out Of the mountains. With their
horses played out and their rations
exhausted, they at last reached camp.
having wandered for nearly a month
In the toughest country in North
America.
Orderly Is Killed
The orderly was killed shortly after
ward In a skirmish with q hostile In
dian band. Although the officer more
than once attempted to find the lost
mine. he was always unsuccessful. In
his failure, he said: 1T Is
utterly impossible to tell the precise
locality of the lode now, as the coun- |
try was terribly rough, the surround |
Ings strange, and hostiles swarmed |
through the region In great numbers. !
I had my hands full at the time. and |
every subsequent attempt to find the 1
rotten gold quartz has been baked In |
Jne way or another"
It Is possible, and even probable, say /
Orospectors, that the auriferous mound /
II the soldiers was an outcrop Of the /
Lost Cabin mine. Since the discovery 1
numerous expeditions have been outfit
ed and several lives lost In the search.
SO confident are people that the Lost
Cabin mine Is no myth that 1t has been
md is still diligently searched for