Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-09-12
Barney Hughes, Prospector, Won Fortune Only
To Lose It, Spent Rest of Life Hunting for Gold

King Of the prospectOrs Of Montana
might well be the title given by his
tory 70 Barney Hughes, who prospected
for gold for IS years. q record prob
ably not exceeded by that of any other
man.
But Barney Hughes claim to fame
lies, not in that record, but in having
been one OF the discoveries of Alder
gulch, which has yielded sl0O.O 900
il gold since the day in May, 1863,
that Hughes, Henry Edgar, Bill Fair
weather, Tom Cover. Bill Sweeney and
Henry Rodgers first PANIED colors
near the site of Virginia City.
: Hughes and Edgar were friends and
companions for nearly half century,
and they lived long after all the other
members of the party had been laid
away in the earth from which they
had wrested so much treasure. Hughes
died at Wisdom, in Beaverhead county
Oct. l6, 1909. Edgar died at Paradise,
Sanders county, Nov. IL, 1910.
In the last year of his life, Edgar
wrote an appreciation of his old part
ner, who had passed away, as follows:
Il first knew Barney in Crofino,
Idaho, in 1861, where he was mining
with George Orr. In January. 1862, we
went together to Florence, Idaho. Bar
ney and George Orr preceded me to
Bannack. I arrived there in October,
1862, and found that they had ground
waiting for me on Stapleton's bar. We
mined here until Feb. 4, when we
started to Deer Lodge
Barney was one of our party of
six which left Deer Lodge for the
Yellowstone river country: the others
were Tom Cover. Henry Rodgers, Bill
Sweeney and Bill Fairweather. Bar
ney was with us when we were held
prisoners by a band of Crow Indians
for several days. 1t was early in May.
1868, that We escaped from the saw
ages, and it was on May &c that we
discovered Alder gulch.
$40 1000 in Gold
In 1864 Barney disposed of his in
terest in Alder gulch and had in the
neighborhood of $4,000 in gold dust.
In the fall he started for British Co.
lumbia, and at Missoula he entrusted
all Of his money, excepting about
So 900, to his brother, Jim, to take to
San Francisco and have coined. His
brother invested the money in real
estate in San Francisco. but by a
streak of bad luck which seemed to
follow Barney in after years. he lost
1t entirely, leaving him absolutely pen
niless.
After his return from British Co.
lumbia, he spent some time in Cali
fornia, where he ascertained that he
had entirely lost the property in which
his money had been invested by his
brother.
He returned to Montana and spent
nearly all the remainder of his days
prospecting, but without any material
success.
According to Barney Hughes own
statement, he was born in Ireland in
1918 and crossed the ocean to New
York city when u years of age. He
was moulder by trade but when the
stories of the golden west were cir
culated in New England, he started
west to search for the shining dust
which was said to color all the noun
tain streams.
Came West in 1854
He crossed the plains and arrived
went to British Columbia in 1858 and
remained there two years. In British
Columbia he placer mined and 1t was
there he first met George Ives, who
was hanged by the Montana Vigi-
lantes a few years later.
Barney Hughes was Catholic, hav-
ing been baptized when he was 16
years old by Bishop Carol in New
York city.
Barney left me about Oct. /, 1908,
for the Big Hole. and I never saw
him again. He died at Wisdom, Mont.
Oct. 16, 1909.
Besides being true, loyal friend,
Barney Hughes was good, square,
honest and upright man; man of
too generous a disposition, and man
whose word I'd take for anything.
After losing his property in San Fran
cisco he seemed to have lost heart,
and spent practically the balance of
his days in Improbable prospecting
for other mines. He was a good citizen
and did a great deal toward develop
ing the mining resources of the great
northwest. Failing of success, he was
cared for in his last days by friends
who had known and respected him for
years, and died in Strengthened cir
cumstances, as have hundreds of other
adventurous men engaged in the same
pursuit"
Square With Partners
AS evidence of how square Barney
Hughes and his partners were, the
following description by the late Peter
Roman of how an attempt to bride
them by some wealthy residents of
Bannack, after the rich strike on AL
der gulch, was defeated by the indig-
nant refusal of Hughes and the others
to do anything that was not on the
square with each other:
Upon reaching Bannack the secret
of the new discovery was divulged and
quietly talked over by the discoverers
and their friends, and certain day
was fixed upon to start for the dis
covery. Meanwhile tempting offers
were made secretly to Barney Hughes
and others of the party to quietly slip
out with two or three opulent claim
owners of Bannack and guide them to
the discovery ahead of the stampede.
But the discoverers were deaf to their
opportunities and could not be tempt
-, ,u;+l, rroId RI throu off their old