Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-02-07

as soon as we landed We took UP 4
placer claim at the junction of Mis-
soula gulch and Gimlet gulch, just
north of where the old Centennial
brewery stands. suppose If we wen.
out there We could still see some Of
the dirt we windlassed out of that
claim, at least 1t was there when / was
there about 10 years ago. The claim
wasn't much good and we only got
around S700 out of 1t in six weeks,
with the two Of us working. The long
er We worked, the less we thought OF
| that claim, and when we heard that
a mail contract had been let to Wells
Fargo from Salt Lake to Butte we
made up our minds that it was easier
TO skin four-horse team than 1t was
to work placer mine, and we quit.
First Mail to Butte
II went to Ryan's canyon, where
Barrett is now, about 10 miles south
Of Dillon, and found that Governor
Pollinger was division superintend-
ent for the Wells-Fargo. and I went
to work for him. The first mail for
Butte came in to Sim Estes place
at the mouth of Ryan's canyon on the
waiting there for it. My end Of the
route was to pick up the mail and
the passengers at Sim Estes place and
| bring them through to Butte, about
80 miles.
81 started from there with j. x.
! Biedler as shotgun messenger about
/ 7 o'clock on the morning Of July 4
and the first mail landed in Butte at
I $50 in the evening of that day. We
Dillon is now; at Bill divers on
pass, down by the Frenchwoman's
Hole; Charley Wunderlich's station,
/ where Divide is now: Feely's at the
foot Of Feely hill: and made the last
/ change at Silver Bow. The trip took
( us about 10 hours and we would come
up one day and 60 back the next.
"Humpy Ford was the first post
master in Butte and his office was IN
a cabin Just north of Park street, on
mail route going for three months
and then they discontinued the serv-
ice and didn't put another mail wagon,
on until 1871, but don't know who
drove 1t then"
Making a Stake
Following the discontinuance of the
mail service into Butte. Higgan-
botham, still accompanied by his
partner, removed his activities to
Helena, where he was employed on
the stage line from the capital city to
.
finding employment in livery stable
at Helena. The route Of the old line,
the pioneer said. was over Priests
ranch to the Blackfoot, where a fellow
named Stearns kept the station. then
over Dog Creek hill into Deer Lodge"
The employment there was merely
means to an end, however. for the
partners were accommodating a grub
stake" for prospecting trip.
Then the Buffalo River excitement
broke out and Bob and I took our grub
never got to the strike. We landed on
the south side of the Highlands and
did little prospecting and finally
camped there and started a placer
mine. We struck some good dust and
took out $4,000 there that summer.
then We made up our minds we would
go back east for visit The end of
Cheyenne and We made 1t that far
with the stake. but when We left
Cheyenne we we're broke again.
The Unbeatable System
When We we're working the placer
mine, we figured out system to beat
the faro bank and we started to OPP
crate on bank in Cheyenne. The
system was a winner but we didn't
have money enough to give it a good
tryout and get 1t working right so we
postponed our trip east and went to
work. From Cheyenne we went to
Omaha and then to Texas, looking for
another stake lost Bob in Texas"
Then came trip which still lives
green in the memory Of the old-timer
Aimless wanderings led him from
Texas to Salt Lake City and back to
Montana, where he drove the over
land stage from Spring Hill to Ryan's
canyon, then back to Salt Lake and
thence to Boise, Idaho. Here he met
three men who were planning a pros
pecting trip to Canada and he i'm
mediately threw in his lot with theirs
Prospecting enroute and wandering at
will, they penetrated deeper and deep
er into the comparatively unknown
wilds Of western Canada. until finally
the great Peace river country was
reached; then they retraced their
steps to Fort Benton, l 400 miles, ira
yelling the entire distance on foot.
Won the Proceeds
Practically three years time was
total proceeds Of which amounted to
t3s worth Of gold dust to show for
the work Of the entire party. I'VE
shook dice for the dust" the pioneer
said. IN describing the settling Of &C.
counts at the end Of the journey, and
won IT. had II made into q ring.
but later lost the ring In Butte We
was a great trip. through a great coun-
try. We landed In Fort Benton IN thu
summer Of 1873 and worked there for
six years, herding cattle for T. c.
Power and driving stage, then I got
. job driving the stage from Deer
Lodge to Butte and worried On that
route during 30 and 81.
wise Osborne was shotgun messen-
ger On that stage and he and framed
quite . Joke on the Butte paper. Bill
| Stolte. who kept the station st Silver
Bow. was big fellow and he had .