The Vigilantes of Montana: 1864 Revisited

About the 9th day of July, 1862, M. H. Lott, Hiram Conley and the Woods Brothers, followed up the North Fork of the Salmon river, to the head of the main divide between Idaho and Montana and on the 10th, they found gold on Ruby, or Pioneer Creek. Some of them stayed to open the ground, while the remainder left for Old Fort Lemhi to get their teams, which had been left there while they went out on their prospecting trip. Judge Lott was one of them that returned for the teams.

You must remember that there were no roads in those days over the nearest trail that would take them back through the Grasshopper, into the Big Hole prairie, where they would have a possible chance of getting their wagons to the mines. The only way to keep their wagons from upsetting was to place both hind wheels on the same side of the wagon. This was done, and they succeeded in getting up the hill. They arrived safely at the new find, and at once put up a saw pit, and Lott and Dave Dunkleburg proceeded to make the first lumber of Beaverhead County. On the 16th, they had sluice boxes set and were washing out gold. Lott believes these to have been the first sluice boxes. Granville Stuart claims that his party began in May, two months before. Judge Lott says he will not quarrel over this matter, because he wishes the honor to fall where due.

Lott and Dunkleburg continued to saw for the trade, and sold at 30c per foot, and made $30.00 each per day, in this very, very trying occupation -- making lumber with a whip saw.,Judge said that Dave took the under side.

The miners were taking out from $25.00 to $75.00 per day, per company of eight men. Only a short time after this discovery, others came and took up claims near them. Unfortunately, for the first men, they did not find the richest ground. There was at no time many men in Pioneer Basin. (See Judge Lott's story). It was no secret that Lott's party had found pay dirt. John White, the man who bound White's bar on Grasshopper, was hunting for Lott when he, on July 28th, panned the first dirt that was actually to change the conditions, and allow white men to take the place once only occupied by the Indians. As White's story has been told by Dimsdale and Langford, I shall not comment on it, or try to throw any light on it. I shall, however, give a copy of the laws that were adopted by the miners' meeting, for their guidance, to show that their desire was to live with some assurance of peaceable settlements of troubles that might arise.

The news that diggings had been discovered on the Grasshopper soon was wafted by the four winds of heaven, in every direction, and men, who had Florence in view, turned from that trail and came to cast their lots with the others in this new Eldorado. Stapleton had come and found a bar that was to be known by his name. Dr. Glick had left Colorado to mingle with the adventurous spirits of this section, and men, who were to fill big spaces in state and nation, had gathered, before a year had gone by at Bannack. No matter that Benetsee and the Stuarts had found gold in Deer Lodge Valley, the richer pay on Willard's Creek weaned them from their first love, and forced them, too, to take their abode in what was to become Montana's first capital. There were many adventurous persons in that crowd that were to lay a foundation for stories that, though true, would have better never been written.

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