As will be remembered, the stampeders, who were following the discoveries of Alder, went into a meeting on the Beaverhead River, in order to satisfy the boys that their claims, which had been located May 28th, would be guaranteed to them. That meet- ing must be considered the first one of the miners of Alder Gulch. It was the particular thing that was to help establish law and order in the gulch, to those who were willing to be governed by common sense, and was the only thing that could be done in order to get the information they so much wished -- the destination of Hughes party. (This meeting was recorded in a book, once used at Clear Creek, Colorado.) So we find that the second meeting came on the 7th day of June, 1863, as follows, to-wit: "At a Miners' meeting held at the foregoing gold mines on Sunday, June 7th, 1863, Mr. Conley (one of the men that discovered gold in Big Hole), was elected President, and Dr. W. L. Steele, Secretary, and the following resolutions were passed:
1st. The center of the stream to be the line.
2nd. All former laws conflicting with the above resolution,
be hereby declared null and void.
3rd. All claims must be represented today, except discovery
claims.
4th. After today claims, represented today, hold good until
1st of July.
5th. A committee of five to be appointed to draft laws for
our protection.
6th. That the President appoint the Committee.
The President appointed:
SAMUEL LIVINGSTON.
WM. L. STEELE.
JUDGE BISSELL.
COL. WOOD.
DR. SICK.
W. L. STEELE, Secretary.
"Vernon, June 12th, 1863.
The adjourned meeting from the 7th of June, met pursuant to adjournment. The committee of laws reported, and their report was accepted. The laws and resolutions reported were adopted by sections.
G. W. Emerick and Judge Bissell were elected Judges of Election, and Dr. Cox and J(ack) D. Alport were elected Tellers. Laws reported by the committee with amendments, as adopted by the meeting.
Your committee would beg leave to respectfully report the following laws for the consideration of the meeting.
1st. The name of the District shall be Fairweather.
2nd. The bounds of the District shall be all that portion of
country tributary to this creek, to its junction with a creek,
coming in from the east, some two or three miles below Rodgers' Bar.
3rd. The officers of this District shall be a President, Recorder, Judge
and Sheriff.
4th. The President shall preside at all meetings of the miners of this
District, and shall call a meeting of the citizens of this District, on
the written application of any five claim holders, giving notice by
posting written notices one day before said meeting, in at least three
conspicuous places. The President shall also preside as Judge at all
trials on appeal, from decision given before the Judge, and shall act as
Judge, in absence of Judge.
5th. The Recorder shall keep a correct record of the proceedings of all
meetings, and shall record all claims and deeds presented to him for
that purpose.
6th. The Judge shall have power to try all cases brought before him, and
shall be governed by the laws of the District, and the common laws of
the land.
7th., The Sheriff shall have the same powers as the same office
has in the States.
8th. We hereby re-affirm the proceedings of the two previous
meetings, and the doings of those two meetings shall be part and
parcel of these laws.
9th. Every person may hold, by pre-emption and purchase, two creek, bar
hill and lode claims, and no more, but no person can pre-empt more than
one of each kind, except they be purchased by an administrator -- then
any person can hold more than that number.
10th. A person working any claim in the District, it shall be
considered as representing his whole interest in District, if said
claims are recorded.
11th. Bona fide partners working a claim, represents the interests of
the entire company.
12th. Discoveries of lode claims shall be entitled to one claim
as discoverer.
13th. Lode claims shall be 100 feet along the lode, and 25 feet
each side.
14th. Sufficient water shall at all times be left in the creek
for the purpose of mining said creek.
15th. Any person shall have the right to carry water across
the claim of other persons, for mining purposes.
16th. No person or company shall be entitled to more than one
sluice head of 10 inches of water, unless it does not conflict with
with the interests of any other person.
17th. On and after the first day of July, 1863, every person
or company, shall represent his or their interests by three full
days' work, in each week, except Lode claims, which may be held
as real estate for one year.
18th. In all cases of trial before the President, or Judge, either
party may call a jury to be summoned by the Sheriff.The party
calling for jury, to deposit fees for same.
19th. Priority of right shall always govern the decisions of the
Court.
20th. For presiding at any trial, the Judge or President shall
receive $5.00, and the ordering fees for all papers.
21st. Recorders' fees shall be 50c for pre-emption, and one
dollar for all transfers, bills of sale, etc.
22nd. Sheriff's fees, same as Bannack City fee bill.
23rd. No slaughter house to be allowed within 80 rods of the
creek.
Art. 3rd. is amended thus: That all officers shall hold their office for
six months, or until their successors are elected and installed."
Whether there were any more laws or not, I do not know, as some curio hunter has cut out the next page.
Dr. Steele was elected President. Henry Eagan, Recorder, and James Fergus, Deputy, and all records are in the hands of Fergus.
The gulch was to become filled with people, from every mining section, and probably, no place has ever had such a teeming, thriving crowd, as gathered there in two years. Towns were laid out, up and down the gulch, for ten miles -- Junction, Adobe Town, Nevada, Central, Verona, Summit, and there may have been more -- at least one. The first one to be recorded, but of which I can find no old-timer who can remember, was laid out as following description:
"Fairweather District: Idaho Territory, June 15, 1863.
This is to certify that we, J. C. Lyon, B. S. Peabody, John Bigler, J. M. Galbraith, C. P. Hall, B. H. Hamilton, P. C. Wood and Samuel McLean, claim 160 acres of land for Townsite, to be called and known by the name of Placerville. Said quarter section is located on the bar, or bars back of the mining claims, owned by Steel and Company, and J. M. Wood's claim. The center of which quarter section commences at a ravine or gulch, that crosses the road between Wood's and Steele's claims; running from there one-half mile up the creek, east, or near it, and one-half mile down the creek, or west, and from said stake, onequarter of a mile southwest, and three-quarters of a mile north, making a square of one hundred and sixty acres.
To have and to hold for a townsite, and be known by the name
of Placerville, to have and to hold the same, June 15th, 1863."
Recorded June 17th, 1863.
And the Verona Townsite Company claims 320 acres of land, for town purposes, bounded and described as follows:
Beginning at a stake at the mouth of Spring Creek, at its confluence
with Alder Creek, and running thence up the center of Alder Creek,
one-quarter of a mile; thence at right angles to a straight line, up the
creek, in a northeasterly direction, one-half mile; thence at right
angles in a northwesterly direction, one mile; thence at right angles in
a southwesterly direction one-half mile to the creek; thence up the
creek to the place of beginning.
F. R. MADISON.
R. H. SAPP.
T. W. COVER, et al.
Recorded June 17th."
They gave no date in this notice of the time of pre-emption, but it was prior to Placerville, which was recorded first.
Mines.
On March 5th, 1864, Henry Edgar sold for $7,000.00 his interest in mines and ditches, to Cover, Hughes and Fairweather, and on the same day, he sold to Cover his interest in butcher shop, corrals and eleven head of cattle, for $1,000.00.
T. W. Cover, H. Edgar, Wm. Fairweather and Barney Hughes, claim 400 feet on Fairweather Bar, and 400 feet on Louis Bar, as discovery, and pre-emption claims. These claims are held by us, by right of original discovery. They were further guaranteed to us at a public meeting held on the way from Bannack, and our right to them finally sanctioned by law.
Taken May 28th, 1863.
Recorded June l7th.
William Sweeney, one of the original six, claimed the discovery claim on Sweeney Bar, and No. 8 below on Covey's Bar, May 28th, 1863, and Henry Rodgers claimed two claims on Rodgers' Bar, on May 28th, 1863.
While many different places bore local names from their discoverers, probably no bar became more famous than "Bummer Dan's." This bar was very rich and has the appearance of having been more extensively worked than any other. How much money was taken from this bar, I do not know. My information certainly gives one a chance to use his imagination. One of the old timers said $800,000. The other $5,000,000. Dan McFadden, for whom the bar was named, was well known as Bummer Dan. He no doubt sponged so many meals that the name was well applied. He figures, as the reader will remember, in at least one hold up, near Spring Gulch, where the stage was robbed. History does not give much account of his character, who could have become much more than a bummer, had he saved his money.
The first quartz claim was the Dumphy, by Liga Dumphy, February 1st, 1864. Our old friend, William Sturgis, we find, has become busy, and claimed for water privileges, one-quarter of a mile below and three-quarters of a mile above the fork of Granite Creek (a stream that run into Alder about two and one-half miles below Verona), when he made improvements June 12th, 1863.