An Indian Secret
There is an old Indian legend that says a plentiful supply of gold nuggets is to the west of Fort Assiniboine (Hill County, Montana). Supposedly it isn’t far, and is on a dry creek near a hanging ledge. So, if you have the time, this one should make for an interesting adventure. A brief history of the fort is as follows it was used from 1878 to 1911, the estimated time of the report of gold nuggets to the west would have to be somewhere in the early 1880’s. History does show that that fort had a general store, and it is my guess that the report of the gold was told at this store which most likely seen Native Americans stop in to trade or barter for items they needed. I did also discover that a group of prospectors including Pike Landusky who were prospecting in the Little Rocky Mountains (1884) off to the southeast traveled to the fort to obtain supplies in 1884. The Landusky group was working much farther away and in a different direction, but this does indicate that places where supplies and grub could be obtained were few and far between. It would only seem logical that anything was news in those days, especially a report about a plentiful gold source. I am sure that some set out to locate the reported gold location, but there were never any reports that it was ever found. If it was found word of it would have spread like wild fire and resulted in another rush to the next big bonanza! The location of the gold nuggets might be real and then again it could have been started by the natives to fool the white men. It is also likely that whoever ran the general store made a profit selling supplies to those seeking the gold. At least someone profited by the reported gold!
There is an old Indian legend that says a plentiful supply of gold nuggets is to the west of Fort Assiniboine (Hill County, Montana). Supposedly it isn’t far, and is on a dry creek near a hanging ledge. So, if you have the time, this one should make for an interesting adventure. A brief history of the fort is as follows it was used from 1878 to 1911, the estimated time of the report of gold nuggets to the west would have to be somewhere in the early 1880’s. History does show that that fort had a general store, and it is my guess that the report of the gold was told at this store which most likely seen Native Americans stop in to trade or barter for items they needed. I did also discover that a group of prospectors including Pike Landusky who were prospecting in the Little Rocky Mountains (1884) off to the southeast traveled to the fort to obtain supplies in 1884. The Landusky group was working much farther away and in a different direction, but this does indicate that places where supplies and grub could be obtained were few and far between. It would only seem logical that anything was news in those days, especially a report about a plentiful gold source. I am sure that some set out to locate the reported gold location, but there were never any reports that it was ever found. If it was found word of it would have spread like wild fire and resulted in another rush to the next big bonanza! The location of the gold nuggets might be real and then again it could have been started by the natives to fool the white men. It is also likely that whoever ran the general store made a profit selling supplies to those seeking the gold. At least someone profited by the reported gold!
