Wood Choppers Cache - Missouri River

[IMAUDIGGER]

I’m reading a book that talks about the rush of people up the Missouri
between 1867 to 1869. Apparently selling cut firewood to the steam boats was good business.
Problem is, it is said 1/3 of the wood choppers above Fort Randall were massacred by Indians.

Seems like a good place to search for buried coin.

 

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[nagant]

I've seen this on the upper Mississippi also good starting point for research, thanks.

 

[Honest Samuel]

I guess that it was not a good business to be in.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

It must have been decent wages. It they couldn’t buy cut firewood, they would have to anchor and cut/haul their own.
Considering the Indian troubles, it was probably worth paying a high price to simply load wood, than risk the hours it would take to chop it yourself.

Has to be many small caches along the river.

 

[hucklburry]

But flooding and changing of the river could make for tough locating, I have some leads on some places that I want to research some more, that used to be near the river and moved due to flooding, but I don't hold out hope due to flooding etc

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

I never thought about how large rivers change the landscape.
If I understand correctly, the steamboats waited for the river to flood before going upriver.
I think it was about this time of year actually. I wonder if higher areas, not prone to flooding would be good places to look....or is there such a thing?

 

[Paleo_joe]

Arrowheads might be on those higher areas that don’t flood

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Arrowheads might be on those higher areas that don’t flood

Especially considering the fights that may have occurred in those areas...

 

[releventchair]

I never thought about how large rivers change the landscape.
If I understand correctly, the steamboats waited for the river to flood before going upriver.
I think it was about this time of year actually. I wonder if higher areas, not prone to flooding would be good places to look....or is there such a thing?

In the book Jeremiah Johnson , he collected drift wood from an eddy at his woodyard. Steamers put payment in a tree hollow.

A delta can have spring flood water creep far beyond summer levels. Terrain where above " normal" flood stage ,but convenient enough for onloading wood to a tied up steamer without having to use a shoreboat makes sense.

 

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