RockRaven
Jr. Member
- Jan 19, 2015
- 77
- 55
- Detector(s) used
- Compass Challenger X80, Magnum 420, 220, RM6, Coin Mag, 77B, Yukon Nugget, Teknetics Delta 4000, Garrett AT Gold. Master Hunter ADS 7, CXII, Bounty Hunter Big Bud Pro 220, TR550, 840 Auto , Whites MXT
- Primary Interest:
- Prospecting
George Thrain's Lost Mine
Former keeper of Toll Gate Flats George Thrain brought a dark and very unusual looking ore into Spearfish in 1883, claiming it came from the southeast side of Crow Peak. Iron, silver, and assays for gold from $63 to $250 a ton. Spearfish went wild over the news of gold, and a company was formed, drilling a shaft 60 feet or more into Crow Peak. However, George Thrain was not a part of this venture, and he made sure that he was never followed to the secret location. He punched the wrong guy in Deadwood and was killed when the man responded with a large knife. He took his secret to the grave, and the investors random shaft never produced until, many years later, a crooked miner salted his explosives with gold dust, using the same defunct shaft to swindle a new generation of would be investors in 1893. The swindlers were "Reddy the Prospector" James Hillcock and Ernest LaVenture, a sort of mining promoter. This "false" shaft was somewhere in the draw that splits the south side of the mountain. They were caught when the investors sent a mining engineer to run the operation, and the swindled businessmen had to use detectives to find Hillcock.
A well known forest service hiking trail serves the area, Crow Peak trail. Directions are easy to find, and the hike leads to a spectacular view looking over Spearfish. No guarantee that the ore that was assayed actually came from on Crow Peak, this may have been a ruse to throw off would-be claim jumpers. Good hunting!
MW
Forgot to mention that the assays refer to gold at $20 per troy, so the ore would have held from 3 to 12 troy ounces per ton.
Former keeper of Toll Gate Flats George Thrain brought a dark and very unusual looking ore into Spearfish in 1883, claiming it came from the southeast side of Crow Peak. Iron, silver, and assays for gold from $63 to $250 a ton. Spearfish went wild over the news of gold, and a company was formed, drilling a shaft 60 feet or more into Crow Peak. However, George Thrain was not a part of this venture, and he made sure that he was never followed to the secret location. He punched the wrong guy in Deadwood and was killed when the man responded with a large knife. He took his secret to the grave, and the investors random shaft never produced until, many years later, a crooked miner salted his explosives with gold dust, using the same defunct shaft to swindle a new generation of would be investors in 1893. The swindlers were "Reddy the Prospector" James Hillcock and Ernest LaVenture, a sort of mining promoter. This "false" shaft was somewhere in the draw that splits the south side of the mountain. They were caught when the investors sent a mining engineer to run the operation, and the swindled businessmen had to use detectives to find Hillcock.
A well known forest service hiking trail serves the area, Crow Peak trail. Directions are easy to find, and the hike leads to a spectacular view looking over Spearfish. No guarantee that the ore that was assayed actually came from on Crow Peak, this may have been a ruse to throw off would-be claim jumpers. Good hunting!
MW
Forgot to mention that the assays refer to gold at $20 per troy, so the ore would have held from 3 to 12 troy ounces per ton.
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