Tall tales of the Old West. Thanks mairdie. Here's an unrelated tidbit -- the mother of the Dalton Gang had the maiden name Younger, and was aunt of the Younger Gang boys.
Posted on 11/29/2021 1:08:24 PM PST by mairdie
Another of grandfather Jack Bell's stories. This one is about a 1902 gunfight grandfather was in at the bottom of a mine. Later on he was, at various times, a game warden, Deputy Sheriff of Gunnison County, Colorado and Deputy Sheriff of Verdi, Nevada. The quotes in the story come from testimonials put out to get people to buy stock in his 1906 Jack Bell Gold Mining Company when he started a gold rush in Buckskin, Nevada.
I’ve only visited tourist ghost towns, but I’ve had a small cup for assaying for decades before I ever made the connection to Jack Bell. Have to ask husband if we were ever to those sites. His memory is far better than mine.
A research librarian friend just found a story of Jack Bell’s from 1927 that tells about the prison break - WITH NITRO - of the ore thief that they captured in this story. After Jack married my grandmother, they moved to the town - Canon City, CO - with the state prison and Jack worked there for a while, which is why his description of the layout of the prison is so good.
PING to gunfight story from 1902
I gotta wonder.
There is limited access into a mine, right?
Why not just ambush them on the way out. Shooting it out in ght bowels of a mine sounds a bit chancy.
Tall tales of the Old West. Thanks mairdie. Here's an unrelated tidbit -- the mother of the Dalton Gang had the maiden name Younger, and was aunt of the Younger Gang boys.
Neat. I went to many that weren’t far off I-70, but required steep hiking. Idaho Springs to Silver Plume in general, plus other places in Park County.
Actually, the mines interconnect underground. So they can enter from one mine and exit from another.
Never knew they were related. Fascinating.
Great read,. Thanks!
I was quite surprised. Both the Daltons (Coffeyville, KS) and the Youngers (Northfield, MN) got shot by townspeople during attempts to rob both local banks at the same time.
My thanks for your kindness in reading.
I’ve got so much material, I’ve been trying out topics to see if there’s any particular topic that should be left out entirely from an ebook. I love the naturalist material and prospecting and early air mail pilots, but haven’t been sure about the crime or fishing or other articles. Your response helps me decide, so I sincerely thank you.
That makes it a lot more difficult!
So, the Youngers were older?......................
A mine is a terrible thing to waste.............................
Oh, well done!!!!
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