A Mining Camp named Beartown

 

Bedrock was seventy feet below the surface and the streak of placer gold very narrow when the strike was discovered in Bear Gulch. The miners sank shafts and hoisted the dirt up to the surface where it was sluiced. This operation could only happen when there was water running from the melting snow in the high mountains, so the mining season was short. The miners tried to regulate the water flow by building reservoirs. The water was released a certain amount of hours per day. According to Wolle in “Montana Pay Dirt”, only two men amassed a fortune from the area. “Tom Keenan recovered $17,000 from his ground by drifting, during the season of 1867, and Tom Hennessy, having amassed $25,000, went to Alaska and retired.” The total amount mined from the gulch is said to be $1,000,000 in gold and silver between 1866-67 and 30 million by 1893. 

The gulch is just wide enough for the road and creek to run through it at the point where the camp was established, so people had to bury their dead up on the mountain side. It is said that only seven bodies were actually buried there because when the rains came or snow melted the bodies rolled down the mountainside. Two of the bodies buried there were said to be children and one a Chinese. I found references that Beartown bodies were reburied at Valley View cemetery near New Chicago.. The camp was a total of 450 feet wide and a quarter mile long and platted for four blocks, but miners paid no heed to the plat. “…with most of the buildings jammed against the hill on one side of its main street. Aside from dugouts and tents, it contained 17 saloons, several blacksmith shops, a brewery, livery stable, jail, slaughter house, drugstore, restaurant, Ball’s Hall, Abascal’s Generals Store and Gee Lee’s wash house.” Each miner built his cabin on his mining claim so they were spaced at 200 foot intervals above and below the town. 

Mike Flynn was a resident and prior to his death, partner’s promised to see that he had a decent Christian burial in Deer Lodge. When Mike died, during the winter of 1870, his body was rolled into a blanket and slung over a packhorse and a number of miners accompanied the body down the hill. When they arrived at Bearmouth part of the group found timber to build a coffin and the others went to Baron O’Keefe’s to borrow a wagon and a harness to put on two of the horses. Since the horses were not harness broken the going was not easy and it was late the next evening by the time they reached Pioneer Bar, where they stopped for a drink. Realizing that Flynn had not had a wake they arranged one, including candles and the coffin set on two beer kegs. By the time the wake was over many of the miners were passed out. 

Late in the day two of the miners rode on to Deer Lodge to arrange for a priest and dig the grave. It was almost dark by the time the rest of the party arrived in Deer Lodge. They quickly realized when they looked into the wagon that the coffin was missing. Apparently, the wagon hitting the horses hind legs as they came down a hill into the creek had caused the horses to bolt. The priest decided that everyone should spend the night in Deer Lodge and go looking for Mike’s body in the morning. It took some searching before the body was found as the coffin was standing on end in the creek bed. After the water was drained from coffin it was taken on to Deer Lodge cemetery where a Christian burial was performed. 

Beartown boomed during 1865 to 1869. 

Many left in 1870 believing that the gulch was worked out. But Joseph Abascal, his partner LaForcade and other hardy miners remained and continued to pan out the gold. Abascal was a Spaniard and LaForcade was a Frenchman, and neither spoke the others language so their ledgers were not readable to the other partner. By the mid 1870’s miners began returning with their families. Abascal was married to William A. Clark’s sister and Clark started out his career as a peddler traveling to Abascal’s store whenever he came to Bear. According to Wolle, Mary Pardee stated the major establishment was Pelletiers saloon. 

The only known law was an Irishman named McElroy who was sworn in as a justice of the peace by common consent, when the community found out that he knew legal terms. Being tongue tied when sober the person’s pressing charges made sure McElroy was drunk before they presented their case.