"'Montana Bar, which lies some distance up the gulch and at considerable of an elevation above it, was found in the latter part of 1865 to be marvelously rich. There were about two acres in reality, that were here sluiced over, but the place is spoken of as "the richest acre of gold-bearing ground ever discovered in the world." I quote A. M. Williams, who has made a special study of these old gulches: "'"The flumes on this bar, on cleaning up, were found to be burdened with gold by the hundredweight, and the enormous yield of $180 to the pan in Confederate and Montana Gulches was forgotten in astonishment, and a wild delirium of joy at the wonderful yield of over a hundred thousand dollars to the pan of gravel taken from the bedrock of Montana bar."' "'From this bar seven panfuls of clean gold were taken out at one "clean-up," that weighed 700 pounds and were worth $114,800. A million and a half dollars in gold was hauled by wagon from Diamond City to Fort Benton at one time for shipment to the East. This gulch is reputed to have produced $10,000,000, from 1864 to 1868, and it is still being sluiced. "'Some very large gold nuggets were found in this region. Many were worth from $100 to $600 or $700. Several were worth from $1,500 to $1,800; one, of pure gold, was worth $2,100 and two or three exceeded $3,000 in value.'" The boys sat silent, hardly able to understand what they had heard. Billy Williams nodded his head gravely. "It's all true," said he. "When I was a boy I heard my father tell of it. He was in on the Confederate Creek strike. He helped sluice five thousand dollars in one day, and they didn't half work. He said it was just laying there plumb yellow. They thought it would last always; but it didn't. "You see, I was born out here. My dad was rich in the 'sixties, then he went broke, like everybody. When he got old he married and settled. He took to ranching and hunting, and I've taken to ranching. Times are quieter now. They weren't always quiet, along this little old creek, believe me!" "Gee!" said Jesse, rubbing his head, which had a bump on it, "I'd like to pan some gold!" "I expect you could," said Billy. "Might get the color, even now, on the Jefferson bars, I don't know. Of course, they've learned how to work the low-grade dirt now--cyanide and dredges and all. It's a business now!