Editing Four Georgians

{{use mdy dates|date=July 2017}}
The '''Four Georgians''' were a group of [[gold]] [[Prospecting|prospector]]s who are traditionally credited for discovering the Last Chance placer gold strike of [[Helena, Montana]].  They were John Cowan, D. J. Miller, John Crab, and Reginald (Robert) Stanley.  Of the four, the only actual [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgian]] was Cowan, who hailed from [[Acworth, Georgia]].<ref name=Burlingame1>{{cite book|last1=Burlingame|first1=Merrill G.|last2=Toole|first2=K. Ross|title=A History of Montana|date=1957|publisher=Lewis Historical Pub. Co.|location=New York, NY|page=125|edition=Vol. 1}}</ref> The other three came from [[Alabama]] (Miller), [[Iowa]] (Crab) and [[England]] (Stanley). It has been speculated that they were named "Georgians" not from where they came from, but because they were practicing the "Georgian method" of [[placer mining]].<ref name="helenair1">{{cite news|last1=Lincoln|first1=Marga|title=Heart of Gold: 150 years ago, four weary miners discovered gold, which would lead to the founding of the Queen City|url=http://helenair.com/news/local/years-ago-four-weary-miners-discovered-gold-which-would-lead/article_e5c24d16-0a54-11e4-a23d-001a4bcf887a.html|accessdate=1 August 2014|work=Helena Independent Record|date=July 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Holmes|first1=Krys|title=Montana: Stories of the Land|date=2008|publisher=[[Montana Historical Society]]|location=Helena, MT|pages=103–104|url=http://svcalt.mt.gov/education/textbook/Chapter6/Chapter6.pdf|accessdate=August 1, 2014}}</ref>

In 1864, they left the [[Alder Gulch]] area of [[Virginia City, Montana|Virginia City]], [[Montana Territory]], heading north toward the [[Kootenai River]] country to pursue rumored prospects there.  En route, they heard that the Kootenai prospects had played out, and instead decided to prospect the [[Little Blackfoot River]].  They crossed the [[Continental Divide]] to the Prickly Pear Creek drainage, still finding only minimal signs of gold at best.  Noting a small creek in the Prickly Pear Valley with the best prospects so far, they again moved north to explore the [[Marias River]].  Still finding little gold after six weeks of hard work, they returned south to the place they referred to as ''Last Chance Gulch'', since it would be their final opportunity on a long, arduous prospecting trip.  They were prepared to give up on the whole area.<ref name=Burlingame1/><ref name="helenair1"/>

On July 14, 1864, they dug two [[Prospecting pits|prospect pits]] on Last Chance Gulch upstream from their earlier efforts.<ref name="helenair1"/>  Both pits revealed flat gold nuggets and gold dust.  All their efforts had finally paid off.  Eventually, Crab and Cowan were sent back to Virginia City for more supplies, other prospectors began appearing, and the Last Chance Gulch bonanza began.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic Context|url=http://deq.mt.gov/abandonedmines/linkdocs/98tech.mcpx|website=Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality, Abandoned Mines Program, Mining District Historical Narratives|publisher=State of Montana|accessdate=August 1, 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140928173013/http://deq.mt.gov/abandonedmines/linkdocs/98tech.mcpx|archivedate=September 28, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 1867, the Four Georgians finally sold out their claims and took $40,000 of gold dust by wagon to [[Fort Benton, Montana|Fort Benton]] to board a [[steam boat]] down the [[Missouri River]] and eventually all the way to the [[U.S. Mint]] in [[Philadelphia]] where they cashed in three years of hard labor in the Montana gold fields.<ref name="helenair1"/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite web|title=Reginald Stanley Papers|url=http://mtscprod.msl.mt.gov/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=821652{CKEY}&searchfield1=GENERAL^SUBJECT^GENERAL^^&user_id=WEBSERVER|work=[[Montana Historical Society]]|accessdate=August 1, 2014}}

[[Category:American gold rushes]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Montana]]
[[Category:American gold prospectors]]
[[Category:Mining in Montana]]
[[Category:People from Montana]]
[[Category:Helena, Montana]]


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