Four Georgians facts for kids

The Four Georgians were a team of gold prospectors. They are famous for finding a huge amount of gold in a place called Last Chance Gulch. This spot later became the city of Helena, Montana. The group included John Cowan, D. J. Miller, John Crab, and Reginald (Robert) Stanley.

Only John Cowan was actually from Georgia. He was from Acworth, Georgia. D. J. Miller was from Alabama, John Crab from Iowa, and Reginald Stanley from England. People think they were called "Georgians" because of a special way they dug for gold, called the "Georgian method" of placer mining. This method involves sifting through sand and gravel in rivers to find gold.

The Search for Gold Begins

In 1864, the Four Georgians started their adventure. They left the Alder Gulch area near Virginia City, in what was then Montana Territory. Their goal was to travel north to the Kootenai River country. They had heard rumors of gold there.

On their way, they learned that the gold in the Kootenai area was already gone. So, they changed their plans. They decided to look for gold along the Little Blackfoot River instead.

Crossing the Divide

The group then crossed the Continental Divide. This is a high ridge of mountains that separates rivers flowing to different oceans. They entered the Prickly Pear Creek area. Even there, they found very little gold.

They noticed a small creek in the Prickly Pear Valley. This creek showed the best signs of gold so far. Still, they moved north again to explore the Marias River.

A "Last Chance"

After six weeks of hard work, they still found very little gold. They were tired and ready to give up. They decided to return south to the small creek they had seen earlier. They called this place Last Chance Gulch. It was their final try on a very long and difficult trip.

The Big Discovery

On July 14, 1864, their luck finally changed. They dug two new holes, called prospect pits, in Last Chance Gulch. These pits were a bit upstream from where they had looked before.

Both pits were full of flat gold nuggets and gold dust! All their hard work had finally paid off. They had found a rich gold deposit.

The Gold Rush Starts

After their discovery, Crab and Cowan went back to Virginia City. They needed to get more supplies. Soon, other prospectors heard the news. People started arriving at Last Chance Gulch. This was the beginning of a huge gold rush in the area.

Cashing In Their Gold

In 1867, the Four Georgians decided to sell their gold claims. They had worked hard for three years in the Montana gold fields. They gathered $40,000 worth of gold dust. This was a huge amount of money back then!

They loaded their gold onto a wagon. They traveled to Fort Benton. From there, they boarded a steamboat on the Missouri River. The steamboat took them all the way to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. There, they turned their gold dust into cash. Their long journey and hard work had made them rich.