Claim Jumpers Foiled by Stephen Bly & Podcast

Sisters Seek Their Fortunes

The Cheney sisters determined to make their fortune in the Montana gold mine fields. They followed their male counterparts who boomed their way west to the Agenta Gulch in 1892. They learned the first lessons in prospecting. Get there early or find no land left to claim. And don’t be a claim jumper.

They didn’t quit easy. The two former schoolteachers and librarians from Pennsylvania finally found what they wanted in mining claims and papers. In the flickering of a kerosene lantern, they located a triangular-shaped piece of property, 10′ x 17.5′ x 8′. The potential gold mine wedged between the August and Ophir mines. They immediately filed papers and marked out their claim.

Gals Versus Claim Jumpers

Setting up a small white tent, the sisters patrolled their land with shotguns over their shoulders. But the goon squad from the Ophir Mine literally picked up the ladies and their belongings and dumped them out on the road to Helena. The ladies cried, “Claim jumping!” and convened a gold miner’s court.

The majority of the small operator prospectors had no love for the folks at the August or Ophir and admired the ladies’ gumption. So, they ruled in favor of the Cheney sisters who announced they’d sell their claim to the highest bidder. When the shouting finally died down, they had $14,000. They left for California where they bought two houses and a store. One assumes they lived happily ever after.

Still Exists

Claim jumpers proved a constant worry in the mining camps. Large companies or shady individuals tried to find a way to illegally grab hold of something that didn’t belong to them.

One day out at the airport, I realized claim jumping still exists. The man with long, silky hair wore flowing robes and claimed to be the Messiah. He wanted followers who would show their devotion by generous giving to his cause. He told me he heard a voice saying that I was one of God’s chosen. Therefore, I should pay a twenty-dollar bill or larger into his tambourine. I told him I had no doubt he heard voices, but I didn’t anymore believe him to be the Messiah than I believed the liquid he drank from a bottle in his brown paper sack was cough medicine.

Don’t Get Fooled

Jesus said, “For many will come in my name claiming, “I am he! The time is near! Follow me!” (Luke 21:8, Matthew 24:23-26) I don’t have much more use for claim jumpers than those old prospectors did a hundred years ago.

Stephen Bly

Circa 1995

Women 1800s Image by Oberholster Venita from Pixabay
Gold Mining Cart Image by Dave Griepsma from Pixabay

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False Claims at the Little Stephen Mine

Related Stephen Bly Novel

After months of digging in the mountains of southwestern Colorado, Stuart Brannon and Edwin Fletcher finally hit the mother lode. But others fight them for their claim.

False Claims at the Little Stephen Mine, Book #2, Stuart Brannon Series FALSE CLAIMS NOVEL