Greetings, By way of a thank you to all the people who've become interested in my search for Last Chance Gulch and the trail of my g-grandfather, WILLIAM HENRY RUSK, thought I'd send along this update. Yesterday my sole living aunt dug through a box and found an article from 1975 which appeared in the Acworth, GA newspaper. Acworth was John Cowan's GA home before and after his prospecting days in the west. First off, William Henry Rusk always went by "Henry," not "William." Article states that John Cowan of Cherokee Co., GA, left home in his 30's, to seek gold in the Black Hills. He took with him his two nephews, Frank Cowan and Tom Cowan, John Boring and Bill Palmer, also of Cherokee Co., and Henry Rusk of neighboring Forsyth Co. So there were six . They took an northern trail to the Black Hills. There is not mention that they went on a wagon train. After many months there with no luck, two of the men, John Boring and Tom Cowan headed back to GA. Tom Cowan was killed by Indians, but John Boring made it home. So, now there were four. The remaining men, John Cowan, his nephew Frank Cowan, Henry Rusk, and Bill Palmer continued to battle the wilderness, Indians, bears etc. (Lots of recounting of their adventures in the article.) They obviously wandered around for years. Finally, after a disheartening spring of 1864, the group reached a tributary of the Missouri in Montana territory. On June 14, 1864, as they stood near a gulch, John Cowan declared, "Boys, this gulch is our last chance" and dug a shovelful of dirt. . . which contained $20 worth of gold. (Sounds apocryphal to me. How about you?) Anyway, they all grabbed shovels and dug like crazed men until a group of Indians attacked them, and they had to run for their lives with what they had already dug--over $1,000 worth of gold. In a few days, when they felt it was safe to return to the digging site, they could not locate the exact location as they had all been so excited when digging and then so traumatized by the Indians' showing up. But, never fear, good readers, they found an equally good site, built a cabin, and remained there for three years. (Thus, the family tale that Henry built the first log cabin in what would become Helena.) They returned home via boat on the Missouri, stopped in Philadephia (I erroronously said Denver), on to the Mississippi and then to GA. While in Philadelphia, Henry Rusk had a heavy gold chain and a wedding band made for his patient fiancee Dorcas Chamblee. My aunt also has the receipt for his purchase of a gold watch for $280 in Philadelphia. John Cowan never married after he came back to GA, but he said he never again wanted to be in any town without women! He became a successful businessman and a respected member of the community,as shown by the old southern custom of his always being referred to by the title "Colonel," in spite of the fact the he had no military background.. (We southerners just LOVE titles!) Frank Cowan married in Cherokee Co,, and named his eldest daughter Helena. Bill Palmer married in Cherokee and lived out his life there. And, my ancestor, Henry Rusk returned to Forsyth Co, married Dorcas in February,1868, and had seven children, the eldest named "John." The sixth was my grandmother, Nora Rusk Rucker. Henry became famous for the huge dances he gave. Wagons loaded with friends would come from miles around on Saturday afternoon. They would all spend the night after the partying. The catch was that the next morning Henry would wake everyone early and "suggest" that they all go to church. (Religion by coercion.) One of you sent me information that one of the "Four Georgians" who were the first to find gold in Helena (Last Chance Gulch) was ROBERT RUSK. I believe this HAS to be an error. There is no one in the Rusk family named Robert who would have been anywhere near an age where he could have been on this trip. We know Henry was. Also, several of you have asked whether I am kin to Dean Rusk, Sec. of State. Yes, he is my cousin. He was born and grew up in Cherokee Co. and, after his retirement, lived out his life there. I am still seeking input on these "FOUR GEORGIANS," supposedly the first four men to find the gold in what would become Helena. Some information I've received is that they were JOHN COWAN, D.J. MILLER, REGINALD "BOB" STANLEY, and JOHN CRABB. Well, Stanley was from England, and Crabb was from Iowa, both lovely places, but they're definitely not Georgia! Don't know who Miller was or from where he came. I figured John Cowan, Frank Cowan, Bill Palmer, and Henry Rusk were the famous "Four Georgians." Can someone help me with this? Thanks again for all your help. It's been fun! Suzanne _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]