We passed through the swinging door of the Gold Pan Saloon
in Custer, South Dakota that September afternoon. Mandy and I had just completed a drive through the
Custer State Park in southwestern South Dakota where we saw hundreds of buffalo
grazing in the meadows. We were looking to get a beer and a recommendation of a
good motel where we could spend the night. A crusty looking fellow in black
biker chaps and black leather vest, who had just missed a shot at the pool
table, cursed violently as we walked in. A patron at the bar dressed in worn blue
jeans a sleeveless shirt curse back at him. As we approached the bar, a hefty
fellow wiping the last bits of rinse water out of a beer mug walked our way.
We each ordered a beer then inquired about the name of the
bar. The bartender/owner told us that back in the days of gold panning,
prospectors would bring their bag of gold dust into the saloon and after many
whiskies, often spilled as much gold through the wooden grates on the floor as
they managed to spill into the balance scale for payment. Once each year, he
told us, the owner would pull up the floorboards and dig up the spilled
treasure, often using gold panning method to separate the dirt from the gold.
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