BUTTE, Mont. (AP) - Butte-Silver Bow County officials say a soft spot under a backyard swing set turned out to be an 8-foot-deep hole that was probably dug by a miner and may have been used as a sewage dump for a saloon.
The Montana Standard reported Thursday (https://tinyurl.com/jc5cfm8) the pit was discovered after a girl told her dad the ground was soft. When he investigated, his foot sank into the grass.
County crews excavated and found a 6-foot-wide hole with timber supports and a pipe protruding from the side.
County reclamation manager Tom Malloy says a miner probably dug the pit to stake a claim, but there was no sign it became a mine. Malloy says the pipe may have drained sewage into the pit from a saloon that once stood nearby.
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Information from: The Montana Standard, https://www.mtstandard.com
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