Those who live and work in the gulches.
1869. The unfortunate politician is “corraled” by the mountaineers, the gulchmen, or the settlers.—A. K. McClure, ‘Rocky Mountains,’ p. 210. [For a fuller quotation see CORRAL, v.]
1860. As a rule, the most successful gulch-miners are most improvident.—Id., p. 240.
1883. “Gulch mining,” the earliest form of gold-digging, consists in washing the sandy detritus of river valleys, and collecting the free gold which subsides by virtue of its specific gravity.—D. Pidgeon, ‘An Engineer’s Holiday,’ p. 132 (Lond.).
