The Sumpter miner. [volume] (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905, 1900-07-04
MINING IN THE WEST.
How the Human Tides Have
Ebbed and Flowed.

western halt of the United States can be
entirely credited to the discovery Of gold;
though now that it is opened, many
other resources have become Of almost as
great Importance. 1t will be Of interst to
note briefly how the Pioneers made their
invasion and conquest Of the Great West.
II began, Of course. with the finding Of the
yellow mental in I848, In California, and
the stampede to the coast. There were
three routes by which the locality was
reached, viz. The all.water route via
Cape Horn, the water and land route via
the lsthmus of Panama, and the all.land
route across the continent. BY one and
the other Of these, fifty thousand people
IN one year reached the central California
valleys, far too many to find occupation
in even their wonderful rich and extensive
gold fields. The stream OF pioneers and
prospectors at once began to spread over
the land in all directions.
Those going south and east quickly en-.
countered the deserts of southern Caliior.
mia, Arizona aud Nevada, and those going
northeast found their path barred BY the
lava-Strewn regions ot southeastern Ore.
gon and northwestern Nevada; and while
few of the harder and more PERSISTENT
slowly penetrated even into those in.
hospitable lands and made discoveries of
note-the great majority went northward
up the coast. This resulted first in the
opening OF the great placer region in north.
ern California aud southwestern Ore.
gon.
From there the human tide swept on
down the Willamette valley to the Colum.
bia, and up the Columbia to north.
eastern Oregon, where the next halt was
made at the marvellous rith diggings on
the slopes OF the Blue Mountains, on the
headwaters Of the John Day, Powder,
Malheur, Burnt and Grande Rond- rivers.
This was in 1888 and 1850, and IN these
years came the news Of the first discoveries
IN Colorado, which caused a great STAN.
pede ACROSS the plains from the Missouri
valley. Thus the mountains were attacked
simultaneously from both sides. In the
early sixties, when the surplus population
that had been attracted to the Blue Noun.
tains placers began to work eastward up
the Columbia and its tributaries, the
Salmon and Snake, II was but few
months until the Idaho mines at Orc
fino, Florence, Warens, Pierce, Boise
Basin and the Salmon river districts were
discovered.
The human tide than swept across the
continental divide into Montana, resulting
IN the opening OF the extraordinary dig.
gings in Grasshopper creek, Alder Gulch.
Confederate Gulch and Last Chance, at
the mouth OF which how stands the city
OF Helena.
Al each step in the journey OF the pio.
neers many settled down as ranchmen and
merchants. Everywhere along the route
were beautiful valleys capable Of prOduc.
ing superb crops, which always sold at
good prizes to the advance guard Of min.
ers. Thus when the two streams Of eX.
plorers from the east and west met, rs
they did in southern Montana and eastern
Idaho, an empire had been won from say.
agery, which since that day has proven ID
be the most remarkable mineral region yet
known on the globe, not only In extent
but in variety OF resources.
Certain parts Of il like Arizona, New
Mexico, Nevada and much Of Utah did not
attract the miner at first, because Of the
natural aridity Of the Iand-water IN
abundance being necessity in the opera.