Show HISTORY OF AMERICAN GOLD INDUSTRY theo F van waymen E emot al of denver in american metal mining the opening up and development of the western half 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 11 importance it will will be of interest to note briefly how the pioneers made their invasion and conquest of the great west it began of course with the finding of the yellow metal in 1848 in california and the stampede to the coast there were three routes by which the locality was reached viz the allwater all water route via cape horn the water and land route via the isthmus 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 wonderfully der fully 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 encountered the deserts of southern california arizona and nevada and those going 8 northeast found their path barred by the lava strewn regions of sod southeastern heastern oregon and northwestern nevada and while lle a few of the hardier and more persistent slowly penetrated even into those inhospitable lands and made discoveries of note the great majority went northward up the coast this resulted first in the opening 6 of the great placer region in northern california and southwestern oregon from there the me human tide swept on down the willamette valley to the columbia and up the columbia to the northeastern oregon where the next halt was made at the marvelously rich diggings on the slopes of the blue bine mountains on the headwaters of the john day powder malteur malheur Mal heur burnt and grande ronde rivers this was in 1858 and 1859 and in these years came the news of the first discoveries in colorado which caused a great stampede 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 B lue mountain placers began to work eastward up the columbia and its tributaries tributa ries the salmon and snake it was but a few months until the idaho mines at oro fino F lorence florence 4 warrens pierce boise basin and the salmon river rive r districts were discovered disc the human tide then swept across the continental divide into montana resulted in the opening t of the extraordinary tra ordinary diggings in r grasshopper creek 4 alder gulch confederate gulch and last chance at the mouth of which now nov stands the city of helena at each step in the journey of the pioneers erg many settled down as ranchmen ranchman ranch men and merchants everywhere along the route were w re beautiful valleys capable of producing superb crops which always sold at good pried prices s to the advance guard gaurd of miners thus when the from the east and two streams of explorers west metas met as they did in southern thern montana had been won and eastern idaho an empire since that day has which from sava savagery cery proven to be the most remarkable mineral region yet known on the globe not only in extent but in variety of resources certain parts of it like arizona new Al mexico exico nevada and much of utah did not attract the miner at first because of the natural aridity of tile the land water in abundance being a necessity in the operation of placers but in 1859 came the discovery of the comstock lode in nevada and with a versatility and vigor never before displayed by any race of explorers the american miner turned from gravel digging el r to quartz mining r from surface work to underground der ground labor labo r with the result that in a decade every part of the upland region r of the west had been explored and wherever there reasonable distance or was a railroad within a river which could float a freight boat the miner had business for it in the way of transportation por tation for ores out and of machinery and supplies in |