North Cascades

MARKETING THE WILDERNESS: DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES

MINERAL RESOURCES: MINING

Introduction

Lake Chelan miner's camp, n.d.
(L.D. Lindsley Collection, University of Washington Photo Collection)

The history of mining in the North Cascades is a complex story of great hopes and shattered dreams. As early as the 1850s prospectors searched for gold along the banks of the Skagit River. When the "mother lode" proved illusory they turned their attention to other minerals, leaving the river for the hard rock of the high country. Over the course of ninety years both placer and lode mining were undertaken to extract the ores. In the long run, however, short working seasons, unpredictable weather conditions, difficult transportation, accessibility, and lack of working capital combined to inhibit the large-scale development of mines in the area of today's park.

Mining activity did nevertheless have a considerable impact upon the North Cascades. Indeed, this struggling industry had a tremendous effect on the physical landscape. Mining brought hundreds of people into the region, many of whom stayed to settle in the upper Skagit and Stehekin River valleys. Cabins and other structures necessary for mining operations were constructed and strategically sited throughout the backcountry. Bridges were built to span dangerous water crossings, and a network of trails for horse and foot traffic gradually evolved, linking remote areas throughout the mountains. Tunnels and adits were blasted out of hard rock and remain permanent fixtures on the landscape today. The tangible evidence of this commercial activity attests to the fact that mining played a significant role in the human history of today's park land.

From the very beginning, miners in the North Cascades were confronted with a multitude of cultural and natural obstacles. One of the greatest challenges was learning to be a successful prospector: "A good prospector is one who is ever optimistic and always on the verge of a rich strike; if he is not so constituted he will not long remain a prospector." [81] Although living on dreams, their lifestyle nevertheless was full of hardships, as noted by Lawrence K. Hodges in his 1896 "How a Prospector Lives":

They work year after year, shut themselves off from civilization and live on rough fare in isolated cabins far off in the mountains hoping that some man will come along and pay them a fabulous price which will enable them to live at ease the rest of their days. They scorn all smaller offers and, like a child, reach out for the moon. [82]