Lost Spaniard Mine?

[rat8fied]

I am very much interested in continuing this thread because of new information I found online.
I was reading the Sumpter miner on line and found a second account of the of the mystery. I do not remember the exact issue
but the story as told in 1900 was similar to modern versions. The important part of this story the gold was nugget sized. There
were two prospectors involved ,one of them was killed.
I had in my possession for any years a sample of rock from quartz creek. The sample was one that I picked up personally. I
never thought much of it as it was andesite with some pyrite in the joints. I recently decided to crush the golf ball size sample and pan it. I was astonished that sample had about 50 colors in it. So now what do I do? I am going back to quartz creek from Tennessee in July. It was a large outcropping as I remember. I hope I can still find the exact location.

 

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[rat8fied]

markfox
Very strong information from your post
here is why you might have the best info I have read period.
1. I personally contacted Yakima indian elders in the 1980's and had a very interesting conversation with them
a) they had knowledge of gold being found west of Mt adams . around council bluff/lake.
2. I know of the following from the 2 person party that found the possible mine in the early 1930's
a) the location was above the second water fall not behind it in a steep canyon.
b) the entrance to the canyon had several flat rocks that were used by the Indians to wash their clothes.
c) the steep canyon had to be fed by meadows because of rapid flow of water during heavy rains were dangerous to being in the canyon.
d) in reviewing an old forest service map of the area 1934, the only access for these individuals would of been around council lake. There was no other roads to have access anywhere else form trout lake.
e) This is following is very true at that time 1980, the surviving member of that exploration party believed the location they found was around council lake. My friend who was his nephew went on a trip into the area with his uncle. I was unable to go at the time. After returning jim had communicated with me about the trip they made. That next two weeks went by and jims uncle went fishing at Tillamook bay. As he was returning home he ran off the road and was killed as a result of the accident. The three of us were to make a more thorough trip that next week end. What a terrible ending.

I did not know of this canyon and cabin you mentioned. If you find two water falls the first one was high and second one was shorter look just above you might be onto something.
As an addendum
There is a very important aspect to finding a rich vein of gold. All of the world great mines have one thing in common Jasperoid. This mineral is silica with different impurities that make the color of the jasperoid. Google this and learn about the association of this mineral and gold. Its unique qualities act as a magnet as it forms, pulling minerals and metals from the surrounding rocks. Always associated with shear or fault zones. Why is this important to the story, the pockets formed by this action can be very rich. There is much jasperoid material in three places in the lewis drainage
alec creek, quartz creek and the upper lewis river above road n90.

 

[flopper]

Did you ever go?

 

[bigbear]

lost spaniard mine,
the headwaters of the lewis river in the wilderness area of mt adams there is a deep canyon that flows the lewis river. close to the top south of the canyon are several grassy meadows. north of the canyon is lava beds. just up hill of the lave beds in line of the most upper meadow on the north side of the canyon is a very very old log cabin about 12'x12' still standing as of 2008 my guess is the mine is some whers close to that cabin. cabin is about 200 yards from canyon. cabin is very hard to find on flat ground in old growth. i have paned the headwaters of the lewis river and there is gold there. I have never heard of your story before but now i am intrested. One of the orig. settelers of trout lake is Hallenbeck family they lived off gold from mt adams. Want to know more. about that area just ask.

Using some maps, I've located (on Google Earth) the head of Lewis River on the NW side of Mt. Adams, the lava flow, and some meadows above the lava flow. Do you recall if the old cabin was below, or above the Pacific Crest Trail?

Thanks

 

[flopper]

I was looking pretty intensely the other day but didn't spot anything.

 

[flopper]

Lost Spaniard Mine? PLEASE UPDATE...

I was looking pretty intensely the other day but didn't spot anything.

HAS ANYONE SEEN OR FOLLOWED UP ON ANY OF THIER COMMENTS....

 

[rat8fied]

plamodon mine area

Thanks Big Bear - I didnt get down there this year during Elk Season, but I'll remember and try again next fall or this summer. I've crossed the bridge in the picture many times, so I'll take a closer look. I believe that is Plomodon Prospect though, correct? The coordinates for the Plomodon Mine would be up the hill from there.

If you go back to platinum creek where it empties into quartz creek on the left you will find the plamondon number 1 opening. The plamondon brothers claim no 2 was located at the intersection of straight creek and quartz creek. It is a steep drop down to the original location point. Years ago I had Portland state university geology class do a geochemical survey of the straight creek area. They found a copper zinc anomaly at that point. The plamondon bros then located claim number 3 which was on the north side line of claim number 1. this was in 1934. interesting they kept the main three claims until the early 1950s. They found something worth keeping but not anyway related to the lost Spanish mine. Many assays substantiate my theory.

 

[rat8fied]

flopper
I am going to the upper lewis drainage the second week of july 2018. I am following up on a location that I call the golden triangle. This represents 3 points where crushing and panning the rocks, the cons all showed gold in the pan. albeit some small samples i kept for over 30 years. I have never panned the creeks in this area but this is the year I will. I will post pics and information after I finish prospecting and getting assays. This is not the probable location of the Spaniards mine but is still very mineralized. I believe the Spaniard / Frenchmans mine is closer to northwest of Mt Adams.

 

[bartkowski79]

cant wait to hear waht you find. ive done a bit of panning at near #1. didnt know about the others. where did you find that info? ive read alot about the lost spainard mine, i thin st helens coverd it up but who knows. the pct does go close to the head waters of the lewis, maybe this late summer/fall ill travel that way.

 

[Choosethisday]

Yes, please keep us up to date. My wife will be out of town next weekend so I am looking for an adventure so please let me know if I can help.

 

[bartkowski79]

markfox i have many questions about the old cabins whereabouts. i know this is a old thread but if you get this i love to chat a bit. thank you

 

[Dougimus]

I live in Vancouver and would be happy to help put in some significant time in this search. Never really searched for treasure before but was at one point in the military a survival instructor so good at looking for weird things.

Yes let’s keep the search going!

 

[Gunzagogo]

I might of found the lost Spaniard mine

OK -

I wanted to start a reasonable, logical discussion about this place.

Does anyone have any information on this mine? I'm lead to believe it's on the NW shoulder of Mount Adams, near the headwaters of the Lewis River. That would place it in the vicinity of the Pacific Crest Trail where it passes by Adams.

Was this a lost mine, worked by a Spaniard?
Was this a mine, located by accident by a lost Spaniard?
Was this mine found by a Spanish explorer, working in Washington State - like back in the 1700s?
Or, was this a mine found by a Spanish guy in the mid 1800s or early 20th century.

I believe answering these questions will better determine the level of legitimacy for this legend.

Let's get talking - I'm interested!

I have samples I'm going to try and show. There is a lot of ore showing gold on
both sides of creek. I spent the better part of 3 years researching and a year looking almost everyday.


I need help with anyone who knows how to move forward with working it. I have no mining experience. I will only share location after we make an agreement.

 

[bartkowski79]

wow!!! I dont have any experience hard rock mining but id love to try. but from what i read the spainard mine was placer gold. love to check it out though.

 

[Deepgold]

This could be a very significant discovery. Proceed with caution.

 

[Michaelj400]

Let's keep this alive. Many of us would be willing to help.

 

[Deepgold]

Let's keep this alive. Many of us would be willing to help.

I have messaged before but no response

 

[jbar290]

OK -

I wanted to start a reasonable, logical discussion about this place.

Does anyone have any information on this mine? I'm lead to believe it's on the NW shoulder of Mount Adams, near the headwaters of the Lewis River. That would place it in the vicinity of the Pacific Crest Trail where it passes by Adams.

Was this a lost mine, worked by a Spaniard?
Was this a mine, located by accident by a lost Spaniard?
Was this mine found by a Spanish explorer, working in Washington State - like back in the 1700s?
Or, was this a mine found by a Spanish guy in the mid 1800s or early 20th century.

I believe answering these questions will better determine the level of legitimacy for this legend.

Let's get talking - I'm interested!

I am doing a school project on this topic, summary at the bottom.

My primary source is an oregon newspaper talking about a man offering the location of the mine for money.
To summarize the newspaper the mine is in the headwaters of the lewis river and that the gold is in decomposing porphyry meaning it separates easily. It retells the the legend of the old Spanard with his string of mules (more than 1) going to the french and company to bank his “virgin” gold. I dont know what makes gold virgin but it sounds like it was separated pretty easily. The Article mentions people attempting to follow the Spaniard back to the spot but he used tricks to allude followers and that the spot has never been found dispite klickitat people activity looking. The mine has supposedly been around since the klickitat valley was first settled
The identity of Charlie wannassie, he is the one selling the location. Charlie is described as “aborgine” but not yakima Indian. He drives a “large automobile” and is about 60. He got the information from an elder member shortly before their passing to happy hunting land. Charlie went to illinois for education but came back. The newspaper is dating august 21st 1922. Morning oregonian. If anyone can find more information on this man or if anybody took the offer that would be nice.
My other source is a secondary source from the LOA website. The the article retells the legend. It mentions the “headwaters of the lewis river” and that its in the space between st helens and mt adams. It brings up the old Spaniard working the mine in the 1880s and he would take trips to the dalles bank. The article says the Spaniard would put the shoes on his donkey (singular) backwards to mess with people. It mentions he would stop appearing and some time later yakima indians would start paying with gold nuggets. Rumours spread that they found the mine. Later the bones of a mule (single) and a man were found by spirit lake, the old Spaniard was killed by Indians. Quoting the article “The mine, that some say is hidden behind a waterfall in a cavern, has never been found.”

These seem to be the only two sources with original information. The difference between the two articles is the number of mules and the legend takes a liberty to say the bones found by spirit lake are the Spaniard while the newspaper doesn’t mention the bones it says the spaniard was massacred. These changes make me slightly doubt the legends of America article but I’ll trust it for now. Using both sources I’ve reached my personal conclusion.

The mine is located in the headwaters of the lewis river is behind a waterfall but also in a cavern. The gold is found in decomposing porphyry and may be on yakima land. The prospector could have been anybody, “old Spaniard” is what locals called him. He actively worked the mine in the 1880s, leaving carrying mass amounts virgin gold. The land is described as “barely accessible” but the prospector would take his multiple mules on the 80 mile trip to the Dalles and avoid getting followed back. He would stop appearing and people wonder where he went. He may have been killed by Indians but i dont believe the spirit lake bones are the same. Goldendale, yakima and ellenburg markets started receiving “virgin” gold from Indians who wouldn’t disclose the source of the gold. They may have found the spaniard gold mine, or a different gold mine in the cascades.
The man selling the location of the mine heard it from an old yakima indian. Meaning they found it.

My final questions
Did anybody take Charlie wannassie’s offer?
What is virgin gold?
Where is the cave?
Is it still there?

Since st helens erupted the whole area may have been changed and the landscape might not be the same.

 

[jbar290]

lost spaniard mine,
the headwaters of the lewis river in the wilderness area of mt adams there is a deep canyon that flows the lewis river. close to the top south of the canyon are several grassy meadows. north of the canyon is lava beds. just up hill of the lave beds in line of the most upper meadow on the north side of the canyon is a very very old log cabin about 12'x12' still standing as of 2008 my guess is the mine is some whers close to that cabin. cabin is about 200 yards from canyon. cabin is very hard to find on flat ground in old growth. i have paned the headwaters of the lewis river and there is gold there. I have never heard of your story before but now i am intrested. One of the orig. settelers of trout lake is Hallenbeck family they lived off gold from mt adams. Want to know more. about that area just ask

My source says the mine is in a cavern but also behind a waterfall in decomposing porphyry. Does that sound right?

 

[jbar290]

The documentation of this story is weak. Ruby El Hult has a retelling of this story in her book, "Lost Mines and Treasures of the Pacific Northwest." We don't know if the mine was a hard rock, placer, or a pocket.

According to the story, the miner whose name is unknown would travel down the Klickitat Valley on his way to the Dalles. He would cash in his gold at the French & Company Bank. The dates for this story are uncertain but thought to be sometime in the 1880s. It is possible that the mine was actually an Indian mine, located on the Yakima Reservation. The miner disappeared and it is unknown what happened to him. Skeletons of a man and pack animals were found East of Spirit Lake. It could have been what happened to the miner. In 1922, Charlie Wannassie of the Yakima tribe offered to sell the secret of the "Spanish diggings", but it unknown if anyone took him up on the offer. Like a lot of lot mine stories, the quantity of gold is always exaggerated.

A large area around Mt St Helens was obliterated by the May, 1980 volcanic eruption. Millions of tons of ash covered the landscape and changed the topography of the areas around St Helens and Mt Adams. There were places in Eastern Washington where the ash was over a foot deep, and the ash was carried across the entire United States. Rivers and streams in the area were permanently changed. It is my opinion that search for this lost mine is a waste of time.

There are gold veins and pockets in the coastal mountain ranges from Central America to Alaska. The best chances of a new discovery are in areas that have already produced gold in the past. Some of the best areas are already under claim or have been withdrawn by our Government. It is very expensive to develop a hard rock mine, and there is a lot of red tape and compliance. The hobby miner has a much better chance of finding and working a placer deposit. Black sand deposits along the entire length of the Lewis River contain flower gold. The lucky prospector may find some good sized nuggets in the headwaters of the river. Prospecting on the Yakima Reservation is prohibited.

Is there any other information on Charlie wannassie?