Oh, the lure of mining riches! Great story, David. And I love the eternal optimism of "we're going to succeed where others have failed because we have [insert whatever]." That gets the investors' money flowing like nothing else. Not so different from the high-tech booms of late, really.
While making a program about mining for my rock club, I found a website with vocabulary about the various parts of a mine. There was a comment section where someone added, "You forgot the most common vocabulary heard in mining, "The mine is closing. You're fired."
Thanks for the history of the Sweden Mine! Our family had a cabin just east of Spirit Lake. We heard that Harry Truman planned to go hide in one of the abandoned mines if Mount St. Helens erupted.
Love this article. Mining and lost mines here in East King County has been one of my passions for a few years. So much history to be found in those coal mines.
These days I can relate to these Copper miners on St. Helens with a book I am reading. It is "Klondike" by Pierre Berton. How that gold rush happened and how it played out is a great historical novel in how most went bust (some from their own inability to manage their riches) to those who became so rich beyond their wildest dreams.
Bought this book at an estate sale to learn more about my grandfather who participated in the Klondike. Family lore had him there and I confirmed it because he is on the list created in 1899 of everyone there to help with the mail. Some of what he did after leaving the north also makes me believe he was there & how he got a great start in his life from the gold rush. From family stories it wasn't the mining that made him rich but the businesses around the rush. Such as gambling & saloons. My bet is on he won at cards. Then his experience in gold assaying got him a job at Mill & Mine Supply. That is a Seattle Biz that you should look into. (Titan Chainsaw)
Anyway... lost mines are out there. Most though have been closed up by the DNR in the 1980s. However, look at how the Mountain closed her mines in a dramatic way putting DNR to shame!!
Robin, thanks for sharing. Sounds like your grandfather probably had some interesting adventures. And, yes, MSH was certainly the most effective closure of her mines! David
Nice sleuthing and a fun story, thanks. I think the miners were too late to watch the Goat Rocks eruptive cycle but I do wonder about Lewis and Clark. I'll try and attach...but that Paul Kane painting of an erupting Goat Rocks dome in 1847 suggests L and C would have at least heard about it.
David, Thanks. I imagine that they must have/should have known about the eruptions. I also know that George McClellan saw MSH erupt when he passed by in 1853.
David, You checked to see if Lewis & Clark saw an eruption of Mt. St. Helens. That led me to investigate when the mountain had erupted previously. Around 1800, continuing intermittently until 1857, it turns out, so they almost could have seen it, though there appears not to be a record that they did.
But the best result I got was this hallucination from AI:
What president was killed by Mount Saint Helens?
[starts] Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake near the base of the mountain. Truman came to fame as a folk hero in the weeks leading up to the volcano's 1980 eruption after refusing to leave his home despite repeated orders to evacuate. On May 18, 1980, Truman was killed in the cataclysmic eruption of Mount St. … [ends]
Oh, the lure of mining riches! Great story, David. And I love the eternal optimism of "we're going to succeed where others have failed because we have [insert whatever]." That gets the investors' money flowing like nothing else. Not so different from the high-tech booms of late, really.
Yeah, greed knows no boundaries or ends.
True that, and there's always some get-rich-quick scheme to lure people in.
Speaking of that...have I told you about the great deal my pals can offer you? Please just send your SSN, DOB, etc!
Don't you need my bank account numbers and passwords too? ;)
Please send them, too, as well, as any cash on hand you have.
Of course! ;)
While making a program about mining for my rock club, I found a website with vocabulary about the various parts of a mine. There was a comment section where someone added, "You forgot the most common vocabulary heard in mining, "The mine is closing. You're fired."
That reminds of the joke when I graduated from college with my geology degree.
What do you call a geologist after he/she graduates? Waiter!
Thanks for the history of the Sweden Mine! Our family had a cabin just east of Spirit Lake. We heard that Harry Truman planned to go hide in one of the abandoned mines if Mount St. Helens erupted.
Here's some information about Lewis and Clark and their experience with the Sandy River lahar from an eruption of Mount Hood in 1781/82, but nothing about them seeing Mount St. Helens erupt. https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/geology/columbia-river-geology/the-sandy-river/
I had not heard that about Truman. Thanks for sharing.
Love this article. Mining and lost mines here in East King County has been one of my passions for a few years. So much history to be found in those coal mines.
These days I can relate to these Copper miners on St. Helens with a book I am reading. It is "Klondike" by Pierre Berton. How that gold rush happened and how it played out is a great historical novel in how most went bust (some from their own inability to manage their riches) to those who became so rich beyond their wildest dreams.
Bought this book at an estate sale to learn more about my grandfather who participated in the Klondike. Family lore had him there and I confirmed it because he is on the list created in 1899 of everyone there to help with the mail. Some of what he did after leaving the north also makes me believe he was there & how he got a great start in his life from the gold rush. From family stories it wasn't the mining that made him rich but the businesses around the rush. Such as gambling & saloons. My bet is on he won at cards. Then his experience in gold assaying got him a job at Mill & Mine Supply. That is a Seattle Biz that you should look into. (Titan Chainsaw)
Anyway... lost mines are out there. Most though have been closed up by the DNR in the 1980s. However, look at how the Mountain closed her mines in a dramatic way putting DNR to shame!!
Robin, thanks for sharing. Sounds like your grandfather probably had some interesting adventures. And, yes, MSH was certainly the most effective closure of her mines! David
David:
Nice sleuthing and a fun story, thanks. I think the miners were too late to watch the Goat Rocks eruptive cycle but I do wonder about Lewis and Clark. I'll try and attach...but that Paul Kane painting of an erupting Goat Rocks dome in 1847 suggests L and C would have at least heard about it.
David, Thanks. I imagine that they must have/should have known about the eruptions. I also know that George McClellan saw MSH erupt when he passed by in 1853.
David, You checked to see if Lewis & Clark saw an eruption of Mt. St. Helens. That led me to investigate when the mountain had erupted previously. Around 1800, continuing intermittently until 1857, it turns out, so they almost could have seen it, though there appears not to be a record that they did.
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/Historical/LewisClark/Info/summary_mount_st_helens.shtml
But the best result I got was this hallucination from AI:
What president was killed by Mount Saint Helens?
[starts] Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake near the base of the mountain. Truman came to fame as a folk hero in the weeks leading up to the volcano's 1980 eruption after refusing to leave his home despite repeated orders to evacuate. On May 18, 1980, Truman was killed in the cataclysmic eruption of Mount St. … [ends]
Wow, just glad that it wasn't the presidential Harry Truman! Nutty
The hubris of speculative mine owners and Google.
(since eruptions began ~1800).Hit "Post" a bit early!