north of the Columbia again in 1854 induced a fresh search for the 'lost diggings,' as the forgotten locality of the gold find in 1845 was called, which was as unsuccessful as the previous one. Such was the faith, however, of those who had handled the stray nugget, that parties resumed the search for the lost diggings, while yet the Indians in all the eastern territory were hostile, and mining was forbidden by the military authorities.[1] The search was stimulated by Wallen's report of his road expedition down the Malheur in 1859, gold being found on that stream; and in 1860 there was formed in Lane county the company before mentioned, which was attacked by the Snakes,[2] and robbed of several thousand dollars' worth of horses and supplies. In August 1861 still another company was organized to prosecute the search, but failed like the others; and breaking up, scattered in various parts of the country, a small number remaining to prospect on the John Day and Powder rivers, where sometime in the autumn good diggings were discovered.[3]
- ↑ In August 1857 James McBride, George L. Woods, Perry McCullock, Henry Moore, and three others, Or. Argus, Aug. 8, 1857, left The Dalles, intending to go to the Malheur, but were driven back by the Snake Indians, and fleeing westward, crossed the Cascade Mountains near the triple peaks of the Three Sisters, emerging into the Willamette Valley in a famishing condition. Victor's Trail-making in Oregon, in Overland Monthly. In August 1858 McBride organized a second expedition, consisting of 26 men, who after a month's search returned disappointed. Or. Argus, Sept. 18, 1858. Other attempts followed, but the exact locality of the lost diggings was never fixed.
- ↑ This party was led by Henry Martin, who organized another company the following year.
- ↑ There were three companies exploring in eastern Oregon in 1861; the one from Marion county is the one above referred to, seven men remaining after the departure of the principal part of the expedition. It appears that J. L. Adams was the actual discoverer of the John Day diggings, and one Marshall of the Powder River mines. The other companies were from Clackamas and Lane, and each embraced about 60 men. The Lane company prospected the Malheur unsuccessfully. In Owen's Directory the discovery of the John Day mines is incorrectly attributed to Californians. Portland Advertiser, in Olympia Herald, Nov. 7, 1861; Portland Oregonian, Nov. 7, 1861; Sac. Union, Nov. 16, 1861; N. Y. Engineering and Mining Journal, in Portland D. Herald, March 22, 1871; Cal. Farmer, Feb. 27, 1863. Previous to the announcement of the discoveries by the Oregon prospectors, E. D. Pierce returned to Walla Walla from an expedition of eight weeks in extent, performed with a party of 20 through the country on the west side of Snake River, taking in the Malheur, Burnt, Powder, and Grande Ronde rivers. He reported finding an extensive gold-field on these streams, with room for thousands of miners, who could make from three to fifteen dollars a day each.
