The Ghost Mine of Tietan Basin
For twenty-three years, Judge Nelson has hunted the secret silver ledge revealed by an Indigenous man, but the secret died with him.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In August of 1864, a man named Walker, who worked at Fort Simcoe, showed Judge Nelson a piece of mineral that was nearly virgin silver. He had obtained it from Zokee-eye, an Indigenous man, who claimed it came from a big ledge in the Tietan basin, a day's journey from the fort. Before Walker could lead the Judge to the site, he was sent to the Lapwai agency, where he died. Judge Nelson has spent twenty-three years prospecting the Tietan basin and the adjoining mountains but has found nothing. He offered Zokee-eye a hundred head of horses to reveal the location, but Zokee-eye died about three years ago, taking the secret with him. The Judge believes the treasure might lie along the Wild Cat stream, but he admits he is now too old and weak to continue the search.
“Zokee-eye died about three years ago and the secret of his wonderful find was buried with him.”
This legend reflects the intersection of settler-colonial 'mining fever' and the vast, largely unmapped geography of the Cascades. It serves as a haunting reminder of how quickly historical knowledge—and the individuals who held it—vanished from the public record in the 19th century.
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