Claim Jumpers Descend on the Swauk Mining Camp
A weekend rush of 150 strangers—many said to be backed by a new company—re-staked claims under new names and left the camp braced for a mining war.
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.
Last Sunday was a very active day among the miners in the Swauk district. It is estimated that fully 150 strangers went into the camp late Saturday night, many of whom, it is stated, were sent there by the recently organized company. Every claim that possibly could be was jumped and located in a new name, with the result that there is more mining war in the camp. A great deal of attention has been attracted to the Swauk district by the prosperity of the past season, and the probabilities are that the population of the camp will largely be increased during the coming year.
“Every claim that possibly could be was jumped and located in a new name, with the result that there is more mining war in the camp.”
The Swauk's gold rush made it a boom-and-bust proving ground, where a new company could rewrite who owned a claim almost overnight. In modern Kittitas County, disputes over mining, land use and who gets to profit from public resources still turn on the same question: who has the right to stake a place.
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