The Mystery Miners of Natcheez Pass
A trio of supposed prospectors arrived in Yakima with suspiciously heavy baggage, fueling local rumors of a hidden golden bonanza in the Cascades.
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.
On Friday, three men arrived in Yakima and registered from Seattle. There is nothing surprising in that, for the Seattleites are here every day. The men aforesaid claimed to be miners, but carried baggage which would indicate that they were civil engineers. With few words, they engaged transportation for themselves and 500 pounds of 'grub' for the Tieton basin. Those who are on the inside claim that the trio are miners from way back, and that they propose to secure a mine on the Natcheez Pass of the Cascades that will eclipse in value any gold, coal, or other mine of that character in the Northwest. Chief Engineer Bogne of the Union Pacific maintains that for practical railroad grades, the Natcheez is the banner pass of the Cascades. It will prove that at no distant day.
“Those who are on the inside claim that the trio are miners from way back, and that they propose to secure a mine on the Natcheez Pass of the Cascades that will eclipse in value any gold, coal or other mine of that character in the Northwest.”
The quest for a 'banner pass' through the Cascades echoes the long history of Seattle's push to secure rail and road connections through the mountains. Today, the Natches Pass remains a symbol of the rugged, often debated infrastructure corridors that connect the Sound to Eastern Washington, rhyming with current discussions about regional transit and mountain crossing viability.
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