Published January 2022.
This is a limited-time free preview of member’s only content at Western Mining History. Please consider supporting this site by becoming a member.
Dating back to the earliest days of the California Gold Rush, prospectors were looked upon by the general public as the solitary heroes of the western frontier. They were responsible for the rapid discovery of California’s seemingly endless placer gold mines, and soon were tracing those placers back to their sources in what became the region’s great underground mines.
As early as the late 1850s, newspapers were lamenting the “end of the prospector”, as California’s placer mines were increasingly worked out, and fewer new deposits were being discovered. The 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode, just over the Sierra range at what would become Virginia City, Nevada, renewed excitement among the miners of California, many of whom had become disillusioned with California’s declining opportunity. The discovery stimulated prospecting throughout Nevada and into the northern Rocky Mountains.
At about the same time the prospectors from Nevada’s Gold Cañon Placer Mining Colony were methodically moving up the canyon in search of riches (ultimately discovering the Comstock Lode), other groups of prospectors were traveling across the central plains to the Pike’s Peak region, chasing rumors of gold. A few of those prospectors would become famous for their gold strikes in 1858, which culminated in the great Colorado Gold Rush (or Pikes Peak Gold Rush) in 1859.
Thus, by 1860, with great excitements on the western and eastern boundaries of the mountain West, pioneers began the push into every corner of the vast western frontier. Prospectors were the vanguard of this movement, risking their lives in some of the world’s most difficult terrain and subject to extremes of weather. Many died, most never made a truly rich discovery, and the few that did discover the great mines of the West usually squandered their new-found wealth and quickly returned to the work of prospecting.
“It is due to the restless and adventurous spirits of these men that ‘stampedes’ to unexplored regions in the Far West are organised.”
“Old Time Prospector” – Chamber’s Journal of Popular Literature January 1889
For most prospectors it was not the wealth that motivated them, but rather the freedom and adventure that the lifestyle provided. An 1889 edition of Chamber’s Journal of Popular Literature succinctly describes the prospector’s life:
“His worldly possessions can be easily handled, for usually they only consist of a pair of blankets, pick, shovel, and gold-pan, together with the primitive cooking utensils used in camp. He is at home wherever night overtakes him; he asks no better roof than the heavens, and no softer bed than the earth. Once let a man start to prospect for mineral for a livelihood, and it is very rarely you see him forsake the business for any other.”
Important new discoveries were made for decades, with Deadwood, South Dakota in the late 1870s, Cripple Creek, Colorado in the early 1890s, and Goldfield, Rhyolite, and Tonopah in Nevada during the first decade of the 1900s as some notable examples. Each major discovery renewed interest and enthusiasm in the potential for new discoveries, keeping prospectors on the move long after the prediction that the days of the solo prospector were finished.
The late 1890s brought the great rush to the Klondike region of Canada, luring tens of thousands of intrepid adventurers to the frozen north. Soon prospectors were exploring the coasts and interior of Alaska. The hardships that these men endured became part of popular culture by the writings of famous authors like Jack London.
Although the most romanticized era of the prospector was coming to a close around 1920, it was not the end of the profession. Discoveries were still being made, often at smaller scale than in the past, and the onset of the Great Depression resulted in new interest in gold mining which kept the prospector in the field, always searching for a new strike.
World War 2 marked the end of the classical prospector as the nation’s attention turned to the war effort and away from gold mining. After the war, the search for valuable minerals became increasingly a function of big business, using improved techniques and technology. The era of the prospector endured for almost a century, a remarkable fact given that the “end of the prospector” was being lamented as far back as the 1850s.
“I have been on many wild goose gold chases, but having the gold craze once does not vaccinate a person from having the same disease once or many times more”
“The Old Mine on Lost Priest River” – Salt Lake Mining Review March 1900
When Does a Prospector Become a Miner?
The job of the prospector is to find the gold, or other valuable minerals. The job of the miner is to do the work to extract those valuable minerals. In the early days of the California Gold Rush, when every pan full of dirt contained a days wages and there was seemingly no end to the riches, prospectors often transitioned quickly into miners immediately after making their discovery.
As the relatively easy to recover placer gold was largely worked out, and mining became an industry requiring expensive equipment, a workforce, and capital to pay for it all, the roles prospector and miner became more specialized. The prospector would make the discovery, prove its worth, sell it to investors, and move on to the next strike.
It was the “proving the value” part of the process that often put the prospector in the miner’s shoes. In the case of lode deposits, if a promising surface showing was found, it often need to be worked with a prospect pit or tunnel to follow the vein far enough to verify it was a deposit that could be mined profitably. These “prospects” can still be seen by the thousands on the sides of western mountains.
A March 1915 edition of the Salt Lake Mining Review gives a good description of the role of a prospector:
“A prospector is any person who finds or locates a deposit of possible or probable commercial value and develops it to such a stage as to make it advisable to continue the development of the deposit at depth, in order to economically mine the ores and market the product. When the prospector has placed his property in such condition that from an engineering standpoint, it is advisable to continue development with depth, his efforts should cease.”
“Thenceforth he is no longer a prospector but a miner. Usually the prospector is not in a financial position to undertake the development of a deposit of probable commercial value. His sole object therefore, should be to present the property in the best possible light that his means will allow. He should never forget that his ultimate object is the sale of the property, not the mining and extraction of ore.”
The Legend of the American Prospector
The prospector was a popular part of American culture during the golden age of mining between 1848 and 1920. Numerous magazines, books, newspapers, and journals told tales of the prospector’s exploits. Many of these accounts were based in fact, but some certainly embellished the details while others were likely completely fabricated. However, most of these tales were rooted one way or another in the real experiences of western prospectors.
An October, 1899 edition of The Anaconda Standard wrote: “Always surrounded by an atmosphere of mystery, the prospector has furnished abundant material for the writers of tales and many a yarn has been spun about him. Of these some few are true. Others bear about as much resemblance to the prospector as they do to General Washington. The prospector is not prone to talk of himself and it is not to be wondered at that writers have been forced to draw upon their imaginations for material for articles describing him.”
For those interested in the lives of these pioneer prospectors, and in hearing about their exploits, the articles that were published on the subject are fascinating to read. Western Mining History will publish these articles as they are discovered, there is a list of the currently available ones at the bottom of this page. Here are some of the more interesting quotes from those articles:
“The prospector, as soon as he has made his sale, usually lives in clover as long as the proceeds will allow him. The faro banks, dance-halls, and drinking-saloons reap their harvest; his life, as long as his money lasts, is passed in what he considers one continual round of pleasure; and when he is ‘busted,’ he packs his burro, shoulders his rifle, and tramps over the hills and mountains once more, in search of another strike” – From “The Old-Time Prospector” Chamber’s Journal of Popular Literature 1899.
“I don’t know what made me make the venture, unless it was a love of such wild-goose chases and an absurd hopefulness which seems to be a prominent trait of my character” – From “The Prospector’s Story” Salt Lake Mining Review 1899.
“He starts out at break of day, loaded up with his supplies trusted for him by some good storekeeper, who has faith in the old man. The prospector starts out and he sings as he goes. He looks up and he notes the gleam of gold and silver on the mountain tops” – From “Tales of the Old Prospector” The Western Weekly August 15, 1908.
“We lit a fire and boiled our coffee and fried our bacon and enjoyed the meal as only men can who lead active lives in the free air. Afterward we smoked our pipes, talked awhile in a desultory way, spread our blankets, turned our faces to the vault above, fell into pleasant revery and insensibly into dreamless sleep” – From “The Old Mine on Lost Priest River” Salt Lake Mining Review March 1900.
“Montana owes much to the prospector. It was he who first attracted attention to the golden sands of her streams; it was he who led the thousands of goldseekers to her valleys; it was he again whose explorations resulted in the discovery of the treasure-laden ledges that have brought to the state permanent prosperity and made her great among the commonwealths of the country” – From “The Prospector Comes Home When The First Snow Flies” Anaconda Standard 1899.
Even publications by the U.S. government contributed to the subject. A 1918 report by the United States Bureau of the Interior described the typical western prospector:
“Thorough prospecting is a thing indispensable in a mining country. To the pioneer prospector is due the discovery of many of the great mines that have made the western United States notable in mining history. The prospector is essentially a creature of the wanderlust. He has left his mark in many mining regions of the world. In many States of the West he may still be seen, usually with his burro and pack, traversing the trackless desert, looking for “float” rock with a careful and experienced eye and examining it closely with the aid of a glass, pick, and hammer.”
“But it is a matter of current comment that the guild of old-time prospectors is rapidly disappearing, though not yet quite extinct. New methods are now employed, and the new type of prospector, with some scientific attainments, looks for not only gold, silver, and copper, but for the rarer metals as well, and he connects frequently with the assay office. But the passing of the old-time prospector is to be deplored, for after all he filled a place in mining history that will not soon be forgotten.”
The Famous Prospectors
While most prospectors never made strikes that were true bonanzas and did not become famous, some did, and they were celebrated by the newspapers of the day. The most famous were written about in modern history books and remain part of popular culture.
Most of the successful prospectors of the California Gold Rush remain anonymous as there were so many of them flooding into California that the exploits of individuals were lost in the tide of activity. This was also a very early date in the history of The West, so there were few local newspapers to write about their exploits during the first few years of the rush.
Some California prospectors rose to fame nonetheless, none more so than George Hearst. The 1889 edition of Chamber’s Journal of Popular Literature mentioned Hearst:
“Among the notable exceptions to the rule that the prospectors rarely become rich or influential men may be mentioned the present United States Senator, George Hearst of California; he is an old ’49-er’ whose good luck-as they call it in the mines – has never forsaken him; and this, aided by shrewd management, has placed him among the millionaires of America. Although he has become a rich and influential man, yet he will never forget his experiences as a prospector in the days of 1849, when California was first discovered; consequently he has a very soft place in his heart for any brother-prospector who has not been so prosperous.”
By the the time the Colorado Gold Rush was getting started in 1858, the nation had become intrigued by the western goldfields, and the exploits of prospectors and mining men were reported on more regularly. Three men gained early fame in Colorado – George Jackson, John Gregory, and Green Russell. Jackson discovered the rich placer gold at what would become Idaho Springs – the first major gold strike in the territory. Gregory and Russell were old rivals from Georgia; Gregory discovered the fabulously rich Central City district and Russel established his own mines at what would become Russel Gulch.
Read more about the exploits of these famous prospectors in the following articles: The Colorado Gold Rush, Jackson The Prospector, Central City, Colorado, and Russell Gulch, Colorado.
One of the most famous prospectors from the post-1900 era of Western mining was Shorty Harris. His enduring fame started with the discovery of the Bullfrog Claim in 1904, which resulted in the great rush to Rhyolite, Nevada over the next couple years. He is also famous due to his connection to the Death Valley region where he lived most of his life. That area is now a national park, and many have become interested the historical figures from the area. Read more about Shorty and his Bullfrog discovery at: Shorty Harris and the Bullfrog Claim.
Many men, and even some women, had prospecting stories as interesting as the famous examples above, but they were not widely told. A fascinating example is that of the Grosh bothers, who worked systematically prospected up Gold Canyon and were on the verge of being the first to discover the Comstock Lode when disaster struck. Their story is included in the article The Gold Cañon Placer Mining Colony.
The stories of the American prospector are fascinating, and many have not been told for over a century. As more prospector’s stories are discovered they will be referenced here.
The Iconic Western Prospector Photograph
The photo used for the cover image of this article is one of the most famous photographs from the gold-rush era. Unfortunately the question of where and when it was taken is a mystery.
Various archives claim to know the origin of the photo, and they each tell a different story. Wikipedia claims that the photo was taken at California’s American River in 1850, which would make this a very significant image capturing one of the earliest prospectors from the Gold Rush. However, the Wikipedia article also credits Louis Charles McClure as the photographer, and he wasn’t even born until 1867.
The Denver Public Library includes the image in a collection of McClure’s photos and states that it was taken in Colorado between 1890 and 1910. Other sources have claimed it is an earlier photo dating back to the Colorado (or Pikes Peak) Gold Rush.
California’s Huntington Library names Charles C. Pierce as the photographer and claims the location is at Lee’s Ferry, Arizona, no date is specified.
The origin of this iconic photo may be lost at this point, but it is still one of the most recognizable images from the gold-rush era.
Additional Reading on the Western Prospector
The Old Mine on Lost Priest River – The story of a pair prospectors seeking a lost gold mine in the Four Corners area of the southwest US – “having the gold craze once does not vaccinate a person from having the same disease once or many times more.”
The Prospector’s Story – A prospector describes his search for a lost gold mine in Death Valley, and his discovery of the remains of miners in a remote mining cabin.
The Prospector Comes Home When The First Snow Flies – “The prospector is this month receiving the cordial greetings of his friends and acquaintances as he returns from his summer pilgrimage through the mountains and along the streams.”
One Man Succeeds Where Another Wholly Fails – Tale of a destitute prospector who became rich, and famous, after he discovered an abandoned claim.
Tough Times in Death Valley – Brief report on prospectors caught in a Death Valley blizzard, forcing them to make a gruelling trek to Cerro Gordo. Facing starvation the men killed and ate a Donkey: “jackass meat, as an article of diet, is a lamentable failure.”
Jackson the Prospector – Article details George Andrew Jackson’s discovery of gold at the site that would become Idaho Springs, considered the first significant gold strike during the Colorado gold rush.
The Stukey Party From Goldfield – “The John Stukey party, consisting of John Stukey, C. W. McGrew, H. L. Hanson and D. C. Locke, of Goldfield, arrived in Ballarat a few days ago, having come overland by way of Bullfrog.”
The Old-Time Prospector – A description of the American Prospector by the Chamber’s Journal of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The Old-Time Prospector Is Being Crowded off the Globe – “The old-time prospector had better quit and “call it half a day.” He is being constantly told that he has “passed” and, whether he knows it or not, he is being made the object of good-bye tributes and encomiums to such an extent that he would spoil the whole business if he should ever “come back” and show the world that he still is entitled to consideration.”
