One such mine was near the Lost Forest in south-central Oregon. In the early part of the 20th century, some cowboys were rounding up some cattle. They were supposed to meet up at Sand Springs near the Lost Forest. One man arrived there first. While waiting, he found an interesting rock. He took it to Lakeview to be assayed. Judge Daly confirmed it was at least 50% gold! But the cowboy never returned for the rock. The man was never found and the exact location he found the rich nugget was never known. It is speculated that the gold is still there under the sand somewhere.
Another lost mine was located in the Owyhee Desert. In the 1870s, soldiers stationed at Fort Harney were called to fight an Indian uprising. On their first night, they camped at a place where they found gold nuggets. They couldn't do anything about it right then, but they vowed to return for the gold. They never did return and no one who heard the story could find it either. About 40 years later, a sheepherder came across what is thought to be the same location. As he lay on his deathbed, he told about the mine. People thought he was delirious from his illness until they saw the nuggets in his belongings. But it was too late. He had died during the night and his secret was buried with him.
During the 1880s, it was speculated that there was a rich mine in the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. This mine was located near the headwaters of the Lewis River somewhere in the wilderness between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams. An old Spaniard journeyed south to The Dalles, Oregon, on the Columbia River, to bank his gold at the French & Company Bank. Miners tried to follow him to the pot of gold. But the Spaniard led them on a merry chase. One trick he used was to put the shoes on his mule backwards. This greatly confused the men trying to follow his trail.
One year, he stopped showing up and his secret died with him. A short time later, Yakama Indians began showing up to stores in Goldendale, Ellensburg, and Yakima, paying for goods with gold nuggets. Rumors circulated that the Indians had found the Spaniard's mine, but the Indians wouldn't say where they got the gold. Someone found a skeleton of a man and a mule near Spirit Lake by Mt. St. Helens. Many speculated this was the Spaniard and the Indians had killed him. No one ever found the mine. It is thought that the mine is behind a waterfall in a cavern.
