Section 4: The Mining Boom

Economic impact of mining changed the face of the West

Miners raced across the continent hoping to be the first to strike it rich.

The first promising mining discoveries after the California Gold Rush took place in Colorado. • Prospectors found gold near

Pike’s Peak in late 1858.• By early 1859, thousands of

people had flocked to Colorado.

The Carson River Valley was another center of mining activity in 1859.

In addition to gold, the region contained the Comstock Lode, one of the world’s richest silver veins.

Over a period of 20 years its mines yielded about $500 million worth of precious metals.

Some miners went south to Arizona, where Hispanics had been mining silver since the mid-1870s. • Methods:

Mill that separated gold from quartz Patio process- used mercury to extract silver

from ore.

Some miners went as far north as British Columbia.

This movement had important consequences for Russia and the United States.

Russia, at that time, owned Alaska, and offered to sell it to the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska in 1867.

Seward believed the price, which came out to less than two cents an acre, was a good deal.

Many Americans, however, considered Alaska worthless, ridiculing the purchase as “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Ice Box.”

Seward remained confident, however, that the purchase had been worth it.

In 1896, prospectors discovered gold in the Klondike district of Canada’s Yukon Territory, which bordered Alaska.

This led to the Klondike Gold Rush.

By summer of 1897 miners extracted gold worth more than $1 million

Gold discoveries in 1898 and 1902 attracted even more settlers.

Today, there is something under the ice of Alaska that some might say is even more valuable than gold…what is it??

How did mining bring more people to the West?• The discovery of fold and silver attracted

prospectors

Mining communities sprang up overnight wherever news of possible wealth brought prospectors together.

Prospecting was typically not a family enterprise – most camps consisted almost entirely of male residents.

Mining camps drew a wide range of settlers. • The mix often included U.S. citizens, miners

from the Cornwall region of England, and Irish and Chinese immigrants.

The atmosphere was one of intense competition.

The competition often led to discrimination. • Miners in the Cripple Creek camp in Colorado

forcibly excluded eastern and southern Europeans as well as Hispanics.

• 1882 a mob of masked men drove Chinese inhabitants of Rico Colorado out of town. Most Chinese miners left the Rocky Mountain

camps because of hostile treatment.

Western mining camps were some of the most violent places in the U.S. during the late 1800s.

Tensions between ethnic groups often led to fighting, gamblers and swindlers swarmed in, and conflicts over claims set off brawls.

Deadwood, South Dakota, gained a reputation as a particularly tough town.• It became the final resting place of Wild Bill

Hickok, who was shot dead as he played cards.

The absence of law enforcement sometimes led people in mining camps to form vigilante committees to combat theft and violence. • Vigilante committees often used violence to

resolve problems, hanging the accused after a quick trial.

Stability came as the camps grew into towns.

The camps attracted businesses eager to feed and clothe the miners. • Cooking, cleaning, and providing lodging

were profitable, along with being a saloon and storeowner.

Prosperity brought law and order and the establishment of churches, newspapers, schools, and even theaters and music groups.• Denver and Boulder, Colorado• Carson City, Nevada• Helena, Montana

Besides mining, how did people in the West earn a living?• They owned saloons, stores, and places for

lodging.

The era of the lone miner did not last long.

Within a few years after a strike, most of the easily accessible mineral deposits were “worked out.”

Mining ore deposits deep below the Earth’s surface required resources and technology far beyond the means of the average prospector.• Therefore, mining became dominated by

large, well-financed companies.

Mining companies relied on technological know-how rather than on guesswork or luck.• Corps of college-educated geologists and

engineers located the ore and instructed the companies how best to extract it.

•Major ores were copper, iron, lead, and zinc.

Companies used two methods to reach the ore. Hydraulic mining – water shot at high pressure ripped away

gravel and dirt to expose the minerals beneath. This method was very harmful to the environment, as

displaced soil clogged rivers and caused flooding.

• Hard-rock mining – involved sinking deep shafts to obtain ore locked in veins of rocks.

The work was dirty and dangerous. • Temperatures in the mines could reach 150°

F.• Poor ventilation led to respiratory illness. • Cave-ins, rockfalls, and the use of

explosives sometimes caused injury or death.

• Injured workers rarely received compensation.

Miners soon grew dissatisfied with the wages and working conditions.• In some communities, miners formed

unions, which battled for compensation from injury or death and fought to increase wages.

Mining increasingly became the task of large companies, which would greatly affect the landscape and environment of the West.

How did the methods of early miners differ from those who worked in company-owned mines?• Early miners worked alone, and their ability

to extract minerals was limited. Company miners used new technologies.