Skagit River Journal of History & Folklore 600 of 700 total Free Home Page Stories & Photos (Also see our Subscribers Magazine Sample) The most in-depth, comprehensive site about the Skagit Covers from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish & BC. An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284 Home of the Tarheel Stomp Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug
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Jesse Ball's 8-oxen team drags logs near future Sterling, circa 1878.

Any time, any amount, please help build our travel and research fund for what promises to be a very busy 2011, traveling to mine resources from California to Washington and maybe beyond. Depth of research determined by the level of aid from readers. Because of our recent illness, our research fund is completely bare. See many examples of how you can aid our project and help us continue for another ten years. And subscriptions to our optional Subscribers Online Magazine (launched 2000) by donation too. Thank you. We recently visited our newest sponsor, Plumeria Bay, which is based in Birdsview, just a short walk away from the Royal family's famous Stumpranch, and is your source for the finest down bedding. See our Journal feature on this local business and learn more details and how to order items at their website.

      For several months past, settlers have been settling very fast on Upper Skagit and the mouth of the Sauk [river], 60 and 70 miles from the Sound, a number of families having recently settled on the river, a long distance above the jam.
      Three loggers at present at work at the jam. Whenever the jam becomes clogged up, they stop and open it. When the jam is wholly closed, as was the case a few weeks ago, all the loggers on the river make a common cause, and all work at it until it is again navigable.
      There are four camps above the jam, as follows:

• Gage & Davis, one mile above the upper jam
  
• [James] Cochrane] and McDonald's camp, some four miles higher up, near the mouth of Nooka Samish [now called Nookachamps] creek. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Kern brothers, whose camp is one mile higher up
  
• John Ball's [actually Jesse Beriah Ball] camp, on Scott's place, some eight miles above the jam. [Journal Ed. note: Ball was setting up his mill and small village at the site of future Sterling, west of Sedro]. At this place there is quite a settlement springing up; there being a store, saloon, etc. Mr. Frank Scott keeps the store and Wm. Sawyer runs the "gin mill."
  

      The timber along the bank of this river is very fine, and no one is cutting logs more than half a mile back. The timber is very clear, soft, easy to work and excellent for flooring, etc.; but on account of its softness hard to haul.
Birdsey Minkler's early water-powered sawmill, first on the river       Minkler and Ross are successfully running their saw mill situated some three or four miles above the coal mines [which were opposite future Hamilton on the south side of the Skagit], and nearly 30 miles above the jam. They have a splendid water privilege, but are situated so that they can use only a small part of its power [Mill creek]. Back of their mill is a high bluff covered with excellent fir timber. [Journal Ed. note: Does anyone know who this Ross might be? We are reasonably sure it was not either Alexander or John Ross, who settled more than a decade later at Utopia. Please email if you do know.]
      They use no cattle [oxen] to get their logs to mill, but have a long and strong wire cable. When they want more logs to saw, one of them goes up on the hill and fells a suitable tree, this is swamped out, cut in saw logs and sniped ready for hauling. This being done, the logs are hauled to the mill by attaching this wire cable to the log, so that when they start up the mill the log is hauled in and sawed without any more ado. Capt. Green, at present on the Josephine, holds a claim near this mill. McCue's saw mill on Nooka Samish [Nookachamps?] is in process of construction. It will probably be completed and running by the spring.
      About six weeks ago Sanger & Armstrong brought down from the headwaters of the Skagit River an ounce of coarse gold, one of the pieces weighing enough to be of the value of three dollars. They returned again to go to work up there within a few weeks thereafter. It is expected that a large number will go in the spring to test these newly discovered placer mines.
      One of the most interesting things about this article is the information about the Argonauts at the end. The common story has been that news of the placer gold discoveries upriver did not break until 1879, when the lucky ones brought their gold to Seattle to be assayed. The nuggets of 1879 may have been more impressive, but Bagley's story makes it obvious that people in the newspaper circles knew of the diggings in 1878. Here is one story of those days, from Otto Klement's diary.

This beautiful painting by John Savage, son of Birdsey Minkler's neighbor, George Savage, shows the mill with what is apparently a flume extending to it. He could have painted it after his father took over the mill and Minkler moved to Lyman.

• See our full section on the Upper Skagit River, with dozens of story links, separated by town and area.
  
• See our Newspapers Log for transcriptions of newspapers from all over the county, and profiles of pioneer journalists, writers and editors.
  
• Otto Klement was already upriver cruising timber at the time of this report. Read his biography at the link and discover many stories about him, including when he provided beverages for miners and upriver ne'er-do-wells at his trading post in Lyman. And look for the link of how he hosted the good ole boys and the pig..
  

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