Old Spaniard Lost Mine — Spirit Lake

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Old Spaniard Lost Mine — Spirit Lake

Lost Treasure WA • Skamania County County
Description
Cascade Mountains legend of a secretive Spanish miner banking gold at The Dalles in the 1880s — skeletons of a man and mule found near Spirit Lake after Yakama showed nuggets, but the waterfall cavern mine was never located.
Historical Notes
Prospectors followed the old Spaniard from The Dalles toward Lewis River headwaters between Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams, but he eluded them with tricks such as reversed mule shoes. When he stopped appearing at the bank, Yakama traders began spending gold nuggets; later skeletons near Spirit Lake were thought to be the miner killed for his secret. Legends of America places the lost mine behind a waterfall cavern in the wilderness between the two volcanoes.
Status / Verification legend — Legendary or approximate

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