Wounded Buck Mine

Stories from the heart of the Siskiyou Mountains, Cave Junction, Oregon

Newspapers declared it to be the most wonderful gold discovery ever reported in Oregon history but more amazing was the fact that this gold was found after prospectors had combed this same area for more than 50 years.

The discovery was made by an eighteen-year-old named Ray Briggs who lived with his family on a mining claim they had near the headwaters of Sucker Creek. Like many others, the Briggs family was able to find enough gold to buy necessary staples but had to supplement their food supplies by hunting in the local mountains. The big gold discovery happened when Ray was out on one of these hunting trips.

It was July of 1904 that Ray set off on foot with his dog to do some hunting. One account said he was hunting grouse and found the gold. Another version said he was hunting deer and shot a buck, which his dog took off chasing. His dog did not respond to his calls to come back so he reached down for a rock to throw at the dog and picked up a chunk of quartzite streaked with gold. He looked down and found gold lying on the ground all around him.

He carefully marked the spot, then went off to find his dog and the wounded deer, which he killed, dressed out, and hung up. Before heading home, he loaded his pockets with as much gold as he could carry and hurried back to tell his family the news.

The next day they returned, staked out a claim and named it the "Wounded Buck Mine." The mine turned out to be a small vein of gold 12 to 14 inches wide, 12 feet long and 7 feet deep. Veins of gold were reported to be in slabs one inch thick and two to three feet long.

In two weeks the claim yielded over 1,777 ounces, or about 110 pounds, of gold. In 1904 gold was worth $18 dollars an ounce, so the Briggs family was able to sell the gold for about $32,000. In todays market, this same amount of gold would be worth considerably more.

The location of the mine was a mile and a half east of Tannen Mountain near where the Boundary Trail crosses a saddle between Thompson Creek and Fahley Gulch.

Some people believe the Wounded Buck Mine may have been originally discovered in 1855 by two men who were on their way to Illinois Valley to fight in the war between settlers and Native Americans. They took some samples of gold with them, probably thinking they would return after the war to stake a claim, but were never able to relocate their find. It may never be known if this “lost mine” is the same as that discovered by Ray Briggs but both stories illustrate that some of the greatest gold discoveries are made when the prospectors were looking for something else.

Story by Roger Brandt

Ray Briggs shows some of the gold he found at the Wounded Buck Mine on the Oregon - California border near Tannen Lakes, Red Buttes Wilderness, Oregon

Ray Briggs, 18, holding pan with gold from the Wounded Buck Mine, 1904.

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