Rowseg
Transcribed from "History of North Washington, an illustrated history
of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties", published by Western
Historical Publishing Co., 1904.
GEORGE L. ROWSE, who now resides
at Seattle, is one of the energetic men engaged in opening the great deposits
of wealth in Chelan county. He is president of The Cascade Consolidated
Mining and Smelting Company, which owns some valuable property near Doubtful
Lake in the Stehekin mining district. This group consists of seventeen
claims, each of which shows excellent values and true fissure veins.
The company is now engaged in driving a tunnel that will tap each vein
at an extended depth, which has already shown great bodies of ore.
The properties are right on the survey of the railroad through the western
part of Chelan county and in a short time will begin shipping. Experts
assure us that when the bodies are opened up, they will be among the heaviest
producers of the west.
George L. Rowse was born in Nova Scotia, the
son of David and Lydia (Pines) Rowse, also natives of Nova Scotia.
The mother's ancestors descended from the Beckwith family, who landed in
Connecticut in 1632. The other children of the family are Charles,
Marion, William, Augustine, Eunice, Rebecca, Eliza and Helena. The
father died when George was ten years of age. Our subject was educated
in the common schools and at the high school in Farmington, Maine.
After that, he worked at brickmaking in Lewiston and Portland. In
1876, he went to Virginia to get out ship timber but soon journeyed west
to the Black Hills on account of the gold excitement. Later, he drifted
out to the Big Horn and went down that to the Missouri and made his way
by skiff and steamer to Sioux City, Iowa. Thence he started to California
but the mines in Navada detained him and he delved there for gold until
1882. In that year, he came to Puget Sound and did logging.
In 1885, Mr. Rowse with his partner, J. C. Rouse, took a canoe from Mt.
Vernon and went up the Skagit river to a point now called Marble Mountain
and then followed up the Cascade river to Cascade Falls. They discovered
the mineral belt now known as the Cascade and Stehekin mining district.
And also visited Doubtful Lake, so named from some United States surveyors.
On September 2, of this year, he located the Doubtful and Quien Sabe mines,
now a part of the group above mentioned. In the following May, having
gone across the range in company with two others, all carrying their provisions,
he made a trip westward to the east shore of Lake Chelan and from thence,
made their way to Meadow creek and finally by raft to the Indian village
of Wapato, being greatly depleted by lack of food. The Indians pleasantly
greeted them and a squaw showed them to a canoe crossing of the Columbia
river. They crossed to the east side and found a store kept by Chinamen
in a dugout, where they were able to procure flour and salt. They
returned to the Indian village and got a tub of butter made by the squaws.
Securing a skiff from Chief Wapato, they returned to the head of Lake Chelan
and arrived at Doubtful Lake in time to celebrate the fourth of July.
In 1889, Mr. Rowse located the famous Boston mines in the Cascade district.
Only assessment work was done on these various properties for several years.
In 1898, Mr. Rowse joined the rush to Alaska and took a claim on Seventy
mile creek. In the fall, he returned to Dawson to work in a claim
on Bonanza creek. The following year, he went to Nome and thence
to Seattle by way of Dutch Harbor, fully convinced that there was no more
favorable mining country than Washington. Mr. Rowse gives his entire
time and energy to the development of the properties above mentioned and
with great promises of success.
The marriage of Mr. Rowse and Miss Nettie
G. Boles, occurred at Chehalis on September 29, 1891.
Mr. Rowse is a member of the K. P. and the
W. W. He is a strong Democrat, being greatly enthused with the doctrines
propounded by Mr. Bryan.
BACK