Hite's Cove: A Brief History of Human Use
The history of Hite's Cove is apparent as you walk on the trail that meanders along the river. Evidence of old mining operations is obvious, but human use of the area extends further back than the first European settlers.

As winter settled in on Yosemite Valley, many of the Southern Miwok would migrate to warmer areas such as the south facing slopes of Hite's Cove. Few artifacts of the Indians' presence near Hite's Cove exist although there are a number of signs further upstream near the confluence with Bishop Creek where the Nuchu and Wawona tribes lived. There the Indians lived along the banks, using the acorns from black oaks for food.

Around 1851, Major James Savage negotiated with Nuchu chief Ponwatchee about taking their land. The Indians were "known to be friendly" and cooperated with the settler's desires, resettling on a reservation on the plains. The Ponwatchee even offered to help the settlers fight the Yosemites, and eventually led them to Yosemite Valley. The Yosemites fled to the Monos on the Eastern Sierras who helped protect them. After the chase was abandoned, the Yosemites went to return to the valley, but and abandoned their former protectors. The Monos attacked and killed many of the Yosemite for this, including the Yosemite's great chief Tenaya. The chief was not buried in Yosemite Valley but along the South Fork, and Hite's Cove served as the location for a two week "mourning cry" for the chief. This was one of the last acts in the area for the Yosemites.

James Savage and the quest for gold
The Spaniards and Mexicans never really moved into the foothill areas, but the gold rush of 1848-49 brought the exploitation and expropriation of the foothill Indians. Major James D. Savage was the first to profit off of the mineral wealth and Indian labor of the area. Savage established a trading post in 1948 and at the time had five Indian wives, all of which gave him leverage in the Indian communities. Savage established a sort of Indian empire in the foothills, ruling over the Indians as a feudal lord would his serfs. He paid them a dollar a day and traded goods in equal weight for the gold they collected, resulting in an enormous profit margin - some days making $10,000-$20,000!

By 1850 more miners had moved in the area hoping to strike it rich. More conflicts between settlers and Indians occurred, which Savage could not control or monitor. The Indians were now being viewed as in the way instead of an asset to the area. An increasing number of conflicts between the Indians and Savage arose, leading up the "Mariposa Indian War" in December of 1850. Savage's pursuit of the Yosemite Indians lead to the "discovery" of the upper South Fork and then Yosemite Valley in early 1851. Surprisingly, the miners who first saw Yosemite Valley were unimpressed. Eventually the Indians were forced back onto a reservation in the San Joaquin Valley. Savage was murdered in 1852 by another white man.

John Hite: the discovery of the cove
The story of how John Hite came upon a significant body of ore is debated, although many sources imply that an Indian woman led him to what was to become the source of his fame and fortune. Allegedly in 1861 Hite got caught in a winter storm and lost consciousness, eventually waking under the care of an Indian woman, Maresa. After their relationship developed a bit, Maresa took her loved one to see the cove area. In 1862 Hite filed a claim for the cove with two other men that soon overlooked the value of it and sold ownership rights exclusively to Hite.

In the forty years that followed, Hite enjoyed immense success with mining operations. John used the most modern methods of mining at the time, first with an arrastra and then with larger water-driven stamp mills, which he updated and improved for increased production as the years went by. The old tailings were hauled downstream, and reworked in the arrastra cone grinders, which presently lie rusting beside Hite's Cove trail.

In just two years after John Hite had registered, his mill was up and running. After about ten years he had anywhere from 75 to 150 people living in his cove. The people that worked for Hite included his family, Indians and Chinese. The crew of Chinese, numbered 45 in 1868, was largely responsible for the construction of the water ditch, Hite's Cove Road, and keeping the cove constantly supplied. Without the labor of these people, Hite would not have accumulated his wealth. John Hite was a millionaire in his day, reportedly having made between 2.5-3 million from operations, quite a fortune for that day and age.

Hite's Cove today: monitoring project
After Hite's Cove was abandoned as a mining operation, the historic features began deteriorating and fire and other natural occurrences began to reclaim the area. Vandalism also occurred and further destroyed the integrity of the historic information contained at Hite's Cove.

Currently, Hite's Cove rests on land now managed by the U.S. Forest Service in the Sierra National Forest. WildLink students are involved in monitoring five areas at Hite's Cove for the purpose of tracking changes through time in the historical features of the area. So far, students in six wildlink expeditions December 2000, March 2001, April 2001, February 2002, April 2002, and January 2003 have all helped out with the monitoring. This Forest Service Project, headed by the Forest Service District Archaeologist Connie Popelish, requires that the students take photos of specific areas to monitor the artifacts.

Photo-monitoring areas:
Take a close look at the photos and try to determine if there are any differences you can make out. As you move the mouse over the photos you will see more a more recent picture of the area than the first.

This photo shows one of the ditches leading to the mill site.

This photo point indicates the site of the old tramway incline.

This photo point shows the main ditch that once led to the mill.

Hite's Cove Questions
Here are some questions that wildLink students from Le Grand High School, Planada asked about Hite's Cove on Expedition IV: January 5-10 2003, answered by Connie Popelish, district archaeologist, U.S. Forest Service:

What exactly makes Hite's Cove a cove? -Stephen
Why is Hite's Cove called a cove? --Larry

Hite Cove is called a cove because it is a wide place in the narrow, steep sided canyon of the South Fork of the Merced River. As you hiked into the cove, do you remember how the trail was cut into the side of the steep bank, and in most places you could look down the cliff and see the river? When you get to Hite Cove the land is flatter, or more gently sloped and the canyon widens out into a sort of bowl shaped area. That's called a cove.

Look at a USGS quad map called El Portal, and find the South Fork of the Merced River, and the trail that leads to Hite Cove. Notice how the topographic lines are very close together most of the way along the River, indicating a steep slope. Then when you find Hite Cove, the space between the topographic lines is greater. More space between the topographic lines indicates the land has a more gentle slope and is not so steep.

What problems will affect the cove if it is reopened for mining? -- DavidIf someone applies for a mining claim or wants to start operations on a mining claim they first have to have a valid mining claim. Then they must submit a plan of operations and then the land manager (in this case, the US Forest Service) will do an environmental anaylsis to determine the effects (problems) of the proposed operations. The effects could be anything from erosion, to increased public access, to disturbance of wildlife habitate.
There are also initial restrictions on mining claims in historic district and Wild and Scenic River corridors.

How did the grinders in Hite's Cove actually work? Can I get a diagram? Picture? -Larry
I don't know exactly how the cone grinders work, but basically they were another method to crush ore. Instead of using a stamp mill to pound the rock, a cone grinder crushed the rock against the sides of the vat. An arrastra and a chili mill are two other methods of grinding or crushing rock to extract the ore.

I do not have a good diagram or explanation of any of these crushing techniques. I would like to suggest that you get on the internet and do a search for "historic mining equipment". Perhaps you can find an illustration and description of the operation of cone grinders.

How is it that there used to be so much vegetation in picture 4 and 5 and now they have changed so much in only 3 years? -- Laura
The only answer I can think of would be if I took the original photographs in the summer when the vegetation is in full leaf, and you took the monitoring photograph in the winter when the bushes and trees have lost their leaves.

Do you believe the mines still have gold? -David
Yes, I think there probably is. I don't know how much, or if there is enough to make mining operations profitable, but I do know there are still some mining companies that have an interest in starting mining operations again. However, this could be just speculation on their part to try and get folks to invest their money in supporting mining operations.

Why is there a lot of junk in one of the sites? --Andre
In the 1970's (I think) a man and his family moved to Hite Cove and "squatted" there. That means he was living illegally on public land. He used or dug that hole and built a roof over it to use as a house - sort of like living in a basement. Much of the garbage is from his occupation. However, there are older artifacts from the historic era of mining at Hite Cove and we have to be careful to not discard the significant artifacts along with the more modern "garbage".

Hite's Cove Bibliographical Sources

Mendershausen, Ralph R. Treasures of the South Fork. Fresno: Panorama West Books, 1983.

Giacomazzi, Sharon. "Hie Thee to Hite's Cove." Sierra Heritage. Vol. 18, no. 5: pp. 4-9.

Russel, Carl P. One Hundred Years in Yosemite. Yosemite: Yosemite Association, 1992.

Primary sources available from the Mariposa Gazette and the San Francisco Bulletin. Related search topics include: John Hite, Lucy Hite, Jim Savage, Jack Leidig, Savage's Trading Post, Mining in Mariposa. Included are copies of relevant primary sources that I found in the YNP research library.