Duncan Twohearts (c 1911), trapper from Turtle Lake

Late in the winter of 1911, a trapper named Duncan Twohearts, set out from his trapline at Turtle Lake. Although the days were getting warmer and longer, the ice was still strong enough to support him and his dog team.

Besides bundles of fur, Twohearts had a small canvas bag full of rocks he had collected at Rice Lake. He was going to show them to old Arthur Quesnel, the trader at Manigotagan. The rocks had streaks of yellow running through them. Quesnel and his friend Capt. Pelletier quickly recognized that this was gold.

Pelletier went inland to inspect the north shore of Rice Lake, and shortly thereafter, the Gabrielle, the Rachel and the San Antonio claims were filed in the name of Alexandre Desautels, a prospector and guide from Winnipeg.

The discovery of gold sparked an era of prospecting in the Wanipigow River watershed as well as in the area now known as Nopiming. These regions became the cradle of gold mining in Manitoba.

Prospectors from Kenora and Winnipeg flooded the area in canoes, following the old travel routes of Aboriginal people-the Bird (Oiseau), the Manigotagan and other rivers. With the possibility of striking it rich, the Shield wilderness took on a new meaning. Prospecting became a new way of seeing the old landscape, for the gold had always been there, since the molten rock had begun to cool.

In the period of exploration that followed, there was widespread staking, for there were many surface showings of "free gold," or uncompounded gold which is visible to the unaided eye. Exotic gold rush names like Hidden Treasure, Paystreak, Lucky Strike and Gold Pick were attached to parcels of land in the wilderness and guarded jealously. Each claim represented someone's hopes and dreams.

Some of those who came were long on enthusiasm but short on practical experience. There was more than one claim filed for fool's gold or pyrites.

This gold rush was different from those of California and the Klondike where nuggets of the yellow element could be panned from a stream. The gold here was held fast by the Precambrian Shield and could only be extracted with a great deal of effort.

Prior to 1920, there was little development north of the Winnipeg River except for a few log cabins belonging to trappers and prospectors. Any ore that was obtained had to be packed in sacks and hauled away for processing. It became apparent that a full-fledged mining development would be required. This was to change the complexion of activities significantly. It was beyond the means of any one prospector to set up a mine, so some of them became salesmen and tried to peddle their claims to financial backers.

One of the earliest and most successful mining developments was the Central Manitoba Mine, 6.5 km north of Long Lake. Its original claims were the Redwing, Goldbird, Fighter, Growler and Kitchener. Eventually, the Central Manitoba Mine comprised 5 shafts, each sunk into a different gold-bearing quartz vein.

The Kitchener, staked in 1915 by Louis Simard, was the site of the first shaft. One February morning as the men were handsteeling the shaft elsewhere on the property there was a total eclipse of the sun. The shaft was thus called the Eclipse. Timber for the headframe and other buildings was obtained at nearby Stormy Lake, noted for the tall spruce around it.

The Central Manitoba's heavy equipment was brought in during the winter of 1926-27 by boat to Manigotagan, and after freeze-up, by horse-drawn sled along a winter road to the mine site. It was apparent that a more direct route had to be established to ease the flow of supplies and equipment. Work commenced on a winter road between Long Lake and Great Falls, about 70 km (43 miles) to the south, a power transmission line was built from the new dam, and electricity was introduced to the mine in 1927 when it went into full production. Prior to this all machinery was steam operated.

The summer route to the Central was a complex and changing one. The first part was by freighter canoes up the Manigotagan River system. However, because of its 30 portages, it was abandoned after a few years of use. A more efficient water-land route used the Wanipigow River as far as Government Landing. From there, horse-drawn wagons (later trucks) followed the 29-km (18-mile) Caribou Road to Caribou Landing. Work on this road began as early as 1922 when it was just a path between mineral claims. Today, a portion of it remains close to its rugged original state. From Caribou Landing freight was taken by boat across Quesnel Lake to Manigotagan Lake which was connected to Long Lake by means of a tracked portage. Once across Long Lake, roads led to the Central and other mines.

As the Central grew, a small community began to evolve. About 125 people were employed by the operation alone. This place in the wilderness had an air of permanence. During the Depression of the 1930s, many walked the long road to the Central and other mines in search of work. The community of Wadhope took its name from the initials of the financing syndicate and Hope, which was the name of one of the more promising mineral claims in the Central's holdings.

The life of the mine and the small community was brief , as exploration failed to turn up any worthwhile veins below the 114 m (375 ft.) level. In its years of production from 1927 to 1937, the Central produced 4,537 kg (160,034 oz.) of gold and 738 kg (26,032 oz.) of silver with a total value of $4,106,970, at prevailing prices.

Lone Grave

Despite its short life, the Central proved to be a catalyst for other mining developments in the area, including the introduction of electricity and a transportation system. Some who became unemployed due to the closure found jobs with other mining operations which ran at various times, including the Gunnar Mines at Beresford Lake and the longest lasting, San Antonio Mine at Bissett.

Today, very little remains of the Central. Along the Nopiming Trail, a few kilometres north of Long Lake, there is a break in the rocky, forested, roadside scenery. The reddish sands are the tailings from the Central's ten years of production. At the mine site, the shafts are capped and poplar and alder grow from the foundations of the former mine buildings.

A short distance south along the Trail is the unobtrusive Lone Grave, the resting place of a young man who worked at the Central. He drowned in Long Lake in 1934.

For those who shared in the area's colourful past, this grave has become a part of the landscape.