After the silver panic of 1893, most mines in the northern San Juans shut down. Many prospectors and miners gave up and left the high country, but not John Walsh. He believed there was gold in the Imogene Basin above Ouray and began buying up mining claims. Walsh was right but kept his discovery secret until 1896.

Of course, gold fever brought miners, suppliers, and other camp “folk” to Imogene Basin. John Walsh’s Camp Bird was even dubbed “The Greatest Gold Mine in Colorado or the Whole ...