** Lost Gold At The Dead Man's Mine ** A Miners Journal **

[maxxkatt]

This thread is probably the most interesting and fun I have followed on any forum. There are many, many treasure stories  on some other MD forum, but not as good as this one based on a real journal. That makes the difference.

 

[geof_junk]

I once read a book from a diary of a swagman on the Vic. Gold fields. Great story but not as much movie like action that this diary has potential for. 

 

Pity the Swagman: the Australian odyssey of a Victorian diarist

by Bethan Phillips

A biography of Joseph Jenkins (1818-1896), a Welsh farmer who left his wife and family to try his luck on the Victorian goldfields and remained in Australia for 27 years. Throughout his life Jenkins kept diaries, some of which have been published as 'The diary of a Welsh swagman'. These diaries reflect a complex man and give insight into nineteenth century life in rural Wales. 

[GhostMiner]

9 hours ago, geof_junk said:

I once read a book from a diary of a swagman on the Vic. Gold fields. Great story but not as much movie like action that this diary has potential for. 

 

 

Pity the Swagman: the Australian odyssey of a Victorian diarist

by Bethan Phillips

A biography of Joseph Jenkins (1818-1896), a Welsh farmer who left his wife and family to try his luck on the Victorian goldfields and remained in Australia for 27 years. Throughout his life Jenkins kept diaries, some of which have been published as 'The diary of a Welsh swagman'. These diaries reflect a complex man and give insight into nineteenth century life in rural Wales. 

Looks like a good read.

[matt]

"The Diary of a 49er" and "Bacon and Beans From a Gold Pan" are both really good books.

Bacon and Beans is a depression era book and written based on the true story of a couple last lost their jobs and moved to the hills to mine for gold. Part of the book takes place in the Northern Motherload region near Downieville. It's a very entertaining read.

The Diary of a 49er takes place outside the town of Nevada City and is probably very similar to your journal. Some have suggested that it was not an actual journal and written later. The Diary was supposedly found in a miners cabin.

[GhostMiner]

JULY 30   1936

   This morning we were all able to get back to our normal routines. Sarge and Ben took posts near camp and provided security. Jacob, Will, and me went up to the dig site and John worked at the tom. I think the rest from digging helped the crew as everyone was working like crazy. We were digging down and started hitting heavy country rock once again. I panned a few samples but this didn’t prove to be glory material. There was some gold but nothing like what we had seen before. I kept the crew moving south along the fault but we struck country almost immediately and the pans were lacking much color. We attempted to dig into the fault but were quickly stopped out. By now it was mid afternoon and the heat was nearly unbearable. I wanted to stay close to the fault line as it had proven itself to me more than once and I still believed there is much gold to be taken. By day's end we had traveled about 50 feet south of the last trench in our diggings with poor results. About two hours before dark I told the crew to call it a day and we would hit it tomorrow. We were able to get 210 buckets out of the hard labor which was low and I think of poor quality. We will see what John gets from them. 

  TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[GhostMiner]

Good stuff coming later today.

[GhostMiner]

6 hours ago, matt said:

"The Diary of a 49er" and "Bacon and Beans From a Gold Pan" are both really good books.

Bacon and Beans is a depression era book and written based on the true story of a couple last lost their jobs and moved to the hills to mine for gold. Part of the book takes place in the Northern Motherload region near Downieville. It's a very entertaining read.

The Diary of a 49er takes place outside the town of Nevada City and is probably very similar to your journal. Some have suggested that it was not an actual journal and written later. The Diary was supposedly found in a miners cabin.

That's interesting. Another good book to read. Thanks.

[GhostMiner]

   July 31   1936

   Part One

   After breakfast we weighed up yesterday's pay and it was as expected. There was barely half an ounce. We were still sitting at camp talking over the digging results when I heard Sarge holler out that there was a man coming up the creek. He told the man to halt which he did. The crew walked over near the creek to have a look see. It was an old man with a white beard. Sarge asked him what he wanted. The old man said he had drove out from his place near town to talk with us. He wanted to meet the crew. I told Sarge to let him come into camp and I asked him what he was there for.  

   The old timer said his name was Whiskey Jack and he had worked the claim here for a mining company about 50 years ago when he was in his twenties. The company he worked for named the claim after him. He was part of a 6 man crew who mined this area with monitors and also by hand drifting tunnels into the mountain. He said they had gotten a lot of gold up here. According to him they had water delivery issues late summer and started drifting into the fault and had found some signs of big gold. He was also on the crew that had driven the Eastern Drift Mine into the mountain.  Part of the crew was called off to work at a big mine 8 miles away leaving only three men to continue the drift which they never finished. The following year the company had pulled out of the area and he went with them. They had marked the area on a big boulder on top of the fault. The drift was down near the bottom of the fault in gravels they hadn’t hydraulicked yet. They did it that way to keep the location of the drift secret. Before they left the area they backfilled the opening to hide it. He offered to show me the area and I gladly accepted the offer. The crew followed him out to the dig area and he said it was north from where we were working. We followed him as he walked north where there was no sign of mining. He pointed up to the top of the fault which was about 80 ft higher up. He said he was too old to go up there but told us to look for a big boulder with an X and a cross marked on it.  The drift was 80 feet directly below it near the fault line.                                            John stayed down at the bottom talking with the old timer and Jacob, Will, and me climbed up to the top. We searched around for a few minutes and about 75 feet further north than where we started we found the boulder. They had notched the markers in there pretty deep. We were all excited and came back down. I told him we had found it just a little further north than where he remembered. He said the drift was right where there was a kind of opening or hole in the fault line and they had followed it in and moved out rock and gravel. It was a natural cavern below the channel with country at the bottom and above. The country rock had cracked in that area and allowed gold bearing gravels to deposit inside the fault line. That’s why there were few timbers needed and the material inside was mostly smaller gravel with some small rounded river rock.  He said there was real good gold in there and each man was taking over 2 ounces a day by pick and shovel work. He was of the opinion that there was big gold deeper in. It was a natural gold trap. Now he had our attention for sure.

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

[flakmagnet]

What fun to read….the unexpected turns are great.

[GhostMiner]

   I forgot to post this info last wk but one of my partners found another drift mine about 700 - 800 west of Jed's dig site on the old Whiskey Jack claim. It's on the other side of the creek (west) and about 100 ft in elevation above the creek.  He found the adit but it looks to be collapsed. I'll post a picture when I get a chance. It would actually be pretty easy to get an excavator up there and dig it out.