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

[geof_junk]

4 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

We had small nuggets and pickers along with plenty of coarse gold and a little fine for good measure. All told there were 26 ounces.

That's a good day. My best day was also 26+ ounces but I did not have to share it with any crew. I had to spend some of it on the wife.😉

[GhostMiner]

47 minutes ago, geof_junk said:

That's a good day. My best day was also 26+ ounces but I did not have to share it with any crew. I had to spend some of it on the wife.😉

I would say it was quite a wonderful day!!

[GhostMiner]

4 hours ago, blackjack said:

Wow, I'm only 20 pages in but will read the rest for sure, for me doing the research is part of the thrill of finding gold. I can only imagine the excitement of finding a journal like this, I can relate to this story by GhostMiner, but certainly can't tell one as fascinating as this one is. I got hooked on research in the late 1970's when trying to find the location of a place called Top Camp on the Ashburton River in Western Australia, it was a place known for large nuggets but was only worked for a short time for various reasons, I decided it's where I wanted to go. While it was a known field the records at the mines department didn't give an exact location, the best clue I could find was a creek 25 miles S/W of Prismiod hill which was on the maps. Long story short my dad and I loaded my FB Holden, towed a trailer loaded with two trail bikes and did the 2 day drive up there. we had a choice of three possible creeks and chose the middle one. We chose right, the thrill of being the first prospectors to be there for nearly 100 years was better than the gold we found. I've been hooked on the research side of what we do ever since. For those that are interested the creek is called Fords creek, a tributary of the Ashburton river east of Ashburton downs station.  Recently I have found out that Bailey, of Bailey and Ford the discoverers of Coolgardie worked the diggings. I'd love to hear from any one who has been in there as well.    

Thanks so much for reading the journal. You have a story to tell as well. 

[blackjack]

1 hour ago, GhostMiner said:

Thanks so much for reading the journal. You have a story to tell as well. 

Thanks, like many on this forum, I suspect, it's the history as well as the gold that makes what we do so interesting. I have alluded to this on another topic on this forum but I will mention it again. My cousin had a professional dry blowing operation at Reedy between Meekatharra and Cue, we used to metal detect his lease. As a young guy metal detecting got a bit tiresome at times but I loved exploring. On one such occasion I was out exploring driving cross country, keep in mind this is flat treeless desert country, when I came across a track. I followed it for miles, in places it was indistinct then it would become obvious again, clearly it was an old track. It ended at an old camp with some of the bush poles that was their shelter still standing. The camps fire place was still there and I found their rubbish place a well, a pile of old colored bottles and rusty cans as well as a single leather boot. The point of this story is the track I followed, it had me puzzled, as well as two ruts to match my vehicle there was a third larger one down the middle, I just didn't work out the obvious. On returning to camp I explained the track to my dad and he smiled and gave me the explanation. My question is how many of you in a dry desert situation have also come across a three rut track.

[GhostMiner]

   Here is a picture taken near the northern fault line which is still partially buried. It is one of the places the actual crew worked  back in 1936, 1937. There is a large wooden platform and you can see it is covered in pine needles. I'm not sure what this was used for as there is no water up there and the creek is nearly a mile away and 300 ft lower in elevation. This area is a bit higher and farther up the mountain and remote. The old road the crew used is nearly gone but we were able to take a skid steer up there and tried to make it more accessible for a jeep or 4 wheeler. It had been washed out in several areas and there were also lots of small trees to clear. Another curious thing happened while we were there. The sound of several gunshots rang out not too far away but we never saw the person or oersons who fired them off. It made me think of the crew in the journal but totally freaked out one of my mining partners and he actually ducked for cover. Hopefully the pictures I am posting help bring the journal to life as you can see some of the actual area it is based on. 

[GhostMiner]

   June 26   1937     Part One

 

   This morning we got the results of our dig a little after breakfast was done. There were 19 ounces in the pan. The gold is looking beautiful and we have lots of those gravels sitting up there waiting to be dug. It was a great way to start our morning but like so many days out here things can change quickly.

   Deputy Dan and Deputy Luther paid us a visit shortly after the weigh. They warned us that the sheriff was hell bent on getting some of our gold. They said he had gold fever and so did the judge in town. Dan said he had heard about the run in with the two guys the sheriff had sent out here to stake over our claim. He told us the two of them had come back madder than all get up and told the sheriff they had nearly been shot by us. The sheriff could now file criminal charges if he wanted. Dan said there was nothing he or Luther could do. However, he said that the sheriff was not a miner and had no clue how to run a mine or find gold. The sheriff had sent them out here to get us to come into town for another meeting. The sheriff was also giving his word there would be no arrest or gunplay during or after the meeting but just wanted to talk further with us.

   Dan smiled and said that in his estimation the sheriff was trying to scare us into a deal where the judge and him could get easy gold without having to work for it or hire a crew. The sheriff was also a little scared of us according to Dan and would rather avoid trouble if possible.

   Luther chimed in that the sheriff was not that bad of a guy but just lazy. And corrupt. I thought to myself that yes, he wasn’t too bad except for the fact he was a thug. I told the deputies we refused to go back into town for a meeting because we didn’t trust him. I said he could arrange a meeting for high noon today down by the claim entrance at the main road. It would be that or no meeting. I said to tell the sheriff not to bring anyone with him and we would treat him with respect as long as he treated us the same way. I warned the deputies that if the sheriff brought trouble with him he would be met with more trouble than he’s ever seen. With that the deputies said they would arrange the meeting and for us to be down at the main road at noon. If the sheriff refused the terms of the meeting they would come back to our camp and let us know. Then they left and Will and I headed for the dig site.  

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

Any viewers outside of the USA that are reading the journal are invited to say hello to the writer GM. I would love to hear from you.

[GhostMiner]

   June 26   1937     Part Two

 

   Will and I headed back down to camp around 11:30. We decided that John and I would go down to the main road to meet with the sheriff while Hudson and Will guarded the camp. There was no telling what the sheriff had planned and John and I went to the area where the mine road met the main road and waited. We were armed with our 45’s and Thompsons.

   We didn’t have to wait long as the sheriff pulled into the mine entrance driving his official county car with all the markings. The three of us walked over to a shady spot and the sheriff stood about ten feet from us. He had a smile on his face as he began talking. He assured us that he would rather not have trouble with us and wanted to secure a fairly simple business arrangement for himself and the judge. He stated that we had actually done him a big favor in cleaning out much of the rif raf in town. The sheriff went on to say that he could not use the tactics we used as he was bound to lawful methods that needed to stand up in a court of law. Then, with a stern look, he looked at us and coldly stated that if we were unwilling to make a deal with him he was prepared to use his position to make our lives miserable. John and I looked at each other but let him keep talking.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

   Possible hidden treasure from the crew? An old chest and pouch of gold coins.

[GhostMiner]

   June 26   1937     Part Three

 

   The sheriff told us that he wasn’t going to ask us for much and not even a percentage of our gold because there was no way for him to monitor what we were mining. He wanted ten ounces of gold a week for himself and another ten ounces a week for the judge. He also told us he had heard we had found treasure and cashed much of it in for dollars. He and the judge wanted two thousand dollars in cash each. He continued on to tell us what that would mean for us. He said first off we would get protection for our mine from his deputies. He would rotate them in and out twice a day if we wanted them. If we were bothered in any way we would be free to use whatever remedy we chose without fear of the law coming down on us. And he said that he and the judge would jail and prosecute anyone we wished.

   John and I looked at each other without saying anything. It seemed the sheriff knew quite a bit about us. We all had plenty of money and gold and his requests were well within easy reach for us. I told him we needed to have a meeting with the rest of the crew to discuss all this. The sheriff asked us if three days would be sufficient and I agreed. With that, the meeting was over and the sheriff drove away. I asked myself if I was ready to make a deal with the devil.

   TO BE CONTINUED ................