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

[GhostMiner]

   June 29   1937     Part Six

 

   Dan Began to protest the treatment of Luther and hollered for us to stop. I told him to back off if he wanted to live. Luther was struggling for his very life at the end of a rope now. We stopped just short of lifting him off his feet. I told him to talk or it was over for him. He cried out and begged us not to hang him. He said he’d talk. I gave a nod to John and we eased the tension off the rope.

   I looked Luther in the eye from a foot in front of his face. I told him I was tired of playing around and this was his last chance. I told him I wanted to know what happened to my partners. He said that he and two other men from town had come out to camp. Will and Hudson had been taken by complete surprise. He figured that once they got rid of them they could get John and me next. Then they would have complete control of our mine. They intended to deal with Dan as well. He said that Dan was not involved.

   I asked him where my partners were and that they damn well better be alive. He hesitated for a few seconds and looked like he was stalling. I cracked him across the face with my 45. He let out a yell and blood was streaming out of his mouth. He begged me not to hit him again. I grabbed him by the throat and asked one more time where my partners were. He started to cry.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...................

[GhostMiner]

   June 29   1937     Part Seven

 

   He said two men had taken Will and Hudson to Nevada where there was an active mine in operation. They had considered them highly valuable as far as the operation of gold mines went and would be used as consultants and workers. They were prisoners there. The location was very remote and highly guarded. He said there were slave laborers kept there and about ten men who ran the operation as well as protecting the property. 

   Dan told Luther he had betrayed his badge and was disgusted with him. I told Luther he was going to take us to the location and then he would be arrested and turned over to the custody of Dan. As long as he cooperated we would not harm him any further. I told him if he refused to cooperate we would hang him right here and now and bury him on the mountain where he would never be found. John said that we meant business and Luther believed us. 

   He gave us the location which was on a map in his coat pocket. There were a few names on the paper as well. He said the only way in was by mule, horse, or on foot. The group that ran the mine were from back east and weren’t making much money. That’s why they figured Will and Hudson might be of help. They had also planned on getting me and John at some point. I told Dan we would need to plan a trip to the mine in Nevada. First,we needed to find out more from Luther about the details of the operation and how it was guarded. This was not going to be easy.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

   June 30   1937     Part One

 

   We kept Luther at our camp and Dan headed back to town after our meeting last night. He would need to stay in town as there was no other law. John and I would be on our own. We would take Luther with us to make sure of the location and would need to bring him back alive if possible but he was not a priority. Once we had Will and Hudson we were getting the hell out of Nevada but not until all of the rif raf associated with the mine out there were dealt with. We planned to take no prisoners. We would take my truck with Luther tied up under a tarp in the back. We’d have to go in on foot for the last mile according to Luther. We will pack heavy as far as weapons and possibly fight our way in. John and I will figure all that out after we scout the place. We had a big breakfast and started to load up the truck for the trip. We will rescue our partners or die trying. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ............

[GhostMiner]

  June 30   1937     Part Two

 

   We were forced to leave the camp and mine unguarded. Our gold is well hidden so we are not worried about that. We drove out of California and into the heat of the Nevada desert using the directions and map Luther had given us. When we got close to the location we got Luther out of the back of the truck. He was half baked to death under the tarp and we gave him water. We untied his legs and parked the truck behind some large boulder outcroppings. We would need to hike into the area and be careful doing it. John and I had our Thompsons and 45’s as well as two rifles. We were packed heavy with ammo. 

   When Luther told us we were getting close we headed off the rough trail and up onto a rock ledge that was about thirty feet above the mine. We could see activity at their camp and there looked to be four guards with one on each side of the camp which was close to the entrance of a mine tunnel tunnel. It looked like they were keeping a tight watch on everything. We would need to make a quick plan of action and wait for dark. John wanted to just go straight on in with guns blazing.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[GhostMiner]

   June 30   1937     Part Three

 

   At dusk all four guards were changed. This told us there were at least eight and likely more. From where our lookout post was they looked to be carrying rifles. Some of them had sidearms as well. We decided to use Luther as a diversion. We put him down on the trail just outside of camp as the night set in. We instructed him to call out for help and warned him that if he tried to warn the gang of miners he would be shot dead. 

   John stayed with him while I worked my way around the back side of the camp. There was a big wooden structure where it appeared the workers were being held. There was only one guard back there. I had told John to give me ten minutes and then have Luther Holler out for help. Then John would try to Join up with me at the back of the camp. We were hoping that Will and Hudson were in there.

   I layed flat out on the gravel waiting for Luther to holler out. It seemed like forever but finally I heard him. The lone guard I was watching turned quickly to see what all the fuss was about and worked his way around the far corner of the building. As he did so I snuck up to the building. The area was dimly lit with a couple of lanterns. I inched my way along the wall of the building until I was three feet behind him. I brought the but of my Thompson down hard on the back of his head. He made a slight cry that was covered up by Luther hollering for them not to shoot and the guard dropped to the ground motionless. I went over and checked the door of the building. It was unlocked and I swung it open with the Thompson pointing inside and ready to open fire. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[GhostMiner]

   June 30   1937     Part Four

 

   There were about ten men inside the building. They all looked to be mine workers. I quickly stated that I was not there to hurt any of them but to rescue my two partners. Then I heard Will give a yell and looked towards the far corner. He was standing there with Hudson. They came running forward and I gave Will my 45 and Hudson a rifle. As we ran out of the building John was just coming down off the rock outcropping towards us. There was no time to talk and we hightailed it back up into the rocks. I could still hear Luther yelling on the trail outside of camp.

   It looked like most of the guards had gone over in that direction leaving just two of them near the building. John said that if we don’t take them out they will be back up to our camp for revenge. I wasn’t so sure but we had to make a quick decision now, either take them out or try to get back to my truck. My mind was racing. I wasn’t afraid of a gunfight but we also had a chance to leave unharmed. They probably wouldn’t see us in the dark but Luther might tell them where the truck was parked. I told John that we needed to get back to the truck but if we were followed we would shoot it out with the gang. We made a run for the truck following the rock outcropping near the trail and watching our backs as we went. Luther had gone quiet now and he had probably told the guards where our truck was. We needed to move quickly as we had little time to waste. As the truck came into view some shots rang out.

   

   TO BE CONTINUED .................

[GhostMiner]

Remember what the Shaman told Jacob.

[GhostMiner]

   June 30   1937     Part Five

 

   We were still over 100 yards from my truck and bullets were whizzing over our heads and flying all around us. We were never going to make it out alive and my decision had been made for me by the thugs. Will and I took cover behind rocks on the right side of the trail while John and Hudson did the same on the left side. 

   I could see muzzle flashes down range and we opened up with everything we had. They picked this fight and they sure as hell were going to get one. We had good cover and plenty of ammo. There was also more at the truck. The firing ceased after a minute or so. They were no doubt trying to figure out what to do next. I decided this would be a good time to climb up on the rocky ledge above me and get a good angle to shoot from. When I got up there I could see the gang grouped up behind some boulders. I had a clear shot from fairly close range and I put the Thompson on full auto. I layed down heavy fire and saw three of them go down instantly. There were still five more and suddenly I heard John’s Thompson firing up on the ridge on the other side of the trail. They were in a deadly crossfire now. We kept on firing until every last one of them was down.

   John and I got down off the ridge and I saw Will and Hudson coming up the trail towards us. Then we went back to their camp. On the way back we saw Luther still sitting tied up on the trail. I told him that his buddies were all shot to hell. He didn’t say a word. 

   There was still one thug left in camp. Stupidly, he tried to fight it out with us and began firing. I circled right with Will and John circled left. Hudson watched the trail out of camp. I called out for the hooligan to give it up but he kept on firing. Will and I kept the bullets flying and then I saw John come around behind him and spray him with the Thompson. It was over. John checked the guy I had hit in the back of the head and he hollered out that he was finished. We had killed them all.

   We told the workers why we were there and they said they were going to stay there and work the mine by themselves. They must have thanked us ten times. On the way back to the truck we grabbed Luther and headed back to California. We had cleaned out another rat's nest. Now we need to get back to mining gold.

   

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[GhostMiner]

   We found the actual Eastern Drift Mine and outside area from the journal. It has collapsed & is unsafe to re-open for now. We also did numerous test pans with this picture of our best one which was about 1/3 gram from one spade shovel of gravels near the old adit. We dug into the hill about 20 ft from the adit and got in about five ft to do the test. 

[rvpopeye]

 From a 1 shovel sample...............👁️‍🗨️👁️‍🗨️