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

[GhostMiner]

A picture of the top of the faultline above the area where the crew worked.

[GhostMiner]

Western side of the fault line looking north. This area is south of the crews old workings.

[GhostMiner]

Standing at top of fault line and looking west. There is about a 100 ft drop to the bottom and many, many places to dig gravels.

[GhostMiner]

   A partially worked kettle in the southern area of the faultline. This is what the old crew in 1936 was digging and pumping water to. Watch out for hooligans and keep your rifle close. 

[GhostMiner]

   A picture of part of the exploration crew. GhostMiner is on the right. We used a Deere 690 where we had approved plans and hand worked the others. Barely a drop in the bucket of all the exploration that could be done. 

[GhostMiner]

   One of the hot spots we found. This was on the side of the southern end of the fault line about 40 ft up the side. This area is remote so we only ran bucket samples by carrying them out to a 12 volt recirculating 14 ft long sluice I built. It was hard work but the gravels produced a whopping $640/cubic yard. Our geologist stated that this area can produce ounces to the yard or yards to an ounce. Hot & cold. The second picture is looking north from previous picture with the shovel along the western side of the fault line. This is south of Jed's diggings. 

[GhostMiner]

   June 27   1937      Part One

 

   It was a late gold weigh but well worth the wait once again with twenty ounces in the pan. We are working a glory hole for sure. Hudson and I drove my truck up to the dig site around 10:30 AM and started our day. 

   The heat was beginning to make a comeback and the temperature was already close to 80 degrees and climbing quickly. We dug until mid afternoon and took our break in the shade. It was too hot to eat much and after twenty minutes we were back at our labor. I call it prison gang work but we know we are getting gold for the hard labor. We are hard men that can out-dig and outfight any crew and we know it. There are very few willing to mess with us and we have built a reputation for ourselves.

   By dusk we had dug 110 buckets and we called it a day. We drove the last of the rich gravels down to the tom and unloaded them for John to finish up in the morning. I was bushed and so was Hudson. The temperature had climbed past 100 degrees but now was cooling quickly. I washed up at the creek and John had stoked up a nice fire as the temperature dipped with the setting sun. It was beans and bacon and it tasted mighty good to the crew. We cracked open cool Lucky’s that were sitting in the creek and I rolled a few smokes.

   To our surprise Deputy Dan walked into camp. I offered him a Lucky which he quickly accepted and told him to have a seat. I knew he was here for a reason. He told us that there was some activity in town. Some of the Mexican gang we had shot it out with were in the hotel. He said there were nine of them from what he could tell. Then he told us something that surprised me. The sheriff had gone to the hotel to meet with them.

   Deputy Dan said he figured the sheriff was working with them to set up a gang of thugs to rob and plunder the area including our mine and camp unless we did a deal with him. I asked Dan about the sheriff’s law force. Dan laughed and said it was just him and Luther as full time deputies and two other part time men who weren’t even qualified as deputies. Dan said that if we turned down the sheriff’s proposal there was going to be trouble.

   I just looked at him and told him we don’t scare and we don’t back down. Period. I said we would fight it out with them if we were pushed into it. Then I told Dan to have another Lucky and listen to what I was thinking of doing. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[GhostMiner]

   This was found at one of the old dig sites. Was this a warning to others in the area to stay out?

[GhostMiner]

   Northern area of the fault line. Remote and lots of places to dig.

[GhostMiner]

1 hour ago, GhostMiner said:

   June 27   1937      Part One

 

   It was a late gold weigh but well worth the wait once again with twenty ounces in the pan. We are working a glory hole for sure. Hudson and I drove my truck up to the dig site around 10:30 AM and started our day. 

   The heat was beginning to make a comeback and the temperature was already close to 80 degrees and climbing quickly. We dug until mid afternoon and took our break in the shade. It was too hot to eat much and after twenty minutes we were back at our labor. I call it prison gang work but we know we are getting gold for the hard labor. We are hard men that can out-dig and outfight any crew and we know it. There are very few willing to mess with us and we have built a reputation for ourselves.

   By dusk we had dug 110 buckets and we called it a day. We drove the last of the rich gravels down to the tom and unloaded them for John to finish up in the morning. I was bushed and so was Hudson. The temperature had climbed past 100 degrees but now was cooling quickly. I washed up at the creek and John had stoked up a nice fire as the temperature dipped with the setting sun. It was beans and bacon and it tasted mighty good to the crew. We cracked open cool Lucky’s that were sitting in the creek and I rolled a few smokes.

   To our surprise Deputy Dan walked into camp. I offered him a Lucky which he quickly accepted and told him to have a seat. I knew he was here for a reason. He told us that there was some activity in town. Some of the Mexican gang we had shot it out with were in the hotel. He said there were nine of them from what he could tell. Then he told us something that surprised me. The sheriff had gone to the hotel to meet with them.

   Deputy Dan said he figured the sheriff was working with them to set up a gang of thugs to rob and plunder the area including our mine and camp unless we did a deal with him. I asked Dan about the sheriff’s law force. Dan laughed and said it was just him and Luther as full time deputies and two other part time men who weren’t even qualified as deputies. Dan said that if we turned down the sheriff’s proposal there was going to be trouble.

   I just looked at him and told him we don’t scare and we don’t back down. Period. I said we would fight it out with them if we were pushed into it. Then I told Dan to have another Lucky and listen to what I was thinking of doing. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

rvpopeye  -   good to see you here.