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

[Ken Walls]

Im curious to what happened to the hidden loot the other workers had hidden before they were killed. Did anyone ever find it? 

[Ken Walls]

Even awhile back there hasnt been any mention of sarge's stashed loot being found.????

[GhostMiner]

5 minutes ago, Ken Walls said:

Even awhile back there hasnt been any mention of sarge's stashed loot being found.????

Each man was responsible for his own stash. Did Jacob know where any of it was? 

[GhostMiner]

   I am really happy to now be able to reveale this next part of the story which is most amazing. I can say that 85 yr old Jacob Stevens was a man's man in every sense of the word. I will continue in the next entry which was started in April of 2002. Even my wife is now asking where is the gold hidden? 

[GhostMiner]

   April 21   2002     Part One

 

   For the sake of this entry in what is now my own journal I will refer to John’s descendant as Jim. We made it up to the road where Jacob’s cabin was located around 5:00 PM. The road was actually more of a trail but good enough for my truck to navigate. After climbing up the mountain for about 2 miles we spied the cabin. It was a simple affair.

   The weather was cool but above freezing and we could see the smoke from a wood fire coming out of the chimney pipe. I was really nervous about this meeting. I had no idea other than from what I had read in Jacob’s journal how Jacob would act towards us. He had allowed the meeting so it gave me hope for the best.

   John Jr. and I walked up a long pathway to the cabin and he knocked on the heavy wooden door. After what seemed like an eternity, we heard the door handle engage a lock and it slowly swung open. There before us stood Jacob Stevens.

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

More in the next entry but I have to say that meeting a living legend in person that you have read about was quite an experience.

[GhostMiner]

   April 21   2002     Part Two

 

   I must say that it was an amazing experience meeting a living legend. Jacob was lean, about five foot ten inches in height, had a full head of gray hair,trimmed beard, and stood nearly straight as an arrow. He was a bit grizzled and looked hard as a rock. If I were to make an uneducated guess at his age I would have thought him to be fifteen to twenty years younger. I was tongue tied for a few seconds and then simply stuck my hand out and said I was Mark and happy to meet him. He gave me a half grin and shook my hand. He had a vice-like grip. Jim shook his hand next. He told us to come in and have a seat.

   The cabin had one large room with the kitchen on one side and a living room area with a big wood stove. There were a few chairs near the stove with a small table in between them. Jim and I sat on one side and Jacob took a seat facing us. There was a bottle of Bushmills on the table and some tin cups. He offered us a drink as he poured one for himself and we readily accepted.

   Jacob took a drink from his cup and said he had heard I had filed on the old mine. I told him he was correct. He also asked me how I had gotten hold of his journal. I told him I not only had his journal but his brother Jed’s as well. His eyes lit up when he heard that. I had brought them with me and told him he should have them. When I handed them over I could see his eyes tear up and he took another drink from his cup. I told him how I had gotten Jed’s journal and that I had gotten his from a descendant of Sheriff Dan. 

   Jacob told us that he had made a mistake in trusting Dan and had been told that Dan decided to work with a group that owned a logging company near the mine and took over the claims. I told Jacob I was very pleased to be able to give the journals to him.

   Jacob said that he hadn’t been back to the mine since the July 4th attack and  was forced to hide out like an outlaw. He had heard he was a wanted man to be investigated for various felonies. He shook his head and told us the mining crew had only defended themselves against the worst vermin imaginable. 

   Jacob said that from what he had heard the logging group knew little of mining and were hard pressed to find anyone who would work for them. The townsfolk didn’t want anything to do with the old mine and considered it very dangerous to be out there. After a few years the group hadn’t made much money and simply abandoned the claims.

   He said he was set for life from the gold he had mined with Jed back in 1936 as well as the money he got when the crew sold the treasure. He said he didn’t put all the information in his journal and had plenty of secrets about the mine and what was buried up there. Jacob said that every man was responsible for his own stash and there was gold and treasure buried all over the mountain. He said that none of them wanted to bury valuables in just one location in case they were found as it would wipe out their poke. He said they all had their hiding places where small amounts of loot was stashed. 

   By now we had finished our drinks and without asking Jacob poured us another round. He seemed happy to have us for company. I told him about my little company and my other working partner Vern Kidder as well as my group of passive investors back East. He warned me to be careful of passive investors as they could quickly become aggressive investors trying to mess with me. Jacob pointed to the far wall. His Thompson was hanging there. He said he kept it loaded and ready for action just in case. I wanted to ask him about some of the gunfights he wrote about in the journal but figured I best not bring any of that up unless he started talking about them. However, I did have one important question for him that I was ready to ask.

 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

   April 21   2002     Part Three

 

   We stayed and had lunch with Jacob. Bacon and eggs fried up in a big iron skillet with biscuits and gravy. The three of us sat at a wooden table and talked about the old days at the mine. Jacob told us about John and the other crew members. He said they had been like family. Jed and John were as rough and tumble as it gets. They would fight at the drop of a hat if needed. He said that after a year of working on the mine with them he had become just like his brother. He said the journals were the real deal but a lot had been left out. Some of it intentionally. 

   I asked him about the shaman. Jacobs' demeanor changed when I brought him up. He said that was the beginning of the end for the crew and didn’t want to talk about it. Ever. I changed the subject to the gold and treasure on the mine. He said he had never been back but would like to see the old mine one more time. He had never had the chance to dig up his loot from 1937.

   I figured this was as good a time as any and I summoned up the courage to ask him my question. Would he come back to the mine with me? Would he be willing to stay on the property for a while and be a consultant? Would he be a partner with us? Jacob didn’t even hesitate. He gave me the answer I was looking for. He said he’d like to get back there and do a little mining with us and show us what they had done and where there might still be a good amount of gold. He also wanted to dig up his stash if he could remember where it was all buried. 

   He poured us another cup of whiskey and the three of us made plans right then and there. Jacob, Jim, and I along with Vern Kidder would be mining partners supported by my investors back east. We figured up our percentages in the deal and wrote it up on a piece of paper. Then we all signed it. Vern was back in California and he was hoping for something like this and I couldn’t wait to tell him.

   Jacob said to give him a day to get ready for the trip down to the mine and secure his cabin. I told him we’d be back for him the day after tomorrow and we shook hands with him and thanked him again. Then Jim and I headed for a nearby town and found ourselves a place to stay until we headed back to California.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

   April 23   2002       Part One

 

   We arrived at Jacob’s cabin early this morning. After sharing some Irish Coffee with him we helped load his gear onto the truck and we were off for the mine. We talked about gold mining and swapped tales of adventures. However, mine paled in comparison to Jacob’s. 

   By late afternoon we were getting close to the mine. When we drove past Paxton Jacob saw the road sign. He wanted me to drive up to the old hotel. I obliged and we took the little road which crossed the Feather River via an old one lane bridge and wound our way up the mountain until the hotel came into full view. I drove up to the parking area and Jacob got out.

   He stood there just looking at the building and I finally asked him what he was thinking about. He told us that Jed and the crew were in a big brawl there back in 1936. He said he was with them and they ended up in a fist fight and throw down that lasted about ten minutes. He said his memory was a bit faded but thought there were around ten guys that they took on.

   Apparently the fight was over some woman they had met in the bar one night and when their boyfriends and their friends arrived all hell broke loose. Jacob said they kicked the stuffing out of them and kept right on drinking. He said they used to drive out there every now and then for a Saturday night hoot as he called it. Back then there was no law and you took care of your own business the best way you could. He wanted to go in and look the place over. Jim and I looked at each other and kind of shrugged our shoulders and in we went.

   As soon as we walked into the big bar room Jacob said he remembered it well. He said the bar was the same but the tables and chairs were all changed as well as the interior colors. He pointed over to the far corner and told us that was where the fight had started. We took a seat at that corner table and ordered up some drinks. We toasted to our newly formed mining group. I had a feeling this was going to be quite an adventure.

 

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

[GhostMiner]

Bedrocker in the house.