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

[GhostMiner]

28 minutes ago, Bedrocker said:

Lol too soft and wants you to toughen up eh? Ohh...okay boss. A yard of gravel weighs well over 2,000 pounds.

Yes. He always talked in tons but I converted to yards. I always use 2800 lbs to a yard. Not scientific but gives some reference. Jacob was a bit of a slave driver. The old timers were a tough bunch for sure or they were full of bs LOL.

[GhostMiner]

2 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

      LOST GOLD AT THE DEAD MAN’S MINE

                                          THE 1950’s ERA

 

   This log is based on mining crew records and stories about the gold claims known as The Dead Man’s Mine during a period of exploration and mining from 1950 to 1959. The work was not continuous and some of the crew members changed over the years. At the request of remaining relatives of the old crew members, names have been changed.This record of mining activities comes from claim owner Jack Murphy and two people who leased the claim from him during this period and also includes additional information based on several old reports and stories given to me by local historians. 

 

   April 25   1950

 

   Attempting to re-open an old mine shaft on the north claim. It is flooded out and there are some safety concerns. Historical data indicates rich gold  deposits partially mined in 1936 but more deposits remaining at sloped bedrock to dropped zone bedrock from main shaft depth of 56 ft. Depth of deposit not yet known but according to geologist may be 20 - 50 ft lower than shaft bottom. Crew is assembling today and tomorrow with camp being set up on site. I was told that several of the 1936 and 1937 crew members were killed over gold here. This was confirmed to me by state geologist who had input in the previous work. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

   An interesting reference to the state geologist here. This would have likely been Charles Scott Haley who was involved in many projects in California and Alaska and also wrote books on gold deposits and mining. He was listed in the old report I have. It said he was an advisor in the 1936 operation involving the Stevens brothers. In my opinion, I think he was some kind of partner in the 1936 project. I asked Jacob about this. I never got a straight answer. It was either memory issues or holding back info for some reason. The reason may be that the Stevens brothers owed Haley a gold royalty. A royalty they never paid. There is a brief mention in the old report of an unpaid gold royalty but to who it was owed was not mentioned. Probably no way to ever find out what the truth is on that point.

[GhostMiner]

   Something not written in my 2002 journal  :  I am deep into the process of going into all the old 1950's era info I recently received. There is a bunch of info that I didn't have going back to the 1936 gold strike and what areas were worked. One of them was the shaft Jack Murphy is talking about in the first entry. Jacob told me once that neither he or his brother ever put all the info involving where they worked or how much gold was found in their journals. I also think the original government report is off as to the total ounces mined as well.

   The reason I think this is one day Jacob took us all up to the northern fault line. He said he wanted to show us something that they didn't include in their journals. I asked him what it was on the walk up there but he just winked and said it's buried deep and safe. When we got out to the area we walked into the woods and there was a drop off about 40 feet down. At the bottom of that was a hole filled with water. There were also some timbers laying there. Jacob told us they never put that part of the mining project in the journals. It was kept secret because they thought there was still big gold there but buried deeper. When I asked him how much gold the crew had mined there he wouldn't say. However, he did tell us they could have gotten much more gold there but they had removed enough for that time and went into easier areas to work thinking they'd get back to that place someday. He said the work would have involved going deeper and further out from the shaft. That day never came.

   The 1950's reports talk about a strike there at the 36 - 56 foot levels and it was big. I'll save that for the actual report being posted. Based on what I am reading from the 1950's info so far, I am beginning to think that the Stevens brothers only scratched the surface on the amount of gold in this area. They may have only gotten a very small % of what is buried there. The 1950's reports are beginning to tell me I may be correct.

[Old Miner Don]

1 hour ago, GhostMiner said:

Yes. He always talked in tons but I converted to yards. I always use 2800 lbs to a yard. Not scientific but gives some reference. Jacob was a bit of a slave driver. The old timers were a tough bunch for sure or they were full of bs LOL.

Probably a healthy combination of both 🥴!

[GhostMiner]

2 minutes ago, Bedrocker said:

Probably a healthy combination of both 🥴!

Most likely LOL.

[GhostMiner]

   FROM THE 1950 RECORDS OF JACK MURPHY

   April 26   1950

 

   The last of the crew arrived today with the diesel pump which was taken up to the shaft via the old mining road. We have pumped out the mainshaft.  We are digging a sump area 12 feet below the old level to manage water issues if required. We needed to blast the bedrock to get below the 56 ft level. The actual shaft is 36 ft in depth with a horseshoe drift dropping the level to 56 ft and ending nearly beside but 20 ft lower than the mainshaft where an area of raised bedrock exists. This is the area of the 1936 strike and is nearly against the western side of the fault. According to the state geologist maps bedrock should drop away to the north and south of the mainshaft bottom at some point. The mainshaft itself is sitting just 20 ft west of the fault. It is our intention to drift along the raised bedrock in a northward heading staying close to the fault. There may be gold on the unexplored raised bedrock area but it is our understanding that large deposits may exist in the lower unraised levels where the main deposit was not disturbed. A significant discovery may occur anywhere along the raised areas but more likely at dropped depths going down from 56 ft to 110 ft.  

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

   May 8   2002     Part Two

 

   We went up to the mine bound and determined to impress Jacob and show him we could work as hard as the old crews. Of course, at this stage of the season and the shape we were in, we were just kidding ourselves.

   It was a warm Spring morning and the sweat poured off of us as we pounded away at the gravels with pick and shovel work. We broke for lunch around 1:00 PM and I was soaked in sweat. My hands were sore and my shoulders were aching. Vern and Jim were in the same condition. However, we had sent a lot of gravel through the tom - about 50% more than our previous slow pace had done. Jacob gave us his highest compliment. He said we were starting to look like a top notch gold mining crew. I was beaming with pride. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ............

[GhostMiner]

 May 8   2002     Part Three

 

   We worked hard for the rest of the day. I found that by taking several short breaks rather than one long one I was able to get more gravel through the tom. We were working old school and I was starting to like it. We all were. I think we got around twelve yards of gravel washed. We got back to camp before dusk and did the cleanup before supper. We were all anxious to see what we got. Jacob had a big smile after weighing the gold. He set the jar on a table in front of us. We had half an ounce for the day. This was our biggest weigh to date and I felt like there would be no stopping us now. We are all going to get rich. For six days work we now have 1.7 ounces of gold and we are starting to get into the richer gravel now. The canned stew and bread never tasted so good tonight. A few beers with the crew and the day was done. I am living my dream. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[GhostMiner]

   April 27   1950

 

   We were delayed today dealing with some water in the lower drift near the 56 ft level. We got our pump in place and have sent the water up and out. The mainshaft will need some additional timbering in certain areas before it's safe for the crew. The drift also needs work. I figure at least a week or 10 days before it is done. We are taking timber from the nearby trees and sawing them to width and length. I think the ground water will dry up some later in the season. For now we are working in heavy ground.   

   TO BE CONTINUED ............

[GhostMiner]

2 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

   April 27   1950

 

   We were delayed today dealing with some water in the lower drift near the 56 ft level. We got our pump in place and have sent the water up and out. The mainshaft will need some additional timbering in certain areas before it's safe for the crew. The drift also needs work. I figure at least a week or 10 days before it is done. We are taking timber from the nearby trees and sawing them to width and length. I think the ground water will dry up some later in the season. For now we are working in heavy ground.   

   TO BE CONTINUED ............

   I would think that horshoe shaped drift would have been full of some nasty muck and really tough to get through.