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

[GhostMiner]

6 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

  May 19   2002     Part Two

 

   I was wondering why Jacob was telling this story at this particular time. At a time when we were about to start a night watch of the camp. It was almost as if he was warning us of some kind of impending danger out here. Be that as it may, I was now more curious than ever as to what he was about to tell us.

   Jacob said that when whatever it was came crashing down the mountain he also heard the scream of a man. Then he saw the man come running down past camp. It was the same guy they had sent packing earlier. But behind the man came what we would now call a bigfoot. Now I have heard that this county is considered a hotspot for such creatures but I am not someone who believes in folklore. I would need to see one to believe it.

   Anyway, Jacob said the creature was at least eight feet tall and over 400 pounds or more. It let out a blood curdling cry and stopped just short of camp. It began shaking a pine tree violently. He said it woke the crew and they came out of their tents to see what was happening. He said Jed wanted to shoot it but somehow held back. After about a minute Jed fired off several rounds from his rifle that were aimed over its head. This seemed to startle it and it ran back up the mountain faster than any human could have done. Jacob stated that they never saw the prospector again. 

   We all just looked at each other and were trying to figure out if Jacob was trying to get one over on us but he didn’t flinch and remained dead serious. I looked over at Vern and just said “You have first watch.” 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

rvpopeye in the house!

[GhostMiner]

   May 20   2002

 

   We did the morning gold cleanup and had 4/10 of an ounce. We are close to ten ounces now. Seeing as the season is young we are hopeful of making many more ounces, especially once our permit is cleared for heavy equipment. With the permit we will continue to work the mountain just like Jacob did back in 1937 with the exception of using an excavator to dig gravels. We will also replace the tom with a big highbanker and grizzly. Jacob is very anxious for that to happen and said we should then see plenty of gold. In the meantime, we will dig by hand.

   Today was a hot one with the afternoon temperature getting close to 90 degrees. Jacob warned us that it would get much hotter during the Summer months. He called it the big heat and said it would knock us on our tails if we weren’t careful. He said it was like working in an oven all day. Hopefully, our bodies will be built up and ready for anything by then. Also, if we have digging equipment out here that would solve a lot of problems. 

   The trench we are cutting is growing laterally as well as in depth and length into the mountain. We have seen a bit of bedrock here and there before it mysteriously vanished to deeper levels on steep slopes. Jacob came out and  checked our work today. He told us the mountain is full of surprises. It will give you some gold and then suddenly you won’t find it again for days. He said it just takes relentless work and a strong will to make it pay. We are giving it all we have. We ended our day with sixteen yards of washed gravel. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

  July 2   1950

 

   I was unable to talk the investor into continuing to fund the project. There is still some hope that we may find the drop in bedrock and I am using the last of my personal money to continue work. The bedrock has now begun to slope downward once again and we are all hopeful this is what we have been working so hard for. I have also been able to secure a loan from the bank equal to 50% of my truck’s value. This combined with the last of my personal funds may keep us afloat for several more weeks which I feel is more than enough time to achieve success. The geologist has gone missing on the project and I have been unable to contact him for further advice. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ..................

[GhostMiner]

   May 21   2002     Part One     The Search For Jacob’s Lost Gold Cache

 

   Jacob and I were up early and had our coffee together. He did the usual and spiced up our cups with a little Bushmills and we sat and watched the dark night slowly turn to dawn. Eventually the rest of the crew was up and about and we all had a good breakfast together and cleaned up the concentrates from yesterday’s work. We had 7/10 of an ounce. This officially put us at 10.1 ounces for the season. 

   As we were beginning to prepare for work Jacob hollered for us to come over to his camper. He had something on his mind. He told us that he had hidden some gold caches on the claims back in 1937 and had never had the chance to come back to get them. He wanted us to help look for them. He said he’d throw them into our pot to be divided up equally by the four of us. He said that we were his partners and that’s the way it should be. He reckoned there were about 50 ounces hidden up here somewhere.

   We were all in agreement to help him out. He didn't have a map because he was afraid somebody would rob him and find it so he was working from memory. Jacob said that if he could find the first one then the other two would be easy. He said they were hidden way up on the remote northern section of the claims. He said nobody goes up there but black bears and mountain lions. We grabbed some shovels and started to follow Jacob up the mountain.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..................

[GhostMiner]

58 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

   May 21   2002     Part One     The Search For Jacob’s Lost Gold Cache

 

   Jacob and I were up early and had our coffee together. He did the usual and spiced up our cups with a little Bushmills and we sat and watched the dark night slowly turn to dawn. Eventually the rest of the crew was up and about and we all had a good breakfast together and cleaned up the concentrates from yesterday’s work. We had 7/10 of an ounce. This officially put us at 10.1 ounces for the season. 

   As we were beginning to prepare for work Jacob hollered for us to come over to his camper. He had something on his mind. He told us that he had hidden some gold caches on the claims back in 1937 and had never had the chance to come back to get them. He wanted us to help look for them. He said he’d throw them into our pot to be divided up equally by the four of us. He said that we were his partners and that’s the way it should be. He reckoned there were about 50 ounces hidden up here somewhere.

   We were all in agreement to help him out. He didn't have a map because he was afraid somebody would rob him and find it so he was working from memory. Jacob said that if he could find the first one then the other two would be easy. He said they were hidden way up on the remote northern section of the claims. He said nobody goes up there but black bears and mountain lions. We grabbed some shovels and started to follow Jacob up the mountain.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..................

popeye in the house!!

[GhostMiner]

   May 21   2002     Part Two

 

   Jacob slowly made his way on a northeast heading. This took us away from the creek and into some fairly rugged terrain. There were no trails or clearings from previous workings and the pine trees were old. I had never been up to this section of the claims. I saw no sign of any previous mining activity or anything else. After about fifteen minutes we came to a stop. Jacob was taking a look around and muttering to himself. He seemed to be trying to remember things from 65 years ago. We all wanted to help him but there was nothing we could do but remain silent and let him think.

   After about ten minutes we started moving again. Now he was heading more to the east than north. He said the trees had grown and he was having trouble finding one of his markers he had carved. Jacob said he had made a carving on the south side of a big pine and had placed three rocks on the north side of the base of it. He said if he could just find that first tree he should be able to find the first cache of gold. He seemed to think we were in the right area.

   We decided to spread out a bit and start searching in a tight grid slowly working east. It was probably no more than ten minutes when I heard Vern holler out to come have a look at where he was standing. He said he found the first marker. 

   Sure enough, when I got over to where he was pointing I saw a very faint carving of two initials in the south side of the tree. JS. I walked around to the north side and there were three good sized rocks lying near the base of the big pine. When Jacob came over he was all smiles. He gave me a nudge and a wink and said I probably just thought he was just a crazy old man. I told him that no, I would never ever think that. I asked him where to go from here. He just chuckled and said to follow him. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

May 21   2002     Part Three

 

   Jacob counted off twenty paces due north from the tree. At this point he encountered a flat rock about two feet in length. There looked to be a slight depression underneath it. He gave me a nod and I pulled the rock away from its resting place. He said to dig down about two feet. As I got down to that level I hit something and the shovel made a clanging type of sound. Vern got down on his knees and started scooping some gravel away from the hole and as he did so he exposed a small metal container. He pulled it out of the hole and handed it to Jacob who was now all smiles. He undid a latch and opened the metal box. It contained a nice stash of raw gold, both fine and coarse, and also pickers in a little glass jar as well. 

   We all looked at each other in amazement. Jim started to laugh and we all joined him. After all these years we were looking at some of the old crew's gold. Jacob said there was an even 10 ounces in the container. He said that was the smallest cache and the next two held much more. We could hardly contain our excitement and congratulated him on finding it after all these years. Then we set off with Jacob to find the next one. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .................

[GhostMiner]

   July 3   1950

 

   We continue to follow the bedrock on a gentle downward slope and are washing poorly paying gravel. I have still had no luck in making further contact with the geologist and now assume he has abandoned the project. In camp tonight the mood of the crew was low but no one has left. It appears the men are as stubborn as I am and will work until we find our jackpot or run out of money.  

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

   May 21   2002     Part Three

 

   Jacob told us that the next hidden cache would contain 15 ounces. He said he had hidden it in a completely different area nearly a mile due west of the first spot. We hiked slowly across the mountain and were in very rugged terrain. We eventually made our way down the side of the mountain and into a deep ravine where the north/south running creek was flowing. The water was about two feet deep and we made our way across it to the western side. This is where the mountain began to rise for about 200 feet and it was a fairly steep slope. I mentioned to Jacob that I was worried about him making the steep climb that would be a challenge for people half his age. He just laughed and said to follow him north along the base of the ravine not far from the creek.

   As we traversed north along the floodplain with the mountain just 50 feet to the west Jacob spotted his next marker. There was a huge rock outcropping about 20 feet up the hill. It appeared that the rocks were resting on a bench. The grade going up to that point was not too bad compared to the rest of the areas we had passed by. I figured Jacob had handpicked this spot for several reasons. It was remote but the access wasn’t too difficult and it was a very easy marker to spot.

   We followed him up the mountain until he came to the boulders. We all took a seat on a flat stone the size of a car. We drank some water and Jacob pulled out his flask that he always carried. We all had a swig of his whisky and he decided to roll a smoke. As we sat there resting, Jacob started to tell us a story from back when he hid this cache we were near.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..................

[GhostMiner]

 May 21   2002     Part Four

 

   Jacob told us that he had begun scouting a second sight for his gold cache to be hidden. Wanting to save time, he was carrying the gold with him as well as his trusty Thompson. Before he had made it all the way up here he heard some people talking as they were heading down the mountain. This was 1937 and the country was in a tough place and people were desperate. Jacob said he trusted no one. His Thompson was his best friend and had saved him from robberies in the past.

   When the group of men came into view there were four of them and they were all carrying rifles and sidearms. They started to walk towards Jacob and he hollered at them to stop. He said they looked a little startled and told him they meant no harm and that they were just poor prospectors looking to stake a claim somewhere on the mountain. Jacob said not even one of them had a pick or a shovel nor a pan so he knew right away they were liars and up to no good.

   He told them he had no idea where there was any good ground to stake a claim and mentioned that all the good ground was probably taken years ago. The four of them began to inch their way slowly in his direction and attempted to make idle conversation about how hot the weather was. Jacob said he had the Thompson slung over his right shoulder and decided to bring it forward with both hands and pointing directly at the strangers. He told them to stop moving towards him. Then he told them that before they could scatter he would have them mowed down before they took two steps.

   He fired a short burst near their feet and the four of them jumped back in fear. He said their eyes were big as saucers and they now knew he meant business. Jacob told them he'd shoot all four of them and leave them for the lions. He had them lay their weapons down. Then he told them they had better get the hell down the mountain and out of this area pronto or they would never leave alive. He told them there were camps of heavily armed men here and they were stone cold killers of anybody they didn’t recognize. Then he fired off a second burst just over their heads by a foot or so and they ran like hell. As they ran down the mountain he fired off one more burst for good measure. After he had finished with the story he just gave us a cold stare that made my skin crawl. We were  sitting with an outlaw from another era. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............