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

[GhostMiner]

 

 

[GhostMiner]

   May 21   2002     Part Five

 

   After several tries we eventually found the second cache of gold which contained 20 ounces. It was buried several feet beneath the surface under a large, flat stone which we had to move. Now there was still one more cache remaining. Jacob said we needed to hike to the north about a quarter mile where we would come upon an old logging road that headed west up the mountain. He said this was the road the logging rif raf crews used back in the day when they made their way down the mountain to head south past the old mining crews camp to get to the main road. Jacob sure had a bad opinion of loggers for some reason but I didn’t want to get him started on another story. It was now early afternoon and we wanted to find the last of the gold today.

   When we came to the old road Jacob let out a hoot. He said we won’t be running into any rif raf logging crews up here today. We could see that the road had been abandoned for years. He said to start following it up the mountain and we slowly made our way west. I asked him how far and he said we would eventually come across three large boulders on the north side of what was now a rough trail. He said it wasn’t too far. After about half an hour Jacob spotted the rocks. He gave a holler and threw his hat in the air. He said to follow him over to the boulders.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

   May 21   2002     Part Six

 

   We got up to the site where the cache was hidden. This area looked like it hadn’t seen any human activity for many years. The old logging road was now just a rough trail. The boulders were nearly 100 feet off the trail and there were other smaller rocks all around the area. Jacob stopped and took a long look around the area as if trying to remember the exact location. He said the area had changed some and he didn’t remember all the other rocks being there. To be honest, the place looked like an old hard rock tailings dump. He said he had buried the cash on the north side of the big boulders and covered it by dragging  a big flat rock over from an area about thirty feet away. Now the entire area was covered in rocks. Jacob just shook his head in disgust. He said somebody had dumped rock in this area. I asked him again how far from the big boulders he had buried the gold and he told me just ten paces or maybe thirty feet.

   So I tried my best to step off ten paces over the rough and uneven rock strewn area. Then the four of us started to look for a big flat rock. We worked slowly and removed as much of the rounded rock as we could and finally found a large flat stone that was too big to lift. Jacob hollered out saying that might be it. Jim got down on his knees and pushed the stone away from its resting place. Then Vern grabbed a shovel and started digging. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[Tahoegold]

On 3/28/2023 at 3:22 PM, GhostMiner said:

 

 

That is one nice small package of firepower. That looks totally packable. It actually looks better with the straight magazine in my opinion. 

[GhostMiner]

7 hours ago, Tahoegold said:

That is one nice small package of firepower. That looks totally packable. It actually looks better with the straight magazine in my opinion. 

I have shot a Thompson several times. Lot's of fun.

[GhostMiner]

  May 21   2002     Part Seven

 

   After a bit of trial and error and a gradual widening of the hole Vern uncovered the metal container which held another 20 ounces of gold. He placed it on a rock. Jacob looked at it for a while and exclaimed that this was the very last of the old crew’s gold that he knew of. However, he was quick to say there may be more that was hidden by some of the crew who were murdered. Because of the generosity of Jacob our total gold take now has risen to 60 ounces and it was still May. We all gathered around Jacob to shake his hand and thank him. There was no greed in this man. He was old school. He understood hard work as opposed to instant gratification. He was also as loyal as they came. Once he was your friend he was with you all the way regardless of the circumstances. However, you would never want him as your enemy.

   The four of us talked happily of the claims and gold mining as we slowly made our way back to camp. It had been quite a day. For our supper Jacob made up some of Jed’s favorite hot water cornbread which we ate with stew and washed it down with some whisky. I sat back and tried to imagine myself as part of the old crew. For a minute or two I drifted back in time to 1936. I felt like I wanted to stay there. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .................

[GhostMiner]

   May 22   2002

 

   We were all up fairly early. The weather was warm but not hot. I still have not seen what Jacob refers to as the Big Heat. I suppose it will eventually come and I will see how our crew handles it. We have not had any more issues with trespassers or thieves so guard duty was suspended. However, Jacob will remain at camp during the day to guard things. He did mention that he would enjoy getting up to the site from time to time to check on things and give advice so we will rotate people starting today so Jacob can be at the mine site for a few hours daily. We need him to be a big part of our decision making as far as where and how to run things.

   After lunch Jacob came up to inspect the site. He gave us some direction as to our digging operations and took some sample pans. He brought one over and showed us some gold. That always fuels us for the rest of the day. Then he grabbed up a shovel and started to do some digging. I could see his face light up as he shoveled the gravels. He worked at a slow and steady pace. 

   By the day’s end we had washed about 16 yards of gravel. Jacob told us the ground was looking very promising. We all want to see over 100 ounces and with the gold caches included we are well on our way. If I can get an excavator up here eventually there will be no stopping us. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

 

[GhostMiner]

32 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

   May 22   2002

 

   We were all up fairly early. The weather was warm but not hot. I still have not seen what Jacob refers to as the Big Heat. I suppose it will eventually come and I will see how our crew handles it. We have not had any more issues with trespassers or thieves so guard duty was suspended. However, Jacob will remain at camp during the day to guard things. He did mention that he would enjoy getting up to the site from time to time to check on things and give advice so we will rotate people starting today so Jacob can be at the mine site for a few hours daily. We need him to be a big part of our decision making as far as where and how to run things.

   After lunch Jacob came up to inspect the site. He gave us some direction as to our digging operations and took some sample pans. He brought one over and showed us some gold. That always fuels us for the rest of the day. Then he grabbed up a shovel and started to do some digging. I could see his face light up as he shoveled the gravels. He worked at a slow and steady pace. 

   By the day’s end we had washed about 16 yards of gravel. Jacob told us the ground was looking very promising. We all want to see over 100 ounces and with the gold caches included we are well on our way. If I can get an excavator up here eventually there will be no stopping us. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

 

   Our gold cuts were now at around 15 ounces each or about $4500 in 2002 which was a fair amount of money. I will never forget this day as long as I live. It was the beginning of a big change in the way I looked at life and my finances would continue to grow. $4500 back in 2002 would buy you quite a bit. Now gold is hovering around $2000/ounce and probably going higher. 

[GhostMiner]

  May 23   2002

 

   This morning’s cleanup showed .3 ounces in the pan. Jim stayed down at camp while Vern, Jacob, and I went up to work the mine. It was a beautiful morning for working and we went at it until around 2:00 PM when we broke for lunch. Jacob went back down to camp and Jim came up to dig. The rounded channel rocks were good to see but were playing hell with our digging speed  not to mention our joints. I couldn’t imagine how Jed and Jacob and the rest of the old crew were able to do what they did. My hands and elbows ache every day. Vern, being the younger member of the crew, was fairing a bit better. Nobody ever complained and Jacob told us to just keep a steady pace and don’t push yourself past the breaking point. We were all hoping the permit would be approved before the weather got too hot. 

   By the end of the day we had managed a hard fought for 12 yards of washed gravels. Now I understand why those old boys drank whisky at night. It killed the pain. After supper that’s what we all did, had a couple of drinks with Jacob. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

[GhostMiner]

   July 6   1950

 

   The gravel continues to lack value. The sloping bedrock has flattened out and what gravel layer exists is thin and barren of gold. I have finally made contact with the geologist and he will be at the mine tomorrow to give his evaluation of the project.