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

[GhostMiner]

   Another side note on the oldtimer who frequented the bar in town back in the 1960's : I was trying to recall my conversation with him and what I could put on here as far as information & maybe I can put more info in the book that's coming. He said he was in his 20's back then and I met him in 2013. He passed away since. This oldtimer who I won't name told me there used to be a lot of old guys in the bar back in the 1960's who talked about Jed's crew and the big gold strike on the mountain. Some of them remembered the mine co operative and recalled hearing about multiple shootouts up there. They also told him there were a lot of thugs in the area back then. The part of his story that interested me the most was this - there was an old guy that told him he was a prospector back in the 1930's and had gone up the creek with a few other prospectors and recalled  meeting 4 people mining in the location of our claims and maps. He said they had actually talked with them about gold and where some hot spots might be located. He remembered 2 younger guys in their 20's & 2 guys in their mid 30's or early 40's. He recalled that when they met them they all had guns at the ready and it scared the hell out of the prospectors because they thought they might get shot for asking about gold. He said the guy told him they were a rough looking crew and wouldn't want to mess with them but also said they were friendly enough once they started talking with them and saw they weren't a threat.

   Another fascinating thing he told me was that he had talked with the son of the barkeeper who used to work there back in the 1930's and help clean the place & haul shipments. He told him about a big brawl that took place between a couple of miners and a logging crew. There were 2 miners and 5 loggers. The fight started over a couple of woman who were girlfriends of 2 of the loggers but the gals were paying a lot of attention to the miners. Somehow punches started flying and they were all going at it and the bar got all busted up. I'm thinking that must have been the fight Jed talked about in the journal. The barkeeper's son told him the mine boss came in late that night and paid them for the damages and wasn't in a very good mood. That's about all I can remember about that conversation with him back in 2013. 

[flakmagnet]

Another window into Jed and his crew. Thanks.

One of the details that comes through so clearly in these tales

is just how tough these folks were back then. 

The work was back-breaking and the elements were harsh.

We can still see so many examples in the Sierra Nevada's

of the amount of work put in by the 49er's and the people who followed them.

Not many of us today could lead that way of life.

 

[GhostMiner]

5 minutes ago, flakmagnet said:

Another window into Jed and his crew. Thanks.

One of the details that comes through so clearly in these tales

is just how tough these folks were back then. 

The work was back-breaking and the elements were harsh.

We can still see so many examples in the Sierra Nevada's

of the amount of work put in by the 49er's and the people who followed them.

Not many of us today could lead that way of life.

 

   I agree. I have done a small amount of work like that but not for long. 

[flakmagnet]

8 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

. I have done a small amount of work like that but not for long. 

I thought it was a big deal when I was dredging in the mother lode rivers spending 8 to 10 hours a day underwater for a whole summer…but then when you spend two weeks working a hole through 12 feet of overburden only to find a Chinese coin in a crevice in the bedrock, you get real with yourself; those guys did it by hand after they flumed the whole section of the river they were working in first.

cheers

[GhostMiner]

1 hour ago, flakmagnet said:

I thought it was a big deal when I was dredging in the mother lode rivers spending 8 to 10 hours a day underwater for a whole summer…but then when you spend two weeks working a hole through 12 feet of overburden only to find a Chinese coin in a crevice in the bedrock, you get real with yourself; those guys did it by hand after they flumed the whole section of the river they were working in first.

cheers

The crew had a great leader with a plan & there was no quit in them. They mined out gold the old boys missed in the 1800's. And they missed a lot.

[maxxkatt]

38 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

The crew had a great leader with a plan & there was no quit in them. They mined out gold the old boys missed in the 1800's. And they missed a lot.

It happens. In the 1840's there were more than 10,000 old boys in Dahlonega, GA area. And yet in the 1970's a Canadian found a pothole (glory hole) and found enough gold with his dredge to cover a full sized bed. Nobody gets it all. Mother earth is still hiding her secrets for others to discover.

[GhostMiner]

1 hour ago, maxxkatt said:

It happens. In the 1840's there were more than 10,000 old boys in Dahlonega, GA area. And yet in the 1970's a Canadian found a pothole (glory hole) and found enough gold with his dredge to cover a full sized bed. Nobody gets it all. Mother earth is still hiding her secrets for others to discover.

Indeed. We are now discovering what Jed did not get to.

[Off Grid]

Thank you for a really great story. Reminds me of a Jack London book (?) on the Klondyke my father had, thick, mismatched, yellowed pages and all. Set me on the road to a geological career I've never regretted.

I guess that detectors won't be much use is pothole country given their relative depth limitations compared to a pothole. Have you used or considered using Ground Penetrating Radar in your current efforts? For that matter has anybody else on the forum used GPR as a companion to detectors? I've considered it but it's a big investment. In the US there should be contractors to use. It should work a treat on dry gravels over irregular bedrock which you seem to have. GPR is the go-to approach for dry-land, alluvial diamonds in Africa.

[GhostMiner]

8 hours ago, Off Grid said:

Thank you for a really great story. Reminds me of a Jack London book (?) on the Klondyke my father had, thick, mismatched, yellowed pages and all. Set me on the road to a geological career I've never regretted.

I guess that detectors won't be much use is pothole country given their relative depth limitations compared to a pothole. Have you used or considered using Ground Penetrating Radar in your current efforts? For that matter has anybody else on the forum used GPR as a companion to detectors? I've considered it but it's a big investment. In the US there should be contractors to use. It should work a treat on dry gravels over irregular bedrock which you seem to have. GPR is the go-to approach for dry-land, alluvial diamonds in Africa.

Very interesting & thank you.

[Cascade Steven]

Off Grid: you have a very good point.  Ground Penetrating Radar may be of value in detecting  depth to bedrock and possibly the unevenness of the bedrock surface.  This then could theoretically predict the presence of "kettles" and potential gold collection sites.  This link (https://www.guidelinegeo.com/ground-penetrating-radar-gpr/) provides a general overview of the process and its capabilities.  Another potential tool is a shallow seismic survey.  Such surveys can be conducted with field portable equipment and the energy source for the wave is either a "shot shell" or a sledge-hammer on a steel plate.  I have been involved with such surveys on abandoned mine tailings and seismic surveys worked well in that environment.  GM: From my experience it appears that it may be worthwhile to at least contact a vendor for a discussion of capabilities to learn if either method is a worthwhile tool for your specific application.  Just more food for thought and best wishes on your endeavor.