GhostMiner

April 23 2012 Equipment Arrives Last night was cold and we used propane tent heaters to help ward off the chill. We ate breakfast outside in the 40 degree early morning air. Our provisions are dried foods that are sealed and also canned goods. We eat at a distance from camp as a cautionary measure. We don’t want animals coming into camp if it can be helped. Our skid steer and excavator were delivered in the early afternoon and the trommel arrived around 5:00 PM. We have started the process of running water line from the source pond up in the mountain which requires nearly 2400 feet of three inch layflat hose and two gas powered three inch pumps to send it. The first pump is hooked in series with the second to get the water over a 110 foot gradual rise. Then the water is able to make the rest of the downhill journey. Tomorrow we will dig out the old holding pond and build a small dam across the middle with one side being for fresh water and the other a settling pond for tailings. The water will be recirculated for as long as the main pond holds up. Each day fresh water from the main pond will be pumped down to our working ponds. I figure several hours of pumping from the source pond each morning should keep our working ponds filled with clean water. We stopped work on the water delivery system when the trommel arrived to have supper and look the trommel over before hitting the sack. We are both pretty tired and need to get into mining shape. TO BE CONTINUED ...............

April 22 2012 Arriving At The Mine Dustin and I arrived at the mine today. I took him on a quick tour before we set up camp. All the old memories came flooding back at once and I half expected Jacob to come walking down the hill above the dig site with that half grin on his face. But I know that those days are long gone and I have to keep my head in the present. I have taken on a tremendous responsibility here. My future as well as others I love are all depending on me to be successful. We got most of the camp set up before dark set in. We have one large tent that Dustin and I will share as well as a shower tent and a large supply tent. I could not afford campers but maybe if we are on good gold early we can find a cheap one. All the money I have begged, borrowed, and stolin has been spent on mining equipment and a small reserve fund to be used for repairs and fuel. We are both tired and the temperature has dropped close to freezing and I am calling it a day. TO BE CONTINUED .............

This song pretty much says it all about leaving your family and hitting the road and being a long way from home. And lonesome as all hell.

LOST GOLD AT THE DEAD MAN’S MINE The 2012 Season Prologue When I left the Whiskey Jack Mine in 2003 I was a broken man. Jacob was dead and my crew was gone. As I was to learn later, they had no intention of coming back. None of them. I intended on patching a crew together and continuing my dream of gold mining in 2004 but with one thing and another it never happened. I ended up starting a little business of my own but every year I dreamed of getting back to the mine. After a number of years and also convincing my wife some things began to fall together for another try. It was 2012 before I made it back. What this season would bring I had no idea at the time. I put everything on the line financially and it was make or break. There was no turning back. If you are still with me on this adventure please read along as I live it all once again. See you back at the Whisky Jack soon. April 20 2012 A New Beginning I have my 1998 Nissan Frontier 4X4 pickup loaded to the max. My son in law Dustin is with me. He has caught gold fever from watching TV shows about mining as well as listening to all the stories I frequently tell. The truck is packed with our camping gear and various other supplies. We are also pulling a small trailer. Our smaller mining equipment has been shipped in several crates to our storage unit. I have rented a mid size excavator and skid steer from Pacific Coast Iron in Placerville and made a deal to use a 40 yard an hour home built trommel. At least that’s what the guy who built it claims it would do. This season is my first one since the disaster of 2003 season and my budget is tight. Very tight. I have been working with the Forest Service on getting my small permits ready and my bond is in place. We are ready to go as soon as our equipment is on site. The plan is to go back to the upper dig site we had worked with Jacob. I know that area contains some good gold with the possibility of hitting a few hot spots. Hot spots are what I need and I need them early on as my cash is short and I am borrowed to the hilt. Dustin is working for a percentage of the gold we mine and he is aware that there are no guarantees in gold mining. He has bills to pay just like I do. We will be working long hours under rough conditions. I believe I learned enough about mining from my previous seasons to make a go of it. If I wasn’t confident of this I would not be on my way back to The Whisky Jack. TO BE CONTINUED .............

WHAT NEXT? The end of the 2003 season & Jacob's death was extremely hard for me to write about here and after I put it out for all to read I needed a break. So now I feel that I am ready to continue. When I left the Whisky Jack Mine in 2003 I was a broken man. Jacob was dead and my crew was gone. As I was to learn later, they had no intention of coming back. None of them. I intended on patching a crew together and continuing my dream of gold mining in 2004 but with one thing and another it never happened. I ended up starting a little business of my own but every year I dreamed of getting back to the mine. After a number of years and also convincing my wife some things began to fall together for another try. It was 2012 before I made it back. What this season would bring I had no idea at the time. I put everything on the line financially and it was make or break. There was no turning back. If you are still with me on this adventure please read along as I live it all once again. See you back at the Whisky Jack soon. GM

To my good friend & mining partner Jacob. Rest well.

2003 Mining Journal Epilogue There were no further entries in my journal for the 2003 season but I will convey here what happened. That last night I wrote an entry was a blur to me. Some of it was the whisky, some was the fog that settled in over camp, and the rest was pure fear. At some point I remember going into my camper and locking the door. I was hearing all kinds of noises along the perimeter of the camp and I was thinking I might get robbed. At some point I must have passed out. When I woke up everything was quiet. I went out into the light of the morning. The fog was gone and the sun was shining brightly. Then I saw that camp had been ransacked. Tools had been stolen. I’d had enough. Someone knew I was alone and who knows what would happen next. I hurriedly packed up my gear and towed the camper into town where I placed it in a fenced storage facility along with the water pumps and longtom. This is where we had also taken the trommel. I called the Forest Service and told them what had happened and that out of fear for my life I was leaving camp and would hire a crew to do the necessary reclamation. It would need to be completed before Winter. Next I called my wife and tried to explain to her why I was coming home without frightening her too badly. She wanted me home right away. I told her I had one trip to make before I headed back. I decided to head up to Oregon to say one last goodbye to my friend Jacob. He and Conor were at his cabin and Jacob’s health was not that great. I didn’t know if or when I would get back to California and I wanted to have one last talk with him. When I arrived at Jacob’s cabin Conor greeted me outside. He told me that Jacob was slowing down and seemed to have lost his will to live since leaving the claims. His heart was not good and there was no way he could get back out there to work again. But Conor asked me to act as if we would be mining again soon. This might keep him going. When I walked in Jacob was sitting in a rocking chair and had an old map of the claims in his lap. He was sleeping. I walked over and gently woke him. He looked up with surprise on his face and asked why I was there. I told him I was having trouble with hooligans on the mine and didn’t feel safe staying there alone. He offered me his trusty Thompson to take back but I told him I was calling it a short season and going home. I said that we’d take a break and get back to mining next season when we had our new permit. That seemed to cheer him up some and he started pointing out some possible dig sites on the old map. I took a seat near him and Conor brought in a bottle of Bushmills. He poured three small cups and we reminisced about the season. For me it had been a financial disaster but I didn’t mention any of that. Jacob took a few sips of whisky and started going back in time. He was recalling the 1936 and 1937 mining seasons and I saw tears in his eyes. He went on for about half an hour and we just listened. I didn’t want him to stop but I could see he was tired and then he just got quiet. It was time for me to go. I said goodbye and thanked him for all the knowledge and friendship he had given me. I shook his hand as I choked back the tears that were starting to stream down my face. I told him we’d give it hell in the Spring and I walked outside with Conor and said my goodbyes to him as well. Then I drove down the little road that led to the cabin and headed for home. Jacob passed away on October 20, 2003. His heart had finally given out. The Sierra Nevada mountains lost a true mining legend on that day. I never did get back to the mine that year but I was far from finished mining those claims as well as others in the area. The story is far from finished and there is much more to tell about the following seasons. TO BE CONTINUED .............

June 2 2003 From A Newspaper Report On the morning of Sunday, June 1, a gold miner named Mark Allen was found dead in his camp in —------- county. Allen also went by the moniker Ghost Miner. He had been shot to death and robbed by an unknown assailant or assailants. The investigation into his death is ongoing and local authorities have no further information at this time. June 1 2003 Part One A Very Bad Dream Of A Newspaper Article I woke up this morning after a restless night. I had some very bad dreams, one of which was vivid and seemed real. In the dream I clearly saw a newspaper article that reported my murder and robbery here on the mine. I saw the date of the article as June 2 which was reporting my murder taking place today. I saw it so clearly that I am nearly convinced it will come to be. I am afraid to leave camp and am sitting here with my gun in hand ready for anything that comes to pass. June 1 2003 Part Two Frozen With Fear I have sat in camp all morning afraid to go to the dig site. Every noise I hear is making me jump. I have decided to stay in camp for the entire day until I am convinced the dream I had was just a dream and nothing more. June 1 2003 Part Three Night has come and there is a slight chill in the air. I have built a small campfire and opened a bottle of whisky to ward off the cold. I look away from the fire and expect to see my crew sitting in their camp chairs. But of course they are gone. They are home with family and friends and are safe while I am alone and in danger. We were supposed to be a team but they are gone. I know that Jacob’s health is failing and I may not see him again. Now it is well past midnight and I am drunk. There is a damp fog that has settled over the mountain like I have never seen before. I don’t know if the gold is worth all this anymore. I feel like packing up tomorrow and getting out of this place. TO BE CONTINUED ...........

This was not the end of the story of The Black Bear Mine. All of these side stories began when someone requested more tales about working in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I have many to tell about mining in these remote areas over the years and hopefully will get to tell them all before it's too late. But for now I will return to the main story and the mining journal of 2003. See you back at the Whisky Jack mine next.

THE BLACK BEAR MINE Part Seven The trommel was all set up at the mine's processing sight and we pumped water out of the nearby creek. There was a small rock truck to use for hauling pay. In an hour we were running our first 10 yard bulk sample. We cleaned out the concentrates from the sluice box and ran everything through a Gold Magic spiral wheel which worked well. There was gold. It was a mix of fine and chunky. We calculated the values at about $15/yard. Not too bad from old hydraulic mine tailings. With gold now at around $2650/ounce our values back then would have been more than double. It was getting late and we decided to call it a day. I took a drive up the mountain to an area where I could get intermittent cell service and called the claim owner. I was happy to report to him that we had found gold. I made sure that he understood it was from old tailings and not virgin ground and I could not be certain if those number would get better or worse but all he heard was gold. He was so happy he had a hard time talking for a spell. He said his wife was so upset about the claim and the money he had invested that she was threatening to divorce him. He asked us to stay and run more of the tailings. I agreed. I told him where the tailings dump was located and I estimated there was at least 50,000 yards and maybe more. I was guessing based on estimated height of the pile above bedrock next to them as well as width and length. If those numbers were correct and the estimates held he could recoup his investment and possibly come out with a hefty profit. It would be an easy, low cost operation. If he could run 200 yards a day at $15 /yard he could make $90,000/month minus expenses. Now I was starting to want a taste of this action. If the bulk samples held I decided I would talk with the crew about moving in here for the season. Then I would need to negotiate a long term deal with the claim owner. TO BE CONTINUED ...............

THE BLACK BEAR MINE Part Six It was a long battle but we finally got the truck off the mountain and back to camp. We then spent the remainder of the day walking the claim and looking for anything resembling virgin gravels. There were none. Not good. There were rows after rows of hand stacked rock all up and down the claim. They were spaced about 20 - 30 feet apart and we were not allowed to disturb them. This mine had been worked by a professional mining company back in the 1800's and it was looking like they washed all the gravel worth washing. It was done in an orderly fashion and all of the material that was washed would have had to work its way downhill towards the bottom of the mountain and the little creek. So after a little pow wow we made the decision to head down to the base of the mountain where the ground flattened out for about 100 - 150 feet before you got to the creek which was the bottom of the claim. Vern got in the excavator and started trying to dig up sample buckets with the machine but he hit bedrock immediately. He drove around the flat area and there was not much difference. We couldn't mess with the creek itself although we did pan some gravels out of it and found some fines here and there. That was about it. Except for one area all the way to the north of the claim along the flat where there was a lot of gravel piled up from many years of seasonal drainage accumulation. This was not hand stacked rock and was not protected so we drove the excavator over there and started to dig gravel. It was definitely very old mine tailings so now we had the chance to see if those old boys had missed anything with their wooden long toms. TO BE CONTINUED ................

THE BLACK BEAR MINE Part Five That first night in camp with my crew for this project was a rough one. We didn't have any campers to sleep in - only tents. Or - the steel storage container. I say it was rough because at supper time and thereafter the bears were relentless. They came down the mountain and circled camp. We fired off guns and honked our truck horns but they were becoming immune to the sound of them. They would seem to go off into the distance briefly but come right back in a few minutes. All of our food supplies had already been moved into the storage container and the door was closed. It didn't seem to make much difference to them. Then it happened. One large adult bear came walking straight into camp. I fired off a couple of rounds from my 44 into the air which caught its attention briefly but it wouldn't leave. My youngest partner Vern went over and poked it with a long pole while another used bear spray. That got it out of camp. I told Vern it was a foolish thing to do and he could have gotten hurt. Everyone ended up sleeping in the trucks. I hoped that we wouldn't need to be on the mine too long but we all had made a commitment to do a job for the claim owner and our word is our word. The next morning was quiet and the air was cold. All I heard was the burble of the small stream that ran at the bottom of the claim. We left one man in camp (Steve) to keep the bears away Vern, Larry, and I went up the old mine road on the mountain. Larry had the excavator. When we got up to the truck I could see something had been trying to get into the cab. The side windows and doors were covered in fresh paw prints. We all knew what had tried to force entry. We rigged up a tow chain to the back of the truck while Vern got in the cab and fired up the engine. Now it was time to yank this thing out of its predicament. TO BE CONTINUED .............

THE BLACK BEAR MINE Part Four I ended up spending three nights alone on the mine until my crew showed up. I had trouble with bear every day and night. I never went anywhere without bear spray and a high caliber revolver which in my case is a 44 mag. A round fired in the air from that 44 would usually send the bear scurrying out of the area but they always came back later. At night I could sit and listen to them grunting and huffing as they circled camp. One night I was actually thinking about going into that steel storage container like the mine owner's crew had done. But I dealt with them as best I could. I slept in the back seat of my four door Dodge Ram pickup. I was woke up on two occasions by bear snooping around and looking in the windows at me. I hit the horn and they took off running. When the crew got to the claim I got them up to speed on what I knew and took them on a tour of the area. I had three guys now and was feeling a lot better. They all got a good laugh when they saw the abandoned truck stuck precariously up on the narrow mountain road but I wasn't laughing one bit. It had gotten bogged down in a deep area of storm wash out and there was a small chance that we could lose it over the edge. Not to mention somebody was probably going to need to be in that truck steering and operating it. Our youngest crew member was a daredevil and he quickly volunteered for the job. TO BE CONTINUED ..............