GhostMiner

Yes, the journal has the potential to be a weekly cable tv adventure show. I know that it would be one of the biggest things on tv but there is no way that I know of to get it to a producer. Many of the shows that are put out today aren't very good & actually quite boring. I have discovered that I am not able to re post some of the episodes here because my writing won't get past certain restrictions imposed as to terms or words. I was going to include more of the Slim Saunders saga but the site wouldn't allow me to post it.

Re runs of some of the interesting episodes.

Slim Saunders had many issues and was on a one way ticket out of this planet. April 20 1937 About two in the morning I got woke up to the crack of a gunshot. Then three more. I pulled on my boots and crawled out of my tent. The rest of the crew was coming out as well. I looked around trying to get my bearings and there was Slim with both Colts in his hands. Before I could say anything Slim pointed with one of the Colts to the area just outside of the camp. I shined a flashlight and saw a lion laying on the ground. Slim was hooting and hollering to beat the band. He said the lion was sneaking into camp and he let him have it. He was drunk but twirled both pistols back into their holsters without a hitch. Sarge came running over. Slim hollered over to him and asked what was he doing, sleeping? Sarge let it pass. Slim’s bottle had run dry and he went into the supply tent and pulled another. I told the crew to get back to sleep and John and I sat out with Slim for a spell. Slim ended up drinking until nearly daybreak but somehow he had sobered up. John and I had sat up with him for a couple of hours and he was telling us all kinds of things. He said he had demons running around in his head from all his years in prison. He said the law dogs had stolen his youth and he’d lost it forever. I tried to tell him to just start fresh and make the best out of his new and free life. The crew were all pretty tired this morning but we did our jobs, even Slim. He seemed perfectly fine by noon and had calmed down and seemed pretty normal again. We ended up getting one ounce and I was glad to get back to camp where I intended on getting some sleep after supper.

The night the crew met Slim Saunders : April 17 1937 We are getting some unusually warm weather here for this early in the season. The crew is in good spirits even though our gold count is modest. I am set on finishing the kettle before we move the operation. We are pretty much working the leftovers from the old boys from the 1800’s but we are getting some gold. Today we got well into the northern section of the kettle. The gravels are getting sparse and the depths to bedrock is only a few feet. It appears to me that the bedrock has been cleaned fairly well by previous miners. We are just mining sluff and some gravel from what has eroded from the sides over the years. We aren’t able to work anything in the sides as they are solid rock. By the end of the day we had a meager one half ounce and John was grumbling about moving to a new location. I asked him to be patient as we only have a week or so at most until we finish here and as we are all set up we may as well make the most of it. Tonight at camp we had a few beers and started to talk about our next move. It will be way over to the eastern drift area that Jed and Whiskey Jack were keen on. For now we can only dream of another big strike as the gold has become elusive. April 18 1937 Part One We are continuing to get wild hooligans from town who want to come out here to the mine and either meet us or work with us. Last night I heard Ben and Sarge holler out at someone who was trudging up the side of the creek toward our camp. The crew came over and had a look at what the hollering was about. I nearly laughed but held it back. Sarge was not so kind and began to laugh and hoot. There in front of us stood an old guy dressed like a cowboy from back in the 1800’s. He wore a large cowboy hat that nearly covered his face and also some old jeans and fur leggings. He had on boots with spurs as well as two six shooters in holsters. He was smoking a home rolled cigarette and gave us all an evil stare. I walked over to him and asked what he was up to. He said his name was Slim Saunders and he was from a ranch just outside of town. I reckoned him to be about 60 in years or maybe a bit more. He told us he had done everything from ranching to mining to logging and even bounty hunting in his day. I started to like him. John asked him what we could do for him. He said he had heard quite a bit about us in town. Some of the groups that hung around in the tavern said we were the mining crew from hell and we took names and kicked ass. He said he was looking for work and wanted to join up with us. I asked him what kind of job he was looking for. He said he was a scratch shot with his 45’s and could work as security. He said he could also handle a rifle with the best of them. Before I could say anything he pointed to a limb on a pine tree about 100 feet away. He said to look toward the end of the limb and there was a small branch starting off to the right with a pine cone hanging on. I said that I saw it. He slapped leather with both hands and quick drew his Colts and fired off a round from each gun. The pine cone flew off the limb. Then he twirled the pistols and put them back in their holsters as slick as grease. Then he told Will to set out two empty tin cans about 100 feet away. Will set them up on a rock and came back over. Slim said to watch and he pulled his right hand quickly and shot as the gun cleared leather. One of the cans flew off the rock. Before the sound of the shot died he pulled his left hand with the Colt and did the same thing. The can flew off the rock just like the first one. He twirled them back into the holster as slick as could be. I asked him what kind of pay he wanted. He said just his grub and whiskey, a dollar, and a little taste of gold from time to time. I told him to hold on while I talked with my crew. Everyone liked Slim. We decided to give him a go. I went over and asked him when he wanted to start. He just looked at me and said “Well, I’m here aint I ?” and that was that. Then he asked if we had any whiskey. I handed him a new bottle and we all sat around the fire as darkness fell. Slim took a couple of pulls from the bottle and began to tell us his story. April 18 1937 Part Two Slim told us his father had worked in a wild west show back in the day. He did all kinds of tricks with guns and ropes. His father had begun teaching him these skills from even before he could remember. His father traveled all the time and when Slim was sixteen he and his mother and sister never saw him again. He just left on a show tour one day and never came home. He had no idea what happened to him. Slim kept practicing his father’s trade until he figured he was better than him or anyone else around. However, by this time the wild west shows were all dried up like the dust in the western wind. There was no market for his trade. Slim developed a real bad attitude and began to pull strong arm robberies when he was still a kid. He used his gun skills to intimidate people all the time. Not surprising, the law eventually caught up with him when he was nineteen years old and he spent two years in the Wyoming state prison. When he got out his mother and sister had moved on and abandoned him. He never saw either of them again. Prison hadn’t helped his attitude but it hardened him as a man. He had been in many fistfights and brawls while in lockup and had developed some good hand to hand fighting skills to go along with his gunplay. He was a truly dangerous individual and didn’t think twice about using his guns or fists at the drop of a hat. By now Slim had downed a third of his bottle. Then he told us a wild story. We all leaned in to listen closely. April 18 1937 Part Three Slim said that back when he was just out of prison he got a job working on a ranch. He didn’t have a whole lot of cowboy skills when they hired him but learned real fast and was soon one of the best cowboys on the ranch. He was in a poker game one night. It took place in the main bunkhouse and Slim was losing real bad. The cowboy who had all the money was the best bronc buster on the ranch. Or so he thought. Slim challenged him to a bronc busting contest. Slim put up one of his Colts against the money in the purse. The other cowboys got the meanest horse out of the barn. They called him Freight Train. He was bad to the bone. The first cowboy took a turn on him and got thrown after just a few seconds. Slim got on and rode out the horse and broke him. The cowboy who lost refused to give up the purse. One of the other guys was holding Slims Colt & gave it back to him. The losing cowboy challenged Slim to a duel. Slim said this guy thought he was pretty quick on the draw. They walked out fifty paces and stood looking at each other. Slim told him to make his move when he was ready. After a wait of about thirty seconds the cowboy slapped leather. Slim came up with both guns firing just as they cleared their holsters and the slower guy went down on his knees firing off a round into the dirt. Then he slowly rolled over on his side. He was dead. Both of Slims shots had pierced the chest in the area of the heart. Slim calmly walked over and took the money out of the cowboy’s vest pocket. It was covered in blood. The ranch owner had heard the ruckus and came out of his house with his rifle. It was way past midnight. When he saw one of his top hands laying dead on the ground he wasn’t happy. He pointed the rifle at Slim and told him he was going to shoot him dead. April 18 1937 Part Four Slim said when a man told him he was going to kill him he took him at his word. So he raised his right hand as if to give up but as he did so snapped the six shooter out of its holster with his left hand and fired three times. The rancher dropped to the ground lifeless. Just that quick he had taken two lives but felt he had no choice. The cowboys were real upset now because their boss and one of their friends were eating dirt. Slim said there were five of them left and some had sidearms. He told them not to make any moves and walked backwards towards the barn. He saddled a horse and rode off into the night leaving what few belongings he had. However, he did have a full poke now. Within the space of a few minutes he had become an outlaw. Then he told us the rest of the story. April 18 1937 Part Five Slim said he lasted until the law dogs caught up with him in Cody, Wyoming. He said there were two of them and he could have easily gunned them down but didn’t want to kill any more men. He got thirty years and got out when he was 51 years old. More than half his life had now been spent in prison and he had no one to call a friend. He was on his own in a strange world. He was forbidden to own or carry a gun and had no training except in gun play and cow punching and bronc busting. He thought about the rodeo circuit but everyone told him he was too old. He decided to give it a try anyway. He got on with the Cowboy Contest circuit in Cheyenne and found out he could still hold his own in the bronc riding division. He made himself a living for nearly ten years and was the oldest cowboy to qualify for a trophy and prize money. Then he eventually hooked up with a ranch in the area and now he was sitting at our campfire drinking whisky with us. We all pulled out some cups as he talked about his life and drank whiskey with him deep into the night. Around two in the morning we all turned in. When we got up none of us were feeling too good and took the day off nursing bad hangovers. There was no gold made that day.

The night Jacob found the men who murdered his brother Jed for his gold : April 11 1937 Part One Last night we were visited once again. Sarge brought a guy into camp that said he wanted to talk with me. He told me he hangs out in the tavern in town. He claimed to overhear a couple of guys talking about us. One of them was talking about a large amount of gold he had gotten and laughing about someone working hard to mine it and he took it without having to do any work and now he was wealthy. The guy was getting drunk with another hooligan and he was there now. I thanked him and asked if he'd go there with me to identify the men. He said he would. He told me they were bad news and carried guns and knives. One of them was called Slugger and the other Jim. Slugger was the bigger of the two and he was the one doing most of the talking. I took John and Sarge as well as the informer into town and we parked the truck in front of the tavern. When we walked in, the informer pointed out the two guys. I thanked him again and told him he’d better clear out for his own safety as this might get real ugly. April 11 1937 Part Two I told Sarge to go outside and keep the informer at our truck. We might want him later. I told him John and I would go back outside as well and wait for the two hooligans to exit the tavern. I didn’t want anyone seeing us in contact with them because if they were the ones responsible for my brother’s murder I would kill them both. John wanted them as bad as I did. We all had weapons in case of a shoot out but killing them that way was far too easy for them. I also wanted to get back Jed’s gold. Sarge moved the truck away from the tavern parking lot and kept the informer inside the cab with him. John and I waited in a secluded area across the street from the tavern. It was getting late and I hoped it wouldn’t be too long before the suspects came out. Around midnight we saw them going out the door and starting to walk down the street. The big one was laughing and joking about how easy it was to steal gold and rob people. The other one was laughing as well. My fists were clenched in rage and I told John “Let’s get them.” I was going to make them talk. April 11 Part Three We walked up behind them and they were drunk and didn’t even notice us. John carried a weighted billy club and pulled it out and I had brass knuckles on. We also had sidearms. John eased up behind the one they called Slugger and pretended to know him. He said he had a bottle of good whiskey over at the truck and pointed over there. Slugger acted like he recognized him or knew him and said let’s go drink it. His buddy Jim went along easy until we got near the truck and spotted me wearing brass knuckles. Before he could say anything I let him have a right hand square in the face and took out his front teeth. John clocked Slugger in the knee with the billy and he went down and started hollering and cursing. John cracked him across the face with his fist twice and we threw them in the back of the truck and jumped back there with them. I told Sarge to get the hell out of here before someone sees us and he drove back toward the mine. The two thugs were moaning and cursing and we let them have more of the same and told them to shut their mouths if they wanted to live. We pulled off the main road and drove up to our camp. Ben,Will, and Hudson were waiting for us. We threw the two goons off the truck and onto the ground and the entire crew and security team was staring down at them. April 11 1937 Part Four The two hooligans were laying on the ground. John and I had given them quite a beating on the way back to the mine. Jim was covered in blood and I had plenty of it on me as well. There wasn’t a tooth left in his face. I think John had broken Slugger’s knee with his club and John had pummeled him as well. Both were still conscious. I got two chairs and the crew put them on them. I asked them which one killed my brother and where was the gold. They both played dumb. I told them that I was only interested in which one killed my brother and would let the other one go free. Of course I had no intention of doing that. They refused to talk. Sarge tied their hands behind their backs. I told John to take over. John rammed the billy club into their guts and they gasped out trying to get air back into their lungs. Then he cracked them across the face with his gloved fist. I told them I would use the brass knuckles on them next. I told them I would beat them until they prayed to be hung. Sarge wanted to shoot them in the knee caps with his sidearm. I told him to go ahead. He pulled out his pistol and cocked it. The one named Jim cracked. He cried out for mercy and told us Slugger had shot Jed and took his gold. He said he wasn’t involved. He said he was there but had no idea Slugger would kill him. Slugger began to curse Jim and told him he would kill him when he got loose. I told him he would be in no shape to kill anyone once he was loose. I asked Jim where the gold was. I told him he had better tell me or Sarge would take out his knees with his pistol. April 11 1937 Part Five Jim began begging for his life and crying. He was hard to understand as his teeth were gone and he was bleeding badly from his face and mouth. I had beaten him badly. He said that Slugger still had most of the gold. Jim said he only got a small amount and had spent his cut. We turned our attention to Slugger. He was still trying to play the tough guy. I asked him if he had heard of us and of what we did with criminals and thugs. He said he had heard things about us in town. I told him he had better tell us where the gold was or he would die a slow and painful death. He still wouldn’t talk. I told Sarge to shoot out his good knee. I don’t think he believed I meant business. Sarge pulled out his pistol. Slugger started to holler out not to do it. I told him to start talking and fast. He said he had the gold hidden near a cabin about ten miles from town. He lived there and said he had put it in a hole under an old stump back in the woods but we’d never find it alone. I told him it looked like we were going for a ride. I told Sarge and the crew to stay at camp with Jim. John and I put Slugger in the truck and we headed for his cabin. I told him if he was lying he was a dead man. April 11 1937 Part Six When we got to the cabin we took out a flashlight and helped Slugger walk us to the place where he said the gold was buried. It was there. I asked him how much of it was left. He told me nearly all of it. He had only spent maybe ten percent or so. It was in a steel container and we took it back to the truck. We put Slugger in the cab between us and I drove. On the way back to camp John worked him over some more. He was nearly unconscious when we drove into camp. I told the crew we had recovered most of the gold. We tied up the two goons and threw them in the back of the truck. I told everyone to watch the informant and make sure he didn’t leave and be on high alert. I said that John and I had some business to attend to. I drove and John stayed in the back of the truck with the two tied up goons. We were taking them to the place where they had committed the murder of my brother. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That’s what it says. When we got to the place Jed was robbed and killed I pulled the truck over and we dragged the two thieves to the scene of the crime. It was still dark so I shined a flashlight where they had found Jed. I told them to take a good look at the place they murdered my brother. They were begging us to turn them over to the law. I told them that was too good for them. They were both crying for mercy. We stood them up against a big rock and pulled our pistols. I asked them which one wanted it first. There was no answer. April 11 1937 Part Seven I wanted to know how they knew where the gold was hidden. I told them to talk. Jim said they had been secretly watching Jed’s camp after the crew left. They had followed him to the area and waited to see what he did. They had figured that at some point he would go to his gold either at camp or somewhere else. They got lucky the day they followed him. Jim said he didn’t want to kill Jed but Slugger said he didn’t want to take the chance of getting caught and dead men tell no tales. He said Slugger shot Jed in the back of the head. My brother never knew they were there. Jim told us that Slugger had murdered several people in the mountains for gold and money. Slugger hung his head and refused to look at me. John and I stepped away and had a talk. I told him that there were other families and friends who had lost loved ones to these guys and it was up to us or the law to solve the murder cases. I had no time to hold these goons and play detective. I also told John that if we kill them we could someday face charges. As bad as I wanted them dead I couldn’t do it now. John thought it over and agreed with me. We decided to turn them over to the law. We took them back to camp and told the crew what we had decided. We got the informant and John and I took all three over to the sheriff's office. It was daylight now. When we took them in the law dogs looked at us in amazement. They asked us what the hell had happened to these guys. They were a mess. I told them everything we had learned and also introduced them to the witness who overheard them talking in the tavern. I lied and said they had put up a long fight and we had to do what we did to them. They took our information and said they would be in contact. Both of the goons were heading to the hospital before going to jail and trial.

I would never choose fish over gold. But to each his own LOL.

Thanks for the response Mike. Where I live we have people come to fish from all over the world. Unfortunately, I am not a fisherman.

It cleared $3000 U.S this morning then pulled back a bit. Can't wait to start mining in the Sierra Nevada again at these gold values.

Been pretty busy Mike. How would you like to head out to the mine site this Summer? I am hoping to get things going again. There is an environmental engineer involved now. Cheers, GM.

Yes, nice to post them here.

Many thanks.

I will do a few short stories about the area I worked in & a YouTube channel for the journal coming soon.

My Last Day On The Whisky Jack Mine It was late September of 2020. A bright and clear Saturday morning. My crew had gone home for the season and I spent the day before packing up my part of camp and putting things into our storage units. My truck was packed and I slept Friday night in the back seat of my Dodge Ram truck. Before I called it a day I cracked open a few beers and recalled the season. I was remembering the highs and the lows. It was a lonely feeling with the crew gone and darkness setting in. I turned the radio on and listened to some Classic Country songs to keep me company. I was set to leave the mine but decided to take one last walk out on the faultline that morning. I always felt a connection to the old crews when I was up there. I almost expected them to come jumping out of the rocks and trees hollering at me to get off their claims. I made my start at the southernmost end which was only 60 feet in height and pretty easy to climb. My work boots with thick sole tread were packed away and all I had for the hike was a pair of well worn sneakers. Hardly up to the job of scaling the fault line with all the slippery gravel and cobbled rocks. But it was my last chance for what I figured would be just a long Winter before I was back. I travelled to the north along the spine with a drop off on the west side. I climbed higher and higher until the drop off was well over 100 feet in height. I knew where I was heading. To the old crews 1937 southern dig site or kettle. It’s an amazing place. It is actually a 50 deep by 100 foot long and 75 foot wide pot hole in the middle of the fault. This was not the place of the 1936 strike that started the journal. That was over 2000 feet north of this area. As I got close to the big kettle as they called it I noticed bear tracks and fresh scat. It was still warm. I peered down into the depth of the pothole and imagined them working the gravels with a long tom. Somehow those old boys had run water line clear out here several thousand feet from the nearest creek. This was the place they were working when gunshots were heard far below. It was Whisky Jack. He had been bitten in the face by a rattler and died of a heart attack en route to the hospital. I just stood there remembering all the old stories. Suddenly I was jolted back to reality. I heard some huffing and sure enough just up ahead on the faultline came a big black bear. He was meandering downhill towards me. Then I remembered in my haste I had forgotten my bear spray and my sidearm. I hooted and hollered and tossed some rocks in his direction. I figured he'd move away but to my surprise he did the opposite. He bluff charged me. He shot towards me and veered off towards the flat area to the east and made a wide arc. Then he did it again. I started to slowly back away making sure to keep an eye on him. My heart was pumping like crazy and my biggest fear was getting knocked head over heels off the side of the faultline. After the second pass he disappeared up the faultline to the north and I headed south. As I made my way back to the truck I kept turning around to make sure he wasn’t following. When I got back to the empty camp my big red Dodge truck never looked so good. I was heading home. Little did I know at the time that it would be the last time I saw the mine for four years. Cheers, GM

Yes, I think you are correct. Check my last post. It's a shame no one takes the time to read anymore. The attention span of most people is extremely short, myself included. I am working on some ideas to keep it going in a proper place. As an experiment I have been posting a few entries on Facebook just to see if non gold miners/prospectors have any interest & to my surprise many of them have wanted to read the entire journal. They don't understand mining but love the adventure aspect. I am going to try to come up with something - there are a lot of very smart people on Steve's forum who might think of something. Cheers.

I am currently looking for a place to post the journal or make a proper set of books in volumes. I want to set it up so the readers can get access for free. I am NOT looking to make any money on this. I have realized that this site is not the right one for the journal. It is a great site run wonderfully by Steve but more for metal detecting rather than a series pertaining to gold mining adventures. It is my hope that I can come up with something soon and continue. If anyone has any ideas please post them here & thank you.