GhostMiner

July 8 2002 Jacob and I had breakfast this morning and talked about getting back to work. Around 8:00 AM I got water flowing down to the trommel. Jacob loved to run the excavator and began digging up a nice pay pile while I fed the beast with the skid steer. We figured to run a nice steady pace around 20 yards an hour. It was a little slow but we didn't want any breakdowns and figured to just ease back into a routine. Then after a few days we would bump up production. By 2:00 PM we had washed close to 120 yards and the temperature was 115 degrees. We pushed through until 5:00 PM without a single break. We decided to shut down for the day. We had fed 185 yards into the hopper. Jacob and I talked it over and we were now going to do cleanups every other day. So we shut everything down and walked down to camp. I pulled off my sweat soaked shirt and boots. Then I jumped straight into a nice little hole in the creek where the water pooled up to waste high. Jacob was hosing himself down with a pump and some hose we had placed in the creek. Man, that water was cool compared to the air temperature and felt good. Eventually I climbed out of the creek and pulled a cool beer from a six pack, I handed one to Jacob as well. I drained mine in about a minute and grabbed another. We cooked up hot dogs and beans. I never tasted better food. We were finally mining again and I was working with a legend. Jacob brought out the whisky and we had a couple of shots and I chased mine with more beer. My partner rolled a smoke as the sun was setting on the mine. What a life we had out here in the Sierra Nevada. I now considered myself an outlaw. We were free from the rules of society and pretty much did as we pleased. I am beginning to understand what it must have been like back in the old days with Jed’s and then Jacob’s crew. I watched the sun set and the stars come out of the black sky. How could I ever explain the feeling of complete freedom out here? Would anyone understand? TO BE CONTINUED ..................

July 7 2002 We ended up turning the three thugs over to the law. Jacob wanted to handle things his own way but I was able to convince him to do the right thing. We took today off and got some much needed rest. Some good food for supper and a cup of whisky together by the fire before turning in. It is quite a relief having those guys behind bars. Now we can turn our attention back to full time mining. We are thinking that as long as we keep things quiet out here we can end the season on a high note with plenty of gold in our jars. We will see how it goes. I have kept all of this from my wife who would have been sick about all the trouble. Also, we have not heard a peep from Jim or Vern. Jacob said they are no longer welcome out here and I think I agree. They deserted us when we needed them most. TO BE CONTINUED ...................

google it. Plenty of them on youtube.

So I finally am back on the website. For some reason starting yesterday I lost the site & got http error 500. I tried everything I knew to get back on with no luck. So just now I called my son in law & asked him to try pulling up the forum which he did right away. Then he sent me a link from his phone & it allowed me to get back on. I also googled a link from my computer & got back on which it wouldn't allow before. Wierd. It was like I was frozen out for some reason. More journal tomorrow. Cheers.

Corona. No whisky LOL.

Corona.

Here's a story I have only told to several people but what the heck. This took place in August of 2019 on a mining claim in the northern Sierra Nevada mts of California. I had been driving my truck for days when I hit town and stopped at my storage building to get my camping gear. I was tired and by the time I got to the mine it was getting dark. Not wanting to set up camp in the dark I decided to just sleep in the back seat of my Ford F150. It was hot & being the thirsty devil I opened up a six pack of cold beer I had picked up in town. The rest of my crew would be arriving in a day or two so I was alone on the mine. I turned on the radio and drank a few beers while I listened to some good Country music on the satellite radio. Other than the radio it wa stone quiet and all the stars were out. Well, it got to be midnight & I had killed the six pack. Time to crawl in the back seat of the truck and get some sleep. But first I took a pee and for some stupid reason let out a loud Bigfoot call. That broke the silence and as I got into the truck to go to sleep everything was quiet for a few seconds until I got an answer. It was loud and very close. Just near a little creek to my west about 50 yards or so. I was scared as hell and wished I had not done that call. Before I could decide what to do I heard a heck of a ruckus over on the west side of the creek about 75 ft up the slope of the mountain. It was a bunch of whooping and a big pine was shaking like crazy. I got out of the truck and slowly walked over that way. All I had on me was bear spray and a 9MM semi auto for protection. As I got a little closer I could make out what looked like a giant ape shaking the pine and throwing rocks down to the creek which was completely dry. I realized that I was seeing a Bigfoot. It continued to shake the tree which was fairly large but on a slope and tipping towards the creek. After about 15 minutes of this the tree crashed to the ground and the thud was loud. I couldn't believe it. I was frozen in place as I watched. Finally, whatever this thing was started to walk up the mountain which was quite steep. That was it. I went back to the truck, crawled into my sleeping bag, & locked the doors. I slept on & off that night. Each time I woke I half expected to see the ugly face of Bigfoot staring in my window at me. Luckily that never happened. That's a true story.

July 6 2002 Part Eight Night Of The Living Dead As I approached Jacob he turned and looked at me. He was now the Jacob I was used to and perfectly sane. He gave me a wink and put his index finger to his lips as a warning for me to keep my mouth shut. A gigantic wave of relief came over me all at once and I nearly passed out. He spoke to me in a very quiet level and his tone was mischievous. He had knocked the guy in the head with the butt of his Thompson and gagged him. He was tied and unconscious. It had all been a setup. Jacob explained that he could not risk me tipping his hand in any way and figured that with me not knowing any more than the crooks he would be able to pull off his devious plan. I was somewhat angry for not being in on this plan but the relief I felt was stronger than the anger. Jacob whispered that we now must pull off the rest of his scheme. He told me to untie one of the other goons from the tree and cover his head with a pillowcase he had brought out. Then he said to bring him to the pit. I did as instructed. The entire time the man was begging us not to shoot him. I told him it was out of my hands and that my partner was a crazed old man who would kill the rest of them and enjoy doing so. His legs were shaking when I pulled him along and we stopped where Jacob was standing with the Thompson. Jacob gave him the same spiel in a very loud and menacing voice telling him he was about to die like his friend. He asked him if he would like the hood on or off for his execution. By now the man was begging Jacob not to shoot him and he would tell him anything he wanted to know. Jacob gave me a grin and one of his winks. TO BE CONTINUED ..................

July 6 2002 Part Seven The silence seemed to last for an eternity. There were no more cries from the guy in the pit. Then Jacob began hollering out that he had gotten what was coming to him and there were two more hooligans to kill. He was talking wildly and out of control. He was yelling he would shoot each man one at a time. Then he hollered for me to come to the pit. I glanced at the two men tied to the tree. They were terrified. I slowly walked over to where Jacob was standing. He was staring down at the man who lay there face down and motionless. It was murder I was thinking to myself. Murder over gold. We had crossed the line and now I was an outlaw just like Jacob. My life would never be the same. What would I tell my wife? I could never go home again. We had sold our souls for gold. TO BE CONTINUED ...................

Yes, I think for working the exposed bedrock it's worth a try.

Nice to see you got at least something for your labor. I have only metal detected once for about an hour with a Gold Bug. That was 11 yrs ago. Lately, I have been reconsidering. The eastern area of our mines have acres of exposed bedrock left by the old hydraulic operators of the 1800's. I'm thinking there must be a good way to work that area to see if anything is left. Posiibly metal detecting along with a battery powered vac. The virgin ground left out there was tested by us back in 2019 & 2020. The values in that area from bedrock to 15 ft above bedrock are anywhere from 1 - 3 ounces per hundred yards of gravel. There are lots of pickers but nothing I would call nuggets. Also plenty of coarse & fine gold. Not sure if detecting would be worth the effort.

July 6 2002 Part Six After a couple of minutes Jacob had one thug at a time climb out of the hole and I tied their hands behind their backs. As I finished tying the first one Jacob shoved him back into the pit with the muzzle of the Thompson sending him crashing into the gravel on his side. The thugs were trying to act tough but were starting to break down. Each one was treated in the same manner. He told them they all had tombstones in their eyes now. I kept looking over at him for a signal of some kind indicating he might be bluffing but there was none. After what must have seemed like an eternity to the goons Jacob ordered two of them out of the pit. He instructed me to take them over to camp and out of sight but not earshot and tie them to a tree. I stood there guarding them with my 9MM semi auto. They were shaking. Then I heard the unthinkable. Jacob was now talking to the guy in the pit in a loud voice. He said he was judge and jury here and their sentence was passed and about to be carried out. He told the man that he had threatened and disrupted our mining crew and had vandalized our equipment and cost us a fortune in lost gold. He said all three of them were now sentenced to death. Because they had not spoken up he said they would be shot to death because hanging was too much work for them. The men I was guarding were now crying and begging for mercy. They wanted me to intervene. I was frozen in place. I could hear the guy in the pit begging Jacob not to kill him. It got quiet for a moment. Then I heard the unmistakable burst of a number of rounds from the Thompson. TO BE CONTINUED ...............

Be sure to watch for the concluding episodes of the last part of the 2002 mining season here.

July 6 2002 Part Five My mind was racing. Was I about to be the witness to murder? I believed Jacob’s mind was still stuck in the war out here that took place July 3 1937. For all I knew his mind was trapped there and perhaps he believed these guys were part of the gang that killed his crew back then. He was no longer rational. It seemed he had snapped and lost all sense of reality. I didn’t know what to do. I could see his face and it was like stone. If he had decided to kill these thieves there was little I could do to stop him. The three men kept digging slowly, all the while looking at each other and trying to figure a way out for themselves. Jacob still had the Thompson pointing directly at them as they worked. One flinch from his finger on that trigger would send a deadly burst of 45 caliber bullets raining down on them. As the hole got to around five feet in depth Jacob told them to stop. One of the men started to climb out of the hole but he ordered him back in. Jacob coldly stated that he had enough of them and their threats as well as their sabotage. He said he was going to send them to Hell and let the Devil deal with them. Two of them began shaking and crying for mercy. The third man looked to be in shock. Jacob looked crazed to me now. His eyes were wide and his face was a snarl. He said he was now their judge and jury. He told them he was an outlaw that had sent men to their graves in the past. Jacob told them he would not tolerate what they had been doing here. He told them he would give them a choice on how they wanted to die. They could be shot down where they stood or be hung and left for crow bait. It was their choice and they had three minutes to decide. With that he took a few steps back to let them talk amongst themselves. The night became stone quiet. TO BE CONTINUED ..............

How Tresspassers Die.

Jacob was living by his own rules. He really didn't care about laws. No outlaw does. His mind was set in concrete in the yr 1937.

July 6 2002 Part Four The three goons slowly made their way to the bottom of the mountain where the trommel sat. Sure enough, after they thought the coast was clear, they made their way to the sluice with a few large buckets. They began trying to unfasten the mats. Obviously, they were going to put the mats in their buckets and haul them off. To Jacob’t credit, he had not fired a single shot. I knew it must be killing him not to open up on them. As they started to pull the first mat I charged in with my semi auto and hollered for them to freeze and not make any moves. Jacob stood up with the Thompson. I told them if they moved they would be cut to ribbons by his machine gun. Only one of them was armed with a pistol which he dropped. I ordered them to their knees. Jacob came forward with his Thompson and held it on them. I demanded to know their names but they weren’t talking. I asked them several times to identify themselves but they refused. They had no wallets or I D on them. We had no idea who they were. Then Jacob spoke up. He said it really made no difference to him who these guys were and he would deal with them in his own way. I looked over at him and his face was like stone. He went over to one side of the trommel where we kept some supplies and grabbed three shovels. He marched the thieves over to an area south of camp which was a deep pile of very old mine tailings from previous years of work here. He threw the shovels on the ground and told them to pick them up, which they reluctantly did. They had still not uttered a word but I could see them looking nervously at each other. Jacob told them to start digging a hole and if they stopped he would cut them down where they stood. I was horrified. He was forcing them to dig their own graves. TO BE CONTINUED .............

July 6 2002 Part Three Around 1:00 AM my walkie talkie came to life. It was Jacob saying he saw flashlights coming down the mountain towards the area of the trommel. He saw three of them. I radioed back that I would come down the water line trail and take a position and not to shoot his gun as we needed to catch them in the act. If only we still had Vern & Jim I was thinking. I took good cover with a position about 30 feet to the west of the trommel and Jacob was just 50 feet south east of it. We had them cut off unless they headed back to the north up the mountain. However, that was tough going with no trails and it would be hard for them to make a fast getaway if they chose that route. I was sure that Jacob was willing to cut them to ribbons with the Thompson. Our camp was just south of the trommel and everything was dark so they must have figured we were sleeping. I watched the beam from their flashlights bouncing around and off of the trees and rocks as they slowly worked their way down the hill. They were still about 50 yards from the trommel and had no idea what was waiting for them. I knew what Jacob might do if he saw them messaging with the sluice. I was hoping to intervene and capture them at gunpoint if possible. The alternative was not pleasant and I asked myself if I was capable of shooting a thief. I prayed it wouldn’t come to that. TO BE CONTINUED ...................

Ditto that. Best run forum there is.

July 6 2002 Part Two I got back to camp late morning with a new motor. I suppose it could have been worse. There was no attempt by the saboteurs to contact us and put pressure on us to make them partners. How could anyone make a business deal with thugs like that? They could never be trusted and would most likely murder us in our sleep at some point. Something has to be done. There is quite a ways to go with the season and we are not safe by any means. Jacob and I had lunch and got the motor on the trommel. We had everything running by 2:00 PM and washed gravels until 6:00 PM. We didn’t even bother to pull the mats and headed into camp for supper. As we ate hamburgers we discussed the problem of the intruders. There was just no way we could guard everything with just the two of us and we both needed sleep in order to keep working. If it had been September I would have pulled the plug on the operation but we were starting to hit it big now and neither one of us were quitters. We would have to figure something out. Jacob said that the thugs probably were watching us and getting impatient. He figured they knew we had just run gravel but left gold in the sluice. He was thinking they might attempt to steal the mats to see how rich our pay dirt was and get some easy gold. He wanted to post watch near the trommel and I would guard the pump area. There would be no sleep but perhaps we might catch ourselves some crooks. As dark settled in we pretended to go into our campers but after 15 minutes took cover with Jacob near the trommel and me at the pump. Heaven help anyone who tries to steal those mats from Jacob. TO BE CONTINUED ..............

Interesting.

Might be nice if he'd let his old group know what his intensions are.

Has the forum owner actually said the website is done?