GhostMiner

May 27 2002 Part Two We worked a steady pace through the afternoon and knocked off around 6:00 PM. Everyone wanted to know how much gold we got so we did the cleanup as soon as we got back to camp and ended our day with another 1.9 ounces. We seemed to be on to something now. We are taking the day off tomorrow to do some work with Jacob. TO BE CONTINUED ..........

A Story Not In My Journal : Part One : Written On April 15 2023. The following is not in my 2002 journal but I think it should be included here. This is the first I have ever written about these events. After I conclude this story I will return to posting from my journal. So here goes. Jacob had mentioned to us that there was a very remote area about 2 1/2 miles heading north up the mountain. He said back in his day he didn't think anyone went up that far as the going was pretty tough and there were no trails. The creek narrowed up there and he had gone up to a certain spot twice and found big gold. I asked him what he meant by big gold. He smiled and said there were plentiful small nuggets and pickers. Panfuls. He never told Jed or the crew about it for some reason. He said he had planned to file a claim up there someday but after being run off in the deadly shootout of 1937 he had never made it back. Jacob said that on his second trip he had built a narrow dam and spillway to retain the gold and keep it from coming farther down the creek. He said he thought there might be source gold somewhere in that area but wasn't quite sure. The dam he built was made of heavy timber packed with rock and gravel. He said he didn't know if any of it was left after all these years but wanted to hike up there and have a look before the big heat came in for the Summer. I asked him if he thought he could make it on his 85 year old legs. He said he thought he could but if he couldn't he wanted us to see if the dam was still there and test the ground along the creek and in the creek. It would be a tough excursion but we figured to give it a try. So early in the morning we packed up for the hike and headed north following the creek up the mountain to higher elevation. TO BE CONTINUED .............

The next part of the journal will talk about some exploration based on something Jacob told us. It will take us on an adventure to the remote northern areas of the mountain that are off our claims. What happens is something I have never forgotten and never put in my own journal. This will be the very first time I have written about this part of the 2002 season.

May 27 2002 Part One The entire crew was up early and we did our cleanup right after breakfast and saw a whopping 1.4 ounces of gold. What a great way to start the day and we all headed up to the digsite. We had quite a large trench going but still nothing to even remotely compare to the crew of 1936. That area is amazing to see but Jacob is confident we can achieve the same results. If we get our permit approved I know we will make a larger dig site but by hand I can’t imagine digging that much gravel in one season. We were fired up but Jacob reminded us to pace ourselves. He said it’s a long season and a long way to the finish line. So we worked a nice and steady pace and even Jacob got in the trench and chopped away at the gravel. I always worry when I see him in there working hard but he won’t have it any other way and he knows when to stop. That’s exactly what Jacob did around lunch time. Before we went back down to camp for our break he showed us one of his test pans brimming with coarse gold. He gave the crew a wink and a smile. That is always a good sign. TO BE CONTINUED .............

Absolutely! There is nothing like hearing about the old days from a guy who's been there & done it. I will always remember that season.

May 26 2002 There was .7 of an ounce in the pan this morning. Everyone is in a good mood and ready to work out here. Once again, all four of us headed up to the site and Jacob wanted to do a bit of digging before returning to camp. So all four of us worked the dig and I couldn’t help but think of the old days when Jacob was here back in 1936, 1937. I could almost see the old crew digging away with us shoulder to shoulder. I looked over at Jacob and he was hard at it and was really moving gravel. The weather was perfect for working, cool and sunny. By lunch break I could tell Jacob was getting tired and I suggested we all go down to camp for something to eat. Vern shut down the pump and we drove back to camp and had a good lunch together while talking about the claims and the gold. It just doesn’t get any better than this. All four of us got back to work and Jacob put the pick and shovel down and took samples until nearly dark. We have really made good progress today and washed 19 yards of gravel. All the pans Jacob tested were looking rich as well. He always made sure to show us the good ones to keep us working hard. Based on what I was seeing I am expecting close to an ounce tomorrow at the weigh. TO BE CONTINUED ...............

Not bad LOL.

Just be careful who you hang out with.

This is more fun than should be legal. Miners, you have to love this old time equipment. Love this old mining equipment.

I also witnessed the complete destruction of a mining crew one night. I was at their claim helping out & decided to sleep in my truck where the crew was camped. These were a rough bunch of guys out of Nevada. There were 5 of them and 2 big German Shepards used as guard dogs & they were all mean as hell - the dogs & the crew. They were up past midnight drinking whisky and doing a gold weigh when the trouble started. Why I stayed there is beyond me except by then I was too scared to make a move. They all had side arms & knives. Somehow, there was a discrepancy concerning the cut & distribution of gold to 2 of the crew. Knives were pulled and a big fight erupted. There was a big wooden table near their campfire and one guy got pushed over backwards and crashed across it and was hit over the head with a whisky bottle. The guy that had the bottle was suddenly attacked from behind by one of the crew with a big knife. He had it up against the guy's throat and I figured he was dead but the crew leader shot off 3 rounds from his 45 and hollered for everyone to cool it or eat lead. The dogs were going nuts and I was afraid to make a move to get to my truck & get out of there because they didn't know me & I would have been ripped to shreds. The crew boss finally got everyone calmed down enough & they all started drinking again. That's when I took my exit & pronto. I heard the crew was never the same again & broke up a few days later. Yes, mining in the Sierra Nevada - I could write a book. Oh wait, I have.

Oh, & here is something else about those claims. Just a couple of yrs prior to selling the claims to this person the claim owner had leased them to greenhorns from New York State who had gold fever. They had never mined before just like the other guy. The cost? He charged them $25,000 for a lease. Did they get any gold? I heard maybe an ounce before they went bust. Can you say ouch? Or predator?

Yes, pretty stupid wasn't it. He got sucked in because there was an active permit he could use to start mining without waiting. The problem was he was mining low grade tailings. He paid the $100K because it included the permit which proved to be worthless. Gold fever is real & it's scary. People's eyes glaze over & common sense goes out the window.

Here's a true story. I got a call from a guy that had a gold mining claim about 10 miles from my claims. He was losing his money & asked if my partner & I would come look at his ground. It was an old hydraulic operation from the 1800's. I asked him if he had done much research on it before buying it & he said no but it had an active permit & that's why he bought it. He had gold fever and wanted to mine gold immediately. Then my partner asked him if he had even walked the claim & done any testing. He said no but the geologist told him there was still gold on it. So we walked the claim from the creek at the bottom all the way up the mountain. It had all been commercially mined several times and was obvious that there wasn't much left here in the way of gold. Lot's of old hydraulic cuts & hand stacked rock. We ran some tailings through his trommel and found traces of gold but nothing mineable unless gold was $5000/oz. He had been taken and but good. However, it was his own fault for being in a big hurry. There were two claims completely mined out & he had paid nearly $100,000 for them. That's just one of several examples of what I have seen happen to people with gold fever. It can be ugly.

I agree. We decided to lease claims and take our cut right off the sluice in the form of raw gold. There is no risk or cost. I have seen several want to be gold miners lose everything including their wives. Not a business for the faint of heart. We love the exploration end of the business. I also invest in good mining companies.

Sometimes chasing a dream can be quite expensive in many ways.

July 8 1950 After consulting with the geologist yesterday I am still convinced we will find a glory hole in the bedrock somewhere to the north of our current drifting. I have enough funds to continue mining and exploring for another week. The gravel is still not paying for the work but the slope is declining gently to the northwest away from the fault.

May 25 2002 When I woke up this morning there was a cold drizzle of rain coming down and dampening the camp. We all gathered at my camper for breakfast. Jacob said he wanted to come up to the dig site so we decided we would all just go up together like we used to do. Seeing as it was a little cool we were anxious to get to our work and warm up some. Jacob took a look at our open trench work and made a few suggestions as to widening it out some and cutting a ramp descending deeper into the mountain heading north. So we all worked on that all morning and Jacob took samples to pan every half hour or so. When we broke for lunch we asked him what he thought about the progress and gold at the current site. He was very positive about it and was convinced we were going to hit some heavy gold deposits sooner than later. That was always good encouragement coming from someone like him who had the experience we lacked. He’s been here and done it before and we all trust his judgment. By day’s end we had washed 17 yards of gravel and were all pretty happy because Jacob had been showing us a little gold in the test pans all day long. TO BE CONTINUED ................

No. He usually didn't like to talk much about the old crew and I left it up to him. Eventually, I will write about when & how he passed away. He was one of a kind from another era.

I am going to try to find some pictures of that camp and the area and post them here.

So here is my experience that relates to this story that Jacob told us back in 2002. Fast forward 10 yrs. One of my partners & myself were camped in the same place. We had been coducting grab sample assays on one of the claims along the creek. We were sitting outside the tents drinking a beer and discussing the day's events. It was around 10:00 PM and there was a fire ban in place because it had been a dry Summer as usual. There was a quarter moon and we had several battery powered lanterns hung up for light but outside of camp it was nearly pitch dark. The two of us were talking when suddenly my partner alerted to something. I asked him what was up and he told me he heard someone talking in the trees just 40 ft outside of camp. I stopped talking and listened. I heard the voices as well but the words were unintelligible. They would stop for a few seconds & then start up again. We didn't see anyone and as far as we knew there was no one around this area but the two of us. After a few minutes of this we both got up and shined flashlights in the area of the voices and asked if anyone was there. No reply. So we slowly walked over in that direction with our sidearms at the ready just in case. Then it happened. There were two figures of men that were glowing slightly against the blackness of the forest. At times the figures were transparent.They were talking quietly to each other and paid us no mind. For the life of me I could not make out anything they were saying and the two figures began to drift north up the mountain several feet off the ground. We both just stared at them completely dumbfounded and unable to speak. After about 15 seconds or so they were out of our sight. We tried to follow them but they both had vanished in the night. I will never forget that experience on the claims and thankfully have a witness who saw what I saw and heard what I heard. Otherwise, I may not believe what had happened out there. That's my story & it's as real as real gets.

Yep, this was a real story from him and he was very serious as I recall. I have one to tell along this same line tomorrow. Cheers.

May 24 2002 Part Three Jacob said it was back in late May in the 1937 mining season when it all happened. The crew had decided to go into town to blow off steam but Jacob decided to stay at camp. He remembered it being a cold night and he had stoked up a fairly big campfire and was sipping whisky and thinking about the previous season. Before he went any further he looked at the three of us sitting around the fire with him and asked if we had ever heard any strange sounds around camp since we had arrived. We shook our heads no. He nodded and went on with the story. According to him he had heard voices coming down the mountain along the side of the creek near camp. Jacob said the sounds got his attention and he grabbed his Thompson and got out of the campfire light and hid in a dark spot outside of camp. He kept real still as two figures started to come into view. They were jabbering away about gold and mining and both of them were drinking from whisky bottles and laughing as they came into camp. Jacob went on to say that something about them didn’t look right and he could see right through them at times. He stood up to get a better look and realized it was Jed and Whisky Jack as sure as could be. When Jacob hollered out to them he said they looked him dead in the face with cold stares and it made his skin crawl. He said he was so shocked he could hardly get any words to come out of his mouth. Then he said the two of them kind of floated off the ground a few feet and drifted slowly up the mountain until they were out of sight. Then Jacob looked at us and said this was not a lie but as true as true could ever be so help him. He told us that he expected to see them again out here one night. He didn’t exactly know why but just had one of his feelings. TO BE CONTINUED ...................

May 24 2002 Part Two Jacob Unwinds A Tale When we got back to camp Jacob was working on a good supper for the crew. He told us he was quite proud of the way we were working and our determined attitudes. He said that is exactly what it takes to be a gold miner. He served up hash with hot water cornbread and his own baked beans from a special recipe. I’m telling you that this was one heck of a good supper for a tired and hungry crew. After we ate he broke out some beer and a bottle of Bushmills. It seemed like he was in a pretty good mood and felt like talking. He wasn’t always like that. Sometimes he was very quiet and introspective. We knew when to leave him alone and always let him decide when he wanted to have a good talk with us. Tonight, as we stoked up the campfire and sipped some good Irish whisky, he asked us if we wanted to hear a true story. A story that only the crew from 1937 had been told. I said yes, of course we do. So he began to tell us what he said was a true tale that he had experienced right here where we were sitting. TO BE CNTINUED .................

May 24 2002 Part One We had a pretty good cleanup this morning with .6 ounces in the pan. We got an early start with Vern, Jim, and I going up to dig and Jacob staying down at camp. Our cut into the base of the mountain is quite wide now and we have seen some examples of rolling bedrock. Due to all the upheaval in this entire area bedrock is illusive. One day you encounter it and the next it has dived deeper. Without the necessary heavy equipment and permits we are waiting for the work continues to be slow but steady. Fortunately, the weather has remained on the cool side. At the end of the day we washed 14 yards of gravel. TO BE CONTINUED .............

It's obvious that things are not going well for these guys. Having the actual entries here I know the ending. Of course with mining, sometimes you get lucky. And sometimes you go broke.