GhostMiner

This was found at one of the old dig sites. Was this a warning to others in the area to stay out?

June 27 1937 Part One It was a late gold weigh but well worth the wait once again with twenty ounces in the pan. We are working a glory hole for sure. Hudson and I drove my truck up to the dig site around 10:30 AM and started our day. The heat was beginning to make a comeback and the temperature was already close to 80 degrees and climbing quickly. We dug until mid afternoon and took our break in the shade. It was too hot to eat much and after twenty minutes we were back at our labor. I call it prison gang work but we know we are getting gold for the hard labor. We are hard men that can out-dig and outfight any crew and we know it. There are very few willing to mess with us and we have built a reputation for ourselves. By dusk we had dug 110 buckets and we called it a day. We drove the last of the rich gravels down to the tom and unloaded them for John to finish up in the morning. I was bushed and so was Hudson. The temperature had climbed past 100 degrees but now was cooling quickly. I washed up at the creek and John had stoked up a nice fire as the temperature dipped with the setting sun. It was beans and bacon and it tasted mighty good to the crew. We cracked open cool Lucky’s that were sitting in the creek and I rolled a few smokes. To our surprise Deputy Dan walked into camp. I offered him a Lucky which he quickly accepted and told him to have a seat. I knew he was here for a reason. He told us that there was some activity in town. Some of the Mexican gang we had shot it out with were in the hotel. He said there were nine of them from what he could tell. Then he told us something that surprised me. The sheriff had gone to the hotel to meet with them. Deputy Dan said he figured the sheriff was working with them to set up a gang of thugs to rob and plunder the area including our mine and camp unless we did a deal with him. I asked Dan about the sheriff’s law force. Dan laughed and said it was just him and Luther as full time deputies and two other part time men who weren’t even qualified as deputies. Dan said that if we turned down the sheriff’s proposal there was going to be trouble. I just looked at him and told him we don’t scare and we don’t back down. Period. I said we would fight it out with them if we were pushed into it. Then I told Dan to have another Lucky and listen to what I was thinking of doing. TO BE CONTINUED ..............

One of the hot spots we found. This was on the side of the southern end of the fault line about 40 ft up the side. This area is remote so we only ran bucket samples by carrying them out to a 12 volt recirculating 14 ft long sluice I built. It was hard work but the gravels produced a whopping $640/cubic yard. Our geologist stated that this area can produce ounces to the yard or yards to an ounce. Hot & cold. The second picture is looking north from previous picture with the shovel along the western side of the fault line. This is south of Jed's diggings.

A picture of part of the exploration crew. GhostMiner is on the right. We used a Deere 690 where we had approved plans and hand worked the others. Barely a drop in the bucket of all the exploration that could be done.

A partially worked kettle in the southern area of the faultline. This is what the old crew in 1936 was digging and pumping water to. Watch out for hooligans and keep your rifle close.

Standing at top of fault line and looking west. There is about a 100 ft drop to the bottom and many, many places to dig gravels.

Western side of the fault line looking north. This area is south of the crews old workings.

A picture of the top of the faultline above the area where the crew worked.

Top of the faultline a litttle south of the 1000 oz discovery that was at the base. This spot was about 100 ft higher than the bottom of the fault. We found some nice gold up there during our sampling.

June 26 1937 Part Six I asked the crew what they thought of the sheriff’s proposal. They were not keen on it. To a man they all said they didn’t trust him. They weren’t even sure about the deputies. I agreed with them about the sheriff but told them the deputies could be of some use to us and I was willing to pay them out of my own pocket. Money was not an issue. Trust was and always will be the issue and they would need to prove themselves. I spoke honestly with the crew. I wanted them to understand that we were as much outlaws as we were gold miners now. We had chosen out of need to handle things our own way but there may be a price to pay. We agreed that we were all willing to stick together. However, I told them that if any one or all of them decided at some point they wanted to leave the crew there would be no questions asked. It would be each man’s decision and I would always consider them friends. At the end of the meeting we all looked each other in the eye and shook hands. There would be no deal with the corrupt sheriff and judge. We would stand our ground and fight if the need came. The deputies now had to prove they were all in with us or we would consider them our enemies as well as the sheriff. The meeting ended and we will wash up the gravels together in the morning. I’ve got an uneasy feeling about our situation. TO BE CONTINUED .............

I'm going to open this old chest up on Saturday & show the entire contents. Was it part of the old crew's stash?

Been ridin' hard for three days but I can't turn back now They sentenced me to hang but I slipped away somehow Hell I'm th best there is and that's all you need to know I've got outlaw blood and a restless weary soul And I'm tryin' to cross the border when sun sets down tonight If I keep on ridin' hard I'll be a free man come daylight Hell I'm the best there is and that's what I hear them say But I guess I always knew that I'd pay my debt someday They found me in a little town just outside of Mexico I was sold out by a friend for a handful of pesos And anyone can tell you my guns they were not drawn I was murdered down in cold blood left to die at dawn Been gone 100 years now but it seems like yesterday As the lawman shot me in the back and stole my life away Hell I'm the best that ever lived I'm a legend among men Now every time that pistol fires my legend rides again They found me in a little town just outside of Mexico What happened there that night no one will ever know But anyone can tell you That I was unarmed And anyone can tell you That I left that night unharmed

June 26 1937 Part Five I was blunt with the two deputies. I told them what the sheriff and judge wanted from us and what they had offered in return. They didn’t seem surprised but said they had no clue in advance what he would want. I took them at their word. I asked the deputies how loyal they were to the sheriff. They said they had no loyalties to him other than getting a paycheck. I explained to them that I was ready to up their pay and gold percentage but would need their loyalty to our crew and not the sheriff. I told them this might mean standing with us and going against the sheriff if there was trouble. I told them to think it over. I made it clear that they were worth more to us while being deputies rather than civilians.When they finished their whisky I told them our crew needed to have a private meeting but I would let them know what we decided. With that the deputies left and our crew started an important conversation. TO BE CONTINUED .................

Can the judge & sheriff be trusted is the question here. Also, if you watch that video. it may hold some clues. There is a sheriff in that video that appears briefly.

June 26 1937 Part Four John and I walked back up to camp and informed Hudson and Will what the sheriff had proposed. Then I told Hudson to go into town and arrange for the deputies to meet with us in our camp at sunset. Will and I got ourselves something to eat and went back up to the digsite. Will could tell I wasn’t much in the mood for talking and we just went on with our pick and shovel work in silence until an hour before dark. We ended the day with 90 buckets. When we got back to camp we got a nice fire going and I washed up some. The night air was already starting to creep in and the sun was getting low. The crew sat around the fire eating supper and I brought out a couple bottles of whisky and we set about filling our cups. I was rolling a smoke when Deputy Dan and Luther came walking in hollering out in advance who they were so they didn’t get shot. I told them to take a seat by the fire and handed them a bottle of whisky and two cups. I told them we had some talking to do. TO BE CONTINUED .............

Clues? Maybe some.

June 26 1937 Part Three The sheriff told us that he wasn’t going to ask us for much and not even a percentage of our gold because there was no way for him to monitor what we were mining. He wanted ten ounces of gold a week for himself and another ten ounces a week for the judge. He also told us he had heard we had found treasure and cashed much of it in for dollars. He and the judge wanted two thousand dollars in cash each. He continued on to tell us what that would mean for us. He said first off we would get protection for our mine from his deputies. He would rotate them in and out twice a day if we wanted them. If we were bothered in any way we would be free to use whatever remedy we chose without fear of the law coming down on us. And he said that he and the judge would jail and prosecute anyone we wished. John and I looked at each other without saying anything. It seemed the sheriff knew quite a bit about us. We all had plenty of money and gold and his requests were well within easy reach for us. I told him we needed to have a meeting with the rest of the crew to discuss all this. The sheriff asked us if three days would be sufficient and I agreed. With that, the meeting was over and the sheriff drove away. I asked myself if I was ready to make a deal with the devil. TO BE CONTINUED ................

Possible hidden treasure from the crew? An old chest and pouch of gold coins.

June 26 1937 Part Two Will and I headed back down to camp around 11:30. We decided that John and I would go down to the main road to meet with the sheriff while Hudson and Will guarded the camp. There was no telling what the sheriff had planned and John and I went to the area where the mine road met the main road and waited. We were armed with our 45’s and Thompsons. We didn’t have to wait long as the sheriff pulled into the mine entrance driving his official county car with all the markings. The three of us walked over to a shady spot and the sheriff stood about ten feet from us. He had a smile on his face as he began talking. He assured us that he would rather not have trouble with us and wanted to secure a fairly simple business arrangement for himself and the judge. He stated that we had actually done him a big favor in cleaning out much of the rif raf in town. The sheriff went on to say that he could not use the tactics we used as he was bound to lawful methods that needed to stand up in a court of law. Then, with a stern look, he looked at us and coldly stated that if we were unwilling to make a deal with him he was prepared to use his position to make our lives miserable. John and I looked at each other but let him keep talking. TO BE CONTINUED ...............

Any viewers outside of the USA that are reading the journal are invited to say hello to the writer GM. I would love to hear from you.

June 26 1937 Part One This morning we got the results of our dig a little after breakfast was done. There were 19 ounces in the pan. The gold is looking beautiful and we have lots of those gravels sitting up there waiting to be dug. It was a great way to start our morning but like so many days out here things can change quickly. Deputy Dan and Deputy Luther paid us a visit shortly after the weigh. They warned us that the sheriff was hell bent on getting some of our gold. They said he had gold fever and so did the judge in town. Dan said he had heard about the run in with the two guys the sheriff had sent out here to stake over our claim. He told us the two of them had come back madder than all get up and told the sheriff they had nearly been shot by us. The sheriff could now file criminal charges if he wanted. Dan said there was nothing he or Luther could do. However, he said that the sheriff was not a miner and had no clue how to run a mine or find gold. The sheriff had sent them out here to get us to come into town for another meeting. The sheriff was also giving his word there would be no arrest or gunplay during or after the meeting but just wanted to talk further with us. Dan smiled and said that in his estimation the sheriff was trying to scare us into a deal where the judge and him could get easy gold without having to work for it or hire a crew. The sheriff was also a little scared of us according to Dan and would rather avoid trouble if possible. Luther chimed in that the sheriff was not that bad of a guy but just lazy. And corrupt. I thought to myself that yes, he wasn’t too bad except for the fact he was a thug. I told the deputies we refused to go back into town for a meeting because we didn’t trust him. I said he could arrange a meeting for high noon today down by the claim entrance at the main road. It would be that or no meeting. I said to tell the sheriff not to bring anyone with him and we would treat him with respect as long as he treated us the same way. I warned the deputies that if the sheriff brought trouble with him he would be met with more trouble than he’s ever seen. With that the deputies said they would arrange the meeting and for us to be down at the main road at noon. If the sheriff refused the terms of the meeting they would come back to our camp and let us know. Then they left and Will and I headed for the dig site. TO BE CONTINUED ...............

Here is a picture taken near the northern fault line which is still partially buried. It is one of the places the actual crew worked back in 1936, 1937. There is a large wooden platform and you can see it is covered in pine needles. I'm not sure what this was used for as there is no water up there and the creek is nearly a mile away and 300 ft lower in elevation. This area is a bit higher and farther up the mountain and remote. The old road the crew used is nearly gone but we were able to take a skid steer up there and tried to make it more accessible for a jeep or 4 wheeler. It had been washed out in several areas and there were also lots of small trees to clear. Another curious thing happened while we were there. The sound of several gunshots rang out not too far away but we never saw the person or oersons who fired them off. It made me think of the crew in the journal but totally freaked out one of my mining partners and he actually ducked for cover. Hopefully the pictures I am posting help bring the journal to life as you can see some of the actual area it is based on.

I think I'll buy some Spam today LOL.

Thanks so much for reading the journal. You have a story to tell as well.

I would say it was quite a wonderful day!!