GhostMiner

JUNE 6 1936 Well, I have proof that I cannot always trust my eyes or the pan as we did the weigh and produced two ounces from the eastern wall dig. Amongst a bit of consternation from the crew I have decided to keep working it to see if it gets better. I told everyone that we need to determine the pay area perimiters. We know the trench is rich. We are not too worried about water as we have the pump when needed. There should be enough water in the creek for the pump clear into fall. So back to it Jacob and me went. Swinging and digging. Prying and digging. It is a battle against rock. We continue to widen the work area a bit and are also getting a bit deeper in the process. My shoulders and elbows are sore from the pick work. Jacob is relentless and relishes every challenge. I am happy to have my brother beside me. The digging is slow now. Every bucket requires three times the effort. I am almost hoping to run out of pay so we can move. There was some noise up higher above our dig site today. I couldn't determine the origin but it seemed to be distant and maybe a few hundred yards higher than us. The sounds were like a holler back and forth but didn't sound human. I can't explain it and Jacob just shook his head and shrugged it off. We ended up taking 130 buckets out of the east wall. I did a few test pans when we were digging but again saw little to no color. We will see. Jacob and I knocked back a good amount of whiskey and talked about home and what we would do with the gold. Then we turned in and waited for our turn on watch. TO BE CONTINUED ..........................

JUNE 5 1936 Our 180 buckets from the eastern wall dig was somewhat disappointing but did give us one ounce. Jacob and me continued our attack in the wall amongst very heavy ground filled with old channel rock. I did several test pans of these gravels at various levels but the color is not there. We were able to take 160 buckets down to the tom and tomorrows weigh will tell us if we should move away from the eastern wall or keep going. Everyone is for continuing at the main trench which we know is rich. I am trying to determine the area of the strike and where it fades away. I should have a good idea tomorrow. There is nothing easy here and everything is a battle against rock and heavy gravel but the rewards have been unbeliebable to this point. We are all still dreaming of continued glory. Our creek continues to flow well enough for the tom and we have not used the pump yet. I think we may have another week or two of good water before the pump is needed. This evening we had a bobcat enter camp. He prowled the perimiter as we watched. John got up with his pistol and fired a round sending him running down along the creek heading up the mountain. We have seen black bear but have not had any come into camp. There are lion in the area as well but we have not seen any. Will shot a rattler near the creek yesterday and that is the first one we saw. TO BE CONTINUED ...................

JUNE 4 1936 Yesterdays dig brought us another 9 ounces of gold. The rate of gold per ton is staggering. The gold has been poured into a very concentrated area. Jacob in his working of the northern trench has already encountered country rock which is disappointing. However, the area where I have been digging shows no sign of a bottom. We may very well end up with a shaft following a deep opening down into the fault. Before I pursue that possibility I have decided to work the eastern trench wall even further to see if we encounter the same rich gravels. So today that is what we did, worked the eastern wall with the pick and shovel. This was heavy and slow work as we encountered large rock that had to be moved with the bars. Some test pans showed color and the work was not in vain. I would like to continue this plan for a few days or more to see what is there. Our bucket total was a meager 180 today even though we worked till nearly dark. I am turning in early tonight and will stand my watch when it's time. There has been no trouble and all has been quiet here except for the sound of the pick and shovel striking gravel. TO BE CONTINUED .......................

JUNE 3 1936 Lord make me a rainbow and may the mother of all the saints shine down upon me and my crew. The weigh of gold from yesterdays 210 buckets was done. We had 18 ounces in the pan. I am too tired to write much more tonight and am more than half drunk. All my feeble mind is capable of tonight is thinking of gold. Jacob and me dug 235 buckets today. We are tired and more than happy and our bellies are full. TO BE CONTINUED .......................

JUNE 2 1936 Last night we built the campfire and ended up deep in the cups swapping stories and lies until nearly midnight. Jacob and Will had asked to go into town and make a visit to the tavern but I told them it is far too risky. We don't know if the hooligans have left the area and that place is a gathering area for rif raf and misfits. They are young and full of oats but I don't need them getting into trouble or being followed. So we all blew steam at camp. We had it building for days. After a late start Will and John finished the weigh and Will walked up to the dig. He was carrying a jar and had a grin on his face from ear to ear. Jacob and me stopped shoveling and climbed out of the trench to see what was up. He said to have a look at the jar and handed it over to me. It was heavy. I kidded him and asked what did he do, fill it with rocks? I asked him how much was in there. The answer was 6 ounces. Jacob started doing some kind of Irish jig I couldn't identify. I told Will we are on to something good here. He was never told about the kettle gold. I decided he had earned the right to know. He was stunned. I showed him the pit where we dug it out. He said he couldn't believe we got 220 ounces out of that hole. I just told him we are in an area of concentration unlike what I have ever experienced. I said we may well be on the road to almighty glory. I also told him that my hunch was as we got deeper it was going to get even richer. How rich I didn't know but we are getting deeper with no end in sight. Will went back to work at the creek with dreams of glory in his eyes as we all did. Even with our headaches Jacob and me were able to dig 210 buckets of rich gravel. Tonight we eat and rest and drink little bit of my Irish whiskey for good luck. TO BE CONTINUED .......................

Something else I have referred to previously was that Jed was working with a very prominent geologist. Perhaps the most prominent geologist in the state. He was reporting back to him on a regular basis on the progress and gold count. He never mentions any of this in his journal. It was only stated once in the government report. There is no mention of any partnership between them but in my opinion the geologist was a silent partner and that's why he was kept in the loop. There is a lot more info coming in this journal.

Lost Gold At The Dead Man's Mine. Hmmmmm. There is much more to unwrap here.

For sure. Thanks.

Hoover Stew. A term used during the Great Depression and President Hoover. A stew where you threw whatever food you had available into the pot.

JUNE 1 1936 We continue to stay in very rich gravels, the richest I have ever dug. The weigh gave us another ounce. Based on the amount of gravels the ground seems to be holding up and we may be glory bound. My worry of our creek slowing may be cured as well. I sent Will in with the truck to pick up a Meyers pump to supply the tom if needed. So far the creek is still running a sufficient current of water but it has started to slow some. The pump should keep the gravel processing at a good level when the time comes. Jacob and me are still hauling out the buckets from the trench or pit on a steep incline. Our depths are deepening each day. We are now into the loose gravel with the occaional rounded rock and there is no sign of a bottom. The gold is chunk with some fine and is found in promiscuous amounts per ton. We are digging just north of the kettle and now at a greater depth than the bottom of that glory hole. I continue to pan samples as we dig and the gold is always there. We have started to timber the sides of the wall where needed in order to keep them stable. I have Jacob working at the northern end of the trench picking and digging away at the base while I continue to work the top. We are in an area about 15 to 20 feet in length and 6 feet in width. I am working the eastern side into the fault and widening the dig at the same time. I have been able to drive into the eastern wall by using the pick and bar and those gravels are good and show gold. Today we worked very hard and it felt good to be back to digging the gravels and finding gold. We hauled out 250 buckets today and are quite proud of ourselves. It will be Hoover stew and whiskey for me tonight. TO BE CONTINUED ..................

MAY 31 1936 PART THREE John put his boot up against the box and started to push against it a little. John said he had ten seconds to talk or he would hang. Then the robber gave in. He was shaking and hollering not to hang him, he would talk. John said to start talking before he changed his mind. He left him up on the box. The robber said he was from Nevada. He had fell on hard times and came to California for the gold. He wasn't very good at mining and met up with the other three holligans in town one night. He joined up with them. He said they had robbed a lot of people but he personally hadn't killed anyone. It was the ring leader who was the murderer. He didn't even know their last names. He said they had a camp hidden in a remote ravine about a mile up to the north just off the creek a few hundred yards. They would go up and down the creek laying for prospectors and rob them. They also stole a truck in town and had robbed and beaten a few people as well. He described the area of the camp pretty well but John told him he was going to guide us to it in the morning when we could see better. He agreed. We lashed him back to the tree and took our turn on guard duty until daybreak. After a quick breakfast John and me hiked higher up the mountain while Will and Jacob guarded camp. This is the last thing I wanted to spend my time on as it took us away from our mining but we had no choice it seemed. When we got up there we found the campsite but it was deserted and most everything was removed. They must have cleared out in the middle of the night. I asked the robber where they might have gone. He just shrugged his shoulders and said maybe they're getting out of the area. There wasn't much we could do and now had to decide what to do with the robber. John asked him what he should do with him. The guy pleaded that if we let him go he would high tail it back to Nevada and we'd never have any more trouble from him. He's had enough of this kind of life and was going home. We walked him back down to our camp and had a quick meeting. Then we untied his hands and told him to git or we would kill him for sure. He thanked us and ran out of there with his tail between his legs, I am hoping we did the right thing. We all went back to our jobs although it was a late start. John and will got 2 ounces from yesterdays 235 buckets. Jacob and me gug 120 buckets of good gravels and quit at dusk. We'll see tomorrow how we did. We are still standing watch at night. TO BE CONTINUED .....................

MR. Outlaw, Jed & his crew have caught up with you. It may be time to pay for your sins.

Dedicated to Jed & crew.

MAY 31 1936 PART TWO We poured some alcohol in the wound and tied a piece of cloth around his leg. The bullet had gone through the flesh of his calf and he was able to hobble around some. We asked him who he was but he wasn't talking. I told the greenhorns we had business to settle with him and were taking him down to our camp and we would let them know what we got out of him in the way of information. They agreed with us as to not contacting the law. Will and Jacob were surprised to see we had caught one of the gang. Will said he was one of the crew that had robbed him. We filled them in on what happened. We tried to get information out of him but he just said they were prospectors. We tied up his hands and lashed him up to a tree. Then we walked away and had a quick meeting. When we came back to the robber I told him John was for hanging him and he talked the rest of us into it. He just sneered and said we wouldn't do it. Then John brought over a wooden crate about two feet high. We set it under the branch of the tree and made a noose out of some rope. John threw the rope over the branch and we unlashed the robber and told him to stand on the box. He said he wouldn't and started shaking a little. John and me lifted him onto the box and I told Jacob to put the noose around his neck and pull the rope tight then get up on the branch and wrap the rope around it a few times and tie it off. John told him he wanted to know where his gang was camped and who he was. He said if he didn't talk he was going to kick the box out from under his feet. His hands were still tied behind his back. John said we'll hang you and nobody will ever find you and he would do it for sure. The rif raf was shaking. John said he would ask him one last time and if he didn't talk he was a dead man. TO BE CONTINUED IN PART THREE ......................

Another journal entry coming soon.

I also plan to get another dig started on this ground and shoot video of the project. I think it would be quite interesting.

I am reading the journal and typing. I also am planning to do a book on this journal later this year. There is quite a lot that went on out there.

So now they've caught one of the gang. What will they do with him?

MAY 31 1936 PART ONE This morning we did the final panning and weigh from yesterdays gravels while Will cooked us all a miners mountain man breakfast of eggs, bacon, beans, hot water corn bread, and coffee, I sweetened my coffee with a shot of Irish. There was gold in the weigh and it was an ounce. That could have been gold gravels slid over from the lift or it might be of its own value. More digging will tell us. We saw a crew of three prospectors heading north up the creek while at breakfast. We all went over to talk with them. They were all well outfitted and had come all the way from Pennsylvania. They had dreams of gold dancing in their eyes like Will. Their plan was to follow the creek higher up into the mountain. I warned them about the rif raf that may still be roaming and wished them good luck. They were all armed with rifles and shotguns. They looked to be green. Jacob and me resumed the pick and shovel work. The buckets were becoming harder to walk out of the trench as the depths slowly deepened. I had set up a hand winch anchored at a stout tree near the dig. We would soon be using it I think. The gravels remained quite loose with hardly any river rock and we made good time ending the day with 265 buckets. There is no sign of any bottom at 12 feet in depth and the trench has become a rounded pit. We may need to use some of our cut timbers to brace the sides as it is loose. After a supper of beans and corn bread we opened a bottle and were ready to sit around the fire and trade stories when once again there was gunfire up north on the mountain. John figured it to be about half a mile. It stopped and started several times. Something was going on up the creek. We figured it might be the rif raf had seen the new prospectors camp and set upon robbing them. John hollered out that he had enough of this and he was going up to have a look see and nobody was going to stop him. I told him i'd go with him and told Jacob and Will to stick at camp and guard our goods. There was a good full moon and the visability was good. We headed on up the side of the creek with rifles at the ready. The gunfire had stopped for a spell but then started up again. It didn't take us too long to get close to the rifle fire and we bellied up near what looked to be a camp with a fire going. For sure it was the three greenhorns from Pennsylvania under fire from the woods up above. We were about 50 feet from them and I gave a holler and said it was us miners they met in the morning from down below. I said we would help them and would circle up to the east and north of the robbers and get them in a cross fire. I told them to stay put and keep shooting. They hollered back and said they would. John said lets get em. John and me circled way around to the east so as not to be seen and closed in on them from the north. They didn't know we were up there and we could see the rifle flashes. It looked to be the same four we had run off and probably robbed Will and killed a man. They were well covered by trees and we could here them laughing as they fired volies down at the greenhorns. John took aim and fired a round that hit the mark and we saw one of them drop over on the ground. I don't know how good he was hit because he crawled off into the brush. The other three now new we were there and took off running up the mountain. We fired several shots and they were gone. We chased them up the mountain as best we could but after about 10 minutes we lost them. I told John they might be laying for us. We ended up heading back down towards the greenhorn camp and hollered out to them we had one hit and three got away. They came out of their cover and we set about looking for the rag tag we had dropped. We found him under a bush. He was grazed in the leg but not too bad. TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO ................................

I promised to get some journal entries out this weekend & have begun posting them. The next entry is a rather lengthy one as Jed had lots to talk about. This entry gets intense. Because of the length of his writing I am breaking it down into 3 parts. I will get Part One up soon. I ask that you all think about Jed's crew and their situation. They are working in a remote part of the Sierra Nevada mountains with everything they own including their lives on the line. There are no cell phones and even if there were there would be no service. Even totoday there is no cell service at this location. So there is no way to call the law & get help even if they wanted it. And last but not least, John is on the crew. Enough said.

MAY 30 1936 The finish of the panning was done early morning. Jacob and me came down to see the weigh. The gravels near the upper level produced an ounce from the 180 buckets. What we all waited for was the 70 buckets from the raised country rock. There was 5 ounces in the pan. We are all happy miners.Then there was the jar with the pieces of gold. They weighed out at 2 ounces bringing yesterdays dig total to 8 ounces. Jacob and me went back up to explore the raised country area and dug to the north working the ground with a vengeance. We dropped off the raised area and the facing fell away under our shovels. The gravels were loose. We were at a depth of about 10 feet and getting lower between the two holes. The trench we had started was becoming more of a pit now, At least that's how it seems. We are tight to the hill facing at our east that rises from 60 feet and up to 80 feet in places along this area. Although the digging is a bit easy the depth is dropping and we will have to haul out the buckets by winch soon. We are still able to walk them out on a steep grade at this point. I have no idea how deep this drop goes. We are now below the raised country by several feet as we dig away. I did some pans at the tub with poor results so I think we will need to get deeper in the drop. My hope is this is a huge kettle in the old river channel under the water fall where the fault line broke everything up. We hauled 235 buckets down to John and Will today. It was a good days work. The creek is still flowing with plentiful water and we are hopeful for more gold in the pan tomorrow. TO BE CONTINUED ............

Very true!

Yes, they would be manageble. I'd rather think they used 5 gallon buckets but maybe not completeeeely full. Hard to say. I have conducted bucket sample tests on that mine carrying two 5 gallon buckets close to fully loaded and walking them thousands of feet. You usually need to set them down at least once. At some point you load them about 2/3 full and that is manageable. However, Jed's crew was only carrying them to their truck which I think was parked close to the dig site so they may have been fully loaded. There is no mention of this so we will never know the answer.

MAY 29 1936 We are back in the money. The weigh produced 4 ounces. This is extremely rich gravel once again. I think it will only get better. The gold has become concentrated in this area as I believe it lies directly under an ancient waterfall where it somehow packed up. I have heard of areas like this but they are rare. The crew is motivated. Will and Jacob are almost out of control with the fever. I want to keep everyone on an even keel. John once again worked the tom alone while the three of us dug gravel. We encountered some loose areas below the river rock and then encountered country rock. This was in a five foot area. I panned a few samples in the tub and the pans were heavy with color. Large pices along with chunk and fine. Some of it was the size of a nickel or half an Eagle. I called Will and Jacob over to have a look see. We stood there in amazement. I told them I would take the load of buckets down to John and show him the pan. I jumped in the truck cradling the pan like a new born baby. When I showed John he gave out a holler that they must have heard in town. I left the pan at the tom and told John to pick out the big pieces and put them in a jar and we'd weigh them by themselves. We seemed to have hit an area of raised or lifted country rock on the fault. The deposit on top is not overly deep so I don't know how much we can get. That will depend on the diameter of the lift. There's several feet of rich pay on top of it. For the day we removed 70 buckets of this rich gravel along with another 180 buckets of top gravels from the other end of the trench. John is washing the gravels seperately so we can see how rich the ground is near country. Tomorrow I will see if the lifted area continues further or if we have it all dug in that spot. John will have it all finished up early tomorrow morning. I am going to leave Will with him for help and also safety now. I don't want to have John alone at the creek. Tomorrow Jacob and me will resume the shovel work by ourselves again. Tonight I am opening a new bottle of whiskey for the crew. TO BE CONTINUED .........................

My company got a great deal on galvanized buckets a few yrs ago buyong a large quantity directly from a small manufacturer. I got them for $5 per bucket. Would never happen today with the inflation.