GhostMiner

Gender:Male Author Posted January 4 MAY 20 1936 This morning Jacob and I went up and started digging the trench in a descending angle towards my first hole. I had got a good drop going at the start of the trench which was about 10 feet deep. At the angle I plan to use I could get down to 30 feet before I hit the first hole. We'll use the timbre to set verticle and cross supports from here. That should keep the trench from collapsing in. Some of the areas are good hard gravels and won't need dupport but anything that looks loose or soft will get timbered. I think we can walk the buckets out for awhile but at some point we might need to rope them out with a hand winch. The first thing we did in the morning was get 20 buckets down to John to get the tom back in action. He was grateful for that. I think the gold might be weak but we will see what the weigh gives us. Jacob is a hell of a hand and loves to work the pick. I'll tell you that's fine by me and my back. He's a young buck still and has seen just a little color in the pan here and now has the fever already. It is mighty nice having my brother here beside me up in these lonely mountains. The sound of the pick and the shovel working the gravels rang through the mountain today. Jacob and myself hauled out a total of 75 buckets which wasn't a bad day considering the dense gravel and rock we had to work. We all three of us finished the wash and did a weigh under a lantern light. It held some promise. We made 2 ounces and I thought Jacob would dance himself straight into the creek he was so happy. I think the weigh shows the best gold is going to be deeper but I have no idea where the country rock will lie. That fault is like a treasure hunt. It was darn good to see some gold once again. We fixed a good supper of canned beef and beens and hot water corn bread and I broke out a bottle of Irish. TO BE CONTINUED .........................

MAY 19 1936 Today I went into town and met up with my brother Jacob and took him out to the claims. When I arrived I saw John talking to the law. Jacob and me walked over to see what was what. John said we better hear this. The deputy said they had a report of a prospector getting killed up on the mountain the other day. They had found him shot in his camp. His partner had escaped and reported the incident. There were four men and he gave a description. We told the deputy what we had heard and about what time of night and about the four men who had hiked down the mountain and our encounter with them. The deputy said that fit the description and time of the murder. The prospectors camp was robbed along with the gold they had. He took our names and thanked us for the information. Then he looked at us and said to be careful out here, it wasn't safe. And if we had any problems let him know. We said we would but John and me had already decided to handle things ourselves. Jacob looked at me with wide eyes as if thinking what he got himself into out here. I had told him about our problems with the hooligans but this was another step up in danger. I told him that if he wanted to go home he could but he declined and said he would stick with us. I was glad for that for sure as we needed him. I introduced him to John and we sat in camp for an hour and ate some bacon and beans and helped Jacob set up his tent and went to work. By now it was mid afternoon so John watched camp while Jacob and myself went up to dig. I explained what was what and we set about dropping and bucking trees with the crosscut saw for support timbers in the trench. We took a good amount of timber over to the diggings before dusk and called it a day. The three of us sat around camp after supper and drank some good whiskey Jacob had brought. We decided to take shifts on watch at camp from now on. Any unwelcome trsspasser would be dealt with in a hard manner. TO BE CONTINUED ................

Just to interject a comment here - In researching some of this part of the report pertaining to Jed it became evident that there was a prominent geologist of that period involved in this operation. Jed never mentioned this in his journal. It was clear that he had gotten some pretty good advice on this particular area to prospect & mine. There may also have been an agreement between them. I don't think any of them ever expected to have the results they ended up with. Jed was in an area to get real lucky. However, sometimes the amount of luck you have relates directly to the amount of hard work you put in. Good guidance, hard work, a no quit attitude, & willing to face danger. Sometimes it just all comes together - at least so it seems for awhile.

MAY 18 1936 Last night John and me sat out by the outside cook stove warming hash and beans. We stayed out awhile and ended up deep in the cups. We talked of gold and riches. At some point I thought I heard something stir in the woods outside of camp. John said it might be a bear as we had been cooking but at a good distance from camp where we slept. We had the rifles as always. John always had his Colt in his holster as well. It got quiet again for awhile but then we heard the crack of a branch. Then there was a call out to us from someone. Whoever it was said they were coming into camp. There were a few lanterns and four men walked in. John jumped up with his rifle and asked them what they were up to. I stood up with my rifle as well. The one in front said they were heading back down the mountain to the road below and were going into town. They had been on a mining trip but the prospects were few and far between. He said they had gotten a little gold but barely enough to cover the bacon and beans. He asked us how we were fairing. I asked him what made him think we were prospecting for gold? He said he's seen the tom in the creek. Then he asked where our camp was. John told him we weren't having any luck at all and where our camp was located was none of his affair. I didn't like the look of any of this and I was getting real uneasy. This crew had us outnumbered and seemed to be feeling out our situation. I said the rest of our crew was tented up in camp not far off and that John and me were finishing up supper. I saw a couple of their crew carrying a rifle and a shotgun. John asked them why they were travelling at night up in these mountains. The crew leader said it had been a rough outing and they were in a hurry to get back to town. Also, he said, it was cooler for hiking at night. He said they had good lanterns. John told them we had heard gunfire higher up the mountain a few nights back. The crew leader said he hadn't heard anything but maybe it was someone shooting a bear or lion in camp. We could have pushed it but didn't and they moved on down the creek. I told John we needed to get back to camp and we would have to sit watch all night not knowing if their story was true. So we took our turns on watch without further incedent. In the morning we took our turns at the diggings expanding the length of the trench. Tomorrow I will be going into town to get supplies and pick up my brother who will arrive by bus. Then I plan to turn the digging up a notch and try to get back into gold gravels. Lately there seems to be more and more prospectors roaming the creeks and mountains as the weather improves. We will need to be very careful out here. TO BE CONTINUED ................

Here's to you Jed. A heavy pan filled with gold & a full tin cup of Irish whiskey. SLAINTE !!

MAY 17 1936 Last night I heard the loud screaching of several bobcats close to camp. They eventually moved on. In the morning we talked with a prospector who was hiking along the creek and he stopped by our camp. He seemed like a good fellow and all packed up with gear and dreaming of a strike. He said his name was Will. We told him of our experiences with the riff raff and rag tags as well as the gunfire from the previous night and warned him to be on alert. Will said he was hiking up the mountain and testing gravels near the creeks hoping to stake a claim. We wished him good luck as he hiked up the mountain. It seems to me there are a number of prospectors all looking to make their fortune in these hard times. This is a cut throat business and we have learned to watch our backs. There may be desperados all over these Sierra Nevada mountains. John and me took our turns at working the trench and panning gravels. We are working at lengthening now and not getting any deeper as I am worried about collapse without timbers to support walls where needed. The gravels seem stable enough for now but when Jacob arrives we will cut and buck trees. The day passes with only the sound of the pick and shovel striking against the rock and gravels of the old channel. Once again a day goes by with no gold. TO BE CONTINUED ................

To be clear, not to lease but just rename to honor Jed.

I meant we are renaming that faultline area. Not leasing that ground as we will work it ourselves. All our ground in all leased up.

We have decided to parce out 10 acres over Jed's diggings and name it Jed's Gold Vault.

You will soon see that Jed is digging against the wall of an ancient water fall. A deposit for fold.

Yes indeed. It's rocket fuel.

W

==

Yes, our mines are in northern Cal. Dixie fire just missed us somehow.

Jed & his crew back in 1936 were some tough people but even he talks of being exhausted at times and having to punch new holes in his belt. He said in the journal he had to go 3 notches and then punch in a new one so I figure that to be 4 inches off his waist. Every 8 pounds lost equalls one inch off the waist so he lost about 32 lbs. And he's not done yet.

Many thanks.

Just a note as to where Jed is working those gravels. He is at the bottom of the western side of a fault. The ancient gold bearing river was almost a mile wide & ran east to west. Then it moved and the old channel was buried under dirt & gravel over many years. So he is working the bottom of a waterfall which is now dry and the kettle he found was a pothole that collected gold over many years. He is now trying to find another gold trap in the same location as he feels there must have been more than one. Speculation for sure but not a bad bet. As the journal unfolds we will see if his thinking was correct.

MAY 16 1936 I talked with John at breakfast about the prospect of bringing in a third person to the claim. The digging is getting more difficult and as I plan to get much deeper I will require a person to help both in digging and gravel removal. I may also need to cut some timbers to support the walls of the trench work. I have a brother Jacob who works on a farm. He can come out to the claim for a month or two or maybe longer. In order to be fair in all regards John and me will pay Jacob in a small gold percentage equally divided between the two of us. I will personally promise Jacob a wage if no gold is found. John agreed to this new plan and I contacted Jacob today. He will be here in a few days. This afternoon I worked at widening the trench to six feet and panning gravels at the site. There is little color but my plan is to work towards the first hole but at a deeper level. I am hoping to hit a rich gravel deposit in the deeper depth of gravels. For now all I can do is take my turn at the dig with John taking his turn as well. Removing the gravels is taking more time now and the work is slow. Once Jacob arrives the two of us will dig and timber the trench walls where needed as well as bring out buckets of pay. John will watch our camp and work the tom. I think this is a solid plan for our future. TO BE CONTINUED ...............

Nice!

We were told there were numerous gun battles on the mountain over the years,

Yes I don't need the axe for chopping but a traditional pick axe. Thanks.

Any thoughts on the best pick axe to use for heavy work. Durability & weight is a consideration.

Here is a picture of the creek where Jed's tom sat and camp was near.

MAY 15 1936 Last night John and me sat around a campfire drinking whiskey and talking of many things. John retired to his tent after telling me stories of the great war and getting his fill of spirit. I sat and looked at the stars for a time when all of a sudden there was gun fire. This was way up the mountain at quite a distance, maybe a mile or so. It went on for a good ten minutes. John had heard it and came out of his tent. It eventually quieted and we both retired for the night. We took turns at digging and panning samples but there was still no color. I finished up before dark and fixed my supper at the stove. Hash and beans and my beloved Irish whiskey. TO BE CONTINUED ......................

MAY 14 1936 The weather has warmed considerably. The days are getting hotter but the nights are cold. There have so far been no more hooligans to disrupt us. Today I once again did the digging to get us a good direction and a descending trench heading along the fault towards the first dig. I have dug down a good eight feet below the second hole and lowering a trench five feet in width from there. That way I can walk a ramp out with the buckets once pay is discovered. We have not run the tom for two days now. The dig is slow with abundance of heavy rock that either gets worked around or moved. I am gambling a bit here but after seeing the gold in the first dig I feel the gamble will pay off. We have also decided for the both of us to stay at camp at night as there is little chance of anyone stealing gravel out of the dig that would be worth while at this time. I am going to alternate digging with John tomorrow, We can't leave camp unmanned so one of us must always be here in case of robbers. TO BE CONTINUED ................