** Lost Gold At The Dead Man's Mine ** A Miners Journal **

[GhostMiner]

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

[Kodiak]

1 hour ago, GhostMiner said:

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

You any data back from that phsist?   If the data is good.  I wount mine takin out 1 acre parce if price is write.  As Bob Barker says,  Come on Down.

[GhostMiner]

6 hours ago, Kodiak said:

You any data back from that phsist?   If the data is good.  I wount mine takin out 1 acre parce if price is write.  As Bob Barker says,  Come on Down.

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.

[GhostMiner]

14 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

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

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

[GhostMiner]

   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 ................ 

[GhostMiner]

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

 

[GhostMiner]

   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 ................

[GhostMiner]

   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.

[GhostMiner]

   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 ................