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

[GhostMiner]

 

   JUNE 20   1936

   This morning's pan showed yet another two ounces of gold for our efforts. We are all happy miners. I sent Jacob into town for some supplies and Will and me worked the kettle. We are gaining about a foot or so a day in depth and can still lift out buckets easily. We took a break for lunch around noon and Jacob had just got back to camp. He told us hell had broke loose in town. The bank had just been robbed and there was a shootout on the main street. Three robbers had shot it out with a deputy and several armed citizens. As far as he knew the gang had got away with quite a bit of bank money and two of the town folks had been wounded. He didn't know how bad. They made the get a way in a truck presumed to be stolen. We all looked at each other and nodded our heads. It had to be the same crew who's deserted camp we had found. The guy we let go must have left the area,

   Will said he'd bet his gold they were still hiding out up on the mountain somewhere. There's a million places to disappear out here. I agreed. I just said for everyone to keep an eye peeled and be on alert. They know we're still here and probably figure we have gold. John said they might be waiting until we have more gold accumulated from the mining season and then make their move on us. I didn't like the sound of that at all.

   After lunch we went back to work with the pick swinging and the shovels scooping. We're getting near waste deep in the hole with country on every side. I've never seen anything like it. Not even the first glory hole was this well defined. If there was a gold bearing river running over this pot hole there has to be a lot of gold stacked in it. We all keep speculating as to the depth of the deposit. I told the boys that if we start seeing big numbers of ounces at the weighs we might be getting to the bottom. Right now we are all happy to get what we get evry day with the hope of a motherlode strike. Today our bucket count was 235. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

[GhostMiner]

 

   JUNE 21   1936

   Two ounces in the pan from the dig. The gold is constant and for that we are all thankful. The material we are digging has not changed. Nice looking pay gravels with some small rounded river rock. I could dig here the rest of my days and die a happy miner. What have I done to deserve such good fortune? 

This morning a group of law dogs numbering eight stopped by to ask us if we had seen the gang. We told them no and they headed up the mountain following the creek. We told them there were thousands of places to hide out up there. They seemed hell bent on finding them. Those rag tags are clever. If they sense the town is left short handed on law they may go back and pull another robbery.

   At the kettle we continue to gain nearly a foot a day in depth. We all take our turns at digging and hauling buckets to the truck except for John who has found himself a home at the tom. He is ready to challenge me as fastest panner now and may win. He has developed skills that any mining crew would want on their team. We ended up with 250 buckets today which was not too bad. I thought we might break our record but we were slowed by a boulder we had to pry. It took the three of us working together to move it. That boulder may be a sign of something good to come as far as gold is concerned. I am hopeful that country is still quite a ways down. I want to work this kettle for the rest of the season and retire. I also need to get to town and buy more shirts and pants. The ones I brought are nearly all worn out from the heavy work. I am proud of our crew. We are now all of us family. 

 TO BE CONTINUED ...................

[GhostMiner]

 

   JUNE 22   1936

   One more ounce at this mornings weigh. We need to get deeper. We all saw the law dogs coming back down the mountain today. They said they had no luck in finding the gang of rif raf. Either they have a hideout in another area or are very well hidden. I think they are still on the mountain somewhere. 

   I took a few hours after breakfast to go into town for some new work clothes which were badly needed. I don't know how many prospectors the town folk see but I seemed to be a curiosity to them. Maybe it was just the ragged look I now present.

   The heat is getting worse now it seems. We are hitting 90 degrees most days and we all know it will get hotter in the next few months. I tell Jacob and Will to work at a steady pace and take breaks when needed. We are getting steady gold which is a miner's dream. No one ever complains about the work. The gravels have not changed and the work is not too bad. We filled 230 buckets today.

    TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

 

   JUNE 23   1936

   Three ounces of gold from the weigh. It seems nothing will stop us now. I am now sure we are digging a glory hole once again. Also, more prospectors were seen heading up the creek by John. He said they were a group of three and he talked with them briefly. They were from the coast of California with no experience but wanted to take a try at mining gold. John said they seemed like an honest bunch and he wished them luck. More and more people are looking for gold as an answer to the hard times this country is facing. It makes me realize how lucky our group is.

   We are getting about chest high in the hole now and are having to winch the buckets out to the top of the hole. Then the buckets are walked out two at a time up the ramp of the trench to the surface. This has become slower and harder work. I am hoping our gravels get richer now as our bucket count will drop. The smooth facings of rock in the kettle are something to behold. Our digging is contained to this area and we go deeper every day. We took 210 hard earned buckets down to John. He is washing them with a determined grin on his face every day. 

   We all sat at the camp fire after supper and talked about our strike. I rolled Ripple and Burley and passed them around to the crew and poured cups of whiskey. We all speculated on how much gold was waiting for us at the bottom of the kettle. John and Jacob said they would buy their own farm. Will said he wanted to go into the automobile business or maybe own a feed mill. I told the crew I was going to keep gold mining until my body quit on me. We all had a few smokes and drank our cups. Eventually it was time for first watch and we broke up the get together. 

  TO BE CONTINUED ................

[Lanny]

Your journal writer may not have been an author in the true sense, but his entries have all the hallmarks used to hold an audience's attention and generate suspense.

Thanks for posting, and all the best,

Lanny

[rvpopeye]

Monster sized batch tonight !

I owe you some likes , I ran out,,,again.?

 

[Tahts-a-dats-ago]

I know absolutely nothing about finding natural gold or mining, but your post(s) (journal entries) are fascinating. Thanks for taking the time to share the journal with us.

[maxxkatt]

For those new to gold mining, they are digging in an ancient river bed that is now dried and covered up. It was formed way before man looking for gold walked the ground. So what their glory holes are a natural bowl or hole carved out of eons of water falling in that place. Water and rocks falling and also gold dig the hole. Gold being so much heavier than rocks will not be washed out of the bowl, kettle or glory hole. Thus when they come upon a kettle or glory hole it is a huge concentration of gold.

gold gets washed into the stream and river upstream due to eons of erosion. This is the simple explanation of finding gold in gravel and rocks. Gold in hard rock is a different creature.

So enjoying this journal.

 

 

[GhostMiner]

2 minutes ago, Tahts-a-dats-ago said:

I know absolutely nothing about finding natural gold or mining, but your post(s) (journal entries) are fascinating. Thanks for taking the time to share the journal with us.

Thanks so much & you are welcome!