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

[GhostMiner]

   May 21   2002     Part Three

 

   Jacob told us that the next hidden cache would contain 15 ounces. He said he had hidden it in a completely different area nearly a mile due west of the first spot. We hiked slowly across the mountain and were in very rugged terrain. We eventually made our way down the side of the mountain and into a deep ravine where the north/south running creek was flowing. The water was about two feet deep and we made our way across it to the western side. This is where the mountain began to rise for about 200 feet and it was a fairly steep slope. I mentioned to Jacob that I was worried about him making the steep climb that would be a challenge for people half his age. He just laughed and said to follow him north along the base of the ravine not far from the creek.

   As we traversed north along the floodplain with the mountain just 50 feet to the west Jacob spotted his next marker. There was a huge rock outcropping about 20 feet up the hill. It appeared that the rocks were resting on a bench. The grade going up to that point was not too bad compared to the rest of the areas we had passed by. I figured Jacob had handpicked this spot for several reasons. It was remote but the access wasn’t too difficult and it was a very easy marker to spot.

   We followed him up the mountain until he came to the boulders. We all took a seat on a flat stone the size of a car. We drank some water and Jacob pulled out his flask that he always carried. We all had a swig of his whisky and he decided to roll a smoke. As we sat there resting, Jacob started to tell us a story from back when he hid this cache we were near.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..................

[GhostMiner]

 May 21   2002     Part Four

 

   Jacob told us that he had begun scouting a second sight for his gold cache to be hidden. Wanting to save time, he was carrying the gold with him as well as his trusty Thompson. Before he had made it all the way up here he heard some people talking as they were heading down the mountain. This was 1937 and the country was in a tough place and people were desperate. Jacob said he trusted no one. His Thompson was his best friend and had saved him from robberies in the past.

   When the group of men came into view there were four of them and they were all carrying rifles and sidearms. They started to walk towards Jacob and he hollered at them to stop. He said they looked a little startled and told him they meant no harm and that they were just poor prospectors looking to stake a claim somewhere on the mountain. Jacob said not even one of them had a pick or a shovel nor a pan so he knew right away they were liars and up to no good.

   He told them he had no idea where there was any good ground to stake a claim and mentioned that all the good ground was probably taken years ago. The four of them began to inch their way slowly in his direction and attempted to make idle conversation about how hot the weather was. Jacob said he had the Thompson slung over his right shoulder and decided to bring it forward with both hands and pointing directly at the strangers. He told them to stop moving towards him. Then he told them that before they could scatter he would have them mowed down before they took two steps.

   He fired a short burst near their feet and the four of them jumped back in fear. He said their eyes were big as saucers and they now knew he meant business. Jacob told them he'd shoot all four of them and leave them for the lions. He had them lay their weapons down. Then he told them they had better get the hell down the mountain and out of this area pronto or they would never leave alive. He told them there were camps of heavily armed men here and they were stone cold killers of anybody they didn’t recognize. Then he fired off a second burst just over their heads by a foot or so and they ran like hell. As they ran down the mountain he fired off one more burst for good measure. After he had finished with the story he just gave us a cold stare that made my skin crawl. We were  sitting with an outlaw from another era. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

 

 

[GhostMiner]

   May 21   2002     Part Five

 

   After several tries we eventually found the second cache of gold which contained 20 ounces. It was buried several feet beneath the surface under a large, flat stone which we had to move. Now there was still one more cache remaining. Jacob said we needed to hike to the north about a quarter mile where we would come upon an old logging road that headed west up the mountain. He said this was the road the logging rif raf crews used back in the day when they made their way down the mountain to head south past the old mining crews camp to get to the main road. Jacob sure had a bad opinion of loggers for some reason but I didn’t want to get him started on another story. It was now early afternoon and we wanted to find the last of the gold today.

   When we came to the old road Jacob let out a hoot. He said we won’t be running into any rif raf logging crews up here today. We could see that the road had been abandoned for years. He said to start following it up the mountain and we slowly made our way west. I asked him how far and he said we would eventually come across three large boulders on the north side of what was now a rough trail. He said it wasn’t too far. After about half an hour Jacob spotted the rocks. He gave a holler and threw his hat in the air. He said to follow him over to the boulders.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

   May 21   2002     Part Six

 

   We got up to the site where the cache was hidden. This area looked like it hadn’t seen any human activity for many years. The old logging road was now just a rough trail. The boulders were nearly 100 feet off the trail and there were other smaller rocks all around the area. Jacob stopped and took a long look around the area as if trying to remember the exact location. He said the area had changed some and he didn’t remember all the other rocks being there. To be honest, the place looked like an old hard rock tailings dump. He said he had buried the cash on the north side of the big boulders and covered it by dragging  a big flat rock over from an area about thirty feet away. Now the entire area was covered in rocks. Jacob just shook his head in disgust. He said somebody had dumped rock in this area. I asked him again how far from the big boulders he had buried the gold and he told me just ten paces or maybe thirty feet.

   So I tried my best to step off ten paces over the rough and uneven rock strewn area. Then the four of us started to look for a big flat rock. We worked slowly and removed as much of the rounded rock as we could and finally found a large flat stone that was too big to lift. Jacob hollered out saying that might be it. Jim got down on his knees and pushed the stone away from its resting place. Then Vern grabbed a shovel and started digging. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[Tahoegold]

On 3/28/2023 at 3:22 PM, GhostMiner said:

 

 

That is one nice small package of firepower. That looks totally packable. It actually looks better with the straight magazine in my opinion. 

[GhostMiner]

7 hours ago, Tahoegold said:

That is one nice small package of firepower. That looks totally packable. It actually looks better with the straight magazine in my opinion. 

I have shot a Thompson several times. Lot's of fun.

[GhostMiner]

  May 21   2002     Part Seven

 

   After a bit of trial and error and a gradual widening of the hole Vern uncovered the metal container which held another 20 ounces of gold. He placed it on a rock. Jacob looked at it for a while and exclaimed that this was the very last of the old crew’s gold that he knew of. However, he was quick to say there may be more that was hidden by some of the crew who were murdered. Because of the generosity of Jacob our total gold take now has risen to 60 ounces and it was still May. We all gathered around Jacob to shake his hand and thank him. There was no greed in this man. He was old school. He understood hard work as opposed to instant gratification. He was also as loyal as they came. Once he was your friend he was with you all the way regardless of the circumstances. However, you would never want him as your enemy.

   The four of us talked happily of the claims and gold mining as we slowly made our way back to camp. It had been quite a day. For our supper Jacob made up some of Jed’s favorite hot water cornbread which we ate with stew and washed it down with some whisky. I sat back and tried to imagine myself as part of the old crew. For a minute or two I drifted back in time to 1936. I felt like I wanted to stay there. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .................

[GhostMiner]

   May 22   2002

 

   We were all up fairly early. The weather was warm but not hot. I still have not seen what Jacob refers to as the Big Heat. I suppose it will eventually come and I will see how our crew handles it. We have not had any more issues with trespassers or thieves so guard duty was suspended. However, Jacob will remain at camp during the day to guard things. He did mention that he would enjoy getting up to the site from time to time to check on things and give advice so we will rotate people starting today so Jacob can be at the mine site for a few hours daily. We need him to be a big part of our decision making as far as where and how to run things.

   After lunch Jacob came up to inspect the site. He gave us some direction as to our digging operations and took some sample pans. He brought one over and showed us some gold. That always fuels us for the rest of the day. Then he grabbed up a shovel and started to do some digging. I could see his face light up as he shoveled the gravels. He worked at a slow and steady pace. 

   By the day’s end we had washed about 16 yards of gravel. Jacob told us the ground was looking very promising. We all want to see over 100 ounces and with the gold caches included we are well on our way. If I can get an excavator up here eventually there will be no stopping us. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............