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

[GhostMiner]

  May 27   2002     Part One

 

   The entire crew was up early and we did our cleanup right after breakfast and saw a whopping 1.4 ounces of gold. What a great way to start the day and we all headed up to the digsite. We had quite a large trench going but still nothing to even remotely compare to the crew of 1936. That area is amazing to see but Jacob is confident we can achieve the same results. If we get our permit approved I know we will make a larger dig site but by hand I can’t imagine digging that much gravel in one season.

   We were fired up but Jacob reminded us to pace ourselves. He said it’s a long season and a long way to the finish line. So we worked a nice and steady pace and even Jacob got in the trench and chopped away at the gravel. I always worry when I see him in there working hard but he won’t have it any other way and he knows when to stop.

   That’s exactly what Jacob did around lunch time. Before we went back down to camp for our break he showed us one of his test pans brimming with coarse gold. He gave the crew a wink and a smile. That is always a good sign.

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

[GhostMiner]

   The next part of the journal will talk about some exploration based on something Jacob told us. It will take us on an adventure to the remote northern areas of the mountain that are off our claims. What happens is something I have never forgotten and never put in my own journal. This will be the very first time I have written about this part of the 2002 season. 

[Tahoegold]

7 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

  May 27   2002     Part One

 

   The entire crew was up early and we did our cleanup right after breakfast and saw a whopping 1.4 ounces of gold. What a great way to start the day and we all headed up to the digsite. We had quite a large trench going but still nothing to even remotely compare to the crew of 1936. That area is amazing to see but Jacob is confident we can achieve the same results. If we get our permit approved I know we will make a larger dig site but by hand I can’t imagine digging that much gravel in one season.

   We were fired up but Jacob reminded us to pace ourselves. He said it’s a long season and a long way to the finish line. So we worked a nice and steady pace and even Jacob got in the trench and chopped away at the gravel. I always worry when I see him in there working hard but he won’t have it any other way and he knows when to stop.

   That’s exactly what Jacob did around lunch time. Before we went back down to camp for our break he showed us one of his test pans brimming with coarse gold. He gave the crew a wink and a smile. That is always a good sign.

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

Now that had to be a good sight after so much searching! But, I know there's all levels of mining. This is just a few guys with a shovel and a sluice. An oz and a quarter for this kind of mining is kinda good! I guess you can really call it prospect mining. Because once you find the concentration, now a days, you can bring out the heavy equipment and really risk big money, or get a big payday. At least you can spend less like you are trying to find the right spot.

   At any rate, that day reminds me of the beginning days of the '36 crew. You must have had a hard time sleeping just thinking of what could be! Livin' the dream!

[GhostMiner]

   A Story Not In My Journal : Part One : Written On April 15  2023.

   The following is not in my 2002 journal but I think it should be included here. This is the first I have ever written about these events. After I conclude this story I will return to posting from my journal. So here goes.

   Jacob had mentioned to us that there was a very remote area about 2 1/2 miles heading north up the mountain. He said back in his day he didn't think anyone went up that far as the going was pretty tough and there were no trails. The creek narrowed up there and he had gone up to a certain spot twice and found big gold. I asked him what he meant by big gold. He smiled and said there were plentiful small nuggets and pickers. Panfuls.  He never told Jed or the crew about it for some reason. He said he had planned to file a claim up there someday but after being run off in the deadly shootout of 1937 he had never made it back.

   Jacob said that on his second trip he had built a narrow dam and spillway to retain the gold and keep it from coming farther down the creek. He said he thought there might be source gold somewhere in that area but wasn't quite sure. The dam he built was made of heavy timber packed with rock and gravel. He said he didn't know if any of it was left after all these years but wanted to hike up there and have a look before the big heat came in for the Summer.

   I asked him if he thought he could make it on his 85 year old legs. He said he thought he could but if he couldn't he wanted us to see if the dam was still there and test the ground along the creek and in the creek. It would be a tough excursion but we figured to give it a try. So early in the morning we packed up for the hike and headed north following the creek up the mountain to higher elevation.

   TO BE CONTINUED ............. 

[GhostMiner]

   May 27   2002     Part Two

 

   We worked a steady pace through the afternoon and knocked off around 6:00 PM. Everyone wanted to know how much gold we got so we did the cleanup as soon as we got back to camp and ended our day with another 1.9 ounces. We seemed to be on to something now. We are taking the day off tomorrow to do some work with Jacob.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..........

[GhostMiner]

 Here you go Jacob.

 

 

[GhostMiner]

   A Story Not In My Journal : Part Two. 

   We spent the morning on a long, slow hike up into no man's land as Jacob called it. There was no trail and he was right about the going being tough. To Jacob's credit, he made the hike all the way to an area where the little creek narrowed. We could tell that there had been some alteration in the ground up there. When Jacob saw the area he determined that the creek had shifted over to the east a little. Sure enough there were some logs laying scattered about in the area. That was what was left of his dam.

   Jacob let out a few cuss words and then started to laugh. He said he really didn't expect the dam to be as he left it many years ago. He started rooting around the western side of the creek. He waded through two feet of water to get over there and Vern joined him with a pan and a shovel They started to test the gravels along a little bench where the creek had once carved out an area. After a few minutes Vern told us to come over to their side of the creek and take a look at the pan.

[snakejim]

On 4/15/2023 at 4:25 PM, GhostMiner said:

 Here you go Jacob.

 

 

I bought 2 bottles of Bushmills just the other day. The store ordered it special for me. I intend to drink a toast to the old timers in this story the next time my partners and I are at our diggins. Best wishes to all! snakejim

 

[GhostMiner]

   A Story Not In My Journal : Part Three

   Jim and I sloshed through the cold water flowing through the little creek and went over to where Vern and Jacob were standing. We took a look at the pans contents. Jim let out a soft whistle and I stood there shaking my head in disbelief. The pan was loaded with pickers and coarse gold. There had to be fifty colors. Jacob was nodding his head as he told us this was exactly what he remembered of this area. He said nobody knew it was here. He also said he thought the source of the gold was not too far away. We were all surprised and couldn't believe what we were seeing. We did several more test pans both at the creek and higher up above the creek. The pans higher up were close to what we saw on the bench as far as values. The pans down at the creek were nothing special.  

   I told Jacob it would be worth it for him to file a claim here but the mining would be tough because of the remoteness of the area. It would be difficult to set up a camp and keep it supplied as everything would need to be carried in by hand over very rough terrain. It would take a very determined crew to make it work. Jacob said that back in his younger days he wouldn't have worried about all that but at this stage of his life he was too old to make a go of it up here. He had taken us up here because he wanted to show us this place. He had done it for us. Then he dropped a bombshell on us. He gave us a kind of long, sad look. He said that before he had come out here he had been to a doctor. 

   This is where I have chosen to stop this side story and is the reason I never put this in my journal. Things will unfold as my journal of 2002  continues so I will now get back to posting the rest of it. There is much more to tell about Jacob and the mining season of 2002.  

[arizflash]

Ghostminer - I've had a great time reading your stories the last few months. Thank you.