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

[GhostMiner]

 

[Old Miner Don]

1 hour ago, GhostMiner said:

I was out here in the middle of nowhere with three people who had no names on my claims and maybe nothing to lose. What would happen to me if we found the big gold strike?

The tunnel that you guys were trying to uncover was on your claims? A mile and 1/4 away from where you were working? You had a lot of ground under claim.

That Conor dude would have p_ssed me off royal. Must have been very unsettling when you realized that you were the only person with a stake in the operation. I feel that!

[GhostMiner]

5 minutes ago, Bedrocker said:

The tunnel that you guys were trying to uncover was on your claims? A mile and 1/4 away from where you were working? You had a lot of ground under claim.

That Conor dude would have p_ssed me off royal. Must have been very unsettling when you realized that you were the only person with a stake in the operation. I feel that!

Still have all the claims. 

[Mike Furness]

So now you not only have a pissed off Conner but Jacob as well. Not sure which one I would be afraid of something happening. I guess I would watch Conner and beware of Jacobs experience and history. I would not want to be on the wrong end of Jacob's tommy gun! As for Conner if he does one more stupid thing with that 45 I would be taking possession of it. But then that is just my way of handling things. Looking forward to how it plays out in the story.

[GhostMiner]

47 minutes ago, Mike Furness said:

So now you not only have a pissed off Conner but Jacob as well. Not sure which one I would be afraid of something happening. I guess I would watch Conner and beware of Jacobs experience and history. I would not want to be on the wrong end of Jacob's tommy gun! As for Conner if he does one more stupid thing with that 45 I would be taking possession of it. But then that is just my way of handling things. Looking forward to how it plays out in the story.

Not a good situation for me.

[rvpopeye]

 Hey Ghost Miner .  Sounds kinda like being leader of a band huh ? 🙄

 

[GhostMiner]

2 hours ago, rvpopeye said:

 Hey Ghost Miner .  Sounds kinda like being leader of a band huh ? 🙄

 

Not quite but close LOL.

[GhostMiner]

   August 9   2002     Part Two

 

   We worked into the early evening even though the temperature had topped out at 108 degrees. There was little talk between the crew and it was dusk when we got back to camp. I washed up and started cooking up some hash and beans and grabbed a cold beer. Everyone was sitting around the campfire after supper as it was getting dark and the temperature had cooled some. I had called a meeting and I wanted to get some things settled. I stood up and addressed the crew. 

   I told them that we were all in a partnership out here as far as the work and the gold. However, I told them that these were still my claims with my name on them and I would not tolerate anyone disrespecting me. I didn’t mention names but everyone knew who I was talking about. To my surprise, Bill and Jacob quickly came to my defense and agreed with me. Then Jacob turned to Conor and gave him a good scolding of sorts. He told Conor that Jed ran a tight ship out here back in 1936 and he would have kicked his ass for back talking. He told Conor that he had gold fever and he needed to control himself. He also said that I was his close friend and he appreciated being on the mine. Conor looked a little sheepish and stood up and faced the crew. He said he had a lot to learn about mining and gold and then he turned to me and said he was sorry for the way he had acted. We shook hands and put it to rest. Then I handed him a beer and we all had a good laugh and Bill said the fever can do that to people sometimes. We all had a few more beers and hit the sack. I felt relieved and I am hoping this will be the end of any problems between the crew.

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[Old Miner Don]

42 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

We all had a few more beers and hit the sack. I felt relieved and I am hoping this will be the end of any problems between the crew.

Just make sure that Bill doesn't let Conor get a look at that huge hunk of specimen with the 2" wide streak of gold in it..

OTH go ahead and show it to him and let's see his reaction lol.

[JamesB]

On 1/23/2022 at 11:52 AM, GhostMiner said:

   As an introduction, I am the president of a small placer gold mine exploration & leasing company. While doing research on one of our mine properties I came across an old leather journal & thought i'd post the entries over time here. I named it "Lost Gold At The Dead Man's Mine." Hopefully the old timer who wrote it won't mind. I tried to find any relatives but have run into one dead end after another. I felt it was a story worth telling & over the period of posting the entries I will include pictures of the area as it looks today and what our modern activities at the site have been. The journal was mentioned in a 282 page government report that I stumbled upon while doing research. I was able to secure the original journal from the descendants of the president of a defunct mining company who did some work in the area back in the mid 1960's. The journal itself was written by a prospector who worked the area in 1936. He hit a gold strike of epic proportions and lived an adventure that is very fascinating to say the least. It's a wild ride showing a glimpse back into a long lost time. I hope you enjoy the journal.*

   PROLOGUE : This is a journal of the experiences written in the first person in 1936 by a prospector by the name of Jed Stevens while mining at the Whiskey Jack Mine. Jed had several claims in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. This area of claims produced large amounts of gold from the mid to late 1800's. The old placer mines were abandoned in the late 1800's as a result of California's Sawyer Decision which banned or severely limited hydraulic gold mining operations and left large amounts of undiscovered gold in the gravels. Here is the first entry :

   APRIL 12   1936  :  Today I filed all the paperwork at the county court house for the mining claims I now hold near Lost Ravine. I then drove my Ford truck out to my claims. There was a good spot near Jake's Creek up to the north about 1500 feet from the main road that follows Morgan Creek where I set up my camp. It took the entire day to pitch the tent and set up my kitchen. The tent is a 15 foot cabin tent with a stove jack. I have a first rate box stove set up inside to be used for heat and some cooking. I also set up a second stove about 200 feet from camp for the main cooking jobs during good weather. 

   Today was a good day for getting camp set as it was sunny and not too cold. Tomorrow my plan is to investigate one of the claim sites where the old diggings took place and get a bearing on my situation as far as where I might sample gravels and old tailings. I am losing daylight and getting cold so I will get into my sleeping bag on the cot and get some sleep.

   TO BE CONTINUED ....................................

   Here is a picture of Jed's journal as it looks today. It is in fairly good shape & also included some old maps.

 

 

*this story is based on a real gold strike in 1936 according to what reports I have in my possession, but the journal itself is a work of fiction.

GhostMiner, I appreciate you sharing the contents of this journal. I love hearing about old mining ventures.