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

[Old Miner Don]

Did Bill tell you where his gold was hidden in case he died?

Or did you guys have it and got to do a 3 way split?

[GhostMiner]

4 hours ago, Bedrocker said:

Did Bill tell you where his gold was hidden in case he died?

Or did you guys have it and got to do a 3 way split?

Well ---- you are assuming Bill had gold hidden. Funny you brought that up. I did write about this in the 2002 journal. Conor was convinced that there was gold hidden somewhere above camp on the mountain and spent a lot of time looking with his detector. You're question will be answered before the end of the season of 2002. Hang in there.

[GhostMiner]

   Something Not In The Journal  :  There were many things that happened during the 2002 mining season that weren't put in the journal. One of them concerns Conor and his obsession with finding a lost gold cache. This came from his brief friendship with Bill Anderson. Sometimes the two of them would discuss mining and their belief that there was 1000 ounces of gold buried in a casket near The Hidden Mine. Just below that mine to the south was what we called The Upper Drift Mine where Bill had spent years secretly working the quartz vein that contained some high grade material. Below that mine was our entrance to the lower drift mine which turned out to be the same mine as the tunnels connected.

   Evidently, according to Jacob, Bill had hinted at the possibility that he had hidden or buried a fair amount of his gold somewhere close to The Upper Drift Mine area. He had never come right out and said he had gold but on a couple of occasions after some heavy drinking he had mentioned this to Conor. Jacob went on to tell me that Bill never disclosed any locations of a gold cache but told Conor it wouldn't take him five minutes to get his gold if he needed it. So Conor was sure Bill's gold was close to The Upper Drift Mine area. There will be some information about this subject later in the 2002 journal.

   The other subject pertaining to 1000 ounces of gold hidden in a casket  ---   well, Conor spent quite a bit of time detecting all around The Hidden Mine. He was on a treasure hunt up there because of what Bill had told him. I think he told Conor more than he told us. I also think that the two of them were scheming to find the gold and take off without telling us. I have my reasons for thinking this. Conor was very secretive about that area - even with his Uncle Jacob. I think Bill knew more about that mine than he told any of us. I think he only gave us half the story. Unfortunately, what he knew went to the grave with him. There's a lot more to come before the season ends - some good and some bad. And there's a lot I didn't write down but may convey off the record. Cheers, GM.

[GhostMiner]

   August 24   2002     Part One     A Great Legend Goes Down

 

   The three of us had an early breakfast in the cool morning air. I had gotten into eating oatmeal most every morning but Jacob and Conor had their bacon and eggs. Conor was excited about the cleanup and was watching Jacob and I work at cleaning up the large tub of heavy concentrates from the 670 yards of washed pay gravel. By mid afternoon we were finish panning the last of it. Our total came out to a slightly disappointing 13 ounces exactly. Jacob didn’t like that number and said it was a bad omen. I didn’t believe in things like that but I could tell he was not only upset but also not acting like himself. Just before supper time Conor came out of Jacob’s trailer and said Jacob was having trouble breathing. I went inside and talked with him to see how he was. He would say a few words and then gasp for air. He wasn’t able to get out of his chair without help. I took one look and told Conor we were taking him into town and straight to the emergency room of the small hospital there.

   Jacob didn’t argue with us and was kind of going in and out of consciousness. We carried him to my truck and placed him on the seat. I told Jacob to hang on and we were getting him to the hospital. He kind of grunted and gave me a kind of really weird smile. Then he passed out. Conor jumped in and we sped off towards town. I was thinking please don’t let him die God, not now. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ............

[GhostMiner]

  August 24   2002     Part Two

 

   We got to the hospital and carried Jacob into the emergency room. This was a small hospital and there was only one person in the room waiting to be seen. I explained what had happened to one of the workers and they got Jacob into a room quickly. He was still breathing but looked to be unconscious as far as I could tell.

   Conor began to cry and was going on about how much he loved his uncle. I told him that Jacob was as tough as they come and not to count him out. After about ten minutes a doctor came out and said they were taking him into the hospital for some tests. He suspected a possible blockage around the heart but couldn’t be sure until they did further work. Then a lady came over and took Conor to the office to get information on Jacob. I sat and waited for about twenty minutes and Conor came back out. We went to a little waiting room. After another hour or so the same doctor came back out to talk with us. He said Jacob had a clot in an artery and the blood flow to his heart had been compromised. Then he said it was good we got him there fast and they were putting him in intensive care. He didn’t think there would be surgery but instead they had started a course of blood thinner injections to deal with the clot which of all things was not near the heart but actually in his leg. It had not traveled to the heart yet and he said that probably would have killed him. However, he was in grave danger of the clot doing just that and they were attempting to dissolve it with the thinners. He would be kept immobile and monitored closely.

   Conor said he wanted to stay at the hospital with Jacob and I agreed. I told him I would watch over our camp tonight and be back at the hospital first thing in the morning. We shook hands and I told him to buck up and Jacob would beat this. Then I headed back to camp.

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

 

[Gold Seeker]

24 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

 

Rest In Peace Toby

[GhostMiner]

3 minutes ago, Gold Seeker said:

Rest In Peace Toby

Amen. Last song he performed.

[dig4gold]

Yes, sad news to hear of Toby Keith's passing. He had been dealing with stomach cancer for a while. RIP Toby.

D4G

[GhostMiner]

   August 25   2002     Part One

 

   It was weird this morning without anyone in camp but me. I didn’t get much sleep last night and what I got was restless at best. I had some oatmeal and coffee and headed for town. I didn’t know what to expect. 

   When I got there they told me Jacob was in intensive care. I was not allowed to go there at this time. So I went to the small lounge which adjoined a little cafeteria and found Conor who was sitting at a table looking forlorn. He perked up when I came in and sat down across the table from him. I asked him if there was any word on Jacob. He told me he was waiting for a doctor to come and talk with him. He hadn’t heard anything at all last night. He looked exhausted.

   We sat around talking for about an hour when the doctor finally came into the room. Jacob introduced me and the doctor told us how Jacob was doing. They had him on a heavy course of blood thinners and were keeping him quiet. The doctor said that Jacob was extremely dehydrated and was getting iv’s as well. It would take several days for the blood thinners to start dissolving the clot. If Jacob came out of that ok then he would be moved to a general room for a few more days. He also said they were going to do some tests on Jacob’s heart to determine its condition. He said Jacob’s pulse was strong and he seemed to be in good health for his age. I asked if we could visit him and he said yes but only for ten minutes.

   The doctor walked us to his room and announced to Jacob that he had some visitors. Jacob was sitting up in bed and drinking juice. When he saw us he smiled and gave us one of his winks. He said he needed some Irish Coffee. The doctor laughed and said none of that for you today. Then the doctor left us alone with him.

   Jacob said he was feeling pretty good and wanted to check out of the hospital and get back to mining. Conor and I looked at each other and chuckled. We told him they needed to fix him up first and then we’d make up for lost time. Jacob told us to get back to mining and he’d be ready to go back to camp soon. We talked for a little bit and then a nurse came in and said it was time for us to go. Jacob pulled me close and whispered to me. He asked me to smuggle in some Bushmills. He said it would do him good. I laughed and told him I’d never get away with it and we’d have some whisky when he got back to camp. I told him it wouldn’t be long and to listen to what the doctors and nurses told him. Then we shook hands and we told him we’d be back in to see him in the evening. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ..................