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

[GhostMiner]

   August 28   2002     Part Two

 

   We went down to the jail and they had Jacob locked in a cell. Bail was set at $500 and we got him out. We were told there would be a hearing or meeting in the judge's chambers on Friday the 30th at 9:00 AM. That will give us a chance to do the gold weigh tomorrow. Jacob asked if he needed a lawyer and all they said was it was his choice. I told him to wait until Friday and see what is going to happen. Then we headed back to camp.

   It was close to dusk and the day was nearly over. I told Jacob we had a bunch of concentrates to clean up tomorrow and that put him in a better mood. I cooked up some canned hash and some hot dogs and we had ourselves a feast. After supper we cracked open a few beers and talked about the day.

   I asked Jacob what the warrant was all about. He said he figured it to be over one of the fights in the tavern that took place back in 1937. Evidently he and his crew had been in an altercation with some loggers who were shooting their mouths off about gold miners. He said there was always bad blood between these two groups and when they met the trouble would start. Jacob told us he had beaten one of the big mouths up pretty bad and he’d heard the logger ended up in the hospital. Jacob went on to say that he was surprised there was only one warrant on the books. My way of thinking was that the judge was having this hearing quickly in order to dispose of the case. Unless they surprised us with a witness or the injured party. That, of course, could lead to an indictment and court trial. We won’t know anything for sure until Friday morning.

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

According to Jacob this would have been a normal night at the town tavern.

 

 

[GhostMiner]

  August 29   2002

 

   The three of us did the gold weigh. It took us most of the day to get it done & we ended up with a measly 5.1 ounces. None of us were happy about it but gold is gold and we will stay with it until the season ends.

   After the weigh was done we had supper and talked about tomorrow morning's hearing with the judge and prosecutor. Jacob was pretty nervous about it and started talking about heading out of here tonight and not going into town tomorrow. He said he could hide out up on the mountain and they’d never find him. I told him that was a bad idea and it would be best for him to just get all of this over with. Conor agreed but said that if Jacob wanted to hide out he would go with him. It was anyone’s guess what they intended to do and it was out of my hands. 

   Jacob said he would never go to jail and they’d have to take him by force. This concerned me a great deal because I knew Jacob and knew he meant what he said. I spent the next hour talking with him and trying to calm him down. I am hoping he decides to go to the hearing in the morning. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

[GhostMiner]

   August 30   2002     Part One     Jacob Faces The Judge

 

   When I got up this morning it was still dark but Jacob was seated at the camp table having breakfast. I joined him and finally brought up what was on my mind. Conor was also up and came over to take a seat. I wanted to know what Jacob’s decision was. To my relief he said he would go to town and get the hearing over with. But he told Conor that if they took him back to jail and he bailed out he would not be going back there - ever. He said they’d have to kill him. 

   Conor and I calmed him down and told him we figured everything would turn out ok. Jacob just gave a grunt and we finished our breakfast in silence. I was thinking about the mining season with all of the ups and downs. I never thought things would be like this. We seemed to go from one problem to another. But - we were still here and finding gold.

   When the time came we headed into town. None of us said much and we just wanted to get this over with. We sat in a small waiting room outside the judges chambers with two deputies watching over Jacob. Promptly at 9:00 AM Jacob was called into the back room where the judge was located. I asked the deputies if Conor and I might be able to go in with Jacob but they said no. So Jacob went in along with the deputies while Conor and I waited. I was hoping this would go quickly 

   TO BE CONTINUED ............

[GhostMiner]

   MORE ON DREAMWIND CANYON  :  Part One  :  As stated previously, I wanted to post more about this special place. I talk about this area because it is so close to the claims being written about in the journals. You won't find it on any map that I know of and I don't know how it got it's name exactly. An old time prospector told me the name so I use it. The last time I wrote about it here I told of the gunfight back in the 1800's between the rich town doctor & his thugs who shot it out with a group of prospectors who had found some rich ground there. The day after the gunfight there were nine men with bullet holes in them. Some of them died. It is remote and dangerous there & the canyon does not forgive mistakes.

   Back in 2013 I talked my partner Vern into camping there. Yes, this was the actual Vern from the 2002 journal. It was early August when we hiked in early in the morning. By afternoon it was an oven. The temperature at 3:00 PM was 120 degrees of dry, oven like heat. We found a good spot sheltered by some scraggly white pine and pitched our tents. I noticed that the sap was actually bubbling out of the bark. We did a little prospecting by classifying and dry panning some gravels. Vern has a nose for gold. He says he can smell it. I have been on prospects for days & found nothing and Vern will show up and walk into an area and find gold immediately. I have had seasoned miners tell me to hang on to him as a partner because he has a rare gift for finding shiny yellow gold.

   As usual, Vern lived up to his reputation and we were soon finding color. Nothing big but we were on some promising areas. No one has claimed that ground since the 1930's for various reasons. Too remote, no water, horribly difficult & deadly terrain, rattlesnakes, and possibly cursed. Around 7:00 PM we were worn out from the intense heat. We didn't dare build a fire or even use propane because the place was a tinderbox. As dusk rolled in we set up several battery powered lanterns and sat on some small camp chairs we had lugged in with the tents. We had brought plenty of water along with a nights supply of beer & whisky.

   For supper we opened two cans of beans and had some bread with them. We opened up a bottle of Jack Daniels Honey Whisky and pored out some generous cups. We had chasers of warm beer and pretty soon we settled in for the night. Vern was telling me stories about old gold prospecting adventures and I was talking about the various mining expeditions I'd been on in the Sierra Nevada. Neither one of us had a care in the world that night. Sitting out in the middle of a remote canyon where nobody could ever find you.

   Along about 11:00 PM or so the air temperature had dropped off to about 70 degrees and the sky was crystal clear and full of stars I'd never seen before. It was what I call a mystical night almost like we were on another planet. The silence was pristine. That is, until we saw some kind of light bouncing in the distance and coming towards our campsite. Vern exclaimed that he couldn't believe there would be another person out here. As the light got closer we could hear the heavy sound of footsteps breaking sticks and branches. Vern grabbed his 12 gauge while I pulled my 9MM out of the holster. Who the hell was this coming down the canyon at 11:00 PM? 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...........

 

 

[GhostMiner]

   MORE ON DREAMWIND CANYON  :  Part Two  :  We  decided to cut off the lights on our lanterns. When we did this the light coming towards us went out and the sound of the heavy footsteps stopped. There was complete silence again. After about a minute or so we heard voices. They seemed to be all around us as if in a circle. As hard as I tried, I couldn't make out any words. Then, suddenly, the light we had seen further up the canyon came back on. At first it was stationary but once again it began to slowly move towards us. We were sitting in complete darkness near some boulders. Vern whispered to me that he was going up the canyon to try to get a look at whatever was moving towards us. I tried to tell him he would be better off staying where he was but before I could finish he was gone. 

   I could hear him moving away from our little camp and then all was quiet. The light had once again cut out and I didn't hear any more voices. I tried to see through the dark but it was useless. It was beyond dangerous moving around in the canyon at night. Besides mountain lions and bears the terrain was extremely dangerous. There were drop offs and old mining pits scattered around. Then, one by one, the glow of lantern lights began popping up in a circle all around me. I counted eight of them. Then the light coming towards me came on making nine lights. I wanted to holler out to see who was out there but didn't. Then, to my horror, I heard something cry out. It was actually more of a wail than a cry. Then the sounds came from all around me. Before I could try to comprehend what was happening I heard the blast from Vern's 12 gauge. The lights vanished - every one of them, then it was quiet.

   Before long I heard Vern holler that he was coming into camp and not to shoot. He asked me if I had seen all the lantern lights. I told him I had. He said he had gotten close to the light up in the canyon but couldn't make out any person. There appeared to be only the light. Then he fired off the shotgun in the air and all the lights went out. We sat outside the tents until nearly 2:00 AM and there was no more activity. When morning came we packed up and headed back to our claims. I was glad to be out of that cursed canyon and I think Vern was as well. I did end up going back out there again but I will save that for another entry on Dreamwind Canyon. 

   

[GhostMiner]

4 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

   MORE ON DREAMWIND CANYON  :  Part Two  :  We  decided to cut off the lights on our lanterns. When we did this the light coming towards us went out and the sound of the heavy footsteps stopped. There was complete silence again. After about a minute or so we heard voices. They seemed to be all around us as if in a circle. As hard as I tried, I couldn't make out any words. Then, suddenly, the light we had seen further up the canyon came back on. At first it was stationary but once again it began to slowly move towards us. We were sitting in complete darkness near some boulders. Vern whispered to me that he was going up the canyon to try to get a look at whatever was moving towards us. I tried to tell him he would be better off staying where he was but before I could finish he was gone. 

   I could hear him moving away from our little camp and then all was quiet. The light had once again cut out and I didn't hear any more voices. I tried to see through the dark but it was useless. It was beyond dangerous moving around in the canyon at night. Besides mountain lions and bears the terrain was extremely dangerous. There were drop offs and old mining pits scattered around. Then, one by one, the glow of lantern lights began popping up in a circle all around me. I counted eight of them. Then the light coming towards me came on making nine lights. I wanted to holler out to see who was out there but didn't. Then, to my horror, I heard something cry out. It was actually more of a wail than a cry. Then the sounds came from all around me. Before I could try to comprehend what was happening I heard the blast from Vern's 12 gauge. The lights vanished - every one of them, then it was quiet.

   Before long I heard Vern holler that he was coming into camp and not to shoot. He asked me if I had seen all the lantern lights. I told him I had. He said he had gotten close to the light up in the canyon but couldn't make out any person. There appeared to be only the light. Then he fired off the shotgun in the air and all the lights went out. We sat outside the tents until nearly 2:00 AM and there was no more activity. When morning came we packed up and headed back to our claims. I was glad to be out of that cursed canyon and I think Vern was as well. I did end up going back out there again but I will save that for another entry on Dreamwind Canyon. 

   

   I did make a few more hikes up to Dreamwind Canyon but will leave those stories for another time. I never did figure out what those lights and sounds (voices?) were. I have some theories. My wife Lindy says I'd have to be out of my mind to spend another night in that canyon. She's probably right. Now back to the journal. 

[GhostMiner]

   August 30   2002     Part Two

 

   Jacob came out of the chambers after just over an hour. He had a smile on his face and said we should get the hell out of here. I looked over at one of the deputies who was coming out and he nodded his head and said Jacob was free to leave.

   When we got outside I asked him what had happened. Jacob said the person that he had injured had passed away eleven years ago and there were no material witnesses left to testify at the hearing. In other words, the charges were dismissed. I asked him why it took over an hour and he said the judge went through the case with the prosecutor and they were asking him questions. They said he could delay the hearing and find a lawyer but Jacob just wanted to get it over with. He said they asked about the fight and what had caused it. Jacob had told the judge that it was self defense and he never went into the tavern looking for trouble. After he recounted his side of the argument and there were no other people to call the judge and prosecutor went into another back office for about twenty minutes and when they came out they told him he was free and the charges were dismissed.

   Conor and I were beyond happy and now we could get back to mining. When we got back to camp Jacob wanted to get right to work so we had a quick lunch and fired up the trommel. We worked until dusk and processed 170 yards of gravel. I am not too sure about the ground we are on but it feels good to be back to digging. Hopefully this is the start of a good stretch of gold mining. We will see.

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

[GhostMiner]

Jacob is free.

 

 

[GhostMiner]

   August 31   2002

 

   We got an early start this morning and were running the trommel as the sun was coming up over the trees. The days have cooled some and the nights are getting colder. The season is slipping away now day by day. The mornings are my favorite time. There’s always the promise of a big gold strike with every bucket of gravel dug out with the excavator. I suppose we are all dreamers to an extent. We all have the fever and that’s what keeps us here every day facing all kinds of adversity.

   The day went by quickly and without event. We washed 250 yards of gravel. The test pans are showing fine gold but nothing special. Our trench has extended deep into the base of the mountain. Jacob says it is looking mostly like tailings. If we get some good rain during September and the pond gets replenished on the good ground higher up where we were working earlier we have a chance to end the season with a big finish. As of now our gold count stands at 694.3 ounces. This includes Jacob’s contribution from earlier in the season. 

   Tonight we celebrated Jacob’s freedom with his hot water cornbread and Hoover Stew. This was his brother Jed’s favorite meal. After supper we opened up a bottle of Bushmills and sat around a small campfire as the darkness set in. We had wasted a lot of mining time out here because of all the distractions and we wanted a lot more gold before we went home. The night air was chilly and the only sound that broke the silence was a lone bobcat screech somewhere far off in the distance. Somehow, against all odds, I still have a crew and we are still mining gold. At this point, that's all I can ask for. Jacob is still intent on  staying the Winter. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................