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

[GhostMiner]

  June 6   1950

 

   Most of the crew has gotten back to work. The first raise shows consistent values in the gravels above bedrock. The raise holds promise and there is renewed investor interest in the project although there has been no formal commitment. We are proceeding with steady work.   

     TO BE CONTINUED ..........

[GhostMiner]

   May 17   2002     Part One

 

   I was up before Jacob this morning. I was having a hard time sleeping because I was thinking about what this morning's gold cleanup would bring. Jacob was up just after me and we sat outside his camper with a small fire going and had morning coffee together. The air was a little chilly and we had heavy, insulated flannel shirts on. I had bought a nice one for Jacob a while back. This was my favorite part of the day along with cleaning up the gold. I got a chance to talk with my mining hero before the rest of the crew was up. 

   We drank coffee sometimes spiced with a little Bushmills and once in a while Jacob would talk about the old days out here on the mountain. This morning he was telling me about all the rif raf that used to travel up and down the creek looking for gold anyway they could find it. He said a lot of them posed as prospectors but in reality were just looking to steal a man’s gold or other goods. He said times were tough and men were desperate. The rif raf would set up remote camps all over the mountain and look for easy targets. His crew had been tried many times until they built up a reputation and then the thieves stayed clear of them unless they were newcomers to the area. There had been a lot of gun play out here according to him and people had been shot. I just couldn’t believe I had a guy like this who against all odds was still alive and sitting in my camp and working with us as a partner.

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

[GhostMiner]

17 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

  June 6   1950

 

   Most of the crew has gotten back to work. The first raise shows consistent values in the gravels above bedrock. The raise holds promise and there is renewed investor interest in the project although there has been no formal commitment. We are proceeding with steady work.   

     TO BE CONTINUED ..........

This is good to hear. Hopefully they can get the gold needed to bering in an investor. The clock is ticking on this project.

[GhostMiner]

   June 13   1950

 

   Having completed just two of the raises above bedrock we have secured the confidence of one interested party who has now agreed to fund a continuation of our northward drift along the 56 ft level. Drifting in the old channel just 12 ft north of our previous stoppage we have hit an area of what I believe will prove out as sizable tonnage. Several samples have indicated a gold content of $8.50/cubic yard. The gold there consists mainly of colors retained on a 20 mesh screen. We will push on and we now believe in the possibility of a massive deposit that may lie deeper as dropped bedrock is encountered. The mood of the crew is high. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

   May 17   2002     Part Two

 

   All the crew was finally up and we had an early breakfast together and proceeded to get the cleanup done. This was what I was waiting for. I knew the ground we worked yesterday was good and Jacob’s samples remained strong throughout the day. Right off we could see coarse gold popping out of the black sands. It was absolutely beautiful. Jacob said “Boys, this is gonna be a good one” and gave us a wink. As he did the finish panning it just kept getting better and better. Loaded with coarse gold and plentiful pickers. This was the best gold I had ever seen to date. When weighed it up on the scale there was 2.5 ounces. I hollered out loud. We all did. Old Jacob started doing some kind of Irish Jig and we all laughed like hell. Jacob was saying over and over “I told you boys, I told you boys.” Man, we were high as kites with the fever. I threw my hat up in the air and everyone else did the same. We are on it now!

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

2 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

   June 13   1950

 

   Having completed just two of the raises above bedrock we have secured the confidence of one interested party who has now agreed to fund a continuation of our northward drift along the 56 ft level. Drifting in the old channel just 12 ft north of our previous stoppage we have hit an area of what I believe will prove out as sizable tonnage. Several samples have indicated a gold content of $8.50/cubic yard. The gold there consists mainly of colors retained on a 20 mesh screen. We will push on and we now believe in the possibility of a massive deposit that may lie deeper as dropped bedrock is encountered. The mood of the crew is high. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

   When I was reading through this log the first time I figured these guys were finished. I was quite surprised when I got to this entry. There's life left in this crew still.

[GhostMiner]

4 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

   June 13   1950

 

   Having completed just two of the raises above bedrock we have secured the confidence of one interested party who has now agreed to fund a continuation of our northward drift along the 56 ft level. Drifting in the old channel just 12 ft north of our previous stoppage we have hit an area of what I believe will prove out as sizable tonnage. Several samples have indicated a gold content of $8.50/cubic yard. The gold there consists mainly of colors retained on a 20 mesh screen. We will push on and we now believe in the possibility of a massive deposit that may lie deeper as dropped bedrock is encountered. The mood of the crew is high. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

Sizable tonnage means very rich pay. I think converting that $8.50/yd to today's values is over $400/yd. If I was running that through the 15 yd/hr trommel I was using it would convert to over $6000/hr or $60,000 for a 10 hr day.

[GhostMiner]

   May 17   2002     Part Three

 

   The weather warmed up quickly by late morning and we were hard at it. Gold fever was giving us more strength than I thought we would ever have. Now I understood how the Stevens brothers were able to do what they did. I didn’t even want to stop digging when lunch came and we worked clear into mid afternoon before taking anything but a water break.

   Jacob had been down at the big wooden table where the panning tub was placed. He had been taking samples as well as watching us digging. When we took our break and had something to eat he was laughing and telling us we were working like all get up. He said we were starting to pick up the pace and he was enjoying watching the crew work as a team. He said the sound of those shovels sure brought back memories.

   Vern shut down the pump just as darkness fell and we once again pulled the mats using flashlights for light. We had dug close to twenty yards of gravel. Jacob had shoveled two of those yards. On the ride back down to camp I asked Jacob how the sample pans looked throughout the day. He said there was a good amount of gold in every pan. We had gotten down pretty deep in the hill and he figured we were nearing bedrock.

   Back at camp we saw two guys walking up our side of the creek heading north. It was dark and it was hard to see but it looked like they had backpacks on and were carrying some equipment. Jacob spotted them and didn’t like it one bit. He said we needed to see where they were heading. The crew was cooking up our supper so I went over to the creek and watched them hiking further up the mountain and out of sight. I really didn't think much of it. Probably just a couple of prospectors or campers. However, Jacob was all upset about it. He told us to make sure our guns were loaded and to keep them close. He had the old Thompson sitting right beside him as he ate his dinner. I know he’s been through a lot, more than I could ever imagine. I think seeing those two guys had set something off inside of him. He didn’t have much to say the rest of the night. I told him the crew was turning in but he said he wanted to sit up and guard the camp. I couldn’t leave him out in the night alone so I decided to sit out there with him.

   TO BE CONTINUED .................

[GhostMiner]

  June 15   1950

 

   We continue to advance the drift northward and making another 8 ft of headway in the last two days. Gold values have been spotty but still averaging rich assays. We have not seen any sign of sloping or dropped bedrock to date. I still remain very confident that the big strike awaits. For now, I have abandoned the plan for two additional raises into the quartz zone as it would take needed funds from the main plan. Heavy timbering has been needed in this area which has added some expense to the projected cost. There is little to do at this point other than continue north along the 56 ft level collecting gold as we go. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ...........

[GhostMiner]

  May 17   2002     Part Four

 

   We sat just outside of camp in the cool night air. Jacob did not want to sit near the camp's fire as he was worried we could be targets of gunmen. He was reliving the old days in his mind and it had been set off by the two guys walking up the mountain who I figured were probably harmless. We had a nice, hidden spot that overlooked the camp. Jim and Vern were now sound asleep in their campers. Jacob began lecturing me about camp safety and that we needed to post a night watchman just like they did back in his day. I dismissed it as best I could while trying not to offend him. I wasn’t planning on the two of us sitting out in the night air for very long and I was getting pretty tired.

   After about an hour I told Jacob we needed to get in our campers and get some sleep. We needed our rest. I almost had him talked into going back to camp when we spotted a couple of flashlights coming slowly down the side of the creek. There were two people and they were moving very slowly. Jacob gave me a nudge and whispered that he knew it, those two guys were up to no good. He said they were coming back to rob us. I pulled my 9mm out of its holster and we waited to see what they were up to. I was wondering if Jacob had been right all along.

   TO BE CONTINUED .................