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

[GhostMiner]

   July 6   2002     Part Five

 

   My mind was racing. Was I about to be the witness to murder? I believed Jacob’s mind was still stuck in the war out here that took place July 3 1937. For all I knew his mind was trapped there and perhaps he believed these guys were part of the gang that killed his crew back then. He was no longer rational. It seemed he had snapped and lost all sense of reality. I didn’t know what to do. I could see his face and it was like stone. If he had decided to kill these thieves there was little I could do to stop him.

   The three men kept digging slowly, all the while looking at each other and trying to figure a way out for themselves. Jacob still had the Thompson pointing directly at them as they worked. One flinch from his finger on that trigger would send a deadly burst of 45 caliber bullets raining down on them. 

   As the hole got to around five feet in depth Jacob told them to stop. One of the men started to climb out of the hole but he ordered him back in. Jacob coldly stated that he had enough of them and their threats as well as their sabotage. He said he was going to send them to Hell and let the Devil deal with them. Two of them began shaking and crying for mercy. The third man looked to be in shock. 

   Jacob looked crazed to me now. His eyes were wide and his face was a snarl. He said he was now their judge and jury. He told them he was an outlaw that had sent men to their graves in the past. Jacob told them he would not tolerate what they had been doing here. He told them he would give them a choice on how they wanted to die. They could be shot down where they stood or be hung and left for crow bait. It was their choice and they had three minutes to decide. With that he took a few steps back to let them talk amongst themselves. The night became stone quiet.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[GhostMiner]

 

[GhostMiner]

Be sure to watch for the concluding episodes of the last part of the 2002 mining season here.  

[GhostMiner]

 

[Bedrocker]

52 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

   July 6   2002     Part Five

 

   My mind was racing. Was I about to be the witness to murder? I believed Jacob’s mind was still stuck in the war out here that took place July 3 1937. For all I knew his mind was trapped there and perhaps he believed these guys were part of the gang that killed his crew back then. He was no longer rational. It seemed he had snapped and lost all sense of reality. I didn’t know what to do. I could see his face and it was like stone. If he had decided to kill these thieves there was little I could do to stop him.

   The three men kept digging slowly, all the while looking at each other and trying to figure a way out for themselves. Jacob still had the Thompson pointing directly at them as they worked. One flinch from his finger on that trigger would send a deadly burst of 45 caliber bullets raining down on them. 

   As the hole got to around five feet in depth Jacob told them to stop. One of the men started to climb out of the hole but he ordered him back in. Jacob coldly stated that he had enough of them and their threats as well as their sabotage. He said he was going to send them to Hell and let the Devil deal with them. Two of them began shaking and crying for mercy. The third man looked to be in shock. 

   Jacob looked crazed to me now. His eyes were wide and his face was a snarl. He said he was now their judge and jury. He told them he was an outlaw that had sent men to their graves in the past. Jacob told them he would not tolerate what they had been doing here. He told them he would give them a choice on how they wanted to die. They could be shot down where they stood or be hung and left for crow bait. It was their choice and they had three minutes to decide. With that he took a few steps back to let them talk amongst themselves. The night became stone quiet.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

You have to keep in mind that the real outlaws have brought this upon themselves. They want what you have and have been persistent in trying to steal it and have not been willing to take no for an answer.

They and they alone have put the Miner's in the uncomfortable position of having to stop them and put an end to it. You either let them have what is yours or you put a stop to it.

[GhostMiner]

   July 6   2002     Part Six

 

   After a couple of minutes Jacob had one thug at a time climb out of the hole and I tied their hands behind their backs. As I finished tying the first one Jacob shoved him back into the pit with the muzzle of the Thompson sending him crashing into the gravel on his side. The thugs were trying to act tough but were starting to break down. Each one was treated in the same manner. He told them they all had tombstones in their eyes now. I kept looking over at him for a signal of some kind indicating he might be bluffing but there was none.

   After what must have seemed like an eternity to the goons Jacob ordered two of them out of the pit. He instructed me to take them over to camp and out of sight but not earshot and tie them to a tree. I stood there guarding them with my 9MM semi auto. They were shaking. Then I heard the unthinkable.

   Jacob was now talking to the guy in the pit in a loud voice. He said he was judge and jury here and their sentence was passed and about to be carried out. He told the man that he had threatened and disrupted our mining crew and had vandalized our equipment and cost us a fortune in lost gold. He said all three of them were now sentenced to death. Because they had not spoken up he said they would be shot to death because hanging was too much work for them. 

   The men I was guarding were now crying and begging for mercy. They wanted me to intervene. I was frozen in place. I could hear the guy in the pit begging Jacob not to kill him. It got quiet for a moment. Then I heard the unmistakable burst of a number of rounds from the Thompson.  

   TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

July 6   2002     Part Seven

 

   The silence seemed to last for an eternity. There were no more cries from the guy in the pit. Then Jacob began hollering out that he had gotten what was coming to him and there were two more hooligans to kill. He was talking wildly and out of control. He was yelling he would shoot each man one at a time. Then he hollered for me to come to the pit. I glanced at the two men tied to the tree. They were terrified. I slowly walked over to where Jacob was standing. He was staring down at the man who lay there face down and motionless. It was murder I was thinking to myself. Murder over gold. We had crossed the line and now I was an outlaw just like Jacob. My life would never be the same. What would I tell my wife? I could never go home again. We had sold our souls for gold. 

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

[Mike Furness]

Jacob did the deed. You were not even in sight of the event. You were not a murderer ... an accessary to murder perhaps ... but not murder in the first degree. Jacob murdered in the first degree and if it goes to court ... well ... he is an old man at this point so life in prison or worse would not be terrible for him. You on the other hand depending on the length of the sentence if convicted may be behind bars for a very long time. I hope you are able to talk Jacob out of shooting the other two.

[GhostMiner]

 July 6   2002      Part Eight     Night Of The Living Dead

 

   As I approached Jacob he turned and looked at me. He was now the Jacob I was used to and perfectly sane. He gave me a wink and put his index finger to his lips as a warning for me to keep my mouth shut. A gigantic wave of relief came over me all at once and I nearly passed out. He spoke to me in a very quiet level and his tone was mischievous. He had knocked the guy in the head with the butt of his Thompson and gagged him. He was tied and unconscious. It had all been a setup. Jacob explained that he could not risk me tipping his hand in any way and figured that with me not knowing any more than the crooks he would be able to pull off his devious plan. I was somewhat angry for not being in on this plan but the relief I felt was stronger than the anger.

   Jacob whispered that we now must pull off the rest of his scheme. He told me to untie one of the other goons from the tree and cover his head with a pillowcase he had brought out. Then he said to bring him to the pit.

   I did as instructed. The entire time the man was begging us not to shoot him. I told him it was out of my hands and that my partner was a crazed old man who would kill the rest of them and enjoy doing so. His legs were shaking when I pulled him along and we stopped where Jacob was standing with the Thompson. Jacob gave him the same spiel in a very loud and menacing voice telling him he was about to die like his friend. He asked him if he would like the hood on or off for his execution. By now the man was begging Jacob not to shoot him and he would tell him anything he wanted to know. Jacob gave me a grin and one of his winks.   

   TO BE CONTINUED ..................

[GhostMiner]

   So I finally am back on the website. For some reason starting yesterday I lost the site & got http error 500. I tried everything I knew to get back on with no luck. So just now I called my son in law & asked him to try pulling up the forum which he did right away. Then he sent me a link from his phone & it allowed me to get back on. I also googled a link from my computer & got back on which it wouldn't allow before. Wierd. It was like I was frozen out for some reason. More journal tomorrow. Cheers.