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

[Old Miner Don]

17 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

I have information on the mines & crews going all the way back to the 1870's there. Some of it was in the journal but there was quite a bit left out. Every now & then I used to post "Not In The Journal" info for the readers. I was thinking of putting more of this out here for the everyone. I think some people got sucked into this story like a long running TV series. I got interested in writing all this because of all the wild events that really did take place there. Some of it was fiction but some was fact. Also, I will be posting more about whether there was another mining season with the crew after 2002 and also what happened to Jacob who was definitely a real person. The story about what happened to Jed in 1936 was also true - he was murdered for his gold. Hang in there, I need a little break for now & will get some things going again. The pressure of writing continuous entries for over 2 yrs was not easy at times. I only missed a handful of days over that time period. I will be back. Cheers.

Haha I was hoping that you had more to tell. Sure am curious to know what happened with Jacob and Connor and the other guy who I can't remember his name.

I also have I think almost been with this journal since day one and for sure I've read every page lol. I had a different handle on this website up until 2-3 weeks ago, then but you probably know that.

It's been a pleasure to look forward to new posts almost daily and I'll say it again...Thank You very much!

When you get up to the Sierra's soon and get back to mining ⛏️ are you planning on somehow to continue writing and posting?

Good luck up there and I hope you guys make a killing! (On the gold that is)

[GhostMiner]

48 minutes ago, Old Miner Don said:

Haha I was hoping that you had more to tell. Sure am curious to know what happened with Jacob and Connor and the other guy who I can't remember his name.

I also have I think almost been with this journal since day one and for sure I've read every page lol. I had a different handle on this website up until 2-3 weeks ago, then but you probably know that.

It's been a pleasure to look forward to new posts almost daily and I'll say it again...Thank You very much!

When you get up to the Sierra's soon and get back to mining ⛏️ are you planning on somehow to continue writing and posting?

Good luck up there and I hope you guys make a killing! (On the gold that is)

Thanks Old Miner Don (I think I am pretty sure who you are) but not sure why the name change. I will be posting an Epilogue to the 2002 season later this week. Not sure about this Summer as we are in the Plan of Operation approval process and not sure when that will happen. I do know where some good gold is located on the claims. About $3 million worth that is still in the ground just in one of the locations. Cheers, GM.

[Old Miner Don]

18 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

Thanks Old Miner Don (I think I am pretty sure who you are) but not sure why the name change. I will be posting an Epilogue to the 2002 season later this week. Not sure about this Summer as we are in the Plan of Operation approval process and not sure when that will happen. I do know where some good gold is located on the claims. About $3 million worth that is still in the ground just in one of the locations. Cheers, GM.

Lol I'm not sure either. Just got tired of being Bedrocker.

[GhostMiner]

   So What's With This Dreamwind Canyon??   

   I learned a lot about Dreamwind Canyon from several old time prospectors in the area. One of them was with us for a short spell during the 2002 mining season. He and a prospector buddy of his walked straight into our camp after supper one night in June and he and Jacob became friends. One was named Paul and the other Jerry. Paul talked about this canyon which was a bit northeast of our mine and very remote. He said he had been in and out of the canyon many times and knew of several trails where nobody ever went. 

   According to him, a number of prospectors had died in the canyon back in the late 1800's and also in the early 1900's. Some from snake bite, some from lack of water, and some from bullets. Supposedly there was a large amount of gold in the mountain up there somewhere and people claimed it was a source of some of the gold we had been mining. Because of the extreme difficulty of getting in and out of that area it had never been mined. I'd estimate that Paul was in his mid to late 70's at that time. He was looking for fellow prospectors who would be game enough to go into the canyon and try to find the gold.

   One night Paul and Jerry were sitting with us at the campfire and drinking whisky with us. Jacob had become extremely interested in this place and wanted to find out as much as he could. You won't find the canyon marked by name on any map I've ever seen. Jerry was getting ready to head back to his home in Nebraska and Paul was living up on the mountain somewhere. Every now and then he would come down to camp and say howdy and talk about the canyon. It started to become a sort of obsession to Jacob and the rest of us were also getting more interested every time Paul told us his stories. Then he showed us a 3 ounce nugget that he claimed to have taken out of one of the canyon walls. He hadn't found any more but was convinced there was a lot more of it hiding up there. He couldn't go there alone. It was way too dangerous and you needed a crew. People just a little gold crazy and not afraid to take on a challenge that could get you killed. The temperatures in the canyon in Summer could reach 120 degrees and there was very little water. Paul said he knew where there was a spring that ran underground and could be used. The rattle snakes were a big problem as well as mountain lion although in the heat of Summer the lion sometimes chose higher and cooler territory. Based on what we had been told by Paul and also what we had heard from others we decided to throw in with Paul for the start of the 2003 mining season. We told Paul we'd give it a try and see how things went but made him no promises that we would spend an entire season chasing old stories. So at the end of our 2002 mining season we made plans to head into Dreamwind Canyon in May of 2003. It would be Paul, Jacob, Conor, Clay, and me. A bunch of half crazy gold prospectors/miners chasing legendary tales of gold in a deadly place. Get ready for the 2003 season of "Dreamwind Canyon Gold."

 

 

[GhostMiner]

   LOST GOLD AT THE DEAD MAN’S MINE  *  DREAMWIND CANYON GOLD

 

   May 1   2003     Part One     The Crew Meets Up

 

   Spring was here and our new mining season was about to begin. Perhaps I should call it our new exploration and adventure season for now. I was the first to arrive at camp a few days ago and got most everything set up for the crew. The camp was temporary and located at the area we had used last year at the upper dig site. At some point we would need to relocate camp further northeast near the entrance to Dreamwind Canyon. A trail would need to be cut to get up there using off road vehicles. This was going to be quite a project and I was not sure how long it would take.

   During the off season the crew had stayed in touch with each other and we worked out a rough plan to begin exploration. We purchased three side by side off road 4X4’s with beds on the back to carry equipment as well as two old Willys Jeeps and small trailers for hauling supplies. Along with that we added new and more powerful walkie talkies. We were all well armed as well. We would be heading into totally unknown and dangerous territory - Dreamwind Canyon. 

   Dreamwind Canyon was half legend and half myth. There were no markings or names for it on the maps but it was a remote section of a larger canyon just to the south. The name had supposedly been given to it by the Indians who claimed that when the hot winds blew through the 300 foot high canyon walls they would take control of your mind and cause you to hallucinate and see all kinds of crazy things. I take all of these old stories with a grain of salt but there are very few people who will venture into this area. There are credible stories of prospectors disappearing up there and never heard from again. Some say the canyon is haunted and cursed. Rumors of huge quantities of gold have also been talked about by the old timers. There are no trails to get into the canyon and the hike is extremely difficult. Supposedly the area is infested by rattlesnakes and plenty of mountain lion. Yet somehow our crew has agreed to throw in with Paul and explore this place.

   By late morning Clay and Paul had arrived and not long after Jacob and Conor pulled in with his truck and trailer loaded up with supplies. We all shook hands and fixed up a nice lunch. It sure felt good to be back with the crew again. 

   We all liked Paul. He was  73 years old and in very good shape. He was the prospector we had met last year and had done so much exploration in the canyon previously including finding a large gold nugget. Paul and Jacob had become good friends and Paul was able to convince us that there was a large amount of gold in the canyon just waiting to be discovered. He figured the canyon was the source of the gold for the Dead Man’s Mine. If he was correct there could be millions of dollars in nuggets up there.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

 

[GhostMiner]

   Dreamwind Canyon quartz veigns. Rich in gold as well as crystal.

 

 

[GhostMiner]

   May 1   2003     Part Two

 

   Everyone used the rest of the day to get themselves unpacked and situated at our temporary camp. At supper we started to discuss the plan for tomorrow and probably the next several days or weeks. We needed to make a trail up to the canyon entrance fit for our 4 wheelers and jeeps. It was priority number one. To top it all off, we could not use any machinery. A skid steer would have gone a long way towards building a trail but we had no formal plan of operation. This exploration was clandestine in nature and we aimed to keep it that way. Everything we do will be by hand. We needed to cut brush and use picks and shovels to make a rough trail. Several miles of it. Lucky for us Paul already had the beginnings of a walking trail in place from his years of exploration there. Every Summer for the past thirty years he had come out there and lived either in or near the canyon while he explored it. 

   Paul had gold to show us as well as beautiful quartz crystal. Some of the quartz also had gold in it and he had done some placer mining with drywashers as well. He knew of a number of areas that produced some gold when sampled but had never found the big strike that the old timers all talked about. The lone exception was the three ounce nugget he carried around with him. We all turned in early because we knew we were in for some mighty rough work starting tomorrow.

   TO BE CONTINUED .........

 

[GhostMiner]

 May 2   2003

 

   Today we began building our trail up to Dreamwind Canyon. Paul had made a rough walking path in some areas from his previous years of exploration  which at least was a beginning. Jacob will be staying at camp and also acting as camp guard while the rest of the crew works on the path. It won’t be anything to drive a regular truck on but it will be good enough for a Willys jeep. 

   Everyone is looking forward to getting the camp moved up to the new location we picked out. We will be in a very remote area where few prospectors or hikers have ever been. I haven’t seen any signs of previous activity which is a good sign. Jacob is convinced that if there is big gold there we will find it. The crew is tough and dedicated. We are not afraid of hard work. Moving rock off our path is the main job so the vehicles don’t get damaged. There is some brush we are dealing with as well. So far things are moving along at a decent pace. 

   TO BE CONTINUED .............

 

[GhostMiner]

  May 3   2003     Phantoms And Reapers

 

   Last night we were sitting around a small campfire discussing our new exploration project when the temperature dropped a bit and a light mist rolled into camp. It was not enough to get us to move into our campers and we tried to ignore it for a while as we drank a few beers. I threw some extra wood on the fire to ward off the night chill and we resumed our conversation about the canyon with Paul. 

   He seemed to know the canyon pretty well and had spent many Summers there. He told us it was unpredictable. Weather changed quickly and sometimes he saw strange lights flickering in the distance at night. He’d heard voices many times as well but could never find where they were coming from or make out the words. He said he had gotten to the point where he wouldn’t camp there alone. Not even near the entrance where our new camp would be located soon. He said there was something weird going on there but couldn’t figure out what it was.

   Paul told us that one night he heard voices that woke him up out of a sound sleep. He came out of his tent and saw two figures carrying lanterns but when he hollered out to them they vanished right before his eyes. Jacob just shook his head and said those were phantom reapers. He said he’d seen them back in the 1937 season. He went on to say they are there to collect souls when ready. They might be spirits of miners who died out here.

   Now all this talk was starting to creep me out some and I did my best to change the subject but Jacob and Paul kept right on talking about them. Finally, I had heard enough and retired to my camper for the night. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

 

[Old Miner Don]

2 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

  May 3   2003     Phantoms And Reapers

 

   Last night we were sitting around a small campfire discussing our new exploration project when the temperature dropped a bit and a light mist rolled into camp. It was not enough to get us to move into our campers and we tried to ignore it for a while as we drank a few beers. I threw some extra wood on the fire to ward off the night chill and we resumed our conversation about the canyon with Paul. 

   He seemed to know the canyon pretty well and had spent many Summers there. He told us it was unpredictable. Weather changed quickly and sometimes he saw strange lights flickering in the distance at night. He’d heard voices many times as well but could never find where they were coming from or make out the words. He said he had gotten to the point where he wouldn’t camp there alone. Not even near the entrance where our new camp would be located soon. He said there was something weird going on there but couldn’t figure out what it was.

   Paul told us that one night he heard voices that woke him up out of a sound sleep. He came out of his tent and saw two figures carrying lanterns but when he hollered out to them they vanished right before his eyes. Jacob just shook his head and said those were phantom reapers. He said he’d seen them back in the 1937 season. He went on to say they are there to collect souls when ready. They might be spirits of miners who died out here.

   Now all this talk was starting to creep me out some and I did my best to change the subject but Jacob and Paul kept right on talking about them. Finally, I had heard enough and retired to my camper for the night. 

   TO BE CONTINUED ................

 

I'm thinking those reapers know where the big gold is.