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

[GhostMiner]

2 minutes ago, GhostMiner said:

   I will be posting a drawing of how Jed's dig site was layed out after I get a few more posts up so you'll have a better idea of what he was doing. I can tell you that there was an amazing amount of digging & gold found at this area in 1936. I am posting one picture for now of Jed's original hole as it looks today. It has collapsed and is flooded. It is in a remote area of the mountain and I have spent time working that area and camping there, sometimes alone and sometimes with part of my team. I always toast Jed with a cup of Irish whiskey when out there. I will post pictures of our team at the site later as well. The picture is not posting correctly for some reason but here it is. It sits at the base of the northern area of the fault line. Very creepy to be camped up there alone at night. Lot's of black bear & a few lion. 

   On my first trip up to his old dig site I found this in a tree near the dig. Might it have been something Jed placed there to warn claim jumpers?

[GhostMiner]

   May 1   1936

   I drove up to the dig site and found nothing disturbed. I took a walk around the perimiter of the area and saw nothing out of the ordinary and went to work with my pick at loosening some heavy river rock. I dug out some loose gravel underneath one of the bigger stones. Before I put the material in the bucket I took a close look at it as it layed on the spade. To my surprise there were a number of pieces of gold about the size of a pencil eraser or a bit larger. I picked them out and put them in a small bottle in my pocket. I am definitely on to something here. The digging today was slower due to heavy rock that needed to be moved with my bar. I have no idea as to the depth and breadth of this gravel deposit. I am down close to 8 feet and digging to the wall of the pit adjacent to the fault. My strategy is to stay along this level and work the fault north and south as long as the pay stays good. My bucket count was down to 65 today but I have a good feeling about how the wash will come out.

   I am expecting John's arrival tomorrow. He is a good friend and can be trusted. He is a veteran of the Great War and can handle himself in the face of adversity. He knows hard work as well as I do. Tomorrow I will wash the gravels and get a weigh.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..............

[DOOGY-MD]

Now yer talkin!

[DOOGY-MD]

Is that water in the old site hole?

[GhostMiner]

36 minutes ago, DOOGY-MD said:

Is that water in the old site hole?

   Yes. That is Jed's first dig hole and it's the one posted in the journal. He did a lot of work up there as you'll find out. You aren't going to believe what he got out of that first hole but it won't be too long before we get there. I've done at toast to him with Irish whiskey right there. 

[DOOGY-MD]

Has anyone mined that area since Jed?

How many years does a claim last?

[GhostMiner]

   May 2   1936

   My good friend John arrived at the claims today. I brought him up to date on what has gone on. I will teach John the mining skills needed as he has never worked for gold prior to now. We have also decided to share security watch at the dig site. This will help put my mind at rest. We will also divide the gold equally and each of us will be responsible for the security of his gold. John brought with him his trusty Colt revolver as well as his old Henry. We are now well armed in case of trouble.

   John helped me finish washing up the gravels from yesterday. We are both wearing big grins tonight. This was the heaviest gold weigh I have ever done anywhere. Good coarse gold and many small pieces fortified the weight of the pan. Out of those 65 buckets we made nearly half an ounce. I can hardly wait to dig those gravels tomorrow. It seems to me we have struck an area of raised country rock that may hold something special. Tonight I will stand first watch at the site and John will take the  second. I am hoping we will not have any further troubles.

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

[DOOGY-MD]

What State is this old mine?

[GhostMiner]

13 minutes ago, DOOGY-MD said:

Has anyone mined that area since Jed?

How many years does a claim last?

    There was a mining company north of that area back in 1965. They did some testing and there is a 282 page Dept of Interior report on the activities. That's is where I came across Jed's work. We have over 500 acres of claims in that area. We explore them and lease them out & sometimes do some mining as well. I had no idea about Jed until I read it. I went up the mountain using the old mapping and found his dig site. The road he made is nearly gone but we were able to get a skid steer on tracks up there. We had to knock down some small trees & brush along the way.

   I got ahold of a descendant of the mine president fro the 1960's. I was trying to find out more information. They are the ones who had the journal which I couldn't believe. It's actually in fairly good shape. They said they had no use for it so they gave it to me. Very nice people.

   As far as placer mining claims, you pay taxes on them & do the anual filings with the county they are in and the federal BLM agency. They are located on Forest Service land as most mining claims are. You own the mineral rights. If you want to use commercial equipment like excavators, dozers, trommels, etc you usually need to put in a Plan of Operation & post a reclamation bond. The claims are good until you sell them or abandon them. You just need to keep all paperwork current.