LOST GOLD AT THE DEAD MAN'S MINE ** A Miners Journal **

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 11  1936

   By now we have over $5000 in gold. John and I decided not to involve the law out here as we feel that might lead to worse trouble if information gets leaked in town. We both decided to handle any problems ourselves. I went up to the dig this morning and John held watch at camp while waiting for gravels. I dug a good part of the day while also hauling down buckets for John. The kettle is played out. I was able to get 52 buckets. These gravels were taken at or near the bottom and I was hopeful of a big day. I was right to be hopeful. The weigh was heavy once again. We got a haul of 72 ounces. We now have nearly $8000 in gold between us. For me this is nearly four yrs wages. I looked at John and told him we had a chance to get rich, we just need to find another pot hole in the old channel. John asked me if I thought I could find another one. I told him it was in the hands of God but I would try. I told John we had done wat few miners have ever done, we had worked a glory hole. We just need to keep digging along the fault north where the old hydraulic boys stopped. The work will get much heavier now as we will need to dig much more gravel to get to pay. We will soon be coming to summer months and creeks will slow. That is another thing we will face. I think we have another six or seven weeks before our water supply for washing becomes an issue. After that we will need to rocker box the gravels which will be very slow compared to the tom in a fast creek. I'm going up to the dig on first watch with a bottle of my Irish tonight while John gets some rest.

Edited February 9, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 12  1936

   I went up and dug gravels again while John worked the tom. I tried to work deeper into the fault but got stopped out by heavy boulders. Then I decided to move ten feet to the north onto the buried area. This required heavy work on my part and I busted the handle on my pick and had to go down to camp and put on a new one. I took what few buckets I had down to John at the same time to give hin some work. I eventually got a good excavation going and started moving rounded river rock towards the end of my day. This told me I might be getting into mor good gravels but I only got 23 buckets for the day and am dog tired to boot. 

   John washed them and I panned the heavies out before supper. Compared to the previous days weighs this was disappointing. We got 3 grams for all my labor. John looked kind of down but I told him we would probably get onto pay again soon. He had gotten a bad case of gold fever and wanted to see color in every bucket. I figure to keep working at the dig for awhile as I need to get back on pay. 

   I felt better after beans and hot water corn bread and a cup of whiskey. I'm going up on watch and taking the bottle with me.

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

 

   MAY 13  1936

   Today I worked the gravels in a U pattern startin at my new hole and going east into the fault and slowly turning south back towards the kettle. Fractured rock is abundant but I haven't seen a sign of country rock yet. I've panned some of the dig to test and there is a lack of much color. Somehow I have run completely out of the pay area. There were no good gravels to take down to the tom and this is the first day here with no gold. 

   My theory is to go deeper into the fault and lower the excavation to find country. This will require the most effort i've had to put in since I started. I am convinced there must be a vast amount of gold still trapped in the channel in this area near the played out kettle. The old river must have brought more gold near it. If I can find another pot hole or an area of raised country rock it may prove rich in gold and we will be high on the hog once again. John is a bit discouraged but I am keeping his spirits up and saying look at what we have accomplished so far and we surely will find more. 

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

Edited February 9, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 14  1936

   The weather has warmed considerably. The days are getting hotter but the nights are cold. There have so far been no more hooligans to disrupt us. Today I once again did the digging to get us a good direction and a descending trench heading along the fault towards the first dig. I have dug down a good eight feet below the second hole and lowering a trench five feet in width from there. That way I can walk a ramp out with the buckets once pay is discovered. We have not run the tom for two days now. The dig is slow with abundance of heavy rock that either gets worked around or moved. I am gambling a bit here but after seeing the gold in the first dig I feel the gamble will pay off.

   We have also decided for the both of us to stay at camp at night as there is little chance of anyone steeling gravel out of the dig that would be worth while at this time. I am going to alternate digging with John tomorrow.  We can't leave the camp un manned so one of us must always be here in case of robbers. 

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

Edited February 9, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 15  1936

   Last night John and myself sat around a camp fire drinking whiskey and talking of many things. John retired to his tent after telling me stories of the great war and getting his fill of spirit. I sat and looked at the stars for a time when all of a sudden there was gun fire. This was way up the mountain at quite a distance, maybe a mile or so. It went on for a good ten minutes. John had heard it and came out of his tent. It eventually quieted and we both retired for the night.

   We took turns at digging and panning samples but there was still no color. I finished up before dark and fixed my supper at the stove. Hash and beans and my beloved Irish whiskey. 

Edited February 9, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 16  1936

   I talked with John at breakfast about the prospect of bringing in a third person to the claim. The digging is getting more difficult and as I plan to get much deeper I will require a person to help both in digging and gravel removal. I may also need to cut some timbers to support the walls of the trench work. I have a brother Jacob who works on a farm. He can come out to the claim for a month or two or maybe more. In order to be fair in all regards John and myself will pay Jacob in a small gold percentage equally divided between the two of us. I will personally promise Jacob a wage if no gold is found. John agreed to this new plan and I contacted Jacob today. He will be out on the claim in a few days. 

   This afternoon I worked at widening the trench to six feet and panning gravels at the site. There is little color but my plan is to work towards the first hole but at a deeper level. I am hoping to hit a rich gravel deposit in the deeper depth of gravels. For now all I can do is take my turn at the dig with John taking his turn as well. Removing the gravels is taking more time now and the work is slow. Once Jacob arrives the two of us will dig and timber the trench walls where needed as well as bring out buckets of pay. John will watch our camp and work the tom. I think this is a solid plan for our future. 

    TO BE CONTINUED ............

 

   MAY 17  1936

   Last night I heard the loud screeching of several bobcats close to camp. They eventually moved on. In the morning we talked with a prospector who was hiking along the creek and he stopped by our camp. He seemed like a good fellow and   all packed up with gear and dreaming of a strike. He said his name was Will. We told him of our experiences with the riff raff and rag tags as well as the gunfire from the previous night and warned him to be on allert. Will said he was hiking up the mountain and testing gravels near the creeks and hoped to stake a claim. We wished him good luck as he hiked up the mountain. It seems to me there are a number of prospectors all looking to make their fortune. This is a cut throat business and we have learned to watch our backs. There may be desperados all over these Sierra Nevada mountains.

   John and myself took our turns working at the trench and panning gravels. We are working at lengthening for now and not getting any deeper as I am worried about collapse without timbers to support walls where needed. The gravels seem stable enough for now but when Jacob arrives we will cut and buck trees. The day is passed with only the sound of the pick and the shovel striking against the rock and gravels of the old channel. Once again a day passes with no gold. 

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

Edited February 9, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 18  1936

   Last night John and myself sat out by the outside cook stove warming hash and beans. We stayed out awhile and ended up deep in the cups. We talked of gold and riches. At some point I thought I heard something stir in the woods outside of camp. John said it might be a bear as we had been cooking but at a good distance from camp where we slept. We had the rifles as always. John always had his Colt in his holster as well. It got quiet again for awhile but then we heard a crack of a branch. Then there was a call out to us from someone. Whoever it was said they were coming into camp. There were a few lanterns and four men walked in. 

   John jumped up with his rifle and asked them what they were up to. I stood up with my rifle as well. The one in front said they were heading back down the mountain to the road below and were going into town. They had been on a mining trip but the prospects were few and far between. He said they had gotten a little gold but barely enough to cover the bacon and beans. He asked us how we were fairing. 

   I asked him what made him think we were prospecting for gold. He said he's seen the tom in the creek. Then he asked where our camp was. John told him we weren't having any luck at all and where our camp was located was none of his affair. I didn't like the look of any of this and I was getting real uneasy. This crew had us outnumbered and seemed to be feeling out our situation.

   I said the rest of our crew was tented up in camp not far off and that me and John were just finishing up supper. I saw a couple of their crew carrying a rifle and a shotgun. John asked them why they were travelling at night up in these mountains. The crew leader said it had been a rough outing and they were in a hurry to get back to town. Also, he said, it was cooler for hiking at night. He said they had good lanterns.

   John told them we had heard gunfire higher up the mountain a few nights back. The crew leader said he hadn't heard anything but maybe it was someone shooting a bear or lion in camp. We could have pushed it but we dropped it and they moved on down the creek. I told John we need to get back to camp and we would have to sit watch all night not knowing if their story was true. So we took our turns on watch without further incedent. 

   In the morning we took our turns at the diggings expanding the length of the trench. Tomorrow I will be going into town to get supplies and pick up my brother who will arrive by bus. Then I plan to turn the digging up a notch and try to get back into gold gravels. Lately there seems to be more and more prospectors roaming the creeks and mountains as the weather improves. We will need to be very careful out here. 

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

Edited February 9, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 19  1936

   Today I went into town and met up with my brother Jacob and took him out to the claims. When I arrived I saw John talking to the law. Jacob and myself walked over to see what was what. John said we better hear this. The deputy said they had a report of a prospector getting killed up on the mountain the other day. They had found him shot in his camp. His partner had escaped and reported the incident. There were four men and he gave a description. We told the deputy what we had heard and about what time of night and about the four men who had hiked down the mountain and our encounter with them. The deputy said that fit the description and time of the murder. The prospectors camp was robbed along with the gold they had. He took our names and thanked us for the information. Then he looked at us and said to be careful out here, it isn't safe. And if we had any problems let him know. We said we would but John and I had already decided to handle things ourselves.

   Jacob looked at me with wide eyes as if thinking what he got himself into out here. I had told him about our problems with the hooligans but this was another step up in danger. I told him that if he wanted to go home he could but he declined and said he would stick with us. I was glad for that for sure as we needed him. I introduced him to John and we sat in camp for an hour and ate some bacon and beans and helped Jacob set up his tent and went to work. 

   By now it was mid afternoon so John watched camp while Jacob and myself went up to dig. I explained to him what was what and we set about dropping and bucking trees with the crosscut saw for support timbers in the trench. We took a good amount of timber over to the diggings before dusk and called it a day.

   The three of us sat around camp after supper and drank some good whiskey Jacob had brought. We decided to take shifts on watch at camp from now on. Any unwelcome tresspasser would be dealt with in a hard manner. 

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

 

   MAY 20  1936

   This morning Jacob and I went up and started digging the trench in a descending angle towards my first hole. I had got a good drop going at the start of the trench which was about 10 feet deep. At the angle I plan to use I could get down to 30 feet before I hit the first hole. We'll use the timbre to set verticle and cross supports from here. That should keep the trench from collapsing in. Some of the areas are good hard gravels and won't need dupport but anything that looks loose or soft will get timbered. I think we can walk the buckets out for awhile but at some point we might need to rope them out with a hand winch. 

   The first thing we did in the morning was get 20 buckets down to John to get the tom back in action. He was grateful for that. I think the gold might be weak but we will see what the weigh gives us. Jacob is a hell of a hand and loves to work the pick. I'll tell you that's fine by me and my back. He's a young buck still and has seen just a little color in the pan here and now has the fever already. It is mighty nice having my brother here beside me up in these lonely mountains. 

   The sound of the pick and the shovel working the gravels rang through the mountain today. Jacob and myself hauled out a total of 75 buckets which wasn't a bad day considering the dense gravel and rock we had to work. We all three of us finished the wash and did a weigh under a lantern light. It held some promise. We made 2 ounces and I thought Jacob would dance himself straight into the creek he was so happy. I think the weigh shows the best gold is going to be deeper but I have no idea where the country rock will lie. That fault is like a treasure hunt.

   It was darn good to see some gold once again. We fixed a good supper of canned beef and beens and hot water corn bread and I broke out a bottle of Irish.

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

Edited February 9, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 21  1936

   Last night I got woke up by the midnight screachers as I call them. Most likely bobcat that come down the creek at night. Jacob and I went up and dug out 20 buckets and got them down to John. Then we went on top the ground at the dig and started removing some top gravels between the trench and my first hole. I am panning some of this as it's removed and there are traces of color even at the higher areas so we are taking that down to John. It might not be much but there is some gold there. The digging is a lot easier up higher anf Jacob and I made good work of it removing 190 buckets in total. My hope was the volume of gravels would make up for what we lacked in quality pay. John couldn't keep up so we will know sometime tomorrow if we got a days pay out of it. We have a good hole started and will keep going down to about ten ft before we start working the trench towards it. My plan is to work away at the bottom when the trench gets there to meet up and let the gravels slowly collapse into the trench and either walk the buckets out using the ramp or rope them out. 

   We are all three of us curious as to what this new dig will bring us. My best guess is there are rich gravels lower than the kettle in hole one. It will take quite awhile to get all this dug out and I am gambling all our efforts on a good pay off at the end. 

 

   MAY 22  1936

   Just before breakfast I spotted a man moving down the mountain at a good pace.  When he got close I saw it was Will, the prospector who was heading up the mountain. He came running over to where we were cooking. I asked him what was the big hurry and he said he'd been run off buy four men. They had taken his gear and roughed him up a bit. They told him if he didn't git they would leave him tied to a tree. I told Will that was bad luck but he's lucky to be alive. I told him what the deputy had told me about someone up there getting murdered. 

   Will said he was going to walk back into town and go back home - he was quitting the prospecting idea. I told him to hang on a minute and me and John and Jacob had a hub bub. We agreed we could use a fourth man. I told Will and he was mighty excited for the offer. He would bunk with Jacob in his tent and I sent both them into town in the truck to outfit Will with what he needed. Will was happy to work for a small percent of any gold we got from that day on.

   While they were gone John and I talked about all this. John said that those four guys are bad news. We agreed that if they came into camp we would probably have to fight them. We finished up the wash and weigh and only got an ounce out of all that work. I went back up and worked the dig site while John worked around camp. 

   When Jacob and Will got back we decided to take the rest of the day off and talk with Will a bit. Now we had four to take turns on watch. We all drank some whiskey that night and dreamed about a big strike. We didn't tell Will about what we had got so far.

   TO BR CONTINUED .................. 

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 23  1936

   We had a good talk with Will last night and he seems like a good man. He is like us, ready to work hard for his gold. When Jacob and Will were in town there was talk at the supply store about robbers and killers roaming the mountains around here. Jacob said that one guy was saying that the man murdered out here put up a fight against the robbers. We explained to Will that he would be expected to fight with us and protect his gold if there was trouble. He readily agreed. I am fairly certain that the four men we ran into at camp were the robbers. They are probably looking for easy prey and were sizing us up. I am worried about a surprise attack if they are still around. I'm figuring they have a camp set up somewhere very remote and come out at times looking for prospecors who they know are well equipped and most likely have some gold. Will is armed once again. The hooligans had stole his rifle and I helped him buy a new one when he was in town. I told him to keep it close at all times.  

   We can now have two crews. Will and John at the tom and Jacob and me at the dig. Jacob and me can dig and haul the last of the gravels down to the tom at dusk. John and Will can finish the wash and weighs by the next morning. That gives me time to get more gravels down the next morning as they finish the panning. It will be a more efficient system with no weighting for gravles to wash like before. This is well worth having Will on the crew. It will also help to divide watch with four men. We are only watching camp at night as there is nothing being left at the dig at night and it would be hard for robbers to get much at this time as the gravels are so poor. If we hit a strike I will change that plan.

   We dug more top gravel today and made good speed as well with 205 buckets in all. We will see what the weigh brings tomorrow. When we get deeper in the pay we will start developing the trench work again. It is all hard work for sure.

    TO BE CONTINUED .................

 

 

   MAY 24  1936

   Jacob and myself broke for lunch and went down to camp to eat and get the weigh numbers. They were still not what we had at the kettle by far with one and one half ounces. That is still a good days work by any standard and the ground at the fault is producing steady gold. Will seemed quite happy with his cut and like the rest of us is hoping for more. The weather has gotten hot during the day and I am working to remove more of the top layer of gravels above what will be the southern end of the trench. I have had to add two holes in my belt as I am working off weight with the heavy labor but it is the most satisfying work I have ever done. Everyone is concentrated on the job at hand and we all get along in pursuing a common goal which is gold.

   Jacob and me work at a steady pace and have found that an easy pace works best for a long day. We start the dig at just an hour after daybreak and end our day an hour before dark. The gravels are still not too hard to dig except for the rounded rock which is beginning to show at four feet in the depth. The rock that will fit in the bucket is hauled to the tom and anything larger that can be cleaned of attached gravel is done over the bucket so we get any gold that clings. That is the slow and heavy work as the rock encountered begins to get bigger. There is much loose gravel as well and that is the easy and fast work. It is going to get much slower as we deepen the cuts and have to haul out the buckets. My hope is that when we get deep the gold will be there in promiscuous amounts. The gold at the upper levels has been mostly very fine and just paying good day wages to us. Today we filled 180 buckets. 

   We all ended the day down at camp after another good day and no hooligans. John brought up the idea of a couple of us going up the mountain to look for any camps. I told him i'd rather spend my day digging for gold. I heard the law went on an excursion up the mountain but had no luck finding them. If they are smart they have left this area.

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

[GhostMiner]

GhostMiner

• 
• Member
• •  185
• 
  Interests: Exploration & leasing of past producing placer gold mines in the Sierra Nevada Mts.
• 
  Gear Used: Excavators, skid steers, large trommels, spiral wheels.
•  Joined January 2

 

   MAY 25  1936

   Jacob woke me up after midnight last night. John was up and Will was at the edge of camp. He was on watch and woke up John and Jacob. He said there was something moving on our side of the creek just outside of camp. He thought he saw someone north of camp. We all had our rifles ready. I told Jacob and Will to stay put and keep a look out while John and I went out to have a look see. We split off about 100 feet apart and snuck up the east side of the creek keeping low. We got up to the north a ways and John hollered OVER THERE. I didn't see anything and ran over to where he was standing. John said he saw three or four men running up to the north. We took off on the run. Then we stopped and I could hear branches moving and breaking ahead of us maybe 100 feet or so. I told John they must have seen us. Not wanting to get drawn into a trap at night we decided to head back down to camp. 

   Then we heard the crack of a rifle. Someone up there had shot at us. We couldn't see a thing. There was a half moon but they were well hidden. We scooted back to camp and told Will and Jacob what happened. John wanted to go back up and look for them but it was too dangerous and I talked him out of it. I think they were sneaking in on our camp to jump us when Will spotted them. We all four of us fired a volley up in that direction just for the hell of it and it was all quiet after that. We all sat around watching for an hour and then John took watch and the rest of us retired. 

   In the morning at breakfast John was stirred up good. He said we had cut throats on the mountain and he would kill them if he found them. No one else said too much but we all knew we could get jumped at any time. I calmed John down and said we just need to keep watch like we are doing and we'll be alright. I'm sure they knew by now that we were getting gold. They also knew we would fight. 

   So after breakfast we all went back to work. I think I worked harder than I ever have that day. Maybe it was to calm my nerves. We continued to dig the top gravels and made 205 buckets. Out of yesterdays 180 buckets we got two ounces. The gravels continue to be rich. We sat around for awhile after dark drinking whiskey and then I took first watch.

     TO BE CONTINUED ...............

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 26  1936

   We only got one half ounce out of the 205 buckets from yesterdays dig. We are all somewhat disappointed in the weigh but we will keep going deeper. More gold must still be in this area. Jacob and me are getting the top of the trench hollowed out. The digging is not too bad. We had a black bear cross just north of our dig area this morning. He was a big one but paid us no mind. 

   When we took the first load of gravels down to the creek John was still going on about heading up the mountain to look for the hooligans, I told him I didn't think it was safe and if we did find them what would he do? He said he would make them talk by any means needed and get the stolen goods back. I think we are better served by keeping the mine running and standing our watch at night. Anyone trying to rob us will be hard pressed to get our supplies or gold. They know we are armed and will fight. We need to work every day to get as much gold as we can before the creek slows. John seemed to listen to what I had to say. 

   We removed 175 buckets of gravel by the end of the day. We got slowed towards the end by some large rock we moved with the bar. That can sometimes indicate a strike. I did a few pans in the tub by the dig but only saw a bit of color so we will see tomorrow when the tom is worked. Jacob is sore all over. His body is adjusting to the constant digging and lifting. We go at it in a steady but sure pace and are relentless in our effort. There has been no trouble with  tresspassers today. 

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

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 27  1936

   All was quiet last night. Todays gold weigh was light once again. Almost no gold again. I sent Will up higher on the fault to take buckets for samples. Will is young but a good prospector. I think it is a good idea to test some higher gravels at various levels. He was not successfull in finding color. I am worried that by late June our creek will slow and that will be the end for the tom. Working a cradle then will be very slow compared to the tom. For that reason I have decided to move Will up to the dig site so we can get deeper in the trench at a faster pace. If there is a big strike left here I will find it. Jacob and me dug 160 buckets. We will see what we found by tomorrow morning when the panning is done. 

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

[GhostMiner]

   Just a note here - the next few entries begin to get quite interesting to say the least. Buckle up.

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 28  1936

   This morning we did a gold weigh of 2 ounces. We are all heartened to be back into the gold. Today we left John to work the tom while the three of us went at the digging. We all are working the top of the trench going deeper into the pay. The round rock is becoming more plentiful. In the early afternoon I saw John walking up the mine road. What now I thought. He said the law was down at camp and wanting to talk with us. We all four jumped in the truck with some loaded buckets and drove down to the creek. There were two deputies waiting. 

   The deputies told us they had several strong arm robberies in town this week. One man had been jumped late at night when he came out of a tavern. He was beaten and his money stolen. He said it was a gang of thugs that matched the description of the four rag tags we had dealt with and had robbed Will. They wanted to know if we had seen them on the mountain. The deputies thought they might have a camp set up somewhere remote and also be driving a stolen truck from town. I looked at John and back at the deputies. I told them we hadn't seen anyone. Of course this was a lie but John and me feel bringing in the law dogs would only complicate and slow the mining work, especially if we got involved in court proceedings or something like that. We have a period of time we must use wisely and getting dragged into legal  proceedings would not serve our purpose. The deputies said to keep an eye out for the band of hooligans and report anything to them. I said sure, we will do that and gave John a wink. If we ever catch them they will be far worse off than anything the law will do to them.

   After our conference with the law dogs was done we went back to work. The gravels were getting better looking again. By days end we had taken 240 buckets to the tom. I didn't say anything to the others but I had panned a few samples during the day and saw some good color and the gravel looked to hold promise. I will be curious to get the results of the weigh tomorrow. We will take our turns on watch tonight as usual. 

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

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 30  1936

   The finish of the panning was done early morning. Jacob and me came down to see the weigh. The gravels near the upper level produced an ounce from the 180 buckets. What we all waited for was the 70 buckets from the raised country rock. There was 5 ounces in the pan. We are all happy miners.Then there was the jar with the pieces of gold. They weighed out at 2 ounces bringing yesterdays dig total to 8 ounces. Jacob and me went back up to explore the raised country area and dug to the north working the ground with a vengeance. We dropped off the raised area and the facing fell away under our shovels. The gravels were loose. We were at a depth of about 10 feet and getting lower between the two holes. The trench we had started was becoming more of a pit now, At least that's how it seems. We are tight to the hill facing at our east that rises from 60 feet and up to 80 feet in places along this area. Although the digging is a bit easy the depth is dropping and we will have to haul out the buckets by winch soon. We are still able to walk them out on a steep grade at this point. I have no idea how deep this drop goes. We are now below the raised country by several feet as we dig away. I did some pans at the tub with poor results so I think we will need to get deeper in the drop. My hope is this is a huge kettle in the old river channel under the water fall where the fault line broke everything up.

   We hauled 235 buckets down to John and Will today. It was a good days work. The creek is still flowing with plentiful water and we are hopeful for more gold in the pan tomorrow. 

    TO BE CONTINUED ............

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 31  1936      PART ONE

  This morning we did the final panning and weigh from yesterdays gravels while Will cooked us all a miners mountain man breakfast of eggs, bacon, beans, hot water corn bread, and coffee, I sweetened my coffee with a shot of Irish. There was gold in the weigh and it was an ounce. That could have been gold gravels slid over from the lift or it might be of its own value. More digging will tell us. 

   We saw a crew of three prospectors heading north up the creek while at breakfast. We all went over to talk with them. They were all well outfitted and had come all the way from Pennsylvania. They had dreams of gold dancing in their eyes like Will. Their plan was to follow the creek higher up into the mountain. I warned them about the rif raf that may still be roaming and wished them good luck. They were all armed with rifles and shotguns. They looked to be green. 

   Jacob and me resumed the pick and shovel work. The buckets were becoming harder to walk out of the trench as the depths slowly deepened. I had set up a hand winch anchored at a stout tree near the dig. We might soon be using it I think. The gravels remained quite loose with hardly any river rock and we made time ending the day with 265 buckets. There is no sign of any bottom at 12 feet in depth and the trench has become a rounded pit. We may need to use some of our cut timbers to brace the sides as it is loose. 

   After supper of beans and corn bread we opened a bottle and were ready to sit around the fire and trade stories when once again there was gunfire up north on the mountain. John figured it to be about half a mile. It stopped and started several times. Something was going on up the creek. We figured it might be the rif raf had seen the new prospectors camp and set upon robbing them. John hollered out that he had enough of this and he was going up to have a look see and nobody was going to stop him. I told him i'd go with him and told Jacob and Will to stick at camp and guard our goods.

   There was a good full moon and the visability was good. We headed on up the side of the creek with rifles at the ready. The gunfire had stopped for a spell but then started up again. It didn't take us too long to get close to the rifle fire and we bellied up near what looked to be a camp with a fire going. For sure it was the three greenhorns from Pennsylvania under fire from the woods up above. We were about 50 feet from them and I gave a holler and said it was us miners they met in the morning from down below. I said we would help them and would circle up to the east and north of the robbers and get them in a cross fire. I told them to stay put and keep shooting. They hollered back and said they would. John said lets get em.

   John and me circled way around to the east so as not to be seen and closed in on them from the north. They didn't know we were up there and we could see the rifle flashes. It looked to be the same four we had run off and probably robbed Will and killed a man. They were well covered by trees and we could here them laughing as they fired volies down at the greenhorns. John took aim and fired a round that hit the mark and we saw one of them drop over on the ground. I don't know how good he was hit because he crawled off into the brush. The other three now new we were there and took off running up the mountain. We fired several shots and they were gone. We chased them up the mountain as best we could but after about 10 minutes we lost them. I told John they might be laying for us.

   We ended up heading back down towards the greenhorn camp and hollered out to them we had one hit and three got away. They came out of their cover and we set about looking for the rag tag we had dropped. We found him under a bush. He was grazed in the leg but not too bad.

   TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO ................................

Edited February 13, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

   To the readers here, please feel free to comment at any time & I hope you are enjoying the journal.

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 31   1936    PART TWO

   We poured some alcohol in the wound and tied a piece of cloth around his leg. The bullet had gone through the flesh of his calf and he was able to hobble around some. We asked him who he was but he wasn't talking. I told the greenhorns we had business to settle with him and were taking him down to our camp and we would let them know what we got out of him in the way of information. They agreed with us as to not contacting the law.

   Will and Jacob were surprised to see we had caught one of the gang. Will said he was one of the crew that robbed him.  We filled them in on what happened. We tried to get information out of him but he just said they were prospectors. We tied up his hands and lashed him up to a tree. Then we walked away and had a quick meeting. When we came back to the robber I told him John was for hanging him and he talked the rest of us into it. He just sneered and said we wouldn't do it. Then John brought over a wooden crate about two feet high. We set it under the branch of the tree and made a noose out of some rope. John threw the rope over the branch and we unlashed the robber and told him to stand on the box. He said he wouldn't and started shaking a little. John and me lifted him onto the box and I told Jacob to put the noose around his neck and pull the rope tight then get up on the branch and wrap the rope around it a few times and tie it off. 

   John told him he wanted to know where his gang was camped and who he was. He said if he didn't talk he was going to kick the box out from under his feet. His hands were still tied behind his back. John said we'll hang you and nobody will ever find you and he would do it for sure. The rif raf was shaking. John said he would ask him one last time and if he didn't talk he was a dead man. 

   TO BE CONTINUED IN PART THREE ......................

[GhostMiner]

 

   MAY 31  1936      PART THREE

   John put his boot up against the box and started to push against it a little. John said he had ten seconds to talk or he would hang. Then the robber gave in. He was shaking and hollering not to hang him, he would talk. John said to start talking before he changed his mind. He left him up on the box. The robber said he was from Nevada. He had fell on hard times and came to California for the gold. He wasn't very good at mining and met up with the other three holligans in town one night. He joined up with them. He didn't know their last names. He said they had robbed a lot of people but he personally hadn't killed anyone. It was the ring leader who was the murderer. He said they had a camp hidden in a remote ravine about a mile up to the north just off the creek a few hundred yards. They would go up and down the creek laying for prospectors and rob them. They also stole a truck in town and had robbed and beaten a few people as well. He described the area of the camp pretty well but John told him he was going to guide us to it in the morning when we could see better. He agreed.

   We lashed him back to the tree and took our turn on guard duty until daybreak. After a quick breakfast John and me hiked higher up the mountain while Will and Jacob guarded camp. This is the last thing I wanted to spend my time on as it took us away from our mining but we had no choice it seemed. When we got up there we found the campsite but it was deserted and most everything was removed. They must have cleared out in the middle of the night.

   I asked the robber where they might have gone. He just shrugged his shoulders and said maybe they're getting out of the area. There wasn't much we could do and now had to decide what to do with the robber. John asked him what he should do with him. The guy pleaded that if we let him go he would high tail it back to Nevada and we'd never have any more trouble from him. He's had enough of this kind of life and was going home. 

   We walked him back down to our camp and had a quick meeting. Then we untied his hands and told him to git or we would kill him for sure. He thanked us and ran out of there with his tail between his legs, I am hoping we did the right thing. 

   We all went back to our jobs although it was a late start. John and will got 2 ounces from yesterdays 235 buckets.  Jacob and me gug 120 buckets of good gravels and quit at dusk. We'll see tomorrow how we did. We are still standing watch at night.

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

[GhostMiner]

 

   JUNE 1   1936

   We continue to stay in very rich gravels, the richest I have ever dug. The weigh gave us another ounce. Based on the amount of gravels the ground seems to be holding up and we may be glory bound. My worry of our creek slowing may be cured as well. I sent Will in with the truck to pick up a Meyers pump to supply the tom if needed. So far the creek is still running a sufficient current of water but it has started to slow some. The pump should keep the gravel processing at a good level when the time comes. 

   Jacob and me are still hauling out the buckets from the trench or pit on a steep incline. Our depths are deepening each day. We are now into the loose gravel with the occaional rounded rock and there is no sign of a bottom. The gold is chunk with some fine and is found in promiscuous amounts per ton. We are digging just north of the kettle and now at a greater depth than the bottom of that glory hole. I continue to pan samples as we dig and the gold is always there. We have started to timber the sides of the wall where needed in order to keep them stable. I have Jacob working at the northern end of the trench picking and digging away at the base while I continue to work the top. We are in an area about 15 to 20 feet in length and 6 feet in width. I am working the eastern side into the fault and widening the dig at the same time. I have been able to drive into the eastern wall by using the pick and bar and those gravels are good and show gold. Today we worked very hard and it felt good to be back to digging the gravels and finding gold. We hauled out 250 buckets today and are quite proud of ourselves. It will be Hoover stew and whiskey for me tonight.

   TO BE CONTINUED ..................

[GhostMiner]

 

   JUNE 2   1936

   Last night we built the campfire and ended up deep in the cups swapping stories and lies until nearly midnight. Jacob and Will had asked to go into town and make a visit to the tavern but I told them it is far too risky. We don't know if the hooligans have left the area and that place is a gathering area for rif raf and misfits. They are young and full of oats but I don't need them getting into trouble or being followed. So we all blew steam at camp. We had it building for days.

   After a late start Will and John finished the weigh and Will walked up to the dig. He was carrying a jar and had a grin on his face from ear to ear. Jacob and me stopped shoveling and climbed out of the trench to see what was up. He said to have a look at the jar and handed it over to me. It was heavy. I kidded him and asked what did he do, fill it with rocks? I asked him how much was in there. The answer was 6 ounces. Jacob started doing some kind of Irish jig I couldn't identify. I told Will we are on to something good here. He was never told about the kettle gold. I decided he had earned the right to know. He was stunned. I showed him the pit where we dug it out. He said he couldn't believe we got 220 ounces out of that hole. I just told him we are in an area of concentration unlike what I have ever experienced. I said we may well be on the road to almighty glory. I also told him that my hunch was as we got deeper it was going to get even richer. How rich I didn't know but we are getting deeper with no end in sight. Will went back to work at the creek with dreams of glory in his eyes as we all did.

   Even with our headaches Jacob and me were able to dig 210 buckets of rich gravel. Tonight we eat and rest and drink  little bit of my Irish whiskey for good luck. 

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

   

Edited February 14, 2022 by GhostMiner

[GhostMiner]

 

   JUNE 3   1936

   Lord make me a rainbow and may the mother of all the saints shine down upon me and my crew. The weigh of gold from yesterdays 210 buckets was done. We had 18 ounces in the pan. I am too tired to write much more tonight and am more than half drunk. All my feeble mind is capable of tonight is thinking of gold. Jacob and me dug 235 buckets today. We are tired and more than happy and our bellies are full. 

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

[GhostMiner]

 

   JUNE 4   1936

   Yesterdays dig brought us another 9 ounces of gold. The rate of gold per ton is staggering. The gold has been poured into a very concentrated area. Jacob in his working of the northern trench has already encountered country rock which is disappointing. However, the area where I have been digging shows no sign of a bottom. We may very well end up with a shaft following a deep opening down into the fault. Before I pursue that possibility I have decided to work the eastern trench wall even further to see if we encounter the same rich gravels. So today that is what we did, worked the eastern wall with the pick and shovel. This was heavy and slow work as we encountered large rock that had to be moved with the bars. Some test pans showed color and the work was not in vain. I would like to continue this plan for a few days or more to see what is there. Our bucket total was a meager 180 today even though we worked till nearly dark. I am turning in early tonight and will stand my watch when it's time. There has been no trouble and all has been quiet here except for the sound of the pick and shovel striking gravel. 

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

[GhostMiner]

   SORRY READERS  >  Due to lack of interest here combined with file size restrictions that won't enable my pictures & other information I will not be posting anything further here. For more of this story you can view it on Nugget Shooter where it is a featured story or also view it on detectorprospector. Cheers.

[geof_junk]

9 hours ago, GhostMiner said:

   SORRY READERS  >  Due to lack of interest here combined with file size restrictions that won't enable my pictures & other information I will not be posting anything further here. For more of this story you can view it on Nugget Shooter where it is a featured story or also view it on detectorprospector. Cheers.

I guess some viewers will be disappointed. The present post at "detectorprospector" is extremely popular well presented and the photos and other's participations is well worth a look. I'm sure would you will enjoy it too, is that so Rob.    

Edited February 15, 2022 by geof_junk