I could hardly believe my eyes. Here was a beautiful open glacier bowl. The lake had drained til only a small pond remained on the far side of the valley. The old lake bottom was now a meadow with an A frame cabin, a big house, several large metal buildings, a wind turbine turning slowly in the breeze coming up the canyon. There were solar panels on all the buildings as well. There was also a BIG propane tank. This place was well self contained.
The road split here. The forest service road continued around the hill and wound its way all around the glacial bowl, weaving in and out of the different canyons on its way clear over to the small lake on the other side. There was a bench above the lake and the mountain side was not as steep here. I could see where the forest service had made a small clear cut area above it in one of the far canyons above the lake. It was an awesome sight.
We dropped down a well graveled lane toward the house and parked in a graveled area in front of one of the metal buildings. I got out and stretched, and all at once a red bullet blew out of a big dog house by the building. Ears flopping and tongue hanging, a beautiful Irish setter danced all around Jeb. He petted her and then she bounded over to me and pushed her head under my hand. I petted her as well Jeb said," this is Samantha, or Sammy for short. She is only two years old and full of pep.
She was still dancing around when two big black monsters came charging towards us. If they hadn't been barking I would have thought they were bears. They had burst out of the A-frame cabin, followed by a giant of a man. Jeb said," the beasts are Pete and Repeat., they belong to Big there."
The giant came up and grabbed my hand with two hands that were as big as baseball mitts, and pumped it up and down a dozen times. He said, " you must be Sonny, Jeb has told me all about you. I'm Lester Bigelow. everyone calls me Big. I figured you guys ate lunch in town so I decided to take a nap .So glad you want to be our new partner. I was a pretty active partner till I found out I have cancer, so we decide to get you to help us. I can't do the prospecting much any more but I will still be the chief cook and bottle washer around here. Come, lets get your gear and get you established." We grabbed up a bunch of my stuff and went in a side door, to a mud room. Washer and dryer and hooks on the wall with coats hanging above a bench with boots and slippers under it. This opened up into a very large room that was a kitchen, dining room, living room combo. Very tastefully furnished. with large comfortable looking furniture. Jeb had followed us in with some bags he set on the kitchen counter. We picked up my stuff, because Big said he would show me where I would bunk. All at once the dogs started chuffing, and looking towards the open door. There sat a big Siamese cat with a baby rabbit in its mouth. Big looked at the cat, and said, ' Maximilian, I told you to leave that rabbit alone. Now put it down." The cat just looked at him and Big stomped his foot. The cat put the rabbit down on the floor but did not let it go. He just made a high pitched growl.. Big stomped his foot again, then the cat let it go, and it scampered out the door. He then sat there and washed his face while the dogs raced around and went after the rabbit. The dogs came bouncing back in the house and one of the beasts about bowled me over. All at once, Big stomped his foot, slapped his chest, and yelled, " Ten Hut". Holy cow, I couldn't believe my eyes. The dogs stopped in their tracks and sat at attention He then said, ' places". The dogs all went to a certain spot.. Big looked at the cat who stopped washing and just stared at Big who stomped his foot again. The cat opened and closed his mouth a few times, looked to me like he was saying, " yeah! yeah!, yeah! " Then he went in the living room and jumped up on the back of a couch. Big looked around then said, " at ease, then they all laid down "That's much better now , things were beginning to get a little out of hand here." Big smiled at me, and said, I was in the Marines, and old habits die hard. Come on and lets get you settled." We started down a hall along side the kitchen when Jeb called, " You guys get acquainted, while I take a nap." then he disappeared through a doorway at the rear of the living room. Big and I continued on down the hall where there was a nice big bedroom. Had a bed that was made up. I dropped my bedroll and Big said, "you won't need that, Jeb don't do laundry, but I do. Let's get the rest of your stuff in here Sonny, so you can it it organized." I said, "the name is Joe," Big got this weird look on his face, so I just said, " Oh hell! Just call me Sonny." We went ahead and carried the rest of my stuff in the bedroom, while Big was telling me how Jeb picked him up in Wallace when he was there visiting his Sister. Jeb spends the winters in Wallace when it's too cold and snows too deep to prospect. " Jeb said I looked like gold and asked me to be a working partner. I was at loose ends about then so I said, sure, I'll be a prospector if you think I can. " That was a couple of years ago.'
' Jeb found an outfit that could process the tailing's from the old mine and recover the gold. They cut the hill back and recovered all the mine walls they could find, so now there isn't a shaft any more but a large pit., but they got enough gold for Jeb to finish up the place like he wanted it. We have set up a working area just below where the creek drains out of the lake. Been recovering some nice gold from a high bar area. That's where you will be working with Jeb. He is really itching to get back down in that old hole he worked in when he first came up here. You can bet he will too as soon as the dragline gets all the big boulders out of there. I doubt if it will be this year though, but there is plenty to do at the place we are now. When you are done with your stuff, come on out to the kitchen and keep me company while I start supper.."
I got my stuff all stowed away and did a bit of exploring. There was a small bathroom off the bedroom and I put all my personal stuff away. There was a big book case with lots of videos and a small tv set. A good size desk where I set up my computer, then I went looking for Big. He was busy making chicken pot pie for supper. Smelled darn good. Big said, " I hope you can cook because when I'm gone to Spokane for treatments, you will have to do it if you want a decent meal. Jeb's idea of a 3 course meal is a cold can of pork and beans, a loaf of bread, and pot of coffee." Well I figured I was ok there because I did know how to cook somewhat, and told Big so.
Later, Jeb woke from his nap and we had supper, sat around the fireplace drinking coffee and talking till I was almost out on my feet. We went off to bed.
The next morning I was awakened by a whiskered face looking me in the eye. Max was sitting on my chest and mewling at me to get up. I drug myself out and looked outside. Hell, it was still dark out there. I started to go back to bed when Big said, " I sent Max in to get you up, hope you don't mind. Breakfast is ready, and you will want to eat before we go down to the working area.." Oh crap I thought, You wanted to be a prospector , huh?
By the time we were done with breakfast, and what seemed like a dozen cups of coffee, we got on an ATV and headed off toward the lake.
They had a long tom set up and Jeb showed me what needed to be done.We would trade places ever so often to relieve the monotony. I had to fork the bigger rocks out of the race so the riffles could do their work, as well as keep the tailing's from piling up too deep at the end of the long tom. All the while Jeb was shoveling gravel onto a grizzly and then transferring the gravel under it to the head of the sluice. I was beginning to find I had muscles I didn't know I had, and they began to gripe. We traded off jobs. I was beginning to really work up a sweat while Jeb looked a fresh as when he started. He handed me some gloves. Said I would get blisters if I didn't use them. Darn, I didn't think of the and looked at the faint blisters that had already started on my left hand. Rats! That was stupid of me.
I shoveled and shoveled, and still I saw that Jeb was standing waiting for more gravel. My back was about to break and I was feeling I was going to faint, but damned if and old man of 85 could do this then by damn so could I. An hour or so later we switched off again. I think my legs are rubber, they don't want to move. I scrabbled down to the race and took up the fork again. I figured I'll get thru this if it kills me.
About an hour or so later Jeb called a halt. Said, " It's beginning to get hot here about this time of day and we quit for the day. Time for lunch and a nap, don't you think. We can come back after the sun goes behind the hill and do the clean-up.?" I was too pooped to even answer him. I was sure glad we had the ATV, because I could hardly move.
I got cleaned up for lunch that Big had ready. He had made sandwiches out of elk roast with roast dripping juice for dipping. Sliced tomatoes, and huckleberry pie for desert. I was moving very slow, and Jeb went off to take a nap. All that hard work had hardly fazed him. Big said, " Hurts like hell huh? " Now that's an understatement if I do say I groaned." " Well Big smiled, strip to the skivvies and lay down here on this sheet. I'll fix you right up." Oh great I thought, looks like he will finish me off for good. That's what I get for wanting to be a prospector. Big had a bottle of some foul smelling liquid, he knelt down beside me, poured some into one of those huge hands and then began to stroke the back of my legs from the ankles to the back of my butt. Did the same thing to my arms and back. always pushing gently toward my heart. Told me to flip then did the front side the same way. He then told me to wrap the sheet around me and go sit in one of the fake leather recliners, lean back and let the stuff do it's work. The stuff in the bottle must have been liquid fire because I felt I was going to burn up. Big said, to wait a couple of hours the I could take a shower. I did as he said the the next thing I woke up to the smell of meat cooking opened the sheet and looked. Nope it wasn't me. Big said, " the heat should be gone now so you can shower." Well I'll be darned. I was a bit stiff, but the real aches were gone. I was surprised as all get out. I expected to be a basket case for sure. The cure was a bit scary but it was worth it. I headed for the shower.
After supper, all three of us went down to the diggings to do the clean up. Love those Rhino ATV's.
I leaned against the side of the Rhino while Jeb and Big took out the riffles and put the carpet in a tub of water. They bounced it up and down swished it around and around then took it out and put it back in the race. Put the riffles back, ready for another day. Then Jeb dumped most of the water from the tub then put the gravel into a super sluice. They refilled the tub and handed me the gold pan. Wow! I felt like a king for sure. They almost trusted me to pan this out without losing the gold. That I could do. If I did it with the old metal gold pan, surely I could do it with this pan. I paned it down to a lot of black sand. Jeb said to tip the pan almost on it's side and work it back and forth in the water. Had me shake it all back in the pan and do it over again. Damn, this was a whole lot easier that with the old metal pan. I finally got most of the black sand out and Jeb said to see what we got. I did, and then the gold showed up all along the top of the pan. Not bad for a day's work they said. I'll have to take their word for it.
Well they both said, " how does it feel to be a prospector, Sonny?" " Hey! Feels great", I said.
To be continued.
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