I was getting hardened in, slow but sure. As the days of aches and pains stretched into months, along with the ministrations of Big, I was getting muscles I didn't know existed till then. Oh, I knew they were there really but quite unused and undeveloped, but prospecting really brought them forth. We had been working that shelf above the creek for a long time, and it was getting close to just becoming a solid rock face now. Oh there was still gravel there but it was getting harder and harder to get to, with all the bigger rocks the glacier had piled in that bench area. We were down to figuring out another way to get at it. Jeb didn't want to move the sluice upstream quite yet. We had been working hard, but we also had time out for Big and I to go down to the Regis and the Clark Fork river to fish, when Jeb went to Walace to take the gold to the processor and do business there. I also went to the end of the road to the clear cut and picked 4 gallons of huckleberries. I wanted to take some to Marge when I went back to town.
This morning Big said he was going into town for his cancer treatments. He would be gone for a week. He said. Jeb had been sitting there at the table drinking the last of the coffee, and smoking his pipe. He pointed his pipe at Big and said, " be careful, you don't have to drive back if you don't feel good. Just take it easy." He looked at me and said, " Big will stay with his Sister there in Woodland Park, in Walace close to where I live.He don't really have to hurry, You and I will be able to make it til he gets back, I'm sure." I nodded my head, I know we will make it I was thinking.
After Big took off, Jeb said, " we need to do things a bit different now. Lets go out to the shed and pick up some different prospecting tools. We are now down to where the work will require a lot of work on your knees. Your knees are a whole lot younger than mine so I'm going to let you take care of this part."
At the shed we got some gads and a small sledge hammer. Jeb said to get 4 of those big wooden wedges and the green rubber coated canvas gloves. This along with some large sturdy screwdrivers and an old fireplace poker, a couple chunks of foam rubber matting and we were all set he said.
Back out at the workings, we took all the tools over to the bench. I Sad to Jeb, "I don't think this one rock is holding up this over hanging rock, but I do think this bigger one up ahead of it a ways just might be doing it if it isn't just solid bedrock." Jeb looked and said, " you just might be right there Sonny. You're learnin, you're learnin. Jeb went back to the other side of the sluice and I took the sledge and gave the bigger chunk of Ryolite rock a couple of good whacks. It broke loose and broke into 2 pieces. Jeb said to hand them over and he would put them in the tub and wire brush them good. I broke a few more smaller rocks and handed them to Jeb to do his thing with, then put the chunks of foam down and went to work cleaning all the gravel out of the deep grove the glacier had carved out of that solid granite, I cleaned, scraped, swept every thing I could find in the crevice. That left 4 or more huge rocks the glacier had piled in the way. I was starting to clean out in front and under one of them, when I could see what the big wooden blocks we brought were for. I took two of them and pounded them in under the one big rock. I looked over at Jeb, and he was nodding and smiling. Yep! I'm learning, I'm learning for sure now. I raked a pile of gravel from under and between the boulders, then got up and tossed a shovel full onto the sluice. " Hold it! Hold it! yelled Jeb. This is got to be pits for now. This has too much clay in it to run like we have been doing. Let's call it quits for now and think about this." We left the clay there above the riffles for the water to dissolve and went to the house. I was going to make another pot of coffee when Jeb said, " lets go down town and talk to Dan there at the pit. He may know how we can fix this with out moving the sluice back down stream a ways and putting in Hungarian riffles to break up the clay. We don't have the room to do it where the sluice is now. I don't want to if we don't have to."
We got in the beast and headed to town. We got down to the pull out where the drag line was working. There was a red pickup parked there. Mike, the drag line operator must have gone to town for lunch because his truck was gone. There was a guy walking around the machine and then over to the hole and looked in. He must have looked up and saw us, and was slowly walking back up the hill. Jeb Pulled out his pipe, stuck it in his mouth. That's when I pulled out my little camera and took a couple pictures of the truck and plates.
Guy came up, stuck out his hand, that Jeb ignored and said, Howdy. I'm with the BLM and was just up here checking out these mining claims, to make sure they are operating legally. Got to check this, and two other claims up this creek and the abandoned mine at the end of the road." Jeb just went Mummph, mumph a couple times the asked the dude how how got thru the gate. Dude said he had the card from the Forest Service given to his office for this purpose. Jeb went Mummph again and asked him if he knew where he was. He said he was just checking out the Blue Mountain Mining claims. Jeb went Mummph again then said, " Mister, I don't know who you are. You don't have a BLM vehicle, and you are not wearing a uniform, I need to see some ID if you don't mind.." Guy said he works out of an office and don't wear a uniform. Don't have his BLM ID with him at the moment. Said his name was Bill Orr. Wanted to know just who in the hell we were to question him anyway. Jeb told him we were the owners of this property, and he was trespassing on private property. Guy said bull, the Forest Service boundary started at the gate, and he was going to call the Sheriff. Jeb told to to go right ahead and we will wait right here for him, although it might take him a couple of hours to get here. But if he would like, Jeb said he would call the deputy who works part time down at the Post Office there in Blue Mountain. He could be here in a few minutes. Besides, he told him the gate was a private gate and the Forest Service boundary was still up the road another quarter mile. he also told him his information about the claims and abandoned mine were way out of date. There was no abandoned mine. Just a patent he owned. I took a couple of pictures of the guy before Jeb finally told him if he knew what was good for him, he best turn around and go back to his office and get things updated. I guess the guy figured out he better leave while the getting was good.
We waited till he was back thru the gate the piled back in the beast and went down to the pit. When we got there the red pickup was there. The guy started to get out then got back in and left. When we went in the office, Dan wanted to know what that was all about. Jeb brought him up to date then Dan said, " Bill Orr, huh. That guy is as crooked as a dogs hind leg. He's a buddy of that Hank fellow who worked here a few years ago. I had to can him when I caught him with his hands in the riffles of the trammel.
Jeb told Dan what we had run into up at the diggings. He thought a minute or so then motioned us to come out side to a big pile of junk. He tossed a few things around then came up with a contraption he had made for a trammel sluice. It was bigger than what we needed but Jeb said he could cut some of it off to fit our sluice. It was re-bar that was welded into 3 inch squares with a couple pieces of angle iron welded on top. Dan said to put it in the sluice with the angle iron pointing up stream. then put our gravel in the race above it but to break the gravel clumps up the best we could, and let the water do the works. A bit slower but more effective.
We went on down town and had lunch with Darcie and Stan. Jeb told them what happened and that we needed new cards made for the gate and gate reprogramed. She could call Big and tell him he needed to pick up a new card when he came back. They said that that guy Bill Orr had been all over town asking questions about the claims and the old abandoned mine. They figured he knew all about everything but was just snooping. He didn't get much in the way of answers here in town. Darcie wondered who gave him the card he used on the gate. Time would tell there, when somebody couldn't get in. She worked a bit on her computer then got our new cards from the printer and gave them to us. Said she had made 4 extra cards for the ones who needed them. Any one else had to stop here at the office before they could even try to get in.
We took the piece of stuff Dan gave us back up to the house, Jeb had to get it cut to fit so we could try it out.
To be continued.
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