Exploring, Prospecting & Mining For Gold

There is really nothing like being out in the wilderness exploring the creeks for hidden treasures. Especially when it is on your own gold claims. In this part we are going to look at a few things to be aware of, some Prospecting Tools you will need, and even some tips to what be on the lookout for. Prospecting Tools

Prospecting Tools

When originally one stakes a claim the big question is, "Is there any gold there?" If so "where do I look?" That's the reason why we have prospectors. People who go out in search of gold, silver, copper and so forth. There is a old saying and that is "Gold is where you find it." Truer words never spoken. But learning where to look is the big secret. First Things First

When going out to your claims some things you will want to make sure to take along. Because claims are out in the country away from civilization most of the time it is good to be prepared. Rule of the wilderness. Prepare for the worst. Make sure you have a good spare tire and jumper cables. We take one of those solar chargers that you plug into the lighter to keep your battery charged. Out in the bush with a dead battery can be deadly. A spare fan belt and some spare fluids like coolant, oils etc. along with some mechanical Prospecting Tools is a must.

Secondly, it's a good thing to build a checklist of items you will need. Even though we try to go with a buddy it doesn't always work that way and we find ourselves heading out alone. Firstly, get a small backpack to stuff things in. We always carry a first aid kit. The key to remember here is to always be prepared. Make sure you take an extra pair of clothes, especially socks and a spare pair of boots. When wearing boots it's always a good idea to wear ones with a firm ankle support. Walking over river rocks is a sure way to sprain an ankle. Gloves are handy. You would be surprised just how fast you will get a blister if you haven't been working a shovel.

Always carry matches / lighter of a flint starter in a pack back. A really handy idea is to pack along a zip lock bag with dryer lint. You know the lint that collects on the screen in a clothes dryer. That is the best fire starter you can get and it's lightweight. Also some high energy bars for that just in case along with water and water purification tablets. We also take a GPS just in case. A GPS is also handy for finding your boundaries and for recording findings that you can place on a map. We also carry a "find me spot" that will alert others if we are in distress. A good idea is to throw in an old-fashioned compass. GPS's need batteries and when you are out in the middle of nowhere you won't find a battery when you need it. Don't depend on cell phones. A flashlight is a handy item along with a good hunting knife and a few all-purpose pocket Prospecting Tools can sure come in handy also.

When heading out to into the bush or wilderness one can come upon wildlife quite a bit. If you are going into bear country this brings up another situation to be aware of. Always carry a can of bear spray or if possible even a weapon such a defender. Bear bangers do work OK also as we have had to use them on occasion. In desert areas a snake bite kit is important also. Your list of essentials may be much larger than this but we feel this is the basics for heading out. Also, be sure to tell others where you are going and an expected time you plan to be back.

Prospecting Tools

Quick Back Pack List of Prospecting Tools

Ok, here is a quick list of what we think are MUST HAVE things to stuff into that backpack. You can always add to this list but these are what we feel are essential.

Needed For Prospecting Tools

When to tools for prospecting, try to keep equipment to a minimum. Remember that whatever you pack into the bush, you have to pack back out. Just look back up the page and see what all you are putting into a backpack. Now you will be adding some additional weight. You will find that prospecting is hard work. You will be using muscles you never knew you had.

Anyhow, the most important items you will need is a small spade, a small pick and a gold pan. Most people now use plastic gold pans because they a light weight and they quite durable. If you have a creek that flows well you can bring along a small ground sluice that you can set up in the water and shovel into. You will also want to bring along a small snuffer bottle, a few small plastic type of containers to out your cons in and a small tweezer. Remember the idea here is to prospect your ground. Not mine it. You want to find where the best area are first, then go in and mine that area.

Gold From The Snake Indian

Letters of early day trappers and hunters that lived close to the Pacific coast reported that the Snake Indians often were seen with buckskin pokes filled with large gold nuggets said to have been washed from the sands and gravels in a secret location by Indian women. Many years later, Frank Lane, a graduate just out of Yale Law School, saw one of these letters from a trapper in the West, and decided to do some prospecting before settling down to engage in his practice. Lane chose for his partner another college graduate, who for the purpose of this story, we will call John Howard. Together the two men set forth with fresh heart sand high hopes to search for the golden mirage that lay beyond the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. For many months the young eastern college men prospected in the Colorado Rockies but beyond the discovery of a few low-grade gold quartz ledges, they had little success. Finally the near approach of winter drove them down through the sunset canyons and mountain gorges and out on to the plains of eastern Utah on the border of the Snake Indian country where they established a permanent camp and prospected for gold during the months that followed.

Having no success the inexperienced prospectors moved their camp farther one night at the base of a low-lying granite mountain where they pitched their tent for the night. The iron-stained mesas around the great uplift were full of potholes. Lane grew more restless and decided to turn the outfit over to his partner and returned east and took up the practice of law in Boston. Howard became the sole owner of the outfit free to live the life he had grown to love. After the departure of his friend he rode out for a short hunting trip on the surrounding plains. He bagged an antelope and on his way back to camp stopped at one of the pot holes to get a drink. The noon day sun was shining directly into the hole and he saw some shining pieces of ore at the bottom of the shallow cavity .Then he waded into the water and scooped up a handful of gold for Snake Indians.

Snake Indians
Snake Indians

Using a gold pan he worked all afternoon scooping the gravel from the bottom of the hole and panning out the nuggets going back to camp with an estimated $700 worth taken from the shallow whole. Howard worked for weeks on these plains around his camp on numerous pot holes dotted the iron stained mesas around the great granite mountain. As winter approached Howard made his way to the nearest settlement with buck skin bags of gold which later proved to be worth nearly $100,000. He returned east with his fortune but through bad investments eventually lost most of it. Many years later he tried to return to the scene of his fabulous strike, but either failed to reach the right location or the pot holes had been worked out, for he did not find a single nugget of gold.

Old time cowboys and sheepherders refer to a place in the eastern Utah as the pot holes but none of them have ever been known to pick up nuggets in this region of Snake Indians. According to one version of the lost gold story, the pot holes described by Howard were not natural holes such as occur in sand stone formation in many parts of the west, but were excavations made in a gravel conglomerate by the Snake Indian women to obtain the gold mentioned by the early day trappers and hunters, and that a fortune still awaits the prospector who will find that conglomerate deposit.

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