{"id":7341,"date":"2021-01-16T17:13:19","date_gmt":"2021-01-16T22:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7341"},"modified":"2021-01-16T17:17:45","modified_gmt":"2021-01-16T22:17:45","slug":"episode-227-yukon-diary-jack-acheson-gold-miner-finds-a-mammoth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=7341","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 227 YUKON DIARY JACK ACHESON…GOLD MINER, FINDS A MAMMOTH"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE  227   YUKON DIARY   JACK ACHESON..GOLD MINER   FNDS A MAMMOTH<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Jan. 2021<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
By now you must find gold rather boring.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Largest old nugget ever found\u202620 ounces<\/div>\n
Jack Acheson\u2019s was 7 ounces,  about 1\/3 this size.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Tuesday, July 31, 1962<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
What a beautiful day.   Bill Dunn, Andy and I walked and waded up Haggart Creek<\/div>\n
to see Jack Acheson at his hydraulic operation.  He suggested we look at his <\/div>\n
shaft and do some gold panning with gravel concentrate taken off his sluice box.<\/div>\n
Later he showed us some gold nuggets.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Strolled  back to camp and tried to divert a part of the stream through our<\/div>\n
camp like the placer miners do in order to get water running through their<\/div>\n
sluice boxes.   (Why did I want to divert the creek? Makes no sense.)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Bill Scott, Hans Buhr and  Axel arrived \u2026 we packed and moved to town for<\/div>\n
the evening. I was not too hot on the idea  but it was cheaper.  Bill Dunn and<\/div>\n
I had a  couple of beers in the Silver Inn and then walked  home at dusk. <\/div>\n
   <\/div>\n
Watched a silver headed resident who was drunk trying to beat time to the<\/div>\n
music machine  then fell asleep with his  coffee cup  in his mouth.  Not <\/div>\n
really funny.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Expenses   meals   3.65<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wednesday  August 1, 1962<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Arose late and had  Marjorie\u2019s package of  Sugar Pops  for breakfast\u2026she<\/div>\n
sends interesting packages.   Then walked around Mayo Landing looking st <\/div>\n
all the gardens with envy\u2026took pictures\u2026long summer days inYukon means great<\/div>\n
growing season.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Bought $20 worth of grub for the Hans Buhr campsite.  Met little Patricia Gilroy<\/div>\n
who is 5 years old or so\u2026she  came running down  the street to take my hand\u2026<\/div>\n
calls me \u2018uncle\u2019\u2026I walked her home.   There are normal families in the Yukon<\/div>\n
I must say that overland over again lest people believe the  Territory is filled with 24 year olds<\/div>\n
summer miners and aged like I have  implied.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Later we  drove the Land Rover back to Dublin Gulch\u2026.60 mile  trip each time.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I had a very pleasant supper with Jack Acheson at his camp\u2026roast beef<\/div>\n
and Yorkshire pudding in his old log cabin.  Cooked by Mrs. Hanson the<\/div>\n
is partly First Nations.   Jack has a very nice  crew or maybe they are partners\u2026.<\/div>\n
Bob. Don and Albert.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Jack showed me a huge tooth from  a Hairy Mammoth or a Mastodon\u202610,000<\/div>\n
or maybe 50,000 years old.  (which he gave to me later\u2026see earlier story) <\/div>\n
Then we looked over his collection of ancient tusks<\/div>\n
leaning against the outside  wall of the cabin.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then we  watched  him weigh his  gold\u2026.125 ounces  this week.<\/div>\n
(Note: gold in 2021 is $2,000 and ounce, therefore Jack\u2019s weekly find was <\/div>\n
worth $250.000 today but only $4,375 in 1962.  By 1966 Jack did not get<\/div>\n
enough gold to pay his bills according to Dr. Aho in his book Hills of Silver.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Thursday August 2, 1962<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Up at 6 a.m. Had open air breakfast  then on<\/div>\n
the job  by 7 a.m.  Long hard day with seismic machine.  The forcite explosives<\/div>\n
gave both Bill Scott and me migraine headaches\u2026.called glycerine headaches as<\/div>\n
beaded material on sticks of  forcite is absorbed by our skin.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We managed to do 6 determinations\u2026sites.  Does not look good.  Permafrost<\/div>\n
lurks just below surface.  Cannot get sound waves to travel.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Had a brief lunch with Albert who was clearing a tunnel into the shoulder  of<\/div>\n
the hill in search for gold bearing gravels\u2026if found then hydraulic hose<\/div>\n
and bulldozer and dragline would move in I assumed.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Managed to pick a tin can full of blueberries\u2026big berries.  Walked<\/div>\n
home down Haggart Creek in he evening and had delicious supper with <\/div>\n
Axel\u2026pork chops and potatoes.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
After supper  Bill and I strengthened the tent.  Not proud  of our work.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Our Seismic results are not good.   Must inform Jack Acheson tomorrow<\/div>\n
which is something we are not looking forward to doing<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Friday, August  3, 1962<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Up at 6 a.m.  Out to see Jack. Gave him  the bad news then did a test determination on<\/div>\n
bedrock\u20262800 feet per second\u2026very slow\u2026confirmed our view that permafrost problem<\/div>\n
exists.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Drove up to tell Mrs. Anson we would not be here for supper then drove onto  see Fred Taylor<\/div>\n
\u2026tell him that the seismogrph was not good at all in the area.   Fred was disappointed but<\/div>\n
cheerful\u2026showed us some of his slides\u2026had a chocolate bar \u2026 invited Fred down to our<\/div>\n
camp.   We are not sure how  this  failed project is financed\u2026not our side of the business\u2026expect<\/div>\n
there will be no charge<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
 failed in effort to divert some water to our site vis a sluice system.  Failure.   (not sure why<\/div>\n
we did this).  Ron,  Buddy, Fred and Neil dropped into our camp for a visit\u2026usual camaraderie.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Mail from Marjorie.   Will sleep  in tomorrow.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The placer gold miners were hoping we could tell them depth of  overburden to bed rock<\/div>\n
which would  help them decide where to strip the gravel.   No luck.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Fred\u2019s slides\u2026fireweed, Dinky aRay Harris,Fred, Len,Alan, Peso Silver camp<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Saturday August 4, 1962<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Not much doing today.   Built frame for cook tent then discovered maggots in the Polish<\/div>\n
sausage and  slab of bacon.   Washed them out in Haggart Creek.  Hope I got them all\u2026ghastly<\/div>\n
looking things.    I wonder what kind of pollutants are in the Haggart Creek water\u2026certainly lots<\/div>\n
of lead which is not good.   Maybe  the lead will kill the maggots.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
EAGLE GOLD MINE\u2026DUBLIN  GULCH TODAY (2021)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
 This  is how the Eagle Gold  Mine operates today.  Immense machines but the system is <\/div>\n
essentially the same as the old gold banners \u2026 much liike Jack\u2019s system.  The Eagle mine<\/div>\n
seems to be  working over the same ground catching the gold others  missed\u2026and then<\/div>\n
stopping more and more overburden.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Work History (Report by Eagle Gold)

Placer gold was discovered on Haggart Creek in 1895 and on Dublin Gulch in 1898. The first hard rock claims were recorded in Oct\/1901 and included Dublin Lode (2404), North Star and numerous other claims. In 1904 a 14 m adit was driven on the Dublin Lode claim. By 1912, development work had been recorded on five separate claim groups. On the Stewart-Catto claim group (Happy Jack (8029) and Victoria (8022) claims) recorded in Jun-Oct\/08, two adits were driven, the first 38 m long and off vein, and the second a 600 m crosscut which included 23 m of drifting on vein. On the Olive claim (8025) recorded in Jun\/08, a 21 meter adit was driven, the last metre of which was on the vein. Trenching and pitting was performed on the Shamrock claim group, while an 8 m shaft was sunk on the Blue Lead claim group (8049), recorded in Dec\/09.

T. McKay and A.H. Martin tied on Bob (55056), Mucking Futch, and other claims to the Olive claim in Nov\/37, prospected with pits and shallow shafts in 1938 and sold the claims to Treadwell Yukon Ltd, which performed more trenching. The property was transferred to Keno Hill Mining Company Ltd in 1946.

Restaked as Avoca, etc cl (59052) in Oct\/48 by J.B. O’Neill and J.J. Colt, who explored with hand and bulldozer trenching in 1949-54, sold an interest in 1958 to E.H. Barker, who trenched in 1958-61 and sold the property to Peso Silver Mines Ltd in 1962. Peso performed trenching in 1962.”
<\/font><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE  227   YUKON DIARY   JACK ACHESON..GOLD MINER   FNDS A MAMMOTH alan skeoch Jan. 2021 By now you must find gold rather boring. Largest old nugget ever found\u202620 ounces Jack Acheson\u2019s was 7 ounces,  about 1\/3 this size. Tuesday, July 31, 1962 What a beautiful day.   Bill Dunn, Andy and I walked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}