The Lost Gold Mine of Idaho Springs

By Paul G Buckner

Two brothers discover a handwritten journal buried in a box of junk from an estate sale that allude to a vast treasure of gold. They set out to find the lost gold mine hidden somewhere deep in the Mountains. The exciting trip of a lifetime quickly turns from bad to worse when a fall results in injury and the loss of the only GPS unit. Lost, tired and hungry, the explorers' become desperate and on the verge of panic until their luck changes for the better when a couple of hikers happen along. The feelings of elation soon turn to panic when they stumble into the dangerous territory of a major apex predator!  Fear and desperation can make a person do things they would never dream of doing under normal circumstances? Will they make it out of the mountains alive? Will the mine stay hidden forever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spacebar Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Apr 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386339465

Paul G Buckner

Paul Buckner is a Native American writer, a Cherokee Nation citizen and an avid outdoorsman. Having travelled extensively throughout the U.S. he has built an expansive collection of stories and folklore that have been passed down through many generations of Native Americans. It is these stories that have become tremendous resources of inspiration for his writing. 

Book preview

THE LOST GOLD MINE OF IDAHO SPRINGS

PAUL G BUCKNER

Spacebar Publishing, LLC

Claremore, Oklahoma

Copyright © 2018 Paul G Buckner

All rights reserved.

Dedication

For those who believe

Contents

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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I would like to thank my amazing wife, Jody Kirchner, and son, Chase Buckner for giving me the support and encouragement that allows me to do the things I love.

1

I GOTTA TELL YA, YOU’VE had some crazy ideas before, but a lost gold mine?

I know what it sounds like, but it’s the real deal, Steve said, talking to his younger brother.

"So, let me get this straight, Professor X, Mark said, pausing long enough to recline in his chair and fold his arms behind his head. Cause I’m a little fuzzy on what it is exactly that you’re talking about. A second gold rush, huh?" The three days of coarse beard stubble did little to hide the smirk on his face as he emphasized the word ‘professor.’ His brown eyes shined with a glint of smugness.

Very funny. God forbid that I may know something that you don’t, Steve replied. But okay, pull up a chair and shut your trap, mutant. You might actually learn something.

The Turner brothers, both in their early twenties were nearly direct opposites on most subjects. Steve, the oldest was easy-going and relaxed while Mark could be impulsive and at times quite cynical. They discussed the idea of the lost gold mine in the living room of the family farm.

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Everyone knows about the Gold Rush, you’re not telling me anything new, but it was in California in 1849, genius. Duh.

Actually, forty-eight. January twenty-seventh, 1848 to be precise.

What? Mark scoffed, folding his arms.

The California Gold Rush. It wasn’t 1849. It was called that because – oh never mind, that’s not important. You get on my last damn nerve.

"Listen, Bub, Joe Montana did not play for the San Francisco Forty-eighters he didn’t play for the San Francisco Fifty...fifty...neers, or whatever. The greatest quarterback in the history of the game played for the forty-niners! Mark mocked. And Mom always said you were the smart one. I call bullshit. Mic drop," Mark said, holding his hand out pretending he just dropped a microphone on the floor.

"You’re an idiot. You know that, right? You have got to be adopted. Now, listen up, ape-ass ugly."

I’ve been called worse by better, Mark said, needling his brother again. He grabbed two pecans from a bowl on the nearby coffee table and cracked one open. He cocked his head to one side and stared up at his brother with a raised eyebrow.

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair in exasperation at his brother’s puerility and his own lack of restraint.

Okay, whatever, but I’m not talking about the California Gold Rush, you moron. I’m talking about the one right here in Colorado, a decade later. The one in California only lasted a few years because most of the gold that was found was what is called placer gold or basically easy pickings. They could pan for it in the creeks and rivers. When it was discovered, the population boomed and when you have most of the gold on top of the ground, and an increase in population, it’s not hard to figure why it didn’t take long to mine it all. After that, it took specialized equipment to mine for what they call lode gold or veins in the rocks underground. Most people couldn’t afford that, thus the ending of the California Gold Rush.

Okay, great, but I still never heard of the Colorado Gold Rush, and I’ve lived here all my life, Mark said. Sure, there are tons of mines all over, and everything is gold this or gold that, but the Colorado Gold Rush? Wasn’t it just all one thing, California, Colorado, Utah, all the same thing, right?

And once again I must point out the fact that you’re an idiot. Now do yourself a favor and shut up and listen.

Okay, Einstein. Enlighten me.

In January of 1859, a guy by the name of Jackson discovered a large placer gold deposit near Idaho Springs. Remember placer gold deposits are ones that can be mined by panning? No big deal, but then shortly after, lode gold was found in a few different places not far away. Very big deal, which resulted in another gold rush. Thousands of people made their way up from Kansas and Missouri. Newspapers at the time reported that as many as 100 wagons a day would be seen passing by with emigrants on their way to try their luck at mining.

Okay, so what does that have to do with that old box of books you found and this conversation?

Because in the bottom of that box was this, Steve said, waving his new prized possession in the air like a preacher would a bible on Sunday mornings. It’s a journal. Handwritten by one of those emigrants, Nathaniel Hackett. He and his brother William, along with a cousin named Bradford made their way to the territory seeking their fortune in the gold mines. It’s a log of their entire journey. Over a year long. The best part is, it tells about an incredible discovery, a natural cave filled with huge veins of gold. Easy pickings. So much so that they didn’t know how they were going to get it all out and keep it a secret.

I’m sure they figured it out and bled it dry of every last ounce.

That’s just it. I’ve searched every record that I could get my hands on, and I couldn’t find much on these men or a mining claim registered in any of their names.

So, it’s all bogus?

No. Far from it. It’s real alright. Like I said, I couldn’t find much on ‘em, but what I did find all match up, the names, the timeline all match up. It’s the real deal. The journal’s missing several pages, and some of it’s faded and illegible, but something happened. It’s not clear what, but from what I can gather, the men had mined enough gold by this time that they were going to load their mules and get out with what they could, but that’s where the entries stopped. Steve held the journal up for his brother to see. "It picks up again with a final entry, a vow that none of the men would ever go back to the mine again and they would never speak