Gold Fever!

Gold Fever has hit the Howitt Clan! We had arrived in Keystone (home of Mt Rushmore and rich in goldmining history). One of the attractions to this town was the Big Thunder Gold  Mine (originally discovered in 1892).

Big Thunder Gold Mine, now a tourist attraction.

The actual gold mine is on the left.

We had given the kids a choice as to what they would ike to see as there were so many things to do around Keystone, Rapid City, Custer etc. (Certainly more than we thought!) So Flynn’s choice was to try our luck panning for gold and gems at the mine in the Black Hills.

Flynn learning how to pan for gold.

Flynn and Kaitlin listening avidly to instructions.

Kit and Amber watching before they went on their tour.

Placer mining is the retrieval of free-gold from the sand and gravel of the creeks. That is how the first gold was discovered in the Black Hills and when visiting the Big Thunder Gold Mine, tourists get to tour the mine and get individualised gold panning lessons next to Battle Creek (where gold was originally discovered during the 1880’s). Trev and some of the kids went on the Gold Mine Tour and he shares the story they were told whilst on the tour.

Jia, Kit, Chayse and Amber with their hard hats on.

Ready for the Gold Mine Tour.

The Story Behind the Big Thunder Gold Mine

Kit, Chayse, Amber, Jai and I were fortunate enough to go on an underground gold mine tour in the Black Mountains of South Dakota. The mine was an old one from the gold rush days in the area. It came with a fascinating story which I’ll try to retell.

Before getting into the story I’ll set the scene. This mine was basically a 150 metre tunnel that went into the side of a granite mountain. The tunnel was about two metres high and a little more than that wide.

Here goes with the story…

Two young rough neck Germans bought the claim for the mine and went about tunnelling through the granite rock by hand. When I say by hand, all they used was a drill bit on an iron bar and a sledge hammer. One guy holds the drill and the other guy wacks it. They do this all day using only a candle to see. Once they manage to drill half a dozen holes about 30 cm deep, they lay explosives in the holes and let rip. So the tunnel grows about 30 cms every month. Hard work!

Now these guys had no money and they worked there claim everyday for fifteen years. During all this time their tunnel only extended about 50 metres. What astounded me was that they only found one ounce of gold worth $25 in all those years.

These two didn’t give up. They knew there was gold to be found. They dug their way for another fifteen years and doubled the length of their mine. During this time they found almost no gold. They were expert at explosives and were hired by other mines to lay the charges. This is how they put food on their table. However, people didn’t trust them as they would pinch anything laying around for their own mine like expensive explosives.

Now the story gets interesting! They continued their tunnel for many more years. Another mine only a foot away from their tunnel, also deep in the mountain had hit the gold vein and was making a killing. The two Germans began digging towards this mine and hit the boundary to their claim. You don’t dare jump claims as it holds very severe penalties.

Still no gold. So they dug up and then dug to the right hoping to pick up on the vein. Going right was not really allowed as they didn’t have the claim for this area. They figured that no one would know and besides, once they find the gold vein they would simply buy the claim.

Jackpot! After forty odd years they hit gold. They took their first real pay check (about $900) and headed for the pub where they went about bragging about their gold. Now these guys had their enemies, and one such party took a bit of interest in their boasting. They worked out what the German miners were up to. In spite of the Germans, they bought the lease containing the area that the miners had encroached upon. This put an end to the German’s gold. The guys who bought the lease never mined it.

Eventually the two old buggers kicked the bucket. They had worked their whole lives digging the mine and had found a little over $900 worth of gold. The neighbouring lease was sold after their death and the new owners mined the claim and hit the vein which made them millions.

Why did the two persist with such a dangerous, hard life for so long that never made them any money?

Gold Fever! Mercury is used to gather the gold as they process the crushed rock. Mercury actually poisons first the mind then the body. It causes people to become obsessed, then they go mad. Mercury poisoning is commonly called Gold Fever.

Poor buggers!

Panning for Gold

Look! Gold!