Prologue

Sierra Foothills, California, August 1854.

In the early days of what would be called the California Gold Rush, stories had abounded of men who would go out on their own with little more than a shovel, pickaxe and a strong back, and would suddenly strike it rich. They returned to their eastern homes to live the easier life of wealthy folk, with few cares save the preservation and spending of that wealth.

Countless men, and often their families, would travel, spending their last savings in hope to realize this dream. Make the sacrifice for the better future. And while there were a number of people who achieved this goal, the percentage was in the single digits. The rest would find themselves either worse off financially, or at best, just break even.

The idea of a man staking a claim and then keeping it for his own soon transitioned to corporations gobbling up massive pieces of land to be mined for precious metals. The man working the mines was an employee, getting filthy, and getting paid a pittance to a business with many managers and executives who never even stepped foot out to a mine, and stayed clean.

The idea of mining, to many, was someone digging out a hole in the ground or side of a hill, and going into the earth, searching for their objective. This was not cost effective and soon another method of mining was introduced that brought about greater results.

Hydraulic mining.

The idea was simple. Water was shot from high pressure hoses to wash the dirt away and as the mud and slurry was removed by long troughs, the dirt would wash out to a receiving area or riverbed, the gold would settle and be removed. Dams designed to supply water to mine sites in summer altered the course of rivers away from farmland, while sediment from mines clogged others. The logging industry in the area was born from the need to construct extensive canals and feed boilers at mines, further consuming natural resources. The profit return was substantial, even if the damage of erosion and pollution to certain areas resulted in ecological chaos.

It was on a sweltering afternoon in August, that a crew was working the side of a hill. Jets of water were directed from nozzles to the slope that was a mix of large rocks and what was called ‘hard pan’ dirt. Densly packed and it took a lot of effort to get it loose. This was an area of interest because a fairly rich vein of gold had been located nearby and there was hope that more would be found here.

The four men in the crew would alternate who would direct the water from the nozzle, as two others would fight the hose as it would try to jump around as the flow of water was stopped and started at intervals. The last person was stationed at the pump to shut the flow off in case of an emergency.

A sudden rumbling was heard as mud and rocks suddenly shifted away from the side of the hill, exposing what could have been a cavern inside. The water was quickly shut off as the crew gasped in astonishment. Inside the cavern area, there looked to be several figures standing upright, moving quickly about.

“Madre Maria!” one of the crew shouted as he crossed himself.

Suddenly, an explosion was heard and the cave area was suddenly filled with tons of rubble as it collapsed in on itself. Whoever had been inside was surely killed. The shock-wave carried outward and knocked everyone to the ground.

In spite of later attempts to excavate the area again, nothing was found.