Sign Up  /  Login

Zebediah Gump - Sixteen-Ton LbNA #8627 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jun 12, 2004
Location:
City:Palisade
County:Mesa
State:Colorado
Boxes:1
Planted by:Esmerelda
Found by: Polaski & Tink
Last found:Dec 14, 2008
Status:FFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jun 12, 2004
This box was reported missing on 5/5/09. I will replace it when I return to Colorado this summer and update the clues then.

This here be the fifth chapter of my story.

Back in the days when I was livin’ in Palisade, I spent some time as a coal miner. Now, the particular interesting part about coal mining in Palisade was, you gotta go UP the mountain, before you can go down INTO the mountain! Them Bookcliffs is plumb full of coal! The U.S. of A government says there’s 12 BILLION tons of it up there, all burnable. Seems like you could light up a match and set the whole mountain ablaze. Back in those days they needed the coal to fuel the train and heat the houses and it was a mighty big business!

On September 5, 1902 a man by the name of Smith scouted around the cliffs for a way up, and the next thing you knew, there was coal mines everywhere.

Along those cliffs above the town we had the old Book Cliff mine, the Mt. Garfield, Gearhart, Garfield, Palisade, Mt. Lincoln, Riverside, Stokes and Cameo mines! I hear people talkin’ about their ‘commute’ to work and grumblin’ cuz they had to git a few miles down the road. Well, we only had to commute 2500 feet...but it was pert near straight up! Some of us would ride donkeys up, then set ‘em loose. They’d go on back down the trail and head for the stable, waitin’ to climb up again the next day. We had us some mules in the mine, and I remember one year when a little baby mule took it into his head to be BORN in the Gearhart mine! He didn’t come outta there for a solid year and was scared silly of the daylight.

There was trails all over and then a man name of John Otto showed up and commenced to turning those rough paths into regular trails so that people could get up there and enjoy the view. That John Otto was some worker. He never got paid.. He just did it for the pure love of it. That danged shale would come slidin’ down and cover up his trails, but he’d just keep on workin’.

In March of 1915 J. D. Reeder and Evan Davis drug a big ol’ pole all the way up to the top and planted a flag pole. Which you can still see today wavin’ proudly over Palisade.

Round about 1924, some daring bandits robbed the Palisade Post Office. They high-tailed it outta town and headed for them cliffs! Everybody was plumb convinced that they was hidin’ in the Palisade Mine. The sheriff come a knockin’ on my door and said, ‘Zeb! I need ya to join up with the posse and help me hunt down those scoundrels!’
We staked out that mine for days.. Which gave them no-good-doers a chance to make off with the loot. Cuz it seems they never was in that mine.

Well, I mined for several years, hauling sixteen ton coal out of the cliffs day after day, until one day I just said to myself, ‘Zeb...a man has just gotta see him some sun!’
So, I laid down my shovel, left my hat and lamp at the door and headed down the hill for the last time.
The next day I saddled up my mule, Molly, and went back to leave my journal so I’d always remember that time.

We followed that big black road name of I-70 until we got to the turnoff named ‘Exit 42’. Of course, you could only go one way once you got off the exit, so we headed away from the cliffs, past that grape stompin’ place, across the canal and swung right on G 7/10 Road. If that there road was any closer to the canal, you’d have to swim down it!
So… we followed that G 7/10 road for a spell, until it made a right turn and disappeared into a tunnel that run back under the Big-I.
Once we come out the other side and back into the sunlight, Molly and me followed the road as it kind of twisted around and ended up in a big parking area. I parked Molly there and took off on foot.
I didn’t want to go up the main trail.. I’d already climbed it so many times I could do it in my sleep! So I made a right turn so that I was headed east and followed the dirt road that went right aside that Big I. When I got to the end of that short road, I seen a faint trail headin’ up a draw directly in front of me. Real careful like, I headed up that draw, glad to know I wasn’t gonna have to go to the top of the cliffs again.
Now.. When I got almost to the top of the hill, I stopped next to the last big boulder which was restin’ at the left side of the trail. I stopped to catch my breath, then turned to my left until I was facin’ north. I took 25 steps in that direction then stopped again. This time I turned left again so that I was facin’ about 310 degrees. 17 more steps straight ahead and I found myself standin’ in front of a huge rock what was split in half. Real careful like, I tucked my journal into that vertical crack, covered it real gently with rocks, said goodbye to my coal minin’ days forever and headed for home and the next great adventure.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Sincerely,
Zebediah Gump

Handcarved stamp and handmade journal.

Esmerelda says: We drove our car under the highway with no problem, but if you’re worried you can easily park on the other side and walk through the tunnel.
This is a 20 – 30 minute round trip depending on how fast you walk. It’s not far from the parking area, but strollers and wheelchairs would never make it. Dogs are fine.
If you decide to hike all the way to the top, the view is spectacular. Take LOTS of water!

Placed by Esmerelda, Pixijunction and Night Crawler of the Splendid Buccaneers!