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00:19There is a vast, sunlit wilderness, waiting to be explored.
00:33But, something else lurks beyond the gentle pines.
00:42Feel a dark wilderness.
00:49According to the National Forest Service, more than a million cell phones and other recording devices are lost in the
00:56wilderness each year.
00:58What unexplained phenomena could be preserved inside a forgotten camcorder?
01:04What irrefutable evidence might be locked behind a shattered cell phone screen?
01:10One could only speculate until now.
01:13For the past decade, I've made it my personal mission to retrieve and recover video recordings lost to nature.
01:23And tonight I present them here for the very first time.
01:28Meet prospector Pete Burke, age 35, rockhound, recluse, a bit of an oddball.
01:36Went into an abandoned mine searching for gold and left behind a grainy video never before seen.
01:44What you're about to witness could be mistaken for a nightmare, if it weren't terrifyingly real.
01:51A video recording made for YouTube that never made it that far.
01:56This is the account of a lonely man in pursuit of something shiny, something beautiful.
02:03And he went looking for it in the wilderness.
02:29Just got to keep my voice down.
02:38This landowner is a real piece of work.
02:44Just need to be quiet through here.
02:49Shit.
02:50Shit.
02:51Shit.
02:59That was close.
03:01Sounds back there missing snakes and guns.
03:05Nothing about dogs.
03:08Snakes don't run like dogs.
03:16I think the coast is clear.
03:25This trail doesn't see much action anymore.
03:29Ah, shit.
03:31Gets pretty overgrown.
03:34Yeah.
03:38Yeah, it used to be an old wagon road.
03:40That made it possible to get the machinery and supplies to the mines.
03:48Before that, everything had to be lowered about a thousand feet down the side of the mountain.
03:57Speaking of drop-offs, when I cut my camera, it's usually for my own safety.
04:06This trail gets more and more washed out each year.
04:10In some parts, pretty damn narrow.
04:20Oh, yeah.
04:22You fall down there, you're not getting back up.
04:27Mm-mm.
04:29Wouldn't want to be that guy.
04:42Oh, hey there, little guy.
04:45Looks like I'm not the only one out here.
04:48May have just made myself a new friend.
04:53Oh, that's really beautiful.
04:57Oh, yeah.
05:00I don't know, I see them sparkle.
05:05Wow.
05:07Quartz.
05:08Nickel.
05:09Micah.
05:11Even some iron ore.
05:14Look at that.
05:23Shit.
05:24I gotta check this out.
05:35Now, this is dry creek bed, where gold was first discovered in the area.
05:43A man would stop to water his horse,
05:48look down,
05:50and notice something glistening in the water.
05:57Something like this.
06:05Look at that.
06:08Look at that.
06:10You kidding me?
06:12That is gold, y'all.
06:15Maybe tiny, but sure as shit.
06:17That is gold.
06:19Gold.
06:20Gold.
06:22Gold.
06:29That is like picking a hundred dollar bill right off the ground.
06:33Straight up, better than sex.
06:37Okay, look.
06:38Easy money feels great,
06:41but it can also cloud your judgment.
06:43Make you do dumb shit.
06:45Gold fever's real, y'all.
06:47I mean, look at me.
06:49What the hell am I doing out here in the middle of the night by myself?
06:54Guess I'm insane.
06:55Ha ha ha.
07:07In the 1850s,
07:09men used to carry their lunch inside a metal pail.
07:12They'd light a candle,
07:13heat the food over the flame,
07:15but they never eat the edges.
07:18That's because they would feed those to the mine rats,
07:21who could sense when a tunnel collapse was coming.
07:25Now these here are just cold chicken nuggets.
07:28I may not be a traditionalist,
07:31but why take a chance?
07:34To the mine rats.
07:44Now in this book right here,
07:46Golden State by Joseph Jackson,
07:48there's actually a chapter about the abandoned mine.
07:51This is an amazing book that covers the history of mining in California.
07:55The chapter that interests us, though,
07:57is called A Wedge of Gold.
08:00Originally named the Prosper Mine in 1871,
08:03it was more commonly known as the Warlock Mine
08:06in reference to its eccentric owner,
08:08Reginald Wildman,
08:09a feared practitioner of the occult.
08:12Pale-skinned and ill-mannered,
08:14Mr. Wildman was obsessed with finding what he described as
08:17a wedge of gold.
08:18Convinced the wedge was the next motherlode,
08:21he habitually drove miners to the breaking point.
08:24When they quit,
08:26Wildman replaced them with Chinese laborers,
08:28who were plentiful after the completion
08:29of the Transcontinental Railroad.
08:32These skilled but low-cost workers
08:34were deployed in around-the-clock searches
08:36for gold pieces no smaller than one inch in diameter,
08:39or roughly the size of a shooter marble.
08:44Locals marveled at the Chinese miners' speed,
08:46while toiling in the dark,
08:48calling them the Shadows.
08:50After a quarrel between an injured miner and Wildman
08:53over unpaid wages,
08:55a fire broke out in the processing mill.
08:57Suspect and foul play,
08:59Wildman purchased a sizable insurance policy
09:01before sending his crew back into the mine.
09:04On October 20, 1874,
09:07a blasting accident occurred.
09:0975 miners perished.
09:11Their bodies were never recovered.
09:14A vague newspaper account cited worker incompetence
09:18as the likely cause of the disaster.
09:19The mine was shuttered,
09:21and Reginald Wildman collected
09:23the second-largest insurance payout
09:25in California history.
09:29Shocking.
09:31But you gotta hand it to Mr. Wildman.
09:33He still managed to get that bag.
09:41No cell signal for GPS.
09:44And it's too dark to spot the mine below.
09:48Looking for familiar landmarks on the trail.
09:53You know, I hiked right past it last time.
09:57It's been an hour on the opposite ridge.
10:04What the fuck?
10:05What's with these dogs?
10:07They sound big.
10:12I don't really like dogs.
10:14I had a bad experience.
10:23At my weekly meetings,
10:25they encourage us to find some kind of a hobby.
10:29Distraction or outdoor activity.
10:33Yeah, when I show my sponsor these videos,
10:36he doesn't really like that I'm coming out here alone at night.
10:39Said it could be triggering.
10:42Shoot, I don't think it is.
10:44I think it's therapeutic.
10:48Besides, I got y'all here with me to keep me company.
10:55Ah, before the old road washed out,
10:59a bunch of hippies trying to homestead out here.
11:03Thought I saw someone standing on top of the deck
11:05the last time I was here.
11:07Then I just realized it's my mind playing tricks on me.
11:14Nope.
11:15I don't like it.
11:27Almost there.
11:28I can smell it.
11:37Plenty of folks might think I'm crazy
11:38for coming out here like this.
11:41But those folks
11:43don't know Prospector Pete.
11:52Not expecting that.
11:53Right to the face.
12:08Not expecting that.
12:09Right to the face.
12:22I was saving this fatty for the end of the night.
12:26But shit, I made a wrong turn.
12:29Now I'm on the opposite side of the mine.
12:32Again.
12:34So, fuck it.
12:38When in doubt, smoke it out.
12:45Okay, this is good.
12:47This is what I remember.
12:54Probably the last car to drive down here
12:56before the old road washed out.
13:00Just had to abandon it.
13:07I'm guessing the 40s, 50s.
13:14I'm not really a car guy, so maybe you can let me know in the comments.
13:37Let's see if we can find anything good.
13:50Oh, great.
13:53More dogs.
13:55Well, it still might be worth something.
14:11Chinese good luck bell.
14:16Guess this one's defective. Probably belong to someone working this claim in
14:22the later years. Did you hear that?
14:32Miners are a suspicious bunch. We often get twitchy about the things we hear and
14:37see down there. After the cave-in, plenty of folks try to reopen the warlock, but
14:43nobody stayed long. Miners would often complain about knocking, whispers, and
14:50worst of all, shadows. Always the shadows. When people would go down into the mine,
14:57they'd say, you don't have a Chinaman's chance, which basically just meant no
15:02chance at all. But hey, I've been in there, and I'm still here, and I don't believe in
15:08bells, or shadows. I believe in gold.
15:21Try not to bust my ass. I see if this old warlock left us anything good.
15:32There she is. That's the hopper where the ore goes before crushing. This is all
15:39that's left of the processing mill. Wildfires deformed the steel. Earthquakes
15:45brought it all down. This entire area is known as Earthquake Valley because the
15:51fault line runs right beneath us. It's just another reason these old claims are so
15:56dangerous. Now the portal of the mine is just up there. Last time I found a nice
16:06juicy nugget in the Waste Rock. So let's do a quick scan of this area, then head on
16:11over to the mine. Now at one point in time, there was a small home over there, an office
16:23here, and of course, the processing mill. There could still be some gold in the
16:32tailings here, or relics from the 1700s, or absolutely nothing. But hey, you're not
16:42gonna find nothing just sitting at home. That's why you've got to get off your butt
16:46and have yourself a little adventure. Oh, that's a pretty good hit.
17:09Oh, yeah. Huh. This is called a tombak button. See that cool little engraving right
17:26there? Kind of like a pyramid. It's a fancy one. I'll put this up on my eBay if
17:36anyone's interested. Whoa. What is that?
18:25Whatever it is, it is highly conductive.
18:34Let's see if I can take some of this off. Come on, now. Big money. Oh, I think I see
18:47something. Hold on. I have plenty of relics. I'm about some gold. Where'd it go? Silver,
18:57maybe? Ring? Oh, shit. Can I get a hell yeah? This is freaking insane. What a find.
19:12Hard to believe this ring was last worn over a hundred years ago. Sure as hell beats a tombak
19:20button. I'm keeping it. Okay, guys. This is the portal. Looks like a natural cave, so it's
19:35easy to miss in the dark. You can see it's super brittle due to erosion. Don't want to hit my
19:44pack on the ceiling. Ah, shit. It's dark. Let's bump this up. That's better. This is nocturnal mode on
19:55the light. It's actually a perfect time for me to give a shout out to my sponsor, NightBeam.
20:04This all-purpose flashlight is waterproof, has multiple power settings, and can easily be used
20:10as a charging station. So head on down over to nightbeam.com slash miners using the promo code
20:16prospect to get your special 10% discount. All right, now back to the show. You can see some of
20:26the old
20:26ventilation pipe along here is junk now. Need a 10-inch shot just from looking at it.
20:36Now, right off the bat, we are into some of that rich, buttery ore. This mine was a big producer
20:43in its
20:43day-day. People would travel from all over the country, all over the world, hoping to strike it
20:52rich. The warlock himself traveled from Europe to stake his claim. It's rumored that he was a disgraced
21:00royal and aristocrat, but it's hard to say where the facts end and the tall tales begin.
21:07$100,000 worth of gold came out of this place before the tragedy. About $5 million in a day.
21:16Oh, now that's the tits. Some of the best gold I've ever seen came out of a crevice just like
21:23that. Never underestimate a nice tight crack. You don't need to be a geologist to recognize gold when
21:32you see it. It's just a matter of how far you're willing to go to take it.
21:40Now, my ex-wife, she thought I was crazy for coming out here and doing this.
21:45Said she couldn't see the attraction. I thought she was talking about the mine.
21:53Oh, well. I guess I'm bitter off without her anyways. I like to consider myself one of them
22:00acquired tastes. Like anchovies. Or one of them stinky cheeses.
22:09If there's any single ladies watching this, though, why don't you drop ol' Pete and comment below.
22:23Oh, man. Is this what I think it is?
22:29Yeah. This isn't something you want to mess with. Unless you're professional like myself.
22:36Good old-fashioned dynamite. Gets real unstable over time. The nitro leaks out of the stick.
22:45Crystallizes. Can explode on contact. It's fucking dangerous to touch. Until it isn't.
22:53But there's no way to know. And this, let's be delicate right here. These are the blasting caps
23:04used to detonate the dynamite. Also a good way to lose a hand. Collectors love these little tin boxes,
23:12though. Great eBay item. Good. No caps.
23:25Oh. I think it's part of the same photo.
23:30You've got to be shitting me. Look. Look right there. That's the same ring. Sure as shit,
23:37that's the same damn ring. Oh, this is good. This is provenance I need to accurately date the object.
23:44Now let's try to make out some of these markings.
23:48Blasting caps. Dangerous. Handle with care.
23:54Western Cartridge Company.
23:57Score.
24:02Now you can see some of these big pieces are rigged up to the ceiling like this.
24:09Looks a little unstable, if you ask me.
24:14Well, here's another.
24:18That is a lot of rock overhead. Pretty dangerous.
24:27We are heading into the collapse section now. There is a vein of the most beautiful gold you
24:33have ever seen. Runs through blue quartz like butter. Like a wedge of gold. It's just so beautiful.
24:43So precious. Exactly what I need right now.
24:54These are all that's left of the mine car tracks.
25:09You can see they were chasing gold in every direction down here.
25:13Now these are exploratory tunnels. Looking for pockets of treasure.
25:20Now the treasure goes in my pockets.
25:26It's easy to get spooked the closer you get to the collapse. Knowing the history of it.
25:33One day, a bunch of men walked down this shaft. And never came out.
25:40Wonder how long they survived down here. In the dark. Behind all that rock.
25:48Eventually, all the yelling and banging would stop.
25:52Guess you just finally accept your fate.
26:06There it feels. A little heavier now.
26:11Wow. That is like hitting a wall of moist air. Came out of nowhere.
26:20Yeah, I don't love this. Moist is the reason most of these old mines collapse.
26:26This poor timbers rot. Then the roof falls in.
26:37Wait a minute. I don't remember this.
26:42The shape though, it looks familiar. Wait. You hear that?
26:50I hope the camera's picking this up.
26:55I think it stopped.
27:01Yeah, I don't know what that was.
27:05Bats maybe?
27:09We're up to the collapse section now.
27:12Getting close.
27:15Sure is foggy in here.
27:20That was no fucking bad.
27:24Hello in the hole.
27:26If you can hear me.
27:28I'm just shooting a little video about the history of the mine.
27:35If it's an animal, this will scare it off.
27:48For a minute there, I thought someone was behind me.
27:53See, this is what I'm talking about.
27:55The heebie-jeebies.
27:57God damn.
28:04What the fuck?
28:06Yo!
28:09That is really weird.
28:14Fuck it.
28:16So am I.
28:18Let's keep going.
28:27I don't remember it being this far.
28:33Been walking straight now for like 15 minutes.
28:41Oh, okay.
28:43See the bend?
28:45That looks familiar.
28:48The wedge of gold is right beyond that.
28:52I think.
28:54Fuck.
28:56Better be.
29:09Yeah.
29:11Okay.
29:12This is it.
29:14End of the line.
29:17See all these timbers?
29:18I'm in the collapse section.
29:29Oh, yes.
29:32Fuck, yes.
29:35So beautiful.
29:53There's probably even more back in there, but not too dangerous.
30:12Okay, let's just see if I can snake back in here a bit.
30:18Ah.
30:33Old carbide miner's lamp.
30:39Hate to say it, but whoever dropped this is probably still back there.
31:01Oh, fuck.
31:04Oh, fuck.
31:07It's a kid.
31:11Yeah.
31:13Sometimes kids work in these mines because of their size.
31:17Be able to fit through tight spaces.
31:20Be able to find the gold others might have missed.
31:29It's partially mummified.
31:32Bodies don't really decompose like they do on the surface.
31:42No way.
31:47Holy shit.
31:48This can't be real.
31:50It's warlock gold.
31:53Bigger than an inch.
31:56Bigger than a shooter's marble.
32:09Now, I don't have a scale, but this is nearly two ounces.
32:14Five, six, seven thousand dollars worth of gold.
32:18That is more money than I have made so far this year.
32:21Oh, shit.
32:41I'm trying to throw it away now.
32:47Whoa.
32:49Whoa.
32:52Whoa.
32:52Whoa.
32:52Whoa.
32:54Whoa.
33:10I'm fucking losing it.
33:13Wait.
33:14Wait.
33:16No.
33:17No, no.
33:20No.
33:24What were I going to say?
33:27Where did you go?
33:32Okay.
33:33I am definitely losing it.
33:36I need to get some fresh air.
33:43Okay, little guy.
33:45Give me back my...
34:15I'm close.
34:17I'm getting close.
34:19This is so bad.
34:22I don't know what I saw back there.
34:26I think...
34:28I think someone's living back there.
34:39What the hell?
34:41I was just here.
34:44This doesn't make any sense.
34:47I must have gone turn around in the fog.
34:50Walked in the wrong direction.
34:55I'm not lost.
34:57Just disoriented.
35:00There's only one way in, one way out.
35:04I just got to keep going.
35:13Oh, damn it.
35:14Oh, damn it.
35:16I've been here before.
35:17It's not that complicated.
35:19Okay, guys.
35:49I don't think I can keep walking like this.
35:53My feet are all fucked up.
35:57I've been walking in this direction for three hours now.
36:05Battery's getting low.
36:09Not much water left.
36:13I wish I saved a couple of those chicken nuggets.
36:18Fuck.
36:25I don't know.
36:26Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a minute.
36:31Save some power.
36:34And make another push.
36:46I did not mean to sleep that long.
36:51I just checked my phone.
36:54It says it's nine o'clock.
36:58I mean, I guess that's right.
37:01I'm not really sure.
37:06See, the light should be coming in right now.
37:09But it's just dark in here.
37:12Everywhere.
37:17This is starting to feel like some kind of a test.
37:22Like, how long can I survive down here?
37:26You know?
37:30Is that it?
37:33Some kind of a game?
37:38Is that it?
37:45I don't know exactly what I saw back there.
37:52Was it real?
37:53Was I dreaming?
37:55I don't know anymore.
37:59But all I know
38:04Is that something is seriously wrong with this place.
38:12Time to move.
38:20Why can't I walk out?
38:23Why can't I just walk the fuck out of here?
38:26Everything looks the same.
38:28It's like a maze.
38:30It's like that goddamn maze in The Shining.
38:33Here's Johnny.
38:36I just keep walking straight.
38:39But it's like I'm going in circles.
38:42Shit.
38:46Shit.
39:02Come on.
39:05Shit.
39:21I've been walking all day, and I always end up right back here.
39:33My phone crapped out.
39:35Last I checked, it was almost 3 o'clock.
39:41I'm not going to have power much longer.
39:45There's some juice in the camera battery.
39:49I still have that.
39:54And the flashlight, I'm only using it now when I have to.
40:01There's a penlight on the metal detector.
40:06And a lighter.
40:10Fuck.
40:17I reckon there's still a few hours of daylight left.
40:23My best shot.
40:28My only shot is to find the portal before all the lights go out.
40:45Make me happy.
41:03Oh, I think I see daylight.
41:05Oh, yes.
41:08Oh, yes.
41:09Thank God.
41:10Thank God.
41:13Oh, yes.
41:20Oh.
41:23Oh.
41:25Oh.
41:26Oh.
41:27Oh.
41:27Oh.
41:28Oh.
41:29Oh.
41:29Oh.
41:30Oh God.
41:45what is this I was out I was out why are you doing this to me why oh shit
41:58shit shit shit shit
42:55I don't know.
43:04It looks like me, but it's not.
43:14I don't know.
43:15It can't be.
43:18No.
43:20No.
43:22My name is Pete Burke.
43:29You don't understand.
43:33I'm not him.
43:36I'm not the warlock.
43:42Please, I'm not him.
43:43I'm not the warlock.
44:04I should have never come down here.
44:09But on this stupid ring.
44:17I'm sorry.
44:20I'm sorry about what happened to you down here.
44:34I just want to go home.
44:39Please.
44:44What do you want?
44:49What do you want from me?
45:04Why won't you let me go?
45:13The ring.
45:17The ring.
45:23It's got to come off.
45:29Oh, shit.
45:31Come on.
45:34Fuck.
45:36Come on.
45:42God damn it.
46:01I'm not going to die down here.
46:08God damn it.
46:11God damn it.
46:12God damn it.
46:21God damn it.
46:24God damn it.
46:28God damn it.
46:28God damn it.
46:28God damn it.
46:28God damn it.
46:28God damn it.
46:29God damn it.
46:29God damn it.
46:30God damn it.
46:30God damn it.
46:32God damn it.
46:33God damn it.
46:37God damn it.
46:48It won't come off!
46:52It won't come off!
46:56Come on!
47:02Motherfucker!
47:14It won't come off!
47:17It won't come off!
47:20It won't come off!
47:31Fuck!
47:49I don't want to remember this.
48:16Is that enough?
48:17Are you happy now?
48:22Motherfucker!
48:24Motherfucker!
48:24This is it!
48:43Motherfucker!
48:55Shadows, they come and go with the hour of day, the angle of the sun, or in this case,
49:01the position of a flashlight, a fleeting part of the natural world.
49:06But not all shadows are transitory.
49:09Some linger in a perpetual twilight state to watch, to warn, to punish.
49:18As for our friend, Prospector Pete, he collected more than rocks on his trip to the wilderness,
49:25leaving behind a shadowy account with no forwarding address.
49:29Mr. Peter Thomas Burke, a peculiar man, never to be seen or heard from again.
49:37As we say goodnight, I leave you with this simple warning.
49:42If you enter the wilderness, be sure it doesn't enter you.
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