Originally broadcast on KUER
The Utah deer and elk archery seasons wrap up across much of the state this Friday. The Division of Wildlife Resources says there are more buck deer in the state than at any time in the last 25 years. KUER’s Benjamin Bombard sends this audio postcard of a recent hunting trip in the Uintas.
Joe Smith, David Betts and his son James Betts excavate dirt from Joe’s mine claim in the Uinta Mountains.
Joe Smith claimed the mine in 1997. He believes it may be one of the legendary “lost Rhodes mines.”
David Betts worked as a tramp miner for 56 years, traveling from job to job across the country. He held the claim on the mine before Joe Smith took it over, and his father was the last person to recover valuable ore from the mine when he held the claim in the 1940s.
The hoist installed in the back of Joe Smith’s 1986 Chevy pickup truck is over 100 years old. It once belonged to Betts’s father, and it has been used to remove dirt and ore from mines in 48 states, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.
Ryan “Blue” White, a descendent of the American legend Davy Crockett, helps guide a 25-gallon full bucket of dirt out of the mine shaft. Over the course of a day, he and the rest of the crew excavated half a ton of dirt.
James Betts enjoys the adventure of working in the mine. “I like to do things people just talk about,” he said. “Oh, I’ll do this. Oh, that would be cool. It’s like why wait? Just do it now.”
David Betts watches his son James dig in the mine shaft. “The main thing we’re concerned about--heck with the mineral--it’s pure safety,” he said. “We do not want anyone hurt or injured.”
James Betts works to loosen dirt in the mine shaft. He’s standing on about two feet of dirt atop a layer of sheet metal that overlays the bulkhead, the wooden cap that seals the mine. From there, the shaft descends another 90 feet.
