Diamond Joe Dunham
Diamond Joe (Joseph Dunham) passed away January 15th after a long fight with skin cancer that spread to his brain.
Joe was a successful prospector, treasure hunter and lifelong avid outdoorsman. We had many adventures together and it is ironic that something like skin cancer would kill him in the end after so many close calls with other dangers. Joe was born in Virginia and grew up in Cuba, NY, we met over forty years ago and immediately hit it off, and partnered in many expeditions all over the continent.
<Joe holding the plaid shirt, I am by the tent, this is at Tortilla ranch probably in the 1980s on his last trip into the Superstitions>
Joe fell in love with the Arctic country and made solo trips there a number of times, once nearly ended his life but we were able to laugh about it afterwards. A salesman had told Joe that a set of "flotation tires" he had would absolutely make his quad ATV able to be amphibious, it would literally carry you across the top of the water. Joe flew his ATV into the airport in Nome and made his way out to a certain river, where there was supposed to be a very rich gold placer on the far side and upstream. He confidently rode his ATV right into the raging river, full of melted glacial ice water and it sank like a stone, carrying Joe and ATV some distance down river before he was able to haul himself and the machine out of the water. Fortunately there was enough driftwood nearby and he spent the rest of the day getting dried out after that ice cold soaking, and on his return home he made a special trip to the ATV tire salesman for some choice words!
Joe was always ready for any kind of adventure if gold or silver were involved, and rarely ever complained. His sense of humor helped us get through some otherwise dismal and/or unpleasant times. When he first got started in the prospecting game, he was not comfortable with going underground - but after getting his first big nugget from a deep tunnel, he lost any qualms he had about it.
Joe working in the mine in a tight spot
This is rotated 90 degrees! And yes it really is that tight in the mine.
Joe found a spot of skin cancer last summer, and started a long fight with it, unfortunately the cancer finally won in the end. A lifetime of working outdoors has a price, the Sun can easily cause skin cancer and it can kill. It is nothing to fool around with.
In his last years we seemed to drift apart, partly because Joe's health was failing and he was not able to get around very well although he continued to raise a beautiful garden every year, which was the envy of the town of Edgemont. Mostly he gave away the veggies and fruits, but he also put up a fair amount for his own use. For forty two years we were mining partners, hunting, trapping, shooting, and fishing buddies. We will miss him a lot. He was my best friend.
Roy
