Johannesburg's Justice of the Peace, a man by the name of Charles Knight, was the original owner of Colorado Camp.
After World War One ended, a returning veteran by the name of C.C. French (i.e. "Frenchie") went to work for Knight at Colorado Camp.
The camp, which is adjacent to Black Mountain, didn't seem to produce much, but there was enough gold dust ("color") in the shoveled dirt to keep Frenchie interest. Ultimately, Frenchie became the owner of Colorado Camp.
Using his "colored dirt" as bait, Frenchie tried to attract investors in the camp-he even carried a gold nugget with him. He did get a fair number of people to "grubstake" (finance) his operation- usually in the amount of $25 per month.
Once he received his grubstake money, Frenchie and his dog, "Bow Wow" would pile into Frenchie's truck and drive down to Mojave for supplies. Typically, Frenchie used the money for gambling, allowing himself enough to buy minimal food and supplies.
During these trips to Mojave, Frenchie would pick up a hitch-hiker and, citing the need for a helper at his camp, convince the hapless passenger to work at Colorado camp in exchange for food and half the gold found.
Usually, the "employee" found himself doing all of the underground digging, while Frenchie-who claimed to be in poor health-stayed outside and ran the dry washer. This arrangement lasted as long as the helper was content with food, shelter, and some flecks of gold.
Frenchie operated this way for years. Between grubstakes and hitch-hikers, Frenchie spewed rants from his typewriter about taxes (which was ironic, because he didn't pay any), the government, and, of all things, the weather. He submitted his work to the Saturday Evening Post, but the editors refused to publish any of his material.
Eventually, C.C. "Frenchie" French faded into the mists of history, leaving behind only the ruins of his camp.
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