My recent trip to Hill End was to satisfy a need to give the NoX a run on the trashy sites for some quality relics and see if it could lift a nugget or two.
I was mighty impressed with the NoX, although it produced no gold, relic hunting was so enjoyable that I had to remind myself to pack it away and get the SDC back out for a spin before the trip was done. The progressive stories of history gone past coming out of the ground along with a nice silver coin and a bucket list item made it one of my most memorable trips.
The Story Uncovered.......
The mountainous areas surrounding Hill End township are scattered with distinctive peppered white chunks of quartz or protruding reefs that shine hope into the eyes of the adventurous with a glint of wealth that is familiar to those that are gold fever affected. The landscape is soft on the eyes but harsh on feet, hooves and travelling gear. What undiscovered reef is in the next gully?
For the explorer, campsites can be a simple as finding a sizeable rock on the side of a mountain, weather and erosion invariably creates a couple of feet of flat ground on the downside just big enough to lay a swag. The cramped location means that buttons are often ripped off and saddlebags contents sometimes spill off the rock and fall in behind or roll down slope. Darn it, my musket balls have spilt down the hill. Where is my knife and fork? ... did I remember to pick it up off that rock before I left this morning?
More established hillside campsites have additional flagging stones rolled into place to widen platforms but if a prospect turns into a longer term proposition or sufficient daylight is afforded, better scouting of an area will uncover a hill top plateau, localised flat escarpments or even better a creek side elevated gradual hillside slope suitable for a diversion drain and level tent site, or perhaps enable a small shack with fireplace to be constructed.
Social amenity is important and the provision of a communal fireplace and that perfect flagging stone, butt-cheek wide is worth sourcing and laying around the open hearth of a fire. Two to five of these around a circular hearth-stone feature are a good indicator that a prospect deserved the effort of additional comfort.
A large tree is sometimes preserved for shade and to stack tools of the prospectors trade, sometimes all that remains is the scalloped shape of of the rootball where the tree was blown in a big storm decades ago. Where did I put that harmonica last night ?.. what about that broken shovel, pick or hammer, should we take it or leave it?....I cant find my belt Edward, have you seen it?.... and where is that chain ?
The carnage of a big night on the grog spills out around a campfire, or the reaching into pockets for the pipe leaves a trail. That three foot high rock 50m out is the perfect rest spot for my gear on and providing some discrete coverage when dealing with the effects of last nights beans. Darn, thats the second set of braces I have broken and I just popped another button. I wonder if the penny I had at last nights camp fell out when I took a crap?
Anyway......enough speculation, I uncovered the factual story of a man I call Tex.
Tex, an American, came to chase the gold, he was a strapping man who name was inspired by the way he dressed, particularly his small heeled riding boots and fancy spurs. He was accompanied by a modern rifle and lead ball revolver but had a hole in his ammunition pocket and was forever loosing unfired ammunition. If only he had not lost his thimble at the previous camp, he could have fixed that darn hole.
He had ridden into a large camp and was delighted to made a transaction for some sly grog but forgot about the hole in his pocket when he placed his remaining 3 pence into the ill fated pocket. A rowdy night ensued and he got forknhammered, and became legless, he also must have lost his shirt gambling. it was possibly his favourite shirt that he had when he fairwelled his homeland and during the course of his journeys had replaced every button with whatever he could get his hands on.
The proof is laid out below along with some other tools of the trade. It seems there was a softer side to the goldfields as well.
A Sharp Eye and A Steady Hand ........ the story of the NoX is much like the old saying ........ to be continued with a bucket list item :inlove:
