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Curated by: Prospecting 101 For Gold (99 videos)
G'Day Fellow-Patients-Inflicted-By-The-Gold-Fever, I found a virgin patch of gold nuggets, now where is the reef from wince they came? In this video I'll show you how I use a loaming dish to look for tiny specks of gold that might lead me on to a Bonanza. I was taught by a couple of the best, legends in history and masters of their craft - Loaming For Gold. Oh, I wanted to tell you the story about Eric Clydesdale, and how he came about to use that crutch that you see in his photo. It's a classic prospector's yarn! So here it is: Eric was about 80 years old when we were introduced to him through a mutual friend. He was living in the Leonora Caravan Park, with a comfortable set-up under a big gum tree, quite happy to watch the going-ons around him as prospectors and travellers came and went. When we offered to take him out to our new alluvial patch in the Yandal Greenstones, he was very keen to get back into the bush, where he had spent most of his life as a prospector. His reputation as a loamer preceded him as well as the fact that he had worked with the legendary Sam Cash, so we were quite happy to have his expertise on board, and offered him some equity in our project should he be able to crack the code and find the reef that had shed our nuggets (300 ounces). He followed us up in his panel van, along with his trusty companion, a little dog. We arrived on site about 3pm, and helped him pitch his tent and set-up his camp. As it was mid-July and cold, I collected a heap of fire wood and got a big fire going; my mate started cooking our grub. It was a cheery evening, we had a carton of cold beer which went down like silk amongst the prospectors. Of course Eric was the star, he had countless yarns about his experiences as a prospector, and we wanted to hear them all. About 10pm my mate went over to our truck and fished out the hidden bottle of whiskey, which was for medicinal purposes only (or for celebrating a special occasion like finding a big patch, or in this instance a special guest). We all had a couple of little drinks, you know just to clear the head for a good night's sleep. We then said our goodnights, tucked Eric safely into his tent, and then swagged it out. Next morning bright and early, we're up getting brekky and coffee ready, waiting for Eric to awaken. Time goes by, we're starting to worry a bit but reckon the ole boy likes to sleep in. Well about 10am we call in to his tent, and hear him kinda moaning. Seems he's done his hip "going to the toilet last night". So now we're in carer mode because he's in a bad way. We sort him and his pup out, wondering what Plan B is. Hospital camp life goes on, he recovers enough to hobble around after we cut a crutch for him. He's determined to wash some dishes, so we set him up in the back of our truck, and I go collect the samples in the dishes as per his instructions. At this stage we were more worried about getting Eric back to town in one piece, than finding our reef. So obviously the whole trip didn't go as planned. Now here's the kicker. After we discovered Eric still in his tent with his injury ... a few hours later ... I was collecting firewood and found the empty bottle of whiskey in the bushes. Seems Ole Eric, once a prospector always a prospector, had crept out of bed on the first night and polished that whiskey bottle off all by himself. He was just so happy to be back in the bush that he loved so much, and have the prospect of loaming for gold once again, that he wanted to savour the moment with a bit of a drinky-poo. Don't worry Mate, I get that feeling way too often. We never asked Eric about his little bush party but surmised that he must have tripped over a match whilst being over-happy ... OK! Please remember that you can always pause the video if there are images that you want to study, like in this video I have a scan from a Google search on one of my mentors, there's a lot of info to digest so just press pause (on a desktop, just hit the spacebar). Oh, and how about that lovely birdbath in my Aussie Bush Special at the end of this vid? I love the Australian outback and all its beauty. Ok OK! Many thanks for watching and please Subscribe, Like and Comment. Best of luck, Cheers ....