MY GRANDPARENTS A SHORT STORY BY GERARD O’NEIL
The small ship
dropped my grandparents and some other gold miners on an isolated beach, miles
from the nearest town, and set sail. Though the group possessed little more
than the clothes they were wearing, their hearts were full of expectations.
Gold had recently been discovered in the area and
everyone standing there expected to strike it rich within a very short
time.
Soon the miners
began to wander off into the forest in search of their fortunes until only my
grandparents were left standing on the beach. When they were sure, no one was
watching them they began walking south along the coast.
Just before
sunset, they came across a small stream, which they decided to follow inland.
They did so until it was too dark to see. Next day they continued their
journey, panning for gold as they went. By late afternoon, they had reached the
base of a hill. Just as they began to find traces of gold, the stream went
around a bend and disappeared underground. My grandparents were extremely
disappointed. It appeared that they had come so far for nothing! As it was
beginning to rain, they decided to set up camp and wait for the weather to
improve before returning to the coast.
For two days, it
rained heavily, forcing my grandparents to stay where they were. On the third
morning however, the sun finally came out, and while my grandmother prepared
breakfast, my grandfather scrapped away some sand from near their tent and
entered the stream to pan it. His shouts of joy brought my grandmother running.
To their amazement, a teaspoon full of gold had remained in the bottom of his
gold pan.
My grandparents
spent the next two weeks panning and planning. When the last of their food was
exhausted they reluctantly left their bush camp and began the long and
difficult journey back to the nearest settlement – Berrytown.
When my
grandparents finally arrived in Berrytown, they went to several banks to
exchange just enough gold to rent a room, buy new working clothes, two horses
and some provisions.
Several weeks
later, just before closing time one Friday afternoon, my grandmother went to
the main bank in Berrytown and opened an account. To the amazement of the bank
manager, she then deposited 40 ounces of gold into it. At precisely the same time, my grandfather
entered the mining registration office across the street and lodged a 500 yard2
mining claim.
That night my
grandparents left town using the road that headed north. They stopped at
several pubs during the evening, offering everyone inside free drinks,
supposedly to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. Early in the morning, when
they were sure the road was deserted, they turned their horses round and
retraced their steps. They detoured around Berrytown and continued heading
south. At first light, they left the road and entered the forest. As far as
they knew, they had not been followed, (nor had been seen by anyone).
Back in
Berrytown things were heating up. The previous evening, in a pub, a young bank
clerk had told a friend about a mysterious woman who had opened an account at
his bank and deposited 40 ounces of gold into it. By 11 p.m. , and many glasses of beer later, the
figure quoted had reached 70 ounces. By Saturday morning, the amount being
quoted all around town was 300 ounces. Soon every one who possibly could was
heading north in hot pursuit of my grandparents. “The rush was on!”
It soon became obvious however, that nobody
knew exactly where they were rushing too! Apart from the sightings of my
grandparents in several pubs to the north, no one knew where they had gone
after that. By night full, hundreds of
disappointed fortune seekers were drifting back to Berrytown.
Monday morning
saw most of the population of Berryton massed outside the mining registration
office. At opening time the police had great difficulty controlling the crowds
as they rushed to make blind claims next too that made by my grandparents. Soon
large numbers of people were heading south.
My grandparents
arrived back at their campsite deep in the forest and though extremely tired,
immediately set about pegging out their claim.
Next morning saw
them working hard. They cut down trees and using their horses, dragged the logs
to their campsite where they began to form a large stockpile of timber.
Four days later
a young man appeared in my grandparents rapidly expanding clearing. My
grandparents welcomed him and as darkness was descending, offered to help him
peg out his claim on the condition that he help them the next day. He agreed.
Soon after they had completed the task of pegging out his claim, it began to
rain heavily.
At daybreak it was still raining hard, this
however did not stop my grandparents and the new arrival form working. They spent
the day cutting and hauling timber. By nightfall, my grandparents and the new
arrival had decided to form a partnership. During the next week, they worked
from first light until dark, milling timber.
After seven days
of torrential rain, the sun finally shone. “The Partners” (as everyone was
later to call my grandparents and the new arrival) redoubled their timber
milling efforts as they knew that before long the rivers would go down,
allowing those following them, to cross.
The next day
another young man appeared out of the forest. He quickly marked out his claim,
(which was not too difficult as “The Partners” had already cut down most of the
trees in the area), and began panning for gold.
By nightfall, more people had arrived. My
grandfather began to organize them. He suggested that it would be in the best
interests of everyone if they set up their tents beside his, on a ridge some
distance from the mining area. Everyone agreed to this idea, as it would leave
the mining area free to be totally opened up. Thus, the settlement of “Blue Ridge ” came into being.
Within a
fortnight, several hundred miners occupied the area. Some of the new arrivals
were doing quite well, though most were hardly making a living. Many found it
strange that “The Partners” had not shown much interest in their claims and
seemed more interested in milling timber.
After a period,
“The Partners” stopped milling trees and started to cut their large log
stockpile into planks and tunnel supports.
As
time went by, life in the makeshift gold field settled down into a more or less
familiar routine. Those who were making money began to invest in improved
accommodation. The only problem was that “The Partners” had already extracted
the most suitable trees for construction. They however were more than willing
to sell cut timber to those who wanted to buy it, (at a nice profit of cause).
The same was true for tunnel supports.
When their timber stockpile was almost
exhausted, “The Partners” invested in several oxen teams and began a
transportation service from Berrytown to bring supplies to the now flourishing
Blue Ridge mining community.
As the mining
settlement increased, so too did the activities of “The Partners”. They bought
more oxen teams and opened a bakery and a general store.
With
the passing of time, those working surface claims or shallow mines, found that
the gold was becoming harder and harder to win. Various groups began to form
syndicates with outside investors and deep mining became the principle activity
of the region. These mines needed heavy equipment and as they already had a
number of oxen, teams ‘The partner’s” were in an ideal position to provide transport
logistics.
The new deep
mines initially found large quantities of gold; however, their expenses were
also very large, making them not very profitable.
One day the
heavens opened and heavy rain pelted the valley for many hours resulting in an
enormous flood. Water poured down mineshafts, inundating them. Unable to pump
the water out, the deep mines were abandoned. Without work, people quickly
began moving from the area. This process was speeded up when news of another
gold strike further to the south arrived. The settlement of Blue
Ridge became deserted.
“And why hadn’t
the “The Partners” shown much interest in their gold claim, you might well
ask?”
What people did
not realize was that “The Partners” had been waiting for Blue
Ridge to be abandoned, before they made their move. When the last
person had packed up and gone, my grandparents made their way back to Berrytown
and registered the claim, which really interested them. Their claim covered all
the earth below Blue Ridge . This was in fact
the place where my grandparents had found the largest deposits of gold, when
they had first arrived. They knew however that they would need a large quantity
of capital to extract it. Providing services to other miners had supplied “The
Partners” with the capital they needed and they could make use of the heavy
equipment abandoned by the other miners.
The placing of Blue Ridge settlement
above the spot had protected the area from mining activities.
My grandfather
loved to joke, “That the other miners used to go to sleep every night dreaming
of the fortunes they were going to make lower down the valley. They never
imagined that the largest deposits of gold were under their pillows!”
Comprehension Check:
(1) What were
the expectations of the miners dropped on the beach by the small ship?
(2) Why do you
think my grandparents did not follow the other miners into the forest, but
instead headed south along the beach?
(3) During the
two weeks my grandparents spent panning for gold what plans were they
making?
(4) Upon
arriving in Berrytown, why had my grandparents visited several banks to
exchange gold?
(5) Why did my
grandparents wait until last thing on a Friday afternoon to visit the
principle bank in Berrytown and the registry
office?
(6) In what direction did my grandparent head
once they left Berrytown and why?
(7) Why did my
grandfather suggest the other miners pitch their tents next to his, (some
distance from the workings)?
(8) What were
the principal commercial activities of “The Partners” when the gold field
was being worked?
(9) Why were the deep mines not very profitable?
(10) What caused
the deep pit mines to stop their mining activities?
(11) What
happened to the settlement of Blue Ridge once
the mines were abandoned?
(12) What did
the partners do once everyone else had left the area?
(A) timber
(B) rush
(C) pick
(D) claim
(E) panning
|
…..
shift gravel round in a pan to search for gold.
…..
demand a right.
…..
migration of large numbers of people quickly to a place
where gold has been found.
…..
tool with a curved iron cross bar and wooden handle for
breaking up ground.
….. trees collectively / wood as a building
material.
|
ANSWERS:
Comprehension Check:
(1)
What were the expectations of the miners dropped on the
beach by the small ship?
They expected to simply wander into
the forest and immediately start to find gold
easily and with little effort.
(2)
Why do you think my grandparents did not follow the
other miners into the forest,
but instead headed south along the beach?
Because they wanted to prospect
new areas. They did not want to follow the crowd, as they knew that any new
gold stick would quickly be broadcast causing a gold rush to the area thus
denying them the business opportunities they were looking for.
(3) During the two weeks my grandparents
spent panning for gold what plans were they
making?
They
were planning the best way to keep their find secrete as long as possible,
and
how to make money from those who would rush to
the area once their strike was
made public.
(4) Upon arriving in Berrytown, why had
my grandparents visited several banks to
exchange gold?
They did not want people to discover exactly how much gold they had
found and
thus start a rush before they were ready.
(5) Why did my grandparents wait until
last thing on a Friday afternoon to visit the
principle bank in Berrytown and
the registry office?
They wanted to have a few days start on those they knew would follow
them. By
registering their claim last thing on Friday,
they knew that the earliest anyone else
could register a claim beside theirs was on
the Monday.
(6)
In what direction did my grandparent head once they left Berrytown and
why?
North. They wanted to trick everyone into thinking their strike was
to the north. By
doing this they bought themselves extra time allowing them to mark
out their claim
and begin cutting down trees.
(7) Why did my grandfather suggest
the other miners pitch their tents next to his,
(some distance from the
workings)?
Because he knew that was where the biggest quantity of gold was. If
people
organized their accommodation above it, then they would not suspect
it was
there, giving him time to put together the capital
and equipment he needed to
extract it.
(8) What were the principal
commercial activities of “The Partners” when the gold
field was being worked?
Logging, sawmilling, transport and retailing.
(9) Why were the deep mines not very profitable?
They were expensive to develop and run, and subject to flooding.
(10) What caused the deep pit
mines to stop their mining activities?
A flood filled the mines with water. It was too expensive to pump
them out.
(11) What happened to the
settlement of Blue Ridge once the mines were
abandoned?
Blue
Ridge was also abandoned.
(12) What did the partners do
once everyone else had left the area?
They began to mine the soil under what had been Blue Ridge township.
Match the following
words with their definitions:
(A)
timber
(B) rush
(C) pick
(D)
claim
(E)
panning
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(E)
shift gravel round in a pan to search for gold.
(D)
demand a right.
(B)
migration of large numbers of people quickly to a place
where gold has been found.
(C) tool with
a curved iron cross bar and wooden handle for
breaking up ground.
(A) trees collectively / wood as a building
material.
|
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