I'm an Aussie and spent many hrs panning for for Gold with my father in the 60s 70s 80s in creeks around old gold mining town from the 1800s . Many miners traveled between Australia and America back in the 1800 . Even a Yank present worked some of the mining operations in the early days here in OZ. I was lucky enough to be part of a Opal mining rush during the 1980s 90s Lighting Ridge that ran for about 12 years. What a time !..$$ Cash , Grog , Gambling and everything that went with it... 10 years of Mining, Building Mining Machinery, Partying every night, Finding and loosing fortunes..Real people good and bad..What a time ! I'm now I my 60s and living a semi rural life closer to Brisbane. If I could go back in time , it would be the Opal Rush on the fields of Lighting Ridge having the time of yaf life ! Take care everyone !
Seeing the elephant The phrase seeing the elephant is an Americanism which refers to gaining experience of the world at a significant cost. It was a popular expression of the mid to late 19th century throughout the United States in the Mexican-American War, the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, the American Civil War, the 1849 Gold Rush, and the Westward Expansion Trails ( Oregon Trail, California Trail, Mormon Trail). During the 20th century the phrase faded from popularity but when historians started taking note of its recurrence in historical newspapers, journals, and literature they often summed the elephant up too quickly and categorized it as a negative experience. Desolation and sadness may have been one trait of "seeing the elephant", but it was certainly not the only or even the most prevalent. More often, American pioneers of the Overland Trails talk of the excitement and anticipation of heading west to see the elephant. Elephant "sightings" often begin with excitement and high ideals only to be disappointing or disenchanting. The high excitement followed by the low frustrations are what epitomize the elephant as something most wanted to "see" but few would have wanted to "see" again.
Thank you- it’s Interesting to see how this time period was represented people in the past. Going tomorrow to an event in Columbia (Columbia, California is the historic state park thanked in the credits and is one of the locations shown in this movie. I’m a new docent there). Some people still mine in this area and find gold- there is living history everywhere.
6:55 the dollar is still worth a dollar. people are charging more for items so he claims the dollar is worth less. It's the other way around. items are overpriced because they are rare, hard to get, necessary items.
