Lyric Hildner

The cold clear water rushed over his hands. His pan moved under the sand and
dirt. He pulled it up, letting most of the water rush out and started to move it back and
forth, pushing most of the remaining sediment out of the pan. He was left with small
flakes of minerals. He noticed one in particular.
Gold, he spoke to himself in a quiet voice, I knew it was coming from up the
canyon. Hed been working on this river for a good month, moving farther and farther
up the canyon, getting closer and closer to the vein in the hill in which the gold was
being eroded from. Once he realized the significance of this one find, he smiled. The
small amount of gold flakes he had found all together equalled more than all of the
other flakes he had found down river.
The man was soaked from the knees down as he walked back to shore with the
pan full of gold flakes. He filtered the rest of the dirt through his fingers, being careful
not to drop the flakes on the ground. He then put the flakes into a glass bottle along
with even more gold flakes. These new flakes were the biggest ones he had found yet.
The sun hit them at an angle that made them shine.
The mans eyes shimmered the same way. They were a blueish color with small
golden colors sprinkled throughout the outside of the blue. His eyes complimented his
face, which was calm, and peaceful looking, which made him seem like the type of man
who was wise, but had a mysterious past. A man of sorrow and of happiness. He had a
dark brown head of hair that his top hat usually covered. He was also a tall man at six
foot three who wore nice clothes. You could tell he came from England in 1864. He was
out of his place in a new world.
He walked back up the hill away from the creek and to his stuff, which was a
wooden wagon, filled with pickaxes and explosives, all of which was hidden in some
trees. He took a quick glance around, picked up the heavy wagon, and dragged it
behind him.
Im tired of carrying my own stuff. He remarked to himself, again. He talked to
himself a lot, but what do you expect from being new in town and on a mission? He
walked a short while through the trees, and found himself on a small path that led to the
settlement of Francistown.
At this time, Francistown was nothing like it is today. It was big, but it was only
made that way because of the immense amount of people streaming in and out of it.
The town was on a major trading route from the east to west side of Africa, so it got a lot
of business. There were two hotels and some small businesses, but the major attraction
to the area was the gold mining. The year prior, gold had been found up the river from
where he had been. The river, as it goes north, snakes through a canyon, before
entering flatlands. The first gold strikes had been found in the canyon. It is in that
canyon, that he needs to be to find what he wants.

Once he had made it to the main street of the relatively small town, he went to
the pub. The pub was located about halfway through the town. If you were to look at it
from the air, youd only see a few buildings. There were only three streets, and the
center one held the highest percentage of the buildings. The pub, a hotel, a stable, and
some stores were located on the main street. The side streets only had a few houses
on them. Most of the other homes were in the hills and belonged to miners. The pub
was his favorite one back in London, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. The one that was down
here was Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese of the South. He liked it for its unchanging menu of
drinks, plus it reminded him of the original tavern in England. it was like being home, yet
not being even remotely close to home. Bitter was what he usually got. It is just an Ale
that was the most common form of alcohol in Great Britain. Inside the pub, he sat down
at the back booth and took his hat off. A waitress came over and looked at him with an
interested smile.
Lawrence Whats with the dirt all over your face?
He looked up and smiled, So you remember my name this time?
I never forgot. She replied a little sarcastically, Lawrence Hastings. From
England. I never forget someone from the motherland. He knew she was lying a bit, but
he forgot about it quickly. He looked at her intently for a monet. He noticed the outline of
her face, it was small and slender, coming to a point at the chin. She had blue eyes that
sparkled when the light hit them and bright red lips that did the same. She had wavy
dirty blonde hair that fell softly around her face. She was pleasing to the eyes.
Do you remember what I got last time? He smiled.
Of course, its what anyone else here would get if they were from Britain. Bitter.
She stated. She walked off and came back a few moments later with a tall metal cup
with a handle. He paid for it with what little money he had, drank a little, and pulled the
rest of his money out of his pocket, 10 pence. Not even a shilling. Great. He said to
himself looking down at the small pile on the table.
He drank the rest of his drink, said goodbye to the waitress, and walked back
outside. He turned and looked at the small building and took a sigh. Everytime he saw
it, he just remembered England. It was the only good thing there for him.
He then walked to his wagon, which he had hid behind the building in some small
brown bushes. It seemed like there was always a good place to hide his stuff. Once he
had grabbed his wagon, he headed north on the main street, passed multiple homes
and businesses, and left town.
Leaving town reminded him of when he left England. It was around the same
time last year, except at that time, he didnt think he could do anything in life. His mother
and, mainly his father, had put him down so often for doing what he loved. At that time,
he had played with the idea of getting a job mining.
He had heard of what was happening down in the Protectorate of Bechuanaland,
with the huge gold rush happening down there. He had been practicing mining in a
small hill down the way and had come home covered in dirt. he was going to go wash

off at the creek, but his father saw he had brought dirt into his home. His father was
furious with him for such a small thing, but his father beat him anyways. His mother
stood by, yelling at his father to stop, but she didnt actually help him. That time really
stuck out to him. It was embedded in his mind.
He had walked into his home from the back door into the kitchen. He had been in
the forest, digging around in a hole that he had been digging for a few weeks. It was just
a practice hole for when he actually went and made his own first claim. It had rained the
night before and everything was muddy, but that didnt stop Lawrence. He was covered
in mud and dirt by the end of the day, so he decided to come home. Thats when he
walked into the kitchen. His father was sitting at the table and looked up at him. He had
a look of hatred on his face.
Everything okay? Lawrence had asked.
You know your mother just cleaned? He stood up.
I didnt know. Ill just grab some clean clothes and go wash up. Lawrence tried
to change the subject because he knew his dad got angry fast.
No. Youre gonna learn to respect your mother and what she does for this
family. He said sternly, walking a little closer to Lawrence.
I do respect her; I know what she does for the fam- He was cut off.
His father had kicked his leg, sending him down to the ground. He then picked
him up and punched him in the gut. The sudden force of impact had sent more mud to
the floor, making his father angrier.
How dare you bring a mess into here!
Im sorry! Im so so sorry Lawrence shouted through his tears. His father
continued to hit and kick him for another few minutes, finally throwing the table down on
Lawrences lag. His father broke his leg and left bruises almost everywhere. He needed
to leave, and he did. He left for South Africa on a steamboat later that month, getting
away from his unloving family and going to a new place to start anew.
It wasnt long before he reached the river. It was a few miles north of Francistown
and ran north-west. He turned to follow it towards the canyon. By the time he got close
enough to see some cliffs, it was already getting dark. He could hear other people
around, and see their campfires, so he pulled off of the path a little and set up camp. He
got a blanket out and laid down. The sky was clear that night, except for the building
thunderstorm to the south. He figured that it was over Gaborone in the south. He knew it
was storm because of the lightning that came and went every so often. He could hear a
slight rumble from the thunder, but it was so far off that it could just be something closer,
like a lion or something. He stopped thinking about. He was scaring himself.
Just look at the stars. He murmured to himself. The sky was open and it was
pitch black. The moon was just starting to rise, so he could see some stuff around him.
The milky way could be seen as a milky line across the sky, and he followed it back and
forth. He fell asleep to the image of the sky.

In the morning, he packed up again and started out next to the river. It was
moving slowly, or at least, thats what he thought. As Lawrence got closer to the canyon,
he could see the various claims all over the sides of it. People had already been here
for months, so he had no real hope of finding a perfect place. The only thing he could
imagine doing was going past everyone, farther up river, and closer to a local tribe
village. Those savages living uncivilized up in the hills. Lawrence had heard stories of
them taking women and children away, but he never thought it was that harsh. He just
didnt like that they werent as civilized as he was, or his culture was. Plus, there was
that little fear that the natives were as the other townspeople said they were. Savages.
After hours of walking and fearing and hoping, he had passed the last claim. It
was an old man, by himself. He had a small home, and a tunnel just next to it. Lawrence
wondered if thats something he would have. He hoped. He wished that he could have a
home to call his own up by his future claim. He needed a place to call his own, his own
home, because hed been staying out in the open for a month. He was tired of the dirt
and the hard ground. After another hour of making sure that he wouldnt encroach on
another mans claim, and making a new trail, he stopped. He guessed it was late
afternoon by the way the sun was situated in the sky, so he figured he might as well
stop and take a break. He set his stuff down off to the side, under a rock ledge, and
decided to look around. The trail he had taken had started to rise a while back and he
hadnt seemed to notice, until now. The river had fallen about a thousand feet into the
canyon.
Wow. Dont fall. He noted to himself. Lawrence turned around and went to his
wagon, and pulled the glass bottle out. He watched the flakes fall around the inside of
the bottle and land on each other. His mouth formed a smile.
The gold has to be coming from this area! He exclaimed.
He jumped up and grabbed one of the pickaxes that was in his wagon. He
immediately started breaking the hillside apart. Dirt was pulled out and moved to side,
while rock was pushed to the other side. It was dark when Lawrence finally moved
enough dirt and rock to start a mine portal. The cleared area had started as the side of
the hill, but was now a seven by seven cleared square in the side of the hill. Thatll do
for now.
He got his blanket out and found a comfy sand and dirt spot. It was a perfect
place to fall asleep. Maybe it wont be so bad out here. Ill find what I need to be rich
He nodded off.
In the morning, Lawrence awoke feeling the best he had in months, maybe
years. He laid in the sand for a few more minutes, just listening to the sounds. Birds and
the wind. He finally got up and ate his last can of cold beans. Im going to need some
more food soon. He said to himself as he grabbed a shovel and started working on
creating the tunnel into the hill. Before he started digging again, he took a moment to
look around. The canyon was thin at the base where the river was, but opened up into a
wider, valley like area. His mine was located up on one of the sides of the canyon and

was in a fairly gradually inclined area. The entire canyon was a shade of brown and tan,
but was intermixed with green bushes and trees. The river down below was wide and
loud enough to be heard up the long inclines of the sides of the canyon. It was actually
a beautiful place, being one of the only canyons in all of the protectorate. He turned
around and went back to work.
It wasnt long until he had hit hard rock. He went to his wagon and grabbed his
iron pickaxe. He swung and broke off a chunk of rock. A nugget, around the size of an
eye, fell out of the rock and hit the ground. Lawrence picked it up and held it to his eyes.
Yes! Yes yes yes! He yelled to no one. He danced around a little while still
holding it to his face. He then placed it in the bottle with the others. It was at least twenty
times bigger than the biggest flake he had found. He then turned back around to the
rock wall and swung a few more times with the pickaxe. He didnt find much else in
those swings, but he kept going. From what he had just found, it was obvious that there
was gold in this hill.
By the end of the day, he had made it a foot in to the hill and had found thirteen
more small nuggets of gold. Over the time period of the next few days, he made it
farther into the hill. His claim had turned from a small hole in the dirt, to a tunnel in the
rock. Lawrences pick wasnt sharp anymore, but was dull and short. he had started
using the rock pieces and dirt to create an area to build a house. He knew that this was
the perfect spot to set up a home.
Because his pickaxe was so worn down, he used one of his pieces of dynamite
to blow another few feet into his tunnel. Once it was set in place, and lit, he walked back
to entrance and covered his ears. The dynamite blew up and sent rock to the floor. Dust
poured out of the cave and into his face. His blue overalls and grey shirt turned an even
lighter shade of grey when to dirt settled on him. Glad I didnt have my good clothes on.
Wouldnt want to get them dirty. He spoke to himself as he walked down the short
tunnel. He bent down and started moving the rocks towards the entrance.
One day, he had gone up the hill farther and had found a tree with a huge trunk.
He cut it down for the wood and used it for beams to hold up his mine. he would need
the supports.
He spent the next few days digging farther and farther into the rock. His mine
was now a long tunnel. Light barely made its way to the back of the tunnel, and when it
did, it was early in the morning. Inside the mine, it was dark and dirty. It was freezing
cold at night and blazing hot during the day. When lawrence went into the mine, he
always expected it to collapse because of the heat doing something to the beams
holding up the ceiling.
It was always dripping with water, as well. The water seeped down from the rocks
and dirt above it, making it humid in the tunnel. It was wet, but not wet enough to stop
him from using explosives. He had found another piece of dynamite lodged into his
wagon, behind some tools, and decided to use it to blow one more time in the tunnel. It
opened up a few more feet of tunnel and some open gold veins.

He smiled a bit at the sight of multiple new veins. He started to leave the tunnel,
when he felt a breeze. He looked up towards the end of the tunnel and turned to
continue back outside. He grabbed his lantern for more light and walked to the back of
the tunnel. He held it up to the rock, which was the direction from where the breeze
came from, and felt the wall. All of a sudden, his finger ran over a hole. He brought the
lantern up and looked into the hole. It lit up another room behind the wall, which looked
to go off in two different directions. A cave? Perfect! I dont even need to make many
more tunnels with this beautiful gift!
Lawrence got ahold of his pickaxe and swung it into the wall. It broke through into
the room after several more swings. Once the hole was big enough for Lawrence to go
through, he stopped and walked in. The roof wasnt super low, but if he wanted to, he
could reach up and touch it with ease. It was a fairly large, round room that was covered
in pictures. They looked to be old and were of hunters and animals and people. The
paintings continued down both of the side tunnels, but stopped at their dead ends. The
tunnel on the right actually came out at the roots of a Baobab tree, but was hidden from
the outside. Lawrence decided to leave the caves and went to his camp. When he got
out, he went to his stuff and decided to start sleeping early that night.
He was ecstatic when he fell asleep. He couldnt wait to go to town tomorrow and
buy all of the supplies he needed. Finally, a pack animal or two, more than enough food,
better tools, maybe even lumber for a home. Who knew what he could come back with.
Once he woke up, he wasted no time in getting ready. He got his clean pair of
clothes to go into town. Hed have to stay a night there because the walk back to town
was basically a day long. When he returned to the mine, hed have everything he
wanted. Once he had his clothes together, he grabbed his bottle, stuck it into his pocket
and started on his way. It took about an hour before he saw the mine that was the last of
the main mining area. As he walked by the other miners and their claims, he felt he
should brag about what he had found. He was so close to doing just that, when he
realized that they might hurt him for the gold. Steal it. Lawrence wasnt the strongest
guy in the world. Not to say he wasnt strong, but some of the other miners in this area
had been here longer to work up bigger muscles. He didnt want to lose his fortune, so
he just rushed by dozens of miners enjoying their mornings before they again went back
to working. He still had a long day ahead of him before he got to town.
He got to town just as it was getting dark and decided to stay at the closest hotel
to him. He walked in and placed a small nugget on the counter. A man came out from
the back and smiled when he saw the small piece of gold. He walked to the opposite
side of the counter and picked it and looked at it closely.
He then turned to lawrence, How long will you be staying?
Lawrence smiled back, feeling really special for a moment, Just one night. Im in
town to pick up some supplies.
The man took the nugget into the back room and came out with a small silver
key. Room three. Have a good night, sir. He added.

Lawrence walked to the side and up some narrow stairs. He could hear someone
snoring in room one as he walked by and then came to room three. He put the key in
and opened the door. He lit the lantern and sat on the bed. Tomorrows the day! he
exclaimed to himself.
He slept well that night, but not like that one night when he had first found his
camp. The bed creaked a little and seemed to moan out words every time he moved.
He kept dreaming of his claim up the canyon. He thought that he had done something
wrong, but he couldnt figure out what. It was as if he had encroached too far onto
forbidden land.
Lawrence got up early that morning to get what he could and head home.
The first place he visited was the stable. It was full of horses and other pack
animals brought down from England and up from South Africa. He didnt need anything
to ride, just something to carry his stuff, which was just tools and a few personal
belongings. He ended up buying two oxen and a new wagon that was bigger and could
hold everything he owned, plus more. He then walked down the street to a mining
supplies store where he got a new shovel and some buckets. It was like his last
Christmas before he left. He thought back to when his parents had given him a book,
begrudgingly, on the process of Hardrock mining. Thats one of the smaller things that
pushed him to leave to Bechuanaland. When he had gotten the animals, and the tools,
he went to the general store. It has all types of foods that he hadnt seen in months.
They were all imported from England, so he bought everything he could remember
eating, plus more. He then put everything in his new wagon, with the tools, and started
his trek back home. He was planning on making his favorite meal that night, pigeon and
white sauce.
Once he reached the trail with his new stuff, he ran into a problem. The trail was
wide enough for a mule and a wagon, but not two oxen and a wagon. He unhooked one
of the oxen and moved it directly in front of the other one. Once the two animals were
lined up in the middle of the wagon, lawrence continued going up the incline, past the
other miners on the sides. They would look down and see him and be jealous. Or at
least, thats what he thought theyd do. He was constantly trying to prove himself to
everyone, but his parents more importantly. He made it up the trail pretty effortlessly and
arrive at his camp. Once he had gotten his gear situated and in their places and put the
oxen to bed by some trees, he walked to the entrance of his tunnel. He froze. Laying on
the floor was one the local savages. He seemed to be asleep. The man was dark
skinned and looked very wrinkled. He had a tan fur pelt around his neck and body and
another, darker tan, pelt around his waist. Lawrence walked slowly back to his older
wagon and grabbed his small pistol. He walked back over to the tunnel.
Get up and stay there! He tried to yell, with a quivering voice. The man on the
floor quickly awoke and jumped to his feet. He started speaking.
How dare you trespass on sacred dirt. Loowe, Tintibane, Matsieng, and
Thobega dislike the destruction of their caves. Leave outsider, or be killed. The man

said in another language he couldnt understand. Lawrence watched the man, and fired
his pistol at the other mans feet. The man grabbed a machete that had been stood up
against the wall and bolted towards Lawrence. The man quickly turned and ran off into
some bushes and trees. Lawrence was left standing by his mine, freaked out. He didnt
have a great appetite at that moment, so he didnt make the Pigeon and White Sauce,
as he had wanted to. He decided to just go to sleep.
It had been a month since he had arrived in this location, and his mine had
produced a lot of gold. He had hauled out many pounds of the precious ore and had to
hide it in another tunnel he had started nearby. On the days he went back to town, he
would always bring gold to the bank, to keep in his account. He was starting to make
money with his gold and was able to buy stuff.
He wanted to expand his claim, but didnt know where to start. He started cutting
down some of the trees nearby for expansion on his mines.
Since he had cut down the trees, he had seen people in the distance that
seemed to be watching him. The only answer Lawrence could come to was that where
he was, was some special piece of land to the tribe. He had gone too far up the canyon
and too far into their land and he had started to believe thats what it was.
One day Lawrence had opened his eyes in the morning and looked across the
small canyon. He had heard voices echoing off the canyon walls and that had woken
him up. He saw a group of men from the tribe watching him from the bushes.
They werent very well hidden, he thought to himself. He then walked over to the
tunnel and saw that someone had been there recently. Lawrence then walked to the
side tunnel and saw that his gold had not been touched. He walked back to the main
tunnel, grabbed his lantern, and then walked to the back of that tunnel where he saw
that the hole into the caves had been opened wider. He stepped into the caves and
listened for anything unusual. Nothing.
He continued to walk through the cave, but forgot why he was in there. He had
started to notice the wall art a little more. He was entranced in the stories they showed.
They were of people running with spears and machetes, and rhinos, and all sorts of
animals. Groups of people hunting, and a village with families. The different colors, red,
yellows, greens, all different types, shined when the light of the lantern hit them. He
continued to walk down the tunnels, following the art, until he found the exit to the
caves, under the Baobab tree. It was an overlook into the flatlands that were on the
other side of the hills. He could see the river flowing out of the canyon and onto the flat
plains. Lawrence could see the animals in the distance. For a moment, he felt entirely at
peace.
Too bad it was about to change.
He walked back to his camp, and found three locals going through his stuff. He
tried to run to his gun quickly, but was stopped by two of them. The looked the same.
Dark skin again, and wrinkled. One of them was the guy that had slept in his tunnel a
few weeks back. The third man was taller than the other two and wasnt that wrinkled.

He looked younger also. He came over and looked face to face with Lawrence. His
nostrils were huge, Lawrence noticed at first. His eyes showed a deep anger and almost
had a red tint, to the hazel color of his eyes. He reached his hand to the ground and
pulled his hand back up, revealing a gold nugget.
You take the precious rock from our fatherland? The man said in an unknown
language.
Im sorry if I did something wrong. I was minding my own business. I swear.
Lawrence hoped that they could understand him. The two men holding him smiled at
each other and pulled him over under a tree. The third man picked up his spear that he
had laid down in the grass and walked toward lawrence.
No! Please! I didnt mean anything by entering your area. I just wanted to be
rich! His pleads meant nothing to the other man. The other man stopped and lifted his
spear. He placed it in the soft dirt next to him. He then lifted his arm over his head to his
back and pulled out a short sword or knife. He walked closer to Lawrence and held the
knife to his throat.
In the name of Modimo, may he not punish us for the white mans insolence.
The man then swung his knife down towards Lawrence. Lawrence, who was in a shock
like state, ducked quickly. He rolled off to the side and hit one of the other men in the
leg. That man reached down and pulled Lawrence up off the ground. The man with the
knife walked towards him and stood in front of him.
You cant run, white man. He said. Lawrence had a realisation.
Youre all Tswana people. Youll be punished for this! He yelled at them. The
queen wont have any of you savages living here for long! Youll be prosecuted!
They didnt seem to know what he said either, and ignored him. The two men on
the sides held Lawrences arms and held him still. The man with the knife brought the
blade up and swung it down, cutting and breaking the back of Lawrences neck. They
dropped him on the ground.
The younger tribal member watched Lawrences body twitch in the dirt. He spit at
Lawrences dead body. He then remembered that this was sacred ground and filled with
fury even more. He kicked and beat the body even more. The caves of his ancestors
had been defiled, and the trees of his fathers cut down. He told his men to put the body
with all the tools into tunnel and fill it with all the dirt and rock Lawrence had taken out of
the hill. The man believed it was to be a sacrifice to the god to not hurt them for the
white mans stupidity. The white men had come to his land and destroyed everything.
They had taken away his way of life. They deserve to leave this way. Dead.
The three men took his oxen and remaining supplies back to their village with
them.
Days had passed since anyone had heard from Lawrence, but people in town
werent worried yet. It was usual for him to go almost two weeks without contact with
anyone else, but he usually talked to the prospectors living nearby his claim. They
hadnt heard from him.

One day, in early spring, the old man that lived down the trail, in the next mine
over, decided to walk up to Lawrences mine to check on him. He was in for a surprise.
Once the old man reached Lawrences claim, he saw overgrowth. Plants had
come back to life in the area since there were no Oxen to keep it at bay. The mine portal
had small vines growing over it and it looked like it had caved in, since it was full of
rocks and dirt. He saw a few tools laying around and saw many footprints in the dirt. He
walked over to a tree and leaned against it for a breath.
That poor kid. He was probably jumped by some no good pheasants, the ones
that arent even able to dig in the ground. Or maybe it was the local Tswana people.
This place is close to the border. He spoke to himself.
He had a melancholy attitude the rest of the inspection, until he found the second
tunnel. He was walked a few feet to the right of the main mining tunnel and had
discovered a wooden board covering another portal. He found all of Lawrences gold
hidden inside. He was going to take it, as he had planned to, but once he got close, he
felt uneasy. He walked back out of the tunnel away from the gold and went to look at the
caved in tunnel. He scanned the rocks, seeing nothing, until he saw a shoe in the dirt.
He knew what that meant and started to walk away slowly. He then ran back to his own
mine and never returned.