Tales by an Old Prospector: the Gold Was Cursed

By Boniface Idziak

Hugh John Melvin spent the biggest part of his life in the wilderness of Ontario, Canada, seeking to discover the yellow metal of Gold.
He was married to Madeleine Lagarde of Grant, Ontario in the Immaculate Conception Parish, Kapuskasing, Ontario. They had 1 child, Margaret. Her mother passed away when she was 5 years old of Tuberculosis. Margaret was put in a convent in Montreal, Quebec by the will of her mother who was a native.
This change Hughs lifestyle and he found his peace of mind heart in prospecting in the bush county for Gold.
Hugh prospected alone and trusted a very few people. He was a very secretive person and very knowledgeable in playing poker and prospecting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462875610

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by Boniface Idziak.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011908357

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4628-7560-3

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4628-7559-7

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4628-7561-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

95564

Contents

A Complimentary

Preface

Joe’s Curse on the Gold

Oh! My Aching Back

A Few Hands of Poker

Taking the Hit

A Complimentary

I give many thanks to Larry and Joanne Salo of Connaught, Ontario, Canada, for making it possible for this event to be published for the public to read and know of a gold curse that became true to a lone prospector, Hugh J. Melvin.

Preface

Hugh John Melvin was born on December 10, 1889, in Coalhaw, Scotland. The Melvin’s family immigrated to Drummond Island, Michigan, USA, when Hugh was still a child. This venture is about a prospector/poker player of his early days of prospecting in Ontario and Nevada. The story was told to his son-in-law, the author, who also became a prospector, but not a poker player. The story is about a curse sworn on a gold claim in Northern Ontario, Canada, by two other prospectors. Hugh Melvin discovered their find and high graded some of the gold and sold it to a dentist in Toronto. Hugh went to Las Vegas, Nevada, to hit it big playing poker. He found that the curse was for him as well as anybody else. Spending a few weeks in Nevada and losing his poker bankroll that he had won, he now realized the curse was upon him. At times, telling his true experience, tears came to his eyes until the mention of gold; he then would burst into short laughter, even though he knew he was doing wrong. It was hard work for one prospector, even though he was a young man at the time, and times were hard back then. Hugh spent the winter months in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at his daughter’s home. He was preparing to leave for Timmins, Ontario, on March 21, 1957. While packing his gear, Hugh suddenly quit breathing. His dark gray woolen underwear hung on the clothesline a whole month, before his daughter, Margaret, took them down and fired them away for good.

Joe’s Curse on the Gold

95564-IDZI-layout-low.pdf

Hughie Melvin who was once a resident of Drummond Island, Michigan, and whose family immigrated from Coldslaw, Scotland, became a first class fireman