At the Mataura

DESCRIPTION: "The folk are going mad outright, the yellow fever's at its height, And nothing's heard both day and night but gold at the Mataura." The miners even leave the women behind in order to seek gold. They all heed "Sam's Call" to the (fake) goldfields
AUTHOR: portions anonymous, adapted and set to music by Phil Garland
EARLIEST DATE: 1971 (recorded by Phil Garland)
KEYWORDS: gold mining travel trick
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Garland-FacesInTheFirelight-NZ, pp. 67-68, "(At the Mataura)" (1 short text)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
When We're at the Metaura
NOTES [47 words]: Apparently a fellow by the name of Sam Perkins told a tall tale about finding gold at the Mataura in 1862. A gold rush followed -- but it was all a fake. Perkins eventually suffered a beating and humiliation, but of course most of the miners suffered worse hardship and poverty. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: Garl067

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