M E T A L M A N 9

M E T A L M A N 9

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May 3, 2025 More of: One Mile North of Dufferin

May 3, 2025 More of: One Mile North of Dufferin

May 3, 2025 More of: One Mile North of Dufferin This is a continuation from last month’s post. See: April 25 and 27, 2025 One Mile North of Dufferin. This is now my third attempt at locating the potential remnants of the 1873 Surveyors Camp. “Moved camp to within one mile north of Dufferin”. This time I came alone. I had three specific locations in mind where I really wanted to metal detect. So much land to cover, so little time. Notice the word “within” in the Tuesday, 18 November, 1873 dairy notation. I had not noticed this specific word before now. This might change the direction of my quest. This is definitely going to be a long term project but, considering how “Clean” of metals the land actually is, what I do know is that when we stumble upon the campsite, it should just pop right up at us. At least that’s the theory. What strikes me the most is the lack of square nails. Very telling… I separated the find from today into 3 different piles or strips on my display table. A, B, and, C. The finds under “A” were from a nicely defined ridge that runs more or less north – south across 5 river lots. This was an immediate continuation from where I had left with Randy on the April 27 hunt. Randy and I detected north to south and we covered a fair bit of ground. This continues the systematic elimination of land while looking for a possible “Camp” site location. Sounds odd to say but we now know where the camp is not. Sounds like something right out of Sun Tzu’s Art of War treatise. It is a process of elimination while covering a large area. Of the two round metal balls found; one is a musket ball at 12.76 grams; the second is a modern ball bearing, magnetic and rusted at 8.4 grams. The finds under “B” were right next to, and along, where the Old 14 Hwy runs across these same 5 river lots. It’s quite a ways from where the aforementioned ridge runs but I thought I’d cut to the chase and try detecting in an area that would have seen a lot of traffic and travelers back in the mid to late 1870’s. It proved interesting with much more glass and some ceramics but nothing pointing to an encampment. I also noticed how heavily wooded the local area is and if this were the case back in 1873, I rather doubt that a camp would be set up, so far from the end of the river lots, where the land sections begin and where there would be no clear line of sight over the prairie. Yes, I’m speculating here but it’s my way of proving a theory. The finds under “C” were in a completely different area and is most improbable as a surveyor’s camp but… A local neighbor whom Monty and I had spoken with had mentioned to us that we would find a lot of glass, ceramics, and old iron items on the land near or in the bend of the Red River. This is a different land owner but he was kind enough to grant us permission and access. This area is nestled out of sight, behind a large grove of old trees. The term “An English Village” was used in describing the area so this certainly piqued my curiosity. It was midafternoon by now and this was my last wide sweep at metal detecting. It proved to be the best area in the way of interesting finds. I suspect the area might have held a small house or homestead of sorts but nothing conclusive as to whom or what would have been there oh so long ago. It was not the surveyors camp, of that I am certain but future outings with my trusted metal detector and friends should reveal yet more interesting finds and perhaps some answers. The small horse shoe is either for a mule or for a Shetland pony; your guess is as good as mine. And yes, there is some remnant of silver on what would have been a serving spoon. Does that qualify as Treasure? Also of interest were the new friends that I found. Metal detecting is so much more than just finding metals; it’s a journey of discovery. The last pictures are of a Woolly Bear Caterpillar and of a Common Ground Beetle. Roger References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella https://extension.umn.edu/nuisance-insects/ground-beetles

May 10, 2025 An Invitation To Metal Detect

May 10, 2025 An Invitation To Metal Detect I was at a formal function in my home town of Letellier, Manitoba this winter when I was approached by a friend from my late teen years: Denis. Denis farms near Letellier, as his family has for generations. He also happens to have a keen interest in the history and the genealogy of his own family. Denis had heard of my metal detecting activities in the local area so he asked if I’d be interested in metal detecting part of a River Lot that he owns. There were rumors of a homestead on this lot, he said, a house or something, situated close to the Red River. Denis had been finding glass and ceramic and square nails in a specific area and suspected that this might be the location of the purported homestead. What an interesting way to discover new things about one’s family history than through the finds that are unearthed through metal detecting on a historical piece of land. This was the first time someone other than my own family had asked me to metal detect on their land. I must say that this is much easier than having to ask for the required and highly desired Land Owner’s Permission. I worked out a plan with him as far as the exact location, time frames, number of people detecting, ownership of the finds etc. Then I went to work… I obtained an aerial photo of this location dated May 17, 1930. (See the first Link below). I also forwarded Denis a copy of the Surveyor’s Map of 1873 and did as much research as I could and coordinated and assembled a small crew. Denis was comfortable with four detectorists on the land at one time. The four of us were able to fit in one vehicle and with four detectorists, we were also able to cover a lot more ground while detecting. We were Randy, Robin, Monty and I. May 10 was a perfect weather day. Not too hot and not too cold and it only started getting overly windy by midafternoon. Sounds like Goldilocks and The Three Bears story Eh! Every one of us came up with excellent artifacts of one type or another. This location was truly what I would consider virgin ground and certainly never before detected. The majority of the finds were contained to the area closest to the river where the old maps showed buildings. The finds were good representations of an early settlement and some items were truly interesting and odd. Probably the strangest find had to be a “Waffled” coin or medallion. Monty struck the JackPot with an 1807 British Penny. A great find was the Snake Buckle. It’s made to go with the sword holster and is probably British. The 4 shotgun shells are: Purdey & Sons No 12 London No date found. Rem - UNC No 12 Remington 1915 - 1942 Eley No 12 London 1896 – 1920 Kynoch No 16 Black 1890 – 1918 There is also a wide variety of fired bullets and in a wide range of calibers. Some of the .22 bullets are quite mangled. Other notable finds are: A Customs In-Bond Seal. On the 6 buttons, notice the delicate pattern on the last two. A ruler or measuring device from Rochester N.Y. and a wide variety of hand tools, or at least parts of them. Of interest is the metric ruler from L. O. Power Rochester N.Y. Noted were the large blade knife and a folding pocket knife. A little bit of wooden handle remains. A half horseshoe hopefully brings partial luck. I can see two small horseshoe nails too. The last thing that caught my eye was the 8 petal Rose shaped disc. I’m guessing it was part of a horse bridle. It is made from copper and might have had a light silver patina over top. Roger References: https://www.eodms-sgdot.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/index-en.html https://minterrornews.com/news-2-17-04-waffle_designs.html https://cartridge-corner.com/shotgun2.htm

May 10, 2025 An Invitation To Metal Detect

May 24, 2025 Ground Finds

May 24, 2025 Ground Finds

May 24, 2025 Ground Finds It was one of those outings where I’ve got all of my gear and equipment with me. My detector’s armed with a 14” coil for maximum ground coverage on an open field and I end up barely using it at all. Many farmers today use a land husbandry technique called “Direct Seeding” where there is very little soil disturbance when it comes to seeding and working the land. It conserves moisture and creates a more “natural” ground condition for plants to grow in. Gone are the days of deep plowing. All that to say that I found digging a lot harder in this field than what I’m used to. Plus, no tillage means that hard items like glass, iron, ceramics and the like just sit on the surface and eventually get revealed for the picking when it rains. Artifacts just sit on top of the ground, hence: Ground Finds. Today, ground finds were everywhere. I’d kneel down to pick up two or three pieces of glass and then there were more artifacts to be seen including grommets, carbon pencils, square nails, and some big iron too. The closer to the ground I was, the more I saw. Who needs an expensive metal detector when all you have to do is look around. Also found were a broken arrowhead (unfortunately broken) and a pottery sherd. And to answer that burning question that you’re thinking of… Yes, I actually do hand wash and brush with water each and every one of these artifacts. It’s either a sign of madness or pure dedication to preserving history. I have a series of 4 liter glass jars full of these glass and ceramic pieces in my office at home. I even have one full of coal. I do want to take time to thank and to say hello to Garth Hilderman at NCI Radio. Garth made reference to my metal detecting on the radio during the regular Saturday morning Bingo game. Tess and I met him at an aboriginal function last year where I’d left him my business card. I guess I now have one more follower of the website. Always exciting to get recognition: Thanks Garth, this one’s for you!!! Under the “G” Garth! Some of the regular followers may have noticed that I haven’t posted as much and the posts come way after the outing is done. I’ve been taking courses at the U of M and it’s been taking up quite a bit of my time. I am presently finishing up my second prerequisite course so that I can take a Creative Writing course or two. This way, I can write stories for you that are even better. Here’s a fun fact…. Heads up… If you’re a resident of Manitoba and 65 years old or more, your University education is free. You need to be admitted by the university of course but in my case, as alumni, they simply dredged up my old Student number from 42 years ago, now there’s a relic, and here I am back in school. You’re never too old to learn new things. Here are a series of pictures from my “Walk” in the field. Yes, all that glass and ceramic was just sitting there for the picking. This area has a lot of history and is always a great place to go metal detecting. See: May 11, 2024 - The Group Hunt and the Finds. Roger

May 31, 2025 The Ridge in Spring

May 31, 2025 The Ridge in Spring

May 31, 2025 The Ridge in Spring In my last post on May 24, 2025, I found a lot of ground finds but did very little in the way of actual metal detecting. Today it was back to basics: Metal Detecting. I wanted to go over the Surveyor’s Camp Site of 1873 at least one more time this year before the crop completely takes over the field. There had been very little soil disturbance on this field since last fall so ground finds should also come easy. The corn crop had gone in using “Direct Seeding”, a method that provides minimal soil disturbance. I had a short window of opportunity to further explore and detect on site. The main references to the site are: September 25, 2024 - The Ridge and at: October 24, 2024 - Returning to the Ridge. A Continuation Knowing exactly where in the field the old camp site was located, I quickly found the debris field on the ridge and began metal detecting. Sure enough, I began to locate iron. Let’s see what the winter’s frost pulled out of the soil or brought close to the surface. The more telling finds are the two partial horseshoe nails. Yes, all survey work, the getting around and the occasional travel back to Winnipeg was all done on horseback. Life back in the day was not all milk and honey. In fact, on Thursday, August 21, 1873 … Horse lost across the river, sent the men to search for him, two men remain at camp to make posts. Friday, August 22, 1873 …part of the men searching for horse. Saturday, August 22, 1873 …Found the horse. Also found that might pertain to the surveyors were two grommets that probably formed a part of the horse tack. The shotgun shell bottom is iron and is too corroded to make out any markings thus impossible to date accurately. The small 1 - 1/4 inch square nails were for supply crates. Most of the square nails are only found in the debris field as there are very few anywhere else in this farm field overall. My last question is what antique farm machinery was painted blue. In the last picture, there is still some blue paint left on two artifacts. These items came much later than 1873 but are not recent either. More finds to come from the ridge next spring as the corn will not come off until very late in the fall. Roger