Me – a Violation and a Bad Apple

I posted a link to my last blog post on an American forum. The link was removed and I received a message about ‘a violation’. Fair enough – and I apologise for my blunder. Evidently I was ‘advertising’. “A few bad apples spoil the bunch” I was informed.

There was a reply to my post from a member whose name I forget – he said that William Trenholm was the guy who invented the first metal detector. I have other posts coming your way that name the usual suspects, but I had never heard of Trenholm, so I checked him out. I gleaned a lot of information from this book , ‘South Carolina Myths and Legends’ – The true stories behind History’s Mysteries by Rachel Haynie.

You can read about William L. Trenholm in the chapter entitled South Carolina and Confederate Gold. Click on the link BOOK in the above paragraph.

Suffice to say that Trenholm, in 1882, patented a machine with a memorable and catchy title called an . . .

HYPOHYDROSCOPE

“Confederate gold refers to hidden caches of gold lost after the American Civil War. Millions of dollars worth of gold was lost or unaccounted for afterwards and its possible location has been the source of speculation of many historians and treasure hunters. Allegedly, some of the Confederate treasure was deposited in the river.

Glitter sometimes illuminates the imagination. Many gold myths have ‘Happily Ever After’ endings that explain where the gold is now . . . “

BUT NOT WHEN IT COMES TO THE CONFEDERATE GOLD!

The hypohydroscope,-used in the river,- wasn’t unlike a metal detector, but I found no record of it ever finding the Confederate gold. Indeed I was unable to find any other information about the machine. Here endeth the myth.

I guess Trenholm placed the gadget in his shed to fester and never be seen or heard of again. Click HERE and then PATENT IMAGES in new widow, to see Trenholm’s specification for the instrument – if you can be arsed!