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To the
Golden Shore
Contents
Acknowledgments
and Sources of Illustrations
Introduction
Maps
Before the Gold - December 1846 to August 1848
From the Pacific - August 1848
Our New Territory - September 1848
Excitement - October & November 1848
Gold Fever - December 1848
Gold Mania - December 1848
Isthmus of Panama - December 1848
The Panic to Go - January 1849
The Rush is On - January 1849
Ho! For California! - January 1849
By Land, Sea--& Air? - February 1849
Buy Now! - March 1849
Hurrah for the Gold! - April 1849
The Overland Routes - April 1849
The Emigrants - May 1849
Westward Ho! - May 1849
Ever Onward - June 1849
The Throng Advances - June 1849
Cholera and Gold - July 1849
Money is the Root - August 1849
The Strait of Magellan - September 1849
Oh! California! - September 1849
The Increase of Everything - October 1849
Death and Dollars - November 1849
We Have Arrived - December 1849
The Golden Shore - January 1850
Index
Introduction
“Know
ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island named California, very close to
that part of the Terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women, without a
single man among them, and that they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of
body, with strong and passionate hearts and great virtues. The island itself is one of the
wildest in the world on account of the bold and craggy rocks. Their weapons were all made
of gold; and also the trappings of their wild animals with which they make their forays
after being domesticated.
“The island everywhere abounds with gold and precious stones, and upon it no other
metal was found. . . . In this island, named California, there are many griffins on
account of the great ruggedness of the country which was infested with wild animals. . . .
“Whenever a man came to the island he was promptly killed and eaten. . . . There
ruled over that island of California a queen [Calafia] of majestic proportions, more
beautiful than all others, and in the very vigor of her womanhood. She was desirous of
accomplishing great deeds. She was valiant, and courageous, and ardent, with a brave
heart, and she had visions to execute nobler actions than had been performed by any other
ruler.” (From Las Sergas de Esplandián, by the Spanish
writer Montalvo, published in about 1500, as a continuation of the Portuguese novel, Amadis
de Gaula.)
Gold was discovered in California by James W. Marshall in the South
Fork of the American River on January 24, 1848. Most Americans of that time knew nothing
about California other than that it was on the Pacific coast—if they even knew that.
California was distant, difficult to get to, and was only lightly inhabited. It might as
well have been the mysterious, exotic, and dangerous land created by Montalvo in Las
Sergas de Esplandián.
In 1841 the Bartleson-Bidwell Party was the first group of
emigrants to reach California via the overland route. The travail of the Donner Party,
trapped in the snow in the Sierra Nevada during the winter of 1846–47, with the
resulting suffering, starvation, cannibalism, and death, was well known. It was not a tale
that would encourage many to follow the same route. Before 1848 there was actually more
emigration to Oregon than to California.
The news of the gold discovery trickled out to San Francisco and
Monterey. Once the citizenry realized that the gold stories were true, the towns and farms
were emptied of their population--everyone went to the gold 'diggings.' It took months for
the news to reach the settled parts of the United States; the report of gold in California
was first published in an Eastern newspaper on August 19 of 1848. Many of the early
stories were disbelieved; many people were skeptical, feeling certain that it was another
hoax or `bubble.' Confirmation of the amazing discovery was not made official until
President Polk's annual message, in early December.
The urge, the desire, the excitement, the fever, the mania to go to
California engulfed the country within days. What was known about California and the
miraculous discovery of wealth within `easy´ grasp was reported at great length in the
only significant medium in the middle of the nineteenth century—the newspapers.
With the exception of footnotes and a small number of editorial
notes, everything in this book is taken from newspapers of the time. The source of each
item is identified by three letters and the date, in parentheses, at the end of the item.
The letter designations are: CPD, Cleveland Plain Dealer;
ISJ, Illinois State Journal (Springfield); NYH,
New York Herald; PPL, Philadelphia Public Ledger and
Daily Transcript; and WNI, Washington National
Intelligencer. These papers used material from all the rest of the country:
Boston, St. Louis, New Orleans, etc.
There are articles, reportage, editorials, sermons, poetry, songs,
advertisements, and a multitude of letters from those who were striving toward California
via all the routes: the Isthmus of Panama, around Cape Horn and through the Strait of
Magellan, the Overland Route across the plains, the Gila River route, several routes
through Mexico, and across Nicaragua.
Here is the California Gold Rush—upheaval,
adventure, suffering, death, great success, and tragic failure—as it was presented to
and understood by people in the United States. This is what captivated them, uprooted
their lives, and sent them off into the great unknown.
Index
A
A. Emery (ship)
Acapulco
Acapulco, letters from
Acton (ship)
Alabama (steamer)
Albany (ship)
Albuquerque
Aleck Scott (riverboat)
Andrew Fulton (riverboat)
Anne (ship)
Anonyma (ship)
Anthem (ship)
Anthon (ship)
Anthony (ship)
Aransas Bay
Archelaus (ship)
Argonaut (ship)
Ariel (ship)
Ark (ship)
Arkansas River
Attila (ship)
Audley Clark (ship)
Audubon, John Woodhouse
Aurora (ship)
B
Baja California
Bartlett, Washington
Bascom, Ansel
Bay State (steamer)
Beale, Edward F.
Bear Creek
Bear River
Belfast (ship)
Belle Creole (steamer)
Benicia
Bennett, James Gordon
Benton, Thomas Hart
Bexar
Birmingham (ship)
Bodega
Bolufogo Bay
Bonneville, Benjamin L. E. de
Borja Bay
Boston (ship)
Boston, California
Botafojo
Brannan, Samuel
Brazos
British opinion
Brooklyn (ship)
Bruff, J. Goldsborough
Brutus (ship)
Bryant, Edwin
Buffum, Edward Gould
Buntline, Ned
Burnett, Peter H.
Butte Creek
C
Cabet, Étienne
Calaveras River
California (steamer)
Callao
Callao (ship)
Calloony (ship)
Camargo
Camarro
Cape Frio
Cape Froward
Cape Horn
Cape of Good Hope
Cape Pillar
Cape Quod
Cape St. Lucas
Cape Verde Islands
Cape Victory
Cape Virgins
Capioto (ship)
Capitol (ship)
Carquinez Strait
Carson, James H.
Cass, Lewis
Cerro Gordo
Chagres
Chagres River
Chihuahua
Chimalapa River
Chimney Rock
Chinandega
Cholera
Christoval Colon (ship)
Circassian (ship)
City Hotel
Coatzacoalcos River
Col. Fremont (ship)
Col. Howard (ship)
Coloma
Colorado (ship)
Colorado River
Colton, Walter C.
Conception, Chile
Connecticut (riverboat)
Consignee (steamer)
Constellation (ship)
Copiapo (ship)
Corpus Christi
Cosumnes River
Council Bluffs
Council Grove
Crescent City (steamer)
Croton (ship)
Cruces
Cuba
Culloma
Culloma, letters from
Curlew (ship)
D
Dacotah (river boat)
Dent, Lewis
Dent, Lewis, letters from
Dexter, Timothy
Dolphin (ship)
Doniphan, Col. Alexander W.>
Donner party
Douglas, Sen. Stephen A.
Douglass, Frederick,
Dry Creek
Durango, Mexico
Durivage, John E.
Duxbury (ship)
E
Eclipse (ship)
Edith (steamer)
Edward Everett (ship)
El Paso del Norte
Eliza (ship)
Elk Horn River
Emma Isadora (ship)
Emory, Maj. William H.
Empire City (steamer)
Equator (ship)
Eudorus (steamer)
Eugenia (ship)
Ewer, Peter F.
Ewing (ship)
F
Falcon (ship)
Falcon (steamer)
Falkland Islands
Fanny (steamer)
Farnham, Eliza W.
Feather River
Feather River, letters from
Felix (ship)
Flora (ship)
Florida (ship)
Folsom, Abby
Folsom, Joseph L.
Forest (ship)
Fort Hall
Fort Kearny
Fort Kearny, letters from
Fort Kearny, Old
Fort Laramie
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Santa Cruz
Fort Smith
Fort Vermillion
Forty-Mile Desert
Frances Ann (ship)
Franklin (ship)
Fredericksburg, Texas
Free-Soil Party
Fremont (town)
Frémont, John C.
Frio Grande
G
Galindo (ship)
Genesee (steamer)
Gila River
Gila route
gold discovery
Gold Region, letters from
Golden Gate
Goodyear, Miles Morris
Gordon's California Association
Gorgona
Granada, Nicaragua
Grand Island
Grand Turk (riverboat)
Grecian (ship)
Greeley, Horace
Green River
Grenada, Nicaragua
Grey Eagle (ship)
Greyhound (ship)
Guadalajara,
Guadalajara, letters from
Guadaloupe Hidalgo, Treaty of
Guaymas
Gulf of Mexico
H
Hamilton (ship)
Happy Valley
Harriet Newell (ship)
Harrison, William Henry
Helena (ship)
Henry Ware (ship)
Hermann (steamer)
Hersiles (ship)
Highland Mary (river boat)
Hong Kong
Honolulu
Honolulu (ship)
Hounds, The
Hudson's Bay Company
Humboldt (ship)
Humboldt River
Hunt, Timothy Dwight
Huntress (ship)
Huron (ship)
I
Icaria
Independence
Independence, letters from
Iowa (ship)
Irapuato
Isaak Walton (ship)
Isthmus (steamer)
Isthmus of Panama,
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
J
James Monroe (ship)
Jane Parker (ship)
Jefferson City
Jewess (riverboat)
Jewess (steamer)
John Petty (ship)
Johnson's Rancho
Johnson, Cave
Jones, Commodore Thomas ap C.
Josephine (ship)
K
Kanakas
Kanesville
Kansas (river boat)
Kansas City
Kansas River
Kearny, Gen. Stephen W.
Keoka (ship)
Ketcham, Thomas E.
Kings River
Koozer, Benjamin Park
L
La Paz
La Paz, letters from
Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico
Lampazos, Mexico
Lanark (ship)
Laredo
Larkin, Thomas O.
Lassen's Meadows
Latoon
Leavenworth, Thaddeus M.
León, Nicaragua
Leonora (ship)
Lexington, U.S.S.
Little Blue River
Little Rock
Loo Choo (ship)
Los Angeles
Loup Fork
Lyon, Caleb
M
Magnolia (ship)
Managua
Maria (ship)
Marianne (ship)
Mariposa Creek
Marshall, James W.
Martinez
Mary (river boat)
Mary (ship)
Mary Blane (river boat)
Mary Frances (ship)
Masaya, Nicaragua
Mason, Col. Richard Barnes
Matamoros, Mexico
Mazatlan
Mazatlan, letters from
Mazeppa (ship)
Mellus and Howard
Mellus, Francis
Memphis
Merced River
Meteor (ship)
Mexican routes
Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico, letters from
Miranda (ship)
Mobile
Mokelumne River
Monclova, Mexico
Monroe (river boat)
Montague (ship)
Monterey
Monterey, letters from
Monterrey
Montezuma (town)
Mormon Island
Mormons
Mott, Lucretia Coffin
Murphy's diggings
Mustang (river boat)
N
Nagarote, Nicaragua
Napa
Napa Valley
Naumkeag (ship)
Nauvoo
Nebraska River
Neuces River
New Helvetia
New Orleans
New Orleans (steamer)
New York of the Pacific
New York Volunteers
New York, letters from
Niagara (steamer)
Nicaragua route
Nicaragua, Lake
Nicaragua, letters from
Northener (steamer)
O
Oahu
Ohio (steamer)
Olympe (ship)
Oniota (ship)
Orbit (ship)
Oregon (steamer)
Orpheus (ship)
Orus (steamer)
Osceola (ship)
Oskaloosa
Othello (ship)
Overland Route, letters from the
P
Pacific (ship)
Pacific Spring
Panama
Panama (ship)
Panama (steamer)
Panama City
Panama City, letters from
Panama City, Old
Paradiso (ship)
Paragon (ship)
Parker House
Parras, Mexico
Perry (ship)
Pharsalia (ship)
Philadelphia (ship)
Pilot River
Platte River
Polk, President James Knox
Port Famine
Port Lavaca
Portsmouth Square
Possession Bay
Presidio El Paso
Presidio of San Francisco
Pueblo de San Jose
Q
Queen of the West (ship)
Queretaro
Quicksilver
R
R. H. Douglass (ship)
Ralph Cross (ship)
Realejo, Nicaragua
Revere, Joseph Warren
Richardson, William A.
Richmond (ship)
Riley, Gen. Bennet
Rio (ship)
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, letters from
Rio Grande
Rio San Juan
Rising Sun (ship)
Robert Browne (ship)
Rodolph (ship)
Roe (ship)
Rosarito, Baja California
S
Sacramento
Sacramento, letters from
Salem (ship)
Salmon Trout River
Salt Lake Valley
Salt River
Saltillo (ship)
Saltillo, letters from
Samoset (ship)
Sample (ship)
Samuel Russell (ship)
San Blas
San Blas, letters from
San Diego
San Diego, letters from
San Fernando, Baja California Sur
San Fernando, Mexico
San Francisco (steamer)
San Francisco, letters from
San Ignacio, Baja California
San Joaquin River
San Jose
San Juan Capistrano
San Juan de Nicaragua
San Juan de Nicaragua, letters from
San Juan River
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Potosi, Mexico
San Miguel
San Nicholas Bay
San Pasqual, battle of
San Pedro
Sandwich Islands
Sandy Point
Santa Barbara
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
Santa Fe
Santee (ship)
Sarah (steamer)
Sausalito
Sausalito Bay
Scott's Bluff
Scott, Gen. Winfield
Seawitch (ship)
Senator (steamer)
Seralvo
Seymour (ship)
Sherman, William Tecumseh
Sierra Nevada
Silvie de Grasse (ship)
Sinclair, John
Slavery
Smith, Gen. Persifor F.
Snake River
Sonoma
Sonoma Valley
Sonorian Camp
Sophia (ship)
South Carolina (ship)
South Pass
Southerner (steamer)
St. John (ship)
St. Joseph
St. Joseph, letters from
St. Mary, U.S.S.
Stanislaus (town)
Stanislaus River
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
Stevenson, Col. Jonathan D.
Stockton
Stockton, Commodore Robert F.
Stockton, letters from,
Strait of Magellan
Sublette's Cut Off
Suisun
Suisun Bay
Suisun Valley
Sullivan's diggings
Suñol, Antonio María
Susan G. Owens (ship)
Sutter's Fort
Sutter's Fort, letters from
Sutter's Mill
Sutter, John Augustus
Sutterville
Swallow Harbor
Sweetwater Road
T
Tahiti
Tahmaroo (ship)
Talcahuana, Chile
Tampico, 158
Tarolinta (ship)
Taylor, Zachary
Templeton (ship)
Tepic, Mexico
Texas, letters from
Tierra del Fuego
Treaty of Peace
Truckee River
Tucson
Tule Lake
Tuolumne diggings
Tuolumne River
Two Friends (ship)
U
U.S.S. Ohio
U.S.S. Southampton
U.S.S. St. Mary
U.S.S. Warren
V
Vallejo, Mariano
Valparaiso
Valparaiso, letters from
Van Buren, Martin
Velasco (ship)
Vera Cruz
Vernon (town)
W
W. G. Hackstaff (ship)
Walter (ship)
Washington, letters from
Weber, Charles M.
Webster (town)
Western World (riverboat)
Weston
Westport
Whitney, Asa
Whiton (ship)
Wilkes, Lt. Charles
Williams, Isaac
Wilmot Proviso
Wilmot, David
Winthrop (ship)
Wm. G. Hackstaff (ship)
Woods Creek
Wright, Fanny (Frances)
Wyoming (river boat)
Y
Yerba Creek
Yount, George C.
Yuba River
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