Six Months In The Gold Mines From A Journal Of Three Years' Residence In Upper And Lower California. 1847-8-9
By:E. Gould Buffum Published By:Double9 Books
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Six Months In The Gold Mines From A Journal Of Three Years' Residence In Upper And Lower California. 1847-8-9
About the Book
Six months in the gold mines: From a journal of three years' residence in Upper and Lower California 1847-8-9 is a historical account chronicles the experiences and observations of a lieutenant from the New York Volunteers during the transformative period of the California gold rush. It captures the conditions in early San Francisco, then a raw settlement under American military control, and reflects on the changing political and social structures shaping the region. His detailed account emphasizes the anticipation and disorder that followed the first discoveries of gold, portraying how multitudes of fortune seekers arrived with great hope but often encountered harsh realities. As the journal progresses, it explores the grueling physical demands of mining, the fluctuating nature of success and failure among diggers, and the fleeting sense of community formed among strangers in pursuit of wealth. Personal incidents and regional descriptions are woven into a broader depiction of the forces reshaping the territory, making the work both a firsthand record of hardship and a study of ambition and survival.
Edward Gould Buffum was born in 1820 in Rhode Island to Arnold Buffum, a well-known philanthropist active in New England social reform. He began his career in journalism at the New York Herald, where he established himself as a capable writer. When the Mexican–American War broke out in 1846, Buffum left his position and joined the military, eventually being sent to California as part of his regiment. His time in California coincided with the early years of the Gold Rush, an experience that later formed the basis of his book Six Months in the Gold Mines. This work captured his firsthand observations of the societal transformation occurring in the region and offered an early literary account of the goldfields. After his military service, Buffum remained active in journalism and public life, eventually serving a term in the California State Assembly. Later in life, he traveled to Europe, where he continued to write and report. He died in Paris in 1867 at the age of 47. Buffum’s writings remain a valuable record of a pivotal time in California’s development.
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