The Shirley Letters: From the California Mines, 1851-1852
by Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe;Marlene ShirleySmith-Baranzini (9781890771003)

The Shirley Letters, written from the mining camps in 1851 and 1852, are something valuable and rare -- a portrait by a woman of an era dominated by men. They offer a vivid picture of gold rush life, from accounts of "murders, fearful accidents, bloody deaths, a mob, whippings, a hanging, an attempt at suicide, and a fatal duel" to bars lined with "that eternal crimson calico which flushes the whole social life of the Golden State, " and the rare and welcome luxury of oyster feasts. With the "wild grandeur and awful magnificence" of the Sierra as background, this classic account presents a picture of the gold rush that is at times humorous, at times empathetic, and always trustworthy.

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