A year of mud and gold

"Here are the letters and diaries of ordinary men and women caught up in the rapid transformation of San Francisco during its gold rush heyday, 1849-50. Together these accounts render a rich mosaic of San Francisco's metamorphosis from a small Mexican outpost into a rough-and-tumble boomtown filled with gamblers and prostitutes, evangelists and entrepreneurs - men, women, and children from all parts of the country, arriving in California with the dream of striking it rich."--BOOK JACKET.

"The correspondents come from a variety of economic and social backgrounds. Some are barely literate, while others craft prose on par with the finest nineteenth-century travel literature. Their writings address a broad range of concerns, from business prospects and consumer prices to social mores and popular amusements."--BOOK JACKET.