[LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.]
[CONTENTS.]
[NAMES OF PIONEERS.]
[TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE]
THE ARGONAUTS
OF CALIFORNIA
BEING THE REMINISCENCES
OF SCENES AND INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED IN
CALIFORNIA IN EARLY MINING DAYS
BY
A PIONEER
And believing that it will be of some historical value as well
as of interest generally to know the names of those who
were the first to venture forth in the search of gold, and
by whose energy and labor the foundations of a great state
were laid, and also a general prosperity created throughout
the entire country, I have therefore prefixed to the
work the names of those that I have been able to obtain,
numbering about 35,000, and including among them the
names of several thousand who are now living in the
various States of the Union.
TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS DRAWN FROM LIFE
BY C. W. HASKINS.
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY
FORDS, HOWARD & HULBERT
NEW YORK
1890
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1889, by
C. W. HASKINS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.
R. Pierce & Co., Printers, 53 Lafayette Place, N. Y.
TO THE
SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE
ADVANCE GUARD
OF GOLD HUNTERS,
THE CALIFORNIA PIONEERS
AND THEIR DESCENDANTS,
WHO ARE NOW LIVING THROUGHOUT THE
UNITED STATES,
THIS BOOK
IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY THE
AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
While residing in the village of Kingston, located upon the Cœur D’Alene River in the silver mining regions of northern Idaho during the winter of ’87-’88, and being compelled to remain within doors during the winter in consequence of the great depth of snow and intense cold, in order to pass away the time I amused myself by writing an account of scenes and incidents that occurred in California in early days in the mining regions, and which came under my observation. These events are written entirely from memory, but I have endeavored to give as near as possible the correct date of the events and incidents mentioned, as well as their location and names with all of which I was familiar. As to the the correct description of scenes and events, I ask the remnant of that band of sturdy Argonauts who laid the foundation of a great State to bear me witness.