The diary of a forty-niner
By: ed. by Chauncey L. Canfield.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin company
Published: 1920
Place of publication: Boston; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 253
Subjects: Ethnic groups -- California; California -- Gold discoveries
Description: Chauncey de Leon Canfield (1843-1909) first published "The diary of a forty-niner" in 1906, and 1,200 of the 2,000 copies in that edition were burned. Joseph Gaer's Bibliography of California literature, 20 describes this book as written in the form of a diary, but fictional.' The diary of a forty-niner (1920) reprints Canfield's 1906 publication. It purports to be the diary of Alfred T. Jackson, of Litchfield County, Connecticut, during his days as a gold prospector, 1850-1852. Jackson offers firsthand accounts of Nevada City and neighboring Rock Creek; descriptions of Grass Valley, North and South Yuba Valleys, and the Sierra Mountains; details of gold mining with accounts of pioneer overland crossings, and foreign mineworkers (including Chinese). Entries concerning Jackson's personal life include details of his courtship of a French woman in the camps.
Notes: Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.
No known restrictions on publication.
Title vignette.
First published in 1906.
The diary "purported to be the experiences of Alfred T. Jackson, a pioneer miner who ... worked on Rock Creek, Nevada County, California." Pref. p. ix. The name Alfred T. Jackson is probably fictitious.