Title: The diary of a forty-niner
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.
Subjects: Biography, Diaries, Ethnic groups, Gold discoveries, Gold miners, Gold mines and mining, History, Fiction, Récits personnels, Découvertes d'or, Groupes ethniques, Frontier and pioneer life, west (u.s.), Frontier and pioneer life, california
Places: California
People: Alfred T. Jackson, Chauncey L. Canfield (1843-1909)
Time periods: 1846-1850