Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter I
2. CONTENTS IX
3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XIII
4. INTRODUCTION 1
5. ONE. CALIFORNIA'S GOLDEN REVOLUTION: Enormous Wealth and Great Confusion 7
6. TWO. GOLD FEVER: The Beginning 21
7. THREE. "THIS IS A HARD THING, THIS BREAKING UP OF FAMILIES": Gold and Its Personal Costs 32
8. FOUR. JOURNEY AND ARRIVAL: Coming to California, Coming to Terms 55
9. FIVE. OLD BONDS AND NEW ALLEGIANCES: "Me and John Stick Together Like Wood Ticks" 72
10. SIX. THE SCARCITY OF WOMEN: "I Have Not Spoken to a Lady for Five Months" 91
11. SEVEN: "I COULD SELL SOME OF THE FURNITURE": Adjustments in tke East 106
12. EIGHT. OCCUPATIONS: The 49ers Begin Work 119
13. NINE. "THE REAL ARGONAUTS OF '49": Life and Leisure in the Gold Fields 135
14. TEN. THE URBAN 49ERS: "A Very Good Chance to Make Money in This City" 155
15. ELEVEN: WOMEN IN THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH: Duly, Adventure, and Opportunity 172
16. TWELVE. HARSH REALITIES: Hard Luck and Hard Labor in the Gold Fields 185
17. THIRTEEN. "CAPITALISTS WILL TAKE HOLD": High-Stakes Investments and Deferred Returns 197
18. FOURTEEN.THREATS FROM WITHIN, THREATS FROM WITHOUT: Fear, Hostility, and Violence in the Gold Rush 216
19. FIFTEEN. WAITING: A Permanent Condition 230
20. SIXTEEN. LOST LOVE, LOST FAMILIES 243
21. SEVENTEEN. THE PERMANENT LURE OF SUCCESS, THE ENDURING SHAME OF FAILURE: "When a Person Gits to California It Is Hard to Say or Tell When He Gets Away" 256
22. EIGHTEEN. THE RIPPLES SUBSIDE: The End of the Gold Rush 267
23. NINETEEN."THE DAYS OF OLD, THE DAYS OF GOLD, THE DAYS OF FORTY-NINE":The Gold Rush and Memory 283
24. HISTORIANS AND SOURCES 295
25. NOTES 309
26. INDEX 347