panning

James Marshall, a foreman at Sutter’s Fort near Sacramento, accidentally discovered gold in January 1848 while building a sawmill. His discovery sparked the California Gold Rush. Approximately 300,000 people from across the country and around the world flocked to the region, hoping to make their fortunes. These gold-seekers were called the “Forty-Niners,” since the majority of them arrived during 1849. This book, by historian and nature writer Stewart Edward White, tells the story of California before, during, and after this pivotal period.

Though the California gold rush of 1849 is perhaps the most well-known, a major strike along the Klondike River in 1896 sparked one of the largest gold rushes in the history of North America. An estimated 100,000 prospectors flooded the Klondike region, located in the Yukon in northwestern Canada. This book, published in 1897, gave readers “authentic instructions” on how to reach Klondike, a remote region accessible only via the Yukon River.

John Randolph Spears (b. 1850) was a well-traveled journalist at turn of the century, eventually writing nearly a dozen books, primarily on nautical and maritime themes. This early title is about the land, sea, flora, fauna, and cultures of South America’s southernmost region. The “gold diggings” from the title are mostly done on the east coast of Tierra del Fuego, where, after heavy storms, gold shows up on the black sands. The quest for gold often creates conflicts with indigenous communities of the area, which Spears takes great care to describe with sensitivity (for the times).

Lois DeLorenzo gets down and dirty when explaining how to search for gold in the wilderness of North America. Her text and detailed drawings include information on how to assess whether an area is likely to contain gold deposits and how to build the tools necessary for panning and sluicing. DeLorenzo lists the materials needed and provides instructions for building various handmade prospecting tools, and demonstrates via her illustrations the best ways to use each tool. This unique bound paperback is from the Minerals Library at the National Museum of Natural History.

When thinking of the phrase “gold rush,” the words "California" or "Klondike" may come to mind. Well before prospectors traveled out west, many tried their luck in the mountains of the state of Georgia. Author David Williams sifts through many obscure resources and historical documents to paint a picture of the Georgia gold rush and its impact on the local Cherokee beginning in 1828 and throughout the subsequent decade.

Canadian author, Kenneth J. Kutz is an expert and enthusiast in both philately and gold. Kutz is the former President of Texasgulf Mining Corporation. He is also the former President of the Collectors Club of New York, one of the oldest existing philatelic societies (founded in 1896) in the United States. This book is about the Canadian Klondike Gold Rush of 1896, which attracted 100,000 prospectors from around the world.

This book is a reprint of the original, so many of the black-and-white images are fuzzy. Nevertheless, it is a very exciting read. Many people assume that the prospectors who participated in the California Gold Rush traveled there overland from the eastern states. But it was actually a worldwide gold rush, with many prospectors traveling by sea. Even prospectors from Maine often traveled by sea. Because the Panama Canal had not yet been built, travelers to California had to sail around Cape Horn.