A year of mud and gold : San Francisco in letters and diaries, 1849-1850 / edited by William Benemann.

979.46104 Y32

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, c1999.

xxiii, 241 p. : ill., map ; 24 cm.

"Here are the letters and diaries of ordinary men and women caught up in the rapid transformation of San Francisco during its gold rush heyday, 1849-50. Together these accounts render a rich mosaic of San Francisco's metamorphosis from a small Mexican outpost into a rough-and-tumble boomtown filled with gamblers and prostitutes, evangelists and entrepreneurs - men, women, and children from all parts of the country, arriving in California with the dream of striking it rich."--BOOK JACKET. "The correspondents come from a variety of economic and social backgrounds. Some are barely literate, while others craft prose on par with the finest nineteenth-century travel literature. Their writings address a broad range of concerns, from business prospects and consumer prices to social mores and popular amusements."--BOOK JACKET.

San Francisco (Calif.) -- Biography.

San Francisco (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.

San Francisco (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Sources.

San Francisco (Calif.) -- Social conditions -- 19th century -- Sources.

California -- Gold discoveries -- Sources.

Pioneers -- California -- San Francisco -- Diaries.

Pioneers -- California -- San Francisco -- Correspondence.

Benemann, William, 1949-

Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-234) and index.

First Impressions -- The Ties that Bind -- O, Don't You Cry for Me -- Madmen, Drunkards, Murderers, and Whores -- The Phoenix Rises -- Men without Women -- The Course of Empire -- A Home in the West.

0803212933 (alk. paper)