Books by Category » Old California

California Coast Trails: A Horseback Adventure from Mexico to Oregon in 1911 By J. Smeaton Chase This is the lyrical journal of Chase's 2,000-mile horseback journey from Mexico to Oregon along the coast trails. He set off in 1911, his purpose being to experience the beauty of the land and to record for posterity the distinctively 'Western' way of life. Chase felt that with the construction of the Panama Canal, commerce and industry in California would skyrocket and the old way of life would disappear, along with the sacred nature of the coast lands. So he decided to see it all for himself and record it for future generations. A fascinating look at the towns and wilds of California as they were at the beginning of the 20th century. Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-014-X Pages: 216 $16.95

Death Valley in '49: The Autobiography of a Pioneer By William L. Manly This is the detailed and devastating account of the sufferings of the party of emigrants who gave Death Valley its name. Persuaded by the leader of another wagon train to try a shortcut to southern California, the emigrants got lost in the barren, arid valley. After splitting into small groups, most of the party died of thirst, hunger, or exhaustion. William Manly, however, lived up to his name, and survived the ordeal to write this autobiography, which also describes conditions in California during the 1849 Gold Rush. Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-026-3 Pages: 292 $24.95

Eldorado: Adventures in the Path of Empire By Bayard Taylor Taylor was sent by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune to San Francisco in September, 1849 to report on the Gold Rush. He was already well known as a writer of travels in Europe "with knapsack and staff." This book is a treasure, and is the source of the phrase, "Go west, young man." Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-231-2 Pages: 348 $24.95

Life, Letters, and Travels of Father Pierre-Jean de Smet, S. J., Vol 1: In North America Among the Natives, 1821-1873 By Pierre-Jean de Smet Pierre Jean De Smet was born January 30, 1801 in Belgium and arrived in the United States as a Jesuit novice in 1821, where he ran a school for Native American children from 1824-1830 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1840 and 1841 he traveled with the Flatheads through Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, and then from 1841 to 1846 he visited and established Catholic missions among the Native American tribes of the American northwest and British Columbia, and in 1849 he secured a treaty between the United States and the Sioux tribe. He wrote during his travels, and recorded what few literate men even saw. Volume 1 of 4. Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-258-4 Pages: 360 $24.95

Prentice Mulford's Story: Life by Land and Sea By Prentice Mulford Born in Sag Harbor, Long Island, Prentice Mulford (1834-1891) sailed to San Francisco on a clipper ship in 1856 and remained for sixteen years. This is his account of his adventures at sea and in the American west from 1856 through 1872: life on a clipper and a California coastal schooner hunting whales and seals, gold prospecting in Tuolumne County, accounts of camp life and experiences as a school teacher and minor local politician, copper mining in Stanislaus County, and career as journalist for the San Francisco Golden Era. Mulford was a friend of Mark Twain and Bret Harte, and this book ranks with theirs. Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-251-7 Pages: 244 $17.95

Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer: By the First Governor of the State of California By Peter H. Burnett Peter Hardeman Burnett (1807-1895) spent his early years in Tennessee and Missouri, serving as a district attorney in the latter state. In 1843 he joined an emigrant party bound for Oregon, where he became a prominent and controversial lawyer, judge, and politician in the new territory. In 1848, he went to California in search of gold and soon became a business and political leader of that territory. This book, originally published in 1880, contains Burnett's recollections of his early life in Missouri, his career in Oregon, and his decision to join a wagon train to California in the summer of 1848. There he seeks gold for six months before resuming the practice of law and the pursuit of politics. Elected a judge in August and governor in December 1849, Burnett turned to the practice of law in the 1850s and the business of banking in the 1860s. A remarkable American Odyssey. Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-256-8 Pages: 344 $22.95

The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie of Kentucky: The True Wild West of New Mexico and California By James Ohio Pattie Pattie was a young fur trapper from Kentucky, vainly seeking his fortune in the American southwest. His narrative describes his sometimes outrageous exploits in New Mexico, along the Gila River, and in California from 1824 to 1830. He traps beaver, fights Indians, digs for gold, and saves thousands of Mexicans during a smallpox epidemic. This is a sweeping and generally accurate saga of the southwest and California of the time -- certainly it has some of the best descriptions of Indian attacks, desert crossings, and international politics in the Old West of any journal we have. A classic, and rightfully so. Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-082-4 Pages: 224 $19.95

Travels on the Pacific Coast: A Report from California, Oregon and Alaska in 1841 By Eugene Duflot de Mofras In 1839, Eugene Duflot de Mofras was dispatched by the French government to investigate the commercial possibilities (and political and military realities) of the northwest provinces of Mexico and the British, American, and Russian settlements further north. Along the way he visiting most of the California missions. He report was tremendously influential at the time, and remains one of the best portraits of the Pacific coast before the American occupation. Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-243-6 Pages: 316 $30.95

Two Years Before The Mast: And Twenty-four Years After By Richard Henry Dana Avast there all you Patrick O'Brian fans! Here is a personal narrative of the seaman's life in the age of sail: 1815-1882, and a classic of nautical literature. Dana was a Harvard student recovering from the measles when he decided it would be more interesting to do so at sea as a common sailor. In 1834 he joined a two-year voyage rounding Cape Horn to deliver cargo to California. All the color and detail of daily life at sea as well as descriptions of various ports. Rousing good fun! Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-102-2 Pages: 292 $24.95

What I Saw in California: By Wagon from Missouri to California in 1846-47 By Edwin Bryant As a young man in 1846-47, Edwin Bryant traveled from Independence, Missouri, through the Rocky Mountains, across the desert, and throughout California. He often functioned as an unofficial doctor on the wagon trains. Describing the trail west and the character of the local people, he was an extremely detailed observer, taking note of everything he saw. A highly informative book, and very well written. Read More... ISBN: 1-58976-118-9 Pages: 332 $26.95