First published in 1962 in a limited hardcover edition of 1000, this remarkable record of a California miner in the 1850s is an important--and in many ways unique--contribution to our knowledge of the Gold Rush. In a tempestuous period in which there was no newspaper to record the daily life of the busy towns of Volcano and Jackson, Doble recorded much of value. He was a man whose mind was concerned with details. Because he did not know what to leave out, he put everything in, bringing his times vividly to life. He wrote with charm.
Although Volcano Press publishes materials that have international application, we are very much a part of the community in which we live and work. Volcano, California is a village of less than 100 people set in the heart of the Mother Lode.
In celebration of our local heritage, we are pleased to have the opportunity to publish John Doble's Journal and Letters From the Mines: Volcano, Mokelumne Hill, Jackson and San Francisco.
This book offers a remarkable record of a young California miner in the 1850's, during the brief period that was the Gold Rush. Through the legacy of his journals, we gain a sense of John Doble as a caring person. We share his joy when he makes a rich strike; we grieve with him when his partner Jim dies; we begin to comprehend the day-to-day details of placer mining, business, and gold camp housekeeping. The book includes his heartfelt courtship letters to Lizzie E. Lucas. They never married, and John Doble died young, as did so many of the early pioneers. This book serves as a tribute to all of them.
The book also includes an index and three remarkable maps of places that have long disappeared from the land.
Published by Volcano Press