Comments for My Gold Rush Tales by John Putnam

Comment on Vigilante headquarters readied for war by http://starjunior.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/super-junior-superman-translated-lyrics-eng/comment-page-3/

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:49:59 +0000

Hello! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My web site looks weird when viewing from my iphone. I’m trying
to find a theme or plugin that might be able to correct this problem.
If you have any suggestions, please share.

Cheers!

Comment on A home invasion in Stockton 1849 by Free Viagra Samples By Mail

Free Viagra Samples By Mail — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:38:11 +0000

Howdy fantastic blog! Does running a blog similar to this take a massive amount work?
I have virtually no knowledge of computer programming however I
was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyhow, if you have any recommendations or techniques for
new blog owners please share. I know this is off subject nevertheless I simply wanted to ask.
Thanks!

Comment on How San Francisco got its name by John Putnam

John Putnam — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:58:06 +0000

What is so interesting to me is how fast everything happened. First the war with Mexico and Yerba Buena is captured. Then the name is changed to San Francisco and soon after that gold is found. All that in less than 2 years. So fantastic it must be true. Thanks for writing, Carol!

Comment on How San Francisco got its name by Carol Buchanan

Carol Buchanan — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:12:54 +0000

So interesting to know how the city took on the name we know it by. Thanks, John!

Comment on Bret Harte in California by John Putnam

John Putnam — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:38:05 +0000

It’s good to hear from you, Ron. Bret Harte was the first to tell the stories of the gold rush and it was certainly a place filled almost exclusively with young, healthy men. Ironically his first popular story, “The Luck of Roaring Camp,” is about a brand new baby.

Comment on Bret Harte in California by Ron Scheer

Ron Scheer — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:19:05 +0000

He would have been only 35 when he returned to the East. The West was really a young man’s game. Thanks, John.

Comment on Steamship service to gold rush California begins by John Putnam

John Putnam — Tue, 14 May 2013 02:41:25 +0000

Carol, it sounds more like the man in the photo was wearing his California clothes. The denim pants rolled up, a long sleeve wool shirt, boots, probably low heeled, were common. Vests, or waistcoats as they were known, and money belts were also used a lot, and the starched collar was common in San Francisco at least. Many men had a repeating Colt pistol and kept it tied to a lanyard around their neck. The hat he might have brought with him from home or it could be a style that both he and the Mississippi River boatmen got from Panama, if that’s the way he traveled. The hats were made in Guatemala but they are still popular. I suspect Panama might be the way he came home. After the railroad across the isthmus was finished it became the easiest and safest route until the transcontinental railroad was completed after the Civil War. Here are some links to Panama:
http://mygoldrushtales.com/2012/02/22/the-panama-railroad/
http://mygoldrushtales.com/2012/02/23/panama-the-easy-route-to-california/
http://mygoldrushtales.com/2012/02/26/the-importance-of-pacific-mail/

Comment on Steamship service to gold rush California begins by Carol A Reel

Carol A Reel — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:33:24 +0000

Thank you so much for your detailed comments and information. I have access to part of a diary kept by one of his cousins which describes the view of the San Francisco harbor in elegant detail. As for the photo, I have studied 19th century garb a bit and frankly, I have not seen any photo of a man dressed as in this one. It’s nothing like the “Sunday go to meeting” dress found in most photos of the period. I’ve shared it with professional historians of the period and none could offer any suggestions other than the hat looked like hats sometimes worn by Miss. River boat crews. (There’s no evidence that he ever worked on a boat, and his family had the money to subsidize his trip.) Now, I’m beginning to think about how he made it back home. It must have been an uneventful trip as he left no clues. I’m wondering if he might have “signed on” to a ship to “work” his way home. Do you have any sites that might show the clothing non-professional sailors wore at that time? He seems to be wearing new “jeans” folded up at the ankles, boots, a vest which may have a money belt under it, a pistol on a lanyard, a long sleeved shirt which appears to be a soft fabric like wool, a white startched collar and the “cap” set at a “jaunty” angle.
I’m looking for any clue I can find to “flesh out” his story.
Thanks loads, Carol

Comment on Steamship service to gold rush California begins by John Putnam

John Putnam — Sun, 12 May 2013 21:16:09 +0000

You could well be right that he went somewhere south of San Francisco and farmed, even for potatoes, Carol. San Francisco had grown so quickly and continued to grow as people poured into California. Food was always needed. Men who had trouble finding gold often found other sometimes lucrative ways to make money. Opportunity was everywhere. Men hunted along the shore of the bay. Duck and goose were popular foods. They fished that same bay. They took eggs from the rookeries at the Farallon Islands off the Golden Gate. And they started to farm and raise cattle. About this time another man began to farm across the bay in what is now San Leandro. Up until after WWII Santa Clara county was mostly farms and orchards. Then urban sprawl hit.
There are two possible mountains near San Francisco. Both would have a view of the harbor. The first and closest is Mt. Tamalpais just north of the city in Marin County. It is a lot closer than 50 miles away but if you were to add the winding route to the top it might seem like 50 miles in the end. Across the bay in Contra Costa County, east of the cities of Walnut Creek and Concord and south of Pittsburg, is Mt. Diablo. It is, I would guess, almost exactly 50 miles from San Francisco and on a clear day you could see the city and the bay around it from the peak. Not far away is Benicia a port city on the Carquinez Straight that led to the gold fields. This would be my best guess where he was when he wrote about the view.
Find a map with the geography of the area and locate the these two peaks. Find Santa Clara county and look at the creeks that flow into the bay. He had to get his potatoes to market somehow and by boat would be the easiest way. Maybe he mentioned where he shipped them from. Otherwise he had to take them by wagon. He would likely pass something that has left its name for you to see. His wagon would most certainly go by SFs Mission Delores and travel from there into town by the old plank toll road. Good luck. Tracing the past can take a lot of time but it can be awfully rewarding.

Comment on Steamship service to gold rush California begins by John Putnam

John Putnam — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:43:23 +0000

I don’t think WordPress is set up to take photos in the comments section, Carol. I doubt I could tell you much from his dress anyway. He likely wore his Sunday best for the picture and it may well have been clothes he brought with him. He would have looked like any other young man from Mississippi.