From the bottom of the ditch, under a few inches of water, something glinted. He scooped a hand in the cold water and brought up a bit of metal...

The year was 1848. The place was northern California. The man crouching by the shallow stream was James Marshall.

Marshall's discovery of gold in California brought fortunes to many people, but Marshall never shared them. He died in poverty. Meanwhile, a ragged, racing multitude poured into the west in search of the precious metal. They came from all parts of the world. Some struck it rich and lodged in $10.00-a-night hotels, only too happy to pay $1.00 for a single egg, $1.50 for a bit of hash, and $3.00 for a plateful of chicken. Others slept in tents and dined on bacon and beans. Some returned home penniless. Others stayed to populate the west, build towns and cities, and expand America's industrial empire to the Pacific Coast.

Walter Havighurst describes in colorful and exciting detail the days of the great California gold rush that gave the American West the people and progress that might otherwise have taken a generation or so.

From the dust jacket