Mud, Blood, and Gold: San Francisco in 1849San Francisco in 1849 was a time and place like no other in American history. As word of the discovery of gold in California spread, people from all over the world descended on San Francisco--ground zero for the avalanche of humanity and goods pouring into the fabled El Dorado. There have been many books on the Gold Rush, but Mud, Blood, and Gold is the first to focus solely on San Francisco as it was at the peak of the gold frenzy. With a 'you are there' immediacy author Rand Richards vividly brings to life what San Francisco was like during the landmark year of 1849. Based on eyewitness accounts and previously overlooked official records, Richards chronicles the explosive growth of a wide-open town rife with violence, gambling, and prostitution, all of it fueled by unbridled greed. |
Contents
Prologue | 1 |
Gold Fever | 7 |
Arrival | 19 |
Lodging Food Waterand Mail | 36 |
Ch 4 Carnival of Greed | 47 |
Ch 5Gamblers Paradise | 71 |
Ch 6 Goddesses and Whores | 85 |
The Hounds | 96 |
Quagmire | 159 |
Fire | 175 |
Epilogue | 185 |
Chronology | 209 |
Appendix A Alcaldes of San Francisco 18461850 | 216 |
Appendix B Military Governors of California 18461849 | 217 |
Illustrations Credits | 218 |
Endnotes | 221 |
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Common terms and phrases
50-vara lot alcalde Alta California American arrived in San auction August ayuntamiento Bancroft Bartlett Bayard Taylor became Bennet Riley Brannan Brown Bryant California Gold Rush California Historical Society California History California Star California State Library cards Chileans Chinese cisco City Hotel coins Colton Custom House December dollars early fire Folsom forty-niners Francisco History Center Francisco in 1849 Frémont gambling Geary George Hyde gold discovery gold dust gold-rush San Francisco Governor granted Hounds Indians January Jasper O'Farrell John Kearny land late later Leavenworth letter March Mason Megquier Mexican military miners Monterey Montgomery Street months Mother Lode O'Farrell paid Panama Parker House Pioneer Plaza Portsmouth Square profit purchased real estate residents saloon Sam Brannan San Fran San Francisco History September Sherman ship sold started Sutter tents Thaddeus Leavenworth took town town's water lots William Leidesdorff William Redmond William Tecumseh Sherman women wrote Yerba Buena Cove York