A Day with a California Gold Prospector, 1849
The Illustrated Journal of Tom Hartley
July 15, 1849 — American River Camp near Coloma, California
Thomas “Tom” Hartley, an 18-year-old from a failing wheat farm in Butler County, Ohio. His father died of cholera in 1847, leaving the family in debt. When news of gold reached Ohio in late 1848, Tom sold his share of the farm equipment to his uncle for $40 and joined an overland wagon company departing from Independence, Missouri in April 1849. He arrived at the American River diggings in late June after a brutal 2,200-mile journey that claimed 11 members of his party to disease, accident, and exhaustion. He now works a small claim he shares with two other men from his wagon company.
July 15, 1849 — 4:47 AM — Canvas Tent, American River Camp, Coloma, California
The air inside the tent is thick with the sour reek of three unwashed bodies, wool blankets damp from river fog, and the lingering smell of last night’s burnt beans. Outside, the first gray light silhouettes the canvas. A chorus of coughing echoes from neighboring tents. The ground beneath the thin bedroll is cold, hard-packed dirt with stones pressing into hip and shoulder. A mosquito whines near the ear. In the distance, the American River murmurs over rocks, and somewhere a mule brays.
July 15, 1849 — 5:23 AM — Camp Cook Fire, American River Camp, Coloma, California
Smoke rises from a dozen small fires dotting the ravine as men emerge from tents and lean-to shelters. The smell of burning pine mingles with boiling coffee—a bitter, scorched aroma from beans roasted in a pan and crushed with a rock. The coffee is more chicory than bean, but it is hot. A man nearby hawks and spits a thick wad of phlegm into the dirt. The tin cup burns the fingers. A raven calls from a skeletal oak, and picks at something unidentifiable near the latrine ditch.
July 15, 1849 — 6:15 AM — River Claim, American River, Coloma, California
