Troubadour on the road to gold : William B. Lorton's 1849 journal to California / edited by LeRoy Johnson and Jean Johnson ; with a foreword by Richard Saunders.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lorton, William B., 1828-1892, author.

Saunders, Richard L., 1963- author of foreword.

Contributor:

Johnson, LeRoy, 1937- editor.

Johnson, Jean, 1937- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lorton, William B., 1828-1892--Diaries.

Lorton, William B.

Overland journeys to the Pacific.

Gold mines and mining--California--History--19th century--Diaries.

Gold mines and mining.

History.

California--History--1846-1850--Diaries.

California.

California--History--1846-1850--Biography.

California--Gold discoveries.

Genre:

Biographies.

Diaries.

History.

Physical Description:

xxxv, 351 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City : The University of Utah Press, [2020]

Summary:

"Troubadour on the Road to Gold is a true, western adventure story with lots of action and rich detail. William Lorton's spritely, detailed, and insightful journal is a delight, yet moving at the same time. He gives insight rarely found in a young man into daily trail life from the Mississippi River to southern California, by way of Salt Lake City, in the early gold rush of 1849. Additional information is added in his letters from the trail to The New York Sun newspaper. Only a couple other diarists approach Lorton's deep level of detail about the Southern Route from SLC to LA. He is an active observer who exposes the damage done from stampedes, notes variations among the Indians, feels the pleasure of a river swim in the hot sun, appreciates a beautiful sunset or a rampaging hail storm, and he provides entertaining sketches of locations that interested him. He graphically describes his disastrous "walkabout" into uncharted Nevada desert that only four dozen other men experienced before retreating to the Old Spanish Trail. He reveals his scientific curiosity in vivid descriptions of a sidewinder rattle snake, mysteriously moving rocks on a desert playa, or microscopic fairy shrimp in an ephemeral lake. Lorton is a likable fellow with a droll sense of humor who entertains the camp with his rich singing voice and ability to play the violin. At the same time he can cook, clean, or chase oxen while being stoic about getting a foot damaged when trampled in a stampede, having all his bacon stolen by the Indians, or having to shoot his faithful horse. He represents the best traits a man can possess-resilience in adversity, a positive attitude, and an active participant in the society he finds himself in, be it a Mormon home or a wagon mess on the trail"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I Gold Rush Overture

1. New York City to Monmouth, Illinois, 1848-1849

pt. II On the Trail: Western Illinois to Salt Lake City

2. Across Iowa to St. Joseph, Missouri

3. St. Joseph to Kanesville, Iowa

4. Kanesville to Fort Laramie, Wyoming

5. Fort Laramie to Independence Rock, Utah

6. Independence Rock to Salt Lake City

pt. III The Southern Route: Salt Lake City to Pueblo de Los Angeles

7. Among the Mormons at Salt Lake City

8. Salt Lake City to Beaver River, Utah

9. Beaver River to Mount Misery, Utah

10. Travails in Terra Incognita

11. Old Spanish Trail into Southern California

12. California!

13. Afterword.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-336) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Troudour on the road to gold

ISBN:

9781607817796

1607817799

OCLC:

1153336510