William Kelly

On January 20, 1849, Englishman William Kelly embarked by steamship from Great Britain for a tour of America. After landing in New York City, he visited many eastern cities and eventually made his way westward to St. Louis. He then joined a prospecting expedition that departed for California from Independence, Missouri, on April 16.

After a 2,043 mile journey lasting 102 days, Kelly's party reached the diggings at Weber Creek on July 26. Kelly tried his hand at prospecting in the gold region before venturing on to Sacramento, San Jose, and San Francisco. He eventually returned to his native England and published a memoir of his adventures in 1851. In the following selection, Kelly relates his first experiences hunting for gold.

When the company with which I travelled to California reached the sphere of operations, it divided into different parties, some starting for the cities to...