Prentice Mulford

New York native Prentice Mulford was only fourteen years of age when the first reports of the gold discoveries began to appear in the eastern newspapers in 1848. He was too young then to follow his dream of traveling to California, but he eventually made his way to San Francisco via clipper ship in 1856.

The gold rush was already fading by the time Mulford reached the mines of Tuolomne County, but he nevertheless realized his dream of prospecting for gold. During his sixteenyear residence in California and subsequent travels in Europe, Mulford recorded stories and developed writing skills that would lead him to success as a lecturer, essayist, and columnist upon his return to the East Coast.

Toward the end of his life, Mulford collected his writings in a memoir titledLife by Land and Sea. In the following selection...