08-13-2021, 03:27 PM
Twenty Years in the Backwoods of California by John Shay Published in 1923
This book is a bit of a mess. It's a collection of anecdotes rather than a linear narrative. The book also doesn't have a lot of details, names and places and dates almost never appear. When the gold strike occurred in 1897 in John Shay's gold dreams were rekindled. But rather than leaving San Francisco and heading for the Yukon, he struck out for the depleted gold fields of California, particularly the area around Grub Gulch. He stayed there 20 years and then left. He had some success panning for gold, but he made more money as a blacksmith on the Coach road to Yosemite. He met Indians. He killed coyotes. He fired off his .22 in celebration when Roosevelt rode through on his way to Yosemite. The Roosevelt story was the reason I read the book. Sadly, it wasn't very long but did give a few tidbits about the event that I hadn't read before.
The weirdest part of the book is Shay's wife. The book is dedicated to her. But in the start of the book he leaves her behind in San Francisco when he heads to the gold fields. I'm never sure if he eventually brings her up to his homestead on Road 600 or not. In one or two places there is a reference to 'she' but it's never clear when 'she' arrived. Like I said, the book is a bit of a mess.
I first heard about Shay because there is a placard dedicated to his blacksmith shop on Road 600 that the Clampers installed. The Clampers, or E Vitus Clampus, is a group of do gooders and drinkers here in Gold Country. They put up a lot of plaques to give the history of the area. Originally organized back in the 1850s to help widows and orphans of miners killed in accidents.
This book is a bit of a mess. It's a collection of anecdotes rather than a linear narrative. The book also doesn't have a lot of details, names and places and dates almost never appear. When the gold strike occurred in 1897 in John Shay's gold dreams were rekindled. But rather than leaving San Francisco and heading for the Yukon, he struck out for the depleted gold fields of California, particularly the area around Grub Gulch. He stayed there 20 years and then left. He had some success panning for gold, but he made more money as a blacksmith on the Coach road to Yosemite. He met Indians. He killed coyotes. He fired off his .22 in celebration when Roosevelt rode through on his way to Yosemite. The Roosevelt story was the reason I read the book. Sadly, it wasn't very long but did give a few tidbits about the event that I hadn't read before.
The weirdest part of the book is Shay's wife. The book is dedicated to her. But in the start of the book he leaves her behind in San Francisco when he heads to the gold fields. I'm never sure if he eventually brings her up to his homestead on Road 600 or not. In one or two places there is a reference to 'she' but it's never clear when 'she' arrived. Like I said, the book is a bit of a mess.
I first heard about Shay because there is a placard dedicated to his blacksmith shop on Road 600 that the Clampers installed. The Clampers, or E Vitus Clampus, is a group of do gooders and drinkers here in Gold Country. They put up a lot of plaques to give the history of the area. Originally organized back in the 1850s to help widows and orphans of miners killed in accidents.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm