Chris Enss's Blog - Posts Tagged "pioneers"
So Good to be Bad
It’s a wicked giveaway. Enter now to win a copy of the new book Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.
Early review of Wicked Women from NetGalley.com. When one thinks of the Wild American West, one likely thinks of names like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Wild Bill Hickock. Only slightly less remembered are names like Calamity Jane and Big Nose Kate. In most saloons across the Western States women called many of the shots at the card tables and many ran the brothels as Madams. In Chris Enss' new book, Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous and Wayward Ladies from the Old West the tales of some of the most scandalous women of the day come forward to take their place at the table.
Enss compiles tales from San Francisco to Deadwood, and all the places in between. Women like Squirrel Tooth Alice (named for her pet prairie dogs), Tessie Walls and Belle Cora lead houses of ill repute and gambling better than any man of their day. What they all seemed to succumb to was the love of a wicked man. Many of the women started out as mothers and homemakers, only to be left completely alone when their man skipped out on them or died at the hands of the law. These women took matters into their own hands, and by doing so their incomes.
Enss' writing is comprehensive, as well as sympathetic. While she never hides the crimes of these women, she does tell of them in an entertaining way that finds the reader nose deep in the book and unable to turn away. It is difficult to put down Wicked Women and even more difficult not to talk to those around you about it.
Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous and Wayward Ladies from the Old West is a delightful look into the Old American West for those who want to read a history that isn't just menfolk at the OK Corral.
To learn more about the wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.
National Book Launch on February 21, 2015.
Early review of Wicked Women from NetGalley.com. When one thinks of the Wild American West, one likely thinks of names like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Wild Bill Hickock. Only slightly less remembered are names like Calamity Jane and Big Nose Kate. In most saloons across the Western States women called many of the shots at the card tables and many ran the brothels as Madams. In Chris Enss' new book, Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous and Wayward Ladies from the Old West the tales of some of the most scandalous women of the day come forward to take their place at the table.
Enss compiles tales from San Francisco to Deadwood, and all the places in between. Women like Squirrel Tooth Alice (named for her pet prairie dogs), Tessie Walls and Belle Cora lead houses of ill repute and gambling better than any man of their day. What they all seemed to succumb to was the love of a wicked man. Many of the women started out as mothers and homemakers, only to be left completely alone when their man skipped out on them or died at the hands of the law. These women took matters into their own hands, and by doing so their incomes.
Enss' writing is comprehensive, as well as sympathetic. While she never hides the crimes of these women, she does tell of them in an entertaining way that finds the reader nose deep in the book and unable to turn away. It is difficult to put down Wicked Women and even more difficult not to talk to those around you about it.
Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous and Wayward Ladies from the Old West is a delightful look into the Old American West for those who want to read a history that isn't just menfolk at the OK Corral.
To learn more about the wicked women on the wild frontier read Wicked Women: Notorious, Mischievous, and Wayward Ladies from the Old West.
National Book Launch on February 21, 2015.
Young in Utah
Giveaway! Enter now to win a copy of the new book More Tales Behind the Tombstones: More Deaths and Burials of the Old West's Most Nefarious Outlaws, Notorious Women, and Celebrated Lawmen.
Brigham Young became an explorer and hero to many when he embarked on the best-organized westward migration in U.S. history in 1847. Motivated by a vision to find a safe haven for his religious ideas, he brought the Mormon Church to Utah and, in so doing, helped shaped the American West.
When he came upon the Great Salt Lake Valley, he said, “It is enough, this is the right place.” For thirty years he supervised Mormon settlements in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, and California. Before Young died at the age of seventy-six in 1877 of acute appendicitis, he had more than fifty wives.
To learn more about Brigham Young and others like him who left their mark on the American West read More Tales Behind the Tombstones: More Deaths and Burials of the Old West's Most Nefarious Outlaws, Notorious Women, and Celebrated Lawmen.
Brigham Young became an explorer and hero to many when he embarked on the best-organized westward migration in U.S. history in 1847. Motivated by a vision to find a safe haven for his religious ideas, he brought the Mormon Church to Utah and, in so doing, helped shaped the American West.
When he came upon the Great Salt Lake Valley, he said, “It is enough, this is the right place.” For thirty years he supervised Mormon settlements in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, and California. Before Young died at the age of seventy-six in 1877 of acute appendicitis, he had more than fifty wives.
To learn more about Brigham Young and others like him who left their mark on the American West read More Tales Behind the Tombstones: More Deaths and Burials of the Old West's Most Nefarious Outlaws, Notorious Women, and Celebrated Lawmen.
Frontier Teachers
Enter now to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
These women, many at the ripe old age of sixteen or eighteen, were trailblazers. They risked it all - traveling thousands of miles on crude trails through wilderness, across deserts, and over mountain passes - not just for the promise of a better future for themselves, but for the opportunity to bring education and the joy of learning to the children of the western frontier. They did as much to settle the Wild West as celebrated lawmen, gold seekers, and the railroad.
The women of the West broke the mail stranglehold on the teaching profession, which was dominated by men on the East Coast. Today, more than seventy percent of teachers are women. And although, sadly, it took more than a hundred years, the descendants of these pioneers, through union organizing, established the single-salary schedule that finally guaranteed female teachers equal work, passed a collective-bargaining law to give teachers a voice in their profession, and boldly made it so female teachers couldn’t be fired for simply getting married.
To learn more about brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to enter to win.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
These women, many at the ripe old age of sixteen or eighteen, were trailblazers. They risked it all - traveling thousands of miles on crude trails through wilderness, across deserts, and over mountain passes - not just for the promise of a better future for themselves, but for the opportunity to bring education and the joy of learning to the children of the western frontier. They did as much to settle the Wild West as celebrated lawmen, gold seekers, and the railroad.
The women of the West broke the mail stranglehold on the teaching profession, which was dominated by men on the East Coast. Today, more than seventy percent of teachers are women. And although, sadly, it took more than a hundred years, the descendants of these pioneers, through union organizing, established the single-salary schedule that finally guaranteed female teachers equal work, passed a collective-bargaining law to give teachers a voice in their profession, and boldly made it so female teachers couldn’t be fired for simply getting married.
To learn more about brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to enter to win.
The Mission Teacher
Enter now to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Twenty-two-year-old Olive Isbell cradled a loaded rifle in her arms and scanned the hilly landscape surrounding the adobe school where she taught at Santa Clara Mission in California. From far off she could hear a gun spit in swift five-syllable defiance, and she readied herself for a potential attack on the building. Twenty preoccupied students toiled away at the books and lessons in front of them. The exchange of gunfire was so routine it barely disturbed their studies.
The mission was under fire from the Mexican Army, which was trying to reclaim land it believed belonged to Mexico. Settlers scattered throughout the area had converged on the site for protection.
To learn more about Olive Isbell and the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to register to win a copy of the book.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Twenty-two-year-old Olive Isbell cradled a loaded rifle in her arms and scanned the hilly landscape surrounding the adobe school where she taught at Santa Clara Mission in California. From far off she could hear a gun spit in swift five-syllable defiance, and she readied herself for a potential attack on the building. Twenty preoccupied students toiled away at the books and lessons in front of them. The exchange of gunfire was so routine it barely disturbed their studies.
The mission was under fire from the Mexican Army, which was trying to reclaim land it believed belonged to Mexico. Settlers scattered throughout the area had converged on the site for protection.
To learn more about Olive Isbell and the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to register to win a copy of the book.
The Montana Teacher
It’s time to enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
The sprawling mining community of Bannack, Montana, was awash in the far-reaching rays of the morning sun. The rolling hills and fields around the crowded burg were thick with brush. Saffron and gold plants dotted the landscape, their vibrant colors electric against a backdrop of browns and greens. Twenty-seven-year-old Lucia Darling barely noticed the spectacular scenery as she paraded down the main thoroughfare of town. The hopeful schoolmarm was preoccupied with the idea of finding a suitable place to teach. Escorted by her uncle, Chief Justice Sidney Edgerton, Lucia made her way to a depressed section of the booming hamlet searching for the home a man rumored to have a building to rent.
Referring to a set of directions drawn out on a slip of paper, Lucia marched confidently to the door of a rustic, rundown log cabin and knocked. When no one answered right away, Chief Justice Edgerton took a turn pounding on the door. Finally, a tired voice called out from the other side for the pair to “come in.”
To learn more about Lucia Darling and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers!
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
The sprawling mining community of Bannack, Montana, was awash in the far-reaching rays of the morning sun. The rolling hills and fields around the crowded burg were thick with brush. Saffron and gold plants dotted the landscape, their vibrant colors electric against a backdrop of browns and greens. Twenty-seven-year-old Lucia Darling barely noticed the spectacular scenery as she paraded down the main thoroughfare of town. The hopeful schoolmarm was preoccupied with the idea of finding a suitable place to teach. Escorted by her uncle, Chief Justice Sidney Edgerton, Lucia made her way to a depressed section of the booming hamlet searching for the home a man rumored to have a building to rent.
Referring to a set of directions drawn out on a slip of paper, Lucia marched confidently to the door of a rustic, rundown log cabin and knocked. When no one answered right away, Chief Justice Edgerton took a turn pounding on the door. Finally, a tired voice called out from the other side for the pair to “come in.”
To learn more about Lucia Darling and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com to register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers!
The Oregon Teacher
Enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
On March 22, 1851, the steamship the Empire City arrived at the Isthmus of Panama. The sun was hanging low behind a bank of clouds, and the busy seaport lay in purplish twilight. Five ambitious school teachers stood on the deck of the vessel watching the crewmen weigh anchor. Elizabeth Miller, Sarah Smith, Elizabeth Lincoln, Margaret Woods, and Mary Gray were wide-eyed by the feverish activity. A crowd of hundreds blackened the pier in the middle distance. The curious bystanders were like ants on a jelly sandwich. Cannons, firing from the ship’s bows to alert the harbor master that the Empire City was safely moored, rattled Mary, but a word from a deck-mate assuring her that it was routine procedure helped calm her down.
Like the other educators on board, Mary had never encountered anything quite as grand and foreign. Having been born and raised in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont, her experiences were limited to the family farm and a nearby town. At the age of twenty-five she consented to the journey to the Wild West to develop schools and teach in remote areas of the frontier. Mary Almira Gray had already been teaching students to read and write at a one-room schoolhouse in the village of Grafton, not far from her home. As the oldest of four children, she naturally took to helping her siblings to learn, and when she was old enough, she decided to parlay her talent into a profession.
To learn more about Mary Gray McLench and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Register to win a free copy of Frontier Teachers.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
On March 22, 1851, the steamship the Empire City arrived at the Isthmus of Panama. The sun was hanging low behind a bank of clouds, and the busy seaport lay in purplish twilight. Five ambitious school teachers stood on the deck of the vessel watching the crewmen weigh anchor. Elizabeth Miller, Sarah Smith, Elizabeth Lincoln, Margaret Woods, and Mary Gray were wide-eyed by the feverish activity. A crowd of hundreds blackened the pier in the middle distance. The curious bystanders were like ants on a jelly sandwich. Cannons, firing from the ship’s bows to alert the harbor master that the Empire City was safely moored, rattled Mary, but a word from a deck-mate assuring her that it was routine procedure helped calm her down.
Like the other educators on board, Mary had never encountered anything quite as grand and foreign. Having been born and raised in the Green Mountains of southern Vermont, her experiences were limited to the family farm and a nearby town. At the age of twenty-five she consented to the journey to the Wild West to develop schools and teach in remote areas of the frontier. Mary Almira Gray had already been teaching students to read and write at a one-room schoolhouse in the village of Grafton, not far from her home. As the oldest of four children, she naturally took to helping her siblings to learn, and when she was old enough, she decided to parlay her talent into a profession.
To learn more about Mary Gray McLench and the school she founded in 1863, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Register to win a free copy of Frontier Teachers.
The Sorrowful Teacher
Enter to win a copy of the book Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Mary Graves Clarke, a dark-haired woman with a pale face and deep age lines marking her high cheekbones and small mouth, sat behind a wooden desk staring out a window that was slightly tinged around the edges with frost. The view of the distant snow-covered mountains that loomed over Huntington Lake in Tulare County held her attention for a long while.
The eleven students in the one-room schoolhouse where Mary taught pored over the books in their laps, quietly waiting for their teacher to address them. The pupils ranged in age from six to fifteen years. The majority of the class was girls, a few of whom couldn’t help themselves from whispering while casting worried glances at their distracted teacher. Finally, one of the children asked, “Mrs. Clarke, are you all right?”
Mary slowly turned to the pupils and nodded. “I’m fine,” she assured them. “I was just remembering.”
According to the journal kept by one of Mary’s students, her “expression was one of sadness.” In spite of her melancholy spirit she led the students through a series of lessons then dismissed them for recess. She followed them outside and for a moment was content simply to watch them play. A cold breeze drew her attention back to the mountains and drove her thoughts back to a time when she was a teenager, hopeful and happy; traveling west with her family and other members of the Donner Party.
To learn more about Mary Clarke Graves, the schools teachers like her established, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com and register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers.
Throughout history teachers have been at the forefront of all civilizations, educating and inspiring the next generation and keeping societies moving forward. Frontier Teachers captures that pioneering, resilient, and enduring spirit of teachers that lives on today.
Mary Graves Clarke, a dark-haired woman with a pale face and deep age lines marking her high cheekbones and small mouth, sat behind a wooden desk staring out a window that was slightly tinged around the edges with frost. The view of the distant snow-covered mountains that loomed over Huntington Lake in Tulare County held her attention for a long while.
The eleven students in the one-room schoolhouse where Mary taught pored over the books in their laps, quietly waiting for their teacher to address them. The pupils ranged in age from six to fifteen years. The majority of the class was girls, a few of whom couldn’t help themselves from whispering while casting worried glances at their distracted teacher. Finally, one of the children asked, “Mrs. Clarke, are you all right?”
Mary slowly turned to the pupils and nodded. “I’m fine,” she assured them. “I was just remembering.”
According to the journal kept by one of Mary’s students, her “expression was one of sadness.” In spite of her melancholy spirit she led the students through a series of lessons then dismissed them for recess. She followed them outside and for a moment was content simply to watch them play. A cold breeze drew her attention back to the mountains and drove her thoughts back to a time when she was a teenager, hopeful and happy; traveling west with her family and other members of the Donner Party.
To learn more about Mary Clarke Graves, the schools teachers like her established, and about the other brave educators in an untamed new country read Frontier Teachers: Stories of Heroic Women of the Old West.
Visit www.chrisenss.com and register to win a copy of Frontier Teachers.
Lost in the Sierras
They came to California with great hope for the future-they left a legacy.
Enter to win a copy of With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848 set off a siren call that many Americans couldn’t resist. Enthusiastic pioneers headed west intent on picking up a fortune in the nearest stream. Though only a few actually used a pickax in the search for a fortune, women played a major role in the California Gold Rush. They discovered wealth working as cooks, writers, photographers, performers, or lobbyists. Some even realized dreams greater than gold in the western land of opportunity and others experienced unspeakable tragedy.
Nancy Kelsey stood on the porch of her rustic home in Jackson County, Missouri, watching her husband load their belongings onto a covered wagon. Soon, the young couple and their one-year-old daughter would be on the way to California. She hated leaving her family behind and she knew the trip west would be difficult, but she believed she could “better endure the hardships of the journey than the anxieties for an absent husband.”
Nancy was born in Barren County, Kentucky, in 1823. She married Benjamin L. Kelsey when she was fifteen. She had fallen in love with his restless, adventurous spirit, and from the day the two exchanged vows she could not imagine her life without him. At the age of seventeen, Nancy agreed to follow Benjamin to a strange new land rumored to be a place where a “poor man could prosper.”
Nancy, Benjamin, and their daughter, Ann, arrived in Spalding Grove, Kansas just in time to join the first organized group of American settlers traveling to California by land. The train was organized and led by John Bidwell, a New York schoolteacher, and John Bartleson, a land speculator and wagon master.
Nancy’s recollections of some of the other members of the Bidwell-Bartleson party and the apprehension she felt about the trip were recorded in the San Francisco Examiner in 1893. She described what it was like when the wagon train first set out on its way on May 12, 1841: “A man by the name of Fitzpatrick was our pilot, and we had a priest with us who was bound for the northwest coast to teach the Flathead Indians. We numbered thirty-three all told and I was the only woman. I had a baby to take care of, too.”
To learn more about Nancy Kelsey and her journey west or about any of the other women who made their mark on the Gold Rush read:
With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
www.chrisenss.com
Enter to win a copy of With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848 set off a siren call that many Americans couldn’t resist. Enthusiastic pioneers headed west intent on picking up a fortune in the nearest stream. Though only a few actually used a pickax in the search for a fortune, women played a major role in the California Gold Rush. They discovered wealth working as cooks, writers, photographers, performers, or lobbyists. Some even realized dreams greater than gold in the western land of opportunity and others experienced unspeakable tragedy.
Nancy Kelsey stood on the porch of her rustic home in Jackson County, Missouri, watching her husband load their belongings onto a covered wagon. Soon, the young couple and their one-year-old daughter would be on the way to California. She hated leaving her family behind and she knew the trip west would be difficult, but she believed she could “better endure the hardships of the journey than the anxieties for an absent husband.”
Nancy was born in Barren County, Kentucky, in 1823. She married Benjamin L. Kelsey when she was fifteen. She had fallen in love with his restless, adventurous spirit, and from the day the two exchanged vows she could not imagine her life without him. At the age of seventeen, Nancy agreed to follow Benjamin to a strange new land rumored to be a place where a “poor man could prosper.”
Nancy, Benjamin, and their daughter, Ann, arrived in Spalding Grove, Kansas just in time to join the first organized group of American settlers traveling to California by land. The train was organized and led by John Bidwell, a New York schoolteacher, and John Bartleson, a land speculator and wagon master.
Nancy’s recollections of some of the other members of the Bidwell-Bartleson party and the apprehension she felt about the trip were recorded in the San Francisco Examiner in 1893. She described what it was like when the wagon train first set out on its way on May 12, 1841: “A man by the name of Fitzpatrick was our pilot, and we had a priest with us who was bound for the northwest coast to teach the Flathead Indians. We numbered thirty-three all told and I was the only woman. I had a baby to take care of, too.”
To learn more about Nancy Kelsey and her journey west or about any of the other women who made their mark on the Gold Rush read:
With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
www.chrisenss.com
Madame Mustache
They came to California with great hope for the future-they left a legacy. Enter to win a copy of With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848 set off a siren call that many Americans couldn’t resist. Enthusiastic pioneers headed west intent on picking up a fortune in the nearest stream. Though only a few actually used a pickax in the search for a fortune, women played a major role in the California Gold Rush. They discovered wealth working as cooks, writers, photographers, performers, or lobbyists. Some even realized dreams greater than gold in the western land of opportunity and others experienced unspeakable tragedy.
Dutch Carver, a half-drunk gold miner, burst into Eleanora Dumont’s gambling house and demanded to see the famous proprietor. “I’m here for a fling at the cards tonight with your lady boss, Madame Mustache,” Carver told one of the scantily-attired women draped across his arm. He handed the young lady a silver dollar and smiled confidently. “Now you take this and buy yourself a drink. Come around after I clean out the Madame and maybe we’ll do a little celebrating.” The woman laughed in Dutch’s face. “I won’t hold my breath,” she said.
Eleanora Dumont soon appeared at the gambling table. She was dressed in a stylish garibaldi blouse and skirt. Her features were coarse and there was a growth of dark hair on her upper lip. At one time she had been considered a beautiful woman, but years of hard frontier living had robbed her of her good looks. It had not, however, taken away her ability to play poker. She was the first and best lady card sharp in California. Her skills had only enhanced with age.
Eleanora sat down at the table across from Dutch and began shuffling the deck of cards. “What’s your preference?” she asked him. Dutch laid a wad of money out on the table in front of him. “I don’t care,” he said. “I’ve got more than two hundred dollars. Let’s get going now, and I don’t want to quit until you’ve got all my money, or until I’ve got a considerable amount of yours.”
Eleanora told him that she preferred the game vingt-et-un (twenty-one or blackjack). The cards were dealth and the game began. In a short hour and a half Dutch Carver had lost his entire bankroll to Eleanora.
When the game ended the gambler stood up and started to leave the saloon. Eleanora ordered him to sit down and have a drink on the house. He took a place at the bar and the bartender served him a glass of milk. This was the customary course of action at the Twenty-One Club. All losers had to partake. Eleanora believed that “any man silly enough to lose his last cent to a woman deserved a milk diet.”
To learn more about Eleanora Dumont and her journey west or about any of the other women who made their mark on the Gold Rush read:
With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
Register to win a copy of With Great Hope on this site or at www.chrisenss.com.
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848 set off a siren call that many Americans couldn’t resist. Enthusiastic pioneers headed west intent on picking up a fortune in the nearest stream. Though only a few actually used a pickax in the search for a fortune, women played a major role in the California Gold Rush. They discovered wealth working as cooks, writers, photographers, performers, or lobbyists. Some even realized dreams greater than gold in the western land of opportunity and others experienced unspeakable tragedy.
Dutch Carver, a half-drunk gold miner, burst into Eleanora Dumont’s gambling house and demanded to see the famous proprietor. “I’m here for a fling at the cards tonight with your lady boss, Madame Mustache,” Carver told one of the scantily-attired women draped across his arm. He handed the young lady a silver dollar and smiled confidently. “Now you take this and buy yourself a drink. Come around after I clean out the Madame and maybe we’ll do a little celebrating.” The woman laughed in Dutch’s face. “I won’t hold my breath,” she said.
Eleanora Dumont soon appeared at the gambling table. She was dressed in a stylish garibaldi blouse and skirt. Her features were coarse and there was a growth of dark hair on her upper lip. At one time she had been considered a beautiful woman, but years of hard frontier living had robbed her of her good looks. It had not, however, taken away her ability to play poker. She was the first and best lady card sharp in California. Her skills had only enhanced with age.
Eleanora sat down at the table across from Dutch and began shuffling the deck of cards. “What’s your preference?” she asked him. Dutch laid a wad of money out on the table in front of him. “I don’t care,” he said. “I’ve got more than two hundred dollars. Let’s get going now, and I don’t want to quit until you’ve got all my money, or until I’ve got a considerable amount of yours.”
Eleanora told him that she preferred the game vingt-et-un (twenty-one or blackjack). The cards were dealth and the game began. In a short hour and a half Dutch Carver had lost his entire bankroll to Eleanora.
When the game ended the gambler stood up and started to leave the saloon. Eleanora ordered him to sit down and have a drink on the house. He took a place at the bar and the bartender served him a glass of milk. This was the customary course of action at the Twenty-One Club. All losers had to partake. Eleanora believed that “any man silly enough to lose his last cent to a woman deserved a milk diet.”
To learn more about Eleanora Dumont and her journey west or about any of the other women who made their mark on the Gold Rush read:
With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
Register to win a copy of With Great Hope on this site or at www.chrisenss.com.
Pioneer Innkeeper
They came to California with great hope for the future-they left a legacy.
Enter to win a copy of With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848 set off a siren call that many Americans couldn’t resist. Enthusiastic pioneers headed west intent on picking up a fortune in the nearest stream. Though only a few actually used a pickax in the search for a fortune, women played a major role in the California Gold Rush. They discovered wealth working as cooks, writers, photographers, performers, or lobbyists. Some even realized dreams greater than gold in the western land of opportunity and others experienced unspeakable tragedy.
Frontier pioneer Eliza Inman wrote in her journal in 1843, “If Hell laid to the west Americans would cross Heaven to reach it.” Luzena Stanley Wilson, mother of three and wife of aspiring gold miner, Mason Wilson, wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment. In 1849, news of the Gold Rush captivated Mason’s imagination and he moved his family from their home in Missouri to a mining town west of the Rockies.
Shortly after arriving in Nevada City, California, Mason left Luzena alone with the children to make her while he staked out a gold claim. Luzena quickly went to work unpacking, making beds, and firing up her stove. As she worked she contemplated how she was going to help make good on the cost it took to transport her family to the area. “As always occurs to the mind of a woman, I thought of taking in boarders,” she wrote in her journal. “So I bought two boards from a precious pile belonging to a man who was building the second wooden house in town. With my own hands I chopped stakes, drove them into the ground, and set up my table. I bought provisions from a neighboring store, and when my husband came back at night he found, mid the weird light of the pine torches, twenty miners eating at my table. Each man as he rose put a $1 in my hand and said I might count him as a permanent customer.”
Within six weeks of opening her business, Luzena had earned enough to pay back the money Mason had borrowed to move his family to the Gold Country. She also expanded and renovated the make-shift hotel and purchased a new stove. By the end of the summer in 1850, Luzena had an average seventy five to two hundred boarders living at the establishment, each paying $25 a week.
Mason never did find the mother lode, but Luzena became one of the most prosperous women in the territory. Mason struggled with Luzena’s success for a long while before he left her and the children.
To learn more about Luzena Stanley Wilson and her life in the West or about any of the other women who made their mark on the
Gold Rush read: With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
Register to win a copy of With Great Hope here or at www.chrisenss.com
Enter to win a copy of With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848 set off a siren call that many Americans couldn’t resist. Enthusiastic pioneers headed west intent on picking up a fortune in the nearest stream. Though only a few actually used a pickax in the search for a fortune, women played a major role in the California Gold Rush. They discovered wealth working as cooks, writers, photographers, performers, or lobbyists. Some even realized dreams greater than gold in the western land of opportunity and others experienced unspeakable tragedy.
Frontier pioneer Eliza Inman wrote in her journal in 1843, “If Hell laid to the west Americans would cross Heaven to reach it.” Luzena Stanley Wilson, mother of three and wife of aspiring gold miner, Mason Wilson, wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment. In 1849, news of the Gold Rush captivated Mason’s imagination and he moved his family from their home in Missouri to a mining town west of the Rockies.
Shortly after arriving in Nevada City, California, Mason left Luzena alone with the children to make her while he staked out a gold claim. Luzena quickly went to work unpacking, making beds, and firing up her stove. As she worked she contemplated how she was going to help make good on the cost it took to transport her family to the area. “As always occurs to the mind of a woman, I thought of taking in boarders,” she wrote in her journal. “So I bought two boards from a precious pile belonging to a man who was building the second wooden house in town. With my own hands I chopped stakes, drove them into the ground, and set up my table. I bought provisions from a neighboring store, and when my husband came back at night he found, mid the weird light of the pine torches, twenty miners eating at my table. Each man as he rose put a $1 in my hand and said I might count him as a permanent customer.”
Within six weeks of opening her business, Luzena had earned enough to pay back the money Mason had borrowed to move his family to the Gold Country. She also expanded and renovated the make-shift hotel and purchased a new stove. By the end of the summer in 1850, Luzena had an average seventy five to two hundred boarders living at the establishment, each paying $25 a week.
Mason never did find the mother lode, but Luzena became one of the most prosperous women in the territory. Mason struggled with Luzena’s success for a long while before he left her and the children.
To learn more about Luzena Stanley Wilson and her life in the West or about any of the other women who made their mark on the
Gold Rush read: With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
Register to win a copy of With Great Hope here or at www.chrisenss.com
