They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush

by JoAnn Levy

"The phrase ’seeing the elephant’ symbolized for ’49 gold rushers the exotic, the mythical, the once-in-a-lifetime adventure, unequaled anywhere else but in the journey to the promised land of fortune: California. Most western myths . . . generally depict an exclusively male gold rush. Levy’s book debunks that myth. Here a variety of women travel, work, and write their way across the pages of western migrant history."-Choice

"One of the best and most comprehensive accounts of gold rush life to date"ˆ–San Francisco Chronicle

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Womens, Adventure, Research, Biography, American History

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author obviously did copious research and presented it in an organized fashion, with chapters on women's journeys to California and various occupations on arrival. There are lots of stories, mostly as quotations from sources strung together with transitional comments. What is lacking is any sort of deeper analysis. The bibliography is also extensive, but with no footnotes it would be hard to find the source of some statements in the book. For example, on p. 103 the author claims, "In the earliest days of the gold rush, washing could cost twenty dollars a dozen because no one wanted to do it. Men often sent their dirty shirts to the Sandwich Islands and even China to be laundered, their garments sometimes three to six months upon the sea." Really? How fascinating! But since the book doesn't cite a source, I don't know where that information came from or how to learn more.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admittedly did not finish the book all the way through. It was assigned reading for my California History course, and we had our discussion on it before I finished the novel. However, I will say that I really enjoyed the layout of the book and how Levy lets the women's accounts speak for themselves, only adding her commentary when needed. That is not as common in historical works and made it much more interesting in my opinion. Levy is also able to tell a full and complete story of the Gold Rush using only women's letters and documents, which makes me question why we usually only get to read accounts from men, and why it took until 1990 when she made this novel for there to be a resource like this. I wish that more historical books had a better balance of both male and female sources in their writing. This was one of my favorite history books I have read for a class, and I will probably come back to it during summer time.

[Sandra The Old Woman in a Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic and unknown (to me). I loved reading real diary excerpts from the women in CA before and during the Gold Rush era. Some strong, adventurous and smart women. If you are interested in history, especially the role women played, you’ll enjoy this book. This book captures a vibrant, diverse group of women.

[Eavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember really liking this book back when I read it in 8th grade. I was going through a bit of a non-fiction kick, having just read The Transformation of Cinema, 1907-1915 that somehow shook my 12-year-old world to the core on all the history they neglected to teach us. I remember thinking it was a bit dry but fascinating; we learn about the gold rush in California at school in such a superficial way that learning about how women specifically navigated the wild west really brought it alive for me. I still remember the stories of women making bank from laundry, opening inns, becoming fully self-sufficient businesspersons. I also remember the less fortunate stories—the section on prostitution and price dependent on race was crazy sad to me and all the preventable death they had to endure. I honestly still think about this book when talking about western American gender relations the rare times it's brought up. Anyways I liked it, a bit dry and not as wide in scope as I wanted to be (I think I just wanted more), but good nevertheless.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historians are now delving into the writings of women in American history. Women filled journals, diaries, and wrote letters to home, as well as being written about! The missing population in American HIstory studies is starting to show up, and it makes the study of history more 3 dimensional. The addition of the writings of African American women, puts a whole new slant on the history of the Gold Rush... one that is heartbreaking and shameful. This aspect is crucial to understanding the build up to the Civil War. A very nice book.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

They Saw the Elephant is a well written and documented book about women who went to California during the Gold Rush era. It give names, where they left from and where they went, it tells routes and what the trips were like. Traveling at that period of time was dangerous and perilous. This is a good description of California in both cities and rural (mining camps)areas. Anyone who has an interest in either California, gold rush or womens' history would benefit reading this well written book.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at women in the Gold Rush...surprisingly uplifting accounts of adventure and daring. You usually only hear of hardships and struggles, but I enjoyed the journal entries of women who enjoyed the journey.

[Ken-ichi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun compendium of first-hand written accounts, and as such, of course, almost exclusively focused on the lives of white women with the time and education to document their lives. Not for lack of trying, though: Levy definitely scoured newspapers and legal documents to tell the stories of Ah Toy, Mary Ellen Pleasant, Biddy Mason, Charley Parkhurst (who might not have appreciated being included in this collection, but I appreciated learning about him all the same) and others, but the most immediate, personal documents are the letters and journals, which are few and far between and mostly by white cis women.

Which made for great reading all the same! Sometimes I wished I was just reading those journals without the interstitial stuff. Anyway, those journals certainly made the stakes of the overland journey west seem very stark: most of the diarists start out quite cheerful until their party gets winnowed by cholera. The sea route around the horn or via Panama, seemingly favored by the wealthier, seemed pretty harrowing too.

p. 190 has a brief mention that separate property rights for women in the California constitution originated in Mexican law. True? What other influences did Mexican law have on current California law? Also, did you know first version of the current CA constitution of 1849 was published in English and Spanish? Amazing. Also amazing: participants in that constitutional convention seemed adamant about banning slavery... but also banning *all* Black people. The former got in the final draft, the latter didn't, but slavery and capturing fugitive slaves remained common in the state for some time.

[Glynda Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re at all interested in California history and the history of the Gold Rush, please read this book. It’s really got a lot of interesting information. Women had many fiscal opportunities, including opening rooming houses, cooking and doing laundry. The book even tells that some men would send their clothes to Europe to have then cleaned rather than clean them themselves! Also, it explained the beginning of the Chinese laundries. They used some kind of pot filled with hot coals to run over the shirts, or whatever. To spritz the clothes as they “ironed”, they squirted hot water out of their mouths! So, if any of that interests you, read this book! Fascinating! And it makes you appreciate living in the 21st century.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really well done! Levy clearly engaged in a lot of research to get this book made; my only complaint is that she doesn't use footnotes! There's just a general reference section at the end. Given how frequently she uses quotations and passages from primary sources, I expected footnotes and am disappointed that there aren't any. I do understand why she decided not to use them. Overall, though, this book was so well written and organized. I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in the California Gold Rush, women's history, or both.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book with accounts of women living in California during the gold rush. Has quotes and pieces of letters, along with vignettes of the lives led by all walks of womankind.
Figured now that I live in this part of California I should learn more about the gold rush

[Jared Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though there were very few women in California during the Gold Rush they definitely played a influential role in the lives of the men around them. They provided a soft touch to an otherwise rough and tumble masculine society.

[Ryan Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided some fascinating insights about the Gold Rush from the unique experiences of women during this time. The primary source material provided a wealth of information that gave a much richer sense of this era. A very fun read.

[Mrmason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to see an accounting of the contribution and struggle of women coming for the California gold rush. It was mostly men who came, but hearing the accounts of these brave females was inspiring and this is the first time I got to hear about this aspect of the gold rush.

[Wendy Rouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

History from the perspective of a variety of women in the California Gold Rush.

[Marilyn Zanetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that gives women's accounts of the Gold Rush. The phrase they saw the elephant was commonly used in that era. Read the book to find out what it meant to see the elephant.

[Christine Terrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to learn about women during the goldrush in California. They had so much more freedom there than on the east coast. It was a very difficult life for many.

[Ruthie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Detailed. Uses primary sources. Rebuts other historians who say there were hardly any women in the California Gold Rush.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Levy first began to do research, some numbers just didn't add up. Men who wrote about the California Gold Rush of 1849 were quick to say that those racing to the gold fields were almost all exclusively male, but statistics and the historical record do not bear that out. Levy kept looking, thinking that someone, somewhere, had to have written a history of the women of the Gold Rush, and although she found books about Australians, Chileans, blacks, Irish, French, and other national and ethnic groups represented among the 49ers, there was not a single book about the women.

In They Saw the Elephant, Levy tells us how the women traveled to California, what they did when they got there, and for several of them, their stories are told all the way to the ends of their lives. I have read a few books about women in the Old West (including the period and setting of the Gold Rush), and I'm happy to say that Levy doesn't travel over old ground; Lotta Crabtree and Lola Montez are the only "repeats" in the long and varied list of women she tells readers about. That was much appreciated.

I am fortunate to live in a time when so many women's stories are finally being told. Many of the female 49ers were every bit as strong, inventive, and colorful as their male counterparts, and thanks to JoAnn Levy, I now know more about them and will continue to learn with the bibliography she provides in her book.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some interesting things about the women of the gold rush, so that makes this book worth reading. I found the format confusing in that it was put together by topic rather than character. It's nonfiction that's easy to read but, in my opinion, didn't build the relationships it could have with the reader. Characters were sprinkled throughout the subjects--traveling to California, creating a home, building a business, etc. If it wouldn't have been a pick from my book club, I don't think I would have finished it--and I didn't finish the chapter on theater (too boring). I think if it would have been organized by character I would have gotten to know the women better and understood more about life during the time. I got tired of looking back to previous chapters to see if "that was the woman who came over the Oregon Trail or the one who came through Panama."

[Ants · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in the tapestry of history. The book did an excellent job, since the contents covered travels to the gold rush regions in California, as well as the activities in the CA. The author makes extensive use of diaries to weave the tales. The activities of CA are described along with complementary activities in the areas from which the gold rush travelers departed from.

As usual, there are extensive references for those looking to add more information. Brief biographical descriptions are provided for the women whose diaries are referenced.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:

They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush by JoAnn Levy is a history book that challenges the traditional view of the Gold Rush as a male-only event. It uses women's letters, diaries, and other personal accounts to show that women played diverse and active roles as miners, businesswomen, teachers, and more, revealing their contributions to the settlement of the American West. The title refers to the phrase "seeing the elephant," which symbolized the adventure and experience of going to California.

[Rebecca Douglass · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of interesting information in the book, but I felt that the format and presentation were less than ideal. Little snippets from journals and letters, bits of a story in one place or another. Worth reading if, like me, you are seeking out everything you can find on the role of women and children in the settling of the West. Otherwise, there are better books on the topic.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhaustively researched, but cobbled together snippets from letters and journals. "Popcorn for the historian" because of its irresistible but piecemeal quality. Probably unavoidable given all the sources and such a big subject. Great bibliography. Now I want to read a more cohesive book by the author.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting read with first hand accounts of women as they mostly traveled over land through harsh conditions to get to California and what they found there.

I loved reading the diary entries of these women.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative and easy read. Recommended for leisure reading as well as for class.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an Excellent book. JoAnn Levy clears up a lot of misconceptions of what life was (or wasn't) like for women in the gold rush. I could not put it down.

[Alicia Kittrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, one of the best Gold Rush reads. It from the women's perspective of the Gold Rush, but encompasses all aspects of the era. Really great book if you're a history buff.

[Virginia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The topic was fascinating. The book failed to draw me in as it was just a collection of news clippings, public records, letters, and diaries. I lost interest and never finished it.

[Meegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was super interesting but I could only read it in little spurts. I might pick it up again from the library when I am working on my Mormon California Pioneer Story.