The Gold Rush: 1847-1849

by Frank W. Lewis

In 1849, the greatest gold rush in history began as thousands of wouldbe- miners, gamblers, murderers and prostitutes made their way to California to seek their fortunes. In less than two years, more than 100,00 people arrived from all over the world to get in on the action. When the first gold nugget was found in the "Mother Lode," no one understood the importance of the discovery. Soon however, hundreds of ships littered San Francisco's harbor, abandoned by crew members rushing to the goldfields. The first gold was actually discovered in 1847 when California was still part of Mexico. The United States had declared war against Mexico in 1846. In 1848, Mexico ceded California and other western lands to the United States before news of the gold strike was known. The land belonged to the U.S. Government. It was not "open"-not free for the taking - so all the mining done was extralegal (outside of the law). Once word got out that there was gold to be had for the taking, short of sending in the Army to kill them, there was no way to stop the miners. They seized land and established Mining Districts that weren't authorized by Federal law, and then set about governing themselves. San Francisco and Sacramento became lawless, criminal-dominated cities where no man was safe who could not defend himself. In The Gold Rush, 1847-1849, the seventh book in the series, Caleb and his ladies fight to protect their property from a ruthless New York Syndicate that will stop at nothing, even murder, to take over their operations.

496 pages, Paperback

First published April 9, 2010

About the author

Frank W. Lewis single handedly built an empire out of little more than hard work, good timing, and a few neglected mining deeds. His company, F. W. Lewis Inc was perhaps the largest patented and deeded mine holding company in Nevada. Today on the grounds of the state capitol in Carson City, you will find Lewis’ name engraved as one of the state’s most prominent prospectors.

Reviews

[Kitty Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

FRANK W. LEWIS' "THE GOLD RUSH" (A REVIEW)

Being a history buff I truly enjoyed this book. The fact that Frank W. Lewis mingled the history of the Gold Rush with a story with elements of love, passion, and interesting characters just made it that much better. At times I almost felt as though I was watching a well made documentary on the History Channel. The relationships between his characters were colorful, well-written and interesting. What was perhaps one of the most refreshing elements is the fact he was not afraid to show the in depth relationship between two women that genuinely seemed to care for one another. The addition of questioning ones sexuality was something that added an element of surprise and difference in the story especially since it was about the Old West. I would recommend this book for those not afraid to embark on something different and exciting when it comes to reading novels pertaining to history.

Frank W. Lewis is a wonderful writer and I intend to get the other books in the series to learn more of the background of these fantastic characters.

-Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club

[Erica]

I entered the First Reads contest to win this book as I like historical type stories and the description sounded like it would make for an exciting adventurous read.

I realized after I entered this book is number 7 in the series, but from what I can tell it's written so that it can pretty much be a stand alone story.

Unfortunately not being familiar with other books in the series or the authors previous work, and there being no warning of adult content in the description, I found out 20 pages in that this book is VERY graphic and sexually explicit.

When I searched for a little more information about the book I found the author does warn that if this was a movie- based on the language it would probably have an R rating, and based on the sexual content an even stronger rating than that, and I would have to agree.

I won't be reading the rest so unfortunately for First Reads purposes I can't really give a full review, but if you didn't know about the content, now you do!