Gold

by Stewart Edward White

""Gold"" by Stewart Edward White is a novel set in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1800s. The story follows a young man named John Ballard, who travels to the Yukon in search of gold and adventure. Along the way, he meets a variety of colorful characters, including a prospector named Hank and a beautiful woman named Elsa. As John and his companions navigate the harsh terrain and treacherous conditions of the Yukon, they must also contend with rival prospectors and dangerous wildlife. Through it all, John remains determined to strike it rich and prove himself as a true adventurer. ""Gold"" is a thrilling tale of greed, ambition, and survival in the wilds of the North.1913. Gold Somewhere in this book I must write a paragraph exclusively about myself. The fact that in the outcome of all these stirring events I have ended as a mere bookkeeper is perhaps a good reason why one paragraph will be enough. In my youth I had dreams aplenty; but the event and the peculiar twist of my own temperament prevented their fulfillment. Perhaps in a more squeamish age-and yet that is not fair, either, to the men whose destinies I am trying to record. Suffice it then that of these men I have been the friend and companion, of these occasions I have been a part, and that the very lacks and reservations of my own character that have kept me to a subordinate position and a little garden have probably made me the better spectator. Which is a longer paragraph about myself than I had purposed writing. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1913

About the author

From about 1900 until about 1922, he wrote fiction and non-fiction about adventure and travel, with an emphasis on natural history and outdoor living. Starting in 1922, he and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Grant White wrote numerous books they claimed were received through channelling with spirits. They also wrote of their travels around the state of California. White died in Hillsborough, California.

Reviews

[Gu Kun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the four books by this recently discovered author I read (on Gutenberg.org - with illustrations) and listened to (on Librivox.org) so far ("Arizona Nights" (short stories - 4 stars), "Blazed Trail Stories, and Stories of the Wild Life" (3), and "The Blazed Trail" (3), and this one), this one I liked best of all. Good old straightforward fast-paced story-telling. A party of Eastern gentlemen travels to California at the onset of the 1849 Goldrush, by ship to Panama, across the Isthmus on boat and horseback, on to San Francisco by sailing vessel and finally to the gold fields around Sacramento (boat/horseback). As in all his stories, White has the knack to put you smack there in between them. Descriptions of people and their surroundings as poignant as, delightfully, brief. Plenty of "sit-straight-up and stare" moments which made me turn from the audiobook to the online text (where I preferred to READ - add one star). And he has done his homework, as attested by the list of titles he provides at the end of the book - thus a good social history read - the squalor of Panama; the "eruption" of San Francisco (and Sacramento) - hardly more than a shanty town when they land in 1949; how a town's social intercourse changes from the polite and friendly to the guarded and stand-offish in a matter of months; the coming-into-being of a California made by men who came to seek quick fortunes and decided to stay (main thread of the novel) ... above all I liked the authentic ring to the conversations - came away with a feeling that for the first time, unlike with all those Western movies I've watched and Western stories I've read, I'd been given a "peek" at what American men of the frontier pioneer type must have sounded like - not your caricatural roughs, more often than not well-bred folks with the high morals c.q. fair-play mentality that "beset" a "man with a plan". Full of whim and witticism - here's how it starts: 'Somewhere in this book I must write a paragraph exclusively about myself.' (He proceeds to do so - all of five lines, as sincere-sounding as (as we are bound to find out) overly modest:) And then: 'The first news of the gold discovery filtered to us in a roundabout way through vessels to the Sandwich Islands, and then appeared again in the columns of some Baltimore paper. Everybody laughed at the rumour; but everybody remembered it. The land was infinitely remote; and then, as now, romance increases as the square of the distance." Highly recommended for boys and tomboys of all ages.

[Arun Acharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. Set in the early years of formation of California and San Fransisco, the novel provides insights into the Gold Rush associated with California. It tracks the events through four friends and looks like a true story.
The plot is a bit lengthy though, especially because of descriptions being much more detailed than required. For example, the narrator uses three to four pages to describe the flora around the river he was traveling. It may have been necessary though, I now feel... as the aim of the book was to let readers discover a new country.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up, as the book is too good to have been forgotten, as it appears it has been.

Good adventure story! A couple of guys meet in the Northeast, scrap a bit, decide to head to California for the '49 Gold Rush. Three possible avenues - overland; ship to Panama, cross the isthmus, then another ship to the Bay area; or, around South America and back up. The middle choice is the fastest & most expensive and what our narrator pursues.

From the beginning of Panama to the conclusion of the pursuit of gold a little past midway through is the strongest part of the book - legit four stars. The narrator and Talbot have teamed up with Yank and Johnny, from the South, and we get an interesting tale of disease, lack of food, and a bigger lack of berths on a Pacific ship, followed by a San Francisco landing and a trip toward Sacramento to strike it rich. Fortunes are made, lost, halfway made back, and then lost again, as our crew pan for gold, work for a messenger service, invest in SF real estate, get injured by highway robbers, almost drown, get in saloon gun fights, and battle the Great Fire of Christmas Eve. The whole thing takes place within a year, but this was a decade of life in 12 months for these guys.

Interesting to see hucksters and fake news have been around forever, as people lie about land claims, bring along worthless contraptions that will supposedly help them separate gold, and embark on a long, dangerous journey based on a book written by a guy who claims he made such a fortune mining with just a pickaxe in a few weeks that he decided to take in nature for the rest of his time in California, just picking up all the gold nuggets he found lying around on the trail.

The saloon violence could have been shorter, and obviously a book from this long ago is uncharitable in its depiction of Natives, blacks, Chinese, whites from non-Anglophone countries, etc. Nevertheless, a fun tale and one that should have more readers than it does.

[Cory Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of the 1849 California gold rush as told from a first person account. I loved the details of the scenery as they passed through Panama, San Francisco then the wilderness of California. Hardships, high adventure and success! These were some of the pioneers of the West Coast!

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story about the gold rush in CA. Makes me want to see the scrapbook that my great grandfather put together of his trip to Alaska during that gold rush.