What do you think?
Rate this book
Tomboy Bride: A Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West
A true pioneer of the West, Harriet Backus writes about her amusing and often challenging experiences with heart-felt emotion and vivid detail. New foreword by Pam Houston and afterword by author's grandson Rob Walton are featured.
It is a woman named Hattie's personal account of life in the mining camps of the American West, beginning with her marriage to George and concluding in 1964 when George died, literally in her arms. Tomboy Bride is divided into four parts: The San Juans; Britannia Beach; The Heart of Idaho; and Leadville, City in the Clouds. Tomboy Bride is an engaging from the very start, reading more like a novel than a biography.
It is a woman named Hattie's personal account of life in the mining camps of the American West, beginning with her marriage to George and concluding in 1964 when George died, literally in her arms. Tomboy Bride is divided into four parts: The San Juans; Britannia Beach; The Heart of Idaho; and Leadville, City in the Clouds. Tomboy Bride is an engaging from the very start, reading more like a novel than a biography.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
131 people are currently reading
1228 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
September 26, 2019
I am a sucker for any people or characters who share my dog’s name (Harriet) and I am a sucker for “tomboys” (acknowledging the gross gender assumptions implicit in that term, but it’s the author’s), and since I’m moving to Colorado soon, I have become a sucker for all things Colorado.
So this book is my bread and butter, basically.
This book was written in the 1930s but not published until 1964. It’s the memoir of a woman named Harriet who—in 1908—travelled alone from Oakland, CA to the Tomboy Mine above Telluride, CO to marry her high-school sweetheart, George. The book follows Harriet and George from the mines of Colorado, to a log cabin in Howe Sound, BC, to a tent in the remote, tiny Elk City, and then finally back to Colorado (Leadville this time).
George is a mild, introverted, gentle chemical engineer who works as an assayer (he tests the ore for its chemical composition).
Surprisingly, for the era, Harriet is also college-educated. She’s also a lovely, compassionate woman. She’s deeply compassionate towards all animals, and scarcely has an unkind word to say about anyone she encounters. She’s quick to find the good in everyone, and unlike many townspeople, doesn’t judge sex workers (she comments on their “innate nobility” when they help nurse the sick back to health) or unmarried mothers or immigrants.
Harriet is also very brave, which is evident from the very beginning: on the initial sled ride up the steep mountain to the mine, where the sled almost careens off the cliff, Harriet hops off, thanks the driver, and tells him, “It was a wonderful ride. I’ll never forget it.”
Harriet and George have a beautiful marriage of surprising equality for 1908. He brings home his work, and she helps him check the math. In exchange, he helps with the dishes. They’re deeply in love and both adore their children (also named Harriet and George).
“Our life was different here. It was rugged, challenging, adventuresome, humble, and many other things to two people so much in love.”
It’s very interesting to hear about mining camp life. For instance, they almost entirely eat canned food and frozen meat. Fresh vegetables and fruit are unheard of. And it doesn’t help that Harriet has got to be the most inept cook of all time! Though she’s 23 years old at the beginning of the novel, she has no idea what kind of food, or how much, to order from the man who brings it up on a sled.
Maybe it’s partly the high altitude, but everyone else seems to manage it! It was entertaining to hear about how poor Harriet couldn’t manage to bake bread, boil an egg, cook beans, make mayo, or keep the post roast from burning. She’s like a real life Amelia Bedelia!
One of my favorite stories was this: when she serves dinner to George’s bosses, the mutton is still frozen solid. When their friends come over a few days later, she’s wised up and has removed the meat from the woodshed a day early so that it can thaw—only to try a bite and gag, realizing she has served her guests decayed meat.
Their little house in the mining town is infested with pack rats, which sounds disturbing but Harriet is charmed by the way they came at night and, curiously, laid out elaborate patterns of silver cutlery in criss-crosses across the entire length of their cabin floor. “I longed to be transformed by some good fairy into an owl and perch in a corner to watch these dexterous creatures laying our kindling and flatware so silently and neatly in a chosen design. But longing was futile. I never saw our visitors To this day I wonder why they went to such an effort and how it was achieved.”
So this book is my bread and butter, basically.
This book was written in the 1930s but not published until 1964. It’s the memoir of a woman named Harriet who—in 1908—travelled alone from Oakland, CA to the Tomboy Mine above Telluride, CO to marry her high-school sweetheart, George. The book follows Harriet and George from the mines of Colorado, to a log cabin in Howe Sound, BC, to a tent in the remote, tiny Elk City, and then finally back to Colorado (Leadville this time).
George is a mild, introverted, gentle chemical engineer who works as an assayer (he tests the ore for its chemical composition).
Surprisingly, for the era, Harriet is also college-educated. She’s also a lovely, compassionate woman. She’s deeply compassionate towards all animals, and scarcely has an unkind word to say about anyone she encounters. She’s quick to find the good in everyone, and unlike many townspeople, doesn’t judge sex workers (she comments on their “innate nobility” when they help nurse the sick back to health) or unmarried mothers or immigrants.
Harriet is also very brave, which is evident from the very beginning: on the initial sled ride up the steep mountain to the mine, where the sled almost careens off the cliff, Harriet hops off, thanks the driver, and tells him, “It was a wonderful ride. I’ll never forget it.”
Harriet and George have a beautiful marriage of surprising equality for 1908. He brings home his work, and she helps him check the math. In exchange, he helps with the dishes. They’re deeply in love and both adore their children (also named Harriet and George).
“Our life was different here. It was rugged, challenging, adventuresome, humble, and many other things to two people so much in love.”
It’s very interesting to hear about mining camp life. For instance, they almost entirely eat canned food and frozen meat. Fresh vegetables and fruit are unheard of. And it doesn’t help that Harriet has got to be the most inept cook of all time! Though she’s 23 years old at the beginning of the novel, she has no idea what kind of food, or how much, to order from the man who brings it up on a sled.
Maybe it’s partly the high altitude, but everyone else seems to manage it! It was entertaining to hear about how poor Harriet couldn’t manage to bake bread, boil an egg, cook beans, make mayo, or keep the post roast from burning. She’s like a real life Amelia Bedelia!
One of my favorite stories was this: when she serves dinner to George’s bosses, the mutton is still frozen solid. When their friends come over a few days later, she’s wised up and has removed the meat from the woodshed a day early so that it can thaw—only to try a bite and gag, realizing she has served her guests decayed meat.
Their little house in the mining town is infested with pack rats, which sounds disturbing but Harriet is charmed by the way they came at night and, curiously, laid out elaborate patterns of silver cutlery in criss-crosses across the entire length of their cabin floor. “I longed to be transformed by some good fairy into an owl and perch in a corner to watch these dexterous creatures laying our kindling and flatware so silently and neatly in a chosen design. But longing was futile. I never saw our visitors To this day I wonder why they went to such an effort and how it was achieved.”
November 23, 2009
On route to the Tomboy Mine which hovered 3,000ft above the mountain town of Telluride, CO. A sleigh driven by two, over-worked horses pulled Harriet and George Backus up an ever winding and steep road covered with ice that clung to a rock wall. Treacherous switchback after switchback with just inches separating the sled from the thousand foot sheer drop offs. Stricken with frigid temperatures and an altitude that made every breath an ever increasing difficulty; this was the predicament of Harriet Backus and her husband George as they climbed to their first silver mining camp in the late 1890’s.
Ever wonder what life was like for women living in mining camps at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries? Some of these women lived year round at the top of 11,800ft mountains along with their families. These women experienced many fascinating hardships, such as how to: cook, find fresh food, give birth, bathe, stay warm, overcome illnesses, overcome storms and avalanches, walk in ten feet of snow, and to survive at high altitudes. Harriet Backus, author of The Tomboy Bride: A Woman’s Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West has done a superb job documenting her encounters and obstacles as she left her home as a teacher and telegraph worker in San Francisco and began her long journey with new husband George Backus, to the rugged, high country mining camps. Their adventure would take them to Telluride, Colorado, the British Columbia coast, Idaho, and even Leadville, CO.
It was a time when the mining industry helped shape Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming into becoming states in the latter half of the 1800’s. Mining became a mass-production industry. Silver mining had evolved into one of the number one driving forces of settlement in the western United States. In addition to silver, there were also findings of gold, lead, coal, and other valuable minerals. This boom created many small mining camps littered throughout the west with little or no supplies, doctors, housing, food, schools, or other amenities found in the large cities of the United States.
The Tomboy Bride: A Woman’s Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West is written in chronological order pertaining to the true events of Harriet Backus’s diary. This was a great way to get a true sense of her struggles from beginning to end. She captures the reader with her intriguing story of hardship from one mining camp to the next. The majority of the events initially take place at the Tomboy Mine in Telluride, Colorado, but also take place at the Britannia mine in British Columbia, Elk City, Idaho, and the Climax mine in Leadville, Colorado.
In the late 1890’s Harriet Fish set out to marry George Backus, an “assayer at the Japan Flora Mine” (3). She had no idea where they were to live, or what was ahead of her. After being married in Denver, Colorado they traveled by several trains to Telluride, Colorado. George told her nothing, but to pack her warmest clothes, and to buy a high altitude cookbook. Then they set out by sleigh to climb over 3,000ft on a narrow trail through the mountains to the top of Tomboy Mine. This is a menacing trail well known for mules having lost their footing and plummeted to their death down the arduous mountainside. As they arrived at the mining camp, the sleigh pulled up to what would be their first home, a two room shack. Harriet’s first step off the sled sent her descending into waist high snow. This was the start of roughing it for Harriet.
Harriet began her life as the wife of a miner by beginning to learn housekeeping and cooking chores. She found one tub in their shack which was to be used both as a bathtub and a tub for washing dishes. Water was in high demand and was rationed to five gallons per week, so baths were cut down to once a week in only a few inches of water. Harriet would bathe first, and then George because he was covered in filth from the mines.
Supplies were a constant hassle as they could only be ordered once a month, and were usually late due to weather. “My monthly order list of meat generally included two legs of mutton, three dozen veal, pork, and mutton chops, half a ham, a slab of bacon, several beef steaks, two roasts of beef and a beef tongue” (53). There were no refrigerators so the meat was hung outside where it froze. Milk, fruit, and vegetables were bought by the case, but were never guaranteed to be fresh as the length of time to arrival varied with the weather. Many shipments arrived rotten, including the meat. Harriet was not a good cook in the first place, so these hassles with supplies only burdened her more.
Yet another obstacle arose when Harriet became pregnant. As her due date approached, George rented out a bedroom in the town of Telluride for her to stay in until she gave birth. It was too dangerous to try and stay up at the mine, as weather could possibly deter her getting to the doctor for days. It was a good thing that they had traveled into town, as an avalanche wiped out the Trout Lake Dam of the Telluride Power Company, taking out the town of Placerville. There were over thirty miles of train tracks and roads cut off and all telephone and telegraph communication was at a standstill. Wagons carrying food were unable to make it into town for weeks, only small pack mules could make it in; which left a town encompassed by about five thousand people very hungry. It was at this time that Harriet Backus gave birth to a little girl, Harriet Anna Backus. They waited another month before climbing the mountain back to their cabin at the mining camp.
By 1910, they had decided to move to a milder climate. They packed all their worldly possessions onto a sleigh guided by two horses embedded to their waists in the snow. Harriet, George, and the baby had to sit on top of their boxes, as there was no room left in the sleigh with their feet dangling off the side of a thousand foot cliff. “Dear Little Harriet, completely hidden in blankets…how did she get air to breath...what would I do when her diaper needed changing or when she must be nursed” (139)? Soon after, baby Harriet started a screeching cry for milk. It was impossible to nurse her in those conditions, and Harriet’s hands were numb from the cold. Luckily they encountered the wagons at the bottom of the trail fairly quickly. One of the men at the bottom, amazed to see a baby in that weather, forced Harriet to hand over her baby so that he could ride her out of the blizzard on his horse and get warm. It would take over an hour for Harriet and George to make it into town to find their baby cuddled next to the fire with the gentleman that quite possibly saved her life.
These are only a few of the hardships encountered by Harriet Backus while living in the San Juan Mountains near Telluride, Colorado. A story of vivid strengths in this pioneer woman of the west.
Harriet Backus wrote this fascinating novel based on her diary and her experiences alone. Her background in teaching most assuredly helped with the beautiful flow of the book. The entire novel is derived from factual evidence and her own recollection of the struggles along the way.
This novel is similar to the novel, Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West by Ethan Rarick. He wrote his fascinating novel based on facts alone, just as Harriet Backus. He quoted diaries left by each of the members from the Donnor Party, and also used diaries from future parties to compare notes on obstacles, scenery, and location. The only reason why The Tomboy Bride: A Woman’s Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West differs from Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West is because it is a biography written by Harriet Backus herself from her own diary, whereas Ethan Rarick used the diaries of others several years later. Ethan Rarick used endnotes throughout his novel, which helped with the factual dates of certain events from several different people’s diaries. Harriet Backus did not need to use endnotes because her novel is written chronologically from her own diary. Her life in the mining camps was well documented by her diary entries and photos.
The photos Harriet Backus used were of herself, her children, the mines, their homes, miners, pack trains, mountain views, friends, and even the trail they climbed to their first home. These photos give the reader a true sense of what it was like to live in those times and conditions, and a true impression of the struggles and hardships along the way. The Tomboy Mine, for example, closed in 1925 and all that is left are a few remnants, and pieces of wood. Her photo inclusion of the mine in its heyday is quite interesting as it depicts an era lost in the rubble. Looking at what is left of the mine today, there is no way to realize the extent of its historical popularity. Therefore, the photos included are of great importance to the novel.
The copyright of The Tomboy Bride: A Woman’s Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West was in 1969. It was first published in 1977 by Pruett Publishing Company in Boulder, Colorado. This book review is based upon the 1977 publishing.
This novel was written from the heart of Harriet Backus an authentic female pioneer of the rugged western mining towns. Her novel is for the true history buffs that enjoy the painstaking struggles endured by the first women in the west. Or even the average woman that is curious about what it must have been like to live in the mountains, without electricity, running water, fresh food, warmth, no diapers, or other amenities. This book is for experts and amateurs alike, as it captures the reader’s attention within moments of reading it. It will especially catch the eye of anyone who has traveled the lengthy, steep four-by-four trail of switchbacks up to the mine.
Ever wonder what life was like for women living in mining camps at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries? Some of these women lived year round at the top of 11,800ft mountains along with their families. These women experienced many fascinating hardships, such as how to: cook, find fresh food, give birth, bathe, stay warm, overcome illnesses, overcome storms and avalanches, walk in ten feet of snow, and to survive at high altitudes. Harriet Backus, author of The Tomboy Bride: A Woman’s Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West has done a superb job documenting her encounters and obstacles as she left her home as a teacher and telegraph worker in San Francisco and began her long journey with new husband George Backus, to the rugged, high country mining camps. Their adventure would take them to Telluride, Colorado, the British Columbia coast, Idaho, and even Leadville, CO.
It was a time when the mining industry helped shape Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming into becoming states in the latter half of the 1800’s. Mining became a mass-production industry. Silver mining had evolved into one of the number one driving forces of settlement in the western United States. In addition to silver, there were also findings of gold, lead, coal, and other valuable minerals. This boom created many small mining camps littered throughout the west with little or no supplies, doctors, housing, food, schools, or other amenities found in the large cities of the United States.
The Tomboy Bride: A Woman’s Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West is written in chronological order pertaining to the true events of Harriet Backus’s diary. This was a great way to get a true sense of her struggles from beginning to end. She captures the reader with her intriguing story of hardship from one mining camp to the next. The majority of the events initially take place at the Tomboy Mine in Telluride, Colorado, but also take place at the Britannia mine in British Columbia, Elk City, Idaho, and the Climax mine in Leadville, Colorado.
In the late 1890’s Harriet Fish set out to marry George Backus, an “assayer at the Japan Flora Mine” (3). She had no idea where they were to live, or what was ahead of her. After being married in Denver, Colorado they traveled by several trains to Telluride, Colorado. George told her nothing, but to pack her warmest clothes, and to buy a high altitude cookbook. Then they set out by sleigh to climb over 3,000ft on a narrow trail through the mountains to the top of Tomboy Mine. This is a menacing trail well known for mules having lost their footing and plummeted to their death down the arduous mountainside. As they arrived at the mining camp, the sleigh pulled up to what would be their first home, a two room shack. Harriet’s first step off the sled sent her descending into waist high snow. This was the start of roughing it for Harriet.
Harriet began her life as the wife of a miner by beginning to learn housekeeping and cooking chores. She found one tub in their shack which was to be used both as a bathtub and a tub for washing dishes. Water was in high demand and was rationed to five gallons per week, so baths were cut down to once a week in only a few inches of water. Harriet would bathe first, and then George because he was covered in filth from the mines.
Supplies were a constant hassle as they could only be ordered once a month, and were usually late due to weather. “My monthly order list of meat generally included two legs of mutton, three dozen veal, pork, and mutton chops, half a ham, a slab of bacon, several beef steaks, two roasts of beef and a beef tongue” (53). There were no refrigerators so the meat was hung outside where it froze. Milk, fruit, and vegetables were bought by the case, but were never guaranteed to be fresh as the length of time to arrival varied with the weather. Many shipments arrived rotten, including the meat. Harriet was not a good cook in the first place, so these hassles with supplies only burdened her more.
Yet another obstacle arose when Harriet became pregnant. As her due date approached, George rented out a bedroom in the town of Telluride for her to stay in until she gave birth. It was too dangerous to try and stay up at the mine, as weather could possibly deter her getting to the doctor for days. It was a good thing that they had traveled into town, as an avalanche wiped out the Trout Lake Dam of the Telluride Power Company, taking out the town of Placerville. There were over thirty miles of train tracks and roads cut off and all telephone and telegraph communication was at a standstill. Wagons carrying food were unable to make it into town for weeks, only small pack mules could make it in; which left a town encompassed by about five thousand people very hungry. It was at this time that Harriet Backus gave birth to a little girl, Harriet Anna Backus. They waited another month before climbing the mountain back to their cabin at the mining camp.
By 1910, they had decided to move to a milder climate. They packed all their worldly possessions onto a sleigh guided by two horses embedded to their waists in the snow. Harriet, George, and the baby had to sit on top of their boxes, as there was no room left in the sleigh with their feet dangling off the side of a thousand foot cliff. “Dear Little Harriet, completely hidden in blankets…how did she get air to breath...what would I do when her diaper needed changing or when she must be nursed” (139)? Soon after, baby Harriet started a screeching cry for milk. It was impossible to nurse her in those conditions, and Harriet’s hands were numb from the cold. Luckily they encountered the wagons at the bottom of the trail fairly quickly. One of the men at the bottom, amazed to see a baby in that weather, forced Harriet to hand over her baby so that he could ride her out of the blizzard on his horse and get warm. It would take over an hour for Harriet and George to make it into town to find their baby cuddled next to the fire with the gentleman that quite possibly saved her life.
These are only a few of the hardships encountered by Harriet Backus while living in the San Juan Mountains near Telluride, Colorado. A story of vivid strengths in this pioneer woman of the west.
Harriet Backus wrote this fascinating novel based on her diary and her experiences alone. Her background in teaching most assuredly helped with the beautiful flow of the book. The entire novel is derived from factual evidence and her own recollection of the struggles along the way.
This novel is similar to the novel, Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West by Ethan Rarick. He wrote his fascinating novel based on facts alone, just as Harriet Backus. He quoted diaries left by each of the members from the Donnor Party, and also used diaries from future parties to compare notes on obstacles, scenery, and location. The only reason why The Tomboy Bride: A Woman’s Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West differs from Desperate Passage: The Donner Party’s Perilous Journey West is because it is a biography written by Harriet Backus herself from her own diary, whereas Ethan Rarick used the diaries of others several years later. Ethan Rarick used endnotes throughout his novel, which helped with the factual dates of certain events from several different people’s diaries. Harriet Backus did not need to use endnotes because her novel is written chronologically from her own diary. Her life in the mining camps was well documented by her diary entries and photos.
The photos Harriet Backus used were of herself, her children, the mines, their homes, miners, pack trains, mountain views, friends, and even the trail they climbed to their first home. These photos give the reader a true sense of what it was like to live in those times and conditions, and a true impression of the struggles and hardships along the way. The Tomboy Mine, for example, closed in 1925 and all that is left are a few remnants, and pieces of wood. Her photo inclusion of the mine in its heyday is quite interesting as it depicts an era lost in the rubble. Looking at what is left of the mine today, there is no way to realize the extent of its historical popularity. Therefore, the photos included are of great importance to the novel.
The copyright of The Tomboy Bride: A Woman’s Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West was in 1969. It was first published in 1977 by Pruett Publishing Company in Boulder, Colorado. This book review is based upon the 1977 publishing.
This novel was written from the heart of Harriet Backus an authentic female pioneer of the rugged western mining towns. Her novel is for the true history buffs that enjoy the painstaking struggles endured by the first women in the west. Or even the average woman that is curious about what it must have been like to live in the mountains, without electricity, running water, fresh food, warmth, no diapers, or other amenities. This book is for experts and amateurs alike, as it captures the reader’s attention within moments of reading it. It will especially catch the eye of anyone who has traveled the lengthy, steep four-by-four trail of switchbacks up to the mine.
November 22, 2017
I have read many books by pioneering women and enjoyed them immensely. This book did not disappoint. Harriet Backus is a good writer and storyteller. If you like history, memoirs and couragoeus women, you'll like this book.
October 4, 2023
I want to love history, but I just don’t. BUT Tomboy Bride has been on my list forever since my family has vacationed in Telluride since before I was born. It was super interesting to hear about how difficult and dangerous life was in the mining camps. But the way our narrator described it was as if it was as simple as breathing.
She spoke about how her husband had to shovel the pathway from the house to the outhouse multiple times a day because the snow would fall constantly and build up too high to walk through. During heavy snowfall, if you fell while walking around outside you just had to flounder in the powder till someone came and pulled you up. There was a horrible slide path on the way up the pass that when you passed on your horse drawn carriage with the snow up to the horses belly, you basically held your breath that you didn’t start an avalanche.
After Telluride, they went to 3 more mining towns, each of which had their own unique challenges. Everything sounded difficult but at the same time very serene and she basically never complained. She loved the rural life and I particularly enjoyed seeing the photos interspersed throughout. She has a way of making their simple lives sound colorful and magical. If the story peaks your interest, give it a read!
She spoke about how her husband had to shovel the pathway from the house to the outhouse multiple times a day because the snow would fall constantly and build up too high to walk through. During heavy snowfall, if you fell while walking around outside you just had to flounder in the powder till someone came and pulled you up. There was a horrible slide path on the way up the pass that when you passed on your horse drawn carriage with the snow up to the horses belly, you basically held your breath that you didn’t start an avalanche.
After Telluride, they went to 3 more mining towns, each of which had their own unique challenges. Everything sounded difficult but at the same time very serene and she basically never complained. She loved the rural life and I particularly enjoyed seeing the photos interspersed throughout. She has a way of making their simple lives sound colorful and magical. If the story peaks your interest, give it a read!
March 7, 2025
Fun to read a book that contains time capsules of places where one has spent a bit of time—Telliride and Leadville, CO. Also nice to read a book by a feisty lady who loves her husband and her life as a homemaker—and who has a husband who loves her and her ways in return! :)
July 22, 2009
On a recent trip to Teluride, CO I found a book written by Harriet Fish Backus. I decided to buy it after listening to a guide tell us about her life during a four wheeling trip up the steep and scary mountain that she used to travel with her husband by horseback and wagons. I found her history of living in mining towns during the early 1900's to be fascinating. After reading this book I feel even more grateful to be born in this era of time when walking through 3 or 4 feet of snow to get somewhere is not an everyday occurance, and where doctors can acutally save lives of people who could not have survived during her lifetime. If you like history, you'll enjoy this book. I'm glad that people like Harriet Backus kept such detailed journals.
January 9, 2023
Very enjoyable account of a young bride's life in Western mining camps in the early 20th century. Recommended for Western-history fans.
For a real review, read Annie's: top of the stack, nearby. Sample:
"Their little house in the mining town is infested with pack rats, which sounds disturbing but Harriet is charmed by the way they came at night and, curiously, laid out elaborate patterns of silver cutlery in criss-crosses across the entire length of their cabin floor." Whoa!
For a real review, read Annie's: top of the stack, nearby. Sample:
"Their little house in the mining town is infested with pack rats, which sounds disturbing but Harriet is charmed by the way they came at night and, curiously, laid out elaborate patterns of silver cutlery in criss-crosses across the entire length of their cabin floor." Whoa!
May 28, 2017
This was an interesting and well-written memoir of a woman who traveled with her husband to various remote mines, including in Telluride and Leadville, CO, in the early 1900s.
February 13, 2018
3.5 stars....very enjoyable. I could hear Hattie’s voice as her story progressed from one memory to the next.
September 13, 2021
“The mules! Large, gentle, patient pictures of dejection, trudging along, heads sagging, ears flapping to shake out the needle sharp particles of ice driven in by howling winds. Packs cutting deep into their backs and irritating large running sores, forelegs and ankles swollen with rheumatism to twice normal size. Through four long winters I shuddered with indignation and pity at sight of their suffering” (48).
“One crystal clear night the mountains stood three-dimensioned in bold relief in the moonlight, and stars were so million-multiplied the sky looked colorless due to a shrieking wind clearing every thread of clouds” (119-120).
December 13, 2025
Love learning about more of the history of Telluride, a place I love so much!
March 2, 2023
I’m sure a big part of me loving this is that it takes place in the area I live in so I’m interested in mining and early life here, but also it’s just so good to read a firsthand account of life written in an easy way to read. It’s well written and so interesting! I also love her passion for the adventurous lifestyle. Overall, such an enjoyable read if you’re at so interested in the mining family life and Colorado mining!
August 5, 2018
Enjoyed the first person account and am always awestruck by the hardships that women of the 19th century lived through, thrived in and raised families.
August 30, 2009
I read Tomboy Bride as part of a church bookgroup that I decided to crash (it wasn't my ward) with the hopes of being taken up to the Tomboy Mine near Telluride as part of the book's discussion.
The tour of the mine and mountain ghost settlement never happened, but a really fun discussion with a member of a Victorian society present made the entire experience of reading this book a lot more fun than I expected.
As far as the book goes, I was enchanted with Harriet Fish Backus living as a new bride at 11,000 feet elevation in the winter. Her descriptions of an area I can well picture, because it's part of the mountain system where I live, were delightful. Delightful, you say? Yes, because she is a Victorian bride and this was no expose. It was an extremely optimistic, positive view about an unusual, and without a doubt, difficult situation.
The book doesn't stay in Colorado, however, and as the couple moved to British Colombia, Idaho and even back to Colorado, my interest waned. Her positive spin lost a bit of its charm as I more and more wanted to know what it was really like. Still, I loved the Telluride/Tomboy bit.
The tour of the mine and mountain ghost settlement never happened, but a really fun discussion with a member of a Victorian society present made the entire experience of reading this book a lot more fun than I expected.
As far as the book goes, I was enchanted with Harriet Fish Backus living as a new bride at 11,000 feet elevation in the winter. Her descriptions of an area I can well picture, because it's part of the mountain system where I live, were delightful. Delightful, you say? Yes, because she is a Victorian bride and this was no expose. It was an extremely optimistic, positive view about an unusual, and without a doubt, difficult situation.
The book doesn't stay in Colorado, however, and as the couple moved to British Colombia, Idaho and even back to Colorado, my interest waned. Her positive spin lost a bit of its charm as I more and more wanted to know what it was really like. Still, I loved the Telluride/Tomboy bit.
May 7, 2015
Great read about her life as a woman in various mining areas in Colorado, British Colombia, and Idaho. Although this occurs between 1906 and 1919, it's an engaging writing style and easy to read. She's originally from Oakland, and speaks briefly of how life changed for everyone due to the 1906 earthquake. She follows her soon-to-be husband, a mining engineer, to the San Juans in Colorado. They set up home at this super high-elevation. While you could read plenty of accounts of life in the mines, what's neat is her account from a woman's perspective. So she talks about things like women dealing with pregnancy at high altitude, and having to pass an avalanche zone in order to deliver the baby. Or learning how to cook and figure out what to order when supplies only get delivered (by mule train) once per month. And all her failed dinner attempts, since she really doesn't know how to cook. The last chapter is about their life in Leadville, CO, and she tells a number of stories about the outlandish doings of the time. What an amazing spirit, to happily head into these remote areas, enjoying it all!
October 15, 2013
Fun account of life much different from mine. It was really well written and fun to read
September 12, 2022
This was a fascinating personal account of Harriet Backus' life in the mining camps out west in the early 1900's that I read for my Colorado History reading challenge this year. She was a California native who fell in love with George Backus in high school and their enduring love for one another is a sweet thread that runs through the entire book. George attended a school of the mines in California and was trained as an assayer. She took a train from California to Denver to marry him whereupon they immediately began their adventure in the mining camps of the West starting with the Tomboy mine in Telluride, thus she was named one of the several "Tomboy Brides." They continued their adventures where opportunities for work within the mines out west called them, so they also lived and worked in Brittania Beach (in the Pacific Northwest), Elk City, and finally back in Colorado in Leadville before he retired from mining life back in California. It was fascinating to see how she braved such tough elements and conditions with such grace and fortitude. I was also constantly impressed by George's work ethic as well as the sweet friendships they formed through the years. Having lived away from family since my newlywed days like the Backus', I really resonated with them on this point having myself established sweet friendships in each place I have lived. One can tell that her and George had long conversations at night about his work and I ended up learning so much about the work that goes on in mining through her descriptions.
Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for a time and now Colorado, I really appreciated having a glimpse into the fascinating history of the mines and mining camps at this time in history as well as the descriptions of nature and the vistas that life in the mountains and by the sound afforded. Also, it was fun to have my Colorado History books talk to one another as I read "The Legend of Baby Doe" earlier this year and the Backus' lived in the house in Leadville for a time which "Baby Doe" and her daughter, "Silver Dollar" lived in before they were evicted when all of Tabor's money busted.
Now, I really need to make a trip to Leadville to spot some of the historical homes in which I now have a connection! I would also love to try and find a hike that would take me near the old Tomboy mine remains. From the descriptions, I believe the million dollar highway would take me near to it.
Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for a time and now Colorado, I really appreciated having a glimpse into the fascinating history of the mines and mining camps at this time in history as well as the descriptions of nature and the vistas that life in the mountains and by the sound afforded. Also, it was fun to have my Colorado History books talk to one another as I read "The Legend of Baby Doe" earlier this year and the Backus' lived in the house in Leadville for a time which "Baby Doe" and her daughter, "Silver Dollar" lived in before they were evicted when all of Tabor's money busted.
Now, I really need to make a trip to Leadville to spot some of the historical homes in which I now have a connection! I would also love to try and find a hike that would take me near the old Tomboy mine remains. From the descriptions, I believe the million dollar highway would take me near to it.
November 4, 2021
If you ever thought of memoirs as a boring genre, I encourage you to sample Harriet Fish Backus’ Tomboy Bride. It is anything but boring. “Tomboy” refers to the Tomboy Mine, located above Telluride, Colorado, and “bride” is the author Harriet who moved there in 1906 immediately after her wedding at the age of twenty with her mining engineer husband George Backus. The first half of the book describes the difficulties and adventures inherent in living in an almost impossible to reach area with only the barest necessities. Harriet was a city girl and had a big learning curve in basic survival skills in the remote, dangerous, high altitude mining camp—everything from baking at over 11,500 feet to how to wade in long skirts in the snow to an outhouse located quite a distance from the home.
The second half of the book relates a series of moves to various mines along with changes in mining fortunes. Not every mine was successful, and the country’s economic twists affected the mines as well. Their adventures took the couple to Britannia Beach, British Columbia; Elk City, Idaho; and Leadville, Colorado. They had several children and lived through World War I and the Great Depression. George’s mechanical ingenuity landed him a job in Oakland, California, which he held for 37 years, but Harriet’s fondest memories are not the ones of ease in the city, but of struggles, love, and friendship in the mountains.
Mining was a difficult and dangerous business. This was true even for college educated mining engineers who suffered from the cold, long hours and perils along with the miners. Mortality rates were high because of the distance to health care. Transportation was slow and uncomfortable along the treacherous snow packed mountain trails. Water and coal had to be carried by hand from dropping off points up slippery, snow-covered slopes to their homes by the residents. The only fruits and vegetables available were canned and brought up monthly on burros. Because of the isolation, residents tended to work as a community. As long as Harriet and George were together, they were happy despite, and sometimes perhaps because of, their shared hardships.
The second half of the book relates a series of moves to various mines along with changes in mining fortunes. Not every mine was successful, and the country’s economic twists affected the mines as well. Their adventures took the couple to Britannia Beach, British Columbia; Elk City, Idaho; and Leadville, Colorado. They had several children and lived through World War I and the Great Depression. George’s mechanical ingenuity landed him a job in Oakland, California, which he held for 37 years, but Harriet’s fondest memories are not the ones of ease in the city, but of struggles, love, and friendship in the mountains.
Mining was a difficult and dangerous business. This was true even for college educated mining engineers who suffered from the cold, long hours and perils along with the miners. Mortality rates were high because of the distance to health care. Transportation was slow and uncomfortable along the treacherous snow packed mountain trails. Water and coal had to be carried by hand from dropping off points up slippery, snow-covered slopes to their homes by the residents. The only fruits and vegetables available were canned and brought up monthly on burros. Because of the isolation, residents tended to work as a community. As long as Harriet and George were together, they were happy despite, and sometimes perhaps because of, their shared hardships.
January 29, 2019
This was a book filled with wonderful little stories. At times they didn't quite go together and it seemed like the author was jumbling unrelated happenings just because she wanted to include them, but didn't seem to transition them very well. Getting past the randomness, it was a fun read. I loved hearing about how Harriet and George got along in each place, from Telluride to Leadville and in between. Such an interesting time period. Even though modern things had popped up, like phones, electricity, etc., the mining camps were a whole other world. At times I had to remind myself this was taking place around the 1910s and not 1880s! I found it fascinating to read about the improvising Harriet had to do to make each place into a home (even a tent!). She was very creative and made do with very little. It's impressive. Also, I appreciated the bits of research and history she provided. She was clearly very interested in history and did a good job to find out what she could from the "old-timers" in each place. She provided invaluable information and stories that I imagine would otherwise be lost.
August 23, 2025
This book started out very promising as a 4 star read. I was intrigued at the idea of leaving behind a life of comfort and convenience for life full of challenges, hardships and adventure. The adventure I crave, it's the hardships in cold weather and high altitudes that turn my good vibes off.
This was a very recent "book club" read for me. We discussed that the title may be a bit misleading. When my 21st century brain thinks of "Tomboys," I think of girls that have interests socialized "boy stuff." Tomboy as it relates to this book refers to the name of a mine, where her husband works as an assayer.
While our narrator does display some untraditional characteristics that our contrary to tenets of femininity, she is also comfortable in the roll of a traditional wife amongst other pioneer women.
Considering that this book takes place in the early 1900s is the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, depictions of life get hard and depressing, but there are moments of comedy that keep the reader hopeful.
2.5 stars is my rating, but since I learned about life during this time that I had known previous to reading this book, I'll bump it to a 3.
Happy reading!
This was a very recent "book club" read for me. We discussed that the title may be a bit misleading. When my 21st century brain thinks of "Tomboys," I think of girls that have interests socialized "boy stuff." Tomboy as it relates to this book refers to the name of a mine, where her husband works as an assayer.
While our narrator does display some untraditional characteristics that our contrary to tenets of femininity, she is also comfortable in the roll of a traditional wife amongst other pioneer women.
Considering that this book takes place in the early 1900s is the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, depictions of life get hard and depressing, but there are moments of comedy that keep the reader hopeful.
2.5 stars is my rating, but since I learned about life during this time that I had known previous to reading this book, I'll bump it to a 3.
Happy reading!
December 26, 2019
An excellent personal account of early mining days in the West from a woman from Oakland, CA who went to the San Juan mountains of Colorado with her husband. Despite dangerous living conditions and sometimes horrendous weather at an elevation of over 10,000 feet, Harriet Backus and her husband, George spent many years living near the early mining fields going from Telluride's Tomboy Mind to British Columbia, then to Elk City, Idaho, ending up back in Colorado to the colorful, historical city of Leadville. Tnis story was written in 1969 and has been in print for 50 years. An exciting and interesting glimpse into the early mining days. I recommend to all history buffs of the old west. Also includes book club questions in the back and an afterword by the grandson of Harriet Fish Backus.
August 24, 2021
A very enjoyable memoir from the wife of a mine operations employee (not a straight up miner, though he holds several different roles through the book) who lived near Telluride, in British Columbia, northern Idaho, and Leadville. Some really interesting historical references to the capitalization of Molybdenum and to the 1918 Flu ravaging Leadville that will feel very timely to read today. Backus is relentlessly upbeat and pleased to be wherever she and her family find themselves. The only misstep here is a tone-deaf suggested list of book club questions at the end, but this is a specific addition to the more recent reprint, and not contributed by the main author. A good read in companionship with any LIW books or the other Colorado mining life tale of Doc Susie by Virginia Cornell.
April 19, 2021
Another read-a-loud for us. I first learned about this book in a college course in Colorado and enjoyed reading it then (I grew up in Colorado, the book starts out in Colorado). Upon moving to Ireland, my husband and I read the book in the winter, which was fitting for the hard first winter the author endured in the high mountains of Colorado. It is a brilliant account of living somewhere new, making the most of the pitfalls or at least getting on with life and the trials and tribulations that come along with it.
September 27, 2025
This may be one of my all time favorite books ever. It was so so cool to hear Telluride described in that era since I am living here now. I could place some of the areas on a map and just picture the mules hauling them up a mountain. I will say this does glamorize the mining industry and romanticize that time, but in the context of what Harriet was living, it feels right. She had an incredible way with words and you feel like you are with her in those mountains. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you are familiar with the San Juans.
October 13, 2025
I loved every minute of this book——the memoir of Harriet Fish Bakus and her experiences living in mining and milling communities with her husband, George in the early 1900s. The book is divided into four sections, giving details of each of the four places they lived—Tomboy Mine (above Telluride, CO, Britannia Beach, Elk City, UT, and Leadville, CO). If you love the history of the west (especially the history of Colorado mining towns), adventure, and just want to be inspired by a beautiful and strong woman devoted to her husband and family, this book is for you!
July 10, 2019
It was so much fun to read this while visiting my daughter who lives on Trout Lake, just outside of Telluride, CO. We went up on Ophir Pass and I can't imagine doing that on a horse! So many of the places mentioned in the book were familiar. On July 4th we visited the Telluride Museum which is housed in the old hospital where Harriet was born. The museum also has a replica of her cottage at the Tomboy Mine. While we were at the museum, we were lucky enough to meet and spend time talking to Harriet's grandson, Rob Walton, who told us many interesting stories about his grandmother. She was quite an amazing woman!
August 1, 2019
Author Hattie Backus was some kind of woman! This compilation of detailed narratives is both fascinating. But honestly, I find it hard to imagine anyone finding such pleasure and contentment as she describes in these such difficult and often desolate conditions!
This memoir exudes her energy and passion for life. Her loyal, steadfast love for her husband is amazing and refreshing. This mining wife is devoted to what she perceives to be her high calling, unwavering, even at 13k feet altitude!
This memoir exudes her energy and passion for life. Her loyal, steadfast love for her husband is amazing and refreshing. This mining wife is devoted to what she perceives to be her high calling, unwavering, even at 13k feet altitude!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2021
An amazing account of a female pioneer. Hard to say that I would ever be as strong and resilient as this woman. Later in the book you realize she was one of the more privileged of the miner's wives and wished you had a little more account of the struggles of the other miners incorporated in, but I suppose there is probably some other book somewhere that will have other personal accounts of that. Was fun to read while living in Colorado and knowing many of the spots she talks about.
June 27, 2022
A friend loaned this book to me and I thought it was outstanding! If you like imagining what it might be like to live in a different time and place, and following the tale of a strong woman, you would enjoy it. The reading is easy. You'll learn more about mining than you probably ever thought you would (i confess that some of it went over my head). You will be glad that you didn't have to endure the hardships of living in the early part of the 20th century - especially in remoste Colorado and Idaho.
February 1, 2023
This was a true account of a woman's life from the time she got married through the years until her husband died. It tells of the primitive conditions they lived while he worked in mines near Telluride, in British Columbia, in Idaho, and in Leadville. She told of the happiness of their lives and the friends they met. She wrote of disasters and hard work. They ended up in Sacramento where they started.
Well written autobiography.
Well written autobiography.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews