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THOSE WILD & LUSTY GOLD CAMPS. RevisedTHOSE WILD & LUSTY GOLD CAMPS. Revised. Alton Prior. Softcover, (1999), 2006, Illus., 191 pp.
Mark Twain observed that to write of the gold rush period and ignore its carnage would be like writing of Mormonism without referring to polygamy. A good example is the story of a mob in one California gold camp that hanged a man for horse stealing. It was found out, after the hanging, that the man was innocent. The vigilante mob sent a messenger to break the news to the victim's widow. "We hanged Jim for stealing a horse," he told her, "but come to find out, he didn't do it; so I guess the joke's on us." All gold camps weren't so callous, but most of them were exciting. Many of the gold camps are now only ghost towns. Others continue to thrive, albeit without that precious commodity gold. Come join western author Alton Pryor on a journey through some of the West's most notable gold camps and ghost towns. SP0534 |