Bigler's Chronicle of the West. The Conquest of California, Discovery of Gold, and Mormon Settlement...
first edition
1962 · Berkeley and Los Angeles
by Bigler, Henry William.
Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1962 First edition. Edited by Erwin G. Gudde. Frontis portrait, plates, map, facsimiles. Bibliography, index. Maroon cloth. A fine copy with slightly rubbed dust jacket. This work is the first compilation and correlation of all the known versions of Bigler's diaries. Includes abundant commentary in the form of footnotes and extensive interpolations, as well as introductory and summary chapters. "Chapter VII
consists of Bigler's eyewitness account of the beginnings of the Gold Rush
the second chapter focuses on Bigler's hunt for gold and its discovery at Mormon island" (Kurutz). This work is considered the only authentic account by an eyewitness of the discovery of gold; Bigler was a member of the crew that built Sutter's sawmill at the American River. [Kurutz: 57].. (Inventory #: 7897)