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Book/Printed Material An excursion to California over the prairie, Rocky mountains, and great Sierra Nevada. With a stroll through the diggings and ranches of that country.

[ Volume 1 ]

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[ Volume 2 ]

About this Item

Title

  • An excursion to California over the prairie, Rocky mountains, and great Sierra Nevada. With a stroll through the diggings and ranches of that country.

Summary

  • Englishman William Redmond Kelly (1791-1855) visited California in 1849 and 1850, and his account of that trip was widely read. An excursion to California (1851) is the two-volume account of Kelly's trip to the American West. The first volume takes him from England to California, January-July 1849. After landing in New York City, Kelly records his route through Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa, Illinois, and St. Louis, before joining an overland train at Independence, Missouri in April. He records scenery and wildlife and Native American tribes as well as buffalo and antelope hunts and the party's stay in Utah. The book provides exceptional depth of detail on the mechanics of a wagon train's operations. The volume closes with Kelly's arrival in California and remarks on gold mining. The second volume was published separately the next year as "A stroll through the diggings of California." Here Kelly describes gold prospecting and life in mining camps on the Sacramento River and Rock, Middle, and Salt Creeks as well as visits to Sacramento, San Jose, and San Francisco. Throughout, he offers details of daily life and work and observations on native ethnic groups and European immigrants.

Names

  • Kelly, William, 1791-1855.

Created / Published

  • London, Chapman and Hall, 1851.

Headings

  • -  West (U.S.)--Description and travel
  • -  Overland journeys to the Pacific
  • -  California--Description and travel
  • -  California--Gold discoveries
  • -  Ethnic groups--California

Notes

  • -  Reissued, London, 1852, as vols. 1 and 4 of The Bookcase series, with titles "Across the Rocky mountains ..." and "A stroll through the diggings of California."
  • -  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.

Medium

  • 2 v. 21 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • F593 .K287

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • rc01000799

Rights Advisory

  • No known restrictions on publication.

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

"California as I Saw It:" First-Person Narratives of California's Early Years, 1849-1900.

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Credit Line: Library of Congress, [appropriate source division as described in the bibliographic record]. For example: Library of Congress, General Collections; or, Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Kelly, William. An excursion to California over the prairie, Rocky mountains, and great Sierra Nevada. With a stroll through the diggings and ranches of that country. London, Chapman and Hall, 1851. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/rc01000799/.

APA citation style:

Kelly, W. (1851) An excursion to California over the prairie, Rocky mountains, and great Sierra Nevada. With a stroll through the diggings and ranches of that country. London, Chapman and Hall. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/rc01000799/.

MLA citation style:

Kelly, William. An excursion to California over the prairie, Rocky mountains, and great Sierra Nevada. With a stroll through the diggings and ranches of that country. London, Chapman and Hall, 1851. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/rc01000799/>.