Seeking the Elephant, 1849; James Mason Hutchings' Journal of his Overland Trek to California | Including his Voyage to America, 1848 and Letters from the Mother Lode

Glendale, CA: The Arthur H. Clark Company Castle Press, 1980. First Edition. Very Good. Book Design by Grant Dahlstrom. Limited to 750 copies, [9.5x6.5in]; 209 pp., frontispiece image of Hutchings and cover image of Hutchings' California Magazine first issue; Red cloth covers with gilt lettering on front and spine, gilt illustration of elephant on front, top and bottom edges trimmed, fore edge deckled; Minor shelf wear, front bottom and back upper corners appear to have a few puppy chew marks, frayed back upper corner, otherwise would be fine condition. [Kruska endnote 3, p. 275]. James Mason Hutchings (1820-1902) was one of the many Englishmen that came to California in 1849 for the Gold Rush. He made his fortune in mining and was one of the early promoters of the wonders of Yosemite Valley and the National Park. As a businessman, he established a hotel in the valley floor and, after named as a State Park in 1864, he claimed land under preemption laws. He lost his claim and was banished from the valley. Shirley Sargent (1927-2004) was a well known historian of Yosemite and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountain range. She wrote over 20 fiction and nonfiction books, many articles and amassed a collection of historic papers, many relating to Hutchings.

From Kruska, "We are fortunate that Hutchings kept a diary of his early life in California. In addition to the journal covering his 1848 trip across the Atlantic and his trip across the plains and early days in California in 1849 (Diary 1948-49), he left us with a diary for the entire year of 1855 (Diary 1855). ... Sargent provided details of and commentary on Hutchings' daily trips to the gold fields in her well-researched book 'Seeking the Elephant'." This book is the 12th volume in the American Trails Series by the Arthur H. Clark Company.