Gold Dust and Gunsmoke: Tales of Gold Rush Outlaws, Gunfighters, Lawmen, and Vigilantes

By John Boessenecker

Book Overview

A lively collection of true tales of villainy and violence during the California Gold Rush "Boessenecker has done as much as anyone to change and illuminate California's Wild West image . . . if you would like a good read about how gold fever ignited a rush not only of families, but prostitutes, feuds, lynchings, duels, bare-knuckle prizefights, and vigilantes, then is this the place to start." - Wild West "A lively, thoughtful, well-researched book, and those interested in the rough, early years of the Mother Lode will not be disappointed." - Ledger-Dispatch (Jackson, Ca) "[Boessenecker] has done an amazing job of researching newspapers, legal documents, diaries, and other sources, as well as making skillful use of the recent research. . . . Excellent narrative . . . . Very well done, Gold Dust & Gunsmoke is a 'must.'" - True West "Boessenecker's meticulous research and vivid prose make this excellent book a fascinating collection of true stories." - Tulsa World Packed with never-before-told tales of the American frontier, Gold Dust & Gunsmoke sends us galloping through the tumultuous California territory of the mid-nineteenth century, where disputes were settled with six-shooters and the lines of justice were in perpetual flux. Armed with meticulous research, John Boessenecker displays a remarkable knack for finding the perfect details to capture all the color, excitement, and hullabaloo of the Gold Rush. Published in tandem with the 150th anniversary of California's statehood, these authentic stories of gunfighters, lawmen, vigilantes, and barroom brawlers are an important contribution to the rich lore of the American West.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471319732
• ISBN13: 9780471319733
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.6" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Not like the TV westerns

This is an absolutely fascinating book. I think most people would agree that western movies and TV shows are probably not very authentic. They would be correct in that assumption. In the gold rush era of California there was certainly no shortage of men handy with their fists and their guns. But it probably didn't all go down the way you think. It was much more violent than I would have imagined. But this book covers so much more than that. You will read of things that will make your mouth hang open and many things you weren't aware of. I can't thank John Boessenecker enough for bringing all this to light.

More 'real West.'

Most students of the Wild West who persist are surprised to find that the real Wild West occurred much sooner than when most of the movies are placed. Calfornia in the 1850s was the most dangerous place and time in America, the classic Wild West period later on was tame by comparison. As usual, history is more interesting and fascinating than fiction and a lot of the roots about the way we think of things were planted as the 49ers struggled to survive in the killing gold fields. A great job of research and a valuable 'must' addition to any serious Western library.

First History of Violence in the Gold Rush

A Review from Wild West Magazine, October 1999:It is an odd twist of history. Hollywood created the gunfighter myth and placed its heroes primarily in Texas, with overlapping gun-toting cowboys in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, Oklahoma and the Dakotas. Yet, when we think of California in terms of the Wild West, we usually think of someone salting a gold mine...period. It's high time, on the 150th anniversary of the Forty-Niners' rush to the far coast, to rethink Old California. San Francisco attorney and historian John Boessenecker has done as much as anyone to change and illuminate California's Wild West image. With intense research and fine writing skills, Boessenecker brings us gunfighters, thieves, assassins, gamblers and highwaymen, the likes of which one seldom reads about. And these are not just ordinary ruffians and ne'er-do-wells; these people stole from other folks in a wide variety of ways and made an art out of shooting and cutting up friends as well as enemies. So while we have plenty of biographies of Billy the Kid and lots of reruns on the OK Corral, it's refreshing that Boessenecker presents solid information on interesting but mostly overlooked California characters and events. The author says that the decade of turbulence and bloodshed that followed the discovery of gold "has not been equaled before or since in the history of peacetime America." In the epilogue, Boessenecker presents some murder-rate figures that lend support to that statement. He concludes that the gold seekers' ready resort to violence "left an enduring mark on our nation's history." If you would like a good read (367 pages) about how gold fever ignited a rush not only of families, but of prostitutes, feuds, lynchings, duels, bare-knuckle prize fights, and vigilantes, then this is the place to start, the book to open. Leon Metz

Wilder than Tombstone and Deadwood on a Saturday night!

Boessenecker's Gold Rush era-California is wilder than Tombstone, Dodge City and Deadwood on a Saturday night Fourth of July weekend. I thought I knew the Old West, but I didn't, because I didn't know Old California. Now I do. The chapter on Joaquin Murrieta is worth the price of the book and clears away a cloud of unknowing about California's most legendary bandit. I hope this is just volume one. --- Allen Barra, author of Inventing Wyatt Earp