Kevin KimHistory 19

October 31, 2010

Shirley Letters Essay: “Dame Shirley, an educated woman in a rough community of tough men, is too far removed from the everyday life of the

average miner to be a reliable observer of Gold Rush life and society.”

I absolutely loved the Shirley Letters! Dame Shirley in her letters focused

both on the life of pioneer women and of Gold Rush miners. There is an abundance

of good information presenting the life of a miner during the Gold Rush days that

would be sufficient enough to quench the people’s curiosity of the era of the Gold

Rush. Many of her descriptions came almost inevitably with her unusual stay in the

mining camps. In the beginning of her letters, we can infer that there is a definite

difference in the level of intelligence, social ideology, and culture between her and

the miners already present. Throughout the remainder of her series of letters,

Shirley takes the reader on a journey through the realistic components of being a

miner by presenting information such as miner’s cultures, the common belief of

mining to be hard and a gamble, and even habits such as the abundant use of

profanity by miners. Interestingly enough, it seems that Shirley learns to adapt with

this lifestyle, which makes the Shirley letters a great source and Shirley a reliable

observer of Gold Rush life and society.

Starting within the first letter, Shirley states in her letter to her sister “How

did such a shivering, frail, home-loving little thistle ever float safely to that far away

spot, and take root ... in that barbarous soil?" This highlights the fact that Dame

Shirley as she admits is radically not at all acquainted with the new environment

than she has put herself in. She describes architecture as a “marvel” to the ragged

miners. On her journey to Rich Bar, her descriptions of first experiences in

hardships were vivid. She even admits to fear as she was traveling alongside a trail.

During her journey to Rich Bar, Shirley describes her experience of witnesses of

Natives and uses vulgar words such as “poor creatures” to describe them while they

were harvesting seeds. She even records stories that she was told at Rich Bar of

possible Indian attacks and ambushes on travelers. Shirley expresses a general

negative thought of Indians that most Western settlers share, as informed in class.

She even records the linguistics of foreigners whom she met on her journey in

Letter 14. She finds the way language was spoken as interesting. Her accounts of

several foreigners throughout her essay are accurate with history, as during the

1850’s Gold Rush, many foreigners have migrated to California.

Shirley had always tried to keep a

positive thought on things. Burdened with a

sick husband, Shirley hid feelings of fear

and tiredness to keep the journey pleasant.

However, this was not the case. On her

arrival to rancho, Shirley quotes “ Oh, take

it away; give me some cold water and let

me sleep, and make sure you don’t wake me up for three weeks.” Shirley goes into

descriptions of family life of the pioneer families in Rich Bar and of Indian Bar. In

Letter 5, she goes into the dread of a death of a mother in a pioneer family while

giving accounts of the funeral. She gives accounts of real names and living styles

such as the type of food they had consumed. She describes hotels and stories behind

their establishment. Food was a huge part in experiencing the Gold Rush life. From

beginning of the series of her letter, Shirley described food originating from back

home to food developed by the miners and even in Letter 13, describes of her

pleasant experience in Indian food. She names foods that she had tried such as

mackerels, types of bread, crackers, and ham. She also goes into great detail of a

Spanish breakfast in Letter 20.

Not only does Shirley seemingly give accurate accounts of the life of these

settlers but she also gives a great description of the landscape. She describes certain

trails that she took as ragged and rough. She describes the pine trees and of the

Sierra Nevada mountains and its “snowy ridges and craggy rocks”. Despite the

beautiful scenery she was surrounded in, Shirley describes on many occasions of her

discomfort while her stay at mining bars. She had on first hand accounts slept on

couches, slept with no pillows and blankets, reclined on wooden chairs, and even

slept on tables.

Shirley does not stop by describing only the everyday life of a California

miner, but goes into specifics. For example in Letter 4, Shirley describes a story of a

surgery that occurs in the “Empire”. This was the beginning of many accounts of

cruel and dangerous risks that miners had to face in this harsh land. A huge portion

of her letters described many accounts of murder. Just as her surprise in the

overwhelming use of profanity by the miners, were murders and thefts just as

abundant. She gives a preview of the “court system” of the miners. In Letter 9, Little

John, a waiter of the “Empire”, was accused of stealing and faced charges of taking

400 dollars worth in gold dust. She covers this court case by broadly explaining how

the court system worked among the California miners and of execution techniques.

Shirley also describes accounts of attending a political convention and even of

United States holidays such as the Fourth of July Festival in Letter 18. She even met

a Frenchman who described to her of a French holiday in February.

Shirley goes further into the uncertainty of mining success, “in the California

system the whole mining system is one

great gambling, a lottery system.” She

describes methods of mining and about the

habits of amateur miners. She even

describes mining as “the prettiest pastime

of the world”. Not only does Shirley

describe the success and failures of gold

mining. Shirley physically learns to mine.

By doing so, Shirley herself becomes

transformed into one of the California gold

miners.

As you can see, Dame Shirley does a great job in covering such a vast array of

California miner’s life in a series of 23 letters. From vivid descriptions of natural

landscapes to the her experience in taste of new food, and even form the basic day of

a miner to specific such as surgery and court cases, did Shirley seem to accurately

describe the life of California miners. Shirley’s Letters can not get any more real in

showing the true descriptions of mining life in California. Shirley has witnessed first

hand accounts of the hardships of miners and of events the miners faced. It is true

that Shirley had entered the West as a foreigner of the land, however she presents

an example of every migrated California miner, as she evolves or transforms to this

rugged and strong willed miner.