The Lost Gold Rush Journals: Daniel Jenks 1849-1865 - Paperback

Obermesik, Larry: - As a hobby, I was researching a long-forgotten place called Independence Camp. A tract of land along Fountain Creek (Fontaine qui Bouille) in Southern Colorado, which Native American tribes had frequented for millennia. Since 1706, almost every major expedition through this territory visited the site -- but very little was ever written about it. When throngs of gold-seekers descended on the Pikes Peak region in the 19th century, Independence Camp became an important way station for them as well. In Hall's 1895 History of Colorado; Mr. Hall repeats the story William Parsons wrote in his famous Pikes Peak gold rush guidebook: On July 4, 1858 The Lawrence Party, with Julia Holmes the first American woman to climb Pikes Peak, arrived at a beautiful grove of Cottonwoods 15 miles north of Pueblo, which they named Independence Camp. As Julia Holmes wrote; The train camped early this evening, in order to celebrate the glorious fourth. This was done by consuming what little whiskey remained among the members. Most of the emigrants who traveled to Colorado via the Sante Fe Trail in the 19th century stopped at Independence Camp. It was a well known place, even noted on a few period maps. While the site of Jim's Camp is remembered as an important place in Colorado gold rush history, Independence Camp has almost been lost to time. The original site is near my home and I wanted to know more. So I dug deeper. My search led me to the Library of Congress, where I discovered an actual drawing of Independence Camp had been made in 1859. The sketch was attributed to a prospector from Pawtucket, Rhode Island; named Daniel Jenks. I also learned the Library of Congress bought 2 of the original 5 volumes of his gold rush journal. The other 3 volumes were sold to an anonymous bidder at a Christie's auction in 2012. I imagined them gathering dust in a vault somewhere, forever beyond interested eyes. I'd only delved into the journals to learn more about Independence Camp, but I quickly became captivated by Daniel's amazing story. Eventually I found all 5 volumes of his journal, a body of work that's no small challenge to discern. But my interest drove me to decipher and transcribe the text into the narrative you now hold in your hands. I hope you enjoy reading the Jenks Journals, as I have, and treasure the tale Daniel told.