Fred J. Forster letters to George L. Estes about Alaska gold mining, 1898-1899.

ArchivalResource

Forster, Fred J. Fred J. Forster letters to George L. Estes about Alaska gold mining, 1898-1899.

Fred J. Forster letters to George L. Estes about Alaska gold mining, 1898-1899.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702152226

12 ALS written by a gold miner in Alaska and covering almost the entire period of his stay, from March 1898 to August 1899. Forster writes from the Kenai Peninsula near Turnagain Arm, describing life in Alaska: the terrain, the rough water of Turnagain Arm, mining work, camp life (with a drawing of his cabin), snow blindness, mosquitoes, Sunrise City life in winter, a saloon brawl there, social life, local government, dances, and his participation in a local minstrel show. He extols the beauty of the scenery throughout, and the rejuvenating effect of the lifestyle, though in one letter he states that "there is less gold here than there is in the worked out diggings of California" and that he is broke. In the next letter he reports that he has a job at a hydraulic mine working on the timber work on the flumes and trestles. One letter is written on the back of a letter from Estes to Forster, dated March 25, 1898.

12 items (4 folders)

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library