Going for the Gold — Willard Thompson

This is a short History based on original research. When President James K. Polk stood before Congress in December 1848 and announced to the world gold had been discovered in California's foothills, and had a tea caddy-full to prove it, he kicked off the most legendary voluntary emigration of people the world has ever seen. Adventurous men from around the world joined hardy Americans streaming to California to claim their share of the precious metal. By far, most of them traveled by sea.
For the Gold-Rushing Argonauts of 1849, California was a long way from anywhere. Some endured a hard sail south in the Atlantic Ocean and then braved Cape Horn, where adverse winds and violent storms could delay them for weeks on end, before finally sailing far across the Pacific to catch a favorable breeze into San Francisco Bay. In all, it could be a six or seven month ordeal before reaching their destination. Overland travel could take as long or longer and had its own perils.