Gold Fields and San Francisco — Dewey Dempsey

The time is the first months of the California Gold Rush. Qua Nie and his cousins arrive in San Diego four days after the Sutter's Mill discovery was announced. He is following Jedediah Smith's travel maps and exploring the West, his own spiritual beliefs and his mixed heritage. He decides to use the skills he learned running trading posts to create a business empire and then go to Oregon before the hordes arrive. There are greedy men who attack them and two beautiful women to spice up the adventure. He continues to pass for white at times and to claim his Cherokee heritage at others. He creates an enclave of his family and friends near Calistoga before setting off for Oregon. He also meets a huge Samoan who joins him on his spiritual questing and becomes a life-long friend.
The novel was researched over several years and the author has ‘walked the land' where all of the action takes place.