Description
Book SynopsisEdward “Ed” Schieffelin was the epitome of the American frontiersman. His search for wealth followed a path well-trod by thousands who journeyed west in the mid to late nineteenth century. In
Portrait of a Prospector, historian R. Bruce Craig pieces together the colourful memoirs and oral histories of this singular individual.
Trade ReviewThe historical significance of Ed Schieffelin's life goes well beyond his Tombstone silver discovery, as demonstrated in this compelling autobiography, expertly edited and annotated by R. Bruce Craig."" - Robert M. Utley, author of
A Life Wild and Perilous: Mountain Men and the Paths to the Pacific""
Portrait of a Prospector engagingly illuminates the life of a particular U.S. frontier type, the gold and silver prospector of the late nineteenth century West, and adds to our understanding of the prospecting culture of the era. Ed Schieffelin's account is especially revealing as the story of a man who started prospecting at ten years old and did not stop until his death, a man who learned to go his own way rather than follow the rushes."" - Paula Mitchell Marks, author of
Precious Dust: The North American Gold Rush Era, 1848 - 1900 ""What makes Portrait of a Prospector worth reading is that it is derived directly from Schieffelin's memoirs... [the book] is well worth reading from an Alaskan historical perspective, because Schieffelin's frank observations constitute a valuable contribution about how mainly indigenous people lived in the lower Yukon River basin the 1880s."" - Tom Bundtzen,
Alaska History""Collecting the words of an exceptional figure who embodied the western frontier, Craig offers readers insight into the mentality of prospector adventures during an age of discovery and limitless potential."" - Mary Beth Jones,
Book Beat
