Life on the plains and among the diggings

Forty-two-year old Alonzo Delano joined the California Gold Rush to California hoping to cure a lung ailment and strike it rich. He was a highly observant and intelligent man and frequently wrote to his family in Illinois about his western life. Eventually these letters became a book, Life on the Plains and Among the Diggings. His satirical style of writing influenced such writers as Mark Twain. He lived in Grass Valley California, until his death in 1874.