Children of the Gold Rush Author:Claire Rudolf Murphy, Jane G. Haigh "Ten-year-old Donald McDonald watched the miners shovel the pay-dirt into the wooden sluice boxes. When the miners stopped the water flowing through the boxes, Donald's father motioned him over. Dipping both hands in the freezing liquid, Donald felt around in the gravel and sand at the bottom. Suddenly, up came his fingers clutching shiny nugget... more »s. 'Gold!' he screamed. 'Look, Mama, I'm rich!'" Donald was just one of many children who came North with their parents in search of gold. In yet another previously untold chapter of the gold rush era, Claire Rudolf Murphy and Jane G. Haigh have gathered individual stories, vintage photographs, and historic memorabilia to tell what life was like for these indomitable kids a century ago. In a land where freezing, dark winters and mosquito-filled summers challenged even the hardiest pioneers, children, like their parents, had to be tough and quick to adapt to harsh conditions. They lived in boomtowns and rugged encampments on the gold creeks. They sold newspapers, baked bread, learned to read from pages torn from magazines-if there was anyone with time to teach them, performed on stage, and learned to make the most of their new situations. And perhaps infected by the eternal optimism of the gold-seekers, they learned to be positive, even during times of misfortune. Their stories continue to inspire hope and a positive attitude today.« less