4th Grade, Volume I: Part I, Overview

A Ripping Trip

by Harriette Shakes

To California by Sea

The first rush for gold came by sea. [It is] estimated that 23,000 people came across the continent to California in 1849 and that 45,000 poured across the Sierra the following year. Between April 1849 and April 1850 approximately 62,000 persons had arrived at San Francisco on a variety of vessels. Another 36,097 came by way of Panama in 1848-1851. Many more made their way home via the Isthmus. 

The true significance of the maritime routes is not only in the passengers, but in the vessels themselves. Without ships, goods to keep the mines going would not have arrived. San Francisco was the heart, the rivers were the arteries, and the small schooners, scows, and steamers on those rivers were the lifeblood of the Gold Rush.

From To California by Sea, by James Delgado, page ix. 
A Ripping Trip
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