Women were a. rare sight in the mining camps. In Pen Knife Sketches; or,Chips of the Old Block 1853) Alonzo Delano recalled the excitement in a mining camp caused by the arrival of woman:

We knew that delays were dangerous, so shouldering our picks and shovels, pistols and rifles, and taking bottle or two of guardiente, we marched to the new tent, in file, our leader whistling "Come haste to the wedding," and gave three cheers and a discharge of firearms. The alarmed occupants rushed to the door to see what was up. Our captain mounted a rock, and addressed the amazed husband in something like this strain:

"Stranger, we have been shut up here so long that we don't know what is going on in the world, and we have already forgotten what it is made of. We have understood that our...