A Mine of Her Own: Women Prospectors in the American West, 1850 - 1950

by Zanjani, Sally

• ISBN13: 9780803299160
• ISBN10: 0803299168
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

From the California gold rush through the midtwentieth century, a special breed of women played an integral and heretofore unrecognized part in some of the most stirring adventures of the pioneer experience: the saintly Nellie Cashman; the copper queen Ferminia Sarras, known for her grand sprees; the former rodeo champion turned prospector; the ex-actress who snowshoed her way to Nome; and many more. Chosen as one of the top ten books of all time by the Mining History Association,A Mine of Her Owntells the definitive story of America's women prospectors for the first time.

Author Biography

Sally Zanjani is on the faculty of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her latest book, Sarah Winnemucca, will be published in spring 2001 by the University of Nebraska Press.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: Prospecting	1	(24)
PART 1: 1850--1918
Angel and Wild Woman	25	(35)
Ellen Cashman
The Copper Queen	60	(25)
Ferminia Sarras
``Hustlers of No Mean Ability'': Women on Their Own	85	(36)
The Steam Engine and the Lost Breyfogle: Dubious Enterprises	121	(20)
Native Daughter	141	(24)
Ellen Nay
``Hers Were the Only Hands to Assist Me'': Daughters, Sisters, Wives, and Lovers	165	(40)
PART 2: 1919--1950
Queen Mary and the Tugboat Annie of the Desert: The Postwar Era	205	(31)
``Hit Rock Bottom Hard Enough to Bounce'': The Depression Years	236	(27)
``Listen and the Mountains Will Talk to You'': Happy Days and Panamint Annie	263	(21)
The Last Prospector in Rawhide	284	(17)
Anna Rechel
Epilogue: A Century of Women Prospectors	301	(18)
Notes	319	(34)
Bibliography	353	(12)
Index	365