PIONEER BOYS OF THE GOLD FIELDS OR _THE NUGGET HUNTERS OF '49_ BY CAPTAIN RALPH BONEHILL AUTHOR OF "PIONEER BOYS OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST," "WITH BOONE ON THE FRONTIER," "FLAG OF FREEDOM SERIES," ETC. CHATTERTON-PECK COMPANY NEW YORK, N. Y. COPYRIGHT, 1906 BY STITT PUBLISHING COMPANY BOOKS BY CAPTAIN RALPH BONEHILL THE FRONTIER SERIES Price, per Volume, $1.00 WITH BOONE ON THE FRONTIER; Or, The Pioneer Boys of Ohio. PIONEER BOYS OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST; Or, With Lewis and Clark Across the Rockies. PIONEER BOYS OF THE GOLD FIELDS; Or, The Nugget Hunters of '49. FLAG OF FREEDOM SERIES Price, per Volume, 60 cents WHEN SANTIAGO FELL; Or, The War Adventures of Two Chums. A SAILOR BOY WITH DEWEY; Or, Afloat in the Philippines. OFF FOR HAWAII; Or, The Secret of a Great Volcano. THE YOUNG BANDMASTER; Or, Concert Stage and Battlefield. WITH CUSTER IN THE BLACK HILLS; Or, A Young Scout Among the Indians. BOYS OF THE FORT; Or, A Young Captain's Pluck. PREFACE "Pioneer Boys of the Gold Fields" relates the adventures of three sturdy youths who go west to seek their fortune during the great rush to California in 1849. At the start the boys are unknown to each other--one coming from the city, another from the country, while a third is just home from a long whaling voyage. But the magic word, "Gold!" is on every lip, and in company with thousands of others, they make the long and perilous journey across the plains and the mountains, to the Land of Promise. On the way they have several encounters with wild beasts and with Indians,--scenes taken from actual life. When the gold diggings are reached they find that a great deal of hard labor lies before them, but they do not shirk, and their success is well deserved. They find the gold fields overrun with bad men, and at the height of their prosperity they are robbed of their treasure. What happens after that, the pages which follow relate in detail.