Women were a rarity in most gold-rush communities.
They represented about one-twelfth of the state's non-native population
in 1850, and increased only to one third by 1880.
One of the most remarkable women in gold-rush California
was Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe. She lived for over a year in
a rough-and-tumble mining camp along the Feather River. She's known
to us today by a marvelous series of letters she published under
the pen name Dame Shirley. The letters are a valuable resource because
they provide a woman's perspective on life in the gold rush. They
contain a wealth of detail on the interior furnishings of miners'
cabins, the clothing worn by the forty-niners, and their typical
daily fare.
Dame Shirley also records the miners' unusual figures
of speech. "Seeing the elephant," for instance, meant having
a truly remarkable experience, something as unusual and unexpected
as encountering an elephant in the mines.
One of the most remarkable women in gold-rush California
was Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe. She lived for over a year in
a rough-and-tumble mining camp along the Feather River. She's known
to us today by a marvelous series of letters she published under
the pen name Dame Shirley. The letters are a valuable resource because
they provide a woman's perspective on life in the gold rush. They
contain a wealth of detail on the interior furnishings of miners'
cabins, the clothing worn by the forty-niners, and their typical
daily fare. 
Dame Shirley also records the miners' unusual figures
of speech. "Seeing the elephant," for instance, meant having
a truly remarkable experience, something as unusual and unexpected
as encountering an elephant in the mines.