Incidents on Land and Water, or Four Years on the Pacific Coast; Being a Narrative of the Burning of the Ships Nonantum, Humayoon and Fanchon, Together with Many Startling and Interesting Adventures on Sea and Land
Boston: James French and Company, 1857. Very Good Plus. First Edition. [8x5.5in], 336 pp., Four plates of illustrations including frontispiece; Original dark green cloth wiht blind stamped designs and border, gilt illustration on front and spine, gilt lettering on spine, all edges trimmed; Minor shelf wear to covers, edges and corners, light rubbing to covers, small tears to top and bottom of slightly faded spine, bright gilt, small chip to fore-edge of front fly-leaf, light foxing spots to end papers. [Kurutz 42a, Hill 75, Adams Six-Guns 167,Cowan p. 38]. Item #14332
Dolly Bryant Bates Hyde (1826 -1908) was best known for authoring her only book, Four Years on the Pacific Coast, 1857. a reflection of her exciting travel experiences with her husband, William Bates, at sea, the California gold rush town of Marysville, and her return to Kingston, MA, crossing Panama.
In July 1850, with her husband in command of the Nonantum, the couple sailed from Baltimore with a load of coal for California by way of Cape Horn. According to reports, the journey had a very favorable start, however when the ship was in the South Atlantic and 600 miles from land, it was discovered to be on fire. For twelve days they sailed on to Port Stanley, Falkland islands and did everything they could do to stop the fire. The Nonantum was abandoned and the Bates then transferred to the Humayoon for Valparaiso. Off the west coast of Chile, this ship also caught on fire and the passengers and crew abandoned the ship to be rescued by the Symmetry. The Bates then were transferred to the Fanchon, which was also loaded with coal, and wait for it, caught fire off the coast of Peru. From Peru, the Bates traveled to Panama and was able to book travel on the Republic for San Francisco, They arrived at the end of April, 1851.
Dolly and her husband, William, settled in Marysville to operate the Atlantic Hotel. Her narrative of everyday life of living in a remote gold rush canvas camp was similar to Mrs. Louise Clappe letters (writing as “Dame Shirley”) to her family around the same time. She wrote about the lack of other women and children, the wild prices and availability of supplies, the threat of violence and the local outlaw “Joaquin,” the Indigenous tribes, Chinese and her visits into the mining districts along the Feather River. Dolly and Louise may have actually met during their travels.
The Bates left California in spring 1854 to return Kingston via overland travel across the Isthmus of Panama. After resetting in Kingston, she left for New York and a new husband, James Hyde. It is unknow what happened to William Bates; however, one could assume he went back to being a ship captain and long trips away.
Price: $225.00