The Rock

In addition to his daily entries in his diaries, Alf Doten also wrote a regular column in the form of letters to his home town newspaper, The Plymouth Rock, summarizing his Western experiences for Massachusetts readers. He began this practice in 1854 when he was mining in Calaveras County, California and ended it in 1867 when he was working long hours as a reporter for local papers in Virginia City and journalism had become his profession. He published a total of 93 letters that began “Dear Rock.” Eighty of the letters originated in California, with 13 from Nevada. After his first 50 letters, Doten began numbering a “new series,” beginning with NS1 and ending with NS43.0. He saved the clippings for 81 of the letters, and for the rest, he saved his handwritten drafts. Two photostat copies of missing clippings were added to the collection later. The letters were transcribed during the process of editing Doten’s journals for publication in the 1960s, and Walter Van Tilburg Clark included 42 of them in their entirety within the three-volume publication. For most of the rest, Clark included summaries or partial transcriptions. We now present a complete and searchable archive of the entire collection of transcripts of Doten’s letters to The Plymouth Rock, alongside the clippings or handwritten originals. Our assistant Challen Wright digitized the clippings and prepared the transcripts for the project. We hope this online collection will be useful to researchers of the West as the region unfolded during a pivotal time.

Rock19 No. XIX.From our California Correspondent.San Francisco, Feb. 19th, 1856. FRIEND ROCK: One of the principal topics of interest here since my last, has been the reported discovery of rich gold mines at San Antonio, just across the bay from this city, only some nine or ten miles distant. A great excitement was raised about them a little more than a week ago, and they were said to be just discovered by some Frenchmen, while digging a well. As a matter of course, the rush to the “new diggings" was tremendous. Picks, pans, and shovels, were in great demand, and people of all professions, from...
Rock20 No. XXFrom our California Correspondent.San Francisco, March 4th, 1856. FRIEND ROCK: "Washington's birth day" was duly celebrated here and was made a holiday by most of our population. Several of the military and fire companies paraded, salutes were fired, all the shipping in the bay displayed their numerous flags, and in the evening there were balls given at several places, which were all fully attended. During the afternoon some of the fire engines tried their aquatic powers in the squirting line, to the satisfaction of numerous spectators. A splendid "Hunneman" engine, just built for the...
Rock21 No. XXI.From our California Correspondent.San Francisco, March 18th, 1856. FRIEND ROCK: During the past month there has bat very little rain fallen, consequently the young grass was fast drying up, and the farming interest was beginning to suffer. All the newspapers from the interior, reported "dry times" there, and great consequent discontent among the miners, in regard to the weather. On the 14th inst, however, we had a glorious rain throughout the country; but more is needed soon, or the crops will turn out small this season. Accounts from the mines, made frequent mention of mining...
Rock23 From our California Correspondent.No. XXIII.San Francisco, April 19, 1856. DEAR ROCK: Between the ninth and the fifteenth of this month considerable quantities of rain fell; reinvigorating the suffering crops, giving a fresh supply of water for mining purposes, and diffusing new life through all branches of trade and occupation. The interior papers comment happily upon the fresh impetus which this generous rain has given to all mining operations, and make frequent mention of many a good “strike,” and of numerous pounds of the yellow metal which are daily being “taken out” in the various...
Rock24 From our California Correspondent.No. XXIV.San Francisco, May 4, 1856. DEAR ROCK: Within the past two weeks, the grading of the San Francisco and Mission Dolores railroad has been commenced and is going, ahead rapidly. It will be only some two and a half or three miles in length, and as the route is over low ground and through sand hills, the grading is easy, and will be soon completed. There are two plank roads now connecting the two places, over which omnibuses run alternately, every half hour during the day; but it is expected that the railroad will soon supercede these in a measure. The...
Rock25 Our California Correspondent gives a very interesting and detailed account of the excitement in San Francisco, consequent upon the murder of James King. Read Ben Bolt’s letter. From our California Correspondent. No. XXV. San Francisco, Monday May 19, 1856. DEAR ROCK: At the present writing, San Francisco is in a state of social revolution, and for the last few days business of all kinds has been brought to a standstill. I wrote you in one of my letters of a few months since, of the assassination of Gen. Richardson, the U.S. Marshal here, by Charles Cora, a gambler, and now I have to record...
Rock26 From our California Correspondent.No. XXVI.San Francisco, June 4th, 1856. DEAR ROCK: The 22d of May 1856 - the day after the date of my last letter, will be forever set apart and remembered through future ages by the residents of this State, and of San Francisco particularly, as a day ripe with impressive scenes, of sad and thrilling interest. On that day this great city - the "Queen of the Pacific," was in mourning for the loss of one of her worthiest and best beloved sons. The houses were all draped in mourning, the flags were displayed at half mast, while the solemn tones of the tolling...
Rock27 From our California Correspondent.No. XXVII.San Francisco, June 19th, 1856. DEAR ROCK: The Proclamation of the Governor and the general orders of Major Gen. Sherman, which had just been issued at the date of my last letter, had a somewhat exciting effect for about a week. Books were opened at the various recruiting offices, and several patriotically disposed individuals rallied to join the armies of the Governor and to show themselves ready to be drilled and fight under the standard of "Law and Order;" but it is notoriously a fact that those who thus gallantly came forward were mostly rowdies...
Rock28 No. XXVIII.From our California Correspondent.San Francisco, July 5th, 1856. DEAR ROCK: Saturday, the 21st of last month, was another of those days of deep and terrible popular excitement which have been so characteristic of San Francisco in the last few weeks. About half past three o'clock in the afternoon of that day, Officer L. A. Hopkins, with a small posse of the vigilance police, by order of the committee attempted to arrest a Mr. J. R. Maloney, on Jackson street near Kearney. Judge Terry of the supreme court and four others were with Maloney, and attempted by force of arms to prevent...
Rock29 From our California Correspondent.No. XXXIX.San Francisco, July 20th, 1856. DEAR ROCK: Nothing of a very stirring nature, as compared with previous events, has occurred during the past fortnight to disturb the equanimity of this city's population, although the governor still proclaims us to be "in a state of insurrection." The Vigilance Committee continue the session at their Rooms, and make almost daily arrests of notorious and suspicious individuals. Some of these, after trial, are discharged again, while others are kept on hand for the next "shipment" from the State. A few days ago they...

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