Includes bibliographical references (p. [509]-527) and index.

Machine generated contents note: PART ONE -- The Gathering of Peoples -- (From the World to California: 1848-1849) 21 -- 1. In the Footsteps of Father Serra 25 -- 2. Across the Pacific 47 -- 3. The Peaks of Darien 65 -- 4. To the Bottom of the World and Back 93 -- 5. To See the Elephant 122 -- 6. Where Rivers Die 162 -- PART TWO -- From Vulcan's Forge -- (The Goldfields: 1848-1850s) 191 -- 7. With a Washbowl on My Knee I95 -- 8. A Millennium in a Day 226 -- PART THREE -- American Athena -- (California: 1849-1856) 243 -- 9. The Miracle of St. Francis 247 -- 10. Sutter's Last Stand 269 -- 11. Shaking the Temple 287 -- 12. Children of the Mother Lode 305 -- 13. Reflections in an All-Seeing Eye 334 -- PART FOUR -- The Gordian Knot and the Pacific Connection -- (California and the Union: 1856-1869) 359 -- 14. The Pathfinder's Return 363 -- 15. South by West 382 -- I6. From Sea to Shining Sea 404 -- PART FIVE -- The New El Dorado -- (America in the Age of Gold) 439 -- 17. Prometheus Unbound 445 -- I8. American Dreamers 475.