Download or read book River of Red Gold written by Naida West, Ph.D. and published by . This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on a true story, 1844-1853, before and during the California Gold Rush -- real people and historical events brought to life, names unchanged. Californio Pedro Valdez, Miwok "Indian Mary" and Elitha Donner from the tragically snowed-in wagon train, people of three cultures entwined in a drama of power and paradise lost. This update of West's best-seller includes details unavailable when originally researched in the early 1990s. Expanded endnotes tell the reader where fiction fills the gaps of history and where the characters are buried. For centuries, Indian Mary's people have lived peacefully on the land by the Cosumnes River. Pedro loves her and desires the land for his own rancho, but Perry McCoon stakes his claim and brings his 14-year-old Donner bride. Then the stampede for gold sweeps all before it.