The Lure of Gold in the Pulp Fiction Story, Devil's Manhunt

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lawrence_Hail]Lawrence Hail
For eight long months Tim Beckdolt mined for gold at Desperation Peak in Arizona. His patience rewarded him with striking a rich seam of gold. Three more months of agonizing back breaking work put him on the brink of a new life, the life of a wealthy man!
It would be awe-inspiring if the story ended there with a happily ever after. Alas, it does not! As with all well written stories some villainous character or characters enter the scene who takes the easy way to wealth by stealing off the backs of hard working individuals. In the case of Beckdolt, not only do the villains jump his claim but hunt him down through a vicious terrain with no food, water or weapons of any kind!
In real life this was not such a far fetched story. The lure of gold and relatively quick riches caused thousands of people to up-route themselves and their families in pursuit of the good life. In fact, when gold was discovered by a man named Sutter in California of 1848, the rush began and by 1849, the town of approximately 800 swelled to 50,000 within the year. While some of the early miners did strike it extremely rich, most did not. Did Sutter become wealthy? The answer is no! He spent the rest of his life fighting the United States Land Commission over the rights to his land and sadly died a poor man.
What is less known about the 1849 gold rush is the role women played. While men and women equally shared the hardships of traversing the country, upon landing, it is estimated that 1000 to 3000 women disguised themselves as men and prospected for gold. Some made it to riches mining, while other women became wealthy cooking and baking homemade meals and breads giving the men a sense of home. It was a similar scenario during the Alaskan/Yukon gold rush of the late 1800s. But unlike the Californian rush, due to the extreme weather of Alaska, the population decreased after the mines dried up.
Fictional stories like L. Ron Hubbard's "Devil's Manhunt", takes you on the adventure, trials and tribulations of the harsh life of gold mining in the Wild West. Written and published in Feb. of 1950, this book is one of the golden age of pulp fictions classic stories that fully gives you the sense of not only gold mining but the full flavor and panorama of the west. Included in the novel are two other western short stories to enjoy, "Johnny the Town Tamer" and "Stranger in town".
The western genre was a huge seller in the pulp fiction era because people were fascinated by the unique lifestyle of the Wild West. No other country housed the magnificence of the American Natives and their completely different way of life, the vast landscape and the promise of prosperity through land ownership or gold mining. Even the clothing matched the needs from the harsh landscape that was unique to America.
If you love to read a good solid western adventure that provides all the elements of the Wild West and prospecting for gold, "Devil's Manhunt" delivers all that and more.
Lawrence Hail is a huge fan of pulp fiction stories and loves to experience them in all formats from print to audiobooks to video and movie. Click here for a catalogue at: http://www.goldenagestories.com/free-asi-magazine-signup-form
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Lure-of-Gold-in-the-Pulp-Fiction-Story,-Devils-Manhunt&id=6624653] The Lure of Gold in the Pulp Fiction Story, Devil's Manhunt