David Leeper (1832-1900) left South Bend, Indiana, for an overland trip to the California gold fields in February 1849. The argonauts of forty-nine (1894) details Leeper's journey west and his life in California, 1849-1854: prospecting at Redding's Diggings, Hangtown, and the Trinity River; lumbering around Eureka; and early Sacramento and Humboldt Bay. Leeper shows special interest in the Digger Indians, illustrating the book with sketches of tribal garb in his personal collection.