High Seas to High Stakes

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Hail and sleet were so hard it pinned us down to the rigging. The bark plunged madly into a tremulous sea throwing sailors on the deck into water up to their necks. Fury of the wind defied efforts to haul down the sail. Jared Coffin Nash and fifty five other men sailing on a 104 foot bark shared the hold full of lumber, machinery, tools, pigs, chickens and turkeys enough to last the six month journey from Maine to California around treacherous Cape Horn. The call of the gold rush in 1848 sent thousands of Argonauts on an inordinate chase, exciting though disappointing for most. For these journeymen, it was a life-threatening adventure that built or broke these men seeking their fortunes. Jared Nash kept a diary while on this great adventure and sent letters home to his wife Leah. These papers were found a hundred years later and are the basis for this book. The author's late husband was Jared's great grandson.