October 11, 1850

Letters by Alden M. Woodruff, son of publisher William E. Woodruff, were published in the Arkansas State Gazette & Democrat, giving details of his experiences searching for gold in the fields of California. These letters and excerpts of articles by F. J. Thibault detailing their experiences helped to provide a record of the history of the many Arkansans who joined the westward movement. The Arkansas Gazette of May 14, 1852, noted that “it is calculated that out of every 100 persons who have gone to California, fifty have been ruined, forty no better than they would have been had they stayed at home, five a little better, and four still better, and one has made a fortune.”