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El Sueño de Oro: The Dream of Gold

by Phillip Michael Coffee and William Mills Coffee

271 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-2513; ISBN 1-4120-4705-6; US$29.00, C$34.00, EUR24.00, £17.00

A thrilling day-by-day account of life on the trails of the Yukon in 1897 and 1898, temperatures as low as minus 80 degrees Farenheit. You won't believe the hardship.

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About the Book      About the Author      Excerpts      Catalogue Information

About the Book

El Sueño de Oro is a day-by-day account of an expedition for gold in Alaska from August of 1897 to August of 1899. The "log" was created by the leader of the expedition, William Mills Coffee, then of Santa Cruz, California.

The log entries create a flowing story of the El Sueño expedition from San Francisco to the Bering Sea and up the Yukon River in Alaska. The El Sueño party searched for gold by dog sled, boat and on foot during the harsh winters of Alaska, where the temperatures were recorded as low as -80 degrees. During the two years there were mutinies, deaths, marriages, amputations, shipwrecks and various accounts of the Alaskan wilderness.

The book is an historical account of one man's search for gold, very well documented with photos, maps of probable gold locations and claims, and financial records of the expedition. The Master Carpenter Certificates of the two ships involved with the expedition, "Bessie K" and "El Sueño", are included.

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About the Author

Phillip Michael "Mike" Coffee is the great grandson of William Mills Coffee, whose gold mining expedition to the Yukon Territory of Alaska, El Sueño de Oro is documented in hand-written, leather bound journals and is the basis of the published book. Publishing of El Sueño de Oro has been a multi-year venture by family and friends. Mike and his family frequently visit Desolation Wilderness, above Fallen Leaf Lake, California, where the original William Mills Coffee family camp is located. The camp is currently owned by the Peter Mills Coffee family.

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Excerpts

"We loaded our guns and warned the Captain not to hoist his main sails. He desisted and saved blood shed."

"Morgan was discovered by deer hunters 20 miles from "Ulukuk", lying on his sled - 2 dogs. They ate some dogs."

"I have passed through and endured more hardship and exposure than ever before in life (the temperature during this trip ranged from 40 to 80 deg. below zero)."

"I don't want a man's life on my hands, but if it comes to a pinch, one of us will be killed and I am not going to be the one."

"5 miles above here one of the valve steams of engine breaks, and I am helpless. Drifting down Yukon amongst the ice."

"This ends my log and I feel quite relieved as it has taken quite an effort on many occasions to keep it up. But if it is interesting to any friends, and my wife in particular, I shall feel fully repaid."

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Catalogue Information

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