Bullwhip Griffin (By the Great Horn Spoon)

By Sid Fleischman

Praiseworthy Griffin is an excellent butler. But when the woman he works for is on the verge of bankruptcy, he and his young master, Jack Flagg, the woman's nephew, hit upon the idea of heading off to California to find a fortune in gold. It's 1849 and folks are flooding into the gold fields hoping to strike it rich. If Jack and Praiseworthy get lucky, they maybe able to get back home to Boston in time to save Arabella, the aunt, and her house from foreclosure.
Right off the bat they run into trouble when their money is stolen. Praiseworthy is a butler very similar to P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves, and nothing keeps him down for long, he is up to the challenge. He and Jack smuggle themselves on board the boat in barrels that are supposed to be filled with potatoes.
But you can't stay for the many months it will take for the boat to travel from Boston all the way down the coast to South America and through the stormy waters off of Tierra del Fuego and back up the west side to California inside a potato barrel. So Praiseworthy presents himself and Jack to the Captain as stowaways and they are put to work shoveling coal until Praiseworthy hits upon a scheme to unmask the theif who stole their money and who is also on board the ship.
Money and good name restored, they continue their voyage, landing in San Francisco ready to light out to the gold fields. But it's an unpleasant surprise discovering how very expensive the supplies they will need are do to the high demand. But never mind, because Praiseworthy always manages to find a way and with minimal supplies they set out to pan for gold among the rough and tumble gold camps of California. They will find gold and lose gold, hit upon money-making schemes and have encounters with bears and thieves and even with true love.

Basically this is a children's book but I still found it quite enjoyable to read. I don't know how historically accurate it is but it is filled with what sounds like authentic details and information about the life of the typical 49er. Praiseworthy is an ingenious fellow and his schemes are nifty and he manages to pull their fat out of the fire every time with a little help from Master Jack. It maybe meant for younger readers, but I enjoyed it a lot too.