When gold was discovered in California in 1849, the news spread like an electric shock through the United States and its territories. There were three ways to get to those gold fields and the promise of incredible riches: overland by wagon train, horse or on foot; by ship around Cape Horn; or by stem-wheeler through the Gulf of Mexico, thence overland to the Pacific. Wayfaring Strangers follows travelers on all three of these arduous and dangerous journeys, whose lives are connected by more than the fortunes sought in California.