Charles: There are two great books (and a few others) that chronicle this passage for this time period. My GG-Grandparents make the trip from New York City to California via Panama in the summer of 1859. Delgado, James P. To California by Sea: A Maritime History of the California Gold Rush. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1990 and Kemble, John Haskell. The Panama Route, 1848-1869. Columbia, So. Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1990. Lots of great information. Chuck Knuthson Motaatom@aol.com wrote: > Recently, I learned that my greatgreatgrandfather and his brother had gone > from Independence, MO on a wagon train to the California gold fields. After > a few months there, they returned to Arkansas apparently after arriving in > New Orleans from Panama. The letter written by one of them states "I was sea > sick 6 weeks on a start from San Francisco to Panama...and from Shagres (sic) > to Oleans (sic)." Could someone give me a quick lesson on the journey that > one would have taken in the 1850s from San Francisco to New Orleans via the > Isthmus of Panama? > > Thank you. Sincerely, Charles Riner