IN DEFENSE OF PROFESSOR GOLDRICK

First edition. Octavo. Paperback. Wrappers showing a portrait of Goldrick. xiii 171pp. Dedication. Contents. Introduction. Endnotes. Bibliography. Index. Fine. "No one among Colorado's Fifty-niners created more awe and excitement than O. J. Goldrick did on his legendary arrival in the pioneer mining camp of Auraria (later Denver) in August, 1859. He was expertly driving the lead wagon of an ox-drawn mercantile caravan. Wearing a tall silk hat, a cutaway coat, and a cravat with matching kid gloves, he coaxed the oxen in Latin. His eccentricities were overcome by his quick-witted charm and his writing ability, which he soon put to use as the first roving reporter for the recently created Rocky Mountain News. His enthusiasm for learning was contagious at a time when the raw settlements on Cherry Creek were most in need of such an influence, and it earned him the affectionate title of "Professor." A few weeks after his arrival he started Colorado's first school. Biographer Margaret Truly located Goldrick family descendants who were scattered from California to Pennsylvania. She obtained letters written in the 1800s by the professor, his father, and his siblings. With these documents, a family diary, and archived newspapers, she deftly wove the first true and accurate account of Goldrick's life.".…