Tomboy Bride: A Woman's Personal Account of Life in Mining Camps of the West

This easy read is an enjoyable account of life in several mining communities in the early 19th century. For me, most interesting were the portions when the Backus' were living in Colorado, having been in those areas. However, the entire book looks at what these mining pioneers had to live through. Harriet Backus does not sugarcoat the hardships. (And I now know where the term packrat comes from!) She tells her story matter-of-factly with her genial, optimistic point of view.

"I heard more incredible stories of packrat ingenuity and achievement but no one could tell why the rats hid the food instead of eating it.
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The author recounts life at the Tomboy Mine nearly 12,000 feet high in a mountain near Telluride. She retells their lives moving around to British Columbia, Idaho and Leadville. After numerous rejections, it was finally published when she was 84 years old. This is an important memoir from Colorado mining history and the conditions of the families who endured.

My Grandparents grew up and were married in the San Juan Mountains mining region in the early 20th century and my grandmother said this account is very much what her life was like as a bride at 18.

I really wanted to like this book but was disappointed. It got "old" real fast. About 1/2 way through I was tired of it and just wanted to be done. I normally like this kind of book! But it just didn't do it for me.