Annotation

A common stereotype of life in the Wild West in the midst of the gold rush was one of lawlessness, moral depravity, and vigilantism. Drawn up in Boston in 1849, and carried by miner Henry Stevens on his journey to California, this list of rules and regulations was meant for the "mutual protection" of a trading and mining company. This demonstrates that there was an interest on the part of some miners to have a system of rules and regulations to follow instead of permitting complete lawlessness and anarchy to run rampant.