The Gold Wagon — Robert M. Johnson

The year is 1852 and the gold rush in California is entering into another level of intensity, some might say insanity. People are now coming from as far away as China and Australia to join those Forty-Niners, seeking their fortune in the gold fields. The land grant of Fremont Enterprises along the Merced River in east central California, continues to produce gold in great abundance. Where most miners measure their gold in ounces, the Fremont production is measured in pounds! Early on, the company recognized a major vulnerability in their operation. The gold taken from the mine in Mariposa, a more remote location, had to be transported to Monterey where it could be entered into the banking system of the Bank of San Francisco. There it was turned into moneyed assets for the company, a process that had made John Charles Fremont one of the early millionaires of California. Fremont is about to be elected to the post of senator for the state of California and is in the process of relocating to Washington DC to take up his responsibilities. It is there in California that our story begins. John Fremont has left his business in the capable hands of several trusted associates. The story follows the activities and responsibilities of one of those associates, Jeremiah Warner. With the enthusiastic approval of John Fremont, a good friend of Jeremiah's, Tom Wilkerson, has relocated his family to Monterey. Tom has signed on to join Fremont Enterprises as part of their management personnel. This 20th volume, entitled, The Gold Wagon, takes up the story with the delivery of a custom-made wagon designed for the safe transport of gold from Mariposa to Monterey. In the first year of this transportation process, three of the four men who were guarding the transport were killed in a robbery and the gold, $25,000 worth, was stolen. John Fremont and Jeremiah Warner took this very personally and decided that whatever the cost, they would build a wagon that could safely transport the gold while maintaining true security for the men in charge of its transport. This is volume number twenty in the Jeremiah Warner Mountain Man Series which is as follows: 1. THE WINDRIDER 2. THE WOLF MAN WARRIOR 3. WILDERNESS WINTER 4. WESTWARD WAGONS, HO! 5. WOLF HOUND VENGEANCE 6. WOLF PREY 7. WOLF MAN WARLOCK 8. THE WARLOCK'S FIRETALK 9. THE WARLOCK'S WAY 10. REVENGE OF THE WARLOCK 11. THE WILDERNESS PATHFINDER 12. THE WARLOCK TAKES WASHINGTON 13. CAPTURE THE SUNSET 14. WOLF ATTACK! 15. STREAMS OF GOLD 16. THE BOUNDARY RIDER 17. THE GOLD RIVER GUNMAN 18. RIVER GOLD TO DIE FOR 19. ROCKY MOUNTAIN RETURN 20. THE GOLD WAGON