View of covered wagons passing a hill, with emigrants in foreground. Full caption reads: "Rock Avenue, (Defile) near head of Red Spring Ck. [20 miles beyond departure from the Platte river, near Alkali Swamp & Springs, crossed out], 29 miles from Independence Rock, & 104 ms. from the South Pass ['(on a (thirsty drive of 28 ms. from the platte)' is crossed out]"; Note on lower left side of sketch reads: "Near the head of Red Spring Ck. [crossed out]"; Note on top of sketch reads: "(appears to be volcanic origin)"; On verso is a practice sketch of a male figure. Joseph Goldsborough Bruff is best known as a topographer, journalist, and artist of the gold rush era. Bruff was born in Washington, D.C., on October 2, 1804. He attended West Point from 1820 until his resignation in 1822. From 1827-1836 he worked as a topographical engineer, predominantly at Gosport Naval Yard in Norfolk, Virginia. He returned to Washington, D.C., in 1837 and from 1838-1849 worked for the U.S. Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Bruff then organized the Washington City and California Mining Association, which he accompanied to California. While in California he produced extensive journals and drawings of the mining camp experience. In 1853 Bruff returned to Washington, D.C., where he worked in office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department until his death on April 14, 1889.
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
