Book excerpt: George Horatio Derby (1823-1861) aka John Q.Phoenix, aka SquibobLieutenant Topographical Engineers of the United States Army. He surveyed and mapped the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys in 1849. This volume combines Derby's cartographicand literary skills (his "day" job). Derby observed and describedfirst hand the events, people, and places of the early CaliforniaGold Rush. He surveyed Camp Far West, described Sutter's HockFarm, stayed at Johnson's Crossing, and stood on theNorth Butte of the Sutter Buttes. He was at Coloma, Jamestown, Mormon'sIsland, Cordua Bar, and Rose Bar in 1849 and illustrated the gold mining process as it was occuring. He mappedthe courses of the Feather,Yuba, Bear, and Sacramento Rivers.He viewed and described the emigrants in 1849 as they arrived inCalifornia. His humorous writings as John Phoenix and Squibob werebased on first hand experiences surveying the Yuba-Sutter area.(Thiswas ten years before Mark Twain arrived in California.)