Life and death jostle each other: California's gold rush era -- A right to go to hell in his own way: Nevada, 1859-1900 -- The stench from them was simply fearful: California and Nevada in the nineteenth century -- Brewing sage tea for some tenderfoot: Colorado, 1858-1900 -- The mining section is full of men with but one or no eye: medicine in Colorado's mines, nineteenth century -- Wearing out, not rusting out: rest of the West -- The accident is one of those that seem inevitable in mining: medical practice and diagnoses in transition -- Fired with faith of fools: Alaska, 1897-1910 -- They may yet find gold: time of retrenchment, 1900-1918 -- The secret of safety work is one of leading people to think: medicine in the mines in the twentieth century