Selden Allen McMeans, M.D.

The settling of the West is the stuff of American legend-pioneers and Gold Rush hopefuls, soldiers and farmers, villains and visionaries. Selden Allen McMeans was a real-life hero of the developing West, and this fascinating biography pays tribute to a man of impeccable ethics and exceptional talents. Born in 1806, McMeans trained with a local country doctor and gained enough expertise to qualify as an Army surgeon, the highest rank for physicians in the military. At the end of the Mexican war, he joined the boom in California and became one of the first two doctors to arrive in El Dorado County, the hub of the Gold Rush. He established a chapter of Aesculapius to identify qualified doctors so that the miners would receive competent care. In California, McMeans became active in politics and was elected to the State Legislature for 1852, and elected state treasurer in 1854. But despite McMeans' best efforts, he became embroiled in a political and financial scandal. Become immersed in frontier life, learn the truth of "The Great Nevada Hoax," and appreciate the life and work of a great doctor, politician, and philanthropist as this book takes you on a fantastic adventure.