"Returning from Kern River", illustration from "A Peep at Washoe" by J. Ross Browne, in <i>Harper's Monthly Magazine</i>, December 1860. This would be the Kern River, California gold rush of 1853.
Image on first page of article is signed "Stephens" (first name unknown to me). All images in the article appear to be the same artist.
<i>Harper's Monthly Magazine</i>, Vol. XXII, p. 3, December 1860, Harper Brothers, New York. Scanned at 300 dpi, then cleaned up with GIMP.