Leonard Kip (1826-1906), a young Albany lawyer, sailed for California in 1849. On his return east in 1850, Kip resumed the practice of law in Albany and published stories, articles, and novels. California sketches (1946) reprints accounts of his adventures that Kip sent home for newspaper publication and that were published as a pamphlet in 1850. The eight chapters describe his arrival in San Francisco, journey through Stockton to two months of gold-mining on the Mukelumne, and reasons for his abandonment of California.