Deaths During the Gold Rush 1849-1854

"These figures show the amount of property that has been destroyed, or the amount of losses that have been sustained in California, by accidents, mishaps and mismanagement, within the last six years. I will, moreover, give a list of lives lost by violent measures during the same period (1849-1854) :

• Murders 4,200
• Suicides 1,400
• Insanity, (produced by disappointment and misfortune)... 1,700
• Wrecked and perished on the way per sailing vessels and steamers 2,200
• Killed by Indians and died of starvation per overland route, 1,600
• Perished in the mines and mountains of the State for want
  of medical attention and food, and by the hands of the
  Indians 5,300
  

Total 16,400" -From California The Land of Gold - Hinton R. Helper (1855)