Donald Duck in Old California!
Encyclopedia
Donald Duck in Old California! is a Donald Duck
comicbook story written and illustrated by Carl Barks
and first published in May, 1951.
are on a holiday in California
, heading to Los Angeles
. They take a small narrow road that seems deserted and discuss California's history as they travel. Donald Duck opines that the turning point in California's history was the California gold rush
. As he speaks passionately on this topic, Donald Duck is momentarily distracted from his driving. The car crashes in a rock besides the road.
When Donald Duck and his three nephews regain consciousness, they find they are visitors of a local tribe of Native Americans
. The tribe kindly offer to help the columbine foursome recover. The exhausted Ducks are offered a drink, and they fall sleep. When they wake again, they find themselves in Alta California
, 1848. They quickly manage to befriend a local Spanish-speaking family of Californios, owners of a cattle ranch, together with the ranch workers. As visitors, Donald Duck and his nephews are privileged to observe the family's life and moreover, they attempt to help with the family problems. They visit San Francisco and acquire land cheaply, but soon are swindled out of them by American settlers. Afterwards, the Ducks become involved in the Gold Rush
and as goldminers partner with a friend from the ranch. The Ducks do the digging, and their partner's fists and guns make sure that nobody swindles them out of their gold.
After their friend departs the Ducks start to experience an odd fading of their environment. It seems to them that all their acquaintances from this era are now only distant memories. It is at this point that the Duck family truly regain consciousness to discover the truth. They were in a coma
in a hospital bed for weeks. The drink they had accepted had kept them sleeping for this long. The Ducks all have the same memory of their apparent experiences in time travel
. Despite this, the Ducks believe themselves fully recovered, take possession of their car (which has been completely repaired) and continue on their way as if nothing had happened. However, the Ducks do make a stop first at an abandoned old house where they had stayed as visitors in 1848. They admit that they don't know if it was all a dream or if they really experienced the events they recall from 1848, but nevertheless they choose to keep the memory of Old California.
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
comicbook story written and illustrated by Carl Barks
Carl Barks
Carl Barks was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , The Junior Woodchucks , Gyro Gearloose , Cornelius Coot , Flintheart Glomgold , John D...
and first published in May, 1951.
Plot synopsis
Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and LouieHuey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional, anthropomorphic ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first...
are on a holiday in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, heading to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. They take a small narrow road that seems deserted and discuss California's history as they travel. Donald Duck opines that the turning point in California's history was the California gold rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. As he speaks passionately on this topic, Donald Duck is momentarily distracted from his driving. The car crashes in a rock besides the road.
When Donald Duck and his three nephews regain consciousness, they find they are visitors of a local tribe of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. The tribe kindly offer to help the columbine foursome recover. The exhausted Ducks are offered a drink, and they fall sleep. When they wake again, they find themselves in Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, 1848. They quickly manage to befriend a local Spanish-speaking family of Californios, owners of a cattle ranch, together with the ranch workers. As visitors, Donald Duck and his nephews are privileged to observe the family's life and moreover, they attempt to help with the family problems. They visit San Francisco and acquire land cheaply, but soon are swindled out of them by American settlers. Afterwards, the Ducks become involved in the Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
and as goldminers partner with a friend from the ranch. The Ducks do the digging, and their partner's fists and guns make sure that nobody swindles them out of their gold.
After their friend departs the Ducks start to experience an odd fading of their environment. It seems to them that all their acquaintances from this era are now only distant memories. It is at this point that the Duck family truly regain consciousness to discover the truth. They were in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
in a hospital bed for weeks. The drink they had accepted had kept them sleeping for this long. The Ducks all have the same memory of their apparent experiences in time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
. Despite this, the Ducks believe themselves fully recovered, take possession of their car (which has been completely repaired) and continue on their way as if nothing had happened. However, the Ducks do make a stop first at an abandoned old house where they had stayed as visitors in 1848. They admit that they don't know if it was all a dream or if they really experienced the events they recall from 1848, but nevertheless they choose to keep the memory of Old California.
External links
- Donald Duck in Old California! in Carl Barks guidebook