Sharp County record., 1880-10-28
The Story of the Discovery OF Gold In
California.


men from the States, having just printed
on hand-preSs the one hundred and
fifty copies of their weekly paper, sat
down upon stools, weary, faint and dis
couraged, to talk over the prospects OF
the country and bemoan the fate that
had cast them where society and money
were so scarce. They were Americans;
but the land of their birth was as re-
mote to them then as St. Petersburg to
a peasant of the Amoor Valley. They
longed to return, but never expected to
be rich enough. The Mexican War was
lust ended few months before. The
treaty OF Guadalupe Hidalgo gave Cali
fornia to the United States. The Cali
fornia so ceded included the present
State of that name, Nevada and most
of Utah. 1t was an empire larger than
France and England. Divided by a
range of mountains almost as lofty as
the Alps and longer than the Carpa-
thians, running from north to south, the
eastern half was terra inCOgnita OF
barren desert buttes and mountain spurs,
containing throughout its whole extent
but one feeble settlement OF whites,
known as MormOnS. Unknown savages
of the lowest aboriginal type DONNA
ted all the rest. The western half, as
it then appeared, was one great valley,
covered with bright flowers, rank YER
dure, clumps of majestic oaks, wooded
hills, sloping from the coast range on
Al N ,,,oct onJ tbo CiorroS On tho nact In
all this vast valley region there was but
one white settlement. 1t was known as
Suffers Fort. 1t was located near the
confluence of the Rio de los Americanos
with the Sacramento. To the far south,
beyond the sources of the San Joaquin
River, not far from the Pacific
Ocean, stood the "Ciudad de Los
Angeles" Mexican in its construc-
ton and population. A Catholic mis-
sion at Santa Barbara and another
at San Luis Obispo Saint Louis, the
bishops another at Monterey on the
bay OF that name; another at Santa
Clara in the lovely valley of that name;
another called Mission de San Jose not
far from the latter, and another at the
village of Yerba Buena, which has since
grown into the city of San francisco.
1t was then a collection of adObes, built
around the public square we now call
/" the plaza" The waters of the bay
extended as far as Montgomery Street,
where the Bank and Exchange now
stands and few whalers and coasting
schooners lay at anchor 800 yards from
shore. about where the Postoflice now
stands on Battery Street. There were
also American settlements at Sonoma
and Napa, composed of farmers who
had emigrated from the Western States
a few years before; and here and there
arose along the borders of the tule the
smoke from the hut of q lonely trapper
of beaver. These with the ranches of
the old Dons, their corrals and the inev-
liable adobe dwellings, surrounded by
innumerable cattle and horses, made up
the sum of what there was of civilized
and semi-civiIized life in California at
the time the two young printers OF
Yerba Buena were discussing their sit
uation. Now and then vessel put in
to the Bay of Monterey, or San Fran
cisco, or San Diego to load with hides,
or whaler for repairs, dropping a few
Mexican dollars or doubloons, which
were the currency of the country.
About the same hour that the two
Yerba Buena printers were deploring
their fate of isolation from the busy
world, scene was enacting that was to
have q greater effect upon the material
interests of modern society than any
event since the discovery of America.
1t was on the 10Th day of January, 1913,
on the south fork of the American
River, fifty-four miles east of Sutter' S
Fort Early in the morning of that day
James w. Marshall, who was building
mill for himself and Sutter, from
which they expected to supply the
ranches and settlements with pine lum-
ber picked up from the bedrock of the
race of the mill small piece of yellow
metal 1t weighed about seventeen
grains. 1t was malleable, heavier than
silver and in all respects resembled
gold. About four clock in the even
ing Marshall exhibited his find to the
circle composing the mill company
laborers. Their names were James
w. Marshall. P. l.. WINNER,
Mrs. WINNER, James Barger, Ira
Willis, Sydney Willis, Alex. Stephens,
James Brown, Ezkiah Persons, Henry
Bigler, Israel Smith, William Johnson,
George Evans, Charles Bennett and
William Scott. The conference resulted
in q rejection of the idea that it was
gold. Mrs WINNER tested it by boil
inc it in strong I've. Marshall after
wards tested it with nitric acid. 1t was
gold, sure enough, and the discoverer
found its like in all the surrounding
gulches wherever he dug for it. The
secret could not be long kept. 1t was
known at Yerba Buena three months
after the discovery and the two printers
above mentioned put this slight notice
of it in their weekly paper, the CaLitor-
MAN, on the 10Th of April:
New GOLD MINE.-It is stated that new
| gold mine has been discovered on the Ameri-
| can Fork of the Sacramento, supposed to be
| Gt was not) on the land Of William A. Leid-
esdorff, Esq, of this place A specimen Of
the gold has been exhibited and is represent
ed to be very pure.
May opened with accounts of new dis
cOveries. The Californian of May 3,
said: "Seven men, with picks and
spades, gathered 81, 900 worth in fifteen
frf Is.1