The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1891-03-05
GOLD DISCOVERY.
1he Disputed Date Established by pocu'
mentary Evidence.

9he Disputed Date Established by pocu-
mentary Evidence.
The various societies Of California
pioneers are accustomed to celebrate
the 10th of January as the date OF the
discovery of gold by ]. w. Marshall at
Coloma, but that It Is an error is shown
by Mr.. John s. Hittel in the Century,
as follows Ia facsimile of the entry in
Bigler's diary being printed in the mag
azine as ocular evidence):
The first record Of the discovery, and
the only one made on the day OF its oc-
currence, was in the diary of Henry w.
Bigler, one of the Mormon laborers at
The mill He was an American by birth,
then a young man, and now respected
citizen of st. George, U. T. He was in
the habit of keeping a regular record OF
his notable observations and expert
ences, selecting topics for remark with
creditable Judgment. His journal kept
during his service in the Mormon bat
,talion and his subsequent stay in Cali
fornia is one of the valuable historical
documents of the State. On the gath OF
january, in the evening, Bigler wrote
in his diary: "This day some kind OF
nettle was found in the tail-race that
looks like gold"
Nothing was said in public about the
date of the discovery until 1856, eight
years after the event when Marshall
published q letter in which he said that
he found gold at Coloma "about the
10Th" Of January, 1s4s. Neither then,
nor at any subsequent time, did he
claim that his recollection of the day
was aided by written memorandum.
In 1857 he published statement that
the discovery was made on the 18th,
10Th or goth. His biography, prepared
s1nder his direction, and printed in 1870,
fixed the 18th as the precise day.
As years elapsed he became more
exact. perhaps under the influence
of public opinion, which from 1856
to 1856 accepted the 10th as the
day. On the 9th of September, 1885, at
the annual celebration of the ad-
mission of the State into the Union,
delivered an address on the gold dis
scovery to the Pioneer society of San
Francisco, and sent copy of it in print
to Mr.. Bigler, of whom had heard as
one of the survivors of the Coloma
party, and requested him to correct my
errors, if he found any. He replied
that according to his diary the gold was
found on the gath. At my solicitation
he copied the entries Of his book from
that day to the middle of May; and then
Z began an investigation which made
me familiar with the diaries of Azariah
Smith, a survivor of the Mormon
battalion and ono Of the mill builders
at Coloma. and with the diary Of Sutter.
tlroo I;o r,ac oorood hc< M a.
fy with one another, and with Mar
sshall's statement that four days after
the discovery he took specimens of the
gold to Suffers Fort. Smith made his
entries on Sunday as rule; and on the
-3oth January he wrote that on the pre-
c1ding week gold had been found at the
mill, and that Marshall had gone to
New Helvetia to have it tested This
was probably written in the morning,
for Bigler's entry made on the same
day mentions that the test was success
full, implying that Marshall had re-
turned.
Suffers diary reports that on the 2sth
january Marshall arrived at the fort
ION important business" without mem
tioEing the gold. The agreement of the
ahree Charles with Marshall's statement
that he went to New Helretia four days
after the discovery, the superior value
of documentary evidence as compared
with vague recollections, dimmcd by
years of intervening events, and the un-
certainty of Marshall in reference to
the date, left no room for doubt that the
:4th was the true day, which gave to
The public for the FIRST time in January,
LSSs.