Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1893-04-29
OLD SUFFERS FORT.
II Is to Do Preserved as d Historic
N,mentO Of The Golden West.
COPPER PROSPECTS AT BRIGHAM.
Utalerile and Asphalt Company'-Land
and Live Stock Corporation
Mining aud Other Notes.


California society known rs the Native
Sons CT the Golden West is femlnia'
cent OF many events connected with
the early days Of Utah and with her
pioneer settlers. 5utter's Font goes
down to history In connection with
the fret discovery OF gold in Cali
iornia, aud now the place l. to be
preserved as Of historic Interest to the
present and to future generation.
The old buildings are to be reat1roi %
their primitive appearance aud hcpt Ia
n condition that visitors there may OBJ
tain ocular demonstration Of what the
place looked like la 1850. The core
mony Of defeating the fort buildings
TO this purpose took place last Weinef-
day, April 2Glb, at Sacramento.
II was at this fort, In lSiS, that some
members Of tho Mormon battalion,
then distandoJ, bought two brasS
cannon, ut a cost Of s5l2, 70 be used as
n protection against Indiana The
guns were brought through TO Utah.
Other incident, Of those days, con-
nected with the gold discovery, arc
also recalled US an interesting recol.
lection.
In September, 1897, u party Of Bat
TALON men then on their way to Salt
Lake valley, stopped Mt Suffers Fort,
and sought employment for the winter.
The proprietor OF the fort, Captrn
John a. Slller, engaged them, ma he
was just then Ia need Of help for the
erection OF IA flour mill ani q saw
mill. A site for tho flour mill was
selected near the fort, anu mI't II the
men were put 10 work thereon. But
the saw mill had TO be built among the
mountains, IN the little valley OF Co
Iona, 10 miles away. To that place
Sutter sent ten mon, one VI them beiug
James Wilson Marshall, who supurin-
tended the erection OF the mill. The
other nine worked under him. Ol
these, Elk were MorniOns and late
members OF the Battalion. Their
names were Alexander Stephens, james
Il. Brown, james Barger, VIM. john
ston, Azariah Smith and Henry w.
Biglor. The other three were non
Morm0ns, who had Teen mOrn OF les.
associated with the Saints since tho
days OF NauvoJ. Thoy were Peter
WINNER, William SCOTT ;ni Charlie,
Bennett.
For four months these men, who
were aided by about a dozen indiana
Suffers employ, laboTod at Colomal
and the saw mill was approaching
completion. In January, lsiS, tn,
I water was turned into the race Il
carry away some loose dirt and gravel.
II was then turned oil, aud Mr.. Mar
. shall walked along the tail.raco Il
ascertain tho extent Of some Sigh
, damage that had been done by thu
water near tho base Of the building
. While pursuing his Investigations, hi
, aye caught sight OF some yellow metal
lie PARTICLES on the rotten granite bod
, rock OF the race. He pick ID up sovera
! OF them, the largest Of which weri
about the size OF wheat grains. HI
belleved-but did not know-that the
were gold. He gathered about tire,
|, ounces and took tho metal down TO tn
fort to consult with Captain Su,teI
!, There the two examined the glltterinl
particles, weighed them and conolu
sively ssceriRined that they wer
gold. For time It was sought {
keep the discovery secret except /
{ those nj the mill, but this was not pos
sible for long.
, The fret record Of the finding Q
= gold was made by Henry w. BigleI
0 who subsequently became a residen
/ OF 81. George, Utah. lie was one @
o the first to whom Marshall announces
+ his belief that no had discovered gel
/, A note In Blglsrs journal, made this
/. day, reads:
Il Of metal was fund 10 the tail.race tina
lloks like gold"
Another memorandum made on tn
following Sunday, January 80, by NJ
BiRlsr, says:
: "Clear, and has been all the Ia,
week. Our metal has been tried an
5 proves to be gold. II II thought TO
: rich. We have picked up more than
i hundred dollars' worth 'st week"
i Thus was originally chronicle
!. the great discovery ut Coloma. Tn
o name OF Suffers Fort became II
n separately connected with the revel
o tion to man OF Calllornia's wonderfl
!. wealth OF gold.
IN another year AHo neW- OF "
\ finding Of gold In great abundance hS
n been carried to both hemispheres, an
= gold-hunters crowded 70 the west unt
. under the influence OF the fever
"rho days u old.
u Tho days % gold,
o Tue days OF 40"
D The discovery OF the precious met
= In California hal seeIningly set {
u fire the civilized world. Across Il
great plains came pouring hundrel
70 VI richly laden trains on their way
= the now III Dorado. Salt Lake vail,
y was directly In the path Of those cay
!, to reach the land beyond the Slerra
. There are many Of tho residents
" Salt Lake whose memories viii vlvi
Iy recall those days, when numbers
u people who had loaded their WACO
u with merchandise for the mini
q camps, impatient at their GLOW pl
:, gress ,and hearing that other merchar
y had arrived by sea before them,
~ order 10 tighten their loads literal
J. "sold for song" goods they hi
u freighted this far ON the Journe
NJ Dry goods, groceries, provisions, clot
n ing, OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES what was need
IN here at the llme-were battered OF
T. low figures, aud IN many instanc
Il the goods were sold in Salt La