The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1894-06-02
FIRST SIGHT OF GOLD.
How 1t Was Discovered in California. A
Miners Story.

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How 1t Was Discovered in California. A
Miners Story.
Volumes have been written about
the discovery of gold IN California, and
stories without number anent how and
when it happened. As a matter of
fact, the existence of the precious
metal seems have been known to the
Indians and the pious Spanish padres
long before the Americans conquered
the land ), even granting that Marshall's S
was the first find that was heralded to
the world at large, and that the date
thereof was January "a, 1S4S, even
then the accounts OF that discovery
have been jumbled and twisted in such
innumerable ways it would seem
that all chroniclers of the interesting
event were begulled by its dazzling
splendors into the romantic realms OF
fiction.
| The men who worked for Sutter on
the old Coloma mill have nearly all
found uncontested claims, and are
resting therein forever; but up at the
1S4o mining camps at the Midwinter
Fair is an elderly one-legged Mormon,
named John S. Brown, who is the only
living man who was present when Mar
shall washed the yellow grains in the
camp dough pan, and he is the man
who first tested those faky scales with
fire, and, going forth from the shanty
to where the men were at work on the
mill-race, was the first to cry: "Boys,
here's gold ]"
James Brown is sixty years old now.
In 1S4S he was lusty youth of not
yet twenty summers. He had two
legs then. 1t was quarter OF cen
tury ago that he lost the other at
a bear hunt.
II am the oldest miner alive in Cali
fornia today, said he. l don't mean
that l am the oldest in years, because
l am only sixty, and there are many
men here today who have worked in
the early days, and are now much
older than me. But | was the first
miner. | was with Marshall when he
discovered gold in January, IS49, and
| was the first man to know about it..
The story is an old one. 1t was at
Capt. Suffers mill on the American
River, which we were building. Mar.
shall, who was a wheelwright by trade,
was in charge of the work. He was a
particular friend of mine, but there were
nearly 100 OF US working On the mill
race at the time. He had been read
ing books about gold and mines and
things, and remember very we'll his
coming to me one day and talking
about quartz and bedrock and similar
matters, and telling me that he thought
there was gold in the country.
You see, we had come upon the
rock when we were digging the race,
and were afraid that it would interfere
with our making an even channel for
the water. Then it was that Marshall
came to me and told me about the
books he had been reading, and on
the afternoon on the 23d of January,
1S49, he determined to do little
prospecting. He asked me to bring
him the pan. 1t was common ordin-
ary pan that we baked bread in and
the like. He spent all the afternoon
with that pan trying to find gold. but
he hadn't got anything by supper.
The next morning early he started
out with the pan again. We boys were
excavating in the ditch when he came
up from the hole where he was work
ing, and told US he had found some
mineral. He had 1t in his hat whole
lot of little fake like scales. They
were all small bits, and all scaly, and
he wasn't sure what they were. He
handed the hat to me, and | took one
Of the fakes and bit 1t. l could tell by
biting it that it was gold, but, of course
l wasn't sure. So, | took it into the
cabin, where log fire was burn
ing, and l tested it in the fire to see if
it would melt. But it wouldn't melt,
and then l knew 1t was gold, sure.
Then l came out with it to where the
men were working and, "Boys' said l.,
it is gold !"
That was the first announcement of
the discovery of gold in California,
and l was the first man to proclaim it..
1t is needless to say that neither
Brown nor Marshall nor any of those
other mill builders at Coloma was look
ing for Or expecting gold IN those days.
As matter Of fact, they were working
with the vaguest hope of ever receiving
any monetary consideration for their
labor, AS the old pioneer very tersely
and pathetically puts it: ''Old Captain
Butler owes me SIoo cold cash yet for
the work | put in on that mill race,
and | know I'll never get it, seeing as
he is dead"
But we had no kick coming, because
we had agreed to accept cattle, horses
and grub in part payment for our work.
Moreover, we picked up enough gold
before we left the place to square our
accounts with the captains Coloma
enterprise.
We had come with bigger mission
than that of seeking gold. We were
Mormons. Many OF US were soldiers.
l had been serving with my battalion in
the South, but, after disbandment. was
marching with the rest of my people
to Utah. At Coloma we found that
we had not provisions and stock