The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-05

and grub in part payment for our work.
Moreover, we picked up enough gold be-
fore we left the place to square our ac-
counts with the captains Coloma enter
prise.
'We had come with a 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 our disarmament
was marching with the rest of our peo-
pie to Utah. At Coloma we found that
we had not provisions and stock enough
to supply the entire expedition during
the rest of the Journey over the wilder
ness, SO we decided to send the older
people. men of family, etc, ahead with
supplies enough to carry them through,
while over 100 of US decided to wait over
another year and work for old Capt. SUIT
ter in the mean time.
Money was scarce in those days and ,
though Capt. Suffer was very well fixed,
he had but little ready cash. We only
wanted stock and provisions, and these
we agreed to accept in lieu of ready cash
payments for any services we may render
At that time the old captain was anxious
to build grist mill and lumber mill on
the American river. Labor was scarce,
skilled labor nOn-eXistent. Therefore our
arrival was very timely for him. We had
wheelwrights, smiths, carpenters, and
skilled masters of every other trade in
our company, and he was able to secure
our services without the expenditure of a
cent of ready money,
"When the discovery had once been
made we tried for while to keep it quiet,
and Suffer, who was anxious to see his
mills completed, was particularly anX-
iOus to keep the secret close, but though
the news spread round among all the
workmen they nevertheless completed
both the grist and the lumber mill, and
did not desert their post on the work they
had originally contracted to do to seek
the yellow metal.
Thought had tested the first grains Of
gold in the fire and with my tedth, never
theless, to be sure about matters, we had
to send them back to Sacramento to make
certain of what they were. They tested
them there with aquafortis, as we used
to call it in those days, though l believe
you call it nitric acid now They also
weighed the grains in water with silver,
and finally decided that they really were
gold. Then they sent on the ne US to San
Francisco by messenger, where the an
noucement was published for the first
time by a man named Sam Brannan, who
had brought lot of type and press and
everything around the Horn.
did | stay long at Coloma after the
completion of the mills, you ask? No, sir /;
only a few of US did: myself and most of
our people only remained long enough to
dig up enough gold to equip ourselves for
marching back over the plains to meet
those other of our people who were COM
ing out to join US"
And was not the promise of an easily
made fortune great enough an incentive
to keep you at COlomaF' was again asked
| the old pioneer.
How could it be. Had we not our
| friends on the plains and had we not to
go forth to meet theml'
And about how much did you all
mal5e?"
oh! 1t was all according to luck-some
made more. some made 81, 600 or 5000.
guess | had something Hike 81 800 in
dust. Marshall who found it first, had
none at all Marshall was not lucky any
how He was one of the original Bear
Flag men-one of the flibUsters who
thought they owned the country, and
would certainly have defeated the Mexi-
cans and Spaniards of their own accord
had not the government sent out Kearney
and the rest to conquer the country of
ficially They had selected the bear flag
as their banner because bears were SO
abundant out here in those days. The
first bear flag was nothing but an old
strip of canvass on which the men
dauDed q picture of bear with tar
the only paintbrush being their own
fingers