Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1894-05-03


than that of seeking gold. We were
Mormons. Many of MS were soldiers
l had been serving with my battalion
In the south, but after our disband-
mont was marching with the rest of
our people to Utah. At Coloma we
found that we had not provisions and
stock enough to supply the entire OK.
petition during the rest of the journey
over the wilderness, so we decided to
send the older people, men of family,
etc, ahead with supplies enough to
carry them through, while over a
hundred of us decided to wait over an
other year and work for old Capt Sui
ter in the meantime
money was scarce in those days,
and, though Capt Suffer was very we'll
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 serv-
ices we might render. At that time
the old captain was anxious to build
grist mill and lumber mill on the
AAhASA ANdh lNSls lLdDOI was
skilled labor nonresident Therefore
our arrival was very timely for him.
We had wheelwrights. smiths, car
penters and skilled masters of every
other trade in our company, and he
was able to secure our services without
the expenditure of cent of ready
money.
"When the discovery had once been
made we tried for awhile to keep it
quiet, and Suffer, who was anxious to
see his mills completed was particu.
ldrly anxious to keep the secret close,
but though the news spread round
among all the worlsmen they neverthe.
less completed both the Grist and tho
lumber mill, and did not desert their
posts on tho work they had originally
contracted to do to seek the yellow
metal
Though | had tested the first grains
of gold in the fire and with my teeth,
nevertheless, to be sure about matters,
we had to send them back to Sacra-
mento to make certain of what they
were. They tested them there with
aquafortis, as we used to call itin those
days, though believe you call it nitric
acid now They also weighed tho
grains in water with silver, and finally
decided that they really were gold
Then they sent on the news to San
Francisco by messenger, where the an
nouncement was published for the first
time by a man named Sam Brannan,
who had brought a lot of type and a
press and everything around the Horn.
ibid stay long at Coloma after the
completion of the mills, you ask? No,
sir; only 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 Others of our peo-
pie who were coming out to join u.s."
"And was not the promise of an
easily-made fortune great enough an
incentive to keep you at ColomaY 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 them?"
And about how much did you all
make?"
"Oh! it was all according to luck
some made more, some made less
some made six hundred or eight
hundred dollars, some made four thou.
sand or five thousand dollars.
guess I had something like fifteen hun
bred dollars in dust. Marshall, who
found it first, had none at all. Mar.
shall was not lucky anyhow. He was
one of the original bear flag men
one of the filibusters who thought they
owned the country, and would certain
ly have defeated the Mexicans and
Spaniards of their own accord had not
the government sent out Kearny and
the rest to conquer the country official
ly. They had selected the bear flag a;
their banner because bears were sc
abundant out here in those days. The
first bear flag was nothing but an ole
strip of canvas, on which the mer
daubed u picture of bear with tar
their only paintbrush being their owl
fingers San Francisco Examiner.