Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1894-05-11
mines and things, and | remember

|
day and talking about quartz an
bedrock and similar matters, an
telling me be believed there wa
gold in the country.
You see, we had come upon th
rock when we were digging th
race, and were afraid it would ia
terfere with our making an evel
channel for the water. Then
was that Marshall came to me an
told me about the books be ha'
been reading, and on the Afternoon
of the 23 of January. 1848, h
determined to do a little prospect
ing. He asked me to bring hin
the pan. 1t was a common, ordi
nary pan that we had baked brea(
in and the like. He spent all th,
afternoon with the pan in trying
to find gold, but he had not go
anything by supper time.
"The next morning early he
started out with the pan again
We boys were excavatjng in the
ditch when he came up from the
hole where he was working and
told us he had found some miner al.
He had it in his hat; whole lot OF
little flake like scales. They we're
ell 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 it. |
could tell by bitisg it that it was
gold, but of course | wasn't sure.
So | took it into the cabin where a
log FIRE was burning and tested 1t
in the fire to see il it would melt.
But it wouldn't melt, and then |
came out with it to where the men
were working in the ditch, and
said "Boys, it is gold T.
"That was the first announce
ment of the discovery of gold in
California, and / was the first
man to test the metal and the first
one to proclaim it,"
1t is needless to say that neither
Brown nor Marshall, nor any of
those other mill builders at Colo
ma was looking for or expecting
gold in those days. AS matter
of fact they we're working with the
vaguest hope of ever receiving any
momentary consideration for their
labor. AS the old pioneer very
tersely and pathetically puts it:
"Old Capt. Suffer owes me 500
cold cash yet for the work I put in
on that mil! race, and | know I'll
never get it, seeing as he is dead
"But we have no kick coming,
because we had agreed to accept
cattle, horses and grub In part pay
ment for our labor. Moreover.
we picked up enough gold before
we left the place to square our ac-
counts with the Captains Coloma
enterprise.
I'VE had come with a bigger
mission than that of seeking gold.
We were Mormons. Many of us
were soldiers. / had been serving
with my battalion in the south. but
after our disbandment was march
ing with the rest of our people to
Utah. AT Coloma we found that
We had not provisions and stock
enough to supply the entire expe
dition during the rest OF the Jour-
ney over the wilderness, SO we de-
cided to sen1 the older people -
men OF family, ete-ahead with
supplies enough to carry then
through. while over 100 Of US de-
cided to wait over another year,
and work for old Capt. Sutter in
the meantime.
"Money was scarce in those
days, and, though Capt. Sutter was
very we'll fixed, he had hut little
ready cash We all wanted stock
and provisions, and these we
agreed to accept in lieu of ready
cash payments for any services we
might render. At that time the
old captain ives anxious to build
a grist mill and lumber mill on
the American river.
Labor was scarce. skilled labor
nonexlstent. Therefore our aryi-