The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-09-27

best TO choose some typical person as
en- illustration. The selection OF James
W. Mershali for this purpose is pc
cdl.arly appropriate; as he NOT only
possessed all the virtues and vices Of
his class, but was the actual ddscoverer
of California. gold. With the exception
of an exceedingly incomplete auto
biography adapted from his dtctation,
nothing recognizable by his Old friends
and acquaintamces has Yet been writ
ten concerning him. The material used
in this article has been carefully sifIed
from his own manuscript, from the
statements of his friends and from CO.
temporary records.
Many have sought to obscure Mar
shala's fame by claiming that he was
nor the first discoverer of gold in
California; and that the padres mined
qr-ite extensively i'm southern Cali
fOr1lia, etc. etc The fact that some
gold was already known to exist, does
not detract in the least from the inn
portamce of the Marshall discovery on
the oath day of january, 1913, as that
was not only the discovery of the
great gold deposits, but the one which
first brought them to the notice on the
world.
MARSHALL'S VISION.
Marshall was born on his fathers
farm in Huntington county, New Jer-
sey. on October 10. 1910. A strain of
Delaware Indian blood flowed in his
Veins--a fact perhaps responsible for
his strong visionary and spiritUalistic
tendencies. He said of himself: From
childh pod have been visionary.
l saw faces and strange misty
shapes, heard sounds, and endured
many a chastisement for being fright
ened at these sights and dreadful feel
ings. My grandfather was a
seer. This faculty descended to me,
and I often felt a strange electric thrill
followed by prophetic Visions
IN point of fact, Marshall actually
believed that his discovery of the pre-
cious metal in California had been fore
Swallowed by visions. Il had made ND
my mind to go west" he says, when
nv father appeared to me while ] was
in trance and asked me in an inn
pressive manner if I were ready for
what was to. come. He warningly ask
ed IL I were prepared to encounter
wrong, sickness, poverty and ingrati-
tude. 70 be robbed of my earnings and
70 toll while others divided the fruits
of my labor. Little did l know to what
ne referred" Continuing in this strain,
he declared that spiritual influences
caused the restlessness which drove
led to the spot where he was preor-
dained to make his great discovery.
II is quaint TO trace through the pio-
neer's autobiography the supreme i'm
portance which he attaches to his lucky
find. and the consequent lofty esteem
in which he held himself.
From his quiet New Jersey home,
Marshall drifted westward to Missouri.
and eventually to California, the re-
ported agricultural richness of which
latter state had attracted him. Wis
ions crowded upon each other at this
period Of his life: indeed, it seemed as
though he INDUCED in a vision when
ever he had nothing else to do. All
these manifestations, he claimed. point
ed to the discovery of gold. A typical
example may be quoted from his work:
Il was tired one day, and had sat
down under an oak to rest, when L felt
a singular sensation-a kind of paraly-
sis. I thought l was dying, when /
saw standing before me the one whom
I shall cal. my guardian, as he has
often appeared TO me and directed my
steps.
Raising his. hand and pointing
westward he said: In that direction