The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-08-13
FIRST FIND OF GOLD.
Ono of the Party Tells OF the Dis.
cOyery.


OF the considerable number OF men
who worked for Captain Suffer in his
mill at Coloma,, Cal, where, on January
"a. 1S4S, James w. Marshall discovered
gold, only one is living to-day, and he is
James Brown. hardy pioneer, now 70
years or age who makes his home with
a grandchild in the Pomona Valley.
He was present when Marshall wash
ed the yellow grains in the camp dough
pan, and 1t was he who first tested the
iiaky scales with fire. In conversation
with Chicago Record reporter, Mr..
Brown said:
Il am the oldest miner alive in Cali.
fornia to-day. I don't mean the Oldest
IN years, but as the first miner There
were about hundred of us buildinE
captain Suffers mill on the American
lNer we had come upon the rock when
we were digging the race. and were
AFRAID that 1t would interfere with orr
making an even channel for the water
Ihen 1t was that Marshall came to me
ana toid me about the books about gold
anu mines which he had been reading
ana on the afternoon of January 3
1915, he determined to do Iitt1s ,3ros o.
pecting. He asked me to bring him The
pan II was an ordinary pan that yve
baked bread in. He spent ali the = ftar-
moo noon with that pan trying to find gold.
put he got nothing.
me next morning early he started
out with the pan again. We bo,,a 80, .eu
eNcaVating the ditch when he cama ~
from the hole where he was worl.ins
anu toid us he had found some minaro1
u had It in his hat-a whole lot Of nh.
HIN IKE scales. They were all small
DTS and all scaly, and he wasn,t s,,.n
what they were. He handed tha sure
me me- ana took one OF the flakes ana ,, ~
49,. lhouSht l could tell by him, -
mat II was gold but / wasn't SIRE e.
u L aook It into the cabin whsre a log fra
sec r. ~ ing; and tested it in the fire tn
was cola " s,,ro melt mel and then knew it
~ nh Soiu sure. Then 1 came out with r.
70 wnere the men were working wen II
Boys, said I, it is gold"
a., I uat was the first announcement -
II" ,,,, uis $50, of gold in California nd
u"e iirst TO proclaim it, anu
Neither Brown nor Marshau nor
VI me other mill builders went to C,liay
ma ma 10 look for gold. They were wo,,'
,ln. win the vaguest hope of receivinr-
nut it. "0 IiI i 3a Az the old pioneer
otoo eold cash yet for the work put q,
On tne miil-race, and know IN na,,n ~.
ger IT; seeing as he is dead.
Mhen the discovery had once been
quiet. and Suffer, who wantea Keep IL
ms mil completed, was particuIa rIv az,
Nous 10 Keep the secret close IT,
Workmen completed both tho prist go
- - iuihperHiili. ana did not desert their
oosts or the work they had orirInaIl,,
contracted to do to seek the SeIioES.
metal 'he yellow
Though I tested the first grains os
soiu IN the fire. and with my teeth
tneNertneless. to be sure about mai,
lers' we sent to Sacramento to mako
certain. They tested them there IN
llnaiip decided that they really We're
gold. Then they sent the news to Ssn
Ira rrahclseo: where the announcement
was published for the first time nv n
man named sam Brannan, who Ind
Drought a lot of type and u press and
everything around the Horn.
Did l stay long at Coloma after tho
completion of the mill, you ask? No
sar' only a few of us did, myself ana
most of our people only remained lom@
enough 10 dig up enough gold to euuip
ourselves Tor marching back over the
nialns To meet those of our people who
We're coming out to join u.s.
How much did you all make?"
On. 1t was all according to luck:
some made 5000 or $500, some made 81 OOo
or $4,000. 1 guess 1 had somethjng lie
Sl.5OO in dust. Marshall. who found n
hrst. had none at all. Marshall WINS
not lucky somehow He was ono of
the original bear flag men-Snc of tina
hiiousterers who thought he owned the
country. They had selected the bear
nag as their banner because bears were
SO plentiful out here in those days. The
lrst bear nag was nothing but on old
STRIP or canvass. on which the men
daubed picture of a bear with tar
gers"