El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-08-13

Mexicans regarded him with suspicion
When Captain Charles Wilkes explor
ing expedition reached San Francisco
Suffer gave him aid and Information
and he extended a similar welcome t,
John G.. Fremont and his party. La
1914 he took into his employ james w
Marshall, a native of New Jersey, who
had just come to California. Marshal
served in the Bear Flag war, and after
his return entered the lum Der bushes.
with bis former employer at Coloma
Ell Dorado county.
| On the afternoon of January Is, 1878
while superinten ding the construction
of mill race at ColOma, he found a
nugget of gold, and, cole citing several
ounces of the ore, took the specimens
to the men. saying: Boys. [ believe
| have found d gold mine" The re-
mark produced no marked effect upon
his hearers, and Marshall walked off
to his house. Next morning, he came
again with several nuggets of the gold,
which he had picked from the surface
of the mill race. Led by Marshall the
laborers all FASTENED down to the mill
race and soou were absorbed in picking
| from the seams and crevices of the rock
| the precious yellow metal.
One evening of February 2, 1916,
Marshall rode into the fort, his horse
foaming and spattered with mud.
about half thimbleful of yellow
grains of metal. Suffer applied aqua
fOrtis and established the fact that the
metal was solid gold.
Although Suffer tried to keep the dis
covery of gold a secret, until he could
get in his harvest, it was Impossible,
and, as Parton says, :Sutter'S harvest
was never gethered. His oxen, hogs,
and sheep were stolen by hungry men
and devoured. No hands could be pro-
cured to run the mills. His lands were
squatted on and dug over, and he vast
ed his remaining substance in fruitleSs
litigation to recover them. To carry
on the legal warfare, he was compelled
to sacrifice or mortgage the parts of his
estate not seized by the gold diggers
until, little by little, his magnificent
property melted away, leaving him all
but destitute. For one item, he paid,
expenses, 1925, O0O.'' The legislature
of California granted him pension of
$3.50 a month. In 1864 his homestead
was burned, aud 1873 he removed to
Litz, Pa. He died in Washington, D. |
c.. June II, 1880, poor man.
Marshall, the discOverer of gold, |
did not fare more prosperously. His |
land was divided into town lots and he |
became reduced to extreme property. |
His discovery, which in one year alone |
resulted in product of 500 900, 600 and |
for II years brought on an annual
average of S25, 600, 900, netted Linn
neither fame nor profit.
The state of California during the |
times of gold is best described in Bret
Harte's works Every one was affected
by the gold fever. Lots in San Fran
cisco were said to be worth gold coin
enough to carpet them. Speculation
ran wild. All forms of gambling were
as legitimate business,
while adventures and criminals flock
ed in. Society became chaotic, and at
length self preservation required the
of the celebrated
vigilance committees" to enforce Or
der.
In Alaska gold was first discovered
IN the vicinity of Sitka at Silver Bay,
10 miles northeast of the town, by
Frank Mahouey, prospector: Edward
Doyle. discharged soldier, and Will
liam Dunlays. While prospecting for
Olacers these men found, in June. 1873,
samples of the ore to Sitka. Ole of
he men to whom they showed the
samples was Nicholas Haley, at that
lime private in the United States
service. Through his untiring efforts,
| company was formed at Portland,
Ore, for the purpose of developing the
vein, and in 1879 a steam and water
power mill was built. The mine aud
mill were worked few months, but
ailing to make expenses the company
in the spring of 1880. Since
hen, very little has been done to work
he mines of that section.
Far to the north new gold land has
low been discovered, and gold fever
las broken out enew.-E. D. Kalten-
zach in ST. Louis Republic.