The Washington herald., 1910-03-06

men they left the hard conditions then
common in agricultural communities and
went 10 Wheeling. at that time city
in Old Virginia. Building a fatboat, they
loaded Il with -four and drifted down
the Ohio River TO Cairo, and thence down
the Mississippi to New Orleans, where
they sold their cargo at a profit. Re
turning 10 Quincy, in this State. they
built other fiatbOats. on which they car
ried merchandise to lower points on the
river. They did well in business and ae-
cumulated capital enough 10 buy several
yokes of oxen and wagons and a stock Of
merchandise. Joining a caravan, they
crossed the mountains and plains on the
way to California. which they thought a
promising region for traders and mer-
chants. There was hardly a trail in
those days. and Indians threatened them
most of the journey
The Discovery of Gold.
After getting to Sacramento they
heard OF MarshaIrs discovery of gold at
Suffers sawmill. forty miles TO the north
and east through forests and over noun
tains Suffer was Swiss adventurer, Of
a romantic and daring character. ane
owned an immense tract of land and
thousands OF cattle in that part of Cali
fornia. A New Jersey wagon builder
named James Wilson Marshall was en-
gagged with Suffer in the lumber business.
While Marshall was building a sawmill
In Eldorado County, he found a small
nugget of gold at the bottom of the tall
race. A woman cook at the camp tested
it with salaratus water, and then boiled
1t in soap that she was making in a
kettle. Marshall. quite convinced, took the
nugget to Gen Suffer, and he tried il
with aqua forts, or nitric acid. The mug
get still retaining its color and character.
was declared TO be gold Then began the
most frenzied rush In American history.
My father, with his goods. was well
up to the front among the leaders of
the excited procession. He opened a store
near the sawmill and traded merchandise
for nuggets and gold dust All of SUIT
ter's hands quit working for him and
turned miners and prospectors. His crops
spoiled In the fields and his cattle died
"a SSeNA NolAofts III Nttt CAtts AOSN Ills .tHN
TO the hordes OF miners. as well as all OF
his other possessions. But for the legis-
lature OF California, which voted him a
pension Of $3.50 month. he would have
died in poverty. Marshall Jared no better
His mining claims were taken away from
him. and even the land he owned before
he discovered gold was forcibly confis-
catad hV tho ca+tlarC urbo h4YfEt q tox,-, -,
his property.
AT the end Of two years my father,
having what he called a good stake. left
California. Returning to Illinois, he en-
gagged in the milling of flour at Alton.
The railroad south from Chicago had
already been completed to that frontier
village. He built six river packets, and
freight from the north was thus carried
onward by water to New Orleans FL
nally. he and others extended the rail-
road to St Louis He was a director in
the company for many years, and kept
his interest In the property until it was
acquired by the late Edward H. Harri-
man."
Established I'm 1878.
You were born at Alton?" I said.
Yes; and I was educated there and
at an academy in Maine. My father es-
tabiished the Illinois Trust and Savings
Bank when was a young man, and
brought his family to Chicago. I went
into the bank as d messenger at SIS a
month, spending two hard years at that
particular work, which was mixture OF
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