Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-01-25

- &F
them back to their employer. From
- III that simple circumstance grew one of
the most romantic episodes In the
annals of our nation and before the
- final links in the chain of cause and
effect had been forged the discovery
which they made that day had profoundly af-
fected the social, political and economic history
of the whole United States. For January "a,
184S, was the real beginning of 'the olden days,
the golden days. the days of 40" the beginning
of the first great gold rush In America, the be-
ginning of an epic migration which has few
parallels In history.
Paradoxical as 1t may sound, the Days of 49,
in reality began in 1S49. But, considering the
term In its broadcast Interpretation, the title of
1.-THE First of the Forty-Niners' may justly be
applied to three men-Johann August Suffer-,
James Wilson Marshall and Sam Brannan. Con-
sidering the Importance Of the movement which
they launched, they should have come to the end
of their careers "full OF years and honors." But
Fate played a grim joke on this trio, and the end
or all three was almost a literal proof of the old
Spanish proverb that 'He who finds gold will
die In the almshouse."
Let us consider their careers In the order of
their appearance on the stage of this romantic
drama. First Johann August Suffer, the Swiss
adventurer, who had emigrated to America In
1884, went west and In July, 1889, was stranded
In the Bay of Yerba Buena (now San Francisco.
After making a journey into the interior, where
he was much impressed with the possibilities of
the country, he conceived the scheme of found
ing a colony In the Sacramento valley. Cali
fornia was then owned by Mexico and Monterey
was the capital.
Fastening there Suffer laid his plan before
Gov. Juan Alvaredo. He would establish a cor
dow ~ r..%nN~4 a-I aI1~f a. "
tile Indians from the north, he would gather
the peaceful Indians of California together and
give them employment and he would bring Kan
akas from the Sandwich Islands also to work
for him. So impressed was Alvaredo with SUIT
ters scheme that he gave him a grant of eleven
square leagues. So In 1841 Suffer established
his colony, which he named New Helvetia or
New Switzerland.
Within a few years Suffer had wrought a mar
velous transformation In the raw country.
Bridges were built over the streams, roads
marked out, marshes drained, wells and bitches
dug, and many other improvements made. The
Nexican government had appointed him COVER
nor Of northern California and he reigned In
New Helvetia in feudal splendor over nearly
100000 acres flor Suffer had been very generous
with himself in surveying his "eleven square
l~eagues") of land, tended by several hundred
While, ndudkH anu lDulHD FpIdlUeTS. In MS pHS-
lures grazed 10000 head Of cattle, $4,000 sheep
and 1000 horses and mules. Establishing stores
he traded from Canada to Mexico and as far
east as st. Louis. Governor Micheltorena, NJ
varedo's successor, presented him with an addi-
tional eleven square leagues.
1t Is at this point that James Wilson Marshall
comes into the picture. Born In New Jersey,
Marshall was originally a w%agonmaker BY trade
but he had heard the call of the West and had
been a wanderer over a large part of the trans
Mississippi region until finally he became an
employee OF Suffer. a sort of a foreman.
Marshall had persuaded Suffer that 1t was high
time for them to quit getting out the lumber
which they needed by hewing and w%hipsawing
and suggested that they build a sawmlIl. Ac-
c~ordingly Suffer sent Marshall to build a mill on
the American river about 40 miles above the
fort.
On the historic morning Of January "a he went
to inspect the mill race and noticed some gilt
tering particles In the sand. 1t might be gold,
or 1t might be only mica. Marshall, who knew
something about the common tests for gold, sub
Jected the particles to these tests and as the re.
suit began to believe that he had actually dis
covered some Of the precious metal. He does
not seem to have been very much excited over
IL, however, for 1t was not until two or three
days later that he made a trip back to the fort
TO tell Suffer of the discovery he had made. The
two men Immediately set to work testing the
metal, first with nitric acid, then by balancing
1t on scales with an equal weight of silver and
placing the scales under water. In water, the
gold dust, having more specific gravity than the
silver, pulled down the scales. There was no
longer any doubt In their minds as to what these
shining particles we're.
That night Suffer. as he later sid, "felt the
curse OF the thing upon him" He and Marshall
agreed to keep the matter secret until they could
finish the mill and until they could establish
claim to the surrounding lands. so Suffer called
together the Indians who had a nominal title to