Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/72



60 rUHTHER  RUMORS  OF  GOLD.

gled into  Monterey  with  a  specimen  which  he  had hammered into  a  clasp  for  his  bow. It fell  into  the hands of  my  secretary,  W.  R.  Garner,  who  communi- cated the secret  to  me. The Indian  described  the locality in  which  it  was  found  with  so  much  accuracy that Mr  Garner,  on  his  recent  excursion  to  the  mines, readily identified  the  spot. It is  now  known  as  Car- son's Dio-o-inas-. . .  It  was  the  full  intention  of  Mr  Gar- ner to  trail  this  Indian  at  the  first  opportunity,  and he was  prevented  from  so  doing  only  by  the  impera- tive duties of  the  office."

Both Parsons  and  Barstow  affirm  that  previous  to his  discovery,  Marshall  had  often  expressed  his  belief in the  existence  of  gold  in  the  mountains ;  and  Mrs Weimer goes  so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  discovery was not  accidental. It is  indeed  somewhat  remarka- ble that the  secret  remained  so  long  unrevealed. The ground had  been  traversed  these  many  years  by  na- tives, by servants  of  the  fur-companies  and  free  trap- pers, by emigrants,  by  explorers,  and  by  professional scientists who  observed  nothing,  notwithstanding  that the tell-tale  blush  was  there  upon  the  foothills  plahily visible to  those  who  could  read  it. And yet  it  is  no matter  for  surprise. Do not  even  the  most  gifted in this  latter-day  dispensation,  with  all  the  brilliant light revealed  by  science,  walk  as  men  blind  or  dream- ing, while on  every  side,  wrapped  in  the  invisible,  or latent  in  the  earth  and  air  and  sky,  are  secrets  as manifold,  and  as  pregnant  with  meaning  as  any  hith- erto divulged, awaiting  but  the  eternal  march  of mind  ?

If Dana  and  Sandels,  or  any  of  those  who  have  been heedlessly credited  with  the  discovery,  had  really found gold  as  did  Marshall,  and  had  published  it  to the  world  as  did  the  teamster,  how  different  might have been  the  destiny  of  the  Pacific  coast  nations. To England,  or  to  France,  either  of  which  countries would have  paid  thrice  over  the  paltry  fifteen millions and  the  indemnity  due  the  United