Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/84

 ieve me. '

Smith came  in  hot  haste,  and  said,  '  Yoiir  man  came  to  me  and  said  that this is  gold. Of course  I  knew  he  lied,  and  told  him  so. '

' Nevertheless  it  is  gold,'  said  I,  and  so  the  secret  was  out.

Next I  will  give  the  account  by  George  Frederick Parsons, which  may  be  regarded  as  the  best  of  Mar- shall's versions:

On the  morning  of  that  memorable  day  Marshall  went  out  as  usual  to superintend  the  men,  and  after  closing  the  fore-bay  gate,  and  thus  sliutting off the  water,  walked  down  the  tail-race,  to  see  what  sand  and  gravel  had been removed  during  the  night. This had  l)eeu  customary  with  him  for  some time,  for  he  had  previously  entertained  the  idea  that  there  might  be  minerals in  the  mountains,  and  had  expressed  it  to  Sutter,  who,  however,  only laughed  at  him.  On  this  cccasion,  having  strolled  to  the  lower  end  of  the race,  he  stood  for  a  moment  examining  the  mass  of  del)ris  that  had  been washed down  ;  and  at  this  juncture  liis  eye  caught  the  glitter  of  something that lay,  lodged  in  a  crevice,  on  a  riffle  of  soft  granite,  some  six  inches  under the water. His first  act  was  to  stoop  and  pick  up  the  substance. It was heavy, of  a  peculiar  color,  and  unlike  anything  he  had  seen  in  the  stream before. For a  few  minutes  he  stood  with  it  in  his  hand,  reflecting,  and  en- deavoring to recall  all  that  he  had  heard  or  read  concerning  the  various minerals. After a  close  examination,  he  became  satisfied  that  what  he  held in his  hand  must  be  one  of  three  substances — mica,  sulphurets  of  copper,  or gold. The weight  assured  him  that  it  was  not  mica. Could it  be  snlphuret of copper? He remembered  that  that  mineral  is  brittle,  and  that  gold  is malleal)le,  and  as  this  thought  passed  through  his  mind,  he  turned  about, placed  the  specimen  upon  a  flat  stone,  and  proceeded  to  test  it  by  striking  it with  another.  The  substance  did  not  crack  or  flake  off;  it  simply  bent  un- der the  blows.  This,  then,  was  gold,  and  in  this  manner  was  the  first  gold found  in  California.

If we  were  writing  a  sensation  tale,  instead  of  a  sobre  history,  we  might proceed to  relate  how  Marshall  sank,  pale  and  breathless  upon  a  neighbor- ing rock, and  how,  as  he  eyed  the  glittering  metal  in  his  hand,  a  vision  roje before him  of  the  mighty  results  of  his  discovery. But in  fact  nothing  of the  kind  occurred. The discoverer  was  not  one  of  the  spasmodic  and  excita- ble kind, but  a  plain,  shrewd,  practical  fellow,  who  realized  the  importance of the  discovery — though  doubtless  not  to  its  full  extent,  since  no  one  did that then — and  proceeded  with  his  work  as  usual,  after  showing  the  nugget to his  men,  and  indulging  in  a  few  conjectures  concerning  the  probable  extent of the  gold  fields. As a  matter  of  course  he  watched  closely  from  time  to time,  for  further  developments,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  had  collected several ounces  of  the  precious  metal. Although, however,  he  was  satisfied in his  own  mind  that  it  was  gold,  there  were  some  who  were  skeptical,  and as he  had  no  means  of  testing  it  chemically,  he  determined  to  take  some  down to his  partner  at  the  fort,  and  have  the  question  finally  decided. Some four days after  the  discovery  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  go  below,  for  Sutter had failed  to  send  a  supply  of  provisions  to  the  mill,  and  the  men  were  on short  commons. So mounting  his  horse,  and  taking  some  three  ounces  of gold  dust  with  him,  he  started. Having always  an  eye  to  business,  he availed  himself  of  this  opportunity  to  examine  the  river  for  a  site  for  a  lum- ber yard, whence  the  timber  cut  at  the  mill  could  be  floated  down;  and while exploring  for  this  purpose  he  discovered  gold  in  a  ravine  in  the  foot- hilh, and  also  at  the  place  known  afterwards  as  Mormon  island. That night he  slept  under  an  oak  tree,  some  eight  or  ten  miles  east  of  the  fort, where he  arrived  about  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning. Dismounting from his horse,  he  entered  Sutter's  private  office,  and  proceeded  to  enquire  into  the cause of  the  delay  in  sending  up  the  provisions. Ihis matter  liaving  been explained, and  the  teams  l)eing  in  a  fair  way  to  load,  he  asked  for  a  few minutes'  private  conversation  with  Colonel  Sutter,  and  the  two  entered  a