Page:History of California (Bancroft) volume 6.djvu/46

 ey, where

came hither  by  way  of  Oregon  to  California. In July 1845 he  entered  the  service  of  Sutter,  and  was  duly valued as  a  good  mechanic. By and  by  he  secured  a grant  of  land  on  Butte  Creek/  on  which  he  placed some live-stock,  and  went  to  work. During his  ab- sence in the  war  southward,  this  was  lost  or  stolen; and somewhat  discouraged,  he  turned  again  to  Sutter, and readily  ent^ed  into  his  views  for  building  a  saw- mill.^

The old  difficulty  of  finding  a  site  still  remained, and several  exploring  excursions  were  now  made  by Marshall,  sometimes  accompanied  by  Sutter,  and  by others  in  Sutter's  service.^  On  the  16th  of  May,  1847, Marshall set  out  on  one  of  these  journeys,  accompanied by an  Indian  guide  and  two  white  men,  Treador  and Graves.^ On  the  20th  they  were  joined  by  one  Gin- gery, who had  been  exploring  with  the  same  object on the  Cosumnes. They travelled  up  the  stream now called  Weber  Creek  to  its  head,  pushed  on  to the  American  River,  discovered  Culuma,  and  settled upon this  place  as  the  best  they  had  found,  uniting as' it did  the  requisite  water-power  and  timber,  with  a

his father  had  initiated  him  into  his  trade  as  wagon-builder. Shortly after his twenty-first  birthday  the  prevailing  westward  current  of  migration  carried him through  Indiana  and  Illinois  to  Missouri. Here he  took  up  a  homestead land claim,  and  bid  fair  to  prosper,  when  fever  and  ague  brought  him  low, whereupon, in  1844,  he  sought  the  Pacific  Ck>ast. ParnouH* Life  q/*  AfarsfiaJ.lt 6-8. He Bt-arted  in  May  1844,  and  crossed  by  way  of  Fort  Half  to  Oregon, where ho  wintered. He then  joined  the  McMahou-Clyman  party  for  Califor- nia. See hist. Col., iv. 731, this  series.


 * Bought, says  Parsons,  from  S.  J.  Hensley.

^ Marshall  claims  to  have  first  proposed  the  scheme  to  Sutter. Hutchinffs* Mag.f ii. 199. This  is  doubtful,  as  shown  elsewhere,  and  is  in  any  event immaterial.

^ Marshall  says  that  while  stocking  the  ploughs,  three  men,  Gingery,  Wim- mer, and  McLellan,  who  had  heard  of  his  contemplated  trip,  undertook  one themselves, after  obtaining  what  information  and  directions  they  could  from Marshall. Wimmer found  timber  and  a  trail  on  what  is  now  known  as  the Diamond Springs  road,  and  the  13th  of  May  he  and  Gingery  began  work  some thirteen miles  west  of  the  place  where  the  Shingle  Springs  house  subsequently stood. Gingery was  afterward  with  Marshall  when  the  latter  discovered  the site of  the  Coloma  mill.

^ Marshall  implies  that  this  was  his  first  trip. Sutter states  definitely, occasions. I was  not  with  him  when  he  determined  the  site  of  the  mill.' SuUer'a Fera,  Jiem.,
 * He went  out  several  times  to  look  for  a  site.  I  was  with  him  twice  on  these