Page:History of California (Bancroft) volume 6.djvu/50



proximate, he  was  sensible  and  skilful;  in  the  obscure and remote,  he  was  utterly  lost. In temper  it  was so; with  his  companions  and  subordinates  he  was free and  friendly;  with  his  superiors  and  the  world at large  he  was  morbidly  ill-tempered  and  surly.** He was  taciturn,  with  visionary  ideas,  linked  to spiritualism^  that  repelled  confidence^  and  made  him appear eccentric  and  morbid;  he  was  restless,  yet capable of  self-denying  perseverance  that  was  fre- quently stamped as  obstinacy.*^

Early in  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  the  24th**  of

'^For example,  Bigler,  who  worked  under  him,  says  of  him,  Diary,  MS., 57, *An  entire  stranger  to  us,  but  proved  to  be  a  gentleman;*  and  again,  72, ' in  a  first-rate  good  humor,  as  he  most  always  was. ' He  was  a  truthful  man, so far  as  he  knew  the  tmth. ' Whatever  Mr  Marshall  tells  you,  you  may  rely on as  correct,'  said  the  people  of  Coloma  to  one  writing  in  Hutching^  mag.^ ii. 201. This  is  the  impression  he  made  on  his  men. On the  other  hand,  Sut« ter, who  surely  knew  him  well  enough,  and  would  be  the  last  person  to malign  any  one,  says  to  the  editor  of  the  Lancdster  Examiner:  *  Marshall  was like a  crazy  man. He was  one  of  thoser  visionary  men  who  was  always  dream- ing about something.'  And  to  me  Sutter  remarked:  '  He  was  a  vei^  curious man, quarrelled  with  nearly  everybody,  though  I  could  get  along  with  him.' Pera. If em.,  MS.,  160.

^^ Passionate,  he  was  seldom  violent;  strong,  he  was  capable  of  drinkinff deeply and  coming  well  out  of  it;  but  he  did  not  care  much  for  the  pleasures  m intoxication,  nor  was  he  the  drunkard  and  gambler  that  some  have  called  him. He was  not  always  actuated  by  natural  causes. Once in  a  restaurant  in  San Francisco, in  company  with  Sutter,  he  broke  out:  'Are  we  alone?'  ^Yes,' Sutter said. ' No,  we  are  not,'  Marshall  replied,  *  there  is  a  body  there  which you cannot  see,  but  which  I  can. I have  been  inspired  by  heaven  to  act  as  a medium,  and  I  am  to  tell  Major-Greneral  Sutter  what  to  do.'  But  though foolish in  some  directions,  he  was  in  others  a  shrewd  observer. Sutter, Pers. Rem., MS.,  160,  and  Bidwell,  Cal.  I84I-8,  MS.,  228,  both  praise  him  as  a mechanic;  and  though  in  some  respects  a  fool,  ho  is  still  called  '  an  honest man.' Barstow's  Stat.,  MS.,  14;  S.  F.  Alia  CaL.,  Aug. 17, 1874.  To  dress, naturally, he  paid  but  little  attention. He was  frequently  seen  in  white linen trousers,  buckskin  leggings  and  moccasons,  and  Mexican  sombrero.

^*The 19th  of  January  is  toe  date  usually  given;  but  I  am  satisfied  it  is incorrect. There are  but  two  authorities  to  choose  between,  Marshall,  the discoverer, and  one  Henry  W.  Bigler,  a  Mormon  engaged  ui>on  the  work  at the  time. Besides confusion  of  mind  in  other  respects,  Marshall  admits  that he does  not  know  the  date. * On  or  about  the  19th  of  January, '  he  says, Jfittchinfjn* Mcujazine,  ii. 200; *  I  am  not  quite  certain  to  a  day,  but  it  was between the  18th  or  20th. ' Whereupon  the  19th  has  been  generally  accepted. Bigler, on  the  other  hand,  was  a  cool,  clear-headed,  methodical  man;  more- over, he kept  a  journal,  in  which  he  entered  occurrences  on  the  spot,  and  it is  from  this  journal  I  get  my  date. If further  evidence  be  wanting,  we  have it. Marshall states  tiiat  four  days  after  the  discovery  he  proceeded  to  New Helvetia with  specimens. Now, by  reference  to  another  journal,  N.  Helvetia Diary, we  find  that  Marshall  arrived  at  the  fort  on  the  evening  of  the  28th. If we  reckon  the  day  of  discovery  as  one  of  the  four  days,  allow  Marshall  one