Page:History of California (Bancroft) volume 6.djvu/65

 knives, ob-

tained together  gold  to  the  value  of  ten  dollars. The Saturday following,  Bigler  descended  the  river  half  a mile,  when,  seeing  on  the  other  side  some  rocks  left bare by  a  land-slide,  he  stripped  and  crossed. There, in the  seams  of  the  rocks,  were  particles  of  the  pre- cious stuff exposed  to  view,  of  w^iich  the  next  day  he gathered  half  an  ounce,  and  the  Sunday  following  an ounce. Snow^ preventing  work  at  the  mill,  on  Tues- day, the 22d,  he  set  out  for  the  same  place,  and  ob- tained an ounce  and  a  half. Up to  this  time  he  had kept the  matter  to  himself,  carrying  with  him  a  gun on pretext  of  shooting  ducks,  in  order  to  divert  suspi- cion. Questioned closely  on  this  occasion,  he  told  his comrades what  he  had  been  doing,  and  the  following Sunday five  of  them  accompanied  him  to  the  same spot, and  spent  the  day  hunting  in  the  sand. All were well  rewarded. In the  opposite  direction  suc- cess proved no  less  satisfactory. Accompanied by James  Gregson,  Marshall  ascended  the  river  three miles; and  at  a  place  which  he  named  Live  Oak  Bar, if we  may  believe  Gregson,  they  picked  up  with  their fingers without  digging  a  pint  of  gold,  in  pieces  up  to the  size  of  a  bean.^  Thus  was  gradually  enlarged  the area of  the  gold-field

About the  21st  of  February,  Bigler  wrote  to  certain of his  comrades  of  the  Mormon  battalion — Jesse  Mar- tin, Israel Evans,  and  Ephraim  Green,  who  were  at work  on  Sutter's  flour-mill — informing  them  of  the discovery of  gold,  and  charging  them  to  keep  it  secret, or to  tell  it  to  those  only  who  could  be  trusted. The result was  the  arrival,  on  the  evening  of  the  27th,  of three  men,  Sidney  Willis,  Fiefield,  and  Wilford  Hud-

^ StaUmeni  of  James  Oregson,  MS.,  passim. The author  was  an  English- man, who came  to  California  in  1845  and  engaged  with  Satter  as  a  whip- sawyer. Lumber then  cost  $30  a  thousand  at  Sutter's  Fort. He ser\'ed  in the  war,  and  after  the  discovery  of  gohl  went  to  Ck)loma,  accompanied  by  his wife.  Throwing  up  his  engagement  with  Marshall,  he  secured  that  year $3,000  in  gold-dust.  Sutter  appears  to  have,  in  February,  alreadv  set  some Indians  to  pick  gpld  round  the  mill.  Uis  claim  to  this  ground  was  long