Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/380



which found that the votes of Kanesville were legally cast and should have been counted. The debate which followed was not closed until the 29th of June, 1850, when the House, by a vote of one hundred and two to ninety-four, decided that Thompson had not been legally elected. The House further declared, by a vote of one hundred and nine to eighty-four, that a vacancy existed in the First Iowa District, and directed the Speaker to so inform, the Governor of that State. A special election was called to fill the vacancy at which Miller was chosen by a plurality of two hundred and fifty-seven.

In February, 1848, an event occurred in California which largely affected the settlement of Iowa for several years. A laborer employed by Colonel Sutter (a Swiss immigrant, who had built a mill on the Sacramento River), while digging a race for the mill, discovered gold dust in the excavation. It was soon found that gold in large quantities existed in the alluvial deposits of many of the streams of the Territory which had recently been acquired from Mexico. The discoveries soon became known to the public, causing great excitement. The contagion reached the Mississippi Valley, as glowing accounts came of rich deposits and sudden fortunes made by the gold diggers. Then began an exodus from Iowa and other western States. The tide of immigration which had been flowing into the prairie States was suddenly diverted toward the newly discovered gold-fields of California.

Early in 1849 thousands of citizens of Iowa, allured by the prospect of acquiring sudden wealth, formed companies in various localities for the purpose of making the journey over the plains. Wagons were fitted up with camp equipments, provisions, tools and arms for defense against the Indians. They were generally drawn by oxen, for cattle could subsist on grass along the route, while horses would require grain to be transported the entire distance. It was necessary for the emigrants to carry with them enough supplies to last for the entire journey,