Statewide County CA Archives History - Books .....Early Gold Discoveries 1891
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Book Title: Memorial And Biographical History Of Northern California

EARLY GOLD DISCOVERIES.

  The first mention of gold in California was made in Hakluyt's account of the
voyage of Sir Francis Drake, who spent five or six weeks, in June and July,
1579, in a bay on the coast of California. It has always been a question and
will remain a question, whether this bay was that of San Francisco or one
further to the north. In the narrative of Hakluyt it is written: "There is no
part of the earth here to be taken up wherein there is not a reasonable quantity
of gold or silver." At this day we know that this statement must have been
untrue, and was doubtless written for the purpose of attracting attention to the
importance of the expedition of Sir Francis Drake. California was then a
comparatively unknown country. It had been visited only by early explorers, and
its characteristics were merely conjectured. When Hakluyt wrote there could
hardly be a "handful of soil taken up wherein there is not a reasonable quantity
of gold or silver;" in the light of the present the statement was absurd, for
neither gold nor silver has ever been found in the vicinity of the point where
Drake must have landed.

  Other early explorers stated that gold had been found long before the
discovery by Marshall; and there is no doubt that a well-founded surmise
prevailed that gold existed in California. The country had been explored at
times since the sixteenth century, by Spanish, Russian and American parties. It
was visited by Commodore Wilkes, who was in the service of the United States on
an extensive exploring expedition; and members of his party ascended the
Sacramento River and visited Sutter at the fort, while others made explorations
by land.

  James D. Dana, a celebrated author of several works on mineralogy, was the
mineralogist of this expedition and passed by land through the upper portion of
California. In one of his works he says that gold rock and veins of quartz were
observed by him in 1842 near the Umpqna River, in Southern Oregon; and again,
that he found gold near the Sierra Nevada and on the Sacramento River; also, on
the San Joaquin River and between those rivers. There is, in the reports of the
Fremont exploring expedition, an intimation of the existence of gold.

  It has been said that in October and November, 1845, a Mexican was shot at
Yerba Buena (San Francisco) on account of having a bag of gold dust, and when
dying pointed northward and said, "Legos! Legos!" (yonder), indicating where he
had found the gold dust.

  It has been claimed, and with a considerable degree of probability, that the
Mormons who arrived in San Francisco on the ship Brooklyn found gold before the
famous discovery of Coloma. The circumstances in connection with this discovery
are somewhat romantic. The Mormon people had established themselves at Nauvoo,
Illinois, a point where they believed themselves to be beyond the reach of
persecution. However, the country there became populated by those not of their
faith, and the antagonism against the Mormons resulted finally in bloodshed, and
the founder of the church. Joseph Smith, was shot by a mob and killed. The
Mormons then determined to remove farther west, and into a section of country
beyond the reach of the Government of the United States. They selected
California as their future home. Their land expedition started across the
plains, and a ship named the Brooklyn carried from the eastern side of the
continent a number of the believers. Samuel Brannan, who was prominent in the
early history of Sacramento, San Francisco and the State, was one of their
leading men who came with the sea voyagers. When the Brooklyn emigrants landed
at Yerba Buena (San Francisco) they found that the United States forces had
taken possession of California, and that they had landed upon soil possessed by
the nation from which they were endeavoring to flee. Couriers were sent overland
to intercept the land party, and it is said that they found them at the place
where Salt Lake City is now located. The overland party determined to locate at
that place, although it was then sterile and unpromising. Those who came on the
Brooklyn dispersed in California, and some of them located at Mormon Island, in
Sacramento County; and it is claimed that they found gold long before the
discovery at Coloma, but that they kept their discovery a secret. However that
may be, it is a fact that mining was prosecuted by them about the time of
Marshall's discovery.

  At a banquet of the Associated Pioneers of the Territorial days of California,
held in the city of New York, on January 18, 1878, Colonel T. B. Thorpe, a
veteran of the Mexican War, who had been on the staff of General Zachary Taylor,
stated that while he had been employed as a journalist in New Orleans, several
years before the discovery of gold at Coloma, a Swede, evidently far gone into
consumption, called upon him and represented that he was what in his country was
called a "king's orphan;" that he had been educated at a governmental
institution, on condition that after he had received his education he should
travel in foreign lands, observe and record what he had seen, and deposit his
records with the government. He stated that he had visited California, remained
several days at Sutter's Fort, enjoying the hospitality of Sutter; that while
there he closely examined the surrounding country and became convinced that it
abounded richly in gold. Colonel Thorpe stated that the Swede gave him this
opinion in writing. At that banquet General Sutter was present, and Colonel
Thorpe called upon him to say whether he had any recollection concerning the
Swedish visitor. Sutter replied that he did recollect the visit, which had
occurred about thirty-four years before; and he also remembered that the Swede
expressed himself regarding the presence of mineral wealth in the neighboring
hills; "but," added the General, "I was too much occupied at the time with other
concerns to devote any time or attention to it. My crops were ripe, and it was
imperative that they should be gathered as quickly as possible; but I do
recollect the scientific Swedish gentleman."

  The report of the remarks delivered at that banquet were published, and in it
is contained a copy of the manuscript to which Colonel Thorpe referred, in which
the "king's orphan" wrote: "The Californias are rich in minerals. Gold, silver,
lead, oxide of iron, manganese and copper ore are all met with throughout the
country, the precious metals being the most abundant."

  There is another account of an early gold discovery, which was published in
the New Age, in San Francisco, the official organ of the Odd Fellows, in
September, 1865. It purports to have been an extract written by the Paris
correspondent of the London Star, who wrote that in the city of Paris he visited
a private museum, and that its owner exhibited to him a nugget of gold, and
stated that twenty-eight years before a poor invalid had presented himself and
took out of his tattered coat a block of quartz, and asked the proprietor of the
museum if he would purchase it, assuring him that it was full of gold. The
stranger said: "I have come to you to apply to the Government to give me a
vessel and a crew of 100 men, and I will promise to return with a cargo of
gold." The proprietor of the museum presumed that the man was mad, and gave him
a napoleon as a matter of charity, but retained a piece of the quartz. Afterward
the quartz was analyzed, and it was proved to contain pure gold. Fifteen years
elapsed, and a parcel and a letter were left at his door. The parcel was wrapped
in a handkerchief, and was heavy. The letter was worn, and almost illegible. On
deciphering it, it proved to be the dying statement of the poor traveler, which,
through the neglect of the lodging-house keeper where he had died after the
interview referred to, had never been delivered. The package contained a block
of quartz, and the letter was thus worded:

  "You alone listened to me; you alone stretched out a helping hand to me. Alas!
it was too late! I am dying. I bequeath my secret to you. The country from
whence I brought this gold is called California."


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California.

Illustrated, Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast
from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with
Glimpses of its Prospective Future; Full-Page Steel Portraits of its most
Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers and also of
Prominent Citizens of To-day.

"A people that takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendents." – Macauley.

CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1891.


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