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14. The Discovery of Gold in California The first discovery of gold in California in any quantity was made by a Mexican sheepherder named Francisco Lopez and his helper. It occurred quite by accident for they rode out one day in 1842 from Mission San Fernando to find stray horses in the green valley. They were searching for their horses in a canyon and being hungry they opened a saddlebag and brought out some dried beef and tortillas. Spying a clump of onions, Lopez dug them up with his knife to garnish his tortilla, and found the soil on the roots covered with glittering flecks of gold dust. Lopez and his companion galloped back to the ranch and in the excitement that followed hundreds of people descended upon the canyon to search for gold; washing the streams and pitting the hillsides with their digging. They called this place Placerita Canyon and during the next few years eight thousand dollars worth of gold was found here but the excitement soon subsided. Like the farmers of the southeast who believed their fortune would be made in crops, the rancheros said to each other, "Why work so hard? Cattle will make us rich. What need do we have for gold?" And Placerita Canyon as it was by then called was abandoned. But at least the discovery of Francisco Lopez made it known that the early myths were based upon some truth. Thousands of acres were still without settlers and the land was owned by Mexico. To the south ofthe Sacramento River and not far east of San Francisco, a vast ranch belonged to General Mariano Vallejo. He entertained a Swiss155 156 The Gold Seekers The first gold hunters. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1858 German named John Sutter and asked him if he would like to stay on and help him, but Sutter, who had landed at Yerba Buena (San Francisco) in 1839 had more grandiose ideas. He envisioned owning thousands of acres which he would run as his own personal kingdom so he approached Governor Alvarado and told him of his wish to own land in California. Alvarado asked where he would like to settle and Sutter who had already framed the answer in his mind to this question replied that he would like to settle in the country near the Sacramento. 137.187.233] Project MUSE (2024-04-18 20:15 GMT) Discovery of Gold in California 157 He offered to build a fort there in order to guard it against enemies of Mexico or hostile Indians. The governor was surprised but pleased, and he reminded him that if this land was to be deeded to him, he must first become a Mexican citizen to which Sutter readily agreed. And when the brief ceremony was over the governor deeded over to him fifty-five thousand acres. Sutter had been wanting this land for a long time. Not only was the Sacramento Valley rich farmland but the Sacramento River was good for sailing vessels and it would be easy to ship things down the river to the harbor at San Francisco. He gathered together ten men, three white and seven Kanakas brought from the Hawaiian Islands and sailed up the Sacramento. This was strange country for him and he leaned on the rail staring at the banks wondering what dangers were there ... Indians, wild animals? He was convinced he would overcome them and in the midst of his vast acreage he would build a town. For a week he explored until finally he found an open place at the confluence of the American River and Sacramento River that pleased him. The first grass houses built by the Indians were soon replaced with adobe. Cattle were brought from ranchos to graze in the tall, green grass and crops were planted. Then as adobe bricks lay drying in the sun, the walls of a fort slowly began to rise. He heard that the Russians were leaving California, for although they had enjoyed a lucrative fur trade they had now killed off most of the otters and they had no interest in farming. Sutter made them an offer to buy everything in the fort and although he had no money at the time, he was fortunate-they accepted his promise to pay as soon as he 158 The Gold Seekers could. Everything was at the Russian fort that he needed to build his own. There was a boat to carry materials up and down the...

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