HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 249 



week. A vast number of people were by this means 

 attracted to the sources of the Feather and Yuba 

 Rivers, and though they found the lake story a hoax 

 of a vile character, they found tolerably fair diggings, 

 which would console them for their disappointment. 



The following extract from the Placer Times of 

 the 17th of July, 1850, under the head of " Great 

 Discoveries of Gold — Gold Lake," will afford the 

 reader a lively conception of the degree of excitement 

 caused in California by every new announcement of 

 a newly discovered locality abounding in gold : 



" We were inclined to give only an average degree 

 of credit to stories that have reached us during the 

 past few days, of the unprecedented richness which 

 this locality has developed. A few moments passed 

 in Marysville on Saturday, convinced us that there is 

 much more show of reality in this last eureka report, 

 than usually attaches to the like. In a year's experi- 

 ence of local excitements from the same cause, we 

 have seen none equal to -what now prevails in that 

 town. It has visited all the inhabitants indiscrimi- 

 nately, lawyers, doctors and judges, traders, teamsters, 

 mechanics and gamblers. Our readers know we are 

 the last to justify the circulation of unfounded or 

 exaggerated reports, but we deem it right to conceal 

 nothing of what may prove (for aught that we can see 

 to the contrary) one of the most astounding discoveries 

 in the modern history of diggings. The specimens 

 brought into Marysville are of a value from §1600 

 down. Ten ounces is reported as no unusual yield to 

 a panfull, and the first party of sixty, which started 

 out under the guidance of one who had returned suc- 

 cessful, were assured that they would not get less than 

 $500 each per day. We were told that the previous 



