66 CALIFORNIA. 



{£3^) worth of this metallic dust. An assayer from San 

 Francisco confirmed the opinion that the two workmen had 

 made of their find. 



Vainly Captain Sutter tried, in accord with his workmen^ 

 to keep this secret. The new^s was propagated with rapidity 

 from one to another. A gold fever took possession of all the 

 inhabitants of California, who abandoned their houses and 

 families, and invaded the beautiful valley Coluna, as it was 

 called by the Indians. Shopkeepers deserted their shops^ 

 doctors abandoned their patients, sailors their ships, soldiers 

 their flag, farmers their farms and cattle. It was nothing less 

 than madness amongst all classes of society. The Governor 

 himself, Colonel Mason abandoned San Francisco, accom- 

 panied by his staff, and all of them worked the placers. Seven 

 inhabitants in all remained in the abandoned town. 



At first they w^ere very successful, and the daily average 

 of the god-send for each was about £20. A few of them made 

 a large fortune in a very short time, such was the abundance 

 of the metal which had never before been touched since its 

 formation. 



Soon after, many of the most enterprising miners explored 

 the tributary streams of Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, 

 and found also a large quantity of gold, but this did not occur 

 without many extraordinary events taking place, such as 

 disputes of possession, settled by the murdering of one of the 

 two engaged in litigation, and sometimes the death of both. 

 When the Indian in his turn protested against the violation 

 of his land w^ith his arrows, the miner replied with a rifle shot, 

 and carried away the bloody scalp. 



The passion of getting much gold had arrived at such a 

 paroxysm of madness, that life was accounted as of no value, 

 and many were the atrocious murders committed for the sake 

 of Gold. Some, in the anxiety of gathering as much as they 

 could when they found a good place, forgot to make the 

 necessary provision of food, and died of hunger close to their 

 treasure. 



The forsaking of all occupations for the finding of gold 

 w^as followed by the scarcity of victuals, and all necessaries of 

 life fetched a fabulous price. Four pounds sterling were paid 

 for an ordinary breakfast consisting of sardines, bread, butter,, 

 cheese, and one pint of ale ; beef fetched eight shilling per 

 pound, eggs four shillings each, coffee sixteen shillings per 

 pound. A bottle of brandy £10, one barrel of flour £'^, one 



