The Cave of Gold A Tale of California in '49 19 – McNeil · Verses Across
Literature · Western
The Cave of Gold A Tale of California in '49 19Story of the Great Discovery
18
Literature · Western
The Cave of Gold A Tale of California in '49 19
Story of the Great Discovery
McNeilEnglish
A cheery call from Mr. and Mrs. Dickson greeted our friends the next morning, as they started down the trail on their way to the wing dam. Both were in the best of spirits and did not appear to be bothering their heads in the least over their rather exciting and unfortunate adventure of the night before. Indeed, what could the burning of a log cabin more or less matter to a man who was digging out of the ground from five to ten thousand dollars' worth of gold a day! They were busily at work putting on a temporary roof in place of the one the fire had destroyed.
"Lose much?" queried Ham sympathetically, as the little company came to a halt in front of the ruins.
"Only a little worn-out clothing and some mighty poor furniture," laughed Dickson. "Mollie and I calculate we can fix up the roof by noon good enough to last the few days we are likely to remain here; and the time it takes us to do that is our only real loss. You see, we've decided, if we get as much as twenty thousand dollars' worth of gold out of that hole, we'll get for New York as fast as the good Lord will let us; and it looks now as if it was good for that much, at least, before it gives out. Why, it won't take more than a couple of days more to fix us all right, if the gold continues to turn up the way it did yesterday! Hope it will be your turn next."
"Same here," laughed Mrs. Dickson. "My, but it does seem good to be digging real gold up out of the ground in handfuls. Hope that wing dam, or whatever you call it, will be the golden key that will unlock the door of fortune to you all."
"We all shore agrees with you thar," grinned Ham. "An' we all hopes that y'ur luck will continue, 'til you gits enough tew send you back home in fine style--not that we're none anxious tew see you go," he added hastily, "'cause 'twould be 'bout as painful an operation as bein' seperated from a sore tooth, to be seperated from that singin' apperatus of your'n. We'll be expectin' you tew come over an' sing some more for us tew-night."
"I certainly can't refuse, after such a compliment to my singing," she laughed back.
"It almost tempts me tew try hitchin' up myself, tew see them tew a-workin' tewgether as happy as tew nestin' birds," grinned Ham, as our friends, after a few minutes' longer talk with the joyful and fortunate couple, continued on their way. "I reckon that's 'bout th' kind of marriage th' feller meant, when he said they was made in heaven; for th' t'other kind 'pear tew be made in t'other place," and Ham chuckled.
That day they succeeded in building a wall of rocks, piled one on top of the other and plastered together with clay and the branches of trees, across the little stream itself and almost high enough to force the water to flow in the new channel. Consequently night found them jubilant; for now it began to look as if they might complete the dam on the morrow, and this was doing better by a day or two than they had expected to do.
"I reckon we had better bring along the pails and the pans to-morrow," Mr. Conroyal said, as he paused with Ham and Mr. Randolph for a last calculating look at the dam, before starting for the log house that night. "Looks now as if we might complete the dam and turn the water a little before night; and, if we do, we will want to get right to work at the hole. It sure looks as if we had struck a good thing here, boys," and his face lighted, as his eyes turned toward the elbow. "If this stream has been carrying down gold the way some of the streams have in this section, we'll have Dickson beat by a wagon load or two of gold a day. I can't see how it can help turning out something big," and the gold-fever light that shone in his eyes began to sparkle in the eyes of the others.
"It shore otter turn out big tew pay us for all this work," and Ham's glance slowly wandered over the huge piles of rocks and dirt that their shovels and strong arms had reared, "but thar's no countin' on what it'll do. 'Twouldn't s'prise me none, if we took out a wagon load of gold; an', ag'in, 'twouldn't s'prise me none, if we didn't take out a thimble load. Gold is 'bout as unsart'in an' queer as women. When you think you've got it shore, gosh, it ain't thar at all! But, I reckon you're right 'bout th' pans an' pails; an' I shore hopes you're right 'bout th' wagon loads of gold."
After supper that night Mr. and Mrs. Dickson came over and joined the circle around the big camp-fire that Thure and Bud had kindled in front of the log house. There was no need to be saving of wood, when all one had to do to get it was to cut it. Wood was the one thing that was free and plentiful in Hangtown.
"How did she pan out tew-day, Dick?" queried Ham, as Dickson seated himself on a log.
"Well," and Dickson hesitated and glanced swiftly and just a little suspiciously around the circle of faces. Already the possession of much gold was robbing him of some of his open, free-hearted confidence in his fellow men, was drawing tight the strings of caution. "Well," he continued, after a swift warning glance into the face of his wife, "I fear that we have about come to the bottom of the pocket. Not much doing to-day," but the light in his eyes seemed to belie his statement.
"Oh, Dick," and Mrs. Dickson turned a reproving face to her husband, "how can you say that, when we found this, and a lot of smaller nuggets, and a good three thousand dollars' worth in gold-dust besides!" and she held up before the astonished eyes of the circle a huge gold nugget. "It weighs exactly five pounds and three and three-quarters ounces, and is worth over a thousand dollars," and the Little Woman's face glowed with triumph. "There," and she turned a pair of happy but defiant eyes on her husband, "I just couldn't keep a thing like that to myself; and I shouldn't want to, if I could; and I told Dick that I couldn't and I wouldn't keep it from you and I didn't," and her eyes sparkled merrily. "But Dick is getting a little afraid that, if it becomes known how big our find really is it might tempt some scoundrel to try and get the gold away from us."
"Not meaning you fellows, of course," and Dickson's face flushed.
"Shore, we understand an' without any explainin'," broke in Ham heartily. "An', Leetle Woman, Dick's more'n half right 'bout bein' some cautious who you tells y'ur good luck tew. Thar was a miner murdered for his gold 'bout a week ago nigh Sacremento City; an' th' murderers worn't caught an' might be a-snoopin' 'round Hangtown right now."
"Mercy!" and Mrs. Dickson turned a whitening face to Ham. "Why, there is hardly a lock on a door in all Hangtown; and most of the miners don't even take the trouble to hide their gold-dust securely. I thought everybody knew that the climate of Hangtown wasn't good for the health of robbers."
"An' so it ain't for them that gits caught," answered Ham. "But humans will risk anything, even their lives for gold. Why, it wasn't more'n a week ago that we run Skoonly out of town for stealin'! So, I reckon, 'tain't more'n good hoss-sense for you tew be some cautious now that you are gittin' a fortune in gold. Not that thar's any harm in a-tellin' old friends like us, 'cause we knows enough tew keep mum 'bout it," and Ham glanced warningly around the circle of interested faces. "But 'twouldn't be good sense tew let th' hull town know th' size of y'ur pile. It's tew goll durned big an' temptin'. Not that I wants tew scare you, Leetle Woman. Only it's jest good hoss-religion not tew tempt y'ur feller mortals more'n it's necessary. Now forgit th' gold an' give us a song."
Ham had not been without his reasons in thus trying to arouse the fears of Mr. and Mrs. Dickson and in warning the others to keep their knowledge of the amount of Dickson's find to themselves; for, since the night adventure of Thure and Bud, he knew that Quinley and Ugger must be lurking somewhere in the vicinity, and that, if these two scoundrels should get knowledge of Dickson's great luck, neither their gold nor their lives would be safe.
Mrs. Dickson sang a number of the old songs, including Ham's favorite, "Sweet Alice, Ben Bolt"; but her music lacked something of its usual soul-fervor. Evidently the words of Ham had so aroused her fears that she could not keep her mind from wandering to the little pile of gold they had left almost unguarded in their lockless log cabin; and, in a short time, both excused themselves on the plea of weariness, and hurried home.
"Tew bad tew scare th' Leetle Woman," Ham said regretfully; "but 'twould be a heap worse tew have Quinley an' Ugger git that thar gold. I got scart of them jest as soon as th' Leetle Woman showed up th' big nugget; for they must be a-lurkin' 'round here somewhere, keepin' an eye on us; an', if they heer'd of Dickson's gold, they shore would try an' git it. Wal, we'd better follow their example an' git tew bed; for we've got a hard day's work afore us, if we finish th' wing dam an' turn th' water tew-morrer. I'm goin'," and Ham, knocking the ashes out of his pipe on the log on which he was sitting, arose and went into the house, whither he was soon followed by the others.
The next day as Thure and Bud were sitting in the shade of the cool side of the gulch, a little apart from the others, eating their lunch and discussing the great find they expected to make when they turned the water of the little stream into the new channel, Thure, whose eyes happened to be looking down the gulch at that moment, suddenly exclaimed:
"Hello, look who's coming!" and he pointed down the gulch to where a man could be seen walking slowly toward them, a pick and shovel and gold-pan slung across his broad shoulders, a Mexican sombrero on his head and the rest of his body clothed in a blue flannel shirt and linen trousers that had once been white, protected by deerskin leggings and thrust into the tops of knee-boots.
"Out prospecting, I reckon," and Bud glanced curiously at the advancing stranger, for visitors had been rare in that lonely gulch. "Let's ask him to dine with us," and he smiled as he glanced at the coarse but abundant fare spread out on the ground between them. "He must be hungry, if he has lugged those things on his back far. Hello!" and he turned to the stranger, who by this time had come to within a couple of rods of where the two boys sat, "You are just in time to help us finish up these beans and pork. Come and have a seat at our table," and he grinned a welcome, as he nodded toward the food.
"I don't care if I do," smiled back the stranger, as he flung pick and shovel and pan from his back and dropped down by the side of the boys, "especially since I've got a little jerked venison here that I know will taste good to you, if you've been living on salt pork as long as the most of the miners have," and he began to undo a little bundle tied to the end of his pick, and presently disclosed a chunk of dried venison and a couple of ship-biscuits, wrapped up in a coarse but clean cloth. This food he at once laid down on the cloth, which he had spread out on Bud's table, and bade the boys help themselves, at the same time and without any further invitation helping himself to the beans and pork.
"Wait, and I'll get you a cup of hot coffee," and Bud jumped to his feet and hurried to where Ham was superintending the boiling of a pot of coffee over the camp-fire.
"Say, dew you know who that feller is who has j'ined grub with you?" queried Ham, grinning, as he filled a tin cup full of the coffee and handed it to Bud.
"Oh, just a miner out prospecting, I reckon," answered Bud, as he took the coffee. "We thought we would be social and asked him to share our meal," and he started back with the coffee.
"Wal," and the grin on Ham's face broadened, "that feller is James W. Marshall!"
"What!" and Bud stopped so suddenly that he almost spilt the coffee. "Not the James W. Marshall who discovered the first gold in California!"
"Th' identicle cuss," laughed Ham. "But 'tain't done him much good so far."
"Glory be, we just thought he was an ordinary prospector, when we asked him to share our lunch! And so he is the man that started all this mad rush for California gold," and Bud's eyes turned curiously in the direction of the stranger. "Well, he sure don't look as if the gold had done him much good."
"That's usually th' way on it," replied Ham. "Th' feller what finds it only gits th' first smell, then 'long comes some other feller an' gobbles it all up, leavin' th' finder nuthin' but th' glory."
"Maybe we can get him to tell us the story of how he found the gold," and Bud's face lighted up. "I'd like to hear it from his own lips."
"Wal," grinned Ham, "jest tell him that he's 'bout th' most abused man in all Californy, an', I reckon, he'll open his heart tew you. He's pow'ful sore over everybudy else but he a-gettin' th' gold, an' he th' discoverer."
"Maybe the hot coffee will do as well," laughed Bud, as he hurried back to his guest.
The hot coffee, possibly even more the contagion of the joyous enthusiasm of the two youths, did, indeed, seem to act like a charm on Marshall's taciturn and soured disposition; for, before the meal was half over, he was talking freely of his mining ventures with Thure and Bud; and it needed but a few well-directed inquiries to bring the desired story from his willing lips.
"How did I happen to discover the gold?" he began, as if the boys had asked him directly for the story, which they had not. "Well, it all came about in this way," and he settled himself into a comfortable position. "In May, 1847, Captain Sutter sent me up the American River to look for a good site for a sawmill that he wished me to build for him; and, after a number of days of fruitless search, I found what looked like the exact spot I was hunting for on the South Fork of the American about forty-five miles from Sutter's Fort. Captain Sutter, you may be sure, was well pleased when I told him of my success; and we entered into a partnership, according to which I was to build the mill and he was to find provisions, tools, teams, and pay a part of the men's wages; and in August, everything being ready, I started out with six men and two wagons loaded with the tools and provisions. We first put up log houses in which to live; for we expected to remain there all winter. But this was done in no time for the men were great with the ax. Then we cut timber and fell to work hewing it for the framework of the mill and to building the dam, which, with the help of about forty Indians, who had gathered around us in great numbers, we put up in a kind of a way in four weeks. When the mill was nearly completed, it was my custom every evening after the men had quit work to raise the gate in the mill-race and allow the water to run all night, in order to wash as much sand and gravel as possible out of the race during the night; and in the morning, while the men were getting breakfast, I would go down and shut the gate and walk along the race to see where the work needed to be done for the day.
"One clear cold morning in January--I shall never forget that morning. I can see it all as I sit here--the nearly completed mill, the slopes of the surrounding tree-covered hills, the water pouring over the dam, the mill-race, a foot or so of water still rushing along over its bottom--I can see it all--"
Marshall paused, his eyes staring straight in front of him, a peculiar, dreamy, wild look in them that sent uncanny chills to the hearts of both boys as long as it lasted. What was he seeing? Visions?--Visions of what that morning meant to a gold-mad world?
"No, I can never forget that January morning," Marshall resumed, after perhaps a minute, the normal look again coming back into his eyes; "for on that morning I found the gold that has set the world crazy and proven little more than a curse to me," and a gloomy bitter look clouded his face.
"On that morning, as usual, after having shut off the water, I started to walk along the race, keeping my eyes pretty close to the ground, so as to make a note of where the ditch needed more digging. There was still about a foot of water running in the race. Suddenly my eyes caught a glimpse of something shining through the water, just a bright little gleam of yellow lying on the bottom of the ditch; but the first sight of it made my heart jump, for I thought it might be gold; and I reached my hand down quick through the water and picked it up and examined it eagerly. The piece was about half the size, and of the shape of a pea; and felt and looked like gold, only it did not seem to me to be exactly the right color: all the gold coin I had seen was of a reddish tinge; this looked more like brass. I looked again in the water and saw another piece and picked that up. Then I sat down on the bank, with the little pieces of shining metal on the palm of my hand, and began to think right hard. Was it gold? I recalled to mind all the metals I had ever seen or heard of, but I couldn't seem to think of any that looked like this, that is, that looked enough like it to make me certain of what it was. Suddenly the thought came to me that this was probably nothing but iron pyrites, or fool's gold, that I had heard and read of, but had never seen. I trembled at the thought; for by now I had become considerably excited over the possibility of its being gold. But iron pyrites would break when pounded! I jumped to my feet, getting more excited every minute; and quickly found a couple of hard river stones, and, putting the pieces on one, I pounded them with the other. It was soft, and didn't break! It must be gold; but was probably largely mixed with some other metal, possibly silver, for I thought that pure gold certainly would have a brighter color.
"I don't know just how long I sat there, looking at them two little bits of yellow metal in my hand and thinking hard of all that it might mean to me and the men with me, if it should really prove to be gold, for I sure was some excited; but, when I got back to our cabin, the men had finished their breakfast and were beginning to wonder a little what had become of me. I showed them the two pieces, and told them where I had found them, and that I thought they were gold. This excited the men a good deal; and I had some trouble to keep them from dropping everything and going to gold hunting, leaving me finish my job alone. However, I told them that as soon as we had the mill finished we would give a week or two to gold hunting and see what we could make out of it, and this satisfied them for the time, none of them then dreaming there was enough gold there to amount to much.
"After this, while at work in the race, we all kept a sharp lookout, and in the course of three or four days we had picked up about three ounces, our work going on the same as usual; for none of us at that time imagined that the whole country was sown with gold. If we had--that mill sure would never have been completed," and Marshall smiled a little bitterly.
"Four or five days after I picked up those two little pieces of yellow metal I had to go to Sutter's Fort; and, wishing to get all the information I could respecting the real value of the metal, I took all that we had collected with me, and showed it to Captain Sutter. He at once declared that it was gold; but, like me, thought it was largely mixed with some other metal. We now tried to hit upon some means of telling the exact quantity of gold found in the alloy; but couldn't figure out how to do it, until we stumbled upon an old American cyclopedia, that gave the specific gravity of all the metals and rules to find the quantity of each in a given bulk. We now wanted some silver, with which to compare our metal; and, after hunting over the whole fort and borrowing from some of the men, we managed to get three dollars and a half in silver. Captain Sutter had a small pair of scales; and, with the aid of these and the cyclopedia, we soon ciphered it out that there was neither silver nor copper in the gold, but that it was entirely pure.
"This proof that the metal was real gold excited both of us considerable; but, when we had cooled down a little and talked it over, we concluded it would be our best policy to keep it as quiet as possible until the mill was completed. Now, at this time, there was a great number of disbanded Mormon soldiers in and about the fort, and, somehow, they came to hear of it; and then the golden cat was out of the bag, for the news that gold had been discovered just spread over the whole country like wild-fire. Indeed, I had hardly got back to the mill, before men with picks and pans and shovels and hoes and all sorts of tools began coming in, all anxious to fall to work and dig up our mill by the roots; but this, of course, we would not allow, although I sometimes had the greatest trouble to get rid of them. I sent them all off in different directions, telling them of such and such places where I felt certain they would find gold, if they would only take the trouble to dig for it. Not that I really thought they would find any gold, for at that time I never imagined the gold was so abundant; but they would dig nowhere but in such places as I pointed out and I had to get rid of them someway. I believe if I had told them to dig on top of a mountain, that, so great was their confidence in me, they would have climbed to the top of the mountain and began picking away at the rocks," and something, almost a twinkle, came into Marshall's eyes, brightening their somber lights.
"And did the parties you scattered through the country find any gold?" inquired Thure eagerly.
"Yes, many of them did, to my surprise," answered Marshall; "but the second real discovery of gold was in a gulch on the road to Sacramento. The third gold discovery was made on a bar of the South Fork of the American River a little above the junction of the Middle and South forks. The diggings over there where Hangtown is," and he flung up one of his arms in the direction of Hangtown, "was discovered by myself; for we all went gold hunting, as soon as the mill was finished. Some Indians found the diggings down at Kelsey's; and thus in a short time we discovered that the whole country hereabouts is sown with gold, thick in spots but thin and scattering almost all over. Now that is the true story of the gold discovery in California, right from the lips of the man who picked up the first piece of gold, and who has had more cheating and robbing than thanks from the men the discovery has helped most," and the somber light deepened in the eyes of the disappointed and soured man, who always laid the blame of the misfortunes that seemed to follow him after the great discovery on the ingratitude of his fellow men, rather than on his own inability to use the opportunities that a kindly fate had thrust in his way.
"Well, it sure does seem hard," sympathized Bud, "that you, who discovered the gold, should be able to get so little of it. But," and his face brightened, "your luck may change to-morrow, and you may yet live to see yourself one of the richest men in California."
Here the huge form of Hammer Jones broke in on the three.
"How d'dew, Jim," and Ham reached down a big hand and gripped the hand of Marshall. "Ben tellin' th' yunks all 'bout th' Great Discovery, I reckon?" and he grinned. "Wal, if you'll jest sot down an' make y'urself easy for 'bout three hours, 'til we puts the finishin' touches on this here dam, I shouldn't be none s'prised if we was able tew show you somethin' of a discovery ourselves," and Ham pointed to the now nearly completed dam.
Marshall at once became greatly interested, when Ham had explained to him what they hoped the dam would do for them; and not only agreed to wait until the completion of the dam, but to help in its completion; and, in a few minutes more, all were again at work, spurred to extraordinary exertions by the thought that a few short hours more would tell the story of their success or failure.
