California '46 to '88

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1883 edition. Excerpt: ...square. The Indians were to be paid in flour, meat, clothes, blankets, knives and ornaments, and the captain paid them at once for the coming year. Five men were working on the mill. I knew them well, their names were, Stevens, Brown, Barger, Johnson and Smith. They were Mormons. At any rate they had been in the Mormon battalion and they, of course, spread the news of this discovery among the Mormons, producing great excitement among them as well as among the gentiles. The Mormons shortly found gold twenty miles down the river at "Mormon diggings," and were taking it out in large quantities. All this and more was told me in uncle Peter's letter. I am aware that this discovery has been described in various ways. I here give its history, in substance, as Mr. Whinner wrote it to me. It upset all my business plans. I caught the gold fever at once, and notified my wife and my partner, Joel, that it was time to give up livery stable keeping and go to the mines. My plan was not to dig but to make money by trading. It was arranged that Joel should take our horses and put them on pasture on Squire Elam Brown's rancho, near where Lafayette is now in Contra Costa county, while I should get a' stock of goods suitable for a store or trading-post at the mines. Joel was a doubting Thomas, and did not understand how we were going to start a store with five hundred dollars, which was our whole money capital. I was determined to try, and got Joel off with the horses. Then I went to Mr. Leidesdorff. When I had told him my plan he said that it was a good move, and directed me to go to the different stores and buy what I needed, and he would see the merchants and be responsible for it. He did so, and got me extensive credit. I bought my goods from Howard...