rant of the existence of gold in the Sierra Nevada districts. The creoles had often bought it from the Indian hunters, and in the time of the Spaniards the missions had secretly procured it in large quantities. The only obstacles which for a century had hindered the working of these mines by white men were the well known ferocity of the wild Indians, and ignorance of the exact position of the placers. After having made several excursions in the country pointed out to him by M. Gorieff, Sutter went to the governor at Monterey and asked a grant of the lands. This grant, which comprised an area measuring eighty kilometres in length and sixteen in width, was traversed by the route from San Francisco to the American posts on the Columbia river. It was a virgin region, abounding in game, profusely watered, rich in pasturage, and surrounded by mild-mannered tribes. There Sutter established himself as trapper, hunter, and agriculturist. When in 1841 the Russians evacuated Ross they sold to him their material, by which means he became strong enough successfully to withstand the provincial government. Thus was due to the Russians, the conclusion is, the gold discovery in California, and her consequent greatness. Here ends Count Scala, whom I have translated accurately, if somewhat freely.

It is possible, even probable, that the Russians of Ross and Bodega knew of the existence of gold in the Sierra foothills. They had every opportunity for acquiring such knowledge, being in frequent communication with the inhabitants of that region; and there was no special inducement for them to notify the Mexicans of the fact. But as for Sutter being aware beforehand of the existence of gold in the vicinity of New Helvetia, I am sure that he was not; first, because he told me so, and secondly, because, if he had known it his line of conduct would have been different. Further than this, it is not true that the Indios bravos were so fierce as successfully

SCALA AND SUTTER.

37

to guard their gold from the Russians. They were not fierce at all, but rather as Sutter found them aux moeurs douces et faciles."

Holinski tells of a laborer, a servant of the Russian American Company in California, who one day went to the commandant with the story that he had seen gold in the bed of a stream, and advised that a party be sent to examine it. The man was told to mind his own business.

Add to the statement of Scala the testimony of Governor Alvarado, given in the first volume of his Historia de California, and it is almost certain that the Russians of Ross and Bodega were aware of the existence of gold in the valley of California as early as 1814. During the administration of Governor Argüello, Alvarado says that gold was found in the possession of a Russian, El Loco Alexis he was called. The man was in jail at Monterey at the time, imprisoned with three others, perhaps for drunkenness, or for killing beaver, or, more likely, for being Russians. Alexis would not tell how or where he obtained the gold, and as he was shortly afterward sent to Sitka, nothing came of it. Alvarado does not hesitate to assert further that "we well knew of the existence of gold deposits on the slopes of the northern mountains, but the Indians, who were so much more numerous than we, prevented our exploring in that direction."

Because Phillips, in his Mineralogy, edition of 1818, spoke of gold in California, many thought he had knowledge of the existence of that metal in the Sierra foothills.

In the possession of the San Francisco Society of Pioneers is a stone tablet, indicating the discovery of gold on Feather river in 1818. It was presented to the society by W. F. Stewart in 1868, and is held in great estimation by the wise men of the day. The stone is of hard, yellowish, sandy texture, about twelve inches in length by an average of three inches in width,

and one inch thick. It is flat, and on one side are deeply cut, in legible letters, these words:

1818

GOLD

CAVE

IN THIS

M. SHIP

LODES

L M

This cabalistic stone is said to have been picked up on the west branch of Feather river, in 1850, by William Thomas, and given by him to A. J. Pithan, of San José, in 1851. Mr Thomas, after diligent search, was unable to find the gold cave. Discussions

of possibilities or probabilities are wholly useless. The chances are a hundred to one, in my opinion, that some miner of 1849 cut the letters for pastime, and then threw the stone away, or gave it to some one to make a good story out of.

And now comes Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo with similar testimony, that the Spaniards in California knew of gold, but could not profit by their knowledge on account of the Indians. In the first volume of his Historia de California he further states that, in 1824, while Captain Pablo de la Portilla was encamped at San Emilio, Lieutenant Antonio del Valle, who had a stock of beads, blankets, and tobacco, traded his goods with the Chauchilas and Jozimas for fourteen thousand dollars in gold, "chispas de oro," emphasizing his statement by the further assertion that "el teniente del valle trajo el oro á Monterey, y lo he tenido en mis manos; y por eso respondo de la verdad del hecho."

José de Jesus Pico, still living in San Luis Obispo, asserts that Father Martinez, the minister of the mission of that name, gave him and three fellow-soldiers, in 1829, twenty ounces of gold in one ounce balls, and that he believes the father must have picked it up at the place named San José, near the mission. He suspected that several Spaniards were for a time

SOME PROPHECIES.

39

secretly engaged at the mission in refining gold and silver, because the father had many flasks of quicksilver, as well as instruments and materials for refining those metals.

Jedediah Smith is accredited with having found placer gold near Mono lake, on the way back from California, whither he had led a party from the Salt Lake country in 1825. Thomas Sprague, writing to Edmond Randolph, in 1860, states that he was well aware of the fact, and that the spot where the gold was found was on the route to Salt lake, and east by north from Mono lake. Quite a quantity of this gold, Smith brought back with him to the American Fur Company's encampment on Green river. His partners were so pleased with his success that they induced him to return to the gold field, in which attempt he lost his life. The defeat of the party by Indians discouraged the company, and they abandoned their search for gold. Mr Sprague's statement as to the route of Smith to and from California is only partially

correct.

As further evidence that gold was believed to exist in California, may be mentioned certain laws and regulations framed by the Mexican government. Referring to the Vallejo Coleccion de Documentos, we find that on the 19th of July, 1828, President Guadalupe Victoria transmitted to the governor of California a decree of the Mexican congress equally applicable to all the Mexican states and territories. All previous decrecs prohibiting the export of gold and silver bullion were revoked, and states were permitted to collect duties. Bars, quoits, and rails must be numbered and stamped with weight and fineness. Another decree, of the 13th of September, lays down the rules for the exportation of gold and silver bullion. Permits might be obtained by presenting petition and invoices at the custom-house. Then the formalities prescribed for the authorities of the custom-house are given at great length, besides a number of stipulations and penalties.

66

Upon the assertion of M. Duflot de Mofras mainly rests the discovery of gold at San Isidro, in San Diego county by a man from Guanajuato about 1828. A San Isidro," he says in the first volume of his Exploration du Territoire de l' Oregon, des Californies, et de la Mer Vermeille, Paris, 1844, “à quatorze lieues dans l'est de San Diego, on trouve des mines d'or et d'argent qui furent exploitées il y a quinze ans par un homme de Guanajuato."

Padre Viader, a priest at Mission Santa Clara, is said to have possessed the gift of prophecy. Two years before it occurred, he foretold the drought of 1829, and advised the people to prepare for it, and plant double the usual area. He likewise predicted the discovery of gold in California, and the transfer of that land to another nationality. This reminds one of the many signs and omens pointing to the fall of Monteruma, and the Mexican conquest, which occured during the century preceding that event.

Another prophet, who died in 1830, was Padre Magin Catalá, of this same mission. Among other things he predicted that great riches would be found in the north, and that people would flock thither in great numbers. It is safe to affirm that among people of extraordinary piety no important event ever happens but that after the occurrence many persons can be found who said that it would be so.

And now for the statement of a savage among others who testify. Puleule, a Yuba, swore, as soon as he had acquired that civilized accomplishment, that when he was a boy, say in 1830, he had often amused himself by picking from the gravel large pieces of gold and throwing them into the water.

Manuel Victoria writing the Ministro de Relaciones says in 1831 that there are no mines of any value in California; that the pagans know of none; and that it is the opinion of experts that there are no minerals in the country.

The unreliable editor of The Natural Wealth of Cali