and six for me.' The piece of gold I must describe. Its value is between four and five dollars. It looks like a piece of spruce gum just out of the mouth of a school-girl, except the color. It is rather flat, full of indentations, just as the teeth make in a piece of nice gum. There are one or two rough points on the edge, which, with a little stretch of the imagination, gives the appearance of a man's head with a helmet on; then, turn it another way, and, as Mrs Wiemer said, 'it looks like some kind of varmint or other. It can easily be identified by any one who has ever seen it before. Other accounts of secondary importance are given by Barstow, Sherman, Mason, Bidwell, the Annals of San Francisco, the Representative Men of the Pacific, Tuthill, Hittell, Dunbar, Woods, and a multitude of newspaper writers.

Going back to Bigler's diary I find it of interest to follow him for a few days after the discovery.

The men hastened the work at the mill, so as to keep by their promise with Sutter, and be sooner able to dig for gold; and though some spoke of throwing up their employment, yet the fear that the mines were not rich deterred them. On Sundays, however, they went into the tail-race, and scratching about with their butcher knives frequently obtained from three to eight dollars. The first gold discovery beyond the limits of the Coloma saw-mill was on Sunday, the 6th of February. Early that morning Bigler said he would cross the stream and try the bare rocks facing the saw-mill; Barger said he would go with him, and the two started, taking only their knives. Up to this time none of the mill hands knew the simple process of washing, nor had they ever seen rockers; the way they gathered the gold was to pick it up grain by grain as it lay on the rocks, or with their knives dig it out from the crevices and holes. On this Sunday Bigler secured ten dollars. For determining the value of gold-dust, he made a light pair of wooden scales; and by balancing twelve and a half cents in silver with gold-dust, he formed a ratio of one bit to two dollars, twenty-five cents to four dollars, and so on. Bigler seems to have been the only one who was seriously affected by the news of the gold discovery. Not content to wait till the next Sunday, he on Saturday afternoon threw down his pick, for he with Brown and others were digging at the race, and

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broke out, "I say, Brown, let us have your gun, I want to shoot some ducks. Brown told him to take it, and Bigler left them. As he walked along the river banks he kept thinking of gold; and when about half a mile below the mill he fancied that on the opposite side of the stream the rocks looked similar to the one whereon he had found gold the previous Sunday. They were bare, and it also seemed that there had formerly been a slide; so taking off his clothes he waded over, and found the ground glistening with golden dust. The next day was rainy, so the men remained within doors; but Bigler, without saying a word to any one, started down the river, crossed over to the same rocks, and obtained eight dollars. On the following Sunday, still keeping his own counsel, he went to the same spot and picked up a little over an ounce and a half. All through the next week he worked steadily at the mill; "but about this gold, if there was anything in it," he asked himself, "should not the brethren elsewhere know of it?" So he wrote of it to Jesse Martin, Israel Evans, and Ephraim Green, three of his former messmates in the Mormon battalion, then at the flouring-mill, but asked them not to mention it to any one, unless to those in whom they could trust. On Tuesday, the 22d of February, a fall of snow stopped work, and while the men were at breakfast Marshall walked into the cabin and said, "Boys, it is going to be slippery to-day," pointing to the upper story of the saw-mill, which had to be raised, "and rather bad about putting up the frame; you may work if you see fit, or let it alone." The men were glad to take a holiday, and each one had an excuse. Alick Stevens declared he wanted to mend his trousers; Brown thought he would prepare a dish peas; and Bigler, who was present, said to Brown, "If you will let me have your gun, I will go and shoot deer." "Take it," was the reply. Bigler started, and climbing a hillock a little to the west of the mill, looked about as hunters do before choosing

of

their course. His eye glancing down the river fell upon the rocks where he had twice found gold. He hesitated for a moment, then turned to the right, made for the river, and was soon opposite his favorite place. The late rains had swollen the stream, and the water was very cold. This did not deter him, for undressing and carrying his gun and clothes, he waded over; but when he reached the opposite bank he was so benumbed that he could not work. He tried to light a fire, but his fingers refused to hold the flint and steel. He then tried to catch fire from his gun, a cap-lock, but while in the water the charge had got wet. The only way left was to run and jump; and the most exasperating part of it was that right before him, staring him in the face, was what he sought, and for which he had braved the danger of deadly cramps, but which now he was powerless to grasp. Snow had fallen; the day was cloudy, and the mists heavy. On the bare rock the snow soon melted; in the crevices and deep places it remained. As soon as he became a little warm, Bigler set himself to work, first searching the upper rocks, thence slowly working his way down to the water's edge, where it was so plentiful that he spent the remainder of the day picking it up, grain by grain, from the tiniest speck to the lump worth over five dollars. As he dug out the gold, he put it in his cap. The labor was so engrossing that night came on before he was aware of it. arose, and tried to straighten himself, he cried out with pain. He thought his back was broken; and without recrossing the river, he made his way along the bank, until when opposite the dam, he called for Brown to bring over the raft.

As he

Meanwhile the suspicions of his comrades had been aroused, and no sooner had he reached the cabin than they began to question him. Why had he crossed the river? Or if he wished to hunt on that side why had he not crossed it in the morning? It was no use trying to deceive them further, nor was Bigler in the

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humor for it. Drawing the rag in which the gold was wrapped from his pocket-"No," exclaims the narrator parenthetically "not that exactly either; I will tell the truth Mr Bancroft; I had tied it up for safe-keeping in the corner of my shirt," he showed it to his friends. They took it from him, weighed it, and found that he had gathered a little short of an ounce and a half. There was no further secret digging for Bigler, for on the next Sunday, the 27th of February, five others determined to accompany him; and they spent the day, lying prostrate with their faces to the ground, scratching and hunting for the precious particles.

That night arrived from below three of the Mormon boys, Fiefield, Sidney Willis, and Wilford Hudson, with their guns and blankets on their backs. It appears the secret written to Martin, Green, and Evans, was told, for easier keeping, to other three, who finding it heavy, started at once for the saw-mill, saying to their companions that they were going on a visit, and for a few days' shooting. Marshall happened to be in the house when they arrived, and instead of being offended at Bigler's faithlessness, talked good humoredly about their prospects till a late hour, and gave Hudson permission to dig in the tail-race. Therefore early next morning the three went thither, and not long after Hudson picked up a lump worth about six dollars. On Thursday, the 2d of March, the Mormons took their departure for the flouring-mill, Willis and Hudson following the river to look for gold, and Fiefield, accompanied by Bigler, going by the road.

All four met at the flouring-mill. All the way down the river, though passing over some of the richest deposits, Willis and Hudson gathered only fifty cents; and so disgusted were they that they refused to have anything more to do with the business, though urged by their friends, who volunteered to go back with them. Bigler, however, returned to

Coloma, where nothing of note occurred till Sunday, the 11th of March, when Marshall started the sawmill running. The following week was spent in deepening the fall in the tail-race; but on Sunday all went gold-digging, when Bigler secured two ounces. About this time Bigler took charge of the Indians, teaching them to saw and chop wood. Though anxious enough to learn, they were extremely awkward, and were continually hurting or cutting themselves. He worked in this manner until Friday, the 7th of April, when he, Stevens, and Brown, started for the fort to have a settlement with Sutter, and to tell him that they wished to leave for Salt Lake. On the evening of the next day they arrived at the flouringmill, and found the place well-nigh deserted. They were told that Willis and Hudson, with others, were up the river getting gold. Bigler stayed over Sunday at the flouring-mill to make arrangements as to what they should buy of Sutter for their intended journey. Those present agreed to send in advance a few men to pioneer a route across the Sierra, the main body to be in readiness to start in the beginning of June, with the exception of eight men who were to leave the following Saturday with an express for the States. Next day Bigler and his friends started for the fort with Browett who was to act as spokesman, but were unable to see Sutter, or buy the seeds, cattle, horses, and two brass cannon they wished. On Tuesday they left the fort for home, intending to turn their attention for the rest of their stay to gold-digging. As they could not make the journey in a day, they encamped for the night at a creek fifteen miles from the flouring-mill, and next morning Bigler, whose mind was running in one direction, began to look for gold; and he and his four companions soon found about ten dollars. As Willis and Hudson were not far away, they determined to look them up and see what success had attended them; so keeping close to the river they soon came across them, at what afterward was called