Existing comment:
February 4, 1848:
Sutter and Marshall attempt to stake the first mining claim by singing a twenty-year lease with a local Indian tribe. In exchange for 12 square miles of land, they promise to give the Indians clothing and farm tools. The lease agreement is officially denied. California's military governor, Color Richard Mason states in rejecting the claim that the United States does not recognize "the rights of Indians to lease, rent, or sell their lands."
March 15, 1848:
In the beginning, news spreads slowly. The first newspaper account appears on the back page of the San Francisco's The Californian. The brief account read:
Gold Mine Found:
In the newly made raceway of the sawmill recently erected by Captain Sutter, on the American fork, gold has been found in considerable quantities. One person brought thirty dollars' worth to New Helvetia [Sutter's Fort], gathered there in a short time. California, no doubt, is rich in mineral wealth; great chances her fro [here for] scientific capitalists. Gold has been found in almost every part of the country."
May 12, 1848:
Mormon entrepreneur Sam Brannan stirs gold fever through the streets of San Francisco when he dramatically waves a bottle of gold flakes over his head shouting:
"Gold, Gold, Gold from the American River!"
Some attribute this promotion to the beginning of the Gold Rush. In the next two years, newspapers around the world spread the word that California's immense quantities of gold were free for the taking. |