MARSHALL'S GOLD DISCOYEET A LECTURE (The Fourth op the Sixth Annuaj:- Course of Lick Lectures) JOHN S. HITXKLL 9^.1 IM DELIVERED BEFORE THE IN PIONEER HALL, SAN FRANCISCO, On THE 24th of January, 1893, the 45th Anniversary OF THE Discovery. _y^v SAN FRANCISCO, B. F. Stekett, Book akd Job Peintek, r32 Clay Steeet, 1893. MARSHALL'S GOLDDISCOVERY. Mr. President, Fellow Pioneers, IvAdies and Gen- tlemen: To-day is the Forty-fifth anniversary of the greatest event ia the history of our State; the day when the gold deposits of the Sierra Nevada were discovered at Coloma by James W. Mar- shall. It was the 24th of January, 1848, that caused the great migrations of 1849, and of subsequent years, to California; that made possible the admission of our State into the Union on the 9th of September, 1850; that attracted settlers to all the American territories west of the Rocky Mountains; that indirectly built up San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane City as they now are; that connected the Atlantic and the Pacific by numerous lines of railway across our continent and across the Isthmus of Panama; that gave the hint and the aid for the opening of the mines of Australasia as well as of Western America; and that threw more than $3,000,000,000 in precious metal into the commerce of the world. To our Society, and especially to its senior members, this is a day of great and happy significance. It caused us to come to California from distant parts of the world. It brought us to a land which seems to us the most attractive part of the earth. It enriched our lives with more instructive experiences than we should probably have gained elsewhere. It enabled us to participate directly or indirectly in the organization of the State government, and in the establishment of our local industries, many of them peculiar to our State and some of 4 Marshall's Gold Discovery. them original with us. It developed California from rudeness, poverty, obscurity and semi- barbarism, into brilliant, complex and wealthy enlightenment, under our eyes, in the midst of our labors and as part ot our personal consciousness. Our identification of the growth of the man with the progress of the State is one of the chief causes of the strong State pride — many call it the excessive State pride — of the Pioneers. My tramp of 1200 miles across the plains — for I walked so far before I purchased a horse — ; my foolhardy venture with Ben Thorne, now Sheriflf of Calaveras County, in swimming the rapids of Snake river after dark for the purpose of buying a horse at an Indian camp; my loss of the return trail and of my wardrobe, with the exception of one garment which did not reach down to my knees; my profane wanderings in that classic attire for four hours through the sage-brush on. a cold and moonless night; my arrival at an emigrant camp, where the man on guard raised his rifle to shoot me as a prowling redskin, saying, when I claimed to be as white as he was, " White men don't go about dressed that way ; " my labors in the mines of what is now Shasta County; my participation in the Cottonwood Prospecting Expedition, of which Alexander Andrews, of Redding, and Abraham Cunningham, of Shingle- town, are, besides myself, the only surviving members; my success in finding diggings so rich, that we seriously discussed and even worried over the question, whether we should use pack-mules or ox-teams to take our gold to San Francisco; my disappointment when the extreme richness proved to be limited to a few spots where the prospects had been taken ; my trip down the Sacramento river in a whale boat in May, 1850; my experience during the Vigilance Committee excitement of 1856; my attack of the early grape fever and my share in the company which planted the vinej^ards and laid out the town of Anaheim; my speculations in mines at Washoe, and in the lands of South San Francisco and Vallejo — speculations that were to, but did not, make me a millionaire; my admiration of my speculative genius when the market value of my prop- erty rose several thousand dollars a day for week after week; my malediction of my luck when the booms burst before I had Marshall's Gold Discovery. 5 cleaned up; these, with many others of less note, make up an aggregate ot experiences, which in their variety and impress- iveness far exceed those which I imagine would have come to me if I had spent m y life east of the Rocky Mountains. I have good reason for asserting that my own experiences have been much less varied and impressive than those of many of mj fellow-pioneers. If success were to be measured by money only, perhaps I might say that a majority of the senior pioneers have been failures — not greater failures than the average of men, but much greater, when our unparalleled opportunities are con- sidered. Luckily a large fortune is not necessary to happiness; in many cases it does not protect men from bitter and life-long physical and mental suffering, nor from those base feelings and low habits which are incompatible with many of the nobler enjoj^ments. The chief success in life is the development of character and capacity, and this was a distinctive feature of pioneer times. In the early years after the gold discovery, California brought out all there was in men. It stimulated their strong points and exposed their weak ones. It opened their minds, it tested their courage, it awakened their ambition, it ripened their judgment, it rewarded their industry and made them feel that life was worth living, and had given them a fair share of its good things— thanks to the 24th of January, 1848. For the purpose of commemofating the day, I have been requested to tell the story of Marshall's Gold Discovery, and I trust you will be indulgent to me if I should repeat the sub- stance of what you have read or of what I have published. Besides desiring a lecture appropriate to the day, the officers of our Society wish to make a formal declaration that they accept this as the true date, and that they do not agree with those pioneers of California, who, in various cities east of the Rocky Mountains, celebrate the gold discovery by an annual dinner on the i8th or 19th of January. Let us recall the condition of California in the beginning of 1848. It was a territory which had been conquered from Mexico 18 months previously. It had not been ceded to the 6 Marshali^'s Gold Discovery. United States by treaty. A large majority of its white inhabi- tants were Mexicans in blood and sympathy. Most of their xwealth was in their cows. The Americans held possession only by their military and naval forces, except in San Fran- cisco, Sonoma, and in the Sacramento Valley, where they predominated in number among the white residents. Capt. Sutter, a native of Baden, of Swiss parentage, a graduate of a Military Academy of Berne, after serving as an officer in the Swiss Guards of Charles X. of France, until his dethronement in 1830, and having been naturalized in the United States, and afterwards in Mexico, owned a ranch on the eastern bank of the Sacramento river, and occupied an adobe fort to which he had given the name of New Helvetia. This establishment, several miles east of the point where Sacramento City afterwards grew up, was at the head of navi- gation for sailing vessels on the Sacramento river, and where the immigrants crossing the continent by land, first found a settlement of white men in California. As it was expected that American immigrants would be numerous and would nearly all come that way, New Helvetia was of much pros- pective importance, and the best place for a trading station in the interior of the territory-. Sutter had gone into the business of growing wheat. He had found that in favorable seasons the land would yield good crops. He had sold many tons for exportation, anl he depended upon it for most of his revenue. Knowing that he could make more from it if he could grind it into flour, early in 1847, he determined to construct a flour-mill, and also a saw-mill which should furnish the lumber for his buildings. Among the men working at New Helvetia was James W. Marshall, a native of New Jersey, a carpenter and wheel- wright by trade, a good mechanic, sober, honest and indus- trious. Marshall found the place for a saw- mill in the beautiful little valley of Coloma, where there was an abund- ance of good timber and excellent water power, 40 miles from Sacramento on the south fork of the American river. He and Sutter then went into partnership. Sutter was to furnish the capital and the laborers, Marshall was to superintend the con- Marshai^l's Gold Discovery. 7 struction and to manage the mill after completion. About the ist of September, Marshall, with two white men, one white woman as cook, and ten Indians, went to Coloma and began ^vork. At intervals Sutter sent additional laborers, untif in January, Marshall had a dozen white men, most ' of them Latter Day Saints, who, after crossing the plains in the Mormon battalion to aid in the conquest of California, had been mustered out. Among these Latter Day Saints 'were Henry W. Bigler and Azariah Smith, who kept journals which they have preserved, and who are both now living. The little community at Coloma was not perfectly peaceful. There was a woman in it ! She was the wife of Peter Weimer and was employed to cook for the white men. Besides her husband and her little boy, she perhaps had other favorites for whom she would keep back " the best part of the victuals," as Bigler says in his journal. She took oflfense because on one occasion some of the men did not come promptly to break- fast, and they were offended because she threatened to give them no breakfast at all. There are situations in life when to some people prose seems inadequate to the proper expression of their feelings. Such was now the case with Mr. Bigler, and to his private journal he confided the story of woman's cruelty in the following rhyme : " On Christmas day in bed she swore. That she would cook for us no more, Unless we'd come at the first call, For ' I am mistress of you all.' " On the 23rd of January, five of the men, including Bigler, moved into a cabin which they had built for themselves,''aud there they did their own cooking, and shared their dainties equally in spite of the tyranny of womankind in general, and of Mrs. Weimer in particular. Almost cut off from the rest of the world, this little company was astonished on the 24th of January, 1848, by Marshall's assertion that he had found gold, and Bigler noted the fact in his journal, the only record of it made on that day. Marshall showed them r,ome small particles of yellow metal which lie 8 MarshalIv's Gold Discovery. had picked up on the rocky bed of the tail-race. The largest of these particles was little larger than a grain of wheat, but flat and irregular in shape. The first piece which he picked up weighed about the fortieth part of an ounce, and was not worth more than fifty cents. He hammered his metal on a stone and found it to be malleable; he heated it, and it did not melt readily nor become discolored in the fire. Some of his companions ridiculed the idea that he had found gold, and none attributed much value to his discovery, but he was confi- dent and enthusiastic. In the evening he turned the water into the race again, and in the morning turned it off", so that he could examine the bed, and he found more gold. This procedure he repeated for several days. His excitement in- duced him to take his samples to New Helvetia, where Sutter after testing them with acid and trying their specific gravity, decided that sure enough they were gold. Marshall, though delighted with the confirmation of his belief that he had discovered gold, did not neglect the work on his mill, nor did any of his laborers, though they gathered all the yellow metal that came in sight. None of them had ever seen placer mining, or had read how auriferous gravel was washed. At first they picked up the gold exposed in the bed of the race; then on Sundays they searched for it; after some weeks they tried to wash it out; in April they went into gold- washing as a business; in May, adventurers from the valleys began to come in; in June nearly all the Americans who had beea living about the Bay were in the mines, and before the end of the year gold- washing was the chief industry of the territory, and the gold fever was raging in the Eastern States. Those persons who knew Sutter and Marshall personally, generally gave the chief credit of the discovery to Sutter, but he did not make any claim to that honor. He was genial in manner, cordial on brief acquaintance, sociable with every- body, sympathetic and ready to help not only friends and acquaintances, but also strangers, even when he could not give aid without injustice to himself and his family. His extreme and noted liberality to many immigrants when they Marshall's Gold Discovery. 9 arrived in want at New Helvetia after the hard trip across the continent, contributed to make him the best known and most popular Californian in the State, and the most famous one elsewhere. For years he was rich, and he always had wealthy friends. Indeed, nearly all the men who occupied prominent political positions in the State, between 184S and i860, were proud to be classed among his friends. They cherish his memory, and some of them to this day resent the idea that the main credit of the gold discovery should not be awarded to him. In 1870, Sutter had become so poor that he applied to the legislature for relief, and an Act was passed granting him a pension of $3000 a year for two years. The two succeeding legislatures continued the pension, each for two years, making six 3'ears, of which more than two elapsed after he had finally left the State — to which, however, he hoped to return. He ceased to be a resident of California in 1873, when he moved to lyititz, Pennsylvania, and devoted his attention to the prosecution of his claims at Washington. He had presented petitions to the United States land commission in California for the confirmation of three land grants. The first of these was for eleven square leagues, or 48,000 acres in New Hel- vetia, — including the site of Sacramento City, — under grant made by Gov. Alvarado in 1841. The second was for 22 square leagues, or 96,000 acres, in Yuba and Sutter counties, granted in 1845 by Gov. Micheltorrena. The third was for four square leagues in Sacramento County, in trust for the Mokelumne Indians, under the guardianship of Sutter. The second and third of these claims were rejected by the Courts. The first was confirmed, and was extremely valuable, but Sutter did not manage well. He sold much of his land at a low price; he was cheated out of more; and he was compelled to incur great expense in defending his title to his property. Under the promise of Commodore Sloat, that the United States would protect every title to land held under color of right, Sutter was entitled to the confirmation of his 22 league ranch; a grant of unquestioned genuineness given in payment for important services to the Mexican government, and it was lo Marshall's Gold Discovery. •only a moderate payment. Besides demanding indemnity for the ranch of which he had been deprived, he solicited compen- sation for the supplies which he had furnished to indigent immigrants, and to officers and men in the United States arm}^ and navy. But Congress did nothing for him; he attended session after session in vain. On the iSth of June, 1880, at the age of 77 years, he died in Washington, and his grave is in Lititz, 20 miles south of Fredericksburg, where was born the founder of several notable, educational and philanthropic in- stitutions of California, and the benefactor of our Society — James Lick. Marshall was relatively an obscure man. He had neither family, wealth, nor rich men among his intimate friends. He was rude in manner, careless in his dress, and unsociable in his habits. Though not dissipated he was thriftless. The greater wealth and honor secured by others provoked his re- sentment. He became querulous and morose. He imagined that neighbors who wished to aid him were trying to defraud him. He repelled kindly attentions ; he became extremely suspicious, and often failed to discriminate between suspicion and fact. Always cranky, in his last years his crankiness ap- proached, if it did not reach, mental unsoundness. Before the summer of 1849 his saw-mill had gone to ruin, and he had devoted himself to the business of gold digging. He never found or owned a claim of great productiveness, and if he accumulated money he did not keep it long or invest it in anything that yielded a regular income. In 1870 his friends determined to solicit the legislature to pension him as it had previously pensioned Sutter; and for the purpose of influencing public opinion in his favor, his bio- graphy, well but briefly written by George F. Parsons, was published. The legislature, at its next session, gave him $200 a month for two years, and two succeeding legislatures continued the pension, reducing it to $100 a month, so that in six years he received $9,800 in all, as compared with $18,000 given during an equal period to Sutter. The last seven years of Marshall's life were spent in extreme poverty, and on the loth of August, Marshai^l's Gold Discovery. ii 1885, he died at the age of 73, at Kelsey, not far from Coloma. His grave on a hill overlooking the little valley in which he •discov^ered the gold, is marked by a bronze monument erected by the Native Sons of the Golden West. It would be incorrect to say that Marshall was the first per- son to find gold in California. In 1839 auriferous gravel at- tracted attention in San Francisquito canyon about fifty miles •distant, and in direction nearly north from the city of Los Angeles. This placer gave employment to a few Mexicans during the wet season and produced several hundred dollars annually until it was abandoned for the richer deposits to the northward. It did not contribute to the discovery or develop- ment of the gold mines of the Sierra Nevada. Having told how the gold was found at Coloma, I will now till how the correct date of the discovery was brought to pub- lic attention. No inquiry was made on the subject until after a lapse of eight years. On the 9th of February, 1856, mention of a day — and the first printed mention known to me — appeared in the California Chronicle in a letter signed but not written, by Marshall ; who in it said that he found the gold on the 19th of January, 1848. A second statement over his signature, but written at his dictation by J. M, Hutchings, a member of our society, was printed in Hutching's Magazine of November, 1857. There Mar- shall said he found the gold on the i8th, 19th or 20th of January, he could not be certain which day. He made a third statement in his biography — written from full notes of his con- versation by G. F. Parsons — and then he again fixed the 19th as the day, and added that four days after the discovery he went with his gold to show it to Sutter. Nowhere did he mention any written record made by himself, or by any other person for him in reference to the discovery at or about the time of its occurrence. His only letter printed from his own handwriting — so far as I know — is in Hutching's Magazine of November, 1857, a brief and surly refusal to furnish his photo- graph for the engraver, and with a foolish complaint against the government for not paying him for his accidental dis- 12 Marshall's Gold Discovery. covery. For thirty years there was no critical discussion of Marshall's date. The Californians generally accepted the 19th as the day, but did not celebrate it. Some Societies of Pioneers of California in eastern cities have an annual dinner on the 1 8th. The committee of our Society in charge of the annual cele- bration of the 9th of September, 1885, requested me to deliver an address on the discovery of gold, to which public attention had been called anew by the recent death of Marshall. In that address I mentioned the 19th of January as the date of the discovery, and nobody at that time questioned the correct- ness of my statement. Having heard that Henry W. Bigler was living, I sent a copy of my address to him, with a request for correction of any errors. He replied that the date did not agree with his diary. Further correspondence followed; he sent me extracts from his diary, and referred me to Azariah Smith, who also sent me extracts from his diary. From John Bidwell I received Sutter's journal, and all of these documents were placed in the archives of our Society, where they now are. There also is the entire sheet from Bigler's journal, con- taining his original entry on the 24th of January, 1848, men- tioning the fact that " this day some kind of mettle was found in the tail-race that looks like goald." The journal of Sutter under date of January 28th, says : " Mr. Marshall arrived from the mountains on very important business." This agrees with Marshall's statement that four days after the discovery, he went to New Helvetia to show his samples to Sutter. It agrees also with Smith's journal, which in an entry of January 30th — his entries were made usually on Sunday — said gold had been discovered in the previous week. There is only one theory upon which the correctness of Bigler's date can be denied, and that is that his diary was not written at the time of the events recorded but was made up afterwards. This supposi- tion, however, would find no favor with any intelligent critic who has examined Bigler's diary, and there seen the internal evidences of the observant, methodical and truthful character of its author or compared it with Sutter's diary and followed Marshall's Gold Discovery. 13 ^^ ^ ,\ ^ Marshai^Iv's Gold Discovery. 15 out the confirmations whicli the three diaries give to one another. We not only know that contemporaneous documentary evid- ence is more reliable than the unassisted memory in reference to events that occurred in distant years, but we also know that Marshall's memory was less trustworthy than that of the aver- age witness, and that it led him into many mistakes and con- tradictions. Upon this latter point overwhelming proofs could be produced if they were needed, but the case is complete without them. And here I may say incidentally that the three large parties of Mormons who came to California more than forty years ago, all left creditable records in our State. This remark applies to the Brooklyn Expedition, which came by sea and settled in San Francisco in 1846 ; to the Mormon Bat- talion, which came overland by the southern route and garri- soned the southern part of the State in 1847; and to the colony which came from Salt I^ake in 1851 and settled at San Bernar- dino where they remained seven years. The names of Henry "W. Bigler, the recorder of the gold discovery, of John M. Horner, a leader in pioneer agriculture, and of Samuel Bran- nan, publisher of San Francisco's first newswaper, her first capitalist, a public spirited citizen, and President of our Society, are inseparably and honorably connected with our local history. It may be said truly in one sense that the precise date of the gold discovery is a matter of no importance, and yet in another sense it is important. The human mind is so constituted that it prizes the knowledge of historical events with the incidents of time, place and circumstance, as necessary to give precision and completeness to our conceptions. Dates of the chief facts in our lives, in the growth of our city, of our State, and of our Union, are matters that deserve careful investigation, preser- vation and remembrance at the occurrence of their anniver- saries. They are akin to the symbols which we cherish. The spirit of the Declaration of Independence is fully contained in the printed copies of the document, and is explained in our books, and yet no American citizen would consent to sell the original manuscript for a million dollars to any foreign museum. The stars and stripes even when printed on cheap and dirty i6 Marshall's Gold Discovery. linen, may be displayed and treated before us in such a man- ner as to arouse our enthusiasm or fill us with indignation. To many persons here present, the questions may have oc- curred : " Why is it that this Society and similar societies in the State, the associations of the Native Sons, and the people of California have never celebrated this most important day in its history ? Why is it that the only State anniversary which they observe is the less important 9th of September?" These questions are pertinent and I will answer them. At the time of Marshall's discover}^ the men at Coloma did not appreciate its importance. Most of them left California within a few months and never returned for the purpose of residence. The two who had kept journals made their homes in small towns of Utah and were unknown by name to the leading citizens of our State. Only one of them made a written note of the event on the day nf its occurrence, and his record was not published until after a lapse of thirty years. Before 1856 nobody inquired about the date or circumstances of the dis- covery. When Marshall made statements that the gold was found on the iSth, 19th or 20th of January, and that four days afterwards he took samples to Sutter, neither Sutter or anj'- other person who knew that he kept a journal thought of ex- amining it for the purpose of finding whether it would fur- nish any information. Marshall did not exert himself to ob- tain public observance of the anniversary, and on account of his rudeness his acquaintances were not disposed to make much effort to exalt him or anything that was his. Now let us look at the rival and more successful daj^, the 9th of September. In the year 1849 California had attracted nearly 100,000 men, exclusive of women and children. It had a productive capacity equal to that of a State with 500,000 inhabitants. The monthly product of its industry was equal in value to that of any other community with 2,000,000 inhabitants. By custom, the number of its people then entitled it to recognition as a State ; but its application for admission was resisted and de- layed under objections for which it was not responsible and which might lead to its exclusion for years. The great ambi- tion of every American territory is to reach statehood, and in Marshall's Gold Discovery. 17 no other territory was this ambition so potent as in California, nor in any other territory was the delay so keenly resented, or was the news of admission received with such demonstrations of gratification. The steamer Oregon which entered our har- bor on the 1 8th of October, 1850, bringing the news, with her masts and rigging covered with flags, and with the continuous firing of cannon as the preconcerted signal to inform the people before the steamer arrived at the wharf, that California was a State, filled San Francisco with excitement, led to the imme- diate cessation of nearly all business and converted the re- mainder of the day into a time of universal rejoicing. Cannon were fired at short intervals until sunset, and the evening was brilliant with rockets, with bonfires on the hills, and with the illumination of the houses. Eleven days later, on the 29th of October, there was a formal celebration, with a decoration of the city, a procession, an oration by Judge Bennett of the Supreme Court, and in the evening a grand ball. It was for the purpose of participating in this celebration that the first meeting of the Pioneers of California was called, and our Society grew out of that meeting. To the Pioneers who then met, as to all the Americans in the State, the 9th of September seemed to be the great day of California, the one State day to which they had looked forward with hope, the one State day upon which they expected to look back with satisfaction. They declared that it ought to be celebrated for ever; they did their utmost to give it prominence, and sub- sequent national troubles increased their affection for it. We are creatures of habit. We do what we have seen others do. Most of us are Republicans or Democrats, Protes- tants or Catholics, because our fathers were. It is the excep- tional man who asks why things are done in the conventional way, and makes experiments to find a better method. Be- cause forty years ago the Californians generally did not know the day, nor even the month, of the gold discovery, and because the great day of local interest within the range of their experience was the 9th of September, 1850, therefore they celebrated it as the chief holiday of the State, and because they did, we have continued to do so. However, it is 1 8 Marshall's Gold Discovery. possible that the time will come when the anniversary of Marshall's discovery will take a place among the days con- sidered worthy of commemoration by the people of California. AUTHORITIES. One sheet from the diary of Henry W. Bigler, containing the original record of Marshall's gold discovery, written on the 24th of January, 1848, and the only known written mention of it made on that day, in the archives of the S ^ciety of California Pioneers. Extracts from the diary of H. W. Bigler, revised by J. S. Hittell in the Overland Magazine, September, 1887. Extracts from the diary of Azariah Smith, re^nsed by J. S. Hittell, in the Overland Magazine, February, 1888. Journal of John A. Sutter. Original manuscript in the archives of the Society of California Pioneers. A collection of letters in original manuscript by John Bid- well, H. \V. Bigler, Azariah Smith, Edward C. Kemble and J. M. Hutchings, in reference to the gold discovery, in the archives of the Society of California Pioneers. Letter of Jame-^ W. Marshall in the California Chronicle of February gth, 1856. This letter was addressed to C. E. Pickett, and before publication was seen by J. S. Hittell, whose recollection is that the letter was not in Marshall's handwriting and had been written for him, but had his signa- ture. Letter of J. W. Marshall in Hutching's Magazine. Vol II., page 192. Letter of J. S. Hittell in San Francisco Bulletin of January 22nd, 1886. First publication of correct date. Life of James W. Marshall, by George F. Parsons, Sacra- mento, 1870. Address before the Society of California Pioneers at their annual celebration, on the 9th of September, 1885. by J, S. Hittell. Article by J. S. Hittell on Gold Discovery in the Century Magazine, February, 1891. Letter of H. W. Bigler in S. F. Bulletin, January 2nd, 1871, about the discovery, without mention of the date. Marshall's Gold Discovery. 19 Interview with Mrs. Weiraer in the S. F. Bulletin of De- cember igth, 1874. Her statements conflict on man}" points with those of Bigler and Marshall. NOTES. As to Mrs. Weimer's piece of gold, which is worth about $5 and is represented to be the first piece picked up by Mar- shall, see the California Chronicle, February 9, 1856, and Hutching's Magazine, Vol. II., page 196, also Mrs. Weimer's interview in S. F. Bulletin, December 19th, 1874. The Museum of the Society of California Pioneers has the iron crank of the Coloma saw-mill. This crank was forged at Sutter's Fort on the 7th and 8th of January, 1848, by Levi Fifield, and was presented to the Pioneer Society by Marshall. RESOLUTIONS OF THE Society of California Pioneers. At the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Society of California Pioneers held February ist, 1S93, Director Chever offered the following resolutions and asked their adoption. "Resolved, That a vote of thanks be given to our Member, John S. Hittell, for his interesting and instructive lecture on ' Marshall's Gold Discovery,' given at Pioneer Hall, San Francisco, on the 24th of January, 1893, ^^^ that we fully in- dorse his conclusions that the discovery of gold by Marshall was made on the 24th day of January, 1848. The investiga- tion of this matter by Mr. Hittell has been thorough, and his proofs, comprising Bigler's diary kept at the saw-mill at the time when gold was first found there, and Sutter's journal, 20 Marshall's Gold Discovery. kept at Sutter's Fort, which records the important news brought by Marshall, fully confirms Marshall's statement, that four days after gold was discovered he took some of it to Sut- ter's Fort to be tested. Regarding this discovery of gold as an important historical event, be it " Resolved : That Mr. Hittell be requested to place his manuscript in the archives of this Society for preservation with the original papers of Sutter and Bigler relating to the discovery of gold ; and that 2,000 copies of John S. Hittell's lecture be printed for distribution." On being duly .=:econded the resolutions were adopted. At the regular meeting of the Society of California Pioneers held February 6th, 1S93, Mr. E. K. Chever ofiered the follow- ing resolutions and asked their adoption ; "Resolved, That the historical evidences prove conclusively that the discovery of the gold deposits of the Sierra Nevada was made by James W. Marshall on the 24th day of January, 1848. ' ' Resolved, That as the cause of the large immigration of 1849 and of subsequent years, that day is second in importance to no other in the history of California. "Resolved, That in every year hereafter, the 24th day of January should be commemorated b}" our Society as one of the chief anniversaries of the State." On being duly seconded the resolutions were adopted unani- mously. e>v^^^/V3 MARSHALL'S GOLD DISCOYERT A LECTURE (The Fourth of the Sixth Annual Course of Lick Lectures) JOHN S. HITTELL DELIVERED BEFORE THE IN PIONEER HALL, SAN FRANCISCO, On THE 24th of January, 1893, the 45th Anniversary OF the Discovery. _y^v. SAN FEANCISCO, B. F. Sterett, Book and Job Printeb, 532 Clay Stuket, ]893. -^^,-..^-.-^^^ ^3^