GOLD FEVER IN 1849 CALIFORNIA

THE discovery of gold in 1848 transformed California from a sleepy desert to one of the most heavily populated regions of America.

A man called John Augustus Sutter unwittingly started the gold rush when he sent an employee into the mountains to search out a suitable site for a sawmill.

The employee, James Marshall, got more than he bargained for when he struck gold along the Sacramento river and began the mayhem that became known as The Gold Rush.

Marshall might have kept the whole thing secret if it was not for the overexcited Sam Brannan, a merchant who collected some nuggets at Marshall's discovery site, put them in a bottle and rode through the streets of San Francisco shouting: "Gold! gold on the American River!".

Marshall was presumably the only disappointed man in California as he watched the population swell to 300,000 greedy prospectors from as far away as China.

Conditions were harsh on the trail west. Some of the so-called "49ers" were prepared to pay up to $100 for a glass of water.

Despite the difficulties in making the trip, many did and just two years after Marshall's discovery of those few gold nuggets, California became the 31st state of America.

Copyright 2003 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.