One hundred years ago gold was discovered in California by James Wilson Marshall.' Although the people of California and the rest of the country were not immediately impressed by the importance of this occurrence, Marshall's discovery eventually led to the greatest gold rush in the history of the United States. The excitement which accompanied the rush was more intense and more widespread than any other peacetime excitement in the nation's history. It raged in the inhabited areas from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic seaboard and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, spreading with great rapidity among all classes of the population and into every section of the country. In 1848 and 1849 it was usually known as the "Gold Fever," the "California Fever," the "Yellow Fever," the "California Mania," and the "Gold Mania." Tonight I shall attempt to describe some phases of this great mania which disturbed the minds of our forefathers a century ago.On January 24, 1848, Marshall found some flakes of gold in the tailrace of a sawmill which he and John A. Sutter were erecting about fifty miles northeast of Sutter's Fort.' In addition to Marshall, who was superintending the work of construction, eight white men were then laboring at the sawmill, five of whom were Mormons.' A few days later, after making various tests of the metal, Marshall mounted his horse and rode down to Sutter's Fort in order to have a further examination made. There, on January 28, in a secret conference, Sutter and Marshall subjected the metal to additional tests and satisfied themselves that the flakes were real gold. Eager not to disclose the news until his sawmill and gristmill were finished, Sutter followed Marshall back to the sawmill early in February, and, after making a personal examination of the region, obtained a promise from the mill hands to keep the discovery a secret for six weeks. 4 Although the news soon leaked out, it resulted in no immediate rush to the sawmill from any part of California.' Some people did not believe that gold had been found; others were confident that the metal could not be obtained in sufficient quantities to make mining profitable.'The first gold excitement in California, which developed very slowly, began at the sawmill. Marshall was somewhat agitated after he found the first flakes and also when he located additional particles of ore in the weeks following the initial discovery; but since he was eager to complete the mill and to start sawing lumber at the earliest possible date, he spent the greater part of his time in pursuing these objectives during February and most of March.' When Henry W. Bigler, a Mormon workman, picked up $22.50 worth of gold a half mile below the sawmill on February 22, he became excited and immediately communicated his fever to the other Mormons; but these laborers decided to continue with their regular work, not certain how extensive the deposits were.' In fact, throughout February and most of March the labor on the sawmill 4
