[p. 77] Chapter IX. Transition from Conquered Territory to a Free State. p. 77
While the treaty negotiations were pending between the United States and Mexico, an event occurred in California that ultimately changed the destinies of the territory. This was the discovery of gold, January 24th, 1848, at what is now known as Coloma, on the American river, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, about thirty-five miles above Sutter's Fort. Gold had previously been discovered on the San Francisquito Rancho, about forty-five miles northwesterly from Los Angeles, in the spring of 1841. Placers had been worked here, principally by Sonoran miners, up to the breaking out of the Mexican war. But the gold fields were of limited extent, water was scarce, the methods of mining crude and wasteful and this discovery created little excitement. Both discoveries were purely accidental. The first discoverer, Lopez, was hunting for stray horses. While resting under an oak tree and amusing himself by digging wild onions with his sheath knife, he turned up a nugget of gold. He made known his discovery and a number of persons came from Santa Barbara and Los Angeles to work in these placers. John W. Marshall, who made the second discovery, was engaged in building a sawmill for Captain Sutter, proprietor of Sutter's Fort and owner of an extensive grant at the junction of the American and Sacramento rivers. Marshall, to deepen the race, turned a head of water through it. The next morning while examining the effect of the water, he picked up in the race, a round piece of yellow metal, which he thought might be gold. Searching further he found several of these nuggets. He went to the fort to notify Sutter of his discovery. Sutter tested the metal with aqua fortis, pronounced it gold, and returned with Marshall to the mill to [p. 78] make further investigations. The men working on the mill had discovered the nature of the metal and had also been collecting it. Sutter found several nuggets and before leaving the mill exacted a promise from the men to keep the discovery a secret for six weeks. Beside the sawmill he was building a large flouring mill near the fort and he feared all of his men would desert for the mines. But the secret could not be kept. Mrs. Wimmer, who did the cooking fo the men at the mill, told a teamster and he told the men at the fort. The news spread slowly at first and there were many who would not believe the report. It was three months before the rush began. Kemble, the editor of the California Star, visited the mines two months after their discovery and upon his return to San Francisco pronounced them a sham and advised people to stay away. During April considerable quantities of gold were received in San Francisco and the excitement became intense. The city had been building up rapidly since the conquest; but now the rush to the mines almost depopulated it. Houses were left tenantless, business was suspended, ships were left in the bay without sailors, soldiers deserted from the forts and rancheros left their grain unharvested.
The news did not spread abroad in time to bring many gold-seekers into California during 1848. In the spring of 1849, the great rush from the outside world began-both by land and by sea. Gold had now been discovered over an area of more than two hundred miles and new fields were constantly being opened. San Francisco, which was the great entrepot for commerce and travel by sea, grew with astonishing rapidity. At the time of the discovery of gold the population of San Francisco was about 800 and the white population of California about 6000. At the close of 1849 the population of the territory numbered one hundred thousand, four-fifths of which had reached it in that one year. During 1848 Sutter's Fort was the great distributing point for the mines. Sacramento was laid out in 1849 and soon became the chief commercial city of the interior. At the end of the year its population had reached 5000.
California, in 1848, was still held as a conquered country. The Mexican laws were in force and the government was half civil and half military. The rapid influx of population brought complications. After the treaty was proclaimed in California, August 7th, 1848, Gov. Mason promulgated a code of laws that were intended to tide over affairs until a territorial government could be established by Congress. It was not satisfactory to Americans. Gov. Mason was a faithful and conscientious military officer with but little knowledge of civil affairs. He did the best he could under the circumstances, but he was able to exercise very little authority, either civil or military. His soldiers deserted to the gold fields and the municipal governments were anomalous affairs, generally recognizing no authority above themselves. Having been in the military service for thirty years, he asked to be relieved. April 12th, 1849, Brigadier-General Bennett K. Riley arrived at Monterey and the next day entered upon the duties of his office as governor. Brig.-Gen. Persifer F. Smith was made military com- [p. 79] mander of the United States troops on the Pacific coast. Most of the troops he brought with him deserted at the first opportunity after their arrival.