California's El Dorado Yesterday and Today
- ISBN-10
- 1230341153
- ISBN-13
- 9781230341156
- Pages
- 30
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013-09
- Publisher
- Theclassics.Us
- Author
- Herman Daniel Jerrett
Description
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 edition. Excerpt: ... carry away the sand and gravel. This work had been going on for some time and every morning Marshall would visit the works, and after the gates had been closed and the water ceased flowing, he would walk down the uncompleted mill-race to see what had been accomplished the night before and the day previous. CHAPTER VI. The Discovery of Gold. We are now approaching the most important event of California history, for on the occasion of which we are about to speak, Marshall had strolled to the lower end of the race where he stood for a moment, looking down along the bottom. At this juncture his eyes were attracted to a glittering substance which lay beneath the water in a crevice of the bedrock. He stooped and picked it up. It was of a yellow color, unlike anything he had ever seen before. It must be a mineral of some kind, he thought, and he tried to recall everything he had ever heard, or read about the various minerals and rocks. Then the thought came to him, "could it be gold" as he remembered reading, gold was yellow in color, heavy and malleable. He tried the latter test and then leisurely sought the company of his workmen and made known to them his find. This was on Wednesday, the 19th day of January, 1848, according to Marshall's own statement. The nugget weighed about six pennyweights (or $5.00). After passing a few joking remarks about his gold mine, he proceeded to the residence of Mrs. Weimer, the wife of his foreman, Peter L. Weimer, and, showing the nugget to her, he asked her permission to drop it into a kettle of soft soap which she was preparing for washing purposes, where he left it for three days. Upon taking it out of the soap, Marshall noted its brightness, and that the lye had not attacked the body of the metal itself....
