Our country in story . of old was now being woefully harbor of San Francisco was all astir. It was crowdedwith ships and thronged by thousands of people. Whathad happened ? What meant that mad rush ? What couldbe the subject of those eager, excited conversationsaround the open campfires? It was *gold! There hadcome The days of old, The days of gold, The days of forty-nine. And this is the story of their coming: Captain Sutter,a Swiss emigrant, engaged James Marshall to build awater-power saw-mill on the American Fork, a branchof the Sacramento River, a short distance from FortSut
Our country in story . of old was now being woefully harbor of San Francisco was all astir. It was crowdedwith ships and thronged by thousands of people. Whathad happened ? What meant that mad rush ? What couldbe the subject of those eager, excited conversationsaround the open campfires? It was *gold! There hadcome The days of old, The days of gold, The days of forty-nine. And this is the story of their coming: Captain Sutter,a Swiss emigrant, engaged James Marshall to build awater-power saw-mill on the American Fork, a branchof the Sacramento River, a short distance from FortSutter, and not far away from a village which has since 316 THE WEST IS LINKED WITH THE EAST 317 developed into the city of Sacramento. Let us imagineourselves visitors on the site in January of the year spot was a lonely one indeed. The only dwelling onthe place was a double log cabin. The framework of amill had just been erected and a fine dam constructed. Aband of about eighteen men were engaged in the act of. SAN FRANCISCO IN 1849 digging the mill-race. The overseer, James Marshall,observed that the lower end of the race was too narrow. The water will not flow away fast enough, he we can save labor and time by opening thedam directly into the race. No sooner said than done. The gate was raised andall night long a strong current flowed surging throughthe ditch, widening and deepening it and depositing avast miass of mud and gravel beyond the outlet. After having shut down the gate the next morning,Marshall said to one of the workmen, Let us walk downthe race and see what the water has accomplished. To-gether the two men walked along the deep track, noting 318 OUR COUNTRY IN STORY with pleasure how well the water had done its soon came to the end of the race and beheld withsurprise the vast deposit of mud and gravel. But what is this? said Marshall, hastily picking upa small glittering substance. Can it be gold? askedeach of the two men as if with
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