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California Gold Rush
Topic Started: Jun 28 2010, 06:11 PM (156 Views)
United States of America
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July 19, 1848

Reports are coming in from California that an enormous deposit of gold has been discovered along the American River, near the fort of John Sutter. The New York Herald announced yesterday that on January 24, a pioneer named James W. Marshall discovered unusual bits of metal while constructing a lumbermill north of Sacramento. At first neither Sutter nor Marshall was sure of their composition, but a subsequent examination confirmed they were small nuggets of gold.

Rumors of the discovery quickly spread throughout the territory, and in March a San Francisco newspaper officially broke the news to the public amid shouts of "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" in the city's streets. From there it traveled far and wide, reaching the East Coast and New York only this month.

The Herald reports that huge numbers of settlers are lining the docks to await the next ships to California. The Panama Railroad Company is experiencing a boom in business as individuals scramble across the isthmus, trying to get to the gold fields before other prospectors. Several steamer lines originally chartered for Oregon are now offering special rates to ferry passengers to San Francisco and Monterey, and it seems that the entire country is gripped with "gold fever."
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