Take a trip back in time, to the days of old, to the days of gold, to the days of '49. "The California Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisted" will take the reader on a trip through California's Gold Rush Country, stopping at mining camps and historic sites along Highway 49, The Golden Chain Highway. 266 full-color photos easily identify the old buildings and sites that date back to the 1850's. A history of each mining camp still around for visitors to see today is included, relating how the camp was discovered, its early settlers, and interesting stories. Brief biographies of such famous Gold Rush-era citizens as John Sutter, James Marshall and Black Bart are also included. An excellent resource for students interested in the California Gold Rush, don't forget to take it along on your next trip to the Gold Country. In a peaceful, gentle valley surrounded by fine stands of tall timber, James W. Marshall served as the construction superintendent of a sawmill being built for Captain John Sutter. As work on the mill neared completion, it was found that the water flowing through the tailrace was backing up, which prevented the waterwheel from turning properly. To solve this problem the tailrace had to be deepened to increase the flow of water and thereby create a stronger force to turn the wheel.
With the men working on deepening and widening the race during the day, it became Marshall's custom to raise the gate every evening to let the water wash out as much sand and gravel through the night as possible; in the morning, while the men were getting breakfast, he would walk down, shut off the water, and look along the race to see if any further work needed to be done. It was on one such morning that Marshall reached into history by picking up a few glittering flakes of gold, uncovered by the digging of the race and the action of the water, which wa shed away the rocks, gravel and sand, and left the gold.
Returning quickly to the mill, Marshall shouted to the men, "Boys, by God I believe I have found a gold mine!" And even after they tested the material--it was bitten, hammered, compared to a $5 gold piece, and boiled in lye--some still expressed their disbelief. Whereupon Marshall firmly replied, "I know it to be nothing else."
