A History of the California Gold Rush of the 1840s

The West has always been known and viewed as a sort of untamed land, filled with treacherous plains and terrible and treacherous beasts, seen no place other than in those lands. Whether it be what was known as North America before Columbus, or even our own western lands in the United States, views of such unexplored territory remain largely equivalent. Yet, thousands of people have journeyed west and beyond, driven by the notion of Manifest Destiny. It was the subconscious calling to expand outwards, to expand beyond the borders of a current space and to claim new space, either by pioneering or by force. Innumerable people died because of such folly, and more may still die, ere the entire colonization of all the Earth, whether it be into the depths of a jungle, to the deepest regions of the sea.

There were, however, more incentives to travel to the west, other than just Manifest Destiny. Promise of free land, open spaces, and more freedom come readily to mind, yet there is one reason above all others which explains a sudden, immense migration of countless people towards the west, primarily to California, because of the sudden discovery of gold

How, however, did such a tale as one such as the Gold Rush come about? It was in the early years of the 1840s, that California was furthest from the minds of most Americans, being only of concern to those who lived there, as well as the government of the United States. Then arrived on the shores of California in 1839, a Swiss immigrant by the name of John Sutter, who was intent upon building his own empire. In little time he had built a fort, gathered together twelve thousand cattle, and too unto himself hundreds of workers. Never mind that he owed money to creditors as far away as Russia, such trifling thoughts certainly did not deprive Sutter of sleep-or of his dream of leading an entire empire. (PBS 2)

As more Americans were slowly taking interest and journeying to California in the middle of the 1840s, Sutter welcomed them, as he saw them as subjects for his contrived kingdom, yet Sutter had no way of knowing that soon countless Americans would converge upon California, shattering his dream of owning his own empire upon golden rocks. (PBS 2) This of course was an irony, for Sutter needed gold or money to build such an empire, yet it was the one thing which would smote his dreams into pieces, never again to become a possibility.

Sutter's own destruction was brought about some fifty miles northeast of his fort upon the American River, where, in late 1847, he had ordered James Marshall and some twenty men to the river to build a sawmill which would provide lumber for Sutter's growing empire. The sawmill was nearing completion, when a glint of light caught Marshall's eye. The date was January 24, 1848, and of this, James Marshall was quoted. 'I reached my hand down and picked it up; it made my heart thump for I was certain it was gold. The piece was about half the size and shape of a pea. Then I saw another.' After a find such as this which might be the greatest in all the history of all the West, Marshall and the workers went back to work, but they stumbled time and again upon more gold. (PBS 2)

In the end, Marshall took his findings back to Sutter's fort, where the two of them tested the metal in question to the best of their knowledge and abilities, with the aid of a tattered encyclopaedia that happened to be about the place. It was indeed gold, they concluded after much debate, yet neither Sutter nor Marshall was quite pleased with the whole affair. Both Sutter and Marshall had pressing business, one with an aspiring empire, and the other with a half-finished sawmill to build. They both knew that if word of such a finding got out, people from ends of the United States-possibly beyond, would head straight for California like ravening wolves on the hunt, and bring a swift end to any of their own planes for personal benefit. They made a pact between them to keep such a finding a secret, yet in their hearts they both knew that such a thing could scarcely be kept a secret for long. (PBS 2) But for how long, neither man knew, for neither of them had counted upon the craftiness and lust for financial gain of one man by the name of Sam Brannan.

Brannan was a San Francisco merchant, who was skilled in the art of fanning the fires of almost any sort of news. Brannan ran through the streets of San Francisco proclaiming the news of Marshall's discovery for all to hear, exhibiting a bottle of gold dust as proof of his tale. (PBS 2) Such a deed was the spark which would ignite the fires in countless American's hearts, allowing their lust for gold to come alive.

This small quote states Brennan's plan, simple yet extremely effective to heighten his own personal financial standing. 'When he started racing through the streets yelling, "gold, gold in the American River," he wasn't planning on digging for it. He was planning on selling shovels. And the first person who sold shovels got a lot more fold than the person who had to dig for it.' (Levy) Once Brennan set his plan in motion, the spark was made, and the race to see who might get to California first and claim the most gold, was on. The discovery of gold, in addition of Brennan's shrewd plans, added countless people to the west, yet it demonstrated several other, less spoken of lessons as well.

First and foremost, it demonstrates that people, are, as a whole, gullible. Whereupon hearing of rumors of the discovery of gold, countless people left all that they knew, and a large portion of their worldly possessions in the North, South and East, and attempted the long and arduous journey to California. Yet, even such people as these may be excused, for often their wit saw them in any way which might bring about financial betterment, for money was rather precious and hard to come by. The word of the discovery of gold was first passed on by word-of-mouth, not exactly a reliable system of communication. There was not as much gold as many people would have liked to believe, and of the thousands of people who made the journey to California, many found that, try as they might, they could only pan very little, or no gold at all.

There were also many shady dealings and contraptions invented just because of the sudden gold rush, everything from propeller-driven balloons powered by steam engines to the idea of a 'wind wagon' a cross between a sailboat and a wagon. (PBS, Weird Ways West.) The type of clothing known as 'blue jeans' was also invented during this time, in 1853. A man by the name of Levi Strauss fashioned a pair of pants from canvas, which became quite popular with the miners, for ordinary pants contrived from cotton or wool was quickly damaged by the rough terrain. (PBS 2)

Supply and demand also plays a rather important role in the largely over-hyped gold find. In the first stages of the gold rush, there may have been enough gold to go around, but that supply was quickly depleted, as more and more people journeyed to California, their minds and dreams filled with the lust for the precious, much sought-after metal. The general population of those who might make the journey to California had little or no understanding of this, as they had heard tales of mountains and streams rimmed with gold, enough to pick up by the shovel full. This narrow-minded view was followed by many, especially those who were shrewd, with a keen sense of business, and would fan the fires of the over-hype of gold, so that more people would come and bring about more business, such as the selling of various goods, and especially, of food and drink to weary travelers.

The trip from any given point of any settled area of the United States to the western territory of California was nigh on two thousand miles. Yet innumerable people would chance such a journey, for even the thought of finding gold upon their arrival. The journey took perhaps four months on foot, and only a little faster by covered wagon, for oxen cannot go at a speed much greater than that of a human. (PBS, To California via Antarctica) One of the strangest ways to journey across land was to load up a large wheelbarrow, and push it all the way to California. While this might seem a good notion at first, as time wore on, the wheelbarrow would get heavier and heavier, as the person who pushed it would become more tired, regardless of any sleep or food. It is unknown if any of these folk who set out with wheelbarrows ever reached their destination. (PBS, Weird Ways West)

There were a few alternatives, one being to board a ship leaving New York. Such a ship would travel to the southern tip of South America, dangerously close to the Antarctic continent, (need I mention of ice floes and the carnage that was wrought to the wooden hulls of such ships?) and so come to California by sea. Journeys like this took more than a year, and there were many dangers and shipwrecks. (PBS, To California via Antarctica)

Another possibility not much better than journeying close to the frigid white of the Antarctic, was to take a ship to the Isthmus of Panama, then journeying overland to the pacific side of Middle America. Yet, such a route was not without hazards, for upon reaching the pacific side, one might wait for weeks, or months for a ship to come. When such a vessel finally did arrive, one might pay five hundred to a thousand dollars just for a place aboard the vessel, which often was unseaworthy, and would sink before the destination could be reached. (PBS, To California via Antarctica)

Many who would travel to California would find that, try as they might, could not find any gold at all. They spent months upon months standing in the knee-deep, frigid waters of California's great rivers, slowly sifting through pan full after pan full of the sand that lay upon the river's bottom, in the high hopes of finding gold. They spent their nights in makeshift tents and shacks, and hardly left their claims, for the fear that someone less scrupulous than they would take their claim. Those who would eventually fall into small bits of gold that had washed to the riverbed's surface, were few and far between. Many simply, try as they might, could not find any gold at all.

Many of these who could not find any gold grew some wits, at least, for they gave up, and moved all together in small groups, and built small towns which were as quick to create as they were to be destroyed. These 'boom' towns were created wherever gold was found, and wooden buildings and houses sprang up all around.

Law and order was virtually unknown in those parts where boom towns thrived, and few towns had even a sheriff or deputy, and quarrels were soon settled with fists and bullets, rather than by the law. By night, such towns were calamitous gatherings where the main interest was the nearest saloon, and the booze and women, would, at times, flow as easily as water, or so it would seem. There was no real money to speak of, any legal money was soon spent or destroyed, and gold bits, nuggets, and fine powder soon took over as the chief bartering item. Bartenders and storeowners soon began to set their own prices, higher and higher, to take advantage of the sudden explosion of gold, and fights over such things certainly were commonplace.
Yet, as with the Boom Towns, the true meaning of gold and of the wild, untamed west had not yet come home to many of those who would journey to the west, or even those who lived there. The west as a whole, in addition to the heaven-sent gold and the raucous and wild boom towns, were generally viewed as a whole as a sort of ephemeral, a sort of mirage just over the line of sight and mind, to the place where no men or beast dwells, yet dreams and nightmares may be fashioned there, and set out upon the unconscious mind. This was the way in which many viewed the West, long ago and today. The rumors of gold and, at times, larger than life characters and places created for the west as a place were the very being of reality appeared to warp slightly, where fact and fiction could not quite be told apart.
It was because of such views as the west as a sort of 'untouchable haven', where gold and all other tangible things one could yearn for would be within reach, that many who attempted the long journey to the west suffered many hardships, and many did not reach their destination. Poisonous insects, ravening animals, raging rivers, mountain peaks, and illness all stood as hindrances between the rest of what was known as the civilized world, and California.

Perhaps the most deadly hindrance, the one that slew both man and beast alike, was the scalding, arid, expansive deserts. Few travelers had the insight to bring adequate food or water to cross such treacherous terrain. Despite such dangers, all who managed to reach the edge of the deserts set across it, their wits leaving them, only the burning brand of endless gold in their minds serving as their only driving force. Yet, many would have done well to gather what wits they had, for dying of thirst or heat exhaustion is a terrible thing, no doubt.

Those who managed to whether such atrocities in crossing such a Plutonic plane, were lucky indeed. There was little water upon the desert, and any which might lie there could easily be banished by the extremely hot sun which beat down upon everything, living or not, relentlessly. Water could be found on the desert in other forms, however. Some of the less moral and heartless citizens of boom towns upon the edge of the desert would often journey into the desert, with barrels of water, looking for those who were suffering horribly from lack of thirst. Then they would charge as much as one hundred dollars for a glass of water, which the would-be miners gladly paid, less they fall short of their goal. (PBS, The $100 Drink of Water.)

In the end, the Gold Rush demonstrated many things to the people of America. Even in those days, many folk were gullible, and could be lead to believe almost anything, if a reward or incentive could be contrived to satisfy their greed. Yet, in contrast, it also demonstrates the hardiness of those who dwelled in those times, for to brave such obstacles, dangers and distances was no small feat, even for those motivated by a power beyond them, a euphoric image of mounds of gold, uncountable in number or value. Once those who overcame the journey arrived in California, they found themselves in a land wholly new to them, with little or no wits, money, or possessions about them. Yet, they somehow managed to soon after arriving, begin to pan and search for gold. This they kept up doggedly, for months and years at a time, often with little or no results to speak of which might give them reason to continue. The numerous boom towns, the utopia for those who found their much sought-after gold and looking for a place to spend it, were quick to be established, only to be torn apart by the unseen power of entropy, the lust in every man's heart to own everything and have total control. All this and more was brought about by the now fabled and legendary Gold Rush.

More than anything, the Gold Rush was a sort of test for the people of the time, and indeed, for the newly-found country they resided in, a sort of test which results would have repercussions in places and times far remote to California. It was a test of their wits and wills, determination and endurance, but most of all, the exact extremes which folk might endure for the chance to strike it rich and change their otherwise drab lives, so much like those of everyone else. To rise above the rabble, and perhaps, own the respect of others and themselves, was the chief goal, perhaps above even the lust for gold. Only the slow passage of time would eventually tell if America would pass such a test.

Works Cited

Fun Facts of the Gold Rush. History. (PBS)
18 December 2000 www.pbs.org/goldrush/funfacts.html

All About the Gold Rush. History (PBS 2)
18 December 2000 www.pbs.org/goldrush/allabout.html

Levy, JoAnn. They Saw the Elephant
Nonfiction. Reference from above website