“That James W. Marshall picked up the first piece of gold is beyond doubt.  Peter L. Weimer, who resides in this place, states positively that Marshall picked up the gold in his presence; they both saw it and each spoke at the same time, ‘What’s that yellow stuff?’ Marshall, being a step in advance, picked it up.  This first piece of gold is now in the possession of Mrs. Weimer, and weighs six pennyweights eleven grains.  The piece was given to her by Marshall himself.  The dam was finished early in January, the frame for the mill also erected, and the flume and bulkhead completed.  It was at this time that Marshall and Weimer adopted the plan of raising the gate during the night to wash out sand from the mill-race, closing it during the day, when work would be continued with shovels, etc.

“Early in February—­the exact day is not remembered—­in the morning, after shutting off the water, Marshall and Weimer walked down the race together to see what the water had accomplished during the night.  Having gone about twenty yards below the mill, they both saw the piece of gold before mentioned, and Marshall picked it up.  After an examination, the gold was taken to the cabin of Weimer, and Mrs. Weimer instructed to boil it in saleratus-water; but she, being engaged in making soap, pitched the piece into the soap-kettle, where it was boiled all day and all night.  The following morning the strange piece of stuff was fished out of the soap, all the brighter for the boiling.

“Discussion now commenced, and all expressed the opinion that perhaps the yellow substance might be gold.  Little was said on the subject; but everyone each morning searched in the race for more, and every day found several small scales.  The Indians also picked up many small thin pieces, and carried them always to Mrs. Weimer.  About three weeks after the first piece was obtained, Marshall took the fine gold, amounting to between two and three ounces, and went to San Francisco to have the strange metal tested.  On his return he informed Weimer that the stuff was gold.

“All hands now began to search for the ‘root of all evil.’  Shortly after, Captain Sutter came to Coloma, and he and Marshall assembled the Indians and bought of them a large tract of country about Coloma, in exchange for a lot of beads and a few cotton handkerchiefs.  They, under color of this Indian title, required one-third of all the gold dug on their domain, and collected at this rate until the fall of 1848, when a mining party from Oregon declined paying ‘tithes’ as they called it.

“During February, 1848, Marshall and Weimer went down the river to Mormon Island, and there found scales of gold on the rocks.  Some weeks later they sent Mr. Henderson, Sydney Willis and Mr. Fifield, Mormons, down there to dig, telling them that that place was better than Coloma.  These were the first miners at Mormon Island.”