and hogs，and shooting wild beasts.Bears，deer，buffalo，wild turkeys，and other game were abundant in the woods，so it was easy for these skilful hunters to find food.They used a very long rifle with a very small bullet，and were dead shots.Wilder than the bears and panthers，however，were the fierce Indians.Many of the settlers and their families were killed and scalped，and many of the Indians too were killed.So savage was the fighting in Kentucky that that state in its early days was called “the dark and bloody ground.”But the Indians were gradually pushed farther west.The woods were cleared off，more and more settlers came from the east and from Europe，and so many people in the end came to live in the west that，as we have seen，a long list of states，one after another，was added to “the old thirteen.”After railroads were built and steamboats were put on the rivers and lakes，the crowd of immigrants became very great.Cities have grown so fast as almost to take the breath away.Chicago has over a million of people.When the revolutionary war was ended the place where the great city now stands was a swamp，inhabited mostly by wild ducks.In 1837，when the village which grew up by the lake became a city，there were 3，000inhabitants.And so the republic has filled with people.There were only 3，000，000PURITANS GOING TO CHURCH.
in all the thirteen States at the time of the revolution.Now our fortyfive states have nearly，if not quite，70，000，000.
12.James Schouler.James Schouler has written a history of the United States in five volumes，which gives an excellent picture of the growth of the republic from the formation of the Constitution to the breaking out of the civil war.The selection gives a vivid picture of an event which produced great excitement at the time，and which led to a marvelously rapid immigration to California.
The Discovery of Gold in California
JAMES SCHOULER
SOME miles above Sutter’s fort，on the American fork of the Sacramento，a sawmill was in course of erection for turning，some pine forests near by into lumber.Marshall，with a gang of workmen，comprising native Indians and a few white Mormons，was engaged upon the work.While widening and deepening the channel，where water was let on to run the mill，yellow particles were brought down by night，mingled with the loose mud and gravel，which Marshall discovered as he sauntered along the tailrace in the morning.Suspecting the truth，which was confirmed by another night‘s sluicing，he gathered some of the glittering grains in his pouch，and rode down the stream to Captain①Sutter，dismounting at the fort on the afternoon of the 28th.
Sutter
weighed the ore，applied such tests of science as he could command，ransacked his little library upon the subject，and pronounced the substance gold.From that moment the news of the discovery spread，and men’s minds were turned in his little kingdom from sawmills，flourmills，herds，flocks，and all that humbler property which hitherto had absorbed his thoughts and theirs，and，to quote Sutter‘s own expressive phrase，for he could not ride luck firmly at a breakneck speed，the curse of the discovery was on him.
①January 28，1848.
Neither Sutter nor Marshall could profit by nature’s confidence.They agreed to keep the secret to themselves；and a Mexican grant being of course out of the question by that time，Sutter procured a lease of this region from the Indian natives，and then undertook the more difficult affair of procuring title from the United States.Colonel Mason，the American commandant at Monterey，could give no document；and so far from guarding their joint secret，Sutter and his unwary contractor managed to send the news far and wide，which their humble workmen on the stream had wit enough to ascertain very quickly.Sutter‘s sawmill stood unfinished，as hundreds and thousands of laborers pushed by for more congenial work.Within four months of the first discovery over four thousand persons were about the Sacramento，working as if for dear life，dwelling in coarse canvas tents and huts，and coaxing fortune with the rudest implements.Some with bowls，pans，and willow baskets were seen washing out the gravel and separating the shining atoms by the hand；others worked with the pick and shovel；while some，the luckiest of the lot，found places where they could pick gold out of crevices in the mountain rocks with their butcher knives，as they lay upon their backs，in pieces which weighed from one to six ounces.
Fleets of launches，from the sloop to the cockleshell，left San Francisco in early May for the Sacramento sawmill region，and the town was nearly stripped of its male population in course of the summer.Soon the whole country，from San Francisco to Los Angeles，and from the seashore to the base of the mountains，echoed the cry of “Gold，gold，gold！”The house was left halfbuilt，the field halfplanted；women looked after the shop.Foreign vessels began to arrive；but before they could unload，their crews deserted for the “diggings.”Mexicans，scarcely less than Americans，caught the gold fever，and joined in the headlong rush for riches.And quickly as sails or steam could bear the tidings to different points of the compass，adventurers hastened from China，from the Sandwich Islands，from Australia，and from the whole Pacific coast between Vancouver’s Island and Valparaiso.
