To fully understand the history of the Goldrush, one must know what was actually happening before the lure of gold overwhelmed the country. In 1844, John C. Fremont ordered the U.S. Army to lead a scientific expedition to California. During a second trip in 1846, he encouraged ranchers located in northern area to revolt. These events lead to the seizure of Sonoma and the proclamation of a republic. The flag that they raised that year was a figure of a bear. It was not yet known that the Mexican War had started and that troops had been sent to quall the battles. According to the New Standard Encyclopedia, "there was little fighting in the north, and the south was taken quick

---. "The California Gold Rush: An era remembered." Sacramento Bee. 18, January 1998: Sacramento Bee Online. 15 December 1999. Available www.calgoldrush.com

Jackson, Donald. Gold Dust. New York: Knopf, 1980

Quaife, Milo, ed. Pictures of Gold Rush California. Citadel Press, New York: 1967.

On or around May 3 was the time that Sam Brannan started making his big moves. He had traveled to Sutter's Fort and found it mostly abandoned by the gold-frenzied workers. They had all left to find the wealth in prospecting gold. This was enough for Brannan to open up two stores in the Coloma region. He returned to the fort to tell Sutter of his plans to build the "Sacramento River Landing-in the heart of what would soon become Sacramento." (Jackson 24,25)

Nearly all the routes on the trail led the traveler to the Sierra Nevada's. The one's that didn't led through Death Valley. Either the mountain range or the desert had to be crossed in order to get to the Sacramento Valley or Los Angeles, respectively. Both routes had their challenges, and climatic changes were always a factor in which the travelers were constantly battling. (Marks 60, 61)

Once travelers finally reached their destination, they had to find their claims and start mining the gold that they had yearned for so badly. There were various types of ways to mine gold in this era, including gold pan and cradle, sluice and board tom, and the Californian pump to name a few. It was all a matter of preference and experience that led each man or group to his chosen method of mining gold. (Hoban, Lewis, 1-6)

The gold rush spurred the hearts of thousands of men, both common and famous. Men like John C. Fremont who was already a famous figure in society. One man, Phillip Armour, came not to prospect gold, but to prospect the miners. He opened up a meat shop in Placerville and soon earned enough money to open up a meat packing plant in Milwaukee. One of his neighbors sold wheelbarrows. According to Wiegand, his family later went into the car business. His name was John Studebaker. Those mentioned are just a few of the many. (Wiegand 2)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hoban Lewis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cape Horn, Native Americans, Augustus Sutter, California America, Sutter's Fort, Salt Lake, Chagres River, gold rush, san francisco, december 1999 available, pan cradle, december 1999, 1999 available, gold dust, sacramento bee, cape horn, hoban lewis, oregon trail, 15 december 1999, january 1998 sacramento, 1998 sacramento bee, 18 january 1998,
Approximate Word count = 3636
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)