Gold Rush Entrepreneur - Sam Brannan

The carrier of the gold fever was one Sam Brannan, merchant, newspaper owner and a leader in the California Mormon church.  Less "saintly" in practice than in preaching, he had quarreled with Brigham Young more than once which led to his eventual excommunication from the church for refusing to turn over his share of gold to the Mormons.

Brannon was not a prospector, per se.  He saw his future in supplies - picks, shovels, pans, coffee, food.  He could sell these at exorbitant prices as the first merchant in the gold fields.  So in 1848, Brannan went to Sutter's Mill to check out the gold stories and was convinced the rumors were true.  He returned to San Francisco with a sample of gold and a loud voice. 

Brannan went through the streets shouting "Gold! Gold!" and showing off his sample.  People, who had before thought it all a crazy story, were now packing up for the trip within a day.  Within two weeks, San Francisco was a ghost town as everyone who could walk had gone to Sutter's, including Brannan who was there to greet them with all the supplies they needed.

By summer all the towns in southern California contained no adult males in residence.  The situation was something the US Army could not discipline as one soldier said, "The struggle between right for $6 a month and wrong for $75 a day is rather a severe one."

The hysteria spread to Hawaii, around the Cape Horn and back to the East Coast where President Polk addressed Congress in December 1848 to give credence to the gold rumors.  Two days later 230 ounces of gold were placed on public display in Washington.  From Boston to St. Louis, from Florida to Minnesota thousands were dreaming of the wealth of El Dorado and the greatest rush in American history had begun.

Next time - Meet the Argonauts
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On July 3,  1890, Idaho, the last of the 50 states to be explored by whites, is admitted to the Union.