nt met his men, he told them to camp. He fed the poor starving
fellows beef and bread and fresh salmon. The next day they all reached
the beautiful Sacramento River, where the city of Sacramento now
stands.

FINDING GOLD IN CALIFORNIA.

California once belonged to Mexico. Then there was a war between this
country and Mexico. This is what we call the Mexican War. During that
war the United States took California away from Mexico. It is now one
of the richest and most beautiful States in the Union. In the old days,
when California belonged to Mexico, it was a quiet country. Nearly all
the white people spoke Spanish, which is the language of Mexico. They
lived mostly by raising cattle. In those days people did not know that
there was gold in California. A little gold had been found in the
southern part of the State, but nobody expected to find valuable gold
mines. A few people from the United States had settled in the country.
They also raised cattle.

Some time after the United States had taken California, peace was made
with Mexico. California then became a part of our country. About the
time that this peace was made, something happened which made a great
excitement all over the country. It changed the history of our country,
and changed the business of the whole world. Here is the story of it:--

A man named Sutter had moved from Missouri to California. He built a
house which was called Sutter's Fort. It was where the city of
Sacramento now stands. Sutter had many horses and oxen, and he owned
thousands of acres of land. He traded with the Indians, and carried on
other kinds of business.

But everything was done in the slow Mexican way. When he wanted boards,
he sent men to saw them out by hand. It took two men a whole day to saw
up a log so as to make a dozen boards. There was no sawmill in all
California.

When Sutter wanted to grind flour or meal, this also was done in the
Mexican way. A large stone roller was run over a flat stone. But at
last Sutter thought he would have a grinding mill of the American sort.
To build this, he needed boards. He thought he would first build a
sawmill. Then he could get boards quickly for his grinding mill, and
have lumber to use for other things.

Sutter sent a man named Marshall to build his sawmill. It was to be
built forty miles away from Sutter's Fort. The mill had to be where
there were trees to saw.

Marshall was a very good carpenter, who could build almost a