ey, where
came hither by way of Oregon to California. In July 1845 he entered the service of Sutter, and was duly valued as a good mechanic. By and by he secured a grant of land on Butte Creek/ on which he placed some live-stock, and went to work. During his ab- sence in the war southward, this was lost or stolen; and somewhat discouraged, he turned again to Sutter, and readily ent^ed into his views for building a saw- mill.^
The old difficulty of finding a site still remained, and several exploring excursions were now made by Marshall, sometimes accompanied by Sutter, and by others in Sutter's service.^ On the 16th of May, 1847, Marshall set out on one of these journeys, accompanied by an Indian guide and two white men, Treador and Graves.^ On the 20th they were joined by one Gin- gery, who had been exploring with the same object on the Cosumnes. They travelled up the stream now called Weber Creek to its head, pushed on to the American River, discovered Culuma, and settled upon this place as the best they had found, uniting as' it did the requisite water-power and timber, with a
his father had initiated him into his trade as wagon-builder. Shortly after
his twenty-first birthday the prevailing westward current of migration carried
him through Indiana and Illinois to Missouri. Here he took up a homestead
land claim, and bid fair to prosper, when fever and ague brought him low,
whereupon, in 1844, he sought the Pacific Ck>ast. ParnouH* Life q/* AfarsfiaJ.lt
6-8. He Bt-arted in May 1844, and crossed by way of Fort Half to Oregon,
where ho wintered. He then joined the McMahou-Clyman party for Califor-
nia. See hist. Col., iv. 731, this series.
- Bought, says Parsons, from S. J. Hensley.
^ Marshall claims to have first proposed the scheme to Sutter. Hutchinffs* Mag.f ii. 199. This is doubtful, as shown elsewhere, and is in any event immaterial.
^ Marshall says that while stocking the ploughs, three men, Gingery, Wim- mer, and McLellan, who had heard of his contemplated trip, undertook one themselves, after obtaining what information and directions they could from Marshall. Wimmer found timber and a trail on what is now known as the Diamond Springs road, and the 13th of May he and Gingery began work some thirteen miles west of the place where the Shingle Springs house subsequently stood. Gingery was afterward with Marshall when the latter discovered the site of the Coloma mill.
^ Marshall implies that this was his first trip. Sutter states definitely,
- He went out several times to look for a site. I was with him twice on these
occasions. I was not with him when he determined the site of the mill.' SuUer'a Fera, Jiem.,
