1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 151 Nevada’s Golden Lake! (4K)

Three full years have passed since the gold rush of 1848.

In 1848, you didn't have to be a fool to make a fortune as long as you had a good pair of hands in California.

No one was stealing gold at that time, because there was gold everywhere, and it was less risky to just pick it up than to steal it.

Because stealing gold also faces the risk of being discovered and shot.

In 1849, especially at the beginning of 1849, there were still many lucky people who found large pieces of gold and became rich overnight.

After 1850, fewer and fewer people became rich overnight through gold mining, and more people became rich by imitating Liang Yao and reselling daily necessities and gold mining tools.

From the end of 1850 to the present, almost no individuals or small groups have made a fortune through gold mining.

With the rise of large-scale gold mining companies and the continuous arrival of machines from the east to California and being sent to the mining areas, there are fewer and fewer unclaimed lands in the mining areas. The living space for individuals and small gold mining organizations is also getting smaller and smaller.

In front of large gold mining companies and machines, they feel extremely pale and powerless. The dream of gold mining seems to be getting farther and farther away from them and becoming more and more out of reach.

The stubborn gold diggers still guard the small piece of land they bought in California for a lot of money, digging day and night, praying to God to bless them and dig out gold in their land.

And some smart gold prospectors who were not satisfied with the status quo chose another path: heading to the eastern Sierra Nevada foothills!

It is rumored that there is a mysterious lake in Nevada. The sand and stones in the lake are full of gold! Countless gold!

Some people scoffed at this exaggerated rumor, while others believed it to be true.

This is the last hope of individual gold diggers to get rich overnight, and many gold diggers choose to believe this exaggerated rumor.

The Lake of Gold became the last belief supporting their gold mining.

The natural conditions in Nevada are far worse than those in California. It is dry, lacks supply points and food, and is infested by wild animals.

As for the Indians, anyone who has spent some time in California will not find Indians scary.

When those white people who had never seen an Indian arrived in California, they even suspected that the editors who wrote the newspaper articles had never seen an Indian and deliberately smeared the Indians in the newspaper.

The Indians are not scary. Gold prospectors heading to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada even hope to meet Indians on the road, because the Indians can not only serve as guides for them, but they can also buy some supplies from the Indians.

It's just a pity that due to the harsh natural conditions in Nevada, there are very few Indians here.

Indians are also human beings, and they also like areas with more favorable natural conditions and more suitable for human survival.

On the road leading to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, numerous corpses can be seen everywhere. These are gold prospectors who want to find Nevada's golden lake.

They either died of hunger and cold, or died of disease, or died of attacks by wild beasts or even cannibalism.

This is not surprising. During the gold rush, at least one-third of people died violently. Even if they escaped disease and cannibalism, some chose to commit suicide.

During the gold rush in California, gold diggers left more than 10,000 suicide notes. These impoverished gold diggers abandoned their homes and children before leaving, promising to their families that they would return home rich and rich.

But most people still lost to reality. After arriving in California, they were still poor and fell into many bad habits, such as alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling, and whoring to escape reality. In the end, they chose to end up alone with nothing.

own life.

Now, Martin and Fuller have also embarked on a journey to Nevada's Golden Lake.

Martin and Fuller turned out to be one of the 49-year-old miners, to be precise, they were members of the Boston Company.

When Hawke killed the accountant of the Boston Company and stole the company's few gold, Martin and Fuller ran away with Hawke.

However, after running away, their gold mining journey was not smooth. Later, Hawke chose to join Brandon's gang. Soon, Martin and Fuller chose to leave their old partner Hawke and leave the gang because they became bandits with these deserters.

But he's going to the gallows.

Facts have proved that their choice was very correct. Soon after, Brandon and his gang were eliminated by Colonel Liang Yao of the California Infantry Regiment.

Martin and Fuller considered returning to the Boston Company, but soon gave up the idea when they thought that they had taken the company's small amount of gold with them when they left.

If the company takes them to court, although they will not be punished with death as accomplices, they will inevitably be imprisoned.

Especially now that the governor of California is still Robinson, the leader of the Boston Company, they are even more afraid to go back and join the Boston Company.

After thinking for a long time, Martin and Fuller, who found nothing in California, decided to try their luck at Gold Lake in Nevada. Maybe there really is gold there?

They came to the Nevada Mountains with an altitude of tens of thousands of feet (10,000 feet is about 3,048 meters), where it was very cold.

To make matters worse, heavy snow has been falling for half a month, and the entire Nevada mountainous area has been frozen by heavy snow.

There was a vast expanse of white in front of them, white everywhere, a desperate and confusing white color, and they could not see a single bit of gold that they had only seen in dreams.

Soon, they lost their way in the complex terrain of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Martin and Fuller were depressed to the extreme, and the hope in their hearts that kept them going was slowly extinguishing.

Under a dead tree covered with ice and snow, there lay a cold corpse. His body was also covered with ice and snow, but the neat cuts on his thighs could be vaguely seen.

This kind of neat incision was made by someone with a knife, and it was definitely not the mark left by the bite of a wild animal.

As for where the cut meat went, it makes people shudder to think about it. Their kind is even more terrifying than the beasts that haunt the mountains.

Thinking of this, Martin and Fuller glanced at each other in unison.

They prayed in their hearts that they would not encounter this situation. In fact, their current situation was very bad. Their supplies were getting less and less, and this day was getting closer and closer.

But God seemed to favor them. They met a group of people in the mountains and forests. They were not gold diggers, but an expedition team. They had plenty of supplies!

"Sir, this is all the gold I have. For the sake of God, please sell us some supplies."

Martin and Fuller took off their gloves and toasted their hands on the campfire to warm their frozen hands. Then they took out half a small bottle of sand gold, which weighed about two-thirds of an ounce.

These poor alluvial gold is all they have now. In order to survive, they can only hand over this gold.

The leader of this expedition was none other than Fremont, who had come to Nevada to explore the Pacific Railroad route.

How could Fremont find this tiny bit of gold, but the charitable Fremont decided to help these two poor gold diggers. He was well prepared and carried plenty of supplies.

If giving these two people some supplies would help them survive, Fremont would be happy to do it.

Fremont asked his servants to bring them two fur blankets and enough supplies to sustain the two of them in the mountains for a month, but refused their gold.

"Give up your illusory dreams, and while you are still alive, go back to Sacramento or California to find a job. There is a shortage of workers there right now. Although it won't make you rich, it will not be a problem for you to have food, clothing, and a well-off life."

Fremont didn't want two more entities in Nevada's mountains, persuaded Martin and Fuller.

"Thank you very much. What's your name? I can repay you in the future and thank you for your life-saving grace," said Oliver Martin.

"It doesn't matter what my name is, I just hope you can listen to my advice." Fremont said lightly, he did not want to reveal his name.

Fremont left the two poor gold diggers to have a hot meal. After they were full, Martin and Fuller once again set out on the road to find the gold lake.

In order to come to California to prospect for gold, both of them were burdened with huge debts of thousands of dollars, which made their already poor families even worse. There was no turning back for them.

Unknowingly, as if God was guiding them, they finally walked out of the forest and came to an empty open space.

Wait, this is not a clearing! This is a frozen lake!

"Golden Lake! Golden Lake! We finally found the Golden Lake!"

"Gold! Gold! We found gold!"

The two of them howled in front of the frozen lake, venting their pent-up emotions like wild beasts.

They rolled out of the snow and came to the lake, where they took out their tools and eagerly chipped away at the ice.

They dug for several days and dug several holes in the ice until they were exhausted and failed to find the gold they dreamed of in the so-called Golden Lake.

"Lie! The so-called Golden Lake is a complete lie!"

Fuller, who had still gained nothing for a week in a row, was the first to collapse. He slammed the pickaxe in his hand on the ice and cursed those who spread rumors about the Golden Lake.

"Those who spread rumors should all go to hell!"

At this moment, all the fantasies and myths in Fuller's mind about the Golden Lake were shattered. He had come to California to pan for gold for more than two years and still found nothing. At this time, he was completely disappointed.

Go to the golden lake of FMD! Go to the gold of FMD! Everything is fake, everything is far away.

"Hey, my old man, cheer up, we went through so many difficulties and obstacles along the way, didn't we still find this lake?

You have to believe in Almighty God, He will bless us. We were lucky enough to meet a noble person to help us along the way.

At least we are still alive now, there is hope while we are alive, and everything is not that bad."

Oliver Martin was discouraged when no gold was found.

However, his mentality was better than Fuller's. Although his own heart was not much better than Fuller's, Oliver Martin still kept smiling to encourage his companions.

Fuller covered his face and cried, and a grown man couldn't help but cry bitterly. There were so many people seeking gold and wealth in California, why was he not there? Why is God so unfair?

"Fuller, you're tired. You need to rest for a while. I'll make you something to eat. I dropped two fish in the lake this morning, just one for each of us. We can eat something fresh today."

Martin patted Fuller on the shoulder, then turned around to prepare grilled fish, which was their lunch today.

Fuller returned to the lake and sat on a big rock in a daze. He thought of his wife and children far away in Massachusetts and the promise he made when he left. He cried more and more uncontrollably.

Inadvertently, his hand touched his waist, or to be precise, the handle of the Colt Five revolver at his waist.

He took out his pistol, and the cylinder was filled with five rounds of bullets. The California miners' guns were always loaded with bullets. This was their habit, because you never know what kind of threat you will face in the next second.

Fuller took out his gun, and Martin, who was grilling fish not far away, was whistling cheerfully, and then hummed the song that he had also hummed before.

I'm from Alabama, and I brought my beloved banjo with me.

I have to rush to Louisiana to find my lover.

It rained heavily at night, but it was still dry on the day I set out.

The sun is scorching in the sky, but my heart is cold.

Suzanne.

It was quieter last night, and I fell into a deep sleep. In my dream, I saw Susanna walking down the mountain to greet her.

She had a piece of wheat biscuit in her mouth.

But the tears are crystal clear.

I left my hometown to find you.

Suzanne, don't cry,

Oh, Susanna, don't cry for me

With tears in his eyes, Fuller raised his gun and pointed it at Martin. Images of sharing the joys and sorrows with Martin in the past appeared in his mind.

In the end, Fuller still did not pull the trigger on Martin.

Martin, who was grilling fish, didn't realize that there was a pistol pointing at him behind his back, and he was still humming the ballad.

Oh, Suzanne.

When Martin hummed Susanna, Fuller thought of his wife Charlene. He took out the suicide note he had prepared from his pocket and placed it on his lap. His tears wet the envelope.

"Charlina, I'm sorry, please, Martin."

Fuller muttered to himself.

A clear gunshot suddenly rang out by the empty lake.

Martin, who was grilling fish, was frightened and the grilled fish in his hand fell into the fire.

Martin took a breath, and a chill ran up his spine. He subconsciously turned his head to look at Fuller.

John Fuller was seen falling to the ground, and the blood splattered from his head dyed the snow-white earth red.

"John, don't die! John!"

When Martin rushed over, Fuller had stopped breathing and now he would be alone.

Martin wiped his tears, picked up the suicide note that was splattered with blood, wiped the blood on the envelope and carefully put it into his arms.

Fuller told him before his death that he would send a suicide note to his wife if he died, and Martin also had a written suicide note with him.

Because in the gold mining area, you never know whether you will see the sun the next day.

After putting away Fuller's suicide note, Martin walked numbly to the fire, picked up the burnt fish and wolfed it down.

After a devouring meal, Martin wiped his mouth and hands, stood up and selected a geomantic spot for Fuller.

After determining the location, Martin rolled up his sleeves, picked up a shovel, pointed it at the ground and started digging.

Martin was busy digging for Fuller's grave until dusk.

After half a day of digging, Martin was panting from exhaustion and his whole body ached. It was not easy to dig a cemetery alone.

Martin was so tired that he lay in the grave pit prepared for Fuller. He was breathing heavily and was too lazy to move. He planned to take a nap and rest before continuing to dig tomorrow.

A stone, a stone from a grave pit, made Martin's back feel uncomfortable.

"TMD, damn Stone, why do you appear here?"

Martin stood up cursing, and decided to get rid of the damn stone first. Without this damn stone, Fuller would be more comfortable lying here tomorrow.

Martin shoveled twice and suddenly realized something was wrong.

Under the shining of the setting sun, the stone emits a golden and attractive light. This stone is actually golden?!

"my God!"

Martin laughed like crazy. He squatted down and eagerly dug away the soil around the stone with his hands, and moved the heavy stone up.

What kind of stone is this? This is a solid gold nugget!

150+ pounds of solid gold nuggets!

This is several pounds heavier than the California Star unearthed by Liang Yao during his blast at the American River last year!

The California Star only weighs 145 pounds!

Martin was filled with emotion. He hugged the big gold nugget covered with soil and cried, but there was an indescribable smile on his face.

"Gold, gold, I finally found gold."

At the end of March 1851, the California gold rush was coming to an end. Oliver Martin, a former small man in the Boston Company, finally found gold after more than two years.

The largest natural gold nugget ever found in the Americas was found, a natural gold nugget weighing 151 pounds and worth more than 45,000 US dollars.

Oliver Martin became the last little man in the history of the California gold rush to become rich overnight.

This is true and not a fiction. The largest natural gold nugget in California was dug by Oliver Martin. The 151-pound (68.49kg) natural solid gold nugget is worth three to four million US dollars today. This is still

Only sold at the price of gold. This man finally had a good death and became a famous rich man, one of the few winners in the gold rush.

(End of chapter)