Many believed his story to be all true, and the result was that quite a large company was gathered and went away back into the mountains and camped. Gold Lake was searched for but could not be found. It was said that after getting back into the mountains the Gold Lake leader appeared to be insane.
The result of the expedition was the discovery of Nelson’s Creek mines on a stream emptying into the middle fork of Feather River, some 90 miles or more in the mountains.
Hearing of this discovery, which was said to be very rich, I concluded to go and take my chances. This was before we had built our dam on the old claim. Alden J. Nutting went with me, as I remember. We traveled up there on foot, and in those days in California every one carried his blankets, if nothing more. When we arrived at Nelson’s creek, we found a large number of people already there, provisions scarce and high, and although there were some very good mines, they did not appear to be very extensive or lasting. We made a prospecting tour farther east among the mountains for two or three days, but as we found no gold in paying quantities, we soon after returned to the valley.
After we had abandoned our claim on the middle fork, I concluded to go to Nelson’s Creek again. I started from Marysville and traveled up there the second time. This was in August, and yet at one place we traveled over a snow bank which we estimated was 25 feet deep. After arriving there in company with one or two others, I selected a claim on the middle fork of Feather River, a short distance below the mouth of Nelson’s Creek, where the stream could be turned by a dam. We thought there was a possibility that the river bed might be rich, and we concluded to construct a small wing dam sufficient to test it. We put in the dam so as to throw the water from a small portion of the river’s bed. The claim proved as worthless as our first one.
I then traveled up Nelson’s Creek two or three miles and hired myself to a company who had turned the creek from its course and was working out its bed.
This was paying fairly well. If I remember correctly I was to have ten dollars per day and board. The next camp below ours on the creek was about 80 rods distant, where three men were at work. They were all from Vergennes, Vermont, and were neighbors before they left home. They had a paying claim and were doing well. As the stream between the two camps passed through a small canyon, the trail was a rough one.
One Saturday night, about twelve o’clock, one of these men came running up to our camp very much excited and out of breath, saying his two partners had been killed. His version of the matter was that, as they all lay asleep, two or three men had killed his two companions with a hatchet while they slept, and that he was awakened by the noise of the blows, to discover a man with a hatchet raised over his head, just in the act of striking him the fatal blow. He had jumped to his feet and run for his life. He had heard someone running after him, but from the sound he thought his pursuer had fallen, and after that ceased to follow him.
We immediately went to the stricken camp, but could do nothing that night. The next morning we went down and found the two men in the creek. We took them out and found their heads cut to pieces, and also found the hatchet in the creek that was used by the murderers. The men were said to have had a considerable quantity of gold, which they kept under their heads. The gold could not be found.
We rolled the murdered men in their blankets as well as we could and buried them on the side of the mountain.
It would perhaps be natural for some to suspect the survivor of the three men as being the guilty murderer of the other two, and that seemed to be the case to some extent, especially by those who knew but little of the circumstances, while all those that were present when the murdered men were found and buried, were of the opinion that he was innocent of the crime.