The Sutter Family and the Origins of Gold-Rush Sacramento

ISBN-13: 9780806134932 / Angielski / Miękka / 2002 / 176 str.

John Augustus Sutter; Sutter John; Alan Ottley

Opis

John A. Sutter (1803-1880) could have become one of the richest men in California when gold was found on his property. Instead he lost his vast land holdings on the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and eventually left California penniless. Sutter always claimed to be the victim of charlatans, but he bore considerable responsibility for his downfall. He had amassed huge debts before the gold discovery and added even more afterward. In the rough dealings of frontier capitalism in gold-rush California, Sutter was easy prey.

Soon after the gold discovery, Sutter's eldest son, John A. Sutter, Jr. (1826-1897), arrived. Born and raised in Switzerland, John, Jr., had not seen his father since 1834 when the patriarch fled to avoid debtors' prison. He tried to save his father's estate, but in the attempt, John, Jr., became the dupe of speculating businessmen and a physician who concocted a bold land swindle.

Somehow, in the midst of these hardships, John, Jr., managed to found Sacramento. However, ill and disgusted with his experiences, he soon left for Mexico. Hoping to obtain compensation for the land that he had lost, he returned to California in 1855 to give his lawyer a thorough statement cataloging how he and his father were swindled. This extensive document describes the dirty deals of the first great gold rush in the western United States.