ScoutingSeptember 1999


Match the California gold rush term on the left with its correct definition on the right.

  1. HOUNDS

  2. COYOTERS

  3. ARGONAUTS

  4. CALIFORNIOS

  5. LONG TOMS

  1. Spanish-speaking people of California before statehood

  2. Gold seekers named for ancient Greek heroes

  3. Wooden boxes (open at one end, closed at the other) used to sift for gold

  4. Miners who dug long tunnels into hills and sank shafts into the ground

  5. Gangs of thieves who preyed on miners and defenseless citizens

Test your knowledge of the California gold rush by answering these questions.

  1. Which one of the following is not a method of gold-prospecting used by the California gold seekers?
    1. Damming
    2. Panning
    3. Sluicing
    4. Shining

  2. How much gold was produced by the gold fields in 1852 (answers in 1852 dollars)?
    1. $1 million
    2. $20 million
    3. $75 million
    4. $200 million

  3. The gold rush began on the morning of Jan. 24, 1848, when James Marshall (John Sutter's partner) found what?
    1. A Spanish treasure map
    2. A gold nugget
    3. Some gold dust
    4. Specks of gold in his breakfast

  4. In the gold rush of 1848, American soldiers and sailors ...
    1. Often battled with gold thieves
    2. Deserted in large numbers to look for gold
    3. Acted as the "gold police," accompanying shipments of gold to San Francisco
    4. Protected gold claims along the American and Sacramento rivers

  5. In 1848, prior to the tremendous influx of gold seekers, the population of California was about 20,000. By 1852 it had reached ...
    1. 40,000
    2. 90,000
    3. 225,000
    4. 425,000

This 1848 map shows where gold was first discovered in northern California at Sutter's Mill. Unscramble the five numbered map sites to see how many were also actual gold strikes.

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