The clear, cold waters of the South Fork of the American River had brought the treasure of the earth from high in the mountains to the banks of the foothill Indian village of Coloma, where it waited to be discovered. When the cry of "Gold!" rocked the nation and the world, the great names of the day, those who would know greatness in the years to come, and thousands upon thousands of whom little would 'ere be known, made their way to this place to seek their fortune and bear witness to the maelstrom of history in which they were engulfed.