TIMBUCTOO, CALIFORNIA

n the spring of 1848 Jonas Spect acted on a hunch. As the homeward-bound Easterner passed through Sacramento, Calif., he learned of James Marshall’s gold discovery at Sutter’s Mill, 45 miles east on the American River. Avoiding the rush, Spect opted instead to try his luck on the Yuba, in the Sierra Nevada foothills to the northeast. An Indian guide led him to a promising sandbar on the river, where Spect, according to his