Skelton’s first letter from the gold fields relates what greeted miners who had only recently arrived in California. He writes of traveling to Sutter’s mill, where gold was first discovered, and traveling northeast after finding no available claims in the area (top). The location on which they eventually settled was not promising, he notes (bottom), and would likely force them to leave for mines further to the north. This soon happened, as Skelton and his compatriots wound up at a place called Indian Creek in northern California. This would be his main base of operations for the next several years.