In the Spring of Forty-seven,
So the story, it is told,
Old John Sutter went to the mill site
Found a piece of shining gold.
Well, he took it to the city
Where the word, like wildfire, spread.
And old John Sutter soon came to wish he'd
Left that stone in the river bed.
For they came like herds of locusts
Every woman, child and man
In their lumbering Conestogas
They left their tracks upon the land.
Some would fail and some would prosper
Some would die and some would kill
Some would thank the Lord for their deliverance
And some would curse John Sutter's Mill.
Well, they came from New York City,
And they came from Alabam'
With their dreams of finding fortunes
In this wild unsettled land.
Well, some fell prey to hostile arrows
As they tried to cross the plains.
And some were lost in the Rocky mountains
With their hands froze to the reins.
Oh...
Some would fail and some would prosper
Some would die and some would kill
Some would thank the Lord for their deliverance
And some would curse John Sutter's Mill.
Well, some pushed on to California
And others stopped to take their rest.
And by the Spring of Eighteen-sixty
They had opened up the west.
And then the railroad came behind them
And the land was plowed and tamed,
When Old John Sutter went to meet his maker,
He'd not one penny to his name.
Oh...
Some would fail and some would prosper
Some would die and some would kill
Some would thank the Lord for their deliverance
And some would curse John Sutter's Mill.
And some would curse John Sutter's Mill
Some men's thirsts are never filled.
这首歌是电影《三步杀人曲》中的插曲,它所具有的背景却是真实的.
约翰．萨特，1834年5月13日为免因债台高筑而面临的牢狱之灾，从瑞士进入法国而后乘船到美国。在美国到处闯荡，伪造了个军衔变成“萨特上尉”。1839年6月他到了个小村子－－现在的旧金山前身，成功游说了墨西哥总督，得到了几十英里的处女地。8月中旬他在萨克瑞门托河与美国河交汇处落脚，开始建立要塞，并命名他的王国为新瑞士。（但这个要塞甚至比不上中国地主的宅院）
北美的第一次大淘金热于1848年发生在加利福尼亚萨克拉门托河附近萨特的磨坊。1847年——1848年冬天，约翰．萨特正在建造一锯木厂，他的木匠J．马歇尔于1月24日发现了黄金，消息立即传了出去。萨特与马歇尔已同意成为合伙人，但不久即被几千名寻求发财的人围困住，他们搭上帐篷，为了黄金不顾环境如何。1849年，约有8万名淘金人蜂拥来到加利福尼亚黄金矿区。1853年，到达的人数为25万。与典型的形式相同，当绝大多数可开采的矿藏枯竭，有组织的资本和设备以更有效与更商业化的经营替代个体采金者时，淘金热势头减弱。同时，无法无天、狂暴的淘金营地也让位给由政府与执法部门管理的永久性拓居地。当黄金采尽，缺乏其他有生气的经济活动时，这些拓居地变成了被废弃的鬼镇。
鼎盛时期，约翰．萨特占地近5万公顷、牛马羊无数。他慷慨大方、乐善好施，但他在瑞士的老婆孩子却挣扎在贫困线上。1855年，由于墨西哥战败，美国联邦土地局起诉约翰．萨特，将其三分之二的土地没收。北美的第一次大淘金成了萨特一生的转折点－－它们毁了他，从此他和他的王国开始衰败。1880年6月18日，他死在国会山附近的小旅馆里。6个月后他的妻子病故与其安葬在一起。
丹佛略显苍凉的声音，唱出了萨特西部寻宝的一生。无尽的争斗、杀人、流血……但是最终，到萨特向他的上帝报到的时候，已经一文不名了。（when old john sutter went to meet his maker,he'd not one penny to his name.）正是那句老话，赤条条地来，赤条条地去，生不带来，死不带去，就这样在世上走了一轮。作者:
零 时间: 2008-5-31 21:40
