Jean-Nicolas Perlot Young Belgian Jean-Nicolas Perlot had been working for three years in Paris as a draper's assistant when, in the fall of 1848, news of the gold discovery in California was first reported in France. The discovery was initially met with skepticism, but when the French government corroborated the story and news reports increased in 1849, Parisians went wild with excitement.

Like many of his fellow citizens, Perlot viewed the prospect of striking it rich as a welcome alternative to the depressed Paris economy of the era. In the fall of 1850, he joined a French mining operation called La Fortune and set sail for California. After their arrival in Monterey on April 7, 1851, Perlot and nine of his shipmates formed a small company and set out for the southern mines.

Being unaccustomed to the local climate, geography, flora, and fauna, Perlot's party struggled just...