‘This is strangely moving.’
Our first building.
“It isn’t large, but it’s a beautiful church.”
“I’ve finished arranging the interior as well.
Let’s go inside.”
I entered the church alongside the young priest who had accompanied the expedition, Father Raúl.
The two-story building contained a worship space, a community area, and living quarters for the priest.
“Your Highness, thank you for building such a beautiful church.
“Because of your generosity, the people who came to this distant land will be able to hear the word of God.
“Thank you very much.”
Father Raúl was delighted and expressed his gratitude repeatedly.
“You’re going to be very busy, Father, but I hope you’ll guide the settlers well.”
In this era, the church also functioned as a community center.
Almost every settler would likely attend on weekends.
The building could hold around 150 people, which meant Father Raúl might have to conduct three Masses every weekend.
‘I originally wanted to build it larger, but that would have been too ambitious for our first building.
‘Reducing the size was the right decision.
‘Even so, it took us ten weeks to finish.’
Because it was our first construction project and not particularly large, only around thirty people worked on the church at any given time.
‘Meanwhile, everyone except the gold miners has been gathering and processing timber.
‘The carpenters have also learned the light wood-framing method properly.
‘From now on, we can build several structures at the same time.’
The first building had practically been a one-man performance by me.
I explained the framing method in detail to thirty carpenters, but hearing an explanation and actually constructing a building were entirely different things.
I repeatedly demonstrated each step while they watched.
Fortunately, the work accelerated as they gained experience.
“Master Carpenter Andrés, are you confident you can handle it?”
“Yes, Your Highness.
I’m confident.”
Of the thirty trained carpenters, ten—including Andrés—would work on the town hall and military quarters.
Five would build two warehouses.
The remaining fifteen would divide into teams of three and construct five houses.
My role would be to supervise all the projects and make sure everything proceeded correctly.
Aside from the thirty carpenters and one hundred miners, the remaining 320 settlers would devote themselves fully to construction and supporting work.
‘Town hall, military quarters, two warehouses, and five houses.
‘Nine buildings in total.
‘They’re roughly the same scale as the church, so eight to ten weeks should be enough.’
Gold extraction was also progressing smoothly.
We began with placer gold from the American River.
By now, we were also extracting gold from surface deposits around Coloma, near the place later associated with Sutter’s Mill and the beginning of the California Gold Rush.
Soon, we intended to expand toward another gold-bearing area around Angels Camp.
Julio Cervantes decided that the time had come to act.
‘Look at that.
It shines beautifully.’
The Second Company was responsible for guarding the colony and the warehouses.
That meant Julio could personally watch the refined gold bars arrive.
‘Hahaha.
You put the cat in charge of the fish.
‘Thank you very much, young Prince.’
Julio licked his lips and calculated the amount of gold.
‘Each bar weighs about three pounds—around 1.36 kilograms.
‘For the last six months, roughly thirteen bars have arrived each month…
‘Two hundred thirty-four pounds.
‘More than a hundred kilograms.
‘This is more than enough!’
If the gold were divided fairly among everyone involved, each person’s share would be much smaller.
Julio, however, had never intended to divide it fairly.
‘I’ll give the soldiers a little.
‘As for those miserable settlers without proper weapons or equipment, I’ll use them as pack animals and dispose of them afterward.
‘This month’s new shipment will arrive soon.
‘That’s when we move.’
Julio adjusted the guard schedule according to his plan.
The perfect moment would come during the two-hour period when all five guards assigned to Warehouse No.
1—the building containing the gold—were soldiers he had recruited.
‘Goodbye to this miserable village.
‘I’m going to the city.’
Over the past six months, the colony had grown considerably.
Numerous buildings had been completed.
Every family now had a house.
The orderly arrangement of buildings and carefully planned streets made the settlement pleasant to look at.
Even so, it remained a developing frontier colony.
The farms had only recently been established.
There wasn’t even a proper shop or tavern.
In Julio’s mind, the entire settlement already seemed beneath him.
He imagined himself as a wealthy gentleman living in an American city.
***
While Julio dreamed about his glorious future and waited for the day of the theft, one of the settlers he had recruited began to feel uneasy.
His name was Román.
Julio’s poisonous persuasion had convinced him to join the conspiracy, but doubt continued gnawing at him.
Would the plan truly succeed?
And even if it did, what would stop Julio from betraying him afterward?
A criminal recognizes another criminal.
And to Román, Julio reeked of betrayal.
‘If I want to prevent that, I need allies of my own.’
Julio had warned him not to tell anyone else.
Román decided that as long as he was careful, it wouldn’t matter.
If Julio and his soldiers tried to betray him, Román needed his own group strong enough to resist.
That night, while the colony rested, Román visited Víctor, a neighbor he had befriended after receiving nearby land.
Víctor welcomed him warmly.
The conversation did not go the way Román expected.
Víctor was a quiet man whose personality Román had never fully understood.
More importantly, he possessed a surprisingly deep loyalty toward the newly established imperial family.
“Steal the gold?
What are you talking about?
That’s a crime!”
“We won’t get caught!
The plan is foolproof!”
After hearing Román’s proposal, Víctor threatened to report him immediately.
‘Damn it.
What is this nonsense about loyalty?
Román seriously considered it.
The night was dark.
Because every family had received a large plot of land, neighboring houses stood far apart.
If he killed Víctor and his family, there would be no witnesses.
He could return home afterward, pretend he had spent the entire night with his own family, and no one would suspect him.
His hand began itching toward the hidden knife he carried.
“Father!
Just this once, turn a blind eye and join them.”
“What?
Diego!
What are you saying?
You want to betray the Prince too?”
Suddenly, Víctor’s son Diego stepped forward and began defending Román’s proposal.
‘Oh?
Diego, huh?
Looks like this boy understands.’
Víctor raised his voice angrily.
But Diego secretly winked at Román, signaling that his words were not sincere.
“Father!
I want to study in the city someday too!
“Stealing a little gold won’t hurt the Prince.”
Víctor, unexpectedly confronted by his son, hesitated.
“Hmm… Do you really think so?”
‘Seriously?
‘I didn’t think Víctor was that kind of man, but apparently he’s weak when it comes to his son.
‘Perfect.
Time to take advantage of this.’
“Exactly, my friend.
Are you really going to make your son spend his entire life plowing fields and digging dirt?
“And like he said, taking a little gold isn’t going to hurt the Prince.”
“…All right.
I’ll join.”
“See?
You should’ve agreed from the beginning.
In the end, it’ll be better for everyone.”
Convinced that he had successfully persuaded Víctor, Román returned home smiling.
***
After Román disappeared into the darkness, Diego turned to his father.
“That man had a knife hidden on him.”
“What?
Are you certain?
“We need to report him immediately.
“Diego, if you hadn’t intervened, something terrible might have happened.
Thank you.”
“Reporting him right now won’t accomplish much, Father.
“They haven’t committed the crime yet.
If we accuse them, they’ll simply say we’re lying.
“And we don’t know who the other conspirators are.”
“Hmm… That’s true.”
“I think the best thing we can do is pretend to cooperate with the plan, learn everything we can, and then report it to the Prince.”
Víctor began earning the conspirators’ trust by acting according to his son’s suggestion.
Julio was angry when Román unexpectedly brought additional people into the scheme.
But it had already happened, and Víctor appeared eager to cooperate, so Julio reluctantly allowed it.
Román kept quiet about the fact that Víctor had originally threatened to report him.
There was no reason to endanger his own position.
Julio planned a theft and betrayal.
Román joined the crime but feared betrayal himself.
Víctor only pretended to participate.
Everyone had a plan of his own.
Víctor played his role enthusiastically.
The moment he learned the date on which Julio intended to act, he secretly reported everything to the Prince and the colonel.
“Julio Cervantes… that man…”
The officer looked troubled.
“For some reason, Warehouse No.
1—the warehouse holding the gold—has been assigned the largest number of guards, and the Second Company volunteered to take responsibility for it.
“That isn’t like him at all.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”
“It’s all right.
“First, we need to confirm whether he truly intends to commit a crime.
“I appreciate Víctor’s information, but we can’t act on suspicion alone.
“Move soldiers quietly and hide them around the warehouse.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
***
Before dawn on the day of the operation, Julio Cervantes, five soldiers, and twenty settlers gathered at Warehouse No.
1 in Sacramento.
While the twenty settlers carried out the gold, the five soldiers assigned to guard duty watched the surrounding area.
No one else was around.
Who would wander through the colony at this hour when the settlement didn’t even have a tavern?
“No one should come by at this time.”
“Exactly.
At this point, we’ve practically succeeded.”
“Did you see those gold bars shining?
We’re rich already!”
The moon was faint.
Only two kerosene lamps hanging beside the warehouse entrance provided any light.
Beyond their weak glow, the darkness was so thick that visibility dropped to barely ten meters.
The guards waited eagerly for their accomplices to finish moving the gold.
“Hmm?
Hey, did you hear something?”
“What sound?
I didn’t hear anything.”
Creak.
“Huh?
I heard it that time.”
“I’ll check.”
One of the guards took a kerosene lamp from the wall and walked into the darkness.
He had gone barely ten meters when he froze.
“Huh…?”
Dozens of men were waiting in the darkness with guns aimed directly at him.
Colonel Manuel raised one finger to his lips.
“P-please!
Just spare my life!”
The guard immediately dropped his weapon.
***
Inside the warehouse, Julio hurried the settlers.
“Faster!
Move!
“I already counted exactly how many gold bars are stored here, so don’t even think about stealing any for yourselves.”
Julio trusted none of the civilians.
Before the operation began, he had personally counted every gold bar and was carefully watching to ensure that only the planned amount was removed.
‘I’d take everything if I could.
‘But there’s no way I can carry all 274 pounds—about 124 kilograms—of gold that arrived this month by myself.’
The conspirators planned to abandon the colony entirely.
That meant everyone already had personal baggage to carry.
They needed clothes, minimum food supplies, and their most valuable possessions.
The soldiers also had to carry weapons and ammunition.
There was no choice but to use the civilian conspirators to transport the gold.
‘Only until we’re close to the United States.
‘Then I’ll kill Román first.
‘How dare that bastard spread details of the operation without my permission?
‘Fortunately, Víctor is obedient and follows my instructions.
Otherwise, this could have become a serious problem.’
“All right!
If everything is ready, let’s leave immediately.”
Julio cheerfully pushed open the warehouse door.
Creak.
‘Huh?’
Dozens of gun barrels greeted him from the darkness.
The Prince and Colonel Manuel were staring directly at him.
“What?!”
Julio froze for a moment.
Then he understood.
“Damn it!
It was a trap!”
He instinctively spun around.
His gaze fell on Víctor.
Unlike the others, who looked terrified, Víctor appeared strangely calm.
Julio instantly became convinced that Víctor had betrayed them.
“Román!
You bastard!
Your stupid greed ruined the whole plan!”
Julio raised his gun and aimed at Román.
“Stop!”
“Don’t move!”
Colonel Manuel and the captain of the First Company shouted at him.
Julio ignored them.
“I wasn’t the one who betrayed you!
It was Víctor!”
Román desperately tried to save his life by exposing Víctor.
Julio didn’t stop.
“I KNOW!
This is still your fault!
Just DIE!”
“FIRE!”
BANG!
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
Julio fired at Román.
At almost the same instant, dozens of soldiers opened fire on Julio.
“NOBODY MOVE!”
***
The residents awakened by the gunfire soon learned what had happened.
Curses rained down on Julio and his accomplices.
“Unbelievable.
They don’t know how to be grateful.
Tsk, tsk.”
“If they worked half as hard as they schemed, they could live perfectly well.
Idiots.”
The criminals had consisted of Julio Cervantes, five soldiers, and twenty settlers.
Julio and Román were dead.
Víctor and the members of the five households associated with his side of the scheme had only pretended to participate.
That left fourteen civilian conspirators and five soldiers genuinely involved and still alive.
I confiscated their property, but rather than pursuing harsher punishment, I offered relatively lenient terms.
If they worked for four years as miners without wages—receiving only food and basic necessities—their crimes would be forgiven.
‘There’s no point dragging nineteen people all the way back to Mexico City just to put them on trial.’
By the standards of this era, the punishment was considerably more merciful than what a formal court might impose.
It was better for everyone.
‘Still, that was genuinely dangerous.
‘If Víctor hadn’t warned me, I could have ended up in serious trouble.
‘Next time, I can’t afford to become complacent.
‘I need to stay alert.’
This was an era in which carelessness could cost you everything.
After dealing with the criminals, I began preparing to return to Mexico City.
‘The returns from the easiest gold deposits are starting to decline as well.
It’s about time I went back.’
The captain of the First Company and fifteen soldiers chose to remain behind to protect the colony.
They had decided to settle permanently in Sacramento.
I promised to help their families make the journey to join them.
My return party consisted of me, Colonel Manuel, thirty soldiers, five carpenters, two young assistants, and a guide.
We loaded the wagon with grain, agricultural tools, and—most importantly—the gold bars.
Eight months had passed since we first arrived in Sacramento.
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