For Carlos Rivera and his greenhorn partner, John Steyer, the months that followed the 1848 discovery of gold in California were filled with disappointment and danger. Staking their claims and panning for gold all the way from Bidwell's sandbar on Feather River to Stoddard's Lake of Gold, they found nothing. Indeed, Carlos' tame crow Screamer seemed right when he cawed, "Gold, gold! It's murder!