<P> The Pike's Peak Gold Rush, which followed the California Gold Rush by approximately one decade, produced a dramatic but temporary influx of immigrants into the Pike's Peak Country of the Southern Rocky Mountains . The rush was exemplified by the slogan "Pike's Peak or Bust!", a reference to the prominent mountain at the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains that guided many early prospectors to the region westward over the Great Plains . The prospectors provided the first major European - American population in the region . </P> <P> The rush created a few mining camps such as Denver City and Boulder City that would develop into cities . Many smaller camps such as Auraria and Saint Charles City were absorbed by larger camps and towns . Scores of other mining camps have faded into ghost towns, but quite a few camps such as Central City, Black Hawk, Georgetown, and Idaho Springs survive . </P> <P> For many years people had suspected the mountains had numerous rich gold deposits . In 1835, a French trapper by the name of Eustace Carriere had ended up losing his party and wandered through the mountains for many weeks . During these weeks he found many gold specimens which he later took back to New Mexico for examination . Upon examination, they turned out to be "pure gold". But when he tried to lead an expedition back to the location of where he found the gold, they came up short because he could not quite remember the location . </P> <P> In 1849 and 1850, several parties of gold seekers bound for the California Gold Rush panned small amounts of gold from various streams in the South Platte River valley at the foot of the Rocky Mountains . The Rocky Mountain gold failed to impress or delay men with visions of unlimited wealth in California, and the discoveries were not reported for several years . </P>

Who was involved in the gold discovery at pikes peak