Forty niners Passed This Way Hundred Years Ago June 1949 One hundred years ago last Thursday, June 16, the first firty niners arrived in pioneer Utah on their way to the gold diggings in California. This was a pack mule outfit headed by Captain G. R. Paul. The first companies with wagons came along six days later and before many weeks had passed fully 10,000 travelers paused here briefly to exchange their worn stock for fresh and trade their dry groceries and manufactured articles for milk, butter and fresh vegetables. We were prompted to review this bit of history by reading about Californias program for the second of a three year centennial jubilee and discovering anew the early historical ties between the Beehive and the Golden state. Mormons, for example, were among the miners finding the first gold in January, 1848, an event California observed last year. The gold discovery set off the gold rush, part of which poured through Utah to stimulate the pioneer economy. Next year California will observe the hundredth anniversary of its statehood. Utah in 1850 also asked to be made a state and so did New Mexico, but only California obtained its wish.