The 1848 finding of gold in California stimulated new vitality at the mouth of the Chagres River. Westbound prospectors who preferred to avoid crossing the Great American Desert or rounding Cape Horn would follow the old path of the Las Cruces Trail, beginning their transcontinental journey at Yankee Town or Yanqui Chagres—the wild-west boomtown that sprang up on the bank opposite the original village and fortress.