▁of ▁the ▁Mexican ▁government . ▁As ▁this ▁was ▁in ▁viol ation ▁of ▁a ▁law ▁which ▁prevent ed ▁foreign ers ▁from ▁entering ▁California , ▁and ▁he ▁could ▁have ▁been ▁arrested ▁for ▁sp ying , ▁he ▁tra ve led ▁north ▁into ▁the ▁San ▁Jo aqu in ▁Valley , ▁searching ▁for ▁populations ▁of ▁be aver . ▁Smith ▁noted ▁the ▁fert ility ▁and ▁natural ▁beauty ▁of ▁the ▁area , ▁and ▁the ▁apparent ▁peace ▁of ▁the ▁Native ▁Americans ▁living ▁in ▁the ▁villages ▁he ▁passed . ▁His ▁expedition ▁then ▁turned ▁east ▁in ▁an ▁attempt ▁to ▁cross ▁the ▁Sierra ▁Nev ada . ▁They ▁tried ▁to ▁sum mit ▁the ▁range ▁by ▁way ▁of ▁both ▁the ▁Kings ▁River ▁and ▁the ▁American ▁River ▁( a ▁trib ut ary ▁of ▁the ▁Sac r amento ), ▁but ▁it ▁was ▁early ▁spring ▁and ▁the ▁snow ▁was ▁too ▁deep . ▁Finally , ▁they ▁crossed ▁the ▁mountains ▁along ▁the ▁Stanis laus ▁River ▁can y on , ▁becoming ▁the ▁first ▁recorded ▁whites ▁to ▁cross ▁the ▁Sierra ▁Nev ada ▁on ▁foot . ▁It ▁is ▁still ▁disput ed ▁over ▁whether ▁Smith ' s ▁party ▁discovered ▁gold ▁on ▁the ▁San ▁Jo aqu in ▁or ▁one ▁of ▁its ▁trib ut aries . ▁Although ▁some ▁of ▁his ▁men ▁confirmed ▁it , ▁Smith ▁did ▁not ▁make ▁any ▁mention ▁of ▁the ▁pre cious ▁metal ▁in ▁his ▁journal . ▁ ▁In ▁the ▁early ▁ 1 8 3 0 s , ▁a ▁few ▁fur ▁tra ppers ▁from ▁the ▁Pacific ▁North west ▁expl oring ▁south wards ▁into ▁the ▁San ▁Jo aqu in ▁Valley ▁arrived ▁just ▁in ▁time ▁to ▁be