I learned this version of Sutter's Mill quite a few years ago and forgot all about it until I saw this thread. I have no idea where I heard it, who wrote it, etc. Any information? (Not about where I heard it, of course).
Could it be the one you are looking for Willie-O?


SUTTER'S MILL

There was a man named Sutter and he owned a little mill
Way out in Californ-i-a where everything was swell.
One day he went a-walking beside a mountain stream,
Found some golden nuggets and thought it all a dream.

CHORUS:
Gold, Lord, and silver too
Old man Sutter didn't know what to do.
He tried to keep it secret, but the story got around
And thousands headed westward to find fortune in the ground.

Men left their wives and children to sail around Cape Horn.
Thousands died aboard their ships in sight of Californ'.
Others went by covered wagon to cross the prairies wide
To die by Indian arrows under starry western skies.

For every man that struck it rich found gold upon his claim
Ten thousand were unlucky and their hopes were all in vain.
And so it was in '49 in Californ-i-a
Though times have changed we still seek gold in our own foolish way.