The Gold Rush stimulates a mad influx of settlers to western territories. The U.S. Cavalry accompanies “Gold Rush” settlers and miners into Indian lands and territories to offer “protection.” The incursion of miners brings deadly diseases that kill thousands of Native peoples. Miners also commit widespread attacks against Native villages and peoples throughout California and Oregon. “Demographers estimate that 100,000 Native peoples lived in California before the discovery of gold, but after the Gold Rush, the Native population declined to about 30,000” (Native Voices, "1848: California Gold Rush brings miners and diseases").