After his brother, Dale, is killed in a blast while they were working for the railroad in west Texas. All he had in the world then; was a girl he'd met in camp and his brother's dream of hidden gold. He and Erin were married shortly after leaving the railroad heading to California.

Every step they took seemed to be exactly as Dale's dream. It was like he was there pointing the way. In a small valley between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, they stopped. Daniel built them a small cabin, and shortly after while looking for a water source, he found the hidden entrance to a mine. Discovered and lost again by an unknown Spaniard, whose remains Daniel found in the shaft. Eventually, he would take enough gold out to build a large cattle ranch for them and their growing family. They found something far greater than gold in Sacramento though. The best friend anybody could ever hope for. Daniel was known to say years later, not bad for a poor Irish immigrant and a railroad worker.