"THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE ON EARTH
"THAT YOU WILL MEET SOMEDAY.
THEY WILL BE LOOKING FOR A CERTAIN STONE."
"THEY WILL BE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT GET TIRED
"BUT WHO WILL KEEP PUSHING FORWARD,
GOING, GOING ALL THE TIME."
"THESE PEOPLE DO NOT FOLLOW
"THE WAY OF OUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER.
THEY FOLLOW ANOTHER WAY."
"THEY WILL TRAVEL EVERYWHERE,
"LOOKING FOR THIS STONE
"WHICH OUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER PUT ON THE EARTH
IN MANY PLACES."
SWEET MEDICINE.
[NARRATOR] ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 24, 1848,
A MAN NAMED JAMES MARSHALL
WALKED ALONG THE BANKS OF THE AMERICAN RIVER
IN CALIFORNIA
TO CHECK ON THE PROGRESS OF A MILL HE WAS BUILDING.
[J.S. HOLLIDAY] AND HE LOOKS DOWN
WHERE THE SOIL HAS BEEN DUG, AND THERE'S A SPARKLE,
AND THERE'S A GLINT IN THE MORNING LIGHT,
AND HE REACHES DOWN,
AND HE PICKS IT UP WITH HIS STUBBY, DIRTY FINGERS--
AND THE LAST THING IN THE WORLD
THAT HE MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED--
AND HERE IS THIS, THIS...
SPECK OF THE FUTURE, THIS TINY LITTLE SHOCK
THAT'S GOING TO REVERBERATE RIGHT TO TODAY--
LITERALLY TILL NOW.
HE PICKS IT UP, AND HE SAYS, "MY GOD!"
AND HE YELLS OUT, HE SAID,
"MY GOD, I THINK I'VE FOUND GOLD!"
[MEN CHANTING IN NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE]
[NARRATOR] BY 1848, THE UNITED STATES
CLAIMED VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE WEST.
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE,
THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS AND OREGON,
AND THE WAR WITH MEXICO
HAD STRETCHED THE NATION'S BOUNDARIES
ALL THE WAY TO THE PACIFIC.
BUT THE WEST WAS AMERICAN IN NAME ONLY.
FEW PEOPLE EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI
WERE ANXIOUS TO VENTURE INTO ITS FORBIDDING INTERIOR.
IT STILL SEEMED TOO DISTANT, TOO MYSTERIOUS,
TOO DANGEROUS.
THEN GOLD WAS DISCOVERED IN CALIFORNIA,
AND EVERYTHING CHANGED--
FOR THE WEST AND FOR THE COUNTRY.
SUDDENLY GOLD-SEEKERS RUSHED IN
FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE--
CHINESE PEASANTS PURSUING TALES
OF A GOLD MOUNTAIN ACROSS THE OCEAN,
MEXICAN FARMERS
AND CLERKS FROM LONDON,
TAILORS FROM EASTERN EUROPE,
AND SOUTH AMERICAN ARISTOCRATS FALLEN ON HARD TIMES.
THE THIN STREAM OF AMERICAN EMIGRANTS
CROSSING THE CONTINENT
BECAME A TORRENT...
THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS
OF OPTIMISTIC BUT INEXPERIENCED PROSPECTORS,
WILLING TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND FAMILIES
AND SET OUT ON THE LONG TRAIL FOR CALIFORNIA,
HOPING TO STRIKE IT RICH AND RETURN IN GLORY.
BECAUSE OF GOLD,
A ONCE-SLEEPY VILLAGE ON A MAGNIFICENT BAY
WOULD CHANGE OVERNIGHT
INTO A THRIVING, INTERNATIONAL CITY
WHERE STOREKEEPERS, SPECULATORS, AND SCOUNDRELS
ALL DREAMED OF BECOMING INSTANT MILLIONAIRES.
BECAUSE OF GOLD, SPANISH-SPEAKING FAMILIES
WHO HAD LIVED IN CALIFORNIA FOR 3/4 OF A CENTURY
WOULD SUDDENLY FIND THEMSELVES SURROUNDED BY STRANGERS
AND ROBBED OF THEIR LAND.
AND BECAUSE OF GOLD,
CALIFORNIA'S INDIANS WOULD BE OVERWHELMED, ENSLAVED,
AND THEN SLAUGHTERED.
"THE GOLD RUSH REVOLUTIONIZED AMERICA,"
WROTE ONE MAN WHO HAD SEEN IT ALL.
"IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF OUR NATIONAL MADNESS,
OUR INSANITY OF GREED."
IT HAD TAKEN HALF A CENTURY FOR THE UNITED STATES
TO ENCOMPASS THE VAST SPACES OF THE WEST.
NOW THE LUST FOR GOLD WOULD ANIMATE THE NATION
TO BEGIN TO FILL THEM UP.
[HOLLIDAY] THE GOLD RUSH CHANGED CALIFORNIA,
IT CHANGED THE WHOLE WEST,
AND IT CHANGED AMERICA'S SENSE OF ITSELF,
BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
IN THE MINDS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE,
FULFILLED THE DREAM OF JEFFERSON,
WHICH WAS A CONTINENTAL NATION
FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC.
NO ONE THOUGHT ABOUT THE AMERICA STRETCHING
FROM CHESAPEAKE BAY TO SAN FRANCISCO BAY
UNTIL FATHERS AND SONS AND UNCLES AND BROTHERS
AND FIANCES WERE OUT THERE.
[MAN CHANTING]
"A FRENZY SEIZED MY SOUL.
"PILES OF GOLD ROSE UP BEFORE ME.
"CASTLES OF MARBLE, THOUSANDS OF SLAVES,
"MYRIADS OF FAIR VIRGINS
"CONTENDING WITH EACH OTHER FOR MY LOVE
"WERE AMONG THE FANCIES
"OF MY FEVERED IMAGINATION.
IN SHORT, I HAD A VERY VIOLENT ATTACK OF THE GOLD FEVER."
HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT.
[NARRATOR] THE FIRST GOLD HAD BEEN FOUND
ON THE LAND OF A SWISS-BORN ADVENTURER NAMED JOHN SUTTER,
WHO HAD ALREADY CREATED A 50,000-ACRE EMPIRE
FOR HIMSELF IN CALIFORNIA.
IF HE COULD KEEP THE DISCOVERY QUIET,
HE BELIEVED,
IT WOULD MAKE HIM RICH BEYOND HIS WILDEST IMAGININGS.
BUT RUMORS BEGAN TO SPREAD.
ONE PERSON WHO HEARD THEM
WAS A MORMON ELDER NAMED SAM BRANNAN.
HE HAD BEEN SENT TO CALIFORNIA TO ESTABLISH A COLONY
FOR THE CHURCH,
BUT THE RUMORS OF GOLD LED HIM TO SUTTER'S MILL.
THERE HE SAW AN EASIER PATH TO RICHES
THAN WORKING THE STREAMS.
HE OPENED A STORE NEXT TO SUTTER'S SAWMILL,
FULLY STOCKED WITH PICKS, PANS, AND SHOVELS
TO CATER TO THE NEEDS OF THE TREASURE-SEEKERS
HE KNEW WOULD RUSH TO THE GOLD FIELDS
ONCE WORD GOT OUT.
[T.H. WATKINS] SAM BRANNAN GATHERED TOGETHER
ENOUGH GOLD DUST FROM VARIOUS SOURCES
TO PUT INTO A VIAL,
TOOK THE NEXT BOAT DOWN TO SAN FRANCISCO,
LANDED IN SAN FRANCISCO--
STILL CALLED YERBA BUENA IN THOSE DAYS--
AND STRODE UP AND DOWN THEN MONTGOMERY STREET
WAVING THE VIAL OF GOLD OVER HIS HEAD
AND CRYING, "GOLD! GOLD FROM THE AMERICAN RIVER!"
IT WORKED PERFECTLY.
PEOPLE SPILLED OUT OF THE SALOONS.
THEY PASSED THE VIAL AROUND, HEFT IT IN THEIR HANDS,
FEEL ITS WEIGHT, LOOK AT IT,
AND IT ABSOLUTELY ENTRANCED THEM.
[NARRATOR] THE GOLD RUSH HAD BEGUN.
BY THE MIDDLE OF JUNE,
3/4 OF THE MEN LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO
HAD LEFT TOWN TO DIG FOR GOLD.
FROM MEXICO, WHERE THE SPANISH HAD BEEN MINING GOLD
FOR THREE CENTURIES,
SO MANY MEN HEADED NORTH, ONE AMERICAN REPORTED,
THAT IT SEEMS AS IF "THE ENTIRE STATE OF SONORA IS ON THE MOVE."
THOUSANDS MORE SET SAIL
FROM EVERY PORT IN SOUTH AMERICA.
AS WORD SPREAD ACROSS THE PACIFIC,
HAWAIIANS AND CHINESE CAME TO WORK THE STREAMS.
FOR THOSE WHO GOT THERE EARLY, GOLD SEEMED TO BE EVERYWHERE--
LODGED AMONG ROCKS, GLITTERING IN SAND BARS,
SWIRLING IN POOLS AND EDDIES, THERE FOR THE TAKING.
SOME MADE FORTUNES USING NOTHING BUT SPOONS OR JACKKNIVES
TO SCOOP IT UP.
OTHERS HIRED INDIANS TO DO THE WORK.
SEVEN MINERS EMPLOYING 50 INDIANS
DUG OUT 273 POUNDS OF GOLD IN JUST TWO MONTHS.
PROSPECTORS LIKED TO SAY THAT THE NAME "CALIFORNIA"
CAME FROM A COMBINATION OF THE INDIAN WORD KALI,
WHICH MEANT "GOLD,"
AND FORNIA, WHICH MEANT "WOULDN'T YOU LIKE SOME?"
[HOLLIDAY] THAT TREMENDOUS SUCCESS
OF THAT SUMMER OF 1848
SPREAD BY WAY OF LETTERS AND GOVERNMENT REPORTS.
THE PRESIDENT,
IN HIS STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH,
ANNOUNCES THAT THE ASTONISHING NEWS FROM SACRAMENTO IS TRUE--
SO THE NEWS IS COMING, NOT ONLY FROM THE PRESIDENT,
BUT MOST OF ALL,
FROM THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WRITING THESE VIVID REPORTS.
A GUY WRITES HOME, AND HE SAYS,
"YOU REMEMBER DICKSON? HE USED TO WORK FOR EBENEEZER."
HE SAID, "HE HAS DUG ENOUGH GOLD TO WEIGH DOWN A MULE."
NOW, THAT MEANS SOMETHING TO PEOPLE--
A MULE.
"THE BLACKSMITH DROPPED HIS HAMMER,
"THE CARPENTER HIS PLANE, THE MASON HIS TROWEL,
"THE FARMER HIS SICKLE, THE BAKER HIS LOAF,
"AND THE TAPSTER HIS BOTTLE.
"I HAVE ONLY A COMMUNITY OF WOMEN LEFT
"AND A GANG OF PRISONERS,
"WITH HERE AND THERE
"A SOLDIER WHO WILL GIVE HIS CAPTAIN THE SLIP
"AT THE FIRST CHANCE.
"I DON'T BLAME THE FELLOW A WHIT--
"$7.00 A MONTH, WHILE OTHERS ARE MAKING
200 OR 300 A DAY."
WALTER COLTON.
[RICHARD WHITE] EVERYONE KNEW
CALIFORNIA WAS VALUABLE,
BUT NOBODY COULD HAVE IMAGINED
THAT IT WOULD BE A PLACE
OF SUCH IMMENSE RICHES
AND RICHES TO BE HARVESTED
SO QUICKLY
AND SEEMINGLY SO EASILY.
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE BOON,
AN INCREDIBLE STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE,
AND IT JUST IS ONE OF THOSE SENSES
IN WHICH TO THE REST OF THE WORLD,
IT MUST HAVE SEEMED THAT EVERYTHING WAS JUST FALLING
IN THE PATH OF AMERICANS.
ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS STOOP AND PICK IT UP.
"I HAVE CARRIED A HEAVY LOAD
"ON MY BACK EVER SINCE I WAS A BOY.
"I LEARNED THEN THAT WE WERE BUT FEW,
"WHILE THE WHITE MEN WERE MANY,
"AND THAT WE COULD NOT HOLD OUR OWN WITH THEM.
"WE HAD A SMALL COUNTRY. THEIR COUNTRY WAS LARGE.
"WE WERE CONTENTED TO LET THINGS REMAIN
"AS THE GREAT SPIRIT MADE THEM.
"THEY WERE NOT
"AND WOULD CHANGE THE RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS
"IF THEY DID NOT SUIT THEM.
"WE WERE LIKE DEER.
THEY WERE LIKE GRIZZLY BEARS."
CHIEF JOSEPH.
[NARRATOR] BY THE BEGINNING OF 1849,
OVER 50,000 AMERICAN GOLD-SEEKERS
HAD DECIDED TO HEAD FOR CALIFORNIA.
THE ONLY QUESTION WAS HOW TO GET THERE.
SINCE IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GO OVERLAND
UNTIL SPRING THAWED THE PRAIRIES AND MOUNTAIN PASSES,
THE MOST IMPATIENT PROSPECTORS
STARTED OFF BY SEA...
14,355 NAUTICAL MILES,
ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA.
BUT MOST OF THE AMERICANS DECIDED TO WAIT
AND GO BY WAGON TRAIN.
"APRIL 11, 1849.
"ALL MY THINGS BEING READY LAST NIGHT,
"I ROSE EARLY AND COMMENCED PACKING IN MY TRUNK,
"PREPARATORY TO LEAVING HOME ON MY LONG JOURNEY--
"LEAVING FOR THE FIRST TIME MY HOME AND MY DEAR FRIENDS
"WITH THE PROSPECT OF ABSENCE FROM THEM
FOR MANY MONTHS AND PERHAPS FOR YEARS."
WILLIAM SWAIN.
[NARRATOR] WILLIAM SWAIN WAS
A 27-YEAR-OLD FARMER'S SON FROM YOUNGSTOWN, NEW YORK,
UTTERLY CONVINCED HE WOULD FIND RICHES
IN THE GOLD FIELDS OF CALIFORNIA.
HIS WIFE SABRINA WAS AGAINST HIS GOING WEST.
SHE DID NOT KNOW IF SHE AND THEIR INFANT DAUGHTER ELIZA
COULD BEAR TO BE APART FROM HIM.
WILLIAM'S OLDER BROTHER GEORGE WAS FOR IT.
IF PICKINGS WERE AS EASY
AS THE NEWSPAPERS SAID THEY WERE,
HE WOULD GO WEST, TOO, THE FOLLOWING SPRING.
SWAIN'S PLAN
WAS TO TAKE THE OVERLAND ROUTE TO CALIFORNIA,
MAKE A QUICK $10,000 IN THE GOLD FIELDS,
AND RETURN HOME.
HE CARRIED WITH HIM A GUIDEBOOK TO THE OVERLAND TRAIL,
A BIBLE, AND HIS DIARY.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "I HAD FORTIFIED MY MIND
"BY PREVIOUS REFLECTION
"TO SUPPRESS MY EMOTIONS, AS IS MY CUSTOM
"IN ALL CASES WHERE EMOTION IS EXPECTED.
"BUT THIS MORNING I LEARNED BY EXPERIENCE
"THAT I AM NOT MASTER OF MY FEELINGS IN ALL CASES.
"I PARTED FROM MY FAMILY
"COMPLETELY UNABLE TO RESTRAIN MY EMOTIONS
"AND LEFT THEM ALL BATHED IN TEARS,
"EVEN MY BROTHER,
"WHOSE ENERGY OF MIND
I NEVER SAW FAIL BEFORE."
[HOLLIDAY] HE IS A FARMER.
HE LIVES A SIMPLE LIFE. HE'S PRETTY WELL-EDUCATED.
HE'S READ SHAKESPEARE. HE'S READ WORDSWORTH.
HIS WIFE IS A TEACHER.
THEY HAVE
A VERY COMFORTABLE LIFE.
THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING
TO COMPLAIN ABOUT IN 1849.
THIS IS A KEY POINT.
THEY DID NOT HAVE ANYTHING THAT WOULD CAUSE THEM DISTRESS.
HIS EXPECTATIONS WERE PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE EXPECTATIONS
OF AN AVERAGE FARMING FAMILY IN AMERICA.
THE GOLD RUSH CHANGED THAT.
SUDDENLY HE WANTED MORE.
SUDDENLY HE WASN'T SATISFIED.
[SHIP WHISTLE BLOWS]
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "APRIL 12, 1849.
"AT HALF PAST 2:00,
"I TOOK PASSAGE FOR DETROIT ON THE STEAMER ARROW.
"THE LAKE IS VERY SMOOTH,
"AND THE BOAT SHOOTS ALONG LIKE AN ARROW,
"AND AS SHE LEAVES
"FAR IN THE DISTANCE OBJECTS FAMILIAR TO ME
"AND BEARS ME ON TO THOSE THAT ARE STRANGE,
I FEEL THAT SHE BEARS ME AND MY DESTINY."
"DEAR, DEAR WILLIAM,
"I FEEL AS THOUGH
"I WAS ALONE IN THE WORLD.
"THE NIGHT YOU LEFT HOME,
"I DID NOT, NOR COULD NOT,
"CLOSE MY EYES TO SLEEP.
"WILLIAM, IF I HAD KNOWN
"THAT I COULD NOT BE MORE RECONCILED
"TO YOUR ABSENCE THAN I AM,
"I NEVER COULD HAVE CONSENTED TO YOUR GOING.
"HOWEVER, I WILL TRY TO RECONCILE MYSELF
"AS WELL AS I CAN,
"BELIEVING GOD WILL
"ORDER ALL THINGS
FOR THE BEST."
SABRINA.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "MAY 6, 1849,
"INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI.
"WE CAME UP FROM ST. LOUIS
"WITH A COMPANY FROM MARSHALL, MICHIGAN.
"THEY ARE GOT UP ON THE JOINT-STOCK PRINCIPLE
"AND ARE GOING WITH OX TEAMS.
"THEY PROPOSED THAT WE SHOULD JOIN THEM
"BY PAYING $100 EACH INTO THE FUND,
"FURNISHING A WAGON,
"AND THUS BECOMING MEMBERS OF THEIR COMPANY,
WHICH WE HAVE DONE."
[NARRATOR] THE MEMBERS OF SWAIN'S COMPANY
PRINTED "WOLVERINE RANGERS" ON THEIR WAGONS
WITH AXLE GREASE.
OTHER COMPANIES HAD THEIR OWN NICKNAMES--
WILD YANKEE,
ROUGH AND READY,
LIVE HOOSIER,
AND NEVER SAY DIE.
BUT IN HONOR OF THE MOMENTOUS YEAR
THEY BELIEVED WOULD CHANGE THEIR LIVES,
THEY ALL PROUDLY CALLED THEMSELVES FORTY-NINERS.
[HOLLIDAY] 30,000 PEOPLE--
THAT'S NOT AN EXAGGERATION--
IN THE SPRING OF 1849
TAKE OFF FROM INDEPENDENCE AND ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI,
AND TRAVEL ALONG THE GREAT PLATTE--
HUNDREDS OF MILES OF WAGONS.
YOU CAN LOOK TO THE WEST,
AND AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE ON A DUSTY DAY,
THERE ARE WAGON TRAILS WAY OFF INTO THE DISTANCE.
AND YOU TURN AROUND TO LOOK BACK,
AND THEY'RE STRETCHED ALL THE WAY BACK
AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE.
THE MEN WHO TRAVELED TO CALIFORNIA
IN THE GOLD RUSH YEARS
HAD A CONSCIOUS SENSE OF THE NEED TO ORGANIZE.
THERE ARE RULES--
FOR INSTANCE, NO SWEARING.
THEY HAVE CONSTITUTIONS.
THEY HAVE THESE RULES AND ORDERS.
IT'S NO SWEARING, NO DRINKING, WE WILL OBSERVE THE SABBATH.
MANY A COMPANY BROKE UP OVER THE ARGUMENT
OF WHETHER OR NOT TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH.
"HOW CAN WE OBSERVE THE SABBATH?
"HERE IT IS THE MIDDLE OF JUNE. WE'RE ALREADY BEHIND.
"THESE PEOPLE ARE PASSING US ON SUNDAY.
"THEY'RE ROLLING.
HOW CAN WE SIT HERE?" YOU KNOW.
SO THEY HAVE ARGUMENTS ABOUT IT,
AND COMPANIES SPLIT UP OVER THE MORAL QUESTION
OF WHETHER TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH OR NOT.
[NARRATOR] FOR 30 DAYS,
THE FORTY-NINERS CROSSED ROLLING PRAIRIE
IN WHAT IS NOW KANSAS AND NEBRASKA.
IT WAS INDIAN TERRITORY, WHERE TRIBES FROM THE EAST
HAD BEEN RELOCATED A DECADE EARLIER.
FEARS OF INDIAN RAIDS PROVED MOSTLY GROUNDLESS.
MEN WERE MORE LIKELY TO DIE BY DROWNING AT A RIVER CROSSING
OR BY AN ACCIDENT WITH THEIR OWN GUNS
THAN THEY WERE AT THE HANDS OF INDIANS.
THE SAC AND THE FOX, THE PAWNEES AND KICKAPOOS
CHARGED TOLLS AT BRIDGES AND FORDS.
THE POTAWATOMIS
SOLD THE EMIGRANTS BACON, BEEF, AND VEGETABLES
AND CHARGED FROM $1.00 TO $5.00
TO FERRY EMIGRANTS ACROSS THE KANSAS RIVER.
THE REAL DANGER ON THE PLAINS WAS CHOLERA,
WITH ITS SOARING FEVERS, CHRONIC DYSENTERY,
AND GHASTLY DEATH FROM DEHYDRATION.
CHOLERA WAS RAMPANT
ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES IN 1849
AND QUICKLY SPREAD THROUGH THE WAGON TRAINS.
SOME 1,500 OF THE GOLD-SEEKERS
WHO SET OUT FOR CALIFORNIA THAT SPRING
DIED FROM IT ON THE TRAIL.
"YOUNGSTOWN, NEW YORK.
"DEAR BROTHER WILLIAM,
"WE WERE IN A PERFECT FEVER OF ANXIETY ABOUT YOU.
"WE KNOW THE CHOLERA WILL BE WITH YOU
"IN CROSSING THE PLAINS.
PLEASE WRITE AS SOON AS YOU GET THERE."
GEORGE SWAIN.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "SABBATH, MAY 27, 1849.
"IN VIOLATION OF OUR PRINCIPLE,
"WE TRAVEL TODAY
ON ACCOUNT OF THE SICKNESS ON THE ROUTE."
"MAY 31st.
"I WAS ATTACKED AT NOON BY DYSENTERY VERY BADLY.
"I GOT REVEREND HOBART
TO MAKE ME A COMPOSITION TEA."
"JUNE 1st.
"STILL TAKING MEDICINE, OPIUM, AND ASTRINGENT POWDERS.
"TODAY I HAVE THOUGHT MUCH OF HOME AND OF MY LITTLE GIRL
WHO IS TODAY 1 YEAR OLD."
"JUNE 7th.
"I AM ON THE GAIN BUT VERY WEAK.
"MY APPETITE IS GOOD, BUT I CANNOT EAT HEARTY
FOR FEAR OF THE CONSEQUENCES."
[NARRATOR] ON JUNE 13th,
WILLIAM SWAIN AND HIS COMPANIONS
PASSED FORT KEARNY ON THE PLATTE RIVER.
BY EARLY JULY, THEY REACHED FORT LARAMIE
IN WHAT IS NOW WYOMING.
THEY HAD GONE NEARLY 700 MILES FROM MISSOURI,
BUT THEY STILL HAD MORE THAN 250 TO GO
BEFORE THEY REACHED SOUTH PASS,
WHICH WOULD TAKE THEM THROUGH THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS,
AND NEARLY 1,000 MORE
BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY REACHED THE GOLD FIELDS.
"JULY 4th, INDEPENDENCE DAY.
"DEAR SABRINA,
"I HAVE JUST LEFT THE CELEBRATION DINNER TABLE,
"WHERE THE COMPANY ARE NOW DRINKING TOASTS
"TO EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY
"AND CHEERING AT NO SMALL RATE.
"I ENJOY MYSELF BETTER IN CONVERSING WITH YOU
"THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF THE PEN.
"I AM HEARTY AND WELL,
"FAR MORE SO THAN WHEN I LEFT HOME.
"I AM ALSO MORE FLESHY.
"NOTWITHSTANDING THESE FACTS,
"I WOULD ADVISE NO MAN TO COME THIS WAY
"TO CALIFORNIA.
"KISS MY LITTLE GIRL FOR ME,
"GIVE MY LOVE TO GEORGE AND MOTHER,
"AND TELL THEM
"I AM DETERMINED TO HAVE MY SHARE OF THE ROCKS.
"YOUR AFFECTIONATE HUSBAND UNTIL DEATH,
WILLIAM SWAIN."
[NARRATOR] AS THOUSANDS OF FORTY-NINERS STREAMED WEST,
MANY CARRIED WITH THEM
THE EXPLORER JOHN C. FREMONT'S OFFICIAL REPORTS,
WHICH PORTRAYED HIS SCOUT,
KIT CARSON,
AS FEARLESS, CHIVALROUS, AND RESOURCEFUL.
BUT THESE REPORTS PALED IN COMPARISON
TO THE SENSATIONAL DIME NOVELS ABOUT CARSON
WRITTEN BY PEOPLE WHO HAD NEVER BEEN WEST THEMSELVES
AND CERTAINLY HAD NEVER MET THE FORMER MOUNTAIN MAN.
[DAYTON DUNCAN] HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST
LEGENDS IN HIS OWN TIME--
A CASE WHERE PEOPLE
HAD THEIR IMAGE
OF WHAT A WESTERNER WAS
THAT SOMETIMES DIDN'T SQUARE WITH THE REAL THING.
KIT CARSON WAS UP AT FORT LARAMIE,
AND SOMEBODY CAME OVER AND SAID,
"I HEAR YOU'RE KIT CARSON. IS THAT RIGHT?"
AND HE WAS KIND OF A LACONIC MAN.
HE SAID, "YEAH, I AM,"
AND THE PERSON FROM THE EAST LOOKED HIM UP AND DOWN
AND COMPARED IT TO WHAT HE READ,
AND HE GOES, "NO, I DON'T THINK YOU REALLY ARE KIT CARSON."
[NARRATOR] THE REAL CARSON KNEW ENOUGH
NOT TO GAMBLE HIS FUTURE ON FINDING GOLD.
INSTEAD, HE BOUGHT SOME 6,500 SHEEP FROM THE NAVAJOS
AT 50 CENTS A HEAD
AND BEGAN DRIVING THEM TOWARD THE GOLD FIELDS,
WHERE HE HOPED TO SELL THEM
FOR MORE THAN 10 TIMES THAT AMOUNT.
EVEN HERE, HIS FAME PRECEDED HIM.
WHEN HE DROVE HIS SHEEP ONTO A FERRYBOAT
ON THE GREEN RIVER IN WYOMING,
THE BOATMAN REFUSED TO LET HIM PAY.
[DUNCAN] THEY LET HIM TRAIL
HIS 6,500 SHEEP ACROSS FOR FREE--
THAT'S QUITE A SAVINGS--
IN ORDER THAT THEY COULD NAME IT "KIT CARSON'S CUTOFF"
BECAUSE THEY FIGURED IF PEOPLE HEARD ABOUT THAT,
THAT'S THE ONE THEY WOULD TAKE,
AND THEY'D MAKE A LOT OF MONEY OFF HIS NAME.
[NARRATOR] SOON THERE WOULD BE
CARSON LAKE, CARSON RIVER,
CARSON PASS, CARSON SINK,
CARSON CITY, AND MORE.
THE OLD SCOUT WAS PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT IT ALL.
SOMEONE ONCE SHOWED HIM THE COVER
OF A PARTICULARLY LURID BOOK ABOUT HIMSELF
AND ASKED ABOUT THE STORY IT CONTAINED.
"IT MAY BE TRUE," HE ANSWERED,
"BUT I AIN'T GOT ANY RECOLLECTION OF IT."
"DEAR HUSBAND,
"THIS IS ONLY THE 25th OF AUGUST.
"WHAT A LONG SUMMER.
"O! HOW I WANT TO SEE YOU.
"SOMETIMES I ALMOST IMAGINE MYSELF WITH YOU,
"BUT ALAS IT IS ONLY THE DREAM OF FANCY.
"O! WILLIAM,
"IF I COULD SEE YOU THIS MORNING,
"I WOULD HUG AND KISS YOU
TILL YOU WOULD BLUSH."
SABRINA.
[NARRATOR] BEYOND THE NORTH PLATTE,
WILLIAM SWAIN AND THE OTHER FORTY-NINERS IN HIS COMPANY
ENDURED 50 MILES OF TREELESS SAGEBRUSH
DOTTED WITH POOLS OF ALKALINE WATER
FATAL TO OXEN.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "WAGONS AND CARTS
"WERE SCATTERED ON ALL SIDES,
"AND THE STENCH OF DEAD AND DECAYING CATTLE
"ACTUALLY RENDERED THE AIR SICKENING.
"SOME IDEA CAN BE DRAWN FROM THE FACT
THAT IN ONE SPOT COULD BE SEEN 150 DEAD CREATURES."
[NARRATOR] ON JULY 31st,
THEY CROSSED THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
AT SOUTH PASS.
THEY WERE NOW THROUGH THE ROCKIES,
MORE THAN HALFWAY TO CALIFORNIA.
BUT THE HARDEST PART--
THE DESERTS AND THE SIERRA NEVADA--
STILL LAY AHEAD.
EVERYONE ON THE TRAIL THAT SUMMER
HAD HEARD THE STORY OF AN EARLIER WAGON TRAIN
THAT HAD TAKEN A SUPPOSED SHORTCUT CALLED HASTINGS CUTOFF,
ONLY TO BE TRAPPED IN THE SIERRAS
NEAR TRUCKEE LAKE.
HALF OF THE EMIGRANTS HAD DIED.
SOME OF THE OTHERS HAD SURVIVED
BY EATING THE FLESH OF THEIR DEAD COMPANIONS.
THEY WERE REMEMBERED AS THE DONNER PARTY.
WILLIAM SWAIN AND THE OTHERS WERE LATE, TOO,
AND THEY KNEW IT.
SNOW WOULD SOON BEGIN TO FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS.
THEY ALSO BEGAN TO FOLLOW SHORTCUTS
THAT SEEMED LIKELY TO SPEED THEM THROUGH
TO THE GOLD FIELDS--
SUBLETTE'S CUTOFF,
HUDSPETH'S CUTOFF,
AND IN THE WESTERN NEVADA DESERT,
LASSEN'S CUTOFF.
[HOLLIDAY] YOU HAD HEARD BY THE GRAPEVINE
THAT THERE'S DESERT, THERE'S DEATH,
THERE'S DESOLATION,
THERE'S HORROR AHEAD.
EVERYBODY THINKS THEY WANT TO GO DUE WEST.
LASSEN'S CUTOFF PRESUMABLY LEADS YOU DUE WEST--
ACROSS THE DESERT,
OVER THE NORTHERN END OF THE SIERRA NEVADA,
AND DOWN INTO THE WARMTH AND THE REWARDS
OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY.
SO AT THE POINT WHERE YOU MAKE THE CHOICE,
THERE IS THIS MOMENT WHERE
SCORES OF MEN STAND AROUND,
AND THEY DEBATE, AND THEY ARGUE, AND THEY DISCUSS,
AND THEY READ LITTLE SIGNS ON THE ROAD,
AND A BARREL,
A BIG BARREL FULL OF CARDS AND FULL OF INFORMATION--
YOU SIFT THROUGH IT.
"OH, GEORGE WENT THIS WAY. SAM WENT THIS WAY.
LOUIE WENT THAT WAY. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?"
THERE'S CHOICES BEING MADE.
AND THEY STAND AROUND, AND THEY DEBATE,
AND SOMETIMES COMPANIES WOULD ARGUE, AND THEY'D SPLIT.
AND THERE'D BE FIGHTS--
"WE'LL GO THIS WAY. YOU'LL GO THAT WAY."
SO IT WAS A LIFE-AND-DEATH CHOICE.
EVERYBODY KNEW IT TO BE THAT.
IT WASN'T JUST SOME CASUAL MATTER OF SAVING A FEW HOURS.
IT MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.
[NARRATOR] ON SEPTEMBER 21st,
WILLIAM SWAIN AND THE WOLVERINE RANGERS
JOINED THE STREAM OF 10,000 GOLD-SEEKERS
AND STARTED DOWN LASSEN'S CUTOFF.
IT, TOO, WOULD PROVE A MISTAKE.
THEY FIRST HAD TO STRUGGLE
ACROSS THE SEARING BLACK ROCK DESERT...
TRAVELING BY NIGHT TO SAVE THEIR OXEN.
THEN THEY HAD TO FACE THE MOUNTAINS.
THE ROADS WERE MADE UP OF ALMOST EQUAL PARTS MUD AND BOULDERS.
WAGONS BROKE DOWN.
THE WOLVERINE RANGERS AGREED TO SPLIT UP INTO SMALL GROUPS.
IT WOULD NOW BE EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "NOVEMBER 6th.
"WE COMMENCED OUR WAY IN 10 INCHES OF SNOW.
"I CARRIED A CHANGE OF UNDERCLOTHES--
"BOTH OF FLANNEL AND OF COTTON--
"TWO PAIRS OF SOCKS,
"ONE COAT, ONE PANTS,
"ONE NECK HANDKERCHIEF, MY JOURNAL,
"POCKET BIBLE, POCKETBOOK,
AND A FEW DAYS' PROVISIONS."
"THE STORM INCREASED AS THE DAY ADVANCED."
[HOLLIDAY] BUT WHEN YOU GET TO
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SIERRA NEVADA,
YOU DON'T SEE THE GREEN OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY.
YOU SEE THE DESOLATION OF THE PITT RIVER VALLEY.
YOU SEE ROCKS AND STUNTED GROWTH
AND MOUNTAIN DESERTS.
IT'S JUST A PAIN. IT'S A SHOCK.
IT'S A HIT IN THE HEAD.
IT HURTS YOUR HEART TO SEE WHAT STILL LIES AHEAD.
AND YOU HAVEN'T GONE A SHORTCUT.
WHAT YOU'VE DONE IS YOU'VE GONE NORTH,
AND YOU'RE AT WHAT'S CALLED GOOSE LAKE.
SO INSTEAD OF GOING WEST,
YOU'VE GONE NORTH-NORTHWEST.
NOW YOU GOT TO GO SOUTH.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "AT DAWN, WE ARRIVED AT ANTELOPE CREEK,
"8 MILES FROM LASSEN'S RANCH,
AND FOUND IT NOT FORDABLE."
"THE SKY CLEARED.
"WE KINDLED A ROUSING FIRE,
"DRIED, AND RESTED OURSELVES TILL NOON,
"WHEN TWO OTHER MEN AND MYSELF,
"WITH OUR CLOTHES LASHED TO OUR SHOULDERS,
"FORDED THE STREAM.
"IT WAS THE HARDEST JOB I EVER HAD.
"WHEN I STEPPED ONTO THE OPPOSITE SHORE,
I THOUGHT MY FLESH WOULD DROP FROM MY BONES."
[NARRATOR] WILLIAM SWAIN HAD FINALLY MADE IT TO CALIFORNIA.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "JANUARY 6, 1850.
"DEAR GEORGE,
"THERE WAS SOME TALK BETWEEN US
"OF YOUR COMING TO THIS COUNTRY.
"FOR GOD'S SAKE, THINK NOT OF IT.
"TELL ALL WHOM YOU KNOW
"THAT THOUSANDS HAVE LAID AND WILL LAY THEIR BONES
"ALONG THE ROUTES TO AND IN THIS COUNTRY.
"AND AS FOR YOU... STAY AT HOME,
"FOR IF MY HEALTH IS SPARED,
I CAN GET ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US."
[NARRATOR] ON A BUFFALO ROBE HE KEPT IN HIS TEEPEE,
THE LAKOTA NAMED LONE DOG MARKED THE PASSAGE OF EACH YEAR
BY PAINTING THE SINGLE EVENT
HIS PEOPLE REMEMBERED MOST VIVIDLY.
HIS WINTER COUNT BEGAN IN 1800
AND SPIRALED OUTWARD WITH THE PASSING SEASONS.
THE YEAR THE UNITED STATES TOOK
THE SOUTHWEST AND CALIFORNIA FROM MEXICO,
LONE DOG HAD NOTED THE DEATH OF A WARRIOR NAMED BROKEN LEG.
IN 1848,
THE YEAR GOLD HAD BEEN DISCOVERED AT SUTTER'S MILL,
A MAN NAMED HUMP BACK WAS KILLED BY AN ENEMY'S LANCE.
AND THE NEXT YEAR,
AS WILLIAM SWAIN AND HIS FELLOW FORTY-NINERS
REACHED CALIFORNIA,
LONE DOG'S RECORD SHOWED THAT THE CROWS HAD STOLEN
A GREAT NUMBER OF HORSES FROM THE LAKOTAS,
LEAVING ONLY HOOFPRINTS IN THE SNOW.
♪ THIS CALIFORNIA IS A HUMBUG PLACE ♪
♪ OUT IN THE WORLD IN THE BUSHES ♪
♪ WHERE TO MEET WITH THE POOR MAN'S FATE ♪
♪ MANY A POOR DEVIL PUSHES ♪
♪ SO HAUL OFF YOUR OVERCOAT, ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVE ♪
♪ MINING IS A HARD KIND OF LABOR ♪
♪ HAUL OFF YOUR OVERCOAT, ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVE ♪
♪ MINING IS A HARD KIND OF LABOR, I BELIEVE ♪♪
[HOLLIDAY] WHAT THEY HAD EXPECTED
WAS THE IMAGE THAT THEY HAD RECEIVED
IN NOVEMBER, DECEMBER OF 1848--
THE STORY OF DIGGING UP GOLD AND ALL THE PEOPLE SUCCEEDING.
THEY WERE STUNNED, SHOCKED, DISMAYED.
THE REALISM THAT STRUCK THEM ABOVE ALL ELSE WAS,
THERE ARE SO DAMN MANY MINERS.
THERE WERE 40,000 MINERS
IN THE MINING CAMPS,
IN THE MINING REGIONS OF CALIFORNIA
BY THE FALL OF 1849.
THERE HAD ONLY BEEN 6,000 OR 7,000 IN THE FALL OF 1848.
NOW YOU'VE GOT 40,000 MINERS THERE.
THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN COMING
NOT ONLY OVERLAND--
I MENTIONED THEY CAME AS EARLY AS AUGUST.
THEY'D BEEN COMING BY SHIP SINCE DECEMBER.
THEY'D BEEN COMING FROM HAWAII, FROM OREGON,
FROM CHILE, FROM SONORA.
THEY'D BEEN POURING IN.
THE WORLD RUSHED IN TO CALIFORNIA.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "SOUTH FORK, FEATHER RIVER.
"WE LOCATED A SPOT FAVORABLE FOR DAMMING
"AND DRAINING THE RIVER.
"WE MADE OUR CLAIM
"AND THEN BUILT A HOUSE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
"TO SHELTER OUR HEADS FROM THE SOAKING RAINS.
"SO HERE WE ARE, SNUG AS SCHOOLMARMS,
"WORKING AT OUR RACE AND DAM.
"IF THERE IS NO GOLD,
"WE SHALL BE OFF TO ANOTHER PLACE,
"FOR THERE IS AN ABUNDANCE OF GOLD HERE,
"AND IF WE ARE BLESSED WITH HEALTH,
WE ARE DETERMINED TO HAVE A SHARE OF IT."
[NARRATOR] OF THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN
WHO SWARMED INTO CALIFORNIA IN 1849,
MORE THAN HALF OF THEM WERE IN THEIR 20s.
"A GRAY BEARD WAS ALMOST AS RARE AS A PETTICOAT,"
ONE MAN REMEMBERED.
AND MOST HURRIED TO ONE OF THE SMALL SETTLEMENTS
THAT GREW UP ALMOST OVERNIGHT WHEREVER GOLD WAS FOUND--
COYOTE DIGGINGS AND GRIZZLY FLATS
AND MAD MULE GULCH...
BEDBUG, SHINBONE PEAK,
POKER FLAT, AND MURDERER'S BAR...
WHISKEY DIGGINGS, DELIRIUM TREMENS,
SLUMGULLION, SHIRT TAIL CANYON,
COOL, AND YOU BET.
ROUGHLY 2/3 OF THE FORTY-NINERS CAME FROM THE UNITED STATES,
AND 2/3 OF THEM WERE FROM NEW ENGLAND,
BUT THE MINERS ALSO INCLUDED SLAVES,
FREE BLACKS, EVEN CHEROKEES,
FORCED OUT OF GEORGIA 20 YEARS EARLIER
WHEN GOLD HAD BEEN FOUND ON THEIR LAND.
"THE REST OF THE MINERS," ONE AMERICAN WROTE,
"CAME FROM EVERY HOLE AND CORNER IN THE WORLD."
CALIFORNIA NOW HAD MORE IMMIGRANTS
THAN ANY OTHER PART OF THE UNITED STATES.
"WE ARE A MIXED LOT
"IN THIS LITTLE TOWER OF BABEL--
"FRENCHMEN, ENGLISHMEN, GERMANS, ITALIANS,
"CHILEANS, NABOBS, AND BEGGARS.
"MOST PEOPLE HERE SPEAK ENGLISH,
"GOOD OR BAD,
"BUT YOU FIND,
"AT THE SIDE OF A LEAN YANKEE IN TIGHT PANTS,
"OTHERS RECOGNIZABLE BY THEIR CLOTHING OR ACCENT.
"THERE IS A STOCKY JOHN BULL,
"A CHINAMAN, A HINDU, A RUSSIAN,
AND A NATIVE CALIFORNIO ALL TRYING TO CONVERSE."
VICENTE PEREZ ROSALES.
[NARRATOR] ONE OF THE FIRST GOLD-SEEKERS
WAS A CANTONESE MAN NAMED CHUM MING.
HE STRUCK IT RICH NEAR SUTTER'S MILL
AND WROTE HOME TO SAY SO.
SOON, MORE CHINESE WERE SETTING SAIL FOR CALIFORNIA.
IN 1852, 20,000 CHINESE WOULD COME--
2,000 IN A SINGLE DAY.
[JACK CHEN] WHEN THE GOLD WAS FIRST DISCOVERED,
THE CHINESE WROTE BACK TO THEIR PEOPLE IN CHINA
AND TOLD THEM ABOUT THIS MIRACULOUS FIND--
THAT YOU GO IN THE STREAMS OF CALIFORNIA
AND PICK GOLD OUT.
EVEN TODAY, THEY CALL THIS--
CALIFORNIA OR SAN FRANCISCO--
GUM SANNG--
THE GOLD MOUNTAIN.
[NARRATOR] IN THE PROVINCE OF CANTON,
A LETTER WAS CIRCULATED ENCOURAGING MORE MEN
TO COME TO THE GOLD MOUNTAIN.
[MAN] "AMERICANS ARE VERY RICH PEOPLE.
"IT IS A NICE COUNTRY,
"WITHOUT MANDARINS OR SOLDIERS.
"MONEY IS IN GREAT PLENTY IN AMERICA.
"THEY WANT THE CHINAMAN TO COME
AND MAKE HIM VERY WELCOME."
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "GEORGE, I TELL YOU,
"THIS MINING AMONG THE MOUNTAINS
"IS A DOG'S LIFE.
"A MAN HAS TO MAKE A JACKASS OF HIMSELF
"PACKING LOADS OVER MOUNTAINS
"THAT GOD NEVER DESIGNED MAN TO CLIMB,
"A BARBARIAN BY FORGOING
"ALL THE COMFORTS OF CIVILIZED LIFE,
"AND A HEATHEN BY DEPRIVING HIMSELF
"OF ALL COMMUNICATION WITH MEN
AWAY FROM HIS IMMEDIATE CIRCLE."
[NARRATOR] DIGGING FOR GOLD WAS HARD, MONOTONOUS,
AND MOSTLY UNREWARDING.
"IT COMBINED," ONE MINER SAID,
"THE VARIOUS ARTS OF CANAL DIGGING,
"DITCHING, LAYING STONE WALLS,
PLOWING, AND HOEING POTATOES."
[HOLLIDAY] IT'S CALLED THE DIGGINGS.
THAT WAS THE WORD-- THE DIGGINGS.
WHY? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
WHEN WE THINK OF MINING, WE THINK OF A MINE SHAFT,
BUT THAT'S LATER.
THESE ARE RIVERBANKS, RIVER BARS,
DRIED CREEKS, ROCKS-- ROCKS BY THE MILLIONS--
AND THE GOLD IS BENEATH THOSE ROCKS.
THIS IS PLACER GOLD.
THAT MEANS THAT FOR EONS OF TIME,
THE GOLD HAS BEEN ABRADED, HAS BEEN SEPARATED
BY THE ACTION OF WATER AND ROCKS,
SO THAT THE PIECES OF GOLD ARE PURE.
YOU PICK THEM UP, AND THAT IS GOLD.
THAT'S ALL THERE IS-- JUST PLAIN GOLD.
YOU'RE WORKING IN FREEZING WATER
UP TO YOUR WAIST FOR HOURS AT A TIME.
YOU'RE REACHING DOWN,
MOVING ROCKS, BRINGING IN THE ROCK AND THE GRAVEL
AND WORKING IT ALL THE TIME
WITH YOUR HANDS, WITH YOUR SHOVELS...
MOVING ALWAYS THIS DEBRIS
TO GET RID OF THE DEBRIS
TO PULL OUT THE LITTLE, TINY...
LITTLE SAMPLES OF YOUR FUTURE,
THE LITTLE, TINY PIECES
THAT ARE GOING TO MAKE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE FOR YOU,
GOING TO BUY YOU THE MEANS TO GET RID OF YOUR MORTGAGE,
THAT ARE GOING TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE
TO BUY SOME MORE LAND IN IOWA
IN ORDER TO MOVE AND PACK UP AND GO TO SOME NEW PLACE.
ALL OF THAT IS BUILT INTO EVERY EFFORT THAT YOU'RE MAKING
EVERY SINGLE DAY.
[NARRATOR] EVERYTHING IN THE DIGGINGS
COST TOO MUCH--
$1.00 A POUND FOR POTATOES,
EGGS AT 50 CENTS APIECE,
$20 FOR A BOTTLE OF RUM.
JOHN SUTTER PEDDLED WHEAT TO HUNGRY MINERS
AT $36 A BARREL.
AT HIS STORE, THE MORMON SAM BRANNAN
WAS CLEARING $2,000 A DAY IN PROFITS
EXCHANGING TOOLS FOR GOLD DUST.
♪ OH, THE MINER WORKS HARD WITH THE SHOVEL AND THE PICK ♪
♪ TILL HIS BODY IS FEEBLE AND TENDER ♪
♪ AND THEN HE GOES INTO TOWN AT THE END OF THE WEEK ♪
♪ AND SPENDS ALL HIS DUST ON A BENDER ♪
♪ HAUL OFF THE OVERCOAT, ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVE ♪
♪ MINING IS A HARD KIND OF LABOR ♪
♪ HAUL OFF YOUR OVERCOAT, ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVE ♪
♪ MINING IS A HARD KIND OF LABOR, I BELIEVE ♪♪
[WOMAN] "MY DEAR, HOW OFTEN...
"OH, HOW OFTEN I THINK OF VARIOUS TEMPTATIONS
"YOU ARE SURROUNDED WITH
"AND HOW MANY MEN OF GOOD MORALS AT HOME--
"YES, AND PROFESSED CHRISTIANS, TOO--
THAT HAVE BEEN LED INTO ALL KINDS OF VICE."
"OH, MY DEAR, YOU CANNOT BE TOO CAUTIOUS--
"NOT THAT I DISTRUST YOU,
"BUT RATHER, ON THE CONTRARY,
"PERHAPS I PLACE TOO MUCH CONFIDENCE,
KNOWING THAT WE ARE ALL FALLIBLE CREATURES."
SABRINA.
[HOLLIDAY] CALIFORNIA WAS
THE GOLGOTHA OF SIN.
CALIFORNIA, FROM ITS EARLIEST TIMES,
WAS SEEN IN HOMES AND CITIES,
IN TRADITIONAL PLACES OF AMERICA,
AS A SINFUL PLACE.
IN THESE MINING CAMPS, THERE ARE GAMBLING HALLS.
SOMETIMES THEY'RE TENTS. SOMETIMES THEY'RE BUILDINGS.
SOMETIMES THEY'RE JUST A TABLE UNDER A TREE.
THEY'RE UBIQUITOUS.
AND THESE GAMBLING HALLS WERE PLACES
WHERE MEN BY THE HUNDREDS AND THE THOUSANDS WENT
TO ESCAPE THEIR HAUNTING FEARS THAT MAYBE THEY'LL FAIL.
THIS IS WHERE YOU COULD MAKE A FORTUNE.
HAVING FAILED ON THE TURN
OF HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF SHOVELS,
MAYBE ON THE TURN OF A CARD
YOU CAN MAKE WHAT YOU FAILED TO MAKE
UP THERE IN THOSE DIRTY CANYONS,
IN THOSE HOT OR COLD CANYONS,
WHERE YOU POURED YOUR HEART OUT.
THEY WALK INTO THESE GREAT BIG PLACES,
AND THERE'S EXCITEMENT, AND THERE'S HOPE,
AND THERE'S A SENSE OF SIN--
"MOTHER WOULDN'T WANT ME TO BE HERE.
WHAT IF LOUISE KNEW THAT I WAS HERE?"
A LOT OF MEN, YOU KNOW, WOULD WRITE HOME
AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON
AS IF THEY HADN'T SEEN IT.
"I'VE BEEN TOLD WHAT GOES ON...
IN THESE GAMBLING HALLS."
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "LAST FALL,
"I WAS PROUD OF THE MINERS AS A BODY,
"BOTH FOR THEIR HONESTY AND THEIR SOBRIETY.
"BUT THE RAPIDITY WITH WHICH THEY HAVE RETROGRADED
"ONLY PROVES MORE CLEARLY
"THE NECESSITY OF RELIGIOUS RESTRAINT
"AND THE GREAT INFLUENCE
"OF WELL-ORGANIZED AND MORAL SOCIETY.
"DRINKING HAS BECOME VERY PREVALENT,
"SWEARING A HABITUAL CUSTOM,
"AND GAMBLING HAS NO EQUAL IN THE ANNALS OF HISTORY.
"IT HAS ALREADY REACHED AS FAR AS FEATHER RIVER,
"AND SOME OF THE BOYS
"WHO CAME ACROSS THE PLAINS IN OUR TRAIN
"ARE AT IT...
THOUGH THEY PROFESS TO BE CHRISTIANS WHEN HOME."
[NARRATOR] FORTY-NINERS LINED UP
TO VISIT THE PROSTITUTES,
WHO APPEARED IN THE CAMPS WITHIN WEEKS
OF EVERY MAJOR GOLD STRIKE.
[PATRICIA NELSON LIMERICK] THEY LOOK SO CHARMING
IN THE MOVIES-- THE DANCE HALL GIRLS,
BORDERLINE PROSTITUTES WEARING THOSE COLORFUL CLOTHES.
THE STORIES SEEM TO BE CLOSE TO PURE MISERY
OF MISERABLE LIVING CONDITIONS,
RISK OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE IN EVERY WORKING MOMENT,
WRETCHED RATE OF PAY,
DRUG ADDICTION, ALCOHOLISM.
SUICIDE WAS A COMMON WAY FOR A PROSTITUTE'S LIFE TO END.
IT'S A VERY GRIM, STARK, PUSHED-TO-THE-EDGE KIND OF LIFE.
[NARRATOR] WOMEN WHO WERE NOT PROSTITUTES
WERE SO RARE IN THE GOLD FIELDS
THAT FORTY-NINERS STOOD FOR HOURS
JUST TO GAZE UPON ONE.
MINERS CALLED THEM PETTICOATED ASTONISHMENTS.
[MAN] "GOT NEARER TO A FEMALE THIS EVENING
"THAN I HAVE BEEN FOR SIX MONTHS.
CAME NEAR TO FAINTING."
[WOMAN] "EVEN I HAD MEN COME OVER 40 MILES
"OVER THE MOUNTAINS JUST TO LOOK AT ME,
"AND I NEVER WAS CALLED A HANDSOME WOMAN
IN MY BEST DAYS."
[NARRATOR] LUZENA WILSON ARRIVED
IN NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA, WITH HER HUSBAND
AND SET UP CAMP UNDER SOME TREES.
HE FAILED TO FIND GOLD,
BUT SHE FOUND HER OWN WAY TO STRIKE IT RICH.
"I BOUGHT PROVISIONS AT A NEIGHBORING STORE,
"AND WHEN MY HUSBAND CAME BACK AT NIGHT,
"HE FOUND 20 MINERS EATING AT MY TABLE.
"EACH MAN, AS HE ROSE, PUT A DOLLAR IN MY HAND
"AND SAID I MIGHT COUNT ON HIM
AS A PERMANENT CUSTOMER."
LUZENA STANLEY WILSON.
[NARRATOR] SOON SHE WAS SERVING
200 BOARDERS AT $25 A WEEK EACH.
SHE BUILT AN INN, HIRED A COOK AND WAITERS,
EVEN BECAME A BANKER,
HANDLING GOLD DUST FOR THE MEN SHE FED.
[LUZENA STANLEY WILSON] "A SMART WOMAN CAN DO VERY WELL IN THIS COUNTRY.
"TRUE, THERE ARE NOT MANY COMFORTS,
"AND ONE MUST WORK ALL THE TIME AND WORK HARD,
"BUT THERE IS PLENTY TO DO AND GOOD PAY.
"IT IS THE ONLY COUNTRY I EVER WAS IN
"WHERE A WOMAN RECEIVED
ANYTHING LIKE A JUST COMPENSATION FOR WORK."
[MAN] "SINCE THE WHITE MAN HAS MADE A ROAD ACROSS OUR LAND
"AND HAS KILLED OFF OUR GAME, WE ARE HUNGRY,
"AND THERE IS NOTHING FOR US TO EAT.
"OUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN CRY FOR FOOD,
AND WE HAVE NO FOOD TO GIVE THEM."
WASHAKIE.
[NARRATOR] THE GOLD RUSH HAD PROVED A DISASTER
FOR THE INDIANS OF THE PLAINS.
THE CHOLERA BROUGHT BY THE WAGON TRAINS
HAD KILLED HALF OF THE NORTHERN CHEYENNES.
WHEN A GROUP OF PAWNEES WENT OFF TO HUNT BUFFALO,
THEY FOUND THAT THE HERDS ALONG THE MAIN WAGON TRAIL
HAD BEEN DRIVEN AWAY.
SOME STARVED TO DEATH
ON THE WAY BACK TO THEIR VILLAGES.
AND COMPETITION FOR THE DWINDLING GAME
INTENSIFIED RIVALRIES BETWEEN TRIBES
WHICH HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR GENERATIONS.
[RICHARD WHITE] THIS IS A PERIOD
OF INCREDIBLE CHAOS ON THE PLAINS.
THE LAKOTA AND THEIR ALLIES ARE EXPANDING.
THERE'S WARFARE EVERYWHERE.
THE AMERICANS ARE BEGINNING TO PENETRATE ACROSS THE PLAINS
TO CALIFORNIA.
IT'S A REAL CHALLENGE FOR THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
TO BRING THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL.
WHAT THEY SUCCEED IN DOING IS MAKING IT ABSOLUTELY WORSE.
[NARRATOR] IN 1851, THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT'S PLAN
WAS TO CONVENE ALL THE PLAINS TRIBES
AT FORT LARAMIE
AND CONVINCE THEM TO STOP FIGHTING ONE ANOTHER
AND ENDANGERING THE WHITES HEADING THROUGH THEIR LANDS
ON THE WAY TO CALIFORNIA.
THE COMANCHES AND KIOWAS STAYED AWAY.
"WE HAVE TOO MANY HORSES," ONE CHIEF SAID,
"TO RISK AMONG SUCH NOTORIOUS HORSE THIEVES
AS THE LAKOTAS AND CROWS."
THE PAWNEES ALSO REFUSED TO COME.
THEY WERE AFRAID THE LAKOTAS WOULD KILL THEM.
STILL, 10,000 INDIANS,
REPRESENTING NEARLY A DOZEN TRIBES,
FINALLY ATTENDED.
THE GOVERNMENT OFFERED THEM $50,000 WORTH OF SUPPLIES
EVERY YEAR FOR 50 YEARS
IF THEY WOULD AGREE NOT TO HARASS THE WAGON TRAINS
AND TO GRANT THE ARMY THE RIGHT TO BUILD FORTS.
MOST IMPORTANT, EACH TRIBE WAS TO STAY WITHIN A TERRITORY
RESERVED FOR IT
AND STOP WARRING AGAINST ITS NEIGHBORS.
[WHITE] YOU HAVE NAIVE AMERICAN NEGOTIATORS SHOW UP
TO TRY TO DISTINGUISH TRIBAL TERRITORIES.
AT THIS TIME,
THERE ARE NO TRIBAL TERRITORIES
IN THE SENSE THAT AMERICANS BELIEVE THEM TO BE,
AND SO THEY TRY TO DRAW LINES ON THE MAP.
THEY TRY TO GET INDIANS TO CONFORM TO THOSE LINES,
AND THEY'RE GOING TO FAIL.
FURTHERMORE, THE INDIANS THEMSELVES
SEE THROUGH THE HYPOCRISY OF ALL THIS.
THE LAKOTA, WHO ARE ALSO AN EXPANDING PEOPLE,
FRANKLY TELL THE AMERICANS,
"LOOK, YOU'RE EXPANDING.
"WHEN YOU WANT LAND, YOU PUSH THE INDIANS OUT OF THEM.
"ALL WE'RE DOING IS WHAT YOU DO.
"YOU HAVE NO MORE RIGHT TO STOP US
THAN WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO STOP YOU."
[JO ALLYN ARCHAMBAULT] WE MOVED INTO THESE PLAINS
MAYBE 300 YEARS AGO FROM EASTERN HOMELANDS
IN MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN.
WE WERE TERRIFIC WARRIORS,
AND WE WERE VERY GOOD AT WHAT WE DID.
WE SWEPT THE ENEMY ASIDE,
AND WE TOOK THIS LAND FOR OURSELVES.
WE TOOK THE BLACK HILLS.
WE CHASED OTHER PEOPLE OUT OF IT,
AND THEN OUR SUPERNATURAL BEINGS HEARD US IN THOSE HILLS,
AND SO WE OWN THOSE HILLS PARTLY BY RIGHT OF CONQUEST,
AND AMERICANS UNDERSTAND THE RIGHT OF CONQUEST.
[NARRATOR] WHEN THE LAKOTAS REFUSED TO GIVE UP
THE LANDS THEY HAD TAKEN FROM OTHER TRIBES,
THE AMERICANS BACKED DOWN.
ON THE MAP THEY FINALLY DREW,
THE BLACK HILLS,
ONCE THE KIOWAS',
THEN THE CHEYENNES' SACRED GROUND,
NOW BELONGED TO THE LAKOTAS.
"THE SIOUX WERE GIVEN RIGHTS TO THE BLACK HILLS
"AND OTHER COUNTRY
"THAT THE NORTHERN CHEYENNE HAD CLAIMED.
"THE SQUAW MEN TOLD THEM
THIS GROUND DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU NOW."
JOHN STANDS IN TIMBER.
[NARRATOR] TO CONCLUDE THE TREATY,
THE AMERICANS INSISTED THAT EACH TRIBE NAME A HEAD CHIEF
WHO COULD SIGN FOR HIS PEOPLE.
BUT NONE OF THEM ACKNOWLEDGED A SINGLE LEADER,
SO THE AMERICANS PICKED CHIEFS FOR THEM.
A WARRIOR NAMED CONQUERING BEAR
WAS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT THE LAKOTA,
AND THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY WAS FINALLY SIGNED
ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1851.
THAT WINTER, THE LAKOTA CHRONICLER LONE DOG
COMMEMORATED THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY
WITH A PICTURE OF TWO INDIANS,
A LAKOTA AND A CROW,
EXCHANGING PIPES AS A TOKEN OF PEACE.
IN 1852, LONE DOG DREW AN INDIAN FROM ANOTHER TRIBE
APPROACHING A LAKOTA TEEPEE
WITH A PIPE INSTEAD OF A WEAPON.
AND IN 1853,
HE SHOWED A GOVERNMENT AGENT BRINGING A STRIPED BLANKET,
PART OF THE TREATY PAYMENT THE UNITED STATES HAD PROMISED.
BUT IN AUGUST OF 1854, THE FRAGILE PEACE CAME APART.
WHEN A CALF STRAYED FROM A MORMON WAGON TRAIN
INTO A LAKOTA CAMP,
A WARRIOR SHOT IT WITH AN ARROW.
30 SOLDIERS FROM FORT LARAMIE
MARCHED INTO THE CAMP OF CONQUERING BEAR,
TRAINED A HOWITZER ON THE TEEPEES,
AND DEMANDED THAT THE GUILTY MAN SURRENDER.
HE REFUSED.
CONQUERING BEAR APOLOGIZED
AND PROMISED TO PAY MORE THAN THE ANIMAL WAS WORTH.
THE TWO SIDES ARGUED FOR 45 MINUTES.
SUDDENLY, THE OFFICER IN CHARGE ORDERED HIS MEN TO FIRE.
[GUNSHOT]
CONQUERING BEAR WAS THE FIRST TO DIE.
THE ENRAGED LAKOTAS SWARMED OVER THE AMERICANS.
ONLY ONE SOLDIER MANAGED TO CRAWL BACK TO FORT LARAMIE
BEFORE HE, TOO, DIED.
[WHITE] CONQUERING BEAR WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE PERSON
WHO WOULD SETTLE THIS IN THE APPROPRIATE MEANS,
AND THEY KILL THE AGENT OF THEIR OWN RELATIONSHIP.
THEY KILL CONQUERING BEAR.
AND WHAT HAD BEEN A MINOR DISPUTE OVER A COW
INSTEAD BECOMES A SIGN TO THE LAKOTA THAT,
HOW CAN YOU TRUST THESE PEOPLE?
[NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING]
[NARRATOR] NOTHING BETWEEN THE LAKOTAS AND THE UNITED STATES
WOULD EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.
"THE YANKEES ARE A WONDERFUL PEOPLE--
"WONDERFUL.
"WHEREVER THEY GO, THEY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS.
"IF THEY WERE TO EMIGRATE IN LARGE NUMBERS
"TO HELL ITSELF,
"THEY WOULD IRRIGATE IT,
"PLANT TREES AND FLOWER GARDENS,
"BUILD RESERVOIRS AND FOUNTAINS,
AND MAKE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL AND PLEASANT."
MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO.
[NARRATOR] NO ONE HAD BEEN MORE ACCOMMODATING
TO THE AMERICANS THAN MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO.
THE DESCENDANT OF SPANISH SOLDIERS
WHO HAD CONQUERED MEXICO AND COLONIZED CALIFORNIA,
HE HAD BUILT HIMSELF A VAST EMPIRE
IN THE FERTILE SONOMA VALLEY.
HE WELCOMED THE FIRST WAVE OF FORTY-NINERS
AND HOPED TO PROFIT HIMSELF FROM THE GOLD RUSH.
WITH ITS WEALTH
AND SUDDEN POPULATION OF 90,000 AMERICAN CITIZENS,
CALIFORNIA DEMANDED IMMEDIATE STATEHOOD
AND, IN 1850, GOT IT.
VALLEJO HELPED DRAW UP THE NEW STATE CONSTITUTION
AND SERVED IN THE FIRST STATE SENATE.
BUT IN THE OVERCROWDED MINING CAMPS,
TENSIONS ROSE AS AMERICANS BEGAN TO SUGGEST
THAT THERE WAS NO ROOM IN CALIFORNIA
FOR ANYONE BUT THEM.
[HOLLIDAY] AS MINING BECAME MORE DIFFICULT,
AS THE CLAIMS BECAME MORE DIFFICULT TO FIND
BECAUSE THERE WERE MORE MINERS THAN THERE WERE WORKABLE CLAIMS,
EVERYONE COMPETING AND FIGHTING
FOR HIS SMALLER AND SMALLER OPPORTUNITY TO STRIKE IT RICH,
YOU BECAME, THEREFORE...
DESIROUS OF FINDING AN EXCUSE FOR YOUR FAILURE
OR DESIROUS OF FINDING A WAY TO GET AN ADVANTAGE.
WELL, ONE OF THE WAYS WAS TO SAY,
"I'M AN AMERICAN. WHAT ARE THE MEXICANS DOING HERE?"
"WHAT ARE THE INDIANS? WE DON'T NEED THE INDIANS.
"WE CAN CERTAINLY GET RID OF THEM.
"WHAT ARE THE CHINESE DOING HERE?
"THOSE PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BE HERE.
"THIS ISN'T THEIR LAND.
THIS IS MY LAND. THIS BELONGS TO US."
[NARRATOR] IN 1850, AMERICAN MINERS
PRESSURED THE CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE
INTO ENACTING A MONTHLY TAX OF $20
ON ALL MINERS WHO WERE NOT UNITED STATES CITIZENS.
THOUSANDS OF FOREIGNERS
WERE FORCED TO LEAVE THE GOLD FIELDS.
THE TAX WAS FAR MORE THAN THEY COULD PAY.
"THE ILL WILL OF THE YANKEE RABBLE
"AGAINST SONS OF OTHER NATIONS
"WAS RISING.
"THIS MUTUAL BAD FEELING
"EXPLAINS THE BLOODY HOSTILITIES
"AND ATROCITIES
"WE WITNESS EVERY DAY
IN THIS LAND OF GOLD AND HOPE."
VICENTE PEREZ ROSALES.
[NARRATOR] IN THE MINING TOWN OF DOWNIEVILLE,
A MEXICAN WOMAN REMEMBERED ONLY AS JOSEPHA
AWOKE TO FIND A DRUNKEN AMERICAN
IN HER BEDROOM.
SHE REACHED FOR A KNIFE AND STABBED HIM TO DEATH.
A MOB IMMEDIATELY SEIZED HER,
AND WHEN SHE FAILED TO EXPRESS REGRET FOR WHAT SHE HAD DONE,
HANGED HER.
"IT WAS NOT HER GUILT
WHICH CONDEMNED THIS UNFORTUNATE WOMAN,"
ONE NEWSPAPERMAN WROTE, "BUT HER MEXICAN BLOOD."
"I ALWAYS THINK OF THE SPANISH GIRL
"STANDING ON THE PLANK OF A BRIDGE,
"TOSSING HER HAT TO A FRIEND
"AND PUTTING THE ROPE AROUND HER NECK,
"FOLDING HER HANDS, AND FACING DEATH
WITH A BRAVERY THAT SHAMED US MEN."
FRANKLIN BUCK.
[MAN] "THE MANNERS AND HABITS
"OF THE CHINESE
"ARE VERY REPUGNANT
"TO AMERICANS IN CALIFORNIA.
"OF DIFFERENT LANGUAGE,
"BLOOD, RELIGION, AND CHARACTER,
"AND INFERIOR IN MOST MENTAL
"AND BODILY QUALITIES,
"THE CHINAMAN IS LOOKED UPON BY SOME
"AS ONLY A LITTLE SUPERIOR
"TO THE NEGRO
AND BY OTHERS AS SOMEWHAT INFERIOR."
[NARRATOR] THE CHINESE MINERS KEPT TO THEMSELVES,
COOKED THEIR OWN KIND OF FOOD,
PRACTICED THEIR OWN RELIGION, RARELY LEARNED ENGLISH,
AND WERE DENIED CITIZENSHIP.
[HOLLIDAY] THEY END UP WORKING THE CLAIMS
THAT ARE THE LEAST ATTRACTIVE,
AND YET THEY MAKE A SUCCESS IN THEM
BECAUSE THEY WORK HARDER,
BECAUSE THEY HAVE A TECHNIQUE
AND A WILLINGNESS
TO STRUGGLE LONGER.
THEY'RE WILLING TO WORK ON THE SUNDAYS.
THEY'RE WILLING TO GIVE UP ALL PLAY AND CONCENTRATE.
AND SO EVEN WHEN
THEY'VE BEEN DRIVEN OUT OF THE WORKABLE MINES
AND THEY TURN TO THE MOST SEEMINGLY DESERTLIKE PLACES,
BARRENLIKE PLACES, THEY SUCCEED,
AND THIS AGGRAVATES AND ANGERS THE AMERICANS EVEN MORE.
[RONALD TAKAKI] IN 1852,
BECAUSE OF INTENSE COMPETITION BETWEEN CHINESE MINERS
AND ANGLO-AMERICAN MINERS,
THE LEGISLATURE PASSED A SECOND FOREIGN MINERS TAX.
THIS LAW WAS IN EFFECT FROM 1852 TO 1870,
AND THE REVENUES-- THE STATE REVENUES--
COLLECTED FROM CHINESE MINERS
CONSTITUTED 50% OF THE INCOME
OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
[NARRATOR] WHEN THE CHINESE PAID
THE MINERS TAX
AND REFUSED TO LEAVE THEIR CLAIMS,
AMERICANS RESORTED TO INTIMIDATION.
THEY HACKED OFF THE CHINESE MINERS' QUEUES,
BURNED DOWN THEIR SHACKS,
BEAT AND FLOGGED AND MURDERED THEM.
EVEN MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO
WAS BETRAYED BY HIS AMERICAN FRIENDS.
LAWSUITS AND AN INVASION OF SQUATTERS
REDUCED HIS SPRAWLING ESTATE
FROM A QUARTER OF A MILLION ACRES
TO FEWER THAN 300.
"AUSTRALIA SENT US A SWARM OF BANDITS
"WHO DEDICATED THEMSELVES EXCLUSIVELY
"TO ROBBERY AND ASSAULT.
"FRANCE, DESIRING TO BE RID
"OF SEVERAL THOUSAND LYING MEN AND CORRUPT WOMEN,
"EMBARKED THEM ON SHIPS
"WHICH BROUGHT THEM TO SAN FRANCISCO.
"CHINA POURED UPON OUR SHORES
"CLOUDS AND MORE CLOUDS OF ASIATICS--
"VERY HARMFUL TO THE MORAL AND MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT
"OF THE COUNTRY.
"BUT ALL THESE EVILS BECAME NEGLIGIBLE
"WITH THE SWOLLEN TORRENTS OF SHYSTERS
"WHO CAME FROM MISSOURI
"AND OTHER STATES OF THE UNION.
"THESE LEGAL THIEVES,
"CLOTHED IN THE ROBES OF THE LAW,
"TOOK FROM US OUR LANDS
"AND, WITHOUT THE LEAST SCRUPLE,
"ENTHRONED THEMSELVES IN OUR HOMES
LIKE SO MANY POWERFUL KINGS."
MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO.
[WATKINS] YOU CAME DOWN
AFTER A YEAR OR SO IN THE MINES,
FREEZING YOUR BUTT OFF, WORKING LIKE A DOG,
LIVING UNDER ABSOLUTE PRIMITIVE CONDITIONS,
AND HERE YOU GOT IN SAN FRANCISCO,
A BOAT RIDE AWAY,
ONE OF THE GREAT METROPOLISES
WITH EVERYTHING AVAILABLE TO YOU,
AND YOU JUST WENT CRAZY.
YOU GAMBLED, YOU BOUGHT,
YOU WHORED AROUND, AND YOU DRANK,
AND THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK YOUR MONEY
WERE THE ONES WHO GOT RICH.
IT'S JUST THE WAY IT WAS.
"WHEN I LANDED HERE
"WITH MY LITTLE COMPANY,
"THERE WERE BUT THREE FAMILIES IN THE PLACE,
"AND NOW THE IMPROVEMENTS
"ARE BEYOND ALL CONCEPTIONS--
"HOMES IN ALL DIRECTIONS,
"BUSINESS BRISK, AND MONEY PLENTY.
"HERE WILL BE
"THE GREAT EMPORIUM OF THE PACIFIC
AND EVENTUALLY THE WORLD."
SAM BRANNAN.
[NARRATOR] IN THE FALL OF 1849,
THE VILLAGE OF SAN FRANCISCO HAD BARELY 2,000 RESIDENTS.
JUST ONE YEAR LATER,
THE POPULATION HAD GROWN TO NEARLY 35,000,
AND IT HAD BECOME THE WEST'S FIRST FULL-FLEDGED CITY.
A SINGLE-HOUSE LOT ON PORTSMOUTH SQUARE
GREW IN PRICE FROM $16.50 TO 45,000
IN JUST THREE YEARS.
[SHIP WHISTLE BLOWS]
EVERYTHING WAS BROUGHT IN BY SEA AT FIRST--
WHISKEY, SHOVELS,
LUMBER ALL THE WAY FROM THE FORESTS OF MAINE,
EVEN A CARGO OF CATS,
FERRIED IN TO TAKE ON THE RATS
THAT RULED THE WATERFRONT.
[WATKINS] IT WAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
GREAT COMMERCIAL EMPIRES,
ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREAT CITIES,
WITHIN A MATTER OF FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.
THE SIMPLE REASON WAS GOLD.
THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO EXPLAIN IT.
HALF A BILLION DOLLARS' WORTH OF GOLD
WAS PULLED OUT OF CALIFORNIA'S MINES AND STREAMS
BETWEEN 1849 AND 1860.
HALF A BILLION DOLLARS IN 19th-CENTURY MONEY--
THAT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF MONEY.
IT ABSOLUTELY DEFINED WHAT THE CITY WAS.
[NARRATOR] MOST OF THE GOLD
THE MINERS EXTRACTED
FROM RIVERS, STREAMS, AND HILLSIDES
WASHED INTO THE POCKETS OF MERCHANTS AND BANKERS,
COOKS, LAWYERS, STAGECOACH OPERATORS,
SALOON KEEPERS, MADAMS--
ANYONE WHO FILLED THEIR NEEDS.
LEVI STRAUSS, A JEWISH IMMIGRANT FROM GERMANY,
TURNED UP IN SAN FRANCISCO WITH A BOLT OF COTTON DUCK
HE THOUGHT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR MAKING TENTS.
IT TURNED OUT TO BE THE WRONG MATERIAL,
BUT STRAUSS USED IT
TO MAKE A MINER A PAIR OF DURABLE TROUSERS.
SOON, OTHER MINERS WERE ASKING
FOR "THOSE PANTS OF LEVI'S."
ON THE CORNER OF WASHINGTON AND GRANT STREETS,
AN ENTERPRISING CHINESE IMMIGRANT NAMED WAH LEE
OPENED CALIFORNIA'S FIRST LARGE HAND LAUNDRY,
CHARGED $5.00 A DOZEN TO WASH SHIRTS,
AND MADE A KILLING.
JOSHUA ABRAHAM NORTON
ARRIVED IN SAN FRANCISCO FROM LONDON
WITH $40,000 IN HIS POCKET
AND SWIFTLY TURNED IT INTO A QUARTER OF A MILLION
BY SHREWD INVESTMENTS.
BUT WHEN PRICES COLLAPSED, NORTON WAS RUINED.
HIS MIND SNAPPED UNDER THE STRAIN.
"AT THE PEREMPTORY REQUEST AND DESIRE
"OF A LARGE MAJORITY
"OF THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES,
"I, JOSHUA NORTON,
"DECLARE AND PROCLAIM MYSELF
EMPEROR OF THESE UNITED STATES."
[NARRATOR] SAN FRANCISCANS WERE DELIGHTED.
NORTON WAS GIVEN A SPECIAL UNIFORM TO WEAR
WHILE HE WANDERED THE STREETS,
BOWING GRACIOUSLY TO CITIZENS
HE WAS CONVINCED WERE HIS LOYAL SUBJECTS.
BARTENDERS GAVE HIM FREE DRINKS.
THE CITY DIRECTORY LISTED HIM AS "NORTON, JOSHUA--EMPEROR."
AND WHEN HE DIED, 30,000 OF HIS FORMER SUBJECTS
TURNED OUT FOR HIS FUNERAL.
[WATKINS] THE TOWN HAD
A GREAT SENSE OF TRANSIENCE.
WELL, TRANSIENCE ALWAYS CARRIES WITH IT
AN AIR OF POSSIBILITY,
AND THAT IS ONE OF THE GREAT CHARACTERISTICS
OF SAN FRANCISCO IN THE GOLDEN ERA.
IT WAS STILL A TIME WHEN A PERSON COULD ARRIVE
AND SEEK OUT THE POSSIBLE.
EVERYTHING DID SEEM POSSIBLE.
THERE WERE SO MANY STORIES
OF PEOPLE WHO HAD RISEN FROM NOTHING
TO COMPLETE DOMINANCE--
PEOPLE WHO'D ARRIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO
WITH $100 IN THEIR POCKETS
AND ENDED UP BUILDING HUGE BUSINESS BLOCKS
FIVE YEARS LATER.
THIS WAS REPEATED OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN
SO THAT THE TOWN TOOK ON AN AIR
OF A KIND OF RAREFIED DEMONSTRATION
OF WHAT THE AMERICAN DREAM WAS ALL ABOUT,
CONDENSED, PACKED INTO A FEW GOLDEN YEARS.
"THE INDIANS FORMERLY SUBSISTED
"ON GAME, FISH, ACORNS, ET CETERA.
"BUT IT IS NOW IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM
"TO MAKE A LIVING BY HUNTING OR FISHING,
"FOR NEARLY ALL THE GAME
"HAS BEEN DRIVEN
"FROM THE MINING REGION
"OR HAS BEEN KILLED BY THE THOUSANDS OF OUR PEOPLE
"WHO NOW OCCUPY THE ONCE QUIET HOME
OF THESE CHILDREN OF THE FOREST."
EDWARD A. STEVENSON.
[NARRATOR] NEAR THE CROWDED GOLD FIELDS,
INDIANS FOUND IT HARDER AND HARDER
TO FIND FOOD.
SOME BEGAN TO STEAL.
THE MINERS DESPISED THEM ALL AS "DIGGERS."
ONE CALIFORNIA LAW MADE IT LEGAL
TO DECLARE ANY JOBLESS INDIAN A VAGRANT,
THEN AUCTION HIS SERVICES OFF FOR UP TO FOUR MONTHS.
AND IT PERMITTED WHITES TO FORCE INDIAN CHILDREN
TO WORK FOR THEM UNTIL THEY WERE 18,
PROVIDED THE PERMISSION
OF WHAT THE LAW CALLED A "FRIEND"
WAS OBTAINED FIRST.
WHITES HUNTED DOWN ADULT INDIANS IN THE MOUNTAINS,
KIDNAPPED THEIR CHILDREN,
AND SOLD THEM AS APPRENTICES
FOR AS LITTLE AS $50.
"IF EVER AN INDIAN
WAS FULLY AND HONESTLY PAID FOR HIS LABOR,"
ONE WHITE SETTLER SAID,
"IT WAS NOT MY LUCK TO HEAR OF IT."
INDIANS COULD NOT COMPLAIN IN COURT
BECAUSE, BY ANOTHER CALIFORNIA STATUTE,
NO INDIAN OR BLACK OR MULATTO PERSON
WAS PERMITTED TO GIVE EVIDENCE
IN FAVOR OF OR AGAINST A WHITE PERSON.
"THE MINERS ARE SOMETIMES GUILTY
"OF THE MOST BRUTAL ACTS WITH THE INDIANS.
"SUCH INCIDENTS HAVE FALLEN UNDER MY NOTICE
"THAT WOULD MAKE HUMANITY WEEP
AND MEN DISOWN THEIR RACE."
WILLIAM SWAIN.
"WE HOPE THAT THE GOVERNMENT
"WILL RENDER SUCH AID
"AS WILL ENABLE THE CITIZENS OF THE NORTH
"TO CARRY ON A WAR OF EXTERMINATION
"UNTIL THE LAST REDSKIN OF THESE TRIBES
"HAS BEEN KILLED.
"EXTERMINATION IS NO LONGER
"A QUESTION OF TIME.
"THE TIME HAS ARRIVED,
"THE WORK HAS COMMENCED,
"AND LET THE FIRST MAN
"THAT SAYS TREATY OR PEACE
BE REGARDED AS A TRAITOR."
YREKA HERALD, 1853.
[NARRATOR] INDIANS CONTINUED TO DIE FROM DISEASES
THE WHITE MAN HAD INADVERTENTLY INTRODUCED AMONG THEM,
BUT NOW THOUSANDS MORE WERE BEING KILLED DELIBERATELY.
[MAN] "THE BOLD VOLUNTEERS CREPT ON THEM BEFORE DAY
"AND KILLED ABOUT NINE MEN,
"THE BALANCE ESCAPING.
"THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN REMAINED,
"TRUSTING THAT AN AMERICAN
"WOULD NOT MURDER WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
"IN THIS, THEY WERE MISTAKEN.
"THE AMERICANS SEARCHED AROUND
"AMONG THE HAYSTACKS WITH A HATCHET
"AND SPLIT THE CHILDREN'S HEADS OPEN.
"IN THIS WAY,
THERE WERE OVER 40 WOMEN AND CHILDREN BUTCHERED."
[NARRATOR] THE TOWNS OF MARYSVILLE AND HONEY LAKE
PAID BOUNTIES FOR INDIAN SCALPS.
SHASTA CITY OFFERED $5.00 FOR EVERY INDIAN HEAD
BROUGHT TO CITY HALL,
AND CALIFORNIA'S STATE TREASURY
REIMBURSED MANY OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
FOR THEIR EXPENSES.
"IT WAS OF NO UNFREQUENT OCCURRENCE
"FOR AN INDIAN TO BE SHOT DOWN IN COLD BLOOD
"OR A SQUAW TO BE RAPED BY SOME BRUTE.
"SUCH A THING AS A WHITE MAN
"BEING PUNISHED FOR OUTRAGING AN INDIAN
"WAS UNHEARD OF.
"IT WAS THE FABLE
OF THE WOLF AND THE LAMB EVERY TIME."
GENERAL GEORGE CROOK.
[NARRATOR] THERE WERE SOME 150,000 INDIANS IN CALIFORNIA
BEFORE THE FORTY-NINERS CAME.
BY 1870, THERE WOULD BE FEWER THAN 30,000.
IT WAS THE WORST SLAUGHTER OF INDIAN PEOPLES
IN UNITED STATES HISTORY.
[SABRINA] "AND NOW, MY DEAR,
"ALLOW ME TO ASK,
"ARE YOUR MOST SANGUINE EXPECTATIONS REALIZED,
"OR AT LEAST BEING SO?
"OR DO YOU FIND THINGS VERY MUCH EXAGGERATED?
"WOULD YOU ADVISE ANYONE TO GO TO CALIFORNIA?
"THERE ARE MANY ANXIOUS TO HEAR FROM YOU
AND LEARN THE PROSPECTS."
SABRINA.
[NARRATOR] EVERYTHING HAD GONE WRONG
FOR WILLIAM SWAIN.
HE'D SPENT THE WHOLE COLD, RAINY WINTER
IN A CLAUSTROPHOBIC CABIN ON THE FEATHER RIVER.
IN THE SPRING, HE AND HIS PARTNERS
MOVED TO FOSTER'S BAR ON THE YUBA,
ONLY TO BE KEPT FROM PANNING BY A HEAVY SPRING SNOW MELT
THAT TURNED THE CLEAR STREAM INTO A ROARING BROWN RIVER.
"FIVE MONTHS, RAIN," HE WROTE,
"FOUR MONTHS, HIGH WATER,
AND THREE MONTHS, ALMOST TOO HOT TO WORK."
DAY AFTER DAY WITHOUT SUCCESS TAXED HIM,
BUT SO DID HIS FEAR OF RETURNING HOME A FAILURE.
[HOLLIDAY] PRIDE IS A POWERFUL FORCE,
THE PRIDE THAT KEPT SO MANY MEN IN CALIFORNIA.
THEY WANT TO GO HOME.
"BUT I CAN'T GO UNTIL I'VE GOT SOMETHING
"TO PROVE MY SUCCESS.
"THEY'VE BEEN READING ABOUT SUCCESS BACK HOME.
"I KNOW," SAYS THE MINER, "HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE FAILING.
"FAILURE IS THE MOST COMMON FACT OF LIFE IN CALIFORNIA.
"THEY DON'T KNOW THAT.
"HOW CAN I GO HOME A FAILURE
WHEN THEY EXPECT ME TO COME HOME A SUCCESS?"
SO THEY STAY.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "DEAR SABRINA,
"MY SPECIFIC ANSWER TO YOUR KIND QUESTION
"IS THAT MY EXPECTATIONS ARE NOT REALIZED.
"WE HAVE BEEN UNLUCKY,
"OR RATHER, BY BEING INEXPERIENCED,
"WE SELECTED A POOR SPOT FOR A LOCATION
"AND STAKED ALL ON IT,
"AND IT HAS PROVED WORTH NOTHING.
"I MOSTLY REGRET THE NECESSITY
OF STAYING HERE LONGER."
[NARRATOR] BY THE SUMMER OF 1850,
WILLIAM SWAIN HAD BEEN AWAY FROM HOME
FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.
ALL HE HAD TO SHOW FOR HIS TREK ACROSS THE CONTINENT WAS $500--
NOWHERE NEAR HIS GOAL OF 10,000.
THEN HE GOT A LETTER FROM HIS BROTHER.
[GEORGE SWAIN] "DEAR WILLIAM,
"KEEP YOUR COURAGE UP.
"IF YOU FAIL THERE,
"YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME.
"YOU HAVE TRIED YOUR BEST TO DO WELL,
"AND IF YOU CAN'T DO IT THERE,
"YOU ARE BETTER OFF
"THAN MANY WHO HAVE GONE THERE WITH THEIR ALL
"AND LEFT NOTHING BEHIND TO FALL BACK ON.
"YOU HAVE SOMETHING
"AND FRIENDS WHO WILL MEET YOU
"JUST AS CORDIALLY UNSUCCESSFUL AS SUCCESSFUL.
"TO TELL THE PLAIN TRUTH,
"I WISH MOST SINCERELY
"YOU WERE OUT OF THAT--
"IF YOU ARE ALIVE--
"AND AT HOME,
"NO MATTER IF YOU HAVEN'T
"GOT A SINGLE MILL.
YOUR BROTHER, GEORGE SWAIN."
[NARRATOR] REASSURED BY HIS BROTHER'S LETTER,
IN NOVEMBER, SWAIN LEFT THE DIGGINGS
AND HEADED FOR SAN FRANCISCO.
BY THE TIME HE PAID FOR HIS PASSAGE HOME BY SEA,
HE HAD NO MORE CASH IN HIS POCKET
THAN WHEN HE'D LEFT YOUNGSTOWN 18 MONTHS EARLIER.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "NOVEMBER 6, 1850,
"SAN FRANCISCO.
"DEAR FRIENDS,
"IT IS A LONG TIME SINCE I HAVE WRITTEN HOME.
"I HAVE GOT ENOUGH OF CALIFORNIA
"AND AM COMING HOME AS FAST AS I CAN.
"I REMAIN, AS EVER,
"YOUR SON, BROTHER, AND HUSBAND,
WILLIAM."
♪ OF ALL THE COMRADES I HAD THEN ♪
♪ THERE'S NONE LEFT NOW BUT ME ♪
♪ AND THE ONLY THING I'M FITTING FOR ♪
♪ IS A SENATOR-TO-BE ♪
♪ AND THE PEOPLE CRY AS I PASS BY ♪
♪ "THERE GOES A TRAVELING SIGN" ♪
♪ "THAT'S OLD TOM MOORE, A BUMMER SURE" ♪
♪ "FROM THE DAYS OF '49" ♪
♪ OH, I MISS THE BOYS AND ALL THE NOISE ♪
♪ AND THE GOLD THAT ONCE WAS MINE ♪
♪ IN THE DAYS OF OLD, THE DAYS OF GOLD ♪
♪ THE DAYS OF '49 ♪
♪ IN THE DAYS OF OLD WHEN WE DUG UP THE GOLD ♪
♪ IN THE DAYS OF '49 ♪♪
[NARRATOR] WITHIN A FEW SHORT YEARS,
THE SURFACE GOLD IN CALIFORNIA WAS ALL BUT GONE.
MOST OF WHAT GOLD REMAINED
COULD NO LONGER BE RETRIEVED BY A SINGLE MINER
WITH A PICK OR SHOVEL OR PAN,
NO MATTER HOW HARD HE WORKED.
IT LAY AT THE BOTTOM OF RIVERS,
IN VEINS OF QUARTZ
THAT COULD ONLY BE REACHED BY DEEP SHAFTS,
OR HIDDEN IN HILLSIDES FROM WHICH IT HAD TO BE BLASTED
BY POWERFUL STREAMS OF WATER.
BIG MACHINERY REQUIRED BIG MONEY.
CALIFORNIA'S GOLD FIELDS WERE SOON CONTROLLED BY INVESTORS
WITH HEADQUARTERS IN SAN FRANCISCO
AND WORKED BY MINERS
WHO NOW LABORED FOR A WEEKLY PAYCHECK.
AS DISCOURAGED FORTY-NINERS HEADED HOME,
SOME PAUSED TO PAN FOR GOLD IN PLACES THEY HAD BYPASSED
IN THEIR HURRY TO CALIFORNIA.
OTHERS FANNED OUT IN EVERY DIRECTION.
THERE WERE NEW STRIKES-- IN IDAHO,
OREGON, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA,
LAST CHANCE GULCH IN MONTANA, PIKES PEAK IN COLORADO,
AND IN NEVADA, THE GREAT COMSTOCK LODE.
AND WHEREVER GOLD AND SILVER WERE DISCOVERED,
THE PATTERN SET IN CALIFORNIA REPEATED ITSELF.
AMERICANS RUSHED IN, TOWNS SPRANG UP,
AND INDIAN PEOPLES-- THE APACHE AND PAIUTE,
THE SHOSHONE AND COEUR D'ALENE, CHEYENNE AND NEZ PERCE--
FOUND THEMSELVES OUTNUMBERED IN THEIR OWN LANDS.
"STEALING BEGAN."
"LAND, CATTLE, HORSES--
"EVERYTHING BEGAN TO DISAPPEAR.
"THERE IS A SAYING
"THAT MEN WILL STEAL EVERYTHING
"BUT A MILESTONE AND A MILLSTONE.
THEY STOLE MY MILLSTONES."
JOHN AUGUSTUS SUTTER.
[NARRATOR] JOHN SUTTER HAD EXPECTED
THE GOLD RUSH TO MAKE HIM RICHER THAN EVER.
INSTEAD, IT RUINED HIM.
SQUATTERS TOOK OVER HIS LAND,
CREDITORS DOGGED HIM,
AND HE BEGAN TO DRINK HEAVILY.
FINALLY, SOMEONE BURNED DOWN HIS HOUSE.
SUTTER MOVED EAST
AND HAUNTED WASHINGTON FOR YEARS,
SEEKING COMPENSATION HE SAID HE WAS OWED
FOR HAVING OWNED THE LAND
ON WHICH GOLD WAS FIRST FOUND.
HE DIED IN PENNSYLVANIA,
STILL WAITING FOR CONGRESS TO ACT.
BUT SUTTER'S RUIN WOULD PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY
FOR SOMEONE ELSE.
NANCY GOOCH HAD COME WEST AS A SLAVE,
WAS EMANCIPATED WHEN CALIFORNIA ENTERED THE UNION,
AND GOT A JOB AS A COOK AND WASHERWOMAN.
SHE MANAGED TO EARN ENOUGH
TO BUY THE FREEDOM OF HER SON AND HIS WIFE
BACK IN MISSOURI.
THEY CAME WEST
AND EVENTUALLY BOUGHT THE SITE OF SUTTER'S SAWMILL
ON THE BANK OF THE AMERICAN RIVER,
WHERE THE GOLD RUSH HAD BEGUN.
[WILLIAM SWAIN] "ABSENCE FROM MY FRIENDS
"HAS GIVEN ME A TRUE VALUATION OF THEM,
"AND ALSO IT HAS TAUGHT ME TO APPRECIATE
THE COMFORTS AND BLESSINGS OF HOME."
[NARRATOR] WILLIAM SWAIN HAD FOUND
NO GOLD IN CALIFORNIA
AND HAD GONE HOME AND STARTED FARMING AGAIN
AS IF HE'D NEVER BEEN AWAY.
HE AND HIS WIFE SABRINA HAD THREE MORE CHILDREN...
AND SWAIN EVENTUALLY BECAME THE BIGGEST PEACH GROWER
IN NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
BUT IN THE EVENINGS ON HIS FARM
WHEN THE WORK WAS DONE,
HE NEVER TIRED OF TELLING HIS WIFE
AND HIS CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN
ABOUT THE GREAT ADVENTURES HE HAD HAD
CROSSING THE COUNTRY
WHEN IT AND HE HAD BOTH BEEN YOUNG.
CORPORATE FUNDING