All language subtitles for Gold fever part 2

As morning broke
On Christmas Day, 1849,

San Francisco laid in ruin.

In just a matter of hours,

The largest city
In the western United States

Had been destroyed.

Entire city blocks
Were leveled.

The damage totaled to over
$100 million in today's money.

Thousands were left homeless.

But for some, the disaster
Was an opportunity.

In the months following
The great fire,

A different kind of gold rush
Broke out,

As looters repeatedly torched
San Francisco.

Brands: there were
Enterprising people who realized

That one of the ways
Of getting gold

Was to burn down the banks,
Burn down the hotels,

Burn down the city.

Then, as soon as the embers
Were even starting to cool,

These vandals would come in,

And they would sift
Through the ashes.

They would basically be
Gold mining

In the ashes
Of these buildings.

Narrator:
Throughout 1850,

San Francisco was burned
To the ground

Four separate times.

With all that turmoil,

People began fleeing the city
By the thousands...

...In search of a new place
To call home.

Joining the migration

Was Charles Robinson
And Boston Company.

He followed the masses east
Around the San Francisco bay,

Where eventually they came
Across a new town

That had recently formed
At the base of the goldfields

Known as Sacramento.

In this fertile valley,

Miners were building new homes

And setting down
More permanent roots

On whatever land
They could find.

Brands: San Francisco was
The first city that developed

Because it was the easiest
To get to from outside.

But it had the disadvantage

That it was hundreds of miles
From the goldfields.

And so there was
A very strong incentive

For some kind of community
To develop

Closer to the goldfields.

Narrator:
For Robinson and Boston Company

And hundreds of others
Like them,

Sacramento wasn't just a place
To get rich quick.

It was a place to call home.

But while Sacramento
Was on the rise...

San Francisco
Was descending into chaos.

As the fires raged,

The once-flourishing city fell
Into a state of anarchy.

Crime ran rampant

As violent gangs
Ruled the streets.

In the states back east,

Law and order
Was well established,

And justice ruled.

But California
Wasn't yet a state,

So there weren't any laws
At all.

[ horse whinnies ]

California was a place

That was literally lawless

Because laws didn't apply
And weren't enforced there.

You couldn't rely on the sheriff
To protect you.

Narrator:
With the people of San Francisco

Paralyzed with fear
In the wake of the fires,

One man looked
To take advantage.

Sam Brannan had risen
From a simple shopkeeper

To become the richest and most
Powerful man in San Francisco.

But all that power
Made him a target.

Brannan was
Constantly being threatened

By gangs and rival upstarts.

But now,
With the city in chaos,

Brannan saw an opportunity

That had never existed before.

[ indistinct conversations ]

Bagley: each of these fires
Creates more and more paranoia.

And once you have one
Of these catastrophic fires,

People like to point fingers
And blame different characters.

And, in many ways,
Plays into Brannan's hands,

'cause he can play on that fear
To increase his own power.

These men have destroyed
Your town.

They have taken your gold.

They will keep doing it
Until we rid ourselves of them.

The justice of this land
Is not for me to decide.

It's for you, the people,
To decide.

But if you want me to act,
By god, I will act.

We will root out the evil
That has come to our town.

Yeah!Yeah!

Saddle the horses!

[ indistinct shouting ]

Narrator: in one fell swoop,
Sam Brannan became the law.

And now he was going to use that
Power to take out his rivals.

He started a gang...

[ grunts ]

...To cleanse the streets
Of San Francisco.

They were called
The vigilance committee,

A group of hired guns

Who took orders directly
From Sam Brannan.

With Brannan's committee
Now controlling the streets,

William Walker, Oliver Martin,
And John Fowler,

Who'd been laying low
Since robbing Brannan's house,

Knew they had
To get out of town.

But Brannan's first target
Was a legitimate shopkeeper

Whose business was getting too
Big for Brannan's comfort --

John Jenkins.

[ knock on door ]

[ girl screaming,
Dog barking ]

Jenkins was arrested

On trumped-up charges
Of burglary

And brought to trial,

Where Sam Brannan
Had appointed himself

Judge, jury, and executioner.

Brannan: you, john Jenkins,

Have been convicted

Of wanton destruction
Of this town

And of grand theft of property

From the people of this town.

[ gavel bangs ]

Bagley: the defining event
Of the vigilante movement

Is the lynching
Of john Jenkins.

Man: "And Moses said
Unto them, stand still,

"And I will hear
What the lord will command

Concerning you."

They dragged Jenkins
Up to the square,

And they put the rope
Around Jenkins' neck.

And the vigilantes lynched
Their first victim.

[ crowd gasps ]

The whole episode
Was both grotesque

And ultimately
A despicable, illegal murder.

Narrator: with the lynching
Of john Jenkins,

Sam Brannan was no longer
Just a ruthless businessman.

Now he was a king.

Narrator: by spring of 1850,

Thousands of gold miners

Had flooded in
To the new city of Sacramento.

Among them was Charles Robinson
And Boston Company.

And now that they were
All settled in,

They were ready
To get back to gold mining.

[ indistinct conversations ]

They teamed up with a group
Of veteran miners in town,

Led by a guy who'd been
In California for years

And was well known
Around Sacramento --

James Allen.

These guys had been
A part of the gold rush

From the very beginning,

And like everyone else,

They were finding the gold
Harder to come by.

Thankfully, Boston Company's
Chief engineer,

Sylvester edgerly,
Had some new ideas.

Edgerly, you explain.

Well, the idea is
That we construct a dam

To divert the river,

Then we can dry. out
The river bed.

I figure with 30 men,

We could have it built
Within two weeks.

Narrator:
A river diversion.

It would mark the beginning

Of a new era
In gold-mining technique,

Where in order
To find the gold,

Miners would have
To alter the land.

After two solid years
Of mining,

The banks of the rivers
had been picked dry.

But the gold-rich riverbeds
Had been left untouched.

All the miners had to do
Was get underneath the water.

Brechin: miners during
The gold rush realized

That in order to get more gold
From the stream beds,

You have to essentially reroute
The entire river.

Narrator: but to move a river,
You need to build a dam.

It was a massive undertaking

That required a level
Of engineering

Unlike anything
The goldfields had ever seen.

Using nothing but sheer
Ingenuity and manpower,

Robinson and his men
Were going to alter the course

Of the American River,

A 60-foot-wide waterway
That runs 30 feet deep.

That's 230,000 pounds of water

Straining against the freshly
Cut boards every second.

One small miscalculation,

And the whole thing
Could have blown.

A single man can go out
And pan in the river,

But it takes 20, 30, 40 people
To dam a river, divert it,

And then dig out the sandbars
Immediately below the dam,

So cooperation
Becomes very important.

Gonna have to go
One level higher at the top.

Narrator: they were no longer
Just Boston Company.

Now they were part of
A tight-knit community of miners

In the city of Sacramento,

Working together in the hopes
Of making a fortune.

After weeks
Of round-the-clock work,

Their dam was nearly complete.

The structure now stood
Over 12 feet tall,

Made up of nearly two tons
Of wood, dirt, and rock.

They put everything
Into the dam --

Weeks of work and sweat,
And all their money...

Okay.
We got a leak.

...In a last-ditch effort
To find some gold.

If it didn't pay off,
Their entire rush would be over.

That's good.
Yeah.

[ dog barking ]

[ horse whinnies ]

In the months
Following the great fire,

Sam Brannan had rebuilt
San Francisco.

And with his vigilance committee
Patrolling the streets,

He was now more powerful
Than ever.

But little did he know
His biggest opportunity yet

Was just around the corner.

By the winter of 1850,

The modern equivalent
Of over $7 billion worth of gold

Had already been pulled
Out of the hills of California,

And all that fortune

Was attracting more prospectors
By the day.

The gold rush was drawing
The country west

Faster than ever before
In American history.

Brands: until the late 1840s,

The population was moving
Across north America

From the eastern part
Of the United States.

But it was taking generations.

The expectation was
That California

Would probably take
Half a century to fill up.

California would not be applying
For statehood

For many, many years.

Then gold was discovered,

And California filled up
With enough people

To form a state
Within the first year.

Narrator: with California
On the fast track to statehood,

It didn't take long

Before ambitious politicians
In washington

Started heading west.

These weren't
Cash-strapped prospectors

Looking to get rich quick.

These were power-hungry men...

Like William Gwin,

A former congressman
From the state of Mississippi.

[ indistinct conversations ]

Gwin saw California as a chance
To advance his career.

Mr. Brannan.

Mr. Gwin.
Welcome to San Francisco.

You've done quite well
Out of California.

Its population's
Almost 100,000.

Really?

That makes it eligible
For statehood.

I plan to be
Its first senator.

And if you
Help me get elected,

You'll have a valuable friend
In government.

I plan to make California

The most prosperous state
In America,

With several large cities,
Not just one.

The big mining corporations
Are coming.

And they want
To base themselves

Next to the goldfields
In Sacramento.

I know it's
Just a trading post now,

But when we're finished,

It'll be
Another San Francisco.

Sam Brannan realized

Everything was
About to change.

Well, hello, sir.

Hello there.

Narrator: big business
Was on its way to California.

Back east,

Large companies were doing
A different type of mining,

As they were developing
New technologies

To dig up massive amounts
Of coal, copper, and iron ore.

Those big companies
Were now realizing

That the gold in California
Wasn't going to run out.

And with their heavy machinery
And large-scale operations,

They could pull more gold
Out of the hills

Than any miner with a tin pan
Or wooden sluice box.

All they had to do was get
Their equipment to California

And start digging money
Straight out of the ground.

The rush would soon be over
For the little guy,

And Sam Brannan
Was going to take advantage

With his biggest scheme yet.

All he had to do was get control
Of the land

The big companies were after
Before they got there

So he could be the one

To sell it to them
At massively inflated prices.

Brechin:
Sam Brannan made a fortune

Supplying tools and supplies
To the miners

Because there's a constant
And growing demand for them.

But that's not enough.

He understands
That the lasting fortunes

Are made by those people
Who got control of the land

By whatever means necessary.

Narrator:
Ever since the gold rush began,

Sam Brannan had been rigging
The game in his favor.

That game just got
A whole lot bigger.

Narrator:
By the middle of 1850,
Over 100,000 people were crammed

Into the gold fields
Around Sacramento.

But the lack of gold had
Started to drive some miners

To leave the safety
Of the established claims

And trek off on their own,
Deeper into the wilderness.

Eymann:
They had to go out and find

Some place that somebody
Didn't already claim.

And they had to often go
Farther into the mountains

In order to do that.

That meant rougher terrain.

It meant colder water.

There were wild animals --
Very dangerous.

Narrator: into this
Treacherous environment,

One man was trying to get
As far away from civilization

As he possibly could.

[ insects chirping ]

Narrator:
After weeks on the run,

William Walker was finally safe
From Brannan's men.

Along with Oliver Martin
And John Fowler,

Walker had teamed up
With another mining company,

100 miles northeast
Of San Francisco,

On the bear river.

And that company had a secret
Weapon for finding gold.

The miners
Called it quicksilver.

I'll be damned.

Narrator: quicksilver is
Better known today as mercury.

And it's been used in mining
Since ancient times.

During the California gold rush,

A bath of the liquid metal
Was added to the base

Of a standard gold washer.

As the lightweight rocks
And sediment fell in,

The mercury bonded to even
The smallest specks of gold.

Mercury is like a magnet
For gold.

They are attracted
To each other.

And the old-timers knew this.

And in order to get a lot
Of the small gold

That was floating
Out their sluice boxes

Or to get the most gold,

They would use mercury.

Walker: hurry!
Let's go! Let's go!

Narrator: the miracle substance
Did most of the work.

All the miners had to do

Was reach in
And find their fortune.

But what no one knew
At the time

Was that these men
Were exposing themselves

To a highly toxic material.

[ indistinct whispering ]

[ laughs ]

Mercury was one of those
Chemicals at the time

That was used
Quite prolifically

But had numerous hazards
That were accompanied with it.

I mean, mercury makes you
Go crazy.

Ware: you'll absorb it into
Your skin through your fingers

Or into your bloodstream
By inhaling it.

And you'll eventually lose
Your teeth or your hair.

[ laughs ]
And it'll kill you.

[ distorted ]
Any luck?

[ distorted ]
What do you think?

[ laughter ]

[ gulls calling ]

Narrator: meanwhile, Sam Brannan
Was looking to take control

Of Sacramento
And the surrounding goldfields

So he could sell it

To the big mining companies
From back east

For a massive profit.

And to get control
Of that land,

Brannan had just the play
He needed.

Thousands of miners
Were building homes in the area.

But they didn't actually own
The land.

The land itself was owned
By just a small handful of men,

Men who had been in California
Since before the rush

And who resented the newcomers.

You have this ready-made
Conflict that exists

Of who owns the land
And who has the right to it.

Is it these people
Who has originally gotten it

As a land grant
From the mexican government,

Or is it the people

That are coming in and setting
Up their livelihood?

Narrator: Brannan realized
He could exploit the situation

And use the conflict between
The landowners and the settlers

To his favor.

He headed to Sacramento
To meet with the landowners

To convince them
To sell their right to the land

Before they realized
What they were giving up.

Now, I know that each of you
Might be feeling angry.

While you've been cultivating
The land,

Others have stepped in
And become rich from gold.

Well, I want to propose
You get something back,

Something to reward you
For all your hard work.

Now, I know that each of you

Purchased land
From the mexican government,

Land you bought
Fair and square.

I also know that there are
Squatters living on this land

Who feel they have the same
Right to the land as you.

Well, I'm sorry to say

There's nothing you can do
To remove them,

Which means the land
Is of no value to you.

Sam Brannan was an opportunist.

He knew how to capitalize
On things, saw the opportunity.

He was a superb salesman,
And he knew how to say,

"What I'm telling you
Is the truth.

"And if you back me up,

If you help capitalize me,
You, too, will make a profit."

Now, I think
That you've been wronged,

And I want
To make things right

By buying that land
From you.

What about the gold?

Who knows
Where the good lord

Has chosen
To bury his treasure?

So if there is
Any gold found,

I will, of course,
Share it with you.

Bagley:
The old California families

That had been there
For generations

And had deeds
From the mexican government,

They essentially wound up

Being swindled by Sam Brannan

And cheated out of their land.

Narrator:
Brannan wasn't concerned

About keeping his promises
To the landowners.

All he cared about were
The big companies

Who were, at that very moment,
On their way to California

From cities like Boston,
New york, and philadelphia.

And since there wouldn't be
A transcontinental railroad

For almost another 20 years,

The only way to get that
Heavy equipment to California

Was by ship.

The clock was ticking.

Brannan now had control of the
Land those companies were after,

But he knew he'd never be able
To sell it to them

With so many settlers
Still living there.

As far as he was concerned,

Those settlers
Were now squatters

Illegally occupying his land.

So he sent his own hired guns

All the way to Sacramento

To clear the city --

By force, if necessary.

Giving you all notice to vacate
This land,

Or else be evicted.

Under whose authority?

The law.

This is all private land,

And you all are squatters.

Narrator: just over two years
Into the gold rush,

Dozens of new mining techniques
Were being used in the fields,

From gold washers
To sluice boxes.

But one was working
Better than most...

...The quicksilver machine.

Unfortunately
For William Walker,

The mercury in the machine

Was beginning to take its toll.

Martin.

Yeah?

Take over.
I need to rest.

Okay.

Brechin: mercury is an extremely
Powerful neurotoxin.

It affects the nerves.

It will affect your brain
If you get enough of it.

What happens is,
Often, you'll start trembling...

...Because your nerves
Are going haywire, actually.

They're being killed.

Your brain is affected.

People will have
Severe depression.

You can start losing
Your eyesight.

It's really
Quite an ugly process.

Narrator:
The mercury wasn't just proving
To be harmful to the miners

But also the environment.

Less than 1/10 of an ounce
Of the toxic substance is enough

To contaminate a small lake.

But over the course of the rush,
49ers used

Nearly 26 million pounds
Of mercury

To mine for gold.

Very soon, the whole Sierra was
Contaminated

With this very toxic metal.

Anywhere where there is gold
Being discovered in that time,

You will find now mercury
That wasn't there before.

It contaminates the streams.

It contaminates the earth
And the water.

Narrator: even to this day,

Hundreds of lakes and rivers
In northern California

Are still polluted
By mercury from the gold rush.

While Walker descended
Into a state of madness...

...40 miles to the south...

...Charles Robinson
And Boston Company

Had found
Their own mining method --

Diverting the American River.

But building the dam
Was the easy part.

The actual gold was
In the bedrock,

The solid rock base
Beneath the riverbed,

And no one knew how deep
They'd have to dig to find it.

We could be feet away
From the bedrock.

Well, you know, there --
There's a better way.

What do you have
In mind?

Brechin: they know that there's
A lot of gold there,

But a lot of it is hidden.

And so, when you wanted to get
At deposits of gold

That had been buried
Or hard to get,

You had to blow up
The rivers themselves.

Narrator: it would be
Nearly 20 years before dynamite,

A relatively safe explosive,
Was invented.

So instead,
Miners in the goldfields

Had to rely on gunpowder
To blast through the earth.

There was a tremendous demand
For explosives up in the Sierra.

So a big industry in gunpowder
Developed

First in San Francisco,

And then because the explosives
Plants kept blowing up,

It would move to other parts
Of the bay

That were outside of the city.

Narrator: with demand
For gunpowder so high,

Prices were through the roof.

A single charge could cost
Over $10,000 in today's money.

So, some miners decided to make
Their gunpowder themselves.

Made up of sulfur, charcoal,
And potassium nitrate,

Gunpowder is a highly unstable
And easily combustible material.

If you don't know
How to handle it properly,

The consequences
Could be deadly.

Ware: it's not like
A stick of dynamite,

Where you already know
What it's gonna do.

The black powder, you got
To experiment, see how much.

You get a teaspoon,
Two teaspoons.

These guys were
Basically all on their own,

And they didn't know how much
It would take to crack a rock.

Have you ever used
Explosives before?

No.

Brechin:
Miners rely upon gunpowder

In large quantities
To get at the gold.

And, of course,
They often, themselves,

Became victims
Of that technique.

I think you'd all
Better stand back.

Narrator: as gold became harder
To come by,

Thousands of 49ers
Started using new explosives

To blast into
The Sierra Nevada foothills.

It didn't take long
Before those explosives

Were used for a new purpose --

Laying the first railroad tracks
West of the Mississippi,

As the gold rush kicked off
A 20-year building boom

That eventually tied
The country together

With over 50,000 miles
Of railroads.

Kurutz: the gold rush had
A profound effect on the nation.

You had
This tremendous economic force

Linking California
And all of its wealth

Via the transcontinental
Railroad,

Achieving that whole notion
Of manifest destiny.

Narrator: Boston Company's
River diversion was complete.

But to get at the gold
Under the riverbed,

They had to try
Their riskiest move yet.

Edgerly. Hey.

Any explosives are dangerous.

Black powder or nitro -- you had
To be very careful with them.

I mean, you can lose your life
Real easy.

Is he all right?

Is he breathing?
I don't know.

Is he alive?

Just give him
Some room.

Is he all right?

He's breathing.

Just give him
Some room.

Needs some time,
Okay?

Man: gold!

Gold!
I heard that!

It's gold!

Gold?!

We found gold!

It's gold! It's real!

Hey.
[ coughs ]

Give me a pick!
Give me a shovel!

Give me a bucket!

[ indistinct shouting ]

You cracked
Your glasses.

You did it!
You did it!

Nice work!

You did it!
You did it!

Nice work!

It's real!

[ cheering, laughter ]

Narrator: the men of Boston
Company had finally found gold.

With this discovery, they joined
A select group of men

Who had
Actually struck it rich.

In the 2 1/2 years
Since the gold rush began,

Over 150,000 people had flooded
Into the goldfields.

But fewer than 5%

Had actually found
A significant amount of gold.

[ indistinct conversations ]

Let's have three cheers
For edgerly!

All: hip, hip, hooray!

Hip, hip, hooray!
Hip, hip, hooray!

[ laughter ]

Narrator: Boston Company
May have finally hit it big,

But their celebration
Wouldn't last long.

[ horse snorts ]

Big business from back east
Was headed to California,

And Sam Brannan had a plan
To cash in.

He knew
The big mining companies

Were looking to buy up
Sacramento and the goldfields,

Land that he had just bought
For next to nothing.

The only problem --
That land was still home

To thousands of miners
And their families.

Before Brannan
Could sell his land

To the mining companies
For a massive profit,

He would need to get rid
Of the squatters

Who were now living there.

Well?

We've given them notice
To leave, sir.

They're still there.

See that they're all gone
By tomorrow.

The quiet streets
Of Sacramento

Were about to get a taste
Of Sam Brannan's wrath.

Brannan's men
Took the city by storm,

Forcing families
From their homes,

Burning their houses
To the ground.

But Brannan wasn't going to stop
With Sacramento.

Once he cleared the city,

He was going to come
After the goldfields themselves

And every claim on it.

The miners had no idea
What was coming.

[ gunshot ]

Narrator: by winter of 1850,

Sacramento had fallen
At the hands of Sam Brannan.

But Brannan wasn't finished.

He knew the big mining companies
From back east

Were almost to California.

And before they got there,
He would need to get control

Of the most valuable land
On the west coast --

The gold fields.

But what Brannan had
No way of knowing

Was that going
After the gold fields would lead

To the deadliest confrontation
In the entire gold rush.

Word of Brannan's
Violent takeover of Sacramento

Quickly reached Charles Robinson
And Boston Company

At their claim
On the American River.

Eymann:
Charles Robinson believed that,

As an American coming
To California,

You had a right to claim land
That was available.

It was the sense
That this is ours

And you, the wealthy people,
Don't have the right

To take this away from us.

Narrator:
But Robinson realized

He wasn't gonna be able
To stop Brannan alone.

He partnered with James Allen,
A veteran 49er,

Who'd been a part
Of the California gold rush

Since the very beginning.

Got any
Of that coffee left?

Sure.

Together, Robinson and Allen
Began rallying

The men of the gold fields.

They formed a group known
As the settlers' association

And began holding
A series of secret meetings

In Allen's house.

For years, Sam Brannan had been
Taking advantage of the miners,

Charging whatever he wanted

For supplies, booze,
And prostitutes.

And the miners were
Always willing to pay

Because they knew they could
Go out and find more gold.

But now,
By coming after the gold fields,

Brannan was threatening
To take away

Something much more valuable --
Their chance to get rich.

The miners were
Not going to stand for it.

If we don't fight,
We're as good as dead.

[ indistinct conversations ]

Narrator: as word
Of the settlers' meetings

Began to spread,
Printed in newspapers

And circulated
Throughout the gold fields,

More and more miners began
Joining the cause.

You have this large group
That have come in

And want their fair share.

They organize themselves

With Charles Robinson
As a leader,

Gathering, having rallies,

Talking about
How this isn't right,

How "We're gonna
Take this back."

And they made their mark to say,
"We're not gonna take this."

Narrator: Sam Brannan had made
The worst move possible.

He'd given the miners a reason
To unite against him.

But he realized
They weren't gonna back down

Without a fight.

30 miles east,

William Walker had stumbled
Upon a company with an edge.

For the better part of a month,

Walker had been manning
This company's mercury machine,

Using a bath of the liquid metal
To extract gold from dirt.

But that mercury was
A dangerous,

Even deadly, poison.

And its effects were starting
To take their toll.

Walker's condition was
Getting worse.

And his journals show
The havoc

The mercury was inflicting
On his body.

As walker's body and mind were
Deteriorating,

The company's leader discovered

That their gold had
Gone missing.

Man:
What are you doing?

Just give me the gold.

[ distorted, echoing ]
Gold. Gold. Gold.

I can't do that.

Give me the gold.

[ groans ]

You'll hang for this,
Walker.

Maybe I will.

Maybe I won't.

So long, boys.

Meanwhile, with the settlers'
Association gaining traction,

Charles Robinson took
Their case

To the legal authorities
In California.

He started
With the mayor of Sacramento.

I'll look into it,
Just as soon as I can.

You have my word.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Narrator:
But Robinson had no idea

That any legal authority
In California

Answered directly
To Sam Brannan.

I've had a visitor.

I know.

I don't think
You're going to be able

To remove the squatters
From their claim.

Settlers have a right
To vacant land.

I own the land.

I advise you
To quit while you're ahead.

If you try to take their claims,
You will lose.

Bagley: when Sam Brannan made up
His mind that he was right,

He was going to defend
That position ruthlessly.

He was a businessman
Who would brook no opposition,

And he was
Obviously dangerous.

Narrator:
Sam Brannan had everything,

But his greed wouldn't
Let it stop there.

He ordered a surprise raid
On the settlers' headquarters,

With orders to haul in
The association's leaders,

Charles Robinson
And James Allen, dead or alive.

When Brannan's men arrived
At Allen's house...

...Robinson and the rest
Of the miners were

Back at their claim
On the American River...

...Leaving James Allen
To defend

The squatter headquarters
Himself.

Need to search your house,
Allen!

I ain't going anywhere!

I'm warning you,
Old man!

Your house is
Now on private property!

I'm gonna count to three!

One...

[ gun cocks ]
...Two...

Three!

[ gunshot ]

Man: fire!

[ coughs ]

[ gun cocks ]

Narrator:
After killing the leader
Of the mercury company

And robbing him of his gold,
William Walker was laying low

In the outskirts
Of the California gold fields...

Leaving his former partners
To fend for themselves.

Oliver Martin and John Fowler
Had no choice

But to take jobs working
For a local mining company.

Man: move them rocks!

It's tough to watch.

I've actually physically seen

What these poor guys
Have to endure

Working for the guy
That has the good ground

For a little bit of money,

And they end up
Just burning out --

Broken backs, broken dreams.

There's nothing left for them.

Narrator:
After a year in the fields
With nothing to show for it,

Martin and Fowler were
Growing desperate

For their luck to change.

Somewhere off...

But a new rumor was
Making its way

Through the mining camps...

...They say there's so much gold
In that lake

That it just glistens
In the sunlight.

...Whispers
Of a deposit so rich,

It promised
To make millionaires

Out of the first miners
To reach it.

A lake of gold.

There was this rumor
Of this golden lake,

That in the bottom of it was
Just shining with gold,

And so people heard about this
And said, "Got to go."

And there's a mass stampede
To the lake of gold.

Narrator:
For the thousands of miners
Who had hit rock bottom,

News of the golden lake was
A ray of hope.

Entire camps emptied out
As men dropped everything

And set off on a race
To find it.

Martin and Fowler
Finally had a lead

That could land them
Untold riches.

All they had to do was
Find that lake.

James Allen had been
Brutally killed

By Sam Brannan's thugs.

With Allen dead,

Charles Robinson was left
To lead the settlers alone.

He finally realized

That Sam Brannan was
Going to stop at nothing,

And so the miners would
Have to fight back

With a deadly force
Of their own.

Robinson began to mobilize
The men of the gold fields

And arm them for battle.

They were going
To march on Sacramento

And take back the city.

Once people began
To think of California as home

Rather than simply a place
To make money,

Then a different mind-set
Set in.

These people thought this was
Something worth fighting for.

"This is where I live,

And I'm gonna stand up
For my rights here."

Narrator:
Robinson knew he was leading
His men into certain war,

But his resolve was firm.

As he wrote that night,

"From this position,
We cannot be driven.

We are prepared
To abide the result."

Meanwhile, Sam Brannan got word
Of the settlers' plans.

As far as he was concerned,

The miners were
All that stood in his way.

And to get complete control
Of California once and for all,

He was going to have
To destroy them.

Eymann: you have
This large group of miners

That do not like the tactics
That have been used

Because they were treated
So brutally,

Because they were pushed,
Their homes were destroyed.

They were pushed to the end
To then have to fight back.

That leads to a point

Where there has to be
A confrontation.

And in 1850, that led
To the squatters' riots.

Narrator:
On a seemingly ordinary day
In 1850,

Dr. Charles Robinson led
His detachment of armed miners

To the center
Of Sacramento...

...Hoping to take back

What they believed to be
Rightfully theirs.

But Sam Brannan came prepared
With a force of his own.

Bagley: Brannan and Robinson are
An interesting pair of rivals

Because they're a lot alike.

They both see themselves
As representatives

Of the real America
And the best Americans.

You have these dynamic,

Charismatic characters
At either end.

They wind up
In violent confrontation.

How much?

For what?

How much gold
To make you all leave?

It's not about the gold.

Really?

I thought
That's why we're all here.

What you did was wrong.

There's no right
Or wrong.

This is California.

If you want something,
You take it.

We've a right
To this land.

It was unoccupied.

We settled here
In good faith.

If you and your mob
Don't leave...

I will kill all of you.

[ gun cocks ]

[ guns cocking ]

Narrator: after 2 1/2 years,

The California gold rush
Came down to this --

The everyman miner versus

The richest, most powerful man
In California...

...In a battle for control
Of the gold fields.

Doc.

Hold.

[ gunshots,
Indistinct shouting ]

Cover! Take cover!

Stay low!

[ grunts ]

[ grunts ]

Aah!

[ groaning ]

[ breathing heavily ]

[ groaning ]

Shoot again!

Aah!

[ gun cocks ]

Narrator:
The once-tranquil streets
Of Sacramento

Have been transformed
Into a place of slaughter.

Five miners and three
Of Brannan's men were killed

And eight more people wounded.

It was the single bloodiest day

In the entire
California gold rush.

With blood still fresh
In the streets,

The settlers scattered
Into the hills, badly defeated.

Brannan arrested and locked up
Any injured miners who survived.

And among them was
Charles Robinson.

With the bullet still lodged
In his body,

Robinson was hauled off
To prison,

Where he was charged
With inciting a riot

And multiple counts
Of murder.

Many people were injured
As part of the squatters' riots,

And Charles Robinson was
One of them.

And he was put into prison
With his wounds intact.

And he was given no treatment

Except for what he could
Give himself.

And so he
Literally nursed himself

As he was held prisoner
For the actions he took.

Narrator:
With the miners retreating,

Brannan was convinced
His aggressive plan had worked.

It was every bit the victory
He'd hoped for.

90 miles away,
In the Sierra Nevadas...

Oliver Martin and John Fowler
Were still on the hunt

For the lake of gold.

They knew,
If the stories were true,

That the find of their lives was
Just around the corner.

Rumors of the lake had led
Hundreds of hopeful miners

Thousands of feet
Into the Sierra Nevadas,

Where the weather changed
Quickly.

Just miles from the mild climate
Of the gold fields,

Temperatures could plunge
To as low as 40 below zero.

And many who risked the journey
Were never heard from again.

After weeks on the hunt,

Martin and Fowler had found
Themselves in the worst of it,

10,000 feet above sea level.

[ wind howling ]

But the men were certain
That once they found that lake,

Their entire ordeal
Would have been worth it.

It's there.

It's there!
It's there!

[ laughing ]

No.

No!

Come on. Come on. Come on.
Hey, hey.

[ sobbing ]

Kurutz:
You have these wild rumors
To "There's a lake of gold."

And, of course,
Once they got there,

They found out
That this was a hoax.

There's no truth to it.

Ware: some people --
They're exhausted.

They're out of funds.

They've lost their mind thinking
They're gonna get rich,

And they haven't struck it
For days and weeks and months,

And it's their demise.

It's the fever gone bad --
Exactly what it is.

Narrator:
Having successfully cleared
The squatters from his land,

Sam Brannan had won the battle
For control of the gold fields

And was merely waiting
On big business

To arrive in California
So he could cash in.

His adversary,
Charles Robinson,

Remained locked up
In a Sacramento jail cell,

Awaiting trial for murder
And leaving

The tens of thousands of miners
Across California

Powerless and defeated.

One man left just in time

To avoid
Falling under Brannan's control.

William Walker had
Enough stolen gold

To survive comfortably
On the outskirts of California.

But the same could not be said
For the partners he'd abandoned.

Oliver Martin and John Fowler
Had spent weeks

Wandering
The treacherous Sierra Nevadas,

Searching for a lake of gold

That turned out to be
Nothing more than a myth.

Wait till you see
The second course.

Beaten down
And running on empty,

The realization
That their dream might be over

Was beginning to sink in.

I'm going for a walk.

I'll keep
Your supper warm.

[ gunshot ]

[ voice breaking ]
Oh, god. No.

No, john. No.

[ crying ] no!

[ sobbing ]

Ware: a lot of people think
That gold mining is easy.

It's not easy.
Conditions are hard.

Those early guys
Coming out in wagons,

Changing
Their whole lives around

To come out and get rich,

You only read
About the ones that made it.

You never read
About the other 999

That didn't make it.

Narrator: of the 300,000 men
Who traveled to California,

Nearly 1/3 would die
Before the rush was over.

Those who weren't stricken
With illness or murdered

Took their own lives.

Brechin: many of these men were
Just destitute.

They would often turn
To drugs and alcohol.

They become
Phenomenally depressed,

We know from their letters,

And there's a very high rate
Of suicide.

Kurutz: they left
Their wife and children said,

"I'm going
To make my fortune,"

And it did not work out
That way.

And they could not face
The reality of going back home

To say that "I failed."

Narrator:
For the vast majority of 49ers,

California had been a journey
Of misery, disappointment...

...And loss.

The gold rush was
The ultimate lottery.

But sometimes,
When you play the lottery...

...You win.

[ laughing ]

[ grunting ]

Narrator: in the final days
Of the California gold rush...

[ laughs ]

Narrator:
...Oliver Martin had been
Burying his best friend,

John Fowler,
When he stumbled upon

A 151-pound rock
Of solid gold...

Worth the equivalent
Of $3 million in today's money.

It was
The single largest nugget found

In the California gold rush

And proof
That even in the darkest days,

There was
Still room for hope.

Oliver Martin may have had
His own good fortune,

But a change was on its way
To the gold fields.

The big mining companies were
Almost to California,

And Sam Brannan's master plan
Was nearly complete.

But the king of California was
About to meet his match.

Narrator:
During the California gold rush,

Not every fortune was made
In gold.

Two 49ers,
Henry wells and William fargo,

Started a company to securely
Ship gold cross country.

It was called wells fargo.

20-year-old immigrant
Levi strauss

Sold canvas for tents

Before realizing miners
Also needed durable pants.

So he created
The world's first blue jeans.

A 14-year-old carpenter named
Jim Folger started

Roasting coffee for miners,
Which he eventually turned

Into a multimillion-dollar
Corporation called Folger's.

By the end of the gold rush,

California was home
To more millionaires

Narrator:
By the fall of 1850,

Just 2 1/2 years
Into the gold rush,

Big business finally arrived
In California.

It was just what Sam Brannan had
Been waiting for.

But his plan
To sell them the land

Didn't work out
Quite the way he expected.

Brannan quickly discovered

That the big companies wanted
Nothing to do with him

And his violent tactics.

They had their own plans to get
Control of the gold fields.

Big business put pressure
On congress.

And on september 9, 1850,

Just 2 1/2 years
After the gold rush began,

California was made
The 31st American state.

Very quickly,
The government ruled

That neither Sam Brannan
Nor the miners had

Any right to the land.

And with the U.S. Government
Now in charge,

The gold fields were
Made available

To the highest bidders,
Who just so happened to be

The big mining companies
From back east.

Sam Brannan may have been

The biggest
And most ruthless entrepreneur

California had ever seen,

But he'd just been outsmarted
By big business.

His three-year reign as the king
Of California was over.

For the miners, statehood meant
A new opportunity

For their voices to be heard.

And now, with public elections
Just around the corner,

They sought out a champion
Of their cause,

A man who had stood up
For the everyman

When no one else would.

And on October 7, 1850,

While still imprisoned
On charges of murder,

Dr. Charles Robinson was elected
To the California legislature,

Leaving the state with no choice
But to drop all charges.

Once a broken man

Who had come to California
To escape personal tragedy,

Charles Robinson was now
One of the formative leaders

Of America's newest state.

[ cheers and applause ]

Big business
Quickly moved in,

Bringing with it
New and advanced mining methods

On a scale unlike anything
The gold fields had ever seen.

Mining technology
In California

Just grows
By leaps and bounds.

They would use
These giant water cannons

That would remove
A huge amount of overburden --

Soil, rocks, et cetera --

Just blast it
Out of the Sierra foothills

To get at the gold.

Narrator: these industrial
Mining operations meant gold was

Being extracted from the hills
At an unprecedented rate.

In the first 2 1/2 years
Of the rush,

Independent miners,

Using little more than gold pans
And manpower,

Pulled $7 billion worth of gold
From the California hills.

But over the next five years,

Big business would uncover
Roughly three times that amount.

Brands: American industry was
Launching into its modern era,

So a lot of the gold mining
In California was big business,

Big industry.

And it wasn't
The sort of enterprise

Where individuals could enter.

If they did come out
To California,

They would basically take a job
Working for some corporation,

Which was not
What most of them had in mind.

Narrator:
Large-scale mining in California
Would continue

For the next decade.

But for the everyman,

The gold rush had
Come to an end.

Some chose
To stay in California,

Taking jobs
With the large mining companies

And working 90-hour weeks
For meager salaries.

Others simply went home

And returned
To their normal lives,

Like sylvester edgerly,

Who reopened his shop in Boston
As if nothing had ever changed.

There were others
Who vanished completely,

Like William Walker,
Who disappeared from record...

...Only to reappear
During the civil war...

...Where he died in combat.

The lucky few
Who really did strike it rich,

Like Oliver Martin,

Lived out
The rest of their lives

As the ultimate embodiment
Of the gold rush.

With the money he made
Off his find,

Martin opened one
Of the largest mining companies

In the United States

And at his death was worth
$30 million.

But even those
Who didn't strike it rich

Had their lives forever changed
By the rush.

After a successful turn

In the California
State legislature,

Dr. Charles Robinson became
A prominent American politician,

Going on to serve
As the first governor

Of the state of Kansas,

Where he became
A leading abolitionist

In the lead-up
To the civil war.

And then there was Sam Brannan.

In a desperate attempt
To reclaim his empire,

Brannan poured millions
Into building a resort town

He would name calistoga,

A vacation paradise designed
To appeal

To the new corporate moguls
In the gold fields.

But Brannan represented
The old California.

And big business wanted
Nothing to do with him.

When calistoga was
Finally complete,

Nobody came.

The fortune Brannan had amassed
During the gold rush was gone,

And California's first
Millionaire would

Spend his final days
Selling pencils door to door

Before dying
Penniless and alone.

Bagley:
It's a classic California story.

His wild ways
Ultimately do him in.

But I can't help
But stand in awe

Of a man who could create
Such a colorful legend.

And in many ways,
The story of Sam Brannan is

The story
Of the California gold rush.

Narrator:
In just under three years,

The California gold rush had
Transformed America.

Hundreds of thousands crossed
The nation

In search of a new life

And a sense
Of financial freedom.

For the first time
In history,

The everyman had the chance
To make it rich

And move up in the world.

Brands: the discovery of gold
In California is

What I like to call

One of the great accidents
Of history --

Accident in the sense
That nobody saw it coming.

No one had any idea that
There was gold in California.

No one had any idea
That within two years,

California would be this magnet

For people
From all over the world.

California sort of drew
The world together

In this idea that there is
A shortcut to wealth.

There is a shortcut
To success and happiness.

And it established in many ways
the mind-set

that made possible
the industrial development

of the United States.

Narrator:
The American dream was born.

And the world would
never be the same.