FAN FAVORITE: California Gold Rush | The Forty Niners | 2

0:28Hello, American History Tellers listeners. That's AmericanHistoryLive.com. Come see my Days That Made America tour live on stage. Go to AmericanHistoryLive.com.

0:49Imagine it's April 1849. You're a tailor from upstate New York. But after a five-week journey, you and your cousin arrived in St. Louis just yesterday. It's a stop on your way to the gold fields of California, and hopefully to riches. While your cousin is buying some supplies you'll need at a nearby store, you watch the crowds bustling around you. There are more people here than you've seen in your life. All of them would-be miners like you. They're buying shovels, lanterns, food, everything they'll need when they stake their claims in California. There's more competition for gold than you realize.

1:25Soon your cousin emerges from the store, but he's empty-handed. it. Where are the supplies? Bad news, he's asking$40. $40? For three barrels of pork? That wouldn't be more than$20 back home. I know, that's what I told him. I refuse to pay such a ridiculous price. But other people are forking over for it. The store shelves are nearly bare. What do we do now? Between you and your cousin, you have just$50 left. If you pay what this store is asking, It will just about wipe you out. But you're worried about wasting time searching for cheaper prices. Well, I don't think we have a choice. We have to pay the$40.

2:05You can't be serious. What other option do we have? I mean, we need to get going. Look at these people. Even an hour's delay could mean the difference between staking a good claim and getting stuck with a barren one. Your cousin shakes his head in disgust. But you can tell he knows you're right. So together you head back inside the store and get in line. When you reach the counter, the owner looks you and your cousin up and down, and you swallow hard. Well, we'd like three barrels of pork. All right, that'll be$50. Fifty? You told my cousin here forty. Well, now I'm saying fifty. Sir, I've left my wife and my whole family back home.

2:43If I return empty-handed, we're finished. Please, this is all the money we've got. Look, I get the same story ten times a day. See that line behind you? They got money. So if you can't pay, step aside. The store owner crosses his arms. You're sputtering mad. You could punch him right in the teeth. But there's nothing you can do. You've got to get to the gold fields and fast. So you reach into your pocket and grab your last$50. The owner snatches it out of your hand. You hope like hell those three barrels of pork will be enough to sustain you until you can reach California and hopefully get your hands on some of that gold.

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5:05From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers, our history, your story.

5:27In late 1848, President James Polk announced the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Soon, gold fever swept across the United States. Tens of thousands began streaming across the country with dreams of striking it rich. Throughout 1849, they embarked in droves and came to be known as 49ers. But many would-be prospectors found themselves unprepared for the dangers of the journey west. Any route they chose to California involved traveling thousands of miles. They risked disease, starvation, and the threat of violence along the way. And even when they did reach the gold mines, their dreams of riches rarely came true.

6:08But a lucky few found themselves with more money than they could hope to earn in a lifetime. Between their sudden wealth and the mass migration west, the gold rush reshaped America, creating a more powerful nation with growing cities on both coasts. This is Episode 2, The 49ers.

6:30Travelers heading west in 1849 first had to make a crucial decision, which route to follow for the long, arduous journey to California. Anyone coming from the eastern United States had to choose between traveling overland or taking one of two routes by sea. But regardless of which they chose, each journey came with challenges. The first route by sea involved sailing around the southernmost point of South America, Cape Horn. It was a slow, tedious journey of 15 ,000 miles that could take up to six months. Passengers were often crammed into small commercial vessels like whalers or converted cargo ships, and conditions were crowded and uncomfortable.

7:12Instead of cabins or hammocks, many people slept on the hard deck, side by side, in small rectangles marked out in chalk. There were often rats, as well as stale or sometimes rotten food. A second, shorter sea route existed, but it was also arduous. Travelers sailed down the eastern seaboard and through the Caribbean, to the Isthmus of Panama in Central America. The Panama Canal had yet to be built, so passengers disembarked on the Caribbean coast and navigated 50 miles of winding rivers on small boats, followed by a 20-mile trek through dense jungles to the Pacific. From there, they could sail north up the coast to California.

7:51Among those that would choose to take this Panama shortcut was Jessie Fremont, the high-spirited daughter of a U.S. senator from Missouri. In 1839, at just age 16, she had fallen in love with the Western explorer and soldier John C. Fremont. Her father initially opposed the match, but Jessie would not be denied, and she and Fremont soon eloped. In October 1848, her husband left for California, and a few months later, Jessie set out from New York with her infant daughter to meet him. Like many others, she soon found that crossing the Isthmus of Panama was treacherous. On many days, drenching rain soaked her and her fellow travelers as they rode mules across steep mountain trails.

8:33Other days, temperatures soared to 130 degrees, and every day brought snakes, rats, and mosquitoes to harass them at every step, with malaria and yellow fever also as constant threats. But Jessie and her daughter managed to reach the Pacific coast of Panama alive. Still, they found themselves there, stranded amid hordes of other people seeking passage to California. There simply weren't enough ships to carry everyone. But finally, Jessie and her daughter boarded a ship and arrived in San Diego in May 1849, battered and bruised but alive. A few weeks later, she made her way up the coast to Monterey, where she finally reunited with her husband John.

9:12All told, her journey had taken about three months.

9:19Jessie Fremont was fortunate to be able to take the expensive and relatively short Panama route. The shortcut across the Isthmus saved travelers about 8 ,000 miles versus the long route around Cape Horn, but it cost at least$300, roughly$12 ,000 in today's money. And sometimes it could cost much more. When demand was high, a ticket for the final leg of the trip, from Panama to California, could go for$1 ,000. The Cape Horn route, by comparison, typically only cost about$150. But however miserable and expensive, the sailing routes had one big advantage over travel by land, a head start. Ships could sail early in the year and did not have to wait for spring in order to depart.

10:03Overland travel relied on pack animals that needed to be grazed, so would-be miners had to wait until spring grass started growing before they could set out. As a result, miners traveling by sea began arriving in California several months ahead of their overland counterparts. But the majority of gold seekers couldn't afford the high cost of sea travel. They had no choice but to undertake the long, grueling journey by land. Many found themselves stuck for weeks in cities at the edge of the frontier, like St. Louis, while they waited for the spring thaw. But some St. Louis merchants took advantage of these new arrivals, charging outrageous prices for food and livestock.

10:41The migrants usually paid up, eager to get on their way, many assuming that they'd soon be making hundreds of dollars a day in gold. So finally, in late spring, by May, the gold seekers began to crowd the trails heading west. Some traveled in wagons pulled by oxen. Others rode on mules, which traveled lighter and faster and covered more ground per day. But many would-be miners were leaving jobs as office clerks or other white-collar professions and soon were overwhelmed by the physical demands of life on the trail. Even for the hardier laborers and farmers, the harsh conditions began to wear on them after a few weeks.

11:18And at every turn, every traveler faced dangerous obstacles in their path.

11:26Imagine it's July 1849. You're a farmer from near Chattanooga, Tennessee, heading west to mine gold, and you're wary from your long weeks on the trail. But you've just conquered your greatest challenge yet, crossing the mighty Platte River, which is a swollen, muddy mess from recent heavy rains. You weren't sure your mule team was going to make it across. Somehow, you managed. Now you look behind you and see another family isn't so lucky. Their wagon has gotten stuck in the middle of the churning waters. You turn and call out your travel partner. Hey, we gotta help them! Your partner looks over and sees a young mother in a blue dress and two children inside the wagon, crying like mad.

12:09Her husband is out front with the oxen, trying to coax them across. The river is up to his chest. And in horror, you and your partner both watch as he loses his footing and is swept away in the fast current. The oxen, too, are torn from their traces and soon follow him downriver. The time to move is now. So you call out to the wife over the roar of the river. Hey, hold on. We'll be there soon. Your partner looks at you wide-eyed. What are we supposed to do? Grab a rope, tie it to our mule team. I'll carry the other end to the wagon. No, I'll go with you. You'll never be able to stand up in that current on your own.

12:44Let's bring two ropes, just in case. With the help of some other settlers, you secure the lengths of two ropes to your mules. Then, holding on to each other for support, you and your partner feel your way forward through the water. Your feet sink into thick, heavy mud, making each step a challenge. When you finally reach the wagon, the water is almost up to your shoulders. All right, let's tie one rope in back and one in front. That doesn't make sense. We should concentrate the force in one spot. Well, I'm worried it'll tip over. Let's try this first. The partner goes splashing around to the back while you reach down and bind your rope to the wagon tongue on the front.

13:20You look up at the young mother sitting in the wagon, watching her children, terrified. Just hold on tight, ma 'am. We're going to get you to shore. She nods, wide-eyed. When your partner finishes securing his knot, he gives you a nod. You turn to the other settlers on shore and wave your arm. All right, pull! The mule team begins to drive forward. For a moment, it looks like the wagon is moving. But it doesn't get far. Ropes grow taut and the mules are straining with all their might. The wagon is stuck. The partner calls over. Nah, this isn't working. We need both ropes tied to the front. Wait there.

13:56Well, hurry, I think the river's rising. And indeed, the water is up to your neck now. The current is fierce. Whitewater sprays your partner's face as he carries the second rope back to the front of the wagon. Quickly, you tie a new knot and wave toward the men on shore again. Hold! The mule strain once more, but this time you can feel the wagon moving.

14:22It's just a few inches at first and it lurches free. Grab the rope and hold on tight as you and the stranded family are dragged toward shore.

14:36Forty-niners who headed west over land mainly followed the same route. After leaving St. Louis, they traveled across Missouri, then followed the Platte River northwest through present-day Nebraska and into Wyoming. There, they crossed through the South Pass at a low point in the Rocky Mountains. This pass marked the halfway point from St. Louis, a thousand miles down and a thousand to go. From Wyoming, they proceeded through parts of Idaho, Utah, and Nevada, along various routes. The final obstacle was the towering Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Most days on the trail were monotonous. Settlers usually awoke before sunrise and managed a quick breakfast, often just coffee.

15:16Then they hitched up their wagons or loaded their mules and tried to make as many miles as they could before stopping for lunch at midday. Then they'd continue on until dusk when they would make a quick camp, cook dinner, and fall fast asleep. Most people walked alongside the wagons, mile after endless mile, choking on dust kicked up by the animals' hooves and the rumbling wagon wheels. At times, travelers had to ford treacherous rivers, flooded by heavy rains. The currents and debris could strand their wagons midstream or tip them over, topping all of their possessions into the rushing water.

15:51Other migrants lost their lives to injury, one of the many illnesses that always seemed to follow them. But perhaps the greatest danger of all was other settlers. After months of traveling together, people's patience wore thin. Men might come to blows over the last pat of butter or the way someone smelled. Other times, travelers were outright spiteful. Alonzo Delano, a merchant from Illinois, noted that most 49ers were forced to abandon possessions to lighten their loads, but would often deliberately sabotage what they left. They might soak a sack of sugar in turpentine or chop spare wagon parts into pieces.

16:29In one case, some travelers even set a meadow on fire to prevent the parties behind them from using it to graze their livestock. Delano later wrote, the waste and destruction of property was enormous. In this, the selfish nature of man was plainly exhibited. It seemed some 49ers were willing to do anything to ensure that they got to the gold fields first. But despite all the dangers and hardships, settlers kept coming, and every one of them who arrived in California came with a remarkable story of endurance and survival.

17:05I'm Alice Levine. And I'm Matt Ford, and we're the hosts of British Scandal. Yes, indeed. In this series, a Derbyshire couple are bored of their curtain-twitching, lawn-mowing suburban life. So they sell their house, build a yacht, and sail off around the world. Which sort of sounds idyllic until a sperm whale sinks their boat and they begin to starve. Oh yes, and they didn't bring a radio because real sailors don't use radios. Right? This is the story of Marilyn and Maurice Bailey. And the 117 days they spent lost at sea. Follow British Scandal wherever you get your podcasts or listen early and ad-free on Audible.

17:46I'm Alice Levine. And I'm Matt Ford and we're the hosts of British Scandal. Yes indeed. In this series, a Derbyshire couple are bored of their curtain-twitching, lawn-mowing suburban life. So they sell their house, build a yacht and sail off around the world. Which sort of sounds idyllic until a sperm whale sinks their boat and they begin to starve. Oh yes, and they didn't bring a radio because real sailors don't use radios. Right? This is the story of Marilyn and Maurice Bailey. And the 117 days they spent lost at sea. Follow British Scandal wherever you get your podcasts or listen early and at free on Audible.

18:32In 1849 alone, 90 ,000 people made their way to California. But not every 49er went willingly. Some travelers undertook the journey with great reluctance, especially enslaved servants, children, and wives. One of them was a young mother named Sarah Royce. Sarah set out for California from Iowa in the spring of 1849, along with her two-year-old daughter and husband, Josiah. When Josiah heard about gold in California, he was determined to get his share. Sarah begged him not to uproot the family, but he refused to listen. So they all headed west in a wagon pulled by six oxen. The Royces joined up with a party of several other families.

19:14But having company was little comfort for Sarah. The first night on the open prairie terrified her. The land seemed vast and empty, almost vertigo-inducing. And when she woke up after the first night, all of their oxen had wandered off. They wasted hours searching for them and didn't retrieve all of them until noon. As their journey continued, Sarah agreed to care for an old man in her party who had been struck with cholera. Generously, she let him crawl into the bed in her family wagon and ride between her and her daughter. She could only watch helplessly as spasms racked his whole body. Diseases like cholera were a constant worry.

19:54Outbreaks killed hundreds of would-be 49ers in St. Louis, then followed the settlers on the trail west. They called the disease the monster, in part because it attacked so quickly. People would feel fine at breakfast, then get the first rumblings of illness at noon, collapse with convulsions and vomiting at sunset, and be dead by midnight. The old man that Sarah cared for eventually became another of cholera's victims. Quickly, she cleaned the soil blankets and bed linens, and she could only pray that her family wouldn't catch the monster themselves and die because of their generosity. Moving farther west, Sarah's group neared the deserts of Utah and Nevada.

20:34These were dangerous stretches of land with very little water and temperatures that could soar above 100 degrees by day and plummet below freezing at night. By October, Sarah's family had reached Salt Lake City. They decided to rest their oxen for 10 days, letting the families they had been traveling with proceed without them. They would make the last desperate leg of the journey alone. They asked a group of Mormons for directions and were strongly advised to stay in Salt Lake City and wait the winter out. Just a few years prior, the infamous Donner Party had been stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains over the winter and resorted to cannibalism to stay alive.

21:11By leaving Salt Lake City so late in the year, the Royces faced the same fate. But Josiah refused to wait. There was gold to get to. So now, alone on the trail, the Royces emptied their straw mattresses to feed the oxen, then began abandoning personal items to lighten their wagon. All along the trail, they saw piles of possessions that had been left this way by settlers before them, alongside dead mules and other livestock. When they reached the Sierras, they nearly got trapped in the snow like the Donner Party before them. But luckily, the Royces were rescued by a government relief party, which had been established to prevent any further Donner-like tragedies.

21:51Upon reaching the far side of the mountains in late October, the Royces headed north to a mining town called Weaverville. There they joined the hordes of other settlers in a new ordeal, one almost as challenging as the journey west, the grueling, back-breaking task of mining.

22:12California's richest goldfields lay 40 miles east of modern Sacramento in a strip of land that ran through the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. People called it Gold Country. And when it came to staking claims there, it was first come, first serve. The most desirable mining spots lay along streams or rivers because the water scoured away the topsoil and exposed the gold-rich earth underneath. Miners especially coveted bends in rivers, where flakes of gold tended to sink and collect on the bottom in slower-moving water. After the initial discovery of gold in 1848, many miners found they simply had to bend over and they would find gold nuggets they could collect by hand.

22:53Even as more miners arrived throughout that year, many found gold with no more equipment than a washpan. They dredge up rocks and muck from a creek bed and whisked the pan vigorously in a circle. Water and sand sloshed out over the sides, and the heavier gold remained in the pan. But by 1849, the days of easy pickings were over. By some estimates, miners now made up as much as 60 percent of California's entire population, so competition was fierce. And by the fall of 1849, most miners had to go farther up into the hills and dig deeper to find gold. Instead of panning in rivers, they now had to break up the hard topsoil with picks and shovels to reach the so-called pay dirt beneath.