1 00:00:04,556 --> 00:00:06,489 NARRATOR: Gold fever. 2 00:00:07,766 --> 00:00:10,217 Builds fortunes. 3 00:00:10,562 --> 00:00:13,047 And destroys lives. 4 00:00:13,151 --> 00:00:15,567 JOHN: If you're the first in you make a fortune. 5 00:00:16,257 --> 00:00:19,191 If you're the last in you lose all your money. 6 00:00:19,674 --> 00:00:22,781 NARRATOR: A century on, the hidden story of the gold rush 7 00:00:22,884 --> 00:00:25,922 lies deep below the rivers, lakes 8 00:00:25,956 --> 00:00:28,925 and even the streets of the American west. 9 00:00:32,101 --> 00:00:35,587 Imagine if we could empty the oceans, 10 00:00:35,690 --> 00:00:38,348 letting the water drain away, 11 00:00:38,900 --> 00:00:42,007 to reveal the secrets of the sea floor. 12 00:00:43,836 --> 00:00:46,770 Now, we can. 13 00:00:46,977 --> 00:00:51,051 Using accurate data, and astonishing technology, 14 00:00:52,190 --> 00:00:55,917 to bring light once again into a lost world. 15 00:01:00,025 --> 00:01:01,647 This time... 16 00:01:01,682 --> 00:01:03,960 What can a mystery shipwreck tell us about 17 00:01:04,064 --> 00:01:07,067 the deadly perils of the gold rush. 18 00:01:07,722 --> 00:01:11,105 LINDSEY: About 100,000 people set off and only about 30,000 made it. 19 00:01:11,761 --> 00:01:15,972 NARRATOR: When being first is everything, is any risk worth taking? 20 00:01:16,524 --> 00:01:18,319 ROBERT: He was asked, "Do you wanna slow down?" 21 00:01:18,423 --> 00:01:21,046 And he's like, "No, let her rip." 22 00:01:21,150 --> 00:01:23,393 NARRATOR: And what extraordinary secret lies 23 00:01:23,497 --> 00:01:26,672 buried beneath one of America's greatest cities. 24 00:01:27,328 --> 00:01:29,779 DEBORAH: There could be as many as 100 vessels buried 25 00:01:29,882 --> 00:01:32,299 under the streets of San Francisco. 26 00:01:33,058 --> 00:01:39,202 [theme music plays]. 27 00:01:44,414 --> 00:01:47,210 NARRATOR: This is gold country. 28 00:01:50,179 --> 00:01:53,941 The rugged north west of the American continent. 29 00:01:55,977 --> 00:02:00,568 An epic landscape that's home to a truly epic story. 30 00:02:03,606 --> 00:02:07,644 JAMES: The quest for gold has been the defining aspect of world history. 31 00:02:08,956 --> 00:02:11,786 Great movements of people, 32 00:02:11,924 --> 00:02:15,790 the rise of new states, of new cities, of new nations. 33 00:02:17,620 --> 00:02:21,037 We can't under estimate the power of the gold rush. 34 00:02:25,524 --> 00:02:29,908 NARRATOR: Throughout the 19th century hundreds of thousands of fortune hunters 35 00:02:29,942 --> 00:02:32,876 raced to the gold fields of North America, 36 00:02:34,464 --> 00:02:38,503 knowing that just a few nuggets can transform their lives. 37 00:02:41,782 --> 00:02:46,787 In 1896, the most extraordinary rush of them all starts here. 38 00:02:48,961 --> 00:02:51,032 In the Klondike. 39 00:02:51,067 --> 00:02:54,174 Deep in Yukon territory, Northern Canada. 40 00:02:55,589 --> 00:02:59,040 One of the most remote places on earth. 41 00:03:00,214 --> 00:03:04,184 At the heart of the region, sits Lake Laberge. 42 00:03:09,499 --> 00:03:13,538 And in the lake, a gold rush mystery. 43 00:03:24,204 --> 00:03:27,621 An international team of maritime archaeologists 44 00:03:27,759 --> 00:03:31,418 have come here to investigate the Klondike gold rush. 45 00:03:39,529 --> 00:03:45,225 Even in the height of summer the waters of Lake Laberge are dangerously cold. 46 00:03:47,779 --> 00:03:51,541 LINDSEY: You only have about 30 to 40 minutes in the water before you freeze to death. 47 00:03:54,199 --> 00:03:57,513 NARRATOR: But the team is willing to take the risk because of what's lying 48 00:03:57,616 --> 00:03:59,515 on the bottom of the lake. 49 00:04:04,623 --> 00:04:08,972 LINDSEY: As you swim toward the wreck it comes at you out of this brilliant green, 50 00:04:10,319 --> 00:04:12,390 like a ghost ship. 51 00:04:13,494 --> 00:04:16,842 Like it just is waiting for you. 52 00:04:18,327 --> 00:04:20,294 NARRATOR: It's clearly a ship. 53 00:04:20,432 --> 00:04:23,780 But like no other ever found in the Yukon. 54 00:04:26,335 --> 00:04:30,339 In their short time underwater, the team record glimpses of the wreck. 55 00:04:31,754 --> 00:04:35,102 They want to know what it's doing here. 56 00:04:37,207 --> 00:04:41,660 To understand more, we can turn to high resolution scans and data mapping. 57 00:04:43,628 --> 00:04:47,528 Use powerful computer software. 58 00:04:49,496 --> 00:04:54,294 Empty Lake Laberge and reveal a remarkable sight. 59 00:05:01,335 --> 00:05:05,788 Exposed to the light of day for the first time in over 100 years, 60 00:05:05,891 --> 00:05:10,310 a complete 19th century steamer. 61 00:05:15,625 --> 00:05:20,216 Perfectly preserved, right down to the logs in its boiler. 62 00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:26,947 But with its open decks, it seems more suited to the sub-tropical Mississippi 63 00:05:26,981 --> 00:05:30,537 than the frozen wastes of Northern Canada. 64 00:05:31,365 --> 00:05:34,713 So what's it doing here? 65 00:05:37,889 --> 00:05:41,168 Delving into historical records, the team pieces together 66 00:05:41,271 --> 00:05:45,068 a story that starts in the summer of 1896. 67 00:05:46,415 --> 00:05:49,866 Prospectors explore deep in the Yukon Valley. 68 00:05:51,143 --> 00:05:55,424 In a tributary of the Klondike River, Native American Skookum Jim Mason 69 00:05:55,527 --> 00:05:59,255 and his partners are panning for gold. 70 00:05:59,359 --> 00:06:03,777 They find so much they rename the place Bonanza Creek. 71 00:06:04,743 --> 00:06:07,988 JAMES: The Klondike discovery of gold in Canada's Yukon, 72 00:06:08,022 --> 00:06:10,784 couldn't have happened in a more inopportune place. 73 00:06:10,818 --> 00:06:14,650 It's very much out of the way and it's also sub-arctic, 74 00:06:15,167 --> 00:06:20,759 so it gets very cold, very, very cold. 75 00:06:24,211 --> 00:06:29,941 NARRATOR: More prospectors strike it rich and soon, word spreads, like wildfire. 76 00:06:36,810 --> 00:06:40,710 By the summer of 1897, fortune hunters jostle for 77 00:06:40,814 --> 00:06:44,162 places on ships heading north from Seattle. 78 00:06:46,026 --> 00:06:50,375 100,000 people are trying to reach the Klondike. 79 00:06:54,759 --> 00:06:58,487 Before them an epic challenge. 80 00:06:59,453 --> 00:07:05,666 First, a voyage to Alaska, then over land to the head waters of the Yukon River, 81 00:07:06,356 --> 00:07:11,154 the jumping off point for a perilous journey downstream to the gold fields. 82 00:07:14,641 --> 00:07:19,680 And simply to reach the head waters they have to cross a huge mountain range. 83 00:07:21,233 --> 00:07:25,030 The quickest way through is also the hardest. 84 00:07:27,654 --> 00:07:30,864 JOHN: The Chilkoot Trail was the shortest land route 85 00:07:31,002 --> 00:07:33,004 into the head waters of the Yukon River. 86 00:07:33,038 --> 00:07:36,697 But the problem of getting into those head waters was that 3600 foot pass. 87 00:07:37,215 --> 00:07:40,701 And the last four miles was at a 35 degree slope. 88 00:07:45,706 --> 00:07:50,262 NARRATOR: By the time the army of prospectors arrives, it's deep winter, 89 00:07:51,229 --> 00:07:54,163 with temperatures down to minus 40. 90 00:07:59,479 --> 00:08:00,894 LINDSEY: Many people couldn't make it. 91 00:08:00,997 --> 00:08:02,827 You would pass out from exhaustion. 92 00:08:02,861 --> 00:08:04,794 Be unable to continue. 93 00:08:04,829 --> 00:08:07,245 Countless numbers turned back at that point. 94 00:08:07,279 --> 00:08:09,765 They just were unable to keep going. 95 00:08:11,042 --> 00:08:15,495 NARRATOR: Those that do reach the river are still 300 miles from the gold. 96 00:08:17,807 --> 00:08:21,155 And the Yukon is frozen solid. 97 00:08:23,019 --> 00:08:27,679 They spend the rest of the winter chopping down trees and building makeshift boats. 98 00:08:31,925 --> 00:08:34,859 LINDSEY: Many of who were building boats had no experience at all 99 00:08:34,893 --> 00:08:38,587 and so they actually would call these boats coffin boats. 100 00:08:38,621 --> 00:08:41,866 These rough structures that were meant to pass through these incredible rapids and 101 00:08:41,969 --> 00:08:44,075 even the deep water lake. 102 00:08:44,109 --> 00:08:47,872 And so many of them, you would die in that boat. 103 00:08:50,081 --> 00:08:52,842 NARRATOR: One thing is clear. 104 00:08:52,980 --> 00:08:59,228 In the Yukon of late 1897, the key to striking it rich is transport. 105 00:09:04,095 --> 00:09:07,892 Which casts new light on the mystery wreck. 106 00:09:08,548 --> 00:09:10,860 It's definitely not a coffin boat. 107 00:09:14,864 --> 00:09:18,972 Where they use oars, this has a paddle wheel. 108 00:09:20,974 --> 00:09:25,357 Where they use sails and muscle power, this has a boiler. 109 00:09:27,221 --> 00:09:32,606 And where they are made of wood and nails, this has iron plates and rivets. 110 00:09:39,751 --> 00:09:45,999 Faster and stronger than any wooden rival, a gold prospector's dream. 111 00:09:47,587 --> 00:09:51,107 JOHN: It's the old rule that if you're the first in you make a fortune. 112 00:09:51,211 --> 00:09:54,490 If you're second in you maybe break even, 113 00:09:54,594 --> 00:09:57,458 and if you're the third in you lose all your money. 114 00:09:58,390 --> 00:10:04,120 NARRATOR: A key question remains, how could a heavy metal ship have gotten here? 115 00:10:06,019 --> 00:10:10,092 Across some of the most unforgiving terrain on the planet. 116 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:14,475 And with no obvious river route to the coast. 117 00:10:15,753 --> 00:10:19,757 The answer lies in the drained wreck itself. 118 00:10:21,172 --> 00:10:25,728 The sheets of metal which make up the hull are crudely riveted and bolted together. 119 00:10:26,971 --> 00:10:31,009 The boiler is unusually small for a steam ship. 120 00:10:32,252 --> 00:10:38,258 In fact, every part of the steamer is small, light and crucially, portable. 121 00:10:41,641 --> 00:10:43,884 This is its secret. 122 00:10:44,022 --> 00:10:46,646 It doesn't sail here at all. 123 00:10:46,749 --> 00:10:49,234 It is carried. 124 00:10:55,620 --> 00:10:59,866 Its metal hull and engine are hauled over the mountains. 125 00:11:01,833 --> 00:11:05,078 JOHN: The hull was made in San Francisco. 126 00:11:05,768 --> 00:11:11,878 They added engine components to it from Seattle and then the whole thing was shipped up 127 00:11:12,016 --> 00:11:15,778 in pieces, hauled across the mountain and assembled. 128 00:11:17,469 --> 00:11:19,540 There's nothing like it. 129 00:11:21,266 --> 00:11:24,131 NARRATOR: The designers of this prefabricated steam ship 130 00:11:24,269 --> 00:11:27,376 are a remarkable pair of entrepreneurs. 131 00:11:28,308 --> 00:11:32,001 Husband and wife, Albert and Clara Goddard. 132 00:11:32,553 --> 00:11:36,523 JAMES: Goddard realizes the key to opening up the run is to use a modern steamer. 133 00:11:37,144 --> 00:11:38,490 Iron hulled. 134 00:11:38,628 --> 00:11:40,492 Strong and efficient. 135 00:11:40,630 --> 00:11:43,875 What the Goddard's come up with is genius. 136 00:11:53,264 --> 00:11:59,546 NARRATOR: May 1898, an army of gold prospectors jostle for position waiting for 137 00:11:59,649 --> 00:12:05,000 the ice to melt and 7,000 handmade boats stand ready. 138 00:12:07,623 --> 00:12:10,833 JAMES: "The long grip of winter and darkness is coming to an end. 139 00:12:10,971 --> 00:12:15,389 The ice is beginning to crack and groan as the temperatures rise 140 00:12:15,493 --> 00:12:19,014 and everybody's poised and waiting for that moment." 141 00:12:25,848 --> 00:12:29,679 NARRATOR: Suddenly the way north is open. 142 00:12:32,027 --> 00:12:35,306 The race is on. 143 00:12:37,549 --> 00:12:40,552 LINDSEY: There's an incredible scene like rush hour traffic. 144 00:12:41,657 --> 00:12:44,764 With all these ridiculous little boats. 145 00:12:45,799 --> 00:12:49,838 NARRATOR: And one boat enjoys a huge advantage. 146 00:12:50,873 --> 00:12:55,119 Assembled during the depths of winter, weighing 15 tons, 147 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:57,846 with a flat bottom 148 00:12:57,949 --> 00:13:01,677 built to navigate shallow stretches of the Yukon River 149 00:13:01,781 --> 00:13:06,647 and named after her designer, the A J Goddard. 150 00:13:10,651 --> 00:13:13,033 The prospectors crammed on board paid for 151 00:13:13,137 --> 00:13:15,829 the privilege of getting to the gold fields quickly. 152 00:13:16,796 --> 00:13:20,385 Piloted by Clara Goddard herself. 153 00:13:22,629 --> 00:13:25,805 LINDSEY: We don't have a written record of what happened, but 22 people 154 00:13:25,908 --> 00:13:29,705 crowded on to this tiny boat where there's no interior cabin. 155 00:13:30,464 --> 00:13:33,364 There's nowhere to go to get out of the elements. 156 00:13:37,817 --> 00:13:40,543 NARRATOR: Steaming ahead at a steady six knots, 157 00:13:40,578 --> 00:13:44,168 she leaves the makeshift coffin boats in her wake. 158 00:13:44,824 --> 00:13:48,828 But downstream lies the fearsome White Horse Rapids. 159 00:13:50,519 --> 00:13:54,557 Three miles of raging rock strewn waters. 160 00:13:55,973 --> 00:13:59,424 Unknown numbers of people lose their lives here. 161 00:14:03,290 --> 00:14:07,916 But the Goddard's flat bottom design helps them navigate through the rapids with ease. 162 00:14:09,089 --> 00:14:13,714 And after just five days, she arrives in the boom town of Dawson, 163 00:14:14,198 --> 00:14:16,579 gateway to the gold fields. 164 00:14:17,442 --> 00:14:21,239 LINDSEY: As the Goddard steams into Dawson City it was met with cheers from 165 00:14:21,274 --> 00:14:25,209 the towns people, who had never seen such a boat come into the town before. 166 00:14:25,795 --> 00:14:28,039 It was quite a reception. 167 00:14:28,177 --> 00:14:30,283 NARRATOR: It's a huge success. 168 00:14:30,386 --> 00:14:33,044 Now Albert and Clara plan to make their fortune 169 00:14:33,148 --> 00:14:36,151 running prospectors back and forth to Dawson. 170 00:14:37,083 --> 00:14:40,051 But the Goddard never makes the trip again. 171 00:14:40,155 --> 00:14:42,157 What goes wrong? 172 00:14:48,957 --> 00:14:51,476 NARRATOR: Archaeologists want to know why the A J Goddard 173 00:14:51,580 --> 00:14:54,686 never travels to the Klondike Gold Fields again 174 00:14:55,239 --> 00:14:59,381 and today lies at the bottom of Lake Laberge. 175 00:15:04,075 --> 00:15:08,355 Now drained, the wreck seems to be in perfect repair. 176 00:15:10,219 --> 00:15:14,706 But accounts from the late 19th century reveal an issue 177 00:15:14,741 --> 00:15:18,607 that Albert and Clara Goddard hadn't thought through. 178 00:15:19,815 --> 00:15:22,300 Gravity. 179 00:15:23,232 --> 00:15:26,028 LINDSEY: When they were going to the Gold Fields, they were going with the rapids, 180 00:15:26,063 --> 00:15:28,513 they were going down river. 181 00:15:28,617 --> 00:15:32,310 Now when they're returning, they're having to go up river past some really strong water. 182 00:15:33,725 --> 00:15:36,590 The Goddard wasn't built for that. 183 00:15:37,315 --> 00:15:40,042 NARRATOR: The Goddard's boiler is small. 184 00:15:40,077 --> 00:15:43,080 Small enough to be carried over a mountain. 185 00:15:44,357 --> 00:15:49,086 But too small to generate the power needed to plough upstream through the mighty 186 00:15:49,189 --> 00:15:51,157 White Horse Rapids. 187 00:15:51,191 --> 00:15:54,436 The Goddard's have miscalculated. 188 00:15:54,574 --> 00:15:56,748 LINDSEY: At some points they had to tie ropes to the boat 189 00:15:56,852 --> 00:15:59,234 and pull it through the more difficult sections. 190 00:16:01,201 --> 00:16:04,756 NARRATOR: The Goddard never attempts the run to Dawson again. 191 00:16:05,930 --> 00:16:09,727 Her days of transporting high paying prospectors are over. 192 00:16:09,865 --> 00:16:13,041 Before they ever really begin. 193 00:16:16,630 --> 00:16:21,877 Instead she becomes a humble ferry boat, here on Lake Laberge, 194 00:16:23,051 --> 00:16:25,467 where she spends the next three years 195 00:16:25,501 --> 00:16:29,540 carrying supplies for prospectors back and forth across the lake. 196 00:16:31,611 --> 00:16:33,647 There's a final question. 197 00:16:33,751 --> 00:16:36,996 Why does she now lie on the bottom? 198 00:16:37,651 --> 00:16:41,034 There's no sign of damage on the wreck itself. 199 00:16:42,242 --> 00:16:48,352 But in October 1901, Lake Laberge is hit by the worst storm of the year. 200 00:16:59,466 --> 00:17:04,230 The Goddard's are working the lake, carrying four crew and one passenger, 201 00:17:05,817 --> 00:17:09,683 suddenly she's surrounded by a mass of churning waves. 202 00:17:11,271 --> 00:17:13,618 JOHN: You're used to seeing ocean storms with these mountainous waves, 203 00:17:13,722 --> 00:17:15,862 and they're very high. 204 00:17:16,656 --> 00:17:21,109 You don't get waves like that on lakes, they often, at maximum 6 to 8 feet high. 205 00:17:23,421 --> 00:17:28,116 But where their danger is, is they're much closer together and they're much steeper. 206 00:17:32,327 --> 00:17:36,434 NARRATOR: Waves crash on deck and water fills the firebox, 207 00:17:36,848 --> 00:17:39,265 leaving the Goddard powerless. 208 00:17:42,199 --> 00:17:45,271 She drifts carried by the storm. 209 00:17:48,895 --> 00:17:52,312 LINDSEY: Finally, enough water floods into the hull, going through the hatches, 210 00:17:52,347 --> 00:17:55,764 that it just weighs too much and it sinks to the bottom. 211 00:18:05,774 --> 00:18:08,777 NARRATOR: Two men somehow make it to the shore. 212 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:10,951 But three drown. 213 00:18:17,648 --> 00:18:21,203 The Goddard still lies at the bottom of the lake. 214 00:18:21,307 --> 00:18:24,482 A telling example of the hope, the ingenuity, 215 00:18:24,586 --> 00:18:27,140 but also the disappointment 216 00:18:27,278 --> 00:18:30,454 at the heart of so many gold rush stories. 217 00:18:32,766 --> 00:18:36,770 LINDSEY: About 100,000 people set off for the gold fields and only about 30,000 made it. 218 00:18:38,565 --> 00:18:42,190 For those who got there, the best claims were already staked, 219 00:18:42,328 --> 00:18:45,779 so they arrived and everything was taken. 220 00:18:47,609 --> 00:18:52,752 NARRATOR: Gold to the value of nearly $900 million in today's prices is unearthed 221 00:18:52,855 --> 00:18:56,307 in the three years of the Klondike rush. 222 00:18:57,964 --> 00:19:02,451 But fewer than 4,000 prospectors ever find any. 223 00:19:03,901 --> 00:19:07,939 And only a few hundred make big money. 224 00:19:09,803 --> 00:19:13,600 Today, little evidence of those dramatic days remains. 225 00:19:15,430 --> 00:19:20,918 The Yukon is once again a realm of forest, snow and ice. 226 00:19:23,955 --> 00:19:29,996 But 1500 miles to the south, and 50 years earlier, there is another gold rush. 227 00:19:31,031 --> 00:19:35,174 One that changes America and the world forever. 228 00:19:37,693 --> 00:19:41,628 200 years ago, San Francisco is a tiny settlement. 229 00:19:46,599 --> 00:19:50,327 James Delgado, archaeologist from Search Incorporated 230 00:19:50,361 --> 00:19:54,400 wants to know how it turned into the global city it is today. 231 00:19:55,435 --> 00:19:58,783 The key is a single discovery. 232 00:20:01,165 --> 00:20:05,445 Right next to San Francisco's iconic Trans America Pyramid. 233 00:20:06,964 --> 00:20:12,349 Where over 40 years ago, Delgado first glimpses something extraordinary. 234 00:20:14,351 --> 00:20:17,837 JAMES: In May 1978 I was standing basically right here, 235 00:20:18,803 --> 00:20:21,875 looking down at the outline of a ship in the mud 20 feet below me. 236 00:20:25,638 --> 00:20:29,814 NARRATOR: A wooden ship, right in the heart of the financial district. 237 00:20:35,130 --> 00:20:37,857 Buried beneath the streets. 238 00:20:39,617 --> 00:20:42,171 What is it doing here? 239 00:20:42,896 --> 00:20:47,142 To learn more, we can use the latest computer imaging technology. 240 00:20:51,940 --> 00:20:55,909 Stripping away the 21st century surface. 241 00:20:57,911 --> 00:21:02,468 Peeling back 150 years of urban development. 242 00:21:04,711 --> 00:21:09,578 Even draining away the thick layers of silt that lie under the city. 243 00:21:16,136 --> 00:21:22,557 To expose the ghostly outline of a sailing ship from the mid 19th century. 244 00:21:26,077 --> 00:21:29,598 Its name, the Niantic. 245 00:21:34,362 --> 00:21:38,124 An ocean-going merchant ship, the workhorse of the seas, 246 00:21:38,158 --> 00:21:42,128 built to carry cargo from the US to China 247 00:21:42,162 --> 00:21:44,199 and across the world. 248 00:21:44,337 --> 00:21:49,687 So, what's she doing beneath the streets of San Francisco? 249 00:21:56,349 --> 00:22:01,941 NARRATOR: The story of the ship under San Francisco starts in January 1848 250 00:22:01,975 --> 00:22:05,151 amid the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 251 00:22:09,397 --> 00:22:14,643 James Marshal, a carpenter spots something yellow and shiny in the 252 00:22:14,747 --> 00:22:18,164 water channel of a saw mill he's building. 253 00:22:19,476 --> 00:22:22,720 JAMES: When asked what it is, he says, "Boys, I believe I found me a gold mine." 254 00:22:23,790 --> 00:22:27,898 And in that simple act of plucking a sun struck fleck of gold from that mill race, 255 00:22:27,932 --> 00:22:33,248 James Marshal set off one of the most incredible migrations of human kind. 256 00:22:34,318 --> 00:22:36,458 The California Gold Rush. 257 00:22:38,357 --> 00:22:43,016 NARRATOR: Over the next decade, 300,000 people will head west. 258 00:22:43,983 --> 00:22:49,540 Ordinary men and women abandon their homes, jobs, farms, and families, 259 00:22:50,127 --> 00:22:52,957 driven by the chance to find gold. 260 00:22:53,751 --> 00:22:56,754 RICHARD: People came from England, Ireland, France, Germany. 261 00:22:56,858 --> 00:23:00,137 In fact, it probably was the first time, on the planet, 262 00:23:00,171 --> 00:23:02,208 that so many people from all over the world 263 00:23:02,346 --> 00:23:04,659 gathered in one place. 264 00:23:11,838 --> 00:23:14,531 NARRATOR: The 49ers, as they're called, 265 00:23:14,634 --> 00:23:17,637 face a huge challenge getting to the gold fields. 266 00:23:18,569 --> 00:23:21,123 Crossing the continent takes months. 267 00:23:21,158 --> 00:23:26,922 They risk starvation, disease or attack by hostile Native American tribes. 268 00:23:29,235 --> 00:23:33,929 It's faster by sea and many 49ers head to Panama, 269 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,659 crossing the Isthmus through swelteringly hot jungle. 270 00:23:41,420 --> 00:23:43,663 Thousands pay the ultimate price. 271 00:23:45,147 --> 00:23:50,705 JAMES: At one stage, Panama City had more dead 49ers 272 00:23:50,843 --> 00:23:53,811 buried in its soil than it had living Panamanians. 273 00:23:56,745 --> 00:24:00,197 NARRATOR: Those that survive, begin the third leg of their journey, 274 00:24:00,231 --> 00:24:03,165 sailing north to San Francisco. 275 00:24:05,478 --> 00:24:09,171 One of the ships that will make that voyage is the Niantic. 276 00:24:10,345 --> 00:24:13,417 Recently converted to carry passengers. 277 00:24:14,763 --> 00:24:18,595 San Francisco's maritime archives reveal what happened next. 278 00:24:19,665 --> 00:24:22,495 DEBORAH: This is the Niantic log book. 279 00:24:23,531 --> 00:24:25,118 Here. 280 00:24:25,222 --> 00:24:27,880 JAMES: This is like the iconic scene. 281 00:24:27,983 --> 00:24:29,951 NARRATOR: The skipper, Captain Henry Cleveland, 282 00:24:30,054 --> 00:24:33,195 crams 249 fortune seekers on board. 283 00:24:33,886 --> 00:24:38,166 Each paying an exorbitant amount of money, desperate to get to California. 284 00:24:38,925 --> 00:24:42,411 JAMES: Here's Niantic's passengers coming out in boats to meet the ship. 285 00:24:44,413 --> 00:24:48,556 DEBORAH: They would have charged around $250, in 1849 prices, 286 00:24:48,659 --> 00:24:51,628 which today's is about $5,000. 287 00:24:51,662 --> 00:24:54,493 So very much more than the going rate would have cost. 288 00:24:54,596 --> 00:24:57,047 But they had no other option. 289 00:24:58,082 --> 00:25:01,914 NARRATOR: Niantic arrives in San Francisco in July 1849. 290 00:25:02,915 --> 00:25:06,194 Home to just a few thousand traders and sailors. 291 00:25:07,436 --> 00:25:10,509 But her log book reveals that Niantic's passengers 292 00:25:10,612 --> 00:25:13,477 aren't the only ones dreaming of riches. 293 00:25:14,547 --> 00:25:18,137 JAMES: Captain Cleaveland holds off anchors and has his passengers ferried ashore 294 00:25:18,171 --> 00:25:20,449 by boat with their baggage. 295 00:25:20,553 --> 00:25:24,971 But he begins to worry, as he should, because gold fever is rampant 296 00:25:25,006 --> 00:25:27,526 and his crew are beginning to mutter. 297 00:25:27,974 --> 00:25:31,668 "Baggage ashore, five of the crew deserted." 298 00:25:33,532 --> 00:25:36,431 The last entry here July 12th 1849 is the 299 00:25:36,535 --> 00:25:41,125 crew is breaking out the last of the run, everything that's stored in the ship. 300 00:25:41,229 --> 00:25:45,267 NARRATOR: One by one, the crew deserts and heads for the hills. 301 00:25:47,442 --> 00:25:50,272 A week after arriving in San Francisco, 302 00:25:50,410 --> 00:25:54,000 the ship sits in the cove almost completely empty. 303 00:25:56,624 --> 00:26:01,456 So why didn't the ship's owners simply hire another crew and sail her away? 304 00:26:04,942 --> 00:26:09,222 The answer to that also lies beneath the streets of San Francisco. 305 00:26:12,536 --> 00:26:15,366 Removing yet more tons of ancient silt, 306 00:26:17,368 --> 00:26:20,717 reveals that Niantic is far from alone. 307 00:26:23,133 --> 00:26:26,895 She's just one of a vast fleet of ghost ships, 308 00:26:26,930 --> 00:26:30,589 lying deep beneath the modern city. 309 00:26:37,734 --> 00:26:41,530 Evidence of an extraordinary story. 310 00:26:42,911 --> 00:26:49,055 JAMES: In 1849 alone, 762 American ships come to San Francisco. 311 00:26:49,884 --> 00:26:53,853 Joined by hundreds of others from around the world. 312 00:26:53,957 --> 00:26:57,685 NARRATOR: Scores of vessels are now moored alongside the Niantic, 313 00:26:57,788 --> 00:27:00,653 all bringing prospectors to California. 314 00:27:01,447 --> 00:27:04,623 DEBORAH: Unfortunately, most of these vessels arrived in San Francisco 315 00:27:04,726 --> 00:27:05,934 and their crews deserted. 316 00:27:07,833 --> 00:27:10,836 JAMES: What you find, ultimately, is a scene described by contemporaries 317 00:27:10,939 --> 00:27:15,806 as a forest of masts, with hundreds of these ships sitting there, 318 00:27:15,910 --> 00:27:18,637 with no place to go and nothing to do. 319 00:27:20,328 --> 00:27:25,057 NARRATOR: And now another astonishing part of the gold rush story comes into play. 320 00:27:26,990 --> 00:27:29,440 In just six months, 321 00:27:29,475 --> 00:27:34,653 San Francisco's population leaps from 5,000 to 25,000. 322 00:27:38,518 --> 00:27:41,901 The town needs to grow and fast. 323 00:27:44,490 --> 00:27:47,700 Entrepreneurs come up with the perfect solution. 324 00:27:47,735 --> 00:27:51,324 Ships like Niantic will become the city. 325 00:27:52,015 --> 00:27:53,672 DEBORAH: So these savvy businessmen decided, 326 00:27:53,775 --> 00:27:56,778 "We're gonna use these vessels for a new function." 327 00:27:56,882 --> 00:27:59,470 They were hauled ashore and used for store ships. 328 00:27:59,574 --> 00:28:03,267 They were also used for boarding houses, as churches, as offices. 329 00:28:04,924 --> 00:28:09,929 NARRATOR: Niantic is hauled on to the mud flats and converted into a warehouse. 330 00:28:11,448 --> 00:28:16,936 JAMES: And so it is that getting close to 200 of these ships are converted, 331 00:28:16,971 --> 00:28:20,906 temporarily or permanently, into floating buildings. 332 00:28:22,355 --> 00:28:27,188 NARRATOR: Landfill is dumped into the shallow waters of the cove and the city grows. 333 00:28:28,016 --> 00:28:33,470 Soon, it extends around the beached ships, far out into San Francisco Bay. 334 00:28:34,436 --> 00:28:35,714 RICHARD: There's construction everywhere. 335 00:28:35,817 --> 00:28:37,785 On the piers. On land. 336 00:28:37,888 --> 00:28:41,720 You can hear the sounds of the city are just a cacophony of construction sounds. 337 00:28:42,306 --> 00:28:45,240 That began at dawn and went into the night. 338 00:28:47,415 --> 00:28:51,315 NARRATOR: What was once sea, is now the streets and sidewalks 339 00:28:51,419 --> 00:28:54,560 of San Francisco's financial district. 340 00:29:03,155 --> 00:29:05,157 DEBORAH: There could be as many as 100 vessels 341 00:29:05,260 --> 00:29:07,711 buried under the streets of San Francisco. 342 00:29:08,298 --> 00:29:12,716 Only a small number of those have been found but as new buildings are built and new 343 00:29:12,820 --> 00:29:16,755 excavations are done, it's likely that we're gonna find more of those. 344 00:29:20,137 --> 00:29:23,554 JAMES: That's why we refer to San Francisco's financial district 345 00:29:23,692 --> 00:29:26,765 as a gold rush Pompeii. 346 00:29:32,184 --> 00:29:35,428 NARRATOR: Niantic holds one last surprise. 347 00:29:36,188 --> 00:29:40,468 Found in the wreck is evidence of San Francisco's burgeoning wealth. 348 00:29:42,988 --> 00:29:45,197 JAMES: Jacquesson and Fils from Reims. 349 00:29:45,231 --> 00:29:48,027 A real small vineyard then. 350 00:29:48,062 --> 00:29:50,133 Still a pretty expensive Champagne. 351 00:29:50,236 --> 00:29:51,306 They continue to make it. 352 00:29:51,444 --> 00:29:53,274 WOMAN: Oh, how cool. 353 00:29:55,207 --> 00:29:59,038 NARRATOR: San Francisco isn't the only part of California that's booming. 354 00:30:00,453 --> 00:30:06,805 120 miles away, near the gold fields of the Sierra Nevada other towns are growing fast. 355 00:30:11,775 --> 00:30:16,435 What can these strange timbers at the bottom of the Sacramento River 356 00:30:16,469 --> 00:30:20,163 tell us of the dark side of the gold rush? 357 00:30:26,928 --> 00:30:31,174 NARRATOR: Sacramento. State Capital of California. 358 00:30:34,004 --> 00:30:38,146 Through the city flows the 400 mile Sacramento River. 359 00:30:40,217 --> 00:30:44,394 In 1849, it's the vital artery of the gold rush. 360 00:30:48,432 --> 00:30:50,745 After landing in San Francisco, 361 00:30:50,779 --> 00:30:54,266 the 49ers continue their journey to the gold fields inland 362 00:30:54,369 --> 00:30:57,269 by sailing along the river. 363 00:31:08,245 --> 00:31:11,973 Archaeologists discover a wreck on the river bed here. 364 00:31:13,009 --> 00:31:16,150 Right in the heart of the modern city. 365 00:31:17,703 --> 00:31:21,569 JAMES: And in those dives, what we found in the murkiness of the Sacramento River, 366 00:31:22,052 --> 00:31:27,230 was a portion of the hull that broken at its back, or it's keel, lying there, 367 00:31:27,264 --> 00:31:32,097 but with the whole form or the body of the hull itself still there for us to see. 368 00:31:33,753 --> 00:31:36,687 NARRATOR: Historical research comes up with a name. 369 00:31:36,722 --> 00:31:38,517 LaGrange. 370 00:31:38,620 --> 00:31:42,624 A ship known to have carried prospectors to the city in 1849. 371 00:31:46,490 --> 00:31:50,701 Today, archaeologists return to the river hoping to learn more. 372 00:31:51,288 --> 00:31:53,256 But it's a challenge. 373 00:31:54,567 --> 00:31:57,501 FOSTER: The Sacramento River, it's always carrying silt, 374 00:31:57,605 --> 00:31:59,745 because it runs down the valley. 375 00:31:59,848 --> 00:32:04,957 So to look for gold rush ships, we need to use a sonar that sees through that 376 00:32:04,992 --> 00:32:08,927 sediment to see the bones of a gold rush vessel. 377 00:32:10,721 --> 00:32:14,311 Yeah, so it's 1.6 aft, and it's 0.5 starboard. 378 00:32:22,043 --> 00:32:25,012 NARRATOR: Based on the sonar data from the latest survey, 379 00:32:25,115 --> 00:32:28,532 we can start to drain the water from the river. 380 00:32:32,951 --> 00:32:36,471 To reveal a gold rush wreck. 381 00:32:41,166 --> 00:32:44,963 The partial remains of a ship's hull clearly visible. 382 00:32:54,041 --> 00:32:59,218 Exploring deeper inside, reveals something surprising: 383 00:33:00,530 --> 00:33:03,291 metal ring bolts. 384 00:33:05,328 --> 00:33:09,573 Like those used to restrain captives on a slave ship. 385 00:33:10,229 --> 00:33:13,405 But what would be their purpose in the gold rush? 386 00:33:14,509 --> 00:33:17,581 California is never a slave state. 387 00:33:17,719 --> 00:33:21,551 So the reason for the ring bolts remains unclear. 388 00:33:23,070 --> 00:33:26,901 To understand more, the team delves into LaGrange's past. 389 00:33:28,661 --> 00:33:31,043 MAN: Okay go ahead. More out that way. 390 00:33:31,078 --> 00:33:32,424 WOMAN: You see this thing right here? 391 00:33:32,527 --> 00:33:35,254 MAN: Yeah. In line. Turn the fish off. 392 00:33:35,358 --> 00:33:38,223 NARRATOR: They discover she's a sea going barque. 393 00:33:38,257 --> 00:33:41,502 First used to take cargo between New York and Savannah. 394 00:33:42,296 --> 00:33:47,991 Then, to cash in on gold fever, she's converted to carry 63 fortune seekers. 395 00:33:50,338 --> 00:33:54,411 In early 1849, she sails from Salem, Massachusetts, 396 00:33:54,515 --> 00:33:57,966 arriving in San Francisco seven months later. 397 00:33:59,485 --> 00:34:02,488 Then she continues up the Sacramento River, 398 00:34:02,523 --> 00:34:05,284 before docking along the water front. 399 00:34:06,561 --> 00:34:10,634 From here, her passengers travel on to the gold fields on foot. 400 00:34:10,738 --> 00:34:12,878 MAN: Follow the shoreline here. 401 00:34:16,537 --> 00:34:19,367 NARRATOR: But a ship taking prospectors to the gold fields 402 00:34:19,471 --> 00:34:22,405 wouldn't need restraining bolts. 403 00:34:22,508 --> 00:34:25,166 So, what are they for? 404 00:34:26,685 --> 00:34:30,413 Local archives reveal she spends the last ten years of her life 405 00:34:30,516 --> 00:34:33,623 simply moored on the River Bank. 406 00:34:34,486 --> 00:34:37,696 Did her crew desert to join the gold rush? 407 00:34:37,834 --> 00:34:40,699 Or is there another explanation? 408 00:34:45,497 --> 00:34:49,570 Gold rush California is a dangerous and violent place. 409 00:34:51,019 --> 00:34:53,884 DEBORAH: You had people coming from all over the world trying to strike it 410 00:34:53,988 --> 00:34:58,234 rich and that caused tension because you had people getting in brawls, 411 00:34:58,372 --> 00:35:01,547 people pulling knifes, people pulling guns. 412 00:35:02,652 --> 00:35:07,657 NARRATOR: Along with theft, assault and murder, there's ethnic tension too. 413 00:35:08,658 --> 00:35:11,592 JAMES: So you have the American mobs assaulting Chileans. 414 00:35:11,695 --> 00:35:16,528 Other Hispanics sent Chinese as well as Native Indians to clear the land or to send a 415 00:35:16,562 --> 00:35:19,186 message that you're not welcome. 416 00:35:20,739 --> 00:35:23,535 NARRATOR: Sacramento needs a solution. 417 00:35:23,569 --> 00:35:29,161 And so LaGrange is converted from a sailing ship to become a floating jail house. 418 00:35:30,542 --> 00:35:33,061 JAMES: It's out of town. 419 00:35:33,165 --> 00:35:35,063 It's on the river. 420 00:35:35,098 --> 00:35:37,618 It is controlled and self-contained. 421 00:35:37,721 --> 00:35:42,001 And so, it serves a perfect purpose 422 00:35:42,036 --> 00:35:45,488 as not only a place in which you can incarcerate, 423 00:35:45,522 --> 00:35:49,388 but one which you can completely control and keep inaccessible. 424 00:35:52,564 --> 00:35:55,222 NARRATOR: Today, the prison ship, LaGrange, 425 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,811 lies beneath layers of silt on the river bed. 426 00:35:59,226 --> 00:36:04,438 And the reason she sinks, casts light on another dark chapter of the gold rush. 427 00:36:07,061 --> 00:36:09,408 JAMES: One of the biggest fears of every gold seeker 428 00:36:09,512 --> 00:36:12,170 is that everybody else gets to it first. 429 00:36:14,620 --> 00:36:16,726 NARRATOR: Prospectors take extreme measures 430 00:36:16,864 --> 00:36:19,246 to get their hands on whatever gold is left. 431 00:36:20,488 --> 00:36:24,078 Blasting river beds and cliff faces with high pressure water cannons, 432 00:36:24,182 --> 00:36:26,839 to expose hidden seams. 433 00:36:26,943 --> 00:36:29,325 JAMES: The California landscape in the gold fields 434 00:36:29,428 --> 00:36:32,155 is dramatically changed forever. 435 00:36:32,259 --> 00:36:36,608 Entire hillsides are washed free of mud and of anything growing on them, 436 00:36:36,711 --> 00:36:38,644 leaving only barren rock. 437 00:36:39,542 --> 00:36:43,131 NARRATOR: The mud and uprooted trees flow downstream. 438 00:36:43,235 --> 00:36:46,514 The Sacramento becomes ever more clogged with silt. 439 00:36:46,618 --> 00:36:50,346 Over time, it becomes more prone to flooding. 440 00:36:53,072 --> 00:36:57,732 When a huge storm hits the city, La Grange is threatened by rising water. 441 00:37:01,736 --> 00:37:04,394 The guards and prisoners manage to escape. 442 00:37:08,398 --> 00:37:12,437 But she sinks to the bottom of the river. 443 00:37:12,540 --> 00:37:18,477 Where today, she still lies, as a reminder that the lust for gold 444 00:37:19,478 --> 00:37:24,069 led many 49ers not to a fortune, but disgrace. 445 00:37:28,522 --> 00:37:32,629 In California, everything comes back to the gold rush. 446 00:37:35,218 --> 00:37:39,153 Many immigrants stay on, building the great cities of 447 00:37:39,257 --> 00:37:43,571 San Francisco, Sacramento and Stockton. 448 00:37:46,678 --> 00:37:50,337 But others can't get out quick enough. 449 00:37:53,823 --> 00:37:56,412 Off the coast of Southern California, 450 00:37:56,515 --> 00:37:59,794 can the wreck of another great gold rush ship explain 451 00:37:59,898 --> 00:38:03,729 how even those who managed to get rich, 452 00:38:03,867 --> 00:38:07,388 are always one false step from disaster? 453 00:38:15,431 --> 00:38:20,505 NARRATOR: Gold isn't just transforming California, by the early 1850s, 454 00:38:20,643 --> 00:38:23,922 some of those who struck pay dirt are returning home. 455 00:38:25,855 --> 00:38:32,171 To towns and cities back east, to Europe, to China. 456 00:38:33,863 --> 00:38:38,177 Gold helps kick start the economy of the entire world. 457 00:38:40,248 --> 00:38:44,943 But those leaving the Golden State, put themselves in a new kind of peril. 458 00:38:50,811 --> 00:38:56,886 On December 1st 1853, the steamship Winfield Scott leaves San Francisco for 459 00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:01,235 Panama, carrying 450 passengers, and gold, 460 00:39:01,787 --> 00:39:04,342 today worth over $30 million. 461 00:39:05,412 --> 00:39:06,861 DEBORAH: It was a normal journey, 462 00:39:06,896 --> 00:39:09,347 one that steam ships had done many, many times before. 463 00:39:11,625 --> 00:39:14,559 NARRATOR: The Winfield Scott is an ocean-going steamer, 464 00:39:14,662 --> 00:39:17,458 whose builders declare no expense has been spared 465 00:39:17,562 --> 00:39:20,806 to achieve strength, safety and speed. 466 00:39:21,669 --> 00:39:25,328 She even has first class cabins for those who struck it rich. 467 00:39:26,536 --> 00:39:27,917 ROBERT: These ships are amazing. 468 00:39:28,020 --> 00:39:31,369 Yeah, they were built staunchly with white live oak. 469 00:39:32,370 --> 00:39:38,272 They had four decks and the machinery on these were just state of the art. 470 00:39:39,204 --> 00:39:42,380 NARRATOR: She has sailed this route eight times before. 471 00:39:42,483 --> 00:39:45,762 But this time she never reaches Panama. 472 00:39:53,287 --> 00:39:57,084 The research vessel, Shearwater, is heading towards the Channel Islands, 473 00:39:57,222 --> 00:40:00,087 a few miles off the coast of Southern California. 474 00:40:01,260 --> 00:40:05,230 She's carrying a team of archaeologists, plus experts from NOAA, 475 00:40:05,333 --> 00:40:09,683 the American government body that monitors climate and seas. 476 00:40:11,236 --> 00:40:15,827 They want to learn more about the final fateful voyage of the Winfield Scott. 477 00:40:17,794 --> 00:40:21,867 The Channel Islands are home to a protected National Marine Sanctuary, 478 00:40:21,971 --> 00:40:27,459 but DD Marx,an archaeologist with Search Incorporated, and her colleague, 479 00:40:27,494 --> 00:40:31,221 NOAA official, Bob Schwemmer, regularly dive the wreck. 480 00:40:32,568 --> 00:40:34,432 DEBORAH: You never know what you're gonna encounter. 481 00:40:34,535 --> 00:40:38,125 The wind and the waves and the seasons uncover things and recover things. 482 00:40:38,919 --> 00:40:41,680 So you might find new features of the hull you hadn't found before, 483 00:40:41,784 --> 00:40:43,820 as well as new artifacts. 484 00:40:46,927 --> 00:40:51,414 NARRATOR: In these waters the sands continually shift. 485 00:40:54,037 --> 00:40:58,007 So every expedition is a new adventure. 486 00:41:00,112 --> 00:41:03,978 These remains of the Winfield Scott lie in shallow water. 487 00:41:07,326 --> 00:41:10,329 Her wooden hull has rotted away. 488 00:41:10,433 --> 00:41:13,988 Her metal parts covered with decades of marine growth. 489 00:41:19,580 --> 00:41:23,515 To see her in detail, and understand what happened here, 490 00:41:23,550 --> 00:41:28,382 we can combine 3D scanning data with visualization software, 491 00:41:29,314 --> 00:41:32,351 and pull the plug on the Pacific Ocean. 492 00:41:41,878 --> 00:41:46,193 Slowly, the remains of the Winfield Scott appear. 493 00:41:47,574 --> 00:41:52,095 Hidden from view since she set out laden with the gold of California. 494 00:41:53,752 --> 00:41:58,550 Two paddle wheels lie exposed and a handful of metal parts. 495 00:42:01,588 --> 00:42:07,490 But the most significant thing about the wreck isn't what it is, but where it is. 496 00:42:11,356 --> 00:42:16,982 The drained landscape of the Channel Islands reveals the Winfield Scott is not alone. 497 00:42:18,536 --> 00:42:22,505 Scattered across the seabed, lie dozens of other shipwrecks. 498 00:42:23,955 --> 00:42:26,716 These waters are clearly dangerous. 499 00:42:26,820 --> 00:42:29,823 So why was she here? 500 00:42:33,136 --> 00:42:37,624 In the mid 19th century, most ships give the Channel Islands a wide berth, 501 00:42:37,727 --> 00:42:41,628 sailing past them and onto central America. 502 00:42:42,905 --> 00:42:48,082 But in local archives, researchers discover evidence that the Winfield Scott 503 00:42:48,186 --> 00:42:51,465 decides to take a calculated risk. 504 00:42:51,810 --> 00:42:54,813 ROBERT: We're very fortunate with the diaries from some of the passengers 505 00:42:54,917 --> 00:42:57,505 that were on board the Winfield Scott. 506 00:42:58,541 --> 00:43:01,130 The Captain, Simon Blunt, has studied the area for 507 00:43:01,233 --> 00:43:04,340 the US Costal Survey a few years before. 508 00:43:04,443 --> 00:43:08,965 NARRATOR: And he's sure he knows a safe route directly through the islands. 509 00:43:11,485 --> 00:43:13,694 ROBERT: Captain Simon Blunt felt pretty confident about 510 00:43:13,832 --> 00:43:15,903 coming through the Santa Barbara Channel 511 00:43:16,007 --> 00:43:18,630 because it cut 100 miles off his course 512 00:43:18,734 --> 00:43:21,944 and of course getting to Panama first, 513 00:43:22,047 --> 00:43:25,533 or Panama to San Francisco, you got bragging rights. 514 00:43:27,018 --> 00:43:28,985 NARRATOR: It's not just bragging rights. 515 00:43:29,020 --> 00:43:31,609 It's cold hard cash. 516 00:43:32,126 --> 00:43:35,026 Competition is fierce between rival shipping lines, 517 00:43:35,060 --> 00:43:37,373 all vying for a slice of the action 518 00:43:37,476 --> 00:43:39,824 on this most lucrative run. 519 00:43:39,927 --> 00:43:44,035 DEBORAH: The Winfield Scott's owners were very keen on getting there quicker, 520 00:43:44,069 --> 00:43:46,554 that means they could turn around and make a return trip, 521 00:43:46,658 --> 00:43:49,040 hence more money in their pockets. 522 00:43:52,008 --> 00:43:55,115 NARRATOR: On the night of December 1st 1853, 523 00:43:55,218 --> 00:43:57,635 the Islands are shrouded in dense fog. 524 00:43:58,187 --> 00:44:00,879 But Captain Blunt isn't worried. 525 00:44:02,536 --> 00:44:06,644 ROBERT: He was actually asked, in the wheelhouse, about, 526 00:44:06,782 --> 00:44:12,201 "Do you wanna slow down, it's kind of getting you know foggy, and a bit dirty out there." 527 00:44:13,167 --> 00:44:15,963 And he's like, "No, let her rip." 528 00:44:16,067 --> 00:44:18,103 Of course he did. 529 00:44:19,484 --> 00:44:22,625 11 knots right into California real estate. 530 00:44:29,977 --> 00:44:33,912 NARRATOR: The ship smashes into the rocky coast line of Anacapa Island. 531 00:44:40,608 --> 00:44:42,369 JAMES: Water begins coming in. 532 00:44:42,472 --> 00:44:44,820 You're standing there on a moment on a deck that is heaving, 533 00:44:44,923 --> 00:44:46,787 with timbers cracking and moaning. 534 00:44:46,891 --> 00:44:50,895 With steam hissing out of pipes, as cold sea water pours in. 535 00:44:51,585 --> 00:44:54,830 With the hull ripping and tearing on rocks. 536 00:44:58,316 --> 00:45:02,458 NARRATOR: All the passengers scramble onto this windswept shore. 537 00:45:03,977 --> 00:45:07,221 The ship's cargo of gold is salvaged. 538 00:45:08,084 --> 00:45:13,055 But some of those carrying the precious ore in their personal luggage aren't so lucky. 539 00:45:14,677 --> 00:45:19,061 Passengers who've risked everything to achieve their gold rush dream, 540 00:45:19,164 --> 00:45:22,409 see it lost on the sea floor. 541 00:45:25,792 --> 00:45:29,450 JAMES: To have that voyage end in shipwreck had to be heart breaking, 542 00:45:29,554 --> 00:45:31,694 because they would have lost everything. 543 00:45:31,832 --> 00:45:34,904 All that effort. All that work. All gone. 544 00:45:45,432 --> 00:45:46,605 ROBERT: Great job. 545 00:45:46,709 --> 00:45:47,814 DEBORAH: That's really good. 546 00:45:47,917 --> 00:45:49,712 It looks so cool. 547 00:45:51,852 --> 00:45:55,373 NARRATOR: Today the wreck of the Winfield Scott still speaks loudly of the huge 548 00:45:55,476 --> 00:45:58,617 wealth generated in the gold rush era. 549 00:46:01,828 --> 00:46:03,933 DEBORAH: So within a span of five years, 550 00:46:04,037 --> 00:46:06,556 from San Francisco being a tent city, 551 00:46:06,660 --> 00:46:09,697 in the blink of an eye really, you had a bustling city, 552 00:46:09,801 --> 00:46:12,079 and you had steam ships like the Winfield Scott 553 00:46:12,114 --> 00:46:14,737 that were able to have passengers that could afford 554 00:46:14,841 --> 00:46:17,257 a first class state room on their way home. 555 00:46:18,085 --> 00:46:22,883 NARRATOR: By the end of the 1850s, just a decade after the first discovery, 556 00:46:22,987 --> 00:46:27,888 $187 billion worth of gold in today's money, 557 00:46:27,992 --> 00:46:31,064 is pulled from the mountains of California. 558 00:46:31,823 --> 00:46:34,136 An extraordinary decade of adventure, 559 00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:38,347 endeavor and sometimes heartbreak, 560 00:46:40,970 --> 00:46:44,387 that utterly transforms America. 561 00:46:45,872 --> 00:46:50,152 California becomes the 31st State of the Union. 562 00:46:51,084 --> 00:46:55,882 A booming economy that's soon home to 400,000 settlers. 563 00:46:58,470 --> 00:47:02,716 The gold rush opens up the American west, and in so doing, 564 00:47:02,854 --> 00:47:05,753 creates the modern United States. 565 00:47:05,892 --> 00:47:07,065 Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.