Latest / The American Trail / The American Trail - The California Gold Rush

Transcript

The American Trail - The California Gold Rush · The American Trail

• 0:00
  American Trail, The American Trail, please in Blood. Defended in Blood,
• 0:31
  Chapter nine. The California Gold Rush. I'll be in San Francisco and then
• 0:59
  I'll around and when I see the gold lumps there, I'll pick them off
• 1:03
  the ground. I'll scrape the mountains clean, my boys, I'll drain the
• 1:07
  rivers, drive a pocket full of rocks, bring homes. So, brothers,
• 1:11
  don't you cry. Oh, California, that's the land for me.
• 1:17
  I'm going to Sacramento with a washed cubbone. Pretty good, dad, Pretty
• 1:22
  good, Hi, folks, This is Lenny Crosby. Guess you know my
• 1:26
  dad. We'll move over a bit there. When you say I give the
• 1:29
  old man a little room. Euh, why you bet, say dad?
• 1:32
  I kind of went along with that song. Well, boy, that was
• 1:33
  number one. Did you know that? Number one on the hit Parade back
• 1:36
  in eighteen forty nine, The Day's the goal Rush. Yeah, long about
• 1:38
  the time California was ready to latch onto the US. Ah. They were
• 1:42
  the real rugged days, Yes they were, and so they were. But
• 1:45
  California's come a long long way since then. Yeah, all our big cities,
• 1:49
  farm lands, industries more to it than that too. Boy, I
• 1:52
  like to fool around with the idea that California is sort of, sort of
• 1:55
  a digestive American history. I guess it is. Dan so much happened is
• 1:59
  such a sholl look at here. By the time California was ready to sping
• 2:01
  along with the rest of the US, it had a lot of catching up
• 2:04
  to do. Sure caught up though. All right then that's what I mean.
• 2:07
  Now, look, you know what I like to do here. I
• 2:09
  got a yarn about a young fellow your age who was around during the gold
• 2:13
  Rush days. You want me to unwrap the story, boy, go ahead
• 2:16
  that I recall. His name was Barney Barnie, Barnie Brooks. This is
• 2:21
  how he told his story. I'll never forget it. That day we dropped
• 2:28
  Anchor in San Francisco Bay. It was so foggy we couldn't even see the
• 2:31
  land. Then sailors started deserting the ship. The captain up on the poop
• 2:37
  tack, yelling at him as they rode away, trump, break your swam
• 2:40
  some aft up your stock. They never came back. They were after gold.
• 2:57
  Just about a year before that, gold was discovered in the sacon Cnal
• 3:00
  Valley on Captain Sutter's land. My dad and I heard about it back in
• 3:04
  Boston. Everybody went wild. Everybody wanted to rush right out to California and
• 3:08
  get rich. One night, my dad said, Barney o'falloon, we're going
• 3:14
  out west. We'll get enough gold to buy some land and some cattle.
• 3:19
  A couple of days later he left went over land. I came out by
• 3:24
  way of Panama with some other people. One of them was a young school
• 3:29
  teacher, Miss Taylor, Virginia Taylor, a friend of mine. It seemed
• 3:34
  years before we got to San Francisco, but at last afar cleared. Miss
• 3:40
  Taylor and I stood on deck, looking at the coast and waiting for my
• 3:44
  dad to comfort us. A barrack looking country. It's wild, all right,
• 3:49
  it's Madden. Look at him. They must do this Sierra in the
• 3:52
  baden. We're captain Fremont explored. My dad came aboard. He'll Graham Mexican
• 4:00
  sombrero, red shirt, big strong, sunburn, selling valuable time here waiting
• 4:05
  for this boat. I thought we'd never get here. Tom. So did
• 4:09
  I Dad? Did you find any gold? Have you been to the gold
• 4:12
  field? Yes, Hey, give me the bags, let's get ashore.
• 4:20
  I'd never seen my dad like that before, so jumpy we went ashore.
• 4:27
  What a place. Crowds every language in the world. Hundreds of tents fitched
• 4:31
  all over the hills. No real streets, just mud have chats hunts,
• 4:36
  a few regular houses. One was called the Parker House, next door to
• 4:41
  a gaming place, the Eldorado. Dad had found his rooms at the Fremont
• 4:45
  Family Hotel. I was not packing in his room when he came in with
• 4:47
  Miss Taylor. There's a colla here, Brannan, Sam Brandon. You ought
• 4:53
  to see him, Virginia. He's got pull in this town. Will he
• 4:56
  help me with the He'll be glad to see you. Sam's civic minded.
• 5:00
  You tell him you want to build a school out here, and he won't
• 5:01
  be able to do enough for you. Then I'll certainly see him. Oh
• 5:04
  here, I want to show you something, Bonnie quit what you're doing?
• 5:09
  What is it dead? Yea in this stow. I'll wait a minute here,
• 5:12
  catch Bonnie open and have a look. Yeah, here's a mellow bag.
• 5:18
  Tom. That's that's gold, more than forty thousand dollars, And I'm
• 5:24
  going back for more. Oh boy, going back for more. Tom.
• 5:28
  I thought you thought what you were going to buy land and cattle. I
• 5:32
  want my share of the gold Virginia. Eh, I'm going looking to the
• 5:35
  gold field. No time. I'm sorry, Oh please please me? I
• 5:39
  said no, how many more times? Uh, I'm sorry, son,
• 5:44
  I didn't mean the shout. That's all right there. Next morning, Miss
• 5:51
  Taylor went to see Sam Brannan. He was a newspaper publisher. She took
• 5:57
  me with her. Mister Brannon was sure a fiery character, ma'am. They've
• 6:01
  sure gone haywire in this town. They all think they're gonna get rich.
• 6:05
  Maybe a few will, and the rest will have their hearts broken. I've
• 6:11
  seen men destroying themselves up in the goldfields, I suppose so. Now,
• 6:15
  this town was built for eight hundred people, ma'am. In six months we've
• 6:19
  seen ten thousand people pour into it. We've got a criminal population here,
• 6:26
  thugs, hooligans, scum of the earth expected but not condoned. And I'm
• 6:31
  for hanging or shooting every known criminal. When a man gets to be a
• 6:35
  minister decent people get rid of my say kill him like a mad dog.
• 6:41
  It's the law, prescribes it. The law. Isn't there any who will
• 6:45
  be We're organizing the Vigilance Committee, a man for better or for worse.
• 6:50
  California's soon going to be a state. With all this gold here, It's
• 6:55
  gonna be mighty important country. But the decent folk here have gotta make it
• 6:59
  a fit place to live in. I want to do my share, mister
• 7:01
  Bannon. I want to help establish a school system. Proud of your,
• 7:05
  ma'am, good and proud of you. Proud to see your teacent American girl
• 7:10
  come out here. Only it's no place for you yet. I'm here now,
• 7:15
  You got any folks out here? No nor in the East. I
• 7:18
  have no one but myself. Proud of you, little lady. Will build
• 7:24
  your school, We'll build a church. But first the scumb's gotta be cleaned
• 7:29
  out, now, ma'am. I hate criminals, I hate hooligans. I
• 7:33
  hate him worse than poison, don't you, Sonny, Yes, sir,
• 7:38
  tom Brooks's boy. Eh, you know my dad. I know him.
• 7:42
  He bought Indians in a black Hawk warser I know he did. Son.
• 7:45
  He'd be good for your Vigilance Committee. Yes, well, we could sure
• 7:48
  use a man like him. When we got back to the Fremont Hotel,
• 7:59
  Dad was just about going out. He had a strange. Look. I
• 8:03
  had a feeling something had happened. I was out. They knew I was
• 8:11
  out, and they came here. What is it? Tom bandits Big Jack
• 8:18
  Fisher's gang came here in broad daylight, took everything in fight. They got
• 8:24
  my gold, the gold. You stay here till I come back. Some
• 8:28
  go to mister Brandon and the vigilance committee. Tom, Tom, please where
• 8:33
  This is the Gold Coast, Virginia. Every man makes his own rules,
• 8:37
  every man's his own judging jury. It's not true. It's not true.
• 8:43
  Dad went out. At first, I couldn't think it was the look on
• 8:48
  Dad's face, Miss Taylor. He's gonna look for those men yet, I'm
• 8:52
  going to Sam Brandon for help. You stay here, Bonnie, what's come
• 8:56
  over your father? He mustn't can't take the law into his own hands,
• 9:01
  Bonnie, Bunny, stay there. I stood there for a minute. Then
• 9:11
  I ran out. I kept running and running until I saw my dad and
• 9:13
  caught up with him. Dead. Go back, honey, and said,
• 9:20
  I'm scared. I told you, please, please, I said, go
• 9:24
  back. The first time Dad ever hit me, I just stood there.
• 9:33
  I saw him going to the El Dorado. I started running again. Donnie
• 9:39
  Sonny, come back here. I heard Miss Tailor crawling. I looked back
• 9:46
  once she was with Sam Branda and some other men. But I kept running
• 9:50
  until I got to the El Dorado. When I first got to the door,
• 9:54
  then a woman was handling the place was no lockrod. Then suddenly everybody
• 10:11
  was awful. Still. All you could hear was a lot of breathing and
• 10:15
  my dad walking slowly towards another man who stood near a table. It was
• 10:26
  like watching the tiger. Dad didn't even draw his gun, and the bandit
• 10:31
  seemed like he was frozen. I've come for my gold, for sure,
• 10:41
  I said, I'd come for my gold. Be sure. I'm cutting three.
• 10:48
  I don't know why I did it. I saw the bandit's hand move
• 10:52
  towards his gun. I didn't want my dad to get shot, and I
• 10:54
  ran between them. This is a bandit fire, honey. I heard the
• 11:00
  shot. I felt the hot pain in one shoulder. Then there was another
• 11:03
  voice. Don't move anybody. I'm Sam Brannan. This is the Vigilance Committee.
• 11:11
  We're getting some law and order around this town. Bonnie Bonnie, speak
• 11:16
  to me, get a doctor quick. Next thing I remember, I was
• 11:28
  in my bed. Miss Taylor was standing there with my dad and Sam Brannan.
• 11:35
  He's all right, tom Son, did you did you go back there?
• 11:43
  I don't want it, Bonnie, I don't want to see it.
• 11:46
  I just want you to get well. I'm all right. All the things
• 11:50
  I ever taught you, all the things that matter, I was turning my
• 11:54
  back on them, respect for law and order, Bonnie, Your dad's ashamed.
• 12:01
  Dad. Are you going to join mister Brandon's the Durance Committee? He
• 12:05
  already has, barnime. Gee. It was grand watching San Francisco go into
• 12:18
  a big city and my dad helping hundreds of ships sailing in from all over
• 12:22
  the world, more and more settlers coming, building, told the stars,
• 12:28
  churches, California getting to be a state, and me feel in California was
• 12:33
  just as much as my home as Boston had been, because it was all
• 12:37
  part of the United States. Now, hi, folks, this is Crosbie
• 12:56
  again. I was quite a story Dan, all right, Lindsay, But
• 12:58
  don't go thinking it's all wrapped up. No, no, I guess it
• 13:01
  is. It's your story now, boy, Yeah, I guess it is
• 13:05
  yours and all the other kids across the country. You're the ones who'll be
• 13:09
  carrying the ball pretty soon, this this long and ordered deal. You know
• 13:11
  a few people in this country and around the world are trying to break it
• 13:15
  up, don't you guys. Let him do it. It'll be up to
• 13:18
  you to see that these United States keep moving along in the good old American
• 13:22
  way. Don't worry, Dan, it's important stuff, my fine young friend.
• 13:24
  I know it, Dan, We all know it, all of us.
• 13:28
  Fine, fine, now you're on the ball, boy our Thanks for
• 13:37
  being Crosbie and his son Lindsey. This has been the ninth chapter in the
• 13:41
  Story of the American Nation, brought to you by the Ladies Auxiliary to the
• 13:46
  Veterans of Foreign Wars. Next week, another story to make you proud of
• 14:09
  this great country of ours, as we follow the American trail.