Elizabeth Raum - The California Gold Rush: An Interactive History Adventure

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YOU are a New Englander with a bad case of gold fever. Gold has been discovered in California, and you want to go claim some for yourself. Will you strike it rich?

In this book, youll explore how the choices people made meant the difference between wealth and poverty, even life and death. The events youll experience happened to real people.

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your device's back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

YOU CHOOSE the path you take through history.

Listen to this, your father says, reading todays paper. Two California gold miners made $17,000 in seven days. Thats a fortune! If I were a young man he sighs.

Your mother smiles. Shes pleased that your father is not rushing off to California and leaving her behind to watch the store and your younger brothers and sisters.

People everywhere have gold fever. You do too. On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald reported the discovery of gold in California. The news reached your local paper later that month. Ever since, you have dreamed of going west to collect riches for yourself.

People learned about the discovery of gold by reading articles in newspapers.

I am a young man, you remind your father. And Id like to take my chances in California. If only I could afford the trip.

Im happy to lend you money for the trip, your father says. When you return with your pockets full of gold, you can repay the loan twice over.

Go if you must, your mother says. But I dont want you going to California by ship. Ships sink.

Guidebooks like this one offered advice to gold seekers.

Ill choose a ship without leaks, you say with a smile. Ships are the safest way to reach California. You hand her your copy of The Emigrants Guide to the Gold Mines. Here, you can read it yourself. The trip is fast and easy.

If I were going to California, your father says, Id sign on with a wagon train and go overland. I like to keep solid ground beneath my feet. Imagine seeing this great land firsthand.

Thats a terrible idea, your mother says. Crossing those rugged mountains and dry deserts is dangerous. You could die of thirst.

You laugh. One way, theres too much water. The other, theres not enough. I promise to be careful. Next time you see me Ill be a rich man, and Ill have stories to last a lifetime.

Will they be stories of a journey by sea or by land?

As a child, you often pretended to sail to a magical island and dig for treasure. Now you are heading to California by ship in search of real gold. Its a dream come true.

Everyone who stops by your fathers store is talking about the gold rush. When they hear that youll be sailing to California soon, they are quick to offer advice.

Posters advertised ships heading to California.

My friends and I will be sailing around South America for a safe trip to California, one man tells you. Weve started a company. Everyone pays $600. That covers the boat trip and a cargo of lumber, bricks, and eight ready-to-build houses.

Your father nods. I suppose that in a growing town like San Francisco, there will be a good market for building supplies.

We believe so, the man continues. When we get to San Francisco, well sell the cargo, and everyone will share the profits. Why dont you join us?

A man leaning on the counter interrupts. Theres a better way to go the shortcut through Panama. Ill be in California in six weeks. Your ship around South America could take six months.

The shortcut may be fast, but its dangerous, the first man says. Youll have to sail to Chagres on Panamas eastern coast and then cross the jungle. If you make it through alive, youve still got to take one more boat to San Francisco.

Its all arranged ahead of time, the second man says. A bunk below deck on our steamship will cost you just $200. Youre welcome to join us.

You consider both mens plans. The way around South America may seem safer, but it is also more costly. The Panama shortcut is cheaper and faster. But lots of things could go wrong in the jungle. Which do you choose?

Your mother is pleased youve chosen the safer route around South America. Your father likes the companys plan to make money by selling its cargo in San Francisco.

You go to Boston, the nearest seaport, to board the Golden Eagle. The ship leaves Boston on January 16, 1849. At first, you stand on deck watching the waves pound the ship. But seasickness soon sends you to your bunk.

After a week, you move around the ship as easily as the sailors do. You make friends with fellow passengers bricklayers, butchers, farmers, paper makers, carpenters, painters, lawyers, and store clerks.

Ships going to California were crowded with people, mostly men, hoping to strike it rich in the gold fields.

You sail for weeks and weeks. The harsh New England winter gives way to warmer tropical temperatures as you sail south. But as you approach Cape Horn, the weather turns cold again. Soon the captain will decide whether to go around the Horn or through the Strait of Magellan.

Ships going around Cape Horn face waves 80 to 90 feet tall. Ice coats the ship, snapping masts in two. The remains of ships and cargoes line the shores.

But the strait is dangerous too. Sudden storms smash ships against the rocky coast. Thick fog hides dangers from view. Some ship captains that it is quicker to go through the strait, but others say it depends on the weather and the ship. Neither way is easy. Do you think the captain should go around Cape Horn or through the Strait of Magellan?

To get to California quickly, you decide to take the shortcut through Panama. The steamship leaves Boston on January 16, 1849. Ten days later, you arrive in the village of Chagres, Panamas eastern port. Several ships have beaten you there, but your group has reserved rooms, canoes, and mules for the rest of the journey. Those who didnt plan ahead are stuck waiting.