Wild West Tech Gold Rush Tech History Channel

Discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 changed the American West and the world. Thousands of dreamers descended upon California to stake claims followed by rushes to Nevada Alaska Montana and other territories with the uncovering of silver and copper deposits. Keith Carradine looks at the technology developed to exploit earth's riches--cables elevators pumps ventilators and drills--as mining went further underground and evolved from a one-man operation to a multi-billion-dollar industry.