The History Series

The last great gold rush played out in the deserts of Nevada and California. It began with those who roamed the barren hills seeking their fortune. Most traveled with their tools, some food, a blanket and a jackass. They were called “single-blanket-jackass prospectors”. This is the story of those who spent their lives “Chasing The Rainbow”.

In 1905 the world was coming to Beatty, Nevada. It was the site of a great gold rush. Two giants of the mining industry wanted to capitalize on the boom and get their railroads to the goldfields. In a drama with many twists and turns, only one railroad would be first to make it to the goldfields.

Death Valley’s fascinating history comes to life in the words of ‘old-timers’ who remember its Wild West days. Meet prospectors, promoters, millionaires and homesteaders through the eyes of those who knew them. These are true stories from those who made their home in America’s deepest, driest, hottest desert.

Ever since America discovered the desert, images of death have been a part of the story. These are tales of death, near death and survival. Among the stories are the strange journey of Hootch’s skull; a man who died dancing in the desert and the delirious last moments of a man who believed the sand was water. These tales are fascinating, thought-provoking and inspiring.

There was a time when an image of wagons and mules was synonymous with Death Valley. It was the brand for a laundry additive called 20 Mule Team Borax, and it was as well-known and familiar as the golden arches are today. Pacific Coast Borax was company that owned the product. This is the story of how a once-common form of transportation rose to become a national icon.

There was a time when the towns of Tonopah, Goldfield, Beatty and Rhyolite were known around the nation for their great riches. One writer described this region near Death Valley as “The Treasure Basin of the World.” Tens of thousands of hopefuls came from around the world seeing their fortune. This was a real gold rush and this film tells the story.

On August 5, 1947 Dr. F. Bruce Russell, a retired physician from Cincinnati, had found a cave with giant mummified remains and artifacts from a lost civilization. Fifteen years earlier a miner broke through a mine shaft and into a tunnel of caverns, which he also said, led to the remains of an ancient people. Are there really caverns with hidden gold and ancient mummies in Death Valley?

In 1907 Willis Emerson left his Death Valley mine to pen a classic book: The Smokey God, which claims that civilizations exist in subterranean caverns: The Hollow Earth Theory. Do the aliens called reptilians have a base under Death Valley? There’s only one way to find out! Join filmmaker Ted Faye as he takes us UNDER Death Valley to look for mummies and aliens!

In 1849 a group of pioneers set out from Salt Lake, Utah to head to California. Most were gold seekers; some were Mormon Missionaries and others simply looking for a better life. They took a shortcut that led them directly into the place they named “Death Valley.” In 1998 an expedition claimed to have found a trunk that belonged to those original pioneers. Was it real or was the trunk bunk?

Death Valley Junction sits at the eastern entrance to Death Valley National Park. It has gained national and international fame through artist Marta Becket and her Amargosa Opera House. If you ask any of the few current residents they’ll tell you there are other residents at the Junction…and they’re not among the living. Discover if there really are ghosts at this historic location.

Rhyolite was part of the last great American gold rush in Central Nevada from 1900 to 1910. There are many ghost towns in the West. Rhyolite, one of the most famous, located on the edge of Death Valley, harbors a secret from 1908. A strange grave on the edge of town remains to this day with the name Mona Bell. Who was she? Did her murder change the course of the town? Why did Rhyolite die?

Deep beneath a mountain named Kokoweef in the Mojave Desert awaits the discovery of a lifetime. Or does it? With a mixture of deception, possible murder and other worldly visitors, the story of Kokoweef Mountain and the Lost River of Gold becomes the stuff of legend. Does the greatest treasure in human history lie beneath the California desert?

People who appreciate mules are a unique breed of folks. In this episode you’ll get to know some of them at Mule Days in Bishop, California. You’ll meet eleven year old Cameron Brooks along with trainers Cindy Powell and Jerry Villines and others whose mules, they all claim, can do anything a horse can do…only better. After watching this episode, you’ll be glad you met these…Mule People.

Join the fun and excitement of the world’s largest mule auction. Take a journey to Dickson, Tennessee where Dickie and Rufus Reese carry on a family tradition: The Reese Brothers Mule Auction. Discover the story of the mule and find out why people buy mules, what they’re used for and where the mules end up. An intriguing look at an event that few have experienced firsthand.

Bobby Tanner of Bishop, California shows how to hitch up a 20 mule team. Having learned from old photographs, film footage and an old-timer, Bobby has revived the art of driving a jerkline: A long line of animals with a single rope! Bobby drives the line and shows the mules jumping over the middle chain to make turns. A needed skill used in the 1880s when drivers hauled borax from Death Valley.

We join an expedition to the China Lakes Naval Air Weapons Station in the Mojave Desert to retrace the historic route of the 20 Mule Team from Death Valley. Ruts from the original 20 Mule Team Wagons can still be seen!