"Gold Fever" is an unusual installment of "The American Experience" in that the episode is set in Canada and many of the prospectors were Canadians. Nevertheless, the majority were Americans...convinced that they, too, will end up filthy rich...though generally, they ended up broke or dead or both.
At the end of the 18th century, gold was discovered in the Yukon Territory. Word spread quickly and folks poured in...not realizing the crazy hardships they would encounter. The show talks about all these hardships...and the entire experience sounded quite hellish and awful.
The story is told through readings through diaries, interviews, photos and modern film footage. And, like you'd expect from "The American Experience", it's top-notch entertainment and quite educational.