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The 'Klondike Gold Rush' was a frenzy of gold rush immigration to and for gold prospecting, along the Klondike River near Dawson City, after gold was discovered there in the late 19th century. Dawson City is located in the Yukon Territory of northwest Canada.

Contents

Discovery

Stampede begins

Cultural legacy

See also

Further reading

External links

Discovery

In August 1896, three people led by Skookum Jim Mason (a member of the Tagish First Nation whose birth name was Keish) headed north, down the Yukon River from the Carcross area, looking for his sister Kate and her husband George Carmack. The party included Skookum Jim, Skookum Jim's cousin known as Dawson Charlie (or sometimes Tagish Charlie) and his nephew Patsy Henderson. After meeting up with George and Kate, who were fishing for salmon at the mouth of the Klondike River, they ran into Nova Scotian Robert Henderson who had been mining gold on the Indian River, just south of the Klondike. Henderson told George Carmack about where he was mining and that he did not want any "Siwashes" (meaning Indians) near him.
On August 16, 1896, the Skookum party discovered rich placer gold deposits in Bonanza (Rabbit) Creek which is located in the Yukon Territory of northwest Canada. It is not clear who made the actual discovery, but some accounts say that it was Kate Carmack, while others credit Skookum Jim. George Carmack was officially credited for the gold discovery because the actual claim was staked in his name. The group agreed to this because they felt that other miners would be reluctant to recognize a claim made by an Indian, given the strong racist attitudes of the time.

Stampede begins

The news spread to other mining camps in the Yukon River valley. Gold was first discovered in Rabbit Creek which was later named Bonanza Creek because so many people came to the creek for gold. The Bonanza, Eldorado, and Hunker Creeks were rapidly staked by miners who had been previously working creeks and sandbars on the Fortymile and Stewart Rivers. Robert Henderson, who was mining a couple of miles away over the hill, learned about the discovery only after all the rich creeks had been staked.
News reached the United States in July 1897, when the first successful prospectors arrived in San Francisco on July 15 and in Seattle on July 17, setting off the Klondike stampede. In 1898, the population in the Klondike may have reached 40,000, which threatened to cause a famine.

Most prospectors landed at Skagway, Alaska, or the adjacent town of Dyea, Alaska, both located at the head of the Lynn Canal. From these towns they traveled the Chilkoot Trail and crossed the Chilkoot Pass, or they hiked up to the White Pass into the Yukon Territory and proceeded thence to Lake Lindeman or Lake Bennett, the headwaters of the Yukon River. Here, some 25 to 35 grueling miles (40 - 56 km) from where they landed, prospectors built rafts and boats that would take them the final 500-plus miles (800-plus km) down the Yukon to Dawson City, near the gold fields. Stampeders had to carry a year's supply of goods — about a ton, more than half of it food — over the passes to be allowed to enter Canada. At the top of the passes, the stampeders encountered Canada's Mountie post that enforced that regulation. It was put in place to avert shortages like those that had occurred in the previous two winters in Dawson City.
Once the bulk of the prospectors arrived at Dawson City, the major mining claims of the region were already established. However, any major potential unrest with the idle population was averted with the firm authority of the North West Mounted Police under the command of Sam Steele.

Cultural legacy

Amongst the many to take part in the gold rush was writer Jack London, whose books ''White Fang'', ''The Call of the Wild'', and "To Build a Fire", a collection of short stories, were influenced by his northern experiences, and adventurer "Swiftwater" Bill Gates. Part I of Jack London's 1910 novel ''Burning Daylight'' is centered around the Klondike Gold Rush. Another literary luminary connected with the rush, and whose cabin still stands in Dawson City, was folk-lyricist Robert W. Service, whose short epics and other works describe the fierce grandeur of the north and the survival ethic and gold fever of men and women in the frozen, gold-strewn north. Service's best-known line is the opening of The Cremation of Sam McGee, which goes "There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moiled for gold...".
One of the most thorough popular histories of the Klondike Gold Rush, titled simply ''Klondike'', was written by Canada's Pierre Berton, who was raised in Yukon (In the United States, Berton's book is entitled ''The Klondike Fever''.) Berton covers nearly every misadventure of the nightmarish and harrowing journeys taken by the many parties on different routes bound for Dawson City, and also covers in fair detail the goings-on in that town up until about 1904.
One of the last books of Jules Verne "Le Volcan d'Or" or "The Volcano of Gold" in English, deals with the terrible hardships endured by the gold-seekers in the Klondike. The book was written in 1899 but was unpublished until 1989.

Charlie Chaplin's silent movie ''The Gold Rush'' (1925), one of the highest grossing movies ever, was set in the Klondike, as was the silent epic ''The Trail of '98'' (1928) and Mae West's ''Klondike Annie'' (1936). Life in Dawson City during the gold rush was also the subject of the award-winning 1957 NFB documentary ''City of Gold'', narrated by Pierre Burton. James Stewart's 1955 movie ''The Far Country'' is a Western set in Skagway and Dawson City during the Gold Rush era. It was directed by Anthony Mann and written by Borden Chase.
James A. Michener's novel ''Alaska'' (chapter VIII) describes the harsh realities of the Klondike Gold Rush using fictional characters.
The gold rush was celebrated in the city of Edmonton, with Klondike Days an annual summer fair with a Klondike gold rush theme. Though far away from Dawson City and the Klondike River, Edmonton became known as a "Gateway to the North" for gold prospectors. It was in the city that many would collect the necessary goods for trekking up north in search of wealth. Individuals and teams of explorers arrived in Edmonton and prepared for travel by foot, York boat, dog team, or horses. Travel to the Yukon over land via what was sometimes called the "all Canada" route and the prospectors that took this route were often referred to as "overlanders". While few overlanders made it to the Klondike, (160 out of about 1,600 that started[1]) Alberta's Northlands Association which is based in Edmonton, honored the memory and spirit of the overlanders with Klondike Days. For many years, Klondike Days was fun summer exhibition with themed events such as the Sunday Promenade, the Sourdough raft race, free pancake breakfasts, saloons, gold panning and era costume partys. Despite the many sad realities of the gold rush, Edmonton appreciated the Klondike spirit, which was characterized by a tenacious hope for success in the face of hardship, and an energetic zest for life. As a fair theme it was meant to provide the impetus for fun fantasy characters (eg: Klondike Mike and Kate) and fun events celebrating an interesting time. The sentimental aspect of the gold rush lost its popular appeal when somebody farted and blew up the mountains.
In addition, the gold rush proved to be one of most famous eras of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's history. Not only did the exemplary conduct of the force ensure its continuation at a time when its dissolution was being debated in the Canadian Parliament, but the Force's depiction in popular western culture is often set at this time. The most popular examples include dramatic depictions such as ''Sgt. Preston of the Yukon'' and comedic ones like ''Dudley Do-Right''

See also

★ Alaska sourdough

Further reading

★ Pierre Berton - ''Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896-1899'' ISBN 0-385-65844-3 and other editions

★ James A. Michener - ''Journey'' ISBN 0-394-57826-0 hoo

External links

★ Klondike: The Quest for Gold (documentary film)

★ Victorian Order of Nurses Official Website

★ Women of the Klondike

★ Map of the Chilkoot and White Passes

★ The life of Jack London as reflected in his works

★ Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike

★ Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush

★ University of Washington Libraries Exhibit

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★ Alaska and western Canada collection

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★ Eric A. Hegg photographs

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★ Frank La Roche photographs

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★ William E. Meed photographs

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★ Henry M. Sarvant photographs

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★ Arthur Churchill Warner photographs

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★ Chilkoot Pass photographs

★ both old and recent photographs of the gold rush route, from Skagway to Dawson