THE YUKON GOLD RUSH

On August 16, 1896 Yukon-area Indians Skookum , George Carmack and his native partners found  a gold nugget in Rabbit Creek, near Dawson, in the Yukon region of Canada.

George Carmack (1850-1922),
Skookum Jim Mason (died 1916),
Tagish Charlie,
Robert Henderson (1857-1933)

None could imagine that events to follow would transform their tranquil wilderness into a booming city of 30,000 in just two years.

Gold was found literally all over the place, and most of these early gold-seekers ,who later were known as the "Klondike Kings", became quite wealthy.

On July 17, 1897, eleven months after the first discovery of gold, the steamship Portland arrived in Seattle from Dawson with "more than a ton of gold" on board, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper. Of course, with that kind of news, the Klondike Gold Rush was on !

Within six months, approximately 100,000 gold-seekers set off for the Yukon. At the height of the rush, 30,000 people climbed the arduous Chilkoot Pass on their way to the Yukon goldfields.

Many Klondikers died, or lost enthusiasm and either stopped where they were, or turned back along the way.

The trip was long, arduous, difficult and cold. Winter temperatures in the mountains of northern British Columbia and the Yukon were normally -20 degrees F., and temperatures of -50 degrees F. were not unusual.

Klondikers had to walk most of the way, using either pack animals or sledges to carry hundreds of pounds of supplies.

 

An even bigger problem came from the trails themselves.

Klondikers had two choices: the Chilkoot Trail or the White Pass Trail.

 

The White Pass Trail started in Skagway, Alaska.

The White Pass offered a longer but lower and less steep route (summit elevation: 873 metres) to Bennett than the Chilkoot trail,a few kilometers to the west.

Many klondikers suffered malnutrition or died along the trails. Some of them  became sick or died from eating the meat of the dead horses found along the White Pass Trail, and it soon became known as the "Dead Horse Trail".

 

 

The Chilkoot Trail, started in Dyea, Alaska.

 

It was shorted than the White Pass Trail, but it wasn't a better option, although it had fewer outlaws.

It was steeper too, and not many gold-seekers were fully prepared to face its difficulties.

 

Dawson temporarily became the largest city north of San Francisco.

It was no longer a tent city, but a genuine city, with more facilities than one might imagine.

Dawson had fire hydrants on the streets, and was the first city in western Canada to have electric lights.

People also felt safe in Dawson.

The Northwest Mounted Police kept order in Canada, and suspicious characters such as Soapy Smith ( a famous gangster) were not allowed to enter the city.

The growth of Dawson was largely responsible for the creation of the Yukon Territory as a new Canadian Province on June 13, 1898.

 

Nor was Dawson the only Canadian city to have dramatic growth due to the Klondike Gold Rush.

Vancouver in British Columbia doubled its population, and in Alberta, Edmonton's population tripled.

 

The Klondike Kings quickly became very rich. It is estimated that over one billion dollars worth of gold was found, adjusted to late 20th century standards.

Unfortunately for those who did make it as far as the Klondike, few found the hoped gold.

By the time the masses arrived, all the creeks had been claimed, and the new arrivals found that they had to work for the Klondike Kings, rather than for themselves.

 

The pay was not bad, ranging from $1-10 per day, but this was not what the Klondikers had made the trip for.

Many Klondikers never recovered the cost of the trip, which averaged $1200 (in those days).

Nevertheless, when gold was discovered at Nome, Alaska in 1899, few of these Klondikers stopped to think about what they had just experienced.

At the first sign of gold, much of Dawson packed and left for Nome, where most of the gold-seekers once again lost everything trying to find fame and fortune.

The 1996 $100 Gold Coin

commemorates the 100th anniversary

of the first major discovery of gold in the Klondike.