Image: Klondikers carrying supplies ascending the Chilkoot Pass, 1898. (Wikimedia Commons)
On this day in history, American prospector George Carmack, along with Skookum Jim Mason and Dawson Charlie – both Tagish First Nation members – discovered Yukon gold on Rabbit Creek (later renamed Bonanza Creek), a Klondike River branch that ran through both Alaskan and Yukon Territory. They certainly did not know their discovery would spur a massive gold rush.
History Daily: 365 Fascinating Happenings Volume 1 & Volume 2 – August 16, 1896
The Klondike Gold Rush was a mad rush of prospecting migrants from all over the world to the Canadian Yukon Territory after gold was found there in 1896. The idea of becoming rich caused over 100,000 people to abandon their homes and embark on an extended, life-altering journey across treacherous ice valleys and rugged rocky terrain.
Less than half of those who began the trek to the Yukon would arrive; those who did stood little chance of finding gold. While the Klondike Gold Rush revitalized the economy of the Pacific Northwest, it also devastated the local environment and had a negative effect on many Yukon Indigenous people.
Starting in the 1870s, prospectors trickled into the Yukon in search of gold. By 1896, around 1,500 prospectors panned for gold along the Yukon River basin – one of them being George Carmack.
Conditions in the Yukon were harsh, making communicating with the outside world difficult. As a result, when gold was discovered, word did not reach the outside world until 1897. Once it did, however, people began heading north, searching for Yukon gold and a wealthier lifestyle. Most had no idea where they were going or what they would face.
Canadian authorities required that every stampeder have at least a year’s worth of gold mining equipment and supplies before crossing the Canadian border. Getting to the Yukon Territory was challenging, especially when hauling a literal ton of supplies. For the first part of the journey, well-stocked stampeders ventured to port cities in the Pacific Northwest and boarded boats that were heading north to the Alaskan town of Skagway, which took them to the White Pass Trail, or Dyea, which took them to the Chilkoot Trail.
The trip’s next leg was the most difficult, no matter which trails a stampeder chose. The White Pass was not as mountainous as the Chilkoot but was new, clogged, narrow, and slippery with mud. Many animals became stuck and died, earning the nickname “The Dead Horse Trail.” It’s estimated 3,000 horses died on White Pass.
The Chilkoot Trail was steep, icy, and snowy. Although pack animals were used to hauling supplies for much of the stampeders’ journey, once they reached Chilkoot Trail, they had to cast aside the animals and carry their supplies the remainder of the way. This usually meant making several trips up and down a frozen slope, including 1,500 steps cut out of the snow and ice into what became known as the “golden staircase.” Daunted, many prospectors gave up by this point and left for home.
The last part of the journey was also treacherous and slow-going. After crossing Chilkoot or White Pass, prospectors had to build or rent boats and brave hundreds of miles of winding Yukon River rapids to reach Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, where they hoped to stake their claims. Many people died during the river trip.
Only about 30,000 weary stampeders finally arrived in Dawson City. Most were gravely disappointed to learn that reports of available Klondike gold were greatly exaggerated. For many, thoughts of gold and wealth had sustained them during their difficult journey. Learning they’d come so far for nothing was difficult to live with, and they promptly left for home.
Miners who came to the Yukon during the winter had to endure months of monotony while they waited for the ground to thaw. They created makeshift camps in Dawson and tolerated the harsh winter as best they could. With so many people crammed into a small area and sanitary facilities lacking, sickness, disease, and death from infectious illnesses were commonplace.
Other people stayed in Dawson and attempted to mine gold – they usually found nothing. But rather than returning home, they took advantage of Dawson’s booming infrastructure and worked in or opened saloons, supply stores, banks, brothels, and restaurants. Most of the town’s merchants made their fortunes off the never-ending supply of miners arriving consumed with gold fever. Although the discovery of Yukon gold made a few fortunate miners rich, many people got rich from the labor of the miners chasing those dreams.
The flow of people to Dawson turned it into an actual city. It also led to population growth in Yukon Territory, Alberta, British Columbia, and Vancouver. The Klondike Gold Rush helped lift the United States from an economic downturn. Still, it had a terrible effect on the environment, causing large amounts of soil erosion, water contamination, deforestation, and loss of native wildlife, to name but a few.
The gold rush also severely influenced the Native people. While some made money off miners by working as guides and helping haul supplies, they also fell victim to diseases such as smallpox and the effect of alcohol. The population of some Native groups, such as the Han, declined rapidly as their hunting and fishing grounds were ruined.
The Klondike Gold Rush slowed by the end of 1898 as word got out that little gold was left to be mined. Thousands of miners had left Yukon Territory penniless, leaving gold-mining cities such as Dawson and Skagway in a state of decline.
The Klondike Gold Rush concluded in 1899 with the discovery of gold in Nome, Alaska. That find reignited the pipe dreams of many dejected miners who quickly forgot the hardships they had just endured and could not wait to set out on a new adventure.
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History Daily: 365 Fascinating Happenings Volume 1
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