[285][312], The impact of the gold rush on the Native peoples of the region was considerable. [255] His successor, Major James Walsh, was considered a stronger character and arrived in May 1898, but fell ill and returned east in July. [141] Gold was also unevenly distributed in the areas where it was found, which made prediction of good mining sites even more uncertain. [41][42], The prospectors came from many nations, although an estimated majority of 60 to 80 percent were Americans or recent immigrants to America. Traditional historical analysis, as outlined by George Fetherling, has suggested around 80 percent were US citizens or recent immigrants to America. Now he was forced to sell at his purchase price. Within six months, approximately 100,000 gold-seekers set off for the Yukon. [39] There was a huge, unresolved demand for gold across the developed world that the Klondike promised to fulfil and, for individuals, the region promised higher wages or financial security. [54] Indeed, one of the first to join the gold rush was William D. Wood, the mayor of Seattle, who resigned and formed a company to transport prospectors to the Klondike. [232] Measures were taken by the following year to prevent further outbreaks, including the introduction of better sewage management and the piping in of water from further upstream. [100][101] The river posed a new problem. This led to the establishment of Dawson City (1896) and subsequently, the Yukon Territory (1898). Tales abounded of prospectors spending huge sums on entertainment — Jimmy McMahon once spent $28,000 ($784,000) in a single evening, for example. An estimated 1,660 travellers took these three routes, of whom only 685 arrived, some taking up to 18 months to make the journey. This sum is nearly equal to the amount of gold that was found in the five years that followed the … Omissions? [301] In the spring of 1898 the Spanish–American War removed Klondike from the headlines. In August of 1896 gold was discovered in Rabbit Creek, near Dawson City, in the Yukon region of Canada.With that pronouncement the Klondike Gold Rush was on! Before the rush the price of such animals was $3–5 ($81–135). [310] Nonetheless, some of those who joined the gold rush prospered. In August 1898, gold had been found at Atlin Lake at the head of the Yukon River, generating a flurry of interest, but during the winter of 1898–99 much larger quantities were found at Nome at the mouth of the Yukon. [221][n 33], Prices remained high in Dawson and supply fluctuated according to the season. Middle: Takou route meets Stikine route at Teslin Lake. According to William Ogilvie, some years before the gold rush the two traders cut a pack trail along the Chilkoot route from their post to Sheep Camp. Some of the first prospectors had to supplement their income with fur trading in order to survive. Economically, the news had reached the US at the height of a series of financial recessions and bank failures in the 1890s. Considering this, why did the Klondike gold rush happen? Klondike Gold Rush has been listed as one of the History good articles under the good article criteria. [51][n 9] Jack London, later a famous American writer, left to seek for gold but made his money during the rush mostly by working for prospectors. [196][197] One of his scams was a fake telegraph office charging to send messages all over the US and Canada, often pretending to receive a reply. [248][249] The so-called blue laws were strictly enforced. [220] The NWMP evacuated some prospectors without supplies to Fort Yukon in Alaska from September 30 onwards, while others made their way out of the Klondike in search of food and shelter for the winter. [276] In Dawson and other towns, some women took in laundry to make money. Former mayor of Seattle W. D. Wood led a party that tried to reach Dawson by this route. The process was repeated until the gold was reached. [n 4], In 1883, Ed Schieffelin identified gold deposits along the Yukon River, and an expedition up the Fortymile River in 1886 discovered considerable amounts of it and founded Fortymile City. [67][n 14], From Seattle or San Francisco, prospectors could travel by sea up the coast to the ports of Alaska. The gold standard of the time tied paper money to the production of gold and shortages towards the end of the 19th century meant that gold dollars were rapidly increasing in value ahead of paper currencies and being hoarded. [169] The excess fractions of land then became available as claims and were sometimes quite valuable. Although far away from Dawson City and the Klondike River, Edmonton became known as a "Gateway to the North" for gold prospectors en route to Canada's North. [278] Both men and women opened roadhouses, but women were considered to be better at running them. 8: Vigilante activity against Soapy Smith starts at Skagway, Apr. [265] Apart from the number of prospectors, two major obstacles stood in its way. Furthermore, the Pacific ports closest to the gold strikes were desperate to encourage trade and travel to the region. [43][44][n 8] Most had no experience in the mining industry, being clerks or salesmen. In the mid- to late-19th century, placer gold was found in commercial quantities mainly in the Western Cordillera region, from California to Alaska, sparking a series of gold rushes. For example, he worked as a river pilot on the rapids of Whitehorse during the summer of 1898. Almost a year later, "68 rich men" stepped off a ship in Seattle with "a ton of gold" from the Klondike region. [201] Beyond the immediate region, cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Vancouver and Victoria all saw their populations soar as a result of the stampede and the trade it brought along. The Native Hän people, on the other hand, suffered from the rush; they were forcibly moved into a reserve to make way for the Klondikers, and many died. Henry M. Sarvant Photography, Orville Herning Collection on the Klondike and Boston Gold Mining and Manufacturing Company, Davies/Scroggie Collection of Yukon Correspondence and Records, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Klondike_Gold_Rush&oldid=1011240438, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Nails, 5 pounds (2.3 kg) each of 6, 8, 10 and 12 penny, for four men, 2 pairs of heavy, snag proof rubber boots, Aug. 16 : Gold is discovered on Bonanza Creek by George Carmack and Skookum Jim, Aug. 31 : First claim on Eldorado Creek by Antone Stander, Jan. 21: Wiliam Ogilvie sends news of Klondike gold to Ottawa, Aug. 16: Ex-mayor Wood from Seattle leaves San Francisco on his ship, Sep. 11: 10% royalty is established on gold mined in Yukon, Sep. 27: People without supplies for the winter leave Dawson in search of food, Nov. 8: Work begins on Brackett wagon road through White Pass, Feb. 25: Troops arrive at Skagway to maintain order. On the other hand, competition among railways to attract Klondikers led to a reduction in train fares. [210][211], The newly built town proved highly vulnerable to fire. [340][n 40] The population of Dawson increased from … [257] The following year, two teams fought their way over the passes to reach Dawson City first, complete with printing-presses, with the aim of gaining control of the newspaper market. [55][n 11] Guidebooks were published, giving advice about routes, equipment, mining, and capital necessary for the enterprise. George Carmack left his wife Kate—who had found it difficult to adapt to their new lifestyle—remarried and lived in relative prosperity; Skookum Jim had a huge income from his mining royalties but refused to settle and continued to prospect until his death in 1916; Dawson Charlie spent lavishly and died in an alcohol-related accident. [40] The mass journalism of the period promoted the event and the human interest stories that lay behind it. Yukon Archives, Anton Vogee fonds, #103 Skookum Jim, also known as Tagish Jim, staked 1 Above — upstream from — … Their expedition was forced to turn back the same way they had come, with only four men surviving. In three years it grew to become "the Paris of Alaska", with 1,200 inhabitants, saloons, opera houses, schools, and libraries. [277] This was a physically demanding job, but could be relatively easily combined with child care duties. 24: Sam Steele (NWMP) arrives at Dawson, Jul. [150][n 26] An alternative, more efficient, approach called steam thawing was devised between 1897 and 1898; this used a furnace to pump steam directly into the ground, but since it required additional equipment it was not a widespread technique during the years of the rush. [266] The huge distances involved resulted in delays of several months and frequently the loss of protective envelopes and their addresses. In June, 1898, a prospector bought an edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer at an auction and charged spectators a dollar each to have it read aloud in one of Dawson's halls. [316] By 1972, 500 people were living in Dawson whereas the nearby settlements created during the gold rush had been entirely abandoned. [143] Late 19th century technology existed for dealing with this problem, including hydraulic mining and stripping, and dredging, but the heavy equipment required for this could not be brought into the Klondike during the gold rush. [319][320][321] In the 21st century Dawson City still has a small gold mining industry, which together with tourism, drawing on the legacy of the gold rush, plays a role in the local economy. [36] The migration of prospectors caught so much attention that it was joined by outfitters, writers and photographers. [47] In Seattle, this included the mayor, twelve policemen, and a significant percentage of the city's streetcar drivers. 8: First boat with stampeeders reaches Dawson, Jun. Gold mining production in the Klondike peaked in 1903, after heavier equipment was brought in. Despite the tensions over the sizes of claims in the Klondike, the position of miners was in fact more secure than in the California Gold Rush of 1848–52, where an influx of prospectors could lead to a reduction in size of existing claims. [177][183] When the rivers iced over, it became clear that there would not be enough food for that winter. The Klondike Gold Rush was a boon for Seattle businesses and workers. The Klondike gold rush was too rich, too frantic, to last long; there was not enough gold in the world, let alone in the Yukon, to satisfy the hunger for wealth of the tens of thousands who had rushed north to find it. [103][53][n 22] Additional rules stated that any boat carrying passengers required a licensed pilot, typically costing $25 ($680), although some prospectors simply unpacked their boats and let them drift unmanned through the rapids with the intent of walking down to collect them on the other side. They were known as, the director of Canada's Geographical Survey, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Cultural legacy of the Klondike Gold Rush, "Is There a Mother Lode? Five more tramways soon followed, one powered by a steam engine, charging between 8 and 30 cents ($2 and $8) per 1 pound (0.45 kg). Here, the "Klondikers" could follow either the Chilkoot or the White Pass trails to the Yukon River, and sail down to the Klondike. For many of those who made the incredible journey, the Klondike represented escape from the humdrum, the adventure of a new frontier. Should the prospector leave the claim for more than three days without good reason, another miner could make a claim on the land. [172] Swiftwater Bill Gates famously borrowed heavily against his claim on the Eldorado creek, relying on hired hands to mine the gold to keep up his interest payments. Lower right: Stikine route branch from Wrangell meets with branch from Ashcroft at Glenora. When journalist Laura Berton (future mother of Pierre Berton) moved to Dawson in 1907 it was still thriving, but away from Front Street, the town had become increasingly deserted, jammed, as she put it, "with the refuse of the gold rush: stoves, furniture, gold-pans, sets of dishes, double-belled seltzer bottles ... piles of rusting mining machinery—boilers, winches, wheelbarrows and pumps". [135], Of the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people who reached Dawson City during the gold rush, only around 15,000 to 20,000 finally became prospectors. [178] Most stampeders were men but women also travelled to the region, typically as the wife of a prospector. [166], Traditionally, a mining claim had been granted over a 500-foot (150 m) long stretch of a creek, including the land from one side of the valley to another. [223][n 34] The first fresh goods arriving in the spring of 1898 sold for record prices, eggs reaching $3 ($84) each and apples $1 ($28). Why did the gold rush happen? While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Most of the tribes were aware that gold existed in the region, but the metal was not valued by them. Many buildings in the center of the town reflect the style of the era. [238] Wealthy prospectors were expected to drink champagne at $60 ($1,660) a bottle, and the Pavilion dancehall cost its owner, Charlie Kimball, as much as $100,000 ($2,800,000) to construct and decorate. [290] A hierarchy of sexual employment existed, with brothels and parlour houses at the top, small independent "cigar shops" in the middle, and, at the bottom, the prostitutes who worked out of small huts called "hutches". [318], During the gold rush, transport improvements meant that heavier mining equipment could be brought in and larger, more modern mines established in the Klondike, revolutionising the gold industry. [116] Another went north of Dawson by the Mackenzie River to Fort McPherson, before entering Alaska and meeting the Yukon River at Fort Yukon, downstream to the Klondike. [267] Postage stamps, like paper in general, were scarce and rationed to two per customer. [72] Their population had already begun to decline after the discovery of gold along Fortymile River in the 1880s but dropped catastrophically after their move to the reserve, a result of the contaminated water supply and smallpox. The Klondike Gold Rush was the greatest challenge to the NWMP in the Yukon. [172] Leveraging his acquisitions with short term loans, by the autumn of 1897 McDonald had purchased 28 claims, estimated to be worth millions. [256], In the remote Klondike, there was great demand for news and contact with the world outside. Porsild argues that the level of participation from those born in the US, as opposed to recent immigrants or temporary residents, may have been as low as 43 percent, with Canadian and British born members of the gold rush in the majority. [274], Once in the Klondike, very few women—less than one percent—actually worked as miners. The Klondike Gold Find. [349], The list was a suggestion of equipment and supplies sufficient to support a prospector for one year, generated by the Northern Pacific Railroad company in 1897. 246. Even using a heavy sled, a strong man would be covering 1,000 miles (1,600 km) and need around 90 days to reach Lake Bennett. This article has been rated as GA-Class. [2][n 3], In the second half of the 19th century, American prospectors began to spread into the area. [266] Those who had no time and could afford it would pay others to stand in line for them, preferably a woman since they were allowed to get ahead in line out of politeness. [266] By 1899, trained postal staff took over mail delivery and relieved the NWMP of this task. [224] The only eight horses in Dawson were slaughtered for dog food as they could not be kept alive over the winter. [154] "Bench gold" mining on the hill sides could not use sluice lines because water could not be pumped that high up. [258][259][260] The Dawson Miner followed shortly after, bringing the number of daily newspapers in the town during the gold rush up to three. [245] The miner and businessman Alex McDonald, despite being styled the "King of the Klondike", was unusual amongst his peers for his lack of grandiose spending. Upper left corner: Yukon River from Fort Yukon to Dawson City. [77][n 17] The volumes of travellers and the wet weather made the trail impassable and, by late 1897, it was closed until further notice, leaving around 5,000 stranded in Skagway. [106] It meant dragging and poling canoes up-river and through mud together with crossing a 5,000 feet (1,500 m) mountain along a narrow trail. [346] Indeed, much of the popular literature on the gold rush approaches the stampede simply as a final phase of the expansion of the American West, a perception critiqued by modern historians such as Charlene Porsild. [266] The second problem was in Dawson itself, which initially lacked a post office and therefore relied on two stores and a saloon to act as informal delivery points. [339], Some terminology from the stampede made its way into North American English like "Cheechakos", referring to newly arrived miners, and "Sourdoughs", experienced miners. Were scarce and rationed to two per customer such as Alex McDonald about! 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