[266] The huge distances involved resulted in delays of several months and frequently the loss of protective envelopes and their addresses. [169], Claims could be bought. [184] Because there were no docking facilities, ships had to unload their cargo directly onto the beach, where people tried to move their goods before high tide. In the summer of 1899, gold was discovered around Nome in west Alaska, and many prospectors left the Klondike for the new goldfields, marking the end of the Klondike Rush. [174] Smaller stampedes around the Klondike continued throughout the gold rush, when rumours of new strikes would cause a small mob to descend on fresh sites, hoping to be able to stake out a high value claim. [141] Gold was also unevenly distributed in the areas where it was found, which made prediction of good mining sites even more uncertain. [276] In Dawson and other towns, some women took in laundry to make money. [111], Three more routes started from Edmonton, Alberta; these were not much better – barely trails at all – despite being advertised as "the inside track" and the "back door to the Klondike". A worldwide publicity campaign engineered largely by Erastus Brainerd, a Seattle newspaperman, helped establish that city as the premier supply centre and the departure point for the gold fields. [256], In the remote Klondike, there was great demand for news and contact with the world outside. They'd be the same breed so they'd be in … The sex industry in the Klondike was concentrated on Klondike City and in a backstreet area of Dawson. From the early 1880s to the eve of World War I, the gold discoveries stretched from the Bering Sea to the Canadian Interior and from the Gulf of Alaska to the Brooks Range. An estimated 1,660 travellers took these three routes, of whom only 685 arrived, some taking up to 18 months to make the journey. Steamboats on the Yukon River played a role in the development of Alaska and Yukon.Access to the interior of Alaska and Yukon was hindered by large mountains and distance, but the wide Yukon River provided a feasible route. Task: We are going on an expedition to the Yukon following the gold rush of 1897. In the Yukon Gold Rush, students journey North into the "Land Of The Midnight Sun" and learn about the famous Yukon Gold Rush of 1896. [137], Geologically, the region was permeated with veins of gold, forced to the surface by volcanic action and then worn away by the action of rivers and streams, leaving nuggets and gold dust in deposits known as placer gold. [264], Mail service was chaotic during the stampede. There’s gold in them darn hills. Kevin is estimated to have a net worth of $960,000. [183][252], In contrast to the NWMP, the early civil authorities were criticized by the prospectors for being inept and potentially corrupt. Economically, the news had reached the US at the height of a series of financial recessions and bank failures in the 1890s. A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors. On the other hand, competition among railways to attract Klondikers led to a reduction in train fares. Jack London, who took the White Pass trail, has one of his fictional characters describe how the prospectors treated their horses: "Men shot them, worked them to death and when they were gone, went back to the beach and bought more ... Their hearts turned to stone—those which did not break—and they became beasts, the men on the Dead Horse Trail.". Many buildings in the center of the town reflect the style of the era. [299] In 1898, the White Pass and Yukon Route railway began to be built between Skagway and the head of navigation on the Yukon. [91] Packers, prepared to carry supplies for cash, were available along the route but would charge up to $1 ($27) per lb (0.45 kg) on the later stages; many of these packers were natives: Tlingits or, less commonly, Tagish. [209] Other communities emerged closer to the mines, such as Granville on Dominion Creek and Grand Forks on Bonanza Creek. [69] The route following the coast is now referred to as the Inside Passage. The Yukon Trail. [237] The dance halls in Dawson were particularly prestigious and major status symbols, both for customers and their owners. Some of the first prospectors had to supplement their income with fur trading in order to survive. [121], In practice, the huge Valdez glacier that stood between the port and the Alaskan interior proved almost insurmountable and only 200 managed to climb it; by 1899, the cold and scurvy was causing many deaths amongst the rest. [131] Their tasks included enforcing the rules requiring that travellers bring a year's supply of food with them to be allowed into the Yukon Territory, checking for illegal weapons, preventing the entry of criminals and enforcing customs duties. A horse at the bottom turned a wheel, which pulled a rope running to the top and back; freight was loaded on sledges pulled by the rope. [90], As on the White Pass trail, supplies needed to be broken down into smaller packages and carried in relay. An estimated 14,000,000 ounces (400,000,000 g) of gold has been taken from the area (until 2013) of which half came from Bonanza Creek, and a quarter from Hunker Creek. Tales abounded of prospectors spending huge sums on entertainment — Jimmy McMahon once spent $28,000 ($784,000) in a single evening, for example. What were their clothes made out of? 80 University Boulevard, East [310] Nonetheless, some of those who joined the gold rush prospered. Now he was forced to sell at his purchase price. From there, they needed to travel over the mountain ranges into Canada's Yukon Territory, and then down the river network to the Klondike. Such was the case with Yukon Trail, which, if it were part of a genre, would conceivably be branded an ‘expedition simulator’. [167][n 29] The exact lengths of claims were often challenged and when the government surveyor William Ogilvie conducted surveys to settle disputes, he found some claims exceeded the official limit. Watch to see who on the team has the best aim. [96] By December 1897, Archie Burns built a tramway up the final parts of the Chilkoot Pass. [9][10] The same year gold had been found on the banks of the Klondike River, but in small amounts and no claims The first steamers on the lower Yukon River were work boats for the Collins Overland Telegraph in 1866 or 1867, with a small steamer called Wilder. [n 2], The indigenous peoples in north-west America had traded in copper nuggets prior to European expansion. The US government had 500 reindeers send from Norway across the USA and up the Dalton trail to Dawson as relief. [298], By 1899 telegraphy stretched from Skagway, Alaska, to Dawson City, Yukon, allowing instant international contact. Only pure gold dust was bought by banks the rate being $16 ($430) per oz. [282] She invested widely, including acquiring her own mining company, and was reputed to be the richest woman of the Klondike. [187] Skagway also built wharves out into the bay in order to attract a greater share of the prospectors. [241] Most payments were made in gold dust and in places like saloons, there was so much spilled gold that a profit could be made just by sweeping the floor. Or is Klondike Gold an Orphan? [127], Early on in the gold rush, the US Army sent a small detachment to Circle City, in case intervention was required in the Klondike, while the Canadian government considered excluding all American prospectors from the Yukon Territory. [105], The Takou route started from Juneau and went north-east to Teslin Lake. Initially, miners had assumed that all the gold would be along the existing creeks, and it was not until late in 1897 that the hilltops began to be mined. How you play the game is just as important as the results. Their expedition was forced to turn back the same way they had come, with only four men surviving. [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. [186] Some travellers had arrived intending to supply goods and services to the would-be miners; some of these in turn, realizing how difficult it would be to reach Dawson, chose to do the same. You’ll begin with nine days traveling by canoe down the Teslin and Yukon rivers — an ideal trip for first-time paddlers to experience two of Yukon’s amazing, wild rivers. [188] The town was effectively lawless, dominated by drinking, gunfire and prostitution. [301] For those who stayed, the wages of casual work, depressed by the number of men, fell to $100 ($2,700) a month by 1899. Travel in general was made difficult by both the geography and climate. [327] The railway built for prospectors through White Pass in the last year of the rush reopened in 1988 and is today only used by tourists, closely linked to the Chilkoot trail which is a popular hiking route. [24] Claims began to be sold between miners and speculators for considerable sums. [67][n 14], From Seattle or San Francisco, prospectors could travel by sea up the coast to the ports of Alaska. [181][182] By 1897, 96 members of the NWMP had been sent to the district and by 1898, this had increased to 288, an expensive commitment by the Canadian government. Up to fifty prisoners worked on cutting wood at any one time; this was not easy work and formed an unpleasant deterrent for misdemeanours . The player is presented with a town with a wharf with a ferry and downtown. [144] Prospect holes were then dug in an attempt to find the ore or "pay streak". The Yukon (Yk) or Yukon Territory (YT) or (Yu.) The only exception to this was a "Discovery" claim, the first to be made on a creek, which could be 500 feet (150 m) long. [283][284] The wealthy Martha Black was abandoned by her husband early in the journey to the Klondike but continued on without him, reaching Dawson City where she became a prominent citizen, investing in various mining and business ventures with her brother. From here, it followed a river to the Yukon, where it met the Dyea and Skagway route at a point halfway to the Klondike. [132], This last task was particularly unpopular with American prospectors, who faced paying an average of 25 percent of the value of their goods and supplies. Swiftwater Bill Gates, a gambler and ladies' man who rarely went anywhere without wearing silk and diamonds, was one of them. The process was repeated until the gold was reached. [233][n 35], Despite these challenges, the huge quantities of gold coming through Dawson City encouraged a lavish lifestyle amongst the richer prospectors. [261] The Nugget sold for $24 ($680) as an annual subscription, and became well known for championing miners and for its lucid coverage of scandals. Give facts about how it started, what happened, and its results. It was created to administer the Yukon Gold Rush/Klondike Gold Rush, and separated from the Northwest Territories, where it has been The Yukon District.Ever since the Gold Rush, miners have been mining gold placer deposits continuously. Parker and Todd face off once more and explain their game plan to win. [144] The digging would be carefully monitored in case the operation needed to be shifted to allow for changes in the flow. [163][164], The claim could be mined freely for a year, after which a $100 ($2,800) fee had to be paid annually. Within three years around 100,000 prospectors came to the region. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896; when news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors. [94][n 20], Entrepreneurs began to provide solutions as the winter progressed. Premiums of $100 ($2,700), however, were soon paid and the steamship companies hesitated to post their rates in advance since they could increase on a daily basis. [255] His successor, Major James Walsh, was considered a stronger character and arrived in May 1898, but fell ill and returned east in July. 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). [185] Inevitably cargos were lost in the process. [180], Dawson remained relatively lawful, protected by the Canadian NWMP, which meant that gambling and prostitution were accepted while robbery and murder were kept low. Dawson City was also where Alexander Pantages, her business partner and lover, started his career, going on to become one of America's greatest theatre and movie tycoons. [233] The Hän found only few ways to benefit economically from the gold rush and their fishing and hunting grounds were largely destroyed; by 1904 they needed aid from the NWMP to prevent famine. [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. [228][229] It struck, among others, writer Jack London and, although not fatal in his case, brought an end to his mining career. [306] Businessman and miner Alex McDonald, for example, continued to accumulate land after the boom until his money ran out; he died in poverty, still prospecting. [162] This normally had to be done within three days, and by 1897 only one claim per person at a time was allowed in a district, although married couples could exploit a loophole that allowed the wife to register a claim in her own name, doubling their amount of land. [145][146] Traditionally, this had meant that mining in the region only occurred during the summer months, but the pressure of the gold rush made such a delay unacceptable. [330][331] The events of the gold rush were frequently exaggerated at the time and modern works on the subject similarly often focus on the most dramatic and exciting events of the stampede, not always accurately. In the lack of newspapers, some prospectors would read can labels until they knew them by heart. 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. 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