Glacier route? Not really. When, in 1898, men and women headed for the Yukon came to the Valdez Glacier they came in ignorance. Some left it a lot more educated. Some never left it at all. Valdez in Later History You hear that gold in some place called the Klondike is making men filthy rich. …
Tag Archives: Klondike
Heroine of the Klondike–Martha Black
Heroine? The subarctic north had several, but Martha Black stood out even among them. News of Gold on the Klondike reached the ears of Martha Purdy in 1898. Privileged daughter of a Chicago businessman, mother of two, Martha talked her husband, Will, into following their star to Dawson City. Martha the heroine had not married …
Luckily only a Few
Luckily few people had any reason to travel from the Port of Valdez into Alaska’s vast interior. Those who did faced a thoroughly daunting challenge. They faced subarctic weather; and, much worse, they faced range after range of virtually impassable glaciers and mountains. But then came the gold strike on the Klondike. Luckily no longer …
Mollie Walsh—Husband Picker
Mollie Walsh, a fixture in the great Klondike Gold Rush, came to Skagway in 1897. Five years later back in Seattle, her husband chased her down an alley and shot her dead. Good businesswoman–terrible husband picker. In Skagway Mollie sized up the situation. Most of the gold rushers coming through moved out of Skagway to …
Donald Trump’s link to Yukon and the Gold Rush
Donald Trump’s grandfather, Friedrich Trump, came to Bennett, Yukon following the stampede of gold rushers headed for the Klondike. At the end of Lake Bennett a town of the same name had sprung up from nowhere, to serve the needs of prospectors passing through. Link to another story “Bennett Came First” According to Natalie Obiko …
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Buck—and His Creator, Jack London
Buck, a big strong dog who lived in California got stolen, shipped off to the Yukon and pressed into service as a sled dog. You know this story, so you know Buck existed only in the mind of Jack London until London put pen to paper and made Buck a legend in his book Call …
As the Crow Flies
As the crow flies, Lake Bennett lay just a few miles from Skagway. Theoretically Klondike gold rushers could travel those few miles from the Skagway dock to Lake Bennett, build or buy a boat and cruise down Lake Bennett to Carcross and the Yukon River. The Yukon could then float them downstream all the way …
Kate Rockwell–Klondike Kate
Kate Rockwell found a special way to make a fortune in the Klondike. A gorgeous, red-haired chorus girl from New York, Kate heard about the Klondike in 1899, three years after the famous gold strike. She headed north, determined to become the “Belle of the Yukon”. Link to another story “The Bride of the Klondike” …
The Richest Woman in the Klondike
The Richest woman in the Klondike? Magazine and newspaper writers created the legend of Belinda Mulrooney because they loved to write about her. Belinda explained that nothing much happened in Dawson to write about and they needed copy. Link to another story “The Bride of the Klondike” When Belinda, as a child, immigrated from Ireland. …
The Rapids
The Rapids started it all. When a would-be prospector on the way to the Klondike came by ship to Skagway and then lugged his gear to the top of the Chilkoot Pass, he still had to navigate Lake Bennet to the narrows at Carcross and then the Yukon River to Dawson City. The greatest peril …