Klondike Gold Rush

Klondike Gold Rush, touched off by the 16 August 1896 discovery of placer gold (the claim was staked on August 17) on Rabbit (later Bonanza) Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River, by George Washington Carmack and his Indian brothers-in-law, "Skookum Jim" and "Tagish Charley." This accidental find was the result of a tip by a Canadian prospector, Robert Henderson, now credited as codiscoverer. The gold rush that followed was confined that first year to the Yukon interior. Miners already on the scene staked every creek (or "pup") in the Klondike and Indian river watersheds, including the fabulously rich Eldorado.

Keywords

West & Northwest History

The world did not learn of the strike until some of these newly rich pioneers reached the West Coast by steamship in mid-July 1897. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's description of "a ton of gold" actually touched off the stampede. The effect on the depressed economy was instantaneous as hoarded funds were freed to finance some 100 000 amateur goldseekers who started north that fall and winter. The rich went all the way by water; the poor struggled over the WHITE PASS and CHILKOOT PASS, then down the Yukon River in handmade craft; the foolhardy took the "all-Canadian" routes through BC or out of Edmonton and found themselves spending 2 years on the trail.

Soon much of Alaska and the Canadian Northwest was speckled with men and pack animals. Every Canadian community from Winnipeg to Victoria was permanently affected by the boom. The Canadian North was seen as something more than frozen wasteland: Klondike fever was the catalyst for a chain of later mineral discoveries. Sixty steamboats plied the Yukon. The new town of DAWSON at the Klondike's mouth, with a floating population of some 30 000, became the largest community north of Seattle and west of Winnipeg, boasting telephones, electricity and motion picture theatres. Prostitution was tolerated; saloons, dancehalls and gaming parlours ran wide open except on Sundays.

The North-West Mounted Police kept Dawson a law-abiding town while the YUKON FIELD FORCE, a military unit, maintained Canadian sovereignty in the face of a predominantly American population. The Spanish-American War and the news of a strike at Nome, Alaska, ended the stampede in the summer of 1898. By then, it is estimated, the goldseekers had spent some $50 million reaching the Klondike, a sum about equal to the amount taken from the diggings in the 5 years following Carmack's discovery.

See also GOLD RUSHES.

Chilkoot Pass
Packers ascending summit of Chilkoot Pass, 1897-98, en route to the Klondike Gold Rush (courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-5142).

Skookum Jim
One of the original discoverers of gold in the Klondike. His discovery made him a rich man, though he continued to prospect (courtesy Library and Archives Canada).

Klondikers Buying Miners' Permits
Klondikers buying miner's licences at Customs House, Victoria, BC, 21 February 1898. Much of the early business done in the colony resulted from gold rushes to the interior (courtesy British Library).

Klondike Gold Rush, Map

Author PIERRE BERTON

Links to Other Sites

Government of Yukon
The online gateway to Government of Yukon programs, services, maps, history, and more.

Yukon Photographers: The Gold Rush Era, 1897-1900
This Virtual Museum website profiles the photographers who chronicled the hardy people and harsh conditions of the Klondike gold rush in the Yukon.

Yukon Archives
This collection of online archival material highlights major episodes in the history of the Yukon. Topics include the Alaska Highway, First Nations communities, the Klondike Gold Rush, and much more. Some multilingual exhibits. From the Yukon Archives.

Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site of Canada
Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site protects the historic gateway to the Yukon once tread by Tlingit First Nation traders and Klondike gold rush prospectors.

Keys to History
Search this "Keys to History" website for fascinating online exhibits about notable people, places, and events in Canadian history. From Montréal's McCord Museum.

The Canadian North West Mounted Police and the Yukon Gold Rush
This website focuses on the early years of the North West Mounted Police and their role in the Yukon Gold Rush. Produced by Mount Allison University Centre for Canadian Studies in New Brunswick.

The National Historic Sites of Canada in the Klondike
Brush up on your gold mining skills at this Parks Canada website about the 1896 Klondike Gold Rush. Focuses on prominent personalities and companies involved in the Klondike gold mining era.

Klondike Trail
Find out about the fate of the many would-be miners who took the hazardous Klondike Trail from Edmonton to Dawson City during the 1897/1898 Klondike Gold Rush. This illustrated website is from the Klondike Trail Society.

Discovery of placer gold in the Klondike
A brief tribute to the hardy pioneers whose discoveries of placer gold in the Yukon sparked the Klondike gold rush in the late 19th century. From the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.