The indigenous Hän, on the other hand, suffered from the rush they were forcibly moved into a reserve to make way for the Klondikers, and many died.īeginning in 1898, the newspapers that had encouraged so many to travel to the Klondike lost interest in it. Despite this, the wealthiest prospectors spent extravagantly, gambling and drinking in the saloons. Built of wood, isolated, and unsanitary, Dawson suffered from fires, high prices, and epidemics. From a population of 500 in 1896, the town grew to house approximately 30,000 people by summer 1898. At their terminus, Dawson City was founded at the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers. To accommodate the prospectors, boom towns sprang up along the routes. Once there, they found few opportunities, and many left disappointed. Performing this task, and contending with the mountainous terrain and cold climate, meant those who persisted did not arrive until summer 1898. In all, the Klondikers' equipment weighed close to a ton, which most carried themselves, in stages. The Canadian authorities required each of them to bring a year's supply of food, in order to prevent starvation. Here, the 'Klondikers' could follow either the Chilkoot or the White Pass trails to the Yukon River, and sail down to the Klondike. To reach the gold fields, most prospectors took the route through the ports of Dyea and Skagway, in Southeast Alaska. It has been immortalized in films, literature, and photographs.

Some became wealthy, but the majority went in vain. Gold was discovered there by local miners on Augwhen news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors. The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 18. The Call of the Wild, The Spell of the Yukon, The Cremation of Sam McGee Prospectors ascending Chilkoot Pass, 1898ĭawson City at Klondike River, Yukon, Canada

Klondike adventures scalp area