Alaska Gold Rush Trails Study

“A thrilling narrative of personal experiences and adventures in the wonderful gold regions of Alaska and the Klondike, with observations of travel and exploration along the Yukon. Portraying the dangers, hardships, and privations of a gold-seeker's life; with a faithful description of life and scenes in gold mines and camps. Including full and authentic information of the countries described, their underground treasures, how to find them, etc.” This classic first-hand account contains the following chapters: I. My Boyhood and Early Life—What Led Me to Adopt the Life of a Gold-seeker—Why My Eyes Were Turned Towards Alaska II. Ho For Alaska!—Extent of Our Great Territory— Getting Ready For the Start—Our Outfit and What It Consisted Of III. Choosing a Route—Our Voyage Along the Coast-arrival at Dyea—First Experience With Natives IV. Life on the Trail—Strange Sights and Scenes—Storm Bound in Sheep Camp—a Woman’s Adventures and Experiences V. The Dreaded Chilkoot Pass—How We Crossed It—Sliding Down the Mountains at Lightning Speed—“There Comes a Woman” VI. Camp Life in Alaska—We Build a Boat to Continue Our Journey— Adventures With Bears VII. A Dangerous Voyage—Overturning of Our Boat—Loss of an $800 Outfit—We Escape With Our Lives—Hunting For a Camp Thief VIII. Some Thrilling Experiences—Discovery of the Thief—His Summary Punishment—Pictures by the Way IX. Life on a Yukon Post—Our First Glimpse of the Klondike—How Miners Administer Justice in Alaska—The Plague of Mosquitoes X. Arrival at Circle City—Dance Halls and Other Places of Amusement—The Yukon Sled—Alaskan Dogs and their Peculiarities XI. Guarding Against Evil-Doers—Life in a Gold-Seeker’s Cabin—How It Is Built and Furnished XII. Work and Wages in Alaska—Agricultural Possibilities in the Icy North—Cost of Living XIII. We Reach the Gold Diggings—Locating a Claim—How Gold Is Mined—The Miner’s Pan, Rocker, and Sluice Boxes XIV. My Voyage Down the Mighty Yukon—Incidents and Experiences During the Trip—In the Shadow of the Arctic Circle XV. Still Journeying Along the Dreary River—Sights and Scenes on the Way—Habits and Peculiarities of the Indians XVI. Arrival at Forty Mile—Wonderful Stories of New Diggings—Ho! For the Klondike!—Mad Rush of Excited Gold-Seekers XVII. My First Tramp in the Klondike Gold Fields—What a Place For Gold!—A Peep into the Sluice Boxes—I Stake a Claim XVIII. the Discovery of Eldorado—The Founding of Dawson—Confusion and Queer Complications Over Claims—“Three inch White” XIX. Richness of the Klondike Gold Fields—The Great Winter Exodus From Circle City—First Results From Testing Pans—Miners Wild With Excitement XX. Winter in the Klondike—Camp Life and Work—A Miner’s Domestic Duties—Christmas in a Gold-Seeker’s Camp XXI. Alaskan Weather—On the Verge of Starvation—How We Pulled Through—Dangers of Winter Traveling—Painful Experiences XXII. Preparing For Sluicing—The Spring “Clean-Up”— Astonishing Results When Dirt Was Washed Out—Some Lucky Strikes—The Romance of Fortune XXIII. Stories of Great Hardships and Scanty Rewards—A Romance of the Klondike—Claim Jumpers—An Old Slave’s Lucky Strike XXIV. Incidents of the Trail—Death and Burial of a Baby—A Woman’s Thrilling Experiences XXV. The Opportunities For Money-Making in Alaska—The Costly Experience of Two Tenderfeet—Appalling Price of a Supper—A Horse Missing With $49,000 in Gold XXVI. Dawson and ItsIniquities—Gambling Places, Their Devices and Their Ways—Night Scenes in the Dance Halls—Real Life in New Mining Camps XXVII. A Refuge For Criminals—The Mines More Profitable Than Sporting Devices—Pursuing a Fugitive—A Chase of 25,000 Miles For an Escaped Murderer XXVIII. Women in the Klondike—Some Romantic Stories—Experience of a Woman on the Trail—How Women Have Made Fortunes ... and 12 more chapters.

Reconstructs the personalities, events, trading settlements and major strikes which produced the Alaska gold-mining boom.

It is the land of the Alaska Gold Rush, where nuggets were said to be the size of goose eggs, where men froze to death in search of the elusive yellow metal, and dancehall girls lured overnight millionaire sourdoughs into marriage. Honky-tonk pianos punctuated the howl of the north wind in towns that were half-tent and half-ramshackle collections of driftwood, whalebone, and packing cases. It was a time of whiskey and gold and long, lonely trails behind a dogsled. It was, in a word, ALASKA. In cities, rugged men and women walked on planks set across streets so deep with spring mud horses could be swallowed. On the tundra, life was a living hell with mosquitoes, gnats, white socks, and biting flies descending in clouds on warm-blooded creatures. On the flip side of the season, temperature could drop to 50 or 60 degrees below zero, cold enough to freeze a can of oil so solid it could be cut in half with a saw. With wind blasting at 100 miles an hour, the chill factor could go down to 100 degrees below zero, cold enough to freeze a person to death in a matter of minutes if he could not find proper shelter. In whiteout conditions, visibility could diminish to a foot in a matter of minutes. It was, in a word, ALASKA.

Experiences of Gold Hunters in Alaska is a classic account of the Valdez-Copper River phase of the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1898 and a topnotch narrative of a real-life Alaskan adventure. Unlike most written histories of that gold rush that tell of the passage to Dyea or Skagway, over the Chilkoot Pass and White Pass, and down to the Klondike fields in Yukon, Charles Margeson tells the story that he and 3500 other gold seekers experienced as they traversed the Valdez Glacier and descended the Klutina River to the Copper River. The author describes his journey beginning in Missouri in 1897 and resulted in a trip from Seattle to Alaska and back to Seattle in 1898. The book covers the early story of Valdez and the hazards encountered in the Tonsena (now Tonsina) Valley. Although they discovered little gold, their quest made a difference for their efforts resulted in the exploration and development of much of Southcentral and Interior Alaska. They established the port city of Valdez which was to become the major transportation and shipping corridor from interior to coastal Alaska--a corridor now more famous for its black than yellow gold.