Mining is a big industry in the Yukon, which all started back in 1890s with the gold rush in Dawson City, not to be confused with Dawson’s Creek. More commonly known as the Klondike, the gold rush in Dawson City ended as quickly as it started.
The most interesting part of the gold rush isn’t the amount of gold that was found, but rather, the lives of those who lived there well after its prime. I’m reading a book titled I Married the Klondike which is a memoir of life in Dawson City, as the gold rush began to die down. It was written by Laura Berton, the mother of Pierre Berton, a school teacher in Toronto who departed to teach in Dawson City. It details life in Dawson after the big boom was over and creates images of luxury and comfort.
You’d expect the gold rush to be scenes of old men with scraggly beards and missing teeth holding panning for gold by the river day and night. I won’t deny you this vision, as it was probably true in some cases, but what I learned in my short time up North made me rethink the Klondike. Dawson City, in its heyday, was known as “the Paris of the North”. Eggs were sold at $1 per egg, which roughly converts to $100 today, and women dressed in Parisan silk. Who would have thought that a mining town, only accessible while the Yukon River was ice-free, would be home to riches other than gold? Miners didn’t just appear in Dawson with these riches. The first miners would haul a ton of goods through the Chilkoot Trail. On average, it would take 40 trips to transport all the goods through the mountain passageway. They hauled enough supplies to last them a year. Those that made it big stuck around for longer and enjoyed the rich lifestyle up North.
The stories I enjoy about the gold rush are about its women, or lack thereof. A lot of miners would send for their significant others on the first ship in the spring. They would come but as soon as the last boat out of Dawson was about to cast off for the winter, many of them would leave, some without a warning. I don’t blame them, it would take a determined person to stay up north during the winter. The north is as isolated as it is cold.
Dawson City hasn’t changed much since its inception. The historic buildings still stand, even those that have been wrecked by permafrost. The streets are lined with wooden sidewalks and the statue of good ol’ Diamond Tooth Gerties is still standing. The hustle and bustle from the gold rush is renewed every summer as tourists flock the city, and dies down every winter as those brave enough to bear the cold visit.
If you find yourself up North, hike the Chilkoot. Rumor has it that there are supplies along the way that didn’t quite make it to the Klondike.
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