SNOWSTORMS, SOURDOUGHS, AND SLUICES: AN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF THE KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH, 1896-1900 by Heather A. Longworth Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History Acadia University February, 2007 © Copyright by Heather A Longworth, 2007. ii This thesis by Heather A. Longworth is accepted in its present form by the Department of History and Classics as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours Approved by the Thesis Supervisor __________________________ ____________________ Dr. David F. Duke Date Approved by the Head of the Department __________________________ ____________________ Dr. Beert Verstraete Date Approved by the Honours Committee __________________________ ____________________ Dr. Robert Perrins Date iii I, Heather A. Longworth, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I however, retain the copyright in my thesis. _________________________________ Signature of Author _________________________________ Date iv Acknowledgements This thesis has been my long journey to the Klondike and back and while I did not go through the same challenges as the stampeders of ’98, like them, I had a lot of people that helped and supported me along the way. These people are too numerous to mention them all, but there are some who must be acknowledged: • Dr. David F. Duke, my supervisor, who got me interested in the field of environmental history, patiently answered my never-ending stream of questions, and constantly encouraged me. • My parents, Dave and Anne Longworth, who constantly supported me in every way and who made my family trip to the Klondike in August 2006 possible so that I could experience the land of the gold rush first hand and do research there. • My twin sister, Susan Longworth, who continually motivated me and listened to all my struggles, triumphs, and random facts and stories about the Klondike while I was researching and writing this thesis. Lastly, this thesis is dedicated to all those miners, adventurers, women, children, and entrepreneurs who made the trip to the Klondike, especially those whom I have come to know and appreciate throughout my research. Your strength, courage, and spirit through all you endured are still incredible and inspirational today. HAL v Table of Contents Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ iv Abstract............................................................................................................................. vii Chapter I.............................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction and Historiography..................................................................................... 1 Chapter II .......................................................................................................................... 21 Richer for the Adventure: The Environment’s Impact on Humans.............................. 21 Chapter III......................................................................................................................... 53 Deforestation, Mining, and Disease: Impact on the Environment................................ 53 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 77 Maps and Images .............................................................................................................. 81 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 94 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Map of the Routes taken during the Klondike Gold Rush ................................ 81 Figure 2: Map of Chilkoot Pass and White Pass............................................................... 82 Figure 3: Klondikers at the Scales, Ascending the Chilkoot Pass, Alaska, 1898............. 83 Figure 4 Digging Bodies out of Snow Slide on Chilkoot Pass, 3 April, 1898 ................. 83 Figure 5: Blockade of Klondikers on Porcupine Hill, White Pass Trail, Alaska, 1898.... 84 Figure 6: Precarious Road Built Along the Side of the Canyon Wall, White Pass, 1899 84 Figure 7: Whipsawing Lumber on Lake Lindeman, 1899................................................ 85 Figure 8: Bennett Lake, June 1, 1898 ............................................................................... 85 Figure 9: View of White Water Funnelling through Miles Canyon, 1900 ....................... 86 Figure 10: Boat Floundering in White Horse Rapids, 1900 ............................................ 86 Figure 11: Aftermath of a Fire in Dawson, October 14, 1898.......................................... 87 Figure 12: Horse Drawn Cart Hauling Lumber Stuck in Mud on Front Street, Dawson . 87 Figure 13: Looking up Pine from Willow Slide, 1900 ..................................................... 88 Figure 14: Five Men at Mining Operation, No. 5 Below Bonanza Creek, 1898.............. 88 Figure 15: Miners Working Sluice, 1899 ......................................................................... 89 Figure 16: Mining Claim No. 8 Above Bonanza Creek ................................................... 89 Figure 17: Miners Working Sluice on Spruce Creek, Atlin Mining District, 1899.......... 90 Figure 18: Mining Claim No. 2 Bonanza Creek, 1898..................................................... 90 Figure 19: Mining Operations on Eldorado Creek, Yukon Territory, ca. 1898................ 91 Figure 20: Three Miners Using Pickaxes in Underground Gold Mine............................. 91 Figure 21: Winter Dumps on Eldorado Mining Claims ................................................... 92 Figure 22: Packtrain at a Mining Claim, Cheechako Hill, 1898....................................... 92 Figure 23: Dredge Tailings around Dawson, 2006........................................................... 93 Figure 24: Diagram of a Rocker ....................................................................................... 93 vii Abstract The Klondike gold rush stood out from the other gold rushes prior to its time because it took place in a unique climate where miners had to make adjustments not only to living in the cold climate but to mining techniques as well. By studying the Klondike gold rush from an environmental perspective, it becomes obvious that the relationship between the people and the environment in the Klondike was two-fold: people had an effect on the environment through mining, deforestation, and settlement, and the environment likewise had an effect on people through the hardships of the weather and the trails to Dawson City. These hardships challenged and changed people physically and likely changed many internally as well. The Klondike gold rush had a lasting impact on people as many carried the memories of the rush with them for the rest of their lives. It had a profound impact on the environment through deforestation, diversion of water, and the destruction caused by mining on a small scale and later on a large scale with the use of dredges. The rush also affected the Yukon as it opened it up to white settlement, tourism, and mining and had a huge impact on the economy. 1 Chapter I Introduction and Historiography There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic Trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold; The Northern Lights have seen queer sights… 1 Robert W. Service wrote these lines in commemoration of an event that changed the Yukon as well as the lives of many men and women who headed north to participate in the quest for gold. Before the end of the nineteenth century the world saw many gold rushes beginning with the California rush and including stampedes north to the Fraser River and the Cariboo in British Columbia, as well as rushes to South Africa, Australia, and across the United States. The Klondike rush was the last of these and was remembered so distinctly not because it was the biggest but because it was quite different from the others. Images of men in heavy coats bent over while struggling to carry packs of one hundred pounds up the steep, snowy incline of the Chilkoot Pass have stuck in the minds of many people as symbolic of this stampede; so too have descriptions of dead horses along the White Pass and pictures of gold mining creeks criss-crossed with sluice works, stacks of wood, and mounds of gravel. These lingering images, along with photographs, reports, and personal accounts of the Klondike gold rush show how the unique climate and environment of the Yukon made this an experience not to be forgotten. The gold rush of 1896-1900 transformed the Klondike from a region based primarily on the fur trade to one that revolved around mining. This change in the economy had a large man-made impact on the environment. However, the environment 1 Robert W. Service, “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” in Songs of a Sourdough , 13 th ed. (Toronto: William Briggs, 1908), 55. 2 also had an equally large effect on the men and women travelling the trails to Dawson through the impact of weather, geography, and hardships. The environment also made mining difficult because of permafrost, shortages of wood and long winter seasons. This thesis examines