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Alaska Gold Rush: True Stories Told By The People Who Were There
Alaska Gold Rush: True Stories Told By The People Who Were There
Alaska Gold Rush: True Stories Told By The People Who Were There
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Alaska Gold Rush: True Stories Told By The People Who Were There

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Alaska Gold Rush: True Stories Told By The People Who Were There is a unique collection of 12 stories -- the best ones we could find -- torn from the pages of gold rush-era newspapers. These are great gold rush stories such as "Rush Into New Fields" and "Miners Fleeced by the Mounted Police" that focus on the real trials and tribulations of novice gold miners in a harsh land. Some of the stories are about famous gold rush bandits and murderers, such as "End of Soapy Smith -- Bad Man." And some of the stories feature the relatively few who actually struck it rich, like "Alaska Has Big Prizes for the Winners."

This 12,700 word book features 24 graphics ranging from reproductions of story headlines set in the original font, to engravings of the miners and the ships they traveled on. In addition there is a liberal sprinkling of exact reproductions of wonderful old contemporary newspaper advertisements of the times.

Authors: Lawrence D. Weiss and Kevin Morford.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 31, 2013
ISBN9781301969906
Alaska Gold Rush: True Stories Told By The People Who Were There
Author

Lawrence David Weiss

Lawrence David Weiss PhD has lived in Anchorage Alaska since 1982. He formerly taught sociology and public health at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and has been the executive director of two nonprofit organizations engaged in public health and social policy matters. He is the author of several books and numerous papers on topics such as the economic history of the Navajo people; public health issues, policy, and systems; and Alaska gold rush era history. Weiss is the founder of Kennyhill Publishing Company which was established with a focus on American Southwest and Northwest historical works produced as electronic publications.

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    Book preview

    Alaska Gold Rush - Lawrence David Weiss

    Alaska Gold Rush

    True Stories Told by the People Who Were There

    Edited by Lawrence D. Weiss

    and

    Kevin M. Morford

    Smashwords Edition

    Produced by Kennyhill Publishing Company

    Copyright 2013 Lawrence D. Weiss

    Smashwords Edition License Notes

    This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook is not licensed to be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

    Forward

    These are true stories of the Klondike gold rush immortalized by contemporary authors -- the voices of the journalists who lived through those exciting times. In this collection we make available to the reader the most exciting and memorable stories which appeared in contemporary newspapers about the Klondike gold rush.

    The stories have been reproduced here with most of the original grammar and spelling uncorrected, to preserve the flavor of the times. Wherever possible, original headlines have been inserted as a graphic at the start of the story. Period advertisements and other graphics from the newspapers have also been inserted to give the reader a better feel for the culture and daily life of the period.

    Preface

    The Klondike Gold Rush, sometimes referred to as the Yukon Gold Rush, drew people from all over the world to the Klondike region of northwestern Canada after gold was discovered there in 1896. The gold rush lasted only a few years, essentially ending in 1899. Spurred on by newspaper campaigns, at its height in late 1897 to mid-1898, about one hundred thousand people, mostly novices to prospecting, headed for the gold fields. The Klondike is remembered for the hardship endured by the would-be prospectors, immortalized by pictures of their ascending of the Chilkoot Pass, by books like The Call of the Wild, and films like The Gold Rush. Few got rich, and it is estimated that the money spent getting there exceeded the value of gold found during the rush.

    It is often called the Alaska Gold Rush because the gold field belonged to the Alaskan peninsula, and a majority of the prospectors disembarked at Alaskan ports. It came to an end when a real Alaskan gold strike, the Nome Gold Rush (1899–1909), drew away many Klondikers. Yet another name sometimes applied is the Last Great Gold Rush, following other major 19th century ones such as the California Gold Rush (1848–1852) and the Australian Gold Rush (1851–1869), among the biggest of all time. Unlike its Californian and Australian counterparts, the Klondike rush did not lead to a permanent increase in population.

    Since the rush, the Klondike area has continued to be mined, with pauses depending on fluctuations in the gold price. Large scale mining methods have taken over, but even today there are small family-run gold mines operating. A total of about 12,500,000 troy ounces (390,000 kg; 860,000 lb) gold have been taken from the Klondike area since its discovery. (Preface excerpted from the Wikipedia entry on the Klondike Gold Rush)

    Chapter 1: Alaska has Big Prizes for the Winners

    The first four chapters, Alaska Has Big prizes for the Winners, The Alaska Farmer is the Coming Man, President McKinley on Alaska’s Needs, and I Should Very Much Like to Join These Gold Rushers appeared in the San Francisco Call on December 19, 1897.

    THE eyes of the gold hunters of the world are on Alaska. With the coming year will begin one of the greatest gold rushes in the history of the world. It is safe to say that fully 100,000 adventurers will strain and struggle to be first in the mad race for

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