You Are Gold, Gold!
When you think of a gold rush, you may think of the wild west in the desert with a hot, beating sun, maybe some cowboys and sheriffs. This rush is definitely not a sunny, rootin-tootin time; it was way cooler (yes, pun intended).
Around North America
The Yukon Gold Rush or better known as the Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by around 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of the Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. I was a bit sad to find out it had nothing to do with Klondike bars because that would have been pretty sweet. It was all about gold, which is pretty cool I guess, not as cool as ice cream, but cool. Gold was discovered there by local miners in 1896. The news of the newfound gold reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year and triggered a stampede of prospectors. Some became wealthy, but the majority went in vain.
All of Their Gear
To reach the goldfields, most prospectors took the route through the ports of Dyea and Skagway, which reside in Southeast Alaska. Here, the prospectors or the “Klondikers” could follow either the Chilkoot or the White Pass trails to the Yukon River, and sail down to the Klondike. The Klondikers’ equipment weighed close to a ton, which most carried themselves, in stages, which alone is admirable because I can’t even pick up my cat without thinking “Woah, this is a heavy cat”. Performing this task, and contending with the mountainous terrain and a chilly climate, which added on top of all the weight on their shoulders.
Go Go Gadget Gold!
Now, what kind of cool gadgets and tools did they carry around? What helped them find all of this gold? The basic prospecting tools were the gold pan, shovel and pick. The basic mining tools to help separate the gold into smaller pieces used during the Klondike Gold Rush were rocker boxes and sluice boxes. Still today the main icon of the Klondike is a gold pan with a crossed pick and shovel. As well as a year supply of food, they would have axes, tents, nails, extra clothing and shoes, and so much more.
Shining Bright
People tend not to think of what people would wear during these times unless there were funky fringes and cowboy boots involved. Men wore warm clothes, boots, moccasins and outerwear to help combat the cold weather up north. Everything was about the men but there were women helping around the time too. In 1898, about 8% of the population in the Klondike territory were women, and in towns like Dawson, this rose to 12%. Many women arrived with their husbands and or families, but others travelled alone, but it wasn’t as common as arriving with a family or husband. Most came to the Klondike for similar economic and social reasons as male prospectors, but they attracted particular media interest. The gender imbalance in the Klondike encouraged business proposals to ship young, single women into the region to marry newly wealthy miners.
Of course, you can’t be a woman without having men control you and what you wear. Men loved to make recommendations for what practical clothes women should take to the Klondike. Formality was the main focus of women’s clothing, emphasizing long skirts and corsets, which they used to adapt to the trails.
Citations
https://www.nps.gov/klgo/learn/historyculture/tonofgoods.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_Gold_Rush
https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/klondike-gold-rush
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