This year marked the 100th anniversary of the Yukon trail! But what went on back then? Read on to find out.

For many years now, miners have been in search for gold. The thought of being rich keeps them going as they hunt for a hidden treasure beneath the depths of the earth. In time they grow old and are forced to stop the hunt, or they loose interest in it earlier. Not many find the riches, but more keep following in their tracks. There have been times in history where the flow of miners has been the greatest, and it always follows after one miner makes a lucky discovery. The gambling involved, not only as a pastime, but also as an occupation, keeps the miners hoping. The findings are as much chance as the roll of a die.

It's the people who are there when the discovery is made that are the luckiest. By miner's code, a discovery had to be reported, so just being in the general vicinity of a discovery gives you a better chance. In the Yukon, the find that started the huge stampede, was found by accident in a place not likely to hold a treasure. The story goes like this:

George Carmack was a man who had lost his interest in the gold hunt, and turned to living like a native. One night he had a dream and was standing by a stream. The salmon were leaping high over the water on their way to the spawning grounds. Two huge fish jumped high into the air and landed on the ground at his feet. They had golden nuggets for scales and golden coins for eyes. From his interpretation, Carmack determined he would have good luck fishing. The next day he went fishing on the Klondike River with his Indian friends Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie. They saw Robert Henderson there who had found a good prospecting location which he had named Gold Bottoms. Henderson told Carmack to give it a try, but said he didn't want any siwashes staking that creek Skookum Jim convinced Carmack to go try out the location and look into the new strike, despite the insult to his friends. A few days later, the three men started the journey. On their way, they panned for gold in the various streams and creeks. At Rabbit creek they saw what they considered good prospects. When they got to Gold Bottom, they panned half-heartedly, then decided to move on. Several days later, the trio was back on Rabbit Creek. When Jim leaned over the creek to get a drink, he saw more raw gold there than he had ever seen in one place. The first pan full yielded four dollars' worth, and good prospects is eight cents. The creek was renamed Bonanza, and Carmack and Charlie went to Fortymile to file their claims with the officials there. The people there didn't believe Carmack at first, Rabbit Creek was not an ideal location. However, when they saw the sample of gold Carmack presented, they knew it had to be a new strike because they had never seen anything like it.

Within a week of the discovery, Bonanza Creek had become chaotic. Men rammed their stakes in anywhere, jumped each other's claims, and argued and scrambled for ground. By the end of August, all of Bonanza was staked and men were fanning out across the watershed looking for more ground. One of these men was Antone Stander, who stumbled upon a little trickle of water at the south fork of Bonanza. He scooped up a panful of gravel and discovered six dollars worth of gold there. He named the place Eldorado-- a place of great riches. Stander went in search of credit so he could get a loan, but couldn't find anyone to sign. He entered the nearest saloon for a drink and started talking about his problem. Clarence Berry was the bartender on duty that night and he offered to sign the papers. Stander insisted on making Berry his partner. In less than a year both men were millionaires.

When word got back to San Francisco and Seattle, men started packing instantly. They rushed over, with only gold in mind, not considering the dangers of the Yukon. All types of routes were traveled, but they all lead to Dawson, the heart of the gold rush.

People continued to come to Dawson. In May of 1897, the ice broke on the Yukon and within a short time two hundred boats had arrived at Dawson. Every day more vessels tumbled into the town until it held 3500 people. Nobody was thinking about the fact that there wasn't much to buy with the gold everyone hoped to find. In early June two steamers arrived, bringing so much food that the possibility of hunger never crossed anyone's mind. The thought of gold blocked everything else out. Six sternwheelers brought eight hundred tons of food into the Klondike valley in the summer of 1897, but it wasn't enough to support the steadily rising population. Notices were posted, warning inhabitants to turn around if they didn't have a winter supply of food. Yet, most people still refused to believe they couldn't buy food. As the stampeders kept arriving, the uneasiness of Dawson suddenly turned to panic. Five more steamers with food had been expected, but were long overdue. The freeze-up had begun and with each passing hour the possibility of them making it through became dimmer. One official of the Alaska Commercial Company went off to see where they were. He spotted them in the ice four hundred miles away. Two of the delayed steamers arrived, but they had given a lot of their food to the people of Circle City when they were held at gunpoint. At least 1000 people would have to leave Dawson. As winter drew closer, people without food hurried away.

As the new people arrived, they realized that all the claims had already been staked. There was no hope for them. They began wandering the streets, afraid that the long journey had been traveled for nothing. Soon, they turned around and went back, about a third left within six weeks of their arrival. The ones who stayed, spent their days walking the streets, hanging around the post office, or gambling. As the dreams of Dawson were shattered, rumors of new strikes were kept alive by the merchant who didn't want their customers to leave town. Soon even their enthusiasm couldn't keep the hope of the miners alive. As Dawson developed into a residential town, sourdoughs left too in order to save their freedom and find more gold.

To find out more about the routes taken by the stampeders, click Routes. Then travel the Career Trail to find more information on the Yukon and also learn about careers.

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