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4.2.7.wavWhile most stampeders never made it to the Klondike, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 did. They quickly turned the new town of Dawson into one of the most populous cities in all of Canada. But the vast majority of these did not find the wealth they were seeking. By the time stampeders arrived in 1898, local prospectors had already staked out all the richest claims.
Most of the stampeders either had to return home empty-handed or settle for jobs for established miners or as laborers in Dawson. "There are many men in Dawson at the present time who feel keenly disappointed,” the Klondike Nugget Newspaper wrote. “They have come thousands of miles on a perilous trip…only to discover the fact that there is nothing here for them."
One of the most famous failed prospectors was author Jack London. In 1897, the 21-year-old raised money from his family and journeyed to the gold fields, only to develop a crippling case of scurvy during his first winter in the Yukon. He returned home the following year flat-broke but later drew on his Gold Rush experiences to write “The Call of the Wild” and many other beloved works of literature.
The Gold Rush to the Klondike spilled over into Alaska. In the summer of 1898, prospectors found gold on Anvil and Snow creeks near present-day Nome on the Seward Peninsula. News of the gold strike on the Seward Peninsula did not reach the Klondike until late the following spring. After hearing news of the strike, people rushed to Nome. In a single week, 8,000 people left Dawson down the Yukon for the Alaskan coast.
Jack London in Alaska
Stampeders departing Klondike for Nome by Yukon river boat, 1899
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