Gold!

Dawson City, Canada

by

 Basia Meder

My trip to Dawson City in Canada let me learn one of the most fascinating and still mysterious stories of gold rush. A hundred years ago, in July 1897, on the west coast of North America, thousands of men and women shouted GOLD! Two steamers had arrived with more than a ton of gold. The following year saw the greatest and last gold rush in the history of the Alaska–Yukon gold country. Fortune hunters rushed toward Canada's Yukon Territory to reach Dawson. They trekked the treacherous Chilkoot trail through harsh wilderness and then sailed down the Yukon River.

Dawson City, wild and inaccessible, in the far north of the Yukon country, sprang from nothing to 100 000 disparate inhabitants in one year. It witnessed the unique and spontaneous way of life of the "dream-seekers". Gold dust, gold nuggets and gold bricks were in the minds or in the hands of many prospectors.

After only a year the city had many hotels, restaurants, bakers, barbers and a theatre. There was a bar on nearly every corner and saloons where champagne and whisky, sold for gold dust, flowed faster than the Yukon River. Often women joined in the stampede and panned gold with the most rugged men. They set up the cafes, operated laundries or taught in schools. Some women, like the legendary "lady" Klondike Kate, sold their bodies but often helped the needy.

Today, Dawson City has not only survived but is on the way to being revitalised of the original gold rush. Many buildings have been restored. There is an authentic old-time feeling recreated on the town's streets with their wooden boardwalks and false-fronted buildings. The city guide tells stories of the big finds, disappointments and romances. The photos are showing the joys and hardships of a prospector’s life.

I panned for gold too, and I found it! When my pulse quickened and electricity tingled along the surface of my skin, I knew what the gold rush was all about! What excitement!

In the light summer dusk, where the sun seems never to set, honky-tonk pianos tinkled from saloons and bars. The Palace Grande Theatre, built in 1899, is still full of joy and fun. Diamond-Tooth Gertie's, the gambling and dance hall casino, invites you to try the poker machines, roulettes and blackjack in the frontier–style atmosphere of the end of the last century. Sipping a beer I watched the floor show with its old-time songs and frivolous can-can.

The Yukon–Alaska gold country is an exciting and unique destination, a vast and mysterious land of beautiful scenery, friendly people and still attractive for "dream-seekers".