Legacy Of The Klondike Gold Rush
Only a pocketful of the 100,000 people who left for the Klondike became rich. The prospectors typically spent $1,000 ($27,000) reaching the region, which, when combined with other costs, exceeded what was produced from the gold fields they purchased. At the same time, most of those who did find gold lost their fortunes in the later years. A prospectors often died penniless, attempting to reproduce their earlier fortune in fresh mining locations and coming up empty. Others used their fortune to abused alcohol, quickly dissolving what they made and leaving themselves to work low income jobs. The three original discoverers of the Klondike Gold had mixed fates. George Carmack left his wife Kate, who had found it difficult to adapt to their new lifestyle, he remarried and lived in relative prosperity. Skookum Jim had a huge income from his mining royalties but refused to settle and continued to prospect until his death in 1916, and Dawson Charlie spent lavishly and died in an alcohol-related accident. The richest of the Klondike saloon owners, businessmen and gamblers also typically lost their fortunes. Nonetheless, some of those who joined the gold rush prospered. Kate Rockwell became a famous dancer in Dawson and remained popular in America until her death. Dawson City was also where Alexander Pantages, her business partner and lover, started his career, going on to become one of America's greatest theatre and movie tycoons. The impact of the gold rush on the Native peoples of the region was also considerable. The Tlingit and the Koyukon peoples flourished in the short term from their work as guides, packers and from selling food and supplies to the prospectors. In the longer run, however, many suffered from the environmental damage of the gold mining on the rivers and forests. The Han tribe’s population had already begun to decline after the discovery of gold along Fortymile River in the 1880s, but dropped catastrophically after their move to the reserve, a result of the contaminated water supply and smallpox. By 1904, they needed aid from the NWMP to prevent famine.