The Klondike Gold Rush: A last hurrah of the Old West

M.M. Justus, author

The Klondike Gold Rush:
A last hurrah 
of the Old West
by M.M. Justus

The Klondike Stampede of 1897-98 has been called the last great gold rush. It took place less than five years after Frederick Jackson Turner declared the American frontier era was over. Though the Klondike was in the Yukon Territory of Canada, the vast majority of the stampeders were American, to the point where July 4th was a much larger celebration in Dawson City in 1898 than July 1st, Canada Day.

By 1898, most of the U.S. was "civilized." With a few exceptions (some of which still feel very frontier-like today), the Old West was a thing of the past. But not on the way to the Klondike.

The trail to the Klondike was very much a frontier. Before the gold rush, it was very sparsely populated, mostly by Indians and a few hardy miners -- sometimes embodied in the same person, as was true of two of the men who discovered the gold in the first place. The stampede itself was a thin braid of trails across a wilderness perceived as utterly barren by those who traveled them, headed towards the gold fields just as they did to every other strike. After all, the California gold rush of 1849 was only 49 years before 1898.

The people who headed north were a typical frontier cross-section, too. The vast majority were men, ranging from a few experienced outdoorsmen to clerks and shopkeepers who had no idea what they would be up against, and included con men, gamblers, and those who went to mine the miners. The few women who dared the trail were prostitutes and saloonkeepers, cooks, and, like my heroine, seamstresses. Very seldom did a woman make any kind of fortune directly from mining, and she was usually one of the rare wives who came north with her husband.

But it was the last time in North America that such a migration for such a reason would occur, and if it hadn't been for a financial panic in 1893 that left many people destitute, it's questionable whether it would have happened at all. Man would fly for the first time five years after the peak of the stampede. Some people even attempted to bring bicycles along, and there is a record of at least one motorized vehicle, which probably didn't make it much past Skagway.

It was the last chance to be part of the Old West while it still existed. And the Klondike Gold Rush helped the Old West go out with a bang!

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Want to read a novel about the Klondike Gold Rush? Try True Gold by M.M. Justus, available at Amazon or Smashwords. You'll find an interview with the author and an excerpt at M.M. Justus--True Gold.

You can visit M.M. Justus anytime at her website, Blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter

M.M. Justus: True Gold

True Gold
by M.M. Justus

Romancing The West welcomes western author M.M. Justus, author, museum curator, and among other things, quilter. The Klondike Gold Rush has always interested me and I'm excited to read her book, True Gold. M.M., please tell us about it.

MJ: When Karin Myre, a young Norwegian seamstress's assistant from Seattle, gets caught up in the excitement of the steamer Portland's arrival with a ton of riches from the Klondike Gold Rush, she decides to escape a future of too much drudgery and no choices. Stowing away on one of the many overcrowded ships bound north, she finds herself trapped in the cargo hold with a crowd of second thoughts. But her rescue from the captain and a fate worse than death by a handsome prospector and his photographer partner is only the beginning of her search for true gold.

RTW: How did you get interested in the Klondike Gold Rush?

MJ: When I was fourteen, my parents and I drove from Los Angeles (where we were living at the time) to Alaska and back, pulling a travel trailer. This was in 1973, when the Alaska Highway was mostly still gravel, and the tourist industry in that part of the world wasn't nearly as developed as it is now. It was one of the great adventures of my childhood, and something I still date events in my life from. We traveled and camped for six weeks through Yukon Territory and Alaska, including part of the trail Karin follows in my book. We got as far as Fairbanks and Denali (then called Mt. McKinley), coming back down on the ferry through the Inside Passage. I've loved that part of the world ever since, although I've only been able to go back once as an adult.

The Yukon and Alaska are permeated with history, the kind that's recent enough that those who experienced it personally haven't been gone all that long. The Klondike, after all, is known as the last great gold rush. And Seattle, which the primary jumping off point for the Klondike, is just down the road from me. The historical resources there about the Klondike are almost limitless.

RTW: Would you have wanted go to the Klondike in 1897?

MJ: Not on your life. Those people went through hardships I can't even conceive of putting myself through, many of them gave up before they even arrived at Dawson, and most of the rest turned around and left once they got there without ever having put shovel to dirt. Only a small percentage of the few who did actually stake claims and mine (most of whom were already there when the stampeders arrived) struck gold, and only a small percentage of them managed to hang onto their fortunes. Most of the journals from that time and place are by people who had no idea what they were getting themselves into, and who were absolutely appalled by it all. However, those same journals do reek with that sense of 'greatest adventure I'll ever have,' so perhaps their rewards weren't quite so tangible as a sack of gold.

RTW: What, to you, is the best part of fiction set in the West?

M.M. Justus, author

MJ: I think it's how close yet how far away it seems. The Old West, as we think of it, was in its prime less than 150 years ago. The Klondike Gold Rush, arguably the last hurrah for that time period, was only 115 years ago. My grandfather was born the year of the Gold Rush. Karin is my great-grandmother's age. That makes it seem so close. But when we went to Alaska in 1973, which itself was 39 years ago, we drove there and back in six weeks and still had time for plenty of sightseeing. We had indoor plumbing and a fully-equipped kitchen that Karin would have killed for. Life was so primitive back then in the wilds that it seems much farther away than it is. I love that paradox. I find it absolutely fascinating.

RTW: Why does Karin take her journey? And what does that handsome prospector have to do with it?

MJ: Literally or figuratively? She takes her literal journey because she's searching for something more than she would ever have if she stayed home. At first she thinks a literal fortune would change her life, and then she discovers that what she really wants is not something she can buy. As for Will, the prospector, he's part of the reason she figures that out. Anything more would be a spoiler.

RTW: We'd love to read a little bit of True Gold. Please set the scene for us.

MJ: This scene takes place just before the last hard climb over the steep pass between the Alaska Panhandle and Yukon Territory. Mr. McManis -- Will, the prospector who has been bullied by his other partner into taking Karin on as part of their party -- is trying to convince her to turn around while, as he thinks, she still can.

Excerpt of True Gold

by M.M. Justus

"Revolutionary," Mr. McManis muttered. But he did not mutter it very loudly.

I held my peace.

"You two are going to be the death of me," he said, not much more loudly.

"Oddly enough, I feel the same way about you," I told him.

"I'll bet you do." He eyed me in that unnerving way of his. "Why?"

That surprised me. "I do not understand your question."

He waved an arm, ostensibly at the men still climbing in the fading light, apparently at the whole adventure. "Why are you doing this?"

I blinked. "Why not?"

He frowned.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I'm here to make my fortune." He turned away.

"As am I."

"But you're a woman."

What did that have to do with it? "May a woman not have the same goals as a man?"

"Not the women I know."

"Who are these weak-spined women? And are you not ashamed of them?"

He looked taken aback. "Why would I be ashamed of them?"

I bent back to my cook fire. "You and Mr. Hoel will want my women's work done by the time he returns. So I'd better get started."

The silence ran on for a bit, then he stalked off. Sounds of canvas being shaken out and put over tent poles came to my ears. I did not go to help him. He would not have welcomed my help in any case. Well, and I had told them I would no longer need them once I made it over the pass. It was time I proved it. This would be my last night beholden to Messrs. Hoel and McManis.

Intrigued?

You can buy True Gold at 

Amazon or Smashwords

RTW: We're rooting for Karin! Will there be more?

Yes. The third book in the series, about the missing link generation after Charley and Will, and the man who will become Chuck's father, is in the works, and will be coming out sometime next year. After that, I have a number of ideas yet to come.

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We're looking forward to it! M.M. Justus will have an article for us on Thursday, The Klondike Gold Rush: A last hurrah of the Old West, so be sure to stop by!

You can visit M.M. Justus anytime at her website, blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.

M.M. Justus: Repeating History

Repeating History
by M.M. Justus

"A GRAND yarn you can't put down." Janet Chapple, author of Yellowstone Treasures

Romancing The West welcomes M.M. Justus who loves to travel, but when she's home, you'll find her quilting, gardening, or studying meteorology. Yellowstone National Park is one of her favorite places, and she lives within easy reach of her other favorite park, Mt. Rainier. You can read more about M.M. Justus on the bio page of her website.

RTW: So let's get started. Please tell us about your book.

MJ: Repeating History is about second chances. It's also about how heroes aren't always so heroic as the stories say. In Yellowstone in 1959, Chuck McManis, a college dropout and self-described failure, strolls past a geyser, gets hit by an earthquake, and is flung back in time 82 years into the middle of an Indian war and into his great-grandfather's life. He rescues/is rescued by the woman he comes to love, and sets out to fulfill the destiny laid out before him, only to discover that his past is where he really belongs after all.

RTW: What aspect of life in the Old West intrigues you the most? Did you work that into Repeating History?

MJ: I think the thing about the West prior to the 20th century that fascinates me the most is how the great distances isolated people, and how much of the country was still wilderness, or at least still wild. The "big city" in my story, Helena, Montana, was a three-day stagecoach ride from the nearest railhead in Utah during the time of my story, and a two-day trip from the head of navigation on the Missouri River. And yet, people didn't feel isolated, they still traveled, for pleasure as well as business, and went over the mountain to see what they could see. Several of the characters in my book went to Yellowstone National Park as tourists in 1877, which surprises many people when I tell them that Eliza is based on a real person (Emma Cowan). And, of course, after they were released by the Nez Perce, Eliza, her young sister Anna, and Chuck set out on the long trailless road to civilization -- and arrived there, after many adventures.

RTW: If you lived in 1877, what would you visit first? Is there something you’ve been curious about that you can’t find in your research sources?

MJ: I would head straight for Yellowstone, Indians or no Indians. I've tried to imagine what the park was like back in the days when it was brand-new, when it wasn't possible to bring even a wagon to Old Faithful because there was no road, when you might go for days without seeing another human being. I would love to experience it for myself.

There are complications with that scenario, of course, even if I could time travel as my hero does. For one thing, he was lucky he was male, and didn't have to wear long skirts and corsets, or struggle against inequalities of all kinds. For another, I wouldn't wish wandering lost in the wilderness for over a week or getting kidnapped by Indians on my worst enemy, and I have no desire to experience that for myself.

But to experience the wilderness that was Montana and Wyoming in the late 19th century would be absolutely majestic. I hope my characters appreciated it as much as I did, viewing it through their eyes.

RTW: If a person who had never read a Western (any sub-genre) asked you for a recommendation, what novel or movie would you recommend and why? What did the author do to bring the story alive for you?

MJ: I know it's horrifically idealized to the point of being a fairy tale or a fable, but I love Dances With Wolves, both the book and the movie. It's a journey story, and, as Repeating History proves, I am a sucker for a journey story. It has all of the best memes of the West, the beautiful wide open spaces (even after visiting South Dakota on several occasions, I had no idea it could be that beautiful), the good guys vs. bad guys (although the Indians/whites thing got turned on its head), and the strong, silent hero. The buffalo hunt sequence is shiver-down-the-spine country. And it has a terrific love story. It's just a lyrical movie, with the landscape as a full-fledged character. I think all of the best Western stories treat the land that way.

RTW: Why must Chuck McManis take this particular story journey? What does he have to prove? How does Eliza affect his journey?



M.M. Justus, author



MJ: I can't help grinning at this question. I am going to turn what you're asking me on its head about as much as Dances With Wolves did the Indian/white trope. Chuck doesn't take this trip. His trip takes him. He has nothing to prove, either. As a matter of fact, as the story opens, he's doing nothing more than trying to escape the wrath of his father for a few days before going home to face the music about having flunked out of college. After the earthquake, he's just trying to survive. In some ways, although it takes him a while to realize it, he's glad to have been yanked out of his dead-end life and into one where the way to make something of himself is laid out for him. He thinks all he has to do is put in the work. Not that the work doesn't come close to killing him a couple of times...

As for Eliza, she's destined for him, or so he thinks. But then there's one obstacle after another to challenge that predestination, until their relationship isn't anything like what Chuck thought it would be when he first met her. She's the symbol of everything he thought his new life was going to be, and she's the symbol of how it didn't turn out anything like he had expected. And she's really good at showing him how to get on in 1877, too.

RTW: You have an excerpt today--please set it up for us.

MJ: This passage takes place after Eliza, thirteen-year-old Anna, and Chuck, who is now Charley, have been kidnapped and released by the Nez Perce, out in the middle of nowhere with two exhausted ponies and very little else.

Eliza slid neatly off the horse's back and it struggled to its feet. She tried to stay upright, but she’d have gone down in a heap if I hadn't grabbed her arm. As it was, she hung off of me like a deadweight for a moment before she righted herself and stood, swaying.

She looked like she was about at the end of her rope. No pun intended.

Her once-tidy dress was stained and torn. Her hair hung in ropes around her shoulders. The only word I could think of to describe her face was painful. Her eyes were hollow and somehow full at the same time, of things I didn't think anyone should have to endure.

"It was my second anniversary," she whispered suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Sister, don't," said Anna, who had materialized at Eliza's other shoulder.

Eliza went on as if neither one of us had spoken. Her voice was deceptively calm, at first. "Our second wedding anniversary. William--Mr. Byrne," she added, as if we wouldn’t have known "was shot on our second anniversary. That's why we were here. I'd always wanted to see the geysers, ever since I was a little girl when an old mountain man came to visit us. So when William asked me what I would like to do to celebrate our anniversary, I wanted to come here. We didn't have a honeymoon, so this was supposed to be it."

Then her voice cracked for the first time. "And now he's gone." Her words dissolved into tears and she turned to me. Me, not Anna. I wrapped my arms around her and held her as she wept.

Anna stood rooted, her eyes wide open and staring at me over her sister's head. I tried to look reassuringly at her, but I know I didn't succeed.

"Sister?" she asked, all the fear I realized she'd been masking, too, in her voice. Frontier women. They were human, too. They'd just been trained not to show it.

"She'll be okay," I said, as much to convince myself as Anna. "Eliza? I'm sorry. Dammit. Anna won't care if I use your first name."

Eliza raised her head. She swallowed, hard. The tears had run new streaks down her face through the grime, but her eyes didn't look hollow anymore. I wanted to kiss her. Make it all better, somehow.

She backed up slowly. Her reluctance drew an unwilling smile from my lips. "Better now?"

She reached into the pocket of her skirt and drew out a handkerchief. It wasn't all that clean, but it was cleaner than her face, which she wiped with it. It didn't take her long to pull herself together.

"Thank you, Charley," was all she said, but it made me feel ten feet tall.

RTW: Terrific! Where can we purchase this intriguing story?

MJ: Repeating History is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

RTW: What’s next? Is Repeating History a part of a series?

MJ: Yes. It's always been the first book of three in my mind, although because the second book's hero is Chuck's son/grandfather, and the third book's hero is Chuck's father/grandson (I hope that's not too confusing -- I tend to think of the whole thing as a mobius strip), it's a series only in a fairly loose sense of the term. The second book, True Gold, will be coming out this summer. It is set in 1897-98, on the trail to the Klondike Gold Rush. The third book, Finding Home, is set in 1959, back in Yellowstone, in the days after James finds out that his son ran away and is missing in the aftermath of the earthquake, and will be coming out the end of this year or early next.

RTW: Anything else you’d like to add?

MJ: Just that I've really enjoyed being here. Thank you for having me.

You're welcome, any time!

Stay tuned for Thursday's article when M.M. Justus takes us on a journey through Yellowstone.