CHAPTER 5 QUESTIONS: THE GREAT GOLD RUSH

 1. Outline the Yukon Gold Rush make sure to include the routes to Klondike, Canadian Requirements, and the development of Skagway.

A. Outline

            i. Some guys found gold in the Yukon

ii. News reached the lower 48 of gold

            iii. Everyone scrambles after it

            iv. 3 different ways to reach the Klondike:

1. Starting in Seattle/San Fran/Vancouver and going up the west coast by ship to St. Michael, then taking steamboats up the Yukon river – more expensive, less physical work

                        2. Up the Chikoot trail – shorter but steeper

                        3. White Pass – animals could be taken but it was dangerous for them

B. Canadian Requirements – miners had to prove they had one year’s worth of food and supplies at the border

C. Development of Skagway – it was a seaport and the beginning of the White Pass trail. It was the supply center and became largely populated during the Gold Rush.

2. Who was Soapy Smith?
A con man/gangster who had many elaborate scams and basically ran the criminal element in Skagway.

3. Outline the Nome Gold Rush.
A. On September 22, 1898 gold was found in Anvil Creek near Nome

B. It wasn’t until October of 1899 that it boomed

C. Gold was found on the beaches

D. People were fighting over claims

E. People were unlawful and morally corrupt

4. Outline the gold rush in Fairbanks.
A. Felix Pedro found gold on July 22, 1902

B. ET Barnette established a trading post on Chena River

C. Barnette’s cook went to Dawson with a load of furs and talked about how great Fairbanks was and the gold

D. 800 men came to Fairbanks from Dawson

E. no food

F. Men couldn’t find anything because they didn’t know what they were doing and the gold was deeper than in the Klondike

G. Small Companies dominated the area because they were the ones with the equipment needed

H. Fairbanks became the HQ for the third judicial district

5. Who was Judge Wickersham?
He chose Fairbanks as the HQ for the 3^rd judicial district. He pretty much ran Alaska.

6. How did all these gold rushes change Alaska?
They populated the state, brought attention to Alaska, encouraged development, and increased congressional attention.

Klondike Gold Rush

Nome Gold Rush

Fairbanks Gold Rush