Gold at Fortymile Creek: Early Days in the Yukon

by Michael Gates

Book Overview

Gold at Fortymile Creek tells the story of the search for gold in the Yukon before the great Klondike gold rush. Michael Gates writes about the life and times of the early pioneers, who suffered unimaginable hardships in search of the big strike. It is a story about survival and adversity, life and death, good times and bad on one of the harshest, most formidable frontiers in the world. The book, based on the accounts of dozens of prospectors, follows...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0774804920
• ISBN13: 9780774804929
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: University of British Columbia Press
• Length: 215 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent history book.

Michael Gates' book is an excellent history of gold exploration in the Yukon region prior to the Klondike gold rush stampede of 1897-98. Gates points out very well how important transportation and communciations were at the time, as well as the logistical difficulties of food supplies, and the role of poor diet to the miners' health. He also shows how little it took to create a stampede even among experienced prospectors, the development and role of the trading companies, the code of behavior among the early-day prospectors, and the personalities of the miners. Gary Christenson

"Gold Rush" is excellent reading

I throughly enjoyed this book. Gates does an excellent job in going into enough detail to make the book interesting but not heavy and boring. Having been an Alaska resident for 11 years and answering people's questions about that great state I was surprised in my knowledge gap concerning the gold rush. They still mine gold in Alaska today but not like they did then. It was dangerous just to get to where the gold was not to mention getting it out of the ground and trying to survive the harsh winters. This book is an educational, informative piece of work. It covers all aspects of a miner's life and several colorful characters from the gold rush. A great, fun to read book. If Alaska and the Yukon spark you interest and daydreams, this book, both paperback and hardcover, are well worth the asking price. This book will be one of the gems of your library. J.Grimes