Jason's Gold

Knowledge of the geography of the Alaskan coast and routes to the Canadian interior is important for understanding the conflicts in Jason’s Gold. Several paths were available to stampeders in the gold rush, but most people leaving the US chose to outfit themselves in San Francisco or Seattle, and then book steamer passage to the Alaskan coast (“The Last Grand Adventure.” National Park Service). From there, they planned to cross the mountains into Canada, then take a boat through lakes and waterways toward the Yukon River, which led to Dawson City and the goldfields of the Klondike River.

Landscape, climate, and conditions created significant hardships which stampeders’ ignorance exacerbated. Stampeders who assumed they would need tools, tents, sleds, dogs, and pack animals like horses and oxen loaded these expensive “outfits” onto already crowded steamers. Steamers arrived at either the mouth of the Dyea River or the mouth of the Skagway River, the two places on the Alaskan coast with an accessible pass over the mountains into Canada. The “towns” at the mouths of these rivers had no facilities, services, shelter, or stores until after the stampeders began to arrive. Steamers had to dock a mile from shore, as the tidal flats in the coastal inlets were not navigable. Stampeders could hire flat-bottomed boats called scows to transport their gear to shore when the tide was in; when it was not, it took many trips on foot through muddy silt to gather the pieces of one’s outfit. Stampeders’ possessions, consequently, became scattered and often lost in the difficult, disorganized debarkation process.

Next, stampeders had a hard choice: They could either take White Pass, the lower but longer trail out of Skagway, using pack animals to haul gear, or they could take Chilkoot Pass, shorter by 10 miles but too steep for pack animals. So many stampeders crowded White Pass that forward progress was slow; due to the pace and the horrors witnessed on the trail (including abuse of horses and other animals already sick and weak from the steamer journey), many gave up and went home. Others despaired their impetuous choices or became violent. Taking the steep Chilkoot Pass meant abandoning or selling any pack animals, as they could not advance over the summit. “Packers,” people hired to help carry possessions, were a luxury many could not afford.

Those who made it over White Pass found themselves at Lake Bennett, and those who chose the Chilkoot Pass went on to Lake Lindeman. At these lakes, stampeders, most of whom knew little about sailing, had to take down fresh timber and build a boat to continue the trip toward the Yukon River, Dawson City, and the Klondike goldfields. Boatbuilding took days to weeks depending on skill, availability of supplies and tools, and health. The waterways included canyons, rapids, and blustery lakes. Always pressing on the stampeders was the threat of winter; at a point, waterways would begin to freeze, and the ice would trap them along the route.

Jason’s journey depicts many of the geographical conflicts historical stampeders experienced. For example, the chaotic landing sites of Dyea and Skagway astound him, and he feels a sense of urgency to beat winter on the waterways. As for getting over the mountains, Hobbs portrays Jason’s experience of both White Pass and Chilkoot Pass to convey the distinct challenges of each.