On Aug. 16, 1896, four individuals were stopped along Rabbit Creek in northern Canada. In the water, one of them saw something that changed Canada forever: gold. That discovery sparked the Klondike Gold Rush. This is the story of some of those involved in that discovery. 🧵 1/9
George Carmack: The common-law husband of Shaaw Tláa, he was known locally as Lyin' George due to his exaggerated claims. Carmack claimed he saw the gold first, and he staked a double "discovery claim". He became wealthy and eventually abandoned Kate and remarried. 🧵 2/9
Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack): The common-law wife of George Carmack and a member of the Tlingit Crow Clan, some believe it was Shaaw Tláa that saw the gold first. After George left, she raised her daughter in a cabin built for her by her brother Keish. 🧵 3/9
Keish (Skookum Jim): A member of the Tagish First Nation and the brother of Shaaw Tláa, both Keish and his nephew Káa Goox stated he saw the gold first. He filed one claim and became wealthy. He used his money to help his family and the Tagish People. 🧵 4/9
K̲áa Goox̱ (Dawson Charlie): The nephew of Keish and Shaaw Tláa, he staked one claim at the site and also became wealthy. He died tragically when he fell off a railway bridge in 1908. His niece was Tagish storyteller Ch'óonehte' Ma Stóow (Angela Johns). 🧵 5/9
Joseph Ladue: Ladue had lived in the area since 1882. A few days after the gold discovery, he staked a claim of 160 (or 178) acres of land at the mouth of the Klondike River. He named the site Dawson City for geologist George Mercer Dawson. His townsite made him wealthy. 🧵 6/9
Robert Henderson: Henderson was walking to Fortymile to get supplies when he told Carmack there was a bit of gold in the Klondike River. After the gold strike, Carmack did not tell Henderson. Henderson never became wealthy but he is credited as a co-discover of the gold. 🧵 7/9
After the gold strike, 100,000 people went towards the Klondike. Only 30,000 made it to Dawson City and only a few thousand staked gold claims and only a few hundred became rich. Learn more in my Deep Dive 👇 canadaehx.com/2020/12/05/t... 🧵 8/9
I hope you enjoyed that look at the Klondike Gold Strike. If you enjoy my Canadian history content, you can support my work with a donation at 👇 www.buymeacoffee.com/craigu *sources in next post* 🧵 9/9
Sources: Yukon Nuggets: buff.ly/c8I5n9Y Canadian Encyclopedia: buff.ly/WGfsyDU Parks Canada: buff.ly/zV0fj8w Dawson City: buff.ly/HO0pzeu
It's a fascinating story on so many levels! 'Gold Fever' is such a universal phenomenon, spanning at least the latter half of human history time-wise. And it seems to bring out some of the best and the very worst in human nature. 😍💰🎖👑☠