The Klondike Stampede

America was gripped in the strangle of the Panic of 1893 depression. Year after year there appeared no end to the desperate misery that had descended on the US, as well as the rest of the world. That was until gold was discovered in the Klondike in 1896. When news of the discovery arrived in Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered one of the largest gold rushes in the history of North America. Tappan Adney, a young newsman and early photojournalist, set out on a journey to uncover what it was like in the Klondike Stampede. To observe and record "one of the most remarkable movements of people in the history of the world."

His book is a fascinating portray of adventurers and prospectors who descended on the Yukon during this extraordinary event. Adney describes in vivid detail the treacherous route that those gold-hunters were forced to pursue in order to make it into the goldfields. The White and Chilkoot Passes were fatal for many who attempted to get through them with either poor equipment or little experience or both (especially pack animals that died in the thousands, forcing the nickname of the 'Dead Horse Trail').

Adney stayed in Dawson, where the gold rush was centered, the following year. While there he interviewed men and women who hoped to make their fortune, observed the community that had seemingly sprung up overnight, and detailed the prospectors search for gold. In addition, he personally took dozens of photographs and drew many illustrations to underscore his narrative.

Many other descriptions of the rush on the Yukon have been written through the years. But Adney's is different from all the others because he was actually there, witness to the phenomenon. "Of hundreds of gold rush accounts, his stands out as one of the best."