What Was It Like To Be In The Yukon Gold Rush

In 1897, the US was at the tail end of an economic recession now known as the Panic of 1893. Many Americans were struggling to feed their families or keep a roof over their heads. So when news got out that gold has been found in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon, thousands of people hastily uprooted themselves and headed north to take part in rushing to remote northwestern Canada.

#yukon #goldrush #weirdhistory

[swiftymcshifty]

born and raised yukoner here. gold mining is still one of the biggest parts of our economy. the amount of people that still move up here to work the gold mines is crazy but its better money than it was back then

[ronkirk]

Great video which holds special interest for me. Back in the day, I backpacked the Chilkoot trail from Skagway to Bennett lake, then canoed from there to Dawson City and the Klondike river via the head water lakes and Yukon river (actually continued on to the Bering sea) thus completing the Klondike gold rush route. Canada and Alaska have both done a great job preserving the history of this gold rush. On the Yukon river you can see restored RCMP posts, small settlements and paddle wheel steamboats. If you fly over the Klondike river you can see that the natural environment there has been severely degraded by mining which still goes on there today on an industrial scale. Later I kayaked from Seattle to Skagway (twice) completing the entire route used by most of the gold rush participants. Awesome county up there.

[nopeyadayadayada]

Your dig at the CHP at 4:40 was unfounded. 20 years ago I was driving back from Reno on I-80 and was stopped by the CHP for expired tags. I had burger wrappers from Burger King on the seat as I had loaded up on them on the outskirts of Reno...to cut the story short. The burger wrappers and unbeknownst stray slice of pickle on my chest didn't get me out of the ticket.
Makes me wonder if the outcome would've been different if I had donut instead of burger residue.

[abdelali]

The only Klondike rush that I'd like is the one with the ice cream bars.

[dr.barrycohn]

As always, the narrator, Tom Blank, hits a home run on the topic for the day. Very informative topic. The ones who made money who were the one's selling miner's equipment. The ones who were least prepared, died pretty easy.

[joermnyc]

I played the video game “Yukon Trail” (like “Oregon Trail”), picked a First Nations woman as the guide (figured she knew the land better than anyone else), and though my character and her had many setbacks (she broke her leg at some point), they made a small profit and even got married and started a family at the end!

[questfortruth]

I live in the California gold rush town of "Rough and Ready, CA" and the local wisdom is that the people who made the most money from the gold rush were the people who sold shovels, pickaxes, and wheelbarrows!! I'm guessing the same thing in the Klondike!

[sethkaicer]

Weird history taught me how to pan for gold in my backyard.

[pamelamays]

Suggestion: The Nevada Silver Rush.
Also, lesser known gold rushes.

[tremorsfan]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The real money was made by the people who sold supplies to the miners at ridiculous markup.

[kirbymarchbarcena]

The gold rush really damaged so many lives and properties at that time

[spacekadebt]

Hands down my favorite YT channel. I feel like this content is better than most documentaries I pay to watch.

[runenummedal]

My great grandfather travelled to Alaska from Norway to participate in the gold rush.... and he actually made it back home with enough gold for his son to spend it all on upgrading the family farm with the (at the time) biggest and fanciest barn in the whole district. It actually became an attraction that attracted people from miles around. Sadly my great grandfather ended up in a mental hospital and died there from pneumonia. It is said that the family kept a jar of gold dust for many years afterwards, until it ended up getting stolen, probably by some travelling salesman or something.

[selfiekroos]

Cold, dirty, dangerous and savage. What a life.

[WaiferThyme]

I read that the golden staircase was brutal to climb and many people died trying it

[NewMessage]

Thar's gold in this here YT Channel!
* does a little jig *

[proudamerican]

Great video 👍
Topic suggestion: Colorado silver boom in Leadville 1879 - 1893
Horace & Baby Doe Tabor and Doc Holliday stories would make for a great Weird History video!

[hisforhistory]

Great video! For some reason I love the history of the Yukon Gold Rush.

[ShallowApple]

No matter what anyone may say 19th century men and women of America were built different from the railway to gold mining to uprooting yourself from everything and everyone they knew not knowing if they’d survive the harsh realities that existed what a feat of amazement.

[heatherlouise]

thanks for covering this! as a born and raised yukoner it was nice to hear all the familiar names from a long watched narrartor