MP-0000.103.9 | Miners, foot of Chilcoot, Alaska, 1897
Miners, foot of Chilcoot, Alaska, 1897
Edwin Tappan Adney
1897, 19th century
Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process
8 x 8 cm
MP-0000.103.9
© McCord Museum
Description
Keywords: event (534) , History (944) , Photograph (77678)
Keys to History
At the foot of the Chilkoot Pass the miners organize their gear for the climb. The Canadian-American boundary is at the top of the pass, and the mounted police there will not let anyone into Canada without six months worth of supplies or $500 in cash. Most of the miners have little money; the rich ones have gone to the Klondike by passenger steamer up the Yukon River. This means 15-20 trips up the steep pass for each miner, carrying food, tools, tents, woodstoves-everything they need to survive in the North. It is the terrible effort of making the climb so many times, not the pass itself, that will defeat many of the goldseekers.
Source : Off to the Klondike! The Search for Gold [Web tour], by William R. Morrison, University of Northern British Columbia (see Links)
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What
These boxes and canvas bags hold miners' tools, clothes and food.
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Where
The location is at the foot of the Chilkoot Pass, just before the Canadian-American boundary.
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When
The date is 1897, probably late summer, since by the end of October there would have been many feet of snow on the ground.
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Who
These men are miners desperate to get to the goldfields. The horse is not going with them; it was impossible for horses to climb the Chilkoot Pass.
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