Klondike King Research Paper

The Klondike King’s Reign Everything must fall in its due course, but the end comes sooner for some people rather than later. The Klondike era is an appropriate example of this, as Klondike Kings (rich miners profiting from the Klondike Gold Rush) mostly eventually deteriorated into debt and poverty. Klondike Kings were rich for many years, but for the most part became poor after the boom towns became near ghost towns. A prime example of this is Alex McDonald, one of the biggest Klondike Kings. After being influenced by many events and influencing a generation, he was portrayed accurately in Jack London’s Call of the Wild. Alex McDonald was born to two miners in Nova Scotia, Canada. After he grew up, he went into California to try mining

It was the perfect rags to riches story that would drive miners through the tough climate and circumstances, including Alex McDonald. It was heartening to the future Klondikers to find men stepping off the ship, suddenly rich, because of the gold in shoes, hats, scarves, and anywhere else the miners could find to stuff the gold. Alex McDonald was poor before he became rich, and desperate to find cash. He saw the gold as a mean to an end, and was carrying on his family’s traditions. The cold temperatures, blizzards, and avalanches drove away - and sometimes killed- three-fourths of the competition. The constant frigidness posed constant dangers. After the Great Panic of 1893, the surrounding countries were keen to get gold, and the people were eager to save and get rich. He influenced many individuals, as everyone wanted to be as rich and popular as him. He drove a region forward and helped boost the economy. On the other hand, the very nature and his mannerisms that provided a hand in his success, also provided his eventual demise. Permafrost made it hard to mine, and his negligent attitude towards his wealth and gold eventually made him destitute. A quote he once said makes this quite evident. He said “Here take it. It’s trash,” to Lady Minto when he presented her with a gold and ivory brooch depicting a miner.

After all, I wouldn’t want to risk life and limb to earn a living, even if it was for a fortune. Nor would I have spent my money carelessly, or at least so I hope. Regardless, our respective differences are partly due to our upbringing and the times that reared us. Perhaps if he had lived in the early twenty first century, he would have felt or acted differently on his personal beliefs. After all, I’m growing up in an age where every person has the opportunity to communicate and learn news nearly instantaneously. The people today care more about the world around them and have less of a localized feel. We also don’t form as strong bonds with our neighbors as in the nineteenth century. If he was born in a different continent,he might have never gone to the Klondike Rush. He and his family, village, or tribe might be too far away to hear of the Klondike Gold Rush, both a loss and a gain for