Who Discovered Klondike Gold?

Introduction 

One of the most significant historical mysteries that remain unsolved in Canada is the discovery of the Klondike gold. Who made such a transformational discovery? One person from a group of individuals stands out. The gold rush and discovery occurred in the last quarter of the 19 th century following the actions of the individuals. This group includes an American George Washington Carmack, his wife Kate Carmack, and his in-laws Skookum Jim and Dawson Charley who were First Nations men as well as a Canadian. Robert Henderson, who, although was absent during the discovery, is said to have provided them with the direction to where the gold was. Various sources exist that attribute this remarkable discovery to the people mentioned above. After the breakthrough occurred, thousands of people would move into Dawson which had previously been swampy, thereby resulting in one of the most famous and most significant gold rushes in the history of the world. 

The same way historians struggle to solve this historical puzzle, so do the students of History. Thus, the paper posits that George Washington Carmack discovered Klondike gold because, among other things, he was a dedicated foreigner on exploration for gold. Substantial evidence also exists linking him to the historical development that led to the discovery as opposed to any other contender. Further, he was also considered the leader of the party that discovered the gold as he led them through to where the discovery was made and also because of the dream about finding the gold that he had which gave him an instinctive impulse. 

George Washington Carmack -the Discoverer of Klondike Gold 

He was a foreigner who was on a dedicated exploration. 

George Washington Carmack was an American and not an indigenous or native Canadian as opposed to the rest of his party with which he made the discovery. As had happened in other parts of the Western world such as Mexico in the sixteenth century and California two centuries later, the possibility of the gold strike had been a powerful force that had lured men into new and unchartered territories 1 . Washington Carmack had been one of such men lured into Yukon by the possibility of the existence of gold. Others had come before him but were not lucky enough to have made the discovery, although they had been able to find little traces of gold. His uncovering was followed by the famous gold rush which saw tens of thousands of people move to Yukon –this aspect in itself makes him the inherent discoverer of the Klondike gold. 

Although he was an outsider whom the people of the region did not readily welcome because of their protective nature of their territories, George Carmack closely associated with them and lived a life that was not similar to that of a typical miner. He married two sisters, Skookum Kate who was present during the discovery –whom he married parallel to the Tagish tradition after the sister he had married first passed on. He was able to speak a bit of the native dialect and lived almost like a naïve Tagish man. 2 Because of his closeness with the natives who had a better knowledge of the region, he was able to explore the area better than any other foreigner. Foreigners made most discoveries in History with the help of natives, and thus the Klondike uncovering can be attributed to George Carmack. 

He is assumed to have been the leader of the party 

The second reason that supports the claim that George Washington Carmack was the discoverer of the Klondike gold is the fact that he acted as the leader of the party that is considered to have made the most significant discovery of the gold. The discovery party was made up of George Carmack himself, his wife Kate Carmack and two of his in-laws one who was Skookum Jim, Kate’s cousin and Tagish Charlie, Kate’s nephew. 3 Some sources quote other members of the party as having been the individuals to have made the discovery. On August 17 th , 1896, Carmack's wife Kate Carmack in the company of her husband, and the two of her male relatives discovered vibrant gold in a tributary creek, later to be called Bonanza, which flows into River Klondike just before it joins Yukon. George Carmack was assumed to have been the leader of the group. 

According to Jim’s narrative, the three men had been hunting and killed a moose after which they built a fire so they could cook their meat and make some tea as well. To get water for cooking, Kate went down to the Creek and surprisingly, she noticed nuggets of gold pieces of which she carried with her back to Carmack. After that, they proceeded to inspect the bed of the Creek and found gold in large quantities 4 . Having been a female, her claim to the discovery would, therefore, possibly not hold and had to be given to the leader of the group who was her husband. He, Carmack led further investigation into the bed of the Creek and found more gold. Others also indicate that it was Skookum Jim who discovered the gold while hunting moose. However much these assertions may be true, the credit of the discovery would still go to Carmack because he was responsible for the coming together of the group and acted as their leader. So it is assumable that in his absence, the group would not have come together and therefore the supposed discoverer would not have had the chance. 

Carmack had met Robert Henderson when the latter arrived at the mouth of River Klondike after which he shared with him his expedition and invited him so that Carmack could try his luck. He, however, refused to let Carmack's Indian friends come along because he did not like them. 5 The following day after declining Henderson’s offer because he could not leave his friends behind, Carmack and his friends set for the adventure following Henderson but branched to a different tributary of the Klondike River. Along the way, they found little traces of gold and continued until they reached Henderson’s camp, where they never stayed for long but journeyed back over the ridge and down the Rabbit Creek. Three days later, when their supply had run out, Jim, fortunately, killed a moose and called the others. As he waited, he went to quench his thirst at the Creek; it is at this point that he saw the gold. After which, they tested the gravel and filled the cartilage of their short gun with gold. The following day, Carmack wrote about his discovery in pencil. 6 Therefore, had Carmack decided to go with Henderson, the party would not have made the discovery. So whoever uncovered the gold among the members of the party even if it may not have been Carmack, the credit would still go to him due to his responsibilities in the party. 

Skookum Jim might have been the discoverer, as indicated in some sources, but as was stated, he had no idea what it was. After his sister, Kate, and brother in law had been away for more than two years, and rather than a year as they had planned, he formed a party to go and look for them. They built a boat that would see them through to Yukon River to the mouth of Klondike River where they found them. 7 After they did, George told them about the existence of gold on the Klondike valley, and so they decided to prospect after George suggested so. As they prospected, along with Charlie, Skookum's cousin, it started raining, and they built a fire and waited for the rain to subside. It was then that Skookum Jim went to the Creek to get water for tea, where he noticed a yellow colored rock. Not knowing what it was, he picked a piece of it and took it back and asked George what it was. He informed him that it was gold. 8 It was George Carmack who had the idea about what Shookum had while the latter had no clue. He was also the one who had suggested they carry out a prospection which led to Jim's discovery. All the same, the idea had initially been his, and so he can be claimed as the discoverer of Klondike gold. 

Evidence that backs his claim s exist 

Several pieces of evidence exist in writing that supports the claim. After the party had made the discovery, Carmack who was the only one among them fluent in English set claim, which would remain evident written in English. While they were stacking their assertions, Carmack is reported to have taken a stubby pencil and wrote about the upstream of the spruce which read: "To whom it may concern: I do this day, locate and claim by right of discovery, five hundred feet, running upstream from this notice. Located this 17 th day of August 1896. G.W. Carmack." He went ahead and helped the two men in his company to mark their claims after which he further wrote: "I name this Creek Bonanza. George Carmack". 9 The evidence of the discovery puts him at the center when attempts are made to find the real discoverer because it points at him. His companions knew little English and could neither read nor write the language. Therefore, all the work and staking of claims was carried out by George Carmack, which put him in the right position as the original discoverer even if there is a possibility that he could not have been the first member of the party to see the gold. The evidence would be enough proof. 

Evidence also exists which show Carmack telling other miners about his discovery as they left the discovery site. He recorded in his book that after they had gone a short distance, they met a group of men who were moving up the stream with who he shared his discovery. Carmack narrated that it made him feel like he had dealt himself a royal flush and that the whole world was a jackpot to him. 10 Being that he was responsible for spreading the news to the other prospectors and the rest of the world makes him the discoverer. More evidence exists that categorically points George Washington Carmack as the man who discovered the Klondike gold. Recorded notes on the Yukon district where the discovery occurred indicate that in August 1896, George Carmack found coarse gold in the Klondike valley, after which a gold rush occurred. 11 Pierre Berton also wrote crediting George Carmack alongside his party as the discoverers of the Klondike gold. He wrote that the Rabbit Creek gold discovery spearheaded the great Klondike gold rush thanks to George Washington Carmack and his company of Indian brothers-in-law after Robert Henderson tipped them. 12 

In as much as gold had been discovered around the area in small quantities by prospectors such as Robert Henderson, the deposit uncovered in August 1896 was the one that led to the massive gold rush and what would be called the Klondike gold. The traces had been discovered in various tributaries of the river, which led to a gradual increase in its production with the hope that more undiscovered gold was hidden somewhere in the region. It is a hope that would later come true after George Carmack and his companions arrived at Forty Mile where they made a great discovery. Individuals who saw the gold that they brought along were convinced that it was not from any of the sources with which they were familiar. 13 That was an indication that it was a discovery and they gave credit to Carmack, who showed it to them. Therefore, with all the evidence, George Washington Carmack is as well considered to have discovered the Bonanza gold. 

He had a dream that gave him an impulse to explore 

Certain kind of natural desire can push an individual into doing something that can always turn out to be significant or even lead up to discovery. Such was the case of George Carmack according to specific historical writings. In one particular night before the discovery of gold in Yukon, Carmack had been sleeping when he had an almost real dream. In his vision, Carmack was seated at the bank of a stream with blue water when he saw sail-like dorsal fins of grayling which he had been observing in the pool suddenly disappear. Carmack then saw two large salmons whose scales composed of shiny gold swim into the pool with their eyes covered with gold. In his dream, he then attempted to grab one of the salmons only to wake up while clutching his right ear. Carmack translated this to be a revelation that somewhere around in a blue-watered stream with salmon had large chunks of gold which were waiting for him to discover them. 14 This dream is believed to have given the American the natural desire to hunt for the gold he had seen in his vision while at the same time, fish for the salmon. He and his wife then set sail to hunt for the gold. In the end, his dream had given him an intuitive push that led to the discovery, which makes him the mastermind behind the same. 

Differentially, Kate has also been connoted as one of the possible contenders of the Klondike gold discovery in some sources. However, according to James Johnson’s book, Carmack spreads the good news , after Carmack and his companions had made the discovery and marked their claims, they started the journey back to their fish camp at the exit of Klondike. They needed tools including new saws, hammers as well as nails, which they opted to buy after they had sold the logs they had cut and left at the fish camp. On their way down, they met two groups that were headed to Henderson and told them of the discovery. When they reached the camping site, where Kate had been all that time, George broke the news to her. "Look here, Kate, look here…plenty of gold, plenty of gold," he told her. 15 On this accord, Carmack was responsible for the spread of the news of the discovery, which earns him the status of being the actual discoverer. 

Conclusion 

Indeed, as proven by the discourse of the paper, George Carmack discovered the Klondike gold. Based on the evidence from various historical sources that mention his contribution towards the discovery of the Klondike gold, the intuitive impulse that he developed after the dream he had about the Bonanza gold, and the fact that he was a non-native explorer who had been pulled by the magnetic wave of the possible existence of gold in Klondike –George Washington Carmack remains the most significant contributor towards the discovery if not the discoverer. Further, he led the team that discovered the gold; hence, all these assertions make him the persons of interest in the Klondike gold discovery, which immediately inspired the world's most famous gold rush. Although as other sources record, Carmack may have had substantial assistance from the rest of the contenders, his contribution truly transcends those made by the rest of the candidates. 

Bibliography 

Berton Pierre, "Ruée vers l'or du Klondike," The Canadian Encyclopedia, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA 0004349, (2006) 

Carmack, George W. " My Experiences in the Yukon " (n.p.: n.p., ca. 1922), 14-16 

Coates, Ken S., and Morrison R. William. Land of the Midnight sun: A History of the Yukon. (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005), 49-56) 

Cruikshank, Julie. "Images of society in Klondike gold rush narratives: Skookum Jim and the discovery of gold."  Ethnohistory  (1992): 20-41. 

Dawson George M., " Historical Notes on the Yukon District " (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1898), 15-16 

Gates, Michael " Gold At Fortymile Creek " (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1994), 131-9 

Green Lewis, " The Gold Hustlers " (Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, 1977), 1-3 

Johnson, Albert James George Carmack Discovers Gold (from Carmack of the Klondike)  (Fairbanks: Epicenter Press and Horsdal and Schubert, 1990), 65-77 

Les McLaughlin, "What Did Henderson Actually Say?"  Whitehorse Star , April 5th, 2002 

Mme Emilie Tremblay,  A Female Pioneer in the Yukon  (Chicoutimi: Publications de la Societe Historique du Saguenay, 1948), from p. 42 

Yukon Territorial Archives, 88/58 SR Tape 11-3, 11-4, Johnnie John, "Skookum Jim Discovers Gold," Anita, n.d 

1 Ken S. Coates, and William R. Morrison. Land of the Midnight sun: A History of the Yukon. (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005), 49-56) 

2 Michael Gates, " Gold At Fortymile Creek " (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1994), 131-9 

3 Julie Cruikshank. "Images of society in Klondike gold rush narratives: Skookum Jim and the discovery of gold."  Ethnohistory  (1992): 20-41. 

4 Mme Emilie Tremblay,  A Female Pioneer in the Yukon  (Chicoutimi: Publications de la Societe Historique du Saguenay, 1948), from p. 42 

5 Les McLaughlin, "What Did Henderson Say?," Whitehorse Star , April 5th, 2002 

6 Michael Gates, " Gold At Fortymile Creek " (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1994), 131-9 

7 Yukon Territorial Archives, 88/58 SR Tape 11-3, 11-4, Johnnie John, "Skookum Jim Discovers Gold," Anita, n.d. 

8 Ibid., 13 

9 James Albert Johnson,  Carmack spreads the good news (from Carmack of the Klondike)  (Fairbanks: Epicenter Press and Horsdal and Shubert, 1990), 78-84 

10 George W. Carmack, " My Experiences in the Yukon " (n.p.: n.p., ca. 1922), 14-16 

11 George M. Dawson, " Historical Notes on the Yukon District " (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1898), 15-16 

12 Pierre Berton, "Ruée vers l'or du Klondike," The Canadian Encyclopedia, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004349, (2006)) 

13 Lewis Green, " The Gold Hustlers " (Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, 1977), 1-3 

14 James Albert Johnson,  George Carmack Discovers Gold (from Carmack of the Klondike)  (Fairbanks: Epicenter Press and Horsdal and Schubert, 1990), 65-77 

15 Ibid., 70