JIM WELLER (1:123/140) wrote to STEVEN HORN at 00:01 on 17 Aug 2005:

 JW> Ironically gold was noted in Yellowknife by prospectors on their
 JW> way to the Klondike in 1898 but the initial quantities found were
 JW> small and the assays low so the area was ignored for decades. It
 JW> wasn't until 1933 that Johnny Baker and Herb Dixon made the first
 JW> significant strike. 

 JW> Ultimately Yellowknife was bigger than the Klondike (15 million oz
 JW> vs 12 million) but it was a long drawn out industrial operation and
 JW> not as colourful or romantic as the rush of '98.

That Yellowknife's gold was harvested through hard rock mining is well
known but placer gold is still mined in the Klondike and it built its own
city and industry.

"Gold mining in the Klondike gave birth to an important timber
industry, created the need for better transportation links with the
"outside" and within the territory itself, and provided the
impetus, both directly and indirectly, for the development of the Yukon's
hydro and fossil fuel resources. In turn, these resource developments
improved transportation facilities and electric power, reducing the costs
of mining to such an extent that they made possible large-scale operations
and extended the life of the diggings. Few placer camps enjoyed the
permanency (60 years) of the Klondike gold field. Gold mining provided
employment, again directly and indirectly, on the diggings themselves and
in a variety of subsidiary and service industries, both public and private.
It gave birth to the town of Dawson and a host of smaller communities on
the creeks. In short, gold mining in the Klondike was the foundation of the
territorial economy, almost exclusively until the 1920s, and in good
measure thereafter until base metal mining superseded it in the
1950s".

So wrote Martha Black, herself a stampeder a good 40 years ago.  A
fascinating comment on Discovery Days.

Take care,

Steven Horn (steven.horn{at}gmail.com)
Moderator, ALASKA_CHAT 
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+