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Review Photos tell the true story of the gold rush's reality The Can-Can girls were out and Mrs. Lowe's laundry was in. That basically sums up the idea Graham Wilson had when he chose the period photographs for The Klondike Gold Rush: Photographs from 1896-1899. After rushing supplies off Lynn Canal's tidal flats, climbing the 50-kilometer Chilkoot Trail several times and boating down the Yukon River, a miner still needed his laundry done. So the photo of Mrs. G.I. Lowe's laundry at Bonanza Creek (Mending free of Charge, Fortunes Told) more closely depicts the reality of the gold rush than the Can-Can dancers who now celebrate its centennial. To create an image-driven story that begins in Skagway, climbs the Chilkoot pass and finishes at Dawson City was the goal for the fledgling Wolf Creek Books Inc.'s first book. -- Judith Isbella, Time Colonist, Victoria, BC Product Description Catch gold fever with this comprehensive collection of archival photographs. This is the mother lode of the north - a stunning record of the last great gold rush. With 125 extraordinary images along with fascinating anecdotes and personal accounts, this book reveals the arduous journey north, the frontier towns and the struggles of toiling in the gold fields. Readers will encounter intriguing characters as they experience the adventure of a lifetime. From conmen and prospectors to dog sleds and sluic-boxes, these images are a bonanza of gold rush history. This was the Official Book of the 1998 Klondike Gold Rush Centennial. From the Publisher The Klondike Gold Rush: Photographs from 1896-1899 is part of the 100th Anniversary Collection. This series includes The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway and the forthcoming book Paddlewheelers of Alaska and the Yukon. From the Inside Flap "The inhumanity which this trail has been witness to, the heartbreak and suffering which so many have undergone, cannot be imagined." Clifford Sifton, Canadian Minister of the interior, 1898 From the Back Cover The Klondike Gold Rush Photographs from 1896-1899 is a "best of" collection of the finest historical images. These 125 archival photographs document the Klondike Gold Rush and tell the day-to-day story of the ordinary stampeder. Carefully selected anecdotes and written accounts provide further insights and illumination of this fascinating event. About the Author My fiction has been described as "economical and traditional." I try to define my characters through their actions rather than relying on elaborate descriptions or analysis of motivations. I like lots of surprises and feel that the primary role of the writer is to entertain. As a result I tell strong stories that are hopefully well paced and exciting. I have written professionally for more than two decades. I started my career writing for newspapers, magazines and radio. I have also written dramas for TV and have authored nine books. I studied book publishing at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Stanford University and worked as a Book Publisher for twenty years. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One: When the small steamship Excelsior docked in San Francisco in July 1897, the world was watching. Aboard this vessel were millionaires who had been penniless men only months before. As these scruffy miners swaggered down the gangplank carrying jars, satchels and cases filled with gold, more than five thousand people crowded the docks and cheered. A few days later the steamship Portland landed at Seattle with sixty-eight miners and almost a ton of gold. The news of the find grabbed newspaper headlines and was on everyone's lips. Overnight, the word Klondike took on mythic proportions. Within days thousands flocked to west coast towns from San Francisco to Vancouver trying to book passage north. The fact that the Klondike was more than fifteen hundred miles away and over a precipitous mountain pass would not deter many. Gold fever had grasped the nation, and everyone wante