Name ______Date______

Mr. Zindman ELA

Klondike Miners
By Mary Lynn Bushong

1There have been many gold rushes all over the world. Many have taken place in North America. The first big gold rush in North America took place in North Carolina in 1803. It was not a rush as we know it because the land was already privately or state owned. No one could stake a claim. One of the most famous gold rushes took place in California in 1849. In 1874, another occurred in Cassiar, British Columbia. Then in 1897, miners rushed to Alaska and the Yukon in Canada during the Klondike gold rush.
2At that time, jobs and money were in short supply. People thought the gold rush was an easy way to get rich quick.
3Many men left their families and went north. The Yukon was Canadian land, but it was hard to get to. Most people went to Skagway, Alaska, first. If the rivers were open, they might buy a ticket on a steam boat to Dawson City. If it was winter or they had no money, they went cross country.
4What kind of supplies would a miner need? To get into Canada, they had to have a year's worth of food. They also had to have other supplies. This was some of the food they had to take: 400 pounds of flour, 150 pounds of bacon, 125 pounds of dried beans, 75 pounds of dried fruit, 25 pounds each of rolled oats, sugar, and dried potatoes, 15 pounds of salt, 10 pounds each of coffee and tea, 8 pounds of baking powder, plus soap, mustard, and matches. Altogether, the supplies weighed nearly 1,000 pounds!
5Hopeful miners also had to have wood stoves, tools, tents, clothes, cooking utensils, rope, and other necessary items. Those things weighed another 1,000 pounds!
6As many as 100,000 men and 1,000 women tried to go to the Klondike. Many saw how difficult it would be to go to Dawson City when they were in Skagway. They turned around and went home. Others gave up on the trail. Most had never mined before and did not have the slightest idea of the work involved. Many assumed the gold could just be picked up off the ground.
7Those 30,000 or 40,000 who made it to Dawson City had other problems. By 1898, all the best claims were already taken. Some of the miners went home, and some found other jobs. Some took claims farther from the richest areas.
8Once a miner had a claim, he had to find the gold. Many times it was under the ground ten or more feet. In this cold area of Canada, the ground was frozen all year around a foot or so below the surface. To dig through the permafrost, it had to be thawed.
9A miner would choose the most likely place to dig and go down as far as he could. Then he would build a fire to thaw more of the ground.
10While the ground was thawing, the miner had other work. He would put the dirt in the sluice box and wash it. The box was made to work like a stream. It would wash away all the dirt so the miner could see what was left in the box. He could look at the stones and toss anything he did not want. The gold nuggets and dust would be caught in the bottom.
11The miners worked long days digging and washing dirt. Most had only tents as homes, even in the winter when it could get colder than -40 degrees C. Then it was too cold to work their claims.
12In the end, most miners did not find much gold. It did not matter how long and hard they worked. Those who made the most money were those who sold the supplies. In just a couple of years, the gold rush was mostly over. Most of the miners went home.
13The Klondike gold rush was the reason for the Yukon Territory becoming a province of Canada on June 13, 1898. Dawson City's new wealth from the gold rush provided electric lights and fire hydrants. It is no wonder the people of the Yukon celebrate the gold rush every summer on Yukon Discovery Day!

Klondike Miners

1. / Why was the Klondike Gold Rush so important to people?


/ 2. / What did a miner need to get into Canada?
A year's worth of food
A ton of food
Passport
A job offer
3. / How much did all the food weigh?
900 lbs.
500 lbs.
1,000 lbs.
700 lbs.
/ 4. / What was the city near the Klondike called?


5. / No women went to the Klondike.
False
True
/ 6. / A miner had to take steps to find the gold. Put them in order.
______, ______, ______, ______

a. / Melt the permafrost

b. / Dig

c. / Stake a claim

d. / Wash the dirt
7. Read paragraph 12, what was the result of the Klondike gold rush?
______
______
______
______/ 8. In paragraph 4, what supplies did a miner need?
______
______
______
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