I <3 Books

1958

Perhaps Berton at his best, and, as with many writers, Berton at his earliest. This, I think, is only his second or third book, and certainly the most ambitious he'd yet attempted. It is a logical starting point for Berton early in his career. For someone who was to go on to write stacks of books of Canadian history, his first major effort is on a topic very familiar to him. Berton grew up in Dawson, surrounded by the remains, both human and physical, of the gold rush. He grew up hearing old tales in the company of people with firsthand knowledge. It seems writing a history of the Klondike was perhaps a massive effort that could be commenced with relative ease. Berton knew enough to know where to start.

The book is brightened throughout by Berton's personal accounts and half-opinions on the topics. Rarely outright making a outright subjective statement, Berton's familiarity with the land and the history is impossible to hide. And, it's these personal accents that make the book one of his best. It is in no way a memoir, and there is no soft anecdotal takes on the events, but the language and attitude he takes towards the story are more authentic.

Gold was discovered near the Klondike river the fall of 1896. Through that winter, anyone already there made buckets of money. But they were all snowed in for the season. There was no going out to spend the money until spring. That winter food was so scarce, but everyone was millionaires. So much, that gold was tossed around and traded carelessly. Bar keepers would nightly sweep the floors of the salloon collecting a fortune in gold dust that fell from men's coats as they danced. Once spring came, so many left to live in luxury in the US, and as soon as the first men made it to civilisation, word spread and the rush was on. For the next 18 months, tens of thousands endured torturous conditions to make it to Dawson city, few realizing how remote and inaccessible it was. Many didn't make it, of those who did, few made much money, most all the good mining sites were already secured. But the pride all who made it felt upon succeeding lasted their entire lives, so that even if they arrived poor and left poorer, they were still, decades later looked at with awe for having been there. Maybe a bit like being in a great battle. Berton's history is a human one. He writes the individual stories, and the grand story comes through piece by piece. There are so many stories, and Berton crams so many in, that he captures the real hectic and frenzied feeling of the time.