Jack London and the Klondike Gold rush

1
Jack London and the Klondike Gold rush

• The world of Call of the Wild

2
The Authors Early Life

• Born John Griffith London in 1876 (San Francisco)
• His mother was unmarried but from a wealthy
  family.
• Jacks Mother married a disabled Civil War
  Veteran named John London in late 1876.
• Because his mother was ill from the time of
  birth, Jack was raised by Virginia Prentiss, who
  had been a slave prior to the Civil War.

3
School Years

• Jack attended grade school in Oakland.
• After grade school, London began working at
  various jobs gathering oysters from the bay,
  fish patrol, sealer, hobo.
• At 19, he returned to complete high school at
  Oakland High.
• He attended UC Berkeley for 6 months before
  dropping out.
• He loved to read and dreamed of becoming a writer
  to escape a life as a factory worker.

4
London in the Yukon

• In 1897, he spent a winter in the Yukon which
  provided him with material to begin his writing
  career.
• The Call of the Wild (1903)
• White Fang (1906)
• To Build a Fire (1908)
• Becomes the best-selling, highest paid and most
  popular American author of his time

5
Other London Facts

• Themes he visited again and again in his writing
• Survival
• Struggle of Man Vs. Nature
• Death and Dying
• London was a chronic risk-taker (ex. swimming
  across S.F. Bay drunk at age 16)
• Married twice had two children
• Developed kidney disease, stomach disturbances
• Died at age 40 some say suicide from morphine
  overdose
• Others say uremic poisoning (on death certificate)

6

• Map of Gold Rush Routes

7
Yukon Gold Rush

• Started July 1897
• More than 100,000 people fought through some of
  the most grueling physical labor and extreme
  weather conditions in an effort to "get rich
  quick.
• Hazards included
• - Fierce avalanches
• - 60 mph winds in 65 degrees below zero
• temperatures
• - Crossing Chilkoot Pass - 1,000 feet
• straight up
• - Crossing frozen rivers and lakes in the
• winter and dangerous rapids other times
  
• of year
• - Most people traveled over one of two
• trails - the Skagway Trail and the Dyea
• Trail to get to Dawson City.

8
On the Trail
Chilkoot Pass
9
The Hostile Yukon

• Snow at the top of Chilkoot Pass could reach a
  depth of 70 feet.
• Life in the tent cities on the American side of
  the border was disorderly and chaotic. Necomers -
  chechaquo - were often robbed of all they
  brought.
• On the Canadian side, the Royal Canadian Mounted
  Police maintained strict law and order. They made
  and enforced practical rules on the spot.
• Many wrongdoings, including murder in the heat of
  passion, were tolerated along the trail. However,
  one crime was unforgivable stealing another
  travelers cache of supplies.

10
Stampeders Supply List

• Outfit for two men for fourteen months, food and
  clothing, Sitka (Alaska)
• 4 barrels best flour
• 200 pounds granulated sugar,
• 200 pounds navy beans,
• 100 pounds of corn meal
• 250 pounds of breakfast bacon
• 5 pounds of island rice
• 2 cases condensed milk
• 20 pounds of salt
• 25 pounds best Mocha and Java coffee
• 10 pounds best tea
• 8 pounds baking soda
• 20 pounds baking powder25 pounds dried apricots
• 25 pounds dried peaches
• 25 pounds dried apples
• 2 boxes candles
• 1 box pepper, 25 cents
• soap
• 3 boxes yeast,

• one-half tin of matches,
• 1 Yukon stove
• 3 half-spring shovels
• 3 miners picks
• 1 double-bladed ax complete
• 13 oil sacks, 50's and 100's
• 2 gold pans,
• one coffee mill,
• 12 condensed onions
• 10 pounds evaporated spuds
• 40 pounds rope
• 2 pounds Soap
• 1 Toilet
• 6 tin plates
• 3 granite cups,
• 1 coffee pot,
• whetstone,
• Awls, shoe thread, wax, bristles,
• 2 fry pans,

11
Supply List Continued

• 1 magnet,
• 2 pairs goggles,
• 2 pairs snow glasses
• 1 dozen bandana handkerchiefs
• 1 lot spoons, knives and forks
• 1 butcher knife
• 4 oil blankets
• 1 lot buckets, pans, cooking utensils, etc
• tent,
• 1 41 Colts revolver and ammunition
• 1 Winchester rifle and ammunition
• 2 fur caps
• 1 whipsaw
• 1 package chocolate
• 2 miners candlesticks
• 1 iron brace and bits
• 24 pounds of raisins
• Outfit for boat
• 30 pounds nails

• 1 jack pane,
• Paint brush,
• 4 candle wicks,
• 2 pairs oars
• 3 pairs heavy wool blankets
• 2 pairs pack straps
• 1 hand ax,
• 2 pairs hip rubber boots, leather soles,
• 2 pairs high top lace shoes
• 4 pairs German socks
• 2 pairs lumbermans rubbers
• 2 pairs suspenders
• 4 suits heavy wool underwear
• 4 dark blue flannel over shirts
• 4 pairs Mackinaw pants
• 2 Mackinaw coats
• 2 blanket coats
• 12 pairs wool socks
• 6 pairs wool mittens

12
Life in 1900

• Zeppelin - first maneuverable balloon (1900)
• Vacuum Cleaner (1901)
• Airplane
• (1903)
• Radar (for Shipping) (1904)
• Color Photography (1904)
• Synthetic Plastic (1905)

• 1 in 7 homes had a bathtub
• 1 in 13 homes had a telephone
• Brownie camera 1
• 1 lb.of sugar 4 cents
• 1dozen eggs 14 cents
• 1 lb. of butter 24 cents
• Average weekly earnings 9.70

13

• Draw the following graphic organizer, and fill in
  the missing information.

survival
instinct
training
14
Quickwrite 1
What would it be like to live during this time
period?
15
Quickwrite 2
What special problems are faced by someone trying
to survive in a very cold climate? What materials
does a person need to survive, for example, in
the Arctic? Are the problems faced by an animal -
such as a sled dog - different from the problems
faced by his master?