'Railway Built on Gold'

摘要

On 17th July 1897, newspaper headlines in Seattle proclaimed to the world that "Gold" had been discovered in the cold and barren wilderness of the Yukon Territory and this triggered the human stampede that was to become known as the "Klondike Gold Rush". Skagway, Alaska suddenly became the focal point for gold prospectors and fortune seekers from far and wide and during the coursE of the ensuing year, hundreds of men and more than 3000 horses would die trying to traverse the 600 miles over the mountains inrnsearch of riches. Although many early attempts were made to climb the steep Chilkoot Pass, on foot, most people decided that it was easier to negotiate the White Pass up from Skagway and this soon became the favoured route.