Chilkoot Pass
Chilkoot Pass is a high mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point along the Chilkoot Trail, which leads from Dyea, Alaska, to Bennett Lake, British Columbia. The Chilkoot Trail was long a route used by the Tlingit for trade.
During the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 19th century, it was used by prospectors and packers to get through the mountains. During the gold rush, three aerial tramways and several surface hoists were constructed and operated briefly over the pass. When the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad was built in neighboring White Pass, the Chilkoot Pass route fell out of favor with miners.
The Pass and the Trail are administered by the national park services of the U.S. and Canada. On the B.C. side, it is administered as Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site. On the Alaska side, it is one unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. In the summer of 1998, the Site and the Park united to form Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park. Modern-day visitors can hike the trail after registering and paying a fee.
Background
The Klondike Gold Rush began on August 16, 1896, on Bonanza Creek, near Dawson, about east of the Alaskan border.The Chilkoot Trail is reported to have spanned between from sea level at Dyea, Alaska, to Lake Bennett, British Columbia, elevation 2602 ft..
The Chilkoot Pass was an important milestone that travellers had to conquer in order to reach the Klondike. The travellers were called 'stampeders', and some had earlier sought the riches of the 1889 gold rush in Alaska.
To be allowed to enter the Klondike and take part in the gold rush, Canadian officials required that stampeders take one ton of provisions with them, to try to ensure they were prepared to survive on the frontier. This was broken down into a year's supply of food, which was half of the weight, and of equipment. The supplies and food requirements were broken down into two lists. The clothing items included a waterproof blanket, 6 pairs of wool socks, 2 flannel overshirts, and a medicine chest. The list continues with the essential clothing needed. Some of the supplies required included rolled oats, flour, salt, and bacon. The weight ranged from for one ingredient. This list was taken very seriously, as there was rarely a return journey after the Klondike was reached.
Park officials still require travellers to make preparation for hiking in this area. But the list for travelling the Trail and Pass is now very different, as the technologies allow for a much smaller supply list. In addition, more creature comforts are available, such as lightweight camp stoves.
No traveller could take his supplies across the pass at once, so several trips had to be made in order to transport all needed goods to the destination. Quite often the supplies had to be carried by hand in 50–60-pound packs, as the passes proved to be too narrow for wagons or draft animals. The travel was slow and what would have taken a few hours in another environment required days to complete. It is estimated that for every mile their supplies moved, the travelers had to walk 80 miles to get it there.
Only the wealthiest of stampeders could afford to hire labour to transport their supplies. Most stampeders had to carry their own. The professional packers of the time mainly consisted of Alaska Natives and First Nations people, who charged 1 cent per pound they carried. Working the market, the packers quickly moved to new customers if there was a hint of more money to be offered by someone else. The packing fees charged by professional packers were subject to change as the weather changed. Ground conditions could make the packing much more difficult, and muddier ground was harder to traverse than frozen, snow-covered ground.
The Pass
The Chilkoot trail rose to the base of the Chilkoot Pass at an area called the Scales. This was a rough rock-strewn area, so named because it was the last place where travelers could have their packs reweighed and adjustments could be made to their payments. The Scales was also used as a place where travelers could store their provisions and supplies while going to lower levels to get the remainder, before continuing on their journey up the Pass. After the Scales, the ground rose about over a distance of approximately. The trail was covered with giant, sharp slabs of rock, which made the footing treacherous and often induced crawling during the summer months.In the winter, workers cut the ice into 1500 steps, which came to be known as the 'Golden Stairs'. The steps were too narrow for more than one person to climb at a time, so the trek was limited to a single-file line up the mountain, as shown in the photo for this article. The workers who had carved steps into the ice of Chilkoot Pass also charged travelers to ascend the mountain, as the travelers had to use their stairs.
Tramways
Ropes were lowered along the trail to help the travelers balance and continue up the slippery slopes. After 1897 a tramway was built so that wealthy travelers could ease their last up the Pass. The tramway was powered by two horses, and it cost to hire. Historians have estimated the builder of the tramway was making $150 per day by his development. On the other side of the Pass was Emerald Lake. To travel down the mountain, the travelers faced a descent of over the horizontal distance of approximately. The crest through the mountain and the path down it were often filled with snow all year round, making the trek more difficult.Environment
There was a high risk of avalanche along the Chilkoot Pass, as snow storms were frequent and the snow could give way and speed down the summit. The wet and heavy snow of the avalanches could kill 50 to 100 men at a time. Travelers persisted in using the high-risk pass the most because it was the least expensive route, as well as the shortest route, for transporting their supplies.The weather through the Pass was unpredictable, and visibility could drop to a few feet. Travelers became soaked from rain and sweat from their physical exertion; the sun's reflection against the snow could burn their skin and almost blind them. The price of provisions took a discernible downturn, as many men who had packed their year's worth of provisions to White Pass had decided to turn back and sold their provisions to anyone who chose to ascend the Passes. The price of horses had increased to approximately $200 an animal at the trip's beginning.
North-West Mounted Police
At both the Chilkoot Pass and the White Pass, members of the North-West Mounted Police were assigned to collect custom duties on the supplies brought into Canada. These officers were also used to protect supplies. As noted above, when stampeders traveled by the Chilkoot Pass, they had to leave some of their provisions at each end of the pass during the journey, as they could not manage transporting them all at once. To protect the supplies, a large detachment of the North-West Mounted Police was stationed to ensure that the proper wares went to the proper traveler. The police also ensured that the rule of 1 ton of goods per person was enforced.Tensions arose between the NWMP and the Americans related to disputes about where the international borders were located. After several disputes between the governments, they decided to keep the international boundary at the Chilkoot and the White Passes. The NWMP had already built custom houses at both passes prior to the dispute being settled. Canada also used its militia, called the Yukon Field Force, to help the NWMP with guarding prisoners and protecting gold shipments. The NWMP also regulated the whisky trade along the trails.
The police had wanted to build a port of entry at the summits of both the Chilkoot Pass and the White Pass. This was to secure the border between Canada and the United States at these points. The endeavor would cost a small fortune, as the wood had to be taken up the tramway, and they had to bribe any offended packers. They wanted to avoid any delay in getting a cabin on the Chilkoot Pass summit. But the cabin was not constructed well and the high winds of the Chilkoot Pass drove snow into it. As the snow melted, the interior became wet, creating mould; living conditions were so poor that blankets and bedding would not dry. The collection of custom duties on the summit of Chilkoot Pass began on February 26, 1898. The role was transferred to customs officers when an office opened that June but closed in September 1900 after the building of the White Pass and Yukon Route.
Women on the Trails
With rumors of some successes, both men and women viewed the Gold Rush as a chance to make a fortune and break out of poverty. Based on steamship passenger lists, historians estimate that approximately 1500 women made the trek through the Chilkoot and White trails. This represented 7 percent of all the travelers between December 1898 and September 1900. At the beginning of the gold rush stampede, only a few hundred non-native women participated. Some of these women were wives of the stampeders, while others had traveled in order to gain employment as clerks, teachers, cooks, nurses, or prostitutes. Camp Lindeman was reported to have a woman doctor.Women's clothing of the time made their journeys through the trails and across the passes even more difficult. The long, full skirts were ill-suited for any physical labour, and were often made with five yards of material, making them very heavy and cumbersome. Having to wear corsets and petticoats further limited women's mobility. The high collars required women to hold their heads high and, depending on the outfit, tilt their heads back. During this period, a women's movement had formed to allow women more freedom in the way they dressed. The rigors of the trail meant that many women abandoned conventional clothing and began to wear bloomers or knickers. These long, full pants were gathered at the ankle or just below the knees. Women shortened their skirts over the bloomers, generally to knee length. This was considered controversial by many men, but was more acceptable than if the women had not worn skirts. Some of the women who traveled to the Klondike had left their children behind, as few were willing to subject their children to the dangers of the trails and passes.