Caught in the Rush

As the depression of 1893 worsened, many began seeking a new life. By 1895, hundreds of banks and thousands of businesses had gone under. As the stock market collapsed, jobs became scarce, and the value of the dollar declined. In 1894, Bill Schooley, with two childhood friends, Lafe and Frank Coleman, began mining for gold in Alaska. Three years later, when Bill was twenty-three, the trio had prospered enough to sell their claims and return home to Missouri to start new lives. At first, they were excited about reuniting with family, but word of gold in the Klondike drew them back north. This story brings to life William Mace Schooley's personal diary including significant events along the Chilkoot Trail. While Bill experienced an adventure that goes well beyond what he endured earlier as a seasoned miner, his family undergoes an unexpected fallout from his long-awaited return. Taking the most direct passage into the Yukon, through the Chilkoot Pass, Schooley encounters high winds and freezing temperatures. He crosses paths with conmen, thieves and crooked gamblers, and experiences the dangers of avalanches, illnesses, rough seas and treacherous rapids, all in the hope of finding more gold. Of the thousands of would-be miners who headed down the Yukon River toward Dawson, only about one third made it that far, and even fewer struck a decent claim. This trio were some of the few who succeeded.