The Klondike: A "Ton of Goods"

​Few knew what they were getting into.
The men who joined the Klondike Gold Rush, those who ventured north, fueled by golden dreams, were not well-prepared. Many heard about the requirement for a “ton of goods” from outfitters, from hearsay and ads in the newspapers.
Many joined out of desperation; a recession had gripped the global economy for several years. So they bought the necessary goods and began their fateful journey.
One of the defining factors of the Klondike Gold Rush was the demand by the Canadian government that every stampeder – usually a man – must bring with them a “ton of goods”. The government was taking proactive measures to prevent mass starvation in the remote and inaccessible Yukon.
The government determined that each stampeder would need three pounds of food per day for an entire year, should the man have the good fortune to survive the winter.
No exceptions.

Stampeders pose with their gear on Dyea waterfront in 1897. 
National Park Service, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, George and Edna Rapuzzi Collection, KLGO 55746a.  Gift of the Rasmuson Foundation

​Food alone weighed in at about 1,100 pounds. Adding clothes and equipment doubled the load to a ton but, as noted in “The Grandfather Paradox”, this was neither the short ton (2,000 pounds) or the metric ton (2,204 pounds). The prospectors were required to bring a long ton of goods; 2,240 pounds worth. Appendix 1 details the items required by the North-West Mounted Police, who were acting on behalf of the Canadian government.
Now, here’s the kicker. Each stampeder had to carry his ton of goods with him to the international border, where the NWMP would weigh it. Without the full ton of goods, the Mounties would turn a stampeder back, meaning he would have to haul it all back, buy the needed items and start again.
For those who were allowed into Canada, the 33-mile trail from Dyea, AK to Bennett, BC equated to over 1,000 miles of carrying a 65-pound load forward to a cache location, then back for more. Men carried between 50 and 80 pounds on their backs: any more would risk injury or destroy a man; too light meant too many return trips. Those with money would hire a packer or two to help. Most could not afford to hire help.
The arithmetic was as follows: 2,000 pounds / 65 pounds per trip equals 31 trips on an unforgiving trail. Every pound a man would add or subtract would change the equation.
The Chilkoot trail climbed over 3,000 feet, first through swamp and mud that sucked boots off tired feet. Then, the rocks. Then, single-file over the snow and ice of the Golden Stairs, where a fall could kill a man.  To step out of line to rest meant not being allowed back in until the volume of hikers died down in the evening. The Stairs were not carved by engineers or by thoughtful, early stampeders. They were cut by the thousands of boots of the men carrying loads they could barely manage.
Ice and frosty mud in winter, clouds of mosquitoes and more mud in summer. They would cache their stuff at a marked spot on the trail and hope that it, or part of it, did not get stolen. Other stampeders were hungry, desperate and tempted to help themselves. So, they would hire locals, including the Tlingit like Mary, to watch the goods.
Getting to Bennett, most thought that the worst was behind them.
The worst was yet to come.