The Importance of Information and Misinformation in the Making of the Klondike Gold Rush

• Published in: Journal of Canadian Studies
• Main Author: Newell, Dianne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) 1987
• Subjects: History; Cultural Studies; Alaska; Yukon
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jcs.21.4.95; https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jcs.21.4.95

This paper examines the first mass assault on Canada’s remote northern frontier for insights into the state of long-distance communications networks at the end of the nineteenth century and the challenges facing Canadians in the efficient long-distance management of northern resource development. While specific attention is paid to Canada’s involvement in Klondike developments, the main focus is the international context of Klondike publicity. Accordingly, it traces a long series of events—from the early probes on the Alaska-Yukon frontier through to 1898—and examines the quality, timing, and short- and long-distance movement of Klondike news and information.