The Gold Fever: When Greed Drove People Mad
As recently as 150 years ago people were prepared to go to the other end of the world to look for gold. Bouts of the gold fever would break out in places like Australia, Siberia and California, but the most surprising examples of human greed and persistence come from the Klondike.
Nowadays, if someone were to find gold by panning the sand in Rabbit Creek, it would remain a secret source of income for a narrow group of people. But in the 19th century, things were very different: gold-diggers' unwritten code of honor obliged them to share new locations. The news spread quickly across Canada and the US, and in summer 1897 dozens of thousands of people set out for the Klondike.
What made all those people leave their homes and habitual way of life and travel thousands of miles to Northern Canada? Mostly it was because of the rising unemployment after the 1890's recession in the US. To this, we should add greed and the desire to live a different life. Let's not forget the opportunities to profit from the gold-digging industry: gold diggers were followed by merchants, card players, and prostitutes.
The road to the Klondike was long and harsh, and in winter, many would-be gold diggers died of hardship and exposure without reaching their destination.
Apart from having to cover such a long distance, travelers needed to bring all of the necessary equipment and enough food to last them 6 months; without this, they wouldn't be allowed into Canada.
In order to raise the money for the journey, many sold all their possessions and got into debt. Since only a few managed to get rich by gold panning, a lot of failed gold diggers eventually committed suicide, as they were unable to repay their debts. Those who were lucky to get a good plot and find some gold risked getting killed by their less successful rivals.
Savvy merchants would open saloons where patrons paid for their whiskey with small bags of gold sand instead of coins. After a long evening of drinking some of the guests could be robbed and killed, so even success in gold digging was no guarantee of returning home rich.
Some of the newcomers to the Klondike didn't plan to dig for gold at all. For instance, one fruit seller made a fortune selling apples at the outrageous price of $5 apiece. Since the gold diggers' diet was very poor, food traders could become very rich indeed: sometimes people paid with gold sand for fruit, vegetables and salt.
Who knows what would happen if the gold digging laws were still the same as in 19th century North America?
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