There have been many personal accounts told by people who joined in on the stampede to the Klondike, so many in fact, that the stories have become commonplace. But occasionally, I come across one that breaks the mould in intriguing ways. This was the case with the recently self-published book, From Cheechakos to Sourdoughs: Two Ivy Leaguers’ Quest for Yukon Gold, written by Steve Lundin, with John Willard Lundin III.
This account tells the story of two recent graduates of Cornell University, Mark Odell and Ellis Aldrich, who, like many others, struck out for the Klondike to seek their fortune. Both had graduated with liberal arts degrees and were studying law before dropping out in their last quarter to search for gold in the Canadian North. Odell was the authors’ maternal grandfather.
Having received financial support from a syndicate of investors, they left Ithaca, New York, by train to Seattle on Feb. 15, 1898. From Seattle, in late March 1898, they sailed north as part of a party of gold-seekers (the Thompson party), and, like many others, chose to enter the Yukon via the Chilkoot Trail.
The partnership with the Thompson party broke up after their arrival at Bennett, B.C., around the middle of May. Over the next month, Odell and Aldrich built their own boat on the shore of Lake Bennett, and on June 23, 1898, long after the lake ice had broken up and the great wave of stampeders had departed for Dawson City, the two Cornell men set sail. By the time they had reached Fort Selkirk on July 26, 1898, they had fallen into partnership with two other gold-seekers, Tom Wood and Walt Hoglen.
The four men decided not to continue to the Klondike. Instead, they set out to prospect on Wolverine Creek, which enters the Yukon River, not far from Fort Selkirk. Wood left the party and departed over the Dalton Trail in August, and was replaced by another prospector, Harry Granger.
They built a cabin, and during the advancing winter and deepening cold, sank several shafts into rocky ground in search of the elusive paystreak. By February 1899, they had had enough of the harsh conditions and Aldrich was sick. Both men were dispirited. On Feb. 15, 1899, the two Cornell men left Fort Selkirk and headed to Skagway, Alaska, over the winter trail on the Yukon River.
It took the two men three weeks to cover the 400 miles (640 kilometres) over the Yukon River ice, to Skagway. They never returned to the Yukon. In Chapter 10, there is discussion about whether the two men struck it rich. There is conflicting evidence: newspaper accounts suggest they left with heavy gold pokes, but other evidence suggests that they left with very little. I concluded from this discussion that the latter was the more likely outcome.
The authors relied heavily upon records left by their maternal grandfather, Mark Odell. Aldrich left little to account for their adventures. Odell wrote abbreviated notes in pencil each day into a tiny pocket diary he took with him. He also wrote letters to his father in Baldwinsville, New York, that were often published in the local newspaper.
According to the authors, “These letters and other written material reveal Odell as an accomplished writer. His dry sense of self-deprecating humor (sic) is evident in the longer writings. Initially, his writing reflected an upbeat state of mind as the men neared the fabled Chilkoot pass. Growing frustration and despair are evident in his later writings when the men faced adversities as they proceeded into the Yukon.”
Also included, and enhancing their story are photos from 12 rolls of film found in a shoebox in Odell’s Seattle home. Each roll held 12 exposures. The photos were taken by Hoglen, and the content of the photos was described along the borders of the photos, a handwritten list of the exposures, and finally, descriptions found in Hoglen’s diary. The images have not been published before.
The authors also developed the narrative from extensive background research, which adds meaningful context to the travels and hardships experienced by the two dropouts. We follow them for a year through their letters, diary and photos. Their story focuses on two dimensions of the gold rush not often found in other sources. The first is the prospecting that took place on Wolverine Creek, near Fort Selkirk. The second is the trip of Odell and Aldrich via the winter trail over the Yukon river ice in 1899.
The authors insert insights into the mindset of the two stampeders: for instance, they state that “Odell and Aldrich considered themselves to be part of an Ivy-League-educated elite and proper Victorian gentlemen.” Whenever they met their scholastic peers on the trail, it was noted in Odell’s diary.
Another reveal is the attitude toward the foreign land the two Americans were travelling through: “Odell’s writings reflect a degree of disdain and contempt for the British and Canadians (…) They perceived Canadian authorities as interfering with their freedom to seek gold (…) Many of the American stampeders seemed to consider the Yukon Territory, and Canada for that matter, as vassals of the United States.” It is interesting to note that even today, some Americans still harbour similar feelings about Canada.
The time and effort by the authors to understand the historical context provided a more informed setting for Odell and Aldrich’s year-long adventure. If there was to be any criticism of this book, it is the quality of the photos, many of which (those taken by Hoglen) are previously unpublished. They are too small and lacking in detail. Photos illustrating pages from the Odell diary, and of other documents, are so small and ill-defined that they were impossible for me to read.
A case in point: on page 92, the authors refer to a following photograph of a goat pulling a sled. The photo was, to me, too fuzzy to tell if it was a dog, or a goat pulling the sled.
The book is well worth the read if you want to gain insight into a facet of the gold rush not often covered in the massive and growing library on the Klondike gold rush. If this book goes to a second edition, I hope they enlarge and sharpen the images, which are vital to portraying the adventures of our two college boys in the Klondike gold rush.
The book is published by Last Word Press of Olympia Washington. It is 330-pages long and contains 111 photos, three tables and copies of several documents. Curiously, there are no maps included, which might leave some readers wondering precisely where Fort Selkirk and Wolverine Creek are located.
Five appendices provide more detailed background information on Fort Selkirk and the Dalton Trail, postal service during the gold rush, the White Pass and Yukon Route, and details about the winter trail over the Yukon River ice. The end material includes a bibliography (11 pages), endnotes (297 entries) and an index.
Michael Gates was the Yukon’s first Story Laureate from 2020 to 2023. His latest book, Hollywood in the Klondike, is now available in Whitehorse stores. You can contact him at msgates@northwestel.net.
