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Directions: This is a guided writing assignment that requires you to write in the first person. You are about to take part in the great Klondike Gold Rush.” After each prompt, respond in writing, using your imagination and creative skills. Your response after each prompt should be at least one paragraph. There are five prompts for each session or chapter. We will complete one or more sessions a day. There are a total of five sessions or chapters in the entire guided writing assignment. When we are finished with all five sessions, you will compile your writing into a Gold Rush journal, complete with title page. Extra credit for authentic photos or illustrations in the journal. You may write or type your journal.
Prompt 1 It is mid-July 1897 and you are a reporter in San Francisco. Your editor tells you to go to the dock to cover a story about miners returning from a place called the Yukon. The ship is about 200 yards away. The crowd is anxious. Describe the scene and what people are talking about.
Prompt 2 The ship Excelsior docks. It is a short, stubby ship with a lone black smokestack and two masts. Down the plank come miners with broad brimmed miners’ hats, their lined faces almost burned black. They are gaunt and weary with eyes on fire. Each of them is hauling a heavy suitcase. Describe the scene, what the miners are saying, and the spectators’ responses.
Prompt 3 Miners with names like Lippy, Hestwood and Joe Ladue come forward. Some have $30,000 to $40,000 in gold. In 1897, a square meal cost 25 cents, a quart of whiskey went for 40 cents, and rent for an apartment was about a $1.25 a week. Describe what is going through your mind as you see all of this gold coming down the gangplank.
Prompt 4 You go to Selby Smelting Works on Montgomery Street. Clerks weigh the gold and pay for it. It is then shoveled into a great melting pot. You talk to one of the miners, Joe Ladue, and ask him about the place called the Klondike. What does he say to you?
Prompt 5 Later that day you get the fever: Klondicitus. You can think of nothing else but Gold, Gold, Gold. You go to the bank and withdraw all of your life’s savings, $500. Next, you run to purchase a ticket North on the steamer, the Al-Ki. It leaves in two days. You call your editor, quit your job, and rush to the general supply store. What supplies do you buy for your trip up North?
Prompt 1 You are aboard the ship called the Al-ki. On board are 110 passengers, 350 tons of miners’ supplies, 900 sheep, 65 cattle and 50 horses. Your ship is only 201 feet long. The crowd is cheering and waving good bye to you as your ship leaves the harbor. Describe what you are thinking at this moment.
Prompt 2 Two weeks later you meet up with another person on board. He or she seems very likable. You have a conversation that convinces you that this person would be a good partner. What do you say to each other that leads you to this conclusion. Be sure to describe the person who will be your partner. .
Prompt 3 Six weeks from the day you left Seattle, you land in Skagway. You get off the ship and wander through the streets. Describe the hustle and bustle of Skagway, and the kind of people who are attracted North for the Great Gold Rush.
Prompt 4 Two men named Fatty Green and Jefferson Randolph Smith come up to you and ask if you would like to send a telegram to your loved ones in Seattle. Describe the men’s appearance, demeanor and how you react to their proposition.
Prompt 5 You and your partner decide you do not want to spend much time in Skagway. You decide to take a boat over to Dyea at the foot of Chilkoot Pass. You land on shore and two Chilkat Indians come over to talk to you about working as professional packers. What do you say to each other?
Prompt 1 You are at the start of Chilkoot trail. It is a 33-mile trail. You will need to carry 100 pounds of supplies on your back. It is late August. You can feel winter in the air. Describe your thoughts as you walk the first few miles of this trail.
Prompt 2 You encounter a frozen waterfall, and the going is very slippery. Some people use a ladder to pull their loads across. Describe how you cross this very precarious place.
Prompt 3 You arrive near the foot of Chilkoot Pass called the Golden Stairs. There are many men and women with their supply caches at the foot of the Golden Stairs. One man is sitting in the snow weeping. You approach him and talk to him. What does he say?
Prompt 4 You make your way up the Golden Stairs. It will take you six hours to climb the 1500 agonizing steps to the top. Describe the pain you feel as you grunt your way up the most difficult part of Chilkoot Pass. Describe the smells and sounds of those above and below you.
Prompt 5 It has taken you three months and 40 trips for you and your partner to shuttle all of your supplies to the top of Chilkoot Pass. As you look back down at the thousands of stampeders below you, you reflect on how far you have come. You have learned something about yourself. Describe how you are feeling about your accomplishments.
Prompt 1 You arrive at Lake Bennett in February after pulling your supplies on sleds from the top of Chilkoot Pass. As you enter the tent city of 30,000 along the shores of the lake, you can hear the sounds of axes and saws as men chop trees down for boats they will make to take them down the Yukon River. Describe the setting.
Prompt 2 You have collected enough trees to build your boat. Your partner is in a pit below you, and you are on top handling the whipsaw that will cut the planks for your boat. You two are getting angry at each other. Describe the scene and your complaints.
Prompt 3 You have completed your boat. You have finished tarring and caulking it so it will not leak. All you have to do is wait for the ice to go out. Around an evening fire, you and your partner talk about what you will do once you reach Dawson. What do you say to each other?
Prompt 4 On May 29, the ice goes out on Lake Bennett. More than 7,000 boats depart for the 550 mile voyage down the Yukon. Several days down the river you enter a section called White Horse Rapids; it is full of foaming water and whirlpools. Describe your ordeal in this rapid.
Prompt 5 A week later you reach Dawson. It is clogged with 30,000 people. There is almost no land available for pitching a tent. The streets are full of mud. Many men say all the gold claims have been staked. Your exuberance has turned into disappointment. Describe your thoughts and what you say to your partner at this moment.
Prompt 1 You are in Dawson, and you can’t believe the prices. Milk sells for $20 a gallon, watermelons sell for $25 each. Nails sell for $8 a pound. You and your partner shuffle up and down main street. A man talks to you about taking a job to make ends meet. Describe the conversation, and your decision.
Prompt 2 After two weeks, you get tired of working for others. You and your partner come up with what you consider a brilliant idea to make money. You have come up with a business that fills a special need the miners have. Describe the idea, and how you plan to make it happen.
Prompt 3 You have established your own business. It is about two months later. Describe how successful or not you have become. What are your hopes and fears for the future? How do people treat you when they pass by on the streets of Dawson?
Prompt 4 It is a year later, and you have decided to leave Dawson. You get on board the steamer that will take you down the Yukon and home to Seattle. Describe your departure and what you take with you.
Prompt 5 Two months later, you arrive back in Seattle. Family and friends greet you. It becomes apparent that you have changed. You reflect back on the hard times. You realize you have changed. Describe your feelings at this point, and end your story.
