To the Klondike and Back

To the Klondike and Back

“There is money in it all right and I am in here to get all I can.” Adventurous 22-year-old George G. Shaw was determined to strike it rich in the Klondike gold fields. He headed west from Vermont in 1894 to Seattle, then on to Alaska and the Yukon Territory.

Shaw braved the perils of wildness travel – an unforgiving mountain pass, treacherous whitewater – finally arriving in raucous Dawson City. In the Klondike, mining for gold challenged Shaw’s confidence and resourcefulness. After his gold mining days, Shaw’s adventures continued with a solo trek through remote Alaska and a storm-tossed whaling schooner voyage that landed him in Siberia

Shaw returned home after his seven-year sojourn with some money in his pockets and memories to last a lifeline. Over the years, he savored and shared the vivid recollections of his personal experiences as a gold miner and traveler with his son who wrote them down and compiled them into a manuscript.

Now Shaw's eyewitness account of this colorful period in North American frontier history is available in this illustrated book with period photographs and additional images from the Library of Congress as well as Shaw family photographs and Shaw’s 1898 letter home from Dawson City.

George S. Shaw fifty years after his return from the Klondike.

Images from the Past

Images from the Past is an independent Vermont publisher focused on books that bring to life the stories of people, places, and events both within their historical context and from the perspective of today.

Their books are richly illustrated with visuals that show what the author chooses to say in their text – either to reaffirm or expand on it – with carefully worded captions that link the two. Most have extensive indexes and bibliographies. Their books present thoroughly researched history that you can both trust and enjoy.

Images from the Past is based in Bennington, Vermon. Visit Images from the Past here.