Two women in the Klondike, the story of a journey to the gold-fields of Alaska

by Mary E. Hitchcock

Two women in the Klondike, the story of a journey to the gold-fields of Alaska. 520 pages.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel

510 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 1899

About the author

Mary Evelyn Hitchcock also published under the name Mrs. R.D. Hitchcock.

In 1898, Hitchcock travelled on a steamer ship from San Francisco to Klondike with her friend Edith Van Buren. She later wrote about this journey in her book, "Two Women in the Klondike." She also gave a series of lectures for charity on the mining and agricultural possibilities of the Yukon.

Hitchcock returned to the north for almost five years, and staked more than 100 claims.

Reviews

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is Mrs. B?!? There is a picture of her toward the end of the book, but her name is never revealed because of Mary Hitchcock’s Victorian style of only referring to people by their initials. She is introduced once the two ladies have settled in Dawson with “and in stepped Mrs. B—, dressed in an Indian buckskin suit with two rows of fringe around the bottom, a most picturesque figure; and for the past two hours she has entertained us with such stories of hairbreadth escapes, in Arizona, New Mexico, and coming over the Pass, that they far surpassed in excitement the most thrilling tales ever written.” As the recounting of Hitchcock and Van Buren’s life in the Klondike continues, she pops up again and again with stories that indicate she’s made a very exciting and profitable living on her own out in these wild areas. I’m so curious who she was, as I’m sure the stories she could tell would blow this book out of the water.

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two society women spend a summer on the Yukon River, exploring business opportunities and making friends. One of them wrote a journal, excerpted in this book. It's interesting to read about their steamship journeys in and out of Dawson, their treks to the gold fields and through the White Pass, their business schemes, their living arrangements (including a really, really big tent, a Great Dane, a parrot, a canary, and some pigeons), and Dawson society. But I wish someone other than Mary Hitchcock had kept this journal. She doesn't strike me as a very imaginative person. She'll record that they and their guests sat up late telling stories but she doesn't relate the stories!! She said she was writing for lower-48 Americans and especially women who wanted to know about life in the Yukon, so it seems to me that she would want to regale them a bit with the local yore. Or maybe she did include the stories but her editor omitted them. Although that's pretty hard to believe.

[Nicole C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really need to note down where I find some of these originally! Anyway, there is an abridged version of this travelogue from University of Alaska Press, I believe. This one, however, was the full edition, originally printed in 1899, which runs to about 500 pages, some of which are photographs.

The author and her friend, both well-off women, decide to travel to the wilds of Alaska to see about the gold mining. The book is basically a copy of the author's journal during that time period, but it appears she meant to publish from the beginning, which makes it odd that she does not bother to introduce herself, a naval officer's widow, or her friend, Edith, a grand-niece of President Van Buren. I rather wanted to know how long they had been friends, and whether they had traveled together before (the author makes allusions to visiting other far-flung places but it's unclear if she did this whilst her husband was alive or not). It's also hard to tell how old the two women are, as the pictures aren't much help.

The author, Mary, is a bit haughty, and it amused me how she kept reporting several of the men saying so, because she would rather write her journals instead of dancing. The one miner, Jones, seems to be sweet on Edith, but because they're both rich, Jones correctly presumes that on the "outside," they'd barely give him the time of day.

Despite this, and of course, some racism, this was a relatively entertaining, albeit atypical, account of how people got to Alaska's gold fields during this time period.

[Traczie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wicked fun adventure book as told through the eyes of an out of touch rich lady who is basically a real-life P.G. Wodehouse character. I don't reread many books, but plan on putting this one on my permanent shelf to revisit down the road.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully descriptive diary of two society ladies' life in 1898 frontier Alaska during the gold rush.

[Ebook Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ebook wasn't available on Amazon, but found it on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/two-...

[Mingus Reedus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reality TV meets gold rush history. Literally a perfect book

[johnvan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviewing the unabridged version of this memoir, as available on Google books, is a difficult task. I was reading it strictly for research, and wanted a first-hand account of life in Dawson City during the Gold Rush. While there is a lot of first-hand material, the author's wealth makes much of it a-typical of the vast majority of Gold Rush stampeders. Given this, it should be rated a 4. Unfortunately, the author not only has the prejudices of her age, but she goes far beyond that and insults all sorts of people for all sorts of things (including some she does herself). She's so horribly elitist/racist that, while some of the material was interesting, it was a drag on my soul to read all 476 pages. In that respect, it should rate a 0. If I could invent a time machine, I'd rather go chat with Jack London or Emilie Fortin Tremblay or Kate Carmack or Robert Service or Ethel Berry or Belinda Mulrooney or...well, *anybody* else that was there at the time! Some interesting material here, but I'd definitely recommend the abridged version put out by the University of Alaska if you feel compelled to read this. Personally, I'd suggest you save the time and, if you are primarily interested in women during the gold rush, read Claire Rudolph Murphy & Jane G. Haigh's "Gold Rush Women" instead.

[C.E. DeJoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story of two women who went to the Alaska and Klondike gold Rush in person. The story is written in diary form and no actual names are used which proved very annoying. You have no real idea of the ages of the women or how they came to be together on this adventure. The descriptions of Dawson, the miners, and the life in a gold camp were fascinating. I found the writing style detracted considerably from my enjoyment of the story.

[Page Cowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the lingo I was able to learn from both Mary’s voice and that of the miners. This was a funny and lighthearted read. I giggled to myself about the eccentricity of these ladies throughout the book. Having a connection to Dawson city myself, the accounts and personalities of it from a different era were enthralling. You can’t make this stuff up.

[Susanne Winterhawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very strange, interesting book. It was a look at a certain time and place - early 1900s Yukon Territory. Two women on an adventure.

[Ebook Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. The e-book version can be found at:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/two-...