If you ever read any of his books like “Call of the Wild” and “White Fang”, this account of Jack London’s early life (died at 40) is equally packed with adventure and hardship. Most of this rendition concerns his travels to the Yukon in search of gold. When you read of the conditions and hardships these people endured, you have to take your hat off to them. Like his most popular books read in my youth, his life story I also found to be a jaw dropping read.

>>In December 1897, at the coldest, darkest time of year, Jack left Dawson and snowshoed 80 miles up the frozen Yukon River, sleeping under blankets next to a fire. Weather records, and Jack’s recollections, indicate temperatures close to 70 below zero. Reaching the Stewart River, he joined his three partners in one of the log cabins they had found. It was 10 by 12, and even when the metal stove was red hot, meat would stay frozen on a shelf eight feet away.<<

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gold-fever-deadly-cold-and-amazing-true-adventures-jack-london-wild-180973316/

anything like opal fever
and digging thru solid rock
in (nearly) the the hottest spot
on the face of the Earth ?

yes, people are willing to endure
unbelievable hardships for enrichment

Ogmog said:

anything like opal fever
and digging thru solid rock
in (nearly) the the hottest spot
on the face of the Earth ?

yes, people are willing to endure
unbelievable hardships for enrichment

Yes, there would be a few interesting stories there too.

PermeateFree said:

Ogmog said:

anything like opal fever
and digging thru solid rock
in (nearly) the the hottest spot
on the face of the Earth ?

yes, people are willing to endure
unbelievable hardships for enrichment

Yes, there would be a few interesting stories there too.

Although he generally wrote under his name, some early articles for The Bulletin were written under the pseudonym of “Gouger”. When travelling, Idriess was known as “Jack”.

Times were hard for opal gougers. Many of them walked to the opal fields, pushing their tools and belongings in a wheelbarrow. Some never made it to the opal fields and decomposed by the side of the road.
From White Cliffs, many parents walked away and left their children behind.

I can only imagine it was a hard slog
with a huge pay-off if one strikes it rich,
only to deal with the human parasites ready
and all-to-willing to pray on them to relieve them
of what literally took blood, sweat, and tears to earn,
be it a 10 dollar can beans or an all too brief lap-dance.

Ogmog said:

I can only imagine it was a hard slog
with a huge pay-off if one strikes it rich,
only to deal with the human parasites ready
and all-to-willing to pray on them to relieve them
of what literally took blood, sweat, and tears to earn,
be it a 10 dollar can beans or an all too brief lap-dance.

Apart from a lucky few that did strike it rich, most of the money was made by the traders who never touched a shovel.

PermeateFree said:

If you ever read any of his books like “Call of the Wild” and “White Fang”, this account of Jack London’s early life (died at 40) is equally packed with adventure and hardship. Most of this rendition concerns his travels to the Yukon in search of gold. When you read of the conditions and hardships these people endured, you have to take your hat off to them. Like his most popular books read in my youth, his life story I also found to be a jaw dropping read.

>>In December 1897, at the coldest, darkest time of year, Jack left Dawson and snowshoed 80 miles up the frozen Yukon River, sleeping under blankets next to a fire. Weather records, and Jack’s recollections, indicate temperatures close to 70 below zero. Reaching the Stewart River, he joined his three partners in one of the log cabins they had found. It was 10 by 12, and even when the metal stove was red hot, meat would stay frozen on a shelf eight feet away.<<

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gold-fever-deadly-cold-and-amazing-true-adventures-jack-london-wild-180973316/

Have read “white fang”. Quite a story.