Volume 10 79

earnest. Even with hardships brought on by some
of the world’s most unforgiving weather, prospec-
tors managed to extract small and large fortunes in
gold from the region. The annual output of gold
reached a peak of 22 million dollars in 1900. Pro-
duction steadily declined after that, until it fell to
5.6 million dollars in 1906. By 1910 most of the
population had left for Alaska and other regions.

The Klondike was the fourth and last major
“gold rush” of the nineteenth century. Earlier
strikes in California (1849), Australia (1851), and
South Africa (1886) proved profitable for some
who braved the weather and distances to lay claim
to riches. Many more, however, left with dreams
of gold, but returned with a broken spirit and empty
pockets. Some never came home at all. The great
gold rushes of the 1800s were an aspect of frontier
movements on three continents. With the end of the
gold rush period, mining was largely taken over by
corporations and governments. The flow and uses
of gold became much more controlled than in those
frenzied “Wild West” days that glamorized the set-
tling of once open territory.

By the time Service publishes “The Cremation
of Sam McGee” and embarks on his new career as
a writer of verse, Klondike fever has evaporated
and the attention of the world has turned to other
matters. The US and Spain have completed their

war, but a Mexican Revolution is brewing, there is

unrest in the Balkans, and Korea is annexed by

Japan. Peary and Amundsen race toward the re-

spective Poles. Henry Ford has started his assem-

bly line system of manufacturing automobiles. But,

the sun never sets on the British Empire and Ed-

ward VII reigns as King of England. Neither the

Lusitanianor the Titantichas sunk yet, and the

World has not yet begun “the war to end all wars.”

Things will become more complicated in a few

short years, but Service can entertain his fascina-

tion for the Yukon, including his famous two thou-

sand mile solo canoe trip before relocating to

France and becoming a war correspondent for the

Toronto Starduring World War I.

Critical Overview.

Praised in 1921 for their spontaneity and liveliness,

Service’s rhymes have most often been lauded for

their energy but criticized for their lack of “true”

emotion. For many years serious criticism simply

ignored Service’s work, or found it of limited in-

terest. While Arthur Phelps recoiled from the

“grotesque gruesomeness” of “The Cremation of

Sam McGee,” he also claimed that the poem was

The Cremation of Sam McGee

Compare

&

Contrast

• Late 1890s:Prospectors flock to the Yukon
  looking for gold. Boom towns spring up all over
  the Klondike region. More than 20,000 people
  swarm into the town of Dawson alone.
  Today:Just over 1300 people brave the wintry
  weather in Dawson.


• Late 1890s:Gripped by “gold fever,” people
  sell everything they have for a chance to strike
  it rich in the Yukon. A few are lucky. Many lose
  everything.
  Late 1990s:Fascinated by the strongest econ-
  omy in history and mesmerized by a rising stock

market, many people go into debt to ride the

stock market boom. Some cash out their retire-

ment funds to become involved in “day-trad-

ing.” Many of these investors lose everything.

1896:The Olympic Games are revived through

the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coupertin.

1998:The Olympic movement survives a ma-

jor scandal involving bribes to the International

Olympic Committee to influence the site selec-

tion for future Olympic Games. Salt Lake City,

site of the 2002 Winter Games, comes under par-

ticular scrutiny.