Chronological list of expeditions and historical events in northern Canada. X. 1896–1902

Abstract

With this instalment of our list, the Klondike gold rush reached its height and, nearly as quickly, began to decline as the miners’ interest turned to newer strikes in Alaska. The great influx of prospectors to the Klondike region led to the passage of the Yukon Act and to the extension into the area of the enforcement of Canadian laws by the North West Mounted Police. In most other respects, the important trends noticed in the previous instalment continue: the officers of the Geological Survey of Canada and other scientists continued their careful and productive surveys; missionaries extended their efforts to remoter tribes; and sportsmen ranged still farther afield in search of big game. The number of expeditions each year steadily increased, and we are having to be increasingly selective in the ones we list. It has been impossible to include individual journeys to the Klondike, even of those persons who published narratives.