47 results for: Curtis, Asahel
Photograph
Four men digging tunnel in gold mine at Eldorado, circa 1898
In Alaska and the Yukon, placer gold was found along ancient stream beds, some of which were twelve to forty feet underground at bedrock. The gold was frozen in the dirt or gravel. Miners chopped away at the frozen earth with picks or tried to thaw it with fires or steam machines. They "drifted" all winter, digging tunnels in the…
ID Number:SHS15820
Date:Circa 1898
Photograph
Lucas in tent, 1898
Seattleite Asahel Curtis left for the Klondike in 1897 and stayed two years, taking photos for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In 1898, Curtis took this photo of a man named Lucas resting outside his tent. Inside the tent, two pots heat on top of a small woodstove; the chimney of the stove passes up through the roof of the tent. The…
ID Number:SHS16668
Date:1898
Photograph
Unloading freight at Skagway, 1898
Gold seekers heading to the Klondike gold fields via the Inland Passage could land at Skagway or Dyea. At first, ships had to anchor offshore and unload their passengers and freight onto barges which carried them ashore. There was usually an extra charge for this.This 1898 photo of the tidal flats at Skagway shows freight being unloaded from a barge.…
ID Number:SHS16696
Date:1898
Photograph
Two men and oxen on Skagway Trail, 1898
In 1897 and 1898, some of the Klondike stampeders used oxen to carry supplies along the White Pass Trail. Others used dogs, horses, mules, and even goats. Once the railroad was completed from Skagway through White Pass, there was less need for these pack animals.In this 1898 photo taken by Asahel Curtis, two men stand in the snow near their…
ID Number:SHS16716
Date:1898
Photograph
Men using rockers to pan for gold, circa 1898
Many gold miners used rockers (also called cradles) to remove gold from pay dirt. They shoveled the dirt and gravel into a tray at the top of the rocker, and they moved the rocker back and forth as they poured water through the tray. Finer pieces of gold and dirt washed through holes in the tray into the box beneath.…
ID Number:SHS16719
Date:Circa 1898
Photograph
Asahel Curtis and companion on Skagway Trail, circa 1897
Seattleite Asahel Curtis left for the Klondike in 1897 and stayed two years, taking photos for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. With today's tiny cameras and one-hour printing, it is easy to forget that he and the other gold rush photographers had to haul hundreds of pounds of glass photographic plates, heavy equipment, and chemicals through the wilderness and find places to…
ID Number:SHS16720
Date:Circa 1897
Photograph
Worker making saddle at Duncan & Sons, Seattle, December 23, 1918
Duncan & Sons was a harness and saddle manufacturing business located at 212 Second Avenue South. Their familiar model horse stood above the entrance to the business for many years, only recently to disappear when the company closed. In this photo, a worker rivets coat straps to the body of a cavalry saddle. It is part of a series of…
ID Number:SHS19314
Date:1918