Rock carvings dot landscape
PREVIEW OTHER VOLUMES AUNT PHIL’S TRUNK
Aunt Phil’s Trunk Volume One, released in 2006, features the early days in Alaska’s past when Native people settled the land, Russians explored and exploited the fur trade and prospectors flooded into the country in search of gold.
Rock carvings dot landscape
Alaska’s petroglyphs, Greek for rock carving, are among many enigmas of science. Because their true meanings are elusive, they remain a mysterious link to a people who inhabited Alaska a long time ago.
Massacre at Nulato
Russians had traded peacefully with the Natives of Nulato, but one day in 1851 that all changed when the Koyukon Indians came to town. Red Shirt, seen here, may have led the raid.
Gold found near Juneau
The $22 million stack of gold on the right came out of Juneau between 1885-1904. The cube on the left represents the $7.2 million America paid Russia for Alaska in 1867.
Following discoveries of gold in the Klondike region, tent cities, such as Dawson seen here, sprang up on the boggy flats in the wilderness.
Gold seekers head north
Thousands of prospectors streamed north and climbed the Chilkoot Trail, seen here, in the hopes of reaching their fortunes of gold.
Flame of the Yukon
Kathleen Eloisa Rockwell, also known as Klondike Kate, whirled her way across dancehall stages in the Yukon, delighting her audiences with her moves and fancy costumes. She and other dancehall beauties helped lonely miners cope in the wilderness.
Nuggets in Nome
By July 1, 1900, Nome was a busy frontier town with a population of around 20,000. It also boasted more than 60 saloons, dozens of criminals, a few hundred prostitutes and dishonest officials.
Some Alaska Natives saw opportunity in the rush for gold, as in this photo of Metlakatla Indians transporting gear, food and tools for pay.
Richest Native woman
While the various gold rushes to Alaska did not overwhelmingly benefit most Natives, one baby girl born in 1865 would become the richest Native woman in the North and grow famous because of reindeer. Known as Reindeer Mary, she is seen here sitting next to a corral fence where she kept her reindeer in 1938 near Unalakleet.
