In the mid-1880s, Johnny Lind, a teenager from Pond Mills, Ontario, struck out for adventure and wealth. After a decade working as a railroader in the United States, Johnny headed north, to Yukon and Alaska, and he was mining gold nearby when the Klondike Gold Rush began.
As a “sourdough,” albeit an unsung one—the nickname for miners who had survived an entire winter in the North—Lind’s story goes largely unrecognized in the lore of the era, his understated demeanor overshadowed by the larger-than-life characters that dominate the history books. But he kept journals recording his adventures in the Klondike, and these form an invaluable personal record. His stories shed light on the people and events of the gold rush, from the perspective of an everyman who wound up striking it rich.
Here, Johnny Lind’s grandson Phil Lind shares his grandfather’s fascinating story, along with his love of the Klondike, the history of the gold rush, the colourful players in that famed period, and the peoples and land affected by the legendary stampede for wealth.