57

Maurice, Arthur and Sidney Robinson.

Diary of three English brothers seeking their fortune in the Klondike gold rush.

Various places, 2 October [1897] to 9 August [1898]
[26] manuscript diary pages, 8 pages of related accounts and memoranda, and 8 pages of unrelated schoolbook entries, plus 6 pages of a related partial letter to the editor laid in. 4to, original cloth-backed boards, moderate wear; a bit musty, a few leaves from the memorandum section removed.

  • Notes: This diary tells the story of three brothers who journeyed from their native England to the Klondike gold fields hoping to make their fortunes.

    The first 8 pages recount their epic journey from England to Nova Scotia, and across Canada by train to Vancouver, and up the coast to Skagway, Alaska. Some of these travel entries are evocative: "All the way down the Fraser & Columbia Rivers, saw numerous Chinamen at work, gold digging" (2 March). Vancouver is described as "a fine city, especially when one remembers that it was only forest land in 1886" (3 March). Along the Alaskan coast, "saw some Indian totem poles in memory of departed relations" (15 March). "Shooting match in afternoon between two desperadoes" (18 March). 

    The party arrived in Skagway, Alaska on 20 March, where they stayed at the U.S. Hotel, "built out of an old government steamboat called the Skagit hauled up one very high tide." The next day, an acquaintance was "held up outside of W.C. & robbed of all he had. This place is reckoned to be the hottest town in America & it looks a pretty comical built place." The next day they began hauling loads up the famous White Pass toward Bennett Lake and the headwaters of the Yukon. On 24 March they noted "it being 33 deg below zero & all breath frozen on our blankets." On 6 April, they "heard of a sad accident at Sheep Cap, through a snow slide which killed nearly 50 according to present accounts." On 9 April, they finished hauling the last batch of their gear and supplies to their camp near the boom town of Bennett City, at the tip of Bennett Lake in the upper corner of British Columbia. 

    Bennett is now perhaps best known to history as the site of German immigrant Frederick Trump's Arctic House, which opened for drinks, lodging, and prostitution in May 1898. The brothers did not mention Trump or the Arctic House, but some entries give a flavor of life in Bennett: "One woman left by crowd to shift for herself. Very inquisitive as to number of gentlemen in party. Same one I took for a nipper on the trail" (8 May). On 14 May they heard of "2 men on river from Marsh Lake attacked by Indians, one killed, one wounded." Prospectors came from all over the world to Bennett, including New Zealand: "Visited N.Z. camp & amused by figure head of Maori girl carved by a Maori whose forefathers were idol carvers apparently" (20 May). On 24 May, "I saw Capt. Jack Crawford, the renowned U.S. Indian scout & warrior, & heard him make a speech"--Crawford was a famous lecturer who was seeking his own fortune in the Klondike gold field.

    The brothers came from a shipbuilding family and in Bennett, commenced building a boat which could take them north on the perilous route to the gold fields. The boat was soon launched and named Annie after their "excellent sister" (23 May). Three days later, though, oldest brother Maurice Robinson parted on bad terms: "He had a terrible row with us, owing to him not handing over some of mine & Arth's property out of his box." Two pages of accounts in the middle of the volume detail the division of their entire inventory of supplies and gear, from tents and saws down to the last spoon and milk pan. 

    The remaining brothers Arthur and Sidney continued north downstream into the Northwest Territory (soon to be Yukon Territory), through Marsh Lake and the Yukon River, navigating rapids where they met Australian pilots who had made hundreds of dollars getting prospectors downstream. On 7 June they met up with "old friends who had had 200 lbs of bacon eaten by dogs." On 17 June, "passed a scow that had 17 tons on board & had hit every sandbar & rock in river." One of the brothers had his portrait taken by Swedish frontier photographer Eric Hegg on 20 June. Optimism remained high; on 30 June they heard tales of Dawson City: "Plenty of gold dust in town, loose women walking around in silks & satins & charging very high prices." 

    They began prospecting in early July, and soon found themselves in a claim dispute: "Came on Dutchmen, who had evidently lied on previous day & were making themselves comfortable & sinking hole. Informed by them that they had staked out beforehand. Desired them to show pegs, which took them aback" (7 July). Permafrost was an obstacle which California miners never had to worry about: "Struck ice within 4 inches of moss. 6 fired one day, thawing out about 4" each time" (22 July). The bad news started to come fast and furious from failed miners: "A large party of French Canadians started logging, having been up to Falls & disgusted with gold mining" (31 July). They learned a daunting statistic on 2 August: "25,000 claims recorded, 60 paying well, 120 clearing expenses." The diary was discontinued a week later.

    The diary is unsigned, but is headed "Log of M., S. & A.W.R. on trip from S. Hampton to Vancouver." Two pages of accounts give their surname as Robinson, and their passage on the SS Numidian from Liverpool is noted. These three passengers can be seen together on the outward passenger manifest of the SS Numidian from Liverpool to Halifax for 12 February 1898: Maurice E. Robinson, 35; Arthur W. Robinson, 27; and Sidney D. Robinson, 25. Genealogical records show them as Maurice Edmund Robinson (1862-1936) and his younger half-brothers Arthur Walter Robinson (1870-1950 and Sidney Day Robinson (1872-1947), sons of a ship owner in Littlehampton, Sussex. Sidney's birthday is correctly noted as 31 July in the diary.

    Authorship of the diary was apparently a joint project. The 27 April entry states that "Sid, W and I went after lumber," implying that Maurice was the author. However, Maurice splits from the party on 26 May, with the diary criticizing him for the handling of "mine & Arth's property," making Sidney the author. The 1 August entry notes that "Sid & I decided to make for Dawson," implying that Arthur was the author. Apparently, the brothers took turns writing, although we see no obvious change in handwriting. 

    After the period of this diary, all three of the brothers soon returned to England. Laid into the diary is an essay describing their travails, apparently written for a newspaper soon after their return: "In your issue of Octr 6 appears a paragraph referring to our return from the Klondike . . . like the fox in the fable cry sour grapes . . . while incidentally a doubt is raised as to our having visited the gold fields of the Yukon at all." They explain that "we have spent a month on the Stewart R both surface & bed rock prospecting in company with experienced miners from various parts of the world, & as we panned out colours of gold almost everywhere" but still advise that "the country is a good place to keep away from." They describe the natural beauty of the Yukon landscape, the challenges of the extreme cold, and this haunting passage: "The White Pass trail was clearly defined after the thaw by the numerous carcasses of mules & horses which had succumbed on the way. Whilst the cold weather continued they were good frozen meat . . . but when the heat of summer set in, they putrefied & poisoned the pure mountain air." They recalled the story of one failed miner who had hired out as a hand on a riverboat: "having received a letter from his sweetheart in which she reminded him not to forget his old Ella & to bring her home a nugget, he borrowed a revolver from the skipper & shot himself dead." 

    All three Robinson brothers appear as shipwrights or mariners in the later English census records.
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