HAZELET'S JOURNAL

In this memoir, an entrepreneur describes his prospecting life in Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Clark, the great-grandson of George Cheever Hazelet, presents a paperback edition of his relative’s Alaska journal spanning the years 1898 to 1902. Born in Ohio in 1861, Hazelet earned a degree in education and worked as the principal of two Nebraska school districts before embarking on an entrepreneurial career. When his chicory business failed in 1897, Hazelet looked to the Klondike Gold Rush to recoup his fortune, and, leaving behind a wife and two young sons, embarked on the first of four voyages to Alaska in February 1898. Traveling by rail to Seattle, Hazelet and his business partner outfitted their expedition in an atmosphere of gold fever, reaching the port town of Valdez in March and beginning an arduous trek into the interior to reach a claim on the Chistochina River. A cheerful and honest narrator, Hazelet offers terse but eloquent entries that bring the realities of the gold rush experience to life. He laments the cruel treatment of dogs and horses by other prospectors; admires the piety of the Indigenous people; and contemplates the toll of his labors during the course of his second journey: “Life is short enough at best and I feel and know I’m cutting off some of mine each day I pull sled or boat or make a pack horse of myself.” Clark, as both editor and publisher, presents Hazelet’s entries as they were written with no editorial interruptions. While this approach works for the most part, Hazelet’s references to various individuals would have been better appreciated with contextual information. Still, Hazelet’s unvarnished descriptions, rich autobiographical details, and the accompanying historical photographs make for a compelling story on their own. Foremost in Hazelet’s mind throughout his voyages was the welfare of his wife and sons, and he was candid about his regrets, writing of Alaska: “If it only holds gold I may yet find it and return to my loved ones, able to take care of them and look after their wants as a husband and father should.”

An absorbing account of risks and adventures.