Trickster Porters

Title: Trickster Porters

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Sam D is a 40 year old male from Juneau, Alaska. Sam grew up in Southeast Alaska, and currently works for the state government. Sam hiked the Chilkoot trail in 2015.

Contextual Data:

Historical Context: First used by the Tlingit people of Alaska as a trade route, the Chilkoot became an important trail for miners and prospectors coming to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s. The trail was mostly abandoned after the end of the gold rush in 1898, until the trail was restored for recreational hikers in the 1960s. Currently, the trail is a popular recreational hike, and stretches between Skagway, Alaska, and Bennett, British Colombia. (Source) Dyea is a small town a north of Skagway, between the residential part of Skagway and the entrance to the Chilkoot trail.
Cultural Context: During the Klondike Gold rush, many communities were founded using the money brought in by the gold rushers. People who lived in those communities offered many goods and services to the miners and prospectors coming to Alaska for the gold. Many unprepared people died on the trail, so the Canadian Government restricted the trail only allow hikers along the Chilkoot if they had adequately prepared, carrying a total of 1 ton of gear with them. So, the hikers were forced to hire porters to help them transport their gear.
Social Context: Sam provided this story when asked about stories involving the gold rushers on the Chilkoot trail, that he heard while hiking the trail, and growing up in Southeast Alaska.

Item:

This is a story about porters tricking miners and prospectors into paying them more money than originally agreed upon, at the threat of abandonment.

Transcript:

“I remember one thing [the Park Rangers] told us about was the [local] people in the area did a lot of packing. They acted as porters. The park service people told us the porters had a reputation for bringing stuff to a certain point along the trail and then demanding more money. They would get them in the middle of nowhere and say ‘If you don’t pay me more, then good luck!’ They were smart enough to know the people [miners and prospectors] didn’t have another option.”

Collector’s Name: Soren Thompson

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive