When the Excelsior pulled into Seattle with a “ton of gold” mined from a small tributary of the Klondike River in 1897, a million people made plans to head north. One hundred thousand people crossed the Canadian border. Forty thousand people passed through Dawson City during the summer of 1898, only to find that most of the claims had already been taken. Tough conditions, disease and back breaking work weeded out the weakest.
Ghosts of the Yukon
It’s not surprising that the Alaska-Yukon Goldfields are riddled with ghostly tales. Spectre dog-teams in the night, towing evanescent passengers. Haunted ships cruising on empty lakes under the midnight sun. But one of the most famous haunted places is Dawson City’s Palace Grand Theater.
The Finest Theater in the Paris of the North
Built by showman Arizona Charlie, The Palace Grand Theater didn’t open until 1899. By then, Dawson’s boom was almost over. People were already moving on to the next strikes in Nome and Fairbanks. But the Palace Grand was the finest theater in the “Paris of the North.” When the boom finally faded, Dawson’s historic buildings were abandoned and left to decay. In the 1960’s Parks Canada made an effort to restore the buildings and retain the Gold Rush history.
History of the Palace Grand Theater
https://www.pbs.org/video/klondike-gold-rush-palace-grand-theatre/
The Palace Grand Theater puts on multiple shows a day as part of their historic presentations. Multiple people working in the theater have recounted paranormal tales and activity. I have included a link to this video from Yukon paranormal.
Yukon Paranormal, Episode 3 Ghosts of the Klondike
Some believe the footsteps echoing through the second story belong to Arizona Charlie, the famous showman and friend of Buffalo Bill. Does he come back and visit his box to watch over his theater? Or is it one of the other “Kings of Dawson,” who dug a fortune out of the Yukon and lavished it on the “Goodtime Girls”?
“The poor ginks just gotta’ spend it, they’re scared they’ll die before they get it out of the ground.” –“Diamond Tooth” Gertie Lovejoy on the miner’s spending habits
As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, one of the disappointing aspects about researching is that you can’t include ALL of the fascinating things you find. While writing my series about Dawson City in 1898, I have tried to include as much as I could about the real characters of the Klondike Rush.
Kings of Dawson
Some of the other potential candidates for the male ghosts haunting the Palace grand would be “Big Alex” Mc Donald who dug a fortune in gold out of his claims, but died a pauper in 1909 after spending it all, always assuming there would be more. To his credit, he didn’t spend it all on ladies of the demimonde. He was known for donating money to charity or lending money to people in need. During the Typhoid outbreak in Dawson when the first crudely build hospital burned down, he donated money to fund the building of a new one, earning him a knighthood from the pope.
“Swiftwater Bill” was well known for making a fool of himself with the ladies of the redlight district of Dawson. According to Lael Morgan’s book, Good Time Girls of the Alaska Klondike Gold Rush, he made and lost three fortunes during his stint in Dawson. He frequented the saloons and dance halls, lavishing gold on his wives and mistresses. He even commissioned this gold belt for Rose Blumpkin.
Klondike Kate: “Queen of the Klondike”
“To us she was laughter and beauty and song. She was forgetfulness of hardship and homesickness. But she was more than that, she was our friend—a square shooter.”—The introduction as Klondike Kate was honored at the annual Alaska-Yukon Pioneers Stampede in Oregon in 1931.
ASL-P-41-56
P. E. Larss Photograph Collection, 1898-1904. ASL-PCA-41
A Lonely and Queenly Presence
Multiple people have described encountering a presence in the dressing room that once belonged to the most famous and boldest of the “Good Time Girls,” Klondike Kate. Others have seen a lonely red-haired woman on the second floor in the boxes or on stage after the theater closes when they are locking up for the night.
Sweetheart of the Sourdoughs
A woman ahead of her time, she made her way north to seek her fortune, purportedly disguising herself as a man to get around the Mounty’s restrictions around women rafting over the “Five-Finger” Rapids.* She was determined to get to the Klondike, where she was sure fortune awaited. When she got to crowded, muddy Dawson city, she set about making a name for herself. She was known for her famous “Flame dance,” where she would use fans to keep 200 yards of chiffon airborne while she danced in front of red lights. She was also known for roller-skating on stage in a skimpy leotard. While a talented actress, she was well known amongst the miners for her kindness, and quickly became the “Sweetheart of the Sourdoughs.”
*The Five Finger Rapids was one of the more treacherous parts of the “weeding-out” process. Especially considering many of the rafts were home-made. So many of the boats wrecked going through the canyon that the RCMP started inspecting the rafts before they launched. They felt that women should not shoot through the rapids and forced them to hike around.
The Wrong Man
Unfortunately, she fell for the wrong man. Head-over-heels for bartender Alexander Pantages, he fleeced her for thousands of dollars then dumped her for a younger woman. Heartbroken, she tried to recover the money by suing him (they were business partners). But after a year she was only able to recover a few thousand dollars. A few years later he was accused of raping an underage girl and was sentenced to 50 years in San Quentin. He served 2 years before being later acquitted, he died five years later never recovering from the ordeal. Some accounts speculate that the entire crime was a set up by some of the miners who loved Kate and had a spite at Pantages for the heartbreak he had caused her.
“I was the flower of the north, but the petals are falling awfully fast honey.” Klondike Kate at 71, in an interview she gave before her death in 1956.
She lived life to the fullest, marrying 3 times. Now when the lights go low in the Palace Grand Theater, her ghost walks the stage and the boxes. People smell roses or rosewater in her dressing room. Perhaps this summer when we visit Dawson again as part of my research, I’ll get the chance to say hello to the spirit of this amazing pioneer woman.
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