The REAL Ladies of the Night

Researching Alaska-Yukon, part 3

“She is all nerve as she enters the room and surveys the waiting crowd…the dance hall girl is industrious. She is never vacillating or undecided, she is persevering. She does not flit about the room bestowing a smile here a caress there and again a pouting neglect. When she selects her victim, she stays with him. The more marked her favor, the greater is his triumph. He needs her to complete a spectacle of himself as a favored beau…” -1 pg. 56

My historical romance, A Drink of Darkness has been just as much fun to research as to write. Set in the Yukon Gold-rush boom-town of Dawson City in 1898, I have spent a lot of time gathering information about the setting and the people of Dawson.

My Saloon Girl Helena, and my vampire ladies of the night Eve, Bianca and Liz are complete works of fiction, but I drew my inspiration from reality. I used many sources for my writing, but one of my favorites was Lael Morgan’s Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush.

This was one of the first books I picked up when I moved to Alaska 12 years ago, and it is a great resource on these women who were an integral part of pioneering what is still referred to as the last frontier. Her book follows the ladies through the entire rush. My post will stick to a specific location and time period for now. I decided to put together this short blog post to pay homage to this reference and to these unique, real ladies of Dawson City in 1898.

Ms. Morgan uses photo’s from the various archives and stories of these women’s lives to show how they shaped not only the Gold Rush, but Alaska and the Yukon Territory’s fate. It is a fascinating journey through an era where women were forbidden from: owning a Saloon, wearing bloomers, and in some areas prospecting or owning a claim. Prostitution was illegal in the Yukon and Alaska territory, but law enforcement looked the other way and often protected these ladies, seeing the services they provided as a necessary evil to keep the lusts of the men at bay, lest they take it out on “respectable women.” These women came north, often packing their gear themselves over the treacherous Chilkoot Pass or taking the 1600 mile all-steamer-route.

Federal Judge James Wickersham, who presided over Alaska during this time kept a collection of pictures of these ladies (which can be accessed via the Alaska Digital Archives). He spoke well of the “Good Time Girls.”

“The sporting women were of a more robust class than usual among their kind, hence there were fewer cases of venereal disease among them…The women were also younger, more vigorous and independent than those of the same class in the older more crowded communities in the states…” -1 pg. 19

He later went on to say:

“A goodly number of these women yielded to the persuasions of their favorite male customers, quit the life of the dance hall or the bawdy house, and calmly settled down to a quiet home life with their husbands…It quite frequently became my duty as judge to perform marriages for persons of that class and more often that not the marriages were successful.” 1-pg. 51

While this sounds really sweet and romantic, history (and Ms. Morgan’s book) paints a slightly different picture. The hardships and economics of the decisions could be very persuasive. The cost of living was high. Rent on a basic cabin or tent in Dawson could be $30 a month, not counting food. To stay single and in a “respectable job” (nurse, school teacher, secretary were a few of the limited options), these jobs only paid around $20-$30 a month, if that. They were literally skewed to force these women to marry-or to consider less than respectable options.

A saloon girl could make a base pay pouring whiskey of $40 a week, plus 50% of every drink or bottle she could sell, plus tips. Easily clearing hundreds of dollars a week if she could hustle and was pretty. Dance Hall, or “Hurdy-gurdy” girls made a dollar a dance or a drink plus tips—and the men tipped generously for the privilege. Girls managed to squeeze in over 100 short dances a night. The prostitutes (at least the attractive ones) could make upwards of $250 a night. Meanwhile marriage was a gamble. Mortality rates were high. There was no guarantee that a miner would find (and keep) a good claim. Even if he did, if he happened to die, she could lose the claim, not having the ability to work it herself.

This sounds cold and calculating, but in a town (and time) where men outnumbered the women by a landslide, these women didn’t come north to find husbands. They came north to make a fortune, just as the men did. And they did it the only way society would allow. I am not going to go into deep detail, if you want that, please read Ms. Morgan’s book, but here are a few of their pictures and stories.

**All of the pictures below courtesy of the Alaska Digital Archives. For permissions on usage of photos, please follow the instructions on their web page: https://vilda.alaska.edu/

Rose Blumkin, The Fairy of Dawson

She worked officially as a Dance Hall and ticket girl at the Monte Carlo theater (though she couldn’t dance or sing), but her love of fine jewels and ball gowns (and her police record) suggests she did a lot of work between the sheets to support her lavish spending. After her stint in Dawson she moved to Nome with the rush.

Golden Belt

A picture of a belt of gold nuggets commissioned by one of the “Kings of Dawson” to be made for Rose. From reading Ms. Morgan’s books, the men, coming into these insane fortunes had little to spend it on other than whiskey and women. To show their newfound prowess in finding gold, they lavished it on the good time girls—to the extreme. Their mindset was, if I need more, I can just dig it out of my claim.

Menawhile, one of my favorite quotes from Diamondtooth Gertie Lovejoy:

“The poor Ginks just gotta’ spend it…they’re scared they’ll die before they get it out of the ground.” 1-pg. 58

Babe Wallace

While arrested (and fined) for running a house of prostitution, Babe Wallace did well enough that she was able to import a piano to her establishment. She eventually left the Yukon, but died young in 1911.

The Oregon Mare

One of the things that I found highly amusing in my research was some of the creative nicknames of the ladies: the Swedish Queen, Nellie “the Pig” Lamore, Diamond Tooth Gertie, etc. I used this in my writing, creating my own nicknames for my working gals. This is a photograph of a lady known as the Oregon Mare, real name of Ethel Nellie. A popular prostitute in the early days of Dawson. She is even mentioned in a Robert Service poem. Considering he got to Dawson in 1908, long after the initial rush, Ethel would have moved on by then, he would have known her by legend only.

The Dutch Kid

This is a photo from Judge Wickersham’s collection. He withheld her real name, only noting that later she became a nurse. Often times when the ladies would leave the “profession” (and the region), they would do everything they could to conceal their past. Their husbands and families were often eager to assist. Some speculate that this lady was actually the first prostitute into the region.

The Gypsy Queen

As previously mentioned, not all the ladies were prostitutes. Here is a picture of the Gypsy Queen, Mrs. Curly Monroe, wife of a local Saloon owner.

Lucy Lovell

Lucy Lovell was a popular American actress who had toured the London stage and decided to give the north a try. She made her fortune in the Klondike. Unfortunately, she contracted tuberculosis during her tour of the territory. She retired to Arizona and passed away shortly thereafter.

May Stanley

May Stanley worked as a Dance Hall girl, selling whiskey and dances with men (which was legal). Morgan’s research indicates that since her name does not appear in any police reports linked with prostitution that she never worked as a call girl. My character Helena’s job is modeled after girls like her, trying to make a living without selling themselves.

Klondike Kate “The Belle of the Yukon, the Sweetheart of the Sourdoughs” 1-pg 157

And of course, the most famous and bold of the Dawson girls. Born Eloisa Rockwell in 1876 in Kansas. Technically, she didn’t get to Dawson until 1900 (though she would have been in Seattle and Skagway at the time), so I can’t include her as part of my story, but I have to mention her. She made and lost a fortune as a Good-time girl. She was known for putting on quite a show. In one act, she would wear a skimpy leotard and roller skate around the stage (skimpy for the era). In her famous “Flame Dance”, she wore yards of sheer chiffon had fans blow it about her while she shimmed in front of red lights.

Ms. Morgan’s book and the Alaska Digital Archives have been a treasure trove of information on the period. I hope you have enjoyed my post about them and will check out her book and the archives! maybe someday A Drink of Darkness will see the light of day as well…only time will tell!

References

1. Morgan, Lael; Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush. Epicenter Press, Inc, 1998.

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