The Prospector: Life and Times of Prospectors in the Bush

This is the story, written in verse, telling the stories of prospectors on the Yukon Gold Rush in the 1890s, which took prospectors from around the world up to Dawson City (at the junction of the Klondike and Yukon rivers), and even further north into Alaska. Later, it touches on newer mining developments in Northern Ontario and Northern Quebec.

It tells of what prospectors had to go through, the realities of the harsh conditions of Mother Nature, and the trials and tribulations of prospecting in the difficult situations of the remote Yukon Klondike at the very beginning of the 20th century, when canoe, steamboat, horseback, and foot travel were the only options, steamboat if you were lucky (and could afford it).

The Prospector also describes the problems and challenges that a modern-day prospector experiences. It also mentions of recent mining activities in Northern Quebec and Northern Ontario including the story of the Raglan Nickel mine in in the Nunavik region of Northern Quebec, prospected in the 1930s, and the big Kidd Creek mine just north of Timmins, prospected in the 1960s. By this time bush planes and helicopters become part of the prospector’s toolkit.

On top of the trials and technical challenges of prospecting, the brutal weather of these regions, they also had to contend with wild animals. In one incident in the Yukon, I myself was confronted by two grizzly bears and was only saved from this almost-nasty situation by being buzzed by a passing helicopter who witnessed my predicament.