Jason's Gold

Jason’s Gold by Will Hobbs is a work of young adult historical fiction first published in 1990. Set in 1897, the story follows protagonist Jason Hawthorn, age 15, as he journeys to the Klondike goldfields in a quest for wealth. Jason’s path follows the most common routes used during the gold rush, and he meets a variety of allies and foes, both fictitious and historical. The story explores themes regarding The Transformational Power of Adventure, The Dangerous Allure of Wealth, and The Exploitative Nature of Greed. Jason’s Gold was named a YALSA Best Books for Young Adults in 2000. Other works by this author include Far North (1996), Wild Man Island (2002), and Crossing the Wire (2006).

This guide refers to the 1999 Harper Trophy edition of the novel.

Content Warning: Scenes in this novel include death by suicide; graphic abuse and death of animals; murder; and offensive language regarding mental health and Indigenous people.

Plot Summary

After 10 months of traveling the country on his own, 15-year-old Jason Hawthorn learns that gold was discovered in the Klondike, a region in Canada’s Yukon Territory. The news sends Jason rushing home to Seattle. He plans to use his inheritance of $500 from his deceased father, plus funds he will borrow from his two older brothers, to pay for his outfit (all the food and supplies needed for the Klondike) and passage to Alaska. Jason is impatient to begin the journey, knowing that thousands of other stampeders are racing to get to the gold.

Reaching Seattle, Jason is shocked to hear his level-headed older brothers, Ethan and Abraham, left for the goldfields days before using Jason’s inheritance to help fund their trip. Not to be defeated, Jason hides as a stowaway aboard the Yakima, a steamer bound for Alaska. The ship is crowded with potential prospectors, their gear and supplies, and their pack animals. Jason feels empathy for the terrified horses packed into the ship’s hold.

A young man on board, Frank “Kid” Barker, sees that Jason has no ticket. He welcomes Jason to join his crew led by “Captain” Jefferson Randolph Smith, but Jason realizes that they are crooks and refuses the offer. Smith and Barker tell the ship’s authorities that Jason is a stowaway, and he is put off at Juneau, robbed of his only cash, and beaten unconscious. The next morning, Jason meets a young man, Jack London, and accompanies Jack and his group up the coast of Alaska by canoe. They arrive in Dyea, a remote trading post, where the scene is chaotic. Steamers must anchor in deep water, so stampeders must maneuver their burdensome supplies and animals across the tidal flats to shore on flat-bottomed boats called scows. Jack and his party plan to take Chilkoot Pass, a steep trail over the mountains into Canada, but Jason decides to take White Pass, a longer but lower trail than the Chilkoot. He takes a scow to hectic boomtown Skagway and starts out for White Pass.

Seeing that many stampeders lack experience with horses, and having horse wrangling experience himself, Jason offers his services to Robinson and Bailey, two city men, for $10 a day and meals. They set out on the trail but are caught in constant standstills due to bottlenecks, narrow passages, and others’ heavy outfits mired in mud. After six days, Robinson and Bailey give up and go home. When Jason discovers from a descending packer that his brothers likely arrived at Lake Bennett already (where stampeders build skiff-style boats for the trip down the Yukon River), Jason decides to backtrack and take Chilkoot Pass instead. On the way, Jason rescues a husky from an infuriated man intent on drowning the dog because it will not pull his gear.

Back in Skagway, Jason sees new buildings, bigger crowds, and the con artists Kid Barker and “Captain” Smith at work. He eats at a café, then purchases gear and food from stampeders selling possessions. A bad case of food poisoning hits Jason; when he wakes, he meets Jamie Dunavant and her father, Homer, a poet, who tend to him during his sickness. Jamie and Homer are Canadian stampeders who plan to maneuver the Yukon by canoe. Jason names his new dog King; he and King head to Chilkoot Pass. The highest section of the Chilkoot, the Golden Stairs, is the steepest, and the altitude causes exhaustion and wheezing, but Jason is soon over the summit and hiking rapidly to Lake Bennett, where he expects to find Abraham and Ethan.

Arriving at the lake, Jason is shocked to discover that his brothers took passage on another group’s boat weeks ago. He offers to work in exchange for passage with many boat-building stampeders, but all turn him down for the same reason: He has no outfit, and the Mounties (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) require each stampeder entering Yukon Territory to come prepared for winter with 700 pounds of food. Stumped, Jason considers giving up; then he encounters Jack London, whose partner went home in poor health. Jack offers Jason the partner’s outfit. Jason is elated with this luck. He and King move the entire 1,200-pound outfit over Chilkoot Pass in multiple trips, 125 pounds at a time. This process takes weeks, and by the time he gets all the items to Lake Lindeman, only days remain to launch boats before the river freezes. Again, no one will take Jason aboard their skiff, but he purchases a canoe from a man defeated by the rapids and sets out just in time.

Jason deftly navigates lakes and bypasses dangerous rapids, eagerly expecting to see his brothers soon. A moose attacks Jason, however, and his injuries force him to shelter in a small cabin on the banks of the Yukon River. Weeks later, a group of men abandons their youngest member, Charlie, after amputating his gangrenous foot. Jason helps Charlie recover. When they run low on food, Jason hunts a bear; he acquires much-needed meat, but not before a bear kills King.

Spring finally arrives at the end of May. After a calm canoe trip, Jason and Charlie arrive in Dawson City. Jason’s brothers are shocked to see him. Jason is grateful to learn that he is an equal partner in their busy, successful sawmill. Newcomers fill Dawson City, which swells with businesses and development. Viewing the goldfields at last, Jason is dismayed to see how gold diggers have destroyed the landscape. Charlie goes home to Chicago; Jason also bids farewell to Jack London, who heads to California to become a writer. Jason sees Jamie Dunavant in Dawson City as well, just before she and her father leave for the US to tour their successful poetry recitation show.

There are no successful claims to stake once Jason finally succeeds in getting to the Klondike, but his experiences show him that family, friends, and personal fulfillment are far more important than gold. He intends to stay in Dawson City, help manage the sawmill, and enjoy life in the North.