Episode 17 - Klondike Kate

Klondike Kate was the most famous of the women who graced the stages of Dawson's dance halls. Her fascinating life story is layers of popular myths, hard realities and enduring mysteries. Join us to find out why the New York Sun said "Klondike Kate is a legend, and legends, unlike old soldiers, neither die nor fade away."

Photo: Klondike Kate, around 1900 or 1901

Sources, maps & reading

• Another famous portrait of Kate, courtesy Alaska's Digital Archives

• Portrait of Kate's business and romantic partner, Alexander Pantages, as a young man at the University of Washington Libraries collection

• Gold Diggers of the Klondike: Prostitution in Dawson City, Yukon 1898-1908, by Bay Ryley

• Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush: A Secret History of the Far North by Lael Morgan

• Frontier Spirit: The Brave Women of the Klondike by Jennifer Duncan

• History Hunter: It was Klondike Kate vs. Klondike Kate on TV, Yukon News article by Yukon historian Michael Gates

• Free-Spirited Klondike Kate Mined Life to Its Fullest, by Cecilia Rasmussen in the LA Times

Photo above in the public domain from Wikipedia Commons.