<P> The prospectors came from many nations, although an estimated majority of 60 to 80 percent were Americans or recent immigrants to America . Most had no experience in the mining industry, being clerks or salesmen . Mass resignations of staff to join the gold rush became notorious . In Seattle, this included the mayor, twelve policemen, and a significant percentage of the city's streetcar drivers . </P> <P> Some stampeders were famous: John McGraw, the former governor of Washington joined, together with the prominent lawyer and sportsman A. Balliot . Frederick Burnham, a well - known American scout and explorer, arrived from Africa, only to be called back to take part in the Second Boer War . Among those who documented the rush were the Swedish - born photographer Eric Hegg, who took some of the iconic pictures of Chilkoot Pass, and reporter Tappan Adney, who afterwards wrote a first - hand history of the stampede . Jack London, later a famous American writer, left to seek for gold but made his money during the rush mostly by working for prospectors . </P> <P> Seattle and San Francisco competed fiercely for business during the rush, with Seattle winning the larger share of trade . Indeed, one of the first to join the gold rush was William D. Wood, the mayor of Seattle, who resigned and formed a company to transport prospectors to the Klondike . The publicity around the gold rush led to a flurry of branded goods being put onto the market . Clothing, equipment, food, and medicines were all sold as "Klondike" goods, allegedly designed for the north - west . Guidebooks were published, giving advice about routes, equipment, mining, and capital necessary for the enterprise . The newspapers of the time termed this phenomenon "Klondicitis". </P> <Ul> <Li> <P> Klondikers buying miner's licenses at the Custom House in Victoria, BC, on February 12, 1898 </P> </Li> <Li> <P> The S / S Excelsior leaves San Francisco on July 28, 1897, for the Klondike . </P> </Li> <Li> <P> SS Islander leaving Vancouver, bound for Skagway, 1897 </P> </Li> </Ul>

Who was involved in the yukon gold rush