In Search of Gold: The Alaska Journals of Horace S. Conger, 1898-1899

"In Search of Gold" is a plainly written tale of a Minnesota pharmacist who is lured to the Copper River Valley of Alaska by the promise of gold. His dream is to eventually take his sour-faced wife to Paris and live happily ever after on his findings. But he was lucky to survive Alaska's Copper River Gold Rush of 1898. For one thing, there wasn't any gold. And the hardships of a totally unknown wilderness were almost enough to kill him. In 1898, many writers wrote in a flowery style that's hard to decipher nowadays. But Horace Conger is wonderfully concrete. This book was put together by his descendents, and is a classic in Alaska Gold Rush history.