Alaska’s Real Bonanza

In the 1890s, stampeders and sourdoughs discovered the real bonanza was from the sea. Alaska, the final frontier of the American West, was actively being settled in the mid- to late-1890s. When pioneers arrived seeking gold, they discovered the natural bounties of the land also included fish and shellfish. In April 1899, the editors at Skagway’s Daily Alaskan reported, “Alaska is noted for its fine fish, shell and scale, in fresh and saltwater, and one need not go further than the bay to en