Hunter: The Yukon Gold Rush Letters of Robert Hunter Fitzhugh Jr., 1897-1900

Hunter Fitzhugh left St. Louis in 1897 dreaming of fortune and adventure, bound for the Yukon Territory, where it was rumored that nuggets of gold simply littered the ground, waiting to make a man rich. Hunter soon discovered the reality of the land about which he had only read, and, blessed with keen intelligence and an eye for detail, he recreated that land in his writing. Cut off from his family and friends back home, he poured his thoughts and feelings into letters, which form a riveting narrative of the adventurous life he led in the far north.

Seeking riches, he found them not in the nuggets he dug from the frozen mountains but in the human relationships he mined in the tiny gold-rush towns and camps.

Hunter searched not only for fame and fortune, but also for an understanding of his place in this world. His letters reveal one individual’s quest for purpose and meaning in life. His determination and hope in the face of daunting obstacles, both physical and spiritual, is a testament to man’s courage.