Annie Hall Strong

Quick Facts

Significance:

Wrote "Advice to Women" for ladies headed to the Klondike Gold Rush

In the Skagway News, December 31, 1897 Annie Hall Strong wrote advice to women who "have made up their minds to go to the Klondike." Ms. Strong weighed in on the required ton of supplies and wrote "what should be taken & what should be left behind- from a woman's perspective." She said,

"There is no use trying to discourage them, our wills are strong and courage unfailing. There are a few things a woman should carefully consider before starting out on this really perilous journey. Delicate women have no right attempting the trip. It means utter collapse. Those who love luxury, comfort and ease would better remain at home. It takes strong, healthy, courageous women to stand the terrible hardships that must necessarily be endured. "

Among her "Advice to Women", Ms. Strong recommended 3 canvas bags: 1 for bedding, 1 for clothing, and 1 for shoes and boots. From her actual first-hand experience, Ms.Strong says: Evaporated eggs are a failure and everyone who took saccharin as a substitute for sugar were loud in their condemnation of it. Take plenty of sugar. One craves it, and 200 pounds per outfit is not too much. Corn meal, sugar, tea and coffee should be packed in tins. Take plenty of tea. Baking powder and candles are apt to be the first articles to disappear. A few extra pounds would come in very handy. She also recommended lemonade tablets; they are preferable to lime juice and citric acid, being easier to carry, having no weight or bulk.

As for sleeping bags, "several people have been disappointed in them. A piece of heavy canvas 5 X 14 will take the place of the heavy ready- made sleeping bag. …in a blizzard without your tent, you can stretch your canvas over a pole and make a tent at a moment's notice." Beds on the trail were also substituted with a good pioneer mattress, called a "tick" and filled with dried moss.