Here we see a man at a store in Dawson paying with gold dust, his resigned expression typical of the Klondike's miners. By 1899 the modern equivalent of some $1 billion in gold had been removed from the area, yet most stampeders went home with almost nothing. As usual it was the merchants, shopkeepers, bar owners and brothel keepers who made the real money, a trend that continued into the 20th century when gold was found in other parts of North America and Africa.

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