Michael MacGowan was born in 1865 in the Donegal gaeltacht. The eldest of twelve in a poverty-stricken family owning one cow, living in a three-roomed thatched cottage and speaking no English, he ended his days in a large slate-roofed house in the same place. First published in Irish as Rotha Mór an tSaol, this is his account of the fate dealt to him by the Wheel of Life . From the age of nine he was hired out for six consecutive summers at a fee of 30 shillings. After emigration to Scotland and the drudgery of farm work he left for America and worked his way across the USA in steelmills and mines to Montana. He then took part in the Klondike gold-rush and vividly recounts his adventures and hardships in the primitive icy wastes of the Yukon. Home on holiday in 1901 he fell in love and stayed, using the money from the gold to buy land and a house. This is a fascinating record of life and wanderings in Ireland, Scotland and America in the late 19th century. Told with the authority of someone who has lived what he describes, it reflects his indomitable spirit and loyalty to his native place and culture. He died in 1948.

The hard road to Klondike,

MacGowan, Michael

Routledge and Kegan Paul

This memoir tells the story of an Irishman worked his way across the USA in steel mills and mines to Montana. He then took part in the Klondike gold rush and vividly recounts his adventures and hardships in the icy wastes of the Yukon. Told with the certainty and authority of someone who has `lived' what he describes, this book reflects the author's indomitable spirit and loyalty to his native place and culture. His saga is filled with vivid recountings of his adventures and experiences-canoeing the Yukon, panning for gold, sheltering with Indians, the long dark winters near the Arctic Circle-and his loyal ""sourdough"" companions. He returned home in 1901 and using the money from the gold he found, bought some land and a house, married, and never wandered again, dying in 1948. MacGowan's highly readable true story of the frontier is one of determination, courage, and spirit

The Hard Road to the Klondike: Rotha Mor an Tsaol

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Collins Pr

Rotha mór an tsaoil

Clo Iar-Chonnachta

Born in 1865 in Donegal, the eldest of twelve children in a poverty-stricken family, Michael MacGowan left home as a young man to work in Scotland, but soon headed for America and, he hoped, some kind of success. He worked his way across the country as a hobo, working in steel mills and mines in Tennessee and Montana, before embarking on his greatest adventure-the gold rush, in the primitive, harsh, and icy wastes of the Yukon. His saga is filled with vivid recountings of his adventures and experiences-canoeing the Yukon, panning for gold, sheltering with Indians, the long dark winters near the Arctic Circle-and his loyal ""sourdough"" companions. He returned home in 1901 and using the money from the gold he found, bought some land and a house, married, and never wandered again, dying in 1948. MacGowan's highly readable true story of the frontier is one of determination, courage, and spirit.

The Hard Road to Klondike

Macgowan, Micheal

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