1896-1906

1896-1906

By 1897, his letters to the editor are regularly published in local San Francisco Bay Area papers. He is arrested for speaking in public without the mayor’s permission but only one juror finds him guilty, so the city drops the case. As a Socialist, he runs for a seat on the Oakland Board of Education. He works at the Belmont Academy laundry.

Overcome with “Klondike fever,” Jack departed from San Francisco on the SS Umatilla on July 25, 1897, accompanied and bankrolled by his much older brother-in-law, Captain Shepard, who returned home after only two days on the rugged Alaska trails. With nearly 2,000 pounds of required equipment; including warm garments, food, mining implements, tents, blankets, Klondike stoves, and a copy of Miner Bruce’s Alaska, Jack entered the Yukon Territory by way of the Dyea River and the notorious Chilkoot Pass.

Jack moved into a cabin and staked a claim on Henderson Creek in early November of 1897, after a month of prospecting. During the long winter which followed, he became well-known to his fellow prospectors for his storytelling ability.

In May 1898, he developed a severe case of scurvy from lack of fresh fruit and vegetables that he could no longer work his claim. Desperately needing immediate medical attention, he anxiously awaited the melting of the ice blocking the Yukon River. He eventually did receive some medical help but was advised to return home. On June 28, he arrived in St. Michael, after making his way in a small boat down 1,500 miles of the Yukon River. From St. Michael, he sailed home.

Jack London gained a tremendous amount of insight and perspective while in Alaska and the Klondike. Although he had not discovered much gold, he had uncovered a Mother Lode of experience from which he would draw material for his future novels and stories.

In 1900, Jack married his math tutor and friend, Bess Maddern. It was a Victorian marriage typical of the time, based on “good breeding”, not love. With Bess, he had two daughters — Joan and Bess (“Becky”). On June 28,1904, Bess files for divorce on grounds of desertion.

London again runs unsuccessfully as Socialist candidate for Mayor of Oakland. He receives 981 votes. After the defeat he begins lecture tour on socialism through the eastern and mid-western United States

He married his secretary, Charmian Kittredge, in Chicago on November 19, the day after his divorce from Bess is final. Together, they played, traveled, wrote and enjoyed life. Their one child, Joy, only lived for thirty-eight hours.

After a brief honeymoon in December, Jack resumes his lecture tour; speaks at Yale University, Carnegie Hall, and in the Midwest, but cancels lecture tour after becoming ill. Back in Glen Ellen he begins building the Snark and the first building on the Ranch is completed. Flora visits the Ranch. It is her first and last visit.

Jack London

1876-1886

1886-1896

1896-1906

1906-1916