Prior to the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1897, travelers returned from Alaska s Inside Passage with fascinating accounts of its wonders. Historian Robert Campbell demonstrates how these tourists served as shock troops of the gold rush by portraying Alaska as a Last West ripe for American conquest. Prior to the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1897, travelers returned from Alaska s Inside Passage with fascinating accounts of its wonders. Historian Robert Campbell demonstrates how these tourists served as shock troops of the gold rush by portraying Alaska as a Last West ripe for American conquest.