Dawson City, Yukon — The Northern Territories (North America)
Robert Service's Cabin / La cabane de Robert Service
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 3, 2010
1. Robert Service's Cabin Marker
Displayed on the marker is a photo of Robert Service, Courtesy of the Yukon Archives.
English:
Within 5 years of Robert Service's departure in 1912, the local press referred to his rented cabin as a “shrine”. It became Yukon’s foremost tourist attraction virtually from the day it was abandoned. Maintained, altered and embellished by local service groups, the Klondike Bard’s cabin has come to symbolize the legacy of the Klondike Gold Rush:
“Have you suffered, starved and triumphed, grovelled down, yet grasped at glory. Grown bigger in the bigness of the whole?”
(from The Call of the Wild, Robert Service)
French:
À peine cinq ans après le départ de Robert Service en 1912, la presse locale qualifiait sa cabane louée de “lieu de pèrlerinage”. Après avoir été abandonnée, la cabane est devenue presque aussitôt la principale attraction touristique du Yukon. Entretenue, modiffiée et embellie par groupes locaux, la cabane du barde Klondike en est venue à symbolier l’hértiage de la ruée vers l’or du Klondike:
“As-tu souffert, connu la faim et triomphé, rampé et Pourtant connu la glorie, Grandi dans la grandeur de l’univers?”
(Traduction libre d’un extrait de “The Call of the Wild” de Robert Service)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music
this page online
Location. 64° 3.36′ N, 139° 25.843′ W. Marker is in Dawson City, Yukon. Marker is on Eighth Avenue, 0.2 kilometers north of Hanson Street, on the right when traveling north. The marker is on Eighth Avenue near the intersection with Hanson Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Dawson City YT YT YOB, Canada. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. N.W.M.P. Commanding Officer’s Quarters (about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); St. Andrew’s Church and Manse (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Dr. Brown’s Residence (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Macaulay’s Residence (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); 3rd Avenue Complex (approx. half a kilometer away); Billy Bigg’s Blacksmith Shop (approx. half a kilometer away); Yukon Hotel (approx. half a kilometer away); Harrington’s Store (approx. 0.6 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dawson City.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 3, 2010
2. Robert Service's Cabin
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 3, 2010
3. Robert Service's Cabin, interior
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 2, 2010
4. Robert Service's The Spell of the Yukon (extract)
I wanted the gold, and I sought it;
I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy - I fought it;
I hurled my youth into a grave.
I wanted the gold and I got it -
Came out with a fortune last fall;
Yet somehow life's not what I thought
And somehow the gold isn't all.
I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy - I fought it;
I hurled my youth into a grave.
I wanted the gold and I got it -
Came out with a fortune last fall;
Yet somehow life's not what I thought
And somehow the gold isn't all.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 16, 2017. It was originally submitted on May 25, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 860 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 25, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
