The first thing that will strike visitors when they go to the University of Washington Libraries collection of Eric A. Hegg's photography is the photograph "Miss Gracie Robinson, Yukon, 1898" that appears on the homepage. She's wearing an intriguing smile, a garment of furs, cinched tight at the waist, a rifle over her shoulder, and an elaborate headpiece that looks birdlike and completes the...

Once upon a time, there was gold in those hills around the Klondike. The celebrated gold rush of 1897-1898 excited the attention of millions around the world, and thousands of prospectors and suppliers flocked to the area. Many quickly found out that a lack of transportation infrastructure hampered the export of the natural resources. Later, in 1914, an act of Congress authorized the President to...