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Memories from
the Muck:
Stories in rhyme celebrating the high times and history of the Gold Rush in
Alaska and the Yukon
by A. Richard Eskew
Released in March 2012 by
Shoppe Foreman Publishing
Take your memories
back, way back, more than a hundred years. The date is August 17, 1896! You are
standing in the middle of Rabbit Creek, just upstream from where the Klondike
River flows into the Great Yukon River.
It’s early afternoon, and there are five people who have
just finished catching salmon. There, in the creek, they make the discovery that
starts the greatest Gold Rush in history.
The mystery and mystique of Alaska — the legends,
the characters, the stories — come alive again and await your attention.
Memories from the Muck is a tribute to the poetic
soul of Robert Service, as well as the unique spirit of every Alaskan.
Memories from the Muck is available in softcover at
Amazon.com.
It is 125 pages and includes 50 poems.
Excerpts
I wasn’t very old when I first heard of the gold.
That was a catalyst for prose and poetry.
Jack London I read, lying on my bunk bed,
And Robert Service was so real to me.
from "Gold Rush Lure"
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I set up my tent, then right over I bent
To muck for the load in the stream.
Twenty hours or more, every day I was sore,
And the gravel still hid my dream.
I was ready to leave, one more boulder to heave
Then I’d be off to continue my quest:
For nuggets to hold and find the mother-load,
Then lay back for a lifetime of rest.
In the twilight’s last gleam, right there in the stream,
Was color right there at my feet.
My muscles were aching, my cold hands shaking,
And I know my heart skipped a beat.
from "My Quest"
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They came from everywhere, with every color hair,
The ladies of the Gold Rush time.
There were floozies so brash who came for the cash,
To be known as the girls of the line.
from "The Petticoat Brigade"
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