The Klondike/Alaska gold rush differed from the California gold rush a half century earlier in that there was no city in Alaska like San Francisco where prospectors could go to re-outfit. They had to bring everything with them.

Unlike the Canadian Klondike, where the Mounties checked each in-coming prospector's provisions to assure that he had a year's supply, those going into the Copper River District had the freedom and responsibility of providing for themselves as they saw fit. Some brought supplies for three months, others for more than a year.

Like many gold rushers, members of the Connecticut Mining and Trading Company did most of their outfitting in Seattle. Their manifest shows they stocked up on flour, grains, beans, dried fruit and some dried vegetables and salted meat. Their list includes other staples like butter, cheese, salt, pepper, milk, and sugar, but also unexpected items like saccharine tablets, ginger, and nutmeg. For a year's supply of food and soap for 37 people, they spent $3,345.54.

(For more information on the Connecticut and Alaska Mining and Trading company, see Margeson, Experiences of Gold Rushers in Alaska. Available at local stores).