Ballads of a Cheechacko

By: Robert W. Service

Narrated by: Jonathan Ostrander

Ballads of a Cheechako is the sophomore volume of Yukon inspired verse from Scottish/Canadian poet Robert W. Service.

After the enormous success of Service's debut book Song of a Sourdough, he was transferred with his job as a bank clerk from Whitehorse to Dawson City. There he met many veterans of the Klondike Gold Rush who were eager to tell him their tales of adventure, and he was eager to listen.

After leaving his job at the bank and moving into what is now his iconic cabin on 8th Avenue in Dawson City, he began his career as a full-time author. He used his talent as a wordsmith to take the tales of the characters, hardships, and trials of the north, and fashion them into a collection of ballads full or heart, humor, and humanity.

Published in 1909, the book was an immediate success and catapulted Robert W. Service to a household name around North America. This volume contains 22 verses exploring interesting characters and life in the early days of Canada's last frontier. From the man who staked the northern lights, to the Mounted Police, to hard-luck prospectors, and beyond, this book contains much of the framework for the collective vision we all share when we hear the word Klondike.

Public Domain (P)2019 Jonathan Ostrander