Jafet Lindeberg
Encyclopedia
Jafet Lindeberg was a gold prospector
and co-founder of the city of Nome, Alaska
.
, Troms
county, in Norway
. In his youth, he tried prospecting for gold in northern Norway. Lindeberg's father, Isak, was a farmer and fisherman. He had come to the region from the valley of Norrbotten
, an ancient iron mining region in Norrbotten County
, Sweden
.
. The gold rush
had escalated. Thousands of people rallied to the area, most of them completely unfamiliar with the harsh climate.
The authorities feared a humanitarian disaster, with famine
, epidemic
s and lawless conditions. It was difficult to send supplies.
It was therefore decided that reindeer
and able keepers were to be shipped from Norway to Klondike. Reindeer were known as versatile animals, that could be used for food, clothing and transport. On February 4, 1898, Lindeberg left Alta
with the ship Manitoba, heading for New York
. He had been hired as a reindeer keeper. There were 113 people, 535 reindeer, and 250 tons of reindeer lichen
on the ship. Upon arriving, he learned that the crisis was not as big as anticipated, and he was freed from his contract.
he met the Swedish immigrants Erik Lindblom
and John Brynteson
. The three formed the mining firm, Pioneer Mining Company. Lindeberg was elected president of the new venture. The three partners also founded the city of Nome, where they later made a big find of gold. The rumors about "The Three Lucky Swedes" spread quickly. The following year, Nome experienced a gold rush similar to the Klondike
rush.
Late-comers tried to “jump” the claims of the Pioneer Mining Company by filing mining claims over the same ground. A federal judge ruled that the Pioneer Mining Company claims were valid, but some of the claim jumpers gave partial interests in their claims to Washington politicians, who engineered the naming of their own federal judge, Arthur Noyes, to the Nome region. Noyes handed the Pioneer claims over to the claim jumpers, but after Noyes left Nome in disgrace, Lindeberg joined a group of masked vigilantes to seize their properties back from the claim jumpers.
The claim-jumping incident was the basis for Rex Beach
’s best-selling novel The Spoilers
, which was made into a stage play and five times into movies. Japhet Lindeberg lived long enough to see the character based on himself played on the big screen by John Wayne
, although Lindeberg modestly said that he didn’t see much resemblance between himself and Wayne’s character in The Spoilers
.
During a visit to Norway, Lindeberg convinced his old friend Leonhard Seppala
to come work for him in America. Seppala later became a renowned musher, a hero of the 1925 serum run to Nome
, and the foremost breeder of Siberian Husky
of his time.
Gold prospecting
Gold prospecting is the act of searching for new gold deposits. Methods used vary with the type of deposit sought and the resources of the prospector...
and co-founder of the city of Nome, Alaska
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
.
Background
Jafet Lindeberg was born in KvænangenKvænangen
Kvænangen is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Burfjord. The European route E6 highway goes through the municipality and over the Sørstraumen Bridge, and most people stop at the mountain pass of Kvænangsfjellet to view the...
, Troms
Troms
or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
county, in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. In his youth, he tried prospecting for gold in northern Norway. Lindeberg's father, Isak, was a farmer and fisherman. He had come to the region from the valley of Norrbotten
Norrbotten
Norrbotten is a Swedish province in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland.- Administration :...
, an ancient iron mining region in Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County
Norrbotten County is the northernmost county or län of Sweden. It borders Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia to the southeast. It also borders the counties of Nordland and Troms in Norway to the northwest, and Lapland Province in Finland to the northeast.The name...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Nome Gold Rush
In the autumn of 1897, the American congress decided to send help to the gold miners in KlondikeKlondike, Yukon
The Klondike is a region of the Yukon in northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border. It lies around the Klondike River, a small river that enters the Yukon from the east at Dawson....
. The gold rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
had escalated. Thousands of people rallied to the area, most of them completely unfamiliar with the harsh climate.
The authorities feared a humanitarian disaster, with famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
, epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
s and lawless conditions. It was difficult to send supplies.
It was therefore decided that reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
and able keepers were to be shipped from Norway to Klondike. Reindeer were known as versatile animals, that could be used for food, clothing and transport. On February 4, 1898, Lindeberg left Alta
Alta, Norway
-Birdlife:For those interested in bird watching, the river outlet, known locally as Altaosen is well worth a visit. This tidal area is used as a stopover for many wetland species.-Transportation:...
with the ship Manitoba, heading for New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He had been hired as a reindeer keeper. There were 113 people, 535 reindeer, and 250 tons of reindeer lichen
Cladonia rangiferina
Cladonia rangiferina, also known as Reindeer lichen , lat., is a light-colored, fruticose lichen belonging to the family Cladoniaceae. It grows in both hot and cold climates in well-drained, open environments. Found primarily in areas of alpine tundra, it is extremely cold-hardy.Other common names...
on the ship. Upon arriving, he learned that the crisis was not as big as anticipated, and he was freed from his contract.
The Three Lucky Swedes
On the Seward peninsula at the Bering StraitBering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
he met the Swedish immigrants Erik Lindblom
Erik Lindblom
Erik O. Lindblom was one of the “Three Lucky Swedes” who discovered gold in the Nome mining district.-Background:Erik Olof Lindblom was born in Dalarna, Sweden, the son of Olof Lindblom and Brita Lindblom. Lindblom's father was a respected land owner and school master in Sweden...
and John Brynteson
John Brynteson
John Brynteson was one the "The Lucky Swedes" who founded and developed the Nome mining district.-Background:...
. The three formed the mining firm, Pioneer Mining Company. Lindeberg was elected president of the new venture. The three partners also founded the city of Nome, where they later made a big find of gold. The rumors about "The Three Lucky Swedes" spread quickly. The following year, Nome experienced a gold rush similar to the Klondike
Klondike, Yukon
The Klondike is a region of the Yukon in northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border. It lies around the Klondike River, a small river that enters the Yukon from the east at Dawson....
rush.
Late-comers tried to “jump” the claims of the Pioneer Mining Company by filing mining claims over the same ground. A federal judge ruled that the Pioneer Mining Company claims were valid, but some of the claim jumpers gave partial interests in their claims to Washington politicians, who engineered the naming of their own federal judge, Arthur Noyes, to the Nome region. Noyes handed the Pioneer claims over to the claim jumpers, but after Noyes left Nome in disgrace, Lindeberg joined a group of masked vigilantes to seize their properties back from the claim jumpers.
The claim-jumping incident was the basis for Rex Beach
Rex Beach
Rex Ellingwood Beach was an American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player.- Biography :...
’s best-selling novel The Spoilers
The Spoilers (novel)
The Spoilers is a novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1969.-Plot introduction:When film tycoon, Sir Robert Hellier, loses his daughter to heroin, he declares war on the drug peddlers...
, which was made into a stage play and five times into movies. Japhet Lindeberg lived long enough to see the character based on himself played on the big screen by John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, although Lindeberg modestly said that he didn’t see much resemblance between himself and Wayne’s character in The Spoilers
The Spoilers (1942 film)
The Spoilers is a 1942 film directed by Ray Enright. The movie is set in Nome, Alaska during the Nome Gold Rush, with Marlene Dietrich as Cherry Malotte, Randolph Scott as Alexander McNamara, and John Wayne as Roy Glennister, and culminates in a spectacular saloon fistfight between McNamara and...
.
During a visit to Norway, Lindeberg convinced his old friend Leonhard Seppala
Leonhard Seppala
Leonhard Seppala was a Norwegian born American Sled dog racer who participated the 1932 Winter Olympics. Seppala is considered the founder of the Siberian Husky breed. -Background:...
to come work for him in America. Seppala later became a renowned musher, a hero of the 1925 serum run to Nome
1925 serum run to Nome
During the 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy," 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs relayed diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled across the U.S. territory of Alaska in a record-breaking five and a half days, saving the small city of Nome and the surrounding communities from...
, and the foremost breeder of Siberian Husky
Siberian Husky
The Siberian Husky is a medium-size, dense-coat working dog breed that originated in north-eastern Siberia. The breed belongs to the Spitz genetic family...
of his time.
Legacy
- A statue of Jafet Lindeberg, together with Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson stands in Nome, Alaska.
- Jafet Lindeberg, Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson are all listed in the Alaskan Mining Hall of Fame
Additional Sources
- Plazak, Dan A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2006)
- Harrison, Edward Sanford Nome and Seward Peninsula ( E.S. Harrison. 1905)