Martha Black: Her Story from the Dawson Gold Fields to the Halls of Parliament

Martha Black was an independent 32-year- old when she joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. Like other stampeders, she endured the grueling Chilkoot Trail, traveled by boat down the notorious Yukon River, and worked placer gold claims while living in a primitive log cabin. Eventually she became a successful businesswoman owning a mining camp and managing a sawmill. At the age of 70, she was elected to the Canadian Parliament. Martha Black is one of the North's most colorful characters.

Journalist and friend Flo Whyard has edited Martha Black's fascinating life story. Inspired by Black's achievements, Whyard was elected to the Yukon Territory's legislature at the age of 58, and later became mayor of Whitehorse.