Marshall Bond was born in Virginia, but found himself moving around the country with his father. He grew up on his father’s ranch outside of Denver and during summers (when Yale wasn’t in session) he would find himself on cattle drives to New Mexico and Mexico.
In 1896 he received he obtained a Master’s from Stanford University in Mining. In 1897 mining meant Alaska and the Alaska Gold Rush. Against the advice of his father, Marshall Bond decided he wanted to participate in the Klondike Gold Rush and
managed to get his father to put up financing in a partnership, provided Louis went along to manage the purchases and expenditures.
Bond arrived in Skagway, while waiting for a teamster to carry his supplies, he and other miners became upset by the treatment of the miners by the municipal government, and he and other miner activists overthrew it.
During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 to 1898, Marshall Bond and his brother Louis owned a log cabin on a hill overlooking Dawson City,Yukon. One of their tenants during the fall of 1897 and part of the spring of 1898 was a young man who did chores on a labor exchange for one of their tent spaces. This was author Jack London. The main character of his novel 'The Call of the Wild', Buck, was based on a large St. Bernard/Collie owned by the Bonds. The dog was lent to Jack London by the Bonds for the performance of his work.
After leaving Alaska (poorer but wiser?), Bond could be found everywhere. He was in the Philippines at the end of the Spanish American War, spent time in Europe promoting an Alaska Gold Dredging opportunity, worked at the American Mechanical Cashier Corporation, assisted in the relocation of Boer refugees to Mexico, etc.
But he was a miner and knew mining. When the excitement for Alaska died down, the new strike in Nevada caught the eye and ear of everyone interesting in mining and making a fortune. Needless to say Marshall Bond ended up there. With his knowledge and education he found himself working as a writer for local newspapers in 1904 and 1905.
But he was not to be denied his interest in mining. This Salt Lake Tribune article of October 10, 1904 shows us that the Bonds were major players in the St. Ives Gold Mining & Milling Company. Several articles expressed the notion there was promise here, but I could find no indication of any real return on investment.
After leaving Nevada his days of adventure were not over. He was a mining engineer in Mexico during the Pancho Villa uprising, worked in counter intelligence for the United States during World War I, went back to Europe, took a big-game hunting trip in Africa, and in his seventies he patented a borax claim in the Mojave Desert.
1. Introduction to the Marshall Bond Collection a the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
2. Wikipedia
3. Jack London International web site
In 1896 he received he obtained a Master’s from Stanford University in Mining. In 1897 mining meant Alaska and the Alaska Gold Rush. Against the advice of his father, Marshall Bond decided he wanted to participate in the Klondike Gold Rush and
managed to get his father to put up financing in a partnership, provided Louis went along to manage the purchases and expenditures.
Bond arrived in Skagway, while waiting for a teamster to carry his supplies, he and other miners became upset by the treatment of the miners by the municipal government, and he and other miner activists overthrew it.
During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 to 1898, Marshall Bond and his brother Louis owned a log cabin on a hill overlooking Dawson City,Yukon. One of their tenants during the fall of 1897 and part of the spring of 1898 was a young man who did chores on a labor exchange for one of their tent spaces. This was author Jack London. The main character of his novel 'The Call of the Wild', Buck, was based on a large St. Bernard/Collie owned by the Bonds. The dog was lent to Jack London by the Bonds for the performance of his work.
After leaving Alaska (poorer but wiser?), Bond could be found everywhere. He was in the Philippines at the end of the Spanish American War, spent time in Europe promoting an Alaska Gold Dredging opportunity, worked at the American Mechanical Cashier Corporation, assisted in the relocation of Boer refugees to Mexico, etc.
But he was a miner and knew mining. When the excitement for Alaska died down, the new strike in Nevada caught the eye and ear of everyone interesting in mining and making a fortune. Needless to say Marshall Bond ended up there. With his knowledge and education he found himself working as a writer for local newspapers in 1904 and 1905.
But he was not to be denied his interest in mining. This Salt Lake Tribune article of October 10, 1904 shows us that the Bonds were major players in the St. Ives Gold Mining & Milling Company. Several articles expressed the notion there was promise here, but I could find no indication of any real return on investment.
After leaving Nevada his days of adventure were not over. He was a mining engineer in Mexico during the Pancho Villa uprising, worked in counter intelligence for the United States during World War I, went back to Europe, took a big-game hunting trip in Africa, and in his seventies he patented a borax claim in the Mojave Desert.
1. Introduction to the Marshall Bond Collection a the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
2. Wikipedia
3. Jack London International web site