Alaska's romantic past includes the magnetic lure of gold; the mad stampede to strike it rich; success and heartbreak; men and animals battling snow, ice, spring breakup, insects, and loneliness; dog teams at work and on desperate missions; river steamers battling the Yukon; bush pilots performing miraculous flights; and hordes of salmon taken by traps and seine hats. Places like Skagway, Dawson, Nome, Juneau, and Fairbanks were boom towns. Fortunes were made, gambled, and lost overnight.