Short Western Story Review – Jack London – All Gold Canyon

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1901 – Spoiler alerts It is a thrill to turn the page of any short story anthology and find the next tale is by Jack London. This one doesn’t disappoint either. It tells of a lone and aging gold prospector, seeking his fortune in a secluded canyon on the high sierra desert lands. He has little regard for the beauty of the land which he decimate with his diggings as he has mumbled conversations with the imaginary Mr Pocket, the seam of rich gold he believes the canyon holds. He is so intent on his arduous panning that he often forget to even eat. Finally, as he hits his coveted motherlode, he Is attacked and shot (but only mildly injured) by a solitary bandit who was watching and hoping to take what the old man found the hard way but the prospector overpowers and kills him before taking his gold to town to file his claim. Realistic detail of the tough back breaking work involved in gold-digging and prospecting. Arthur Chappell