These twelve poems are from Ballads of a Cheechako which was Robert W. Service’s third book of Yukon poems, published in 1909. The word Cheechako, from Chinook Jargon, originated in the United States (Alaska) and Canada (Yukon) and was imported into local English during the Yukon gold rush that began in 1896. Cheechako, is a non derogatory word meaning “newcomer” or “tenderfoot.” The derivation looks something like this: chee new cha come ko home.

Latest episodes of the podcast Selections from Ballads of a Cheechako by Robert W. Service

• 01 – To the Man of the High North
• 02 – Men of the High North
• 03 – The Ballad of the Northern Lights
• 04 – The Ballad of The Black Fox Skin
• 05 – The Ballad of Pious Pete
• 06 – The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill
• 07 – The Ballad of One-Eyed Mike
• 08 – My Friends
• 09 – The Wood-Cutter
• 10 – The Song of the Mouth-Organ
• 11 – The Trail of Ninety-Eight
• 12 – Ballad of Gum-Boot Ben