# Sam McGee — Songs of a Sourdough character guide

> Sam McGee in Songs of a Sourdough by Robert W. Service.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Sam

**First appearance:** 0016-the-cremation-of-sam-mcgee

## Who they are

A Tennessee prospector who chased Yukon gold despite a bone-deep hatred of cold, and who begs his partner for one final, firelit favor.

## Relationships

### [Cap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/characters/cap)

_friendship_

Sam McGee and Cap are close friends, with Cap fulfilling Sam's final wish to be cremated on the fire.

### [Lou](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/characters/lou)

_social_

Lou and Sam McGee are mere acquaintances in the Yukon gold rush community, with minimal direct interaction.

### [the stranger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/characters/the_stranger)

_social_

Sam McGee and the stranger are fellow travelers in the Klondike, but have no significant relationship beyond shared setting.

### [Cap](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/characters/cap)

_friendship_

Cap and Sam McGee are close companions, with Cap recounting Sam's tragic fate in the frozen north.

## In the story

### [Songs of a Sourdough](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/songs-of-a-sourdough)

Central figure in the poem 'The Cremation of Sam McGee', whose death and cremation on the trail highlight the extremes of the Klondike experience.

### [The Cremation of Sam McGee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-cremation-of-sam-mcgee)

Sam is the narrator's friend who dies from the extreme cold and is later cremated, only to be found alive and warm inside the furnace.

### [New Year's Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/new-year-s-eve)

Not directly present, but the saloon setting and Yukon atmosphere echo the world of Sam McGee.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/characters/sam_mcgee
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/characters