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British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Hamilton, Walter R.
"Bibliography: p. [249] Chief emphasis of the work is on events during the years 1897-1901. It includes several chapters on the routes to the Yukon. The author was one of the few men who reached the Yukon by travelling through the interior of British Columbia."-- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 231.
xiii, 261 pages : frontispiece (color), maps (some folded), illustrations, portraits, photographs, advertisement (on cover lining) ; 24 cm
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W.R. HAMILTON THE YUKON STORY Walter R. Hamilton The author of this book, who died in 1964 in his ninety-second year, was a man of rare persistence. In 1898, young, slight and wiry, he was one of only five out of some 1500 who left Ashcroft in the great Yukon gold rush to take the incredibly difficult overland route to the goldfields and who actually reached the goal. He was part of the most exciting and colorful stampede in history, working at placer mining in both the Atlin and the Klondike gold camps. When excitement subsided he lived for about ten years thereafter in Dawson and at Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory. Half a century later, Hamilton concluded that the story of the Yukon never had been gathered together in one sound, Continued on back flap THE YUKON STORY THE STORY WALTER R. HAMILTON A Sourdough's record of Goldrush Days and Yukon Progress from the earliest times to the present day. MITCHELL PRESS LIMITED VANCOUVER, CANADA Copyright 1964 — All rights reserved PRINTED IN CANADA MITCHELL PRESS LIMITED VANCOUVER, B.C. Contents CHAPTER ONE Early Exploration, 1 CHAPTER TWO The Ashcroft Trail, 7 CHAPTER THREE Atlin Camp, 24 CHAPTER FOUR Atlin to Dawson, 30 CHAPTER FIVE Dawson and Sulphur Creek, 38 CHAPTER SIX The Edmonton Trail, 42 CHAPTER SEVEN Other Trails to the Yukon, 50 CHAPTER EIGHT The Soapy Smith Episode, 54 CHAPTER NINE Discoverers of Gold, 64 CHAPTER TEN Yukon Mining, 71 CHAPTER ELEVEN Life in the Klondike, 79 CHAPTER TWELVE The White Pass Railway, 87 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Yukon Stage Line, 97 CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Banks, 105 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 115 CHAPTER SIXTEEN William Ogilvie, 130 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Government, 133 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Whitehorse and Other Places, 137 CHAPTER NINETEEN Climate and Agriculture, 141 CHAPTER TWENTY The Church, 145 J CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN The Alaska Highway, 172 Yukon Phenomena, 199 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Soldiers of the North, 177 Tall Tales of the North, 201 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Education, 184 Poetry of the North, 204 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR APPENDIX The Yukon Mail Service, 186 215 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY Yukon Natives, 188 249 CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX INDEX Game and Fur, 196 251 fvi) Illustrations FRONTISPIECE A modern view of the claim on Gold Bottom Creek where Bob Henderson's discovery started the great Yukon gold rush. FOLLOWING PAGE SIXTEEN Map of the Yukon Territory. Soapy Smith of Skagway, pictured after his killing by Reid. Frank Reid did not survive the bandit's bullets. Shooting the Whitehorse Rapids. Robert Henderson, first finder of Klondike gold. George Carmack, staker of the first discovery. FOLLOWING PAGE FORTY-EIGHT Ida and Walter Hamilton at the McGregor Cabin, Dawson. Walter and Ida Hamilton, in Vancouver half a century later. How freight was scowed down the Yukon River to Dawson. An early gold dredge and drilling rig at Bear Creek. Miles Canyon took a heavy toll of lives in '98 and '99. S.S. 'Whitehorse' ascends Five Fingers Rapids. William Ogilvie, government land surveyor, first "governor" of the Yukon. Frederic W. Hart, early pioneer of the Yukon Territory. Kate Rockwell, actress and dancer at Dawson in gold rush days is here pictured in 1900 when she was famous as Klondike Kate. Michael (Mickey) O'Rourke, V.C., became the most decorated Canadian private soldier of World War I. FOLLOWING PAGE EIGHTY Robert W. Service, the Yukon's balladeer who created 'Dangerous Dan McGrew'. Walter Hamilton in his Yukon mail despatcher days at Dawson. Whipsawing lumber. It was said the man who could whipsaw could lick his weight in wildcats. The author and his placering friends on 8 Below Sulphur claim, 1900. Father Judge, S.J., Samaritan of the Yukon. Bishop Bompas, Apostle of the north. Bishop Isaac Stringer. Rev. Father Bunoz, early missionary and Vicar Apostolic of Yukon. Salvation Army Field Force which went into the Yukon through Skagway in May-June, 1898. Sluicing the muckpile on Golden Run Creek. Young Hamilton on shaft windlass at Discovery on Pine Creek, May 1899. White Pass narrow gauge railway has been boon to the Yukon. FOLLOWING PAGE ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE Leicester Hall, Gordon McLellan, Alfred Jarvis and author, Dawson, 1901. Ed Ironside. Ben]. F. Craig. Dr. Alfred Thompson, M.P. (left) and Capt. George Black, M.P., formerly Member for Y.T., and speaker of the House of Commons. Mountain sheep are part of the Yukon's attraction to big game hunters. From the bottom of a mining shaft at 55 feet, on Hunker Creek, these skeletal remains of a long-tusked mammoth were recovered. Rev. John Pringle and Rev. George Pringle, Yukon missionaries and First War chaplains. Col. 'Joe' Boyle. (viii) — FOLLOWING PAGE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR Freighting in gold rush days at Dawson and the Road House at Dominion Creek. The McPherson Patrol, R.C.M.P., leaving Dawson. Commissioner Starnes, R.C.M.P., Yukon. Col. Zachary T. Wood, N.W.M.P., Dawson. Eagle to Dawson mail by dogsled. Blowing black sand from panned placer gold. Dawson on the Yukon River at its hey-day about 1900. 8 Below on Sulphur Creek, May 1900, where the author placer mined. James Hamilton Ross. Leroy N. (Jack) McQuesten. Portrait of Pioneer Harper. Otto Ordling, Canadian Army and Yukon publicity man. FOLLOWING PAGE ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SEC Whitehorse (taken at midnight). Yukon Malamute, the Pioneers' friend. Government Buildings at Dawson destroyed by fire* Tusk Ivory from Sulphur Creek. Modern Whitehorse in the crisp cold of a clear mid-winter night. (W Dreaming of men who will bless me, Of women esteeming me good, Of children born in my borders, Of radiant womanhood, Of cities leaping to stature, Of fame like a flag unfurled, 1 pour out the wealth of my riches In the eager lap of the world. ROBERT W. SERVICE "Songs of a Sourdough" To all those who have known the Yukon's spell and who share in its spirit of brotherhood. Foreword The author took part in the great gold rush to the Klondike in '98 and lived more than ten years in the Yukon Territory. In Dawson he met Ida Hastings, a young Toronto school teacher, who had answered a call from the Yukon Superintendent of Education and went there to teach school in 1906. They were married at Lefroy, Ontario in 1908, and returned to the Yukon where the writer was then in charge of northern mails at Whitehorse. Miss Hastings was succeeded on the Dawson school staff by Miss Thompson, afterwards Mrs. Berton, author of "I Married the Klondike" and mother of Pierre Berton, popular writer and TV interviewer and formerly editor of Maclean's Magazine. After half a century had passed and while volumes of fact and fiction had been written about the great epic of '98, no complete, authentic story of the Yukon had ever reached the public. The author, with his wife's encouragement and help, decided to tell the heroic and tragic stories of the many trails of '98 to the Klondike. We hope to correlate the accounts of that northland that has not only continued to pour its wealth 'in the eager lap of the world' but is now attracting new and very promising scientific research and development for precious minerals and base metals, oil, natural gas and water power, never dreamed of by its early pioneers. As there were no automobiles nor aircraft in '98, and not even roads or well defined trails in the north, the effect of that rugged land and its living conditions on the lives of those who, regardless of nationality, were welcomed and given impartial treatment by the Canadian Government, shared its rigors and were captivated by its spell, developed a brotherhood proud to graduate as 'Sourdoughs'. This spirit is still perpetuated in annual reunions in various Pacific coast cities of the United States and Canada and was unanimously expressed at the reunion held at Long Beach, California, in August, 1958. Its concluding resolution was as follows: "Be it resolved that the International Sourdough Reunion Inc. wishes to go on record that the Reunion and its members believe from experiences shared in the far northland, that human relationships far transcend national boundaries, and urge early and amicable settlement of any international controversial issues between our two great countries—the United States and Canada—in this dangerously materialistic time in the world's history." These pioneers, their children born in the north, and those who spent later years there, feel its lure and believe, as the old miners say, that its real wealth has "never been scratched." The 2500-foot elevation of the dozen lakes that are the source of the Yukon River offers one of the largest and most economical hydro-electric power potentials in the world and points the way to new and greater adventures than those of '98. The author wishes to acknowledge the great help and encouragement of his late wife and the kindly cooperation and assistance of many Yukon friends. Information from the archives of the Departments of the Interior and Mines and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has been courteously given. The White Pass and Yukon Railway Company and the Hudson's Bay records have been kindly made available, and the various church information regarding missionary work and general Christian activities has been painstakingly supplied. In the hope that nothing of interest has been overlooked and that the real picture of the Yukon Territory has been presented herein, the author humbly submits "The Yukon Story". Walter R. Hamilton Vancouver, 1963 (xiii) Publisher's Preface Walter R. Hamilton, author of this book, died in Vancouver in March 1964 at the age of 92. He had just completed reading first proofs of The Yukon Story, whose preparation had become the greatest interest of his later years. In his eighties and nineties, Mr. Hamilton still had remarkably faithful recall of the incidents and associations of his Yukon days from 1898 to 1908. It is possible that in some cases his spelling of names of trail companions is phonetic rather than exact, but in its essential details the chronicle is accurate. Hamilton's first manuscript, in mimeographed, typescript form, was the basis for this work. The author was asked to elaborate on some parts of his original work and other portions have been omitted as irrelevant to the central subject or redundant. Very many of the cast of characters of the great drama of the Klondike gold rush of 1898 are not named, of course, but the principal actors are here and their roles are identified for posterity. It is obvious that while Hamilton's work brings the story of the Yukon down to modern times, the chief emphasis is on the years of greatest color and adventure from 1897 to about 1901 when Dawson City, now almost a ghost town, was in its zestful hey-day. The more recent account of Yukon progress is, in itself, worthy of a substantial book. This volume is presented as a contribution to Canadiana by a participant in the last and most spectacular of the world's great gold rushes. It will become a source book for information on this colorful chapter of Canadian history, relating as it does so much of the story of the development of the northwest portion of the vast and rugged expanse of Canada and Alaska by one who himself took part in the pioneering adventure. Howard T. Mitchell Vancouver, 1964. 1. Early Exploration The great distance up the Yukon River from Bering Sea, and the hostility of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Indians of the north Pacific coast, deterred successive Russian explorers from setting foot on that part of North America which is now the Yukon Territory, Canada. The first explorer to discover that Asia and America were separated by sea was Vitus Bering, a Danish sailor in the Russian navy. Acting under instruction from Peter the Great, Bering, in 1725, embarked from Kamchatka, Siberia, and explored the northeast coast of Asia. He made no attempt to sail toward the continent of North America, and returned to Russia and to St. Petersburg (now Leningrad) in 1730. Two years later, a group of Cossacks under a minor navigator, named Michael Gosdoff, were driven eastward by a storm to an island from which they saw on August 21st, 1732 the mainland of what is now Alaska. Bering, who had been promoted to the rank of Commander, again set sail in 1741 with two ships, the Saint Peter, commanded by himself, and the Saint Paul, commanded by his first Lieutenant, Chirikoff. Each ship had a crew of seventy-six men. In a storm at sea they became separated and Chirikoff was driven eastward to land. He sought refuge in a natural shelter believed to be what is now Sitka harbor. Bering searched for Chirikoff for three days. Then he gave up the search and, returning on his course, saw a high peak above a range of mountains. He named the peak Mount St. Elias. 2 — The Yukon Story While exploring the dangerous coast, Bering took ill and was brought to shore. There he died on the 8th of December, 1741 and was buried on the Aleutian island that bears his name. Chirikoff returned to St. Petersburg and made his report, which became the basis of Russian claims in America and opened the way for the traders of that nation, who swept along the coast trading with the Indians and establishing posts and communities under the Russian flag as far south as San Francisco Bay. Rivalry and lawlessness among themselves and with the Indians became so serious that Emperor Paul, in 1799, placed all Russian possessions in North America under a corporation, later known as the Russian-American Company. On May 21st of that year, their chief trading post was established at Fort Archangel (now Sitka) with Alexander Baranoff as Governor of the Russian colonies in North America. In the meantime Captain James Cook, who had been with Wolfe at Quebec, sailed from England on July 12th, 1776 on a voyage of discovery to the north Pacific coast. He and his Lieutenant, George Vancouver, made careful surveys of the coast. Cook named Bristol Bay and reached Icy Point on the Arctic Ocean. There he was barred by the ice pack, and retracing his course, entered Unalaska harbor. While his vessel was beached for repairs, he visited the Russian commander there and exchanged friendly greetings and compared maps and reports, as far as their different languages permitted. Cook then sailed for the Sandwich Islands for the winter and was killed by the natives on February 14th, 1799. During this time the Company of One Hundred Associates, now known as the Hudson's Bay Company, were pushing west and south from Hudson Bay, and were carrying on a profitable business trading with the Indians, mostly in muskets, tea, salt, blankets and trinkets, for furs. In the year 1670 this group had received a Royal warrant from King Charles of England under the name of "The Company of Adventurers Trading out of Hudson's Bay" and were given "absolute control" of the vast unexplored territory, named Rupert's Land after Prince Rupert, the first Governor of the Company. In 1821 the right was granted to the Company to trade with the Indians "west of the Rocky Mountains". This right, renewed in 1838, included the area north and west of the Columbia River. In 1785 a group of Scottish-Canadians in Montreal organized the North-West Trading Company and with French-Canadian Early Exploration — 3 and Indian crew-men and trappers, generally known as 'voyageurs', developed a powerful and amazingly efficient and highly competitive organization. The first centre of this Company's operation began at Lake Athabaska in 1786. Under instructions of the North-west Company, Alexander Mackenzie, for whom the Mackenzie River was named, set out in 1793 and after crossing the Rocky Mountains reached the Pacific coast at Bella Coola Inlet near the present town of Ocean Falls, British Columbia. Here on the rocky bluff at the head of the inlet, he crudely painted with 'vermilion and grease' "Alexander Mackenzie from Canada, by land, July 22nd, 1793". These hardy exploring and trading pioneers covered vast distances of hitherto unknown territory, but until Mackenzie, the difficult area west of the Rockies had resisted them. The first white man to discover any part of what is now the Yukon Territory, Canada, was Sir John Franklin, in 1825. Franklin's wide experience and careful preparation enabled him to overcome difficulties that had baffled others. He had been a midshipman on a voyage of discovery to Australia in 1803, a signaller under Nelson at Trafalgar in 1805, had explored some five hundred miles of the Arctic coast from the mouth of the Coppermine River eastward in 1822 and as second in command of a two-ship attempt to reach the North Pole via Spitzbergen Island, where Arctic ice compelled them to turn back. Then, in 1825, when the Government of Britain decided on a further attempt to discover a north-west passage for ships, Franklin was given command of an expedition to travel overland to the mouth of the Mackenzie River. A Captain Beechey was sent around Cape Horn, the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, to "sail eastward along the northern coast of Alaska." Franklin's route was: to New York, up the Hudson River, across Lake Ontario to York (Toronto), and across Lake Simcoe, down the Nottawasaga River, across Georgian Bay, through the Sault to Fort William, then by the trappers' route to Great Slave Lake, and to the Mackenzie River near Great Bear Lake, down the Mackenzie to the Arctic and then westward to meet Captain Beechey. In July 1825, he reached Herschel Island, named by him in honor of the great astronomer. Here he met about fifty Eskimos. Seeing the the natives had iron or steel pointed arrows, he learned through his interpreter that they had been received in trade with white men far to the west. So he concluded that these men must 4 — The Yukon Story have been Russian traders along the Alaskan coast and that there was the likelihood of a sea passage to the coast. His party had two boats and they sailed and rowed westward along the coast beyond what is now the north-west corner of Yukon Territory, to a point "where there was little vegetation and the mountains reached the coast." The fog had become so dense and the ice pack so close that they were compelled to camp on what Franklin called "Foggy Island". The point on the mainland where they turned back, he called "Return Reef". Travelling eastward along the approximately two hundred miles of what is now Yukon Territory on the Arctic, Franklin reported seeing many fur bearing animals and reindeer (caribou). On this, his second attempt to find a north-west passage, Franklin thus became the first white man to set foot on Yukon Territory. He had reached it from the Arctic, one of the most difficult approaches. Franklin's report led the Hudson's Bay Company to send an exploration party under John Bell to make an examination of the area, preparatory to establishing a trading post. During the summer of 1839, Bell explored the Snake River to its head, and the following year Fort McPherson was established at the Mackenzie River delta. In 1842, Bell made a three days' journey down the Porcupine River and, four years later, he descended the Porcupine to its mouth and saw the great river into which it flows. This was called by the Indians the 'Yukon', meaning 'greater river'. In 1847, Fort Yukon was established by the Hudson's Bay Company on the Yukon River, four miles above the mouth of the Porcupine. The same year Lapierre House was established on the Porcupine near the present village of Old Crow. In 1821 the Company of Adventurers merged with its rival, the North-West Trading Company, under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company. The following year Sir George Simpson, who had risen from a clerkship, became the first Governor of the amalgamated Company. He continued for over forty years resourcefully administering the affairs of the Company and the vast territory which then extended to the Pacific coast and along it, and southward, from latitude 54.40, the southern end of the Alaska Panhandle, then Russian territory, to the mouth of the Columbia River- Disputes between traders of the Russian-American Company and the Hudson's Bay Company became so frequent that in 1825, Early Exploration — 5 through the efforts of Great Britain, a treaty was concluded defining the boundaries of their respective territories. By the terms of the treaty the boundaries of the area, now the Yukon Territory and northern British Columbia, Canada, were defined, between it and Alaska. By 1833 the Hudson's Bay Company had extended its trade to the Liard River and in 1841 Sir George Simpson instructed Robert Campbell, who was in charge of the Company's post at Fort Malkert on the upper Liard River, to "cross the divide in search of any river flowing westward". In pursuance of these instructions, Campbell in 1842 ascended the Liard and was the first white man to enter and explore the southern part of the present Yukon Territory. Campbell crossed the 60th Parallel (later the British Columbia- Yukon boundary) near Watson Lake on the present Alaska Highway, and following a branch of the Liard, he reached a V- shaped lake which he named "Frances" in honor of Lady Simpson, wife of the Governor of the Company. Leaving their canoe and part of their seven-man crew near the north-west end of the west arm of the lake, he set out with three Indians and an interpreter. They ascended the valley of a small river to a lake about ten miles long. He named both the river and the lake "Findlayson" after a Factor of the Company. From the lake head Campbell crossed a divide to a river flowing north-westerly, which he named "Pelly" after the Company's Home Governor, Sir Henry Pelly. Near here Campbell built a fort at a place he called "Pelly Banks" and the following year, 1843, floated down this river about 300 miles to its confluence with a river he named the "Lewis" in honor of the Chief Trading Factor of the Company. This river is sometimes locally called the Lewis, but it is actually the Yukon River. The natives of this area, the Kutchin or Stick Indians, told Campbell that the Indians along the lower part of the river were hostile. So, returning to Pelly Banks, he built boats during the following winter. When the ice went out in the spring, Campbell again descended the river and established Fort Selkirk trading post at the junction of the Pelly and Yukon rivers. The Stewart River, also entering the Yukon from the north about forty miles below Fort Selkirk, was named by Campbell after James G. Stewart, whom he sent to follow the Indians in search of meat, and who crossed this river on the ice. 6—The Yukon Story Campbell continued his explorations on the Lewis (Yukon) River in 1851, and descended it to the Fort Yukon, already established by John Bell, thus proving the Lewis and Yukon to be the same river. Fort Selkirk seriously affected the trading activities of the Chilkat (Tlingit) Indians of the Pacific coast, who practically held the Kutchins of the interior in subjection and carried on a profitable business in securing their furs, and disposing of them to the Russian traders of the coast. In 1852, during the absence of Campbell and most of the Indians and personnel of the post, the Chilkats attacked Fort Selkirk, which had been moved two miles downstream and to the left bank. Most of the occupants who did not escape were murdered and the post plundered. Two days later, Campbell returned with the local Indians and surrounded the Fort, but found that the invaders had flown with the plunder. He sent the survivors down to Fort Yukon, and set out by way of the Pelly and Liard rivers to Fort Simpson. From there he travelled overland on snow-shoes in the dead of winter to Old Crow, Minnesota, where he arrived on the 13th of March. He reached London on the 18th of April, but despite his heroic effort he was unable to secure permission to re-establish the post. He had travelled over 9,000 miles, nearly one-third of the distance being almost a wilderness. It is interesting to note that, after abandoning trading activities in that part of the Yukon basin for 86 years, the Hudson's Bay Company established in 1930 a trading post at Selkirk and another at the mouth of the Stewart. The Russian hold in North America was weakened because of the superior quality of British merchandise and the fairer dealing with the Indians. Discouraged and resentful, the Russian Government offered to sell their holdings in America to the United States, and in 1876, a bargain much criticized in the United States, was concluded by Secretary of State Seward, by which Alaska was purchased for the price of $7,200,000.00 (about two cents per acre). The purchase was criticized in Congress as "Seward's Folly", but has been a source of enormous revenue to the United States. The Ashcroft Trail Because of its remoteness, the richness of its creeks, the hardships endured and the severity of its winter temperatures, the Yukon Gold Rush beginning in 1897 and centred on the Klondike is certainly the most famous gold stampede in history. Like a breath of hope, it came to the world in the almost universal depression of 1897. There was no system of relief, no unemployment insurance in those days. A man lived or died by his own efforts and it behooved those who needed money to exert effort. Desperation often was as sharp a goad as ambition or the spirit of adventure. Many of the gold seekers started for the Klondike in '98 by the Edmonton, Ashcroft and other trails. Some even went up the Pacific to St. Michaels in Alaska and transferred in Bering Sea to Yukon River boats. Though the Skagway trail was by far the shortest and easiest, the calamitous snow-slide of April 3rd, 1898, that buried more than sixty persons, was so dramatically publicized that it led many who knew nothing of the topography of the North to travel by other and infinitely harder trails. They believed that where the Hudson's Bay traders and official explorers had gone, they, too, could go. They did not realize that these traders and officials were backed by all the financial assistance they needed to get equipment and native Indian help and that time was not, as in the stampeder's case, of great importance. Judging by the percentage of the starters who actually reached the Klondike, the Ashcroft trail took the greatest toll of them all. Over fifteen hundred men and three thousand horses left Ashcroft, m 8 — The Yukon Story British Columbia, a town on the Canadian Pacific Railway, in the spring of '98 and only six men and no horses reached the Klondike. I was one of the six fortunate enough to complete this hard overland journey. Some died on the trail, others found themselves unable to stand the arduous physical exertion, but the great majority quit in discouragement, disillusioned to discover that this was the hardest way to the goldfields. Instead of leading us down rivers, or up-stream by stern wheel steamers for much of the distance, this trail, until it reached Teslin Lake, ascended or crossed rivers such as the Fraser, the Mud, the Blackwater and upper Skeena. The Stikine, which the trail paralleled from its source of Glenora, was not navigable above that point. However, that part of the trail was fair going. Incidentally, of the six who reached the Klondike, William Drury, Isaac Taylor, Emory and Orvis Morris, George Hunt and myself, I was the only one, in 1963, who had not "crossed the Great Divide". When the writer and two companions, Omar Warner of De Cewsville, Ontario, and Matthew McPhatter of Guelph, Ontario, arrived at Ashcroft from Toronto, where we had met for the first time a few days before leaving, the place was crowded with tents and outfits. Not only were the stampeders from various parts of Canada and the United States, but also from the British Isles, continental Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and even one or two from Mexico. The cry of "Gold!" had been heard around the entire globe. This was only one of many mustering places in the spring of 1898. Our party obtained a room over the bar in the Ashcroft Hotel. Evidently those who knew the local situation had refused it; for, during the night the bar was well patronized by cowboys who were there from surrounding ranches with "cayuses" to sell to the gold-seekers. As they became hilarious they began challenging each other's marksmanship and selected targets in the bar-room. One shot hit the thin ceiling beneath our bed. It seemed uncomfortably near. The next morning, when I went out on the street, my first sight was of a Chinaman starting for Quesnel on the old Cariboo road, with four horses hitched to a loaded freight-wagon. The nigh wheel-horse balked at starting and the Chinaman was patiently trying to get the animal to forget its balky mood and get going. A crowd of cowboys soon gathered around and began to banter the Chinaman with humorous suggestions about how to get the The Ashcroft Trail — 9 horse moving. Finally, the Chinaman lost patience and, turning on the crowd, roundly cursed them all in quite fluent English. We learned that if we would go fifteen miles north to Hat Creek, we could not only make a better deal for unbroken horses there, but also have help in breaking them to pack and riding saddles. So we bought our food supplies, saddles, tent, blankets and utensils from the firm of Harvie and Bailie and, hiring a freighter, loaded the wagon and set out for the ranch on May 24th (Queen Victoria's birthday), 1898. There we bought seven unbroken horses. After a few days breaking them to the saddle and pack and learning the art of throwing the ingenious diamond-hitch to hold the packs in place, we started on our great adventure. Under the primitive conditions of that time, the old Cariboo road was a fair road. With the willing and generous advice of old prospectors, we soon learned to pitch our tent, build proper fires, produce baking-powder bread and flapjacks, and generally look after ourselves and our horses. Bed making was very important for comfort and rest. It consisted, when possible, in securing "feathers" (the tips of small spruce boughs) and, beginning at the top where our heads would be, laying them on the ground, or in winter on the snow, in close rows, tops up, and overlapping them until they formed a reasonably soft cushion on which to lay our blankets, or sleeping bags. If carefully done and no hard bushes were used, this comfortable cushion, the spruce aroma and the insulation from hard, wet ground or snow, gave a sense of comfort, almost luxury, that induced sound sleep. About the only diversion on the Cariboo road was an occasional ranch-house and the road-houses of the stage line to Quesnel. These road-houses were designated by numbers such as "59- Mile House" and "100-Mile House". Counting of these miles began at Ashcroft. The road had been built in the Sixties by a corps of the Royal Engineers. It served that preceding generation of gold- rushers who prospected and worked the gravel beds of the Cariboo country. The only "town" on the road between Ashcroft and Quesnel was Clinton, twenty-two miles north of Hat Creek. The weekly stages were operated by the B.C. Express Company and the vehicles were known as "thoroughbrace" stages from their "springs". These were strong leather supports extending from the front to the back of the frame instead of the usual steel springs. They were devised because, on the rough roads, in severe cold weather, the steel springs were found to break and could not be easily replaced. 10 — The Yukon Story The stage-drivers' expertness with their four- and six-horse teams and their friendliness in accepting letters for home from the stampeders won the praise of all who were headed for the far off Klondike. We left the Cariboo road and all the amenities of civilization at "the 150-Mile House" and, crossing the Fraser River by cable ferry at Soda Creek, followed the river's right bank to what is now called Baker Creek or West Quesnel. Our route then headed north-west over a so-called trail that followed, in some places, the route of the old Collins Overland telegraph line of 1866. This line was ambitiously intended to cross Bering Strait to reach St. Petersburg in Russia and so connect North America by telegraph with Asia and Europe. However, the successful laying of the Atlantic cable by Cyrus Field, with the Steamship "Great Eastern" as a cableship, ended the project. All evidence of the right-of-way and poles was gone, but in a few instances we found pieces of old telegraph wires imbedded several inches in the spruce, jack-pine and poplar trees that had long-since grown up and over the wires that touched them. I once found one of the old green glass insulators still attached to a galvanized wire. I kept it as a souvenir but lost it later with a camera and some clothing when a scow was nearly overturned on Lake La Barge. Soon after leaving the Fraser River we reached the Blackwater River and, crossing it, followed its north bank and camped on a grassy opening. While Warner was pitching tent I led the horses to the grass and hobbled them. The hobbles were small chains with a heavy leather strap on each end to buckle around the horse's front and hind fetlocks. This, while permitting the horse to move around slowly and graze, prevented him from wandering rapidly away and getting lost. While returning to camp I was greeted by a man who was fishing in the Blackwater with an unusually fine tackle. He looked up with a friendly smile and, in conversation, told me that prior to starting for the Klondike, he had been with Admiral Peary on his first Polar expedition. I never saw him again. He was evidently in one of the many parties who turned back at the sluggish and muddy Mud River swamp which we reached a few miles farther on. This was where Sir Arthur Curtis, who headed an English party, was lost when out hunting for their horses. He was never seen again and was believed to have been drowned. Near the Mud River we saw what appeared to be a newly The Ashcroft Trail—11 covered grave. At its supposed head was a wooden slab with the roughly engraved epitaph, "Sacred to the memory of —. May he rest in hell. He claimed to be a guide, but he was a liar." We learned later that the subject of the epitaph had represented himself to be an experienced guide and was being well paid for his services by a Boston outfit. When they reached the Mud River he became hopelessly lost and they realized that he was a fraud. Being new to Canada they threatened to lynch him. He escaped and the bedevilled outfit set up the mound and mock epitaph as a measure of grim satisfaction. The trail here was so muddy and obliterated that many gold- seekers turned back discouraged, the Boston outfit among them. However, after a few miles the trail was better and we reached Tsinkut Indian village on the south bank of the Nechako River. Packs of hungry dogs, looking like wolves, surrounded us ready to jump at and try to devour anything that smelled like ham or bacon. We crossed the Nechako River a few miles below where the great diversion dam of the Aluminum Company of Canada now turns back water of the Tweedsmuir Park lakes from flowing towards the Fraser River, and backs it up to furnish power for the Kemano-Kitimat penstocks at the head of Douglas Channel on the Pacific coast. We travelled up the two miles of the Little Fraser River to Fraser Lake and the first Hudson's Bay Company post on our trail. We purchased a few needed supplies from the kindly old factor, who permitted his store to be a sort of frontier Ladies' Center for the Indian women who were squatting on the floor with their papooses. Our trail followed the north shore of Fraser Lake and then headed westward to a point which was reached, not many years later, by the engineers of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (now the Canadian National) building their main line to Prince Rupert. We soon reached Burns and Decker Lakes, near the divide where the town of Smithers now stands, and were confronted by a raging forest fire. Many turned back here but, after observing the direction from which the fire started, we turned northward from the trail in that direction and waited for it to partly burn itself out and for the ground to cool off. Then with one of us going ahead with an axe and removing fallen, burned trees, mostly small jackpine, we were soon on the trail again. So we came to the head of the Bulkley River, a tributary of the Skeena, named 12 — The Yukon Story after Colonel Bulkley, an engineer of the Overland Telegraph Company. A rainy spell set in when we were going down the Bulkley valley and green hazel bushes, about six feet tall, almost obliterated the trail and soaked us to the skin. Tents and blankets were never dry. I recall one evening when the men of several outfits were standing around a fire, in the dark, trying to get warm and partly dry. In one of the Oregon parties was a very venerable looking man, several years older than most of us, who, for the most part, were in our mid-twenties. Somehow, instead of the usual given name or nickname salutation, and the only one we often knew, we instinctively called him mister. Addressing him, I asked, "Mr. Crawford, what are the chances of finding gold, anyhow?" "Well, boy," he replied, "they are very accidental." Near the mouth of the Bulkley, where it joins the Skeena, was a suspension bridge, built by the Indians. It was made of felled and limbed trees, full length, fastened together with galvanized wire taken from the abandoned telegraph line of 1866. It stood for many years and was much pictured as something of a triumph of native ingenuity in bridge building. One wondered if some unknown white had had a hand in bridging the canyon. Hazelton, at the head of navigation on the Skeena River, was then a Hudson's Bay Company supply post for Babine Lake miners and other areas of the Omineca mining district. It was, too, the headquarters of the Indian Agent, a very helpful man to inquiring stampeders asking about the country ahead. Hazelton's two principal attractions were totem poles and graves —the first we had seen on our way. The poles were carved with hieroglyphic characters, somewhat like those of ancient Egypt, and related to the history of a family or tribe. In the Indian cemetery, over each grave was a small, neat, painted or stained building, square, hexagonal, or round, with a floor where treasures of the departed were placed as mementos and for their use in the spirit world. Some of these little buildings were very attractive. At that time not all the Indians spoke English, but all talked Chinook, a handy medium of communication, devised by the Hudson's Bay traders to facilitate trading operations. The jargon consisted of about 250 words. As we were told of it in Ashcroft, I purchased there a Chinook dictionary and soon learned enough of the language to get along very well with the Indians. Heavy rains had swollen the Skeena River as well as making a quagmire of much of the trail, and many of those who were The Ashcroft Trail—13 Klondike bound and had reached Hazelton, saw a chance to quit and go down the Skeena to the Pacific at Port Essington. They bought Indian cottonwood canoes, or built boats or even rafts and, cursing their luck, headed back to "the outside" or, as many Americans would then say, "back to God's country". Our party was in good physical condition and spirits. We had set foot on the trail and had no mind to quit it short of the ultimate goal. But the rough going admittedly was hard on man and beast and the rains were depressing. Having gone up the Skeena valley, about eight miles, we swam our horses across that river above Kispiox Indian village. Here we overtook Norman Lee, a Chilcotin cattle rancher, bound for Dawson with about two hundred head of beef cattle. He and his cowboys, in canoes, were herding them in swimming across the Skeena. A few of the more stubborn animals were drowned. In his recently-published diary "Klondike Cattle Drive", Lee told of his luckless venture and its hardships. After leaving the clean looking Kispiox village, we followed the trail for several miles and entered what was then known as the big Skeena swamp. During a dry season, going through this was said to be comparatively easy, but the rain had made a muskeg of the swamp. Long, green moss, hanging from the trees, and devil's club with prickly leaves added to the gloom and discomfort. Horses floundered in the muskeg and becoming hungry, for want of grass, they ate the leaves. The thorny prickles made them feverish and weak. When they could not be gotten out, they were unloaded and mercifully shot. The supplies, except the saddles, were taken and relayed on the backs of the men. We lost, in this way, four of our seven horses and many outfits lost more, and many here turned back discouraged. The Klondike seemed to them impossibly far away. One Oregon party of two brothers, kindly and experienced prospectors named Kasebeer, with a helper named Dunbar from Michigan, had a pack-train of young mules. They fared better in the swamp than the others as the mules did not tire in the mud as horses did and were not easily discouraged. They would struggle out of muskeg and managed to get through. A humorous prospector quoted, "It is because they are cross-bred and have neither pride of ancestry nor hope of progeny." The Kasebeers, however, after travelling all the way to Glenora, found that they were too late to do profitable packing from Glenora to Teslin Lake, as they had hoped, and selling the mules 14 — The Yukon Story to a local rancher near Glenora, returned home, going down to Fort Wrangel near the mouth of the Stikine River. Another large and ambitious outfit from Fargo, North Dakota, known as the Rose Outfit, who expected to carry on a merchandising business, as well as freighting and mining in the Klondike, divided into two parties one taking horses over the Ashcroft Trail and the other with a big tent and general store supplies, going by steamer up the Pacific coast and the Stikine to Glenora, where they would join forces and go down to Dawson via Teslin Lake. However, all their horses were lost in the swamp and the eight men, all experienced woodsmen, reached Glenora on foot, to find that the other party had arrived there about two months earlier. They had erected their thirty by sixty foot tent and, realizing that the season was too far advanced to get down to Dawson by boat from Teslin, started to sell their stock of groceries. They whip-sawed the lumber for shelves and spread the resulting sawdust on the ground for a floor. This tent and a few pairs of boxing gloves provided a gymnasium for the boys who were waiting in Glenora for snow, to continue on to Teslin Lake. After leaving the Skeena swamp we went north up the Skeena valley through spruce and alder timbered country and came to an opening where there was good grass for the horses. It was the deserted site of Kuldo Indian village. A new site had been selected across the Skeena, and only grass, raspberry bushes, fallen barkless trees and tumbled down totem poles remained. The sun came out, after several days of almost steady rain, and when our camp was pitched and Warner had started a fire for cooking supper, I saw at a distance some of the raspberry bushes and hoping to get some berries, started over the slippery, fallen trees with a pail. I saw some berries and climbing over a wet tree trunk, was about to jump down on the other side, when a mother bear with two cubs beside her rose menacingly on her hind legs in front of me. I had almost landed beside her and just managed to fall backwards and hurry out of her reach. She did not attempt to follow. Our tent was pitched beside a small stream and an unusually heavy downpour during the night had swollen the stream to a torrent. It flooded the tent and forced us to higher ground where we pulled the tent and used it as a lean-to shelter until morning. After a few more days in mud and rain we reached a grassy meadow beside a small lake, near the source of the Skeena and The Ashcroft Trail—15 Naas rivers and at the foot of Groundhog mountain, one of a group of peaks each about seven thousand feet. Here the Skeena, Naas, Stikine and Findlay rivers all have their source. Rugged as it was, this was a country of surpassing scenic splendor. We gave our horses a much needed rest and a chance to graze on the rich grass. As several had pulled their shoes in the mud and we had retrieved most of them and were prepared for such an emergency, with pincers, rasp, hammer and shoe-nails, as well as the retrieved shoes, we decided to shoe the animals. A good fire on a big flat stone served as forge and anvil and soon the shoes were red-hot. We hammered them into the required shapes and put on nine shoes that afternoon. By this time we had lived in such close contact with the horses that they were docile to our touchv even in the unfamiliar business of being re-shod. It was near here on the south side of Groundhog Mountain that, several years later, Lord Rhondda filed on semi-anthracite coal deposits and he and his successors prepared to build a railway to bring the coal to Stewart, at the head of Portland Canal. However, war, a depression and the rising use of hydro electric power and oil all intervened and the project was abandoned. It was also near here, many years later, that Gun-a-noot, an Indian outlaw who was being hunted for years by the Provincial police, voluntarily surrendered. He was tried for murder and was acquitted, to the general relief of the public which sympathized with him and admired his intrepidity in evading pursuit in the wilds. He had chosen a magnificent retreat and could doubtless have lived out his life there uncaptured. After our horse-shoeing was finished and the horses rested, we started up Groundhog Mountain. The incline was steep, but the trail was clearly defined, because of Indian travel, and was reasonably dry and the going decidedly better. I was ahead leading a weak horse and carrying what was left of his pack and a shotgun. My hope was to get an occasional grouse, ptarmigan or, later on, a porcupine, to supplement our food supply which was badly diminished by the delay in the swamp and slower travelling afterward. I had climbed only a few paces when I saw a young fellow cutting wood beside a small A-tent and, on a fresh blaze on a spruce tree beside the trail, were written these words: "There is a land of pure delight, Where grass grows belly high, Where horses don't sink out of sight; We'll reach it by-and-by." I 16 — The Yukon Story I asked him, "Are you the poet?" He rather bashfully replied, "Yes, how do you like it?" I said, "Fine, especially the last line." After more than sixty years that line best expresses for me the spirit of those who completed the trails of '98 to the Klondike, or died in the attempt. The writer was Hulet M. Wells. While resting our horses before making the Groundhog mountain climb, the Kasebeer brothers decided to go on with their young mules and, leaving their man, Fred Dunbar, and their weak animals, with us to follow on as fast as we could, they hurried on and our McPhatter, who welcomed a chance to ride, went with them. The climb above timber-line was an unusual experience. There were numerous rather freshly raised mounds of gravel all over the bare mountain-side. As we approached these mounds groundhogs —otherwise known as marmots or whistlers— of a fighter color and larger than the eastern groundhog, popped out and, sitting bolt-upright, would whistle either at us or to their companions. As we approached, they suddenly disappeared into their burrows. As our horses were resting where there was stubby grass above timber-line, Warner and I, in our shirtsleeves, in bright sunshine, climbed to the top to have a look at the contour of the country towards the Stikine valley. It was the fifth of August and Sunday. Just as we reached the summit a blinding snowstorm took us by surprise and sent us scurrying back down to timberline for shelter. Next day we labored to a mountain pass and travelled on towards the head waters of the Stikine. In this pass Dunbar slipped on a rock and injured his knee so severely it was nine days before we were unable to travel again. During this time, the Ashcroft party of the Rose outfit from Fargo overtook us. They were glad to see us and have a rest. One of them asked me where I was from. When I said, "Bruce County, Ontario", he said, "I was born in Bruce." His brother Nelson's farm was less than two miles from my father's farm. He had left there for North Dakota before my family went to Bruce from Rawdon, Quebec. After crossing the divide, we came to the head of a stream and followed down its valley. We learned later from Indians that it was the first south fork of the Stikine River known as the Klapan. We followed along its right limit to its junction and swam our horses across the shockingly-cold Stikine. We held their tails and a rope attached to their pack-saddles and, partly swimming, floated after them. In this way, we reached the right bank, or Dease Lake side. Travelling down this valley in fine weather and on a fair trail, we YUKON TERRITORY TRANSPORTATION AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Roads «ZZ --Z Water Routes. m i Soapy Smith of Skagway, pictured after his killing by Reid. Frank Reid did not survive the bandit's bullets. Shooting the Whitehorse Rapids. Robert Henderson, first finder of Klondike gold. George Carmack, stoker of the first discovery. The Ashcroft Trail—17 soon reached Telegraph Creek, headquarters of the Omineca Mining Recorder, and where the old Collins Telegraph line had been abandoned in 1866. Twelve miles farther on, we reached Glenora, then the head of navigation on the Stikine. This was the point where the so-called Stikine Trail and the Ashcroft Trail met, and where about two months before, the Yukon Field Force of the Canadian Government had debarked from a Stikine river stern- wheeler and proceeded to Teslin Lake before the freeze-up. As snow was already falling on the higher elevations when we reached Glenora, it was advisable to await snow enough to travel by sled before proceeding farther. McPhatter, who was in Glenora on our arrival, though six-foot-four and physically fit, was unsuited for the trail and fearing winter conditions beyond Teslin Lake, wanted to stay in Glenora, as some others were doing, until spring. Warner was efficient and reliable and was willing to try the trail, but he was about forty years of age and had a wife and family at home in Ontario. So we persuaded him not to try it until spring weather arrived. The day we reached Glenora we met a man named William (Will) Harrigan, originally from Bruce County. He had rented his dairy farm near Cumberland, Vancouver Island, and had come up the Stikine on his way to the Klondike. In Glenora he had heard of the new placer gold camp in Atlin, on the Yukon watershed, that was showing promising discoveries, and he proposed to me that, as soon as there would be sufficient snow for sleighing he and I should attempt to reach Atlin together. Warner could then join us in the spring. This was agreed upon and while waiting for snow, we helped Warner build a cabin and also felled some spruce trees and squared the logs for the Hudson's Bay Company for a river wharf. Most of those who reached Glenora by the Ashcroft trail quit there and went down the river to the Pacific Coast before the ice formed. But a few remained hoping to reach the headwaters of the Yukon in time for the opening of spring navigation from Teslin to Dawson. Glenora, as head of navigation on the Stikine, was the point from which McKenzie and Mann, on approval of the Canadian House of Commons in 1898, started the grade for an all-Canadian railway to Teslin Lake. Its purpose was to provide a route that would avoid the international troubles at Skagway. However, the Senate threw out the Bill and the project was abandoned. All that was left was a few miles of grading. While we were in Glenora, the Chilcotin rancher, Norman Lee, 18 — The Yukon Story who had reached Teslin Lake with his cattle, arrived back in Glenora with one of his cowboys. They had gunny-sacks on their feet and were pulling a hand-made sled. They had reached Teslin with nearly all their cattle. There they built a scow and, slaughtering the cattle, loaded the beef on the scow, but it overturned in jamming ice at the mouth of the lake and all was lost. Lee and his man had hoped to be back in Glenora from the Yukon in time to get a river steamer to the coast, but the last steamer had gone and they started on the ice, having stayed with us overnight. They reached home by way of Vancouver and Ashcroft. The ambitious enterprise was a complete loss. The only man to make any money from the venture was a Scotsman who, travelling alone, had found one of the animals lost from its herd. He drove it into Glenora and sold it to a local rancher. An interesting incident occurred a few days after we reached Glenora. A big fellow who had come up on the river boat, managed to buy a young dog at a nearby ranch and, getting a sled and harness from the Hudson's Bay people, started out on the 'street' to drive the dog. Knowing nothing about dog driving, he stood behind the sled and shouted to the dog to "Go on". The young dog, not knowing what it was all about, lay down trembling and the driver started to kick it. Just then Rev. John Pringle, who had been sent north by the Presbyterian Church of Canada came on the scene. He had arrived the day before, from the coast, and had secured the only available place—a bar-room—to hold a service the following Sunday. He was starting out to invite everyone to the service. Seeing the dog being kicked he shouted, "Don't kick that dog again." "I'll kick you!" yelled the owner. In a moment Pringle was up to him and said, "Kick me if you dare, but don't kick the dog," and looking at Pringle, the novice dog-musher thought it inadvisable. Then Pringle, patting the dog to raise its spirits, said, "Let me show you how to train the dog," and running ahead and coaxing, he got the dog to follow him and soon to pull the sled. The incident became known and the bar-room was packed on Sunday for the service. Jim Lumsden, a Scottish tenor, and an Englishman, a professional singer named Hunt, both going north, led the singing of old familiar hymns. It was an effectual beginning of the Reverend John Pringle's notable ministry amongst the gold miners. As we could get no dogs, Harrigan and I obtained two horses and narrow, double-ended sleighs. We loaded them with baled hay and oats for the horses and (besides provisions for ourselves) a The Ashcroft Trail—19 ten-by-twelve-foot tent, a small Yukon stove with collapsible stovepipes, a stove pipe oven, a small hand sled, snowshoes, sleeping bags, cooking utensils, provisions and mining tools. We reasoned that we could gain time with the horses, as far as they could go, as it would not be necessary to relay two or three times as was required by those who pulled their own hand sleds. This reasoning proved right and, except for a roll or two from the trail down the side of Hudson Bay mountain, the trail being fair we made good time to Teslin. The only disturbing incident on this trail was one moonlight night in the Tahlton River valley. We camped in an opening beside a sheltering clump of spruce trees. As soon as the horses were carefully blanketed and their legs wrapped with gunny-sack to keep them warm, we went to sleep. About three o'clock in the morning we were aroused by the howling of timber wolves. Raising a flap of the tent, we saw in the moonlight a large pack of the wolves circling nearer and nearer to our tent and horses. We had heard that wolves had killed a horse in the valley a few days before. Harrigan had a Savage rifle and was an expert shot, but decided that it was better not to shoot unless they came so close that their fear might be overcome. The wolves seemed to be wary of the white tent and, as daylight began to appear, they slowly receded to the timber and their awesome, spine-tingling howling soon ended. Next morning we saw the whole area toward the timber was covered by their tracks. We reached Teslin Lake on Christmas Eve. The Teslin Indians were holding a potlatch for Peel River Indians, who had come over the divide with fine Mackenzie River huskies with bells on their harness, similar to the sleigh bells of that time. The Indians were very hospitable and wantd us to stay for the potlatch. The few boys who had already reached there from Glenora with hand sleds decided to wait, but as we had horses and their fodder was being consumed while stopped as well as when moving, we at once started down Teslin Lake on the ice, or rather on about six inches of fresh snow that covered the ice. We were told by two Indians who had come over the mountains from Atlin for the potlatch, that there was no trail but if too much snow had not come to cover their sled track, we might see it in places. As the country had never been surveyed and we had no map, they gave us a rough description of the way they had come, and told us that about fifteen miles down Teslin Lake there was a new vacant cabin on the Atlin side that had been built by 20 — The Yukon Story some Klondike-bound gold-seekers who had stopped there to whip- saw lumber for scows. The Indians said that a small creek entered the lake near the cabin and we should follow it up as far as we could and then climb the hill. Besides a thermometer and the usual magnifying glass for starting a fire or examining a mineral specimen, we each had a small compass and we felt sure of the general direction. The weather had been moderating and, after we started down the lake, it began to rain and darkness came earlier than usual. The snow became wet and heavy and when we saw the outline of a cabin, Harrigan, who was then breaking trail, started to turn towards the shore. As the rain had dampened the snow and the sleigh runners had settled down in it and prevented easy turning, a shaft of his sleigh broke and we had to stop there for the night. To gain time, Harrigan went to shore to find a piece of spruce to splice the broken shaft. We carried wire for such emergencies. I drove my outfit up alongside his and leaving space between the sleighs for room to camp, pulled our tent across the two sleigh-loads and set up the stove as well as I could. Then I unhitched and fed and blanketed the horses for the night. After Harrigan returned we had supper and, lying down in our sleeping bags, had a good rest and sleep. It turned cold in the night and when we awoke (Christmas morning) the sleigh runners were so frozen in that we had to chop away the ice before it was possible to move. It was a clear morning and, to our amazement, about a hundred yards ahead and across our way to the shore, steam or mist was rising from a narrow strip of open water corning in from the left shore to which we were headed. A warm spring from the shore had evidently prevented the ice from freezing for a distance out in the lake. Had Harrigan's shaft not broken at least his horse and likely himself and his outfit would have gone under and, as it was pitch dark, I would likely have followed. We turned thoughtful about the ways of Providence for we had narrowly escaped disaster. Despite our situation, we were thankful for this good fortune. And, as it was Christmas morning, Harrigan suggested a treat for breakfast. All the extras we could find and try out were a bag of desiccated potatoes and some dried peaches. Our escape seemed providential and the Christmas message never seemed more real to me. After circling around the open water and getting to the shore we went up the ravine a few miles and reaching a place where the bench seemed comparatively easy to climb, we un- The Ashcroft Trail — 21 hitched the horses, unloaded the sleighs and carried our supplies uphill on our backs. Then the problem was the horses and sleighs. We had a block-and-tackle and several feet of strong rope and, after hitching the tackle to a tree at the top of the bench, we pulled the sleighs up. Then, with a surcingle around their hips, and one of us leading a horse and the other pulling the tackle rope, we got them to the top. The ridge was, for some distance, covered with a growth of small jack-pine. By tramping the snow down with our snow- shoes and cutting a space wide enough for the horses and sleighs we managed to have them pull the loads to the open pass beyond. The snow was deeper here, but by going ahead on snow-shoes and breaking trail, we soon reached an ice and snow-covered lake. The Indians had told us it was called Sucker, but when surveyed later it was called Hall Lake. It is about ten miles long. The Indians said that this lake entered into a creek several miles long that drained into Surprise Lake, the source of Pine Creek in Atlin, where gold had been discovered a few months earlier. It was our immediate destination. The Indians had warned us to turn up on the bench on the left side of Sucker Lake when a few miles down, as they had tried the creek and had to take to the hills because the snow had fallen before the freeze-up and travelling was dangerous on the creek. So we turned up the hill and after a few miles camped near a few trees at the edge of timberline. The snow was becoming too deep for the horses and the cold had become so intense that we had no alternative but to shoot our faithful animals. We left the remaining fodder, sleighs and harness behind and taking the gee-pole hand sled, loaded it up and proceeded on snowshoes, one pulling and the other pushing behind, alternately. We were to be our own horses from here on. Despite the high elevation daylight was of only a few hours duration and just as darkness fell we came to a round mountain peak. The Indians had not mentioned this and our problem was, would we try to go over it or turn to the right or left. As our horses were gone, relaying was necessary. A clump of willow gave some shelter and we camped for the night. Our thermometer had gone down to its limit, sixty-five below zero and had not risen and, as we had to carry wood enough on our sled to do until we would again reach timberline, we could take no chance that could be avoided. Our safest course, we decided, would be to leave the sled in 22 — The Yukon Story the tent and travelling as light as possible, one to the right and the other to the left, try to find trace of the Indians' track, or any incline that might determine the way. At twelve noon, unless we had met in the meantime, each would turn back and, climbing across the mountain, head as straight as possible for our tent. By twelve o'clock I had seen no sign of Harrigan nor a sled track of the Indians, so started back over the dome as agreed. I had just reached the summit when I felt a sharp pain in my left lung and, feeling an uncomfortable hemorrhage, blew my breath on the snow. It was red with blood. The high altitude, the intense cold, somewhere below sixty-five degrees, and my heavy breathing while hurrying up the mountain, had affected my lung and started the hemorrhage. As the descent to a lower altitude was steeper and quicker if I turned to the left, I did so and had gone only a short distance when, on the wind swept shoulder of the mountain where the old, hard snow was exposed, there was visible for about twenty-five feet, the Indians' sled-track. This was our way. To my great relief, the bleeding had stopped on the descent and I pushed on with the good news. Hurrying on to our tent, I found that Will, as I called him, had arrived before me and had a good fire in our Yukon stove and sourdough bread baking in the pipe-oven. Then after hearing the good news of the Indian sled track, he related his experience. When noon came, he, too, had turned back. While hurrying up the mountain, his hands began to sweat in his leather-covered woollen mittens. The warming exertion ended when he reached the summit and on the easy incline his hands became numb and began to freeze. Clapping them together, he tried to keep up circulation and hurried down to the tent. We always had wood and kindling ready for a fire and carried in our mackinaw pocket, besides matches, a small piece of candle to help light the kindling, not always very dry. Putting the wood and kindling in the stove, Will tried for matches but could not feel them with his frosted, numb fingers. He almost despaired when, without feeling it, he gripped a match and soon had a cheerful fire started. When I arrived the tent was warm and supper ready. "Walter", said Will, "I thought that if I couldn't find a match, you might come back and find me frozen to death and you alone in the mountains, and far from a human being." However, all was well, we had found the Indians' trail and were snugly warm for the night. Next morning, sure of our trail, we started relaying our supplies The Ashcroft Trail — 23 around the mountain and down a few miles to Surprise Lake. We were at last in the Atlin area and on a branch source of the famous Yukon River. We took new heart from this fact. Ashcroft, now, was a long, long way behind us. The goldfields seemed much nearer. Apart from an attack of snow-blindness on the glaring ice of Surprise Lake, all went well and we were soon at the mouth of that beautiful twenty-mile lake. There, on the right bank, we saw a cabin with smoke issuing from its pipe. It was the first sign of human habitation since we had left the head of Teslin Lake. We knocked on the door and a black whiskered man opened it and bade us come in. (None of us had shaved since we started on the trail.) He asked where we had come from and invited us to stay for the night. He was Robert Little, a prospector on nearby Boulder Creek. He seemed glad to entertain us and spoke enthusiastically of the new mining camp. His pay-dirt prospects, he said, were good and he hoped to start actual mining in the spring, as Atlin was a summer camp. He was now getting put logs to whipsaw sluice box lumber. At last we were in a real mining camp. We were talking to a man who was mining gold. And if we would go on later, from here it was all down river to Dawson! Next morning, leaving part of our outfit with Little, to be caUed for later, we started down Pine Creek. Daylight only lasted about four hours and, after dark, we reached the tent 'town' of Discovery, later called Pine City. Seeing a large well lighted tent with a candle-illuminated canvas sign CAFE, we entered and were eating our first restaurant meal since leaving Ashcroft, when in came two men whom we had left at Teslin where they waited for the potlatch. They were Tom Lilly, an amateur boxer from Vancouver and Fred Carman, from New Brunswick. They had acquired two Mackenzie river huskies from the Peel River Indians and, following our trail, still clearly defined, had made good time. It was the evening of January fifth. We had completed the Ashcroft and Stikine part of the trail. Atlin was a good placer mining camp and from here it was DOWN RIVER TO DAWSON! Atlin Camp After our Ashcroft Trail experiences, the new 'town' of Discovery seemed like the promised land. Here, at last, we were in a good gold-mining camp with all the excitement over new stampedes, and reported finds on outlying creeks. At last we were on the Yukon River watershed and the way seemed clear to Dawson. We were ready for the search that had lured us on for so long. We had "reached it bye-and-bye". Not the Klondike yet, but its mining excitement and one of its outposts. The weather had turned milder and after supper in the tent cafe, we found a place on the only 'street', or trail and pitched our tent. We slept as if we had no sins to answer for. Next day we cut some small jack-pine trees, squared them and built a ten- by-twelve, three-foot-high log wall for the base of our tent. After putting things in order for our housekeeping, we set out to get our bearings and hear the news of the camp. There is no place just like a mining camp where new discoveries are being made. A claim may be your fortune. The greater the struggles, hazards and reverses, the keener the search. What others have found you may find. We were soon at home and part of the feverish life of a gold camp. In a few days Will and I were getting tips on likely creeks where ground was still open for staking and we were soon out on stampedes that often started on a rumor, at any time, day or night. By the beginning of April the others who had remained in Glenora began to arrive and any promising ground was soon staked and recorded in Atlin, seven miles down-creek from Discovery. Atlin Camp — 25 Although some written statements have been made to the contrary, Americans and all other nationals had in '98—and still have —the "same rights and privileges" as Canadians and other British subjects, in placer gold mining in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Owing to this uniquely Canadian privilege the first placer gold discovery in the Atlin mining camp was made by an American, Sidney Miller, and most of the claims on Pine Creek and Nugget Gulch were owned and mined by Americans. They were not, as in the case of Canadians in Alaska, required to become citizens in order to locate and own claims. After our arrival in Atlin from the Stikine, in January, 1899, while William Harrigan and I were searching for open ground to stake, we found that a man from Chicago, named Anderson, who had staked and owned Number Fifty-six Above Discovery on Pine Creek, had "blanketed" the next up-stream claim. That is, he had staked it illegally as his own, and was not entitled to hold it as an individual could only locate one claim on each creek. So we staked and recorded it. It was a very stormy winter day and, as claims in Atlin required a name as well as a number, we called it the "Blizzard". We located and recorded claims on Willow, Boulder and Wright. And while we were waiting for spring weather and water for sluicing, we, like others with claims to work, found a nice clump of spruce trees on a hillside and, as permitted by the mining act, started whip-sawing lumber for flume, sluice-boxes and a Chinese wheel, the latter for pumping water and draining the claim. To a "chechako" whip-sawing is one of the hardest of all mining operations. However, when the art of proper saw-setting and filing for this purpose is learned and the rhythm of responsive lift and pull is acquired and muscles coordinated, the spirit of holding your own with others who are doing the same comes into play and you try to see how many feet you can cut in a day. One man stands on the log as it lies on the saw-pit, and the other stands on the ground below and they lift and pull alternately, as they cut the log into boards or planks. The boards required for sluice box bottoms are usually cut twelve feet long and twelve inches wide at one end, widening to fourteen at the other. This allows them, when made into sluice-boxes to fit together like stove-pipes, so that the water will flow through them. During this time a horde of aliens who had been working on the White Pass Railway grading and heard of the Atlin discovery, 26 — The Yukon Story swarmed in and, regardless of ownership, "jumped" all nearby claims and claiming they were the original discoverers, recorded them in the Gold Commissioner's office in Atlin. As there had been, as yet, no surveys, this led to the utmost confusion. Atlin being on the British Columbia side of the Yukon boundary, and not subject to the perma-frost of farther north, is a summer camp. It was required that an owner be on his. claim on what was called "Opening Day". This was presumably an evidence of ownership where surveys had not yet been made. My Ashcroft trail partner, Warner, had come over from Glenora in the spring and, as agreed, had joined Harrigan and me as an equal partner. On the evening before "Opening Day" he went up to the "Blizzard" claim to look over the ground and see where our camp and lumber should be placed. To his surprise, a flume and sluice-boxes had been installed on the claim and several men were busily digging and sluicing the ground. He told them that they were on our ground. Anderson, who was directing operations, shouted, "Get to hell out of here, young fellow, or we'll clip your wings." Seeing that further talk would be useless, Warner returned to our cabin and told Harrigan and me of his experience. We went to the chief of police, Vickers, who knew the situation and he went with us and ordered them to stop work. Next day Anderson went to the Gold Commissioner and told him he was on his own ground and, without investigation, the Commissioner authorized them to start work again. Finally, the Chief advised the Gold Commissioner of the situation and the claim jumping was stopped. If the law had not been there to help us, we would have had trouble on our hands of the kind writers of the wild west were accustomed to weaving into their stories. So many somewhat similar cases happened that it became evident that the Gold Commissioner lacked both proper decision and judgment in dealing with the claim jumpers and a number of us who had trouble of this kind got together and formed a Miners' Association of those who were entitled to vote in British Columbia. We posted written notices where all could see them calling for a miners' meeting in Discovery to be held in a building erected for a hotel. We put in sawdust for a floor and made seats and a table of whip-saw slabs. A few of us who called the meeting had met in our cabin and drafted a proposed constitution to be submitted for approval or revision, by those who would declare that they were entitled Atlin Camp — 27 to vote in British Columbia and pay an initial fee of five dollars each. A large crowd assembled and overflowed the building. As arranged at our preliminary meeting, James Stables took the chair and I was called by him to act as secretary. When I read in the proposed draft that only those entitled to vote in British Columbia elections could become members, a somewhat inebriated English doctor, who was trying to start a medical practice in Discovery, shouted, "That isn't fair to the Americans." A young man who was standing near a wall and wearing a new fringed buckskin shirt, said, "Mr. Chairman, may I say a word? I am an American, but was not here in time to get a claim legally and I wouldn't jump one. You are right. Only citizens have the right to demand action by their government. If a Judge is sent in by the government, as suggested, he will protect Americans who hold claims legally, as well as Canadians and I propose that these Americans help to pay expenses of delegates you send to Victoria." The speaker was Rex Beach, who later was to become a well-known author. He joined the rush to Nome, Alaska, wrote "The Spoilers", exposing official and other misdoings, and later wrote other books on frontier fife and problems. After a constitution was adopted, the chairman and an elderly man named McCraney were appointed as delegates to Victoria. During the administration of Alexander McKenzie as Prime Minister of Canada, McCraney was M.P. for Halton-Milton in Ontario. He shared a claim on Pine Creek with his son Jack. As Discovery is several miles up Pine Creek from the town of Atlin and neither the Gold Commissioner, the merchants, nor the legal fraternity were at the meeting, it was decided that a final meeting be held in Atlin. Finding that no suitable building was available in Atlin the executive of the new Miners' Association erected a rough platform at the side of the street and found chairs and a table. Among the lawyers present was Fred Young, afterwards Attorney-General of British Columbia, but the Gold Commissioner did not attend. Just before opening time, a young man, conspicuous among the miners by his white collar, mounted the platform and proceeded to harangue the crowd. He told them that they should disperse as they were breaking the law in holding a meeting on the street and that they should not criticize the Gold Commissioner as they had done. He evidently represented the claim jumpers. Among those standing beside the platform was Murdo MacLean, 28 — The Yukon Story whom we shall meet again in the latter part of the chapter on "Soapy Smith". He bounded onto the platform and said, "Young man with your white collar, we know what we are doing and you get out of here or we will tie you on a log and send you across Atlin Lake." As the orator turned to argue, MacLean rolled up his sleeves and stepped up to him. This was more than he expected and he jumped from the platform and disappeared in the crowd. Stables then took charge and explained what had been done at Discovery. Some of the merchants, among them the manager of Parsons Produce Company, expressed their approval and offered to help with the delegates' expenses. They went on the next boat to Victoria. Premier Joseph Martin, on their representations, sent Mr. Justice Irvine to Atlin with special power to deal with the situation. He soon brought the law breakers to time. In the case of our "Blizzard" claim, as an example, on the admission of Anderson's bookkeeper that they had taken out $682.00 in the two night's work, the judge ordered Anderson to pay, through the Court, that amount. Anderson asked if they could take their flume and sluice boxes. The Judge told him that he had put them there in trespass and would have to deal with us. Two days later, after some argument, we agreed that Anderson could take what he had put on the claim if he would work with us in building head and wing-dams, necessary for the most economical working of both his and our claims. He finally agreed and forgetting the lawsuit, we worked together and finished the project. After all, we sought gold, not arguments. As the so-called "town" of Discovery was entirely unorganized and had no resident officials, except the chief of police, and had no public building, not even a church, the Miners' Association bought and erected a tent, thirty by seventy feet, with a sawdust floor and slab seats and table. It was first opened to the public on Victoria Day (May 24th) and Rev. John Pringle, the only clergyman there, gave an historic address. As the day was fine and the crowd large, he spoke from a temporized platform outside the tent. Boxing, a tug of war and other events were carried out. Rev. Pringle, through the Presbyterian Church, obtained a tent for a hospital in Atlin and a cabin for two nurses sent in by the Mission Board, and the Miners' Association loaned him their tent for Sunday afternoon services in Discovery. We worked out the Blizzard claim that summer with a crew of four men, besides Harrigan, Warner and myself. As Willow was a dredging proposition, we sold our claims on it to a Victoria lawyer Atlin Camp — 29 named Belyea, who was forming a dredging company. We had made better than wages for our time. Our helpers on the Blizzard claim were James Stables, Hulett (Hugh) Wells, Leicester Hall and Gordon McLellan. Stables was later elected M.L.A. for West Cassiar, in which was the Atlin mining camp. He was afterwards Harbor Master in Vancouver. Wells, who had a British Columbia teacher's certificate, was, on Rev. Pringle's recommendation that fall, appointed teacher of the new Atlin school. He later went to Seattle and, while working in the postal service, studied law and was admitted to the American bar. Hall, who was a graduate in law from Chicago University, went to Dawson and mined on Sulphur Creek. Then he and Gordon McLellan started a grocery store in Dawson. Later he went to Los Angeles and practised law for many years before his death. My partners returned home in the fall of '99, Warner to his farm and family at DeCewsville, Ontario, and Harrigan to his farm on Vancouver Island. They were great partners and I was sorry to see them go. As for myself, the gold fever had not run its course and I was still anxious to reach the Klondike. Six of us who had become acquainted in Atlin, among them Gordon McLellan and Hall, decided that, although it was near the freeze-up, we would take chances and head for Dawson. Together, we left the beautiful rolling hills of Atlin and came out to Bennett by steam-boat to begin our down-river journey. 4. Atlin to Dawson Our atlin party reached the head of Bennett Lake in the evening and went to the slab-walled Presbyterian Church, always open, and used as a writing room. There we wrote letters home. Next we tried to buy a boat, but as none was to be had, and the freeze-up was too near to take time to build one, we found a freighter named Sawyer with two scows loaded with oats and potatoes. He had only two men with him and was looking for crews to take the scows to Dawson, or as far as the coming ice would permit. The Indians were fearful of Miles Canyon and Whitehorse Rapids, and as there were no other white men wanting to go down so late in the season, he made us an offer to get the scows as far as possible before the freeze-up. In order to gain time, he had arranged with Captain John Irving for the steamer Bailey to tow the scows to Tagish Mounted Police post, starting next morning. Our Atlin party was Gordon McLellan, from Nova Scotia; Leicester Hall (a young lawyer from Chicago); Ted Murgatroyd, from England; Alfred Jarvis, from Toronto; Albert Boyes, from Gananoque, Ontario; and the writer. Sawyer's two men were an American named Laidlaw, and Gus, a German. This made eight crewmen for the two scows. The Bailey left Bennett at daylight next morning towing eight scows, four on each side. The weather was fine without even a breeze until we reached Windy Arm. Then a terrific blow set in from the Arm and, as the scows were two deep on each side of the Bailey, they were soon pounded together so that some Atlin to Dawson — 31 of the plank sides were being damaged and they began to ship water. Captain Irving had buckets thrown to all he could, and then cut the scows loose to take chances by themselves. Each scow was equipped with one or more small square hand-made pumps attached to the sides, and two sweeps (long oars), one at the bow and one at the stern. A plank on the side of our scow had been crushed in and she was shipping water, but she was soon driven ashore by the wind, and by our efforts, pulling on the sweeps. Luckily the beach was sandy and after lightening the cargo onto the shore, we repaired the damage with axes, pieces of wood, nails and oakum, as well as possible. With the help of long poles we made from small trees, as soon as the storm subsided somewhat, we pushed out from the shore far enough to float the scow and reloaded the cargo. When far enough out we hoisted a small square sail, and by pulling on the sweeps and tacking carefully, we were soon far enough out to steer for Tagish North West Mounted Police post which we reached after dark. Early next morning the police numbered all the eight scows, secured our names and addresses, examined the cargo and bade us luck. The weather had become much colder during the night. Snow was falling, and ice forming along the banks, as we entered the river and headed for the fearful test of Miles Canyon. The current was swift and we went plunging with gathering speed into the Canyon. As our scow was large and rather unwieldy, the damaged plank evidently touched some projection and started a leak. Laidlaw and Gus, who were at the hand-made pumps, and were not accustomed to such river experiences, evidently thought the scow would sink in the canyon. Before we knew what they were doing both, in a panic, had jumped overboard. We saw no sign of Gus, but Laidlaw appeared for a moment on the surface, then was sucked down by the terrible undertow. In the narrow canyon the water seemed to converge in the centre and then roll under. This was the killer canyon of the Klondike gold rush, a place where many a man's brief story of adventure for gold came to its grim conclusion. We were through Miles and headed for the Whitehorse rapids. Despite warnings by the Mounted Police, many lives were lost in Whitehorse rapids. This was chiefly because of the deceptive nature of the approach. Between Miles Canyon and Whitehorse rapids the river, while very swift, was less dangerous. But, 32 — The Yukon Story at the rapids, the water swerved unexpectedly to one side and a white-capped billow—the "Whitehorse"—suddenly confronted the man in the bow. The billow was caused by a submerged granite ledge sloping in from the bank to more than half way across the river. If this condition was seen in time and avoided, all was well except when the water was unusually low. A craft, when properly steered, shot out on this billow and over the sudden drop and when about half its length out of the billow it plunged to the water below with a splash that sent spray up on all sides for several feet. If the craft (scow, boat or canoe) was strongly built and had plenty of free board, there was little danger, except to the nerves. However, if an attempt was made to keep in the centre of this very narrow and treacherous part of the river, the bottom would crash on the submerged ledge, and the swerve of the current would overturn it into the water below, usually with fatal results. If the craft cleared the ledge, yet was too frail for the drop, disaster would result. It was indeed, a testing place for men and their craft. Emerging from the canyon in a few minutes that seemed an eternity, we were fast carried through the turbulent water to Whitehorse rapids. Having been warned and advised by the police, we shot the rapids safely. The shock of the sudden plunge of our scow was soon past. Then, tying our craft to a tree on the bank, we started in the small boat to search for Gus and Laidlaw. Bodies seldom rise to the surface of cold waters of such rivers as the Yukon, but they sometimes drifted onto sandbars. While searching, we saw the body of a man caught on the stern wheel of a steamboat tied up near the tent town of Whitehorse. We pulled the body ashore and carrying it to a Mounted Police tent, reported where we had found it. We later learned that the drowned man's name was Robertson. He was helping Humbolt Gates, a brother of Swift- water Bill, to bring a scow load of mining machinery to Dawson for Gate's Sulphur Creek claim. Their scow, after clearing the canyon, struck a sandbar and overturned in the rapids. Failing to find Gus or Laidlaw, we returned at dark to the scow and building a camp fire on the shore, all hands had supper; then as Sawyer could get no steamer to tow his scow to Dawson, we began unloading the oats and potatoes. It was snowing and the water was cold, but the hard work kept us warm. When the scow was nearly unloaded, a man's figure loomed in the light of the fire. It was Gus! He had been swept by an eddy against a projecting rock and managed to grip it and climb to the top. Wet and exhausted, he saw a small shelter of spruce boughs Atlin to Dawson — 33 left by some camper and crawled under. He fell asleep. When he awoke he saw the light of our camp-fire, and managed to reach it cold, wet and hungry, but fortunate, withal. He was one of the few who had ever been immersed in the waters of Miles Canyon and lived to tell of it. Laidlaw had no such luck. As Gus remained with Sawyer to look after the cargo, I did not see him again until about two years later in Dawson. He told me he often wished that he had drowned in the canyon. After reaching the Klondike the next spring, he got work on a Bonanza Creek claim. When he had earned enough money, he built a cabin and sent to Germany for his wife. After she reached the Klondike and saw the cabin that Gus had built, outside his regular working hours, she refused to live in it. He rented a room for her in Dawson. There, while Gus was working on Bonanza, she turned her affections to another man. It has been said that inexperience accounted for most of the tragedies at Whitehorse rapids, and this is true. But conditions changed between the high water of the early spring and the low water before the close of navigation, and even experienced pilots were deceived, as was the case with Al La Rose, a professional pilot who lived at Whitehorse and had long experience, not only on the Yukon, but at Lachine, the Ottawa and other Canadian rapids. La Rose was drowned after several years piloting at Whitehorse, while taking a small craft through the rapids. Our Atlin party learned that a steamboat called the Willie Irving was about to leave Whitehorse for Dawson, on her last trip of the season. There was only one stateroom left and we six booked it and arranged to sleep in relays, there, and on oat sacks on the freight deck on condition that, when necessary, we would help with a freight scow the Irving had in tow. That part of the Yukon River between Whitehorse and Lake La Barge (known locally as the Thirty Mile) was easy going, but on La Barge a heavy wind began to drive the Irving back on the scow she was towing and almost turned it over as the cable tangled. As we were on the scow, we had a narrow escape and some of our belongings went overboard including my glass insulator, memento of the Collins Telegraph trail, and a camera. The lake was named in honor of Michael La Barge of Montreal, who had been with a survey party in the Yukon valley in 1866 and '67, exploring a route for the proposed Western Union Telegraph line. The Captain of the Willie Irving, realizing he could not buck the head wind and tow the scow, beached it and took those of 34 — The Yukon Story us who were helping to guide it on board the steamer. By skirting the shore of the lake we reached the river below and made good time until opposite the mouth of the Big Salmon river. The weather had turned somewhat milder, and the forming surface and anchor ice from that river had broken loose and was floating in a thick mush and filling the Yukon from bank to bank. This was not normally steamboating weather but gold altered ideas. By the time we reached Selkirk it was again colder. There, the Irving tied up and took on wood for steam and heating. Then she proceeded downstream in the thickening ice. Her stern wheel propeller was soon damaged and unable to revolve in the ice. The engines were stopped and she drifted helplessly. Near Selwyn Creek Mounted Police post, the moon appeared through the drifting clouds, and the outline of another steamboat was visible about two or three hundred yards ahead and near the left bank. Soon hissing steam could be heard as the water had evidently reached her fires. We saw lanterns being taken overboard and guided by their light, the passengers were being taken off and assisted over the now almost solid jamming ice. In a few minutes the steamer sank out of sight in about twenty feet of water. We later learned that she was the Stratton, and that all passengers and crew were believed to have reached Selwyn Police post safely. An ice jam had formed in the Yukon just below Selwyn Creek at a narrow gorge and the ice was rising and becoming thicker. Our Willie Irving had stuck in the ice almost opposite where the Stratton had gone under, but near to a rocky bluff on the opposite side of the river. Her stern was pushed up and her bow was under water when the mate, a resourceful little Scotsman, told the passengers to keep cool and he would start to get all hands to shore. Just as he said this a big ex-policeman from Seattle, who seemed to be in charge of a number of Dawson-bound dance hall women, tried to open one of the doors. It was jammed shut, and he yelled, "We're all locked in a trap to drown." The mate shouted, "Another word from you and you'll be damned near drowned." Then, calling for volunteers, he took a light rope cable over his shoulder and started ashore on the ice as the rope was paid out from the steamboat. He was preceded by one of the crew with an axe to smash down anchor ice, where it had come up from the river-bottom, edgewise. Other members of the crew followed, pulling planks and laying them where the Atlin to Dawson — 35 ice looked most dangerous. Then the volunteers followed, each helping a woman. In this way all reached the rocky bluff safely. May Field, a rather tall brunette, a sister of the better known "Diamond Tooth Gertie", was assigned to me as her helper from the Irving to the bluff. May declared that she would be a different woman if she ever got safely to shore. But her good resolve was soon forgotten. Scraps of driftwood littered the rocky, precipitous bluff and "were gathered and a fire started, but the jam soon caused the ice to rise and quenched the fire. As no more wood was available and the water still rising, all climbed up the rocky incline and waited for daylight. Then, with the help of an axeman to smooth the way over the ice, we (about twenty-five of us) were soon across the river to Selwyn post and crowded into a large Mounted Police cabin. In daylight we saw that the Willie Irving, too, had gone under the ice. The weather was again turning milder and, while we were waiting for the jam to break, or a freeze-up to solidify the ice, our party made a deal to unload a cargo of beef from a jammed scow, on condition that the owner would supply us with some beef, a tent, a small row-boat, two dogs and a sled, not then needed by him. In about two days the jam broke and in the boat, with a man standing in the bow with a long pole to push aside anchor ice and the others at the oars, our Atlin party was again on its way. As anchor ice is somewhat of a mystery to those who have not lived in the far north, an explanation of this phenomenon may be interesting. In the high latitudes permafrost (frost to bedrock) is under the rivers as well as everywhere there is moisture in the ground. When the water is cold enough for ice on the surface and sides, it also freezes under the river, up from the bottom permafrost. When the weather moderates and the surface ice breaks up the water becomes a few degrees warmer and the bottom, or anchor ice being lighter than water, lifts with the buoyancy of the water and rises to the surface in chunks. Frequently gravel and stones cling to it and, if they are heavier on one side than the other, the ice pops out of the water edgeways and is dangerous to those in small boats or canoes. Seen from a distance, for the first time, it seems alive and like submarine animals bobbing up. Despite our crowded boat, all went well until we reached what was very appropriately then called "Scow Island", about seven miles above Stewart River. Here, as winter finally set in, a sand- 36 — The Yukon Story bar caused another ice jam and several Dawson-bound scows, with cargoes ranging from food supplies and mining machinery to liquor and gambling paraphernalia, were ice-bound for the winter unless freighters from Dawson could come up later, on the ice, for them. Our problem was to keep our small boat from being crushed in the jamming ice, and for several hours, until the ice was sufficiently solid, we would get out on the ice and lifting the sled out on it, use it as a support in lifting the boat as much as possible out of the ice and then lifting the sled back on the boat, wait a while and repeat the process. It was almost dark, in the short northern winter days, when the ice seemed solid enough to risk travelling on it. Then, after binding the dogs' feet with gunny sacking, to prevent injury on the rough ice, we loaded the sled and, with an axeman ahead to break down the rough spots, we left the boat and, pulling the sled and helping the dogs over the rough places, reached Stewart some time after dark. When looking for a place to clear away the snow to pitch our tent, a man came out of a cabin and invited us in to stay with him overnight. He said that there was plenty of room on the floor for our bedding. He had a roaring fire in his Klondike stove and, when we began to get out food for supper, he showed us a pot of steaming pork and beans on the stove and told us to 'pitch in'. During the talk that followed he used an expression that I had heard when a boy in Quebec, "potacks", for potatoes. It developed that his name was Ernest Scroggie, and his mother and mine had been schoolmates in Rawdon, where I was born, north of Montreal. He was the discoverer of Scroggie Creek, a tributary of the Stewart River. I saw him again in Montreal, when my wife and I were on our wedding trip in 1908. Ernest, one of the Rawdon Scroggies who, later, sold their Montreal department store to Simpsons, was having his fling at adventure in the Far West. Snow came in the night and, as travelling was better, the dogs could help to pull the sled and we made good time. Camping after dark, a few miles above Dawson on the left bank of the Yukon, we met the advance construction party of the Dominion Government Telegraph line, Bill Irish, Norman Watt, Archie Cameron and Jack Le Claire, all from the Ottawa valley. They were able to tap the wire and Norman told me that a war (the Boer War) had started in South Africa and that a contingent was volunteering to go from Canada. Atlin to Dawson — 37 We could see the fights of Dawson from where we camped on the left bank of the Yukon. Early next morning, at Dawson's quietest hour, we reached the mecca of our dreams. We found an open place and camped on what was afterwards Minto Park, named in honor of Lord and Lady Minto, in 1900 when they made an official visit to the Klondike. We had been on the Yukon watershed and imbibed its spirit. Now we were at our journey's end, and amidst the sights and sounds of the greatest placer gold mining camp of all time. From here in the extreme north-western part of Canada, the Klondike's "ton of gold" had reached Seattle, and electrified the world of the hungry late Nineties. 5. Dawson and Sulphur Creek Much has been written about life in Dawson during the days of the greatest gold excitement. Some accounts emphasized far too much the roistering and the almost non-existent lawlessness. When we first saw Dawson late in 1899 it was a raw, hastily- assembled commmunity of log cabins, a number of more pretentious sawn lumber structures, some tents and much building. There had been as many as 25,000 persons in Dawson in early 1899 but the number soon began to decline. The Yukon census showed 27,219 for the whole territory. It was a mining camp, with saloons and dance-halls and for many, no doubt, night was turned into day. Gold dust was currency and every store had its gold scales. Horses and wagons and husky dogs shared the streets with the citizens. No one expected to be robbed. No one feared for his life. Dawson was law-abiding and the forces of law and order were respected for their good character and judgment. The stampeders were, like ourselves, mostly youthful and by nature hopeful and enthusiastic. We counted ourselves seasoned gold miners, from our Atlin experience, but this was Atlin on a larger and more exciting scale. As we got our bearings we noted physical features such as The Slide above and behind Dawson, the A.C. Trail, the Acklin Farm area, the Klondike River with its famous tributaries coming in on its left limit— Bonanza, Hunker and Last Chance creeks. Bonanza had its more famous tributary, Eldorado, coming in from its left about twelve miles from its mouth. There was the Government Reserve with Dawson and Sulphur Creek — 39 the administration buildings and North West Mounted Police barracks. The reserve was later called Minto Park, in honor of Lord and Lady Minto when, as governor-general of Canada, Lord Minto and his lady officially visited the Yukon Territory. There was the Klondike River and across the Klondike was the place inelegantly called Lousetown where the "floozies" were sent to be in a segregated district when families with children began to arrive in Dawson. The waterfront of Dawson on the Yukon River had its Northern Commercial, North American Trading Company and British Yukon Navigation Co. wharves. We were eager to start off for the goldfields and soon learned that the owners of a claim called Number Eight Below Discovery on Sulphur Creek wanted more men to work the claim on a percentage basis and including food and lodgings. So on Christmas Day of 1899 we crossed The Dome taking our belongings to Eight Below. As I recall it, the trip was two days, the distance being about 50 miles from Dawson. The shaft was down on this property and a number of drifts were being run in the gold gravels. I was sent to the face of one of these drifts. My partner was Bob Abrams, one of the first graduates of the University of Washington, Seattle, a splendid fellow. We worked very congenially together and formed there a long-lasting friendship. The practice was to thaw the hard-frozen ground with steamlines, muck and wheel to the shaft. On one occasion Bob was sent elsewhere for other duty in the mine and an Irishman, Claire Bigelow, was put in his place. I warned Big Claire in using the mallet to strike easy, but a heavy blow disconnected the six-point header's rubber hose from the steam pipes and the steam rushed out, filling the drift. Claire scrambled to the shaft, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Look out! The mine's blown up!" In a smother of steam I reached for the valve and turned off the pressure. Soon all was clear and we resumed mining, Working conditions on the claim were normal. We worked hard, ate well, slept soundly and between times managed some fun, mostly of our own making. I remember very well one night's unusual entertainment. During the "hungry Nineties" as the period before '98 was afterwards called, the theatrical stage, in earliest times a hand-maiden of religion and the church, had so deteriorated that an actress, Fanny Davenport of Stratford, Ontario, felt called to do what she could to restore its moral purpose. Father Riley, a Roman Catholic 40 — The Yukon Story priest, recognized her effort as worthy of his help and gave up his parochial duties to go to her assistance. When Fanny Davenport and Father Riley heard of theatrical conditions in Dawson, the good father decided to visit the Klondike and see for himself what conditions were and what he could do to elevate the theatre. Going up the Pacific Coast on the Princess May, he met some Klondikers returning from a winter outside and asked many questions about the gold camp. Amongst other things they told him that Canada was the only country in the world that gave the same rights and privileges in placer gold mining to all people whereas in nearby Alaska, before a Canadian prospector could record a claim of his own, he had to declare his intention to become an American citizen. Father Riley exclaimed: "No boundary line here!" and suggested that a society should be started commemorating this fact of a broad-minded and liberal attitude. The idea caught on and so the organization of The Arctic Brotherhood of those who have lived in the North had its start. "No boundary line here" has been its watchword. When in Dawson, Father Riley heard that on Eight Below on Sulphur Creek we were the most cosmopolitan or international group in the Klondike. The fact interested him, so he made a trip out to spend an evening with us. He was a great entertainer and we all enjoyed his company. Father Riley did much to improve the Dawson stage at a time when youths were coming under its influence. Life at Eight Below that winter was of a kind soon to be changed by the consolidation of claims and the coming of the dredges. We did not realize it then, but we were amongst the last of the miners who would placer mine in this fashion. There was no way for us to know the grade of the gravel we were digging except to try a little panning from time to time. We saw flecks of gold show up in the pile that was accumulating for sluicing in the spring, and of course, we hoped it was rich paydirt. The wife of one of the men was our cook. Ed Herring acted as our mail carrier. My partner, Gordon McLellan, was a good companion. We did not have a strong sense of isolation and, I suppose, anticipation helped to overcome loneliness. When the clean-up was finished in May of 1900, we each received between $2000 and $3000. This was a long way from a fortune but a good deal better than wages. Some of our Atlin group then returned to their homes. Leicester Dawson and Sulphur Creek — 41 Hall, who had accompanied me to Sulphur Creek and worked on the adjoining Seven Below claim, went with Gordon McLellan to Dawson where they started Mac's Grocery. I called on the Commissioner of the Yukon, William Ogilvie, and presented a letter to him written by a friend of his in Ontario, John Tolmie, M.P. It was a kindly letter of introduction and reference. Amongst other things it mentioned that I had had a business school course. Commissioner Ogilvie exclaimed: "Why didn't you show me this letter when you came to Dawson?" I told him I had wanted to see Atlin and Dawson and try my hand at mining. "Well," said the Commissioner, "you must have concluded we are doing the best we can here. As you have attended business college, I have work for you. Benny Craig started the post office here and needs a rest to go home and see his people. You can have the job of mail despatcher. There is other work for him when he returns." It was in this way I became part of the postal service in the Yukon and remained in it for about ten years, going to Whitehorse after I was married. The Yukon did not make me rich but it was good to me. I met and married Miss Ida Hastings, who came to Dawson in 1906 to teach school. The fraternity of the North was fine to experience and the enduring friendships enough reward for any hardship experienced on the way. The Edmonton Trail The Guide Books issued by the Federal Government in 1897 describing the all-Canadian overland routes starting from Edmonton and Ashcroft, but diverging at points on the way, lured many who did not know the north country, to take those routes in preference to the infinitely shorter and easier Skagway route. These Guide Books were based on the experiences of well- financed and organized Hudson's Bay Company's trading parties and later, Federal Government Survey parties, even better equipped and financed. All these could pay for the building of boats, hiring of Indian guides, packers and expert pilots and, when needed, interpreters. No provision for such safe and luxurious travelling was possible for the individual stampeders of '98. Each young enthusiast in those hard times, with meagre funds and little experience, had to start out by himself and learn the hard way. Of the many stories told of the Edmonton trail that of Charles Reid gives the most illuminating picture. He was born at New Carlisle, New Brunswick near the Quebec boundary on the Bay of Chaleur. In the winter of '97 and '98, even in that remote community, the Klondike gold strike had captured the imagination of young men and little else was talked about. Reid had a strong physique, was a non-smoker and temperate in his habits and accustomed to hard farm work. He heard that a group of merchants in Montreal had formed a stock company and offered to pay applicants a wage of $60 a month and expenses on condition that they would buy $500 in shares of the Company's The Edmonton Trail — 43 stock, paying $350 down and the balance to come out of the $60 a month. For this they were to give the company one-third of any claims staked. Leaving New Carlisle on March 14th, 1898, Reid went to Montreal where he and seventeen other 'hopefuls' accepted the company's terms, and set out by the Canadian Pacific Railway for their first objective, Calgary, which they reached on March 29th. They left for Edmonton, then the jumping-off place, on April 2nd, but a storm stopped the train and as there was no snow plow, they were forced to return to Calgary. Again starting they reached South Edmonton, then filled with stampeders from all over the world, Klondike-bound. Thousands of cayuses were for sale to the unwary. In about a week Reid's outfit moved over to Edmonton to get away from the carousals, and they set up their tents on Jasper Avenue, just west of the Hudson's Bay store in a nice poplar grove populated by gophers. Here they waited for the Montreal manager who was to head the expedition. A month passed and they would have been "fit to be tied up" were it not that they spent their time rocking the gravel of the Saskatchewan River below their tents, where they could save some very fine gold with mercury and get about a dollar a day. It was good practice but far from the $100 a day expected at the end of the trail. Reid won ten dollars on a swimming bet from a member of the party named Kaiser, who boasted of his prowess as a swimming instructor in the Montreal Y.M.C.A. He spent his winnings on a dinner to the crowd in the best hotel at fifty cents each. The manager arrived on May 10th and brought bad news. There was trouble in the company and they must prepare for the worst as it might not carry out its undertaking. There was consternation in the camp. Few had any funds and could expect none from back home. Reid was appointed secretary and, as the manager, Dr. McLellan, was leaving that night for Montreal, they went to a young lawyer for advice. Free of charge he advised them to wire Montreal for funds to return. These funds were sent and all but three returned to Montreal. Reid had some money and looking for an outfit to join, found a group that seemed suitable. They were headed by an old California miner who had lived for several years in Manitoba. Another was a young Icelander, Charles Odstad, a fine fellow and an expert in all needed work. The others were Ross, a telegraph operator from Manitoba, Captain Bebee, from Port Arthur, Ontario, Burton, a bad-tempered blacksmith from Port Arthur and 44 — The Yukon Story Williamson, an Australian who could talk only of the Broken Hill gold rush. They were a good average of the stampeders. The stampeders at Edmonton had increased to over 15,000, all impatient to be on their way—but which way? Perhaps there never has assembled a greater variety of transportation equipment than left Edmonton when the snow on the hills and the ice on the rivers vanished and travel was reasonably possible. The majority started with cayuses packed beyond the limit, some by the Peace River route, and hundreds just north and west, trusting to their lucky star to bring them to the land of their heart's desire. As Service later said of the northern voyageurs, "Never was seen such a gathering." Some had Red River carts, some truck wagons and others with cayuse attached to a travois, in the old French Canadian style, and perhaps the most efficient of them all. The most unique was in the form of a land roller, about fifteen feet long, the inside loaded with supplies. This did not get beyond the Pembina River, some fifty miles from Edmonton. One wealthy outfit, headed by a titled Englishman, left with fifty horses, each packed with two hundred pounds of supplies and one with nearly one hundred pounds of toilet paper in its bulky load—a deluxe item, indeed, for those crude days. Reid's party took the route particularly recommended by Hon. Clifford Sifton's publications, issued by him as Minister of the Interior—the water route via the Athabasca River, Lake Athabasca, Great Slave River, and down the Mackenzie River to Fort Norman. While this route was longer than by way of the Liard River, it was a down river route for part of the way. They had purchased their supplies at Edmonton, at exorbitant prices, and hiring three horse-drawn wagons, set out on the ninety- six weary miles of gumbo road to Athabasca Landing, arriving there in three days. There was neither the sawmill nor the lumber they were assured by Edmonton merchants were there. They found some nice spruce trees up to thirty inches in diameter. They felled the better trees, built a saw-pit and whip-sawed what lumber they needed for a scow. A saying among the old prospectors was, "If you can stand whip-sawing, you can whip your weight in wildcats." Reid later said, "We built a scow thirty feet long and eight foot beam that would float on a heavy dew, not a thing of beauty, but a joy to handle." The Pelican River gave them no trouble and they began to think that the celebrated rapids were over- The Edmonton Trail — 45 rated. Before they knew it they were in Grand Rapids, rarely run by experts. Here they met Colonel James Cornwall, later famous in the North, but then acting as a guide and attempting to get a York Boat off a boulder. They helped him to get clear. There was a light causeway across an island at the worst place in these rapids and, for a small charge, the scow was taken over by the N.W.M.P. who had a post there. Sergeant Anderson, a very friendly and helpful Icelander, was in charge and gave them advice that helped them in running the bad Boiler, Crooked and Drowned Rapids. But it was in Long Rapids, considered the safest of them all, that they piled up on a rock and holed the craft that had served them so well. They beached and unloaded her except three bags of salt that dissolved in the water. (This necessity they afterwards replenished at Salt River farther on.) Two days later the scow was patched and they were on their way, passing through Little Cascade and Grand Cascade. The latter, a splendid rapids, was not dangerous. They soon reached Moberly Rapids at Fort McMurray. These rapids were the chief reason for the building of the railway from Edmonton to Fort McMurray, a few years later. It is now the route for most of the freight for Yellowknife and other places in the North-West Territories. Below Fort McMurray it was all quiet water to Athabasca Lake and they came to Fort Chipewyan without incident, rowing and hoisting their small sail when the wind was favorable. Captain Bebee was at the sweep most of the time, alternating with Mac, the oldest man in the party. Ross and Williams looked after the cooking. They caught fish occasionally, but beans and sowbelly were their mainstay. They always landed before dark and Charlie Odstad and Reid pitched tent, gathered fuel and made fires. They stayed a couple of days at Chipewyan which then was the centre of Hudson's Bay Company operations in all directions. The chief factor was a Dr. McKay, a Scotsman, as were all the principal officers of the Company. He had sent his wife, a Chip- pewan Indian girl, to Winnipeg to be educated and a good job was done for she was a 'lovely and gracious lady'. Reid says, "She answered my knock at the door one afternoon and smiled a welcome. When I lifted my hat she said, "You are one of the boys bound for the gold fields, I am sure." "Yes, Mrs. McKay, and I make bold to ask a favor of you. I am told that you have a little farm and might possibly give or sell me a drink of buttermilk." "I'm sorry, young man. It's not buttermilk day. That is 46 — The Yukon Story tomorrow, but if good, rich Jersey milk would please you, we have plenty of it." "And how I relished it and the buttermilk, next day," Reid said, "and the dinner to which Dr. McKay invited me was as nicely appointed as in any outside home. "Dr. McKay was kindly and courteous, yet made it plain that he would be glad when the stream of argonauts was over and his post was normal again. He was fearful of the impact of so many white men on his Indian charges, that it might make them discontented and harder to control, and dissatisfied over hearing of the higher prices finished furs brought on the world markets and the comparative pittance they received for raw furs. I could see his point of view though I did not sympathize with it. "The Company would be glad when the last of the gold seekers had backtracked to Edmonton, as many did, or else disappeared over the Rockies to the west and the Yukon watershed. Certainly we were an unwanted multitude in this fur-bearing paradise, that had so long been the private preserve of the North West Trading Company and the Gentlemen Adventurers of the Hudson's Bay. "Chipewyan abounded in malamutes and husky dogs that were left to shift for themselves in the summer season. In consequence they were always ravenous and prowling for food. We did not dare bring our scow to the shore or they would have charged it in scores to get at the bacon they could sniff and they made desperate efforts to climb aboard. One of us had always to be on hand with a club, for they would get on each other's backs and claw and howl until they finally found it labor in vain and left disgruntled. They were successful with some low-board scows and wrought havoc. Little did we dream that, half a century later, this quiet Athabasca region would be the scene of another rush. This time for lode-gold and uranium, and that Goldfields town, Yellowknife and Uranium City would make Canadians more than ever conscious of the wealth to be found under the frozen tundra of the great northern wilderness of the pre-cambrian shield and a new lodestar to other generations of adventurous prospectors. Leaving Lake Athabasca, they entered the 200-mile-long Slave River connecting Lake Athabasca with Great Slave Lake. This river, unlike the Athabasca, was sluggish and they were constantly at the oars, two on either side and Captain Bebee at the sweep. His deepwater experience on the Great Lakes was an advantage, especially on the Great Slave Lake. They were soon rowing against a peculiar backwash of the The Edmonton Trail — 47 Peace River, which enters the Slave River at almost right angles from the west, after flowing nearly 800 miles from its source west of the Rocky Mountains, in great part through rich agricultural land. From the junction of the Peace the current was somewhat increased and the going easier. The shores were well-wooded with spruce, balsam and alder and, on the higher ridges, jack- pine—great pulp-wood supply for some future time. Pickerel and greyling were plentiful in the rivers and creeks, and char in the lakes. Three of the party, Charlie, Mac and Reid, took the Peterborough canoe nearly twenty miles up the Salt River coming in from the west, and reached the salt beds which have been the supply of the Hudson's Bay posts and the natives throughout the years. A large area was encrusted with delightfully clean and easily gathered salt, an inch or more in thickness. They soon filled their sacks with 400 pounds of salt. On the way they used their fishing tackle and pike and pickerel, with which this river abounded, were a welcome change from the usual bacon and beans. "Camped in the open and roasting a fresh pickerel on an open fire made the wilderness a paradise to a tired voyageur," said Reid. Pike three to four feet long and ready to snap the bait the instant the hook touched the water were loaded in the canoe. No skill nor patience was needed and there seemed no limit to the supply. The fish were salted down for later use. Appetites were good and sleeping in tents with the flap thrown back and the aromas of spruce bough "feathers" was a great inducement to sleep. After returning to camp the party continued down Slave River, which in its 200 miles of length has one bad obstruction, a thirteen-mile rapids at Fort Smith. On entering Great Slave Lake the party proceeded to Pine Point near where Sir John Franklin made a headquarters when on his second voyage to find the northwest passage and, after reaching the Arctic ocean and rowing and sailing westward, was forced by fog and the Arctic ice-drift to turn back and land on the coast near the northern end of what has since been established as the 141st meridian (the boundary between Alaska and the Yukon Territory). Returning by land Franklin became the first white man to set foot on what is now the Yukon Territory. Near Pine Point, Bebee, Ross and Reid saw outcroppings of galena (silver, lead and zinc) ore and in 1923, when Reid was Vancouver Harbormaster, he told Dr. S. G. Blaylock, then man- 48 — The Yukon Story ager of the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, and later president, about their find. This information eventually led to the Company acquiring and developing the ore body that has been described as the largest galena deposit in the world. Its magnitude has warranted the building of a railway nearly a thousand miles in length from near Edmonton to Pine Point on Great Slave Lake. After crossing the lake the party entered the Mackenzie River and passing the mouth of the Liard at Fort Halkett, continued down the river to Fort Norman, about 200 miles south of Fort McPherson and the Mackenzie estuary. Here they had to await snow to cross the 4000-foot Rocky Mountain divide. While waiting they made six sleds from spruce, which they whip-sawed, and they shod them with wooden runners. When snow came they started on October 22nd, hauling their sleds with a load of about 300 pounds each and had to relay four times from camp to camp as they had about 1200 pounds of supplies per man. It was about seventy miles from Fort Norman to Gravel River and about 285 miles across the divide to the first south fork of the Stewart River. This relaying over a distance of over 350 miles meant over 1200 miles of extra travel. They averaged about sixteen miles a day, half the distance with loaded and half with empty sleds. On one occasion the temperature dropped to 76 degrees below zero, when they were able to make only about eight miles a day. The party of six had a large tent and a sheet-iron stove with telescoped stovepipe. There was no defined trail, but they knew that by following the divide they would eventually reach their objective, the Stewart River, and it would take them down to Dawson. Incidentally, of over 15,000 men who left Edmonton for the Klondike in the spring of 1898, fewer than 200 were estimated to have completed the Peace and Liard branches of the trail and about 50 across the divide from Fort Norman. A few others, among them Frank and Al Davison from near Toronto, went up the Peel near the Mackenzie estuary and down the Porcupine. The Reid party reached Clear Creek, a tributary of the Stewart, about July 1st, 1899, and there they were told that wood was in great demand in Dawson. As this seemed an opportunity to make some money they cut thirty-five cords and rafted it to Dawson. They tied it up at Klondike City when the ice was forming about the middle of October. While they awaited the Timber Ida Hastings and Walter Hamilton at the McGregor Cabin, A.C. Trail, Dawson. Walter and Ida Hamilton, in Vancouver half a century later. How freight was scowed down the Yukon River to Dawson. An early gold dredge and drilling rig at Bear Creek. ' * X*\ i lllftt il ^^%y William Ogilvie, government land surveyor, was first "governor" of the Yukon. Frederic W. Hart, early pioneer of the Yukon Territory. —Vancouver Archives Kate Rockwell, actress and dancer at Dawson in gold rush days is here pictured in 1900 when she was famous as Klondike Kate. Michael (Mickey) O'Rourke, V.C., became the most decorated Canadian private soldier of World War I. The Edmonton Trail — 49 Inspector's action on licences, drifting ice caused the raft to break away and their wood was a total loss. After having travelled together all the way from Edmonton the party found it necessary to break up, each fending for himself. Reid heard of a fellow New Brunswicker who had a claim on Adams Gulch, a tributary of Bonanza, and entered into partnership with him. He moved to Vancouver in 1907 and in 1923 became Vancouver Harbor Master, a position which he held until the government changed in 1931. 7. Other Trails to the Yukon Frank Neill Among the routes taken to reach the Klondike in '98, the two longest and hardest have never been described in any publication. They are outstanding examples of determination and perseverance. A number of students were attending a technical school in Philadelphia, when the news of the Klondike gold discovery reached that city. A man who represented himself as a master-mariner had learned that the fathers of some of the students might be prevailed upon to buy a schooner if their sons wanted to go adventuring to the Klondike. As the Panama Canal was not then in existence, he proposed that they sail around Cape Horn and up the Pacific to St. Michaels, and then up the Yukon to Dawson. Some twelve of the young men were eager to go, and their fathers paid for and equipped a schooner. They were no sooner out of sight of land in the South Atlantic than they discovered that the 'master-mariner' knew nothing about ocean navigation and was completely lost and evidently a faker who planned, not only to get a free passage to the Klondike, but to be well paid for his 'services'. The boys talked the situation over and decided that as they knew more of the world geography than did Columbus, in 1492, they would put the 'captain' ashore at the first South American port they could sight, and navigate the schooner themselves. They rounded the Horn without incident, and had gone north Other Trails to the Yukon — 51 in the Pacific about as far as the latitude of San Francisco, when they were becalmed between the trade winds. Finally they again got under weigh and were nearing the Alaskan coast when a terrific storm drove them eastward and their schooner was wrecked on the rocks near Juneau on the Alaskan panhandle. All, except Frank Neill, took the first chance to get back to the States. Frank had started for the Klondike and to the Klondike he would go. The reputedly rich new Atlin placer camp on the Yukon watershed was being talked about in Juneau and, as Frank had little money, he studied the direction of the Atlin camp from Juneau and decided that, a straight line being the shortest distance between two points, he would buy a hand-sled, sleeping bag and some food and supplies, and strike out alone over Taku Glacier. Frank reached the summit of the Coast Range without incident, but did not know that from the summit down to the south-easterly end of Atlin Lake, he had to traverse the then little known Llewellyn Glacier said to be the largest ice-field south of the Arctic circle in North America. It was then March 1899, and after descending Llewellyn to the lake, he pulled his sled on the ice to the new town of Atlin, which he had seen from the glacier. In Atlin, situated at the mouth of Pine Creek, he learned that the rich discovery and the centre of mining activity was at Discovery, later Pine City, about seven miles up the creek, and at once set out for there. At this time I, who had come over from Teslin Lake to Discovery in January, and was going down to Pine creek for water where a hole was cut in the ice, saw a little tent newly pitched beside the trail. A young fellow had started a fire near the tent and was cutting some wood for cooking his supper. Seeing that he was a new arrival in the camp I stopped, as was the custom, and was so greatly interested in what he said that I invited him to come to our cabin. A friendship started that lasted throughout the years. Frank was a city boy and not accustomed to work in the woods. He was too late to locate a claim, as all the creeks were then staked. However, he had seen a new sawmill near Atlin and some good spruce trees near the shore of the lake and after talking the situation over, he contacted a free-lance like himself who had worked in lumber woods. They joined forces and started cutting logs for the mill and hauling them first by hand on the ice and, later, towing them as rafts to the mill. 52 — The Yukon Story Some two years later, when I was in Dawson, Frank came to see me. He told me that as the Atlin camp was past its mining peak, they had decided to come down the Yukon River to Dawson, and on the way had found a good stand of spruce trees near the Yukon several miles above Dawson. They had cut a raft of logs and had tied it up at the mouth of the Klondike. Could I introduce him to the local mill owner? I knew the owner, Joe Segbers, and introduced Frank. They carried on a profitable business for several years and then Frank and a man named Volkman went to Long Island, New York, and started a building supply business. Later, he married and took his wife on their wedding trip to the north, to show her that beautiful, alluring land that he had learned to love. When passing through Vancouver, they called on me. The last letter I received from Frank told me of the death of one of his two sons, in the Second World War, and his other son, Dougald, was an Air Force instructor. Dougald became a United States Naval Commander of the Reserve Officers Training Corps in Philadelphia and a daughter, Mrs. Henzel, lived in Bay- side, New York, Frank was one of the truest friends and most unassuming personalities I have ever met. Fred Fysh Fred Fysh and his brother-in-law, Charles Williams, of London, Ontario, were in Chicago when the news of the big Bonanza Creek strike awoke the world of the struggling Nineties. They, with two others, set out for the gold fields, by way of San Francisco and St. Michaels. At San Francisco, they, with others, built a small schooner, with an auxiliary engine. Having had some navigation experience on the Great Lakes, they crossed the north Pacific without mishap and reached St. Michaels, near the end of navigation on the Yukon River. While considering the advisability of attempting to get as far up the Yukon as possible, before the end of navigation, some local sojourners there told them they had information of a rich strike on a creek entering Bering Sea, north of Point Barrow, and if they would sail up there and take them along, they would guide them to the creek. As there were then rumors of other placer indications along the coast, they decided to accept the proposal and sailed for the Other Trails to the Yukon — 53 new creek almost at the entrance to the Arctic Ocean. Leaving the schooner tied up at its mouth, they proceeded up the creek and found other prospectors already there, but although they prospected at many places along the creek, almost to its source, they found nothing worth locating. When the first snow came, the others decided to head back to St. Michaels but Fysh and Williams, who had a small map of Alaska, decided that as their objective had been to reach Dawson, and the distance directly overland to Fort Yukon appeared less than one-third of the distance back to St. Michaels and then up to Dawson, they would try going across country. As they could not make a deal with the natives for the schooner, and the men who induced them to go to the northern creek were not disposed to pay for what they knew they could take if they wanted it, Fysh and Williams left it to its fate and, after making a sort of toboggan and putting what supplies they needed on it, crossed the first divide and, after having to cross several mountains and valleys, they finally reached Fort Yukon. From there to Dawson on the Yukon River on the ice, was comparatively easy going. They reached Dawson in mid-winter. Fysh, who was an accountant, secured a position in the Gold Commissioner's office and Williams went to work on a claim on Eldorado Creek. As Fysh was a married man and had left his wife in London, Ontario when he started out to better his position, he soon bought a comfortable cabin in Dawson and sent for her. In Dawson they became active in church and community life and the Fysh home was one of the welcome places for home-hungry men. The route across Alaska followed by Fysh and Williams over tundra and mountain ranges was, as far as was known in the Yukon, never travelled by natives, prospectors or trappers and is not yet an area of active present day northern research. Many Americans went to the Klondike from San Francisco, across the north Pacific ocean to St. Michaels and up the Yukon River to Dawson. The distance is over 4000 miles, but it was no physical effort, though it possibly involved more money. 8. The Soapy Smith Episode Skagway, at the head of Lynn Canal, and at the north end of the thousand mile coast line from Seattle and Vancouver (known as the inside passage because of its almost continuous protection by islands from the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean) was the easiest and most direct route to the Klondike. In the early spring of 1898 and several months before navigation opened on the Yukon River, thousands of gold seekers landed at Skagway from steamships, many of which had been out of commission for ocean service for many years. Some of these had been picked up along the Pacific coast, the Atlantic seaboard, and even in the Orient and hurriedly re-conditioned for profitable adventure to the north. Despite rapid construction of hotels and rooming houses, most of the adventurers had to squat in tents on, or near, the Skagway and Dyea townsites. Skagway was claimed by both Canada and the United States but the latter had taken de-facto possession and President Theodore Roosevelt had stationed the Sixth United States Infantry Regiment at Dyea, also disputed territory. Canada stationed a detachment of North West Mounted Police and a customs officer at Skagway to support her claim, and collect the duty on American goods going to the Klondike, but as the United States had taken possession and a survey of the townsite was made by an American Company, Canada's claim was over-ridden, and her officials, according to the United States, had merely the standing of private individuals. The Soapy Smith Episode — 55 The townsite, although claimed by the surveying company, was mostly occupied by about ten thousand squatters in their tents and wooden shelters. The civil representative of the Federal Government was an official known as the "United States Deputy Marshal". He had power to call on the troops at Dyea, but he was later known to be in league with the criminal element, under a bearded character known as "Soapy" Smith. A reign of terror prevailed for some time and "Soapy's saloon" and numerous other places were gambling hells in which murders and robberies were almost daily occurrences. Law-abiding stampeders and business men felt the need for action, but the criminal element, though in the minority, was organized and well armed, and for some months nothing effective was done to end the skillful leadership of Soapy who headed off all efforts to clean up the situation which was recognized as the worst in the world. Soapy's word was law. War had been declared between the United States and Spain and Soapy, posing as a loyal citizen, armed and drilled about four hundred of his henchmen as "volunteers" and, knowing the offer could not be accepted, offered them to the President. The offer was declined in a letter of thanks and Soapy had the letter framed and hung up in his gambling and drinking saloon, and utilized his "volunteers" for his own use. His tall, handsome appearance and soft-spoken manner disarmed any suspicion of newcomers. He had been looked upon by leading criminals in the United States as lacking nerve until he killed a man in a coldblooded manner a few years before setting up his domain in Skagway. Colonel Sam Steele of the Northwest Mounted Police, after going through Skagway to the Yukon at the time said, "It was probably the worst hell on earth, and only the police were safe." Soapy seldom took an active part in actual crimes. He delegated his jobs through his lieutenants, to his hirelings. All plunder was brought to him and divided according to his absolute will, among the gang. His own share was moderate and never questioned as he usually lost in gambling with his subordinates, who were more "sure thing" men than himself. Soapy's character was well illustrated soon after the White Pass railway officials began their survey and before they began building the railway. A story told at the time was that a zealous preacher drifted into Skagway on his own and was horrified at the wicked 56 — The Yukon Story condition of the town. He proposed, if properly supported, to do what he could to remedy the awful conditions. He consulted some ungodly wag, who pointed out Soapy and told the preacher to apply to him, evidently looking for fun. Soapy received him affably and told him that his idea was a good one and handed him $300 in cash. Much encouraged the preacher started his work and when Soapy's minions held him up that night they took the $300 and all the money he had besides, as "profit on the investment". Open violent robbery was an almost daily occurrence. Members of the gang met all steamships arriving and, in the guise of messengers, lured likely-looking passengers to haunts where they could "go through them" and get their money. S. M. Graves, President of the then newly-organized White Pass Railway Company, in his diary, relates in detail the situation when he landed in Skagway July 2nd, 1898. Soapy called on him and gave a courteous invitation to join him in riding through the streets at the head of the Fourth of July celebration parade. This he declined. Two days later, July 6th, matters reached a climax when Soapy's men robbed a young man named Stewart of about three thousand dollars in gold-dust, which he was bringing out from the Klondike. This stimulated action by the law-abiding element as it was felt that whatever had been tolerated concerning people 'going in' to the Klondike, the fine must be at once drawn at robberies of gold-dust from those coming out, if Skagway was to retain its boasted pre-eminence as "the easiest gateway to the Golden North". What immediately followed is quoted from extracts taken from the White Pass President's daily reports, from which, with a flair for lively reporting, he informed his Company as follows: "Skagway, July 8th, 1898—In times of peace prepare for war. 'There's two hundred cartridges anyway,' said our purchasing agent, coming into the engineer's mess tent when we were at breakfast this morning and laying them down with four Winchester repeating rifles, one for each of us, on the breakfast table. "It seems that the 'citizens' have determined to call Soapy to account and have notified him that the gold-dust must be returned within twenty-four hours, and that Soapy is not inclined to comply, saying that 'the money was lost in a square game'. "The 'citizens' have called a mass meeting to consider what steps are to be taken. It looks like a fight and they look to us to lead them. After breakfast Heney, Hawkins and myself received The Soapy Smith Episode — 57 an urgent invitation to attend a small, select meeting of 'prominent citizens' hastily summoned because of the feeling that nothing definite is likely to result from the mass meeting. Seventeen of us met and were called the 'merchants' committee', but actually a vigilance committee, pure and simple, but no action was taken beyond electing a chairman and adjourning until 11 p.m., when it was agreed by all present that 'active measures are to be adopted.' Despite my protests I was unanimously chosen for chairman. However, I have, fortunately, our three engineers, Heney, Hislop and Hawkins to advise me and it would be hard to duplicate such a trio. "The first thing we decided was to send Heney and Hawkins up the Pass to prepare our camps for the hard fighting that seems inevitable, leaving Hislop and myself in Skagway to deal with the local situation and attend the meeting tonight. We are to keep in touch with one another by our private telephone, at the various camps. "Saving attended to these matters and our necessary daily grist of construction affairs, despite revolutions, I found an Italian bootblack and made a contract with him to black my boots for twenty- five cents (a shilling) which seems high unless you saw the boots. He had hardly got into action when I felt a touch on my shoulder and saw Hislop apparently deprecating the performance. 'This is hardly wise just now', he said in gentle tones. I thought he meant that it was a poor investment as the boots would soon be as bad as ever. But he explained that the public feeling was very excited and ran high, and while it did not necessarily follow, of course, that a man was honest because he had dirty boots, on the other hand there was an irresistible presumption that if his boots were shining he must earn his living by questionable methods. The idea may be concisely formulated that 'the lustre of a man's character varies inversely with that of his boots!' I felt that my character was not sufficiently established to run any risks, and reluctantly cancelled the Italian's contract. But I had to pay him just the same. What did he care about my character? "There are excited crowds all day in the streets, but Soapy's 'Lambs', as he calls his 'volunteers' are working just like London police, breaking up the groups. One almost expects to hear the familiar, 'Move on, now. Move on, please'. "July 9th. The unexpected has happened. Soapy Smith is dead, and his lieutenants (including the United States Deputy Marshal) are in irons, under guard of the 'merchants' committee' and hardly 58 — The Yukon Story a shot fired. It is impossible to say which side was the most taken by surprise, but we recovered first and reaped an almost bloodless victory. It happened this way: "The mass meeting was assembling at 9 o'clock on one of the wharfs, and two of their number had been detailed to hold the entrance and allow none of Soapy's friends in. No one was expecting any immediate fighting and there was only one revolver in the crowd, carried by a man named Reid, who was one of the two who had been appointed to hold the entrance. "Our committee was not to meet until eleven, and no one expected any action until two or three in the morning. A ship had just arrived with 1500 tons of rails and sleepers, for which we were in a hurry. She berthed at the adjoining wharf and Whiting, our Division Superintendent, and I had been down to see that they began unloading promptly. "On our way back we had casually noticed the crowd assembling on the other wharf for the mass meeting, but neither of us paid any attention to it till we got off our wharf and were in the street leading to the wharf the crowd was on. We were about fifty yards from the two men who were holding the entrance, and the crowd was about seventy-five or eighty yards farther down the wharf when suddenly, Whiting said, 'By the Lord, here comes Soapy. Now look out.' 'Nonsense,' I said, 'he's only bluffing.' "While I was speaking Soapy passed near enough to touch me. He was ostentatiously armed with a couple of big revolvers and a belt of cartridges, and carried a double-barrelled Winchester repeating rifle across his arm as he shouted to the crowd, 'Now chase yourselves home to bed.' I stood laughing till I saw he was followed about twenty-five yards behind, by a body-guard of fourteen of his picked men who were grimly silent and displayed no arms, though they were, notoriously, always armed to the teeth. "These men followed Soapy past me and shut out my view. So I moved to the sidewalk and saw Soapy go up to Reid and make a bluff to hit him over the head with the barrel of his rifle. Reid put up one hand and protected his head by catching the barrel. Soapy, failing to shake off Reid's hold, jerked back the rifle suddenly, which brought the muzzle against Reid's stomach. Reid, still holding Soapy's rifle with one hand, as before, put the other in his coat pocket and without taking it out, commenced to shoot his revolver. Soapy, at the same instant, began to pump shots from his Winchester into Reid's stomach. It would be impossible The Soapy Smith Episode — 59 to say which fired first. The shots were absolutely simultaneous. Each fired four shots, though one of Reid's first shots had gone clean through Soapy's heart. It was not murder as much as spontaneous killing. Neither man had any intention of killing a moment before, but they must have seen death in each other's eyes at the last moment and both fired together. They fell together in a confused heap on the planking of the wharf, Soapy stone dead and Reid dying. It all happened in an instant. "Meanwhile Soapy's body-guards were within twenty-five yards of the two prostrate men and the remaining entrance keeper, a little Irishman who worked for us. "When Soapy's guards saw him fall they gave a furious yell and drew their 'guns' as they called their heavy revolvers, and sprang forward for revenge on the unarmed crowd, and it looked as if what I had mistaken at first for a comedy was to be a shambles. "But the little Irishman was the right man in the right spot and rose to the emergency. 'Begob, sorr,' he said to me an hour later, T had nawthin but a pincil when I saw them tigers makin' jumps for me.' But he had his quick wits and like a flash, he snatched Soapy's Winchester from the dead man's hands, and the leading 'tiger' saw Murphy's eye gazing at him along the sights. "Involuntarily, the 'tiger' checked his rush, and was passed by another of Soapy's guards. That instant Murphy shifted and covered the new leader and the same thing happened. By the time Murphy had covered the third leader, the 'tigers' behind realized that some of them were sure to be shot and somehow they were not in such a hurry. "The men in front, realizing that they were not being supported, looked around to see why. The rush was over and in another instant the whole fourteen broke and fled. "At that moment the crowd on the wharf, who had stood paralyzed with terror, became a blood-thirsty pack of wolves and with a yell, they started in pursuit, unarmed. They swept past us and in another moment the crowd, jumping over the dead Soapy and the dying Reid, tore past us yelling, 'Get your guns, citizens.' "When they had gone by I ran over to our office tent and phoned Heney at Camp Three and Hawkins at Camp Five what had happened and arranged with them to hold the Pass and let no one go by without an order signed by Hyslop or me, and to hold their men ready to come down and help us clear up the town if we called for help. But it wasn't necessary. 60 — The Yukon Story "We put armed guards on all the wharfs, with orders to shoot on sight if anyone tried to escape in a boat. Their escape by land or water was cut off and we proceeded to round up the gang. Some tried to get away in boats and were caught by our guards. Some tried the Pass and Heney and Hawkins got them, and the rest we got by an organized search of the town before they had time to rally, except a few who took to the mountains, but we will starve them out. "We captured more than we could find jail room for, so we selected thirty-one of the leaders and let the rest go, to get out of town and keep out. Now, our problem is to save the men we have in jail from the infuriated mob, who are clamouring for their blood. "July 11th. We have got the men who escaped to the mountains, including three of Soapy's head men. But Reid's death has made the feeling very bitter and we are at our wits' end to guard the prisoners from the fury of the mob. We have no jail to keep them in—nothing but a board shanty where they have hardly standing room and huddle together like sheep, while the mob, night and day, howl around the shanty for their blood. We have detailed some of the railwaymen, whom we can trust, to guard the shanty. "Meanwhile, the committee is taking evidence of the prisoners, one by one, partly in the hope of implicating some of the merchants and 'hotel' keepers, who are suspected of having dealings with Soapy, chiefly to give the mob time to quiet down. We tell them that if they hang any of the prisoners, they will close their mouths effectively, and frustrate our efforts to get the men we need the most. Up to this date this has been effective in preventing bloodshed, but the mob is getting impatient. "Two men of our committee are opposed to our policy of holding the prisoners in terror, and examining them, and they advocate turning the whole bunch loose and letting the mob do what they please. "We suspect these men of being themselves implicated and their idea is that if the prisoners were released, the mob would either hang the ones who know anything, or if not, there would no longer be any compulsion for them to give evidence. In either case their mouths would be closed which seems to be what these two Committeemen want. "July 13th. The mob is now gradually quieting down and now there is no danger of bloodshed. The prisoners have disclosed nothing of value to us and, encouraged, we think, by their friends on the Committee* are beginning to talk about their 'rights'. They The Soapy Smith Episode — 61 could give us a good deal of trouble if they dared as, of course, we have no shadow of law to warrant holding them, and still less for taking the money from them, and using it to pay for the stolen gold dust, and for a fund to pay for legal prosecution of those against whom we have evidence, and also to pay for the cost of deporting the others. "This being so, before the mob got too tame, I took one of the prisoners who was asserting his 'rights', by the shoulder and led him to the window of our room, where he could look down on the mob, and said to him, 'You are quite right. We have no authority for holding you a moment against your will. If you say the word I will turn you loose into that mob this minute. What do you say?' This was more than he expected, so he began to hedge, as I had hoped. Then I said, Tf you don't want us to turn you loose this minute, you must sign this paper,' and I drew up a written request to the committee, to hold and protect him until he could be handed over to lawful authorities and, in consideration of our doing this, authority for us to apply all the money found on him for the uses of the Committee. He demurred at signing and wanted to consult the other prisoners but I said, 'No. Sign or step outside. We can't be bothered with you any longer.' Then he signed and we put him in another room and sent for all the prisoners, one at a time, and repeated the same proceedings, until all had signed, before we allowed them to confer with one another. "This got us not only out of a false position, but provided funds (1) to pay for the stolen gold-dust, (2) to carry on the prosecution of the six or seven (including the United States Marshal) against whom we had legal evidence, and (3) to deport those whom we cannot prosecute. "The first batch, fourteen of the latter, go south on the 'Athenian' tomorrow, and I am going on the same ship, as the work of the Committee is now completed anyhow, and I have to go to Victoria to see the Provincial Government, to let us work beyond the Summit, as the Dominion Government has, highhandedly, refused to let us work there, in spite of the fact that the ground is within the Province of British Columbia. They can only delay us, as we have a Dominion as well as a Provincial charter. "I may say that the men we sent to trial were all convicted, and given heavy sentences, including the United States Deputy Marshal. The deported men who went on the 'Athenian' with me had the bad luck, on landing in Seattle, to run into the very arms 62 — The Yukon Story of the Chief of Police who was waiting at the gang-plank to meet his sister-in-law. He recognized some of them and took the lot on suspicion. "It turned out that most of them were 'wanted' in various places in the United States, and several were hanged and others given long terms in prison for their various crimes. So ended the episode of the killing of Soapy Smith. "After the events above described, the want of some more orthodox body than a vigilante committee was felt and the citizens decided to hold an election which was done without a vestige of legal warrant, and a Mayor and City Council elected and a Chief of Police (or Deputy Marshal) appointed and, in short, a complete municipal organization was perfected. This body granted franchises (The White Pass got one for our Broadway Street track) and this City government was carried on for a year or two, until Congress passed a law providing for municipal elections in Alaska. "The reaction from Soapy Smith's regime was so complete that not one of the acts or transactions of this unique body was ever questioned, and the first legal municipal council elected in Skagway ratified and adopted them en bloc." An interesting incident occurred when the unofficial mayor was making his appointments. A Canadian, Frank Lowe, formerly from Ontario, was an active member of the vigilante committee and the newly elected mayor asked him to accept an appointment to act as Deputy United States Marshal. Frank explained that he was a Canadian and could not legally act as chief law enforcement officer of a United States city. The mayor replied, "I am a Canadian myself, so help me out and no one will be the wiser." Frank accepted the responsibility and continued to act as Deputy Marshal until about a year later, when he decided to go to Dawson, which had been his intention when he first went north. In Dawson he established a successful furniture and undertaking business and was prominent in the business and fraternal life of the Yukon metropolis for many years. All efforts of any questionable characters to get across the summit and to the Klondike, when turned loose by the Citizens' Committee for lack of evidence, were blocked by the North West Mounted Police and they soon drifted elsewhere and Skagway became a quiet, orderly city. But the story of Soapy Smith lives on. The Soapy Smith Episode — 63 A Canadian Presbyterian minister, Rev. A. J. Sinclair, who was then in Skagway and afterwards, at Bennett and Dawson, was with Frank Reid when he died, and conducted the funerals of both Reid and Soapy. Their marked graves are often shown to tourists to the Northland. A little-known feature of Soapy Smith's operations is that about twenty of his henchmen were posted at Wrangel, Alaska, at the mouth of the Stikine River in the Panhandle and, occasionally, Soapy went there from Skagway to direct and supervise their holdup operations against stampeders who went by the Stikine trail to the Klondike. Soapy held up and robbed a man named Murdo MacLean of about one hundred and twenty-five dollars. MacLean felt very badly about it, as part of the money belonged to his partners, James Stables and Thomas Gray. He decided that, if possible, he would get it back, and hung around Soapy's headquarters for some time until one night he saw Soapy going out in the dark behind the building. He followed Soapy as warily as he could and, when Soapy was personally engaged, MacLean grabbed him and, throwing him down, took his two guns from him. Shoving a gun against Soapy's stomach he threatened to shoot him unless he returned the money. Soapy gave MacLean one hundred and five dollars saying it was all the money he had with him. He then told MacLean that he was the only man who had ever held him up and if he would join him he would make over a hundred dollars a day. Mac said, "I'll have nothing more to do with you." He and his two partners took the next river boat up the Stikine to Glenora, where the author first met them. From there they went on to Atlin and Stables was in 1902 elected Member of the Legislature for West Cassiar. Later he became Chairman of Greater Vancouver Water Board. Grey returned to his family in Vancouver and, later, MacLean came to the coast and, with his wife and family, dairy-farmed on Nicomen Island a few miles above New Westminster. He is the MacLean referred to by the author in the 'Atlin Camp' Chapter, as having driven a young lawyer off the platform when he tried, on behalf of claim jumpers, to break up an Atlin miners' meeting. Discoverers of Gold Gold on the Yukon Watershed was first discovered by Rev. Robert McDonald (afterwards Archdeacon) on Birch Creek, near Fort Yukon, about the year 1863. A young clerk in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, who had been posted at Fort Yukon, wrote to his parents, in Toronto, that "Mr. McDonald had found so much gold on Birch Creek that he could have gathered it with a spoon." However, the Company's business was trading for furs and their employees were discouraged from participating in anything that seemed to interfere with the prosecution of that business. It was not until 1872, that prospectors began to head for the Yukon River basin. In the autumn of that year, Arthur Harper, Andrew Kenseller, George Finch and Samuel Wilkinson set out as "partners" to cross the Rocky Mountains by way of what was later known as the Edmonton Trail. On the way they met Napoleon (Jack) McQuestin, Alfred Mayo and James McNabb. They joined forces and all, except Wilkinson who remained to prospect on the Liard River, went down the Peace and Mackenzie and up the Rat River to its source. From there they crossed the "divide" to the big bend of the Porcupine River and descended that river to its junction with the Yukon River. They reached the Alaska Commercial Company's post of Fort Yukon, four miles above the mouth of the Porcupine, on July 15th, 1873, and during the remainder of the summer, they prospected nearby streams and hunted for the meat they required. Discoverers of Gold — 65 In the fall Harper and Mayo began trading for the Company and, in 1874, McQuestin established a trading post for the Company at Fort Reliance, six miles below the present City of Dawson. Most of the other members of the party intermittently prospected and trapped. During the summer of 1882, a number of gold seekers entered the Yukon country by the Dyea Pass, at the head of Lynn Canal, and descending the Yukon, spent the winter at Fort Reliance. One of this party, Joe Ladue, later opened a trading post at Ogilvie on the Yukon River a few miles below the mouth of the Stewart. It was also from Dyea Pass that Lieutenant Schwatka, on behalf of the United States Government, during the summer of 1883, reached the Yukon River and descended it to Bering Sea. Placer gold mining began on the Stewart River in 1885, and the following year, McQuestin and Mayo established a post for the Alaska Commercial Company at the mouth of that river. Gold was discovered on the Forty-mile in 1886, and soon after, Harper and McQuestin established a post at its junction with the Yukon. Harper had prospected for gold in the Forty-mile, Sixty- mile and Tanana districts, but was not enthused over the results of his work. At that time about 100 miners were working on the bars of the Stewart and according to William Ogilvie, who was then conducting surveys for the Dominion Government, "were doing very well rocking out placer gold." During the autumn, coarse gold was discovered on the Forty- mile and a stampede to the new diggings left only about fifty men on the Stewart. About two hundred were soon prospecting on the Forty-mile. Among the prospectors along the Yukon was Robert Henderson, commonly known as "Bob". At the age of fourteen he had left his home in a fishing village in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, and set out to shift for himself. After spending several years in the New England States, he returned home. In 1880 he again set out and worked for fourteen years in the mines of Colorado. Then he decided to go north and landed at Dyea, in April, 1894, with a small party. They crossed the divide to Lake Lindeman, where they whip-sawed lumber and built a small boat. Reaching the mouth of the Pelly, they found prospects and rocked out $54 in fine gold. In search of better prospects, they .,* 66 — The Yukon Story proceeded down the Yukon to Sixty-mile post. Here Joe Ladue gave them the latest news about strikes and discoveries which had been made in this district. As a result of this information, Henderson, with Jack Conlin, proceeded to Indian River, which enters the Yukon on its right limit, about half way between Sixty-mile and the present Dawson City. During the next year they prospected on the creeks entering Indian River. Poling up this river they prospected on different bars and found fair returns from panning. However, the gold was very fine and they pushed up Indian River about forty-five miles to what became known as Quartz Creek. Here they found ten cents to the pan, and decided to stay and work for the winter. In going down to Sixty-mile for supplies, forming ice compelled them to leave their boat and travel over the hills on foot. After a few days rest at Sixty-mile Henderson was ready to return but Conlin decided to stay at the post, so Henderson bought his supplies for the winter and returned alone to Quartz Creek, where he prospected during the winter of 1894-5 until February. Finding fair prospects so general, he felt assured that prospecting would be better near the source of the creek, and for several days, in extreme cold, he relayed his outfit on a hand-made sled. He was snow-blind when he reached a creek, which he called "Wounded Moose". As soon as his eyes were better he did some prospecting and when spring was approaching, he returned down stream for more supplies. On the way down the snow began to melt and water ran on the ice. His outfit became soaked and he made camp to dry out. While there some caribou passed and he got fresh meat for himself and hides for a canoe which he built. As the loaded canoe would become stranded in the shallow water running over the ice, he got out and waded, letting the canoe drift ahead while he held it by a rope of caribou skin. He could travel only a few hours in the icy water when his legs would cramp and he would have to get out and make a fire and dry his clothes. Before reaching Indian River, when falling a spruce tree for a foot bridge, he snagged his leg on a broken limb and was suffering from the wound when he reached Indian River. He had to interrupt his goldhunt and go to Sixty-mile for treatment. When his leg was well enough, Henderson purchased his supplies and returned to Quartz Creek, and worked there during the winter of 1895-6. Burning holes to bedrock in the frozen ground Discoverers of Gold — 67 and drifting underground in search of the paystreak, he cleaned up over six hundred dollars. In the spring of 1896 Henderson crossed over the summit to a creek he called Gold Bottom. After finding fair prospects and returning to Quartz for his outfit, he found eighteen men there, whom Joe Ladue had told of his find. They accepted Henderson's invitation to go to Gold Bottom, but soon became discouraged and all but three who stayed with Henderson, returned to Sixty-mile. Working on Gold Bottom Henderson found thirty-five cents to the pan—the best he had yet found. When provisions became low, Henderson again returned to Sixty-mile for supplies and as water, in the meantime, had become too low for poling up Indian River, he reasoned that the creek he called Gold Bottom must empty into the river called by the Indians, Thronduik (Klondike) flowing into the Yukon some distance below Sixty-mile. He decided to try to go up that stream to reach Gold Bottom. At the mouth of the Klondike he met George Carmack fishing for salmon with his Indian wife Kate and her two brothers, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie. Henderson told Carmack of his find on Gold Bottom, to which he was returning, and invited him to stake there. He also suggested to Carmark that if he would take a short-run across the divide, by way of what was being called Rabbit Creek (later Bonanza) and find anything there, to advise him. Carmack promised to do so and taking Henderson's advice, took the short cut and found in Bonanza Creek the richest pay thus far discovered anywhere in the Yukon. Several stories have been told of the discovery and its richness. One is that while the men were pitching camp, Carmack's wife, Kate, took a gold pan and filling it with gravel from the creek bed, started to pan it out. The gold was so plentiful that the yellow particles were plainly visible in the unwashed gravel. Carmack had never seen anything like it and washed out about four dollars from the pan. They immediately staked Discovery and Number One Below for Carmack, Number One Above for Tagish Charlie, and Number Two Below for Skookum Jim, and hurried to Forty-mile Recording Office to file their claims on the creek, which, owing to its richness, was officially named Bonanza. When this was done Carmack told others of his fabulous find, but failed to advise Henderson, as he had promised. 68 — The Yukon Story In a few days, the whole of Bonanza Creek and its main tributary, Eldorado, were staked and recorded. Several days later two British Columbia miners, Andy Hunker and a man named Johnson, came into Henderson's camp from down stream, with packs on their backs. Henderson asked them where they were from and they said, "Bonanza Creek, but it is all staked." This puzzled Henderson, but when they described the creek, he recognized it as Rabbit Creek and realized that Carmack had failed to advise him of his great find. They told Henderson that in looking for his camp, they found a high rim of bedrock from which they had panned out from twenty-five to fifty-cents per pan. Henderson told Hunker that when he found pay on the creek he named it Gold Bottom, but on the flip of a coin they agreed to call it Hunker Creek. Hunker filed Discovery claim and Henderson recorded the claim he had staked as Number Three Above Discovery. A tributary of the creek was later called Gold Bottom. Bert Bratsberg has carried on a very successful mining operation on Gold Bottom. His camp buildings of today are located on Bob Henderson's discovery claim. Henderson's injured leg became worse and he went to Circle City to consult the nearest doctor. There he underwent an operation and was under medical care during the winter. He returned in the spring of 1897, to find Dawson already a town of cabins and tents. He had intended to do the amount of "representation work" necessary to hold his Hunker Creek claim, but his physical condition and absence did not permit him to do this, and he asked for an extension of time. However, as in the meantime the claim had been restaked, this was refused, and rather than risk a doubtful lawsuit, he accepted an offer of $3,000 from the new staker. Royalties were afterwards paid on $450,000 taken from the claim and later, it was sold for $200,000. Hunker proved to be one of the rich creeks of the Klondike. Henderson's physical condition did not greatly improve and later he moved to Vancouver and remained there until his death. Henderson was a typically persistent prospector, and his advice to Carmack led to the great placer gold discovery, but others got the pot of gold. His Yukon friends, knowing his physical condition and limited means, later petitioned the Canadian Federal Government on his behalf, and he was given a pension of $200 a month while he lived. Whether Carmack or Henderson should be credited with the discovery of Klondike gold is and no doubt always will be a much mooted point. Discoverers of Gold—69 The news of Carmack's strike at once started the biggest stampede that had taken place in the north, and soon every claim on Bonanza and its main tributary, Eldorado, were staked from source to mouth. When the news reached the 'outside' the great stampede was on. Carmack, like Henderson, was a real pioneer. He was born on a cattle ranch at Costa, California, on September 24th, 1860. In March 1885, he left San Francisco and reached Juneau, Alaska, in April. There he organized a party of seven men. They crossed the Chilkoot Pass and prospected the upper Yukon River as far as Miles Canyon. Finding nothing, they returned to Juneau. In the following year Carmack joined the Ogilvie survey party and, having been over the route before, guided them to Lake Bennett. In the fall he returned to Juneau and bought a supply of goods to trade with the Indians along the Yukon River. At the mouth of the Hootalinqua River, he began prospecting, hunting and trapping with the Indians, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie, and married their sister, Kate. They continued their work along the upper Yukon River until June 1889, when they went down the Yukon to Forty-mile, and from there to Fort Yukon and back. In 1890, they found fair prospects on Birch Creek, but had to come back to Forty-mile for supplies. During the next four years Carmack had a trading post at Five Fingers and built the little church at Fort Selkirk for the Church of England missionary. In the spring of 1896, he returned to Forty-mile and early in August, he with Skookum Jim, Tagish Charlie and their wives, went up to the mouth of the Thronduik River (Klondike), to fish. It was while they were there that Bob Henderson arrived on his way to Hunker Creek, and taking his advice, they abandoned their fishing and going up Rabbit Creek (Bonanza) made their world-shaking discovery. After he worked out his Bonanza claims, Carmack took the proceeds and, leaving Kate and their daughter Graffy at Carcross, returned to his native California where he made some investments. Later he moved to Seattle and sent for Graffy, who had lived for some time, while going to school, with Bishop and Mrs. Stringer at Whitehorse. In Seattle, Graffy married a local white man and lived there with their two children. Carmack, who had married Kate according to Indian custom, married again without the formality of a divorce. Kate lived at Carcross until she died about 1920. As she had no financial help from Carmack, and was an accomplished needle-woman, she, for 70 — The Yukon Story years, met the White Pass Railway trains at Carcross and sold her work to tourists and, dressed in Indian fashion, charged them one dollar each to take her picture. Skookum Jim, who was Chief Jim Mason of the Tagish Indians, took the money he made on Number Two Below on Bonanza, and moved to Carcross with his wife and daughter, Daisy. There he was being fleeced by sharpers who took advantage of his ignorance and trust. Rev. Isaac Stringer, who had been a missionary at Herschel Island in the Arctic and had recently been appointed Bishop of the Yukon, knew the Mason family, and realized that unless something were done, Jim would soon be without funds, and would again have to hunt for a living for himself and family. He persuaded Jim to put $20,000 in a trust fund to be called "The Daisy Mason Trust Fund". As both the Bishop and Skookum Jim knew Percy R. Peele, who was a Canadian Customs officer at Whitehorse while navigation was open on the Yukon in summer, and at New Westminster in winter, they urged him to accept administration of the fund. He reluctantly took on the responsibility, and for about twenty years so handled the fund that besides paying for Daisy's education, family living expenses and hospital and funeral bills, after his death, Mrs. Peele and their daughter Vivian turned over, in securities and cash, $34,000 to the Bishop of Yukon and the Royal Trust Company. Daisy was married and lived in Seattle where she died. She was buried beside her parents at Carcross. A granite headstone marks their grave. 10. Yukon Mining Placer gold mining in the Klondike area differed in some respects from that of California, British Columbia and other mild climates. As the ground, in most cases, was permanentiy frozen from the surface to bedrock, it had to be thawed. Scientists now call this frozen ground condition, perma-frost. In some of the southern parts of the Yukon, where gravel came to the surface, it thawed in the summer season, but most of the Klondike creeks were in narrow valleys, with steep sides, and during the centuries, erosion of the hillsides, or benches, was deposited in the form of mud or silt, in the bottom of the valleys. This averaged from around ten to fifty or more feet above the gravel and a growth of vegetation on the surface of this muck helped to retain the frost in the ground in summer, to within a few inches of the surface. The first problem of the prospector, except on some higher benches, was to thaw through this overburden, and then through the gravel to bedrock. In the days before the advent of steam boilers and other machine methods, this was done with wood fires. When a prospector selected a place to sink a shaft, he cut wood, usually spruce growing along the valley, and started a fire covering a space of about four square feet. This fire was carefully replenished until his experience told him the thawing had reached that fire's limit. The ashes and thawed earth were then shovelled out and another fire started. This was repeated until the gravel and eventually bedrock, were reached. 72 — The Yukon Story If possible two or more men worked together, and a windlass was erected at the surface. Buckets were made of whipsawn lumber, or if this was not available, of split shakes, square, but wider at the top than at the bottom. A heavy rope was used for the bucket handle and windlass cable. In outlying places where rope could not be bought, caribou or moose hide was made into a rope and used. If panning proved that the gravel contained enough pay to warrant drifting (thawing and digging horizontally from the shaft) this was continued in any desired direction where a pay streak was sought or found. The frozen muck roof above the drift, unless the space was very wide and heat from the thawing fires affected it and created danger of falling, seldom needed timbering or "shoring". The gravel was hoisted to the surface and piled as a dump, during the winter. As the dump became large, a horizontal cable was used, with a block and tackle, and the buckets transferred to this and dumped where needed. When spring arrived and water for sluicing began to run in the creeks, sluice boxes were made and sluicing was started in somewhat the same way as described in the 'Atlin Camp' chapter. If a man was prospecting alone, hoisting was slow and difficult as, when a bucket was filled he had to climb out of the shaft, hoist and empty the bucket and lower it back into the shaft and again descend to the bottom unless he was ingenious enough to devise a way of self-dumping clear of the shaft. After the spring operation of sluicing was completed, or when supplies were needed, the gold-dust was taken to Dawson or other trading centres, for required purchases, or depositing. As soon as banks were established, with their assay equipment, this became a strictly accurate business. Where there were no banks, until some form of gold-dust melting could be effected, values determined were only approximate, usually around fifteen dollars per troy ounce. The first mining machinery to arrive in the Klondike were wood-fired boilers and iron pipes, one to two inches in diameter, with 'headers' and 'steam points'. The pipes were connected with the boiler and coupled so as to extend down the shaft from the tent boilerhouse, and when coupled were wrapped with rolls of woollen, or hair, fabric for insulation against the frost. These pipes were projected horizontally, from the bottom of the shaft, to the part of the frozen gravel wall where thawing was to be carried on. Yukon Mining — 73 A cross pipe was coupled onto the end of this pipe, and the desired number of steel points were attached to this 'header' by rubber hose. Each point had a square pointed nose, with holes pointing backward at its rear 'shoulder' so as to allow steam to escape into the frozen ground, and at the other end, beyond the hose coupling, a head that could be pounded with a mallet, to drive the 'point' into the frozen gravel face. One person with heavy leather-faced woollen mittens held the pipe while another gently pounded the head until the 'point' was worked into the gravel as it thawed sufficiently around it. The steam was kept on during the night and the ground gradually thawed to a distance of four or five feet around each 'point'. In the morning the steam was cut off and equipment removed to permit the day's operations. A lot of fine, flaky gold was lost by the usual sluicing methods and later, after dredges, such as were being used in California and British Columbia, were installed on the Klondike River and other flats on ground too low in pay to be sluiced in the usual way and on worked-over ground on Bonanza and other creeks, this ground was profitably dredged. The mercury and coconut matting gold saving method replaced ordinary sluicing as carried on with or without mercury, and practically complete gold saving was effected, and thousands of tons of gravel washed out in a short time with small dredging crews. Hydraulic pressure was used where water pressure could be applied to wash away the muck overburden, instead of the limited and expensive methods of wood fires and steam points. However, the banner year of Klondike placer gold production was about 1902, when the goldfield was still young. In that year the output was over twenty-two million dollars. The exodus to Nome, Alaska, was made up largely of Americans who had failed to find paying claims in the Yukon, and the stampede later to Fairbanks was after the rich Klondike creeks had been largely worked over, and the dredging and hydraulic mining had begun. The first dredging operations on a large scale were carried on by the dynamic Joseph Boyle, of Woodstock, Ontario, and the story will be found in the chapter titled "Joe Boyle". Then came A. N. C. Treadgold, an energetic, unusual and unorthodox Englishman, who in the early 1900's promoted the Yukon Gold Company for the Daniel Guggenheim group. Treadgold succeeded in making a fortune for himself in his early manipulations. This fortune had been lost in various enterprises 74 — The Yukon Story in England and the experience seems to have left him with the idea that the Klondike owed him the return of his lost wealth. He set about recovering it by methods that will appear from the following greatly concentrated summary: The Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation Limited was formed in 1923, for the purpose of consolidating the placer mining holdings of some twenty companies and private interests in the Klondike placer fields. The capital invested was largely British. Treadgold's scheme was to induce these parties to entrust him with powers as their agent for the purpose of carrying through consolidation, and then, being in control of the corporate functions of the companies, to obtain for himself some millions of shares in the Yukon Company. Two entirely different conceptions of the position developed from the beginning: The British interests regarded Treadgold as their agent for the purpose of consolidation of their mining interests and were prepared to pay him generously for his work, while Treadgold considered that he was entitled to everything in the way of shares that he could get his hands on. He introduced into the dealings a company called the North Fork Power Company, which he owned outright, and which was to be the instrument through which his profit would come. Treadgold was president of the Yukon Gold Company and in control of its affairs. The Statement in lieu of Prospectus, filed pursuant to the Canadian Companies' Act, contained a section that nothing was to be paid to any promoter, in contrast with which Treadgold, in evidence, said that he promoted the whole enterprise and was to be paid for such services. In the end, and as a result of his many devious transactions, Treadgold was to receive over 7,000,000 shares for assets costing only 2,200,000 shares, a profit to him of nearly 5,000,000 shares. When the investors discovered the trend and the extent of Treadgold's manipulations they proceeded to take legal action to regain control. The head office of the Company being in Ottawa legal action was started in the Ontario Courts by John Thomas Patton, accountant, of Dawson City, Mark Morrell, a London, England stock broker, and Robert Allen Lawther, an Irishman associated with Sir John Latta. Arthur Newton Christian Treadgold was defendant. Appearing for the plaintiffs were two of the leaders of the Canadian Bar, S. R. Robertson, K.C. (who afterwards became Yukon Mining — 75 Chief Justice of Ontario) and D. L. McCarthy, K.C. A host of other lawyers, in Canada and England, worked on the case. On the 23rd of June, 1933, the Hon. Mr. Justice Davis delivered a judgment in the Supreme Court of Ontario. The judgment was in favor of the plaintiffs on every issue that had been raised in one of the heaviest and most involved cases ever heard in the Ontario Courts. The evidence covered many thousands of pages. Although there were appeals and other legal proceedings, ending in the Privy Council, the judgment effectively ended the long series of unusual transactions and, in effect, found that Treadgold did not own any of the assets he purported to sell to the Yukon Company, and he was not entitled to remuneration because of the bad faith of which he had been guilty. It ordered the removal of his name from the Company's register of shareholders. Almost fifteen years had passed from commencement of the legal action until this final order ended one of the longest and most stubbornly fought cases in the legal history of Canada, or possibly any other country. Finally, in 1935, the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation began building a fleet of dredges and by 1939 had ten monster dredges operating in the Klondike area. The work of dredging in the Klondike is a severe test on the most powerfully constructed craft and the operating life of a dredge is limited. However, with dredge renewals, and despite the amount of worked over ground, the Company in the summer of 1957, was still operating ten dredges on Bonanza, lower Dominion, upper Sulphur, lower Sulphur, middle Dominion, Hunker and on Dominion bench at Jensen Creek. In addition to these operations, the Company had a hydraulic mine being operated on Paradise Hill, Hester Creek, near its confluence with Hunker Creek. A large dam across the creek forms a settling basin so that the water could be reused. There are also several other smaller operating groups. Until 1957, Yukon Gold Placers operated a dredge on Henderson Creek, on ground leased from the Yukon Consolidated. Under the name of Clear Creek Placers, they also had a successful dredge operation on Clear Creek, until the end of 1955, when the dredge came to the end of its operating life. Other dredge and bulldozing operations have recently been started with promising outlook. All these, except Dominion bench, are in frozen ground, but after the muck is stripped off, by hydraulicking, they thaw naturally during the summer season. 76 — The Yukon Story About 150 to 500 men of the operating crews come to the Klondike for the summer working season, and return to their homes in Vancouver and other places for the winter. Even in summer a visitor to Dawson, with its present small population, might get the impression that the days of Klondike gold mining are largely a thing of the past, but a visit to these enormous dredging and hydraulic operations on the historic creeks, will reveal the fact that the mecca of the wild rush of 60 years ago is still producing an important percentage of Canada's gold output, while silver and other metal production at Mayo and other areas has given the Yukon Territory a new and very promising lease of life for the pioneering of a courageous new generation. During the rush for placer gold, little attention was given to lode deposits, and silver and other metals were not even thought of. Prospecting for gold in the Mayo area was difficult, owing to the heavy overburden. The first recorded lode discovery was made by W. H. McWhorter, in 1906, and was a silver-lead vein outcropping in the canyon walls of Galena Creek. This discovery was allowed to lapse, but was relocated about 1912 as the Silver King, and 59 tons of ore were shipped to the Trail, British Columbia, smelter. It returned $269 per ton and during 1914-15 the property produced 1,180 tons, which averaged 270 ounces of silver per ton, and was the forerunner of other discoveries that were to establish the district as Canada's largest producer of silver concentrates. In 1919, Louie Beauvette discovered a high grade outcrop on the top of Keno Hill. He forwarded samples to the Yukon Gold Company at Dawson and they sent in A. K. Schellinger, as examining engineer. His report started a staking rush, which, in a short time, covered the whole Keno Hill. Tempting lady luck, the prospectors named their claims the Keno Roulette, Pinochle, Faro and Gambler and recanting, perhaps, named the gulch claims on the northern slope, Faith, Hope and Charity. Discovery and other claims were acquired by the Yukon Gold Company, and were eventually included in a subsidiary, the Keno Hill Limited. The story of the richness of the ore from the "Top of the Hill' reached W. F. Bradley of San Francisco and he sent Livingstone Wernecke into the district to investigate conditions and acquire likely ground. The owners grouped a number of claims which Wernecke purchased in 1921 for the Treadwell Yukon Company for $250,000. The Company's operations soon greatly expanded and despite Yukon Mining — 77 many necessary transhipments to reach the smelter, continued production until 1942, when the known ore bodies were considered exhausted and operations suspended. The Company's production was 624,570 tons of silver and lead, with a total gross value of over $21,000,000, and returned very handsome profits, under the able management of Livingstone Wernecke. He was later killed in a plane accident. After suspension of operations by the Treadwell Mining Company in 1942, activity in the silver camp was reduced to only minor prospecting and the future did not look bright, as the known ore bodies were considered exhausted. Many felt that enrichment did not go to greater depth. However, post war revival in Canadian mining resulted in improved prices and, despite location and climate, several companies re-examined the Mayo area. In 1946 the Conwest and Frobisher mining groups formed the Keno Hill Mining Company to operate the Keno Hill property. In 1949 a fire destroyed the mill but a replacement mill was soon in operation. From 1947 to September 30, 1963 the mine recovered in concentrates from 2,252,794 tons of ore milled 84,437,758 oz. of silver, 305,304,834 pounds of lead, 235,338,453 pounds of zinc and 3,010,672 pounds of cadmium. For a good many years United Keno Hill Mines Limited has been the largest single producer of silver concentrates in Canada. A road was completed directly to Whitehorse, in 1950, and a 3,000 H.P. hydro electric plant was put in operation near Mayo, in 1953. The gradual improvement in transportation is helping to open up the country, and now, with proven depth for the silver-lead ore, the Mayo district is assured a very encouraging future. Recent developments have taken place over wide areas of the Yukon Territory. Two large showings of a fine quality of long fibred asbestos have been found near Dawson. Drilling for oil farther north, where seismic tests have shown a large oil structure, has been started, and the large outcropping of copper on the upper White River is again being examined. The possibilities of cheap hydro-electric power from over a dozen lakes forming the source of the Yukon River encouraged all these explorations. Studies by Frobisher of Montreal indicated a possible five million horsepower—one of the great hydro power sites of the world. Recently numerous exploring parties have been searching the I 78 — The Yukon Story Yukon Territory for new fields of potential wealth and minerals needed in this critical stage of the world's history. And old Sourdoughs, at their monthly gatherings, are saying to each other, "Don't you wish you were young again?" In the early days of individual mining in the Klondike a unique incident occurred on lower Bonanza Creek. Two prospectors were sinking a shaft near the end of the winter season. When near bedrock they struck an underground spring and were forced out of the shaft by a strong flow of rising water. Part of the creek road was soon flooded and several claims were endangered by the 'gusher' as it was called. Timber was used, but despite all efforts the pressure pushed out the timber. Finally the opening was made as small as possible and a gunnysack containing dried apples was anchored in it. When the apples became soaked and swollen, the opening was effectively closed and the 'gusher' stopped. A disaster was averted, but it was an occasion for humorous banter as well as intense relief. That inevitable item of Yukon diet, the evaporated apple, had its moment of great recognition! 11. Life in the Klondike A superiority complex in thinking of Canada, and speaking of Canadians, was displayed by some Englishmen around the turn of the century. It was illustrated by the experience of a Toronto social worker at the time. A group of Londoners, who had arrived in the fall and did not find expected employment, were in needy circumstances and were being assisted by social agencies with food and housing during the winter. As a social worker was going through the district, she heard one of these Londoners say to another, "Well, the Toronto people have been very good to us." "And why shouldn't they, we owns them," said the other. This attitude was easily ignored in large centres, where such contacts were few, but when expressed by newcomers to the Klondike, after transportation had become established and easy, it naturally led to unpleasantness. Some Americans who then believed that it was the 'manifest destiny' of the United States to own and rule all of North America also seemed to think that Canada was just a colony governed by Britain, and that Canada should be a part of what they usually referred to as 'God's Country'. This attitude, when expressed, was at times said in a way irritating to Canadians. While this thinking occasionally still confronts a Canadian in the United States, and sometimes an American visitor in Canada may be surprised by the reacting resentment, the attitude of both Englishmen and Americans, in the last fifty years, has undergone a great change and a much better understanding of Canada exists. However, in pioneer days in the Klondike, these early tensions were i 80 — The Yukon Story soon washed out, like gravel in a goldpan. The trying conditions of work and travel together in a severe climate, far from the usual comfortable trappings of modern civilization, soon weeded out the unadaptable. Only strong men could stand the struggle, and even they needed the help of their fellow men, and gave that help in return. When accidents or loss came, real worth soon revealed itself, and a brotherhood, not of nationality or prejudice, but of mutual respect and friendship, developed in the Klondike as perhaps in few other parts of the world. The spirit of brotherhood found tangible expression in two new and unique fraternal organizations, the Arctic Brotherhood and the Yukon Order of Pioneers, that sprang up in the early Klondike days. The motto of each is, "No Boundary Line Here". Today, nearly seventy years later, not only the few of these pioneers who have not "crossed the Great Divide", but their sons and daughters who were born in the northland, and many of those who went there in later years and caught the spirit of the 'sourdough', still meet annually on 'Discovery Day', alternating in the various cities west of the Rockies, to talk over 'the good old days' and enjoy a two or three days' get-together. These annual gatherings are like yeast (sourdough) in the bread of international goodwill, true little 'United Nations' in themselves. From the far north to the Mexican border, and even from Ottawa and New York, they come. The Yukon spirit grew out of a way of life inseparable from the rigors of a demanding terrain. If an owner of a cabin in the Klondike was going away on a stampede, or for any other reason, he left a supply of wood and some food such as flour, oatmeal and bacon, where a needy traveller could see them, and if anyone availed himself of the owner's kindness, when he went on his way he, in turn, left supplies as nearly as possible as he found them. If, in cold weather, an owner was believed to be at home, and no smoke was issuing from his stovepipe, neighbors at once called to see if all was well. Dawson, at first, had every type of character that had made up the 'wild and woolly West', all concentrated in a new and rigorous land and, in addition, it saw truly fabulous quantities of placer gold being brought in from nearby creeks, almost every day, without any special guards. A wholesome respect for the Northwest Mounted Police protected it from any would-be criminal. No man could be a law unto himself. A police axiom was, "You can go to hell if you want to, but don't shoot, cheat or commit Robert W. Service, the Yukon's balladeer who created 'Dangerous Dan McGrew'. Walter Hamilton in his Yukon mail despatcher days at Dawson. Whipsawing lumber. It was said the man who could whipsaw could lick his weight in wildcats. The author and his placering friends on 8 Below Sulphur claim, 1900., *fe Father Judge, S.J. Samaritan of the Yukon Bishop Bompas Apostle of the north mm, Bishop Isaac Stringer Rev. Father Bunoz Early missionary and Vicar Apostolic of Yukon J Salvation Army Field Force which went into the Yukon through Skagway in May-June 1898. Front, Capt. John Lecocq; centre I. to r., Ensign Rebecca Ellery, Adjutant George Dow ell (officer in charge); unknown; Lieut. Aiken. Rear row, Ensign Frank Morris, Capt. John Keeney, Ensign (later Adjutant) Thomas James McGill, Ensign Fred Ross. Sluicing the muckpile on Gold Run Creek Young Hamilton on the shaft windlass at Discovery on Pine Creek, May 1899. White Pass narrow gauge railway has been boon to the Yukon Life in the Klondike — 81 murder." And co-called "self-defence" was not taken as an excuse. Carrying firearms was not allowed, except by permit for hunting. A few actual incidents will serve to illustrate the attitude of the police. A man, known as Curly Munroe, came to Dawson from Juneau, Alaska, where he was reported to have killed a man in cold blood. Soon after his arrival in Dawson, he paraded down First Avenue, in below zero weather, in his shirt sleeves with two revolvers stuck conspicuously in his belt. A N.W.M.P. Corporal met him, and seeing the guns, said to him, "You are evidently a stranger here. No one is allowed to carry these in Dawson." "You go to hell," was Curly's reply. The corporal, like most of the force in the Yukon, was trained in wrestling and, grabbing Curly's arm, twisted it suddenly up his back. While Curly yelled with pain, the corporal took the guns from his belt and said, "I'll give you a receipt for these, and when you want to leave Dawson, call at the barracks and you can get them." Curly gave no further trouble and, in time, became an admirer of the force. When civilians took over many of the extraneous duties at first performed by the police, a new Sheriff named Eilbeck, arrived from eastern Canada. The morning after his arrival he started to look around the town, and saw some wild ducks that had alighted on a pond near the administration building. Going back to his room, he returned with a rifle and shot a duck. A policeman heard the shot and, arriving on the scene, took the duck and summoned the Sheriff to Court. Next morning he appeared before Judge MacAulay. The Judge fined the Sheriff one dollar and confiscated the duck. When the Court adjourned he invited the new Sheriff to dinner. They shared the duck. An Australian singer, known on the stage as Beatrice Lorne, but called by the miners, "the Australian nightingale", because of her lovely voice and personality and the popular, old-time songs she sang, was a widow whose surname was James. A year or two after arriving in Dawson, she married a veterinary surgeon, 'Doc' Smith, and sent to Australia for her daughter, Connie. The youngster started to attend the Methodist Sunday School, and when the officials had their annual Christmas entertainment, they invited her mother to sing, which she did to the delight of the children and parents. Next day, a self-appointed preacher named Letcher put large hand-written posters in prominent places, denouncing the officials of the Sunday School for having 'a woman 82 — The Yukon Story of the dance halls' sing to the children. Doc Smith saw one of the posters and, securing a horse-whip, set out to find Letcher. He found him near Mack's grocery on Third Avenue and proceeded to give him a thorough whipping. Just then a police constable came on the scene, and, slipping into the store, said, "Mack, let me get behind, somewhere. That fellow is getting what he deserves and the law should keep out of sight." Men were going to and coming from the creeks at all hours of the day and night, and saloons, like dance halls and gambling places, were open night and day, except in early morning hours when everyone needed rest. Night life began as soon as the stores and other normal business places closed, and the sound of strident dance music and of hustle was louder than during the daytime And yet, in no part of the world, even today, is life and property safer than it was in those hectic days in Dawson. Houses, cabins and, of course, tents were never locked. No one ever thought of it. There was a greater sense of security in the Yukon than can be found in any Canadian or other city today. An unusual form of punishment for minor law infractions in Dawson was "—days on the Government woodpile". This served three purposes. It saved on the cost of fuel, where hundreds of cords of wood were needed in winter for the Government buildings. It kept the prisoners occupied where they had to work hard to keep warm in freezing weather. And it was a very effective deterrent to law-breaking. Incidents peculiar to the northland sometimes took place. Two men, Founder and LaBelle, were sentenced to be hanged for the murder of a travelling companion on the Yukon River. Faith Fenton, correspondent of a Toronto newspaper, in her desire to be first to get the news to the outside world, a few days before the execution date wrote a very vivid imaginary story of the event and sent it in the out-going mail. However, the official executioner was delayed in getting to Dawson and a postponement of the execution was ordered. The over-zealous correspondent was frantic and appealed to the authorities to try to get her letter from the mail. Her request was acceded to and a fast police dog team, accompanied by a post-office official was sent up-river on the ice and overtaking the mail, secured the imaginative recital of the execution. Many letters from the United States were addressed, "Dawson, Alaska", instead of "Dawson, Yukon, Canada", and on one occasion, the Dawson postmaster received a letter from the Post office Life in the Klondike — 83 Department at Washington, D.C. reprimanding him for not having sent in his annual report. The post-master recalled a cartoon that had appeared in "Grip", a well-known Canadian comic of the Nineties, showing President Grover Cleveland and Sir John Mac- donald on opposite sides of a table with a map of the River St. Clair area between them. Cleveland, with his finger on the map, was saying, "If you don't comply, I'll close the canal", and Sir John's reply, "My dear sir, the canal is in Canadian territory." So, the post-master's reply to the reprimand was, "My dear sir, Dawson is in Canada". In 1900, when the Earl of Minto was Governor General of Canada, he, with Lady Minto, made an official visit to the Yukon. Among the special events staged for the occasion was a visit to Alex McDonald's famous Bonanza creek claim. A Dawson jeweller had made a small mastodon ivory replica of a miner's gravel- hoisting bucket. This was filled with gold nuggets, to be presented to her Ladyship, and Alex was patiently coached to make the presentation. Sir Walter Scott's lines, that it was presented, "not for its intrinsic value, but as a token of esteem", were recalled as basis for tutoring. However, this was foreign to big, good- hearted Alex but he got the idea, and handing the gift to her Ladyship, he said, "Here take it. It's trash." Next day, in reporting the incident, the Dawson News said, "The presentation was made by Mr. Alex McDonald in simple, but eloquent language." A negro couple by the name of Bell came to the Klondike by way of the Stikine River and Teslin Lake. The husband secured warehouse work and his wife helped some busy mothers who had, by that time, arrived and set up housekeeping. On one occasion she brought her little daughter with her to the home of Mrs. Jones, who said to her, "What a lovely little girl you have, Mrs. Bell. What is her name?" "Teslina", replied the mother, proudly, "She was the fust white chile bohn at Teslin Lake". Teslina was born in the Indian village at the head of Teslin Lake when her parents were on their way to the Klondike. In 1930, our son Reg went to Dawson to teach in the same school where his mother, then Ida Hastings, a young school teacher from Toronto, had taught about twenty-five years before. On his first day he saw a smiling young mulatto boy in the class. When he returned to his boarding-house he mentioned the boy and told his landlady, Mrs. Kirk, the story he had heard of Teslina. She said, "Yes, Teslina married a white man and Buster is their son." If an occasional miner came to town with gold-dust and got 84 — The Yukon Story on a drunk, found himself broke when he sobered up, and suspected a dance hall girl of taking his poke, he was usually ashamed to report to the police. While gambling places abounded with roulette wheels, crap tables and poker, blackjack and other games of chance, any dishonesty was frowned upon by proprietors like Sam Bonifield, and Nigger Jim, and they insisted on absolute honesty on their premises. The police attitude was, "If robbery or murder occurs, that's our business, but if you're foolish enough to play against those who know the game better, that's your business." However, as conditions became settled in Dawson and married men began to bring in their wives and families, and single men their fiancees, and as homes were established and churches and social groups recognized their responsibility, conditions changed. The demi-monde 'floozies', as they were locally called, who had previously been relegated to a back street, were sent across the Klondike River to Klondike City, usually called 'Lousetown'. Then, in the changed conditions, where so many young lives were in the formative stage, the need for removal of the example set by the gambling houses, dance halls and "these women", became a public responsibility, and in 1908 such houses were finally closed by the authorities. Delinquency among children in the Yukon was a thing unknown. The parents had been close up to demoralizing conditions and did their part to safeguard their offspring from such temptations. A distinctive feature of life in Dawson, compared with many wild-western cities, was that dance halls and nearly all places of business were closed on Sunday and it was a quiet day— truly a day of rest. The school system, based on that of British Columbia, provided all grades of public and high school tuition up to university entrance requirements. The government-built library was well supplied with all classes of literature. Biography and history were avidly read by many of the men on the creeks, who had come from all walks of life. The Dawson Athletic Club building was divided into a large gymnasium, where boxing, wrestling and other athletic games could be practised and staged, and ice rinks for curling, hockey and general skating. A Dawson curling team toured Canada and won most of its games. In the absence of travelling and professional entertainers, who go from city to city, debating and literary societies were prominent Life in the Klondike — 85 features of the life in Dawson, Whitehorse and other centres of population. In gold excitement days debates, in winter, were arranged between Dawson and Bonanza (the Forks) and, sometimes, other population centres on the creeks. These afforded opportunities for sleigh-riding parties for the debaters and their supporters, with fine four horse teams and sleigh-bells. Fraternal orders, besides the Arctic Brotherhood and Yukon Order of Pioneers, were the Masonic Order, including Blue, Chapter and Knight Templar lodges, and the Odd-Fellows. St. Mary's (Catholic) and Good Samaritan (Presbyterian) hospitals referred to in the chapter on 'The Churches', were well equipped and catered to all in need of their services. Miss Hanna's private hospital also did good service, especially during epidemics. Unlike centres of population in Alaska, which were not granted federal representation until 1958, federal elections in the Yukon were warmly and vigorously contested and, on one occasion, when a man named William Temple from Ottawa came to Dawson to attempt to "run" the federal election toward an outcome of his choosing, he soon learned that only fair play could prevail and even the North-West Mounted Police took a hand in quickly putting him and his local henchmen in their proper place. Pioneers of the Yukon are often asked how the terms 'chechako' and 'sourdough' became synonyms for newcomer and oldtimer. The term 'chechako' was not new to the Yukon Territory. It was used in the trade language adopted by Hudson's Bay Company in dealing with the Indians, and was included in their Chinook Dictionary of some two hundred and fifty words constituting a jargon in common use in northern British Columbia at the time of the gold rush. There is no local story about how the name 'sourdough' came to be first accepted and used, but the origin of the term is obvious to all northerners. Newcomers all had baking-powder in their list of supplies and used it in mixing their dough for baking-powder bread. As they became inured to the needs and conditions of the country, and learned some of the proverbial effects of baking- powder bread on the vitality of men, they started to prepare and use sourdough for leavening, or raising of bread, much as their mothers had done before yeast cakes were in commercial use. The fermented flour and water was usually carried in small sealed containers, and if frozen, was heated until ready for use. Thus the term 'sourdough' became applicable to old timers, and was soon defined as, "One who had been in the country long 86 — The Yukon Story enough to see the ice form in the fall and break up in the spring." (This it did with all the spectacular force of not only the surface ice, but also of the anchor ice, shot to the surface in great masses when loosened from the bottom by the buoyancy of the warming water, often edgeways, like great walls, and falling over with crushing sound not unlike a massed cannonade.) By that time the newcomer had become one of the chosen few who had learned to love the rigorous and isolated land and had seen the mighty, awe-inspiring force of that jamming ice, as it swept everything in its way except solid rock and frozen ground. Care had to be exercised where buildings were placed, and river steamers and mining dredges were, in the fall, anchored safely in sloughs well away from the main current of a river, or they would be swept away and destroyed. The date of the annual ice breakup was an interesting subject of speculation and guesses on the date of the event were pooled, usually on a basis of five dollars per guess. These pools at first amounted to about fifteen hundred dollars, and to several thousand in a few years. A pole was placed in the ice in front of the Alaska Commercial Company's boiler room, and a wire from the pole was attached to the boiler, whistle as well as to a time clock. The person who made the nearest guess to the time the clock stopped, received the pool money and the prolonged sound of the whistle was the first harbinger of spring and of open navigation after a long winter, and of closer contact with the outside world, 'When rills and rivers sing with glee the anthem of the free." The mighty contrast was a real Yukon thrill, and another group of learners had received from that unique university, the degree of 'sourdough'. 12. The White Pass Railway Until the gold rush of '98 occasioned the need, there was no road, nor any defined trail, over the Coast Range of mountains, between Skagway and Lake Bennett. Indians of the Coast piloted the first inexperienced hopefuls over the mountains, and helped to carry their necessary belongings, at fabulous prices of fifty cents and more per pound on the 18-mile climb to the summit. They had never seen a horse and did not need to improve on the poorly marked trails, and now they had a rare opportunity to earn. As a result, when the rush was at its height, the trail became so bad and so many of the unfortunate pack animals died, that it was called "Dead Horse Trail". A man named Brackett, seeing the situation, and thinking he could soon make a fortune, started to build a toll road. He had not gone far when he realized the difficulties of labor and construction, and the problem of dealing with three governments — American, Canadian and British Columbia, when there were no accurate boundary surveys. All this would be so exasperatingly slow and frustrating that he accepted an offer made by the newly organized White Pass and Yukon Railway Company, and turned his equipment over to them. As the Canadian Senate had rejected a House of Commons Bill early in 1898, giving a franchise to McKenzie and Mann to build an all-Canadian railway from Glenora on the Stikine River to Teslin Lake on the Yukon River watershed, a White Pass railway seemed the only feasible solution of the serious transportation problem. 88 — The Yukon Story This situation became known to a group of British capitalists, and as the route through Skagway was by far the shortest way to the Klondike, they incorporated a railway company, and after considerable negotiating obtained charters from Washington, Ottawa and Victoria to build a narrow gauge railway from Skagway to Whitehorse through their respective areas of jurisdiction. Soon after starting, the company's work was hampered by the lawless conditions prevailing at Skagway. After buying Brackett's interest in the newly started toll road, and helping to clear up the Skagway situation, they set to work vigorously to push the railway over the White Pass. They had made five surveys of different possible routes, among them a False Pass and a rumored 'Warm Pass'. All these had to be surveyed to ensure having the best possible railway route over the forty miles of the first section to Lake Bennett. The President of the company was an Englishman, Samuel H. Graves and an American, E. C. Hawkins, was Chief Engineer. The Chief Surveyor was Canadian John Hislop and another Canadian, Michael J. Heney, was selected as the Contractor. To satisfy the London officials of the Company an official photographer was employed, and he was so painstaking and efficient Samuel Graves said, "He could photograph the sound and echo of a dynamite blast." As the trustees for the bondholders were not familiar with the work of Canadian and American engineers, they retained an engineer named Brydon-Jack to watch the work and see that it was done in accordance with the contract. The North American engineers had some pre-conceived ideas of Old Country railway engineers and were rather apprehensive of how they might get on with the newcomer. However, he was young and very fit physically and was ready to meet every hazard regardless of climate and conditions and they soon felt he was one of them. They became proud of 'Jack' and his fellowship and pluck. As he was not hardened to the rigors of sub-zero weather and hard climbing, they tried to make it easier for him, but Jack would do his part. Finally he contracted pneumonia and they rushed him down to the end of the few miles of completed track, and getting him on an engine, hurried him to their Skagway hospital. He died next day. All members of the staff felt that they had lost a new friend of sterling courage and honesty. E. C. Hawkins was appointed in his place. The White Pass Railway records show that their first construe- The White Pass Railway — 89 tion gangs were made up of men from nearly every walk of life, and as most of them had started out to reach the Klondike as quickly as possible, they were continually changing, 'coming and going', and while the maximum number employed at one time was over 2,000, it was sometimes down to around 700. But the need for money and severe weather conditions stimulated men to work hard. The summit of the White Pass was reached on February 20th, 1899. Between Skagway and Log Cabin, 28 miles, the line was solid rock, and in places, men had to be held by ropes while they worked on the exposed mountain sides. But Heney took care of his men and there were few cases at their hospital in Skagway, except from frost bites and injured fingers or feet. The first train from Skagway, over the completed mountain section, reached Bennett on July 6th, 1899. Liquor and gambling were strictly forbidden in the railway camps, and attempts of Skagway shell game artists and bootleggers to ply their trade were quickly cleaned up by the North West Mounted Police. The second section of construction was started at Bennett on July 6th, and was a little over 70 miles long. Of this, 27 miles ran along Lake Bennett. Although this construction was heavy, and, in some places the ground was frozen to bedrock (now called perma-frost) and involved problems then little understood, the lake during open navigation helped in placing supplies and camps. The last spike connecting the north and south ends between Bennett and Whitehorse, was driven on July 29th, 1900. So ended the running of Miles Canyon and Whitehorse rapids. A story, told in the superintendent's record, is that before the last spike was driven, the first train with passengers arrived from Skagway and was waiting until it could cross. An eastern professor of geology got off the train and began to examine the newly blasted rock. After chipping off a few samples he rushed over to an Irish section man who was tamping the rock for ballasting the track, and excitedly said, "My man, do you know that broken stone you are using for ballasting the track is a highly mineralized paleozoic formation, and probably worth not less than ten dollars a ton?" The Irishman lit a match, and after leisurely relighting his pipe, and taking a few puffs, replied, "Well, I want ye to understand that the bist is none too good for the White Pass." A drained lake, known as Lewis, between Carcross and White- I 90 — The Yukon Story horse, still recalls one of the problems connected with the building of the railway. The engineers found that the lake was quite deep and, if drained, it would be possible to lower the grade of the railway. As the outlet curved in almost a semi-circle for some distance, it seemed easy, and it was decided to cut a new straight outlet across this bend, and drain the lake. This was done, but the force of the outrush of water soon began to eat away the gravel and sluice it through the ever-increasing new outlet. As it became evident that this flood would soon reach the construction camp near Carcross, one of the crew, Ed Ironside, was sent on a horse, riding bareback, at a gallop down the valley, to warn the attendants to move everything up the hillside. This was done in time to escape the deluge. The drained lake is a reminder to old sourdoughs of a near tragedy. Owing to climatic conditions, difficult terrain, remoteness of supplies and the fact that most of those employed were inexperienced and only wanted to make a few dollars to help them to get on to the Klondike, the White Pass Railway, for over half a century, has testified to the courage and ability of its builders. By 1901 the colorful but hectic days of the gold rush were over. The City of Dawson entered a new phase of civic development and proudly announced that it was the metropolis of the North. But clearer heads saw signs of decline. The pick and the gold pan were becoming less important in the gold fields as giant dredges were built to claw the gold-bearing gravels from the creek beds. The need for manpower dwindled and Yukon's population began to fade away. By the beginning of World War I Dawson and the Klondike had begun to feel the pinch. Over the years the old pattern of northern life changed under the dual impact of falling gold production and the demands of the war. A great era was passing and Dawson and the Yukon would never be quite the same again. Throughout this period of decline the White Pass & Yukon refused to quit. With dogged determination it ran its trains whenever there was freight to haul. The population of Whitehorse dropped to less than four hundred, and Dawson City's did not exceed a thousand. But the notion that the Yukon was finished never entered the heads of the few optimistic Yukoners. who chose to stick it out. With an uncertain future for both the Yukon and itself, the White Pass & Yukon Route entered the roaring Twenties—with little to roar about. Throughout the Twenties mining activities in the Klondike and The White Pass Railway — 91 Mayo districts kept the wheels turning and Yukon refused to die. Additional income for the Territory's dwindling economy was derived from the tourists who flocked North each summer to visit the land of the midnight sun. They came to Skagway by ship and travelled by train over the beautiful St. Elias mountains to Whitehorse. Here they boarded the Yukon riverboats for a leisurely trip down north to Dawson. During the early Thirties the weight of the great depression struck the Yukon. The tourist trade and freight traffic dropped off, but the railroad never stopped running. The melodic whistle of the steam locomotives was a constant reminder that Canada's most northerly railroad had no intention of quitting. It was convinced it would be needed in the future and with this conviction, but under the most trying difficulties, the White Pass & Yukon survived the Thirties, hearing like others a faint military drum beat in the background. Then, with unprecedented fury, World War H burst upon the world. The United States was attacked and Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians was bombed. The need to link continental United States with Alaska became a prime defence consideration. Within a matter of weeks construction began on the Alaska Highway. Men and material poured into the tiny port of Skagway and once again the White Pass found itself playing a leading role in a northern drama. Thousands of tons of construction equipment and military supplies were transported over the White Pass to Whitehorse, and the demands on the railway became so heavy that control of the line was passed to the American Army who continued to operate it throughout the war. Building the Alaska Highway would have been much more difficult without the railway's capacity to move equipment and manpower quickly from tidewater to Whitehorse—the Highway's main construction and supply base. Had the railway stopped operating during the Twenties and Thirties, the logistic support necessary to the completion of the Highway within the time limits imposed by the war would have been impossible. Fortunately the line was ready, and it continued its wartime tasks until the end of hostilities. In 1946 the railway was returned to its peacetime management. What did the future hold for the Yukon? Would its population depart from the scene as it had after the gold rush, or would it embark on a period of expansion and development? These were questions asked by those who had maintained an abiding faith in Canada's northern frontier. The signs were encouraging. Many who 92 — The Yukon Story had come North during the war succumbed to the spell of the Yukon and stayed to build their homes. Others, tired of war, looked for the challenge of new frontiers. The world was on the move, groping for a new start after the tragedy of World War II, and the North was fresh and clean. Slowly the Yukon's population grew and the amenities of life improved. The little town of Whitehorse, left with the debris of Highway construction, was a hodgepodge of vacated army supplies warehouses, barracks, garages and administrative buildings. Tons of supplies lay strewn about, and with this material the new Yukoners built their homes and faced the future. During the late Forties mining activities increased substantially, creating the need for a permanent Yukon work force. The new Keno Hill Mines Limited opened the silver, lead and zinc properties near Mayo and installed a concentrator capable of handling five hundred tons of ore daily. The Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation continued to dredge the Klondike creeks, producing about $2 million annually in gold, and the ever-present prospector roamed the hills of the Yukon, confident that up the next gulch he would find the mother lode. Important asbestos discoveries near Cassiar, B.C., near the Yukon border, were brought into production by Cassiar Asbestos Mine, giving the North another economic lift. The Canadian Army was given the responsibility of maintaining the Alaska Highway and its administrative and operational headquarters were established in Whitehorse. Maintenance crews were strung out over the Highway from Dawson Creek, B.C., to the Alaska-Yukon border. Military personnel and their families moved in and the core of a new northern population became established. Things began to look up. But without reliable transportation, major development is virtually impossible, and this is particularly true of the Yukon. Its geographical location isolates it in time and space from the major centres in Southern Canada. Fortunately, the railroad was there to support and encourage Yukon expansion during the post-war period. Supplies and equipment needed for mining and exploration were brought in through Skagway, and as soon as production commenced, the metal concentrates and asbestos flowed South over the railway to the sea. The mines attracted a new and younger northern population and Yukon's communities began a phase of orderly development. After nearly fifty years of almost suspended activity the Yukon was The White Pass Railway — 93 stirring. The horizons looked broad, and the catchpenny economy that had dragged against Territory progress since the gold rush seemed to be a thing of the past. But no one would talk of a "Yukon Boom". The Yukon learned about booms during the Klondike era and its population, both old and young, had no faith in them. Samuel Graves was chief executive officer of the company from 1897 to 1912. In succession to him came Frank C. Elliott, 1915- 28; Herbert Wheeler, 1928-40; Clifford J. Rogers, 1940-57 and C. Abrams, 1957-60. In 1960 Frank H. Brown, who had become president of the White Pass and Yukon Corporation Limited on its incorporation in 1951, became president of the various companies which together make the complex known as the White Pass & Yukon Route. A former bank executive, Mr. Brown was deputy minister of national revenue during World War n and following the war a business management consultant. Special assistant to the president is Roy Minter, who was posted to the Yukon Territory with the Canadian Army at the time of the Korean incident and became so attached to the region that he took his discharge there and entered the service of the White Pass & Yukon organization. Following World War II mining exploration of the Yukon's vast northern lands had continued. The search for minerals, oil and gas was sharpened through the Federal Government's interest reflecting the energies of a series of ministers of northern affairs. Gradually the annual volume of freight tonnage both in and out of the Yukon increased. Because Yukon mines were forced to compete with operations much closer to the markets and the smelters in Southern Canada, the importance of low cost transportation became a basic requirement for the continued development of the Yukon's mining industry. To play its part in making Yukon's mines competitive, the White Pass abandoned traditional thinking and came up with a totally new transportation concept by developing the "Container System" of freight handling. Today, the White Pass & Yukon Route is carrying Yukon's freight with a modern integrated transportation system, which includes a large coastal freighter; a fleet of heavy-duty diesel electric locomotives; modern rolling stock; a fleet of highway tractor- trailer units, plus the White Pass container which is the key to this unique freight system. All types of domestic goods are carried from Vancouver, B.C., to Yukon Territory in this ingenious all-steel, temperature controlled shipping unit. It has contributed 94 — The Yukon Story substantially to the general improvement of Yukon's standard of living by making it possible to obtain readily the same high quality food products in the Yukon as are available in Vancouver or any other city in Canada. The White Pass ocean link between Vancouver and Skagway, Alaska operates on a regular two-week service throughout the year. Containerloads of Yukon-bound freight are exchanged at the company's Skagway dock for a southbound containerized cargo of asbestos fibre from Cassiar Asbestos Corporation, Cassiar, B.C., and unitized pallet loads of silver, lead and zinc concentrates from United Keno Hill Mines, Elsa, Yukon. The Coastal freighter was specially designed to carry containers, plus a deck load of assorted freight and mine products. To accommodate her cargo she is fitted with special marine handling gear. The hazards of West Coast shipping are well known to those who follow the sea but with modern navigation aids the perils which faced the early West Coast ships have been eliminated. Ripple Rock, near Campbell River, the last major danger to shipping, was blown to bits on April 5, 1958, by the largest man- made non-atomic explosion ever set off. Its destruction marked the end of a long and grievous list of marine disasters that had plagued West Coast shipping for over a century. With the establishment of the ocean link in 1955 between Vancouver and Skagway, the White Pass was able to integrate the ship with its rail operation. To ensure that the line could handle future Yukon tonnage a complete modernization programme was instituted in 1953. This included laying heavier rail, construction of new repair shops, the introduction of new freight handling equipment and rolling stock. To replace steam power, which had served the line since the spring of 1898, a fleet of heavy-duty diesel locomotives was placed in service. Delivery of freight to its final destination is handled by the third link in the "Container Route" system—the Highway Division. Fanning out from Whitehorse to all points in the Yukon is the scheduled White Pass line freight service. Containers are placed on tractor-trailer trucks and delivered to any point in the Yukon Territory—on or off the highways. In 1961 an epic transportation job was completed by delivering 3,500 tons of oil search equipment to Bell River, located over sixty-five miles above the Arctic Circle. To deliver the goods to this remote area a 385-mile winter truck trail was constructed through the frozen northern hinterland. When the trail was com- The White Pass Railway — 95 pleted the freight was trucked over it to Bell River with standard highway trucks. This event marked the first time that commercial freight had been trucked above the Arctic Circle. The construction of the truck trail with its attendant difficulties is considered by many to parallel the construction of the railroad itself. This may or may not be so. Nevertheless the successful delivery of commercial freight by this unique method is considered a milestone in the development of northern transportation. The "Winter Truck Trail" transportation technique has since been used to carry mining and drilling supplies into many hitherto inaccessible locations in the Yukon's mountainous hinterland. The steady growth of the Yukon in recent years has created a demand for petroleum products of all types. These are needed for domestic heating, industrial and private use. The bulk of Yukon's petroleum requirements is carried into the Yukon by railway tank car, or through a four-inch pipeline which parallels the railway track from Skagway to Whitehorse. Large tank farms accommodate fuel storage at each end of the line and ensure fuel supplies in the distant north whenever they are needed. During the beautiful warm Yukon summers, thousands of tourists travel over the White Pass in comfortable parlor cars. The cars retain the atmosphere of the gold rush, providing the Yukon traveller with a nostalgic glimpse of the days of '98. The magnificent scenery is unequalled, and the combination of snowcapped peaks, deep valleys and blue-green lakes keep the travellers' cameras clicking throughout the journey. History follows the passengers, for beside the track can be seen the original Trail of '98 scuffed into the valley floor by the tramping feet of the sourdoughs who plodded North to the Klondike to seek their pokes of gold. The integrated ship-train-truck transportation system is a far cry from the narrow gauge railroad envisaged by its builders — Heney, Hawkins, Hislop and Graves — before the turn of the century. They saw a continuing expansion of Yukon's mining industry centred on the Klondike goldfields, with other rich developments eventually adding their wealth to a burgeoning north. Robert W. Service was caught up in the mood of the times and wrote: "Bob Smart's Dream", which told of stamping mills and smelters filling the air of Whitehorse with the sulphurous smoke of industry and the din of commercial activity. But the gold seekers and the dreamers departed and left the Yukon much the same as they found it. 96 — The Yukon Story A few did not leave, and the White Pass was one of these. Half a century passed before the resolution to stay was justified, although during the long Twenties and Thirties it sometimes did not seem to make much sense. Now it does. The Yukon's new vitality and mid-century progress are rooted in the railway and the inestimable determination of those charged with its management throughout the Yukon's quiet years. 13. Yukon Stage Line In the early days of the Klondike rush there was no organized transportation. When navigation on the Yukon River opened in 1899, a few small river steamboats were built and began to ply between Whitehorse and Dawson. Captain John Irving, a Fraser and Skeena River steamboat owner and navigator, built the steamer Bailey and sailed her between the head of Bennett Lake and the Tagish North West Mounted Police post, including the carrying of passengers, to and from Bennett Lake end of the two-mile tramway portage to Atlin Lake. In winter, on the ice, each outfit pulled its own gee-pole sled, unless they were fortunate enough to have dogs. Because of lack of hay and oats along the route, horses were out of the question at that time and, unlike Lapland, there were no trained reindeer to pull their sleds. The first winter mails were brought to Dawson by the North West Mounted Police dog teams, until a contract was given to a man named Richardson in 1899. He assigned his contract to the Canadian Development Company. When the White Pass Railway Company organized their river service they wanted the mail services for their boats. This meant their taking over both Canadian and American all-year contracts, and involved heavy penalties well secured by bonds. The Canadian contract was for service from Skagway to Dawson and way points, with a side service to Atlin. The American contract operated between Skagway and St. Michaels, with side services to Nome and other points away from 98 — The Yukon Story the Yukon River. Both services were operated in winter with dogs, which the Company did not want, as they planned to operate between Whitehorse and Dawson with horses, and passenger and express stages, except during the summer when steam boats were used. However, it meant the taking over of more than 500 dogs on the Canadian contract. They sub-let the American winter service beyond Dawson to contractors who supplied their own dogs, and when these contracts expired the company did not renew them and the contractors continued the service with their dogs. When navigation opened in the spring of 1900, the Company had over 500 dogs on its hands, to be looked after until winter came again and, as they would require most of them until the complete equipment of a horse drawn winter service, they hired a good dog-keeper and sent him with the dogs and a supply of food, on one of their steamers, to an island in Lake LaBarge. This island is since called Dog Island. The keeper fed and supervised these idle malamutes, cooking their food himself, and looking after the numerous families of interesting woolly puppies that began to arrive. Occasionally, one of the steamboats called with supplies. The Company used the dogs in winter until their horse- drawn service was fully organized and then sold them profitably. In March, 1901, they formed a subsidiary company, known as The British Yukon Navigation Company, for the river service, and this Company took over the mail contracts. While navigation was open, roadhouses were started at intervals along the trail and supplies were stored for men and horses. When snow came in the fall of 1902, the horse drawn service was fully equipped with over 250 splendid horses, sleighs and equipment. The winter route between Whitehorse and Dawson, locally known as "The Overland Trail", eventually portaged across two big river bends and shortened the distance between terminals to 330 miles, or 70 miles less than the wholly river route. These cutoffs were constructed by the Territorial Government. Later, as Mayo and other areas developed, many changes and improvements were made in the route, until, finally, except for two crossings, the river ice was wholly abandoned. On November 2nd, 1902 the first overland stage left Whitehorse with only two passengers. They were Herbert Wheeler, the newly appointed superintendent of the stage service (later President of the White Pass and Yukon Railway and Navigation Company) and George A. Jeckell, a school teacher who afterwards became Comptroller of the Yukon Territory. Yukon Stage Line — 99 A regular weekly service was soon established and maintained, almost regardless of the most severe weather, and a minimum of 200 horses was required to operate these mail, express and passenger stages. During the periods from the freeze-up of the Yukon River until the ice was solid and there was sufficient snow, wheel stages were used. In peak years the number of horses used was 275, and roadhouses and stables were located at intervals of about twenty miles. Food for passengers and drivers, and fodder for horses, were maintained at each post. The road-houses were miniature hotels of log construction, heated by roaring wood fires and provided with comfortable beds and good meals. Moose, caribou and mountain sheep steaks and roasts were not uncommon. Meals were $1.50 and beds $1.00 per night. Baggage up to 25 pounds for each passenger was carried free in the rear, or 'boot' of the stages. Passenger fares, one way, were $125 besides road-house expenses. During the winter months, sleighs drawn by four to six horse teams, were used, and carried up to 14 passengers, besides mail, baggage and express. Excess baggage was 30 cents a pound. Carbon foot warmers were changed at each road house and buffalo robes were supplied for all passengers. In spring and fall the drivers had to contend with floods, washouts, mud and slides, as well as river crossings when ice conditions were dangerous. The Company maintained, at Whitehorse, a horse hospital with a qualified veterinary surgeon in charge. They also operated complete carriage and sleigh, harness, and blacksmith shops. Stages were built from the ground up, harness made and repaired, and stage seats upholstered. In the beginning of the mail service some of the famous Concord stages were imported from New Hampshire, but they were not strong enough for the Yukon conditions, and the Company soon began construction at Whitehorse, of their own vehicles, built to suit the road requirements. (After inauguration of airplane service landing fields were constructed adjacent to the winter trail and sometimes proved to be mutually serviceable.) These early wheel stages had 'springs' constructed from heavy leather in wide straps of several plies, instead of the usual steel springs, as the metal was breakable in severe sub-zero weather. They were similar to those used on the old Cariboo stages, that were called 'thorough-brace', from their heavy leather springs or supports. The sleighs were usually operated from about November 100 — The Yukon Story 1st to April 1st, and many a tale was told of battles with extreme cold. In addition to the use of foot-warmers and buffalo robes, passengers wore coon-skin or buffalo overcoats, fur caps with nose and ear protectors, and felt shoes or moccasins. Every winter, at Whitehorse stage office, could be seen a number of tagged fur overcoats, awaiting the return of the owners, from warmer climates. The stage drivers, or 'skinners', as they were affectionately called, wore coon-skin coats, with long red sashes tied around their waists, like the coureur-de-bois of early French Canada, and soft fur-backed leather gloves with silk, or woollen 'liners'. On very cold days they often held the reins in one hand, while they beat the other against the shoulder, to keep up blood circulation. The seat of honor, reserved for favored passengers, especially in favorable weather, was up on the high front seat beside the driver. In later years of stage operation, when travel began to decline, drivers did not leave a post if the temperature was lower than 40 degrees below zero, but it was often fifty or sixty before they reached the next post. If the roadhouse thermometer went out of business, a bottle of Perry Davis Painkiller, placed outside for a few minutes, warned the unwary that when the painkiller froze it was "too damned cold for man or beast to travel". There were many breath-taking grades and curves along the mountain sides, and many steep hills, and wheel stages and even sleighs occasionally upset and sometimes rolled down the hillsides, but very few accidents resulted seriously, as horses (unlike an automobile) instinctively held as well as they could to the road, and prevented passengers from having little more than a good spill. Sleighs and wheel stages had rough-locks, and metal bars, that could be set by the driver to dig into the road-bed. Drivers had to know their business, especially when runners had 'glaciered' across the road on mountain sides with hundred foot chasms immediately below them. Horses sometimes broke through the ice on river crossings. As a safeguard, choke-lines were placed around their necks and tightened, when necessary, to prevent their struggling in the water and becoming hopelessly tangled and possibly carried under the ice. In this way they could usually be cut loose and floated to where they could be pulled out on solid ice. The list of passengers who rode the 'Royal Mail' included the names of many notable characters of those early Klondike days. Yukon Stage Line — 101 Many travellers would wait in Whitehorse, or Dawson, for days, to ride with their favorite driver. Among the drivers who were locally famous, the names 'Simmy' Fiendle, 'Dummy' Coughlan, 'Hobo Bill' Donenworth, Billy Cameron, George Keeler, George Webster, Charlie Chinnery, 'Skookum' McAdam, Jim Gannon, (Jeff) Jefferson, 'Hard Face' Reeves, Ernie Burwash, George Howes, Bill Powell, Ed Spahr and (the High Priest) Joe McDonald were known by many of the oldtime, regular Yukon River travellers. Ready to go, in front of the Whitehorse depot, on a cold day, with steaming nostrils of the well fed restless steeds, the 'boot' (rear compartment) crammed full, and passengers bundled to their eyes, the driver climbed up to his perch, gathered up the 'ribbons' between his warmly gloved fingers, cracked his whip—seldom used in any other way—and the horses were off at a sharp trot down Front Street, on the start of a 330 mile journey that would land the stage in Dawson on the fifth or sixth day of travel. Three or four posts were made in a day, depending on the weather and trail conditions. In an emergency, the run has been made in three days, but the regular schedule was five days. No story of the Yukon Stage Line would be complete without a tribute to its motive power, the horses. For twenty years these animals faithfully performed their arduous duty, under such severe working conditions as, probably, have never been equalled in stage travel elsewhere. In summer they were pastured in lush Yukon meadows to absorb enough vitamins (how did we get along in '98 without that word?) to withstand the next winter. Their hair was clipped and they were painted periodically on the vulnerable parts of their anatomy, with a concoction of tar and insect repelling oils, to protect them from attacks of 'bulldog' horse flies, black gnats and mosquitoes. Horses that had their lungs 'burned' by working in extreme temperatures usually died in the spring or early summer. There were, however, few losses from this cause, as protectors were placed over their breasts, and a baglike contraption shielded their nostrils, when necessary, from direct contact with extremely cold air. The upper portion of their bodies, also, was clipped, so as to prevent them from steaming and frosting up when working. On arrival at the posts they were blanketed and put in warm stables, and fed bran mash, oats, and timothy hay imported from the Pacific coast. Native wild hay had not the nourishment necessary for hard-working horses. Each horse had his record number stamped on a front hoof and 102 — The Yukon Story also had a name. During the lifetime of the stage line, the recorded list of names ran into thousands, with the result that there were few employees of the Company, from the president down, or permanent Yukon citizens, who did not have an equine namesake. Horses were purchased in Montana, Wyoming, Alberta and British Columbia. And, one of the old wheel stages appeared, annually, in the Calgary stampede, and others are preserved at Whitehorse and Carcross, as relics of a by-gone age. I Came to a River and I Couldn't Get Across As told by Herb Wheeler, Superintendent "On November 2nd, 1902, the first overland stage left Whitehorse, Yukon Territory for Dawson, the capital of the Klondike. "Prior to 1903 the only way to reach Dawson was via the river, steamers and boats in the open season of navigation, about four to five of them, and over ice in winter. But unfortunately there was always a long gap between the time the river was safe for navigation and when the ice had set sufficiently to permit safe travel on it, and a similar gap in the spring after the ice broke and before the boats could run. "Usually these periods ran in the neighborhood of about six weeks, and there were years when we had to take big chances to get the first stage into Dawson by Christmas eve. "In those days Dawson was a rich, busy mining town, and being cut off from the world for nearly three months in a year was a bad handicap to business. There were no airplanes then. "So the famous 'overland trail' was built in the summer of 1902. It ran west of the river on the south end, crossing the Yukon River at Yukon Crossing about 152 miles north of Whitehorse. North of Yukon Crossing the road was all east of the river and crossed the Pelly River a few miles from its mouth near Selkirk and the Stewart River about fifty miles up stream from where the Stewart flows into the Yukon. At a point about 22 miles north of Whitehorse the road crossed the Takhini River. The Takhini is a comparatively small sluggish stream at the Crossing. "When it came to planning a regular service on the new overland trail, the big problem was the fact that the road was cut up into five sections by the various main rivers, the Takhini, the Lewis, the Pelly and the Stewart. There was the ferry at the Takhini, but no means of crossing the other rivers except by small boat or canoe and fighting ice until the rivers froze over. Yukon Stage Line — 103 "The White Pass stage line was a horse-drawn operation, using sleighs for snow and thorough-brace wagons when the ground was bare. The thorough-brace stage coach is the same type of vehicle as was used in the old overland stage coach days in the United States and on the old Cariboo road in British Columbia. "So we had five independent pieces of road, and until the rivers froze, neither horses, sleighs nor wagons could cross the main rivers. This meant equipping each division (a section between rivers or the terminal section) independently and making transfers at the various rivers. A stage left Dawson and came as far as Stewart, dropped their outfit on the north side, transferring mail, passengers, express, etc., by canoe, and picking up another outfit which was placed on the south side of the Stewart, and going on to the Pelly where the plan was for the north and southbound stages to meet, transfer loads and turn back. "We took a chance on the Takhini, being a small river with a ferry there, and we hoped to get across somehow, but the Takhini nearly wrecked all our plans, and nearly made a mess of our plan to put in a regular, uninterrupted mail service. "So on November 2nd, we reached Takhini Crossing about 1 p.m. all set to carry out the pre-arranged plan, go through to Yukon Crossing and make the meet there. Any hold up to either stage tied up the whole line-up. Billy Cameron was our driver and none better. George A. Jeckell, later Comptroller of the Yukon, was our only passenger. I was the third member of the party. "When we got to Takhini we found a nice mess. The river had closed with a very light jam of thin ice, most of which was not more than a quarter of an inch thick. The ferry was frozen in at the edge of the river in shore ice, too much ice to break through with the ferry, yet the ice would hardly hold a dog. To make matters worse, it was quite mild, just a few degrees of frost, and it looked as if we might sit there for a week before the ice would be strong enough to cross on. "We put our horses away and went into the roadhouse and got something to eat. After lunch I went out and took a look at the river. I tried the ice and saw it was hopeless to try to cross four horses and a big heavy stage sleigh. So then what? Everything hinged on getting across somehow, and I decided to try and build a brush bridge on the ice across the river, and cross on that. "The roadhouse had been built that fall and many logs had been cut close in. The limbs and green brush from these spruce logs were available, so we went to work and hauled in load after load I 104 — The Yukon Story of brush and built a brush bridge on the ice, right across the river, and we got it finished by dinner time. After dinner, by the light of the silvery moon, we piled snow and cracked ice in among the brush and then threw water on it. To get water we cut holes in the ice alongside our bridge and more or less sprinkled the water all through the brush in the hope that by morning it would freeze into a mat solid enough for our purpose. We worked until 10 p.m. and then went to bed. We got up very early and took a look at our bridge, patched it up in a few places, and sprinkled a little more water on it, so that it would freeze up a little more while we were having breakfast. "After breakfast we hauled the stage down to the south end of our bridge. We tried the bridge first with small loads on a hand sleigh and we got all the mail, baggage and express across safely. So far so good. Then we looked at one another and I said to Billy, 'Let's try a horse. Pick the poorest one and take the harness off him.' So we led our horse across, then the second, third and fourth, all safely—Eureka!—When we got the four horses across, we harnessed them and blanketed them, tied them up to trees and gave them a little hay to play with, as there was lots to do yet. "The next thing was to get the big stage over and we decided that the bridge would carry it if we stripped off every pound of surplus weight. We took the loose gear across and then got ready to haul the empty sleigh across at the end of a long rope. "We had to put a snatch block on the north side of the river and get a straight lead directly in line with the bridge, so the sleigh would not run off onto the thin ice. We got this all rigged, hooked on to the end of the pole on the sleigh and started the team pulling up the road and through the snatch block. The bridge buckled and sagged, and it was like the undulations of a snake, but it didn't break through, and we got the sleigh across. "Thus we inaugurated the 'Overland' between Whitehorse and Dawson which continued to be the great artery of the Yukon when navigation was closed, until the arrival of the modern airplane. It used to take us IV2 days (when the rivers were open) and about 5 days when we had a continuous road. Now it takes two hours by plane. "But I still hanker for the old staging days. "After this experience we developed a new technique and in subsequent years we boomed the river. We had the boom all ready and as soon as the ice started to run heavy enough to interfere with the ferry, we ran the boom across and jammed the ice above the ferry until it was strong enough for crossing." 14. The Banks The Bank of Commerce, before the founding of Dawson City, had been asked by one of the large trading companies to open a branch at Fort Cudahy, but because of the lack of communication at that time, the invitation was declined. Then, after the rich gold discoveries on Bonanza and other Klondike creeks, the bank was asked by the Minister of the Interior to open a branch in Dawson City and to act as banker for the Dominion Government, and as agent for receiving royalties on gold mined in that district. It was a new and novel project and required several months of preparation. Protection from violence was considered of first importance and a site was arranged for on the government building compound. It was found, however, that this precaution was unnecessary as the North West Mounted Police, despite the influx of many undesirables attracted by the magnet of easy money, maintained such law and order, not only in Dawson and other centres, but over the whole Canadian trail from the Chilkoot and White passes to the Alaska boundary on the 141st Meridian, that life and property there were as safe as anywhere else in the world. Much attention was given to the selection of the bank staff, both as to physique, age and experience. The youngest member was twenty-seven and volunteers were not lacking. It was necessary that some of the staff should acquire technical knowledge in assaying gold-dust. And one, through the kindness of the United States Secretary of the Treasury, studied assaying at 106 — The Yukon Story the sub-treasury in New York. A second man was trained by a commercial chemist in Boston, and a third took a course at the School of Practical Science in Toronto, where he also acquired a practical knowledge of safes and locks, through the courtesy of the J. & J. Taylor Safe Corporation. A first party was to enter the Yukon in the early spring of 1898, by way of Vancouver and Skagway, to be followed by a smaller expedition with main supplies for the branch after it would be opened. No data was available upon which to estimate size of staff, and quantities of supplies needed. Memoranda of requirements for each party were prepared, and ranged from ink powder, Peterborough canoes, fire-brick for assaying furnace, clothing, food, blankets, soap, knives, forks, spoons, stationery, needles, thread, brushes and razors, to suitable foot-wear. The first party numbered six, including two intelligent messengers, one of them a first class cook. They left Toronto on April 2nd, 1898, and reached Vancouver on the 19th. The supplies had to be carried over the Pass and then floated down the river six hundred miles to Dawson. It was originally expected that they would go down the lakes on the ice, build a scow at the head of the river and float to Dawson on the swift current, all in a short time. However, the manager, who was one of the party, was detained on the Pacific coast by unfortunate circumstances, and carrying out the full plan was prevented. The second officer proceeded alone with the party, and they sailed from Victoria on the 'City of Seattle'. More passengers were carried than could be accommodated, but as most of the argonauts were bent on reaching the Klondike as soon as possible, comfort was disregarded. During the stay of the first party in Vancouver and, on the steamer passage to Skagway, the chief topic of conversation was the story of exploits of the gang headed by the notorious 'Soapy' Smith at Skagway. It became obvious that the large box of banknotes in the cabin, with its countersunk screws and bank seals, though always guarded by one of the party, could not escape 'Soapy's' notice. So one night the box was quietly broken up and thrown out of the cabin porthole, and its contents were placed in the kitbags of the party, with clothing stuffed around the packages. The bank had arranged to have an escort of Mounted Police The Banks—107 meet the party at Skagway, but, as only one member of the party could be spared, and he did not find them, it was decided to cross the head of the Inlet to Dyea, as its reputation was slightly less unsavory than that of Skagway. After a thorough wetting the party reached Dyea and put up at the Olympic Hotel. The kitbags were thrown casually on the dock, but never left, until safely in the hotel. The Mounted Police had been delayed at the White Pass. They arrived the following afternoon and advocated the Chilkoot Pass, and the next morning at daybreak, the hard fourteen mile journey up the 3,000 foot summit was begun and completed by five o'clock in the afternoon. Inspector Belcher, in charge at the Summit, was, like all the officers of the force, most kind and helpful. In the night snow had drifted under the tent canvas and covered everything. A dog team had been secured to haul the baggage to Lake Bennett, and at 4 a.m. the party left the Summit, facing a blinding sleet and snow, sometimes to their waists. They reached Lake Linderman about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. As several parties had broken through the ice, the dog driver, 'Three Fingered' McKay, considered it foolish to start until the night's frost would harden the ice somewhat. Starting at 4 a.m. one of the party went ahead with a pole testing the ice. A zigzag trail was followed. In a few hours the beautiful Lake Bennett was reached and the bank-notes were deposited with Superintendent S. B. Steele. And, while the first party was waiting for the ice to break up sufficiently to start in the canoe, the second party arrived. The opportunity was taken to exchange experiences and to discuss plans for the building of the second party's scow. All kinds of boats were being built here, and the splendid physique of the voyageurs in whip- sawing lumber was striking. A remarkable contrast to the conditions at Skagway was demonstrated that day. A man was caught redhanded, stealing food and other supplies from caches. He was brought before Superintendent Steele. The trial was short. He was given three years with hard labor, and was soon set at sawing wood near the trail, arrayed in a parti-colored mackinaw, yellow and black, and tied by a rough sinew rope. A start was again made, with the canoe in the mush ice, and at the first police post a sled was obtained to help where the ice was too thick. However, a heavy scow, manned by augmented 108 — The Yukon Story boat crews, managed to smash a way through and the canoes followed. At Tagish post a call was made on Inspector Strickland of the Mounted Police. Here the party saw four young Indians chained to an anvil in a tent. They had murdered a man named Machan and wounded his partner, in an attempt to steal their supplies. Some of them were hanged in Dawson later. Here a roadhouse provided supper and the following morning, on police advice, the whole party was portaged around Miles Canyon and Whitehorse Rapids. From here seventy miles per day was made despite head winds and boulders. The canoe was almost swamped later in Five Fingers Rapids. Rain fell on the two following days, but on June 4th, over one hundred miles were made in about seventeen hours. Everything was wet, and hands were swollen from mosquito bites. About midnight, June 15th, the lights of Dawson were seen. In that moment all discomforts were forgotten. A landing was made at the police barracks and everything, including canoe, was taken into the square. The kitbags containing the banknotes were used as pillows on the floor of the guard-house, and the guard kindly provided a snack from his rations. Next day the bank-notes were locked up in a cell of the jail by Inspector Starnes, and the party breakfasted at the home of that sterling officer, Inspector Constantine. A small tent in the barracks square was provided for the bank party. A call was made on Captain J. J. Healey, of the North American Transportation and Trading Company, whose Chicago officials had assured the bank of temporary quarters and safe accommodation, but this was out, as their security spaces were bulging with sacks of gold dust. A frame building about twenty by twenty-four feet and covered with galvanized iron, was gladly accepted. It had no window, and a ladder in one corner led to a small opening in the ceiling, with about five feet of head room at the centre and two feet at the sides. Arrangements were at once made to erect a board counter across the full width of this "office" and to provide, in lieu of a safe, two big wooden chests lined with sheet iron. Later, calls were made on Captain Hansen, of the Alaska Commercial Company and Major Walsh, in charge of the administration of the Yukon, as well as on several other officials. Captain Hansen gave the bank's officers permission to erect the melting furnace and to install the muffle furnace, assay scales and other The Banks—109 necessary equipment in a storehouse which happened to be empty at the time. He also put them in the way of having a supply of charcoal made from birch by a capable man. June 7th was devoted to giving the famous city the 'once over', and making friends. Dawson had come through a bad winter, as several boats from St. Michaels had failed to arrive the previous autumn, and food was scarce and expensive. Beverages were still more expensive as one of the bank's party learned a few days later while endeavoring to enlarge his circle of acquaintances and locate prospective business for the bank. When it was suggested that he would be helped by a visit to 'Tammany Hall' on opening night, he was pleased to go under the guidance of 'Judge' Morfort, an oldtimer whose title was purely a courtesy. The 'Judge' said that all the 'boys' from Bonanza and Eldorado would take in the opening of the dance-hall, and the prospects seemed good. The sight was a strange one. First came the concert or show, and then the serious business of the evening. Raucous-voiced 'callers-off' urged the laggards to 'grab a lady' and when the dance was over, everyone promenaded to the bar and purchased a drink for his partner and himself. The lady received a percentage cheque, to be cashed at the close of the evening, and the "callers- off" hastened the next dance. Overhead were tiers of small boxes running all around the concert hall. Neither the 'Judge' nor the banker danced that night, but very soon the 'Judge' was hailed hilariously by friends in one of the boxes, and, going up he introduced his banker friend to one or two of the oldtimers and the ladies in the box. They were drinking champagne and the drinks came thick and, fast. A payment was made by handing a small sack of gold-dust to the waiter, who took it to the scales and, after weighing out the price of the drinks, returned it. The banker could not ascertain the cost, but he observed three pints were required to serve a 'round'. In due course his sense of fitness impelled him to play host. As he had no sack of dust, he had to inquire the cost of the drinks served, and was told that a round was $120 or $40 a pint. He endeavored to carry the matter off with a brave face as he had little more money and his turn would come again quickly. Prudence induced him to see in the crowd an imaginary individual, he 'simply had to speak to'. He went to bed and for some time thereafter sought business in less exciting circles. li 110 — The Yukon Story That night 'Tammany Hall' took in about $30,000 over the bar. The next evening was spent attending a banquet given on the spur of the moment by a well known miner who had been enriched by about $1500 in about ten minutes or so at a faro layout. The menu was moose steak, fried eggs and champagne. When the bank's party arrived in Dawson, the streets were quagmires, owing to a recent ice jam and overflow of the river, and sidewalks did not then exist. Daylight continued for twenty- four hours, and so did the crowds that filled the streets, or moved in or out of the saloons, dance-halls and gambling houses. The town was 'wide open', yet order reigned in the apparent chaos, and limitations were recognized and not overstepped. No one seemed in a hurry. Husky dogs lay everywhere and fought up and down the streets. Garbs were rough and uncouth, and a few women were to be seen outside the dance-halls and no little children. Manners were good, even if rough. A man minding his own business and keeping a civil tongue was, perhaps, less likely to be drawn into unpleasantness than if he were in Toronto or Montreal. In these early days of the camp honesty prevailed and the oldtimers did not lock their cabins, but until undesirables, of the influx in '98, were weeded out and were given 'blue tickets' by the Mounted Police, more precautions were taken. As an indication of prices, a lunch the officers of the bank had at a restaurant cost $7.50 each. It consisted of two dubious eggs, fried bacon in poor condition, bread, strong butter and a cup of coffee, A pint of Bass's Ale could be had at some restaurants for $5.00. Cost of things at point of origin meant little. Freight cost was the main element of prices at that time. The second bank party had waited at Bennett for completion of a big scow which was to convey them and their supplies downstream to Dawson, and until its arrival the time was spent worrying over the delay, securing prospective customers and explaining that the bank couldn't be fully opened for business until their arrival. The second party left Lake Bennett on June 5th with about six tons of freight under a boarded deck even with the gunwale and open at both ends. A contract had been made with a small stern-wheel steamer, the Bellingham, to tow the scow to Dawson for $1100. As with the first party, owing to the large sum in banknotes and other cash, each officer of the party was armed and only they knew where the currency was stored. The Banks—111 Several outsiders from Ottawa and Toronto and one man from South Africa—all well recommended to the staff—were on board. The man from South Africa gave bankers' credentials to the officers of the bank, but later spent a long term in Dawson prison for the roguery he was found to possess. It was estimated that over a thousand boats and scows were on Lake Bennett the day the bank party started, each with two to a dozen passengers, and propelled by oars, sails, blankets, or anything handy. Many were coffins for their inexperienced crews. Thanks to the Mounted Police, the bank's second scow ran the Whitehorse rapids under an experienced pilot. His fee was $100. Later the police had pilots of their own and their pilot's fee was a mere $5.00, if crews had no pilot or experienced river man with them. Owing to the value of the currency and supplies, the police insisted that the 5400 pounds of freight be unloaded and transported to the foot of the rapids by a tramway just completed, at a cost of 3 cents a pound. This was done and the scow reloaded below the rapids. The longest day's run from there was 110 miles in a swift current. They reached Dawson on June 14th, at 3 p.m. and all hands fell to unloading and unpacking books, stationery, currency, etc., until a late hour so as to be ready for business next day. A brave little sign reading on both sides, CANADIAN BANK OF COMMERCE, CAPITAL SIX MILLION DOLLARS, was hung out at right angles to the shack, and all, except the manager, moved into the windowless garret which they used for sleeping quarters until August. The two messengers slept on the office floor and a Mounted Police guard was always on duty. A tent at the side served as a mess. Some attempt was made to have a "teller" control the cash, but as everyone had to help, everything was free-for-all, yet throughout all this the teller managed to balance his cash, as all were well seasoned officials and all books were balanced. Bank transactions were varied and often highly out of the ordinary. Many customers wanted to sell their gold-dust and until the assay plant was in operation the dust was weighed out and the customer credited with the weight and given a receipt. If he desired an advance, it was given to him at the rate of $14.00 per ounce until assay results were known. As there were no safety deposit boxes, some lodged their documents with the bank in escrow. LI 112 — The Yukon Story Many miners would leave their gold-dust, subject to cheque payable in gold-dust. Such cheques were usually drawn in currency and crossed, payable in gold-dust at sixteen or even seventeen dollars to the ounce. Those whose funds were not in cash or gold-dust usually carried negotiable certificates, issued by United States banks on the Pacific slope. Letters were constantly asked for and, when possible, cheerfully given. This went on all day and when Tommy the cook had lunch ready, one at a time would rush out and grab a hasty bite. Despite all efforts the supply of bank-notes would occasionally run out and one or two would assist the manager until supplies were on hand again. This went on until seven or eight o'clock each evening, when the blare of cornets, the pounding of drums and the tones of the 'caller-off in the dance-halls would draw the crowd and ease the situation. Sleep at night was almost impossible. One lone reveller threw a stone through the sign, complaining, "I'm from Missouri. Show me where you have six million in that bum little shack." Sometimes in the middle of the night an intoxicated individual, who had run out of funds, would knock on the door and when told that the bank would be open at eight or nine in the morning, would respond, "That's a hell of a time to wait for a drink." In a few days the melting furnace had been built with the fire-bricks, from plans the party had brought with them. All was ready and a priming melt of fifty ounces attempted. They sweated over this for forty-eight hours, only to find a conglomerate mass that could neither be returned to the customer, nor assayed. So many wanted to know the cause of the delay that an excuse of thirst, from the chief assayer, was used to induce the inquirers away for a drink and then conveniently lose them. During one of these excursions, a chance meeting with an Austrian graduate of the School of Mines, Vienna, who was looking for work, solved the problem. He looked at the conglomerate mass and, with a grin, took a cold chisel and increased the draft by knocking out a few bricks. The assayers were competent, but their schooling did not include furnace construction. Joseph could speak only a few words of English, but he was gladly engaged as a melting assistant, at fifteen dollars a day. He stayed a month and then left for the mines. No further difficulties were encountered in melting or assaying, and the bank had the gratifying record of assaying over $2,300,000 of gold dust purchased and shipped, during that first season, almost Left to right — Leicester Hall, Gordon McLellan, Alfred Jarvis and the author, Dawson, 1901. Ed Ironside Benj. F. Craig Dr. Alfred Thompson, M.P. (left) and Capt. George Black, M.P., formerly Member for Y.T., and speaker of the House of Commons. Mountain sheep are part of the Yukon's attraction to big game hunters. From the bottom of a mining shaft at 55 feet, on Hunker Creek, these skeletal remains of a long- tusked mammoth were recovered. Rev. John Pringle and Rev. George Pringle, Yukon missionaries and First War chaplains. Col. 'Joe' Boyle 11 The Banks—113 equal to the United States Mint and the Selby Smelting Company of San Francisco and Seattle combined. So skeptics were soon satisfied and business increased. A letter written by the manager, T. H. Wills, on June 20th, 1898, reveals the situation. He wrote, "Business is rushing with us and we are working, just now, from twelve to fifteen hours a day. From the present appearances the branch will prove profitable. The greatest drawback to this place is the enormous price which has to be paid for every article. "People outside cannot believe such prices exist. I will give you a few samples. "Land values; $40,000 paid for a small lot on Main Street. Rents; the ground floor of a building, about 20 by 45 feet, rents at $10,000 for seven months for a saloon. A Mr. Rutledge has a building made of slabs, with ten rooms—eight of which he occupies himself and rents the other two for small stores (very small) at a rental of $12,600 per annum. Wages; a teamster with a team of horses, gets $100 per day. Domestic servants (women) get $100 per month and their board. Laboring men get $15 per day. "Provisions of all kinds are sold at enormous prices: Beef $1.25 per pound; Eggs (case) $18.00 per dozen; flour $12.00 per 50 pound sack; butter in tins, $2.00 per pound; potatoes are $1.00 a pound. Lumber is $400 per thousand. Wood runs from $30.00 to $40.00 per cord. Candles are $1.00 each." An expedition party of the Bank of British North America had reached Dawson a few days before the Bank of Commerce party, and had opened up a small office in a tent, but flooding of the river forced them to close. Soon after, they opened up again, but a disastrous fire in the business area destroyed their office, and having no assay office at the start was a handicap. However, before the freezeup a permanent building with assay office was erected alongside the Gold Commissioner's office, and was completed at an outlay of over $50,000. Both banks did a large note circulation business, although in addition, probably over three million dollars in gold dust was handled annually during several of the earlier years. Athough both banks had assay offices and bought gold-dust, many miners and sometimes women, when leaving the country or going 'outside' for a visit, carried considerable gold on their persons. This was usually done to evade the royalty payable to the Dominion Government, and the North West Mounted Police, 114 — The Yukon Story besides searching suspected men, at Whitehorse, had a woman, "Sergeant" Kate Ryan, attached to the force to search suspected women. They paid no attention to collecting royalties on gold if it was in the form of jewelry which was skillfully made by several Dawson jewelers, such as watch chains, necklaces, medallions, hat and tie pins, and the unique emblems of such northern fraternal societies as the Arctic Brotherhood and the Yukon Order of Pioneers. There are (in 1964) branches of the Canadian Bank of Commerce and Bank of Montreal in Whitehorse, Dawson, Watson Lake, and a branch of the Royal Bank at Elsa. Robert Service was a Bank of Commerce clerk in Whitehorse when he wrote his virile "Songs of a Sourdough". Later, he went to the Dawson branch and from there to World War One as a Red Cross man. His Yukon rhymes, with their Kiplingesque touch, became the ballads of the North and are still recited there. Many years later a young teller for the Bank of Commerce found himself in possession of many Robert W. Service signatures applied as a routine in the course of Service's daily chores with the bank. He would slip one under the glass top of his counter so that customers could see it. Tourists would first ask if this was truly Robert Service's signature, then cautiously open negotiations for such a prized momento. The teller was compliant and it is doubtful if Service ever wrote anything for more per word than his own signature on those bank slips fetched years later in the unofficial enterprise of his young successor in Yukon banking. Several years after the Canadian Bank of Commerce had moved to new and commodious quarters, a man named Jim Kirk bought the old smelting building for $1600 and demolished it for the lumber. When he pulled up the floor he found particles of gold on the boards and in the soil underneath. He washed the boards and gathered a layer of the earth under the floor and, panning it out, is said to have salvaged over $1700 in gold dust. An early and very popular manager of the Bank of British North America in Dawson was E. O. Finlaison, who later retired to Victoria and continued to take an active interest in the Yukon and Yukoners' activities until his death in 1957. Another pioneer Dawson official of the same bank, A. D. Maclnnes was and still is, an ardent exponent of Scotland's 'roarin'' game of ice curling, even to the 'tam-o-shanter' and kilts. He is now retired and lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia. 15. Royal Canadian Mounted Police During 1894 complaints were received by the Canadian Government that miners from the Alaska side of the boundary, below Forty-mile, were giving trouble to the legitimate miners and traders by taking the law into their own hands in that part of Canada, now the Yukon Territory. Accordingly, Inspector Constantine and Staff Sergeant Brown, of the North West Mounted Police, (as today's Royal Canadian Mounted Police were originally named), were dispatched to the district to report fully on conditions. Constantine was as much at home in a saw-mill or running logs down rapids, as in the Royal Military College, or scouring the plains for bootleggers or horse thieves. On his return, he reported that goods amounting to a large total value were being imported into the Territory from the United States without payment of duty, and that during the summer of 1894, no less than $300,000 in gold dust had been taken from the tributaries of the Forty-mile River without payment of any royalty. He recommended that officers be appointed with power to enforce the law and collect the revenue. He said that some measures were "called for in the interests of humanity and the security of lives and property of those engaged in legitimate pursuits", and that, "revenues, justly due the Government, would go a long way to pay the expenses of administration." Early in 1895 a detachment made up of Inspector Constantine (Officer Commanding), Inspector Strickland, Surgeon A. E. Wills, 116 — The Yukon Story two Staff Sergeants, two Corporals and thirteen Constables, was sent from the North West Territories. They made the trip via Seattle to St. Michaels and up the Yukon River arriving at the mouth of the Forty-mile on July 24th, 1895. There they established a post, afterwards called Fort Constantine. Inspector Constantine, "in addition to his magisterial and other police duties, was to represent, while necessary, all the departments of Government having interests in that region." Particularly, he was authorized "to perform the duties of Dominion Lands Agent and Collector of Inland Revenue." After some time, William Ogilvie, D. L. S., who had previously surveyed and explored much of the territory, was instructed to proceed again to that district, "for the purpose of continuing and extending the work of determining the 141st Meridian, of laying out building lots, surveying mining claims, and generally performing such duties as might be entrusted to him, from time to time". The greater part of the mines being worked Ogilvie found on the Canadian side of the boundary. The report of the Department of the Interior, issued in 1895, states that, "the number of persons engaged in mining in the locality mentioned has steadily increased since the date of the survey, until not less than 1,000 are employed. "Incident to the mineral development, there must follow a corresponding growth in the volume of business of importation of dutiable goods and the occupation of public land for mining purposes which, according to the mining regulations, are subject to prescribed dues and charges." The Alaska Commercial Company, for many years subsequent to the retirement of the Hudson's Bay Company, held a monopoly of the trade of the Yukon, without regard to international boundaries. With the discovery of gold, however, came a competing company, known as the North American Trading and Transportation Company, with headquarters in Chicago and its chief trading post at Cudahy, near the mouth of the Forty-mile River. These Companies brought their goods by way of St. Michaels. Importation of considerable value in mining supplies and tools also came from Juneau, Alaska, by way of Dyea Pass, to Cudahy and Forty-Mile. No duty had been paid on any of these until Inspector Constantine and Staff Sergeant Brown arrived in 1894. Constantine, who had reported that a large revenue was being lost to Canada, proceeded to collect for the year of his arrival, the sum of $3,248.82 Royal Canadian Mounted Police—117 from the two companies. He also estimated the value of the gold output for 1894 at $300,000. Inspector Wood, later, reported that, "During the first year or two the miners, on the whole, were most law-abiding and gave the police little work or cause for interference. On one occasion, however, a report was received from Glacier Creek, during July 1896, that prospectors who had come across from Alaska, were about to resort to what they termed 'miners' law'. The trouble arose over a decision given by Inspector Constantine, in a wage case, in favor of a miner named Hestwood which resulted in his being given possession of a claim. "Inspector Strickland and ten men were immediately sent from Fort Constantine to Glacier Creek to see that the judgment was enforced and arrest the ring-leaders. The party made a fast trip across the hills, but the men responsible for Hestwood's ejection, hearing of the approach of the police, made good their escape across the border into Alaska. The miner, Hestwood, was reinstated on his claim and the police returned to Fort Constantine. "This was the only occasion on which the police had to appear in force in the country. "The force in the Territory, some twenty officers, noncommissioned officers and men, were then sufficient to preserve peace and look after the collection of revenue for the Government until August, 1896. "On the 16th of that month gold was discovered on Bonanza. The news of the discovery, however, had not time to percolate to the outside before the Yukon River closed, and the population was not materially increased until the next year. This was most fortunate, as the stock of supplies during the winter of 1896 and '97, became so low that the police were reduced to half rations. This was caused by the non-arrival of the steamer Weare, from St. Michaels. "Inspector Constantine, realizing the importance of the discovery, and foreseeing the expectant rush that would no doubt take place the following spring, reported the matter to Regina and asked that his force be increased as early as possible in the spring of 1897. "Accordingly, on June 12th, 1897, Inspector Scarth, with nineteen non-commissioned officers and men, arrived at Fort Constantine, having crossed the Chilkoot Summit and travelled down the Yukon River on scows built by themselves." During the same spring, officials representing the various gov- 118 — The Yukon Story ernment departments were sent in and they relieved Inspector Constantine of a great deal of the extraneous work of himself and his detachment. Thomas Fawcett arrived as Gold Commissioner, and general agent of the Minister of the Interior, Hon. Clifford Sifton, and D. W. Davis as Collector of Customs. During the summer a site was selected at the mouth of the Klondike River, later Dawson City, and a detachment of police was established there to exercise supervision over the new gold camps on Bonanza and other Klondike creeks. Thomas Fawcett was personally honest, but rather easy-going and not accustomed to exercising the vigilance of the Mounted Police. This was soon recognized by the unscrupulous element and they offered bribes. Rumors, purposely started by these people and repeated by unknowing gossipers, became widespread in the Klondike that the government officials were dishonest. As a result business men and mine owners sent a largely signed petition to Ottawa, asking that William Ogilvie, whom they had known for years in the Yukon, be appointed Commissioner of the Territory with full powers and N.W.M.P. assistance, to investigate all charges, dismiss any dishonest official and hire needed employees. On October 8th 1897, the Minister of the Interior accompanied by Major Walsh, as acting Commissioner, Mr. Justice McGuire, Registrar, and Accountant Bliss, Mining Inspectors Norwood and McGregor, William Ogilvie, F.R.G.S., Commission Secretary, T. Dufferin Pattullo, Fred C. Wade, legal advisor, and Inspector Zachary Taylor Wood, with ten constables and a dog driver with several teams of Mackenzie River huskies, arrived at Skagway. The party at once started to get supplies over the Pass, hoping to reach Dawson before the river closed. Inspector Starnes, who had been stationed at Skagway, was hurried forward with some officials, but only reached Little Salmon when they were frozen in for the winter. Major Walsh and his party got as far as Big Salmon when they were also frozen in. In the month of October, 1897, Inspector Harper, who had been sent in earlier, reached Dawson with twenty non-commissioned officers and men who were posted there, and Inspector Starnes soon arrived to assist him. Inspector Strickland was sent with five men and established Tagish post on the shore of Tagish Lake, near the head of the Sixty-mile River (the Yukon). The Government also stationed Customs officers at this point, which commanded a good view of the river. It was practically impossible Royal Canadian Mounted Police—119 for anyone entering the country by way of Skagway to pass without being seen. Craft of every description were stopped here by the Mounted Police and plainly numbered on both sides in black paint. The names and addresses, as given by the occupants, were also recorded in the police files. This precaution proved to be a great help when drowning accidents occurred, or occasional foul play came to the attention of the authorities from anywhere along the river. Ass't. Commr. McHlree was in command at Skagway when Major Walsh arrived on Oct. 8, 1897, but due to ill health, was relieved of his duties and left Skagway for Regina on Oct. 21, 1897. Inspector Z. T. Wood replaced Assistant Commr. McHlree at Skagway. On Oct. 24, 1897, Major Walsh placed Wood in command of the Upper Yukon District. Insp. Wood held this position until Supt. S. B. Steele's arrival in Feb., 1898. The Upper Yukon District extended from the boundary to Selkirk, some 80 miles above Dawson. Seeing the necessity of policing the trail and river, Major Walsh set about estabhshing posts every thirty to thirty-five miles between Skagway and Dawson. The police had been collecting customs duties at Tagish, Lindeman, Bennett and Log Cabin, but were now removed to the temporary boundary at the White Pass and Chilkoot Summits, owing to the fact that the American Customs claimed jurisdiction as far as Tagish, many miles inside Canadian territory. Superintendent Perry, shorty after his arrival at Skagway, was relieved by Superintendent Sam Steele, and returned to Vancouver where he supervised the forwarding of supplies. In the meantime, William Ogilvie had arrived in Dawson and taken over the work of Commissioner of the Yukon. He at once asked for written charges of wrong-doing by government officials and, with cooperation of the police, promised punishment and redress. Despite the numerous rumors of dishonesty, not a single written charge was submitted. However, on investigation on his own account, he dismissed two officials. The rumors soon ended. In July, 1898, Superintendent Sam Steele was appointed to command of the whole police force in the Yukon. It then consisted of 239 officers, non-commissioned officers and men. Inspector Wood was promoted to the rank of Superintendent and placed in Command of the Tagish District, previously known as the upper Yukon District. (Superintendent A. B. Perry took over from Superintendent Steele Sept, 1899; Supt. Wood took over from Perry on April 18, 1900. L 120 — The Yukon Story In his interesting story, "Forty Years in Canada", Superintendent Steele says that when he arrived in Skagway, "honest persons had no protection. Murder, robbery and theft were common occurrences. The shell game was plied almost to the summit of the pass. On the Canadian side, life and property were safe." He also tells a little known feature of the avalanche of April 7th, 1898. The previous day he received a report from Inspector Belcher, in command at the summit, that a storm which had been raging for a week, had buried his cabin and the caches of supplies of the Klondike bound climbers, and six feet of snow fell that day where there was a depth of nearly sixty feet already. At seven o'clock next morning, the storm subsided and large numbers of men began packing their outfits up the mountain. Before they reached the summit, the storm again became violent and, knowing they could not remain on the summit and five, they began to descend to the Scales near the foot. About half a mile below the summit they were caught in the tremendous avalanche which buried sixty-three of them. Fifty-three perished. The rest were dug out with difficulty. Two women who had been rescued from a smaller slide the same day were buried in the larger one. One of these was again rescued. The other perished. All the bodies were dug out except two which were found in the spring. Superintendent Steele says that, when Inspector Belcher reported the avalanche, he requested Belcher to send a party to the scene to be present when the bodies were exhumed and, although the accident occurred outside Canadian jurisdiction, to render all assistance possible, and organize a committee of good American citizens to see that the property of the dead was taken care of, and make a point of looking after the property of British subjects. The police also secured all possible names and addresses of next of kin and notified them regardless of where they lived. When Supt. Steele arrived at Miles Canyon and Whitehorse Rapids he found that several persons had recently been drowned and several thousand boats were at the head of the Canyon. In the detachement were Constable Dixon, a clever swiftwater man, and several other experienced constables. A man named Macaulay had built a tramway across the five mile portage. The trams were drawn by horses, and wooden wheels were grooved to fit over poles that served as tracks. Macaulay's men occupied a Mounted Police cabin and tents. Before Steele arrived about one hundred and fifty boats and outfits had been lost and ten men drowned. The police had rescued several women and children. Royal Canadian Mounted Police—121 This decided Steele to take action. He requested the people to assemble where he could speak to them and, in a prepared statement, said: "There are many of your countrymen who have said that the Mounted Police make the laws as they go along, and I am going to do so now for your own good. Therefore the directions that I give shall be carried out strictly, and they are these: Constable Dixon, who thoroughly understands river work, will be in charge here, and be responsible for proper management and passage of the canyon and the Whitehorse rapids. "No women and children will be taken in the boats. If they are strong enough to come to the Klondike, they are strong enough to walk the five miles of grassy bank to the foot of the Whitehorse rapids, and there is no danger for them. "No boat will be permitted to go through the canyon until the Constable is satisfied that it has sufficient free-board to ride the waves to safety. No boat will be allowed to pass with human beings in it unless it is steered by competent men, and of that the Constable will be the judge. There will be a number of pilots selected whose names will be on a roll in the Mounted Police barracks here, and when a crew needs a man to steer them through the canyon and to the foot of the rapids, pilots will be taken in turn from that list. "The rate now arranged of five dollars for each boat is reasonable. If anyone cannot pay, the Constable will be permitted to arrange that the boats are run without charge." Steele says that as fees up to one hundred dollars had been charged by the self-appointed pilots, all seemed satisfied and many thousands of boats were taken through without one loss. The following day Steele returned to Bennett and saw there almost the last of the great rush of '98. More than 30,000 persons, most of whom had received assistance or advice, had passed down the Yukon. Over $150,000 in duty and fees had been collected and more than thirty million pounds of solid food had been inspected and checked over by the Police. The sick had been cared for, the dead buried, and estates administered to the satisfaction of their kin. The police transported their own supplies and administered the law with little complaint. As several members of the force, who had arrived in 1895, had returned to the North West Territories, there were only ninety- five of all ranks in the Yukon at the close of 1897, and these were stationed at the several posts established throughout the Territory. In May, 1898, when the great rush into the Klondike com- 122 — The Yukon Story | menced, additional posts were established at Indian River, Ogilvie, Halfway, Selwyn and Hootchiku in the Dawson district, and at Bennett, Linderman, McClintock, Miles Canyon and Tantalus, in the Tagish district. In 1899, a detachment was established at Hunker Creek, in the Dawson district, and the detachments at Log Cabin and Atlin, in the Tagish district, were withdrawn, the former owing to the building of the White Pass Railway, and the latter because it was found to be in British Columbia. During the winter of 1900-1901 the mail stage company, having made a cut-off from Lower Labarge to Tantalus, it was necessary to erect detachment buildings at Chico and Montague. As new gold finds were made, other posts, such as Miller and Boucher, were established, and by 1903 the force consisted of four officers, twenty non-commissioned officers, one hundred and six constables and fourteen specials, a total strength of one hundred and forty- four. Major Wood said, in his report of that year, "The population is law-abiding, far more so than some would expect, when the heterogeneous nature of the people is considered, and that the glamor of gold attracted some of the worst characters in Canada and the United States. Crimes of a serious nature are comparatively few; as an instance, I might state that during 1903, no less than 2,227 cases were before Vancouver police magistrates, while in the whole of the Yukon, the number of offences entered were 922 and 68% of these were convicted. "During 1895 no crime of a serious nature occurred, and as most people there then were law-abiding, the presence of the Mounted Police was welcomed. During 1896 the same conditions prevailed, but near the end of the year, with the greater influx of gold seekers, were some of the criminal class, and their presence began to be felt in 1897. In 1898 two men were murdered and an attempt was made to kill two others. In this case, however, four Indians were the murderers. All were arrested and hanged, except one—a mere boy. "A serious case of attempted murder, in the winter of 1898- 1899, was when a man named Sanderson was assaulted with an axe by a travelling companion named Frank, while en route to the outside from Dawson. Sanderson, though seriously wounded, seized the axe from Frank and marched him into the detachment. Frank was sentenced to fourteen years servitude. "Two cases of murder and suicide by the criminals occurred Royal Canadian Mounted Police—123 in 1899, and in the closing days of December, the murders of Fred H. Clayson, Olsen and Len Relfe occurred. An Englishman, George O'Brien, lured them to their death and robbed them on the Yukon River bank when they were on the way outside. He hid the bodies under the ice, but was searched by the police when they saw a blanket that proved to have belonged to the police, and investigation led to his arrest and hanging. The keen observation of the police in arresting O'Brien, and the painstaking thoroughness of Constable Pennycuick in measuring and searching out the details of the crime as revealed in the evidence, were matters of conversation in Dawson for some time after the trial. "During the two following years three murders were committed. Two of the murderers were hanged and one sent to an insane asylum. "In 1902, there were a few cases of theft and supplying liquor to Indians, and one of arson, and the cold-blooded murders of Bouthillette, Beaudoin and Constantin, by Fournier and Labelle who were convicted and hanged. The year 1903 was free from serious crime, and from that time on, no part of the world has been more free from serious crime than the Yukon Territory." The expense of maintaining the force was, and still is, heavy, but they were at the service of all branches of Yukon administration. They acted as postmasters and clerks, gold commissioners, customs and inland revenue collectors, mail carriers, searched for gold smuggled to avoid income tax, assisted firemen, acted as sanitary officers, supervised and acted as clerks at elections, took the census in 1898 and assisted in taking it in 1900, enforced quarantine regulations, assisted in collecting licences, assisted doctors in seeing that everyone was vaccinated and acted as justices of the peace, coroners and magistrates. They also registered births, deaths, and marriages and their veterinarians acted for the Department of Agriculture in attending to sick and injured animals. "They kept a general supervision over the Indians, and if they were found destitute, they were supplied from Police stores and medicine, and police surgeons looked after their medical needs. They tracked criminals, guarded convicts, cared for lunatics and looked up missing persons. "The Dawson guard-room was both a penitentiary and a lunatic asylum, and non-commissioned officers and men acted as jailers and keepers." "All freight entering the Yukon was examined by the police 124 — The Yukon Story at the boundaries, to prevent the importation of liquors on which permit fees were not paid, and as liquor consigned to Atlin, B.C., had to pass through the Yukon, at Carcross, escorts of police had to see that intoxicants were not disturbed while en route through the Territory." In the spring of 1904 gambling was closed in Seattle and other coast cities, taking away the employment of professional gamblers and their hangers-on. Many of these undesirables drifted into Dawson, but on their arrival, were kept on the move, and during the succeeding years no crime of a serious nature was committed, with one exception. In 1907 the Post Office at Dawson was entered and two mail pouches from Fairbanks, on their way to Seattle, and containing gold-dust to the value of about forty- thousand dollars, were stolen. The crime was traced to two men, one of whom committed suicide. The other was convicted for complicity in the crime. Most of the gold-dust was recovered. In December, 1905, the first mail patrol from Dawson to Fort McPherson on the Peel River, a few miles from where it enters the Mackenzie River, a distance of 475 miles each way, was started, and was continued each winter until airplane service made it unnecessary. This patrol carried mail not only for the people of Fort McPherson district, but for any whaling ship crews that wintered at Herschel Island, situated within the Arctic Circle and about eight miles west of the mouth of the Mackenzie River. Other patrols were made in winter to mining districts near Dawson, to Mayo, 175 miles north-east of Dawson, and to Miller Creek, 110 miles north. These patrols, not only carried mail but gathered data of public interest such as new discoveries, the number of prospectors at work, and output of mines already working, they investigated any complaints, and took the census, at regular intervals, of Indians in the Territory. Winter patrols were made with dog teams. In summer, patrols were made up the Pelly by steamboat, a distance of 700 miles. The officer in charge of the patrol in 1907, reported a farm of 90 acres on the Pelly River, five miles from its mouth, where hay and oats were then growing. Later, he saw the oats ripened and put through the first threshing machine in the Yukon Territory, with an estimated yield of 35 to 40 bushels to the acre. Royal Canadian Mounted Police—125 Owing to the greatly reduced strength of the force, in later years, it was found impossible to have the duties of Postmaster, Mining Recorder and Timber Agent performed by the noncommissioned officer or constable in charge of detachments, and, with three exceptions, they were relieved of these duties. In the early days, from 1897 to 1901, Dawson was a "wide open" town. Gambling was carried on in public places, and these halls were numerous, in fact it was typical of mining camps the world over, except that in the Yukon it was never allowed to be lawless and they all closed on Sundays. In 1902, gambling was banned, and slowly but surely the character of Dawson changed until it became as quiet as any place in Canada. As for alleged immorality in the Yukon, about which so many imaginative stories have been written, the people generally, even in the early days, were as moral as any town, city or province in Canada. And no police force has ever been more efficient nor upheld the ideals of honor and integrity more zealously than the Mounted Police, collectively and individually, in the Yukon Territory. The total strength of the Force in 1963 in the Yukon numbered 39, and detachments were located at Carmacks, Dawson, Haines Junction, Mayo, Teslin, Watson Lake and Whitehorse. The Tragedy of the McPherson Patrol The only tragedy in the many years of the long and hazardous Mounted Police patrol from the mouth of the Mackenzie River to Dawson occurred in January, 1911. That patrol, comprising Inspector Fitzgerald, Constable Taylor, Constable Kinney and Special Constable Carter, with three five- dog teams, left Fort McPherson at 8.30 a.m. December 21st, 1910. As Superintendent Snyder, at Dawson, had been advised from Regina of the time the patrol was to start from McPherson, he became anxious when they had not arrived near the usual time. He wired to Regina for instructions to send a relief patrol from Dawson, and began preparations for starting as soon as possible. As Corporal W. J. D. Dempster, then stationed at Forty-Mile, had been over the route several times, he wired him to come with his dogs. Corporal Dempster, with Constable J. F. Fyfe, Ex- Constable F. Turner and an Indian, Charles Stewart, left Dawson on February 28th with three teams of five dogs each. \i 126 — The Yukon Story In his report, compiled from his daily diary, both of which appear in the 1911 Reports and Papers of the R.C.M.P., Corporal Dempster (now retired Inspector) gives the detail of his relief patrol, including the finding of the bodies of all four members of the fatal lost patrol, along the Peel River. They had, under the guidance of Carter, who had made the trip before, lost their way on the Little Wind River and while trying to find the trail, ran out of supplies. The following excerpts from the report and his diary on which it was based by Corporal Dempster, and of a letter from Rev. E. C. Whittaker of Fort McPherson to Bishop Stringer in Dawson, give brief details of the greatest tragedy in the annals of the R.C.M.P. In his report Corporal Dempster said: "After our arrival at the power plant on the Twelve Mile River, we loaded our toboggans and got an early start on the morning of March 2nd, and followed the usual route. "On March 12th we struck an old trail on the Little Wind River, about twelve or fifteen miles from its mouth. We could only see this trail in places over the bars, as the river was flooding and obliterating it. We could pick it up in places between this point and the mouth of the river. I could not determine whether this was Inspector Fitzgerald's trail or not, as it was possible that it could have been an old Indian trail — after further searching we pulled into some timber to camp for the night and came across a night camp that had evidently been made by the missing party, and saw old butter tins, corn beef tins and an old piece of a flour sack marked 'R.N.W.M. Police, Fort McPherson'." The next morning they followed the trail and had been travelling about two hours when they came across another of the night camps. They were so close together that Dempster concluded the party must have been returning, but could see no further trail until next morning, and that day they passed three night camps all within fifteen miles, and saw the imprint of snowshoes leading down river. Next morning, March 16th, they found, on Mountain Creek, a cached toboggan, a wrapper, and the paws and shoulder blade of a dog from which the meat had been eaten, positive proof that they were short of provisions and had turned back. They found signs of the trail and, on March 20th, arrived at a cabin known as 'Colin's Cabin', between fifty and sixty miles from Fort McPherson, and discovered hanging on a beam, a dispatch Royal Canadian Mounted Police— 127 bag and a bag of mail, showing that they were hard pressed. Further on was a trail stove, a plate and thermometer, a toboggan and two sets of dog harness, out on the river. Tied on a willow on a bank was a blue handkerchief, the trail leading to it. Climbing the bank they found a small open camp and two bodies. One Dempster recognized as Constable Kinney and he believed the other to be that of Constable Taylor, who had evidently committed suicide by blowing off the top of his head with a 30-30 rifle which he still held in his left hand. A fire had been at their feet; each lay on his back. They had three Alaska sleeping bags, one under them and two over and they were lying side by side. There was a frying pan, a camp kettle, a small tin of matches and a blunt axe with a broken handle. The kettle was full of moose skin cut up in small pieces that had been boiled. Beneath the robe on which they lay was a gunny sack containing Inspector Fitzgerald's diary, some old socks, duffles and moccasins, also a note book belonging to Constable Kinney, and a pocket barometer. The search party cut some brush and covered the bodies and then proceeded towards the Fort, as Fitzgerald and Carter had evidently made a desperate effort to reach it and would likely be found farther on. Next morning, March 22nd, they found a pair of snowshoes, and climbing the bank, found the bodies of Inspector Fitzgerald and Ex-Constable Carter. Carter had evidently died first as he was lying on his back with his hands crossed over his breast and a handkerchief over his face. He appeared to have been pulled away from the fire. Fitzgerald was on his back in the place where the fire had been burning. His left hand was on his breast and his right parallel with the body. Two half blankets were wrapped around him. There were marks of getting firewood, but no effort to make a camp. The flesh of each man was discolored and peeling off and neither of them appeared to weigh a hundred pounds. The relief party covered the bodies with brush and proceeded to McPherson where they arrived on March 22nd, about six p.m. The following morning Corporal Somers and Constable Blake secured three dog teams and, with two Indians, set out and returned with the bodies on the 25th. Corporal Somers and Rev. C. E. Whittaker made coffins and, assisted by Corporal Dempster, covered them with black cloth. 128 — The Yukon Story The Church of England burial service was conducted by Mr. Whittaker and a firing party of five men fired traditional volleys over the graves of their departed comrades. Constable Somers secured an old copper kettle and cutting off four pieces and indenting thereon the name of each man, attached them to the coffins. Money, valuables, etc. evidently not personal, were turned over to Corporal Somers, but the dispatch bag, returns, mails, watches, money in dispatch box and other personal effects were brought to Dawson and turned over to the Officer Commanding. Having successfully accomplished the object of their relief patrol the party left Fort McPherson on the morning of March 30th and arrived in Dawson on April 17th. Written with a charred stick, on a piece of paper in the pocket of Inspector Fitzgerald's trousers, was his will as follows: "All money in dispatch bag and bank, clothing, etc., I leave to my beloved mother, Mrs. John Fitzgerald, Halifax, God bless all. F. J. Fitzgerald, R.N.W.M.P." Corporal Dempster summed up the causes of the disaster as follows: 1. The small quantity of provisions taken. 2. Want of an efficient guide. 3. Delay in searching for the lost trail. Commissioner Bowen Perry said, "the heroic efforts to return to Fort McPherson have not been excelled in the annals of Arctic travel." Corporal Dempster's report shows that "the men had wasted to shadows". It is the greatest tragedy in the force during its long history and was keenly felt by every member. Rev. Whittaker, concluding a letter to Bishop Stringer, said, "Yesterday I had a memorial service, with nine white men and Mrs. Whittaker present, besides several of the local residents. The Inspector will be much missed here, as he was esteemed by all. He was an able and splendid man in every way. The last evening before he left he promised to call and see you all in Dawson. "All members of the patrol are so changed that we should not know them, just famished and the skin peeling off. I have been thinking of your trip in 1909 and the miracle of your escape is greatly increased by the present case." Corporal Dempster's diary of the relief patrol showing temperatures ranging from three below zero to sixty-two below, and from wet snow and flooded ice to mountain blizzards and deep snow, is striking evidence of what hardy, experienced men can Royal Canadian Mounted Police — 129 cheerfully endure and accomplish and he, like members of their other patrols, reported it modestly, as an everyday event. He concluded his report by saying, "the men worked with a will and gave me every possible assistance." Dempster, now a retired Inspector, lives in Vancouver and, with his wife, faithfully attends meetings of the Vancouver Yukoner's Association. 16. William Ogilvie No story of Yukon Territory would be complete without special mention of William Ogilvie and the remarkable part he played in its exploration and government. Ogilvie was born in Glen Ogilvie (later Cyrville), near Ottawa, on April 7th, 1846, and after attending Ottawa schools, was admitted to practice as an Ontario Land Surveyor. Then he became chief clerk and astronomer for the Department of the Interior. After having surveyed disputed Quebec and Ontario boundaries, he was sent to the North West Territories. While surveying in the Athabasca Lake district, "never before trodden by white men", he discovered "slicks" that proved the presence of oil. This northern field is now looked upon as a great future source of Canadian wealth in natural gas and oil. In 1887, he was sent to the Yukon where his work on the 141st Meridian, from the Arctic ocean to Mount St. Elias, and on other boundaries, placed him in the first rank as an explorer and surveyor. In his leisure moments he was a great raconteur, but never about his personal exploits. He became Commissioner of the Yukon Territory on September 1st, 1898 and continued to administer the affairs of the Territory until 1901. In 1913, the late Dr. Alfred Thompson, Member of Parliament for Yukon Territory, wrote of him: "Mr. Ogilvie was practically the first Governor of the Yukon. His predecessor, Major Walsh, held the position temporarily for only a few months. The task of William Ogilvie —131 laying the beginnings of a government was left to Mr. Ogilvie. It was under his hand that a vast wilderness in the inaccessible north became a populous territory in a single year. "Distracted and torn with eagerness to possess some of the marvelous flow of gold, of which the world was then talking, this army of adventurers had to be controlled. Laws had to be created for the administration of the country, and the conditions were without precedent. Ninety percent were aliens and a hundred percent were individualistic to a remarkable degree. "Mr. Ogilvie did wonderful things in the Yukon. The best men available were drafted into the service. Regulations for mining were devised. Mails were contracted for. "The criminal administration became the model of the world. Order was gradually evolved out of chaos—and in his book, 'Early Days in the Yukon', Mr. Ogilvie modestly lays it all aside, with the naive suggestion that where he leaves off in writing the rest may easily be taken up from the official records." William Ogilvie did not take the position that every man should be compelled by law to act like a puritan, but he believed that the rights of every individual should be respected, and he was absolutely incorruptible. He could have ended his career in the Yukon a wealthy man, but when he returned to his home he still had to work for a living for himself and family. Drinking and gambling were rampant, but Ogilvie was an abstainer and recommended hot tea, in cold weather, as "the cup that cheers, but not inebriates". And woe betide the official who took a bribe, or the individual who defrauded his fellow man. I once saw Ogilvie coming into the office smiling, but with reddened knuckles and, when asked what happened, he modestly replied, "I had a fight with — . He called me a liar when he knew I was right and I hit him." When told that he wasn't showing any damage, he replied, "There was only one blow struck and I struck it." His aggressor was a well known, powerfully built man. A poetically inclined spectator of the incident wrote some humorous verses about it entitled, "Who Struck Billy?" and circulated copies on the Dawson restaurant tables that evening. Further copies were in great demand. William Ogilvie's appointment was the result of the confidence the miners placed in him and because the Minister of the Interior knew his ability and integrity. He had completed the survey of the Yukon boundaries and Dawson townsite and, with an efficient staff, had placer claim surveying well in hand. Needing a holiday 132 — The Yukon Story and rest, he went home to see his family near Ottawa. It was while he was there that the petition of the miners and business men reached Ottawa, and he was appointed Commissioner with full power to investigate any charges of wrongdoing and as recounted in the chapter on "Government", he returned and soon had the situation cleared up. He often expressed regret that it was not easy to catch the criminals who offered bribes to officials and who were the real cause of the wrongdoing. The old 'Sourdoughs' so appreciated William Ogilvie's sterling qualities and also the North West Mounted Police administration that, at an Alaska-Yukon Pioneers' Reunion held in Calgary in 1932, a resolution was moved by G. T. Moir—later the author of that interesting story, "Saints and Sinners"—and seconded by J. J. Wilson: "We acknowledge our debt of gratitude to the men who were primarily responsible for law and order in the Yukon during the hectic days of the greatest stampede ever known in the history of placer mining." "Therefore be it resolved that we submit the names of William Ogilvie, D.L.S., F.R.G.S., Commissioner and law maker, and of Colonel S. B. Steele of the R.C.M.P., as being the chief factors in maintaining order following the discovery of gold in the Klondike. "We pioneers of the Yukon here assembled further resolve that the names of the above, who have since passed over the Great Divide, be recorded for posterity in the annals of Canada's greatest men." It was carried unanimously. 17. Government Prior to 1894 the only government control, beyond that of the native Indians and the Eskimos, in what is now the Yukon Territory, was that exercised by the Hudson's Bay Company and the influence of the missionaries. As detailed in the chapter on the North West Mounted Police, they were sent into the Territory that year and administered, besides police and judicial duties, all departments of government except that of Surveys which was under William Ogilvie and partially, for a time, George M. Dawson. Ogilvie was sent into the Territory that year to determine the position of the 141st Meridian, the boundary between Alaska and the Yukon Territory. However, as the population suddenly increased in 1897, it was realized by the Federal Government that if law and order were to be maintained the police must be relieved of nearly all extraneous government departmental work. Civilian Post Office, Customs and Gold Commissioner's officials were sent into the Yukon from the east. As the Canadian government had never before been required to formulate laws especially applicable to placer mining, the laws regulating this industry were largely copied from those of British Columbia where placer mining had been carried on since 1858, and experience had overcome early mistakes. The civil officials from the east were new to the unusual situation, and the stampeders were eager to secure rich claims. Many were prepared to use fair or foul means, and every advantage was taken to bribe officials, chiefly of the Gold Commissioner's 134 — The Yukon Story offices, and secure inside information and even to switch claim records. As a result of this, rumors were soon current that officials were accepting bribes. These rumors were repeated not only by those with a sinister purpose, but by well-meaning people. It was realized by law-abiding business men, claim owners and officials that a strong hand was needed. Most of them knew William Ogilvie personally and believed that this rugged, competent man, who knew the country and conditions, could put the civil administration in as good repute as was that of the police, and they prepared and sent to the Minister of the Interior a largely signed petition stating the situation and asking that William Ogilvie be sent to the Yukon as Commissioner or Governor, with full power to conduct the civil administration of the Territory, to investigate and, with police cooperation if necessary, deal with any charges of wrong-doing by officials of the government. When Mr. Ogilvie had organized his personal staff he issued a public request that any charges of official dishonesty or improper conduct be put in writing and submitted to him. Although he himself replaced two officials, not a single written charge was submitted to him. As is the case in the various Provinces of Canada local conditions in the Yukon called for special laws or enactments, that could not practically or expeditiously be carried out by a government in Ottawa, 4,000 miles away. A body of three leading resident officials, known as the Yukon Council, was appointed by the Federal Government, with the Commissioner as presiding officer, with power to enact local laws and regulations. Although the Commissioner was chairman, the other two, though capable men, were newly from the east and did not know the local placer mining background and needs. Canadians living in the Yukon, especially those who had mined in British Columbia, were familiar with the placer mining needs, and the rights and privileges of miners. In dealing with foreigners, who were "accorded the same rights and privileges in placer mining as those possessed by Canadians", it was felt that they should have the right to vote for the Yukon Council. They petitioned the Federal Government to grant them this right, and also to give the Yukon the right to elect a federal Member of Parliament. Being somewhat apprehensive of losing direct control, the government only partially met the request and agreed to the election of two additional Yukon Councillors, making a total of five. They did agree, however, to the election of a Yukon Member of Parlia- Government—135 ment. This was done in 1902 and gave the Territory the same voice according to population, as that in the various Provinces. After the election of James Hamilton Ross as the Yukon's first Member of Parliament, the Yukon Council was made a wholly elective five member body. Dawson was also incorporated and elected its own city council to administer its own special civic needs. This ready response of the Canadian Government in giving local autonomy to the people of the Yukon, and granting the Territory full federal representation, had much to do with the starting of an agitation by the people of Alaska for federal representation, or Statehood, required for federal voting rights under the rigid constitution of the United States. As Alaska had more population than several Territories had when granted representation, Alaskans felt that they were unjustly treated. However, after more than fifty years Alaska was granted Statehood and control of most of her own affairs in July 1958. The Yukon was fortunate in having able representatives at Ottawa. One of them, Captain George Black, M.P., a lawyer who retired in Vancouver and became Speaker of the House of Commons. During a period of post-war illness which he experienced, his popular wife, Martha, was elected and represented the Yukon from 1935 to 1940. Then, as Captain Black had fully recovered his health, he was again elected for the parliamentary term beginning in 1940. He held the seat for two terms, until 1949, when he withdrew from public life. He was followed by Dr. Alfred Thomson, who was elected as an Independent and gave excellent service. In 1949 Aubrey Simmons, Liberal, was elected over his Conservative opponent, and represented the Territory for two terms, until the Progressive-Conservative landslide, when he was defeated by Erik Neilsen, a Whitehorse lawyer. The Yukon Territory is at present governed by an appointed Commissioner and an elected seven-member Legislative Council. The legislative authority of the council includes direct taxation, education, property and civil rights, territorial civil service and municipalities. The Commissioner is G. R. Cameron. The Yukon Territory comes under the administration of the Department of Northern Affairs of which Hon. Arthur Laing is currently the minister. (Publisher's Note—In September, 1964 Hon. W. A. C. Bennett, premier of British Columbia, proposed to the citizens of the Yukon 136 — The Yukon Story that they petition for the Yukon Territory to become part of British Columbia. The promise was made mat were this administrative change to occur, the province would build the Pacific Great Eastern Railway to Whitehorse and pave the Alaska Highway.) The Yukon Indians greatly appreciated the franchise accorded to Canadian Indians, and took a keen interest in elections. With the decline in population of Dawson owing to the change from individual placer mining to dredging and hydraulic methods, the Territorial capital location was fated to move elsewhere. Whitehorse became the population centre of the Yukon due to the wartime construction of the Alaska Highway and the Canol pipeline. Whitehorse confirmed its position as a logical centre for transport and communications. Dawson, by contrast, had poor transport and communications. Whitehorse now is the metropolis of the Yukon, the main airport centre, an Alaska Highway divisional point and the focal area for an envisioned four or five million horsepower hydro-electric development from the water of the upper Yukon. 18. Whitehorse and Other Places The glamour of the fabulous placer gold finds of '98 centered around Dawson and the Klondike creeks, but since then the eastern and northern parts of the Yukon Territory have grown almost steadily in importance. Whitehorse, as a good example of this growth, came into existence early since it was at the head of navigation on the Yukon River \Vi miles below Whitehorse rapids. It was confirmed in its strategic position as a transfer point with the advent of the first White Pass and Yukon Railway train on June 8th, 1900. The town experienced a boom during the early 1900's and activity continued during the life of several copper mines in the area. Some 500,000 tons of copper ore were shipped to the Pacific coast smelters up to about 1920. The White Pass Railway Company constructed a 15-mile side line to the Pueblo Mine where, at its peak, 200 men were employed. The lowest ebb was reached in the Fall of 1931. The census then showed a Whitehorse population of only 342 and town lots were sold as low as $25 each. Since 1942 progress has been steady. In that wartime year the Capital of the Territory was moved from Dawson City to Whitehorse and a capital building constructed. In 1961 the city had a population of 4,800 wiiSthsin its limits and approximately 1900 more in the area of the modern airport. Today the facilities and amenities of a modern city are available. Schools, intermediate and high, have been erected, as well as hostels to take care of out-of-town pupils, including Indian children who have shown real aptitude. A four million dollar 138 — The Yukon Story new hospital is up-to-date in construction and equipment, and a vocational school has been built. A water and sewage system has been installed and a street paving program is being carried out. A new bridge named after Robert Campbell of Hudson's Bay exploration fame connects with Riversdale, a residential addition with more than 150 modern homes. A Mayor and four Aldermen administer the affairs of the City which is the distributing and administration base for the Alaska Highway in Canada. It is also a station of the Royal Canadian Air Force, and telegraph, telephone and teletype communications with the outside world are available. The W. D. MacBride Museum, named after its chief founder, was opened in 1952 by the Yukon Historical Society. It features relics and photos of the Trail of '98, and an archaeological exhibit of Indian artcraft dating back several thousand years. Among other exhibits of animal life is the head of a moose with an antler spread of 74V^ inches, a Canadian record which ties the world's No. 2 record. Just above Whitehorse rapids a dam and hydro plant furnish adequate power supply for the area. The rapids were named after an Indian chief who was drowned therein, and the city received its name from the rapids. Choice business lots in Whitehorse in 1961 were worth up to $30,000 each and residence lots up to $1,000. The community of Carcross (originally Caribou Crossing) is 44 miles south of Whitehorse on the White Pass Railway. It is the transfer point for Atlin, B.C. and has a large Government Indian school. Livingstone Creek is a tributary of Teslin River, about 50 miles east of Whitehorse. It produced over two million dollars in placer gold between 1897 and 1900, but with the rise in mining costs production was discontinued. Several years ago an area of over ten thousand square miles, west of Haines and Kluane Lake, was set aside by the Dominion Government as a game sanctuary. It is superintended by a Park Warden. Mount Logan, the highest peak in North America, is in this park. Between 1942 and 1946 the United States Government, as an added safety measure, constructed a 169-mile coast access highway from Haines Junction to Haines, Alaska. Haines Junction (Mile 1016 Alaska Highway and 101 miles north-west of Whitehorse) Whitehorse and Other Places— 139 is a small but thriving community with stores, motels, R.C.M.P. station, Highway Maintenance camp, schools, churches and amusement places. The highway is a great scenic attraction. It follows portions of the Dalton Trail of '98, built with permission of the Dominion Government by Jack Dalton, from Haines on the Alaska boundary to Yukon Crossing. Dalton rented horses to the stampeders and charged $2.00 per head for permitting cattle to be driven over it for consumption in the Klondike. Dalton's abandoned trading post is located in a valley a few miles from Mile Post 108 on the new road. Otter Falls, now shown on the reverse side of Canadian $5.00 bills, is about fifteen miles from Mile Post 996 on the Alaska Highway. In the Yukon of modern times the principal communities are Whitehorse, the administrative centre for the Territory, Dawson, Watson Lake, Carcross and the communities of Elsa and Mayo, supported by lode mining and prospecting. There are other communities on the road, rail and aerial transport routes which have a local function and are part of the total Yukon picture. These include such places as Teslin, Haines Junction, Klune, Burwash Landing, Snag, Carmacks, Ross River, Fort Selkirk, Fortymile, Herschel on the Arctic shore and Old Crow. The typical small outpost is still made up of a store or trading post that sells supplies and buys furs, a mission, school, postal service, small landing field, radiophone service, an RCMP post, Indian agent, some hunting guides, a few prospectors and a predominantly native Indian population. Whitehorse has recently become the chief distributing point for one of the most amazing undertakings of this revolutionary age. It is called the "Wind River Trail" and is the most northerly winter truck road in North America. It was constructed by the Arctic Oil Fields Transport Ltd., a subsidiary of the White Pass and Yukon Route. This road extends almost due north from the Whitehorse-Keno highway, just beyond Mayo, to the scene of the Bell River oil drilling operations well within the Arctic Circle and a few miles from the Arctic Ocean. The construction involved the bulldozing down of forests, the bridging of watercourses and gouging of mountain sides and glaciers. A Yukoner, Leo Proctor, conceived the unique solution of the problem and his Company cooperated in its construction. Fixed- wing aircraft piloted all construction in selecting the most feasible 140 — The Yukon Story route. Construction was commenced on October 12th, 1959 and completed January 12th, 1960, and progressed at a rate of four miles per day. The second phase of the work was the moving of well over 3000 tons of material for the oil drilling operations. Supplies were brought from Vancouver, B.C. to Skagway on the White Pass Company's freight steamship, Clifford J. Rogers, over the White Pass Railway to Whitehorse, and then north over the White- horse-Mayo road to Thompson Creek by the White Pass Highway Division. Mr. Roy Minter, Special Assistant to the President of the White Pass and Yukon Route, in his remarkable pamphlet, "Kenworth on The Wind River Trail", says: "The construction and employment on the Wind River Trail for oil exploitation has added a new dimension to the Yukon's development. . . Yukon's hopes for the future rest on steady progress in realizing the potential wealth of the land. One thing is sure—the story of the Yukon's future will be the story of transportation and the Wind River's contribution will not be quickly forgotten." Roy Minter's pamphlet and his moving pictures of the tremendous undertaking carried on in severe sub-zero weather and difficult terrain by men of experience and good judgment should win the admiration of every Canadian who contributes to the country's welfare, and of every youth who may have a share in her destiny. The Mother Lode Not only the eastern and northern Yukon, but the Klondike area, give promise of greater things than ever for Canada's extreme North-West. The source of the fabulous placer gold finds that caused the greatest rush the world has ever seen has since '98 been a subject of serious speculation by those who best know the situation. All placer gold is believed to have come from quartz eroded from bedrock during the tremendous convulsions of the Post Glacial Age. Klondike miners believe that the bedrock, triangle-shaped ridge between upper Bonanza and Eldorado and the other Klondike creeks, must be the source of their richness. They call it "The Mother Lode". This belief was so strongly held that a Company was formed to determine this by drilling operations which commenced in the summer of 1962. Yukoners will always speculate on the location of the lodes from which came the rich placer deposits of the Klondike region. 19. Climate and Agriculture The late Professor John Macouns in a report on the climate of the Yukon Territory said, "instead of the Coast Range being an injury to the interior, it makes the climate pleasant both summer and winter." The Yukon region has two climates. A wet and a cold one in the coast area may be called the Alaska climate, as nearly all the coast belongs to the United States. The climate of the Yukon District in Canada is just the reverse, being dry and warm in summer and cold in winter with a light snowfall. The moisture rising from the mild Japanese current is carried inland by the upper south-west air current and striking the Coast Range is at once precipitated on the seaward face of these mountains in the form of snow and rain. The air, freed from its moisture, descends on the Yukon plain as dry air. Gardening and poultry raising were begun around centres of population, especially the Dawson area, as early as 1900, and a dairy farm known as the Klondike Dairies, a few miles up the Yukon River, proved to be quite a success financially during the period of individual mining. Oats on the Ackland farm on the right bank of the Klondike near Dawson grew to an average height of about two feet and the hulls filled out so remarkably that the usually blank third oat hull was plump and well ripened. Vegetables and flowers in Dawson grew and matured rapidly. The summer thawing of the frozen ground beneath had the effect of sub-irrigation, and rainfall was unnecessary. Lettuce and other vegetables were luscious, and sweet peas grew as high as eight feet and were a mass of bloom. 142 — The Yukon Story Between 1900 and 1915 there was an almost steady increase in the acreage under cultivation and statistics for the latter year showed that twenty-seven Crown Grants had been issued covering 2,155 acres, and forty-eight homesteads comprising over 4,- 500 acres had been taken up under the term payment plan. Most of these were within 100 miles of Dawson, and were then, in several cases, almost completely under cultivation. These farms ranged from 20 to 320 acres in size. Hay averaged over one and a half tons to the acre and crops such as wheat, oats, barley and alfalfa matured in less than 90 days. A few farms produced live stock including horses, cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry, and fresh local eggs were in great demand in Dawson. As mining machinery, trucks and autos took the place of hand methods and horse drawn vehicles the population and local food consumption decreased and the area under cultivation in 1941 was down to 26 farms and 2,781 acres. However, gardening still flourishes in parts of the Yukon, especially near Dawson, Mayo and the Kluane Lake areas. Vegetables are even grown near the Porcupine River, west of Old Crow, well within the Arctic Circle. In 1915, Daniel Cadzow, a rugged Scotch trader with the Indians had a 360 acre farm on the right limit of the Porcupine River, three miles east of the Alaska boundary and near his trading post. Wild raspberries, blueberries and red and blue huckleberries are abundant and are picked both for immediate use and for preserving. Strawberries grow rapidly and are of excellent flavor. Experience of the past in the Yukon shows that as a food producer, it can be favorably compared with Norway, Sweden, Finland and portions of Russia where cities of many thousands live on the produce of the country. Experimental farming has been carried on in the Yukon by the Dominion Department of Agriculture since 1915. An experimental substation was opened at Swede Creek on the left bank of the Yukon, about six miles from Dawson. It was operated until 1925 and many interesting facts regarding agricultural possibilities were established. Good crops of wheat and barley matured in most years, although early, occasional frosts necessitated harvesting these crops as fodder. Timothy and alfalfa proved to be moderately successful although the latter could not be ripened for seed. Broom grass proved to be the most successful fodder crop and was, in 1958, the principal hay crop in the Yukon. In 1943, a program of investigation, undertaken by the Dominion Government to determine more accurately the possibilities Climate and Agriculture—143 of the North-West Territories for development of natural resources, was extended to the Yukon Territory. In that year a broad soil reconnaissance survey of lands adjoining the Alaska Highway, together with those of the Yukon River basin, was made by a senior soil scientist of the Experimental Farms service. The following year a site for an experimental substation was selected adjacent to the Alaska Highway, at Pine Creek about 106 miles west of Whitehorse. This is in the Takhini-Dezedeash valley which contains a large area of potential agricultural land. Experiments are being conducted with varieties and methods of raising agricultural and field crops. Poultry and cattle raising are proving to be very successful and larger areas are being put under cultivation so that, in addition to cattle and poultry, hog raising may be introduced. Members of the staff cooperate in tests, and efforts made at Mayo, Dawson, Fort Selkirk, Carcross and other places in the interior, with plots of grasses, grains and legumes so far have been gratifying. A sample of barley submitted for appraisal was graded as "the best sample from Western Canada." While spring sown grains have been remarkably successful, fall sown winter grains so far have not been a success. Surveys have shown that the soils of the west central region and its more equable climate give the best results. The soil around Whitehorse and some other southern areas is inclined to be more arid. It has been found that about 160,000 acres could be put under cultivation. Of this, 100,000 acres are located in the Takhini- Dezedeash valley, served by the Alaska Highway, and 60,000 acres along and near the Yukon River flats. While homesteads have been taken up in other areas, official experimental tests have not yet been made, although some bench farming by individuals has given gratifying results. Native horses, out all winter in the southern Yukon valleys, rustled a living and in the spring, mares frequently came in from the meadows with colts at heel, and both in excellent condition. However, general farming and stockraising are now handicapped by lack of markets and future development will depend on increased local population. Lack of developed water-power has militated against full exploitation of the great possibilities of both precious and base metals already found in the Yukon. Frobishers of Montreal, and other exploration companies report that a much greater cheap- water-power development on the upper Yukon is possible than brought development to the Kitimat area. This upper Yukon water 144 — The Yukon Story source covers an area of over 10,000 square miles at an elevation of over 2,000 feet and comprises at least a dozen lakes, such as Teslin, Hall, Surprise, Atlin, Linderman, Bennett, Marsh, Tagish and LaBarge. While the precipitation in summer is less than in much of British Columbia, the winter snowfall and the thawing of glaciers increases the summer runoff. Llewellyn Glacier on the south-east end of Atlin Lake has been described as the largest ice field in North America. The natural outlet of this great cheap water-power potential is near Whitehorse, only 110 miles from the Pacific Coast. Its development is necessary to bring into production the great variety of precious and base metals already discovered by present surveys. This can easily warrant a population never dreamed of in the rush of '98 and could require cultivation of every acre of its agricultural land. Freighting in gold rush days at Dawson and the Dominion Creek Road House. The McPherson Patrol, R.C.M.P., leaving Dawson. Commissioner Starnes R.C.M.P., Yukon Col. Zachary T. Wood N.W.M.P., Dawson Eagle to Dawson mail by dogsled. Blowing black sand from panned placer gold. Dawson on the Yukon River at its hey-day about 1900. ' Below on Sulphur Creek, May 1900, where the author placer mined. James Hamilton Ross Leroy N. (Jack) McQuesten Portrait of Pioneer Harper m Otto Nordling Canadian Army and Yukon Publicity man. 20. The Church Anglican The first missionary to visit any part of what is now the Yukon Territory was Rev. William Kirkby. In 1861 he started from his Church of England missionary station at Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie River, accompanied by two Indians in a canoe. After a short time among the Eskimos, whom they found at that time to be treacherous and quarrelsome, they crossed the Rocky Mountains to the Porcupine River, down which they canoed to the Hudson's Bay Post at Fort Yukon. During the same year a young graduate of St. Johns College, Winnipeg, Rev. Robert McDonald, was sent by the Church Missionary Society of England to work among the Northern Indians. Going down the Mackenzie River and across the Rocky Mountains, he reached Fort Yukon in the summer of 1862. Mr. Kirkby, who had returned to Fort Simpson, made a second journey to Fort Yukon that year and established his work there. During the period from 1862 to 1866 Rev. Robert McDonald and Rev. William Kirkby carried on their evangelistic work, seldom seeing each other and travelling from place to place wherever bands of Indians were to be found. In 1865 Rev. William Bompas, son of Baptist parents, answered an appeal for a worker in the Northwestern field and leaving his curacy in Lincolnshire parish, set out from England on July 1st 1865 and reached the Mackenzie River during that winter. For forty years McDonald and Bompas, who became Archdeacon and Bishop, respectively, worked together in the North, although not together in one sense for they rarely met. 146 — The Yukon Story Incidentally, it was Rev. McDonald, who, in 1863, discovered coarse gold on Birch Creek below Fort Yukon. He sent some of this gold to England and the London Times published an account of it. It created very little interest then. But when in 1896 the Klondike discovery electrified the world, the Times again published an article on the discovery made by Rev. McDonald so many years before. So far as is known, no one staked a claim, or acquired mining property at that time. After a visit by Mr. Kirkby in 1871 to the Indians of the Klondike region, the whole tribe made a journey of several hundred miles to Rampart House during the next winter to visit him where he was then carrying on missionary work. A regular mission was started at Rampart House in 1882. The Buxton Mission was permanently started by Rev. Canham at Forty-Mile in 1887. St. Andrews Mission was opened by him at Fort Selkirk in 1892. He and Mrs. Canham travelled up the Yukon to establish this mission on the steamboat 'Arctic', the first steamer to venture up the Yukon above Forty-Mile. In 1891 a diocese then known as the Diocese of Selkirk was established, composed of that part of the Mackenzie River Diocese west of the Rocky Mountains, and the Rev. William Bompas became its first Bishop. The name was changed in 1907 to the Diocese of Yukon. It comprises the whole Yukon Territory. The influx of prospectors and miners to the Klondike caused the opening of the first mission to the white population at Forty- Mile, in 1895, by Rev. R. J. Bowen, and when the rich placer gold was discovered in 1896, the Church of England was the only Christian body represented in the district. Bishop Bompas was then living at Forty-Mile and during 1896 visited as he had frequently done before the Indians at the mouth of the Klondike. In November, 1895, Rev. Bowen spent a few weeks there and in the fall of 1896, Rev. Flewelling was sent there as rector. During the winter of 1896-'97, he held services in Indian and English in his cabin near the mouth of the Klondike River, on ground which later became a North West Mounted Police reserve. Rev. Bowen was called from where he was temporarily located at Circle City, Alaska, to open a permanent mission, St. Saviour's (later St. Paul's Church), to the new mining cbmmunity in Dawson, and arrived there in June, 1897. Under his direction the cabin built by Mr. Flewelling was removed and a small church The Church —147 erected. This was the first St. Paul's church there. It was near the site of the present church in Dawson. Its size was twenty by thirty-two feet. As an insulation the solid logs were chinked with moss, and over poles and moss the roof was covered with two feet of earth. The winter snow, or light summer rains seldom penetrated such roofs, and they were usual on Klondike cabins. "There was nothing pretentious about it," said the rector, "but it was a colossal job for a few of us to get it erected." For the first winter the glass for the windows was held in place by a heavy flour paste. When the warm spring days arrived this softened and the glass started to fall out. The first service recorded in the Parish Register was that of a burial conducted by Mr. Bowen on June 16th, 1897, and the first marriage was performed on August 16th, 1897. The first service held in the log cabin church was on October 24th of that year. During the early days in the Klondike, as is the case in remote missions now, it was customary for the missionary in charge to conduct day school, not only for the Indians but for any white children who might be in the neighborhood. As an instance of this, day school was held in the little log church in Dawson in 1897. The notice board not only stated the hour of Sunday service, but also that day school opened at 10 a.m. week days, except Saturday. The first community Christmas tree entertainment in Dawson was held in St. Paul's. In the first fifty years of service over twenty rectors of the Church of England (now Anglican) served in the Klondike area. During that time they experienced the transition from a few hundred individual miners on the Forty-Mile to the influx of over forty thousand gold seekers in 1898 and from the pick and shovel mining to the hydraulic flumes, hose and nozzles and great modern dredges turning out millions of dollars worth of gold dust with a few men. The Diocese of Yukon has had from 1891 to 1960 the following Bishops over the various missions and churches: William C. Bompas, Isaac O. Stringer, Arthur H. Sovereign, William A. Geddes, Walter R. Adams and Tom Greenwood. On the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the Diocese of Yukon, there were twelve places of worship, besides Indian schools and a hostel in the Territory. The area covered is about 200,000 square miles with a scattered population of some 10,000 whites 148 — The Yukon Story and natives. The Rev. George Hamilton and his wife undertook the work at Old Crow Indian village in the extreme North. William Ogilvie, D.L.S. in his official 1887 report, referring to the work of Bishop Bompas and his missionaries wrote: "It is pleasant to testify that they (the Indians at Rampart House) have profited by this instruction. They hold, every Sunday, a service among themselves, reading from their books the prayers and lessons for the day and singing in their own language to some old tune, a simple hymn. They never go on a journey of any length without these books, and always read a portion before they go to sleep. I do not pretend that these men are faultless or that they do not need watching, but I do believe that most of them are sincere and trying to do what they have been taught." In 1897 Daniel Cadzow, fur trader at Rampart House on the Porcupine River, told a Dawson News reporter that, "The Loucheux live entirely by hunting, being good trappers, but they will not work on Sundays. It appears that they are mostly baptized, having been under the influence of the English Church Missionary Society. In every way they five up to the teaching of the missionaries, and are a law-abiding, peaceful race of men." The Dawson News also said in 1908: "The Peel River Indians, who have been visiting Dawson for the last three days, selhng meats which they brought from the Rocky Mountains, left today on a return trip to their hunting grounds. The party has had a great time in Dawson this trip. All the dainties of cheechaco foods have been indulged in lavishly, but to the credit of the visitors, be it said, they have eschewed the white man's fire-water and his befuddling hootch. These Indians all belong to the Church of England. They were converted many years ago by the missionaries who pioneered the way into the Mackenzie and Yukon valleys, long before the gold strike in the Klondike. Joseph and Amos are native preachers in the tribe and the Indians are devout." The esteem in which the Bishop and Mrs. Bompas were held was shown, when a memorial signed by fifty-three miners was presented to them at Forty-Mile on the Christmas before they left for Caribou Crossing. It was accompanied by a gold nugget, "as a mark of respect and esteem from the miners of Forty-mile irrespective of creeds or religions and as a personal present to the first white lady who has wintered amongst us." Leaving Rev. John Hawksley and his family in Forty-Mile the Bishop and Mrs. Bompas moved to the Caribou Crossing and, incidentally, as his mail often went to places with similar names, The Church — 149 he recommended the name Carcross, which was adopted by the Geographic Board of Canada. Here he soon had a new church and mission school, but his health was failing and he welcomed the newly consecrated Bishop Stringer, long a missionary at Herschel Island, to take his place. He thought he might do other mission work at their old Forty- Mile home, and he and Mrs. Bompas were preparing to return, but the end came on the night of June 9th, 1906, as he sat on a box writing a sermon, and when Bishop Stringer reached his side, an Indian girl who had called him was holding the dying man's head in her lap. Three white men and three Indians carried his body to the grave in the Carcross cemetery where a simple stone, inside a neat fence made by his Indian friends, marks the resting place of the great apostle of the North. One of the most widely known of Anglican missionaries was Isaac Stringer. He was born in Bruce County, Ontario and, after being ordained, went for the Church Missionary Society to the most north-westerly part of Canada, Herschel Island in the Arctic Ocean. When appointed to succeed Bishop Bompas as Bishop of the Yukon, he made a very hazardous journey to Dawson. Later his headquarters were at Whitehorse until he became Archbishop of Rupert's Land. After his death his widow, who was Mamie Alexander of Bruce County, went from Winnipeg to her family at Vancouver. She later attended Yukoners' gatherings. An interesting story is told of Isaac Stringer's high school days in Kincardine. He and Hugh Clark, later Colonel, and Parliamentary Secretary under Sir Robert Borden, were down town during noon hour and Hugh asked Isaac to lend him a dollar, for which he handed him the following acknowledgment, "I O Stringer one dollar". The boys started calling Stringer "I.O." and he adopted the O in his name. Roman Catholic A Roman Catholic Mission had been founded at Fort Good Hope near the mouth of the Mackenzie River in the early part of 1859 by Father Henri Grollier, O.M.I. Hoping to establish a mission at Fort Yukon to teach the natives of the Yukon River area, he set out and reached Fort Peel on September 9th, 1860. Remaining there six weeks, he met a number of the Dene or Loucheux Indians from west of the Rockies. 150 — The Yukon Story A severe sickness forced Father Grollier to return to Fort Good Hope, where on August 26th, 1860 he received the help he had requested in the persons of Father P. Seguin and Coadjutor, Brother Kearney. In October, Bishop Grandin arrived from St. Boniface, Manitoba and stayed with the missionaries until January 1862. Owing to Father Grollier's illness, he arranged for Father Seguin to take oyer his work. Father Seguin made a trip bver the Rocky Mountains to Lapierre House and down to Fort Yukon, where he remained until 1863. Then he returned to Fort Providence east of the mountains. Owing to a shortage of missionaries, no further visits were made west of the Rockies by the Oblates until Father Petitot made a twenty days' journey from Peel River Post (later called Fort McPherson) to Rampart House on the Porcupine River, in summer of 1870. He hoped to go as far as St. Michaels, but learning that the Alaska Commercial Company's steamboat had left for Bering Sea and would not be back before August, after a stay of five days he returned to Fort McPherson. In 1868 the old Hudson's Bay post at Fort Yukon was washed away by erosion of the turbulent Yukon River and in 1869 a new post was built at a safer location about a mile upstream on the Yukon River. Soon after the erection of the new post, Captain Raymond of the United States Military Engineers was sent to determine the location of the boundary (the 141 Meridian of longitude) between the District of Alaska (recently purchased from Russia) and British Territory. He found Fort Yukon to be about four degrees inside the boundary of Alaska, and notified the post manager, John Wilson, that he would no longer be allowed to bring merchandise nor trade with the natives in American territory. Captain Raymond then confiscated all the Hudson's Bay Company's buildings and hoisted the American flag. Having no alternative, the Company moved up the Porcupine River to the foot of Rampart Canyon, and called the new post Fort Rampart. The new merchandising corporation, known as the Alaska Commercial Company, whose head manager was Francois Mercier, took over the post at Fort Yukon, but as the Indians were unfriendly with the business methods of the new company and resented the arbitrary expropriation of the Hudson's Bay Company's property, the manager was apprehensive of what might happen and abandoned the post from 1870 to 1872. The Church —151 Mercier requested the protection of the United States Government and they offered to send a detachment of troops. However, on second thought, Mercier, who was a devout Catholic, refused the offer and through the intervention of his parents, who lived in the Oblate Parish Saint Pierre, Montreal, invited the Oblate missionaries to "come and bring civilization to the Indians." In August 1872, Bishop Clutt, at Fort Providence, received letters from the Oblate Fathers in Montreal, urging him to send missionaries to Alaska, and assuring him that they would be welcomed by Francois Mercier and other officers of the Alaska Commercial Company. He decided to take Father Lacorre, an intelligent young missionary, especially gifted in languages, and also go himself in order to make a complete survey of the situation and the future possibilities of the church in Alaska. With two boatmen and two Hudson's Bay packers, they joined a Company caravan and leaving Fort McPherson "made the heart-breaking portage of the 80 miles across the Rockies to Lapierre House" which they reached on September 25th. A very encouraging letter from Francois Mercier, addressed to Father Petoit, in answer to his own letter written two years previously from Fort Rampart, was handed to Bishop Clutt on his arrival at Lapierre House. Through this letter the Bishop had the assurance that the Alaska Commercial Company had reopened their post at Fort Yukon, and that his missionaries would be made welcome by his brother, Moise Mercier, the post manager, and that every possible help would be given by the officers of the Alaska Commercial Company to the missionaries in their spiritual administration to the natives. Hurrying on, due to the approaching winter, they continued their journey the following day, September 26th, in a rawhide canoe with two Catholic Loucheux Indians from the Mackenzie River delta and a local guide. Forming ice, on September 30th, compelled them to stop at the west end of the Rampart where a Loucheux family entertained them for five days, until they were able to continue their journey by sleigh. Shortly after their departure, they passed the charred ruins of the Hudson's Bay post where Father Petitot had spent five days, two years before. The officials of the Company, having discovered that it was located inside the boundary of Alaska, and fearing that (like Fort Yukon) it might pass into the hands of the Americans, had recently abandoned it and set it on fire. 152 — The Yukon Story After eight more days of painful travel, and near starvation, they reached Fort Yukon on Sunday, October 13th, and were cordially received by the officials of the Alaska Commercial Company. They spent a comfortable winter at the trading post, but little could be accomplished with the natives who had come to trade, and who had been influenced by the Church of England missionaries, Kirkby, McDonald and Bompas, who had actually worked among them for eight years. So Bishop Clutt and Father Lacorre spent most of their time working on a Loucheux dictionary. On May 15th, 1873, as soon as the Yukon River was free of ice, Bishop Clutt and Father Lacorre, with their interpreter, Sylvian, left Fort Yukon by canoe for Bering Sea. After visiting and working among the Indians at various points along the lower Yukon River, the Bishop left Father Lacorre to carry on at St. Michaels and other places in the lower Yukon. He had, before leaving the Mackenzie delta, asked for two additional missionaries for work west of the Rockies, but had received no answer and on July 7th, 1873 started on his return to the Mackenzie, the same way he had come. Father Lacorre waited until the following summer for the missionary helpers he so much needed for the vast Territory of Alaska and did not know of the decision of the Sacred College of Propaganda that "the Oblate missionaries could not exercise jurisdiction over the territory as the Jesuit Fathers were better qualified to organize the church on a good footing in that vast territory of Alaska." Utterly ignorant of these momentous decisions, Father Lacorre spent the winter of 1873 and '74 continuing zealously his missionary work among the natives of the lower Yukon and Bering Sea coast and for a while conducting a school for Eskimo children. Not until mail arrived did he know that Alaska had been placed under the jurisdiction of Bishop Segbers, S. J. of Vancouver Island, and that he was recalled by Bishop Farrand to the Mackenzie River missions. "So ended" (say the records) "the great adventure of the Oblate missionaries from the Mackenzie district to plant the church in Alaska." After the Oblate missionaries withdrew to east of the Rockies, the Jesuit Fathers did not extend their work to the Canadian Yukon until 1896. In August of that year Father Pascal Tosi, S. J., first Prefect Apostolic of Alaska, having received a request from Bishop Girouard of Athabasca-Mackenzie for his Jesuit missionaries to work in the Canadian Yukon Territory, sent The Church—153 Father William Judge, S. J. to Forty-mile, which he reached on August 17th. He stayed in Forty-mile for the winter and, as all prospectors were rushing to the newly discovered Klondike creeks, he decided to go and establish his headquarters at Dawson, which he reached by dog team on March 6th, 1897. He was hospitably received by Alex McDonald, the Bonanza Creek miner, and on June 3rd began construction of a chapel and St. Mary's Hospital. Both Catholics and Protestants backed Father Judge and raised $1,400 for the hospital, which was opened first in a large tent and then in a log building, which later became a well equipped two-storey establishment. Then the nursing Sisters of Saint Ann arrived from Holy Cross Mission on the lower Yukon during the summer as an epidemic of typhoid and pneumonia had broken out, and Father Judge required more help. Dr. Robert McFarlane, a Stratford, Ontario youth who had gone to Dawson to practice his profession, joined the first medical staff and Zera Strong, from near Ottawa, who had come to Dawson as a veterinary surgeon, joined up as a male nurse. During the severe epidemic Father Judge seldom lay down on a comfortable bed. He became fatally ill and died on the 16th of January 1899. His last words were a prayer that the sisters would be able to carry on. In concluding a story of his work, Arnold F. George, editor of the Dawson News, wrote, "He died for others," and Dr. McFarlane said, "He only considered the need and asked no questions about religion, money or anything else." The Oblate mission records make no mention of Father Judge's humanitarian work, nor his death, but after relating that he was sent to "the Canadian Yukon" at the request of Bishop Girouard state that, "Since it was quite clear that the Canadian Yukon, which some of them had visited thirty years before, was under the jurisdiction of the Oblates, Bishop Girouard obtained two priests, Fathers Gendreau and Corbeil, from the Archbishop of St. Boniface and two of his own missionaries, Fathers Lefevre and Desmarios, to work in the Yukon." Father Gendreau reached Dawson on June 25th, 1898 and Father Judge initiated the Oblate Father in his work and, due in a great part to the generosity of Alex McDonald, a beautiful new church was completed on August 21st, 1898. In November, 1899 the first Catholic school of the Yukon was opened and recognized by the Territorial Government. In March 1900, Father Bunoz, O.M.I, was placed in charge 154 — The Yukon Story of Northern British Columbia and the Yukon Territory and continued in charge until 1917. As the Yukon population was then declining owing to the change from individual mining to dredging and hydraulicing, he moved his headquarters to Prince Rupert. In June 1917 he was appointed Bishop. He visited the Yukon nearly every year. During the following twenty years "everything became quiet on the Yukon front". Such was the position of the Catholic Church in the Yukon when Father L. J. Coudart, O.M.I. was appointed assistant to Bishop Bunoz. In 1933 he was consecrated Bishop, and took up his permanent residence at Whitehorse. This area includes British Columbia, from the 49th parallel. It has 27 missionary priests, 24 sisters and 3 staff workers, attending the spiritual needs of some 1500 Catholic natives, and about 3,000 Catholic whites, scattered over almost 300,000 square miles. In Whitehorse, there is a modern Catholic school attended by about 200 pupils from grades 1 to 10, under the direction of the Sisters of Providence, who also have a small hostel to accommodate 25 to 30 boarders. On the B.C.-Yukon boundary near mile 620 on the Alaska Highway, the Oblate Fathers conduct an Indian residential school, assisted by the Sisters of Saint Ann, and supported by the Indian Affairs Branch. The Sisters of Saint Ann also continue in Dawson City the work of mercy they undertook in the early days of the Klondike. After a disastrous fire which completely destroyed Saint Mary's Hospital in 1950, the Sisters obtained from the Federal Government the use of two historical buildings of the early days. The R.C.M.P. barracks they converted to a cosy modern hospital, and the residence of the former Commissioner of the Yukon was turned into an Old Men's Home and nurses' residence. They also continued their educational work in the Catholic Separate School, attended by some 40 pupils from Grades 1 to 8. Finally, a Friendship House, called Mary House, was opened in Whitehorse by staff workers of Baroness de Hueck (Mrs. Eddie Doherty) where lodging and meals are given to transients of all ages, creeds or color. Methodist Early in 1898 a pioneer missionary, Rev. John Turner of the Canadian Methodist Church in the Cariboo and other parts of British Columbia, went up the Stikine River on the ice before The Church — 155 the opening of navigation and was one of the few who reached Dawson that year over Teslin Lake route. He obtained a church site from the Government and, after pitching a large tent, had the muddy ground covered with sawdust for a floor. Rough slab seats and a similar table made it possible to hold service under cover. However, he was not young and, as the three months journey had undermined his health, he was unable to do much more than await the coming of a young minister to take his place. This was the Rev. Albert E. Hetherington, B.A. who had recently been ordained in Winnipeg. He left Vancouver for St. Michaels on the Steamship "Danube" on June 22nd, 1898. The Danube carried materials for construction of a river steamer for the lower Yukon River, and Hetherington had to await the building of this vessel at St. Michaels. It was christened Yukoner. Leaving there on the 8th of August he arrived at Dawson on the 25th. He immediately began his work and supervised the building of a new log church, 25 by 52 feet with the usual pole, moss and muck roof. It was completed and the church dedicated on October 15th, 1898. Soon after dedication the church was presented with a small organ and the next Sunday morning the minister asked for a volunteer to play it. A young woman in a parka stood up and volunteered to play. She was Miss Alberta Swan who with her brother Anson (a young mining engineer) and their mother and sister had just reached Dawson. Anson had recently graduated in engineering in San Francisco and wanted to go to the Klondike, and the whole family went with him. The women helped to pack their supplies over the Chilkoot pass. Miss Swan was not only an accomplished musician but a lovely girl, and an attachment developed between the young minister and the volunteer organist that led to their marriage. Rev. Turner performed the marriage ceremony the following June, before he left the Yukon owing to failing health, and Rev. Hetherington carried on his work. In addition to his regular church services, he conducted summer, outdoor evangelistic services that were then a unique feature of church mission work in Dawson. Under the Methodist term plan he was transferred in 1902 to Kamloops, British Columbia. His daughter, Ruth, Mrs. Ralph Plant of Vancouver, was one of the first children born in Dawson. Rev. 156 — The Yukon Story Hetherington, "Ab", as he was known by his Yukon friends, from Manitoba, was succeeded in 1905 by Rev. Robert Hughes from Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. He held street meetings after the regular Sunday evening services, and they proved so popular that, when the weather turned cold, he rented a theatre. He wrote that, "the men would smoke, and call for encores, and all enjoyed the old songs and the Old Story. The management refused rent, and paid for light and heat, which was an expensive item." When Rev. Hughes was transferred, Rev. W. H. Barraclough succeeded him. In addition to his regular church work he published a weekly sermon in a local newspaper. At midnight, June 21st, he held a service on the top of the Dome above Dawson, and as it was daylight and the sun was below the horizon for only about half an hour, he preached from Revelation 22-5, "There shall be no night there." Rev. A. J. Seymour followed, and then W. E. Dunham until 1911. Rev. R. W. Hibbert, later United Church minister at Mission, British Columbia, succeeded him and at the end of his term, owing to the decrease in population, the charge was merged with St. Andrews Presbyterian congregation. During part of the above period, two Methodist laymen, Herb Roper and Frank Gane, held services on Klondike creeks, where groups of individual miners were without religious services. The following letter written by Rev. Albert Hetherington to his young niece in Manitoba, gives a most vivid picture of the voyage from St. Michaels to Dawson on the newly-built steamer Yukoner to which the passengers transferred from the Danube but had to await her completion at St. Michaels. "On Board the S.S. Yukon, Somewhere within the Arctic Circle, August 18th, 1898. Dear Leila—It's about 8.30 p.m. and I think that, to tell you what is going on now would amuse you. I an sitting in the Saloon (that is where we eat). To my right are four men playing cards. To my left is the "D.G." man (the Dominion Government man, a Mr. Sheridan from Montreal, a lawyer who says he is to succeed F. C. Wade at Dawson, as Prosecuting Attorney). So you see why we call him "D.G." Well, he is playing the piano and "Cousin Billy", the darky valet to the commodore, is singing one of his The Church — 157 minstrel selections called "Chop You in the Head with a Golden Axe" for the amusement of some of the passengers. Back in the ladies' cabin I don't know what is going on for it is always occupied with females (not ladies) who are on board and I very seldom go there. Down on the lower deck the deck hands are singing "Roll the Baby on the Floor Every Sunday Morning", to the accompaniment of an accordion. Such are my immediate surroundings. Well here we are tied up to the bank of the Yukon for the night. I think we are about on the Arctic Circle. We entered it yesterday afternoon and tonight we are going out again. I am writing this letter now so that when I get to Dawson I will only have to add a note and have it ready. Well, I think I wrote you last just before we left St. Michaels. After a long weary wait there of five weeks, we got away at 12.30 a.m. Monday, the 8th of August. On the Saturday evening before the Danube weighed anchor and left for Victoria, she had about 150 passengers aboard, returning Klondikers. Some were successful ones, but by far the greater part unsuccessful. Many were the handshakes and hearty good wishes expressed as she steamed out. Her departure seemed to make one more link in the lengthening chain, a link which seemed to bring me a thousand miles nearer Dawson and that much farther from home. While the Danube passed out of the harbor it passed other ships riding at anchor and soon grew small on the horizon, and knowing where it was bound for made me think of home and all those I have left behind. However, when our own boat began to move farther in shore we all felt like liberated prisoners. We anchored near the N.A.T. and T. Company's wharf where we had to do some business. Here we remained until 10 p.m. Sunday, and I held two services in the evening. Several from shore came over. At 10 a.m. we tried to start, but the engines would not work. Oh, the feeling of sadness and disappointment which came over all, but by 12.30 all was ready. (I might mention just here that one of the ladies (?) who had been on shore came aboard just as we were ready to start, dead drunk. She had to be lifted out of the row boat, carried up to her berth and put to bed. This is nothing to what I could tell you.) No one went to bed this night. When the order was given to raise the anchor, three cheers went forth with joy. Slowly we turned and went out through the forest of ships in the harbor. It was a clear night. The moon shone brightly. There was just a 158 — The Yukon Story slight swell on the sea. From St. Michaels to the mouth of the Yukon River is about seventy miles. I remained in the engine room watching the machinery and looking out at the ocean and bright night. At 2 a.m. I went to bed so as to be up early to see us enter the mouth of the river. I was up at 7 a.m. The appearance of things had considerably changed. The deep blue waters of the ocean had changed for muddy waters, which indicated we were near the mouth and told too plainly we were in shallow water. To our chagrin, by 8 o'clock we were solid and fast on a bar. We all sat down to breakfast the most gloomy lot imaginable. We were not yet in the mouth of the river. The waters of the Yukon are the muddiest I have ever seen. Those of the Assina- boine are clear in comparison. When the tide comes in these waters are carried in to the shore and during the ebb and flow, the sediment settles and forms bars and shallows. We managed to work ourselves off the first bar, but had only gone about a mile when we came to a standstill. After working around for a while the tide began to ebb and, of course, there was no use trying any longer until the next tide came in. The amazing part of it was this, that if a north wind were to blow, this tide would not rise enough to float us and we might have to remain there a week or ten days, in fact always subject to wind and tide. It was terribly annoying to have waited five weeks, then to have got nicely started and then get stuck. But they say misery likes company and we had that one consolation, for twelve other river boats were in the same box, all around us. This was the longest day I have put in on the trip. The wind blew steady from the north all day. I prayed it would change or go down. The tide began coming in at 7 p.m. and sure enough the wind went down and there was a perfect calm. By nine we had almost water enough to float us. Then everything was on the move. Steam was soon up and all was in readiness. At ten we began to move. What a feeling of relief. From then until 2 a.m. was an exciting time. All the other boats as well as ours were on the move. Each one had several lights of various colors, so that it was like a town lighted with electricity, only here were lights of white, green, red and blue. The bells in the engine rooms could be easily heard. The steam hissing from the cylinders kept up a perfect din. First one boat would move and pass the others and then come to a stop. Then another would forge ahead, then another, as the tide gradually rose and they were able to move a little. It was a sight worth seeing. The Church— 159 Another boat called the Leah and we were the first two to get across the bar. By two a.m. we anchored just near the mouth of the river. I went to bed and was up again at 8 a.m. We had started at three a.m. and were a good many miles up the river when I got on deck. What a change! For seven weeks accustomed to looking on a broad expanse of water, but now we were inland. The sea had departed. As we were in only one of the many branches of the river, the stream was narrow. The shores were low and flat and covered with a thick growth of small bushes. I never appreciated anything in the shape of a tree so much. They were the first I had seen since I left Vancouver Island. The day was lovely, bright and warm. I sat on the prow most of the day enjoying the scenery which at any other time would have been monotonous. The whole country was low and flat. The islands which form the delta divide the mouth into numerous channels. It takes a good pilot to be able to keep in the right one. In the evening we had entered the main river between two and three miles wide and, at 6 p.m. tied up and the salt water was taken out of the boilers and they were filled with fresh water. We got away the next day at 1.30 p.m. The day was fine and bright. The wood on the shore was getting larger. The banks were getting higher and low hills were seen. All the way up we have been meeting a steady stream of boats built at Lake Bennett, from which they came to Dawson and then on down to St. Michaels, from which the passengers will take ocean steamships for home, the most of them completely disappointed. Our boat is easily the fastest on the river. Today we passed nine other steamers, all sorts of craft. I saw a little rowboat with a little toy engine and two side paddles slowly making its way up. Then we passed an ocean schooner converted into a river steamer, but it was stuck hard and fast. The passengers came out in a row boat and asked to be taken to Dawson, but we could not take them. One day we saw two canoes loaded with stores, one man in each with a pole shoving, and two others on shore pulling with ropes, slowly making their way up to the gold fields. We passed a Russian Mission today and at 10.30 p.m. we tied up at Holy Cross Mission. Here our "D.G." met the resident priest and, as he was a Roman Catholic, they were friends at once. The priest took a number of us over to the mission where 160 — The Yukon Story the Mother Superior and the Sister treated us with the utmost kindness and gave us all a drink of milk. This was truly a luxury. They grow potatoes, cabbages, peas, turnips, carrots, parsnips and radishes in abundance. The potatoes and peas were in bloom. They gave us three large bouquets of beautiful garden flowers. I had a long talk with the Sister, which I appreciated wonderfully, for a pure woman in these parts is quite uncommon. They are not only a priceless treasure anywhere, but here a real oddity. They are doing a good work amongst the Indians, especially the younger ones. By 8 a.m. next morning we were at Anvik, a very old trading post. An Episcopal minister has been here for thirteen years. The Indians in these parts are much more moral and susceptible to good than one might expect, but they are the most squalid and filthy lot I ever saw. All the way along the river they are suffering from a kind of influenza or Grippe. Mr. Chapman, the missionary here, told me, however, that they even refused to buy liquor from the white men who had offered it to them. We left Anvik at 10.30 and next morning at 9 o'clock arrived at Nulato, having made 225 miles in 22 hours. Nulato is another large Indian village. We tied up at Yukakoget for the night. The next day was Sunday, a fine day. I was building on two good services, but just as we were ready, we called in to a wood pile and of course, the shore was more attractive than church, so considering that prudence was the better part of valor, I did not hold a service that morning. In the evening a nice congregation assembled, but the noise of the engines and the shaking of the boat prevented me having a good time. During the afternoon of this day a rather comical scene took place. About 4 p.m. we tied up for wood, and as usual all the passengers went ashore. Three old Indian women were sitting on the bank with moccasins and mittens to sell. We were all pricing them. On the finger of one of the squaws was a very nice looking ring. Several took a fancy to it and wanted to have it as a memento, so they began bidding for it. I took in the situation at a glance and took the role of an auctioneer and was trying to knock it down to the highest bidder when I suddenly thought it was Sunday. This same evening I gathered some highbush cranberries. Raspberries were also gathered. Both seemed to be plentiful. Monday the 15th was a very nice day. The hills which so far were quite a distance from the river, now approached to the banks, thus confining the broad stream into a narrow channel, The Church — 161 and deeper. The scenery was exquisite all day. The banks sloped off up the sides of the hills some five or six hundred feet high. The banks and the bed of the river were gravel, a pleasing change from the mud banks lower down stream. Every time we stopped for wood all were off looking for gold. At last Mr. Murray found a stone in which there appeared to be gold streaks. It was examined very closely and finally pronounced gold. This caused a stampede. At every stop the shore was lined with people rooting in the gravel for gold. Then others made strikes until they nearly all had stones with gold streaks in them. But the boom was suddenly burst when it was discovered that our gold streaks were caused by the brass nails in the boots of the woodchoppers. At 5.30 p.m. we arrived at Rampart City. This is a mining town of some five or six hundred miners. It is at the mouth of Nanook Creek where there have been some very rich strikes. The place is enjoying the pleasing experience of a boom in a small way. I shall not forget this place for it was here, for the first time, I got any word of Mr. Turner. While at St. Michaels I inquired diligently of the down coming passengers if any of them had met the Methodist minister in Dawson, or if there was any preaching of the denomination there, but without the least success. However, just as we were leaving I met a man who said that when he left Dawson some ten days before the Methodists had not started there. The only conclusion I could come to was that Mr. Turner, having taken that sorry Teslin Lake trail, had not succeeded in getting through to Dawson and that, in all probability, I was going to have the privilege of getting on the ground first and starting the work. This evening when we arrived at Rampart City I began searching the faces of miners as they flocked down to the landing. At last I spied one whom I took to be a minister by his cut. So I stepped up and introduced myself and discovered that he was, indeed, one of the same cloth. He was the Rev. Don Hall of San Francisco, sent out by M.E. Church to organize our work in Alaska. He came by way of Dawson, had organized our work there and delivered it over to Mr. Turner when he arrived, and then left for his own Territory. He was delighted to meet me, but no more than I was to see him and hear of Mr. Turner. He had left his wife and family on the 13th of June and had not had a line 162 — The Yukon Story from them since. He was preparing to winter at Nanook. He said he envied me going to Dawson. My spirits certainly went up to high water mark at this happy meeting. We had time to have a nice little chat. You people ought to be thanking the Lord every day for your privileges. This evening we tied up at 10 p.m. where two fellows were mining coal, a good quality of bituminous coal and an abundant supply. Later in the evening two of the deck hands had a fight. When one could not chew the other's nose off he ran for an axe to "chop his head off". These fights occur frequently and are a sort of spice to add flavor to the trip. By eight next morning we were at Fort Hamlin, a supply station just at the beginning of the dreaded Yukon flats. Here boats unload all superfluous freight, and other freight, in order to lighten the load. They lay in a supply of goods here in case there is a famine farther up river. Any boat may come this far, but only those drawing three feet of water can go farther. The Yukon flats stretch for 200 miles up from here. The hills disappear and we enter what was once an immense lake. No doubt, at one time these hills dammed the water back and it spread out over this level country, forming a great lake, but as the waters wore a channel through the hills, they drained the lake and now the river consists of a great number of channels spread over many miles in width. This, of course leaves only a small amount of water for each, and the great job is to find the right channel. Innumerable islands spread themselves over the flats, and sand bars are likewise thick and most treacherous. This evening we crossed the Arctic Circle. The very thought of being only 23V£ degrees from the north pole "made me feel cold". The evening, however, was warm and rain falling. The vegetation is as good as any I have seen: immense forests of spruce and birch. (You must excuse my scribble for I am keeping time to the motion of the boat.) On Thursday at 8 a.m. we arrived at Fort Yukon, the most northerly point on the river. Since then we have been slowly making our way south. We have been getting along grand. We were on a bar once or twice, but got off easily. We are passing boats every day, some that started two weeks ahead of us. We will soon be in Circle City, so 111 stop writing until we arrive at Dawson. On Saturday we were in Circle City. It is the end of the flats. The river from there runs more swiftly. The mountains are high. The Church — 163 On Sunday our service was a real good one. Tied up for the night at Fort Cudahy and I met a policeman from Pincher Creek, an old friend. We sat up talking all night. We got to Dawson at 10 a.m. Monday. Thousands fined the wharfs to meet us. This is the most wonderful place I ever saw. I have just written to Annie. I will give you a sketch of Dawson soon. Good-bye. Be a good girl until I come back, Your uncle, "Ab." Presbyterian The first minister to be sent to the Yukon by 'the Canadian Presbyterian Church was Rev. W. R. Dickey, a graduate of Manitoba College, Winnipeg. He reached Skagway in the fall of 1897, and had a small building erected there for church and hospital needs. Early in 1898, as Americans were in possession of the town, he turned this building over to the American Episcopal Church, to be used as an undenominational church and hospital and proceeded to the Klondike. Rev. Andrew Grant and Rev. A. J. Sinclair arrived in Skagway just before 'Soapy' Smith and Frank Reid were killed, and Rev. Sinclair waited and conducted their funeral, before going on to Bennett where he erected a church built chiefly of spruce slabs left over from whipsawing by the Klondike bound boat- builders. Grant and Dickey proceeded to Dawson and held services whenever they could, and some funerals of men drowned on the way. On arrival at Dawson, Rev. Grant started his work and soon had a log church which he called St. Andrews and a log hospital, The Good Samaritan, erected on what was afterwards called Church Street. Rev. Dickey went to the town of Bonanza at the junction of Bonanza and Eldorado creeks, locally called "the Forks" and established a church there. Rev. John Pringle, in the Autumn of 1898 was sent to the Yukon by way of the Stikine River, and reached Glenora by the last steamer from Wrangel before the close of navigation. Here a number of those who had come over the Ashcroft Trail and down the Stikine from its source, and others who had come up the Stikine met at Glenora, the head of navigation, and finding it too late to reach the head of the Yukon before the freeze-up, and doubting the possibility of reaching the new Atlin Camp over the mountains in winter, remained until spring in Glenora. 164 — The Yukon Story A day or two after Pringle's arrival he set out to find a place to hold Sunday service. The only available place was a roadhouse bar-room. He went to cabins and tents inviting all he could find to the service. The place was crowded. Jimmy Lumsden, a Scot, and a noted English tenor, led in singing of old familiar hymns, and after the long months on the trail, they brought tears to many eyes. The first snow had fallen, and a newcomer who had secured a sled and a young dog hitched up the dog, and getting behind the sled, shouted, "Mush On", as he had probably heard was the marching order of dog-drivers. Not knowing what it was all about, the dog stood trembling and howling as he was being cursed and kicked. Just then Pringle arrived on the scene and shouted, "Don't kick that dog again." "I'll kick you," came the answer. Pringle was up to him in a moment and challenged, "Kick me, if you can, but don't kick the dog." The fellow looked at the formidable minister and quit. Then, patting the dog, and saying to the aggressor, "Let me help you," Pringle ran ahead calling the dog. In his desire to follow a friend, the dog was soon pulling the sled. All benefited. The dog learned to pull the sled, the owner learned that patience and kindness pays and the spectators discovered a vigorous friend in case of need. During the winter Pringle held services in Glenora, Telegraph Creek and wherever there were groups camped for the winter, and in the spring, with dogs and sled, went over to Atlin with those who had decided to make the attempt. In Atlin he soon had a log church and hospital erected, and at 'Discovery' on Pine Creek, in the summer of 1899', the Miners' Association gave him the use of their assembly tent for Sunday services. Later, two nurses, Miss Mitchell and Miss Bone, were sent to Atlin hospital by women of the Canadian Presbyterian Church. Rev. Grant, locally called 'Doctor Grant' because he had some medical training and was, besides his religious calling, superinten- dent of the Good Samaritan hospital, soon had a Miss Smith as matron, and a staff of several nurses in time to help meet the needs of a serious typhoid and pneumonia epidemic that broke out in Dawson in the fall of 1900. At the end of 1900 Doctor Grant was called east, and Rev. J. J. Wright, who had been at Whitehorse, was appointed to take his place for a year. Through his efforts a hall and reading room were provided. In 1901 Doctor Grant was recalled and The Church—165 was inducted in March. For the next seven years he continued as minister and hospital superintendent. During 1901, with the generous support of members and adherents of his church in Dawson, he had a fine church erected to seat a congregation of 600, besides the choir, and later, a pipe organ was installed and a manse built. The printed annual report of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Dawson, for the year ending December 21st, 1902, would be interesting reading for people interested in church work today. It comprises nine pages, and reviews the work of the managers, the Women's Auxiliary, the Young People and the Sunday School. It shows receipts for the year of $13,988 and total assets of $43,988 including $6,725 for the pipe organ. Many of the names were those of people later well known in various parts of Western Canada and the United States. In the summer of 1902, George Pringle, John's younger brother, a divinity student, arrived in Dawson to take charge of mission work on the creeks and was ordained in St. Andrews Church, the most northerly ordination that had been performed in Canada. He had his headquarters in a 10 by 12 foot cabin on Gold Bottom Creek about 20 miles from Dawson, and soon had places of worship started at Gold Bottom, Gold Run, Sulphur, Granville (Lower Dominion), Upper Dominion and Hunker creeks, where he served with a roving commission for eight years. An amusing story is told of a service he was holding one night in a roadhouse. In order to read the lesson, he had the Bible in one hand and a lighted candle in a whiskey bottle in the other, when the door opened and in walked his brother, James, a Mounted Policeman whom he had not seen for many years. The service was ended quickly and a happy reunion took place. In 1908, Doctor Grant withdrew from his Yukon work and was followed, after a short ministry by Rev. Wright, by Rev. A. G. Sinclair. Then Rev. Edward Turkington, who had been for several years in Whitehorse, continued the work in Dawson until he went east to be married. He was followed by Rev. A. Ross who officiated from 1911 until 1919. Rev. J. Y. McGookin supplied for two years until the arrival of Rev. A. G. Findlay in 1921, who remained until Church Union in 1925. Then he went to Whitehorse, where the church had been closed for nine years. Rev. A. G. Wilson, Superintendent of Home Missions, visited the Yukon in 1908, when he inducted Rev. Sinclair, and again in 1926 during the ministry of Rev. Findlay at Whitehorse United. 166 — The Yukon Story In the fall of 1901 Rev. John Pringle arrived in Dawson from Atlin, and remained, chiefly on Bonanza Creek, until 1908 when he left to become minister of St. Andrews Church, Sydney, Nova Scotia. He went overseas with the first Canadian Contingent in 1914 when he was 62 years of age and served as chaplain until 1918. He was 'Mentioned in Despatches' by Field Marshal Haig, awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After the armistice, he returned to his church at Sydney where he remained until 1925, when he went as a missionary to the North Thompson Valley, British Columbia. He returned in 1927 as "Minister Emeritus" to his Sydney Church, and held the position until his death there in 1935. Dr. Pringle was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Honors conferred on him were LL.D. by Dalhousie College, Halifax; D.D. by Queens, Kingston and Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, in 1919. His youngest son, John, was killed at the battle of Ypres in 1916. In June 1910, as individual mining was being displaced by machinery and the population greatly decreased in the Klondike, Rev. George Pringle went to St. Andrews Church, Vernon, British Columbia, as a supply minister and was married in 1912. They moved to Collingwood Church, Vancouver, and he served there until he went overseas in the spring of 1916 as a hospital chaplain and joined the 43rd Canadian Highlanders in France. He was with the battalion in front line service at Passchendaele. Before demobilization in 1919 he spent nine months on a hospital ship, crossing the Atlantic twenty times. After studies in Edinburgh he returned to Canada and took charge of the Presbyterian Coast Mission boat Sky Pilot with headquarters at Texada Island. After Church Union he continued with the Coast Mission for several years. His last ministry was with Centennial United Church, Victoria. There ill health compelled him to go to Shaughnessy Hospital, Vancouver, where, after five years' illness he died on February 19th, 1949. Dr. Pringle wrote several books about his experiences and lectured frequently. His degree of D.D. was conferred by the Union Theological College, Vancouver. Two sons, John B. and George R., served with the R.C.A.F. in the Second World War. George was a popular University of British Columbia athlete and, after graduating in Theology, was a United Church minister at Peachland. He was killed in action with the R.C.A.F. The Church —167 Both the Pringles supported the union of the Canadian Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches in 1925, and the address of Dr. John Pringle at the Presbyterian General Assembly, when he drew on his Yukon and Great War experiences and illustrated the blending of great rivers on their way to the sea, was credited with doing much to influence the decision for Union. With the increase of population in Whitehorse due to World War II, the shipping of ore from Mayo and the advent of the Alaska Highway, the United Church (formerly Methodist and Presbyterian) was established there. The Baptists have a church and hostel and Jehovah's Witnesses are also in the bustling and optimistic community. Salvation Army In May 1898, on instruction from Commander Eva Booth, Commissioner in Canada of the Salvation Army and daughter of its founder, General William Booth, a party of eight Salvation Army soldiers, six men and two women, starting from Toronto proceeded to Vancouver and embarked on the S.S. Tees for Dawson to establish the Army in the newly found Klondike mining area. They landed at Skagway and crossing the Dyea climbed the Chilkoot Pass. Besides food and equipment they carried two detachable canoes. They were all new to this mountain climbing and, until they crossed the Summit, found it exhausting work. They were headed by Ensign Frank Morris, later Lt. Colonel and now deceased. His story, still preserved in the Army archives, in part relates the experience of these pioneers. They travelled down from the summit to the head of Bennett Lake, crossed the Lakes on ice that had begun to rot, ran Miles Canyon and Whitehorse Rapids, and finally reached Dawson in the canoes. "One day while going down the Thirty-Mile part of the Yukon River we saw a man clinging for his life to a rock in midstream. As our canoe was travelling about five miles an hour, over treacherous shoals and rocks, it was with difficulty we reached the bank of the river, as near as we could to the drowning man. We shouted to him to hold fast while the canoe was lowered to within reach. He was urged by our ex-man-o'war officer to cling to the stern of the boat, which he did, and then was pulled to safety. We then discovered that he was a Presbyterian minister, 168 — The Yukon Story who had gone to the Yukon for his vacation. His boat had been wrecked and a companion drowned. "While conducting an open-air meeting in the city of Dawson, some time later, we were much interested and amused to learn that, 'The Rev. Dr. V. will lecture tonight in this hall on Bobby Burns and how I was saved from a watery grave by the Salvation Army'. "There came to our notice the interesting details of how our two women officers nursed the sick and dying in the winter of 1898-99. They discovered a tent standing beside a lagoon. As they passed on several occasions and received no answer to their salutations, they became anxious, but hesitated to enter. One day, however, Ensign Rebecca Ellery heard a sound that was more like a moan than anything. She pulled back the flap of the tent and asked if anyone was sick and if she could do anything. 'Yes,' was the answer. She soon found herself beside a dying man. He was dying from spinal meningitis and scurvy, diseases peculiar to that country. "As she busied herself in the tent, the sick man's brother entered and introduced himself. He was much touched by the Ensign and told her he had just spent his last dollar in buying a glass of fresh milk to bring to the sufferer. About a week elapsed (the nurse and the other officers attending to the sick man, sitting up with him in turns, night after night) when the sufferer passed away. The day of the funeral arrived, the broken-hearted brother with the officers followed the remains to the grave. Early that morning, the Salvation Army nurses had gone up the mountain to gather wild flowers, which they made into a wreath to place upon the rough wood casket. A last prayer was offered as the crude box was lowered into the frozen soil, the officers doing their best to comfort the remaining brother. "The incident was almost forgotten in the passing daily duties to be performed. One day a letter arrived from an Eastern State, signed by a solicitor, who told us that one year before, the only son remaining at home on a farm had left the old folks for the Klondike gold rush, at the earnest persuasion of another brother, who had been away from home for a year. Since their departure nothing had been heard of them. The father and mother, an elderly couple, would be extremely grateful for any news whatever of their boys, whether dead or alive, and if any information could be sent, the Salvation Army would win the everlasting gratitude of the pair. The Church —169 "It was a melancholy story to write, yet there was satisfaction in knowing that the Salvation Army had not only found their boys in the Far North, but had been able to be of service in this manner. "On the streets of Dawson, in the early gold rush, the Mounted Police forced their way through the miners and into the open- air ring, whispering to the Salvation Army leader that we might need their assistance, that we were now far away from the East and might need protection. We thanked them kindly, but not on any occasion had we to ask for their help while conducting meetings or otherwise. Sometimes we had large gatherings, at the conclusion of which, more than once, a poor drunkard, or other sinner, knelt at the drum-head. "One night a tall man stood near the ring, and later followed us to our citadel. The sad face of the man was noticed by one of our officers, who invited him to give his heart to Christ. He promptly responded and came to the Mercy-seat. He became an active soldier in the shelter wood-yard, which was being conducted for the benefit of the miners. He remained with us until the middle of the winter, and then decided to "go out over the ice". He had been away from home for ten years and, in that time, had not seen his wife and children. After his conversion he was most anxious to return, and when leaving us for the outside, told us he would write as soon as he arrived in California. A few months later we received this letter: "I arrived safely after a very difficult journey over the ice. My wife appeared to be about the same as when I left her ten years ago. She was delighted to see me, has forgiven all, and we are now happily re-united. How shall I thank you? My girls have grown to be young women. I have joined the Salvation Army Corps. It is not a large one, but I have received a warm welcome and the spirit of Jesus and unity is here." There were other expressions of hearty gratitude for what the Salvation Army had been able to do for him. "Although it is difficult to get those men converted, for some will tell you frankly and without a blush, that they 'did not come North for the good of their health nor yet to get their souls saved', they will listen to the 'Sky Pilot' of the Salvation Army, and help to make his work worth while." The following highly fictitious story regarding the Salvation Army in the Yukon appeared in a well-known religious inspirational book. In the interest of truth it should be corrected. On page 48 of "Light From Many Lamps", edited with com- 170 — The Yukon Story ments by Lillian Richter Watson, copyright 1951, Symonds and Schuster, New York, this story appears: "When gold was discovered in Alaska and hordes of greedy men rushed to the Yukon to get their share, Evangeline Booth knew that the Salvation would be needed there. So she headed north with half a dozen assistants and arrived to find conditions even worse than she expected. Vice and lawlessness were the order of the day. Men were shot down for a handful of gold-dust, or no reason at all. Five men were killed the day Evelyn Booth arrived. "There were shortages of everything, blankets, food, equipment, everything. Men were quick tempered and surly and in no mood for sermons, but Evelyn Booth knew what to do. That evening she and her little band stood on the banks of the Yukon River and sang "Nearer My God to Thee" and lonely men began to gather by the hundreds—by the thousands, until nearly twenty- five thousand men were lustily singing the hymn. There was singing every day after that . . . and much less disorder and few shootings." The truth is that Evangeline Booth—or Eva Booth, as she was better known in Canada—was never in the Yukon Territory, or as the writer wrongly calls it, "Alaska". A photograph with the accompanying explanatory statement, filed with Major Mathews, Vancouver City Archivist, tells the true story as follows: "In May 1898, on instructions from Commander Eva Booth, Commissioner for Canada and daughter of General William Booth, a party of eight Salvation Army soldiers, six men and two women (Hallelujah Lassies) organizing in Toronto, proceeded via Vancouver for Dawson, Y.T., to establish the Salvation Army among the miners of the north. They embarked on the S.S. Tees and landed at Skagway and, proceeding by Dyea and Chilcoot Pass, etc., carrying on their backs in addition to food and equipment, two detachable canoes. It was exhausting work. The canoes were used to traverse the numerous lakes and Thirty Mile and Fifty Mile Rivers. It was June. They were three weeks on the way. Their arrival at Dawson was the occasion of a very cordial welcome by a crowd of about five hundred miners on the sawdust street along the river bank. The collection was seventy dollars. They lived in tents by themselves. Later they hewed logs, up- river-rafted them to Dawson and, with their own hands, erected a log building for headquarters. The Salvation Army flourished there for many years. "This photo was taken, presumably, at Victoria, as the party The Church —171 was proceeding north during the Klondike rush. Back row, left to right, Ensign Frank Norris, Captain John Keeney, Ensign (afterwards Adjutant) Thomas James McGill, Ensign Fred Ross; middle row, Ensign Rebecca Ellery, Adjutant George Dowell (officer in charge), a stranger, Lieutenant — Aiken; reclining, Captain John Lecocq." "Photo presented 11th September, 1945, by Envoy and Mrs. James McGill, 4586 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. City Archivist, J.S.M." The errors in "Light From Many Lamps" are: 1. Gold that caused the rush was discovered in the Yukon Territory, Canada, in 1897, not in Alaska. 2. Evangeline (Eva) Booth did not go north with a party, but sent them (the above) from Toronto. 3. Vice and lawlessness were not "the order of the day" in Dawson. The North-West Mounted Police kept such control that gold dust could be left safely in miners' tents. Could this be done in any Canadian or American city today? 4. Men were not "shot down for a handful of gold-dust, or no reason at all". Fire arms were not carried without police permission and only for hunting. 5. No "five men were killed the day they arrived" nor in the whole sixty years of Dawson's history. 6. Men were not "quick tempered and surly", but as cheerful and helpful a lot as I have ever known. The writer was in the rush of '98 and knows. In 1946 when I received a copy of "Light From Many Lamps" from (Yukoner) Tom Paton, then sojourning in Petersburg, Florida, I wrote to the author and compiler protesting the inaccuracies, but received no reply. The importance of an overland highway to connect Alaska and Yukon Territory with the highway systems of Canada and the United States became apparent almost as soon as the automobile displaced horses. The proposal eventually became a live issue and in 1928 an organization known as The International Highway Association was started at Fairbanks, Alaska. The idea at once caught the imagination not only of the people of Alaska and Yukon Territory, but of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Almost immediately public bodies from Alaska to California gave approval to the scheme, and in the summer of 1929, Premier Tolmie of British Columbia led a caravan of Americans and Canadians from Vancouver to Hazelton on the Skeena River over 832 completed miles of the route as then proposed. At the 1930 annual meeting of the Alaska-Yukon Sourdough Association, held that year in Vancouver, a resolution endorsing the project and urging immediate action by the respective governments was presented by C. D. Garfield, president of the Alaska Department of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. The resolution was carried unanimously. By 1933, the proposal had gained such momentum that immediate construction was urged at a Tacoma meeting of the Olympics Incorporated, a body representing powerful public and private interests in tourist and industrial development of the Pacific Northwest. The Government of the United States was urged to enter into an agreement with the governments of Canada and The Alaska Highway — 173 the Province of British Columbia for immediate construction of an Alaska Pacific Highway. During the same summer the United States Department of State appointed a commission to study the proposed highway, and its engineers, with Canadian cooperation, made a survey of the proposed route to the southern end of the then completed 200 miles of highway in Alaska. This northern survey covered more than 1100 miles in British Columbia, Yukon Territory and Alaska. The distance of the route, as then proposed from Seattle to Fairbanks, via Vancouver, Hazelton, Atlin and Dawson, was about 2200 miles. The commission reported that the route was feasible. The report said, "... the service value of any highway is, in some respects, affected by seasonal conditions and it is to be expected that a road reaching so far into the northland might have a somewhat reduced value on account of climatic conditions, and more particularly on account of the heavy snowfall. Highway maintenance has, however, clearly demonstrated that snow removal, or control, is entirely feasible to an extent which will enable service to be maintained under practically any weather conditions prevailing." j Such was the situation when Japan entered the Second World War in 1941. This and especially their landing in Kiska, Alaska, in the Aleutian Islands, stimulated immediate action in the decision to build the highway. Three routes, designated as "A", "B" and "C" were considered. "A", the route through Hazelton from Seattle and Vancouver to Fairbanks, Alaska; "B", starting at the same point as "A", but going farther inland by Quesnel and Prince George, British Columbia; and "C" starting at the terminal of the then existing highway from Edmonton, Alberta to Dawson Creek British Columbia, were all feasible. Route "C", the present Alaska Highway, was selected as being the farthest inland and safer from enemy attack. The Alaska Highway begins at Dawson Creek (mile 0.0), the western terminus of the Northern Alberta Railway, a town served by the Provincial highway systems of Alberta and British Columbia. Dawson Creek is 475 miles from Edmonton and 540 miles from Vancouver. The distance to Fairbanks is 1523 miles of which only 302 miles is in Alaska. Construction of the 1221-mile Canadian section of the emergency-inspired highway was begun in March 1942 and completed in November of the same year. It was a gravelled all 174 — The Yukon Story weather surface. In Yukon Territory it links the present capital, Whitehorse, with Watson Lake, Teslin, Champagne and Burwash and indirectly, Mayo and Dawson. Another road runs to Atlin in British Columbia. The Pacific Great Eastern Railway from Vancouver has now reached Dawson Creek and Fort St. John and connection with the Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska is considered an eventual likelihood. By the terms of the construction agreement, the highway, because of defense need, was constructed by the United States Government authorities and was maintained by them until April 1st, 1946. The Canadian portion was turned over to Canada and its maintenance is now carried on by the North-West Highway System, under the Canadian Army. The 302 mile stretch from the Alaska-Yukon boundary to Fairbanks is maintained by the United States Government. The Alaska Highway is one of great scenic beauty throughout its full length. It first enters Yukon Territory on its southern boundary, the 60th parallel of north latitude, about 50 miles south-east of Watson Lake and about 125 miles west of the south-east corner of Yukon Territory. Incidentally, this is where Robert Campbell, in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the first white man to see what is now the southern portion of Yukon Territory, crossed the 60th parallel in 1841, when ascending the Liard River "to find any river flowing westward" beyond the continental divide. The road is a good gravel surface highway with excellent bridges. It not only connects with local roads, but also with airports in British Columbia, Yukon Territory and Alaska. Light trailers are allowed on the highway, and regular passenger buses are operated between Dawson Creek and Whitehorse and between Whitehorse and Fairbanks, by the British Yukon Navigation Company. Overnight lodges at intervals along the highway are operated by the company. The Canadian Government has provided camping grounds, with cooking and dining shelters, stoves and tables for travellers who carry their own food and are prepared for camping. In each camp-site there is an area for the erection of tents. The highway also has through connection by the Haines, Alaska cut-off to the Pacific Coast west of Skagway. Many who have travelled the highway say it has no equal for scenery and public convenience in North or South America, and is unsurpassed for beauty and economy of travel by any of The Alaska Highway — 175 the great world tourist routes. It skirts beautiful and varied lakes and rivers, lovely flower-strewn meadows and hill-sides and touches North America's highest mountain peak area, where Mount St. Elias, Logan, Cook and several other peaks mark the southwest corner of Yukon Territory. These mountains are the habitat of mountain goat, sheep, deer, caribou, moose and other big game, as well as ptarmigan and grouse. As fish are abundant in the rivers and lakes, no traveller should fail to carry fishing tackle. Spruce, poplar, birch and lodge-pole pine (jack-pine) abound below timber line, and in the open places in summer time one finds crimson fire-weed, wild roses, red huckleberries and, occasionally, moss and swamp. The Indians, as well as the white inhabitants are friendly and cooperative; and the versatility and character of the trappers, prospectors and guides are surprising and interesting to those who take time to meet and talk with them. The longest lake along the route and one of the highest is Teslin, ninety miles long and a chief source of the mighty Yukon River. Between this lake and Whitehorse the highway crosses Miles Canyon, and the Whitehorse Rapids are seen at a distance. These dangerous waters recall experiences of the gold stampeders who had to run them on the trail of '98. Then comes Whitehorse, now the capital of Yukon Territory, the great airport centre of the north country and head of steamboat navigation to Dawson and thence to the Bering Sea, over 1500 miles beyond. From here the highway runs on the south-west side of the Yukon River Valley and passes the old fur trading post of Champagne and the beautiful Kluane Lake and meadows. Here, unlike the volcanic ash area around Whitehorse, the soil is rich. Near this point there is now a Government experimental farm, and hay, oats and wheat are being grown, and rapidly matured; delicious vegetables, too, belie the general impression that the frozen north has no summer climate. Near here the Haines Road offers a short route to the Pacific coast, west of Skagway. Northward of this point the highway crosses the headwaters of the White River, a tributary of the Yukon and, a few miles farther north, intersects the international boundary near the head of the well known Glacier Creek (close to the Klondike area) on its way to its present terminal at Fairbanks, Alaska. Formerly, travellers who preferred to do so could leave the highway at Whitehorse and take the Yukon River trip in a beautiful stern-wheel river steamer, passing through Lake LaBarge, the 176 — The Yukon Story inspiration of Robert Service in his "Cremation of Sam McGee". This 434-mile alternate voyage to Dawson, through the winding Tantalus curves, Five Finger Rapids, and many changing scenes added variety as well as historic interest to the Alaska Highway journey. Statistically, the road building task was completed in about a year and has few, if any, counterparts for speed of construction. Over 80 contracting companies (in addition to the Army) with more than 14,000 workers operated 11,000 pieces of machinery and handled 25,000,000 yards of earth, gravel and rock. They constructed 86 bridges besides numerous culverts. In some of the most northern sections, perma-frost confronted them, and when top moss and shrubbery was bull-dozed off the roadway, and gravel trucked onto it, the summer heat melted the exposed frozen surface and the newly-applied gravel disappeared in the muck. On the experience and advice of local road builders they replaced the stripped places with shrubbery and brush on which they laid fine gravel or earth. This replaced the insulation and when cold weather came, restored the perma-frost and permitted successful regular gravelling of the surface. Since taking over maintenance of the highway, the Canadian Army personnel have been engaged in reducing grades to a ten percent maximum and widening curves so that at least three cars can pass. Fifty miles per hour could be made, if permitted, by the buses of the B.Y.N. Company and by private autos. This great highway is just beginning to awaken the people of North America, not only to its unsurpassed tourist attractions, but to the great hydro-electric, mineral and other possibilities of Yukon Territory and Alaska. Whitehorse (taken at midnight) 1. Post Office; 2. Schoolhouse; 3. Bank of Commerce; 4. Hospital; 5. Presbyterian Church; 6. English Church; 7. White Pass Hotel; 8. Commercial Hotel; 9. Government Telegraph; 10. Railway Station; 11. Fire Hall; 12. Whitney and Pedlar's Stores; h3. Burns Meat Market; 14. R.N.W.M.P. Barracks; 15. White Pass Co. Freight Sheds; 16. Our Home. Government Buildings at Dawson destroyed by fire. Tusk Ivory from Sulphur Creek. Courtesy Western Minei Modern Whitehorse in the crisp cold of a clear mid-winter night. 22. Soldiers of the North The determination of the Canadian Government to prevent lawlessness in the Yukon Territory is shown in an official report of the Department of Militia on the sending of a unit known as the Yukon Field Force to the Territory. The report tells us: "It was considered advisable, early in the Year 1898, in the interests of public security, that a detachment of troops be sent to the newly organized Yukon District. "George Carmack, a placer miner, discovered gold on Bonanza Creek, a tributary of the Yukon, in such fabulous quantities, that one of the greatest rushes the world had ever seen resulted. "Up the Pacific coast by steamer to Skagway and Dyea came a wild-eyed throng, men and women, rich and poor, law-abiding and criminal, miners, farmers, clerks, gamblers, murderers, thieves, desperados and prostitutes, all lured by the Klondike's gold, and determined by fair means or foul, to reach the, Eldorado, and share in its dazzling wealth, without delaying a moment more than was essential. "Determined that on Canadian soil, there should be no such disregard for law as was marking the simultaneous development of gold areas in adjacent Alaska, where criminal gangs were imposing their will on law-abiding and lawless alike, the Canadian Government decided that the Mounted Police in the Yukon should be given support as their resources might be taxed to the limit." In the summer of 1899, the government, accordingly, sent into the District a detachment of sixteen officers and two hundred non-commissioned officers and men, known as the Yukon Field 178 — The Yukon Story Force. They were drawn from the Royal Regiment of Canadian Infantry and other units of the permanent Canadian Militia. The force left Ottawa on May 6th, and reaching Vancouver on the 11th, proceeded by steamer to Wrangel, thence by river boat to Glenora on the Stikine River, by march route via Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake and thence by river to Fort Selkirk. The approximate distance travelled was: Ottawa to Vancouver 2,770 miles, Vancouver to Wrangel 700 miles, Wrangel to Glenora 120 miles, Glenora to Teslin Lake 180 miles and Teslin Lake to Fort Selkirk 300 miles. The overall distance was about 4,200 miles. The force reached Fort Selkirk, on the Yukon River, in September and Dawson in October. They were never called upon to carry out anything other than normal garrison duties, together with those usually associated with the Police and Customs Departments, but helped the Police in achieving an administration of the highest order. According to Sessional Paper No. 19, 1899, page 24, the officers of the force were Lieut-Colonel Evans, R.C.D., Commanding officer; Captain Gardiner, R.C.D., Adjutant; Major Talbot, Ninth Battalion, Paymaster; Surgeon Major Foster, 68th Battalion, Medical Officer; and Major Bliss, R.O., Supply Officer. Early in 1900, the authorities realized that the Northwest Mounted Police had weeded out all known undesirables, and, as many young men from various Militia units had gone to South Africa, and the members of the force were needed elsewhere, they might be withdrawn from the Yukon. They accordingly decided that, if enough young men then employed in Dawson, who were British subjects with previous military experience, would volunteer, they would mobilize a local militia company in Dawson. A hearty response resulted and they were organized as the Dawson Rifle Company. The Yukon Field Force was withdrawn by Order-in-Council of May 5th, 1900. The Dawson Rifle Company On July 1st, 1900, the Dawson Rifle Company was mobilized and the Yukon Field Force subsequently withdrawn. The Company consisted of Captain D. H. Hulme, Lieutenants E. H. Porte and W. M. McKay and thirty-nine non-commissioned officers and men. The Company had full militia equipment and regular weekly drill, including target practice at a rifle range across the Yukon River at West Dawson, every Saturday afternoon. Soldiers of the North —179 The Company was disbanded as "no longer necessary" on November 2nd, 1905. The Yukon Infantry Company During the First World War a military unit, known as the Yukon Infantry Company, was mobilized under the command of Captain George Black, Commissioner of the Yukon Territory and later Member of Parliament for the Yukon and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada. The Company had an active strength of 226 officers, non-commissioned officers and men. An analysis of their birth places recorded in the Historical Branch of the Department of National Defence shows that they were, probably, from more parts of the world than any other Canadian unit, as 92 were born in Canada, 78 in the British Isles, 5 in other Commonwealth countries, 19 in the United States and 32 in other countries. The officers were Captain George Black, Captain G. G. Hulme and Lieutenants F. R. Chute, J. F. Maclennan, William G. Radford and Norman A. Watt. After initial training in Dawson they trained in Vancouver and in eastern Canada. They sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the S.S. Canada on January 24th. While in training at Whitney, Surrey, England, the Company, in March, was renamed the 17th Machine Gun Company. It went to France as "C" Battery of the newly formed Second Canadian Machine Gun Brigade. After seeing service in France until the end of the war, the survivors returned to the Yukon and other parts of Western Canada. All were generous in their praise of their commanding officers, especially of Captain George Black, who returned to the Yukon and his practice of law. He lived in White Horse where he and his late wife Martha moved from Dawson when the Yukon capital was changed to that city. Mrs. Black, in her nineties, passed away in 1957. She was well known as a popular chatelaine, an expert on Yukon wild flowers and as the author of "My Seventy Years". On her death Captain Black moved to Vancouver. The following is a summary of some of Captain Black's personal war experiences. He said that men were leaving the Yukon to join the units being formed in their home towns and cities. The Guggenheims had just finished their big ditch. Many of the crew were Yugo-Slavs and as they hated the Germans, they were willing to enlist. Commissioner Black wrote and telegraphed the Min- 180 — The Yukon Story ister of Militia, General Sam Hughes, but received no reply. In desperation he went to Ottawa to see him personally. When asked why he had not answered the letters and telegrams, the Minister replied that he had so many he didn't answer any of them, But if Black would raise him a battalion he would make him a Colonel. Black told him that if he had answered him in the first place he could have raised a battalion, but so many had gone since then it could only be a Company over strength. Black was made Captain, and in England, as many as could qualify became machine gunners. He said, "We were in action and were gaining ground, driving the Germans back and had them on the run on the Amiens Road. I was under a tree when a sniper, perched in another tree, put a bullet in my leg. One of our men picked him off a few minutes later. Then I got shrapnel in my left breast and shoulder. I wanted to stay, but the medical officers said, 'No, it's hospital for you,' and I was put into an ambulance to the coast, then on ship to hospital in England. "It happened that Mrs. Black was staying not far from the hospital where she had charge of the Yukon Comfort Fund, and having learned that I was a casualty, she was soon there. When I was invalided out, another officer replaced me for the duration. On recovery I was put in the Army of Occupation and remained in France until 1919. Then I reported to General Turner, Officer Commanding the Canadians in England, for. leave to go home to , Canada. He said, 'We all want to go home, but I have a job I want you to do. There are a number of our men charged with mutiny and I want you and Colonel McAvity of Saint John, New II Brunswick to defend them.' "There were 25 cases. We got 20 acquitted, 4 convictions with HI light sentences, and one, a Russian charged with hitting an officer on the head with a two-by-four timber, was given 10 years. He didn't serve it but was deported to Russia. "We returned to Canada on a hospital ship. It had four hatches with a padre officiating at each. At the feet of each the boys played Crown and Anchor. "Our son Lyman was also with me in the war. He went through the fiercest fighting of the war and didn't even stub his toe. Then he remained in the Machine Guns after the war as a training officer. Later when motoring with another officer to Ottawa to see his wife and mother, the other officer, a speed hound, lost control of the car and ran into a tree, killing them both instantly." Soldiers of the North —181 Nearly all the Yukon Infantry Company who had travelled half way round the world in answer to Freedom's call and survived the war have since died. There was another famous Klondike unit, locally known as "the Boyle Contingent" that served in World War I. "Joe" Boyle Among the early characters in the Klondike, Joe Boyle was one of the most rugged and colorful. He was born at Woodstock, Ontario, and was christened Joseph Whiteside. When old enough he went to sea. His father, who was a horse breeder, moved to Long Branch, New Jersey and started a racing stable. Joe helped him to get established and then started a profitable hay and oats business of his own. Friends who observed his ready tongue and logical mind urged him to prepare himself for the legal profession and he decided to do so. While carrying on the feed business, he studied law at night school. During this time he became infatuated with an attractive New York divorcee and married her. They had two children. However, the feed business, the study of law and married life did not satisfy her and later she was again divorced. In New York he met Frank Slavin, the Australian heavy-weight boxing champion who had made several unsuccessful attempts to obtain a world championship fight with John L. Sullivan, the title holder. On Boyle's suggestion, they toured Canada, staging boxing exhibitions in 1897. When news of the Klondike gold strike reached the outside world, Boyle proposed that they go to Dawson. Slavin agreed and after a boxing bout was profitably staged for Slavin in San Francisco, Boyle bought tickets for Skagway on the steamer Alice Blanchard and they sailed north. On the way they became known as "The Big Canuck and the Australian Pug". After they reached Dawson they learned that Tex Rickard was starting his promoting career. A fight was arranged by him between Slavin and a "European Unknown". It drew a large house. Later a six round bout was staged between a wrestler (Billy Perkins) and a boxer (Slavin). Its amusing features kept the audience in laughter and it ended with Perkins picking up Slavin and carrying him off the stage. Boyle secured his first claim on Sulphur Creek. However, the Klondike was his opportunity and individual mining was too small 182 — The Yukon Story for him. After buying, trading and locating several claims, he decided to try dredging, as he had seen it in California, where low-grade placer tailings and worked-over ground could be dredged profitably. He acquired by lease, option and location an area of the Klondike valley near Dawson equal to about five hundred and fifty creek claims, locally known as "the Boyle concession". After incorporating a company under the name of the Canadian Klondike Mining Company he went outside and obtained capital to build the first big dredge in the Yukon Territory. For this he gave a two-thirds interest in the "concession" and became General Manager, at a good salary. His first dredge went into operation in August 1904. It was followed by others over several years. Dredging was successful and Boyle's ability and dynamic character were soon generally recognized. According to the author of that interesting story of his life, "Brother, Here's a Man", an English journalist who visited Dawson at that time wrote of him: "I have met a man who gives the orders and changes the course of rivers. He raises his hand and valleys are turned upside-down." Early in 1913, when he was about fifty years of age, Boyle married a former girl friend then living in Detroit and they brought his son Joe and daughter Flora to the Klondike. They lived at the dredging concession where Boyle had built a home at the mouth of Bear Creek. In August 1914, when the first World War started and Canada prepared to send troops, Boyle offered to equip a machine gun detachment for service in France. When his offer was accepted he turned over the dredging operations to Joe Junior and personally recruited and paid the men who trained under the Superintendent of the N.W.M.P. in Dawson. Since the men had to pass through Alaska on the way out, and the United States was not then in the war, mobilization was held in abeyance until after arrival in Victoria on the 27th of October. On November 2nd the detachment joined the 29th Battalion, C.E.F. at Hastings Park, Vancouver. It consisted of two officers, fifty-two non-commissioned officers and men, seventy-two horses and four machine guns, known as Boyle's Yukon Detachment of the Second Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles, C.E.F. The detachment, after training of horses was completed at Vancouver, sailed from Montreal on the S.S. Grampion and arrived in England on July 12th, 1915. Later it was attached to the Eaton Motor Machine Gun Brigade and saw service in France. Soldiers of the North— 183 Soon after his arrival in France, Boyle was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and sent to Russia on special transport work. In this he was accompanied by Captain A. A. Hill, an Englishman who had lived in Canada, and who, after going overseas in 1915, was transferred to the British Secret Service. A great friendship developed between Hill and Boyle and they worked together in reorganizing the Russian transport service, then badly disrupted by the Bolshevik uprising. Colonel Boyle's independent character and dynamic personality were soon recognized. His work in securing the protocol between Russia and Rumania won general acclaim. Many of his remarkable exploits are on record with the Canadian Department of Defence. Once when told by the Russian commander that certain freight, held on a railway siding, could not be moved without a certain Duke's permission, he said, "To hell with permission!" and did not stop until the freight was moving. The Czar invested him with The Order of Valdimar (with sword) for his great work in organizing the transport system. On behalf of the Rumanian Government, he secured possession of the Archives of the Rumanian Foreign Office as well as securities, money and supplies, held in Moscow and after many hazards and near captures, succeeded in getting them to Jassay, Rumania. For this almost unbelievable success, Rumania's English-born Queen Marie invested him with the title "Duke of Jassay". For successful evacuation of Rumanians and for preventing the Germans from getting Rumanian Red Cross supplies, the King of Rumania decorated him with the Star of Rumania and the Grand Cross of Rumania. Later, in recognition of his great work for the Allies, France awarded him the Croix de Guerre and Britain the D.S.O. The London Times, commenting on Joe Boyle's exploits in the war said, "He was one of the most picturesque of adventurers." Although he was credited with being worth over three million dollars when he left the Klondike, his liberal spending to defend the country he loved drained his financial resources. He died alone and penniless near London a few years after the war. The Queen of Rumania sent to mark his grave a stone on which was graven her own Cross of the Regina Order and underneath her name; "Marie, in grateful memory of Lieutenant- Colonel Joseph W. Boyle", and the epitaph from Robert W. Service's "Songs of a Sourdough": "A man with the heart of a Viking And the simple faith of a child." 23. Education The first schools in the Yukon were started soon after Commissioner Ogilvie took office. The chief or supervisor was George McKenzie. Prior to his taking office and during his occupancy, the other teachers were Miss Robinson (later on the Dawson Post Office staff) and Miss Maude Edwards, who came from near Ottawa to Dawson where her father was a Dominion Land Surveyor. Then came Miss Winnie McLellan, from Noel Shore, Nova Scotia. She first kept house for her brother, Gordon, who owned and operated Mac's Grocery. She taught on the creeks and then in Dawson. James Hamilton Ross succeeded William Ogilvie as Commissioner (locally called "Governor") in 1902. The school population was increasing and he invited John T. Ross, a graduate of Toronto and Manitoba Universities, to come to Dawson as Yukon School Superintendent. Ross was later Deputy Minister of Education for the Province of Alberta. He established the first High School in Dawson with T. G. Bragg, B.A. of Gananoque, Ontario, as Principal, and George A. Jeckell (later Commissioner of the Yukon) as Principal of Dawson Public School. Among those on the staff was T. J. Collison, afterwards a prominent Edmonton lawyer and member of the City Council. Ross appointed A. E. Fisher as Principal of Whitehorse school. He afterwards became Superintendent of Insurance for the Government of Saskatchewan. Following T. G. Bragg as Superintendent of Yukon Schools Education —185 were T. Mahan, W. F. Dyde, H. G. Menzies, F. J. Patterson, R. J. Hulland and Harry Thompson. It was Mr. Thompson who, as superintendent, supplied much of the information for this chapter. Miss Victoria Faulknor of the Department of Northern Affairs also has been very helpful. From 1902 until 1934 the Ontario School curriculum was used. Since then the British Columbia course of studies has been followed. In 1961 there were 3090 students in 22 Yukon Government schools with 147 teachers on the staff. These figures do not include Roman Catholic Separate Schools at Whitehorse and Dawson. In Whitehorse, the Sisters of Providence operate an elementary school with over 300 pupils. There is one federal residential school for Indian children, with 158 pupils and 5 teachers. In addition to a new high school and a vocational school at Whitehorse with 105 pupils and 13 teachers, there are elementary schools at Camp Takini and Riversdale sub-division, as well as the original two-room school. In Dawson there is the public school and St. Mary's separate school. Public schools are also operating at Mayo, Elsa, Carmacks and Carcross and along the Alaska Highway at Watson Lake, Teslin, Haines Junction, Destruction Bay and Kluane Lake, and one is promised for Porter Creek (Mile 921) on the Highway. A significant fact is that more and more Indian pupils are attending the schools and they are receiving sympathetic help from all teachers. The original Dawson School was razed by fire on June 21st, 1957. A new modern Elementary and High School, consisting of seven class rooms plus an auditorium, gymnasium, library and officers' and staff room, was completed in January, 1959. 24. The Yukon Mail Service The mail service in the Yukon, especially between Dawson and White Horse, was at first carried out by the R.N.W.M.P and later until air service was inaugurated, the 'up river' service was under contract with the B.Y.N. (British Yukon Navigation Co., the river subsidiary of the White Pass and Yukon Railway Co.). The mail service between Dawson and Eagle, Alaska, 'lower river' was first, by arrangement between Canada and the United States, with a man named Ben Downing, using a steam launch in summer and dogs in winter. As Downing was aging he employed a helper, Eli Vereau, a French Canadian, who finally took over and gave equally efficient service of two-week intervals. The exact time of arrival was necessarily uncertain owing to river and weather conditions, but the schedule was efficiently maintained. In the summer of 1907 about three-quarters of a million dollars in gold-dust from Fairbanks, Alaska, passed through Dawson Post Office in three of the two-week consignments. As there was no provision for remarks, either in the despatch book or the invoices to accompany the mail, the despatcher, who was this writer, felt that there should be a record of the number of gold-dust pouches, as they were merely included in the first class mail. As, of course, the pouches were locked and he had not seen the gold-dust, he separated these pouches from those containing letters and underneath the total put the word 'Heavy' and 'Ordinary' for the others, as they contained more than letters. The first two consignments were received and despatched without incident. But the third arrived at night, and the government The Yukon Mail Service— 187 carpenter, George Kincaid, who was believed to be honest and had the run of all the government buildings, was in the post-office when the mail arrived. Learning that it contained gold-dust, he managed to secrete two of the pouches containing approximately $48,000 and throwing them out of the window, he later retrieved the pouches and hid them in the public school basement. Kincaid attempted to sell some of the gold-dust to the Canadian Bank of Commerce, but recognizing that it was not local gold, the bank officials notified the Mounted Police. When Kincaid learned he was under suspicion he boarded a steamboat for Whitehorse, hoping to get 'outside' and disappear. However, a Mounted Police official came on the steamboat and found that Kincaid had locked his stateroom door. Upon breaking open the door they found that he had committed suicide by taking cyanide. All the stolen gold-dust was recovered and the robber was dead. But in order to prove the facts of the case a trial was held, presided over by the senior Yukon law officer, Judge Dugas. The writer, as despatcher, was a Crown witness and recalls the events of what became a dramatic trial because of attempts to distort the evidence. Like most long distance Canadian mail transport, the Yukon mails are now carried by airplane. 25. Yukon Natives The early nomadic life of the Indians has changed in the Yukon. When an early trader set up his post, or store, an Indian community, previously more scattered, concentrated near it. Dr. George M. Dawson, geologist-explorer, in a vivid description of that period, says that trading control and intimidation of interior tribes by the Coast Indians, and virtual slavery by them was noticeable as far inland as the upper Yukon River area. North of this any type of slavery within a tribe, or over other tribes, scarcely existed, and trading by individuals predominated, much as it does today over the whole Territory. The Yukon Indian Agency estimated the Indian population of the Territory at about 1600 in 1954, roughly divided into two main tribes, the Tlingits, or Tinglits of the Coast and known near Lynn Canal as the Chilkoots or Chilkats, and the Dene or Athapascans of the Interior. The Den6 people comprise two main groups, the Loucheux of the Peel and Porcupine Rivers, settled chiefly around Old Crow on the bend of the Porcupine, and the Kutchin or Wood Indians occupying the drainage basin of the upper Yukon River. In the south-east corner of the Territory, around Frances Lake and the upper Liard River, is a small group known as the Nahanni Indians. Before the establishment of white traders in the Territory an annual cavalcade of coast Indians, with their slaves carrying goods received in trade from the Russians, made long trading journeys into the interior. Some of these goods included gaily painted Yukon Natives—189 articles of Chinese origin. Specimens of these are still to be seen at Hutshi Lake, near Champagne, on the Alaska Highway. The crafty coast Indians often married into the leading families of the interior tribes, thereby having a coast wife and an interior wife. This ensured safety among former enemies, and more profitable business for these overlords. Little care was taken of elderly women or orphaned children. Old men fared better as they could make sleds and snow-shoes for the trappers who usually went out in groups. Efforts to get Indians to take up carving, even of miniature totem-poles, are now difficult. There are usually from one to six children in an Indian family and when the first is born, the mother is often in her late "teens". Some of the older Indians have only one name and, as there are no family names, the name selected often depends on local conditions. At Old Crow where the Anglican Mission has, besides the church services, provided for various social activities, biblical names are now common. Sometimes the name of a white benefactor, a prominent local person or some corruption of an English name is found. Marriage ceremonies vary from old tribal customs, a Christian service with a missionary officiating, to a common-law situation, forced or not, after courtship. All are accepted without question, and records of marriage are still often neglected. Some old Indians have two wives, and as they are usually sisters, no thought of bigamy charges arises. There are several languages or dialects spoken in the Yukon. Dene, meaning "man", describes a group of languages in upper Yukon area and Casca to the north and east. At Old CrOw Thakudh or Loucheux is used at church services. The Rev. Archdeacon McDonald in his day translated the prayerbook and hymns into this language and, later, Bishop Stringer revised them to keep pace with modern changes in the language. Chinook, a trade language, was generally used in conversation with whites up to a generation ago, from Ashcroft, British Columbia to around Teslin Lake, and was known by all these Indians. Dictionaries in the language were available for the stampeders of '98 at Ashcroft. On that trail Chinook proved to be very useful in talking with many of the Indians who did not speak English. Now only a few words as "skookum", meaning big, plenty, etc.; "hiyu"—tall, high, etc.; "chuck"—food; and "tillicum"—friend are heard. 190 — The Yukon Story English is now learned in the schools and spoken by nearly all the Indians, as they find it the best medium of understanding, and in keeping with their changing habits of life. Until a few years ago nearly all the Christianized Indians were identified with the Church of England (now Anglican). That church has several schools in the Territory. Roman Catholic missions cover much of the area in northern British Columbia and south-eastern Yukon. The Teslin band, according to the Indian Agency reports, were a few years ago followers of Father Divine, and the Baptists have recently been very successful at Whitehorse, where they operate an Indian church, an Indian day school with hostel attached, and an orphanage and now have many adherents. R. J. Meek, in his Agency report says, "How deeply Christianity has penetrated is a matter of conjecture." When Indians see the behaviour of some whites they sometimes naively say, "White man's religion no good." Infant mortality, though declining, is higher than among whites. After more than a year's nursing, many children are raised on canned milk, especially as the Indians now have family allowances. The goal of the boys in the far north is to become successful hunters and trappers and, farther south, prospecting and trucking is their chief objective. Owning horses represents wealth as they are still used for packing and sometimes riding, and to own a truck is supreme. Girls are now treated as equals, and to be a good cook, seamstress and, sometimes, a nurse, is their chief objective. While living in the bush the children amuse themselves, as children have always done, copying their elders. Little sleighs are hooked up to puppies, small boats are towed at the end of a string, and little dolls are dressed up from leftover scraps of material. When they travel to town with their parents, they are well behaved, even during a tiring day. They are better travellers than white children. If living in town they (especially the boys) sometimes become over-sophisticated, but away from town the same boys give no trouble. The district nurse and hospitalization have reduced infant mortality and are having a good influence over mothers and infants as well as school children, and Family Allowances have improved family relations, formerly lacking. The trapping and hunting season affects the school attendance of the older and stronger boys much as the seasonal work did in Yukon Natives — 191 white farming communities in eastern Canada 50 or more years ago. On the trail the men of the northern Indians, unlike those farther south, carry the bulk of the supplies. The grandmother has become the baby-sitter. The grandfather, being the repository of traditional lore, is often consulted by writers of fiction and history. Orphans are sometimes neglected and end up in residential schools. Very occasionally a white couple adopts an Indian child, and, according to the official report, these adoptions usually have been satisfactory. One of the few successful Indian businessmen in the Yukon is Joe Metro of Old Crow. He runs a trading post,, and, despite stiff opposition, is now dominant in the community life. He makes some blunders, but does a good business. He has little book- keeping devices of his own to overcome his illiteracy, and now owns a powered river boat. Among the Indian big game hunters, Johnnie Jalus has become famous. A few Indians have trucks and earn their living hauling logs, lumber and mining supplies, and all recognize their debts. The Hudson's Bay Company set the pattern for trade, but recently has had but two posts, now abandoned, along the Yukon River. Two groups of stores control most of the Indian trade. They are Taylor and Drury with four stores at Whitehorse, Car- macks, Mayo and Teslin, and the Northern Commercial Company, with headquarters at Seattle, owning four stores. There are also independent stores at Whitehorse, Teslin, Carcross and Watson Lake. The late William Drury told the writer an interesting story of an experience he had with an Indian trapper. The Indian, with his pack of furs, came to their Whitehorse store one evening after the day's cash had been banked. When the value of his furs was computed, the Indian said he had to go visit a friend, but would be back the next morning for his needed supplies. Drury, not having the cash, gave him a cheque for the value of his furs. Being accustomed to always getting cash, the Indian demurred at taking the cheque. Drury explained that he could present the cheque when he would return next day and he would give him his needed supplies for the cheque, and cash for any change coming to him. The Indian took the cheque, but came back next morning in great distress. He had visited a friend outside the town and, during a drinking bout, the cheque was lost. He asked Drury if he would trust him for what supplies he needed. Drury 192 —The Yukon Story explained that he would advise the Bank to stop payment of the lost cheque and he would give him the cash or another cheque. The Indian got his supplies and left. Soon all the Indians wanted cheques instead of cash and the method of doing business with the Indians became modernized. A lot of money is spent on gaudy trinkets and more by some of the young men on liquor and fines than on housing and furniture. Taylor and Drury have by far the largest Indian trade. They travelled over the Ashcroft trail in '98 in separate outfits and finally started business together in a tent at Pine City (Discovery) in the Atlin mining camp, later going to Whitehorse. Drury died in 1954. Isaac Taylor lived to be 95. Their long and agreeable partnership lasted over fifty-five years, and the business is now being carried on as actively and agreeably by their sons. They have been a great factor in winning the respect and confidence of the Indian population. Little effort has been made by the Indians to cultivate land or acquire land titles, and there are no farms among them in the Yukon Agency. However, the Federal Government has a very successful experimental farm at Kluane, near the Alaska Highway, where the altitude is lower than at Whitehorse, and the soil is suited to growing grain and vegetables luxuriantly. The growing season is short, but the growth is rapid in the almost continual summer daylight. The results are so good that some Indians, seeing this, are now cultivating small gardens. There is little reading of newspapers or books. The radio is the most popular factor and in towns and schools, educational and news films have a decided impact, even on the older Indians, and they show a surprising knowledge of current events. Church periodicals are often seen in Indian homes. This is mainly true of the Anglican church. The Yukon Agency uses the British Columbia school curriculum and, where truancy is found, the Agency and the R.C.M.P. cooperate in finding and returning truants. The franchise was given the Indians for Territorial and Federal elections, and while there are few Indians seen at political meetings, they seriously discuss the personality of the candidates and not their political affiliations. Attendance at meetings may come later, as it has in Atlin where an Indian represented the constituency in the British Columbia legislature. The new Federal Indian Act is well known to all and is given serious study by some of the Chiefs and Councillors. L Yukon Natives—193 Old Age support has been a great help, though the anomalous situation exists that the Indians living in British Columbia get supplementary Provincial benefits up to $15 per month, while the Yukon Indians often a few miles away, get nothing in addition to the Federal allowance. The name of the Canadian Prime Minister is known to many, especially those who have radios. Winston Churchill is known to all, as the names of many youngsters reveal, and the name of the Queen and of the Duke of Edinburgh are much respected. Among oldtimers there are many cases of real friendship between the whites and the Indians, often developed through working together and appreciating the personal qualities of each other. However, cross-sex friendships are rare, except in remote areas, and inter-marriage is not common. There is, however, no discrimination by white children in the schools. At Whitehorse an Indian pupil in Grade X of the Territorial school was president of the school governing body. The girls are particularly good at volleyball and baseball. Yukon Indians now can go into beer parlors, as is their right in British Columbia. They regard the right to drink as a step in their emancipation and in British Columbia seldom abuse that right. Most white people believe that the Indians are more quarrelsome than whites when they get liquor. The Agency report refutes this belief, and finds little difference in the injurious effects of alcohol on whites and Indians. There was never a strong tribal structure among the Yukon Indians, such as characterized the Mohawks, Iroquois and other eastern tribes. The Tahltons were the only band in recent years with strong leadership. Farther north the family group was more in evidence. However, in early days the Chief was an autocrat. At Carmacks they could never agree enough to organize, while at Whitehorse and Old Crow they have enthusiastic meetings, and written minutes of these meetings are kept. In some cases the Agency supervises if it seems advisable, to promote a helpful influence. Chief Patsy Henderson of Carcross Indians is an outstanding personality, and Chief David Moses of Mayo has, through his own efforts, become an acknowledged leader. While there are young men who are trouble makers, many are recognized as coming leaders and usually at least one can keep minutes and carry on correspondence. Where there is a faithful religious leader, regardless of his denominational affilia- 194 — The Yukon Story tions, an Indian Community shows intense interest. At Old Crow grace is said before meals, and a blessing is invoked before opening any social event. Most Indian Agency officials like working with the Indians. They realize that the difficulties and adjustments from a simple nomadic life to the intricate necessities of the present complex individual and community life, and from a simple mystic faith in a great spirit and a happy hunting ground to Christianity in a confused world, require patience and honesty of purpose, sometimes lacking in the leadership of white peoples today. Tuberculosis, once a major disease among the Indians, is shown by recent surveys of the Yukon Agency to have been cut down to within reasonable distance of the white population's experience and even older Indians show the benefits of their training by their great care in washing, coughing and general personal habits. Dr. F. B. Roth, formerly Indian Health Services medical officer at Whitehorse, said that he had never detected a case of appendicitis amongst the Indians. Almost the whole cost of Indian illness in the Yukon is carried by public funds, and practical nurses (Field Matrons) are stationed at Old Crow, Minto and Atlin with encouraging results. Now that the Indians have been given the federal franchise, they have begun to take a keener interest in elections and any resentment of white dominance and inferiority-complex on then- own part are disappearing with beneficial results. Eskimos The Eskimos were never prominent in the life of the Yukon and during the period following the gold rush, were seen only occasionally in Dawson, when they happened to be deck hands on one of the big lower-river sternwheeler steamers from St. Michaels, Alaska. Around the Alaska coast they are fairly numerous. They also comprise scattered communities from the Mackenzie River delta, eastward across the northern mainland coast of Canada. However, as the Yukon Territory is almost a right angle, with its northern point or boundary on the Arctic ocean less than two hundred miles in length north-westerly from the Mackenzie River delta to the 141st meridian, only twelve Eskimo families, some seventy persons, occupy this area. They are mostly on Herschel Island a few miles from the mainland. Yukon Natives —195 For many years this area was the most easterly point of operation for American whalers and, as C. L. Andrews, in his "Story of Alaska", says—"They were almost as ruthless as the pirates of the Spanish Main. They brought liquor and, especially when held near the delta by the Arctic ice, were often a baleful influence on the natives." However, the Hudson's Bay Company controlled the trade of the delta, and the activities of Archdeacon McDonald and, later, Rev. Isaac Stringer, who became Bishop of Yukon, won considerable influence over the natives. After the North West Mounted Police were established in the Mackenzie River delta with authority to represent the Government of Canada in all necessary branches of administration, and began to collect customs dues, previously lost to Canada, most of these whalers disappeared. However, as the Canadian Government reindeer reserve comprises an area of over 150 miles in length from the Mackenzie delta eastwards, it is a rallying point for the Eskimo people, and their kindly ways and ready adaptability to work have won them a place in the modern life of the north. 26. Game and Fur Big game is plentiful, especially throughout a great part of the upper Yukon and Porcupine River areas, and few places on the continent offer so many attractions to sportsmen. Travelling is not impeded by dense forests, and climatic conditions in the hunting season are especially favorable. Moose, caribou and mountain sheep are plentiful in several localities. The moose are magnificent animals (alces gigas) and one specimen secured several years ago weighed at least 1500 pounds and had a perfect antler spread of sixty inches. The giant caribou are frequently seen either one or two at a time or in small herds of twenty or thirty. Between the Porcupine River and the Arctic Ocean there are vast herds of Barren Lands caribou. These trek south after the autumn freeze-up, and great herds are seen near Dawson where, in going southward, they swim across the Yukon River. Sheep of two varieties live in the summer on the high mountains, especially in south-western Yukon, easily reached from Whitehorse and are sometimes found in flocks of 60 or 70 and even more. Black, brown and grizzly bears are plentiful and with wolves, wolverine, martin, lynx, ermine and fox, constitute the chief fur bearing animals of the Yukon. Selous, the famous big game hunter, when in the Yukon, was enthusiastic in his praise of its big game and the absence of dense forests in finding it. The native Indians are the chief fur trappers, and Taylor and Game and Fur—197 Drury Limited of Whitehorse have supplanted the Hudson's Bay, the Alaska Commercial, and other companies as the chief purchasers of furs. In the ten year period since 1953-4, the annual value of furs as income to trappers ranged from $68,000 to $242,000 subject to changes both in the world fur prices and the number of pelts taken. The Indians have a Chinook saying, "Hiyu wolves nika rabbits, nika wolves, hiyu rabbits", implying that they are in cycles, and that the wolves eat off the rabbits, and when the rabbits are eaten off the wolves starve and die, and the cycle is renewed. Among several fur posts owned by Taylor and Drury is one on the Ross River, and Dean Cecil Swanson tells of an experience he had when rector at Whitehorse. He had supervision over some outlying Indian posts and when William Drury made a trip to their Ross River post, the Dean accompanied him. After completing their work at the post they started down river in their canoe. They had gone some distance when they realized they had overlooked taking along a very important item of northern food, ham, bacon or canned beef. However, Drury had a rifle and was a good shot, and he suggested that along the quieter stretches of the river they could keep a lookout for a deer, caribou or any edible animal. He finally shot a porcupine and put it in the centre of the canoe beside Swanson. Drury was in the bow and a pilot in the stern. After a while the porcupine, which had evidently been only wounded, began to stir and Swanson grabbed an axe and raised it to finish the porcupine. The pilot, fearing that the axe would go through the bottom of the light cottonwood canoe, shouted, "You damned fool, put down that axe." Swanson, in telling the incident, said, "He may have been right in calling me a fool and perhaps it wasn't profanity to him when he said that I was a damned fool." There were several fine fox farms in the southern part of the Yukon Territory, but owing to the prime quality of the animals, so many were exported at high prices for breeding purposes that they were threatened with extinction and legislation was passed limiting their export. Fish and Birds The rivers are generally well supplied with fish, chiefly grayling, whitefish, king salmon and pike. The smaller streams usually contain only grayling which are very plentiful in some places. 198 — The Yukon Story Ducks, grouse, ptarmigan and other game birds abound. The ptarmigan is a native non-migratory bird, light brown in summer and white in winter, with its legs and feet covered with downy feathers. The whiskyjack or bluejay, as in other parts of the north, are plentiful and linger near prospectors' tents and cabins almost asking for kindly hand-outs. ! I Reindeer The Canadian Department of Northern Affairs started a reindeer industry in 1935 with a herd of 2,370 animals purchased from an Alaska reindeer company. It was found that reindeer moss (lichen) for winter grazing was plentiful east of the Mackenzie delta and it was central for the whole northern population. A veteran Lapp reindeer herder was placed in charge and he was assisted by other Lapps and several Eskimos. Heavy losses were at first incurred, but experience soon overcame this. In 1933 the Reindeer Protection Ordinance was enacted and an area of 6,600 square miles was reserved and buildings at suitable places erected. In 1952 the area was enlarged to 17,900 square miles. The staff now has a nucleus of Canadians and Laplanders, and over 100 Eskimos have been trained as herders and young Eskimos are employed as apprentices. A government report says: "The training of the more interested young Eskimos includes summer round-ups, transfer of herds to essential range, the slaughter of animals, the handling of meat and skins and instruction on predators, insect pests and day-by-day control. "There is no enterprise in Canada comparable to reindeer herding. This plan to establish a stable ranching industry among a race of nomads is experimental, but is an effort to safeguard the whole Eskimo population. The results are being carefully watched." No attempt has been made to use reindeer as beasts of burden or sled pullers, as is done in Lapland, as the native dogs have proven their superior qualifications for transportation purposes. Although the grazing grounds are east of the Mackenzie delta, the reindeer are becoming important in the life of the northern Yukon population. At last census the reindeer, in three herds, numbered about 7000. 27. Yukon Phenomena The aurora borealis, or northern lights, in the Yukon are so brilliant compared with those seen in most parts of North America, that as they streamed, quivered and danced along the horizon, amateur and professional photographers tried to catch something of their beauty, but never could even an approximate picture of their brilliance be captured. Only once in my ten years in the Yukon did I see what I had been told Arctic explorers had seen. That night in Dawson these lights descended from the hilltops and dancing with quiet whispering, swishing sounds in measured harmony, like living things} in the midst of a surroundng golden glow, seemed to spring from the very snow on the ground into the heavens and fill every space with indescribable yellowish changing light. The picture can never be effaced from memory. It seemed as if something heavenly had come down to earth in wondrous glowing light. Although the northern lights were seen so often as to be too commonplace for mention in the local newspapers, that display brought references describing it as an unprecedented experience. Another phenomenon was false suns, called sun-dogs. Sometimes during winter, when the sun appeared above the horizon for only a brief time each day, one or three of these sun-dogs would appear. If there was only one it was directly above the sun, but if there were three one would appear on each side of the sun and one directly above, in equal quadrants, and somehow gave the impression of extreme coldness in the atmosphere. 200 — The Yukon Story Perhaps Robert Service had seen these and the phenomenal display of the northern lights when he was inspired to write: "Its the beauty that fills me with wonder, Its the stillness that fills me with peace." More mammoth tusks and teeth and, sometimes almost complete skeletons, were found in Klondike area beneath the muck of the creek and river valleys than in any other part of the world excepting Siberia. These tusks frequently measured over ten feet in length and the teeth, though in sections, were closely joined together as one tooth in each jaw and slightly curving, like the jaw, with a flat herbaceous eating surface of about two inches across. Each weighed about ten pounds. The ivory of the tusks, soon after the great gold rush, became a source of revenue to Dawson jewellers, some of whom developed the art of making beads, crosses, medallions and other ornaments from the easily worked and beautifully clear tusk ivory. These ivory ornaments, usually combined with small nuggets, attached by surface-melting the gold, were in great demand, not only by the women of the north and as gifts to far away loved ones, but as a source of great attraction to tourists. The melting glacier ice on Hunker Creek, about 1905, exposed the remains of a mammoth that had evidently been drowned and then quickly frozen in the oncoming ice age. The flesh appeared to be in perfect condition and was covered by a crinkled light brown hair, not unlike that of the modern buffalo. It was several times as large as a modern elephant. Sir Michael Bruce, who after the First World War travelled extensively in Africa and Siberia, told me that he was a guest at a banquet in Siberia where mammoth flesh taken from an iceberg was served as steak to the guests. Head skeletons, with horns intact, of a very wide faced prehistoric water buffalo were also found on Hunker Creek. 28. Tall Tales of the North Almost every country has its own type of humor and stories. The generous Scottish revel in yarns describing their people as penurious. English stories depict a national dullness of perception. American humor often magnifies the speed and bigness of things, and those of the Yukon were usually overdrawn and ridiculous. A tourist on a river steamer going from Whitehorse to Dawson, seeing the beautiful grassy slopes along the shores of Lake La- barge, asked the mate, "Did they ever try to raise cattle here?" "Oh, yes," was the reply, "but it wasn't a success. They had to have so much feed stored for them in the long hard winters that it didn't pay to keep them. Then they tried crossing them with moose, but that wasn't a success either. They were cow on one side and moose on the other, and when wolves came near and they started to run, the moose side ran faster than the cow side and they ran in circles. When the wolves got onto that they got inside the circle and it was too bad for the cow." When approaching Dawson, a tourist asked, "Are the people of Dawson friendly?" "Yes," replied the mate, "they are very friendly. Even the wild animals are friendly. A woman in Dawson was out picking blueberries. When her pail was about half filled she felt tired and went out on the trail and sat down on a log to rest. After a while she heard a rustle up the trail and looking up, saw a bear coming towards her. She noticed that he was limping on a front foot, and when he came opposite her, he sat down and raised his paw. There was a sliver in it and she took the sliver out. The bear licked his paw and then looked into her pail. When 202 — The Yukon Story he saw that it wasn't full he took it into the berry patch and filled it for her." Another Yukon story is that a woman in Dawson had a donkey and, hoping to make money selling supplies to miners' wives on the creeks, packed him and started up Bonanza Creek. At noon a miner's wife invited her into the cook-house for dinner. As she saw some grass nearby, she unpacked the donkey and turned him loose to graze. In wandering around the donkey fell into a shaft and wandered into a drift. A laborer on a nearby claim, knowing that the claim was rich and that all hands were at dinner, decided to steal some nuggets and went down the shaft. Starting with his candle towards a dimly lighted drift, he saw two shining eyes and two front hoofs. He thought it was the devil and running to the ladder shouted, "Oh Jesus, Jesus save me this time and I will never steal another nugget!" A party of big game hunters went north and at Whitehorse hired a man who claimed to be a guide. He led them up Kluane Mountain to a vacant cabin and told them to wait until he had a look around. A grizzly chased him and running to the cabin he opened the door and stumbled on the step. The bear overshot him and burst into the cabin. The guide pulled the door shut and shouted to the hunters inside, "You look after him and I'll go get another." A favorite yarn was that an old prospector was out picking blueberries and a bear attacked him. He reported: "I had no weapons of any kind and I had to run. I ran and ran and ran, but the bear was right after me. I wondered if he would ever stop, but I ran and ran until I came to a river and there was ice on it. I slid across the ice and the bear slid after me, but he was heavier than I and he went through the ice." One of his listeners said, "You said you were picking blueberries. That's in summer time and the ice is in winter." "Sure," said the prospector, "I ran all that time." Among questions asked a steamboat purser by a tourist was, "Do they keep chickens in Dawson?" "They tried it," said the purser, "but it is all daylight in the summer time and they didn't know when to go to roost and they pined off and died." Another tourist was said to have asked, "How do they bury people who die, when the ground is frozen all the time?" "They don't bury them," was the reply, "They just take them up on the hill and pile them there." One true story was about a White Pass stage driver named Bill Powell. When automobiles first reached the Klondike, Bill Tall Tales of the North — 203 decided that he could make more money if he bought an auto and started as a taxi driver between Dawson and the various creeks. He had made a number of trips without incident, when one day among his passengers was an elderly Dawson dentist named Varaclay. He wore a wig, but Bill did not know this. Going up Bonanza Creek road, they came to a place where the ice was on the road at a steep incline. The auto began to slip and Bill, fearing it would slide off the road, put on the brakes rather sharply. The auto turned over and when the passengers scrambled up Bill seeing Varaclay's head bleeding and not a hair on it cried, "My God, I've scalped him!" Perhaps the most unusual story was that an old prospector and trapper who had never seen the outside world became very much interested in stories told him by companions who had gone down the Yukon River to St. Michaels and across the Pacific to San Francisco. So he took the trip himself. On his return he related his experience to his cronies. He said: "When I landed at 'Frisco I saw a long trail ahead of me. It was very wide and had high buildings on each side. There were places at the sides for people to walk, and all the other traffic went in the middle of the trail. So I started to walk up the trail and I walked a long way when I came to a building that was back from the traiL There were people going in, so I thought it must be some kind of roadhouse, and I went in too. There were long rows of high backed seats and places to walk between the rows. So I sat down in one of the seats. People would come in and kneel down. After a while a guy came in in a white parka and a lot of other guys, all m white parkas, were following him. They were singing something. I didn't know what it was. It might have been Chinese. One guy was carrying a smoke pot, but what he had that smoke pot for I don't know for there wasn't a damn mosquito in the place." A well known and popular character who had spent most of his money on liquor, and seemed happy only when he was treating his companies, died in the Yukon and as he did not have money enough to bury him, his friends subscribed enough for his funeral and a neat stone to mark his grave. They felt that there should be something more than merely his name and age inscribed on the stone, and as a religious inscription would hardly be appropriate, they finally decided on his favorite expression, "This is on me". 29. Poetry of the North The yukon inspired the genius of the late Robert W. Service who gave poetic expression to the moods and passions of the Sourdoughs of that rugged land. His 'Songs Of A Sourdough' and 'Ballads of the Cheechako' are treasured by the Northerners and read by all who like virile poetry. He makes the Yukon itself speak when he says, "Dreaming of men who will bless me, Of women esteeming me good, Of children born in my borders, Of radiant womanhood, Of cities leaping to stature, Of fame like a flag unfurled, I pour out the wealth of my riches In the eager lap of the world." His later First Great War experiences did not stir Service's imagination as did those of his Yukon days. As long as he lived he sent treasured greetings in verse from his home on the Mediterranean Riviera to the Yukoners at their annual gatherings in Vancouver. In old age he responded to an invitation of Sourdoughs and came with his wife and daughter from nearly half way round the world, to be with the Vancouver Yukoners and their visiting American Sourdough friends, at a Reunion banquet at the Hotel Georgia. On the following pages are poetic greetings he sent on various occasions. Poetry of the North — 205 AT EIGHTY-TWO The last of living is the best; The olden years are golden years, When there will come a rhythmic rest Beyond the tempest and the tears; When memories of wine and song Are bravely buried in the past, And we to home and love belong, The best of living is the last. The shawl and slipper days are good, This I can stalwartly affirm, As I defy in mellow mood The petulance of waiting worm, For now I am my utter own, Playing the pantaloon with zest, A monarch on an armchair throne, The last of living is the best. And so, sweet people, have no fear, I tell you from a brimming heart, Old age is rich with hope and cheer, You may rejoice ere you depart. A childwise calm will come to you. The pain and passion overpast, Ah, you will see my say is true, The best of living is the last." OLD SOURDOUGH One meal a day is all I eat At eighty-three; From bed I leap with bounding feet Unto the sea; A man who swims each morn at seven May hope for heaven. With ardor of an eager boy I hail the day. I have a rendezvous with joy Along the way, Or hap' some humble victory To hearten me. 206 —The Yukon Story How long and sweet my life has been, Maybe because When everything was not serene I bluffed it was; And still I live with rhythm Though my tempo's slow. They tell me Sourdoughs never die, Just dim away. Well I'm a pretty tough old guy And with the day My Golden Wedding will be due— "Be seeing you." SOURDOUGHS, MUSH ON What e'er your brand of hootch may be, Mumm's extra dry or barley bree, Or vulgar beer, Sourdoughs, across the sea tonight To you I raise a beaker bright, Of joy and cheer. Far in my southern sunny home I stare across the fairy foam In pensive mood; In spirit, at the very least, I'm with you at your merry feast Of Brotherhood. And here, in seven years from now, I'll still be one of you I vow, A wise old guy I'll prove that Yukon hearts are stout; With you at ninety and not out, Age I defy. Old timers, I don't want to boast, But let me offer you this toast, May never dawn Find you faint hearted on the trail, The guts God gave you never fail. SOURDOUGHS, MUSH ON! Poetry of the North — 207 LOCAL LAD MAKES GOOD One said to me, "Some gift you've shown, But also you've had luck." I answered, "Yes, I humbly own I nightly came unstuck." Tis' true I have a modest name And might be reckoned rich, And yet I fought my way to fame Up from the very ditch." A feckless Highland chiel' was I, Who crossed the sea with cattle, And hit each ruddy railway tie From Portland to Seattle; For bread, I often begged a bite And lousy bunks I knew, But fortune beamed on me the night I shot down Dan McGrew. For Dan McGrew and Sam McGee Saved me from sordid strife; And I am grateful to those two For sunshine in my life. My turning point in luck, I see Refulgently began The night I roasted Sam McGee And perforated Dan. From Robert W. Service to the Sourdoughs at their Banquet of March 15th, 1956, Hotel Georgia, Vancouver. "Please assure the vintage Sourdoughs I am with them in heart and spirit (or spirits), though I am obliged to cultivate slow motion in my movements. I wish I could hail the old gang with cheer, but the best I can do is to wish them well for another year. So bless us all and, once again, with guts and grit MUSH ON. With kindest regards, Robert Service." L 208 — The Yukon Story "SOURDOUGH'S LAMENT" When I was a Klondike highroller I tilted my poke with the best And though the climate might be polar, I'd plenty of hair on my chest. Now while I've no trace of rheumatics, And maybe I shouldn't complain, I'm worried because I just ain't what I was, And I wish I was eighty again. I still have my love for the ladies, Chuck grandmummies under the chin; Yet having a horror of Hades I'm kind of allergic to sin. Aye, though the hooch-bird be singing, I'm deaf to its dulcet refrain; When the going gets rude you've just gotta be good. Gee, I wish I was eighty again. Some claim that the nineties are naughty, Them statements I grieve to reverse; You've got to be humble, not haughty To the giggity-jog of the hearse. I blink at a blonde in bikini, I shrink at the wink of champagne, But reforming, by heck, what a pain in the neck! I wish I was eighty again. "THE YUKON RIVER" By Robert Dick Where the Yukon River plunges In its mad rush to the sea, It throws its swirling torrent As it plunges to be free. It strikes the towering canyon And surges back and forth. There you breathed a fervent prayer, You pilgrims of the North, Poetry of the North — 209 You dipped your paddle swiftly As you scraped the canyon wall, And you listened in the distance, Yes, it is the Whitehorse call. Then you speed past shoal and boulder And you guide her true and right. Now before you are the rapids, A seething mass of white. Now you work your paddle grimly And you vow you'll do your best; Then you hit the Whitehorse fairly, And you ride its billowy crest. You can't recall the prayer you said, You cannot quote a line. It's just as well not now to tell; 'Twas more lurid than sublime. "I'M AN OLD SOURDOUGH" By Robert Dick I'm an old Sourdough, that's what I am. I cook my grub in an old gold pan, I sleep on a bunk that's made of boughs. MUSH YOU MALAMUTES, MUSH. I've hit the trail from Skag to Nome, I've climbed the ridge of Dawson's dome, And downed my hooch with old Tom Chisholm. MUSH YOU MALAMUTES, MUSH. I've rode the crest of old Whitehorse, I've trailed the Klondike to its source, But now the softies have their day, They ride the air on gas highway. HOWL YOU MALAMUTES, HOWL. 210 — The Yukon Story "THE FIREWEED" By Sarah Drury Taylor, of Whitehorse, Yukon Of all the flowers named in song, Which to the woodland nymphs belong, The fireweed in her gorgeous dress Transforms the earth with her caress. From timber line to lonely dale She sings her song and like a veil Hides all the bare and barren ground, Until a garden there is found. The forest fire's unseemly blot She covers now, and on the spot Where blackened embers strewed the ground, Her wreaths of fiery weed abound. And when the winds of winter blow Her silken seed pods on the snow, A pure white shroud with crystals set Shall be her winter coverlet. "MY TOAST" By Edmund Symington Ironside, Dawson, Y.T. To the North night Where the winds of the Arctic Whisper in winter their message of death. To the North, Where the sunshine in summer Scarce an hour or two pauses in rest. To the North, Where the Frost King for centuries Barred the door with a great glacial lock And left as a token for ages The gravels sheer frost to bedrock. Poetry of the North — 211 To the North, Where the Goddess of Fortune Spilt her golden tears long ago, Where somewhere her pay-streaks lie hidden In frost-shackled gravels below. To all those I've mentioned I drink not, Though dear is the lure of their call; But I pledge in this toast that I give you The finest and best of it all. 'Tis the friends that we've made in this Northland. Ah, where can their equal you find, So, I give you this pledge as a token, Your memory is dear to my mind. So long as the sun shines in summer, Or the Northern Lights dance in their glee, You are dearer than the gold of the Klondike, Dear Friend of the North. Here's to thee. "THE DOWN RIVER MAIL" By R. P. Wilson The air sounds clear to the crack of the whip, The Yukon lies mute in the winter's cold grip, The dogs are astir and the sun glimmers low O'er the tall rugged mountains enmantled in snow. Up, malamutes, up! We must soon hit the trail, For they're waiting up North for the down river Mail. Now we're off with a rush; the runners slip true. God speed, is the thought from hearts not a few. And into the morning the team dashes fast; All doubting and murmurs aside are now cast, For over the ice we must go without fail To take into Dawson the down river Mail. f 212 — The Yukon Story Colder and colder the frosty air grows; Fiercer and fiercer the winter winds blows; Mush on, my dogs, we're making it fine. Take that rise then, leader, nor tarry to whine, For shoutings of joy will stifle your wail When Dawson receives the down river Mail. The long Arctic night is closing around. Thro' the stillness and gloom is heard but the sound Of the sled runner's screech on the hard packed snow, And the panting of dogs as onward they go With limbs growing weary, but strength that won't fail, For they know they are taking the down river Mail. Morning breaks dark with the air full of snow, Blindly we dash on with veins all aglow; The feathery flakes cutting deep in the face; But nothing must check the quickening pace, For we're nearing our goal, we're almost in hail. "In the name of the King", 'tis the down river Mail. Day passes day, the journey grows short. Up, malamutes, up! We must not be caught; Warm hearts are waiting the news from 'Outside', So over the ice let the sled bravely glide, Thro' the trackless blue snow we must break a new trail For we're taking to Dawson the down river Mail. Mile after mile flies under out feet, Lonely and few are the travellers we meet; For the snow lies unbroken, the ice is rough packed And the toil of the journey goes onward unslacked; But the dogs still run firm, tho' the wind may assail, For they know they are drawing the down river Mail. At length 'round the bend twinkling lights there appear, 'Tis the city of Dawson looming up clear. Up, dogs, one sharp mush and we'll make it tonight, We'll do it on time while still there is light For surely at last is the end of the trail, And Dawson will welcome the down river Mail. Poetry of the North — 213 "MY WILL" By "Klondike Kate" Rockwell All that I can leave you Are memories of the past, The dreams we dreamed together That were too sweet to last. To the tired and weary hearted, Burdened down with all life's ills, I leave the sunrise on the desert And the twilight on the hills. To the lonely and the old folks, Many walks down Memory's lane, Hand in hand like childhood sweethearts May we wander once again. To the boys and girls who told me When their foolish feet had strayed, I can leave at least the knowledge They never were betrayed. To the ones who bandied gossip, Tore my heart with two-edged words, I leave my full forgiveness To combat bitter words. To the friends who were so faithful Through my laughter and my tears, I leave peace and contentedness, For their declining years. APPENDIX Appendix — 217 Some Old Sourdoughs Hugh and A. H. Day were in the Yukon from 1884, and the Day Edition was named after the brothers by William Ogilvie. F. H. Waugh, born in New Brunswick, staked one of the first claims on Bonanza, after George Carmack, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie. P. J. Laurentzen was the first miner on Adams Hill, Bonanza Creek. Charles J. Anderson, "The Lucky Swede", was in Circle City in 1883 and in the Klondike in 1887. He staked 29 Eldorado and had a one-third interest in Number 32. Clarence J. Berry, born in California, had 838 feet of the richest ground on Eldorado and owned No. 3 below, one-half of No. 4 above on Bonanza, two-thirds of No. 1 below and one- half of No. 42 below on Hunker and one-half of No. 18 below on Dominion. Max Endelman was the owner of Gold Hill Hotel at Grand Forks, Bonanza. Richard R. Low, in Circle City in 1890, staked the famous "Dick Low Fraction" adjoining No. 2 Bonanza, at the mouth of Skookum Gulch. Dr. T. N. Rogers had claims on Little Blanch Creek, No. 13 Adams Gulch, No. 51A Eldorado and four hillside claims opposite Nos. 34 and 35 on the right limit of upper Bonanza. James Tweed, born in Illinois, was on Birch Creek in 1885 and staked No. 38A Eldorado and had interests in No. 7A Bonanza and No. 4 Bear Creek. James McNeeme, in the Yukon in 1889, located No. 60A on Bonanza and bought No. 26B on Bonanza, No. 6 Victoria Gulch, No. 8 Homestead and had interests in other claims on Bonanza, Eldorado and Hunker. Bartlett Bros. (Mitchell and Edward) started a toll road from Skagway to the White Pass and sold it to the White Pass Railway Company. Later, they started packing at Dawson, Gold Bottom and Dominion and had stores and hotels on these creeks. George F. Sparks and W. A. Whitley, partners, born in California, were operators on Gold Hill. Joe Cook and Frank Cleveland owned Cook's Roadhouse built by Cook in October, 1898 on the summit between Hunker, Dominion and Sulphur, and also owned the Dome Roadhouse 218 — The Yukon Story at the head of Gold Bottom Creek and freighted out of Dawson. Tex Rickard, the well known sports magnate, started his prizefight and wrestling promotion in Dawson. Skiff Mitchell, from New Brunswick, owner of No. 1 Eldorado Creek, went to California and was a pioneer of the City of Eureka, where his family still reside. Alex Pantages started his first theatre in Dawson and later, with George Calvert, a clerk in Dawson post office, as general manager, started his chain of theatres in the United States and Canada. He died in Hollywood at the age of 72. Clarence Berry, owner of Nos. 4 and 5 Eldorado, went to Seattle and was the chief contributor and promoter of the fine Seattle Y.M.C.A. building. George Black, from New Brunswick, practiced law in Dawson and as Captain, took the Yukon Infantry Company overseas in the First World War. He was Commissioner of the Yukon, Member of Parliament and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons. While he was suffering from a prolonged illness and a new election was called, his wife, Martha, was nominated and elected M.P. During her term he completely recovered and, in the next election, he ran and was again elected. J. D. "Jim" McGregor, an operator on Bonanza, later became Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. He was a prominent purebred cattle breeder and prize winner and during the first World War was an adviser to the Food Controller in Ottawa. W. L. Walsh, "Foxy Grandpa", was a prominent member of the Yukon bar and later became Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. T. Dufferin ("Duff") Pattullo, chief Government clerk in Dawson, went to Prince Rupert when it became the Pacific terminus of the Canadian National Railway, and was elected to the British Columbia legislature. He was Premier from 1933 to 1945. Dr. Charles Camsell, noted Canadian geologist, explorer and author, later head of the Geological Survey of Canada and deputy minister of mines for Canada, did some of his first survey work in the Yukon. Oswald S. Finnie, a government clerk in Dawson and married there to a daughter of Captain Roediger, proprietor of the Dawson News, went to the Mackenzie River area and became Commissioner of the North West Territories. Laughlan T. ("Lockie") Burwash, chief of the Whitehorse survey office, became the first surveyor of the Arctic coast of Canada from the Mackenzie delta to Hudson Bay. L Appendix — 219 Herbert Wheeler, superintendent of the British Yukon Navigation Company and its stage line retired in Victoria, British Columbia. Fred C. Wade, crown prosecutor in Dawson, served in 1903 as chief counsel for the Canadian case in the Alaska Panhandle boundary dispute and later became Agent-General for British Columbia in London, England. His daughter, Marjorie, lived for many years in Vancouver. Among Yukoners who won official recognition for public service were George A. Jeckell, Controller of the Yukon and Mrs. Frank (Harriett) Osborne now of Portland, Oregon and Mrs. George (Martha) Black who were made O.B.E.'s. Mrs. Black, when member of Parliament, obtained for Neville Armstrong the honor of F.R.G.S. The late Frank J. Burd who, with his brother, Dick, edited the Whitehorse Star, was publisher of the Vancouver Province until he retired in 1935. Douglas Edwards, deputy post-master at Dawson, went overseas in the First World War and returned with the rank of Major. After the war he was army paymaster at Victoria, where he died. R. M. ("Bert") Blair went from Chicoutimi, Quebec, in '98 and was Mining Recorder at Forty Mile and Dawson. He went to the First World War with the Vancouver Seaforths and returned with the rank of Colonel. Later he won the Bisley shooting competition in recognition of which the Blair Rifle Range in North Vancouver was named. He and his wife live in Vancouver. With his faithful setter dog he still loves pheasant shooting. Benjamin F. Craig went to the Yukon with William Ogilvie and organized the Dawson post-office. In 1924 he and his wife moved to Vancouver. He was a painstaking collector of Yukon statistics and furnished the author with the appended list of deceased sourdoughs and other information. Mrs. Craig and their son, Clarence and family live in Vancouver. Mrs. C. Craig is assistant secretary of the Vancouver Yukoners Association. B. R. Dusenbury, a young Brighton, Ontario school principal, was an accountant for the Northern Commercial Company in Dawson and went to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he became manager of the Fairbanks Banking Company. In 1909 he moved to Vancouver where he and his wife made their home. He was an early president of both the Vancouver Yukoners and the International Sourdoughs. Andrew Baird went to Dawson in '98 from Bacarat, Australia 220 — The Yukon Story and was accountant for the Yukon Gold Company until he retired and went to Vancouver in 1958. He was made an Honorary Vice- President of the International Sourdoughs. Dr. George M. Dawson, geologist, later head of the Geological Survey of Canada, carried on geological reconnaissance work in the Yukon prior to the gold rush. Dawson was named in his honor. M. H. ("Harry") Jones with Dougald McMurray, W. H. ("Billy") Inkster, William Hingston and Dr. Norquay went to the Klondike from Manitoba, in 1897. He and John R. Gray established the Dawson Hardware Company. After several years successful business he moved to Vancouver, where his brother, Robert, who went later to the Yukon, also resided. Harry's daughter Gwen (Mrs. Thomson), born in Dawson, lived in West Vancouver. Harry still enjoys the Yukoners' gatherings. Gray went to California and purchased and sub-divided what is now the city of Glendale, California. Charles Reid, who furnished the author the details of "The Edmonton Trail" chapter, was a pioneer miner on Bonanza Creek and active in Yukon affairs. He went to the Yukon from Campbell- town, New Brunswick, in '98. After coming to the coast he was chairman of Vancouver Harbor Board. He is a past president of Vancouver Yukoners. He and Mrs. Reid now live at White Rock, B.C. He is referred to herein regarding his other activities. Jacob Kline, born in Philadelphia, and one of the first members of the Dawson fire department, was a noted dog-driver. In 1900, a Dawson gambler, "One-eyed" Riley, won $28,000 in one night. He decided to leave the north and paid Jakie $600 to take him to Skagway on his dog-sled. The round trip took ten days and was said to be a record. Jakie was elected Sourdough honorary vice-president at Long Beach in August '59 and died two months later. Colonel H. S. Tobin, a Dawson lawyer, fought in the Boer War, commanded "Tobin's Tigers" (The 29th Battalion, C.E.F.) in the First World War and practised law in Vancouver until his death in 1952. Colonel Stewart Wood, whose father Zachary Taylor Wood was Superintendent of the R.C.M.P. in the Yukon, attended school in Dawson and enlisted in that body in Regina, became Chief Commissioner for Canada and, until he retired recently did much to uphold the splendid tradition of the force. Mr. Kristian Falkenberg, later a well-known Seattle optometrist, and one of the most active Sourdoughs, was born in Norway L Appendix — 221 and went to Chicago in 1893. In 1897 he and a partner set out for the Klondike by the Edmonton Trail. They were twenty-two months on the trail and reached Dawson on June 8th, 1899, "too late to locate a claim". From Dawson he went down the Yukon to St. Michaels and from there to Seattle. Despite his trail hardships about which he says, "I was the greatest greenhorn of them all," the lure of the northland captivated him. Tom Lamb and Tobias "Tom" Tellefsen, past presidents of the Vancouver Yukoners and also the International Sourdoughs, with their wives who were also Yukoners, actively sponsored the 1959 Victoria Reunion. Tom Lamb, active to the last, died in 1960. Tellefsen is still a popular leader in the oldtime singing at the Vancouver Yukoners monthly gatherings. Dougald Donaghy, a young lawyer from Ontario, practiced law in Dawson and later was Mayor of North Vancouver and also M.P. for the constituency. He still practices law in Vancouver and he and his wife enjoy their delightful view home on Tempe Heights, North Vancouver. T. J. "Jim" Collisson, who taught school in Dawson and studied law there, practiced law in Edmonton and became an active City Alderman and School Trustee in that flourishing city. Theodore Watson, a White Pass Railway official in Whitehorse, became a pioneer of Prince George, British Columbia and now, with his wife living in Vancouver, like Matthew Watson (no relation) formerly of Carcross, predicts great things for northern British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Charlie McLeod, whose father was an early Timber Inspector in the Yukon, studied law and was admitted to the Yukon Bar, prepared for the Yukon Consolidated Gold Company their famous case against A.N.C. Treadgold and won in one of the longest cases in Canadian legal history. He succeeded the popular Warren McFarland as president of the Company when the McFarlands retired to live in Seattle. Bert Parker, whose story "A Kid in the Klondike" appeared in Maclean's in 1953, left his home in Guelph, Ontario in his seventeenth year and on his own set out for the Klondike. At Bennett Lake he joined a party in building a scow and they followed the ice to Dawson. He sold papers for some time and then joined Joe Boyle's Canadian Klondike Mining Company engineering crew. There he met the Company's young secretary, Helen Scott from Winnipeg, and eventually they were engaged. He tried to enlist for the First World War, but was rejected. Later he secured a 222 — The Yukon Story position in the B.C. Forestry Department, and sent for Helen. They were married in Vancouver. In 1947 and 1948 he was International Sourdough president and despite a serious throat malady that had reduced him to less than 100 pounds he took blood transfusions and presided at the annual dinner and program. He lived only a few more days. His widow became the Vancouver Yukoners' efficient secretary and at Long Beach was elected assistant-secretary of the International Sourdoughs. Claud Bermingham was a silver miner at Mayo, Yukon. After his death in 1958, his executors advised the Vancouver Yukoners that his Will provided for a bequest to the Association of over $13,000 "in appreciation of their upholding the spirit of the Yukon, and to help them to maintain headquarters for their monthly meetings". Maurice De Leon, well known and popular in Dawson, came to Vancouver and, as owner of the Castle Hotel on Granville Street while he lived, gave free accommodation to the Yukoners for their monthly meetings. His home in West Vancouver was carefully looked after by the Campbell sisters who still enjoy the Yukon social evenings. Frank Lowe, referred to as a member of the vigilante committee that cleaned up the Soapy Smith situation in Skagway, was later an undertaker and furniture dealer in Dawson and retired to West Vancouver where, during his declining years, he was carefully looked after by the Campbell sisters, who still enjoy the Yukon gatherings. One of the most widely known of the younger Yukoners is Otto Nordling. He was born at Lulea, Sweden and arrived in Dawson with his parents and three brothers in 1914. He attended school at Gold Run Creek and graduated from Dawson High School. After several years on the Bank of Montreal staff, he joined the Canadian Army in 1940 and was a member of the Canadian Rehabilitation Liaison Group. As Staff Sergeant, he worked with Canadian prisoners coming out of Japanese prison camps and edited for them "The Canadian News" at the army camp in Manilla. While at Army headquarters in Ottawa, in 1951, he urged the adoption of a Yukon coat-of- arms which was officially presented by Governor-General Massey at Whitehorse in 1956. Nordling helped to have the word "Sourdough", in its new meaning, adopted in our language by its appearing in the new Encyclopaedia Canadiana. One of his most recent projects, a British Columbia University fund for worthy Yukon Appendix — 223 pupils, was unanimously approved by the International Sourdough Reunion at Long Beach, California in August 1958, and officially approved by the Yukon Territorial Council in November. In 1945 he married Margery Langley, granddaughter of George Walkem, twice premier of British Columbia. She was Company Commander in the Canadian Women's Army Corps. They and their son Lance now live in North Vancouver and Otto is now a Pinkerton detective. Sourdoughs in Toronto The Ogilvie sisters, granddaughters of William Ogilvie, and a number of other former Yukoners have had a Yukon Association throughout the years, but the largest single gathering of Klon- dikers ever held east of the Rockies was held in Toronto in August, 1937. Many of these Yukoners sent their photos to the famous early Dawson cartoonist, Arthur Buel, then living at Fresno, (Dalifornia and his cartoon of them which appeared in the Alaska Weekly of Seattle depicts many who were his old Klondike friends. Among them: J. W. Tyrrell who was a well-known Dominion Land Surveyor and leader in Dawson activities; Clem Burns, the son of an Ottawa Presbyterian minister, was known in Dawson for his official social activities. Dr. J. N. E. Brown, former secretary to Commissioner Ogilvie and who in Dawson married Miss Freeman, a newspaper correspondent known as "Faith Fenton", was in 1937 superintendent of Toronto General Hospital. Another was Brigadier F. S. Bloss, a former Salvation Army officer in Dawson. Paddy Egan and E. H. Jones, formerly of the R.C.M.P. in Dawson and Forty Mile were there and also Rev. R. M. Dickey, for some years Presbyterian minister at "The Forks" Bonanza Creek. Perhaps the most colorful character at the reunion was "Big Mike" Mahoney, whose spectacular activities, both in the Yukon and later as an entertainer, have been widely told. Dave Griffiths of Seattle, Sourdough International historian, Sandy Frew and Lulu Fairbanks, secretary-treasurer of the International Sourdoughs, were there from Seattle. Several others, not in the author's records, were also there to renew pioneer memories of the Klondike. 224 — The Yukon Story "Klondike Mike" Mahoney One of the most glamorous pioneers of the Yukon and Alaska was Michael Mahoney whose life career has been so vividly detailed by Merrill Denison in his popular story, "Klondike Mike". Mahoney was born on a sandy farm near Buckingham, Quebec and, as his father spent most of his winters in the Gatineau lumber woods and needed Mike to help on the farm in summer, he could scarcely read or write. While still a boy he went to the lumber woods and started as a helper. Being big and husky he soon became efficient in camp sports, wrestling, boxing and the famous French high kicking. Drifting west, he was finally in Seattle when the news of the Bonanza gold strike started the great stampede. Mike had little money, but he was offered a job looking after cayuses on the freight deck of a ship going to Skagway. Being willing and strong, he was well paid helping outfits over the Pass. He was said to have carried a piano over the Chilkoot. He preferred dog driving to prospecting and in time acquired one of the best dog teams in the north. After he had been in the Klondike and Nome, he and a partner were lucky in securing some good claims near Fairbanks, Alaska. While there he met a young nurse in St. Joseph's Hospital. She had been attracted to the north by the stories of Jack London and Rex Beach and the poems of Robert Service. They were married and soon after Mike and his partner sold their claims to the Guggenheims and he and his wife left for the 'Outside'. They visited her parents in Spokane and then went to his old home in Buckingham, Quebec. In Ottawa, Mike heard of money to be made in railway grade contracting and sent for his mining partner, George Rich. They became wealthy through Canadian National Railway grading contracts. Mike realized his lack of schooling and with his wife's and mother's help, studied laboriously. He became so proficient in telling northern stories and reciting Service's poems that he was soon in great demand as an entertainer across Canada and the United States. The characters and experiences he related soon became real to him. The climax came when he was invited to entertain the International Sourdough Reunion at Portland, Oregon. As Mike was about to start his program, a reporter read a letter. It was from Robert Service stating that Sam McGee and Dan McGrew were his own creation. Mike was shaken, but recovered and so dramat- Appendix — 225 ically recited Dan McGrew that respectable old Sourdoughs in the audience were carried away and, rising, declared that they knew that Mike was right. It was a dramatic success, but it was Mike's last appearance as an entertainer. He died at Santa Monica, California on April 8th, 1951. Robert Service The author first met Robert Service in school principal Fisher's commodious log cabin in Whitehorse. On cold nights, after skating or curling, the "boys" would gather in the bachelor cabin and it became a sort of club. Among the regulars were Lockie Burwash and his brother, Al, and Tom Dixon, of the Survey Department, "Stroller" White of the Whitehorse Star, Percy Peele, Customs appraiser, Herb Wheeler, superintendent of the B.Y.N, stage line, Isaac Taylor and Will Drury, general merchants and fur post owners, W. D. McBride of the White Pass Railway Company (now Yukon curator), Al LaRose, Whitehorse Rapids pilot, Judge Taylor, W. L. Phelps, barrister, and Robert Service, then accountant in the Bank of Commerce. Among the occasional callers at the cabin were Bishop Isaac O. Stringer, Rev. Edward Turkington, Presbyterian minister, Rev. H. A. Cody, author of "The Frontiersman" and "An Apostle of the North", north and south bound travellers, stage drivers, dog drivers, prospectors and an occasional big game hunter and adventurer. Among Fisher's pupils who would occasionally come in was Dick Racine, who in August, 1958, led the Long Beach, California International Sourdough Reunion in their entertainment, and was in 1959 International Sourdough President. As northern experiences and tales were told, Service, or "Bob" as he was called, would sit quietly listening and possibly absorbing inspiration for such poems as "Sam McGee" and "Dan "McGrew." When the author was president of the Vancouver Yukoners' Association he invited Robert Service to their annual March dinner at the Hotel Georgia. Mr. Service came with his wife and daughter from nearly half way round the world. When called called on to speak, he said, "I was sitting on the bank of the Mediterranean when my daughter brought me Mr. Hamilton's letter inviting me to your dinner, and when I read it to her she said, 'Dad, you're not going all the way to Vancouver to a dinner?' mm 226 — The Yukon Story I said, 'Yes, daughter, I'm going and your mother and you are going and we'll be there in the ruddy flesh.' And here we are among the greatest friends of my life." Mickey O'Rourke, VC Mickey O'Rourke, eldest brother of the present Mrs. George Black, went to the Klondike from British Columbia, in 1897, from there, in '99, joined the first Canadian volunteers who went to the Boer War in South Africa. Then in World War I he went overseas with the First Canadian contingent and became the most decorated man in the Canadian army. He first won the Military Cross and when King George V. decorated him with the Victoria Cross the King shaking hands with him said, "Now you are at liberty to go home." He replied, "I couldn't desert my friends." Later he won the D.C.M. and the French conferred on him the Croix de Guerre. President Woodrow Wilson personally congratulated him. Disputed Territory Despite assertions of some writers to the contrary, the discovery of gold in the Klondike did not cause the first dispute between the United States and Canada over the Alaska Panhandle boundary. Prior to that time, disputes had taken place over shipping from Canadian points to the Cassiar and Omineca miners, through the panhandle. Canada had made efforts to secure a permanent settlement, but she was handicapped by not then having her own treaty-making powers, and this helped to make her efforts unavailing. The American political doctrine, that it was the 'manifest destiny' of the United States to possess all of North America, had been openly espoused since 1845 and '46, when editorials expounding this doctrine, and believed to have been written by John L. O'Sullivan, editor of the Democratic Review and the New York Morning Post, appeared in these journals, in connection with the invasion of the Mexican State of Texas, and the Oregon boundary problem. Appendix — 227 According to Julius W. Pratt "the doctrine soon passed into the national vocabulary". However, that aggressive national ambition had already gained such widespread approval, throughout the republic, that President Polk, in 1844, had won election on the slogan "Fifty-four-forty or fight". The immediate objective of this was to take possession, not only of the present States of Oregon and Washington, then administered by the Hudson's Bay Company, but also that part of what is now British Columbia up to the then Russian-owned Alaska panhandle. There would have been no Pacific Coast of Canada. When Polk assumed office he found that the invasion of Texas was not as easy as he had expected. Although British statesmen knew little of the country north and west of the Columbia River and one had called it, "a rocky barren country with a few pine swamps", Polk feared that if he persisted in his attempt to shut Britain off the Pacific coast, and seize all territory west of the Rockies, she might join Mexico in the war. The result of this might be uncertain. So he compromised on the present boundary prolongation of the Forty-ninth parallel. This parallel had been agreed to as the boundary from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818. The area south of the Forty-ninth parallel, now composing the States of Oregon and Washington, then administered by the Hudson's Bay Company, was claimed by the United States, on the ground that American settlers had occupied and cultivated land in the south-eastern part of the area. By 1846 so many of these settlers had entered the country that, in order to avoid war, it was accepted by Britain as a determining factor in surrendering it to the United States. The boundary, as since recognized, was settled by the Buchanan-Packenham treaty of June 15th, 1846. Trouble over the Alaska Panhandle had occurred between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Russian-American Company in 1834, and was settled by the Russian-American Company giving a lease to the Hudson's Bay Company. This lease was renewed, from time to time, until the United States purchased Alaska from Russia, in 1867. The first dispute between the United States and Canada over this boundary was caused by the American breach of Article Twenty- six of the Treaty of Washington, agreed to between Great Britain and the United States in 1871. The United States refused to allow Canadian vessels to carry freight through the Panhandle on the Stikine River to Cassiar and Omineca miners, in 1873. 228 — The Yukon Story This action led the British Columbia legislature to request the Dominion Government to "take steps to have the boundary delineated". In the meantime it led to Canada's enforcement of the shipping regulations against American vessels. The treaty of 1824, between Russia and Great Britain, defined the boundary-line between their respective possessions in North America as follows: "Commencing at the southernmost island, called Prince of Wales Island, which point lies in the parallel of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes north latitude and between the 131st and 133rd degree of west longitude (meridian of Greenwich) the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called Portland Channel as far as the point of the continent where it strikes the fifty- sixth degree of north latitude. "From this last international point the line of demarkation shall follow the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast as far as the point of intersection of the 141st degree west longitude (of the same meridian) and finally, from the said point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st degree in its prolongation as far as the frozen ocean (the Arctic) shall form the limit between Russian and British possessions on the continent to the north-west "With reference to the line of demarkation laid down in the preceding article it is understood: first, that the island called Prince of Wales Island shall belong wholly to Russia; second, that whereas, where the summit of the mountains which shall extend in a direction parallel to the coast, from the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude to the point of intersection on the 141st degree of west longitude shall prove to be of the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean the limit between British possessions and the line of the coast, which is to belong to Russia, as above mentioned, shall form a line parallel to the sinuosities of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues therefrom." Files of F. C. Wade, Counsel for Canada, claimed that, under the three mile limit, enunciated by Thomas Jefferson, United States Secretary of State in 1793 and agreed to on the initiative of the United States in 1818, by the principal marine nations including Great Britain and Russia, Skagway was well within Canadian territory. This recognized international law defined the coast boundaries of each country as follows: "The territorial limits of each country Appendix — 229 shall extend one marine league from the shore at high water mark and, where an inlet or arm of the sea extends two marine leagues in width, between its headlands, a straight line drawn from one headland to the other is equivalent to the shore line." As Skagway, at the head of Lynn Canal, is more than ten marine leagues from the ocean (as defined in the Treaty in the two marine league clauses) Canada claimed that Skagway was within Canadian territory and in 1898 stationed a Customs officer, E. S. Busby, and a detachment of North West Mounted Police at that port of entry to the Yukon Territory. The United States took de-facto possession and a survey of Skagway townsite was made by an American company. They claimed that the "sinuosities of the coast" as defined in the Treaty of 1824 meant the heads of all inlets and that Skagway belonged to the United States. The first serious international incident to occur was in 1898 when an American lawyer (said to be a brother of Joaquin Miller, "the poet of the Sierras") with armed followers, entered the Canadian Customs Office and demanded that that "damned rag" (the Canadian Flag) be taken down or they would "shoot it down." Stories differ as to what happened; one is that the flag was torn down. Another is that the Customs Officer threatened to shoot anyone who touched it and that it remained up until the Customs Office was removed to the Summit of the White Pass, pending a boundary settlement. As there were other disputed matters to settle, as well as the boundary, at Canada's request a meeting of representatives of the two countries was held in Quebec City, in September, 1898. At that time Canada did not have full treaty-making powers, and efforts to agree on the boundary failed. It was, however, recommended that a joint tribunal between the United States and Great Britain be held as soon as possible, with Canada represented in the boundary negotiations. Since the United States was in de- facto possession of Skagway, Canada also agreed to remove her officials to the Summit of the White Pass, until the boundary dispute should be settled. This was done at once. The United States agreed to "Give the same rights and privileges in placer-gold mining to native-born citizens of the Dominion of Canada, in the District of Alaska, as are accorded to citizens of the United States in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory." However, they added a clause, not then significant to the Canadian representatives, that "no greater rights and privileges shall be 230 — The Yukon Story accorded to native-born citizens of the Dominion of Canada, in the District of Alaska, than are accorded to citizens of the United States in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory." When the amended Alaska mining regulations, incorporating this agreement, were issued, a footnote to this clause stated that, "As placer-gold mining titles in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory are leasehold and placer gold mining titles in Alaska are freehold, this clause is, for the time being, inoperative." This was the joker, and while United States citizens, before that time and ever since, have enjoyed the privilege of legally holding and mining placer claims in British Columbia and Yukon Territory, and have taken, probably, more gold from these areas than Canadians and all others, this reciprocal privilege is still withheld from Canadians in Alaska. American business, and American coast cities have, for over eighty years, benefited from the gold mining of the Cariboo, Omineca and Cassiar, and since before '98, from the Yukon, while the United States federal government still denies similar privileges to Canadians in Alaska. The Alaska Boundary Tribunal was held in September, 1903. The United States was represented by Elihu Root, Secretary of War, Henry Cabot Lodge and Arthur Turner; Great Britain by Lord Alverstone; and Canada by Sir Louis Jette and Sir Alan Aylesworth. The late F. C. Wade, former Crown prosecutor for Yukon Territory, was counsel for the Canadian side of the case. The award was signed by all three United States representatives and Lord Alverstone, but not by Jette nor Aylesworth. They submitted a minority report which Sir Louis Jette concluded as follows: "It being in opposition to the language of the treaty (that of 1824) I found it impossible, under such circumstances, to concur in the arbitrary delineation of a line which, although it does not concede all the territory claimed by the United States, nevertheless, deprives Canada of the greater part of that to which she was entitled." Aylesworth concluded, "It is not a judicial decision." Jette and Aylesworth decided, after submission of this minority report, to withhold further comment, but after about thirty years' silence, Aylesworth,, in an address delivered in Toronto, and reported in the Toronto Star, said that he and his colleague, Sir Louis Jette, could not understand the sudden change in the attitude of Lord Alverstone, and were ignorant of the fact, later recited to him by Justice Hodgins, that President Theodore Roosevelt Appendix — 231 had wielded a "big stick", in the form of a letter to Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. to be shown, "indiscreetly", to Joseph Chamberlain, Arthur Balfour and other leading British statesmen, saying that he stood "ready to take what he wanted, by force of arms, if necessary." Britain did not want war, and Alverstone was instructed to sign the award as claimed by the United States representatives. Henry F. Pringle, biographer of President Theodore Roosevelt, referring to the letter, says—"it afforded an insult to British prestige that might have meant war"—and he points out that Roosevelt had already sent troops to Alaska, having ordered Secretary of War Elihu Root, to "have additional troops sent as quickly and unostentatiously as possible to southern Alaska." Referring to the incident, Thayer, in his "Life and Letters of John Hay" says, "assuredly they (the British statesmen) knew that Mr. Roosevelt meant what he said and he had already sent troops to Alaska." The feeling of dissatisfaction existing in Canada over the Alaska Boundary Award is shown in the comments of The Toronto Star on the remarks of Sir Alan Aylesworth. It said, "One flourish of the big stick in the hands of President 'Teddy' Roosevelt and Canada lost territory half the size of Scotland." The yielding of Britain to President Theodore Roosevelt's threat of war and its consequences to Canada were a deciding factor in Canada's later demand that, in all external affairs, as well as in domestic matters, she alone, and not Great Britain, should have sovereign rights to make her own decisions. While Canada's sense of frustration and injury did not remedy the Alaska Panhandle problem, it led, indirectly, to the securing of her full and sovereign national status, finally settled by the Statute of Westminster in 1931. However, the Panhandle situation is still irritating, and economically handicapping to Western Canada, in its effect on northern British Columbia and Yukon Territory, especially since important discoveries of asbestos and other base metals have recently been made in northern British Columbia and the Yukon Territory and free access to the coast is more important than ever. The great water power potential of the upper Yukon's series of lakes is challenging. The Aluminum Company of America's Alcoa Development Company proposed erecting a dam below Lake Labarge to divert the water-power of the Yukon River lakes (wholly in Canada) from an elevation of about twenty- II 232 — The Yukon Story five hundred feet, across the Panhandle to tide-water on the Pacific coast at, or west of, Skagway. A greater horsepower than has been developed at Kemano, B.C. was envisaged with a resulting industrial city of about twenty-five thousand people, and wholly in American territory. Frobishers Limited, of Montreal, were simultaneously interested and made studies of power sites. Atomic power prospects and changes in aluminum production methods slowed up the development of wilderness power. During the last half century, since 1898, Nature has been at work and two glaciers, at Yakatat Bay and Dry Bay, respectively, have each receded over thirty miles and two ocean ports, still rather limited as to area and townsite possibilities, are forming in Canadian territory, inside the Panhandle between Skagway and the 141st Meridian. They are, as yet, only future possibilities. Another development of the Yukon water power is now being considered. It is to dam the upper Yukon as suggested, but to build a tunnel from the south end of Atlin Lake and, generating energy there, transmit it to the present mining centre near Telqua, on the Taku River, behind the Panhandle, in British Columbia, or to Stewart, south of the Panhandle. Any project that would mean shipping through the Panhandle would suffer from the present handicap, imposed by the United States, of bonding goods and transfer of cargoes. This led to a study, by the British Columbia-Yukon Chamber of Mines, and Professor Harry Warren, professor of geology at the University of British Columbia, of the historic aspects of the situation, and a re-examination of the almost forgotten provisions of the treaty of 1824, between Russia and Great Britain. These provisions have a decided bearing on the so-called "corridors" of the Panhandle, between the Pacific coast and the interior. Section Four of the treaty of 1824 provides that "British Subjects from the interior of the continent, shall, forever, enjoy the right of navigating freely and without any hindrance whatever, all the rivers and streams which in their course towards the Pacific ocean may cross the line of demarkation upon the line of the coast." This right, never rescinded, does not apply in practice and Canadian shipping is handicapped by the present bonding and cargo transfer restrictions, while, according to the treaty, these rivers and streams, or "corridors", should be "forever free from any hindrance whatever", as recognized by Russia prior to the purchase of Alaska by the United States. Canadians who know the situation claim Canada should seek Appendix — 233 to have the United States discontinue this interference, and if she should refuse to do so, then Canada should appeal to the International World Court. As the World Court came into being under the leadership of the United States, and the United Nations organization was ratified at San Francisco on June 26th, 1945, with Canada as a party to its provisions, this course, if necessary to secure justice, should be acceptable to the United States. The declared purpose of that organization is "to develop friendly relations, based on the principle of equal rights and self-determination of all peoples, and to take appropriate means to develop universal peace." If these principles, subscribed to at San Francisco, were voluntarily applied by the United States to the Panhandle problem and, also the reciprocal rights of Canadians in placer mining in Alaska, as agreed to in 1898, long standing grievances would be removed. Failing voluntary ending of this injustice, a World Court decision should be sought and cheerfully accepted. However, another and perhaps happier solution of this vexed problem, has been suggested. It is an exchange between the two countries of the Alaska Panhandle for a western portion of the Yukon Territory, adjoining Alaska's main eastern boundary, from the Arctic to the Pacific oceans, of equal value to the Panhandle. Such an exchange could be arranged by a body of unbiased experts, taking into consideration the merit of Canada's claims for redress. Alaska proper has many outlets to the Pacific coast, and the Panhandle's geographical position with no interior of its own, if attached to British Columbia would be greatly enhanced in value to its inhabitants. The exchange could also take into consideration Alaska's waterpower needs and other potentials. Not only would a fair exchange be of great value to each country, but it would show the world that fair dealing between nations is possible and that, besides the well known, unarmed, three thousand miles of boundary between the two countries, there would be another thousand, unarmed in spirit as wall as letter. While British Columbia and the Yukon Territory are still handicapped as a result of President Theodore Roosevelt's aggressive action, it is worthy of note he was roundly rejected by his own party when he sought a second term. And then, when he started what Americans appropriately called "the bull-moose party", he was overwhelmingly rejected by the people of the United States, showing that the people at large favored a good- neighbor policy toward Canada and other nations. I 234 — The Yukon Story Marine Disasters THE CANADIAN ISLANDER left Skagway August 14th, 1901 for Vancouver, B.C. with a crew of 62 and 111 passengers, most of whom were returning from the gold-fields with their cleanups. Some three million dollars in gold was estimated to be lost in this wreck. She was said to have struck an iceberg in Stevens Passage off Douglas Island, at two o'clock on the morning of August 15th. It was reported that 42 lives were lost with the ship. Only a partial list of the victims is available, as follows: Mrs. J. L. Wilcox Mrs. Dr. Phillips Mrs. James Hamilton Ross, a daughter and niece J. A. Betham J. M. Douglas Mrs. W. J. Smith Dr. John Duncan F. Mills Mrs. J. C. Henderson Andrew J. Keeting and two sons Mr. Bell Mrs. Captain Nickerson P. Buckholder H. P. Burke Hugh Potter Neil Folk and two children THE STEAMSHIP PRINCESS SOPHIA left Skagway at 10:11 p.m. October 23rd, 1918, with 313 passengers bound for Vancouver, B.C. At 2 o'clock the ship struck Vanderbilt Reef in Lynn Canal, remained on the reef until 5:10 p.m. Friday 25th, when she slipped off and went to the bottom. All souls were lost, including the crew — not a single survivor to tell of it. It was the worst disaster in Canadian maritime history and, coming to a region adversely affected by the world war, cast a pall of gloom over the Yukon for several years. Ableston, Joe Aftiksen, T. Alexander, Capt. J. and wife Mrs. Alexander Allen, Geo. S. Allmark, James H. Amalong, Mr. & Mrs. W. S. Anderson, J. P. Anderson, Mrs. J. P. Anthony, A. W. Beckman, Oscar Baggerly. J. S. and wife Baker, George G. Barlow, C. W. Barnes, Allen Barnes, Walter Barton, W. Beaton, Mrs. John and child Bell, Edward M. and children, Robert and Evelyn Bennett, Howard Beyer, F. C. Bibble, W. C. Bloomquist, Capt. J. C. Blythe, A. T. Bourne, A. T. Appendix — 235 Boyer, Fred Bridge, Harry M. and wife Brown, Frank Brown, J. W. Brown, Sam Campbell, A. Carr, Mrs. W. S. Castleman, Chas. S. Chanquist, Sam Chanquist, Charles Chairlin, W. C. Chinery, Charles S. Chisholm, J. S. and wife Christenson, J. Clark, James A. Clark, Lloyd E. Climento, Nino Collins, Thomas J, Colandra, Marie Clover, John M. Cousins, Mrs. Charles Craven, Charles Crone, J. Dalby, Sewel M. Dallas, G. A. Dano, G. M. Darling, G. S. Davies, Herbert and wife Davis, M. Davis, Richard Harding and wife Deur, Thomas Douglas, Capt. J. Dube, Narcisse Dubois, James Eads, Murry S. and wife Elliott, F. W. Eyre, John Finlay, Robert Flanigan, J. J. Fleming, A. Foster, W. A. Garner, J. E. and wife George, Jim Gibbs, Frank L. Gidlund, A. O. Gillis, Mrs. Dan Green, Capt. and Mrs. J. C. Grove, W. H. Gurkovich, Peter. Guy, Charles Hagen, Fred Haner, Robert Haggerty, William Hager, Robert Hall, Mrs. James Hall, Robert M. Hanson, Lars M. Harper, Walter Hatcher, Jack Hawey, G. Hawes, R. C. Hayness, Jack Hedlund, Carl Heinzer, L. Helliwinkle, John W. Hendrix, George R. Hennesse, Thomas Henry, Sam Henry, Mrs. Sam Hoerling, Thomas L. Howard, J. Holmes, Charles Ironside, Edmund S. Ironside, Mrs. Mary Johnson, Edward J. and wife Kawaga, Charles T. Kelly, J. L. Kenyon, H. J. Kilway, Charles E. Kendall, A. W. King, J. Kirk, James W. Knutson, Carl Kolones, Sam Kontes, P. Koulouris, S. A. Kline, A. Labrie, I. Laird, John A. Lawless, Henry F. Leavitt, Guy S. Lee, L. M. Lenes, Mrs. Anna LePage, Thomas Lewis, A. D. Liber, W. L. Lidgett, W. Mabins, Antone Markus, Mrs. George and child Maskell, Jack 236 — The Yukon Story Matheson, R. Mayhood, George F. Meston, R. Milne, Thomas Milton, George Moyer, M. Murphy, Arthur Myers, Ulysses Grant MacArthur, W. T. McCrait, Guy McDonald, D. A. McDonald, Wm. Herbert and wife and Eunice, Russell and Ruth McLacklan, Roderick and wife McLean, Alex R. McLeod, John McLeod, N. and wife McMahon, Thomas McNeill, Lockie McQueen, A. W. McTavish, Roy McWaters, William Neilson, Thomas Nelson, Charles Nelson, E. M. Nelson, S. A. Neuberg, Charles Nichols, J. G. Niles, George A. O'Brine, Wm. John and wife and Grace, Robert, William and Ruth Paddock, George A. Pellison, Arnoux Parkin, Henry B. Patterson, John Perkins, Mrs. Cynthia Peterson, Peter W. Peterson, Nick Pinska, Albert D. and wife Plumb, Herbert Poppert, Oscar Porter, C. W. Pratt, A. D. Pugh, John F. Queen, C. L. Randolph, George C. Robinson, Harold Allen Robinson, Herman F. Russell, H. Rutherford, Harry A. Ryan, Leo Sanford, T. E. Strange, Martin Satomyer, David Schenck, John H. Scouse, William Segbers, Mrs. Joseph A. Seniff, E. Sharon, William C. Shaw, William F. Sheuk, J. H. Shillinglaw, W. W. Shimada, George Sholseth, George L. and Tom Smith, Al Smith, Fed Smith, J. S., wife and two children Smith, R. H. Smith, W. H. Smith, W. P., Sr. Smith, W. P., Jr. Somerset, Henry Sorensen, Sam Soule, F. E. Staples, William Stinberger, William Stewart, Capt. Augustine Sterart, Neil Stritzel, Elmer Strainer, N. Strange, Marin Strupp, O. H. Sutherland, A. H. Swartz, H. M. Tackstrom, Oscar E. Tackstrom, Mrs. Oscar E. Tackstrom, George Taggert, George Tecgerschey, Emil Thompson. W. A. Tolbert, Thomas D. Thoresen, Theodore Trainer, James A. Tribe, George Trucco, Paulo Tsuji, Kaksuza Turbovich, Peter A. Turner, T. A. Vandecar, H. D. VanValkenburgh. Ben J. Appendix — 237 Very, Mrs. Marie Very, Eleanor Verril, C. S. Vifquain, Mrs. C. J. and Joy Vint, P. Walker, A. W. Wares, G. W. Waason, C. E. Wendt, E. A. White, Frank Wilsenson, C. H. Williams, D. I. Wilson, Thomas Winchell, Mrs. Ann Winkler, A. S. Wirgle, B. Wishart, Thomas Wright, William Young, John R. First R.C.M.P. in Yukon The R.C.M.P. force was mobilized as the North West Mounted Police in 1873 with headquarters in Regina, North West Territories. Inspector Charles Constantine was given command of a Yukon detachment in 1894 and they established their various posts along the Yukon River in 1895. The detachment comprised: Inspector C. Constantine, Inspector D. A. E. Strickland, Assistant Surgeon A. E. Wills, Sergeant M. H. E. Hayne, Sergeant C. Brown, Corporal E. Newbrook, Corporal P. C. Engel, Constables: F. Webster, E. Telford, J. Thornton, E. J. Ward, M. R. Gowler, A. Pinkerton, D. Sinclair, A. P. McKellar, S. R. Churchill, H. L. Jenkins, J. Brothers, E. W. Jenkins, J. Murray. In the winter of 1898 and '99 the detachment covered 64,012 miles with dog teams and inspected and numbered 7,124 small craft going down the Yukon River in 1898. This did not include regular river steamers. In April, 1899 the N.W.M.P. Town Station', Dawson, consisted of: Corporal Wilson, Constables: Skirving, Smith, Snell, McPhail, Lathrop, Lukey, Carey, Owen. The Police posts in the Yukon in 1902 were White Pass Summit (B.C.), Cariboo, Whitehorse, Upper LaBarge, Hootalinqua, Montague, McKay, Minto, Selkirk, McQuestin, Gold Run, Dominion, Hunker, Forty Mile and Dawson. In 1899 over $100,000.00 collected in fines was spent on relief. 238 — The Yukon Story Steamboats on the River FOLLOWING IS A ROSTER OF THE YUKON RIVER STEAMBOATS THAT PLIED BETWEEN WHITEHORSE AND DAWSON Anglican, Australian, Alliance May West Bailey, Bellingham, Bonanza Nasutlin, Nora, Emma Nott Casca, Joseph Closset, Clara, Ora Columbian Pauline, Prospector Domville (James), Dawson Scotia, Selkirk, Stratton Eldorado Tacoma, Thistle, Tiran, Tushi Flora, Florence S. Tyrell Gleanor, Goddard Victorian, Vidette, Viola, Vivian Hazel B. Whitehorse Willie Irving Yukoner Kalamazoo, Keno, King, Klondike Zelandian La France, Lightning The only vessel to navigate up through the Five Finger Rapids without the aid of a cable operated by her steam winch was the Eldorado, in 1899. A steam launch, the Burpee, ran for a few years between Dawson and Forty Mile, and a French Canadian mail carrier, Eli Verreau, ran a small steam launch between Dawson and Eagle, Alaska, for several years. The Willie Irving, Anglican, Australian, Bailey and Zelandian were built at Lake Bennett and the Whitehorse and Prospector at Whitehorse. The voyage down stream from Whitehorse to Dawson averaged three days and up stream five to six days. LOWER YUKON STEAMBOATS PLYING BETWEEN DAWSON AND ST. MICHAELS Alice, Aksala, Arctic, Arnold, Armstrong D. John E. Barr, Bella. D. R. Campbell, John Cuddahy. Dawson City. W. H. Evans. Gold Star, Governor Pingree, Mary Graff, F. K. Gustin. Charles H. Hamilton, Hannah, John P. Healey, Herman. Will H. Isom. Robert Kerr, Klondike, Koyukuk. Appendix — 239 Leigh, Leon, Linda, J. P. Light, Leak, Philip B. Lowe, Louise. W. R. Mirion, Marguerite, Milwakee, Minnesota, Monarch. New Racket, New York. Oil City. Pilgrim, T. C. Power. Reindeer (later called Ida May), Rock Island. Sarah, Sault Ste. Marie, Seattle, Seattle No. 3 (and her two large scows, Seattle No. 2 and Seattle No. 4), Sovereign, St. Joseph, Susie, Swastica, Sybil. Tosi, Tona, Tanana. Visearia, Porteus B. Weare. Yukon, Yukoner. The John Cudahy was said to have made the fastest round trip between St. Michaels and Dawson, under Captain McCarthy — twenty days. In later years the only boats plying on the Lower Yukon were The Delta, Will H. Isom, Isabel, Pup, Teddy H. and White Seal. Early Owners of Eldorado Claims No. 1 Skiff Mitchell 2 Frank Fiscator 3 Perkley 4, 5, 6 Clarence Berry and Anton Stander 7 Billy Leak and Charlie Lamb 8 Billy Chapell 9 Billy Leak 10 John Erickson 11 Tom Blake and others 12 Louis Langlois and Captain Ellis 13 "Swiftwater" Bill Gates, Bill Ligget and Tom Mallory 14 Bill Young, Jim McNamee, Alex McDonald and Tom Scouse 15 Sloan and Scouse 16 Tom Lippy 17 N. Picotte and Jim Hall 18 Skiff Mitchell, Floyd Wilson and Edgar Mizner 19 Alex McDonald 20 N.A.T. Co. and Capt. Healey 21 N.A.T. Co. and Joe Barrette 22 Rony and Dune McDonald and Alex McDonald 23 Lewis Ellis and Frank Belcher 240 — The Yukon Story 24, 25 Hugh McGinley and Tom Cannon and Stanley & Worden 26 Sam Stanley and Charles Worden 27 Alex McDonald and Calder 28 Humbolt Gates 29 Charles Anderson 30 Billy Chapell and Alex McDonald 31 Billy Leak and Oscar Ashley 32, 33 Ed Peterson 34, 35 John Lind, Harry Smith and Alex McDonald 26 Simon Stiles and Alex McDonald 37, 38 Bob Ambold 39 George Byrne 40, 41 N.A.T. & T. Co. (Low grade from here to source) Dawson Volunteer Fire Department —1899 1. F. J. Fletcher, Chief 27. Ben Hammond 2. Henry F. Stumer, Assistant Chief 28. F. J. Hemen 3. B. H. (Casey) Moran, Secretary 29. J. L. Kaufman 4. William Galpin, Treasurer 30. Jake Kline 5. David Marks, Assistant Secretary 31. Nat Lyons (Sir) 6. J. M. McNeeley, Capt. Engineer Co. No. 132. W. H. B. Lyons 7. Fred Jacobson, Lieutenant 33. Alex McGuire 8. H. B. Matchett, Lieutenant 34. F. G. McCarthy 9. John E. Hastings, Capt. Hook and Ladder 35. J. R. Nicols 10. A. E. Wert, Lieutenant 36. S. R. Nettleton 11. John Evans, Capt. Chemical Co. No. 1 37. Grant E. Parsons 12. David Marks, Lieut. Chemical Co. No. 1 38. Ike Swartz 13. E. P. Dunden, Capt. Chemical Co. No. 2 39. Henry Sloss 14. J. L. Evans, Lieut. Chemical Co. No. 2 40. Gus Starrett 15. Charles Bush, Engineer 41. D. Stoppye 16. Joseph Stingle, Ass't Engineer 42. Joseph W. Wilson 17. A. F. Bernard 43. J. J. Buckley 18. J. W. Biddle 44. J. Alexander 19. Lloyd Botts 45. Benjamin F. Craig 20. Oscar Burgland 46. F. B. Boyd 21. A. R. Buel 47. Chester W. Tennant 22. J. E. Cockram 48. Paul Snowden 23. W. N. Duff 49. Scott Snowden 24. F. E. Diebold 50. Wilson Taggart 25. A. F. George 51. Martin H. Johnson 22. J. E. Cockram 48. Paul Snowden 23. W. N. Duff 49. Scott Snowden 24. F. E. Diebold 50. Wilson Taggart 25. A. F. George 51. Martin H. Johnson 26. H. T. Hatch Appendix — 241 Klondike Boyle —A Cameo By Thomas H. Ainsworth RETIRED CURATOR, CITY MUSEUM, VANCOUVER On the wall above my desk at the Vancouver City Museum hung a photograph of Col. Joseph Whiteside Boyle wearing the earned decorations of a grateful Rumania and the British Distinguished Service Order. More than a half-century has not lessened my admiration for this remarkable man which was formed at the impressionable age of twenty at Bear Creek, the headquarters of his mining operations in the Klondike. Two years later, his two new dredges gouged the rich deposits of Bonanza basin at the mouth of that famous creek where it merges with the Klondike to join the Yukon. At this time I was working on the daily gold recovery and on the periodic general clean-up of the angle-iron riffles. Through the intimacy of daily contact I learned much of his earlier life as we cleaned the gold for melting. On one occasion as a sailor aboard a vessel on the Thames in London, a flustered mate had yelled "Hard a-starboard", to avoid a collision. Boyle immediately saw that the order should have been "Hard a-port", but knowing the stern sea-code in the obeying of orders, though thinking it to be wrong, he obeyed—and tied up the river traffic for several hours. I often think of this in the light of his adventures in Russia and Rumania when he disregarded any order which he thought to be detrimental to his purpose. Memories of the gold room return to me. This was the point of great attraction to world-travellers and writers seeking material. I well remember a gushing lady journalist from Australia who, upon being invited to pick a souvenir, had selected a large nugget, shaped like a map of her native land. Boyle, in estimating the value, tactfully replaced it with one very much smaller, explaining to our amusement that while the one had size, the other had more character. Here, too, was often demonstrated the love of gold by rich visitors whose diamond studded fingers clutched the large nuggets to let them slip back into the bowl time and again. Needless to say, they were always under vigilant eyes. The boundary line of a mining claim can become the subject 242 — The Yukon Story of much contention; but it is doubtful if there was ever an instance of enforcing rights as drastic as the action taken by Boyle near the mouth of Bonanza where a dredge of the Yukon Gold Company was digging. According to surveys determined by Boyle's engineer, the Yukon Gold dredge was over the line into Boyle's property. Boyle protested to the manager of the rival company, a man his equal in physical proportions. This was unheeded and finally Boyle cut the portable power cable with an axe. In explanation, this heavily serviced, high voltage cable conveys the power to operate the dredge from the pole line across a float in the pond to the dredge. It used to be said that "law suit" was Boyle's middle name. Joseph Boyle never hid his feelings. He was a man of many moods, understandably jubilant at the sight of a rich hoard of nuggets and gold dust daily, when his blue eyes computed the worth; and seriously disturbed in later years when the gold recovery was lean. This was finally replaced by an evident restlessness, induced in some measure by the thought of the machine gun battery whose Klondikers he had equipped, and with whom he mentally trudged the roads of war-torn France. To his mind came the greater things awaiting to be done. The Klondike Valley became too confining for his activities. Klondike Boyle was eager and determined to set out on what proved to be his greatest and last adventure. While on army leave in London, I went to his hotel only to miss him by a day as he had gone to Rumania. Joseph Boyle had the frame, the face and the demeanor of a strong man in the strictest sense of the word; and yet this was combined with sensitivity—to a consideration of justness where it was merited. Indeed, here was a man! In final tribute his last exploit is recorded in the London Daily Mirror of September 30, 1922. The strains and stresses of his wartime adventures had left him physically depleted with a heart ailment and yet he journeyed to Batoum on behalf of Mr. Claude Solly of the Shell Oil Company. Mr. Solly was imprisoned for seven weeks in a filthy underground dungeon at Tiflis on a charge of spying. He was released through the efforts of Colonel Boyle. The colonel died in his English home at Hampton Hill, Middlesex at the age of 56, from heart failure. Appendix — 243 Origin of the Names Origin of the names Yukon and Klondike, which were on the tongue of the world in 1897 and 1898, is in the native Indian language. In a pamphlet of the Canadian Department of Northern Affairs "The Yukon—Its Riches and Romance", these explanations are given: The Yukon, which gets its name from the Indian word "Yuckoo" meaning clear water, comprises the extreme northwestern part of the mainland of Canada, and has an area of 207,076 square miles, or 5.6 per cent, of the total area of Canada. On the north is the Arctic Ocean, to the east is the Mackenzie District of the Northwest Territories, on the south—below the sixtieth parallel—is British Columbia; and on the west, Alaska. The name "Klondike", according to the late William Ogilvie, is an adaptation of the Indian word "Trondiuck" meaning "Hammer- water". The stream was noted for its annual salmon run, and the Indians trapped the fish by means of barriers of stakes which were driven or hammered into the gravel bed. Population In the 1961 census Whitehorse, the capital, had a population of 5,031, Dawson City 846, Watson Lake, Mile 635 on Alaska Highway, 511, Elsa 395, Calumet 377, Mayo 332, Teslin 231, Carmacks 218, Old Cross 217, Haines Junction 198, Carcross 175. The 1961 census total of the Yukon was 14,628, compared with 12,190 in 1956. Reduction of Army establishiment at Whitehorse is expected to reduce Yukon population temporarily. The census of 1901 was more than 27,000. Rivers, Lakes and Mountains The Yukon River, the longest, is 1980 miles long. Other main rivers are the Teslin, Pelly, Stewart, White, Donjek, McQuesten, Nisutlin, Ross, Klondike, Peel, Porcupine, Wind and Snake. Kluane Lake, the largest, is 153 square miles. Others include 244 — The Yukon Story Labarge, Dezadeash, Bennett, Marsh, Aishihik, Tagish, Teslin and Frances. The Yukon's mighty mountain ranges include the St. Elias range to the southeast with Mt. Logan, Canada's highest mountain soaring to 19,850 ft. Cassiar range is in the south, Pelly range in the south and east, Selwyn range in the east, Ogilvie in the northwest, Richardson in the northeast, and British Mountains in the extreme north. Forest Resources Annual timber production is approximately 4,000,000 board feet of lumber and 1,000,000 lineal feet of round timber. White and Black Spruce, Lodgepole Pine, Tamarack, Trembling Aspen, Alpine Fir, White Birch, Balsam Poplar are the principal tree species found, but White and Black Spruce and Lodgepole Pine are the only ones used extensively for commercial purposes— lumber, mine timber, railway ties, building logs, telegraph poles, posts and fuel. The accessible productive forest area in the Territory is estimated at 9,088,000 acres with an additional estimated 17,856,000 acres of potentially accessible forests. There are sufficient timber reserves in the Yukon to supply all local needs but the formation of forest industries can only follow more settlement, road and mining development. Organizations Many Canadian and international organizations and societies have branches in the Yukon. In Whitehorse there is a Board of Trade, a Yukon Chamber of Mines, a chapter of the I.O.D.E., a Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, Elks Club, Masonic Lodge, Royal Purple, Eagles, Oddfellows, Rebeccas, Order of the Eastern Star, the Royal Canadian Legion and the Yukon Historical Society and Historical Museum. In Mayo, the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy has a branch and there is a Chamber of Commerce. A Chamber of Mines operates in Dawson. Appendix — 245 Temperature Range The following table fists the average daily mean temperatures (Fahrenheit) at some points in the Territory: COMPARATIVE CLIMATE DATA Years of Nov.- June- Location observation Jan. July March Aug. Whitehorse 10 5 56 10 55 Watson Lake 12 - - 7 59 2 57 Mayo Landing 26 - -11 58 —2 56 Dawson 30 - -16 60 —6 58 Yukon Cliniate The climate of the Yukon is not as harsh as it is often painted. Along with large parts of the provinces, most of the Yukon is classified as a subarctic rather than an arctic region. Although the Yukon winter is rigorous and long, its severity is easily exaggerated. Average temperatures in January, the coldest month of the year, are little different in Whitehorse and the southern Yukon from those reported for Winnipeg and Saskatoon. However, the average frost-free periods of 78 days at Whitehorse and 64 days at Mayo stand in sharp contrast to 112 days at Saskatoon. The Yukon summer, though short, is pleasantly warm. The average daily temperature in July at Mayo is 58 degrees, only seven degrees lower than in Saskatoon. From June through August the differences in temperatures are much the same. Precipitation, both snow and rain, is generally fight. (From the Department of Northern Affairs publication The Yukon—Its Riches and Romance.') Yukon Air Service The first airway service connecting the Yukon Territory with the "outside" world was launched in July 1937, when Grant Mc- Conachie, bush pilot who rose to be President of the globe- girdling Canadian Pacific Airlines, flew a tri-motored transport 246 — The Yukon Story aircraft from Edmonton to Whitehorse via Grande Prairie and Fort St. John, British Columbia. This was the beginning of a weekly mail and passenger air service and was operated by Mr. McConachie's small company, then known as United Air Transport. In subsequent years the original tri-motored Ford, which used small lakes and also landed passengers and mail on the Yukon River at Whitehorse to connect with streamers for Dawson, was succeeded by fast, well equipped aircraft using landing strips. One of these aircraft was the twin-engined Barclay-Grove. Another was the 14 passenger Lougheed Lodestar. Originally there were no navigation aids on the airways to the Yukon and the service was frequently delayed by adverse weather. Early in the Second World War, however, the Canadian Federal Government established the North-West Staging Route, with modern airstrips and radio range facilities as well as air-to-ground radio communication. Thus was a modern airway developed, establishing the pattern for the high frequency, reliable air service of today. The establishment of this air service, operated by Canadian Pacific Airlines and linking the Yukon and Alberta with all the principal British Columbia communities, is of the greatest importance in the development of the Yukon and its rich resources. A Yukon Railway Vision The most ambitious project conceived by Sourdoughs was a railway to connect New York and Paris by rail, with a twenty- seven mile tunnel under Bering Strait. Captain John J. Healey, who had been a well known contemporary of Buffalo Bill, after operating a steamboat on the lower Yukon, became manager of the North American Trading and Transportation Company in Dawson in 1898. On retiring from the Company he went to Russia and secured consent of the Czarist government for connection with the Trans-Siberian Railway and then completed financial arrangement for his project in Britain, France and the United States. Returning to Dawson, he recruited his survey party in 1906. Chief engineer was J. J. Watson and assistant engineer Garett Tyrell. His dog driver and hunter was Corporal James Edelstone of the Mounted Police, who received his discharge from the force to Appendix — 247 join the expedition and was in charge of transportation and food problems. Others of the party were Alex Patterson, Charles Ray- ner, Alex McDonald, Maurice Panet and William Dennison, all of Dawson, and two Indians known as "Harper" and "Moosehide Sam". The party mushed out of Dawson on January 10th, 1907. Surveys for a base were made at Stewart City and the route went up the White River to the head of Ladue Creek at a point near the present Alaska Highway. From there it crossed the divide and following the Tanana slopes they finished their survey, laying out townsites as well as right of way and got back to Dawson at the end of April, 1907. Edelstone served in the First World War and became a Major. After the war he married his schooldays' sweetheart and retired to West Vancouver where Mrs. Edelstone, since his passing, still lives. In his record of the railway survey he said, "In thirty-two days the warmest day was 64 below zero. We never were hungry. We lived mostly on moose meat and did not lose a man or dog." While the party were at Ladue Creek Captain Healy developed a bad case of erysipelas. They gave him the best treatment they could devise, which was to bathe his face in condensed milk. He did not live long after the survey journey and died in Seattle in 1907. The ambitious railway scheme collapsed when in 1908 Russia elected its first constitutional assembly—the Duma—under Premier Kerensky. This body felt nervous about the tunnel under Bering Strait and cancelled the agreement. Lake Laberge Lake Laberge has the distinction of being the most variously spelled place-name in the Yukon. It appears in divers records of the Yukon as Lebarge, Laberge, La barge, La Barge and Le Barge. The official map of the region (Canadian Government) gives the spelling as Laberge. Yukoners still chiefly refer to it colloquially, as did Hamilton in his manuscript, as La Barge. In editing, this was allowed to remain but the correct spelling now must be regarded as Laberge. Robert Service in his poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee" called it Lake Laberge. 248 — The Yukon Story Owen of Provincial Police Walter Owen of the British Columbia Provincial Police was stationed at Lake Bennett in 1897, later was in charge of the force at the Atlin gold camp in B.C. He had come to British Columbia from Ashby in Leicestershire, England, at 16 years of age and "stump ranched" in the Okanagan Valley in 1889. He married Janet Dick, daughter of David G. Dick, a pioneer of North Vancouver, at Skagway, Alaska and the couple remained for some years in the north. Owen was in Prince Rupert in 1911 as assistant inspector responsible for the force in all territory north of the Grand Trunk Pacific line, then transferred to Vancouver as assistant-superintendent of the British Columbia Police Force. In 1929 he became warden of Okalla Prison Farm, remaining in that position until he was 75. A son, Walter R. Owen, Q.C., is a distinguished barrister in Vancouver and a former president of the Canadian Bar Association. Members for Yukon Territory 1902-1964 The right to elect members was granted in 1902. 1902 J. H. Ross (L) 1904 A. Thompson (C) 1908 F. T. Congdon (L) 1911 A. Thompson (C) 1917 A. Thompson (G) 1921-30 George Black (C) 1935 Mrs. M. L. Black (Ind. C.) 1940-5 George Black (N.G. and P.C.) 1949-57 J. A. Simmons (L) 1957 (Bye-Elect.) E. Nielsen (P-C.) BIBLIOGRAPHY I Married the Klondike; L. B. Berton, Little, Brown and Company, Toronto, 1954. The Mysterious North: Pierre Berton, McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, 1956. The Klondike: Pierre Berton, McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, 1958. My Seventy Years: Martha Louise Black, Thomas Nelson, Toronto, 1938. From Out of the Yukon: Jones H. Bond, McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, 1948. A Cheechako in Alaska and Yukon: Charlotte Cameron, F. A. Stokes, London, 1920. Son of the North: Charles Camsell, Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1954. Yukon Territory: A companion booklet to the series published under the title Geographical Aspects of the Provinces of Canada. Canadian Geographical Journal, Ottawa, 1950. The Yukon Territory: A brief presented to the Royal Commission on Canada's economic prospects. Ottawa, 1955. The New North West: C. A. Dawson, University of Toronto Press, 1947. The Yukon: A. C. Hinton, Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1954. Guide to Alaska and the Yukon: tenth anniversary edition, Len Jacobin, Juneau, 1956. The Climate of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory: W. C. Kendrew and D. Kerr, Queen's Printer, Ottawa, 1955. Down North: Malcolm McDonald, Oxford University Press, Toronto, 1943. Mirage in the Arctic: Ejnar Mikkelsen, Hart-Davis, London, 1955. Mammals of the Yukon: A. L. Rand, Department of Mines and Resources, Mines and Geology Branch, National Museum Bulletin No. 100. Biology series No. 29 Ottawa, 1945. Spell of the Yukon: Robert W. Service, Collected poems. Dodd, Mead, New York, 1944. Alaska—Promyshelennik and Sourdough: S. R. Tompkins, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1945. Old Yukon: J. Wickersham, Washington Book Co., Washington, D.C., 1938. Big Pan-out: Kathryn Winslow, Norton & Co., New York, 1951. The Milepost, Travel Guide to the Land of the Midnight Sun: W. A. Wallace, The Milepost P.O. Box 97, Rancho Mirage, California. Alaska Highway: Canadian Government Travel Bureau, Ottawa. INDEX Abrams, Bob, 39. Abrams, C, 93. Acklin Farm area, 38. A. C. Trail, 38. Adams, Walter R., 147. Agriculture, 141. Alaska, effect of Yukon autonomy, 135; purchase, 6, 227. Alaska Boundary Award, 231. Alaska Boundary Meeting 1898, 229. Alaska Boundary Tribunal, 1903, 230. Alaska Commercial Co., 64, 108, 116, 150, 151. Alaska Highway, 91, 138, 139; Canadian section, 173; scenery, 174, 175; speed of building, 176; survey, 173; three routes, 173. Alaska mining regulations, 230. Alaska Panhandle problem, 227, 231, 233; suggested solution, 233. Alaska-Yukon Pioneers' Reunion 1932, 132. Alaska-Yukon Sourdough Association, 172. Alice Blanchard, 181. Anchor ice, 35. Anderson, Charles J., 217. Andrews, C. L., 195. Anglo-American Convention 1818, 227. Anvik, 160. "Apostle of the North", 225. Archbishop of Rupert's Land, 149. Arctic, 146. Arctic Brotherhood, 40, 80, 114. Arctic Oil Fields Transport Ltd., 139. Armstrong, Neville, 2.19. Asbestos, 92. Ashcroft, 1898, 8. Ashcroft Hotel, 8. Ashcroft Trail, 7. Assaying by Bank of Commerce, 112. Athabasca Lake Oil, 130. Athabasca Landing, 44. Atlin, 25, 26, 51, 164. "Australian Nightingale", 81. Avalanche 1898, 120. Bailey, 30, 97. Baird, Andrew, 219. Baker Creek, 10. 252 — The Yukon Story Bank of British North America, 113, 114. Bank of Commerce, 105-111. Banks in Yukon 1964, 114. Baptist Church, 167. Baranoff, Alexander, 2. Barraclough, Rev. W. H., 156. Bartlett Bros., 217. Beach, Rex, 27. Beauvette, Louie, 76. Belcher, Inspector, 107, 120. Bellingham, 110. Bell, John, 4. Bell River, 94, 139. Bennett, 119. Bennett, Hon. W. A. C, 135. Bering Strait tunnel projected, 246. Bering, Vitus, 1, 2. Bermingham, Claud, 222. Berry, Clarence J., 217, 218. Bigelow, Claire, 39. Big game, 175, 196. Black, Captain George, M.P. 135, 179, 180, 218. Black, Martha, M.P., 135, 179. 218, 219. Blackwater River, 10. Blair, R. M., 219. Blake, Constable, 127. Blaylock, Dr. S. G., 47. Bliss, Major, 178. Blizzard claim, 28. Bloss, Brigadier F. S., 223. Boer War, 36. Bompas, Bishop, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149. Bonanza Creek, 38, 67, 78, 117, 163, 177, 217. Booth, Evangeline, 170. Booth, General William, 167. Boundary treaty, 5. Bowen, Rev. R. J. 146. Bowen Perry, Commissioner, 128. Boyes, Albert, 30. Boyle, Joe, 181, 183, 241, 242. Boyle Concession, 182. Boyle contingent, 181, 182, 183. Boyle's Yukon Detachment, 182. Bradley, W. F., 76. Bragg, T. G., 184. Bristol Bay, 2. B.C. Express Co., 9. British Yukon Navigation Co., 98. Brothers, Constable J., 237. Brown, Frank H., 93. Brown, Dr. J. N. E., 223. Brown, Staff Sergeant, 115, 237. Bruce, Sir Michael, 200. Brush bridge, 103, 104. Brydon-Jack, Engineer, 88. Buchanan-Packenham Treaty 1846, 227. Buel, Arthur, 223. Bulkley River, 11. Bunoz, Father, O.M.I., 153, 154. Burd, Dick, 219. Burd, Frank J., 219. Burns, Clem, 223. Burwash, M, 225. Burwash, Ernie, 101. Burwash, Laughlan T., 218, 225. Busby, E. S., 229. Buxton Mission, 146. Cadzow, Daniel, 148. Calvert, George, 218. Cameron, Archie, 36. Cameron, Billy, 101, 103. Cameron, G. R., 135. Campbell, Robert, 5, 6, 174. Campbell sisters, 222. Camsell, Dr. Charles, 218. Canadian Development Co., 97. Canadian Klondike Mining Co., 182, 221. Canham, Rev., 146. Carcross, 138, 139, 149. Cariboo road, 9. Caribou, 4, 66. Carmack, 69. Carmack, George, 67, 177, 217. Carman, Fred, 23. Index — 253 Carter, Constable, 125, 127. Cassiar Asbestos Corp. Ltd., 92, 94. Champagne, 175. Charles, King of England, 2. Chechako, 85. Chico, 122. Chinnery, Charlie, 101. Chinook, 12, 189. Chirikoff, Lieut., 1, 2. Christmas 1898., 20. Church of England, 146, 147. Churchill, Constable S. R., 237. Chute, Lieut. F. R., 179. Circle City, 162. City of Seattle, 106. Civil Administration 1897, 133. Clark, Colonel Hugh, 149. Clear Creek Placers, 75. Cleveland, Frank, 217. Climate of Yukon, 141, 245. Clinton, 9. Clutt, Bishop, 151, 152. Coal, 162. Cody, Rev. H. A., 225. Collector of Inland Revenue, 116. Collins Telegraph Line, 10, 17. Collison, T. J., 184, 221. Commissioner of Yukon Territory, 119, 130, 135. Company of One Hundred Associates, 2. Conditions in Yukon 1898, 131. Conlin, Jack, 66. Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co., 48. Constantine, Inspector, 108, 115, 237. Container system freight, 93. Cook, Captain James, 2. Cook, Joe, 217. Copper mines, 137. Corbeil, Father, 153. Cornwall, Col. James, 45. Coudart, Father L. J., O.M.I., 155. Coughlan, "Dummy", 101. Craig, Benjamin F., 219. Craig, Clarence, 219. Craig, Mrs. C, 219. Crime 1895-1903, 122, 123. Criminal Administration, 131. Crossing Divide, 48. Curtis, Sir Arthur, 10. Custom duties 1894, 117. Daisy Mason Trust Fund, 70. Dalton Trail of 1898, 139. Danube, 155, 157. Davenport, Fanny, 39, 40. Davis, D. W., 118. Davis, Hon. Mr. Justice, 75. Dawson, 37, 90, 136, 137, 139; Dawson 1897, 68; 1898, 110; 1899, 38; 1897-1901, 125; prior to 1903, 102; incorporated, 135; Athletic Club, 84; district posts, 122; Rifle Company, 178; Volunteer fire department 1899, 240. Dawson Creek, 173. Dawson, Dr. George M., 133, 188, 220. Dawson Hardware Co., 220. Day, A. H., 217. Day, Hugh, 217. Dead Horse Trail, 87. De Leon, Maurice, 222. Dempster, Inspector W. J. D., 125, 128. Dennison, William, 247. Department of Northern Affairs, 135. Depression 1897, 7; 1930's, 91. Desmarcos, Father, 153. "Dick Low Fraction", 217. Dickey, Rev. W. R., 163, 223. Diocese of Selkirk, 146. Diocese of Yukon, 146, 147. Discovery, 24, 28, 51, 164. Discovery Day, 80. Disputed territory, 226. Dixon, Constable, 120. 254 — The Yukon Story Dixon, Tom, 225. Dog Island, 98. Dog-teams for mail, 97. Dominion Creek, 217. Dominion Govt. Telegraph Line, 36. Dominion Lands Agent, 116. Donaghy, Dougald, 221. Donenworth, "Hobo Bill", 101. Dowell, Adjutant George, 171. Downing, Ben, 186. Dredging, 73, 75. Drury, William, 8, 191, 197, 225. Dugas, Judge, 187. Dunham, W. E., 156. Dusenbury, B. R., 219. Dyde, W. F., 185. Dyea Pass, 65. Edelstone, Corporal James, 246, 247. Edwards, Douglas, 219. Edwards, Miss Maude, 184. Egan, Paddy, 223. Eight Below Claim, 39, 40. Eilbeck, Sheriff, 81. Eldorado claim owners, 239. Ellery, Ensign Rebecca, 171. Elliott, Frank C, 93. Elsa, 139. Endelman, Max, 217. Engel, Corporal P.C., 237. Epidemics 1900, 164. Eskimos, 194, 195. Evans, Lieut-Col. R. C. D., 178. Experimental farming, 142, 192. Fairbanks, Lulu, 223. Fairbanks, 73. "Faith Fenton", 82, 223. Falkenberg, Kristian, 220. Farming, 142. Farrand, Bishop, 152. Faulknor, Miss Virginia, 185. Fawcett, Thomas, 118. Field, May, 35. Fiendle, "Simmy", 101. 59-Mile House, 9. Finch, George, 64. Findlay, Rev. A. G., 165. Findlay son River and Lake, 5. Finlaison, E. O., 114. Finnie, Oswald S., 218. First: Catholic Church, 153; Methodist Church, 155; mining machinery, 72; mission, 146; missionary, 145; overland stage, 98, 102; placer gold discovery, 25; Prefect Apostolic of Alaska, 152; Presbyterian Church, 163; train, Skagway to Bennett, 89. Fish and birds, 197. Fisher, A. E., 184. Fishing, 47, 175. Fitzgerald, Inspector, 125, 127, 128. Flewelling, Rev., 146. Foggy Island, 4. Forts: Archangel, 2; Chipewyan, 45, 46; Constantine, 116; Cudahy, 163; Good Hope Mission, 149; Halkett, 48; Hamlin, 162; Malkert, 5; McPherson, 4, 151; Norman, 48; Peel, 149; Providence, 150; Rampart, 150; Reliance, 65; Selkirk, 5, 6; Simpson, 6; Yukon, 4, 6, 53, 64, 145, 149, 150, 152, 162. Forty-mile gold discovery, 65. Foster, Surgeon Major, 178. Frances Lake, 5. Franklin, Sir John, 3, 47. Fraser Lake, 11. Freighting oil drilling supplies, 140. Frew, Sandy, 223. Frobishers of Montreal, 143, 232. "Frontiersman", 225. Fur trapping, 196, 197. Fyfe, Constable, J. F. 125. Fysh, Fred, 52, 53. Index— 255 Gane, Frank, 156. Gannon, Jim, 101. Gardiner, Captain, R. C. D., 178. Garfield, C. D., 172. Gates, Humbolt, 32. Geddes, William H., 147. Gendreau, Father, 153. George, Arnold F., 153. Girouard, Bishop, 152, 153. Glacier Creek, 175. Glaciers receding, 232. Glenora, 17, 163, 164. Gold Bottom Creek, 68, 218. Gold dust currency, 109, 111, 112. Gold dust in mail, 186. Gold first discovered, 64. Gold Hill Hotel, 217. Good Samaritan Hospital, 85, 163. Gosdoff, Michael, 1. Government guide books, 42. Government woodpile, 82. Gowler, Constable M. R., 237. S. S. Grampion, 182. Grandin, Bishop, 150. Grant, Rev. Andrew, 163. Graves, Samuel, 56, 88, 93. Gray, John R., 220. Gray, Thomas, 63. Greenwood, Tom, 147. Griffiths, Dave, 223. Grollier, Father Henri, O.M.I. 149. Groundhog Mountain, 15. Gun-a-noot, 15. Hall Lake, 21. Hall, Leicester, 29, 30. Hall, Rev. Don, 161. Hamilton, Rev. George, 148. Hansen, Captain, 108. Harper, Arthur, 64. Harper, Inspector, 118. Harrigan, William, 17, 29. Harvie and Bailie, 9. Hastings, Miss Ida, 41. Hayne, Sergeant M. H. E., 237. Hat Creek, 9. Hawkins, E. C, 88. Hawksley, Rev. John, 148. Hazelton, 12. Healey, Captain J. J., 108, 246. Henderson, Chief Patsy, 193. Henderson, Robert, 65, 67, 68. Heney, Michael J., 88. Herring, Ed., 40. Herschel Island, 3, 124, 149. Hetherington, Rev. A. E., 155, 156. Hibbert, Rev. R. W., 156. Hill, Captain A. A., 183. Hingston, William, 220. Hislop, John, 88. Holy Cross Mission, 159. Horse hospital, 99. Howes, George, 101. Hudson's Bay Co., 4, 5, 46, 133, 191, 195, 227. Hughes, Rev. Robert, 156. Hulland, R. G., 185. Hulme, Captain D. H., 178. Hulme, Captain G. G., 179. Hunker, Andy, 68. Hunker Creek, 68, 122, 217. Hunt, George, 8. Hydraulic operations, 75. Hydro-electric development, 136. Hydro power potential, 77. Ice breakup, 86. Indians: Chilkats (Tlingits) 6, 188; churches, 190; customs, 189; Dene, 188; dialects, 189; effect of travelers, 46; franchise, 192, 194; Kispiox, 13; Kuldo, 14; Kutchin (Stick) 5; Loucheux (Dene), 148, 149, 151; medical care, 194; Nahanni, 188; Nulato and Yukakoget, 160; Peel River, 19, 148; population 1954, 188; school, 154; Tahltons, 193; Teslin, 19; trading, 188, 191; Tsinkut, 11; tuberculosis, 194; Yukon, 190. Indian River, 66. 256 — The Yukon Story Inkster, W. H., 220. International Highway Association, 172. International Sourdoughs, 219, 220, 221, 222, 224, 225. Irish, Bill, 36. Irvine, Mr. Justice, 28. Irving, Captain John, 30, 31, 97. Jalus, Johnnie, 191. Jarvis, Alfred, 30. Jeckell, George A., 98, 103, 184. 219. Jefferson, Jeff, 101. Jehovah's Witnesses, 167. Jenkins, Constable E. W., 237. Jenkins, Constable H. L., 237. Jones, E. H., 223. Jones, M. H., 220. Jones, Robert, 220. Judge, Father William, S.J., 153. Kasebeer brothers, 13, 16. Kearney, Brother, 150. Keeler, George, 101. Keeney, Captain John, 171. Keno Hill Mines Ltd., 76, 77, 92. Kenseller, Andrew, 64. "Kid in the Klondike", 221. Kincaid, George, 187. Kinney, Constable, 125, 127. Kirk, Jim, 114. Kirkby, Rev. William, 145, 146. Klapan River, 16. Kline, Jacob, 220. Klondike Dairies, 141. "Klondike Mike", 224. La Barge Lake, 33, 98. La Barge, Michael, 33. Lack of developed water power, 143. Lack of markets for produce, 143. Lacorre, Father, 151, 152. Ladue, Joe, 65. Laing, Hon. Arthur, 135. Lake Athabaska, 3. Lake Lindeman, 65. Lamb, Tom, 221. Land values 1898, 113. Langley, Miss Margery, 223. Lapierre House, 4, 150, 151. La Rose, Al, 33, 225. Latta, Sir John, 74. Laurentzen, P. G., 217. Law in the Yukon, 80, 81, 82. Lawther, Robert Allen, 74. Leah, 159. Le Claire, Jack, 36. Lecocq, Captain John, 171. Lee, Norman, 13, 18. Lefevre, Father, 153. Legislative Council, 135. Leicester Hall, 41. Lewis River, 5. "Light From Many Lamps", 171. Lilly, Tom, 23. Lindeman, 119. Liquor, prices, 109. Little, Robert, 23. Livingstone Creek, 138. Llewellyn Glacier, 51, 144. Log Cabin, 119. Lousetown, 39, 84. Low, Richard R., 217. Lowe Frank, 62, 222. Lumsden, Jimmy, 164. McAdam, "Skookum", 101. McAvity, Colonel, 180. MacBride, W. D., 138,225. McCarthy, D. L., K.C, 75. McCraney, M.P. from Ontario, 27. McDonald, Alex, 153, 247. McDonald, Rev. Archdeacon, 189, 195. McDonald, Joe, 101. McDonald, Rev. Robert, 64, 145, 146. McFarland, Warren, 221. McFarlane, Dr. Robert, 153. Index—251 McGill, Ensign Thomas James, 171 McGill, Envoy and Mrs. James, 171. McGookin, Rev. J. Y., 165. McGregor, J. D., 218. McGregor, Mining Inspector, 118. McGuire, Mr. Justice, 118. Mefllree, Assistant Commissioner, 119. Maclnnes, A. D., 114. McKay, Chief Factor, 45. McKay, Lieut. W. M., 178. McKay, "Three Fingered", 107. McKellar, Constable A. P., 237. MacKenzie, Alexander, 3. McKenzie, George, 184. MacLean, Murdo, 27, 63. McLellan, Gordon, 29, 30, 40, 41, 184. McLellan, Miss Winnie, 184. Maclennan, Lieut. J. F., 179. McLeod, Charlie, 221. McMurray, Dougald, 220. McNabb, James, 64. McNeeme, James, 217. McPhatter, Matthew, 8. McPherson patrol tragedy, 125. McQuestin, Jack, 64. McWhorter, W. H., 76. Mahan, T., 185. Mahoney, "Big Mike", 223, 224. Mail service, 97, 124, 186, 187. Mammoth tusks, 200. Martin, Premier Joseph, 28. Mary House, 154. Masonic Order, 85. Mathews, Major, 170. Mayo, Alfred, 64. Mayo, 77, 139. Menzies, H. G., 185. Mercier, Francois, 150, 151. Mercier, Moise, 151. Methodist Church, 154-163. Metro, Joe of Old Crow, 191. Miles Canyon, 31. Miller, Sidney, 25. Miners' Association, 26, 27. Miners' numbers 1895, 116. Minter, Roy, 140. Minto, Earl and Lady, 37, 39, 83. Missionaries as teachers, 147. Mission boat Sky Pilot, 147. Mitchell, Skiff, 218. Moberly Rapids, 45. Moir, G. T., 132. Montague, 122. Morfort, "Judge", 109. Moses, Chief David, 193. Mother Lode, 140. Morrell, Mark, 74. Morris, Emory, 8. Morris, Lieut.-Col. Frank, 167. Morris, Orvis, 8. Mount St. Elias, 1. Murgatroyd, Ted, 30. Murray, Constable J., 237. Nanook Creek, 161, 162. Narrow gauge to Whitehorse, 88. Nechako River, 11. Neill, Frank, 51, 52. Neilson, Erik, 135. Newbrook, Corporal E., 237. Nome, 73. Nordling, Otto, 222. Norquay, Dr., 220. Norris, Ensign Frank, 171. North American Trading and Transportation Co., 108, 116, 246. Northern Alberta Railway, 173. Northern Commercial Company, 191, 219. Northern lights, 199. North Fork Power Co., 74. North-West Highway System, 174. North West Mounted Police, 105, 113, 115; duties, 121; increased force 1897, 117; numbers 1896, 117. 258 — The Yukon Story North West Trading Co., 2, 46. Norwood, Mining Inspector, 118. Oblate missionaries invited, 151. Odd-Fellows, 85. Ogilvie sisters, 223. Ogilvie, William, 41, 65, 116, 118, 119, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 148, 184, 217, 243. Old Crow, Minnesota, 6. Olympic Hotel, Dyea, 107. Olympics Incorporated, 172. Omineca Mining Recorder, 17. 100-Mile House, 9. 150-Mile House, 10. O'Rourke, Mickey, V.C., 226. Osborne, Mrs. Frank, 219. Ostad, Charles, 43. O'Sullivan, John L., 226. Ottawa to Fort Selkirk, 178. Otter Falls, 139. Outpost, typical, 139. Overland Trail, 98. Pacific Great Eastern Railway, 174. Panet, Maurice, 247. Parker, Bert, 221. Parsons Produce Company, 28. Paton, Tom, 171. Patterson, Alex, 247. Patterson, F. J., 185. Patton, John Thomas, 74. Pattullo, T. Dufferin, 118, 218. Peace River, 47. Peele, Percy R. 70, 225. Peel River Post, 150. Pelly River, 5. Pelly, Sir Henry, 5. Permafrost, 35, 71, 72. Perry, Supt. A. B., 119. Peter the Great, 1. Petitot, Father, 150. Petoit, Father, 151. Petroleum transportation, 95. Phelps, W. L. 225. Philadelphia students adventure, 50. Pine City, 23. Pine Creek experimental station, 143. Pine Point, 47. Pinkerton, Constable A., 237. Placer-mining, 73, 133. Plant, Mrs. Ralph, 155. Poetry of North, 204. Police force 1898, 119. Porte, Lieut. E. H., 178. Port Essington, 13. Powell, Bill, 101. Pratt, Julius W., 227. Prefect Apostolic of Alaska, first, 157. Presbyterian Church, 163-167. Prices 1898, 110, 113. Princess May, 40. Principal communities, 139. Principal, first Dawson Public School, 184; first High School, 184; first Whitehorse School, 184. Pringle, Rev. George, 165, 166. Pringle, James, 165. Pringle, Rev. John, 18, 28, 163-167. Quartz Creek, 66. Racine, Dick, 225. Radford, Lieut. William G., 179. Railway, Bennett to Whitehorse, 89. Railway to Teslin Lake, 17. Rampart City, 161. Rampart House, 146, 148, 150. Raymond, Captain, 150. Rayner, Charles, 247. Real estate values, Whitehorse 1961, 138. Reeves, "Hard Face", 101. Reid, Charles, 42, 220. Reid, Frank, 163. Reid party, 48. Reindeer, 198; census, 198; protection ordinance, 198; reserve, 195. Index — 259 Rhondda, Lord, 15. Rich, George, 224. Rickard, Tex, 181, 218. Riley, Father, 39, 40. Riley, "One-eyed", 220. Ripple Rock, 94. River steamboats, 97. Road houses, 99. Robbery Dawson Post Office 1907, 124. Robertson, S. R., K.C, 74. Robinson, Miss, 184. Roediger, Captain, 218. Rogers, Clifford J., 93. Rogers, Dr. T. N., 217. Roper, Herb, 156. Rose Outfit, 14, 16. Ross, Rev. A., 165. Ross, Ensign Fred, 171. Ross, James Hamilton, 135, 184. Ross, John T., 184. R.C.M.P. (N.W.M.P.) 1963, 125; numbers 1903, 122; administrative duties, 123; force 1899, 237; posts 1902, 237. Royal Engineers, 9. Rupert's Land, 2. Russian-American Company, 2, 4, 227. Russian Traders, 3, 4. Ryan, "Sergeant" Kate, 114. St. Andrews Mission, 146. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 163, 165. St. Marys Hospital, 85, 153. St. Michaels, 52. St. Pauls, 146, 147; Register, 147. St. Saviours, 146. Salt beds, 47. Salt River, 47. Salvation Army party 1898, 171. Scarth, Inspector, 117. Schellinger, A. K., 76. Schools: statistics 1961, 185; Supt. 1902, 184; system, 84. Scott, Miss Helen, 221. Scow Island, 35. Scroggie, Ernest, 36. Segbers, Bishop S. J., 152. Seguin, Father P., 150. Selby Smelting Co., 113. Selkirk, 6, 34, 119. Selwyn Creek Post, 34. Service, Robert W., 95, 114, 176, 183, 200, 204-207, 224, 225. Seward, Secretary of State, 6. Seymour, Rev. A. J., 156. Sifton, Hon. Clifford, 44, 118. Silver King, 76. Simmons, Aubrey, 135. Simpson, Sir George, 4. Sinclair, Rev. A. J., 63, 163, 165. Sinclair, Constable D., 237. Sisters of Providence, 154. Sisters of Saint Ann, 153, 154. Sitka Harbor, 1. Sixty-Mile Post, 66. Skagway, 54, 229. Skagway trail, 7. Skinners, 100. Skookum Jim, 69, 70, 217. Slave River, 46. Slavin, Frank, 181. Slide, 38. Smith, "Soapy", 55-63, 106, 163. Smithers, 11. Smuggling gold dust, 115. Snowslide 1898, 7. Snyder, Superintendent, 125. Soil survey, 143. Solly, Claude, 242. Somers, Corporal, 127. Sourdough, 85. South Edmonton 1898, 43. Sovereign, Arthur H., 147. Spahr, Ed., 101. Sparks, George F., 217. "Spoilers, The", 27. Stables, James, 29, 63. Stages, 99, 100, 101. Starnes, Inspector, 118. 260 — The Yukon Story Statute of Westminster 1931, 231. Steamboats, Dawson to St. Michaels, 238, 239; Whitehorse to Dawson, 238. Steele, Colonel S. B., 55, 107, 119, 132. Stern-wheel steamer, 175. Stewart, 36, 103. Stewart River, 5. Stewart, Charles, 125. Stewart, James G., 5. Stikine River, 16. "Story of Alaska", 195. Stratton, 34. Strickland, Inspector, 108, 115, 118, 237. Stringer, Bishop, 70, 126, 147, 149, 189, 195, 225. Strong, Zera, 153. Sun-dogs, 199. Surprise Lake, 21, 23. Suspension bridge, Bulkley River, 12. Swan, Miss Alberta, 155. Swan, Anson, 155. Swanson, Dean Cecil, 197. Swede Creek experimental station, 142. Tagish, 31, 108, 118, 119, 122. Tagish Charlie, 217. Tahlton River, 19. Takhine, 103. Takhini-Dezedeash valley, 143. Talbot, Mayor, 178. Taylor and Drury, 192. Taylor, Constable, 125, 127. Taylor, Isaac, 8, 225. Taylor, Judge, 225. Tees, 167, 170 Telford, Constable E., 237. Tellefsen, Tobias, 221. Temple, William, 85. Teslin Lake, 8, 175. Thompson, Dr. Alfred, 130, 135. Thompson, Harry, 185. Thomson, Mrs. Gwen, 220. Thornton, Constable J., 237. Tobin, Colonel H. S., 220. Tolmie, John, M.P., 41. Tolmie, Premier, 172. Tosi, Father Pascal, S. J., 152. Totem poles, 12. Tourists, 91, 95. Travois, 44. Treadgold, A.N.C., 73, 74, 221. Treadwell Yukon Co., 76. Treaty of 1824, 228, 232. Turkington, Rev. Edward, 156, 225. Turner, F., 125. Turner, Rev. John, 154. Tweed, James, 217. Tyrell, Garett, 246. Tyrrell, J. W., 223. United Church, Whitehorse, 167. United Keno Hill Mines, 77, 94. U. S. Deputy Marshal, 55. Upper Yukon District, 119. Upper Yukon water power, 144. Uranium City, 46. Vancouver, Lieut. George, 2. Vancouver Yukoners, 219, 221, 222. Vereau, Eli, 186. Vickers, Chief of Police, 26. Victims: Canadian Islander 1901, 234; Princess Sophia 1918, 234-237. Wade, Fred C, 118, 156, 219, 228, 230. Wade, Miss Marjorie, 219. Wages 1898, 113. Walsh, Major, 108, 118, 119, 130, 218. Ward, Constable E. J., 237. Warner, Omar, 8, 29. Warren, Professor Harry, 232. Water route, 44. Index — 261 Watson, J. J., 246. Watson Lake, 139. Watson, Matthew, 221. Watson, Theodore, 221. Watt, Lieut. Norman, 36, 179. Waugh, F. H., 217. Webster, Constable F., 237. Webster, George, 101. Wells, Hugh, 29. Wells, Hulet M., 16. Wernecke, Livingstone, 76. Wharf, British Yukon Navigation Co., 39; North American Trading Co., 39; Northern Commercial, 39. Wheel Chinese, 25. Wheeler, Herbert, 93, 98, 102, 219, 225. Whipsawing, 25. Whitehorse, 92, 136, 137, 139, 175; capital 1942, 137, 138; Whitehorse to Dawson, 104. Whitehorse Bishopric, 154. Whitehorse Rapids, 31, 111, 121, 137, 138, 175. Whitehorse Star, 219. White Pass and Yukon Railway, 56, 88, 89, 90, 93, 94, 96; First train 1900, 137; freight service, 94; ocean link, 94. White Pass stage, 103. White, "Stroller", 225. Whiteley, W. A., 217. Whittaker, Rev. C. E., 126, 127. Wilkinson, Samuel, 64. Williams, Charles, 52. Willie Irving, 33, 34, 35. Wills, A. E., Surgeon, 115, 237. Wills, T. H., 113. Wilson, Rev. A. G., 165. Wilson, J. J., 132. Wilson, John, 150. Wind River Trail, 139. Winter truck road, 95, 139, 140. Wood, Colonel Stewart, 220. Wood, Inspector Zackary Taylor, 118, 119, 122, 220. Wrangel, Alaska, 63. Wright, Rev. J. J., 164. Yellowknife, 46. Young, Fred, 27. Yukon River, 231. Yukon: air services, 245, 246; climate, 141, 245; conditions 1898, 131; Consolidated Gold Corp. Ltd., 73, 74, 75, 92, 220, 221, 242; Coundl, 134; Field Force, 177; forest resources, 244; geography, 243; Gold Placers, 75; Historical Society, 138; Infantry Company, 179; lack of developed water power, 143; lack of markets for produce, 143; land values 1898, 113; law, 80, 81, 82; miners' numbers 1895, 116; Order of Pioneers, 80, 114; organizations, 244; origin of word, 243; police force 1898, 119; prices 1898, 110, 113; stage, 101; statistics, 243; temperature range, 245; wages 1898, 113; water power potential, 232; Yukoner, 155. ^ WESTIEIfglM PART or THE Skewing YjirioUiS 3 ROUTES to theYOTOM Dist 1898 Compiled and drawn, under- ffie direction of W.T.JENNINGS C.E. Continued from front flap historical account. Encouraged by his wife — a former school teacher in the North — he turned author and historian and spent years on research and in the writing of what became widely known to Sourdoughs as "Walter Hamilton's Book". He tried unsuccessfully to get his first efforts published but, undaunted, went on accumulating his story, convinced that one day his manuscript would be committed, in hardbound book form, to posterity in tribute to his much loved Yukon and those who pioneered there. Mitchell Press became interested in 1963, visualizing the Hamilton account as a worthy candidate for a place in its growing list of titles on Western Canada's pioneer days. Walter Hamilton saw his manuscript in type, read and corrected galley proofs in 1964, but died before his work was ready for binding. It should stand as a valuable reference work on the Yukon and con-:- tiguous Alaskan regions, particularly in 1897-8 and at the turn of the present century. This is Walter Hamilton's Book, dedicated to his Sourdough companions. MITCHELL PRESS LIMITED VANCOUVER, CANADA I _ It ll I This is the book the Sourdoughs have awaited THE YUKON as it really was... and is! Here is THE YUKON STORY written by a Yukoner who reached the country the hard way oyer the Ashcroft Trail of 1898. Here in Walter Hamilton's work, covering Canada's most colorful pioneer region, are the-^sterdays, the more recent development, today's position and prospects. Earlyifsxplorations, the discovery of Klondike GOLD, the ordeal by overland routes, death in the killer canyon, placering in perma-frost, Skagway and Soapy Smith, Atlin Camp, Yukon characters and anecdotes, the Yukon Stage Line, geography and climate, the White Pass Route, epics of the Mounted Police, lode mining, pioneer missionaries and the established churches in the Yukon, fur and game, poetry of the north, natural phenomena, climate and agriculture—all these and more are the substance of the Hamilton epic account of the Yukon Territory in its most dramatic phases and aspects. T. W. AINSWORTH, retired curator of the Vancouver Public Museum, has written: "Certainly every library on the North American Continent should have the book on its shelves." FORMER PRIME MINISTER JOHN DIEFENBAKER, reading an earlier version in mimeographed, limited edition, wrote the author: "It is a most interesting and readable story and conveys the atmosphere of the Yukon as does no other book that I have read. Excellent . . ."
Includes an index. Other copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7997625
Books
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Vancouver : Mitchell Press Limited
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Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. FC4011 .H35 1964
Yukon--History
The Yukon story : a sourdough's record of goldrush days and Yukon progress from the earliest times to the present day
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