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| Skooum Jim Mason | |
 (Skookum Jim Mason)
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| Born | c. 1855 close to Bennett Lake |
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| Died | July 11, 1916 Whitehorse, Yukon |
| Residence | Carcross, Yukon |
| Nationality | Tahltan |
| Other names | Skookum Jim Mason |
| Occupation | packer over the Chilkoot Pass carrying supplies for miners |
| Known for | credited with making the gold discovery that led to the Klondike Gold Rush |
Keish (c. 1855 – July 11, 1916), better known by his European name Skookum Jim Mason, was a member of the Tagish First Nation in what became the Yukon Territory of Canada. He was born close to Bennett Lake. Skookum Jim Mason was born to a Tahltan women in the Telegraph Creek area, which under matriarchal society made him Tahltan. He lived in Carcross, Yukon.1
In the mid 1880s, he worked as a packer over the Chilkoot Pass carrying supplies for miners, where he earned his Skookum nickname because of his extraordinary strength. Skookum means "strong" in the Chinook Jargon used on the Pacific coast.
He assisted William Ogilvie in his explorations of the upper Yukon. He also showed members of the expedition the way over the White Pass. Keish is today credited with making the gold discovery that led to the Klondike Gold Rush, although, in keeping with the prejudices of the time, it was originally attributed to George Carmack, his brother-in-law. It is also possible that the discovery was made by Keish's sister Shaaw Tláa.
Carmack described Klondike as:
“straight as a gun barrel, powerfully built with strong sloping shoulders, tapering…downwards to the waist, like a keystone. He was known as the best hunter and trapper on the river, in fact he was a super-specimen of the northern Indian” (Skookum Jim Oral History Project- Archives)2
He died in Whitehorse, Yukon in 1916, survived by a daughter, Daisy Mason, sister, Kate Carmack, and cousin, Tagish John.1
References
- ^ a b "SKOOKUM JIM MASON'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT". Yukon Prospectors' Association (1916-09-22). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Sample Interpretive Tour Program: Skookum Jim Tour". destinationcarcross.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
External links
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Skookum Jim Mason |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Skookum Jim Mason |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | credited with making the gold discovery that led to the Klondike Gold Rush |
| DATE OF BIRTH | c. 1855 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | close to Bennett Lake |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 11, 1916 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Whitehorse, Yukon |
