Fame and Fortune - The legacy of Skookum Jim

Staff members at the friendship centre in Whitehorse are abuzz these days, as they await the release of a film that will tell the life story of the centre's namesake. Skookum Jim Mason, A Man in Two Worlds is a 52-minute video that chronicles the life of Skookum Jim, a Tagish Indian from the Yukon, and the gold discovery that made him famous.

According to historical documents, men were already prospecting for gold in Alaska and Yukon before Skookum Jim's find, but none of their finds were as large as Skookum Jim's. It is one of the biggest gold strikes in history to date, and was the strike that sparked the famous Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. His discovery was made close to what is now called Bonanza Creek, located about 400 km north of Whitehorse.

Skookum Jim was born in 1856 to Tagish Chief Kaachgaawa and his wife Gus'duteen. He was born with the name of Keish, which was given to him by his clan, the Wolf Clan. Keish was influenced to change his name to Jim Mason by a man named George Carmack, whom he met while working as a Chilcoot carrier. The carriers would transport food and other supplies from Skagway, Alaska, to Dawson City, Yukon for a prospector named William Ogilvie, and were named after a treacherous pass in one of the highest mountain ranges in Alaska. Skookum was added to Jim's name, because of his physical strength. The word Skookum in his Tagish language means strong or husky. George Carmack later married Skookum Jim's sister Kate, and became a partner in Jim's find.

Jim's fortunes changed when Carmack and his wife left Whitehorse to travel down river to trap and search for gold. They were gone for quite awhile, so the family sent Skookum Jim and his nephew, Charlie, to search for them. Since there are many conflicting stories about Jim's gold discovery, the film is based on the account of two people, Patsy Henderson and William Ogilvie, whose records of the event are similar.

Before Skookum Jim found his sister and brother-in-law, he and his nephew ran out of supplies and food, so they decided to get some good timber to float down river to sell to a sawmill at Forty Mile, Yukon, a small establishment along the Yukon River. They located George and Kate close to where they were gathering the logs.

They all decided to search for gold in the area of Rabbit Creek - the name was later changed to Bonanza Creek. In the beginning all that the group found were small amounts of gold deposits, too small to record. So they continued to search for trees to cut down and get ready to sell to the sawmill.

To provide for the group, Skookum Jim set off to hunt; he shot and killed a moose. While waiting for the others to get to the dead moose, Jim went down to the creek for water and his eyes fell upon huge quantities of gold. Because Jim was an Indian he did not have the right to record the claim, so he worked out a deal with his brother-in law, Carmack, to split the find. His nephew, Charlie, also claimed part of the stake.

George and Charlie put a piece of gold in a rifle shell cartridge and headed to the sawmill at Forty Mile while Jim stayed behind to guard the find. News of the discovery travelled fast and the three men were treated like royalty. Jim became wealthy and for a time he enjoyed the benefits. Many of the tales of Skookum Jim's wealth have been documented in the archives at the Whitehorse McBride Museum, many of which have been based on the oral history of Jim's descendants.

He traveled great distances as a prospector and to market with the gold he'd discovered, and for a time Jim even found his way to Seattle, Washington.

Skookum Jim was generous to everyone and while living in Seattle, Jim sat in a hotel room and threw bank notes and gold pieces out of his window to passers-by below. He then sat back and laughed as people scrambled to pick the gold and money from the ground.

After moving back to Yukon, Jim built an expensive house with some logs he had shipped from Alaska. In 1912, he hostedthe last big potlatch in Carcross, Yukon. People came from many miles to enjoy the two-week-long celebration. More than $2,000 and other gifts were given out to the guests.

Skookum Jim continued to prospect for gold; his success depended on the fact that he was able to leave for his search with nothing but a rifle, a hatchet and a gold pan. He travelled lightly, so he was able to travel great distances on foot. Jim, who married briefly, had a daughter called Daisy, with whom he maintained a close relationship. In 1900, Carmack sold his portion of the gold claim to Skookum Jim who had by this time bought out his nephew's claim. In August of 1904, Jim sold all three claims to the Lewes River Mining and Dredging Company. A year later Jim established a trust fund for his daughter.

Skookum Jim died of a kidney ailment in 1916. While he left money to his daughter, his sister Kate, and his brother-in-law George, Jim's will outlined that the needs of the Indian people of Yukon be looked after, so the Skookum Jim Indian Fund was formed.

In 1961 the fund had a total of $70,000 in its account, half of which was used to build the Skookum Jim Memorial Hall. Shortly after, the name of the hall was changed to Skookum Jim's Friendship Centre.

"To date, money from the trust fund is still being used to create programs at the centre," said Maria Benoit, executive director of the centre and a direct descendant of Skookum Jim. "He left behind a legacy. He thought of the Aboriginal people," she said.

Benoit claims Jim's legacy not only includes a place for Aboriginal people to gather, but a bridge that he built between two worlds.