Gold is Discovered in the Klondike

Robert Henderson Makes a Strike

Henderson Enters the Yukon

Robert D. Henderson was born in Pictou Nova Scotia, in 1857. The son of a lighthouse keeper, he was raised by his parents on Big Island. He was going to sea as a fisherman almost before he was a teenager. Leaving home at 14 he moved to New England, from where he went to Portland, Oregon, intending to go to Alaska. Instead he was persuaded to travel to Patagonia by Jim Fielding to prospect. He failed; however, to get there and returned to Nova Scotia. In 1880 Henderson again headed west and worked the Colorado diggings for 14 years. In 1894 he headed for Alaska and in April landed at Dyea. He and two companions, Kendrick ,and Snider, packed his outfit over Chilkoot Pass, and by June 1 he was camped on Lake Lindeman. There he whipsawed some lumber and built a boat, which carried him down the Yukon to the mouth of the Pelly. Here he panned for gold and found enough to bring him $54. Running out of supplies, he headed for Sixtymile.

Henderson Meets Joe Ladue

At Sixtymile, Henderson stopped at the trading post run by Joe Ladue. Of French-Canadian descent, Ladue, who had been born in upstate New York in 1852, had entered the north country in 1882. He had failed to strike it rich, and he went to work for Harper and McQuesten. When they broke up their partnership in 1889, Ladue continued his connection with Harper. Ladue's trading post was a popular stop for all prospectors en route down the Yukon, and he never failed to encourage them with stories of mother lodes just waiting to be found.

Ladue's trading post was about 100 miles upstream from Fortymile. Between the two settlements, two other rivers flowed into the Yukon from the east: the Indian River, about 30 miles downstream from Ogilvie, and the Thron-diuck, another 30 miles farther down.

Ladue had reconnoitered the Thron-diuck, but he had found no colors. He, however, believed that the Indian River country had possibilities, and he urged every prospector that would listen to give it a try.

Henderson was impressed with what he heard. After purchasing a small outfit from Ladue, Henderson joined Jack Collins and they drifted down the Yukon to Indian River. Henderson at this time was 37 years old. He was lean and tall, with "a gaunt hawk's face, fiercely knit brows, and piercing eyes." His full mustache drooped at the ends. The partners prospected Indian River and Quartz Creek, finding some colors. Collins, with the approach of winter, returned to Sixty-mile, while Henderson spent the winter of 1894-1895 prospecting Quartz, Australia, and Wounded Moose creeks. While searching for a way to take his outfit down into one of the valleys on the Thron-diuck slope, he was snow blinded. Henderson, after resting his eyes, sought to return downstream. Encountering a herd of caribou, he killed and skinned two, using the hides to build a canoe.

On May 6, 1895, he injured his leg when he fell across the broken limb of a tree, driving the stub into his calf. As soon as he was able to travel, he returned to Quartz Creek, where he prospected for two weeks. But as his leg still plagued him, he started for Sixtymile in his canoe. Accompanied by William Radford, he was back on Quartz Creek by mid-June. Early in the autumn he headed for Sixtymile to purchase winter supplies. The winter of 1895-1896 was spent alone on Quartz Creek. Here he burned holes to bedrock and drifted tunnels in search of pay-dirt. During this period he panned $620.

While prospecting Indian River and its tributaries, Henderson observed a dome-shaped mountain, whose summit rose above the other hills. A number of streams flowing into Indian River headed against this mountain, and in the spring of 1896 he climbed the dome to see what was on the other side. When he reached the summit, he saw to the north a mass of snow-capped peaks. In other directions, as far as the eye could see, were a maze of hills and valleys. From the dome on which Henderson stood, creeks radiated out like the spokes of a wheel. Three led off toward Indian River and an equal number, on the opposite side, flowed into an unfamiliar watercourse. Although Henderson did not know it, these six streams were destined, within the year, to yield fabulous quantities of gold.

After making his purchases at Ladue's, Henderson loaded his goods and drifted down the Yukon. Not wishing to risk wrecking his craft ascending Indian River, he determined to paddle up the Thron-diuck, into which he had concluded Gold Bottom must flow. At the mouth of the Thron-diuck or Klondike as it soon began to be called, Henderson sighted a camp. Henderson landed and was hailed by George W. Carmack.

Carmack, like Henderson, was a pioneer. He had been born on a cattle ranch at Costa, California, on September 24, 1860. In March 1885, he left San Francisco, reaching Juneau in April. There he organized a party of seven men, and they crossed Chilkoot Pass and prospected the upper Yukon as far as Miles Canyon. Finding nothing they returned to Juneau. Two years later he joined the Ogilvie survey party, and, having been over the route before, helped guide the group to Lake Bennett. That fall he returned to Juneau and bought a supply of goods to trade with the Indians of the Yukon Basin.

At the mouth of the Hootalinqua he prospected, hunted, and trapped with the Indians. Accompanied by Skookum Jim and Tagish Charley, he worked the upper Yukon until June 1889, when they dropped down stream to Fortymile. In 1890 they found colors on Birch Creek, and in July 1896 they, along with their wives, had established a fish camp at the mouth of the Thron-diuck, the best salmon river in the Yukon. Carmack, his wife Kate, their daughter Graphie Gracey, and his two brothers-in-law Skookum Jim and Tagish Charley were catching and drying salmon. Henderson, in accordance with the unwritten miners' code, called Carmack aside and told him of his strike on Gold Bottom. Carmack asked Henderson if there was any chance to stake a claim. Henderson, who had no use for Indians, glanced at Skookum Jim and Tagish Charley, who were standing nearby and muttered, ""There's a chance for you, George, but I don't want any damn Siwashes staking on that creek." These words were to cost him dearly.

Henderson now poled his way up the Klondike to the mouth of Gold Run Creek, where he beached his craft and made a cache. He then packed into Discovery Camp on Gold Bottom.

Carmack Strikes it Rich

Carmack was in no hurry to follow Henderson's suggestion and go upstream and stake a claim on Gold Bottom. He and his brothers-in law were more interested, at the moment, in getting out logs to raft down to the sawmill at Fortymile, where they would bring $25 per 1000 feet. Skookum Jim had already ascended Rabbit Creek, where he had seen many good trees. More important, he had done some panning and had found some colors. He told those at the fishing camp of his discovery, but it elicited scant interest.

About 20 days after Henderson's visit, Carmack told his brothers in-law to get ready to find Bob. Instead of ascending the Klondike to the mouth of Gold Run, they decided to go overland up the valley of Rabbit Creek, which led to the high ridge separating the watersheds of the Klondike and Indian rivers. They started up Rabbit Creek with gold pans, spades, axes, and other tools necessary for a prolonged stay in the woods. A short distance below where they subsequently made their strike, they halted for a rest and found a ten-cent pan. This caused some excitement, and it was determined that if Gold Bottom proved a bust they would return. Carmack told the Indians not to mention what they had found to Henderson, until they had returned, "then if they found anything good they might tell."

On reaching the point where a watercourse, soon to be called Eldorado Creek, discharges into Rabbit, they climbed out of the valley and took the crest of the divide around the head of Rabbit, where they found a route blazed by Henderson. When they found Henderson, they were out of provisions and tobacco, the latter a serious predicament for the two Indians. Henderson refused to share, although Jim and Charley offered to pay well for all they took.

Carmack, and his brothers-in-law, after reconnoitering the area, determined that prospects looked better back on Rabbit and prepared to return. As they were shouldering their packs, Henderson called: “Carmack, I have been intending to do some prospecting on Rabbit Creek this winter, but you might do some panning on your way back, and if you find anything send one of the Indians back and let me know, and I will pay him for coming.”

Carmack agreed and went his way.

The evening of August 14, 1896, found them camped on Rabbit Creek, one-half mile below the forks. Their provisions exhausted, Skookum Jim went hunting and killed a moose. While awaiting the arrival of the others, Jim went to the creek for a drink. There he found gold in greater quantities than he had heretofore seen. After they had butchered the moose, he showed them the colors. It was found that a single panful yielded a quarter of an ounce, or about four dollars worth. In a country where a ten-cent pan had been considered something, to boast of, this was something to shout about. They remained two days, at the site panning and testing the gravel up and down the creek. After satisfying themselves as to the best site, they determined to stake and record it. There was a dispute as to who should record the discovery claim, "Jim claiming it by right of discovery, and Carmac[k] claiming it . . . on the ground that an Indian would not be allowed to record it. The difficulty was settled by agreeing that Carmack was to stake and record the discovery claim, and assign one-half of it to Jim. On the morning of August 17, 1896, Carmack blazed a small spruce tree with his hand axe, and on the upstream side wrote with a pencil:
To Whom It May Concern
I do this day, locate and claim by right of discovery, five hundred feet running upstream from this notice. Located this 17th day of August, 1896.

Carmack stepped off three more claims: No. 1 Below for himself, No. 2 Below for Tagish Charley , and No. 1 Above for Skookum Jim. The gold which they had panned was placed in a Winchester rifle cartridge shell, and they returned to the salmon camp at the mouth of the Klondike. There's a small raft of saw logs was prepared for the mill at Fortymile. While Carmack and Charley went downstream on it, Jim returned to guard the claims, as the country was alive with people Ladue had sent in search of Henderson's camp. On August 19 Edward Monahan and Greg Stewart staked two claims, two miles below the discovery, while on the 20th J. Moffat, D. Edwards, D. Robertson, and C. Kimball staked additional claims downstream. These men, as Carmack could not possibly have reached Fortymile by the 21st, could not all owe their information to Carmack and the two Indians.

Carmack Spreads the Word

When Carmack and Tagish Charley reached Fortymile, and told of their discovery and showed the gold, their story at first failed to arouse much interest. Carmack had not done much prospecting, and his long association with Indians had prejudiced the white community against him. They were unable to believe that the squawman had made a strike. It was believed that the gold was from Miller Creek, and had been given to Carmack by Joe Ladue to start a stampede. When some of them came to see William Ogilvie, he pointed cut that Carmack must have found the gold somewhere. By the time they had recorded their claims with the authorities, a stampede was under way.

Within three weeks the area was overrun with prospectors. Before the end of August, a miners' meeting had determined that the name Rabbit Creek was too prosaic, and the stream was now called Bonanza Creek. Joe Ladue had closed up his trading post at Sixtymile, and had erected a warehouse and cabin on a site he had selected on the east bank of the Yukon, just below the mouth of the Klondike. Ladue named the new mining camp Dawson City in honor of George M. Dawson.

By August 31 all of Bonanza Creek had been staked, with more prospectors arriving daily. Fabulous strikes were now made on the south fork by Antone Stander, Jay Whipple, Frank Keller, J. J. Clements, and Frank Phiscator. Each of these claims, all staked on the 31st, were destined to produce over one million dollars in gold. The stream henceforth was known as Eldorado. . . .

Henderson's Cruel Fate

Earlier in the summer, Henderson had reconnoitered the stream into which Gold Bottom flows and had found colors yielding 35 cents to the pan. He had staked a discovery claim but had failed to record it. He now determined to do so. But as he was getting ready to start, Charles Johnson and Andrew Hunker, veteran prospectors, appeared from downstream. They said they had been looking for Henderson, but had missed the camp and had crossed over the ridge to another creek, where they found a high reef of bedrock and had panned out $25 in coarse gold.

"Yes," said Henderson, "I have been over there and found gold and have staked a discovery claim. Did you see my stakes? I have been calling that creek Gold Run."

Hunker admitted he had seen the stakes, but he, too, had staked and wanted the privilege of naming the creek. After some discussion, it was decided to settle the matter by the flip of a coin. Hunker won.

Henderson and his partners continued to work their claim, and when they closed down for the season, they divided their take, $750, equally between them. Henderson then started for Fortymile, the nearest recording office, to register his claims. On his way down he found that a great number of claims had been staked. When he reached the mouth of Bear Creek, he ascended that stream and staked No. 12.

On reaching Fortymile, Henderson felt certain that he had three claims to register--one each on Gold Bottom, Gold Run, and Bear Creeks. But, when he rushed into the recording office, he was told that there was no Gold Run Creek. When he explained its geographic location, the clerk told him that the stream referred to was Hunker Creek, named for Andy Hunker, who had recorded the discovery claim. He was further disappointed to learn that the law had been changed: no person was allowed more than one claim in the Klondike Mining District, and that claim must be recorded within 60 days of staking. Vainly, Henderson protested that when he had staked his claims, the law had permitted a claim on each creek, with no deadline for recording. The clerk held his ground, and Henderson, allowed only one claim, chose to stake No. 3 on Hunker Creek.

As he left the office he protested, "I only want my just dues and nothing more, but those discoveries rightly belong to me and I will contest them, as a Canadian, as long as I live!"