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Keish ( – July 11, 1916), also known as James Mason and by the nickname Skookum Jim Mason, was a member of the
Tagish The Tagish or Tagish Khwáan ( Tagish: ; ) are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group that lived around Tagish Lake and Marsh Lake, in Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory ...
First Nation in what became the
Yukon Territory Yukon () is a territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s westernmost territory and the smallest ...
of Canada. He was born near
Bennett Lake Bennett Lake is a lake in the Province of British Columbia and Yukon Territory in northwestern Canada, at an elevation of . It is just north of the border with the United States state of Alaska, near the Alaskan port of Skagway. The lake has ...
, on what is now the Yukon–
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
border. He lived in Caribou Crossing, now
Carcross Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, () is an unincorporated community in Yukon, Canada, on Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. It is home to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. It is south-southeast by the Alaska Highway and the Klondike High ...
, Yukon.


Childhood

Keish was born around 1855 near Lake Bennett into the Daḵl'aweidi clan of Tagish. His mother, Gus'duteen, was from Tahltan country around Telegraph Creek while his father was Kaachgaawáa, chief of the Tagish Deisheetaan. His family was involved in trade between the coastal Tlingit and the inland Tagish. The family had two sons and six daughters who reached adulthood. The name ''Keish'' is a Tagish word meaning "wolf".


Packing career

In the mid-1880s, Keish spent the summers working as a packer, carrying supplies from the Alaska Coast over the passes to the Yukon River system. He earned his ''Skookum'' nickname because of his extraordinary strength: he could carry huge loads of more than .
Skookum Skookum is a Chinook Jargon word that has been in widespread historical use in British Columbia and the Yukon, as well as the Pacific Northwest. It has a range of meanings, commonly associated with an English translation of ''strong'' or ''monstr ...
means "strong", "big", and "reliable" in the
Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...
and regional English as used in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
. Keish assisted the government surveyor William Ogilvie in his explorations of the upper
Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...
. He reportedly packed 70 kilos of bacon over the Chilkoot Pass for the surveyor, which was more than double the regular load. Keish met George Washington Carmack, an American trader and prospector, while working on the Trail at
Dyea Dyea ( ) is a ghost town in the U.S. state of Alaska. A few people live on individual small homesteads in the valley; however, it is largely abandoned. It is located at the convergence of the Taiya River and Taiya Inlet on the south side of the C ...
. Keish and Carmack became friends, and together with Keish's nephew Káa Goox (
Dawson Charlie Dawson Charlie or K̲áa Goox̱ ʰáː kuːχ( – 26 December 1908) was a Canadian Tagish/Tlingit First Nation prospector and one of the co-discoverers of gold at Discovery Claim that led to the Klondike Gold Rush located in the Yukon territ ...
) they formed a partnership and spent two years packing on the Chilkoot Pass. Carmack later started a family with Keish's sister Shaaw Tláa (
Kate Carmack Shaaw Tláa, also known as Kate Carmack ( – 29 March 1920), was a Tagish First Nation woman who was one of the party that first found gold in the Klondike River in 1896, and is sometimes credited with being the person who made the actual ...
). In 1887, Keish helped Captain William Moore with a survey of the
White Pass White Pass, also known as the Dead Horse Trail (elevation ), is a mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the border of the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia, Canada. It leads from Skagway, Ala ...
, a low lying pass to the east of the Chilkoot Trail. This was later developed as an alternative route to the Klondike.


Klondike discovery

Through Carmack, Keish became interested in prospecting, and in 1888 Carmack, Keish, and Goox began prospecting together up the Yukon River. In the summer of 1889, George and Kate Carmack left Tagish to go prospecting in the Forty Mile region. Keish remained in Tagish, and in the early 1890s he married Daakuxda.éit (Mary), a Tlingit woman. In 1891, the couple had daughter Saayna.aat, known also as Daisy. Several years later, having heard no news of the Carmack family, Keish and his nephews Koołseen (Patsy Henderson) and Káa Goox went to search for them. They discovered the Carmacks and their daughter at the mouth of the Klondike River. Keish, George, and Káa Goox then set off from the fishing camp to go prospecting in the Klondike basin. They encountered Robert Henderson, who was also prospecting for gold. Henderson told Carmack that he knew of a promising spot to look for gold, but would not share it with Carmack's
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
companions. The trio were incensed and left the area. A few days later, in mid August 1896, they discovered gold on Rabbit (Bonanza) Creek when one of them found a nugget the size of a dime. Who saw the gold first is a matter of dispute. Carmack claimed that he noticed it first, but Keish and his nephew asserted that it was Keish who was the discoverer. At any rate, in September 1896 Carmack staked a double “discovery claim”, while Keish and Charlie staked claims on either side of it. Although the claim was close to the area Henderson had indicated, they chose not to inform Henderson, who thus missed out. From 1896 to 1900, the men worked together on the claims, and between them found gold worth almost a million dollars.


Later life

This sudden wealth drastically changed the lives of Keish and his family. Seeking to live by non-native standards, in 1898 Keish built a large, ornately furnished house in Carcross for himself and his family. He lived there in the winters before returning each spring to the Klondike, where he continued hunting, trapping and prospecting for gold. In 1903, he and his nephew Káa Goox made a further but smaller discovery in the Kluane region. In 1904, Keish sold his claims in the Klondike for $65,000. He developed a drinking problem, and as a result in 1905 he created the Daisy Mason Trust to protect his fortune from being spent on alcohol or gifts to others, because it was meant to provide for his daughter's education. His marriage also suffered, and following several attempts at reconciliation, in 1905 they separated and Daakuxda.éit returned to her village on the Alaskan coast. Their daughter remained in Keish's custody. Keish was known for his generosity to his family and others. When Carmack abandoned his wife Kate, leaving her virtually penniless, Keish built his sister a cabin in Carcross. According to Daniel Tlen, "in 1912 he gave the largest
potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Scienc ...
ever held in honour of his deceased nephew Khaa Ghooxh, Dawson Charlie." Keish died in
Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's Downtown Whitehorse, downtown a ...
on July 11, 1916, after a long illness. In his will, he left the income of the trust to his daughter Saayna.aat (Daisy Mason) and also made legacies to his sister Kate, his nephew Koołseen (Patsy Henderson), and two other relatives, although these legacies were never paid. When his daughter died in 1938, the income from the trust was used, as directed by Keish's will, to the benefit of needy Indigenous peoples in Yukon. The Skookum Jim Friendship Centre in Whitehorse was built using this trust fund. A fictionalized version of Skookum Jim appears in the
TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...
series ''
An Klondike ( Irish for ' The Klondike') is an Irish Western television series created by Dathaí Keane for TG4. Internationally, the series is known as ''Dominion Creek''. Set during the Klondike Gold Rush, it portrays the lives of three Irish brothers ...
'', portrayed by Julian Black Antelope, where he is depicted as a
Hän The Hän, Han or Hwëch'in / Han Hwech’in (meaning "People of the River, i.e. Yukon River", in English also Hankutchin) are a First Nations people of Canada and an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the United States; they are part of the At ...
and is killed by the fictional character Pat Galvin in 1898.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keish 1850s births 1916 deaths 19th-century First Nations people 20th-century First Nations people Canadian gold prospectors Klondike Gold Rush People from Carcross, Yukon Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People of the Klondike Gold Rush Tagish people Tahltan people 20th-century Canadian people 19th-century Canadian people Year of birth uncertain