Everything about White Pass totally explained
» This article refers to the pass between Alaska and British Columbia. For White Pass in the U.S. state of Washington, see White Pass (Washington).
White Pass (el. 873 m.) is a
mountain pass through the
Coast Mountains in the
U.S. state of
Alaska and
British Columbia,
Canada that leads from
Skagway, Alaska to the chain of lakes that are the headwaters of the
Yukon River, Crater Lake, Lake Lindeman and
Lake Bennett.
The White Pass was closely controlled by the Chilkoot Indians and was unknown to non-natives until 1887.
William Ogilvie had heard reports of low pass from the head of Chilkoot Inlet to the headwaters of the Lewes River (
Yukon River), while in
Juneau. In June of 1887 Ogilvie was at the head of Taiya Inlet doing a survey from Pyramid Island up through the Chilkoot Pass.
William Moore, who was accompanying him, had experience building roads in mountainous areas and wanted to try this route since the Chilkoot Pass was reported to be too steep for a wagon road. Ogilvie made inquiries and learned there was such a pass; but couldn't induce any Chilkoots to guide Moore.
Skookum Jim Mason had been through this low altitude pass before, and with much talk and encouragement he was induced to reveal it. Ogilvie sent Moore and
Skookum Jim Mason over this low altitude pass while he continued with his surveying work on the Chilkoot Pass. Moore did a rough survey of the new pass and returned with the satisfaction that he'd found the route for his wagon road. The White Pass was named for the Canadian
Minister of the Interior Thomas White by
William Ogilvie.
William Moore and his son returned to stake a homesteader's claim in Skagua; as it was then known. They built a cabin and a wharf and surveyed a town site they called Mooresville. In 1894 the
North West Mounted Police arrive at
Dyea and Mooresville on their way to the Canada's
Yukon territory. The first group of prospectors hiked up Moore's crude trail over the White Pass. Once the gold rush began the Moores were over-run. Mooresville was resurveyed by Frank Reid as Skaguay. The crude trail was made into a toll road by George Brackett and the
North West Mounted Police guarded the passes and briefly maintained a post in Skaguay, which Canada claimed.
The White Pass Trail, was one of the two main passes used by prospectors during the
Klondike Gold Rush. The White Pass was an easier route to Lake Bennett than the
Chilkoot Trail a few kilometers to the west, but it harbored a criminal element that preyed on the cheechakos (newcomers to the Klondike). These
con artists were believed to be members of the infamous
Soapy Smith gang from
Skagway, Alaska. By 1898 Smith was dead and his gang were run out of Skagway. So many horses died during the Gold rush that the trail became known as the "Dead Horse Trail". The trail ended at Lake Bennett, where they built or purchased rafts or boats to float down the
Yukon River to the
Klondike gold fields near
Dawson City.
The
White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad was built through White Pass. The southern end of the
Klondike Highway also uses the White Pass and parallels the railway.
Further Information
Get more info on 'White Pass'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://white_pass.totallyexplained.com">White Pass Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
