Happy Jack Creek, Alaska 1899

By Carol Mobley
 I recently purchased a mounted photo for my snowshoeing collection.  I paid more than I usually would but the image was so sharp and I hadn’t purchased anything of merit for this collection in some time.  It was online so I had to rely on the description provided.  Most of the time this arrangement doesn’t work out as I expect. This time, however, I was more than surprised with my acquisition.
 The photo arrived about 2 weeks after my purchase.  I dug right in with eager anticipation.  The image was more than I expected, almost in mint condition, the man in artic gear standing in the middle of a snow field in his rather long snowshoes.  Beautiful!
 Then I turned the photo over to see the back. Sometimes professional photographers use mounting boards that have advertisements on the back for their photography studios.  Some of them are quite elaborate.  No indication of photographer but the fellow in the photo had written a personal note on the back.  “Photo taken February 1899, at Beaver City, Alaska, on Happy Jack Creek (tributary of Alatna or Allencocket) tributary of Koyukuk River of Yukon River, 120 miles above the Arctic Circle.  Compliments of your Friend Chas. S. Young.” Wow!  A research project!
 Who was Chas. S. Young and why was he in the Arctic Circle?  Gold!  Mr. Young was one of twenty-one men who formed a company, Galesburg-Alaska Mining & Development Co, who went in search of gold in the Alaska wilderness.  Along with the group was a talented outdoorsman and amateur photographer, Jasper N. Wyman.
 The group left Seattle in May of 1898 to St. Michael at the mouth of the Yukon River thus avoiding the difficult Chilkoot Pass.  Of course, by 1898 this group of men were behind the ‘rush’.  But with spirits undashed, proceeded onward.
 The crew of men built a steamship named the ‘Illinois.’  Instead of heading up the Yukon River for the Klondike, the group decided to try the Koyukuk River.  Not as many Stampeders made it up the Koyukuk River.  The route was more difficult and almost impossible to get enough supplies through.  By August 8, 1898, the group had reached the mouth of the Koyukuk River.  Instead of heading further up the Koyukuk River, they decided to try the nearby Alatna River, also known as the Allenkaket (Allencocket in his note).  After 4 months of upstream travel, sometimes at just a crawl, the group set up a mining camp.  Other groups arrived and soon there were enough men that two separate camps were established, Beaver City and Rapid City. Today this location is just south of the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.
 The group managed to survive the arctic winter in several 6’x6’ cabins constructed of logs.  Mining was not yielding results and by February 1899, the group was anxious to leave for home. As soon as the Koyukuk River released its frozen grip on their steamer ‘Illinois’ in May many of the men were headed home with nothing but memories.  A few others decided to stay on with other mining operations.
 All this from a simple message on the back of a simple photo of a man in snowshoes.  Amazing what history can be found just by looking.  There is a full article online about the men and their photographer along with other great photographs. https://www.nps.gov/gaar/learn/ historyculture/stampede-to-koyukuk-country.htm#:~:text=In%201897%2C%20when%20the%20world,way%20to%20the%20gold%20fields.
 If you are interested in finding your own piece of history, come out to the Denver Postcard & Paper Show on January 19-20, 2024 at the Holiday Inn Lakewood.  Hours are Friday from 11am-6pm and Saturday from 9:30am-4pm.  Admission is $5.00 with $1.00 off with this article.  Early bird buy-in is Friday at 10am for $20.00.  We have the venue full of dealers who will have postcards, photographs, posters, ephemera and much more.  Hope to see you there!

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