Keish

Keish (1859 or 1860[1] – July 11, 1916), legally James Mason,[1] best known by his nickname Skookum Jim Mason, was a member of the Tagish First Nation in what became the Yukon Territory of Canada. He was born near Bennett Lake[2] on what is now the British Columbia and Yukon border, to a Tahltan woman (which under the conventions of a matrilineal society made him Tahltan). He lived in Caribou Crossing, now Carcross, Yukon, Canada.[3]

Keish
Keish in 1898
Born	James Mason 1859 or 1860 near Bennett Lake
Died	July 11, 1916 (aged 55–57) Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Nationality	Tahltan
Other names	Skookum Jim Mason; James Mason
Occupation	Packer over the Chilkoot Pass carrying supplies for miners
Known for	Credited with making the gold discovery at Discovery Claim that led to the Klondike Gold Rush

In the mid-1880s, he worked as a packer over the Chilkoot Pass carrying supplies for miners, where he earned his Skookum nickname because of his extraordinary strength. Skookum means "strong", "big" and "reliable" in the Chinook Jargon and regional English as used in the Pacific Northwest.

He assisted William Ogilvie in his explorations of the upper Yukon River. He also showed members of the expedition the way over the White Pass. Keish is today co-credited with making the gold discovery at Discovery Claim that led to the Klondike Gold Rush, although it was originally attributed solely to George Carmack, his brother-in-law. It is also possible that the discovery was made by Keish's sister Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack).

Carmack described Skookum Jim as:

straight as a gun barrel, powerfully built with strong sloping shoulders, tapering ... downwards to the waist, like a keystone. He was known as the best hunter and trapper on the river, in fact he was a super-specimen of the northern Indian

— Skookum Jim Oral History Project Archives[4]

He died in Whitehorse, Yukon in 1916, survived by a daughter, Daisy Mason, sister, Kate Carmack, and cousin, Tagish John.[3]

A fictionalized version of Skookum Jim appears in the TG4 series An Klondike, portrayed by Julian Black Antelope, where he is depicted as a Hän and is killed by the fictional character Pat Galvin in 1898.

References

1. 1901 Census of Canada, District 206, Subdistrict f-93 (Cariboo Crossing, Yukon), at page 2, line 2, at, Automatedgenealogy.com (December 28, 2013).
2. KEISH - Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
3. "Skookum Jim Mason's Last Will and Testament". Yukon Prospectors' Association. September 22, 1916. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
4. "Sample Interpretive Tour Program: Skookum Jim Tour". destinationcarcross.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2008.

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online