Photographic Print

Photographic Print

Archival Item

1996.42.7
Black-and-white photo, captioned 'Pennock's Post' (Dalton Trail, 1898).
Original photos taken by Henry Dow Banks when he was a member of the Mysterious 36, prospecting the Shorty Creek area in 1898. Original albums in the collection at MacBride Museum. MN, July 2008.
"Although most of the stampeders who came to the Yukon looking for the Mother Lode in 1898 headed straight for the Klondike region, some thought there were bonanzas to be found all over the territory. The Mysterious 36 was one such group. Funded through an unknown benefactor, the group travelled from Seattle to Juneau and arrived in Pyramid Harbor in early spring. They erected a military-style camp and prepared to hike up the Chilkat River valley. The 36 were not nearly as unnoticed as they had hoped. Mysterious, perhaps but not unobserved. The group headed inland and began prospecting across large areas of what is now Southwest Yukon. While some of the 36 were exploring the region, other members of the group undertook the building of the main camp at Shorty Creek in April, 1898. They built a bunkhouse and dining hall. Throughout the summer months, the group spread out and prospected for gold with little luck. By September they were gone. Some men talked of returning the following year with hydraulic mining equipment but they didn’t and the claims lapsed."
https://yukon-news.com/2009/07/09/keeping-secrets-on-the-gold-rush-trail/