108 THKOUGH THE MACKENZIE BASI]!T 



In the following spring they were joined by Mr. McKinlay, 

 the Hudson's Bay Company's agent at the Portage, and he, 

 accompanied by Messrs. Holroyd and Holt, who had joined 

 the party at Smith's Landing, and by Mr. Simpson, went 

 off on a prospecting tour through the north-east portion of 

 Great Slave Lake, staking, en route, a number of claims, 

 some of which were valuable, others worthless. The untruth- 

 ful statements, however, of one of the party, who represented 

 even the worst of the claims as of fabulous value, brought the 

 whole enterprise into disrepute. The members of the party 

 mentioned returned to England ostensibly to raise capital to 

 develop their claims, but nothing came of it, not because 

 minerals of great value do not exist there, but on account of 

 remoteness and the difficulties of transport. 



In 1898 another party was formed in Chicago, called 

 " The Yukon Valley Prospecting and Mining Company," 

 its chief promoters being a Mr. Willis and a Mr. WoUums 

 of that city. The capital stock was put at a quarter of a 

 million dollars, twenty-five thousand dollars being paid up. 

 These organizers interested thirty-three other men in the 

 enterprise, the agreement being that these should go to 

 Dawson at the expense of the stockholders, and locate min- 

 ing claims there, a half-interest in all of which' was to be 

 transferred to the company. These men proceeded to 

 Calgary, and outfitted for Dawson, which they wished to 

 reach by ascending the Peace River. At Calgary they were 

 fortunate in procuring as leader a gentleman of large experi- 

 ence in the l^orth, W. J. McLean, Esq., a retired Chief- 

 factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, who pointed out the 

 difficulties of such a route, and recommended, instead, a 

 possible one via Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie Eiver 

 to Eort Simpson, and thence up the Liard River to the 

 height of land at or near Francis Lake, and so down the 

 Pelly River and on to Dawson. 



In February the party, led by him, left Edmonton with 

 160 ponies, sleds and sleighs, loaded with supplies, and pro- 



