13S 



A YUKON PIONEER, MIKE LEBARGE 



The united party then descended the river to the sea and reached 

 St Michael in safety, thus making the first continuous trip from 

 the headwaters to the sea. 



Michel Lebarge was born in Chateauguay in 1837, of Canadian 

 parents of French origin. In May, 1865, he started for Califor- 

 nia, on the steamer Golden Rule, by the Nicaragua route. On 

 the same vessel were Kennicott and his companions on their way 



to join the expedition of the Western Union Telegraph Company 

 for the exploration of Russian America. The crossing of Nica- 

 ragua was accompanied by a number of lively incidents, includ- 

 ing the loss of a steamer on the San Juan river ; and the excellent 

 qualities displa} T ed by Lebarge in trying circumstances attracted 

 the attention of Kennicott and led to the engagement of the young 

 Canadian in the corps of northern explorers. After the disband- 

 ing of the Telegraph expedition, in which the courage, ingenuity, 

 and companionable characteristics of Lebarge had made him a 

 universal favorite and cemented an enduring friendship with his 

 American comrades, in 1868 he engaged in the fur trade in the 

 Yukon region with a number of associates, under the name of 



