Wintering at the Lakes

"On the far side of the passes, the White and Chilkoot trails met at Lake Bennett, a large lake that drained into the Yukon River. Stampeders wintered and built boats here and at nearby Lake Lindemann until the Yukon River thawed in spring.

Tent communities of about 10,000 each formed at Lakes Bennett and Lindemann during the winter of 1897-1898.

~ Detail from Goetzman photo in William Meed Collection, U.W. 15107.

To build boats, stampeders had to locate usable logs and whipsaw them into planks. Finding wood was hard because the lakes were near timberline. Whipsawing logs was backbreaking and frustrating labor. Circa 1898.

~ Detail, possibly from Cantwell 39.

Continue to next section, "Riding the River"