Keish

Keish
Born	James Mason 1859 or 1860 close to Bennett Lake (on the present-day British Columbia/Yukon border)
Died	July 11, 1916 Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Residence	Carcross, 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

Keish (1859 or 1860 – July 11, 1916), legally James Mason, 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 close to Bennett Lake on what is now the British Columbia/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.

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. 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)

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