Swiftwater Bill Gates and the Klondike Goldrush

Another of my favourite stories while guiding on the Chilkoot Trail and Yukon River was about a scoundrel of legendary proportions - Bill Gates. No, not Mr. Microsoft, but "Swiftwater" Bill Gates.

The Klondike Goldrush was a magnet for men and women driven by need, commerce, or adventure. Of those who did triumph over the hardships of the Chilkoot Trail and the Yukon River, and reached Dawson City, very few realized their dream of fabulous wealth. One who did, was a flamboyant character named Swiftwater Bill Gates.

Swiftwater Bill left his work as a boatman (hence his nickname) in Idaho and worked his way north to Alaska. His first bit of good fortune was to be there in 1896 when word arrived that gold had been found in the Klondike. He quit his job as a dishwasher and immediately set out for Dawson City.

Claim “Thirteen Eldorado”, not far from the original discovery claim, had not lived up to its expectations. Bill partnered with six other prospectors and was able to lease it. After digging and working shaft after shaft, the group became quite dispirited and ready to abandon all hope. Then, they hit paydirt. Bill became a millionaire by today’s standards.

There was nothing inconspicuous about Bill. He enjoyed the luxuries and attention that instant wealth brought him. He would walk the streets of Dawson dressed in top hat, white shirt, and coat.

Managing his wealth was not in his constitution or perhaps, even, his ability. He loved women and he loved to gamble, both anathema to holding on to wealth. He would make large impulsive bets that he lost. He would invite dance hall girls to the claim to pan for all the gold they wanted. Whether legend or truth, Bill’s love for women gave rise to one of the great stories of the Klondike Goldrush.

Bill fell for Gussie Lamore, a dance hall entertainer. He wanted to marry her and even promised her weight in gold if she would oblige him. He found out that Gussie was not completely faithful to him. Gussie loved eggs and Bill would seek his revenge by purchasing every, short in supply, egg in Dawson City just to deny her. Gussie eventually left Dawson and returned to San Francisco. Bill would seek her out there in 1897.

Here’s an abbreviated version of Bill’s love life after searching out Gussie: he found that Gussie was married with a child, so he married her younger sister Grace. He couldn’t get over Gussie, so they divorced. Not long after, he impregnated and married a 16 year old named Bera Beebe. Just as she was expecting their second child, he abandoned her and sought Gussie once again, this time in Montana. Gussie was still unavailable, so he took up with another Lamore sister, Belle, although there is no record of them marrying. In 1901, he married his 14 year old step-niece Kitty while still married to Bera. He was arrested in San Francisco for bigamy but charges were stayed. He divorced Bera and remarried Kitty. He divorced Kitty in 1906. Two years later he married an 18 year old, Sadelle. In 1915, Bera‘s mother eventually caught up to him and had him arrested in Seattle for bigamy. He managed to avoid jail time by bribing key authoriries.

While all this love stuff was happening, Bill was spending prodigiously, and eroding his fortune. Bill, however, had a knack for landing on his feet. He found time during all this to gain further fortune in the Nome and later Fairbanks goldrushes.

After avoiding jail in Seattle, he sailed for Peru. Not much is known about his years there. Apparently he continued to search out gold and ended up owning a huge silver mine. He was murdered there in 1937, circumstances unknown, but one would have to assume it was over a woman!

Nootka Sound: The Story Of John Jewitt - Part III

After nearly 3 years in captivity, the Lydia, under Samuel Hill appeared in Nootka Sound on July 19, 1805. Hill was aware that Jewitt and Thompson might be among these natives. The chiefs met to decide what they should do with Jewitt and Thompson. Some suggested they be killed, others that they be released, and still others who thought they should be taken into the forest and kept there until the ship sailed. Maquinna decided to visit the ship and assess the danger and possibilities of trade. He was discouraged by some chiefs who felt that his life would be in danger. Maquinna felt comfortable enough with Jewitt’s assimilation and friendship to ask Jewitt to write a letter of introduction to the captain. "Dear Sir, the bearer of this letter is the Indian king by the name of Maquinna. He was the instigator of the capture the ship Boston, of Boston in North America, John Salter captain, and of the murder of twenty-five men of her crew, the two only survivors being now on shore - Wherefore I hope you will take care to confine him according to his merits, putting in your dead lights, and keeping so good a watch over him, that he cannot escape from you. By so doing we shall be able to obtain our release in the course of a few hours."

When Maquinna asked Jewitt to read what he had written, he went over each line, fabricating a new narrative, saying that he had instructed the captain to give Maquinna molasses, biscuits and rum and that he had always been well treated. "He said 'John, you no lie?' After closely examining Jewitt's face, Maquinna said he believed Jewitt and left in a canoe, carrying the letter to the Lydia's captain.

Hill read the letter and had Maquinna detained. When word reached the village that Maquinna was being held, some chiefs wanted to kill Jewitt. Most feared that if Jewitt and Thompson were not released, Maquinna would be killed. They pleaded with Jewitt to save his life. A trade was finally arranged and Jewitt and Thompson were taken out to the Lydia.

Maquinna, who was in irons, and Jewitt, spent a sleepless evening together. They talked about the time they spent - "John,you know when you alone, and more than five hundred men were your enemies, I was your friend and prevented them from putting you and Thompson to death, and now I am in the power of your friends, you ought to do the same by me." Jewitt needed no convincing as he had already convinced Hill to release Maquinna.

The parting was very emotional for both men -"Then, grasping both my hands with much emotion, while the tears trickled down his cheeks, he bade me farewell, and stept into the canoe, which immediately paddled him on shore. Notwithstanding my joy at my deliverance,...I could not avoid experiencing a painful sensation on parting with this savage chief, who had preserved my life, and in general treated me with kindness, and considering their ideas and manners, much better than could have been expected."

They were to see each other one last time when the Lydia returned to Nootka Sound in November.

The Lydia did not return to Boston until it had completed its trading mission in 1807.

Return to civilization was not an easy transition. John Thompson died in either Havana or Philadelphia in 1815 or 1816 (different accounts collide). Jewitt married and had 5 children. They settled in Connecticut. He never seemed to be able to distance himself from his days in Nootka Sound. He published his diary and traveled around New England selling it. The narrative was rewritten in 1815 by Richard Alsop, a well known author of the period . The title did not exactly role off the tongue : A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt; Only Survivor of the Crew of the Ship Boston, During a Captivity of Nearly 3 Years Among the Savages of Nootka Sound with an Account of the Manners, Mode of Living, and Religious Opinions of the Natives.

Jewitt’s book became an invaluable window for historians and ethnographers into the customs, daily life, spiritual beliefs, and traditions of early west coast natives.

Jewitt was never able to settle down. He continued to travel and sell his book until January of 1821, when at the age of 37, he died of unstated causes.

Maquinna was last seen in 1825. He would have been around 70 years old, still greeting ships and interested in trade.

Nootka Sound: The Story Of John Jewitt - Part II

Note: This is the second in a three part series. Read earlier post to better appreciate Jewitt's story.

Jewitt and Thompson responded very differently to their captivity. Thompson hated the natives and was very bitter with his situation. Jewitt, on the other hand, did whatever was necessary to ensure he would survive his captivity, including learning their language. "I had determined from the first of my capture to adopt a conciliating conduct towards them, and conform myself, as far as was in my power, to their customs, and mode of thinking, trusting that the same divine goodness that had rescued me from death, would not always suffer me to languish in captivity among these heathens."

Over time Jewitt endeared himself to Maquinna and his family. His ironworking was much treasured by the chief and Maquinna would put Jewitt and his skills on display to maximum benefit during trading sessions with other villages. "I became quite an object of curiosity to these people, very few of whom had ever seen a white man. They crowded around me in numbers, taking hold of my clothes, examining my face, hands and feet, and even opening my mouth to see if I had a tongue... having undergone this examination for some time, Maquinna at length made a sign to me to speak to them. On hearing me address them in their own language, they were greatly astonished and delighted... "

Jewitt’s survival, and in turn Thompson’s, was very dependent on satisfying Maquinna, as well as hoping that his very powerful master came to no harm. Word had spread about the Boston massacre to other traders, with the result that they stayed away from the area. Jewitt and Thompson were viewed as potentially damaging as they had witnessed the massacre. “ ....some of the chiefs cared little what became of me, and probably would have been gratified with my death."

Maquinna expected that Jewitt become more culturally assimilated. He was forced to marry a native wife, dress in native garb, paint himself, and even adopt native spiritual beliefs. Although he accommodated these demands, he continued to practice his Christian faith by secretly going off into the forest on Sundays to pray in solitude.

An interesting development over time was what is today referred to as the Stockholm Syndrome - captives begin to express positive feelings towards their captors and their motives. "These injuries had excited in the breast of Maquinna an ardent desire of revenge, the strongest passion of the savage heart... Unfortunately for us, the long-wished-for opportunity at length presented itself in our ship...And here I cannot but indulge a reflection that has frequently occurred to me on the manner in which our people behave towards the natives. For, though they are a thievish race, yet I have no doubt that many of the melancholy disasters have principally arisen from the imprudent conduct of some of the captains and crews of the ships employed in this trade, in exasperating them by insulting, plundering, and even killing them on slight grounds."

Jewitt became more and more resigned to his captive fate. He had, whenever possible, written letters that he passed on to chiefs during trading visits. He hoped that one of these might be handed to another trader by this chief. This was not a particular dangerous thing to do as the natives did not read.

Nootka Sound: The Story Of John Jewitt - Part I

A rich marine environment, coupled with protected waters, islands, and beautiful sandy beaches, draw sea kayakers and hikers to Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island’s west coast. Historically, the area was also site of Captain Cook’s visit in 1778, a continued struggle by Spanish and English interests for control of its rich trading opportunities, and the fascinating tale of John Jewitt.

Jewitt was a 19 year old English blacksmith, who signed on with an American trading ship, the Boston, appropriately, out of Massachusetts. His role was to produce iron goods that would be used in the trade with native peoples. The young Jewitt could not have anticipated the adventure that awaited him as the Boston sailed into Nootka Sound in March,1803.

Protocol called for the chief to come on board a trading vessel to welcome the captain to his territory. So it was that Maquinna (Ma-queen-a), a Mowachaht chief, and one of the most powerful and wealthiest chiefs on the west coast, extended a welcome to John Salter.

This was old hat for Maquinna as he had been welcoming Europeans to his shore since the days of Cook. He made huge profits as the middleman between the trading vessels and other native villages. He certainly made an impression on Jewitt - “...a man of dignified aspect, about six feet tall in height and extremely straight and well proportioned: his features were in general good, and his face was rendered remarkable by a large Roman nose, a very uncommon form of feature among these people; his complexion was of a dark copper hue, though his face, legs, and arms were on this occasion, so covered with red paint, that their natural colour could scarcely be perceived; his eyebrows were painted black in two broad stripes like a new moon, and his long black hair, which shone with oil, was fastened...over with white down, which gave him a most curious and extraordinary appearance. “

An exchange of gifts between the two leaders was customary to cement goodwill between them. On Salter’s part, he presented Maquinna with a double-barreled rifle. Maquinna used the rifle to shoot some ducks, which he presented to Salter in a subsequent trade meeting. One of the locks on the rifle had broken. Salter accused Maquinna of breaking it through overuse, and called him a liar, among other choice insults. Maquinna knew some English from his years of trade. Along with the tenor of its delivery, he was aware that he was being insulted. Jewitt – “ Unfortunately he understood but too well the meaning of the reproachful terms that the captain addressed to him. He said not a word in reply, but his countenance sufficiently expressed the rage he felt though he exerted himself to suppress it. I observed him, while the captain was speaking, repeatedly put his hand to his throat and rub it upon his bosom, which he afterwards told me was to keep down his heart, which was rising into his throat and choking him."

The next day Maquinna returned to the Boston with several of his chiefs and gifts. They were asked to stay for dinner, probably as a conciliatory gesture by Salter. Jewitt was at work below when he heard a commotion on deck. He left his work to see what was going on. As he reached the top of the stairs, he was grabbed by the hair. Fortunately for Jewitt, the native lost his hold, just as he swung his axe. Jewitt was hit in the forehead and collapsed unconscious to the deck below.

A short time passed before Jewitt, with one huge gash and headache, came to, and crawled up to the deck to see what had happened. He was immediately confronted, and his life threatened by natives holding knives. He surely thought his time had come. Maquinna addressed Jewitt by name. Maquinna had seen Jewitt’s work and realized his worth to him - "John - I speak - you no say no; You say no - daggers come!" He asked Jewitt if he was prepared to be his slave and make iron goods as requested. Jewitt answered yes to all Maquinna’s questions. He was then led to observe and identify the 25 severed heads of the crew, arranged in a neat line.

Another crew member, John Thompson, a sail-maker, was found hiding below deck. Thompson was ordered to be killed by Maquinna. Jewitt intervened and told Maquinna that Thompson was his “father” (Thompson was some 20 years older than Jewitt) and that he would commit suicide if his “father” was killed. Rather than lose Jewitt’s services, Maquinna reluctantly spared Thompson’s life.

The Boston had all items of worth removed and was then scuttled to hide any trace of the massacre. If word was to reach an American or European ear, trading vessels would no longer come or a retaliatory strike would follow.

Part II - Life Among the Nootka to follow.