Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 26

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Lake Bennett, British Columbia

by Margaret Carter

Cheechako, Canvas and Congregation

The following month amid border hostilities heightened by the on-going Alaska Boundary Tribunal,¹ Dickey abandoned the church he was occupying in Skagway. He moved on to Bennett which was at that time considered to be the first certain point inside Canadian territory. There, he was to assist Grant in securing the church's position while Grant prepared to move on to Dawson as early as possible after breakup.

Both men worked to ensure there were quarters to accommodate the large congregation they expected to find among the throngs of Klondikers waiting for breakup. The first thing needed was better church facilities, so they completed on 1 May a large tent of canvas over a wood frame for use as the church. A scaffold containing a bell stood in front of it (Fig. 16), but apart from that it looked very much like the other buildings that were being hastily constructed in Bennett in the spring of 1898. From that time to the end of the summer season, Bennett had a constant total population of 10,000.²

16 Whipsawing boards for building a boat. The whipsaw pit put a strain on many partnerships. (Yukon Archives, MacBride Museum Collection.)

Anything that could be put together was used as shelter, for supplies were in great demand. Men lined up in front of the hastily constructed sawmills for days waiting for boat-building materials to avoid the rigours of the whip-saw pit (Figs. 17-19). Dickey and Grant had to compete with the builders when they were ready to have boards for church seats cut at King's sawmill. Once they finally got them Grant wrote, "we had to pack the material through the mud a quarter of a mile, pull it on a hand sled over a mile, then over a rickety bridge. After that I got a horse and hauled it to the church."³ The sawdust they used to cover the dirt floor probably came from the same source.

17 Building a boat. (University of Washington.)

18 Caulking a boat with oakum and pitch. Note the mast is made of poles, and the sail is probably handmade. (R.N. DeArmond, Juneau.)

19 Boat building at Abbott's Cove, Lake Benneett 1898—a typical boat-building camp. (Provincial Museum and Archives of Alberta, H. Pollard Collection.)

Conditions were crude, and many of the men who waited around the lake for the ice to melt found themselves in unfamiliar roles. "The men who run the saloons are, with one exception, I think new to the business and ashamed of being in it. One of them — a member of the 'Christian Church' — one day showed us his family Bible rolled up carefully in a silk hankerchief. The others often apologize for being in the trade."⁴ Like their saloon keepers, most of the Klondikers at Bennett felt ill at ease in their bid tor fortune. By the spring of 1898, the rich claims in the Klondike were already taken. In spite of this fact, the largest influx of population was either waiting at Bennett for the ice to break, or still en route north. After they arrived in Dawson, these men would work on claims owned by a fortunate few and find employment in service industries. Before that, they paid dearly for the opportunity to watch their dreams dissolve. Scalpers charged such heavy prices for services that more profit was probably made from the prospective millionaires than was ever made from mining; nevertheless, at Bennett this was still in the future, and few were ready to turn back and give up their "prospects." Yet they were uneasy. The church was a reminder of what they had left behind, and some reached out for the comfort of familiarity. For the first time, Dickey was able to report "people interested."⁵

The spring of 1898 brought a new attitude toward the church. As the gathering at the head of the lake grew, the congregation increased, and soon it outstripped accommodations. The collection plate also showed improvement — "The liberality of the people, specially considering that so many have little or no money, is very marked. Their ordinary Sabbath collections have gone as high as $27."⁶ "You will be pleased to learn," wrote Dickey to Robertson in May,

that the tent and cost of erection have now been paid for by the people here. At our last meeting a Mr. Elliot enquired how much was the debt, and, on being informed $50, he said 'We'll pay it tonight.' He and Capt. Jack Crawford spoke to the people in very enthusiastic terms of the enterprise of the Presbyterian Church in Canada in so promptly following up the people. They passed round the hat, and in a few minutes had more money than was needed. In the name of the Church and myself I thanked the people for this and all their kindness, assuring them that, while the home Church is sufficiently interested in the work and generous enough to bear the expense, yet the liberality of the people here will not only cheer their hearts, but enable them to undertake more vigorously still mission work in this new and needy land.⁷

In part, the change was a tribute to Dickey's and Grant's work, but to a larger degree it was a manifestation of the changed nature of the gold-rush itself.

20 Ready to leave. (R.N. DeArmond, Juneau.)