William Moore (5 June 1825 – 29 March 1909) was a steamship captain, businessman,

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting ...

and explorer in British Columbia and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. During most of British Columbia's

gold rushes A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Ze ...

(from the Queen Charlottes in 1852 until the Cassiar Gold Rush in 1872) Moore could be found at the center of activity, either providing transportation to the miners, working claims or delivering mail and supplies. In 1887, guided by First Nation's explorer Skookum Jim (who later co-discovered the Klondike Goldfields), Moore was guided through the

White Pass White Pass, also known as the Dead Horse Trail, (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the border of the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia, Canada. It leads from Skagway, A ...

route that would become a famous route to the Klondike Gold Rush and purchased the land that later became the famous gold rush town of Skagway. Throughout his 83 years, he would father five sons and four daughters and make and lose at least three separate fortunes. His friends and rivals would give him many nicknames, among them, "Buddy" and "The Flying Dutchman".

Early years

Moore was born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

on 30 March 1822. By the age of seven, he was sailing on

schooners A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

and by age 24, his adventures brought him to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

New Orleans and San Francisco

In New Orleans, Moore married Hendrika in 1846 and worked on

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury u ...

s on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

. In 1848, he served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Second Federal Republic of Mexico, Mexico f ...

aboard the USS ''Lawrence''. That same year, he became a citizen of the United States and his eldest son, John (JW), was born. In 1851, he moved his family to San Francisco, but arrived too late to participate in the California Gold Rush.

Queen Charlotte Islands and Peru

In 1852, Moore and his family left San Francisco on the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...

''Tepic'' for the

Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hec ...

where gold had been discovered on

Moresby Island Moresby Island ( hai, Gwaii Haanas) is a large island () that forms part of the Haida Gwaii archipelago (formerly known as Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada, located at . It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from ...

. After a month of fruitless prospecting, the Moores returned to San Francisco. Not one to sit for long, William became intrigued by the wealth of the

Incas The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admi ...

and he packed up his wife and son and embarked to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, where he purchased a schooner and traded up and down the Peruvian coast. In 1854, his second son, William D. Moore (Billie), was born at

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Call ...

. However, Hendrika was frightened by the ongoing revolutions in Peru, and they returned to San Francisco in 1856. Moore purchased property on

Goat Island Goat Island (or Goat Islands) may refer to: Arts * Goat Island (performance group), a Chicago-based company * ''Goat Island'' (play), ''Delitto all'isola delle capre'', by Ugo Betti Places Australia * Goat Island (Port Jackson) in Sydney Harbou ...

and raised goats. Also in 1856, his third child, daughter Henrietta, was born.

British Columbia

Fraser Canyon Gold Rush

In 1858, Moore heard the news of the gold discoveries on the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annua ...

in British Columbia. He immediately sold his Goat Island property, packed up his livestock (mostly goats) and family onto his schooner and embarked for Victoria, where he would build the family home and have a fourth child, son Henry. Upon his arrival, Moore built a 15-ton

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

named ''Blue Bird''. As 30,000 gold-seekers poured into what would soon be the Colony of British Columbia, Moore made his first fortune, not in mining, but in providing transportation for the miners and delivering their supplies up the Fraser River to Fort Hope. In 1859, he replaced the cumbersome barge with a

sternwheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were ...

named the ''Henrietta'', built by James Trahey at Victoria and launched in October. To pilot her, Moore hired Captain

John Deighton John Deighton (November 1830 – May 23, 1875), better known as "Gassy Jack", was a bar-owner in British Columbia. The Gastown neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia takes its name from him. History Deighton was born in Hull, England ...

, also known as "Gassy Jack", who would later be renowned as the first resident of Granville, which would become

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. The ''Henrietta'' navigated the Fraser River to

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in February 1860, but Moore soon replaced her with a new and more powerful sternwheeler, the ''Flying Dutchman'', which was launched in Victoria that September. She operated on the

Harrison Lake Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi²) in area. It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across. Its sou ...

route between "Harrisonmouth" (since named Harrison Mills) and

Port Douglas Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately 60 km north of Cairns. In the , Port Douglas had a population of 3,504 people. The town's population can often double, however, with th ...

. New Westminster soon had an opportunity to be grateful to Captain Moore, when the bitterly cold winter of 1861–62 froze the Fraser River from

Lulu Island Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River, located south of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the second-most populous island in British Columbia, after Vancouver Island. The city of Richmond occupies most ...

to Hope and isolated New Westminster from December until 12 March, when Moore used the ''Flying Dutchman'' paddlewheel first and spent three days smashing a passage through the ice so supplies could be delivered to the little community. Nevertheless, that spring the competition on the Fraser River resulted in rate wars between Moore and his main rival, Captain William Irving, so Moore began looking for greener pastures and soon found one on the

Stikine River The Stikine River is a major river in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States. It drains a large, remote upland area known as the Stikine Country east of the Coast Mountains. Flowing west and south ...

, which he was the first to navigate by sternwheeler.

Stikine Gold Rush

In 1862, when Moore learned of the gold discovery on the Stikine River, he built another barge, the ''JW Moore'' and packed the ''Flying Dutchman'' with 60 passengers and towed the barge 300 perilous miles up the coast to Fort Wrangell which lay at the entrance to the Stikine River. Undeterred by the Stikine's reputation for being a dangerous river, Moore took the ''Flying Dutchman'', with the ''JW Moore'' in tow, up to Buck's Bar without incident, making the journey in only three days. Having a monopoly on the Stikine, Moore charged $100 a ton for freight, and $20 fare per man, plus a 5-cent per pound baggage fee. Meals and berths were extra. During the 1862 season, he made a profit of $20,000. He returned to Victoria that fall and met his fifth child, daughter Wilhemina. Alexandra on Fraser River

In 1863, Moore returned the ''JW Moore'' and the ''Flying Dutchman'' to the Fraser River and, deciding to invest his Stikine fortune, ordered another sternwheeler from James Trahey, the ''Alexandra'', which (having two funnels) was styled in the manner of Mississippi paddle steamers and would be the largest steamboat to that date on the Fraser. Moore intended for her to run from Victoria to Yale, connecting with the ''Flying Dutchman'' on Harrison Lake, but the ''Alexandra'' proved to be too big and expensive to operate and only made a few trips on that route. Moore suffered additional financial hardship as rate wars raged between him and his rival, William Irving, driving steamer fares down to as low as 25 cents for the trip between

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

and Yale. The rivalry involved Victoria and New Westminster as well, as Moore was from the former and Irving from the latter. The rivalry between the towns reached new heights when insults were traded in the local papers, with New Westminster saying that Victoria was "built on a frogpond" and Victoria retorting that New Westminster was "a pimple on the face of creation". By 1865, Moore had lost the ''Flying Dutchman'' and the ''Alexandra'' and declared bankruptcy. Moore was not out of business for long, however, and soon purchased another

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

and moved his family and their goats to New Westminster, where Hendrika had their sixth child, son Bernard. Moore then purchased the barge ''Lady of the Lake'', equipped it with sails and renamed it ''Marcella'' and ran it from New Westminster through

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

Big Bend Gold Rush

Early in 1866, Moore learned of the gold discoveries at Big Bend and put in a tender for the contract to run steamer service from

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chief seats ...

on Kamloops Lake to Seymour City ( Seymour Arm) on

Shuswap Lake Shuswap Lake (pronounced /ˈʃuːʃwɑːp/) is a lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada that drains via the Little Shuswap River into Little Shuswap Lake. Little Shuswap Lake is the source of the South Thompson River ...

, but his rival, Captain Irving, won the contract. Moore decided to purchase another barge and ran it on that route with his eldest son, John. The Big Bend Gold Rush ended shortly afterwards, and Moore purchased land in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, ...

and his family, with their omnipresent goats, joined him there, ironically making part of the trip on Captain Irving's sternwheeler, ''Onward''.

Cariboo Gold Rush

Later in that spring of 1866, Moore had already had enough of farming and moved his family up to

Barkerville Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, whi ...

, where he worked as a miner until 1869, when he learned of yet another new gold discovery, this time in the Omineca Country.

Omineca Gold Rush

In 1869, Moore moved his family and goats to Quesnel and built another barge. In the spring of 1870, the barge was completed and Hendrika took the youngest children to Victoria, while eldest sons John and Billie stayed behind. Billie would work for a merchant in Quesnel, while John accompanied his father on the barge. It was loaded with supplies and hauled up north via the Fraser, Nechako, and

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

Rivers and through Stuart Lake onto

Tachie River The Tachie River is a river in central British Columbia, Canada. It originates at Trembleur Lake and flows southeastward into Stuart Lake, which it enters at Tachie village. In the indigenous Carrier language The Dakelh (ᑕᗸᒡ) or Carrier ...

Trembleur Lake Trembleur Lake is a lake in the Omineca Country of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, northwest of Fort St. James between Stuart Lake and the south end of Takla Lake Takla Lake is the fifth largest natural lake in British ...

to Middle River, finally arriving at

Takla Lake Takla Lake is the fifth largest natural lake in British Columbia, Canada. It is a deep fjord-like lake with the Swannell Ranges to the east, the Driftwood River flowing into it from the north, and the Middle River draining it. It is the te ...

where Takla Landing led to the trails to the Omineca diggings. After delivering the supplies, Moore and John began prospecting, but had no luck, and come winter, they left the barge on Takla Lake and took the Babine trail to Hazelton, canoeing down the

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose n ...

to the coast, where they took the steamship ''Otter'' back to Victoria. In the spring of 1871, Moore built another schooner, the ''Minnie'', and loaded her with more supplies for the Omineca district and went up the coast, accompanied by his sons, John and Henry, a crew of thirty men, and a herd of mules. But even an experienced riverboat captain like Moore could not ascend the entire length of the perilous and swift Skeena River with a loaded barge. Facing starvation, his crew left, and Moore and his sons had to drive the mules the remaining to Hazelton on foot. Taking the Babine trail back to Takla, they were joined by Billie, and the four Moores ran the barge and the pack mules for the Omineca miners for the rest of that season. They returned to Victoria that fall and embarked to Omenica again in the spring of 1872, with a contract from the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

to freight supplies up the Skeena to Hazelton. At

Port Essington Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remot ...

, Moore built two more barges and two large canoes, and hired 24 First Nations men of the

Haida Haida may refer to: Places * Haida, an old name for Nový Bor * Haida Gwaii, meaning "Islands of the People", formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands * Haida Islands, a different archipelago near Bella Bella, British Columbia Ships * , a 1 ...

, Tongass and

Tsimpsean The Tsimshian (; tsi, Ts’msyan or Tsm'syen) are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only ...

tribes: 12 to crew the barges and 12 more to man the canoes. William captained the first barge, John, the second, while Bille and Henry each captained a canoe. After navigating through the treacherous Kitselas Canyon, where the barges had to be pulled and pried through foot by foot, the party was met by local man Tom Hankin, who warned them that the tribe based at the Kitsequekla Canyon, whom he called "Sticks", were hostile, as their village had been accidentally burnt down by some white miners. Despite the warning, and the uneasiness of his crew of Coast natives, (who were not friendly with this particular tribe either), Moore armed everyone with

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket graduall ...

s and proceeded to the next canyon. As they navigated up the canyon, the Sticks threatened to fight unless Moore paid for his passage, but Moore refused, explaining that the goods were not his, and that the government would pay for the losses they incurred when their village was destroyed. The Sticks clearly did not think much of Moore's argument, but seeing that everyone was armed and knowing that three of their own chiefs were currently on the coast, they eventually allowed the

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish language, Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (Naval fleet, fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a Tactical formation, formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually ...

to pass. Once they arrived in Hazelton, John took the mules up the Babine trail while Moore, Billie, Henry and their crew returned down the Skeena to pick up another load. When they were floating past the Kitsequekla Canyon, shots were fired and one of the crewmen was wounded in the leg, while another bullet barely missed Moore. One of Moore's crew fired back, but most of their attention had to be kept on guiding the canoes and barges through the canyon, which they navigated without further incident. Upon their return at Port Essington, they learned that the government, having heard of burning of the Sticks village, had sent

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Joseph Trutch Sir Joseph William Trutch, (18 January 1826 – 4 March 1904) was an English-born Canadian engineer, surveyor and politician who served as first Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Early life and career Born in Ashcott, England, Tru ...

in a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

, HMS ''Scout''. Trutch met with the chiefs and explained that the fire had been an accident and gave them $600 as compensation. Moore made three more trips to Hazelton that summer and then he sent John up to the

Nass River The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland In ...

with a team of pack mules, while he, Billy and Henry took the barges back to Port Essington and took the ''Minnie'' up the coast to the Nass, where they met with John again. The boys spent the winter south of Woodcock Landing in a cabin by what is now Moore's Cove. Moore himself returned to Victoria to be with his wife and daughters. But, by the next spring, Moore heard of yet another gold discovery and wrote the boys and told them to get ready to go to the Cassiar.

Cassiar Gold Rush

In April 1873, Moore met his three sons at Port Essington, where they loaded the ''Minnie'' and a barge up with supplies and took them north up to Fort Wrangell and then up the Stikine River, leaving the ''Minnie'' onshore. There they were joined by six prospectors and two First Nations guides, who all boarded the barge and with much towing, rowing and sailing, the group covered the last to

Telegraph Creek Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek. The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 250 members of Ta ...

. Once there, they all continued on foot, carrying their supplies in heavy backpacks through swamps and streams for 28 days until they reached the diggings on

Dease Lake Dease Lake is a small community located in the Cassiar Country of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is located a few hours south of the Yukon border on Stewart–Cassiar Highway (Highway 37) at the south end of the lake ...

. Moore and his son's continued packing supplies into the area until they came across Thibert Creek and met

Harry Thibert Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

and his party, who were recovering 3 to 6 ounces of gold per day. Moore and his sons staked claims nearby and by 18 September, they had recovered $5000 in gold. By then, there was snow on the ground and they went back to Victoria for the winter. Moore was not idle however; he convinced the government that a pack trail needed to be built between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake. He was awarded the contract and in partnership with Victoria merchant,

Morris Lenz Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manit ...

, built the trail and operated a mule team over it. By the fall of 1874, the Cassiar Gold Rush was in full swing, and Moore and his three sons had made an astounding $100,000 from their claims. Moore wasted no time in investing the money and ordered a new sternwheeler, the ''Gertrude'', which was launched at Victoria on 22 March 1875. Youngest son Bernard, (Ben), now ten, was considered old enough to join the rest of the men in the family on the northern rivers and worked on the ''Gertrude'' with his father and brother, Billie, while Henry and John worked at the placer mines. Sternwheeler Gertrude at Telegraph Creek

Sternwheeler Gertrude at Telegraph Creek

That fall, Moore took the ''Gertrude'' back to his old stomping grounds on the Fraser River. Although his old rival, William Irving, had died in 1872, Irving's son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, had taken over the family business, and was proving that he could admirably fill his father's shoes. Moore ran the ''Gertrude'' against Irving's ''Royal City'' for a few weeks, creating a rate war that would lower fares to $1 between New Westminster and Yale. Seeing there was no money to be made that way, Moore laid the ''Gertrude'' up at Victoria and turned to other matters. He purchased an old British gunboat, the ''Grappler'', five Victoria waterfront lots and one of John Irving's sternwheelers, the ''Glenora'', with the understanding that Irving would stay away from the Stikine River. During 1876, Moore's business flourished as the ''Grappler'' took miners and supplies from Victoria up the coast to Fort Wrangell, where they met the ''Gertrude'', which Moore piloted, and the ''Glenora'', which Billie piloted, taking the miners and supplies up the Stikine to Telegraph Creek. However, by the end of the season, the rush was nearing its end and Moore sold his claims to a syndicate of Chinese miners and returned to Victoria.

Revisit to Fraser River

In 1877, Moore returned yet again to the Fraser River and ran the ''Gertrude'' against John Irving's ''Reliance'', but in 1878 he returned to the Stikine in time to fight off more new competition there, the ''Nellie'' owned by

John Calbreath John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, the packer and storekeeper who'd been responsible for bringing the infamous Cariboo camels to the

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the caribou that were once abundant in the region. The Cariboo was ...

in 1862. Now that there was competition in the Cassiar, his thoughts returned to the Fraser again and the idea of running against Irving on the route from New Westminster to Yale. Sternwheeler Western Slope at Yale

So, in 1879, Moore built another new sternwheeler, the ''Western Slope'', which was launched at Victoria on 8 May. The old rivalry ran hot as Moore's and Irving's sternwheelers raced up and down the Fraser, competing for passengers. To compete with Moore, Irving built a new sternwheeler in 1881, the $80,000 ''Elizabeth J Irving'', which on its second trip to Yale, raced Moore's ''Western Slope'' and, midway through the race, caught on fire and was soon reduced to a charred wreck, resulting in the deaths of four First Nations crewmen, two horses and two cows. The loss was a tremendous blow to John Irving, who had just allowed the vessel's insurance to expire a week earlier. Sternwheeler William Irving at Yale

. In 1882, Moore sold the ''Gertrude'' and built the ''Pacific Slope'', but by the end of the year, he had fallen on hard times again and sold the ''Pacific Slope'' to

Andrew Onderdonk Andrew Onderdonk (30 August 1848 – 21 June 1905) was an American construction contractor who worked on several major projects in the West, including the San Francisco seawall in California and the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Co ...

and declared bankruptcy again, losing not only his sternwheelers, but also his home and properties in Victoria. John Irving purchased the ''Western Slope'' at auction, and being a man of great honor, hired Billie to be her captain, Henry her mate and John her purser, thus helping his rival's family remain solvent. William Moore, now 60, was hardly ready to become an employee of his old rival's 28-year-old son, so he built another sternwheeler, the ''Teaser'', which was eventually seized by creditors (despite Billie's attempt to hide her in Alaska), and sold and renamed the ''Rainbow''. The engine of the ''Teaser'' was built by the Moran Brothers in Seattle. Meanwhile, Moore built the ''Alaskan'' and took her up to the Stikine, which he now had to himself for the 1885 season of navigation. In 1886, Moore heard the call of gold again and went up to the

Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercour ...

. Henry was to meet him there, but was tragically murdered on Vancouver Island on his schooner along with three companions. He left behind a wife and four children. By 1887, Moore joined the government survey party headed by William Ogilvie and showed them how to build and navigate a barge up the Yukon River. Once the party got to the Chilkoot Pass, Moore heard tales of another route to the Yukon and, with Skookum Jim, started up the Skagway River and went over the long pass, meeting up with the Oglivie party at

Bennett Lake Bennett Lake is a lake in the Province of British Columbia and Yukon Territory in northwestern Canada, at an elevation of 2602 ft. (642 m.) . It is just north of the border with the United States state of Alaska, near the Alaskan port of Skag ...

. When Oglivie heard of this new route, he named it White Pass, after Thomas White, the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. Moore then told Ogilvie of his belief that the Yukon Valley would be the site of the next gold rush and that the White Pass would be a major route to it.

Alaska

By the fall of 1887, after traveling through the White Pass to Lake Bennett, Moore somehow knew that gold would soon be discovered in the Yukon and wasted no time in preparing for the day his prediction would come to pass. With his son, Ben, Moore struck out for

Juneau, Alaska The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality A mu ...

by canoe. When they passed what would later be named Skagway, Moore noted that it would be a good place for a wharf. Loading up with supplies in Juneau, they swiftly returned through the

Lynn Canal Lynn Canal is an inlet (not an artificial canal) into the mainland of southeast Alaska. Lynn Canal runs about from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage. At over in depth, Lynn Canal is the deepest fjor ...

to Skagway Bay where Moore preempted at the mouth of the Skagway River at a place the

Tlingit The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ),

called Skagua, and named it Mooresville. He built a log cabin, a sawmill, and began the construction of a wharf in anticipation of the ships that would land there, offloading thousands of eager gold-seekers. He and Ben returned to Victoria in that winter where Moore wrote several letters to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, telling of the Yukon's great potential and the need for a wagon road over the White Pass. His letters were ignored. Undaunted, as always, Moore returned to his property every summer and freighted through the Lynn Canal with his new sternwheeler, another ''Flying Dutchman''. In 1891, he asked the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...

for a contract to build a road through the White Pass, and again, his request was ignored. In 1896, when Moore was 74, he won the mail contract to deliver the mail on the long route from Juneau to

Forty Mile, Yukon Forty Mile is best known as the oldest town in Canada’s Yukon. It was established in 1886 at the confluence of the Yukon and Fortymile rivers by prospectors and fortune hunters in search of gold. Largely abandoned during the nearby Klondike G ...

. On one mail trip he met George Carmack, who had just staked a claim on a small creek named Rabbit Creek, soon to be Bonanza Creek, just off of the

Klondike River The Klondike River ( Hän: ') is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada that gave its name to the Klondike Gold Rush. The Klondike River rises in the Ogilvie Mountains and flows into the Yukon River at Dawson City. Its name comes from the ...

. Moore's prediction was about to come true.

Klondike Gold Rush

On 29 July 1897, the mail steamer ''Queen'' would be the first of the gold rush flotilla to dock at Moore's wharf in Skagway Bay, followed by John Irving's ''Islander'' and the collier ''Willamette''.

Skagway, Alaska The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal wit ...

was born and became a boomtown overnight. Originally the Indians called it Skagua, Moore renamed it Mooresville and the stampeders took over and named it Skaguay, later spelled Skagway. What Moore did not anticipate was the lack of concern for his legal rights in ownership of the land Skagway sat upon. The residents and stampeders that made up the population pushed Moore aside and took over ownership of his land. When streets were surveyed it was found that Moore's home stood directly in its path. Moore put up a fight but in the end his home was uprooted and moved to another location. Moore brought suit against the claim jumpers who remained in town after the rush and, in 1901, won a 25% reimbursement. In 1900, Moore would make one final prospecting trip, this time to

Nome, Alaska Nome (; ik, Sitŋasuaq, ) is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of Alaska, United States. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. It had a population of 3,699 record ...

, however, he soon returned to Skagway and built a house on Skagway Bay. On top of the house he built a room fashioned in the style of a pilot-house where he could look out at the ships in the bay. He died nine years later, in Victoria on 29 March 1909 at the venerable age of 87.

Notes

References

*''Captain William Moore BC's Amazing Frontiersman'' Norman Hacking * ''Paddlewheels on the Frontier'' Volume One Art Downs * ''Pioneer Goldseekers of the Omineca'' Ralph Hall *''Captain William Moore's Family Bible'' typescript in DAR collection, digitized by www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM7-NV8P?i=490&cat=267992

External links

Biography at Samson V Maritime Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, William 1822 births 1909 deaths Hanoverian emigrants to the United States Cariboo people People from the Municipality of Skagway Borough, Alaska People of the Klondike Gold Rush Pre-Confederation British Columbia people Steamship captains