The fonds comprises John A. McDougal's diary of his journey to the Yukon gold rush in 1898 (175 p.); a report on mining conditions in the Klondike district in 1906 (16 p.); and a Customs Department seal [ca. 1907-1913]. The report on mining conditions was addressed to Wilfred Thibeaudeau of Dawson, Yukon Territory, and dated 31 January 1906. It provides a brief history of gold mining in the region, data on the value of gold output since mining began, and the output and costs of production on different creeks. McDougal describes the challenges of thawing the ground and compares the relative costs and benefits of several methods of mining different types of placer fields, including the open cut, drifting, dredging, churn drill, and hydraulic methods.
The 1898 diary covers McDougal's journey to the Klondike in the spring, mining activities there in the summer, and return to Ottawa in the autum. It begins with his departure from Ottawa on 17 March 1898, trip west by rail, and passage through the Rockies to Vancouver. His party, which also included men named E. Lafontaine, MacLean, [Cask], Gobeil, Charleston, Lemoine, Captain Jarmine, and Barnes, outfitted in Vancouver for two weeks. McDougal, along with most of the party, sailed on April 11th in SS "Samson", a stern-wheeler chartered for the voyage to Wrangell, Alaska. The advance party waited a few weeks in Wrangell for the others to arrive. During this period, McDougal hunted and fished, climbed glaciers, and chronicled in his diary the arrivals of ships from the south and other parties bound for the Klondike gold fields. His diary describes the arrival of the Yukon field force, local Indians, marine life, and the plight of prospectors whose boats were unable to withstand the current on the Stikine River. McDougal and the party left Wrangell on May 26th taking SS "Samson" up the Stikine River to somewhere near Glenora or Telegraph Creek, where they disembarked and went overland to Lake Teslin. From there, they travelled by boat to Dawson, arriving on July 26th.
McDougal's diary details his activities in the Dawson area in July and August, including the staking of claims and prospecting on Dominion Creek, Bonanza Creek, Sulphur Creek, Australian Creek, and other streams. There is considerable detail of counter claims, protests, disputes, sales, and transfers of claims. There is also some information on the prices of accommodations, meals, and services in Yukon territory, and mention of the effects of typhoid fever in Dawson. McDougal left Dawson in the SS "Ora" on September 1st, returning south by a different route, through the mountain pass to Skagway, Alaska. He took passage south to Victoria, BC in SS "City of Seattle", which departed Skagway on September 12th. The narrative concludes with his arrival in Ottawa.
