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 Ice
Mountain Research has primarily focused on Fort Wrangel
and the Stikine River area of Southeastern Alaska.
Patricia Neal, an author and historian, spent over
16 years in Alaska residing in Wrangell--in the heart of
Southeastern Alaska. She has an extensive collection of
historical data on Fort Wrangel, including information
on people who traveled through Fort Wrangel as well as
those who called the small island home. She now resides
in Oregon.
She has been published in Alaska magazine, The Alaskan Southeaster Magazine, Wrangell Sentinel, and East-Oregonian. Please
note that as of August 2000 research material (11
boxes) was shipped to the Irene Ingle Public Library
through the assistance of Alaska Airlines. The material
was donated in the memory of, Todd E.
Harding. If you have a query, please contact the
library in Wrangell. The only research material that I
kept was on the Wrangell Garnet Ledge. |
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 Ice Mountain was the name of Alexandar "Buck" Choquette's trading post along the Stikine River, just below the Great Glacier on the Canadian side. Choquette was the discoverer of gold on the Stikine River in 1861, setting off the first rush for gold in the North. Choquette, a native of
Quebec, Canada, arrived in California in 1849, too late
to stake a claim, but found work in the gold fields as a
mucker or panner. He worked his way north by way of the
the Shasta diggings, and then up the Trinity, Scott and
Klamath Rivers in Northern California. From there, he
headed for the Oregon Territory and then on to Canada in
1858. He explored the Nass River area and then heard about a rich find on the Fraser River and followed that lead ,but never found a really good strike. Choquette then headed to Victoria, B.C. where he heard about the Stikine River, located further north and in what was then Russian America. He was certain that the further north he went the better the gold would be. The only problem was transportation to the Stikine region. It was Tlingit Country and not a very hospitable one at times. He met some of the members of the Stikine Tribe that were visiting Victoria. He was finally able to convince the group to take him back with them to their village. He was allowed to travel back with them in their large war canoes—a trip that Choquette, at one point, thought might be a mistake once the canoes hit open water. |
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 The Stikines made Choquette welcome into their village. He met the daughter of Chief Shakes, the Tlingit Chief of the Stickeen Tribe, and later married her. Thus began Choquette’s journey into the Stikine River and his discovery of gold along the banks of the mighty Stikine. Ever the speculator, Choquette realized that he could make more money trading supplies to the other prospectors. He set up shop near his claim so that he could work the claim and sell supplies at the same time. His trading post was located at different sites along the river over the years. He traded British goods to prospectors at his trading post on his own and as an agent for the Hudson’s Bay Company. His primary location was at Ice Mountain, near the Great Glacier. |
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Chief
Shakes
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The Hudson’s Bay Company and Choquette had a love-hate relationship. HBC tolerated him as their agent because at times, he owed the company money. But he knew the territory, spoke the Tlingit language and was well-known in the area. On the other hand, HBC had the trade goods Choquette needed so that he didn’t have to purchase American goods and pay the tax to the Americans. |
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