National Park Service Wrangell-St. Elias U.S. Department of the Interior National Park and Preserve FOR THE LOVE OF FREEDOM MINERS, TRAPPERS, HUNTING GUIDES, AND HOMESTEADERS An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Karen Brewster As the nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural and cultural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environmental and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Cultural Resource Programs of the National Park Service have responsibilities that include stewardship of historic buildings, museum collections, archeological sites, cultural landscapes, oral and written histories, and ethnographic resources. Our mission is to identify, evaluate and preserve the cultural resources of the park areas and to bring an understanding of these resources to the public. Congress has mandated that we preserve these resources because they are important components of our national and personal identity. Published by the United States Department of the Interior through the Government Printing Office. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior. All errors are attributable to the author. Design/layout by Francis Broderick, Archgraphics. For the Love of Freedom Trappers, Hunting Guides, and Homesteaders: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment Karen Brewster 2018 Front cover photo: Left to right: Hilda Reynolds, unidentified man, Sheriff Reynolds, man with back to camera may be Martin Harrais, Margaret Keenan Harrais, Alvina Schultz, Henry Schultz. Photo developed and colored by Hubrick Photo Studio, McCarthy, Alaska, circa 1925. Estate of Alvina Schultz Collection, McCarthy-Kennicott Historical Museum. Back cover photo: Jim and Maxine Edwards and their children, Shelly and Steve, at their original residence in McCarthy, 1966. Courtesy of the Edwards family. FOR THE LOVE OF FREEDOM MINERS, TRAPPERS, HUNTING GUIDES, AND HOMESTEADERS An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve By Karen Brewster This country appealed to me so much when I first got here because we were totally free. —Gary Green, McCarthy, 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS MAPS AND FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................ 5 ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 8 Context ....................................................................................................................................................... 8 Purpose .................................................................................................................................................... 8 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2. ENVIRONMENTAL AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ......................................................... 13 Environment ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Historical Overview ............................................................................................................................. 14 Park Formation ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Making a Life ........................................................................................................................................... 21 Access ......................................................................................................................................................... 22 Subsistence .............................................................................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER 3. MAKING A LIVING AS AN INDEPENDENT MINER ........................................................... 31 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 31 Copper Mining and the Kennecott Era ......................................................................................... 33 Early Days of Individual Miners ...................................................................................................... 43 Nizina Mining District ......................................................................................................................... 45 Dan Creek and Chititu Creek ....................................................................................................... 45 May Creek ............................................................................................................................................ 47 Rex Creek ............................................................................................................................................. 48 McCarthy Creek ................................................................................................................................. 49 Upper Chitina River .............................................................................................................................. 50 Chisana District ...................................................................................................................................... 54 Bremner Historic District .................................................................................................................. 69 Nabesna Mine ......................................................................................................................................... 73 White River .............................................................................................................................................. 83 Mining in the Park ................................................................................................................................ 84 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 85 CHAPTER 4. OUT ON THE TRAIL: FUR TRAPPERS ............................................................................... 90 Trapping History ................................................................................................................................... 90 Trapping Technology ........................................................................................................................... 99 Trapping Partners ................................................................................................................................. 101 Transportation and Access ............................................................................................................... 103 Trapping in the Park and Preserve ................................................................................................ 105 Trapline Ownership ............................................................................................................................. 108 Learning to Trap .................................................................................................................................... 112 Living the Trapping Lifestyle ........................................................................................................... 115 Anti-trapping Sentiments .................................................................................................................. 118 Fur Farming ............................................................................................................................................. 118 The Future of Trapping....................................................................................................................... 122 CHAPTER 5. IN SEARCH OF BIG GAME: SPORT HUNTING GUIDES .................................................. 127 Sport Hunting in the 1920s and 1930s....................................................................................... 127 The Arrival of Sport Hunting Guides ........................................................................................... 132 Sport Hunting in the Yakutat Area ................................................................................................ 134 Sport Hunting in the 1950s and 1960s....................................................................................... 135 The Use of Horses ................................................................................................................................ 138 Introduction of the Airplane ........................................................................................................... 140 Increase in Guiding Businesses .....................................................................................................