Fort Reliance
Fort Reliance was a 1874 established a trading post of the Alaska Commercial Company working in Alaska in the Canadian Northwest Territories and the Yukon later. It originated in the territory of Han, later than Tr'ondek Hwech'in First Nation called the Athabaskan group later founded Dawson. The item was located 10 km below the confluence of the Klondike in the Yukon River, where two decades later the Klondike gold rush was triggered against the Han village Jutl'à ' K'ät ( Nuklako ). Both Sixtymile and Fortymile River were named according to their distance in miles from Fort Reliance.
History
Jack McQuesten, one of the first non-Indian traders, trappers and prospectors in the Yukon, came in 1873 in the area. This was due to the fact that the British, who were sitting in Fort Yukon, which was the purchase of Alaska by the United States on American soil, had to leave in 1869 the local post. Moses Mercier, from the Fort Yukon had also need to deduct, founded a first small trading post called Belle Isle on the left bank of the Yukon, near the Eagle later, and thus in the field of Han. He worked for the Western Fur and Trading Company, but changed from 1881 /82 on the competing Alaska Commercial Company (ACC ). After a very cold winter McQuesten went next year to St. Michael and signed a contract with the ACC. For them, he traveled in a group of seven men, a journey during which he met his future wife. Among the men was François Mercer and Frank Bonfield, who worked also for the ACC.
One of the chiefs named Han Catsah ( Gah ts'at ) had pushed for the establishment of a fort in its territory, which was opened in 1874. 1877 or 1878 but had the items to be cleared, since - according to American sources for a tobacco theft - came to hostilities. After the evacuation of the fort, there was a tragedy. In the rooms above the remains of fat that had been mixed to control mice with arsenic were. Three women poisoned themselves with one of them, a 16 -year-old blind man, even died of it. McQuesten and Catsah agreed on compensation. McQuesten opened the post in 1878 and again the Han contributed compensations for the tobacco.
Along with Frank Barnfield he built a hut, where the two men committed some of the Han for felling and carrying the trees. Other hunted for them. Han, Upper Tanana and Northern Tutchone met at the new trading post. The Han benefited from the competition of commercial companies. Already in 1883 ended this advantageous situation for them, however, as the Alaska Commercial Company took over its rivals.
McQuesten was the only one of the builders longer, twelve years until the post was abandoned in 1886 because gold was discovered on Stewart River made the fur trade unattractive for most traders and trappers. Gone propelled steamers on the Yukon - McQuesten had even led one - used the wood for firing their machine, so that today suggest only a few artifacts on the former Fort.
Archaeological investigations led to the conclusion that the area of the main house was 20.4 feet at exactly 29.4 ×, so the house had barely 70 m² floor space. McQuesten slept in a room under the roof, which he reached on an outer conductor. 1877 McQuesten crashed off the ladder and broke a rib.
Ed and Star Jones led in 1967 a school field trip to Fort Reliance, where they found some glass beads. The participants belonged to Jack Hunston, who carried out detailed studies 1973 and 1976. His discoveries received the Canadian Museum of Civilization, under whose auspices an archaeological campaign was conducted.