North America / Western Canada / Yukon

“Pic of the Week”, January 24, 2020: Sam Steele, The Lion of the Yukon

05 Whitehorse Street Art (7)

There are times in history when one man can make an enormous difference to the lives of thousands of people.  Sam Steele, known as the “Lion of the Yukon”, was just such a man.  His formal title, in time, was to be Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele.

Sam had a distinguished career as a soldier and officer in military and in the Northwest Mounted Police (NWMP),  which today has morphed into Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).  Sam was head of the Yukon detachment of the NWMP during the Klondike Goldrush.  What was a sleepy outpost initially turned into a challenging position for Sam and his Mounties.

He established Custom outposts atop the Chilkoot and White Passes, and the Mounties did …

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