Skip to content

crew of the steamer thistle

The above photograph is of the crew of the steamer Thistle at Ross River in 1922. Alex Van Bibber of Champagne, Yukon, had previously sent me a letter on March 20, telling me about the sinking of the Thistle.
robb

The above photograph is of the crew of the steamer Thistle at Ross River in 1922. Alex Van Bibber of Champagne, Yukon, had previously sent me a letter on March 20, telling me about the sinking of the Thistle. He mentioned he knew Captain Jackson who was captain of the Thistle and from the Whitehorse area. Also, he said Dave Silas from Fort Selkirk was a deckhand on this boat. It got me wondering that possibly the young boy apparently at the ship’s wheel could be Dave, but because of the photograph being of poor quality and dark, it’s hard to know. It could be Dave Silas because the rest of the crew appear to be of European descent.

As Alex Van Bibber mentioned, the story of the sinking was told to him by Dave Silas. The steamer Thistle sank in Lake Laberge many years ago.

We have to thank both Alex and Dave for this valuable historic information. The story of the sinking appeared in my column on March 20.

Photo from the Tidd Collection, Yukon Archives.

Anyone with information about this subject, please write Jim Robb: The Colourful Five Per Cent Scrapbook—Can You Identify? c/o the Yukon News, 211 Wood Street, Whitehorse, Yukon,

Y1A 2E4, or e-mail through the News website, www.yukon-news.com.