SIMARD, ARSENE, J.
Son of Alex Simard, Arsène was born the 23 September, 1874 in Baie-Saint- Paul, PQ. On March 3, 1898, aged 24, he exchanged his job as a tanner for that of a prospector and left his home to go to the Klondike accompanied by other men of his region (Camille Dufour, Ernest Leclerc, and John Warren). He crossed the country by train, from Montreal to Vancouver then on to Skagway, Alaska by steamboat in order to attempt the Chilkoot Pass.
With Warren, Gagnon and others, Simard built a cabin and exploited a mining concession near the Haggart Creek in the region of the McQuesten River. He stayed there until 1902. On September 1899, his friend, Ernest Leclerc , aged 26, (perhaps a cousin because Leclerc’s mother was a Simard) died in Dawson City. The winter of 1900 was particularly difficult because the daily temperature was so cold it made the acquisitioning of food impossible. Towards the end of March, Simard and his companions were having to scrape the bottom of the wheat bags in order to find food. There was none left; they had no more strength to go out and hunt. At this point, a bear, probably as hungry as they, came poking around their camp. One of the men was able to hunt it down with a fire-arm. The group saw this as the work of Divine Providence because thanks to this bear’s flesh, the bear saved their life.
According to Simard’s diary, the year 1901 was the best of all. The heavy work was well worth it and brought results. In September 1902, J. Arsène Simard left his native region with a small fortune. He stopped in Seattle, U.S., in order to purchase some new clothes, and he stayed there a few days to have a small medical intervention. On October 2, 1902, he was back in Baie-Saint-Paul. Arsène Simard married Marie Fillion, the young woman who haunted his dreams during his sojourn in the Yukon. They had 8 children. He died in Saint Joachim, PQ, on November 17, 1951 aged 77. He left a diary of his trips.
Ref. Empreinte. Vol 11, pages 33-34
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