BOUVETTE, LOUIS (348 - ENGLISH)

BOUVETTE, LOUIS (348 - ENGLISH)

Bouvette, Louis---Discovered Veins of Silver near Keno

Louis Bouvette was from Poplar Point, Manitoba and he came from a mixed French-Canadian –Scottish family.  His sister, Helen and he had witnessed the famous Louis Riel Rebellion..

Louis Riel arrived in the Yukon in 1901, after the great Gold Rush to the Klondike, but just in time to participate in the gold rush on Duncan Creek in the Mayo region.  Because he was a rather independent prospector, he made sure he survived by hunting.  He demarcated his limits on the Haggart, Ledge, and the Highet  Creeks near Minto Lake. Furthermore he supplied the minors’ camps in the region with wild meat and now and then worked to transport merchandise with his horse on the road to Duncan Creek.  During his youth, Louis was surrounded by horses, and all his life he kept up his passion for horses.

In 1911, Louis Bouvette and his associate, Charles Johnson found gold in the tributary from the Bear Creek, not too far from Mayo. So they demarcated a discovery concession and named it for a friend, Carlson.  In 1915, Bouvette bought land in Mayo.

Louis Bouvette was for the Mayo-Keno region just as the discoverers Carmacks, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie were for the Klondike. He is in fact, the discoverer of the silver and lead veins of Mount Keno. He demarcated his rich “Roulette” concession the 10^th of July 1919 while he was hunting wild sheep in the area. Like many other prospectors of the area, Bouvette was guided in his search for minerals by Alfred Kirk Shillinger, geologist and mining engineer.

Louis Bouvette’s discovery brought another rush towards Mount Keno. During the summer of 1920, more than 600 mining concessions were demarcated. The vein or layers were extremely rich, but the transportation problems were very difficult. This explains why this rush did not take on more growth than the one in the Klondike.  During these years, the steamboats could not reach Mayo, a locality situated 30 miles (50 km) from Keno. It cost more to transport the tons of silver and lead between Keno and Mayo than between Mayo and the markets in the South.

In 1923, Louis Bouvette went to Vancouver where his brother-in-law had just died. He then brought his niece, Jean, to visit  the Yukon.  At the beginning of the 1930s Jean’s brother, Charles Nixon went to join them. Louis’ cousin Tom McKay  had also been in the Territories since the beginning of the century.

During the months of August and September, 1927 Louis Bouvette realized a dream: he offered himself as a hunting guide of big game for the brothers Jacquot. The account of this expedition was published in Switzerland in 1929 entitled:  “While Hunting in the Yukon Territory.” With this narration in French were 24 photogravures and 7 drawings by the author.

Louis Bouvette prospected all his life in the Mayo region, and especially during the years 1920 with his nephew Charles Dixon and Donald Morrison, the husband of his niece, Jean. Mary Jean, the daughter of Jean and Donald Morrison was the author of the text on Louis Bouvette whence came most of his information.

At the beginning of the 1940’s, Louis Bouvette settled in a little hamlet situated near the bridge into Mayo. He still rode his horse, Star, but around 1947 his health began to slow down.  One day he became lost on a trail near the bridge that was close to Mayo.  We believe that he had an attack of apoplexy (stroke) and that he fell into the Mayo River. His body was never found. 

Two mountains in the Yukon were named in his honor: Bouvette Hill, which is the highest peak east of the Keno Mounts, and Mount Bouvette, south of the Ogilvie River.

ref. Empreinte, vol.11, pages 91,92, 93