Yukon who is who

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William Clayson (d. 1900)
	
William and Frederick Clayson were born in Port Madison, Washington to a father who was a sea-faring Englishman. The brothers went north during the Klondike gold rush and took a cargo of merchandise including a quantity of shoes they bought in Portland. They started a store in Skagway called F.H. Clayson & Co. Outfitters, and Frederick made several business trips to Dawson in 1898 and 1899.((Gord Allison, “The Christmas Day Murders – Part 2 (The Murders).” 29 March 2019. //Welcome to Yukon History Trails,// 2019 website: https://yukonhistorytrails.com/2019/03/29/the-christmas-day-murders-part-2-the-murders/))
	
William Clayson was reported in a Dawson newspaper to have sold his business and was going outside. The wording in the paper implied that Clayson would be travelling with $30,000 in cash and bicycling the winter trail from Dawson. In fact, Clayson left Dawson a few days before Christmas in 1900 carrying only the money and supplies needed for the trip. The trail was well packed and winter cycling was common in the Yukon under these conditions. Clayson caught up with a Dawson acquaintance, a Swede named Olson, who was hiking the trail. They stopped at Fort Selkirk and ran into another Dawsonite named Relfe. The men celebrated Christmas Eve together and mentioned to the other guests that they would be travelling together and stopping at Minto, sixty miles to the south, for Christmas day.((Randy Freeman, "The Yukon's 'Greatest Crime." //Up Here,// November-December 2006: 28-31.))

In mid-February, Clayson's sister contacted police from her home in Skagway to report that her brother had failed to arrive as expected. An officer at Bennett noticed some suspicious characters including a man calling himself Ross who had just arrived from Whitehorse. Ross had a horse, a dog and a new fur cap and coat, but his shoes were old and worn. His responses to questions were unsatisfactory and police arrested Ross on suspicion of murder.((Randy Freeman, "The Yukon's 'Greatest Crime." //Up Here,// November-December 2006: 28-31.))

Ross’ physical description matched that of a man named O'Brien. O'Brien had been camped along the river near Selkirk with a partner named Graves. They bought supplies at Selkirk and said they were cutting wood for the steamers. Constable Pennycucik went to look for O'Brien's camp and found it just below Selkirk. Someone had cut a straight trail through the bush and set up an ambush site. Another cut into a tree was a perfect rifle-rest for the killer's gun. A .40-82 cartridge and another spent cartridge were found nearby and a .40-82 bullet was found attached to a bit of bone and part of a gold-filled tooth. Bright blots of blood marked the spot where a set of bicycle-tire tracks ended. On the other side of the camp, a packed trail led to the river and a hole was found big enough to admit bodies. A pile of partially burnt clothing was later identified as belonging to Clayson, Relfe, and Olson. O'Brien's dog was brought back to the site and told to go home. He went to the old tent and laid down.((Randy Freeman, "The Yukon's 'Greatest Crime." //Up Here,// November-December 2006: 28-31.)) 

That summer, the Yukon River gave up the bodies of the murdered men. Graves was never found. O'Brien was found guilty of murdering three men and was hanged in Dawson.((Randy Freeman, "The Yukon's 'Greatest Crime." //Up Here,// November-December 2006: 28-31.))