Pat Galvin
	
Pat Galvin was born in Kerry, Ireland and came to the United States as a young boy. He was a hardware merchant in Belle Plains, Minnesota and then chief of police, a manager of a newspaper, and superintendent of some mines in Helena, Montana. He moved first to Puget Sound, and then Juneau to briefly manage a hardware store. He took a large stock of hardware and tinsmith tools to Forty Mile and made stoves for Yukon miners. He was successful and opened another store in Circle, Alaska.((Michael Gates, “The rise and fall of a Klondike king: Pat Galvin.” //Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 26 April 2013.))
	
Galvin and John Brothers were partners after Brothers took his discharge from the North-West Mounted Police under Inspector Charles Constantine. Brothers staked early ground on Bonanza Creek and he and Galvin did very well.((Col. S.B. Steele, //Forty Years in Canada.// New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1915: 300.)) He was partners with Big Alex McDonald and George Byrne on Claim No. 41 on Eldorado Creek and Claim No. 5 on Bear Creek. He had a half interest in the Bonanza Creek Claim No. 35 Above, and shares in Nos. 30 and 31 Below Discovery on Hunker Creek, and No. 40 on Eldorado Creek. Nine men had lays on No. 41 Eldorado but seven of them gave up before the pay streak was found on February 1897. When the claim on Bonanza hit gold, he became a very wealthy man.((Michael Gates, “The rise and fall of a Klondike king: Pat Galvin.” //Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 26 April 2013.))
	
Galvin formed the North British American Company in England using his claims as collateral and was given several million dollars in investors’ money. He built the steamer //Mary Ellen Galvin// but it drew too much water to be useful on the Yukon River. He bought 1,000 head of cattle that he contracted Charlie Thebo to deliver to Fort Selkirk. Galvin planned to take 600 tonnes of goods up the Yukon River from St. Michael, and then go further up the river to collect the cattle.9(Michael Gates, “The rise and fall of a Klondike king: Pat Galvin,” //Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 26 April 2013.)) He started to erect a warehouse at the mouth of the McQuesten River in June 1898.(("Movements of the Yukon fleet: The //May West// Gone - //Weare// and //Hamilton// to follow. The //Victoria// on the Upper River - new steamer in from the lakes - passengers from lower river points." //Klondike Nugget// (Dawson), 23 June 1898.)) He also purchased a waterfront lot in Dawson for the business. Then he partied in the Dawson saloons until he left for St. Michael, Alaska on August 22. He arrived on September 9 and purchased the steamer //Yukoner,// but the boat was frozen in on the way upriver. Galvin left the crew in charge and travelled back down river. By Christmas he was in Dawson contributing to the construction of a new Catholic hospital. Thebo made his own way to Dawson with frozen meat, some of which thawed and spoiled on the trip. He ended up owning that portion of Galvin’s company in the next year. The //Yukoner// arrived in Dawson, a year behind schedule with much of the canned goods spoiled. One of Galvin’s friends and colleagues, James Beatty (“Lord Jim”), could not account for tens of thousands of dollars. Galvin’s investors foreclosed on Galvin and took his mining claims in the process. Galvin spent the last of his money in the Dawson saloons and left town on the last steamer of the year. He died three years later, having caught cholera while prospecting in the Philippines.((Michael Gates, “The rise and fall of a Klondike king: Pat Galvin.” //Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 26 April 2013.))