John Hepburn (1849- 1930)
	
John Hepburn was born in Ontario, the eldest son of William Hepburn. He started work at Quesnelle [Quesnel] Forks in the Cariboo in 1889.((//Vancouver News Advertiser// (Vancouver), 19 December 1892.)) In November 1891, he was the manager of the Victoria Syndicate and passed through Vancouver enroute to Victoria with a bag of gold dust and nuggets.((//Vancouver News Advertiser// (Vancouver), 26 November 1891.)) He returned to the Cariboo in February to prepare operations for work in the spring.((//Vancouver News Advertiser// (Vancouver), 2 February 1892.)) In October, the Hepburn Mining Co. on the Forks of the Quesnelle River had a successful season.((//Vancouver News Advertiser// (Vancouver), 8 October 1892.)) That year, Hepburn had thirty-five to forty men, mostly Chinese, working all summer. A dam was built at Spanish Lake and eight miles of flume was laid to carry water to the operation.((//Vancouver News Advertiser// (Vancouver), 19 December 1892.))
	
Hepburn left Victoria in July 1897 to build a tramway around Miles Canyon and Whitehorse Rapids, the most serious obstacles on the Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson.((//Victorian Daily Colonist// (Victoria), 10 December 1897.)) The Miles Canyon and Lewes River Tramway Inc. would be built on the west side of Yukon river, along the route of an existing portage trail. 
	
Hepburn was travelling in the Yukon with companions Frank Anthony of Seattle and another man named Murphy at the end of October.((//Vancouver News Advertiser// (Vancouver), 20 November 1897.)) When their boat capsized in White Horse Rapids, Anthony was drowned. Hepburn was able to hold onto a bundle of clothing and was thrown into some shallow water, and Murphy held onto the boat and was rescued by the North-West Mounted Police. In December, Hepburn reported that he had the right-of-way blasted, the roadbed graded, and the ties laid for the tramway between Whitehorse and Miles Canyon, a distance of three miles. He returned to Victoria to get horses and wheels and axles. The bodies of the vehicles for the tramway were built on site. The cost for using the tramway was set at one cent a pound and it took two hours to transfer goods.((//Victorian Daily Colonist// (Victoria), 10 December 1897.))
	
John Hepburn and Jane Johnson of Williamsburg, Ontario were married in August 1898. They honeymooned into Alaska and planned to live in Victoria. Hepburn shipped north a load of Arctic shoes, his first speculation consignment.((//Victoria Colonist// (Victoria), 8 September 1898.)) In 1898, John Hepburn had a log home on a hill overlooking the Yukon River when his sister visited him. Chinese servants did the housework and she had a pony to ride while she visited. When Hepburn went east that summer, he paid off the mortgage on the old farm for the family and shipped a piano to his nieces. (([need source]))
	
Hepburn sold his tramway to Norman Macaulay in June 1899. Macaulay was the builder and owner of a tramway on the opposite side of the Yukon River.((//Victoria Evening News// (Victoria), 20 June 1899.)) Hepburn arrived in Victoria in August after taking a load of hay and produce to Dawson.((//Victoria Daily Colonist// (Victoria), 2 August 1899.)) He invested a large amount of money in Victoria real estate after his return from the Klondike.((//Victoria Colonist// (Victoria), 15 May 1900.))
	
Macaulay sold both tramways to the Alaska Steamship Company. Their agent announced on 4 May 1900 that the company had been operating the tramway for two weeks and charging two cents per pound. They intended to operate Macaulay’s tramway and put Hepburn’s into operation only if traffic warranted. Seven men and three teams are employed on the tram.((//Dawson Daily News// (Dawson), 7 June 1900.))
	
In September 1911, Hepburn was injured in an accident driving a wagon loaded with drain tile. He was a successful businessman and then turned to ranching in the Saanich district.((//Victoria Colonist// (Victoria), 1 September 1911.)) The family moved to Salt Spring Island in 1918. Their fortunes fell on hard times during and after the First World War.(([need source]))