Isaac Burpee (1875 - 1951)
Isaac Burpee was born in New Brunswick. He came north in 1898 and purchased Harry Waugh’s partners’ interest in claim Nos. 14, 15, and 16 Below Discovery on Bonanza Creek. He and Waugh then bought Nos. 16 and 17 on Hunker Creek. All of the claims were rich.1)
Burpee became a merchant in Dawson.2) He owned a nine-ton, forty-eight-foot sternwheeler called the Burpee. It had a Polson Iron Works hull manufactured in 1898 in Toronto. There is no record of a different owner.3)
Around 1904, a friend of Burpee’s gave him $600 to pay off the friend’s debt to the bank but Burpee put the money in his own account. About the same time, Burpee sold off equipment and stock belonging to his partnership and kept the $12,000. He took the money and moved to the United States. His partner lodged complaints with the police and Burpee was charged and warrants were issued. The federal government reluctantly became involved in an extradition exercise. The Pinkerton agency located Burpee in St. Louis and he was arrested. The first charge, based on his theft of his friend’s money, was clearly extraditable but the Americans believed that the second charge, relating to the partnership, was a civil offense rather than criminal. Burpee was extradited on the first charge and so that was the only one he could be tried for in Canada. He received a light sentence in 1904.4)