Alexander MacDonald (d.1894)
Alexander McDonald was a native of New Brunswick. He spent the whole summer of 1887 alone on the Stewart River prospecting and exploring. He went to the top of the Beaver River and over to Mayo Lake which he named after Al Mayo. He went over a divide, possibly into the Peel River drainage. He was the first prospector in the region.1)
William Ogilvie met MacDonald in August 1888 at the mouth of the Stewart River. McDonald told Ogilvie that the gold on the upper Stewart was a little coarser than that on the lower reaches but still could not qualify as “coarse.” He seemed satisfied and intended to return the next season.2) McDonald explored around Duncan and Lightning creeks, an area that would later cause excitement for gold miners. He crossed from the head of Lightning Creek to the Ladue River and floated down it for two days. He found himself going northeast instead of south and so abandoned his raft and returned to his point of departure. He prospected for a time in the Gustavus Mountains, and then crossed the McQuesten River and floated down that river to the Stewart.3) McDonald found gold on Rosebud Creek and may have named it for his part in the Battle of the Rosebud River in the Sioux Wars during the 1870s.4)
McDonald prospected alone until about 1894 [Ogilvie is not sure of the date] when his dead body was found on the bank of the Yukon River. He started off alone, as usual, up the Yukon and it is supposed that he took sick as he was wrapped in a blanket and showed signs of dying in his sleep.5)