Nels Peter Nelson (d. mid-1960s)
Nels P. Nelson had served in the military before coming north in the 1890s. He was prospecting in the Fortymile district when gold was discovered on Bonanza Creek, but he did not join the initial stampede to the Klondike. Nels Nelson, William E. “Billy” James, and Fred W. Best explored the upper White River basin in 1912. These men had been prospecting the Yukon/Alaska backcountry since the turn of the century. They were among the first to discover placer gold in the Chisana mining district in Alaska. Nelson formed a partnership with James and they continued to mine until 1918. In 1934, Nelson built an elaborate ditch and flume system to Bonanza No. 5 to explore new areas. From 1935 into the 1940s, Nelson ran the largest crew in the Chisana district as the N. P. Nelson Mining Company. .1)
At the end of the 1940s, N. P. Nelson was distributing the mail delivered by Cordova Air. Nelson failed to do his assessment work in 1947 and appears not to have worked his claims after this. At that time he had Bonanza #8 and #8 Fraction, #9, and the Discovery Claim at the mouth of Coarse Money Creek. Nels left Alaska in the mid-1950s and returned for a brief visit in 1959. He died in the mid-1960s at the age of 96. His ashes were buried on a prominent point above Bonanza Creek, Chisana District.2)