James Albert “Jack” Pringle (d. 1946)
Jack Pringle was born in Ontario, the son of George and Mary Pringle. His brothers John and George were missionaries in the Klondike just after the gold rush.1) Jack joined the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1873.2) He was stationed in the Yukon during the Klondike gold rush. NWMP Inspector Robert Belcher was in charge of the Chilkoot Pass and the White Pass from February to July 1898. He managed the post with Corporal Pringle and Constable Boyd. Chilkoot Camp was a twelve-foot-square shack covered with a tarpaulin and was combined customs office and quarters for Belcher and Pringle. The Crater Lake Camp on the White Pass route was four tents and was a supply depot.3)
Constable Pringle was posted at Dalton Post in the summer of 1899. The six-man detachment included one non-commissioned officer, three constables and a special constable, and they started constructing a stable and living quarters. The weather turned poor in October and all the men but Pringle and the special constable were recalled to Pleasant Camp. Pringle was commended for his management of the post.4) Dalton Post and the detachments along the Dalton Trail were removed after the Alaska/Canada boundary dispute was resolved.5) The Dalton Post detachment was abandoned in 1905.6)
Pringle left the Mounted Police in 1904.7) He stayed at Dalton Post and purchased the NWMP buildings in 1912.8) The families of Jimmy Kane, John Kha-Sha, Parton Kane, David Hume, and Jack Pringle were based at Shäwshe/Dalton Post until the 1950s when they moved to Klukshu or Haines Junction. Cabins built by Chuck Hume and Jack Pringle are still used as fishing cabins by Champagne families.9) Jack Pringle’s grave is located near his cabin.10)
Pringle Lake, named for Jack Pringle, is on the west side of Haines Junction near Dalton Post.11)
Many thanks to Michael Gates who edited this text in June, 2020.