Koh-klux
Koh-klux was chief of the Chilkat Tlingit near present-day Haines, Alaska. He was present on a raid that ransacked Fort Selkirk in 1852 and led the Hudson's Bay Co. to abandon the post.1) Travel routes from Klukwan and the lower Chilkat River Valley into the interior are known as Alur Dän Tän (trail the coast Indians travel on) in Southern Tutchone.2) The Chilkat Tlingit [Jilkáat] were based around Klukwan, near Haines, Alaska. Trade over the Chilkat Trail was shared by Dakl’aweidi and the Gaanaxteidi clans of Klukwan. The Chilkoot Tlingit [Lkoot] were based around Dyea, and the Lukhaax.á clan controlled the Chilkoot Pass.3)
In the winter of 1879-80, Beardslee negotiated with Koh-klux to allow prospectors into the interior. An agreement was reached whereby the First Nations were to pack the prospectors’ goods for a fair wage in return for allowing the prospectors in. The prospectors agreed not to participant in trade activities. A war broke out between the Chilkats and the Chilkoots and Chief Koh-klux, who had promised safe passage for the party, had to ask Lieut. Beardslee, the United States chief authority in southeast Alaska, to remove the men for their own safety.4) The dispute was over which clan had the right to pack prospector's goods over the pass.5)
In July 1869, George Davidson, with the United States Coast Survey, made a trip to the southern coast of Alaska to observe a total solar eclipse of the sun. He met and became friends with Koh-klux. The chief drew a small map, and then he and his two wives drew a larger map for Davidson. They showed the route into the interior from the Lynn Canal to Fort Selkirk. Davidson added the place names phonetically as they were spoken to him. The map is scaled in the number of days needed to travel the route. The maps are held in the George Davidson collection at the Bancroft Library in Berkeley. They are the earliest maps of the region.6)