Christopher Reed (d. 1947)
Christopher Reed was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England. He enlisted with the North-West Mounted Police in Regina in 1890 and served in the Yukon during the gold rush.1) He described conditions at the bottom of the Chilkoot Trail in his diary saying there was a foot of stick, greasy mud on the road. The traffic was ceaseless with mules, ponies, dogs, goats, oxen, and men all loaded to capacity winding through a quagmire of mud and stumps. At the Tagish Customs post, Reed, who had some medical training, had to nurse a murderer who was being taken south from Dawson. The prisoner, Ed Henderson, suffered from Bright’s disease. Reed’s contingent under Inspector Harper arrived in Dawson on 10 October. There was shortage of food in the community so Superintendent Constantine sent Inspector Scarth and twelve men, including Constable Reed and prisoner Henderson, down river to Forty Mile with reduced rations. Reed was back in Dawson when the food crisis was resolved.2)
Reed was influenced by missionary H.A. Naylor and thought he might take theological training, but this did not happen. Reed’s term with the Police ended in 1900 and Bompas put him to work as a lay reader, ordained him deacon in 1901, and priest in 1902.3) In 1907, Rev. Comyn-Ching succeeded Christopher Reed as the curate in charge at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Dawson.4) Rev. Reed left the Yukon to serve the church in British Columbia and England. He died in Yorkshire.5)