Montague Martin Velge (b. 1875)
Monte Velge was born in Singapore. In 1916, he was mining on Eureka Creek, in the Klondike gold fields, when he enlisted for service in the First World War. His claims were held free from cancellation while he was away. He returned to the Yukon in 1919 during the spring breakup and so his trip from Whitehorse to Dawson took a month. He was reported to be on the stage in early May, and on the sternwheeler Casca in June.1)
Velge lived on Brewer Creek, a tributary of the Sewart River, for thirty to forty years. One year, a bear attacked him in the fall while he was picking berries.2) He found himself being dragged of by the bear who had him by the shoulder. He punched the bear in the nose and the bear took off, but Velge’s scalp was badly torn. Monte had already been to town for his winter grub and so he patched his scalp back in place with pitch so didn't have to go back to town until spring.3) He treated himself with hot and cold compresses and was totally healed up by the time anyone saw him again. In the early days he had a poling boat and would drift down the Stewart River and pole back up to Brewer Creek where the Hudson Bay Co. ran a post until 1952. One time Monte asked Robin Burian about outboard motors. It turned out that Monte did not want to buy a motor that was good enough to outlast him. He was already pretty old by that time.4)
Ed Whitehouse also told some Monte stories. After the post at Stewart Island closed down, Monte would boat to Dawson. By this time the road was through to McQuesten River. Ed worked for Highways, and they would truck Monte and his boat out there and he would drift down the Stewart to Brewer Creek. One trip he swamped the boat and Ed joked that he was never the same after that bath. Monte moved to Dawson around 1960. He lived in a cabin and was getting too old to look after himself. When he heard they were going to move him to a home, he got his rifle ready, vowing not to leave the cabin. Because everyone knew the situation, they did get him to go peacefully.5)