A. L. Dominy and Thomas Boyd were the prospectors who met with the mysterious death on Swift creek, a tributary of the Hootalinqua, 100 miles or so from the Yukon. Dominy is understood to have hailed from Lone Pine, Calffornia, and to have left a family there. Boyd is believed to be a Scotchman, and to have a brother in a Scotch regiment. Inspector Bell, of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, has gone to the scene of the tragedy to investigate. It is believed by those who were at and close to the scene that the men died of scurvy.
Bishop Stringer's Report
The Right Rev. Bishop Stringer of the Church of England, who went up the Hootalinqua several days ago, wrote the following account of tragedy for the Dawson News:
"The following details regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of Messrs. Dominy and Boyd were gathered from Messrs. Brewer, Geary and Kreft. Rev. C. C. Brett gave us the first intimation of the tragedy when he came aboard the steamer Kluahne on the Hootalinqua river June 13, 1915.
"Two prospectors, named Boyd and Dominy, came in by way of Whitehorse in 1913. They apparently met first at Whitehorse and decided to go to Hootalinqua river together, but took separate boats. They bought their outfits at Captain Martin's. They went up the Hootalinqua about 90 miles and camped at the mouth of Swift creek, reaching there on or about October 9, 1913. Messrs. Brewer and Geary had a chat with them after their arrival in October. They were then living in tents. Boyd said he was along the river in 1900 and remarked the country was not burned over at that time. Engineer McLeod, of the steamer Kluahne, states. that, according to his log, he saw them October 13, 1913, and they waved to one another as they passed. This, so far as known, was the last seen of them alive.
"About the first of February, 1914, Joe Brewer, whose cabin is about eight miles above Swift creek, at what is known as One Hundred Mile Landing, he heard two shots in te direction of Swift creek. He thought it might be his partner, Bill Geary, who was out trapping or hunting, but Geary later stated he did not fire his gun. Brewer and Geary concluded that it might be the two men whom they met in October who were out hunting. Some time in February, 1914, Geary, when returning from his traps saw their tracks about half a mile from where their cabin afterwards proved to be, but he did not visit them.
"In March, 1914, Geary saw tracks down the river and thought they had gone to Whitchorse or out of the country.
"Once in May, 1914, when Brewer and Geary went down the river after their boat they went up Swift creek to see if there were any signs of the men. They state that they were within a short distance of the cabin but did not know it was there as the cabin is in a thick wood. They saw an old sled of Brewer's on the bank, which Boyd and Dominy had apparently brought down the creek; also an old trap.
"In the spring of 1915 Brewer and Geary saw the boat still on the bank
of the river, and concluded that Boyd and Domliny had left the country and had discarded their boats. Geary went down on a raft to bring up one of the boats as they thought it
would be useful. He walked up Swift creek to see if they had built a cabin. Then it was that he saw the cabin for the first time. It was a double cabin with separate doors and a partition across, but no communication between. He entered one cabin and then saw the older man, Dominy, dead on his bunk. This was on April 20, 1915. It was rather dark in the cabin and he did not investigate further, but took the boat back to their camp eight miles above on the Hootalinqua. The next day, April 21, Brewer, and Kreft, who was there at the time, went down and found the bodies of both men lying dead in their bunks, with their faces to the wall. They searched around a little to get any clue of the tragedy and found the diaries of the two men. Dominy, who seems to have been a very intelligent man, kept a fairly full diary During the latter part of the record he stated that he was ill and thought he had what he called, rabbit disease from drinking the water in the creek. In
another place he stated that a sick rabbit came into his cabin and died soon after. One entry said, "I am a very sick man, and have to crawl on my hands and knees." Some of his diary was written in Spanish, and he had a Spanish-English dictionary. Dominiy's diary showed that he grew worse and worse. The last entry being on February 28.
"Boyd did not keep a regular diary, but marked the days in a book as they passed. But near the last he made shart entries, stating he was getting weaker and later still weaker. He made in all six entries on six different days, apparently not knowing what was wrong with him. His last entry was on February 20 or 28, 1914, and said, "I am weaker today than ever." His watch is hanging on the wall. He had a violin and a supply of music. He had also a map of Hootalinqua with a square marked "gold," indicating, it is thought, the bar below Swift creek. He was here in 1900.
"Dominy had a map of Swift creek correctly made up as far as Brewer
creek, four miles up Swift creek. He also had a barometer and kept the records up to the time his diary stopped.
"The men were apparently never in partnership, but traveled and camped together, apparently keeping their outfits separate and living separately. Neither one mentions the other in his diary and it would appear that neither of them expected to die.
"Brewer sent the diaries and an account of the finding of the bodies etc., to the police at Whitehorse by Cam Smith, who is camping with his partner. Rev. C. C. Brett visited the cabin just before we met them on the Hootalinqua.
"It is said that the men did not seem to be very well off and did not have the usual supply of dried fruit or acid foods. They were not short of food as each had flour and other food in his cabin. Dominy mentions getting rabbits and ptarmigan, but
no moose, though the moose are rather common in the country.
"Porcupines had cut holes in the doors and had been poking around. Squirrels had also overrun the cabin.
"The bodies, of course, were decayed and wasted away, and it was a gruesome sight.
"All of us who have consulted together, including William Drury and
Engineer McLeod of the steamer Kluahne, and Messrs. Brewer, Geary, Kreft, Rev. C. C. Brett and myself, have concluded, from the evidence so far secured, that both men died of scurvy. All the conditions and circumstances seem to point to that terrible disease as the cause of the double tragedy.
"I. O. STRINGER.
"Bishop of Yukon.
"Hootalinqua River, June 17, 1915."
