MAIL BY DOGTEAM...Yukon and North Central British Columbia

A unique aspect of the history of Canada is the general knowledge that in the past, our mail was sometimes delivered by dogteam. Today, we will often joke about the speed of mail delivery and compare it to the speed of a sled dog team. Romanticized movie images of Canada and Canada’s north will include references to “mushers” and sled dogs and “the mail”. Historic accounts often refer to isolation and loneliness and the arrival of the sled dog “packet” which brought with it cherished news from the “outside”, often news that was 12 or more months old. It is true that with Canada’s unique winter weather, sled dogs were often the only way to travel from one settlement to another and it follows that in the course of their journeys, mushers would carry “the mail” or at least news from one place to the other.

In reality, the establishment of formal mail delivery by dog team, indeed the delivery of mail in remote and isolated spots parts of B.C./Yukon goes back to just before the turn of the 20th century. Canada only became a nation in 1867, and with that development came the need to establish a whole host of public services, including the delivery of mail. Of course, prior to this time, “mail” was being delivered from one spot to another, even in very remote areas and there are certainly references in the literature of the early days of exploration in Canada to letters and other messages being passed on from one person to another.

There are even occasional references to some kind of “organized” system of message exchange as trading companies established supply routes and trading posts.
But it was a haphazard arrangement that relied on the creative efforts of individuals or organizations like the Hudsons Bay Company or the organized church. The Hudsons Bay Company and the Northwest Company actually created a unique 22 foot long canoe known as a “batard”, it was narrower than freight-carrying “36 foot canots de maitre” or “26 foot canots de nord” and would be paddled by six skilled voyageurs at an unheard-of speed averaging 8 miles per hour. These lightly-laden canoes were used almost exclusively for delivering mail and important people from one place to the other.

Two significant events in western and northern Canadian history that prompted and probably even necessitated the creation of a more formally organized system of mail delivery were the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860’s in central British Columbia and the Klondike Gold Rush of the late1890’s in the Yukon. Because of the magnitude of these developments and the thousands of people involved, it was incumbent on government officials to address the need for the exchange of letters and parcels over long distances. Before the government became involved, entrepreneurs responded to the demand and established what was essentially a haphazard private postal system.

In the case of the Cariboo Gold Rush, an established transportation system utilizing the Cariboo Wagon Road as well as the network of rivers made it possible for the officials to simply contract with those individuals who were delivering freight and passengers to also “carry the mail” on a scheduled basis. The postal authorities would establish contracts, and the successful bidders would be required to deliver the mail on a year- round basis according to an established schedule. This would mean that during the summer season with warm weather, one method of transportation would be used, while in the winter weather, another method would have to be found. Of course this system of “letting contracts” became more difficult the smaller and the more isolated the settlements became and the less travelled the established routes were.

Another development in western and northern Canadian history that had some influence on the establishment of mail delivery was the unsuccessful attempt to construct the Collins Overland telegraph between North America and Russia in the 1860’s and then the successful establishment of the Yukon Telegraph Line using much of the abandoned Collins route in the early years of the 20th century. When combined with the gold rushes, these developments had the effect of creating overland routes and of linking communities, both establishing a need for mail delivery, but also developing rudimentary paths and trails that could be followed while actually delivering the mail.

Quesnel, British Columbia figures significantly in these early transportation developments. Both the Collins Overland and the Yukon Telegraph lines passed through Quesnel. Of course Quesnelle Mouth (Quesnel), located at the junction of two significant rivers was a major transhipment point for the delivery of goods of all kinds to the Barkerville gold fields. Quesnel’s location allowed it to benefit from the creation of wagon roads and sternwheeler routes, making it a major transportation and communications hub. For several years, Quesnel was the location of the “last” post office along what was known as the Ashcroft Trail which ran from the south. Beyond Quesnel mail delivery to the north was quite a hit and miss thing. Fort George received mail from the east (Edmonton) and from the west (Hazelton) but there was no established connection with the south

With the development of this transportation infrastructure, the delivery of mail by sled dog team does not figure significantly in Quesnel’s postal history. The reality is, roads and horses and sternwheelers were a much more efficient way to deliver large amounts of postal freight. Another reality is that the climate of the Cariboo, with relatively deep snowfalls did not lend itself to the use of sled dogs. As well, there was not an established tradition of sled dog use among local Native people and there were really no suitable animals available. In the mid 1800’s, the Hudson’s Bay Company had imported large numbers of sled dogs from the Lake Athabasca region to facilitate their trade and winter communication between Fort Alexandria, Fort St. James, For McLeod, Fort George, Fort Fraser and Fort Babine, but the use of sled dogs in north central British Columbia did not become widespread.

In order for sled dogs to be utilized efficiently, it was necessary for trails to be either clearly established through forested country and for the snow to be packed down by frequent traffic (either horse and sleigh or people on snowshoes) or the routes of travel needed to concentrate on frozen rivers and lakes, where the wind tends to blow the snow away, preventing it from building up and becoming too deep, therefore making dogteam travel fairly easy. In the Quesnel area, the only route that seemed to lend itself to this method of transportation was the Yukon Telegraph Line between Quesnel through Blackwater to Fort Fraser, thus creating the needed winter mail connection with the north. From there it would be carried by other sled dog teams along the Yukon Telegraph Line through Hazelton, Telegraph Creek, Glenora, Atlin, Whitehorse and eventually to Dawson City.

There are documented records and photos of mail being delivered along the Yukon Telegraph Trail from the turn of the 20th century to the 1920’s by dog team. One often-reproduced photo shows a beautifully bedecked dog team in collar harness and bright-coloured collar horns resting in front of the old Hudsons Bay Store on Front Street.
The musher is slinging a set of huge snowshoes over his rifle which in turn he is cradling in his arms, he presents an imposing sight. Several locals are looking on at the team as it is resting up, probably after completing the run from Fort Fraser. This photo most likely dates to the 1920’s, after Charles Allison purchased the Hudson’s Bay company store, using it as the location of his Drug and Book store, and as he was also Postmaster, he operated the post office from the rear of the main building. Mail was not delivered to the Barkerville area by sled dogs because of the depth of the snowfall making it impractical. Still, there are documented records of some miners using sled dogs in that area for their own personal use, travelling back and forth to their claims.

`The reality is, before the establishment of rail lines and air services, mail was usually delivered by horse and wagon or horse and sleigh or by sternwheeler or steamship wherever possible. In the far north, the delivery of mail by dog team between Whitehorse and Dawson City was actually only a short-lived phenomenon. With the construction of the overland winter stage route between Whitehorse and Dawson City in 1902, all winter mail was delivered by horse and sleigh while all summer mail was delivered by sternwheeler. It was only in the much smaller and more isolated locations that it was practical and necessary to use sled dogs for mail delivery. So in the north, mail was delivered to the various mining camps by dog team, and along the winter waterways to the very isolated settlements not serviced by any other means of transportation.

In the 1920’s, the advent of “Air Mail” changed the face of mail delivery significantly.
But mail delivery by dogteam was a reality throughout all of northern Canada, not just in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In fact, some very isolated communities like Colville Lake, N.W.T., continued to rely on winter dog team mail delivery until the 1960’s and even the 1970’s, with the snowmobile taking over the task until regular air service was established.


Up until 2004 there were two communities in the world where it was still possible to deliver an envelope by dog team through the regular mail system,. In 1975, sled dog enthusiasts living in Whitehorse worked to re-establish the old sled dog mail route between Carcross Yukon and Atlin, British Columbia. That event ran every March for thirty years. It was possible for individuals to address an envelope, affix proper postage and to put it into the regular mail system in the Yukon where it was specially cancelled and carried by dogteam from Carcross, Yukon to Atlin, British Columbia before entering the regular mail system for delivery anywhere in the world. In 1993, some of the same individuals who had spearheaded the Yukon Mail Run established the Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run in Quesnel, with mail delivery from Quesnel to Wells to Barkerville by dog team, again with envelopes being hand cancelled in each location, stamped with a “Carried by Dogteam” stamp and placed in the regular mail system for delivery anywhere in the world.

The 30th anniversary event staged in 2004 was the last running of the Carcross-Atlin Mail Run, leaving the Quesnel-Wells-Barkerville Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Mail Run as the only opportunity in the world for anyone to arrange to have an envelope delivered by dog team through the regular postal system.

For more information go to the Gold Rush Trail Sled Dog Association Website at www.wellsbc.com/sleddog

A great reference book is The Postal History of Yukon Territory Canada by Robert G. Woodall, published by Harry Hayes, 48 Trafalgar Street, Batley, West Yorkshire WF17 7HA, England, published in the U.S. by Quarterman Publications, Inc., Lawrence, Massachusetts