Mollie Walsh, a fixture in the great Klondike Gold Rush, came to Skagway in 1897. Five years later back in Seattle, her husband chased her down an alley and shot her dead. Good businesswoman–terrible husband picker.
In Skagway Mollie sized up the situation. Most of the gold rushers coming through moved out of Skagway to Dyea and climbed the infamous Chilkoot Pass into Canada. But an alternative route existed. The White Pass just barely accommodated horses–a lot of them died on the trail–but horses made a freight haulers life considerably easier.
Mollie moved up the White Pass into Canada and opened the “Grub Tent Café”. Passing freighters liked Mollie Walsh, they liked her food, and the Grub Tent did good business for a couple of years. But when the White Pass and Yukon Railroad came through, Mollie’s customers stopped coming.
She closed up shop and moved to Dawson where she opened another restaurant—and the husband picking started. Mollie caught the attention of both Packer Jack Newman and Mike Bartlett; and, in the end, Mollie Walsh became Mollie Bartlett. Oops.
The Bartletts moved back down to Seattle. They did ok financially and they had a baby boy. But Bartlett proved a hard man to live with. When Mollie left him for a new husband, John Lynch, she took their year-old son and all their money. But Lynch didn’t last long. When Bartlett came after them, he intimidated Lynch, and forced Mollie to come back to him. Oops again.
Link to another story “God Had Seeded the North Country with Gold”
The marriage to Bartlett didn’t work any better than it had the first time. Constantly drunk, he repeatedly threatened to kill her. Mollie finally had him arrested.
But a few days later Mollie committed the biggest oops of all. She dropped the charges. Released from jail, Bartlett found her, chased her down an alley and shot her in the back.
Remember Bartlett’s rival back in Dawson, Packer Jack Newman? He still loved Mollie—erected a statue in Skagway that still stands. The inscription on its base reads.
“Alone and with help, this courageous girl ran a grub tent near Log Cabin during the Gold Rush of 1897-1898. She fed and lodged the wildest gold-crazed men. Generations shall surely know this inspiring spirit. Murdered October 27, 1902.”
Much of the information for this story came from the U.S. National Park Service website.
Thank you for a most informative article. I had never heard of this courageous woman.
You are welcome. Her story needed to be shared.