Primary Name: Kow ee
Filed as: kow_ee
Also known as: Chief Kow ee; Kowee
Occupation / Association: Chief of the Auk Tlingit
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Died:
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Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Silver Bow Basin, Alaska; Gold Creek, Alaska
Keywords: Kow ee, Chief Kow ee, Kowee, Auk Tlingit chief, discovery of Juneau gold, Silver Bow Basin discovery
Biography
Chief Kow ee of the Auk Tlingit was credited with guiding prospectors to the gold-bearing areas that led to the founding of Juneau.
When prospectors returned to Pilz empty-handed, Kow ee sent them back to the Juneau area to continue their search.
In October of 1880, Richard "Dick" Harris, with partner Joe Juneau, made one of the most significant discoveries of American prospecting.
Kow ee took them beyond Gold Creek to Silver Bow Basin, and within a two-week period, they discovered and staked some of the richest placer mines in the Silver Bow Basin, and, more importantly, the lode system that ultimately became the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mine, also known as the AJ Mine.
Sources
Juneau mining history records; Pioneers of Alaska historical records
Tags: Kow ee, Chief Kow ee, Kowee, Auk Tlingit leaders, Richard Dick Harris, Joe Juneau, Silver Bow Basin discovery, Alaska Juneau Gold Mine