ORIGINS OF THE POSTAL SERVICE
IN THE YUKON

The distance between Bennett and Dawson is approximately 800 kilometres. By dog-team, during the winter of 1899-1900, once the ice had formed, the round trip between Bennett and Dawson would have taken, on average, seven-and-a-half days. By steamer, "during the summer of 1900 the average time occupied on the trip north was three and a half days, and on the trip south four and a half days."²⁰

North-West Mounted Police Time Bill

North-West Mounted Police Time Bill RG 18, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Series A-1, vol. 158, file 11. "Yukon Territory — Fortnightly mail service between Bennett and Dawson, winter 1898–1899." A time bill prepared by the North-West Mounted Police lists deliveries for mail service in the Yukon. This page details operations on the route between Bennett and Dawson during the winter of 1898–99. The "Remarks" section shows problems specific to postal service in the North, in this case, the loss of a sled carrying bags of mail, which fell through the ice, and the death of a dog.