“Prospectors diary book of the adventurs” presents an extraordinary and alternative view of the world from the perspective of a mountain-man type prospector. The hand-made diary was kept by Joe Prokopchuk (aka Yukon Joe) as he prospected for gold in Northern BC and the Yukon Territory. Written in the third person, it details the adventures of “The Prospector” in the mountains and valleys of the North. It includes details of his interactions with miners and prospectors, his struggles with hunger and grizzly bears and his continuous attempts to raise a grubstake in order to search for gold.

This diary is unusual in that it documents the first-hand experiences of a reclusive figure who lived most of his life outside society. Our collection includes a painting by Yukon Joe (PDP10099), which gives a graphic representation of his particular world. A friend of Prokopchuk, acting as his agent, sold the diary to the Provincial Archives in 1963 for $75.