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The Daily Capital News

Jefferson City, Missouri - July 28, 1937

First woman across the Chilkoot dies

    KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 27. - (UP) - Mrs. Maragret Leach Ferguson, 70, who with her husband spent 50 years prospecting for gold in Alaska, died here today.

    Mrs. Ferguson mined and panned gold along with men prospectors and is said to have been the first woman to cross the famous Chilkoot pass between Skagway and Dawson City.
It is highly likely that the spelling of Mrs. Ferguson's name was incorrect, and that it should be Mrs. Margaret Leach Ferguson.

Famous Canadian Women claims that Emilie Tremblay (1872-1949) was the first white woman to climb the Chilkoot trail in 1894.