Captain James Andrew Pate was born in Jamestown, Arkansas in 1866 and died at Pine Bluff in 1934. He began working on the river in 1892 receiving a masters license in 1898, the year he headed to Alaska. There he served as a first class pilot on the Fish River to Canyon, the Niukluk River from its mouth to Council, Alaska; also he worked in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean during six winters and nine summers in Alaska. During his last four winters in Alaska, Capt. Pate carried mail by dog-sled from Golovin Bay to Council City (60 miles). Vessels piloted by Capt. Pate were the steamers FORTUNE HUNTERS, ARCTIC BIRD and he bought, the DUSTY DIAMOND.

Most of Capt. Pate's business and Alaska material were lost in a fire. His daughter, Jimmie Jean Bowman of Shreveport, La., gathered together family material on Capt. Pate's life and provided photocopies for the library in 1986. The file also includes several publications with articles on Capt. Pate in Alaska and photos of Capt. Pate and his wife