John MacKinnon, a native Scotsman, was in Dawson, Y.T., from 1901-1909, as a gold dust buyer for the British Bank of North America. When miners brought gold to the bank, his job was to know which mine the gold came from and to distinguish the gold from ground brass, brought in to fraud the bank. A pistol was always on his desk and shooting practice was compulsory, although a hold-up never occurred during his employment.

The bank provided boxing, tennis, curling, skating and other sports to keep the employees in good health. John became the amateur lightweight boxing champion of Yukon and received a gold medal. He was also an intimate friend of Robert Service, who was employed by another Dawson Bank.

He resigned in 1909, due to health, even though the bank offered him another job. He joined the U.S. Army and became a U.S. citizen. At the end of World War I, he met Mary, another native Scot, and they married, and had a son. They were married 50 years. He died at 84 in 1961 and was given a military funeral and buried in Sawtell National Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. [Information from Mary MacKinnon, 1977.]