skookum

[robsue]

"It takes some time to get used to the various terms used in the Yukon.... A person who eneters the country is called a "Cheechacho" ... The guard-room is commonly known as the "skookum house".  "Skookum" is an Indian coast word meaning "strong"."

from "On Trail and Rapid by Dogsled and Canoe" by H.A. Cody, 1911.  Cody had lived in the Yukon for about five years.  No indication or what building contained the skookum house/guard -room.   (Perhaps it was part of the Northwest Mounted Police Barracks, which were in sight of his home.)
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