Jen stands at blackboard in schoolhouse. Fork Selkirk was as far as the steamboat went " Before " the gold rush and was a thriving town. After gold rush, steamboats pull ahead to Whitehorse which was dangerous to crew and boats as they had to deal with Five finger rapids and the tight turns of the " 40 mile" . ( A narrow twisty section of river at the head of Lake Labarge) After the new highway was built in 1952 , river traffic and the town died.