The White Pass trail was one of the two main passes used by prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush. The White Pass was an easier route to Lake Bennett than the Chilkoot Trail a few kilometers to the west, but it harbored a criminal element that preyed on the "cheechakos" (newcomers to the Klondike). These con artists were believed to be members of the infamous Soapy Smith gang from Skagway, Alaska. In 1898, Smith was killed at the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf and his gang were run out of Skagway and the White Pass. So many horses died during the gold rush, the trail became known as the "Dead Horse Trail". The trail ended at Lake Bennett, where the prospectors built or purchased rafts or boats to float down the Yukon River to the Klondike gold fields near Dawson City.