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In the winter of 1861, Robert Homfray made a perilous journey up Bute Inlet to begin surveying for Alfred Waddington's 'gold road', which was to link British Columbia's coast with the Cariboo. It was hoped that the road would open up the territory to gold prospectors and homesteaders; instead, it dead-ended just above Homathko Canyon with the massacre of the road crew sent to build it. The colonial government called it murder; the Tsilhqot'in people called it war.More than a century later, Judith Williams retraces Homfray's journey. By juxtaposing her impressions with the written and oral histories of the event, she peels back some of the many layers of 'truth' to reveal what is both a stirring tale and an engrossing glimpse of life in the Chilcotin over 130 years ago.High Slack is Number 4 in the Transmontanus series edited by Terry Glavin.
From the days of the fur trade, one constant thread weaves its way through the tumultuous history of frontier British Columbia, Washington and Oregon--the war over liquor. Between 1840 and 1917, the whisky wars of the west coast were fought by historical heavyweights, including Matthew Baillie Begbie (the "Hanging Judge") and Wyatt Earp, and a contentious assortment of murderous whisky traders, angry Natives, corrupt policemen, patronage-loving politicians and trigger-happy drunks. Liquor was a serious and life-threatening issue in 19th-century west coast settlements. In 1864 Victoria, there were at least 149 drinking establishments to serve a thirsty population of only 6,500. Despite various prohibition efforts, the trade in alcohol flourished. Recreating British gunboat arrests, the evangelistic fervour of Billy Sunday and the tireless crusade of the Anti-Saloon League, author Rich Mole chronicles the first tempestuous and tragic struggles for and against having a drink in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1924 Phyllis (Phyl) Munday did what no other woman had done before - reached the summit of Mt. Robson. She climbed close to 100 mountains in her lifetime, many of those first ascents. She honed her outdoor skills as a Girl Guide leader and remained active in Guides throughout her life. During the 1920s and 1930s, Phyl and her partner Don Munday pioneered exploration into the heart of the Coast Mountains.
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In the mid-1800s, Victoria grew from a fur-trading post into a provincial capital--the jewel in British Columbia's golden crown. Meanwhile, many of the early residents, happy to leave the Hudson's Bay Company behind, followed simple trails from the fort or discovered new routes of their own. In her first book, Danda Humphreys introduced readers to some of the people who forged those pioneer pathways. Now she takes us another step back in time to the roads and railways that connected the original city's core to today's suburbs. From Saanich to Sooke, street names tell stories of intrigue and adventure: Rowland Avenue, named for the farm labourer with a sinister sideline: hangman for the HBC. ...