Summary

In 1858, over eight decades had passed since Captain James Cook claimed the shores of what would become British Columbia for the British crown, but European settlers had shown little interest in the new lands. The non-aboriginal population was only about 700. Then gold was discovered on the shores of the Fraser River and, overnight, the lonely outpost of empire was overrun by some 30,000 fevered gold-seekers. The raucous sourdough hordes were mostly American and treated the new territory as an extension of the United States. The fragile colonial administration in Victoria was overwhelmed and the territory's future as a British possession hung in the balance. But by the time the gold rush wound down a decade later, the colony of British Columbia had come into being and BC's destiny as a part of Canada was sealed.In The Trail of 1858, BC Almanac host Mark Forsythe and coauthor Greg Dickson augment their historical research with contributions from CBC listeners that give the gold rush story a personal, folksy feel. Making liberal use of historic photos, the authors celebrate memorable personalities from this epic time: the stern but sensible Judge Matthew Begbie; the peacemaking Chief Spintlum; Nam Sing, the first Chinese miner in the Cariboo; overlander Catherine Schubert; high-rolling miners Billy Barker and Cariboo Cameron; and a host of others.The Trail of 1858 is a combination of fact and memory of the colourful characters who helped form this province; it is a book from which history truly jumps.

Classification

• Dewey Decimal: 971.102

Book Details

• Physical Description: 8.4"x9.9"x0.6"; 1.2 lb; 250 pages
• Edition Info: Paperback; 2007-10-17

Subjects

• History -- Americas -- Canada -- Province & Local
• History -- Americas -- Canada -- General
• History -- World -- 19th Century

Buying This Book

We query many merchants so that you can instantly compare prices and availability. You can even check historic prices and subscribe for notifications. For a manual check, clicking on a link will open a new window with a search for this book on the merchant's site of your choice.

• Amazon.com by title or by ISBN - widest selection, reliable service, good prices
• Abebooks.com by title or by ISBN - good source for rare and out-of-print books
• Textbooks.com by title or by ISBN - large inventory of new & used textbooks
• Alibris.com by title or by ISBN - their slogan is "books you thought you'd never find"
• eCampus.com by title or by ISBN - they specialize in textbooks, used and new
• BN.com by title or by ISBN - Barnes & Noble has a wide selection of new and used books