In 1858, some 30,000 gold seekers stampeded to the Fraser River. Scores perished during the gruelling journey, but some made their fortune and many pressed on northwards to the creeks of the Cariboo. Originally compiled by Art Downs, founder of Heritage House, this is a vivid and detailed account of the first gold strikes, the miners who made them and the incredible efforts to establish transportation routes and build roads to the Cariboo goldfields. Here are the stories of the legendary Williams Creek diggings, which yielded a golden harvest of over $2.6 million in 1862, and creeks with names like Lightning, Jack of Clubs and Last Chance. Also included are excerpts from the journals of Lord Milton and Walter B. Cheadle, who became the first tourists to the Cariboo in 1863. Richly descriptive and touched with humour, their first-hand account is a fascinating window into Cariboo history.

When gold was discovered on the Fraser River, the rush was on. By early spring of 1858 the need for shelter, food, rest stops and stores became very apparent, as miners and would-be-miners made their way up into the hinterland. From Yale to Barkerville, roadhouses sprung up along the Cariboo's gold-rush trail. From their crude beginning, the roadhouses soon grew to be more than just stopovers. The roadhouses are gone, but the communities, villages, towns and cities remain. Golden Nuggets, with pictures and written text, brings the roadhouses back to life and gives us a glimpse of yesterday.

Describes the late nineteenth-century gold rush to Canada's Fraser River, its hardships and tragedies, its rare success stories, and its effect on the settlement of northern British Columbia.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Some of the richest gold claims in British Columbia lay along the Quesnel River and its creeks. And there some of the grandest mining schemes were hatched.