Untold Tales of Old British Columbia

A collection of fascinating stories of the extraordinary and astonishing in BC's history. Daniel Marshall uncovers the stories of BC you've never heard. The award-winning Marshall captivates readers with intriguing and unknown stories, everything from Indigenous rights to Native gold; political intrigue to daring feats; the remarkable, mysterious traveller Harry (Harriet) Collins; the forgotten origin of Canada's oldest Chinatown; mysterious artifacts and confounding tales of the obscure and mysterious. Rigorously researched with interpretations that offer inclusive narratives while exploring surprising tales of great adventure.

A fifth-generation British Columbian, Daniel Marshall is an author, professor, curator, documentarian, and researcher focusing on untold stories of BC's rich history. He is a recognized leader and award-winning researcher on historic Indigenous-Newcomer relations, and their evolution and implications on Aboriginal rights today. His award-winning documentary, Canyon War: The Untold Story, aired on PBS, Knowledge Network, and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). His previous books include the multi-award-winning Claiming the Land: British Columbia and the Making of a New El Dorado (Ron

Preface: Tracking Down History Introduction One: Multicultural Canada Starts with the Fur Trade World The Colour-Blind Commonwealth British Columbia: Refuge for Political Exiles? The Forgotten Context of Canada’ s Oldest Chinatown Two: Early Treaty-Making on the Northwest Coast Lost in Translation? The Forgotten Treaty-Making of Chief Maquinna Fort Rupert and the Forgotten Coalfields of Suquash Fort Rupert and the Mystery of the Fort Victoria Treaties Three: Becoming British Columbia War in the New El Dorado and the Birth of British Columbia 70 “ The Peculiar Circumstances of British Columbia” “ Unembarrassed by a Shilling of Debt” The Alexandra Bridge Controversy James Douglas’ s Secret Mission to Find Gold 105 British Columbia’ s Forgotten Governor Four: British Columbia and the California Connection The Third Great “ Devil-Dance” B.C.’ s Permeable Border B.C., Latin America and the Monroe Doctrine “ Dead Broke, a Borrowed Coat and Six Squashed Pies” 138 B.C. and the California “ Bonanza Kings” Five: Canada on the Pacific Slope Canada’ s Westward Expansion to the Pacific Slope 164 The Battle of the Routes B.C.’ s First Rural/Urban Split An Independent British Columbia? Six: Curious Artifacts and Confounding Tales The Curious Story of Yale’ s Garry Oak Grove The Return of Chief Tsulpi’ multw’ s Ceremonial Blanket The Mysterious Tale of a Lost “ Haida” Treasure Lost in the Mountains on Christmas Day The Confounding Tale of a “ Phantom City” The Strange Case of the Anomalous Artifact That Fell from the Sky 232 What Is This Gold Rush Curiosity? Seven: Three Extraordinary Women The Mysterious Traveller The Flapper and the Premier Margaret A. Ormsby: A British Columbia Institution Eight: B.C. Then and Now The Land as History Book Hiking the “ Graveyard of the Pacific” “ One of General Currie’ s Boys!” British Columbia and the Pandemic of 1918 291 The Big One (So Far) The Great British Columbian Deluge British Columbia on Fire Appendix Select Bibliography Illustration Credits Index About the Author