Thursday, September 22, 1955

THE TRIBUNE, WILLIAMS LAKR, B.C.

Page 8

CANIMAHOOD

Road Construction On New Rovte Starts"

Work on construction-of the new
road in the west end of Wells Gray
Park commenced September 12 with
the-arrival by plane at Mahood Lake
Forestry pier of the engineers, D. F.
Dembiske, divisional engineer, Kam-
ioops, Wm. Bos,
Kamloops, and McGregor,
bridge foreman, Salmon Arm.

‘They were joined by Kenneth Hig-
gins who has been oppointed fore-
man. The afternoon was spent lo-
cating the road and sites for the
two bridges to be constructed. The
engineers were transported in West-
ern Pacific Airlines Cessna by Jim.
Marshall.

DURING the past week practical-

ly every resident with all local boats
has joined in the sad search for yi
tis of the drowning on Canim Lake
for whose relatives the deepest sym-
pathy is felt. The loss of these useful
citizens will also be deeply felt in
their respective communities.

MR. and MRS. EDWARD HIG-
GUNS spent the weekend at Roe Lake

MR. and MRS. AL OLSON mo-
tored to Clinton on Monday.

A DISTINGUISHED TRAVELLER
who last week visited Wells Gray
Park in company with Les Cook,
park supervisor, was the eminent
scientist Dr. Mosley, who in persu-
ance of scientific investigations in
Asia and Africa achieved world

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wide fame. He has made several
contributions to the British Museum.
Dr. Mosey ahs made a special study
of the diseases of shell fish and their
transmission to human beings. This
was Dr. Mosley’s second visit to the
park and was very brief. He was
piloted by Jim Marshall.

VICTOR LINDALL, who will
leave shortly for St. Johns, Quebec.
to take a position as physical educa-
tion instructor in the Air Force, left
Jast Thursday for his home in Vic-
toria,

MRS. C. A. GAGLARDI arrived
home last Tuesday after a week's
visit with her sister, Mrs. Hayward
at Langley Prairie and her mother,
Mrs. James Brand, of West Van-
couver.

MRS. LAURA ROSE and Vaughn
Naff motored from Seattle last week
to visit a few days with their bro-
ther and father John Naff at Canim
Lake east.

MR. and’ MRS. SPUD MURPHY of
Camano Island, who were guests
last week of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Ol-
son, left for home last Monday.

MR. and MRS. LYAL BUMM-
GARTNER of Calffornia, recent vis
tors for two weeks of Mr. and Mrs
Robt. Fish of Cariboo Canim Re-
sort, left last week for Ohio and
various points in the east. Mrs.
Bummgartner accompanied Mrs.
Fish and daughter to Kamloops and
Mr. Bummgartner was on a hunting
trip with Mr. Fish. The couple, while
on a year’s holiday from teaching.
are making an educational survey
tor the California state department
of education.

HERBERT BLACKLOCK has
moved his sawill to Lac La Hache
from Canimred Creek by Flalrerty’s
truck. °

Nature Scrapbook
(Continued from Page 2)
lessly and lead nowhere.

4. Signal of distress. Three shots:
fire once, wait five seconds and fire
again twice.

5. Remember it is warmer to sleep
in a snowdrift than on the bare
ground,

6. Two heavy woolen lumberman’s
shirts are more comfortable and
‘warmer than a sweater or a coat.

7. If lost in unknown territory,
find a stream and follow it down, it
will generally-bring you out near,
habitation. :

Chilcotin War Brought Threat
Of Indian Uprising To Interior

The “Chilcotin War,” as it was known locally in the
1860’s, was the subject of discussion at the last meeting of the
Historical Society. The main portion of the meeting was the
reading of the compiled papers of the uprising, obtained from
the Provincial Archives. Society president Henry Windt openea
the discussion by filling in some background on the Chilcotin
Indians and the papers were read by Doug* Stevenson.

Mr. Windt told his audience that
the Chilcotin tribes had always
shown a warlike disposition, both
prior and subsequent to the appear-
ance of the white man in the Cari-
oo. There had been battles with the
Indians at what later became known
as Fort Alexander, which continued
in a smaller way even after the Hud-
son’s Bay Company established their
fort there about 1800. There is also
evidence of battle grounds on the
banks of the Fraser near the mouth
of Williams Lake Creek where the
tribes on the east side tried to hold
back the Chilcotins in their raids.
As late as 1862 the Chilcotins were
at war with the Bella Coola tribes.

The proposal of a road through
the Chilcotin, which was the start of
the trouble, was the idea of Alfred
Waddington, a merchant of Vic-
toria, who did not want to see sup-
plies for the Cariboo gold field’
taken over a road starting from
New Westminster or some other
mainland point. Col. Palmer, an army
engineer, went overland from Fort
Alexande? to Puntzi Lake and on to
salt water. He considered a road on
this route would he feasible and
could be constructed for less than
a road from Yale. Accordingly, en-
gineers were sent in and in 1862
Waddington was granted a charter
for the construction of what was
known as the Bute Inlet Road.

By 1864 a road, or pack trail, had
been completed 40 or 50 miles up
the valley of the Homathco River.
‘Sixteen white men in two parties of
12 and four were at work four miles
apart on April 29, when the trouble
started.

WORKERS MASSACRED
On that day, three of the 16 In-
dians employed as packers, ap-
proached Timothy Smith, who was
in charge of the ferry crossing at the
Homathco and also a considerable
:

supply of provisions. It is said they
demanded food of Smith and shot
him when he refused. Then, fired
with passion, they hurried on ten
miles farther to the main camp of
road workers. They reached it
just before daybreak, with their
numbers increased from the other
Indians. The road workers, unarmed
and unguarded, lay in deep sleep.
The murderers surrounded their
camp, cut the tent poles, and fired
into the fallen tents with their mus-
kets, finally using their knives until
all but, three were killed.

One of ‘the survivors, Petersen,
got out of his tent and although shot
in the arm, managed to plunge into
the river. close by, where the swifc
waters carried him downstream halt
a mile. He managed to reach the
bank and was joined there by Mose-
ly, @ man who had escaped almost
unhurt.’ The third man, Buckley,
who later joined them, had been
stabbed repeatedly and left for dead
by the Indians.

Four miles beyond this scene, the
superintendent of the crew and three
men were blazing trail. Three of
them were attacked and killed be-
fore they could offer resistance. The
fourth, a half breed who endeavour-
ed to escape by running for the
river, was shot near the bank and
his lifeless boy tumbled into the
swift waters.

INDIANS REINFORCED

The Indians, leaving a greater
part of their booty concealed crossed
the Cascade range. They appear to
have received considerable reinforce-
ments, amounting to about thirty in
all, before they reached the house
of a white settler, Manning, at Punt-
zi Lake. He was soon dispatched and
the assassins, with continually swell-
ing number, advanced to meet a
pack train with eight drivers ap-

proaching from Bentinck Arm. This
train, under Alexander McDonald,
was carrying supplies for the Bute
Inlet route. The party was ambush-
ed by the Indians, now 50 or 60
strong. Three of these men were
killed, but the other five managed
to make good their escape. Amongst.
those killed was McDonald, who was
last seen behind a tree taking aim
with his revolver at Tellot, the chief,
who had taken a prominent part in
the destruction of Waddington’s
party.

Favored with impunity, .the as-
sassins now became promoted to the
dignity of insurgents by the ad-
hesion of the whole Chilcotin tribe
from the summits of the Cascades to
the benches of the Fraser. Fear
spread through the Interior and the
few settlers in the vicinity fled to
the coast region.

WHITE EXPEDITIONS :

The news of the massacre reached
the capital on May 14, 1864. The fol-
lowing day a party of 28 volunteers
under Charles Brew, the chief inspec-
tor of police, left the capital for the
scene of action. Another party of 50
was organized in the Carbioo under
the command of William .G. Cox,
“Judge Cox'’’ as he was commonly
called

The Brew party made its way to
the head of the trail and finding no
practical road, withdrew to their
ship. A second party under Brew was
sent out on June 13 to go by way of
the Bentinck Arm: trail. When they
arrived at the head of the arm they
met the five survivors of the Me-
Donald party and thus learned the
details of this last massacre.

Proceeding slowly inland the vol-
unteers came across traces of the
struggle of McDonald’s men and
farther on the earth-works where
the party had kept the savages at
bay. Two miles beyond, on a hill near
Sutliko, a palisaded block-house of
the Indidns was found abandoned,
and destroyed. Evidence of intention
to oppose their advance were fre-
quent, but the Indians fied before
them in all directions. :

Inthe meantime the expedition

(Continued on Page 7)

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