LLOYD DODDING Lloyd Dodding is a long time resident of Two Mile. Lloyd tells how he first came to Two Mile and his life from there on. "Grandfather a farmer Dodding in Southern came out from England. Ontario Bridge and worked Tait. I heard of Hazelton when I decided Memorial horse and then came out to Spences for a fruit farmer. who was studying far as Hazelton, Native sold their horses and then to Victoria, from there. They used horses than mules. horse each. quite a journey. and took the steamboat out Spences Bridge and Merritt for packing. Horses are easier and a saddle- They would make about I abn't know how long it took them - it is The steamboats were still running when they have been too late in the summer. ran when water was high. They couldn't water was low, too many gravel bars. steamboats at one time. Hazelton. Grandfather Terrace They came as They had two packhorses got here so it couldn't steamboats in 1896 by pack- people. There were three other men. 20 miles per day. at Wrinch He was with Jimmy Tait, an to Essington to handle and, of course, he was working He came through Hazelton all the way from Ashcroft. anthropologist That's where he met Jimmy from my grandfather to come to Hazelton Hospital. He worked for The run when They had as many as six They came from Port Essington came during the to '30s and worked at then went back to Nicola Valley. Then about the end of World War II, he came back to Hazelton and worked as a gardener at the hospital. he was up here, I decided to come up looking a job with the Department of Highways us went to tear down the buildings that was a our first job. chance for a farm. to start with. at the airport That was in 1946. the provincial policeman That trip took three days each way. I got A crew of at Woodcock, Then I had a to go to Fort Babine with Allen Benson, Tony West, And being as Percy Foster and that was here at that time. We took a packhorse and we had three saddlehorses. The fish warden to the counting gate where they count fish and on the way down we were talking to three Natives caught a spring salmon. at Babine took us from Milkitkwa who had just It would be, oh, more than 6' long. I don't know what the girth would be, but I would would be about 130 pounds at the least. estimate it It was fantastic and 2 the fish warden Babine didn't get the fellows and weigh it. not a fish story. fish. it up to Fort That was an extraordinary You can ask Mr. Benson. We were really counting to bring surprised fish. That's It was a fantastic to see such a big fish. The gate was about a mile down the river after the river runs out of Milkitkwa river actually Lake near Babine. Nilkitkwa Lake is the but it is quite wide and then gradually down about a mile before put the counting you get to the counting narrows gate. They gate in every summer and take it out in winter. They can count all fish and they know how many come up there. It must have gone up the river before the counting in, in the spring because have got through the counting gate. he couldn't gate was put He was so big! Hazelton had no modern houses present churches Two Mile and other towns have changed most. the Loring, in Old Hazelton like there are today. Olson, Lattie were all there at that time. residences Hughie MacMillan, and Mother's right around there house and Barney Mows and Sr., Scotch Hughie MacMillan"and MacLennan's cabin. Mr. Hodder's then, it was Harry Martin's have all passed In Two Mile where are there were no houses. It was just open field and the only houses were Mrs. Brown's nouse Then there was Mr. Hodder's away except Deno built Mother's The Gordie - it wasn't cabin. Those people for Mrs. Brown. house. He moved it from his son-in- law's place way up the creek (the son-in-Iaw's George). the house down from his place where Mike and him hauled the Scotty Withers must have been two houses is now and reconstructed there at the time. must have had a house of his own. usedW~t~ Standard the Silver I came. years after Silver Standard it. There Mike George I think these houses were Mill was operating early days of 1914, I think it was. when name was Mike - in the That mill was closed down started up fresh two or three I came and they built a new mill right at the mine and all the buildings for 10 years, I guess, were right at the mine. They operated then they ran out of ore. When we first moved to Two Mile, Mr. Senden had quite a few milk cows and they used to roam allover kept the brush and the grass down. It looked TWL Mile. They like a park at 3 LLOYD DODDING that time. It was nice to have those cattle There used to be road houses was before my time. claim there wa Where Miro's in the early days, but that I don't know where they were. ne on Mother's place around. property, People but I don't know. is there was a house there Mr. York built. He sold it to Dave Pratt and then the house burned down. only other houses hous~ Jack Robinson's, cabin. up this end were Mrs. Webster's Mr. Arthur Then Danley in now. Hindle, It must have been about 1950. - Bill Ludwig, behind Pat Lezinski's. Most of the houses Virgil Jensen and then Valencourt as there are now. built There were Most were working the ones that built new houses. house used to be Collin's at one time. is living Then later on, the other were built not too long ago. Standard, little Fargey built his about that time. about half as many people at Silver Clarke's built the house Alvin Forsyth houses Wyssen and George The When Collins store. moved aw?y, The Chris It did quite a business the store goods were moved to O.K. Esso store. There was quite a bit of logging here. mills up this Nine Mile Road. Bob Willan and Gordon Bob Allan had a mill there and Leary had a mill past the Silver Standard. I think there was another mill up the Nine Mile Road, too. There was in the neighbourhood area at that time. for the country people of 50 mills They were small mills. in the Hazelton I think it was better than the one big mill is today. Although some didn't get their pay, but just the same, there was a continuous supply of timber where now there it off, clean cut. years before Well, there's timber. timber growing They log then it's going to be another but limbs. 70-80 It won't be good saw It will only be fit for pulp. are gone. isn't. any more timber to be cut and what they cut then will be nothing Saw timber The days of the saw is only created in the shade of other larger trees. the shade they grow straight up. through trees When they grow in They don't limb out where if they are grown like they are today, planted where There were three in cut-off areas they are all the same age and the sun gets them equal, therefore, they are nothing but a mass of limbs. There was a lot of trapping. Fur was a very good price. 4 There were martens and they were worth good price, too. Fur was good providing in at the right time of the year. Christmas time, when the trappers in the first of December a good price. $60. Beavers were a you brought your fur The price went down at came in. If they had got with a bunch of furs, they'd have got The price went up after Christmas to encourage the trappers to go back out again, you see. If they'd have just stayed in a month and waited before they sold their furs, they'd have done well. But, of course, they were anxious to get their money as soon as they got in and they didn't think the price would be going up. Then, in the spring when they came in again the price was down again. tricks with produce still. Berry picking doesn't I think they do those change a lot. You always have your good years and your bad years. I think the berry picking now is better, but it's not a very important the truth. I'd rather see the timber than improved because there's they've made now ars donducive berries grow like mad on these burns. raspberries. picking always It would berries enough berries. berry picking These huge clearings to good berry picking. There's take a tremendous raspberries anyhow. no excuse lot of people out for anyone not getting Huckleberries, for huckleberries. Rasp- It means a lot of to keep up with the amount of berries have now. huckleberries, thing to tell you that we enough you have to go fairly high I've seen the odd real good year for but not very many. are always good in different The thing places is with them they in different years. have to be a scout in order to scout out the different and find out where berries - some years how much feed there is farther They are like the lots, some years very few. were on Nine Mile Mountain I saw four that summer. It depends on away on the mountains. for quite a long'time. one year when feed was very scarce. They were beautiful. They had black and legs, just like a German dog. They were so hungry Shepherd and so deprived food, they dug up all the lupins on Nine Mile Mountain. couldn't find a live'lupin I never The only ones I did see backs and tan heads Very pretty. patches they are good. There were a lot of bears when I came. saw grizzlies You after they got through. of You Lupins LLOYD DODDING 5 have a root something like dandelion. They don't normally lupin roots, but this year there was nothing to eat. They cleaned up the lupins. one on Nine Mile Mountain Cataline Pyrenees. trekked in Northern He walked pack train. to loan Cataline It must have been a fair amount. business. enough money He packed for years from Ashcroft Creek gold rush. Then, when that petered from Hazelton to Barkerville loaded up two trains Cataline went He started packing gold rush petered packing to California, This chap had been in Then, when Cariboo Klondike, around I don't know how many mules he had in his first into the packing gold rush. somewhere When he got to Yale he met up with an and had enough money to buy a pack. there's Spain, in the and rode somehow old friend of his from Catalonia. business It's a wonder He came by boat to Louisiana, north to B.C. else for them now. came from Catalonia the Gulf of Mexico. to Dawson to Barkerville. out, he packed City. for Manson out, he packed for the While there was an amusing in Ashcroft in the Cariboo Cataline was incident. He had and taken his 50 mules ahead. He had a Native fellow in charge of the second packtrain. Cataline helped unload at Barkerville. missing so he asked the packer where the packet was. fellow said, Creek. I was afraid load." Cataline was Limburger eat "That packet went bad. He found one packet The Native I threw it out at Soda it was going to spoil all the rest of my said, cheese, "Well, do you know what that was? That special order for a wealthy man in got packing into the Klondike and Dawson Barkerville." Then Cataline City for years. Then he got the contract Then he took people teachers to Dawson - travellers. that were going to Dawson. second packtrain. Cataline for Telegraph Line. He had school The teachers were in the had got to Dawson with his train. For some reason or other the mules got the idea they weren't going to swim the Yukon River at Dawson couldn't get the mules Cataline heard him across over. He started and those fellows into the water for love nor money. the river. swearing and raved at those mules He got in a boat and went at the mules in Spanish. for about 15 minutes, He ranted then he led 6 those mules up to the water and the mules all walked right in, swam across. When Telegraph the Telegraph Creek. Line disbanded Cataline He did the odd bit of packing pretty old by then. places in the Omenica, moved to - he was getting He did the odd bit of packing somewhere aboGt 1936. to different It was in 1936 he decided to move out to George Burns' farm to retire. he decided to move away from Telegraph Creek, Willie one of his packers, saw a big smoke at Cataline's didn't know that Cataline had happened was moving. When Campbell, farm. He thought He something up there so he got a bunch of the boys and they rushed up there and here' was Cataline, he had the mules all packed up and he was down at one end of the field. The house and barn were going up in flames. Willie said, what's up? Cataline had a big grin on his face. He said, "I'm moving What are you donig?" out." ready to go and he was cleaning stayed "Cataline, He had his packtrain up before he went. all Then he at George Bur-ns' where George had a cabin for him. ended his days at the Burns' farm. He That's where Marty Allen lives now. I've read about Norman and the problems Lake. There's his cattle he had. Lee's cattle drive through the area The first trouble he met was at Rose a flat there. got larkspur They call Poison Flat. poisoning there. A lot of He lost quite a few. Then, of course, he didn't meet up with so much serious trouble except lack of feed. He had no feed for his animals. must have been just nothing got to Lake Bennett. and loaded lake. but skin and bones by the time they He butchered his animals at Lake Bennett them on scows they had built and took them down the A big storm carne up and swamped the scows. his animals. If he had butchered they would have kept because freezing. his animals H~ :lost all and hung them up it was so cold then the lake was He could have taken the meat down the lake on dog- team when the river froze over. Long before Upper Kispiox, So he lost everything! there was much of a road past Marty Allen's place - when Norman horses, They Haagen was about 16 - we wanted so I made a deal with Haagen I supply grub. boys. to see the They supply This was in June and was still cold. LLOYD DODDING 7 We got grub together, up the valley. went up to Haagen's, We camped took horses and went the first night where the 'A' frame is. There used to be a barn near there. It rained during the night and my boots got soaking wet. boots a little too close to the fire and burned In the morning They were the best boots them. buckled right in. Luckily Henry had a spare pair which he loaned me. from there and camped, where Sweedin I put my I ever had. We went on then we went up as far as Sweedin River, runs into Kispiox. because the river was so high. Corral Creek. That's as far as we could go We came back and camped at Well, we still had lots of daylight up back of Corral Creek. We saw a grizzly it must have been an enormous animal. there, and explored track about 18" long, I had a 30-30 and Henry had a 30-30, we took a drink out of the creek. his cigarettes They Henry left so when we got back to the horses we had to go back to get them. They were afraid they might meet the grizzly. We were glad the grizzly the horses. The next day we got back to Tommy Jack's cabin stayed away from us and and camped near there that night. We got back to Haagen's next day. Maybe not a spectacular trip, but the mosquitoes the and black flies had a good feed! When I came up here there was a Native medicine travelled the whole Fowler. Luke decided the way he stopped great believer said, of the Omineca area. His name was Luke he was going up to Telegraph in to visit George Burns. in Luke's ability to forecast Creek. On George was a weather. George "Luke, I'll give you $10 if you can tell me what the weather is going to be like for the next twoUJeeks." reason for asking Luke was that George's Luke lay down on the grass and watched hours man that His hay was ready to cut. the sky for a couple of and by this time it was lunch time and George was getting impatient. So, he said, "Well, Luke, what's Luke said, "We're going to have two weeks beautiful weather." George was very pleased he said, and hooked on his way north. up to the mower sunny and he gave Luke his $10 and "Come on in, we'll have dinner." went merrily your verdict?" After dinner Luke George harnessed the horses and cut hay for several he had it all down - there was about 100 acres. days until Then he raked it 8 and it started to rain'. lost all his hay! Skeena It rained all summer! That winter almost to Kuldoe George So, George took his horses up the - there was hug's river flat where the grass was very high and not much snow - so George's came through in good shape. Luke went through horses past George's at night after that bad forecasting! Luke was a real medicine him when they were sick. was hard to find. and back to his area. was by foot. called on so much he He went as far north as Telegraph all his travelling prospector, The old Natives Of course, he travelled to Takla Lake and Vanderhoof remember man. Creek and You must He was a bit of a too, that took up some of his time.