The Trail of 1858: British Columbia's Gold Rush Past

Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2008, Fine Softcover, 223 pages, 8.5" x 10", signed by Mark Forsythe on half title. 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.