Gold Rush to British Columbia (Part 2)
In July 1858, a few men who had ventured north of The Forks got low on supplies. The Fraser was still at flood stage and could not be traveled. They traveled a short distance inland to an Indian village called Cayoosh. The Indians knew of a backwoods trail that crossed Pavilion Mountain, went through several swamps, crossed three lakes, and eventually ended at the Harrison River. The Harrison emptied into the Fraser above Fort Langley. It was a hard trip but still easier than fording the river through the canyons. Governor Douglas made a deal with the miners to build a navigable road along this trail. The road was completed in October. The village of Cayoosh was the terminus. Its name was changed to Lillooet, after the lake and river of the same name.
The winter of 1858, men started leaving the digs disappointed in the yield. They never returned. Some just left the back country to spend the winter in Victoria or Olympia. As much as $2 million had already been mined. Douglas was glad to see them go. Threat of an American takeover lessened.
But by the following Spring, hope began anew. During the winter, a man named Aaron Post spread news of rich finds he had made. He had prospected alone further north than any other man had gone. He had gone all the way to the Chilcotin River. He explored it and its tributaries and found lots of gold.
Miners who had stayed at the digs were the first to the new camp. They went up past Lillooet and on to Bridge River. French Bar was one of the new hot prospects. By the time the Harrison Road was reopened for traffic, many claims were already taken. The newcomers tapped into Fountain Creek, a creek so rich, they had to build a sluicing operation to get at it all. Others kept going north, all the way up to the Quesnel River. Four men, Benjamin McDonald, William Keithley, John Rose, and George Weaver, were the first to venture up the Quesnel and its tributaries. Though it wasn't the mother lode, they did quite well. But by the time the word got out, it was winter again. All the claims on the lower Fraser had been abandoned for good to the Chinese, since anything left was not considered to be worth the effort. About another $2 million in gold was mined in 1859.
McDonald, his three partners, and some others stayed at Quesnel all winter. It was cold, but not much snow, so they could continue to work their claims. Keithley and Weaver had noticed a curious "blue lead." From their experiences in California, they had seen miners follow this blue lead right to quartz-bearing gold in the mountains. There were mountains east of the Quesnel. Perhaps the blue lead would lead them to what they were searching for.
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