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Fraser River Gold – Simon Fraser’s Wall unveiled
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 by GetawayBC.com
The Fraser River, that winds its way down through the Fraser Canyon to Hope, was integral to the founding of the province of British Columbia, life-sustaining for the First Nations for its rich salmon runs, and as a transportation route for the fur traders and gold seekers. Last year communities along the Fraser Canyon corridor celebrated 150 years since the Fraser River Gold Rush and the founding of the crown colony of British Columbia.
It was March 23rd, 1858, when 15 unemployed firemen from San Francisco paddled up the Fraser into the heart of First Nations territory, and stopped for lunch on a gravel bar between Fort Yale and Fort Hope. They were following rumours of gold that had reached San Francisco just weeks before. As they ate their lunch, one of them – Edward Hill – casually panned the sand and gravel at his feet. He quickly discovered gold, and the men began feverishly sifting and washing gravel from the bar. Later named ‘Hill’s Bar’, its discovery triggered the Fraser River Gold Rush, and the bar would become the richest gold producer on the entire Fraser River.
However, Edward Hill was not really the first person to profit from gold on the Fraser. First Nations had been quietly mining gold in their territory for at least a decade prior to 1858. Sto:lo and N’laka’pamux people traded gold, furs, and salmon with the British forts at Hope and Yale, in exchange for valuable goods such as hunting rifles, cooking pots, and steel tools.
Although the British laid claim to the BC mainland as a fur-trading territory they called ‘New Caledonia’, First Nations held real political power on the ground. They vastly outnumbered Europeans in these early contact years, and aboriginal economic and cultural traditions still flourished in collaboration with the fur traders. But all that changed in the spring of 1858.
When news of the gold strike at Hill’s Bar reached San Francisco, thousands boarded steamships bound for Fort Victoria. By the summer of 1858, thousands of American miners were pouring into the narrow confines of the Fraser Canyon and over-running First Nations villages. Some of the miners stole food and property, and assaulted or killed Sto:lo and N’laka’pamux people. First Nations of the canyon naturally retaliated in defence of their security and sovereignty, and so the “Canyon War” began.
The war was short and bloody, causing the deaths of dozens of miners and natives. It was only brought to an end thanks to the diplomacy and peace making of N’laka’pamux Chief David Spintlum. Chief Spintlum gathered thousands of First Nations people together at Lytton in August of 1858 and spoke eloquently to them, convincing them not to pursue open war with the Europeans. As part of the provincial BC150 celebrations, Chief David Spintlum Week in Lytton, will be celebrated this October.
The Canyon War, and the sudden influx of American miners into British-claimed territory, forced British authorities to act. James Douglas, the Hudson’s Bay Company Chief Factor and Governor of Vancouver Island, had witnessed the loss of the Oregon territory years earlier under similar circumstances. He acted quickly, requesting a company of British soldiers and lobbied London for full colony status. Thus, the crown colony of British Columbia was formed in 1858, as a direct result of the Fraser River Gold Rush.
Last year also marked 200 years since the explorer Simon Fraser, for which the Fraser River was named, battled rapids and terrifying terrain in an attempt to confirm the belief that the river was actually the headwaters of the Columbia River.
The party of twenty-four left Fort George in four canoes on May 28, 1808. The canoes had to be abandoned in Lillooet, and with the help of the First Nations people, Simon Fraser made his way down through the Fraser Canyon and to the mouth of the Fraser River. In recognition of Simon Fraser’s journey, Hell’s Gate unveiled ‘Simon’s Wall’ where you can step back in time and into a recreation of John Innes’ painting of Simon Fraser traversing the walls of the Fraser Canyon on First Nation’s rope bridges.
The war was short and bloody, causing the deaths of dozens of miners and natives. It was only brought to an end thanks to the diplomacy and peace making of N’laka’pamux Chief David Spintlum. Chief Spintlum gathered thousands of First Nations people together at Lytton in August of 1858 and spoke eloquently to them, convincing them not to pursue open war with the Europeans. As part of the provincial BC150 celebrations, Chief David Spintlum Week in Lytton, will be celebrated this October.
The Canyon War, and the sudden influx of American miners into British-claimed territory, forced British authorities to act. James Douglas, the Hudson’s Bay Company Chief Factor and Governor of Vancouver Island, had witnessed the loss of the Oregon territory years earlier under similar circumstances. He acted quickly, requesting a company of British soldiers and lobbied London for full colony status. Thus, the crown colony of British Columbia was formed in 1858, as a direct result of the Fraser River Gold Rush.
Last year also marked 200 years since the explorer Simon Fraser, for which the Fraser River was named, battled rapids and terrifying terrain in an attempt to confirm the belief that the river was actually the headwaters of the Columbia River.
The party of twenty-four left Fort George in four canoes on May 28, 1808. The canoes had to be abandoned in Lillooet, and with the help of the First Nations people, Simon Fraser made his way down through the Fraser Canyon and to the mouth of the Fraser River. In recognition of Simon Fraser’s journey, Hell’s Gate unveiled ‘Simon’s Wall’ where you can step back in time and into a recreation of John Innes’ painting of Simon Fraser traversing the walls of the Fraser Canyon on First Nation’s rope bridges.;