In 1977, N.L (Bill Barlee) published a facsimile of a transcript of part of the “Jackson” letter. (click image to see the full page).

I've tried to find out where the original "authenticated oldest" copy of the “Jackson letter” from which this transcript was made would be today. An unexpected answer came from the transcript of a recorded telephone conversation between Barlee and Daryl Friesen quoted as follows in Friesen's Spindle Quest

-- Well the reason I am calling you is because you were the first person to ever publish a story which contained the Jackson letter. I was kind of wondering where you got it from.
-- Volcanic Brown gave it to my father.
-- Really, the old prospector who died on Stave Glacier?
-- That’s right, my father showed it to me when I was 20 and I made a copy.
-- Where is the letter now?
-- My father sold it to a collector, some rich American I believe.

That is a surprising answer from a collector of everything to do with the past. I am inclined to read in this that there never was a “Jackson letter” attributed to Volcanic Brown in the Barlee household or that an anonymous "rich American" to buy that letter ever existed.

Spindle Quest

Daryl Friesen's well-known e-book Seekers of Gold was recently recasted under the title Spindle Quest. This new incarnation focuses on the adventures of Friesen and his daredevil friends, chasing for Lost Creek gold. Some interesting new material has been added.

As the authors of Lost Creek Mine (Rob Nicholson) and Forbidden Treasures (Mike Boileau) did before him, Friesen agreed to make Spindle Quest available in its entirety on the slumach Web site.

Click here to find the digital versions of these three interesting books.

Mr. Cooke's letter

A few months ago an octogenarian friend gave me a copy of two pages of a letter. One page is shown here (click to enlarge). I understand from my friend that a Mr. Cooke in Kimberley placed ads in the newspapers looking for people interested in Pitt Lake's Lost Creek Mine and apparently sold these pages to interested parties.

Daryl Friesen has another version with practically the same text but with a few more map details on it. Click here to have a look.

I wonder if anyone can tell more about Mr. Cooke and this letter.

Website Award

At the annual conference of the British Columbia Historical Society in Nelson (May 14-16) Greg Nesteroff presented a Website Award to Fred Braches's standin, Brenda Smith. Photo by Alistair Fraser

Lost Mine of Pitt Lake Society meets at Katzie

On this sunny day Cyril Pierre and his relatives and friends at Katzie hosted fellow members of the legendary Lost Mine of Pitt Lake Society. A great feast was offered with freshly caught salmon and bannock as main dishes. A warm thank you goes to all our hosts and the expert cooks!

It was a great day to renew our friendship and continue our discussions that started in January. We learned about efforts made in the Katzie community to commemorate Slumach freed from the legends that obscure his real self. A monument is planned at Katzie for this much maligned man and research is done how otherwise to right the wrongs done to this victim of the early colonial laws and legal system.

The photograph shows us in front of the Swan-e-set Longhouse. Klick on the image for an enlargement. Click here for more photos.

Slumach Web site wins award!

This just in:

Dear Fred Braches:
As chair of the BCHF website prize committee, I am pleased to let you know that the committee has chosen Slumach as the 2008 winner of the federation's website prize.
Congratulations!
The committee was very impressed with the site's careful design and impressive research. Well done.
The prize will be presented at the upcoming federation convention in Nelson in May. An officer of the federation will contact you about the details of the prize and when it will be presented.
Sincerely,
Duff Sutherland
Chair, BCHF Website Prize Committee

This award is sponsored yearly "to recognize web sites that contribute to the understanding and appreciation of British Columbia's past" by The British Columbia Historical Federation and David Mattison, creator of The British Columbia History Internet/Web Site, and its succesor the British Columbia History Portal .

Judge Montague William Tyrwhitt Drake

Just noticed that in 1879, Judge Tyrwhitt Drake was one of the owners of the Moodyville Sawmill Company. Aside from being a barrister and judge of the Supreme Court of B.C. Montague William Tyrwhitt Drake was also a mayor of the City of Victoria (1876-1877)