T W Paterson -- The Pitt River literally sparked my career ...

Tom Paterson

"This is the river that literally sparked my career as a writer of provincial history. Ironically, thanks to an American television [Bill Burud's] program about a lost mine, the famous — infamous — Lost Creek Mine of the murdering, bluebeard Sumach  It’s without doubt B.C.’s best-known legend of a lost mine with its attendant tales of a jinx and scores of prospectors gone missing in the snow and icebound reaches of the upper Pitt River." 

That is what TW  Paterson writes in a recent article in the Cowichan Valley Citizen. Click here to read the article. 

For half a century T W Paterson's been writing about British Columbia history. Click here to find his writings on the Pitt Lake Gold legend. 

Here is the link to T W Paterson's own Web site. 

Saturday, October 15th -- See you there!

Slumach's Gold

Brian Antonson will be reading from the books, Whistle Posts West', and 'Slumach's Gold'  this Friday afternoon: September 30, 1-1:30 pm at Black Bond Books at Junction Mall in Mission, BC. This free event is part of the Canada-wide Culture Days celebration.

The Veterans

Mike, Daryl and Don, veteran hunters for the mysterious gold, know each other since ca. 1970. Don's publications about the Lost Mine are well-known but not so the writings of Mike and Daryl. Click here to read Mike's Forbidden Treasure  and here to read Daryl's Spindle Quest.

The Spoils of Prospecting?

Evan and Adam did not even show a handful of nuggets at the meeting but the car they drove raised the question: "did you find gold?" There was talk about something they discovered in the snow.

Lost Pitt Lake Mine Society

Members of the society and heir charming partners met recently at an undisclosed location to discuss progress in the search for the lost gold and to make plans for the next phase of our quest. Here a snapshot of some of the members. Click on the picture to enlarge.

JAC-WAL <-> WAL-JAC?

The Jackson story was published in Wisconsin and not in the Pacific Northwest where the presumed prospector "Wilbur Armstrong” was said have lived with the original "Jackson letter” as his guide to discovery. 

From a well-known and real prospector the following interesting thoughts:

I have always believed that the Lost Dutchman's Mine legend was the father of the Lost Creek Mine of Pitt Lake legend...  
Have a look at the names of the two key players in the stories: 
JACob WALtz finder of Lost Dutchman's mine
WALter JACkson finder of the Lost Creek mine
Look close at the two names... and 
NUGGETS The size of  WAL NUTS in the letter by WAL TER JACKSON 

Victims of "The Curse"

Over time some magical numbers have turned up about the number of people who died or disappeared looking for that mysterious gold of Pitt Lake. Early newspapers mention around 20 victims. In reality only five people are known  to have died or disappeared looking for the treasure and whose names are duly reported by the press. 

1910 - George Blake (54) of Coquitlam and his son  George (20). They were crushed to death under a tree stump "4 miles beyond end of Pitt Lake, west side." The accident happened in May or June and their remains were recovered in October of that year. 

1932 -- Robert Allen "Volcanic" Brown (86) disappeared in an exceptionally heavy snowstorm.

1951 –  Prospector Alfred Gaspard (60) disappeared. 

1961 – Lewis Earl  Hagbo (49) a mechanical engineer from Bremerton, Washington, died of a heart attack "12 miles north of Widgeon Lake." He had a previous heart attack. 

Other famous people

BC Bookworld Vol 30 No. 1 Spring 2016

Don Waite’s BC and Yukon Gold Hunters book remains high on the BC Bestsellers list. Whistle Posts West is back among the best 10. 

Click on images to enlarge.  

How My Wife and I Attempted to Survive Withdrawal from “The Curse of Oak Island”

Click here to read as Brian Antonson describes it “... a roundabout way to complimenting the "Curse of the Frozen Gold" series as being captivating in its own way, replacing the writer's addiction to the "Oak Island" series!” 

Airdates for Curse of the Frozen Gold on Animal Planet US

Animal Planet US will officially be launching Curse of the Frozen Gold on Sunday, February 14th.  The airdates, for your reference, are below:

• February 14^th @ 10pm – episode 101
• February 21^st @ 10pm – episode 102
• February 28^th @ 10pm – episode 103
• March 6^th @ 10pm – episode 104
• March 13^th @ 10pm – episode 105
• March 20^th @ 10pm – episode 106

One theory -- look underwater.

Hello I’ve been a gold seeker since a young youth. I’ve read some books on Slumach Gold and have read a story about the missing women.

I read in one book that the women had used a bellows to pump air so that he could breath air when he dived down to get the gold. 

The gold that couldnt be found is under water somewhere perhaps under a waterfall or under a body of water I think. 

This is my theory of the myth of the Slumach Gold 

[name withheld] 

Curse of the Frozen Gold now in the United States!

So that is what frozen gold looks like!

The Curse to be aired again starting Tuesday, 5 January

History Canada is airing the Curse of the Frozen Gold again starting Tuesday night at 8 pm PT.  
Click here for the complete schedule.