Browse Items (19 total)
Sort by:
Correspondence relative to the Canadian Pacific Railway
Due to British Columbia agreeing to build transport links as per the agreement to join the Canadian confederation, this book of papers contain the context surrounding the “pacific scandal”. A scandal which saw a bribery of the first government of…
Hunting for gold: reminiscences of personal experience and research in the early days of the Pacific
The book details the life of a gold rush miner as he travelled through various regions in British Columbia search of gold. The context surrounding his travels through Montreal, San Francisco and other cities, is at a time where the gold rush was in…
Beren to Lytton
The letter denotes the story of a violent skirmish between Native peoples and American colonial settlers. This was not uncommon due to the late 1850s seeing a rise in expansionist movements of colonial settlers. The colonists would come into direct…
Kwakwaka’wakw Chief’s mask
This item is a chief’s mask, from the Kwakwaka’wakw tribe in British Columbia. The design of the mask involves human hair and exaggerated facial features supposed to represent a woman in the woods. This item was created in traditional style, to be…
The Cariboo sentinel, article on new mining laws to avoid Indian graves
This is a small article in the Cariboo sentinel discussing how the town has not received a copy of the new laws regarding mining on Indian gravesites. This article was written at a time of gold rush in the area and concerns the implementation of new…
James Douglas’ first message to Earl Grey, secretary of state after obtaining position of Governor of Vancouver Island
This source is a letter from the newly appointed James Douglas, governor of Vancouver Island to the secretary of state in England. This letter discusses the immediate occurrences and issues in the colony at the time, including the decision of Douglas…
Report of Native coal miners to Fort Vancouver
This is a letter to Fort Vancouver about the state of the area and issues happening there. It mentions a coal seam found on Vancouver Island and the native task force that they were using to mine it initially. Douglas mentions the little amount that…
Memorial Totem Pole
This is a memorial Totem pole created in the memory of a member of the Gitanyow house of the Kitwancool Tribe, now stored in a museum, yet the pole was only recently obtained by the museum at the end of the 20th century. This was created at a time of…
Canadian Pacific Railway arrival of the first through train at the seaboard of British Columbia
This photograph shows the arrival of the first through train to British Columbia from Canadian Pacific Railway to port moody, and many men surrounding C.P.R. locomotive 371. This photograph shows the fanfare and attention that was given to advances…
Log Cabin during the Gold Rush
This image shows a number of miners standing within a small settlement, with a dog sledge ready to pull someone away. As well as showing the living conditions, this image also provides an example of the types of transport used. Dogsledding could be…