Settlers of The Cariboo

While sipping on a Sleeman last night and thinking about settlers of the Cariboo I pulled out an old book that I’ve been meaning to flip through that gives an historical account of the Wells /Barkerville area of B.C. Bill Hong took up the hobby of compiling his memoires in the ’70’s much to the appreciation of folks that follow the early days of gold mining. Things were a lot different back then. There weren’t the environmental laws on the books that now prevent alluvial excavations. “And So..That’s How It Happened” will likely be out of print now but it has some great old photos from the town of Stanley which no longer exists. Bill highlights some old tales of how the gold miners kept themselves entertained. He depicts all the different working in all the various creeks disbursed through the Barkerville region. In 1905, there were about 500 people in the town of Stanley during the summer months, 200 of which were of Chinese descent. Bill point out in his foreword that “the significance of the role of the Chinese have not properly been recognized” in the settling of these small mining communities.