The item is an audio recording of an interview with Gilbert Forbes in 1976.
T0330:0001 track 1: Mr. Forbes discusses his background: born in 1889 at 100 Mile House; father was a rancher; moved to 122 Mile (Lac La Hache) in 1893; family ran the 122 Mile House as a ranch and a stopping house on the Cariboo road. The operation of a stopping house. School. Worked for Bank of British North America in Ashcroft, ca. 1906-08. Worked with Frank Swannell survey party, 1908. Experiences while working with Swannell in Nechako region. T0330:0001 track 2: More about surveying with Swannell. Worked on mining construction, 1909-10. Mining camp conditions. Trip to South America, 1912-13. Anecdotes about Forbes' trip in Argentina, Bermuda and the United States and his return to Lac La Hache, 1913. Anecdote about the death of "Bugs" at Lac La Hache, 1906.

T0330:0002 track 1: Worked on his father's ranch at 122 Mile House, 1913-22. Freight hauling on the Cariboo Road declines after 1919. Worked at Cedar Creek gold mine, 1922-23. Gold mining in the Cariboo region. Ranched and had a trap line during the Depression. Building with logs. Ranched during the 1940s.
T0330:0002 track 2: Brief account of activities in 1950s. Early freighters on the Cariboo Road described. Anecdotes about the teamsters on the Cariboo Road. Anecdotes about gambling. Preachers. (End of interview)

The series consists of records created by the Department of Lands between 1873 and 1923. It contains 14 Coast Land District, Range 5 lot registers covering lots 1-7008. The registers list lots in numerical order and record the alienation of land from the Crown (by purchaser, pre-emption, lease, etc.). Information may include the name of the purchaser, dates and numbers of certificates issued (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments, and reference numbers to correspondence files and field books.

The series consists of records created by the Department of Lands between 1889 and 1951. It contains six Coast Land District, Range 4 lot registers covering lots 1-2956. The registers list the lots in numerical order and record the alienation of land from the Crown (by purchaser, pre-emption, lease, etc.). Information may include the name of the purchaser, dates and numbers of certificates issued (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments, and reference numbers to correspondence files and field books. There is an alphabetical name index in each volume.

The series consists of records created by the Department of Lands between 1894 and 1947. It contains a Coast Land District, Range 5, township register, covering Tp. 7-12. The land is listed numerically by sections within Townships, and records the alienation of land from the Crown (by purchase, pre-emption, lease, etc.). Information may include the name of the purchaser, dates and numbers of certificates issued (including Crown Grants), dates and amounts of payments, and reference numbers to correspondence files and field books. Also included is the Vanderhoof townsite. The volume contains an alphabetical name index.

The series consists of records created by the Department of Lands in 1930. It contains a volume of Coast Land Districts, Range 4 and Range 5 appraisal reports of reverted government lands within Tps. 2-4, Range 4 and Tps. 10-13, 19,20, Range 5. The reports are arranged numerically within each land district. Information may include assessment district, land registry office, legal description, date of forfeiture, plan number, acreage, suitability, improvements, soil, water supply, irrigation or dyking, accessibility, nearest settlement or Post Office, nearest school, topography, and assessed and appraised value. The report usually includes a coloured sketch map of the property. The two sections are indexed by report numbers to the legal land description.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0014
SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Martin Starret and Dick Lattie
RECORDED: Hazelton (B.C.), 1966
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret continues with his story about his arrival in Hazelton in October 1909 on the steamboat. He offers a detailed account of what Hazelton was like, including the stores there and their locations. He talks of pack horses and specific mule trains such as that of Cataline and George Burns. Mr. Starret offers his impressions of Hazelton as he and Mr. Orchard look over the town; he compares Hazelton in 1909 to [1966]. Dick Lattie, born 1895, talks about his life in Hazelton, and he and Mr. Starret recall when they first met in the fall of 1912. Mr. Starret and Mr. Lattie recall leading the Bell Mare pack train to Manson Creek with pipe for the miners. Mr. Lattie cooked and served food for the pack train. Mr. Lattie describes the trail from Hazelton along Babine Road, over the hills to Manson Creek where the miners were mining gold. He describes Manson Creek as it was. The miners there including a Chinese man named Packtrain Joe. Ferrying mules across Takla Lake; Ned Charleston's pack trains; and working for Cataline. TRACK 2: Mr. Lattie continues, discussing: pack trains, the Indian village before Hazelton was founded, where the first white settlements were and how the Indians moved to reservations.The first white man in the area was Charlie Humans [sp?] who moved there to start a store. Mr. Starret describes an Indian chief who had a lot of power, the first one who had a pole carved on the Hazelton reserve. Mr. Lattie discusses the towns in the area before Hazelton was founded and the white people came, and Indian chiefs and their homes. Mr. Lattie discusses trade between the people of Babine and Hazelton; instruments used in ceremonial dances; and the songs used in the ceremonies.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0015
RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-]
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret discusses a 1909 trip on a Union Steamship vessel, the "Camosun", from Vancouver through Alert Bay to Prince Rupert to meet his mother at Metlakatla. The boys waiting at the dock could not read but bought news papers so as to look educated. Mr. Starret discusses boat travel during fall rains. He offers anecdotes about things that happened on the boat, including a story about a man who was looking for the saloon on the boat and the story of his hardships as told to Mr. Starret. Mr. Starret describes his experience upon landing in Prince Rupert, and the process of getting to Metlakatla and reuniting with his mother. Mr. Starret describes his experiences in Metlakatla, including people's names, a description of the town, and a meeting with Captain Irving. He describes the geography. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret discusses another four-day steamboat trip from Port Essington, up the Skeena River to Hazelton. He describes some of the passengers, including Blackjack McDonald, the cargo (70 tons of liquor for a hotel), the boat itself, the Captain's notion of shallow and deeper water, the condition of the boats, the crew, a character named Turley Hambley who established Hambley's Landing, what staterooms and dining saloons were like on board, the steerage accommodations, Captain Jackman, the scenery, Fred Daniels, and more on the passengers.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0016
RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-]
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret tells the story of his mother; how she came to Hope at age sixteen to teach school and married his father a year and a half later. Eventually the ranch at Hope was not generating enough money to support the family, so she left with the three children (other than Martin) to teach all over the province. In January 1909, she went to Metlakatla to teach. Mr. Starret discusses people in the [northern BC] area, including Simon Gun-an-noot, other Indians and relationships with Indians. He discusses his experience attending South Park School in Victoria, and never feeling comfortable among the city kids there, and other aspects of his education. He describes his mother's physical appearance, ability as a teacher, her relationship with Martin and his brother, her ability as a fur trader (Fort St. James offered more money for fur than Fort Babine), and her retirement back to the ranch in Hope. Mr. Starret describes the location his uncle's home in Hazelton and the old original miners' cabins before the railroad came through. Mr. Starret tells a story about a time he dug potatoes and wheeled them across town for his uncle. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret describes what Hazelton looked like and what kind of place it was when he first arrived. One feature that distinguished it from other frontier towns was that it had warehouses. He describes the surrounding country and his experiences there, gardening techniques attuned to the landscape and climate, Hazelton's place along the Skeena River, a description of the buildings and their construction, the geography of Fort Babine, and salmon as the staple food of the Indians there. Mr. Starret then describes the town of Burns Lake and the people who lived there.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0017
RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-]
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes his uncle Charles Victor Smith's house in Hazelton which was built by Indians. He goes on to discuss the life of C.V. Smith, including several life stories such as how he came to live in Hazelton. C.V. Smith took over his father's tug boat, until his eyesight began to fail him before he was forty years old. Smith decided to go into the fur business. He began by opening a shop and eventually moved to Hazelton in 1904. Mr. Starret discusses Smith's family including his two daughters. Mr. Starret tells a story about a trip to Babine with his uncle with mention to several Babine natives, attitudes of the Indians, interactions with Indians and details of a pack train. Indians based a storekeepers wealth by how much sugar he kept in stock, C.V. Smith had two hundred pounds on the same boat load which carried Blackjack's liquor. The idea was not to compete with Hudson's Bay Company, but to attract trappers. Mr. Starret tells a story about an Indian packer named Alfred Danes. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret describes how his mother was under the impression that Indians in the north were wild. She was worried about her brother until he assured her that the Indians were the easiest people to get along with in British Columbia. Several anecdotes about how Indians are easy to get along with are offered. Mr. Starret describes a saddle horse trip to Babine with his mother and uncle including the supplies they brought, camping equipment, cooking, the weather, the Indians they were with, anecdotes about the trip, and his mother's stiffness on the trail.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0018
RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-]
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes in great detail the pack trail near Hazelton which was laid out by ex-Governor Dewdney from the goldfields of Babine Lake, through Fort St. James to Manson Creek; including reasons why the trail follows the course it does. Mr. Starret discusses the details surrounding C.V. Smith's trading post at Babine Village including details about local Indians and living conditions. He describes the log house in which the trading post was located and its furniture. Mr. Starret tells a story of the mail carrier Jim Williams who worked at the Babine Hatchery, whose wife lived in Babine Village; and a gift he bought her of a musical clock, and a story of her giving birth to a child which died two days later. Mr. Starret discusses Williams' reaction and the reaction of others in the community. Mr. Starret continues with more on his uncle's trading post and a night when an Indian spent the night with Smith and Mr. Starret's Aunt Agnes. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret discusses Carrier Indians in the Hazelton/Babine region and their church attendance. A church bell would ring and wherever anyone was, they would take off their hats and pray, and then resume work. Mr. Starret discusses the hygiene of the Indians and their living conditions. Mr. Starret describes C.V. Smith including his character and habits with the use of anecdotes. Mr. Starret believes that Smith's stubbornness was what made him successful; and he was a religious man who attended church. Mr. Starret discusses his own reasons for not attending church. Mr. Starret describes Smith's physical appearance including his posture, he always wore a Stetson hat and he would never drink. Mr. Starret describes his aunt Agnes Smith whose father was a coal miner also named Smith. Mr. Starret describes his cousin Clara Smith who was born at Moodyville and offers some stories about her. More on his uncle and how children did not like him. Mr. Starret offers his first impressions of Father Nicholas.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0019
RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-]
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret offers his impressions of the Carrier Indians as he knew them in the early 1900s: their concentration skills and the ways in which they were brought up, Father Coccola sermonizing; about pre-marital relations, eating in church, religion and superstition. Mr. Starret offers several anecdotes about Father Coccola's interactions with Indians and a story about Father Dominic of Babine Lake who was an Indian that learned commerce from white men. Mr. Starret tells a story about the Father asking Indians "what hell is". Mr. Starret tells a story of Coccola as a young man who never thought he would be a priest, and stories about his old age. The Indian congregations at church in Babine and Stuart Lakes, the men and women sat separately. The Babine tribe consisted of two hundred and twenty-five people at that time and he discusses his feelings about Babine and Fort Connolly. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret describes his daily life at Babine Post: he begins with someone coming into the store to buy sugar and daily chores before getting into specifics such as an interaction with an Indian who tried to cheat him, another story about an Indian woman who came into the store with Hudson's Bay coupons, trading posts, Fort Thompson and the three families there. Mr. Starret relates tall stories as told to him by Eli Ferguson, who was an old timer who had several jobs and skills: an amusing tale about a time before horses were used, when people used oxen to pull yokes. There was a man plowing one morning with a side hill plow but the story is cut short.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0020
RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-]
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret describes Fort St. James upon his arrival by canoe: the riverbank, the Hudson's Bay post, the layout of the town, a description of the houses and a few characters there, where the Indians lived in a place called the Rancherie, there was always one priest there. Mr. Starret discusses Father Coccola and his journeys all over the province. Mr. Starret describes his first trip into the Bulkley Valley to Round Lake in April 1911, to survey property for his uncle; including the landscape and characters he encountered. Mr. Starret describes his journey to Ootsa Lake in 1917 to buy fur at the time when Indians were bringing in beaver, including traveling with Father Coccola and having to borrow $2,000.00 from his uncle. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret tells the story of his uncle who wan;ted Martin to acquire Indian artifacts, one such artifact was Qua's dagger. Mr. Starret describes who Qua was. Mr. Starret tells the story of Sir James Douglas and his relations with the native people. The natives were upset about how he treated them. Douglas was sent to Stuart Lake to be an apprentice to the factor from an eastern post. During the factor's absence, there was trouble between the Indians and white people over the apprehension of a murderer. Eventually Douglas became Sir James Douglas, Governor of British Columbia. The natives became upset with the prices of goods which the Hudson's Bay Post supplied once the goods were shipped by steamboat. Mr. Starret discusses the value and quality of a variety of Hudson's Bay goods and trade with the Indians.

CALL NUMBER: T0399:0021
RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-]
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Starret discusses his belief that Carrier Indians always trusted the priests. Mr. Starret never heard anything negative said by the Carrier Indians about the Church until World War I, when there was a disagreement about discipline. Mr. Starret offers some anecdotes which offer insight into the relationship between the Indians and priests. Mr. Starret discusses and sings a song by A.J. Hamilton which came about around the time of WWI about home-brewed alcohol. Mr. Starret offers his final feelings about the country including the way he would like to remember it such as paddling along in a canoe at night and hearing a loon call. Mr. Starret discusses the attitude of the Indians that all white men are rich. Mr. Starret discusses the attitudes of people in the past as compared to people at the time of the interview. Mr. Starret tells a story of an Indian who was unjustly punished named Francis Prince who was ostracized by the community. There were no white men who were Catholics in the area but Indians were. Mr. Starret believes that priests were fair legal advisors who did not necessarily give favour to white men over Indians. TRACK 2: Mr. Starret offers his opinions on British Columbia and how it is not really a part of Canada. He feels that there is a division at the Rockies and that Americans are like cousins as their money has helped develop Canada. Mr. Starret discusses free trade and his view that British Columbia's way of doing things is the best and he thinks that the Government in BC is the best at the date of this taping. Mr. Orchard and Mr. Starret discuss politics. Mr. Starret prefers working outdoors and he always recognized himself as a Canadian, yet when he first took up land, he had to do it as a British subject, people were not recognized as Canadians in those days. Mrs. Starret, born 1904, describes her life as her father moved from Ontario in 1918 to Burns Lake. She describes her views of Canada and BC as a part of Canada.

CALL NUMBER: T1038:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Lawrence Dickinson recalls his journey from Wisconsin and arrival at Francois Lake in 1910, when he was about 15 years old. He describes his journey along the Cariboo Road; stopping in Quesnel Forks to help mine for the winter; the route he had to take to Francois Lake; filing preemptions upon arriving in Francois Lake; joining a survey crew for Swannell company; life as a surveyor ;in the Fort Fraser, Prince George and general Upper Nechako area in 1910. He describes Fort St. James and the HBC post located there in the summer of 1911; the old trails in the area, leisure activities at Fort St. James, and how much everyone enjoyed the area; A.G. Hamilton's trading post in Fort St. James; work he did over the next several winters; how the war disrupted life; his father's trading post at Fort Fraser in 1915; how he and his brother bought out the trading post and went into business for themselves; the kind of people in Fort St. James before the war, including railroad construction men and other old timers; Mr. Murray who was a factor for the HBC and other characters; what makes the area so attractive; the difficulty nowadays at making a living as a trapper; shifts in mining techniques, changes in the Necoslie Valley after WWI; and how Fort St. James continues to be a jumping off point for miners and people of various vocations. TRACK 2: Mr. Dickinson continues how t;he HBC got supplies to their forts; how the war affected business in the area and how the mercury mine boosted the economy; how preemptors could not get good land because companies took all the prime ;real estate.;

CALL NUMBER: T1038:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1971 [summer] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Dickinson comments on the attitudes of people and various characters in Vanderhoof from his past; anecdotes about gold miners and how the landscape has changed; buildings at Fort St. Jam;es that are no longer standing; how the younger generation is not as reliable as the older generations; the fur trade around Fort St. James and how the local buyers had the monopoly; and a few old timers. TRACK 2: Mr. Dickinson describes traffic going through Fort St. James; changes in the area resulting in growing industry and construction; the rivalry among stores between the HBC and Dickinson and others; placer mining areas; freight service into the Nechako Valley by the HBC, Dickenson's surveying career from 1910 to 1913, including descriptions of places he surveyed; and miscellaneous comments about today's pioneers and industries.;

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. John Kemp recalls his arrival as a HBC man in Canada and his reasons for coming. He offers a description of his journey through BC to Fort Fraser, the first road into the Interior, his impressions of the Nechako valley in 1911, working with the HBC, a description of Fort St. James as it was in 1911, Father Coccola, his impression of Native Indians, and random thoughts including an anecdote about cooking rice. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1964-07-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. George Ogston recalls his arrival in Canada from Scotland as a Hudson's Bay Company apprentice in 1903. He describes his work in the fur trade through Winnipeg, Fort St. James, Hazelton, Babine, McLeod Lake, Fort Graham and Fort Fraser from 1903 to 1912. He discusses the origins of Vanderhoof in 1914, and the fur trade including rivalries and conditions of bartering. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Edward Alfred Aslin discusses how he was born in Kansas and moved to an area near Edmonton with his family when he was seven years old in 1894. He describes getting married in 1906 and subsequently coming out west. In 1916 he left the railway to come to Fort Fraser to open a store, so his kids could be stationary and attend school. He acquired too much stock to support his family, t;here so he moved to Burns Lake. He describes Fort Fraser at that time as a declining and quiet place after the railway had completed its work there. He describes the circumstances after he and his wife split up, when he became a placer miner at Manson Creek to conquer the loneliness of missing his children. He describes what Manson Creek was like at that time. He describes fur trading out by B;ear Lake in the Babine country. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1028:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-07-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Cliff Harrison describes how he came to Ootsa Lake, and the good reputation of the land for agriculture. He discusses his father, who was a miner in the Kootenays and his memories of the; East Kootenays; the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1914, his experience working in a Hudson's Bay Company store in Kamloops; work for mining companies; reminiscences of Ootsa Lake in 1912, including ;that there was no doctor; how people had to help each other. He describes a few local characters and early settlers: Harry Morgan, Mike Touhy, Shorty Matheson, Cataline (Jean Caux), Barney Mulvaney, a;nd Skin Tyee, who was also known as Charlie Clutesi. TRACK 2: Mr. Harrison continues with more on local characters Skin Tyee and Florence Hinton. Mr. Harrison then recalls his experiences with Native Indians, and the introduction of aviation to the Ootsa Valley.

CALL NUMBER: T1028:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1966-05-05 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Cliff Harrison recalls how Indians came to have their legends via observations with no evidence, and the Indian legend of "Devil Man"; a story of a man dying of scurvy; and discusses trappin;g and selling fur in Kimsquit Valley. TRACK 2: Mr. Harrison recalls a bear story; anecdotes about what he did for amusement; and traveling through the Interior, including how he traveled.;

CALL NUMBER: T1028:0003 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-07-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Harrison recalls trapping beginning in 1906, including how trappers came to the area; fighting in World War I and coming back to the wilderness in 1919; anecdotes about selling furs in a; fluctuating market; a trapping convention and basket social; Mr. Harrison's recollections of other trappers, including John Mikkelson, Jack and Arthur Shelford, Harry Morgan (who was the first white man in the area), Skin Tyee and Jimmy Morgan. TRACK 2: Mr. Harrison continues discussing trappers such as Jimmy Morgan. He tells a story about mixing flying with trapping, and starting a trend for other trappers learning to fly; miscellaneous events connected to trapping, including almost freezing to death; and impressions and anecdotes about wolverines.

CALL NUMBER: T1028:0004 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1961-07-08 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Harrison recalls growing up in the East Kootenay, including what life was like before the railroad; a detailed description of Captain Armstrong, a steamboat captain who navigated the Columbia River; the significance and details on the running of steamboats at that time; logging and wages. Harrison describes his arrival in BC in 1904, including his impressions. Harrison recalls various characters (and elaborates on what life was like at that time): Rufus Kimpton, Jim Brewer and a few more. TRACK 2: Mr. Harrison continues with more characters and events: the opening of the Paradise Mine; real estate promoter Randolph Bruce; "Bugroom"; Mr. and Mrs. Joe Lake; Frank Stoddard, who had a hotel; several stories about blacksmith Sinc Craig,including one where he broke his leg falling into a grave at a funeral; Malcolm Cameron, the first policeman in the area, and how early pioneers were very law abiding, E.J. Scoville, who was the first magistrate and was also a champion speed; skater based out of Wilmer, and Jim McKay, the cattle baron at Athalmer.

Travelogue. Scenery and attractions of the area accessible by the highway between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Footage includes: Prince George Airport with passengers boarding airliner; lakeside scenes; lumber mill; harvesting grain near Vanderhoof; Hudson's Bay post at Fort St. James; lake barges and a Beech 18 floatplane (registration CF-BQH) on Stuart Lake; trout fishing on Stuart Lake and Fraser Lake; Burns Lake; Babine Lake; Francois Lake; Ootsa Lake; Binta Lake; Telkwa, and nearby coal mine; Smithers; Moricetown Falls salmon run, with Indians gaffing salmon; Bulkley Canyon; Hazelton; Hagwilget Canyon; totem poles at Kispiox, Kitseguecla, and Kitwanga (plus village and burial grounds at the latter); Terrace, and its pole mill; Lakelse Lake; highway scenes; bald eagles; commercial fishing on the Skeena; Prince Rupert (cruise ship docking, unloading fish, fishing festival, homes and gardens, downtown, airport with amphibious airliner taxiing and taking off).

The series consists of 1146 photographic prints and negatives taken by Harry Jomini between 1951 and 1954. These photographs document the construction of the Kenney Dam, part of the Kitimat Kemano project undertaken by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan). The series includes photographs of the area including Kemano, Burns Lake, Francois Lake, Nechako, Ootsa and Vanderhoof. There are also photographs of individuals and groups living in the community. The prints are almost all numbered, titled and dated and were originally filed in 14 black binders and an envelope of loose photographs and negatives. Jomini visted the construction site on a regular basis from 1951 to 1954 and documented all aspects of the construction. Volume 14 documents the ceremony for the unveiling of the cornerstone by the Minister of Public Works E.T. Kenney on May 10, 1952.

The fonds comprises videotape copies of eight promotional, documentary or general-interest films produced for the Aluminum Company of Canada (or its successor, Alcan Canada Products) in the years 1951-1979. They depict the history, development and operations of the Kitimat project, including the Kenney Dam, the Kemano power plant, power transmission lines, Kitimat smelter, and the town and port of Kitimat. Four of these titles were made by Lew Parry Film Productions; two were produced by Crawley Films Ltd.

Stock shots. Shows use of barge equipped with logging grapple and shears to salvage trees from the area flooded when the level of Ootsa Lake was raised by dam construction in the area.

The item is a composite print of a promotional film from 1970. It shows an experimental project in clearing timber from a reservoir, using hydraulic shears and saws mounted on a shallow-draft barge.

Shows land available for pre-emption. F.M. Rattenbury's holdings outlined.