RECORDED: [location unknown], [196-] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Alex Wylie discusses hiking near Hinton in 1905 with some traders as he moved to BC; moved to Alberta from Scotland; describes the fort at Edmonton; he describes how he became a packer in 1907; Swift Ranch; pack trails near Quesnel; a man named Swift; the Northern Territories as he remembers them; the CPR; and Fort George. [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], [1955?] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Alice M. Earley talks about coming into the Cariboo from Victoria in 1884; the journey by steamboat, train, and horse-drawn wagon to Quesnel, where she had been hired to teach. The Conco;rd stages. She describes Quesnel in the 1880s: the town; the fur traders; pack trains; the Klondike gold rush of 1898; the telegraph line; a plot by the Chilcotin [Tsilhqot'in] people; Barkerville; Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie; the school teacher; coins; prices and automobiles of a later era. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Homesteading near Quesnel RECORDED: [location unknown], 1967 SUMMARY: An oral history interview with Bertha Tingley, who homesteaded with her husband on the present site of Quesnel. She talks about clearing land, building a shack, and the hardships involved.;

SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Two short interviews with people of the Cariboo. (1) Mrs. Elizabeth Wendel, who came to the Cariboo in 1910, describes how she learned to ride and hunt, and recalls her first hunting experience of shooting a grizzly bear with a .22 rifle [ca. 8 minutes]. (2) The next interview is with an unnamed steamboat captain (born ca. 1874). In 1900, he was piloting steamboats for the Canadian National line between Victoria and Vancouver, and landed a new job running riverboats on the Fraser River between Soda Creek and Quesnel. After some blasting to clear rocks along the route, the service was extended to Prince George in 1909. Later on, two steamboats built by Foley, Welch and Stewart operated between Tete Jaune Cache and Prince George, south to Soda Creek, and up the Nechako to the site of Vanderhoof. He discusses the three companies running boats on the Upper Fraser: the Fort George Trading and Lumber Company; Foley, Welch and Stewart; and the BX (Barnard's Express) company. His account includes descriptions of the boat schedules and the boats themselves, which operated on the Fraser until 1920. The boats burned wood for fuel and had a crew of about twenty. Some discussion of passengers and freight carried. Stories about the packer Jean Caux, known as "Cataline". [ca. 17 minutes] (3) The final piece is an editorial by Willis about cowboy heroes on radio and television and in movies, as compared to the reality of being a cowboy. [ca. 4 minutes] [TRACK 2: blank.]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-16 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Ivor Guest recalls his history; he was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, in 1886. He first came west in 1908 to Edmonton. He eventually came to Vancouver and saw posters of Fort George, and so he decided to go there. His brother came from New York to join him. Their other brother met up with them and in May 1911, they came to Ashcroft and bought a team of horses to make the journey ;to Fort George. He describes what the journey was like, what the road houses were like, the ferry at Quesnel and how he sold a horse and traded another to an Indian for a canoe which broke in two. H;e describes several characters with whom he rode dog teams and canoed; his job as a fire warden at the Crooked River near Fort McLeod in the summers of 1912 and 1913; a description of Fort McLeod and who lived there; the business of fur; the growth of Fort George and his first impressions; the business of saw mills; Summit Lake prospecting; and the Grand Trunk Railroad. TRACK 2: Mr. Guest continues by describing farming in the Fort George area; the old characters; and differences between central and south Fort George.

CALL NUMBER: T0376:0001 RECORDED: Quesnel (B.C.), 1964-07-19 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Nellie Baker talks about her experiences in the Cache Creek, Ashcroft and Quesnel area, 1890 to 1910. Mrs. Baker speaks about her father coming to BC in 1864 and the story of her father and mother coming to Chilcotin in 1884 before buying Bonaparte Ranch near Cache Creek, where Nelly was born. She describes activity along the Cariboo Road; wagons, stages, stopping places and drivers. She speaks about life at the Cache Creek boarding school and her relations with the native children.

TRACK 2: She moved to a ranch between Spences Bridge and Ashcroft where she used to capture wild horses. She discusses the Little Mountain slide at Spences Bridge as well as the sheep and cattle on her father's ranch. She discusses her life after she was married in Ashcroft, as well as pack trains, memories of the famous packer Jean Caux ("Cataline"), Quesnel in 1910, and activity in the area. She mentions that her husband was a doctor.

CALL NUMBER: T0376:0002 RECORDED: Quesnel (B.C.), 1964-07-19 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Baker discusses her traveling and her experiences working with her husband in the area west of Quesnel. She describes the social life and recreation of Wells and Barkerville; working outdoors, a story about eating wild parsnips, and rattlesnakes. She comments on bars and liquor and her upbringing and adventures on her father's ranch near Ashcroft. She talks about her marriage in 1907, the Mormons in Salt Lake City, more experiences with her husband, and horse racing. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T1148:0001 [and T2747:0001]
RECORDED: [location unknown], 1972
SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Pearl DeBolt (formerly Pearl Whitmer) discusses how she came to the Quesnel Forks area in 1947, and the people in the area then (most of whom were miners). She describes the history of Quesnel Forks, which had a population of 8,000 in 1922, when the Cedar Creek boom hit; hunting; ranching; the gold commissioner, Mr. [William] Stephenson; how many white people moved to Barkerville and Chinese miners moved into Quesnel. Martin George discusses his life as a miner in Quesnel Forks after arriving in 1943. Both then discuss what they liked about living in Quesnel Forks, including the weather, geography, and hopes of finding gold. Mr. George describes the process of mining for gold and the value of gold back then (thirty dollars an ounce). Mr. George only made enough to survive; he never was able to accumulate wealth as a gold miner. Mrs. DeBolt discusses more about the geography and history of Quesnel Forks, including some people whose name became place names thanks to Simon Fraser. She recalls moving away from Quesnel Forks in 1965; she claims she was the last person to leave. She describes why the government would not save Quesnel Forks; she says it had to do with hydro power. She describes the roads in and around Quesnel Forks. All the Chinese miners moved north when Quesnel Forks closed down in the 1920s. It became a true ghost town in the mid-1960s. She offers details about the Chinese people in the area, including a ritual where, seven years after a Chinese person died, their bones were exhumed, cleaned and sent back to China. The remains of just three Chinese are left in the cemetery. A grave outside of the cemetery gate may be Mr. Stephenson's, but it may also belong to Mr. Winkley, for whom Winkley Creek is named.
TRACK 2: Mr. Dennis McConnel is interviewed on site in the abandoned Cariboo town of Quesnel Forks. He discusses the buildings in the area; the meeting of the two rivers; the buildings on the banks of the river, which are likely to collapse; tourists digging for relics, such as brass tokens and whisky bottles from the gambling hall; the erosion of the town. A story about moving Mrs. DeBolt's grand piano. Inside an abandoned house, Mr. McConnel and Jurgen Hesse discuss the condition of the house, vandalism, and the Chinese writing on the walls. McConnel discusses mining on the banks of the river; gold panning; artifacts he has found; and the old General Store at Quesnel Forks. [End of interviews]

SUMMARY: A visit to Soda Creek and vicinity, and a discussion of its role as a terminus for stage coaches, freight wagons, and sternwheelers. Voices heard are: Phyllis Bryant Kellis, Nellie Baker, Roddy Moffatt, Jim Keefe, Clarence Roberts, and Earl Baity. Elliott Weisgarber, Associate Professor in the Department of Music at UBC, is also heard.

CALL NUMBER: T0375:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-29 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Roderick "Roddy" Roy Moffat discusses how his father came out to the Chilcotin from Ontario and began ranching near Alexandria. Moffat offers several stories about his father when he drove a stagecoach. He discusses the tests necessary for a person to be a driver for the BC Line Company. He describes horses and drivers and the relationship between the two. There are many more stories about freighting days. Jerk-line teams had anywhere between four and twelve horses and three carriages. He describes how the horses were handled just outside of Ashcroft when the road became hilly and curved.

TRACK 2: Mr. Moffat discusses the competition between freighters to get the business of the Hudson's Bay Company out of Quesnel, alcohol consumption being a problem to achieving the contract, and then more on freighting. His father invented the snow roller for easier freighting in the winter. He describes the town of Barkerville. He discusses Chinese people as ranchers and as miners in the region. He discusses the Pinchbeck farm as the first farm in the area in Williams Lake and other early ranches: Levy Ranch in Soda Creek, McGuiness Ranch, 4 Mile Ranch, Sam Bohanon Ranch and that was all the farming until Quesnel. He describes many people in the area, old timers, and miners. Steve and Andrew Olsen are two characters he discusses, other Moffatts in the area, Alexander Flats, irrigation, the Hudson's Bay post at Alexandria, and the war between the Chilcotin Indians and the Alexander Indians.

CALL NUMBER: T0375:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-29 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Moffat describes the trail used by the Chilcotin Indians to invade the Alexander Indians, and how this route was used by Simon Fraser. He describes farmland and how technology has improved its uses. He discusses cattle farming near Quesnel. He describes his childhood and schooling. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Cariboo recollections RECORDED: Williams Lake (B.C.), 1974 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: In an interview with Reg Beck, Spencer Hope Patenaude discusses early Williams Lake, Horsefly, 150 Mile, and 153 Mile House. Bullion Mine described. Telegraph lines in the Cariboo. Anecdotes about telegraphy and the life of a telegraph operator. 150 Mile House pioneers. Chinese in 150 Mile House. Ox teams and freighting on the Cariboo Road. Grist mills and grain growing. Sawmilling. TRACK 2: Description of the engines and workings of the Miocene mine. Anecdotes about maintaining the telegraph lines. [End of interview]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): A Cariboo pioneer, 1895-1974 RECORDED: Williams Lake (B.C.), [1968?] SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Came to Cariboo 1895 (age 8), from eastern Canada. Train travel, 1895. Education in Pavilion, 150 Mile House and Victoria. Joined telegraph service, 1902. Worked as a telegrapher in Horsefly ;and Quesnel. Quesnel described. Riverboats on the Fraser River. Transportation in the Cariboo. Returned to 150 Mile House in 1913. Then to Blackwater River. Early days at Williams Lake, ca. 1900. Anecdotes. [TRACK 2: blank; end of interview]

RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-20 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. William Alvin Johnston describes the Quesnel area before 1900. Mr. Johnston tells the story of how his father, W.A. Johnston, came to BC from Quebec in 1864. His mother, Rosalind Cadwell Crooker, came to the Nicola country in 1861. His father built a stopping house on Jackass Mountain, and later built a flour mill in 1884 and sawmills near Quesnel. He describes the Quesnel district; farms, roadhouses and the town itself. He tells the story of a murderer in 1848, the first miners; John Cameron Dunlevy and transportation; trails, steamers and mill ways.

TRACK 2: Mr. Johnston continues discussing railroads, the lumber industry and Johnston Flats. He discusses gold in the eastern Cariboo, the development of the Johnston Flats, near Quesnel; Jerome Harper, his childhood memories from the 1890s of school and the town of Quesnel. He mentions several people: James (Jim) Reed, John Cameron Dunlevy, John McLean and Bob McLeese. Finally, he describes Soda Creek.