The Cooper Family Come Down and Buried 64 Men in 50 Feet ( Henry Morley Cooper—1920) of Snow
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
VALLEY HISTORY AND THE WINDERMERE VALLEY MUSEUM BOX 2315, INVERMERE, V0A IK0 342-9769 AUGUST 2005 Huber of Zurich Switzerland and Carl Sulzer of Winterthur , Switzerland. On reaching the top the two Swiss said, “Wonderful, three cheers for Switzer- land!” Harry Cooper said “Beautiful, where’s me bagpipes?” ( Mt. Sir Donald is 10,752 ft. high ) In 1910, while working on the Con- naught Tunnel in the Rogers Pass for the C.P.R., a big snow slide had come down and a crew of men were clearing it away. Mr. Cooper was sent to the cook –house to bring the hot lunch for the men. When he arrived back at the slide with the lunch, he found that another slide had The cooper family come down and buried 64 men in 50 feet ( Henry Morley Cooper—1920) of snow. ( by Elsie Ryter ) In 1911, Mr. Cooper bought a home- Harry Cooper was born on November stead in Moberly, B.C. From 1912 to 18, 1869 in Stanport, England. He was 12 1918 , Mr. Cooper had a pack horse/ years old when he left England by cattle guide outfit and during the summer boat to live with people in New York. packed mail and groceries from Donald , The people in New York did not arrive to B.C. To Tete Jaune Cache, B.C. through pick him up so he joined a cattle drive the valley where the McNaughton Lake that was coming to Canada. They simply is. This was a distance of over 200 miles took him along as a flunky. and it would take around 10 days. From 1882 to 1885 he attended schools In 1922, Mr. Cooper married Hilda and worked on farms around Winnipeg. Mattson who had come to Canada from He then started working his way west. In Sweden the year before to visit her uncle 1885 he got caught up in the Riel Rebel- who lived at Moberly. They had 6 chil- lion in Saskatchewan. Mr. Cooper was a dren . Henry, Albert, Victor, Elsie, Celia veteran of the Rebellion. and Mae. In 1887, he was in Donald B.C. where The Cooper boys have two heavy med- he trapped, prospected and was em- als their Dad received in 1912 and 1913 ployed as a C.P.R. mountain climber and for the best draft horses in B.C. surveyor. Mr. Cooper was the first white In 1937, the Cooper Family moved to man to climb Mt. Sir Donald. This feat he the Windermere District. Mr. Cooper accomplished on July 26, 1890 with Emil purchased the Old Burnais Ranch and he farmed there until his health failed in 1948. The ranch is now owned by Fred George Bramell Becker. (2005) *********************************** “ My full Christian names are Special Addition: George Alexander. My surname is Bramell. I was born at the village of I would like to add a page to your his- Branstone about three miles from tory of the “ Elkhorn Ranch”. Burton-on Trent in Stafford- It was on October 4, 1882 that Ed- shire ,England. My father was a mund T. Johnston arrived with his pack Church of England minister at string from Montana and pitched his tent Branstone. At thirteen years of age, and staked a homestead on what is now in the year 1881, I left home and the Elkhorn Ranch. The local Indians objected to Ed’s in- went to Kansas, U.S.A. with Ber- trusion. They put on their war paint and tram Henry Buxton, eldest son of with threatening gestures, rode around Sir Fowell Buxton of Cobham, Sur- his tent, pulling up his stakes and throw- rey, England who had a ranch on ing them at his feet. the Arkansas River about 20 Not being easily intimidated, Ed calm- miles west of Wichita, Kansas. I ly replaced the stakes and then sat in stayed there working for 5 years. front of his tent, rifle across his knees and I left there in 1866 going straight dared them to pull the stakes out again. through to McLeod Alberta in Cana- After more circling and threatening, da. I was working on different stock the Indians finally rode off and he was ranches and for 4 years I worked for allowed to stay. the I. G. Baker Trading Co. In 1897 In 1884, Ed sold his homestead to the I went with my own packhorse out- Hon. Fred Aylmer, moving on to estab- fit through the Rockies by the lish the Hog Ranch at Parsons, just out- Crow’s Nest Pass into B.C. I left Al- side the 20 mile prohibition limit from berta in September and there was the C.P.R. construction approaching 12 inches of snow in the Pincher Golden. This started another chapter in Creek district. The C.P.R. had just the life of the Valley. started to construct the railway go- ( by Joy Bond 2005 ) ing through the Crows Nest Pass. When I got through the pass I built *********************************** a log shack on the Elk River, close Windermere Stage to where Elko is now. There was fi- R.A.Kimpton, Proprietor – July 1911 ne fishing and plenty of big game. Leaves Windermere for Golden-Tues.7 am. Elk, deer, sheep , bear and cougar Leaves Golden for Windermere-Wed. 8 am. were aplenty. I stayed there trap- Leaves Windermere for Cranbrook-Fri.7am. ping and hunting for about two Leaves Cranbrook for Windermere-Sat. years making trips through Tobacco 9:30am. Plains to Kalispell, Montana , to Fort Steele, to Pilot Bay in the West Baggage limited to 15 pounds. Kootenay and back to Fort Steele . I worked my way northnorth to the North where I met some Shuswap St. Eugene Catholic Mission where Indians. I was farm instructor to the school I went from Canal Flat up the boys. After two years there, I bought Kootenay River hunting with them. I 256 acres of land across the Co- stayed with these Indians and went lumbia River from the Shuswap Re- with them to their reserve about 7 serve. miles north of Windermere. (Near This place I am now living the head-waters of the Columbia would make a grand fur farm as River.) As the winter was coming on, there are beaver, muskrat and mink I stayed with these Shuswaps everywhere. There is a good sized whom I found to be a very hospita- lake on the property as well as ble people, good hunters and good sloughs. There are white swans and workers. They assisted many of the sometimes black ones. There are al- early settlers in the Columbia Val- so many fish in the lake. ley. They gave them food- meat, I cut about 35 loads of wild hay vegetables, flour and sugar. They for the cattle. I am hoping some day fed the settler’s stock until hay to be able to fence in part of this could be put up. Some of the early water with wire netting and sheet trappers and hunters would have metal so that I can raise muskrats starved or died from injuries and and beaver. This kind of fencing is exposure if it had not been for the very expensive. This is also a good Shuswap Indians. place to raise cattle. The Shuswaps went to trade in This fully describes my life since Calgary and also south as far as leaving England. ” Colville, Washington. They used George Bramell pack horses to travel with or dug Wilmer, B.C. out canoes. They would hunt moose May 1st, 1926 on the Ice River and Beaverfoot Riv- er and pack all the meat on their ( Jaryl McIsaac Files ) backs over one range of the Rocky Mountains to their home on the Co- **************************************** lumbia River. Chief Charles Kinbas- Valley News-Sept. 1945 ket, who has been dead for 6 years, Indian News traveled a moose down on snow- By-Dominic Nicholas shoes. When he caught up with it, We regret to inform Pierre Syl- the moose was dead. It had got so vester that his grandmother, Mrs. heated traveling through the deep Moses Kinbasket, died on the 7th of snow, the meat was not fit to eat. September at Brisco. Apparently the I married Cecile, the eldest family of Baptiste Paul was going daughter of Chief Charles Kinbas- out to work some place across the ket, head of the Kinbasket Tribe of river. Some part of the harness the Shuswap Indians. I went to live broke while going down a hill and on a ranch I had rented. After nine the horses became frightened and years on that ranch, I went to the bolted. In trying to jump off the wagon, some object struck her on deep regret at having to leave Edge- her forehead and she was severely water. He also thanked everyone for injured. She was rushed to the Lady the help and co-operation that they Elizabeth Bruce Memorial Hospital had given him in the years in which at Invermere and died shortly after. he had been Manager here. Mr. and Her daughter, Mrs. John Sylvester, Mrs. Gaddes have rented an apart- was badly bruised about the face ment in Cranbrook, but are , as yet, and Baptiste Paul sustained a bro- uncertain as to what their plans will ken wrist and collar bone. The be. young girl, Mary Paul, was the only **************************************** one not injured. She jumped off Timetable– Str. Nowitka when the horses started to run. Leaves Spillimacheen -Sun. and Wed. Arrives Spillimacheen– 5 p.m. You will be interested to learn As an inducement to shippers to forward that the engagement of Mary There- freight while conditions are favorable, a sa Francis to Leonard Stanley of flat through rate of 40 cents per 100 lbs.