F. P.O. Themes&Variations ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ “Ifsomecountrieshavetoomuchhistory,wehavetoomuchgeography.” TheEltonhomeisaforlornrelic –WilliamLyonMackenzieKing1 from1910ontheeastsideof Highway3southofthelittle communityofCawston.Ralph ritishColumbiansdefinethemselvesregionally,perhapsmoresothan EltonwasborninIndiawhere BotherCanadians,largelyduetothetremendousdiversityofgeographic hisfatherwasacolonelinthe zonesandtherelativeisolationtheycreate.Whiletodaythepoliticalandeco- Britisharmy.Hemovedto nomictraffic,likespokesonabicycle’swheel,convergesattheprovince’s Englandasachild,andsubse- southwesterncorner,peoplestillidentifythemselvesstronglywiththe quentlyimmigratedtoCanada. Kootenays,ortheCariboo,orthePeace.Withineachoftheregionsrelatively Onhislittlefarmhehadapple distinctculturesandtypesofbuildingsemerged. trees,chickensandhorses,buthis mainsourceofincomewaswork Liketheearlyelectoraldistricts,theprovince’soriginallanddistricts(see ontheroads.Hisdaughter mapfacingthecontentspage)evolvedwithreferencetothiscomplex marriedintotheMcCurdy geographyandcoincideroughlywithourmodernconceptionoftheprovince’s family,settlersinthevalleysince regions:thesectionsintowhichthebalanceofthisbookisdivided. 1878,whose1895housestill 1. SouthwesternMainlandcomprisesthepopulatedpartofthe standsacrosstheroad,itssquared- NewWestminsterLandDistrict. logsideshiddenbehindmodern 2 2. Hope-Princeton&TulameenisessentiallytheNicolaDivision cladding. oftheYaleLandDistrict. 1SpeechonCanadaasaninternationalpow- 3. TheOkanaganisthepartsoftheNicolaandOsoyoosdivisions er,June18,1936. oftheYaleLandDistrictadjoiningOkanaganLake. 2InterviewwithDonMcCurdy. THEMES&VARIATIONS 13 4. BoundaryCountryisessentiallytheOsoyoosDivisionofthe YaleLandDistrict. 5. TheKootenayscorrespondwiththeKootenayLandDistrict. 6. Fraser-Thompson-ShuswapistheYaleandKamloopsdivisions oftheYaleLandDistrict. 7. VancouverIslandcombinestheoldEsquimalt,Cowichan, Nanaimo,AlberniandComoxlanddistricts,andincludesthe GulfIslands. 8. TheCariboo&theChilcotinistheLillooetandCaribooland districts,alltothewestofthecontinentaldivide. 9. TheNorthisessentiallytheCassiarLandDistrict,theoldCari- booLandDistrictcorridorthroughwhichtheGrandTrunk PacificRailwayran,plusthePeaceRiverBlockandtheQueen CharlotteIslands. Theformerprimeminister’squipabouthistoryandgeographyseems aproposformodernCanada,althoughitdoesnotjibewithmyunderstanding ofAboriginaltraditionwherehistoryistiedtospecificplacesandthe “geography”isencodedwithbothsacredandutilitariansites.Therecently publishedStó:l¯oCoastSalishHistoricalAtlas, forexample,describesamyriad ofhistoricplacesinStó:l¯traditionalterritorythroughouttheLowerMain-o landandFraserCanyon. ThesagaofXá:ytem–akatheHatzicRockontheLougheedHighwaya fewmileseastofMission–illustratedthecontrastbetweenAboriginalvalues andthoseofthewhiteculturewhichhadoverwhelmedthem. Xá:ytem,like SiwashRockinVancouver’sStanleyPark,wascreatedbythe Xexá:ls,the transformers2;thedeveloperwhoboughtthelandwasgoingtobreaktherock Historyhasbeenpreservedinsitu apartandremoveitinpreparationforbuildingahousingsubdivision.Stó:l¯o inthesetofpubliclyowned anthropologistGordonMohsdiscoveredarchaeologicalremainsinthesoil heritagesitesintheprovince,most notablyBarkervilleinthe Cariboo.Theupsurgeininterest intheprovince’spast,resulting fromthe1958centennial celebrationsofthecrowncolonyof BritishColumbiapromptedthe provincialgovernmenttobegin thetown’srestoration.This Traveltimepostcardfromthelate 1950s,byanunknownphotogra- pher,showsBarkerville’smain streetandSt.Saviour’sAnglican Church,built“almost singlehandedly”bytheReverend Reynardin1870.1 1Downs,SacredPlaces,p.118. 2KeithThorCarlson,ed.,Stó:l¯oCoastSalish HistoricalAtlas,p.6. 14 VANISHINGBRITISHCOLUMBIA TwosignificantNativeplaces: TOPSpottedLakeisanaturalsitewith culturalmeaning.Easilyvisiblefrom Highway3aboutninekilometreswestof Osoyoosinthedesertcountryofsouthern BC,itisararephenomenoncoveringabout 15hectaresandcontainingextremelyhigh concentrationsofminerals,somuchsothat asthesummerprogressesandthelakedries outitsmudformsintowhite,paleyellow, greenandbluecircles.Althoughasacred sitetothelocalNatives,itlayonprivately heldranchland.Duringperhapsthe1940s and1950sasmallresortdeveloped:onthe lakeshoretoday,surroundedbysagebrush andwildroses,thereisaruinedwooden buildingonwhichapaintedsignadvertises F. P.O. “Information-Gifts-Souvenirs.”Salt- encrustedpilingsextendintothelakefrom severalpoints.Beginningin1979,despite oppositionfromNativeleaders,theowners triedtodevelopaspa,thenstripminethe lake’smineral-richmudforshippingtothe USA.Finally,afteraprotractedcontro- versy,thefederalgovernmentandthe OkanaganNationAlliancepurchasedthe lakeinOctober2001. BOTTOMOntheLillooetRivernorthof HarrisonLake,theHolyCrossCatholic ChurchdominatesSkookumchuckVillage, whichoccupiesanarrowstripoflandbelow theroadalongtheriver.Anequally fascinatingcemeterycoversthebench betweentheroadandthechurch.Inthefall theairhasthesharpcrispnessoftheBC Interior,needingonlyalittlemoisture addedtothehardairtoproducesnow.Built in1905,thechurchhasbeendescribedas “amasterpieceofhand-craftedfolkart,” and“theculminationofawell-tutoredfolk arttraditioninthearea.”1Correspondence fromSharonSyrette:“Agroupofmostly FirstNationspeople,descendantsofthe originalbuildersofthechurch,haveformed anot-for-profitsocietycalledAmaLiisaos HeritageTrustSociety.Theprimary purposeisrestorationandmaintenanceof F. P. O. theChurchoftheHolyCross,alongwith preservingthehistory,memories,photos, traditions,etc.” 1Downs,p.96.SeealsoVeilletteandWhite, EarlyIndianVillageChurches ,and Lillooet- FraserHeritageResourceStudy,vol.1,Herit- ageConservationBranch,ProvinceofBC, 1980,p.65. THEMES&VARIATIONS 15 removedbythebulldozersfromneartherock.In1991,Mohsexcavatedthe sitefortheStó:l¯Nation,withthefinancialassistanceoftheprovincialgov-o ernment.Itgainedalevelofmeaningtomanynon-Aboriginalswhen archaeologistsuncoveredtheadjoiningc.4,000-year-oldpithouse.1 Inpost-contactcultureinthecountryside,wherehumanadditionstothe landscapearesospreadoutandabandonedplacesquicklyreturntothesoil, historianshavehaddifficultycreatingsuchaculturalgeography.Forexample, thesiteofFortSt.Johnnearthemoderntownisunrecognizable,withonly OldFortRoad,whichleadstotheriverbank,offeringaclue.Indeed,much non-Aboriginalhistoricalwritingisdecidedlyvagueaboutthespecific locationsofhomesteadsandproperties.2 Eventhefederalagencyforhistoricalcommemoration,theHistoricSites andMonumentsBoardofCanada,canmisstheboat,aswitnessedbyits monumenttoanthropologistJamesTeitatSpencesBridge.Teit’spublications werewell-documented,butnoconnectionwasmadeeitherintheresearch publicationsorintheplacementofthecairnwithhislong-timehomeinthe area–ahistoricbuildinginitsownright,apropertyonwhichthefamily cemeterystillexists–orthehomeofhisaunt,“WidowSmith,”whichstill standsinthecentreofSpencesBridgeneartheChiefWhistemnitsa CommunityComplex(page130).ThecairnendedupontheFiveNations Campgroundafewkilometresaway–alostopportunitytotieahistorical figuretogetherwithaspecificsite. SHELTERFROMTHESTORM Whereverpossible,Ihavedrawnfloorplansofhousestoprovidesomeclues aboutsocialhabits,aswellastheavailabletechnology(andbudget)ofthe occupants.Someofthemoreinterestingplansshowevidenceofcommunal dining,suchastheLawlessranchhouse(page76),orespeciallyefficientuse ofspace(HighlineHouses,page126). ABORIGINAL Formostofthepre-contactera,Nativeslivedinpithouses suchastheaforementioned Xá:ytem;later,alongthecoastintheimmediate pre-contactperiod,theybuiltsophisticatedplank-sidedhousesandlonghouses withpost-and-beamframes.3IntheInteriorformorethan5,000years,most livedinpithouses,althoughontheInteriorplateaussomebuiltmathouses– polelodgescoveredwithmatsmadeofrushesorbark–whiletheKutenaiin thesoutheasterncorneroftheprovinceusedtipislikethePlainsIndians. 4 Post-contactreservehousesarereferredtobelow. LOGCABINS Theclassicwesternlogcabinisasingle-roomstructure,per- hapspartitionedinside,madeofroundhorizontallogssaddle-notchedatthe 1www.xaytem.museum.bc.ca,andCarlson, corners,withachimneyatoneend;thiswasthestyleintroducedintoNorth pp.40-1. 5 2Forexample,MargaretOrmsby’sAPioneer AmericabySwedeswhosettledalongtheDelawareRiverin1638.Although GentlewomaninBritishColumbiagavelittle untilthebeginningoftheeighteenthcenturyonlycentralandnorthernEuro- informationabouttheactuallocationsof peansbuiltthelogcabin,overthenexthundredyearsitbecamethestandard SusanAllison’shomesinHope,Princetonand Westbank. frontierdwellinginNorthAmerica.Modifiedonlytotheextentofmetal 3Carlson,p.42,andKalman, AHistoryof chimneysandstovesreplacingtheearliermud-and-stickchimneysandstone CanadianArchitecture,vol.1,pp.365-70. fireplaces,thelogcabinwasthetypicalBritishColumbiaprospector’sortrap- 4Kalman,vol.1,pp.371-2. 6 5Walker,AmericanShelter,p.50. per’sabode. Althoughusuallyinruins,itisstillrelativelycommoninthe 6Kalman,vol.1,p.406. province,especiallyinareaswheredryclimateslowsitsrot-rate.CampDefi- 16 VANISHINGBRITISHCOLUMBIA F. P.O. anceontheHope-PrincetonHighway(page55)andDudleyShaw’scabinat ThevistaalongthePeaceRiver, Hudson’sHope(page202)aretwoclassicexamples. seenfromthecliffatthesouthend Squared-logcabinswithdovetailedcornersaremostcommoninthe ofFortSt.John’s100thStreet,is Cariboo,suchas137MileHouse(page179).Accordingtoaformerowner, almostunchangedfromfur- tradingdayswhen,about1860, theLawlesshouseonAnarchistMountain(pages31and76)issquared theHudson’sBayCompanyre- tamarackbeneathitsboardsiding. establisheditsfortontheflaton Inmorerecentyears,someofthemostbeautifularchitect-designedhouses thefarbankoftheriver.The inBChavebeenbuiltoflogs.TheMcMasterhouseonSavaryIsland(page