The second to last project (this is the last) was a final research project on the same topic that we chose for our document analysis. This project was to include the primary document we had used for the document analysis, as well as several more primary or secondary. For my project I was investigating more on the average life of Pre-Confederate gold miners in the Cariboo. I wanted to find out as much as I could that made the miners who they were. Was being a miner as difficult as it seemed, and what all the dilemmas and hardships that the miners had encountered. There were quite a few, but I did have to narrow it down. While doing this project the primary and secondary sources were of course very useful, but primary sources proved to be a bit more so. Below is my final project.
One of the big reasons that the western part of Canada became settled, is because of the gold rush in the Cariboo. There were many people in the area before the Cariboo gold rush, but the gold rush brought people in from all over the place, including Americans. All miners that came to the Cariboo had one particular thing in mind. This was the common ideology of going to the goldfields, striking a claim, and becoming richer with gold, than they could spend in their lifetime. Unfortunately very few miners actually achieved their goals. However, did gold miners not achieve their goals because of lack of gold, or was being a gold miner more difficult than most people anticipate? After looking into this, there are three other main reasons why being a prospector was so difficult. Mining was a very expensive operation and many miners went bankrupt. As well there were many natural obstacles, and there were other miners. Due to these three hazards, plenty of miners in the Cariboo packed up their bags and left.
Due to the fact that the Cariboo was a fairly new settled region in British Columbia, nature was more an enemy to gold miners than a friend. The land did provide the miners with food, water , and of course their gold, but at a cost. Of course, because the Cariboo is in Canada the winters are going to be very hard and cold. Snow piled up and mining would have been harder to do. Most miners did not stick around in the winter, but some did. In his journal, S.G. Hathaway mentions of a snow storm that was so bad that many trees fell over, and one of them fell on to his friends cabin, almost killing him (Oct. 13). As well Hathaway makes mentions of people getting trapped by snow and that he will have to leave the area soon as he does not want to get trapped (Sept.28-Oct.26). However the Cariboo was not only dangerous come winter time. According to Mica Jorgenson, Barkerville and its surroundings had “steep, narrow gullies and extreme temperatures [which] made it a difficult place to live” (113). British Columbia is well known for its mountains and valleys and the Cariboo region was no exception. Barkerville itself was built in a valley. The Cariboo had a force of nature that unfortunately claimed many miner. It was unrelenting and took every chance to make the miners’ lives difficult.
Nowadays we do not fear the weather much in Canada because we have great walls surrounding use, but the gold miners did not have the pleasant houses we have today. The Cariboo was a new settled area, and many settlers did not spend time in developing a city and community. Most settlers were quickly setting up some form of shelter and then they went mining. In her article “Eldorado Vernacular, Barkerville and Its Buildings”, Jennifer Iredale talks about the first and second generations of buildings in Barkerville and the surrounding areas. Iredale describes the first buildings as, “Canvas tents and rough log shelters” (29) and there was an, “array of log houses, sheds, shanties, shacks, lean-tos, and at least two tent” (29). Most people simply threw what they had up because they thought they would not need a permanent residences. There were log cabins out in the goldfields that miners could rent or buy, “[w]hich are rented by the labouring classes, for which they pay from four to six dollars per month” (Iredale 28). Although there were permanent buildings for people, the buildings were lacking in protection. The log cabins, being only rough and unlathed, were drafty from wind and easily breachable by rain. Many buildings in the field had only dirt floors. Houses that were properly made were only in the later generations of housing that was in Barkerville itself. The good houses were for the rich, stores, and the hospital. Because of the lack of affordable good housing in the Cariboo, many miners had little effective protection from the elements.
Now due to the lack of proper shelter for the miners, many were robbed and killed. Many miners would have been killed by animals like bears, wolves, and cougars, but the killers of most miners were men. Many thieves simply waited for some unfortunate miner to find a big claim, then the thief would rob the man or in some cases kill him. Another way that nature tortured miners is by allowing the robbers to hide, dash out and grab the wallets/sacs of gold, and dash back into the woods making an easy getaway (Hathaway, Sept.28). Many miners ended up meeting their end because of the scum of man. If a miner was robbed they were likely to have to leave because they would be unable to support themselves in the goldfields.
Just like any sorts of mining operation a lot of money is needed, this kind of money most miners did not have. A lot of money was put into the failure of housing and a lot of money was stolen. However the initial trip up to the Cariboo was costly. Hathaway wrote that, “50 lbs of flour, 18lbs Bacon, 32 lbs Beans- 100 lbs in all, for which we paid $90” (July 15). $90 for basic food supplies was not to bad at the time, but as they got closer to the Cariboo prices got way higher. According to Hathaway, when he got into the Cariboo region, flour was $1.25 a pound whereas tea was $3.00 a pound (Aug.6). However the biggest kicker for the miners was the lack of gold. After spending most their money in supplies, mining equipment, and travel most miners though they would make their money back in a few days. Some very fortunate miners were able to find big veins of gold, but most did not. Hathaway barely found enough gold to break even on most days. There were so many miners out in the goldfields and so many were finding a little bit here and there. There was so much competition for miners and most of the big stakes were gone before they even got up to the Cariboo. The costs of a mining trip was to much for many miners and most went bankrupt and some could not even return home.
The gold miners in the Cariboo in the 1850’s and early 1860’s had a very difficult life due to the difficulty of the environment, poor housing conditions, the interference of other people, and the overall cost of mining. These all combined, gave miners a very hard time. Some miners however did push through some so these issues, but not all prevailed. Many lost their lives out in the goldfields, either because of nature or other people. If the gold miners had some of the luxuries that we have now, many would have had more luck in the fields, but they had to do with what they had. However thanks to these brave and determined miners British Columbia and the Cariboo was colonized and expanded.
Hathaway, S.G. Cariboo Gold Rush: Hathaway, S.G.-1862 Diary, (Heritage Branch, Province of British Columbia, 2001).
Iredale, Jennifer. “Eldorado Vernacular, Barkerville and Its Buildings”. (BC Studies, 2015), Issue 185, pp.27-47.
Mica Jorgenson, “‘Into That Country to Work’: Aboriginal Economic Activities During the Barkerville Gold Rush,” (BC Studies), Spring 2015, pp.109-136.