Boudreau Pens New Book

Sunday, April 08, 2007 03:59 AM

Local Historian-author Jack Boudreau has penned another book that focuses on the early days of the Prince George region,

Sternwheelers and Canyon Cats, details the history of the upper Fraser River from the appearance of the early fur traders in this area, through to the completion of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1914.

During this period of time at least two hundred people lost their lives fighting the rapids, canyons, logjams and whirlpolls. By far the most treacherous stretch of water was the Grand Canyon, located 160 km upriver of Fort George - now Prince George.

With Green's Rock in the upper canyon and the whirlpool waiting in the lower canyon, often all that emerged from the canyon was the crumpled-up remains of scows or rafts.

During the scowing season of 1912, Fort George police pulled 80 bodies from the river. Just how many more bodies remained tangled in the debris below or drifted on downriver during the hours of darkness, cannot be known.

During the hectic years, a total of 12 sternwheelers worked the upper river. Two of these vessels were so large that a portion of the riverbank near Tete Jaune had to be removed so they could turn around. These two vessels grossed 700 tons each, and where the water was deep, each could carry 300 tons of freight and tow another 100 tons on scows.

From 1911 through 1913, a group of men called Canyon Cats took up residence at the Grand Canyon. They moved scows, boats and rafts through the perilous water for those who could afford their servces. In one instance four of five canyon cats were drowned when their scow hit Green's Rock. Boudreau writes "Such was the courage of these men, that the lone survivor made his way back to the head of the canyon and brought another scow on through."

This book also describes the dangers and hardships involved in building the railway that generally followed the river. Boudreau says "The many graves in the hospital cemetaries and along the railway grade gave proof that the death toll was indeed very high. It is a fact that the reports of deaths became so commonplace that they were barely considered newsworthy".

The completion of this railway in 1914 was the greatest day in the history of Prince George, for as one of the pioneers stated, "That was the day that the feeling of isolation left here forever."

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