Overland from Canada to British Columbia: By Mr. Thomas McMicking of Queenston, Canada West (The Pioneers of British Columbia) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0774803932 ISBN 13: 9780774803939

Publisher: UBC Press, 1981

Synopsis

Spurred on by reports of gold in the Cariboo, adventurers from all over the world descended on British Columbia in the mid-1800s. Among them were ambitious easterners who accepted the challenge of the shorter but more arduous overland route across the prairies and the Rockies. One such man determined to find his fortune in the West was Thomas McMicking – destined to lead the largest and best organized group of “Overlanders” into British Columbia. His record of their epic journey is a valuable historical document that possesses the universal appeal of an adventure story. McMicking presents a vivid image of the hardships of the overland route, the dangers, both real and imagined – like the apparently threatening Plains Indians who turned out to be “our best friends” – facts about important officials and settlements, and scientific observations of the physical environment. But this is also a very human document that describes a journey of self-discovery revealing a sensitive man’s encounter with a bountiful and beautiful yet hostile and alien land.

About this title

About the Author:

Joanne Leduc is the great-great-granddaughter of Catherine and Augustus Schubert, who travelled with the McMicking party of Overlanders.

Review:

"An excellent contribution to Canadian studies. McMicking wrote well and was an astute observer. We learn much about prairie transortation, wildlife, and native peoples. Altogether, this is a first-rate contribution."―Western Historical Quarterly

About this edition

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 1981
• ISBN 10: 0774803932
• ISBN 13: 9780774803939
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 165
• Editor: Leduc Joanne