Abstract
The history of gold mining on the Queen Charlottes (Haida Gwaii), the Fraser River, and in particular the Cariboo, with short bios of many of the important figures in the gold rush such as James Douglas and Matthew Baillie Begbie, as well as those of many of the independent miners. The book deals with the conflict between the First Nations and the California miners. Also about the role of the Royal Engineers and the black police force, and of course the Hudson's Bay Company. It also shows how the gold rush influenced Confederation, bringing in BC in 1871.