Canadian nonfiction

  • Sir John Franklin : expeditions to destiny

    Creator

    Dalton, Anthony

    Abstract

    After Royal Navy captain Sir John Franklin disappeared in the Arctic in 1846 while seeking the Northwest Passage, the search for his two ships, Erebus and Terror, and survivors of his expedition became one of the most exhaustive quests of the 19th century.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    [Victoria]

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • Rebel women of the gold rush : extraordinary achievements and daring adventures

    Creator

    Mole, Rich

    Abstract

    During the frenzied Klondike Gold Rush, many daring women ventured north to seek riches and adventure or to escape a troubled past. These unforgettable, strong-willed women defied the social conventions of the time and endured heartbreak and horrific conditions to build a life in the wild North. At the height of the gold rush, Martha Purdy, Nellie Cashman, Ethel Berry and a few hundred other women were conquering what came to be called the Trail of '98—a route that proved to be an impossible ordeal for many men.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    [Victoria]

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • The great Blackfoot treaties

    Creator

    Dempsey, Hugh A.

    Abstract

    The expansive ancestral territory of the Blackfoot Nation ranged from the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta to the Missouri River in Montana and from the Rocky Mountains east to the Cypress Hills. This buffalo-rich land sustained the Blackfoot for generations until the arrival of whiskey traders, unscrupulous wolfers, smallpox epidemics, and the encroachment of white settlers on traditional hunting grounds. These factors led to widespread poverty and demoralization, forcing the Blackfoot to appeal to the Canadian government for protection.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    Victoria

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • Carving the western path : by river, rail, and road through Central and Northern B.C.

    Creator

    Harvey, R. G.

    Abstract

    The history of British Columbia's transportation systems north of the Canadian National Railway's mainline may not be well known—but it certainly is colourful. Continuing the story he began in the first volume of Carving the Western Path, R.G. Harvey describes the development of river, road and rail routes that crossed the northern two-thirds of BC. This was a land of dreams and schemes that seemed to feed on each other. It started with the Collins Overland Telegraph, a communication link that was to connect Europe and America in the 1860s.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    [Victoria]

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • Yip Sang : and the first Chinese Canadians

    Creator

    Hern, Frances

    Abstract

    During the second half of the 19th century, thousands of Chinese men arrived on the west coast of North America, seeking to escape poverty and make their fortunes in the goldfields or working on the railroads. Among them was 36-year-old Yip Sang, a native of Guangdong province in southeast China, who arrived in Vancouver in 1881 after failing to strike it rich in California. His luck was about to change. Through perseverance, hard work and an eye for opportunity, the enterprising Yip Sang amassed considerable wealth to pass on to his wives and 23 children when he died in 1927.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    [Victoria]

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • Forest of secrets

    Creator

    DeMeulemeester, Linda

    Abstract

    When Cat and her friends are taken hostage and find themselves stranded in Headless Valley, it's clear they will need a miracle to get back home. Although they find an abandoned cabin for shelter, their supply of food and water is running out fast, their kidnappers are not on their heels, and a sinister threat lurks in the loft of the cabin. Cat has to make an impossible choice: risk the group's chance of survival, or risk her sister, who may be able to summon help using her magical skills. But if Sookie opens the door to Fairy, what will be the cost?

    Audience
    Juvenile**
    Publisher (Source)

    Victoria

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • No easy ride : reflections on my life in the RCMP

    Creator

    Parsons, Ian

    Abstract

    On July 3, 1961, Ian Parsons reported to RCMP Depot Division in Regina as a raw recruit. It was the beginning of a 33-year adventure that took him from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island and many points between. By the time he retired with the rank of inspector, Parsons had a policeman’s trunk full of colourful stories and insightful observations that he now shares in this memoir.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    [Victoria]

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • Frontier cowboys and the Great Divide : early ranching in BC and Alberta

    Creator

    Mather, Ken

    Abstract

    Despite being neighbouring provinces with long ranching histories, British Columbia and Alberta saw their ranching techniques develop quite differently. As most ranching styles were based on one of the two dominant styles in use south of the border, BC ranchers tended to adopt the California style whereas Alberta took its lead from Texas. But the different practices actually go back much further. Cattle cultures in southwestern Spain, sub-Saharan Africa and the British highlands all shaped the basis of North American ranching.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    [Victoria]

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • Bear Child : the life and times of Jerry Potts

    Creator

    Touchie, Rodger D.

    Abstract

    The West was a lawless domain when Jerry Potts was born into the Upper Missouri fur trade in 1838. The son of a Scottish father and a Blood mother, he was given the name Bear Child by his Blood tribe for his bravery and tenacity while he was still a teen. In 1874, when the North West Mounted Police first marched west and sat lost and starving near the Canada–U.S. border, it was Potts who led them to shelter.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    [Victoria]

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié
  • From classroom to battlefield : Victoria High School and the First World War

    Creator

    Gough, Barry

    Abstract

    In August 1914, Canada found itself jolted from its splendid isolation by the onrush of a European catastrophe. In Victoria, British Columbia, five hundred youth who had been educated at Victoria High School went to war and were forever changed by the experience. From Classroom to Battlefield follows the experiences of this cohort through the Second Battle of Ypres, when Canadians suffered terribly from the German use of poison gas; the horrors of the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, and Amiens; and, at last, victory at Mons.

    Audience
    Adult**
    Publisher (Source)

    Victoria

    Heritage House

    Non spécifié