Born for the Wild Country: Big Feet and a Mouth to Match

David W. Leonard is the project historian (Northern Alberta) in the
Historic Sites and Archives Service, Alberta Community Development. He
is also the author of Delayed Frontier: The Peace River Country to 1909
and the co-author of The Lure of the Peace R

The Chilcotin Forest country west of Williams Lake, British Columbia, is
a rugged environment where individuals wishing to live apart from the
mainstream of humanity can do so without being too far away from settled
society in case of emergency. One such individual is Ted Choate, 70, who
was drawn to the area because, as stated in his second book, Born for
the Wild Country, “so-called civilization and Choate could never mix
without dire consequences.”

Choate, now known as Chilco Choate, was born and raised near White
Rock, British Columbia, and spent most of his life doing various jobs in
the province’s rugged interior. In later years, he settled into what
would be his favorite occupation, trail guide and outfitter. Along the
way, he gained a reputation as a vocal conservation advocate and a
storyteller, and so his own story will become a natural read for all
those attracted by the human side of the development of central British
Columbia.

The author’s first book, Unfriendly Neighbours, recalled his volatile
relations with the Gang Ranch, one of the biggest of such operations in
the province’s history. This second volume constitutes Choate’s
autobiography. In a down-to-earth manner, he describes his battles with
politicians, government bureaucrats, and entrepreneurs, usually over
matters relating to the environment. According to his friend John
Taylor, “[T]here isn’t a newspaper publisher, bureaucrat or
politician who hasn’t been held accountable by the exhaustive stream
of Choate letters that flow through the Riske Creek Post Office.”