Chilcotin: Preserving Pioneer Memories

Louis A. Knafla is a professor of history at the University of Calgary
and the co-editor of Law, Society, and the State: Essays in Modern Legal
History.

The Chilcotin stretches from the Fraser River in eastern British
Columbia for some 200 miles to Anaheim and Charlotte Lake in the west,
straddling Highway 20 and the Chilcotin and Chilanko Rivers. This
chronicle of the lives and adventures of the region’s early pioneers
builds upon the History and Legends of the Chilcotin, which was
published as a centennial project in 1958. Railways, bridges, roads,
mines, traplines, Natives, and police are some of the topics surveyed in
its 28 chapters, which abound with stories from some 17 communities or
localities.

The authors are granddaughters of Tom and Nellie Hance, who grew up,
married, and raised families in the Chilcotin. Their attractively
produced book contains a wealth of photographs and illustrations; it
concludes, fittingly, with an elegant poem by Inspector William L.
Fernie, who retired in 1934 after 32 years with the provincial police.