Unfriendly Neighbours

Nora D.S. Robins is the co-ordinator of Internal Collections, University
of Calgary Libraries.

Huge and lonely, with some of the highest mountains, wildest rivers,
thickest forests, and biggest cattle ranches in British Columbia, the
Chilcotin Region is a fascinating place. The fur traders were the first
Europeans to see the hills: Fort Chilcotin, a Hudson’s Bay Company
trading post, was built in 1828. Then came the gold seekers, followed by
the cattlemen. In the 1860s, Jerome and Thaddeus Harper began ranching
in the Chilcotin, and because they were pioneers in the use of the
multibladed gang plough, their ranch became known as the Gang Ranch. For
years it was the largest ranch in North America, covering more than one
million acres, with 12,000 head of cattle. It has been owned by a number
of people, mostly Americans, and has been in constant conflict with its
neighbors.

This is the story of Ted “Chilco” Choate and his love-hate
relationship with the Gang Ranch. Choate arrived in the Chilcotin in
1952, as a 16-year-old greenhorn, with a saddle, a bedroll, and several
guns. He found work with big game outfits and on ranches, including the
Gang Ranch. He eventually became a licensed guide and a big-game
outfitter. For the last 40 years Choate has lived on the shores of Lake
Gaspard, much to the distress of the Gang Ranch. He is a man who does
not hesitate to speak his mind, and he does so in this lively and
entertaining book filled with tales about the Gang Ranch, “the place
from where at least half the B.C. cowboy stories seemed to originate.”

Choate presents an interesting picture of life in the Chilcotin, a life
of independence and self-reliance. His relationship with the Gang Ranch
is discussed in no uncertain terms, and his stories about the ranch are
often humorous, often sad, often enough to make one’s blood boil.