Cariboo Cowboy

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

The story of Harry Marriott begins on a bright, clear morning in May
1912, when the 21-year-old cowboy stepped off a CP train at Ashcroft,
B.C.—the gateway to the great ranching country along the Cariboo Road
to Fort George (later Prince George). Harry was traveling to the Gang
Ranch, at the time the largest spread in North America.

Hired as a cowboy, Marriott was soon busting horses and driving cattle.
He worked for a number of outfits and, in 1919, filed a land claim on
Big Bar Lake flat, where he soon started his own cattle ranch.
Eventually, Marriott owned a number of ranches, which he consolidated as
the O.K. Ranching Company, one of the largest spreads in the Cariboo.
His wife, Peg, operated the Big Bar Guest Ranch for 43 years.

For Harry Marriott, the Cariboo was the only place to live. His love of
the country and his tales of days gone by capture the spirit of a place
and its people with affection and pride. He tells about his life with
cowboys, Natives, homesteaders, and fellow ranchers, of whom he notes,
“They were a good class of folk who would always feed you and make you
welcome when you came riding by.”

Harry Marriott died in 1969 at the age of 79. His autobiography is well
told, engaging, and leaves the reader wanting more.