Glyphs and Gallows: The Rock Art of Clo-oose and the Wreck of the John Bright

Kerry Abel is a professor of history at Carleton University. She is the author of Drum Songs: Glimpses of Dene History, co-editor of Aboriginal Resource Use in Canada: Historical and Legal Aspects, and co-editor of Northern Visions: New Perspectives on the North in Canadian History.

A fascination with aboriginal rock art launched high-school teacher
Peter Johnson on a personal odyssey to uncover the mysteries of a
notorious episode in British Columbia’s history. In 1869, the ship
John Bright was wrecked off Vancouver Island and rumors surfaced that
survivors had been massacred by local Indians. Eventually, two
Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) men were tried on murder charges and hanged in a
public display in front of their fellow villagers. Johnson became
intrigued by the possibility that the events had been commemorated in
petroglyphs at Clo-oose on Vancouver Island. This book is a record of
both his search for the petroglyphs (and their meaning) and for the
historical evidence that might illuminate the episode. The book ends
with a call for government recognition and protection of the Clo-oose
petroglyphs.

The ingredients for a compelling story are all here: seafaring
adventure, dramatic deaths, a mystery, and a quest. Using mostly
published secondary sources and 19th-century newspapers, the author has
done a creditable job of historical research, and he wisely puts the
events in historical context. The story becomes somewhat confusing in
the final presentation, however, because the thematic organization takes
us back and forth in time, never allowing us to become emotionally
engaged in the story line. In alternating chapters, Johnson details his
search for the petroglyphs; in the final chapter, he describes them and
ponders their meaning.

The text is out rather like a Web page, with the main text interspersed
with illustrations, captions, and boxed texts; readers unaccustomed to
the demands of Web site reading will find it difficult to follow.
Ultimately, Glyphs and Gallows is a modest but interesting contribution
to local historical lore.