Barkerville Gold (16 page)

Authors: Dayle Gaetz

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BOOK: Barkerville Gold

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Chinese laborers
.
Within a span of two weeks in 1860, more than 700 Chinese men arrived in the Cariboo. Most of them came directly from China, but some had taken part in the earlier California gold rush and moved north to join the Cariboo gold rush.

Chinese miners were treated badly, partly because they were willing to work for less pay than white miners. The Chinese men often moved in to work mines previously abandoned by white miners. Chinatowns thrived in Victoria, Quesnel and Barkerville. On the steep slope above Barkerville, the Chinese built terraced gardens to provide themselves and the town with fresh vegetables.

Dietz, William.
Along with Michael Burns and Vital La Force, Dutch Bill Dietz pushed north from the goldfields at Antler Creek in late 1860. The ground was covered by snow when Dutch Bill tested near a bare rock outcrop at the side of a creek and found $1.00 of gold to the pan. The creek was named Williams Creek after him.

Hurdy Gurdy Girls.
This was the name given to young girls brought north from San Francisco by Madame Bendixen. They were employed in the saloons to dance with miners and accompany them to the bar for a drink. The girls drank fruit juice and were paid fifty cents for every drink a miner bought.

The girls were originally brought to North America by a man known as “Boss Hurdy.” Most of them came from very poor German families, and their fathers were given money for letting them go. The girls were then forced to work until their father's debt was paid back. However, this was almost impossible to do because the pay was so low.

Moses, Wellington Delaney.
Born in England, Moses traveled to California during the 1849 gold rush. He moved north when the California gold rush ended and the Cariboo gold rush was in full swing. In Victoria, Moses, a black man, opened the Pioneer Shaving Saloon, known for providing the first bathtub in Victoria. He then moved to Barkerville, where he opened his barbershop and placed an ad in the
Cariboo Sentinel
that promised “the restoration of hair in one week” by using his famous “Hair Inâ

Sometimes called the Black Barber of Barkerville, Moses became famous as the man who recognized a unique gold stickpin worn by James Barry. This led to Barry's arrest and subsequent hanging for the murder of Moses' friend Morgan Blessing on the road between Quesnel and Barkerville.

Stout, Ned.
In the summer of 1862, Ned Stout had a plan. No claims were left in Richfield above the canyon, and no one had found anything worthwhile below the canyon, so he decided to prospect a gulch containing a stream that ran into Williams Creek below the canyon. Near the surface Stout found dull, waterworn gold, but when he dug deeper he came up with the more valuable bright, coarse gold. Stout gradually worked his way up “Stout's Gulch” and earned about $1,000 a day.

Mystery from History
Dayle Campbell Gaetz

A thrilling romp through history and
present-day skullduggery

While exploring near an abandoned oceanfront mansion, Katie, Sheila and Rusty stumble across a long-buried mystery and a present-day crime. Seeing themselves as amateur detectives, the three friends take on a case the local police department seems determined to ignore, and in the process they put their own lives in the utmost danger.

Spanning more than a century and covering a large chunk of the history of Victoria, the conspiracy reaches from Spanish pirates to the highest levels of the present-day police department. Intertwined with bloodthirsty pirates, Native legends, stolen gold-rush bullion and a lost diary, Katie, Sheila and Rusty uncover an international ring of art thieves and smugglers who are tied to the past in the most unexpected way.

Discounted by the police and eager to solve the case on their own, the amateur detectives have their lives threatened several times; they must use all their resources to outwit the thieves.

Mystery from History
is a thrilling romp through colonial history and present-day skullduggery, with three likeable detectives. Seamlessly weaving the historical narrative with a contemporary story, Dayle Campbell Gaetz has written a story to please both crime and history buffs. In the spirit of Eric Wilson,
Mystery from History
is sure to delight and intrigue young readers.

J
UVENILE FICTION
1-55143-200-5 $8.95 CAN $6.95 US

The best-selling author of a dozen books for young readers,
Dayle Campbell Gaetz
is a full-time author and creative writing instructor. She lives in Campbell River, BC.

Other books by
Dayle Campbell Gaetz

Mystery from History
(Orca Book Publishers)
No Problem
(Orca Book Publishers: Orca Soundings)
Living Freight
(Roussan Publishing Inc.)
The Golden Rose
(Pacific Educational Press)
Night of the Aliens
(Roussan Publishing Inc.)
Alien Rescue
(Roussan Publishing Inc.)
The Mystery at Eagle Lake
(Quintin Publishers)
The Case of the Belly-Up Fish
(ITP Nelson)
Spoiled Rotten
(Maxwell Macmillan)
Tell Me the Truth
(Maxwell Macmillan)
Heather, Come Back
(Maxwell Macmillan)