One Man's Gold Rush

John C. Bryant’s account of his 25 years as a professional miner in British Columbia is unique. Like tens of thousands of other hopefuls, he joined in the Fraser River gold rush in 1858. Unlike most of the others who were disappointed, however, Bryant continued to follow the golden grail for a quarter of a century—Cariboo, Big Bend, the Omineca. Although he never struck it rich he made a comfortable living. Comfortable in the economic sense, that is; life as a prospector, placer miner and trapper was anything but comfortable in fact, with dangers and hardships all in a day’s work.
Just as Bryant came to know almost every creek bed, he also came to know almost every miner who participated in the gold rushes that helped to establish Canada’s westernmost province. Better yet, he remembered them all in vivid detail and provided firsthand insight into characters and events that are not to be found elsewhere.
First published in Dr. W.W.Walkem’s Stories of Early British Columbia in 1914, Bryant’s outstanding career is little known today because most copies of the first and only printing of Walkem’s book are believed to have been destroyed in a warehouse fire.
One Man’s Gold Rush is as John Bryant told it to Dr. Walkem. Only necessary refinements and/or revisions have been made. With annotations, an appendix and an index added, a rare and unique story becomes an even more valuable addition to the British Columbia story.