Goats on Morrice Mountain

OK guys, here's some more history for you. We'll give special notice to Ardent here, because I believe he flies a helicopter and he mentioned an old cabin having fallen down.
In my book I briefly mention Milt Warren, who had a career in the BC game department, knew everyone in the north and plays an important role in my book, and I meeting one evening with an old time prospector from the Rocky Mountain Trench area. This old prospector had not only made the venture to Prince George, but was on his way to Vancouver, to see a sister he hadn't seen in forty years. Milt asked him if he just left his cabin as it was. He said he took his rifle to Fort Graham. Out of the clear blue I said, "What about the other gun," without knowing he had another gun. With his hands he motioned it was a revolver and he said he had greased it good and buried by his cabin. He even told me where from his cabin he had buried it. He then went to Vancouver and died down there. That cabin was above the waterline of where Williston Lake would be, so the remains of the cabin are still there, as likely the gun will also be there, as those old prospectors never told anything but the truth.
So Ardent, if you would be interested in taking a metal detector with you when you were in the area and digging up the old gun, I could give you the exact coordinates. It is about three miles from Delkluz Lake.
Bruce
 
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H4831 said:
OK guys, here's some more history for you. We'll give special notice to Ardent here, because I believe he flies a helicopter and he mentioned an old cabin having fallen down.
In my book I briefly mention Milt Warren, who had a career in the BC game department, knew everyone in the north and plays an important role in my book, and I meeting one evening with an old time prospector from the Rocky Mountain Trench area. This old prospector had not only made the venture to Prince George, but was on his way to Vancouver, to see a sister he hadn't seen in forty years. Milt asked him if he just left his cabin as it was. He said he took his rifle to Fort Graham. Out of the clear blue I said, "What about the other gun," with of course not knowing he had another gun. With his hands he motioned it was a revolver and he said he had greased it good and buried by his cabin. He even told me where from his cabin he had buried it. He then went to Vancouver and died down there. That cabin was above the waterline of where Williston Lake would be, so the remains of the cabin are still there, as likely the gun will also be there, as those old prospectors never told anything but the truth.
So Ardent, if you would be interested in taking a metal detector with you when you were in the area and digging up the old gun, I could give you the exact coordinates. It is about three miles from Delkluz Lake.
Bruce
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Sounds like an offer too good to pass up.
 
Still a good handful of goats on morice mtn. I know of a few to come out of there by native's, but no season otherwise. Looks like it would be an easy stroll up for photos, Iv always said I was going to, just never have, yet.

I think the most goats Iv seen on one rock was last year flying over Nadina mtn, I lost track at about 80, and that was just on the back side. To bad that leh area got closed down.
 
The Morice Mountain, Nadina Mountain area is one of the best, maybe the best, mountain goat ranges in BC.
 
Yes, sad that our wilderness is going, but a great part of our history was represented by the fine old white Catholic churches built at so many historical and prominent places.
I make this statement, completely ignoring anything to do with religion, but only for the many white churches that were once so much a part of our history.
Fort St. James, in north-central BC is the second place in BC built by white people, east of the Rockey Mountains in the Arctic water shed. First place goes to Fort McCleod. The oldest building in Ft. St. James is the big white, Catholic church, in a bay on the north shore. The big white church on the south end of Babine Lake was a great land mark for VFR flying anywhere, in that area of many lakes and rivers, where the white church stood out as a sure, identifying landmark.
 
H4831 said:
Yes, sad that our wilderness is going, but a great part of our history was represented by the fine old white Catholic churches built at so many historical and prominent places.
I make this statement, completely ignoring anything to do with religion, but only for the many white churches that were once so much a part of our history.
Fort St. James, in north-central BC is the second place in BC built by white people, east of the Rockey Mountains in the Arctic water shed. First place goes to Fort McCleod. The oldest building in Ft. St. James is the big white, Catholic church, in a bay on the north shore. The big white church on the south end of Babine Lake was a great land mark for VFR flying anywhere, in that area of many lakes and rivers, where the white church stood out as a sure, identifying landmark.
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Lots of history in the area for sure, the pictographs are pretty neat. Ft. St James is west of the Rockies, in the Fraser drainage, perhaps your mixing it up with Ft St. John?
 
I Love this thread !! H4831 is always a great read....Thanks H4831 for another great Canadian history lesson !!
Rob NTC223
 
j_06 said:
Lots of history in the area for sure, the pictographs are pretty neat. Ft. St James is west of the Rockies, in the Fraser drainage, perhaps your mixing it up with Ft St. John?
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Thanks for this, but no, I have been too many times to each location to mix them up. In the post is just a typo.
In my book, Outposts and Bush Planes, I have it correct, of course, in talking about it.
The correct term is actually, "west of the Rocky mountains in the Arctic water shed."
We're talking about the first settlements of white people in BC and the Fraser River Pacific water shed was settled by white people for a lot of years previous those who settled on the Arctic water shed.
 
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Whatever happened that statement is still incorrect, Ft.st James and the surrounding areas are in the Fraser/pacific watershed. Perhaps you can see why I figured you had it confused ft St. John, the oldest white settlement east of the Rockies within the Arctic watershed with Ft st James, the second oldest settlement west of the Rockies in the Fraser/Pacific watershed.
 
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H4831 said:
Thanks for this, but no, I have been too many times to each location to mix them up. In the post is just a typo.
In my book, Outposts and Bush Planes, I have it correct quite the odd time in talking about it.
The correct term is actually, "west of the Rocky mountains in the Arctic water shed."
We're talking about the first settlements of white people in BC and the Fraser River Pacific water shed was settled by white people for a lot of years previous those who settled on the Arctic water shed.
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I think the watersheds change at Summit Lake.
 
j_06 said:
Whatever happened that statement is still incorrect, Ft.st James and the surrounding areas are in the Fraser/pacific watershed. Perhaps you can see why I figured you had it confused ft St. John, the oldest white settlement east of the Rockies within the Arctic watershed with Ft st James, the second oldest settlement west of the Rockies in the Fraser/Pacific watershed.
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Statement is correct, it is just that BC is too big to cover it all with simple statements.
The entire north western side of BC, from just a few miles north of Prince Rupert, all flow into rivers ending in the Pacific Ocean, in US Alaskan waters.
 
Yes, Summit Lake is in the Arctic water shed and it extends south about twenty miles toward Prince George.
The early easterners got access to the lower Fraser River in about 1859, just as a great rush was on for placer gold, culminating in the great Barkerville discoveries and with it, all the discoveries on the lower Fraser, including all the towns named for a gold bar on the old Fraser canyon highway.
 
H4831 said:
Statement is correct, it is just that BC is too big to cover it all with simple statements.
The entire north western side of BC, from just a few miles north of Prince Rupert, all flow into rivers ending in the Pacific Ocean, in US Alaskan waters.
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I know this, what does that have to do with but your statements? You originally had written "Fort St. James, in north-central BC is the second place in BC built by white people, east of the Rockey Mountains in the Arctic water shed." Which was wrong in both location and what watershed its in, the claimed " "The correct term is actually, "west of the Rocky mountains in the Arctic water shed." which is still wrong. Ft st James is west of the Rockies in the Fraser water shed, very simply covered.
 
j_06 said:
I know this, what does that have to do with but your statements? You originally had written "Fort St. James, in north-central BC is the second place in BC built by white people, east of the Rockey Mountains in the Arctic water shed." Which was wrong in both location and what watershed its in, the claimed " "The correct term is actually, "west of the Rocky mountains in the Arctic water shed." which is still wrong. Ft st James is west of the Rockies in the Fraser water shed, very simply covered.
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My statement was correct. The Rocky Mountain range is not the eastern boundary of BC. Lots of area east of the Rocky range that is in the Arctic water shed.
That's it. I am finished with this thread, or anything else to do the geography of BC.
 
reggie dunlop said:
I think the watersheds change at Summit Lake.
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Just north of Summit Lake, as I stated. I flew in a commercial operation out of Prince George, with sometimes several landings at Fort St. James in one day. In fact, Lamb Lake is named after me, for the trips we made into it and it is about half way between Prince George and Fort St. James.

Lamb Lake is shown on the BC recreational Atlas, half way from Prince George to Fort St. James and just south of Great Beaver Lake.

Bruce Lamb
 
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So are they still there? I'm going to fail in another part of the province but I'm sure the poachers would love to know. I don't give any information anymore.
 
H4831 said:
Ardent, I'm beginning to think that you would hardly recognize the country back then!
One thing I'm wondering is what is the oldest navigation charts, or maps, you used? I saved all my old maps and they have really turned into really hard to find artifacts. Mine go back to the early 'forties, with most of them in the 1946 to 48 range. One thing that was good is they showed any cabin the map makers knew of, and marked it with a little square with a capital C in the square. Thus, if one was going to have to land because of weather, he could look for a lake with a cabin marked on it, to hole up in.
Williston Lake wasn't formed yet, flying up the trench would mean going basically up the middle of the lake. There were no roads in the area all the way to Fort Ware and beyond, that had been made with any type of machine, or even horse, power, north of McLeod. The only road to the Germansen area was a summer trail from Fort ST. James. A winter tractor (caterpillar type) road ran from Old Hogem to Aiken Lake and beyond, to service the mining industry of the 1030s. The old Swedes and Norwegians cut mile post markers for every mile post on the road. They cut them from green trees at least a foot across and the traditional great axeman ship of those men is well shown on the markers. They became highly sought after artifacts forty years ago. I can look at mile post 64 as I type this!
Bruce
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love your posts H, brings back memories. Worked on the bridge across the Ominica (not sure of the spelling) river at Germanson in the early seventies.
Was a new steel bridge for mining exploration. There was an old wooden one there but it was not sufficent for the heavy equipment.
Took the drivers a full day to bring in the girders (two at a time)over the road from Fort St James and somedays they didn't make it.
Beautiful country. The old quy at the post in Germanson shot a very nice moose one day which I accidently chased out to him.
 
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