About the Book
Slumach’s Gold chronicles what is possibly Canada’s greatest lost-mine story. It searches out the truth behind a Salish man’s hanging for murder in 1891 and tracks the intriguing legend about him that grew after his death. It was a legend that turned into a drama of international fascination when Slumach—the hanged criminal—was mysteriously linked to gold nuggets “the size of walnuts.” The stories claimed that Slumach had placed a curse on a hidden motherlode to protect it from interlopers and trespassers just before he plunged to his death “at the wrong end of a five-strand rope.” Although many have attempted to find Slumach’s gold over the past 100 years, following tantalizing clues that are part of the legend itself, none have succeeded—or have they?
Rick Antonson, Mary Trainer and Brian Antonson have diligently sifted through history and myth, separating fact from fiction, but leaving the legend intact—along with the promise of gold yet to be found by some future gold seeker.
About the Author(s)
Brian Antonson co-founded Nunaga Publishing with Rick Antonson and Mary Trainer in 1972. Together they published more than twenty-five books, including their co-authored In Search of a Legend: Slumach’s Gold, which was re-released in a much-expanded version by Heritage House in 2007. He is co-author of Whistle Posts West: Railway Tales from British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon, published by Heritage House in 2015. Brian was production director at CKNW/98 New Westminster and general manager at CFVR/850 in Abbotsford, and was associate dean of Broadcast and Media Communications at the British Columbia Institute of Technology from 1985 to 2010. He lives in Mission, British Columbia, Canada.
Rick Antonson co-founded Nunaga Publishing with Brian Antonson and Mary Trainer in 1972. Together they published more than twenty-five books, including their co-authored In Search of a Legend: Slumach’s Gold, which was re-released in a much-expanded version by Heritage House in 2007. He is co-author of Whistle Posts West: Railway Tales from British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon, published by Heritage House in 2015. Rick was president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver from 1993 to 2014. He lives in Predator Ridge, British Columbia, Canada.
Mary Trainer co-founded Nunaga Publishing with Rick Antonson and Brian Antonson in 1972. Together they published more than twenty-five books, including their co-authored In Search of a Legend: Slumach’s Gold, which was re-released in a much-expanded version by Heritage House in 2007. She is co-author of Whistle Posts West: Railway Tales from British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon, published by Heritage House in 2015. Mary has been writing about British Columbia for four decades and was communications coordinator with Metro Vancouver for twenty years. She lives in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada.
Reviews
“A fresh new look at one of British Columbia’s enduring mysteries.”
— Chuck Davis, author of Vancouver Then and Now
“Qualitifes as a British Columbia classic.”
— Alan Twigg, BC BookWorld
“A great piece of research that reads like a mystery novel or a CSI episode . . . Slumach’s Gold combines legend, myth, documentation and oral history. It’s a masterpiece.”
— Richard Thomas Wright, author of Barkerville and Overlanders
