The Chilcotin War

A Tale of Death and Reprisal

By (author): Rich Mole
ISBN 9781894974967
Softcover | Publication Date: September 21, 2009
Book Dimensions: 5.5 in x 8.5 in
144 Pages
$9.95 CAD

About the Book

This colourful account of the Chilcotin War is an insightful and absorbing examination of an event that helped to shape the course of British Columbia history. In the spring of 1864, 14 men building a road along the Homathko River in British Columbia were killed by a Tsilhqot’in (Chilcotin) war party. Other violent deaths followed in the conflict that became known as the Chilcotin War. In this true tale of clashing cultures, greed, revenge and betrayal, Rich Mole explores the causes and deadly consequences of a troubling episode in British Columbia history that is still subject to debate almost 150 years later. Using contemporary sources, Mole brings to life the principal players in this tragic drama: Alfred Waddington, the Victoria businessman who decided to build the ill-fated toll road across the territory of the independent Tsilhqot’in, attempting to connect Bute Inlet to the Cariboo goldfields of the interior, and Klatsassin, the fierce Tsilhqot’in war chief whose people had already endured the devastation of smallpox.

About the Author(s)

Rich Mole is a former broadcaster, communications consultant and president of a Vancouver Island advertising agency. Fuelled by a lifelong fascination with history, he writes extensively about the events and people of Canada's past.

Reviews

"With every passing year, we seem to gain a greater awareness of the forces that shaped the events of the 19th century, and Mole's work reflects that. He does not simply recite the bare facts of the events; he tries to find the reasons why those events occurred . . . Mole has written a highly accessible account that will appeal to readers of all ages." —Dave Obee, the Times Colonist