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. "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
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.
