Monday, February 25, 2013

Hot Spring House 1859-1866

    In 1848 news of the gold discovery in California raced around the world, and a William Stein left Ireland to seek his fortune in the new land. From the wild and woolly port of San Fransisco he made his way to the foothills and up the San Joaquin River.  He did better than some, and was reported to have holdings on the tributary named Stanislaus, beyond Sonora, and near an area known as the Mormon Diggings. Gold rushes are always short lived, and by 1855 things were winding down in California.
   In 1858 a Hudson's Bay trader far up the west coast in what would soon be Canada made the mistake of shipping several hundred oz. of placer gold to the San Fransisco mint for refining, and the news raced through the region like wildfire. The first flotilla of miners began arriving in the new colony of British Columbia that summer. William Stein arrived early on, making his way up the lower Fraser River and up Harrison Lake by paddle-wheeler to Port Douglas during the early stages of the trail construction.
   He made it as far as what was known as 'the hot spring', and stopped in his tracks. The locals out here had been using the traditional site for centuries no doubt, but it still would have been in a natural state pretty much, and I've often wondered what it looked like back then. While others continued up the newly cut Douglas Portage route to the discovery on the upper Fraser, Mr. Stein just camped out there at the hot spring for the Winter taking possession of the place and started in on some 'improvements', spending $200 draining and clearing the area and putting up a rough bath house and roadhouse. And the old place has never been the same since.
   In April the next year he made a proposal for his venture to the Justice of the Peace for British Columbia, Charles S. Nicol, 20 miles down the wagon road at the bustling tent city of Port Douglas.  Nicol wrote a letter April 22 1859 to Col. Moody of the Royal Engineers, out lining Stein's roadhouse proposal, '... to rent, or lease the site of the hot spring.'
Nicol called it  '...a natural curiosity', and recommended Stein's proposal, '...as it would be a great advantage to have a bath house', adding that Stein had already commenced building a rough sort of bath house. He was given the 40 acre pre-emption #11 Douglas district.
   Stein had  engaged the services of an Irish handyman and former miner Goodwin Purcell, to assist him, and a rough roadhouse had been in operation since the previous season.
Stein's guests used the hot spring for free, others paid 1 shilling, soap and towel included.
I don't know what the deal was for the locals, anything they had to say at the time about the taking over of their traditional hot spring has gone for the most part, unrecorded.
   The Hot Springs was a popular stopping place at mile 20 of the Portage route during the early days of the gold rush. Judge Begbie rode in one day early on with his assistant, Arthur Bushby. The junior Bushby had a romantic, or otherwise attraction to one of Governor Douglas's daughters, Agnes.
Judge Begbie, not aware the place had a name already,  proclaimed the hot spring St. Agnes Well.  
I'm pretty certain the local inhabitant's eyes were rolling around a whole lot with that one too.
    A 1897 survey showed two bath houses at the spring, an 'L' shaped cabin serving as a roadhouse, and an orchard on the other side of the wagon-road that passes through. No known images exist of the roadhouse or baths. An Italian photographer, Carlos, or Charles Gentile, came through with a government survey of the route in 1860.
He took this shot of Port Douglas, and another of the 29 Mile House roadhouse where they got on the paddle wheeler to the north end of Lillooett Lake and I find it hard to believe he did not set up his camera at the hot spring. Perhaps out there somewhere is a box of glass negatives containing an image of a rough bath house.
  Anyone heading to the upper Fraser gold fields in the early period of the rush would have passed this way, including the first batch of camels they brought into the country. They got off a barge towed by the stern wheeler Flying Dutchman at Port Douglas in May 1862, then led up the Douglas Portage for packing further north in the Cariboo.

   An English tourist, W Champness, mentioned stopping overnight at the hot spring in his 1862 book, To The Cariboo And Back, "at the inn we enjoyed what our Yankee companions called a 'square meal' of the characteristic fare of the colony of bacon and beans, the latter are imported in barrels from the States. Here, also after our toilsome march, we indulged in a good wash, the only really cheap comfort obtainable in British Columbia."
In November 1861 William Stein married Frances (Fanny) Morey (1843-1928). The young Miss Morey was the daughter of Sgt. Jonathon Morey of the Royal Engineers.    
    In 1862 it appears Hot Spring House was sold to Mr.J.L Smith, whom owned a string of roadhouses on the original route, including the Douglas Hotel, 29 Mile House, and Pemberton House.
In 1863 welsh miner Harry Jones stopped at Hot Spring House,"We headed for the hot springs where a stopping place was kept by a man named Smith. We layed our blankets on the floor of Mr. Smith's bar-room and slept comfortably."

William Stein took over the next roadhouse a few miles up the trail at 24 Mile, at a bargain price I'm sure, the previous owners having been jailed for stealing from freight-wagons.
He cleaned the place up and called it Stanislaus House after the river in California.
This ad appeared in the British Columbian newspaper 1863.


1863 brought the opening of the Fraser Canyon route to the gold-fields of the upper Fraser and Cariboo, traffic on the Portage route dropped off over night. Smith sold the springs back to Stein, and moved on to establish the Clinton Hotel in Clinton. William and Fanny moved back to make a go of the hot spring property, despite lack of traffic on the old trail. Stein held on for a number of years, still clinging to the hope he could attract customers to the healing hot spring, offering board and lodging at $15/week.
   In her memoirs, Susan Allison, the wife of an early Okanagan pioneer, recalled a trip to the hot spring as a young women  A friend, Mrs. Landvoight, had a severe case of rheumatism and her doctor had recommended a trip to the hot spring. It was quite a rough trip along the original old gold-rush trail, and the young Susan Allison was invited to come along for company.
She was just recently arrived from England, "and nearly danced for joy I was so eager to see more of this new and strange country".
Arriving at the hot spring it appears Mrs. Landvoight had failed to notify Mrs Stein of their pending arrival, "and the poor little woman was surprised and altogether un-prepared".
The young pioneer housewife made the best of it, cooking up trout and grouse for her unexpected guests.
   Susan Allison described the hot spring source, "It just gushed out of a solid rock from a round hole like an auger hole, at the source there were open ditch's that convey it to the baths, which were rough wooden affairs in a large shed partitioned off, we sampled them at once, and found them refreshing, but nasty to drink".










She described them going for walks in the area, one in particular, "...we often walked to it and sit near the pool water during the heat of the day...".

I know that spot well, it is where I reside, and I like to sit by that same pool in the heat of the day too.  She made mention of natives on horse back that gallop by the roadhouse, she said Mrs. Stein described them as "not friendly", and I am not too surprised, after experiencing a full blown gold rush through their territory, plus getting a bath house and 'hotel' built on the spiritual  T'sek site.

Business continued to drop and William Stein left the hot spring in the care of his helper Goodwin Purcell, and moved to New Westminster, taking a lease on the Hicks Hotel, putting his hot spring holdings up for sale May 5 1866.
That's a little tough to see. The copy reads....
The hot springs property that cost me $3000 is now for sale at the low price of $1500. The springs being on the main road to the Bridge River mines (no humbug about those diggings), would be invaluable to a good physician.
Apply on the premises to G. Purcell, or to W.E Stein, Hicks Hotel, New Westminster.

The lower part of the ad reads....

W.E. Stein, formerly of the Hot Springs on the Douglas  Portage, having leased Hicks Hotel on Columbia in New Westminster, wishes to inform the travelling community in general that the above, being a large 3 story building, will be found one of the most comfortable houses in New Westminster. Meals and beds, 50 cents each, and drinks, 12 cents.

Despite what he thought was a give away price, there were no takers, and eventually abandoned the property. The former handyman, Goodwin Purcell had stayed in the country, married a local woman and traded out of the old abandoned town site at Port Douglas.
He had the hot spring property surveyed in 1897 and added more land.
Goodwin died in 1906 at 91, and it was from his descendants that title to the historic property passed to the Trethewey family in the 1950's.
        T'sek circa 1957  Hot spring structures, clearing above was road house site.

                                          T'sek, 2012


The area of the old road house is evident in the clearing at the south end of the hot spring campsite.
It has been washed by river flood several times but there is still the odd artifact such as old square nails, cork-screw, lock, and a Winchester rifle that have turned up over the years.



 The junior clerk Arthur Bushby did marry Governor Douglas's daughter Agnes, and was made Register General of Deeds for the new colony before moving to back to England.
It is said Agnes never visited the hot spring named in her honor that Spring day in 1859.

Friday, February 22, 2013

February 21 Back online

I have been off the air for over a month again, I get side tracked easy, then my computer went kaput and needed to go in for repairs. Some of those winter posts start to get pretty repetitive too, and times nice to just take a break.

The snow went fast the past few weeks.






There was a young couple that was in the guest cabin over Valentine's Day.

It can still freeze at night, but the days now can be lovely.




 


 
 
 Just one user at the hot spring when I walked down this am. A hot spring enthusiast and Hotspring Lodge reader from Washington that's staying in the guest cabin here, and enjoying the quiet weekday period.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Never 2 Olde To Rock


       During a early pre-dawn satellite Internet surf out here at the lodge, I came upon an ad that got my attention. The gist of it was, a musical act could get a set at a downtown Vancouver venue, with an enthusiastic, pretty much hand picked audience, and a shot at....well, who knows.
There will be a team of judges present whom at best case scenario, invite the preferred acts back out for an encore for the benefit of the Warner Bros. talent scout in attendance, or to stretch out the evenings entertainment as needed.
That's it. No promises. Just a quick set, make some contacts in the industry and a good adventure to talk about at the old folks home someday.
I assume the Warner Bros. talent scout works for the entertainment giant, and not Warner Bros. Hardware Store or someplace. After our set we are allowed a 'wardrobe change', by which point I would probably need a change of underwear, then get paraded over to a red carpet in front of an Entertainment Tonight type facade with the cameras and flashing bulbs then expected to, according to the contract, "....talk intelligently about our music". After I just drove out of the remote BC back country a few hours before, and managing to navigate my shaky way downtown Vancouver, I think I better just to stick to trying to look cool.
Well the whole idea sounded like too much fun to pass by. Right then and there I emailed the link to Blackwater M/C front man Josh Fairbrother, whom was on the road somewhere in Ontario. Despite the early hour here on the west coast, it was mid-day back there,  he messaged back within minutes, "Hell Ya!".
    So.....Joshua forwarded a link to some studio tracks he and I did last Spring and one thing has led to another. The promoter sent the documents  to e-sign yesterday.
A serious conference was held via satellite between high ranking members of the BlackWater MotorCycle Club. I stated that I was looking on craigslist for a white Elvis jumpsuit to wear, and  would do the gig for blog post value alone! Front man Fairbrother, 25+ years our junior, always up for a challenge, is keen to perform his original garage rock for a crowd. "Lets have fun with it!" he writes back.
Our Bass player Ross Edwards down in Squamish is in from the start. He's keen for the experience, and wants to be there if I really do show up in a white sequined jumpsuit.
Well, going to make good blog material if nothing else.
I figure the worst that can happen is the record label guy will tell Josh to dump the two old dinosaurs.
   I'll add any Hotspring Lodge subscribers to our VIP list that would like to come out and hear some bands play their hearts out. Oh wait a minute, nobody subscribes to Hotspring Lodge. I wish.
Audience/VIP members are required to dress to "...upscale nightclub attire." 
No sneakers. No hoodies. No gang bling. No riff raff allowed,  and though not mentioned specifically, I assume farmers overalls would be included there as well.
Looks I probably eliminated my entire handful of readers right there.
According to the contract, "...artists are encouraged to project their image onstage".
Maybe I better go check the classifieds for platform clawed dragon boots, and a demon lizard breastplate  outfit.  Instructions on fire breathing, spitting fake blood, and exploding drum kit may not hurt either.

I better go trap the packrats out of the tour bus, pump the tires up, and see if it starts.


 Six weeks later......
     The day before the Showcase we met up at Sound n Soul  recording studio for a practice and put the set down on some rough tracks.

I used the studio electric kit. First time and they take some getting use to, playing rubber cymbals is plain weird and your sound comes from speakers across the room, but it saved me hauling my heavy beechwood set up the elevator and spending an hour or two of studio time to set up and mic it.
We don't much see the 'knob wizard' as Josh calls him, he sits back in his control room behind glass panels.
 Sound n Soul studio reels here.... https://soundcloud.com/blackwatermc


    Soon enough the big night was upon us, and there was no shortage of butterflies and anticipation. It was similar to the addictive feeling I got before motorcycle races years ago, in a past life. Not necessarily fear, but a primal apprehension going into an activity with consequences.
There was a basic kit provided, so I just had to set up my snare, cymbals, and drummers throne. Ross and Joshua plugged in, then we looked at each other as if to say, "OK, here we are".
The emcee approached the mic, looked at his notes, then tapped it to see if it was on, "thump thump thump".
"Alright!", he shouts, "The band is ready to go, all the way from PEMBERTON BC, lets hear it for.......... BLACKWATER MC!"
"WHEEEEEEEE!!", "WHOO HOOO!!!" goes the Blackwater Posse from stage front, what they lacked in numbers they made up for in volume and enthusiasm.
It seems to me the rest of the crowd is looking at each other and saying, "...from where??".
Joshua took a deep breath and stepped up, "I want to thank y'all for comin' out tonight, it means a lot to us".
He and Ross swaggered up in front of the drum kit, exchanged a brief word then looked at me.
I checked my spare stick was where I put it, did one last reposition of my throne, adjusted the shades, then did a most cool two handed stick flip that hardly anyone noticed to signify that I was ready for business. Ross planted his Boulet boots firmly on the stage.....Josh hit the opening chords......and the lights went up.
                              We opened with the driving 'Get Mine'.

                                Followed by the percussive 'Big Bang'.

                                Then the mysterious 'Fire Escape'.

                             

                               The colourful, 'The Road Electric'.

Last song of the set was the fast tempo, rollicking, 'Leave It To Me', which ends with us together at stage center and me standing up at the kit for the final few bars into the train wreck of an ending.
"WHOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!" went the packed house.
Well that was a hoot, and worth leaving my peaceful home in the woods for.

But I had been dreading this next part...
                                         "Thank you, thank you very much...".

    

                                
                                              Blackwater MC have left the building.