A Winter Journey in 1861 (Conclusion)

As we saw in last week’s Chronicles, Robert Homfray’s friends had been right when they warned him that trying to find a route through the Cascade Mountains at the head of far-off and unexplored Bute Inlet in winter was little short of madness—even suicidal.

But he and seven others were determined to find a shortcut to the Cariboo gold fields and, in a single canoe with few supplies and only two muskets, they set out from Fort Victoria in November 1861.

When we left them last week, they’d been forced to turn back. By this time all but exhausted, too weak even to carry their tent, and down to little food, they began to fight their way over glaciers and mountain peaks.

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PHOTO: Today, despite its ominous name, Desolation Sound has become a Mecca for boaters and kayakers. In the summertime, in particular. But, in November 1861, Desolation Sound was almost off the map with unknown threats to life and limb. As surveyor-explorer Robert Homfray and his men soon found out, they faced a fight for their very lives. —BritishColumbia.com