Fraser Canyon War facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fraser Canyon War |
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| Part of American Indian Wars | |||||
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 Colony of British Columbia |
Nlakaʼpamux | ||||
The Fraser Canyon War, also known as the Canyon War or the Fraser River War, was a conflict that happened in 1858. It involved the Nlakaʼpamux people and white miners in the new Colony of British Columbia. This area later became part of Canada. The war took place during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, which brought many new settlers to the Fraser Canyon area.
Even though Canadian historians often don't focus on it, this war was a very important event in the founding of the colony. It ended mostly peacefully. However, it was a big test for the new government's control over the goldfields. These areas were far away and hard to reach from Victoria, where the governor was located.
Contents
Who Fought in the War?
British soldiers were not directly involved in the fighting. They only arrived after the war had ended. The main groups fighting were six quickly formed groups of miners. These groups were made up of volunteers from the goldfields near Yale, British Columbia. The other side was the Nlakaʼpamux people, who lived in the Fraser Canyon further upstream.
The Miners' Groups
The volunteer groups, also called "companies," were mostly made up of Americans. But they also included German and French volunteers. Some of these men had fought in other conflicts before coming to the goldfields.
The Nlakaʼpamux People
The Nlakaʼpamux people are also known as the Thompson or Hakamaugh. They were sometimes called the "Couteau" or "Knife" Indians. This name partly came from this war. Their land, the middle Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon, was even called "the Couteau Country" on old maps.
Other Indigenous groups supported the Nlakaʼpamux, but they did not fight. These included warriors from the Secwepemc, Nicola, and Okanagan tribes. However, some Nlakaʼpamux people from the lower Canyon, like the Spuzzum, and the St'at'imc and Sto:lo peoples, remained peaceful.
The Conflict Begins
For several months before the war, tensions grew between Indigenous people and the miners. A serious conflict broke out when a group of gold seekers had a fight with some Indigenous people.
Miners Organize
The miners held meetings to decide what to do. Many of them had been part of the California Gold Rush. They came from many different parts of the world. Six groups were quickly put together to respond to the conflict.
One group was called the Austrian Company. It was led by John Centras and included French and German volunteers. Another group, the Whatcom Company, was mostly made up of southerners and led by Captain Graham. This group wanted to completely wipe out the Indigenous people. The Whatcom Company's name came from the Whatcom Trail. This trail was used to reach the goldfields, even though the British government said miners should only come through Victoria. This showed that the Whatcom Company wanted the area to become part of the United States.
A Call for Peace
The largest and most important group was the New York Pike Guards, led by Captain Snyder. Snyder convinced the other miners to seek peace, not total war. He suggested that they should tell friendly Indigenous people to show a white flag as a sign of peace.
Marching Up the Canyon
The miner groups left Yale and traveled to Spuzzum. There, they found about 3,000 worried miners who were stuck and couldn't go further south. Snyder's and Centras' groups crossed to the east side of the river. Snyder sent Graham's group up the west side.
The New York and Austrian companies met no resistance as they went north. They sent messages ahead to Camchin, an old Nlakaʼpamux "capital" at the meeting point of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers (now Lytton). They said they were coming to talk peace, not to fight.
Meanwhile, Captain Graham and his men caused damage on the west side of the Canyon. They destroyed Indigenous food supplies and potato fields. But they only met a few Indigenous people, as most had gone into the mountains for safety.
An Accidental Tragedy
The Whatcom Company was wiped out in a gunfight one night. The other companies across the river saw it happen. But it wasn't an attack by Indigenous people. Instead, a rifle accidentally fell and fired, causing panic. The men started shooting at each other in the dark, and almost all of them died.
Peace Talks at Camchin
At Camchin, the leaders of the Nlakaʼpamux and their allies from the Secwepemc (Shuswap) and Okanagan peoples held a meeting. A Nlakaʼpamux war leader wanted to fight the white men until they were all gone. But the Camchin chief, Cxpentlum (also known as Spintlum), had good relations with Governor James Douglas. He argued for living together peacefully.
Captain Snyder and Centras bravely walked into the middle of the Nlakaʼpamux meeting. They probably spoke through translators. They told the Indigenous leaders that if the war continued, thousands of white men would come and destroy all the Indigenous people forever. The miners thought that showing their modern rifles helped convince the Indigenous people to make peace. However, Indigenous accounts say that the decision for peace had already been made. The idea that it would be impossible to defeat all white men likely helped convince some chiefs to support Chief Cxpentlum's call for peace.
The Snyder Treaties
Six agreements were made that day, known as the Snyder Treaties. None of these treaties still exist today, either in writing or through oral stories. They were about how the Indigenous people and miners would live together in the Canyon and how the goldfields would be used. Indigenous people were the first to mine gold on the Thompson River and continued to be active miners during the gold rush.
What Happened Next
There are no official numbers for how many people died in the Fraser Canyon War. Many exaggerated stories were told by both sides. Estimates for white deaths range from dozens to thousands. Some also say that many Indigenous people died.
Soon after the miner groups returned to Yale, Governor Douglas arrived with some Royal Engineers. He wanted to take control of the situation. He was worried that the conflict could have led to a much bigger war, or even the United States taking over the area.
Governor Douglas was upset that the miners had set up their own rules for gold claims. This was done without his permission and outside of British law. He was even more upset to find out that Snyder and Centras had made treaties with the Indigenous people. Under British law, only the Crown (the government) had the right to make treaties. Douglas warned the Americans, but they agreed to follow the Queen's laws from then on.
During this visit, the stage was set for another conflict called McGowan's War. Governor Douglas appointed new judges for Yale and Hill's Bar. He did not know their true characters, and these appointments soon caused problems in local politics. Also with the Governor on his trip to Yale was Ned McGowan. His presence would lead to the strange events of McGowan's War later that winter.
See also
- McGowan's War
- Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
- Yakima War
- Cayuse War
- Okanagan Trail
- Whatcom Trail
