Discover the Savary Island
 

Welcome to our Savary Island Archive. Have fun browsing!

 

Article #187: Pan for Gold in British Columbia s Historic Cariboo

(Browse for more articles)

 
Gold was first discovered in the Fraser time. One former champion was observed to
River of British Columbia in 1858. By find all six of his gold flakes in less
1861 pioneer prospectors had moved than three and one-half minutes.
northeast to the Cariboo region, where A few miles east of Barkerville, in the
William "Billy" Barker found a rich vein town of Wells, Joy Stepan owns and
at Williams Creek. By 1880, the town operates Gold Safari Tours. She said
named after him, Barkerville, had grown people still have the urge to explore for
into the largest city west of Chicago and gold, but gold panning is not allowed in
north of San Francisco. parks. So the only place visitors can
Today, Barkerville is a former ghost town legally pan for gold is on claims where
transformed into a popular tourist they are given permission.
destination. A popular attraction at Ms. Stepan, known locally as Cariboo Joy,
Barkerville is a gold panning and offers gold panning lessons at her RV
souvenir shop where visitors can buy a campground, and allows her guests to pan
pan full of dirt, rocks and at least a for gold on her claim at nearby Lowhee
fleck or two of genuine gold. The six Creek. Along with picks and shovels, she
dollar price per pan also includes a rents green plastic gold pans. She says
lesson on how to pan for gold. Novice they are easier to use than traditional
panners are warned not to put their steel pans because they are lighter in
fingers into the water, because the oil weight and do not reflect sunlight back
from their skin can cause the gold to into your eyes.
float to the surface and out of the pan, When asked how people know where to look
instead of staying on the bottom. for gold, Ms. Stepan replied that very
Once each year the gold panning shop unconventional methods are sometimes
hosts a gold panning competition, with employed. Some people hold a pendulum
participants from across Canada, the USA, over a map and then look for gold at
and even as far away as Europe taking places where the pendulum swung. Others
part. Each is given a bucket containing use a dowsing wand, a Y-shaped stick cut
dirt, gravel and six gold flakes. from a willow brand. They walk along the
Contestants have up to five minutes to ground, holding the wand out in front of
splash and shake their steel pans around them. Where the wand dips, they believe
in wooden, water-filled troughs, trying gold may be found.
to find the most gold in the shortest






1- A- B- C- D- E- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9- 10- 11- 12- 13- 14- 15- 16- 17- 18- 19- 20- 21- 22- 23- 24- 25- 26- 27- 28- 29- 30- 31- 32- 33- 34- 35- 36- 37- 38- 39- 40- 41- 42- 43- 44- 45- 46- 47- 48- 49- 50-