John Robert Giscome
Born in 1832 , John Robert Giscome left his home in the settlement of Enfield
Parish, St. Mary Jamaica to work on the railroad across the isthmus of Panama in
the 1850's. From there he moved on to the gold fields of California before
arriving in Victoria, with the California black migration of 1858-9.
Along with his partner Henry McDame, Giscome set out from Quesnel for a
prospecting trip through the Peace River country in 1862. While wintering in
Fort George the pair met a native guide who spoke of a route to Fort McLeod by
way of the Salmon River, which would save days of travel. In April of 1863 the
party paddled up the Fraser River to the mouth of the Salmon River. Upon
arrival, however, they found the river was running too high. The guide led them
further up the Fraser, to a nine mile portage traversing the Continental Divide
between the Fraser River and Summit Lake. Upon arrival at Summit Lake, the
group purchased a canoe from an “Old Indian Chief” for the trip to
Ft. McLeod along a network of streams and lakes. Upon reaching Fort McLeod, the
Hudson's Bay Co. men honored them with a thirty gun salute as recognition for
being the first non-native people known to have utilized the route. In an 1863
letter published in the British Colonist the Giscome gave detailed
descriptions of the routes he had traveled, places he visited, and people he
encountered in his search for “good diggings” along the Peace,
Tribe, and Smoky Rivers. Subsequently, on the first lake after leaving the
Fraser (Summit Lake), Mr. Giscome was engaged in writing a few notes to the
factor for the Hudson Bay Company at Fort George of what he had seen, when the
Indians who had assisted in packing over the portage became vexed. They
declared that he was writing to say that they had murdered the last man. This
picture is an artists rendition of this event. The two native men in the left
side of this painting are seemingly vexed as John Giscome is writing in his
journal. John's partner, Henry McDame who was traveling with him is behind and
to the right of John Giscome.
Later in 1870, Giscome turns up
again at Germansen Creek as a part of a three man company extracting substantial
quantities of gold from the creek, before most miners knew it existed. In 1874
Giscome's partner Henry McDame found a vein of gold on a tributary of the Dease
River. Giscome, McDame and some others men formed the Discovery Company which
worked the renowned McDame Creek claim for years with considerable
success.
Unlike most miners of the day, John Robert Giscome retired a
wealthy man. He spent his retirement in Victoria where he invested in real
estate until his death in 1907 at the age of 75. Giscome was buried in an
unmarked grave at the Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, leaving behind an estate
worth $21,000 to his landlady Mrs. Ella Cooness, and a legacy of
discovery.
Huble HomesteadEvents: Historic
Gender: Male
Landscape: Natural
Objects: Visual Art
People: Group
Transport: Water
Work: Other