Catalog of British Columbiana and Pacific Northwest Americana

In The Impact of the White Man, Wilson Duff presents a clear and comprehensive summary of the effects of immigrant settlement on the population, culture, economy and religion of British Columbia's First Peoples. First published in 1964, this book has stood the test of time. With more than 15,000 copies in print, it remains an important anthropological and historical record up to the 1960s. Duff wrote The Impact of the White Man as the first of three volumes on the history of the First Peoples in B.C. He never completed the other two volumes, but this book, on its own, has become a classic of anthropology. The new edition retains the author's original text and features more photographs, an appendix updating the names and territories of First Nations in B.C., a new list of recommended reading, and an index

184 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

This is the story of the so-called Inland Empire of teh Northwest, that rugged and majestic region bounded east and west by the Cascades and the Rockies, from the time of the great exploration of Lewis and Clark to the tragic defeat of Chief Joseph in 1877. Explorers, fur traders, miner, settlers, missionaries, ranchers and above all a unique succession of Indian chiefs and their tribespeople bring into focus one of the permanently instructive chapters in the history of the American West

xx, 705 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Fifty-three trips are targeted to assist readers in finding and understanding the area's major geologic features. Among the regions covered are: Missoula, Montana and the lower Clark Fork drainage; Grande Ronde and Joseph Creek Canyons on the borders of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho; the Columbia River Gorge; and the northern Oregon Coast. Includes b&w photos and maps. c. Book News Inc

288 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

The historical puzzle that is the Green River and its drainage basin, from Mount Rainier to Puget Sound, is carefully pieced together in this portrait of the people, events, and dramatic forces that have determined the fate of this once-powerful river. Beginning in the early years of this century, the Duwamish/Green waterway was rechanneled, dredged, dammed, and diked in an attempt to prevent flooding and salvage land for agriculture and industry. The "taming" of the river made a valuable stretch of land usable year-round but the consequences have been pollution and the destruction of the habitat it once provided for fish, shellfish, and wildlife. Ranging from prehistoric times to the present, from geologic forces to political and economic battles, The Price of Taming a River shows clearly what has been lost but also tells the compelling story of the individuals and communities who are working to restore and preserve the watershed. It is a story of small places and large issues, of bitter controversy and quiet victories, which presents a vision of what can be accomplished by those who choose to embrace their role as stewards of the river

107 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Authored by E. M. Saunders, The Whitman Massacre provides a dramatic narrative account of the tragic 1847 attack on the Cayuse Indian mission at Waiilatpu by members of the Cayuse tribe, resulting in the deaths of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and twelve others. The book explores the mounting racial tensions, cultural misunderstandings, and devastating epidemics—particularly measles—that fueled Indigenous resentment against encroaching American settlers. Drawing on historical documents and period accounts, the text examines how the missionary enterprise inadvertently triggered a catastrophic clash of worlds in southeastern Washington. A keen insight drawn from the work is how medical disparities served as the ultimate catalyst for frontier violence; because traditional Cayuse healing practices failed against introduced European diseases while white missionaries survived, the tribe perceived the plague as targeted biological warfare, turning a public health disaster into a fatal geopolitical flashpoint.

56 pages

Elephant Crossing. Houdini Needles. Miniskirt, Tickletoeteaser Tower, and Why Not Mountain. These are just some of the many names of places, rivers, mountains, and lakes that you will come across in the newest edition of British Columbia Place Names. This classic which, in its various editions, has sold over 29,000 copies, covers about 2,500 geographical features, cities, towns, and smaller communities in the province. The book abounds with fascinating historical facts, stories, and remarkable characters involved with the names of towns, cities, rivers, lakes, mountains, and islands. The selection was determined by the geographical importance of the feature as well as story of the naming. In the introduction the authors deal with the stages by which B.C. acquired its place names, the history of research into those names, and the categories into which they fall. The latter range from the honorific and commemorative to the comic and disrespectful. Aboriginal names receive particular attention. The location of each place is clearly indicated and the text is accompanied by detailed maps. Brief biographical accounts of persons with places named after them as well as an abundance of anecdotes make this a fascinating book for browsers and an invaluable resource for historians.

xxv, 304 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Into the untamed vastness of the Bitterroot mountains go three young New York men, their guide, and a camp cook. This is to be the adventure of a lifetime, but it is already September. Ahead of the hunters, as they make their way up the Lolo Trail, are the record snows of 1893 and a cruel, controversial decision. Snowbound is the true story of the Carlin party, whose ill luck and bad judgement drove decent men to an ethical dilemma that intrigued the nation and still can raise an argument wherever people rub shoulders with wilderness. Ladd Hamilton’s previous book for WSU Press, This Bloody Deed, detailed the story of the Magruder massacre of the 1860s in that same Idaho wilderness. The New York Times Book Review noted that “This Bloody Deed is marked by the author’s…familiarity with that rough Western terrain and his clear affection for the complex people who…roamed and tamed it.” Once again, Hamilton has brought rich narrative detail and crackling tension to an intriguing episode of Northwest history. Ladd Hamilton retired in 1987 as senior editor and columnist of the Lewiston Morning Tribune, and since then has been writing and teaching journalism at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. He and his wife Pauletta live in the Lewiston Orchards.

xii, 228 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map, portraits ; 24 cm

This history of the native peoples of western Oregon is a systematic study of the formation, application and effects of United States Indian policy. Historian E.A. Schwartz tells how contacts with whites early in the nineteenth century culminated in the pork-barrel Rogue River War of 1855-56, in which the Rogue River peoples demonstrated superior tactics and repeatedly drove off more-numerous opponents. Schwartz narrates how the Indian peoples known today as the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation survived American expansion and coped with each federal Indian-policy initiative, from the new western reservation policy of the 1850s through termination and restoration in the 1970s

xiv, 354 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Milton Parent’s Silent Shores & Sunken Ships documents the spatial, maritime, and industrial history of Upper Arrow Lake and the Columbia River reaches stretching south from Revelstoke to Galena Bay and Shelter Bay. The chronicle focuses on the strategic role of Arrowhead as the CPR railhead where transcontinental rail traffic transferred directly onto sternwheelers servicing the mining towns and lumber camps of the Kootenay and Lardeau districts. Parent details the establishment of massive shoreline lumber operations, including the giant mills at Comaplix and Beaton, while recording the perilous navigation of steamships like the S.S. Revelstoke and S.S. Columbia. The volume concludes by documenting the civic and geographical dislocation triggered by the construction of the Hugh Keenleyside Dam, which permanently flooded historical townsites, farms, and ferry landings beneath the expanded lake reservoir.

368 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 29 cm

Irene Stangoe’s Looking Back at the Cariboo-Chilcotin chronicles the settlement, ranching enterprises, and frontier communities scattered across the vast plateau country west of the Fraser River. Stangoe traces how pioneer cattlemen established expansive grazing spreads across rangelands traditionally stewarded by the Tsilhqot'in and Southern Carrier peoples. The volume details the daily operations of remote roadhouses, general stores, and family ranches situated along the Chilcotin Highway, featuring focused historical portraits of Riske Creek, Alexis Creek, Hanceville, Big Creek, Meldrum Creek, Redstone, Lees Corner, and Chilanko Forks. Through local oral histories, historic photographs, and personal interviews, the work captures the resilient community networks and agrarian adaptations required to sustain isolated settlements across this expansive interior terrain.

160 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 22 cm

Published by the Clear Lake Historical Association and compiled by Charles R. Hyatt, Memories of Clear Lake presents a nostalgic and detailed chronicle of the historic logging, rail, and community developments around the Skagit County settlement in northwest Washington. The book compiles vintage photographs, local newspaper excerpts, and personal reminiscences to trace how a bustling timber outpost grew and shifted alongside the changing regional economy. Through these collected records, the text preserves the domestic and industrial rhythms of families who built their lives amidst towering old-growth forests and local waters. A keen insight drawn from the work is how single-industry towns experienced a unique form of community permanence even after their primary resource vanished; by documenting how residents repurposed old logging infrastructure and community spaces for long-term rural living, the narrative reveals that the true legacy of these settlements was not the timber they exported, but the stubborn social bonds forged in the shadow of the mill.

vi, 105 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Authored by naturalist and historian Bill Merilees, Newcastle Island: A Place of Discovery explores the rich natural and industrial heritage of the historic island park located off the coast of Nanaimo, British Columbia. The book traces the island's multifaceted past, from its early significance to the Snuneymuxw First Nation and its late 19th-century boom as a bustling coal-mining and sandstone-quarrying hub to its eventual transition into a beloved coastal recreation area. Through archival photographs, maps, and detailed natural history notes, the text captures how a small marine island became a microcasm of regional resource extraction and leisure. A keen insight drawn from the work is how industrial wastelands can be successfully reclaimed by nature and public memory; by documenting the physical transition from smoky coal pits to tranquil park trails, the narrative reveals that the landscape itself acts as a resilient archivist, quietly healing its extraction scars to offer new generations a sanctuary for ecological discovery.

128 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, maps, portraits ; 22 cm

This is part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Handbook of North American Indians series, the ultimate resource for Native American history across various regions of North America. The set is intended to give an encyclopedic summary of what is know about the prehistory, history, and cultures of the aboriginal peoples of North America north of the urban civilizations of central Mexico. Volume 12 provides a summary of what is known about the prehistory, history, and culture of the American Indians of the Plateau Culture area. This area is defined by the region in northwestern United States and southwestern Canada drained by the Columbia and Fraser rivers. The Plateau culture area includes the Interior Salishan peoples, the Sahaptian peoples, and several cultural isolates, Athapaskan outliers, and the Kootenai and Cayuse.

xvi, 791 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 29 cm

Review from "True Rail Stories" "America's Worst Train Disaster may be about a terrible event back in 1910, but it makes wonderful reading for lovers of steam railroads. It tells of the business pressures driving decisions, decisions that ultimately resulted in over 96 deaths when an avalanche swept a mail and a passenger train down a deep gorge in Washington. According to the author, the trains were trapped in a snowstorm because the railroad undergoing evaluation for a mail contract. Besides that, the railroad also failed to move the trains to a siding which would have saved them from the avalanche. You will find a lot of description of railroad equipment. For example, ever hear of an articulated engine?- one that had a pivot to let it bend in the middle on sharp curves. Of course, there is considerable discussion of equipment and techniques of snow removal. Perhaps you have forgotten that not only passenger trains carried conductors, and the size of snow shoveling crews will amaze you. The book also contains news stories about the trapped trains, the disaster and even good quality photos taken during recovery operations by a newspaper photographer covering the sensational accident. The book contains a view of politics in the days when railroads had the power to mold laws to their liking. Moody obviously feels some of the animosity most people felt toward railroad tycoons. He particularly takes James J. Hill, the founder of the Great Northern Railway to task and suggests that Hill that arranged for the death count to be misstated on the low side. Moody lets no one off the hook in his discussion of the tragedy. He details wild stories newspaper reporters made up about the accident scene in an attempt to stimulate circulation. He tells of social biases against immigrants and uncomplimentary names used to describe foreign workers - not in private conversations but in newspaper columns too. The book does contain typos and errors that may distract the reader, but all in all, Moody did a good job. If railroads are your thing, this book belongs in your collection.

184 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Authored by maritime historian Roger M. Sherman, A Maritime History of Central Whidbey Island, Part 1: The sinking of the Calista details the dramatic local shipping losses and aquatic commerce that shaped the marine highway of Washington's Puget Sound. The volume centers on the fateful shipwreck of the steamer Calista, exploring the intricate mechanics of early 20th-century coastal navigation, passenger travel, and the relentless dangers posed by shifting winds and hidden reefs. Through detailed archival research, contemporary newspaper accounts, and maritime logs, the text brings to light the perilous conditions faced by the small vessels that served as the primary lifeblood of island communities. A keen insight drawn from the work is how maritime disasters served as tragic catalysts for regulatory and technological reform in inland sea transport; the loss of vessels like the Calista forced an unyielding reckoning with corporate safety standards, transforming public attitudes toward the accountability of commercial navigation lines operating in dangerous Pacific Northwest waters.

xii, 144 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm

Authored by tribal elder and historian Roy I. Wilson, Legends of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe preserves the sacred oral literature, historical memory, and traditional values of the Cowlitz people of southwest Washington. The volume compiles foundational creation narratives, animal fables, and cultural teachings that explain the spiritual and physical geography of the river valleys and mountain passes sacred to the tribe. Through these transcribed stories, the text honors an ancient literary heritage that connects contemporary generations to their ancestral homelands and customary laws. A keen insight drawn from the work is how indigenous oral narratives function as enduring frameworks for tribal sovereignty; by binding specific geographical landmarks to moral and historical laws, the legends established an unwritten title to the land that colonial mapping could neither erase nor replace.

401 pages ; 21 cm

Authored by local historian Ruth McCausland, Washington’s Westport chronicles the dramatic transformation of the coastal Pacific Northwest town from a remote, seasonal fishing camp into a bustling commercial harbor and tourist destination. The book draws on vintage photographs, local archives, and personal interviews to detail the hazardous maritime conditions, resilient fishing families, and cannery operations that sustained the isolated community at the mouth of Grays Harbor. Through its vivid pictorial and narrative layout, the text captures the grit required to build a permanent settlement on a shifting, wave-battered spit of land. A keen insight drawn from the work is how coastal outposts maintained an uneasy economic dualism; by relying simultaneously on the volatile fortunes of commercial deep-sea fishing and the fleeting whims of summer tourists, towns like Westport were forced to constantly reinvent their identity to survive the unpredictable rhythms of the Pacific Ocean.

192 pages : illustrations, map ; 26 cm

It was a fly fisher's dream - a cabin on the lower Rogue River in southern Oregon. But for Robin Carey, this new home also meant learning a new home river. In North Bank, Carey explores how new places gradually become familiar. His engaging essays describe how old memories - of family, of certain fish, of other rivers - and fresh experiences - scouting river canyons, volunteering at a fish hatchery, remodeling the cabin - have combined to shape this place on the Rogue into a place he calls home. That process, of creating home ground in a new place, is the subject of North Bank, a rich and poignant look at fly fishing, favorite rivers, and the desire for familiar landscapes

122 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

We all know that there have been women in British Columbia since the early days, and they were not just ironing shirts and baking bread. They organized unions, won elections, started schools and hospitals and became judges, scientists, artists and doctors. BC has benefited from a long tradition of energetic women who have had an impact on the province as we know it. The twenty women profiled in this book didn't all succeed in everything they attempted, but they were flexible, saw what needed to be done and just did it.

xi, 212 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 22 cm

The immensely popular governor of Idaho from 1970 to 1994--and former U.S. Secretary of Interior--tells it like it is in this frank and perceptive memoir of his life as a Western politician

248 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Construction of the University of Idaho's Kibbie Dome, which won the American Society of Civil Engineer's Outstanding Structural Achievement Award for 1976, demonstrates what can be accomplished within a framework of limited budgets and tight timelines. The proposed structure would have a 400 foot clear span, with a clearance above the field equivalent to a twelve-story building.

61 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm

"Robert E. Smylie was born in Marcus, Iowa, in 1914 and first came to Idaho as a student at what was then the College of Idaho in Caldwell. Subsequently he worked his way through law school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., served in the Coast Guard during World War II, married, and came back to Idaho in 1947 first as Assistant Attorney General and then Attorney General."--BOOK JACKET. "In 1954 Robert E. Smylie decided to run for governor, was elected, and served in that office until 1967. During his three terms in office, Governor Smylie could count among his many achievements an increase in the minimum wage, a five-day work week for state employees, creation of the Department of Commerce, a massive state highway construction program, promotion of the interests of business, land, and water within Idaho, serving as chair of the Western Governor's Association, the establishment of the state park system, and the introduction of a state sales tax to fund education."--BOOK JACKET

xv, 234 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

From the logbook of the 33’ ferro-cement, cutter-rigged “Stone Spirit“. Follow Donna, her husband Dave, and Montague the cat as they travel around the southern inside passage of British Columbia, Canada.

99 pages illustrations, map

Authored by Peter Grant, The Story of Sidney chronicles the evolution of the coastal town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, from its early Indigenous presence and 19th-century agricultural settlement into a vibrant modern community. The book details the establishment of local farms, the arrival of the railway, and the maritime connections that bridged the Saanich Peninsula to the broader Salish Sea region. Drawing on local archives, historical photographs, and personal accounts, the text highlights the community's persistent drive to balance commercial growth with small-town coastal character. A keen insight drawn from the work is how transportation revolutions dictate the very heartbeat of coastal towns; just as the transition from neighborhood steamships to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal radically reshaped Sidney's economic destiny, it proved that the survival of an island-adjacent community depends entirely on how successfully it manages its role as a regional gateway.

96 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Authored collaboratively by the Wasco County Historical Society and the Clackamas County Historical Society, Barlow Road chronicles the construction and historical legacy of the final, grueling overland leg of the historic Oregon Trail. The book traces how Sam Barlow’s 1845 toll road carved a hazardous wagon route around the treacherous southern flank of Mount Hood, offering exhausted pioneers a perilous alternative to navigating the dangerous rapids of the Columbia River. Through archival maps, journals, and photographs, the text details the monumental physical labor required to hack a wagon track through dense old-growth forests and volcanic terrain. A keen insight drawn from the work is how the creation of the Barlow Road transformed a humanitarian struggle into a capitalist enterprise; by privatizing the final mountain obstacle of the migration route, the toll road proved that the westward movement was driven as much by entrepreneurial toll-gate economics as it was by Manifest Destiny.

vii, 97 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm