In the Shadow of the Great War
Stuck in the muskeg. Photo: Land Titles Survey Authority
In 1913 British Columbia commissioned two 18-month explorations to north-eastern BC, the most remote and least known region of the province. George Berry Milligan, a young talented BC land surveyor, led one small party; while E.B. Hart, a self-styled explorer with a controversial past, often worked alone.
Drawing a map in the sand. Photo: Royal BC Museum
The Milligan and Hart explorations produced the first detailed maps and descriptions of the geography of the region. Their accounts showed the difficulty in travelling through the wet terrain of this area. Both men realized that fire played an important role in the ecology of the land.
The Milligan and Hart Explorations 1913-1914
Noon fire on the trail. Photo: Land Titles Survey Authority
The local Dunne-za, Dene-tha and Sikanni provided invaluable assistance to both Milligan and Hart, and their written accounts provide descriptions of the First Nations people and their way of life. Milligan took the first-known photographs of the First Peoples of the Fort Nelson area.
Both men wintered in Fort Nelson, where everyone, including the priest, snared rabbits to forestall starvation.
Winter at Fort Nelson. Photo: Royal BC Museum
By the time Milligan and Hart completed their explorations in the fall of 1914,
World War I had started, and the information gathered was filed away and forgotten
in the shadow of the Great War.
Dog sled team. Photo: Land Titles Survey Authority