Frederick Whymper (Canadian 1838-1901)
Fort Yale, B.C., 1865
watercolour and graphite on paper, signed and dated lower centre " F. Whymper. del. 1865"
Size: 6 ½ x 8 ¾ in (with frame 16 x 18 ½ in)
J19964
This rare watercolour sketch, dated 1865, depicts Yale, BC which sits at the beginning of the Cariboo Road, also called the Great North Road, Cariboo Wagon Road, or Queen’s Highway. The road stretched from Fort Yale through the hazardous canyon territory north via the Fraser Canyon over Hell’s Gate, connecting to the Cariboo Road at Clinton to the terminus at Barkerville. Originally a rough and dangerous ‘mule trail’, the road was built to lower supply costs to the gold fields of the Cariboo. Frederick Whymper was hired to publicize the new road, and travelled to Bute Inlet to document the event which was noted in the Victoria Daily Colonist. This sketch is almost identical to one, undated and titled "Fort Yale, B.C.", in the National Archives of Canada collection.
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