Full of intrigue, adventure, greed, and tragedy, the enduring legend of Slumach's Gold is examined in riveting detail in this newly expanded edition of a bestselling classic

Newly expanded and revised, Slumach’s Gold: In Search of a Legend—and a Curse chronicles Canada’s most enduring lost-mine mystery. For more than 130 years, people have been captivated by the story of a secret cache of gold with nuggets “the size of walnuts,” supposedly buried along the Pitt River in southwestern BC. Knowledge of its exact whereabouts died with Slumach, a Katzie Nation man executed for murder in 1891. Slumach, according to rumours that spread like wildfire in the years following his death, placed a curse on the hidden motherlode to protect it from interlopers and trespassers.

Countless prospectors, adventurers, amateur sleuths, and history buffs have attempted to find Slumach’s gold over the years. It has been the subject of books, articles, TV shows, and podcasts. But thus far, no one has succeeded in locating the legendary gold. Or have they? In this fascinating new edition of Slumach’s Gold, Brian Antonson, Mary Trainer and Rick Antonson diligently sift through history and myth, separating fact from fiction, but leaving the legend intact—along with the promise of gold yet to be found.

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Brian Antonson was born and raised in British Columbia. He is associate dean of Broadcast and Media Communications at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

In his early 20s, Brian collaborated with Rick Antonson and Mary Trainer to write and publish In Search of a Legend: Slumach's Gold in 1972. The incentive to create the book actually originated two years earlier as a way to celebrate the centennial of B.C.'s entry into Confederation in 1971. Inspired by the afterglow of Canada's centennial and Expo 67, the trio was part of a new generation that was passionate about being Canadian—and about all things Canadian. The trio created a publishing house, Nunaga (the Inuit word for "my land, my country") Publishing, and between 1972 and 1979 they published more than 25 books under this imprint and Antonson Publishing.

Brian Antonson's profile page

Mary Trainer, Brian Antonson, and Rick Antonson founded Nunaga Publishing in 1972, and together they published more than twenty-five books, including In Search of a Legend: Slumach’s Gold, which was re-released by Heritage House in 2007. Mary Trainer has been writing about British Columbia for four decades and was a communications coordinator with Metro Vancouver for twenty years. Brian Antonson is associate dean of Broadcast and Media Communications at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. In the 1980s, Rick Antonson became vice president of the Great Canadian Railtour Company Ltd., which led to his role as president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, a post he held until 2013.

Mary Trainer's profile page

Born in Vancouver in 1949, Rick Antonson attended Simon Fraser University and started Antonson Publishing and Nunaga Publishing in the early 1970s. In the mid-1980s Rick worked as vice-president and general manager of Douglas & McIntyre, also serving as president of the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia. He left publishing to become vice president of the Great Canadian Railtour Company Ltd., operating a train service between Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies. This led to his role as president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver. Rick has also served as chairman of the Oceans Blue Foundation, a group that works to encourage a more environmentally responsible approach to tourism in the Pacific Northwest. Rick was on the Board of Directors for Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympic Winter Games Bid Corporation and has served as co-chairman for the BC Special Olympics.

Rick Antonson's profile page