Geoff Mynett Bücher

This book sheds new light on the extensive manhunt for accused murderer Simon Gunanoot in early 1900s northern British Columbia. Following a double murder in 1906, Gunanoot, a Gitxsan trapper and storekeeper, fled into the wilderness with his family. Despite a lack of evidence, police pursued him for nearly three years, launching search parties and operatives into the remote areas of BC. The manhunt garnered significant media attention, often depicted as a dramatic chase, though not entirely accurate. In response to Gunanoot's elusiveness, the Attorney General of BC enlisted Pinkerton's National Detective Agency from Seattle to assist in the pursuit. In May 1909, two operatives disguised as prospectors were sent to Hazelton, BC, to locate and capture Gunanoot. From 1909 to 1910, they submitted regular reports to Pinkerton's Seattle office, detailing their progress and experiences. These confidential accounts, written around campfires during their wilderness treks, offer a vivid portrayal of life in the frontier town, the dynamics between settlers and prospectors, and the complex loyalties within Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Gunanoot's story, now legendary, highlights early 20th-century crime-solving techniques, rural politics, and survival in the backwoods, drawing from never-before-published firsthand accounts of the undercover operatives.

A collection of extraordinary stories about ordinary people from BC’s wild frontier.In River of Mists , best-selling author and award-winning historian Geoff Mynett returns to the Skeena River community of Hazelton to shed new light on the wide spectrum of characters who left their mark on the area. Delving as far back in time as the early 1820s, Mynett covers over a century of change in the small community which, due to its location at the forks of the Skeena and Bulkley rivers and proximity to mountain ranges, seems destined to be a hub of activity—always industrious, often prosperous, and occasionally scandalous—while maintaining the charming nature of small town. Here are the stories of those whose lives left some mark on the community—visitors like Hudson’s Bay Company trader Simon McGillivray and famed painter Emily Carr; and the lesser known pioneers, prospectors, and residents like HBC agent turned local business owner Thomas Hankin, and Bishop William Ridley and Jane Ridley, founders of the Hazelton Queek, named after the whistling mountain marmot. Combining folksy, small-town charm and meticulous research, Mynett’s River of People of the Upper Skeena, 1821-1930 is a whimsical and informative chronicle of a century in the heart of Northern BC.