The fact people like a good mystery is undoubtedly why the Lost Mine of Pitt Lake tale has persist - ed for more than a century. Since the 1890s prospectors have been making vain attempts to locate this lost Eldorado which allegedly nestles in the treacherous Pitt Range some 35 miles north-east of Vancouver. The arrival each spring of both seasoned and amateur gold hunters into the libraries and newspaper offices of New Westminster and Vancouver is a sure sign the search is still far from over. The many legends together with newspaper men’s fanciful accounts of the story make it impossible for these adventurous groups to separate entirely the fact from the fiction. The legend of the mine and its finder, an Indian named Slumach, began in the Royal City of New Westminster in 1889 when the Indian supposedly burst into a saloon and ordered a round of drinks for everyone present. He was carrying a haversack packed with nuggets the size of walnuts which he scattered in all directions as he painted the town red for the next few days. His coming and going into the city, with each visit longer and wilder, persisted for a year-and-a-half during which time the Indian made 16 visits. The police suspected Slumach was murdering and then robbing prospectors for the gold.

I don’t know what happened, but a short time later I see Waite looking angry as hell, wearing red serge. I was wondering if he was going to court. Up until this moment I still didn’t know what had happened to the boat. I felt rather out of control like it was some deep dark liberty secret. What happened to the frigging boat? It was years later I found out what really happened to the boat, when Don, out of the force for many years, and I shared many laughs together. I guess he and some companions had gone on a semi-police sojourn into the wild entrails of northern Alouette Lake and were jumping off rocks. I heard many stories about Al Burnet water-skiing. He used to take it to do patrols but he was more for taking a female companion as a patrol partner. We had the RCMP crest put on the boat, but Al would cover it up. The boat was always a pain in the butt and the cause for problems. I was glad when it disappeared.