Richard Byron Johnson was an English adventurer who reached B.C. around 1862 via San Francisco. He and a friend tried gold mining around Williams Creek and wintered in Victoria. After several years, he returned to England and wrote Very Far West Indeed: A Few Rough Experiences on the North-West Pacific Coast (London, Sampson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, 1872). The fanciful and melodramatic text, including his description of a canoe capsizing in the Fraser River rapids, became a bestseller and was translated into Dutch and French editions. It was reprinted again in 1985.

BOOKS:

Very Far West Indeed: A Few Rough Experiences on the North-West Pacific Coast (London, Sampson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, 1872).

[BCBW 2004] "Early B.C." "1850-1900" "Transient"