This river valley formed a natural north-south passage used for centuries by Indians. Later Hudson’s Bay Company fur brigades packed pelts from Canada to Fort Okanogan. Soon after the last brigade in 1846, prospectors began passing through to pan for gold, and big strikes in the Cariboo brought a rush in the early 60’s. To feed the miners, cowboys and cusswords drove thousands of cattle past here to the gold fields around Barkerville, B.C. The last drive came in 1868, and the trail ran for 800 miles, about as far as the Chisholm Trail farther east, with many more ups and downs.