Herb McNeil
Herbert Milton McNeil or Herbie was born at the 105 Mile Ranch 17 July 1915. His father was Benjamin Howard McNeil and his mother Flora Blackpole. She was a teacher from Canora, Alberta and had taught school in Manitoba, Victoria and 115 Mile House.
His father Benjamin (Benji) came to the Cariboo with his brother Lester in August of 1892 as part of a pack train from Ellensburg, Washington. They crossed the border at Orville WA and came north to Ashcroft. They spoke with a storekeeper in Ashcroft who suggested that they try the Clearwater for prospecting. They hired Bill Manson in Lillooet to guide them and they went into the Clearwater along the north side of Canim Lake on the old Clearwater Trail. They crossed Deception Creek to Clearwater Lake where the guide left them. They stayed in that area trapping until early March when they snow shoed out as far as Canim Lake. They walked on the ice to Eagle Creek at the head of Canim Lake. Here they found sort of a ranch cabin and a man (Allan) feeding cattle which were destined for the 100 Mile Ranch. They eventually walked out to 100 Mile House where they sold their fur.
Lester then took the stage back to Ellensburg WA but Benji stayed to look after the horses. In the spring he traded the horses for a meadow beyond Tatton - Benny’s Meadow. About 1895 Benji bought the 105 Mile Ranch. He drained the water from the meadows and raised milk cows. He shipped butter to Barkerville. He eventually got into the freighting business and moved goods all over the country. In 1912 he sold the ranch and five freight teams. He was never paid. He was married in December of 1912. He made a brief foray to South America but returned in April of 1913 and ran the ranch at the 105. He never went back into the freighting business. The Canim Lake property was purchased in 1909. In 1916 he sold out at the 105 and moved to Canim Lake where he staked the two original lots 2036 and 2037 later joined by 2038. The surveyors were Taylor and Smith. There was an old Indian living there by the name of Jim Haskit.
Indians were contracted to clear the Canim Lake land but by mid August they would leave to put up hay. They also liked to hunt caribou in the mountains in the fall. A great deal of Cariboo ranch work was, however, done by Indians. Once alcohol became more available it was harder to get them to work.
Herbie grew into ranch work and as a kid cleaned barns and fed the pigs and calves. He brought the cows in with a saddle horse and started driving a team when he was very young. He has been riding a saddle horse for as long as he can remember. Most things in the early days were done by horse but in 1936 they bought a steel wheeled John Deere tractor. In the late summer they would put up 4 or 500 tons of hay using 7 teams of horses, 2 teams on mowers and 1 team on the tedder and rake No one wanted to drive the tedder but the worst job was stacking. Hay stacks were typically 18’ by 36’ with 60 to 75 tons of hay in a stack. They usually built a corral around the stack to keep the cattle out. The cattle were fed out in the field and at night they used the trees for shelter. Bailed hay was a late arrival on the ranch but it was expensive. They branded either in the spring or fall. Many calves were lost at birth. Their brand was HM. His father bought the H from Hemphill and later added the M.
There wasn’t much entertainment aside from dances at Forest Grove, Lac La Hache and Roe Lake. Up until the 1920s people often dropped in but in the 1930s it became less common. The Indians were back and forth on their hunting and fishing trips.
Many people cut ties with a broad axe for the railway in the winter. There was some tourism with fishing and trapping brought in some cash. Fishermen came by word of mouth and hunters as well but there was no moose prior to 1919 or 1920. The moose slowly worked their way south moving about 2 miles a year. Most hunters came to hunt caribou or grizzly bear and found that the Mica Mountain area was the best. Hunters required accommodation, boats, meals, saddle horses and guides. Herbie’s mother did much of the cooking but help was also hired. The dairy industry did well for a while using a COOP creamery in Quesnel but the war changed this and it became too expensive to hire men to milk the cows.
His father took some land [1918] on Mahood Lake about 400 acres at the mouth of the Canim River which included 2 miles of lakefront. Three brothers [Scott] took the land behind McNeils and built barns etc. They were also trappers. In the spring of 1929 Dale Scott drowned in Mahood Lake and the family split. Benji Sr. bought the Scott land in 1931 and built a lodge in 1937. He did quite a bit of tourist business in the 1930s but this was shut down when the war came. Lester McNeil reopened it in 1944 and moved in with his wife and family.
They did quite a bit of guiding south and east of Canim Lake, Mica Mountain and Deception Creek. When Wells Grey Park was established the guiding was stopped. They ran a fishing camp at Rail Lake for 20 years. Many lakes in the area had no fish until they got over the falls. The logging roads spoiled the fishing business.
They used to drive cattle on the ice of Canim Lake. One year the cattle went into the lake but they were easy to pull out and they didn’t lose one. The “halfway” was associated with the cattle drive.
Florence Helen McNeil
Florence Bachman was born in Swift Current in February of 1909 and grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan. They moved to Langley Prairie in 1924 where they bought a stump ranch. She went to normal school in Vancouver and to UBC. It was difficult to get a teaching job so she helped her parents sell cut flowers. She answered an ad in the Vancouver Sun for a teaching job in a remote rural area. She was interviewed by Mrs. McNeil a nice matronly woman and was hired by Emma and Lester McNeil. The school at Canim Lake ran as a private school because there were not enough children to run it as a public school.
On her way to take up her new position she met Mr. Greenlee The train arrived in Exeter at 6 am and it was pitch dark and 52 degrees below zero. Her suitcases did not make it off the train and went on to Quesnel. A big bob sled driven by a Mr. Scott, who had the Canim Lake-Exeter mail contract, picked them up and took them to Lester McNeil’s at Canim Lake. They drove as far as Thorestenson Road where Mrs. Thorstensen gave them coffee but it took all day to get down to Canim Lake. Mr. Greenlee lived at Sand Point. She eventually made her way to the McNeil ranch. Her school had 4 pupils. She taught for several years and had ride or walk 3 miles every day to work. The days and years went by and in 1934 [11 April 1935] she decided to marry Benji McNeil. They lived at the McNeil ranch where they built a small log house. They later moved to Mahood lake. She also mentions the Scott drowning in Mahood Lake and the fact that Grandpa McNeil bought the Scott land. A lodge was built on Mahood lake 50’ X 40” two floors and 14 bedrooms. They ran the lodge until 1941 and then closed as no gasoline was available. In 1941 they joined Slim and Rudy Jens and established Canim Lake Sawmills which they ran until 1946. In 1946 the tourists came back and they reopened the lodge.