Colonial Despatches

The Similkameen River originates in southwest British Columbia and passes through the towns of Princeton, Hedley, Keremeos, and Cawston in the Similkameen Valley.1 The name Similkameen comes from the Samilkameigh people, who early explorers thought to be a member of the 12 tribes making up the Okanagan Nation.2 Similkameen is roughly translated to mean treacherous waters.3

In this despatch, Douglas writes about the rich gold diggings found by the Americans in the Similkameen River. In the same letter, Douglas reports the he will begin focusing on the river because the greater part of the Shimilcomeen Valley lies north of the 49th parallel of latitude, and within the limits of this Colony.

• 1. Similkameen River, BC Geographical Names Information System.
• 2. William Bright, Native American Placenames of the United States (Oklahoma:University of Oklahoma Press, 2004), 444.
• 3. Ibid.