end of the meeting, he insisted on shaking each man's hand and looking them in the eye as they left the tent as a way of ingraining his personal expectations on each of them. The workings on Rock Creek did not last many years, and when the Colville Gold Rush began soon after, many Americans went on to the new diggings and Rock Creek's gold-mining heyday became a memory. The troubles of this goldfield demonstrated that Douglas' determination to build a transportation and communication route between the Coast and the Interior was vital to the security of the colony, underscoring his contracting of Edgar Dewdney to build a trail from Fort Hope, British Columbia to the East Kootenay (where similar troubles had broken out). The purpose of the Dewdney Trail was to prevent draining the Interior's gold and other resources to the United States, as well as to be able to deploy troops should trouble break out and either Indian war or outright annexationist uprising should arise in areas where access to and through the United States was far easier than from the Coast. See also Gold rush Yakima War Colony of British Columbia British Columbia Gold Rushes (index) Fraser Canyon Gold Rush Fraser Canyon War McGowan's War Fort Colville Gold Rush Dewdney Trail Boundary Country Point Ellice Bridge Disaster References McGowan's War, Donald J. Hauka, New Star Books, Vancouver (2000) British Columbia's Highway 3: The Dewdney Trail - Hope to Fort Steele, Garnet Basque, Heritage House Publishing, Surrey BC (1967). British Columbia Chronicle, 1847-1871: Gold & colonists, Helen and G.P.V. Akrigg, Discovery Press, Vancouver (1977) External links Crowsnest Highway history site (excellent detailed history of the Rock Creek Gold Rush) Further reading British Columbia From the Earliest Times to the Present Vol 2 pp. 443-444, F.W. Howay and E.O.S. Scholefield, publ 1913 1859 in Canada History of British Columbia Canadian gold rushes British Columbia gold rushes Boundary Country