by Jack Harley

In northern B.C. an obscure creek might never have been named if it wasn't for the lure of that yellow precious metal we call 'gold'.

In 1876 four Cariboo prospectors had formed a company that was in search of placer gold on the upper reaches of McDame Creek fifty miles south of the Yukon border.  Mosquitos were thick as fog, creek water was ice cold from the still melting snow trapped by the rocky and steep terrain, hence it's name, "'Snow Creek".

One of the original company founders, a man named Christie,  decided to blast a huge boulder at a promising spot in this small out- of-the-way creek.  After the blast he panned the gravel that lay beneath that boulder.  Low and behold he discovered numerous 1 and 2 ounce nuggets of very coarse gold.

As the team dug into the side hill the nuggets became larger and more plentiful.   The trail of coarse gold also looked like it was leading up along side the adjacent mountain.  They decided to call this deposit Christie's Lead.  This lead soon became the richest piece of ground in the Cassier gold fields and possibly the province.  The ground was so rich it produced 1 to 8 ounce nuggets by the pailfull.

Just 4 miles from the creek the largest nugget ever found in B.C. (73 troy ounces) was uncovered.

After 2 years of fantastic yields the lead did not just peter out - it just abruptly stopped.  This, as most prospectors figure, was a temporary inconvenience.  The lead ccould be picked up once again.

After much tunnelling the miners of the day gave up.  But the legend did not die. For the next 100 or so years the locals have been trying to relocate the lost Christie's Lead.

In 1980/81, with the rocketing price of gold, there was a renewed interest in the lost lead.  Many well to do people with the means and the heavy equipment came and went.   Mary Fentie, who still holds a claim on Snow Creek, maintains that the lead is out there and that it still can be the richest ground in B.C..... if only someone can solve the mystery.