A colorful prospector

COEUR d'ALENE - As he lay near death in his bunkhouse by Flathead Lake, Jack Fisher heard a knock at the door. It was a reporter from the Cranbrook Herald, one Leonard Bartholomew. It cost him a bottle of whiskey, but L.B. persuaded Fisher into an interview.

The year was 1906 and it would be the last interview Fisher, a man with a Canadian mountain peak and a river near Libby named after him, would ever give.

Keith Powell's recent historical novel "Living in the Shadow of Fisher Peak" chronicles the life and times of Fisher, one of the most colorful yet lesser known prospectors from the period.

"I have endeavored to tell the story of Jack Fisher in an entertaining manner," Powell said in an author's note. "The idea is that I've taken the basic facts of the story from about 30 sources and built a novel around it.

"I have tried in this historical novel to capture the essence of the life and times of Jack Fisher."

During the mid-19th century, people came from far and wide to the Pacific Northwest searching for gold. Fisher's search began at the age of 16, when he traveled from Philadelphia to California for the gold rush of 1849.

After spending time in California, Fisher headed north where rumors told of new prospects in Oregon Country. His arduous journey led through Walla Walla, Coeur d'Alene, Montana and all the way to Wild Horse Creek near Fort Steele, British Columbia, where he struck one of the largest single-stream gold veins recorded during the Kootenay gold rush of 1864.

After striking it big, Fisher took $80,000 in gold from Wild Horse Creek back to California where he spent it all in six months. Now broke, gold fever again led him north - this time to the Thompson Falls and Libby area, where he struck luck again, and would spend the rest of his life.

According to Powell, Fisher's history is regionally significant because it ties the Northwest together during an important developmental period.

"It is my hope that we take the time to remember those who have come before us and reflect on the rich heritage they have created for our benefit," Powell said.

The Cranbrook native said he used to give tours of Wild Horse Creek, and that people's interest in the history of the area led him to begin his research about Fisher.

The author/publisher said he has sold more than 1,500 copies and plans to donate $800 from those sales to place a memorial in Conrad Memorial Cemetery in Kalispell, where Fisher has rested for more than a century in an unmarked grave.

Fisher's obituary from the Daily Inter Lake newspaper in Kalispell read, "There is little doubt that he is one of the first white men, possibly the first, who ever came into the Flathead valley."

The book is available for purchase through Borders and Powell's website at www.wildhorsecreekpress.com. Copies are also available at The Coeur d'Alene Press front desk, 201 Second St. in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Cost is $21.95.

Powell is still searching for a picture of Fisher, though he said he believes one does exist. Powell said he believes this because photographs were available during the time, and he has photos of some of Fisher's contemporaries from Fort Steele.

If anyone has a picture of Fisher, Powell asked that they contact him through his website.