Slumach's Gold chronicles what is possibly Canada's greatest lost-mine story. It searches out the truth behind a Salish man's hanging for murder in 1891 and tracks the intriguing legend about him that grew after his death. It was a legend that turned into a drama of international fascination when Slumach—the hanged criminal—was mysteriously linked to gold nuggets "the size of walnuts." The stories claimed that Slumach had placed a curse on a hidden motherlode to protect it from interlopers and trespassers just before he plunged to his death "at the wrong end of a five-strand rope." Although many have attempted to find Slumach's gold over the past 100 years, following tantalizing clues that are part of the legend itself, none have succeeded—or have they?

Rick Antonson, Mary Trainer and Brian Antonson have diligently sifted through history and myth, separating fact from fiction, but leaving the legend intact—along with the promise of gold yet to be found by some future gold seeker.

Born in Vancouver in 1949, Rick Antonson attended Simon Fraser University and started Antonson Publishing and Nunaga Publishing in the early 1970s. In the mid-1980s Rick worked as vice-president and general manager of Douglas & McIntyre, also serving as president of the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia. He left publishing to become vice president of the Great Canadian Railtour Company Ltd., operating a train service between Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies. This led to his role as president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver. Rick has also served as chairman of the Oceans Blue Foundation, a group that works to encourage a more environmentally responsible approach to tourism in the Pacific Northwest. Rick was on the Board of Directors for Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympic Winter Games Bid Corporation and has served as co-chairman for the BC Special Olympics.

Rick Antonson's profile page

Brian Antonson was born and raised in British Columbia. He is associate dean of Broadcast and Media Communications at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

In his early 20s, Brian collaborated with Rick Antonson and Mary Trainer to write and publish In Search of a Legend: Slumach's Gold in 1972. The incentive to create the book actually originated two years earlier as a way to celebrate the centennial of B.C.'s entry into Confederation in 1971. Inspired by the afterglow of Canada's centennial and Expo 67, the trio was part of a new generation that was passionate about being Canadian—and about all things Canadian. The trio created a publishing house, Nunaga (the Inuit word for "my land, my country") Publishing, and between 1972 and 1979 they published more than 25 books under this imprint and Antonson Publishing.

Brian Antonson's profile page

Mary Trainer, Brian Antonson, and Rick Antonson founded Nunaga Publishing in 1972, and together they published more than twenty-five books, including In Search of a Legend: Slumach’s Gold, which was re-released by Heritage House in 2007. Mary Trainer has been writing about British Columbia for four decades and was a communications coordinator with Metro Vancouver for twenty years. Brian Antonson is associate dean of Broadcast and Media Communications at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. In the 1980s, Rick Antonson became vice president of the Great Canadian Railtour Company Ltd., which led to his role as president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, a post he held until 2013.

Mary Trainer's profile page

Slumach’s Gold: In Search of a Legend