In 1934, in the middle of the Great Depression, millionaire Charles
Bedaux spent $250,000 in an attempt to cross northern British Columbia
in five motorized vehicles. The Bedaux Expedition ranks as one of the
most audacious and unusual events in the province's history. Bannock and
Beans tells the story of this extravagant failure from the perspective
of one of the cowboys who worked on Bedaux's team. Bob White's
reminiscences, recounted in the tradition of the cowboy storyteller,
describe the hardships of cutting trails and hauling supplies on
horseback, the beauty of the wilderness landscape and many of the unique
aspects of the expedition. Bannock and Beans also reveals the complex
character of the expedition's leader, Charles Bedaux, a French
entrepreneur who made his fortune in the United States. The book
includes White's experiences in Bedaux's attempts to develop a ranch in
northern BC after the expedition. Editor Jay Sherwood supplements with
original Bedaux Expedition correspondence and photographs to show
Bedaux's strong attachment to the remote wilderness area of northern BC
from 1926 to 1939. Bannock and Beans provides new information and a
fresh perspective on this unique event in BC's history. White's memoirs
take us back to the campfire stories of people who were part of the vast
wilderness that still covered much of the northern part of the province
75 years ago.
