Nestled in a side alley between the steam clock and what used to be the statue of 'gassy jack'
This neighborhood is named after a white settler who became well known as a bar owner. His indigenous child wife, a lesser known figure also deserves to be remembered for her resilience. This cache is placed as a tribute to a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) woman by the name of Quahail-ya.
Quahail-ya started off as “a young native girl bought for a large price” by a white settler named jack deighton who was described as a “drunk, scoundrel and bootlegger inclined to using a shotgun to chase away competition” with “a love for Coast Salish Ladies”. deighton opened his first saloon in New Westminster, which later burned to the ground. He then moved down to the Burrard Inlet and began smuggling liquor while building a hotel and liquoring up sailors and sawmill workers. This was about the time when, Quahail-ya came to care for deighton’s first wife, her Aunt. Around 1870 her Aunt became ill and after she died Quahail-ya became deighton’s second wife at the age of “about 12”.
Quahail-ya “was young, powerful, clear-eyed and self-reliant”. She attempted to run away from deighton on numerous occasions and he would wonder why she would “leave him about twice a month”. She was given the english name of Madeline Deighton, but was also known by Wha-halia and X̱áliya to the Squamish People.
Quahail-ya gave birth to a son named Richard Mason Deighton in December of 1871, nicknamed the Earl of Granville. “The baby lived about two years and was buried at Brockton Point, but in fact he outlived his father.”
Eventually at the age of 15, Quahail-ya succeeded and was able to get away from Deighton. She moved to what is now called North Vancouver and after deighton’s death, “Quahail-ya was denied any legal claim to her husband’s property.”
As always, my mantra for my hides is to only hide creative and well camouflaged caches. Happy Caching!
The land which this geocache is placed is the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation and I humbly thank them for permitting us to be in this space.
*source: https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2020/08/01/Tearning-Down-Monumental-Mistakes/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=080120-1&utm_campaign=editorial-0820&fbclid=IwAR0-U25TResjHRpv2fte90rwDxtbnGzP9cMHlB47v7Vleevho2zY6AoQyqs