Based on extensive research in the Fort Langley archives, this novel offers a rich and colourful portrait of the Hawaiians’ role as "servants" of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 1830s and their relations with the Native peoples of the northwest coast. Susan Dobbie takes us inside the world of Kimo Kanui, a young Kanaka man who leaves his native Hawaii in the early nineteenth century at a time when thousands of his people were leaving to find work abroad. For Kimo, the new life proves transformative as he grows to enjoy life "on the edge." He becomes deeply involved with the natives through his growing love for the half-Kwantlen, half-French Canadian woman, Rose Fanon, and when her life is threatened by marauders, he breaks Company rules to rescue her. As his attachment to Rose and the land grows, he foresees a time when the Company will no longer control the territory, when men can freely trade and lay claim to the land.

When Eagles Call

Literature & Fiction

Dobbie, Susan

Literary

Ronsdale Pr

In this sequel to When Eagles Call, Hawaiian Kimo Kanui is working out the terms of his Hudson’s Bay contract in 1858 as the Fraser Gold rush begins. As the Fraser gold dries up, the Cariboo Gold Rush takes over and Kimo decides to head north to try and get his share of the wealth. With his wife recently dead and his contract coming to an end, Kimo is torn between returning to Hawaii with his daughter, and staying in the Pacific Northwest. Either way, he wants to own land, and he needs gold to buy it. Joining up with his Hawaiian friend Moku and a black man, Ezekiel, Kimo travels north in search of gold. Along the way a native woman, Morning Bird, joins the group after Kimo saves her from slavery, and her presence causes more emotional upheaval for Kimo. Once in the Cariboo the group faces harsh challenges: cruel winter and wild geography, fights with miners and attack by natives, disputes with neighbours, and arson. Kimo must decide if his future lies under the warmth and security of the Hawaiian sun, or in being part of the new society now taking root in the colony.

River of Gold

Contemporary

Ronsdale Press

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Books by Dobbie, Susan