Creekstone Press

Creekstone Press Publications

In the Land of the Red Goat

By Bob Henderson

Description: Paperback, 6” X 9”, 232 pages, approx. 80 B&W photographs throughout, hand-drawn maps

ISBN: 0-9684043-9-1

Price: $21

One of Creekstone's most durable titles, In the Land of the Red Goat is now out of print.

Born to a life of private schools, cricket games and society balls, Bob Henderson abandoned it all when he was 18 for the challenges found in the mountains of northern British Columbia.

It was early summer 1963 when he landed a job with guide-outfitter Tommy Walker in the heart of what is now BC’s Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park.

Often referred to as the Serengeti of the North, the Spatsizi is rugged and sometimes dangerous country, especially for a boy unaccustomed to the ways of bears, contrary packhorses, wild rivers and temperamental weather.

He was adopted by the Tlogoti’ne First Nations people who worked as guides, wranglers and cooks for Walker. They broke him in and kept him safe during his early years in the territory.

After five seasons with the Walker outfit, Bob joined Love Bros. & Lee, legendary guide-outfitters from the Kispiox Valley. They honed his bush craft and made him a partner.

During more than four decades in the North, Bob was charged by grizzlies, fought forest fires, learned to fly – and crash land – planes, ran a tracked, five-ton snow machine up the Stikine River as the ice melted around him, babied a fully-loaded truck with no brakes down a 10-mile hill, and survived the northward advance of bureaucrats, politicians and miners.

All of these stories and more he tells in this captivating book of a hard life chosen and lived with enthusiasm and courage.

Bob still spends every fishing season at his lodge on Tatlatui Lake with clients, friends and family. Not yet ready to retire, he is hoping to one day pass his legacy on to someone who will uphold the wilderness values he learned from his mentors.

Witty, insightful, candid and informative, In The Land of The Red Goat is history, autobiography and a fascinating journey through some of Canada’s most stunning geography.

Reviews

Wade Davis, author, explorer, and ethnobotanist who worked as a guide and park ranger in BC's northwest:

"Bob Henderson was present in the Spatsizi when many seminal events unfolded and he gives us considerable insight into the character and personalities of so many individuals who have become…"
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Larry Pynn, The Vancouver Sun, (October 14, 2006):

"In the Land of the Red Goat is interesting both for author Bob Henderson’s reminiscences about his life as a hunting guide in Northern B.C. and for his version of…"
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Larissa Ardis, Northword Magazine:

"Bob Henderson is a storyteller that exemplifies the oral tradition. Until recently he’d never written these things down, but over the years of telling these stories repeatedly, they still contain…"
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Mark Forsythe, in BC Bookworld:

"Bob Henderson’s weathered paw is extended as he steps into the studio, his grip firm, manner direct, but he’s a bit apprehensive. He is too far from his natural habitat.…"
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Bill Otway, The Outdoor Edge, British Columbia:

"If [you like] stories of hunting, fishing and the history of both in the…Spatsizi, plus an insight into the greatness of the valley of the Stikine, then Bob Henderson’s first…"
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