Jean Caux  "Cataline"  - Packer

Jean Caux is probably the best known packer of pioneer British Columbia.  He and his well-managed pack trains played an important role in these early days.

The name "Cataline" was given to him when he first came to North America.  He was originally from a place called "Catalonia" in the country of Bearn.  Bearn was a small country on the border of France and Spain.  He did not speak much English and when people would ask his name, he would reply, "Catalonia".  After a few years, he became known as Cataline.

Jean Caux - Cataline, 1897
Image Courtesy of BC Archives - Detail of Call #B-01506

In 1858, Cataline packed out of Yale and Ashcroft.  As more and more wagon roads were built in the Cariboo, Cataline moved north and packed out of Quesnel for several years. Here too, wagons began taking over from the pack trains and  therefore, Cataline moved north once more and made Hazelton his home base. 

Packing and pack trains were still very much a necessity in this part of the country.   Pack trains were used to get supplies to the Omineca area, the Bulkley Valley settlements and north up the Yukon Telegraph Trail.

Cataline ran a pack train comprised of 60 perfectly trained mules. He had little to no formal education and kept few written records.  He relied mostly on his incredible memory to keep things organized.  He needed no invoices concerning what supplies each pack animal was carrying, how much to charge for the supplies or where to leave them.  Cataline would get credit from a bank or the Hudson's Bay Company and then rely on his customers to pay the creditor.

Cataline's mule train in Hazelton, 1911
Image Courtesy of BC Archives - Detail of Call #A-03048

Dave Wiggins was Cataline's right-hand-man or, in Mexican terms, segundo.  It was Dave's job to be sure all the equipment was in good repair.   He was usually very busy mending pack saddles and rigging.  He knew each of the saddles and pads and exactly which horse or mule they belonged to.

Cataline wore the same clothing winter and summer.   He would buy a new white boiled shirt for every trip and wore woolen pants, leather riding boots with no socks, a bright colored scarf, and a wide leather sash around his waist. When trading, his segundo would fetch him his French hat, morning frock coat and a birch tree chair.  Cataline then held the position of honour since he was the only one seated.

Another much told story about Cataline involved his favourite drink --cognac.  After each drink, he would take a little in his hand and rub it on his hair.  He used to say, "A little on the inside, and a little on the outside!"

Cataline was particularly proud of his reputation for never failing to fulfill a freight contract.  No settlement was too remote and no mine too difficult to access.  Men would often start out to a newly placed claim with only the bare necessities.  They depended on Cataline to follow with a full cargo and not once did he fail them.

In one account a story is told of a small parcel disappearing.  When the package was noted as missing, Cataline sent a replacement from Hazelton --2 pounds of Limburger cheese!  One of the handlers on the pack train had thought that something had gone rotten and had thrown the original package away.

After more than 55 years riding the trails, Cataline made his last trip in 1913, when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway first reached Hazelton.  Cataline must have been in his eighties when he decided to retire.  He sold his pack train to a Kispiox Valley rancher, George Beirnes.  After retiring, Cataline lived in a cabin George gave him near Hazelton.

He died peacefully in Hazelton in October 1922 and is buried up on the hill overlooking the old town of Hazelton, in the country he knew so well.  A  memorial cairn has been erected in this area in his memory.  There is also a site marker about Cataline that is situated on Highway 62 which reads:

                                                 "Cataline"  

"Nickname of Jean Caux, first, last and greatest of our packers.  From 1858 to 1912 this colourful Basque, with loaded mules plodding 10 miles a day, supplied mining and construction camps from Yale and Ashcroft northward, through Hazelton where he often wintered.  His mule trails became roads; his exploits legend; both memorials to this great frontiersman."

Image Courtesy of the Hazelton
Pioneer Museum & Archives

This site marker is part of the Hand of History self-guided tour which encompasses the Upper Skeena region.

This digital collection was produced under contract to the
   SchoolNet Digital Collections program, Industry Canada. Revised:  02/15/99