McIntyre Bluff – A little History, A little Fact and a Little Legend.

A man, a mountain, a myth/ legend are all tied together in the name McIntyre. To know more about the famous Indian Head north of Oliver, one must first know a little about the man for whom it was named….Peter McIntyre.

Peter Wrightson Mcintyre was born Mar 2, 1835 in the province of Quebec. He joined the Overlanders in 1862 and came west with other families, notably the Schubert’s. After mining in the Cariboo, and prospecting in the Mackenzie River district, Peter McIntyre crossed over to the U.S.A where he became an Indian fighter and Pony Express guard.

In the early eighties he returned to British Columbia, and settled near Vaseux Lake. He installed a large water wheel which he used to generate power for a small saw mill. As a bachelor, Peter McIntyre lived alone on his property. His brother-in-law was suffering from a lung disease from working in the mines, so Peter invited him and his sister to take advantage of the dry air of the Okanagan and live with him. They relocated with their young daughter Hazel. The family had a hay meadow and raised cattle, calling their property Cliff Ranch. The cliff later became known as McIntyre Bluff and the creek as McIntyre Creek. Hazel eventually married Ed Kennedy and also lived on the ranch with their son Jack and daughter Mickey. The land remained in the McIntyre/Kennedy family for 137 years.

Old Pete died at the age of 91 on 12 Feb 1925 in the Penticton Hospital with his sister Catherine McKenzie by his side. Jim Schubert from the Overlanders remained friends with Pete all his life. Jim was a mere infant when he came with the Overlanders in 1862. He remembered how Peter McIntyre took him on his back and swam across the Saskatchewan River. When Peter McIntyre died, Jim Schubert was one of the pall-bearers.

About McIntyre Bluff:

McIntyre Bluff is a large ridge of rock, made of gneiss and is located south of Vaseux Lake between Okanagan Falls and Oliver. The bluff is located beside Highway 97 and is one of the most well known landmarks in the Okanagan Valley. This landmark is named after Peter McIntyre, a member of the Overland Expedition of 1862. If you look at the bluff from the north end of Vaseux Lake you can see the “scoop” between the bluff and the mountains on the east side. This is the narrowest part of the Okanagan Valley.

Some say McIntyre Bluff was formed by glaciers and others say it was formed by a rock slide after the slaughter of a band of Indians. Some of the elders of the local Indian band believed the Bluff was haunted and that when the moon is full you can see the images of Warriors as they silently plunged to their death.

**********************************************************************

McIntyre Bluff….Here then is the story…is it fact or is it legend – only the ghosts of the past will know for sure:

One night in September when the Hunting Moon was fading, a small band of Indians, who had wandered up from somewhere to the south and east, were making their way up the valley in search of a good camping ground. They were travel-worn and weary, with little preparation for defense; they stopped to rest in a sheltered hollow behind the bluff.

From the darkness beyond them came the fierce attacking cry of the Okanagans. They ran for their lives and came to the edge of the precipice..they were trapped..but no..there was a ledge and man by man, single file they crept along the ledge until there was no more…silently they leapt off that awful height into the dark. The last of the band stood proudly for a moment, and then flung out his arms and with a battle cry, leapt to his death below.
Many years have passed since that grim night long ago, and the crimson paintbrush flowers grow now along the trails those Indians roamed. Sometimes, people say, when the Hunting Moon is fading and the stars are dim, the ghosts of those warriors can be seen in the glow of the Northern Lights that come out and dance as of old over their rocky graves…..

Photo Audrey MacNaughton