In 1861 The Daily British Colonist[1] was a newspaper that consisted of peoples’ shared ideas and opinions. The two articles from this newspaper which I will be exploring are “A Plea For The Dance Houses” and “The Dance Houses.” British Columbia was a prospering province from 1861-1866; it was undergoing the Gold Rush and gained thousands of miners, prospectors, and adventures from. Miners would pass through Victoria to stock up on provisions before starting their journey to the Fraser Canyon, and therefore an influx of food, drink, and overnight stay was required. These were not the only provisions desired by miners though, a woman for the night to pass the loneliness of a man became vital to their experience.[2] Prostitution in British Columbia became a tourist attraction, and was “totally impossible to prevent.”[3]

The two articles were written by authors with peculiar names, Icta Mamoook and Pho Bono Publico, which insinuates the possibility that they submitted articles using pen names. It was simple to sway public opinions through newspapers and these authors’ clear opinions toward keeping The Dance Houses open for the betterment of the community may not have been the majority’s preference. These thoughts by Publico and Mamook may have influenced them to hide their  identity, “it even seems to me that these houses are doing some good,”[4] and “so far from being a nuisance, they are rather a benefit.”[5] It seems as though the articles were written by males because of the statement: “I think you will allow that in a town containing a large predominance of men, and men who by their mode of life (even suppose them to be so inclined) are precluded from marriage, it is almost, if not totally impossible, to prevent prostitution.”[6] This quote presents a predominantly male perspective of prostitution by pointing out the communities’ large male population and defending the precluded man by declaring that prostitutes were the only solution to the surfeit of men. We can also assume an author was a female owner of a brothel who feared the closure of her main source of income. Due to this fear, she may have wanted to inform the public to the positives of Dance Houses by way of opinion of a miner, “I, in the name of other miners am going to say a few words in defense of those unfortunate houses that have been branded as “dens of infamy.”[7] This quote defends the Dance Houses and continues to speak on how they were a profit to British Columbia in this era by keeping miners satisfied and returning.

The influx of out of town workers put pressure on British Columbia’s communities to make the province appealing so the outsiders would return. Work at the mine was not simple, and life in the Cariboo was undesirable; therefore, a place to drink and available women were keeping the miners satisfied. “It is natural that the miner, and especially the Cariboo miner, being during the summer time exposed to hardships, should desire to amuse himself while he is passing his holidays and in it he proves to be a little gayer than ordinary. It is because he has been deprived for a long time of any kind of amusement.”[8] This statement brings about an issue of equality between genders, bringing into question a woman’s choice for the actions of amusement. Thus, questioning whether they were slaves to the men or rather had a choice to participate. The authors lived in a time of high moral standings, they knew right from wrong, “I fear it is a necessary evil,”[9] but also realized that men had needs other than women. Prostitution was known to be the main reason for men to endure the hardships of the Cariboo, “it is one of his main reasons for coming down here, and if he can’t have that he might as well have passed the winter somewhere above or at San Francisco; and he certainly would do so next year.”[10] This clearly states that the men would have no reason to return to British Columbia if the Dance Houses were to close because they had other choices such as San Francisco which provided warmer weather and more appealing women, “most of the females there, according to appearance can be placed on higher moral platforms than these squaws.”[11] It seems as though women were the driving factor for working men all over, it didn’t matter what they looked like, it only mattered if they were capable to amuse, proving women were used as an activity for the visitors.

Prosperity did not come without effort, and British Columbia had to satisfy the needs of the outsiders so they would come back. In the articles “A Plea For The Dance Houses” and “The Dance Houses,” it is clear that Dance-Houses, or “sinks of iniquity,”[12] were the primary possessors of prostitution and therefore the reason men returned, “it is true that at present the theatre might attract him; but for how long will that last?”[13] Prostitution was more than an act; it was an attraction to the colony of British Columbia.

 

Bibliography

 

Icta Mamook, “A Plea For The Dance Houses,” The Daily British Colonist, December 23, 1861,

 

http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist18611223uvic/18611223#page/n0/mode/1up

 

Pho Bono Publico, “The Dance Houses,” The Daily British Colonist, December 23, 1861,

 

http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist18611223uvic/18611223#page/n0/mode/1up

 

 

[1]  Icta Mamook, “A Plea For The Dance Houses,” The Daily British Colonist, December 23, 1861, http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist18611223uvic/18611223#page/n0/mode/1up

[2] Pho Bono Publico, “The Dance Houses,” The Daily British Colonist, December 23, 1861, http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist18611223uvic/18611223#page/n0/mode/1up

[3] Mamook, “A Plea For The Dance Houses.”

[4] Publico, “The Dance Houses.”

[5] Mamook, “A Plea For The Dance Houses.”

[6] Mamook, “A Plea For The Dance Houses.” p.3

[7] Publico, “The Dance Houses.” p.2

[8] Ibid.

[9] Mamook, “A Plea For The Dance Houses.” p.3

[10] Ibid.

[11] Publico, “The Dance Houses.” p.2

[12] Mamook, “A Plea For The Dance Houses.” p.3

[13] Publico, “The Dance Houses.” p.2