An excerpt from The Beaverton Presents Glorious and/or Free: The True History of Canada. Available where books are sold.
November 7th, 1885
EAGLE, BC — The Honourable D.A. Smith has made history in our Dominion after being the first distinguished, wealthy white man to perform any labour by driving in the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway, thereby uniting the province of British Columbia with the rest of Canada.
The task wasn’t easy; labourers had to deliver a few blows with the maul just to get things started for the corporate leader. Then finally, after his 19th try, Mr. Smith made a direct hit, driving the iron nail into the last plank. The crowd cheered this mighty accomplishment for his race.
An out-of-breath Smith said, “My many thanks to the supervisors, who employed Chinamen for such difficult tasks as exploding nitroglycerin to break mountains, laying the tracks, and ensuring that no white man, notwithstanding the Irish, lifted a finger before I arrived to see its completion.”
After photographs were taken, the distinguished banker immediately departed.
Items left by dead labourers were picked up as mementos and overdue pay.
