 At the age of 16 he emigrated to Galveston, Texas, and after a misadventure where he was wounded and captured by Indians, following the lure of the gold rushes westward, he came to Rich Bar, Washington and with the take from his placer claim opened a small store and operated a small riverboat.Hearing of good grazing land northwards in British Columbia, he sold out his mine holdings in Washington and bought 42 head of cattle with a man by the name of King, and they drove them to the Cawston area south of the Keremeos, which is located in the Similkameen Valley of British Columbia's Southern Interior in October 1864.He pre-empted land six miles (10 km) down the Similkameen Valley from Keremeos and founded the "R" Ranch.