Thanks to Russ Walton for his research and for his company as we did the field work  on this exploration.

"In 1877, G. M. Dawson surveyed the area around Kamloops for the Geological Survey of Canada.  In his report he wrote that, “Battle Bluff derives its name from an Indian legend, and on a surface of smooth, glacier-polished rock on its front, a few feet in area, traces of red paint are still to be found, and said to have been renewed from time to time in memory of a conflict.” 

A few years earlier in 1871, Benjamin Baltzly, the photographer for A. Selwyn’s survey party, also remarked on the red painted rock.  He had been told that it marked the site of a great battle, and that the “victorious tribe stained or painted a large projecting rock, which is about 15 feet above water, with some kind of red material to commemorate the place.” 

Harlan Smith singled out Battle Bluff in his archaeological report in 1900 for the American Museum of Natural History, commenting on the “numerous pictographs painted in red” on the rocky cliff.

The red painted rock can still be seen today.  Orange lichen grows around its edges, but the red pigment stands out clearly against the cliff face.  The site can only be reached by water, giving paddlers yet another reason to explore along the cliffs of Battle Bluff."