Described as courageous and determined, Oscar Henry (O.H.) Solibakke (pictured on the far right) spent years placer mining in Alaska before he became involved in the development of the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mining Company.
A Seattle promoter and financial agent, O.H. Solibakke raised money and disposed of the stocks for the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mining Company (CGQ). O.H. became an optimistic director of the CGQ and sold shares in the United States, England, and Europe when the government would not allow it in Canada. Mr. Solibakke has been credited with being the best stock salesman on the Pacific Coast. He managed to sell stocks for the Cariboo Gold Quartz despite the Great Depression, mistrust of shareholders, nasty rumours spread by other financiers, and poor geological reports about the Cariboo. He made the sales through personal solicitation of prospectors and personalized advertisements, which were unusual practices at the time.
Solibakke, with Fred Wells and Dr. William Burnett was known as one of “The Three Musketeers.” The three were not only the founders of the CGQ, they were also members and directors of the townsite syndicate (The Wells Townsite Company) that was created to build the town of Wells. Solibakke kept diaries during this time, referred to as the Solibakke Diaries, that detail the mining strikes at the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine and Island Mountain Mine.