T.D. Shorts’ Later Years

Captain Shorts is a prominent figure in the Okanagan Valley’s history. His friends called him the High Admiral of the Okanagan. Short’s Creek near Fintry was named after him. However, he never made much money with his steamboats. Shorts was reported as saying that he made a fair amount of money on his rowboat, the Ruth Shorts, but never made any profit from his later steamboats. In 1895, Shorts left the Okanagan and went to the gold fields of Alaska. Once again, he tried to strike it rich but was unsuccessful. Eventually, he moved to Hope, BC. He had very little money on which to live in Hope. Many people tried to help him. But Shorts was a proud man, and he did not want to accept charity. He ended up dying a poor man in 1921. He was 83 years old. The era of Thomas Dorling Shorts was over.