He was born in Denmark, 1828, and cast on the cold billows to struggle for himself at the age of fifteen. A few years later he stepped ashore in England, where he took a course in navigation to enable himself to cope more successfully with the foam-crest surges. He embarked a ship for India and Australia. In the latter place his mind was engrossed with exciting reports from the gold fields, and thither he flew, a fugitive of the sea. Success smiled on his brow, and wealth crowded into his hands; but riches easily won are not highly treasured. In a wildcat scheme he sunk his fortune, and before the dawn of a fresh week his thousands were in the hands of others. This catastrophe, brought about by sheer mishap, drove him back to the sea, and, in 1859, landed at Victoria, British Columbia. A buoyant spirit, though wounded with ill-luck, will soar to felicity and breathe vigor on green fields. Peterson was delighted with the verdure that greeted his vision, and took a canoe excursion around the Sound. On returning to Victoria, he was struck with the gold fever which raged desperately in the Cascades and Sound country. He compromised with his floating thoughts, bent his energy on a prospecting tour, and in two days flocked together sixteen men. In his customary adroitness he took command of the little army of gold seekers, and bore into the forest, but when two hundred and twenty-five miles from Victoria, thirteen of them lost courage and returned to the city. Peterson and his two companions proceeded up a small stream for some days, and to their astonishment, one gray evening, fell upon four white men actively engaged in picking gold nuggets. They staked out a claim, glimpses of luck commenced to play on their cheeks, but died ere a fortnight had gone to rest in the pensive dream of growing forgetfulness. Their ration was getting low, and to save themselves from falling victims to pitiless starvation, they raked together their pelf, and returned to Victoria. In the spring an English syndicate mustered a regiment of fresh recruits, a man of spirit and agility was wanted to head an expedition into the mountains, and Peterson was offered the responsibility, as he had already gained fame as a daring adventurer. It was suggested to seek a new field, and a guide was secured to usher them along. First, however, was to hunt up an easy pass, and to accomplish this, a knot of fourteen men, headed by Peterson, was dispatched into the wilderness. They fought their way through murky vales and climbed moss-bearded brows, the day sunk behind the horizon and night wrapped them in darkness. Thus they continued; but, alas! the guide disappears. The others rambled through treacherous woods, thoughtless of any hazard. Hours were consumed climbing over angry logs and chasing through witching dingles, but the guide was neither heard nor sighted.