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, •• V

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i\ -^ c

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND

BIIITISII COLUMBIA.

1,1. M tl.N
1' 111 N 1 I. U .;Y !- I'OTT 1 S \V(UI I) V AN I' I

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3 VANC()IJVKJ{ ISLAND AND

UKITISn COJJ'MHIA.

rilKIU IIIS'I'IIKV, liKSdl'KCKS. AMI I'liOSI'KCTS.

l»Y

MA'I'TIII'.W MACFIK RU.G.fS.

1 ivi; \i..\u- i(i;-iiii.>r i.\ mmpima \.i

LONDON :
LOiNdALVN, (iliLKN. LoN(iM.\N, 'OULKTS, ,v (.KLLN.

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•I'lIK mOJIT HON. KDWAIIL) CAllDWl' LL. M.I'.

III-K' .MAJESTY'S I'lilNCII'.M, sKchk'IWKY o].' STATK

I'Olx- TIIK COLON! Ks.

rUE 1 ACE

'J'jils voLO'i^ is tlic (Irst tliat Las been piil^lislied in tliis
couiiliy (.'oiilaiiiiiiL!\/W// and cUh^sijied inlbrmation on the
various topics re^'iting to the colonics of Vancouver Island
and British Columbia. It is hoped that, at the same time,
comprehensiveness has not been lost sight of in the
grout)ing of details.

A few other w(}rks have already appeared ; some of
which give valuable statistics bearhig upon the physical
and i)olitical geograi)hy, cUmatology, llura, fauna, and
aborigines of these im})ortant dei)endencies. Some little
has also been wj-itten on tlieir principal resources ; but
all the l)0()ks that have hitherto issued from the Eno-hsh
press on the subject put together fail, in the author's
estimation, to exhibit the connnercial, timber-exportino-,
mining, and agricultural capabilities of the colonies with
the minuteness and i)rominence they merit. Had these
points been discussed, however, in the most satisfactory
manner, it is now several years since any extended account
of Vancouver Island and Jjritish Columbia has been sub-
mitted to the British public, and the progress of these
thriving settlements in that brief and eventhil interval
necessai'ily renders i)revious volumes, in many respects,
out of date.

•REFACE.

The first cliaptor is in no way ossciitial to the ooiiiploto-
iicss of tlio work. It lias, liowevcr, been deemed suitable
in its present jilace for tlie twofoUl purpose of conveying
some general idea of California, and i)lacing our [)ending
dispute with the American Government on the question
of their occuj)ation of the island of San Juan in a cleai'
hi»'ht. Our commercial relations with the State referred
to are more intimate than with any other on the racilic
Coast; and as the auriferous mountains of British CoUnnbia
are but a continuation of the Sierra Nevada in California,
the Colony and the State may be said to be connected by a
community of resources. The afl'air of San Juan has never
been fairly stated by the newspaper press of this country.

The body of the present work is intended c///<y7y for the
perusal of merchants, statesmen, and intending emigrants;
wliile it is hoped that it will not be found uninteresting
to general readers.

The author makes no pretensions to faultlessness of
style under any circumstances; but the limited time at
liis command for throwing his materials into shape pre-
cludes the possibility of any such quality here. Still, it
may be accepted in partial compensation for defects of
composition that he has endeavoured, to the best of his
abihty, to avail himself of the special advantages he
enjoyed for collecting facts respecting the countiy of
which he writes. The position he occupied for five years
in the colonies alToi-ded him opportunities of becoming
acquainted, more or less, with all classes of society, from
the officials of Government to the most obscure citizens ;
and in view of the task he has now undertaken, he laid
liis friends under tribute.

re
a

I'RKFACR.

omplc^to-

suitublo

)iiveyiii<i;

peiuliiiu;
qiR'stioM
1 Ji ck'nr
rclcrred
J racilic
V)liiiiibia
ilifornia,
:tt'd by a
I as never
L^ouiitry.
y for tlic
liurants;
teresiting

sness of
time at
ipe p re-
Still, it
^fects of
t of liis
iges lie
mtiy of
/e years
icominut
y, fi-oni
itizeiis ;
lie laid

Till Avilhiii the last seven years, those possessions "were
ri'irarded by the ])eople of England, for the most part, as
a terra 'nu'Diinitd, cmbitieinL!; a j'eiiioii of the u'lobe inhos-
jiitable beyond descripticm ; the scene of perpetual and
sanguinary encouiitei-s lietween proAvling savages and
beasts of ])rey, and having no title to be reclaimed by
industry, or visited ^vitIl the benefits of civilisation.
They still sustain th(> disadvantacfe of l)einr!f more incoii-
venient of access from England than certain other distant
1 British (Colonies, which are iavoiired to receive from year
to year the tid(3 of an emigrating population. Considering
their remoteness from the ])arent country, the veiy limited
knowledge of their topography, and resources still pos-
sessed by the mass of Enirlishmen, and the conilictino-
re})orts that have been circulated in books and iiews-
]ia])ers respecting their adaptability for settlement, it is
not surprising that the most diligent efforts to arrive at a
satisfactory conclusion on the subject should sometimes
end in ])er[)lexity and disa])[)oiiitment.

j\rany immigrants who have found prosperity — looking
at the condition and prospects of the coiuitry exclusively
from a favourable point of view — may, in some cases, have
been tenn)ted to indulge in rejirescntations too highly
coloured to their friends at home. Others, having the
misfortune to share a dillerent fate, may have occasionally
allowed trials to warp their judgment, and impart gloom
to the expression of their opinions. These pages are
written to aid in nnravelliuij!: this tanirled skein of contra-
dictions, and to show that the country is neither a perfect
/'J/i/.^iuiii, nor an absolute Sahara^ but one which presents
a lield for the investment of capital and the ap[)licatioii of

a 2

Xll

PREFACE.

indiistrv, unsurpassed in elements of wealtli, in propor-
tion to area, by any oilier })art of the enij)ire.

It' one hindrance to the rapid advance of these colonics
deserves to be specified nioi'c than another, it is the wmit
of an ciNit/raiit route from Cnuada to the liockij Mouii-
taiiis. The interoceanic railway scheme, so nuicli talked
of, is prematiu'c, though certain in future years to be
realised. But a waa'gon-road, vio lied Ixiver and the Sas-
katchewan, is ]>racticable in every respect, as shown at
length in that chapter which deals with the question; and
it is devoutly to be wished that Lord Wharnclifle, Mr. A.
Mills, and other noblemen and gentlemen in both Houses
of rarliament, who have recently evinced so deep and
intelligent an interest in the subject of colonising the
Great North West, may be induced to bring their hilhience
to bear for tlie accomplishment of the object which is
most urgent. Could the comparatively inexpensive com-
munication thus sought be opened simultaneously with
the proposed telegra})h fi'om Hed liivcr to British
Columbia, especially now that ever-strengthening induce-
ments to emigration across the |)lains are held out by
the mines east and west of the iiocky Mountains, the
settlement of the intervening territory would soon follow.
While acknowledging obligations to the Governments
of Vancouver Island and British Columbia for the maps
and bhie-books they have so liberally placed at the
author's disposal, thanks are due to the authorities at the
Colonial Office and the Board of Trade for courtesies
extended, and to those gentlemen of influence in Canada
who, during his late visit there, supi)lied the an then* with
valuable official documents. Acknowledj/ments are also

-m

rilKFACE.

XIU

1 propor-

} colonies
the icmit
hj Moun-
ih talked
,r8 to be
1 the Sas-
!;hown at
ioii ; and
e, Mr. A.
li Houses
leep and
isiiig the
hifhience
which is
sive coiu-
isly with
' British
I iiiduce-
1 out by
aiiis, the
>ii follow,
enunents
the nia[)s
I at the
ics at the
:oiirtesies
;i Canada
:hor with
are also

tendered to Professor Balfour, of the Edinburgh Univer-
sity, lor an interesting contribution to the list of llora : to
the Librarian of tlie TiOndon Institution, for access to
CJovei'nnient pMjx.'rs ; and to tlie liev. E.W. Slialders, B.A.,
of liocliester, for useful hints suggested by his excellent
taste and iudi'-nient.

London : 3I(ii/ I80o.

CONTENTS.

»o*-

CIIAPTEli 1.

TUE VOYAGE OUT.

l)i'])arturo — Aznros — Dosciiption of Passongors — St. Thomas, "NV. I. —
('artlia<reim™Sliarkt- — Scrnos on tlio J.-<thimis — Panama — Pas.xajjre to
California — Acapiilco — Tlio Natives of Mexico — San Francisco — Tho
Pfimidinf^- and (irowtl) of tho City — Discovery of (loUl at (iencral Sutter's
INlill — Califoniian Life in LS4i)_' Powdvism' — The 'Vigilance Com-
niittee' — Judjjfo McAlmoud — Present Order and Prosperity of San
Francisco — l^'ertile ^'alleys — A Trip to Sacramento — State Legislature —
Meetiuii- of the ' nemocratic Convention' — Mannnoth Trees — American
Taxation — .Metallic Wealth of California — Washoe — I'p the Colunil)ia
Itiver to Portland — Orejjon l-Vuit — Sail to the Isle of San Juan — Parley
■with Americiin Ollicers — Origin of tho Dispute between tlie JJritish and
Anu-ricau Covernmonts, as stated from ihoir respective Points of Mew,

PAGE 1

CHAPTER II.
J' A y C U J ' A' A' / S L A N /).

Toro(;itAriiY, geology, i'iiysical gkogisaphy, am) geneuai.

HISTORY.

The ICn^land of the Pacific — Straits of Fuca— Tlie Coast Line — Cieoloi;ical
Formation — Sooko — lOsquinudt — A'ictt)ria — Islands in the Gulf of ( Jeornfia
— Saanich — Cowiclmn — Nanaimo — Comox — Northern Extremity of tho
Island — (Juatsino — Nootka — Diirclay Sound— Pioneer Discoveries in the
Pacitic l»y the Spaniards — Balboa — Cabrillo— Ferrelo — Sir Francis Drake
and his Adventures — Cavendish— Story of .luan de Fuca and his imagined
Discovery of a Xorth-East Passage — Expedition under I leceta and (Quadra
— Cook's Iioconnoitro of the Coast — Kendrick — Derkidey — Meares —
A'ancouver's Mission and its Results — CJrantof the Ishmd to the Hudson's
Piay Company — Thoir Monopoly mifavourable to Colouisatiou. . . lid

XVI

CUNTKNT;?.

CIIAPTKW III.

Till': Dlt^COVKUY OV Ool.lt IN IJHITISII ('()[. r.MIII.V I.N !^..S, AM>
ITS INl-'LLENCi: ON Till; fiHOWTll OF VICTOKIA.

Jiiish of rininiuTjilioii— SiiiMrn lli^o in tlii> \'aliii' of I,nii(l — l!!v,il ('Itir-
iittiMiiiitt'il ])v the Aiiu'rioiiiis — I 'iitMiiiallcil Sii[ii'i'iMrily nf N'icinria ipul
I'lxiuimaU I liU'lmiirs— IJciii;-!! ot" I'iiliii-liraricd S)irc(il!ili>i-J to ('iilirnrhia,
aiiil tli.'ir .Malctliciidii- -Sirii^-li's ami 'rr'nmiplis u[' Miii.r^ n|i ilii«

I'Vasi'v— llanlsliij

IS nil

llic Ni'W IJilllli' — 'I

t'lniiiirarv ' 'luniii '

if \'iclnria —

Yield 111" (iold Inr tlir li''st I'.Mir Muiilli-— State of t'le Citv in IS.V.l-

"liinus loi'k

l-ettiTS of ihe ■/',

.News ironi (^'iiesiielle — i innus ioilviiiii' up — I lie i,etiers oi iiie iiinrs
CoriT'^ponileiit and the Inm ilioii of lS(i-J — I )i>iipiiiiiniiiii'nt and Pri-
vation of tlh' ln('\]ieiirii('i .' 'e<cri])tion of \ ieloria a> it now is — I'.eaeoii
Hill — ( iovrrnnieiit 1 jnii-c — Street^— I'lililie rmildiii^s and As.-iiciiuiiuis —
Ne\vs[i,ipi r l'u'.-.-~ llidi^ious IJodies — ('olleL;v> ;ind Sclionls — ^.Manu-
factories — .loiiit-Stoclv ( 'oin])aiiie.-< — Tlie .Municipal ( 'oiiiicil— Hanks •
IVico of 'I'own Lots — lii.st of Trade.'i and iV)fo:?.siou.s. , . i'A(ii;(il

CTIAPTEPv TV

VirTOi;T.\ A.'< A FHKi; roKT.

Triiioipal l^'ree Pnrts flivoii-limil the Wni'ld— jles'ilis o\' tlie l''ri'i> I'ori
S\>leiii ill lianilnirL:'. ihe Chanutd ldand>. and lioiiukoiii:' — !in]iorlaiice
of ^iianliii^' \ ieloria auain-t the InirMdiiciinii of ('nMo.iis l)iilie- — I'ro-
]io-ed Inioii with l>iiti.-h Coluinliia as all'eetini:' t!ie I'ree I'ort .\n'an;iO-
iiieiit — Comparative I'ro-peclf^ of New We.-tniin-ier and \ ieloria — iu'so-
lutions <d' the Island Lciii^^lature in vcjard to Inion — iuipoi-is — Xnniljer

ami Toniia^J'e of \'eS.->rls — Ilxpnrtsof ( iuld iVolll I'^o"^ to 1>>('>I — Jv\ports nf

iJritish and J""rench( iood.s to.">itlia — \Va>hinulonTerrit<n y — ( Jreppii — ( 'ali-
fornia and .Me.\ico — Coniiiiandiiiu' rosition of \ ieloria as a I'ree I'ort, ami
lliepowerful Indneeinents it olfrr-. IW'iti-li Merelianl.s I'.iv openiii'X up Tnale
Avilii the Coa.-l of \\ e.-tern America — Facilities olleiecl li\ \ancon\er
Island for lieliini Cargoes to China, Japan, An.stralia, and New Zealand
— Califovnian Opinion nf \ ictoria as a proliahle l!i\al of San l'"rancisco —
iK'scriptioii of ( ioods suited for the A ictoria .Marki't-llapid liu Tease' of
Topulation in I'lcjil Sound — 'i'lie proposed l']rection of Msipiimall into
the chief Naval Station of tic i'acilic, the Con.struction of a Sanilarium
for iiualided Naxal .Men, and the bearing:' of these J'lvciUs ou the Crowth
of Mctoria. . . . . . .ill

CONTI'LVTS.

XVI 1

l^.")S, A.M>

• i.'iv.il ( 'ilic^
N ic'mi'ia i|i|,l

to ( 'aliluriiiii,
tiers (III til,.

'!' ^'i(•^ll•i;l —

V in Is.")!) —

I' I 111' TillKS

'■111 i\\v\ I'ri-

\' IS — IJcK'nll

■*si)fiaiiniis- -
"il.-< — .Miinii-

1 — i;.iiiKs -.

. r\(.i; Cl

ClIAPTKli V.

fiKNF.n.vi, HEsoi:Rri:s or vancoiiveu island.

TiMiiKr. : T'lxiinvt.s df thi.s Avtidi- — Profits ronlisod on it — Advanta<ros over
('jinmln !iti(i N.-w Uniiiswiclv -TiinbtT more rcmiiin'rativc io the poihiikhi
Ciivrirr tliiin ( ioM— Trudi' in Ivvport of IJiiilwny SltH'povs — Vv'wva of
Spurs, Mn.sfs, X'c. ('o\i,: Mines nt Xaiminio — ImnicnHO (Jonsuniption of
('i!iil on till' Coast — Clii'iuiciil ( '()in])arison (if Vaiicouvor Island ("oal
with (itlicr \'urt(.'tif.s— Imports of Coal tu San Franciscd — Prices — Tiiick-
ness of St'iMii — (^invtMiicnccs for Loadiiiii' — X'anconvcr Islaial PioiicovCdid-
niinin^j^ Company— (^lantitics sliippud from Xanaimo — llcpurt of First
Annual -Moftin}? of Directors — ( Ulicr Coal Companies. Coim-kk : (^iiecii
Charlotte Island Mine— Iiispccticn of a ^'ein — Want of I Jritisli Capital
to develop this Source of Wealth eU'eclnally. M.UJXrrnc lijox Old;—
LniKsro.M;— Sandstonk— lir.fi: .Maiidm:— Ui.uf. Clay. Cot.i): First
found in (,>iieen Chiulotio Island — Gold Stream — (iold discovered nt
SooI<e — (ieiieral Character of the l{eL',ion — ' Prospects' obtained — Miiiln;^,'
'Claims' and ' ^'iejds.' I'lsn KitiKs : llerrin,e-—Ho(d!d;an— Salmon — Trout
— Sliir;jcon — lialiliiit — Haddock — Pock — AVhale.s — Walrus — iMUvinn
Market.-j to bo supplied . ..... i'A(ii; PJl

I'Vee I ',,!•(,
Inipoiiaiico

lftie>---|'i-,,-

rt Ai'i-aii'j-e-
•ria — lu'so-
>'— Xnniber

-l-.\])nrts iif

'pill— ( 'ali-
«' i'or!, and
:-;• 14) Trade
\ aiieoin cr
'\v Zealand
"raiieisco —
liuivaM! of
iniall into
■^anilariiuu
lie CI row III
. Ill

CIIAPTEIi VI.

AnitlCULTURE IN VANrOUVETl ISLAND.

licnnuuM-ative Cliaracler of Ajjriciiltnral Piirsnits in the Colony — Cliniat(> —
Soils— I''armiiiL!- Districts — Yield of Crops — Prices of Produce and Stock —
delation of the l''re(>-l*(/rt System to the Question of Markets — F.vpens(^
of l''ariii Labour — Times of Clearinii', Sowiiijj-, Keapin^-, iVic. — Terms of

A.uricnllural St'tllcmeiit

172

( lIAPTKli VII.

niilTISII COLUMBIA.

niSTOr.ICAL 8KETCIL — GEOLOGY, ETC.

Seaboard — Sir Ab'xaiider Mackenzie — First Trading Post — Hudson's l'.a\
Compuny's yr//<'^/;c — (ieolojjical Formation .... :.'07

CTTAPTEP Vlir.

GENERAL DESCRirTIOX OF LKITISII COLrilBIA.

SctMuuy in tlie Pa-snue from Mctoria to Fraser Piver — Cascade IJange —
>iew Westminsitcr — Imports — Shippin_y Ifclurns — Customa Pevenuc —

XVUl

CO NT i; NTS.

Kiitt'siif iMilit's L(>viiiltl('— (lovcviimriit riiiililiiiji.H— Clmrclios— l,iinf:lf_v —
SiimiiHS ami CIiiliikwcviiK — ll.inixDii |{i\i'r— l»oiiirla.s - Diiirv iiraJomiify
tlu'iici" <(• Williams' ( 'rck — Ciirilicn - 'I'lililf of Distances— I lopi« — Yali-

llapiils — l.yltoii — ('liiitdii — William's l.iikt'— liniitfs rid |{riitiiirlv Arm

and r.iitf Iiilt't - l.'oiit.s t.i Shuswai) . . . r.vui; -'lo

CIIAl'TKK IX.
Tin; MiNK.x OK iiniTrsH cou'mfiia.

IHjr^i'inirs at ^.lp(•~'^■lll^•- SiiiiilKamci'ii — OKana^'nii — IJ-tfl< Creek — Traii-
(|iiilli' ami N'mtli l!i\ its— Kamalnops Lako — (^iicsiielle -AiitliT — ('aril)ni(
— Hcii lii'i'k l''liimc anil Ai'ti'>iiiii Mining'' ('omiianifs — II. •luarkalili' Iii-
.stancfs (if Siicci'ss— Prices iit the Nui'llieni Mines - Sliiiswap and Koo-
tanie l)iL:!.'inf;'.s — -Mininj^' IVnspect.s on tlio luirth-wesi ul" tho Fraser —
Minin<^ Laws ....... -10

CHAPTKli X.

I'ROCESS OF MININO.

Jlsst-ntiuls for oaiTvinj.'' on .Mining; Operations snccessfully — Tlu> Art of
* I'rospectiiij.''" — The I'se of the IJuckt.'r — Slnicinj.'- — Ilydranlie Minin;.'' —
Water ('oiiipanies — The ' Khitter-wheel' — 'I'lirninji- a i!i\er out of its
iieil — ' ( iround Sliiieino' — Tiniiiellinii' — (Quartz Mininj^' — 'J"he K'a.-tra —
Cnisliini:' (^Miart/. by Steam I'owm' — '(^)uart/., tho Mother <if ( Itdil' . l*(J<>

fllAPTKU XI.

AGlUCl'LTUllAL IJE.sOUltCE.S OF BUITISir COLIIMIHA.

Climate — l'"armin;^' Capabilities — Airrieultural Districts — Mr. Davidson's
I'Aperience of Farmin<r north of the i'avillon — '^'iidd of other l-'arms —
I'riiit —Stock-raisin^'— IJcinnnerative Character of J)airy Produce— Slieep
— llou,s — Terms on which Land may be aci^uirod . . . I'^U

CHAPTER XII.

ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE TUODUCTIONS OF VANCOUVER ISLAND ANM)

IJUITISII COLUMBIA.

r,oar.s—llaooons— Marten— Mink— Skunk— Otters- Foxes— The Pnma— Its
Kavatros— Adventure with u Punui— Wolves — l!iits—Sla"-s — Deer —
Mountain .Slirep — liutns of Pkkv, .'v:c.— Swans, I'^ic— Lki'TIi.iis—Flok.v
— Scioutilic Names of Aniirals — Li^t of Shells— Additional List of
1 lants . . . '>()7

oil) .loiiriicv

I'litiiick Ann
l'A(ii; I'l.-)

•cck — Trnii-
iT — ( 'nrildio

lU'lillllli' III-
[) 1111(1 Koo-

lu J-'mscr —

CONTKNTS. xiX

( IIAITKIJ XI If.

I'OMTICAI, STATISTirS oK \ ANCOr VKll ISLAND AM) lUilTI.SII

(OM'MI'.IA.

(iii)iit(tr N'iiiiruiivtT IiIiiimI )o till' llml-Mii's liny ( '(inipiiny — riovcrimi'
Uliiiisliiinl — (Irriii (il'llic ('nldiiiiil Lcirisliitiirc— Apiioiiitiiii'iit nf (lnvcviinr
hoii^iliis— Dispiiti's l)i'i\vtM ii li](l.']ii'ii(|i'iit, Ciiloiiists ami llic Aiillmiitirs —
Soiiri'fs 111' iJcvtiiuc — |''iiM; |;i|[ ,i( Aiiproprliitioii — |)I>j)Vnpnrtiiinati'

l'iirillillrriliili;i nf ( luVi'lMllllrllt — IJiltcS of 'r(l\il(i(ill -I'lstillllltcM I'dT I ^( i I —
Oppn-itioii nC (lie Li';:i,sltil lliv to tlu' I'l'dpoMlls of t he I Mlku ill' Ni'Wcastlt' —

Till' First liC^islfttivf ( '(iiiiicil uf |)i'iti>li ( 'nlmiil)iii — l{<'r(']ttiiiii of (lovcriior

Kcllllrdv — Tllr (,'llr^tinl) (if I'llidll lli'tWcCll tllf two (\ili)llii'S — l'lll)li(;

i;.\prii(li(iirr 111" till' I'.rili-Ii Coliiiuhiiui (iii\ criiinrnt in isi;;', — Clicfk
^'ivcii to IniniiLiration in l'^-")-^ h\ tlu' ri'strictivu rollcy of the Coloniiil
(lovcrniiH'iit iind the Iliidson's I Jjiy Company — Toslimoay of tlic (Irand
•hivy ........ r.vui; .'JlU

'li<> Art of
• .Mining' —
out oi' its
' K'li.-tra,—
)ld'. L>()(>

l^avidson's
V I'iirms —
ro— Slifcp

.AND AND

I'unia— Its

— Deer-

OS — Fl.oK.V

_":

il J.ist of

•

. :.'J)7

CHAl'TKK XIV.

PIlOrOSEl) INTKUOCKANIi* IIATLWAV - E.MinuANT HOUTK AN!) TKLE-
GllAl'ir THEIll INFLUENCE ITON TIIH <il!(t\VTII OF TIIE COLONIES.

Wt'.-twiird, IIo! — Triidc with the lljist cmetcd l)y Western ?Niili(ins
iVuni ri'Uiote.st Anti([nity — The 'IVrian-^, t^'c. — .Vle.vander tlie (ir.;it —
Anlioehiis — Mahomet — Tlu' Arahians — KlVect of tln' Discoverv of a
l'a-sfiy(> to India t'id tlio ( '.'ipe of (iood Hope — America found in tlie
yoavtli for the ■•linvtest lloiile to the Mast — WIiv lias this (.'(immunieation.
so industriously soui;hl, never lieeii iiritelienlly reiilised ? — Masterii Trado
now to IK'W across to tho American Side of the I'aciiic, and ^reat Cities to
erow np in its Track— 'l"he .\mericaiis prepitriiiy to receive and distrihiitu
Fastern Commerce hy the Construction of an Iiitei'oceanic IJailway —
"Would such a Line on tlu^ Ih-itisji Side pay!' — It must prove the shorte.-L
po.ssihle Iioute to Australia and China as well as Uritish Columhia— The
])oliiical I'tilitv "f tlu' Scheme — How transcendent its Jntluence upon
Mctoria — Most eli^nhle Tract of Couiitr_\ tor the proposed IJaihvay—
Sineiilar natural I'\'aturc^l of the ^reat \'alleys throuuli which the Line
would pass, favcHirin;^' its Construction— Central I'osiiinn of lied Kiver
Settlement— Koad via St. Paul'.s — Alle;i(,'d Diiliciilties in the Way of
extendinii' the Line from Vovi Carry to Canada— IJailway Knterjirise not
lil<elv to take inimediale IClfect — kanijirant lioute imperatively demanded
— 'i'he Course it should take from Lake Superior — How are tlit> territ(U"ial
I>i;^hts of the Hudson's I >ay Conijiany to he adjusted i" — Dr. IJae and
the Teleua'aph — Climate and Soil of the Country between Cauada and

( ONI'KNTS.

Jlriti>h Coliimliia— Till' Aduptaldlity <>|' II. il liivrr nml Snslinloln>wiiu lor
('uldtiisatitm — Tip' (ioM hiMcovcrii's Must nl" ilii> IJucliv Mninitniiis aiul
tli.'ir Atlr.'ii'tii)iis — rii,s^(>s in lln- l{iiii^.'r -l.nnl Millon's .l.urm'v — his-
tjiiict'H rrmii liiiKi' Superior to Cnrilioo — Striilf' dI' llii-'Mia in Oiii'iiin;.' up
Wiitci' iin>l 'rdrLiriipliic ('oiuiiiiuiicnlioii liclwci'ii tlic Aiiioor llivcr, Siiliii,
luiil Si, P( tcrftliiir;.'' — hi'siiriis of Nnpolroii III. in iJiliition to .Mexico
mill Trade in tlie I'lU'ilic— Ms whom i> tln^ tloiied IJoiito to bo I'oruied ■' —
Note ....... . I'Aui; :VM

CIl Al'TF-K XV.
soriiyrv in vANCorvKR i.^^land and uhitisii coi.rMniA.

\'iii'ieties of IJiice veprcJented in \'icloi'iii — Tscliiidi'.s Cla-.-ilicatioii of IIiiiikiu
Il\l)rids — The ultiiiiale I'.ilec I of present lieterou'eneous Mixture of
TvpcH iipnii the Clinracter of tlie Population — Civil hisiihiliticH imposed
on Neproes and ChinanuMi in ( 'nlifoniiii, to disroura^je their llesideiice —
>fis-<ionMrv l-nhour anion;^' tlie Cliiiie^ie — \'isit to a I'midhist Teiiiph' —
Address of tlie Chinese of \'ietoria to the (iovertior — ("oiiditioii of tlu>
Nei.'Toes — DitVerenees liiiweeii them and tlu- Whiles— Sir .lanu-.s Don^hn
— \ enlant Siniplirit\ of New Comers — l']ii;ili>!i and Aiiierieaii Ladies i-om-
pared— Toll" i>f Society in Is,')',) — |)i'talcatioiis of ( loveniineiit Otiicials —
Ivscapade of n (j)iiacli — ' Widows' and their Adventures — Temptations of
Yoim^r Men — The ' Skedaddlev' — I'lxcitenient of ('(donial Life and it.s
MUect on the Iirain — Intelli^>-ence of the Coniniunity — The .sdcial Pyramid
inserted — Life at the Mines — Miners' Ten Coinmandnieiits . . .'.{"S

M
M

ni
C
li<
.1

inii

( IIAI'TIIK' XVI.

T]Ii: INDIAN.^; OF VAN(OlVi;i{ ISI,ANI) AND IIHITISII COLUMDIA.

Tlioorio.s as to their ()ri;jin — Their prohahle Miuvatioii from Asia — Xnmcs
and t)ocupations of 'i'rilj'S — Their Ideas of Lank — The ' i'otliitch' —
Feasts — Dramatic Lxhihitinns — Mysti'ries of ' Kbupiolla ' — Llrctioii of a,
'Medicine ^Lm ' — Canniltals — Converse with the Man in the Moon —
Doct ir.s and the Healiiiji- Art — Incantation — Witchcraft — Ideas of IJeaiity
— Troutin;' for Peace — An Indian \'illa;:t — (iainhlinj^- — Heraldry —
Credulit}' — Convlsiiip and Marviau'i — Sepulture — Ihirniiii;' tlu! Dead —
Catching,'- Crasshoppers— Main Muldn;.'' — Tradition of the Creation — The
Yd/r and his Doinifs — The Flood — The S'ini-nxK/iiis — Theory of Thunder
and Li^htnini;'— Jieli^ioiis Meliefs of tlie I'Tshin;.:' Tribes— Tn.'achery and
Dloodthirstiness of the Indians — Ma,s>acres of Whites — Jvxciting Imi-
counti.'r of Sir .T. Dou;jlas— Catiiolic -Missions to the Natives — The Si^ii df
the Cross— Awkward Pie<licaiuent of IU>hop Hills — Papal * Srlt'-iuter-
pruliu'r JJible' — Pr.jtestiuit Mission to the Tchiniseans— (lood Work of

cnNTKNTS.

XXI

toliowan I'lir
iiiitiiiiis mill
mifv — IM.H-

< )|trl|ill;r lip

liviT, SitKii,

I'l .Mt'sicii

t'nriiit'd ■' —

■■\(>i: 'AM

Mr. iMiiiciin — Till' Opjuwitinn nC ^fl•l^K•illl' I'/irtii's — lv«<tiil)lislim('iit nl'
Mi't-la-l<iit-liili — 'rrttitiii'iit 111' I'liict'iiriiii'd ' 'I'illuMiiiw' — (Jovci'tiiui-iit
iiiul I'l'iisjirrity of the Niiti\i' Sitlliini'iit — Iii;:i'imit_v nl" tlu> Tribi's —
('i\ilisiiti(iii mill llviiiiij-rli^DtiMii sliiiiilil pt IiiiikI in liaml — Ktip'nl Itimiiin-
timi mid lliniili'iird llvtiiirtinii nl" PiiuiitiM- 'I'rilii'.s— luicr.s not lilvidv to
tli.-'ii[i|M'iir liuvi' ill!' lir-l Cltiiin n\h>\\ Mi.«»iiimiiii.'.s — C'lmntv.s t»f u Imr-
baritiia IV'iipk' siiniviii^' ..... p\<ii:Il'."j

(II \i"ri:u XVII.

irniA.

1 i>r Ilinnnii
Mi\tiiri' 1(1'
I'H iniposi'd
{('.•tidi'iiri> —

'riinpK,'—
tion 111" till'
ii'.-t I JiMiyliiM
.nilirsconi-

( )llic'ial,s—

l])tlllililH nf

it'i' II lid its
id I'vniiiiid

\ ;.57.s

UMDIA.

ia — Xmiies
'(.tliitcir—
irlioi) III" a

' Mm 111 —

(if IJt'uuty
Ifnildrv —
i)i'ad —
tidii — TIu;
1' 'riiiiiidor
rlicrv and
■itiii;j' I'lii-

II' Sijjii (it"
>ilt'-iiitiT-

Work of

EMKJKATION.

fndiici'inciils oil'i'i'i'd — f'liissi's cncoiirajjfd to Ilinij.'-mtc — Cajutnli.'-tw Wr^ntcd

— Miiniil'arturi's tliat iiii^jlit lie inti'iidiicrd — ( 'liiiiati' Inviting' to I'ltiiid
Ollii-rrs mid Minul' iiiMili'rati' Mrfiiis — ( )piiiiii^.-i I'or vi'spi'diilili" iM'tiialr-^

— I •iini'iii;;' rniiiid n rxiinict — ( 'aiilidiis to I'lnii^Tiinls — Ifatr-* <it' \\'a^!i's —
J'rifi's — llniitrs i'lMin l'l!i;:land — Hints as to Clioii-L' of \'i'ssi'l and Oiitllt —

— Iliiidninrrs to rolonial I'ro^i'i'Sd — NciTssity l'<>r ilinct Postal Connmi-
iiicalinii with I'liiijlaiid — ClaiiiH nl" voiiiil!' Cnlniiirs on tlio Aid oi' Mii'dand

— 'Pradi' I'or an Miiulisli Sti'anirr in tlio Nurtli I'ariiic; — Contrast lietwi'i'ii
llif I nitrd Stairs and i'ln;i|anil in tin ir Carr I'or Nrw 'IVrritories — Mrror
of till' ( lovornniiMit in di-pn-in^- uf lii.>Ii i'lmi^ii'iition — JMnij^ratioii tlio
ino,>t iinpnrtant (iuiblioii (if tliu Day .... VXi

Al»l»KNI)IX.

IJcqiiiriMiicnts fur tlio ^'oya;i'|• — Miini'\ — Insnranrp — Tinii' of Sailin^r —
\'irtnnii and l'"..-i|iiinialt llarlmiir l>nis Act — Land I'roidaniatioiis — lliilos
for Working (iold Mini - ...... *">l'>>

iNnrx .

rj.-,u

Ma
Ma

Rn
Tk.
Wc
IIy
Gr
TIr
Ca'

LIST OF TTJAISTEATTONS.

-*«>»-

MAPS.

Mat ok Vancouver Island and Bjirrisn Columbia

Mat showing Oviuiland IIoute

Pai/e '.V,)

AVOOD ENGRAVINGS.

River Operations on the North rAciKic

PUOSPECTOKS AT NVOKK

WoUKINO AVI Til THE llOCKER .

Hydraulic Minino

Ground Sluicing

TTklvetia Quartz IVFill, Grass Vallk.y
Catching Gkasshoiters

Frontispu'ce

Voijt

2G7

209

»>

271

275

277

*»

450

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND
BRITISH COLUMBIA.

CIIArXEll I.

THE VOYAGE OUT.

Dcpartiiro — Aznros — Descriptidii of Passenfrera — St. Thomas, W. I.—
Cartliaooua — SliarlvH — Scones ou tlio Isthmus — Panama — Passao-e to
California— Acapulco — The Nativos of Mexico — San Francisco — Tlie
I'oundin^'- and ( irowtli of the City— Discovery of Gold at General Sutter's
Mill— CaIif^)rnian Life in 1849— ' Kowdyism' — The 'Vigilance Com-
mittee'— Judue 31 Almond — Present Order and Prosperity of San
Francisco— Fertile A'ulleys— A Trip to Sacramento — State Legislature—
Meeting of the 'Democratic Convention'— Mammoth Trees— .-bnerican
Ta.vution — Metallic Wealth of California— Washoe— Up the Columbia
Diver to Portland— Oregon Fruit— Sail to the Isle of San Juan— Parley
with American Ollicers — Origin of the Dispute between the British and
American Governments, as stated from their respective Points of View.

The route to be presently described is not selected for

notice because it is believed to be necessarily the best

though perhaps more could be said in its favour than for
any other — but simply because it happened to be the one
taken by the author, and affords him an opportunity
of referring to places visited on tlie voyage to British
Columbia tluit ctumot fail to interest emigrants who may
determine on following the same track.

Tin: V()va(;k out.

Oil tlio 2iid of August, more tlian ilvc years ago, I
euibarked in one of the West Indian Eoyal Steam Tacket
Company's steamers from !Soutliampt(3n.

Extracts from a journal written at tlie tin\e will best
convey to the reader my impressions received during the
voyage : —

'After siifTering for a few days tlie usual ])enalties
incident tt) ?/;q)rofessional navigation, the j)assengers gra-
dually recovered their accustomed comi)lexion and made
their ap})earance on deck. ]3y Sunday all liad become
proof against the elements.

'In harmony with the sacred character of the day, a
brighter sun, a clearer sky, and a calmer sea clianged the
jispect of the scene. Service was conducted on board in
the morning by a clergyman, wlien all devout hearts
glowed with gratitude to tlie Almighty for })reservatioii
and fair weather.

'In the afternoon, at five, we iiHtde one of the Azores,
Terceira. ]]rief as the space was since we caught the last
glimpse ol the English shores, it was a pleasant relief to
the eye — for seven dnys in contact with the blank waste
of waters — to I'est on land once more. By the aid of the
glass we could descry the terraced vineyards, scattei'cd
orange-trees, and picturesciue houses in the distance. In
the course of the same eveninu; we siuiited Pico, another
of the western group, whit-h derives its name fi'om a
mountain, 7,000 feet high, in the island. This petdv, so
majestic and so lonely, gilded by the rays of the setting
sun, was an object of unconunon splendour. It was not
long before this "thing of beauty" disappeaied in the
gathering obscurity of the northern liorizon, and the only
natural scenery by which die uniformity of the passage
was subsequently varied consisted of occasional " schools "
of porpoises, shoals of ilying-lisli, and Ijelts of sea- weed ;

TIIK WKST INDUES.

•s ago, I
II Tucket

will best
.irinji: tlie

])enulties

11(1 iiiiule
. become

le (lay, a
iiged the
b(jai'd ill
.It hearts
servation

e A::ort's,
t tlie last
, relief to
Ilk Avaste
id of the
scattered
lice. Ill

another
from a

peak, so
le setting

was not
d in the

the only
' j)ass;ige

schools ''
ea-weed ;

the (hrection in which these last lloated indicating the
course of the gulf ^troam. A classification of our fcllow-
[uissengers by country would include English, Scotch,
trish, Spanish, I'ortuguese, French, German, Mexican, &c.
Their creeds were almost as varied as their nationality.
As I'ar as I can gath(.T anything about their ])ursiiits, they
number among them a West Indian chief-justice — not
always "as sober as a judge" ought to be, an attorney-
general, a clergyman, a Dissenting minister, an army
ullicer, a royal engineer, merchants, medi(\al men, and
])lanters, bound for dillereiit parts. Only two out of the
>ixty on board ar<; going to Bi'itish Columbia.

SSV. Thomas, W. /., Ai(</i(st IS, 1851). — I shall not soon
forget our ap])r<jach to the " Virgin Group " by the Som-
l)rero passage. It consists of a cluster of lofty islets and
r(3cks, extending about twenty-four leagues east and west,
and sixteen north and south. Tlie blue summits of those
islands, their numerous channels, bays, and promontories,
their hixuriant growth of trees and slirul)s, and the bri«»lit
green of the cultivated estates they contain, are admitted
by those familiar with this part of the world to exhibit
an asp(.'ct ol' enchanting variety. The gr(.)ves of pahn
Uvv><, the white rolling surf, the lights and shadows of
passing clouds, present views of combined novelty and
mauniiicence.

So freshly fair are overvwhoro the foatuvos of tlio scene,

'I'liat eavtli appears a restln^'-plaoe wliere angels mii>lit alight,

As if sorrow iu''er a visitant in hiinian breast had been,

And the venlure of the siiinnier months hail never snil'ered blight.

'That mind, ac(|uainted with the history of the West
Indies, must be incapable of sentiment, which, in a region
so rich in historic associations, sails through it without
beiii'' I'eminded that within siuht of the vessel's track
Columbus passed more than three centuries and a half

ii-2

TIIK VOYACSK OUT.

au"(). Ti) liim lu'longs tlic liOnoiir of iH'iiijT disci )\-oi'('r of
llic Viruiii (Jioiip, tlion iiilmbited by IiHliaii camiibals,
cuIKmI ''Caribes," utter whom tlie nclglibouring .sea was
luuiu'd.

'Tlic liarboiii' of St. Tlioinas is a scone of peculiar aiii-
inatioii twice or thrice a montli by the arrival and depar-
ture of transatlantic and intercolonial steamers. Here
passeuLjers by the lioyal ^lail Company's ])ackets chanue'
ships accordinu; to their respective destinations. As soon
as we ariived, our steamer was besieged witli crowds of
boats, i)lied chielly by negroes, waitiug for hire, and
pleading hard for their ol/jcct Avith the massds that were
hioking down at lluMU from the vt'sscl's si(U'. Then fol-
lowed the more elegant b(~»ats of merchants in cpiest of
])ackages, news, or fi'iends from I'^ngland. Shortly after,
a couple of do/en negro boys, practised divers, came
swinnning round us, and repeate(lly calling out, '■' Mo.s/ux)^
one dime." Their hope was to induce the passengei's to
pitch ten cent pieces into the water that the black youths
miuht have the satisfaction of scramblinsi; for these coins
under the surface as they descended to the bottom, and
that the donors might be entertained.

' IJeing (U^tained here four days, I have had an (Oppor-
tunity of seeing something of the town. It is built partly
on a Hat and ])artly on three hills which abut from the
mam range to the shore, Avith savannahs between. The
heat is past endurance. White suits and straw hats were
visible in all directions, and umbrellas were generally
found necessary to ward oil' the ])otent glare of a tropical
sun. The population of the towm does not much exceed
J 0,000, and on all the estates in the counti-y inclusive
does not reach l,r)(i(). The bulk of it is composed of
negroes, eml)racing every shade of colour, from the ])ure
African to the octoroon. There is also a considerable

18LAXI) OF ST. THO^fAS.

ovcivr of
•ainiilnils,

^ sea was

uliiir aiii-
n\ (lepar-
s. llei'o
Is cliaiiLi*}

As soon
row (Is of
liiv, and
liat were
Then fol-

({uest of
■tly after,
rs, came
'' Moshoo^
JiiLiers to
k vontlis
ese coins
torn, and

n (^])por-
ilt partly
from the
L'li. The
lats were
generally
I tropical
li exceed
inclnsive
posed of
the ])nre
siderable

wliite population devoted to trade and commerce. St.
Thomas is the renowned banking depot of the West
Indies. It contains no public buildings of any importance
except j)laces of worship, in which religious service is
conducted by Lutherans, Catholics, Dutch lleformers, and
Episcopalians respectively. l*alm and cocoa-nut trees
gratefully alternate to the view of a visitor from Northern
Europe. The markets are held in a small square in the
main street, ami in an alley leading thence to the sea-
shore. Here all manner of wai-es, especially an olla
podrida of eatables, jire disposed of amidst a heterogeneous
and unceasing gabble of negro female voices, e. g. man-
goes, butchers' meat, bananas, shell lish, pine apples, sweet
bread, cocoa nuts, yams, sugar cane, melons, oranges,
limes. In the evening the chatter of darkies' voices
in the streets, and the loud choruses of frogs in the
gardens, combine to produce a singular efTect upon the
"Hritisher."

' The morals of the connnunity do not seem in the most
satisfactory condition. A clergyman long resident in the
isl;nid writes thus : " In the majoiity of cases the marriage-
tie is sluunu'd or des[)ised, and thus a Hood of vice and
nnhappiness is [)oured upon our connnunity, and official
accounts inform ns that three-fourths of the children born
hei'e are illesjitimate."

'■In 1S48, the authorities of the island, n<nv a Danish
])ossession, were coni[)elled, by an insurrection of the
slaves, to grant them innnediate emauci[)ation. The
benelits accruing i'roni this measure to the negroes and
their masters have fallen i'ar short of what philanthi-o[)ists
might have anticipated. Many persons of colour, released
i'rom the ])e]'formance of compulsory labour, are now
willin«>- to work onlv Jis much as the necessities of a bare
subsist iicc demand. But the Government introduced a

TIIK V()VA(ii: nlT.

" Labour Act," rcciiiiriiiiiiill i'wv labourers t«> (Mtuti'act with
employers for a jx-riod of not less than a twelveiiiouth at
a time. They also deem it expedient to extend the
a])plication of law to the relaliiais between master and
servant uioro ri_Lridly than would be called for in a voniKil
state of soeietv. \\\ this means manv evils have been
prevented that have been complained of in the Ih-itish
West Indies in connection with the abolition of slavery
there.

we liave bei'u kept nearly a day, from the dilliculty
of obtaining' the sei'vices of a I'cuiilar ))iIot to take us u|)
the channel, which is circuitous, to the basin. 'J'he coast
from !?auta ]\larta, where we landed mails, to this i)lace, is
rockv, and the hills Iviim Ix'hind are covered with (k-nse
vegetation. ( arthaiieiia was foimerly one of the most
flourishing setth'ments in the Spanish colonies, and still
boasts souie good buildings and a considera])le poj)ulation.
It is over TOO miles I'rom l^t. 'I'homas. Tuder the inllueiice
of the Jesuits, and from the revolutionary spirit of the
peoj)le, its glory lias dej)arte(k lit present the town,
which is tlie seat of government for the state, is convulseil
by revolution. The ex-Vice-rresident of the TiCgislative
Assembly and staff were recently banished, and took
refuge imder the neutral flag of a Ihitish man-of-war at
anchor in tlie haibour, whence they took passage by our
steamer to Asjunwall for the ])m'pose of unisteiing troo])s
to defend their cause. l*oor Spain! she seems to have
neither had so(rial stability nor ])olitical vitality sufficient
to establish peaceful and enterj)rising colonies, though the
clioicest climes and richest countries on the globe fell to
her lot. But how mighty nuist have been that nation
which gradually conquered and attempted to colonise the
greater [)art of North and South Amei'ica, while holdim^-

ISTHMUS OV I'AXAMA.

TiU'l witli
nioiilh at
tenil tlie
ister Mild
a nonnal
[ive bt'cii
(' I'ritish
I' t^lavcrv

:J.— Tfeiv

(lidicully
ike us uj)
riio coast
])lace, is
th (k'liso

IlU lilosi

and still
ipiilatioi).
iiilluc'iu'c
it of the
10 town,
oiivulsed
■'gislative
md took
;)I'-Avar at
e by our
ig ti-oo])s

to llJlVO

suflicicut
oud» tlio
Jc fell to
t nation
)nise tlie
holdiii!"-

under lier sway several West Indiiin islands and tlie
t'aiiest ])arts of Euroi)e! '\\\ tliis day her huiguage pre-
vails in all the republics soutli of tlie United States bordei",
down to (!hili.

' I saw huge sharks ])1aying lazily at tlie vessel's stern
while at anchor in the harbour of Carthauena, the usual
coin])lenu'nt of pilot-lish preceding each of these monsters
with all the dignity of niace-l)eai'ers iit a Lord Mayor's
show. It is said that while sharks have !i powhitnt foj-
white men, they do not esteem darkies (food ctffhif/, and
conse(|uently they are rarely if ever in their "bill of fare."
Cei'ttiin species of monkeys and tro[)ical birds are to be
nic! with here in al)undani'e.

' Pdiianin, An(/n.sf 30. — I arrived at As])inwall on Thurs-
day eveiiiiiLi", and took the; train the ibllowinix morninii'
across the isthnuis, nassinii: throudi a tract of countrv
which used to be ucneriillv regarded as the most unhealthv
on earth. It rained nciirly the whole Avay in torrents,
and hi'rilic thuiidi'r-storms o(;curi'ed at intervals. I am
b.iked and stewed with the heat. This moi'ning the
sun was ]-!()° in the shade. I'anama is about S decrees
from the e(|uator. Fetid swamps exist on either side
of the raihvav at this season, liefore the <2;round was
])artially drained l)v cutting the line, it is estimated that,
by the action of the torrid rays u})on those abodes of
malarious fever, 1 (),()()() workmen met an untimely grave.
There Avas, however, sullicient variety in the route to
divert the tlioughts of passengers from these gloomy
themes. I su}){)ose thei'e is nowhere to be seen such
wild luxuriance. Castor-trees, acacias, cassias, palms, cKic,
w^ith innumerable fruits, grow without a touch of cultiva-
tion. Every now and then one sees groups of native wig-
wnnis along the road with inclosures of tropical fruit-trees
and Indian corn for domestic use. These huts arc often

Tin: VOYAfiM OIT.

incoiivonicMitly woll voiitilatcd ; for thty caniiol, wliilc so
0|)(Mi,air<>r(l ('()m])k'U'slK'lt(M' IVoni the trcinoiidiMis rains tliat
fall for sevonil moiitlis in the ycai" ou llic istlinius. Tlu'y
usually rest on tall props, and arc I'utcrcd by a ladder
throuj^li a hole near the eaves. 'I'hus the natives {)i'oteet
themselves tVoni the wild animals that inhabit the woods
and juuLrles. They are known as {^|)anish neLiroes, and
both men and women look clean and tidv. JUit their
male children are allowed, for the first few years after
learniuix to walk, to uo about in a condition of stark
nudity. At the I'aihvay stations the natives drive a strong
trade hi boiled stalks of Indian corn, ground cocoa-nut
cake, bananas, oranixes, limes, iced water, milk, <Scc. At
As])inwall and Panama passensici's are bored by countless'
darkies ])ushinLr the sale of mcoons, parrots, monkeys,
Tanama hats, besides " hot colTee, if you are cold ( ! ), and
iced liiuLjcr-beer, if vou are wai'm ! " These idle fellows
have migrated, for the most part, from Jamaica, and,
rather than return to their legitimate employment as free
labourers on West Indian plantations, where their services
are requiretl, prefer to live here as vagrants, on the brink
of stai'vation. 1 have uiet some who actually (Confessed
to mc that in many respects slavery, undei' a kind n\aster,
was more t(^ be desired than the aindess life they are now
leading. Having to stop here a wei-k, I have seen a little
of the neighbourhood and the people.'

To those who have been accustomed to see the waters
of the Pacific daily for years, ])(»ctic fancies on this sub-
ject look ridiculous ; but the tiist view of these waters in
the bay of Panama is remaikable as reviving all the
romantic associations which the tales of youth threw
around that vast ocean — coral islands, golden strands,
missionary adventures, Spanish galleons, British })rivateers,
and Eed Indians.

wliilo so
■jiiiis that
i. Tlu'y
ji ladder
s pfotoct
c woods
•<»c's, and
Uit tlit'ir
ars al'tcr
of stark
a strong
ocoa-nut
i.^'('. At
3oiiiitles;l'"
iioiikcys,
(!),aii(l
.^ I'd lows
ca, and,
it as iVce
' services
he blink
'oni'cssi'd
I niiister,
are now
n a littk;

waters
tliis suh-
k'aters in

all the

1 threw
strands,
ivateei's,

TOWN' OF PANAMA.

Joiirnitl resmnct/. — 'The fare; to Panama by railway, a
dislance of only ITJ, miles, is 5/., and for eveiy pound
weight of luggage over oOlbs., the chai'gc is h<l. per lb.
No wonder tlu're is no Panama Railway tStoek in tlie

1 market ;• it is too valunble an investment to sell out.
I'anama has (juitc an aneieiiL appeai'anee ; the streets are
narrow, and the houses have lattii-ed windows and veran-
dahs. It is unsafe to be in tlie streets after dusk, as all
sorts of refuse is uneeremoniously thrown from the
windows.

'The Spanish, in eaily times, built several l\oman Catholic
clun-ches in the ^Moorish style, and the spires of the princii)al
of them still display a ])rofusion of mother ol' pearl. The
better class of ladies dress extravagantly, and, as throughout
the whole of South vVmei'ica (one might add everywhere
else), woiuen are the chief sup])orters of [)laces of w'orship.
When a iady is dressed no boimet is worn, but only sonm
light onu'.r.R'ntal covering thrown on the back part of the
head. It is uncouunoii for her to walk out alone; she
would feel not <ifri('ul but ashamed if imaccompanied by
I a servant. On Sunday the native '^wX foUoirs her mis-
I Iress to church, carrying the carpet on which she is to
kneel on the optMi imseatetl space of the church floor.
\ Last Sunday T could ])erceive no distinction in that day
V from other days, except that a few worshi])|)ers repaired
to church in the morning. The I'cmaindei' of the day
ai'ter noon was s])ent in mule- racing, cock-lighting, or some
kindred recreation. The priests have, in many cases, no
scru])le about training dogs or other animals to fight, and
lisking heavy stakes uiK)n one side or other in the sj)ort.
No Protestantism is tolerated here.

''Sun Francisco. Scj^t. 1(). — We sailed from Panama Pay
on the 1st inst., and reached this port on the 14tli. I was
not sorry to leave Panama, notwithstanding its interesting

10 Tin: voY.\«ii: on.

\isii)iis (tl" linliliiiiiu-hiiu's 1>V iiiulit Mini bii/xards l»y day.*
I \\i!s liaMc to visits in my bi'ilrooiii iVoni Hroh'liLiiuiu'iiiii
(•(ickroMclics, and llu' tabl»' at nu'als swarmed willi divci's
I'orms of insc'i't \'\\\\ cNcitiiiji' tlic a|>|)ivlu'ns'n)n that it was
ahont to lake itself oil'. We were conveyeil to the oriUin
ste;nnerl)y /(7/Jry, sc\'ei'al miles in the hay, in «'onsi'(jueiiee
oftlu're not beinjjf pt'oper whaif aeeonunodation nt-ar the
shoi'i". The scene that now l)nr>t upon me was di-eidedly
the most novel and animated I had yet witnessed. Six
Jumdreil |)assenu'ers who had just arrived fiom Xew York
were takiiiLj: ship for ( 'iilifornia, and this number ^vas lu'-
low the average at one time, the year round. The
sti'anier's burden was over li,(MM) tons, aiul the ])as.sen<^^ers
and crew weit' for the most ])art Amerieans. At 1 A..\r.
tlu' Liiiu was fu'ed, and the j)addles wei'e soon in motion.
The islands ehi-trred in the bay ai'e beautiful, especially
Tal)o_L''a, which is about foui' nnhs from Tanama. 'J'he
steamers ])lyinLi' on the South American coast of the Paci-
fic, combiiu'(l with the mail and opposition lines to San
Francisco, create considerable trade and cir(ailation of
monev in the neighbourhood, Jiaiij^e enuineerinu' estab-
lishments erected on one of the islands are kept in I'ull
blast, by the reciuirements of the sti-amers.

'After a niulit's rest,! felt resi^nu'd to my new situation,
and sliared a community of interest for the time bcau"'
with all on board. The aft (piai'tei" of the steamer was
furnished with four distinct lloorinus, risinn' one above the
other. 'J'he lowest was the saloon of the second cabin,
a miserable hole containinu* a few berths, and stowed I'ull

'i'tii' first iirc a sjiccit's cif tly tliat is visibloat iii;:Ii(, wliicli emits a spark
with every motion •>!' its wings, and when a nnnibor of tlieni aro together
tht; elleet is very tine. 'J'lu; second are cniws of trii])ieal size, that iorni a
kind di' vohinteer Siinit;iry oomniitteo liir n'nioving all lecident mutter tliul
may be tlirown from llio doors of iLiuti-liors, lishnidiigers, and provision-
mcrchants.

'1^

PASSAdK Tn «'AMI'(Ht\l A.

i I

by (lay.*

i,LfUMi,'iMll

111 (livci's

III it WJIM
('(jUCIlCC

lu'iii' the
(.'('ick'dly
■d. Six
'\v York
was \)v-
1. Til."

SSCULTlTS
t I A.M.

moiioii.
pc'cialiv
I. 'J'lu'
ic I'aci-
^ to S;ili
itioii of
X csImI)-
iii full

'nation,

f bcMllL!'

icr was
ovt' tlie
I L'al)iii,
ed lull

s ft sparlv
it form a

LtttT tlliU

rovi.-^ioii-

of liiu'iiau'c, llic tciiipcialui'c hciiiLi: 'i<>t t<> siill'ocatioii.
The iK'Xt was llic saloon of IS liisl calHii passcii^^crs ; the
iK'Xl was the >alooii of A liist cal)!]! passi-ii^^ors, jiiid tin-
lopMiost tlic liiii'i'ii'aiK' (K'ck. '1'Ik! second cabin, and
especially the steeraii'e j)asseiipM's, had a ron;ih time of it.
The latter had to stand at meals, which were served np to
a conple of hnndi'ed ol' them at once in tin dishes, npon
a deal table lowered by ropes from above their heads.
The state-rcjoms in ihe |> sdoon of 'he lii'st cabin con-
tained tlii'ee berths, risinir ])arallel the one above the other.
In these we Liravelv stowed onrselves awav like mnnnnies.
with this dillerenee, that we manaLfcd to j)reserve va^aie
sij^iis of conscionsness in this contini'(l space. As tlu'
Novaue advance(l and the chai'acteristics of the ])asseniiers
(levelope(l. 1 found tlu'm a nualey thron'4 : y^Mnu" men
u'oiiiLi' to push iheii" fortune, wiws with youn^i;' families to
Join their husbands, parents on a visit to |)ros])erons chil-
dren, merchants in pursuit of business, women to supply
the demands of vice in ( *alitornia, bankru])ts, pimblers,
lliie\es, fai'uieis, miners, doctors, lawyers and ministcM's.
This was my lirst expeiience of Americ;m society. We
wei'e much s(K)iier at ease with each other than we should
lia\'e been had W(» been all ISritish subjects. The nK)st
profane knew how to be civil. JMany grcjw upon
ac([uaintance. 'Ihe most huml)le American has always
somethinu' to say worth listi'uing to, and the Yankee
aHisan can assume maimers that compare favoiu'ably with
those ol" many who pretend to bi'tter station. The
shar])ness of an American's perceptions, whether man or
Woman, is eminently noticeable. There is a laru'er ])ro-
])oi-tion of relined and delicate beauty among American
ladies than is to l)e found among the English fair sex, but
it is usually of that waxen hue that soon blooms and soon
fades. After ])cH'oming a mother, the American huly's

TlIK VOYAnK 01 T.

t'licvks colliipse. Tlu'ir lIiuMicy (by Avhicli I rullicr ineuii
rapidity of utterance) and vivacity aie luarvelloii^.
American boys liavc bnt a bliort cliildhood, and American
ii'irls bnt a sliort vontli. In a certain walk of life the one
sex are "smart" traders at litU'cn, and tlu' otlier nivj/irts at
twelve. There is a dash of generosity about the people
for which we look in vain to the same extent anions-
Eniiiishmen of the same class. JJnt oidy a wider ranjix;
of observation can enable me to do justice to tin* nation.
I decline to accei)t the political or " rowdy " class that
occasionally liuine in "runch" as fair specimens, any
more than 1 would view the swindler^, swell-mobs-
men, fops, or workhouse people as conveying" an
adequate notion of the wliole-heaited middle classes of

'Hut to retui'u. In favourable weather ([uadrilles were
the amusement of the mass in the evenings, and eards
were in vouue all day Ionic. . . .

'We cauu'ht j^iimpses of the coasts of Guatemala, C'osta
Iiita, and XicaraLTua. in CV'utral America, but were out
of siuht of land lor a day or two in ci'ossiiig the (bilf ol"
Tehuaute])ec, as afterwards that of California, (hi ihe
8th we anchored in the liiu'hly-])ictui'es(pie harbour of
Acapuleo, in the state of Cnierero, Mexico, and ^toppi'd
several hours to coal. I went ashoi'e, and was most fecblv
reminded, by the present dilapidated aspcet of the |)lace,
of the importance attachinu' to it centuries auo when
i^i)anish argosies used to brinu* I'ich freight from Manilla,
and ship hence the ])recious metals iVom ^lexico {) Spain.
]Much the same scenes of idleness wei'e visible as I saw on
the isthnuis. 'fhe poorest natives, lre(|uentlya mixture of
the S|)aniai'd, the Indian, and the neu'i'o, do not seem an
industrious race, I o])serve(l the lower class eim'aLi('(l in
gambling and selhng the [)ro(hictions of the countiy to

C'ALII'ORXIA.

lior mean
arvc'llou^;.
Viiiericaii

C the OIK!

I'ej/irfs at
le people
il ainoiin'
er rai)t;'e
e nation.
^la.ss that
ens, any
L-'lI-inobs-
yiiiii' an
las.ses of

les were
1(1 eanls

la, Costa
>'i'i'e out
(fuh" of
nil Ihc"
'l)our ol'
^t')j)pt"(]

<tiechly
e place,
i> when
Manilla,
) Spain,
sav/ on
ctnre of
cem an
iLied in
nti'v to

persons in transit like ourselves. Many of the cultivated
JMexieans are enterprisinii and immensely wealthy.'

I will take occasion to say here that the plan of Na-
poleon in the coup (h'tnt of Mexico is not understood in
Knu'huid.

In another chapter it will be shown that his objects in
I he late conquests of that c;ountry are quite as much com-
nicreial as political. J5ut IMexican gentlemen, who were
i'ellow-passengers on the homeward voyage, gave me to
nndcistand that the throne of Maximilian is only sup-
|)orted by French bayonets, and that their withdrawal
would be attended with his banishment. When our
i-teamer passed Acapulco, going southward, a few months
since, we found it blockaded by the French squadron.

./otiriHiI irs/nnc/I. — ' The priests in ^Mexico are, as a class,
very cori'npt. I think I have heard that their unworthi-
ness resulted some time au'o in the dissolution of the tie
between them and Home.

'Glad was I to get out of the tropics, and l)are my locks
to the noi'thern breezes. JUit how^ shall I attempt to
speak of California P I take it to be the Avonder of the
world. The state is T')() miles in average lenujtlhand 250
in breadth. It was discovered l)y k^ir Francis Drake in
1570, while engaged in one of his buccaneering ex])edi-
tions against the commerce of Spain. What a pity that
the discovery should not have become associated with the
name of that distinn'uished navin'ator mnh'r more honour-
able circumstances. From its white clills he named this
new land Nova Ar.iuox, and but for the a])athy and
iLiUorance of (fid Albion (onlv now' beuinning to cive
way) resjiecting the resources of the coast, the " Union
Jack," instead of the " Stars and Stripes," would this day
be lloating over the entii'c region from the northern
boundary of Mexico to the liussian possessions of America.

tin: vovAtii': oit.

Vacii ill Drake's liiiio tlic iiu'tallilerous cliaractt'i' of lliu
(.'oiuitry was helievocl in, (or an old chronicler of tlic
adinirars expedition says, '• 77/(' cdrfh of tlw couittri/ seemed
to jiroiiiise I'ie/i reins of (jithl (Did silrer, i^oiiie of the ore
In'iih/ eonstandji fonitd on d/(/(/in(/.''

In view of the important commercial rehitions rapidly
springiiiLi' u|) between this state and our colonies on the
coast, tlie' reader will IbrLiive any tres[)ass on his patience
which a brief glance at California niav occasion. The
mid entrance to the bay of iSan Francisco — to whi(;h city
I have paid three hcparatc visits — lies in lat. .'37° 48' X.,
and lonu:. 122° oO' \V. This entrance consists of ii strait
cidled Chri/sojn/dr, or the Goldex Gatk. This designa-
tion was a[)plied in 1S18 by C'el. Fremont, before the
modern discovery of <jfold, and was prol)ably hitended to
be descriptive of the rich products of the soil yet to l)e
exported, and the commerce of all nations to be imported
throuu'h that channel. This strait is a mile wide at the
narrowest point, and reaches an a\eia!ie breadth of h'oin
ten to twelve miles; the entire length of the bay from
north to south i> about seventy miles, l"V<>ni midsummer
to Xovend)er tlu' hills by which the bay is llanked loL)k
])aiche(l and barren, but from the latter month till ^lay,
thi'Y are clothed with verdure. ^Massive forts defend the
approach to the city, and as I ))assed throiig'h a few
inoiiths ago, an iron-clad ship of wai' was being con-
structed ex])ressly for local service. The iirst dwelling
ever built by a white man on the present site of v^an Fran-
cisco dates back to IS))'). 'It was simply a large tent,
su[)ported on ibui- ivd-v.'ood ])osts, and covered with {i
ship's Ibresail.' Xine years aft(.'rwards. Verba 15uena, as
the place was then called, contained but a dozen houses,
audits permanent population did not exceed lifty ])ersons.
The Mexican war resulted in the annexation of Galiforiiia

SAX rii.\.\X'isco.

IT of tll(j
T of the
7/ secnn'd
'/' the ore

s rapidly
'^"^ on the
pationcc
)ii. T]io
liicli cily
° 48' X",
;l .sti'uit
dcsigna-
i'ore tlio
.'udc'd to
yvt to 1)0
iiiportod

at tlio
of from

)ay from
Isiimnicr
<('d l(H)k
ill :\lay,
fond llio

1 a fow^
Uii <'on-
-Iwollin^'
m Fran-
'go tout,

with a
-lena, as

housos,
poi'son.^.
difornia

to the United States, and from 184G — the year in whieli
that event took place — the progress of San Francisco was
sensibly quickened. It is estimated that when the rush
to the 'diggings' connnenced in 1848, the residents had
increased to 1,000. It is not quite seventeen years since
then, and already the city is inhabited by 120,000 souls,
many of whom are tNillionaires. To secure deep water
for shi[)ping, one-third of the place stands on piles extend-
ing a considerable way beyond high-water mark. Lots
for wharves — surveyed on the Avater — that in 1847 could
have been bought for 20/., are now worth 400,000/. each.
As an example oi' the strides with which city pro])erty
advances in value still, it may be mentioned that a gentle-
man, known to a friend of mine, invested 1,000/, in town
' lots ' in 1800, Avhen I was on a visit there ; and in Jime
last, when sto])ping a few (hiys, I was informed that the
Aveek before my arrival the same party had been oU'ered
10,000/. for the propuily, which had thus in little more
than four yeai's augmented in value tenfold.

'J'he total ^■alue of exports from the state for 1847
averaged >??120,0(H). Thu entire expoits o^ proiluct'toits
for LSO;) are c-lassified in • 'i'he Mercantile Gfazette and
Trices Current' as loUows : —

. lsoi.'!/.):.")

. 2,ls:i,15;]

l:!4,()S(;

ll,L'sr)

87;!,s.-,4

The discovery of gold operated like the manipulation
of Aladdin's lamp, in inaugurating that era of stupendous
prosperity under which the state continues to llourish; and

IVndllCtH 1

lit' tile miiii'

.'luricultiire

the hird .

tlio I'orr.-it .

the sfu

iimiiufiicUirt

llu' villi' ,

1(5

TIIK VOVACiH OUT.

my apology for referring to tliis eircumstaiicc is, that tlie^o
pages iiiay be reatl by many wlio liave I'rown into mau-
liood since it was first l)rouglit under the notice of the
British pubUc.

General Sutter had erected an adobe (i.e. of untempered
mortar) liouse a few miles from what is now the site of
Sacramento city — situated about a hundred miles from
San Francisco; and, s])eaking from experience, I am of
o})inion that the sight of that homely (hvelling — of liim
whose name is prominently associated with the early de-
velopment of California — niust lill the intelligent traveller
with emotion.

In the winter of 1847-48, the general made a contract,
with one James W. i\larshall, to erect a timber saw-mill
on the south fork of the American river. Marsliall was
enLi'aLxed one dav in makimx alterations in the 'tail race'
of tlie mill. and. for this ])urpos(\ let on the water in full
volume. While walkinii on the bank of tlie stream next
morning, he observed ghttcriiig sjx'ck^ mixed with the
sand and iiravel that liad bern washed down by the force
of the water. One of these, 1)i'ighter than the rest, ilrew
his attention, and on examinniu' he found it to be a scale
of pure gold. Ticking \\\) a few specimens he showed
them to the ireneral, in a state of ureat excitement. The
statements of the man at hrst appeared to Sutter so ex-
travagant tluit he tliought him crazy. Hut on seeing the
s[)a]kling scales, he too soon became infected with what
miners call ' the i/e//otc fever.' Tlu' discovery could not
be long kept a secret. The news jlew to San Francisco ;
spread to the Eastern States, and elect I'ified the world.
Men of all trades and professions, and of every nati<jn, in
a few months had found their Avav to J:!l DonultK One
migget was found of t/iirf('i'n pounds iri'ii//if. Li anothei*
instance, five loads of auriferous earth, sold fur $7b{),

'THE hounds' and their doings.

liat tlit'se
iito llUlll-
30 of the

eiiiperud
U3 site of
lies iVoni

I am of
—of liim
(jiirly de-

travL'llcr

contract,
saw-iiiill
■«liall was
tiiil race'
cr ill full
jam next
witli the
the force
est, drew
)e a scale

sliowed
lit. Tlie
■r so ex-

'iiiLi; tlie
ith what
ould not
•ancisco ;
e workl.
lation, in
Id. One
I another
jr ,J?7.')U,

yielded, after washing, i^JG,000. Three men obtained
^8,000 in a single day. The rise in the price of flour
was at first deemed moderate — 400 per cent, and of beef
500 per cent ! Soon, eggs rose to one, two, and three
dollars a piece. Medicines, e.g. laudanum, fetched $1 per
drop, and ,$'40 was paid for a dose of that quantity; a pill
cost /^lO without advice, and with it from S'dO to i^lOO.
The mechanic that previously thought S2 per day good
wages, now rejected ($20. At the end of July '49, nearly
two hundred square-rigged vessels lay in the bay at one
time ; and no sooner had they dropped anchor than they
were deserted by their crews ; and, in many cases, goods
and vessels together went to ruin for want of hands. In
course of time men arrived, willing, for fabulous wages,
to follow their accustomed employments ; and wharves,
stores, and other improvements became visible. Gambhng
saloons were the almost universal resort of successful
miners, who, in their reckless disregard of gains so easily
acquired, were often known to stake bags of gold-dust,
amounting to thousands of dollars, at one time, upon, the
turn of a card. If unlucky, they would leave the gaming-
board with a liglit heart, confident of speedily retrieving
their fortunes.

On the \nvjQ wave of immigration that set in at this
period there was floated a considerable proportion of the
convict poj)ulation from New K^outh Wales, famiharly
known as ' Sydney ducks,' together with ex-fi/ihuster.s',
and the most notorious pinks of American rowdi/isni.
These ruflians organised themselves into a society for the
j)rofessed object of 'mutual defence,' but their real pur-
])ose was to hatch schemes of I'apine and plunder. They
adoi)ted the sigiiilicant sobi'iquet of ' The Hounds,' placed
themselves under a sort of disciphne, had head-tpiarters in
a certain part of the city, and appointed a 'lieutenant' to

TIIK VOYAGF. OIT.

c(^n(luct tlicir (Operations. Their niinibors wciv estimated
at 'JOO. Sunday was their • lield-day,' wlicn they paraded
the streets, armed with bludgeons and loaded revolvei's,
dis])layinijf hainiers, and led with life and drum. Their
i'avourite sport in dayliglitwas to f'oree their way in over-
])owering strength inti) taverns ;uid hotels, demanding
exj)ensive fare, and in I'eturn for the hospitality extorted,
they smashed all the furniture within their reach. At
night they sallied Ibrtli, tore down the tents, and pillaged
tlie houses — ehielly of foreigners — often without provo-
cation, beatin*'- their imoflendino' victims with clubs and
staves, and wantonly liring upon them amidst the shrieks
of women and the groans of wounded men. When public
indignation was roused airainst their hnvlessness, they
adapted their tactics to the crisis, claimed to be the abused
guardians of the community against the encroachments of
t^[)anish inunigrants, and had the ell'rontery to drop the
desiixnation of *• hounds,' and assume that of ' rei!;ulators.'

The respectable citizens, finding the constituted jiutho-
rities too weak — at so early and chaotic a stage in the
history of the state — to deal Avith this formidable emer-
geiicy,took the law into their own hands, formed tliemselves
into a V(.)lunteer corps, and arrested about twenty of the
rioters. A jury was summoned, judges and counsel ex-
tem])orised, and the trial which was held resulted in the
leader of tlie gang, with eight accomplices, being sentenced
to v;.irious terms of impris(jnment.

Several of the 'hounds' escaped from confinement,
owing, Avith other causes, to the insecurity of the tem-
porary prison, Avhich was the hull of an old vessel in the
harbour. Their success in this res])ect emboldened their
companions in crime, and scenes of i-obbery and murder
were enacted l)y them on a yet more IVightful scale. In
the coui'se (jf a few years the city was Inirnt to ashes i'lvt'

. J

LY.N'Cll LAW.

stiinatcd
l)ara(l('(l

.'VolvtM'S,

. Their
in ovcr-
inaiuliii^'
ixtoi'U'd,
icli. At
pillaged
t provo-
libs and
I shrieks
Ml public
'ss, they
e abused
nients oi'
b'op the
ilators.'
d autho-
e in the
le emor-
.nnselves
y of the
nsel ex-
d in the
Mitenced

nement,
he tern-
.'1 in tlu!
ed lluMr
nnu'der
ale. In
lies live

or six times over.* Otiicr towns in tlic state shared the
same fate. No one could have any doubt in regard to tlie
autliors of tliis wholesale incendiarism. The leading citi-
zens, waiting in vain lor the local Government to adopt
edicient measures for repressing these outrages, determined
u|)on organising themselves into a ])crmanent 'Vigilance
Conmiittee.' Such was the name by which this remark-
able association was known, and occasions soon happened
for testing its utility. To strike terror into the scoundrels
that wei'c sj)i'ea(ling desolation tln\)Ugh()ut the state,
daring burglaries, as well as crimes of higher degree, were
punishcid by the ' Committee' with deatli, after being faii'ly
tried. An hour or two after sentence was pronounced, the
crinunal was marched t(j the jilace of execution. As soon
as he reached the spot the rope was adjusted round his
neck, in front of a Avarehouse or a ' derrick.' He was
there hoisted from the street by the simple aid of a
pulley, the infuriated mob — im])atient of all ceremony in
the operaticm — 'swinging him oil'.'

It was not surprising that this association, whose acts
had the sanction of the mass of the ])eoj)le, should be
brought into colhsion with tlu^ ' pro})er authorities.' But
so impotent were the latter at that time, that they were
obliged to witness, without even attein})ting resistance, the
[)risons broken into by the crowd, and their more dan-
urerous inmates draa'u'ed to the callows. Whatever view
be taken of the informal ])roceediiigs of these exasperated
citizens, it is satisfactory to reflect that no innocent blood
was shed by them, and no culprit was condemned without
receiving an imj)artial trial. It is certain that their con-
duct can only be correctly understood by the peculiar
circumstances in which they wciC placed being taken

* Tlio corporate seal of the city iippvopriately exhibits a plueiiix x'lmv^
from it." allies.

c 2

THE VOVACIK OIT.

into account. The effect of the ' Vi*,nlaMce Committee
orixanisjition uj^on tlie bench and tlie bar was sahitary.
To sweep away from California tlie ai)pallin[^ corru})tion
of that period was a task tliat miLjlit well remind us of
Hercules mid the Augean stables, ihit the imi)ortance of
the results am})iy rei)ays all the tt)il and iuixiety ex])ended ;
for it uiay be asserted, Avithout fear of contradiction, that
^^an Francisco is now one of the best governed and most
prosperous cities in the world.

The ornament of the bench in those primitive days,
and one of the first magistrates to introduce a ])ure order
of jiidi(ual administration, was W. 15. M'Almond, Esc]., a
name still much venerated. Ilis honour, however, had a
sovereign contempt for legal technicalities, grandiloquent
speeches, and learned citations. ' The judge ' opened his
court ill a school-i'oom. His seat was an old ricketty
chair, and, when sittiihi ollicially, his feet were generally
perched considerably higher than the level of his head
upon a small mantel-})iece over the fire. It is said that
he was in the habit of paring his corns or scraping his
nails while the 'learned counsel' was addressing the
court. On one occasion his honour outwitted in an
amusing manner a lawyer who was anxious to dis])lay his
abilities. When the first witness was called, and the
counsel was })rei)ared to put questions in the usual tedious
fa:ihion, the judge, without changing the posture which
has just been described, instructed the witness to tell all
he kiicAv about the matter in as few words as ])ossible ;
requesting the lawyers at tlie same time not to interru})t
him with questions. This witness had but little to say,
but gave ])lain stiaightfoi'ward evidence. The counsel
was about to call anotlier, when his honour inlbi'iiied him
that it would be unnecessary to pursue the enqiiiiy
farther. ' The Court,' said he, ' understands the merits of

rROORESS OF SAN FRANCISCO.

ininittcG
Mjilutary.
)rruj)ti()n
iiid us ()('
rtaiice of
:|)eii(le(l ;
tion, tliat
Liul most

vc (lays,
ircj order
1, Es(j., {I
:3r, liad a
liloqiK'ut
enod liis

ricketty
j^oiicrally
liis licad
vaid til at
})iiig liis
sing the
:1 in an
s])lay liis
and tlic
1 tedious
v Avhicli
o tell all
possible ;
nterrupt
e to say,

counsel
lied him

enquiry
nerits of

tlie case, and its mind is made up.' ' But,' said a lawyer,
' you will at least hear us speak to the points of law.'
' That would be a great waste of time, which is very
precious,' replied the judge. ' I awjird the plaintiff ,^150.
Mr. Clerk, what is the next case?'*

The nund)er of churches in San Francisco, and their
tastel'ul architecture, are very imposing. The leading
Christian bodies are in every respect well represented.
The nmsic.'d part of ])ublic religious service is artistically
conducted, and there is as large an amount of educated
pulpit talent as could be met with in any otlier city of
the same extent. There being no established church in
the states, all })laces of worship are called churches, and
these are I'or the most part largely attended. The clergy
(there are r.o tiiuu.stcrs) aiv generally well remunerated.
Their salaries range from tU)()/. to 1,()()0/, a year, ai)art
from marriage and baj)tisnial fees, which vary from 201.
to 1/., according to the memis of the parties. Magnificent
asylums for the blind, the sick, and the orphan, schools
public and ])rivate, and colleges, meet the visitor in every
dii-ection. Monster hotels, superior to any in London,
and nearly equal to the best in New York, offer the most
perfect accommodation that even fastidiousness could
tlesire. In the suburbs are mansions decorated with
costly embellishments of Grecian architecture. An air
of activity, comfort, and grandeur pervades the well-
dressed multitudes that incessantly cross one's path. A
monetary panic was reported to be imminent when I saw
San Francisco recently ; but to the eye of a stranger this
alleged crisis would seem only to exist in the public
imajiination, for no indication of it could be traced in the
exterior of society, which was sui'prisingly animated.

* Annals of San Francisco, p. 239.

TIIM VOYAfiK OIT.

Tlic croiioral piv^spcrily of this niiirlily ^'tttporitun is to nil
M])|)(';ir;ui('c' ms littK' alU'i'tcd hy pciidiiiLr iulvcrsity as tlK*
licaltii of a souiitl physical system would he hy a scratch
1)11 the skill.

I was admitted, thi'oiiuh the inti'oduetion of a tVieiid, to
the mint, where 1 had an oppoitimity of seeiiiu^ the iiiler-
cstiiij,' j)roeess of traiisunitiiiir gold tlust into coins of the
value of ,|?20. ^10, S\ S'l .^Uc, $:\ and S\. An ollieial
of the establishment informed me that in ]S(k> coins to
the value of ^:] l,l()(M)()(l had been struck oil'.

'I'he <jfreat valleys of California are those formed
respectively hy the courses of the Sacramento and Sail
Joa(piin, with their tril)utaries, of the ISuisum liiver with
the creeks Napa, Sonoma, and IVtaluma, and of liivcr
Guadalupe. In these fertile districts the grape is largely
cultivated, and every kind of farm produce grows luxuri-
{mtly. A gentleman of my accjuaintance in Sonoma has
an estate containing I'leveii miles of fencing round its
circumference, and many proprietors of ranckefi have
much larger holdinus.

In some of these districts a common yield from wheat
is from 70 to SO fold, maize occasionally gives a return
of 150 fold. Potatoes have been produced of the enor-
mous weight of seven mid eight pounds, and the usual
yield of that product is from two to three hundred sacks
an acre. Carrots often grow nearly a ya-d in length and
of corresponding girth. Turni])s as large as hassocks,
radislics as large as mangolds, pumpkins from 200lbs. to
'ioOlbs., and squashes Aveighing 400lbs., are not unfre-
queiitly seen at agricultural exhibitions held in San
Francisco.

A trip to Sacramento gave me an opportunity of visitiii"-
the state legislature in session, and I must confess that the
spectacle w^as not calculated to heighten my admiration of

A I'OIJTICAh MKl'/nXd.

21]

> is lo nil
ity MS tlic
11 scniicli

I'lic'iid, U)

\V, illkT-

is of iIh;

II ofliciMl
coiii.s to

lonnod
1111(1 San
yvv witli
of liivcr
s largt'jy
s luxiiri-
louiii has
ouirI its
((t?6' Iiavo

III wheat
a ret urn
he enor-
!ie usual
't'd sacks
igth and
lassoeks,
)Ulb,s. u,
t unfre-

in San

visitinjjj
that the
ation of

llie maimers ol" American le_nislat(ti's. 'i'he majority in
the Senate and Asseml)Iy seemeil to have ae(|iiired the
unrortimatc! Iiahit of ehewin*:' tobat:eo and spittin;^' fhi'
juiee e\j)i'i'ssed iVom it ujjon the eaipeted iloor. Outside
the bar ol' the i\sseml)ly several members ol' the House
were siiiokiiiL'' under the eye ol' the Speaker. The lobbies,
too, were ehiborately besmeared with hiiiiily-ilavoured
saliva, and slipju'iy I'rom the [)rorusion ol' orange peel
distributed in all direetions.

Curiosity ])ronipted nie to attend a nuieting of the
Denioeratic Convention whieh was held there during my
visit. It was assembled in a ])laee of worshi]), and scenes
occurred dnrinu' the proceedinus settinn' at deliance all
one's British notions of pro})riety. The mercenary s})irit
that actuated the trustees of a pku:e devoted to the worship
ot" the Almighty to rent it for an ii])roarious political
uatherini!', and the sentiments of men who could use it
for such a purpose, are alike open to grave censure. The
church on that occasion resembled a bear garden. TIk'
chairman impresse<l me very forcibly with the suspicion
that he had not recovered I'rom the edects of a jolly
dinner, and several of the speaki'is were evidently in the
same condition. ]\losl ol' the audience were standing on
the st'ats ot' the pews widi their hats on, blowing clouds
from tlieir ciu'ars, ;nid e.\])cctoratiiiu' without regard to
the distiin'tion between benches and Iloor. Fierce alter-
cation acconi[)anied with ])ugilistic exercise was of fre-
(jueiit occurrence in dill'erent parts of the l^uilding in the
course of the evening; and, knowing the expertness of
that class of Americans hi the use of bowie-knife and
revolver, T thought it exj)edient to l)cat an early retreat.

Sacramento contains between 15,01)0 and '20,000 in-
habitants; and though it has been repeatedly submerged
by Hoods and destroyed by lires, it still holds a linn

THH V()YA(ir, OTT.

position !is !i coimnciciiil ('ciilrc thi'ou^ih tlio hrnve
vigniir Mild ('iiti'rj)i'is(' ol' its nicn of Imsiiit'ss. CVrUiiii
portions ut* thi' town, as in San Frnncisco, arc exclusively
occnpic'il by Cliinanicn, wiiosc tails, llyinj^ about, present
an intiMTstini; ap])earanee to a stranufer in nearly all the
r>ritisli and Anieiican towns on this coast. iU'tweeti
•10,0(10 and r)(),()()() of these 'Celestials' are en<,'a«;ed in
sundiy branches of industry in C*alifoi'nia.

reihaj)s the ^^reatest natural wonder in the state is the
manunoth-trees (Welliniitonea j^i^^antea) in Calavei'as
County. One of these is loO feet hi_Ldi and 35 feet in
diameter; and it would take five ii^ood axcMuen 25 days to
hew it down. 1 was infitrniecl by oiu' who had visited
the spot that the toj) of a stump has been converted into
the lloor ol' a dancin^Lr-room, ami all()rtls easy scope for
a moderate-sized party to indulge in 'light fantastic'
gyrati(tns.

The following table, supplied to me by a gentleman
residing in riacerville, will convey an idea of the enor-
mous amount of taxation levied in an inland town. This
rate is, I believe, greatly exceeded in vSan Francisco.

/;/

tal

City liit-iiso ou nnnual sales uiulcr ,^1000 .
Ffdoml „ „ . .

State and county tax

City prdpcrty tax ......

8latt; and county property tax ....

Income tax on nett profits (with tlie probability nfl ^

bfinfT increased to U) percent.) J

Three separate pull-taxes from $0 to $d per annum.

2 poi

• cent

There is a spccitd feature in the topograpliy and
geology of California that cannot fail to deepen the
interest of everyone concerned for the ])rogress of British
Columl)ia, in the resources of the American state. Ecenj
indication of metallic or mineral wealth in the latter

IlRSOl'RCKS OP CALIFORNIA.

lie bi'MVo
CV'iUiiii
s:i'lu,sivL'Iy
t, prc'sciil,
•ly 1.11 (lie
IV 'tween
^.M'.'t'd ill

ale is (lie
lal.'iveias
I') feel ill
1 (lays to
d visited
rted into
■<('()] )e for
antastic '

oiitleiiiau
he eiior-

■11. Tir

SCO.

T Cent.

M
M
ft
>»

I US

)liy and
pen the
f JJritish
Every
e lattvt'

vi'n (/>'»'.->' f/n> fnhire profiprrifi/ of nuinmi enterprise in the
former more certui i. The i'a!i<;e of the Sierra Nevada —
the source of metallic riches in California — is but an
e.i'fensiou of the ntetalli/erous ridje that passes throiti/h
llritish Columbia ; and the hir«jfe (juantities of jj^old alrcuidy
taken from the mountains of British territory — notwith-
>taiidin^' the limited ai)i)liances hitherto in use — ^^ive
ahundant })r(>mise that when more ca[)ital and labour
shall have been attracted to the colony the variety and
extent of its resources to be devolo[)ed will prove bound-
less.

The following extract from a masterly article, entitled
'Mining Review lor ISO.*],' was published in the 8an
Francisco ' Mercantile Gazette and Trices Current,' and
put in my hands by the editor:

There is pcrluips no other portion of the glol)e of like extent
coutHinin;jf siu'h ii variety and iibundaiice of inineral products aH
the American possessions west of the Rocky ^lomitains. Within
the limits of our own state there is scarcely a metal or mineral
known to science but what is found in (piantity sufficient to
justify their beiny; worked. . . . Tims we have <jfold both free
and in combination with other substances; silver in all its
varieties, of which there are twenty-six recognised by metal-
lurgists ; copper, viigin and with its usual associates, iron, mer-
cury, zinc, lead, tin, arsenic, bismutli, antimony, and platinum,
with many others of minor importance, — all here in such abun-
dance as render them marked features in the mineralogy of the
country, and warrant the belief that they will very soon be
extracted on a scale ample to meet every home demand, with a
large surplus for exportation. Besides these metals a great
variety of useful minerals abound in all parts of the state, chief
among which are coal, salt, sulphur, nitre, alum, borax, asphaltum,
chalk, soda, magnesia, and gypsum, with limestone and different
kinds of marble and other building stone in endless variety.
With a field so rich and boundless it is easy to see that the
business of mining must grow rapidly on this coast.

TIIK VOYAliK OIT.

The latter remark iiicludi's in its applieatioii ISiilish
Columbia a.s ai)})r()priat(.'ly as it does the state to wliieli it
was intended speeially to refer.

In California, plan'r or surface mining (the poor man's
diiXi>"inLi"s) has been dis])laeed by the introduction of
mechanical processes which large associated capital alone
can comj)ass. Chief among these is ' hydrauhc ' mining.
The sphere of this ojieration extends from !Shasta to
El Dorado, In some of the claims worked on this princi[>le
many thousands of dollars are taken out at a shigle clean-
ing up. Ill this mode of working immense blasts are used
— a single one exploding from 200 to 500 kegs of powder.

The silver mines of Washoe — only as yet in the sixth
year of their discovery — yield over ;^20,000,000 a year ;
the rate of production increasing annually. But argenti-
ferous leads are not confined to this district. Some
claiming to be equally rich, and still in their iniimcy, are
found in the region east of the Sierra Xcnidd. XaniiiiLj;
them in the order of their discovery, we have the J^sme-
ralda mines, the Humboldt, the IVavine, the ."^dver ]\loun-
tains, the Iveese liiver. the Coilez, and San Antonio ; the;
last-mentioned being 100 miles south of Austin, which is
the chief town in the lu'cse Itiver locality.

Lying south of Virginia, and extending from Gold Hill
to Carson Ifiver, are districts containing a nudtitude of
ledges, many of them with promising out-cioppinus. lUit
when tlie undevelo[)ed wealth of Idaho and Utah territo-
ries, with the Arizona side of the Colorado liiver, is
considered, the mind is bewildered by the magnilicent
prospects of California, through which the greater part of
precious metals exti'acted in those regions will ])ass.
Many millions of dollars are already invested in silver
mining, and often with vast results. In Nevada* alone

• Adiiiitteti into Uiiion as a .soparale utate .siiico tlii« chfqitir wjus writtoii.

lUClIHS OF iXEVADA.

)ii lliilish
L) which il

nor man's
uctiou of
)itiil alone
i ' niiiiiiio".
Shasta to

5 JH'ilKMplc

glc clcaii-
s are used
f powder,
the sixth
a year ;
t ardent i-

Some
ancy, are
Xamiiio-
lie Esme-
er ]\Jouii.
^iiio ; the
which is

r-iold Hill
litude of

IgS. J)Ut

h tciiilo-
liiver, is
i^U'nilieeiit
'r part of
nil ])ass.
in silver
il* alone

ills writtoii.

there arc now close on 200 fpiai'tz mills in operation.
These carry iVom 5 to 40 stam[)ers each. It is calculated
that every stamper will crush a ton of I'ock in twx'nty-foui"
hours. Siipposinu' only 100 mills to be constantly in
motion — thus allowing lor the proj)ortion obliged to stop
for cleaning and re])aii's — these will carry, on an average,
10 stamps each, making 1,000 in all, capable of crush-
ing l,0O0 tons of ore daily. This ore will yield at the
rate of .^50 per ton, giving a daily product oi ,^50,000 for
the territory, or a total of ^15,000,(;(!':) -jr annum,
estimating the number of workintr days at oOO.

To illustrate the rapidity with Avhich communities
grow up and business thrives under the stimulus given by
this system of mining, it may be stated that five years ago
the population of Washoe was less than 2,000, and is now
between 00,000 and 70,000 ; and the value of property
has multi})lied in a much greater ratio. The licesc Eiver
district, Avhicli less than tw^o years ago contained 50 per-
sons, now boasts nearly 10,000.

Without delaying to instance other branches of the
mining interest, for the prosecution of which British
Columbia oilers, in its u;eolo<jfical formation, inducements
cfpially with California, I would reiterate the hope that
the facts now adduced relative to the metallic resources
of California may be retxarded as allbrdinsj; the hii!;hest
encouragement for the develo[)ment of British Columbia.
The American state, including Xevada, has a population
of not less than 000,000, and the day is not far distant
when the population of the iiritish colony will also advance
at a s])eed exceeding all present conce})tion.

Leaving San Francisco by a line of steamers plying
thence to Victoria two or three times a month, the pas-
senger is usutilly diverted from his course by being carried

TIIK VOYACJE OUT.

up the Columbia Eivcr as far as Portlaucl. Tliis is at
preseut the largest city in the state of Oregon, its popula-
tion numbering about 8,000. It is situated on the
Willamette Eiver, some miles above the junction of that
stream with the former, and 100 miles fnmi the ocean.
The Columbia is said to be the finest river in the United
States, except the Mississi})pi. There is, however, a sand
' bar ' at its mouth, which in foul wefither renders the
navigation — particnlarly of sailing vessels — scmiewhat
dangerous. The iirst port touched at on the voyage up
is Astoria, the ancient depot of the American fur-hunting
company ; and to those acquainted with the fascinating
work of Washington Irving on the subject, the place is
invested witli romantic interest.

In 1843, innnigrants — encouraged by liberal grants of
land offered them by the Federal Government — began to
enter the state over the llocky j\h)untains, and since that
period the population has been steadily increasing. Within
the last few years rich gold mines have been discovered
on the Salmon, John Day, and Boise Ivivers, and under the
impulse comnnmicated by these ' diggings,' the population
has risen to about 00,000. The soil is eminently produc-
tive, and the climate genial. In the growth of fruit,
Oregon excels most other parts of the coast. A resident
in Vancouver Island writes : — ' I have seen Oregon pears,
to demolish one of which required the united eilijrt of
live guests ; the api)les being large in pro])ortion. These
monsters are not usually wanting either in flavour or
solidity.' This testimony I can confirm from personal
observation.

An episode occurred at the termination of the voyage
that may not be uninteresting to the English reader, as it
relates to a circumstance that, in 1850, threatened to in-
volve Great Britain in war with the United States. I

Gu
pU
of

'V\

VISIT TO SAN JUAN ISLAND.

riiis is nt
s populti-
011 tlie
)n of that
le ocean.
10 United
n\ a sand
iders the
oniewhat
oyage up
r-liuiiting
iscinating
3 place is

grants oC
began to
iince that
Within
iscoveivd
inder the
;)pu]ati()n
r produc-
of fruit,
resident
m pears,
ellijrt of
These
ivour or
personal

; voyage
ler, as it
h1 to in-
ates. I

refer to the forcible occupation, by American troops, of
the disputed Island of San Juan, situated in the Gulf of
Georgia, a])out eighteen miles from Victoria. I liad the
pleasure, on the trij) northward, to form the acquaintance
of an officer in the United States navy, at that time hold-
ing a responsible office under his Government on the coast.
This gentleman, at whose service was placed a Govern-
ment steamer, informed me that the vessel was awaiting
Ids arrival at Port Townsend — an American town at the
entrance to Puget Sound ; and challenged me to a run to
San Juan, also promising to take me thence to Victoria.
This kind offi^r was the more acceptable, as I should thus
l)e able to arrive at Victoria before the passenger steamer,
which at that time called at Olympia, at the head of the
Sound, before touching at Vancouver Island. A visit to
the enemy's camp at that moment I felt to be specially
exciting, as intelligence of the American invasion had not
reached England when I left. My luggage was soon put
on board the steamer at the disposal of iny naval friend,
and in an hour or two we cast anchor in the Bay of San
Juan. It w^as about p.m. ; the evening was calm, and
tlie scenery along the shore of the island exquisitely beau-
til'ul. II. M.S. ' Satellite' was lying off with guns shotted,
and pointed in the direction of the American camp, which
was about a mile and a half from the beach. A boat
came to us from the Pritisli man-of-war for letters, and I
was introduced to the midshipman in charge as a 'clergy-
man' from England. This term, in British parlance, having
a tccluiical meaninjx — which it has not in America — and
not being a})plied by my host in the Jiritish sense, the
young officer was ])leased to draw gratuitcms conclusions,
by which I seemed likely to be placed — innocently — in a
])osition as false as it was delicate. V>y some inex[)licable
logic, the re[)ort took wing on board II.M. ship that the

Till: VOYA(iE OUT.

Bishop of Columbia, wlio was expected by many to arrive
tliat luontli, liad come to San Juan under the American
Ihiiz! A boat was again ])ut oil', on the strength of this
ridiculous mistake, to the 'Shubrick,' to take his lordship
under the protection of the ' Union Jack.' In the mean-
time, I had gone ashore with the American captain to
visit the enemy's quarters ; and the invitation to the In.shop
being presented duiing my al)sence, I was saved the trial
of havinii" to disavow all claim to identity with his lord-
shij). The story, on my return to tlie steamer, amused us
greatly.

The American force amounted to 500 men. Earth-
works luid been thrown u[) and mounted with cannon.
Judging from apjiearances, I am not sure that our
nation has ever been so nearly precipitated into war with
' Jirother Jonatlian ' since LSI 2.

I had the satislaction of being invited to the tents of
many of the ollicei's, and uniforndy received from them
a deuree of coiulesv of which I still cherish a <i;rateful
I'cmembrance. They spoke freely of the international
'diiliculty' that had arisen, and confessed that while con-
vinced of the justice ol" their cause, they occui)ied their
present jiosition reluctantly. There was none of that
thirst for war with Enixland manifested by them wliich
characterises the less cultivated ])orti()n of American
citizens. Beinuj introduced to the colonel conunaudinir
the detachment* in tlie absence of (jleneral Harney, I
was invited to his quartei's, where we had a pleasant hi-
terview. The venerable colonel, a man al)out sixty-five,
seemed more concerned if possible than his bi'other
officers that harmony should be maintained between the
two countries, and assured me that he was using all his
inlhicMice on the side of peace, lie regarded i(, he said,

WAR IMMINENT.

o 1

to arrive
VinL'ricaii
li of this
lordship
le inoaii-
iptaiii lo
le A/.s7/^Y>
tho trial
Iiis lord-
iiused us

Earth-
cannon,
hat our
var with

' tiMits oC
)ni tlu'ni

grateful
•national
'iile con-
ed tlieir

of that
n Avhic'h
nierican
nandiiiLT
urney, I
Lsant in-
cty-flve,
bi'othei-
een tlie
i all his
he said.

as the greatest calamity that could befal the cause of
civilisation all over the world, that two nations, allied by
connnunity of race, language, laws, and religion, should
be ])lunged into hostilities. This was saying a great deal
for a man whose fortune was war. Little did my excellent
friend apprehend then the melancholy consequences of
civil tunuilt with wliich his own country Avas so soon to
be visited. I must express the surprise and gratification
I felt at seeing one in the colonel's station having a repu-
tation f(n" sober and unaflected piety. He told me that he
was in the habit of repairing to the British ship of war to
attend divine service every Sunday, and I learned that, by
a pleasing coincidence, Ca})tain Trevust of the ' Satellite '
was a man of the same cliaracter. Here were two gen-
tlemen worshipi)ing as Christians at the same altar, and
knowing not at what hour they might receive commands
to open ih'c on each other ! Indeed, the colonel said that
if a single shot was fired from that vessel his troops should
at (jnce respond. 'It is almost certain,' said he, 'that in
that case your shi[)s would bloAV our handful of men here
to atoms, l)ut r>()0,()00 men would instantly pour in from
the states and take our ])laces.' The colonel asked me to
share his apartments for the night, a favour, however,
which I w\as obliii-ed to decline. On taking leave he
invited me, with a catholicity of sentiment that did
honour to his heart, to return as early as convenient and
conduct divine service for the troops.

Ik'ing favourably circumstanced to ascertain the merits
of the misunderstandinir between the two Powers, I have
no hesitation in saying that but for the timely arrival of
Admiral J5aynes, waj' was inevitable. Governor Douglas
had sustained personal loss from the position assumed by
the United States Government in regard to the claims of
the Hudson's Bay Comj)any and their em[)Ioyes, in 18 I G.

THE VOYAGE OUT.

From that inoincnt lie imbibed inimical projudicc towards
them that only wanted a suitable occasion for its mani-
festation.* Now, His Excellency was the Queen's repre-
sentative. The Americans brought by the Hood of
immigration in '58 were objects of ill-disguised suspicion
and dislike to him. In '59 they seized San Juan. Here,
thought he, is an 0])portunity for retribution, in wliich I
shall have the concurrence of the imperial Government.
He ordered vessels of war to go witliout delay and drive
out the aggi'essors. The senior captain in the squadron,
attributing the haste of the Governor to inex[)erience in
matters of grave administration, manoouvred in order to
gain time till the admiral, who was absent, shoitld lu'rive.
Fortunately, the wise counsels of the latter prevailed,
and bloodshed was averted. But let not the reader sup-
pose that danger is absolutely at an end ; it is simply
postponed. Up to the present time the island is jointly
occupied by the soldiers of both nations — the Americans
in the north part of it, and the English in the south.
Settlement of the question at issue has been delayed
solely on account of the existing civil commotion in the
states. But tliis dispute, were tliere ro other, remains
as a spark tliat may at any time, after the Americans are
released from internal troubles, be fanned into a destruc-
tive ilame. I eschew tlie character of im alai'mist, but
the result of considerable intercourse with men of all
political parties in the Atlantic states lately, was to
strengthen my persuasion that in a war with h'ngland the
Federal Government would secure the enthusiastic appro-
bation and support of the masses of the ])e()ple. A more
concise statement respecting the cause of the (juai'rel
about San Jwdu^/roni the Eni/lish point of rieir, could not
be given, than is contained in the following quotation

• Hid cuiiducl to them aubat-'queutly became more nmiable.

Till': SAN JUAN DISI'UTt:.

:J3

3 towards
its injiiii-
I's repro-
flood of
!?usj)icion
1. lloie,
I wliich I
'crnnit'iit.
iiid drive
squadron,
.'rieiK'o in
order to
Id arrive.
)revailed,
ader sup-
is sini[)ly
is jointly
duericans
he Koutli.
. delayed
on in the
, remains
•ieans are
I destruc-
•niist, but
-Ml of all

was t( )
^land tlie
ie appi'o-

A more
■ (juarrel
:oidd not
"juotation
bit".

from an arliele entitled ' Iji'itish North America,' wliieh
a|)peared in the 7\|)ril (18G1) number of the 'Edinburgh
lii'view,' a ([uarterly, however, that has always displjiyed
a, s[)irit of marked incredulity in regard to a l)elt of set-
tlements and a line of railway ever being estabhshed
between Canada and Jhitish Columbia. I have only to
]-i*mark on this view, that the nature of the I'oute across
has of recent years been traversed by many persons
known to me, whom I should much prefer as guides
ill this matter to the reviewer. The geograj)hical
blun(k'rs of the latter })lainly show that the informa-
tion he imparts is not derived from the testimony of his
senses.

His words are : —

(icner.'il Hanu'V, on being appointed ('omniauder of the
Forces in the nei;4'lil)ouring United >States territory of Oregon,
took forciljle possession of the Island of San Juan, one of the
largest of the llaro group. Through extreme moderation on
the pait t»f England hostilities with the United States were
averti'd, and tlie whtiie matter in dispute was referred to the
lUdre airuc;d»le (hseussion of the two (lovernments. In the midst
of negotiations somowhat protracted, the present civil war broke
out, and all corrr;|)on(h'nce on the subject was temporarily sus-
)K'n(h-d. 'I'hc' United States troops still maintained possession
of the island, and an eciual number of liritisli troops were sent
to take up a similar position on it. Thus matters remain to
the ])resent moment, and a few words will be sut^icient to explain
the very consicU'rable issues which they involve. We have
already mentioned that the large and undetined country which
])ass(>(l under the general name of Oregon had for many years
be;'n used as a neutral territory by the i;reat fur companit's of
both Kngland and the United States. After much protracted
discussion and somewhat threatening complications, tiie nego-
tiations of the two Governments at length resulted in tlie Oregon
Treaty of 184(). l>y this treaty a boundary-line was to start
IVom the western extremity o\' the great international lakes,

THE VOYAflK Ol'T.

and, foll()\vin<; tlio 4!)th parallel of latitude, was to ho eon-
tiimed to the shore of the Pacitie. All on the north of that
Hne \\;\s henceforth to he the exeliisive properly of Kn^dand,
all on the south was to remain in the p(»ssession ot the I'nited
States — that |>art of the continent known as Russian America
l>ei)^4, of course, wholly unatfi-cted hy the terms of a^'reenient.
The British portion of the Pacific seahoard hecame, as we have
already seen, the colony of IhMtish Columhia (»f the |»resent tla,y.
The L'nited States portion was erected into the firo 'Territories'
of Washint,'ton and Ori'ufon — that of \Vashin,L,'ton heinjj^ next the
houndary-line. We mention this as the term Orejjjon n<»w dis-
appears from our narrativi', that territory hein^ excluded from
all coniu'xion with the present ([Uestioii l»y the intervening^'
It-rritory of WasliinL;'ton. In fai't, it will he sulhcient to hear
in mind that the ()i'i';^'on of former (hiys was an un(U*fined i-cLCion
on tilt' coast to the west of the Hocky Mountains; the Orei^'on
of the present day is a l'nited States territory some hundreds
of miles to the south of the inti'rnational l)oundary-line. JlaviuL,'
hrouL,dit this international Ixtundary-line to the shore of the
Pacitic, the treaty of 184() ])rocee(ls to state that the line is to
he further continued 'to the centre of the G ulf of Geor^da, and
tlience S(»uthward ihrouf/h the vhanncl icJilch scjxiraies iJic.
ronflnciif frijiii Vdin'oni'er Isl<<ii(/ to the Straits of .luan de;
Fuca.' ^^'e have jtut these words in italics as containinij^ the
whole ^ist of the matter. So little was known of the physical
geography of th<»se regions, as late as in 184(), that it was
assumed that there was an open roadstearl leading from the
mainland t(j the ocean betwetMi Washington territory and
Vancouver Island.

We have already seen that there is a whole arcliipelago of
islets, and further examination showt'd that there were Ihrca
chamiels through which ships of burden could make their way
up to Ih'itish Columhia. The boundary Connnissioners of 1<S.>H,
sent out to determine hy astronomical observations the line of
the Oregon Treaty, lost no time in rejxtrting these discoveries
to their respective Governments. 'J'hc 'most sonflK'rn passai/e,
l-iunvn (IS the liosario Cln(nn<l, lies itc.vt to the (:in(st of
Washington. Its ado^jtion as the cuiilluuatlon of thcboaiulaiij-

KNCiLISII VIEW OF Til 13 CASIi STATED.

i l>o von-
h of tliiit

ic L'liiti'd
I Ana-ricji

I we have
'Sent (lay.
•rritories '
f :ie.\t tlic!
I now (lis-
idcd tVoni
tiTvciiini;
t tn hear
n'd i'(\t,non
ic Orei^on
hundreds
'. Having,'
re of the

line is to
»ri,da, and
rates tlte

Juan de
inin<^ the
} physieal
it it was

from the
tory ami

[>elai;"o of
ere tlirec.
their way

^of ISoH,

me o

ist'overics
jtass(i;/e,
rmifif of

nuuJ.ai ij-

Inie mould pJaco, the ivhoh, arch'ipchigo of Islets In the possef^sion
of Kin/lnnd, The Ilavo Chiumel, cldlmed in/ the United States,
lies aloii;/ the coast of VaneoHh'er Island, and woidd brinf/ the
avcJii iwUvjo within United States soil. These two channels
are ahout twenty nules apart. That on the Washington side
was the otdy one, up to a recent period, in use, and indeed had
been used by all the Enjjjlish and American navij^ators ; that on
the Vancouver side, thoutjfh marked on some of the Spanish
charts, was (piite unknown to more modern traders until the
mast(!rs of Hudson's hiiy Company's vessels availed themselves
of its shorter route to Victoria.

Of course, to two such vast landowners as Great Britain and
the United States, tlu; rocks and pine-clad acres which lie betw(^en
these two channels are intrinsically valueless. It is, however,
their peculiar position wiiicli constitutes their importance. Let
us consider for a moment how the claim of the United States
(rovernment would affect these British possessions on the Pacific.
British Columbia can only be approached through the Straits of
.Juan de Fuca- the entrance to the Gulf of Georj^ia — lying
between the territory of \Vashintj;ton and Vancouver Island. . . .
^^'hen we come op})osite the ish^t of San Juan, the passage
dwindles to five miles. Small steamers, hy hugging the coast
of Vancouver Island, can place five miles between themselves
and San Juan ; but, large ocean-going vessels must pass within
two miles of that islet, as also of the islets of Heiuy and Stewart.
They would thus be exposed to the full range of modern artillery.
A nearly similar objection might be urged by the linited States
Government against the a(lopti(m of the Kosario Channel, if that
passage were a key to any of the possessions of the Union. JUU
the Gulf of Georr/ia sinipli/ leads to British Coluinbia, ami to
iiu^vhere else. Fortunately, however, we are not restricted to
these two channels. The Boundary Commissioners of 1858
ascertained the existence of a third channel, and navigable for
steam vessels, to which the name of Douglas Channel has been
given. It lies midway between these two entrance passages,
leavintr the islet of San Juan on its left. Thus, since it is no
longer possil)le to carry out the precise instructions of the Oregon
Treaty- seeing that there are three channels, in place of the

1) -J,

Till': V(»VA(iH OLT.

iliaiiiiel— tlu' julojitioii of this iiiitldlc cliaiiiM'!, in pl.-icr df the
im|K>s.siliI(; ' iiiiddlc of the cliaiiiK r nf tlic treaty, wmild scciii
to plate tlic K-ast strain M|M>n its interpretation, uiid may cer-
tainly be aeoniiiplislied wit limit the least injury to the I'i^dits (»t"
any nation in existence. ]\\ the adoplion oi" this cluimiel as ii
t'oiitiiniati(»n of thi' interniitional Ijonndary-line, it is not at all
necessary that it should he wsnl by the ships of either nation.
Kaeli nation would then ]tossesH a safe and commodious channel
lyint,' beside its own territory. Tt must be conceded by all parties
that the Island of San Juan can be lii'ld by (Jreat Mritain only
lor defensive ))uri)oses. It must be j'oncetjed by all parties that
it can lie lu'ld by tin- I'ldted States only for otVeUsive purposes.
Indeed, it is simply a (piestion whether KiiLrlaiid shall be allowed
to \ isit her own possessions and export her own ^'"Id without
passing under the guns of a foreign power.

Tln' iiiipi'cssioii of tins writer. It \vill be pcfccivcd, is,
lliaL imiuraiK'C on llic i);iit ol' the au'ents of both (Jovcrii-
iiicnts in ISIO, ivspectiii^' tlie oxisteiUH' of any islands
behVL'en lliu mainland and \'anc'ou\\i', aeconnts ibr the
terms of tilt' treaty as to the (lueslion i)\' rJnntiicI not beiiiLj:
more definite. Thi-re ean be Jio doubt that his notion is
correct, as far as the Ilnulish Commissioners were con-
cerned. Hut not so in re«j"ard to the Americans. So
moderate were the claims tii'Licd by thi' rei)resentatiyes of
the Enulish Ooyeriiment, that the Amerii^an Commissioiu'rs
Were astonished. The fact was that the former party knew
little about the reirion Avhich was the subject of neiz'otia-
tion, and cared less; and to this C(.)mbination of iLHioi'ance
and a])athy may Ijc trace(l the misinteipretation of tlie
treaty, from which the peace of the two nations is now
imperilled. The latter l)arty had sudicient ac(|uaiiitance
with it to possess yeiy distinct ideas of tlie coiu'se the
boundary-line should take thrcniuh the j^ailf. Nor did
they make any secret at the time of the construction they
put on the now disputed clause of the treaty. The marvel

Tin; .\.Mi:i:i('A.\ vikw s'iatki).

'>/

•(' of tilt'
lid scclii
[n;iy «'fr-
rij^'lits (»t'
unci ;is .'I
lot at iill
r nation.
i cliinnu'l
ill partit'H
tain only
itics tliiit
purposes,
f allowed
I without

t'lvc'd, is,

; isl;iii(ls
; for ihe
lot hoi 11,1^
notion is
X'l'C coii-
ans. tr^o
tutivt'8 of
lissioiu'is
rty kiK'W

n('L!"()tia-
<_nioraii('t'
ni of the
s is now
laintance
)in'.SL' tlio

Nor (lid
tion tlicy
It' niaivc'l

i<. tlial tlic KiiLilisli ConnnissioiuTs siioiild liavo been tniol)-
s('i'\anl of tiiis im't. I'cloic mc is a speech delivered hy
Mr. 'I'lionias II. Denton, IeL!;al adviser to tin; rresidciil ol"
that day, 'on llie raliliention of tin? OreLCon treaty,' in the
U. S. Senate, Secret Session, June IS, IS 10. It contains
the following,' passaires : "That i'^land (N'ancoiiver) is not
wanted hy the linited Slates for any i)urpose whatever.
Above all, the south end of it is not wanted to connnand
the Straits of Fnca. Tl so happe.iis that tlie-e straits are
not hahle to he eonimanded, eilher in fact or in law.
They are I'athei' too wide lor hatlei'ies to ci'cjss their shot,
and wide enounh — like all other u'reat straits (»f the
world — to (.'onstitute a pai't of the hinh seas, and to he
incapable of appropriation by any nation. We want
jiothiuLX of that strait but as a boundary, and that the
treaty gives us. With that boundary t;onies all that we
want in that quarter, namely, jill the waters oi" Puuet
Sound, and the fei'tile Olynii)ic distri(?t which borders
upon them. W'/h'i/ f/it' line reac/n's t/n' rhdiiih'l n'/tich st'jxf-
ruh's I'diico/fi'i'r Islditd i'r()iu flic Coiitiiii'iit [which it docx
irifhi)i ('i<//if. mili's of Fi'dsf'i' Jiii'i'i')^ it jivocccds to the uii'/d/i!
of the chitinicl, AND TIIKNCK TL'UXIXO SOUTH THROU(iII TIM']

CiFA.WKii Dk IIaIiO (wronuiy written Arro on the maps) A>
the Straits (f Fi/ca ; and then west, through the middU* oi'
that strait, to the sea. This is a fair jjartition of tliose
Avaters, and gives us everything that we want, namely, all
the waters of Puget Sound, Hood's Canal, Admiralty Tnlel,
Di'llinghani l)ay, IVu'ch r)ay% dn'/ irith ihnn the cluster (f
isltnids* prohdf'lij 'f no rdlue, hctivceii J)c llaro Caned mul
the Continent.'

The senator's interjn'ctation of the treaty in regard to
the particular channel through which tlie boundary-line

♦ It will Ik- .-^I'on by the map that this duster iiirhidos Siiii Jm.tii.

;;s

TIIR VOYAdK OUT.

yliould pnss. is oxprcssod witli a cloarru '^s lliat cannot bo
iiiistaki'ii. No opposition was nia(l<' to his view ;it tlic
tinu", as tar as I am aware. It was when tliis (»pp(ntunity
of ol)ir('tin<' was <n\\'n tliat tlu' I'ritisli ( lovcrnniciit sln)nl(l
liavc oniorci'd tlu'ir claims beyond the possibility of mis-
construction.

iii!\<)t ho

V :it tlu'

lortunily

t should

t»r mis-

-ft-:'!5» • *Ne»Wi!a'mi' -:--■

■>«»S,&,,frrTSJWl>jK.^,.

sh
m:
til
of
h{
a

^""""'

■'fc

CILNTTEK 11.

VANCOUVER TSI.AXD.

TOnXiUArilY, CiEOLOGY, IMIVSICAL (i KOGKAIMIY AND GEXERAL

IIISTOKY.

t/^

The Eni^liind of the Pncifio — Straits of Fuca— The Coast Line— Gee )looical
FDniiation — .Soako— Ksqiiinmlt — \'ic't(U-ia — Inlands in tlie (iulf of (Jeorgia
— Saanich — Cowichan — Nanainio — Coniox — Northern l-iXtruniity of the
Island — (Juatsino Nootka — Darclay Sound — Tioneor Discovorios in tho
Pacific by tlic Spaniards — I'.alboa — Cabrillo— Ferrelo— Sir Francis Drake
and his Adventures — Cavendisli— Story of Juan de Fuca and liis innig'ined
1 )i.scovery of a Nortli-East Passa<re— Jv\])edition under Heceta and (Quadra
— Cook's Peconnoitre of the Coast — Kendrick — Perkeley — Meares —
Vancouver's Mission and its Pesults — Grant of tho Island to the Hudson's
Pay Company — Their Monopoly unfavourable to Colonisation.

Vaxc'ouvkr Island is situated between tlie ])arnlle]s of 48°
and 51° X. lat., and lu'tween 123° and 128° W. long., and
is 5,008 miles due west from London.

liy a remarkable coincidence, wliile for the most part
in the latitude of Great Iji'itain, the colony sustains a
iXeo<n'ai)hical relation to the Continent of North America
in tlie Taciilc, similar to that which the parent country
does to the Continent of Europe in the Atlantic. So that
Vanc(mver Island has l)een not unaptly designated the
England of the Great Western ocean; and it is no ex-
aggeration to assert tluit it only requires a vigorous ap])li-
cation of British ca[)ital, enterinise, and hibour in the
development of its resoin-ces, to secure for it supremacy
as a connnercial and manufactin'ing centre in the Western
Hemisphere, such as England has acquiied in the Eastern.

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•■' ■■'■ *^-' T-?^K

VANCOUVER ISLAND.

The island is 240 miles in length, and from forty \o
seventy in breadth, embracing a superficial area of 14,000
square miles, — less than one-fourth the size of Great Britain.

Entering the Straits of Fuca, which are about eleven
miles wide, on a blight summer day, tlie spectacle pre-
sented to the eye is peculiarly inviting. On the south-
efist, in the territory of Washington (United States), the
Olympian range of mountains lift their rugged summits,
capped with eternal snows, their dark precipitous sides
appearing to descend abruptly into the sea. On the left
is the rocky sliore of the island, beyond which stretches a
mountain-chain in a north-westerly direction, covered with
thick vegetation. The surface of the country is generally
of an undulating character, and contains lakes, rivers,
inlets, forests, and prairies in every variety.

The masses of metamorpliic, trappean, and sandstone
rocks — fringed with lofty pines — that first meet the gaze
of the emigrant on his approach to his new home, present
a rather frowning apjiearance, as compared with the softer
aspect of the shores of England. But these sombre heights
are portals, through which he is conducted to a land of
promise. The most prominent elevation in the southern
part of the island is Mount Arrowsmith, which rises to the
height of 5,000 feet. East and west of the ridge which
forms the backbone of the country are found pine, oak,
willow, alder, cedar, and ma})le, together with various
species of wild (lowers and fruits in profusion.

The coast line in all directions is broken by numerous
bays and harbours, many of which are capable of being
turned to commercial advantage as population and enter-
prise continue to be introduced.

While the geological formation of the country indicates
that its future prosperity will spring chiclly from mineral
products, the agricultural statistics to be given in subse-

GEOLOOICAL STRUCTURp: OF THE ISLAND.

m f«~)rty to
I of 14,000
cat Britain,
out eleven
'ctaclc prc-

the south-
States), tlic
(1 f<unimits,
)itous sides
On the left

stretches a
3vered with
is generally
,kes, rivers,

1 sandstone
3et the gaze
me, present
the softer
bre heights
3 a land of
le southern
rises to the
idge which
pine, oak,
ith various

numerous

lie of being

and enter-

Ly indicates
)m mineral
\n in subse-

quent pages, clearly prove that there exists a sufTicieiit
extent of land adapted for cultivation and pasturage to
justify the hope of yet larger tracts being discovered as
the interior becomes better known.

With the exception of the projecting edges of strata on
the coast, and a few portions of the interior, the geological
structure of the island has not been examined.

Dr. Forbes, R. N., who has given some attention to the
subject, records the results of his observations as follows : —

An axis of metamorphic gneissose rock is fouuJ in the south-
western extremity of the island, having resting tliereou clay slates
and Silurian deposits, or, at all events, rocks of the paheozoic
age. A black bituminous-looking slate is brought from that
locality, as also from Queen Charlotte's Island, but no observer
has yet seen it in situ, and no true or definite account of it can
be obtained. A great deposit of clayslate has existed along th(^
whole south and west, but shattered and broken up by intruded
trappean rocks, it has been almost entirely removed by the
subsequent glacial action which grooved and furrowed the dense
crystalline felspathic traps. Masses of lenticular or concretionary
limestone are interspersed through this formation, and afford
good lime for economic purposes. Along with the traps, other
rocks of igneous origin have been erupted, and at the Kaco
Rocks, a remarkably beautiful dark green hornblendic rock is
found massive, studded with large and perfectly formed crystals
of quartz.

The sedimentary rocks are carboniferous sandstone and grit,
limestones and shales of both the cretaceous and tertiary ages ;
these in patches fringe the whole coast, from the extreme north
round by the Straits of Fuca, to Nootka Sound, and enter largely
into the formation of the numerous outlying Islands in the
Gidf of Georgia.

As shown by the associated fossils, the coalfield of Nanaimo
is of cretaceous age. The whole deposit has undergone many
changes of level — numerous and extensive faults existing.

The sandstone with lijj^nitic beds at Burrard's Inlet and Bel-

VANCOUVER ISLAND.

lingliam Bay on the mainland, are, on the contrary, almost
horizontal, in general loose and friable in their siructure, in
some cases slightly metamorphosed by the intrusion and con-
tact of heated rock, and containing, as fossil testimony of age,
impressions of the leaves of a maple- like tree.

Upheaval, subsidence and denudation had all done their work
in the dense crystalline rocks of the axis of the island, and in
the cretaceous beds of Nauaimo, long before the tertiary sand-
stones and lignites were elevated by the slow upheaval of the
post-glacial period.

Associated with the coal-field, and scattered over the neigh-
bouring islands, are numerous nodules of ' Septaria,' a calcare-
ous clay charged with iron, of great value as an hydraulic cement.

Copper pyrites and peroxide of iron are found in various
localities, giving promise of mineral.

The o;ciieral litlioloo-ical character of the island is as
follows : Among the metainorphic and erupted rocks are
gneiss (gneisso-granitic) killas, or clayslate permeated by
quartz veins, quartz and hornblende rocks, compact
bituminous slates, serpentine, highly-crystalline felspathic
traps (bedded and jointed), semi-crystalline concretionary
limestone. Amongst the sedimentary are sandstones and
stratified limestone, crystallised by intruded igneous rocks,
carboniferous sandstones, fine and coarse grits, conglome-
rates and fossiliferous limestones, shale, &c., &c., associated
■svitli the seams of coal.*

The most remarkable feature in the geology of the south-
eastern end of the island is the scooping, grooving, and scratch-
ing of rocks by ice action. The dense felspathic traps already
spoken of are ploughed into furrows six to eight inches deep,
and from six to eighteen inches wide. The sharp peaks of the
erupted intruded rocks have been broken off, and the surface
smoothed and polished as well as grooved and furrowed by the
ice acting on a sinking land, giving to the numerous promon-

* The result of Professor Temiaiit's analysi.s.

•n\

to|
dt

PM
to

SOOKE AND ESQUIMA1.T.

4:'.

it raw, almost

siructure, in

don and con-

imony of age,

ne their work
Island, and in
tertiary sand-
heaval of the

:er the neigh-
ia,' a calcare-
raulic cement,
id in various

island is as
ed rocks are
crmeated by
p, compact
le felspathic
)ncretionary
stones and
leous rocks,
conglonic-
associatcd

the south-
and scratcli-
raps already
inches deep,
)eaks of the
the surface
wed by the
)us promon-

tories and outlying islands which liere stud the coast, the
appearance of rounded hossi-s, l)etween which the soil is found
to he composed of sedimentary alluvial deposit containing the
debris of tertiary and recent shelly beaches, which have, after a
period of depression, been again elevated to form dry land, and
to give the present aspect to the pliysical geography of Van-
couver Island.

As might be looked for in a country so marked by glacial
phenomena, the whole surface is strewn with erratic boulders.
Great masses of many tons weight are to be found of various
igneous and crystalline as well as of sedimentary rocks, suffi-
ciently hard to bear transportation and attrition.

Granites and granitoid rocks of various descriptions are to be
met mth, trappean rocks of every kind from whinstone through
the whole series ; mica, schist with garnets, breccias, and con-
glomerates. From these granitic boulders, and from the sand-
stones of the outlying islands, valuable building material is
obtained ; some of the gre}' granite equalling in beauty and
closeness of crystalline texture the best granites of Aberdeen
or Dartmoor.*

For hydrogi'aphic details the reader is referred to the
superior maps and sailing directions of Capt. II. Eichards,
E. N., who was occupied for several years, under instruc-
tions from the Admiralty, in surveying the coast, and won
esteem by his urbanity, as well as admiration by his talent.

In pursuing our course along the south-east coast of
the island, we pass the agricultural settlements of Sooke
and Metchosin, the former of which within the past few
months has, by the discovery of coal and copper, but
especially of gold, been changed from a scene of rural
quiet into a hive of busy industiy. Soon we came in
sight of the magnificent harbour of Esquimalt, distant
eight and a half miles from Eace Eocks. It is two miles
by three in extent, with an average depth from six to

" Essa;/, p. 10,

VANCOUVER ISLAND.

ciglit fntlioms of water, and aflordiiig, unquestionably, tlie
most perfect slielter to ships of large tonnage that can be
obtained between this locality and San Francisco — 750
miles farther south. In this capacious place of (uichorage
a portion of II. M. Pacific squadron ulrc^ady rides, and
eventually Esquimalt is certain to assume the i)osition of
chief depot for the Iloyal Navy in that ocean. Here
steamers from California land freight and jiassengers, and
in future years the present village will expand into the
dimensions of an important town, whose wharves will be
gay with the shipping of all nations, and lined with
mnnerous wholesale warehouses for the accommodation
of merchandise from the East and the West, to be distri-
buted to every country on the North American Coast of
the Pacific.

Three miles eastward of Esquimalt are the city and
harbour of Victoria. The entrance to the harbour, which
is narrow and intricate, may, without the least dangei",
be approached by vessels drawing fourteen or fifteen feet
of water under ordinary circumstances. At the top of
spring tides vessels drawing seventeen feet can enter.

A dredging machine has been procured, by means of
which the depth will be increased ; and arrangements are
about to be made for blasting some rocks at the mouth of
the harbour, which constitute the principal obstruction
to its safe navigation. The inlet which forms an extension
of Victoria harbour is several miles long, and at one point
is separated from Esquimalt harbour by a neck of land only
COO yards in width, through which it is not improbable
that when the growing necessities of commerce demand a
canal may be cut, so that the two ports would in that
event be conveniently connected.

Victoria is more llomishing and populous than any
other centre in this or the sister colony, and is palpably

VICTOIIIA AND SAAMCII.

[')

ion ably, tlic
that can be
iicist'o — 750
)f auclionifre
r ritk'S, and
J position of
2C'an. Hero
sengcTs*, and
md into tlie
rves will be
lined with
oniniodation
to be distri-
!an Coast of

;he city and

rboiir, which

east danger,

fifteen feet

the top of

enter.

)j means of

^enients are

le mouth of

obstruction

ui extension

[it one point

of land only

improbable

e demand a

uld in that

than any
is palpably

iiiaiked (Hit by the unrivalled advantages of its geographi-
cal position for the grand Uritish mercantile eniponum of
the Pacific in coming years. Nothing could exceed the

\ loveliness of its environs. Whether approached by land
(»r by sea from Esquimalt, the gentle slope on which it
stands exhibits with line efl'ect the buildings of all forms

I and colours that continue to rise in quick succession.

Large patches of excellent land exist in the vicir.'ty, and

ill Avhatever direction the admirer of nature turns, his

vision is charmed with scenery charmingly diversified.

The site was fixed U])«>n by JMr. (now tSir. J.) Douglas, in

I l84o, for an Indian trading post of the Hudson's liay
Company.*

i Advancinix northward, the Gulf of Geoi'gia is observed
to teem with islands from the size of a ilower-])ot ui)wards,
])resenting a scene rivalling in beauty the celebrated 'lake
of a thousand islands,' near the entrance of Lake Ontario.
Xot the least prominent of the group is the Island of San
Juan, to which reference has already been made. Many
portions of this archipelago contain soil that would am[)ly
reward the labour of cultivation. Various minerals, too,
are found in thein that only await the application of
ca])ital and industry to be profitably worked.

The Saanich peninsula, about twenty miles long, and
varying in breadth from three to eight miles, lies in a
NXW. and SSE. direction. Some of the most fertile
land in the island is to be found in the Saanich vallej's.
It is not im])robable that a watering-})lace may, when
recpiired for the convenience of the future mei'chant-
l)rinces of Victoria, be established in Summer bay, which
is situated on the east side of tlie peninsula, and is one of
the choicest spots for such a purpose in that neighbourhood.

* As early as L'^40 Sir (\. Simpson, on visitinjr it, wrote, * Vidnria
inoiuises to become ca place of groat importance.'

VA.NX'OUVEU ISLAND.

Fiirtlier north is the cxtonsivo agiicuhural district of
Cowichaii, inchichii^ those subdivisions respectively known
us Coniiaken, Quaniichan, Sonienos, and feha^vill<^^'ln.
The importance of tliese locahties as fannin^i: settlements
^vill be referred to in the proper place. This region
enjoys the advantage of possessing a large bay, and u river
jiavigable a few miles from its month.

From this point the island was crossed toNitinat on the
West Coast by Mr. J. D. Pemberton, in 1857. The fol-
lowing is an extract fn^n the report of that gentlemairs
explorations, addressed to the governor : —

After passing the Somenos plains and the large lake, several
tracts of country eligible for settlement will he found, l)ut they
wi'l require to be cleared. The situations alluded to will have
all tlie advantages of a fertile soil, good water, game and fisli,
variety of timber ; the ajjpearauce of the surrounding country
being pretty and cheerful, often grand. The same remarks will
apply to the land in many places bordering upon the large lake.

In the valleys, Douglas pines twenty-tliree feet to twenty-
eight feet in circumference are not uncommon. ... In rounding
JNIount Gooeh, we pass througli a forest of Hemlock spruce,
larger than any I had seen before, often eight or nine feet in
diameter.

South River contains a large body of water, has several falls,
a considerable quantity of flat land on its banks, particularly on
the right bank ; pine trees (P. Menzles) six feet to nine feet in
diameter, of corresponding lieight, standing at regular intervals ;
the under-growth of ferns, &c., being exceedingly thick. . . .
Gold-bearing rocks are to be met with in tUe mountains ; sand-
stone is frequently found in the beds of the rivers.

In a despatch from Mr. Brown, commander of the
exploring expedition that commenced operations last
June, dated from Great Cowichan Lake, are the following
remarks descriptive of the coimtry passed through : —

We have described the geography and capabilities of a con-

COWIfllAN VALLKV.

1 district of
ivuly known

fehawingan.

.settlements
Til is legion
, and a river

itinat on tlie
. The fol-
gentlcnian's

lake, several
ind, ])ut they
1 to will have
aine and fish,
ding country
remarks will
le large lake.
't to twenty-
, In rounding
ilock spruce,
nine feet in

several falls,
[irticularly on

nine feet in
lar intervals ;
thick. . . .
Itaius ; sand-

Ider of the
fat ions last
foUowinij^
lugh :—

iti of a cou-

■

sidcrohle tract of country, including a very fair agricultural
region; have discovered a vein of rt'n>!irkid)|y ricli coppt-r, of
iiK'xhiiustilde (|U;intity, and have found gold in all the Wars of
Cowichan river, in <|uantities from ^ of cent to 3 cents to the
])an, with every indication of still richer diggings existing, to be
found with superior appliances iind more time.

On Foley's Creek we found any amount of * prospects' to ])ay
,S!2 per day, and one which ought, to an experienced miner, to
pay from ^.3 to J^'H per diem.

We have discovered very rich ironstone in large quantities.
Coal we have found many indications of. . . . The spars and
lumber alone, with their capabilities of being floated to the sea,
would prove a certain fortune to atiy man with capital enough
to l»uy an axe and a grindstone. The borders of the lake abound
with martens, and the stu'rounding country is richly stocked
with l)ear, dei'r, and droves of elk.

The width of Cowichan valley is estimated at about
fifteen miles upon the sea coast, contracting rapidly in a
westerly direction to about six miles.

The prolific character of the soil in this district is
ascribed to the disintegration and decomposition of calca-
reous sandstones, by Avhicli it is bounded, and which are
highly charged with carbonate of lime.

Every species of wild plant grows luxuriantly in Cowi-
chan. In the meadow-lands are found the following:
White pea, Avild bean, wild timothy, wild sun-(lower (said
to be excellent for fiittening poultry), wild oats, wild hly,
wild angelica, wild lettuce, brown-leaved rush, ground
nut, white clover reed meadow-grass, beat si)ear-grass,
sweet grass, cowslip, crowsfoot, winter cress, partridge
berry, mang( )ld.

Among wild shrid)s arc : the cranberry, blueberjy,
bilberry, whortleberry, red and white mull)erry, wild
blackberry, chokeberry, black and red ras[)berry, wild
strawberry, white raspbeny, prickly purple ras])berj-y.

VANCUUVEU ISLAND.

prickly j^'oosc'lu'iry, swauip ^'ooschuny, diflV'ivnt spc'cli's of
tHiiiJiiit, bear bcniL'.s, rod elder, lUDoscberry, snovvberry,
yellow plum.

lU'sidcs the stiii)le woods, otik mid pine, we liuve erab
apple, liazel, willow, balsam, red or 8\vamp maple, trailing
aibutus, eedar, <Sjc.

Fern in the district reaches the extraordinary height of
IVom to 8 feet.

liesuming our journey northward from Cowichan Bay,
we pass through the " Sansum Narrows,' where there is a
company at work developing a vein of copi)er. Imme-
diately opposite, at the distance of a mile and a half, is
Ir^alt fc5i)ring Island, about twenty-foui- miles long, which
has two good harbours on the eastern side, and is favoured
with a considerable proj)ortion of land fit for cultivation.

The mineral springs, from which the island derives its
ntune, are shown by analysis to contain 4,91)4 grains of
salt ])er imperial gallon.

After passing about twenty miles of coast line from the
north end of this island, we arrive at Nanaimo, which is
distant seveiHy miles from Victoria. The harbour of this
infant town ranks next to that of Victoria in importance,
and affords acconnnodation for a large number of vessels.
Jirinc springs exist here also, and the analysis of their
waters gives a result of 3,44G grains of salt to the im[)ei'ial

gallon.

But it is to the extensive coal formation in the vicinity
that Nanaimo has to look for its ultimate expansion. The
coal mines here, even at their present early stage, give
steady employment to several hundred men. Formerly
the property of the old Hudson's Bay Company, they were
recently transferred to an enterprising joint-stock associa-
tion in England, distinguished by vigour immeasurably
beyond their i)redecessors. Other companies have set to

it SIK'CU'S of

siiowbcny,

• lijivo crab
iplo, tniiliiiL;

ry lit'iglit of

widum Bay,
re tliore is ii
)cr. Tnimo-
r1 a half, is
lon<jf, wiiicli
1 is lavoiuvd
cultivation,
id derives its
t)4 grains of

ine from the
no, which is
hour of this
importance,
r of vessels,
sis of their
he im[)erial

the vicinity
Usioii. The

stage, give
Formerly

^, they were

)ck associa-
Imeasurably

have set to

toMoX — (Al'K SCOTT — (^UATSINO.

Ill

\vi»rk upon s^'iuhs contiguous to those of the Xanaiino
concern, and the period cannot i>e far renitJVed wiien a
large export trade in this article will he carried on between
American territory and the colony.

The countiy surrounding Xanaiino has been <livided
into Mountain, Cedar, and Cranberry disliiets ; these
designations referi'ing to the I'haracter of the prevailing
■wild [)roduce grown in I'aeh.

The Coniox Valley lies northward, and is bi'ing rapidly
j)opulated with settlers. This district and other agiicul-
tural districts are describi'd at length in another chapter.

rassin!4 Valdez Inlet, and thronuh Johnstone's ^ti'aits,
the north-west extremity of the island is reached, where
there is a trading-post of the Hudson's Hay Company,
called Fort Rupert — one of their most insignificant estab-
lishments of that description. Yet it is said to realise an
annual profit ol' not less than (1,000/.

liounding Caj)e Scott, we meet a singular group of
islands, extending westerly for 10 miles. It ccMuprises
three large, and a gi'eater number of small ones. The
westernmost of the grou[) is 1,000 feet high, and jx-ciiliarly
noti'hed at the t(_)p. It is believed that valuable cod-banks
will be discovered at the uoith-west end of Vancouver
Idand.

Immediately S(.)Uth of this ])oint is (iuatsino, a useful
inlet, running eastward across the island to Fort liu[)eit.
This locality, too, abounds in coal and other minerals.

Koskeemo Sound — the name by which the inlet is
usually known — is about 10 miles south of the Cape. It
is divided into three main arms, one taking a due easterly
direction, another running to the south-east, and another
to the west-north-west. These arms are res])ectively 10,
10, and 25 miles long, starting from the head of the main
^>ouiid A number of shallow rivers eni[)ty into them.

!•:

VA.N'COUVKll ISLAND.

At the cutraiice to tlio scniiul on tlie nortli side is
(iuiitsiuo Bay, about one and a half mile iii extent, iVoni
wliieh a narrow arm runs back ei^'ht miles, Avideninu; at
the extremity into another small bay.

At the head of the east arm, about 30 miles from tlie
coast, a trail runs across to Fort liupert, a distance of 12
miles.

The country fi'om Ca])e S(!()tt to Koskeemo is very
ruixujed and mountainous, the smnmits of some of the hills
being ca])i)ed with perpetual snow. Their sides also are
entirely covered with heavy limber. The valleys along
the banks of the rivers are generally densely wooded.
The only level land in this tract of country is situated
between the east arm and Fort liupert, through which
the trail crcjsscs. From Koskeemo, half-way across, the
land 'rolls' gently, the remaining half consisting of cedar
swamps and beaver meadows.

The ])rinci[)al timber in this iidet is hemlock, which is
found in large (quantities. The quality of the wood greatly
im|)roves as we ])roceed inland among the mountains,
where there are cedars averaging from G to 8 feet in
diameter. Cyi)ress grows round the lakes.

The natives manufacture their wooden bowls out of
small maple, which, with alder, is visible m extensive
clumps.

In addition to several }>romising scams of coal which
crop out, tliuie have been discovered two or tlu'ee lodes
of copper in that neighbourhood. One of these lodes, at
a place called Ac-cla, has been slightly 'prospected,' and
gives every indication of l)eing lich. (Quartz veins also
are traceal)le, and superior limestt)ne has been Ibunvl in
dilTerent ])arts of the ISound.

Woody Point lies between (iuatsino and Kayoquot, a
di>lricl extendiiiLi' to Noolka iSound. Noijlka is a trian-

DAUC'LAY SOUND.

]\ side is
cut, iVom
deiiiug at

i from tlic
.lice of 12

is very
)f tlie liills
s also are
leys along

1 wooded,
is situated
mil Avhieli
iicross, the
g of cedar

, which is

)od greatly

nouiitaiiis,

8 feet ill

ivls out of
extensive

I'oal whicli
liree lodes

lodes, at
[cted,' and
Iveins also

found in

lyuquol, a
lis -,[ trian-

gular island that has obviously been detached in tlu;
course of ages from Vancouver l)y the gradual coiiliuence
of two inlets. The small harbour, Avhich was the scene of
S[)anisli occupation, can still be identilled. Traces of a
very mmierous native ])0))ulation remain along this part
of the coast. IJut the Nootka tribe is now reduced to b')().

Clayoquijt Sound is diditnilt of access from banks of
sand and shoals of gravel. The rocky formation, however,
by which it is bounded evinces the presence of great
mineral wealth.

Lii route southward we come to Ijarclay Sound, which
is well situated for an expcnt trade in lisli, lumbrr, auti
minerals, as vessels loading there for foreign ports get out
to sea without encountering those risks of delay which
ships are liable to ialring in freight on Tuget Sound (»r
Traser lliver.

At the head of Barclay Sound a cleft in the mountain
range forms Alberni Canal, 2-") miles in leiiu'th, into which
a river discharges. At this [)oiiit the country is level and

letivi

ly timl

)ere(l

The nucleus of a thriving settlement has been Ibrnicd
here, in which two or three hundred hands are employed
in connection with a large saw-mill company, engagi'd in
the ex[)ort of spars and sawn lumber.

From ])ersonal knowledge of several of the localilies
that have been describecl, 1 am disposed to regard the
I language of Caj-tain Vancouver, written hk )Vv than seventy
ycfj's ago, in reference to them, as sol)cr and just : —

To (lesorihc the heauties of this rcirioii will on sotiic futu

occasion be a very ;j;-ra(el'nl task to tlie |)cn of the skilful |»!iiir-
ijyrist. The serenity of the (iiiuate, llio iniiuiiui-alili' |ilcasiii^
landscapes, and the abundant fertility that tniassisted natuic
puts foilh, recplire oidy to he eurielied hy rhe industry of man
with villa''es, mansions, euttai;es, and (jlher buildin-js, (o ri-udi r

VANCOUVER ISLAM).

it tliu most lovely country that can bo imagined; wliiK' the
laltours of lilt! iiiliaiiitants would be amply rewarded in the
bounties which nature seems ready to bestow on civilisation.

TliL' discovery of u'okl on tlie opposite side of the gulf
was the Li'nuid event tluit broiiiilit this und the sister
colony under tlie notit.-e of the world ; conferred U[)on
them ' a local habitation and a name,' communicated to
them a progressive impulse, and started them on that
career which is destined to conduct them to a condition
of imexam[)led national splendour. But a ra])id sketch
of their history previous to the advent of a gold-seeking
immigration in '58 may not be ina])propi'iate.

The S[)aniards were undoubtedly the ])ioneers of dis-
covery on the racilic coast, and their ex])loi'ations were
the result of endeavoiu's to reach the shores of India by
a western route. Vague accounts, too, of the wealth of
China and Jap;ui had come to the ears of thes-^ enterpris-
ing adventurers, and inllamed theii' ambition to niono})olise
the gold, silk, spices, and precious stones re[)orted to be
})roduced by tliose countries.

The racific ocean was discovered by Vasc(j Nunez de
Lalboa in the year 1513. From that date the work of
discovery northward was prosecuted at intervals, till in
15o2 an ex[)edition under the connnand of Grijalva and
])ecei'ra, sighted the peninsula of Lower Calilbrnia, of
which Cortez took possession in the name of the King of
^^pain, in 1535.

In June 1512 two vessels were despatched under Juan
Cabrillo, from Xalisco in ^lexico. He succeeded in
ascending as far north as lat. 37° 10', when he was
driv( II bad; bv stress of weather to the Island of San
lieiiiai'do, wlicie he died. Ferrelo, his [)ilot, assumetl
direction of the ex[)edition, and j)ursuing ;i northward
course, is believed by Iluniboklt and othei's to have di^-

l)UAKi:s !:Xl'LOUATIONS.

-)•)

wliilr tlie
icil ill tlio
isntioii.

f the gulf
the sister
■red u[)()ii
iiicated t(j
1 on tliat
coiuliti(ju
)id sketch
Id-seeking

.Ts of dis-

Lions were

:' India by

wealth of

enterpris-

lontijiolise

tc'd to be

Xiniez de
e work of
als, till in
ijalvii and

ifornia, o

UIX o

ider Juan

tee

ded
1

I ne was

d of

Si.

assumed
ortliward
liave dis-

covered Cape Blanco, in hit. 4o°, to which Vancouver
gave the name of Ca|)e ( )i'ford.

?pain claimed possession of the territory thus explored,
in virtue of a papal bull conferring on Fei'dinand and
Isabella ' all the new world to the westward of ji meri-
dian line drawn a liundred leaii'ues west of the Azores.'
The other portion was assigned by Alexander VL to
roi'tuu'al.

When England renounced allegiance to the holy see
she ignored the validity of any title preferred by the
Spaniards to the countries they had discovei'cd, based on
"donation liy the ]jisho}) of lionic,' and asserted the
riu'ht of J^ritish subjects to settle in any country not in
the actual ()ccu])ation of anothei" C'hi'i.^tian nation, and to
open trade with any people that showed a disposition to
become their customers.

That policy being ollicially declared by the queen, Sir
Francis Drake obtained her sanction to an expe lition
j)rojected by him to the Western Ocean. Sailing from
riymouth at the ch^se of 1577, with five vessels, the
largest of which was onl}' TOO tons burden, he brought
them throu<j!;h the Stiiiits of ^Mauellan into tiie l\icilic m
'■afety, when the frail squadi'on was assailed by a storm,
and Drake lei't with but one small schooner and sixty
men to execute his b(»ld vilans ncrniiKf flw (!(.<.<< <>(" Si

that still held undi>turl)ed control over the western
coast of America. His courage unshaken by misfortune,
the her<.)i<'. privateer deviated not from his jm^jiosed
course, and the amount of booty he I'calised from th(!
cajiture of Spanish galleons is as surprising as his adven-
tures ^vere romantic. Apprehensive that the Spaniards
might intercept him should he attempt a homewaid [las-

me tl

ironii'h

traits of ^hiLrellan, he conceived the

idea of searching for a north ('a>t passage from the Piicili*;

■1J

VAXCOUVER ISLAXl).

to the Atliiiitic by tlio clinnnel which was tlicn known as
the Straits of Anian, but wliich is now tlunmht to be murclv
niulson's Strait, forming an entrance to Hudson's Bay
from the Atlantic.

The ])recise parallel of latitude reached by Drake in
liis voyaLi'^ up the north-west coast has been warmly dis-
puted, [)articularly in connection with the (juestion of
the Ore;:i;on boundary. But the narrative written by the
chaplain (jf the expedition, distinctly speciiics 'the hei^jht
of Ibrtv-eiiiiit deiiTecs,' as haviuLi' been attained. We
have no (hita on which to base an opinion as to whether
he discovered New Caledonia, or entered the Straits of
Fuca ; but there is no doubt that to him belonirs the dis-
tinction of beinji" the first to l;iy claim to the country
between 4'-)° and 48°. On the Ln'ound of oriuinal dis-
covery. Sir Francis I^rake named that part of the coast
New Albion. 'It seems,' says the narrative referred to,
' that the Spaniards hithei'to had never been in this part
of the country, neither did they ever discover the land
by many degrees to the south of this place.'

When in 1587 Cavendish took and plundered a Spanish
vessel trading between Manilla and Aca[)ulco, there w%as
among the crew a Ce[)halonian pilot named Apostolos Valc-
rianos, better known since as Jiuui de Fuca. This Greek
was the hero of an exciting nan-ative pnblislied in 1G25 by
]\Iichael Lock, ' touching the strait of sea commonly called
Fretium Anianum, in the South Sea, through the north-
west passage of Meta Incognita.' jVlr. Lock, who was an
Englishman, stated that when in Venice, in 159G, lie met
this veteran nun'iner. Mr. Lock learned from him that
on his return to ^Eexico after the capture of the Manilla
galleon by Cavendish, he was sent l)y the vicei'oy with
three vessels ' to discovi'r the Strait of Anian alonir the
coast of the South Sea, and to I'oi'tify that strait to resist

STORY OF JL'AN I)E FL'CA.

known as
bu merely
son's Bay

Drake in
irmly dis-
lestion of
en by the
lie ]ieiii:lit
lecl. We
1 whether

Straits of
^s the (lis-
e country
ainal dis-

tlie coast
iferred to,
[1 this part

the land

a Spanish

thci"e was

olos Valc-

lis Greek

i]G25by

ily called

jhe north-

|io was an

, he met

him that

Manilla

[roy with

lonu; the

to resist

the passap-e and proceeding of the Enulish nation, which
were feared to pass through that strait into the South
Sea.'

This exploratory voyage having proved fruitless, l)e
Fuca's alleged narrative goes on to say that —

Slidrtly afterwards liaviiiLT b*.'on sent again in lo{)2 by tlio
Viceruy <'f .M('xit'i» with a small caravel and pinniiee, armed
witli mariners only, lie followeil tlu' coast of \nrih Ann rica
nntil tliey cinne to the l;ititU(UM)t' 47^, a.ii(l there finding that the
land trended east :ind iinrth-rast, with a bi'nad inh't nl' tlie
sea between 47^ and tis"^, lie entered fh<';(into, and sailed
therein more Hian twenty days, and fonnd that liind tnnding
still sometimes north-W(.'st and nnrtli-ciist, and north, :ind ;dsa
east and s'luth-eastwards, and very mneh hriKider sea than was
at the said entrance, and that he jtasscd l)y divers islands in that
sailing; and that at the entrance of this said strait there is on
the iiortli-west coast thereof a great headland . . . Jb.' being
entered thus far into the said strait, and being come into the
North Sea already . . . he thought that he had well discharged
his ofhoe . . . and returned lionieward.

Such is the story of the first reputed navigation of the
o-ulf separating Jb'itisli Columbia from Vancouver Island.
])e Fuca imagined himself as he entered (iueeii Char-
lotte's Sound to have passed fiom the Facifu; into the
Atlantic, and accordingly claimed to be regarded as
discoverer of that north-west passage the search for
which has only terminated in our day.

Some of the statements in this narrative present an
ap[)earance of verisimilitude, l^ut there are others tluit
arc at variance with fact, and calcidated to awaken sus-
picion as to whether the reported voyage was ever per-
formed or the hero of it ever existed.

The Spanish Govermnent, still impressed with the
notion that a north-west passage existed, fitted out in
1774 an expedition, under command of Juan Perez, to

.)•)

VANCOL'VHli ISLAM).

cxinniiK' tlicso western consts of tlu; Amerirnn continent.
Though no ollicial report of this voyage of discovery avus
l)i"e|)ured, satisfactory evidence lius l)een adduced of
Perez being tlie first wliite man to set eyes on Queen
Charlotte's Island, in lat. 54'. lie "was not snccessful,
however, in ucconiplisliing the main object of his
mission.

On the return of this navigator two vessels were
equipijcd by the Viceroy of Mexico, the one commanded
by Jlruno Ileceta, and the otlier by Francesco de la
IJodega y (iutidra. From lat. 48° 2G' tliey connnenced
exmnining the shore sonthward for the su])posed Strait ol'
Fuca, placed in the chaits of that day between 47° and
48° ; but some of the crew of one of the ships having
been massacred by the natives, and others having fallen
victims to scurvy, she returned toward Mexico.

The vessel connnanded by De la Bodega continued
her voyage northward, and unexpectedly made land in
hit. 50°, soon after discovering a portion of King
George III.'s Archi})elago. lie also took ])ossession of
an extensive bay in hit. 50° 30', which, in honour of the
viceroy, he named Port Bucardi

More than twenty years before this latter expedition
was sent forth, tlie British Parliament oflered a reward of
20,000/. to whoever should discover a practicable sea
route between the two great oceans. Capt. Cook, who
had already acquired a high reputation as a navigator
and explorer, was commissioned in 1 7 7G to conduct an
expedition for this purpose. He was instructed to [»ro-
ceed to 45° N. lat., and sail thence along the coa&t to
lat. G5°, searchinu; in his course for rivers or inlets that
pointed toward Hudson's or Baffin's Bay.

On March 7, 1778, Cook sighted the coast near 44°,
and rimning northward a little beyond 48" he came

(•^

ill

l)i:KKi:M:V — MF.Ar.E3 — VANCOUVI'K.

.) «

continent.
u\'eiy was

(luCL'd of

on QiR'on
successful,
:t of his

sols were
>nimaiulc(l
ico do hi
)nimencc(l
I Strait ol'
n 47° and
ps liaving
;'ing fallen

continued
e land in
of Kinu;
?ession of
ur of tlie

pedition
ward of
ible sea
jok, who
avitrator
iduct an
to pro-
coast to
ets that

ear 44°,
le came

()ppo>ite to a '^niall promontory which ho named Cape
Flatter}', in allusion to the iinj)rovc(l weather he ])eL;an to
cx[)erience at that point. It has been mentiimed that the
alleged statement of the old Gi'eek pilot placed the strait
(said to comnumicate with the Atlantic), of which he
asserted that he had been the discoverei", between thc^
47th and 48th i)arallels. This ])art of the coast there-
fore was examined by Cook with strictest care, and,
iinding no indication of any chamiel such as was ivpre-
scnted to be there, he unhesitatingly pronounced the stoiy
t)f T)e Fuca to be iictitious. In aizain sailiiiii' northwards
he passed the strait bearing that name unnoticed, an<l
anchored near Xootka Sound, at a place which he called
Friendly Cove, still sup[)osing he was on the shore of the
continent.

It is contended by some that Capt. Kendrick, an
American, was the first white man who sailed throuirh
the channel separating Vancouver Island from the main-
land. This exploration is said to have been made in
1788. Capt- Berkeley, commander of an English mer-
cluiiit vessel, who was in that region about the same time,
detected that some kind of passage existed north of Cape
Flattery ; but he did not explore it. Inunediately after,
Ca[)t. Meares, wlio was engaged with Ca[)t. Douglas in ii
voyage of discovery luider the auspices of a Bengal mer-
cantile association, on reaching those straits which owe to
him their present designation, took possession of the
adjacent country in the name of his sovereign. lie was
the first Enulishman to enter that channel. Ilaviuij: sailed
up some liiirty leagues in a boat, Capt. Meares was com-
pelled tc return, from attacks of the natives on the
northeru shore.

In 17^0 Capt. Vancouver, formerly a lieutenant serving
under Capt. Cook, was despatched to meet a S[»anish

VAXCOUVKR ISLAM).

commi.ssion at Nootka Sound. The Spaiiisli Govci'iiinout
]iad some years previously seized a section of counliy
lliat was claimed as tlie ri^irlitf'ul i)roperty of Great
])ritain, and placed certain restrictions upon IJritish com-
merce in the racilic to which we declined to submit.
The mission intrusted to the I'Jiulisli ollicer was to cHect
a, formal adjustment of the dis[)ute, which menaced the
peace of both powers.

In addition to the dii)lomatic business with which he
was charu'ed, Vancouver was instructed to rcjx'at the
examination of the coast which had been made by Cook
from the 35th to the GOth ])ai'allel, with the view of
obtaininix further satisfaction on the subject of a maritinu'
i)assaixe connectmsj: the TacMlic with the Atlantic. Findiiiu'
when he reached Xootka that the Spanish connnissioner
liad not arrived, he resolved uj)on surveying the Straits of
Fuca and Admiralty Inlet. After tedious and didicult
naviL!;ation he succeeded in fruidino; his vessels between
the numerous islands in theGulnh of Georgia and throuu'h
the strait named by him Johnstone's, coming at length
into the Pacific 100 miles above No(^tka. None will
ti'rudge to the gallant exiilorer the honour which so riuhte-
ously attaches to his name in being associeited Avith a
colony that bids fair to become, as years advance, one of
tlie brightest jewels in the British crown.

The island remained untraversed by white men till
1843, when a detachment of tlie Hudson's ]]ay Company's
emj)loyes from Fort Vancouver in Oregon establislied an
Indian trading-post on the shores of Victoria harbour, and
another at the north end of the island.

In March 1847, Sir J. II. Telly, chairman of the com-
pany, expressed to Earl Grey, then H. M. Principal
Secretary of State for the Colonies, their willingness ' to
undertake the irovernment and colonisation of all the

(IRAXTKD TO IIUD>OX S HAY (OMrANY-

.■)'.)

lovenniiout
of country
of Great
I'itisli c'om-
to siihniit.
as to ('fleet
:!iuiced the

1 wliicli lie
ri'])c'at llic
l(j by Cook
le view of
n inarilimc
:. Fiudiiiii'
ininissioiicr

Straits of
1(1 diniciilt
(Is l)ct\veeii

id tliroiiuli
at k'Hii'tli
None will

1 so riu'h te-
ed Avitli a
ice, one of

men till
Jonipany's
)lislied an
|rbour, and

the com-
riincipal

f guess ' to
if all llw

fi'rrlh)ri('s Iti'lom/iih/ fi> f/n' Cnnrn in Xm'tli Aiiin'U'H, and
receive a •jraut accordiuiilv.'

His lordshi]) did not feel at liberty to entei'tain so for-
midable a pro)H)sal, and ni'irotiations consequently were
broken off. The desires of the coini)auy at li'iin'th became
more reasonable, and a re(|uest was made by them to the
(loverninent more moderate than the precedhig one.

The company was williiin' to accept that part of tlie territory
west of the Kocky Abtuiitaiiis, or crfn Ydncourcr Ishiixl
nfmif, in tact, to (jh'e (wcrjj dssisttDicc in /Vs j)i>v'('i' fo jn'Oiitoh:
ctilonisdtion. ... In every negotiation that may take place on
tliis subject (Vancouver Island) I have only to observe that
the Company e\i)i'ct no pecuniary advantage from colonising (he
ti-rritorv in tiueslion. AH moneys received for land or minerals
would be applied t(» purposes connected Avith tlie improvem«Mit
of the country. — Letter /rum Sir J. 11. Pell;), March 4, 1848.

This modest and disinterested communication was ac-
companied by a ])rivate one of a very dillerent character,
proposing that —

The privileges possessed under the grant of Rupert's Laud, in
which the coju])any could esta})lisli colonies, governments, courts
of justice, Sic, be extended to the whole of the territories of
North America, bounded by the 4!)th degree ])arallel to the
south, the Pacific Ocean, and the Russian possessions to the
west, and tlie Arctic Ocean.

Earl Grey immediately determined to confine the grant
to Vaiu:ouver Island, and a deed of grant was accordingly
drafted, of date July 31, 1848.

This document, after reciting the provisions of the va-
rious Acts passed by Parhament, and treaties that had been
negotiated between the Imperial Government and the
com[)any, proceeds: —

And, whereas it would conduce greatly to the maintenance of
])eace, justice, and good order, and the advancement of colonisa-

lil)

VAXlOL'VKU ISI.A.M).

linn, and the pnimolidn .'itul ('ncournnfc^mpiif of trado nnd com-
nicrci- ill, and also to tlic protci-tioii and wt'lfarc of tin' native
Indians rcsidini,' within tliat portion oi' onr tciTitorics in North
America caih-d X'aiK-oiivcr Isljuid, it' snch islfuid wcro t'oh)nis(d
liy scfth'is from the iWitish dominions; and, if the pnjjxTly in
tho land of snch island wi-rc vested, for the purpose of sneli
colonisation, in the said fj^overnur and Company <»f Adventurers;
. . . hut, nevertheless, upon condition that the said governor
and conijiany should form on the said island a settlement or
Settlements as hereinafter mentioned, for the purpose of colonis-
ini,' the said island ; and, also, should defray the entire expense
of any civil and military estahlishments which nia,y bt; re<|iiired
lor the protection and L,'overnment of such stttleiiieiits,

Tlu! dot'd, then. liaviiiL' duly coiistitntcd tlie romijuuy
uhsolutc lofds and pi'(ii)i'ii.'t()rs of tlie soil, 'in fi't'c and
(.'oiiiinon s()cn<^ai, al the yeaily rent of .seven shillings,'
eontinues : —

Provided always, and we declare that this present grant is
made to the intent that the said j;overnor and company shall
ostaMish iqion the said island a settlement or settlements of
resident colonists, enii^^rants from our I'liited Kino-dom of (ireat
Ihitain and Ireland, or from other our dominions, and shall dis-
pose of the land there as may he necessary for tlie purposes of
colonisation; and, to the intent that the said company shall,
with a view t(» the aforesaid purposes, dispose of all lands hereby
granted to them at a reasonable ])rice, exci'pt so much as may
be recpiired for j)ublic jiurposes ; and that all moneys whicli shall
be received by the said company for the purchase of such land,
and also from all payments which may be made to tlann, for or
in respect of the coal or other minerals to be obtained in the
said island, or the right of searching for or getting the same,
shall (after a deduction of such sums, by way of jirofit, as shall
not exceed a deduction of 10 per cent, from the gross amount
received liy the said company for the sale of such land, and in
respect (jf such coal or other miiuTals as aforesaid) be applietl
towards the colonisation and improvement of the island. . . .

And we further declare that this present grant is made upon

i'(

sic

[)[-:!:i) OK (iKA.vi,

1*1

lie mid cniii-
f tlic native
•ie.s iit N'urtli

'IT C(»l(»lliscil

properly in
)()He of SI id I
idvelitili'C'is ;
lid eiiveriior
.'ttlcineiil or
io of colonis-
lire expense

be rL'(|iiired

I its.

L' rompniiy

II free iiml
1 filiilliiiu'.^,'

L'lit <^rant is

[in]»;niy shall

tleineiits of

11 of (ireaf

1 sliall dis-

jurposcs f>f

)any sliall,

lids hereby

lull as may

whicli shall

such land,

om, for or

led ill the

the same,

it, as shall

)ss amount

nd, and in

be applied

d. . . .

nade upon

the condition ijnt if the said governor and company shall not,
wi'hin the term of live years from (he date of tliese preseiiis,
have established upon the said island a setth'nient of resident
t'olonists, emiifr;ii., from the rnifcd Kin^'tlom of (irejit llritain
and Ireland, or from other our dominions ; and it shall at any
time after the expiration of such term of five years be certilied
to us, our liv irs or successors, by any |»ersoii who sliall lie ap-
pointed l»y us, our heirs or successors, t(» emjuire into the eomli-
liou of >ucli island, that such settlement has not been established
aerordiu;,' to the condition of this our tyrant, or that the pi'ovi-
sious hereiutofore mentioned respectim^ the disposal of the land,
and tile price of lands and minerals, have not bieii respei'tively
fiiltiiled, it shall be lawful for us, our heirs and successors, to
revoke this present ;;rant, and to enter upon and resume the
said island, . . . without jirejudice, iieveitlu'less, to such dispo-
sitions as may have been made in the meantime by the said
L;()veriior anil company of any land in (he said islainl, for (hi;
actual purposes of colonisation and settlement.

And we hereby declare that this present <,'rant is and shall bi'
deemed and taken to be made mion this further condition, that
we, our heirs and successors, shall have, and we accordinnly re-
serve unto us and them full p»»wer, at the expiration of the said
governor and company's grant or licence, of or for the exclusive^
privilege of trading with the Indians, to repurchase and take of
and from the said governor and company the said ^'ancouver
Island and premises hereby granted, in consideration of payment,
being made by us, our heirs and successors, to the said g(jvernor
and company, of the sum or sums of money tlieretof<jre laid out.
and expended by them in and u[)on the said island ami premises,
and of the value of their estalilishments, property, and effects
then being thereon.

Conjointly with the grant of the island, a deed of settle-
ment was exeeiited, ' confeiTin;:)' on inmiiorants eeitaiii
jiowers of local self-government.' There was also a com-
mission issued to the governor ajipointed by the Crown on
the presentation of the company, with directions to summon
an assembly elected by the general votes of the inhabit-

^-^^ ^

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

i/j

1.0 ^KS I

I.I

I—
IIIIM

i ^ IIIIIM

1.8

1.25 1

i.4

III '-^

"^ 6 " -

►

^;.

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(716) 872-4503

.sr /4^

VANCOUVER ISLAND.

ants, to exercise in conjunction with himself and a council
nominated in the usual manner, the powers of legislation.

It is not generally beheved that the company intended
to yield literal compliance with the terms of the covenant
agreed to between them and the Government. They could
have no interest in promoting the colonisation of the
island hidiscriminately even by British subjects. A branch
company was formed, composed for the most part of the
Hudson's Bay Company's shareholders, and managed
virtually for the advantage of that company. This asso-
ciation — never legally incorporated — took up large tracts
of land in the vicinity of Victoria, and hired workpco})le
in Great Britain to cidtivate it. The promptitude of the
company in this matter removed all distrust from the
minds of general observers in England as to their good
faith in fulfilling the contract into which they had entered
with the Government. Eeally, however, theii' importa-
tion of labourers and farm bailiffs was designed to keep
the resources of the colony exclusively in their own hands,
Avhile practising a mild form of imposition upon the Im-
perial authorities. No settler was encouraged to remain
in the island in the first instance, unless introduced under
the auspices of the company. Instances occurred of per-
sons from California desiring to take up their abode in the
country in 1850-51. But the system of petty despotism
and caprice exercised by the heads of the company, toge-
ther with the attempted monopoly of the available land
convenient to the town, filled those intending settlers with
disgust, and repelled them from the colony. The first
governor sent by the Crown, feeling his impotency,
though invested with Her Majesty's commission, to gra})ple
with the overwhelming absolutism then prevailing, was
compelled to throw u[) the reins of olfice.

The Kight lion. Mr. Labouchere (now Lord Taunton),

IXFLUEXCE OF THI-: COMl'ANV

(;:j

td a council

legi.slatioii.

ly intended

le covenant

They could

ion of the

. A branch

part of the

1 mana<i;ed

This asso-

laroe tracts

workpeople

tude of the

t from the

their good

lad entered

ir importa-

led to keep

own hands,

on the Im-

to remain

Liced under

red of per-

jode in the

despotism

any, toge-

ilable land

ttlers with

The first

mpotency,

to grapple

tiling, was

Taunton),

at tlint time Iler Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for
the Colonies, obtauied the consent of the Government of
the day to an {U'rangement which helped to keep the
colony sealed to the world, and from the effects of which
it will l)e long before it recovers. It is not averred that
the riii'ht hon. gentleman intentionally and from interested
motives coimived at tlie doings of the com})any in the
scheme to which he was a party ; l)ut the issue of it ^vas
the advantage of the company at the cost of the progress
of the settlement being retarded. I refer to tlie uniting
of the two oifices of crown agent and factor of the com-
])any in the same person. Is it surprising that a gentle-
man Avliose associations from earliest years luid been
interwoven witli the business of the company, and whose
income was still mainly derived from the profits of the
company, should not give the duties he owed to his
sovereign precedence over the services due to his old
employers ?

To confirm the illusion in the eyes of the British public
— whose vague conceptions of the nature of the country
rendered them peculiarly hable to be misled on the sub-
ject — the semblance of free representative government
was adopted, electoral qualification being fixed at 300/. in
capital, or twenty acres of landed property. But how absiu'd
a parody of political institutions this was will be evident
when it is remembered that the inhabitants were almost
entirely engaged in the service of the company, and their
situations dependent upon their voting according to the
dictation of their masters. The eflectual manner in which
the com[)any maintained exclusive traffic in the island to
the ])rejudice of its general colonisation may be inferred
from the fact that the entire po[)ulation, five years after
the grant had ])een made, did not exceed -150.

CIIArTEll III.

THE DISCOVKRY OF GOLD IN BRITISH COLUMBIA IN 1858,
AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE GROWTH OF VICTORIA.

IiUf=h of Immifn'ation — Suddon riso in the Valuo of Land — Iiival Cities
tittenipted hy tlio Americans — Unequalled Superiority of Victoria and
Esquimau Harbours — I'eturn of faint-liearted Speculators to California,
and tlieir Malt;dictions — Strujrirles and Triumpli.s of Miners on the
Fraser — Hardships on th(.' New Houte — Temporary Gloom of Victoria —
Yield of Gold for the lirst four Months — State of the City in If^oi) —
News from (Juesnelle — Thini.fs looking up — The Letters of the Timeii'
Correspondent and the Imniipration of 18G2 — Disappointment and l*ri-
vntion of the Inexperienced — Description of Victoria as it now is — I5(.'acon
Hill — Goveniment House — Streets— I'ub lie Buildings and Associations —
Newspaper Press — Religious Bodies — Colleges and Schools — Manu-
factories — Joint-Stock Companies — The Municipal Council — Banks —
Price of Town Lots — List of Trades and Professions.

The EXISTENCE of the precious metal in Queen Charlotte's
Island and British Columbia had been known to the
company for several years before this period. The
Indians had been accustomed to offer quantities of this
product at the fur-trading establishments, in exchange for
articles of food and clothing.

In 1857 a party of Canadians, impelled by the vague
rumours alloat on the subject, started from Fort Colville,
near the American boundary, and 'prospecting' on the
banks of the Thompson and Bonaparte rivers, on their
way to the Fraser, Avere sufficiently encouraged to prose-
cute the occupation of digging. Intelligence of their
success soon spread through Washington territory and
Cahfornia. Between March and June, in 1858, ocean

RUSH FROM CALIFORNIA.

()0

L IN 1858,

CTORIA.

— Rivnl Cities

Victoria nnd
! to California,
rinors on the

of Victoria —
!ity in iSo*.) —

of the TiDU's'
mont and I'ri-
ow is — JJcacon
Associations —
liools — Mann-

cil — Banks —

Charlotte's
wn to the
od. The
ies of this
3hani]fe for

the vague

Colville,

' on the

on their

to prose-

of tlieir

itory and

^8, ocean

steamers from Cahfornia, crowded witli gold-seekciv,
arrived every two or three days at Victoria. This place,
l)reviously a quiet hamlet, containing two or three hinidred
inhabitants, whose shipping liad been chiefly confmed to
Indian canoes and the annual visit of the company's
trading ship from England, was suddenly converted into
a scene of bustle and excitement. In the brief si)ace of
four months 20,000 souls poured into the harbour. 'J'lie
easy-going primitive settlers were natin-ally confounded
by this inundation of adventurers.

Individuals of every trade and profession in San Fran-
cisco and several parts of Oregon, lu'ged by the insatial)le
anri sacra fames, threw up their employments, in many
cases sold their property at an immense sacrifice, and
repaired to the new Dorado. This motley thi'ong in-
cluded, too, gamblers, ' loafers,' thieves, and ruffians, Avith
not a few of a higher morfd grade. The rich came to
speculate, and tlie poor in the hope of quickly becoming
I'ich. Every sort of property in California fell to a degree
that threatened the ruin of the State, The limited stock
of provisions in Victoria was speedily exhausted. Flour,
which on the American side sold at 21. 8.?. ])er barrel,
fetched in Vancouver Island G/. joer barrel. Twice tlie
bakers were short of bread, which had to be replaced
with ship biscuit and soda crackers. Innumerable tents
covered the ground in and around Victoria far as the
eye could reach. The sound of hammer and axe was
heard in every direction. Shops, stores, and ' shanties,'
to the number of 225, arose in six weeks.

Speculation in town lots attained a pitch of unparalleled
extravagance. The land-office was besieged, often before
four o'clock in the morning, by the multitude eager to buy
town property. The purchaser, on depositing tlie price,
had his name put on a list, and his application was at-

RIVAL CITIES.

tended to in the order of priority, no one being allowed
to pureliase more tlian six lots. The demand so increased,
however, that sales were obliged to be suspended in order
to allow the surveyor time to measure the appointed
divisions of land beforehand. Thc/ir.st cost of ' lots ' rose
from 10/. to 20/. The original extent of a town lot was
GO feet by 120 feet. Land bought from the company at
from 10/. to 15/. was resold within a month at sums
varvin<j irom 300/. to GOO/. One case is recorded of a
half-lot, bought for 5/., being sold within a few we{!ks for
GOO/. Parcels of ground centrally situated realised fabu-
lous prices. Sometimes portions measuring from 20 to
30 feet in breadth, by GO feet in lengtli, rented at from
50/. to 100/. per month. One gentleman states that he
Avas asked 20/. per front foot for a lot in a side street —
that is, for a clay bank, 100 feet by 70 feet, 2,000/. was
demanded. Sawn timber, for building piu'poses, could
not be had under 20/. per 1,000 feet.

The bulk of the heterogeneous immin;ration consistinjr

o o n

of American citizens, it was not wonderful that thev shoidd
attempt to found commercial depots for the mining locality
in their own territory. Consequently, they congregated
in large numbers at Port Townsend, near the entrance to
Pau;et Sound and at Whatcom in succession. Streets
were laid out, houses built, and lots sold in those places.
But inconveniences of various kinds hindered their success.
Semiahmo, near the mouth of Fraser Piver, was next tried
as the site of a port ; but this rival city never had existence
except on paper. These foreign inventors of cities obsti-
nately refused to acknowledge the superior natural ad-
vantages of Victoria compared with the experimental
ports they had projected. It is not speculators in new
towns, however, but merchants and shippers that deter-
mine the points at which trade shall centre ; and it is only

VICTORIA AND ESC^UIMALT HARBOURS.

nil allowed
) increused,
2d in order
appointed
' lots ' rose
wn lot was
company at
til at sums
:ordcd of a
/ weciks for
alised fabu-
Tom 20 to
ted at from
tes that he
de street —
2,000/. was
)oses, could

n consistiiif;''
thev should
ing locality
ionixrecfatcd
leutrance to
11. Streets
|iose places,
leir success,
next tried
Id existence
dties obsti-
hatural ad-
iperimental
brs in new
:hat deter-
[1 it is only

that harbour which combines the greatest facilities for
conunerce, with the fewest risks to vessels, whicli is j)iitro-
nised by tliem. Victoria, judged by tliese tests, was found
most eligible of all the competing places of anchoragii in
the neiujhbourhood.

Besides a roadstead havinci: tfood holdino; "roiuid, the
port of Victoria consists of an outer and an inner haibour.
Tliese united present a frontage of three quarters of a mile
long, 'witli a depth of water, at low tide, beginning witli
8 feet at the south end near James's Bay, and increasing
rapidly to more than 25 feet at the north end.'*

Esquimau, which has been described in the preceding
chaptei*, having the lai'ger harbour, it was attempted by
some who boui>'ht land surrounding it in '58 to make tliat
place the site of the commercial capital. But the renwirks
of Mr. Douglas respecting it in 18J:2 have been endor^e(l
by capitalists since : —

Esquinialt is one of the best linrhours on the coast, hoino-
perfectly safe and of easy access; but in other respects it pos-
sesses no attraction. Its appearance is strikingly unprepossessini;-,
the outline of the country exhibiting a confused assend)I;vge of
rock and wood. . . . The view is closed by a range of hnv
mountains, which traverse the island at a distance of about 12
miles. The shores of the harbour are rugged and precipitous,
and I do not see one level spot clear of trees of sufHcient cxteul
to build a large fort upon. . . . Another serious objection to
the place is the scarcity of fresh water.

The inference from this view is that Esrpiimalt is
admirably suited for a naval station, and for the accom-
modation of vessels of large tonnage, but does not [)resent
conditions favoiu-able for the erection of a great city.
Nor is it desirable that the naval depot and the com-
mercial centre should be included in the same city. Most

* Waddington.
f2

OFF TO ERASER RIVER.

of the lieavy freight may eventually be discharged and
stored there, but the counting-liouses of merchants will
remain in Victoria, and the business be transacted in the
latter place.

To return to the narrative. While the majority — com-
prising Jews, French cooks, brokers, and hangers-on at
auctions — stayed in Victoria for the purpose of ingloriously
improving their fortunes, by watching the rise and fall of
the real-estate market, several thousands, imdismayed by
dangers and hardships incident to crossing the gulf and
ascending the river, ])roceeded to the source of the gold.
When steamers or sailing-vessels could not be had, canoes
were equipped by miners to convey them to British
Columbia ; but this frail means of transit, unequal to the
risks of the passage, sometimes occasioned loss of life.

A monthly licence had to be taken out by all bound for
the mines, and this gave them the right to take whatever
provisions were required for individual use. At the out-
set steamers on the river allowed miners 200 lbs. and
subsequently 100 lbs, free of charge ; but they preferred
in general to join in the purchase of canoes for sailing up
the river as well as across the gulf.

The country drained by the Fraser resembles moun-
tainous European countries in the same latitude, where
streams begin to swell in June and do not reach their
lowest ebb till winter. Those, therefore, who happened
to enter the mining region in March or April, when the
water was very low, succeeded in extracting large quan-
tities of gold from the 'bars' or 'benches' not yet
covered with water. The mass of immigrants not having
arrived till a month or two later, found the auriferous
parts under water. Ignorant of the periodic increase and
fall of the stream to which I have adverted, their patience
was soon exhausted waiting for the uncovering of the

KEACTION IN VICTOKIA.

Iiargecl and
cliants will
ctcd in the

)rity — com-
ngers-on at
ingloriously
and fall of
isniayc'd by
le gulf and
3f the gold,
had, canoes
. to British
3qual to the
; of life.
11 bound for
ic whatever
At the out-
00 lbs. and
;y preferred
r sailing up

bles moun-
ude, where
reach their
happened
|l, when the
arge quan-
not yet
I not having
auriferous
icrease and
Av patience
fint? of the

banks. Not a few, crestfallen and disappointed, returned
to Victoria.

A gloomy impression began to prevail among the less
venturesome s))irits that tarried in this scene of morbid
speculation. Gold not coming down fast enough to satisfy
their wishes, thousands of them lost heart and went back
to San Francisco, heaping execrations upon the countiy
and everything else that was English ; and jilacing the
reported existence of gold in the same category with the
South Sea bubble. The rumour took wing that the river
never did fall ; and as placer-mining could only be carried
on on rivers, 'the state of the river became the barometei*
of public hopes, and the pivot on which everybody's
expectations turned.' This preposterous idea spread, was
readily caught up by the ])ress of California, and proved
the lirst check to immigration. Another impediment was
the commercial restrictions imposed by the Hudson's Hay
Company in virtue of the term of their charter for exclu-
sive trade in the interior not having yet expired.

A few hundred indomitable men, calmly reviewing the
unfavourable season in which they had connnenced mining
operations, and the difficulties unavoidable to locomotion
in a country previously untrodden for the most })art by
white men, resolved to push their way forward, animated
by the assurance that they must sooner or later meet the
object of their search and labour. Some settled on t'
bars between Hope and Yale, at the head of navigation ,
others advanced still higher, running hair-breadth escapes,
balancing themselves in passing the briidc of some danger-
ous ledge or gaping precipice encumbered with provisions
packed on their backs.

A new route was proposed via Douglas, at the head of
Harrison Lake and Lilloet, that should avoid the dangers
and obstructions of the river trial. But this did not at

IIAKD.SIIII'S ON TlIK XHW KOL'TK.

first iiu'iid mntU'i's ; for tlie intended road lay tlirougli a
rii<ig('d and dcnscly-woodt'd (.'onntiy, an<! inucli time and
money required to he consumed before it could be ren-
dered practicable. Before the line for the Lilloct route
Avas generally known, j^arties of intrejjid miners, anxious
to be the first to reaj) its benefits, tried to force their way
through all the difliculties Oj)posed to them. The misery
and I'atigue endured by them was indescribable. They
crept through underwood and thicket tor many miles,
sometimes on hands and knees, with a bag of Hour on the
back of each ; alternately under and over fallen, trees,
scrambling uj) ])recipices, or sliding down ov^r uiasses of
sharp projecting rock, or wading up to the waist through
l)ogs and swam[)S. Eveiy day added to their exhaustion ;
and, worn out with jaivation and sufferings, one knot of
adventurers after another became smaller and smaller,
some lagging beliind to rest, or turning back in despair.
The only thought seemed to be to reach the river ere
their provisions should give out. One large party was
]-educed to three, and when they came to an Indian camp
wliei-e salmon was to be had, one of these hardy fellows
made u]) his mind to return.

So castiiiij a farewell look from the mountain side on the
valley beneath him, the valley which had been the goal of all
his hopes, and to reach which lie had endured so much hardship,
he wislied his companions good-hye. . . . Nor did the two others
fare much better. ]\Iy friend, during a fortnight's stay among
the Indians, lived on salmon when he could get it, and often on
wild fruit. Once he got a meal of horseflesh, hut never tasted
a spoonful of flour or even salt. On his journey back he had to
live for three days solely on blackberries, and returned with his
clothing tattered and torn like a scarecrow.*

Nor was this case an uncommon one. Gold there was

* VVaddingtou's Fraser River Vindicated, p. 23.

Tiir: TiDi: iiiai:i)L\(».

■f tliroiigli a
;h time and
Lild Ijc ren-
illoet ix)iite
LTs, anxious
c their way
The misery
ible. They
nany miles,
Hour on tlic
alien trees,
r masses of
list tlu'ougli
Lixhaustion ;
lUQ knot of
nd smaller,

in despair,
e river ore

party was
idian camp

dy fellows

side on the
goal of all
ch hardship,
two others
stay among
nd often on
lever tasted
c he had to
led with his

there was

in ahundaiice, I)iit want of access ])revented tlie couiitiy
iVom being ' j)rosj)ected ;' id I'ecklcss men, without
stop])ing to take this into account, condemned the mines
and everything connected with them without distinction.

If the cimunerce of tlie interior had l)een tlirown open, and
private enterprise allowed to compete with the natural dithcul-
ties of tlie country, these would luive soon ])et'n overconu'.
Forests would have been opened, provisory bridges thrown over
precipices, hollows levelled, and the rush of population following
behind, the country would liave been rapidly settled, and the
trader have brouglit his proNisions to the miner's door.

AlTaii's in Victoiia, meanwhile, grew yet more dismal.
Tlie 'rowdy' element that had assembled in the city, find-
ing no legitimate occupation to emi^loy their idle hands,
were under strong tem])tation to create such disturbances
as they luid been accustomed to get up in California.
Losing, for the moment, that wholesome dread of ]>j-itish
rule which that class usually feel, a i>arty of them rescued
a prisoner fi'om the hands of the police, and actually pro-
posed to hoist the American Hag over the old Hudson's
Bay Compfmy's fort. J3ut the news that a gunboat was
on her way from Esquimalt to quell the riot, soon calmed
alarm and restored })eace.

Large sums of money, sent up from San Francisco for
investment, were slupped back again ; and whole cargoes
of goods, ordered during the heat of the exciteuient, were
thrown upon the hands of merchants. Jobbers had nothing
to do but smoke their cigars or play at whist. Some ac-
cused tlie company ; others complained of the Govern-
ment ; others sneered at ' English fogyism ;' and others
deplored the want of ' American enterprise.' ' Croaking '
was the order of the day.

The Governor, seeini; the tide of immigration recedino;,
managed to control his prejudice against the 'foreigners'
from a neighbouring state, so far as to moderate the severe

BIUOHT rUOSlMXTS.

rcstiictious \\v liad put upon floods iniportod to IJritisli
( nluiubiii, and adopted nunv uctivc measures in openinj^f
trails to the mines. But his tardy decision came too hite
to he attended with inunediate benefit.

At length, iiowever, the river did fall, and tlie arrival
of gold-dust foreshadowed a brighter future. But sailing-
vessels left daily, crowded with repentant and dejected
adventurers, whose opposition to the country had become
so inveterate, that they could not now be made to believe
in the existence of gold from Fi'aser lUvcr, though ])rt)ve(l

by the ch

dar dc

le Clearest ocuiar uemonstration. The old inhabitants
imagined that Victoria was about to return to its former
state of insignificance.

Yet it is asserted, on reliable authority, that in propor-
tion to the number of hands engaged upon the mines —
notwithstanding the unequalled drawbacks in the way of
reaching them — the yield during the first six months was
much larger than it had been in the same period and at
the same stage of development in California or Australia.

Mr. Waddington, a gentleman who is proverbially cor-
rect in all statistical matters, estimates the production of
gold in California during the fii'st .six months of mining,
in 184J), at ^240,000. All the gold brought to Melbourne
in 1851 amounted to 104,154 ounces, or at i^lG per ounce,
,^1,0GG,4G4, while New South Wales gave for the first six
months 45,190 ounces, or ^^723,000.

The following is the amount sent by steamer or sailing-
vessel from Victoria, between the end of June and the end
of October, 1858 :—

June $G,000

July 4r>,000

August .... 4.'),000

Spptember .... 104,000

October .... 28;5,000

YIKLU OF liOl.l).

i •>

to JJiitisli
ill opening
ne tot) hito

tlic arrival
Jut .sailin<i-
(1 (li'jcctcd
ad bccomo

to believe
igh ])rove(l
inhabitants

its former

in propor-

le mines —

the way of

iionths was

"iod and at

' Australia.

bially cor-

duction of

of mining,

Melbourne

per ounce,

lie first six

lor sailing-
Id the end

lUit in this sum is not ineluded the quantity of dust ac-
cunuilated and kept in the country by miners, nor tliat
bought by the company or carried away in private hands.
Mr. Waddington believes that this latter item will bring
the gross total up to (^705,000 or 141,000/., realised be-
tween Juiu? and t^eptember, against ^2 10,000 in California,
and /^7-5,000 in New South Wales, extracted in six months.
Yet this surprising wealth was taken almost entirely from
the bed of a few rivers. ' I'ank' diggings were hardly
known as yet. A very limited portion of the Lower
Fiaser, the Thompson, and the Honnparte, was the ex-
clusive sphere of operations. The 'bars' of the Upper
Fraser, and the creeks issuing from the northern sj)urs of
the llocky Mountains, had yet to be explored.

For a few intelligent and persevering men these fsicts
and figures had weight. But amateur miners, romantic
speculators, and 'whiskey bummers,' could not, by the
most attractive representations, be detained in the coun-
try, and it was wisely ordered that it should be so. For
such scouts of civilisation — had the 'castles in the air'
which they built not been demolished — would have re-
enacted in our colonies such scenes of riot and bloodshed
as disgraced California nine years previously. It was well
that we should get rid of all who wantetl impossibilities
and indulged exaggerated hopes. The few hardy and
enterprising settlers who remained ceased to pursue Will
o'-the- wisps, and composed themselves to the sober realities
of life.

In September '59, when I first set foot in Victoria, the
process of depopulation was still going on, though it soon
after reached its lowest point. A healthy relation between
supply and demand in every department was being effected.
The tens of thousands that had pressed into the city in
'58 were diminished to not more than 1,500, embracing

FKESII DlSt'UVEKlliS.

'the waifs and strays' of every nationality, not excepting a
good many wliose antecedents were not above suspicion.

Apart from tlie Government buildings, two hotels, and
one shop, all the dwellings and houses of business were at
that time built of wood. Many stores were closed and shan-
ties empty. There was little business doing, and no great
l)rospect ahead. This stagnant condition continued with
but little abatement till the close of 18G0, when intimations
came of eminently productive mines being discovered at
the forks of Quesnelle, which at that time seemed as
difficult of access as the Arctic regions. A few scoi-es of
miners, arguing from the fineness of the gold dust fomid
near Hope Yale and the forks of the Thompson, that it
was washed down from some quartz formation in the
north, penetrated to the spot just referred to. Language
fails to describe the trials these men endured from the
utter absence of paths of any kind, the severity of winter-
climate, and often the scant supply of provisions. The
theory by which the daring pioneers were guided was
remarkably verified, and the toils of many of them were
abundantly rewarded.

Their return to Victoria with bags of dust and nuggets
rallied the fainting hopes of the community, and they
were reii'arded as walking advertisements that the country
was safe. Business immediately improved, the value of
town property advanced ; some who liad been hesitating
about erecting permanent buildings caught ins[)iration,
and at once plunged into brick-and-mortar investments.

The few scores that had worked on Antler Creek in
'GO increased, in the spring of '61, to 1,500. Some
addition to our population in the latter year came from
California, and every man who could possibly make it
convenient to leave Victoria for the season went to the
new diggings. Of those who went, one-third made inde-

LETTERS IN THE ' TIMES.'

excepting a

suspicion.

liotels, and
less were at
id and shan-
nd no great
tinned with

intimations
iscovered at

seemed as
3W scores of

I dust fomid
ison, that it
itioii in the

Language
}d from tlie
:y of wiuter-
sions. The
cuided was

tliem were

ind nuggets
', and they
Ithe country
lie vakie of

II hesitating
ins[)iration,
^estments.

\v Creek in
iOO. Some
came from
ly make it
ent to tlie
Imade inde-

pendent fortunes, one-third netted several hundreds of
pounds, and one-third, from a variety of causes, Avcrc
unsuccessful. Some details respecting the early yield of
gold will be given in the chapter on the mines of British
Columbia.

The letters of the ' Times' ' correspondent, published in
18G2, excited great attention, and in that year several
tlujusands were induced to visit the country from England,
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These communi-
cations may probably have been open to the charge of
containing couleur-de-rose descriptions. The writer may
have presumed too much on the judgment of his readers
to conceive for themselves the dark side of the picture —
the privations to be undergone and the risks to be borne
in journeying to remote gold-bearing streams.

Without having any interest in vindicating the ' Times' '
corres])ondcnt, I do not hesitate to say that this gentle-
man's statements were substantially true as far as they
went, though it is admitted that his representations would
have been more complete had he dwelt more on the
arduous nature of the route at the time he wrote, the
probabilities of failure in the case of those without ca])ital
and luiaccustomed to laborious employment. But nothing
tliJit can be said of this inadvertence on the part of the
' Times' ' correspondent can palliate the oversight of any
so inconsiderate as to undertake a voyage to British
Columbia without counting the cost. Even had the
innnigration of 'G2 been altoyether of the class most
adapted to the comparatively undeveloped state of the
country at that time — which it was not — for all to expect
instant success, not to s]:)eak of exemption from losses,
would have been to try the colony by tests that would be
deemed utterly absurd if applied to the richest country
under heaven. Similar objections have been brought a

LMMIGKATION OF 1862.

thousand times against California and Australia by mcMi
whose temper has been ruffled by disappointment. Only
a short time ago many of my fellow-passengers from
San Francisco to New York were breathing vengeance
against tlie former of these states as unfit for habitation,
and letters ever and anon appear from persons in our
colonies in the southern hemisphere expressing dissatis-
faction with their new location there. But these countries
advance, nevertheless, with giant strides ; and so, in the
face of all senseless clamour, will our possessions on the
north-west coast of America.

The chief misfortune connected with the influx of
population at tliis period was that it comprised an exces-
sive proportion of clerks, retired army officers, prodigal
sons, and a host of other romantic nondescripts, who
indulged visions of sudden wealth obtainable with scarcely
more exertion than is usually put forth in a pleasure
excursion to the continent of Europe. These trim young
fellows exhibited a profusion of leather coats and leggings,
assuming a sort of defiant air, the interpretation of which
was, ' We are the men to show you " Colonials " how to
brave danger and fatigue ! ' But their pretensions gene-
rally evaporated with the breath by which they Avero
expressed, and many that set out with this dare-all aspect
were soon thankful to be permitted to break stones, chop
wood, serve as stable-boys, or root out tree-stumps. The
vague imaginations with which they left home were soon
dissipated, when, on the termination of the voyage, they
discovered that 500 miles lay between them and Cariboo
— a distance which must be passed over muddy roads
and frowning precipices, with whatever necessaries might
be required for the trip strapped to their shoulders.
Hundreds went half way to the mines, and returned in
despondency ; hundreds more remained in Victoria, and

VICTORIA.

lia by men
leiit. Only
ngers from
vengeance
habitation,
5ons in our
ng clissatis-
se countries
1 so, in the
dons on the

3 influx of

d an exces-

rs, prodigal

cripts, who

ith scarcely

a pleasure

trim young

nd leggings,

:)n of which

Is " how to

isions gene-

they were

\e-all aspect

[tones, cho})

[mps. The

were soon

)yage, they

id Cariboo

[iddy roads

tries misfht

shoulders.

leturned in

;toria, and

were only saved from starvation by the hberality of more
prosperous citizens. A much larger number came than
the country, with a deficient supply of roads, was prepared
to receive. Still a considerable number made large
amounts of money, and the majority of those who have
possessed sufficient fortitude to bear inconveniences and
battle a(]jainst discoura2:ements are in a fair way for
speedily acquiring a competency.

Description of Victoria.

Starting from the corner of Fort and Government
Streets, with a radius of tliree quarters of a mile, the town
site covers two-thirds of a circle, stretching round the
harbour. The streets in general are sixty feet wide, and
cross each other at right angles, and from the sloping and
imdulating character of the ground there is no point
from which the city does not look interesting.*

A magnificent natural park, called Beaconhill, of large
extent, with a high knoll in the centre, and fringed with
pines and oaks, has been reserved for public use. On
one side it reaches to the sea-beach, and from the eleva-
tion referred to a lovely view is gained of tlie gulf in tlie
direction of the Eace Eocks, and of the mountain range in
Washington territory in the other direction. This sub-
urban enclosure is used as a race-course and cricket-
ground, and is the favourite resort of the inhabitants
when taking an airing on foot or on horseback. The
variety and beauty of the walks and drives around
Victoria are, in the opinion of visitors from every part of
the world, matchless. The Government offices. Supreme

* It is difficult to form an exact estimate of the population of the city in
consequence of its migratory character. I should think it would average,
last winter, about 5,600.

1MPR0VE.MKNTS IN THE CITV.

Court, and the hall occupied by the Parliament, form one
pile of buildings, and are situated some distance from the
chief thoroughfare of the town, on James's Bay ; although
composed of only frame and brickwork, the coup d'ml
of this structure, with the lofty pines in the backgroimd,
is highly picturesque. The large building in the centre
contains the rooms of the Governor, Colonial Secretar)%
&c. The Treasury is on the right, the Land Oflice on tlie
left, and standing immediately behind are the offices of the
Attorney-General, Eegistrar-General, Registrar of tlie
Supreme Court, and the Chief Justice, the Coiu't Ilou^e,
and the hall of the Legislative Assembly.

Streets in which two or three years since the pedestrinn
sank knee-deep in mire, are now macadamised, and 1)10-
vided with solid wooden footpaths. Large and substantial
stone and brick warehouses, well stocked with goods, line
the upper part of the harbour on the town side. Between
1861 and 1802 alone fifty-six brick buildings were
erected, and since that period very rapid progress has
been made in edifices of that character. Several spacious
hotels, elegantly furnished, and supplied with every com-
fort and luxmy which the most fastidious could wish,
have been built — one it is said at a cost of 12,000/., and
anotlier at a figure not much lower. Long massive
blocks of building in Wharf, Store, and Government
Streets, furnish every indication of prosperity and perma-
nence. There are many residences in the vicinity that
w^ould grace a town fifty years old. Some of these are
of brick and stone, and others of wood and cement, witli
a stone or brick foundation. The expense incurred in
their erection varies from 400/. to 2,400/. The edifice in
which the extensive business of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany is carried on is the largest in the city. The greater
proportion of buildings are still made of wood and plaster.

PUBLIC INST1TUTI0^'S.

, form Olio
3 from the
althougli
coup iVml
Lckgroiiiid,
the centre
Secretar}^
dice on tlie
Pices of the
vc of the
irt House,

pcdcstrinn
1, and pro-
substantial
goods, line
Between
ings were
ogress has
,1 spacious
bvery com-
Wild wisli,
,000/., and
Ig massive
vernnieiit
d penna-
inity that
these are
iient, witli
icurred in
edifice in
ay Com-
lie greater
Id plaster.

But as the trade of the town advances, solid buildings in
the principal streets will become uniform.

Among pubHc structures is a hospital, sustained })ar-
tially by Government, but mainly by public subscription.
Ilook and ladder companies have been formed for
extinguisliing fires, to which new towns on the coast are
peculiarly liable ; these have their respective halls and
engine-houses. Into these volunteer bodies the male
population of nearly every class throw tliemselves with
great enthusiasm. When in active service or in proces-
sion, the members appear in Garibaldi attire, with helmets.

A theatre, capable of accommodating 400, is sometimes
visited by able and respectable dramatic troupe.% thougli
it is to be reiijretted tliat taste for tlie noblest form of the
drama is not general in these parts. Dnnking saloons,
whicli abound vastly out of proportion to the wants of
the population, often sui)ply entertainments of a low and
vicious order, and they are much patronised.

The Police Barracks are situated inconveniently near
the main street. They contain the Court rooms and
offices of the Police Commissioner, cliamber of the Govern-
ment Assessor and Sheriff, rooms belonging to the police
force, the cells of prisoners, and a prison yard. It is not
to the honour of the city, however, that lunatics should
be placed under tlie same roof with felons. It is to be
hoped that this reproach will soon be wiped out, and a
suitable asylum provided for these unhappy creatures.
The ladies of the town are exceedingly attentive to the
wants of the sick and destitute of their own sex.

A reading-room, well supplied with books and news-
papers, is kept by an enterprising citizen, for admission to
which there is a small charge. One of the greatest
advantages to reading settlers is the ample and varied
assortment of books and magazines sold by Messrs.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATIOXS.

Ilibbcn and Carswell, whose shop is the chief source of
tlie supply of literary pabulum for both colonies ; their
stock contains the best as well as the most recent British and
American literature. For 21. IG.9. per annum they deliver
to subscribers American reprints of ' The Edinburgh Re-
view,' ' Tlie Quarterly,' ' The Westminster,' ' The Nortli
British,' and ' Blackwood's Magazine,' little more than two
months after these works are published in England.

Associations have been formed for purposes of be-
nevolence, intellectual profit, and amusement, on the
ground of community of taste, nation, or race. The
Scotch, who are numerous in the city, are represented by
a St. Andrew Society, established for affording relief to
their needy countrymen, and the annual dinner connected
with that institution is the most popular celebration of
tlie sort in Victoria.

The French perpetuate the remembrance of their
nation and foster national predilections through the
medium of a 'French Benevolent Society.' The Germans
are united in a Singverein, and are always ready to
render their valuable musical services for any charitable
object. The coloured people, numbering upwards of 300,
have a volunteer rifle corps, and have spared no expense
or pains to become efficient in the use of the rifle ; they
have a hall expressly devoted to the practice of instru-
mental music and drill. The appearance they make on
special occasions is highly creditable. The whites — espe-
cially the more cultivated portion of young men in the
city — also boast a rifle corps, which, under the command
of its present talented and energetic captain, is quite a
public ornament. By drawing together young men with-
out family ties, and affording them healthful and useful
exercise, such organisations occupy hours that might
otherwise be spent mischievously.

RRLIOIOUS BODIES.

source of
lies ; their
British and
ley deliver
iburgh Re-
rhe JSTortli
e than two
land.

>es of be-
lt, on the
ace. The
esented l)y
g rehef to
• connected
ebration of

e of their

rough the

e Germans

ready to

charitable

■ds of 300,

|io expense

ifle; they

of instru-

make on

tes — espe-

lien in the

command

is quite a

Imen with-

,nd usefid

Hit might

The Freemasons have a lodge, and a secret order of
total abstainers, called 'Good Templai-s,' originated ni the
United States, are putting forth zealous efi'orts to conibufc
the abuses of drinking.

The newspa[X3r press, for so limited a population, is
singularly vigorous and well supported. There are four
daily papers published in Victoria — the two |)rinci[)al ones
being ' The British Colonist,' and ' The Victoria Chronicle'
The others are ' The Evening Express,' and the ' Van-
couver Island Times.'

The leading religious bodies have places of worship,
and are presided over for the most part by excellent
clei'gymen and ministers.

The Cathohcs were first in the field. They have a
commodious church, and three extensive schools. Two
of these latter buildings are of brick — the one for boys,
under the tuition of priests and freres, the other for girls,
who are taught by sisters of charity: the attention
these devout women pay to poor and orphan children,
does more to secure for them the respect and confidence
of even Protestant families than a thousand volumes on
polemical theology could do. The behaviour of pupils
in the Cathohc scht)ols on the coast, at least north of the
border of JMexico, is unsurpassed by that of any Protes-
tant eilucational institutions. There is a Eoman Catholic
bisliop in Victoria who has toiled among the Iiidimis
nearly thirty years. It is said that a considerable [)oi'-
tion of the means by which that Church is sustained
comes from the Propaganda of Lyons.

The episcopal church is i/2iestablished by law. Its
clergy in both colonies include a bishop, one or two arch-
deacons, and about a dozen priests and deacons. The
diocese was founded with a magnificent endowment by
Miss Burdett Coutts, amounting to 25,000/. The interest

EriSCOPAL CHURCH.

of this, whicli is invested in the colony, goes to pay the
salary of the bishop, and to this sum have been added
donations and subscriptions for the support of the
clergy.

A grant of twenty acres of land in the heart of the
town site of Victoria was made to tlie pioneer churcli
erected under tlie auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company
before the period of gold discoveries. This land, com-
paratively valueless at the time it was given, has now
become greatly enhanced in value, and promises, as the
to'.v .ncreases, to render the Church a wealthy corpora-
tion. Upon this ground stands the residence of the
bishop.

In addition to the Cliurch reserve, the English Church
bisliop has secured large tracts of land in town and country
districts by purchase. There are two Episcopal congre-
grations in the city. One of these existed before the
diocese was created, and the other has been gathered in
connection with an iron church, sent out by the bisliop ;
tlie materials of which were provided by benefactions
of friends in England. Up to the present time not more
than one or two of the Episcopal congregations are self-
supporting in either this or the sister colony.*

* In an appeal which appeared in the Times a few months since in hehalf
of ' the spread of the Gospel in foreign parts,' signed by the Archbishops of
Canterbury, York, Armagh, and Dublin, there are quotations from the letters
of colonial bisliops, urging the necessity of aid being granted to extend their
operations, by the ' Society for Propagating the Gospel.' Among the claimants
for assistance from the home branch of the Church is the Bishop of Columbia.
Upon his position in this appeal, Tlie British Cohnist (of November 8,
1804) — the leading newspaper in these colonies — makes the following
animadversion : — ' The Bishop of Columbia figures somewhat conspicuously
in the demand for clerical aid — asking for no less a number than thirteen
additional clergy and five catecliists (with 4,000/. to support them). If we
thought that Christianity would be in any degree forwarded by this whole-
sale influx of ministers from England, we could not of course object to the

NONCONFORMISTS.

:o pay the
cen added
ft of the

art of the
er church
Company
Uxiid, com-
, has now
ses, as the
y corpora-
ce of the

ish Churcli
nd country
pal congre-
before the
athered in
le bishop ;
icnefactions
|e not more
s are self-

tince in behalf

irchljishops of

I'om the letters

|o extend their

the claimants
i of Columbia.
I November 8,
the following
(conspicuously

than thirteen
[hem). If we
|y this wliole-

ol)ject to the

The Congrogationahsts liave a i)lace of worsliij), in
wliich reHgious ordhiances have been sustained Ibr live
years, partially witli the assistance of the ' liritish Colonial
Missionary Society.'

The Presbyterians have recently built an edifice, the
minister being supported by the Presbyterian Churcli of
Ireland. The adherents of their cause are chielly settlers
from Canada, where this denomination is numerous.

The Methodists, who also have a church, are Canadians
almost exclusively.

The Jews liave erected a synagogue, and are presided
over by an intelligent and respectable rabbi. It is not to
the honour of Christians that this shouhl be the most cost///
reli(fious structure in the j)lace^ and the onli/ one that is
built of brick ; the others beiiu/ of wood only, of wood and
plaster, or of corrugated iron. All the Christian congre-
gations have Sunday schools attached to them.

The Churcli of Scotland has recently sent a clergyman
to Victoria, who has formed a congregation, but has not
as yet any church.

arrangement; but what liiWtop Ili/ls in to do with hia "thirteen rh>n/>/)iini (tml
Jive catechiats " in a place so literaUif overrun hi/ reverend t/etitlenien as thin, is ti
mathematical problem we should like verij much to see the bishop solve. \
Ileal thy competition in religion is as desiraljle as it is in commurce or trade,
but wo know of no superfluity in the market so injurious to fill couccrMi.il as
the clerical drug. At present we have more clen/i/nten in the euuntri/ than can
Jind congregations ; but if we (jet such an inundati(ni as the liishop is bart/nin-
iuij for wc are afraid a yreater number will have to content themselves like ])c(ui
iSwift, in his early career, rcith an auditory of one, and that his servant.''

When it is remembered that up to this date not more tlian 14,000 emi-
grants are to be found in Vancouver Island and British Columbia collec-
tively, — and many of these are of a migratory description, — it must be con-
fessed that these remarks administer a seasonable rebuke to one who calls
for so lavish an expenditure of the Propagation Society's funds. Besides,
Bissenters are largely represented, and to their denominations most of the
people belong.

* All places devoted to Christian worship in North America are ciilled
churches without distinction of sects.

G 2

COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS.

The city is abundantly supplied with schools, in -which
is tau<,dit every branch of a superior English education.
' The Collegiate School,' conducted by a principal, vice-
])rincipal, and assistant masters, is ])atronised and aided
by Jiishop Hills, and is coiniected with his denomination.
]5esides the elements of a phiin education, instruction is
^iven in the ancient classics, French, German, mathe-
matics, music, and drawing ; all these departments being
imder the supervision of competent masters.

Under the aus[)ices of the same Church there is also a
Ladies' College, in which several governesses labour with
great assiduity. The fees in both these establishments
are 1/. per month and upwards, according to the number
of subjects in which teaching is imparted.

' The Colonial School,' under a master salaried by the
Local Government, is designed for families unequal to the
expense of a first-class education. There are not less than
six private Protestant day-schools, kept by ladies and
gentlemen respectively, most of which are carefully super-
intended.

It is expected that in a shoi't time a bill will pass the
Leirislature for the establishment of what is known iu
Canada as a ' Conunon-School System.' Under this de-
sirable measure a tax will be levied upon the inhabit-
ants for the erection and support of schools, in which the
children of all bona fide settlers will be taught free of
charge.*

* The clergy of the English Church have been loud in agitation for the
introduction of the Bible into the proposed Common Schools ; but the bulk
of the inhabitants are unwilling to accede to that arrangement in consequence
of the mixed character of the community. There are individuals of every
race, and members of every religious persuasion in the colonies ; and it is
maintained — as in Canada and the United States — that it would be unjust
to Jt AS, Catholics, Buddhists, and Mohammedans, to adopt exclusively the

text-book of any one religion.

In order to avoid sectarian strife it ia thought

JOINT STOCK COM TAXI i:S.

;, ill wliidi
education,
cipal, vice-
mi' I aided
loiniiiatioM.
(truction is
an, inatlic-
lents being

ire is also a
abour with
iblishincnts
;he number

ried by the
jqual to the
lot less than

ladies and
Cully super-
ill pass the
known in

[er this de-

lie uihabit-
which the

jcht free of

htation for the

but the bulk

In consequence

[duals of every

lies ; and it is

juld be unjust

[xclusively the

I it is thought

Every kind of useful article in the cateirory of iron
niMnuliicture can now be made in Victcjria. Ali'eady
there are two foundries, one of which employs a hu;i^e
number of hands.

Five breweries are at work, and produce porter, a
liirht quality of ale, and la<:fer beer.

There are several saw mills, a taimery, and a sash and
door manufactory.

Among the occupations described in the half-yearly
return, under the ' Trades' License Act,' those under wliich
rank the greatest number of n.'nnes are carpenters and
builders, grocers, merchants, clothiers, bakers, teamsters,
and fruiterers.*

' The Victoria Gas Company ' (Joint Stock, Limited)
was formed two years since, and ])osscsses a capital of
10,000/., which may by special resolution be increased to
20,000/.

The half-yearly account of this Company to June 30,
]8Gi, exhibits a highly satisfactory result. The cash
balance in the bank, as certified by the auditors, was
,^'9,817 70c. A dividend at the I'ate of Ih per cent per
annum for the half-year absorbed )S'C,5C2 50c., leaving a
balance of ,^3,255 20c. to be carried to the reserved fund
for contingencies. Pipes are now laid in all the principid
streets, and gas is preferred by sh(^pkeepers as more
economical than paraffin or any other sort of oil for
lighting purposes.

The following is a list of the Joint Stock Companies in
Victoria, registered to August 1, 18G4, under 'The Van-
couver Island Joint Stock Companies' Act, 1860 :' —

desirable that to the instrumentality of Sunday Schools and pai-ental effort
should be intrusted the religious welfare of children.

• Trices of provisions, clothing, &c., with rates of wages and rent, aic
given in the chapter on * Emigration.'

MUiMCirAL COLXCIL.

Wlirn ro(rI«trrM.

CiipltiiJ.

. Nov. L'7, |S(M) .

. £1(),(HM)

. „ 2(5, 1H(U .

. 8,(K)()

I Aprils, 18(12 .

. 1(),(X)()

. June 2r), 18(52 .

. (I,0()()

. Nov. 21,18(12 .

. f)(),(K)()

. Jan. 1, 18({;{ .

. ('.(),(KM)

. ir),(KK)

. Mar. 17 „ .

4(M)

.Auk. 27 M .

. 0,000

. Jan. ({, 1^(54 .

. H,(KK)

. „ ->«» „ .

. 2,2(K)

. Mar. 28 „ .

2,(KK)

. April 4 „

. 12,(K)0

• » '' '» •

. 8,(K)0

. » 17 „ .

. 4,2(H)

„ 18 „

. ir),(KK)

. yiny 17 „ .

. 7,200

. Juno 1 „

. .'{I,0(K)

. Aug. 1 „ .

. 10,000

Company.
Virtoria CIm

])n. Mnrlict

British rolunibia nnd VancnuvtT Island \

Miiiin)j^
lli'ntinck Arm ami I'rasor I'iver lload .
Victoria nnd Ksquinudt Haihvay .
IJulo Inlot Wagon Ifoad .
Victoria Water- Works . . .

Soqucs ('reck Silver Mining .

Skidt'gatc Copper Mining . .
Sansiini Copper Mining

IMuir (Quartz

(ioldstroam (Quartz-Crushing Company

fSarilmldi Copper Mining

Ilarowood Ivailway ....

I'arnifiter (Quartz

Sooke Copper Mining ....

Alberni Mining

Fuca Straits Coal Mining
Spring liidgo Water- Works

Tlic last-named of tlicse Companies has materially aug-
mented the conveniences of the city by tlie introduction
of excellent spring water in service pipes, thereby re-
dncing much the cost of this essential of life to the
inliabitants. Formerly it had to be conveyed in carts
a long distance, at a charge of sixpence for every three
bncketfuls.

The city was incorporated in 18G2 ; but some flaw in
the Act of Incorporation has for a time occasioned a sus-
l^ension of municipal authority, and interrupted the action
of the corporation. This legal defect, however, will soon
be remedied by a new Act of Parliament. City revenue
is raised by a trading license, and a tax of one fourth of
one per cent on the current value of real proj^erty.

It is not improbable that some difficulty may yet arise
to exercise the skill of the municipal body in regard to
the sewage of the place. While it is small no incon-
venience is felt, but the entire absence of a river for the

Ciiiiltiil.

. X'KMKK)

. 10,()0()
. ((,0()()

, r)(),(X)()
. ir),(KK)

400
. 0,000
. 8,(XX)
. L^L'(M)
. L>,(KK)
. 12,(K)0
8,(KK)
. 4,L'(K)
. ir),(KM)
. 7,L'()()
. .'M,0(K)
. 10,000

rially aug-
iroductioii
lereby ru-
fe to tlio
I in carts
'cry three

e flaw in
led a siis-

le action
will soon

revenue
fourth of

yet arise
egard to
lO incon-
r for the

(.IIAUTKUKI) IJANKS.

j)iirj)<)st' of diainiiig Victoria may involve the iicc(»ssity of
adopting some costly ('X[)cdient for carrying the drainage
heyoiid tiie harbour. IVihaps, however, before tliis di(ll-
culty presses means may \k devised — as in London at
])resent--for utilising this valuable fnanure.

Another want there is which can be ,nore easily sup-
])lied. In the original plan of the town no open spaces
wei'e leserved for public squaP"^ — aptly designated by
liurkc * lungs' of great cities.

There are two chartered banks in Victoria — a brand)
of ' the Bank of ]5ritish Xoi'th America,' and anotiicr of
*the J3ank of British Columbia.' The latter has started
pios[)erous agencies in Nanaimo, New Westminster, Yale,
Cariboo, and San Francisco. The substance of the report
of an adjourned meeting of the shareholders, held in
London on September 2, 1804, will show what j)rogress
this institution is making: 'The meeting was held in the
London Tavern, Mr. Kay in the chair. \)y resolutions
])assed August 17, respecting the new charter, it was
deemed expedient that the Company should be autho-
rised to establish banks of issue and deposit, and to carry
on the general business of banking in such cities, towns,
and places on the western coast of America, and in tlu;
adjacent islands, as Her Majesty should be pleased to
allow ; and it was resolved, among other things, that the
directors sliould be authorised to apply for and accept a
supplemental charter. On the motion of the chairman,
the resolutions were confirmed. A general meeting is
called for the 2Cth inst. The report which is to be pre-
sented at this meeting, states that the profit at the end of
the half year, ending June 30, 18G4, was 11,105/. ICv. (Jd. ;
but of this sum the directors propose to appropriate 5,000/.,
for a dividend of 8 per cent per annum, free of income-
tax. 4,000/. is to be added to the reserve fund, which is

VALUE OF TOWN PROPERTY.

tlierel)y inoreascd to G,000/., and 2,105/. ICv, Cc/. is carried
Ibrwai'd to tlic current lialf year.'

Attached to tlie Bank of British Nortli America tliere
is an assay office, wliere gold-dust is melted and valued
by cjualified and trustworthy officials.

These l^anking-houses are allowed to issue notes on
condition of retaining in their safes specie to the value of
one third the notes in circulation.*

A few illustrations of the augmented value of town
property may be adduced, as an index of the prosperity
of Victoria.

A gentleman intimately knoAvn to me was offered a
' lot,' at the close of 1859, at 1,000/., with an extension of
time to pay for it. That property (GO feet by 120 feet)
was leased for thirty years in 1800 at 15/, })er month. In
a short time afterwards the lessee was in the receipt from
it of an income, free of all taxes, amounting to 50/. ])er
month. Lots in Fort Street, that were bought in 1858
for 10/, or 20/. eacli, are now assessed at 1,000/. and uj)-
wards. Two brothers invested 800/. in town property in
the sj)i-ing of that year, and in little more than six years
their land is assessed at more than 12,000/. A corner lot
on Yates and Government Streets, that cost the present
proprietor 1,100/., now rents for 50/. per month; another,
belonging to the same gentleman, for which he paid 600/.,
now brings him 16/. per month ; and another still, pur-
chased at 1,200/., now yields a rent of 18/. per month.

There is a person luxuriating in England at the present
moment who went to the island as a poor ship carpenter.
When the riu4i of immigration came in 1858, he and his

* The firm of Wells, Fargo, and Co., nn American house, does a large
banking as well as c.rprrss business. They have special messengers to con-
vey treasure, parcels, and letters between Victoria and San Francisco. They
also sell drafts on the principal towns of the United States and England.

TRADES AND PROFESSION.S.

'. is caiTiud

erica tliero
iiid valued

; notes on
le value of

e of town
prosperity

i offereil a
intension of
r 120 feet)
nontli. In
iceipt from
:o 50/. ])er
it in 1858
U. and uj)-
iroperty in
|i six years
coriier lot
|ie present
; another,
[oaid 600/.,
still, pur-
month,
le present
arpenter.
e and his

I does a large
igers to con-
cisco. They
lEuglaud.

■wife were living behind the bar of a small imblic-house —
the resort of sailors, lie bought about 40/. or CO/, worth
of property after ho arrived, which now brings him the
handsome income of 4,000/. per annum. Another in-
habitant, with whose history I am familiar, brought to
the country in 1857 GO/., and the land he purchased with
that amoimt now realises to him 80/. per month. A piece
of land which at the close of 1859 was purchased for a
church, is now estimated to be worth at least 1,000/.

A friend of mine bought 100 acres in the suburbs in
18G1, at 20/. per acre, the purchase-money to be paid in
instalments extending over a twelvemonth. lie paid
down 4/. to legalise the transaction ; and, in a fortnight
afterwards, cut uj) the estate into lots of five acres each,
and resold it at an average advance of 12/. per acre.
These are only casual instances of successful investment
in property, out of many that might be enumerated.

It must be acknowledged that city property has been
subject to fluctuations. Still, there is no probability of its
e\'er being lower than it is at present.

A LIST OF TRADES AND TROFESSIONS IX VICTOKLV.

Auctioneers ,

Bankers

• •

. 4

Agents ....

Billiard halls

, ,

. 17

Assayers

Bowling alleys

, ,

, ;{

Accountants, itc. .

. 2

Biscuit-baker

, ,

. 1

Architects

. 4

]>ricklayers .

, ,

Builders and contractors

. 18

Brass-founder

, ,

. 1

IJootniakers .

. 13

Blind" maker

, ,

. 1

]'>oarding-hoiu<es .

. 7

Commission me

rcluinta .

. 7

Butchers

Cabinet-makers

, ,

. 3

Bakers

. 23

Carpenters .

• «

. 14

Brickmakers

. 5

Coal dealers ..

, ,

. 3

Brewers

. 3

Coachmakera

« •

. 4

Bookseller ,

. 1

Clothiers

, ,

. H

]iag and tent-makers .

Chemists and druggists .

Broker

. 1

Cigar dealers

• •

. 4

Barristers

. 5

Cowkeepers .

• •

. 5

TRADES AND PROFESSIONS.

Cutlers.

Machinists .

Coffee and spice merchant

Milliners, &c.

Coffee dealers

^lasons

. 2

(yoopers . . . .

News agents .

Charcoal dealers .

Oyster-room

Carrier

Outfitter

Confectioners

I*ainters

Dealers in dry goods

Provision merchants

Draymen

. 35

Pastrycooks .

Drapers, mercers, &c. .

niotographers

. 4

Dentist

Porters.

] )ealer8 in grains .

Paperhanger

Dressmaker .

. 1

Plasterers

. 4

Dealer in toys

Printers

. 2

Dealer in glass and crockery

Poulterers .

Express men and agents

Provision dealer .

]!^ngraver

l*ork butcher

Estate agents

Plumber

Fruiterers

Restaurateurs

, 22

Fishmongers

Scrivener

Furniture dealers .

Stove dealers

Furrier

Stonecutters .

General dealers .

Storekeeper .

Grocers

Scourer, &c.

Gastitter

Saddlers

Gunsmiths .

Shipping agent .

Greengrocers .

. 2

Sailmaker .

General trader

. 1

Syrup and soda-water manu-

Hatters ' . .

facturer .

Hairdressers

, 8

Shipbuilder .

Hotel-keepers

. 5

Stationers

Hosiers and glovers

Solicitors

Haberdashers, &c.

Surveyor

Hackman

Tobacconists

Innkeepers .

Tailors

Indian traders

Tinsmiths

Iron merchants .

Turners and carvers

Insurance agents .

Traders .

Jewellers , ,

Tea-dealers .

Livery stable keepers .

Upholsterers .

lime-burner

Undertaker .

Ijocksmith .

Washerwomen and laun-

Lumber merchants

dresses

Mantua-makers .

"Watermen .

Merchants .

Wagon maker

Mill owner . . . .

Watchmakers ,

Mattress-maker .

Wood dealers

laiin-

li
«)

2
1
1
7
(>
3
4
2
1
4
2
3
1
1
1
22
1
2
2
1
1
2

1
1

2
5
1
7
10
4
2
9
2
2
1

19
10

CHAPTEK lY,

VICTORIA AS A FREE TORT.

Principal Free Ports throughout the World — Results of the Free Port
System in Hamburg, the Channel Islands, and Hongkong — Importance
of guarding Victoria against the Introduction of Customs Duties — Pro-
posed Union with British Columbia as aflecting the Free I'ort Arrange-
ment — Comparative Prospects of New "Westminster and Victoria — l\eso-
lutions of the Island Legislature in regard to Union — Imports— Number
and Tonnage of Vessels— Exports of Gold from 18o8 to 1804— Exports of
British and French Goods to Sitka — "Washington Territory — Oregon — Cali-
fornia and Mexico — Commanding Position of Victoria as a Free Port, and
the powerful Inducements it offers Biitish Merchants for opening up Trade
with the Coast of Western America — Facilities offered by A'ancouver's
Island for Return Cargoes to China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand
— Califoniian Opinion of Victoria an a probable Rival of San Francisco —
Description of Goods suited for the Victoria Market — Rapid Increase of
Population in Puget Sound — The proposed Erection of Esquimalt into
the chief Naval Station of the Pacific, the Construction of a Sanitarium
for invalided Naval Men, and the bearing of these Events on the Growth
of Victoria.

Victoria is a free port {?i the strictest sense of that term.
With the exception of Labuan and Hongkong it is the
only place in the vast category of British depots for ocean
commerce in which no customs duties are leviable. In
addition to this city and the two localities above-mentioned,
the principal British free ports throughout the world are
Singapore, Malta, Gibraltar,* and the Cape of Good Hope.
In many of our colonies, as in the United States, tlie
popular opinion seems to be that the imposition of high

• This is free for English goods only.

VICTOKIA AS A FliEE rORT.

duties is the sure path to liigh prosperity. At Prince
Edward's Island wine pays 23 per cent duty ; machinery,
20 per cent; and clocks, 25 per cent. Canada charpjes
from 10 to 100 per cent on all staple articles of import,
and only admits free a few of a minor description.*
Most of the other British possessions have framed their
scales of tariff after the English model. In other European
countries the great mercantile centres of this character are
Heligoland, Bremen, Odessa, and Hamburg. In the
West Indies, St. Thomas is free, and ranks as the banking
house of that i)art of the world. Odessa carries on
both a foreign and internal trade very much like Victoria.
In Hamburg, the mart and port for Germany, there is
a uniform half per cent ad valorem duty. But the Britisk
commercial capital of the North West Coast of America^
hearing the name of the Sovereign, has the honourable dis-
tinction of being perfectly free. Thus, as was remarked by
the ' Times,' we are enabled to feed the hunf]frv and clothe
tlie naked in neighbouring states ; and the Xew York cor-
respondent of that paper, in a letter published in September,
said : — ' British goods paying no duty pour from Victoria
in Vancouver Island into California, whose citizens are
thus enabled to clothe themselves in purple and fine linen,
without paying tribute to the Washington treasury.'

It is unquestionable that free ports, though usually
established in districts comparatively non-producing and
not eminently favourable for the pursuits of agriculture —
but chiefly depending upon foreign and internal trade —
are among the most flourishing cities in the world. A
modern writer says in regard to Hamburg, where trade
is almost entirely free : —

* Gaspy, in Canada, is in the anomalous position of being nominally a free
port ; but is so surrounded by restrictions that an outlet for goods from it is
impossible.

HAMBURG AND OTHKR PORTS.

At Prince
inaclnneiy,
da cliarpjc's
1 of import,
oscriptioii.*
amed tlieir
r European
laracter are
In the
lie banking
carries on
ce Victoria.
ly, there is
the British
if America^
urahle dis-
marked by
I and clothe
^ York cor-

eptember,
m Victoria

izens are

fine hnen,

ry.'

1 usually
ucing and

cidture —
111 trade —
v^orld. A

ere trade

linallj' a free
•ds from it is

Its transactions consist partly in agency, but chiefly in
purchase and sale for merchants who buy the commodities of
Grreat Britain, France, Spain, and the United States, and supply
with these all the countries on the Elbe and the Rhine, and a
great part of the Prussian and Austrian dominions. Hamburg
was established as a free city less than 100 years ago, and with
that freedom she has prospered in population and wealth, and
now her vessels entering and leaving number some 20,000
annually, with a tonnage of two millions.

The Channel Islands are another illustration of the same
advantage. Only a few duties are levied there, and in pro-
portion to the area of these islands and their opportunities
of extending local commerce tliere is no spot on the globe
where more trade is done or where property rides at such
a high value. Land, which on the opposite coast of
England fetches 30^. per acre, in Jersey brings an annual
rental of from hi to 40^.

The prodigious increase in our trade with China dates
from the opening of Hongkong as a free port. ' Customs
duties cramp commerce like the iron shoes on the feet of
Chinese girls. Our cry in London now is. No turnpikes^
and they are fast being demolished : but there is little
chance of our losing our Custom-house turnpike. A free
port is the merchant's paradise, the sailor's haven, and the
mart of mankind. Should any one propose a tariff for
Victoria they should be sent to — Hongkong ! ' *

Our infant city has a claim upon the attention of
capitalists and politicians as the most interesting of British
commercial centres in which that grand idea of modern
political science — for which we are mainly indebted to the
late lamented Mi\ Cobden — is destined to be carried to its
fullest development.

This liberal fiscal system as applied to local commerce

' Letter from tlie London correspondent of The Victoria f'hronirfe.

VICTORIA AS A FREE PORT.

is tlie foundation of the present and prospective prosperity
of Victoria. It has attracted to the colony the bulk of our
population, and enriched our landlords. In its tendency to
augment the number of consumers — as examples of free
ports elsewhere illustrate — it will furnish a large and
remunerative market for farming produce. The agricul-
turists of the colony who send men to represent them in
the Legislature for the pur])ose of obtaining a protective
tariff had need to pause before committing themselves to
a policy so suicidal. Its adoption is the certain insertion of
the thin point of the wedge and the admission of a principle
that, under pressure of financial nijcessity, our colonial
authorities might be tempted to extend to general imports.
The time for protection is gone. That article in the creed
of Conservatism is expunged for ever, and duties are no
longer levied in England hut as a source of revenue. No
precedent should be sanctioned in Victoria that would
entail the difficulties and annoyances of Custom-houses,
the paraphernalia of bonded warehouses, the inconvenience
and expense of revenue service officials, inducements
to fraud and speculation, and the necessity of withdrawing
goods from bond at stated intervals. Bays, inlets, and
other entrances, with which our coast is indented, are so
numerous as to offer peculiar facilities for smuggling, and
necessitate a vast army of tide-waiters that might be
prevented. Import duties would drive away foreign ship-
ping, close our stores, and inevitably call into existence
some rival port in the neighbouring American territory by
which our commerce would be ruined.

But not only would tampering with the present
immacidateness of our free port ultimately result in the
depreciation of real estate, the decay of commerce, and
tlie diminution of the public revenue, but also in the
decline of agriculture and the ruin of the farmer. Not

RELATIOXS OP VICTORIA AND WESTMINSTER.

prosperity
Lilk of our
jiidency to
Ics of free
large and
le agricul-
Lt them in
protective
nselves to
nsertion of
a principle
ir colonial
ill imports.
I the creed
des are no
'enue. No
hat would
)m-houses,
)nvenience
:lucements
ithdrawing
nlets, and
|ed, are so
ling, and
I might be
feign ship-
existence
[rritory by

present
[dt in the
lerce, and

\,o in the
ler. No;

only docs our existing immunity from Customs' charges
contribute to the rapid extension of population, but it
enables the ftirmer to purchase manufactured imports at
much less expense than he could do under a protective
system.*

In the discussion which has been agitating the colonists
of British Columbia and Vancouver Island both in and out
of the Colonial Legislature, on the question of the organic
union of these two colonies, the problem which has com-
phcated the proposed scheme is, how, in the event of
both dependencies being placed under one governor and
electing one Parliament, the distinct modes of raising
revenue which now obtain in the Colonies respectively
could be maintained. It is argued that British Columbia
being the larger colony and likely to contain the larger
population, its representatives in the Legislative Assembly
Avould sooner or later outnumber those of the island ;
in which case British Columbian interest must predominate
in the Parliament. Victoria is regarded by some persons
in the sister colony as antagonistic to New Westminster,
the latter mercantile depot being burdened with a Customs'
tariff which constitutes the main source of the revenue
of British Columbia. It is apprehended that even should
the people of that colony consent to union with Vancouver
Island at present on condition of preserving Victoria as a
free port, those who are interested in attempts to draw
commerce to New Westminster and inflict injury upon
Victoria would eventually bring influence to bear through
the more numerous electoral constituencies of British
Columbia, unify the mode of levying taxes in both colonies,
and thus demolish the free port system.

These fears, however, seem to me to be without founda-

* This point is put more fully in the chapter on
Island.'

Agriculture in the

VICTORIA AS A FREE PORT.

tion. Tlie ft-ce port, upon wlucli a portion of the citizens of
New Westminster are disposed to look with obvious
suspicion and jealousy, will be increasingly felt as time
advances to be a public advantage to British Columbia in
common with the entire Northern Coast of America in the
Pacific. I believe the union desired by Vancouver Island
to be practicable on the proviso of the colonies regulating
their methods of taxation separately as they now do, and
agreeing to pay a proportion of the general income of tlie
local Government to be fixed according to the revenue of
each. This last article in the Constitution would probably
call for an adjustment of the Legislative representation that
would leave Vancouver Island with a minority of members
in Parliament. But if tlie commercial status quo of that
colony be immovably established by the instrument of
union, all other details connected with the joint adminis-
tr£itioii of both colonies might be very easily, amicably,
and permanently settled. The greatest physical advantages
with which the island has been endowed are its harbours ;
situated in convenient proximity to the ocean, which point
out for the southern part of the colony a high commercial
destiny. There are no such capacious places of anchorage
between San Francisco and tlie Russian possessions of
America. The natural advantages conferred upon a
country indicate the direction in which its interests should
be developed with the greatest care.

Had England been preeminenthj adapted for agricul-
tural operations it would have been preposterous that
commerce and manufactures should receive supreme at-
tention from British capitahsts. Vancouver Island having
capabilities of a similar nature to those of the parent
country — there being greater inducements presented for
the extension of commerce than for farming, — we should
be infatuated to protect farming at the expense of arresting

UNION OF THE COLONIES.

e citizens of
til obvious
bit as time
lolumbia in
erica in the
liver Island
s regulating
ow do, and
ZGUiQ of the
5 revenue of
Id probably
mtation that
of members
quo of that
^tniment of
int admhiis-
»•, amicably,
advantages
s harbours ;
vhich point
commercial
If anchorage
isessions of
id upon a
'ests should

[or agricul-
lerous that
lip re me at-
-nd having
fhe parent
!seiited for
we should
^f arresting

the influx of commerce. For we should thus sacrifice
what nature designed should be our prime interest for one
which nature with equal clearness intimates must always
hold a secondary place. The same argument applies to
the subject of union. That object is sought with a view
to securing strength and economy, as there would then
be but one government and one staff of leading officials.
But if it were found, on calm delibeiation, that the free
action of the commerce of Victoria wei'e likely t(^ be in
the slightest degree jeopardised by the union, all thought
of it should be abandoned.

Let the union, however, be successfully inaugurated,
with Victoria as a port kept free, and in ten years the
opposition which has been waged by certain lotholders
in New Westminster against our rising port would be
counterbalanced by the masses of Jiritish Columbia ]ii'o-
testhig against any attempt on the part of their political
representatives to meddle with existing fiscal ai'range-
ments in Victoria.

The advantages of the free port to British Columbia
are plain. That colony is furnished with whatever foreign
commodities she may want at a far cheaper rate than she
could otherwise procure them. The merchant there is
enabled to purchase, in Victoria, his goods in such assoited
quantities as suit his limited market, and then he saves
the outlay and risk attending large direct importation from
Europe and Asia.

The comparative prospects of Victoria and New West-
minster are set forth in the following extract from an
article that appeared in ' The British Colonist,' from my
pen, in September 1863, when, through the unfortunate
intervention of my friend, the Hon. Malcolm Cameron of
Canada, the colony of British Columbia received from the
Duke of Newcastle a separate government.

VICTORIA AS A FREE PORT.

' The gratifying prospect of obtaining the services of a
governor exclusively devoted to the i)rotection of the
interests of that colony, and the anticipated inception of
representative government by a corps le(/idatij\ have com-
bined to revive in the merchants and landowners of New
Westminster the long-cherished hope of undermining the
prosperity of Victoria, and centralising the commercial
activity which now distinguishes this port in that rival
city. Earnestly do we trust that the auspicious epoch
about to be inaugurated in the adjacent colony may bring
peace to the spirits of certain of its inhabitants, so long
chafed by the spectacle of a neighbouring city striding in
advance of New Westmiiister with provoking rapidity.
Sincerely do we desire that the favourable condition soon
to be introdu'^ed may offer advantages corresponding to
the utmost expectations of our fellow-subjects, for the
trial of that fond and ambitious experiment by which it
is attempted to transfer the crown of mercantile jyreoo.
dence from Victoria to New Westminster. The more
complete the opportunity afforded of ascertaining how
far that project is practicable, the sooner will our irritable
neighbours be induced to relinquish it as Utopian, and
concur with all sane populations on this coast lu acknow-
ledging Victoria as the grand port for ocean shipping, and
the unrivalled emporium for the distribution of English
imports throughout British and American territory on the
shores of the Pacific. During the last four years and a
half the prevailing sentiments indulged by owners of
stores and lords of the soil in the capital of British Co-
lumbia towards the inhabitants of Victoria have been of
a cantankerous description, and singularly inappropriate
between citizens of colonies ruled by one sceptre, and
indissolubly interwoven in the network of common ma-
terial interests. Vituperation has been lavished profusely

COMPARED WITH NEW WESTMINSTER.

[){)

COS of a
. of the
iption of
ive com-
of New
tiling the
nniercial
hat rival
.IS epoch
Lay bring
, so long
riding in
rapidity,
tion soon
Diiding to
, for the
■ which it
[le pre^'P.
'he more
ling how
irritable
ian, and
acknow-
iping, and
If English
ry on the
lars and a
wners of
■itish Co-
been of
ipropriate
itre, and
imon ma-
profusely

upon tlic Executive of James's Bay, by the press ot i!ie
Queen City of Fraser Eiver. The leading representatives
of trade, including the Hudson Bay Company, and persons
among us found convicted of investing money in real
estate in Victoria, liave been anatlieinatised as cons])! rate )rs
against tlie progress of New Westminster. Any respect-
able inliabitant of this place, wlio has possessed sudicieiit
courage to visit that city, has usually been suspected of
malicious esptonn<i(/e, and exposed to forms of address
hardly calculated to sweeten his recollections of the trip.
When, with becoming meekness and fervency, we have
entreated our indignant neighbours to accept assurances
of the goodwill of the people of Victoria, they have only
waxed more perverse, and illustrated the expressive lines
of the satirist —

They joined in one hnrnionious grunt,
"We wunt, we wunt, we wunt, we wunt.

* We had thought that the celebrated ftible of " the Fox
and the Grapes" would cease to have any a])plication to
them, and that their exaggerated hopes of attaining pre-
eminence in trade would ere this have been abundantly
sobered down by past ineffectual exertions to reach that
coveted position. But with heroic purpose and aug-
mented infatuation they are again rallying their energies
to grasp that dazzling object on which their aspirations
have been unquenchably set.

'The contemplated separation of the two colonics is
viewed as removing one important barrier that formerly
opposed the satisfaction of their wishes. The residence
of the new Executive of British Columbia in New West-
minster, it is believed, will present fascinations whose
splendour will tempt merchants to abandon those spacious
warehouses hning our harbour, and beg the privilege of
erecting substitutes on the banks of the Fraser. It is

H )i

100

VICTORIA AS A FRKE TOUT.

with rcfjrot that wohnvo to burden tlio sense of propriety
in our readers still further, by iuroruiin^' them of a pro-
l)liecy current in oraeidar circles, in the charmed city,
ihut {ill irahite dictii!) in four years from the establishment
of the new administrative iri/iiiw, statistics will demon-
strate New Westminster, in rcispect of wealth and popu-
lation, to be trium|)hant. The issue of the (luestion con-
cerninj^ the C()mj)arative prospects of these rival cities is.
not left to be determined, however, by the will of even
those representatives of commercial and politictd wisdom
who preside over the destinies of New Westminster.
There are inflexible laws controlling' the j^rowth of mer-
cantile centres, a<^ainst which all the force of their col-
lective intelligence, and all the sagacity and magnificence
of their improved govei'nment cannot i)rcvail. The pas-
sion of caprice or personal aggrandisement may impel
individu.al pioneers in an infant country to select a ])ar-
ticular location for the Ibiniding of a sea-port. But
unless the choice made turn out to be in obvious harmony
with public interest, competitive entei'prise, which in the
aggregate cannot be ultimately satisfied without the at-
ttiinment of the utmost possible advantage to the greatest
nniuber, will speedily set that choice aside. It were
therefore an outrage upon tlie natural instincts of the
community, to imagine that trade in the Gidf of Georgia
should be permitted to radiate from Victoria as the chief
commercial centre in preference to New Westminster,
unless the topographical superiority of the former place
had plainly commended it to the approval of our whole-
sale importers and minor traders generally, as the depot
most compatible with the widest public advantage. The
situation of Victoria is so remarkably adapted for the
purposes of extensive commerce, that the natural circum-
stances by which it is in this respect peculiarly favoured
must be ascribed expressly to providential arrangement.

COMPAUKD WITH XKW WKSTMIXSTKU.

101

proprii'ty
of a i)ro-
•nicd city,
iblishinont
ill (luinoii-
jind popu-
.'slioii coii-
m\ cities is.
11 uf even
:al wisdom
(jstiuiuster.
til of iiier-
tlieir col-
li' nn(iceiicc
The ptis-
iiny impel
'lect a ])iir-
[lort. But
'uirmoiiy
cli ill the
)Ut the at-
the greatt'.st
It were
s of the
3f Georgia
the chief
estminster,
mer place
mr whole-
the depot
■e. The

d for the
al circum-
^ favoured
angemciit.

It is onvoiiieiit to the ocean, niid oxteiids to sliippinc,'
the (loul)le protection of its ample harbour, which is not
only far removed from exposure to the tempests that
assail the o|)eii a-coast, but at a safe distance from the
stormier parts of the C4ulf. It is contiguous to the yet
more commodious hiirl)oiir of Esquiinalt. It is accessible
to vessels at all «<easons, and, as the mineral and timber
])roducts of tins island and Tuget Sound continue to be
developed, the Vc'irious lonchng points can be jipproached
hence with expedition iind safety ; so that, even had the
two cities under consideration been iishei-ed into existence
simultaneously, the conclusion is iri'esistible, from the facts
that have been adduced, that the commanding position
enjoyed by Victoria would have infallibly gained for it
commercial supremacy. J]ut that inference is confirmed
beyond dispute, Avheu it is remembered that the prt
more richly endowed with natural advantages is also
greatly the senior of its querulous rival. It is as unrea-
sonable to expect that the foi'mer can be overtaken by
the latter, as that one steed of superior mettle to another
and having the start of that other, should be beaten on
the turf. So extensive has been the amount of capital
expended on mercantile appliances in Victoria, so remu-
nerative have those sources of wealth [)roved, so powerful
is the connection formed by our importers with great
shipping firms in England and other parts of the world,
and so incomparably rapid has been the general progress
of the city, that the colossal dimensions into which it is
destined to expand arc already unmistakably foreshadowed,
as the leading mart on the sea-board north of San Fran-
cisco. Nor would it be astonishing were it to outmatch
in future ages that renowned entrepot of California.

' But among the elements of its prospective greatness,
freedom from restrictions imposed upon the operations of
commerce by Customs'-duties should not be omitted. The

102

VICTORIA AS A FREE PORT.

convenience inseparable from that untrammeled condition
is liberally appreciated by purchasers from adjacent loca-
lities. Tlie free-port system has secured for us the lion's
share of trade with British Columbia ; it occasions con-
siderable illicit and irregular traffic with Washington
Territory of a profitable description, and attracts increas-
ing orders for supplies of English goods from Oregon and
California.

'But while the local advantages of Victoria combine
with the analogy of the leading city in a neighbouring
gold-producing country, to indicate the towering impor-
tance that must ever distinguish this port as compared
with New Westminster, we must not be understood as
sympathising with insinuations sometimes to be met with
respecting alleged dangers in the navigation of the Fraser,
and the consequent impossibility of inducing vessels of
heavy tonnage to clear at foreign ports for the capital of
British Columbia. The position of Montreal on the St.
Lawrence, of Philadelphia on the Delaware, and of Wash-
ington on the Potomac, offers no impassable barrier
against the approach of large ships to those cities. The
innnense tract of country navigable by the Fraser marks
out that river as the principal and indispensable channel
of communication with the interior of British Columbia ;
{uid with the ingress of population, and the multiplication
of inland towns, the growth of the port of entry will be
inevitable. As the wealth of resident merchants increases,
they will enjoy the gratification for which they long, in
witnessing ocean shipping alongside their wharves. The
expanding trade of the colony may eventually summon
into requisition the further accommodation offered by Bur-
rard Inlet. An extended system of lumber-mills may
probably offer facilities for the supply of valuable return
cargoes. But the infiated hopes of our neighbours in
reference to the accomplishment of that happy consum-

mosrECTS op new Westminster.

103

condition
cent loca-
. the lion's
sions con-
'ashington
ts increas-
regon and

I combine
ghbouring
ng impor-
compared
3rstood as
I met with
he Fraser,
vessels of
capital of
)n the St.
of Wash-
barrier
les. The
er marks
channel
olumbia ;
iplication
y will be
increases,
long, in
es. The
summon
1 by Bur-
lills may
le return
hours in
consum-

mfition, are not according to discretion. Years must elapse
before it can be realised. Invincible forces are in opera-
tion, arising unavoidably out of geographical and com-
mercial relations with surrounding localities, to render the
advancement of New Westminster slow and insignificant
in comparison with that of Victoria. Financial inabihty
must prevent the chief proportion of merchants in the
sister-capital from opening, for a considerable time, ac-
counts with English, or even San Francisco, houses. They
will therefore be compelled, until circumstances favour
their forming a connection with firms at a distance, to
accept such fare as Victoria may provide. It will be long
before the business of any single merchant in British
Columbia can justify him to engage in importation direct
from the parent countr}% and when a company of mer-
chants are prepared to join in that undertaking, arrivals
at New Westminster from England, or even from countries
less remote, will for a great while be infrequent. During
the tedious interval in which those experiments are being
tried, the spreading pinions of this island-emporium shall
have grown so powerful that she will have soared infinitely
above the reach of New Westminster — defying for ever
the competition of all immediately surrounding rivals.
There is certainly nothing in the past history of com-
mercial enterprise in New Westminster to augur bril-
liantly for the future. After the convulsive struggles of
our neighbours to shake off dependence on Victoria, their
bravado has only been sustained by the advent of a couple
of vessels to their shores in four years. The merchants
of New Westminster cannot afford to receive any consi-
derable freight direct from a distance, till the demand from
the upper country in their market is sufficiently brisk to
guarantee their turning over the amount of invoice within
such limited period as is commensurate tvith their obtain-
ing a remunerative interest upon outlay. While small

104

VICTOKIA AS A FREE TORT.

packages are most suitable to the wants and tlie means of
traders, the inconveniences will be much fewer in procur-
ing small stocks from Victoria, than in their uniting to
charter a vessel to bring their wares from a distance. It
is unnecessary to dwell on this part of the subject. It has
been maintained that the char<»;es in freiu^ht, storao;e, and
commission, incurred by the transit of goods to New
Westminster via Victoria, cannot longer be endured, and
that the saving in tliose items accruing from direct ship-
ments would enable the merchants of New Westminster
to undersell those in our port. But that assertion simply
amounts to saying, that the importers of Victoria gain such
enormous profits that they could easily afford to reduce
them, and that any attempt at competition in New W^est-
minster would at once make them resolve to do so. The
only source of custom we can see open to the port of
entry on the Fraser Eiver consists of the smaller traders
in Yale, Douglas, and similar places in the interior, whose
fmances do not admit of their buying in quantities large
enough to make a shipment from Victoria worth while.
But, directly their resources improve, they will naturally
purchase where they can have the largest scope for selec-
tion. Still the number of third-rate traders in the upper
country will ahvays be sufficient to insure a quiet, steady,
and advancing trade to New Westminster. We regard
the relation subsisting between Sacramento and San Fran-
cisco as definitely illustrative of the position just discussed.
' Finally, it should not be overlooked that the transport
of provisions to the northern mines is likely to be much
less expensive by the coast routes via Bentinck Arm and
Bute Inlet, than by the existing mode of conveyance via
Fraser Eiver. Should that prediction be verified, a con-
siderable amount of traffic will unquestionably be diverted
from the present chief port of British Cohunbia, that
would otherwise fall to its lot. But every rival depot in that

KESOLUTIONS ON UXIOX.

105

means of

n procur-

niting to

auce. It

;t. It lias

rafje, and

to New

Lired, and

'ect sliip-

;stminstcr

)n simply

cain such

:o reduce

ew West-

so. The

3 port of

;r traders

|or, whose

ties larcje

th while.

natm-ally

for selec-

he upper

t, steady,

e regard

an Fian-

liscussed.

[transport

)e much

irm and

nice via

a con-

Idiverted

)ia, that

)t in that

colony, while tending to check the commercial predomi-
nance of Xew Westminster, will open an additional market
for the merchandise of Victoria. So that, while the dis-
tribution of Avealth and population in that colony will
determine for Xew Westminster a very circumscribed
position as compared with Victoria, the latter will keep
adding innumerable strings to its already powerful bow,
and absorbing, as it now does, a ratio of inhabitants equal
to one third of the entire population of both colonies. We
would invoke the industrious citizens of the emulous port
with which our remarks have been concerned, in the name
of concord, amity, and connnon sense, to lay aside all
mijustifiable bitterness toward their more fortunate neigh-
bours on this side the gidf, and resign themselves to their
destiny.'

Subjoined are the resolutions passed by the Legislatiu^e
of Vancouver Island in October last, in reference to the
proposed union : —

I. Resolved, That this House is of opinion :

1. That there should be a Federal Union of Vancouver Island
and British Columbia.

2. That the Federal Government should he vested in the
Governor and Federal Legislative Council.

3. That the Legislative Council be composed of an equal
niunber of persons from each colony.

4. There shall be one Governor for both colonies.

5. That the Governor and Legislative Council shall have
jurisdiction over all jjublic questions in which both colonies have
a common interest.

C. That each local Legislature should have a right to deter-
mine the mode of taxation Avithin its jurisdiction for federal as
well as local purposes.

7. That the Crown Revenues Le the property of the Federal
Government.

8. That all laws, usages, and liabilities of each colony, except
where altered by Act of Federal Union, remain as they are, till
changed by the the Federal or Local Legislature respectively.

106

VICTORIA AS A FREE PORT.

II. Resolved, That His Excellency the Governor be respect-
fully requested to enter into negotiations with His Excellency
the Governor of British Columbia, with the object of establish-
ing a Federal Union of Vancouver Island and British Columbia,
based on the provisions of the previous Eesolutions.

III. Resolved, That His Excellency the Governor be respect-
fully urged to submit every question of difference, not affecting
our free trade policy, between himself and His Excellency the
Governor of British Columbia respecting the proposed Federal
Union, to Her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the
Colonies, for final decision, binding on both colonies.

IV. Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to
explain the views of this House, as embraced in the foregoing
Eesolutions to His Excellency the Governor.

V. Resolved, That the foregoing Resolutions be transmitted
to His Excellency the Governor.

The value of imports to Victoria from all quarters in
1863, amounted to about 770,000/., showing an advance,
as compared with the imports of 1861, of about 368,000/.,
and with those of 1862, of about 260,000/.

Total Amount of Imports into the Port of Victoria, Van-
couver Island, for the years 1861 -63.

1861

1st Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

San Francisco .

331,731

315,013

234,956

271,713

Portland .

47,188

54,040

25,189

42,874

Puget Sound

29,257

45,278

51,504

60,346

Biitish Columbia

..^k.

1,605

14,171

1,507

Honolulu .

11,328

6,999

11,419

12,735

China

—

Melbourne

—

Valparaiso

—

England .

Total value oi

164,350

45,547

57,530

191,084
570,259

583,854

468,482

395,829

■ imports foi

• 1861

;^2,018,424

IMrORTS.

107

or be respect-
[is Excellency

of establish-
ish Columbia,
s.

or be respect-
, not affecting
Excellency the
posed Federal
State for the
es.

appointed to
the foregoing

)e transmitted

I quarters in
; an advance,
It 368,000/.,

ictoria, Van-

18G2

ter

4th Quarter

)
i

271,713

42,874

50,346

1,507

12,735

191,084

*;4

570,259
24

Ist Quarter

2ml Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

San Francisco .

417,847

867,345

563,812

540,857

I'ortland .

14,788

24,034

22,3.30

13,318

I'lipet Sound

57,144

68.914

38,727

69,098

Uritish Columbia

13,100

1,200

9,6.35

8,489

Honolulu .

47,134

32,095

20,301

5,918

China

—

22,268

Melbourne

—

.32,170

—

Valparaiso

—

17,000

—

England .

Total value ol

162,479

49,239

288,511

204,019

712,492

1,034,327

998,546

804,877

* imports for 1802

^2,550,242

1863

Ist Quarter

2nd Quarter

3rd Quarter

4th Quarter

San Francisco .

596,486

411,207

523,149

410,.585

Portland .

24,975

39,242

38,440

18,007

I'uget Sound

101,317

69,980

34,356

65,381)

British Columbia

3,998

7,745

21,043

38,991

Honolulu .

12,918

35,380

25,092

40,(>.)0

China

—

44,434

1,000

INIelboume

—

Valparaiso

—

England .

Total value ol

372,370

256,383

628,890
1,315,404

38,300

1,112,061

819,937

613,028

' imports for

1863

^3,860,4;

Imports for the six months ending December 31, 1859, ,01,090,090

June 30, 1860, ^1,405,801.

It will be seen from the following tabular return of
tonnage, that the number of vessels was greater in 1862
tlian in 1863, while the amount of tonnage in the latter year
was larfjer than in the former. The excess in the number

108

VICTORIA AS A FIIKE TORT.

of vessels for 18G2 is arcoimted for by the iiiiiisually ex-
tensive immigration -vvliicli took place in that year.

Comparative Reiurn of the Number and Tonnarje of Vessels
of each Nation, entered at the Port of Victoria, diirincf the
years 1861-G3.

Nationnlity.

1801

1 1802 ' 1803

i 1

No.

Tonnnge

No.

Tonnage No.

Tonnngo

Colonial .
British
American
(lerinan .
Danish
Hanover .
I'russian ,

425
53

598

10,750

9,020

75,974

1 414
14

; 7i8
1

1 1

i 1

50,781 i 007
8,425 ' 20
132,723 ; 585
34(5 1
351 -
303 —
201 : —

02,722

11,542

104,585

523

Total .

1,070

101,750

' 1,100

199,250 b,213

179,372

It will be seen from the summary of imports for October
18C4, that it exhibits a much larger ratio than the table
of the preceding year does.

?'ron

1 England .

California

Oregon

Paget i ' ■ -d .

British Oolumhia

Sandwich Islands

Total

125,497

181,015

17,838

25,237

2,973

0,745

359,305

Up to the close of December 1864, there was an actual
increase of imports from England, as compared with those
ofl8G3, of ^112,773.

EXPORTS OF GOLD.

109

iiusually cx-
year.

fje of Vessels
I, timing the

Exports of Gold from 1858 to 1864.

1868

'o.

Toniingo

f)7

02,722

11,542

104,585

523

179,372

for October
I an the table

IS an actual
"vvith those

Shipiicrs

1858-18G0

1801

18fi2

1863

Wells, Fargo & Co.

2,459,719

1,.';40,.395

1,573,090

1,373,440

Macdonnlil & Co. .

(includ. ill 1801 )

1,207,050

335,379

—

IJimk of British Co-

linnbia

—

824,870

Bank of British

North America .

—

585,018

II. B. Co. and other

shippers (approxi-

mate calculation to

the end of 18(52) .

—

[349,000

—

Hudson Bay Co. .

—

— ~

00,232

Other shippers

—

—"

—

85,000

2,459,719

2,548,051

2,257,475

2,935,172

Recapitulatlo7i.

Wells, Fargo & Co. (total shipments to 1803)
Macdonald & Co. do.

Bank of British Columbia, do.
Bank of British North America, do.
Hudson Bay Co. and other shippers, do.

$
0,740,054
1,543,035

824,870
585,018
500,000

10,200,183

This statement does not include the quantity of gold
taken from the coiuitry in private hands. It is be-
lieved by those qualified to form a correct opinion on
the subject, that ^5,000,000 is a very moderate average
of the value of the precious metal that passed through
Victoria to foreign parts in the years indicated above,
otherwise than in connection with hanks and shippimj offices.
The gross sterling value exported to the end of 18G3 is
thus brought up to about £3,000,000.

This amount may seem insignificant to those who arc
accustomed to examine the gold export tables of Cali-
fornia and Australia. But when it is remembered that

110

VICTORIA AS A FKEE PORT.

till 1862 there were not 3,000 men engaged in mining, and
tliat since that period there have not been a larger
number, the value presented, viewed in proportion to
the number of miners at work in British Columbia, will
bear most favourable comparison with the amount pro-
duced from the countries just specified. Indeed, when the
extraordinary difficulties are considered that for some time
impeded access to the mines, the result must be regarded
as splendid, and furnishing strong inducements to men of
capital and enterprise to follow in the steps of those hardy-
pioneers who have so successfully proved the richness of
the country.

It is little more than three years since the first package
of European merchandise was exported from this place to
American States, on the coast. Till within the past year
our stocks of goods were not assorted and selected so
carefully with a view to the opening of trade with foreign
neighbours, as they ought to have been. We have had
several commission agents in Victoria, receiving consign-
ments from the home market, but as yet have not been
favoured with the presence of moi-e than two or three real
mercantile establishments of any consideration, and even
these larger firms have not hitherto directed that energy
to the development of trade with foreign countries on the
coast, which the magnificent encouragements bursting
upon us would justify.

But notwithstanding the meagre extent and variety of
goods we have exposed suitable for the markets of the
Pacific, and the Hmited amount of capital, mercantile talent,
and enterprise we have brought to bear, buyers from Eus-
sian America, Oregon, California, the Sandwich Islands,
and Mexico, are waking up to the incalculable advantages
afforded them by our geographical position, and free-
dom from the inconveniences of bonded warehouses and
Customs' duties.

TRADE WITH SITKA AND MEXICO.

Ill

mining, and
n a larger
oportion to
umbia, will
mount pro-
d, when the
•r some time
be regarded
J to men of
those hardy
I richness of

irst packnge

his place to

le past year

selected so

mill foreign

"e have had

ng consign-

e not been

T three 7'eal

|n, and even

that energy

tries on the

Its bursting

tl variety of
rkets of the
|ntile talent,

from Eus-
Ich Islands,
I advantages

and free-
houses and

]

Advices from Vancouver Island, dated October 1864,
inform us of the merchants of Sitka having opened large
negotiations with Victoria :

The brig * Shekeloff,' Captain Hanson, arrived yesterday
morning from Sitka. . . . The brig belongs to the Russo-
American Fur-trading Company, and has come for a cargo of
assorted merchandise, having been attracted hither by the low
rates at which goods can be purchased in this market. Another
vessel (a steamer), belonging to the same company, is expected
to arrive here in a few days from the same station, on a similar
errand. The supercargo is a gentleman who occupies a
position equivalent to that of a chief factor in the Hudson's
Bay Company. Hitherto the bulk of the trade with Sitka has
been enjoyed by San Francisco and the free city of Hamburg.
From the latter port a vessel freighted with goods for the Russo-
American Company is sent out each year, and San Francisco
vessels, seeking cargoes of ice, have carried forward to Sitka
cargoes of general merchandise. The present diversion in
favour of Victoria will prove, we think, instrumental in opening
Sitka to our commerce, and eventually securing us the whole of
that important trade. "With Washington Territory, Oregon,
California, and Mexico in the south, and British Columbia and
Sitka in the north, knocking at our doors for goods, there would
seem to be a bright future in store for our city. The * Shekeloff'
made the run down in eight days ,

No effort has as yet been made to acquaint our Mexican
neighbours with the inducements which our market offers.
About twelve vessels annually arrived at Guaymas, in
Sonora, laden with goods from England. Acapulco,
Mazatlan, and Manzanillo also receive English shipments
direct. Subsequent pages, however, will demonstrate that
an immense saving of interest upon outlay is effected, and
that orders for British goods are most expeditiously fulfilled
by being sent to Victoria. At length this valuable com-
mercial secret is dawning on merchants in Mexico. A few
months since a large buyer from that country paid a visit to

112

VICTORIA AS A FREE TORT.

Victoria, and selected the first parcel of <,foods ever sent
thither fnjm our port. His purchases amounted t()»^o(),0()0.
It is in the power of any large Victoria mercantile firm
who will employ agents, and distribute catalogues of their
stocks in the new Empire, now, I trust, becoming rapidly
consolidated imder its first sovereign, to build U[) a trade
corresponding to that carried on by the great English
houses in Hongkong.

The fullotvlnf/ Table sets foiih Exports of Emjl'ish Goods, or
American Goods exported after [mportation, hut all liable
to Duty in American Ports, for the Six Months endln;/
December 1863.

Tort of (lestinntion

July

20,073

5,0(5!)

044

August
$

25,015

(5,804

1,727

340

September October

Xovembei

Decoiiilier

San Francisco

Fcirt Angolos (W.T.)

Astoria

New York .

$
1(5,(550
0,187
0;}7

28,112

8,0(53
4,208

$
23,217

.'5,088

2,587

25,45(5
10,412

:;oi

Toted for the Six Months.

San Francisco
l»ort Angelos (W.T.)
Astoria .
New York

1.^9,123

42,023

10,4(54

349

Grand total . . 191,950

The next table is submitted to show, for the satisfjiction
of merchants in Great Britain, the description of goods
sought for re-exportation from Victoria to the various
parts mentioned above, and also how powerfid was the
impulse received by our export trade during the past year.
In 1863 the monthly exports averaged at the rate of
^400,000 per annum, and the following table for one
month in 1864 exhibits a ratio of ^850,000 per annum, or
more than double the ratio for the preceding year.

KXPdUTS.

1 1 :]

Is ever sent
to^ao,0()().
ciiiitil(3 rinii
:ues of their
ling rapidly
up ji tnulo
Jilt Eiiglisli

'sh Goo(U, or
lit all liahle
nths endlni/

ovemlK'i

r)r<'ciiil(('r

;!,217

.'5,5)88

2,587

i>r,,.i.-)(;
10,412

satisfoctiou
\n of goods
phe various
ful was tlio

past year,
the rate of
^le for one

annum, or

3ar.

jyporta from the Port of Vlcfor'ni^ V. I., to Finrhjn Purls
(larln;j the month of October 18G4.

TO SITKA.

[Per favour of Messrs. Jauioii, CJreoii, and liliodes.]

Canvas .... 7 pltps

Whisky . . . ,3;5csks

Sundries

3 pkgs

"NVhiskv

10 csks

Taper .

3 pkgs

Ale

. 20 cs

Uved plaid .

• 1 Pltg

Whisky

. 50 cs

Terfumery

. 2 cs

Porter .

LI csks

Cheese .

. 2cs

Porter .

.'{ cs

( )iliuen'8 stores

. 3 cs

Hams .

2 bdls

Salad oil

. 5 cs

Grindstones .

Currants

1 cs

lied wood planks

Copper .

. 3 cs

Carpets .

. 2 bis

Oilmen's stores

. 24 cs

Sundries

1 trunk

Preserved meat

. 10 cs

Cruet stands .

. 1 cs

Salt

2 bhls

Tar

10 bis

Paint .

1 cask

Pitch .

10 bis

Ifed lead

. G kgs

Black varnish

. 4 bis

Nails .

40 kgs

Bright varnisli

4 bis

Sheet iron

2.") Ixlls

Coal tar

bis

(""orrug. iron .

. 1 cs

Iron pots

. 200

Gal. iron

. 3 cs

Copal varnish

1 gal

Glassware

1 cs

Soap

1 pkg

Earthenware .

. 1 crt

Coal oil

1 cs

Taeks, screws, Sea

1 cs

Coal oil

1 tin

Sardines

. 2cs

Lamp black .

1 cs

Sieves .

1 cs

Yellow ochre

Ics

I'aper hangings

. 1 cs

Man. rope

({ els

Trunks and boots

. Ocs

Cord .

4 bdls

Sherry .

23 qr. casks

Man. rope

12 els

Sherry .

. 40 cs

Wire rope

. Ocl

Port .

. 10 cs

Axes

. Ocs

Claret .

. 10 cs

Fire bricks .

. 500

Claret .

. 5 cs

Iron

20 bars

Champagne

. 13 cs

Iron

10 bdls

Hollands

. 33 cs

Lead

. 1 roll

Cognac .

. 20cs !

Lamps .

. 1 csk

Ihuu

3 pkgs

Lamps .

. 1 cs

Paun

. 50cs :

Chemicals

1 cs

Whisky

12 csks

Oil and tui-pentine .

2C3

114

VICTOniA AS

A FRKK POUT.

n.alk 1 c^c

riiampagno .

. 4 P8

(imi Hints . . . . I cs

Siilail oil

. .') cs

Stoves ,

. 1 cs

Sundries

. 1 en

Lamps ,

. 1 cs

Arrow root .

. Ics

Tobjicoo ,

14 pkps

Pickles . . . .

. 2cs

Fijrs, &c.

. a C8

Sngo

. 2 C9

Axes

11 bxs

Port(!r . . . .

. 2 cskfl

rioiigh .

Cheoso .

. 2cs

Soap

40 bxs

nin (green) .

. 102 CS

Soap

4-2 bxs

Tobacco .

. .*{ cs

Hoots and shoes

. 'M cs

Pepper .

. 2 bgfl

Pepper .

2 csks

Iron pots

. 70

Gluo .

. 1 bag

Kettles .

. 2 doz

Jars

. ] cs

Cofl'eo machine

Paper .

. 1 roll

Stove . . . .

Paper .

1 parcel

Iron kettles .

. 4 doz

Stationery .

. 1 box

Sliovels and spades

. 4 doz

Bunting?

1 ])arcel

Forks . . . .

Potatoes

8.') bfrs

Lanthoms

. 2C8

Onions .

. T) bgs

Limtliorns

. 1 csk

Prunes .

14 bxs

Lamps . . . ,

. 1 cs

Nuts .

. 8 bgs

Stationery

. 1 C8

IMne apples .

Ics

Stationery

1 parcel

Su^rar .

2 k'/s

Flour . . . .

. Obga

Jiitters .

1 cs

Boots .

. 19 cs

Chairs .

1 doz

Tumblers

. 1 csk

Capers .

1 cs

I'aint .

. 7 tins

Chocolate

2cs

Bolting .

. 1 roll

Alo

1 csk

Iron

bars

Porter .

1 csk

Cir. saws

. Ibx

Butts .

132

Perfumery .

. 1 cs

Cheese .

Ipkg

Coal .

97i tons

Bricks .

. 8M

Com. bricks .

. ' 2 M

ShoriT .

89 csks

Dry goods

. 1 cs

Whisky

•

15 qr. csks

Blue .

1 parcel

Whisky

•

49 qr, csks

Total value

. . ,$27,071 0^

TO SANDWK

3H ISLANDS.

Coal .... 108 tons

Spirits .

. 22qr.cks

Iron tanks .... 8

Do.

14 pkgs

Porter and ale, 117 csks 10 hhds

Champagne .

bskts

and 201 cs

Wines .

. Ocs

Cider 20 cs

Brandy .

. 1 cs

Svrup .

. 10 cs

Bitters .

. r cs 1 hhd

EXPORTS.

115

4 OS

'A CH
1 CH
1 CS

'2 a

2cs

2 csks

1(52 cfl
.Tea

2hgs
70

2 doz
1
1

4 (loz

4 doz
2

2 03

1 csk
1 ca
1 cs
parcel
(5 h<ra
1$) ca
1 oak
7 tins
1 roll
bara
Ibx
1 cs
97^ tons
2M
1 ca
1 parcel

22 qr. cks
14 pkgs
G bskts
. Ocs

. 1 08

" CS 1 hhd

Stocl

rotatoea . . . J)8 bn^s

Mcnliandise . . . U bnlfs

Dry >,'0()dH and inorchandi.io . .'W cs

lUankets . . . 10 bales

Stationery . , . . 1 cs
Iron . . 220 bars, 71 bdls
Total value

TO C.VLrFOHNIA.

[Compiled from the books of the United States Consulate.]

DS'.s

( His

lObblsand 10 cs

Mi.scuit.s

• • •

. 2 cs

1 1 inns .

• • •

2.') bids

I'ig iron

• • •

10 tons

• t

^17,115 00

Skins, IfJO marten .

1 )ry poods, cs .

Wool, hides, and skins .

Cranberries, 114 pk

I\link skins, 77(5; mar-
tens, 202 .

Hope, 1 bale ; mirrors,
pins, comforters .

Skins, marten, mink, and
Heaver

Di'cr wkins, bales

Yams, 50 baskets; melon
seeds, 3 do.

Total value

Assorted mercliandiso
Sugar, 12,0(50 ll)s. .

Total value

417

2020

204

1102

1400

070

7040

112

38 40

lluUock hides, 10; calf
hds, 7; deer skins, 5
bales ....

Shirts and beaver hats,
1 cs .

Skins, marten, 153
mink, 222 .

Polished sliells, 1 cs

Japant'se cabint't, 1

(Jrei'n hides, 80

Fish, 12hfbbls .

^15,090 18

TO OREGOX

5111 80
1134 24

Pig iron, 2 tons

. ^0,388 04

TO WASHINGTON TEURITORY.

Iron boiler plates and

rivets
Iron ....
Sacks ....
Ale and porter, 2 cs
Hardware and castings .
Bricks, 15 M .
Am. Brandy, 2 bbis and

4 cs .
Gin ....
Total value

270 29

28 02

30 00

32 25

151 91

105 00

Iron castings .

Sugar .

Iron, sugar, and grind

stone fixtures
Castings, 1001 lbs.
Iron bars, 98 .
English merchandise
(irooeries, 8 pkgs .
English hardware .
172 38 I Shingles, 11,000 .

^3,(580 07
1 2

140 38

111 51

303 50

(530 20

100 00

45 00

127 50

41 90

92 00

48 40

155 40

30 70

87 38

350 90

1770 15

117 13

129 (50

57 00

IIG

VICTORIA AS

A FRKK

['OUT.

To Sitka ....

27,0.71

To Siindwicli Isknds .

17,115

To Caliibrnia

i5,(;oo

To OvefTon ....

(i,;5S8

To "NVnHhinfrton Tenitury .

iVi'-^O

fnaiicl total $70,r,f<r, S4

This sum is exclusive of large exports to IJiitish Columbia.
For the quarter ending June 18G4, goods were sent from
Victoria to Xew Westminster to the value of /S'G00,535
lie.

Were British capitalists alive to the commanding geo-
graphical position of Victoria as a free port in relation
to the nein:liboiirinui; Coast of Western America on the
one side of the Pacilic and to China and Japan on the
other, I venture to believe that they could, in a short
period, render this city a worthy rival of San Francisco.
Persons accustc nied t(3 judge by the present infancy of
Victoria will probably be disposed to smile at so bold an
assertion. But it will not surprise those who liave given
attention to principles affecting the growth of commercial
centres should this prediction be accomplished within the
present generation.

There are many articles, it is well known, in which the
United States cannot compete successfully with England,
in consequence of the higher price of labour and other
circumstances in the former country. Large and suitable
assortments of such goods stored in great warehouses at
Victoria would secure a ready sale to wholesale and retail
dealers in Washington territory, Oregon, California, and
the various ports on the Mexican seaboard.

The only liouses established hitherto among us, capable
of carrying on business on the extensive scale these
remarks propose, are the Hudson's Bay Company, and
])erhaps two others. This end cannot be achieved by mere

ITS CAPABILITIES.

11-

00
18
04
(57

Columbia.
seMit from
^^600,535

idiiig geo-

in relation

ica on the

pan on the

in a sliort

Francisco.

infancy of

so bold an

liave given

ommercial

^vithin the

which the
II England,
land other
id suitable
chouses at
and retail
)rnia, and

IS, capable
lale these
)any, and
Id by mere

commission agents, who have little interest in furnishing
the class of mercliandise precisely suitable to foreign
markets south of Vancouver Island ; their chief concern
being to make storage and commission out of consign-
ments. Large quantities of goods sent for sale on com-
mission, but assorted in England without judgment, are
here, as in other foreign parts, often sacrificed at auction.
There are, however, ^)n:i>ission firms in Victoria, not a
fev/, who might be depended upon for advising their
Englisli correspondents conscientiously, as to the sort of
i>;oods that would be salable.

But the houses required for caiiying out the high com-
mercial enterprise now advocated ought to be of a
primary character. Their stocks should be purchased
direct from British }iianufacturershy iniyers Avho possess a
thoroujxh knowledge of the wants of the markets on the
coast. When these establishments are prepared to com-
mence operations, let them be inaugurated by exten-
sive trade sales duly advertised beforehand throughout
the countries stretching soutliward. Agents, as already
suggested, should be appointed to travel through the
j)rin(;ipal centres in those countries, and, in due course,
vast and lucrative custom is certain to be attracted. I'he
results at first miglit be comparatively slow, l)ut in the
end they would satisfy the most ambitious and sanguine
wishes.

The grounds on whicli these statements rest have only
to be stated to meet witli acceptance. Many traders in
the places just mentioned are obliged to have supplies of
sucli Englisli manufactures as cotton and woollen fabrics,
Jiardwarc, spirits, ales, <!vc. Eiench articles, too numerous
to specify, are also in requisition by them. Their orders
are mostly sent to agents in New York, as they are not
themselves in general sufficiently kn<:»wn in Europe to be

118

VICTOKIA AS A FREE FORT.

able to fonn a connection in that quarter. Tliis indirect
nietliod of importation necessitates an allowance of profit
or commission to New York houses with expense
attending wliarfage, drayage, and storage in that city.
To these chartfcs must be added the cost of extra freidit
in trans-sliipment from New York to San Franciso or
some other point on tlie Pacific. Mucli tlie greater part
of these items merchants who can import direct from
Euroi)e are able to save. But it cau be shown that there
are costs and inconveniences more embarrassing still upon
even direct shipments from England to San Francisco,
for example, which would be immediately avoided by
buyers in that city transferring their purchases of Britisli
and French merchandise to the great wholesale Avare-
houses tliat are beint^ called into existence in Victoria.

Tlie mercliants of San Francisco that may be in a position
to obtain wares direct from Europe are compelled when
getting shipments to order larger supplies tlian are needed
to meet present demands. Packages not required for instant
use must lie in bond to escape the immediate payment of
customs' duties upon them. Besides the expense of
bonded storage annoyance is sustained from free access to
tlie goods being denied while in bond. There is yet a
worse feature of the case. According to existing customs'
regulations in California, duty must he paid upon all (joods
in bond within three months of their being deposited in the
bonded icarehouse, whether they be tal'en out or not. Now
consider the incalculable loss thus suffered.

The average rate of interest on money in California and
adjacent countries ranges from one and ii half to two and a
half per cent per in 07ith. Should a merchant under these
circumstances have certain small orders to execute — say
to the extent of one third of a heavy package of British
or French articles— he can only meet these orders by

DEPOT FOR EUROPKAN GOODS.

110

is indirect
3 of profit
L expense
that city.
Ta freight
ranciso or
eater part
irect from
that there
5 still upon
Francisco,
voided l)y
of Britisli
sale "Nvare-
ictoria.
1 a position
3lled when
are needed
for instant
)ayment of
xpense of
access to
is yet a
g customs'
^ all goods
ited in the
wt. Now

Ifornia and
two and a

Inder these

pcute — say
of British

lorders by

paying duty on the entire package so as to relieve it from
bond. Then it may be months before the remainder of
that package is disposed of So a still longer period may
elapse before the sale of all his imported stocks be effected,
upon which duty has to be paid three months subsequently
to their being conveyed from the ship to the bonded store.
While the duty-paid goods are unsold he loses at the very
least tlie amount of interest which the sum laid out in
customs' duties would have brouirht him.

But in yet another way does the Californian merchant
work at a disadvantage in importing direct from England
on the supposition of a liritish free port being at hand to
supply him with goods in broken or unbroken packages
as he may desire. Since exporters in England have suffered
so mischievously from tlie fluctuations of the markets
in gold countries within the last fourteen years, large
advances in most cases, have to be made upon the invoice
before goods are shipped. A great part of the goods
thus covered may lie upon the hands of the California
importer unremunerative, for many months after arrival,
and may occasionally have to be sold at a loss owing to a
l)eriod of glut in the market. Could the importer devise
some expedient by whicli he might profitably employ the
capital he must forfeit the use of in this manner during the
interval between his sending orders to England and
realising returns upon the stock imported, he surely would
gratefully avail himself of such an advantage. That
expedient is gained by a large British emporium being
brought so near that his orders could be executed three
weeks after being despatched, instead of as at present
his patience being tried by a delay of eight or ten months
from date of order to Europe. Baying in Victoria^ he
li'oidd not require to import a heavier stock than his
custom immediatebj demanded ; he would save the time of

120

VICTORIA AS A FllEK TORT.

a tedious voyage round the Horn; he would escape the
restrictions and expense of the bonded warehouse ; he would,
likewise save the interest now lost to him on goods while
undisposed of. What merclmnt on the American side
of the boundary contiguous to us would not rejoice in
the advantage lield out by such an important commercial
centre as Victoria mio-jit be made "with an intelli<>'ent
employment of British capital and enterprise ?

But it may be objected : ' If Californian merchants can
ill afford to lose heavy interest on invoice advances and
customs' duties entailed upon them by the existing condi-
tion of things, how should English capitalists afford to hold
immense stocks, awaiting purchase for an indefinite period
in Victoria ? They too would be losers to the extent of,
at least, interest on the value of their goods while unsold.'
True : but, by supposition, the firms being gradually
originated on the present theory are composed of Biitish
shareholders, and the whole secret of their being able
to carry on such a business as has been alluded to,
consists simply in the difference between 5 jier cent
per annum, the average rate of interest in England,
and 1^ or 2i per cent per month, which money is
worth in gold-producing countries on the Xorth Pacific.
So that such companies as have been nanwd could better
afford to auKiit returns for a twelvemonth, than could the
American or other merchant icorkimj with Californian
capital to lie out of his money for three months. There
is unquestionable foundation for the conviction that com-
panies embarking in the investment I have described
would, in half a dozen years, find it yield immense divi-
dends. A paid up capital to each company of 200,000/.
would be ample to start with. When the colonies of
Vancouver Island and British Columbia shall have
awakened in England the attention to which they are

HIGH TARIFF IX SAX FRAXCISCO.

121

iscape the
he would
jods while
ricaii side
rejoice in
)mmereial
iutellii>"eut

ihants can
ances and
ing condi-
iid to hold
lite period
extent of,
le unsold.'
gradually
of Biitisli
)eing able
Uuded to,
2:)er cent
England,
money is
1 Pacilic.
idd better
could the
Ufornian
There
hat coni-
descril)ed
use divi-
t^00,000/.
Ionics of
all have
they are

justly entitled, many such large mercantile partncrshi[)s
will be established in Victoria.

In reference to the beneficial effect upon the trade of
Victoria of the increasing Customs' restrictions in San Fran-
cisco, a French newspaper, ' L'Echo du Pacific,' of October
30, 1861, remarks as follows : —

Heretofore goods might remain in bond three years without
paying duties ; now the term is restricted to three months, and
as consignees are not always disposed to pay the large amount of
duties they would he called upon to advance, the above rest riciive
measure vnll have the effect of throiviuf/ this business into the
hands of parties in some other place where the lau's are more
liberal. Commerce has neither countiy nor affections ; all it
wants is freedom. If that is taken from it in one place, it will
seek it in another. For this reason it U'ould appear that
Victoria, a free port, luill profit by ivhat San Francisco iviU
lose, as the shipper ivill find there the advantarjes which are
refused to him here, and there {Victoria) will be the depot of
the Pacific Coast.

There are few countries ofiering such fticilities in the
matter of return cargoes as Vancouver Island does.
Statistics of our resources, to be given later on, will show
how valuable are the timber and fish with which our
forests and rivers respectively abound, for this purpose.

Large commercial firms projecting those grand enter-
prises, for the organisation of which their situation in
Victoria would be favourable, should have; sawmills aiuT
fi>^heries as complementary auxiliaries in the expansion of
their business.

Our erect and gigantic pines, growing in both the>e
coh)nies in exhau-tless profusion, enables a mercantile
company to build its own ships cheaply.* Again, tl.e

* XotAvitluslanding- tlio high price of skilled labour iu these places, I niii
inlovmed by au experienced resident .shipbuilder tluit vessels can be buill in
llie ishmd for one tliird less than in I'lnjjland, from the ine.\p('nsi\eness of
building materials.

122

VICTORIA AS A FREE PORT.

demand for timber in China advances at a marvellous rate,
being required for the erection of houses, repairing and
building of steamers and sailing vessels. The extent to
which the Yangtse and Amoor Rivers and the Chinese coast
generally are navigated, and the promise given of the
magnitude -svhich trade is destined to reach in that direc-
tion, would seem incredible to one unacquainted with the
subject. The liavoc caused periodically to shipping by
the typhoon calls for a steady supply of spars. The
influx of Europeans to cities on the coast and in the inte-
rior of China occasions the extensive building of new
dwellings, and creates an increasing market for the con-
sumption of sawn timber. The Chinese themselves nuiy
be supposed to be becoming assimilated, however slowly,
to European habits of living. From this cause also will
trade receive a vigorous impulse.

When an article of European or American produ(;tion
is favourably introduced in China, the social and imitative
character of the people secures for it an augmenting and
endless popularity. This is rendered evident by refer-
ence to the statistics of the two exports of flour and
lumber (timber) sent from San Francisco. Not to speak
of the latter article, the Chinese (apart from European
residents in China) having acquired a taste for the former,
the imagination is overwliehned in attempting to conceive
liow immense will be the trade between the opposite
coasts of the Pacific, in the future years, from the export
of flour alone, to meet the wants of four hundred mil-
lions.

Flour (bnrrcls) .
Lumber (feet)

1801

18(12

18(;3

10,524

8Uf<,082

21,451
2,050,100

50,055
2,700,7;]:?

FACILITIES FOR RETURN CARGOES.

123

jlloiis rate,
liring and
extent to
inese coast
en of the
that clirec-

I with the
ipping by
[irs. The

II the inte-
g of new
r the con-
delves may
'cr sloAvly,
e also will

prodiu^tion

[1 imitative

aiting and

by refer-

lour and

to speak

European

le former,

conceive

opposite

le export

dred mil-

L),or,r)

San Francisco houses liave an undoubted advantage
over us in the article of flour as an export, and in this we
can never compete with them. But the vessels wliich
convey lumber from American consigners to China are
obliged to come up in ballast from San Francisco to load in
Puget Sound — a distance of 800 miles, unless they happen
to ])rocure freight for Vic'toria. This involves a great deal
of trouble and outlay to be sustained for the sole object
of loading at the sawmills. No such difficulty would
have to be borne by the Victoria exporter of linnber, for
his cargo is close at hand.

It will be perceived therefore that a large Victoria liouse,
having the important accessory referred to, Avould gain on
the freight, the vessel having been built by themselves,
and being their own property. They would gain on the
cargo, which would in this case be shipped at their own
mills. A further gain would accrue on the supposition of
the return cargo, consisting of silk, rice, preserves, &c.,
being paid for in the way of barter. The vessel, liaving
thus changed one cargo for another in China, could then
proceed to England and bring out to Vancouver Island
European goods adapted for this market.

Similar advantages will be eventually derived from our
exports in opening up a trade with Japan* when that

* A letter from Japan to the i\"e?/; York Journal of Vummerco says: —
* The trade between England and Japan has doubled in the first six niontli.s
of the year 1863 compared with the year 1802, despite all the embarrass-
ments suffered ; the future prospect is considered exceedinghy hopeful. Tlio
return of trade at the single port of Kanagawa for the year gives an aggre-
gate of seventy-four foreign arrivals against thirty-three one year ago, and a
tonnage of 25,000 instead of 15,000. Tlie value of goods imported in the
same time at Kanagawa exceeds ^500,000. Then it should be observed
that the Japanese readily ascertain what commodities are most in demand
for export, and at once address themselves to the work of producing them.
Tlie growth of silk, for example, so highly prized on account of its fine
quality, especially when the supplies from Italy and France are partially cut

124

VICTORIA AS A FREK PORT.

country sliall have somewhat relaxed its traditional exclu-
sivencss. Even if our cargoes of timber and fish were not
salable in Japan at present, it would amply repay a vessel,
could she not seciu'e a freight thither from China, to run up
and load for England. The rich and delicate manufactures
of Japnn would all find a ready sale in the parent country.
Besides boxes of camphor- wood, baskets of rattan, sets
of drawers, jewelry casket*, tea and coffee services, vases,
and eveiy sort of lacquered work, we have occasional ar-
livals on our coast, from that comparatively sealed country,
of isinglass, rice, sweet potatoes, peas, leaf tobacco, and
rapesced oil. The last named of those articles is in
general use in Paris for lamps. Many other products will
yet be forthcoming from Japan, which merchants in Vic-
toria with the aj)pliances proposed may obtain for ship-
ment to Europe on favom-able terms, so that return cargoes
of British and French goods may be advantageously
brought to Victoria for wholesale export.

Turning from China and Japan, where our salmon, cod,
halibut, and smelt might also be introduced, Mexico and
the other Eoman Catholic countries, as far as Cape Horn,
furnish an inviting market for both our lumber and
fish. Australia and JS^ew Zealand are in the same i)osi-
tion. All these cc ui tries can be supplied more reasonably
and expeditiously with tlie two articles of exports under
consideration from us than from the Atlantic.

As for Australia, it is well known that a premium has
long been offered by the Government to anyone who

oiV, has yielded a suvplus for export from Japan during the pr''=ont season to
the valiH; of nearly ^.oOOjOOO/. 8terlin;2-. So of cotton. In 1802 the crop
yieldi'd Jiothiiig for export, but this year's contribution to the nninuractiireris
of iMu-opi^ alrendy aniniints to about 0,000 bales. The f :ct to be noticed is
that, notwithstanding the declared hostility of the Japanese Govenmient to
foreign traffic or intercourse, the people at large eagerly avail tlieniselves of
the opportunity to profit by the excliange of merchandise for gold.'

1
:

KETURN CAKCJOES.

125

onal exclii-
ih were not
ay a vessel,
I, to run up
anufactures
nt country,
rattan, sets
/ices, vases,
casional ar-
ed countiy,
bacco, and
ides is in
•oducts will
mts in Vie-
in for sliip-
urn cargoes
xntageously

mon, cod,
exico and
ape Horn,
imber and
same posi-
•easonably
orts under

niuni has
j'one wlu)

?ont season to
18G2 the crop
unnuriictiirors
be noticed is
overinncnt to
tlioniselve.s of

roia;

should succeed in introducing a live salmon into the
country ; and not until the mode of artificial spawning
was discovered could imj)orted salmon exist there. At
length, in May last year, the birth of the first salmon was
announced.*

New Zealand is not bountifully supplied with timber
for building purposes, and cargoes of that material are
being shipped from oui- neighboiu'hood to that colony.

The commercial relations of Vancouver Island to the
several countries enumerated, arising out of the diversity
of their respective resources, are pointed out as illustra-
tive of the numerous i'acilities aflbrded to estabHshments
in Victoria lor return cargoes to intermediate destinations
between this colony and England, and the consecpient
opportunity of procuring goods for the supply of the
market on the north-west coast on most favoui-able con-

* Tlie following lines on this event appeared in an Anstnilian paper : —

Auspicious great event

To write an epigram on —
Australia news baa sent

About ber first-born salmon I

Tbe earliest of his kind

That Austral waters swam on,
liet's hope be'U leave behind

A mighty race of salmon.

The digger, when he hears,

The news expends a dram on—
The stockman gives three cheers

To hail the first-bom salmon.

And I confess that I —

This subject while I am on —
Don't mean to keep it dry —

Let's wet the little salmon.

So now, here goes ! The toast
We'll have a glass of * cham ' on :

Long may Australia boast
The plenty of her salmon !

120

VICTORIA AS A FREE POUT.

clitions. Firms saving on all sides, on the principle here
set forth, must eventually compel buyers on the coast
to replenish their stocks of European and, in part, Asiatic
goods from their warehouses. Our wide-spread C()pi)er
lodes, too, will, in course of time — like the Burra-Burra
mines of Adelaide — without doubt furnish a valuable
article of ex]:)ort to Great Britain, in the way of return

cargo.

The following remarks of the lute able correspondent
of the ' Alta California,' published some years ago, exem-
plify American sentiment in regard to the prospects of
Victoria as a probable rival of the city of San Francisco :

That England has great purposes to effect in this part of tlie
world, is no doubt true ; that she has grand projects on foot,
looking to a union of her North American Colonies, and tlie
opening of a liighway from ocean to ocean, she does not seek
to disguise. That these new settlements are yet to become com-
petitors for the trade of the East, if not the corwiercial swjyi'e-
niaqi of the Pacific, it were useless to deny. Entrepots are
soon to spring up on these hitlierto undisturbed waters ; there
will be shipyards and fisheries, and to these lands will a nume-
rous people go to dwell and to mine beyond a peradventure.
. . . But however we may regard the advent of England upon our
shores, or whatever estimate we may set on the value of her
possessions in this quarter, one thing is certain, we have now
got to meet her on this side the globe as we have met her on
the other; and encountering her enterprise and capital, her
practical patient industry and persistence of purpose, dispute
with her for the trade of the East and the empire of the seas.

There are other circumstances that may be briefly
stated here beAring on the prospects of Victoria as a free
port.

The augmenting population of Oregon and Washington
territory multiplies the number of consumers of goods
imported into those parts from our city. In 1850 the

ITS UELATION TO ESQUIMALT.

127

riciple here
I the coast
)art, Asiatic
Dad copper
kirra-Burra
a valuable
y of return

rresponclent
ago, exeiii-
)rospects of
Francisco :

3 part of the

jt'cts oil foot,

lies, and the

oes not seek

become com-

rcial sujyi'fi-

ntrepots are

aters ; there

ill a nume-

eradventure.

nd upon our

alue of her

e have now

met her on

capital, her

ose, dispute

f the seas.

be briefly
|ia as a free

''asliington

of goods

1850 the

census shows the inhalVitants of Oregon to be lo,000, {uid
of the adjacent territory to be oidy 1,200. Tliere are
now between 80,000 and 1)0,000 in the former State, and
10,000 in Washington territory. When the iron-road
via Utah is constructed, it is proposed to make a branch
line from Walla-Walla to Seattle or Olympui on l*uget
Sound. This lattei' section of railway, when formed, will
convey the bulk of the })roduce to the ocean from the
region through which it i)asses l)y the Straits of Fuca,
except, perhaps, the crops raised on the banks of the
Columbia and near tlie mouth of the Willamette rivei's.
It is inconceivable how large a population these changes
will bring ui)on the shores of the Sound, and how exten-
sive the tide of commerce they will attract to Victoria.

Another fact foretokening the prospective importance
of that cit}' is, that it is but four miles distant from the
capacious harbour of Esquimalt — the rendezvous of II. M,
Pacific squadron. It was stated in the ' Times ' of Mru'ch
15, 18G0, that it was the intention of the Imperial
Government to elevate that place into the naval depot
for the Pacific. Nor could any selection be better. It is
the only convenient British place of anchorage in that
ocean, to which H.M. ships can repair to coal, refit, pro-
vision, and concentrate for war. From this point our
fleets can have a more complete command of that ocean,
imd proceed more readily to any part of it, than if Hong-
kong or Australia Avere headquarters.

In the ' Times ' of June 25, 18G0, the argument in favour
of Burrard Inlet, near New Westminster, as a naval depot,
is eflfectually exploded by the letter of a correspondent :

If all that is required for a naval station be so much water
for so many ships to float and anchor in, and so many acres of
land for docks in a wilderness, these essentials are obtainable in

I'JS

VKTOKIA AS A J'I{i;i. 1'0|{T.

I^tirnird Iiil(>t. . . . Hut as the naval station placed in that
locality involves the navij^ation of a portion of the StiaitH of
l''iic'a, of the whole of Canal de Haro (under tlui j^miiih of the
American batteries if San Juan be ^iven up), to<^»'ther with the
<;rossing of the Gulf of (JeorjLjia, often a tempestuous sea, as
well as the other waters which intervene between liunard Inlet
and Ks(|uimalt and the ocean, all of which navij^'ation would be
an addition to a voyaije long enouj^h already, and which would
be avoided by leavinjjf the s(]uadron to rendezv )us at Ksimimalt
where the ships now lie, most competent judges prefer Ivscjui-
nialt for the headcjuarters of the sijuadron. Kscjuimalt is near
the ocean, easily accessible by day and night, now that a light-
house is placed at its eutrance. . . . liesides these; convenienc»\s,
it possesses grf:tt fiuilities for fortifications ovi-r every other
harbour in the I'acific Ocean. It could be made impregnabU;
at less cost than any other harbour in these seas could be
rendered partially secure ; and it is well situated for su[)plying
ships to defend the entrance into the Straits of T'nca — a measure
to the accomj)lishment of which 'Port 8an Juan,' situated on
Vancouver Island, near the entrance, possesses important facili-
ties in having a harbour three miles long, and capable of
anchoring a fleet in safety. From this port one or two ships
could blockade the entrance and make Fuca Straits a British
lake, while Esquimalt is close at hand to afford supplies and all
necessary assistance. ... At Victoria, the men-of-war get all
they want. . . . Vancouver Island will be the point of attack,
if an attack is made on one of these colonies by any hos-
tile power, as it must be secured to make the Continent
tenable if taken. So that if liurrard Inlet were made the
naval station, it would involve this anomaly — that while the
head-quarters were over there, the ships would always be
stationed here. The naval station must be at Esquimalt.

The question, moreover, has of late been oecupying the
attention of the Admiralty as to the most eligible location
for building a sanitarmm for the accommodation of in-
valided naval men. Sydney, the Cape Colony, and other
])ositions, have been imder consideration for this object.

Ihit
vicii
tcui

]>''<>1
rec( I

weii^

nava

Th
long
quart

lM{ni'Osi:i) SA\ITAI!IL'M.

V2\)

ig tlie
:atioii
)f ill-
loth er
)iect.

])\\t nono npjx'jir to conibiiic so ninny ndvantMU^cs ms iIk-
vicinity of VicLoriti mikI I'^nuinKilt. Tlu* miidnt'ss of ilic
temperature, the beauty of tlu; sei-nery, and the very low
))ro[)ortion of iiiortahty in the vessels on llie stalioii, are
recoinniendatioiis of this locality which cannot fail to have
weight with the Government.

On this vital question, the o])ini()n of an ex[KM'ieiict'(l
naval surgeon is decisive. Dr. Rattray, It.X., snys : —

Thc5 lioHpital aecoiniiindiitioii on this station (tlio I*ucific) lias
loll;,' betjii unsatisfactory; and Valp-iraiso, tlir fonner lit-ad-
(juartcrs of tliu Pacilie tlcet, untl Callao, wcru tlio only ports to
wliicli invalids nn\dit be sent for treat mt'iit, or sickly ships Ix;
transferred to recruit the health of their crews. . . . The coii-
veiiience of ample hospital Jiccoininodation at tlu; head-(|Ua,rters
of the squadron, and on liritish soil, and In <i (•li'.ndlc if/n'rc
SiiliLhi'ihj ts ansiirpttssetl o)i fha cnflre shitioit, in therefore
evident. E.s(piinialt thus supplies a want long felt on this
station.

The unhoalthluess of the climate of China, and the sickness
and mortality which usually prevail in the China fleet, wlu'ii
contrasted with the great salubrity of Vancouver Island and tlu!
fineness of its climate, make it a question of great imjiortanee
whether ornot Esqnimalt — with its hospital acccMnmodaticm, its
convenience as a naval harbour, and its ciunparativo proximity
to China, with which communications both naval and mercantile,
will soon be more frequent than at present — might not become
the recruiting station and sanitarium for the China as well as
for the Pacific squadron ; and whether the healthy climate of
the Eastern Ocean of the North Pacific might not be made
available to counteract the unhealthy influence of that of its
western coast.

The heavy sick-lists of ships stationed along the coast of China,
the large percentage of invalids sent home, and the great mor-
tality, are often unequalled, even on the once so sickly and still
much dreaded coast of Africa. The following table will con-
trast the large sick-lists of ships on that station with those of
Esqnimalt.

130

VICTORIA AS A FREE PORT.

Khip.

AvprnKO
sick-list.

A vorngc
crew.

PcrppntiiKc
of sick.

II.M.R. Nanliiu (50), Chiua Station, 1855-
lHr)8

II.M.S.Topazo (51), Esqninialt, Vancou-
ver Inland, 1800-18(31 ....

4l>

1^4

443

482

Dr. Eattray proceeds to show that out of an avcragc
crew of 443 men, 39 (or 1 mil) died of dysentery, diar-
rhcea, and periodic fevers ; 64 (or 1 in 7) were invahded ;
and 187 (or 1 in 2}^) were sent to the hospital from tlie
same causes. In all 290, or G5^ per cent of the entire
crew, either lost tlieir lives or were disabled from malig-
nant disease. Now, surely there is urgent need for de-
vising means to reduce this mortality, and avoid much
of this siiflfering. The ' ship ' hospital at Hongkong has
many disadvantages. It is badly ventilated, and confines
those who rcinain for treatment in the very focus and
centre of an unhealthy climate, thereby increasing mor-
tality, and retarding the cure of patients. By occasional
visits to Vancouver Island, the efficiency of crews would
be better preserved and sickness in a great degree pre-
vented. This arrangement, Avlien fully carried out, will
exercise a profitable influence on the trade of Victoria.

131

an average
iiiteiy, diar-
i invalided ;
al from tlie
F the entire
from malig-
leed for de-
avoid mucli
nffkona; lias
and confines
y focus and
casing mor-
y occasional
rews would
degree pre-
ed out, will
Victoria.

(^iiArTr:u v.

Gi:XERAL RKSOURCKS OF VAXCOUVI'R ISLAM).

Timuku: Exports of tliis Article — Profits roallsod on it — A d van t a ires over
Canada and New Urnnswick — Timber more remunt.'i'ative to the ennnnon
Carrier than Cold — Trade in Export of llailway Sleepers — Pricrs i)f
Spars, Masts, &c. Coal: Mines at Nanaimo — Immense Cimsumption of
Coal on the Coast — Chemical Comparison of Vancouver Island Coal
with other Varieties— Imports of (.'oal to San Francisco — I'rices — Tliiclc-
ncss of Seam — Conveniences for Loading — ^'ancouver Island I'ionpcr Coal-
mining Company — Quantities sliipped from Xanaimo — IJeport of First
Annual Meeting of Directors — Other Coal Companies, Corri;u : (^ueen
Charlotte Island Mine — Inspection of a Vein— Want of IJritisli Capital
to develop this Source of Wealth effectually. Maoxktic Iuon Oiu:—
LiMKSTOxi: — Sandstoxe— BLrE Mauulk — Bluk Clay. Cold: First
found in Queen Charlotte Island — Gold Stream — Cold discov(;red nt
Sooke — General Character of the Region — 'Prospects' obtained — Mining
'Claims 'and 'Yields.' Fisheries: Herring — Iloolakan— Salmon — Trout
— Sturgeon — Halibut — Haddock — Hock — Whales — W^xlrus — Foreign
Markets to be Supplied.

TIMBER.

It is now universally admitted that Vtmcouver Island and
British Columbia produce the best qualities of timbei" to
l^e found in the world. The following table shows the
principal vtirieties : —

PoruLAR Names.

The Douglas Pino or Oregon Red Pino
Spruce Fir .....
Yellow ]'"ir

Bal

sam

Fir

Hemlock Spruce

SciEXTiFic Names.

Abies Douglassii.
Abies Menzicsli.
Abii's grandis.
Abies balsamifera.
Abies canadensis.

132

GENERAL RESOURCES OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

Wild Cherry Cerasiis mollis.

White Pine or Weymouth Pino . . Pinus Strobus.

Yellow Pine Pinus ponderosa.

Cedar — the Oregon Cedar . . . Thuja gigantea.

Yellow Cj'press Cupressus nutkatensis.

Arbor Vita) Thuja plicata.

Yew Taxus brevifolia.

The Oak Quercua Garryana.

The white, or broad-leaved Maple . . Acer macrophyllum.

Vine-leaved Maple Acer circinatum.

The Oregon Alder Alnus oregona.

Oregon Dogwood ..... Cornus Nuttallii.

Arbutus Ai'butus Menziesii.

Of these the wood that lias chief economic vahie is the
Douglas pine. This tree is in great demand for spars ; and
for strength, lightness, elasticity, erectness, beauty of grain,
and height, it cannot be surpassed. The bark at the
base of the tree, and for some distance up, is often a foot
thick. The colour of the wood, which depends usuahy
upon its age and the situation where it is grown, is in
general yellow, but sometimes reddish.

A spar of this description, more than 200 feet high, is
erected in Kew Gardens, London, and sections cut from
a tree 309 feet long were sent to England for the Inter-
national Exhibition of 1862.

A careful examination was made of one of these sec-
tions, to ascertain - the tree's age and rate of growth.
From the result, which was published in the ' Gardener's
Chronicle,' it appears that :

The diameter is 6 feet, viz. : — 34 inches on one side, 38 on

the other. Its rate of growth on the 34-inch side has been as

follows : —

The first 2 inches across were made in 7 years.

„ second „ „ „ 9 „

„ third „ „ „ 12 „

„ fourth „ „ „ 19 „

» fifth „ „ „ 17 „

„ sixth „ „ „ ^3 ,,

,> seventh „ „ „ 16 „

ND.

,s.

;isa.
ca.
tkatensis.

)lia.

yana.

iyllum.

;uin.

la.

illii.

iziesii.

alue is the
spars ; and
ty of grain,
ark at the
)ften a foot
ids usually
rown, is in

2et high, is

IS cut from

the Inter-

these sec-
)f growth,
ardener's

I side, 38 on
las been as

TIMBER.

rh(

3 eighth 2 inches across were

made in 17

yer

ninth

>»

tenth

eleventh

>»

twelfth

thirteenth

)}

fourteenth

fifteenth

})

sixteenth

seventeenth

}}

»>

133

Or 34 inches in semidiameter in 354 years.

It is as well to remark that this British Cohimhian fir,
although three centuries and a half old, and although for tlio
last forty-two years it increased little more than 1-1 0th of an
inch in diameter yearly, is perfectly sound to the heart. Foresters
will understand the importance of this fact.*

Little or nothing was known of tliis tree till about 37
years ago, Avhen it was brought into notice by the Horti-
cultural Society, which was favoured with seeds from it
by the eminent collector whose name it bears. The cul-
tivation of it has been tittempted in Great Britain, where
a congenial temperature gives encouragement to hope that
it will succeed.

Dr. Lindley informed the gentleman from whose w^ork
the above particulars have been quoted, that he had had two
planks of this wood, 20 feet long each, in one of the rooms
of his house, where there was constantly a fire, since
1827, and that neither of them had warped or shrunk in
the least since they had been placed there.

Another important testimony to the high character of
masts made of Douglas pine is derived form M. du Per-
ron, a leading engineer of the French dockyard in Toulon.
A comparison was instituted by him between the flexibility,
resistance, and density of spars from Eiga and of those from
this colony.

* Mayne, p. 410.

134 GENERAL RESOURCES OP VANCOUVER ISLAND.

The principal quality of these woods is a flexibility and a
tenacity of fibre rarely met with in trees so aged ; they may be
bent and twisted several times in a contrary direction without
breaking. Several poles of the greatest length, having the end at
the foot and the top of the tree cut off, were tried, compara-
tively, with poles of the same dimensions, cut from a liiga spar
of iirst class, and the following residts were found : —

i\r.ix!muni (IcnToo of Loutliny Lefore

rii]itiii'(! at tlio foot
At the lioacl ....

'!}

Cliarf^o of niptiu'o (per contimotres) "|
S([iiarc(l at the foot . . .J
At the head

Di'iisitj' of the wood at the foot of

the tree ....
Deusity at tlie head

Viincouvcr Island.

Riga

Pine.

0-2o

Oiu

028

010
022

010

022

2:!k

21k

1(J

2.3

030

720

478

5.32

o57

020^

The experiments give a mean almost identical for the bending
and Itrcahlufi of the two kinds of wood, while the density differs
n(A(d>bj to the adi:anta{je of the Vancouver wood.

The only question still undecided is that of durability. The
masts and sjjars of Vancouver are woods rare and exceptional
for dimensions and superior qualities, strength, liglituess, absence
of knots and other grave vices. — Toulon, September 21, 18G().

As yet, there is only one firm in the island (Anderson
and Co.) that has been engaged in the export of timber
upon a scale commensurate with the importance of this
trade and tlie inexhaustible nature of tliis department of
our resources. With the neighbouring coast of the sister
colony, Vancouver Island offers facilities for the establish-
ment of nmnberless companies of tJiis character. The
house referred to had been ])ractically conversant with
the lucrative ntiture of the business for many years before

TIMBER EXrORTS.

135

lity and a
ey may be
m without
the end at
I, eonipara-
i Ixiga spar

Riga Pine.

Cm 028
010

022

>lk

00
OS

720
5:12
020

he bending
[isity (lifers

lity. The

exceptional

less, absence

21, 1800.

Anderson
of timber
ce of tliis
'n'tment of
the sister
estublisli-
ter. Tlie
Irsant with
lars before

;

building tlieir own saw-mills, having been accustomed to
send profitable sliipments of timber from Puget Sound to
various foreign ])orts. They only commenced operations
at Barclay Sound in 18G1, and the extent to which they
liave sup})lied vessels with retmii cargoes, plainly indicates
liow ripe is the field for the introduction of vigorous
competition.

Comparative Statement of Ecrports of Lumber, i(-c.,from
Alberni Mills, diirhif/ the years 18f)2 and 1863.

Do.-cription

1SC2 l.so:J

Iiicroat'e

Sawn Lumber (Xo. of feet) .
Spars .....
Suit Fisli (barrels) .
Fish Oil „ . . .
Skins and Furs (packages)

7,400,000

1)1)0

.",70

10:1

11,27:1.000

i,:)00

470

2:50

U.J

.3,78:1,000

400

100

The shipments of lumber from Alberni, coastwise, amounted in lS(i:}
to 1,000,000 feet, and were conveyed to Mctoria in the steamer ' Thames,'
and schooners ' Alberni ' and ' Mey Merrilies ; ' the lirst making during the
year live trips, the second eight, and the tliird one.

T3esides supplying the French, Spanish, and Sardinian
Government dockyards with s})ars, they fire doing a large
trade in sawn lumber for building purposes. I notice
among the destinations to wliich they have sent this freight,
Callao, Honolulu, Sydney, London, Coquimbo, Adelaide,
Victoria, Shanghai, Batavia, Lima, Melbourne, Hongkong,
Otago, Valparaiso, Manilla, Italy, &c.

One or tAVO other small firms carry on an increasing
trade in lumber, but their exports are chiefly ci^astwise.

Lumber received Cuasticise for Consumption in Victoria,
Vancouver Island, during the year 18()3.

1,000,000

From Alberni Mills (Anderson it Co.)
„ Cowiehan :Mill ( W. \\ Sayward)
,, Sooke Mill (Michael Muir)

Total number of feet .

1,00(5,000
1(K),()00

2,700,000

13G GENERAL RESOURCES OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

A coii.sidcrable number of saw-inills liave been at work
in rii<i^et S(nnRl for ten or fii'teen years, and in every in-
stance in wliieli ])roper management lias been observed
tlie })i'()pi'ietors have, in course of time, realised princely
fortunes. The Fort Gamble and Utsalady companies started
with but little capital, and the property of the one is said
to be now over ,8'1,000,0()(). A partner of the other I know
personally, and can testify that the returns of his firm have
been very great. One of these firms purchased a vessel,
second-hand, some time ago, capable of containing a
million feet of lumber, and I am informed that she cleared
herself in one trip. Shippers have assured me that 100
per cent has often been realised by them upon cargoes
to China. The captain of a British vessel once stated in
my hearing that, having discharged his freight from Eng-
land in Victoria, he loaded his ship with sawn lumber in
the vicinity of the colony at a cost of from 21. 1.9. to
'11. 106\ per 1,000 feet, and sold it in Foochow, after a
voyage of two months, at from 13/. \ls. lOt/. to 14/. Xos.^d.
per 1,000 feet.

Merchants devoted to the knnber trade in the Pacific
need be at no loss in acquiring an exact knowledge of the
markets in that ocean. They have but to ascertain the
proportion of vessels loading at the various saw-mills,
bound for given destinations. Spars from the North-
American shores of the Pacific will always command a
high price in Spain, France, and England,* and building-
lumber need not fail of being readily and profitably dis-
})osed of in Australia, New Zealand, South America, China,
and eventually Japan.

The minds of immigrants hitherto attracted to the
colony have been so absorbed in the pursuit of gold, and

* It is probable that iron masts will now become more general for ocean
steamers, but spars will continue to be required for sailing vessels.

N'D.

NEW BRUNSWICK AND CANADA.

137

3n at woik
1 every in-
1 observed
id princely
aies started
one is said
lier I know
s firm have
3d a vessel,
ntaining a
she cleared
e that 100
on cargoes
:e stated in
from Eng-
i lumber in
1 2/. l.s. to
w, after a
4/. VdsAd.

le Pacific
;dge of the
;ertain the

saw-mills,

le North-
ommand a
building-

Itably dis-
ica, China,

ed to the
gold, and

3ral for ocean
lels.

the merchants of Vancouver Island and British Columbia
have directed their attention so exclusively to the business
of general importation, that the valuable article of export
with which these remarks are concerned has been signally
lost sight of. Still, unless wealthy and enterprising com-
panies enter briskly into this sort of exportation, it is
hardly necessary to say that the balance of trade will be
increasingly against the colony.

Our advantages for going largely into the linnber trade,
and especially into certain kinds of ship-building, are far
beyond those by which New Brunswick is distinguished.
Yet from timber, almost its sole exported product, that
l)rovince has grown and flourished ; so that now it con-
tains a population of 300,000 directly or indirectly sus-
tained by the lumber traffic. How much more brilliant a
career is open to Vancouver Island — of whose manifold
resources Ihis is but one — provided those latent elements
that are capable of enriching the colony are not suffered
to remain unproductive ? In Canada, logs and spars —
exhausted in most instances near the banks of the St.
Laurence — have to be rafted hundreds of miles down
rivei's and lakes, and through canals, before they can be
brought to ports for shipment to distant countries. In
New Brunswick, too, these products have to be rafted
down the St. John, Miramichi, and other rivers. Then,
from the thinning process to which forests in these Atlan-
tic colonies have been subjected, the timber is obliged to
be felled in winter, and hauled long distances to streams,
whence it is floated to its final place of shipment on the
bretiking up of the ice in Spring.

In the colonies of which I write, hundreds of spots
might be selected where, for years to come, the necessity
of rafting would be superseded, the timber being found
near the water's edge and close to the ocean. This con-

138 OEXERAL RESOURCES OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

sidcration more tlian counterbalances the liiglier rate of
"wjiges i)aid on tlie Paciiic as compared with the Atknitic
coast.

Tliis is a branch of trade, at least in Vancouver Island,
tliat requires not to pass tlirough the early stages of
infancy and childhood, but may with safety be usliered at
once into full-grown stature ; and a large concern engaged
in it would secure more prosperity than a small one. The
reasons are obvious. Large associated capital coidd at
present command extensive tracts of forest, convenient to
l)oints suitable for transportation. Such liouses could avail
tliemselves of the most efficient machinery for economizing
labour. Their position would enable them to watch the
markets surrounding the Pacific, to correspond witli
every timber-producing region, and learn the character
and destination of every shipment; also to obtain from
foreign markets reports of consumption, stock in hand,
and arrivals.

Allusion has already been made to the saving to owners
of saw-mills arising from the building their own ships.
Timber being so bulky, employs a great amount of tonnage
in transportation. In this respect it differs from gold,
which is comparatively unremunerative to the common
carrier. To transport the precious metal as freiglit may
add 2 or 3 per cent, to its value. To carry timber a
similar distance might enhance it 100 or 200 per cent,
or even more The difference between its value in Van-
couver Island and in the market to which it is sent is the
cost and profit of carrying or frei</ht. An article so bulky,
and yet in such great demand, will create a commerce of
itself, which gold cannot do. The value of a dozen large
cargoes of timber could in gold dust be conveyed in a
single cart Moreover, whenever the demand for timber

;

sD.

* RAILWAY SLEEPKKS.'

130

cr rate oi'
le Atlantic

rcr Island,
stages of
ushered at
rn engaged
1 one. The
1 could at
ivenient to
could avail
ionomizing
watch the
pond with
! character
)btain from
[i in hand,

to owners
3wn ships,
of tomijigc
L"om gold,
le common
eiglit may
timber a
per cent,
le in Van-
sent is the
so bidky,
nimerce of
ozen large
eyed in a
for timber

■

ill tlie Chinese and other markets shall grow to such a
degree that the freight of that commodity alone will jiay
to keep vessels solely engaged in the trade, we shall tlien
be able to obtain return cargoes from Asia at freight so
clieap that we shall be able to compete with San Fran-
cisco for the supply of even Cliinese goods to the entire
Avest coast of the American continent. San Francisco has
no article of export — not excepting flom- — so bulky that
slie can procure, in return for it, the conmiercial advan-
tages just specified.

An excellent opening exists also for an export trade in
* 'railway sleepers' to different parts. It would be dillicult
to menti<^n a part of the world touched by civilization in
Avhich the ' locomotive ' is not in use. India, Australia,
the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and several of the South
American republics — not to speak of European countries
— vie with each other in extending lines of railway. The
day cannot be far distant when China and Japan will, in
this respect, follow in the march of advanced nations.
I know not where the railway companies in Asia, the
()])p()site shores of the Pacific, and in oiu' colonies of the
southern hemisphere, could go to procure this i)art of rail-
way appliance on more fjivourable terms than Vancouver
Island. Lai'ge quantities of 'sleepers' now imported to
India are chiefly sent from England, after having been
brought from Canada or the Baltic. To render them proof
against the destructive action of a torrid sun, they are satu-
rated with a preparation of creasote — a sid3stance which
hap|)ens to be largely inherent in the pines of our island.
TJie following list of spars, masts, &c., with tlie prices
attached, has been prepared expressly for my use, and I
think it not unlikely tliat it may be found serviceable to
tliose hiterested in this subject : —

140

GENERAL RESOURCES OP VANCOUVER ISLAND.

Prices of Masts and Spars.
Diameter taken ^ from the butt in round or four-square
spars ; diameter taken at the partners in eijjfht-sided masts and
spars. Partners in eight-sided masts and spars are supposed to

be I from butt.

Bound Spars.

4, 5, & inches diamotor at 5 cents per running foot

7, 8, & „ 8 „ „

» 1^ )» »

» !•' >» »

n ^^ »» »

ft 1' » »

10 & n

12
18
U

Jbiti'-s^ttm'efZ <o </te Partners.
15 inches diameter at 22 cents per running foot

» »

M »

» )>

if »»

» >»

M »

>»

>» »

» »

Four-squared to the partners, or eight-squared the whole
length if required, at an additional charge of 10 per cent on the
prices below : —

25 inches diameter at 71 cents

per running foot

20 „ 74

27 „ 81

28 „ 85

29 „ 05

30 „ 1.05

31 „ 1.14

32 „ 1.23

33 „ 1.33

34 „ 1.42

>»

35 „ 1.54

»»

30 „ 1.00

.AND.

COAL.

141

to the above schedule. Ai

four-square
d masts and
supposed to

foot

f foot

the whole
cent ou the

■ foot

And any larger sizes in proportioi
addition of 10 per cunt, to the above prices for eij^ht-sided niUHts
fruin 24 inches diameter and upwards. All tiie above spars to
be delivered alongside the vessel. Length of spars, three to
five feet for each inch in diameter at the partners, or longer if
^ required.

Ship and deck plank of Piigot Sound fir, commonly cnllod Douprlas pim-,
of the following dimonMions : — 3,3^,4, 4^, 5, 5J inchuH and upward in
thickness; (J, 7, S, 0, 10, 11 inch^>s and upward in width; '2'> to 70 feet in
length ; not to exceed Mij feet average, at $15 per M* superiiuiul feet.

Square timber 10 to 14 inches at)^14 per M feet"

15 „ 18 „ ^10 „ J- 25 to 80 feot Ion;;.

10 „ 22

^20

not to average more than 35 feet in length.

Ship beams, 17 by 17^ inches or larger, 35 to 45 feet long, at $U) per
M feet.

Assorted sawn lumber, consisting of scantling, joists, deals, boards, and
square timber, from 16 to 40 feet long, at ^12 per M feet.

Tongued and grooved flooring, and surface clear lumber at ,^20 per
M feet.

COAL.

This mineral is found extensively distributed in the
North and South Pacific. Formosa Island, Labuan, B(jr-
neo, Australia, New Zealand, Chili, New Grenada, Cali-
fornia, Oregon, Washington Territory, British Columbia,
and Vancouver Island, all contain coal formations of more
or less value.

The coal mines of Nanaimo, in the colony last named,
however, happened to have been the first opened and
worked in this section of the northern liemisphere; and so
much capital and labour having already been expended in
their development, they naturally possess an advantage on
this ground, even if on no other, over all coal-mines tliat
have since been discovered on the coast. There are no
colliery companies in the vicinity, up to the present, that
liave appliances for getting out this mineral, corresi)onding

• M stands for thousand.

142

(iEXKUAL UKSOLIICKS Ob' VAXCOl'VKU ISLAND.

to those of tlie Nuiiii'mio cstiiblislnnciit. There is one fiiiii
on tlie American sitle of Fueji IStrails, wliose coal so fui' is
sujH'iior. lint the seam of tlie hitter (H)neern lias not yet
been fully tested. Still, ^vhat is known of it a(l()r(ls hopeful
signs (jf its becoming valuable.

The eonsuni[)tion of coal on the North racific is im-
mense. San Francisco ah)ne consumes j)rol)ably upwards
of ir)(S,000 tons a year. In comieetion with the Panama
liailway, on both sides of the isthmus, it is estimated thai
more than seventy steamers ply. The Amei'ican, Kussiaii,
and British squadrons have also to be su})plied. The
western coasts of North and South America are sjiid to
produce only 10 percent of the entire quantity consumed,
and by far the most of that pi'oportion comes from Chili,
the yield of the mines on the northern coast being, up till
now, too inconsiderable to receive notice.

Coose Bay and Mount Diablo, with one or two other
places in California, send a small contribution of coal to the
San Francisco market. In Bellingham Bay, Washington
Territory, there is a field consisting of four beds, cropjaiig
out on the coast, and dipping north at an angle of 1 in 2.
But none of the coal from these Americmi seams is
worthy to be compared with that produced in Yanci^uver
Island. Anthracite coal of excellent quality has been
found in Fuca Straits, as already described, and for the
supply of Portland and San Francisco that coal has an ad-
vantage over a foreign import, being admitted duty free.
But all the mines on the coast hitherto worked, put toge-
ther, arc unequal to the wants of that great and increasing
city alone. The only coal tluit can compete Avith ours in
the Californian market, upon a lavrje scale, is that which
ccmies from Newcastle, New South Wales.

The table that follows shows a chemical comparison of
Vancouver Island coal with other varieties : —

\NI).

STATISTICS OF COAL.

li:l

is one linii
oal so Ijir is
liiis iu)l yi't
)nisli()iK't'iil

;u'ilie is im-
)ly upwiinls
the riiuMiuti
LinijitL'd lliiit
Jill, Kussiiiii,

[)liL'(l. Tiu!

art) said to
y consiiuu'd,
; from Chili,
leiiig, up till

ir two other
f coal to the
Washinu'toii
1s, f'ropi)iiij^^
e of 1 in ±
n seams is
Vaueouver
y lias been
uid for the
has an ad-
duty free.
, put toge-
liucreasiii'^
ith ours iu
Ithat Avhieh

uparison of

Lociillty 1 r Nnnic of Coal

ttnivlty
of Coal

l.:iOo

Ciirbuii
UOM

ilrojrt'U
4,2s

Kl- 1 Pill-
troKoM |ihur

Vor-

ofCoKU

W.'l.MhCnftl .

1
1.21 l.l.S

1
0.01 1.1.-,

H.-,.0

Van IMi'iiicirs Laml

—

7().K)

1.20

1.11 0.70

0.27 ll.:!.H

IIDIIO

Sv.ln..v, N.S.NV. .

—

h2.;h>

h.:\-2

1.2.'l 0.70

H..'t2 2.01

I'liniidsa Islaiiil

1.24

7H 2M

O.70 O.OJ 0.|!»

10,0.-, .•{.U(i

ISiiriU'o, II I'f. si'nni

1.21

7()..'t;{

n.ll 0.(i7 1.17

10.10 .•{.2.i

('oru'L'ptinu I5av, Chili

1.20

70. W

').7(l ().'.>."» l.OS

l;5.2l 7.r,2

Vancouver

— ~

(»(.():{

ri..'{2 1.02,2.20

H.70 lo.H.J

»>

It will be seen from this analysis that our cojil, which
is in the main bituminous, leaves behind when burned a
large residuum of ash ; but the specimens examined were
taken from near the surface, and already the quality im-
proves as the vein is penetrated. The kind now producetl
is held in high estimation, for the purpose of generating
gas; and there is every reason to hope that our mines
will yet yield coal vying with the best now known any-
where for steam uses.

The fcjllowing statement, given by Dr. Eattray, of the
imports of coal into San Francisco, in 18G1 and 18(52,
shows how largely that city is de[)endent u])on supplies
from a distance, and the consequent opportunities aflbrded
to coal mining companies in this colony to dispose of their
exports : —

Variety

.Tanimrv 1 to

.T.iiiiavv 1 to

D. ccmbtr lij, ISGl

Miiruli lo, isijj
Tom

l"]no-lisli .....

21,si).-,

5,0: i(}

Cumberland ....

2,(!<">2

2,870

Chili

12,2r,.l

—

Sydney

12,;{04

.'],042

Japan .....

125

Coose and Bellinghani Uny (imported

iVoe of duty) ....

10,18.3

2,5;15

Anthracite (New York)

20,201

.'5.1 7(5

j ^'ancouver Island (Nanaimo)

5,204

4,2;{5

144 GENERAL RESOURCES OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

Comparative List of Prices of Coal at Vancouver Island and

San Francisco.

Variety

Price at the Mines

Trice at Victoria

rrico nt San
Francisco

Nanaimo Coal
Chilian .
Enjrlish .
New South Wales .

G to 7

\2 to ir,

12 to Jo
IT) to 20'
12 to l:{

The duty on foreign coal in San Francisco is, I believe,
24 per cent.

Two seams examined by practical mining engineers at
Nanaimo, arc reported to average from G to 8 feet in thick-
ness. The coal is described as ' a soft black lignite, ol" a
dull earthy fracture, interspersed with small lenticular
bands of bnght crystalline coal, and resembling some of
the duller varieties of coal produced in the South Derby-
shire and other central coal-fields in England. In some
places, it exhibits the peculiar jointed structui-e, causing
it to split into long prisms, observable in the brown coal
of Bohemia.' Sometimes there occurs a floor of clay, but
more generally of sandstone, and a roof consisting of a fine
conglomerate bed, about CO feet thick. The roof of one
seam is sometimes of ii'or clay shale. Out-crops liavc;
been discovered at various distances from the shafts already
sunk, supposed to be continuations of the beds now
worked. These beds lie nearly horizontal, witli suffirient
dip towards the south and west for drainage, and are
worked within 50 or GO fecL of tlic surface. In the commo-
dious harbour of Nanaimo exc(3llent wharves are erected,
and vessels can be loaded within a few feet of the i)it's
mouth. One vessel has taken in as much as 150 tons ])er
day, and a number of vessels miglit, without inconve-
nience, be loaded together.

ND.

Island ami

STATISTICS OF COAL.

145

Pricn nt San
Francisco

12 to lo
12 to Jo
15 to 20'
12 to i;{

, I believe,

iigineers at
3et in tliiek-
lin;nitc. of a
lenticular
i\m some of
mtli Derby-
. In some
ii'C, causing
brown coal
3f clay, but
ng of a fmo
roof of one
crops have
ifts already
beds noAV
h suiFicient
e, and are
le commo-
re erected,
|f the pit's
tons ])er
t inconve-

Thc coal interest at Nanaimo was owned, till within
the last few years by the Hudson's Buy Com})any, but
that trade being foreign to their accustomed investments,
it did not receive from them the attention recpdred to
make it profitable. The mines were therefore purchased
from them by an English joint-stock concern, styled ' the
Vancouver Island Coal Mining and Land Company,' for
40,000/. The property includes 0,103 acres of land,
100 dwelling-houses, stores, workshops, machineiy,
steam-engines, wdiarves, barges, saw-mill, Sec. The new
company have subscribed 100,000/., in 10/. shares.

Upon a capital of 50,000/. (says their prospectus), wliicli,
after providing for the purchase and first outhiy, will aniply
suffice to work the coal-fields, so as to keep pace with the in-
creasing demand, the directors can with certainty calculate on
a profit of not less than 20 per cent. One thousand tons weekly
could be raised by this expenditure, and could be readily sold at
25s. per ton. Mr. Nicol, the present manager, calculated the
cost of raising and shipping the coal, on the average of several
years, at KJs. per ton, — viz. raising the coal to the surface, lOs.;
shipping and n-jency, 5s.; and taxes, Is.; this, at the present
price of 25s. per ton, will give a profit of 9s. per ton ; and a
sale of even 500 tons weekly would, therefore, insure a prufit of
225/. a week, or nearly 12,000/. a year, upon the estimated ex-
penditure of 50,000/.

San Francisco alone consumes 14,000 tons u month, the
greater portion of which has hitherto been brought from Eng-
land or the eastern coast of the States, and has been sold as
high as 51, per ton.

The following table represents the total quantity shipj)ed
from Nanaimo from the opening of the mines till De-
cember 1803 : —

14G

GENERAL RESOURCES OP VANCOUVER ISLAND.

1859
Tons

KStil)

IHOI

18GJ

18fi3

Tons

January

2,127

1,007

1,813

1,H77

February

1,188

l,lo7

700

1,075

March .

908

1,508

05(3

1,:{30

April .

t>^

1,220

1,070

1,1(53

1,0(31

May .

1,208

1,013

047

1,159

June .

1,000

184

738

1,557

July .

.-528

224

1,347

1,313

Aufrust

717

l,03o

1,114

1,008

September .

543

30.5

1,;532

1,581

October

2,2(32

1,528

3,020

2,000

November] .

1,201

1,207

1,153

1,777

2,510

December
Totals .

008
1,989

l,;ioO

2,501

2,500

3,302

14,247

13,774

18,118

21,345

Total number of tons shipped from November 1859 . . . 09,473
Total number of tons shipped from October 1852 to November 1850 25,398

"Whole quantity left Nauaimo . 94,871
There wore 7,097 tons more shipped in 1804 than in 1803.

At tlie first annual meeting of the directors, held in ]\Iarch
18G4, tlie Hon. C. W. W. Fitzwilliam, M.P., in the chair, a
repcjrt was submitted, extracts from which indicate how
far the hopes of the company, as expressed in their pro-
spectus, were realised.

The directors are able to congratulate the shareholders on
the position of the company and the progress of the works at
Nanainio. The locomotive, the first which lias Ijeen introduced
into tlie colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, is
now in full working order, and has already tended to reduce
the cost of loading and shipping the coal ; and ]Mr. Nicol re-
marks that he still thinks when he gets the appliances required
(additional rails and wharves), and has time to get them into
working order, and the output and the demand increase to his
expectations of no less than 3,000 tons a month, that the total
cost of railing and loading the coal will be below his estimate of
lf)8. per ton, as set out in the prospectus. . . . Tlic shipineiifs
have exceeded Mr. Nlc<jl''s estimate by nearly 1,400 tons, . . .
The advance would probably have been greatly increased but for

ND.

NAXAIMO COAL COMPANY.

147

00,473
rl859 25,398

1)4,871

180:3.

Id ill :Marcli

[,lie chair, a

dicate liow

their pro-

eholders on
be 'svorks at
1 introduced
^'oliiinbia, is
d to reduce
r. Nicol re-
ices recpiired
t thuni into
rease to liis
at the total
estimate of
shiijiiwnts
) foius. . . .
sed but for

tlie difficulty of obtaining vessels at San Francisco at moderate
rates of freight. In order that this obstruction to the local trade
should be removed, the directors have recently given instructions
to at once charter, on the company's account, two vessels of about
(500 tons each, for the purpose of furnishing a continuous supply
to the San Francisco market. . . . ]Mr. Nicol says that the de-
mand is always increasing. The San Francisco market would
take 30,000 tons of their coal if they could reduce the price.
The approval of the coal by the engineers of Her Majesty's
ships is a guarantee that all future supplies for the naval d{'j)ots
in the Pacific will be taken from Nanaimo. Dr. Forbes esti-
mates the coal within an area of 800,000 ,s(|uare yards, or about
1(55 acres, at 3,000,000 tons — a quantity practically inexhaus-
tible.

As this is the pioneer coal mining company in our island,
and still the only one engaged in the export of the colo-
nial product under consideration (though other eom}):inies
are setting to work in earnest), the reader will excuse a
brief additional space given to details. An extract i'roni tlic
last report of the directors submitted in London, Novem-
ber 29, 18G4, further proves how strong are the indnci'-
ments offered for the formation of many rival comp;inies,
for the ejcportation of coal from the colony.

Since the issue of the last report, the directors have received
from tlieir manager information of the continued progress of
the works in connection with the colliery, and the most satis-
factory accounts of increasing settlement on the property of the
company.

Tlie output of coal for the first six months of 18fi4 has been
increased to nearly double that for the same period during the
previous year. . . . The character of the company's coal and
tlie facilities afforded for shipment are now becoming so well
known that the directors have no fear for the future.

The recent discovery of gold about thirty miles from Victoria,
on the Sooke Kiver, will add very materially to the prosperity
of Vancouver Island, giving an impetus to trade by the imnii-

r. 2

148 GENERAL RESOURCES OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

gration of tlie labouring population from California, which has
been so long required. . . .

The manager thinking it desirable to test the value of the
land at Nanaimo, arrangements were made lor the sale at Vic-
toria, in the month of May last, of certain lots by public auction,
and accordingly at such sale 100 lots were disposed of. . . . The
sum for which the lots were sold amounted to 4,607L ; and the
sum of 5,040Z., which appears in the profit and loss account as
the amount of those sales, together with other sales of town
lots to the employes of the company at Nanaimo during the
first six months, will be carried to the credit of the land mort-
gage account.

The test which has thus been afforded of the value of the
town site offers an assurance that Nanaimo will continue to
hold her present position as the second city in the colony, and
justifies the anticipation expressed in the prospectus that the
estate of the company, independently of the coal seams, will
eventually realise the whole of the purchase-money. . . .

Nanaimo is a port of entry ; the harbour has been carefully
buoyed, and is available at all tides ; and a commodious wharf
is nearly completed, giving greater facilities for the loading of
ships of deep draught.

In the balance-sheet submitted, the profit upon the coal trade
and other sources, for the half year ending June 30, 1864, is
shown as amounting to 4,126^ 13s. 6d.; and adding to this
4,032^. 2s. 4cZ., the balance of profit and loss carried over at the
end of the past year, after paying a dividend of 5 per cent, and
reserving the sum of 600^. as a depreciation fund for the steamer
* Fideliter,' and also writing otithe sum of 447^. 4s. W. from pre-
liminary expenses account, will leave a balance of profit, exclu-
sive of sales, of 8,158L 13s. 6t2. . . .

The directors feel they have every reason to congratulate the
shareholders on the present position of the company's property,
and that they have been enabled, within a period of two years
from the date at which the transfer was completed, to realise all
that was set out in their prospectus.

In the coiiiparutive statement of shipments of coal, tlie

, which has

alue of the
sale at Vic-
»lic auction,
r. . . . The
I.; and the

account as
les of town
during the

land mort-
al ue of the
continue to
colony, and
lis that the
seams, will

• • •

m carefully

[iious wharf

loading of

coal trade
0, 1864, is
ing to this
over at the
r cent, and
le steamer
from pre-
ofit, exclu-

itulate the
property,
two years
realise all

coal, the

MARKETS FOR COAL.

149

quantity removed in 1863-G4 is shown to be 15,622
tons.

Besides the markets for coal already specified, another
of some importance was opened at the end of last year.
Late advices from Victoria inform us that the Paissian
steam propeller, Trince Constantine,' took to Sitka 350 toi?s
of Nannimo coal, as a trial shipment. It was deported that
she sliould be followed by a large Russian ship which was
being refitted for the express purpose of proceeding to
our colony for a cargo of coal. There are always several
liussian steam-ships of war cruising in the Pacific, and
there is little doubt that in future most of them will
coal in Vancouver Island. The coal found in the Russian
possessions is a sort of inferior lignite, and can be burned
with difficulty. The seams, which are very thin, have
been worked for many years by the Russians at con-
siderable loss. Last summer, when the recently appointed
governor of Sitka was on his way north, he passed a few
days in Victoria, and, observing the excellence of our coal,
lost no time in ordering two of the vessels under his direc-
tion to hjad vv^ith it.

A company, supported by some large British capitalists,
among whom I believe are noblemen, has been formed to
work an important coal mine, situated not far from tlie
premises of the Nanaimo firm. An Act lias passed the
local legislature to enable thein to construct a railroad
through the lands of the other mining company, for con-
veying the product of the mine to the loading place. The
new concern takes its name from a noble lord who is said
to be largely interested in it, and is known as ' the Hare-
wood Coal Mining Company/ The following communica-
tion, addressed to ' The British Columbian ' newspaper by
one familiar with the inspection of mines, conveys some
account of this promising vein : —

150

GENERAL RESOURCES OF VA^'COUVER ISLAND.

Sir, — The Victoria papers are too much occupied with tlieir
prochyious gold discoveries at »Sooke to pay any attention to their
coid mines, which are much more important. They have cer-
tainly got a very fine coal field in Vancouver Island. As there is
at present a good deal of animation in this town ahout coal and
coal mines, I heg to lay before your readers a few facts which I
noted when I was at Nanaimo on Saturday last. I went over
the Harewood ]Mine with Mr. Robert Dunsmuir, the agent, and
anotiier gentleman. I have had a good deal of experience in
coal mines, and, according to my ideas, the liarewood Mine
offers more facilities for working than any other mine on the
Pacific coast. The seam runs due north, sloping up from the
sea. This slope is of very great advantage, for two reasons, as
the company can tunnel instead of sinking a sliaft, and so can
draw their coal out instead of raising it ; and agjvin, they can
drain a very large extent of ground, a mile and a iialf by three
miles, from < ne opening, without being obliged to use pumps or
any engines whatsoever. A tunnel is much safer for men to
work in than a shaft, and this is a better tunnel than ordinary,
for above the seam of coal is a good sandstone formation, wdiich
obviates tiie necessity of using any timber to hold tlie top. Not
that timber is dear in this country, but then labour is. As far as
I could judge by a cursory inspection, the coal is of an excellent
(juality, with very little sulphur in it, and I think that it is very
good for making steam. INIuch credit is due to Mr. Dunsmuir,
for his skill in tracing the seam. He has not been sinking
holes here and there as a less experienced man might have done,
but he has followed the lead most perseveringly and to a suc-
cessful issue. Hoping that this may interest some of our
present coal explorers, who I hope will meet with luck, I
conclude wdth,

Yours truly,

.John Rees Price.

The largest portion of tlie east side of the island may be
described as a huge coal bed. This mineral lias also
been found cropping out at various points on the Avest
coast. Tlie geological map printed for the use of tlie

VND.

COITKR.

151

I with their
tion to their
3y have cer-

As there is
mt coal and
lets which I

went over
; agent, and
cperience in
wood Mine
line on the
ip from the

reasons, as

and so can

n, thoy can

df by tliree

e pnmps or

for men to

in ordinary,

tion, which

i top. Not

As far as

n excellent

t it is very

Dunsmnir,

en sinking

lave done,
d to a snc-

e of our
:h luck, I

.'rice.

id may be
has also
tlie west
iv of the

rarliamentaiy committee appointed to examine the afTairs
of tlie Hudson's Bay Company, in 1857, presents a great
coal district on tlie mainland, I'unning parallel witli that
traced on the island. As might have l)een exjiected,
woi'kable seams have been discovered in liurrard Inlet
and at Langley.

A gentleman, who has resided about two years on the
north-west coast of the island, states that he saw at Kos-
keemo five seams, varying in thickness, one of these being
about 3 feet 10 inches, and another about G feet 2
inches in width. The entire section of country lying
between Koskeemo and Port McNeil, a distance of
sixteen miles, ajounds more or less in valuable mineral.
At the latter place, which is about twelve miles south of
Fort Rupert, four good seams are visible. The mine at
Fort McXeil lias been opened ; the first output consisting
of some 50 tons of very su[)erior quality.

Copper. — This metal aboimds in the colony. The
first lode of any consequence that was discovered came
under public notice in a casual manner. An Indian was
passing the office of an assayer in Vicicria, in 1800, with
specimens of cojiper ore hi his hand. The gentleman
examined them, and almost immediately a company was
formed to explore the region where the native said the
oriuinal of the ore Avas to be found. The lode was tr[ice<l
across certain small islands contiguous to Queen Charlotte
Island, and up to tins date probably £10,000 may have
been expended uiioii the Avorking of it. When it is borne
in mind that there are properly no capitalists in the
company, the result may be deemed not disc(3uraging.

A professional copper-mining engineer, sent out from the
parent country by a wealthy English company to exjilore
for minerals, inspected the property of the Queen Charlotte
Island Mining Coin})any, and drew u[) an elaborate report,

152

GENKllAL RESOURCES OF VANXOUVER ISLAND.

from wliich it appears tliat lie found tlie followiiii^
favourable indications in those parts of the company's huid
innnediately accessi])le : —

No. 1. A vein of copper clearly traceable for 700 to 800
yards along the shore of Kiirnahy Island, from the east point,
beyond the house, along the SSE. shore, towards the house.

No. 2. A cross copper vein, from where No. 1 is lost, under
the se.a, running NE. and 8VV. across the promontory towards
Blue Jay Harbour.

No. 3. A very strong quartz vein on the north side of Blue
Jay Harbour ; clearly visible.

No. 4. A small horizontal vein, to eastward of No. 3. — Iron
and copper, and mixed with quartz.

No. 5. A clear and well defined outcrop of a copper vein on
Skincuttle Island, runningNNE. and SSW., but cutoff by a dyke.

No. 6. A twisted and mixed outcrop of a copper vein, on
opposite or NE. side of Skincuttle Island.

No. 7. A large quartz vein on George Island.

No. 8. A large quartz vein at NE. end ofGeorge Island, seen
from canoe, but not visited.

No. 9. A quartz vein at W. end of Jeffray Island, which
crosses the island and meets No. 10.

No. 10. A copper vein rich in green carbonates, running
SSW. and NNE.

No. 11. A vein of copper and iron, on mainland, at the
entrance to Harriet Harbour, on south side of Sockalee Harbour.

Quantities of this ore have been shipped to England and
the eastern States of America. Chapter II. contains a list
of joint-stock companies formed in Victoria, among which
are most of those engaged in copper mining.

In company with a gentleman experienced in directing
copper mines in Wales, I had an opportunity some time
since of inspecting a vein hi the island, which extended a
great distance. The description of ore picked up at the
mouth of the shaft, was the ordinary j)yrites of copper.

lND.

MAGNETIC IKON ORE.

: f()llowill<^

pany's liuid

700 to 800
le east point,
3 house.

lost, under
tory towards

ide of Blue

^o. 3. — Iron

iper vein on
ff by a dyke.
)er vein, on

Island, seen

and, which

3S, running

nd, at the
ee Harbour.

gland and

ains a list

3ng which

directing
ome time
xtended a
up at tlie
)f coi)per.

^
^

But I bavo seen excellent specimens of peacock ore, red and
])lack oxides, and green carbonate, bronglit from other
local mines. The average percentage of metal yielded by
the copper ore of the island is 25 percent. It is said that
8 per cent is deemed a pjiying ratio in the ore of Wales
and Cornwall. If the value of the colonial ore is ])roperly
calculated, tliere is certainly a siifiicient margin left to pay
freight and charges, tt)gether with a handsome profit.

Mr. Pemberton states that he saw specimens of copper
nearly pure taken from Deer Island, in the neighbouriiood
of Fort llupert. As it is not my intention to enter
specifically into any of the metallic resources of British
Columbia, except gold, it may be mentioned here tliat I
have seen pieces ofjnire copper taken from Stickcen River,
where the natives prepare it for useful and ornamental
})iu*poses.

In a population so small and of such limited ability as
that which inhabits our colony, it is hardly to be supposed
that capital enough should be found to develop this branch
of our resources satisfactorily. This expensive labour is
only to be performed efficiently by extensive associated
capital, and a more inviting prospect for wealthy iiritish
companies does not exist in any other section of British
territory. The present stockholders, who are for the
most part un.able to bring the copper enterprise to great
issues, should be relieved of their shares at a reasonable
bonus, and displaced by those who possess the means of
introducing the appliances requisite for bringing the mines
to a prosperous condition. Veins are freely distributed in
most parts of the island and on the opposite side of the
Gulf of Georgia.

Maijnetic iron ore from the north of the colony, contain-
ing 70 per cent of iron and a little copper, was exhibited
at the World's Fair, in London, in 18G2.

l')i (iKNKKAL Ui:SOl'Ilc;i:S (JF VAXCOl'VKU ISUNl).

Lhix'stone is ovrry wln-ro iibundiint ; so is san<lsl(>ii(\
■Nvliicli is of excellent quMlity for IjuildiiiLf purposes.

Jilne Mtivlde is jilso round on the coast, ofti'U intersected \

Avitli veins of \vliite as nnich as nine inches thick. For
this material ^wn Francisco olli'rs a ffood market, (iuanti-
ties of it are imj)orted amnially from Vermont via New ^

York, and thence shipped. It is alsobiou^ht trom Italy, and «i

costs 1/. per square foot in the roULih. It is used for makin<^
monuments and mantel])ieces. San Franciso is said to [)ay
for the article l)et\veen 15,000/. and 20,000/. a year.

])lue Clay^ suitable for the nuinufacture ol" bricks, tiles,
and coarse pottery, is difTused over a portion of the island,
often near the surface.

(lold. — The existence of n;old in the island has been
known since 1850. 'In 1852,' Avrites ^Ir. Pemberton, 'I
broke ofT, ahnost at random, ])ieces of jfold-beariiiLj rock in
various ])hices within a walk of Victoria.' In tiie same
year, the Hudson's Bay Company desj)atched the 'Una' to
Queen Charlotte Island with a party of miners provided
"with every requisite for blasting gold-beaiing quartz on
a large scale. The historian of the expedition says : —

Anchored in ]Mitcliell Harbour, on the western side of the
island, a valuable quartz vein was soon discovered. It was
7 inches wide, was traced for 80 feet, and contained 25 per
cent of gold in many places. For several days the vein was
worked with but one bar to their success, and that a serious
one. At every blast the natives scrambled with the miners and
with one anotlier for the fragments. As neither side was armed,
these arrangements were conducted with perfect good humour.
By way of episode to the general engagements, both parties
occasionally paused to witness a fair wrestling match between
some sturdy Scotchman who had the science, and any Indian
that was ambitious to distinguish himself; and the miners them-
.selves afterwards admitted that nakedness and fish oil often
carried the day. At length the vein was abandoned, anchor

AM).

(lOLl) IX TIIK ISLAND.

.).)

)OSC'S.

intersected
thick. For
.'t. (JuMiiti-
ut via Xew
II ItJilv, niid

forinakii)*^
1 said to [)ay
rear'.

•I'icks, tiles,
' tlie island,

d has been
nbertun, 'I
"ingrock in
n the same
le ' Una' to
s provided
quartz on
says : —

side of the
srl. It was

<1 2a per

e vein was
t a serious
miners and
was armed,

d humour,
oth parties
fli between
my Indian
uers t hem-
oil often

'd, anehor

■I

weij^hed, iuid tlir * Una' wrecked and hurnt on her way hack to
N'icforia. The heaviest specimens df pure ^'old as yet ohtaine«l
from (^ueen Cliarlotte Island wcij^died frum 14 to 1(1 ounces.

The first ajipeaiance of j^old in \'anc()uver that excited
special notice was found in 1803, in a district about four-
teen miles from Victoria, now known as ' Ooldstieam.'
Here the precious metal was extracted from ([uaitz rock,
there bein^' no pldccr ' dig^dngs.' In a short time the
auriferous ground was staked out, and ten com[)anie> were
formed to work it, which thev did with varied success.
The Uarmeter Company, in order to test thoroughly
the rock which they had blasted, sent half a ton of it
to San Francisco to be crushed and assayed. A bar of
amalgamated silver and gold Avas the I'esult, giving an
average (^25 to the ton. This may be pronounced a
lioj)eful retui'n from quartz at a de})th of 50 feet from
the surface. It is stated that the famous 'Comstock'
lead at Washoe did not begin to pay richly till a depth
of 200 feet had been reached. Other quartz mining
comjianies engaged in the same neighboiu'hood, though
invariably finding fair ' })rospect8,' have not been so suc-
cessful as the Parmeter ; but the chief obstacle to
progi'ess, as in relation to the develoj)ment of other
resources, has been the want of adequate capital to
pursue operations. Many thousands of ])ounds have been
sunk in mining speculations in California and elsewhere
with much less certainty of a profitable issue.

A nev/" and important era has just dawned on the gold-
mining interest of Vancouver Island, that will be im-
perishably associated with the name of the present
talented and popular representative of Her Majesty —
Governor Kennedy. His predecessor, though often ui'ged
to adopt vigorous measures for the ex})loration of the
colony, invariably declined to comply with the entreaties

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

,^^.

1.0 !i:"^l

I.I

2.5

:^ 1^ IIIIIM

L25 i 1.4

I—
1.6

^J>

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. 14S80

(716) 872-4503

156 GENERAL RESOURCES OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

of the public in reference to this object. But the first
official act of Captain Kennedy, after his accession to the
seat of government, was to suggest that the citizens of
Victoria should raise subscriptions for the purpose of
sending out an exploring party. His Excellency promis-
ing to supplement largely the contributions of the people,
from funds which the estimates for the year authorised
him in devoting to the purposes of exploration. The
liberal and thoughtful offer of the Governor was taken up
warmly, and without delay. An efficient committee was
appointed to cooperate with the Government in the matter,
and a number of volunteers, including some ex-Eoyal
Engineers, presented themselves for the acceptance of
the authorities, and were approved. Mr. Brown, acting
as collector for the British Columbian Botanical Society
of Edinburgh, was appointed commander of the expedi-
tion ; and the fourth despatch of that gentleman, dated
July 21, 1864, brought news of the discovery of gold
about twenty-five miles from Victoria, that created intense
excitement. The sequel proves that the statements of
Mr. Brown were not exaggerated. He writes : —

The discovery which I have to communicate is the finding of
gold on the banks of one of the forks of the Sooke River, about
twelve miles from the sea, in a straight line and in a locality
never hitherto reached by white men, in all probability, never
even by natives. I forward an eighth of an ounce (or there-
abouts) of the coarse scale gold tvashed out of twelve pans of
dii% in many places 20 feet above the river, and with no too's
but a shovel and a gold pan. The lowest prospect obtained was
three cents to the pan ; the highest ^1 to the pan, and work
like that with the rocker would yield what pay you can better
calculate than I can, and the development of which with what
results to the colony you may imagine. The diggings extend
for fully 25 miles, and would give employment to more than
4,000 men. Many of the claims would take eight to ten men

LAND.

But tlie first
ission to tlie
e citizens of
} purpose of
3ncy proniis-
f tlie people,
r authorised
ration. The
was taken up
immittee was
n the matter,
ne ex-Eoyal
cceptance of
trown, acting
iiical Society
the expedi-
leman, dated
rery of gold
sated intense
atements of

le finding of
River, about
in a locality
[ibility, never
ce (or therc-
elve pans of
vith no too's
obtained was
n, and work
u can better
h with what
ings extend
more than
to ten men

DISCOVERIES AT SOOKE.

157

to work them. The diggings could be wrought with great
facility by fluming the bed of the stream. The banks and
benches can be sluiced or rocked. The timber on the banks
will supply to the whipsaw all the timber that can ever be
required for the miner's purposes. The country abounds with
game, and the ' honest miner ' need never fear but that he can
find food enough without much trouble. A saw mill could be
erected at the head waters (or say at the forks of Leech
Kiver), and lumber for flumes, pumps, wheels, sluices, etc.,
floated down to the miners, and on the whole the value of the
diggings cannot be easily over-estimated. I may add that there
is any amount of ' five cent dirt,' and with proper tools the
average prospect is about one bit to the pan. The gold will
speak for itself.

Mr. Foley, an intelligent member of the expedition,
gave, in substance, to the committee the following parti-
culars of the new auriferous region. From the Indian
village at the mouth of Sooke Harbour, and to the right
approaching the river, to the head of canoe navigation, is
about two miles. A trail takes the traveller, after a
journey of some half-dozen miles, to a canon. ' Prospects '
are to be had along the river below the caiion. A man
living near this place told Mr. Foley that he had once
obtained a nugget worth fifty cents on a httle creek not
many yards from his hut.

The general character of the country, from the harbour
to the caiion, is open ; the timber being valuable and the
land much richer than between Cowichan and San Juan
Eiver. It is almost free from underbrush, and contains,
for a quarter of a mile, on both sides, abundance of grass
and wild lupine. The general bearing of the river at this
part is about south-east. The ' prospects ' here were
found by Mr. Foley to average three or four cents to the
pan. The ' prospects ' taken on the large bar immediately
above the caiion were estimated to average, to an ex-

158

GEN'lillAL RKSOURCES OF VANCOITKR ISLAND.

perieuced minor witli a rocker, $7 or $S a day. U'lic
leiigtli of the bar is about 300 feet, and tlio breadtli, as
far as the ' pay dirt ' can be traced back, 25 feet. Tlie
gold is of a coarse kind, and very good in quality. From
the canon to Avliere Leecli Eiver del)ouches into the Sooke
Piiver is about seven miles. The general course of the
river between these two points is SSE., and will pay, from
the canon to the forks, handsomely. Mr. Foley made
about sixty ' prospects ' on the way up, and not one of the
washings was without some result: the highest was fifteen
cents to the pan. Tliese diggings comprise three branches ;
those on the river could only be worked by fluming the
stream ; the banks can be ' rocked,' and the benclies
' sluiced.' The stream averages 100 feet wide, and thougli
in summer it has not more tlian 1,000 inches of water,
according to miners' reckoning, in the winter it is a large
river. It rises between 25 and 30 feet, and when full
must be more than 200 feet wide. The travelling is not
diflicult, as the country is of an open character. In ad-
vancing, the party came to the stream named after tlie
second officer of the expedition, Leecli Eiver. Mr.
Foley saw some quartz here, which, on trial, turned out
to be comprised principally of silver — the calcareous base
on which gold is chiefly found. The timber continued to
be superior, and the country level and open. Here a lake
was met with, that probably no white man had ever
visited before. Captain Grant had .see7i it at a distance
more than ten years ago, from one of the mountain peaks.
Its length is ten miles, and its mean breadth two : the
latitude of the soutliern extremity of the lake is N. 48°
30' 49". The lower part is covered for three or four
miles with beaver dams, and these animals are to be seen
in great numbers ; the game, never liaving been previously
disturbed by white man or Indian, is exceedingly tame.

.AND.

THE SOOKE MINES.

lo'J

I (lay. The

breadth, as

> feet. Tlie

ality. From

to the Sooke

(iirse of tlie

ill pay, from

Foley made

)t one of tlio

t was fifteen

}e brandies ;

flaming tlie

:he benelies

and thouii'li

3s of water,

it is a lai'ge

1 when fidl

filing is not

ter. In ad-

d after tlie

liver. Mr.

turned out

areous base

ontinued to

lere a lake

had ever

a distance

ain peaks.

two: the

is N. 48°

e or four

to be seen

previously

igly tame.

Tlie 'prospects' from the mouth of Leech Iliver, which
empties into Sooke Iviver, averaged about eight cents to
the pan, but some reached as high as forty-nine cents, and
in one case nearly $1 to the pan was obtained. Leech
Piiver is about 60 or 70 feet wide, and from its mouth to
the first canon is about two miles, which space can be easily
llunied : the bed-rock is talcose slate. The channel, banks,
and benches will afford employment for a large nimiber of
men. Mr. Foley continued ' j)rospecting ' till in ascend-
ing Leech River he had advanced twenty-two miles from
Sooke Harbour. As he ascended, the quality of the gold
found grew coarser, yielding twenty-five cents to the ])an.
The ' prospects ' became richer, and the gold yet coarser,
as he travelled along the north fork of Leech lliver.

Here, then, was an extent of river twenty-five miles
long, all of it auriferous, and giving ' prospects ' which
miners would not have slighted, even in the })almy days
of California. In all his long experience in that State and
in Cariboo, Mr. Foley never saw a more promising mining
country than the one through which he passed.

Another gentleman, who, with the one just named, is
personally known to me, made a tour through Sooke
district, and thus writes : — •

The whole number of (mining) licences taken out up to
8 o'clock 5-esterday morning (14th August, 1864) was 227. . . .
Dean, Thorne, vt Go's claim was reached. They were preparing
to drive a tunnel into the hill, as they had found excellent
prospects, as high as 20 cents to the pan, on the top of the first
bench, which is 100 feet high I The claim-owners stated positively
that they never washed any dirt from the benches without
obtaining gold. . . . They were very sanguine of getting
splendid pay in the bed-rock, and believed that millions of
dollars would be found in the bed of the river. On coming to
the claim of the Wake-up Lake Company, Mr. Fell was shown
the prospect of their day's labour in a tin cup, amounting to

IGO GEXERAL RESOURCES OP VANXOUVER ISLAND.

nearly ^100, and consisting of beantiful coarse gold. One com-
pany had borrowed a rickety old rocker, and Lad got out ,^25
that day, expecting to make it $-iO by nightfall. Some distance
above this the Balaclava Company picked up off the rocks nug-
gets of values varying between $5 and ,^10. Mr. Fell sends
home very fine nuggets found without * washing.'

From tlie point where our informant now was, a grand
view up the river for two or three miles was obtained.
The bed of the stream is here filled with enormous boid-
ders : a long line of stakes, marking off tlie claims taken
up, are visible as far as the eye can reach. At 5 p.m. the
traveller retraced his steps down the stream, when his
olfactories were assailed perpetually by tlie savoury smells
of the miners' evening meal. Five fellow-travellers were
met with, having a large boulder for a table, engaged in
the task of appeasing voracious appetites. After dinner
a song was started, and was taken up by camp after camp
of miners, the melody rolHng far away up the recesses of
the river, till its echoes died out in the distance. The
travellers then rolled themselves in their blankets, with a
flour-bag for a pillow, to sleep, till the tramp of upward -
bound miners should wake them at sunrise.

An overland trail, about twenty-five miles long, is now
in use by man and beast from Victoria to the digging,
one important effect of which is to cheapen provisions
conveyed to the miners.

Another correspondent, addressing his brother, says : —

Leech River, Tuesday.

Dear Henry, — We arrived last night and started a prospecting.
We have joined Bill Nixon, for we had been out of grub, having
left it behind at the mouth of the river. There is plenty of gold
here. Booth took out a piece of 5 ounces in weight, which you
will see. If you think of coming, come early. I have not
taken up a claim for any one, as the Gold Commissioner will

ND.

YIELD OF THE MINES.

101

One corn-
got out ,^25
line distance
? rocks nug-
Fell sends

as, a gmnd

s obtained.

iiiou« boid-

iuims taken

t 5 P.M. the

1, wlien his

oiiry smells

^ellei's were

engaged in

\.fter dinner

I after camp

recesses of

tance. The

ets, with a

»f upward -

)ng, is now
le digging,
provisions

3r, says : —

pr, Tuesday.

)rospecting.

jrub, having

jnty of gold

which you

have not

ssioner will

allow only 72 hours to hold it without being properly repre-
sented. We have struck .3 cent dirt this afternoon which we
have taken up. Two of the party go up to-morrt)VV morning,
four remain here, and three go back for grub. Tell Godsoe to
come. If you come, come with grub by the steamer, and it" you
can, get an Indian to pack ; but the diggings, I think, will beat
Cariboo. Tell Keed, the ferryman, there is a claim for him.
Enclosed is a prospect from one pan.

In the month of August, Thain & Go's, claim was paying
about 2 ozs. (or .^34) per day to the rocker. A nugget
worth .^70 was foinid about two miles above the mouth
of Leech river ; another company took out 3 ozs. in eight
hours by crevicing. Mr. Nixon, a comj^ositor from the
' Chronicle' office, and company, started the first rocker on
the creek, and uiade at the rate of ,^10 a day to the hand.

One man obtained a S^y nugget from a pan of coarse dirt ;
a claim owned by coloured men paid from SIO to ,^20 p(.'r
day. Mr. Keyser's company, in four hours' digging and
' rocking,' cleaned up $42, among which was a })ioce
weighing 1^7, another i^4, and two or three valued at ,^1
each. The gold was pure ore. Jim Williams took out,
with a pan, in four hours' work, about S7. This claim
is located about IJ miles above the mouth of the river.
Marvin and Adams washed, from one and a half pans of
dirt, five or six dollars.

This rate of success was not, of course, uniform. A large
proportion of those who first arrived at the mines, having
had no experience in a mining coimtry, after stopping a day
or two, and not finding lumps of gold visible to the naked
eye, returned to Victoria discouraged, without ever strik-
ing a pick in the groimd. Instances could be pointed
to, of men glancing over the district superficially for a
couple of days, without having brought pick, pan, shovel,
or muscular power into requisition, and then retreating in

162

GENERAL RESOURCES OP VANCOUVER ISLAND.

a state of disappointment and indignation ! This is usually
the class distinguished f(3r writing stormy letters to the
English newspapers in denunciation of the countiy which
has unrighteously to bear the blame of every idle and
thriftless vagabond's failure. Active and fortunate miners
have no motive for seeking the notoriety of cacoethes scri-
hendi.

In October last a new gulch was discovered on the east
side of Leech river, emptying into the latter at Bacon bar.
It was ' prospected ' by a Cariboo miner named Water-
ford, who picked up a piece of gold valued at Sl.^h.
lie went to work next day, and realised from iS'lO to 1^12,
and about twenty men at once took up claims, and built
sluices. The discoverer had been sceptical of the produc-
tiveness of the diggings, saying he would not give Bh for
the whole country. Now he would not take a large sum
for 100 feet. Late intelligence reports a nugget worth i^50
to have been found in the Alberni claim, and another
worth jS'33, by the Industry Company. The former nugget
contained quartz to which the gold clung in fantastic
shapes. No more proof can be needed of the richness of
a district that has only been known to the world and ' pro-
spected' by a few hundred miners, for two or three
months. The golden wealth to be disgorged when labour
and enterprise are more widely applied, in that and other
parts of the island, is incalculable.

Jordan river was discovered in the fall of 1864, and
presents romantic features resembling those of Sooke and
Ijcecli rivers. Travelling here, as in other directions
throughout that picturesque neighbourhood, is rendered
difficult by the timber being dense and the path often
precipitous. In crevicing on the Jordan, parties obtained
good specimens of scale and shot gold.

Further accounts inform us that a man nnmed Weine

lND.

FISHERIES.

ica

s is usually
;ers to tlie
ntiy which
(T idle and
late miners
•.oethes scri-

on the east
Bacon bar.
led Water-

at ^1.25.
no to ^12,
(, and built
:he produc-
give $0 for
a large sum
t worth ^50
nd another
■mer nugget
in fantastic

richness of
and ' pro-
or three
'hen labour
It and other

1864, and
Sooke and
directions
is rendered
path often
les obtained

ned Weine

liad found a ii?35 nugget, whi(^h he washed out in the
second pan ; that the Crate Company were taking out
with rockers nearly an ounce a day to the hand. 'J'iio
Last Chance Company were making about the same
amount. The Scandinavian Company divided 8\,i){){), and
the Bacon-bar Company i^l,700, accumulated respectively
in one week. The iirst day Allen & Co. ran their sluices
they took out in two hours an ounce and a quarter. It is
estimated that (^30,000 was taken out of the mines by a
limited number of hands in little more than a month.

The occurrence of freshets in the fall, and a i)eriod of
frost in winter, will necessarily interrupt the energetic
prosecution of mhiing labour at Sooke; but when the mines
are more fully opened, tunnelling and bench diggings may
be followed all the year round.

These mines are not to be compared, for the present
at least, with Cariboo, in respect to extent of yield. But
they will afford occupation for the winter months to tlie
miners of British Columbia, who have been in the habit,
in too many cases, of spending that season in idleness and
its attendant follies.

FISHERIES.

The seas, bays, and rivers of both these colonies teem
with domestic resources of this description in endless
variety.

Herrings, which make their appearance in yir bights
and harbours in March, may be mentioned first in order.
On the coasts of Vancouver Island these fish are large, and
admirably adapted to make bloaters.

Hoolakans ascend the streams in April in dense shoals.
Their approach is indicated by the presence of sea-gulls
swooping down to devour them, and causing the banks of
the river to echo with their screeching. This sjiecies are

M 2

1G4

GENERAL RESOURCES OP VANCOUVER ISLAND.

about tlic size of a small herring, and are so fat as to baflle
ordinary methods of cooking to prepare them for tlie
table. Oil is pressed from them by the Indians on the
coast, and disposed of to tribes in the interior. It possesses
a medicinal value, and cannot fail to be useful where any
hydrocarbonaceous food, such as cod-liver oil, is pre-
scribed.

Mr. Duncan, missionary to the natives, near Fort Simp-
son, in a letter to the Church Missionary Society, gives a
description of the primitive process of extracting adopted
by the Indians.

In a general way I found each house had a pit near it, ahout .3
feet deep and 6 or 8 inches square, filled with little fish. I found
some Indians making boxes to put the grease in, others cutting
firewood, and others (women and children) stringing the fish
and hanging them up to dry in the sun ; while others, and they
the greater number, were making fish grease. The process is
as follows : — Make a large fire ; place three or four heaps of
stones as big as your hand in it ; while these are heating, fill a
few baskets with rather stale fish, and get a tub of water into
the house. When the stones are red hot, bring a deep box
about 18 inches square (the sides of which are all one piece of
wood) near the fire, and put about half a gallon of tiie fish into
it, and as much fresh water, then three or four hot stones, using
wooden tongs. Repeat the doses again, then stir up the whole.
Repeat them again, stir again ; take out the cold stones and
place them in the fire. Proceed in this way till the box is nearly
full, then let the whole cool and commence skimming off the
grease. While this is cooking, prepare another boxful in the
same way. In doing the third, use, instead of fresh water, the
liquid from the first box. On coming to the refuse of the boiled
fish in the box, which is still pretty warm, let it be put into a
rough willow basket ; then let an old woman, for the purpose of
squeezing the liquid from it, lay it on a wooden grate sufficiently
elevated to let a wooden box stand under ; then let her lay her
naked chest on it, and press it with all her weight. On no

AND.

as to bafllo
m for tlic
ans on the
[t possesses
where any
>il, is pre-

Fort Simp-
3ty, gives u
ng adopted

r it, about 3
ish. I found
hers cutting
ing the fish
srs, and they
e process is
ur heaps of
mating, fill a
water into
a deep box
me piece of
he fish into
tones, using
3 the whole,
stones and
30X is nearly
ing oft' the
)xful in the
water, the
)f the boiled
put into a
purpose of
sufficiently
her lay her
t. On no

VAKIETIKS 01' SALMON.

Kl.j

account must a male undertake to do this. Cast what remains
in the basket anywhere JU'ar the house ; but takr the liquid just
saved and use it over n;;ain instead of fresh water. The refuse
nuist be allowed to accumulate ; and though it will soon become
putrid and change into a heap of creeping maggots, and giv«!
out a smell almost unendurable, it must not be removed. The
filth contracted by those engaged in the work must not ho.
washed off till all is over, that is, till all the fish are boiled, and
this will take about two or three weeks. All these plans must
be carried out without any addition or change, otherwise the
fish will be ashamed and perhaps never come back again. So
think and act the poor Indians.

When dried, the hoolukan is often used by the natives
as a t(^reb, and, when lighted, it emits a brilliant light.
The Indians catch this species of fish by impaling them on
rows of nails at the end of a stick, about four feet long,
and so thickly do they swarm, that every time this rude
implement is waved in tlie water, two or three of them
adhere to it.*

Various species of salmon proceed in succession up tlic
rivers from March to October. In the Fraser especially,
the periodic arrival of distinct kinds may be calculated
upon with remarkable certainty, and half a dozen dificrent
species have been observed to pass uj) that river in one
year.

The hook-hill and silver or spring salmon are known
to swim up a thousand miles from the moutli, battling
successfully with the current, and pressing througli swift
canons, and over foils, impelled by the natural instinct to
propagate. But while many of them succeed in depositing
their spawn at the head waters of great rivers, not a few
are exhausted in the struggle and die. An ofiBcer in the
service of the Hudson's Bay Company, wlio resided on the

* Put up in the form of sardines, hoolakan would soon become popular
Europe and A 'nerica.

100

(iKN'HRAIi RKSOUUCHS OF VANX'OUVKU ISLAND.

C'()lmnl)i}i rivor (Ofc^oii) tor many years, states tliatona
suddi'ii lulling of tlio waters, the nunil)ers of salmon left
on the banks are so inunensc as to cause the river to
stink for miles.

The advent of the spring or silver salmon, which is the
most valuable, because the most wholesome, occurs about
the end of March or the beginning of April ; and in June it
is caught in abundance. Its weight ranges from 4 to 72 lbs.

The species which arrives between June and August
is small and tender, averaging from 5 lbs. to G lbs.

The third kind comes in August, and weighs 7 lbs.

The luimpback species ap[)ears every alternate year in
August, and remains till winter. It is most suitably cured
by drying and smoking.

The hook-bill arrives in Se]itember, and is so called
from having a bill like a parrot's. It has small sharp teeth.
Its flesh is white, soft, and flabby, and, in the male, is alto-
getlier unpalatable.

Salmon is one of the chief sources of Indian revenue.
The natives are active in hawking it in the white settle-
ments, and for Is. one may, any day during the season,
purchase what in the sparsely supplied markets of England
would cost two or three pounds sterling. The prices cur-
rent of Melbourne show the cost of imported salmon pre-
served in lb. tins to be from Is. 6d. to Is. 8d. per lb. (whole-
sale). To a large firm going into the business of catching
and exporting salmon in our part of the world, the cost of
the stock would simply consist of the labour of fishing. Yet
no house of importance has yet embarked in that lucrative
enterprise. At certain times the caiions (or gorges) of
the rivers are so crowded with salmon, that the navigation
of canoes is virtually impeded. The Indians catch them
with a pole, attached to one end of which is a transverse
piece of wood. Into this are stuck tenpenny nails. Lean-

Nl).

^ tlmt on {I
aliDoii left
J river to

liicli is the
cur.'S iiboiit
1 ill Juno it
4 to 72 lbs.
lid August
lbs.

I 7 lbs.

,tc year in

ably cured

•

s so called
harp teeth,
ale, is alto-

II revenue,
hite settle-
he season,
of England
prices cur-
ilmon pre-
Ib. (whole-
3f catching
the cost of
ihing. Yet

lucrative
gorges) of
navigation
atch them
transverse
s. Lean-

STL' UG KOX — 1 1 ALIUL'T.

107

ing over the gorge, they strike the nails into the lish, im-
paling one or two at each descent of the pole.

y)'i)i(f ma found in the waters of both colonies, and often
weigh from 4 lbs. to (> li)s. In the numerous lakes and streams
of Vancouver island, as well as in those of British Columbia,
trout are to be met with of excellent llavour and are caught
in winter with the utmost ease. In Lake Okanagan they
may be taken out with nets in wagon-loads, and by wading
in the water one may catch them with the hand without dif-
liculty. A su))erior kind of trout abound in the lower Fraser,
weighing 7 lbs. or 8 lbs., luid another of a smaller descrip-
tion in the tributaries of that river. Mr. lirown states that
twenty mountain-trout were recently caught in a stream
near Hope, whoso aggregate weight was 140 lbs., and two
of them weighed 1 1 lbs. each.

In regard to the ytimjeon^ which is found in the rivers
and lakes of British Columbia, the same gentleman informs
us that it sometimes attains a weiujht of from lOOlbs. to
500 lbs. and upwards. From a female sturgeon killed in
the Fraser some time ago, a bushel of caviare was taken.
Fnmi the swimming bladder of this fish, isinglass can be
made, equal to that so extensively shipped from tlui
Eastern States of America. This portion of the fish is
also used for fining malt liquor. Caviare manufactured
from its roe is a favourite dish in Southern Eussia, and
might be made an article of large export.

Halibut are caught in immense numbers round the
entire coast, but especially off the straits off Fuca. Their
size is often enormous, and it is asserted by an officer
of the Hudson's Bay Company that, in 48 hours' fishing,
a vessel of GOO tons might be laden with them.

The smelt^ which enters the Fraser early in spring, may
be captured in hundreds.

The haddock and whitimj exist, and the dog-fish teems

1C8

GENERAL RESOURCES OF VA^X*O^VER ISLAND.

beyond conception. Dr. Forbes reports that as much as
2,000 gallons of oil have been obtained from this latter fish,
in the season, by a very small tribe of Indians in Clayoquot
Sound. Considerable quantities of this liquid are exported
annually by the Hudson's Bay Company.

A certain species of sea perch is found in abundance,
often reaching from 61 lbs. to 81 lbs. in weight.

Boch^ skate, bass, anchovy, and Jlat Jish, may be added
to this list.

Shrimps and prawns, too, are extensively caught in the
neighbourhood of Victoria.

Cod * banks are said to exist in Plumper's Pass and
close to the north end of the island.

A certain kind of seal is found at the mouth of Fraser
River. In summer it is constantly to be met with drifting
down with the current, seated on a log of wood. Another
variety of this animal visits the coasts of Vancouver Island,
and is shot by the Indians who trade in seal-skins.

I have seen in the month of September whales innumer-
able sporting in the Gulf of Georgia; but the most
valuable species are found in more southerly latitudes.
Specimens of oil from the whale, seal, dog-fish, and
hoolakan were sent from the island to the Great Exhibition
of 1862.

The ' right whale' f fishing ground in the North Pacific
extends from lat. 30° N. The 'sperm' whaUng ground

* There is no cod in the waters of California, and a fishmonger in
San Francisco told me that a ready market would be found in that city, at
the rate of Is. per pound, for as much of this article as might be exported
thither.

t The Indians capture the whale with much ingenuity. Attached to
their harpoon is a seal-skin, prepared so as to be air-tight. The head of the
harpoon can be detached from the staff with a short rope made of cedar-
bark. After the whale has been struck he soon makes his appearance above
water, when the natives attack him with spears, and thus complete his
destruction.

ND.

FACILITIES FOR FISII-CURING.

1G9

s much as

latter fish,

Clayoquot

e exported

ibundance,

T be added

ight ill the

3 Pass and

I of Frascr
ith drifting
, Another
iver Island,
ns.

5 innumer-
the most
latitudes,
-fish, and
Exhibition

>rth Pacific
Qg ground

ishmonger in
that city, at
be exported

Attached to
head of the
ide of cedar-
barance above
[complete his

lies between lat. 20° S., and lat. 20° N. From the latter
point to our colony whalers would have a safe and easy run,
with the favouring influence of trade winds and an open sea.

The morse or icalriis exists in denser profusion tlian in
any part of the world, in the vicinity of the Aleutian
Islands and Behring Straits. This is a branch of the
Pacific fisheries that would prove very remunerative from
the amount of ivory it is capable of yielding. These places
could be reached in fourteen days' sail from Vancouver
Island.

The facilities possessed by both these colonies for
catching and curing fish are pre-eminent. The indented
character of their coasts signally adapts them to become
important in the exportation of this article. Port San
Juan, Barclay Sound, IS^ootka, Hespod, Koskeemo, Sooke,
Esquimalt, Victoria, Nanaimo, and many other bays may
be enumerated, including the inlets on the coast of British
Columbia, 450 miles long — all convenient to extensive
fishing grounds, and peculiarly adapted for sheltered fishing
stations.

The present rendezvous of North Pacific whalers is San
Francisco and Honolulu, because those following this occu-
pation on our coasts are for the most part Americans. But
when the same British enterprise that has developed the
fisheries of the North Atlantic is introduced in this ocean,
whaling fleets will make their head-quarters in British
territory.

The salt springs existing on Admiralty Island and at
Nanaimo, have already been referred to in this volume.
A gallon of water from the latter place, when analysed,
produced a pound of salt, while sea-water only yields 4J
ozs. The spring on the island is capable of supplying a
gallon a minute, the specific gravity of the water being
10-60.

170

GENERAL BESOURCES OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

What portion of the globe could be better situated for
an export trade in fish, with respect to foreign markets ?
To say nothing of California, with its rapidly increasing
population, Mexico, Central America, and all the countries
on the west coast of South America,* would immediately
become customers were our fisheries entered upon with
capital and vigour. European residents in China and
Japan would swell the demand. The natives of these
countries, who are proverbial for their consumption of
dried and salted fish, would themselves gladly take from
us as much as we could, for many years, conveniently
dispose of. Nor is it unlikely that, as the commercial
relations of these colonies with India become more
intimate, large markets will spring up in that direction.
Austraha and New Zealand will not be able to provide for
their wants in this particular for fifty years — probably
never. These southern colonies, therefore, present another
field for the competition of future fish merchants in Van-
couver Island and British Columbia.

Notwithstanding the matchless inducements presented
by the fishing wealth of this country to capitalists, scarcely
a single individual or a company has as yet assayed to
grasp the prize.

The population of Newfoundland, which amounts to
about 150,000, is sustained almost wholly by its fisheries.
How magnificent must be the future of our colony of
which the product now described is but one of manifold
resources !

In proof of the importance attached by France to this
source of national trade, it is well known that she pays
from 530,000 frs. to 540,000 frs. a year to encourage it.
Between 1820 and 1851 the Americans also paid
,gf8,000,000 in bounties on fish, and the same policy is still

• Catholic countries are said to be great consumers of fish.

i
■

3LAND.

' situated for
ign markets ?
ly increasing
the countries

immediately
d upon with
1 China and
ves of these
[Sumption of
y take from
3onveniently

commercial
come more
It direction.

provide for
— probably
sent another
xnts in Van-

FISHEBIES ON THE ATLANTIC. 171

pursued by them. To show the extent to which money is
put m circulation by the fishing trade of the maritime
provmces of British North America adjacent to the St.
Laurence, it may be mentioned that tlie exports from these
parts, beyond their own consumption offish, are valued at
about eight and a half million dolfcirs per annum

Newfoundland, 1862
Nova Scotia, 1860 .
New Brunswick
Prince Edward's Island .

. A760,010

. 3,094,499

750,000

900,000

^8,604,509

is presented

sts, scarcely

assayed to

amounts to

ts fisheries.

colony of

f manifold

nee to this
Lt she pays
courage it.
also paid
•licy is still

fish.

172

OIIAPTEE n.

AGRICULTURE IN VANCOUVER ISLAND.

Remunerative Character of Agricultural Pursuits in the Colony — Climate —
Soils — Fanning Districts — Yield of Crops — Prices of Produce and Stock —
Relation of the Free-Port System to the Question of Markets — Expense
of Farm Labour — Times of Clearing, Sowing, Reaping, &c. — Tenns of
Agricultural Settlement.

There is no branch of industry more strikingly neglected
in this colony than agriculture. Yet it would be difficult
to name an industrial pursuit more indispensable to colo-
nial prosperity, or attended with larger ultimate remune-
ration. The community can scarcely be said to have a
basis of permanence while dependent so extensively on
foreign neighbours, even for the common necessaries of
life. The prevailing impression at a distance seems to be
that our insular settlement is a forbidding aggregate of
rock, mountain, swamp, and forest — almost unrelieved by
a single patch of arable land — and that whatever insigni-
ficant portions contain the elements of fertility, are so
densely wooded as to render the task of clearing them at
once unprofitable to capitalists, and impossible to those of
narrower means.

The hand of nature, it is admitted, has placed at human
disposal, in this and the sister colony, a much smaller
extent of bounteous soil, in proportion to gross area, than
has been conferred upon the adjacent and more favoured

ony — Climate —

uce and Stock —

irketa — Expense

&c. — Tenns of

;ly neglected
1 be difficult
able to colo-
ate remune-
to have a
tensively on
3cessaries of
seems to be
ggregate of
irelieved by

jver insigni-
ity, are so

ing them at
to those of

d at human
ich smaller
3 area, than
'e favoured

CLASS OF FARMERS WANTED.

173

States of Oregon and California. But past explorations —
and those now in progress in the interior, limited thougli
the space gone over has been — -justify the persuasion that
there are large tracts of land in the several districts of the
island possessing qualities that would abundantly reward
cultivation, and capable of sustaining a population of mil-
lions. With the knowledge of these facts, taken in con-
nection with contiguousness to large and growing markets,
it seems strange that farmers — skilful and respectable, but
not rich — in England, and also in other parts of the British
empire, should be content to struggle on, with high rents
and low prices, while so tempting an opportunity invites
them to become owners of land at a small figure, with
the assurance of a superior market for their products.

For the class of farmers to which reference has just
been made, I know of no field of agricultural enterprise
offering advantages to be compared with those found in
our Pacific colonies. Of Canada, and to some little extent
of the United States, I can speak from personal observa-
tion. From all I have heard of Australia and New Zealand,
these southern colonies present no exception to tlie fore-
going remark.*

At the opening of an auriferous country, mining and
commercial enterprises assume, of course, a bewitching
character, especially from the prospect held out in these
undertakings of large and immediate returns. It is not
unnatural, therefore, that immigrants, incited by excep-
tional instances of brilliant success, should betray tlie
romantic desire of suddenly winning the smiles and gifts
of fortune. But their impatience may well be restrained,
and their expectations moderated, by contemplating the

* The substance of the remarks which follow was published by me in the
British Colonist some years ago in two successive leaders, and time has only
confirmed the view to which I then gave expression.

174

AGRICULTURE IN VANCOUVER ISLAND.

bitter truth that in mining and trading speculations, blanks
have usually been the rule, and prizes the exception.

It is not intended by this remark to insinuate that the
countrj^ supplies feeble inducements to men whose inclina-
tions and abilities qualify them to succeed in these depart-
ments. But it may with confidence be affirmed that,
where farming is conducted in Vancouver Island witli a
fair amount of skill, perseverance, and economy, a greater
ratio of those who devote tliemselves to that branch of
industry will, in a given term, attain comfort and inde-
pendence, than of persons following any other sort of
business. With the view of disarming the prejudice that
has so signally retarded the extension of the farming in-
terest in the country, and of supporting the statements
that have been made, it is only necessary to solicit atten-
tion to a few particulars which have not obtained the
pubhcity they deserve.

Climate.

The climate of the island is rendered proverbially
genial, productive, and salubrious, from an interesting
variety of causes. The temperature of the Pacific coast
generally is known to be much milder than that which
obtains on the corresponding shores of the North Ameri-
can Continent in the Atlantic. The isothermal line be-
longing to latitude 40° in the latter ocean passes through
the parallel of 55° in the former, thus rendering the climate
of Fort Simpson equal to that of New York. For lucid
illustrations of this principle, the reader is directed to
consult the instructive work of Lieut. Maury, entitled,
' The Physical Geography of the Sea.' Blit the insular
position of this colony, with other local circumstances,
combine to secure for it a climate of singular equability
and exemption from the somewhat more rigorous extremes

CLIMATE.

175

ions, blanks
eption.
ate that the
lose inchna-
liese depart-
irmed that,
iland with a
y, a greater
t branch of
t and inde-
;her sort of
ejudice that
farming in-
1 statements
jolicit atten-
btained the

>roverbially
interesting
*acific coast
that wliicli
>rth Ameri-
lal hne be-
jes through
the chmate

For lucid
lirected to
', entitled,
the insular
fumstances,

equability
is extremes

to which the exactly opposite coast in the Gulf of Georgia
is subject. The experience of colonial residents bears
uniform testimony in support of this statement.

We have the authority of eminent meteorologists for
the action of cold under-currents flowing from the Arctic
Sea, whicli lave the rocky foundations of the island during
the hot season, and exert their tempering influence ftir
beyond high-water mark. The Olympian range of moun-
tains in Washington Territory, extending in an easterly
and westerly direction, regale the eye in the rich sunshine.
The proximity of their grateful summits, capped with
eternal snows, tends to modify what must otherwise be
the intense heat of midsummer. The prevailing winds
at that season come from the south, charged with warm
moisture drawn from the sea, and oppress with sultriness
the atmosphere of northern regions in most easterly longi-
tudes. But, by contact with the neighbouring snowy
heights, the humid element of these winds is condensed,
and their excess of caloric absorbed, so that they are
transmuted, as by a magic touch, into breezes

Mild as when Zephyrus on Flora breathes.

A vast rush of warm water, supposed to originate at the
equator, and producing climatical effects resembling those
which result from the agency of the gulf stream in the
Atlantic, softens the rigours of winter as the boreal action
already described is believed to cool the scorcliing heat
of summer. The phenomenon referred to is called tlie
China current, from the foct of its sweeping, in part, tliat
coast, on its curvilinear path across tlie ocean, to break
upon the shores of Vancouver Island.*

• Another of those currents makes its escape through the Straits of
Malacca, and being joined by other warm streams from the .Tava and
Chinese Seas, flows out into tlie Pacific, like another gulf stream, between
the Philippines and the shore of Asia. Thonce it attempts tlie groat circle

f '

176

AGRICULTURE IX VANCOUVER ISLAND.

The temperature of the soutliern end of the ishmd i.s
also agreeably cooled in summer by the descent of freshets
from Fraser river. These, it is hardly necessary to ob-
serve, are caused by the melting of the snow on tlie
distant mountains in the interior. So great a volume of
cold water cannot be thus carried down into the gidf
without considerably reducing the temperature of the
waters with which it mingles, and making its influence to
be felt along the opposite shores, to which it is borne in
a south-westerly course.

From observations taken daily in Victoria during the
years 18G0-61, at 9 A.M., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m., it appears
that the lowest mean of the thermometer, in that period,
occurred in the thirty-one days of December 1860, when
the range of that instrument averaged 41° 22'. Twenty-
nine days in July 1861, indicated the highest mean to be
60° 97'. At intervals of from seven to ten years, how-
ever, as in Great Britain, winters of unusual severity are
experienced, when snow hes on the ground for a month
or six weeks. But with the exception of these extra-
ordinary periods, snow continues for little more than a
week; and sharp frosts extend over about a fortnight
during the year. So mild is the cold season generally,
that cattle can find enough food in the fields without
special provision having to be made for their shelter and
maintenance.

Such an inclement season as has been named visited us
in 1861-62, the year immediately following that in
which a winter of corresponding severity occasioned in-

route for the Aleutian islands, tempering climate, and losing itself in the

sea on its route towards the north-west coast of America As with

the gulf stream so with the China current The climates of the

Asiatic coast correspond with those of America along the Atlantic, and
those of Columbia, Washington, and Vancouver are duplicates of those of
Western Europe and the British slands, — Phi/s, Geoff, of the Sea, pp. 161, 162.

le island is
t of freshets
isary to ob-
ow on tlio
% volume of
;o the gulf
Lire of the
influence to
is borne in

(luring the
, it appears
that period,
1860, wlien
'. Twenty-
mea7i to be
years, how-
severity are
for a montli
hese extra-
ore than a
a fortnight
generally,
ds without
shelter and

ll visited us
[g that in
isioned in-

itself in the
. . As with
limates of the
Atlantic, and
^s of those of
\, pp. IGl, 1C2.

METEOROLO(iICAL FACTS. 177

convenience to fanners in England. Tlie effects of that
extronu'ly cold season reached as far down tlic coast
as Soutliern California. The ice on the Fraser and Co-
lumbia rivers was unusually long in breaking up, and
the disappearance of it was succeeded by destructive
floods, esi)ecially on the latter stream and on the Sacia-
niento.

The city of Sacramento was inundated, and agricultural
interests damaged in Oregon and California by heavy
losses of cattle and produce.

The winter of 1863-04 was mild throughout. As this
part of the subject is so important to intending settlers,
with respect to considerations of health as well as to
farming operations, let us take a past year at random
to aid the reader in arriving at a satisfactory conclusion
on the matter. A register kept at Victoria in 1850, cited
by Dr. Forbes, E.N., shows that in that year 201 days
were fine, 96 overcast and foggy, 97 rainy, and 17 on
which snow fell. Still, it should be remembered, that
under the two last heads all days are included on which
eveti the smallest quantity of rain or snow fell.

Dr. Eattray, E. K, attached to H.M.S. 'Topaze,' in
Esquimalt Harbour, in 1860-61, carefully tabulated, for
the use of the Admiralty, the state of the weather from
the beginning of April to the end of March following
in those years. Subjoined are the results of his la-
bours : —

No. of fine days 187

„ wet days 17

„ showery days 101'

„ foggy days 17

„ days with strong wind 35

„ d.ays with thermometer below freezing . . .11

,, dcays in which snow fell 12

178

AGRICULTURE IN VANXOUVRR ISLAND.

liaromrtri'cal Olmcrmtiimx in the miiiv Vair,

^Mn.viiiMiin
MiiutiniDi
Mi'iliuiii
Monthly rmigo
Ch'oatoHt iliiily i'nn;.'-o

.'iOCO

;j()-07
loO
101

'Tlic <:,nx>{itest (llfTcrcMce between tlie wet iiiul dry ])iill»
tlienn()iiietei'8 was S-|° (June) ; it luus been observed tirf
In^'li as lo° (oth ]\I.ay 1801), and the least maxinumi
diflerence 2j,° (September).' From this com})arison we
infer that even in October, the wettest month in the regis-
ter, the atmosphere was remarkably diy — a fact of great
interest to persons suflering from chest complaints, and
familiar witli the raw, cutting damps common in the
nortli of England in the begimiing of winter.

The wind columns in tlie tables of Dr. Kattray show a
prevalence of calm mornings and evenings, wliile days
icliolly calm appear in the proportion of 1 in 10. The
average force of the wind for the year was 1 j^,, the highest
being 9. Distributed over twelve months the mean force
would scarcely amonnt to a hght breeze.

Out of eighty-tliree days, in which the wind was per-
ceptible in any degree, southerly winds (chiefly S.W.)
occurred fifty-six days=G7'47 per cent. ; northerly, eleven
= 13'25per cent.; easterly, six = 7 "23 ])er cent.; westerly,
six=7"23 per cent. ; variable, four. High winds are most
frequent in April, and blow from the south and south-
west. Winds from the north are rarely strong, even in
winter ; but westerly winds, when they rise, blow with
violence. As might be supposed, winds accompanied
with rain are generally from the south. Traversing tlie
vast Pacific in their course, they readily absorb a large
quantity of moisture.

In tliese ol)ser vat ions, taken at Es(|uimalt, allowance

CLr>fATK COMI'AUKD WITH CAXADA.

17!)

ul dry bull)
(bscrvoil as
, inaxiiiiuni
ipavison we
ill the regiri-
ict of great
plaints, and
luuii iu the

;tray show a

while days

n 10. The

, the highest

nieiui force

lid was \)QV-
liedy S.W.)
lerly, eleven
|t.; westerly,
ids are most
and south-
\)ii(j, even in
blow with
ccompanied
iversing the
Borb a large

.';?

, allowance '■■>

sliould be made foi* the more damp chara(;l('r of that
place as compaied with Victoi'ia, the Ibrnier being
situated in a more hilly part of the island.

As the im])ression widely obtains that the climate of
the colony resembles in severity that of Canada, it may
not be uninteresting to demonstrate by the statistics be-
fore mc the injustice done us by this erroi- : —

llijtlitvl TliurnioniL'tor during' tlic Yi'ar

I^iwpit Tliormmiii'tcr | AiiimwiI llaii»,'i'

iliiriii;,' tlir Viar

VancoiiviT Irilmul, 18«50-lS«U . 72° [ '2:\i°

CiiniKlii 102" ;5(i° (l)olow Zfin)

Loiuloii .

8(;

'>00

if 'J'tiiipcriitiin'

1.5K'
151'

Victoria being in nearly the same latitude with the
south of England, comparison of their respective climates
can be at once ap[)reciated by inhabitants of Gieat
Britain. In Vancouver Island spring is later, summer
drier, autumn longer, and winter milder.

In London in a given year a writer on climate recoi-ds
178 days in which rain fell. In Victoria during 1800-01
the number of rainy days was under 118. The same
author gives the annual mean hehjht of the barometer in
London for the same year at 29'89.5, and the ramie for
the year at 1-998 ; while in the south of Vancouver Island
1800-61, the mean height was 30*07, and the ramjcforthe
year 1-890.*

From October to March wc are liable to frequent rains,
but this period of damp is ever and anon relieved by
prolonged intervals of bright, dry weather. In March,
winter gives signs of taking its departure, and the warm

* I am under obligation to Admiral Fitzroy of the Board of Trade for
permitting nie to examine the Meteorological Register of II.M.S, 'Ilecato,'
which was employed in a surveying expedition on the coasts of Vancouver

N 2

180

AOIIICULTURK IN' VANX'OUVKIl ISLAND.

breath of sj)rinLr bc^fjins to cover tlu; trees with tinted
buds aiul llu! fields with vei(hiro. Then be(;ome visil)K*
the star-eyed and dehcately-bliie eolliiisia, the cliaste ery-
throniuni, the searlet-blossoiiied hHes, and tlie •graceful
trilhuni ; tlie sj)rin^' grass and young f'eru show promise
of returning life ; the unfolding oak leaf and budding
wild fruits {)roelaini that winter is gone.

The sensations i)rodu('ed by the aspeet of nature in
]\[ay are indeseribably delightful. The freshness of the
uir, the warble of birds, the elearness of the sky, the jiro-
fusion and fragnuice of wild roses, the wide-s})read varie-
gated hues of buttercu[)s and dfiisies, the islets and inlets,
together with distant snow-peaks bursting upon the view,
as one ascends sonic contiguous eminence, combine, in
that month, to fdl the mind with enchantment unequalled
out of Paradise. I know gentlemen who have lived in
China, Italy, Canada, and England ; but after a residence
of some years in Vancouver Island, they entertained a
preference for the climate of the colony which approached
affectionate cntlmsiasm.

At the end of June vegetation reaches its jinnnal
maturity. Its growth in that and the preceding month is
peculiarly rapid. Showers are rare during summer, and

Island ami British Columbia in 1802, the winter of wliich year was tho
coldest experienced in the colonies for a very long period.

Barometer

Wind

Thcr.

Prv
Bulb

Pnmp
Bulb

10°

0°

00°

Direction

Force

Coldest day, Jan. 15 jo ^,\^•

' ' l^o P.M.
f 8 A.M.

Hottest day, Aug. 27 ■

[Sr.M.

10°
12°

74°

09°

Northorlv
Calm *

Westerly

Calm

.•iO-4r,

42-.']l

Tlior. at
nodu.
91) 87

IIKAI.TII OF TIIH IMJl'UI.ATIOX.

181

iwh tinted
iliU' visihlf

ic {^'nu'C'I'iil
iw pnmiiso
id buddinj^

nature in
iicss of the
:y, tlic pi'o-
)rciid viirie-
I tuid iidets,
)ii the view,
combine, in
; uneqnalled
ve lived in
u residence
^tertained a
approached

its annual

g month is

nnmcr, and

1 year was tho

Thcr.

Force

,'iO-4r,
4l'-;u

Thor. at

noon.
01) 87

wlien they do fall thoy are accommodating enoULrh to
come at uigiit, when no one is inconvenienced by their
dc t-.'i\t. In compensation for uniformly fair weather, we
liiivi' heavy dews, whu !i cause the warmcNt diiys to be
followed by cool niglits ; coni«fjuently a blanket is found
acceptable in a part of tliu year when in England and
Canada it would bc' int/'lerablc.

The protnicted drynes:^ of smnmer often im]>arts to the
soil a parched iippcarimce, but it is rather pasture lands
than croi)s that suller tVom tliis inlhicncc. Tlie retVesh-
ing showers of autunm, howevei", lasting till the middle of
Xovember, clothe the grass a second time with verdure,
wliicli it retains till after Christmas. The later part <jf
the fall is known as the Indian sunnner.

While treating of climate in connection specially with
agriculture, I take the opjiortnnity which may n(»t occur
airain in this volume, of glancing at the bearing of the
subject upon health.

No statistics of the ailments and mortality of tho
po])ulation have thus far been kept, but fi'om the nature
of the public duties belonging to my jirofession I was
fjivourably situated for forming a correct opinion on these
points. Those extremes of climate which, in the eastern
and middle sections of the American continent and also
in Australia, tend to absorb the juices of the system and
render the complexion sallow, are absent in the colony,
as in England, from the happy proportion of humidity
incident to its insular character. The children of whites
l)oin in the country, and brought up with a reasonable
amount of care, are distinguished by a remarkably plump
and ruddy appearance. Epidemics are uncommon ; and
most of the diseases I have witnessed have been brouuht
on by imprudence in the way of exposure or excess.
Ilheumatic and bronchitic affections are sometimes to be

182

AGRICULTURE IN VANCOUVER ISLAND.

found, but are almost entirely conllned to constitutions
])reviously debilitated. Catarrh prevails in the moist
weather of October and November. But speaking from
})ersonul experience, I am able to state that I never en-
joyed more vigorous health in my life than during five
years' residence in Vancouver Island. While living in
England, never a Avinter passed without my being pros-
trated by repeated attacks of influenza ; and though
domestic conveniences were necessarily limited at so early
a stage of colonial progress, I only suffered once in the
colony from that cause.

There is no naval station at which the crews of H. M.
shi])s are so little subject to disease proceeding from cir-
cumstances of climate, and none where mortality is so
light.

I know no locality so admirably suited for ex-Indian
officers and merchants to retire to — a class to which
climate, in their ad\anced age, is a primary consideration.

Soils.

It would have been advantageous to the interests of
agriculture had the upheaval of the island above the
surface of the ocean taken place at a much earlier geologi-
cal period. From the unerring intimations of geology,
in the character and distribution of its soils, we infer its
recent elevation by volcanic agency.

The character of the soil varies in the different districts.
That which preponderates on the hvjher levels is of a poor
gravelly description, with a thin layer of vegetable
moidd, and covered by gigantic timber. This quality of
soil exhibits deposits of northern drift which had ac-
cinnulated in certain sections of the country while the
laiid remained submerged — these places being just saved
from absolute sterility by decayed foliage and grasses

SOILS.

183

onstitutions
tlic moist
[\king from
I never en-
during five
Ic living in
being pros-
\m\ tlioiigli
I at so early
once in the

vs of H. M.
ig from cir-
rtality is so

r ex-Indian
is to which
Dnsideration.

interests of
above the
•lier geologi-
I of geology,
we infer its

?nt districts.

is of a poor
vegetable

[s quality of

:h had ac-

while the

just saved

Ind grasses

tlint liave for jiifcs been slied to CDver tlioir nakodnes;^.
lhn\ a few nioi'o decades of centuries hap])cned to
eliipse subsequently to tlie emerging of the island, and
before civilisation was directed hither, tliere can be no
doubt tliat the kind of soil referred to would have been
innnensely improved. But it is not lud^nown in I^ngland
and Canada that gravelly soil, unmntched for poverty by
any in this island, has, by an admixture of clay and
manure, been made equal to soils containing naturally
most fertile qualities — the former element imparting
tenacity for the retention of heat and mt)isture, and the
latter creating a loamy ingredient.

liich sandy loams are extensively found in the farming
sections ; but usually, as might be exj)ected, in valleys —
ancient lake or river 'bottoms,' and slopes of various dimen-
sions. Tliis quality of soil is formed by the disintegration
and decomposition of limestone and other n^cks in con-
nection with different forms of aqueous action ; and when
luiited, as it always is more or less, with decayed vege-
table matter — which uives it a black or dark brown colour
— it is excellently adapted for producing vegetables and
very species of cereal. Clay chiefly constitutes the sub-

soil of the island, and from its tenacious nature neces-
sitates careful draining of the particular deposits which
rest upon it. In a district about a dozen miles from
Victoria I have seen a single prairie containing not less
than 400 acres of clear land where the .alluvial soil, con-
sisting mainly of black loam, was at least a couple of feet
thick.

One of the most eminent British geologists lias some-
where said that remarkably fertile soil is formed by the
disintegration of volcanic rock, and that their component
elements, — iron, alumina, potash, silica, &c. — are in the
proportions Ijcst sidtedfor vegetation. From the metallic

184

AGRICULTURE IN VA^'COUVER ISLAND.

discoveries continually coming to liglit in all parts of the
island, as well as from tlie actual yield of crops, we are
receiving unmistakable evidence of the productiveness of
tlie soil, especially in the valleys.

A(jricultural Districts.

The following comprehensive statement of the Crown
lands sold, unsold, reserved, and pre-empted in the colony
uj) to December 18G3, appears in the report of a com-
mittee appointed by the House of Assembly to investigate
certain claims held in dispute between the Hudson's Bay
Company and the Crown : —

1. The total number of acres in the colony, including every
kind and quality of land, with the small islands belonging to
Vancouver Island, is estimated at 7,598,215 acres, or 11,872
square miles.

2. The quantity of land sold in the 18 surveyed districts is
74,196 acres.

3. The quantity of land pre-empted in the surveyed and
unsurveyed districts is 88,309 acres.

4. The unsold and unpre-empted land in each surveyed dis-
trict is 92,264 acres.

5. There are 30 public reserves in the surveyed and settled
districts, which contain 18,814 acres, besides which there are
several small islands, of the acreage of which there is no estimate.
There are 3 town lots in Government Street (Victoria), one at
the foot of Broughton Street, and one 80 feet by 100 in Nanaimo.

6. From the foregoing statement it appears that the total
qtiantity of Crown land unsold, including the reserves for the
use of the colony, is 7,435,710 acres; and that the total amount
of land sold and pre-empted is 162,505 acres.

It shoidd not be forgotten that this calculation embraces
a considerable extent of rock and swamp unfit for culti-
vation.

The late Surveyor-General of the colony states that in

AGRICULTUKAL DISTRICTS.

185

)arts of tlic
ops, \vc are
ctivencfss of

tlie Crown
. tlie colony
) of a com-

investigate
nelson's Bay

luding every
belonging to
s, or 11,872

d districts is

[urveyed and

lurveyed dis-

and settled
;h there are
no estimate.
|oria), one at
I in Nanairao.
lat the total

•ves for the
lotal amount

embraces
It for culti-

les that in

the immediate vicinity of Victoria 100,000 acres of valu-
able farming land exist. This, however, is all in private
lumds. Colonel Grant, for several years a settler in
»>ooke, gives it as his opinion that out oi five square miles
in that district tliere is a moderate proportion of open
land, ' the remainder tolerably level woodland.' One of
the explorers of the gold mines recently brought under
notice in that locality, reports that near the junction of
Leech and San Juan rivers there is a oood field for
agricultural operations — the concourse of miners 'sup-
plying a convenient market for stock and produce.
There are several large farms in the adjoining district
of Metchosin, -which I can testify, from observation,
are in a prosperous condition. The bulk of the land
in that neighbourhood, however, is most adapted for
pasture.

In the Saanich peninsula, which contains an area of
37 square miles, there are at least 200 settlers, including
women and children. These severally occupy farms
ranging from 50 to 1,500 acres, and their holdings con-
tain a high proportion of clear land, combining calcareous
and arenacious properties, together with humus — these
soils resting generally on a clayey but sometimes on
a gravelly stratum. Oats, timothy, barley, wheat, all the
green crop.^, and every sort of garden fruit, grow there in
great perfection.

The portions of Cowichan, Comiaken, Quamichan,
Somenos, and Shawingan surveyed three years ago were
57,658 acres, of which 45,000 are deemed superior in
quality, and the remaining 7,600 good for the general
objects of agriculture. But the Surveyor-General esti-
mates the extent of available land in Cowichan at
100,000 acres.

I am firmly persuaded (says the Assistant-Surveyor) that, under

186

AGRICULTURE IX VANCOUVER ISLAND.

a judicious system of farming, as good returns can he o])taine(l
from these hmds as in any part of the continent of America.
. . . Tiio loamy soils possess everywhere a depth of two or three
feet, and containing a large proportion of the calcareous principle,
are especially eligihle for fruit culture; and the oak-plains
around the Somenos and (iuamichan Lakes, with a sandy clay
sidj-soil, are exceedingly well adapted for fruit or garden
purposes.

lie then enumerates a large variety of native fruits which
lie found growing wild on the meadow lands.

There may be already settled in these places over 100
persons, so that numerous sections are still unpre-em])ted,
and it is affirmed tluit a suflicient amount of good laud
exists in them to provide farms for many hundreds of
families.

In the vicinity of those connected districts is Admiralty
Island, better known as Salt Spring Island, from briny
springs which it contains. Its area is 90 square miles.
This district, already inhabited by 70 or 80 settlers,
boasts much excellent land, which is beinf^; broucfht under
cultivation as rapidly as their narrow means will permit.
Many other fertile dependencies of Vancouver in the
gulf only await the application of industry to render
them productive.

The land around Nanaimo is divided into four portions
— the Mountain, Cranberry and Cedar districts, and the
Delta plains — the extent of which together is put by
the surveyor who measured them at 43,450 acres. In
reference to the second of these that gentleman reports :
' The soil is sandy, but covered with the most luxuriant
vegetation, fern, wild fruit, bushes, and trees ; among
which, it may be noted, the crab-apple and cherry are
everywhere found. The woods are, for the most part,
open and free from brushwood and fallen timber, and
l)resent quite a tropical appearance.' Of the Cedar dis-

COMOX.

187

n be obtained
it of America,
f two or tlireci
;ous principle,
\e oak-plain.s
1 a sandy clay
it or garden

fruits whicli

:es over 100
ipre-em])tetl,
f good land
hundreds of

is Admiralty
from briny

quare miles.
80 settlers,

ouGfht under

will permit.

Liver in tlie
to render

3ur portions

ts, and the

is put by

acres. In

lan reports :

t luxuriant

;es ; among

cherry are

most part,

iimber, and

Cedar dis-

trict but a small part is unfit for cultivation. ' The soil is
very fertile . . . and abounds in beautiful springs of water.'

In 18G1 Commander Mayne, E.N., in crossing from
Alberni on the west to Nanaimo on the cast, saw a large
tract of land which he pronounces admirably adapted for
settlement, between Qualicome and Nanoose on the east
side. lie states that the soil was quite equal to that in
the already settled district of Saanich. ' We found,' says
he, ' a great deal of excellent land in the valley of the
Nanoose Hiver, which flows from tlie soutliward into the
head of Nanoose harbour ; so that I am able to affirm
that the whole country between the Qualicome River and
Nanaimo is fair and in parts excellent.'

The region of the Courtenay lliver, which empties
itself into Augusta Bay at the head of Baynes Sound, is
perhaps the most promising spot for settlement yet found
in the island. This district is called Comox * (or Komoux),
{uid is said to contain not less than 30 square miles of
good farming land. Commander Mayne remarks on this
scene of his explorations : ' Although we had been in-
formed that there was some fine land there, the extent
and beauty of what we saw quite surprised us.'

* The following is an exti'act from a communication written by a settler
in this district with reference to the harvest of 1804. * The crops in the
settlement have been excellent this season, the farmers being well contented
with their returns. Oats, barley, wheat, peas, and potatoes are the chief
products. Oats have yielded as much as sixty bushels to the acre. One of
the settlers, who has about six acres under cultivation, has raised over thirty
tons of potatoes, a ton and a half of turnips, a large quantity of garden
vegetables, and a small crop of splendid oats, beside wheat and peas. lie
also cut over thirty tons of hay, sixteen tons of which were sold on the
ground at $lo per ton. lie has nine head of cattle, including three milch
cows, twenty hogs, and fifty chickens raised this year. From his three cows
he made this season over 2001bs. of butter, for which he gets 37 j cents per
lb. at the settlement.' Tliis person has only been two years in Comox, and
is a fair example of what may be done by any industrious man without
capital.

188

AGRICULTURE IN VAXCOUVER ISLAND.

Tlie stream referred to for about a mile is navigable
for large boats and small stem-wheel steamers. At this
point it is joined by a river called Puntluch, which flows
from the south-west through a deep valley, taking its
rise probably in the great central lake, whence also
emanates the Somass Eiver, that mingles on the west side
of the island with the waters of the Alberni Canal. Just
above the junction of the Puntluch and the Courtenay,
on the left bank of the latter, the traveller finds himself
in the heart of an immense prairie, extending in a north-
westerly direction parallel with the coast for eight or ten
miles. This important tract is abundantly watered by
the Courtenay and some smaller tributaries. A dense
wood surrounds the prairie, offering every facility for the
purposes of fire and building. ' It took us,' says the naval
gentleman cited above, ' a day and a half to walk over
this land, through which a plough might be driven from
end to end. ... I have no doubt that more good land
will be found to lie between this point and the valley of
the Salmon Eiver, which is GO miles north of it.' On the
west bank of the Courtenay the soil is quite as good as
on the east. 7,000 or 8,000 acres of clear land are known
to exist there.

Twenty-five miles above Johnstone Strait is Salmon
River, and there is every probability of finding — when
the country is examined — large patches of land in its
neighbourhood well adapted for agricultural settlement.

Adam's Eiver, a stream of considerable size, waters a
large valley which contains much good land. This spot
is about sixteen miles above Salmon Eiver, and five or six
miles beyond Port Neville on the opposite side.

Mr. Hamilton Moffat, in 1852, crossed the north part
of the island diagonally from Nimpkish Eiver to Ncotka
Sound, and he is the only white man that, up to tlis date,

I'LEXTY OF LAND.

189

s navioiiblo
I's. At til is
^liidi flows
, taking its
'hence ali^o
le west side
!anal. Just

Conrtennv,
nds himself
in a north-
3ight or ten
ivatered by
, A dense
ility for the
^^s the naval

walk over
Irwen from
p good land
le valley of
It.' On the

as good as

are known

is Salmon
ing — when
and in its
ttlement.
, waters a
This spot
five or six

lorth part

Ito Ncotka

'ti;i::i date,

has ever performed that feat. In the journal of his ex-
j)l()ratory tour, we are informed that in the vicinity of
Lake Kanus, in the course of the Nimpkish, the count ly
he passed through was 'clear, with occasional belts of
wood and brush, and abounding in partridges.' But it
must necessarily be long before land distant from the
coast will be settled upon, unless the discoveries of the
precious and baser metals now taking place in rapid sui!-
cession in certain parts of the colony should call into
existence towns and villages, and thus afTord a market lor
farmers.

Judging from the successful results of past exploration
along the 150 miles of coast on the east side we are
already acquainted with, there is every reason to believe
that considerable quantities of fine land will yet be met
with, as the examination of the island advances, capable
of sustaining a large industrious population.

Apart from the lucrative market presented by the grow-
ing city of Victoria and the coal depot of Nanaimo, the
thrifty settler possesses an advantage unrivalled in any
colony in the Atlantic or the South Pacific. I refer to
the abundance of elk, deer, and wild-fowl with which our
forests abound, and the incredible profusion of fish that
inhabit our lakes and streams.

Only a few scores of persons have, up to this time,
found their way to the inviting districts north of Saanich
and Cowichan ; so that it is in the power of thousands
of hardy pioneers, determined to master preliminary dilPi-
culties, proceeding thither without delay, to obtain choice
tracts for settlement. If they can command 100/. or more
on their arrival, to set their farms a-going, so much the
better. Let them not murmur if, for a time, they may
have to bear inconvenience, as far as frequent and speedy

190

AGRICULTURE IX VANX'OUVER ISLAND.

c()ininiinlcati<>n witli Victoria is concerned. This privn-
tit)n will only l)e transient, and must soon disappear in
tlie course of colonial development.

If any intending emigi-ant appreliend troubles from tlie
Indians, it may be stated, for tlie i-elief of his anxiety,
that these are generally magnified by the imngination of
the inexperienced, and are at once divested of tlie alarm-
ing character supposed to attach to them, when the settler
comes lace to face with the aborigines. Another chapter
will show, indeed, that, in common with savages elsewhere,
they occasionally evince thievish and treacherous pi'open-
sitics. But it is only simple justice to confess, that in most
feuds between them and the whites, provocation is given
by the latter. If in our dealings with them we are actujited
by firmness, kindness, and integrity, there is little to fear
from their presence. That they have sometimes been
guilty of acts of wanton deception and improvoked cruelty
toward colonists, must be admitted ; but as past outrages
have made the authorities vigilant in the detection, and
severe in the punishment, of their crimes, the natives are
certain to become less and less dangerous. As the tribes
have been so fiercely alienated from each other, and en-
gaged in internecine wars for ages, no such conspiracies
could ever be organised by them against the Avhites as
have been plotted by the Sioux of America, or tlie Maories
of New Zealand. In fact, as tribes, they are universally
well-disposed toward our race.

Emigrants coming at this early stage of colonial growth,
ignorant of the amount of land held by companies and
jirivate individuals for a considerable period, expect, per-
liaps, to be able to select for purchase sections within easy
distance of Victoria on merely nominal terms; and are
consequently surprised to find farms, partially under cul-

LAXD INCRKASIXG IN VALUK.

lUl

TIlis j)iiv;i-
lisappeur in

Il's from tlio
his aiixic'ty,
aizinatioii of
- the alann-
n tlie settler
:lier cliaptei*
s elsewhere,
oils propel i-
tliat ill most
on is given
[ire actuated
little to fear
3times been
)ked cruelty
ast outrages
tection, and
natives are
lS the tribes
ler, and en-
conspiracies
e whites as
the Maories
universally

lial growth,
ipanies and
ixpect, per-
within easy
s; and are
under cul-

■I

tivalion, valued at a figure so much higher than they had
antici[)ated. The Hudson's ]jay and Tuget i^ound Coin-
panics, with certain ollicials of those companies, in their
[)rivate capacity, own in dilTerent districts an aggregate of
at least 15,001) acres of land, the price of which, several
years [)revious to the present law of pre-emption being
passed, was 1/. per acre. If, however, the varied mining
resources of this and the sister colony continue to develoj)
favourably, as they give full promise of doing, Victoria
will unquestionably expand into a vast entrepot. A pi-ac-
tical farmer with some capital, therefore, who succeeds
in buying from the present proprietor, with a view
to settlement, 400 or 500 acres of land, anywhere
within iifteen miles of Victoria, tolerably open and par-
tially improved, at from 10/. to 4/. per acre, according
to distance from town, may esteem himself fortunate.
Before us is the analogy supplied by Melbourne and San
Francisco, likewise emporia for gold-bearing countries.
Around these cities land has in the last twelve or f(jurteen
years lisen in value several scores of pounds per acre ;
and it is certain that money invested in districts con-
venient to Victoria Avill, in a similar period to come, be
multiplied a dozen-fold. In proportion as the area of
agricultural land adjacent to the city is limited — that is
to say, in view of the large supplies which that market
will eventually require — so will be the great value which
land of good quaUty w^ill attain. It would be a benefit
to the colony, as well as to a certain class of our farmers —
some poor and others thriftless, under whom rich lands
are lying comparatively waste — if they could be super-
seded by enterprising and intelligent men, who would
ofl'er the farmer a fair consideration to quit. Xor would
this course be otherwise than advantageous to llie new
occujianls.

192

AGRICULTURE IN VAN'COUVER ISLAND.

The comparatively limited extent of land fit for culti-
vation in the island has somcthne.s been adduced as an
arf,'ument against encouraging the immigration of ])oor
settlers. But if the statistics brought forward above be
correct, no country on earth can compete Avitli it in secui'-
ing comfiDrt to the laborious farmer. Amateur ' gentle-
men' farmers arc strictly cautioned against risking their
means in agricultural speculations here. Unless men can
cither work themselves, or apply careful and experienced
supervision to the labours of emj)loyes — having at the
same time large means to expend — they are distinctly
advised not to emigrate as tillers of the soil. But it will
be time enough to raise this objection about scarcity of
land when all that is available on both sides of the gulf
has been turned to account. While it must be acknow-
ledged that the future prosperity of both these colonies
depends, for the most part, on their metalliferoiis cha-
racter — not losing sight, however, of the special commer-
cial advantages of Vancouver Island — still, the assertion
may be hazarded that they contain sufficient arable land
to sustain whatever population may devote their energies
to agricultural occupations for hundreds of years. Be-
sides, tlie limited extent of land in the country which is
alleged (allowing, for the sake of argument, that the asser-
tion were true), enhances the inducements offered to those
who are willing to come early into the field.

Demand for any article which is scarce augments its
value ; and on the supposition of our mineral resources
being so abundant as eventually to build up important
and permanent centres throughout the country, large and
profitable markets will be furnished to agricultural pro-
ducers near their doors. Moreover, the very paucity of
cultivatable land, within easy reach of a town, would,
under these circumstances, necessarily give propiictors

YIKLl) m-' CHOI'S.

1U3

it for ciilti-
uct'd as Jill
un of poor
I above be
it in seciir-
ur 'geiitlc-
isking their
jsa men can
jxpcrieiiced
/ing at tlie
e distinctly
But it will
, scarcity of
of the gulf
be acknow-
3se colonies
iferous cha-
al commer-
le assertion
arable land
sir energies
^ears. Ee-
ry which is
the asser-
ed to those

gments its
resources
important
large and
Itural pro-
paucity of
■vn, would,
proprietors

entire connnand of the market, thus placing th 'u ;il)ovc
com[)etition with farmers furtlicr oil', and rai .lig, in a
corresponding degree, the value of their land.

These remarks, it nuiy be mentioned liere, iind present
verification in British Columbia ; and as cities of yet greater
mjignitude than those now in existence rise up in tliat
colony, it will become increasingly evident that fanners
in their vicinity possess an advantage over all com[)etitois
in the same occupation in the neighbouring American
territory, whose products, imported to the British side of
the border, would be heavily chargeable with freight, to
say nothing of duties.

The extreme Avestern districts of the United States and
Canada are sometimes pointed to, and a contiast instituted
between the vast prairies for which these parts are extolled
in relation to our more circumscribed and less bounteous
soil. But it should be considered that the value of land
situated so inconveniently to market as in the case just
referred to is proportionately low, and the ci'o[)s unrenui-
nerative. If, therefore, Wmcouver Island and British
Columbia advance as ra})idly as we anticipate, a farm(?r
in these colonies will realise a competency more quickly
than he could, with the same means, in the other districts
of the continent that have been specitied. These results
cannot, of course, be brought about in a day ; and (3nly
those emiiirrants are invited to cast in their lot with us
who are prepared to exercise thnt amount of energy and
endurance requisite to secure the promised reward.

Average Yield of Crops, (Jr.

A medical gentleman, whose lengthened residence in
the colony and special enquiry into this department of
farming statistics gives weight to his statements, writes : —
'The average production of wheat is 25 to 30 bushels to

194

AGRICULTUUU IN VAN'COUVKIl ISLAND.

tlie acre, 04 lbs. to tlic hiishcl ; of oats, 40 bushels to tlie
acre — weij^lit, 80 lbs. to 40 ll)s. ; potatoes, 200 bushels to
the acre, and of superior quality. All vegetables succeed
much better in Vancouver than in Ore^«)n or Washington
Territory.' This remark a[)i)lies also to butter. The
potatoes grcnvn in the colony cannot be equalled, and our
turni[)H, carrots, onions, peas, cabbages, &c., cannot be
surpassed, for size and Ihivour, in any part of the world.
'Tiie following,' says Dr. Forbes, 'are tlie usual quantities
of seed sown per acre : Of wiieat, one and a half bushels ;
peas, two and a half bushels ; vetches, two and a half.
The yield of barley varies, according to the cultivation of
tlie land, from 24 to 40 l)usliels per acre.'

The following table, pre])ared by Dr. Kattray, exhibits
the yield per acre of land in Vancouver Island as compared
with that in England, Ireland, and Scotland : —

AViii;lit )ipr

Ent'lanil

Scotland

Ireland

Viincnnver
Islaiiil

l)ii<li('l in V.
ImImikI (cstl-

Wheat . .

liiutetl).

4 qrs.

3i nrs.

3 qrs.

4 qrs.

(»2 lbs.

liarli-y . .

'11„

r> „

4 „

J 1

50 „

( )ats . . .

5 ;,

<*' „

4^ }>

4i„

38 „

Potatoes .

04 „

(iO „

—

25 „

Pras. . .

'H „

'5 »

•T „

^ „'

Tiivnips . ,

20 tons

25 tons

15 tons

Clover (cut

preen) .

c„

^> M

4 „

Gardens

25 fold

25 fokl

30 fold

25 fold

Tares . .

f30 to
■ 40 tons

35 tons
(f-reen)

.'J3 tons

35 tons
(green)

[ (};recn)

(g'reen)

Hops thrive in the colony, and find a ready sale among
brewers, whose operations are lucrative and extensive.
Flax also would become a profitable article of production,

* At the Agricultural Exhibition held in Vancouver Island in October
last, peas were shown weighing 72| lbs. to the bushel.

STOCK.

105

sliuls to the
) bushels to
»lcs succeed
Washiugtou
Litter. TIjc
ed, and our
cnnnot bo
' tlie world,
id quantities
all* bushels ;
and a halt'.
.dtivatit)u of

•ny, exhibits
IS compared

■Wcislit por
r hiHlicl in V,
Islauit (c.-itl-

nuituil).

sale among
extensive,
production,

[ind in October

provided wr had (lax-mills at work and were prepared to
extract oil liom the seed. This, after its contents have
been expi'essed, is converted, in Canada and elsewhere,
into a cake, which is said to be highly nutritious as food
for cattle.

Stock.

Five-sixtl s of tdl the stock used in the country is still
imported fi mu California, Oregon, and Washington Terri-
tory, and large ))rolits are often realised from its importa-
tion. Trolits have, therefore, to be paid by the consumer
in Vancouver Island to grazier, importer, and retailer. I
have known persons bring horses from California to supply
men about to start for the mines, invest in the transaction
200/., and net 4.j/. from the sale of tiie animals Avithin six
weeks from taking their i)assiige for that American Stale.
In a similar way have I known an enterprising cattle-
dealer lay out in California .^00/. upon oxen, sheep, I'^.c,
for Victoria, and within a few weeks place to his credit
150/. as the result. For success in this business nuic-h
de{)ends upon practical knowledge.

Among American horned cattle are to be found sonui
excellent breeds. Durhams and Devons have been in
California for many years. Spanish cattle abound on the
coast, and are good beeves, though of a small description.

The Californian sheep have long horns and thick wool,
and, when crossed with Southdowns in the island, the
breed is much improved.

Horses can be had in California in almost every variety,
from the thorough-bred racer to the most miserable hack.
The Holland or Clydesdale breed, however, are not often
to be met with.

A quantity of native horses are imported occasionally
from the Sandwich Islands ; and in proof of how admirably
the colony suits them, it may be stated that some of these,

o 2

196

AGRICULTURE IN VANCOUVER ISLAND.

fetcliiiig only 10/. per head when they arrive, get to be
worth, after being put to grass for a time, from 25/. to 30/.

Oxen are generally used for ploughing and other kinds
of heavy ftirm-work, and are in growing demand.

Mares increase at the rate of 75 per cent., cows 90 per
cent, (weight 375 lbs.), sheep 100 per cent, (weight 50
lbs.), hogs 1,000 per cent, (weight 150 lbs.).

Fern-roots, wliich teem in the island, afford staple food
for tlie last-named of these animals. But to keep them
tame and prevent them from being lost in the woods, they
should have a stated feed of peas once or twice a day.
Pork is a favourite dish with the Chinese, and, as it is
also tlie chief sort of animal food in use among the mining
population, it always commands a high price. A list of
agricultural imports on a succeeding page will give an
idea of how little has yet been done in the rendering of
ourselves independent of foreigners for tlie supply of this
article. A rare opportunity is here offered to skilfid
Yorkshircmen, familiar with the art of curing bacon, for
makinsf a fortune.

The small area of Vancouver Island docs not admit of
grazing being carried on on so immense a scale as that
branch of agriculture in the colonies of the southern
hemisphere, where thousands of acres of pasture-land
have been bought for a trifling consideration. But in the
larger adjacent colony of British Cohnnbia facilities exist
for the breeding of cattle to an indefinite extent.

Prices.

The most hasty inspection of the prices obtained for
some kinds of produce, and particularly for stock, is
sufficient to create excitement in the prosecution of island
farming, as the gold of Cariboo has attracted minino-
adventurers.

rillCES OF I'llODL'Ci:.

1117

', get to be
25/. to 30/.

other kinds

Liid.

iows 90 per
(weight 50

staple food
keep them
woods, they
ivice a day.
md, as it is
5 the mining
, A hst of
vill give an
rendering of
pply of this
d to skih'id
I bacon, for

lot admit of
ale as that
le southern
lasture-land
But in the
cilities exist
nt.

btained for
r stock, is
on of island
ted minhig

Hay sells at from 5/. to G/., and rose during tlie s})i-ing
of lcSG2, after a severe winter, to IG/. per ton. New
potatoes fetch od. ])er lb. retail; wheat has been sold in
tlie colony at 8.s'., and oats at Gs. per bushel. Tlie large
yields of wheat in California and Oregon, and the frequent
shipments of flour from those States to Victoria, make com-
petition difficult on the part of our farmers for tlie moment,
in these commodities, liut the establishment of grist-mills
at distances convenient to the forming settlements would
place colonial producers, with respect to this {U'ticlc of
import, in as favourable a position as they could desire.
Fat oxen are worth from 30/. to 40/. per yoke ; cured
bacon, wdiich sells in the Atlantic States at from 5(/. to G^/.,
and in Oregon at from Gd. to 1},d. per lb., readily brings
in Victoria from 7-\d. to 8f/., and from S],d. to 10(/. per
lb. respectively. The retail price of beef is 10^/., and of
mutton Is. per lb. Butter that in the Atlantic States (H)sts
from 7 Id. to 10^/. per lb.,* and in California from 10(/.
to Is. hl^d. per lb., is sold in the island, retail, at from
].s. lOd. to 2.9. Id. per lb. Island butter (fresh) can be
disposed of to any extent, and sells retail at from 2.y. 7(/.
to Ss. per lb. Island eggs, in the most abundant season,
are sold (retail) at 2^-. 7d. per dozen, and, if imjiorted, at
2.S'. Id. per dozen. I have known the latter article sold
at Christmas as high as C)s. per dozen.

In the Victoria ' Prices Current and Shipping List,'
under the head ' Grain,' is the following hst of goods, Avith
the prices affixed : —

"Wheat — Califoniia .
Parley „ . . .

Oats — Colonial
,, California

rib.

* These American prices arc; according' to the gold and not the yrccnback
standard, and apply to times of poaeo.

198

AGRICULTURE IN VANCOUVER ISLAND.

Peas — whole .
„ split
Beans — Bnyos, California
„ white „

ChiU .
pink .

Under the head of ' provisions' : —

per Ih.

Cents

5
7
3

3
3

Vovk

Beef — Mess, California
„ EasteiTi .
„ American
clear
Hamburg

Hams— English, per lb. clear
„ „ halfbbls. .

„ Oregon ....
„ Billings ....

Bacon — Sides, extra clear, Eastern

California

per bbl. ^8 @ 10
8 „ 10

halfbbl.

22
IG

»>

Butter — Isthmus
„ Oregon

Cheese* — English
Lard — American, 101b. tins

Oregon

kegs

per lb.

2o @
25

22
25
16
22
22
47
37
18
10
19

Cents

28
18

25
50

25
20

We are supplied with fresli milk at the rate of 2.9. 1^/.
per gallon in summer. In winter the price is higher.
For some time after my arrival in the colony it cost 4*. 2cl.
per gallon.

To those who are prepared to embark in farming,
having capital sufficient to engage in this pursuit exten-
sivelj% my advice would be that they should make their
green crops subservient mainly to the feed of stock, and
lay out as large a portion of their land in timothy grass
as possible, as retimis from hay and cattle are always
certain and remunerative. In tliese items, together with

* The manufacturo of this product is as yet unknown among us.

rilUDUCE IMrOIlTED.

109

nts
5
7
3

3
3

Cents
25 @

9r^

22
25
10
22
22
47
37
18
10
19

Cents

28
18

25
50

25
20

e of 2.9. Id.
is higher,
cost 4^. 2(L

in farmiiiix
suit exten-
make their
stock, and
iiothy grass
are always
>'ether with

l)iittcr, fowls, and eggs, competition with foreign supplies
need never be feared.

Some beautiful orchards have been already planted in
the island, varying in size fi'om 25 to 5 acres. A])pk's,
pears, plums, cherries, and all the bush-fruits of England,
grow in great perfection. A gentleman in Oregon, who
has an orchard of ten acres, seven years old, informed me
that it netted him 1,000/., or at the rate of 100/. per acre
per annmri. There is no reason why an orchard of tlie
same age in the colony, if duly attended to, should not
realise to the proprietor at least 130/. per acre per annum.

Amount of Agricultural Produce Imported into the Colony.

To demonstrate how jiowerful are the inducements held
out to industrious and intelligent farming immigrants in
the colon j^, I subjoin statistics of various agricidtural pro-
ducts imported into Victoria in 1803. I have prepared
the statement with care from the general retiuii of imports
for the year : —

Article
]5acou .
Barley .
lieef .
Bran .
1 ieans .
Butter*
Bread .
Cattle .
Eggs .
I'lour .
Fruit .

Viiliie

^o;5,2ii

44,2:50
8,559
9,071

10,008

00,231

5,403

3,217

5,924

172,521

10,377

Carried forward . 405,472

Article

Value

Broug

lit foi

ward

. 405,472

Hams .

2,981

Hay .

. 13,50(5

Hops ,

10,Hi(0

Hogs .

9,170

Horses,

. 38,:504

Oats .

. 1:'.,0:}9

Pork .

0,304

I'otatoes

7,7:5(>

Salt .

323

Sheep .

. 10,42:{

"W'getablea

8,82:J

l^otal V

alue

. ^53:j,o;}7

* This is all salted or * powdered.' The more southern latitudes from
which this article comes are not so well adapted for the making of butter as
ours is, in consequence of their being subject to protracted periods of
drought, which is prejudicial to the manufacture of dairy produce. Our
nioister climate gives us a decided advantage in this respect.

200

ac;kiculture in VA^'couvJ<:K island.

Here "vvc liave imported from foreign countries in one
year, into an infant city of not more tlian 5,000 inhabitants,
farming products, valued in round numbers as per invoice
(wholesale) at 106,000/. sterling, every one of which articles
could have been produced in tlie colony. It is true that
a considerable proportion of these were intended for con-
sumption in British Columbia, but having a market so
near and so good — independently of that furnished by
our own island population — it sup])lies an argument all
the more forcible why a stimulus should be given to
agricultural enterprise among us.

Some have looked upon tlie perpetuation of the free-
port system as suicidal to agricultural prosperity. If,
however, the kinds of produce that flourisli in the island
can be raised at the same expense as in California,
Oregon, or Washington Territory, it is evident that our
farmers must be more favourably situated than producers
in these States who may attempt to compete with us in
supplying our market, since they have not only to bear
charges of transit from the interior, where they reside, to
the place of shipment, but also freight thence to Victoria.
The latter item, especially, our farmers are enabled to
save. Being close to market, moreover, and all our vege-
tables with certain of our cereals being superior to what
are imported, they secure a preference among island
consumers.

Did we possess a general protective tariff, the higher
prices agriculturists would then have to pay for tnanu-
factured imports would considerably outweigh any little
advantage they might gain in that case over American
neighbours in disposing of stock and produce. If, on the
other hand, the system of protection were confined to
articles strictly agricultural, it might be attended with loss
to the community at large, but could not sensibly benefit
colonial producers.

CLEARING AND SOWIXCJ.

201

tries in one
inhabitants,
per invoice
lich articles
s true that
cd for con-
market so
irnished by
■gument all
e given to

3f the free-
!perity. If,
I the island

California,

nt that our

n producers

with us in

>nly to bear

reside, to

;o Victoria,
enabled to

1 our vege-
ior to what
Lono; island

tlie higher
for manu-
1 any little
r American
If, on the
confined to
3d with loss
bly benefit

If with so little talent, energy, economy, and cai)ital
the majoritjj of our farmers manage to keeji their heads
above water, their condition would be incalculably im-
])roved by possessing a larger share of tliese qualities. The
free-port system should be guarded intact in its ])i-esent
state, so that not even the shadow of any custom-house
official might ever be allowed to fall on it. For if once
the principle of taxing imports be acknowledged, it will
be impossible for the local government under financial
pressure in the future to resist temptation to extend the
application of it from articles of agriculture to those of
conmierce. The transition from the one to the other is
easy. What then would be the result? The chief clement
of our strength and progress would be hopelessly im-
paired. The charm with which Victoria is now invested
— as distinguished from all otlier cities on the North
American shores of the Pacific, and by which she brings
t(3 her feet connnerce from every part of the globe — would
be broken, and thr.t unlucky diiy woidd be cursed by
])osterity when the first conception of protective policy
to farmers cast an incurable blight upon conunercial
interests.

Clearing, Times of Sowing, i^'C.

There are open lands in the colony already fit for the
plougli, and from which a crop may be obtained without
any exertion in clearing. But even the richest prairie
soil cannot entirely dispense with preparation for plough-
ing. Where loose surface stones or small boidders liappen
to be imbedded, they should be first carefully removed.
If there be no dense weed or stumps, the land should be
broken up, in the first instance, by one or more yokes of
oxen, as the former may deem necessary. These animals
are preferi-ed for strength and steadiness of draught to
the ordinary horses of the coinitry.

202

AOKICULTUKE LV VAN'COUVER ISLAND.

If fern prevail on the land, it should be ploughed up
in the heat of summer, in order, by exposure of tlie roots
to tlie rays of the sun, to destroy them. These "with all
bulbous weeds, such as crocuses, kamass, &c., should
be collected and burned. Fern-land, not required for
immediate use, may with advantage be left for hogs to
buiTow in, as they form valuable pioneers.

Land covered with pine is not difficult to clear. Tliat
tree, being of a resinous description, burns freely, and its
roots creep close to the surface. Nor is it requisite for
sowing the first j^ear's crop that the stumps should all be
removed. In Canada this is a work cxtendintr over years,
and the settler can adapt the quantity of land he clears to
the means at his command. The roots of oak descendini*'
more vertically into the ground are not so easily eradi-
cated. The cost of clearing an acre of timbered land is
put by the Surveyor-General of tlie colony at 8/. But
where a man, assisted by a family of lads, works him-
self, the expense would not equal half that amount.

After clearing, draining and ditching should receive
early attention. I am convinced from observation that
where the land is level — favouring the collection of sur-
face w^ater — the benefit of good drainage to the crops
will, in two years, more than make up for its cost.

Some advise that the rotation of crops in virgin soil
should be : after the ground has been left to a summer
fallow, wheat sown in October ; then a crop of peas, oats,
or wheat again, and then a fallow made for turnips. By
this time it is estimated the land will be well cleaned.
After turnips, a crop of barley or oats should be raised,
followed by potatoes. After the land is subjected to this
cleaning process, it is advised that it should be manured,
and then placed under the four-course system adopted
ill Great Britain. But, instead of following impJicitly

AUTUMN CULTIVATION.

203

oiighcd 11])
•f tlic roots
!se with all
kc, sliould
'quired for
or hoiifs to

car. Til at
Ay\ and its
iquisito for
oiild all be
over years,
le clears to
descending
isily eradi-
red land is
it 8/. But
[Vorks lum-
ount.
d receive
[\tion that
ion of sur-
the crops
;ost.

irgin soil

a summer

)eas, oats,
nips. By

1 cleaned.

be raised,
ted to this

manured,
a adopted

implicitly

these or any other directions respecting the sowing of
crops, the settler will act more wisely in following the
method dictated by expediency.

It may be stated generally, however, that the time for
sowing oats, barley, peas, and tares, is from the middle of
March to the end of April ; and the time for i-eaping these
crops, from the 1st of August to tlie end of September.
Potatoes are planted in March and April, and gathered in
the early part of November. Turni[)s, gathered at the
same time, are sown in the six weeks between the 1st of
June and the middle of July.

Autumn cultivation is not yet common in the colony.
Besides wheat — which ought to be sown in October, that
the young plant may gain strength to withstand the frosts
of winter — there are certain fodder plants which .should
be put in about the same time. Tliese specially deserve
consideration in connection with stock-raising. There are
clovers — red, Dutch, and Alsike. The last-named is the
best of perennial clovers, and produces a thick crop of
forage. The crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) forms
licli fodder for cattle in spring, if cut when in flower.
Lucerne {Medica<jo sativa) comes up in spring, a foitnight
before the clovers or rye-grass. It is most congenial t(^ a
light sandy soil, Avitli a calcareous subsoil. With proper
care this will yield a crop for eight years in succession.
Common bird's-foot trefoil [Lotus coniiculatus) is highly
luitritious, grows on dry elevated pastures, and is con-
sumed with avidity by cattle. From the great depth to
which its roots penetrate, it is protected against injury
from drought, and succeeds in retaining its verdure after
tlie grasses and otlier plants are burnt up. Common
saintfoin (Onobri/chis uiticus) also continues in perfection
for many years, and ought to form part of all ])ermanent
pastures. Common tares or vetch (Vicia .miicu), hard

204

A(J11ICULTU11I': IN VAN'COL'VEU ISLAND.

fescue grass (Festuca durmsciila), sliecp's fescue (Festiwa
oriti(i), Italian rye (Loliuiu Jtalicum), and common rye-
grass (Loliiun perenne) — all these i)lants, sown in juitunm,
Avill produce in spring an early and a bulky crop, and should,
without d(!lay, engage the notice of island larmers.*

Owing to our proximity to the gold-mines, farm-labour
is scarce, and this operates as a serious hindrance to the
development of agricultural resources. Yet the rate of
wages olFered to larm-scrvants is about double what ob-
tains in England. While in the parent country they
receive 21. 8.s'. per month without board, in Vancouver
Island they are paid 4/. per month ivith board.

The intending emigrant will naturally desire to know
what progress has been made in the colony as to roads.
He is informed, in reply, that the Government has spared
no pains in meeting this want. Within a radius of twenty
miles of Victoria, in every direction, superior roads are
made. Settlers in the remoter districts of Cowichan,
Nanaimo, and Comox, however, are for the present at a
discount in this respect. But a small steamer and several
sailing-vessels call at the various settlements on the coast
periodically, and afford farmers an opportunity of receiv-
ing stores and letters from Victoria, and of sending their
produce to market. From Comox there is a trail all the
way to Victoria ; but it is continually Hable to be inter-
rupted by the fall of trees after a storm. Every year
will witness a rapid extension of roads where they arc
required.

' An Act to provide for the Eepair, Improvement, and
Regulation of Eoads in Vancouver Island and its Depen-
dencies,' was passed some years ago. It was therein
appointed ' that every male person over ten years of age,

* For these hints on autumn tillage I am obliged to the communication
of a gentleman of great experience in such matters.

TKRMS OF SETTLI:MEXT.

205

3 (Fcstncd
unoii rye-
II uutiimii,
nd yliould,
ers.*

rm-l.'iboiir
ice to the
lie rate of
} what ob-
ntiy tliey
Vtuicouvcir

} to know
3 to roads,
lias spared
5 of twenty
roads are
Cowichan,
^esent at a
nd several
11 the coast
of receiv-
ding their
rail all the
be inter-
very year
they are

[ment, and
ps Depen-
is therein
|irs of age,

Immunication

and every male and female entitled to any interest in any
real estate in any of the road districts, sliall perform six
days' labour iqxjii tlie public highway, with extra days if
proi)eity be extensive. This labour nitiy be compounded
at the rate of six shilhngs and three[)encc — the rate of a
man's labour — per day. A cart or waggon, with a pair of
horses or oxen, is equal to two days' labour — or twelve
shillings and sixpence.'

The iirincipal articles ibr working and stocking a pre-
empted farm are: an American plough, 4/. to 5/.; a waggon,
40/. ; a good horse, 20/. ; a yoke of oxen, 30/. to 40/. ;
sheep, from 1/. to 1/. IS-v. per head ; hogs, '2,],d. per lb. on
foot ; hay, 5/. per ton ; cows, 7/. per head ; fowls, from 4.s\
to Q)S. each; wheat, G.s. 3^/. per bushel, for fowls. Many
a farmer, notwithstanding, has commenced work in the
island with little more than one or two needful imple-
ments, procuring other requisites as he could.

Terms of Settlement.

The upset price of surveyed land in the agricultural
districts is 4.y. Id. per acre, one-fourth of which amount
must be paid when the purchase is recorded, and the re-
mainder in successive instalments, extending, altogether,
over four years. In tiiose portions of the country which
are still unsurveyed., the farming emigrant could enter into
freehold possession by pre-einption. This system enables
the settler to acquire land without any payment being
called for till it is surveyed. From the date of survey he
is required to meet his obligations to the Government in
annual instalments, and at the same rate as in the previous
instance.

When the claim is registered, a recording fee of 8.s*. 4c/.
is charged. By this arrangement any unmarried man,
above eighteen years of age, being a British subject, or

200

liavi

A(JRICULTURE IX VANTOUVER ISLAND.

ing, as an alien, taken the oath of allegiance to the
Crown, may pre-empt 150 acres; a married man, having
a wife resident in the colony, 200 acres ; and for each
child under eighteen years of age, resident in the colony,
he is entitled to ten additional acres.*

Considering the rival advantages offered to the poor
emigrant in New Zealand, the South African Colonies, and
the United States — all of which countries are so much
easier of access from England than this part of the world —
it would be desirable for the local government to mnke,
for a certain period, free grants of land to bona fide settlers.
While such strenuous exertions are being used, and libertd
inducements presented by New Zealand and the States to
bring emigration, we cannot hope for the rapid settlement
of these North Pacific colonies with poor but industrious
farmers, unless we endeavour, in some measure, to imitate
the example of those more advanced countries.

* For the most recent land-proclamatiou in cxtenso see the Appendix.

207

ICO to tl le-
an, huving
I for each
:hc colony,

) the poor
ilonies, and
e so much
le world —
t to make,
ide settlers.
and liberal
10 States to
. settlement
industrious
!, to imitate

Appendix.

CIIAPTEU V[I.
nrjTisii coLUMniA.

HISTORICAL SKirrCH. — GKOLOGV, ETC.

Seaboard — Sir Alexander ^fackonzie — First Triidiii"' Po.st — Tludsion's Rav
Company's reyime — C}eol()}fical Formation,

British Columbia lies between the parallels of 49° and
55° N. lat., and contains, together with Queen Charlotte
Island, the chief of its insular dependencies, an area of
about 200,000 square miles. It is boiuided on the south
by the frontier of the United States, on the east by the;
llocky Mountains, on the north by Simpson's lliver and
the Finlay branch of Peace Eiver, and on the west by the
Pacific Ocean. Its coast-line, as has been already stated,
measures 450, and the average breadth of the colony is
from 350 to 400 miles. Its greatest length diagonally,
from corner to corner, is 805 miles.

Like Vancouver Island, the seaboard of British Columbia
is broken by numerous inlets, many of which are navigable
by steamers and sailing vessels of moderate draft, and
will undoubtedly be brought, sooner or later, into use as
mediums of communication with the forming and mining
settlements rising up in the interior.

While the exploration of the adjoining colony was
accomplished by navigators approaching it from the west,
British Columbia was originally entered by civilised enter-
prise from the east.

208

imiTISII COLUMDIA.

'riu; Quebec Fur Conipuuy foruied in IG2!), the Hudson's
]5iiy Conipiiny in 100',), and, sul)se(]uently, tlie Noitli-West
Company, vied with each otiier in extendinj^ their respec-
tive huntin<'-ii;rounds northward and westward, lint the
eternal snows crowning the gigantic range of the Uoeky
Mountains seemi^d to hid resistk'ss ik'liance to all further
advance toward the Taeilic till the heroic Sir Alexander
Mackenzie, in 1700, crossed at the north end of the range,
and succeeded in tracing Peace liiver and the Frasei' to
their sources. That name will remain indelibly inscribed
on the page of history as belonging to the first white man
who set foot in British Columbia.

The romantic story of Lewis and Clarke has made
familiar to many the thrilling adventures of these leaders
of the pioneer-band who next, in the year 1804, passed
the formidable barrier n^ferred to.

In 1800 tlie first fur-trading post ever established in
British Columbia was erected a short distance from the
great bend of Eraser liiver by the oflicer of the Hudson's
Bay Company, after whom that stream was named. It
was not long before the country — known then as New
Caledonia — was dotted with the factories of the company.

In 1821 a termination was put to the fierce hostilities
that had for many years embroiled the Montreal or North-
West Company in bloody confiict with the Hudson's Bay
Company, and these two trading bodies, burying the
hatchet, were merged under the designation of the latter.
In tliat year the united companies obtained a charter
guaranteeing to them exclusive trade in these regions ;
and to their posts the native tribes ' brought the furs of
the black and silver fox, the bear, the sea-otter, the
fisher, the marten, the beaver, the musk-rat, the lynx,'
&;c. This lucrative monopoly the company enjoyed till
1858, when the coiuitry — added to the list of British

ITS PHYSICAL fllAUAdKIl.

'J(l!»

e Hudsoii's

(orth-WVst

itir i-LS|)t'('-

[. lint the

the Kot'ky

all furtlici-

Alexiuult'i*

' the ruiij^fc,

e Fi'iisei' to

:y iii!S(;ri!)(j(l

white imiu

lias niaclo
icsu leaders
804, passed

tablished in
e from the
e Iludsoii's
named. It
en as New
company,
hostilities
or North-
idson's l>ay
rying the
the latter,
a charter
e regions ;
the furs of
otter, the
the lynx,'
ijoyed till
of British

colonies, to be govei'iKMl uiidci" the direction of the Crow ii
— was emancipated from tlu' ri'strictive dominion of thr
fui'-ti'ader, and thrown open to th" free enterj)ris(' of
civilisation. 'J'lie large inllux of pojuilation in that yciii',
consequent on the discovery of gold, has been ali('ad\
enlarged upon in comiection with the history of VancouviT
Island.

'V\\i} Ijcidoijii and p/ti/sictil (/cof/nt^ilii/ of Hiitish Colunibiii
alike derive their character primarily from the pii'scncc
of the liocky Mountains. This great chain, I'unning frcMii
north-west to south-east, forms the (f.rls of c/i'i'tiflon of tln'
western coast of North America. It is of volcanic^ forma
tion, and is subject to the action of eruptive and elevatory
forces to which the craters of Mount Helen, Mount Kanier,
and JVlount Jiaker answer as safety-valves.

This mountain range consists generally of igneous
hypogcnic rocks, flanked by silurian deposits, cond)ine(l
with auriierous rocks, which also in part overlay the
first-named of these strata.

In tho vicinity of the 49th parallel this rangn is mainly com-
posed of contorted, false-bedded, stratifit'd rocks, very full of
ripple mark, with some interstratified basaltic traps. Tliesc;
beds rest on a gnelsso-granitic mass, which is exposed at 1*( iid-
Orielle Lake, about half way between the Colum])ia and Kootanie
rivers.

This granite is the general geological axis of the country, and
divides the inialtered rocks of the eastern slope from those of
the western side, which are principally black slate and lime-
stone, contemporaneous with the lower beds of the K(K'ky
IMountains ; but they are very much altered and disturbed botli
by granite and greenstone rocks. It is remarkable that only
one greenstone dyke is exposed to the eastward of Pend-Orielle
Lake (in the valley of the Kootanie Kiver), while the amount of
metamorphism in the rocks increases as we pass westward from
the Columbia to the Pacific, or valley of the Fraser Kiver.

210

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

This great range then runs in a north-west and sontli-east
direction, at an average distance of from 350 to 400 miles from
the coast. Parallel to this, running in the same general direc-
tion, is the coast range, which sends down, westerly, numerous
rugged mountain-spurs to meet the sea and to form deep
inlets.

This range, composed of plutonic, metamorpliic, and trappean
rocks, permeated throughout by a system of metalliferous
quartzose veins and trappean dykes, sends off a branch known
as the Lilloet spur, to terminate at the Fraser Kiver west of
Hope. Between the range and the spur is enclosed a chain of
lakes which, with their portages, are of great importance as a
means of transit to the upper country. A succession of elevated
plateaux of the tertiary age stretch westerly from the base of
the Rocky Mountains and their flanking ridges to this Lilloet
spur of the coast range ; and cutting its way through the frijd)le
materials of this deposit, bursting through the mountain passes
at Yale and Hope, the Fraser River with its golden waters
flows onward to the sea, bringing down in its spring and sutnmer
torrents those lighter particles of gold which, accumulated on
its banks and bars, have been the means of directing attention
to and developing that amazing wealth of the rugged upper
coimtry whence the noble stream derives its springs of life.

Sweeping on past Yale and Hope, the river leaves its rocky
barriers behind, and, rolling on in graceful sweeps, passes the
rising city of New Westminster, to empty its flood into the
Gulf of Georgia. During the latter part of its course it flows
a tranquil steady stream, through tertiary and alluvial deposits,
carrying with it sedimentary matter, to be deposited as banks
and shoals, the nuclei of future * green fields and pastures new.'

The colony of British Columbia, which thus extends its
western borders to the sea, has a noble barrier for the protection
of its shores. An outlying ridge, another parallel chain of
mountains — cut off, however, by the sea from the continent
with which, in its physical geography, it is connected — forms an
archipelago of islands, the chief of which is the sister colony of
Vancouver.

The whole northern and western sea-face of British Columbia,

GEOLOOICAL FEATURES.

211

south-east
miles from
leral direc-
, numerouH

form deep

id trappean
letalliferons
,nch known
ver west of
rl a cliain of
ortance as a
I of elevated
the base of
i this Lilloet
1 the fiial)le
intain passes
ilden waters
and summer
mulated on
g attention
igged upper
of life.
es its rocky
, passes the
lod into the
lurse it flows
ial deposits,
ed as banks
,stures new.'
extends its
e protection
lei chain of
e continent
-forms an
er colony of

Ih Columbia,

as far south as Howe Sound, is a rugged mass of plutonic,
trappean, and quartzose rocks, with associated semi-crystalline
limestones. Cut up by numerous inlets and arms of the sea, ii
needs no protection against the winds and waves, but sends out
its adamantine promontories to meet them.

Far different, however, is the coast-line from llowe Sound or
Burrard's Inlet southwards. Stretching in a semicircle, tin;
convexity of which touches the foot-raiige of mountains abovi;
Langley on tlip r'-^-^-er, and reaching south, past Ik'Uinghaiu
Bay, into Unittii States territory, is a deposit of loose friablf
vsandstones and alluvium, the same through which the Frascr
-River cuts its way. These sandstones at Burrard's Inlet and at
Bellingham Bay contain seams of lignite ; the associated friable
.sandstones, where hardened and partially metamorphosed, show-
ing impressions of a dicotyledonous plant allied to maple.

All geological evidence tends to prove that the last uplieaval
of this continent and outlying islands was slow and gradual.
occurring in the post-pleistocene or most recent tertiary epoch.
And the existence of this belt of sandstone and alluvium, which
is of such vast importance to British Columbia, is due in tlu;
first place to the upheaval and deposition of alluvial matter; in
the second place, to the protection of the outlying insular bar-
riers, Vancouver Island and its dependencies.*

This quotation from tlie excellent |)amplilet of my friend
is given at length because it contains the most compre-
hensive geological descripticm of the colony I have seen,
and the document from which it is taken is very little
known in England, not having been published here.

At the entrance to Harrison Lake, and on both sides of
that sheet of water, there are boulders of granite and
quartzose rocks; gneiss with garnets; mica-schist Avith
garnets ; slate, and masses of white quartz, giving metalli-
ferous indications. Most of the mountains surrounding
the lake are composed of trap, with micaceous, talcose.

Forbes, p. 7.
1. •">

212

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

and horiil)len(le schists, resting at varior angles upon it.
All these are more or less cliarged with iron, the oxidation
of Avhicli is thought t(.) have produced tlie disintegration
of these rocks.

Not far from the moutli of the Harrison, on the right
bank, is found a mass of trachytic rock, wliich lias evi-
dently been erupted, liaving also shattered and dislodged
the rocks adjacent. Tliis rock, which is of volcanic origin,
contains white quartz, showing the presence of silver and
copper. The quartz-vein dips northerly, overlaid by tlie
trachytic rocks. Subordinate veins of quartz radiate in
all directions, permeating the trachyte.

The geological features of this locality may be regarded
as a fair type of the formation on the entire eastern side
of the lake. It has been briefly described as ' a region of
primary metamorphic and volcanic rock, crossed and
recrossed by trappean dykes and veins and seams of
metalliferous quartz and quartzose rocks, which form the
central axis of the mountain range, have on their flanks
transverse ridges and spurs of trappean rock, bedded and
jointed ; resting on which, at various angles, lie the meta-
morphic schistose rocks, which, again broken through,
disturbed and shattered by successive intrusions of volcanic
rock, have in many instances undergone a second meta-
morphosis, and show an amorphous crystalline structure,
accompanied by segregation of metal into the permeating
veins.'

On the road between Douglas and Lilloet is found an
argentiferous rock of a pale blue colour, with masses and
strings of quartz running through it. Sulphuret of silver,
argentiferous pyrites, and specks of gold are met with,
associated with iron pyrites, in cubes and other forms.
Numerous faults and slips exist in the trappean range.

As far as they have been examined, the rocks on the

GEOLOGICAL FEATURES.

213

;s upon it.

oxidation

ntegnition

L the right
h has evi-

dislodgcd
inic origin,
' silver and
aid by tlie

radiate in

e regarded
jastern side
a region of
L'ossed and
1 seams of
ih form the
heir flanks
Dedded and
the meta-
through,
of volcanic
cond meta-
structure,
permeating

found an
masses and
et of silver,
met with,
her forms.

range,
cks on the

from Hope to Colville are of the

igneous and meta-
moj'phic series. A mountain near Hope appears to be
of granite, tipped witli slate, and interspersed with masses
of white indurated clay, containing fi'agments of white
quartz.

Tbis formation (says Lieutenant Palmer, I?.E.) may be said
to consist of granite with its felspar decomposed and reduced to
a state of indurated clay ; it extends to the dividing ridge of the
cascades, and partly into the valley of the Tulameen. In the
latter valley may be seen vast masses of white quartz; in all
probability the exposed face of the rock, which, with granite,
constitutes a large portion of the district, extending into the
Semilkameen valley.

On approaching the summit of the Tulameen range, the
quartz partially disappears, and is replaced by a species of
variegated sandstone, in which traces of iron occur. To what
extent the sandstone prevailed I had no opportunity of judging,
the weather being snowy while I was there, and the rocks, as a
rule, imljcdded in peaty turf.

As we leave the Tulameen mountains and descend into the
valley below, indurated clay appears to predominate to a con-
sideral)le extent. This clay varies in character as we approach
the Vermilion Forks : a portion I noticed near that point l)eing
a white silicate of alumina, mixed with sand. On one specimen
which I picked up were the fossil remains of the leaves of the
hemlock.

Further down in the Semilkameen valley the clay acquires a
slaty texture, and becomes stained with iron to a greater or less
extent. Blue clay also exists ; only, however, in small quantities.

The mountains bordering the Semilkameen consist chiefly of
granite, greenstone, and quartz, capped with blue and brown
clay slate. The beds of both the Tulameen and Semilkameen
are covered with boulders of granite of every description and
colour ; of greenstone and of trap, and vary in form and size.

Boulders of the same character prevail on the river-bottoms
to a greater or less extent. Like that of most other explored
parts of British Columbia, the geological character of this region

214

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

appears to indicate the high probability of auriferous deposits.
In the lower portiun of the Sernilkameen, and near the ' Bi^
Ik'nd,' gold was discovered shortly after I passed through by
some of the men attached to the United States Boundary Com-
mission. Report pronounced the discovery a valuable one, as
much as ,^40 to the hand being taken out in three hours without
proper mining tools.

The Cariboo district, which embraces spurs of the
Rocky chain, is so singularly contorted and erupted as to
be represented as ' a tumbled sea of mountains.' Their
characteristic feature is, that the granite of which they
are partially composed is permeated, as elsewhere, with
masses of quartz. The beds of some of the streams con-
tain large quartz boulders and a kind of slate rock, covered
with red gravel, said to bear resemblance to the rich
gold-bearino; regions in the south of California.

215

LIS deposits,
r the ' Big
:hrougli by
idary Com-
,ble one, as
urs without

LPS of the
pted as to
,s.' Their
diich they
here, witli
'earns con-
;k, covered
) the rich

CIIAPTEE VIII.

GENEEAL DESCRIPTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Sccneiy in the Passage from Victoria to Fraser Hirer — Cascade Eange —
New Westminster — Imports — Shipping Returns — Customs Kevenue —
Hates of Duties Leviable — Government Buildings — Churches — Langley —
Sumass and Chilukweyuk — Ilamson River — Douglas — Diary of a Journey
thence to "William's Creek — Cariboo — Table of Distances — Hope — Yalo
— Rapids — Lytton— Clinton — William's Lake — Routes via Bentiuck Arm
and Bute Inlet — Routes to Shuswap.

Steamers ply regularly between Victoria and New
Westminster, performing a voyage of about eighty miles
in seven hours. The trip across the Gulf of Georgia in
fine weather is uncommonly interesting, especially to one
accustomed to the landscapes of Western Europe. For
alternate beauty and subhmity, the scenery passed through
cannot be equalled by any to be met with on the coasts
of the Old World.

In traversing the placid waters cultivated tracts are
beheld westward in the districts of Victoria and Saanich.
Our course, at times, leads through narrow and lonely
passes between pine-clad islands, and flocks of mallard,
widgeon, and sea-gull ever and anon present a tempting
spectacle to the sportsman.

The coast of the colony appears fringed with dense
forest, sometimes growing on flats, but generally covering
mountains of various shape and grade. These granitic
and trappean ridges terminate in peaks, varjung from
1,000 to 10,000 feet high, and are timbered half way to
their summits.

21G GENERAL DESCRIPTION OP BRITISH COLUMBIA.

A considerable distance behind the minor ranges, the
Cascade chain runs nearly parallel with the coast at a
distance of from sixty to one hundi'ed miles from it. The
loftiest lieiirht in this ran<'e is Mount Baker. It is
situated in lat. 48° 44' N. in American territory. It is
10,7(10 feet high, and towers far above every other object
visible from the Gulf. It was seen from Victoria
several times, after dusk, during my residence there, in a
state of eruption.

At length the mouth of the Fi'aser is reached. On
either side of the entrance to the river, sand-bars have
been formed by river-drift, and extend five miles west-
ward, opposing, howxn'cr, no dangers to navigation which
a reasonable amount of caution may not avoid. As we
ascend, the maple, the alder, and the cottonwood appear
in the vicinity of land that is liable to periodic inunda-
tion from spring Hoods. Higher ground is occupied by
cedars and majestic pines. The prodigious size of these
giants of the forest is beyond even what the backwoods-
man of Canada is prepared for.

Fifteen miles up the stream from its mouth is New
Westminster, the infant capital of the colony. It stands
upon a slope inconveniently steep for extension into a
great city, though possessing facihties for anchorage by
no means despicable. This site was chosen by Colonel
Moody, late Commissioner of Lands and Works in the
colony, for the strategical advantages which it oilers in
case of war with our American neighbours, and the space
^\■\\l doubtless prove ample for all future requirements of
a town built in that location. Should the colony of
Vancouver Island be eventually luiited with British
C( )lumbia, and one parliament be agreed upon to legislate
i'or both. New Westminster will serve admirably for
the seat of Government. It is in no respect desirable

lA.

IMPORTS TO NKW WESTMINSTER.

217

ngcs, the
oast at a
1 it. The
T. It is
y. It is
ler object
Victoria
lere, in a

bed. On
3ars liave
iles west-
ion which
. As we
3(1 appear
c inuncla-
iupied by
p of these
ckwoods-

1 is New
It stands
)n into a
orage by
f Colonel
in the

oHers in
the space
jments of
;olony of
British

legislate
ably for
desirable

that Victoria, the naUu'al depot of connnerce for the
entire region, should also in that event be the political
centre.

New Westminster, which had no existence till 1859, is
the present port of entry for British Columbia, and the
following statistics may be taken as a fair index of tlie
degree in which, since that time, it has prospered. All
imports pay duty at this point.

Comparative Quarterhj Statement of Imports.

First quarter
Second quarter .
Third quarter .
Fourth quarter .

18ii2

iKca

155,172

1,154,242

005,1)14

405,511

4(5
00

08
88

.'57(5,01(5
752,082
574,:;2:5
40(5,014

7.'J
70
00

2,800,840

2,100,0:J7

Total Value of Imports hito the Colony of Britli^h Columhla
dur'imj the Years 18G1, 1862, 1863.

1801
1802
1808

^1,414,.300 73
2,800,840 91
2,100,037 70*

Tlie value of imports entered at the custom-house
during the quarter ending 31st March, 1864, is ,^459,417
88c. The value of imports during the corresponding
quarter last year was /$'37 5,010 73c., showing a difference
of )i^84,014 15c. in favour of this year, a very satisfactory
advance under all the circumstances.

* The difference in value between the imports of 1802 and 1803 is mainly
attributable to the large quantity of live stock imported in the former year
from Oregon and Wasliington Territory by overland route, via Rock
Creek. Besides, there was an extraordinary rush of immigration in the
former of these years.

218 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

SIIIPPINa RETURNS.
Cowparative Statement of Number of Vessels and Passengers
Entered Inwards at the Port of New Westminster diirlnf/
the Years 18G0, 18G1, 1862, 1863.

1800

1801

1802

1803

No. of VCSM'lS

rossc'iigcrs

337*
228
27(5
243

5,270
2,233
(5,400
5,103

1,084

10,102

CUSTOMS REVENUE.

Comparative Statement of Customs Revenue {exclusive of
Road Tolls) during 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863.

1850 .

. ,

. ^88,045 89

1800 .

. .

. 171,010 03

1861 .

, ,

. 181,701 04

1802 .

. 284,017 04

1803 .

. • •

. 270,101 10

Comparative Statement of Customs Receipts from January 1
to March 31, in the Years 1863 a7id 1864.

Duties

Harbour dues

Head money ....

Tonnage dues

Warehouse fees

In. nav. licenses .

Fines and seizures .

Lauding waiter's trips .

Total
Increase on the quarter

18C-t

]8(;:j

£ s.

13,142

108 10

303 10

010 5

25 4

3 6

(/.
11

£ s. (I.

0,031 3 10

213 2 3

235 4

037 10

14 12

41 10

38 13

20 8 G

£14,554 15

• • •

£10,832 10 1
. £3,722 5

Passengers entered during the above period: 1863,
1,176 ; 1864, 1,519.

* Includes a large number of miners' canoes.

BIA.

SKETCH OF NEW WESTMLVSTEll.

210

Passengers
ster during

'a«s<'iigt'rs

C,270

(),41>(J
5,103

10,102

?XclusivC of

I, 1863.

13
)4
54
iO

\n January 1
64.

18(i:3

,G31 3 10

213 2 3

235 4

G37 10

14 12

41 10

38 13

20 8

,832 10 1
,722 5

[od: 1863,

Jinh'.'^ of Duties of Customs now Levlahle at New Westminster
'U]>ou Goods and Articles Imported into British Columbia.

.1. ii.
Flour, per barrel . . 3 IJ

IJacdii, snlt niul dried pork,

pur lb 1

IJcnns, per 100 lb. . .13
IJiirley, per 100 lb. . .13
J'.uttJr, perlb. . . 2^

I'andles „ . . 2^

I^ard „ ..01

Pace, per 100 lb. . . 3 TV
Ton, per lb. . . . 2^
('olVfe „ . . . IJ

Sugar „ . . .01

Air and porter in bottle,

piT doz. . . .18
Ale and porter in wood,

per gallon . . .07
Wine in wood and bottle,

per gallon . . .21

On all otlier articles a duty of 10

Bitters, per gallon

IJlankets, per ]niir

Cheese, per lb.

Opium, „

Dried iiah, „

Salt fish, „

Chinese medicated wine

per gallon .
Dried vegetables (Chinese),

per lb, .
Salt vegetables (Chinese)

per lb.
Spirits, per gallon
Horses, oxen, mules, per

head .
Sheep and goats „
Tobacco, per lb.
Flour, 196 lb. per barrel .

per cent, on the value thereof.

I. (/.

2 1

2 l"

3 n

G 3

4 2

2 1

3 n

New Westminster contains several hundred permanent
inhabitants and several buildings of brick and stone that
would do no discredit to a city twenty times its size.

Tlie plan of the town is divided into a number of
blocks, varying in size, and averaging 6 by 4| chains.
Each block is subdivided into lots measuring 66 feet by
132 feet.

Among the public buildings of New Westminster the
most prominent are the Government buildings, which
include the offices of Governor, Colonial Secretary, Trea-
surer, Master of the Mint, Colonial Assayer, and Colonial
Auditor. There is a hall and an engine-house connected
with the Hook and Ladder Company, which comprises
a body of volunteers banded together for the purpose of
extinguishing destructive fires. A colonial hospital has
also been built here.

220 GEXEUAL DESCRIPTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Tlit3 Roman Catliolics arc represented by a blsliop and
several priests, wlio minister to the rolij^ious wants of
l)()tli innnigi'ants and aborigines. TlieChureli of England
has a place of worship, with a rector and archdeacon
resilient in the neighbonrliood.

It is [)ro})osed by the ]5ishop of Columbia to secure the
appointment of a new bishop for the diocese of British
C(jlunibia. Dr. Hills, as embryo Metropolitan, would
then reside in Victoria, Vancouver Island. The new chief
pastor, when ordained, will take his title from New West-
minister, where he will also have his episcopal seat.

This step, like the large accession that has recently
been made to the coloniid clergy, has been severely
criticised by the press of these colonies as entirely pre-
mature, and is considei-ed by many laymen as a culpable
Avaste of religious funds. It is tliose who sustain the
mission and tliose who are benefited by it, however, that
nuist be allowed to determine what is the best course to
adopt in the matter. The collective white population of
both colonies is 15,000,* and it is believed that the natives
do not exceed that number. Not more than two chiuTlies
in both colonies put together are adequately self-support-
ing. 500/. is annually expended out of mission funds to
sustain two schools in Victoria — one for boys and another
for girls — the number of pupils in attendance at the
larger of the two being forty or fifty. About twenty
clergymen are salaried, besides one or two ladies, one
bishop, and two archdeacons. This staff is deemed by
many more thaii sufficient to meet the present spiritual
requirements of the colonists, Avithout the appointment of
a second bishop. There cannot be fewer than thirty-five
ordained pastors already in the colonies, including Roman

* It is confidently expected that the mines of Kootanie will, this year,
add 20,000 to the population.

IBIA.

Tin-: LOWKR KRASnU.

221

bishop and
s wants of
of England
archdeacon

secure the
of British
ttui, would
L3 new chief
New West-
seat.

as recently

n severely

iitirely pre-

a cidpable

sustain the

wever, that

[t course to

pulation of

the natives

o churches

ilf-support-

n funds to

lid another

Lce at the

ut twenty

adies, one

eemed by

t spiritual

intment of

thirty-five

ng Eoman

ill, this year.

Catholic ])riosts. EstiniatiiiLf the present white and abori-
ginal population at .'j(),00(), we have a pi'oportion of one
])iist()r to less than each thousand, lint more than one h;ilf
of those clergymen belong to the Episct)pal Church, wliile
its adherents, as compju'ed with the other religious bodies
put together, are vastly in the minority. It does seem,
therefore, that the cost of the episcopid organisation is
out of proportion both to the s])liere of o|)ei-ations and to
the results that may be expected to follow for mnny years.

The PresbytcM'ian Church of Canada and the Wesleyan
body have also their respective ciuu'chcs nnd ministers.

In proportion to the extent of the po[)ulation of New
Westminster, it is of a more homogeneous jind permanent
character than are the inhabitants of Victoria. Tiie
municipal affairs of the place are conducted by a mayor
and corporation.

Commodious steamers are in waiting at the former
place to convey freight and passengers to the head of
navigation on the Lower Eraser in one direction, and on
Harrison Lake in another. The first ])oiiit of special
interest reached after leaving the cajntal is L;ingley, situ-
ated about 30 miles from the mouth of the river. Here
is an old and extensive trading fort of the Hudson's Bay
Com])any. Tlie land around the Fort, which lias been
cleared of heavy timber, produces excellent crops. In
the garden attached, vegetables grow in luxuriance, while;
the apple-trees are loaded with fruit. The sites chosen
for the forts of the company are generally on the bank of
a lake or river sufficiently elevated to command the sur-
roundhig country. The establishment is constructed of
hewn timber, and includes fifteen or twenty houses. These
consist of one or two for the accommodation of officers
and clerks ; others affording quarters for labourers and
mechanics. Spacious storehouses are likewise enclosed

222 GENERAL DICSCRIl'TION OF BHITISH COU'MHIA,

for the reception of goods and furs, witli sliops for cni-
pentors, coopers, and blacksmiths. A powder-niai^axiiu'
is added, built of stone or brick; the entire struct tire is
protected by a st(x;kade 15 or 20 feet hitrh, inside of
which, near tlu^ top, is a gallery v/ith loopiioles foi* mus-
kets. This ])ii'ket-\vork is Hanked with bastions, of wliich
there are generally two placed at diagouid (corners ; tiiese
mount several small [)ieces of cannon, and are also am[>ly
pien^ed for nuisketry. Seen from a distance these forts
are rather formidable in appearance, and tlK)Ugh ('aj)abl(<
of ofTering l)ut slight resistance to artillery, have been
found sudicient to overawe the Indians.

The broad and fertile prairies at Sumass and Cliihik-
weyuk next come into view, which are overflowed by
freshets once a year. It must be confessed, however, that
the banks of the river, for the most pait, do not convey
a remarkably encouraging impression of the agricultural
capabilities of British Columbia. Tall and dense forests,
tangled with undergrowth, circumscribe the prospect in
many places, and togetlier with the mounttuns visible in
advance of the traveller, impart to the scenery an as[)ect
of wild and gloomy grandeur.

The scenery on the Lower Fraser is thus eloquently
described in a despatch of Governor Doughis : —

The banks of this river are almost everywhere covered with
woods. Varieties of pine and firs of prodigious size, and large
poplar trees, predominate. The vine and soft maple, the wild
apple-tree, the white and black thorn, and deciduous bushes in
great variety form the massive undergrowth. The vegetation
is luxuriant, almost beyond conception, and at this season
of the year (summer) presents a peculiarly beautiful appear-
ance. The eye never tires of ranging over the varied shades
of the fresh green foliage, mingling with the clustering white
flowers of the wild apple-tree, now in full blossom, and filling
the air with delicious frngrance. As our boat, gliding swiftly

THE DOUGLAS ROUTK.

223

foi" cnr-
lauji/.iiu'
iclmv is
iiside of
for mus-
)f wliicli
•s ; tlii'.sc
so {uui)ly
CSC lorts
capiiMc
Lvc been

[ Cliiliik-
)wc(l l)y
3vcr, lluit
t couvcv
•iciiltural
e forests,
aspect ill
risible ill
111 aspect

oqucntly

■red with

and large

, the wild

jushes in

eifctation

is season

appear-

;d shades

n<x white

nd tillino-

g swifd}'

over the smooth waters, oceasionally swept beneath the over-
hangiii;^ Ixaighs that form a canopy of leaves impervious to the
sun's rays, the effect was enclianting.

Tliirty-livc miles above Laiiglcy is tlic dcbouclic of tin;
narrison, and tlu; conlluciicc ut' tiiat stream with this
Frascr.

Fifty miles from the mouth of Harrison River, and at
the head of the lake of the same name, is Doiiulas, on the
route to the mines of Cariboo, vid LiUoet. 'J'his lake is
surrounded by lofty and rugijjcMl mountains, ch-ft to thi*
base by hideous fissures, capped with snow, and in general
presenting a singularly Inirrcn ap})caraiicc.

The hamlet, which bears the name of the first governor
of the colony, stands upon the margin of the hike, and
the possibility of its enlargement would seem to be
precluded by rocky heights, almost })recipitous, in its
rear. But other routes to the northern mines are likely
to abstract from Douglas the lion's share of the traflic
which it has hitherto enjoyed ; so that the confined space
allotted by Nature to the growth of the town will not
probably be felt as a serious in(!onvenience.

Without continuing any formal description of the
Douglas route, I will take the liberty of appending a eojiy
of the diary of a miner which gives a much uiorc gra-
phic idea of the difficulties of personal locomotion for-
merly involved in a journey to Cariboo than any other
delineation could do.

Happily engineering skill has, since the trip now to be
depicted was undertaken, completely triiunphed over
these obstacles, and now a good waggon-road has been
constructed, running over the entire distance from Doug-
las, except where lakes intervene. The route via Yale,
to be hereafter described, is favoured with similar advan-
tages. Instead, therefore, of the journey occupying as

224 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OP BRITISH COLUMBIA.

formerly from 23 to 30 clays, it can now be comfortably
performed on foot in less than half that time ; and should
the miner be able to indulge in the luxury of stage tra-
veUing, the time will be abridged in proportion.

Tlie following paper, not before published, has been
kindly placed at my disposal by the gentleman who pre-
pared it : —

Diary of Journey to WilUaiyi^s Creek, Cariboo, May, 1863.

May 8th. — Left Victoria at 9 a.m. Arrived at New West-
minster at 4.30 P.M. Had a pleasant passage, the day bein^
warm and calm. Put up at the ' Mansion House ; ' slept in my
own blankets on the floor in company with several others, free
of charge.

Saturday, 9th. — Left New Westminster for Douglas at
3.30 p.m. Anchored at dark, 40 miles up the river. Slept
soundly on the saloon floor.

Sunday, lOth. — Started early; got into Harrison River at
8a.m. Great contrast between the two rivers— the Fraser
very muddy — the Harrison as clear as glass. The scenery on
both is beautiful ; enjoyed it very much. Arrived at Douglas
at 3 P.M. Travelled 12 miles further on ; pitched our tents in
the bush.

Monday, llth. —Got up at daybreak; cooked breakfast, and
started for the head of Lilloet Lake, distant 17 miles. Arrived
there at 3.30 p.m. Could not sleep at night for mosquitoes, the
tent being full of them. Tlie road from Douglas to the lake is
one continued * gulch ' between two ranges of mountains, called
the * Cascades.' In some parts they are nearly perpendicular,
and rise to a great height. The distance between Douglas and
the lake is 29^ miles. About 20 miles from Douglas there is
a hot mineral spring, said to supply relief to rheumatic patients.
Jts chief constituents are sulphur and soda. There are road-
side houses every few miles, where meals can be had at a dollar
(4s. 2d.) each. The scenery is beautiful, the river running
almost parallel with tlie road, and the mountains with their
snow-clad tops towering on either side.

with tlieir

yiBIA.

comfortably
and should
>f stage tra-
m.

1, has been
[in who pre-

Mayy 1863.

t New West-
he day bein^
' slept in rny
il others, free

Douglas at
river. Slept i

ison River at

— the Fraser

|he scenery on

at Doiiy;las

our tents in

•eakfast, and
[es. Arrived
osquitoes, the
to the lake is
ntains, called
erpendicular,
Douglas and
glas there is
atic patients,
ere are road-
id at a dollar

iver running

JOURNEY TO CARIBOO.

225

Tuesday, I2th. — Started on our journey along the Lilloet
Lake at 7 "30 a.m. Had to go in a barge for six miles before we
got to the steamboat. Arrived at Pemberton at 2 p.m. From
the foot of Tenass (little) Lake to the head of Lilloet Lake is
25^ miles. The general direction of the lake is north. At Pem-
berton we took the waggon-road, and travelled 8 miles same
day. About 20 of us slept on the floor of the 8-mile house in
the usual style, being very kindly invited by the landlord.

YyWlnesday, \'Mh. — Started early. Arrived at Anderson Lake,
distant 20 miles from Pemberton, in good time in the after-
noon. We passed through all sorts of interesting scenery; rich
prairie called ' the Meadows,' 7 or 8 miles long, and from half
a mile to a mile wide. Beyond the tTalf-way house is a water-
shed, 1,482 feet abov<j the level of the sea. From the road is
seen a roaring cataract dashing from the snowy summits of the
mountains. Here are the sublime and the beautiful in perfection.
Had to wait for the boat till morning. Made a tent of one of
my blankets ; could not sleep, the other being too short for
me. My companion got used up. Had to send his tent and
blankets by ' express.'

Thursday y \Atk. — On board the steamer at 8 A.M. Lake
Anderson, 16 miles long. Direction, north and south. Arrived
at Port Seaton at 3 r.M. Lake Seaton, the last in the chain of
lakes, is 14 miles long, lying west and east, ad is only 1^ miles
from Lake Anderson. Scenery on both lakes charming ; the hills
rising abruptly out of the water as clear and tranquil as I have
ever seen. Travelled to Lilloet, distant 3^ miles. In approach-
ing it the hills recede. It is a pretty place ; a flat surrounded
by mountains. There are a few patches of arable land, but
sand seems to prevail. All along from Douglas the country
looks barren ; hardly a blade of grass to be seen, or a spot level
enough to pitch a tent on.

Friday, \5th. — Started early. The Fraser winds its way
through the Lilloet Valley, the river bed being 190 feet below
the plain. The land rises up from the river in terraces, level
and regular, and these assume hues varying with the seasons.
Probably the whole valley was once the basin of a lake whose
w^aters subsided gradually, tlese benches being old water marks.

226 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

On one of these terrace-like levels, on the right bank of tlio
river, is the town of Lilloet ; its altitude 1,036 feet. It consists
of a broad street lined with wooden stores and dwellings ; has
350 white inhabitants. At the southern extremity is an Epis-
copal church, of which a worthy son of a Scotch F'ree Church
minister is the rector. The romantic scenery around is calcu-
lated to remind him of the Highlands of his native country.
Crossed the Fraser 2 miles above Lilloet. Passed several Indian
burying-places. All the graves have flags over them. On one
was a pole with a gim fixed on top. Travelled 20 miles to-day.
Had the country I passed tlirough been fertile, it would certainly
be a fine locality for farming. Beautiful tracts of tal)le-land,
thinly timbered, but parclied and sandy, with very little vegetation.

Saturday, I6th. — Started in company with two Australian
shipmates. Slept last night in their tent. Met a train of
camels going down. The country gets more open. Very little
grass and very little arable land. Crossed Pavilion Mountain.
Very steep on both sides. Quite flat on the summit for 4 miles.
Here Bridge River, an auriferous stream, joins the Fraser; 4
miles higher up is the Fountain. Here is good farming land
for some distance. Pavilion Mountain is 4,000 feet hioh. Tra-
veiled 20 miles to-day. Feel quite fresh and hearty. Have
not got a blister on my feet as yet.

Sunday, 17 th. — Went on to the 'Junction' at Clinton, 47
miles from Lilloet, situated in a pleasant glen 16 miles in length,
c:dled ' Cut-off Valley.' Here the Yale and Lilloet roads unite.
Stayed all day. Bought flour and beef at 25 cents per pound.

Monday, I8th. — Set out at seven a.m. It rained from then
till 2 r.M. Travelled 23 miles. Flat countr}^ thickly timbered.
Slept on the floor of the 70-mile house. A night scene in one
of these extemporised inns would be an amusing novelty to a
high-toned civilised Londoner. Might be compared to a robber's
cave. The floor covered with blankcttcd bodies. On the
counter sleeps the bar-keeper, to guard the liquors from any
traveller that might, in a fit of thirst, so far forget himself as
to get up in the night, put forth his hand without permission,
aiul moisten his throat. iNIy neck and hands all over mosquito
l)ites.

BIA.

BRIDGE CREEK TO MUD-LAKE HOUSE.

227

ank of tliG
It consists
sUings; has
is an Epis-
I'ree Church
id is calcu-
ve country,
i^eral Indian
m. On one
iiiles to-da3\
dd certainly
tal)le-land,
evegetati(^n.
3 Australian
, a train of
Very little
1 Mountain,
t for 4 miles.
le Fraser; 4
inning land
, liio-h. Tra-
arty. Have

Clinton, 47
es in length,
roads unite.
3er pound,
d from then

y timbered.

scene in one

novelty to a

:o a rol)ber's

s. On the

)rs from any

t himself as

permission,
er mosquito

Tuesday, I9fh. — On the road at 7 p.m. Hail storm aht»ut
noon. The appearance of the country much the same as I
passed through yesterday, except that it is more hilly and not
so thickly timbered. Passed several small lakes with plenty of
wild ducks ; saw no other game. Can hear partridges chatter-
ing in the woods. Travelled 30 miles. Put up at the 100-mile
house, Bridge Creek. Here good farming land opens to view.
Paid j^l 50c. (6s. sterling) for supper, with the privilege of
sleeping on the floor. Had the honour of sitting before a good

fire by the side of Judge B . I look as much a judge as he

does ! I write this close by him. He is on his way to the
mines. Scarlet and ermine would be sadly out of place here.

Wednesday, 20th. — Off about 7 a.m. A heavy snow storm.
Snowed at intervals diu-ing the day. A beautiful looking
country. Soil good, and abundance of wood and water. Land
near the road clear of timber. Sweet little lakes. Profusion
of feed for cattle. Passed Lake La Hache, 10 miles long. The
scenery delightful. I would not wish for a prettier spot for a
farm. Travelled 28 miles ; feel a little tired. My feet quite
sound. Some of our party in a bad state with sore feet. Put
up at the * Blue Tent.' Paid $1 50c. for supper, and slept com-
fortably on the floor.

Thursday, 2\sL — Started early. Walked 4 miles; lighted a
fire, and cooked breakfast (slap-jacks* and coffee). Travelled
23 miles. Put up at Davidson's, at the head of William's Lake.

Overtook ]\Ir. A , who left Victoria two days before me. He

lost his horse on the road.

Friday, 22nd. — Started at 6 a.m. Shocking bad road for 10
miles, over a thickly- wooded hill. Some of our party took the
trail to the Forks of Quesnelle.f We take the Fort Alexander
trail. The Forks route is the shortest, but very rough.
Travelled 25 miles to-day. A broken and hilly country.
Scenery very romantic. Put up at Mud-Lalie House.

Saturday, 23rd.— On the road at 6 a.m. The trail winds

* Thin pancakes made of flour and water.

t This branch route will be described when the road via Yale coniea
under notice.

a -'

228 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

along the banks of the Fraser, which flows through a narrow
valley enclosed by sloping hills on either side. Some spots are
like made pleasure groimds ; the trees look so green, and the
blooming shrul)S so various. Arrived at Alexandria — a gem of i

a place. Fort Alexander, which belongs to the Hudson's Bay '

Company, is on the opposite side of the river, and consists of
three or four log-houses. Travelled 21 miles to-day — 3 miles
beyond Alexandria. I

Sunday, 24th. — Could not sleep last night in consequence of ^

cold. Disagreed with my companion about Sunday travelling.
He went on and I stayed here all day. I fancy I will overtake
him by Tuesday night.

Monday, 25th. — Got up at 3 a.m. Had breakfast with A

and P . Started alone at 5 a.m. They could not go so fust

with the mule. Killed a carpet-snake 3 feet 6 inches long. A
thickly- wooded country, Avith occasional blocks of prairie land.
Arrived at the mouth of Quesnelle at 6 p.m., making this day's
journey 33 miles. Feel very tired, the last 12 miles being very
bad — up to the knees in mud. Overtook those that travelled
yesterday, here. The town of Quesnelle boasts ten houses,
chiefly stores. It is the landing-place of the steamer * Enter-
prise.' Flour 35c., bacon 90c. per lb. The Quesnelle is a rapid
and shallow stream, whose southern branch flows from the z

Great Quesnelle, one of the largest lakes in the colony. It '

empties from the south-east into the Fraser, about 35 miles
above Fort Alexander. Its breadth is from 40 to 100 yards,
according to the different stages of the wate'*. Passengers ferry
across at two points ; one at the mouth, and the other 3 miles
above. |

Tuesday, 26/A. — Started at 8 a.m. A wet morning; rained t

most part of the day. Roads frightful, up and down hill ;
to the knees in mud. To see us splashing through it was a
dismal spectacle. Crawled over logs of wood ; pushed our way
through thick scrubwood ; climbed up the steep and slippery
sides of hills, and put our feet in every form and shape to
secure a footing and avoid the worst parts of the boggy trail.
I fancy we should make as a good subject for a picture as * Bona- ■■

parte crossing the Alps.' The appearance of the country is very

BIA.

h a narrow
le spots are
en, and the
, — a gem of
idson's Bay
I consists of
ly — 3 miles

sequence of
f travelling,
ill overtake

with A

ot go so fast
les long. A
prairie land.
g this day's
s being very
at travelled
ten houses,
mer 'Enter-
ic is a rapid
's from the
colony. It
Lit 35 miles
100 yards,
engers ferry
;her 3 miles

ing; rained
down hill ;
:^h it was a
ed our way
nd slippery
d shape to
boggy trail,
e as ' Boua-
ntry is very

THE ROAD AS IT WAS.

220

wild and sterile. Travelled only 14 miles. Liglited two large
fires and cooked supper (slap-jacks and bacon). Some of our
party were obliged to sleep on tlie wet ground, having no tent.

Wednefiday, 27th. — Faced the muddy trail at 8 a.m. A fine
day, but the trail worse than it was yesterday. My buofs full
of water. Dead horses lying in every direction ; the wretcliod
animals so overcome with fatigue and deficient feed that they
died in the mire. Beaver swamps, marshes, dense forests, of
pine and hemlock, and patches of poplar and willow trees the
main features of the landscape. Arrived at Cottonwood at
3 P.M., making only 11 miles journey to-day. Flour ()0c., beef
50c., bacon ,^1 12^c. per lb., meals $2 each.

Thnrsdai/, 2Sth. — Sharp fro.st this morning. Started at G a. jr.
Crossed Swift River over a large tree as a su})stitute for a bridge.
One man fell in, and we narrowly escaped the same fate. The
trail is better, but hilly. Dead horses met with every mile.
The country now changes in appearance; barren and reefy hills
indicating the presence of gold. Travelled 18 miles. About
twent}'^ of us slept on the floor of Beaver Pass-house. Swift
liiver, from 30 to 50 yards wide, is reached by a gradual
descent, and crossed a little way above Lightning Creek. It
flows through valleys containing good soil and occasional
prairies.

Friday, 29///. — Started at 7 a.m. Arrived at Van Winkle,
lightning Creek, about 1 p.m., making to-day a journey of 12
miles. Slept on the floor of an empty house. Cottonwood, at
the mouth of this creek, promises to become a trading depot of
some importance.

Saturday^ 30th. — Started at 7 A.M. for William's Creek, dis-
tant about 15 miles; a very tedious journey, the trail being-
covered with snow to the depth of 3 feet. Arrived there about
3 P.M., almost as fresh as when I left Victoria. Of all places
I have seen — and I know the Australian 'diggings' — this is
certainly the roughest. There are two townships a mile apart.
Have not seen a square yard of clear ground on the creek : not
even a footp.ith. Have to crawl over fallen trees, stumps, roots,
brushwood, &c.

230 GENERAL DESCRirTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Table of Distances.

From Victoria to Douglas ....

Dnujrliis to liilloet Lake
Lilloet Lake to I'embcrton
Peniborton to Ainlt'rKt)n Lake .
Anderson Lake to Port Seattm
Port Seaton to Lilloot ....
Lilloet to Junction ....

Junction to 70-niil(! House
70-niile House to Bridge Creek
Bridge Creek to Blue Tent
Blue Tent to Davidson's (William's Lake)
Davidson's to Mud Lake ....
Mud Jiake to Alexandria ....
Alexandria to mouth of Quesnelle .
Mouth of Quesnelle to Cottonwood .
Cottonwood to Be.aver Pass
Beaver Pass to Van Winkle
Van Winkle to William's Creek

170 miles

20 J

)»

-n

2:}

2r{

3('>

2r,

586

Ecturning to the moiitli of Harrison Eiver, at wliicli we
cliver<ji:e(l from tlic Fraser, and rcsuminiT; our ascent of tliat
arterial iiiglnvay tlirough tlie colony, Ave soon arrive at
Hope, still a trading depot of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Tliis place gave promise, in 1859 and 18G0, of rapidly
becoming an important centre for the distribution of goods
to the mining camps on the Lower Fraser, and the region
adjacent to the American border, seventy-four miles from
Hope, and embracing Similkameen, OKanagan, and Rock
Creek. Hope, at the same period, was the head of navi-
gation on the lower section of the river.

When I visited this locality in the latter of those years
the town presented a lively aspect. On the trail to the
mines of Similkameen, too, I met ninnerous pack-trains.
Had Cariboo never been heard of, those engaged in the
southorn mines would long ere tliis. I venture to believe,
have found the precious metal quite as abundant as it has
proved to be in the northern part of the colony. But,

}IA.

liorfi AXb YAI-K.

2-n

niilt'S

wliich WG
3nt of til at
arrive at
Company.
3f rapidly
II of goods
he region
niles from
and Eock
:1 of navi-

lose years
lil to the
Lck-trains.
ed in the
o believe,
as it has
my. But,

directly the more seductive spell of Caiiboo loomed before
the vision of the miner, the less dazzling mines of Simil-
kameen Avere abandoned; and, consequently, the commer-
cial barometer of Ifope fell. In 18(52, Avhen I saw tlu;
town List, it was evidently in a state of collapse. Feeling
disposed for some refreshment on landing, I repaired to
the most i-espectable looking restaurant I could fmd, and
was gravely intbrmed by the proprietor that his whole
stock of nutritive solids consisted of half a small ])ie !
The reason assigned was that he did not expect tlu;
steamer that day ! But there are brighter days in store
for Hope. The rich border mines and the bioad prairies
of OKananan will yet attract a larue and i)ei'inanent
])opulation, and from tliat district the route ciu Hope is
the natural outlet to the Fraser. Tlie auriferous wealth
of the Kootanie country, which has only within the past
six months become generally known on the coast rf the
North Pacific, will also communicate a powerful im[)ulse
to tlie growth of Hope.

The site of this town is a lovely plateau on the banks
of the river, environed with lofty and shaggy mountains.
Immediately opposite is an islet formed by the ra])i(ls of
the Fraser. Its distance from the mouth is ninety-five;
miles. Fifteen miles higher up is Yale, another trading
port of the company, but now transformed into a rising
town, containing several hundred inhabitants. This is
the head of navigation on the Lower Fiuser, and here
goods, destined for Shuswap and Cariboo, I'ia the new
waggon-road through Lytton, are transhipped. A suc-
cession of rapids is the most signal impediment oflei'ed
to tlie navigation of this bi-ief interval. In illustration of
the strength of the current to be overcome, it may be
noticed that, while it takes but half an hour to descend to
Hope, six hours are occupied in ascending by high-pres-

232 GENERAL DESCRimON OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

sure steamers thence to Yale. One fatal explosion oc-
cured neiir Emery's Bar a few years ago, destroying, witli
others, the life of tlie captain — a member of an ill-fated
family. Four brothers in it fell martyrs to the high-pres-
sure system in the waters of British Columbia and Oregon.
Indeed, I have no reason to recall witli satisfaction my
own sensations when crossing the troublesome point re-
ferred to.

Our steamer happened to be the first that attempted
the passage beyond Hope that year, subsequently to the
river beginning to fall. Tlie struggle was so intense on
our reaching tlie gurgle of the rapids that, with a pressure
of steam greatly beyond the weight allowed by law, no
ascending motion for twenty minutes was perceptible.
The captain, a reckless American, became, with other
betting men on board, intensely excited (under the irifhi-
ence of liquor) as to the issue of the dangerous experiment.
Some were foolhardy enough to lay a wager that an ex-
plosion would take place, and coolly discussed the expe-
rience they should have when blown into the air. I
ascertained afterwards — on the authority of one whose
position in the boat qualified him to know — that, at the
critical moment, while the question remained undecided
as to whether the rapid or the steamer should conquer, a
pi]:)e connected with the boiler burst, and was regarded as
the infallible precursor of our common destruction.

The prodigal indifierence of American steamboat men
in regard to human Hfe was characteristically exemplified
in a conversation in which I took part. The enquiry wns
put to a Yankee as to the safety of a certain steamer.
' She may do very well for passengers, but I wouldn't
trust treasure in her,' was the unfeeling but candid
reply.

Leaving Y'ale by the waggon-road, completed in 1863,

IIA.

PAVILLOX MOUNTAIN AND LYTTON.

losion oc-
ying, witli
m ill-fated
high-prcs-
d Oregon,
action my
point rc-

attcmpted

itly to the

intense on

a pressure

)y law, no

erceptible.

v'ith other

the infhi-

i^periment.

liat an ex-

the expe-

le air. I

no whose

lat, at the

ndecided

;onquer, a

garded as

on.

3oat men
emplified
quiry w^.s
steamer,
wouldn't
it candid

in 1863,

we ]iass through a deep and narrow gorge in tlie moun-
tains called the Little Canon (Kanyon), through which
the river forces its way with resistless momentum. This
cleft in the Cascade range is the favoiu-ite resort of Indians
in search of salmon. Their mode of fishing has been pre-
viously described.

The road, in some parts, is hewn out of solid and pre-
cipitous rock ; and, with similar work done in rendering
the Pavilion Mountain passable, this deserves to rank
among the most astonishing achievements of the engineer-
ing art. A bridge is thrown across the river eleven miles
above Yale, where a ferry was formerly used.

At the junction of the Thompson and the Eraser, forty-
three miles below Lilloet, upon an elevated flat, 780 feet
above sea level, is Lytton, a town named after the distin-
guished gentleman who was Secretary of State for the
Colonies during the administration under which the colony
of British Cohui.bia was foimded. The wajrixon-road then
turns in a north-easterly direction, until Cook's Ferry is
reached, twenty-three miles above Lytton.

The road via Lilloet joins the one by Lytton at Clinton,
a point forty-seven miles from the former place, and
seventy-five from the latter. Clinton has sprung up with
mushroom growth. It has three respectable hotels, a
saw-mill, a butcher's shop, two blacksmiths and farriers,
a store of a miscellaneous description, stables, barns,
brickyard, and several shanties, 'among wliich you observe
the Celestial's sanctum, with an announcement over the
door that he has the courage to undertake the "lively"
operation of washing a Cariboo shirt.'

A scheme was on foot last year, with every prospect of
success, for making a road from about the 108th mile-
])ost, on tho present road to Antler Creek, via the Horse-
fly and Beaver Valleys and the Forks of Quesnelle. This

234 (inNRHAL DESCRH'TION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

ti'ack saves from seventy to eiglity miles * The jm-sent
road, as the map plainly shows, is an absurdly roundabout
one.

Of course, the question is sufigested to most persons
aequainted with the country, why did Government allow
the road to be taken that way? Why were the con-
tractors allowed to take the road to Soda Creek and start
a steamboat in the Fraser to run thence to the mouth of
Quesnelle ? The answer is, that the late governor, though
paid a handsome s.'dary for looking after the interests of
the colony, never carried personal inspection so far.

Of course, the contractors have made notliing out of the road
or the steamljoat. Oh, no ! Who could for a moment imagine
such a thing? It is so common for men of business or Govern-
ment officials in this part of the world to sacrifice themselves
for philanthropic motives ! During the time the road was being
made the managing contractor expressed to the William's Lake
settlers on the old trail his willingness to take the road by way
of their ranclies (farms) in consideration of a small donation of
^15,000 ! How kind ! But the next news was that the gentle-
man who was wont to labour so hard for the general weal had
become possessed of half a share in Deep Creek ranch, about
14 miles from the present steamboat landing (one of the best
stands for business) ; and, strange to say, notwithstanding the
disinterestedness attributed to this gentleman, the road even-
tually took a course by way of Deep Creek. Another thing-
still more extraordinary is, that the steamboat still continues to
return at such an hour of the day that the miner on his way
down is obliged to stay at Deep Creek House I f

* This route will open up a portion of the country liitlierto unprospeotod,
but believed to contain rich and extensive depot(i<:s of gold, wliieli, from
being situated in lower land, can be worked for a longer period during the
year than the mines lying northward of it. Here, moreover, tracts of ex-
cellent farming land exist capable of sustaining 500 families, in the vicinity
of a growing and highly remunerative market.

■)• Letter from a resident in British Columbia.

101 A.

FROM WILLIAMS LAKK TO CAilinOO.

'> '1 '\

'he ])r('sent
njuiKlaboiit

ost persons
iiient allow
e the eoii-
k uiul start
e mouth of
nor, tlioiigli
interests of
3 far.

: of the road
lent iniiitjino
s or Govern-
? themselves
ad was beiuyf
lliam's Lake
road by way
I donation of
t the gentle-
ral weal had
anch, about

of the best
tanding the

road even-
lotlier things-
continues to

on his way

uiiprospoctoil,
, Avliidi, from
intl durinir the
p, tracts of ex-
iu the vicinitv

It is to he hoped, the local Government will take rare, in
giving out contracts in future, that covenants are entcri'd
into stringent enougli to })revent individuals fiom schem-
ing to benefit themselves at the i'.\])ense of the country
and to the inconvenience of the public.

From William's Lake two paths lending to Cariboo
pi"oj)cr are at the option of tlie ti'aveller, as I'eferred to
in the diary already (pioted. If he should wish to enter
llu? mininu" rcLnon on the eastern side, he will take the
route via (iuesnelle and Antler, wliicli is at once the
shorter and more arduous. Shoidd he })refer the western
route, lie will proceed to the right at Lake Valley House
on William's Lake. The distance from that lake to Itich-
field by the latter route, which, as we have seen, goes by
the Upper Fraser and Cottonwood, is estimated by Lieut.
Palmer at 141) miles ; and the distance by the eastern
route, i. c. via Beaver Lake, Deep Creek Farm, and the
town of Quesnelle, at 113 miles. The longer journey
possesses the advantage of sui)plying more abundant feed
for animals.

Two routes from the coast to the northern mines of
British Columbia are projected, both of which, when
comideted, will reduce consider{d)ly the tiiue, expense,
and strength consmned by miners and packers who now
travel by Yale and Douglas.

The route by North Bentinck Arm was the first of these
submitted to public attention. It was travelled over by
Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1702, and re-ex[)lored a
few years since. So much importance did the Govern-
ment attacli to it that a party of lloyal Engineers was
appointed to examine and report upon it. The voyage from
Victoria to Bentinck Arm is nearly 500 miles. Numerous
deep-water indentations are passed in sailing to it, extend-
ing inland from 20 to 100 miles, and bearing severally

2o0 (IKXKRAL DHSCRH'TION UF lilUTlSlI COLUMBIA.

tlio iiJUiK'S of arms, iiiU-ts, soumls, and (.'anals. In tin-
vicinity of some of tlicsc, glaciers, rarely to he met with
elsewhere, are of frequent occurrence, and near Knight's
Canal there is a river said to How for 15 miles thi'ough a
magnificent glacier tunnel, 100 feet in height and from
100 to 150 yards in breadth.

North Bentinck Arm is 25 miles in length and from
1^ to 2i miles in breadth. Groups of mountains, of gra-
duati)ig altitude, tumbled through rounded masses, snowy
peaks, pine-clad slo[)es, rugged difl's and precipices,
shapeless masses of trappcan and granite rocks, soai'ing to
vast heights, gloomy valleys, and i)icturesquc water-falls
— these alternations of wilderness and beauty constitute
the essential features of the scenery. At the head of this
arm the Bella Coola or Xookhalk Kiver discharges. The
stream is 80 miles in length, and drains a portion of the
Cascade range. The first serious obstruction to road-
making to be met with is from the crossing of the
Cheddcakulk to the foot of the Great Slide, where the
mountains crowd upon both sides of the stream. Slides,
occasioned by fragmentary trap-rocks rumiing directly
into the river or into low swampy land contiguous to
it, are to be met with, varying from 300 to GOO feet
in height. These slides are capped by clifTs averaging
1 ,500 feet in altitude above the river. The next barrier
of special consequence to the traveller is the Precipice.
This peculiar mountain mass is composed of basaltic rock
l,o50 feet in height, and stands between the forks of the
brook Ilotharko, wliich runs in a south-easterly and west-
northerly direction. The ascent of this mountain is re-
markably steep. The officer in command of the Govern-
ment exploring party, in describing this peculiar formation,
says : —

The trail at first runs up the backbone of a singular spur,

niA.

BKXTIXCK ARM ROUTK.

237

Is. Ill llu'

met with
jir Kiiijilit's

1 tlu'ouj^li il
t and from

I and from
lins, of gla-
sses, snowy
prcci])ico.s,
I, sojirinjx to
water-falls
y constitute
I lead of tins
trges. The
rtion of the
n to road-
ing of the
where the
m. Slides,
g directly
itiguoiis to
o GOO feet

averaging
ext barrier

Precipice,
isaltic rock
3rks of the
/• and west-
itain is re-
le Govern-

formation,

igular spur,

windiiijjf further up mnotii; crumUlin;^' frftt^inontH of rooks, and
fin.'illy n'iichiiiL,' Wy a di/.zy path thu Huiiuuit «>t' a perpendicular
wall of ruck, 100 feet liij^h, wliicli crowns the mass, and froi.i
which it derives its name. The elitV is coniposed of blocks of
columnar basalt in the Hha|)e of multanj^ular prisms, averaj,'in<,%
in their perfect state, about two cubic feut in size, usually
stained of a dull red colour, and somewhat vesicular. Tlu'
blocks are fixed together as perfectly as if l)y human agency,
and the layers are horizontal; thus on the sununit, which is
perfectly level, patches are met with in which, tlie scant soil
having been washtnl away, the jointing of tht.'se singular stones,
almost resembling mosaic fragment, is clearly visible; and
towards the edges of the cliff large portions of the rock have
crumbled away, leaving standing in many places abrupt cohnnnar
masses of as nuich as ,jO feet in height, wliich, viewed fnjm a
shorter distance, almost assume the appearance of massive,
artificial, and battlementcd structures.

But the two grave obstacles spoken of — ' the Slide ' and
' the Precipice ' — may be avoided when the road is being
nuide : the one by not leaving the Atnarko till reaching
the mouth of the Ilotharko ; the other by following the
south fork of the Ilotharko, and rising to the level of the
Precipice by an easy inclination.

Arriving at the summit of the Precipice, 3,840 feet
above the level of tlu; sea, the great elevated plateau is
entered. This lies between the Cascades and the Fiaser.
An expanse of waving forest, broken only by lakes and
marshes, meets the eye looking eastward. The i)eaks of
the Cascade range lie to the west, and lonely massive
heights, interesting from their very irregularity, stretch
away to the south. It is the opinion of Lieut. Palmer that
in emerging from the Cascades the principal dilliculties of
travel are i)ast, and that there is no impracticability in
making a road across the plateau to strike the Fraser
Valley at almost any ])oint south of the fifty-third parallel.

238 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

The Bute Inlet is situated iniicli further south, being
near tlie northern entrance to Johnstone Strait, and is
claimed by Mr. Alfred Waddington, tlie talented and
enterprising i)rojcctor of this second route, to be incom-
parably superior to any of the other routes specified.
The country through ^vhich it passes does not dilTer
materially in contour from tliat traversed by the Bentinck-
Arm route, except that it includes nhiety miles of lake and
river navigation between Bute Inlet and Cottonwood
Iviver.

It is natural that Mr. Waddington should desire to
make his scheme a[)pear as favourable as possible in con-
trast with those of his rivals. Still, making every allow-
ance for the influence of partiality in this respect, I think
the following comparative statement may be accepted as
substantially correct. The measurement relates to the
distance between Victoria and Lightning Creek.

Bute Inlet

lloiito

Bciitinck Arm
U<mte

Yale
Route

Mi/ex

Mih-.i

Mill's

Sen, lake, and river navigation

. 305 .

. 500

•

. JH2

Land travel

. 158 .

. 178

•

. 359

403

738

541

No. of days consumed in conveying frei

ght 22 .

. 28

. 37

No. of loadings and uuloa'luigs

5 .

—

•

. 14

Freiglit, per lb

Cfiits

. 10 .

Cents

. 15

•

Viiil.t

There are two routes to the Shuswap Diiimnixs. Tlie
one that starts from Hope and passes Nicholas Lake, it
woidd be somewhai perilous to attempt, except under
the guidance of one accjuainted with tlie track which leads
over mountains where the snow lies deep till near mid-
smnmer. The other route is vid Yale and Lytton,
following the waggon-road after leaving Lytton for about
52 miles. This conducts to a point nearl}" opposite Cache

BIA.

r
o

nth, belli*,
[lit, and is
jiitod and

be inconi-
specified.

not dilTer
: Bentinck-
)f lake and
'ottomvoud

desire to
jle in con-
^ery alk)w-
ict, I think
iccepted as
,tes to the

Arm Vale
Route
Slilrs

. . 182

. . 8o9

541

. 87
. 14

niu;s. Tlie
IS Lake, it
ept under
hich leads
near mid-
d Lyttoii,
I for about
)site Cache

ROUTE TO SIIUSWAP.

239

Creek, and one mile beyond tlie house of James Orr.
Here the Bonaparte Eiver is crossed to the eastward,
when a trail is found going off toward Cache Creek Valley.
This must be kept for 14 miles, as far as Mr. Bate's ranch.
Thence a walk of G miles brings us to the foot of Kama-
loops Lake, — Saviner's ferry. The trail has then to be
taken to the nortli side of the lake. Twenty-five miles
more passed over and we .arrive at Fort Kamtdooj^s.
From Fort Kamaloops to the Grand Prairie embi-aces -10
miles, and from the latter place to Cherry Creek on the
►^huswap Lake is about 70 miles. The trail passes
through a vast extent of fine open farming country, and
the land for the most part is so level that, without much
dilficulty, a loaded waggon miglit be drawn over a large
section of it.

240

CHAPTER IX.

THE MIXES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Digf^ings at IIopo — Yale — Similkameen — OKanajran — Tlock Creek — Tran-
quille and North Rivers— Kumaloop.s Lake — Qiiesuelle — Antler — Cariboo
— IJed Rock Flume and Artesian Mining Companies — Remarkable In-
stances of Success— Prices at the Nortlwrn Mines— Shuswap and Koo-
tanie Diggings — Mining Prospects on the north-\ve;?t of the Fraser —
Mining Laws.

Taking the mining districts in the order of their discovery
we have, first,

The Fort Hope Di<jf/ings. — These primarily attracted
tlie bulk of mining adventiu'ers on their arrival in 1858.
The bars,* which excited most notice for their productive-
ness at that time, were respectively known as the Victoria
Bar, the Puget Sound, French, Travalgar, Mariaville,
Union, Cornish, Prospect, Blue Nose, and Hudson. An
oilicial statement shows the miners at work in these loca-
lities to have averaijed^ as min'ununi earnings, between
IG.v. 8f/. and 2/. per day. ' Two miners realised in six
weeks 270/., and their confidence in the productiveness <»f
the country was so great that they afterwards invested

* ' Bars ' are accumulations of sand and general dvtritus v.iiich cover the
ancient channel of the river, having formerly been washed down and de-
posited by the water of the stream, when flowing in its old bed. They
constitute the present banks of the river in many places, and are all more or
les.H auriferous. ' JJenches ' is a term applied to the auriferous banks when
\\»\i\)X in the form of terraces.

YALE AXD SIMILKAMICKN DIGGINGS.

241

Creek — Tran-
II tier — Carihoo
emarkablo lii-
wap and Koo-
tho Fraser —

r discovery

y attracted
al in 1858.
^rodiictive-
le Victoria
Vlariaville,
dsoii. All
these loca-
beiweeii
sed ill six
tivciiess of
IS invested

licli cover the
own and de-
d bod. They
uv all more or
3 banks when

that sum in the purcliase of another claim.' A silver lead
of great promise is being worked in the neighbourhood of
Hope. The company formed to develoj)e it is sustained
by the limited sum of G,000/. ; the stock consists of GOO
shares. But without an increase of capital, wiiich cannot
for some time, I fear, be commanded, unless the interest
of the present comj)any is transferred to one more al)le,
organized in the i)arent country, the mine is not likely to
be very productive. In October 181)4, diggings were
found on the river Coquahalla, near no})e, averaging ^^5
])er day to the hand.

Flirt Yale JJli/i/iix/s. — These embrace the trround on
the rivei-l)tmks between Hope and Yale, and that extend-
ing some distance above the latter town. Hill's, Emery's,
and Boston Bars were the most noted in tliis district for
richness. 'As a rule,' says an oHicial document, ])repared
in 1858, ' tiiey (the uihiers) have been successful, and
many have returned to their homes jiossessors of from
41 G/. to 830/.' But the mines of the Lower Fraser, while
by no means exhausted, fail to satisfj^ any longer the now
more elevated expectations of the whites, whose content-
ment with moderate returns has been spoiled by the
'big strikes' made in Cariboo. The quieter field of labour
around Hope and Yale is therefore abandoned, almost
exclusively, to Chinamen, whose Avages average from
8.S'. G(/. to 1/. per day — the expense of their living being
not more than 2.9. per day.

The S'niilkanieen, OKanagan, and Rock Creek IJ'kj-

qiuqs. These localities are sufficiently near each other in

proximity to the southern border to be grouped together.
It was ascertained that the precious metal existed here in
18G0. No sooner was the discovery made than trails
were cut, by directio.i of the Govermuent, for the con-
venience of any who might desire to ' prospect ' the dis-

242

THE MIXES OF BRITISH COLUMniA.

trict. ' Oil tlio country beiiiii: cxamiiiGd (at Similkaincen),
" prospects " were .so good tluit all the miners made ])i"e-
paration for sluieinu", and other costly works lor mining,
on a larLje scale.' * ' The carnhiL^s in the summer of 18(jl
averaged o/. O.v. to the hand per day. About 2()() miners,
of whom 150 were Chinamen, were at work in this dis-
trict. A party of three took 50/. in three days ; and the
rocker used in wet diuu'inus yielded from 10-s\ 8(/. to
1/. lo.s\ 4(/. to the hand.' — l^iine.^ Correspundoit. I have
had opportunities of personally conversing with men who
acknowledged that they ^lad realised 3/. '■U. (Jd. per day to
the hand.

In May 18G1, Governor Douglas reported that a pi'o-
.•^pecting party had found gi'ain and scale gold of line
quality m all the streams (lowing into the western pai't of
OKanaLian Lake, which is over seventy miles lonii;. In the
summer of the same yetu' there were twenty-six miners at
work who averaged lO.s'. 8^/. a day. Sixteen streams out
of nineteen llowing into the lake had been ' prospected/
and w^ere found to yield gold.

Gold was extracted from one claim in Itock Creek, at
the jimction of that stream with Colville Iliver, in Feb-
ruary 18()1, to the value of 108/. in six weeks : another
yielded 4/. per day. Mr. Cox, the gold commissionei-
at tliis ])oint, says (May 18(')1) : "We prospected nine
streams, all tributaries of Lake OKanagan, and found gold
in each, averaging from 30 to 90 cents a pan.' lie then
uientions other good prospects, which he deemed it
advisable not to nuike pul)lic, lest a check should be given
to operations then in a state of progress. ' I ascertained,'
says Governor Douglas, 'from the testimony of the miners
generally, that none of those who had succeeded in open-
ing gold claims were making anythuig less than 41. a

* Purliamoulary I'apors on I'.riti.-h Columbia, Part IV. p. ."iO.

kuinccn ),
uide ))re-
• iiiiuiii.L!:,
M)fl8(il
miners,
this dis-
aud the
js. 8(/. to
. I have
men wlio
)er day to

at a pro-
d of line
n\ ])ai't of
iL!;. In the
miners at
reams out

'OSpCCLCU,

Creek, at
r, in Fe])-

another
tmissionei"
cted nine

und li'old

lie then
eemed it

be u;iven
pertained,'
he miners
1 in open-
han 4:1. a

\ .'JO.

H U ESN K 1. 1. 1"] A N I ) A X T L VAl.

243

day. ... A party of tlu'ee wliite men, after i)aying all
expenses, during the mining season saved 2,400/. : 20/.
u day was sometimes made.' — Tinier Correspondi'i/t.

The JJl(j(/iiii/s of 7Wui(/uille and North Rirer.^., and
Kamaloop-s Lake. — Seven miners (and many more whose
gains have never been made public) are known to Iuino
realised b/. G.v, Sd. })er day each on Lake Kamalo(:>])s. A
friend who explored on the Tiiompson Iiiver, close by,
assured me that without dilliculty he gained I/, per day
with tlie rocker ; but it should not be foru'otten that
lie was an okl IJaliarat miiu'r, and that for any norir<j
to set to work in the same neighi)()urliood, ho|)iiig
inunediately tor tJie same result, wouhl be to incur dis-
ap]M)intment.

ilnexnellc and Anih'r J)!;/(/in(/fi. — The early pioneers of
the country argued that the line gokl t)l" the Lower Fi'aser
was formetl by the disintegration of (piartz veins, from
which coarse gold Avas se[)aratcd by the abrasion of
water, carried down stieams, and rendered liner by
aqueous action as it was rolled toward the ocean. This
correct theory led to the examination of certain tributaries
of the Fraser, directly north of Alexandra, and late in
1859, gold of the quality anticipated was discovered on
the Qucsnelle Iiiver, and in 1800 the finding of Antler
Creek was proclaimed. No sooner tlid this occur than
the hopeful mines near the southern boundary were
deserted.

On Qucsnelle Eivcr 000 white miners were successfully
employed in the summer of 18G0, earning from 21. to 5/.
])erday; and several pieces of gold were picked u|) in
this resrion weiirhing from to 8 oz. — an ounce beinu;
equal to 8/. 8.s\ sterling, and hometin\es more. Feig-uson's
Bar in this vicinity, yielded, in 1800, as much as J 2/. to
the hand per day ; but after the })ay streak near the I'iver

R 2

2:14

THE MIXES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

boc^ixiiiG exhausted, tlic profits decreased to ol. per day.
Bed-rock flimiiug will yet eoini)el this place to yield con-
siderable treasure.

The bed-rock of Antler Creek, on which the j,^old is
found, crops out at many points but a short distance i'roni
the surface. The absence of precipitous banks renders
the working of this stream more easy and less exjiensive
than most of the creeks in the u])per country. ' Setting
the woikable ground,' says Conunissioner Xind, ' at a low
estimate, there is room here for at least 1,000 miners.'
'We are daily,' savs Governor Douuias, ' receiving the
most extraordinary accounts of the fabulous wealth of
Antler Creek. . . . Authentic intelliifenco has come of a
comi)aiiy of four men, who were making regularly fi'oin
10 to o7 ounces a day — from 4 to Oi ounces each.' By
iluming, anoth"r company of four men washed out with
cradles 30 ounces of n'old in one day. The Rev. Mr.
Brown was present when 200/. was taken from the sluice-
boxes as the result of one day's work. In the sunnner of
1801, die aggregate yield of Antler was over 2,000/. per
day.

New liands raw at work (.says the 'Times' Correspondent)
took out f;old to the value of 201^. per day. A Mr. Smitli earned
G.'H oz. of gold per day (worth 18a/. (h.), his claim averagin<>;
26 or .SO oz a day. . . . When the bed rock was laid bare it
was found studded or paved with himps of gold, and every
shovelful contained a considerable amount ; and in some cases
to the value of \()l. The stuff required no washing, as the nug-
gets or pellets of gold could be picked out by the hand. . . .
The rocker yielded ')() oz. of gold of a forenoon. . . . At a
later period the creek yielded 10i> to 1,30 oz. a day from sniall
claims. . . . Since Abi\' ["(>0, including a period of a few mon.hs]
two men have taken out '5,7 ')0/. with a rocker. Fron: four
companies which mined cii Antler Creek, the return of three
weeks' operations is this : — ( )ne company of three men, l(),GbO/. ;

per day.
>'ickl coii-

3 ii:()l(l is
nice i'l'oni
:s renders
expensive

' Settiiij.?
' at a low
) miners.'
iving the
wealth of
;onic of a
iinly from
acli.' By

out with

Eev. Mr.
;he sliiice-
unimcr of

mi. per

espondent)
th earned
averagin<>'
lid bare it
and every
onie cases
IS the nufj-
tld. . . .
. At a
rom suiall
w moD.lis]
Fron: four
1 of three
, H5,(;b()/. ;

("AIM BOO DFSTIJICT.

:> 1 -.

•21

tliroo otliers tuok out 7,.j()()/. ; five men .'),2()0/.; and six nun
0,000/.

A coin])any was formed last year, called 'Antler Hed-
liock Flume Company (Limited),' for the purpose of
ai)plyinix to the bed of the creek the important process in-
dicated in the desiunatioji they have adopted 'Ihc capitiil
proposed to be I'aised is 1 2, ()()()/., in 2,100 shares of ')/.
each. The company have obtained from the Colonial
Government a ten years' lease of the bed of Antler CitH'k,
ICili miles in lenjith by 100 feet in width, to be worked
by an liydraulic apparatns in eomiection with llumino'. It
is stated in the prospectus that nuich of the uround on the
creek, in 1801, yielded at the rate of 200/. i)er sf(uare
foot. The incipient character of mining operations in the
country may be jutlged of when it is mentioned that heavy
mechanical appliances were introduced last year for the
first time. If a few creeks and bars yield returns so
enoi'mous, Avith the aid of the most primitive contii-
vanccs in a country still com|)aratively unexplored, we
surely have in this fact an unmistakeable earnest of the
colossal fortunes vet to be made wlien laruei' capital is
invested, the interior better kni/,V!t, and machineiy more
extensively in use.

T/w Cariboo DistriH. — This famous region is studded
with mountains closely ]){ud<e(l together, of coiisideral)le
altitude, and often presenting thickly-wooded slo])es.
Tremendous masses, tumbled and irreii'ular in character,
with sunnnits from 0,000 to 7,000 feet above the level of
the sea, form centres of radiaticm for subordinate ranges.
Of these the most familiar to ' Caribooites ' are ]\h)unts
Snowshoe, ]5urdett, and Agnes — the latter being commonly
known as the ' l^ald Mountain.' Language i'ails to do
justice to the nnpressive grandeur and snblimity of these

240

TMK MIXES OF BIUTISII COLUMBIA.

si)Uis of the liocky ^[ouiitains. lVi'li!i))s the iinairc tluit,
conveys the most suitable icU'U of tliis sin<iuhir loniiatioii
is, that of {I molten sea, lushed into niu;nitie billows, Avhieh,
at the very height ol" the storm, had been suddenly
])etrilied.

This ap:gre<jfatiou of mountains is drained by mnnerous
streams, of every imaginabl(» size, from tiny rivulets to
large brooks, called in local })arlance, ' creeks and gulches,'
Avhich wind among canons and valleys, apparently to and
from every point of the comj)ass, discharging themselves
at length in prominent tributaries of the Fraser. Fnmi
the melting of winter snows and the frequent rains of
sunnner, these streams are subject to an increase of
volume, which is occasionally troublesome to the miners,
({old is found in irre.'itest abundance close to the moun-
tains, whence thev take their rise. It is an additional
testimony to the c/dlrmi/anf gift of that renowned geo-
grai)her ^ir lioderick ]\[urcliison, who so marvellously
])redicted the discovery of gold in Australia, that several
years before the existence of the precious metal was known
in British Columbia, ho hazarded the assertion that it
would probably be found in large quantities in this very
rciiion of Cariboo.

The richest sinkings hitherto explored are situated on
the following creeks : Keighley's, Goose, Cunningham's,
Lightning, Jack of Clubs, Grouse, Chisholm, Sovereign,
Fountain, Harvey, Nelson, Steven's, Siiowshoe, Last
Chance, Anderson California, Thistle, Sugar, Willow,
IMcCallum, Tababoo, Conklin, LoAvhee, Williams, i!v:c.
Up to the present, the last-named of these is acknowledged
to have been the most pi'oductive. It takes its rise near
the Bald Mountain, and flowing swiftly through a deep
valley, past the town of liichlield, unites with Willow
liiver about six miles below the town, and tlience wends

AUTKSIAX .MlXI.Vd LO.MrANY.

nMu:<' tluit

ioi'iiiatioii

vs, wliicli,

siuldciily

nuiucrous
ivuk'ts to
I gulcliGs,'
;ly to and
liein.sc'lves
r. From
: rains of
crease of
le miners.
lie moim-
udditional
vned geo-
rvellously
^t several
as known
n tliat it
til is very

tuated on
ini>ham's,
>overei<j^n,
oe, Last

Willow,
ams, i.'^rc.
owledged

rise near
li a deep
1 Willow
ce wends

towards tlie Frasei". SJiorlly aflcr the ('Xj)loration of
W illiam's (Veck, a claiiii, owned by a jicisoii to wlioin L
am iii(l(.'l)ted for the iiilormafion, yielded in one day
1, '>()<)/. Tiie entire sum realised Iroiii a space of 80 feet
square, was abont 24,01)0/. Three partner.^ in a cerlaiii
claim (two of whom ai'ewell known to me) netted S.OOO/.
each, in a ])ei'iod of four of live months. St-veral part-
ners in another claim (one of whom verified the stiitemeiit
to me personally) made 1,100/. to their indi\idiial share.

' 'J'he Artesian Gold Alining C'om[)any (Limited),' was
organised last year, with ca])ital stock amounting to
^L'V2,000, divided into 2,010 shares of ,s'.-)() ea<-h. This
com])any have obtained a chtuter with a lease of twenty
years, of one half mile in leimth, by three eiLrhths of a
mile in breadth of mininu" ujround, situated on tliis eicck.
The extent of irround leased is t-nuivalent to 520 mininu;
claims of 100 feet square. Their object is to j)rospect
and exj)lore the ground thoroughly Avitli an artesian boring
machine, so that an artesian shaft can be sunk to the
bed rock in from four to six day: — Workinu' two ' shifts' *
l)er day. Under the most favourable circumstances, the
ordinary time consumed in sinking a shaft with |)ick and
shovel to the bed rock, at a depth of 40 or 00 feet, is from
six weeks to two months. 'J1ie cost of sink'ing thus, by
manual labour, is from tS':5,000 to ,^10,000. The artesian
shaft can be made ibr less than ,>?')00. The augur or
worm at the end of the boring tool is so constructed as to
bring up every time it is raised about a [)anful of dirt, by
wasliing \vhicli the ground can be thoroughly examined
for gold from to|) to bottom. The machine can be easily
worked by three men. Water, which is the great obstruc-
tion to be contended with in oi)en shafts, is rather an ad-

* Working fime -witli a si.-t of luiml-j.

2t8

TIIK MINKS OF nUITLSIL COfX'MBIA.

ViHitajxc in boiinj; sin nrU'sinii sluit't. It is also the intention
ol' the eompuny to lit \\\) ii steani-enjiino of twenty t»r
tliiity liorse power, lor |)uni))iiij,^ water and lirtin«jf dirt at
all seasons of the year. 'Die name of my esteemed friend,
Mr. J. r. Cranford, the seeretary,isa sullicientgnarantee for
the thorough resj)ectal)ilityof the enteiprise, which I have
no d(jnl)t will be followed by others of the same description.
That a correct jiidj^finent may be formed of the ])robable
valne of the ground leased, and of the substantial basis
on which the company rest their hopes of success, the
following facts, in refei'ence to the yiekl of claims on this
creek,* have been carefully collected and published in
iheir prospectus : —

TJjo Adams Company averaj^ed over ^oO,000 to each 100
foot; the Steel claim <:avo $\2i),000 out of 80 feet; the Cmi-
iiingham ;{?27O,0()0, chiefly out of oOO feet; the Hums gave
^140,000 out of JSO feet ; Loring Diller <t Co. obtained ^240,()()0,
chiefly out of .00 feet ; tlie Cainulian obtained |{?1 80,000 out of
120 feet; the Never Sweat gave ;jllOO,()00, chiefly out of 120
feet; the Moflfiit gave ^1)0,000, chiefly out of 50 feet; the
Tiiik«'r gave ^* 120,000, chiefly out of 140 feet; the Watty gave
»*?130,000 out of 100 feet; besides the Black Jack Tunnel,
JJarker, Baldhead, Abbot, Grier, Griffin or Point Wilson,
Jk'aiuogard, Baby, Cameron, Prince of Wales, and numbers of
others of world-wide fame. But we cannot ascertain facts as to
what they have yielded. f

In ISGo, about 4,000 miners were en<xao;ed on this
creek, scattered over a space of seven miles ; and though
the majority of the claims taken up had not then been
opened, many paid returns that in any other gokl producing

' The gold in William's Creek gives in fineness, •SiJO.

t A relative of Mr. Cameron whose claim is mentioned in this list assured
me, when in Canada a few months since, that this gentleman had returned
to his native colony from Cariboo with not less than ^240,000.

ntcntioii
,'C'nty ur
^f dirt nt
(I IVit'iiil,
111 toe lor
li I Imvo
criptioii.
pruhublo
ial basis
L'csy, tlie
s on tliis
li^lied in

eiiclj 100

the Cun-

uriis gave

g24(),()()0,

00 out of

It of 120

'eet ; the

itty gave

Tunnel,

Wilson,

nibers of

"acts as to

on this

though

en been

'oclucing

list assured
returned

I.OWIIKK CUKKK.

211)

f'oiintry would be consiiU'icd icmuiRTativc. Foity at
least yielded handsomely, and from about twenty was
taki'ii out steadily, every twenty four hours, from 70 to
400 oz. In one instance — exeeptional, of eourse — 10)5 lbs.
of gold was extracted in a single day ; and I conversed
with a ])artner of that company wjio brought down to
Victoria, as his individual ])orti<)n, 15,000/. IV'tween
October 18G2, and January 1803, 00,000/. was taken
out of three claims, ])reviously unprospected. A lad,
so far reduced as to accej)t a situation in Victoria, from
which he hardly received reniunenition enough to ])ro-
cure the necessaries of life, re[)aired to the mines in 1803,
and in a few months returned with 2,000/.

Lowhee Creek promises to equal, if not sur])ass Wil-
liam's in richness. Several companies on that stream have
reached the bed-rock, where gold is deposited in fabulous
quantities. For a considerable time the claim of Sage Miller
yielded between 300 oz. and 400 oz. per day, and after hav-
ing been worked nearly two full seasons, we learn by late
intelligence that it still gives 80 oz. a day. The Chittenden
claim, only recently opened, averages about the same
amount. A letter, dated from Cariboo, in June 1804, states
that Dr. Foster, a partner in the riumbago Conq)any,
went down one day, after the water had been shut oil^
and picked up in his claim Sii)0,

The Ericsson claim, on Conklin gulch, June 3, 1804,
yielded 420 oz., and next day one thousand oz. The
steamer ' Enterprise ' arrived at Victoria, from New West-
minster, August 10, 1804, with over tiveive hwidred
pounds weight of gold.

Mr. O'Eeilly, gold commissioner, writing to the Govern-
ment in June last, from Eichfield, says : — ' 1 have much
pleasure in reporting that a company known as " the
Butcher," on Lightning, being a hill claim, situated above

^>.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

1.25

2.0

111=

/,.

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

..^-

l/.A

250

Till'] MINKS or BlIITISII COLUMBIA.

tlie town of Van Winkle,wliich yielded largely last year, but
yoon after lost tlie lead, and since then has laboured hard,
spent alai'ge sum of money in prospecting, has again been
rewarded by a very ricli strike, S^,o()() having been taken
out in the past three days ; one nugget of solid gold being
the largest yet obtained in the Cariboo district, weighing
30 jV oz.'

A copy of the ' Victoria Chronicle,' of Xov. 1SG4, says :
— ' The Aurora Company, on the 20th ult., took out
800 oz., and on the 24th, 618 oz. of gold. The Moflat
was paying about ,^1,000 to the share per week. The
Saw-mill boys struck a good prospect on Saturday, and
adjourned to champagne and coflee. The prospect was
i^lO to the pan ; next day they took out 820 to four
buckets.' Great returns ai'e also looked for next year
from Cunningham's Creek, which last autumn attracted
special attention.

Instances of even remarkable success are much too
numerous to be all recited here. On the other hand, let it
not be supposed that those which have been specified are
intended to give the impression that prize.'i are the rule, aiid
Jdanks fall to the lot of none. It is wot reasonable to
expect that in an occupation to which skill can be applied
to so limited an extent, the majority can escape disap-
pointment. The ancient beds of creeks which contain
aui'iferous deposits arc generally of a tortuous character,
and overgrown with underwood and pine. The ' striking'
of the gold lead, while not entirely, is in a considerable
degree, therefore, attributable to luck.

The ground in the vicinity of a creek being saturated
with water, the shafts which are sunk from 85 to 70 feet,
are liable to incursions of water, so I'apid as frequently
to badle incessant pumping to master it. Many claims,
unquestionably lich, have been abandoned by the miners

ast year, but
cured liard,
i niiaiii been
been taken
I iroldbdnf>-
it, Aveigliing

1 (SO 4, says :
t., took out
The Mofl'at
kveek. Tlie
turday, and
rospcet was
m) to four
r next year
n attracted

' niucli too
hand, let it
specified are
he rule, and
asonable to
be applied
cape disap-
icli contain
character,
' striking'
onsiderable

Z satiu'ated
to 70 feet,
frequently
any claims,
tlie miners

rnosrrxTS of cariboo.

251

from this cause, and it operated not a little, in 18C4, to
hinder the effective development of others. But this diffi-
culty will lienceforth be overcome in Cariboo, by tlie
agency of steam-pumps and bed-rock drains.

It is plain that placer-mining in a country, only
lasting for some ten or twelve years, cannot afford per-
manent employment to immigrants. It is quartz-crush-
ing tliat nuist eventually form the principal source of
mining income in this colony, as it now does in California.
Gold-bearing quartz has already been discovered. One of
the ' leads' is formed on Keithley's Creek, and is said to
contain SIO worth of gold to the lb. of cjuartz. In the
vein, which is 18 inches thick, there is a large percentage
of silver and some galena. If, as I believe to be the case,
the mountains of Cariboo are but an extension of the
Sierra of California, there is no reason to doubt that the
quartz formation of the former, when it receives that
amount of attention fi'om British capitalists which is com-
mensurate with its importance, will become astonishingly
productive. There will then be no longer cause for com-
plaint of the shortness of the working season in Cariboo,
for quartz mining and tunnelling can be carried on all the
year round. Nuggets mixed with quartz have been
found at Lowhee, weighing 16 oz. I repeat that to organ-
ise the apparatus requisite for conducting quartz-crushing
operations, associated capital is indispensable ; and it
may be confidently asserted that no country on the globe
at the present moment offers such magnificent induce-
ments in this respect, to men of energy and means, as
British Columbia does. Not a tithe of the Cariboo regi(m
is yet explored, and this area of country embraces, never-
theless, but an insignificant section of the gold-bearing
streams that head towards the liock Mountains from
Peace River in the north to Eock Creek, on the confines

9^9

TIIK MINES OP BRITISfl COLUMBIA.

of Wasliington Territory. I have no hesitation in saying
that, in three years from now, tlie advance in the yield of
gold in proportion to the population will be beyond con-
ception.

Advices from Cariboo to November 1, 1864, inform
lis that the weather continued delightful — sunshiny and
warm— imore like May than November weather. Markets
quite overstocked. Flour selling at 32c. to 35c. pei' lb.
bacon, 50c. to 75c. per lb. ; butter, $1 25c. per lb. ;
coffee, $1 per lb. ; beef, 40c. per lb. ; mutton, 40c. to
45c. per lb. ; rice 45c. to 50c. per lb. ; beans, 30c. to
40c. per lb. ; sugar, 50c. to 62^^c. per lb. ; tea, $1 to
SI 25c. per lb. ; syrup, 65c. per lb. ; potatoes, 20c. to
25c. per lb. ; turnips, 10c. to 20c. per lb. ; cabbage,
35c. per lb. ; onions, 50c. per lb. ; nails, 50c. to 624c.
per lb. Clothing, a shade above New Westminster prices ;
cordwood, 512 per cord; sawn lumber, 10c. to 12ic. per
foot ; stakes, $b per hundred. Miners' wages, ,^10 per
day of ten hours. The population in William's Creek v^as
about 1,500 ; about 700 or 800 of whom would probably
winter there. There was very little sickness on the
creek.

The Shuswap Ditjgimjs, east of Lytton, about 150 miles,
are likely, when better known, to become the centre of an
important settlement.

The Kootanie Di(jgmgs. — The district so named lies close
to the foot oftheEocky Mountains, and also to the United
States boundary. Eumours have been in circulation as
to the existence of gold in that section of the country
for two years, but it was only in 1864 that the ground
was thoroughly tested, and the discovery will probably
turn out to be the most important yet made in British
Columbia.

These mines have the peculiar advantage of being in alti-

KOOTANIE MINES.

253

111 in staying
:hc yield of
eyoud cou-

164, inform
nsliiny and
!r. Markets
35c. per lb.
ic. per lb.;
3n, 40c. to
ns, 30c. to
tea, $1 to
es, 20c. to
; cabbage,
c. to 624c.
ster prices ;
124c. per
ps, ^10 per
Creek \'^as
d probably
ss on the

150 miles,
entre of an

;d lies close
the United
culation as
le conntry
he ground
probably
in British

jing in alti-

tude much lower, and in latitude much more southerly,
than those of Cariboo, and thus are more conveniently
situated for being worked during the greater part of the
year. They are, besides, more easy of access for migra-
tions of those who are dissatisfied from time to time with
the mines of Boise and Idaho.

As the mines of Kootanie (or as it is often spelt Koota-
nais) are destined ere long to become as familiar to the
English public as were those of Cariboo a few years since,
I am happy in being able to place before the reader two
official documents, both of recent dates, which will convey
a more trustworthy notion of this auriferous region than
could be aflbrded by any })rivate communication. The
first of these dociunents is a despatch from Mr. Ilayncs,
gold commissioner for the district, to the Government. It
is dated Kootanais, Wild Horse Creek, August 30, 1864 : —

To the Colonial Secretary.

Sir, — I have the honour to submit for the information of
Hi.s Excellency the Governor the subjoined facts relative to the
mines in this district.

There are about one thousand men here, including miners,
shopkeepers, and labourers. The mines as far as discovered on
this creek extend for about four miles and a half, and are divided
into five hundred claims of 100 feet each, including creek and
bar.

The following list shows the amounts taken daily from ten of
the best claims on the stream :

Co. —Six men employed. Yield per day, ^^400— during

•veek ending 3rd September, 134 oz.

Co. — Twelve men working. Yield per day, ^200 —

during week ending 3rd September, 158 oz.

Co. — Thirteen men employed. Yield per day $A1A —

during week ending 3rd September, I. 58 oz.

Co. — Fourteen men employed. Yield per day, $\29 —

during week ending 3rd September, 143 oz. Amount of gold

254

THE MIXES OF lilllTISIl COLUMBIA.

taken from this claim during the month of August last 719^ oz.,
or ^12,948, at the value of gold here.

Co. — Twelve men employed. Yield per day, ^1,()14 —

four days' sluicing, ,8^4,176.

Co. — Nine men employed. Yield per day/,^ 108— during

the week ending 3rd September, 36 oz.

c*c Co. — Fifteen men employed. Yield per day, ^600 —

during week ending 3rd September, ,^3,600, or 200 oz.

• Co. — Seventeen men employed. Yield per day, ,^720 —

during week ending 3rd September, J^4,320, or 240 oz.

Co. — Twelve men employed. — Amount taken out per

day, (^200 — during week ending 3rd September, ,$1,200, or
66^ oz.

Co. — Four men employed, rocking. Yield per day $1 33

— during week ending 3rd September, $798, or 44^ oz.

Ordinary claims here pay from $20 to $30 a day to the hand.

A large ditch is now being made here by Messrs. & Co.,

at an altitude to command the hill on which this town stands,
and which prospects we'd. When this work shall be completed a
much greater number of claims can be opened than at present,
as there is a great lack of water.

A nuororet weifjhing 37 ounces was found in the claim of

& Co., on the 2nd inst. This is a beautiful specimen of puro
gold, and, I believe, the largest found north of the parallel.
Several pieces of gold, weighing from one to nine ounces, have
also been picked up here.

l^abourers are paid at the rate of seven dollars a day.

There are about fifteen men living on Finlay's Creek, distant
fifty miles from this, but owing to the frequent freshets to which
that stream is subject, nothing worth mentioning in the way of
mining has been done up to the present time.

No mines in addition to the above-mentioned have as yet been
discovered in this district.

The Indians in this part of the country are harmless and well
disposed. I made it my duty to meet the chief of this tribe —
Michael — and his principal retainers h( ve a few days after my
arrival, and explained to them that His Excellency the Governor
would protect the interests of the red men as well as the white ;

mi. uiKcii.s Ri:roiiT.

255

ast 719^ oz.,
ly, ^1,044—

108 — during-

(lay, ^600—
I oz.

clay, ^720—
oz.

ken out per
, ^1,200, or

per day ,^133

Loz.

to the hand.

& Co.,

to\yn stands,

completed a
n at present,

aim of

nen of pure
the parallel,
ounces, have

day.

•eek, distant

lets to which

the way of

as yet been

ess and well
this tribe —
ys after my
e Governor
s the white ;

and further, that His Excellency would expect them to act in a
ri;^ht and proper manner. After treatinj^ them to a good din-
ner and makinj,' them a few presents, they left well pleased.

A ^reat deal of prospecting is being done here in the way of
tunnelling, sinking shafts, and otherwise, so that I have before
the close of the season to have the honour of reporting fresh
discoveries. I have, vtc,

John C. ITaynks.

List of prices of provisions at Wild Horse ('re(>k, District of
Kootanais : flour 40c.; bacon, ^1; beans, 50c.; sugar, 70c.;
coffee, $1 ; tea, $2 25 ; beef, 30c. ; dried apples, 60c. ; butter,
^1 50; lard, 80c. ; tobiicco, $2 50: candles, 75c.

From the British Columbia ' GovcrnniGnt Gazette,' we
obtain tlie following report of the late official trip to the
Kootenay country by Mr. Colonial Secretary Birch : —

Colonial Secretary's ( )irice, New Westminster,
October HI, 18(54.

SiK, — I have the honour to report to you my return from
visiting the Kootenay District. I much regret that my absence
has been prolonged beyond the time I had anticipated, in con-
sequence of the far greater distance of the mining portion of
that district from the town of Hope than I had been led to
expect from the reports that had reached New Westminster
beft)re my departure.

Leaving Ifope on 2nd September, in company with ^h:
Bushby and ]\[r. Evans, we crossed the Cascade range to Prince-
ton, a distance of 75 miles, in three days, and following the
beautifid valley of the Similkameen, we reached the custom-
house at Osoyoos on the 8th of September.

From Osoyoos we proceeded by way of Kock Creek, where we
found several Chinamen and five white men employed in mining
on the lower portion of the stream. The latter were taking out
from 6 to 8 dollars a day to the hand, and, from information I
was enabled to gather on the spot, it only requires an influx of
miners to develope the resources of this once famous creek.

After leaving this we followed the N-whoy-alpit-kwu, or Kettle

256

TIIK MINKS OF BRITISH COLIMBIA.

Kiver, as far as Boundary Creek, where we left tlie old Culville
trail and proceeded by the new Hudson's Bay Company's trail,
which continues through British territory, and after some 15
miles struck the old trail ajrain on the Grande l^rairie. With
the exception of a very few miles the entire route from Bock
Creek lies through a fine rolling prairie country, thinly woodod
and abotmding in bunch grass.

Tlie Orande Prairie is a magnificent level plateau of some 1.5
miles in length by 8 in Ijreadth, admirably adapted for grazing
and agricidture ; it is almost encircled by the Kettle Biver, the
banks of which for some distance on either side consist of a deej)
rich soil.

My intention was to have continued on the new trail to Fort
Shepherd without passing into American territory, but on learn-
ing from the Indians whom we met on the Grande Prairie that
the trail from Fort Shepherd to the Kootenay Lake was extremely
rough and bad for horses, I deemed it prudent to proceed to Fort
Shepherd by way of Colville, where I was enabled to have some
of the horses, which had become foot-sore, properly shod at the
United States barracks, through the kindness of the officer in
command of the garrison.

After a delay of two days at Colville, wo started for Fort Shep-
herd, a newly erected trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company,
situated in a wild and barren spot, some 2 miles northward of the
Boundary Line, and 40 miles from Colville.

Here we had to swim the horses in a very rapid part of the
Columbia a short distance above the Pend d'Oreille River.

I find that the trail from this point to the Kootenay Valley,
which passes over a densely wooded mountain, a distance of some
20 miles, was opened out in the early spring by 'the merchants
of Colville, but what additions or improvements have since been
made by the employes of the Hudson's Bay Company, I am at a
loss to conceive.

No attempt has been made to grade the steep inclines in any
way, and it seems to have been the ambition of the road party
to carry the trail through as many swamps as possible, taking
the trail over some high bluff only to return again to the
swamps beneath.

-MK. llIRcn S HKI'Oin'.

•_'.■>:

old Culville
ipany's trail,
:er some lo
lirie. With
! from Kofk
inly wooded

L of some 1 .')

for grazing

le Kiver, the

jist of a deep

trail to Fort
)ut on learn-
Prairie tliat
as extremely
iceed to Fort
:o have some
I shod at the
he officer in

Fort Shep-
,y Companj'^,
Ihward of the

part of the
River.

may Valley,
mce of some
merchants
le since been
ly, I am at a

[lines in any
road party
kible, taking
Irain to the

Tlic best cvidciioi' I cin give of I lie iittrr nsch'ssiicss of tlir
work done under (lie iiiispiccs of tlic Hudson's j'jiy ('ompiiiiv, is
ill the disaster which has happened to one of the Company's t»wii
])ack-trains, which started to cross this portion of the trail at
the same time as myself, under tlu; charge of Mr. F.inklater ;
this train was 14 days in reaching the Kootenay N'alley, and lost
six horses, one of which disappeared with its entire pack i>l'
2.')() ll)s of Hour.

As the trail at ])resent exists it would be impossible for
packers t(» jiass through this |>ortion without carrying tbod for
their animals. There is good feed about 12 miles from i''ort
Siic])lu'rd, and again at the summit of the iiioiiiitaiiis, which
t'oriii the divide hetween the valleys of the ('oiiiml)ia and
Kootenay rivers. The distance from the first feed to the sunmiit
is 34 miles, an(l again, from the summit to the Kootenay some
lU) miles must be passed over with<»ut finding suthcient grass
for more than one pack-train.

We struck the Kootenay Kiver about 4 miles from the u|)per
end of the great Kootenay or Flatbow Lake. This portion of
the valhy is quite level and composed of rich alluvial soil, and
much resembles that of Pitt Kiver at this season, abounding as
it does ill swamp grass and rank vegetation ; it is evidently one
continuous lake during the earlier period of the year. The
river itself is broa<l, steep, and sluggish.

The Kootenay Indians are by far the finest specimens of the
race that I have yet seen, and are among the — I fear — few tiibes
remaining that have not been demoralised by contamination
with the white man. I believe, with few exceptions, tlic'y have
become converts to Christianity, and it was a pieasin*' si<dit - <
see the chief of the tribe, who accompanied me on my road t\
some days, kneel down before each repast and thank God for his
daily bread. They ap])eared much pleased with a few presents
which I made them of needles, fish-hooks and tobacc(», and during
the time that we were within the district of the eastern tril)(>
we were generally followed by a large cavalcade. A large num-
ber were encamped in the valley at their fishing grounds; rhey
were very friendly, and rendered us every assistance in helping
to swim our horses and cross our baggage over the Kriotenav

lioS

Tin: MINKS or iiimtisii (hmmiiia.

Hiv»'r; (liis WfiiccoinpIislMMl witli safrty, neai'K pJinillfl with tlic
Ii(tmi(liiry liinc, havin<{ travelled some 20 miles up llic vallcv
after leaving' the newly-math- trail.

Oil leaving; the river we were el)li<'e(l to (liver<;e some 10
miles into American territory, when we Joined the Lewiston and
NN'alia Walla trail, whieh follows u\> the Mooyie I\iver to tlie
lakes, from which the river takes its rise, thronj^h a thickly
tindtei'ed and somewhat mountainons conntry, where we fonnd
it very diffienlt to find food for onr horses.

From these lakes to the mines, a distance of ahont 40 miles,
the eonntry aj^'ain opens ont, and nothing can exceed the
j^nandenr of the scenery as we now appnjached tlie Kocky
Mountains.

We arrived at the mines on the 20th day from Hope, and I
cannot estimate the distance travelled over in this period at less
than 190 miles, th()u<,di in this it should be remembered that I
include the (h;toiir of liO miles which I made by way of
Colville.

I found al)out 700 men resident at the mines, and I was in-
formed that at least 300 were out prospecting in the neijj^hbour-
hood ; but although numerous reports of new and extensive
iliscoveries reached the creek daily during my staj', I could
obtain no information suflficiently authentic to place any credence
in them.

The mining is therefore at present entirely confined to one
creek, called by the miners ' Wild Horse Creek,' which takes its
rise within the confines of the Kocky ^Mountains, and flows into
the Kootenay Kiver, northward of the 50th parallel of latitude.
The creek is at present worked for about 4 miles, commencing
some 2 miles from its junction with the Kootenay. I visited
most of the claims, and found them all paying well, and, with few
exceptions, the entire community appeared well satisfied with
the laws to which they were subject.

At the time of my arrival, 50 sluice companies were at work,
employing from 5 to 25 men, and taking out from ,^300 to ^1 ,000
per diem.

One hundred rockers were averaging from 2 oz. to 6 oz. per
diem.

Ml!. iiii!( II < i!i:i'«>i;r.

'ly.)

I with til.'

he VuUt'V

some 1<>

,iston iuul

■cv to the

ii tlii«"UIy

we fuUUtl

40 miles,
xceed the
he Kocky

npe, and I
riod at less
red that I
l)y way of

I was iu-
iiei^hhour-

extensive
y, I could
iiy credence

lied to one
ill takes its
flows into
)f latitude,
mmencing
I visited
[1, with few
lisfied with

•e at work,
P to ^1,000

6 oz. per

I'lii^dil ei>iii)>;iiiirs h;i\(' rdinmt'ni'fd iiinniMi,' tiiiiiH-ls inio tin-
side «»f till' hill, liiif till' (lold Hill ( 'oiiipMiiy was the only oiir
suflieiciitly advaiiiTd In lircoinr rciiiiiiH'ialivf : thi^ cunipaiiy
was taking' out nearly an oniiee to the hand per diem.

Four shafts were Iteint; sunk in the hed of tiie creek, Imt at
my departure no satisfactory resnlts had heeii ohtained, althoMnh
all parties interested seemed contident of success.

Seventy men wci'e employed in const met iii<,' a lar^v npper
ditch, some .'> ndles in leiiL^th, which it was expected would he
completed early in the present month, when more than 100
hill claims, winch were lyin«4' (»ver for want of water, wonld com-
mence woi'k. The few hill claims at present workiny are found
to ho richer than the bed of the creek, the opening' of the ditch
is therefore looked forward t<t with much interest.

liahourers were recei\in<4 87 a day, iuid the price (jf piovisions
enabled them to live well for »*<l..)0 per diem.

A town of no inconsidcrahle size; has already sprunLf up upon
the creek. Four restam'ants are established ; the I'ate of cliarj^^'s
for regular boarders average $\4 to ii\H per week. Xnmeroiis
sidtstantial stores have been erected. A larj^c brewery had also
been esta])lished and had commenced workiiii;'.

(ireat uncertainty prevails as to the period at which the wintei-
fairly sets in, b\it it was exiM'cted that tlu; seven." frosts would
not commence before Novcnd)er, and it was therefore the inten-
tion of Mr. Haynes to alhtw all claims to lie over from the 1st
\ovend)er to 1st of .May.

From the number of loo- huts in the coiu'se of construction,
it is estiinated that froni .'iOO to 400 persons will winter at the
mines.

The ,f,'old taken from these mines is considered by the tradei-s
to equal the best (^ilifornian gold. The price at which it passes
current on the creek is $\H the ounce, and j)ackeis goin<>- down
are glad to purchase at that price.

I was very anxious to obtain some approximate return of tiie
amount of gold taken from the creek during the season, but I
found it impossible to do so. Careful accounts are kept by the
miners of the receipts and disbursements for the week, but as
each Sunday comes round the division of profits is made, or

s -2

2(10

Tin: MINKS nr IJiUTlSII (OIAMIIIA.

more |tiu|M'iIy spciikiii},', tlicic is it oriicral .s(|nai'«' up, iit'tri'
wliicli iill iiccrmuts to that (lute air dtstrnyt'd.

TIh' cainp is well supplied with all the iirccssarirs (if life. I
c'li{'h)S(' u list of prices of the chief artich's.

It is roidideiitly expected hy the tra(h'is tiiat there will he a
ruHli (»f from 1(),()()() to l.'),0()() miners from the Jioise country
in the spriii<,% and Iar;,fe supplies are still liein;;' sent in to the
nuuL's. On our return we met 10 or 12 heavily laden pack
trains daily. 'I'he entire suppliis are at present packed up from
Tiewlston, W'idla Walla, NN'aliulii, and I'matilla Landing,', in
\Vashin''t(»n Territory atid the State of Oreodii. The cattle came
direct frttm Salt Lake City, and jire some of the tinest I iiave
ever seen.

The distuncos from these places are as fellows : —

Wild Horse Creek to i,ewistoii . .'542 miles.

!)(.. do. to Wid la, Walla . 4().S do.

Do. d... to Wallula . . 4:\H do.

Do. do. to Umatilla Landin<' 4.j.'i do.

The present charges for packin;^' from these places ranges from
2()c to 24c per Ih.

A trail tlirough Hritish territory, either by way of tlie Sluiswap
or (irand<^ Prairie, cannot I thiid< exceed 400 miles. The mer-
chants of this colony need therefore have little fear of being
able to comjjete with the American merchants, when it is
remembered t»» what an enormously liigh taritf American goods
are now subject.

Mr. ITaynes had collected a large amount of revenue, con-
sidering the short time that he had been resident in the district.
I found his treasury to consist of an old portmanteau, which he
zealously guarded by night and day, in the log hut in which he
is at present living.

At the urgent re(juest of Mr. Haynes, I relieved him of a portion
of his responsibility, by taking over some T^lbs. weight of gold.
This f brought down with me, and have safely deposited in the
hands of the Treasurer. It is an interesting incident for Mr.
Evans, Mr. Hushbv, and myself to remend)er that we were the tirst

Ml!. I'.IIJCII S i:i:i'(>l!T

•jc.l

up, llf'tlT

..f lilr. 1

• will ln' a
sc roimtry
\ ill to tlio
ladt'ii pack
('(1 M|» tVom
iaixiiit*.;, ill
cattle c.'iTnc
est I have

miles.

(iu.

(I...

(In.

ranges tVoiii

le Sliuswap

Tlie mer-

ir of beiiij^

kvhou it is

Incaii <foo(ls

[.♦'line, con-
he district.
|i, whicli lie
II which he

lof a portion
mt of gold,
pited in the
■nt for Mr.
\erc the first

(

L;nld escuit direct t'ldiii the U'tickv Moiiiitiiiii.s to the seahoard ot'

t lit' Cii|ii||\ .

We lett the iiiiiii's oii ( Ktolier I, iiiid I iiiiich reyretted that
lime wtiiild Hot ailitw ot" my retiirniu'^ liv s'lme uthcr luiite than
the line I had already tra\'elled nver, as I tee! very euntident
tiiat tor many reasniis it is ii(»t the niii' to he adeptrd liy the
(iovernnieiit.

Since my rt'tiirn to New Westminster I learn that a stirveyinjjf
party has already started, hy way of Kamlonps and the Shnswap
Lake. They will doiihtless follow the Indian trail, and strike
the Colnmhia near the Arrow Lakes; Imt hi'fore any decision is
arrived at in the matter, I am \ery anxious that the portion of
the country lying hetween the (J ramie Prairii' and tlu' jnnetion!}
of till' Kooteiiay and C'oliimhia Rivers should he explored.

I am told hy Mr. A. McDonald, who is resident at the JFiidson
IJay Company's Fort at C'olville, and who is well known as an
i-xperieiiced hunter, tlwit, striking nearly due north from the
( I rami Prairie, there is a low divide, the commencement of
which we could plainly distinguish, hy which }-ou are enahled
to reach the Columhia with great ease, nearly opposite to the
Kooteiiay liiver.

The entire country from Princeton to the (Jrajide Prairie, a
distance of some KiO miles, is almost free from tiinher ; ahounds
in food for cattle ; the trail throughout is excellent, and with
the exception (»f a small distance on the Similkameeii, no
expenditure would he re([uired in improving it, and indeed
littU; would be reijuired in making the same into a waggon
road.

The exploration of the short distance I have referretl to might
easily he accomplished during the winter months, and if found
feasible might be opened out in a very short time. I would
therefore suggest for your consideration, that .Mr. Ilaynes l)e at
oiice empowered to expend a small sum on this work.

I have little of sufficient interest to re|)ort relative to our
return journey, which would excuse me for continuing this
alri'ady lengthy ri'jiort : we arrived at Hope in 24 days from
Wild Horse Creek, having experienced most lovely weather ; we
had only to record two wet days thioughoiit tlu' whoK pcriiul (»f

■H'rl

Till-: MINKS or I'.UITISII C(H,UMHIA.

our it.bsciK'C, iiud notliing cuii exceed the eluirms of tliis eliiiiatc
lor caiiii) life.

We foiind gjiiiu' abimdaiit over the whoh^ trail, and were
enabled without difliculty or delay to keep the camp well sup-
plied, thouj^di I must own that on occasions we had descended so
low in the game list as to eat poicupiiie with a relish.

1 cannot conclude this letter without expressinjf my sense of
the admirable manner in which Mr. Kaynes has carried out his
duties under most difiicult circumstances ; arriving as he did
with only one constable to assist him, among- fi body of \, '){){)
millers from the adjcuning t(n'rit(U'ies, many of whom were
known to be utterly regardless of law and order ; he found them
handed together, making their own laws and metin«>' out their
own ideas of justice; each man, as man}' have owned to me,
carrying his Hie in his hands. In fact, so insecure had life and
property become in the eyes of many of the miners that Mr.
Dore, on(! of the original discoverers of the creek, and a few
ot tns, had formed themselves into a committee, and drawn u|>
a code of laws, which they intended enforcing on thecomnnmity
had not a (iovern«nent officer arrived at the moment. Copies of
these laws were handed to me by ]\rr. Dore, and I enclose them
as interesting documents. I would add that the fjentlemen
forming this committee have cheerfully rendered ^Ir. Haynes
every assistance in th(,'ir power in nuiintaining law and order.

[ arrived, witliin six weeks of Mr. Haynes' residence in the
disti'ict, to find tlie nuning Liws of the colony in full force, all
Customs duties |)a,id, no pistols to be seen, and everytlnng as
(|uiet and orderly as it could possibly be in the most civilized
district of the col(»ny, mueli to the surprise and admiration of
manv who remember the earlv davs of tlie neiojibourinu- State
of California.

I have the honour to lie, sir,

Yowv most ol)edient servant,

Ahthtu N. Biiuh.

His Kxcellencv Ficderiek Seymour.

/^f;/(//i'i/s iKiiili-ircsl iij' tlh' Fi'dscr. — Suflicicnt [)r<)s])Lr
liii'j li;is Ih'cii ;it(c'ni|tl<.'(l 1<» prove the oxislcncc of the

.MI.\I\(J LAWS.

Zl>.)

liis climate

, and weic

[) well siip-

eaceiided sd

ny .sense ut'

ied out liifi

;• as lie did

ly of i,r>oo

whom well'

found tlietn

o- out their

ned to me,

lad life and

rs that Mr.

, ami a few

(1 drawn u|>

community

L Copie.s (jf

iclose them

i^entlemeu

r. Hayne.s

lid order.

nee in the

I force, all

ythino^- as

st civilized

liration of

irinuf State

lilt,

j)r()sj)i.'i'
rr of the

prceious int't;il in tliiit sertioii of the country. Hridge
liiver. Lillot't, LajstCIiniicc, Ik'llu Coola, iSkeciui, aiidXass,
have furnishod indication.^ of being eniiuently auriferotis.
Of tlie Stiekeen lliver, which has its source in the same
mountains with Peace liiver, it is conlidentlv allirnuMl,
by many who liave visited that locality, that good wage-<
can now be earned on some of its l)ars, and tliat in
future years it is certain to become a centre of mining
industry. When the nt(Uri,i\ whence issue the granular
particles foimd on the ]:)anks of tlie Stickeen, is reat'hed,
the disclosure of a second Cariboo will rewai-d the toil
and patience of explorers.

Little effort has been made as yet to discover minerals and
the baser metals in British Columbia. I liave seen a large
l)iece of jitu'c coi)])er from Stickeen. Indications luive also
been found of })lundjago, lead, iron, platinum, and tin, and
the coimtry is believed to aboimd in coal and limestone.

The )nin'ni(j lau'.s of tlie colony are given in cwtenm in
the A])pendix. Only the points most interesting to intend-
iuix emiorants are here sid)mitted.

The governor is empowered to appoint gold commis-
sioners who, within certain districts,may issue 'free miners'
certificates,' authorising the holder to mine upon crown
lands, and may registei' claims (or allotments of auriferoiLs
land to individual mineis). The sum of 1/. is chargetl for
a certljlcate, which must be countersignetl by the miner,
and is not transferable. 8s. 4d. has also to be paid for the
reoisti'ation of the claim. Ceitificate and reoistration are
valid for one year.

The gold commissioner is possessed of the authority of
a justicie of the peace, with power to try all the dis])utes
of miners. He is appointed judge of law and fact, subject
to appeal to the Supreme Coiut of the colony, when in
civil cases the value of the niattei' in liliuation exceeils

204

TIFK MINKS OF UKITISII (JOLUMBiA.

20/., or wliL'ii ill ciiiiiiiial jiuisdictioii tlie ihnj uxcccds
that sum, or tlie inipri;<()iiineiit exceeds ?UI diiys.

Tlie governor may lease auriferous lauds on conditions
specified in the several proclamaticjus aflectiug mining
interests.

Mining botu'ds arc ])erniitted to be established in any
districts where deemed necessary by a given number of
miners, to make by-laws resj)ecting the size of claims,
sluices, and thuiujs connected witli mininu' sienerallv.

The size of registered claims, which are usually in dry,
bar, bench, or ravine diggings, is 100 feet square ; in quartz
claims 150 feet alomjf the vein.

Discoverers receive s])ecial advantage in the allotment
of claims, accordiuL>- to their number.

Provision is made for letting exclusive water privilege,
for which a rent is paid to the Government. For a clear and
useful digest of mining laws, with all requisite explanations,
the work of Mr. l^irk, barrister, pubUslied in Victoria,
V^ancouver Island, slioidd be consulted.

Note. — The followimr extract is from an interesting letter
adilrcssed to me by a re[)resentative of one of the largest
miniuijr concerns in British Columbia. The date of the
communication is Gth of December 1804, and its value
consists in the exact and candid accoimt it liives of the
condition of the gold mining interest at Cariboo during hist
season : —

I concentrated all the men on our niaiu claim on Creek

in order, if ])ossil)le, with the available means at command, to
lit) down with our sliaft this season. I had to rebuild our
wheel whicli was smashed at the beginning of last winter by the
severe frost, sink a new shaft niucli larger than the former one,
and superior in every p(»int of view to any in the colony. We
had every confidence as to success; hut the wooden pum|)s wi're
our (Utliculty. I am now fully convinced, after the experience I

XOTK O.V CAinBOO.

•205

lie exceeds

coiulitioiKs

ivy llllUllin;-

led ill any
iiuiiibei- ()t'
of claims,

dly in dry,
; ill quartz

allotment

■ privilege,
a clear and
[)lanatioiis,
1 Victoria.

sting letter
;lie largest
ute of the
I its value
OS of the
luriuix lust

Creek

inniand, to
ebiiild our
liter by the
H-iner one,
lony. We
limps were
iperience I

lowever skiltul, will ever

have liiid, tliat no company of men, 1

reach the bottom of our deep .li-giiios here without the aid

p.»werful iron pumps and iixinus if not steai

(.)

m power, which

eventually must begot, as we have not surface water enou-h
where it is wcutte,!, to work them efficiently. In the inea<Om-s,
called, on Williams' Creek, where so much

where operations have been foin*

tlie distance of about 3 mil
failed f(

was expected, and
on on a very extended scale for

es, in every instance the mines 1

lave

the

r want of ;ide(iuate machinery and pumps. This will appear

more provoking when I say thiit we do not

re(iiiire tn-eater

power in any of the claims than is found in ordinary uxhies in
the old country. The waggon road is now complete to Cot-
tonwood ; 1-) or 16 miles more will bring it to the bottom of
\N illiams' Creek. Then machinery can be taken up the whole
(hstance. We have lost the whole season in fighting with our
difficulties, having inadetpiate means to cope with "them. In
reality, they are not difficulties, had we the necessary appliances
at hand to overcome them. Still, with all the disappointments'
and f/te>/ have been many this year, more yold ivas sent doivn
from Cariboo than In any previous year.

lic.r.

ciiArTi<:u X.

I'HOCKSS OF MIM\(i,

l']>M'iitials lor ciiri'viiif.'' on .Mining Opt'ration.'^ .sncccs.st'ully — 'I'lic Art ol
' l'ros]u'('fin<r'— 'J'lio I'se of tin; iJocker— Sluicing — Hvdraiilic Mining —
Water ('oni])anie.s— The ' Fliitter-whoel ' — Turning ii Ifivcr out of its
I'lcd — ' (iround Sluicing ' — 'J'unnclling— Quartz .Mining — The iJastra —
("rusliiiig (Quartz bv Steam I'owor — ' (Quartz, the Mother of (iold.'

To tlio iiiteiKliiig emigrant uiivcrsod in the art of
(.'xtructing gold, a general description of the nietliods
employed for this purpose may not be uninteresting. It
is hardly necessary to remark tlitit this metal derives its
value fj'oni its comparative rareness and the diflicidties
encountered in ])rocurmg it. Any one, therefoi'e,
imagining that — the scene of operations reticlied — he can
pick up the object of his search without obstruction or
delay, had better, while under that delusion, make up
his mind to remain at home. Should he rt;fuse warning
and i)ersist in indulging Utopian expectations, his folly
will be visited with vexatious consequences,

Thr(!c great essentials in eflfectually carrying on
uiining operations are water, wood, and quicksilver. In
some parts of California tlie want of the first of these
materials oilers a serious hindrance to tlie labour of tlie
uiiner, which ctm only be compensated by elaborate and
costly ti])[)lijmces. It sometimes happens in tluit State
tluit even where steam qiuu'tz mills are at work, anysmtdl
volume of Avater required to supply them nuist be conveyed
in llmnes a disttmce of forty miles, and in some insttmces
more than double that distance. In Xew Zealand wood

Ily— Til." All ol
ilnuilif -Miiiiiifi- —
lii\<'r out of its
; — 'I'lio l{u>tru —
■(.f (iold.'

I tiie art of
tlie methods

XTL'stillg. It

111 derives its
lie difficulties
3, therefore,
led — lie can
jstructioii or
)n, make iij)
'use warniii<^
'lis, his folly

carrying on
ksilver. In
rst of these
ibour of the
aborate and
1 tliat ^tate
k, any small
be conveyed
lie instances
aland wood

• l'l{OSI'i:(TIN(i.

2(17

is felt to be the ureal (/'sidcrdf/nii. Thcdrc of (|iii»'ksil\i'r,
whicli is u^^uallv Ibuiid to exist in u'old-producinL:'
countries, has been discovered in lU'itisii Columbia, though
the utilisation ol' it has hitherto been neglected ; conse-
(|uently the colony isdc})endent for su])|)lies ol'([uicksilvei'
on California. Watei- and wood, however, liritish
Columbia contains in abundance, and the mountainous

i'i>'ii>i'i:( Tiiii-

WilKK.

charactiM' of the country enables the miner to divert t»» his
purpose torrents, the economic power of which would
otherwise be much less valuable* in his operations.

The metallic sand in whicii gold is found is ])riniarily
sought, and the peculiar quality of eailh that contains the
amalgam is t(H'hnicallv called the ' colour.' While enL>-aLrcd
in the })ursuit of this indication of the presence of gold,
the miner is •pi'os|)ecting.' The re(|uisitcs for this task
aic a 'pair and some (inicksilvcr. When the miner

•iC.S

l'l{(JCi:SS OF MININ(i.

comes ton spot oil tlic l);iiik of m river wliicli lie siij)|)oses
to be uurii'erous. lie proceeds to test the vjiliu; of the * (hrt '
in th(> followiiiu' niiuiiier. Ilaviiisx filled the ])aii Avith
earth, he gently dij)s it in the stream, and by the assistance
of a I'otatory motion Avhich he gives to its contents,
loosened by the introduction of Avater, the black sand with
pel)bles is precipitated to the bottom. The lighter earth
is allowed to ])ass over the (j({<si) of the pan or basin.
After {ill has been removed exce[)t the sand and any specks
of gold that may be m coml)iiiatinn with it, the pan is])laced
by a lire or in the sun to diy. The lighter particles of
sand are blown away, and if the gold be very Ihie it is
amalgamated Avith quicksilver. ])y thus ascertaining the
value of the remaining particles of gold dust, skilful
'prospectors' conclude whether the ground would pay to
work. In this rough method of searching for gold the
su[)erior specific gravity of that metal over every other,
except platinum, is the basis of operations — amiferous
[)articles, on this principle, settling at the bottom.

The readiest and most primitive contrivance for wash-
ing gold is the ' rocker,' which is still used by Cliina-
meii, and a few white men, on the banks of the Fraser.
The rocker is constructed like a child's cradle, with
rockers underneath. This box is o^ to 4 feet long, about
'2 feet wide and Ti fc'ct deep. The up[)er i)art and one
end are open, and the sides gradually slope toward the
bottom. At the head is a section closely jointed with a
sheet-iron bottom, perforated so as to admit of small
stones passing through. Along the bottom of the rocker
rjllles * or elects are arranued to arrest the <>old. This
apparatus phicedon the margin of the river, the u[)periron
box is fed by one miner with earth, and by another is

' riu'M' ;iic .-liip> of wood oi- iiit.tal amiiifjetl irt'tcr tlio iiiaiiiici' of .1
Wiirliaii hliml.

RO(;KlN(i

•J(i<

(i!)

he sii])|)osc's
of the ' dirt'
lie pMii with
he iissistance
its contents,
uk siind witli
lighter cartli
an or basin,
d any specks
pan is])laced
!i' particles of
^'eiy line it is
ertainini; the
dust, skilful
vould pay to
for gold the
every other,
i — aiu'iferous
torn.

ce for Avash-
by Cliiua-
the Fraser.
radle, with
lonu", about
u't and one
toward the
ited with a
nit of small
:' the rocker
-old. This
e u[)periron
i another is

e luamivr ul' .1

rocked and sM])])lic'(l with water. 'I'he ^ohl and pebble
)assin<jf down to the

bott

oni.

he water cairies awav

the latter, and tlie rillles detain the former. In case thi*

)ld

111

•t of a blanket

•fteii laid ah

th(

o'oitl IS very ime, pait ot a DiaiiKet is oiieii laid alonu' tne
under box, covered with quicksilver to attract the gold
dust. By this simj)le agency from 1/, to 10/. ])er day and
upwards to the hand has been realised. In an ordinary sluice
10 or 50 lbs. of quicksilver is employed daily, and in a

. >''i{<i, ■.l"■

\Vci|(KlN(; WITH rili. l.'iKKt.li

rocker from (S to 10 ihs. J^)ut after the gold has been
retorted from it, the same f|uicksilver may be a[)plied
several times over.

The next method to be described, and the one
most prevailing on the raciiic, is Slinrifn/. 'J'his
is a process of miiung that can be conducted on any
scale and in connection Avith the labour of an indeiinite
number of men. It is almost invariably Ibund in con-
junction witli a system of ■flumes' or wooden a(|ii('(lucts

270

I'KOCKSS or .MIM.\<i.

of \}iii(His cxlciit, luiiiiiiiu |).ii;ill('l willi lln' chiiiiis
oil ii ci'cck ()!• I'ivc'i". It is iR'ccssary, in s(']);ii';irni,Lr tiic
eartli fV(Uii tin; ^iold wliicli is mixed willi it, that cacli
.sluice sliould he supplied with a fall of watei', and if the
stream eontiu'uous to the mine run on too low a level to
suj)ply this want, minei's, as has l)i'en already state(l,
are often eom|)elle(l to ;io considerable distances in (|uest
of water sufllcientlv elevated to all'oi'd the ohii'ct desii-ed.
Khimes are thus hroufrlit into re(|uisilion, and by openinL!s
made in that side of them o|)posite the mine, watei- is
admitl " to the sluice, which is ])lace(l at such an
angle uat the water may have force enough to carry oil"
the earth, while leavinu' tiie i^old behind.

^^luice-boxes are of vaiious sizes, and are fitted closely
together so as to form a strongly built and extended
trough. The fall of the w^ater in the sluice-l)ox is adjusted
to allow suflicient time for the rillles and (piicksilver to
urre.st tlie gold as it])asses, and the sup})ly from the Hume
is regulated by a slide in the ojiening on the side of it.
The bottom of each sluice is usually intersected Avith
strips of wood, and in the interstices of this grating
quicksilver is spread to intercept the fine gold in its
descent, nuggets and grains of coarse gold being caught by
the grating itself. The sluice is supported on tru.ssels so
as to raise or leaver it to the level convenient for
shoveling in the earth. Several miners introduce ' dirt '
on either side, and others assist in loosening the heap and
removing large stones, so that the gold may be easily
])recijiitated.

lljldraulir minimi is entitled to some consideration.
Bars that pay but a small return to the hand on the
ordinary principle of working, will yield handsomely
when operated upon by tlie iiydi'aidic method. Insepa-
rably connected with this is a svstem of flumes oi- shiicic-

IIVDUAI Ll( MININd.

I'TI

llic I'liiiiiis
pariitiiijj: the
it, tli.'it ciicli
I', Mild if tlio
w ii level to
vin\y stiiU'd,

ices ill (inest
)je('t desired.

by opeiiiiijis
lie, water is
jit such Jill

to carry oil'

it ted closely

id exteiidc^d

X is adjusted

licksilver to

ill the lluine

c side of it.

lected with

his cfratiui*:

gold in its

^caught by

trussels so

veuieiit f(^i'

duce ' dirt '

le heap and

y be easily

nsideratiou.
nd on the
landsomely
1. Insepa-
or sluice-

boxes. LTciierallv I I iiu'hes iu leimlli bv about •) feet in
\vi(hli. Tliese are fastened togetlier at tlie ei»ds, and form
a long and strongly built trough, e\teiide(l as far as may
be necessary — sometimes thousands of feet. It is lined
Avith thick wooden blocks, partly to resist the friction
occasioned by the |)assage of the (li'hris, and also to allow
room for (|uicksilver in the iiit*'rstices for attracting and

liVltKM I.IC MININO.

detaining the gold. Sometimes the quicksilver is i)lace(l
in rillles, fixed transversely upon each other. This
massive and continuous line of boxes is constructed near
the bank about to be attacked. It is obvious that to
bringdown millions of tons of earth with the ordinary
appliances of manual labour would be a tedious and
])rolitless task. Another flume is therefore prepared for
the purpose of bringing water from a level so much higher

979

I'KOCKSS Ol' MIM.Nci.

tlmii tlic side of the liill to hv roduccMl as to scfurc toi- the
sti'cjmi llius (livcrU'd u force ])oworiiil ciiouuli to do execu-
tion upon tlu! injissesof eiirtli that are to l)e waslied down.
Attaclied to this hitter flume is u common liose, consistin*^
of a double ply of canvas or gutta percha. 'J'in'ouj^h the
iron mouth of tlu; hose, the volume of water, conduct(!(l
in the manner described from a (convenient elevation, is
directed against the bank, as when the jet of the fireman
l)lays upon a burninjjf house. The skilful operator aims
at eatinfj into the lower strata of the hill a cousi(leral>le
way till theu|)per portion can no lonj^er be su})])orted. A
signal is given as the moment of the threatened crash
approaches that miners in dangerous proximity uiay
betake themselves to a safe distance. After the huge
masses of earth have fallen, the men return and shovel it
into the sluice-lDOXcs tlu'ough which a volume of water
passes that removes the dirt and precipitates the gold into
the riffles. The expense attending this ingenious arrange-
ment is often enormous in consequence of the long way
water may have to be conveyed. Unproductive ground,
too, may be fixed upon for bed-rock fluming. But when
mining parties are so fortunate as to select the proper spot,
the operation can hardly fail to be remunerative. One or
two of these ' water-batteries ' brought to bear upon a
hill side can effect more than could be done by 10(1 men
with picks and shovels. Many localities in California are
completely metamoqihosed by this hydraulic process.

An interest intimately associated with the chief methods
of mining that have been delineated, and one essential to
their success, is that of the waterworks com|)anies. It has
been shown that alluvial diggings often exist adjacent to
streams whose level is too low to be of the least service in
supplying water for mining purposes. To obtain an
artificial supply of water in that exigency, these enter-

WATKIl COMPAXIKS.

278

ccuiv I'or till'

to do CXCHUI-

.'jislicd down,
sc, coiisist'm;^'
riirougli till'
r, conducted

elevation, is
' the (irenuni
pcrutor aims

consideraMe
ipj)oi'ted. A
itened crash
xiniity may
er the huge
ind shovel it
lUie of water
the gold into
ious arrange-
,hc loni? wav
;tivc ground,
But when

^ proper spot,

ive. One or

)ear upon a
|by 100 men

California are

process.

lief methods
essential to
nies. It has
adjacent to
st service in

|) obtain an
these enter-

prising cor|)orations iniderlake diflieult and extensive
works by which mountain streams are diverti'd from their
channels through canals and ditches, following siiniosities
of the hills, and where, if necessary, a grade is obtained
to assist the fall of water by means of Humes. When
these have to be formed across valleys at certain eleva-
tions, they are pro[)ped by stout tressel-work. Water is
furnished to the inininu; coniiianies alonii the course of
the trunk aqueduct by lateral bi-anches. which tap tliis
main artery, and water thus admitted into the branch
Humes for the accimmiodation of separate mines is sold by
the inch. This measurement is adjusted by a slide in the
aj)erture communicating with the main af[ueduct, of a
lixed breadth — the height ])eing bargained for. These
' ditch ' projects often prove a source of great emolument
to the shareholders.

In sinking a deep sliaft, the earth that is removed is
hoisted up in buckets, and to abridge and expedite the
labour connected witli this process, an overshot-wheel
is erected near the top of the shaft, which is driven by
the water passing through the branch flume. The dirt is
emptied into a box, the interior of which resembles tluit of
a rocker, and includes the apparatus of riffles, quicksilver,
t^'C. This receptacle is known, in miners' phrase, as the
' dump-box,' for here the earth is loosened by dunqnmj.
A subsidiary Hume expressly leads water into this box,
and, as in rocking, by this action of the passing current
the light earthy matter is carried off, the gold precipitated,
and the stones left behind, wliicli are easily separated.

To supersede the necessity, where it is possible to do
so, of bringing water from a distance to work a rich mine,
which is considerably elevated above the level of the
river on whose banks it is fomid, a variety of ingenious
inventions have been resorted to. I'he most connnon of

274

I'KOCKSS ol' MIMN(i.

tlu'so is the ' llutU'i-wliccI,' \vlii<'Ii, in C'alilnniiii, ist'icdi'tl
ill every (^oiiccivjiblc inaiiiuT, iiiid iiict'ts the cyt; nl' tlic
tniVL'lKn' ill all directions. Its (liaiiu'ter is soiiu'tiiiics .'»(!
I'l't't, and it is furiiislicd with buckets, so prepared as to
catch the water of the liver, a coiisidcral)!*' (|iiaiitiiy of
which is retained in tlieir u|)war(l revohitioii. At tlie
l)oint wliere it Hows from thi' buckets, there is u trouji;h
stan(Uii<i' to receive it, and throuith tliis it passes into tlie
shii<H!-box wliere mining oj)erations are carried on.

Among the fearless plans sometimes adoj)ted for I'xu-
inining the holes and corners of an auriferous region, one of
the most noteworthy is that by wliicli a river is turned
out of its bed. In bed-rock llimiing the stream is col-
lected into the narrow wooden duct that is placed in the
middle of its natural channel. When a river is said to be
' jaumied,' a high barrier is constructed fi'om one side
across. A small si)ace is left between the termination of
this dyke and the op})osite side of the channel, for the
water to escape. To preserve that part of the channel,
from which the water has l)een diverted, dry, another
barrier is formed at right-angles with the first, running
parallel with that side of the river-bed through which the
stream Hows. The layer of clay covering the bed-rock
and. the crevices, or ' pockets,' of the rock itself are
minutely ransacked, and often with very profitable results.
The freshets of s[)ring generally prove disastrous t(j these
bold undertakings, but with the destruction oi' the dykes,
come new deposits of gold, occasioned by this annual
enlargement of the stream ; so that the trouble of re-
building for several seasons in succession is sometimes
found to be amply repaid.

' Ground sluicing ' is now a very general, as it is a very
convenient, method of getting at the ' pay-dirt.' When a
section of the ancient bed of the stream has been alighted

iiUolMi sl.lU'lNu.

27.'>

», ist'icrti'il
I'VC nl' I lie
lU'tiiiU's .'»0

Jill'cd ilS In

<|U{iiititY <>''
11. At the
s {I troiiuli
(sc's into \\\v.
I on.

'(I r<.)r (.'Xii-
irioii, OIK' of
[' is tuiMied
L'iini is col-
icecl ill the
is said to be
111 one side
ininutiou of
iit'l, lor the
lie diniinel,
hy, anotlier
I'st, running"
1 whicli the
e bed-rock
itself are
able results,
ms to these
the dykes,
his annual
ublc of rc-
sometinies

it is a very
When a
.'en alighted

ii|>oii, ill wjiich ilu' |)res('ne(' of M;nld i> indieatcd, bin ovrr
\vlii«'h has aecuiiiiilatcfl ji layer of bari'eii earth, the
only |)laii fonnciiy in ii>c I't woikiiiLT the aiirifcrtMis
sfratiiiii was ' coyoteinix ' — a ten derived IVoiii th«' name
of a wild {\()*s found in Cahfornia havii>{ja s|)eeial instinct
for biirrowin^i. lint there aic cirnnnstaiuc'. in which the
same I'esnlt can i)e accoinj)h>lird with n ^reat sivin^' of

(IKOI'.VI) SI tICINfl.

lime and labour by ground >hiicing, with tiie chance, also,
of securing gohl, should any exist, in the upper earth.
When the bed-rock does not lie very dee|) from the
surface, instead of sinking a shaft or making an oj)eniiig
horizontally, the top dirt is removed by turning a strong
jet of water upon the bank, which is soon reduced, and
by the helj) of })icks and shovels the old channel of the
river is laid bare. TUo force of the water carries oil' the

T J

270

I'ROCKSS OF MIXIXCi.

fV'bris ; the trold, by its own oTtivity, falls dose to the
liand of the miner, and is thus saved with the rich pay-
dirt, Avhieh is intended to l)e washed by the regular
methods.

])Ut the formation of the original river-bed, and the
deptli of the bed-rock covered by the layer of gold-bear-
ing earth, is often such as to necessitate the dillicult and
costly expedient of tunnclliiH/. The tunnel is sometimes
made from the bottom of a shaft sunk i)eri)endicularly,
which is called 'di'ifting,' but quite as frequently is struck
into the bank from below its present siuface. It is made
to follow the windings of the okl channel, and a drain is
constructed to keep the works free from tlie interruption
of water. In exploring the chambers of a tunnel 'pockets'
or nests of gold are often met with of extraordinary rich-
ness. These crevices, in which the gold was de])osited in
former ages, of course vary in size. Some of them are as
rn'i»:e as a conunon bowl, ar-d are filled with a contj-lo-
merate of black sand, mica, disintegrated particles of
talcose slate and pebbles. This concrete gives way imder
a few blows of the pick, and the broken pieces, which are
naturally heavy, have been compared to chunks of plum-
cake. On breaking them with the hand the interior is
observed to contain j)ellets of gold

Qaartz-Hiiu'uKj, which ultimately becomes the perma-
nent method of extracting gold, after the ji/ao'res or
alluvial diu'izinii-s have i*;iven out, iuis scarcely yet been
attem])ted in these colonies, in consequence of European
capitalists (who are always expected to iji(iu</ urate large
mechanical o])erations in auriferous countries) being sus-
picious and tardy in reference to these investments. It
i'annot be long, however, before this branch of mining is
widely established among the hills of Vancouver Island
and Jhitish (\»lumbia, as it is in California and Nevada.

(QUARTZ ('HL'SIIIX(i.

27 <

ose to tho

he regiiliir

d, and tlio
o-()l(l-l)e!ir-
lillicult iiiul
soinc'times
uiidiculai-ly,
ly is struck
It is made
a drain is
interruption
lel' pockets'
dinary ricli-
deposited in
tliem are as
li a congk)-
particles of
; Avay under
s, wliich are
ks of plinu-
interior is

Itlie pernia-
Ipltict'rt'.'i or
ly yet been

ft.' I.

f European
\i(rat(' larire

beinii; sus-
Itnients. It
If mining is
liver Island

Nevada.

Tlie most primitive expedient for erusliing quartz is tlie
itfsfrif, or drnu'. 'J1iis consists of two kirge stones attaclied
l)V a strap to a horizontal bar. A liorse or nuile is yoked
to tlie bar, as wlien a corn or tlu'esliing-miil is (h'iven by
animal power. The quartz is broken into small i)ieces,
and placed in the circular trough, in which the animal
«)()L's i-ound. These are reduced to powder by the friction

lun.viniA (jrAiiTZ Aiii i., oka^s vam.i.y.

of the rastra. Over the paved floor of the tnjugh a stream
of water constantly Hows, by \vhich the crushed (piaitz is
made to assume the api)earance of a milk-white |)astr.
The tloor is sprinkled with (piicksilver at intervals. When
the (juartz is sulliciently gromid, the water is turned oil!,
the lloor taken up, and the amalgam colK'cted and re-
torted. Quartz is >aid to be more thoroughly erii.shed and

278

PROCESS OF MINING.

pulverised by one of these lazy, jogging iiiacliines, than by
the 'stampers' of a regular steam crushing-mill ; and from
rock which it would be profitless to work under tlie more
advanced principle, gold in paying quantities can be ex-
tracted.

I was favoured with an opportunity of witnessing the
operation of quartz-crushing by steam power, on a hmited
scale, in California. The apparatus consists of a series of
iron stampers, erected in a line, with an iron box placed
under, and fitted to receive each. Into these boxes the
quartz is put, after having been broken up into small
pieces. The stampers are moved by cogs connected witli
a revolving wheel, by which they are alternately lifted
and let fall. The stamping box is generally supplied with
Avatcr by a hose or pipe. Through a hole made on pur-
pose, the quartz, converted into a thick milky liquid, is
forced, carrying with it much of the fine gold. This
pulpy substance is discharged upon a framework, across
which riffles or elects are fixed, containing quicksilver,
with which the gold amalgamates in its passage. Any
fine particles escaping the quicksilver are caught below
upon a hide or blanket stretched tightly across a frame.
But, notwithstanding the most careful precautions, a
waste of gold occurs, which can with difiicidty l)e
avoided. It often happens that the ' tailings,' or refuse
of the mill, on being put through a second crashimj,
will pay as well as did the quartz when crushed hi its
original state.

Scientific men are agreed, I believe, that ' quartz is the
mother of gold.' The precious metal is sometimes visible
in glittering specks, distributed throughout the rock, but
quartz may also be worked with advantage in which the
gold particles are so small as not to be visible to the
naked eye. A proportion of gold to the value of ,^20 to

YIKLD OF qVAUTZ.

271)

ines, than by

il ; and from

ler tlie more

can be ex-

tncssing the
on a limited
f a scries of
I box placed
se boxes the
into small
nected with
lately lifted
ipplied witli
de on pur-
ky liquid, is
gold. This
vork, across
quicksilver,
sage. Any
Light below
5s a frame,
3autions, a
lifficulty l)e
I,' or refuse
d crusliiiKj^
islied in its

the ton of quartz pays well, where the machinery is
elTective and convenient to the reef. Eock is crushed,
however, in California that yields hundreds of dollars
[)er ton.*

' >SL.e m iutenvstino. a,tido that appeared in Harper h Xvw Monthh,
Mat/azmv tor Ajjril ImO on tlii.s sulyect.

uartz is the
imes visible
2 rock, but
L which the
ble to the
of ^20 to

280

CllAlTEU XL

AGUJfULTLUAL UIO.SOUKL'ES OF J5U1TJS11 CULLWIDIA.

Climato — Fiiriuinfi' Capabililii;.s — AfiTuiiltiujil Districts — Mr. Davidson's
Ivxperiencc of Farinin<>' North of the Pjivinon — Yiehl of otlier Farms —
Fruit — Stock-raising' — lloiuuuerativt' Character of Dairy I'rocliico — Shi't'|»
— Hogs — Terms on whicli Land may be Acquired.

As diiiKite is till important coiisidenitioii in agricultural
])ursuits, it is wortliy of notice; tliat tlie uneven surface of
British Coliniibia })resents every shade and variety (-)f
teni})erature. It may be safely asserted, liowever, that
f;i ruling' can be carried on in this colony at any altitude
under 2,500 feet above the level of the sea. Certain belts
of the country are found to be warm and dry, while others
are moist and of more equal)le temperature. For a hun-
dred and fifty miles inland from the mouth of the Fraser
we have a district characterised by a humid climate, and
in which the thermometer of Fahrenheit rarely falls below
10, or rises above 90 degrees, llain, sometimes continuing
for days together, and frequently assuming the form of
' Scotch mist,' prevails in that section of the country during
spring, summer, and autumn. In winter, snow falls from
one to two feet, the depth lessening as we approach the
sea. It remains on the ground for a week or two, and,
after an absence of the same duration, light snow-storms
succeed. Thus, with alternations of snow, rain, and tem-
porary suspensions of both, the winter passes, usually
breaking u[) in the early [lait of March, i'eriods of cloudy

(LiMATK OF TI[K IXTKKIOU.

281

MlilA.

!r. Davidson's
>ther Fai'ius—

,s>i'icultui'al
sin face of
variety of
rever, that
iiy altitude
rtaiii belts
l)ile otliers
For a luiu-
tlie Fraser
iiiiate, and
falls below
ioiitiuuiiig
ie form of
[tiy during

falls from
broach the

two, and,
low-storms

and teni-
[s, usually

of cloudy

weather thiring sunnner temper the lieat of the .season,
whicli is much more intense in the interior. 13ut even
wlien the atmosphere is clear, heavy dews fall at night.

The northern limit of the damp portion of the country
crosses the Lilloet route in the vicinity of Andei'son's Lake
and the Fraser, between the Upper Canon and tlie Forks.
Beyond extends a region of equal breadtli but greater
heat and aridity. Though situated farther north and on
a loftier elevation, the cHmate in this neighbourhood is
not ])erceptibly colder in winter, while tlie snow is less
deep than in the moi'e southern part of the country just
desci-jbed, adjacent to tlie Lower Fraser. In Similkameen,
tlie vidley of the Thompson, and Ilorselly, the winter is
rarely so severe as to be injurious to stock ; Avhile in
Cariboo the snow, which })erpetually covers the earth, is
accom[)anied with extreme cold.

Mr. remberton writes : — ' It may be sulficient here to
say that ... in ])arts of valleys of the Fraser, Lilloet,
Columbia, and Thom[)son liivers, a climate quite as mild
as that of Devonshire is indicated by birds of bright
plumage, Inunming birds, cactuses growing in the open
air, (S:c. ; while lands farther north reproduce not inifre-
quently the chmates of Hudson's Bay and Labrador.' The
views of Mr. A. C. Anderson on the same sid)ject are
entitled to respect from his long residence in the country: —

Snow begins to fall in the mountains early in October. In
July there is still snow for a short distance on the summit of
the Fort Hope trail, hut not to impede the passage of horses.
From the middle of October, however, to the middle of June,
this track is not to be depended upon for transport with pack
animals. The summer climate above the Forks is dry, and the
heat is great. During winter the; thermometer indicates occa-
sionally from 20° to H0° of cold below zero of Fahreidieit ; liut
such severe cold seldom lasts on the np[)er parts of Fraser Iviver
tor more than three dav»; the thermometer will then continue

282 .UilllCL'LTLUAL IlKSOLRCKS ()!•' HRITISH (OIA'.MIJIA.

to fluc'tuiite between zero iind the tVee/iii<,'-p(»iiit until possibly
iiuother interviil of cold iirrive.s. l?ut the winters are extremely
CiipriciouH throughout these regions, and no two resemble each
(jther very closely. In <jencr<d, the siioiv docs not fidl deep
eiiowjh (doiif/ the hanl's of the main .streams to pvednde winter
travelliiif/ with pack animtds. . . . There are many spots
between the 8imilkameen Valley and OKanagan that are specially
favourable for winter ranches. In some the snow never lies,
however deep it may be around.

The c'liinato to tlie west of the Cascade range is mild,
but somewhat humid. The summer is beautiful, with a
small proportion of rainy days ; the autimm is clear and
line ; the winter liable to frost and rain, l)y turns ; and
the spring peculiarly wet.

'The winter of 1859,' says Mr. Brown, of Lilloet, 'M-as
very mild. The frost came November 10, then went
away; snow in December 18G0 ; January, February,
Mtu'ch were mild and damp ; A]:)ril and May fine, but a
good deal of rain fell ; June, July, August, and September
were very line; October rainy; November and December
line winter weather.

In 18G1 the maxinunn temperature at New Westminster
was 84°, and the minimum 20° ; January was wet and
frosty; February very wet ; rain fell on 18 days out of
20 ; March and April also wet ; May fine, with a good
deal of rain ; Jime, July, August, Se})tember very fine,
with a little rain ; ( >ctober fine ; snow appeared on the
mountains in November, and until shortly before Christ-
mas the weather was good. A little before Christmas
there was hard frost, increasing in intensity till January
9, 18G2, when the river froze over opposite New West-
minster, remaining so till the early part of March. The
mi:iimiun temperature was lGi° below zero. Such a
wintei' had not been known in the country ibi' thirteen
veai's.

.U.MBIA.

CLI.MATK.

4) CO

loo

[itil possibly
i-e extremely
semble each
ot f(dl dee})
dude ^vinter
many spots
are specially
V never lies.

ngt' 1

mild,

titiil, Avitli M

is clear unci

turns ; and

illoct, ' was
then went
, February,
y fine, but a
I September
i\ Deeembei'

►Vestminster
as wet and
lays out of
ith a jjjood
verv fine,
ired on the
fore Clirist-
} Christmas
ill January
iNew West-
arch. The
p. Sucli a
"or thirteen

'I'he dillerence in the ])hysieal as[)e('ls of the countries
on either side the Cascades extends, as jilreadv remarked,
to the climate. As u samjde, tlie last lour winters at
Lilloet may be described : —

In IBoJJ winter began on Xoveniber 7, and continued till the
middle of March.

In 1860 winter conunenced on December 7, and lasted till
the end of February. There were three or four days of severe
cold, with wind from the N., and the thermometer fell to zero.
There was a long spell of bright clear frosty weather, with an
occasional thaw; little snow fell.

In 1801 the severest winter known for 20 years began on
November 27, and may be said to have lasted till the end of
March, although the river did not break up till April 1.5. The
thermometer attained a minimum of 2.">° below zero. Then'
were 10 weeks of continued frost, when the thermometer fre-
(|uently got below zero in the evenings and mornings. But the
weather was always clear and sunny. The snow was at one
time 12 inches deep, but at other places in this section of coiui-
try there were last winter 2 feet of snow — a depth, however, very
unusual. Notwithstanding this, most of the stock left to winter
out, and find their own food as best they might, survived.

The winter of 18()2-3 was extremely mild, with the exception
of two or three days in November, and ten days of severe cold
in February.

January and February are usually cold months, ^Nlarch and
April variable — the plains begin to be clothed with verdure.
.May to ()ctol)er, and sometimes Novend)er, tine, clear, warm
weather; in the last two months the evenings are frosty. De-
cember is cold and wmtry. In summer, on the other hand, the
mercury sometimes shows 100° in the shade.

In this section of country little rain falls. i\[ore rain fell in
18t)2 than in 1861 ; more again in 1861 than in 1860.

In the OKanagan district there is a great supply of rain : at
William's Lake a suflficient ([uantity. At the latter place the
winters are more severe than at liilloet, tlie thermometci- some-
times ranging as low as 40" below zeio: vet the weather is clear.

284 ACJRICULTURAri KKSOURCES OF 15HITISII COl.UMHIA.

iiii<l witliout wItkI ; and, in tlio experience (»f those accustonutl
to cold cliniiittis, any cold is bearable, and even enj(»yable, so
lon<,' as the sun comes <nit diirinjj^ the day and tlm winds are still.

At Ah'xandria and (^uesnelle nioiitli snow apjx'ars in the end
of November, and lies to a depth of 18 inches for three or four
months; January is the coldest, August the hottest, June the
rainiest; August, Se})tember, and October the driest months in
the year.

The climate of Cariboo is severe ; there the winters are long,
lasting from November till the end of April ; yet the weatlier is
usually clear and calm. Snow falls principally in January or
Februar}^, sometimes to a depth of from 7 to 10 feet, so that
snow-shoes are used for winter travelling.

Jiut with the exception of Cariboo, the climate of British
Colujnbia is universally regarded as one of the finest in the
world. Nor can the fact of its extreme healthiness be too much
insisted on. Cases of sickness are rare, and many who suffered
at home from feeble health have here inhaled new life from the
bracing mountain breeze.

In reference to the soils of the colony, they are of three
kinds. The first and the most rare of these consists of
decayed vegetable matter and alhivial deposits of a black
colour, but rich and loamy. Valleys and banks of rivers
contain deposits of this character.

The next quality is formed by the disintegration and
decomposition of rocks, and is light and sandy, with a
considerable proportion of lime, which accounts for its
remarkable fertility. It varies in depth from one to three
feet, and rests on a subsoil of gravel or clay.

It must be acknowledged that the amount of superior
farmino; land in British Columbia is not oreat when com-
pared with the gross area of the colony. But it should
be remembered that the trunk roads to Cariboo conduct^
for the iitost part,thro(i(jh the most iiuprepossessiiii/ sections
<>/ the countri/. It is conlidently expected, however, that

>LL'MIMA.

FAI{MI\(; IHSTRKTS.

'>^'»
—,~i)

' iu'customcd
I'lijoyable, so
iuds are still.
IS ill the end
three or four
;st, June the
ist months in

ers are lonii;',

he weather is

1 January or

feet, so that

te of British
finest in the
be too much
who suffered
life from the

are of tlirce
consists of
of It bhick

vs of rivers

ijratioii {iiul
uly, with u
lints for its
3ne to three

of superior
when ooni-
Lit it shoiihl
;^)(> com/((ct,
■<())(/ seclioN,^
wever, that

the nrrriciilturnl resources will inijmne upon a more inti-
mate ucquaintMiiee with the regions between the Frasor
and the Uocky Mountains on the one hand, and the eoast
on the other.

But on the sup[)osition of hmd lit for cultivation being
of even more limited extent than we know it is, this con-
stitutes no argument against encouraging the immigration
of settlers.

My views on this point arc expressed at length in the
chapter on farming in Vanc(niver Island, and reference to
tlie o])inions there stated will enable me to dispense with the
re[)etition of them in this place. It is no libel on the farm-
ing capabilities of the country to say that its metalliferous
capabilities are greater. I do not liesitate to assert that
British Columbia contains suflicient arable soil to sustain
a population of many millions ; besides, the hirge and
profitable marlcets furnished to agricultural producers by
mining and trading settkments ai'c unequalled in any jiart
of the workL

A glance at the [)rincipal (Kjricultural districts may not
be inappropriate to the present sketch. At the mouth of
the Eraser there is a large tract in the delta of the river,
which waves in summer with rich and luxuriant hay — a
source of considerable revenue to those settlers who ex-
port it to Victoria. This plain is covered at high w^ater,
but would yield immense compensation to effort bestowed
in rechiiining it. Farms in the neighbourhood of New
Westminster have been found to bear excellent crops,
esi)ecially vegetables and fruit. Five miles above West-
minster, on the banks of Pitt Eiver, are meadows clear
and of great extent ; the only hindrance to their success-
liil cultivation beino; that they are liable to overflow.

The hanks of Pitt Kiver (writes Governor Douglas in 1860*)

* r.liic I'xM.li, Part IV. p. K.

•JS() .\(ii{Mri;rn{vi, uksoiucks ok ijimtisii coLi'MmA.

iuc ('xct'cdiiinjiy licjiiitit'iil ; cxtciiHivc nicjulitws sweep ^ivict't'iilly
from tlie very ed^-e of the river toward th(! distiiiit liiu; of forest
and inouiitaiii. Tlie rich alluvial soil produces a tliiek j^rowtli
of urass, interpersod with the jMiehaelnias daisy, the wild rose,
and scattered jjfroups of willows. This fine district contains an
iirea of 20, (MM) acres of ^dod arable land, requirinjj; no clearing'
from timber, and ready for the immediate; operations of the
plou^di. Alany parts f)f it are, however, exposed to overflow
through the periodical inundations of the Fraser. ... It may
be tiuned to ;^<)od account in f,'rowinijf hay and every kind of
root crop, and may also be used for pasturing cattle and for the
[))uposes of dairy.

A ^vell-kllo^vll citizen of Now Westminster, convinced
tliat large tracts of {ir{d)lc land existed beyond tlie forests
on tlie banks of the Fraser, made an ex[)loratory tour
tbrou!j;1i the dense woods between that city and Langley ;
and after havini*' travelled about twelve miles, a ma««;nifi-
cent prairie burst upon his view, several miles in extent.
iMany such spots, attractive for farming settlement, are
cei'tain to be discovered when the Government apphes
itself systematically to the work of exploration.

At Langley the soil is superior, and wheat has been
i^rown there for a succession of years without the aid of
manure.

Sumass and Chilukweyuk contain land suitable chiefly
for pastoral purposes. Like the Pitt meadows, however,
it is subject to overflow for a few days from the summer
f'resliets.

The Lilloet meadows at Port Pemberton contain ' a linc>
tract of prairie land seven or eight miles long and from
half a mile to a mile wide,' The soil is signally productive
and adapted for cultivation. Eight miles above Lilloet,
at the Fountain, a large quantity of land is under crop.
Higher u]), in Pavilion Valley, excellent crops of cereals
and vegetables are produced. The crop of potatoes

HAMIJIA.

I'AK.MIM; IHSTIiKTS.

•JS7

»'P ^ivicef'iilly
lin»! of forest
til irk ;j;rowtli
he wild rose,
:t contaiiiH an
if no cU'ariii;^
iitions of the
I to ovorflow
. . . It may
every kind of
le and for tlu;

•, coiivincod
d tlie forei'ts
)iutory tour
lid Langk'y ;
^ u inagi lili-
es ill extent.
tleniL'iit, nro
lent applies

Ml.

it lias been
the aid of

table cliieily
/^s, liowever,
lie summer

litaiii ' a lini'
ig and from
productive
)ve Lilloet,
[mder crop,
of cereals
Df potatoes

rt'jiped by tin.' pi'opiictor ol' a IJirni at r.-ivillon in iSliO
giivc .')'J') bushels Ui the acri'. One of the turni])s grown
in iiis garden weighed 2(1 lbs. ( )ats and biulcy lhi'ive(l
under this gentlenian's care. Tiie ears wi'ie of great size,
and the straw about ft)in' feet long. His cattle weie
jillowed during winter to run at large without shelter,
obtaining ])i'ovisiou as they best could.

After ascending lui elevation of 1,000 feet above Dig-
bar Creek, the traveller I'caclies a succession of table-lands
inviting to the plough, and ranges of j)rairie capable of
sustaininu' iiniumerable herds {ind flo(;ks.

At Bridge Creek there are tracts of (uable soil exceiMl-
ing in extent any to be met with between Liingley and
this place. From Bridge Creek to William's Lake there
is much good land, though it is said that crops in that
neighbourhood are liable to be injured by frosts. AtTjake
La Ilache and Williams' Lake, bailey, wheat, cKrc, can be
grown to advantage. It is rare to find in British Colum-
bia those vast prairies that are so common in the Western
States of America, without a hill or tree to iiitercej)t the
view, far as the eye can reach. We rather have what
is understood on the Pacific coast as ' roUing country ; '
that is a surftice broken up into valleys and mountains —
ridges of unequal height.

The land around Beaver Lake is extensive and produc-
tive, and the district adjacent to Williams' Lake yields lich
crops of grain and vegetables. At Alexandria, whatever
portions are under cultivation, give profitable returns ;
and beyond that town [)rairies exist containing excellent
meadow grass and good soil. A similar descri})tioii would
ap])ly to the mouth of Quesnelle, and between that place
and Cottonwood, whence begins the rugged and barren
district of Cariboo.

In return southward, Governor Douglas, speaking of the

'i-'^S AfilMn'LTrnAL RESOrnCKH OV IIUITISII (OLUMIJIA.

vicinity of the Tliompson, IJoiiiipiirti', mikI Clin))t'nu Kivcrs,

sayn :—

The (listiu't coinprclioiulcd witliin tlicHc limits is cxcccdin^'Iy
bc.'iutiful iiud ]>i('tmt'S<ni(', Itciiij; cninpitst'd of a siit'ccssioii of
hills and valleys, lakes and rivers, <'xhil)itin<; to the traveller
the j;rateful spectacle of miles of ^reen hills, erowninii,' slopes,
and level meadows, almost without a hush or tree to obstruct
the view, an<l, even to the very hill tops, producing' an abundant
growth of <(rass. It is of <,'reat value as a «,'razin;^' district — a
circumstance which appears to be tliorouj^ddy understood and
appreciated by the country packers, who are in the habit of
h'avinyf their inuhis and horses here when the re'ndar work of

packinjjf jji'oods to the mines is suspended for the winter

It has certaiidy never been my f^ood fortune to visit a country
more ])leasin;^ to the eye, or possessing' a more healthy and
a<,'reeaV)h! climate, or a greater extent of fine pasture land; and
there is no doubt that with a smaller amount of labour and out-
lay than in almost any other colony, the energetic settler may
soon siu'round himself with all tlie elements of .iffluence and

comfort j\Ir. AI'Lean has recently settled in a beautiful

spot near the (Ubouche of the Hat River, and is rajddly bring-
ing liis land into cultivation. . . . He entertains no doubt wliat-
ever of the capabilities of the soil, which he thinks will, un(h;r
proper management, produce any kind of grain or root crops.
The only evil he apprehends is the want of rain, and the conse-
(pient droughts of summer, which has induced him to bring a
supply of water from a neig1d)ouring stream, })y whicli he can
at pleasure irrigate the whole of his fields.

Jiiit the most encoiiragiiig field for thrining o])erations
yet discovered in the country includes the Siniilkanieeii
and OKanagaii districts. On the road tliither from Hope
lies the Sumallow Valley, containing land of superior
quality. Fifteen miles from Princeton the country be-
comes open. There the soil is light, and covered with
bunch grass. Feed for cattle abounds in the neig])bour-
hood, and from indicjitions found of valuable metals, there

DLUMHIA.
pciUl liiviM's,

is (>xc('('(liii<,'ly

HUCC'CSsioll of

tilt' travcllrr
wiling slopes,
ee to obstruct
r uii al)iiii(huit
ij^ district — a
idcrstood j>nd

the lialiit of
i,ndar work of

winter

isit a country
} liealtby and
uro land; and
,ljour and otit-
ic settler may
affluence and
in a beatitiful
rapidly brin<;-
) doubt wliat-
[ks will, luider

r root crops,
lud the conse-

m to bring a
Ivhich he can

\f operations
piinilkaiiieeii

from Ho]ie
lof superior
jcouiitry be-
kered witli

iiei«2f1iboiir-
lietals, there

OKA.VAOAN AND Sl.MILKAMKKN.

2S'J

is every probability (T its beeoininir :iii important miiiiiiLr
loeality. In l\\v vmIIcv of the Similkameen (he raiiLTc of
country is gi-assy, inleispersed witli patches of rich hitnh
The area around OKanagan Lala; is admiiabiy suitrd Ibr
farming, with alternate valley and hill. Feed for cattle
can be had on the we.-jt side of the lake, on the Hudson's
]>ay Com[)any's trail. On tin* eastern side there are
10, (^'^0 ai'res of cK-ai land, with soil adapte(l for rai>in!4'
stock, or cultivating trn. I'assing to 'IV-tc (ri'lpinellc, a
reserve claimed by the Nicola Indians, and thence to tlic
(li'and IVaiiie, much suj)eri(n' soil and luxuriant [)astiu'e
are to be met with. That prairie is about sixteen miles
long, and I'rom one and a half to two and a (piartcr miles
in breadth, and would form a cajjacious settlement. The
route from that luxuriant tract to Thompson Kivei- is varied
by lakes, hills, and clumps of trees, together with numerous
lai'ue intervals of farming' land. Tla-re can be no dnul)t
that as gold discoveries advance in that direction, excellent
markets will be cn-ated ibr agricuUural producers.

Of the soil art)und OKanagau and ^^imilkaiueen, the
report of a party of Koyal Engineers, who visited these
places iu 1850, thus speaks : —

The grass is generally of a good ([urility, the prickly pear and
ground-cactus — the sore enemy to the nioccasined ti'avellcr —
being the surest indication of an approach to an inferior (|ua!ity.
Timber is for tlie most part scarce, but coppices appear at the
sharp bends of the river, toleralily well wooded, and abounding in
an underbrush of willow and wild cherry, while near the base of
the mountains, timber exists in (piantities easily procurable, and
more than sufficient for the retpurements of the settlers who
may popidate the district. The soil is somewhat sandy and
light, but free from stones, and generally excellent for grazing
and farming; and, though the drought in summer is great, and
irrigation necessary, many large portions are already well watered
by streams from the mountains, whose fall is so rapid as greatly

200 AGRICULTURAL RKSOURClilS OF BRITISH COLUMBLV.

to facilitate such furtluu- irrigation as niiglit be required. In
corroboration of my expressed opinion relative to tlie yielding
properties of the soil, I may mention that in spots through
which, perchance, some small rividet or spring wound its way to
the river, wild vegetation was most luxuriant ; and grass, some
blades of which I measured, out of curiosity, as much as nine
feet high, well rounded and firm, and a cjuarter of an inch in
diameter at its lower end.*

It will have been observed from this hasty account of
soil and sections ada})ted for agricultural settlement, that,
in some parts, spring Avheat would require irrigation ; but
autumn wheat, receiving abundant moisture from the rains
of winter and spring, would come safely and rapidly to
maturity .f

In regard to the yield and prices of crops, I have mucli
pleasure in being able to lay befoi'i the reader an ex-
tract from the journal of my dear friend, Dr. Laclilin
Taylor, of Canada, svho possessed, in 18G3, opportunities
of travelling extensively in British Columbia. His quick
and observant eye did not. allow any liict of statistictd

* Bhie r,ook, Part III. p. 85.

t The Kootanie territory would soom, from the description of the Roman
Catholic Bishop of Oregon, to consist of fonjst and prairie, divided in pro-
portions romarlcahly favourahle for cultivation. The source of the Columbia
J liver, which is in British territory, ho regards as a point of great prospective
importance. Birch, pine, cedar, and cypress are the prevailing woods of the
region. The climate is spoken of as delightful. Extremes of heat and cold
are infrequent, and the snow usually disappears as it fiills. According to
the opinion of the bishop, who has an intinuite acquaintance Avitli that dis-
trict, it only requires the transforming hand of civilisation to clumge it into
a terrestrial paradise. Veins of lead and .silver, as well aa gold, are linown
to permeate the mountains of Kootanie, and imagination cannot set bounds
to its future prosperity. It is conveniently situated, moreover, for com-
munication with Salt Lake city, wlience it can be reached in waggons ; it is
readily accessible not only from tlie mm-e north-westerly pai'ts of British
Columbia, but also from the mining localities of Idaho, Boise, and Salmon
Biver.

LUMBIA.

DAVIDSONS FAR^^.

201

squired. In
the yieldinj?
)ots through
id its way to
I grass, some
uich as nine
)f an inch in

'■ account of
emeiit, tliat,
gat ion ; but
)ni the rains
1 rapidly to

have much
ider an ex-
Dr. Lachhn

)poi'tunities
His quick

f statistical

1 of the Romnn

divided in pvo-

if the Cdlinubia

eat prospective

n<X woods of the

If heat and coLl

According to

vvitli that dis-

change it into

Ad, are known

\u)t set bounds

iver, for coni-

Iwaggons ; it is

arts of ])riti.sh

e, and Sahnon

interest to escape notice. In tlie letter accompanyiii^L;' the
following extract, he says : —

Enclosed you liave the extract from my Cariboo journal, svliirli
gives Mr. Davidson's opinion of the farming lands of tlie IJ^iJjx'r
Fraser, as well as the statistics of his own magnilicent farm.
The whole statement was taken from D.'s own lips, and read ovor
to him after it was written ; so that, as far as his judgment eoiiM
be depended on, it is correct in every particular.

Extract.

Such is the prevalence of summer frosts in tlie entire country
north, or al)Ove the Pavilbni ^fountain, including Mr. Davidson's
own ranch, that a farm or piece of land nuist liave a southern
aspect, and be protected from the northern blasts, to cultivat(i
any of the cereals to advantage. .Six: miles above Mr. Davidson's
is the Road Company's form, considerably biglicr than the J/ikc;
Valley ranch (which is the name of ^Ir. D.'s), but, to all appear-
ance, as well situated. As it has not, however, the same southern
declination, Mr. D. is of opinion that grain coidd n(jt be grown
there with any prospect of suecoss. He is also of opinion that,
although there are tracts of land like his own, with a chiy bottom
under a rich sandy loam, the generality of the soil near the I'iver
is gravelly, which, when the vegetable deposit or top S(jil is gone
will be very poor and sterile.

A selection of countrv facing Lake La IFache, on the noit'i
side, might, like Anderson's farm, from its soutlun-n as[)eet, ])e
cultivated to advantage ; but such places — as about Cochrane's
Jjridge Creek and the junction — are ext remely doubtful. I s iw,
however, myself, when on my way down from Cariboo, some of
the largest potattjes I have ever seen in any country, which Mr.
Watson, of the Junction Hotel, grew the present season.

You will now be gratified to get some statistics from Mr.
D.'s own ranch, which is prol)ably the finest farm, taking
extent and cultivation together, in all British Columbia. In
the first place, a few items about Mr. D.'s first ranch, called
*tho ^lission Ranch,' and consisting of 500 acres. Mr. D.
cultivated altogether about seventy acres. From 40lbs. of spring

u 2

292 AGKICULTURAL RESOURCES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

wheat lie threi^lieJ 20 bushels; and the following season, 15
bushels sown, produced over 400 bushels. Barley, potatoes,
cabbages, and onions were all produced in abundance.

Mr. D. came to his present ranch in June, 1862 (about fifteen
months before he cominiinieated this information to Dr. Taylor).
It consists altogether of about 1,860 acres — 160 on the road
and 1,700 tliree miles from the house in which he lives. He
has this year (1863) 175 acres imder cultivation, the principal
crops being barley and oats, with from twelve to fifteen acres of
potatoes, several acres of corn, beans, parsnips, and carrots; also
two acres of cabV)ages ; one of turnips, and one of onions. The
barley and oats, on the prime land, will yield about 40 bushels
to the acre, and, on the higher land, from 20 to .SO ; oats, on the
best laud, from 60 to 80 bushels per acre. 400 tons of hay
might be cut, and, on eight acres seeded with timothy, the ap-
pearance is as favourable as anything he has seen in any part of
the world. ]\Ir. D. is of opinion that it is a good country for
raising stock ; and the profits derived therefrom would be very
great. He has good stock himself, and some of them could not
be excelled on the Pacific coast.

]\Ir. D. finished seeding on the 1 1th June, and expects a return
of from 200,000 to 3()0,000lbs. ; and he is of opinion that the yield
would be much larger had he been al)le to sow a month earlier.
Barley is worth at Mr. D's. house $i) per bushel, and cabbage,
of which he expects to have 1,000 head averaging 8lbs. per
head, 25 cents per lb. He employs at present sixteen servant
men — the number being reduced in winter to four or five. He
has eight yoke of working oxen, and from six to eight horses.
He has a good stock of farming implements, including a reaper
and mower, and a threshing mochine which can thresh 1,000
busliels a day.

On other fiinns potatoes are known to yield from 7 to
15 tons to tlie acre. The average weight of many is lib.,
not a few reach "21 lbs., and some even 31bs. each. On
one farm, turnips — Swedish and white — produced 25 tons
to the acre, and one instance is on record of some haviiiLT
o'l'owii to the enormous bulk of 20]bs, Onions yielded

■UMBIA.

YlliLD — i'JlICi:S — STOCK.

2!);

season, 1 .5
y, potatoes,
le.

ibout fifteen
Dr. Taylor).
3n the road
! lives. He
lie principal
een acres of
carrots ; also
nions. The
t 40 busliels

oats, on the

tons of hay
ithy, the ap-
ri any part of

country for
3uld be very
nn could not

f^cts a return
it the vield

onth earlier.

id cabbage,
8lbs. per

een servant

ov five. He

eiolit horses.

ing a reaper
hresh 1,000

from 7 to
any is lib.,
cticli. Oil
Gcd 25 tons
inie liavinuj
>ns yielded

fmm 4 to Gibs, to the acre. Many weighed 1 .^bs. ; some
21bs. ; and one, grown at the Tunntain, is referred to by
Mr. Brown as liaving weighed 21bs. loz. Cabbaixes are
often to be seen from 12 to 141bs. in weight ; anil in a
certain garden a cabbage was grown wei<'hinu- 2r)ll)s. !
It was sold to an Indian for 3s. Mr. Brown saw a beet-
root in '02, lllbs. in weight, 2 feet in length, and 20
inclies in (Avth, and at another farm, a carrot weiuhing
41bs., with I7y inches in girth.

As to frnits, melons grow in the open air withont
manure, of prodigious bidk and excellent llayour. Tlie
presence of the wild cherry and wild pear fidly testifies
that the soil is well adapted for the gro»\'th of ])ears and
cherries, and it is belieyed that the grape woidd Ilourish
on the sloping banks of the Eraser.

The prices of yegetables, &c. in Xew Westminster are
liigher than in Victoria ; at Lilloet they are nearly twice
as hiu'h : and at Cariboo four times as hhA\ as at New
"Westminster.

The country is pre-eminent for stock-raising. ' Bunch
grass,' which is highly nutritious for cattle, is also abun-
dant. On this fodder the Cayoosh nngs or natiye horses
so thrive that they surpass, in ])ower of endurance, many
an English, hack fed on gr..m. One of those hardy
animals can accomplish without injury a joiu'iiey of 40
miles in a day. Mules that, in the upper country, have
to carry 300 or 4001bs., over long daily stages, have bunch
gi'ass for their only provender on the journey. A large
cattle-dealer, accu-tomed to bring herds from Orenfon, has
publicly declared, as the result of two years' ex[)ei-ience in
the country, that his stock had thriven better liei'e than
they had done in Oregon and California. ' Two years
ago a man bought a cow, for which he paid /S'llO ; that
summer he made 1^350 by the sale of her milk and

294 AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

butter; now slie lias three calves, each of them worth
$H){):—A>ev. R. C. Limdin JJrown.

Ill ilkistratioii of the remunerative cliaracter of dairy
produce, I am assured by a gentleman who has a personal
knowledge of the circumstance, tha.> a farmer at the Blue
Tent drove into Cariboo durinuf tlie miniiiu' season in 1803,
thirty dairy cows, and netted 15/. i)er day for four months.
In eighteen months from his arrival in the colony, he rea-
lised^4,()0()/.

In summer, cattle require little attention and no feed-
ing. In Avinter, too, they have generally been left to
forage for themselves. Yearling calves and foals have suc-
ceeded in Aveathering the winter storm. But an unusually
severe season does occur at intervals, and it would
be imprudent to make no provision against it. A log-
shed and six weeks' fodder would save all risk and
anxiety.

It is only a fe-sv years since sheep were imported into
the country, but the experiment has been attended Avith
complete success. The colony is best adapted for South-
downs, which may be purchased in Victoria, or still more
cheaply in Oregon. In the middle section of the country
they thrive wonderfully.

By Ji simple calculation it might be shown that 100 ewes
and 2 rams would, in the course of five years — supposing the
}3i"oduce to he one half lambs, and the wethers to be sold —
increase to 1,000. This calculation supposes the ewes to lamb
twice a year, and to have twins one time in three, which is under
the average. Sheep cost in Victoria 21. and rams 201 (South-
downs) : the animals would cost little for keep in summer or
winter, and the wethers being sold for mutton, the jaroceeds
wouhl cover the wages of a shepherd. As mutton costs Is. to
Is. 3d. per lb. (and tlie sheep average 50 lbs.) it is easy to see
that, even allowing a wide margin for casualties, a small fortune
could thus be realised in the course of a few years. The fleeces

LUMBIA.

:licm wortli

er of dairy
s a personal
at tlic'Bluu
;on ill 1SG3,
our inoiitlis.
any, he rea-

Liid no feed-
lecn left to
lis have suc-
n unusually
lI it would
it. A log-
Jl risk and

iported into
ended with
for South-
still more
le country

Lit 100 ewes
ipposing the
be sold —
wes to lamb
licli is under
20/ (South -
summer or
he proceeds
costs Is. to
easy to see
mall fortune
The fleeces

TERMS OF SETTLEMENT.

Of I

205

iiii<,dit either be turned to account in the country itself or ex-
ported ; the price at San Francisco is 40 cents per lb.

The number of sheep imported in 18G2 was (),94() ; of cattle,
5,649 ; of horses and mules, 0,427.

Hogs are an immensely profitable investineiit in tlie
colony, bacon being a staple commodity at the mines.
Every other kind of farming produce already speciiled in
remarks on farming in the insulai" colony, fetclies a much
higher price in British Columbia than in Victoria.

The terms on which land may be acquired in British
Columbia are given at length in the Appendix. The pi-o-
clamation of the governor entitles British subjects, and
aliens who take the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty, to
pre-empt unsurveycd lands not reserved by tlie Govern-
ment for town sites, or available for mining purposes, or
occupied as Indian settlements. IGO acres are allowed
to be taken up by each bona-fide settler, on condition of
the claim being recorded with the nearest resident maijis-
trate. The recording fee is 8.v. WJien the Government
survey shall have extended to the land thus selected, pay-
ment is to be made at the rate of not less than 4.s'. 2(1.
per acre. Wiien improvements to the value of 10.^'. ])er
acre shall have been made, and the magistrate satisfied of
tlie permanent occupation of the settler, he shall be en-
titled to a certificate of improvement. By this document
the holder shall be empowered to sell, mortgage, or
lease the land, subject to the unpaid histalments of ])ur-
chase money.

Priority of pre-emjition is secured to the person in
occupation who shall first record his claim.

On full payment of the purchase money, the purchaser
obtains a conveyance, which, however, reserves to the
Crown precious metals and minerals, with the right to
enter and work them by its aS'siijnees and licensees ; but

296 AGRICULTURAL RliSOURCES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

if tliis right is exereisctl, reasonable compensation is to be
made for tlic waste and damage done, to be settled, in ease
of dispute, by a jury of six.

In addition to the 100 acres thus pre-empted, the
person in possession may hold and pmxhase any unsur-
veyed and unoccupied land on paying to the nearest
magistrate 2.9. Id. as part of the purchase money, which
Avill be payable when the land is surveyed.

Any allotment thus sought to be acquired either by
pre-emption or by purchase, must be of a rectangular
form, the shortest side being at least two-thirds of the
length of the longest side.

If any person, holding under a pre-emptive claim,
shall cease to occupy the land, tlie claim may be cancelled.

Occupants may bring ejectment or trespass against any
intruder, except a free miner searching for the precious
metals or conveying water to his mine.

By an Act, dated Jan. 1, 18G3, military and naval
officers of a certain rank are entitled, without pjiy, to
free grants of unoccupied and imsurveycd country land
in the following proportions : —

Field officer of 25 years' service, in the whole
20
„ 15, or less, years' service

Captains of 20 years' service and upwards .
15 „ or less

and upwards .

Subalterns of 20
7

Acros
000

500

400

300

200

A'MBIA.

2J)7

on is to be
led, in case

npted, tlie
any iinsur-
lie nearest
ney, wliicli

I citlier by
'ectangnlar
rds of the

ive claim,
3 cancelled,
igainst any
le precious

and naval
»iit pay, to
untry land

Acres

000
500
400
400
300
300
200

CILVrTEB XII.

ANIMAL AND VEGETABF.E PRODUCTIONS OF VANCOUVLK
ISLAND AND BllITJSII COLUMBIA.

Bears — Iiacoons — Marten — Mink — Skunlc — Otters — Foxes —The Puma —
Its IJ.ivages — Adventure with a Puma — ^Volve.s — IJats— Stofrs — Deer —
M()untaiu-8heep— BiKbs of Pkky, iS:c. — Swans, &c. — Pkptilks — Fi,(jka
— Scientific Names of Animals — List of Sliells — Additional List of
I'lants.

Bears are not inicommon in these regions. I have seen
specimens of the black bear both in the island and on
the mainland. Except when woinided or suckling its
young, and encountered near its hiding-place, this crea-
ture is comparatively harmless to man. It is easily
' knocked over ' by the sportsman, and its skin, which
letches a high price, is chiefly used as a rug.

The grizzly is not known in Vancouver Island. Its
main haunt is the Eocky Mountains, though it has been
shot considerably west of that range.

The racoon is distributed in these colonies as through-
out many other parts of Xortli America.

Martens are numerous and of varied colour. A good
fur of this description cannot be bought first-hand under
6t*?. or Ss. The mink and skunk are also denizens of the
forests in these colonies. I have known the latter filthy
animal find its way into a settler's cabin, leaving the pro-
prietor in the unfortunate position of either allowing
the beast its own term of possession, in which case it

208

OTTERS — FOXES.

miglit depart witliout leaving any un[)leasant fiouroiir of
its visit behind, or force it out, and thus evoke froni tlie
i?kunk tliat pecuharly objectionable and pungent odour
U'iiich cannot readily be neutralised l)y fumigation, and
by Avhich it keei)s all invaders at a distance.

Otters arc found on land and in the sea. The species
pertaining to the latter habitat are held in much greater
estimation than those indigenous to terra fir ma. The skin
of an average sized sea-otter, undressed, is valued by the
Indian hunters at from 12/. to 14/., and, when prei)ared
for the Chinese market, will often fetch there 20/.

Foxes, ' silver-grey,' ' red,' and ' black,' exist ; but the
latter quality is confined to British Columbia, Ocular
testimony enables me to pronounce the black f(.)X the most
liandsome animal of its kind to be found. The first of
these varieties costs the purchaser 2/. or 3/. when bought
direct from an Indian trapper, and would realise in Eng-
land probably 20/. or 30/.

The puma roams in certain parts of the island, as on
the mainland, and often attains a larire and even formidable
stature. It is known also under the names of panther, Cali-
fornian lion, and catamount. I hapi)en to possess the skin
of one shot last jxar in the island, measuring nine feet from
the snout to the tip of the tail. But more recently I have
learned of one being despatched in the neighbourhood of
the Sooke mines, measuring ten feet from the snout to the
■root of the tail. It has been known, too, in Salt Spring
Island, to the co>t of the settlers. A former there, some
time ago, hearing a huge pig near his dwelling giving
forth inimistakable sijzns of havniij come to grief, "vvent
to the door and saw this stealthy and powerful foe of the
farmer hurrying off Avith the choice morsel suspended by
the nape of the neck. He arrived just in time to rescue
the struggling victim. The ravages of the panther among

AT)vi:xTURi:s WITH plmas.

2 '.19

lit f^ourenir of
t'oke from tluj
ungont odour
iiiigutioii, and

Tlie sjKH'ies
miicli greater
la. The skin
ralucd by tlie
lien pre})ared
-e 20/.

:'xist ; but tlic
iibia. Ocular
: fox the most

Tlie first of
Avlien bought
ealise in Eiig-

island, as on

on formidable

panther, Cali-

ssess the skin

due feet from

cently I Inive

ibourhood of

} snout to the

Salt Spring

r there, some

ellinfj mvinu"

) grief, went

ul foe of the

uspended by

me to rescue

iither among

shee]) and poultry are of the most destructive chanicter.
Its leg and |)aw evince a much greater degree of strength
than distinguishes any oi" the wild I'eline sj)ecies tluit ])i'()wl
in the jungles of AlVica or India. A single blow from
it must instantly disable any other animal inhabiting the
same latitude.

I am acquainted with a siiecp-farmer at Sooke whose
sons, when engaged in watching their flocks, encountered
and killed some half-dozen of these animals within a couple
of years. When wounded they are intensely ferocious,
and will attack alike men and dogs. They ' die hard,'
unless struck with a rille-ball in the centre of the breast.
A member of Mr. Weir's family — the gentleman just
referred to — informed me, when on a visit to their "arm,
that he once wounded a panther several times with his
riile, but that it still retained sufficient strength to chase
and worrv a large dog, lonur after he thought it must have
bled to death. In the house of my iViend several of these
creatures, stuffi^d, presented rather a startling arrjiy to ji
guest on entering the room, but must prove mudi less
agreeable objects when met in the lonely Ibrest.

Another gentleman who went out on a shooting excur-
sion, salhed from the trail into the thicket, a few miles
from Victoria, in search of iiaine. lie had the misfortune
to be soon confronted by an enraged ])antlier, Avhich,
doubtless, felt her lair to be uncei-emoniously intruded
upon, and her whelps endangered. The animal sprang
upon his back and jndled him down. lie partially suc-
ceeded in keeping her at bay by brandishing his fowliiig-
])iece, while he lay extended on the ground. Still the
])uina persisted in snapping r.t him till she tore his clotlies
into shreds. His awkward position incapacitated him
from firing. At lenuth die animal retreated. Tliese
instances of danger from the attack of the panther are,

son

"WOLVKS — UKAV i;j;S — 8(^1'! KRKLS.

linwovor, cxcoptiuii.'il, it iisiiiiUy l)C'in;^f in dread of tlio
j)R's(ncc of a liuinaii In-ing.

Wolves, of two species, ivd and black, occasionally
))r()wl in the vicinity of slieep-cotes, especially in winter,
])Ut are not muncrous, and where sheep are carefully
lierded, they may be successfully resisted.

Traces of the dwellings of the beaver are oljservable
adjacent to lakes and streams in both colonies. In one
twelvemonth, 7(S() beaver-skius, a few years ago, were
collected by a single establishment of the Hudson's ]5ay
Company in Vancouver Island. Like many other fur-
l)earing animals, this one is on the increase, since the
influx of whites to tliese Pacific shores, in consequence of
the Hudson's Bay Company divesting itself to a consider-
able extent of its fur-trading character, and trappers
devoting their attention to the more exciting pursuits
connected with (jjold-mininij;.

It is impossible to go many miles into the agricultural
districts without seeing squirrels, which feed upon the
cones of pine-trees. They are different genei'ally from
the species found in England. The hotel-keepers of
Victoria employ men to shoot this as well as other sorts
of game for the table.

Eats are enemies to settlers in these colonies, as in all
other new coimtiies ; and sometimes the inamiot is
domesticated, luidcr the impression that rats avoid
proximity to the latter animal.

Neither hare" nor rabbit is known to exist in Vancouver
Island, though varieties of both inhabit British Columbia,
diflering, however, in appearance and habits from those
belonging to the parent country.

The stag and elk (Canadian) abound, and .some have
been shot equal to a horse in stature, and weighing GOO
lbs. Their antlers are very haudsonie.

D K K II — MOU NT A 1 \ S 1 1 1 : 1 : 1 •

;oL

dread of tlio

, occasion.'dly
lly ill ^vinl^'^,
are caruf'iilly

re obsei'vablo
lies. In one
rs ago, were
[ludson's ]>ay
ly other fur-
ise, since tlie
jnsequencc of
to a CO n side r-
and trappers
iting pursuits

e aiiiricultural
ed upon tlie
inerally from
l-kee])ers of
IS other sorts

nies, as in all
marmot is
rats avoid

11 Vancouver
sli Columbia,
from those

some have
'ci^hino; 600

J)eer are found in both colonies in hirge numbers. In
particular districts, and at certain parts of the year, the
farmer need not pass many days without having an op-
])ortunity of ])rocuring venison, if he be a fair siiot. I
have known tiiis creature to be so tame as to a{)proach a
itu'in-house and stand within a gun-slK)t of the dooi'.
But I cannot say that I ever found tleer-llesh thoroughly
l)alatable except w'hen stewed. It is, however, a favourite
dish with most persons in the country. The ordinary
weight of deer is from GO to 80 lbs., and they are fattest
towards autumn.

The mountain-sheep prevails in British Columbia. This
is a large animal, weighing, when full-grown, several
hundred pounds. It is covered with long hair, resembling
coarse avooI, and su[)[)lied with enormous crooked hoi'iis,
upon which it is said to strike when throwing itself from
precipices in seeking to escape i)ursuit. The llesh is
esteemed equal lo that of the domesticated sheep, but it
is rarely the hunter Ixv/s or even gets a sight of them.
Tliey are exceedingly shy and solitary in their habits,
always keeping on the to})s of the most wild and I'ugged
mountains. Even when the snow falls deep they do not
come down, as do other animals, in quest of the milder
climate and more abundant feed of the valleys.

Birch of pre 1/ may be glanced at, of which the great
fish eagle is entitled to primary notice. Couples of these
white-headed birds may frequently be seen gliding ma-
jestically through the air, or descending in a graceful
swoop to their iiest among the branches of some lofty
pine.

The fish hawk, the harrier, and the sharp-shinned
hawk are cimimonly met with. The great snow owl I
have sometimes observed upon the housetops in Victoria
ill a bri^'ht morniiiijr. The piiiinv owl is also found.

ao2

lir.M.MIXd 1)1 UDS — I'HJF.OVS.

The ii()t(! of tin; cuckoo is to bu liciird, and wooil-
pc'ckcrs MIC iiumcroii!^.

lliiminiii;^'-bircls of several kinds exist, iind arc visible
ciii'ly in si)iiiig, llittiiij,' from tree to tree in search of
opeuinj^ buds. A night-hawk conies forth after suti-down
on calm sununer evening's, havin*? a croakinj^f sound, and
is invarial)ly accom[)anied with a smaller bird distinijjuisiied
by a feeble monotonous chirp. Tiie belted kin^disher and
the flycatchers have their representatives. Among the
singing birds, which are few, are the violet green swallow,
wrens, creepers, nuthatches, titmice, shore larks, finches, the
red crossbill, snow bunting, sj)arrows, and the red-winged
blackbird. But the cheerful warble of the English black-
bird is greatly missed by emigi'ants from the i)arenl
country. The crow s[)ecies includes the American raven,
the lisli crow, and the common crow. Blue jays 1 have;
seen in lari>'e numbers in the fall and beginning of winter.

rigeons, doves, and grouse (dusky, blue, riiU'ed, willow,
and sharp-tailed, the sage-cock, prairie hen, and ptarmigan).
All of these ])ossess excellent flavour, and the blue grouse
in particular weighs 4i lbs. It is accustomed to perch on
the highest branch of a pine-tree, and will stand repeated
chaiges from a gun without moving ; it can only be;
brought down by the rille. The chief obstacle to the
enjoyment of a thorough sportsnum in relation to these
varieties of game is that they are too easily shot.

The crane, golden plover, kill-deer, ring })lover, the siu'f-
bird, Bachman's oyster-catcher, and turnstone ; English
snipe, grey snipe. Jack snipe, sandpiper, and sanderlings.

iSwjins frequent the lakes of both colonies, and innu-
merable quantities of geese are ushered in with winter,
amonii; which may be enumerated the snow ^oose, the
white-fronted goose, the Brant goose, and the Canada
o'oose : tlie latter often reaches 17 lbs. in weiaht. Ducks

KKITrLKS — INSKCTS.

oO-t

, Uiul WOOll-

1(1 an; visil)I('
in scari'li of
tor suii-dowii
i«i sound, jiiid
distiii^uislicd
LiiiL^lislun' and

I'uen swallow,
cs, finches, tho
e ivd-win^Li;('(l
llnL,dish hlack-
i the i)arc'nl
lei'icau raven,
L' lays I liavi'
w^f of winter.
•uUctl, willow,
d ptarmigan),
e blue grou;>e
(I to perch on
and repeated
lean only he;
kstacle to the
111 ion to tlie>e

lot.

|)vei', the siu'i-
ne ; English
sanderlings.
^, and innu-
with winter,
i iXoosQ, tlie
tlie Canada
b'ht. Ducks

are ''<|ually abundant, inchuliiig the mallard, black duck,
pin-taileii, green-winged teal, s[)oonl)ill, American wid-
geon, sunnner duck, scau[) duck, canvtisd)ack, golden-eye,
buillediead, and hailequiu duck. Among the sea (hicks
are the velvet duck, the surf diu;k, and the scoter. .Vniong
the fishing ducks are the goosaiuU-r, the re(l-brea>te(l mei'-
ganser, the hooded merganser, and another not named.

In 11 sub-order of the s.ame s[)ecies may hv specilied
the sooty albatross and two or three [)t'trels. Among tlu!
gulls the glaucous-winged gull, the lierring gull, and the
western gull. Among the cormoi'ants the violet-green
('(M'lnoraut. Among the divers the great noi'thcrn divci',
tlu! black-throated, tlie I'acilic, and the n.'d-thi'oated.
'flic waters around Vancouver Island abound with the sea
dove, the tufted pullin, and the horn-billed guillemot.

In eniunerating Itrpt'dcs^ snakes in several varieties
should not be overlooked, few if any of which are venom-
ous. They are used by the natives as an iirticle of dii't,
being eaten by them as soon as skinned. Lizards and
bull frogs cross the path of the traveller in summer, and
the incessant croaking of the latter in the fiuiet eveniiiLis
of summer is as irritating as it is found to be in the West
Indies. I can only remember to have i^^^aw a solitary
worm since my arrival in the country.

The Insect kinu'dom boasts some beautil'ul varieties of
dragonllies, beetles, and butterflies. I'lie insects f It to
be most vexatious hitherto have been horseflies, blacklli(.'s,
sandflies, and mosquitos. The two latter are so numer-
ous as to prcjve an intolerable pest in many [)arts of
Britisli Columbia. But where the smoke of settlements
ascends, and the land is brought under cultivation, those
enemies of man and beast disappear. In the island they
are rare, and their numbers annually diminish in Xew
Westminster and the other i,n'owinix centres on the mtiiii-

304

FLORA.

land. Oil the Fraser it was my experience to find tlieni
most troublesome at the mouth of the Harrison. On a
part of the trail to Cariboo, too, above CUnton, they
attack with malignant effect, so that no traveller to the
mines should go thither unprovided with a ' mosquito
bar.'

The Flora of the colonies present an interesting object
of study to the practical botanist. Water-lilies, crow-
foots, cressworts, berberry-worts, ' Oregon grape,' violet-
worts, cranesbills, rhammads, blue lupine, purple clover,
and several varieties of vetch, grow everywhei'c in wild
profusion. Eoseworts of certain species are very numer-
ous. In the month of May the plains are covered with
the wild rose a'ld sweetbricr, and are redolent of delightful
fragrance. Wild ap[)les, the mountain-ash, the service-
tree, and cluster-berry are foinid. On clear groimd
the huckle-berry, blue-berry, salmon-berry, raspberry,
wortle-berry, gooseberry, and the flowering cui'rant
abound. The conium, the dogwood-tree, the elder-tree,
and the camj^anula also add picturesqueness to the land-
scape. Cranberries are extensively consumed in the
country, and have become an article of valuable export.
They are used by the Indians as food, and are now
gathered and put up in casks by the whites for sale in
San Francisco. Several hundred barrels, containing 30
gallons each, arc already annually exported bj^ a few
small traders. Hemp and flax grow wild ; and fi'om a
certain wild nettle, the Urtica caunal/ina, the natives
manufacture twine, rope, and nets. Oak is abundant in
the southern part of Vancouver Island, though very
scarce in British Cc^lumbia. The astringent properties of
the bark of this tree render it important for tanning pur-
poses. The hazel-nut is conunon in the latter colony.
The conunon birch, abundant and of large size in the

to find tliem
•risoii. On ii
Jlintou, they
[iveller to the
a ' mosquito

resting object
>lilies, crow-
^rape,' violet-
tiirple clover,
vhere in wild
I very numer-
covered witli
, of delightful
, tlie service-
clear ground
y, raspberry,
ring currant
le elder-tree,
to the land-
med in the
lable export,
nd are now
s for sale in
ontaining oO
d by a few
and from a
the natives
abundant in
hough very
properties of
tanning pur-
|itter colony,
size in tlie

SCIEXTIFIC XAMKS OF AXDfALS.

805

northern paits of Britisli Columbia, is of inferior dimen-
sions southward. The alder is larire, and a favourite
wood for turners.

To Conifer.'^ reference has been made in preceding
pages. The cedar (red and yellow) exists in con-
siderable quantities, and often attains greater dimen-
sions than the pine. It is sometimes found above 30 I'eet
in cfirtli near the base. From tlie bark articles of wear-
ing apparel are made by t];.- :.,,tives, and tlie houses of
the settlers ava usually rooted with ' shingles,' answering
the purpose of slates, made from this wood.

Among the Grasses may be enumerated white pea,
wild bean, ground nut, reed, meadow grass, white clover,
bent spear grass, wild oat, wild timothy, sweet grass, &c.
The fern, so prolific and annoying to the farmer, often
reaches the height of from G to 8 feet.

For some of the particulars in the above classification
I acknowledge obligation to the list prepared by the
late Dr. Wood, II. X.^

The following scientific names of animals found in
Vancouver Island has been adopted by Dr. Forbes, Iv. X.,
from vol. 8, ' Pacific liailroad Eeports ' —

TJST OF ANI.MALS.

Folia concolor L.

Lynx faseiatus liaf.

( 'anis nccidentalis var. prison albus.

Canis occidontali.s var. nuljilii,'^.

^'lllpcs niacrouriis liiiird.

^lu!<tela IVnnantii EiwI,

I'litoriiis Vison liaird.

Mustela anu'ricaiia Turton.

Prooyon ncrnamlezii Bainl.

Castor caiiadonsis Kuhh

Ursus anu'ricatiu.s Pal/dn,

Cilllo lllSC'US.

Lutra califoriiioa firm/.

Enliydra marina Fletniitij.

Sciiinis I)(iii^la.-ii.

Ccrvn.s caiiaiU'nsis.

CiTVUs ('olunil)iann.s.

Mustt'la erniini-a.

Fil)er zibotlicctis.

Platyriiync-luis looninus.

Plioca vitulina, and Arctocopluiliis

nr.^inus.
Aplocerns niontannft.
Falco cnluniliariiis.

306

SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF BIRDS.

LIST OF BIRDS FOUND OX VANCOUVER ISLAND

Falco sparverius.
Astur atrieapillus.
Accipiter fuscu.s.
Biiteo montanus.
Ilalat'itus leucocephalus.
Bubo virj^inianus.
Nyctea nivea.
Nyctale acadica.
Glaucidiuiu gnoma.
I'iciis Ilamsii.
ricus Gairdneri.
Sphyropicus ruber.
Hylatomus pileatus,
Colaptes mexicaiuis.
Sehasphorus nifus.
Cliordeiles Popetue.
Coryle Alcyou.
C()ntf)pus boroalis.
Tardus uiigratorius.
Turd us iiiBvius.
Sialia mexicana.
Regulua Calendula.
Regulus satrapa.
Anthus ludovicianus.
Geothlypis Maegillivrayi.
llolmiuthopbaya celata.
Dondroica Audubouii.
Deudroica oestivi.
Pyranga ludoviciana.
Hirundo liorreorum.
Ilirundo bicolor.
Hirundo thalassina,
Vireo gilvus.
Vireo solitarius.
Troglodytes hycmalis.
Salpinctes obsoletus.
Sitta aculoata.
Parus rufescens.
Carpodacus californicus.
Chrysomitris pinus.
ZonotricLia Gambelli.
Zonotrichia coronata,
Junco oregnnus,

Spizella socialis.
Melospiza rulina.
Passarella Townsendii.
Guiraca melanocepliala.
Pipilo oregonus.
Stuniella neglccta.
Scolecophagus oyanoceplialus.
Agelaius pliounieeus.
Corvus carnivorus.
Corvus caurinus.
Cyanura Stellerii.
Coluniba fasciata.
Tetrao obscurus.
Bonasa Sabinii.
Grus canadensis.
Ardea Ilerodias.
Aphriza \irgata.
Ilicmatopus niger.
Strepsilas melanoeephalu.s.
Gallinago Wilsoni.
Gambetta nielanoleuca.
Fulica amoricana.
Cyguus americanus.
Bernicla canadensis.
Bernicla leucopareia.
Bernicla Ilutcbinsii.
Anser byperborea.
Anas Boschas.
Nettion carolinensis.
Mareca americana.
Fulix Marila.
iintliia Vallisneria.
Bucepbala americana.
Bucephala albeola.
Ilistrionicus torquatus.
Ilarelda glacialis.
Melanetta velvetina.
I'elionetta perspicillata.
Mergus americana.
Mergus serrator.
Lophodytes cucuUatus.
Graculus violaceus.
Diomedea bracbvm'n.

SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF SHELLS.

307

Larns glaucescens.
Larus Suckleyi.
Colymbus torquatus,
Colymbus arcticus.
Colymbus septentrionalis.

Podiceps griseigena.
Podiceps occideiitalis.
Podiceps comutus.
Una columba.
Brachyramphiia niarmoratus.

LIST OF SHELLS,
From the Rocks and Dredge off Esquimalt and Victoria Harbours.

Palliobeaxchiata

Lamellibranchiata ;

Terebratellidce, Terebratella cauria and pulvinata.

ScUTIBBANCniATA \

Pectinibranchiata

tSolenida; — Solen sicarius.

TelUnidce — Macoma nasuta, Strigilla caurina.

VmeridcE — Tapes Petitii.

Cardiadce — Cardium Nuttalli.

Mytilidce — Mytilus edulis, Modiola modiolus, Modiola

nitens.
Pedinidcs — Pecten bericius.
Ostrmdce — Ostrea concbapbila.

Chitonida — Tonicia lineata, Mapalia vespertina, Ka-
therina tunicata, Cryptochiton Stelleii.

Aonmda — Acmooa patina, Acmaja pelta, Acmsea per-
sona, Acmsea spectrum, Scurria Mitra.

FissurelUda; — Glj'phis aspera, Puncturella cucullata.

Trochidce — Zizipbinus annulatus, Zizipbinus filosus.

Cahjptrmdce — Galerus fastigiatus, Crepidula incurva.

Cerithiadce — Cerithidea sacrata.

LUtonnidce — Littorina sticbana, Littorina plena.

Naticidce — Natica clausa.

Tritonidce — Argobuccinum oregonense.

Purpttridce — Purpura decemcostata. Purpura emargi-

nata, Purpura lactuca.
Sttccimdce — Nassa mendica.

JfMmtrf«— Chrysodomus antiquus, ChrysodomiLs Sit-
chana.

Is.

LIST OF ECONOMIC PLANTS NOT PREVIOUSLY GIVEN IN

THESE PAGES.

Populus tremuloides.
Pyrus rivularis.
Salix Scouleriana.

X 2

308

ADDITIONAL LIST.

SHRUBBERY UNDER GROWTH.

Corylus americana.
Cornus Drummondii.
Berberis aquifolium.
Philadelphus macropetalus.
Rubua nutkanus, leucoderrais.
Ilibes divaricatum, niveum, and san-

guineum
Amelanchier canadensis.
Sambuciis glauca.
Gaultheria Shallon.

Vaccinium ovatum, ovalifoliuni,

and parvifolium.
Symphoricarpus racemosus.
Rubus spectabilis.
Frangula Purshiana.
Lonicera occidentalis.
Hedera.

Crataegus coccinea ?
Lonicera involucrata.
Rosa fraxinifolia.

Trifolium repens.
Glyceria aquatica.
Poa pratensis ?
Festuca pratensis.

GRASSES, LEGUMINOUS PLANTS, ETC.

Phleum pratense

Stipa avenacea ?

Juncus.

Primula veris vel Douglasii.

In addition to the leguminous plants and grasses given
above, are the following, extracted from a list kindly sent
me by Professor Balfour, of the University of Edinburgh.
They form part of a collection now being made by the
' British Columbia Botanical Association ' of Edinburgh,
through their agent in these colonies. This spirited
scientific body have already expended nearly 1,000^. in
prosecuting their interesting labours : —

Carex sp.
Imzula sp.
Cornus Nuttallii.
Spiraea paniculata.
Taxus sp.
Spiraea opulifolia.
Alnus orogona.
Acer circinatum.
Arbutus Menziesii.
Panax borridum,
Spiraea sp.
Boraginaceae.
Rumex sp.
LiliacesB.
Vicia sp.

Convallaria sp.
Epilobium sp.
Rhododendron sp.
Pinus ponderosa.
Wellingtonia gigantea.
Centaurea sp.
Rhus sp.
Cruciferte.
Allium sp.
Malva sp.
Scrophulariaceae.
Andromeda sp.
Sedum sp.
Geranium sp.
Picea amabilis.

)valifolium,
mosua.

ADDITIONAL LIST.

309

Saxifraga sp.
Lilium sp.
Oreodaphne sp.
Polygonum sp.
Ericaceae.
Lychnis sp.
Ilieracium sp.
Kubus leucoderniis.
Sonchus sp.

Asphode^ea).
Veronica sp.
Umbellifera).
IjabiatoB.
Artemisia sp.
Lonicera Douglaaii.
Potentilla sp.
Pyrola sp.
Abiea sp.

iglasii.

'asses given
kindly sent
Edinburgh,
ade by the
Edinburgh,
lis spirited
1,000/. in

sp.
gantea.

310

CHAPTER XIII.

POLITICAL STATISTICS OF VA^X^OUVER ISLAND AND BRITISH

COLUMBIA.

Grant of Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay Company — Governor
Blanshard — Germ of the Colonial Legislature — Appointment of Governor
Douglas — Dispute between Independent Colonists and the Authorities —
Sources of Ilevenue — First liiU of Appropriation — Disproportionate
Paraphernalia of Government — Kates of Taxation — Estimates for 1804
— Opposition of the Legislature to the Proposals of the Duke of Newcastle
— The First Legislative Council of British Columbia — Iteception of
Governor Kennedy — The Question of Union between the two Colonies —
Public Expenditure of the British Columbian Government in 1803—
Check given to Immigration in 1858 by the restrictive Policy of the
Colonial Government and the Hudson's Bay Company — Testimony of the
Grand Jury.

Vancouver Island.

It has been shown tiiat, by deed of grant from the
Crown, the Hudson's Bay Company were allowed abso-
lute control of this colony for a period of ten years from
January 1849. On the execution of that document,
Eichard Blanshard, Esq., was appointed first governor
by Her Majesty.

Tlie charter provided that all civil and military ex-
penses should be defrayed by the company, and his
Excellency accepted office on the express understanding
that the company should use proper exertion to attract
population to the island, so tliat in a short time the local
revenue from land sales and royalties on minerals would

D BRITISH

■ — Governor
t of Governor
\utliorities —
proportionate
iites for 1804
of Newcastle
lleceptiou of
70 Colonies —
It in 1803—
['olicy of the
imony of the

from the
wed abso-
ears from
lociimetit,
governor

^itary ex-

and his

Irstanding

CO attract

the local

Ills would

(iOVKUNOli BLAXSUAliD.

311

be sufTicicutly increased to udiiiit of a civil list being
framed for the maintenance of Government. In con-
sideration of no salary being in tlie first instance attachi'd
to the newly created dignity, it was ai-ranged tliat tlie
governor should receive 1,000 acres of land adjacent to
Victoria, and that his ])assage out slu)uld be paid by the
company. After a residence of two years in the country
his Excellency, wlio endeavoured to discharge liis duties
conscientiously, resigned office, on the ground of tlie
unhandsome treatment lie received from the local heads
of the comj)any, Avho failed to remunerate his services in
any form. Not even in regard to a governor's residence
was their pledge redeemed ; and towards an outlay of
300/. incuri'ed by Mr. Blanshard in the voyage out, all
he received from them was 175/. Yet, in consequence of
the high rate of prices occasioned by the gold-fever in
the neighbouring state of California, it cost him 1,100/.
per annum to live. The chief officers of the company
were supplied Avith articles of domestic consumption at
33 per cent, advance upon cost price, the inferior officers
at from 50 to 100 per cent., and independent settlers —
who were also compelled to purchase from the company
— at the Californian rate, which was about 300 i)er cent,
upon English invoice prices. The vexation ex])erience(l
by Governor Blanshard was aggravated by this gratuitous
officer of the Crown being obliged to \)\\y for the neces-
saries of life on the latter exoi-bitant scale.*

On the retirement of Mr. Blanshard, Mr. Douglas was
appointed as re[)resentative of Her Majesty — j)robably
throuLih the influence of some of the directors of the
company in London, who were alive to the additional

* Evidonce of Govprnov Pjlanslmi'd before tho Conunittce of tlie irouso of
Coninions, on tlie alfairs wf tlie IIu(l'.on"s Hay Gmupany. I'^-'i?.

AlM'OlXniENT 01' MK. l)()L(iI.AS.

facilily tliat would l)o aflordcd lliem in ^fiviii,^ cflect to
tlic'ir sc'licuies of monopoly by luiving tlieir cliicf fjictor at
Victoria invested with the i)owers of Crown agent. It
Las been stated in the second Chnpter how dillicult it
was for a gentleman, whose interests iVoni boyhood had
been associated with the company, to resist altogether
the temptation oflered by his position to give the duties
lie owed his old eniployers, from whom he still derived
the gi'eater part of his income, precedence over those
claimed by his Soverei<i;n.

The company were no longer restrained, by the presence
of an uuparildl and indepeadciit representative of the
Cj'own, from aggrandising themselves to the detriment of
the general prospeiity of the colony. 15ut for tlie irre-
sponsible control thus inconsiderately placed in the com-
l)any by the Im])erial authorities, the large revenue
aj^propriated by the former from the sale of town allot-
ments in Victoria Avould have passed to the colonial ti'ca-
sury, to which it legitimately belonged ; and protracted
disputes, still unsettled, between the Crown and the com-
])any as to their respective rights in the lands of the
colony, Avould have been averted.

The peculiarity of ]\[r. J^lanshard's situation as pioneer
governor necessitated that he shoidd imite in himself the
functions of executive a 'd judge. In the latter capacity
lie Avas chiefly occupied in adjusting differences between
the company nnd their servants — the ordinary cause of
grievance being some alleged breach of contract by the
c;mployers.

The germ of colonial legislation was planted by Governor
Blansluu'd in the formation of a legislative council, coiisist-
m^ of three members. The few settlers who were uncon-
nected Avith the company expressed deep concern on the
resignation of the first governor, that the a^gis which had

JNciriKXT PAiuJAM i:nt.

313

L'F factor at
Mgont. It
(lidicult it

yliood had
altou'etliL'i'
tlio duties

.ill derived

over tliot>u

lie presence
;ive of the
etri merit of
>r the ii-re-
in tlic colli-
de revenue
town aUot-
)h)iiial trea-
])rotracted
d tlic com-
nds of the

as pioneer

limself the

|er capacity

ps between

y cause of

|act by the

Governor
Icil, coiisist-
Icre luicon-
|ern on the
Iwhich had

al<»ne ])rotected tliein from tlie apprehended despotism of
thi' company sliould be witlulrawn, and tliese defenceU:'ss
colonists knew not how soon the lords of the soil iiiiLjlit
render their condition luicoinfortable. '

By direction of the Kight Hon. II. Labouchere, tlien
II. M. Principal Secretary for the Colonies, Mr. Doujilas,
on assuming the government, issued a prochunation in
I85G, calling on freeholders, being liritish subjects, in the
colony, to elect members to serve in the leixislative as-
senibly about to be constituted. The following districts
were endo\v ed with power to elect representatives, in the
l)ro[)ortion given below : —

istrict of Vifturia . . . .

o nu'iuljoiv>

„ Esqiiiiiuilt niul Mot.ho.siu

„ Naniiiiuo . . . .

„ Sooke

1 „

This incipient parliament, comprising seven members,
was opened on August 12, 1856, by Governor Dougltis, in
a speech amusingly magniloquent for so unpretending an
occasion. The qualification for voters was fixed at the
value of twenty acres freehold, and candidates for legisla-
tive honours were required to possess real property worth
300/. This is remarkable as the first instance of repre-
sentative institutions being granted at so early a stage in
the history of a British colony.

Scarcely had Governor Douglas entered upon the
enjoyment of his new dignity when, on the plea of pro-
moting the settlement of the colony, he urged upon the
Imperial Government the advisability of allowing the
thousand acres set ai)art as a governor's reserve to be
thrown open for ])urchase. Whether it was by deshjn or
coincidence is not here asserted, but this land was bought
almost immediately by his Excellency and the Surveyor-
General, at a mere nominal figure. The governor, it will

314

XKPOTISM OF MU. DOLCiLAS.

be admitted, took disinterested and jnddic ground, to some
jmrpose, in his {i])peal to the Secretary for tlie Colonies;
for wliile ])oor innnigrants received no benefit from
tliis concession of the home authorities, Mr. Douglas and
Jiis friend enriched themselves immensely by the o[)era-
tion.

Ever-recurring causes of irritation and discontent be-
tween the settlers and the company kept the two parties
in relations of per])etual discord. The first great signal
for rupture, after Mr. Douglas entered upon ollicc, was the
appointment by him of his brother-in-law, Mr. Cameron,
to the Chief Justiceship of the colony. This gentleman,
though unversed in the mysteries of law before ascending
the bench, has up to the present time exhibited a degree
of prudence, firnuiess, and candom- in his ollicial decisions,
which proves that he does not consider his jwsition a sine-
cure. Still, his relationship to the governor, the situation
i'rom which he was directly elevated, as clerk of the coal-
works at Xanaimo, and the disappointed ambition of rival
competitors for the dignity he had attained, combined to
render his ai)pointmcnt very unpopular. The breach be-
tween the settlers and the executive was widened. They
memorialised the Home Government against the services
of the new judge being continued, arguing that, under so
unlearned a dispenser of justice, and one in so much risk
of being trammelled by his dependence on the patronage
of the Hudson's Bay Company, their lives and property
were endancjered.

Another development of the family comj)act that arose
beneath the rule of his Excellency was the election of
Mr. Ilelmcken, his son-in-law, a surgeon of the company,
to be Speaker of the House of Assembly. A gentleman
Avho married the governor's niece became Colonial Secre-
tary ; a second son-in-law became Mr, Douglas's jirivate

FIIIST SUri'LY JJILL.

11(1, to some
u Colonics ;
:'nL'lit from
)oi!glas and
tlio opuru-

::ontent be-
two ])artiL's
n'cat signal
ice, was tlie
\ Cameron,
gentleman,
e ascendiniT
:(1 a degree
al decisions,
ition a sine-
lie situation
3f the coal-
ion of rival
ombined to
bi'cacli be-
led. Tiicy
lie services
t, under so
much risk
patronage
.1 property

that arose
Iclection of

company,
I gentleman
Inial Secre-
Is's private

secretary ; and a third, Eegistrar-General of British Co-
lumbia.

The only available soiu'ces of revenue before 1858 were
land sales and duty on licensed lunises. The income of
the island in 1853 was 220/. ; in 1854, 400/. ; and in 1855,
o40/. The expenditure for the year 1855, up to Novem-
ber 1, was 4,107/. 2.y. 3(/.

Tlic first bill of ap[)ropriation was laid before the House
in December '50, and is a unique document which will,
at some future day, be looked at as not the least interest-
ing among the archives of the colony : —

Wliereaa it is necessary that certain sums of money he voted
for defraying the unavoidable expenses attending the conduction
of the business of the House of Assembly of Vancouver Island,
be it enacted : —

1st. That 501. sterling be placed at the disposal of his Excel-
lency the Governor, to defray the; expenses of copying statistics
and documents for the use of this house.

2nd. That 10/. sterling be granted to jNIr. Robert liarr, for his
past services as clerk of this house.

3rd. That 51. sterling be granted to Mr. Andrew Muir, for his
past services as sergeant-at-arms.

4th. That 251. be allowed for the salary of the clerk of the
house, for the year 1857.

5th. That 15/. be allowed for the salary of the sergeant-at-
arms and messenger, for the year 1857.

6th. That 20/. sterling be granted for lighting, heating, and
furnishing the House of Assembly for the year 1857.

7th. That 5l. sterling be granted for stationery, for the use of
the members of the House of Assembly.

8th. That the above items be paid out of the revenue derived
from the licences of July 16, 1856.

In this primitive legislature the influence of the Hudson's
Bay Company continued to predominate till 1859, when
the term of the company's charter expired, and the colony
fell under the immediate control of the Imperial Govern-

'MCi

llKriJliSICNTATIVI': INSTITUTION I'KKM ATLKK.

iiic'iit, At the close of that year u new pjirlianicMit was
elected, when the miiiiher of representatives was increased
to thirteen. Another election has since taken i)lace, and
the familiarity of Mr. lli'hncken with ' May's l*arlianien-
tary Tractice,' togetiier with his natnral shrewdness, has
secnred for him continnance of oflice as S|)eaker of the
House n]) to the pi'esent.

Next to the error of putting' Crown authority in the
hands of a chief trader of the Hudson's IJay Company,
was the indiscretion of granting a legislative assembly to
so young a comnnmity. It is my decided impression that,
even it the time 1 write, there is no necessity for such an
institution. Till gentlemen of leisure, status, and ability
could be found in sudicienl numbers to a})ply themselves
to the .vork of colonial legislation, and public o[)inion
in the country has become more matured, with the ex-
tended settlement of ])opulation, a governor and council
would have been quite equal to the legislative require-
ments of the island.

1 do not say that any grave inconvenience has arisen
hitherto from the apj)aratus for making laws (dready at
work in the colony; still, a snuill legislative assembly, com-
posed principally of men of small means, unpaid for their
services, may be in danger of carrying or impeding
measures from interested motives ; and where the inha-
bitants are not generally of so permanent a description as
to feel induced to Avatch with jealous care the debates of
the House, facilities for such a breach of public trust are
not wanting. Were irresponsible power lodged in the
hands of an accredited and well-tried governor appointed
by the Crown, there would be a safer guarantee that
useful laws would be more expeditiously passed, and the
interests of the people more eflectually promoted.

The parajihernalia of government that now surrounds

:ui-:.

SOL'Ilt'KS 01' IlKVKMi:.

liaiiK'iit was
lis ituTcascd
1 place, and
I'arliiinion-
wdiiess, has
aker of tlic

oi'ity ill tlic
y Company,
assembly to
rc'ssion that,
for such an
and ability
' themselves
jlic opinion
r'ith the cx-
and council
ivc requirc-

has arisen

already at
mbly, coni-
id for their
impeding

the inha-
■)Cripti(jn as

debates of
c trust arc
^ed in the

appointed
antee that
3d, and the
id.

siuioiuids

our nnscont. colony is too elaborate to bo suited to the
simj)licity of |)resent wants, vividly recalliii^ a picture in
'rimch ' of Lord John Russell in the clothes of Sir Uobei't
IVel, when the former succeeded to the i)ri'mieiship
which had Just been vacated by the latter. Those who
remember the striking,' disparity ap[)arent in the ii;^ures of
the two men will at once perceive the force of the illus-
tration.

Besides a House of Assembly, there is jui Executive
Council, embracing a few olRcials of Ciovernmeiit ; and
n Leuislative Council, in which sit the Chief Justice,
Treasurer, Attorney-General, Kegistrar-rieneral, the Co-
lonial Secretary (when not holding a seat in the Lower
House), and several private citizens appointed by the
Governor.

The chief sources of colonial revemie at present avail-
able are a tax of one per cent, assessed upon the market
value of real estate, and a trading licence levied as
follows : — Colonial ti-aders pay an annual licence of live
pounds, and on merchants and traders in general a half-
yearly assessment is levied, as shown by schedule A in
' Trade Licences Amendment Act, 1802.'

£1

1 10

•2

:{ 10

1")

•irt

.'}.")

(50

Lawyers are charged at the rate of 10/. ; bankers,
50/. ; civil engineers, architects, and surveyors, hi. ;

Umloi

• £100,

half-yearly

£100 and

250

500

l.(K)0

1,000

2,500

5,000

10,000

20,000

.'50,000

.30,000

40,000

50,(X)0

Above

50,000

318

ESTIMATES FOR 18G4.

auctioneers, 50/. ; real estate agents, 10/.; proprietors of
billiard saloons, 5/. per table ; and keepers of bowling-
alleys, 2/. 10s. per annum.

It will be seen, from the subjoined estimates of colonial
expenditure for the year 1864, that liquor licences and
land sales still yield a considerable proportion of public
income. Tlie proceeds from the sale of Crown lands,
however, are intended to be applied to the support of
the civil list.

Estimates for the Year 1864.

ABSTRACT OF PROBABLE REVENUE — HEADS OP RETENtTE.

1. Real Estate Tax

^G5,.300

2. Trade Licences .

27,580

3. Liquor Licences

24,000

4, Land Sales

31,912

5. Land Revenue .

1,528

6, Harbour Dues

17,000

7. Postage Dues

3,500

8. Fines, Forfeitures, and Fees

9,000

9. Fees of Office .

4,000

10. Miscellaneous

200

11. Reimbursements

1,000

12. Lighthouses

3,500

Revenue for 18G4

. ^188,520

Arrears of Revenue

25,000

Due by the colony of British Columbia, on ac-

count of temporary Loans, repayable on de-

mand ......

43,050

Due by the colony of British Columbia, on ac-

count of Lighthouse expenditure

4,384.63

Advances to Crown Agents, London, to be ac-

counted for .

55,104.97

Balance of 40,000/, Loan, undrawn 6,1G8/.

29,914.80

Advances to the heads of Departments, to be

accounted for . . . .

148.50

Due by the Corporation of the city of Victoria

6,362

Due by the Home Government

10,258.85

Balance in Treasury . . . .

23,525.08

;$385,869.43

ESTIMATES FOR 1864.

319

3prietors of
of bowling-

of colonial
icences and
Q of public
:"0wn lands,

support of

ENTJE.

^65,300
27,580
24,000
31,912
1,528
17,000
3,500
9,000
4,000
200
1,000
3,500

188,620
25,000

43,050

4,384.03

55,104.97
29,914.80

148.50
5,362
10,258.85
23,525.08

585,869.43

Abstract of the Sums required to defray the Expenses of the
Colonial Govermnent of Vancouver IsUutd for 1864.

HEADS OF EXPENDITURE.

1. Establishments;

Snlnrics
i'ixeil

Snlarips
r. and T.

Office Rent

Total

The Governor

^14,550

;$14,550

Colonial Secretary .

4,890

^500

5,890

Treasurer

4,110

, ,

720

4,830

Auditor ....

1,095

, ,

1,175

Surveyor-General

4,125

500

580

5,205

Assessor ....

2,425

• •

400

2,831

Harbour-Master

, •

2,850

250

3,100

Postmaster

. .

2,800

175

2,975

Chief .Justice .

0,380

250

0,(')30

Attorney-General .

2,455

, .

250

2,705

Sheritr ....

1,000

250

100

1,350

liegistrar-General .

1,940

485

250

2,(}75

Commissioner of Police .

. ,

11,735

100

11,8.35

Governor of Gaol

• •

4,840

4,805

Majristrate, Nanaiiiio

2,200

2,250

Legislative Council .

• »

500

100

600

House of Assembly .

•

1,700

1,750

.3,450

^42,970

;^28,360

^5,586

^^76,916

2. Administration of Justice

3. Charitable Allowances

4. Police and Gaols

5. Rent

0. Education

7. Conveyance of Mails

8. "Works and Buildings

9. Roads, Streets, and Bridges

10. Miscellaneous

11. Interest on 40,000/. Loan

12. Sinking Fund for do.

13. Lighthouses

14. Revenue Services

Total

3,0""
2,750

9,487

1,760

5,000

11,800

78,078

51,800

26,112.50

11,640

7,760

7,000

1,600

^295,309.50

The following sums, as compared with the tables that

320

OrPOSITIOX TO THE CIVIL LIST.

precede, will sliow tlie steady advance made in tlie annual
income of the colony.

Actual Revenue for 1801
I8(i2
1803

£2.-,,201 1
24,017
30,000

The amount received in 18G2 may seem to indicate
retrogression in colonial prosporty. But tlie reason of
this apparently adverse result was that the collection of
yearly instalments, due in that year by farmers upon land
bought from the Government, was postponed in conse-
quence of heavy losses of stock and produce sustained by
tliem from an unusually severe winter, for the rigours of
which recent settlement had rendered them unprepared.
But for this circumstance the revenue for the year 18G2
would have considerably exceeded that of 18G1.

The civil list, detailed in tlie above estimates for 1804,
was proposed by the Duke of Newcastle for the acceptance
of the House of Assembly. His Grace intimated that the
Crown lands of the colony — which were about to be con-
veyed by the Hudson's Bay Company to the Home Govern-
ment, on the claims of the former being liquidated — should
forthwith be assigned to the Local Lcf^islature. The con-
dition of this transfer of Crown property by the Home
Government to the House was that the salaries of the
governor and the heads of departments should be
defrayed from the proceeds of Crown land sales. But
the proposition of the Principal Secretary of State for the
Colonies met with the almost unanimous opposition of the
Assembly ; the opinion advanced by the members being
that the value, present and prospective, of the Crown
lands was greatly over-estimated by the Duke of New-
castle. Certain resolutions were passed by the House in
February 18G4, and the following quotation from tliese

OPIXION OF THE ASSEMBLY.

321

tliu auuiuil

to indicate

reason of

)lleetion of

I upon land

I in conse-
istained by

riizoiirs of
nipreparcd.

year 18G2
1.
;s for 18G4,

acceptance
ed that the

to be con-

II e Govcrn-
lel — slioiild

The con-
the Ilonio
ics of tlie
ishoidd be
ales. But
,ate for tlie
tion of the
Ibers being
he Crown
of New-
House in
roui tliese

will give a general idea of the objections on which the
attitude of tlie Assembly was based : —

The Legislative Assembly havinfj had TUider considenitioii
that part of the despatch of Her Majesty's Principal Secretary
of State for the Colonies, dated June 15, 1863, wherein the pro-
position is made to the effect tliat as soon Jis the Legislature of
Vancouver Island shall have provided by permanent Act a civil
list, amounting in all to o,(S00/. (which his Urace considers tlie
prospects of the revenue appear to render no more than fitting),
tliat his Grace will be prepared to hold the Crown revenue of
Vancouver Island at the disposal of the Legislature, and to place
the colony under a governor, distinct from British Columbia,
begs leave most respectfully to observe : —

That the annual revenue of Vancouver Island, including that
received from the sale of Crown lands, amounts to 35,000^., and
that the population does not exceed 7,500 persons.

That the ordinary expenses of Government are not less than
27,000^. per annum; thus leaving a very small sum for the
great necessity of the colony, viz., internal improvements.

That the sum received from the sale of Crown hinds in 1863
amounted to 4,500/., much of this arising from the payment of
instalments upon land sold some years ago at 1/. per acre.
Moreover, there is reason to believe as well on account of land
having been reduced to 4s. per acre, as also of the amount of
laud being comparatively small, that the revenue from this
source in future years will at all events not be greater. It may
fiu'ther be said that a considerable sum will be requisite for
the extinction of Indian title to, and the surveying of, such
land ; and as a Government residence for Her Majesty's repre-
sentative does not exist, a still further outlay will be needed for
the erection of such an edifice.

The House is therefore of opinion that neither the condition
of the general revenue, nor the income derived from Crown
revenues, would justify the acceptation of the proposition of Her
Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies.

In the middle of 1863, the Duke of Newcastle sanc-
tioned the constitution of a Legislative Council for British

322

RECEPTION OF GOVERNOR KENNEDY.

Columbia, to be composed one half of Govermnent
officials and the other half of members elected by the
people of the colony. At the close of the same year the
aimouucemeiit was formally made that a Governor was
to be sent out for each of the colonies. It was then that
the disputed civil list was first submitted for the considera-
tion of the House of Assembly in Vancouver Island, and
the conclusion arrived at that, as the latter colony was un-
equal to maintaining efhciently a separate staff of officials,
its union with British Columbia should be urgently
sought.

The decision of the House to this effect had just been
transmitted to the Home Government when, in March
'64, Captain Kennedy, the new Governor of the island,
landed from EnjTfland. The colonists, exultino^ in the last
link of their connection with the sway, directly and in-
directly, of the Hudson's Bay Company being broken,
received the new representative of their Sovereign with
manifestations of enthusiastic loyalty and respect. So
delighted were they at the contrast between the quondam
fur-trapper and his gentlemanly successor that, for days
after the arrival of the latter, shouts of joy and emblems
of congratulation were Avitnessed in every direction. But
the gratification of Governor Kennedy by this warm
reception Avas, doubtless, considerably moderated on his
learning that his salary, in common with that of other
officials, had been struck from the estimates for the year,
by a unanimous vote of the Assembly. But as a man
accustomed to quick and accurate observation, the
Governor soon perceived that the resolutions of the House
on the subject could not possibly be meant as any personal
affi'ont. The Legislature, having custody of the public
rights simple, felt compelled to join issue with the Imperial
Government on a measure which, if adopted according to

TWO GOVERNORS UNNECESSARY

323

ovcrnment
,ed by the
le year the
venior was
s tlicn that
( considera-
Maud, and
)iiy was un-
' of officials,
le urgently

id just been
, in Marcli
the island,
y in the last
ctly and in-
ing broken,
rereimi with
■espect. So
le quondam.
I at, for days
nd emblems
ection. But
this warm
ated on his
at of other
jr the year,
as a man
vation, the
f the House
my personal
the pid)lic
lie Imperial
ccording to

the instructions of the Duke of Newcastle, must, in the
o[)inion of the House, have entailed taxation, whicli would
be found oj^pressive to a population so snudl as is at pre-
sent in the colony.

It is no evidence of unproductiveness tliat at so early a
period of colonial growth the expenditure of a dispropor-
tionately heavy civil list camiot be met. At the same time
I am unable to agree with that part of the statements
recorded by both Houses of the Legislature thtit present
incapacity to hold a separate existence as a colony argues
that sufficient revenues, from Crown hmds and rovalties
on minerals, will not eventually be fortlicoming to sup[)ort
comfortably an official staff. Still, the purport of the
opinion expressed in both Houses concerning the desirable-
ness of uni(3n, every one anxious for the pi'osperity of the
country must approve.

The enquiry would naturally occur to an intelligent
visitor from any Australian or Atlantic colony, why should
British possessions, divided by threescore miles of water-
passage, containing an aggregate po[)ulation of but lifteen
or twenty thousand, and Avhose interests are indissohibly
bound up together, be launched upon a career of separate
existence ? The colony of Xew South Wales, for example,
continued to embrace a vast tract of country which was
not cut up into a plurality of colonies till an extensive
increase of population had created that necessity. But this
natural law governing the formation of other new settle-
ments has been shigularly reversed in the instance under
consideration. And on whom rests the blame of this
imhappy schism ? Had Sir James Douglas been as anxious
to conciUate from the iirst the not unaccountable })reju-
dices of the people of Xew Westminster as lie was to assert
petty dignity, and to frown upon all who did not oiler that
exact measure of worship which he tliought due to him as

y 2

324 ESTIMATES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA FOR 18G3.

tlic Grand Lania^ tlie brcacli between tlie two colonies
would never have occurred.*

British Columbia.

Tlie afTairs of tlii.s colony are administered by a Governor
and Legislative Council. The heads of departments in-
clude a description of functionaries similar to those who
conduct the i)ublic business of Vancouver Island. Tlie
Treasurer is ex-ofhcio Master of the Mint, his corps con-
sisting of a Chief Assayer and Chief Melter, with their
assistants.

The accompanj^ing financial statement is taken from the
speech of Governor Douglas, delivered at the o[)eniiig of
the first session of the Legislative Council, held at West-
minster in January '04, and shows a remarkably progres-
sive spirit in a population that does not exceed 7,000 or
8,000, and many of that number of a migratory class.

Expenditure of the Colony for the Year 1863.

Debtor balance from 18G2 ....

Redemption of Road Ronds, created 1802
Ixepayment of Advances to Imperial Government
Civil E.stablisliments, including Salaries, Allowauccs, Office Con
tingencics . . ....

Administration of Justice, Police Gaols .
Transports and other Expenses, "Works and Ruildings
I'ublic Roads ......

Interest on Loans and Sinking Fund

Colonial Pay and Maintenance of IJetacliment of Royal Engineers

Conveyance of Mails .....

Miscellaneous ......

Total .

£9,r',0-2

12,<!r)0

7,()00

?A,C,]r,
5,701

ir,,28.-<

8:!,0;57

18,72.",

7,Oo7

2 22." i

4,802

T19278OO

* Governor Seymour, of Rritisli Columbia, showed admirable sense in the
speech with which i^e opened the Legislative Coimcil of that colony last
December, when he gave it as his conviction that one governor of the colonies
west of the Rocky Mountains was, for the present, sufficient.

63.

vo colonies

a Governor
rtnients in-
tliosc who
land. The
J corps con-
, with their

en from the
opening of
iV\ at West-
lily progres-
sed 7,000 or
ry class.

863.

,on

Incera

£0,n02

12,('>r)0

7,(X)0

81,(51.-,
5,701

8:5,0:57

l:?,72r,

7,057

2 22:5

4',:302

11927800

|l)le sense in the

[hat coliiny last

of the colonies

ESTIMATES CONTINUED.

lii'ouj.'-ht forward (Expenditure)
The ruhlic Ivevenue for the same period lias produced, in round
nmnhers ..... il 10,000

llonds created and Loans contracted in aid of IJevenue 05,H()5

Excess of Expenditure over luconio

Duo to Imperial riovernment in Ifepayment of Ivxpeudituremade
on account of the l>ariaclvs and other Military I5uildiii;,fs
erected for the useof iloyal Engineers at New Westminster

Total . . . ,

Charge to he brought against the lie venue of 1804 : —

Ifoad llonds fallingdue in '01 . . . £4,250

Interest on Loans ..... ^i,000

Siulviug Fund ..... (»,5{M)

Expenditure on Civil Establishments, viz. Salaries, Allowances,
and Contiu'^encies .....

325

4:102,800

175,805
17,055

10.700
£27,755

18,750

3,'],915

( )th(T ordinary Expenses, viz. : —
Iievenue Services
Administration of Justice
Police and Gaols
Charitable Allowances
Education ....
Itcnt ....

Transport ....
Conveyance of Mails
"Works and Buildings
lloads, Streets, and Bridges (Repairs)
Miscellaneous Services
Liyrhthouscs

£425

1,000

,'],050

400

5(J0

150

8,2<;5

•1,000

J!,000

5,000

.'{,503

800

jle Expen-

27,400

£120,000
107,010

£107.010

£12,090

Total of ordinary, necessary, and probal
diture for 1804

Estimated Pievenue from all sources for 1804
Expenditure ....

Surplus for 1804

Instead of a surplus, however, the unforeseen expenses
attending the pursuit and trial of Indians concerned in tlie
fearful massacres perpetrated in the colony last year,
amounting altogetlier to 10,000/., will cause tlie public
accounts for '04 to show a small deficit.

32C

POLICY OF GOVERXOR DOUGLAS.

Comparative Statement of Customs Revenue (exclusive of

^I'Olll

Road Tolls) from 18r.9-18G3.

iHr.o

JH(«)
1801

m)-2 *

1803

;j!'s8,n4r>.80
171,010.0:$
181,701.04
281,01 7.(54
270,101.10

A serious clicck was given to tlie advancement of this
colony by the j-estrictive pohcy of Governor DougUis, in
liis double capa(nty as agent of tlie Hudson's ]^)ay Company
and representative of the Crown in 1858, when a large
immigration aflbrded an o])portunity for rapid develop-
ment wliich may not soon return.

The despatches of Sir Jiulwer Lytton, then Secretary of
State for the Colonies, re])eatedly uiged upon the Governor
the adoption of a liberal policy, and, as the sequel shows,
not without sufficient reason. Ilis Excellency issued
orders that every person entei'ing Fraser lliver should be
charged $1 head money ; that each miner should ])ay a
royalty of j^5, and that no one should be allowed to trade
without hrst obtaining a permit, for which another charge
was made. This latter arrangement, however, w^as a mere
ruse, by which the public were made to su})pose that they
were at liberty to do business in British Columbia, though
the monopoly of tlie company i-emained iminterrupted ;
for when permits were applied for they w^ere not to be
had. The truth was that the company sought to exclude
all goods from the coimtry except such as might be
shipped by themselves or bought at their stores. A
permit was required to legalise the act of cutting down a
tree or picking iip drift-wood on the beach for cooking
purposes ! For every cord of wood sold by an axeman

• The special increase tlii." year was occasioned by unusually large immi-
gvation.

:lufiU'e of

15.80

lO.o:}
01.J)4
17.(i4
01.10

lent of this
Douglas, in
y Company
It'll a largo
id duvelop-

Secretary of

le Governor

quel shows,

3ncy issued

r should be

lould pay a

ed to trade

ler charge

was a mere

;e that they

jia, though

nterrupted ;

not to be

to exclude

might be

stores. A

ing down a

for cooking

an axeman

ly largo imnii-

rOLlCY OF GOVEUXOR DOUGLAS.

327

he was charged ten per cent. No shelter could be erected
between the head of the miner and the nightly cliill
without a tax of $71 being paid for the privilege. No
canoe, navigated by white men, not servants of the com-
})aiiy, could ascend the Fraser without a ' sulleranc^e '
charge of S^) being exacted. There was a similar impost
upon vessels, amounting to ^12.

Head-money and licence to trade, to run up a log shanty
or pitch a tent, were charges believed to have been made
by the Governor as chief factor of tlie company, under
warrant of their claim to the exclusive liulit of tradinii;
in tlie territory, though that alleged right had relation,
according to the terms of the charter, only to transactions
witli the Indians. A mule-tax was subsequently attein})ted
to be imposed by Mr. Douglas in belialf of the Crown, but
was overruled by the united voice of the inhabitants.

There was every propriety in measures being planned
for raising a revenue to defray expenses connected with
Government and the public "works of the colony. But it
was thought the tariff already in force — given in a pre-
vious chapter — with certain other taxes, would yield
sulFicient to meet present wants. To saddle with an
incubus of taxation adventurous pioneers, intre[)id ex-
plorers, and enterprising traders, who were staking their
all in developing a country bristling with formidable
difficulties of access, evhiced a degree of governmental
inexperience and mismanagement without parallel in the
history of British colonisation. The most liberal encou-
rac^ement ouslit to have been extended to those hardy
ind industrious immigrants, irrespective of their nationality,
who were Avilling to bear the tremendous risks necessarily
incident to the primary stage of colonial settlement. But
liis Excellency entertained undisguised and indiscrimi-
nate prejudice against persons hailing from California.

328

CilKCK TO IMMUaiATlON IN 1858.

Donlitlcss tlic first tide of immlnrrntion from that State
M'iiflL'd to tliL' colony iiumy iiiinily incinbers of society.
l>!it tliat class is hy no mi'aiis coiiliiicd to the United
►states; and justiiH' compels nie to state that l^ut lor the
eneruy and perscvei'aiice Ih'oultIiL to hear hy those from
tlie neighhourinu' JJepnhlic, onr re-ources would still luive
remained comparatively sealed. 'I'lie ca|)italists of (Jreat
Ih'itain have thus far appeared even less interested in
]jritisli Columbia than they are in many a foreign country.

It might naturally be su[)p()sed that after witnessing
the disastrous results of the })olicy I have indicated in the
reduction of tlie ])opulation from 30,000 to one-fifteenth
part of that niunber — which was the state of things on
my arrival, eighteen uionths after the excitement of March
'58 — the Governor would have shown siu;ns of re<iret for
])revious indiscretion. Yet in his first conversation with
me at Government House lie still clung to the ()})inion
that ' foreignei's ought not to be encouraged to extract
the precious metals from our soil to enrich their own
territory.'

liather tlian permit the merchants of Cahfornia, on
whom we wx're unavoidably dependent for supplies, in
the first instance — owing to our great distance i'rom other
parts of tlu; ]5ritish empire — to profit by the trade which
would be created by throwing open our mines to the
world, his Excellency w^ould keep our mineral treasures
locked up. Had so glaring a fallacy been acted upon by
the authorities of Caliibrnia in 1849, when crowds rushed
to that State in quest of gold, and barriers been delibe-
rately thrown in the way of traders from Chili, whence
most grain imports were brouglit to feed the gold-seekers,
how injurious must have been the effect upon the settle-
ment of the magnificent lands Avatered by the Sacramento
and the San Joachin ! The representatives of every clime,

iM:ij-TAri:is.\r.

320

tliiit State

of society.

tlie I'liitc'd

l)ut lor the

tliose (Vol 11

il still liiive

[s of Great

terested in

,'11 country.

witnessing

ated in the

iiG-fifteenth

tilings on

it of March

' regret for

sation with

he opinion

to extract

their own

fornia, on
ui)l)lie8, in
roiii other
ade which
lies to the
treasures
d ujion by
ds rushed
en delibe-
li, whence
Id-seekers,
the settle-
acraincnto
^ery clime,

however, were Jidii.iJed with equal welcome to compete
in the race lor the precious metal, and in (ifteeii years a
])')piilation of nearly a million has collected in a State the
most prosperous in the world. True to the exclusive
])ro])ensiti('s nui'tured under the rnjimc of tiie coiii|);iiiy,
his J''\cellent'y dreaded rapid progress as associated with
anarcliy, foreign annexation, and other frightful api)ari-
tions of a mind habituated to the associations of semi-
barbarism. Tiie absurdity of his conduct could not have
been more llagrant had he imagined the wealth of the
colony to be most eflectually secured by retaining the
gold in the earth. It seemed to have been his impression
that unless our resources were disembedded by purely
English hands, colonial impoverishment must inevitably
ensue. But no one need be informed that the riches of
a country are only fictitious till its [u-oductions are evolved
by capital and labour, and occasion money to be put in
circulation.

Multitudes hastened in former years to California and
Australia from every i)art of Europe, ^\'ith the intention
of siin])ly acquiring a competency, and afterwards returning
to their native country. ]}ut in most cases their allections
became gradually loosened from their former homes,
and entwined around their new abode, till at leuiith
they resolved to make the latter a permanent place of
residence. Thus would it have been with thousands who
visited British Columbia seven years ago, the benefit of
whose means and industry were hopelessly lost to the
country through the blunders of the local executive.

The cumbrous system of ' red-tapeism ' which hindered
the development of the mines, proved equally mischievous
in preventing the settlement of agricultural districts.
Land in '58 could rarely be had in British Columbia on
any terms, not even at the Grovernment price. The uni-

330

NO LAND AT AXY rRICK

form reply to all who inado Mpplicatloii for ranniii«jj trarts
was, that the laud imist llr.^t bo siii'vcycd under ollicial
direction, and put up at auetion, before it could be taken
])o.ssession of, and that all squatters would be visited with
suiuinary ejectiiieut. h^uch Wiis the repulsive sMlutiitioii
with which hundreds were met on their iirrival, who had
broken up Ibnd tics elsewhere, jmd undeitakcn an ex|)en-
sive voyage, with the view of cultivating the soil — men
wlio were at once imhindered bv natural obstacles, and
furnished with the means of improving farming allotments.
Nor did this injudicious mode of treatment on the pMrt of
the authorities result merely in the exclusion of the j)arties
innnediately conceined, but also in that of many of tlieir
relations, who would ])robably have been subsequently
attracted to the country by their representations.

Mr. I). G. F. Macdonald, whom I camiot recommend as
nil infallible ouide in iji-neral to intendiuL; emiiiirants,
nevertheless records a well-authenticated illustration of
this official folly. He applied to the Chief Commissioner
of Lands, in behalf of certain clients, for a thousand acres
of land, in March 1859. A proclamation hjid been issued
by the Governor, dated February of that yeai', to the
effect ' that the price of land not being intended for the
sites of towns, and not being expected to be mineral lands,
shall be ten shillings per acre, payable one half in cash at
the time of the sale, and the other half at the end of two
years from such sale. Provided that under special circum-
stances some othei" price, or some other terms of ])ayment,
may from time to time be s])ecially annoimced for parti-
cular localities.' After considerable delay, the Chief Com-
missioner, doubtless at the suggestion of tlie Governor,
declined to entertain the application of Mr. Macdonald,
though made in exact conformity to the terms of the
proclamation. The latter gentleman was obliged to inform

DOINGS IS TlIK LAND OFI'ICK

331

nlii<i; IrarU
Ut olliciiil
.1 be taken
isitc'd with
salutation
I, who had
an oxpi'ii-
fsoil — men
tac'lc's, and
iillotincnts.
tlic pai't of
tla; parties
ly of tlieir
bsequently

IS.

^niniend as

emigrants,

stration of

ninissioner

sand acres

>cen issued

ai", to tlic

d for tlie

oral lands,

in casli at

nd of two

1 circuni-

])aynient,

for parti-

liief Coni-

Governor,

[acdonald,

lis of the

to inform

his clients that the lands could not be had at any piic.c
till first surveyed and |)ut U|) at public auction, no ellbrts
l)eing made by the authorities lo facilitate the object
sought. Many other api)licant-i for laiul, having all the
(|ualities suitable for I'euderirg them sui't;cssful pioneer
farmers, driven away l)y the narrow and dilatoiy ])olicy
of those in ])ower, have since distributed themselves in
the United ►States, Canada, and Australia.

Witnesses examined recently before the Crown Lauds
C\)nnnittee in Vancouver Island, in '(5 1, brouiiiit to liuht
culpable acts connuitted in the Land Ollice ol'that colony
in '58, whereby the desiivs iuid hoi)es of intending settlers
were similarly disa))pointed. When a wish was expressed
l)y an {ii)plicant to record a piece of land, and the Colonial
^urveycjr suspected it to be ol" suj)erior quality, his custom
"vvas to ask the person to call in a day or two that he
might obtain time to ascerttiin whether or not it had
been previously disposed of. It is reported that in the
meantime he conmumicated with cej-tain of his land-
speculating friends ; and should they feel inclined to buy
it, the one having a prior right of a])plication Avas ])ut
ofT with the story that the lujlding on which he had
set his mind was already the propeity of another.*

The high price of land demanded by the Government
in British Columbia at the outset was of itself a sufTiciently
l^owerful drawback to the jirogress of agricultural settle-
ment, without the addition of such annoyances as have
been described. What could have induced the Govern-
ment to charge lOx. ])er acre for land in that colony, when
it ctaild be 'pre-empted' south of the 49th parallel at
little more than 4.s'. i)er acre, it is diflicult to conceive.
The policy of the United States Government, admirably
suited to promote the spread of agriculture, allows to every

• Evidence of Mr. Iloinfray, C.E., Lcfore the Crown Ijancls Comtnittoe.

o *> .>

(iUANl) JURY THSTLMONV

licnd of a family IGO acres of unsold laud, wlietlier sur-
veyed or not, at the figure just s])eeilied, i)ayable in
instiiluieuts. A liberal modilication of this system now
obtains in IJritisli territory on both sides of the Gulf of
OJeoi'uia. Lut the eliauue was not brouuht about till one
remonstrance alter tmothcr was addressed to the Governor,
and multitudes, with })atience exhausted, had made their
exit from the count rj'.

Tlie testimony of the grand jury of tlie colony, com-
posed of the most intelligent citizens, in deliberating u])()n
its grievances in 1800, substantiates the view of the subject
that has been advanced above. It was asserted in their
published declaration that, about the period to which my
remarks refer, tuw hundred British suhjects had been com-
l)elled to leave the country, witJiin a feic iceeks, m conse-
quence of the mijustifiable delay that was suffered to
elapse in providing them with land for settlement, and
that many had expended a great part of their limited
means while awaiting the decision of the Government.
The grand jury 'expressed their unqualified disapproval
of land being sold by auction, as that course enabled the
i:!j)eculator to })urchase to the detriment of the ;;>ettler.'

Every facility ought ungrudgingly to be afforded the
industrious bona-fide tiller of the '^round entering the
wilds of a new country, with perliaps a family, and subject
to the endurance of imavoidable hardships and privations.
So far from throwing barriers in his way, it were more
expedient to convey the land to him in free grant as an
inducement to exertion. But that the monopoly of land-
speculators may be repressed, I would, without the least
hesitation or pity for their condition, advocate that their
holdings, whether consisting of to'.rn or city property,
should be taxed double.

The general statistics presented in this volume will ore

MlSIlULIi: TlilRMIXATKD.

O O O

ctlier siir-
»avable in
stem now
e Gulf of
lit till out'
Govcnior,
nude tlicir

ouy, coin-

itinj^' upon

lie .subject

d in tlieir

wliich my

been com-

, in consc-

Liffered to

iiient, and

ir limited

vermiient.

a})proval

i])led tlie

ttler.'

)rded tlic

ering tlie

id subject

•rivations.

ere more

ant as an

of land-

tlie least

bat tlieir

[)roperty,

i will ere

tliis have convinced tlie reader that the period of govern-
mental em[)iricisin and misrule has disappeared, and tliat
the colonies liave at length entered on a careei' of pros-
perity tlie future of wliich will disajjpoint the fears of
the most incredulous, and surpass the expectations of the

most Jiopeful.

XOTK.

A pi^rind of sovoro financial dcpros-ion was o.xpcrionooJ in Victoria diirliifr
last wintor, arisin;.'- from over speLMilaliou in Iradinjir and niiiiinir. Certain
colonial politicians liavo taken occaMnn to ascrilx- this panic to tiic free-port
system, and have for tlio moment succeeded in carrylii^^ witii tliem in tliis
view many farmers a)id meclianics wlio not unnaturally desire protection for
tlieir several industries, lint tlie wealthier classes, though in the minority,
as electoral voters, are of u very dillereiit opinion. It is reported tliat <io-
vernor Kennedy — desiring, properly enough, to he supported in a mamn'r
more befitting the IJepresentativo of Her Maje.-ty than he has IjeiMi hitherto
— sanctions the proposal in order to swell tlie revenue of the island hy the
imposition of a tarill". But to adopt this expedient would inevitahly arrest
the progi'ess of the colony. We liave no industrial interest in Vancouver
Island 'vorth piv.'ecting, and if any impediment he thrown in the way nf the
free ingress of trade to Victoria, the cliief source of local prosperity will
be seriously injured. The trappings of (iovernment, no doubt, have their
advantage, jii'on'dcd thei/ he not in (idaincv of thr iwtod and ncccsftdifs of tlw
settlement, JUit when out of proportion to the numbers and ability of the
population, and when stiiple interests are sacrificed to sustain them, they
must prove tiie opposite of beiieticial. If free scope be given to tlie opera-
tions of tradi', the wealth of the city will be rajiidly augmented and ex-
pended by merchants through whose hands it passes, in the erection of
costly warehou- • ■ "ud dwellings and in domestic luxuries. Kniployinent
will tliiisbe* given t(j every sort of handii-raft in tin- colony, and coinnindities
for the sujiply of the inhabitMiits will l)e obtainable at modeiate prices. If
agricultural and manufacturing interests be protected, as of tin.' first con-
sideration, the rate of living, generally, will be increased ; and while com-
merce will consequently be cliecked, the fornu'r pursuits, whicli must for
many years, in any case, be of secondary importance, will not be materially
benelited.

A recent mail brings intelligence of a change in the Customs taritV of
British Columbia. With tin,' design of encouraging direct shipments from
foreign ports to New Westminster, an Act has been passed by whiili duliis
in this r«/'/vyj(^< shall bo henceforth leviable on the invoice value of goods
at the place of sliipincnt, instead of, an fonnerli/, on their ridae at Xcw
WeitihinMer,

An Act has also passed the I>egishuive Council of Britisii Columbia,
authorising an expor duty on gohl.

334

ClIAriEK XIV.

PROPOSED IvTEROtr.ANIC RAH^WAV KMIGRAXT ROUTE AND

TELEGRAPH — TIIEIU IXFLUEN'CE UPOX THE GROWTH OF
THE COLOXIES.

Westward, ITo ! — Trade with the East coveted bj' Western Xations from
remotest Antiquity — The Tyrians, Sic. — Alexander the (^Jreat — Antiochiis
— Mahomet — The Arabians — lOU'ect of the Discovery of a Passage to
India vi(i the Cape of Good Hope — America found in the Search for the
shortest Koute to the I'ast — Wliy has tliis Communication, so indus-
triousl}' sought, never been practically realised ? — Etistern Trade now to
flow across to the American Side of the Pacific, and great Cities to grow
up in its Track — The Americans preparing to receive and distribute
]']astern Commcrco by the Construction of an Inter-Oceanic Railway —
Would such a Line on the British Side pay ? — It must prove the shortest
possible Koute to Australia and China as well as British Columbia — The
political Utility of the Scheme — How transcendent its Influence upon
Victoria — Most eligible Tract of Country for the proposed IJailway —
Siniiular natural Features of the great Valleys through which the Lino
would pass, favoring its Construction — Central Position of lied L'iver
Settlement — Itoad riti St. Paul's — Alleged DitHculties in the Way of ex-
tending the line from Fort Garry to Canada — Ifailway Enterprise nut
likely to take immediate Efl'ect— Emigrant Route imperatively demanded—
The Conrse it should take from Lake Superior — I low are the territorial
Rights of the Hudson's Ray Company to be adjus'.ad'r' — Dr. Rao and the
Telegraph — Climate and Soil of the Country between Canada and British
Columbia — The Adaptability of Red River and Saskatchewan for Colo-
nisation — The Gold Discoveries East of the Rocky Mountains and their
Attractions— Pa.'ises in the Range — Lord Milton's Journey — Distances
from Lake Sup<'rior to Caiiboo — Strides of Ru.«sia in opening up Water
and Telegraphic Communicntion between the Amoor River, Sitka, .and
St. Peter.'sburg — Designs of Napoleon I H. in Relation to Mexico and
Trade in the Pacific — By whom is the desired Route to be formed ? —
Note.

The pro.'^peets and advantages of Victoria as a convenient
depot for storing Britisli and Frencli goods intended for

ROUTI-: AXD
GROWTH OF

n Xations from
oat — Antiochus
f u Passage to
! Search for the
tion, so indua-
a Trade now to

Cities to grow

and distribute
mic Railway —
)ve the shortest
Columbia — The
Influence upon
sed Railway —
vhich tlie Line

of Red L'ivor
he Way of ex-
Enterprise not
'ly demanded —

the territorial
r. Rae and the
ida and British
wan for Colo-
:ains and their
ey — Distances
ling up AVater

or, Sitka, and
) Mexico and
be formed ? —

convenient
tended for

RAILWAY SCHEME SLOW BUT SURi:.

335

distribution throughout countries on tlie American sliorcs
of tlie Tiicific, liave uh'etuly been pointed out. The free-
port system ado[)ted in that city, taken in connection with
our exports of tin^ber and fish, ^vluch meet with a pro-
fitable (uid increasing market in Chiiui, give Victoria
1^ unrivalled laciHties for idtiinately becoming also a vast
emporium for Eastern commerce. The day is approach-
ing when the choice products of China, Japan, and India
will be discharged at our wharves for trans-shipment not
only to the order of buyei-s in the Jidjoining American,
Mexican, and other States on the coast, but to the consign-
ment of merchants in the cities of Canada, the Xorthern
United States touching the boundary of Ih'itisji Xoi'th
America, and in those future centres of populatic^n whose
industry will yet enliven and reclaim the trackless but
fertile solitudes lying between the Kocky Mountains and
Lake Huron.

Does the reader enquire by what mode of transit this
merchandise is to be conveyed to those destinations in the
interior, on the frontier, and on the banks (^ the St. Lau-
rence? I reply, by a Jiritisli Xorth American railway
which shall unite the Atlantic witli the Pacific. I have
ceased to be sanguine respecting the speedy accomplish-
ment of this project under the ])arsimonious policy pur-
sued by the Home Governmei;t in reference to the
colonies, and considering the indilU'reiice with Avhich tliey
are regarded by the British public generally. Jiut the
tide of human migration that has since the creation of our
race been rolling westward from Asia, still advances rest-
lessly toward the lands of the setting sun, undeterred by
the turbulent waters of the Atlantic or the lonely wilds of
the great American continent. As certainly as Eiiroj)e,
once the abode of barbai'ians, has become densely studded
with the homes of civilisation, so will the expanse of

^v. (f

Ill''"/- ' .

I? ■'# ^

lEo:

151

l(> lie Cr-oH H 0(l
BY PROPOSED

\VA(H,Oi\ UOiVl) X- TKLKCIUl'll

KiijjliHh Miles

iiyi

liimion l.iiiiiniiui ,1- r<'.

liiuion /ii>ni)mii/i ,(■ fo.

0>i

TRADE WITH Tin: KAST.

])rMirio niid forest on British soil, extendi ml; fi'oni ocean lo
ocejui, heeonie elu't'iTiil with the sound of well-renuuie-
rnted inchisliy, and beautiful with tlie ornaments of
cultivation. 'I'he nudti])lyinL!: ('onnnerei;d neees:-ities of
this nuihitude, whose watchward is '■ \\\'stwai'd, ho!' will
inuivoidahly create tlie tiiVAi machinery of transit to
whicli I have referred.

As time jM-oiircsses, and tlio relation of England to
eastern countries i^rows still more Ultimate, the expe-
diency of nitikinii; an interoci'anio railway to run the
entire distance throuLfh Hritish America will be more and
more felt both on commercial and j)olitical grounds.

Control of trade with the Ka-t has been coveted as a
pi'ime source of wealth by western nations from the
remotest antif|uity. Mercantile connnnnities en^ap'd,
from aire to aue in carrying eastern freiuht, have in-
variably prospered from the undertakiuLT, and the <:randest
cities of ancient and modern times have owed nuich of
their sj)lendour to the i'act of this rich trallic ])assing'
throuizh thenu In the deuree in which that all-absorbinu*
trade was at any time diverted from an accustomed
channel, the commercial centi'es that had previously re-
ceived an imi)ulse from it declined. The Tyrians, ( Jreeks,
liomans, Saracens, ^'enetian-!, Portuguese, Dutch, and
KnL!;li>h afford monumental proof of these statements.

Alexandei" the Great, directly he had obtained a foot-
ing in India, set about opening up comnumication between
that country and his western ])ossessions. Failing to
discover a suitable overland route, he sent a lleet down tlu;
Indus to ex])lore the passage thence to the mouth of tlie
Euphrates. Xot satislied with the route rit'/ the valky ol'
the latter river, he i'csoIvcmI to brinir the Avealth of India
to luu'ope by the licd Sea and tin; Nile. He fixed on
the Avestern mouth of that .stream as the site of the city

AXCIi:XT COMMERCE WITH MECCA.

137

'll-rL'iiuiiu>

MllU'lltS of

'(.'.ssitics of

I, li..!' will

transit to

]iii;l;in(l to

tllC VX\)V.~

run the
3 more luul
iiiids.
jvotc'd as ii

from the

1 I'liufai^cd,
, liavc iii-
\Q u^randost
d DiiU'li of
lit; ])assin^
-al)soii)inLf

eustoiiiod

viouslv re-

IS, ( I reeks,

uteli, and

lents.

ed a foot-
n Ix'tween
Failing to
t down tlu!
)Ulli of tlie
e valley of
Ii of India
fixed on
f the city

wliieli was to [)er])etiiate tlie nienioiy of liis name and his
commereial sagacity. But in propoi'tion as Alexandria
nourished, Tetra, rulniyra, Tyre, luid Constantinople de-
ca3'ed.

Antiochus the Great, Tamerlane, and Nadir Sliah, all
souglit, like the mighty general referred to, to enrich
their kingdoms by encouraging conmiercc with India and
the countries beyond; and what privileges they could not
secure iVoni eastern nations by re(juest, they endeavoured
to extort by force of arms.*

j\Iahomet — himself once an experienced and a shrewd
merchant — permitted his followei's to associate objects of
connnerce with their religious pilgiimages to Mecca; and
it is dilllcult to say how much they were indebted to this
cause for the astonishing spread of their faith in the
eastern parts of Asia. Large caravans of ])ilgrims from
the distant regions of the East, as well as from the shores
of the Atlantic, travelled to Mecca, and the ho})e of dis-
posing of their wares [)rolitably at that rcli'i/ious mart
gav(^ a considerable impulse to connnei'co by sea and
land. In tlie holy city were exposed for side thechint/es
and nuislins of Bengtil, the shawls of Cashmere, the spicis

* III tlio I'tTsiiui L'l'ii I'xteii.sive comm(.'rco "wiis carriLHl on hotwoou Uio
(iivL'k f'ilics (HI tlu' IMack Sm aiul all tlie interior of Sytliia, north and oast
iViiiii Siberia to India. Dill'crcnt caravan rontes wore wmA, and ctties ijrcw
itj) lit hath viiilsof tJicfic nn(fc!<, luid liir(jc dvpot^ were o^tdhlixhcd oit tlie irai/ . , .
'i'lu! Hindoos in their most ancient worlis are represented as a conunereial
ju.'ople. Their commodities vero luiown in tlio markets of IMuenicia,
CarlhafTO, l'';.''ypt, and IJabyhm. In the Arahian Xi'i/Jds and in tho liaiini-
;/(i/i(f, nii'rchants appear as havinj^f travelU'd from one phice to anotlier all
over th(! world, and as men possessed of liberal views, hif,»'h rank, and of the
hij^hest intelliiienco. . , . A re-^-ular chain of mercantile nations extended at
a very remote day from China to India and to the Black Sea, and to ihu
{•onntries on the Meiliterranean, and also to Arabia and ICpypt, throuLrh tin;
(ilies of the Indns, tho I']uphrates, and the lied Sea. (iold was so plentiful
tliat iron was more precious. Their armonr and their horses' bridle-bits
were plated with il. a-< also nniny of their vessels. — Trade and Letters, hi/
Dr. W. A. .Seult, p. loO.

Ot>0

15ASS0RA1I — CONSTANTINOrLE AND CHINA.

of ^I;il;il);ii', llic (lianiniids «if 0(.)1c()1u1m, llic [)riiils of
Kilfjiiv, ihc ciiiiiaiiioii ol'CV'yK)!!, thu imtincjjjs an<l cloves
of the Moluccas, jiiul the silks of China. The transactions
at the annual fair in Mecca were for many years (he
Uirufesi in the woiKl.

The Aral)ians, under Calij)!! Omar. Avitnt'ssed a reinark-
al)le iniprovenu'iit in thcii' condition fVoni the potent
cause now under consideration. From beini:' Imrharian
liordes, violent rohbers, ' dwellers in tents,' and despisers
of civilisation, they became |)atrons of art, contributors to
science and literature, and ibundei's of cities. S) hijj:hly
did they come to valui' mercantile relations with the East,
that they built Bass«)rah to ])rotect their mono[)oly of
eastern ti'ade; and it is si«j;niiicant that their overwhelm-
ing power as con(juerors and as propagators of religion
was contemporaneous with their being the e.viias'ice air-
r'u'rs between China and I'iUrope. 'J'heir tratle was uni-
versal in the Indian Archipelago, and their vessels plied
from the TcM^ian Gulf and the lied !5ea to all the ports of
China. ISo numerous were the tSaracens at one period in
Canton that the emperoi' granted his sanction to theii-
having a cadi of their own religion. Ti'ade then ilowed
from the north-vv^est of China to Constantinoj)le, tmd in-
fused into that city new life. iSo marked was the in-
lluence thus exei'ted on Constantino[)le that llobertson
asserts that the decline of the Ivoman empire, of which it
was then the capital, was retarded in conserpience.

When the trade of India was attracted by the Tersian
Gulf, the Euphrates, and the Syrian desert, ' Tadmor in
the Wilderness' burst into si)lendour like a iiiirantic tro-
})ical blossom. In presence of great and aml)itious neigh-
bours, it long maintained its prosperity, and even rivalled
' the eternal city.' Egypt, ^Mesopotamia, and a large
section of Asia Minor, were subdued by its arms, and its

it.

TIIR TUADi: OF LVDIA— ITS COURSK

?)30

[)rMlls of
[\U([ cloves
laiisiu'lions

yc'iirs tlio

u ixiiiiirk-
tlie potrnt

liarlnuiaii
I (k'spisL'rs
j'ibuturs to

t>() l»i<j:lily
;li the East,
uiiu[)oly of
)VL'rwhelm-
oF ivliiiioii
•Idsirc <'((!'-
(J Avas uni-
C'sscls plied
tla.' ports of
e period in
311 to their
hen ilowed
)le, and in-
vvas the in-

liobertsoii

oi' which it
.'nee.

the Persian

Tadnior in
•■i<_rantic tro-
tioiis neigli-
veu rivalled
nd a la ru'c
rms, and its

ivnowned Queen Zenohiu did not shrink from contesting-
donnnion with a great Uoman empei'or. When, suhse-
(luently, eastern coinnierco was diverted from the Tersian
to the Arahian (lulf, the sun of Babylon, lUissorah,
ralniyi.., and Tyre went down, and Tetra arose as the
niedium of su])plying Euroi)e with Oriental merchandise,
and subsequently Alexandria became renowned in the
same capacity. 'J'he glory of Venice, ' tlie bride of the
sea;' of (ienoa, 'the superb, tlie city of palaces;' of
KloreiK.'e, the metropolis of tlie arts; of iJruges, the great
distributing centre of eastern gootls for western Europe
under tlie Ilanseatic league; of Antwerp, Lisbon, and
London, — the glory, I repeat, of all these cities, whether
as seats of commerce, manufactures, leai-iiing, or art, is
derived, in various degrees, from their being mouths to
rece've Oriental freight for the supply of countries by-
whit h they were respectively surrounded.

The discovery of a path to Lidia by the Capo of Good
IIo[)e led to a revolution, not only in the route between
Europe and the eastern parts of Asia, but also in what is
known as the [)olitical ' balance of })ower.' The golden
tide now swe[)t the shores of Portugal, and by sharing
the boon that hail enriched so many other peoples, she
swelled into the proportions of a commercial empire,
vying in opulence, political wisdom, and energy with the
proudest nations of that time.

The next great historical event bearing upon commerce
with the East, and the issues of which are destined to be
fully realised only on the Pacific shores of the western
world, was the discovery of America. The hope that
stimulated the ambition and roused the energy of
Columbus, in undertaking that first exj)loratory voyage
westward, was that across the untracked Avaters of the
Atlantic, ' A/// the trtw, the shortest, and the best u'luj to the

^. ^ "^^'^Q.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

y
■^

\,\J 150 "^ ll

I.I

2.5

2.0

1.8

1.25 1.4

.« 6" -

►

^%'

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

33 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

f/j

•

340

OBJECT OF THE SEARCH FOR THE

riches of the East' All tlic earlier expeditions of dis-
covery from Europe to the shores of the western con-
tinent had their origin in tliis idea. It was in prosecuting
the search of a passage to the East that the seaboard of
America came to be more accm^ately known. It was
while exploring for a maritime route to China that John
Cabot, in the reign of Henry VII., discovered the coast of
Newfoundland and afterwards entered the St. Laurence.

The thouglit that gave inspiration to all the luckless
attempts that have been made by England, during the last
seventy years, to find a north-west passage, was that tradic
with the East might be facilitated. At length the enterprise
has been demonstrated to be impossible. It has been well
said that, in passing tlu'ough the icy portals of the Arctic
Sea in 1850-1851, M'Clure, as far as mercantile interests
were concerned, closed the gates behind liim.'^

In these heroic adventures the instinct and aspiration
of ages were not altogether mistaken.

America is geographically or by nature — that is, in other
words, is in the order of creation — a connecting link between
tlie continents of Europe and Asia, and not a monstrous harrier
between them. It lie§ in the track of their nearest and best
connection, and this fact needs only to be fidly recognised to
render it in practice what it unquestionably is in the essential
points of distance and direction.

It may be asked, if this be so, how can it be explained that
this communication, always thus earnestly longed for and in-
dustriously sought, has never yet been made a practical reality ?
Chiefly, I should answer, because that communication was never
sought in the way in which it does exist, and because it is not
to he found — it is not there — in the shape in which it has nearly
always been sought. A maritime passage has been the object
of all preceding ages, and, practically and generally speaking,

* Mr. Poiuborton states that Arctic expeditions from 1800 to 1845 alono
cost Enfrlantl upwards of 1 ,000,000/. sterlin«r.

iXORTII-AVKST I'ASSAGi: — WHY A FAILURE?

3-1]

ions of dis-
restern con-
prosecuting
seaboard of
,vn. It was
I'd that John
the coast of
Laurence,
the hickless
u'in2; tlie last
,s that tradic
he enterprise
las been well
3f the Arctic
tile uiterests

id aspiration

,t is, in other

link between

strous barrier

,rest aud best

recognised to

tlie essential

xplained that
d for and in-
ctical reality ?
ion was never
cause it is not
1 it has nearly
een the object
•ally speaking-,

00 to 1845 alono

tljere is none; but what there is — a passage across the continent
by rivers, lakes, and land— has become of greater value than could
have ever been a merely maritime passage. Two irresistible
agents are at work bringing to light the incalculable value of
that conformation so loiuj deemed an insupemhle obstacle.

They have changed the requirements for the attainment of
the objects of the north-west passage, and have disclosed the
inexhaustible latent wealth of a land instead of a maritime
passage, liailroads and the electric telogi-aph will cause new
commerce and new activity to spring up at every step along the
distance. ... It is too late, alas I too late, to lament over the
waste of life, of mone}^ and of energy, that have been expended
in repeated Arctic voyages, which were impossible of success, so
far as related to any passage of practical use ; but they serve to
illustrate very forcibly the predominance of the ideas o^ maritime
effort and of maritime connection with the Pacific. . . . The
lavish and continued expenditure thus incurred appears in
striJdnrj contrast to the ri(/id refusal sinmltaneousbj main-
tained of all aid to the prosecution of tlie same u'ork and of
the same object in its practicable form by land; and this
refused, amouiding almost to opjposition, has extended from,
the days of M'Kenzie, the first great discoverer of both tlie
'northern and v:estern coasts of the continent, and is not yet
perfectly dispelled.*

It has been shown how the transportation of eastern
commodities in a westerly direction in by-gone ages, by-
various routes, affected successively the growth of cities
that served as mediums of this commerce. By a similar
process great commercial centres are destined to spring-
up on the American coast of the Pacific. The young and
thriving populations that sAvarm with such fabulous ra})i-
dity on the western shores of the American continent will
soon be found emulating the zeal and enterprise of ancient
nations in regard to conunerce with the East; and as that

* Paper read on ' Central British Xortli America/ by Col. Synge, R.E.,
F.Il.G.S., July 21, 180i, before the Britisb North American Association.

342 TRADE WITH THE TACIFIC THROUCai B. N. AMERICA.

traffic has in the past been wafted westward to Europe, it
is now beginning to flow eastward for transmission over
tlie American continent. That nation, tlieref'ore, wliicli
possesses tlic greatest topographical facilities for uniting
the two oceans by a railway, and is forward in improving
them, will miquestionably become master of the situation.
The fear, however, cannot be altogether repressed that,
notwithstanding the obvious physical advantages presented
by our territory for the execution of this great and desir-
able work, those advantages may be nullified by our national
indifference about the matter, and our designs forestalled
])y our more progressive neighbours. Woidd that the
cogent appeal of Lord Bury, some years since (a nol)le-
man who has no superior in the British Legislature in
acquaintance with this subject), were duly pondered by
the Government and the people : —

Our trade in the Pacific Ocean with China and with India must
ultimately be carried on through our North American possessions;
at any rate, our political and commercial supremacy vjill have
utterly departed from us if vje neglect that very great and im-
portant consideration, and if we fail to carry out to its fullest
extent the physiccd advantages which the country offers to us,
and which ive have oidy to stretch out our hands to take ad-
vantage of.

The House of I^epresentatives at Washington, several
years ago, as is well known, passed a Bill for the comple-
tion of an iron road from the Atlantic to the Pacific
States. The line, already as far west as Atchison in
Missouri, is steadily extending to California, and another
line from the proposed terminus in that State is advancing
to meet it.* The peculiar natural obstacles that oppose
the construction of an interoceanic railway through

♦ The House of Iioprosentatives at Wasliingtoii passed a Bill in February
last, granting a subsidy to a line of steamers about to be established for
carrying mails from Sau Fraucisco to China.

ERICA.

WOULD A RAILWAY PAY i

343

» Europe, it
lission over
ore, wliicli
for uniting
improving
le situation,
'cssed that,
^s presented
t and desir-
)iu^ national
; forestalled
id that the
e (a noble-
gislature in
ondered by

h India must
1 possessions;
icij vj'dl have

eat and im-
to its /idlest

offers to 'MS,
( to take ad-

on, several
lie comple-
the Pacific
Atchison in
nd another
s advancing
that oppose
ly through

ill in February
established for

American territory, as contrasted with the nuich fewer
trials of enirineerhio; skill to be met with on the British
side, furnisli an op})()rtimity of our yet being first, if Ave
will, to com})lete this momentous enterprise, even at the
eleventh hour. Ever since the discovery of gold in Cali-
ft)rnia, the ablest military engineers of the United States
liave been engaged in searching for a practicable outlet in
tlie Eocky Mountains ; but not a single pass has been
detected for 1,000 miles south of the 41).th parallel less
than 0,000 feet higli. In 185,5, Mr. Jefferson Pa vis,
then Secretary of War, stated that 'the only practicable
route for railway communication between the Adantic
and Pacific Coasts of Xorth America is through the Hud-
son's Bay territory, on account of the desert land from
the north boundary of the United States to the extreme
south of Texas.' In 1858, the Governor of Minnesota also
admitted that ' a great interoceanic communication is
more, likely to be constructed through the Saskatchewan
basin than across the American desert — the cretaceous
and comparatively rainless areas of the southern latitudes
Avithin the territories of the United States.'

But the practical enquiry is, Woidd the proposed work
be satisfiictory as an investment ? There can be no doubt
that the outlay would be large, but it is believed that the
amount of direct traffic Avliich w^ould be created between
Australia, China, India, Japan, and England, by a railway
from Ilalifiix to the Gulf of Georgia, would soon more
than cover interest upon the capital expended. The dis-
tance between Liverpool and Vancouver Island, which, via
Ptmama, is over 9,000 miles, would be reduced by the
railway to 5,050. There Avould also be a saving of
twenty-two days in this passage as compared Avitli the
qiuckest existing route. If the intended railway were
connected Avitli a line of steamers plying between Victoria

344 TO IIOXG-KOXG AND AUSTRALIA VIA VICTOrilA.

(V. I.), Sydney, and New Zealand, mails, qnick freiglit,

lid cubii

and cuDui passengers to and from our colonies m the
soutlierii lieinispliere would, for tlie most part, be seciu^ed
lor tliis route. Vancouver Island is nearer to Sydney
than Pannma is by 900 miles, and, Avitli the exception of
the proposed route by a trans- American railway, the latter
is the most expeditious that has yet been found. But with
this interoceanic communication, the time to New Zealand
would be reduced to forty-two, and to Sydney to foi'ty-
seven days, being at least ten days less than by steam from
Endand via Panama.

The following table Avill illustrate the distance and time
in the Vancouver Island route from Endand to ITon^-
Kong, as contrasted with the present mail route via the
Isthmus of Suez : —

Distance overland by Suez from Southampton to

IIong-Kong 0,407 miles— 50-00 days.

Distauee from South-
ampton to Halifax 2,532 miles — 9 days' steam.
Distance from Halifax

to Vancouver Island 2,030 „ G „ rail.
Distance from Van-
couver Island to

0,053 ., 21 „ steam.

11,121 miles— 30 days.

Hong-Kong

As compared with routes now used between England,
China, and Australia, this one possesses the advantage of
shortening the time spent at sea, as well as of being
actually the quickest. A great proportion of passengers
to those parts of the globe, who now travel by Suez or the
Cape of Good Hope, might be expected to select in pre-
ference the railway through British North America, as
less trying to the constitution, as w^ell as more expeditious
than the routes now in use. In these br.sy days, when
the saying 'Time is money' is more remarkably exempli-
fied than ever, this proposition in reference to our postal

;k frc'iglit,
ics ill tlie
JG secured
to Sydney
:ccption of
, tlie latter
But witli
w Zealand
■f to forty-
iteam from

e and time
to ITonu;-
ite via the

-rjO-GO davs.

«s— aO clays.

1 England,
t^antage of
of being
lassengers
uez or the
3ct in pre-
nerica, as
s^peditioiis
ays, when
■ exempli-
Qur postal

POLITICAL UTILITY OF THE TllAXS-AilKIlICAN ROUTi:. 315

relations and passenger communications with the countries
above mentioned cannot very much longer esca])e the
attention of political economists and men of business.

Another noteworthy circumstance may be stated as
l)lacing the success of the project here advocated beyond
dispute. Tlie present passage by steamer from New York
to San Francisco extends over twenty-four days ; b}' the
contemplated iron road, with regular steam connnunica-
tion between Victoria and San Francisco, the ])assage
would be reduced to thirteen days. A considerable part
f)f the teeminij multitudes that with fi'eiiiht and treasure
are continually in transit between California and the
Atlantic States would, in that case, be induced to ])rerer
a mode of conveyance which should combine speed and
exemption from the inconveniences of a tedious vt)yage
through the tro})ics.*

But the impoitance of this railroad scheme is enhanced
when its j^olitical utiUty is considered. British Columbia
and Vancouver Island constitute the western teiminus of
a future belt of settlements that shall stretch eventually
from ocean to ocean ; and military emergencies may
occur, if not in the present, in some coming generation,
Avhen necessity for such a great highway to our eastern
])ossessions, wholly through British territory, may be
strongly felt. Happily, Great Britain lives at present on
terms of amity with the rest of the civilised world. Can
we be certain, hoAvever, that in the extension of French
power eastward, British and Frencli interests will never
c(3me in collision ? Is it impossible to predict what may
be the issue of the noiseless but real self-aggrandising
policy of France in seeking fresh acquisitions of territojy

* If our railway be not made within seven years, this latter remark will
cease to have force. In spite of physical difficulties, I believe the Americana
will have theirs liuished in that period.

11)

TRUE ^'0^iTlI WKST TASSAlili

ill llic i\l('{lit('iTnm'iiii, and in expending so vast an ainonnt
njjon llie lonnation of tlie eaiial across tlie Istlinius of
Hnez f In the event of war with that or any otlier
luiropean Power interrn])ting tlie existing overland passage
iVoni England l)y the lied !::?ea, it is almost nei'dless to
remark that our Indian empire would be plaeed in immi-
nent jeopai'dy. Should Ave, under these circumstances,
be destitute of those facilities for the expeditious transport
of troops and military stoi'es w^hich tlie projiosed line of
railway could alone adequately su])ply, (idtiin est would
be ai)tly descriptive of all we h(jld dear in the East.

On the supposition of tJi'is trite north-west jxisnaj/e hv'mgi
made, how transcendent the })rospects of M(.'toria ! Our
geogi'aphical position and surrounding resources in every
variety are of themselves advantages suflicient to cnsiu'e
for us a great futiu'e. But with the increased impetus to
trade and connnerce that such a railway Avoidd give, how
inmiensely would that progress be accelerated, and how
much more brilliant would that future become ! Our
central situation in relation to extensive lines of convey-
ance southward and eastward, by land and by sea, would
at once elevate our port into an emporium for the supply
of British and eastern merchandise to all the countries on
the coast, as well as a point of ti'ansit for goods and
})asscngers bound to and from England and the East.
Apropos of this subject, an able article in a recent number
of the ' Money Market Eeview' contains the following : —

That under these circumstances the railway will he made,
sooner or later, there can he no doubt. . . . With interests so
numerous, so vast, and with such means at command, the diffi-^
cuky of constructing this Hudson's Bay Railway ought to assume
the most moderate proportions. Great Britain, Europe, Canada,
the States of America, British Columbia, New Zealand, Austra-
lia, the Hudson's 13ay Company, and the International Financial
{Society, all want the railway, and would all gain l)y the railway ;

EI.KIIBLH TRACT OF COUXTUV.

Jill iunoiiiil,

[stliiiius of

any otlicr

lul ])a>>il,L!'0
IL'l'dK'SS to

(1 ill iiiiini-
lunslaiicos,
s transport
scd line of

est would
East.

^■.s(((/e being
w'vd ! Our
_'s ill L'vory
t to cnsiu'c
impetus to
I give, how
.1, and liow
)me ! Our
of convcy-

sea, would
the supply
3untries on
a'oods and

the East,
nt number

lowing : —

1 be made,
interests so
a, tlie diffi-
it to assume
pe, Canada,
nd, Austra-
il Financial
he railway ;

and it would 1)0 amazing if, with siit-li interi'sts and .-^ucli rc-
sonrccs, it could not hv made, and l)e made properly. In India,
State j^'uarantees liave been };iv»'n, and an- [)ri»mised upon rail-
way capital sufficient to construct tins line ten tinies (tvcr; and
it is a ([uestion whether any one Indian railway is mure useful
than this even for State purposes.

In introducing the question of the most eligible tract of
country for laying down the proj)()sed line of railway, it
may be mentioned generally that tlie principle known as
'great circle sailing,' by wliich distance is shortened in
long voyages, may be advantageously Ibllowed in travel-
lino; westward across the American continent. Commu-
nication with the East is made shorter and shorter the
ftu'ther north its line of route is removed. The ai)prica-
tion of a string to the measurement of the distance between
two places on a gcograjdiical globe will at once elucidate
the system of sailing or travelling on ' the sj)herical line
of shortest distance.' The greatest breadth of the western
continent happening to he in British North American ter-
ritory, here, by an a[)parcnt paradox, but nevertludess on
the principle just adverted to — universally acknowledg(Ml
in practical navigation — Ave have the shortest possible
route from Enoland to the East. It is an hiteresting cir-
cumstance that where we desired the connection between
eastern Asia and western Europe, should be formed through
the American continent, there ' almost every possible faci-
lity for its formation is lavishly aflbrded.'

Here, where the climate is the most healthful of the continent,
within territories still acknowledging the flag of England, still
forming part of the empire, the most interested of any nation
in quick and in secure communication Avith the East, and in
Avhatever tends to advance the cause of civilisation and of com-
merce ; here Nature has marked out the line across the continent,
and has abundantly combined every facility for its completion.*

* I'apcr by Col. Syiige, p. 7.

;}18

SIX(;il,AU FACT I\ AMi:i!l(AN (IKOCJlJArilY.

'Hie _Li'i'('iit wiitcr syslciiis of lliis region iiic Mil iiislriictivc
<iI)'H'ct ol' sdidy, 5111(1, ji.s coiimt'li'd uilli the l(»j)itt iiiulci'
coiisidcrntioii, liave ik'V( r received the iitleiitloii tliey de-
5^1 rve. Tlio direction in Avliicli tlie slreiinis of a country
ilow usiuilly detcnninu tlic ciiiinicter it will asisunie.

KivcM's are tlu^ Lr'st pioneers of civilisation. In count ricw
where tliey freeze, they form the hest of winter roiuls ; and
where they are navi^^ahle, they decide the course and directiijii
of coininerce: they (h) this even in the era of railroads. . . .
As (I rul<',nra!li'(>ad <((.hnllf^ noivhere of move cai^y Cdihshniciion
thdii (doiKj the hauls or hi the direction of a iuit'l(/(d)le stream,
whereas to execute a line across tlie direction of many water-
courses is, in every sense, a very cross-grained and expensive
operation.

Now it is a sinp;idar fact in the geography of Anio'ica
that in the direction of the St. Lmirejice, and there onhj,
the rivers of America take a direction eadmul icest. Tlic
Mississippi and tlie Missouri, liaving tlieir sources close to
tlie Britisli frontier, disembogue into the Gulf of Mexico.
The M'Kenzie, after winding its way tlirougli nearly six-
teen ])arallels of hititude, discharges into tlie Arctic Sea.
On tlie other hand, in that track which possesses the
climate most favourable for an overland route — as if by
special design of a Supreme Power — the waters of the St.
Laurence penetrate well nigh half way across the countr}-.

Tlie central water system is perhaps the most curious of any
on the continent. It comhines the characteristics of tlie others,
and embraces both the north and south, the east and west direc-
tions. Type and figure of the comitry which it fertilises, it
seems to stretch out its friendly arms in every direction to greet
the advance of civilisation, and to fjicilitate intercourse in every
direction, and to enable a vast country to be opened almost
without an etfort. It connects with the St. Laurence system
by the chain of lakes and rivers that finally merge in the
Winnipeg Kiver. ... By the various branches of the Saskat-

II V

QL'IC'Ivi:ST ROL'Ti: ACROSS.

I iiislriKiivc
(•j)i(', iiiidci'
i>n tlity (Ic-
f Ji country

\]\ countries
niiuls ; fviid
11(1 (lirc'ctioii
•ads. . . .
y)iisfi'n<;ilon
•((hie strc<(h),
nariy wuter-
d expensive

)f Aino'ica
t/iere onhj^
icest. Tlie
:cs close to
of Mexico,
nearly six-
Arctic Sen.
ssesses the
3 — as if by
s of the St.
lie country.

rious of any
f the others,
I west direc-
fertilises, it
ion to greet
rse in every
sned almost
mce system
irge in the
the Saskat-

clicwaii, it penel rates into the heart of the Rocky .Mount;iins,
and indicatc.'s tlu; practicable passes tliroiiLfl" »^liat olhcrwise stern
barrier, and, by the Assiniboin(,' and (^ii\Vppell(! jiivers, it tra-
verses tiio vast central plain in nearly a strait^dit line.*

Let us suppose we are journeying IVoni east to west,
and want to go l)y the (quickest route across tiie American
continent : —

Whether our ])lace of starting- be Kuro[)e, the West Coast of
Africa, the West Indies, or the Eastern Coast of the North
American C(jntineut — if (>"r (joiil be. the Pacijic or Ihr. A'^/.s/,
our best route, n<i// (diaosf (jur on!// one, is iwro^ss the (/rent
idaiii of central liritisJt Ainericd. There is, in fact, the point
of jvmctiou where all the traffic of the continent from the South,
from the V^ast, and even from the Nortli, most naturally uniti's,
if its destination be the 3'et further West, until that word is lust
in its aim and goal, the East or the Antipodes. We are henuned
into this position. We eann(d alter the earth's spheroidit;/ ;
ive cannot chanf/e relative ilistances; ^ve cannot do avaij vjith
the, physical conformation of the earth. We cannot, though
we may nearly double the distance, get rid of the great arid and
rainless desert in the territory of the adjoining republic. There
we can find no rivers coursing in any direction to aid us. We
cannot— at least, for any practic^al purpose — we cannot hope to
cross over that long continuation of barren and mountainous
land ; we cannot travel the mountains when they offer no faci-
lities to our hand. Ca)i it be uneconomic to open a countr(/
havinr/ this r/eneraliti/ of access, and yet holdiiu/ such a mono-
poly of adcantafje? Consider for a moment. Adjoining are
the new territories of the United States, ready to pour in tiieir
contributions and their wealth. Whether from ]Miimesota by
the Eed River or by the Mississippi from the States of the
South, and from any point, in fact, between New Orleans and
the northern extremity of Maine from Canada, or from the Gulf
Provinces ; even if we look to the far North, if the utmost alj-
breviation of distance has been tJte object, and the far East the
goal, by taking advantage of the proper season we may slujrten

* PapiT l)y ' '1. ''^yiigi', p. It.

iii)

FOFIT (iAKIlV VIA ST. TAULS.

tlic distant; from Isiiiopc 1, ,'>()() miles liy proceeding acros.s
Jliidsoti's Hay. lUitfrout ivJu't'CA'ci'H'e may comi^vje nacpssarHi/
'H II ill'. In l/idl fjirdt shrwa of ti'dljh' l/mf, hound fur the Pdc'ifio
or till' Kiisl^ inct'ta on the |>/(fc//<«i of the lied Ulcer or the Sna-
katehenuin. It is a Himi)lo fact, l)iit oiu; (hat must I'Xcrt uii
irrt'sistilik! force; in fuv«nir of this route to tlie PaclHc, that it
thus iiiiitcH midway acmsH tli(! cuntiiieiit all the imuimcrahle and
Avidi'ly-(liv('ri;ent lines of railway and of laki; and river navi;;a-
tion that cover the eastern portion of the continent, and radiate
over its every part. Here they all centre, here they all unite.*

It is highly probable that iii c()ust'([uc'iK;e of the district
of coiiiitjy from the aistcni shores of liuke Ilui'on to lied
liiver beiiij,' as yet tm[)o|)uljited, and access to the latter
settleiueiit being already so convenient through Minni'sota,
the railway when commenced will be (irst opened fi'om
Fort Garry, tuid that the space intervening between lied
liiver and the present western terminus of the Grand
Trunk will be completed as settlement advances. In
antici[)ation of this being the order of events, the hiha-
bitants of Minnesota are pusliing on a line to connect with
the ])ro]iosed railway to the racific on British soil.

Tort Garry, it is well known, is the chief trading post
of the Hudson's Bay Company in their territory. As the
crow flies it is 550 miles from St. Paul's (Min.), or abotit
050 miles by the regular route. The railway projected on
the American side is to run from St. Paul's via Pembina.
The road has been surveyed as far as Crow Wing, the
head of navigation on the Mississippi, 150 miles above
St. Paul's. Eight miles of it, from St. Paul's to St. Anthony,
are in operation, and the track is laid many miles farther.
It is completed, I believe, to Anoka, 32 miles from St.
Paid's. It is graded to St. Cloud, 75 miles from that city;
and this section of the track is in course of being laid.
The directors hope to reach Crow Wing some time in

Taper, p. 12.

i)FFi'i('Li;rii:s via ca.vada to ukd kivkij.

;;:.l

liiif,' iicrns.s
nccpssai'll//
f/te Pdcljii',
>r iJic iS<i,s-
st exert an
'ifie, that it
iieruble ami
Iver navij^a-
und radiate
{ all unite.*

iho district
•oil to lied
the; hitter
MiniU'sotii,
cued iron I
twc'tii lit'd
the Grand
iincL'S. In
. tlic inlia-
nnect ■with
loih

idiiig post

As the

, or about

ojected on

IVnibina,

Wing, the

iles above

Anthony,

es farther.

from St.

that city;

)eing Ldd.

e time in

lS(i(». The road i> known as the 'Si.l'aul's and Pacitlc
Jfailway,' and is bring constructed, as ha-^ been stated,
with tile view oi' securing a connection with the lhili->h
line, which, judging by [)resent appearances, will he of
tardier realisation than oiu* enterprising neighbours think
for.

From Crow Winu" it is inti'iided that the route >hall
])ass by Otter Tail f.ake to the junction of the Shayeiniai
iiiver with the lied liiver on the lujrth. A 'city" calle(l
George Town has been laid out at this j)oint, but its pro-
gi'ess has been temporarily interrii[)ted by Indian troubles.
The road will ibllow the west bank of Ued liiver to Tem-
bina, and thence down the stream to Fort Garry. From
that point the valley of the Assiniboine and llu! ' Divith"'
of the Saskatchewan will be traversed. The pass cho>en
in the Ivocky Mountains will probal)ly be either the
Athabasca or the ^lyette.

The chief dilliculty alleged to stand in the way of
extending a railway from lied Iiiver to Canada is the
rocky nature of the north shore of Lake Sujji'rior. It is
admitted that the [)ortion of country close to the shore
presents a rugged and barren appearance. Ihit gentlemen
connected with the lumber trade, who have penetrated
backward into the interior and westward from Tiake
Temiskaininque, conciu* in testifying that a Hik! level
hardwood country is found within easy distance well
suited for a railway tiack.

While hi'mly convinced that the railway scheme must
become a reahty, it were Utopian to expect that it should
take efl'ect soon, while the Uritish pubhc are so sce[)tical
as to its utility, and the region to be crossed by it is so
sparsely populated. But, for the })urpose of opening up
the rich lands of the interior, and establishing direct
connnimication between the parent coimtry and our north

EMIGRANT ROUTE URGENT.

Pacific colonies, an emigrant route is imperatively de-
manded, and is as practicable as it is necessary. Several
lines are available to Eed lliver, beyond which the course
is plain.

Tlie present commmiication with Fort Garry is by La
Crosse, Wisconsin, the north-west terminus of railway
transit in the United States, to St. Paul's ; 208 miles by
liver ; thence by stage to George Town on the Eed Pivci-,
200 miles ; and from that point to Fort Garry, 480 miles
by steamer — a total distance of 978 miles. The route
from Toronto via Nipigon Bay and Lake of the Woods,
1.050 miles. The entire distance from the same starting

' CD

point via Detroit, Grand Haven, Milwaukee, La Crosse,
St. Paul, and George Town, is 1,G7C — there being a dif-
ference in favour of the former route of G50 miles.

From the most westerly British port on L.ake Superior
to Eeci River settlement the distance is about 370 miles,
and much of this is navigable.

From the lower eud of the Lake of the Woods to the foot of
Eaiiiy Lake is navigable in one reach of 150 miles; thence
through Rainy Lake, &c. there is a navigable reach of 77 miles
(though some say there is a break making 44 and 33 miles) ;
thence there are 28 miles making fine navigable reaches, the
Winnipeg River being nearly as large as the Ottawa. From the
last 28 miles the distance is about 115 miles to Lake Superior.
If the road were made through this tract the whole country
would be easily accessible. There are navigable waters, how-
ever, a great part of the last-named distance, though in smaller
reaches. I have only given those on which steamers could be
used whenever desirable.*

But a route less circuitous and diflicult , than that by
Winnipeg Eiver has been ascertained smce the above

* lii'port of Select Cominiltee appointed by the Legislature of Canada to
receive and collect evidence as to the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company,
1857, p. 20.

FROM LAKE SUPERIOR TO LAKE OF THE WOODS. 353

;atively dc-

y. Several

the course

y is by La
of railway
8 miles by
Eed Eivoi',
-, 480 miles

The route
the Woods,
me starting

La Crosse,
being a dii-
liles.

xQ Superior
,370 miles,

the foot of
lies; thence
of 77 miles

1 33 miles) ;
reaches, the

From the
ke Superior,
lole country
waters, how-
li in smaller
3rs could be

an that by
the above

of Canada to
3ay Company,

evidence was given.

A line of about 90 miles in lenixth.

and of a nearly uniform level, lying partly over open
])rairie and partly through wooded country, leads from
Fort Garry to the north-west angle of the Lake of the
Woods. The soil at the eastern end of Lake Plat, which
is part of the Lake of the Woods, is inferior, but improves
toward the western extremity. The former lake is part
of a chain of navigation, offering but a single impediment
in 1 GO miles, which consists of a sudden descent of 22 feet
in die river in a short distance.

With the view of opening fully the coimtry between
Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, a variety of
minor deviations in the route have been proposed, and
among these a line between Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior
and Fort Francis on llainy Lake. A prominent settler at
lied River gives the distance between these two points at
105 miles of land transit, and 150 miles of water com-
munication. The sum required for making roads on the
portages between Lake Superior and Fort Garry has
been variously estimated, according to the line proposed
and the amount of improvement contemplated. Mr.
M'D. Dawson, formerly head of the Woods and Forests
branch of the Crown Land Department in Canada, and
acknowledged to be one of the greatest autliorities in
that colony on all questions pertaining to Hudson's Bay
territory (to whom I am indebted for a valuable inter-
view on this subject), states that : —

To make an excellent waggon-road clear through from a
British port on Lake Superior to Fort Garry on lied River —
allowances for curvatures bringing the distance up to 400 miles
— would take, say 95,000^. Such a road, at a cost of 240/. per
mile, would immediately transfer the trade from St. Paul's to
Lake Superior; would speedily pour a large population into the
country, and would likewise become settled throughout its

A A

354

NEW HUDSON S BAY COMPANY.

entire length, with such occasional exceptions, no doubt, as
usually occur in the average of road lines in the interior of
Canada. . . . But it is not necessary to make even this outlay
to attain the end desired. 260 miles are navigable on the
route in three or, at most, four separate reaches, the data for
which I have taken from the actual survey made in 1826 under
the Treaty of Ghent. . . . 25,000^. to 30,000L expended on the
115 miles from Lake Superior to the first navigable reach
referred to might at once be said to open up the country.

Ill conversation with tlie Hon. Georfije Brown, President
of tlie Legislative Council of Canada, last autumn, that
gentleman informed me that 10,000/., voted by tlie Colo-
nial Parliament in the previous session, would assm^edly be
expended, without delay, in initiatimj the route through
Canada to communicate with Eed Eiver.*

Those anxious to see British Columbia and Vancouver
Island colonised by emigrants from Great Britain hailed
the reconstruction of the Hudson's Bay Company as likely
to bring about a solution of the difficulties that had so
long retarded the settlement of the interior, and to
inaugurate a policy favourable to the realisation of hopes
deferred respecting the formation of a highway from
ocean to ocean. But the remarks of the governor of the
company, Sir Edminid Head, at a meeting of the share-
holders held on the 28th November last, are calculated
to excite the enquiry whether the dependence we have
been enc(^uraged to place on the liberal promises of the
company has any solid foundation.

In reply to tlie question of a shareholder as to the
intention of the directors in reference to the opening up
of the territory east of the Eocky Mountains, Sir Edmund,

* If Iietl Ikivor and Saskatchewan could be at once erected into Crown
colonies, and included in Mr. Brown's scheme of British North American
Confederation, an impulse would be given to the l^miijnmt Overland Jioute
that would ensure its immediate accomplishment.

doubt, as
interior of
this outlay
ble on the
le data for
1820 under
ided on the
rahle reach
intry.

, President
tumn, that
J the Colo-
isuredly be
be through

Vancouver
tain liailed
iiy as likely
hat had so
)r, and to
)n of hopes
iway from
nor of the
the share-
calculated
e "SVC have
liscs of the

as to the

pening up

Edmund,

d into Crown
jrtli American
IvirlamI Route

THEIR INFLUENCE UPON COLONISATION.

3^ K

with less official reticence than might have been expected
on such an occasion, said : —

They (the company) would do all they could to open the
territory, and to cause roads to he made on such tkrms as thk
coMrANY COULD AFFORD, hut it ivas uot intended by tJieni to
sacrifice the fur trade. He asked. Were the proprietors pre-
pared to sacrifice that trade produclnr/ a certain income, and
to f/o headlonc) into another as a speculation ? *

In the earlier part of the proceedings the governor said
that —

At the present moment the fur trade Avas not a ftiiling trade ;
on the contrary, the proceeds had been increasing for some little
time back. The actual proceeds of the fur trade in 18G 1 amounted
to 210,509/. I9s.2d.; in 1862, to 216, 708/. 9s. 9(?. ; in 1863, to
222,729/. 15s. 5d. ; and in 1864, to 262,869/. 4s. id. (cheers).
... At that moment they had every reason to think that the
imports of the present year (not yet nuide up) would consider-
ably exceed those of the last. They woidd probably be
30,000/. or 40,000/. above the imports of the last year in value.

It is not unnatural that the company should determine
to pursue that course which they deem most compatible
Avith their own interests. Only let not the friends of
British Columbia, and of the territory intervening between
Canada and that colony, any longer lkici»^i themselves
that an association, the most thriving source of whose
income consists of fur-trapping, will be so imselfish as, for
l)ublic benefit, to ' kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.'
The gratifying statistics of the last report submitted to the
proprietors clearly indicate that the advance of civilisation
west of Eed Eiver would more than ever prove antago-
nistic to their staple interest.

Dr. Eae was despatched by the directors last sinnmer
to find a suitable route f()r laying down a line of tele-

» T

The Morninfj Star, November 20, IHiU.
A A 2

35G

THEIR PllOPOSKD TELKGRAPII.

graph from Eed Eiver to the Pacific ; and at a dinner
given in his honour in Victoria, he announced that the
undertaking would be finished in less than two years,
lie also gave it as his opinion that no serious obstacle to
the formation of an overhuid waggon-road existed ; but
the sole object of his mission was to arrange for the erec-
tion of tk3 teler/raph. This cannot fail to confer some
advantage upon our colonies in the ftir West. I do the
company no injustice, however, in expressing the sus-
picion that, while tliis great work would appear to be
])rompted by a wish to reclaim the wilderness, it may
I'eally be designed for their own convenience. In seeming
to conduce to the general good, the scheme may have the
intended effect of simply keeping those interested in the
extension of British North American colonisation in good
humour. Still, looked at in the light of the course
hitherto pursued by the company, the conclusion can
Avith difficulty be resisted that the telegraph may but
tend to strengthen the monopoly of the company, and
keep the interior locked against the introduction of those
facilities of emigrant transit essential to the speedy settle-
ment of British Columbia and the sister colony. A
telegraph is not the most urgent want of those colonies,
important as it may be. They are already in communi-
cation with the coast of the Atlantic by an uninterrupted
telegraphic line from New York via San Francisco and
Puget Sound ; * and if the well-being of our possessions
in tlie Pacific, or of those east of the Eocky Mountains

* Since writing' the above, the suhjoinod letter has come to hand : —

To James Gnmble, Esq., San Francisco, Sept. 29, 18C4.

Supt. Cal. State Telegraph Co., Victoria.

I am sorry to have to inform you that the submarine cable intended for
the line to Vancouver Island and British Columbia lies at the bottom of the
ocean, oiF Cape Horn. The * Thebes ' foundered there last July. Two new

WILL TIIEY ENCOURACiE A ROAD ?

357

t a dinner
lI that tlic
two years,
obstacle to
Listed; but
'or the erec-
jnfer some

I do tlie
g the siis-
pear to be
iss, it may
In seeming
ly have the
sted in the
ion in good
the course
elusion can
1 may but
Qpany, and
3n of those
eedy settle-
colony. A
se colonies,

communi-
interrupted
mcisco and
possessions

Mountains

hand : —

Sept. 29, 18G4.

e intended for
bottom of tho
Iv. Two new

were a primary consideration with tlic company, theif
would have begun with makinr/ a road instead of a. tele-
graph. J3ut the latter in their liands — and especially
after the confession of Sir Edmund Head above-men-
tioned — cannot be regarded as necessarily a precursor of
the former. Our hope is that tlie negotiations now
pending between the Company and tlie Imperial Govern-
ment on the subject of their respective riglits and privi-
leges may disappoint our w^orst apprehensions.

As misrepresentations respecting the soil and climate
of Central Britisli North America have been industriously
circulated by certain parties interested in concealing the
real cliaracter of the region, it is time to enquire whether
that tract of country be fit for settlement. It was cus-
tomary for the lieads of the Hudson's Bay Company, foi-
very obvious reasons, to promote the impression, till
within the last ten years, that the 49tli parallel of latitude
was a sort of natural boundary between fertility and deso-
lation on the western continent ; and when truth was at
length to some extent disclosed on the matter, their state-
ments were modified, but still leaned to the side of
depreciating their territory as a place of settlement. Sir
George Simpson, in his evidence before the Select Com-
mittee of the House of Commons on tlie afiairs of the
company in 1857, declares that the ground behind the

cables will be immediately ordered, so that we may reasonably calculate

upon receiving at least one of them in time to lay next spriiij^. Meantime

you will plea.se carry out my instructions to push forward the construction

of the line to Victoria and New Westminster the same as if the cable had

arrived safely. In the matter of tho line to New Westminster, I advise you,

if you find that route at all practicable, to run up from Seattle, on the east

side of the Sound and Straits, so that a cable will not be indispensable to

make that connection with a short cable across Fraser lliver, which can bo

supplied from this oilice. The line will be completed at the earliest day

practicable.

II. N. Carpkxxkh, Tresidont.

358 REGION BETWEEN FORT WILLIAM AND FORT GARRY.

immediate bank of Rainy Lake River, between 48° and
49° of latitude, was permanently frozen. Colonel Lefroy
condemns both soil and climate of portions where agricul-
ture is carried on with success. In the report of the
meeting of the Hudson's Bay Company shareholders, from
which I have already quoted, Mr. Dallas is made to say,
that while in other respects the country hi the i)roposed
route on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains is well
adapted for settlement, ' the climate was most inhospitahle,
and the country was not habitable except by Indians,
Esquimaux, or like people.'

Now, with regard to the interval between Fort William
on Lake Superior, and Fort Garry, which has been repre-
sented as so barren and unfriendly to settlement. Colonel
Synge (who has been occupied with the study of British
North America for twenty years) asserts that —

It comprises large and compact tracts of great fertility, and of
extreme beauty. These vary from about 20,000 to 200,000
acres in size. The strangely formidable character which has
been given to the difficulties presented by this section of country
has no doubt arisen from that having been asserted positively
and absolutely which is only relatively and comparatively true.
It does not present those marvellous facilities, and that entire
absence of great engineering difficulties which, as far as I am
aware, is to be met nowhere else on the whole surface of the
earth to such an extent as on the prairies of the West.

Sir G. Simpson and M'Kenzie both eulogise the quali-
ties of the valley of the Kamenis Toquoiah, and the soil
is known to be good toward the western extremity of the
Lake of the Woods. Much rich and beautifully- wooded
land is found near where the road would pass on White
Mouth and Rat Rivers.

As to the adaptability of Red River for colonisation, it
were superfluous to speak. Every one of the ten thousand

.\11RY.

AGRICULTURAL WEALTH OF RED RIVER.

359

11 48° and
[lel LeiVoy
ire ai:(ricul-
lort of the
Iders, from
ide to say,
c [)roposed
aiiis is well
nhospitahle,
y Indiatis,

[jrt William
been reprc-
nit, Colonel
Y of British

•tility, and of

to 200,000

which has

in of country

ed positively

atively true.

that entire

ar as I am

rface of the

St.

the qiiali-

nd the soil

mity of the

ly-wooded

on White

)nisation, it
n thousand

settlers in that neighbourhood is a witness to its uncom-
mon agricultural wealth. For 400 miles u[) the Assini-
boine, to its junction with Moose lliver, there is notiiing to
be seen but jirairie covered with long red grass. 'On the
east, north, and south,' says Sir G. Simpson, ' there wjis
not a mound or tree to vary the vast expanse (jf gnn-n
sward ; while to the west were the gleaming bays of the
Assiniboine, separated from each other by wooded points
of considerable depth.' The yield of wheat in Ived liiver,
as compared with the adjacent States of America, will
demonstrate the productiveness of the district. In Min-
nesota it stands at 20 bushels to the acre ; Wisconsin, at
14 ; Pennsylvania, at 15 ; Massachusetts, at IG ; and Ked
lliver, at 40, The averajjre weiu!;ht in the latter settlement
is from 64 to 07 lbs. per imperial bushel ; that of the best
Illinois wheat is from 60 to 65 lbs. per buvshel.

No obstacle exists to navigation between Fort Garry
and the single rapid in the Saskatchewan. Capt. Pallisei"
found a valuable water communication between the South
Saskatchewan and Eed lliver. ' A good-sized boat,' says
he, 'and even perhaps a sniidl steamer, might descend
from the South Saskatchewan, ascend tlie West Qui-
Appelle lliver, cross the Qui-Appelle lakes, and then
descend the Qui-Appelle into lied lliver.'

Wheat may be cultivated as far north as lat. 60°, and
barley ripens in 62° on the M'Kenzie Eiver.

M. Bourgeau, botanist to the Palliser Expedition, in a
letter to Sir W. Hooker, writes thus in regard to the
Saskatchewan district : —

This district is much more adapted to the culture of the
staple crops of temperate climates — wheat, rye, barley, oats, Sic.
— than one would have been inclined to believe from its hijrh
latitude. In effect, the few attempts at the culture of cereals
already made in the vicinity of the Hudson's Bay Company's
posts demonstrate, by their success, how easy it would be to

SCO

FKOM FORT GARllV TO SASKATCIIEWAX.

o})tain products sufficiently abundant largely to rornunorate (ho
efforts of the agriculturist. The prairies oflfer natural pasturage
as favourable for the maintenance of numcrons herds as if th(!y
had been artificially created. The construction of houses for
habitation and for pioneer developtnent would itivolve but little
expense, because in many parts of the country it would be easy
to find clay for bricks, and more particularly near Battle Iviver.
The other parts most favourable for cultivation would be in the
neigljbourhood, and also along the south of North Sashitcheirtui.
In the latter district extend rich and vast prairies, interspersed
with woods and forests, where thickwood plants furnish excellent
pasturage for d- jstic animals.*

Mr. Dallas, too, whose interest would not be likely to
bias liim in favour of the coh^nisation of the country, felt
obliged, with his characteristic candour, to acknowledge
at the meeting above referred to, that ' the whole of tlie
country was more or less eminently adapted for settle-
ment, and was exceedingly healtliy. About two years
ago he rode through the country, and saw there horses
and cattle as fat as any on the pastures of England, and
those cattle spent the winter out, without a morsel of hay.'
IIow this statement can be reconciled with what has been
already quoted in regard to the inhospitable character of
the region, it is difficult to imagine. Let us hope that the
latter allusion iri the report is inaccurate. But the re-
sources of the Saskatchewan are not confined to agricul-
ture. I believe the mineral deposits of the country to be
boundless. A vast coal formation has been traced from
the 49th parallel far beyond the 60th, running north and
south, parallel with the Eocky Mountains ; and as rich
gold diggings have attracted throngs of miners to Pike's
Peak and elsewhere on the east side of that mountain
chain in American territory, so I am confident that large
numbers will be induced, when communication with

* Explorations by Captain Palliser, p. 2o0.

GOLD JUNKS OF SASKATCJIKWAX.

;]Gi

iin orate tiip
1 pasturaf^e
8 UH if tht^y
liouses for
e Init little
nld be easy
iittle Iviver.
(1 be in the
k<((cheir((,u.
nterspersed
lib excellent

3 likely to
imtiy, felt
knowledge
lole of tlie
for settle-
two years
ere horses
:^laiul, and
icl of hay.'
t has been
laracter of
)c that the
it the re-

aj^ricul-
itry to be
iced from
north and
d as rich

1 to Pike's
mountain
chat large

ion witli

Canada is opened, to mine on the Saskatchewan. I have
l)een told by sevei'al ])i'rsons who have; crossed the conti-
nent on the Ih'itish side that they had ' prospected ' suc-
cessfully for the precious metal on many streams. Already,
in spite of defective means of transit, adventurous spirits
are diopping into the auriferous locality.

For tbe past two years the 8aHkatchewan mines liave been
worked with good results. CT(jld has been discovered all along
that river, but not exclusively there. The liow, Ked Deer,
Peace, and Athal)asca Kivera liave also been tested, and found
to yield from »<i to $6 per day per man. Indeed, every stream
loading from the Kocky Moimtains contains gold in greater or
less degree; and this is what might be expected a priori. The
ore is primarily in the mountains ; and there is no reason ichi/
it should not he as ahundant on the eastern as on the tcestern
slope. The gold found on Fraser River was of a very fine grain
near its mouth, but gradually became coarser as the mountains
were approached, clearly showing that the gold must have been
washed from the rocky ridge, and by wear and tear in its course
to the ocean was made fine. The case is the same with the
auriferous streams on the eastern slope. On the Saskatchewan,
a few miles north of Edmonton, miners make easily from ^^(5 to
^^10 per day, and the Ked Kiver ' Nor'-Wester ' (newspaper)
mentions one instance of a man making from ^15 to ^25 per
day.*

At no distant period the resistless influence of the dis-
coveries east and west of the liocky Mountains in British
territory will tempt emigrants from Eiu'ope and the
Atlantic provinces westward ; and ere many years pass
over, emigration may set in, and settlements rise up on
the banks of the streams connecting the western with the
eastern parts of the continent, at a rate defying all the
barriers that a monopolising association can set up, and
siu'passing the expectations of the most sanguine.

A steamer above the rapid in the Saskatchewan, pre-

* From the Canadian Xcws for Xovcinbcr, 18G-1.

3G2

TASSKS IN THE UOCKY MOUNTAINS.

viou.siy indicatod, mul a very short portii;^;^, will open the
navij^'Mtion uf that river to Aetoii or lioeky ^louutaiii
House.

We liavc seen that depressions in the passes of the
mountains are nuieh greater north of 40° lat. than on the
American side. These passes are also so numerous and
well distributed as to leave us at no loss in enterinj,' what-
ever portion of British Columbia, from north to south,
we may desire.

The Itranch expedition into the Rocky Mountains . . . proved
very satisfactory, and estahlished the fact that several passes
across these mountains are available for horses, and by which,
with a reasonable outlay, a road could be made connecting the
Kootanie and Cohunbia Valleys with the plains of the Saskat-
chewan. These passes are four in number ; the Kananaskis *
Pass, the Vermillion f Pass, the British Kootanie Pass, and the
Kicking Horse Pass. All these passes traverse the watershed of
the continent within British territory. Besides these, there are
three lesser passes connecting the waters of a transverse water-
shed, between the head waters of the Kootanie and those of the
Columbia. A pass also was subsequently traversed by Dr.
Hector between the head waters of the North and South Sas-
katchewan. The passes between the Kootanie and Columbia
Kivers are the Lake Pass and the Beaver Foot Pass, and that
from the head waters of the North to those of the South Sas-
katchewan is called the Little P^ork Pass. ... Of all the passes
traversed by our expedition, the most favourable and inexpensive,
to render available for wheel conveyances, would appear to be
the Vermillion Pass, as the ascent along it to the height of land
is the most gradual of them all.|

About three years after the explorations here recorded
were made, another pass attracted attention as connecting
to best advantage with the chief gold mines of British

* Extreme heiglit, 5,985 feet. + Extreme height, 4,944 feet.

X I'aUiser's Explorations in British North America, p. 14.

TIIK LKATIIIMl I'ASS.

op n

:y Muuiitaiii

asses of tlic
tlmn on tliu
mu'vous jiud
itcring wliat-
'tli to soutli,

ns . . . proved
several passes
and by which,
Bonnecting the
af the Saskat-
I Kananaskis *
; Pass, and the
16 watershed of
;hese, there are
msverse water-
ad those of the
rersed by Dr.
ud South Sas-
and Columbia
Pass, and that
he South Sas-
f all the passes
id inexpensive,
i appear to l)e
height of land

lere recorded
IS connecting
ics of British

rht, 4,944 feet.

CoUnnhjji, in Cariboo. The ' liCatiier,' ' Myette,' or ' .Fas-
per'Passluid formerly been used l)y the Hudson's JJay
Company as a |)()rtage from the Athabasca Uiver to tlie
great artery of Hritisii Colund)ia. It was known as the
'old Columbia trail,' but had long been abandoned on
account of the frequ(Mit casualties which occurred in tlie
descent of the Fraser from tliat point. It lies in hit. 54°.
In '02 this pass was crossed by several parties, eml)ra('ing
more than 200 persons in all. One of these com|)anies
consisted of 140 men, 1 woman, and 3 children, witli loO
oxen and 70 horses. Viscount Milton and friends, whose
adventures were narrated last November before the lloyal
Geographical Society, crossed in '03.

From the lips of many of these immigrants have I been
interested in listening to the account of their journey, all
of them concurring in the practicability of this pass for
road or railway. It exhibits the two important features
of gradual ascent and the least altitude of any ]iasses yet
found, being 400 or 500 feet lower than the Vermillion,
which stands next in respect to depression, and is 1,000
feet lower than any of the other passes. The remark-
able facilities of ascent in the Leather Pass are evident
from the following facts : — Fort Edmonton, on the river
Saskatchewan (in 11 o° 49' west long, and 53° 20' north
lat.), is 2,728 feet above sea level. Jasper House is 400
miles from Edmonton. To the height of the pass, 4,500
feet above sea level, is from 100 to 150 miles more, with
a further ascent of 822 feet in that distance. This i>ives
a clear ascent of from to 9 feet in a mile, or a nwdn
clear ascent of from 3^- to o]^feet in the whole distance from
Fort Edmonton*

There is no part of British Columbia that is not acces-

• Col. Syngc.

r.o 1

KXnilllKNCK OK VISCOUNT MlLTo.V.

s\\)\v by tlic aid of llicsi.' passes, 'i'lic Vcniiillion leads
I'roin the South Saskatchewan to the Cohiiiihia ; the Kaina-
iiaskis tVoin the same l)raiich of the I'oi'iner rivei' to the;
K'ootaiiie River; the Kickiiii!; Horse IVoin the same river
to the Cohim'oia; the]\ld\i'ii/ie Pass from the IVacc! liiver
to the Fiaser; and the Leathei' into tlie Cariboo (h^tiict.
Viscount Milton and Mi'. Cheadle, who crossed when
tliu streams were grifatly swollen, unitedly describe their
exjK'rience in theso words : —

Findint,' that tiio soasou was tdo far advanced to allow of our
t'rossin<^ tlio mountains Ix'foro winter, we travelled on an far as
Fort Carlton, on the nortii branch of the Saskatchewan, and,
turninfjf almost due north for about seventy miles, l)nilt a rou;^'li
log Init at a beautiful place called l/.i lielle Prairie, and went
into winter quarters. We spent our time in huntin<if and trap-
ping, and served an apprenticeship in liardsliip and privation,
most useful to us in om* .sul)se(|uent dif^culties. When the thaw
set in at the beginning of April, we again started westward al(»ng
the Nortli Saskatchewan by Fort Pitt to E(bnonton. . . . Here
we made our final preparations for crossing the mountains. . . .
On the 3r(l of .Fune we left Edmonton with a train of twelve
horses, six of them packed with our baggage, pemmican and
flour. . . . From Lake St. Ann's, 50 miles beyond Edmonton,
to Jasper House, at the foot of the mountains, the forest is
almost unbroken. Having forded the Pembina Piver, we
reached the M'Leod on June 16. . . . After striking the Atha-
basca River, we followed its right bank until, arriving opposite
Jasper House, we were now fairly in the Rocky Mountains ; and
high up a mountain side, whither the trail led us, we had one
of the most magnificent views it was ever our fortune to behold.
Hundreds of feet below rushed the torrent of the A^^habasca,
now swollen to its height, bearing along great pine trees like
straws in the powerful current ; around us on every side huge
snow-capped mountains towered up with strange fantastic peaks ;
in the valley beneath, the little wiiite building surrounded by
a perfect garden of wild flowers of the most brilliant and varied

KAILWAY THUonill TIIK MOUNTAINS KASV.

iiiHii»ii I('!i(l^
; the Kaina-
rivcr to \\\v.
J .«miu' riviT
IV'Mcc liivc'f
)oo (li^lrict.
•osscd when
i8ciibi; tlit'ir

I allow of our

1 oil as fur as

cliowaii, and,

Iniilt a roujfh

lie, and wc!nt

\v^ and trap-

nd privation,

riien the thaw

estward alon;^'

n. . . . Hero

untains. . . .

lin of twelve

inmican and

d Edmonton,

the forest is

I Kiver, we

ng the Atha-

nwQ opposite

)nntains ; and

, we had one

ne to behold.

e A*^habasca,

ne trees like

sry side huge

itastie peaks ;

r rounded by

it and varied

colours, edged along the inouiitain-slopcs byllM' brightest green.
Crossing the Athal»asca by raft, wc; now followed the Myette,
whicli stream we were eoinpelled to travi-rse no less than six
times. Swollen like the Athabasca, tlie waters raged and boiled
round the great roeks and boulders which Li s<.*t its bed. . . .
Leaving the iMyette, we eame upon several .small strf^ams nni-
ning to the west, and thus learned that we \isid uucuM.'^rioMsly
passed the height of land, and shortly after struck thf Fraser a
little al>ove its expansion into ."Moose Lnke , . . We reiirhe<l
Tete Jaiines' Cache, on the west side of the ni<Mi<ifains, on .Fuly
17; Imt altluaigh we had crossed the main ridge, we were still
siu'rounded by snow-dad mountains, which stretche'd away as
far as tlw eye could reach in every direction. . . . \N'e now
crossed the Fraser and struck almost due south, following the
emigrants' trail of the preceding siuniner. . . . In six days after
leaving the ('ache we eame to the junction of the tw(» main
branches of the North Thompson.

From this de.st'ri[)tiou it will be seen that the
passiioe of the Uoeky Mouiilains is the only work of
any moment that requires to be executed west of Fort
Garry. Tluxse soarin<:^ and snow-eapped heights are no
longer invested with terrors, and eveiy one must be satis-
fied that especially the Vermillion Tass, with a descent to
the Kootanie iiiver of but 1 in 13.5, and the Leather Fass
with an ascent equally impcrcejjtible, couhl easily be
i-endered available lor regular communication, since both
liave been traversed by wagoc)iis in their })resent roadless
condition. Engineering skill has already overcome phy-
sical obstacles of infinitely greater magnitude in cutting-
paths through the Alleghaines in the United States, the
Swmmering heights in Austria, and tlie Bhore Ghauts in
India. The railway from Kankan to the Deccan through
the List-named mountains had to contend witli an eleva-
tion, in a very short distance, from a base 11)0 feet to an
altitude 2,027 feet, with a grad'cnt of 1 in 48. Twelve

3G6

STRIDES OF RUSSIA ON THE PACIFIC.

tunnels were formed equal to 2,535 yards ; also eight
viaducts, eighteen bridges, and eighteen culverts, at a cost
of 41,118/. per mile, making a total of 597,222/.*

The distance from Lake Superior to Cariboo is 1,874
miles, and from Edmonton 694. From Jasper House to
Tete Jaunes' Cache at the head of the Fraser is 144 miles,
and thence to Cariboo about 150 miles. From Cariboo
to the head of navigation connecting with the Gulf of
Georgia the distance is 300 or 400 miles, according to the
route adopted — if from Eichfield via Quesnelle mouth
to Bentinck Arm or Bute Inlet it is shorter ; if via Ques-
nelle mouth to Yale it is longer.f

In comparison with the difficulties successfully grap-
pled with by Eussia in opening internal communications
through her sparsely populated and immensely more inhos-
pitable territory, and in extending her trade with China
through the interior of Asia — those attaching to oiu'
overland enterprise are of the most Lilliputian character.
That Great Northern Pow^r, whose aggressive policy was
I'cgarded by Napoleon I. with more alarm than that of any
other single European country, has recently established
herself in rapidly augmenting maritime strength on the
banks of the Amoor Eiver, in the vicinity of China and
Jai)an. She alone of all European nations has possessions
extending in unbroken continuity from the Baltic to the
Pacific, and all her energies are bent to the gigantic task
of completing clear and easy transit from her Asiatic
shoi'cs via Siberia to St. Petersburg.

Ivussia is active, moreover, in building a line of tele-
graph over this route, which cannot now be far from the
mouth of the Amoor. I heard of their havincf reached
Irkoutsk nearly two years since. The American lines

* Col. Svnge.

t The quickest of all these routes is decidedly the one h\ Bute Inlet.

DESIGNS OF NAPOLEON IN MEXICO.

3G7

; also eight
rts, at a cost
221*

)oo is 1,874
er House to
is 144 miles,
oiri Cariboo
the Gulf of
)rding to the
nelle mcnitli
if via Ques-

ssfully grap-
imunications
7 more inhos-
; with Cliina
hing to oiu-
m character,
^e policy was
n that of any

established
ugth on the
f China and
s possessions
Baltic to the
nsjantic task

her Asiatic

line of tele-
ar from the
ins reached
lerican lines

Bute Inlet.

have a I'epresentative in Eussia who has been specially en-
gaged there for several years in securing certain ]>rivileges.
From the Amoor the Eussian line will be extended with
as much expedition as possible to Sitka, the i)ort of the
Eussian fur-hunting company in Eussian America.

When visiting the manager of the American Tele-
graphic Company, in Montreal, lately, he informed me
that he had been called on that day by a gentleman wlio
was about to proceed to the West Coast of America, under
the direction of that company, for the purpose of survey-
ing tlie route for the line which ere long is to connect
Sitka wdth Victoria. Eussia has granted our go-a-head
neighbours the exclusive right of way from the mouth of
Sitka harbour, and the additional privilege, in perpetuity,
of establishing posts at pleasure anywhere in Eussian
territory.*

I saw no less than five Eussian sliijis of war in Panama
Bay, bound for the possessions of the Czar in the Nortli
Pacific, and, as a further proof of the importance he
attaches to national interests in that part of world, a prince
about the same time was sent as Governor of Sitka.

Chevalier, too, in his recent volume on Mexico, helps
us to unravel the secret of Napoleon Ill's conquest of
that country. The erection of a barrier against the ap-
plication of the Munro doctrine by the United States, and
tlie development of the boundless resources of Mexico, are
but subordinate acts in the great drama to be i)layed
there under French appointment. The acute eye of the

* When this line has been carried from Sitka to Victoria, tlie latter will
ultimately become a telefrrapliic centre as well as the meeting'-point of many
lines of conveyance for freight and passengers. When the Atlantic cablt; is
laid, and a telegraph put through from that ocean to the Pacific, in IJritifh
territory, and when the Russian line shall have been completed, Victoria will
be in communication with Western Europe from the east and from the west.
That city is already, or very soon about to be, as has been stated, connected
with tliH Atlantic i-eaboard by the line vid Puyet Sound and San Francisco.

368

CLIMATE OF PROPOSED PwOUTE.

Emperor cannot fail to discern that the marvels of com-
merce and civilisation by whicli so high a degree of lustre
has been shed on the European coasts of the xitlantic are
about to be repeated with probably tenfold greater bril-
liance on the American shores of the Pacific. He has
deeply pondered the history of eastern trade, now flow-
ing ea>itward as in the past it has done only westward.
He sees the imperative necessity oi possessing an uninter-
rupted route over soil of wliich he has absolute command.
Mexico affords this desired facility, stretching as it does
from ocean to ocean. A railway is in progress from Vera
Cruz in the Gulf of Mexico, and now rai)idly approaches the
city of Mexico. Thence it is destined to be carried west-
ward to Acapulco, tlie ancient port for Spanish trade witli
Manilla on the one hand and Spain on the other. From
this centre he has resolved there shall be lines of French
steamers plying to China, Japan, the Sandwich Islands, and
tlie more fertile portions of Southern Polynesia. Will
England, who through the ignorance and neglect of her
former rulers has already thrown away much rich terri-
tory on that North West coast, and who still has so much
at stake in the Pacific, idly stand by and witness rival
European Powers multiplying means of communication
with that ocean and busily laying foundations of future
empires ? will she be satisfied to follow that penny-wise
policy which grudges expenditure in forming a British
North American route that will at once bring ample
financial compensation and bind her possessions all round
tlie northern hemisphere in real unity ?

As erroneous impressions have obtained in regard to
the climate of the ijroposed emigrant iviite, I invite the
fittention of tlie reader to the observations on temperature,
in tlie chapter on Agriculture in Vancouver Island, in con-
nection with a fcAv additional remarks now to be submitted
on the subject.

CLIMATE OF THE INTKRIOH.

8()1)

vels of com-
^ree of lustre
Atlantic are
greater bril-
fic. He has
lC, now flow-
ly westward,
y an uninter-
te command.
(T as it does
;ss from Vera
3proaclies the
carried west-
sh trade with
)ther. From
les of French
1 Islands, and
mesia. Will
leglect of her
ch rich terri-

has so much
witness rival
mmunication

ns of future
It penny-wise
Ing a British
|bring ample

)ns all round

m ]'egard to
I invite the
[temperature,
[land, in con-
be submitted

Western parts of Europe and Asia are warmer than
are the eastern sections of those continents situated in
the same parallels of latitude — tlie west having an ocean
to the windward of it, moderating the prevailing winds,
which are westerly.

The same cause operates to produce corresponding
effects on tlie continent of America — only in a greater
degree ; tlie ocean to tlie windward of it being larger and
Avarmer than that which washes its eastern shores. The
isothermal line, therefore, runs ftuther north on the west
coast of America than on the east. That line, starting
from New York and drawn across the continent, would
pass through Lake Winnipeg to Fort Simpson, wliicli is
] ,000 miles north of the commercial capital of the United
States. The northern shore of Lake Huron enjoys the
mean summer temperature of Bordeaux, in the soutli of
France (70° Falir.), while Cumberland House, in kit. 54°
long. 102°, on the Saskatchewan, exceeds in this respect
Brussels and Paris.

Even supposing that equal parallels of latitude should
coincide with equal lines of mean temperature all round
the globe — which we do not find to be the case — what
is there to prevent regions as high as the GOth parallel
in the western hemispheix} being as productive as those
of the same latitude and altitude in the eastern ? That
parallel passes through Christiana in Norway, to the north
of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, and through St.
Petersburg. But on the principle ju.-t aflirmed, places in
America corresponding in altitude to those in Europe
which I have specified, ought to prove more genial as
homes of civilisation.

One of the witnesses before the Committee of the House
of Commons in '57, stated that on the 1st of May the
Saskatchewan country was free from snow, and the river

n B

370

WHO IS TO MAKE THE ROAD?

full of water ; and Capt. Palliser records that on January
9, 1858, there was little or no snow on the ground from
Edmonton to Eocky Mountain House.

I trust the overwhelming importance of the topic dis-
cussed in this part of the volume will be deemed a sufH-
cient justification of the length to which these statements
have extended. Desire to promote and facilitate trade
with the East has been shown to have been the incentive
to exploration among ancient nations and the origin of
most maritime discoveries in more modern times. So far
from rivalry for the possession of this rich prize abating,
civilised peoples of our day are animated by more spirited
emulation, and devising more vigorous measures than ever
for its attainment. Attempts to find a northern sea pas-
sajije to the attractive shores of the East — lon<? and
doggedly persisted in — have been finally abandoned ; and
the application of steam to land-transit and of electricity
to the transmission of messages has revolutionised our
ideas of the value attaching; to the fertile solitudes between
Canada and the Eocky Mountains. Science, commerce,
and political economy have arrived at signal unanimity
respecting that territory as affording the most pleasant and
expeditious route to China and Australia, combining also
the marked convenience of its running wholly through
British dominions.

One question remains. To whom are we to look for
doing this work ? Canada can only be expected to per-
form that part which goes to her western boundar}^
Her claim to the regions beyond is not likely to be again
pressed, on the ground of ancient French title, and, if
j)rcssed, certain never to be acknowledged. Whether
the enterprise is carried through by England, the
Hudson's Bay Company, or private capitalists under con-
cessions and privileges granted by the Imperial Govern-

DEBATE IN PAULlAMExNT.

on January
:ound from

3 topic dis-
med a sufH-

statements
litate trade
lie incentive
he origin of
aes. So far
ize abating,
lore spirited
cs than ever
srn sea pas-
— long and
idoned ; and
f electricity
ionised our
les between

commerce,

unanimity
)leasant and

jining also
lly through

o look for
cted to per-
boundary.
to be again
tie, and, if
Whether
gland, the
under con-
ial Govern-

ment or by t]ie company, depends upon tlie result of
negotiations now in progress between the latter and the
Ibrmer.

It is unnecessary here to enter upon the perplexed
and interminable enquiry whether the possessory rights
of the company rest on valid grounds, though evidence
is before me which goes far to prove their title invalid.
Sliould the Crown, however, refrain from enforcing its
right to absolute ownership of tlie intermediate territory
between Lake Superior and the Eocky Mountains, it is
at least in a position to effect some compromise with the
company, wliereby the rigour of their claims shall be
modified and the accomplishment of tlie undertaking
secured. I cannot believe that the present able Secretary
of State for the Colonies will ])ermit the tangled relations
between the company and the Iin[)erial Government to
remain any longer unadjusted.

NOTE.

In the House of Commons, June 30, 18G4, on a motion to go
into Committee of Supjily —

Mr. A. Mills rose to call attention to the territories at present
occupied by the Hudson's Bay Company. He said these terri-
tories were granted to the company by a charter of Charles If.
in 1670. By the treattj of Rijsvj'icl', hi 1690, It vjhh admitted
that these territories beloiKjed to France. In 1713 the treat//
of Utrecht admitted that three-fourtlts belont/ed to France; and
'it teas not until ilte treaty of Paris in 1763 that they vere
pretended to he the property of the Crown of Enrjland. All
legal authorities, however, held that whatever defects there
might be in the charter of the company, they had been cured
by prescription during 200 years, and supported by numerous
Acts of Parliament. There was a large tract of country em-
bracing 60,000 or 70,000 square miles, and which was admitted
by all testimony to he most fertile land, which it would be well

D II 2

372

SriiEfll OF MU. A. MILLS.

to make the subject of enquiry. That question was now prac-
tically shut up, and the question was how it was to be opened.
It would be admitted by all that tlie connection of the Atlantic
and Pacific by a chain of settlements would be of advantage,
and that an opening for the China trade through British terri-
tory would be a matter of great importance. No doubt it would
be of practical importance to fuse into a federal union all the
British territories in North America. The colony of Canada
liad expressed its readiness to take upon itself a certain amoimt
of the financial responsibihty of opening up this district. The
colony of Canada, however, required a stipulation that the
boundary of Canada should be defined. The Hudson's Bay
Company last year appeared under new auspices ; but they had
not lost their old character, and appeared to be as much opposed
as ever to colonisation and civilisation. The Hudson's Bay
Company said they would not go before any tribunal ; they
would not open the question of boundary ; they would stand
upon their rights, and those rights they were prepared to up-
bold. The question was, would Imperial England allow any
(jbstruction of that kind ? The reply of Mr. Dallas, the chief
officer of the Hudson's Bay Company in their territory, to this
proposal of the colony of Canada was, that its adoption would
interfere with the trade of the company. He did not apprehend
that the right honourable gentleman the Secretary for the
Colonies would refuse to afford facilities for the settlement of
the question ; but he wanted him to state that no obstruction
would be offered on the part of the Grovernment, if the colony
of Canada wished to raise this question as between themselves
and the Hudson's Bay Company. There were, no doubt, good
reasons, in a financial point of view, why Great Britain shouhl
not undertake to establish a new colony in North America. . . .
He would not say whether the Red River settlement should
be ultimately annexed to British Columbia or to Canada, but
be wished to call the attention of the Colonial Secretary to the
immense importance of facilitating a union between all our
colonies in North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
which union the colonies themselves desired to see accomplished.
He believed that for the furtherance of English interests at that

]

VI i:\VS OF .MU. WATKIX AND Mil. CARDWELL.

.) — i>

as now prac-
;o be opened,
tlve Atlantic
)f advantage,
British teiri-
oubt it would
mion all the
ly of Canada
rtain amount
listrict. The
ion that the
ludson's Bay
but they had
nuch opposed
Hudson's Bay
ribunal; they
f would stand
repaied to up-
ind allow any
dlas, the chief
•ritory, to this
doption would
not apprehend
:etary for the
settlement of
no obstruction
if the colony
en themselves
o doubt, good
Britain should
America. . . .
ement should
,0 Canada, but
ecretary to the
itween all our
to the Pacific,
accomplished,
iterests at that

time, when those vast territories would become self-supporting
and independent of the mother-country, the wisest policy the
Government could adopt was to promote that union.

Mr. Watkin said, what Canada proposed was simply to pay
part of the expense of connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific
by means of telegraphic and postal communication. It wns
Canada that put impediments in the way of the settlement of
this question of the Hudson's Bay Company territory. Was it
not extraordinary that in these days a private company should
be allowed to hold, under a charter of Charles II., so immense
a territory, and have the power almost of levying war, and cer-
tainly of defending by military force the frontiers of that terri-
tory ? Unless Her ^Majesty's Government were prepared to take
immediate steps in reference to this question, nothing in the
world could prevent that which might l)e hereafter a thriving
and valuable British colony from becoming a mere American
settlement.

Mr. Cardwell would not go into the past history of the
Hudson's Bay Company, because it was almost as vast as their
territory. He would commence by referring to the committee
that took place in 1857, and of AVhich the hon. gentleman was
a member. That committee, noticing the desire which existed
for a settlement respecting this territory, recommended that an
offer should be made to Canada that if she thought proper she
might become the possessor of the territory, if she would incur
the expense of annexing it. Immediately after the report of
the committee, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies
made proposals to Canada and to the Hudson's Bay Company.
Acting under the advice of the law officers of the Crown, he
felt that it was wholly impossible for him to dispute the validity
of a charter that had existed for centuries ; but he made to the
company and to Canada that other proposal which the hon.
gentleman suggested we should make, viz., that the question of
the boundaries of Canada should be referred to the decision of
tlie Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. To that propos.al
the company were willing to assent, but Canada, he believed,
declined to assent. (Hear.) The demand of Canada was that
;hc validity of the charter should be referred to the Judicial

374

MR. LYALLS DKFENCE OF Till;: COMrANY.

Coiiunillce, juul the company most naturally objected to that
course. The Colonial Secretary then gave notice that he sliould
open new negotiations. In 18()2 a negotiation was opened by
the late Colonial Secretary with a private comjjany to connect
the Pacific with the Atlantic by telegraphic communication and
post roads. Afterwards the Hudson's Bay Company united with
that private company, and negotiations were continued for a
surrender of the whole territories of the company to the Crown.
Those negotiations ol>tained the consent of that House, and a
proposal was arrived at that the Hudson's Bay Company should
be compensated from the proceeds of the sale of lands. The
details of that proposal, however, were not agreed to; and at
that point he (Mr. Cardwell) succeeded to his present oflHce.
The hon. gentleman, as he understood, pointed out that it was
the duty of the Colonial Office to give Canada every opportunity
for entering into this negotiation ; but the hon. gentleman would
see that that course had been anticipated. His (jNIr. Cardwell's)
notice in the course of his communications was that, if a
colony was to be founded in the territory referred to, some pro-
vision should be made for its expenses towards the maintenance
of good government and its future settlement. That provision
must be made either by the companj^, by the colony of Canada,
or by the Imperial exchequer. Having negotiated with the
company for the surrender of its interests to the Crown, he had
also renewed to the colony of Canada the proposal made on the
recommendation of the committee of 1857, and invited it, in
case it should refuse the responsibility offered, to inform the
Crown what were its views as to the western boundary, so that
the question might be settled, and the territory put in a fair
way of government and settlement. Having thus succinctly, as
he hoped, put the matter before the House, he should have
great pleasure in laying the papers on the table as soon as they
were ready.

Mr. Lyall assured the hon. gentleman that he was mistaken
in supposing that the Hudson's Bay Company had sent out
telegraphic wires for the purpose of connecting Minnesota with
the Red River, and thereby increasing the influence of the
United States in the Hudson's Bay territory. The directors

NY.

iji:makks ur colonel sykks.

Gctcd to iliat
hut he filiould
ris opened by
ny to connect
iinication and
ly united with
atiniied for a
to the Crown.
House, and a
ntipany should
F lands. Tiio
d to; and at
present office.
it that it was
•y opportunity
itleman would
ilr. Card well's)
as that, if a
to, some pro-
3 maintenance
rhat provision
ny of Canada,

ed with the
rown, he had

made on the

invited it, in

inform the

ndary, so that

put in a fair

succinctly, as

should have
3 soon as they

was mistaken
had sent out
innesota with
lence of the
The directors

who came into office a year a^o took into consideration the sub-
ject of communication between Columbia and Canada in associ-
ation with the (piestion of commimicati(m with China, and they
had sent out wires for that purpose. IJut if Canada were not
prepared to do lier part in overcoming the natural difficulties of
the country between her and the Ked Kiver settlement, it would
1)6 necessary for the company to connect with Minnesota, from
which they were only distant about fifty miles. With respect
to the new government of the company, tiiey were by no means
disposed to retard colonisation ; tliey waited, however, for roads
and other communications ; and it was felt, moreover, that
greater powers must be obtained by the company in order to
establish good order in the settlement. The whole subject was
under the consideration of the Colonial Office, and he trusted
that an extended colonisation of a great territory would be pro-
moted.

Colonel Sykes urged the great importance of communicating
with Columbia. We could not get there at all except by
Panama and Cape Horn. So that Columbia were connected
with Canada, what mattered it whether the communication were
eff'ected by the colony of Canada or by an independent com-
pany ? The result would be that direct communication with
China would be established. The undertaking was one of great
importance, and if it could be effected by a little pressure on
the Hudson's Bay Company, it wonld be politic for the Govern-
ment to exercise it. The hon. gentleman who brought the
question forward was entitled to the thanks of the House for so
doing.

Memorial of tJie People of Red River Settleraent to the British
and Canadian Governments.

The people of the Red River settlement hereby desire briefly
to set forth their views and wishes in reference to the proposed
opening up of the road from Canada to British Columbiy
through the Red River and Saskatchewan region, and the
establishing of a telegraphic line along the same.

The people of Red River have long since earnestly desired to

37G

iMKMORIAI. OF llED lllVKR SKTTLKRS

see tlie Tjfikc tSiiperior route opened up for coniincriH! and
cniijjfratiou, and they rejoice to liear of tlie ]»ropo.sal <o open up
a road and establish a line of telegraphic comniunication tlirouj^h
the interior to liritish C!oluml)ia entirely within liritish terri-
tory, believing that such works would greatly benefit this
country, while subserving at the same time both Canadian and
Imperial interests. . . .

It is true that this route, for reasons which need not here be
alluded to, has of late years been neglected ; yet, when the fact
is generally known that this was the regular route by which the
North-West Fur Company imported and exported heavy cargoes
for more than a quarter of a century, and which the Hudson's
I Jay Company have used more or less for three-quarters of a
century, it must be granted that the natural difficulties cannot
be so great as they are commonly reported to be.

We, the people of this settlement, are so anxious to have a
proper outlet in this direction, that we .are quite prepared our-
selves to undertake at our own expense the opening of a road
from this settlement to Lake of the Woods, a distance of 90 or
100 miles, if England or Canada will guarantee tbe opening of
the section from liake of the Woods to Lake Superior.

From our intimate knowledge of the country lying between
this place and the Rocky Mountains, we consider the project of
a road in that direction perfectly practicable, at a comparatively
small outlay. At all times, during the summer season, loaded
carts go from this place to Carlton, Fort Pitt, and Edmonton,
on the Upper Saskatchewan ; and last summer a party of
Canadians, about 200 in number [en route to British Columbia),
passed over the same road, and went with their vehicles to the
very base of the Rocky Mountains ; clearly showing that along
the whole way there are, even at present, no insuperable ob-
stacles to the passage of carts and waggons. . . .

The whole country througli which the proposed road would
run, almost from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains, is
remarkably level. The surface of this vast region is, generally
speaking, like the ocean surface in a calm ; and, besides being
so remarkably level, it is, for the most part, free from those
heavy forests which, in Canada and elsewhere, cause such delay

TO BRITISH AND CANADIAN (ioVKUNMHNTS.

•>i t

mnierc'c and
il to open lip
itiun through
I British terri-
lit'iicfit tlii.s
.'auuclian uiul

I not liore be
vlien tbe fact
by which tlie
leavy cargoes
:lie Hudson's
quarters of a
ulties cannot

ouH to have a
irepared our-
ling of a road
xnce of 90 or
le opening of
ior.

y^ing between
he project of
omparatively
eason, loaded
i Edmonton,
* a party of
;h Columbia),
ihicles to the
g that along
uperable ob-

•

road would

fountains, is

is, generally

)esides being

from those

se such delay

and expense in roadniaking. We believe a railway coiihl b«'
here laid at a cheaper rate tluiii in iiiost countries.

Canada W(»uld derive great benefit from the overland ciirryiiig-
trade, which would s|tring up iinmediately on the establishiueiit
of this route, and the constiintly-growiiig traffic of this district
and liritish Coluinbia would thereaft<;r be an ever-increasing
source of profit. . . .

This is the most natural highway by which commerce and
general business with the Kast could be carried on ; it would
be also the most expeditious. And, as a result of such com-
merce and traffic along this route, Central Ibitish America
would rapidly fill up with an industrious loyal people; and thus
from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia, Great Ibitain would
have an unbroken series of cohmies, a grand confederation of
loyal and flourishing provinces, skirting the whole United States
frontier, and com.manding at once the Atlantic and Pacitic. In
this connection we feel hound to observe that American influence
is rapidly gaining groinid liere ; and if action is long delayed
very unpleasant complications may arise. Thus, both politically
and commercially, the opening up of this country, and the
making through it a national highway, would immensely sub-
serve Imperial interests, and contribute to the stability and
glorious prestige of the British empire.

These views the people of Ked Kiver desire most respectfully
to present for the consideration of the British and Canadian
Governments, and they earnestly hope that this year may
witness the formal commencement of operations with a view to
a telegraphic line, and a road from Lake Superior to this
settlement, if not through the whole extent of country from
Canada to British Columbia,

(Signed) James Ross,

Cliairnian of rublic Meetings.

I»ed River Settlement,
January 21, 1863.

CIIAPTKU XV.

KOCIKTY IN VAXCOUVKR ISLAND AND nUlTISlI COIA'MniA.

Vniit'lii'M of iJaro vcpn'scnlcd in A'ictoria — TH('liiiili'.s CliiHsification ol"
hmunn JIvbrids — Tlio ultiiimtp Eift'ct of prcMont liptoropnnooiis Mixtiiro
of 'l\i«'.s upon till) ClKiriictir of tilt! Vopiilatioii— Civil Disiibilitics ini-
])o8(hI on Xc^Toi'M mill ('hinnnicii in ('iilifnrnia, to tliMconrafii; (licir I'osi-
dencp — ^Slisfionnry lial)our uiiioiii.'' tin* ("liine^e — Vi,Hil to ii IJndillii.st
Teiniilc— Address of tlio C'liincse of Victoria to tliu fiovornor — Condition
of tlio Nc^rrocs — J)iir('ion(C8 bi'twecn tlioin and tlu; Wliiti>s — Sir. lames
])oii;>lns — \'erdant Simplicity of New Coiners — Kii^ilisli and American
Ladie.i compnred — Tone of Society in 1H.*)() — Defalcations of (iovernment
Ollieials — K.scapado of a (^iiack — 'Widows' and their Adventures —
'I'emptations of Younjr Men — The 'Skedaddler' — Excitement of Colo-
nial Life, and its l^lfect on the Urain — Intelli;j-ence of the Community —
The social Pyramid inverted — Life at the Mineii — Miners' Ton Com-
niandiuents.

It was remarked by an intelJigcnt sliipmaster, wliom I
met ill Victoria, tliat lie liad not found in any of the
numerous ports he liad visited during a long sea-faring
career, so mixed a ])opulation as existed in that city.
Though containing at present an average of only 5,000
or G,000 inhabitants, one cannot pass along the principal
tlioi'oughfares without meeting rej^resentatives of almost
every tribe and nationality under heaven. Within a limited
space may be seen — of Ein^opeans, Eussians, Austrians,
Poles, Hungarians, Itahans, Danes, Swedes, French,
Germans, Spaniards, Swiss, Scotch, English and Irish ;
of Africans, Negroes from the United States and the
West Indies ; of Asiatics, Lascars and Chinamen ; of
Americans, Indians, Mexictuis, Chilanos, and citizens of

VAIUKTIKS OV HA( K,

COLl'MniA.

'liissificjition of
.M'Ut'oiis Mixturo

Dirtiibilitii's im-
riiiie lliiir Ifo.'*!-

(o 11 UtuMhist
inor — Conditinn
lito.s — Sir ■) unit's
I nnd AnuTicim
■< of rJov(.'iiiui('nt
ir Advt'ntmt's —
lenient of Colo-
10 Coninuinity —
lers' Ten Com-

ter, ^vllom I

any of the

g sea-faring

in that city.

only 5,000
he principal
es of ahnost
lin a hmitcd
, Austrian s,
es, French,

and Irish ;
es and the
linamen ; of

citizens of

(he North American liej)ul>ll(' ; and of Polynesians,
Malays from tlic Saiidwicii Inlands.

Among the many remaik.'dilc matrimonial alliances to
be met with, I have known r'nroju'aiis mariii-d to \m\'v
scjuaws, Indian iialf-breeds ; iid Mulatto females res|)('c-
tivt'lv. One case has come under my observation of a
ne'M'o mai'ried to a white woman, and another of a man
descended from a Hindoo mother married to a wife of
Indian exti'action. A geiiiK'nian of large ])ro|)eity, I'e-
ported to be oi' j\lulalto origin, is married to a half-breeil
Indian. Fi'om these heterogeneous unions, and from illicit
commerce between tlie vaii(ms rsices just enumerated, it
is evident that our po])ulati()n cannot escape the infusion
of a considerable hybrid oflsj)ring.

Apart from tlie etlect of intercourse between the
Mongolian and other laces in our midst, we may certainly
calculate upon twenty-three cro.s.ses, in diflerent degrees,
resulting from the l)lending of the Caucasian, the
aboiiginal American and the negro.

The following is the arrangement of Tschudi as adopted
by Nott and Gliddon in their able work entitled ' Types
of Mankind' : —

rnrcnts CliiltUen

■\yiiito fatlicv and Ne^iTo niotlier Mulatto

Indian

Mestiza

Indian

»>

Nc^M'O

Cliino

Ayiiite

))

Mulatto

Cuarternn

))

]\Ie.stizn

Creole (palo browni.sh complexion)

)}

Chino

Chino-blanco

>»

Cuartoronn ,,

(^uinlero

(^uintcra

Ayiiito

i Negro

Indian

Zaniljo

i »

Mulatto

Zambo-negro

1 »

Me.stiza

Mulatto-oHcuro

", ff

>»

Chino

Zambo-cliino

»»

>»

ZaniLa

Zanibo-negro (perfectly black)

Quintera

JIulatto (rather dark)

Indian

Mulatto

Chino-oseuro

380

i:iTI']CT OF iAIIXTURIi; OF TYPES.

rnvcnts Children

Indian fiillicr aud Mosti/a mother Mc^fizo-olaro (frequently very Ijeautiful)

Cliino

Cliino-cnla

Zaniba

Zambo-cluro

Chino-cola

Indian (with frizzly hair)

(^iiintera

Mestizo (rather brown)

ilatto

Zaniba

Zanibo (a miserable race)

Mestiza

Chino (rather elear complexion)

Chino

Chino (rather dark).

It is to be feared tliat these varieties of luimaiiity do
not occupy otir soil and midtiply their kind, in every
insttmce, witliout detriment to that type wliicli we desire
sliould preponderate. AVliat is to be tlie eflect, upon thtit
section of posterity wliicli will, in future centuries,
iiihabit the British North American shores of the Pacific,
of this commingling of races so diverse in physiological,
psychological, iutellectual, nioriil, religions, and political
aspects? Circumsttnccs of climate, scenery, race, and
natural productions have combined to determine the
])articular mould in whicli the thouglil and life of other
peoples, ancient and modern, liaA e been cast. V\liat then
will be the resultant of the manifold and unequal forces
operating in the formation of distinctive national charac-
teristics in these colonies ? This is an interesting and
momentous problem which coming ages alone can solve.

In description of resources Vancouver Island mtiy
I'esenible the parent country, and thus merit the prcnid
title of ' tlie England of the Pacific' But the peculiar
elements composing the nucleus of the population render
it physically impossible for that exact form of national
character we have been accustomed to ascribe to Great
Britain to be perpetuated in the island of the Far West.
Does the presence, so laigely, of inferior races forbode the
fatal tainting of the young nation's blood and signal its
prematiu'e decay, or will the vitality of the governing race

CIVIL DISABILITIES OF ClIIXKSt: AXD NKGROCS. 8 81

very Ijoautifulj

)
)loxion)

umaiiity do
cl, in every
li we desire
t, upon tliat
! centuries,
tlie Pacific,
liysiological,
md political
', race, and
terniine the
ife of other
\Vliat then
equ.il forces
mal charac-
restinjx and
can solve,
island may
the proud
le peculiar
tion render
of national
jc to Great
Far West.
foi'bode tlie
id si<jfnal its
erning race

triumph over the contamination with which more primi-
tive types threaten to impregnate it ? Tliis is tlie important
enquiry that engrosses the attention of ethnological specu-
lators in the nascent communities of tlie Nortli Pacific.

It is gravely argued by some that to the Caucasian
race has been assigned supremacy over the rest of man-
kind ; that no new combination of distinct existing races
can hnprove its towering excellence ; that in propt)rtion
to the rapidity with which deleterious elements are intro-
duced, must in course of time be the ratio of its degeneracy
and final extinction ; that as in the twelftli century, under
the leadership of Genghis Khan and his successors, the
Kirghis and the Calmucs from the north of China were
hurled upon Eussia, so hordes of modern Asiatics from
the former country, lured by the gold of California and
British Columbia, may, at some remote period, again
inundate these new lands and blast them with desolatit)n.
Tliis dark appreliension is shared extensively by tlie fore-
most minds in California. Civil disabilities and statutory
restrictions have, in consequence, been imposed by the
State Legislature with the design of checking their
immiaTation. As in the case of iie<^roes in that State, the
testimony of the Chinese is not accepted as legal evidence
in courts of justice, and they are burdened with taxation
beyond what would be endured by the white race.

It is maintained also, that while by intermarrying with
descendants of Europeans we are but reproducing our
own Caucasian type, by commingling with eastern Asiatics
we are creating debased hybrids ; that the primary law
of nature teaches self-preservation ; and that such protec-
tive enactments as have been referred to are essential to
the perpetuation and advancemenc of the nation.*

* Signs have lately appeared in the American Legislature of the social
t.ihoo being removed from negro citizens in the Slates.

382

IIAUITS OF THE CHINESE.

Happily botli those coloured races are admitted to
the enjoyment of civil privileges in these colonies upon
terms of perfect equality with white foreigners, and are
alike eligible for naturalisation. Yet even on the Britisli
side of the boundary there is a dis[)osition to look coldly
upon the immigration of Celestials. It is alleged that so
large an amomit of Cliinese labour must have the effect of
reducing the price of white labour. But such an opinion
is without foundation ; for those C/hinamen, who arrive
without capital, are only capable of engaging in menial
employments, such as cooking, hawking tea, and keeping
laundries. It is but few skilled labourers, I presume,
that would desire to compete with them in these callings.
Nor can their presence at the mines at all interfere with
the enterprises of the superior race ; for it is well known
that they are unable to reso»'t to those mechanical appli-
ances requisite in the working of rich diggings ; that
they always keep at a respectful distance from the whites,
and are content with such small returns as may be yielded
by abandoned ' claims,' from which the whites have
already taken the cream.

As to the fear that, if access to the country were not
made strait for them, they might ultimately overrun and
devastate it like a plague of locusts, nothing could be
more groundless. No people have a more intelligent
acquaintance with ' the law of su])ply and demand.'
They are generally under the direction of shrewd
merchants among their own countrymen, who never
encourage the poorer classes to leave China without being
certain that a fair prospect of occupation exists for them
in the parts to Avhicli they are impc^rted ; and in this
respect the judgment of those leading Chinamen is rarely
at fault. It nuist be acknowledii:ed to their credit that in
California, British Columl)ia, and Vancouver Island, an

THEIR IXFLUIiNCE UPON TIUDK.

iiO'J

uliiiitted to
Ionics upon
irs, and aro
the Britisli
look coldly
:'ged that so
the cfFect of
1 an opinion
who arrive
o' in menial
uid keeping
I presume,
ese callings,
terfere with
well known
mical ap|)li-
wino'S ; tliat
I the whites,
N- be yielded
whites have

y were not
)\XMTun and
g could be

uit:elliii;ent
1 demand.'

of shrewil
who never
thout being
ts for them
and in this
len is rarely
edit that in

Island, an

unemployed Chinaman is seldom to be met with, and a
more industrious and law-abiding class does not reside in
these dependencies. In their social and domestic habits,
however, I frankly admit there is room for much improve-
ment as far as cleanliness is concerned.

It is natural that a race so exclusive and so much
avoided by tlieir white fellow-citizens on the coast, should
give preference to the manufactures of their own country.
Much of the clothing they wear and many of tlieir articles
of food come from China. They contrive, it is true, to
spend as little of their earnings as possible on their
adopted soil — most of tlie money made by the humbler
classes amonf? them beino; remitted home for the laudable
object of contributing to the support of needy relatives.
But it is a mistake to regard the trade done and the
capital acquired by them as so much wealtli divertetl from
tlie channels of white industry, since but for their presence
in the country the greater part of that trade would not
have been created ; nor would that capital have been
accumulated. They cannot prevent connnercial advantage
accruing to the colonies from their iniluence, if they
would. It is often British bottoms that convey them
from China, and they are obliged to buy hardware, Avater-
proof boots, and pork from us. xoultry, too, being
esteemed a great luxiny, is in great demand among them.
When they have lived among the civilised for a time, it
not unfrequently happens that they adopt the European
and American costume entire.

After a protected ex[)enditure of missionary labour
upon the attempted evangelisation of the 40,000 Chinese
scattered throughout California, the number who have even
had the curiosity to wait on the ministrations of Christian
instructors is very insiu-nilicant. Ilavinir been the guest
for some weeks of an American missionary to the Chinese

384

RiaATlOXS OP Tiriil CFIIXIvSI'; to CIIRISTfAXITY.

ill San Francisco, I liave pleasure in testifyinu* tliat tardy
success in the work of their conversion is owing neither
to want of abiUty or zeal on the part of that pious and
excellent agent.

Efforts have been made by a clergyman in British
Columbia, under the direction of the bishop, for the same
object, but, as ftir as I can ascertain, hitherto without any
visible result.

The minds of the Chinese generally are by no means unin-
terested in religious matters. Most of them I have met are
a reading people, and ingenious in their remarks on that
subject. In conversation with one settled in Victoria, who
could make himself intelligible in broken English, I
observed that he had some acquaintance with the Biblical
account of the creation and the fall of man ; but witli
the cavalier manner of a sceptic, he simply declared it
legendary, and showed a preference for the view of those
events contained in the sacred books of Buddhism as
more {ntere.stlii(j. The question of truth did not trouble
him in either case ; for he smiled at the Pa^jan and
Christian views of the matter as equally fictitious. It was
with the same theoretic air that he discussed with me the
fticts of Christianity. He had heard of the mission of the
Saviour ; but could not be induced to think that it had
anything to do with him as a celestial. ' Jesus Clirist,'
said he, ' very good God for Englishman, but He no do
for Chinaman.' I heard of one of that race who was
present on a certain occasion, when differences of religious
creed were ni debate. The various shades of Christian
belief, I understand, are intolerably perplexing to intelligent
Chinamen who visit our shores. ' John ' is said to have
listened to the controversy, without edification, till his
patience could hold out no longer, and calling the atten-
tion of the Christian combatants, he interposed the

<».

lXITY.

VISIT TO A BUDDHIST TEMPLE.

385

t tluit tardy
ill"; neither
,t pious and

1 in British
for the same
without any

means unin-
liave met are
irks on that
/"ictoria, who

EngUsh, I

the Bibhcal

1 ; but with

declared it

iew of tliose

Juddliism as

not trouble

Pao-an and

ous. It was

with me the

ission of the

that it had
esus Christ,'
Lit He no do
ce who was
s of religious
of Christian
to intelligent

aid to have
tion, till his
Gj the atten-
^rposed the

following latitudinarian remark, to th

igions

remark, to the surprise of them
3ason one ; we all brothers.'

A striking feature in the social organisation of the
Chinese in California is that they have ])lanted tem])les of
Buddha in the very heart of the Christian institutions of
that State.

Through the kindness of the excellent missionary above
alluded to, I was conducted through one of their laruje
establishments in San Francisco — a brick buildinn- several
stories high, and covering a considerable plot of ground,
Here immigrants from China consigned to a certain native
company in that city, are accommodated with board and
lodging till situations can be obtained for them. Tlie
house is divided into stores, apartments for the use of
new arrivals and invalids, a small theatre, and a place of
worship. In passing through the rooms my friend and I
were received with a profusion of courtesy, for which a\ e
were partially indebted to the acquaintance of Mr. Loomis
with the Chinese language. Seats were placed for us, and
small cups of tea, with cigarillas. Asourtimewas limited, we
were obliged to decline these oU'ers of hospitality — an act
which I fear did not raise their estimate of our politeness.
My friend, whom they already knew, was interrogated with
their accustomed inquisitiveness as to my name, profession,
residence, &c.

We next entered the temple — a hall GO feet by 40,
emblazoned with devices, consisting of picU^-ial represen-
tations and brief quotations from their sacred books, done
in gilt, and appro])riate to the frame of mind sought to
be excited in such a place. At the end of the room
frontino; the entrance was an altar elaboratelv decorated.
In the centre of this semi-circular niche stood a hui;e
idol of grotesque form, calculated to iiis[)ire the s[)ectat()r
with terror and disgust. The face of this monster faintly

c c

380

CHINESE ADDRESS TO THE GOVERNOR.

resembled that of a liiiman being, but tlie proportions of
liis body and tlie dis])Osition of liis numerous and contorted
limbs ballle description. On one side of liim were
suspended a great bell and drum, which apparatus, it was
explained, was intended to wake the god on the
approacli of worshi[)pers. I observed but one Chinaman
paying his vows while I was present, and on the altar
was an offering of fruit.

The Chinese of Vancouver Island and Britisli Columbia,
only niunbering at present about 2,000, have not yet
attempted the erection of any place of devotion. But
when attracted in greater force, the pious among them,
according to the Buddhist standard, may be expected to
erect fanes in which to celebrate traditional rites.

I do not find their monotonous course of life in these
colonies relieved by more than one holiday demonstration
in twelve months : that takes place at the beginning of
their new year, which is ushered in by an incessant
firing of crackers, enveloping their quarter of the town in
a cloud of smoke for an entire day.

The folloAving is the literal translation of an address
presented by them to Governor Kennedy on his arrival
last year, and will give some idea of their admirable
discernment on commercial topics, especially in relation
to the future of Victoria as a free port : —

In the reign of Tong Cliee, 3rd year, 2nd month, 26th day.
V. I., 1 864 year, 4th month, 2nd da}'.

Us Chinese men greeting thee Excellency in first degree Arthur
Edward Kennedy, thee in first rank country name Vancouver
with hangers to it.

All us here be dwellers at Victoria this Island and Columbia
British.

Much wish to show mind of dutiful loyalty to this kingdom,
mother Victoria Queen, for square and ecjual rule of us.

TJii-: TUKAT.MEXT WK owK Tin:.\r.

387

)portioiis of
d contorted
liiin wiJiG
iitus, it was
)d on the
} Chinaman
m the altar

h Columbia,
ivc not yet
otion. But
iiong them,
expected to
tes.

life in these
imonstration
3eginning of
ui incessant
' the town in

f an address
his arrival
admirable
in relation

1, 26tli day.

legree Artluir
le Vancouver

md Columbia

his kingdom,
of us.

Just now must humbly offer much joined mind of compliments

t(» thee Excellency Governor Kennedy, on steppini^ to this land

uf Vancouver, that thee be no longer in danger of typhoon us

much deliglited.

Us be here from year 18j8,and count over two thousand Chinese.

Chinese countrymen much like that so few of U'j have been
chastised for breaking: kinudom rule.

This kingdom rule very different from China. Chinese seem
much devoted to Victoria Queen for protection and distriiiutive
rule of him Excellency old Governor Sir James Douglas, so re-
verse California ruling when applied to us Chinese ccjuntrymcn.
Us, believing success will come in obeying rulers, not breaking
inks, holding on to what is right and true.

In trading, hope is good and look out large big prospects for
time to come.

Us like this no charge place ; see it will grow and grow higher
to highest; can see a Canton will be in Victoria of this Pacific.

The maritime enterprises will add up wonderfully, and come
quick. China has silks, tea, rice, and sugar, etc. Here is lum-
ber, coal, minerals, and fish, an exhaustless supply which no other
land can surpass.

In ending, us confide in gracious hope in thee, first degrees,
and first rank, and first links, and trust our California neighbours
may not exercise prejudice to our grief.

Us merchants in Chinese goods in Victoria, mark our names
in behalf of us and Chinese countrymen.

Wishing good luck and p'-osperity, to all ranks, and w^ill con-
tinue to be faithful and true.

Us Chinese men much please Excellency continue to give
favour.

Us remember to thee.

Whether, therefore, we consider the antiquity of these
Mongols, their natural ingenuity, or the encouragement
afforded by their national institutions to talent, integrity,
and industry, the most cogent reasons exist for our
extending to them a cordial welcome. Let the colonists
sliow the fruits of a suj)erior civilisation and religion, not

c c "2

388

THE NEGRO ELEMENT.

in ridiculing and despising these Pagan strangers, but in
treiiting them with tlie gentle forbe.Hrance due to a less
favoured portion of the family of mankind, and they will
continue to be useful and inofiensivc members of society.
Tlie i)rejudice which characterises race or colour as a
disqualification for the exercise of civil rights reflects dis-
honour upon the civilised connnunity that indulges it.

The descendants of the African race resident in the
colonies are entitled to some notice. About 300 of them
inhabit Victoria, and upwards of 100 are scattered
throughout the farming settlements of the ishmd and
i3ritish Columbia. The chief part came to the country
some time previous to the immigration of '58, driven from
California by social taboo and civil disabilities. They
invested the sums they brought with them in land, and by
the sudden advance in the value of real estate which fol-
lowed the influx of gold seekers, most of them immediately
found themselves possessed of a competency. It was not
sur[)rising, under these circumstances, that some, formerly
habituated to servitude or reproached as representatives
of a barbarous I'ace, should, on being delivered from the
yoke of social oppression, fail to show much considera-
tion for the indurated prejudices of the whites, most of
whom at that period were either Americans or British
subjects, who sympathised with the ideas prevailing in
the United States respecting the social status of the
coloured people.

Whereas they had been restricted in California to
worship Almighty God in their ow^n churches or in a
part of those frequented by whites, designed for the
exclusive accommodation of persons of colour, they were
permitted on coming to Vancouver Island free range
of unoccupied pews, in the only church then erected in
the colony. The church-going immigrants in the mass

SOCIAL AXTIPATIIIRS.

380

;crs, but in
le to a less
id they will
; of society,
colour as a
reflects dis-
idgcs it.
deut ill the
300 of tliein
•e scattered

island and
the country
driven from
ities. They
land, and by
e which fol-
immediately

It was not
ne, formerly
iresentatives
d from the
considera-
tes, most of
s or British
irevailing in
itus of the

California to

lies or in a

led for the

they were

free range

m erected in

in the mass

wafted to our shores in '58 were at once brouglit into
a proximity with coloured worshippers whicli was
repugnant to i)ast associations. It is didicult to analyse
this social prejudice between the races, and impossihh;
to defend it. But I have been astonished to observe its
manifestations in Cliristian gentlemen whose intelligence
and general consistency were exemplary. Tlie negro
supporters of the church, regarding themselves as the
'old families' of the country and the monied aristocracy,
and wincing under the recollection of social wrongs endured
by them under tlie Amei'ican flag, were not disposed to
give way in the slightest to the whims and scruples
of the whites. Many of the latter remonstrated with the
rlercfvman against allowinu; tlie congregation to assume
a speckled appearance — a spectacle deemed by them
novel and inconvenient. Tliey insisted that they were ])re-
pared to treat the 'blacks' with the utmost humanity
and respect, in their own ])lace ; but that the Creator
had made a distinction which it was sinful to in:nore ;
that the promiscuous arrangement might lead to the
sexes in both races falling in love with each other,
entering into marriage, and thus occasioniuf;? the deteriora-
tioii of the whites without the elevation of the negroes
being efrected. Tlie worthy i)i;rson, being direct from the
parent country, and till then wholly inex])erienced in the
social relations of the conlhcting races, felt at liberty to
take only philanthropic and religious ground in dealing
with the question. He maintained that the stains of
men's sin, in common, were so dark, that mere difference
in colour was an affair of supreme insignificance before
the Almighty, in comparison, and that the separation
desired by the whites was of carnal suggestion, wliich
Christianity demanded should be repressed. lie is said
even to have gone so deeply into the subject in a particular

.300

IXTERFERRNCE OF CLERGYMEN'.

sermon as to assort tliat tlic (lis])ositioii of nerves, tendons,
and arteries, and tlie essentiiil laeulties of tlie soul were
alike in white and black — the sole distinction between
them consistinii" of colonrinrj matter under the skin, the
l)rojection of tlie lower jaw, and the wool by which the
scalp was covered.

]iut these well-intentioned arguments made no im-
pression upon the obstinate views by which tlie
bulk of the whites wei'e influenced. In many cases
they resented the imagined injury ofTered to their feelings
by withdrawing from church altogether. While the
community was in a ferment on the question, a zealous
Nonconformist fresh fn mi the anti-slavery 'platform' of
Canada, hastened to espouse the cause of the African.
The coloured people, proud of so able a champion, rallied
round him, and soon outnumbered the white adherents
in his congregation. In making his public dcbnt, he
imcompromisingly announced to a congregation chiefly
comp(^-sed of whites, that no distinction should be allowed
luider his ministry in pew arrangements on the score of
colour. The whites took alarm and the following Sunday
two-thirds of those in attendance were of the ne^ro race.
This })re})onderance of colour in the chapel, however, did
not accord with the objects the negroes were ambitious
of attaining. They gradually withdrew to the fashionable
church where they could enjoy the satisfaction of
mingling more largely with the superior race ; and, like
the ass in the fable, between the two bimdles of hay,
the devoted friend of the African was thus starved out
l.)y the desertion of oppressors and oppressed together.
So imgratefully are the disinterested services of
philanthropy sometimes requited ! Many were of
opinion that a diflicidty of so exceptional an order might
have been successfully overcome by more prudent

FRACAS OJ-^ THK WHITE AND COLOURED.

891

^es, tciulons,
e soul wero
oil between
iie skin, tlic
' which the

ade no im-
whieli tlie
many cases
heir feelings
Wliile tlie
n, a zealons
ilatfonn' of
he African,
pion, rallied
e adherents
ic dclnit, lie
ition chielly
be allowed
the score of
iiiLj Sunday
negro race,
lowever, did
'e aml)itioiis
fashionable
;isfaction of
e; and, hkc
lies of hay,
starved out
ed together,
services of
were of
order might
)re prudent

reticence on the pai't of these consi'ientious ministei's.
l^lvidently the most ellective method of allaying it was not
to attack the ])osition taken by the whites when their
social antipathies were excited to I'ever heat, and the
attitude assumed by the blacks was not so conciliatory .as
\ it ought to iiave been. A little good nature, cautious
management, and expedient neuti'ality on the jjart ol' the
clergy, would, I have no doubt, soon h;ive brought the
antagonists to a pro])er understanding, and silenced this
strife for precedence in the religious assembly.

The same prejudice of race contiiuies, unfortunately, to
interfere with harmony in social gatlierings for the ])urposes
of amusement. More than once has the presence of
coloured persons in the pit of the theatre occasioned
scenes of violence and bloodshed, followed by litigation.
When, a few years since, a literary institute was attempted
to be formed, and the signatures of one or two res])eclable
negroes appeared in the list of subscribers, the movement
came to an untimely close. A white member of a
temperance society, which Avas eminentl}^ useful in the
community, proposed the name of a coloured man for
admission, intentionally avoiding to disclose at the time
any information as to his race, and when it was discovcrcnl
that the society had been beguiled, ignorantly, into
accepting a negro as a brother teetotaller, it broke uj).

There is nothing in the constitutit)n of the colony to
exclude a British born negro from the municipal council
or the legislature, and yet, however well qualified he
might be by talent and education for the honour, his elec-
tion could not be carried in the present state of public
feeling. The negroes are perfectly justified in claiming
those civil rights which British law confers upon them,
and they arc resolved not to desist struggling till these
are fully achieved.

302

COURSE TO BE TAKEN BY NE(JU0E8.

Having by commendiiblc zeal suci't'ocU'd in ()rf,^anisill<i^
ji liflc (X)r[)s and a brass l)an(l, they c'Xpivssod a wisli to
appear in unifoim, on occasion of a ])ublic proccssi(jn
formed to escort tlie present Governor to liis residence on
landing in tlie colony, liut the prejudice of the whites
ruled it otherwise. Wiien they sought an opportunity of
showing esteem for the retiring Governor at a baiKpiet
given to that gentleman, admission was refused them.
When the 'connnon-school ' system is inti'oduced, in which
the families of both races ai'e equally entitled to j)artici-
l);ite, I foresee that storms will aiiscv

Many of this peojjle in the countiy are nccessai'ily
endowed with very limited intelligence, while some are
well-informed and elocpient in sjieech. lint, as a rjicc,
they compare favourably with whites of corresponding
social position, in industry and uprightness.

It was remarked by Sydney Smith that ' we carmot
extort friendship from those whose regard we covet, with
a cocked pistol.' If ever, therefore, the fusion of races
sought ])y persons of colour is to be brought alxnit, that
(3nd will not be accelerated by our negro brethren adopting
coercive and resentful measuivs. Their lot in the social
sctde should bo borne with i)hilosophic patience and
Christian resignation. They should guan^ against causing
their fellow-citizens needless irritation, and remember that
prejudices long fostered by association cannot be conquered
in a moment.

The manners of the wliite residents toward each other
strike one accustomed to the tacitin-nity for which society
in England is proverbial, as remarkably free and hearty.
This rule, however, is not without exceptions.

The Goveriiment officials constitute the centre of the
social system (still in a formative state), and around it
multitudes of broken-down gentlemen and certain needy

SIR JAMKS UOUfiLAS,

393

organism^
i a wis) I to

proccs.sion
L'sidciiccoii

the wlutcs
lortunity of

a ))aii(iui't
used tlieiii.
!(l, in Avliirli
i to ])artici-

necessjirily
i3 some ai'e
, as a race,
['respondiiiL?

we cannot
covet, with
)n of races
about, tliat
n adoptin;^
tlie social
tience and
inst causinp^
lember thtit
conquered

cacli other
lich society
and hearty.

;ntre of the
.1 around it
rtain needy

tradespeople rotate. The most weiiltliy meml)ers of the
connnunity iiave, in general, more money than culture— a
condition of thin«^s always incident to the eai'ly staj^e ol'
colonial devijlojHnent. Many of them owe their improved
circumstances sim[)ly to l)ein<^ the lucky possessors of real
estate at a time when it could be bought for a nominal
amount. Some who eight years ago were journeymen
smiths, car[)enters, butchers, bakers, public-housekeepers,
Ol" pro])riet()rs of small curiosity sho[)s in San Francisco or
Victoria, aie now in the receipt of thousands of pounds a
year. Among this class there are those who bear their
prosperity with moderation, while others indicate the
limited extent of their accpuiintance witli the world by an
air of amusing assumption.

There is a resident in the country who, in consideration
of his past odicial rehition to it, as first Governor of I British
Columbia, deserves passing notice in this place. I refer
to Sir James Douglas. This gentleman is completely un-
known in England, except at the Colonial Ollice and to a
few directors of the Hudson's Bay Coni|)any. lint being
a local celebrity, the reader may not object to be introduced
to so interesting a character. In stature he exceeds six
feet. His countenance, by its weather-beaten ap})earance,
still tells of many years spent in fur-trap|)ing adventure;, in
the wilds of the interior. Introduced at the age of iifteen
or sixteen from the West Indies, the reputed place of his
birth, into the service of the company, and deprived, during
the greater part of his life, of the advantages of society,
except that of Indians, half-breeds, and persons like
him -elf occupying humble situations in the employ of the
company, every praise is due to him for not being indifle rent
to mental culture in those mountain solitudes in which the
flower of his manhood was passed. The stateliness of
his person — of which he always seems proudly conscious —

304

HIS DEPORTMENT.

hikI lii.s natural force of character suggest the reflec-
tion to an observer, how vastly more agreeable would
have been his address and powerful the iniUience of
his character and abilities had he enjoyed in early life a
liberal education and intercourse with persons of refnienient
and culture. De Quincey describes the well-known Dr.
Parr, as the ' Birmingham Dr. Johnson ' — an exj^ression
signifying that the former was but an electro-plated imita-
tion of the latter. The application of this remark may be
left to the reader in reference to the pretentious deport-
ment of Sir James. His efforts to appear grand, and
even august, were ludicrously out of proportion to the
insignificant population he governed — numbering less
than the inhabitants of many a country town .in England.
Wlien he spoke to anyone within the precincts of
the Government House, his Quixotic notions of his office,
Avhicli he evidently thought splendid, prompted him to
make choice of the sesquipedalian diction he em])loyed
in his despatches. The angle of his head, the official tone,
the extension of his hand, the bland smile which never
readied beyond the corners of his mouth — all these stiff
and artificial arrangements were carefully got up and daily
repeated by him under the delusion that the juiblic
imagined him to be natural and a perfect Brummell in
politeness. His manners always gave one the inij^ression
that to make up for early disadvantages he had religiously
adjusted his whole bearing to the standard of Lord
Chesterfield, and it is needless to say how amusing was the
combination of his lordship and this dignified old fur-
trapper.

llis attitude toward the officials serving under his
government was austere and distant. This he had acquired
under the sort of military regime observed between tlie
officers and servants of tlie Hudson's Bay Company. 1

PETTY DIPLOMACY.

895

the rcflcc-
able would
niluence of

early life a
if refinement
[-known Dr.
1 expression
ilated iniita-
fiark may bo
ious deport-
grand, and
rtion to the
nbering less
.in England,
precincts of
of his office,
pted him tc^
[le em])loyed
official tone,
which never
ill these still'
up and daily

the public
5rummell in
e impression
d religiously
rd of Lord
sin^ was the

ed old fur-

imder his
lad acquired
between the
ompany. 1

I *

have heard magistrates addressed by him in a pom-
pous manner that no English gentleman would assume
toward his porter. But Sir James solemnly felt that ' the
machine of state ' could only be kept in motion by his
delivering commands, with head erect, and with that
rotund and peremptory utterance which at once betrayed
and excused vulgarity.

He was rarely visible at his d ■ ^' or in the street with-
out being arrayed in semi-military unitorm ; but the climax
of his extravagance was probably capped by his being
followed perpetually, whether taking an airing in the
country or going to visit, by an imposing orderly, duly
armed and in uniform. In so small and practical a town
as Victoria, the temptation of the local wits to satirise so
preposterous a spectacle was irresistible.

Petty diplomacy was a passion with Sir James — doubt-
less developed, from his youth, in the wheedling mode of
transacting business with the Indians, adopted by the
company in the interior. He never sent away any suj)-
pliant for governmental favours without holding out some
hope, which, at the same moment, he, in mau}^ cases,
determined to frustrate. A favourite plan of his with any
wliom he thus sought to keep in good humour was to
exhaust their patience by expedient and indefinite post-
ponement of the object desired.

A certain description of immigrants fresh from England,
imagine in their verdant simplicity that their recent arrival
from that great centre of knowledge and civilisation gives
them a right to patronise colonists whose condition they
deem benighted from long exile. The class I refer to
have a weakness for manuflicturing stories of better days,
departed greatness, and rich relations. One person wliom
I knew professed to be a University man ; to have been
familiar with a European prince ; heir of a large estate

396

VERDANT SIMPLICITY OF NEW-COMERS.

and ward of a gentleman of influence in England. Th*.
curiosity of a friend being excited to learn particulars
respecting the mysterious history he supposed to attach
to this hero, wrote home to parties claimed by him as
former associates. On investigation, it appeared that he
was a bankrupt draper and an outlaw, who had changed his
name.

Amusing disclosures are sometimes made about certain
ladies who are anxious to impress the public by exagge-
rated representations of their former position in society
at home. These elegant specimens of afTectation entertain
visitors, languidly, with narratives, intended to set foi'tli
the contrast asserted to exist between present hardships
and former affluence. But, by an unhappy coincidence,
some one usually turns up wlio knows all about their
antecedents ; and then the truth comes out, assigning
them a very different phice in society from what they
pretended to.

One lady, who had contracted the inconvenient habit
of dropping her Zt's, and using singular verbs with plural
nouns, provoked enquiry into the past by expatiating on
the magnificence of her ancestral mansion — the number
of stories it contained, its turrets and battlements, and
the fine view of the sea it commanded. The fact was, to
speak without figure, she was the daughter of a worthy
lighthouse-keeper !

If the cliaracter of people is respectable, humble origin
is felt to be much less a barrier to advancement in the
colonies than in England. But in no part of the empire
are shams so readily detected.

Let it not be supposed, however, that our female society
is entirely composed of this or of any other class that is
doubtful. It must be confessed, that there are too many
females in both colonies, as everywhere else, that reflect

AMERICAN AND ENGLISH LADIES.

397

land. TliL.

particulars
d to attacli

by liim as
ired that he
changed his

30ut certain
by exagge-
L in society
on entertain
to set fortli
it hardships
coincidence,
about their
t, assitjnin"
what they

enient habit
Avith plural
patiating on
he number
nnents, and
fact was, to
)f a worthy

mble origin
lent in the
the empire

iiale society
class that is
2 too many
that reflect

little credit

the land of their ado

thev did

as nttie credit upon the land ot tlieir adoption as they did
on the land of their birth. Still, we have among us ladies
of birth and education, and, what is yet more important,
of moral qualities that woidd render them an ornament
to their sex in any part of the world.

Refugees from bankruptcy, disgrace, or family strife,
sufTered in some otlier part of the world, are to be met
with in Victoria every few yards. But among the unfor-
tunate are some of the most estimable men I have ever
seen.

The tone of society has become decidedly more Britisli
since 1859 ; but still, as tlien, the American element pre-
vails. Citizens of the United States may easily be known
by tlieir spare, erect, and manly figure. The business
men among them are, for the most part, attired in super-
fine cloth, most frequently of a dark colour, and high-
heeled, broad-toed boots, of admirable fit. Tlie coloured
shooting-jacket, so frequently worn by Englishmen in tlie
colony during the week, lias no attraction for Ame-
ricans.

For ethereal beauty, handsomeness, liveliness, and
general intelligence, American ladies must be allowed
to be eminently distinguished. That high refinement,
which can only residt from breeding and education, and
is to be found in the foremost rank of British society,
is without parallel among Americans. But it is my
hnpression that the average of educated American ladies
cai^not be equaUed, in interesting expression of counte-
ufuice and brightness of intellect, by English ladies of the
middle-class generally. The charming sweetness of the
American beauty, however, fades prematurely, and at tlie
age of 30, when a well-developed English lady is but in
her prime, the smooth visage and transparent complexion
of our fair cousin have been for years invaded by wrinkles.

398

CHAPTER OF OCCURREiNX'ES.

Americans appear to me defective in conversational
power. However rapid and distinct their speech may be,
tiie diction employed by them is so stilted, and their forms
of expression are so elaborate, as to contrast imftivourably
with the terse idiomatic phraseology used by those En-
glishmen who are competent to wield their own language.

A tolerably correct idea of white society in Victoria, at
the period when I arrived in the colony, may be gathered
from the chapter of occurrences which took place in the
smtdl wooden hotel at which I put up, then afTurding the
best public accommodation to be obtained in the place.
On entering the restaurant the morning of my arrival, the
first customer I saw was a tall gentleman with hair of a
very red hue, immense moustache, and beard of the same
colour and size. This happened to be a man of good
family, whose name I recollected to have seen figure in
the 'Times,' as co-respondent in a case tried a few
months previously before Sir Cresswell Cresswell.
Having been mulcted in heavy damages, he absconded
from the parent country. Notwithstanding the brit-

tleness of Mr. G 's reputation, he was promoted,

shortly afterwards, to the responsible situation of Colonial
Treasurer, through the consideration of Governor Douglas.
But the force of former habits returned to this hero of
the Divorce Court, though his natural infirmity now
assumed a new manifestation. His extravagance plunged
him in debt. When the public ledger was examined,
a large balance was struck against him, and no satisfac-
tory account could be given by him of the missing cash.
He was imprisoned in the common gaol, to await trial for
embezzlement ; but as the surveillance of the authorities
over him was not sufficiently strict, he escaped and joined
one of the contendinii; American armies, in which he
fell.

DEFALCATIONS OF OFFICIALS.

390

mvcrsational
cell may be,
I their forms
mfavoural)ly
y those En-
vn language.
L Victoria, at
be gathered
^lace in the
iifTurding the
in the place.
^ ari'ival, the
:h hair of a
of the same
lan of good
en figure in
tried a few
^ Cresswell.

absconded
the brit-

promoted,
1 of Colonial
nor Douglas,
this hero of
firmity now
nee plunged
s examined,
no satisfac-
nissing cash,
^ait trial for
3 authorities
.1 and joined

which he

At the same dinner-table, that first day of my acquain-
tance with the city, there was an American doctor who
had made the sphere of his practice in a neighbouring
State too hot for him by misconduct. This man, then
about 40, I found had, up to a few years before, followed
the humble calling of a barber. There was al.^o present
a worthy ex-consul of a European nation, who had lust a
fortune through over-speculation. Next morning I was
awakened by a Government official of British Columbiji
holloaing to the notorious red-haired gentleman above
described, whose room was separated from mine by only
a thin wooden })artition, informing him that the law-
adviser of the Crown for one of the colonies had been
challenged to a duel by a brother banister. While
refening to lawyers, it may be added that the Supreme
Court in both colonies has several times been disgraced
by contem})tuous badgering of the bench on the part of
certain members of the bar, calculated to shock all one's
ideas of judicial dignity.

The experience of the colonists at this period was
varied by some excitement connected with the trial of a
treasury clerk, who had, on the day after my ai'iival, been
committed to prison for one year, charged with robbin
the colonial ' till' Not long afterwards the postmaster
absconded, with a considerable amount of public money.
This oflicial had already earned notoriety as prime mover
in riots created at Ballarat, in Australia. His course was
finished, consistently, a couple of years later, at a gam-
bhng-house in Germany, where, becoming inextricably
involved in ' debts of honour,' he died by his own hand.
How Governor Douglas could be induced to elevate such
men to responsible Government situations, it is difiicult
to understand.

Tired of hotel life, I took up my abode in a respectable

400

THE UNMARRIED COUPLE.

family, tlie lady of which was threatened, as I believe
unjustly, with prosecution for libel, by another lady
zealous for her reputation. New quarters soon opened to
me, where there appeared every reason to hope that the
atmosi)here would be free from the troubles of litigation.
For a time domestic peace continued unrulHed. But one
day, while at dinner, two policemen came for the purpose
of searching the premises ; and I can testify that diges-
tion was not greatly assisted by the process. A fellow-
boarder was non inventus est, leaving behind him debts to
a considend)le amount. My embarrassment was increased
by mine host, who was the partner of the defaulter in
business, being arrested on suspicion of bcdng implicated
in the fraud ; but he was honourably acquitted. Again
I felt compelled to beat a retreat.

It is not uncommon for persons of plausible address
coming into the colonies, to impose on the public, and
insinuate themselves uito respectable society. But in a
longer or shorter time, the cloven foot is disclosed, and
they are obliged to withdraw into obscurity or leave the
country.

Two persons I knew something of, passed for a while as
husband and wife, even with many who were particular
about the company they kept. At length the gentleman
wx'nt to Cariboo, and during his absence a so-called pro-
fessional gentleman became so intimate with the lady as
to call forth severe comment on the nature of the relations

he sustained to her. After the return of Mr. A from

British Columbia, the door was besieged by the quack. The
former, wdio opened to him, w\as asked by the new suitor

'if J Avas at home' — alluding to the supposed wife

of Mr. A The latter aflfected intense indignation

that his wife should be spoken of by a stranger in so
familiar a manner. But the doctor, nothing daunted,

i5 I believe
other lady
n opened to
)pc that the
)f litigation.
1. But one
the purpose
that diges-
A fellow-
lim debts to
as increased
defaidtcr in
g implicated
,ted. Again

;ible address
; public, and
But in a
isclosed, and
or leave the

Tor a while as
•e particular
ic gentleman
(-called pro-

|i the lady as
the relations
A from

|e quack. The
le new suitor
lipposed wife
indignation
I'aniier in so
lni»- daunted,

ADVIiXTIJIlES OF WIDOWS.

401

reminded iMr. A tliat lie was her riLditful owner, as

sIk' was engaged to be married to liini, and had never
stood in tliat sacred relation to ]\Ir. A . 'J'he pre-
tended husband, as an American expressed it, 'wilted
down,' and was obliged, after a residenc:e of some half-
dozen yeai's under the same roof with his mistress, to
resign in favour of the partner to whom she was about to
be legally attached.

A number of females have found their way int(^ the
country Avho give themselves out as vidotcs-, without
being entitled to that sad but honourable desiu'iiation.
Some singular coincidences came under my observation, a
few years since, respecting one of this class. I was in-
vited to perform the ceremony of marriage between the
woman in question, who had just come to the country,
and a settler. Six months afterwards, I received a letter
from a gentleman of high profession.al reputation in Eng-
land, to whose name Avere appended several learned titles,
and who presided over one of the most important public;
institutions in London. His object in writing was to
ascertain the particulars of the marriage referred to, not,
as he remarked, with a view to throwing any impediment
in the way, for he assm-ed me the lady (all females are
known as ladies on this side the world) had not befoi'c
been married. Yet, with his knowledge, she took his
name, and represented herself as a bereaved wife. The
iacts warranted me in drawing only a conclusion that
involved dishonour to the parties.

An evening or two after the receipt of this comnumi-
cation, a friend, who had lived in California, called on
me, and happened casually, in conversation, to review the
prominent events of early mining days in San Francisco.
Among other pioneer characters he recalled the lady un-
der consideration, who was then exhibited, he said, in an

D D

402

TKllMS OF THE MAUULUiE ACT.

indecorous manner, in imitation of statuar}' — a very suc-
cessful metiiod of ()l)taiuinii: money from vicious men in
those rude times. The ex]iil)itor of tluit obscene spectacle
was not asliamed to be addressed as her husb;ind. The;
name of the nnui reported by my friend agreed with tliat
attached to tlie letter from England, and the married de-
signation by which, as a })retended widow, the inilui[)py
w<jman desired to be known.

An instance of the intriguing disposition of some of
these nondesci'ipt females may be related. It may be
interestini*; to some bachelor or maiden readers, who
contemplate seeking their fortune in this new land, and
])refer a quiet celebration of tlieir nuptials, to know that
the Marriage Act of Vancouver Island })rovides f(jr matri-
mony being entered upon, if so deemed expedient by
the lovers, within a brief space after their minds are
made up on the momentous question of having the knot
tied. ]3y j)aying a fee of ten dollars, and making a de-
claration mider oath at Government House that no legal
impediment exists to the union, the bridegroom can pro-
cure a special licence under the hand and seal of the
Governor. On presenting this document to a clergy-
man or minister, and advancing to him a further sum
of not less than ]/. 2.s\ 6(/., the desired privilege maybe
had. Most candidates for connubial felicity in these colo-
nies prefer being married in the evening, and in a private
house.

A message having come from a Mrs. P , request-
ing my services at her house in the evening, to iniite
her in matrimony to a lucky miner, I communicated
to the messenger, for the information of this lady, the law
on the subject that has just been stated. On reaching
the house at the hour appointed for the ceremony, I was
ushered by a servant into a brilliantly-hghted parlour, but

EXTllAOllDINAliY WKUDLVCJ SCKXK.

l():j

veiy sue-
us meu ill
3 spoctiu'lc!
uid. Tlio
I with tluit
laiTied de-
s uulmppy

)f some ol
It may be
adcrs, avIio
V laud, and

know that
}s tbv matri-
:pedieut by

minds are
ii(v the knot

aking a dc-
liat no legal
m can pro-
seal of tlie
L) a clergy-
further sum
ege may be
these colo-
in a private

--, rcquest-
icr, to unite
immunicatcd
ady, the law
lOn reaching

Inony,

I was

parlour, but

neither bride, bridegroom, guest, nor witness to the pro-
posed transaction was to be seen. In a few moments, the
rustling of a silk dress in the hall announced that some
female form was at hand. jM}' suspense was soon relieved
by a lady coming towards the sofa on which I was seated,
who impressed me as neither shy nor mirthful. Without
any attempt at form, she took a seat near me. Having
no index by her movements what position she was to
occupy in the business of the evening, I i-efrained, out of
regard to proj)riety, from breaking silence, lest any
enquiries I might make should appear imi^ertinent. At
length, looking at me with a lackadaisical stare, she
said : ' Are you the minister ?' 'Yes,' I re[)lied ; ' may I
take the liberty of asking Avhether you are the bride r'
' I am,' said the lady. ' Then, I presume,' said I, 'that
your intended husband has procured the special licence,
and that all your arrangements are made?' ' Who are
you ?' she said with a troubled and half-defiant air. ' Are
you not a regular minister ? We need no licence in the
v^tates for this sort of thing !' ' I have simply to say,' said
I, ' that some one has deceived me. I asked your mes-
senger explicitly if the necessary sanction of the Governor
had been obtained, and Avas answered in the allirmative.
It is a waste of time and a breach of courtesy to bring
me here at this late hour, when you know the legal con-
ditions of your proposed marriage have not been com[)lied
with.' With em])hasis and gesticulation she exclaimed :
'I must be married to-night! You don't know how
peculiar the case is. If the thing be not done to-night, it
may never be. If you only knew what a peculiar man

my intended husband is . Y^'ou can make it all right,

if you like.' Then, coaxingly, she added, as if she thought
I were only teasing her for a bribe, 'I'll give you my
note for a hundred and lifty dollars, if you maiTy us to-

i> i> 2

404

CONDUCT OF TlIK HHIiOINi:

iii.iLi'lit, mid you cjiii easily do jill tlio Oovoriiinciit wants
afterwards.' ^ I ])v>^ your jjardou,' said I. 'Uidcsstlic
Ijridc'^room first <j:o ihroiiLjli the forms i)resc'ril)i'd by the
GoveruiiRMit, any ollicial act done by uic is valut'Iess, and
if the gentleman were to leave you, you could have no
recourse at law against liini. lint why does he not come
and speak for liimself? and where are your witnesses ?
The whole aflair is incomi)rehensil)le !' 'Yes; he's in the
next room. I "11 send him in ; but he's a ])eculiar num.'

At length the victim whose fate was al)out to be
decided was inti'oduced — just the kind of subject whom
the arts of a desioninu' woman wouhl be likely to fasci-
nate. lie appeared to be embarking in a cause of which
he was either afraid or ashamed. lie expressed Jiis
willingne'ss to enter into the pending contract ; but every-
tliini' alxmt his uianner l)esi)oke i^reat reluctance. 1
explained what steps were recpiisite to be taken to rendei'
his marriage legal, and prouiiscd to wait twenty uiinutes
for his return from the office where the licence was to be
obtained ; assuring him, at the same time, that if he
Avished to postpone the ceremony I would cheerfully re-
tire. With a sullen gravity, more befitting what related
to a death-warrant, he went to procure that which most
men, on such an occasion, would regard as a harbinger

ofj<^y-

While he had gone, a female friend came into the room,
followed by the redoubtable heroine of the evening, who
had in her liaiid a tray sui)porting three bumpers of
champagne, to be drunk, contrary to all precedent, in
anticipation of the coming event. Eesolved to set my
face against this iimovtition upon decorum, I declined to
accept what was proflered. But the bride, having less
scrupulousness, imbibed liberally — perhaps in the hope of
acquiring nerve to bear the cjrdeal that was before her.

Till': I'LOT i'xi:avi;lli:i).

40:

iK'iit wants
Uiik'ss llic
K'd by the
liu'lt'ss, and
1(1 have 110
e not conu;
Avitnc'^^sc'S ?
lie's in llie
ilinr man.'
b(nit to be
bject Avlioni
ely to f'asci-
se of wliicli
^pressed his
; but every -
hictance. 1
LMi to render
pnty minutes
ce was to be
that it' he
leer fully re-
hat related
whieh most
a harbinger

to the room,
veninir, who

bumpers of
n'ecedent, iu
1 to set my

deelined to

having less
1 the hope of

before her.

liy tlio time the gentlemnn returni'd, she had suceocde(l in
iittaininga very eonvivial state; and, indeed, wliiK' the ninr-
riage-serviee wjis being read, proved iihnost iiK'!ij)able of
standing ei'eet. Her jilleetion for her husband, wnrmed
with wine, could not bi' restrained till the eeremonv was
decently ended. As soon as the act wms over, she con-
soled the creature she had snared in liei' toils, bv remindinLi;
him that she had liim fast now. 'Faugh!' said the hus-
l)and, dreauiing 01 ireedom which was no longer jiis, VL
can please myself about that. There 's 11 steamer for kfim
Francisco to-morrow.'

Tlie next day the plot was unravelled. The lucky miner
had been introduced to this worthless woman by her
purauiofir. This e(|ually bad character had met the dupe
accidentally at the mines, and arrangi'd with his mistress
that she should captivate him, and that when she had won
his love, bets should be exchanged between them, on the
])robabilities of their marriage within so many days. The
bait took. The gentleman was to lose ^1,(100 if untrue
to his enn-ao'ement. and she the same amount if she should
alter her mind. Her end, which was to gain money, was
achieved whichever Avay his humour might incline. The
third party referred to, no doubt, realised a large connnis-
sion on the transaction. In a few weeks her husband
discovered, by proof as disagreeable as it was convincing,
that her former lover had resumed his place in her heart,
and he, consequently, was luider the painful necessity —
which Avas the form in which duty presented itself to him
at the moment — of blackening the eyes of this scoundi-el.
Within tlie same period she had exhausted a credit of
iS'5,000, placed in the bank for her use. Her husband felt
com])elled to adopt the plan customary in such cases, of
])ublishhig a notice hi the newspapers that he should not
be any longer responsible for lutr debts. ^Slie replitxl

400

YOUXO COLONISTS.

tlirou^fli tlk' sjiinc iiKMliiini; Jiiid to roinplctc licr I'ctMliiitioii,
iuid sliumc liiiu, if pos^ililc, into lujikinj^ sonic pccuniaiy
conipi'oniisc, slic jnniounccd licr appciirjincu at a low
sin_uin_L''-i'()oni. ^lany 'roii^dis' -went, iVoin ciiiiosity, to
Avitnoss this cxliihitioii. As slie seonicd disj)os('d ncitlier to
sin<j^ nor dance for their ainnsenu-nt, one fellow slionte(l
tliat ' they hadn't pjot the worth of their money.' At this
remark she linrlcd a stool at his liead, and the comi)any
separated in conl'nsloii. Her eoiirse sinee then need not be
traced. If clerirymen in the countiy wei'e ])ermitte(l to
divorce as well as to rnarry, it is to be fc^aretl they mi^dit
often be invited to nndo, in Tenelopi' fashion, at the end
oi" the year what they did at the beginning of it.

Withont .'MHictinu: liuhteoiis minds with moi'e anecdotes
of this description — thonuh they might be recited by the
score — it may just be t)bseived. that 'the social evil,' if it
do not prevail in greater ratio than it does in the parent
country, at least rears its head more iniblushingly, and
])rostitutes are reputed to be the richest of their sex.
Nor is scandal confined to unmarried or obscure circles
in the community.

Single young men, many of them w^ell connected and
possessing a good education, form a large portion of the
population. The habits of some indicate them to have
been ' black sheep ' in the domestic fold at home ; othei's
of good reputation are sometimes to be found, who fail
in success for want of the tact, energy, and endurance
requisite to conquer the difficulties peculiar to colonial life.
Others are distinguished by an indomitable spirit that smil-
ingly breasts the passing wave of misfortune ; they never
lose an affiible and modest bearing, or a regard for integrity,
under the most trying disappointments, but pursue their
aims in the unfaltering assurance tliat victory, though de-
layed, will eventually reward their struggles. The beams

TIIKlIf TFMITATIO.NN AND DANlMlKS.

rcttiliiitioii,
^ ])L'('uniiiiy
iit a low
iii'iosify, to
(1 ncitliLT to
[)W si touted
y.' At this
lie c()ini)any

need not bo
icnnittc'd to

they mi gilt
., ut tliu end

it.

re anecdotes
cited by the
ial evil,' if it
I tlie ])arent
shingly, and
f their sex.
scure circles

nnectcd and
tion of the
lem to have
jnie ; otliers
id, who fail
1 endurance
colonial life,
rit that smil-
; they never
for integrity,
pursue their
thouiijh de-
The beams

of a i)rosj)erous future are I'dlccted in tlu' gliuiee of such
men, and the conununity instinetively makes way for their
[iromotion.

If, however, there lu; any vulnerable ])(»int in the i-ha-
racter of the young and inexperienced colonist, it is cer-
tain to be hit by the arrow ol' temptation. It is iniixissible
for the imaginative youth, surrounded with the blandish-
ments of fashionable English lifi', the associations of the
Cliurch,the proprieties ()ftlie(h!batiiigclub,or the restraints
of fond relationship, to over-estimate the iiery trial that
awaits him, when thrown like a Hedged bird from the
maternal nest into the society of strangers, for the most part
selfish, and interested in the 'greenhorn' only as far as they
can profit by the attentions they [)ay him. Should his
concern ft)r speedily entering on a money-making career
outweigh that better judgment which compasses its end by
cautious measures and slow degrees, and looks out first for
a right start, nothing is more })rol)able than that he will be
pounced u])on by those disguis(jd falcons that ai'eever on the
watch for such a quarry. Once persuaded by their sophistry
that under their counsel he is on the high-road to wealth,
he Avillbe induced, in his imagined shrewdness, to accom-
modate himself to their habits, under the impression that
the llatterhig compliment he thus shows will have the
eflect of quickening their disinterested zeal in his behalf
lie complacently argues within himself: ' These persons are
evidently smart; but liow fortunate I am to be smarter
still, and able to manage them!' The speculation into
Avliich he has been lured, of course, bursts ; his obliging
friends ( ! ) have got all they wanted out of him, and he
is left to console himself as best he can under ids losses.
If of an excitable nature, he is likely to drown his sor-
rows in somethhig stronger than water. It is, alas ! the
old and oft-told storv.

408

LEISURE OCCLTATIONS.

But tlie picture has a reverse side. Should favourable
prospects open up, exceeding, as sometimes liappens, his
most sanguine expectations, one of the nervous tempera-
ment just described miglit be tempted to find vent for his
gratificati(jn in a s-i/utposinm^ graced by the presence of
those 'jolly good fellows ' that, like swallows, flutter around
one in the sunshine of prosperity, but disa})pear when the
winter of adversity approaches. Over the mortal remains
of how many [)romising characters, wrecked on the shoals
and reefs against which friendly warning has been given
above, have I been called to perform sad offices! Many
still meet one's observation in the streets of Victoria,
wlio, unless a merciful Providence interpose, are doomed
to the drunkard's grave. Frequently have I been delighted
to see the beneficial change ellected by marriage, in arrest-
ing tlie progress of dissipation. It is only to be regretted
that the paucity of respectal3le females in Vancouver Island
and Britisli Columbia limits so much the opportunities of
single men Avho desire to cultivate domestic virtues, and
lead sobei' lives. From a volunteer rifle corps which has
been organised under encouraging auspices, I anticipate
much good, in affording the class referred to amusing oc-
cupation for part of their leisure.* Happy will it be, too,
for the comfort and morals of young men, when the ' shanty '
life, involving the inconvenience of cooking with their
own hands, and the restaurant, which fosters home feelings
to even a smaller extent, are more generally displaced by
lodging-houses, kept by private families, at moderate rates,
and in tlie style familiar to clerks and warehousemen in
England.

Theproximity of the United States to these colonies offers
speciid facilities to fraudulent debtors for escaping from jus-

* I am hnppy to loarn tliiit at loiijrtli a public roadiiig-room and library
have bt'i'ii formed in Mctoria.

THE ' SKEUADDLER.

409

avourablo
ppeiis, his
i teinpeni-
jiit for liis
'cscnce ul'
tor around
wlieu the
al remains
the shoals
ecu given
is! Many

Victoria,
:e doomed
L deUglited
!, in arrest-
i regretted
iver Island
tunities of
rtues, and
Avliich has

anticipate
nusing oc-

it be, too,
le ' shanty '
with their
lie feeling's

placed by

rate rates,
Lisemen in

)nies offers
^fromjus-

imd library

tice. Washington territory may be reached in a few hours,
or a passage to California eflected in a few days ; and once
on American soil, the defaulter usually fmds no didiculty
in eluding detection, A curious exception to this rule,
however, which occurred last year, may not l^e uninterest-

ing-

A Jew brought a lot of jewellery to Victoria, which, for
a tunc, he exhibited to the utmost advantau'e. Findini^
that the Scotch possessed considerable iniluence in the
coimtry, he gave himself out as of that nationality — a
stronu; German accent notwithstandintj. Learnintif next
that the Chiu'ch of England was the leading religious
body, he invested in a pew and a gilt prayer-book. His
ci'edit was above suspicion ; so he connnenced a career
of reckless s[)eculation ; leased land, built houses, and
imported goods. Every money-lender in town was ready
to discount his bills. When due, they were renewed. He
mortgaged his goods while any were in the store. When
casks of rum were exhausted, he filled them with treacle
and Avater. When bales of dry goods were disposed of,
he supplied their place with rags. By thus duping accom-
modating friends, he was enabled to obtain moiuy far be-
yond the value of the stock mortua^ed. At leniith the crisis
came. lie placed his family safely on board the steamer
for California. Certain creditors, suspecting that the bird
was about to take wing, sent the bailiff, armed with a
cdpids for his arrest. To avoid his pursuers he put out
in a small boat, intendiuL;: to hail the steamer when a few
miles from land. But this signal was imheeded, and he
turned the boat's prow to the American side. When tlie
news spread the following day, the creditors hired a steam-
boat and went in search. Eeachinii; Port Townsend after
dusk they Avent through the place in quest of their \)YQy.
During their absence, the runaway walked on l)oard, imn-

410

INSANITY IN THE COLONIES.

gining tlie vessel to be en route foi* Olympia — a more distant
American port in Puget Sound, lie at once retired to his
state-room and slept. He was waked an hour or two later
by a policeman who took him prisoner, and to his utter
amazement he found himself back in the city whence he
sought to disappear.

Tlie intense pitch to which the feelings of people are
strung in a gold-producing country is a frequent cause of
insanity. Whether that malady exist in a greater degree
in this community than in one of a more settled description,
I am not sufficiently versed in the statistics of the subject
to aver. But certainly a much larger proportion of cases
have been personally known to me here than in the same
])eriod I ever saw in the much denser populations of
England. I can reckon up eight persons — all of whom I
have been on speaking terms with, and most of wlumi I
knew intimately, who, in four years and a half, have
become lunatics, and as such are either living or dead.

Tliere was a quiet and respectable man, about thirty,
"who kept a school in Victoria. He became unmanned by
])ecuniary difficulties, and took leave of friends he liad
been visiting, with unusual seriousness and formality, and
the same evening attached a rope to the Avail of his room,
thence suspending himself by the neck. Two days after,
the owner of the apartment went to collect the rent, and cut
the body down.

Tw^o other unfortunate persons laboured under the hal-
lucination that certain friends had conspired to mix
poison with their food. Another w^as a medical man,
who called on me, offering for sfde a very old copy of an
Italian Bible, which he assured me was valued by English
'book-hunters' at a hundred ])ounds ; but being em-
barrassed he was wilhng to let me have it for ten pounds.
Still he never produced tlie book. Tlic occasion of his

THE RELIGIOUS MANIAC.

411

more distant
etired to his
or two later
to his utter
T whence he

people are
3nt cause of
eater degree
description,
f the subject
ion of cases
in the same
pulations of
1 of whom I
t of wlumi I
a half, have

or dead,
ibout thirty,
nmanned by
3nds he had
rmality, and
of his room,
days after,
rent, and cut

ider the hal-
ed to mix
edical man,
copy of an
d by Englisli
: being em-
• ten pounds,
asion of liis

narrow circumstances was related liv him witli irreat
earnestness and originality. The local Govei'nment, he
said, had a spite against him witliout any provocation,
and employed some Cliinamen to annoy him by invisible
agency. Tliis consisted of a projectile wliicli could be
darted through the air at any distance. It was impercep-
tible to natural vision, but by an allinity establislied be-
tween it and a pimple at the back of the doctor's head,
it went straiizht from the hand which threw it to that
object. The result of this contact was that, according to
his testimony, he was invariably brouglit down, where vei*
lie might be, unless already in a reclining posture. lie
went into a learned explanation of the invention of tliis
subtle and dangerous weapon, ascribed by him to the
combined genius of a Jesuit priest and a Chinaman, wJio
too;cther brought it to liglit in tlie reign of Ilenrv VII.
The infhience, however, wliich turned the doctor Irom a
perpendicular to a horizontal position, I fear, answers
more correctly to the slang description of Americans ;
' Cliain-lightning, warranted to kill at 100 yards.' Aui/licc,

' grog.'

Another gentleman, formerly a parish sclioolmaster in
Scotland, and respectably educated at a Scotch imiversity,
fell a prey to mental aberration. Having often felt inter-
ested in his conversation on metaphysical subjects, of whicli
he was passionately fond, my sense of sorrow may be
judged of on visiting him, after he showed signs of mad-
ness, in the common gaol — the only place at present appro-
priated for lunatics in Victoria. Now his form was bent,
his features haggard, his mouth awry, and his speech a
loud, incessant, and incoherent jabber.

Perhaps the most interesting case of this kind that came
under my notice was that of a relhjions maniac. Upon
cveiy point but one he appeared sane. Ilis ruling idea was,

412

SOCIAL PYRAMID INVEllTED.

that tlic Almighly had revealed to liim the vision of a
spiritual and united kingdom to arise from tlie ruins of the
dismembered republic of America. The Saviour was to be
the acknowledged liead, and preside in person over its
destinies. lie believed himself to have been divinely
inspired, and infallibly directed in pre[)aring a national
emblem for the new empire. Under the [)ower of this
afilatu.s, he felt called upon to employ the services of the
best professional draughtsman lie could command, to sketch
the proposed design, and other artists were enlisted, at great
expense, to execute it. I have but a faint i-emembrance
of a lamb, a dove, and some words of Scripture being
inscribed upon the flag. But the devout enthusiast told
me that he had placed the standard of the Heavenly King
in safe keeping, confident that, ere long, He would descend,
take it from its place of custody, and ])roclaiin his reign !

In so small a town, it is astonishing from how many
parts of the world information converges as to a focus.
Within a few hours I have met in the streets of Victoria
persons wlio had respectively crossed the And(!s, ascended
Mont Blanc, fought in the Crimea, cx[)lored the Xortli-
West passage, seen Pekin, ransacked IMcxican antiquities,
lived on the coast of Africa, formed part of Walker's band
of filibusters, made a pilgrimage to the Xile and Palesthie,
revelled in the luxuries of India, witnessed Sepoys blown
away from Ih'itish guns, wintered in Petersburg, en-
gaged in buffalo hunts on the great prairies of Xorth
America, seen Napoleon I., been old friends of Napoleon
III., or educated at the same school with the Princess of
Wales.

The immigrant accustomed to the distinctions of class
obtaining in settled populations of the old world, Avill l)e
struck to observe how completely the social pyramid is
inverted in the colonies. Many persons of birth and

Ision of a
uins of the
was to bo
11 over its
11 divinely
a national
-er of this
ices of tlie
1, to sketch
L'd, at irreat
neinbrance
ture being
lusiast told
venly King
Id descend,
his reign !
how many
;o a focus,
of Victoria
s, ascended
;he North-
antiquities,
ker's band

Palestine,
-)oys blown
sburg, en-
s of North

Napoleon
Princess of

lis of class
id, will \ki
pyramid is
birth and

OXFORD MKX liOUinilXG IT.

413

education, but of reduced means, are compelled, for a
time after their arrival, to struggle with hardship, while
the vulgar, who have but recently acquired wealth, are
arrayed hi soft clothing and fare sum[)tu()usly. Sons of
admirals and daughters of clertrymen are sometimes found
in abject circumstances, while men only versed in the art
of Avielding tlic butcher's knife, the drayman's whip, and
the blacksmith's hammer, or women of low degree, have
made fortunes. The most ludicrous example of these
social trans] )ositions with which I am acquainted, relates
to a gentleman and his man-servant, who came out to-
gether in the same ship. The hireling having (piari'elled
with his master, resigned liis situation, applied for em-
ployment in the police-force, and was accepted. The first
subject on whom he found an opjiortimity of practising
ollicially after he was appointed, happened to be his
former master. That unfortunate irentleman laid himself
open to the suspicion of being 'drunk and disorderly,'
and was immediately taken in charge by the individual
who had been wont to serve him.

Oxford and Cambridge men, arriving with light pockets
and inflated expectations, I have seen brought to the ne-
cessity of working on the roads. One respectable ex-mis-
sionary to China I heard of, who earned his bread, for a few
months after landing, as cook in a third-rate eatinu-liouse:
and a ' valued correspondent ' of ' Household Words,' I
remember to have filled a similar office. One clergyman
of the Church of England visited me for the purpose of
obtaining work in a copper-mine, to the directors of Avhich
he desired that I should recommend him ; and another,
also from Enciand, went to the aold-mines of r)riti>h
Columbia, to supplement the scanty savings he had been
enabled to lay by from the income of the cui-acy he had
left. Probably these q>fO)idaiii priests now rejoice in

114

SOCIKTY IX THE INTITJOR.

incofjii'dos coii^;iderably less cuplionious tlinn tlieir family
names. If any delicacy is shown by men at the diggings
in regard to disclosing tlieir real names, no impudent
questions are asked on the subject; but a name is
extemporised by the miners, arising out of some eccentri-
city of person or character, some notable expression- at
any time uttered l)y the individual, or event that may
have occurred in his experience.

If a man seems educated, the company in wliich he
may be working or travelling, in ignorance of his true
a})pellation, Avill usually designate him by the laconic title
of ' doc,' for doctor, or 'cap,' for captain. If tall, his
accociates, should his family-name be not forthcoming, may
dub him ' Bi>>' Bill.' Should he have a Aveakness for ire-
(juently relxirring to some town, creek, or country frcjm
Avhich he has come, he may expect to have the name of
the place united with his own, such as 'Ilattlesnake Jack,'
' Oregon Bob,' &c. A gentleman avIio was fond of dis-
playing an array of initials before and titles after his
name was significantly called Alphabet M'-D .

Druggists inform me that the demand for hair-dye by
innnigrants is so large as to be quite noticeable. The
cause of this expedient, in such a country, may be readily
conjectured.

Society in the interior is very depraved. In Yale,
Douglas, Lytton, Lilloet, Forks of Quesnelle, and the
mhiing towns, little trace of Sunday is at present visible,
except in the resort of miners on that day to market for
provisions, Avashing of dirty clothes, repairing machinery,
gambling, and dissipation. Out of the 5,000 souls in Vic-
toria, a few may be found who respect the ordinances of
religion. But at the mines, adherents of religious bodies
have hitherto been niunbered by scores and units.*

♦ Of course, more genor.il nncl punctual observance of religious duties
must follow the annual increase and settlement of the mining population.

leir family
c diuiiin^s

impiuluut

name is

e ecceiitri-

)rcssic)ii- at

that may

wliicli he
if his true
[iconic title
[f tall, liis
)ming, may
ss for i're-
mtry from
e name of
iiake Jack,'
)nd of dis-
3 after his

•

air-dye by

tible. The

be readily

In Yale,
3, and the
ent visible,
narket for
nachinery.
Ills in Vic-
inances of
ous bodies
its.*

ligious duties
population.

SLAXti IX VOGUE.

115

Up to the present there have been but two places oFwor-
sliii) in Cariboo — one conne(;ted with the Cinirch of Eii<'--
land, and the other with the Wesleyan ]\lethodists. Till the
i'all of 1803, when these were built, the services of ])ul)hc
worship were conducted in a bar-room and billiard-saloon.
At one end of the a])aitmeiit was the cler<^ymnn, with his
small congregation, and at the other were desperadoes,
collected unblushingly around the /aro or pokak table,
staking the earnings of the preceding week.

Profane language is almost universal, and is employed
with diabolical ing(muity. The names of ' Jesus Christ'
and the 'Almighty' are introduced in most blasphemous
connections. Going to church is known among many as
'• the I'eligious dodge,' which is said to be 'played out,' or,
in other words, a superstition which has ceased to have
tiny interest for enlightened members of society.

A saloon-keeper, in one of the up-country towns, find-
ing that business had been dull in his establishment durinir
the previous week, and hearing the sound of the church-
going bell one Sunday evening, wtis sei;>:ed with an erratic
wish to attend Divine service, imder the impression that,
possibly, the policy he had resolved upon might have the
effect of improving his liquor traffic. Anxious for sympathy
in the good work, he thus addressed a number of miners
that were lounghigon the premises: 'Come, boys; business
htis been Hat this last weels ; we must try the religious
dodge to-night ; every man that's willing to go to church,
come up to the bar and tak(? a drink.' This novel and
tem])ting premium had the result desired.

The slanu" in votxiie in the mining regions is imi)orted
mainly from California, and is often as ex])ressive as it is
ori^intd. ' Guessing ' and ' calculating ' tire exercises of
perpetual occurrence. If one have the best of a bargain,
he is said to have gut ' the dead wood ' on the other [>arty

41G

KINDIIKAUTKDNKSS OF iMlXIvRS.

ill tlie transaction. A mean and greedy man is 'on the
make; ' and where a 'claim' is to be disposed of, the pro-
prietor is 'on tlie sell.' A conceited man thinks himself
' some pumpkins ; ' and when any statement is made, the
exact truth of which is doubted, it is said to be 'layther
a tall story.' When a claim disappoints the hopes of those
interested in it, it has 'fizzled out.' Credit is 'jaw-bone;'
and in one store on the road to Cariboo, the full-sized
jaw-bone of a horse is polished, and suspended on the
wall, with the words written under : ' None of this
allowed here.' The ground of the allusion is evident,
the product resulting from the motion of the jaw being
the only security a needy purchaser has to olTer. Another
expression for wanting credit is ' shooting off the face.'
Deceit in business is ' shananigan.' A good road, steam-
boat, plough, dinner, or anything else you please, is
'elegant.' When one has run off to avoid paying his
debts, he has ' skedaddled,' or ' vamoosed the ranch ;' or
if hard-up, he wants to ' make a raise.' Owing to the
remoteness of British Columbia from other centres of
British population, it is called the ' jumping-off place ' —
another phrase for the end of the world. Any issue
likely to arise from a given chain of events, is seen 'stick-
ing out.' When two parties are playing into each other's
hands, with a sinister object in view, it is a case of ' log-
rolling.' When the conduct of any one renders hiiii hable
to a whippuig or something worse, he is ' spotted.'

Among the roughest of professional miners, exhibi-
tions of kindness occur fitted to shame many of more
moral pretensions. As a class, they are not avaricious. It
is not so much the possessing of money, as the excitement
attending the acquisition of it, that affords them satisfac-
tion. It were more conducive to their welfare could
they be induced to cultivate more thrifty habits. If the

is ' on the
of, tlie pro-
iiks liiinsL'lt'
s made, tlic
be ' raytlier
pes of those
'jaw-bone;'
le full- sized
ded on the
ne of this
is evident,
e jaw being
er. Another
(T the face.'
road, steani-
u please, is
. paying his
! ranch ;' or
ving to the
centres of
)fr place ' —
Any issue
seen 'stick-
each other's
case of ' log-
's him liable
ed.'

lers, exhibi-
ny of more
aricious. It
excitement
lem satisfiic-
elfare could
jits. If the

STATP: of KKLIfilOX.

417

patronage they recklessly bestow U[)on jniblic-lionses wer(;
witlidrawn, and tlie vast sums thus scjuaudered diverted
into productive channels, tlie si)hit of k'githnate enter-
prise would be fostered, ami the resoui'ces of the country
be more rapidly developed.

The sentiment of ' pure and undefiled religion ' does
not llourish at present in the colonies. In the Protestant
world on tlie Pacific coast, the reliu'ious sect to which a
man is attached may commonly be determined by the extent
of his business. Small retailers and mechanics swarm
among the Methodists ; jobbers, who break packages, and
the larger class of store-keepers, frequent the I*resbyte-
rian and Ctnigregationid chapels; and the bankers, lawyers,
and wholesale dealers prefer the Church of England. Just
as with their augmented resources they erect comfortable
houses, so they seek to ])rovide themselves with a chinx'h
suited to their advanced social position. The utilitarian,
tendencies of the people are su^'h, that eloquent or spiri-
tual preaching by itself will not attract worshi|)pei's.
Their comfort must be consulted, as it respects the place of
worship erected, and their emotions nuist be appealed to
through the niedium of an organ and an edicicMit choir.

Iieligious sce[)ticism pi'evails to a remarkable extent,
as it does in all new countries. I have known cases in
wliich Christian pastors have been turned away from the
bedside of the dying colonist, and forbidden by him either
to ofler prayer to Almighty God for his restoration to
health, or administer the consolations of the Gospel. IJut
I trust such cases of extreme obdui-acy are not common.

Some of the objections I have encountered against
Christianity are as absurd as they are profane. An old
Enu'lish boor, when conversing with me on the Christian
faith, remarked, 'Jesus C'l.-ist was a very good fellow,
l)ut he was an Indian ! ' On inquiring what [)roof he had

418

MINERS TEN COMMANDMENTS.

for so extraordinary a statement, lie deliberately took
down an atlas from the shelf, to show that, as the Saviour
was born within so many degrees of the line, He must
belong to the coloured race I Another settler more intel-
ligent than the former, when expressing regret to mo on
account of moral infirmities, gravely laid the blame of
these on the unfortunate shape of his head.

In a country where so mtuiy are governed by impulse,
and rendered desperate by losses sustained in speculation,
it is not surprising that instauces of highway robbery and
murder should occasionally hii])pen. The commission of
these crimes, however, as in California and Australia, has
been hitherto confined to solitary intervals, between the
towns of British Columbia, on the way to the mines. The
proportion of crime, at present, is decidedly small, con-
sidering the character and number of the population.

A comprehensive view of the virtues and the vices of
raining life may be had from the following composition.
The advice imparted is wholesome, and conveyed in
technical phraseology, which every miner can imderstand,
though the form in which the 'commandments' are thrown
is made to resemble the decalogue with unnecessary and
profane exactness.

A man spake these words, and said : I am a miner, who
wanderetl from *away clown east,' and came to sojourn in a strange
land, and ' see the elephant.' And behold I saw him, and bear
witness, that from the key of his trunk to the end of his tail,
his whole body has passed before me ; and I followed him until
bis huge feet stcjod still befi)re a clapboard shanty ; then with
his trunk extended, he pointed to a candle-card tacked upon a
shingle, as though he would say * ]-ead,' and I read the

Millers^ Ten Commandments.

[. Thou shalt have no other claim than one.

IT. Thou shalt not make unto thyself any false claim, or any

M I \ K RS TK X CO.M>f AN DM KNTS.

41!)

itcly took
10 Siivioiii"
, He iinisl

iiorc iiitol-

t to ino on

bliiuio of

ly impulse,
peculation,
>i)beiy and
iniission of
straliu, has
.'tween the
nines. The
small, con-
ilation.
he vices of
omposition.
3nveyed in
niderstand,
are thrown
cessary and

miner, who
1 in a strange
iui, and hear
of his tail,
d liini until
; then with
ked upon a
he

laim, or any

likeness to a mean man, hy jiiinpiMi,' «>n<'; whatever thou fuuhNt
on the top ahove, or on the ruck ItfUeuth, or in a crevieo luuler-
neath the rock; — or I will visit the mimrs around to invito
them on my side; and when thoy dreide jiijainst thee, thou slialt
take thy piek and thy pan, thy shcn-el and thy idankcts, with all
that thou hast, and 'go ]>rospeetin^'' to sciek jjfood di^ijings •
hut thon shalt tind iieiie. Then, when thou hast retnrncil, in
sorrow shalt thon tind th;it thine old elaim is worked out, and yet
no pile made thee to hide in tlu> ground, or in an old boot ln'-
neath thy hunk, or in huekskin or hottlcj underneath thy cahin ;
l)Ut hast paid all that was in thy purse away, worri out thy hoots
and thy garments, so that there is nothing good about them but
the pockets, and thy patience is likened unto thy garments; and
at last thou shalt hire thy body out to make thy board and save
thy bacon.

III. Tiiou shalt not go prospecting before thy claim gives out.
Neither shalt thou take thy monciv, nor thy gold-dust, nor thy
good name, to the gamingtable in vain; for monte, twenty-one,
roulette, faro, lanscpienet and poker, will prove to thee tiiat the
more thou pnttest down the less thou shalt take up; and when
thou thinkest of thy wife and children, thou shalt not hohl thy-
self guiltless — but insane.

IV. Thou shalt not remendter what thy friends do at home on
the Sabbath day, lest the remendjrance may ncjt compare favour-
ably with what thou doest here. — Six days thou mayest dig or ])ick
all that thy body can stand under; but the other day is Sunday ;
yet thou washest all thy dirty shirts, darnest all thy stockings, tap-
pest thy boots, mendest thy clothing, choppest thy whole week's
lirewood, makest up and Ijakest thy bread, and boilest tliy pork
and beans, that thon wait not when thou returnest from thy
long-torn weary. For in six days' labour only thou canst not
work enough to wear out thy body in two years; but if thou
workest hard on Sunday also, thou canst do it in six months;
and thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy male friend aiul tiiy
female friend, thy morals and thy conscience, be none the better
for it, ))ut reproach thee shouldst thou ever return with thy
worn-out body to thy mother's fireside ; antl thou shalt not strive

£ £ 2

420

MINKIIS' TKN COM.MAXDMKXTS.

to Justify thyself, berausf the trader and the blacksmith, the
carpenter and the nienihant, the tailors, J(!ws and buccaneers,
defy (iod and civili/ation, by keeping' not the Sabbath day, nor
wish f(»r a day of rest, «uch as nieniory, youth, and home nuvdt!
hallowed.

V. Thou ftlialt not think more of all thy ^old, and how thou
canst make it fastest, than how thou wilt enjoy it, after thou
hast ridden rou«,'h-shod over thy j^ood old parents' precepts and
examples, that thou mayest have nothini,' to reproach and stiiii;
thee, when thou art left alone in the land where thy father'.s
blessing and thy mother's love hath sent thee.

Vr. Thcju shalt not kill thy body l)y working in the rain, even
though thou shalt make enough to buy physic and attendanc(!
with. Neither shalt thou kill thy neighbour's body in a duel ;
for by 'keeping cool,' thou canst save his life and thy consci-
ence. Neither shalt thou destroy thyself by getting 'tight,'
nor ' slewed,' nor ' high,' nor ' corned,' nor ' half-seas over,'
nor 'three sheets in the wind,' by drinking smoothly down —
'brandy slings,' 'gin cocktails,' 'whisky punches,' * rum tod-
dies,' nor 'egg nogs.' Neither shalt thou suck 'mint juleps,'
nor 'sherry cobblers,' through a straw; nor gurgle from a bottle
the 'raw material,' nor 'take it neat' fiom a decanter; fur
while thou art swallowing down tliy purse, and thy coat from otT
thy back, thou art burning the coat from off thy stomach ; and,
it" thou couldst see the houses and lands, and gold-dust, and
home comforts already lying there — ' a huge pile ' — thou shouldst
feel a choking in thy throat; and when to that thou addest thy
crooked walkings and hiccuping talkings, of lodgings in the gut-
ter, of broilings in the sun, of prospect-holes half full of water,
and of shafts and ditches, from which thou hast emerged like a
drowned rat, thou wilt feel disgusted with thyself and enquire,
'Is thy servant a dog that he doeth these things?' verily I will
say, farewell, old bottle, I will kiss thy gurgling lips no more.
And thou, slings, cocktails, punches, snuishes, cobblers, nogs, tod-
dies, sangarees, and juleps, for ever farewell ; thy remembrance
shames me; henceforth ' I cut thy acquaintance,' and hea laches,
tremblings, heart-burnings, blue devils, and all the unholy cata-
logue of evils that follow in thy train. INly wife's smiles and

MINKRS TI:N fUMMAXDMKNTS.

421

^niitli, tin?
mcciin«'t'rs,
h (lay, iioi*
oiuu nmcU!

how tlinll
iiftcr tlioii

L'C(.'pts Ulltl

i and stiii!^
liy father's

! raiii, even
atten(Iaiu'(!
in a iliiel ;
t!iy eoiiHfi-
in<i; 'tit^'ht,'
St 'as over,'
ly down —
* rum tod-
int juU'ps,'
)xn a botthi
;anter; for
it from otT
iiac'h ; and,
-dust, and
ou shouhlst
addest thy
u tilt' gut-
of water,
^ed like a
id enquire,
erily I will
no more,
nogs, tod-
nenihrance
hea laelies,
ilioly eata-
miles and

rg.

my cliildnn's merry-hearted laugh shrdl charm and reward me
lor ji.iviiig the manly firmness and courage to say no. I wish
Ihcf an eternal farewell.

VII. Thou shalt not grow discotu'aged, nor think of going
home hefort! thou hast made thy 'pile,' ht-eause thou hast not
'sliuek a lead,' nor found a 'rich ereviee,' nor .sunk a hole
uj)on u 'pocket,' lest in going home thou shalt leave four dol-
lars a day, and go to work, ashamed, at fifty cents, and si'rve thee
right; for thou knowest by staying here, thou mightest strike a
lead and fifty dollars a day, atid keep thy manly self-respect, and
^ then go honm with enough to make thyself and others happy.

Vlir. Thou shalt not steal a pick, or a shovel, or a pan from
thy fellow-miner; nor take away his tools without his leave,
nor borrow those he cannot spare, nor return them broken, nor
trouble him to fetch them back again, nor talk with him while
his water-rent is rtuming on, nor remov(! his stake to enlarge
thy claim, or undermine his bank in following a lead, nor pan out
•'old from his * riffh; box,' nor wash the 'tailing's' from his
sluict^s mouth. Neitlier shalt thou pick out specimens from the
company's pan to put them in thy mouth, or in thy purse ; nor
cheat thy partner of his share: nor steal from tliy cabin-mate
his gold-dust, to add to thine; for he will be sure to discover
what thou hast done, and will straightway call his fellow-miners
together, and if the law hinder them not, they will hang thee,
or give thee fifty lashes, or shave tliy liead and brand thee like
a horse-thief, with 'K' upon thy cheek, to be known and read
of all nu'ii, Californians in particular.

IX. Thou shalt not tell any false tales about 'good diggings
in the mountains' to thy neighbour, that thou mayest benefit a
friend who liath mules, and provisions, and tools, and blankets,
he cannot sell, — lest in deceiving thy neighbour, when he return-
eth through the snow with noTight save his rifle, he present thee
with the contents thereof, and, like a dog, thou shalt fall down
and die.

X. Thou shalt not commit unsuitable matrimony, nor covet
'single l)lessedness;' nor forget absent maidens; nor neglect
thy ' first love;' but thou shalt consider how faithfully and pa-
tiently she awaiteth thy return ; yea, and covereth each epistle

422

JILXEKS' TEX COM.ArAND:^IENTS.

that tliou seiidcst with kisses of kindly welcome — until she hath
thyself. Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's wife, nor trifle
with the affections of his dauj^hter; yet, if thy heart be free,
and thou dost love and covet each other, thou shalt 'pop the
(juestion' like a man, lest another, more manly than thou art,
shoiild step in before thee, and tln)U love her in vain, and, in the
anguish of tliy heart's disappointment, thou shalt quote the lan-
guage of the great, and say, ' Sich is life ;' and th}' future lot be
that of a poor, lonely, despised, and comfortless bachelor.

A new commandment I give imto thee — If thou hast a wife
and little ones, that thou lovest dearer than thy life, — that thou
keep them continually before thee, to cheer and urge thee on-
ward, until thou canst say, 'I have enough-- God bless them ! —
I will return.' Then, tas thou journeyest towards thy much-loved
home, with open arms shall they come forth to welcome thee,
and, falling upon thy neck, weep tears of unutterable joy that
thou art come; then in the fulness of thy heart's gratitude, thou
shalt kneel together before thy ifeavenly Father, to thank Him
for thy safe return. AMEN — »So mote it be.

4'j;^

il she hath
?, nor trifle
:t be free,
: ' pop the
1 thou art,
and, in the
te the hm-
ture lot be
el or.

Iiast a wife
-that thou
e thee on-
is them ! —
nuch-loved
3ome thee,
le joy that
itude, thou
thank Him

CHAPTER XVI.

TIIR INDIANS OF VANCOUVER ISLAND AND BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Theories as to tlieir Origin — Tlioir probable Mipration from Asia — Names
and Occupations of Tiibes — Their Ideas of Hank — The ' I'othitch ' — Feasts
— Drauiatic Ivxhibitions — Mysteries of 'Khiqidhi' — Hectiou of a 'Medi-
cine Man' — Cannibals — Converse with the .Man in the Moon — Doctors
and the Ileiilinir Art — Incantation — "Witchcraft — Ideas of Ueautv —
Treatin<r for Peace — An Indian ^'illag•e — Gambling — Heraldry — Credulity
— ("ourtship and Marriage — Sepulture — lUmiing the Dead — Catching
Orasshoppers— IJain-malving — Tradition of the Creation — The Vale and
his Doings — The Flood — The Sim-i:iofjnis — Theory of Thunder and
Lightning — Iitil'';nous IJeliefs of the Fishing Tribes — Treachery and
] iloodthirstiness of tlie Indians — Massacres of Whites — Exciting Encounter
of Sir .1. Douglas — Catholic Missions to the Natives — The Sign of tlio
Cross — Awkward Predicament of Bishop Hills — Papal ' Self-interpreting
liible ' — Protestant Mission to the Tchimseans — Good Work of Mr.
Duncan — The Opposition of Medicine Parties — Establishment of Met-la-
kat-hih — Treatment of rnreformed ' Tillicums ' — (iovernnu'ut and Pro-
sperity of the Native Setth lent — Ingenuity of the Tril)es — Civiliviation
and Evangelisation should go hand in hand — Papid Diminution and
threatened h'xtinction of Primitive Tribes — Paces not likely to disappear
have the first Claim upon Missionaries — Chances of a barbarous People

The origin of the aborigines of Amei'ica is enveloped in
inipenetral)lo mystery. Learned and ingenious eonjec-
tures innumerable have been advanced on the subject.
But, as m other speculative enquiries Avliere correct data
are unattainable, ethnologists and antiquaries have arrived
at conilicthig deductions, and only rendered more obvious
the perplexing and uncertain nature of their investigations.
Writers of a theological bias have maintained the tlieory
that the Indians are of Jewish urigin, — sui)posing them

424

TJIt:01lIES AS TO THE

to be dosccndauts of tliat portion of tlie Hebrews known
ns tlie lost tribes. Deriving assistance from this o[)inion,
Joseph Smith succeeded in fabricating the Mormon im-
])()sture ; and duped liis credulous followers by the alle-
gation that the Latter-day Saint Bible was a transcript of
certain buried documents, Avhich he had discovered, con-
taining authentic records of the Divine will. Tliese, he
asserted, had been transmitted to the primitive inhabit-
ants of the Westei'n Continent by their Hebrew ancestors,
and brought to the country when the former emigrated
from the East.

In the * Letters ' of Catlin, and especially in the refer-
ence of that writer to the Indians west of the Mississippi,
this view of the orii2;in of the red man is adv^ocated. In
8up])ort of it, resemblances between some North American
tril)es and the ancient Jews in modes of worship, feasts,
sacrifices, fasts, traditions, lamiuaufe, and otiier ceremonies
of separation and purification, are particularly pointed to.
But the comparative tables of the philologist will enable
any one who is ambitious of framing hypotheses on such
a question to find as many analogies as he may desire, and
to unite hi a common origin races now the most divergent
from one another. Arguments, consequently, Avliich prove
too much, arc irrelevant. The Greeks, as depicted by
Homer, present correspondences, in manners and customs,
with the Jews of Scripture History far more remarkable
than those which the defenders of this view of Indian
orisjfin have adduced as existin!]^ between the two last-
mentioned races. Tliere is no more reason for identify-
ing the Indians witli the Hebrews than Avith the Egyptians
or the Celts. Similarity in general characteristics may be
distinguished between the primitive hihabitants of the
Eastern and Western Ileinispheres, but on these we simply

OIIIGIN OF THE RED MAN.

125

v^s known
i opinion,
;mon ini-
thc allc-
nsf'i'ipt of
}re(l, con-
Tlicso, he
3 inliabit-
ancestors,
3niiii;ratcd

the refer-
[ississippi,
ated. In
American
lip, feasts,
erenionies
)ointed to.
ill enable
s on such
esire, and
divergent
icli prove
picted by
1 customs,
mark able
of Indian
two last-
identify-
Egyptians
's may be
ts of the
,ve simply

ground the probable iinify of mmikind as proceediwi fro)n
a sinijle pair.

The notion lias been proponnded l)y others that the
Pliopnicians or Cart/ta^/enians crossed the Atlantic and
founded colonies in America. As this view, however, is
e^ustained by no considerations pretending to weight, it
may be dismissed without further mention.

Some have attempted to solve this difTicult proljlcm by
('(Miceiving the probability of the Eastern and Western
Continents being once undivided by the ocean. It is
alleged that before the great severance by the de|)ression
of the land or the eruption of the sea occurred, the
Indian race eniiii:rated from the one section of the ulobe
to the other. But this view seems beset l)y greater
difficulties than those it undertakes to remove.

An opinion obtains among a certain class of savans
which assigns to animal races indifijeiious to the various
latitudes of the globe a plurality of origins, as plants are
believed to have. It is ari^ued that while ail varieties
in the veo-etable kingdom foll(3w a creneral fixed tvi)e in
being composed of i^teni and branches^ yet each zone of
the earth contains a species originally peculiar to itself, —
thus precluding the possibility of so many diversities of
veaetable form and coloiu' proceediiiix from one connnou
primeval seed. It is affirmed that no good scieutljh'
reason exists for departing from this theory in regard to the
distribution of animals, not excepting man, whose origin is
said to be necessarilv included in the issues of the analoirv.
'Die lion and tiger of equatorial Africa, we are told, diO'er
in colour and other respects from the creatures known by
the same names in the northern parts of India.

No clue can be found to their descent from original
pairs of their respective kinds, nor arc there any signs (jf

426

ARGUMIiNT FUOM

the dificrent ,<<pecies having migrated from a common
centre. Tlic inference, tlierefore, is supposed to be in-
evitable, tliat animals naturally peculiar to a certain lati-
tude have spontaneousli/ arisen like the plants indigenous to
the same region. It is admitted that beyond this general
])rinciple of creation, science can reveal nothing on the
subject, and that the rationale of certain forms of life
being uniformly evolved from specific germs is wrapt in
a cloud of impenetrable mystery. The bearing of this
speculation upon the origin of the diflerent races of man-
kind will be obvious. Like diverse sjiecies of plants and
of other animals, men, it is maintained, while one over all
the world in the essential characteristics that go to dis-
tinguish them as one f/enus, owe their origin, as specific
races, to the action of heat and moisture upon primal ova
mysteriously deposited by the Almighty in the earth.
But, apart altogether from any religious tradition of the
origin of man irom a single pair, the hypothesis that has
just been stated will be found quite inadequate to account
for all the facts connected with human development. The
traditions of the Indians themselves emphatically contra-
dict this ingenious history of their primary occupation of
the Western Continent.

The opinion which seems most in harmony with
linguistic analogies and Indian traditions prevailing on the
North Americiui shores of the Pacific is, that the abori-
gines are of Asiatic origin, and migrated from the Eastern
Continent across JJeh ring's Straits, the Aleutian and Kodiac
Islands. The Indians of the interior represent their
ancestors as having been formerly resident in North-
Western America, and many of the present natives of
Vancouver Island state that their progenitors in remote
ages first landed at Sooke, — a district situated in the
soutlicrn part of the colony.

I common
to be iii-
irtain luti-
[ii<;enous to
lis general
nrr on tlic
■ms of life
3 wrapt in
Lng of tliis
cs of man-
plants and
ne over all
: go to (lis-
as specific
primal ova
the earth,
tion of the
sis that has
to acconnt
nient. Tlie
illy contra-
iupation of

nony with

inf]i: on the

tlie abori-

lie Eastern

ind Kodiac

3sent their

in North -

natives of

in remote

ted in the

LINGUISTIC ANALO(ili:S.

427

Tliere is as mncli reason to believe that America was
])eo[)led from Asia as that tlie primitive races of Euroj)e
and Africa shonld derive their oriuin from an eastern
source. A gentleman who has lived among the Indians
on the Pacilic coast for i.raiiy twenty years, and is i'ami-
liar with several of their dialects, ^ives it as his convic-
tion, based on extensive observation, that the l(mt/U(f(/('.^
of the aborigines of British Columbia, Vancouver Island,
liussian America, and the Kodiac Islands, gradutilly merge
into one another, and that a similar tendency to the
G:radiiallv l)lendinf; of Indians and Monuolians in facial
ch(ir(irteriHt'iCf< is perceptible in the same direction. I
have had no opportunity of verifying this statement, —
but could it be substantiated by systematic investigation,
the settlement of the question of Indian origin would be
greatly accelerated. No object more interesting could be
proposed to modern scienlilic research, and should the
undertaking be attended with the success antici]Kited, an
important accession to the accumulating evidence in
favour of the common origin of mankind would thus be
supplied. Mr. Max Muller has clearly demonstrated the
centralization of the languages of the Eastern Continent
in the Aryan original ; and kSir Charles Ly ell — notwith-
standing his manifest sympathies with the views of such
comparative anatomists as Darwin and Huxley, who
seem disposed to doubt the commonly-received doctrine
of descent from a single human })air — frankly admits that
that theory of the origin of our race is at least as satis-
factory as any other that has been advanced. Jkit let the
aborioinal lanr^uaszes of the Western Continent be shown
to converge towards the Aryan centre, and thei-e is no
more essential ])roof of the unity of the hmnan family left
to be desired. Philological and ethnological explorations
in Africa and Polynesia might then be prosecuted at

428

TlilKUITORIAL LIMITS OF TIIK TIUBES.

leisure. Tlie results of these would unquestionably 1)C
viiluable ; but the main question having thus been pre-
viously het at rest, they might be viewed only as con-
firmatory of conclusions already established.

Without minutely classifying the primitive races of
these colonies according to their different ' nations,' it may
be mentioned generally that the tribes which occu])y
Vancouver Island are called Nootka Columbians. This
desiirnation includes all the tribes on the coast of the
mauiland as far as the Columbia Eiver. The jhhint/
tribes, who inhabit the coast— as is found to be the case
with races residing on the seaboard of Africa, China, and
India — are marked by a physique inferior to that pos-
sessed by the hunting tribes of tlie interior. The former
are stunted and move with a lazy waddling gait ; and this
peculiarity is acquired by the sitting posture to which they
are habituated in their canoes, M'hile die active life culti-
vated by the latter in the chase imparts; to them an erect
bearing.

Scarcely two authorities are agreed respecting the pre-
cise territorial limits of tribes dwellini^ in British Columbia,
k^ome writers have regarded the entire number of natives
()ccu])ying this colony as consisting of two great nations ;
the Takali or Carriers in the north, and the Atnahs or
Shuswaps further south. Some have divided them into
Chilic(~)atens, Kuzlakes, Naskoatens, Talkoatens, and At-
nahs or Chin Indians. Others have designated them by
still different names, or assigned them boundaries widely
diverse. Indeed, the Indian notions on the subject are
quite as crude and indefuiite as those of the whites. Nor
is it at all a matter of practical moment, shice in addressing
these races it will be found a sufficient lincjual attain-
ment to have mastered the terms ' Siwash " and ' Clootch-
man,' these being well understood by all, and as likely

TKSTS OF RANK.

421)

tioiiably be
s been pre-
nly as con-
re races of
ons,' it may
icli occii])y
)ians. This
joast of tlie
riic jhhiwi
be the case
China, and
to that pos-
Tlie former
it ; and tliis
) wliich they
ve hfe ciilti-
em an erect

ing the prc-

i Cohmibia.

r of natives

cat nations ;

Atnalis or

I them into

ns, and At-

ed them by

iries widely

subject are

liites. Xor

addressinc^

ual attain-

d ' Clootcli-
d as hkcly

to insure attention as words expressive of individual or
national identity.

The natives on the east side of Vancouver Island, Queen
Charlotte Island, and British Columbia are estimated at
30,000 ; the ratio of tl.eir natural increase, however, being
on the decline. This process of diminution is especially
remaikable in lods^es contijjfuous to white settlements.

Each village or tribe is governed by a ' Tyhee ' oi-
chief, whose authority, though somewhat arbitrary, does
not seem to be very extensive or well defined, being as
much dependent on personal prowess and wealth as on
any fixed rules or hereditary rights. The auKnuit of
property possessed by these S(i</(iiiiore.s, such as canoes,
horses, blankets, guns, wives, slaves, &c., mostly deter-
mines the extent of their inlluence and consequent autho-
rity, not only with their own peo[)le, but also with their
neighbours. 13y the same rule is measured the degree of
honour to be awarded them after death. Besides these
leading men, there are Sitkaiii Tyhees, or half chiefs, who
as vassals aid the ]^rincipals in the discharge of their
duties, or act for them in their absence.

The natives judge of rank by two tests in particular —
the number of scalps and slaves taken in battle, and the
amount of property accumulated. The latter symbol of
power is eagerly C(3veted by them ; and as blankets havci
come generally to be the chief representation of wetilth,
these are accmnulated against the recurrence of the feasts
of the tribe, when an opportunity is afforded of dis-
])laying the extent of individual resources. The j)rinci-
pal motive to the acquisition of property by the Indian
is j.ot, as among whites, that the owner may become
srvrounded with conveniences and luxuries, or that he
inuy obtain credit among his neighbours for possessing sc»
nuu'h dui'ing life, and bequeath his means to heirs at his

430

TIIK I'OTLATCir.

(lecoasc, but tliiit lie may enjoy tlic satisCjictiou of lavish-
iiiLi presents u|)()n tlie nienibers of iViendly tril)(;s on
tlie occasions just mentioned, and of being adniii'cd l)y
the recipients.

Festive ceremonies are lield for the purpose of celebrat-
ing some auspicious event that may have happened to a,
chief; giving vent to their joy at the commencement of
the salmon season, or of the new year. Tlu^ tSonghish
tribe, resident near Victoria, hold a general merry-making
annually in the month of October, when singular customs
are practised, of which the indiscriminate distribution of
])r()perty is not the least prominent. For days beforehand
invited guests come in their canoes, sometimes hundreds
of miles, to be present. The sound of revelry is unceas-
ing in the encampment, lium, rice, molasses, and the
Indian delicacies of the season, such as venison, fish, ber-
ries, (uid grease, circulate in ])rofusion among the congiv-
gated multitude at the expense of the chief and Tena.ss
7]y/ctv.9 of the neighbourhood. The potlfitch (or ceremony
of bestowing gifts) usually occu[)ies a couple of days, and is
conducted in a similarly ui)roari()us manner. It is worthy
to be remarked, that Indians of the same denomination
or crest are not in the habit of sharing in the interchaiir/t;
of il'ift'^' I use the latter expression advisedly, for in
making a present an Indian expects a reciprocation of
the favour to an equal value at the next feast, and. Jailing
the realisation of his wishes, he does not hesitate to
demand his aift back au'ain.

The business of the first day consists in listening to
speeches of the feast from those who have extensive pro-
perty to give away. These are ostentatious relations of the
costliness of the articles to be disposed of, and of the senti-
ments of regard for the guests which is professedly enter-
tained. Previous to i\\e})otlatch^t\\Q gifts to be presented are

OTHMR FKAST.t*.

4:^1

of lavisli-
' tribos oil
iduiircd by

of celc'brat-
)poiie(l to !i,
jnceineiit ol"
(i SoHLjliisli
Try-muking
liar customs
itril)uti()ii of
I beforehand
cs liuiidreds
y is unceas-
5es, and the
)n, fish, ber-
tlie cono'iv-
and Tenass
)r ceremony
'days, and is
It is wort) ly
^nomination
iuterchaiuje
edly, for in
)rocation of
and, faihn^'
hesitiite to

hstcning to
tensive pro-
ations of the
of tlie senti-
isedly enter-
resented are

pubhcly exliibited, to impress tlie muUitude willi a due
sense of tlie opulence fuid munificence of the donor.
Cotton cloths by hundreds of yards, blankets to the value of
hundreds of [)ounds, and the rarest furs, are spread out
for inspection, and then given away in succession. In
some instances, blaid<ets are torn u[) in narrow stri[)s, and
the pieces scrambled for by the spectators. I remember
a female slave to have changed hands in this comijliment-
ary way at the Songhish feast held in 'Go. No example
of the chartist principles of ' equality and fraternity '
could be more interesting and complete. Once every
year the individuals of the tribe start, even, in point of
substance ; but it is unfortunate for the practical exempli-
lication of the revolutionary theory referred to — as far as
the Indians are concerned — that those who are rich and
poor res[)ectively at one feast are almost invariably found
in the same category at the next. In a commercial as-
pect, too, this system o( p<>tlati'/iin</ is highly objectionable,
lor the ii'oods thus transferred from year to year are not
appro[)riated for the most part to useful puiposes ; neither
is there any stimulus given to the development of [)ro-
litable trade in the transaction.

Feasts are often given by individual chiefs (nuile and
female) on a less magnilicent scale. Sometimes a fenialt!
chief will entertain a large number of men, and on other
occasions a male chief will invite a party of female guests
to share his hospitality. To enumerate the grotesque
antics prevalent on these gala occasions would be a tax
on the patience of the reader. The use of pigments and
masks representing the faces of various animals ; head-
dresses composed of fur, feathers, ribbons, and mother-of-
pearl in every imaginable arrangement ; robes adorned
with beads and buttons : these are among the articles of
festal attire.

432

DIJAMATIC KXIIIIUTIO.NS,

Drnmatlc rxliibitions form part of tlicii* anniscnionts,
tlio comic as well as the tragic muse lu'liit' invoked hv
them. But the acting, as I'ai- as I havi' been ahli- lo
ascertain, is generally of the solo character. Ueroui
deeds of ancesti'al chiefs are I'ccounted, and words of th(!
departed ai'c repeated with consideraljlegesticnlation, tlu!
assembly interposing some kind of chanted chorus, lunided
down fi'om sire to sire for ages.

In passing the Indian quarters one winter eveniuL; at
an advanced hour, my attention was called to a large;
apartment from which the sound of singing ])roceeded,
Tlu! door was ke])t by some niitive lads, who at once
recognised my profession by the colour of my necktie.
'Le Pretre! le Tretre!' was whis[)ered by one to another,
and they made \\ ly for me to enter. The building I found
to be quadrangular, and measuring about 85 feet. The
majority of those j)resent included men, but the di'dmati'^
j)er8once were taken by Avomen. The central s[)ace was
fi'ce, and the audience acconnnodated at the sides. A
hirge fire served the twofold object of su[)[)lying light and
lieat. rianks were extended round the buildinii; in front
of the spectators, who were nearly all provided with short
sticks, witli whicli they beat time upon the boards befoi'o
them to the choral snatches that were occasionally inter-
posed in course of the entertainment. A female actor
was on the floor when I entered. Her movements were
tragic ; her hair was dishevelled ; and her pathetic tones
and stately march from one direction to another gradually
changed into song and dance, when the accompaniment of
beating and chorus was struck up by the people. Soon
another actor followed in a similar manner.

Since the arrival of the whites, the professions, trades,
and social habits of the latter afford scope for the comic
l)owers of the Indians to travcstie. Even the sacred func-

KLL(/roLI.A.

• >i)

Ul^ClUl'llts,

iv<)k('tl by
HI able I')
llcroit;
)rds of tin-
lation, tli(!
us, handed

t'VC'IlillU !lt

to a larjic;
proceeded.
lO at ouco
ly necktie,
to another,
njx I (bund
feet. The
dm mat i'^
si)aco wad
sides. A
liiiht and
uj in front
with slioi't
xrds befoi'C
ally inter-
niale actor
nents were
letic tones
gradually
animent of
)le. Soon

)ns, trades,
the comic
icrcd func-

tions of the cler.iry are not exempt I'rom builes(tue in liusi'
di'Minatic representations.

Anioii'jf the most notable of Tnditni customs is the initia-
tion of a ''andidate into the mysteries of • Khi((uolIa.' It
is from those who succeed in undei'iioinu the inllii'tion
connected with jidmis-^ion to the advantages peculiar to
this rite that 'medicine-inen ' an- selected.

'J'lie aspirant to tliis priviicj^c and lioiiniir (writes an vyv-
wituess of tliis ceromoiiy) lias to .siil)init to ii vrry .severe pre|»a-
ratory ordeal, lie is removed from liis own dwelling!; I)y a party
of those who are alreaily khupiollas, and led to a Imt set apart
for Ills special use. The first ceremony consists in cMttin^f the
arteries under the ton<'ne, and allowin<' the Ithiod to How over
his liody, the face Ijcini,', meanwhik', covered with a mask.
After this an opiate is administered, which induces a state; of
nnconsciousness, in whicli he is allowed to remain two days. At
the en(^ of this time lie is phuiged, or rather thrown, headloiiL;-
into the water to arouse him. As soon as he is fully awake, he
rushes on shore, and, as a rule, seizes tlie tirst doi,' lie perceives
witii his teeth, tears, lacerates, a!id even devours a piu'tion of it.
— at least, so I have been crethhly informed. I can only speak
from personal ohservation as to some portions of the sini;ular
ceremonies in practice on these occasions, as the Indians are
veryjeahjus of any interference on tiie part of a white man.
He .also bites any of his fellows wiiom Ik; may meet with. It is
said that they who are already khuiuollas esteem it rather an
honour to be thus bitten, lb; is now seized, bound with ropes,
and led like a captive, hy tlie party in charge of him, tiiree
times a day round the village during a period of seven days, a
rattle proilucing a dreadful noise being constantly agitated
hefore liim. At this time he bites and stabs indiscriminately
every one he comes across ; and as he certainly woidd not spare
a white man if he happened to meet him in the camp, I took
good care to keep both my own person and that of a favourite
little dog out of his reach.*

* Captain l>arrctt Lfiiiiimt'.-s I'dc/U Voi/ai/r, \^. '>-.

V V

IMAGE EVALUATION
1EST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

1.25

liL|28 |2.5
^ 1^ {||2-2

i!^ 1^ IIIIIM

1.4

1.8

1.6

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

"AT, ^s

r/j

r^A

medicini>mi:n'

This account I uiKlLTstaiid to reloi' to tlic I'itc as prac-
tised on tluj West Coast of Vanouvei- Island. It being
deemed by the Indians the most important of tlieir cei'c-
nionies, tlio retider will not object to the perusal of tlie
following passage on the subject from the corres])ondencc
of a u;entleman whose long residence aniouLi" the northern
tri]:)es entitles him to be heard.

An old chief, in cold blood, ordered a slave to he driii;-i;'ed to
tlie heacli, iinu-dered, and thrown into the water. His orders
were quickly ohejed. The victim was a poor woman. Twi) or
three reasons are assigned for this foul act; one is, that it is to
take away the diso-race attached to his daugliter, \\lio lias lieeii
suffering some time from a l)all wound in the arm. Another
report is, that he does not exjject his daughter to recover, so he
has killed his slave in order that she may prepare for the coming
of iiis dauyhter into tlie un^■■een worhl.

I did n(.)t see the mnrder, hut immediately after I saw crowds
of people rnnnin^- ont of those houses near to wdiere the corpse
was thrown, and forming tiiemselves into gronps at a good dis-
tance away. This I learnt was from, fear of wliat waste follow.
Presently two l)ands of furious wretches appeared, each headed
by a man in a state of nudity. They gave vent to the most
imearthly sounds, and the two naked men made tlietnselves look
as unearthly as possible, proceeding in a creeping kind of stoop,
and stepping like two proud horses, at the same time shooting
forward each arm alternately, which they held out at full length
for a little time in the most defiant manner. Besides this, the
contimud jerking their heads back, causing their long black
hair to twist about, added much to their savage appearance.

For some time they pretended to be seeking the Ijody, and
the instant they came where it lay they conunenced screaming,
and rushing roiuul it like so many angry wolves. Finally they
seized it, dragged it out of the water, and laid it on the beach,
where I was told the naked men would commence tearing it to
pieces with their teeth. The two bands of men immediately
surrounded them, and so hid their horrid work. In a few
minutes tlie crowd broke again into two, when each of the naked

AND TIIi:iR ATUOCITIES.

135

itc as prac-

. It l)ciiig

their ct3re-

L-iisal of the

■C8])C)lKleUCC

lie iiortlicni

le drnL>-,!:;efI to
Kis orders
van. Two or
1, thiit it is to
wlio li:is bec'U
ui. Another
recover, so he
or the coming

I saw crowds
ere the corpse
at a good dis-
was to fcjllow.
, each headed
to tlie most
einselves h)ol<;
Ivind of stoop,
time shooting
at full length
■sides this, tlie
ir long hhick
ipearance.
the body, and
cd screaming.
Finally they
on tlie Leach,
;c tearing it to
immediately
•k. In a few
1 of the naked

cannibals appeared with halt of the body in his hands. 8ef>a-
rating a few yards, they commenced, amid horrid yells, their
still more horrid feast. The sight was too terrible to behold.
I left the gallery with a depressed heart. I may mention tluit
the two bands of savages just alluded to belong to that class
which the whites term * medicine-men.' The superstitions con-
nected with this fearful system arc deeply rooted here; and it
is the admitting and initiating of fresh pupils into these arts
that employ numbers, and excite and interest all, during the
winter months. Tliis year I think there must have been (Mght
or ten parties of them; but each party has seldom more than
one pupil at once. In relating their proceedings, I can give
but a fabit conception of the system as a.whole; but still a little
will serve to show the dense darkness that rests on this place.

I may mention that each party has some characteristics
peculiar to itself; but, in a more general sense, their divisicjus
are but three, viz., those who eat human bodies, the dog-
eaters, and those who liave no custom of the kind.

Early in the morning the pupils would be out on the beacli,
or on the rocks, in a state of nudity. Each had a place in
front of his own tribe: nor did intense cold interfere in the
slightest degree. After the poor creature had crept about,
jerking his head and screaming for some time, a party of men
would rush out, and, after surrounding him, woidd commence
singing. The dog-eating party occasionally carried a dead dog
to their pupil, who forthwith commenced to tear it in the most
doglike manner. The party of attendants kept up a low
growling noise, or a whoop, which was seconded by a screeching
noise made from an instrument which they believe to l)e the
abode of a spirit. In a little time the naked youth would
start up again, and proceed a few more yards in a crouching
posture, with his arms pushed out behind him, and tossing
his flowing black hair. All the while he is earnestly watched
by the group annmd him, and when he pleases t(j sit down
they again surround him and commence singing. This kind
of thing goes on, with several little additions, for some time,
llefore the prodigy finally retires, he takes a nm into every
house belonging to his tribe, and is followed l)y his train.

F F

430

CAX.\IBAF.S.

When this in done, in some cases he has a ramble ou the tops
of the same liouses, durin-j^ wliieh he is anxiously watched l»y
liis attendants, as if tliey expected his fliglit. By-and-hy he
coiid«.'scends to come down, and they tlien follow him to his den,
which is signified by a rope made of red bark being hung over
the do(jrway, so as to prevent any person from ignorantly vio-
lating its precincts. None are allowed to enter that house but
those connected with the art : all I know, therefore, of their
further proceedings is, that they keep up a furious hammering,
singing, and screeching for hours during the day.

Of all these parties, none are so much dreaded as the
cannil>als. One morning I was called to witness a stir in the
camp which had been caused by this set. When I reached the
gallery I saw hundreds of Tchimseans sitting in their cano(,'S,
Avhich they had just pushed away from the beach. I was told
that the cannibal party were in search of a bo«ly to devour,
and if they failed to find a dead one, it was probable they would
seize the first living one that came in their way ; so that all the
people living near to the cannibal's house had taken to their
canoes to escape being torn to pieces. It is the custom among
those Indians to burn their dead ; but I suppose for these occa-
sions they take care to deposit a corpse somewhere, in order to
satisfy these inhuman wretches.

These, then, are some of the things and scenes which occur
in the day during the winter months, while the nights are taken
up with amusements — singing and dancing. Occasionally the
medicine parties invite people to their several houses, and ex-
hibit tricks before them of various kinds. Some of the actors
appear as bears, while others wear masks, the parts of which
are moved by strings. The great feature in their proceedings
is to pretend to murder, and then to restore to life, and so
forth. The cannibal, on such occasions, is generally supplied
with two, three, or four human bodies, which he tears to pieces
before his audience. Several persons, either from bravado or
as a charm, present their arms for him to bite. I have seen
several whom he has thus bitten, and I hear two have died from
the effects.

One very dark night I was told there was a moon to see on

I on the tops
watched by
y-and-by he
[\ to his den,
y hung over
lorantly vio-
Lt house but
fore, of their
haniuiering,

aded as the
a stir in the
readied the
their canoes,
. I was tohl
ly to devour,
le they wouhl
;o that all the
dien to their
ustom among
)r these occa-
e, in order to

which occur
its are taken
casionally the
uses, and ex-
of the actors
arts of which

proceedings

life, and so

rally supplied

ears to pieces

m bravado or

I have seen
ave died from

)on to see on

KDL'CATIOX OF TlIK ALLIED.

437

tlie beach. On golug tu see, Uu-rc was an illiuniiiaied disc, with
the figure of a man upon it. The water was then very low, nnd
one of the conjuring parties liad lit up this disc at the water's
<;dge. They had made it of wax, with great exactness, and ]>re-
sently it was at the full. It was an iinp(jsing sight. Nothing
could be seen around it ; but the Indians suppose that tlie
medicine party are then holding converse with the man in the
moon. Indeed, there is no wonder in the poor creatures being
deluded, for the peculiar noises tliat were made, while nil
around was perfectly still, and the good imitation of the moon
while all around was enveloped in darkness, seemed just cal-
culated to create wild and superstitious notions. After a short
time the moon waned away, and the conjuring party returned,
whooping, to their house.

Before any young persons can join these medicine parties
they are supposed to go into the bush for some days, and be
there alone, whence they receive their supernatural gifts. JUit
I am inclined to believe that this is not strictly carried out, for
it is also supposed they are not visible when they come back : it
therefore becomes an easy matter to conceal them in their
houses for a short time, and then publish a lie. The end of all
these proceedings is the giving away proj>erty ; so the cliiefs
reap the benefit. Xo person need think of becoming 'allied '
until lie or his friends have amassed considerable property, and
are disposed to beggar themselves.

One Sunday I was startled by a peculiar noise proceeding
from the camp, and, on going to see what was the cause, I
observed a man, who, it seems, had finished his educaticm as an
'allied,' and was now going to give away his goods, lie was
proceeding to a distant part of the camp, and stepping all the
way like a proud, unmanageable horse. Behind him were about
fifteen or twenty men, all holding on to a kind of rope which
went round his waist. They were pretending to keep him back
or hold him from taking his flight. Presently this party was
joined by other two upon a similar errand, and they now seemed
to try which could make the greatest noise or look the most
unearthly. The three bands, after a good deal of nianoMivring,
proceeded, I think, to the same chief's house.

488

JFRDICAL rRESCRIPTlOXS.

Wliilo tlio class tliat luivo been <lL\scribcd arc called
' inediciiie-men,' it is not to be supposed tliat tlieir occii-
])ation consists in curing disease, nor are tliey to be
coiil'ounded witli ' doctors ' who are devoted to the exercise
of that art.

' Medicine-men ' are believed to be endowed with
su})ernatural ability to prognosticate, and are armed with
j)Ower to execute justice u])on ollenders. The su])er-
stitions of the people invest the ' medicine-men ' with a
degree of importance superior in many respects to that
of the chief. The former being supposed to be in com-
muiiication with the invisible world, his movements are
anxiously watched, and his predictions revered.

The medical profession embraces qualifications and
duties of a distinct character. Practitioners of the healing
art are usu.ally chosen from among persons who have
themselves sullei'ed under some grievous malady and been
restored to health, or, having been exposed to some peril
in war or chase, have escaped uninjured. The greater
the risk that has been run, the more competent is the
individual accounted in dealing with diseases. Physical
ailments and dangers are ascribed to malevolent sph'its,
and the recovery of the sufferer is viewed as the result of
virtue imparted from above, by which he is enabled to
triumph over the invisible enemy.

The prescriptions in use among certain tribes will serve
to show how innocent are native doctors of medical
science.

The reci})e for pains in the stomach is the application
of a bag of hot ashes, after a piece of damp cloth has been
placed on the skin. Headache is cured by striking the
patient on the part affected with small branches of the
s]^ruce-tree. In case of bad wounds they employ a salve ;
but the method of treating simple cuts is to touch the lips

I\(".\XTATIOX.

430

arc called
tlicir occii-
tlioy to l)c
the exercise

[owed with
lU'ined with
The sui)er-
iieii ' with a
ccts to tluit
I be in com-
,'cmerits arc
d.

cations and
^ the healing
5 who liave
dy and been
a some peril
The jxrcater
the
l*hysical
)lent spirits,
lie result of
enabled to

Ds will serve
of medical

etent is

application
th has been
strikini]^ the
dies of the
)1( )y a salve ;
uch the lips

of the wound with iruiii. Vov most intoi'iial C()mi)lniiits
some herbal decoction is t;ikeii.

When tempted to smile at tlic credulity of tluso j^odv
creatui'es, our ridicule m;iy well l)e tempered with plly
when it is remembei'cd that, at no very remote period,
su])erstition, equally striking, prevailed in our own country
as to jiiedical ti'catment.

In the time of Iton-er Bacon, the leaves of an alder, on
which the sun had never shone, were ])rescril)ed lor
erysij)elas, and a cross made of alder and willow for
epilejysy. To cure consumption, the inhabitants of some
districts in Scotland tied a ]'a<i to the liuLfcr and toe niiils
of the sick person, and then, having waved it thrice round
liis head, buried it pi'ivately. ' liicketty children were
drawn tlin^ugh a s])lit tree, which was afterwards bound
up so that the severed ])arts might grow together, and the
recoveiy of the diseased child Avas l)elieved to corresjiond
to the restoi'ation of the tree. A cure for hoo])ing-cougli
was found in moimting the patient on a black a-s, led
nine times round an oak tree, or sometimes in uivinu' tlie
hair of the child, rolled up in butter, to a dog.'*

When other I'emedies prove ineflectual, incantation is
resorted to by the Indians. The instrument used for this
purpose is sometimes made of three or f )ui' dozen bills of
the horned puflin strung together. A noise is produced
by small stones put within this I'attle, which is kept in a
wdiirlins^ motion round the patient while a sonix is suiiu'.
During the operation, the ear or mouth of the doctor is
occasionally a})plied to the seat of the disorder. It is
usual at this stage to cauterise the part with ignited
tinder made of dried flax, or make an incision. If lelief
follow^s, the doctor announces the diseased element to
have been extracted — t/idt havinu' been inserted in the

' JifDIIlrntlf/fl Dlllls'tOllS, ]i. 17.

410

]5I:MI:F in WITfllCUAFT.

invalid's system, as it is believed, by some evil agent. On
lliis iutelligenee being published to the iriends of the
j)utient, it is customaiy for them, in exj)ression of their
gnititude, to reward the disci[)le of I'^^culapius with what-
ever })roperty tliey may ])ossess. Should a rela])se ensue,
liowever, and the patient die, the doetor is obhged to
return tdl lie lias received.

When intensely exeited in the ])erformance of his pi'o-
fessional duties, lie pi'etends that he is eogiiisant of the
shape and position of the patient's spirit. To facilitate
this clairvoijaiice, the doetor closes his eyes for some time,
and afterwards ])ronouiices his opinion. Either he per-
ceives the soul to be in its natural place, which is a
hopefid symptom, or longing to depart, which renders the
prospect of recovery doubtful ; or he finds that it has
taken its llight, wdiicli i)laces the condition of the patient
beyond hope. Some of these bold deceivers have not
hesitated to declare the result of this supernatural inspec-
tion of the spirit to be that it resembled a fly in api)ear-
ance, having a long curved proboscis !

Belief ill witchcraft is prevalent among these people,
though in this respect they are not more superstitious
than were our ancestors in the reign of James I., when a
storm, which threatened the lives of that monarch and his
bride on their voyage i'rom Denmark, was gravely ascribed
to the instrumentality of a i)erson in the south of Scotland,
suspected of being in collusion with infernal spirits.

Tlie Tchimseans and other Indian tribes charge the cause
of all physical ailments, and frequently of death, upon the
secret agency of malevolence. Should the victim of some
supi)osed machination be a man of distinction in his clan,
and die — especially in a sudden manner — the friend of
the deceased arbitrarily pitch upon some slave, stranger
just arrived in the camp, or other individual with whom

IDHAS OF PiniSOXAL IJI^AL'TY,

441

igent. On
ids of the
»ii of tlieir
witli "wluit-
[i])sc ensue,
obliged to

of his pi'o-
>ant of tlie
\) facilitate
some time,
er he i)er-
A'liich is a
renders the
that it has
tlie patient
s have not
iral inspec-
in appear-

esc people,
.iperstitioiis

, wlien a

ch and his

y ascribed

;' k^cotland,

irits.

e the cause

upon the
im of some
n his clan,
e friend of
e, stranujer
vitli whom

tlie departed may liave been recently at variance, as
accessory to tlie deed ; and nothing short of the life of the
imagined culprit will satisfy the demands of the bereaved.
It is believed that the sorcerer effects his purpose eithi'r
by magic, or the stealthy introduction of poison into the
system of the sick man.

The result of these notions is that mutual distrust is
pei'petually liable to be produced among the members c»f
the several tribes ; and I have been informed that the
death of certain employes of the Hudson's JJay Company
was occasioned by some kindred superstition, at a ibrt on
the mainland, many years ago.

When two natives quarrel, the most successful mode of
giving effect to anger is for the one to predict the death
of the other in the phrase, ^By-and-hy, you ivill die;'
and it often hai)pens that the terror this announcement
awakens secures its own fulfilment. When this occurs,
the malicious ])rophet has usually to expiate his indiscre-
tion with his life.

Their ideas of personal beauty receive an odd illustra-
tion ill the llattening of the head — a practice which
prevails on the north-west coast, from latitude 53° 30' to
latitude 4G°. This process of compression is sini])le. The
child, as soon as born, is placed in a cradle scooped out of
a log of timber. This rude ark is flat at the bottom, and
raised at the point where the neck of the child ^'\sts. A
flat stone is fastened to the head of the infu. ai this
posture by thin strips of twisted bark. In the situation
indicated the child is kept till able to walk, and its fore-
head has been moulded into the desired shape. Indian
women are sometimes to be met with in the Quatsino
district with sculls of a tapering or conical form, produced
by artificial means, similarly disgusting with those already
mentioned. It is to the fiunilics of chiefs and Toiass

i[2

FA('i: (,»ILVAM[:XTS.

Tillicrs (LfcniliMiu.'ii commoncr.s !) tliat tliis privilege is
iiloiio ])orinitU'(l.

Tliouuilc SOX uru uvorsu to cultivnting liii'sute develop-
iiu'iits oil llie luce in Jiiiy fUshion, and generally ])lu('k ouL
by liie roots luiirs that, if left to grow, would assume the
I'orni ol' whiskers, beard, or moustache.

Females are passionately ibnd of facial ornaments,
which are often hideous in proportion to their rank. A
])iece of mother-o'-pcarl, suspended I'rom a puncture; in
the cartilage of the nose, is occasionally worn, and tlu;
siune kind of a])pendage is used for cairings. Even the
chin sometimes ai)pears repulsive I'rom native decoration.
Some wear a small piece of bone or a silver tube ])rojecte(l
half way through a slit prepared to receive it. Others —
of higher station, I presume — have the under lip dis-
tended in an oll'ensive mannei", by a piece of bone of
considerable thickness placed between the lower j;iw and
the upper part of the chin inside. Through the space
created in the mouth by this distension, I have heard old
Indian hags amuse themselves by whistling, the sound
thus produced being of an unearthly chai'acter. ]3racelets
and anklets of brass are profusely displayed by the native
women.

The hair of an Indian is never cut short, as short hair
is deemed by them a badge of slavery.

Tattooiiiix exists among some of the northern tribes.
Pigments are in universal demand, many of the females
painting their faces on all occasions, but the men only at
set periods. Vermilion is used in great quantities on
their red-letter days, and is readily disposed of to natives
by the whites as an article of barter. Their war-paint is
blacky and is manufactured by themselves. This colour,
while invariably employed in battle, is also worn as a
badii'e of moiu'ning.

A.V INniAX VILLACli:

li:

)rivik'gc is

te dcvc'lop-
; ])lii('k out
ussuuie the

ornaments,
r rank. A
mncturo in
rn, and tlio

Even the
decoration-
)e ])rojected

Otliers —
ler lip dis-
ol' bone of
er jtiAv (uid
1 the space
3 lieard old
the sound

]5racelets
' tlie native

. short hair

ern tribes,
he IVimales
len only at
intities on
to natives
^ar-paint is
his colour,
worn as a

Tomahawks, ufuns, ])istols, bowsjind arrows — the latter
headed with iron or ll'iit — arc; theii" pi'incipal wi'apons.
When eontendinj^f tribes wisli tor peace, they despati'h an
end)assy bearin;^' to the enemy a pipe formed of wood or
stone adorned with paint and white corals as an emblem
of truce, and so unfeigned is the respect with wliich the
l)earer of this si;_nial is treated, that any insult done him
is visited widi death. The solemnisation of a treaty of
])eace is often celebi-ated by the smoking of a pipe on the
|)art of the belligerent chiefs.

Since the advent of civilisiition in their neiuhbourhood,
the rude and indecently slender covering of native manu-
facture, which Ibrmerly ])rotected their persons, has been
exchanged for shirts and blankets. Their ordinary food,
in addition to fish and wild animals, includes jjotatoes,
ground-nuts, acorns, lily-roots, 6i.c.

An Indian vilhiixe consists of an assemblaGie of huts
arranged in a line, varying from KK) to oOO feet in lengtli,
and from 50 to 100 feet in breadth. The framework is
composed of posts and beams often of inunense j)i'0])or-
tions. The heavy logs and thick plank boarding they
use are readily obtained from surrounding Ibrests. A
conuuon roof covers the structure, of sullicient ])itcli t(j
allow the rain to drop i'rom it. One such establishment
contains 20 or 30 families, each of these being accom-
modated with a separate compartment. The chief resides
at the upper end, the proximity of his relatives to him
beini; according; to their de2;rce of kindred. A village of
this description, however, is only a temporary encamj)-
ment. Every tribe has several such habitations, their
locality being determined by the facilities aflbrded for the
pursuit of lishing and hunting avocations by the adjacent
region at particidar seasons of the year. When an Indian
family shifts their quarters their Lares and Penates travel

(lAMIlLIXfl — IIKIlALDnY.

with tlu.'in, and only the skeleton t»t' their dwrllinj; is left
behind. Wiien [Kissing tlie l)ii;hts on tlie coast margin
between Victoria and Salt Sj)ring, (hiring the salmon
j)eriod, I have seen families (.'iieamped in such |)laces with
no more shelter than their canoes could supply, and felt
ititerested in liearing from these secluded nooks the crow-
ing of cocks, that formed j)art of their p()rtal)le chattels.

One of their favourite sources of anuisement is gam-
bling. An Indian is so susceptible of excitement fi'om
this vice as often to stake every article in liis possession
to the very shirt on his back. Though having sevei'al
times liad an oj)portunity of observing the game, I could
never ascertain distinctly liow it was conducted. A
group forming a circle is seated on the groimd, and a
uumber of small ])ieces of polished stick, resembling short
pencils, are used by them. These are dealt out to the
])layers, and amidst a monotonous Inun and constant mo-
tion of the hands kept up to this barbarous sound, these
sticks are thrown from one liand to another till some one
guesses who ha})pens to be the holder of the tramp stick.

A system of heraldry obtains among them, which, as
distinguished from those purely ornamental props of
family pride called escutcheons prevailing in civilised
connnunities, fulfds useful designs. Some Indian ftimilies
adopt Yale (the crow), others Sejetee (the beaver), others
Ilon(je{\\\c. wolf), &c. The object of their agreeing upon
these devices respectively is twofold : to erect barriers
against marriage being contracted between persons related
to each other by the ties of consanguinity, and to secure
provision for the needy whose kindred relationship may
give them claims upon that portion, of the tribe having
the same crest.

' The relationship,' says Commander Mayne, ' between
persons of the same crest is considered to be nearer than

USK (U' CIIMSTS.

ling is left
ist iniirj^iii
le salmon
)l!ict's with
y, and felt
the erow-
! chattels.
lit is ^'Min-
meiit from
possession
ii<^ several
le, I could
ucted. A
md, and a
bling short
out to the
istant mo-
und, these
some one
lup stick,
which, as
props of
civilised
11 ftiinilies
r), others
eing upon
barriers
)ns related
to secure
iship may
)e havinuj

between
arer than

that of the same triln' \ members of the same /r/Af may
and do marry, but those of the same crest are not, I
brlicve, under any circumstances allowed to do so. A
ii'/i(tle, therelbre, may not marry u ii'/t<tle ; nor f\.j'i'<>i/, a
/>'!>;/. The child aj^^ain always takes the crest of the
mother. So that if the mother be a irulf all her chil-
dren will be icolves. As a rule also, descent is traced
from the mother — not from the father.

' At tlu.'ir feasts they never invite any of the same crest
as themselves; feasts are given generally for the cement-
ing of friendship or the allaying of strife, and it is
sup|)osed that peo[)le of the same crest cannot (juarrd.
But I fear this sui)[)osition is not always sup[)orted by
fact.'

With such reverence does an Indian treat an animal
adopted as his family crest, that he would esteem it
sacrilege to kill it. iSliould another who sustains no such
relation to that er.blematic animal shoot it in his presence,
he will ceremoniously hide his face, and demand repara-
tion for the affront. The ofTence of kiUing the animal
does not consist in that act, but in its being dcjiie /n'forc
one to whose family arm.H it belongs.

There is another capricious usage in connection with
these crests. When an Indian wishes at any time to ex-
liibit his family insignia, all natives before wlumi he
appears are bound by certain recognised laws of honour
to show respect to it by casting property befoie it in
quantities commensurate with the rank and means of the
giver. Should an Indian, prompted by motives of need,
mischief, or cupidity, bearing his crest painted upon his
forehead or the paddles of his canoe, or worked Avitli but-
tons on his blanket, desire to profit by tliis social custom,
the unsuspecting victim he meets has no alternative but
to present the costly oflering which superstition demands.

440

FORTUNE-TELLLVG.

Slirewd and unscrupulous individuals are not wanting
who take advantage of this practice to impose on their
neighbours.

At the beginning of the fish or berry season the same
class will spread a report that revelations have been made
to them, by dream, of particular localities where these
productions exist in abundance. A present is, of course,
the condition on whicli they can be induced to disclose
the secret. To render tlieir supernatural pretensions more
])lausible with those they attempt to dupe, they wuxk
about at night in lonely places, as if influencing their
divinities to ' work on tlie hearts of the fish,' that the latter
may be plentiful during the ensuing season. So readily
are the assumptions of these impostors credited by their
deluded brethren that they can always succeed in obtaining
large rewards for their fortune-telling services. The en-
chanter is crafty enough to direct enquirers to spots where
their hopes are not likely to be disappointed ; but as with
the ancient pythoness, shoidd his prediction turn out fal-
lacious, he is prepared to transfer the cause of failure fi'om
himself by insisting that they must have done something
to incur the displeasure of the gods.

The responsible task of foretelling births, deaths, mar-
I'iages, and other events of domestic interest, devolves, as
in the least enlightened parts of Scotland at the present
day, upon old women who have reputation for pos-
sessing the faculty of second sight. These venerable
prophetesses are able, while relating ominous dreams, to
eiiiiaire the rapt attention of their friends, who listen
with gaping mouths and awe-struck gaze to their silly
tales.

In negotiating marringes, articles often to the value of
from 20/. to 40/. sterling are given by the suitor to her
})areiits for the purchase of his intended bride, years before

MAKUIAC;ii: AND SEl'L'LTLKt:.

147

ot wanting
3S0 on their

n the same
I been made
vliere these
i, of course,

to disclose
nsions more

they wtixk
mcing their
at tlie latter
So readily
:ed by their
in obtaining
s. The en-
spots where

but as with

urn out fal-

failure from

something

eaths, mar-
devolves, as
tlie present
)n for pos-

venerable
dreams, to
who listen

their silly

he value of
itor to her
years before

slie arrives at marriai;'eal)le aii;e. A younu; Sinrish of a
nortliern tribe, falHng m love, employs tlie intercession of a
i friend, who visits the liouse of the bride's father hv the pur-
pose of obtaining his consent and her own to the proposed
matcli. So many blankets are bargained for as the [)rice
of tlie favour solicited. The candidate for matrimony is
accustomed to sit outside the door of the house — be the
condition of the weather what it may — till the business
delegated to his agent is concluded. Should success attend
the efforts of that friend, he, with another, })erfbrnis the
ceremony of raising the bridegroom from the squatting
posture in which he had awaited the issue of his suit. Aftei'
this he is conducted into the house, and refreshments are
set before him, expressive of his acce[)tance by the pmvnts
as a husband for their daughter. Tiie brother of the bride
— if she have one — places his sister under the roof of the
bridegroom, which act formally introduces the young-
couple to matrimonial felicity.

In regard to modes of sepulture, it may be stated that
some of the natives residing near Victoria now bury their
dead in imitation of the whites. But with Indians removed
from contact Avitli civilisation this is not the usual practice.
Some tribes, as a rule, burn their dead and preserve the
ashes. In the native burying-grounds I have seen, remains
Avere generally interred in wooden boxes, the top of which
is simply covered with matting, there being occasionally
laro'e stones over this. These rude colfins are laid on the
ground, suspended in branches of trees, or placed upon
blocks of wood. Flags, emblazoned with the family
emblem of the deceased, frequently mark the Indian
graves in the interior of British Columbia ; and armorial
beariiljis, carved in Avood on a lariic scak;, are often found
erected aujainst native tombs in Vancouver Island.

For about thirty days al'ter funereal rites are peribrmeil.

448

BURNING THE DEAD.

at sunrise and sunset dir<^;es are chanted, in token of
mourning for the departed.

In strange contrast with the nature of the occasion, and
the violent waihng of the mourners, it is customary, at the
burial of a chief, for his wealth to be exhibited at his
grave.

It was formerly deemed essential to the dignity of a
chief's interment that some of his slaves should be slaugh-
tered to attend his spirit into the invisible world. This
atrocity has, I believe, entirely ceased.

The custom of burning the dead has not yet altogether
disappeared among the Indians of California. It is prac-
tised by them on rehgious grounds. They believe in the
existence of a vast and beautiful camping field, situated in
some undefined region lying westward, where Indians live
together in perpetual ease and plenty. This shadowy
kingdom is presided over by a great spirit of unspeakable
goodness. It is also part of their creed that there is an
evil spirit who watches every opportunity to injure them,
and whom, having the power to keep them out of heaven,
it is their duty to thwart by conciliation or stratagem.
They regard the heart to be immortal, and imagine that,
while the body is burning, the heart leaps out, and that
if by noise or gesticulation they can divert the attention
of the evil spirit, the heart escapes to the place of eternal
safety ; but if the body is buried, the evil one keeps
constant guard over the grave, and when the heart would
emerge, it is captured, and employed to annoy surviving
relatives.

When a ' Digger Indian' is about to expire, his head is
gently placed in the lap of some relative and his eyes
closed, while those who are standing near recite in low
and monotonous tones the virtues of the dying. The
moment his heart has ceased to beat, the intelligence of

i{uuNL\(i THI-: di:ad.

44!)

token of

2asion, and
aiy, at the
ted at his

[gnity of a
bo slaugli-
.rld. This

altogether

It is prac-

ieve in the

situated in

ndians Uve

s shadowy

nspcakable

there is an

ijure them,

of heaven,

stratagem.

.agine that,

and that

e attention

of eternal

one keeps

eart Avould

Y surviving

his head is
d his eyes
;ite in low
iniT. The
lligence of

what has (occurred is conveyed to his rehilives, and the
clianting of tlie praises of the deceased is changed into
loud wailing. Beating upon their breasts, and their eyes
streaming with tears, all surrounding friends join in apo-
stropliising the spirit of tlie departed. Tlie coipse is now
pre])ared for burning ; the knees are pressed toward the
(^hin upon the breast, and the limbs and body bound
iirnily togetlier in tlie smallest possible compass. It is
then wrapt in a blanket and placed on its back upon the
ground, with the face exposed. Every soiuid is hushetl,
and botli men and women sit in silent knots around the
corpse for about twenty mhuites, when all rise at once —
the women to renew their lamentation, and tlie men to
build the funereal i)yre. When this is about two feet in
height, every sound again ceases, and, amid a tleath-liki;
stillness, the men lift tliecoi'pse upon the pyre, after which
it is completely covered with additional firewood. The
oldest and dearest relative then advances with a torch and
lires the pile. When tlie hrst curl of smoke is visible, the
discordant bowlings of the women become almost appalling.
The men stand in sidleii and unbroken silence, while the
nearest rehitives, having poles in their hands, commence
a frantic dance round the burning body, occasionally
turning it over tlnit it may consume more speedily, and
give the heart a better chance to escape. With the
waving of cloths and hideous noises they attempt to throw
the evil one off his guard. Contrary to the habit of the
Xootka Columbia Indians, the Digger tribes commit all
the personal [)roperty of the deceased to the llanies, his
relatives frequentlj^ sacrificing at the same time their own
itkas, even to the articles of clothing on their persons, so
that the dead may have what is requisite to his comfort
on the great camj)ing-ground of the spirit-world. When
the whole is consumed, the ashes are scraped together, and

(i (i

450

(ATnilNd (ilJASSIIOlM'KHS.

a rude wreath of llowcrs, woods, and brusli placed around
them. A portion of the aslies, mixed with ])itcli, is s[)rea(l
on the faces of tlie relatives as a badge of mourning, which
is allowed to remain till it wears ofl"; and after more than
six months the cheeks of the mourners exhibit traces of
this disfigurement.

Without stopping to describe, in detail, tlie peculiarities
of Indian social life, it may be mentioned tliat, while
resembling the coast tribes in respect to sever.al kinds of
food and dress, the attire of natives in the interior is more

r\ KIlINri (,l! vssllnl'l'l'.i;^.

elaboiately ornamented. Wild roots, grass, clover, seeds
of wild flowers, acorns, and grasshop])ers, form the main
sup[)lies of the Digger Indians. Their mode of procuring
the last article in this list is not a little ingenious. A hole
is lirst dug deep enough to ])revent these insects jumping
(^ut. A circle is then formed of Indians, old and voun£>".

UAlX-M.\KI\(i.

4.')1

(1 around
, is s[)rca<l
iicf, which
norc than
: traces of

cuharities
iiat, while
il kinds of
3r is more

over, seeds
1 the main
pi'ocuring
IS. A hole
ts jumping
lid young,

.-ii'iiu'd willi Ixishi's. Those' tliey Jipplv in Ix'.'itiiig the
grasshoppoi's toward their j)]ace of slaiiglitor. Having
fallen into the hole, they are taken prisoners, k^onietimes
the grass and weeds around are set on lire, so they are
disabled and afterwards picked up.

The aborigines of the interior generally spend a great
part of tlieir time in the saddle, and extensive practice in
riding mukes them superior horsemen. They ])refer the
^^panish style of saddle, whicli is manufactured by them
witli nuich skill. Their bridle, often made of the liair of
the wild slieej) ])laited, is sim])ly a cord passed through
the liorse's nioutli and hitched round his lower jaw, the
ends brouglit u]) on either side oi" his head.

Like our forefatliers, wlio believed in the; eHicat^y of
bay-leaf as preventive of thunder, they carry about tlieir
persons bags made of the skins of various animals as
charms.

AmouL*' the mummeries of tiie ii/rf/lciiK'-iiien in the
interior of the countiy, the pi'incipal consists of rain-
making. A skilful rain-maker is always a i)opular medi-
cine-man. After a lengtliened peiiod of di'ought, these
tricksters, trustiiiij to the uniformity of the laws of nature,
apply themselves to the performance of their incantations
in the confidence that moisture will eventually condense
and fall ui)on the parched fields. Should the clouds bc^
slow m gathering, they strive to quicken in their benighted
clients an appreciation of their mystical services by de-
claring that the longed-for shower is retarded by some
offence (X)mmitted against the Deity. When they know
the rain to be at hand, they work upon the sui)er8titions
of spectators by invoking the Great Spirit with redoubled
vehemence ; and when the cloud is on the point of dis-
charging its* contents, they artfully send an arrow from
the bow, under pretence of piercing it.

452

THADITIOX OK Till': CREATfoV.

Indian Traditions.

Tlie ' Clingats,' wliicli name is applied to all the northern
tril)C!s, relate the following tnidition of tlie creation of their
poition of the world. In the country, which Avas originally
sunless and chaotic, the (Yale) crow was the only living
thing. lie hovered over the liquid and solitary waste,
till, impatient of this roving condition, he resolved to find
rest for the sole of his foot. To accomplish this end, and
render the land habitable, he bade the waters recede,
and the only visible remains of them were confined to
lakes, rivers, and the ocean. The sun was siunmoned
from his hiding-place, the contact of his rays with the
m(3ist earth produced a mist which spread over the country.
Out of this material the Y(de created salmon, and put
them in the lakes and rivers. Deer, wolves, and all
varieties of the feathery tribe, were also located in a
habitat suited to their nature.

The Yale having finished the general work of creation,
foimd that all the animals were satisfied with the arrange-
ment of the world except the racoon. This creature
being of slothfid propensities, and siip])lied with provi-
sions sufficient for a long winter, expressed a wish that that
season should include five months. The Yale refused to
comply with the desire of the racoon, out of consideration
for the deer and mountain sheep, and determined that
the snow season should not exceed four months. Seizing
one of the racoon's claws he twisted it ofi*, and said, ' the
four that remain will be a sign to you for ever, that from
the period wdien the sun leaves a certain point in the
heavens till he returns, there shall be four months of snow,
four of rain, and four of sununer weather.'

When the cold season arrived the crow^was without
shelter, and accommodation for storini*- the salmon he had

3 northern
3n of their
originally
>nly Hviiig
ury waste,
zed to Ihid
is end, and
3rs recede,
onfnied to
smnmoned
■i Avith the
lie country.
1, and put
3S, and all
cated in a

of creation,
ic arrange-
is creature
vith provi-
sh tliat that
efused to
nsideration
mined tliat
Seizing
I said, ' the
, that from
oint in the
hs of snow,

as Avithout
non he had

TIIK (.row's MAUUIA(ii:S.

45:]

dried for winter use. To meettliis emergency lie foiincd
two men out of a sliowcr of rain, and instructed them
how to build a house, make rope out of tlie bark of trees,
and dry salmon.

Tliere was still one element wanting to complete the
crow's happiness. lie resolved to get niiu'ried, and made
choice of a female salmon for his spouse, with whom lie suc-
ceeded in living agreeably for a time. 13ut, on a cei'tain
occasion, the ci'ow fell to gambling with the stump of a
tree. The result was, as is often the case in such an occupa-
tion, that he became displeased with his partner in the
game and beat it severely. With temper rudled he went
hemic, laid hold of his wife by the gills, and belaboured
her so unmercifully that she immediately took her depar-
ture into the river, whence she never returned. All the
(hied salmon leaped from the larder and followed her —
leaving his cupboard entirely empty.

Soon recovering from the loss sustained by him, he
contracted an alliance with a daughter of the sun. The;
offspring of this union was a male child, who strikingly
resembles tlie Phaeton of Grecian Mythology. This youth
undertook to guide the chariot of his grandsire. When
the sun approached the meridian, the aspiring young
gentleman became fearful in consequence of the giddy
heio'ht to wliich he had attained, and misdirectiii": the
course of that luminary, he accidentally grazed the earth
and set lire to some of the mountains, one of Avliich is sup-
posed to be Mount Baker. This is a neighbouring volcano,
which is still observed occasionally in a state of eruption.
The crow chastised the folly of his son, and once more
restored the world to order.

The crow and his illustrious wife are believed to have
been the progenitors of the human family. In the exercise
of his kind ])rovidence over dependent creatures, he su])-
])lied the rivers with fish and ])eo])led the air with iuwls.

454

('AX-N(M)lv AND Till': CUOW.

When on a tour of iiispcctioii in liis doiniiiiotis, Ikmhic
c've'iiiii;^ reaclicd tlie liouso of u chief cullcil Caii-nook.
Overcoiiio witli i'iitiiruo and tliirst, h(3 beugod lodging tor
tlic niglit and a drink of water. Can-nook gave his con-
sent to tlie crow becoming liis guest, l)ut on account of a
prevaiHng scarcity of water at the time, ho declined to let
him jiave anytliing to drink. After tlie liousehokl had
gone to rest, the crow got up to search ibr the water-butt ;
but the wakeful spouse of Can-nook, hearing the crow-
astir, roused her husband. He no sooner suspected the
design of the crow to escape than he piled logs of green-
wood on tlie fire. The crow made desperate attempts to
fly through the hole in the roof by which the smoke
escaped. The impious old boor, not satisfied with denying
to the Divine bird a necessary element of hos})itality,
seemed determined to keep him prisoner. Can-nook
exerted liimself vigorously to augment the volinne of
smoke as the crow lied. Previous to that occurrence we
arc assured by the Indians that the crow was white, and
that since then the species has ever been black. Can-nook
I understand to represent the evil spirit.

In course of time the growing depravity of the natives
became intolerable to the patience of the creative bird.
His own life was threatened by them. To ]:)unish their
crimes he overspread the heavens with clouds, and caused
torrents of rain to descend. He made fissures in the
earth, from which immense jets of w\ater spouted forth,
flooding the coimtry. The people gathei'cd their stores
of provisions together and took to their canoes. As the
waters rose the soil became so soft that trees w^ere
loosened from their roots, and floated to the surface,
upsetting most of the canoes. Multitudes consequently
perished. At lengtu, with the exception of three high
mountains, in tlie Songhie, iStickeen, and ^^itka I'ountries
respectively, ihc entire I'cgion was sitlMiierged.

IIS, lu' one
CiUi-iK)()k.
di-iii^i' lor
e his con-
•oiiiit of Jl
iued to let
eliokl luid
^titiT-butt ;

the crow
■)ectcd the

of greeii-
ttempts to
:,he sinoko
th deuyiiii^'
lospittility.

Can-nook
volmue of
u'rencc we
wliite, and

Can-nook

the natives
ative bird,
uiish their
uid caused
res in the
.ited forth,
heir stores
As the
rees were
le surface,
nsequently
tlirce high
countries

THK SlM-MOl^ll.

\')i)

A few succeeded in reaclung the sunniiits of these
mountains, nnd from this saved renmant the present
northern Indians beheve themselves to have s[)ruiiLr. 'i'o
hasten the work of po|)u]iiting the land, thus desolated ])y
the Hood, the crow desired the survivors to tlirow stones
behind their Ijacks (// In Deucalion and ryrrjia), whicii
were converted into men, women, and fui'-l)earing animals.

Modifications of this tradition are to be met with among
various tribes of British Columbia. The crow gives his
name to several rivers in the language of the natives — for
example, Yali' keen Klcuw (the crow's big water), tS:c.

A remarkal)le correspondence exists between the
Scripture account of 'the Fall of Man' and that con-
tained in traditions of the Indians of the Uocky j\[ount:iiiis.
The chief diflerence consists in herrie-s being substituted
by these red men for the tree-fruit of the Ciarden of Eden.

Mr. James Deans, of Victoria — who has been an
intelhgent observer of Indian life in the country I'or twelve
years, and to whose kindness I am indebted for much
information resiiectinuf them — told me that the followini*"
tradition was related to him by a native. An imearthly
race called Sini-nioqtiis, resembling the hob-goblins and
brownies of British su])erstition, inhabit the margin of a
lake in the interior. They are about seven feet high, and
are without joints in their knees or elbows. The dilliculty
of locomotion to which this natiu'al deficiency subjects
them is partially met by long poles, with the assistance of
which they slide down when they change a standing for a
recumbent posture. Their hair is long, unkempt, and dirty.
The Indians are supposed to have sustained in for-
mer times great annoyance from the abstraction of their
women by these hideous creatures. Some ' clootchinen ' *
encased once in satherinii: berries in the woods were
belated. When night came on they descried a distant

' S\'iiciii\iu I'lii' s<iiiiuc.i "V Iiuliau Wdiiu'ii.
... /

450

CAUSK or Tiirvnin: and LifiiiTXixo.

li^lit, 5111(1 on Mpproacluiig louiid that it proceeded Iroin ji
S'nii-mn<iui (.'iK'iiiii|)niL'iit. Tlii'y were .soon made prisonci's
by these monsters. After being missed for some days
from tlieir own home, tliesc wanderers were souglit by
their friends, wlio were, hke tliemselves, attracted by liglit
at a distance. Tlu; avengers of the wronged sqnjiws
advanced to the abode of tlie Sim-)n<></Nis',t\m\ finding tlie
Avomen in tlieir embra(!c dispatclied the ca})tors.

The origin of lire is attributed l)y tlie Songhie tribe to
the following circumstance, which certainly does not evince
the possession of a very sublime imagination by the
natives. Formerly the Indians were accustomed to eat
fish uncooked as the Esquimaux now do. One day, a bird
alighted among a party of them while at a meal, and com-
miserated their cheerless condition, destitute of tluit
cooking essential. They were told by the beneficent
feathery visitor that the boon they so much required was
upon its head, and should be granted to the good people
of the tribe ; but as the advantage to be conferi ed was
so precious, it could not be obtained without special effort
being put forth to catch the bird. Olf it Hew, and all the
tribe pursued it over hill, river, and phiin. It arrived ere
long at the dwelling of an old woman, who solicited it to
ttUTy, and promised to treat it kindly. The bird deigned
to approve her as the medium of bestowing its favours.
It complied with her wishes : she applied a piece of hght
wood to its head which was soon icjnited. and it afterwards
took fii"ht to return no more.

The phenomena of thunder and lightning are ascribed
by most of the Indians on the British North American
coast of the Pacific to a sinnidar cause. A Brobdio-naii-
gian bird, called Soochwass, whose nest is upon a certain
lofty mountain — the situation of which no one professes to
know — occasionally a])pease8 the cravings of appetite by
pouncing ui)on a whale of tempting size, as the fish makes

IDHAS OF A Fl'TlUK STATK.

457

.'(I from n
prisoners
:)ine (lays
ou«,Mit by
(1 by li<^^]it
1 sqUMWS
indiiiL!; tlie

ie tribo to
not cvincf
n by tlie
cd to out
lay, a bird
and coni-
of til at
beneficent
piired was
od people
feried was
ecial eflbrt
nid all the
irrived ere
cited it to
d deigned
s favours,
e of liii'lit
afterwards

•e ascribed
American
'obdignaji'-
1 a certain
)rofesses to
jipetite by
llsli makes

its appeiirMiice on the surface of tlie ocean. Thunder is ])ro-
diiced by the flapping of the bird's wings, while lightning
is represented as caused by the flash of its enormous eye.

The religious lujliefs of the fishing tribes can be but
indistinctly deciphered, owing to the state of moral and
intelle(.'tual degradation to which they are reduced. No
temples or forms of worship exist among them to mark
exalted reverence for a Su])rem(! Being. Yet the 'Great
Spirit' is sometimes Jilluded to by them.

As to their ideas of a future state, the doctrine of tlu?
transmigration of souls is held by the Songhie tribe.
They do not seem to associate any moral disj)osilion ex-
hibited in this world with the perpetuation of that quality
in another life, as its natural reward or penalty. Ihit a
great hunter is degraded into the form of the deer which
he before hunted, and the fisherman into the fish it was
his occupation to catch. So with other tastes and pur-
suits in relation to the inferior animals.

The Indians of parts farther north believe in a place of
happiness, which they say is keeicuek (or above). The
spirits of the brave killed in battle go to keewuck-kmr
(life above). To die from natural causes is accounted a
sign of cowardice to be ashamed of. Those who expire
in this manner are supposed to be unfit for pai'ticlpating
in the felicities of heaven, and have to become refined by
purgatorial discipline among the trees of the forests.
This intermediate state is designated scewitck- koiv (life in
purgatory). The distinguishing peculiarity of keewuck-
kow is, that perennial youth reigns there without inter-
ruption or decay.

As in all Pagan nations, their conceptions of the Great
Spirit exhibit Ilim almost exclusively in a penal atti-
tude. In Stickcen Eiver, which displays the gi'andest of
all the ineffably wild scenery of Ihitish Columbiii, there
!Ui' two large granite ])iHars and several small ones.

•JoS

TIIKFTS IIY TIIK IIYI>AIIS.

Tlicsu .stand ill tlu' middle ol' llic .stifain, iiiul a luidilioii
ill coiuioctioii witli tln'iii is, that tliey lonii tlic icniaiiis
of a ^^frcat cliii;!' with his family, who was notorious in
general (.'limo, c's[)L'('ially in stealing the berries stored
by tlie local ti'ibes. lie, with wile [md children, was
visited with the anger of the Great Spirit by being
transformed into these blocks of stone, as a ])ermauent
memoiial to all succeeding generations of the danger of
(lisol)eying the Deity.

Numerous instances have occurred, during my residi'uce
in the colony, of the treacherous, dishonest, and blood-
thii'sty disposition of the aborigines. Inconvenience has
been ex[)erieuced by the settlers chiefly from the noi'thern
tribes. The llydahs, who belong to (Jueen Charlotte Island,
have long been in the luibit of visiting Victoria in gi'eat
force, diu'ing spring, for the piu'pose of exchanging theii-
rude pi'oducts for articles of civilised manufacture. A few
years ago the citizens of Victoria were greatly troubled by
the presence of these imscrupulous rogues during theii* so-
journ in our neighboiu'hood. Petty larcenies were skilfully
committed by them during the day, and burglaries at night.
For a time their nimbleness eluded the vigilance of tlui
police and tlie settlers. The doors and windows of nearly
every house in town were tried, and often with success.
On a certain night my shnnbers were broken by the dis-
charge of a ])istol in a house a few yards from where I
slept. Next day I was informed by the })erson who fired
that he had been awaked by a slight noise ; on looking
up he saw, by moonhglit, the figiu'e of a man entering
iiis apartment by a window opposite his bed, which was
on the ground lloor. lie satisfied himself that the intruder
was an Indian. His loaded revolver being suspended
above his pillow, he raised his hand gently to seize it,
endeavouring at the same time not to rouse the suspicions

i:.\(i.\(ii:.Mi:NT at ( \v\: Mirxii;.

i:>!>

ii tiiiditioii

K' IVlllJlillS

)t()riuu.s ill
lies stoivd
ildivii, was
by iK'in;.'
|K'riiiau(.'iit
J danger of

y vcsidi'iict'
and blood-
I'liiuncL' has
heiiortlioni
lotte Island,
ria in gi'cat
mging tiiL'ir
lire. A few
troubled by
ng tlieir s(3-
ere skilfidly
ies at niu'lit.
anco of the
Ys of nearly
ith success.
by the dis-
)m where I
n who lired
on looking
an entering

which was
:he intruder

suspended
to seize it,
e suspicions

<»l' tlic savauc l)iir«>lai' as to liis obiect. I>iit no sooner liad
lie taken aim, than tlie wily visitor decamped, fortunately
witli suHicieiit agility to ocapc tlie coiiteiitN of the
wea|)on.

Another householder, u hose nocturnal repose was simi-
larly disturbed at dawn of dnv. 'aught sight of the red-
skinned olleiider. i'esolved iiof to l>e balked of his prey,
he rushed in hot pursuit, his night go^\■n being his sole
protection from tlie mornifjg chill. After ii long chase,
the indignant avengcrof the sacrilege committed ujkmi his
household gods succeeded in clutching, iVom behind, the
blanket in which the Indian was enveloped, when the
latter relaxed his hold of this |)rimitive garment, and at a
(piickened i)ace lied from the grasp of his pursuer in a
condition of stai'k nudity.

Other depredations of a still more irritating character
were perpetrated by these northern hordes on their way
home; so that it was thought expedient by the authorities
to teach them a salutary lesson as to the distinction
between incntu and tnuni. A gunboat was accordingly
despatched to demand restitution. On the arrival of the
war vessel at Cape Mudge, the obnoxious natives were
found to have ensconced themselves in a stockaded log
village. When the errand of the jiimboat was ascertained,
they defied her, and opened a brisk lire of musketry, from
the fatal elTects of which only the I'ille plates of the
steamer could shield the crew. A shell was fired over
the heads of the enemy to bring them to surrender; but
this mild intimation of the wishes of the man-of-war was
imavaiUng, A few more discharges of shot and shell
soon followed, smashinij their canoes and scatterinir dismay
throughout their camp. Only by these severe measures
could the stolen goods be recovered.

A schooner was some time afterwards maliciouslv llre<l

4(10

CAPTAIX JOIIX AND HIS I5U0TIIEK.

into, on sailing out of Victoriu liarbour, by an Indian ol'
the Songliic tribe, wliose quarters are directly opposite
the town, on the beach. To strike terror into the native
mind, inquisition was made for tlie transgressor with great
ceremony. Governor Douglas, wliose abilities slione in
(juieting an Indian melee, ordered a gunboat to be stationed
before the Indian camp, and in person dii-ected a body of
marines to defde on the landside. In that })ompous style
he was accustomed to assume, the Governor sent for the
chief of the tribe, and announced that if the guilty person
were not produced in a given number of minutes their
houses would be bombarded. Vividly do I remember the
suspense of the spectators as the brief time allowed the
Indians for decision was about to expire. There is no
doubt that his Excellency Avould have fulfilled his threats,
regardless of consc'quences. But at the last moment the
culprit was delivered up to be flogged in presence of his
tillicnms (friends) — a form of punishment the most humili-
ating that can be inflicted \\\)0\\ these savages.

Another exciting affray happened, which had a ffital
termination. Captain John and his brother, two cruel
monsters, who were accused of shedding innocent blood
without measure, in the tribe of which they were Tyhees,
were arrested by the authorities. The police who con-
veyed them to prison omitted to take from their persons
the bowie-knives they had been in the habit of carrying.
The prisoners walked in an orderly enough manner to the
gaol, but when about to be placed in their cells, they turned
upon the gaoler with these deadly weapons. The scuffle
— in which he was badly wounded, and but for timely
help rendered must inevitably have been killed — attracted
the notice of another officer, who approached, armed with
{I brace of revolvers, and finding that the alternative lay
between putting an end to these fiends incarnate, and

AX IXIJI.W IIL'XIJ.

4()1

I Indian of
y opposite
the native
with great
5 slione in
le stationed
[ a body of
iipous style
cnt for tlie
lilty person
iiuites their
nember the
illowed the
'liere is no
his tin-eats,
nomeut the
5ence of his
nost lunnili-

had a fatal
, two cruel
icent blood
ere Tyhees,
; who con-
leir persons
Df carrying,
inner to the
they turned
The scuffle
for timely
— attracted
armed with
3rnative lay
arnate, and

sufTering his brotlier-policeman to perish at their liands,
he chose the former course, and immediately shot each of
tlie chiefs through the heart. Being within a few yards
of the scene at the time it occurred, I hastened to learn
what the pistol reports meant, when the lifeless bodies of
Captain John and his brother, who a few seconds before
had been in liealth and vigour, lay prostrate before me.

The only occasions on which the extreme penalty of the
law has been put in force since the advent of tlie wliites in
Vancouver Island have been in connection witli Indian
atrocities.* In one case, a Songliish native was executed
for the murder of a sailor belon^inu; to one of Her
Majesty's shi[)s. This man, on his way from Victoria to
Esquimau, in a state of inebriation, one evening entered
the dwelling of his destroyer, and attempted to take liber-
ties with the squaw of the Siwash. The latter, stung by
the insult, stabbed the sailor. Doubtless the verdict of
the jury and the sentence of the Court were according to
the evidence, but tlie provocation ought to have been
jiccepted as in some degree palliative of the bloody deed.
It is questionable whether, had the crime been committed
by one white man against another under like circum-
stances, the claims of justice would have been exacted
with so much rigour. Nine-tentlis of tlie outrages per-
petrated by natives upon the superior race, and su}i})ose(l
to be the result of insensate cruelty, can be traced to some
wanton violation of the personal or domestic rights of the
Indians on the })art of the whites. This assertion receives
melancholy verification on the other side of the American
boundary, where inhuman 'rowdies' are known to esteem
the life of a native as of no more consequence than that
of a dog, and sometimes to shoot him down for the

* The same cannot be afrirnied of l^riti.sh Columbia, where several wliitc
men have alreailv heen executed for murder.

4G2

15i:.\TI.V(K AI{M AND

d('j)mvod gmtificatioii, as it has been oxpresst'd, of' seeing
him junil).' But even on British territory tlie i)rincij)al
and innnediate effect of contact between the representa-
tives of civihsation and the aborigines lias been tluit
' fire-water,' debaucliery, sypliihtic disease, and augmented
mortahty liave been introducech Appalhng as the ano-
maly may appear, it is nevertheless uniform that tlie
nation which professes to bring into a virgin colony the
blessings of the gospel in one hand, carries a moral
Pandora box in the other ; accomplishing the physical
and moral ruin of the primitive inhabitants, whose
interests, gratitude and respect should prompt it jealously
to truard.

Still, it must be acknoAvledged that several times within
the past seven years Indians have been instrumental in tlu»
m.asoacrc of white men without any known provocation,
except that pei'haps some of the tribes have held the pre-
sence of our race to be practically an invasion.

A gentleman well known to me, Avho is himself my
authority for the statement, was on his way with a com-
panion to the mines from Bentinck Arm. When they
were sleeping in the bush together, it happened that my
friend was startled before sunrise one morning by the
report of a gun evidently fired close by. This was instantly
followed by a groan from the young man by his side, who
rolled over, and died without uttering a smgle word.
My friend, in doubt as to what it was best for him to do
under the circumstances, especially as he did not know
but that there might be a strong attacking party near,
concluded to lie quiet and motionless. Scarcely had he
time to recover from his amazement before another shot
came and shattered his ankle. He now resolved to
defend himself at all hazards ; but imhappily his percus-
.sion-caps were damp. The I'ustling of my friend among

I5UTK I.VLirr MASSACRKS.

Myp>

of ' seeing
princi])iil
epresenta-
been that
lUfrmented
8 the aiu)-
. that tlie
colony tlie
s a moral
e physical
its, Avhose
it jealously

imes within
ental in the
I'ovocation,
3kl the pre-

limself my
th a com-
^Vhen they
ed that my
inp; by the
as instantly
is side, who
nirle w(~»rd.
him to do
not know
larty near,
ely had he
lother shot
esolved to
his percus-
end amon.u'

tlie underwood, however, had the eflectt of scaring ()ir the
Indian, who probably suspected that he might be suddenly
])ursued by both the white men. My friend became so
feeble from loss of blood that he could not rise ; and in
that wild and lonely path, rarely tracked by whites at
that season of the year, he was doomed to remain, watch-
ing by the dead body of his companion for. an entire
fortnight, kept alive during this period by only a few
small biscuits and a little sugar which chanced to be in
liis pocket. At length a good Samaritan passed by, and
saw him safely housed. Not long after the nuu'derer was
identified, and captured by the chief of a tribe in the vicinity,
who was not without some sense of justice in the matter.
Tlie cowardly wretch met wdth his merited end in a
peculiar manner. The chief having satisfied himself of
the guilt of the individual, ordered him to go to the verge
of a kike adjoining the camp and fetch a bucket of water.
When the fellow's back was turned, and without his
receiving any announcement of what was about to befall
him, he was fired upon by several members of the tribe
by direction of the chief, who, in that case, never per-
formed a more righteous act as judicial disposer of life in
his tribe.

But the most brutal and terrible massacre that has
ever been known in the annals of Indian outrage in
British North America, took place in the montli of
May 18G4 on the coast of British Columbia. A party of
men, engaged under Mr. Waddington in making a road
from the head of Bute Inlet to Alexandria, were surprised
at midnight by a large number of natives belonging to
a neighbouring lodge, who, till then, appeared to mani-
fest friendly feeling. The tents of the white men were
stealthily entered, and it was evidently the intention of the
savages to butcher the former so expeditiously and efTec-

4G4

15i;.\TL\('K AKM AND

tually that not oiiu should cscupL' to tell tlie talc, in this,
howcivcr, they were not quite successful, though many of
the unfortiniate roaduiakers were barbarously slaughtered.
The few who were enabled to save their lives — some of
whom had been severely wounded — sull'ered extreme
hardship and privation befoie getting clear off from tlie
scene of danger. Encouraged by the manner in wliich this
tieacherous plot had been executed, these bloodthirsty
wretches conceived the idea of nunxloring every w'hite
man they could find on the trail leading ft-oni Bentinck
Arm to Fraser River.

They proceeded to the junction of the Inlet and Arm
trails in expectation of meeting a party with pack animals
on the latter route. Nor were their hopes disappointed.
In this com])any, about eight in number, there was a
squaw, the concubine of one of the packers. In passing
an Indian encampment on the way, she learned from the
tribe the sad fate of the men at Bute Inlet, and from
devotion to her white paramour she earnestly implored
liiin and his companions to return, assuring them that if
they advanced they must all be murdered. They made
liolit of her entreaties at first, but soon concluded that it
was prudent to take her advice. When distant about
120 miles from the Arm, the Indians, 50 or GO strong,
surrounded tliem, and fired from behind the pine-trees.
The first of the party to fall was an esteemed young
friend of mine, to whose excellent parents, resident in
England, I had to perform the melancholy duty of
announcing their son's death. Another of these men,
an intrei)id and generous Scotchman, killed several of the
enemy, taking aim at them under shelter of a tree.
Having exhausted his stock of ammimition, he continued
to defend himself with Avhat weaj)ons he could command,
and fouirht on like a true Iliuhlander after his leas had

. Ill this,
li many of
luglitered.
— some of
. extreme
' from tlie
which this
Loodthirsty
/ery white
11 Beiitiuck

t and Arm
ick animals
^appointed,
lere was a
III passing
id from the
p antl from
y imph)red
em that if
'hey made
ided that it
taut about
GO strong,
pine-trees,
lied young
resident in
y duty of
these men,
veral of tlie
of a tree,
e continued
1 command,
his less had

BUTE IXLET JkrASSAC'HES.

4G-)

been shot oiT. It is estimated tliat between fourteen and
seventeen whites perished in tliese Indian atrocities. A
vohmteer force was sent in searcli of the criminals by the
energetic Governor of British Columbia, who acc()m[);i-
nied it a good part of the way in person. Some of these
infatuated natives have been ca])tured, tried, and exe-
cuted, and pursuit of the others is to be resumed this year.
Already the efforts of the Government to bring the dan-
gerous Indians to justice, has involved an expenditure ul'
not less than 20,000/. Many conjectures have been
oflered as to the cause of these barbarities, but no satis-
factory conclusion has yet been arrived at on the sul)ject.
As these incidents of Indian adventure do not pretend
to special chronological order, I may be permitted to
advert to an exciting passage in the experience of Sir James
Douglas, which relates, however, to a i)eriod when he
served in the capacity of chief trader of the Hudson's Bay
Company at one of theii- posts near Stuart's Lake. The cir-
cumstance was told me by a retired officer of the com})any,
who lived nine years in the country now known asBiitisli
Columbia, and before it became a colony. It should be
premised that the officers of the company located west
of the Eocky ]\Iountaiiis, where there was no Crown tri-
bunal for the trial of criminals, received [)erempt()ry
instructions fi'om their superiors in London to be as
unsparing in the punishment of native transgressors as
they were bound to be faithful in fulfilling promises of
reward to good Indians. On this princi[)le it was expected
that in case of a white man's life being taken by a redskin,
they should keep up tlie search for the murderer, even
should it occupy twenty years. Two employes of the
company had been wantonly killed at a fort, two Indians
having been concerned in the deed. One of the perpe-
trators was caught and shot soon after llie crime had been

II II

4GG

EXCITIXO ADVENTURF.

committed. The otlier escaped detection for six years.
There was an Indian encampment in the neighbourhood
of tlie fort, connnanded by Mr. Douglas, whence came a
native one day, and assured him tliat the criminal who
had been so long at large was secreted in the native lodge.
Mr. Douglas witli his men armed themselves and hastened
to the spot. It may be noticed, in passing, that wherever
there is any supposed advantage to be gained these
imhappy people are just as readily tempted to betray each
other as they are to deceive the colonists. All the apart-
ments of the lodge were found vacated, with one excep-
tion. The chief of the tribe was giving a potlatch (feast) to
friendly tribes who had come from a distance, and the
inhabitants of the village had followed him to the place —
some way off — where the festi\'ities were being conducted.
The only person Mx. Douglas foinid at home was a woman
with a child in arms, her back leaning apparently agahist
the wall. After having examined the other divisions of the
lodge, their suspicions prompted them to look once more
in that room where the squaAv was, and they found her
still in the same posture. They ventured this time to ]ndl
her from the place where she stood. Whether the guilty
person had been apprised of tlie intentions of the men at
the fort or not, I did not learn. But directly the woman
was moved, down fell a bundle of clothes and mats, and
out rushed the murderer ; the Hudson's Bay Company's
emj)loyes blazed at him, but with the nimbleness of an
eel he zig-zagged his way out of the house ; their shots
missed him, raid he was about to escape when one of Mr.
Douglas's men levelled the butt end of his gun at him
and felled him to the ground. But the affair did not end
here. In the course of the day the chief and his retainers
returned to the camp, and in consternation beheld the
dead body of the man stretched on the thre«]i;>l 1. The

ni{

OF MR. DOUGLAS.

4G7

ix years.
)ourlioo(l
e came a
linal who
ive lodge.
I liastened
wherever
lied these
etray each
the apart-
one excep-
h (feast) to
e, and the
Me place-
conducted,
as a woman
;ntly agamst
sions of tlie
once more
; found her
time to ])ull
T the guihy
the men at
the woman
d mats, and
Company's
ileness of an
I; their shots
[1 one of Mr.
rrun at him
did not end
his retainers
i\ beheUl the
^;,:>M. The

j-quaw informed lier tillicnms of what liad occurred.
Tliey instantly covered tlieir faces witli black paint, ex-
l)ressive of tlieir belligerent intentions. Tlie wjir-whoMp
was raised, and all the male inmtites of the lodge, armed
to the teeth, ran helter-skelter to the fort. The gates
were open as usual. Mr. Douglas, re[)osing in the security
jtlTorded by the consciousness of having done his duty,
had made no extraordinary i)reparation for repelling hos-
tilities. The insensate mob, amidst threateninu; veils,
forced their way into the apartment where the chief
trader was, and, without allowing him time for parky,
invested his conmianding and portly person, threw him
on his back, fastened his hands and feet, and bore him in
a struggling condition to the mess-room of the fort, laying
him on a long table, where, I suppose, he expected to be
put to death, with torture exquisite and ])rotracted.
Other servants were bound after the same fashion, but a
few took refuge in the bastion, which they declared to
the Indians was stored with powdei'. They also swore
that if the Siwashes should venture to follow them, they
would blow up the powder magazine about their ears.
This menace had its desired effect. The old chief nuar(k'(l
Mr. Douglas. The former insisted on knowing the
meaning of the strange and deadly assault that had been
committed upon one of liis guests. The dignified chief
trader affected to treat the enquiry with scorn, and while
rolling about on the table attempthig to burst his bonds,
threatened the venerable Ti/hee with the most withering
l)ains and penalties of the company. But the old savage,
knowing that he had Mr. Douglas in his power, coolly
replied that he was in no hm-ry, and Avoidd wait j^atiently
till the chief trader should reason with him. When Mv.
Douglas consented to listen to his statement, he safely re-
marked: 'I didn't kno\v that anv murderer had snmirkded

H H 2

408

FIRMNESS OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

liimsclf under my roof witli tlie tribes who came to tlio
potlatch. If I had known that any siicli person was tlierc,
of course I sliould liave refused him shelter — I beheve
he ouglit to die. But you know tliat by tlie hiws of lios-
pitahty existing among us Indians, any one wlio intrusts
liimself to our protection is sacred wliile under it, who-
ever he may be, and that we regard it ti desecration to
touch liim while he is our guest.' Mr. Douglas proposed to
atone for his proceeding by a present of bhuikets ; and
the word of a Hudson's Bay Company's servant with the
Indians being ' as good as his bond,' directly the pro-
mise was given the chief trader was set at liberty and an
end put to ponding troubles.

It has been stated that thievish as Avell as treacherous
propensities are the rule among the aborigines. Nor is
this surprising when the mutual suspicions which tribes
have been trained to indulii;e toward one another, and the
unmitigated degradation in which they have lived for
coimtless ages, arc considered. If they imagine tliey can
take advantage in a bargain wdth impunity, they will do
so, and, but for the firmness of the local Government and
the presence of ships of war, the peace of the settlers
would have been more frequently disturbed by them.
The bravado, however, which they formerly used, with the
view of alarming the ' King George men,' as they deno-
minjite the whites, is now seldom heard — at least in the
island, for they are thoroughly convinced of their im-
potence in our hands.*

* The following is an address (translated), delivered by the Nanaimo
Indians to the present Governor: —

You, OUR GREAT CniKF, —

"We, the Nanainio Indians, have long wanted to see you and speak our
hearts to you ; and we want Mr. Crosby to translate our words. This day
our hearts are made very glad because we see you. You, Mr. Kennedy,
have conio from our great Queen, and we hope you have some good words

le to tlio
^as there,
I believe
vs of lios-
o intrusts
r it, Avlio-
cration to
•oposed to
kets; and
t with the
J the pro-
•ty and an

reachcrous
s. Nor is
Liich tribes
3r, and the
i Uved for
le they can
icy will do
innent and
the settlers
by them,
d, Avith the
they deno-
east in the
f their im-

the Nanaimo

and spofilc our

rds. This day

Mr. Koiinedy,

mc o-dod words

Till-: LAMALlllAS.

4()0

III 'Go a small tribe called the Lanialchas, now almost
cxtinet, caused anxiety to colonists in the smaller islands
ill the gulf by robberies. This lierce and predatory band,
lriflin<^' though its numbers were, was a source of con-
tinual strife and bloodshed to neighbouriuu: tribes. It
was liL'aded by a notorious robber chief — the terror of his
enemies, called Achecwun. IJavages occasioned by this
dreaded villain and his retainers became so common that
the police and ultimately the gunboats were obliged ic>
interfere. One engagement was fought in whieh the
houses of the tribe were assailed by one of Her Majesty's
vessels. No imnates being visible, the steamer backed
toward the beaeh, Avhen suddenly lire was opened by
the Indians from the forest, resultinijr in the death of
one seaman and the woundinix of others. A short time
afterwards, a corps of loyal Indian braves was eqiiip[)ed,

to spoak to us from hor. "We are poor dark Indians. You white peo})lo
Icnow more than we do. If all white people who come here were jrood, it
would he hetter for us : hut ninny teach our people to sw(>ar and f^'et drunk.
A\'e hope you, our Ooveriuu", will spoak strong words to them. Our hearts
are very glad that good white people have sent ministers of the Gospel to
us, who tell us good things ahout God, and teach our children to read. W(?
Avant them to know more than we do. We want to keep our land here ami
up the river. 8ome white uu'U tell us we shall soon have to remove again;
Imt we don't want to lo.se these reserves. ^Vll our other land is gone, and
we have been paid very little for it. God gave it to us a long time ago, aiul
now we are very poor, and do not know where our honu's will he if wo leave
this. We want our land up the river to plant for food. Mr. Douglas said
it should be ours, and our children's after we are gone. "NVe hope you, our
new chief, will say the same. We have over 300 people in our tribe, though
a number are away fishing now. [Many are old and not able to work, and
some of our children, who have neither father nor mother, have no clothes.
We hope you will be kind to them. Our hearts are good to all white people,
and to you, our great white chief. We hope you will send our words to tho
great Queen. We pray that the Great Spirit may bless her and you. This
is all our hearts to-day.

N.B. — The foregoing is a faithful translation of the addresses of the chiefs
as delivered to me in council.

(Signed) T. Crosby, Indian Teacher.
Indian Village, Nanaimo, Nov. 15; 1864.

470

I'KOCESS OF SCALl'IXCi.

and, iiucler tlio direction of the superintendent of [jolice,
sent into tlic forest to figlit tlie Liunalehas. Tliey were
enabled to break up tlie foree of Aelieewun, and capture
tlu^ cliief liimself. How tliey succeeded in surroundinu;
tlie cneuiy in the tliick brush witliout sustaining loss of
life, I never learned, but no adventure is more perilous
than to skirmish when Indian f<harpshooter.s have to be
met lying in ambush. The chief fell int<3 the hands of
his pursuers, and was consigned to the gallows after a fair
trial, with luitold enormities upon his head.

Internecine wars are perpetual among the tribes.
There are always some old-standing diil'erences between
them which are liable, on the slightest occasion, to be
revived. Grudges tu'e handed down frc»m father to son
for generations, and friendly relations are never free from
the risk of being interrupt(jd. Lives taken in one tribe
can only be com])ensated by the same mrniber being
massacred in another, and without regard to the guilt of
the individuals sacrificed. It is diflicult to perceive how,
upon such a principle, the extermination of the conflicting
parties, eventually, can be avoided.

It is their custom to scalp cveiy one they kill — the
integument of the skull of an enemy ^ilain in war being
viewed by them as a trophy. So that he who can boast
the greatest number of scalps is honom-ed by his tril)e as
the bravest man. This disgusting operation is performed
by making a circular cut from the lower part of the fore-
head inmiediately above the ears. Their teeth are then
a]:)plied to separate the scalp. Women captured in battle
are reduced to slavery, and doomed, often under fear of
the lash and abusive treatment from the Indian family
claiming them, to severe labour. In the vicinity of white
settlements, these female slaves are sent out, as black slave
girls have sometimes been in cities of the Southern States

DISSIl'ATKD WMITKS ANO INDIANS.

171

)t' police,
hoy wt'i'o
I ctiptiiro
TouudinL?
ig loss ot
I perilous
ive to be
hands of
iter ti i'air

lie tribes.
3 between
on, to be
her to son
free from
L one tribe
ber being
le ^^iiilt of
ceive how,
conilicting

^^ kill — tlie
war being
can boast
lis tribe as
performed
)f the forc-
h are then
3d in battle
ider fear of
lian family
ty of white
black slave
icrn States

to (.'arn their living by jjrostitutioii. Subsefiin.', ly tc the
tide ofinnnigration in'r)S,aii(l iiiilil the removal i>i ' budge
that formerly connected Victoria with the Indian encamp-
ment on the opposite side of the harbour, T have witnessed
scenes after sunset caUailated to shock even the bluntest
sensibilities. The llres of Indian tents ])itched upon the
beach casting a lurid glare upon the water ; the loud and
discordant whoopings of the natives, several of whom
were usually infuriated with bad liquor; the crowds of the
more debased miners strewed in vicious concert with
squaws on the i)ublic highway, presented a s})ectacle
diabolical in the extremi!. YjVL'm now one cannot walk
from the ferry up the Esquimalt voi\d by day or by night
Avithout encountering the sight of these Indian slaves
squatting in considerable numbers in the bush, for what
purpose it is not dillicult to imagine, and the extent to
which the nefarious practices refeiTcd to are encouraged
by the crews of Her Majesty's ships is a disgrace to the
service they represent, and a scandid to the countiy.
Hundreds of dissipated white men, moreover, live i)ioj)in
concubinage with these wretched creatures. So unblush-
ingly is this traffic carried on, that I have seen the hus-
band and wife of a native family canvassing fi-om one
miner's shanty to another, with the view of making as-
signations for the dootchiiten (squaws) in their })ossession.
On one occasion I saw an Indian woman oflerinL;- to dis-
pose of her own child — the oflspring of a guilty alliance
with a white man — for 3/., at tlie door of a respectable
white dwelling.

So hopeless does the moral and religious improvement
of the aborigines in the environs of Victoria appear to the
Catholic missionaries, that the good bishop of that iiiith
in Vancouver Island assured me he felt compelled to gi\-e
them up to their reprobate coiu'ses. These self-denying

•ITli

lln.M.W CATIIOMC MISSIONS.

iiH'ii liJivi' toiled loiiLfcr iiiul more Ms.sidiioiisly tijjm tlu?
ji^^'ciits of any otlu'i't-rci'd loi'tlieMinulioration of tln'ir con-
dition, jind m\] rcluctimt to Mhjmdon any Held of mission-
ary operations while tlie least prospeet of suceess remains.

The bishop of Uk? English Church, some years ji<ro,
erected a school to instruct, reclaim, and elevate them ; an
able and zealous clei'iryman was appointed as super-
intendent of the mission. IJut, as miuht be expected, the
return for these well-intentioned appliances has been so
grievously dis})roporti()nate as to be (piite inapi)i'eciable.

It should bt! mentioned, liowever, that in distiicts as
yet compiu'atively uncontaminated by the evil example of
])i()neer whites, and favoured with the blessings of moral
and religious instruction, gratifying results are visil)le,
esiiecially among the younger portion of the tribes. In
►South Saanich, a locality with Avhich I am acfpiainted,
where a Koman Catholic jn'iest is stationed, the morals of
the natives luive hitherto l)een in u tolerably satisfactory
condition. Jhit as that district is now becoming [)opu-
lated with whites, it were too much to ho})e that the
Indians there should form, permanently, an ex(?eptioii to
other uative vihages trenched upon by civilisation. A
farmer in that neighbourhood, in expressing to me his
conlidencc in their honesty, remarked that ' one couldn't
pay them to steal' When near the village, one tlay, I met
some of the people, and by the assistance of what limited
stock of Chinook* I could conmiand, endeavoured to
ascertain whether they had any distinct idea of moral
obligation. I began by saying : iVika pretre pe waiva copa
Km<i George men Sockalli/ Ti/hee. Mika Kumtux okook?
I am a minister, and teach white men about God ; do you
miderstand this ? ' A woman who was present, thinking I

* The jar(>:nn which forms the chief medium of intercourse behvcon the
colonists and the natives.

ihim till!
tlM'ir coii-

i ri'inaiuH.

til cm ; nil
as su})i-'r-
ected, tlio
i \)iivn so
rei'iiibli.'.
istricts us
xaini)li' ()('
of moral
•e visible,
ribc's. Ill
.'(liminted,
monils of
itislnctoiy
irig [)oi)U-
I thiit the
^o])tion to
at ion. A
;o me bin
couldn't
day, I met
lit limited
voured to
of moral
L'aica copa
ux okook ?
d ; do you
thiukhig I

between tlio

TIIIMll INF'IA'K.VCr-: ON TIIM NATION'S.

— .»

was a j)rii'^t. al once made llie sjnii of die cross nii Iht
bi'cMst, and rt|>li«'(l Xim-ilLut \ SiH'kiillii 7)//iii' Sli/u : point-
iiiLi' above with her hand, /.it pn-fri' t/inrtf nihi irtnva
Klosh. ' Yes, God is ill Ifeaveii. 'riie priest tells me what
is <iood.' An old man volunteered (he remark, A'AW/ ////,/
////// iiihi. HW/(' Klush Kiipsii'dlld — ii'uL'i'Klitsh MihiKilii.sli,
— /('(tie K/o.s/i Pt'ri' C/iKc/i. ' I have a ji'ood IkmiI. It is
wron<i: to si al, or li.u'ht, or drink whisky.'

ArriviiiL- .it C\)wit('Iiin one summer cveninLr, about eiulit
o'llock, ill a canoe, after u long day's paddling, I heard
the sound of chanting proceeding from the native church,
which was erected and su[)plied with altar furniture chiefly,
if not entirely, at the expense of the Indians. It was ji log
structure, about 50 feet by 21), and on u high situation. At
some distance from it, in front, a huge wooden lialin cross
stood in the ground, that sacred emblem being usually found
in connection with Catholic mission stations. On entering
the church I observed a /'irir eiiuaned in teachin*' some
Indian lads hymns used in devotional exercises, which
they sang "with taste and vigour. On retiring they were
careful to sign themselves Avitli the cross. I visited tlie
priest, who lived in a humble shanty adjoining the church,
and I could not fail to be struck at the exem])lary self-
forgetfulness he manifested in his arduous w^ork. lie had
lived there for some years before white men settled in the
locality; and notwithstanding the utter absence of coni-
ibrts, and even scantiness of necessaries that marked his
lot, he seemed cheerful and contented. There was no
disposition shown by him to put a brighter face on the
results of his efforts than facts would justify. Indcjcd, for
whatever favourable report I received, I was indebted to
disinterested witnesses of his labours. I learned that on
Sundays hundreds of natives attended religious service; that
monogamy wa^j generally enforced by him with success ;

474

THE SIGN OF THE CliOSS.

jiiid tliat in many other respects tlie iiioi-als of the pe()i)]c
■were correct. One case was told me ofiUicit whisky-dealers,
who, attempting to land alcohol from their sloops, Avere
driven ofT and their casks rolled into the sea. I fear we
shoidd look in vain for a dis})lay of similar zeal for the
cause of morality and temperance in a Avhite community
of the same extent.

In re£!:ard to the si«j;n of the cross, to which so much
importance is attached in the ceremonies of the Roman
Catholic Church, the bishop of that faith in the diocese
of Vancouver Island related to me a touching: incident.
Wlien that ri<2;ht reverend father first administered Chris-
tian ordinances to the Indians at the mouth of the Fraser,
tliey were at variance with the Nanaimo tribe. ' The man
of prayer,' as they termed the bishop, had occasion, about
the time referred to, to visit the latter place in his episco])al
tour after leavinii; the Eraser. Those from whom he had
recently parted felt so edified by his counsels that they de-
termined, at all hazards, to attempt following him. From
some cause, however, tliey missed him ; and as their canoes
approached Nanaimo, to their dismay they beheld their
foes ranged on the beach, prepared to lire upon them. For
some time they kept at a safe distance, and held a council
among tlicmselves. The conclusion arrived at by them
Avas as interesting as it was })acific. They argued that if
the enemy were faithful to the instructions of ' the man of
])rayer' they would understand tlie sign of the cross,
return it, and allow them to land in peace. They accord-
ingly stood up and crossed themselves, at which signal
the muskets of the Nanaimo men Avere laid aside, and a
cordial Avelcome extended by them to their Christian
brethren. It Avas stated to me, on trustworthy authority,
that in consequence of Bishop Hills, of the English Church,
Avhen travelling' in British Columbia, forbidding the Indians

' SELF-INTERrRETIXC; BlBLi:.'

470

;he people
cy-deulers,
x)ps, Avere
I fear wc
jal I'or the
community

1 so mucli
the Iloman
he diocese

2 incident.
I'red Chris-
the Fraser,

' The man
sion, about
lis episco])al
iiom he had
lat they de-
lim. From
their canoes
)eheld tlieir
them. For
d a council
at by them
ued tliat if
the man of
the cross,
ley accord-
^hicli signal
aside, and a
Christian
y authority,
lish Church,
the Indians

this mode of sahitation, he was subjected to some disap-
pointment and mortification. Duriiio- one of his visits to
that colony tliey mistook him for a lioman Catliolic priest
— tlie only description of missionary they had known up
to that period — and adopted the sign of Christian free-
masonry which has been alluded to. Mothers brought
their infants to be baptised by him. But on discovering
the Protestant bishop's opposition to their accustomed reli-
gious forms, they declined to receive the virtue of his
episcoi)al manipulations, and withdrew from him as a
dangerous heretic !

I was much interested in being sliown by liishop De
Mers a rude symbolic Bible, devised by liimself for the
use of the Indian disciples of the lioman Catholic order.
It consists of a long slip of paper, on wdiich the [)rincipal
events narrated in Scripture, from the creation of the
world to the founding of the Christian Church, are illus-
trated. The progressive development of the Chmcli of
Ivome from that time up to the [)resent is also portrayed.
The advantnii'e of the arranu;ement is, that a lar<;e amount
of general religious information is contained in remarkably
small compass. The Hebrew version reads from light to
left, but this ' Self-interpreting JJible ' reads from the
bottom upwards. At the foot of the page the globe
appears emerging out of chaos, and immediately above
stand a male and female figure with a tree between them,
re])resenting our first parents partaking of the forbidden
fruit. The other details of this invention may be readily
guessed at, till we reach the Protestant Eeformation, uj)
to which point the line of instruction is intelhgible and
straight. Thence another line diverges at riglit angles
from the main one, leading olF the page into the abyss.
This is marked cheiiu'n de Protestautusnie. Then the
straight path of the Churcii continues to Pio Aono, and

47G

SHI.FISII MOTIVES IN KI':LIG1()X.

()

iiwards still to heaven. Captain Mayne states that when
at Kaniloops, in liritish Columbia, the chief of the Bhuswap
tril)e, pointing to such a print as I have described, hangin<^^
on the Avail, and ])utting his finger U})ou the unhappy
ligures tumbling into the pit, laughingly said, ' Theix' are
you and your people,' showing the amount of credence
that sceptical Siwash attached to it. It may be mentioned,
in illustration of the selfish propensities of the Indians,
even in connection with religious observances, that when
certain members of the Songhish tribe w^ere called l)efore
the lioman Catholic bishop for confirmation, after having
been duly baptised, they stipulated for a larger present of
blankets to be made to them than had been given at their
ba])tism as a condition of comi)lying w4th Dr. De Mers'
invitation. To rebuke tlie impurity of their motives in
reference to a rite so sacred, it is reported that the
bisho]) adopted the expedient of making a hole in a
large heart which he had painted upon canvas, and draw-
inor a blanket through it. A missionary of another sect
Avas once trying to prevail upon an Indian to join his
denominational school for natives, when, viewing the
solicitation of the missionary as a matter of business, he
responded in the same spirit, Aoiritka, lon.sick niika
2n>tlatch. ' Yes, I'll go ; but how much will you give me ?'
In 1857 the lirst Protestant mission was established
among the native tribes, and the progress of it embraces
so many interesting facts as to be entitled to some notice
liere. The Clun-ch Missionary Society having had their
attention called to the condition of the aborigines on the
North American coast of the Pacific, determined on
sending out a lay agent to commence operations, and
selected Mr. Duncan, wdio was trained at Highbury Col-
lege, London, for that purpose. After careful delibera-
tion as to the most eligible district in which to exercise

that Avlieii
e Slmswup
id, liaiii'inii:
2 luiliappy
■ Til ere are
f crctlciicc
mentioned,
le Indian!>,

til at Avlien
lied l)efore
fter having

present of
on at their
. De Mers'
motives in
1 that the

hole in a

and draw-
nother seet
to join his
ewino- the
)usiness, he
Hsick mila
L give me ? '
establislied
t embraces
iome notice

had their
ines on the
rmined on
[itions, and
hbnry Col-
d delibera-
to exercise

MR. DUXCAN'S LAI30UUS.

477

his functions as a Christian teacher, he proceeded to Fort
Simpson, a fur-trading depot belonging to the Hudson's
Bay Company, and situated about a thousand miles nortli
of Victoria. This region, containing a lai'ge Indian popu-
lation, afforded him special facilities for prosecuting mis-
sionary enterprise. The first obstacle of moment he
encountei-ed was that selfishness deeply rooted in the
savage bretist to which reference has just been made.
In a passage from his diary on the subject, Mr. Duncan
writes : —

To-day a chief called, whose principal anxiety was to ascertain
whether I intended giving dollars to the Indians to get them (o
send their children to school.

I think I shamed him a little — at least, I tried to do so — for
entertaining sncli a selfish notion.

I have a good many visitors, and all seem desirous of ingra-
tiating themselves . . .

When they beg, which is generally the case, I mostly satisfy
and always lessen their expectations by saying that I have not
come to trade. This opens a way to telling them what I iiavc
come to do for them ; and in every case, as soon as my object
is realised, I hear the oft-repeated ' ahni, alim ' (good, good),
and their faces exhibit every expression of joy of which thev
are susceptible. ... It is a pity we cannot put their sincerity
to the test at once, but I feel that it would not be prudent to
do so.

Another difficulty mentioned by this worthy labourer,
as threatening to interfere with the consumnuition of his
wishes, is ' tlieir jealousies and feuds.' It was not long
before his ])atient and conciliatory manner won their con-
fidence, so that they apphed to him for advice in sickness
and trouble. He was soon received in their houses witli
every mark of respect. They often assigned him the chi(,'f
place near the fire, where they always placed a mat upon
a box for him to sit U[)on.

478

IIINDIIANCRS TO MISSIONARY WORK.

Ill tlie erection of a new school-liouse, tliey supplied
planks for fl(3oring, and bark for the roof; the liberality
of some even impelling them to take boards off their own
roofs and the pieces tliat formed part of their beds.

In a few months the scliool numbered 100 children
and 50 adults. Four tribes resolved to abandon the
abominable practices connected with the celebration of
' medicine feasts.' Still, these orcjies of heathenism beinf:^ so
closely associated with the traditions of the natives, could
hardly be expected to be renounced all at once. But to
be instrumental in shaking so remarkably the attachment
of these people to their ancient follies, indicated the
presence of an influence which only the principles of
Christianity could exert.

I am thankful (writes Mr. Duncan) that I am able to say
there is amongst the Indians a great stir of opinion against tlieir
heathenish winter-customs, and four of the tribes out of nine
have indeed cut them off. Those tribes which still adhere to
tiiem are carrying them on exceedingly feebly, so much so that
I am assured by all whom I speak to about the matter, that
what I now see is really nothing compared with what the system
is when properly carried out. They tell me they were afraid to
cast the custom away all in one year, but would rather tliat
part of it should go tliis year, and the remainder next ; so,
according to this, I sincerely hope that this is the last winter any
of these savage practices will be seen.

Afterw^ards the following paragraph occurs in his
journal : —

Every day shows me more and more what a dense mass of
iirnorance I have come in contact with. I have also now to
meet all the evil reports continually emanating from very evil
and superstitious persons. Some are watching I believe Tor a
calamity to arise and explode the work. Others are in suspense,
hoping we shall succeed, but feel afraid we cannot. Some keej)
a scrutinising eye over all our movemeiits, and when they feel

OPrOSITION OP A ' MKDICINE PARTY.'

471)

y supplied
! liberality
' their own
)eds.

D cliiklrcu
mdon the
ibnitioii of
ml3eiiig«()
ives, could
e. But to
ittachuient
icated the
Luciples of

able to say
lo-ainst their
out of nine
11 adhere to
lucb so that
matter, that
t the system
ere afraid to

rather tliat
iv next ; so,
t winter any

Lirs lu

his

mse mass of
also now to
)m very evil
)elieve Tor a
in suspense,
Some keep
en they feel

satisfied we have no tricks to injure them, I suppose they will
countenance us. But we go on, and I am glad to hear every
day, in contrast with the incessant and horrid drumming of thi'
medicine-men, the sweet sound of our steel calling numbers t()
hear and learn the way of life.

On leaving the school this morning, I spoke to a man who is
of considerable power and influence in the camp, as to why lu?
did not send his children to scliool, and come himself. Ho
replied that he was waiting till the Indians had done with their
foolishness and dancing, which time was not far distant ; then
he would come. He both wanted himself and his children to
learn, but would not come yet, as it is not good, he said, to mix
his ways and mine together. He intended soon to give up his,
and then he would come to school. This afternoon he just
dropped into school simply as a gazer ; he would join in nothing.

Again he writes : —

I inspect them [his pupils] daily. Some few have ventured
to come with their faces painted, hut we have less of it daily.
A good many too have cast away their nose-rings, yet some
come who have very large ones in use still.

After school-teaching was over this morning, a chief remained
behind — he had a serious difficulty. His people, who liad befoi'e;
decided to give up their medicine working, were beginning fo
repent of their decision. According to the chiefs statement,
they professed themselves unable to leave off what had been
such a stronji" and universal custom amonfj them for afjfes.

I was told . . . that the head chief of the Indians is going
to ask me to give up my school for about a month, his comphiinf
being that the children running past his house and from scliodl
tended to unsettle him and his party from working their mys-
teries.

. . . I se9 now that, although I have been as careful as pos-
sible not to give unnecessary offence, yet a storm is in the
horizon.

As I went tluougli part of the camp on my way to the school
this morning, I met a strong medicine party full in the face . .
Tlieir naked prodigy was carrying a dead dog, whicli he occa-
sionally laid down and feasted uj»on. While a little l)oy was

480

SCKXE AT THE JIISSIOX SCHOOL.

striking the steel for meat scliool, some oftlie pcarty made tlieir
appearance near the school, I imagine, for all at once the boy
begun to be irregular and feeble in his stroke, and when I
looked up at him, I saw he was looking very much afraid. On
encjuiring the cause, he told me the medicine folks were near :
I told him to strike away, and I stood at the door of the school.
Some few stragglers of the medicine party were hovering about,
but they did not dare to interfere with us. When all were;
assembled, and the striking ceased, my adult pupils commenced
a irreat talk . . . After a little time the chief came, and told
me the Indians were talking bad outside, by which [ imder-
stood that the medicine folks had been usiii''- more threats to
stop us.

... On nearing the Fort, I met one of the most important
men in the medicine business — a chief, and father to one of the
little boys that are Ijeing initiated . . . He told me that if they
did not make their medicine-men as they had alwtays been used
to do, then there would be none to frustrate the designs of these
bad men who made people sick, and therefore deaths wouhl be
more numerous from the effects of the evil workings of such
bad men.

This morning the medicine party, who are carrying on their
work near to the school, broke out with renewed fury, because,
as they assert, the child of the head chief had just returned
from above. The little boy that lights my lire came in great
excitement to tell me that the head chief was not willing for
me to have school to-day, and was anxious to know if I intended
going. He seemed greatly amazed at my answer. On going to
school I observed a crowd of these wretched men in a house
that I was approaching. When they turned to come out, they
saw me coming, and immediately drew back till I had passed.

This afternoon a boy ran to strike the steel, and not many
seconds elapsed before I saw the head chief approaching, and a
whole gang of medicine-men after him, dressed up in their usual
charms. The chief looked very angry, and bade the boy ceiise.
I waited at the door until he came up. His first effort was to
rid the school of the few pupils that had just come in. He
shouted at the top of his voice and bade them be off. I immc-

made their
ce the hoy
1(1 when I
fraid. On
were near :
tlie school.
rin^i>' about,
■n all were
commenced
e, and told
li I imder-
3 threats to

t important
3 one of th(3
that if they
■s been used
o-uH of these
lis would be
n""s of sucii

inir on their
ry, because,
st returned
lie in oTcat

willing' for

I intended
On going to

in a house
le (tut, they
ad passed,
d not many
ohing, and a
Q their usual

e boy cease.

ffort was to
»uie in. He
f. I imnie-

TIIE ANGRY CHIEF.

481

diately accosted him, and demanded to know what he intended
or expected to do. His gang stood about the door, and I think
seven came in. I saw tlieir point; it was to intimidate me by
their strength and frightful appearance, and I perceived the
chief, too, was somewhat under the influence of rum. But the
Lord enabled me to stand calm and without tlie slightest fear
to address them with far more fluency in their tongue than I
could have imagined possible. ... I told them that God was
my master, and that I must obey Him rather than them.

... I saw a great many people at a distance, looking anxiously
at our proceedings. Nearly all my pupils had fled in feai-.
The chief expressed himself very passionately ; now and then
breaking out into furious langua<;e, and showing off his savage
nature by his gestures. Sometimes I pacified him by what I
said for a little time, but he soon broke out again with uku'o
violence. Towards the close of the scene, two of his con-
federates — vile-looking fellows — went and whispered something
to him ; upon which he got up from a seat he had just sat down
upon, stamped his feet on the floor, raised his voice as liigli as
he could, and exhibited all the rage and defiance and boldness
that he could. . . .

We had not gone on long before the chief returned to school.
He gave a long knock on the door with a stick. I went to
open it, and my pupils began to squat about for shelter. When
he came in, I saw he was in rather a dilferent mood ; and he
began to say that he was not a bad man to tlie white people,
but thai: he had always borne a good character with them. . . .

The leading topics of the chief's angry clamour I nia}'^ class
as follows : — He requested four days' suspension of the school.
He promised that if I complied, he and his people would then
come to school ; but threatened, if my pupils continued to come
on the following days, he would shoot at them. Lastly, he
pleaded that if the school went on during the time he specified,
then some medicine-men, whom he expjcted on a visit shortly
from a distant tribe, would shame and perhaps kill him.

Some of his sayings during his fits of rage were that he under-
stood how to kill people, occasionally drawing his hand across
his throat to show me what he meant ; that when he died, he

I I

482

TEMPTATIONS TO CONVERTS,

should go flown ; he could not cliange ; he coidd not be good ;
or if I made him good, why then he .suj)))o.sed he should go to a
different |)lace from his forefather.^ ; this he did not desire
to do.

On one occasion, while he was talking, he looked at two men —
one of them a regular pupil of mine, and the other a medicine-
man — and said, ' I am a muiderer, and so are you, and you
(pointing to each of these men); and what good is it for us to
come to school?' ....

While in school there was a frightful outLurst of the medi-
cine parties, setting the whole of the camp round about in a
kind of terror. A party were with their naked prodigy n the
beach when I went out of the school.

From tlicsc extracts some idea may be formed of tbc
vexations borne by Mr. Duncan at the begiiuiing of bis
career. But a noble ambition to elevate the social and
religious condition of the Indian lightened the burden of
bis toils. Sucli an enterprise was sufliciently onerous to
one cbeered by tbe presence of Cbristian sympathy ; but
his isolated situation, struggling Avithout a pit)us com-
panion of eitber sex to share bis anxieties and labours,
was fitted to deepen the interest felt by tbe religious
i:)ublic at borne in bis belialf.

At length a clergyman and bis wife were sent to bis
assistance ; but after a short residence were obliged to
return to I]ngland from ill health. Again he was left
alone ; and although his physical strength was impaired
by the pressure of his duties, his zeal w^as not relaxed.
Finding, however, that the proximity of tbe company's
fort to the native settlement offered temptations to liis con-
verts, and exposed them to the demoralising visits of illicit
rum-traders, be resolved to move to a safe distance from
the snares attending the liquor traffic. lie accordingly
chose a suitable neigbboiu'bood for the new sphere of liis
operations, about twenty miles up the Sim^^son lUvcr, called

he ^'ood ;
Id {^o to a
lot desire

wo men —
mediciue-
, and you
i fur us to

the medi-
ibout in a
igy n the

cd of the
iiig of Ills
social and
burden of
Dnerous to
atliy ; but
ions coin-
d labours,
religious

ent to his
obliged to
e ^vas left

impaired
relaxed,
company's
to his con-
ts of illicit

ance from
ccordingly
lere of his
iver, called

NEW ClIKISTIAX RFi:TTLEMi:\T.

4 S3

Metlakatlah ; and during tlie i)a,st four year.'* a woi'k li:is
been acc()m[)lislie(l tliere v/lKy^e success lias rarely if ever
been equalled in tlie liistory of missions to tlie lieatlien.

Only those natives wlio agreed to give u]) idolali'ous
and innnoral practices, and strictly conform to the regula-
tions under which the new Christian settlement was
formed, were ])ermittcd to enjoy its advantages. A severe
probationary course Avas imposed, and many in attesting
their sincerity submitted to it ])atiently, and are now
exemplary in the performance of tlieir moral and religious
duties. It was m.ade a condition of citizenshi}) that each
house should be built, no lonu'cr resembliuiT: the Indian
lodges, but according to a civilised ])lan. For this ])ur-
pose prepared timber is imported, and shingles for rooling
are manufactured by the natives. Habits of cleanliness
and modes of dress like those ])i-evailini; amonu; white
men are enforced. Besides large mission premises, a
public market and court-house have been erected, and
separate apartments are })rovided for the acconunodation
of Indian tribes who come to trade, that the fdth and
cflluvia attaching to the persons of these strangers may
not be allowed to pollute the dwellings or the society of
the fixed inhabitants. After ?<«reformed tillicuins have
taken their departure, the building occupied by them
during their stay is cleaned and fumigated by the resi-
dents, according to a definite sanitaiy arrangement. A
school for instruction in the rudiments of an English
education is established, I'oads are in process of forma-
tion, and an efficient body of native police is organised,
the force being equii)ped in a senii-mihtary uniform that
compares fixvourably with what is worn by the constabu-
lary in Victoria. A prison also exists, and magisterial
jurisdiction is intrusted to Mr. Duncan, who was invested
])y Governor Douglas with a commission of the peace.

1 1 -2

484

INGENUITY OF THE NATIVES.

To sustain the public administration of the native colony
a tax is levied, payable in money, blankets, or produce.
As the commerce, agriculture, and manufactures of the
settlement are developed, Mr. Duncan contemplates en-
couraging the general circulation of United States currency
instead of barter as the medium of business negotiations.
Adult statute-labour is also required in making roads.
To enable the people to meet i)ersonal and Governmental
claims, they are trained to various branches of industry,
such as cultivating the soil, extracting oil, hunting furs,
gathering berries. Skilled occupations are also gradually
being introduced among tlicm. A schooner has recently
been purchased for conveying native commodities to Vic-
toria, and bringing back supi)lies. When the colleague
of Mr. Duncan came to Victoria in charge of freight some
time since, he assured me that it met with a ready sale,
and in that one trip he realised in behalf of the native
exporters several hundred pounds. If that interesting
settlement can be so far civilised before the vices of the
whites approach it (which they are certain to do eventually
in the progress of adventure and British colonisation),
as to be rendered proof against immoral contagion,
who can tell to what extensive proportions the present
nursling may grow ?

The tribes are by no means destitute of ingenuity.
Their canoes, which are made by hollowing out the
trunks of trees, are finished with taste and skill, and are
believed to supply the pattern after which clipper sliips
are built. Their carvings in slate and chasing in metals
are usually neat, and some of the Songhies manufacture
elegant rings and bracelets out of gold and silver. In a
short time, and for a small consideration, they will beat
out a sovereign to its utmost tenuity, fold up the extended
gold, and return it to the owner in the form of a finger-ring.

INDUSTRIAL ARTS AND MISSIONS.

485

re colony
produce.
29 of the
ilates en-
currency
foliations,
ng roads.
3rnmental
industry,
iting furs,
gradually
is recently
[cs to Vic-
colleague
njflit some
ready sale,
the native
interesting
ces of the
eventually
onisation),
contagion,
le present

ingenuity.

g out the

1, and are

)per sliips

in metals
lanufacture
ver. In a

Mrill beat
e extended
finger-ring.

The matting and ornamented slippers they prepare are
well known. Let this faculty for contrivance but be
diverted into channels of more economic value, and an
important step has been taken towards the civilisation of
these aborigines. It is to the achievement of this object
that the exertions of Mr. Duncan are directed in conjunc-
tion with tlie inculcation of Christian teaching ; and the
statements of that gentleman, to which I have had an
opportunity of hstening from his own lips, are such as to
impress the most incredulous with the conviction that
the undertaking is practicable. On suggesting to him,
the desirableness of his translating exceipts from tlie
Scriptures into their language, he re[)lied tliat it would
be his endeavour to make English so general among the
people as the medium of speaking and writing, that sucli
labour would be rendered superfluous. I have heard
read, by Mr. Duncan, letters written in English by yoimg
men under his care — some of them love letters — and I
have no hesitation in saying that they would do no dis-
credit to farm-labourers of the same age in England.

I am not personally familiar with the working of
British missions in Polynesia ; but from interviews I liave
had v/ith eminent missionaries who have s[)ent many years
among the native islanders of the South Seas, I infer
that secular knowledge and the industrial arts of civilifsed
life had not at first so special a place assigned tliem in
the missionary programme as tliey now have. Tliese
indispensable auxiliaries of civilisation did not, I know,
formerly receive from American missionaries in tlie
Sandwich Islands the attention they merited, and, conse-
quently, the results of their zealous and sincere exertions
were, in most instances, sadly out of proportion to the
time, strength, and money expended in connection with
theu' work. I trust I do not detract from the dignity of

48(1

UKLIOION AM) CIVILIZATIOX,

tlic3 inissioiiiuy ciill'mg or froiii tliu power of tlic Cliristiiiii
ri'li^ioii ill sii<i'^f('stiii_^ that tliu arU uiid iiistitutioiis of
civilisud lifu ought to bo fostered side by side with the
('oiniiiuirK'jitioii of ivhuious iiistnit'tioii. Tiiese nils and
institutions create new and elevating social relations, and
open up the most worthy spheres to be; found in this
world for the exercise of Christian virtues, the strengthen-
ing of heavenly princi[)les, and the development of the
Divine life.

The Protestant doctrine of 'justification by faith alone,'
when acce[)ted in a suitable manner, it is admitted, sup-
plies to frail humanity the (jraml niotire-pturer for a new
hfe. J3ut that the Gospel may not degenerate, as it too
often does, into .HOitiiueiitaHsin or jh/uitlci.sni, the duties
of the regenerate state must be systematically and con-
tinuously placed before the ccmvert for the enlightenment
of his conscience, the control of his feelings, and the
guidance of his purposes. At the beginning of a Christian
career there is experienced an earnest desire to evince
gratitude to our heavenly Father I'or the discovery thai
lias been made of high and comforting truth. But for
the spiiitual force inherent in that sentiment to be pro-
perly utilised, tlie various relations of the man to the
all'airs of this life and the next should be explained,
and the particular diiiies belonging to these relations
clearly enunciated. For safe and speedy ti'avelling by
locomotive, rails must be laid as well as steam generated,
and without attention to the cultivation, in detail^ of those
moral habits, industrial enterprises, and refined accom-
plishments that go, coUevtivcly, to make up what Ave de-
signate civilisation, we shall look in vain for the full
reahsation of that multiform blessing. This is true even
in regard to Christendom ; how much more so, therefore,
to the abodes of Paganism !

TIIIIKATKXKI) KXTIXCTION OF WTIVKS.

■1S7

Clirisli;m
tutiniis of
; -with tlic
! urts and
itiouH, and
1(1 iiL this
tixMiutlioii-
I'Ut ut' tliu

lith iilonr,'

lilted, siip-

i'or a iiL'W

I', as it too

til (J dutlL'S

^ and coii-
glitcunicnt
s, and the
a Cliristiaii
to evince
oveiy tliat
But lor
to be pro-
lan to the
explained,
e relations
K veiling by
generated,
//, of those
ed acconi-
lat we de-
)r the /////
5 true even
, therefore,

To those missionaries, therefore, who have been adopt-
ing th(? exclusively religious plan of action, I coininend
the enlighteiied example of Mr. Duncan.

The ntitiil (/lnitniiti<ui and fhrati'/u'd (Wttncthni of thi'
primitive inhabitants <»f the American continent and the
islands of the Pacific, is a fact of melancholy interest to
the Christian philantlii'o|)ist and the man of s(;ience ; and
the enquiry naturally aiises whether the exclusively ICvan-
gelistic method generally adopted by missionaries is the
most edectual that could be devised to avert this doom.

The Indian population of North America three centu-
ries ago was estimated at 2(),()()(),()0(). Now it does not
reach 2,()()0,()()(). Progress toward decay has been almost
e([ually I'einarkable among the aborigines of t^outli
America. In 177r», when Captain Cook visited Tahiti,
the native poi)ulation of tluit island numbered 20(),U()() ;
and by a census taken twelve years ago, it was shown to
be reduced to (S,00() or 1),()0(). The Sandwich Islanders,
who about the same ])erio(l numbered 40(),()()v), m
November 1840, only reached 8(),()41, with an excess of
deaths over births of (],4G5 annually. In an official report
of the condition of the aborigines of Australia, publisiied
a few years ago, their case was thus described : 'The uni-
form result of all enquiry on the subject of the numbers
of the Australian aboiigines exhibits a decrease in the
])opulation of those districts which have been overspread
by colonial enterprise.' An Adelaide newspaper, [)ub-
lislicd subsequently, contained the following statement : —
' The steady disappearance of the natives is what every
rei)ort upon tiieir condition most uniformly points to, al-
though everything is done that could promise to alleviate
the discomforts of their condition,' The native Tasmanians,
notwithstaudiu!' the strenuous eflbrts of benevolence and
reliii'iun to save them, it is understood, have all without

488

FATE OF INDIAN RACES.

exception perished. In 1830 tlie number of tlie Maorics,
with whom tlie colonial authorities of New Zealand have
of late been unhappily brought in colhsion, was estimated
at 180,000. Two years ago that superior aboriginal
population was found reduced to 55,275. The present
war will, doubtless, immensely augment the rate of
diminution. It has been calculated that at the end of 100
years hence their extinction will be complete. An able
writer, * On a Point too much lost Sight of on Missions,'
in discussing this topic, aptly remarks : ' Macaulay's oft-
quoted saying about the j)ossibility of a future Xew Zea-
lander yet surveying the ruins of London Bridge and the
great metropolis around, is often applied by the unthink-
ing to some civilised descendant of the present Maori race.
But the historian was far too well read to commit himself
to so wild an imagination — it must have been some one
6[)rung from the white colonists he had mentally before
him when he wrote.' The Indians of the Delaware,
memorable as having been favoured with the self-sacri-
ficiiig labours of David Brainerd, are reported to be now
wholly extinct ; and the Bible which that indefatigable
missionary, at so much pains translated into the native
tongue, is now consequently a dead letter to every Indian
living in the New World. Humboldt, when visiting
South America in 180G, was shown a parrot which chat-
tered in a language that no one could understand, and
the reason Avas discovered to be that every vestige of the
tribe accustomed to use that particular form of speech
had been effaced from the globe. The fate of the native
churches of Greenland and Labrador, associated with the
eminent devotion of the Moravian pioneers, points in the
same gloomy direction. Already the enquiry has been
suggested in view of primitive races so rapidly disappear-
ing, whether instruction in the useful arts and training in
modes of civilised language, customs, and government

lie Maories,
aland have
;S estimated

aboriginal
?he present
le rate of
send of 100
. An able
1 Missions,'
:aulay's oft-
e Xew Zca-
Ige and the
le unthink-
Maori race,
mit himself
in some one
tally before

Delaware,
e self-sacri-

to be now
idefatigable

the native
very Indian
en visiting
vhicli chat-
rstand, and

tige of the
of speech
the native

id with the

)ints in the
has been
disappear-

training in

government

WHAT OF AFRICANS, HINDOOS AND CHINESE? 489

sliould not invariably be alhed with the inculcation of
Christian doctrine, and employed as auxiliaries in arresting
the progress of decay, and raising them in the sade of
humanity. The author, from whom I have just quoted,
touches on a question of equally vital moment, which
ought to be seriously pondered by the directors of mis-
sionary societies in Europe and America, who exi)end such
vast sums of money annually in attemptmg to convert the
h(;athen. ' Wc strongly hold,' says he, ' that missions to
tribes about to dc[,.ii% leaving behind them so few traces
that they ever existed^ are much less important than those to
nations destined to increase in number and in iiijluencefor
centuries yet to come.'

There is, unquestionably, great force in the remark
ascribed to the late Duke of Wellington, and addressed
to a clergyman who was sceptical as to the pro[)riety of
so much enthusiasm being displayed by Christians at home
in the conversion of Pagans, while so much ignorance,
vice, crime, profanity, and squalor invited the efforts of
devout philanthropy in civilised conununities of the old
world and our colonies. The ' marching-orders ' of the
Divine Commander-in-chief must be imi)licitly obeyed.
But no one who has happened to possess opportunitit^s of
})t'rsonally inspecting the results of certain ' foreign ' mis-
sionary operations can withstand the temptation to consider
the subject from a human point of view, and in the light
of absolute fact. We are painfully familiar witli the
sweeping annihilation of the aborigines that has followed
contact between them and the white races in the Caribetin
Sea and many ]^arts of the American continent. Preceding
statistics would seem to excite apprehensions of the almost
certain extinction, eventually, of the natives in Polynesia.
We naturally chng to the hope that Africa, India, China,
and Japan will, in the permeation of these countries with
the concomitants of civilisation, form a splendid exception

490

CHANCES OF BARBAROUS RACES SURVIVING.

to tlie ravages introduced by the superior races, under
Avliicli so many millions of aborigines lut e elsewhere been
efTaced. The future development of our political, social,
and commercial relations with these countries may be
attended with modifying circumstances tliat will secure
the realisation of our humane desires and Christian hopes,
and render civilised intercourse with them more of an
unmingled blessing than it has proved in the case of the
decaying tribes to which reference has been made. So
limited is the extent, however, to which these seats of
barbarism have been occupied by the whites that we arc
unable as yet to determine whether extensive contact
between them and tlic original inhabitants will be suc-
ceeded by tribal dissolution, as in the instances previously
cited. If our opinions be influenced by the analogy of
history — as they cannot fail in some measure to be — we
must acknowledge that there is some occasion for fear.

Past events bearing on this topic incline me to the
impression that the chances of a barbarous people surviving
the fatal consequences of their country being largely popu-
lated by the ichite race are simply in proportion as the
degree of intellectual and moral vitality possessed by the na-
tives may be adequate to resist the virus of demoralisation by
which they are inevitably impregnated on first being brought
in contact with white society. The races that are pal-
pably falling to decay were predisposed, perhaps by ages
of growing degeneracy, to absorb the moral poison with
whicli they have been inoculated by the whites.* Shall the
barbarous tribes with whom we are, as yet, but partially
in comnmnication, be prepared to stand the momentous

• Lot it not be pupposocl that tlio excesses of civilisation are the sole causa
of savafi'e tribes melting' avray. I have been informed by those who were
.stationed at foi'ts of the Hudson's Bay Company in the wilds of the interior,
where the strictest abstemiousness was practised, that the initives in their
neighbourhood died olf. The plainest diet used by the while man, if adopted
by red skins, is of itself sufhcient to occasion depopulation amonfj them.

:g.

FEAR AND HOPE.

491

COS, iineler
vliere been
ical, social,
3S may be
kvill secure
;tian hopes,
Qore of an
case of the
made. So
ise seats of
that we arc
Lve contact
^rill be suc-
5 previously
analogy of
! to be — we
I for fear,
me to the
de surviving
mjely popu-
rtion (IS the
id by the na-
mlisation by
eiiKj brought
lat are pal-
aps by ages
poison with
.* Shall the
mi partially
momentous

re the sole causo
those who were
s of the interior,
imtivort in their
man, if adoptetl
mony: them.

test when, in future generations, it comes to be severely
a[)plied ? Shall they have the stamina requisite to bear
the shock inflicted by our vices, and to conserve the power
requisite to assimilate the good avc have to impart?

The empire of the Incas, the subjects of Monte Zuma,
and the fellow-countrymen of Pochahantas, exhibited
intellectual and moral qualities compared with whicli
th(3se of the most favourable African types are not worthy
to be mentioned. Nevertheless, at the appearance of the
adventurous explorers who arrived from the shores of
Europe, by wliom their countries were severally invaded,
they vanished like a dream. Is the fear, then, utterly
U'roundless that under similar conditions, in future aires, a
corresponding fate may overtake the Negro race? For the
Chinese, Hindoos, and Japanese, I anticipate, as has already
been stated, a more promising destiny. Defective as are
their respective systems of moi'ality and religion in compari-
son with Christianity, Brahminism and Buddhism both con-
tain moral precepts, and set before their votaries patterns
of virtue calculated to enkindle pure and exalted aspira-
tions. The existenceof caste in India precludes the free circu-
lation of ennobling principles among the great body of the
natives. Not so, however, in China, where, notwithstanding
the professed absolutism of the Emperor, a healthfid s])ii-it
of democracy prevails in political, social, and religious life,
and receives discipline and guidance in no trilhng degree
from a national system of education adapted to bi-ace the
faculties alike of rich and poor, who enter the li.^^ts as
competitors for literary honours. The same lemarks are
!-ubstantially applicable to the Japanese. Still, the nearest
approach we can make to a solution of the })roblem
afl'ectin"" the full contact of these varieties of the Monu'o-
lian type with certain portions of the Caucasian race is,
at best, only conjecture.

The observation of some in barbarous countries has

492

now IS A NATION CIVILISED?

prompted the question, how far the distinctive pecuHarities
of the Christian rehgion are entitled to credit as an agency
in civilisation? It has been asserted that a nation is
civilised merely to that degree in which it comprehends
and obeys the laws, ascertained by experience, which
govern physical and moral life, and that a barbarous
nation, if at all susceptible of being elevated permanently in
enterprise, principle, and conduct, ascends to the level of
the superior people, by finding out, in the first instance,
in what respects it can profit commercially by friendly
understanding with them, and then, by spontaneously
conforming to the spirit, customs, and ultimately laws of
those with whom it thus becomes profitably associated.
It is maintained that the primary step towards the social
improvement of a hopeful Pagan nation consists in appeal-
ing to that strongest susceptibility in our common nature,
the principle of self-interest, and that the result will be a
desire for increasingly nearer relations, till at length the
faith and practice of the more cultivated nation are imi-
tated. But upon this point the mind of the reader, like
that of the writer, believing in Christianity, is probably
made up, thus rendering argument in opposition to such
a view unnecessary. At the same time it is to be regretted
that there should be so much ground apparently for scep-
ticism as to the efficiency of religion in the process of
civilisation. How feeble the hold it often takes upon
those most conversant with its doctrines, and how com-
paratively slight the reformation it sometimes produces
among the heathen ! It is, indeed, distressing that the
enemies x)f the Christian faith should have so much room
for casting at us the reproach that the evil practices of
the white man have ever been more potent to ruin the
aborigines than his Gospel is to save them.

eculiarities
an agency
nation is
nprehends
ice, which
barbarous
lanently in
le level of
it instance,
)y friendly
•ntaneously
3ly laws of
associated.
s the social
3 in appeal-
ion nature,
It will be a
length the
on are imi-
[•eader, like
s probably
ion to such
e regretted
;ly for scep-
process of
takes upon
[ how com-
3S produces
ig that the
much room
practices of
to ruin the

493

CHAPTER XVII.

EMIGRATION.

Inducements offered— Classes encourag-ed to emigrate— Capitalists wanted
—Manufactures that might be introduced— Climate inviting to retired
OiRcers and Men of moderate Means— Openings for respectable Females
—Dancing round a Bonnet— Cautions to Emigrants— Rates of Wages—
Trices- Routes from England— Hints as to choice of Vessel and Outfit
— Hindrances to colonial Progress- Necessity for direct Postal Commu-
nication with England— Claims of young Colonies on the Aid of England
—Trade for an English Steamer in the North Pacific— Contrast between
the United States and England in their Care for New Territories — Error
of the Government in disposing of Irish Emigration — Emigration the
most important Question of the Day.

The inducements offered by these colonies to persons in
the parent country desirous of improving their condition
have been already submitted in the delineation of their
varied resources and industrial pursuits given in preceding
pages. Gold, silver, copper, coal, timber, fisheries, agri-
culture, and commerce, compose the main elements of
our colonial wealth. But that the country may be
enriched by these they must be developed by the expendi-
ture of the circulating medium and the application of
labour.

In enumerating the classes for whose reception these
colonies are prepared, I should emphatically assign
capitalists the foremost place. It is only the enterprise of
individuals and companies possessed of adequate means
that can make the country as rapidly prosperous as the
invaluable and inexhaustible resources it contains would

404

EMIfiRATIOX.

justify us ill expecting it shoiiltl become. Tliese remarks,
liowever, are not intended to tlirow any discoui'agement
in the way of emigrants wlio can carry notliing with tliem
but skilled labour. The sequel will show that uo other
]5ritish colonies at present yield higher remuneration to
the industriijus artisan in proportion to the expense of
living.

Ihit we want capital to open the way for the wider and
steadier em[)loyment of labour. The success of the few
wealthy firms that have entered the field and engaged in
large enterprises foreshadows the vast profits waiting to
be reaped by those who are prepared, without delay, to
follow their example. It is admitted tliat one or two
English companies proposing to take up certain mining
schemes have met with reverses. But it is well known
that the flulure of their plans has arisen mainly from tlu;
unsuitable character of a<j^ents selected for carryiiif? them
out, or from not laying their basis of operations in an
economical manner.

Throughout England there is a larcje number of handi-
craftsmcix, not absolutely in the situation known as ' from
hand to mouth,' who, nevertheless, have great difliculty in
linding standing room or making headway in the com-
petitive struggle incident to tlie crowded business-high-
ways of the parent country. This is a class that I invite
to emigrate to our North Pacific colonies, in the full
assurance of their doing well. Lumbermen with money
sufficient to erect their own saw-mills ; parties of copper
miners who would unite their limited capital and be
prepared to work on for a couple of years without seeking
extraneous help ; salt manufacturers, in a position to dig
their wells, and fix their pumps and evaporating pans ;
millers with means enough to construct and run a pair or
two of stones ; ])itch and resin mmiufacturers who could

remarks,
•Miremeiit
ith them
no other
ration to
of

CLASSES NOT WANTKD.

405

vuler and
■ tlie few
iG;ao:ed in
^^aiting to
delay, to
c or two
in mining
Lill known
from tlie
V'ing them
ons in an

of handi-
as ' from
(liculty in
the com-
ness-high-
atl invite

the full
th money
of copper
1 and be
it seeking
on to dig

ng pans ;

a pair or

ho could

em])loy hands to extract the crude materials from our pine
forests ; fishermen from tlie British coasts accustomed to
sail their own vessels ; managers of collieries desirous of
starting business on their own account ; tile and coarse
pottery manufacturers ; glass and bottle blowers ;
brewers ; graziers, pig-feeders, curers, and packers of pork ;
persons in the petroleum oil trade with a good connection
in New York ; dealers in oil-lamps importing from the
same city; importers of American cooking and heatiug
stoves from some place of manufacture in the eastern
States ; carpenters, cabinet-makers, wheelwrights, engine-
drivers,, saddlers, blacksmiths, stonemasons, ct)mpositors,
boiler-makers, brass-founders, tailors, English and Ame-
rican boot-importers, and shipbuilders. Skilled labourers
and shopmen of these various kinds, if jiossessed on land-
ing of from 100/. to 500/., and resolved to exercise for a
few years a moderate amount of patience, discretion, and
application, are certain to succeed. There, doubtless, are
many other branches of industry which do not happen to
occur to me at the present moment, that, in the hands of
small capitalists, would prove as remunerative as any that
liave been specified.

Let it not be supposed, however, that I am urging, at
this early period of our colonial existence, the indis-
criminate emigration of mere labour. Men of bold heart
and strong arms will carve their way anywhere, and what
mislit seem insurmountable difficulties to others, will dis-
appear before them. But those destitute of these qualities
and of capital besides, are counselled to seek their fortune
in some older and more settled community.

Clerks, poor gentlemen of education and breeding in
quest of Government appointments, governesses, school-
masters, adventurers without funds and trained to no par-
ticular employment — all such classes are cautioned not to

496

EMIGRATION.

come. Openings even for them, however, will, in the
course of events, arise when the development of the
country is more advanced.

It is unnecessary to repeat what has been already said
in the chapter on agriculture respecting the advantages
offered to small farmers with large families and to farm
labourers.

Officers retired from service in the army and the navy,
and other gentlemen having a few thousand pounds at
command, would find Vancouver Island a delightful place
of residence, and have no difficulty in meeting with safe
and profitable investments. Their means are at present
perhaps put out in property, mortgage, bank shares, foreign
bonds, or the public funds, bringing them in from 4 to 7 per
cent, per annum ; while in Vancouver Island from IJ to 2
per cent, per month may at any time be obtained, and in
some parts of British Columbia from 3 to 4 per cent, per
month on unquestionable landed security. The climate,
especially in the island, would be found peculiarly in-
vigorating to constitutions debilitated in tropical latitudes,
and the scenery lovely beyond description. The same
amount of capital, if rightly invested, would furnish a
larger share of the comforts of life in Vancouver Island
than it possibly could in England. Within a few miles of
Victoria it is in the power of a gentleman of small fortune
to buy an extent of acreage that in the vicinity of an
English town would be valued as a handsome estate.
Building his own house, the only expensive item in living
would be servants, which supply of eggs, milk, &c., raised
on his farm, would more than countci balance.

Respectable females, neither afraid nor ashamed to work
as domestic servants, are greatly in demand. Strong and
active young women, qualified to serve as efficient cooks
and housemaids, would have no difficulty in obtaining

DEMAND FOR FKMALKS,

4o:

ill, in the
3nt of the

ready said
advantages
rid to farm

il the navy,
pounds at
rhtful place
y with safe
1 at present
ires, foreign
m 4 to 7 per
:'om IJ to 2
incd, and in
icr cent, per
'he climate,
culiarly in-
'.al latitudes,
The same
d furnish a
uver Island
few miles of
mall fortune
cinity of an
ome estate,
em in living
:, &c., raised

h
/•

med to work
Strong and
licient cooks
in obtaining

from 47. to 5/, ])ov nionlli and bonrd. So much is the
want of this class felt, that if 501) girls of good cluiructcr
and industrious habits could be sent out in dctacluncuts
of fifty in eacli vessel, and at intervals of a mouth, tluy
would be absorbed almost immediately on their ari'ival.
But the presence of tliis sex is as urgently required on
social and moral grounds. Tliere are many well-disposed
single men prospering in the various trades and professions,
who are anxious to adopt tlie country as their home.
]3ut the scope for selecting wives is so limited that they
feel compelled to go to California in search of tlieir in-
teresting object, and not unfre(|uently are tliey tempted to
remain on American soil — their industry as ])roducers and
expenditure as consimiers being lost to the colonies. There
is no teri'itory on the globe presenting to unmarried
virtuous females such opportunities of entering that state
upon which every right-minded woman cannot but look
Avith approval.

Througji the lil)erality of JMiss Burdett Coutts and
others, we were favoured some years ago with two shi])-
ments of female immigrants, about 120 in .all. Tliere wns
too little care exercised in the selection of tliem, by those
directing the movement, and some, in consequence, turned
out badly. But all who conducted tiiemselves pro[)ei'ly
have had oITersof marriat»:e, and most of them have l(jn<^
since become participants of conjugal felicity.

An amusing example of tlie homage paid to women
by the mining popidation was related to me by a i'riend
who pursued that calling for a while in California. lie (nid
his companions of the same camp had for a year and a half
been toihng where the beams of a woman's smile did not
reach them. The news arrived on one occasion of a ' lady '
having come to a place twenty miles from where they wei'e
located. They instantly laid aside their picks and sliovels,

K Iv

408

EMUIKATIOX.

and Ji^rct'd upon cclcbratinj^ the event by enjoying a few
(lays' li(>li(1ay. When tliey came to the longed-for spot,
the poor fellows found their bright hopes balked ; no fair

form such as their imacrination had depicted was visible.

~ I

But they were fortunate enough to alight on a woman's
bonnet, and soothed their disappointed feelings by forming
a ring and dancing round it.

Emigrants should guard against the error of supposing
that ein])loyment is inoHt cerfdiii of being secured in large
towns, Melbourne, San Fi-ancisco, and, more i-ecently,
Victoria, Auckland, and Dunedin, furnish proofs of the
folly of remaining long in such centres, after a vigorous
attem])t has been made at settlement. A large and sud-
den influx of people into ti\e sea-ports of gold-producing
countries is necessarily attended with a temporary glut in
the labour market.' "When thousands rushed to Melbouine
in 1850 and succeeding years, instances of starvation, dis-
ease, and other miseries, were not infrequent. ' I have
seen,' writes a resident in that city, 'scores of persons
sleeping about the wharves, and in iron boilers, packing-
cases, or on the bare earth.' In the city of Victoria, in
18G2, it was equally distressing to observe numbers of
young men, whose minds were inlhimed with romantic ideas
of making sudden fortunes, and who had left comfortable
homes without having any distinct knowledge of the hard-
shi[)s to be undergone, in that year, before the mines coidd
be reached, or the gold extracted, driven to the necessity
of earning a living by working on the roads. Poor im-
migrants, whatever be the sort of business to which they
have been trained, should, under all circumstances, be de-
termined, on their arrival, to accept without murmuring
whatever occupation comes first to hand, rather than allow
the wolf inside their doors. So far from ena'amno; in hum-
ble labour putting any barrier in the path of an innni-

ng a few
-for spot,
I ; no fair
IS visible.
. woman'H
y fonnin{^

RATKS or WACIKS.

41>!l

siipposiufjf
1 ill larj^fe
recently,
3fs of the
I vijioroiis
anil sud-
proilnein,L^
iry glut in
Melbourne
ration, clis-
' I have
of persons
<, packing-
/"ictoria, in
unnbers of
lantic ideas
onifortable
f the hard-
nines could
e necessity
Poor im-
vhich they
ces, bo de-
murmuring
than allow
ng in hum-
' an immi-

grant's advancement, if lu^ possess qualities to fit liim for
higlier sphei'es, he will in the end be more res[)ecte(l foj'
the courage and endurance displayed in his state of appa-
rent humiliation. I have known a youth begin hiscureei"
as ji colonist by bi'eaking stones for a roiid contractor.
Ilis master, a cultivated man, learning the social position
of the lad's family, and his personal claims to notice, soon
liad him as a visitor at his house, upon terms of ])erfect
equality with his family. Now, by dint of energy, that
young man has become partner in a respectable establish-
ment in the colony. l>ut my advice to new comers gene-
rally is, that if they ex])erience daik prosj)L'cls in the cities
Du the coast, they should lose no time in looking for some-
thing to do in the districts of the interior.

Those who have a Avish to try mining life, and are
unacquainted, practically, with its hazards and privations,
should endeavour to consider soberly, beforehand, whether
their hopes of success are well founded. Multitudes have
])rospered in digging for the ])reeious metal beyond tlieir
most sanguine expectations; many more, whose knowledge,
tact, and perseverance would seem to render them equally
deserving of a fortune.have failed. That will cimtinue to be
the order of things. Only let the mind of the hardy mining
emigrant be made up on this point. The mines are a s])e-
cies of lottery, and luck more than dil'iijence has often to do
with the result of mining operations.

Hates of war/es can only be s])eciried here generally. In
all cases labour commands at least three times the remune-
ration it does in England, and often much more than that.
Blacksmiths, bricklayers, painters, wheelwrights, &c., re-
ceive about 16.S. per day; house carpenters from 12.s'. (u/.
to l(js. per day; bakers from 8/. to 12/. per month;
butchers from 121. to IGL per month ; barbers, when on
their own account, usually charge 2.% Id. for liaircutting

K K 2

)0()

DMUmATFn.V.

!iii<l Is', tbi' shaving; ns jis.sisliiiits tlioy roccivo tVoin it/, to
1')/, pL'i" month, (Iraymeii 8/. to 10/. per month, iiivnu'ii
10/. to 12/. |)t'r month, gardeners 11. to 10/. per month,
jowcllei's 1/. jK'r iliiy, ehoppci's 8/. per month, liiirness-
makers 8.v. to Ki.s. per day, shoemakei's lO.v. (\il. to 12.s'. i\(L
per day, tinnei's Vis. (\d. to lO.s. per (hiy, u[)holsterers \\\s.
])er day, waiters 5/. to 10/. per month, lumbermen 10/.
per month, laundresses receive 8.s'. 4^/. ])er doz. lor wash-
ing and di*(,'ssing shirts, machinists Ifi.v. to 1/. per djiy.
These figures give a specimen of the rates of "wages cur-
I'ent in Vancouver Island.

In hritish Columhia cnipenters get 1/. per day in the
interioi" towns, and 12.v. (W/. in New Westminster. The
wages of ordinaiy labourers vaiy from 12.s'. to 10,s', per d:iy ;
bla(!ksmiths get from 1/. to 2/. per day hi the .sea.son., but
expense of living is ])roportionately high ; axemen are paid
from lO.s'. to l().v, i)er diiy Jit Lilloet, and 21. i)cr day at
Cariboo. The demand for labour hitherto in Uritish Co-
lumbia has been small, but as the cai)ital is introduced and
enterprise set agoing iu the numerous departments of
industiy, situations for men able and willing to work may
be had to an unlimited extent.

The prices of ordinary articles of food are moderate.
J^cef sells at S)d. per lb., mutton at lOJ., veal lOJ., pork
lOf/., vegetables 2J., Avlieat 2^/., barley 2d. to 2}^d., sugar
(crushed) 8J., ham l.s'., ground collee 1,9. 6J. to 2.s\, tea
2.s\ to o.y., coal-oil 4.?. 2d. per gallon, apples ?>d. to 4(/. per lb.,
oranges 4s. 2d. per doz., venison hd. to (Sd. per lb., ducks
(wild) from 2.9. to bs. per pair. Every kind of fish at an
incredibly low figure.

Boots and shoes can be had at an advance of from 25
to 35 per cent, upon English prices.

Crockery fetches high prices. This article, with every-
thing connected with bedding, ought to be taken or sent

ruifiis.

;)0l

)m '.)/. to
, liivnu'ii
1' iiioiitb,
liurnt'ss-
) V2s. Cul.
.Tcrs l().v.

UL'll 10/.

lor wush-

per (liiy.

•u!j;cs cur-

ay ill tlio
tor. 'Vho.
. per dtiy ;
eason, but
n arc paid
cr day at
Uitisli Co-
luccd and
tincnts of
work may

moderate.

10</., pork

y., sugar
o 2.V., tea

UL per lb.,
lb., dm^ks
fisli at an

f from 25

'■ith every-
m or sent

l)y tli(! einiurant round Cape Horn. Fui'nilurc, wilh tlie
exception of carpets, can be; bad cbea|)er at J^an Francisco
or Victoi'ia, than it would l)e wortli alter frei^lit liad been
paid upon it l)rouulit from F^n^iand.

'I'lie price of most descrijjtions of (by goods ni;iy l)est
be estimated, for the most part, by adihiig ^lO pei- cent,
advance upon cost. Clothes made in tlie colony are enor-
mously ex])ensivc, but tailors' work is usually executed
with great neatness.

13ricks cost from oT.v. to 4().v. ))er 1,000 (made in tlu;
colony), lime [)s. pci' bhl. Jioiigh boards and scantling o/.
})er 1,000 feet, shingles I/, per 1,000, ilooriiig (tongue and
grooved) 5/. lO.v. Cn/. ])vv 1,000 feet, ])ickets 8/. per 1,000,
laths IG.s'. per 1,000. Allsop's bottled ale, per 2 do/, (pts.)
10.S-. {)(/. to 13.V. ; colonial brewed, 1 do;^, 0^. ; .Mallei's
j)ale brandy, lo.v. ])er gallon ; Old Tom, lO.v. per case, oi-
5.S. per gallon; whisky, IC.v. ])er case, or tys. ])er gallon;
Jamaica rum, G.s'. to Ss. pei* gallon ; wine (Tort), O.v. ])er
gallon ; claret, from 2/. to 10/. per doz. ; slieny, 1/. >)^'. to
o/. ])er doz.

House rent is likely to remain high in the colonies. A
small wood house, consisting of thi'ee rooms and a kitchen,
rents from 4/. to 5/. per month. The settler will see
the desirableness of buying a lot in the town or suburbs,
and erecting upon it his own dwelling as speedily uri
[jossible.

The rate of living increases as wc ascend the Fraser.
Mr. Brown informs us that at present (18(»3) living costs
at New Westminster o.y., at Lilloet 4.s'., in Cariboo 20,s'. a
day; or if one boards at an hotel, at Xew Westminster
21. per week, at Lilloet 2/., in Cariboo G/. ; or for single
me.als at an hotel one pays, at N(.!W Westminster 4.s'., at
AVilliam's Lake G-s., at WilUam's Creek lO.y.* In Cariboo

* lustily un British Culumbiu.

502

K.MKIllATION.

])nco.s arc mudi reduced since tliis was written. The
letter of a correspondent in Uieh(ield, daled Auj^iist lU),
1S04, <^ives Hour at ^s. 7i/. ])er lb., bacon o.v., beef l.v. 8r/.,
sugar o.s'., tea 5.s'. to 7.^*., coll'ee 4.s'. to O.v. ' Clothing,' s'.iys
the writei', ' can be had here for an advance of 25 to 50
percent, on Victoria ])rices, and nearly as low as the same
could be had in Victoria two years ago.' These prices
may still seem high, but when conii)ared with what they
Ibrmei-ly were, and when it is considered that a distance
of 500 miles intervenes between New Westminster and
Cariboo, over which provisions have to be packed, thepro-
ilts realised will be deemed reasonable. When the Bute In-
let and IJentinck Arm routes shall have been fully opened,
however, a further sweeping reduction will be the result.

There arc four available routes to these colonies at pre-
sent at the option of passengers from England. One I
have already indicated in the hrst Chapter, viz., rid
ISt. Thomas, W. I. The fares by it tt) Victoria arc 73/. On.
(juid upwards, according to ])(^siti()n of cal)in) 1st cabin ;
53/. 15.N'., 2nd cabin; 30/. lox., 3rd cabin. Female ser-
vants are charued 45/. 5.s'., and male servants 39/. 15.s'.
Children mider 12 years of age, halt-price ; mider G years,
quarter-price ; a single child to each family, free. Lug-
i>au-e over 50 lbs. weiuht is charged on the Panama liail-
way, at the rate of 5(/. per lb. to each passenger. The
time occupied by this route is about 40 days. The dis-
tance from Southampton to As])inwall is <!,500 miles, and
from Panama to Victoria is 3,950 miles, making 8,450
miles.

The ."^econd route is by Mew York, and thence to Aspin-
wall. If the Cunard steamer is taken from Liverpool to
New York, the first cabin fare will be 20/., and the second
17/. The Inman line is cheaper, and the excellent steam-
l)ackets beloni>inL^ to Malcolmson Brothers, runninu" be-

KOUTKS TO TlII^ COLOXIKS.

oO:;

en. The
iigiist )■)(),

3t'' l.v. 8 J.,

Iiing/t^'.iys
25 to 50

tlie sam(3
L>se prices
vliut they
I distance
lister tuul
d, tlie pro-
e Bute In-
ly opened,
the resnlt.
ies tit pre-
l. One I

viz., via
re 73/. O.v.
1st cabin ;
eniale ser-
! 39/. 15.S'.
er 6 years,
ree. Lna-
iiania liail-
iger. The
^ Tlie dis-
miles, and
dng 8,450

3 to Aspin-
Lverpool to
the second
lent steani-
Luminu' be-

tween London and New York, cliarge fares still Tower.
The latter com})any has accommodation for lirst, sec(jnd,
and third class ])asseiigei's. To lirst-class passengers, not
pushed for time, the accommodation in the lirst cabin of
these steamers will be found satisiiictory, considering the
smallness of the fare. But for perfect arrangement and
s[)eed the Cuiiard steamers carry the palm. Tlie Baciiic
Mail Steamship Company announced, in October 1804, tlu^
following I'ates of passage from New York to San Fran-
cisco : Ladies' saloon, outside, ,J?2G4 (52/. lO-v.); inside cabin,
^238 (47/. 12.S'.); second cabin ,^184 25c. (30/. lO.y.);
steerage, ^130 50c. (20/. 2.v.).

From San Francisco a steamer sails for Victoria in a day
or two after the arrival of the one from Fanaina ; the
charge for passage being )i?45 (9/.) in the cabin, and S-i)
(4/.) in the steerage.

The opposition line of steamers, owned by Mi'. Eoberts,
of San Francisco, used to run between New York and that
city once a month, at fares much below those specified
above. But as the arrangement of this line is not lixed,
I am unable to do more than suiiujest to the emiurrant the
])r()priety of making enquiry for him If on tlie subject.
The ])assage from Liveipool via New York to Victoi'ia
consumes about 43 days.

The third route is (jverland : by railway from New
York to St. Louis (Missouri), and thence l)y the same
mode of conveyance to Atchison. At the latter place a
stage-line, running daily, takes passengers across to I'lacer-
ville in California, giving them an opportunity of seeing
the notorious Mormon State of Utah. There is a railway
from the terminus of the stage in California to Sacramento
City, and a steamer down the Sacramento Itiver to San
Francisco. For the information of any who may have a
penchani for perilous situations, and may not have pre-

504

EMIGRATION.

vioiisly enjoyed the felicity of being jolted to death in over-
land conveyances, it may be mentioned tliat tlie distance
travelled by coach on this route is over 2,000 miles ; the
sto|)ping-places are thirteen miles apart ; and meals are
furnislied at 2s. to 4.s'. each. The necessaries of life
supplied on the road are said to be of an inferior descrip-
tion. If you choose summer for the trip, you may lay
your account with being roasted ; if winter, of being
iVozen. Should passengers desire to lie over at any point
on the way, tliey run the risk of being compelled to wait
a nuich longer time than they had anticipated before
finding a vacancy in succeeding stages.

In the present disquieted condition of the Sioux and
Pawnee tribes, Avhose hunting-ground is traversed by the
stage, the better part of valour, I think, consists in avoid-
ing; tlie dann;c'rs of the track. The fare from New York
to Atchison is $41 (8/. 4.s'.) ; thence to Placerville, .^200
(40/.) ; thence to San Francisco, ^10 (2/.)— in all, ^251
(50/. 4.9.), icithout cost of meals and eMra lu<j(jage. The
time occupied in the journey, from ocean to ocean, is
twenty-four days.

The fourth route, and the only one practicable for poor
families, till a waa<]ron-road can be constructed from lied
liiver to Ihitish Cohnnbia, across British territory, is that
via Cape Horn. This involves a voyage of between four
and five months — not a much longer period, however,
tlian is spent in going to New Zealand. As there is no
room for competition between shipping firms in trade witli
these distant and pai'tially-developed colonies, the fare is
higlier than it w^ould otherwise be. The first cabin is GO/,
the intermediate, 40/., and tlie steerage 30/. Cliildren
under fourteen are charged half-price.

The vessels that are acknowledged to combine, in the
highest degree, comfort, safety, and expedition are those

CHOICE OF A VESSEL.

505

:li in ovcr-
e distance
iiiles ; the
metils nvii
3S of life
)r descrip-
I may lay
of bein«»'

any point
jd to Avait
,ed before

Sioux and
icd by the
s in avoid-
Kcw York
/ille, ^200
all. ;^251

ocean,

Tlie

e for poor
from lied
ay, is that
;ween four
, however,
lere is no
trade Av it] I
he tare is
ibin is GO/.
Cliildren

ne, in the
are those

belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company. One sails from
London in spring and another in autumn, making the pas-
sage in about four months.

Messrs. Tliompson, Anderson, and Company also de-
s[)atch vessels at intervals.

I Avould urge, upon individuals and families resolved to
proceed by the Horn route, the importance of using strict
caution and making careful enquiry in selecting a ship,
though her owners should possess high conunercial repu-
tation, and her qualities be grandly i)araded in advertise-
ments. If the vessel be old, there is danger ; if her state-
rooms be dingy, the cfTect upon the spirits of crew and
passengers will be obvious. Let personal inspection be
made also of the stores, as far as possible. The clia-
racter and bearing of the captain should be well ascer-
tained ; (jr a good ship may be rendered utterly intolerable
under the direction of a bad commander.

The higher attainments required in shipmasters nowa-
days tend to elevate their profession, and to attract to it
men superior, as a class, to navigators of the de[)arting
generation. There are many captains in the mercantile
navy of England, whose afl'ability and pohteness go i'ar
to enliven the monotony of the longest voyage. Some,
however, are still ailoat, whose vidgarity and petty tyi-anny
at sea neutralise completely the happiest eflects of fair
weather and the best fare. If pains be not taken to have
these matters adjusted to your satisfaction before embark-
ing, the penalty of neglect may have to be paid in tlie
endurance of protracted misery.

A vessel should be cliosen that has a height of not less
than six or seven feet between decks, and C(im[)artnients
roomy.

If the condition of your exchequer necessitates that you
should go in the steerage, get near the centre of the

506

E.M Kill ATI ox.

vessel, wliere motion is least felt. Procure, if you can, a
berth extending len<jtliwm in the ship, else the inconveni-
ence of having your feet raised occasionally higher than
your head will have to be sustained.

If a wife and family be in the ]iarty, it should be seen
that not only the berths are sudiciently wide, but that
ample space is reserved for keeping private stores, and
such other comforts as forethought may deem to be nced-
fid for the voyage.

Steerage passengers, who may arrange wdth the owners
to furnish their own provisions, sliould be very particular
as to where they buy. Instances could be related of
lieartless imposition practised by dealers in ship's-stores
upon unsuspecting emigrants.

The most acrreeable and economical method of cmi2;ra-
ting is for a company, having business, tastes, religious
denomination, or some otlier common tie, to unite in
preparation for the voyage, and place themselves under
voluntary discipline in relation to each other.

Information in regard to suitable outfits for the voyage
may be obtained by consulting friends who have gone
through the experience of a four or five months' passage,
or from any resj^ectable outiitter in Liverpool or London.

The outlit of a miner having come to the country, and
about to 2)roceed to Victoria for the mines of British
Columbia or Vancouver Island, usually consists of the
followinii; articles : —

2 Avo(,)llen shirts, 4 pairs of worsted socks, a pair of
leather top-boots, a pair of Indian-rubber mining-boots, a
strong pair of trousers, an Indian-rubber coat, 2 pairs ol'
blankets, a small tent.

Ko British colonies encounter such ai^antic hindrances
to progress and settlement as tliose to which the attention
of the reader is directed. They contain every element

3'ou can, Ji

incoiivoni-

liglicr than

Id be seen
e, but tliat
stores, and
to be need-

tlie owners

' particular

related ot"

liip's-stores

of emi^ra-
IS, religious
o unite in
Ives under

the voyage
have gone
is' passage,
or London.
)untry, and
of BiitUli
ists of the

, a pair of
ng-boots, ji
, '2 pan's of

hindrances
le attention
ry element

POSTAL COMM r N K JAT I ( )X.

507

adapted to contribute to the happint'ss and wealth of
every class of emigrants. But beini' situated on the
extreme western verge of British North America, they are
the most remote and inconvenient of approach of all
our dependencies. It takes what many an industiious
artisan would esteem a fortune to transfer a large i'ainily
to them from England, by the Panama route. Several
months and no inconsiderable amount of money is ex-
pended in adopting the cheapest and yet most tedious
route, via Cape Horn.

So pressing are the internal claims of these colonies,
the necessity of making roads, and cariying forward other
public improvements, tluit no share of the local revenue
can be spared, at present, for the purpose of granting
as',sisti'd OM free passjiges to intending settlers. No s})ecial
orii'anisation exists in Great Britain, as has been established
by other colonies in tlie parent country, for the encou-
ragement of emi<>;ration to the North Bacific : and no
plans have been laid for takint>' charue of innniarants on
their arrival and until they fnid a habitation, except that
Government agents are appointed in the agricultiu'c dis-
tricts to show where inia[)propriated lands are to be
found.

The proximity of Oregon and California, as has been pre-
viously intimated in this volume, phice us under grave dis-
advantage, these States being agriculturally superior to the
colonies, and possessing mineral resoin'ces equally rich,
but more easy of access and more fully developed.

We are even denied that ii'reat essential of connnercial
[)rosperity as ]]ritish dependencies — d'lvect poMul conmni-
nicat'wn icith KiKjland. Our letters are conveyed from
New York to Aspinwall, and from I'anama to Victoria, in
foreign bottoms. The result is, that many of our news-
papers are lost, and our letter-mails are ol"ten detained,

50S

EM IG RATI ox.

throuj^li tlie negligence of those whose interest it is not
to promote our convenience. Not only are there no other
British colonies in the predicament of which we complain,
but foreign republics on the south-west const of America
enjoy the })rivilege of having their mails carrietl from
Europe all the way in British steamers.

No colonial possessions ever founded by Great Britain
promise to be of greater political or commercial value to
England than these ; yet, judging by the short-sighted
policy which threatens to prevail henceforth in the councils
Of the nation in regard to the indiscriminate requirement
tliat new colonies, irrespective of every modifying circum-
stance, should be self-supporting from the first there are
none that have less fostering assistance to hope for from
the Imperial Government.

The prestige derived by Great Britain from her colonial
territory has invested her with an overpowering splendour
in the eyes of jealous European neighbours. This has done
more to thrill those rival empires with salutary awe and
evoke from tlieni respectful behaviour, than her supremacy
in commercial or manufoctming industry could have
accompUshed. It is the possession of her colonies which
enables her to give expression to that proud sentiment
concerning * the Hag upon which the sun never sets.'

Again, statistics, which always secure the consideration
of minds too practical to be influenced by sentiments
afiecthig national glor}^, clearly demonstrate tliat inore
than one half the enports from the United Kingdom go to
the colonies.

The total declared value of English and Irish produce
exported to all foreign countries in 1859 was 84,207,533/.*
Ditto, ditto, ditto, to all liritish colonies, 40,143,990/.

With what sort of treatment is tliis greatness rellected,

* For detail;?, see Note.

POLICY OF THE HOME noVKRXMKXT.

509

, it is not
e no other
complain,
if America
riecl from

lat Britain
ill value to
Drt-sighted
le councils
quircment
ig circum-
tliere are
Q for from

er colonial

\ splendour

s Inis (lone

J awe and

supremacy

mid have

lies which

sentiment

sets.'

isideration
sentiments
tliat uiore
doni (JO to

h produce
207,533/.*
143,990/.
rellected.

and profit conferred on the parent country by her depen-
dencies, requited H We are told that the colonies are no
more now to Great Britain than are foreign countries
except nominally, and tliat goods imported by them from
England arc taxed as from other parts. But the first
part of tliis statement is contradicted by facts ; and as to
the customs duties imposed by most of the colonies, tlieir
wisdom in this respect should be commended. From du-
ties on im])orts a rcvemie can be raised, interfering less,
in most instances, with the industrial interests of the
country than any other method of taxation would be
likely to do. Still, tliough British wares are taxed, they
are imported.

It is to be regretted that the Secretary of State for the
Colonies, under whose administration the present deptMi-
dencies were founded, in a despatch to the late Governor
indorses this ungenerous policy : —

The lavish pecuniary expenditure of the mother-country, in
founding new colonies, has been generally found to discourage
economy . . . to interfere with the healthy action by which a new
community provides, step by step, for its own requirements. It
is on the character of the inhabitants that we must rest our hopes
for the land we redeem from the wilderness.

No exception can reasonably be taken to the theory
submitted in these remarks, })rovided it be applied with
discrimination. Where extravagant habits are induced in
young dependencies by unscrupidous reliance being placed
upon the aid of England, that abuse of maternal kindness
may soon be detected and the remedy a[)plied. But wlien
colonies arise so distant from the Imperial centre, as these
are ; Avhen their settlement is retarded for want of facilities
of transit from Great Britain; when tlieir resources,
which would augment immensely her wealth, are scaled

510

KMIORATIOX.

also from tliis cause ; ^v1^ell a route from Euijland tliroufjli
them to her ports iu Australia and China could be made
that would surpass all existing or possible routes iu s[)eed,
do not political necessity, mercantile sagacity, and common
sense combine to indicate that the Home Government
should relent, and modify the a})plication of the rule,
in this case, which they have laid down so rigidly ?

Without much ex})ense, they can at least remove any
obstacles which the tenacious monopoly of tlie Hudson's
iiay Company may interpose to the opening up of an
emigrant route from lied Itiver to British Colinnbia.
Those competent to judge are confident that the returns
certain to accrue to Canada and the parent country from
such an undertaking would soon more than compensate;
the outlay. ]Uit initil mails could be desj)atched ovei'land
through British territory, we surely have claims upon tlic;
Im])erial authorities to aid us in subsidising a British
steamer from Panama, connecting Avitli the intercolonial
steamer which plies between St. Thomas, W. I., and
As])inwall.

Already there is nearly enough trade between diflerent
parts of the north-west coast of America and England
to make a steamer answer independent of Government
subsidy. She could touch at as many ])orts in Central
America and Mexico as might be thought advisable. The
navigation laws of the United States would admit of hei-
dischargino; and loading at San Francisco. She woidd
secure the chief part of the traffic between that port and
Victoria, up and down.

At the office of the Pacific Mail Steamship Coniff.ny,
in San Francisco, I was informed that nearly 200 tons
of freight a month from England to the northern coast
of the Pacific arrived by their vessels. If the opposition
steamers convey as large an amount, here is an important

1 througli
. be nuidu
i in speed,
L common
fvermiient
tlie rule,

move any
Hudson's
up of lUl
Columbia,
be retiu'us
ntiy from
nupeusatc!

I ovei'land
; upon the

a British
tercolouial
\ I., and

II difierent
England

:»vernment
in Central
kble. The
nit of her
he would
t port and

Comp^.ny,
200 tons
lern coast
opposition
important

COXinAST BETWKKX THE STATES AND EXOLAND. 511

item for an English steamer to look to at the outset. From
tlie table showing the quantity and destination of treasure
shipped from San Francisco to all parts in 1803, it appe.'us
that out of ;S^4G,071,920, the gross sum, ^28,407,210
went to England. A share in carrying tliis specie also
might safely be calculated upon. The tonnage arriving in
San Francisco from tliese colonies in 1803 amounted to
40,005 tons, and the amount sent thither from S;in
Francisco in the same year Avas 78,335 tons. A consider-
able portion of this was conveyed })er steamei", many of
the consiifiicrs bciiiu; EiiLi'hsh firms. Durinu' the sanu;
period ,5'2,!t35,172 in treasnre was shii)])ed by banking
houses fn)ni Victtu'ia to California, nearly all of which
went by steamer.

The contrast between the United States and England in
caring for the growth of new territories is decidedly
unfavoural)le to the latter. England, in defining land to be
erected into a colony and passing an Act of Parliament to
tliat effect, leaves to the settlers, however few and impo-
tent they may be, the task of establishing leading com-
munications, executing surveys, and completing postal
arrangements. If the jiopulation be unequal to these under-
takings, they nuist be postponed till colonial finances be-
come capable of sustaining them. The Federal Govern-
ment, on the other hand, assumes the responsibility of
u;iving effect to all works of maixnitude necessary to brinu-
an infant settlement to maturity, and indemnifies itself i'or
the outlay hicurred, by mortgaging the lands, and the
revenues derivable from customs and other territorial
sources. In this matter Yankee liberality is oidy equalled
by Yankee shrewdness. It invariably turns out that works
urgent and useful, thus undertaken, are s})eedi]y made to
defray the cost of their construction. 1'lie Americans
have learned that whatever contributes to augment national

512

KMronATION".

wo.'iltli 1)V tlevel(

Ipll

irr

)f HOW tcriitory is iiDt

tlio resource
inconsistent with public economy. Even lunatic asylums
and libraries are not forgotten in the early attentions
bestowed mxm an embryo state by the Federal power.

A few years ago tiie mail service to California, by several
routes, was subsidised. The stage inlying semi-weekly,
during the travelling season, from St. Louis and ]\[empliis
ri(7 El Paso to San Erancisco, received /?00(),0l)() ])er
annum. The mail service from San Antonio to San
Diego received ii!J'200,000 per annum. The stage fi'om
Kansas to Stockton viA Santa Fe, a monthly service,
received ,$'80,000. The stage between San Jose[)h and
riacerville via Salt Lake city — at that time running once
a week — was subsidised to the extent of ,^o20,0()() per
annum. Besides these annual sums granted to overland
routes, 1^738,250 was paid annually to contractors for car-
rying mails from New York and Xew Orleans, via Panama,
to San Francisco; ,5^250,000 perannum for mail communica-
tion between New Orleims and San Francisco vid Tehuan-
tepec; and for local mail service /S^508,Gi)7 per annum. This
,$'550,000 was spent, and a loss of ,$'377,000 incurred, in
affording postal facilities to the states on the Pacific, and
in promoting the settlement of the country intervening
between the Atlantic and the Pacific*

Some exertion lias been made by the British Govern-
ment, during the past forty years, in aiding the passage of
needy subjects abroad ; but it has generally been confined
to periods of famine or industrial distress, and as much
care has not in all cases been taken, as concern for
national advantage should have prompted, to give our
colonies the benefit of this tide of emigration. In the
year 1847, and subsequently, the bulk of emigrants from
Ireland were sent to the United States. It is probable

* Pombortiin.

TFIi: lUISII IN AMi:iMCA.

:)l.".

toiy is not
ic asylums

UttLMltioilS

power,
by several
Tii-weekly,
I Meini)his
10,000 per
lio to Still
stage iVom
ly service,
losepli and
lining once
20,000 per
to overland
ors for car-
nd Panama,
fOmmunica-
iil Tehuan-
nnum. This
ncurred, in
Pacific, and
intervening

i[\ Govern-
passage of
en confined
nd as much
concern for
,o give our
m. In the
rrants from
is probable

that those objocts t)f Ih'itisli bounty would be the last to
find fault with their destiny in this respect. I'ut did
England act wisely for iier present interest and ultimate
])eacc in not using more effort to direct the stream ^A'
Irish poj)ulati()n to Ihitish territory!^ '\\u' poverty-sti'ickeii
nuillituih', shij)jK'd by the liberality i)f Ijighuid to u/orcli/it
countiy, have foi- the most part risen in the social scale
and nudtiplied ; they contimie to send remittances for
bringing over poor relations. Tliey natui'ally ascribe their
improved condition to the freer institutions of America,
and unite in a howl of execration, waxing louder and
more thi'eatening every day, against the [)arent country,
as the author of all the want, wretchedness, and ignorance
they have left behind. Now, had we ado[)ted systematic
measures to induce the Iiisli that have gone, to emiurate
to our C(jlonies, they would as really have come into tin;
possession of ])lenty there, and, instead of the curses which
they persist in fulminating against u^, fi-om the cities and
prairies of the great re|)ublic, they would have retui'ned
us blessing and uratitude as their benefactors, and have
regarded their increasing comforts Jis due to British
generosity.

But what is the result of our remissness in this matter?
Out of 5,137,837 — the tottd number of emigrants from this
country from 1 81 .5 to 1 SGI — only 2,030,807 went to Jh-itish
colonies, while 3,007,070 went to the United t^tates ; and
personal observation in America justifies me in asserting
that tlie bulk of those millions who have ceased to be of us
are the avowed enemies of Great Britain. ' The Fenian
Ih'otherhood,' an Irish organisation, is said to number
already 500,000. Their agents are incessantly agitating
in all parts of the United States. Tlieir object is to foment
hatred {mainst ICnuiand, and larire sums are contributt'd
by them to be in readiness for the exiii'encies of war.

514

EMKiRATIO.V.

wlioiKivor tlic ]n'0])iti<)iis liour arrives for driifriiin^' tin'
United States into collision with Kn;iliin(l. I'art of tlieii
])rn^n{innne beinfi; in take Ireland, is it beyond the
liniiis of possibility that this liostile race, aniinati'd by
bitterness proportionate to tlic closeness of their former
relation to us, and so ra|)i(lly nudtiplyinii" on the othei'
side of the Atlantic;, may, ere many centuries ela])se,
descend, liUe the (loths and Vandals of antiquity, and lay
Hi'itain in ruins? *

The subject of emigration ouyht to be reuiu'ded by the
Government and philanthropists as the most important
national qui'stion that can euira^e public; attention, for
there is none more vitally connected with the ameliora-
tion of ])overty imd the reduction of crime. It is tlu'
glory of England that so many excellent plans liave been
devised for relieving the wretched and jvclaiming tin;
vicious. Kagged-scliools and churches, Dorcas, J5ible,
tract, and mission societies, private charities, and poor-law
unions, are benevolent agencies above all praise. ]>ut to
render them thoroughly edicient, it does seem tliat some
sup})lemented arrangement is wanted to separate the
classes we seek to benefit from the depressing associations
by which tliey are surrounded, and give them a fresh
start in life. The squalor of the back streets and alleys,
which many inhabit in London and ju'ovincial towns, must
exert an enervating inilucnce upon their uiinds suflicient
to frustrate the most powerful a])peals of the missionary
and the kindest eflbrts of the charitable. There is nothing
in the cheerless dwellings they occupy," or the filthy lanes
in which they are crowded together, to excite high aspira-

* The above was in print licforo the sad news of the assassination of
I'resident I^incohi reached Eiiijland. I would fain hope that tlio hearty and
universal sympathy expressed hv this country for our neif^hbours, on tho
occurrence of that outrage, may tend to buiouth down entirely tlireuteued
dilVerfUces.

TIIK IMrORTANCK 01' Till: Sl'IMIXT.

r)ir>

ro'lMJ' tlu'

t of tlu'ii

lUiitL'd by
'ir foniuT
tlie otluT

CS (.'lill)S<',

y, ami hiy

led by the

important

t'ntioii, Tor

iUiuTioni-

It is llu'

luive ])oe'ii

limin.u' tlu'

ciis, lVil)lc,

(1 poor-law

0. 1)11 1 to

that somo
)anite the
issociatioiis
m a fresh
aiul alloys,
,owns, must
s suflk'ieiit
iiiissioiiary
is nothing
filthy lanes
ligh aspira-

issasf'ination of
the hearty ami
hboui's, on the
•elv tlivcatoueil

tioiis or aid tlicin in carrviiij' <>nt the jLjood rc^olulions
to which tlicy may be iK'rsuadcd. In somt! instances,
children in these iic iglilxmrhoods may be foninl I'ising
above the degraded [)ositinn in wliich tlu-y wei'e ixirn,
and becoming active and res[)eetable members of society.
Ihit tlie great mass go on receiving eleemosynary hel|) and
instruction, without ever acquiring sober and industrious
liabits. When want and care j)ress heavily u|)on tluni,
what wonder if they should I'esort to diink as the cheai)e>t
and easiest mitigation of their distress?

We are told that four-fifths of ci'ime in Gbv.'it ] Britain is
traceable to drunkenness as its cause. Hut what is the;
root of that vice in the ])oor!'' Usually, miseiy of >onie
sort. If so, it is not enough to ])reach total abstinence
to such unfortunate civatures. The bit lei- can onlv b(!
efTectually expelled by the introduction of the sweet. Im-
prove their material condition ; place them in siliuitions
Avherethey will not only be .saved from the risk of starva-
tion, but enabled to sii|)j)ly them.selves Avith home-com-
forts by the labour of their hands.

Opportunities for doing this are necessarily limited in
an old and densely-])oi)iilated country, wheii' labour of all
kinds is a drug, rhiinly, then, it is the duty of all who
desire the prosperity of their less favoured fellow-subji'cls
to encourage their emigration to parts of the emjjire
aflbrding full remunerative employment for those who twa
wilhng to work. Let benevolent per.^ons be content with
merely doling out regular assistance to needy lamilies,
without every exertion being made to induce them to help
tlienLselves, and without their being removed where tlu'V
can live above dependence upon others, and charity so ad-
ministered but tends to peipetuate idleness and ])o^■erty.
The splendid workhouses erected in iJirmingham and
other large towns throughout the kingdom may ap[)ear to

I, I.

51G

EMIGRATION,

iiulioatc a laudable care for the poor. But it is questionable
Aviiether, as often conducted, tliey may not be offering a
premium on laziness.

Is not the bulk of our criminal population derived from
the abodes of ])overty and vice ? We may inflict the
severest [)enal discipline upon this class, and send the
yoimger portions of it to reformatories. liut if, after
suffering the ai)})ointed term of imprisonment, they are
allowed to return to their accustomed haunts and per-
nicious companionships, what is there to prevent them from
again becoming infected P It were surely more service-
able to drain the fountain than to stem the current. Xot
that I would advocate, in opposition to the approval
of colonists, the transportation of criminals to our colonies.
Still the experiment might be tried of encouraging yoKnij
liberated criminals to emigi-ate at the public expense,
and of })roviding special employment for them in some of
our distant possessions, under the direction of Government
agents. Coercion, in this instance, I am aware would be
out of the question. But while free passages should be
offered to the very poor and the reformed criminal classes
Avith whom these I'emarks are concerned, emigration
lecturers should be provided by the Imperial Government,
for tlie specific p^a'pose of instructing them in the
advantaijres of c(jlonisation. If much of the time and
means devoted by the philanthropic to the support of
many m indigence and sometimes in sloth were applied in
the manner just described, the investment, which in the
I'ormer case I cannot but designate as misplaced benevo-
lence, woidd in the latter become eminently reproductive,
and do more to thin the ranks of pauperism, vice, and
crime, than most of ihe appliances at present in operation
put together.

In the report of the Emigration Conunissionei's for

stionablc
ifTering a

ivccl from
iiflict the
send the

if, after
they are
and per-
liem from
e service-
jut. Not

approval
r colonies,
ing youih/

expense,
n some of
iveriniient
Avould be
should be
uil classes
■miuTation
vernment,
n in the
time and
support of
applied in
lich in the
d benovo-
>roductive,

vice, and

operation

qoners for

t:MIGRATIO\.

1803, it is stated tliat tlie total mnnber who emigrated in
that year wws 228,758. 14,000 loft England for Xe^v
Zealand, 17,000 for Canada, 20,000 for Victoria (Australia),
and over 10,000 for (Queensland. Only 118 are entered
for ]3ritish Columl)ia. This small figure lor a settlement
Avhich so nnicli requires pojudation is an irresistible argu-
ment for the adoption of active steps to encouraf»-e,
stimulate, and direct the course of those who may be dis-
posed to seek a home in the colonies of the Pacilic.

This report, which abounds with information respecting
other colonies, is astonishingly meagi-e in reference to these
important possessions. The report is dated April 18G4,
and the latest information it conununicates from British
Columbia is dated September 180 3, and that is of the most
trilling character.

518

COLOXIAL STATISTICS.

W
H
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t^ r- " "^1 c ;i '" — - " c. fcj

• I- ' X T* * O

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£•5 3

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-3

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T— (

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c:!

*-i

4-»

}

APPENDIX.

S ^•

a
o

"5)

■§

'a
t-)

« -g

".E

«rt

Tjie following extracts from a pamphlet published hy Messrs.
►S. W. Silver & Co. contain valuable practical directions to
emigrants :

Provisums. — Provisions, more especially as regards the third-
class, are issued according to the Government dietary scale.
Infants under twelve months go free. Children imder twelve
years pay half price, and are entitled to lialf rations otdy.
The following are the rations ordinarily issued in first-class ships;
the ([uautities quoted represent the weekly allowance for each
adult :—

Artielts Second Ciiliin

InteniKiliiitc
1 11).

1 lb.

Prosorved meals niid soups . . : 2 lb.

l?eef

Pork .
15read .
Flour

1'"

'1 „
1 „

•'' ,)

1:1,,

^ )»

Oatiuoul .

Pice

Peas

Pro.>^erv((l potatoes

1 „

n „

•J V

8 net

, <*) oz.

Ci oz.

(5 (pz.

CliiMso .

; ^ V

—

Ikitter ,

1^^ „

C, oz.

4 oz.

Tea

Coffee .

4 ;;

•>

Sujrar

1 11).

1 lb.

I.oaf siifiar

(J oz.

—

Ikai.-ins .

. J, 11).

ill).

:^lb.

J'ickles or vinegar

r-iu

1" gill

1 "gill

j ]\Iii,stard .

; |oz.

h oz.

.L oz.

1 Pepper .
Salt
Lime juiee

1 i „

1 - V

•1 ),'

2*"

■^ >)

Water .

21 quarts

520

ArrKNDix.

In tliis list no mention is made of first-chi.ss passen<,'('rs, who
(line iit the captain's table, where they faro as well, in all good
ships at least, as in the best English hotels.

Sr.o of S/iips — Eiiiif/raflon Ojjkrrs. — The size of ships is
important f>n a lonj; vovaffe. Vessels under oOO tons do not
afford sufficient accommodation and safety to eniitfrants. In
siiips above ;>()() tons the size is less niaterial, so that the vessels
are f^ood, comfortable, and dieted on a liberal scale. The
Govermnent has appointed officers, wliose di it}' it is to look after
the interests of emigrants and other passengers on long sea-
voyages. They see that emigrant vessels are sufficiently pro-
visioned with good and wholesome stores. Vessels about to
carry emigrants are detained in har])our until the regidatioiis on
this head are complied with. The folhjwing is a summary of
the minimum scale which must be served out to third-class
passengers, stating the weekly rations to be provided for each
adult : —

Govcrnineid llalions. — Beef, 20 oz.; pork, 10 oz,; preserved
meats, lO oz.; suet, 8 oz.; butter, 4 oz.; biscuit, 4 oz. ; flour, 56 oz. ;
oatme:d, K) oz. ; peas, ^ lb. ; rice, S oz. ; j)rescr\-ed potatoes, 8 oz. ;
carrots, onions, or celery, four-liftlis of an oz. ; cabl)age, 1 oz. ;
raisins, (!oz.; tea, 1 oz. ; roasted coffee, 2 oz. ; sugar, 12 oz.;
bread, 8 oz. ; water, 21 (piarts ; mixed pickles, 1 gill ; mustard,
^ oz, ; lime juice, 6 oz. ; salt, 2 oz. ; pepper, ^ oz.

Inspi'clloii. — Hesides nscertainiug the (puuitity and inspecting
the ([uality of victuals, the C'jvernnu'Ut officers have to see that
all the other j)rovisions of the ' PasscMigers' Act ' are carried out
— viz., that the ship carry the projjer crew, steward, cooks, and
doctor, and that she be provided with boats in proportion to
the nund)er of her passengers. In one word, stringent regula-
tions have l)een made for the comfort and saftty of emigrants.
Still a great d(!al depends upon a liberal interpretation of the
law on the part of the shipowners. Emigrants should take
their passages in shi{)s whose owners have the reputation of
doing as they wish to be done by.

lusarmur. — Independent of the Government inspection, the
quality and sea-worthiness of a ship is ascertained and attested
imder the direction of the committee at Lloyd's, and also by the

TIEQUIIIE.AIHXTS FOll TlIK VOVAGK.

'rli

llglTS, will)

n nil good

»f ships is
lis do not
rants. In
the vessels
;ale. Tlu!
) look after
long sea-
iently i)ro-
; about to
ulations ou
iinnnary of
third-class
id for each

; preserved
our, 50 oz. ;
atocs, 8 oz. ;
)nge, 1 oz. ;
:ar, 12 oz. ;
; mustard,

inspecting

to see that
carried out

cooks, and
oportion to
ent regula-

ciiiigrants.
itioii of the
hould take
putation of

pection, the
nd attested
also hy the

l''reneh I.lovd's, or /?/'/'m{/ Vciufas. The followiii'^ are thede-
scrii)tions of vessels to select : — •

First-class ships marked in IJoyd's list and advertised A 1 ;
second-class ships marked A'*. l''irst-class ships marked in the
Burcati Veritds, and advertised Veriho^, .T.'ird. Second-elass
ships, tolerably good, marked an<l advertised Veritas, a/dth, or
3/4tli, or 2 ;}rds.

Lldb'llfij of SItipoirnei'S. — The * Passengers' Act ' provides
that, in the event of a vessel putting back, the owners or char-
terers are hound to support the passengers until the ship is
ready to receive them. If a ship does not sail to its time, the
passengers are entitled to an allowance for expenses.

lieqnlremeats for the Voij^uje: Cloth! nr/. — Reiiuirements for
the voyage, and the first year after landing, should be attended
to before starting. ^Nlany goods sold in London are also sold in
Victoria, Sic. ; l)ut prices vary according to the sup[»lies sent
out from home, while emigrants newly landed have enough on
their hands without looking out for cheap markets where to
provide the necessaries they require. A frequent change of
underclothing is indispensable to health and comfort during a
h)ng sea-voyage, and emigrants, previous to sailing, have the
best opportunity of making their purchases. For the voyage
roiuid Cape Horn, summer clothes are wanted, as well as warm
clotliing, as the course of the ship lies through hot and cold
latitudes. A man should be provided with two warm suits,
with a cap to match, a couple of suits of light clothing, with
at least a dozen cotton shirts, and three or four flannel shirts.
A good stock of shirts, socks, and handkerchiefs, when practi-
cable, should be laid in, as very little washing can be done'
diirin!>: the vovaije. The supplv of underclothiuu; sliould lie

in *< cj ill/ O

enough for the whole voyage, if need be, witlKjut washing.
Women sliould have a warm shawl and cloak, and two dresses,
all good, serviceable, and not showy ; they should have an ample
supply of chemises and other underclothing. lioth men and
women should be particular in getting stout, comfortable boots
and shoes. Waterprocjf suits and flannel shirts will be found
useful.

Jicddinf/ and Mc^s Utun.sil.^. — Besides clothing, emigrants
shoukl provide for their comfort and cleanliness by taking

AI'l'KNUIX.

witli tliein thv followinn^ articles: — For r'ach married couple,
1 large bed, 1 pair of l)lankets, 2 pairs of sheets, 1 lart^e
coverlet, 2 large bags, 2 plates, 2 large mugs, 2 knives, forks,
and spoons, 1 hook-pot, 1 water-can, 1 wasli-bowl, 12 towels,

1 tea-pot, 1 sugar-bowl, 2 cups and saucers, 2 bars of marine
soap, 1 comb, and hairbrush, 2 shoebrushes, 2 pots of black-
ing, a cabin utensil, 1 strong chest with lock. For each
child should be provided: — 1 plate, 1 small nuig, 1 knife,
fork, and spoon, with, of course, bedding, SiC, in propor-
ti">n to size and luunber. Tlu; cost of an outfit for a single
man or woman is about 61. ; for a married couple about 10/.
The cost of an outfit for children variits with their size. Gene-
rally speaking, three children under seven, or two between that
agi' and f(jurteen, nuiy be clothed for about 7/.

B<if/;/((f/e directions. — Emigrants should divide their property
into two portions : that wliich is constantly wanted during the
voyage, and that which is not always wantc.'d. The last-nanu'd
porti(ju should be packed in a strong chest, marked with the
name and destination of the owner. It will be safely stowed
away in the lower part of the ship, and occasionally— perhaps
twice a month — brought uj), to give an opportunity of putting
in articles or taking them out. What is wanted for daily use
should be packed in a box ; one capable of holding clotlies
enough for tw^o weeks' wear. The size allowed for this box is

2 feet 6 inches lo7ig, 1 foot (1 inches broad, and 1 foot 3 inches
deep. The owner's name should be painted on it in large
letters.

fjVf/(/<tf/e, — The usual allowance of luggage for second and
third class passengers is 20 cubic feet, or 4 feet long, 2 feet (i
inches wide, and 2 feet deep for eacli person. A series of
pockets on a piece of canvas, to nail in.'^ide a cabin or berth,
will be found convenient.

Sea-Stoi'cs. — tSugar, tea, t"bacco, and other small luxuries
kept in stock on board ship, may be purchased during the
voyage. Biscuits, preserves, hams, and in the case of families
with children, arrowroot, sago, tapioca, ground rice, a.id sugar
for puddings, will be found most serviceable on the v\-3'age.

Books. — The compidsoiy idleness of passengers i,: perhaps
among the greatest hardsiiips of a long sea-vo} age. lioeks are

MONEY — INSUKAxNX'E — Tl.MK OF yAlMNO.

r)2;i

icd t'Oiipli',
ts, 1 lai\t,'G
ives, forks,

12 towels,
j of marine
;s of l)lack-

For each
g, 1 knife,
in propor-
■or a single

about 10/.
ize. Gene-
etweeu that

L'ir property

(luring tlie

last-named

ed with the

ifely stowed

ly — perliaps

" of putting

.r daily use

ing clothes

this box is

oot 3 inches

it in large

second and
m<X, 2 feet <)
A series of
in or berth,

all hixiu'ies
during the

i of t'-imilies

?, aid sugar
v>-yage.

; 1.-: perhaps
lioeks are

M great resource, and a few really good works should be laid in
among other stores. It is scarcely necessary to say tliat the
J>ible — the Word of Him who holds the waters in Mis hand —
should be the companion of every emigrant. In idl well-regu-
lated ships divine service is on Sunday mornings performed by
the captain.

Certificates. — Certificates of good conduct are invaluable in
the Colonies; the obtaining of them from their employers, or
the magistrates and clergymen of their districts, is among the
most important of the preparations whicli ought to be recom-
mended to intending emigrants.

Moneij. — Emigrants are readily provided Avith Letters of
Credit and l)ills payable at Victoria, on application at any of
the London Banks. Risks are thus avoided ; and the Letter of
Credit enables the holder to draw his money or deposit it upon
landing, thus immediately affording him i\w advantages of a
banker. Letters of Credit can be obtained with ease.

Insurance of Bagga<)c. — The insmance of emigrants' bag-
gage is also a precautionary measure which cannot be too
st'vjngly recommended. Such insurances can be effected with
little trouble at a small cost. The rates are from 1/. 10^'. to
L. los. per 100/. The policies should be deposited with friends
in England.

Time of Sa'diiuj. — Emigrants, more especially those who
intend either to work or trade in the gold-fields, ought so to
time their departure from England as to arrive at the com-
mencement, or at least, in the middle of the mining season,
which generally lasts from April to November. Those who
reach the colony during the winter months, will find travelling
difficult, work slack, and, in the interior at least, provisions
scarce and high.

First-class Passenr/ers. — First-class cabin, or cuddy passen-
gers, in their preparations for a voyage, have to consider the
character of the ship in which they take their passage. On the
Panama route everything is provided, for the mail steamers are
in all respects floating hotels, where the guests find ample pre-
parations for their comfort and convenience — board and lodging,
attendance, furniture, and linen. Saih"ng-ships provitle for their
first-class passengers board and attendance, and a cabin, which

524

Ari'KXDIX.

each passenger lias to furnish fur liiniself. On the ^vhol(', the
ditlV'RMice in the acconiniodatiou is nia(h; up by a difference in
the rates of passaLTc.

Ladies" Oulfifx. — l^'or ;i Lady: A dark silk dress for voyage,
muslin, silk, and other dre'^ses; shawls, niunthvs, straw hat, lionnet
with stinsliade; veils, blue or hrown ; dressing gowns; cambric
muslin ehennscs; white and flannel petticoats; silk, cotton, and
thread stockings; pocket and neck-liandkerchiefs; collars and
cutfs; silk and kid gloves; calico night-dresses and drawers;
nightcaps; travelling, work, and dressing-bag; looking-glass;
perfumery; boots and shoes; one pair with thick soles for wet
deck; towels and travelling rug or wrapp(!r.

Cdbin Furiiituve. — When passengers have to furnish their
cal)ins, they should also procure : sheets, pillow-cases, blankets,
counterpanes; cainn sofa, to swing or stand, or an iron bedstead ;
horse-hair or flock; one feather pillow; cabin washstand forming
table; mahogany or teak chest of drawers; folding looking-
glass ; cabin lamp ; candles ; clothes bag ; foot-bath and water-
can; carpet or oil-cloth for cabin ; Windsor and marine soap;
curtains for cabin ; floating belt, which forms a cushion.

Li(r/(/af/e licrj illations. — The luggage should be made up in
packages of a convenient size and shape, none exceeding eighty
pounds in weight. Trunks three feet long, one foot three inches
wide, and one foot two inches deep, are recommended for the
purpose. The owner's name, destination, and number should be
legibly painted on the top, sides, and ends of each trunk. The
trunk intended for cabin use should be specially marked.

VICTORIA AND ESQUIMALT IIAKBOUli DUES ACT, 18G0.

Schedule A.

Fees for Entrance and Clearance of Vessels entering and clear-
in(j the Ports of Victoria and Esquiiualt.

£ s. d.
All vessels under 15 tons . . . . I) 4 2
between 15 and 30 tons . . (> 3
„ 30 and 50 „ . .084

VICTORIA AND i:S(H'l.\[ALT IIAIIIJOUI

. DUES

ACT.

52.')

e ^vllolo, the

.'-•.

liff'erence in

i^ll

vessel,''

between 'A) and

100

„ 100 and

200

for voyage,

200 and

300

»J •

hat, l)onnet

„ .'iOO and

400

*9 •

Qs; cambric

„ 400 and

500

, cotton, and

nii(h'r 400 tons

colhirs and

»?

between oOO and

GOO

5»

id drawers ;

()()() and

700

>» •

oking-glass ;

„ 700 and

800

oles for wet

»»

800 and

900

900 and 1,000

•>

iirnish tlieir

„ 1,000 and

Lipwar(

3S, hhinkels.

All

steamers, bonu fide carry

ng mails, to pay lialf the amount

)n bedstead ;
and forming

of tiie

above

scale of fees, accoi

ding to their

tonnagt

ng lookiug-
i and water-

Schedule B

lanne soap;
lion.

made up in
eding eighty
three inches
ided for the
er should be
trunk. The
irked.

ACT, ISGO.

// and clear-

U.
£ s. d.
4 2
(5 3
8 4

Ha Jf-^ca I 'bj L ice use for Coasic. i -s.

Under

10 tons

•

• •

Above

10 and

under

30 tons .

50 „ .

Schedule

1 10

Wherries and skiffs plying for hire, and licensed to
carry not exceeding six passengers. Per quarter .

Row-boats and yawls plying for hire, and licenstMl to
carry more than six passengers, and under ten tons
burthen. Per quarter .....

Lighters and scows employed in freighting or dis-
charging vessels, or otherwise, for hire, under ten
tons burthen. Per quarter ....

Lighters and scows exceeding ten tons. Per quarter

And \s. additional for every ton exceeding ten tons, and up to
100 tons burthen.

2
2

52(1

Al'IMlXDIX.

SCIIKDULE I).

Landnifi Pennlfs.

P\)r invoices under 100/. in Viiliu; .

Above 100/. and under 2.')0/. in value

For invoices al)ove 250/. and under .'>00/. in value

For invoices above .^OO/. and under 1,000/. in vahie

For invoices above 1,000/. ....

£ 8.

' f.

. 4

. (1

•»
•>

. s

. 12

. K)

Ilarhour Dues levied at New Wci^l minder.

For every sailiui^-sliip or vessel above .'iO tons re^^dster,
eitlier entering or leavin<^ the said port, per ton

reirister

. ;j

For every steauj-vessel either entering or leaving the

said })ort, i)er ton register . . . . .002

For every vessel (»f and under 30 tons, incluiling

boats and canoes . . . . . .070

Pilotage.

For every vessel clearing for, or entering from parts
beyond sea, viz. :

If less than G feet draught of water . . .500
If more than 6 feet, and less than 7 feet draught

of water . . . . . . . 5 10

And for every additional foot of water up to 12

feet 10

And for every additional foot of water above 12

feet . . . . . . . . 15

Inland Kavifjation.

Every steamer trading on the Fraser River, and not
trading to any part beyond sea, per ton register
per annum . . . . . . .020

l,ANI) IMIOCLAMATIOXS. W?^1

VANCOLVKK INLAND.

LAND riJOCLAMATIONS BY HIS EXCELLENCY JAMES DOUULAS,

</.

CD., ETC. ETC.

8
12

WliLreas I have bct'ii empowered by Her A[;ije,sty'.s (iovern-

nieiit to fix the upset price of country lund witliiii tlu? colony ot'
A'ancouver Island and its dependencies at 4.!*. 2'/. per aere.

. ;j

. 2
".070

. o
it

. 5 10
2

. 10
2

. 15

And whereas I have been authorised as aforesaid t^ takt; such
stejjs as may tend to pnjiiiote the settlement of country land in
the said colony.

And whereas it is expedient to make public the method Ijy
^vhieh bona fide seltleis may ae(|uii'e th<.' same land.

JJe it therefore known unto all men :

All cuaittri/ huul to he sold at 4s. 2d. per acre. — Thai the
upset price of all country land in Vancouver Island shall be
from henceforth 4s. 2(7. per aere.

lii'Ulsh subjects iu(i.>/ enfer upon and, occnpi/ land, not helmj
olhenuise resevced, hi cci'tatu qiiantUies and in certain d.l.s-
trlcts. — That from and after the date hereof, male Jbitish
sul)Jects, and aliens who shall take the oath of allej^iance before
the Chief Justice of ^'aneouver Island, above the ai;e of eijjjhteen
years, may pre-empt unsold Crown lands in the <listriets of
Victoria, Es([uimalt, ^Nletchosin, tlie Ilij^hlands, Sooke, Norlii
and South »Saanich, Salt Sprinj,' Island, Sallas Island, and the;
Chcmanis (not being an Indian reserve or settlement), of the
area and under the conditions following' : —

A single man, 1.30 acres.*

A married man, whose wife is resident in the colony, 2(!()
acres.

For each of his children under the age of eighteen years,
resident in tlie said colony, an additional 10 acres.

Pre-emptor, before recording his claim, to take the oath of

* Tlio terms of the most recent r.ftiul proclamation for iJritisli Colmiiliin
is substantially the same as tlu; above, except that tiie (piantity of laml
iillovreil a single man l)y pre-emption is 1<>0 acres.

,%.

M. -'^•^

^V''"°'

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

■" Uli 12.2
IS US 1110

1.8

1.25 II 1.4 III 1.6

►

Photographic

Sdences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

4° .^-P

I/..

528

A 1 TEX D IX.

(dhf/iance if a British subject irjio has become subject to some
other nation. — All British subjects, who shall he desirous of
pre-empting, and who may, at the time of record, have taken
the oath of allegiance to, or become the sultject or citizen of any
foreign Sovereign, state, or nation, shall, as a condition pre-
cedent to recording their claims, take the oath of allegiance in
manner aforesaid.

Pre-emptor to record Jiis claim immedicdehj on occnpcdion.
Fee. — Immediately after occupation, the pre-emptor shall record
his claim at the office of the Surveyor-Greneral at Victoria ;
paying for such record the sum of eiglit shillings and fourpenco.

Re()id<din(i theforni of claims. — The land selected, if unsur-
veyed, shall be of a rectangular form, and the shortest side of
said rectangle shall be two-fifths the length of the longest side;
and the boundaries of such laud shall also run as nearly as
possible by the cardinal points of the compass.

Where the land sought to be accpiired is unsurveyed, and in
whole or part bounded by rocks, mountains, lakes, swamps,
the margin of a river, or the sea-coast, or other natural bounda-
ries, then such natural boundaries may be adopted as the boun-
daries of the land selected.

The claimant shall, if the land is unsurvej^ed, give the best
possiljle description thereof in writing to the Surveyor-General
at the time of record, with a map thereof, and shall identify the
land, by placing a post at each corner, and by stating in his
description any other landmarks which may be of a noticeable
character.

Mode of recordinrj claims in siwveyed lands. — If the land,
however, be surveyed, the claimant shall give the description
aforesaid by identification with the landmarks laid down by the
Government Survey.

Paijinent. — The claimant shall, if the laud be imsurveyed,
pay into the Land Office at Victoria the sum of four shillings
and twopence per acre for the same as soon as the land is
included within the Government Survey; if the land be sur-
veyed, he shall pay into the said Land Office the sum of four
shillings and twopence per acre by three instalments, viz. : One
shilling and one penny per acre within one year from the day of
record ; one shilling and one penny per acre within two years

LAND PROCLAMATIONS.

529

to somr,
sirous of
ve taken
en of any
tiou pre-
^iance in

'vjKition.
ill record
Victoria ;
ourpence.
if unsur-
ist side of
vest side;
nearly as

id, and in

swamps,

1 bounda-

tlie boun-

! the best
General
entify the
ng in his
noticeable

the land,
escription
wn by the

isnrveyed,
shillings

3 land is

d be siir-
n of four
VIZ. : One

the day of
two years

from the said day of record, and two shillings within three years
from the said day ; and any default in any of the payments
aforesaid shall cause a forfeiture of the pre-emption claim, and
of the instalments (if any) paid np.

Certificate of improvement to he granted after two years'
occupation and 10«. ^^er acre improvement. — When the pre-
emptor, his heirs or devisees, shall prove to the Surveyor-
General, by the satisfactory evidence of third parties, that he
has, or they have, continued in permanent occupation of the
claim for two years from the date of record, and has or have
made permanent improvements thereon to the value of ten
shillings per acre, the said Surveyor-General shall issue to him
or them a certificate of improvement, in the form marked A in
the schedule hereto.

Holder of certificate of improvement may sell, lease, or
mortgage. — Upon the grant of the certificate of improvement
aforesaid, the person to whom the same is issued may, subject to
any unpaid instalments, sell, mortgage, or lease the huul in
respect of which such certificate has been issued ; but until the
entirety of the purchase-money of the said land has been paid,
no sale, mortgage, or lease of the said lanil shall be valid ludess
a certificate of improvement as aforesaid luis been issued in
respect thereof.

Conveyance of surveyed lands. — Upon payment of the entirety
of the purchase-money, a conveyance of the land shall be executed
in favour of the pre-emptor, reserving to the Crown the right to
take back so much thereof as may be refjuired fur roads or other
public purposes, and reserving also the precious minei-a,ls, with
a right to enter and work the same in favour of the Crown, its
assigns and licencees.

Conveyance of pre-empted claim in unsurveyed lands. — If
the land is not then included in the Government Survey, the
conveyance shall, with the reservations aforesaid, be executed as
soon as possible after the same is so included; and the pre-
emptor shall, upon survey, be entitled to take any quantity of
unpre-empted land, at the price of four shillings and twopence
per acre, which may be laid off into the sections in which his
pre-empted land is situate ; or, if unwilling so to do, he shall

M M

530

AITENDIX.

forfeit so much of the pre-empted land as lies in those sections
which he is unwilling to purchase.

Priorities. — Priority of title shall he ohtained hy the person
who, heing in actual occupation, shall first record his claim in
manner aforesaid.

Forfeiture by cessation of occupation. — Whenever any per-
son shall cease to occupy land pre-empted as aforesaid for the
space of two months, the Surveyor-General may, in a summary
way, on heing satisfied of such permanent cessation, cancel the
claim of the person so ceasing to occupy the same, and record
(le novo the claim of any other person satisfying the requisitions
aforesaid ; and in the event of any person feeling aggrieved
thereat, his remedy shall he personally against the person so
recording.

Compensation for waste or injury. — In the event of the
Crown, its assigns or licencees, availing itself or themselves of
the reservation to enter and work the precious minerals as afore-
said, a reasonable compensation for the waste and damage done
shall be paid by the person entering and working to the person
whose land shall be wasted or damaged as aforesaid ; and in case
of any dipute, a jury of six men, to be summoned by the Sur-
veyor-General, shall settle the same.

Nothing in the conditions hereinbefore contained, or in any
title to he derived hereunder, shall be construed as giving a
right to any claimant to exclude licencees of the Crown from
searching for any of the precious minerals in any unenclosed
land on the conditions aforesaid.

Saving of ivater privileges for mining purposes. — Water
privileges, and the right of carrying water for mining purposes,
may, notwithstanding any claim recorded, certificate of improve-
ment, or conveyance aforesaid, be claimed and taken upon,
under, or over the land so pre-empted by miners requiring the
same, and obtaining a grant or license from the Surveyor-
General in that behalf, and paying a compensation for waste or
damage to the person whose land may be wasted or damaged
by such water privilege or carrying of water, to be ascertained,
in case of dispute, by a jury of six men in manner aforesaid.

Arbitration. — In case any dispute shall arise between persons
with regard to any laud acquired as aforesaid, any one of the

so sections

the person
s claim in

r any per-
iid for the
, summary
cancel the
md record
aquisitions
aggrieved
person so

snt of the
mselves of
Is as afore-
[nage done
the person
bnd in case
J the Sur-

, or in any
5 giving a
rown from
unenclosed

js. — Water
I purposes,
f improve-
,ken upon,
juiring the
Surveyor-
)r waste or
ir damaged
scertained,
)resaid.
?en persons
one of the

LAND PROCLAMATIONS.

531

parties in difference may (before ejectment or action of trespass
brought) refer the question in difference to the Surveyor-
General, who is hereby authorised to proceed in a summary way
to restore the possession of any land in dispute to the p(;rsou
whom he may deem entitled to the same; and to abate all
intrusions and award and levy such costs and damages as he may
think fit, and for all or any of the purposes aforesaid to call in
to his assistance the civil authorities or any process of law.
Given under my hand, &c.

James Douglas.

II.

Whereas I have been empowered by Her Majesty's Govern-
ment to tiike such steps as may tend to promote the settlement
of country land in the said colony.

And whereas it is expedient to extend the time during which
a person may cease to occupy land pre-empted under the
provisions of a Proclamation given under my hand and the
public seal of this colony, and dated the 19th day of February
1861.

Now therefore, be it known unto all men, that any person
having pre-empted land under the provisions of the said Pro-
clamation may, if he shall have been continuously in occupa-
tion of the same for the space of (8) eight calendar months next
previously to his leaving, leave the same for any period not
exceeding (6) six calendar months, provided that within (21)
twenty-one days from the date of his leaving the same he shall
fill in a memorandum in the book kept for that purpose in the
Land Office at Victoria, with the particulars and in the manner
therein contained.

Given under my hand and the public seal, &c.

James Douglas.

M M 2

532

APPENDIX.

IIULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE WORKING OF GOLD
MINES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA.

ISSTTED m CONFORMITY WITH THE GOLD FIKLDs' ACT, 18o9.

Whereas, it is provided by the Gold Fields' Act, 1859, that
the Governor for the time being of British Columbia may, by
writing under his hand and the Public Seal (if the Colony, make
Rides and Kegulations, in the nature of By-laws, for all matters
relating to Mining. Now therefore, I, James Douglas, (iovernor,
&c., do hereby make the following Kules and Eegulatious, ac-
cordingly : —

I. In the construction of the following Rules and Regula-
tions, unless there be some contrariety, or repugnancy thereto
in the context, the words ' Governor,' ' Gold Commissioner,'
' mine,' * to mine,' shall have the same meanings as in the Gold
Fields' Act, 1859. The expression 'Bar diggings' shall mean
every mine over which a river extends when in its most flooded
state. * Dry diggings ' shall mean any mine over which a river
never extends. ' Ravines ' shall include water-courses, whether
usually containing water or usually dry. * Ditch ' shall include
a flume or race, or other artificial means for conducting water
by its own weight into or upon a mine. ' Ditch head ' shall
mean the point in a natural water-course or lake, where water
is first taken into a ditch. And words in the singular number
shall include the plural, and the masculine gender shall include
the feminine.

IT. All claims are to be, as nearly as may be, in rectangular
forms, and marked by four pegs at the least, each peg to be four
inches square at the least, and one foot above the surface, and
firmly fixed in the ground. No boundary peg shall be con-
cealed, or moved, or injured, without the previous permission of
the Gold Commissioner.

III. The size of a claim, when not otherwise established by a
by-law, shall be, for bar diggings, a strip of land twenty-five feet
wide at the mark to which the river rises when flooded, and
thence extending down into the river indefinitely. For dry
diggings, a space twenty-five feet by thirty feet. For ravine

RULES FOR WORKING GOLD MINES.

533

F GOLD

^59, that

I may, by
•iiy, make

II matters
JO vein or,
tioiis, ac-

[ Regula-
!y thereto
lissioner,'
the Gohl
lall mean
3t flooded
ch a river
j, whether
1 iuclude
ing water
sad ' shall

I ere water
r niimher

II include

jctangular
to be four
rface, and
I be cou-
inission of

shed by a
y-five feet
oded, and
For dry
or ravine

diggings, a space of twonty-five feet along the bank of the ravine
and extend up to thu top of each bank. In quartz claims the
size, when not otherwise established by by-law, shall be one
hundred feet in length, measured along the vein or seam, with
power to the miner to follow the vein or seam, and its spurs,
dips and angles, anywhere on or below the surface included
l^etween the two extremities of such length of one hundred feet,
but not to advance upon or beneatli the surface of the earth
more than one hundred feet in a lateral direction from the main
vein or seam, along which the claim is to be measured. All
measurements of area are to be made on the surface of the
earth, neglecting inequalities. Every claim is to have a distin-
guishing number marked on its boundary pegs.

IV. If any free miners, or party of free miners, shall discover
a new mine, and such discovery sliall be established to the satis-
faction of the Gold Commissioner, the first discoverer, or party
of discoverers, if not more than two in number, shall be entitled
to a claim double the established size of claims in the nearest
mine of the same description (i.e., dry, bar, or quartz tliggings).
If such party consist of three men, they shall collectively be
entitled to five claims of the established size, on such nearest
mine ; and if of four or more men, such party shall be entitled
to a claim and a lialf per man. A new stratum of auriferous
earth or rock, situate in a locality where the claims are aban-
doned, shall for this purpose be deemed a new mine, although
the same locality shall previously have been worked at a
different level. And dry diggings discovered in the neigh-
bourhood of bar diggings shall be deemed a new mine, and vice
versa.

V. The registration of claims shall be in such manner and
form as the Gold Commissioner shall in any locality direct, and
shall include, besides the matters mentioned in the Gold Fields'
Act of 1859, all such other matters as the Gold Commissioner
shall think fit to include.

VI. No transfer of any claim, or of any interest therein, shall
be enforceable, unless the same, or some memorandum thereof,
shall be in writing, signed by the party sought to be charged, or
by his lawfully authorized agent, and registered with the Gold
Commissioner.

534

AITENDIX.

Vir. Any person desiring any exclusive ditch or water pri-
vilej^e, shall niak" application to the Gold Commissioner having
jurisdiction for the place where the same shall be suuated,
stating for the guidance of the Commissioner in estimating the
character of the application, the name of every applicant, the
proposed ditch head, and qii.antity of water, the proposed locality
of distribution, and if such water shall be for sale, the price at
which it is proposed to sell the same, the general nature of the
work to be done, and the time within which such work shall be
complete; and the Gold Commissioner shall enter a note of all
such matters as of record.

VIII. Unless otherwise specially arranged, the rent to be paid
for any water privilege shall be, in each month, one average
day's receipts from the sale thereof, to be estimated by the
Gold Commissioner, with the assistance, if he shall so think fit,
of a jury.

IX. If any person shall refuse or neglect to take, within the
time mentioned in his application, or within such further time
(if any) as the Gold Commissioner may, in his discretion, think
fit to grant for the completion of the ditch, the whole of the
water applied for, he shall, at the end of the time mentioned in
his application, be deemed entitled only to the quantity actually
taken by him, and the Gold Commissioner shall make such
entry in the register as shall be proper to mark such alteration
in the quantity, and may grant the surplus to any other person,
according to the rules herein laid down for the granting of water
privileges.

X. Every owner of a ditch or water privilege shall be bound
to take all reasonable means for utilizing the water granted to
and taken by him. And if any such owner shall wilfully take
and waste any unreasonable quantity of water, he shall be
charged with the full rent as if he had sold the same at a
full price. And it shall be lawful for the Gold Commissioner,
if such offence be persisted in, to declare all rights to the water
forfeited.

XI. It shall be lawful for the owner of any ditch, or water
privilege, to sell and distribute the water conveyed by him to
such persons, and on such terms as they may deem advisal^le,
within the limits mentioned in their application. Provided

xtcr pri-
ir having
sicuated,
iting the
cunt, the
i locality
} price at
re of the
shall be
die of all

;o be paid

average

i by the

think fit,

ithin the
ther time
[on, thhik
»le of the
itioned in
y actually
ake such
alteration
sr person,
y of water

be bound
granted to
fully take
shall be
jame at a
missioner,
the water

, or water

by him to

advisable,

Provided

RULES FOR WORKIXO (lOLD MINTA

535

always, that the owner of any ditch or water privilege shall be
})()und to supply water to all applicants, lu'ing free miners, in
a fair proportion, and shall not demand more from one person
than from anotiier, except when the difficulty of supi)ly is
enhanced. Provided further, that no person, not being a free
miner, shall be entitled to demand to be supplied with water
at all.

XII. A claim on any mine shall, until otherwise ordered by
some valid by-law, be deemed to be abandoned, and open to
the occupation of any free miner, when the same shall have
remained miworked by some registered holder thereof for the
space of seventy-two hours, unless in case of sickness, or unless
before the expiry of such seventy-two hours a further extension
of time be granted by the Gold Commissioner, who may grant
further time for enabling parties to go prospecting, or for such
other reasonable cause as he may think proper. Sundays, and
such holidays as the Gold Commissioner may think fit to pro-
claim, are to be omitted in reckoning the time of non-working.

XIII. Whenever it shall be intended, in forming or uphold-
ing any ditch, to enter upon or to occupy any part of a registered
claim, or to dig or loosen any earth or rock within [4] feet of
any ditch not belonging solely to the registered owner of such
claim, three days' notice in writing, of such intention, shall be
given, before entering or approaching within 4 feet of such
other property.

XIV. If the owner of the property about to be so entered
upon or approached, shall consider three days' notice insufficient
for taking proper measures of precaution, or if any dispute
shall arise between the parties as to the prope" precautionary
measures to be taken, or in any other respect, the ■ .ole matter
shall be immediately referred to the Gold CommL. ler acting
in the district, who shall order such interval of time to be
observed before entry, or make such other order as he may deem
proper.

XV. In quartz claims and reefs each successive claimant shall
leave three feet unworked to form a boundary wall between his
claim and the last previous claimant, and shall stake off his
claim accordingly, not commencing at the Ijoundary peg of tlie
last previous claim, but three feet fiulher on ; antl if any per-

530

AITKNDIX.

Ron sliftll stake out liis claim, (li.sreganlin^ this rnlo, \ho, (ntld
('ominiHsioiifr shall have j)o\ver to come ami remove the fiiHt
houmlary j)eg of such wronj^-doer 3 feet further on, notwith-
standiujjf tlint other claims uiay then hv properly staked out
beyond him; so that such wrong-doer shall then have hut
97 feet. And if such wron;j;-doer shall have commenced
work innnediately at the boundary pe{^ of the last previous
claim, the Gold Commissioner may remove his boundary G
feet further on than the open work of such wrong-doer : and
all such open work, and also the next 3 feet of such space
of C feet shall belong to and form part of the last pn'vious
claim, and the residue of such space of G feet shall be left as
a boundary wall.

XVI. Every such boundary wall shall be deemed the joint
property of the owners of the two claims between which it
stands, and may not be worked or injured, save by the consent
of both such owners.

XVII. In staking out plots of land for free miners and
traders, for gardening and residential purposes, under the
powers of the said Gold ?'ields' Act, 1851), contained, the Gold
(^)nnuissioner is to keep in view the general interests of all the
miners in that locality, the general principle being that every
garden benefits indirectly the whole locality, and also the earlier
application is to be .preferred ; but where the eligible spots of
land are few, or of scanty dimensions, and especially where tliey
are themselves auriferous, it may be injudicious that the whole
or the greater part sboidd fall into the hands of one or two
persons ; and therefore, in such cases, the Gold Commissioner
may, in the exercise of his discretion, allot small plots only to
each applicant.

XVIII. Any person desiring to acquire any water privilege
shall be bound to respect the rights of parties using the same
water, at a point below the place where the person desiring such
new privilege intends to use it.

XIX. Any person desiring to bridge across any stream or
claim or other place, for any purpose, or to mine under or
through any ditch or flume, or to carry water through or over
any land already occupied by any other person, may be enabled
to do so in proper cases, with the sanction of the Gold Com-

llL'LliS Foil WOUKING (iOLU AILN'KS.

5:^7

the firHt
, iiotwith-
takrd out
liMVt' Imt
iiuui'tiocd

])ic'vi(ms
lUiulary G
locr : and
ich Hpaco

pri'vious
be left as

tlic j(tint

which it

le consent

iners and
inder the
. tlie Gold
of all the
:hat every
he earlier
e spots of
here they
the whole
ne or two
imissioner
ts only to

privilege

the same

liring such

stream or
under or
y\\ or over
ie enabled
liold Com-

missiiuicr. In all such oasc^.s the riglit of the party first in
possession, whether of the mine or of the water privih'gi', is to
])ri'vail, so as to entitle him to full comj)ensHtion and indemnity.
J{ut wherever due compensation by indemnity rati be ^'iveii, ntid
is re(|uired, tiie (iold ('(»mmissioner may sanction the execution
of sucli new work on such terms as he shall think reas()iial)le.

AS TO LEASES IN LAltQER rUOroIlTIONS THAN CLAIMS.

XX. Applications for leases are to be sent in triplicate to
the (iold Commissioner having jurisdicti(»ti for the locality
where the land desired to be taken is situated. Kvery such
application sliall C(»ntain the names and additions of the appli-
cant at full length, and the names and addresses (»f two pi^rsons
residing in the colony of liritish Columi)ia, or Vancouver
Island, to whom the applicant is ])ersonally known. Also a
description accojupanied by a map of the land proposed to be
taken.

XXI. Leases will not be jnfranted in general for a longer terni
than ten years, or for a larger space than ten acres of alluvial
soil (<lry diggings;, or half a nn'le in length of unworked <|iiart?;
reef, or a mile and a half in length of (piartz, tliat shall have
been attempted and abandoned l»y individual claim workers,
with liberty to follow the spurs, dips, and angles, on and within
the surface for two hundred feet on each side of the main lead
or seam, or, in bar diggings, ludf amile in length (if unworked),
along the high-water mark, or a mile and a half in lenf'th alonrf
high-water mark, where the same shall have been iit tempted and
abandoned by individual claim workers.

XXII. Leases as above will not in general be granted of
any land, alluvium or quartz, which shall be considered to be
immediately available for being worked by free miners, as
holders of individual claims. Nor will such a lease in any case
be granted, where individual free miners are in previous actual
occupation of any part of the premises unless by their consent.

XXI II. Every such lease shall contain all reasonable provi-
sions for securing to the public rights of way and Avater, save
in so far as shall be necessary for the miner-like working of the
premises the'eby demised, and also for preventing damage to

.'. '1 u

AIM'F.VniX.

tlio porsoiifl or proporty of other particH tli.in the lessee. And
tlio pr»'iiiiso.s tlicrt'liy dc'iiiised hIiuII \)v i^TiUitcd tor mining jiiir-
posrs oidy, iind it hIihII not be C()in[H'tent for tlie les.see to uHsi^ii
or siil)-l(ft tilt! same, or miy part or parts thereof, without the
previous lieeiise in writin<j^ of the Gold ('oininissioner. And
every such lease shall contain a covenant l>y the lessee to nnne
the saiil prciniises in a miner-like way, and also, if it shall bo
thon^'ht fit to perform the works therein defined within a time
therein linutcd. And also a clause by virtue wlu-reof the said
lease and the demise therein contained may be avoided in case
the lessee shall refuse or nei^lect to observe and perform all or
any (»f the covenants therein contained.

XX rV. Kvery ai)plicant for a lease shall, at the time of sending?
in his application, mark out the j,'round comprised in the appli-
cation, by 8(|uswe posts firmly fixed in the lioundaries of the
land, and four feet above the surface, with a notice thereon that
such land has been applied for, statin*^ when and by whom, .and
shall also fix upon a similar post at each of the nearest places
on which miners are at work, a copy of such notice.

XXV. Objections to the granting of any such lease shall bo
made in writing, addressed to His Excellency the Governor,
under cover to the Gold Commissioner, who shall forward all
such objections, together with his report thereon.

XXVI, Every application for a lease shall be accompanied by
a deposit of twenty-five pounds sterling, which shall be refunded
in case the application shall bo refused by the Government ; and
if the application shall be entertained, then such sum of twenty-
five pounds shall be retained for the use of Her Majesty, her
heirs and successors, whether the application be afterwards aban-
doned or not.

Issued under the Public Seal of the Colony of British Co-
lumbia, at Victoria, Vancouver Island, this seventh day of
September, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight
Hundred and Fifty-nine, and in the Twenty-third year of
Her Majesty's lieign, by me,

JAMES DOUGLAS, [l. s.]
By command of His Excellency,
William A. G. Young,

Acting Colonial Secretary.

nULICS I'OR WORKING (iOLI) MLVKS.

5:j!)

vsoc. And
lining' piir-

to JlHsijj;!!

ithout the
nur. And
eo to niino
it shall 1)0
liin u time
»f the Huid
led in cuso
form all or

ofsendinj^
I the appli-
ries of tho
iL'ieon that
whom, and
irest places

se shall bo

Governor,

forward all

npanied by
)e refunded
iment ; and
1 of twenty-
lajesty, her
vards aban-

British Co-
snth day of
sand Eight
lird year of

[l. s.]

iiUMCS AXi) iii:(u;lations koii the woukino of gold

MINKS.

M8UED ly CONFOHMITY WITH Till; OoLI) FIEI.Dij' ACT, iHijO.

Whereas it is provided l)y the (J<»ld FIcMh' Act, IS.jO, that
the (iovenior for the time beiii;^ of British Columbia may, by
writinf,Minder his hand and tlu; IMililic Seal of tin; Colony, m;ik(f
l{ules and Kej^iilations, in the nature of By-laws, for all matters
relating to mining;

And whereas, in conformity with the said Act, certain Ruh'S
and I{egulations have already been issued, bearing date Si'ptem-
ber 7, lHo9;

And whereas, since the issuing of such Bules, extensive mines
have been discovered on the high hivel benches, lying on either
side of Fraser liiver, Thompson Kiver, and other rivers, which
benches are generally terminated by abrupt and steep (lesci'iits
or clififs, the general direction of which is parallel with the
general direction o*' the rivers ;

And whereas, such mines cannot be conveniently worked in
small rectangular subdivisions, but the convenient working
thereof recjuires a large size of claim, and may, in some cases,
require that each claim should reacli from the cliflF in front of
each bench to the cliff in the rear, or when there is no cliff in
the rear, then to the general slope of the mountains in the rear;

And whereas, it is also expedient to make further provision
with respect to the regulation of claims, and to adopt one general
rule for determining the measure of the quantity of water in any
ditch or channel ;

Now, therefore, I, James Douglas, Governor, &c., do hereby
make the following Eules and Regulations accordingly:

I. The mines in the said level benches shall be known as
* bench diggings,' and shall, for the purpose of ascertaining tho
size of claims therein, be excepted out of the class of * dry dig-
gings,' as defined in the Rules and Regulations of the 7th of
September last.

II. The ordinary claims on any bench diggings shall })e regis-
tered by the Gold Conunissioner according to such one of the

540

APPENDIX.

two following methods of measurement as he shall deem most
advantageous on each mine, viz. : One hundred feet square, or
else a strip of land twenty-five feet wide at the edge of the cliff
next the river, and bounded by two straight lines, carried as
nearly as possible in each case perpendicular to the general
direction of such cliff, across the level bencli, up to and not
beyond tlie foot of the descent in the rear, and in such last-men-
tioned case, the space included between such two boundary-lines
when produced over the face of the cliff in front, as far as the
foot of such cliff, and no further ; and all mines in the space so
included shall also form a part of such claim.

III. The Gold Commissioner shall have authority, in cases
where the benches are narrow, to mark the claims in such
manner as he shall think fit, so as to include an adequate claim.
And shall also have power to decide on the cliffs which, in his
opinion, form the natural boundaries of benches.

IV. The Gold Commissioner may, in any mine of any deno-
mination where the pay dirt is thin or claims in small demand,
or where, from any circumstances, he shall deem it reasonable,
allow any free miner to register two claims in his own name,
and allow such jieriod as he may think proper for non-working
either one of such claims. But no person shall be entitled to
hold at one time more than two claims of the legal size. A
discoverer's claim shall for this purpose be reckoned as one
ordinary claim.

V. All claims shall be subject to the public rights of way and
water, in such manner, direction, and extent as the Gold Com-
missioner shall from time to time direct. No mine shall be
worked within 10 feet of any road, unless by the previous sanc-
tion of the Gold Commissioner.

VI. In order to ascertain the quantity of water in any ditch
or sluice, the following rules shall be observed, viz. :

The water taken into a ditch shall be measured at the ditch
head. No water shall be taken into a ditch except in a trough,
whose top and floor shall be horizontal planes, and sides parallel
vertical planes ; such trough to be continued for six times its
breadth, in a horizontal direction, from the point at which the
water enters the trough. The top of the trough to be not more
than 7 inches, and the bottom of the trough not more than

all deem most
feet square, or
ige of the cliff
nes, carried as
:o the general
ip to and not
such last-men-
boundary-lines
t, as far as the
in the space so

ority, in cases
laims in such
dequate claim.
1 which, in his

; of any deno-
small demand,
it reasonable,
lis own name,
r non-working
be entitled to
legal size. A
koned as one

its of way and
he Gold Com-
miue shall be
previous sanc-

r in any ditch
z. :

d at the ditch
)t in a trough,
I sides parallel
: six times its
t at which the
o be not more
ot more than

RULES FOR WORKING GOLD MINES.

541

17 inches below the surface of the water in the reservoir, all
measurements being taken inside the trough, and in the low
water or dry season. The area of a vertical transverse section
of the trough shall be considered as the measure of the quantity
of water taken by the ditch.

The same mode of measiu'eraent shall be applied to ascertain
the quantity of water running in a trough, or out of any ditch.
Issued under the Public Seal of the Colony of British Colum-
bia, at Victoria, Vancouver Island, this sixth day of Janiuuy,
in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and
Sixty, and in the Twenty-third year of Her Majesty's roign,
by me, JAMES DOUGLAS, [l. s?.]

By His Excellency's command,
William A. G. Young.

RULES AND REGULATIONS.

ISSUED IN CONFORMITY WITH THE GOLD EIELDS' ACT, 1859.

Whereas, under the Gold Fields' Act, 1859, the Governor
for the time being of British Columbia is empowered by writing
under his hand and the Public Seal of the Colony, to make Rules
and Regulations, in the nature of By-laws, for all matters relat-
ing to mining ;

And whereas, in conformity with that Act, certain Rules and
Regulations have been issued, bearing date the 7th Sept. 1859,
the 6th Jan. 1860, and the 29th Sept. 1862, respectively;

And whereas it is expedient to make further provisions for
the working of gold mines ;

Sec. L— Repeals Rule 3, of lih Sept. 1859.— The Rule Xo. 3
of those dated 7th Sept. 1859, declaring the size of mining
claims, is hereby repealed, so far as it is inconsistent herewith.

Sec. 11. — Size of Claims — Bar D!fj(jinr/s. — From and after
the date hereof, the size of a claim shall be, for bar diggings, a
strip of land 100 feet wide at the mark to which the river rises
when flooded along such high-water mark, and thence extending
down direct to the river, to the lowest water level.

Dry Diggings. — For dry diggings, 100 feet square.

542

APPENDIX.

General Diggmr/s. — For diggings not herein otherwise spe-
cially described, 100 feet square.

Quartz Claims. — In quartz claims the size shall be 150 feet
in length, measured along the lode or vein, with power for the
miner to follow the lode or vein and its spurs, dips and angles,
anywhere on or below the surface, included between the two
extremities of such length of 150 feet, but not to advance upon
or beneath the surface or the earth, more than 100 feet in a
lateral direction, from the main lode or vein, along which the
claim is to be measured. All measurements are to be made on
the surface of the earth, neglecting inequalities.

Number — Staldng. — Every claim is to have a distinguishing
number marked on its boundary pegs. Every individual claim,
whether part of a company claim or not, shall be staked out
with 4 corner pegs of at least 4 inches diameter, the same as
defined in Rule 2 of the Rules and Regulations of 7th Sept. 1859.

Tunnel Claims. — In tunnelling or sinking, each miner shall
be allowed a frontage of 100 feet, irrespective of depth. The
Gold Commissioner shall have the power to regulate what
number of the miners, holding such claims, shall be employed
prospecting, until gold in paying quantities shall have been
discovered, after which the full number of authorized miners
must be employed on the claim. The side boundaries of each
claim shall be distinctly marked off by 2 parallel lines or rows
of pegs, fixed in the ground at intervals of 5 feet or there-
abouts ; the said boundaries or parallel lines shall be carried in a
direction as straight and square as po&sible to the summit level.
No party shall sink or drive ahead between the said parallel
lines, saving with the consent of the party first in possession,
until gold shall have been found as under mentioned.

Extent of Claim. — The extent of claim to each miner shall
be 100 feet square, and he shall be allowed to mark off the
claim ahead of the spot, where gold in paying quantities shall
have been obtained, beyond the limits of the claim so marked
out.

Rights of Prospecting. — Beyond these limits any other party
may prospect by shaft and tunnel from the bottom thereof, and
until a lead is struck in paying quantities, shall have the ex-
clusive right of prospecting within two such parallel lines as

lerwise spe-

be 150 feet
wer for the
and angles,
en the two
Ivance upon
10 feet in a
y which the
be made on

stinguishing
idual claim,
staked out
he same as
I Sept. 1859.
miner shall
lepth. The
filiate what
be employed
have been
ized miners
,ries of each
ines or rows
it or there-
carried in a
immit level,
said parallel
possession,
d.

miner shall
aark off the
ntities shall
a so marked

other party
thereof, and
lave the ex-
llel lines as

RULES FOR WORKING GOLD MLVES.

543

aforeaai'd, and shall then mark out his claim as above men-
tioned.

Tunnel under Hills. — In tunnelling under hills, on the
frontage of which angles occur, or which may be of an oblong
or elliptical form — no party shall be allowed to tunnel from any
of the said angles, nor from either end of such hills, so as to
interfere with parties tunnelling from the main frontage of such
hills. In case of two or more parties tunnelling from opposite
sides of the same hill, and their side boundary lines meet or
intersect, or their claims meet, the party that first marks off
their claim shall be entitled to priority of claim thereon. In
case of tunnelling under hills, or fronts of hills, such as occur
at the junction of creeks in which there may be two leads, all
parties shall, if required, take their claims on the lead nearest
the side of the hill at which their tunnel commences.

Forfeiture of Claim involves Tunnel, &c. — The right to the
tunnel and the ten feet of ground on either side of it, in addi-
tion to the above claim, shall be considered as appurtenant to
the claim to which it is annexed, and be abandoned or forfeited
by the abandonment or forfeiture of the claim itself to which it
appertains.

Deposit of Leavings. — The Gold Commissioner may, where
deemed desirable, mark out a space in the vicinity for deposit of
leavings and deads from any tunnel.

Sec. III. — Definition of Miners' Rights in a Claim. —
Whereas it is expedient better to define the rights of registered
free miners in their claims, it is hereby declared, enacted, and
proclaimed —

That Clause 7 of the Gold Fields' Act, 1859, is hereby repealed.

Every free miner shall, save as against Her Majesty,' have,
during the continuance of his certificate, the exclusive right to
take the gold and auriferous soil upon or within the claim for
the time being duly held registered and bona fide not colourably
worked by him, and the exclusive right of entry on the claim
for the purpose of working or carrying away such gold, or
auriferous soil, or any part thereof, and also as far as may be
necessary for the convenient and miner-like working and security
of his flumes aud property of every description, and for a resi-
dence — but he shall have no surface rights therein for any (ther

544

APPENDIX.

purpose, save as next hereinafter mentioned, unless specially
granted.

►Sec. IV.— One Record covers necessary Water and Claim. — In
addition to the above rights, every registered free miner shall be
entitled to the use of so nnicli of the water flowing naturally
through or past his claim as shall in the opinion of the Gold
Commissioner be necessary for the due working thereof.

►Sec. V. — Inclusive Wafer Privileges ; Preliminary Notice. —
Where application is intended to be made for the exclusive
grant of any surplus water to Ije taken from any creek or other
locality, every such applicant shall, in addition to the existing
refpiirements, affix a written notice of all the particulars of his
application upon some conspicuous part of the premises to be
affected by the proposed grant, for not less than five days before
recording the same.

Power to Gold Commissioner to Modify the Grant. — The
Gold Commissioner, upon protest being entered or for reason-
able cause, shall have power to refuse or modify such application
or grant, either partially or entirely, as to hira shall seem just
and reasonable.

Saving of future Miners'' Rights to Water. — Every exclusive
grant of a ditch or water privilege in occupied or unoccupied
creeks shall be sulyect to the rights of such registered free miners
as shall then be working or shall thereafter work in the locality
from which it is proposed to take such water.

Sec. VI. — Gold Penalties recoverable by Distress. — Whereas
it is expedient to confer additional power for enforcing penalties
.recoverable for infraction of the Gold Laws under section 40 of
the Gold Fields' Act;

It is hereby declared, enacted, and proclaimed, that such pe-
nalties may, if deemed proper, be ordered to be recovered by sale
and distress, to be levied forthwith or at any convenient interval
after conviction and nonpayment within f-o many hours, or such
longer time as shall be allowed by distress and sale of any claim
or ditch or any personal property Avhatsocver of the person on
whom such penalty may have been imposed.

Sec. VII. — Certified Copy of any Gold Record to be Evidence.
— Every copy of or extract from any record or register imder or
by virtue of this Act or the Gold Fields' Act, 1859, or any other

RULES FOR WORKING GOLD MIXES.

545

ss specially

Claim. — In
ner shall bo
g naturally
3f the Gold
eof.

"1/ Notice. —
e exclusive
!ek or other
;he existing
ulars of his
inises to be
days before

'rant.— The
for reason-
application

1 seem just

ry exclusive
unoccupied
free miners
the locality

. — Whereas
ng penalties
3ctiou 40 of

lat such pe-
ered by sale
cnt interval
urs, or such
)f any claim
e person on

e Evidence.
er imder or
»r any other

}

10s. 3d.

Act which shall be made in relation to gold mines or gold fields,
or any of the liules and Regulations made in pursuance thereof,
respectively required to be kept by any Gold Commissioner, and
certified to be a true copy or extract under the hand of the Gold
Commissioner, or other person entrusted to take and keep sucli
record or register, shall, in the absence of the original register,
be receivable in any judicial proceeding as evidence of the
matters and things therein appearing.

Sec. VIII. — Fees on recordiiuj Claims. — So much of Section 6
of the Gold Fields' Act, 1859, as imposes a fee of 4s. on the regis-
tration or re-registration of claims shall be and is hereby repealed.
In lieu thereof it is hereby declared, enacted, and proclaimed
there shall be paid to the Gold Commissioner for the use of Her
Majesty, her heirs, and successors, the following fees : That is to
say,

Upon every Registration or Re-registration on
record of any claim ....
And no person, not being a free miner, shall be entitled to
record a claim or any interest therein.

Gold Commissioner may enlarge Ditches. — The Gold Com-
missioner shall have power, whenever he may deem it advisable,
to order the enlargement or alteration of any ditch or ditches,
and to fix what (if any) compensation shall be paid to the parties
to be benefited by such alteration or enlargement.

Settlement of Districts. — As to Boundaries, &c. — In case of
dispute as to boundary, or measurements, the Gold Commissioner
shall have power to employ a surveyor to fix and mark the
same, and cause the reasonable expense thereof to be paid by or
between such of the parties interested in the question at issue
as he shall deem fair and just.

Served under the Public Seal of the said Colony, at Victoria,
Vancouver Island, this twenty -fourth day of February,
A.D. 1863, and in the Twenty-sixth year of Her Majesty's
reign, by me,

JAMES DOUGLAS.
By His Excellency's command,

William A. G. Young,

Colonial Secretary.

N N

540

APPENDIX.

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

NO. 4. AN ORDINANCE TO EXTEND AND IMPROYE THE LAWS RELATING

TO GOLD MINING.

[February 20, 1804.]

Preamble. — Whereas, from the increased extent and import-
ance of Gold Mining in British Columbia, it is requisite to make
further provision as to the holding", sale, transmission, and dis-
posal of claims and interests in claims, and to facilitate the
creation of partnerships, and also to confer privileges under
certain restrictions on free miners associating together for the
more economical and systematic drainage of mining ground, and
to raise revenue from the duties upon the registration of various
mining matters ;

Be it enacted hy the Governor of British Columl)ia, with the
advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as
follows :

1. From and after the passing of this Act, so much of Clause
thirty-one (31) of the Gold Fields' Act, 1859, as relates to the
times of meeting of the Mining Board, shall be amended to
read as follows :

Mining Board Meetings. — The Mining Board shall meet at
such times as a majority of the said Board shall decide, and
one-half of the members of the said Board shall constitute a
quorum. Provided, nevertheless, that it shall be lawful for the
Gold Cominissioner, when and so often as in his opinion occa-
sion shall require, to call together such ^Mining Board.

2. Bepeals Section 33 of the Gold Fields' Act, 1859. — Section
33 of the said Gold Fields' Act, 1859, shall be repealed, and the
following provisions substituted in lieu thereof :

Election of Mining Board. — The general election of mem-
bers of the Mining Board shall be held on such day in each
year, as the Gold Commissioner in each district shall appoint.

Vaccc7icies in the Board. — And the Gold Commissioner shall
fill by appointment all vacancies which may arise in the said
Board, and when the same may occur, and such appointees shall
hold office until the next general election.

RULES FOR WORKING GOLD MINKS.

547

VS RELATING

md import-
site to make
m, and dis-
xcilitate the
leges under
sther for the
ground, and
m of various

ia, with the
thereof, as

tch of Clause

elates to the

amended to

lall meet at
decide, and
constitute a
iwful for the
pinion occa-
ard.

59. — Section
aled, and the

ion of mem-
day in each
hall appoint,
issioner shall
) in the said
pointees shall

3. Mining Board may act without presence of Gold Commis-
sioner. — Section thirty-live (35) of the said (Jold Fields' Act
shall be amended by striking out the words Gold Commissioner
in the first line of the said section.

4. Mining Board to manage its internal a, fairs. — The
words Gold Commissioner shall be and are hereby struck out
from Clause thirty-six (36) of the said Gold Fields' Act, 1859,
wherever the same may occur therein, and in lieu thereof the
words * majority of the said INIining Board ' shall be inserted
throughout such clause, which shall be read and construed
accordingly, reserving, nevertheless, to the Gold Commissioner,
the power hereinbefore specified in Clause 1 of this Act.

5. Protection against davgerous works. — Upon complaint
being made to him, the Gold Commissioner is hereby em-
powered to order all mining works to be carried out in such
manner as he shall think necessary for the safety of the public,
or the protection of their rights, or the interest of the lujlders
of claims adjoining to or affected by any such works, and to
order any abandoned works to be either filled up or sufficiently
guarded to his satisfaction, at the cost of the parties who may
have constructed the same, or in case such parties shall be ab-
sent, then to make such order in the premises as to such Gold
Commissioner shall seem expedient.

6. Hill or Tunnel Claims. — All claims situated on the banks
of or fronting on any natural channel, stream, ravine, or water-
course, shall have a base line drawn parallel to the channel of
the stream on which they may be located, such base line to
constitute the frontage of such claims, and to be marked by
posts of the legal size placed at intervals of 100 feet. Lines
drawn at right angles thereto to constitute the side lines or
dividing lines between claims.

7. Gold Commissioner may refuse to record certain Tunnel
Claims. — Provided also that the Gold Commissioner shall
have power to refuse to record any hill or timnel claim on any
creek, which claim or any part thereof shall include or come
within 200 feet of any gulch or tributary of such creek.

8. Gold Commissioner may decide all Mining Partnership
Disputes.— Clause seventeen (17) of the Gold Fields' Act, 1859,
is hereby repealed.

N N 2

548

APPENDIX.

9. Bed-rock Flumes ', Poiver to Gold Commissioner to aiilhi>-
rizc Bed-rock Flumes. — It hIiuU l)e lawful fur the Gold Commis-
sioner to grant, or agree to grant, rights of entry on or under
any lands in the colony, for the purpose of constructing, laying,
and maintaing bed-rock flumes, for such terms, not exceeding
ten years, with, under, and subject to such of the conditions and
stipulations hereinafter mentioned with regard to bed-rock
flumes, as in the opinion of such Gold Commissioner the in-
terests of mining in his district, for the time being, may render
advisable. Provided that every such grant or agreement shall
contain a proper reservation of the rights of the Crown, and of
public rights of way and water, and reservations of land for
public or governmental purposes, and (so far as consistent with
the objects of such grant) a reservation of private rights arising
for the time being.

10. Who may be a Bed-rock Flume Company. — Three or
more free miners may constitute themselves into a Bed-rock
Flume Company within the meaning of this Act, and when duly
autliorized, as lastly hereinbefore mentioned, may enter upon
any river, creek, gulch, ravine, or other water-course in the
colony, for the purpose of constructing and laying a bed-rock
flume therein, and when not otherwise expressed in such
authority as aforesaid, with the rights and privileges, and under
the limitations and restrictions hereinafter specified.

11. Privileges of and requirements from Bed-rock Flume
Companies. — Any company so authorized as aforesaid, and
organized under the provisions of this Act, shall be entitled
to enter upon any new and unworked river, creek, gidch,
ravine, or water-course, and locate a strip of ground 100 feet
wide and 200 feet long, in the bed of such stream, gulch,
ravine, or water-course, to each man of the persons con-
stituting such company, and shall have and enjoy the right of
way from their upper line to extend the said flume for a further
distance of 5 miles up the stream, gulch, ravine, or water-
course, in the bed thereof. Provided that such company shall
for each of the men constituting the same, construct and lay at
least 50 feet of flum-^ luring the first year, and 100 feet annu-
ally thereafter.

12. Free miners may lay Bed-rock Flumes above Bed-rock

,er to autho-
ilcl Comniis-
>n or under
inj,^ layin<,s
t exceeding
iditions and
bed-rock
>ner the in-
may render
ement shall
own, and of
of land for
sistent willi
ghts arising

. — Three or
a Bed-rock
[ when duly
enter upon
Lirse in the
a bed-rock
id in such
1, and under

•ock Flume
resaid, and
be entitled
3ek, gulch,
id 100 feet
am, gulch,
jrsons con-
the right of
or a further
, or water-
npany shall
: and lay at
feet annu-

!e Bed-rock

RULES Foil WORKLVU GOLD MINKS.

549

Flume Companies'' Claim. — In case any free miner or miners
siiall enter upon, take up, and legally work any grouiul above the
claim of the said J3e(l-rock Flume Company, and within the
limits of their right of wa}', after the said company shall have
become organized and located according to the provisions of
this Act, such company shall be entitled to enter upon such
claim or claims for the purpose of cutting a channel to and into
the bed-rock if necessary, and of laying their flume through
such claim or claims.

Provided that such channel shall not be cut wider than ne-
cessary for that purpose, and the owner or owners of such claim
or claims shall be entitled to all the gold taken out of the cut.

13. Free Miners may use, hut not obstruct Bed-roch Flumes.
— Any free nnner or miners lawfully holding and working
any claims on any gulch, ravine, stream, or water-course, wh(;re
a bed-rock flume may be constructed under the provisions of
this Act, shall be entitled to tail their sluices, hydraulics, and
ground sluices into such flume, but so nevertheless as not in
the opinion of the Gold Commissioner, by rocks, stones, boul-
ders, or otherwise unnecessarily to obstruct the free working of
such flume.

Provided that such Bed-rock Flume Company shall be en-
titled to all the gold deposited in such flume.

14. Bed-rock Flume Companies may enter on ' abandoned
ground.^ — Any company authorized and organized as afore-
said, shall be, and are hereby empowered to enter upon any
river, creek, gulch, ravine, or other water-course which may
have been worked by miners and abandoned, and locate the
entire bed of such stream, gulch, ravine, or water-course
100 feet in width, and one-half mile of the length of such
stream, gulch, ravine, or water-course, for each one of the free
miners constituting such company, and such company shall pos-
sess the exclusive right to work the ground so located.

* Abandoned ground^ hovj construed. — The term 'aban-
doned crround ' shall be construed to include all new and un-
worked ground outside of claims actually held and worked upon
any stream, gulch, ravine, or water-course, which may have
been discovered and mined for two years or more.

15. Bed-rock Flume Companies ivorkiny' abandoned ground''

550

Al'I'ENDlX.

io he f/ovenied by Claune 12. — Red-rock Flume Companies
jiuthoiized and organized as aforesaid, and locating upon aban-
doned streams or ground, shall Le governed by Clause 12 of
this Act, in all cases wliere free miners or companies of free
miners shall be legally holding and working claims on such
stream or ground, prior to and at tlu; time of the location of
such Jk'd-rock Flume Company's claim, if within tlie limits
thereof.

IT). Rivers, Ci'cel'S, tCr., ivhen not dfcmed ahaiuhmcd. — Any
portion or part of any river, creek, gulch, ravine, or other water-
course, having four or more free miners per mile, legally hold-
ing and bona fide not colourably working claims, on such stream,
gulch, ravine, or water-course, shall not be deemed ' abandoned '
within the meaning of this Act, but in such case any Bed-rock
Flume Company desiring to run a flume through such portion
or part of such stream, gulch, ravine, or water-course, shall be
governed by the following clauses of this Act.

17. Boundaries of Bed-rock Flume Company''s claim, how
fixed. — Any Red-rock Flume Company, as aforesaid, locating
upon any portion of a stream, gidch, ravine, or water-course
referred to in Clause 16 hereof, shall have their location care-
fully surve3'ed, and a post with a square top driven securely
into the ground, upon the lower line of each such claims,
within such company's limits, and shall at the time of setting
up such posts give notice to each of the holders of such claims,
in writing, of the distance in feet and inches at which such
company's flume will strike any such miner's claim, or per-
pendicularly below the top of such post, and the number of
inches grade which such flume has in each 100 feet.

18. After due notice, Bed-voch Flume Company can lay
flume on any claim. — At the expiration of one calendar month,
or such further time as the Gold Commissioner may allow, after
survey and service of notice last aforesaid, it shall be lawful for
such Flume Company to enter upon any claim or claims
situated within such company's limits, and open a cut, and lay
a bed-rock flume through such claim or claims, in case the
owner or owners thereof shall have failed in the meantime to
open their respective claims, and lay bed-rock flumes therein.

Holder of such claim entitled to gold in flume. — Provided

UULKS lOU WOlJKIMi (iULD MINES.

.')5l

C'ompniiieH
upon abiiii-
ilUHO 12 of
lies of fi'oi!
IIS on sucfi
location of
tlie limits

mcd. — Any
)ther wuter-
'i^'jilly hold-
nch stream,
abandoned '
y Bed-rock
ich portion
se, shall be

claim, Jiow
d, locatinjf
ater-course
L'ation care-
?n securely
xch claims,
i of setting'
nch claims,
which such
m, or per-
number of

ly can lay
dar month,
allow, after
J lawful for
or claims
Lit, and lay
n case the
eantime to
3 therein.
—Provided

that if such I?cd-rock Flume (-ompiiny shall so enter upon and
lay the said Hume lhrouf,di any claim or claims, as last afore-
said, tin* respeetive holder or holders of such claim or claims
shall ho entidcd to all ^'oM takcMi from the cut and hed-n»ck,
in openini,' tlie said cut and laying- the llunu' therein.

ID. W/tal (/radcsl.) bn maliitiiuwd hy jti'inilc Clahii-hidilcvs.
— Private claim-holders puttini;' in bed-rock Ihmies to connect
with bed-rock flumes put iti by JJed-rock l"'lunu' Companies,
shall maintain tiie like «;rade, and build their llimics as
tliorou<4ldy and of as strong materials as are used by IJed-rock
I'Mume Companies.

20. RUjhf of Claim-Jiobhirsv'lii > have horiic r.rpcnse of bed-rock
finnc, io become iiiembers of Jird-rock Flume Corn panics. —
Individual or company claim-holders, after the bed-rock flinnc
has been extended through their respective rhiims at their own
expense, shall have right at any time before the abandonment
of their claim or claims to l)ecome members of the Ik^l-rock
Flume Company, by uniting* their claim or claims with the
ground of the company, find taking an interest proportionate
to the area of the ground which they shall cede to the company,
or work their ground on their own account, at their option.

21. liujld of l)cd-i\>vJ: Flume Company to ]\'aU'i\ — JJed-roek
I'lume Companies, authorized and organized as aforesaid, shall
be entitled to the use and enjoyment of so much of the un-
occupied and iniappropriated water of the stream or streams on
which they may be located, and of other adjacent streams, as
may be necessary for the use of their Humes, hydraulic power,
and machinery to carry on their mining operations, and shall
have the right of way for ditches and Humes, to cimvey the ne-
cessary water to their works, they being liable to other ])arties
for anv damage which mav arise from running such ditch or
Humes through or over their ground.

22. Bed-roch Flumes declared, pjersoncd pn'opjeriy. — Ik'd-rock
flumes, and any interest or interests therein, and all fixtures,
are hereby declared to be personal property, and may be sold,
mortuaued, transferred, or otherwise dealt with as such.

23. Bed-roch Flume Company how rerjisteved, and fees pay-
(ible. — Bed-rock Flume Companies, authorized and organized as
aforesaid, shall measure off their ground, set up their stakes,

Al'l'KNDiX.

post their noticcH, and register their chiiins in the same nmn!i(»r
as iu(livi(hial tVeu miners are re(|iiiri'(l to do, and sliall pay fivt;
pounds sterlinj,' per annum, in addititju to thu rci^MHtrution fee,
tor each halt' milu of chiim and right of way legally held hy
such company.

24. Ind'ivulaal Clahu-holdersjliniihif/^ sultjrct tosainnrulrs,
— Individual or company claim-holders, huilding hed-rock
tlumes through their own gnjund, to connect similar Humes
built by lied-rock Flume Companies, shall b«! subject to tluj
t<amc ndes and regulations, with regard to cleaning up the flumt!
repairs and other matters, in which both parties are interested,
and pertaining to the rights hereby authorized and confirmed,
as may be ado])ted by such Bed-rock Flume Company.

25. Private Company Duty abandon claims, and appropt'iate
gold in Jlnme. — Provided that if any private or company
claim-holders shall desire to abandon their respective claims,
they may give notice to such Bed-rock Flume Company of such
intention, and shall then have the right to proceed at once to
clean up their portion of such Hume, or wait until such com-
pany cleans up, and then take all the gold which may be found
in their portion of such flume.

Such flume deemed abandoned and to vecrH to Bcd-voch
Flume Company. — Provided also that when such individual or
company claim-holders shall have given the notice aforesaid, and
cleaned up their section of the said flume, such claims shall be
deemed to be abandoned with the flume therein, and such
abandonment shall revert to the benefit of such Bed-rock Flume
Company.

26. Bed-rock Flume Notice. — Any free miners or company of
free miners, applying for the privilege of constructing a bed-
rock flume, shall comply with the requirements of Clause
twenty-four (24) of the Gold Fields' Kules and Regulations,
issued on the 7th day of September, 18o9, and also put up a
notice of such application in some conspicuous part of the town
place, or at the Court House nearest to the locality applied for,
at least five clear days before making such application.

27. Deads and Leavimis not to obstruct stream. — The period
at the end of Clause two (2) of the Rules and Regulations issued
on the 24th day of BY'bruary 1863, is hereby struck out, and

it)(> inaiUM't'
nil pay fivo
ttnitioii tV'L',
lly held by

smuft 111 h's.
L( bed-rock
ilar Hunics
)jt'Ot to tlio
p tlui flimu!
interested,
continued,

ppropn'ate
V company
ive eluiuiH,
any of such
at once to
.such coni-
y be found

) Bed-rod)
Jividual or
)re.said, and
ns shall be
and such
rock Fliune

company of
no- a bed-
of Clause
egulations,
) put up a
•f the town
pplied for,
n.

The period
ions issued
k out, and

KULliS FOU WOUKIXU (iULD MINKS.

•)00

the following' words added thereto, to mi: 'or whaft, and in
no case shall the said deads or leavin<,'s, forkinj^'s from sluices,
waste dirt, lar<,'e stoiu's or tailiuj^'s be allowed to accumulate so
as to obstruct the natural course of the stnam.'

2W. Minor of Si.flccii ' ii-hen parhicrs) to he ilirmi'il oidilf frrc,
iniiu'rs. — The interest of uiliiors over sixteen years of a,<,'e shall
be subject to the same laws as ff^'ply to the interests of adult
free miners, and they Hhall <'njoy th. ;ime rijjjhts thereto as
adults, but no person ufider the age of sixteen years shall bo
capable of holding any c\iuin or int<.'rest thf*rein.

29. MiiiiiKj co-pdi'du'i'sltipf. -And whereas if is necessary
to provide facilities for the formation of nuning co-partiursliips,
be it enacted —

Minutes of co-partnership when no deed of partnership
exists. — That all mining companies shall be governed by the
provisions hereof, unless they shall have other and written
articles of co-partnership properly signed, attested and recorded.

30. Duration of miniiKj co-pjartnership. — No mining co-
partnership shall continue for a longer time than one year,
unless otherwise specified in writing by the parties, but
such co-partnership may be renewed at the expiration of each
year.

.'H. Confined to miniufj. — The business of the co-partners
herein referred to shall be mining, and such other matters as
pertain solely thereto.

32. Poivera of a Majority, — A majority of the co-partners,
or their legally authorized agents, may decide the manner of
working the claims of the co-partners, the number of men to
be employed, and extent and manner of levying assessments to
defray the expense of working the claim or claims of the com-
pany, and all other matters pertaining thereto ; provided that
every such company's claim shall be represented according to
law. Such majority may also choose a foreman or local
manager, who sliall represent the company, and have power to
bind such company by his contracts, and sue and be sued in the
name of the company for assessments and otherwise ; and every
such partnership must register its partnership or company name
with the Gold Commissioner.

33. Assessments, ivhen payable. — All assessments levied

554

AITENDIX.

(luring the time of working sliail be payfible witliin ten clear
(lays after each such assessment.

34. Payment of Ansessmentyiu default hoiv ciiforeed. — Aiy
party failing c»r refusing to pay any assessment or assessments,
leviable according to the provisions of this Act, after having re-
ceived any notice thereof, specifying the amount due during the
period the said party may be (lelin(]uent, shall be personally
liable to his co-partners for the atnount of such delinquency,
and the amount of such delinfjuent's indebtedness having l)een
ascertained by a court of competent jurisdiction, his interest in
said company's claim may be sold for the payment of the
amount found due, with interest (if any) and costs as hereafter
specified.

35. Notice of Sale. — The notice of sale of such delinquent's
interest, or such part thereof as shall suffice to pay the amount
of indebtedness, with interest and costs as aforesaid, shall be
published by advertisement in some newspaper published in the
district, for ten days prior to the day of sale, and if there be no
paper published in the district, then notices of such sale shall
be posted for the same length of time, in the vicinity of the
claim or interest to ]io sold, and at the Court House nearest
thereto. Such sale shall be by public auction to the bidder
offering to pay the amount due for the smallest portion of said
claim or interest. The purchaser at such sale, on payment of
the purchase-money, shall ac(|uire all the right, title, and
interest of the delinquent, in and to the interest sold, and shall
be entitled to the immediate possession thereof.

36. No one recognised except a free miner in a claim. — The
following part of Clause seven (7) of the Gold Fields' Act, 1859,
shall be deemed to have been never repealed, that is to say,—

No person shall be recognised as having any right or interest
in or to any claim or ditch, or any of the gold therein, imless
he shall be, or in case of disputed ownership, unless he shall
have been at the time of the dispute arising, a free miner.

37. Miner''s record covers only unappropriated water. —
Clause 3 of the Proclamation of the 25th day of March, 1863,
is hereby repealed, and the following provisions are substituted
in lieu thereof:

In addition to the above rights, every registered free miner

RULES FOR WORKL\:a (lOLU MINKS.

OOO

in ten clear

orced. — Any
assessments,
r having ro-
e during tjie
personally
ielinqiiency,
laving be(>n
s interest in
nent of the
as hereafter

delinquent's

the amount
\k\, shall be
lished in the

there be no
)h sale shall

inity of the
buse nearest
I the bidder
rtion of said
. payment of
t, title, and
Id, and shall

?laim. — The
s' Act, 1859,
is to say, —
it or interest
3rein, unless
ess he shall
miner.
ed water. —
larch, 1863,
! substituted

free miner

shall be entitled to the use of so much of the water naturally
flowing through or past his claim, and not already lawfully ap-
propriated, as shall in the o[)inioii of the Gold Commissioner be
necessary for the due working thereof.

.38. Production of free rnhier^s cerflficdie hffore record. — It
shall be lawful for the Gold Commissioner, previous to recording
a claim or interest therein or other matter, to demand from tlie
applicant the production of his free miner's certilicate, and
upon his refusal or neglect to produce the same, to refuse to
record such claim, interest, or other matter.

.39. General fee on record! n;/ minhu/ matter. — For every
record which the Gold Commissioner sh.all be called upon to
make, whether of leave of absence granted or any matter or
thing whatever relating to mining, and for which a sp(,'cial fee
shall not have been provided l)y any law, rale or regulation in
that behalf in force for the time being, the Gold Commissioner
shall charge a registration foe of ten shillings and sixpence, but
for every search of a record only four shillings and twopence.

40. Dlstinf/n'tshinrj number of claims aJtoHshed. — Xo dis-
tinguishing numl)er shall hereafter be recpiired, or be deemed
to have been ever recjuired, for or in respect to any claim, any
existing law or rule to the contrary notwithstanding.

41. Gold in claim to be ore of (job I. — All gold found in any
gold mine in the colony shall be deemed and taken to be ore of
gold, within the meaning of the statute.

42. Claims recorded in the close season when laid over. — Xo
claims located and recorded in any district within fourteen days
after the claim therein shall have been laid over by the (iold
Commissioner till the ensuing season or other specific date, shall
be allowed or deemed to be so laid over, unless so nuich woxk
shall have been bona fide expended thereon by the holders
thereof, as shall in the opinion of the Gold Commissioner fairly
entitle him to have such claim laid over.

43. Tltree days'' grace for every 10 miles before record. —
Every free miner shall be allowed three days in which to record
his claim by pre-emption after the same shall have been located,
if such claim shall be within 10 miles of the Gold Commis-
sioner's office; if more than 10 miles from it, then one addi-
tional day shall be allowed for every additional 10 miles or
fraction of 10 miles, as the case may be.

550

APPENDIX.

44. Limits claims by pre-emption to two claims. — Every
adult free miner shall be allowed to hold two claims by pre-
emption, viz., one quartz claim and one other claim, and no more
ut the same time, but by purchase may hold any number or
amount of claims or interests therein, which have been once
duly rej^istered, subject to the laws for the time being regulating
the same. And every adult free miner may lawfully sell, mort-
gage, transmit, or dispose of any nuniber of claims or interests
therein, lawfully held or acquired by him, whether by pre-
emption or purchase.

45. What is a mlner''s interest in a claim. — The amount of
interest which a free miner has in his claim shall, save as against
Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, be deemed and taken
to be a chattel interest equivalent to a lease for a year, renew-
able at the end of the first and every subsequent year, subject
to the conditions as to forfeiture, working, representation, re-
gistration, and otherwise, for the time being in force with respect
to such claim or interest under any law or rule regulating the
same.

Forfeiture absolute. — Provided that every forfeiture of a
claim under any such law or rule shall be absolute, any rule of
law or equity to the contrary notwithstanding.

46. Deceased free miner^s claims not forfeitable. — In case
of the death of any free miner, while registered as the holder of
any claim or ditch, his claim or interest shall not be open to the
occupation of any other person for non- working or non- repre-
sentation, either after his decease or during the illness which
shall have terminated in his decease.

47. Gold Commissioner may heep afoot or sell deceased miner''s
claim. — And in all cases where the Gold Commissioner shall
find that such free miner shall be possessed of a claim or ditch,
or interest therein, he may cause the same to l)e duly repre-
sented until sale on such terms as he shall think just, or dis-
pense with the same at his option, or may sell such claim, ditch,
or interest by auction, after ten days' public notice thereof, for
such price as in his judgment he shall deem just and fair; and
for the purpose aforesaid, the Gold Commissioner may employ
and pay out of any assets of the deceased which may come to
his hands, such valuers or persons as may be necessary.

4H. (iold Co))ini(Ssioiiers coiiceyance a good title. — Everv

RULES FOR WORKING GOLD MINES.

557

(7118. — Every
lims by pre-
and no more
y number or
'e been once
ig regulating
ly sell, mort-
3 or interests
:her b}'' pre-

e amount of
tve as against
1 and taken
year, renew-
year, subject
lentation, re-
with respect
gulating the

'feiture of a
!, any rule of

>le. — In case
bhe holder of
} open to the
r non-repre-
illness which

ased miner'' 8
ssioner shall
dm or ditch,

duly repre-
just, or dis-
claim, ditch,

thereof, for
id fair; and
may employ
lay come to
•iry.
'Me.—V.veYv

assignment of any such interest by the Gold Commissioner shall
convey to the assignee all the right and interest of the deceased
miner, thereby purported to be conveyed, and shall be subject
to the same registration and fees as if such assignment had
been made by such miner before his decease.

49. Notice of offi^clal administration. — The Grold Commis-
sioner shall, in all cases of death of every registered free miner,
give notice thereof as soon as conveniently may be, and also of
any acts and interferences of such Gold Commissioner, to the
official administrator, who shall in all cases which may seem
fitting, take out probate or letters of administration as the case
may require, and collect and get in the estate and effects of the
deceased in the usual and proper way ; no such dealing or inter-
ference as aforesaid, by the Gold Commissioner, shall make him
in any way liable as an executor de son tort, or in any way liable
for unintentional losses or in any other responsibility, than to
account to the personal representative of the deceased, when
duly constituted, for all monies actually received and expended
by him in the matter of the estate and effects of the deceased.

50. Alloivance to Gold Commissioner. — Every Gold Commis-
sioner who shall so act in the collection and custody of the
estate and effects as aforesaid, shall be entitled to his own use
to an allowance thereout not exceeding in any case 5 per
cent, on the whole amount collected.

51. Fees on registration as in Schedule. — On the registra-
tion of any of the matters, acts, deeds, documents, or things
mentioned in the Schedule hereto, there shall be payable in
respect thereof by the party seeking such registration, the several
duties and sums of money set opposite such matters, acts, deeds,
documents, and things respectively in the schedule hereto, such
payments to be taken by the Gold Commissioner or other officer
effecting the registration at the time of each registration, and
for the use of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors.

52. Every sale, mortgage, alienation, or other disposition of
any claim, ditch, or other mining property, or of any interest
therein respectively, shall be made by an instrument in writing
which shall be registered with the Gold Commissioner, or other
officer duly authorised in that behalf in the district in which
such property is situated, in separate books to be kept by him

558

APPENDIX.

for the purpose, and every such conveyance, mortgage, or otlier
document shall set forth, truly expressed in words at length, the
full bona fide price, consideration, or value that has been or has
to be paid directly or indirectly in each transaction, or in default
thereof shall be void.

53. In case of any dispute, the title to claims, leases of auri-
ferous earth or rock, ditches or water privileges, will be re-
cognised according to the priority of registration, subject only
to any question which may be raised as to the validity of any
particular act of registration.

54. Certified copy of record evidence. — Every copy or extract
from any record or register, under or by virtue of this Act, or
the Gold Fields' Act of 1859, the Proclamation of 25th day of
March, 1863, or any gold rules and regulations required to be
kept by any Gold Commissioner, and certified to be a true copy
or extract under the hand of the Gold Commissioner, or other
person authorised to take and keep such record or register ;
shall in the absence of the original register, be receivable in
any judical proceedings as evidence of all matters and things
therein appearing.

55. Saving of Crown rirjhts. — Nothing herein shall be con-
strued to limit, or abridge the prerogative rights of Her Majesty,
her heirs and successors, in or to the Gold Fields of British
Columbia.

56. To be constmed as one iviih the Gold, Fields' Act, 1859. —
This Act shall be construed as far as possible with the Gold
Fields' Act, 1859, and proclamation of the 25th day of March,
1863, and the Eules and Kegulations made in pursuance thereof
respectively.

57. Schedule part of Act. — The schedule hereto shall be part
of this Act.

58. Short Title. — This ordinance may be cited for all pur-
poses as the « Gold Fields' Act, 1864.'

Passed the Legislative Council the 24th February, a.d. 1864.

Chables Good, Clerk.
Received my assent this twenty-sixth day of
February, A.D. 1864.

JAMES DOUGLAS, Governor.

age, or otlier
it length, the
i beeu or has
or in default

lases of auri-

will be re-

suLject only

lidity of any

)py or extract
' this Act, or
■ 25th day of
quired to be
i a true copy
ner, or other
or rei>'ister ;
receivable in
rs and things

shall be con-
Her Majesty,
ds of British

Act, 1859.—
ith the Gold
ay of March,
uance thereof

INDEX.

I shall be part
for all pur-

ry, A.D. 1864.
ODD, Clerk,
-sixth day of

Governor.

A
A
A
A

Al
Al
Al

INDEX

ACA
A CAPULCO, present condition of,

Ac-cla, copper lodes and quartz veins

at, oO
Acheewun, the Lamalcha Indian, and

his rubtieries, 469
Adam's River, the valley watered by,

188
Admiralty Island, salt springs on, 1G9.

Farming land at, 186
Agriculture in Vancouver Island, 172.
Remunerative character of agricul-
tural pursuits in the colony, 173.
Climate of the Island, 174. Soils,
182. Agricultural districts, 184.
Crown lands, sold, unsold, and pre-
empted, 184. Inviting districts for
hardy pioneers, 189. Average yield
of crops, 193. Stock, 195. Grazing,
196. Prices of produce and stock in
Vancouver, 197—199. Amount of
agricultural produce introduced into
Vancouver Island, 199. Clearing,
times of sowing, &c., 201. Princi-
pal articles for working and stocking
a pre-empted farm, 20.5. Terms of
settlement for land, 205. In British
Columbia, 280. Climate of the colony,
280. Soils,284. Agricultural districts,
285. Yield and prices of crops, 290.
Dr. Taylor's statement of firming on
the Upper Fraser River, 291. Stock
raising, 291. Fruits, 293. Terms
on which land may be acquired in
British Clolumbia, 295. Land pro-
clamations of Sir James Douglas,
528
Alberni canal, the, 51
Albion, New, Drake's discovery of, 54
Aleutian Islands, walrus fishing
{ironnds near the, 169. Facilities
at, for catching and curing fish, 1 09

BAR

Alexandria, farming land at, 287.
Ale.\andria, in Kgypt, foundation of.

336
America, immediate cause of the dis-
covery of, 339.
American .society, first expcrienceof, 11.

Ladies, 397
Anderson & Co., their export trade in

timber, 234.
Andersion Lake, 215
Anian, Straits of, 54
Animals of Vancouver Island and
British Columbia, 297. Scientific
names of those found in Vancouver
Island, 305
Anthracite coal of Fuca Straits, 142
Antler Creek, gold mining population
of, in I860 and 1861, 74. Diffsincs
at, 243,244 "^ ^

Antonio, San, silver mines of, 26
Arabians, commerce of the, 338
Arms of Indians, 443
Arrowsmith, Mount, 40
Artesian Gold Mining Company Li-
mited, 247
Assay office in Victoria, 88
Astoria, on the Columbia River, 28
Australia, introduction of salmon info
the rivers of, 125. Rhymes on the
event, 125, 7iute
Azores, the, 2

BACON, price of in Vancouv.r
Island, 198. Demand for, at the
mines of British Columbia, 291
Banks in Victoria, 87
Baker, Mount, eruption of, 216
Barclay Sound, position of, 51
Barley, price of, in Vancouver Island.
197 '

Bars, at the diggings, 240

5G2

IXDEX.

r.KA

JJonconliill I'avk, Victoria, 77. View

from the hi;:li knoll in tiio centre, 77
lieaiis, price oF, in \'ancouver Island,

i:(8
JJears in Vancouver Island and British

i'olinnbia, L>1»7
Beaver Lake.farminfr land at, 287.
IJeaver dams in Vancouver Island, ITiS.

And in British Columbia, 'MM
Beef, prices of, in Vancouver Island,

1!)7, 11)8
Beliring Straits, wnlrus fishing ground

near, 1 V>'J. Facilities at, for catching

tind curing fish, IG'.I
Bella Coola, or Nookhalk river, 230
Bellingham Bay,lignitic beds at, 41,42
Bentinek Arm, route fnnn the coast

to the northern mines of British

(Columbia, 235. Indian murder at,

402
Benton, Thomas II., his interpretation

of the ()reg(m Boundary Treaty, 37
Bigbar (!reek, farming land at, 287
Birch, Mr., Colonial Secretary's report

on the Kootanie diggings, 2.^3
Birds of Vancouver Island and British

Columbia, 3t»l
Bktnco, Cape, discovery of, 52
Blansliard, (Governor, how treated by

the Hudson's Bay C<mipany, 311
Boulders, erratic, in Vancouver Island,

43
Bowls, wooden, of the Vancouver

Island Indians, 50
Breweries in ^'ictoria, 85
Bridge Creek, farming land at, 287
Brine springs of Salt Spring Island, 48.

Of Naniamo, 48
Brown, Mr., his description of Van-
couver Island, 40. II is discovery of

gold at Sooke river, 150
Brimswiek, New, timber trade of, com-
pared with that of N'ancouvev Island,

137
Bucardi, Port, discovery of the Bay of,

50
' Bunch-grass ' in British Columbia,

293
Burial among the Indians, 447
Burrard Inlet, exploded argument in

its favour as a naval station, 127.

Coal seams at, 41, 151
Bute Inlet, route to the northern mines

by, 238. Indian massacre of the

■whites at, 403
Butter, price of, in Vancouver Island,

197, 198
Buzzards at Panama. 10

CHI

0.\BRILT<O, Juan, liis expedition
from Xalisco north, 52

Calaveras County, mammoth- trees of,
24

California, passage from Panama to, 10.
The steamer and her passengers, 10.
Culf of, 12. Description of the
state of California, 13. Fertility vt'
the valleys of, 22. The vine, 22.
Vegetables, 22. The mammoth-trees,
24. Uesources of tlie state, 24, 25.
Placer diggings and hydraulic mining
at, 20 Discovery of, 52. Hush from
California to the Fraser river, 04, 05.
Table of expoi'ts from Victoria to, in
October 1804,115. Civil disabilities
of Chinese and no"'""':.;in, 381. Tlieir
temples to Buddha in, 385

Canada, heavy import duties in, 92.
Timber trade of, contrasted with
that of Vancouver I.-land, 137

('annibals among the Indians, 436

'Caribes' of the West Indies, 4

Cariboo, diary of a journey from Doug-
las to, 224. Paths from William's
Lake to, 235. Character of the Ca-
riboo district, 245. ' Creeks and
Gulelics," 240. Prediction of Sir Ilod-
eriek ^lurehison, 240. Prospects of
Cariboo, 251. Prices at Cariboo iu
November 1804, 252.

Carthagena, town of, 0. Sharks off, 7

Cascade Mountains, the, 210, 237.
Climate west of the, 282

Catholics, Ronum, in A'ancouver Island,
82. The Sisters of Charily on the
coast ot the Pacific, North of Mexico,
8'. In New Westminster, 220. Intln-
cnce of tlie Roman Catholics over the
Indians, 472. Bishop de Mers' self-
interpreting Bible, 475

Cattle, horned, in Vancouver Island,
195. In British Columbia, 293

Cavendish, his adventures in the Pa-
cific, 54

Caviare, a bushel of, taken from one
sturgeon, 107

Channel Islands, causes of the flourish-
ing condition of the, 93.

Cheese, price of, iu Vancouver Island,
198

ChiUikw>'yuk, pastoral kind at, 222,228

China, denuind for timber in, 122.
Extent of Navigation of the Yangtse
and Amoor Rivers, 122. Increasing
trade with the Celestial Empire, 122.
Current of warm water breaking at
Vancouver Island, 175.

liis expedition
til, r,-2
iininoth- trees of,

m Panama to, 1 0.

T passengers, 10.

cription of the

13. Fertility vf

The vine, '22.

e niaiiimoth-trees,

the state, '24, i't.

liydraiilie inininj;

f, 52. Hush from

aser river, 04, (>.").

;)in Victoria to, in

Civil disabilities

i':r,in,.181. TJieir

in, SS.'j

rt duties in, 92.
contrasted with
I.-iland, i;57
Indians, 416
Inilies, 4

irney from Donjr-
5 from William's
racter of the C"a-
). ' Creeks and
diction of SirRod-
14(J. Prospects (if
•ices at Cariboo in
52.

(). Sharks off, 7
the, 21G, 237.
282
N'ancouver Island,
)f Charity on the
, North of Mexico,
linster, 220. Inthi-
Catholics over the
hop de Mers' self-
47.5

raneouver Island,
Columbia, 293
itures in the Pa-
taken from one

;es of the flourlsh-

e, 93.

'ancouver Island,

illand at, 222,228
timber in, 122.

on of the Yangtse
122. Increasing

istial Empire, 122.

•vater breaking at
17.J.

JNT)K.\.

CUT

Cliinamen, number of, in California, 24.
At ('aril)oo. 23.'1. At Hope ami Fort
Vale. 24. Civil disahililies of the. in
California, .".81. Their habits in Cali-
fornia and (he Hritish (,'olonies, .'l.s2.
Ilesnlts of missionary labour amongst
them, 3S3. Their tem|)lcs to Uuddiia,
iu California. 3S5. ^'i!.itto one, 385.
The Chinese address to (Jovernor
Kennedy, in N'aneouver Island, 380.

Christianity among the Indians, 472,

it SV(f.

Clay, blue, found in Vancouver Island,

1.54
Clayoq-'ot S(nmd, mineral wealth of, 51
Clearing land in \'aneouver Island, 201
Climate of Vancouver Island, 174. 'i'he
('hina current at, 175, Fraser river
freshets. 176. Mean of the ther-
mometer, 170. Occasional cold
■winters, 176. Drs. Forbes and Hat-
tray's register of the weather, 177.
The climate conipared with tiiat of
Canada and London, 179. Asjiect
of nature in Maj". 180. The clinuite
of Vancouver Island, in its con-
nexion with health, 181. The climate
of Hritish Columbia, 280. And of
the proposed emigrant route from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, 308, 309
Clinton, town of, 2.">3
Civil list of Vancouver Island, 3 1 9, ."20
Coal in ^'ancouver Lsland, 141. The
mines of Nanainio, 41, 48, 14 1.
Coals of Qiiatsino Inlet, 49. Those
on the American side oi' Fuea Straits,
142. Consumption of coal in the
Morth Pacilie, 142, Coals from
Coose Bay and IMount Diablo, 142.
Coal fields of Heliingham Jiay and
Washington Territory, 142. Supe-
riority of the \'ancouver Island coals,

142. Chemical comparison of \'an-
couver Island coal with other varieties,

143. Dr. Rattray's statement re-
specting the importation of coal into
San l-'rancisco, 143. Comparative
lists of prices of coal at Vancouver
Island and San Francisco, 144. Thick-
ness of the seams at Nanaimo, 144.
Fcn'mation of the Vancouver Island
Coal, Mining, and Land Company, 145.
Total quantity shipped from Nanaimo
146. Report of the company, quoted,
146, 147. Markets for Vancouver
Island Coal, 149. Formation of the
llarewood Coal Mining Company,
149. Coa Seams at other places in
the Island, 150, 151

COM

Col-banks, said to exist in riiimpcr's
Pass ami North of Niincniiver Island,
108

Colleges and schools in Viotoria. 84

' Colonial School, the." in Victoria, SI

Colonies, claims of young, on the aid
of Kngland, 508. '('are of the I'ni-
ted .States for young colonies. 511.
Colonial statistics, circulated lor the
Colonial F.migration Society, for tiie
year 1S59, 517

Columbia Hiver, the, 28

Columbia, Hritish, discovery of gold in,
04. 'i'lie letters of the ' 'I'imcs ' cor-
respondent in lf<(ii, 75. Proposed
union of with th^' free port of \'ietoria,
95,3ii;i. Advant;igis of the free port
to I5riiish Columbia, 95. Kesolutions
jiassed by the legislature of \'ancou-
ver Island respecting the propose, 1
union, 105. Tlie sea-board of Hrit-
ish Colunihia, 207. Il.xploralions of
Sir Alexander ^lackeiizie, 2os.
(ieology and physical geography,
209. (ieneral desciii)tion. •J15. The
coa'^t, 215. New Westmiuster, 21
'I'otal value of imports into IJritish
Columbia during 1801, 1802, and
lSO.3, 217. Shipping and cn-^toni
returns, 218. .loiu'iiey from Doughs
to Ciir'd)oo, 224. Pass from the coast
to the northern niiiies, 235. The
niii'.es of 15ritish Columbia, 240. Agri-
cultural resources of the colony,
2SU. Aninmis and vegetables, 297.
The first legislative council, .".22.
Public expenditure of the j'.riti^h
Columbian < Jovermnent in I SO,'!, ,31 o.
(Comparative statement of revenue
from 1859-lSO:!, 320. Check
given to immigration by the re-
strictive policy of the Colonial
(Jovernment and the Hudson's liay
Comi)ai)y, 320. ile(l-:apeisin as to
land ill the colony, 329. 3;i0. Tes-
timony of the grand jury of the
colony as to the doings of the 1 ind
oliiee, 332. Tlie negro element, 38S.
Religion iu the cohmy, 418. The
Indians of Rritish Coluinliia, 423

Comiaken,A'anconvcr Island, 4(). Farm-
ing land in, 185

Common school system, tlie, about to
be introduced into Vancouver Island,
84

Comox Valley, agricultural district of,
49. Fxteiit of farming land at, 1>7

Comstoek gold lead at Wiishoe, the,
155

o o -i

5G4

INDEX.

CON

Congrcgationulists, the, in Victoria, 83

Conifers of Vancouver Itiiund and
liritish Coluinhia, 305

Conk, Captain, his reconnaissance of
the coast in the North Pacific, .IB, 57.
His opinion of De Fiica's story, 57.

Coose Hay, coal of, 142

Cop|)er, lodes of, at Koskeenio, 50.
Copper mines in Vancouver Island,
151, Queen Charlotte Island mines,
151, 15i. Inspection of a vein of
copper in Vancouver, 152. Want of
capital to develope this source of
wealth, 153

Coquahalla, diggings at, 241

Cortez silver mines, 20

Cottonwood, at Lightning Creek, 229

Courtenay River, excellent farming land
of the region of tiie, 187. Its junc-
tion with the Pnntluch River, 188

Coutts, Miss Bnrdett, her foundation of
the diocese of Columbia, 8 1

Cowichan River, gold found in the bars
of, 47

Cowiclian, agricultural district of, 46.
Width of Cowiclian Valley, 47. Pro-
lific character of the soil, 47. Fanii-
ing land in, 185

Creation, Indian tradition of the, 450

Crests, Indian, 445

Crime in Vancouver Island and British
Columbia, 418

Crops, average yield of, in Vancouver
Island, 193, 194. Prices of, in Brit-
ish Columbia, 290

Customs' revenue at New Westminster,
218

DAIRY produce in British Columbia,
294
Davids<m's Farm, British Columbia, 291
Deer Island, pure copper found at, 153
Deer in Vancouver Island and British

Columbia, 189, 3Ul
De Mers, Bishop, his self-interpreting

Bible for the Indians, 475
Diablo, Mount, coals of, 142
Diggings. iSce Gold Mining
Diseases of Vancouver Island, 181, 182
Dog-fish caught off British Columbia,

107
Donghis, Governor Sir James and the
San Juan dispute, 31, 32. His appoint-
ment and leanings, 311, 312. His
restrictive policy, 326. His re-
marks on Esquimau Harbour as a
naval station, 67. Notice of him, 393.
His personal aj)pearance, 393. His de-

portment, 394. His petty diploma cy,
.195. His modes of dealing with the
Indians, 460. His adventure with au
Indian tribe, 460. His land procla-
mations, 528

Douglas pine, value of the, 132. Age
and soundness of the, 132, 133

Douglas Lake, 223

Douglas Town, 223. Journey from
Douglas to Cariboo, 223

Drake, .Sir Francis, his adventures in the
racifie, 53. His journey north, 5'.).
Parallel of latitude reached by him,
54. His discovery of New Albion,
54.

Dramas of the Indians, 430

Duncan, Mr, his labours among the
Indians, 476

I^AGLES, Fish, in Vancouver Island
J and liritish Columbia, 301

East, trade with the, coveted by west-
ern natives from remote antiquity,
330, 337. Effect of the discovery of
the route by the Cape of Good Hope,
339. The discovery of America, the
result of the search for .; short route
to the East, 339. Object of the search
for the North-M'est Passigi: an I why
a failure, 340, 341. 1 roposed inler-
oceanic railway, 335, et seq.

Eggs, price of, in Vancouver Island,
197

Elks in Vancouver Island and British
Columbia, 189, 300

Emigrants, inviting districts in Van-
couver Viland for, 189. Extent of
the troubles to be anticipated from
the Indians, 190. Inducement to
emigration to Vancouver Island and
British Columbia, 493. Classes en-
couraged to emigrate, 493. Those
not wanted, 495. Openings for re-
spectable women, 496. The dance
round a bonnet, 497. Cautions to
emigrants, 498. Rates of wages,
499. Prices, 500. Routes to the colo-
nies, 502. Hints as to the choice of
a vessel and outfit, 505. The Iri.sh
in America, 513. Importance ot the
subject of emigration, 514. Extracts
from Messrs. Silvers' pamphlet re-
specting emigrants, 520

' England of the Pacific,' the, 39

Esmeralda silver mines, 26

Esquimau, harbour of, 43. Extent and
depth of, 43, 44. Governor Douglas's
remarks on its unequalled superi-

LNDKA.

I) bo

letty diplomacy,
Ifaling with the
▼eiiture with uii
[is land produ-

the, 132.
132, 133

Ago

Journey from
>23

.dventiires iu the
rney north, .03.
cacht'd by him,
)f New Albion,

,430

)urs among the

ancouver Island
nbia, 301
ovcted by wcst-
emote antiquity,
the discovery of
e of Good Hope,

of America, the
for ,\ short route
jeot of the search
'ass-ige anl why

1 roposetl inier-
, et seq.
mcouver Island,

and and Britisli

istricts in Van-
89. Extent of
intieipated from
Inducement to
uver Island and
93. Classes en-
te, 493. Those
)peninp;s for re-
96. The dance
17. Cautions to
lates of wages,
utes to the colo-
to the choice of
505. The Irish
iiiportance ot the

514. Extracts
s' pamphlet re-
521)
c,' the, 39

43. Extent and
vernor Douglas's
quailed superi-

FAL

ority, 67. Its value to the city of
\'ict(>rin anil as a naval station, 127.
'J'he harbour (hies, .12."). Exports of
fiold from tiu' port of Victoria froiu
I Sort to 1)^C.4, l(l!t. I'lifriisli niid
American goods for six months end-
ing December 1863, 112. To for-
eign ports during October 1864, 113.

17 ALL of man, correspondence be-
tween the Scriptural account of tiie,

and the traditions of the Indians of

the Uocky Mountains, 4.').5
Farming capabilities of X'ancouver Is-
land and of British Columbia. See

Agriculture
Ferns, roots of, for feeding hogs, 196.

JVIonster ferns of Vancouver Island,

48
Ferrela, his expedition in the North

Pacific, ;)2
Fisheries of Vancouver Island and Br i-

tish Columbia, 121, lti3. Herrings,

163. Iloolakans, 163. Salmon, 16,').

Trout, 167. Sturgeon, 167. Halibut,

167. Smelt, 167. Haddock, whiting,
and dog-fish, 167. Sea perch, rock,
&e,, 168. Cod, 168. Seal and whales,

168. Morse or walrus, 169. Suit-
ability of Vancouver Island for an
export trade in fish, 170. Fisheries
on the Atlantic coast, 170, 171

Flat- head Indians, 441

Flattery, Cape, .'J7

Flood, Jndian tradition of the, 4.54

Fh.ra of Vancouver Island and British
Columbia, 304

' Flutter-wheels,' use of, in gold mining,
276

Foley, Mr., his account of the gold re-
gion of Sookc river, 157

Forbes, Dr. R. N., his observations on
the geological structure of Vancouver
Island, 41. His register of the weather
in 18.')0, 177

Fortune telling among the Indians, 446.

Foxes on Vancouver Island and British
Columbia, 298

Francisco, San, foundation and growth
of the city of, 14. Exports, 15. Dis-
covery of gold, 15, 16. General Sut-
ter's mill, 16. Californian life in 1849,
17. Rowdyism and the Vigilance
Committee, 17, 19. Destruction of
the city six times by fire, 19. Pre-
sent condition of it, 20. Judge
Me Almond, 20. Progress of the city,
21. The mint, 22. Chinamen in

OLA

iTect r'" the

•o ui ph the

< siunption

|)r. Rattray's

San Francisco, 24.

high taritf in San Fran

trade of Victoria, 12 1.

of coal in, 142, 145.

statement respecting the imports of

coal into, 143. One of the liead-

qiiartersofthe North Pacific whalers,

I (>'.)

Fraser River, discovery of gold at. ()4.
The rush from California, 64, 65.
The monthly license granted to
miners, 6(5, Description of the cotiii-
try drained by the river, 66. Heturn
of some of the speculators to Cali-
fornia, 69. Settlements on the bars
between Hope and Vale, 69. The
new route via Douglas, and its hanl-
sliips, 69, 70. Yield of gold on the
Fraser for the first four months, 72.
Gold found on the forks of the Ques-
n 'lie, 74, Sand bars at the mouth of
the river, 216. Scenery ascending
the river, 216. The Lower Fraser,
221, 222, Gold-diggings north-west
of the Fraser River, 262, Farming
on the Upper Fraser, 2'.tl. Abun-
dance of salmon found in the, 165.
Trout foimd in the Lower Eraser,
167. Sturgeons caught in it, 167.
Seal at the mouth of the river, 168.
Freshets of the river, and coolness
caused by them, 176

French, the, in Victoria, 80

Friendly Cove, 57

Fruit of British Columbia, 293. Wild
fruit of Vancouver Island, 47, 48,
186

Fuca, Juan de, story of, and of his
imagined discovery of a m)rth-east
pa.ssage, 54. Captain Cook's opinion
of the story, 57

Fuca Straits, 40. Survey of, by Captain
Vancouver, 53. Anthracite coal of,
142

n AMBLE, Fort, prosperity of the

vJ saw-mills of, 136

Gambling among the Indians, 444

Gas-works in Victoria, 85

Gaspy, in Canada, restrictions on ex-
ports from, 92 note

Geological structure of Vancouver Is-
land, 41. Of British Columbia, 209

Georgia, Gulf of, islands of the, 45.
Minerals found in these islands, 45.
Numbers of whales in the Gulf, 168

Germans, the, in Victoria, 80

Glacial phenomena, records of, in Van-

:i(jO

INUliX.

Mil,

ciiiivir I"laii(1, iJ, l.'J. (ilacicr tunnel
III ar Kiiiglit's Ciiiial, T.W,
(i(.l'l, (liM'dvcry of, ill <'iilir<)i'iiia, If)
Ki. Miniiiu' opiratioiis, 'Jii, Uii'lics
of ( )n ^'(iii, L's. (jidil-lR'ariiifj; rocks
iicar South llivir, 40. (ioM loiiiid
ill tliu liars ut' Cow iciiaii llivcr, -17.
Discovery of tlie )prccious im-ial in
IJritisli ('oiiiml)ia ill |s:)S, (M. 'I'lii;
nisli to till' Trascr Uivcr, d I, (iri.
\\M of ;;ol>l on tliis river tor the
lirst lour nioiitlis, 72. I'.xports of
gold from \ictoria from IS.'iH to
JHOl, Kill. (iold iiiiniiipf ill \'nn-
coiivcr Island, l.Vt. 'I'la' cxijitiiicc
of Hujd known since ISJO, I,') I. The
Hudson's iJay Company's iiiIirts in
(ineeii Charlotte l.sland, l.'J4. The
Goidsti'i'ani Mi.u'^inns' near Victoria,
155. I'ormaiion of coin|ianies to
work till! mines, l.'>"). (iovernor
Kennedy's vijjjorons measures for the
exploration of the colony, l."),"). The
discovery of gold on I he banks of
tho Sooke River, \'iC>. General cha-
racter of tlie country from tlu! har-
bour to the canon, l.")7. Hiehness of
tlio Si;oke district. ITiS-liU). Dig-
gings on llie east side of Leech lUver,
\('r2. tiold found at .Jordan lliver.
\&2. Diggin-zs at Mope, MO. At
l''()rt Yale, 241. .\t Siinilkameen,
OKanigan, and Rock Creek, 2il,
At Traiii|Mill" and North Rivers,
and Kamaloops Lake, 24.'1. At Qnes-
nelle River and Antler River, 243.
Cariboo, 245. Tho Artesian (Jold
Milling Company Limited, 247. Re-
markable instanecs of success, 248.
Lowliee Creek, 24!>. Shuswap dig-
gings, 252. The Kootanie district,
253. Diggings north-west of the
l''raser River, 2()2. Mining laws of
the colony, 2t'i3 (and src al>o Ap-
pendix). Description of the [irocess
of mining, 2()r>. I'ssentials for carry-
ing on mining operations success-
fully, 2f)G. The art of ' prospect-
ing,' 207. Use of the ' rocker.' 208.
Hydraulic mining, 270. ' Water
companies,' 273. The ' flutter-
wheel,' 274. Turning a river out
of its bed, 274. ' Ground sluicing,'
274, Tunnelling, 270. Quartz
mining, 270. Gold discoveries east
of the Rocky Mmmtains, .'iOl.
Slang in vogue at the diggings, 415.
Kindheartedness of tlie miners,
418. Their ten comnuuulments,

IIOR

418. RuieH and rcgiilationn for

working gold mines, ,').'|.'l 55'.»
(J rain, prices of, in N'aiiconver Island,

1!I7
(ii'aiiite of \'aiic(. liver Island, 4'1
GrasHd of N'aiiconver IhIuihI and Ilri-

li^h ( 'uliimbia. ;io5
Grasshoppers, Indian mode of catching,

lor food, 44S
<!ra/ing in N'aneonvcr lolaiid, I'.lO
' (iroiind sluicing' in gold mining, 27)i

HADDOCK caught off Rritish Co-
lumbia. 107
llaliiiut, caught round the coast, 107.

I'iiiormous si/e of some of them, 107
Ilambiirg, its flourishing condition aa

a free jiort, 1(2
Hams price of, in Vancouver Island,

11)8
Hare, the, unknown ill Vancouver Island,

but inhabiting liritish Coliiinbia, .'tUO
'Harewood Coal Mining Company,'

formation of the, 149
Harvey, General, visit at San Juan,

.'io
Harrison Lake, 223. River, its cim-

flueiice uiilitiie I'raser, 2J3
Hay, price of, in \'aiicouver Island, 197
ILijnes. .Mr., his dispatch respecting

the Kootanie diggings, •j5.'1
Ilealtli, tliecliniate of Vancouver Island

in loiuiection with, l^^l
lleci ta, Rriino, his ex|.edition to dis-
cover a north-east passage, 50
Heraldry, system of, among the Indians,

444
Herrings on the coast of Vancouver

Island, 103
Hills, Hisliop, his appeal for thirteen

additional clergy and live catecliists,

82 iiolc.s. His awkward predicament

with the Indians, 475
Hindoos, commerce of the ancient, 337
Hogs, in Vancouver Island, 190. Of

IJritish Columbia. 291
Hongkong, as a free port, 93
Honolulu, one of the head-quarters of

the North Paeiflc whalers, 109
Hoolakans, shoals of, in the rivers of

Vancouver l>land, 103. Oil pressed

from them, 104. Used by the natives

as torches, 105
Hope, town of, 230, Site of, 231. Dig-
gings at, 240
Hops produced in Vancouver Island,

194
Horses in ^'ancollvcr Island, 195. Na-

iM>i:.\.

.')()"

n7,'iil;iti(>ns for

iiiic()itvt.-r hliiiiil.

Isliti'l, »:»
I.sIiiikI and liri-

loili' of catching,

Isliinil, I'.lfi
Id mining, 270

oil' IJritisli (,'()-

tlic roast, l(J7.
lie ot'tlu'iii, l(i7
ng cunditiou aa

:inc'oiivir Island,

rancoiivcr Island,

li ('(diiiiibia, .'lOO

ling (.'oiiipanj-,'

'.(

t at San Juan,

llivcr, its con-
ser, -JJ.-l

iivi rlslan<l, U»7
patch respecting
ifrs, -j.j.'l

V'ancouver Island
Ksi

xpedition to dis-
lassagi', ')C)
nong the Indians,

5t of Vancouver

peal for thirteen

id live catechists,

vard predicament

[ the ancient, 337

Island, 196. Of

)()rt, 93

' head-quarters of

halers, Hi'J

, in the riv«rs of

1G3. Oil pressed
>ed by the natives

site of, 231. Dig.

ancouver Island,

Island, 195. Na-

iiri)

tivc liorscHlV' 'in the Satid« ich Fslaiid«,
1 '.»."). Of llr.tish CoUiinbia. J'.ct
IIiiiUhii'n Day < i nipanv, post of the, at
I'ort ilupcir, A'K nlitain a grant of
N'aiuouvir l>l.iiid from (iovernuicnt,
.OH, y.t. 'I'lu-ii- nmnoiioly iind ifN result
on the coliiiisatiiiu of tiic i^!and, 02.
Mr. I.ahoiii'lii re and tiic pru-ipcrily
<>t V'aiu'oiivc Island, O'l. Impediments
caused l>y ilie ri'Siricduiis of the
Company, (i'.». Its gold-mining ojiera-
tioiis in (juoen Charlotte island, l.'')4.
Si'ttlenniif of its i|uarrils with tliu
Montreal I Noi'ih-Wist Comi'any,
•J(»S. 'I'ra' if the Company till Ks.V**,
'JiiM, iiii'.i. its Tort at l.oniiley on
the Lower Fraser, L'2'J. (J rant of
Vancouver Island to it, .'Uo. Check
given to immigration hy the restric-
tive policy of the (iovernment in
I8j8, ;(;!('.. (Question of the adjust-
ment of the right of the Hudson's
Hay Company in the event of the
conbtruitu)n of an interoceanic rail-
way, 35(). Discussion in the House
of < 'ommons on the rights of the
Company, 371
lIunil)ol(lt silver mines, 2<)
IlMiah Indians, their thefts, 458
Hydraulic mining, for gold, 270

IMMKi RANTS, simplicity of some
of the new comers, .'iOli

Imiiorts, amount of, into the juirt of
\ictoria in l8fil-IMn;j, l(J(;

Tnranlations of the Indians, 439

Indian burying places, :i:i()

Indians, troubles to be ap[)rehended
from, by intending einitrrants to \'an-
couver Island, 19i). Those of ^'an-
couver Island and 15riiish Col-
umbia, 4:2.3. Theories as to their
origin. 42.3. Territorial limits of the
tribes, 42S. Their ideas of rank, 4'29.
Festive ceremonies, 43(t. Their ' pot-
latch,' 430. Dranuitlc exhibitions, 432.
The mysteries of ' Khuiiuilla,' 433.
Medicine-men and their atrocities,
434-430. Cannibals, 430. Kducation
oftlie 'allied,' 437. Medical men,
438. Incantations, 439. Witchcraft,

440. Indian ideas of personal beauty,

441. Flattening of the liead, 441.
M omen, 44 2. Tattooing, 442. Arms,
443. An Indian village, 443. Gamb-
ling, 444. Indian lieraldry, 444. For-
tune-telling, 440. Marriages, 440.

Eurial, 447. Food, 448. Catching

KfN

grnsNliopperN, 44^^. Ilnin-inaking,
4.') I. Indian tradiiioii of the creation,
4J0. Ami ot' the tall of nuin, I.M.
Indian idea of the ctmse of ihniider
and lightning, 4.')0. Their iileas of
u future si.ile, 4.")7. Indian thieves,
4.18. Severe nu'usuren uilo[)ted
aj;ain^t thiiu. l.'If. Tlu-ir luiis-acres
of uiiites, 402. Interin eiiu' wars
among ilu m.47i>. Scalping. 47o. I'ro-
titu'iou among them, 471. Uonuiii
Catholic missions, and tlieir intluencu
among the Indians, 472, 473. The
sif;n of the cross, 472 174. Indian
sellish motives in religion, 47t'i.
.Mr. Duncan's labours, 4 76. Hind-
rtmcis to missionary works, •>78.
The new Christian settlement at
Metlakatlali, 4S3. Ingenuity of the
Indians, 484. Iiulusirial arts and
missions, 4sj. Threatemd extinction
of the Indians, 487

Indies, NN'est, approacli to the ' \'irgin
Group,' 3. Columbus's discoveries,
3, 4. The 'Ca:ibes' oftlu-, 4

Inn, an, on tlie road to Cariboo, 220

Insanity in the colonies, 41 o. (irog, 41 1,
The religious nuiniac, 41 1

Insects of \ancouver Island and Brit-
ish Columbia, 303

Irish, the, in America, .')12

lr(m nmnufactiires of N'ictoria, t^.'».
."Magnetic iron ore, fouiul in \'an-
couver Island, l.")3

Isinglass nuide from tlie
bladder of the sturgeoj, 107

TAPAX, advantages to be derived by
\'ictoria in opening uf a trade « ilh,

123
Jew, the ' skedaddled,' 409
Jews, their synairogue in Victoria, 83
Johnstom-'s Straits, 49, .")8
.lordan Kiver, gold found at, 102
Joint stock companies in Victoria, S.'i,

80
Jtum, San, visit to the island of, 29.

Tiie dithculty between F.ngland and

the I'uited States in 1859, 29-38

KAMA LOOPS Lake, diggings at,
243
Karus, Lake, character of the land

near, 189
Kayo(iiU)t, district of, 50
Kendrick, Captain, his alleged dis-
covery of the channel sejiarating

508

INDEX.

KEN

Vancouver Island from the main
land, 57

Kcniit'dy, Governor, his vigorous mea-
sures for the exploration of Vancou-
ver Island, \^>!}. His reception in
Vaneouver Island, .'522. Chinese
address to liiui, .'J8G. Indian address
to him, 4G8 note.

King George II I. 's Archipelago, dis-
covery of a portion of, .56

KluquoUa, Indian mysteries of, 433

Kootanie diggings, the, 2r)2. Mr.
Haynes's dispatch respecting the,
253. Report hy Mr. Colonial Sec-
retary Birch, 255. Farming land in
the, 2!)()

Kootanie Indians, the, 257

Koskeemo sound, 49. Country from
Cape Scott to, 50. Coal seams at, 151

I" A DIES' College in Victoria, 84.
-J American, 397

J-a Ilache Lake, 227

Lan)alchas Indians, their rohberies,
409

Langley, on the Lower Fraser, 221.
Coal seams at, 151. The Hudson's
Bay Company's Fort at, 221. Farm-
ing land at, 286

Lard, price of, in Vancouver Island,
198

liCeeh river, silver found at, 158. Dig-
gings on the cast side of the, 162

liignitic beds at Burrard's inlet and
Bellingham Bay, 41

Lightning-bugs, at Panama, 10

Lilloet, 225, 226. Meadows at Port
Pemberton, 286

Limestone in Vancouver Island, 154

Lock, Michael, his narrative of Juan
de Fuca's imagined discovery of a
north-east passage, 54

Lowhee Creek, gold diggings of, 249,
2.')1

Lytton, town of, 2.13

MACKENZIE, Sir Alexander, his
explorations in British Columbia,

208
Mammoth-trees of California, 24
Manufactories in Victoria, 85
Marble, blue, found on the coast of

Vaneouver I.^land, 154
Marriages among the Indians, 446
Martens in Vancouver Island and

British Columbia, 297
Mayne, Commander, R.N., liis explo-

Ni:r,

rations of part of Vancouver Island,
187

Mc .\ linond, Judge, of San Francisco, 20

McNeil Fort, coal mines at, 151

Meares, Cai)tain, his discovery of the
channel separating Vancouver Is-
land from the main land, 57

Medicine-men of the Indians and their
doctrines, 434, 435. Their ummmery
of rain-making, 449. Their opposi-
tion to missionary work, 479

Metallic riches of California and
British Columbia, 24, 25

Metchosin, agricultural settlement of,
4.3, 185

Methodists, the, in Victoria, 83

Mexico, objects of the French in, 13.
The priests of, 13. The trade of
Victoria with. 111

Milk, price of, in Vancouver Island,
198

Mining, gold. See Gold mining

Mining laws of the colony, 263 (and
A ppendix)

Mink, the, in Vaneouver Island and
British Columbia, 297

Moffat, Mr. Hamilton, his exploration
of \'ancouver Island, from Ni.iipkish
Kiver to Nootka Sound, 188

Morse or walrus fishing grounds in the
Nortii Pacific, 169

Mountains between Cape Scott and
Koskeemo Sound, 50

Mules in British Columbia, 293

Murchison, Sir Robert, his prediction
respecting Australia and Cariboo,
246

NANAIMO,town and harbour of, 48
Salt springs of, 48. Coal mines
of, 41, 48, 141, 142. The country
surrounding Nanaimo, 49. Thick-
ness of the coal seams, 144. Con-
venience of the harbour for shipping
coal, 144. The \'ancouver Island
Coal Mining and Lead Company and
its profits, 145. Total quantity
shippeil from Nanaimo up to Decem-
ber 1863, 145. Salt springs at, 169,
Character of the land around, 186.
Address of the* Indians of, to Go-
vernor Kennedy, 468, note

Nanoose river, farming land in the
valley of the, 187

Napoleon HI., his designs in relation
to Mexico and trade in the Pacific,
3 67

Negroes, civil disabilities of the, in

LVUEX.

oGl)

ncouver Island,

,n Francisco, 20
I at, 151
iscovery of the
Vancouver Is-
nd, 57

dians and their
heir mummery

Their opposi-
rk, 479

'alifornia and
25

settlement of,

)ria, 83
French in, 13.
Tlie trade of

jouver Island,

[ mining

>ny, 263 (and

?r Island and

is exploration
rom l><i.iipkish
1, 188
grounds in the

3e Scott and

ia, 293

his prediction

and Cariboo,

liarhour of, 48
Coal mines

The country

49. Thick-
s, 144. Con-
ir for shipping
3ouvcr Island
Company and
Ota) quantity
up to Decern -
n-ings at, 1G9.

around, 186.
is of, to Go-
note

land in the

ns in relation
in the Pacific,

;s of the, in

Nl-V

California, 381. Those in Van-
couver Island, 388. Ditferences
between negroes and the whites,
388

Nevada, quartz miits and crushing
power in, 27

Kewfoundlatid, fisheries of, 170

Nootka Sound, 50

Nootka Island, 50, 51. The present
number of tiie Nootka Indians, 51

North-east passage, Juan de Fuca's
imagined discovery of a, 54. Expe-
dition of Juan de Perez, 55

North River, diggings at, 243

North wfst passage, object of the
search for the, and why a failure,
310, 341

OATS, price of, in Vancouver Island,
197

Odessa, flourishing trade of, 92

Ofiicials, defalcations of, in Vancouver
Island, 399

Oil extracted from the hoolakan fish,
164. Indianinethod of obtaining it,
1 64, That extracted by them from
the dog-fish, 167, 168

OKanagan, Lake, abundance of trout in.
167. Diggings in the tributaries of,
242.

OKanngan district, farming land at,
2.n, 288, 289

Orchards in Vancouver Island, 199,
In Oregon, 199

Oregon, gold mines of, 28. The mon-
ster fruit of, 28, 199. The Oregon
boundary, 37. Exports from Victoria
to, in October 1864,115. Population
of, in 1850 and at present, 126, 127.

Orford, Cape, discovery of, 53

Otters in Vancouver Island and British
Columbia, 298

Outfit of emigrants, 506

Oxen, demand for, in Vancouver Island,
196

pACIFIC OCEAN, discovery of the,

I'anama, isthmus of, 7. Railway on
the, 7» 9. Scenes on the, 8. Town
of, 9. Islands in the bay of, 10.

Parmeter Gold Mining Company, for-
mation of the, 155

Partridges in the interior of Vancouver
Island, 189

Pavilion Mountain, 226. Road over
the, 233. Experience of fanning
north of the, 286, 287

VVS

Pears, monster, of Oregon, 2S

Peas, price of, in Vancouver Island,

198
Pea vine silver mines, 26
Pelley, Sir J. II., obtains a grant of

Vancouver Island for the Hudson's

Bay Company, 58, 59
Peniherton, Mr., his explorations in

\'aneouver Island in 1857, 46
Pi-rcli, sea, 168

Perez, Juan de, his expedition to dis-
cover the north-wt'st passage, 55.

His discovery of Queen Charlotte's

Island, 56
Perron, M. du, his comparison between

the timber of the Douglas pine and

spars from Riga, 13.3
Petra, commerce of, 339
Pico, Island of, 2
Pilot-fish, 7
Political statistics of Vancouver Island,

310
Pork, fondness of the Chinese and

mining population for, 19(). Price of,

in Vancouver Island, 198
Portland, slate of Oregon, 28
Ports, free, the principal ones in the

world, 91. Victoria as a free port,

91
Postal communication with England,

necessity for direct, 507
Potatoes grown in British Columbia,

292
' Potlatch,' the. of the Indians, 430
Prairie, the Grand, 289. Prairies at

Siunass and Chilukweyuk, 222. Of

OKanagan, 231
Prtei[)iee, the, on the road north, 236
Presbyterians, the, in Victoria, 83. In

New Westminster, 221
Preset iptions, medical, among the In-
dians, 438
Prev6st, Captain, of II. M. S. ' Satellite,

31
Prices at Cariboo in November 1864,

2.)2. Of crops in British Columbia,

290. In Vancouver Island and Brit-
ish Columbia, 500
Prince Edward's Island, heavy customs'

duties at, 92
' Prospecting ' for gold, the art of,

267
Provisions, prices of, in Vancouver

Island, 198
Puget Soimd, saw-mills at, 135, 136
Puma, the, in Vancouver Island and

British Columbia, 298
Puntlueh River, the, 188. Its junction

with the Courtenay River, 188

570

INDEX.

QUA

Ql'ADKA, Francesco de la Bodegay,
his expedition to discover a north-
west pa/isiige, !)(■). His discovery
of a portion of King (Jeorge lll.'s
Archi|)elago, SO

Qiianiielian, Vancouver Ishind, 4(5.
Farming land in, 185

Quartz mining, 276. Primitive expe-
dients for crushing quartz, 277.
Steam power, 278

Quatsino Inlet, coal and other minerals
of, 41)

Quatsino Bay, 50

Queen ( "harlotte's Sound, navigated by
Juan de Fuca, ^)!)

Queen Charlotte's Island, discovery of,
oO. The copper mine at, 151. lle-
jiort of a mining engineer on tiic
mine, 152. The Hudson's Bay Com-
]iany's gold mines in, 154

Quesnelle, town of, 228

Quesnelle River, 228. Gold mines
discovered at the forks of, 74, 243

RABBITS unknown in Vancouver
Island, but inhabiting British
Columbia, .300.

Race Rocks, 43

Race, varieties of the human, repre-
sented in \'ictoria, •i78. Tscliudi's
classification of human hybrids, .'570.
Civil disabilities of Chinese and Ne-
groes in California, 381.

Racoons in Vancouver Island and
British Columbia, 297.

Rae, Dr., his route for a line of tele-
graph from Red River to the Pacific,
.•555.

Railway, proposed interoceanic, 335.
The scheme slow but sure, 335, 33G.
Ftlbrts of the Americans, 342.
Would such a line pay ? 34:1. The
shortest route to Australia and China,
343, 344. The political utility of the
scheme, 345. The most eligible
tract of country for laying down the
line, 347. Value of the valley of the
St. Laurence, 348. Central position
of Red River Settlement, 350.
Road via St. Paul's, 350, 351. Al-
ledged difficulties of extending the
line from Fort Garry to Canada, 351.
Urgency of an emigrant route, 352.
The course it should take from Lake
Superior, 353. Question of adjust-
ment of the rights of the Hudson's

SAL

Bay Company, 355. Passes of the
Rocky Mountains, 362. Viscount
Milton's account, 304

Rain-making, mummery of, by the
Indian medicine-men, 449

Rain in Vancouver Island, 179

Ba[ieseed oil from Japan, 124

Rats in Vancouver Island and British
Columbia, 300

Rattray, Dr., his opinion as to the pro-
per site for the Pacific Naval Sani-
tarium, 129. His statement respecting
the imports of coal into San Fran-
cisco, 143. His register of the
weather in 18G0-61, 177. His table
of the yield of crops in Vancouver
Island, 104

Red River Settlement, its central posi-
tion for the proposed interoceanic
railway, 350, 351. Telegraph being
laid down from Red River to the
Pacific, 3")C. Fertility of the land
near Red River, 359. MenKrial of
tlie people of Red River Settlement
to the British and Canadian Govern-
ments, 375.

Religion, state of, in Vancouver Island
and British Columbia, 417. Reli-
gious beliefs of the Indians, 457. Re-
ligious bodies in Victoria, 81

Reptiles of Vancouver Island and
Biitish Columbia, 303

Reese River, silver mines of, 2G. Popu-
lation of the district, 27

Roads in Vancouver Island, 204.
Roundabout road to Cariboo, 233, 234

Rock Creek, diggings at, 242

Rock found off Victoria, 1G8

Rocker, use of the, in gold mining ope-
rations, 267

Rocky Mountains, gold mining on the
eastern slopes of the, 361. Passes
of the, 302. Viscount Milton's
account, 3G3. Railway through
the Rocky JMountaius, 365

Rupert, Fort, 49

Russia, strides of, in the North Pacific,
306

SAANICH Peninsula, 45. Farms
in the, 185

Sacramento, trip to, 22. The state legis-
lature in session, 22. Meeting of the
' Democratic Convention,' 23. Pre-
sent state of the town, 23, 24. China-
men in, 24. Taxation at, 24. Inun-
dation of the city of, 177

Salmon, introduction of, into Australia,
125. In the rivers of Vancouver

Passes of tlio
362. Viscount

ry of, by the

, 449

nd, 179

an, 124

,nd and British

m as to the pro-
tic Naval Sani-
nient respeeting
into San Fran-
e^ister of the
177. His table
> in Vancouver

its central post-
ed interoceanic
IVlcgraph being
I Kiver to the
lity of the land
Meniwrial of
liver Settlement
nadian Govern-

incouver Island
a, 417. Keli-
idians, 457. Ile-
toria, 81

n* Ibland and
3

es of, 2G. Popu-
27

1- Island, 204.
Cariboo, 233, 234
at, 242
a, 1G8
;old mining ope-

1 mining on the
le, 36 1 . Passes
icount Milton's
lilway through
IS, 365

le North Pacific,

la, 45. Farms

The state legis-
, Meeting of the
ntion,' 23. Pre-
Chlna-
Inun-

INDEX.

571

1,23,24.

m at, 24

,177

)f, into Australia,

s of Vancouver

SAL

Island, 165. Crcat nnnibes found
dead in the Columbia River, 106.
Tlie hook-bill, spring, and hump-
backs, 165, 166. Indian revenue ob-
tained from the sale of salmon, 166.
I^uerative trade to be made in salmon,
166.

Salmon River, farming land at, 188.

Salt Springs of Salt Spring Island, 48.
Of Naiiainio, 48. On Admiralty
Island and at Nanaimo, 169.

Salt Spring Island, 48. Brine Springs
of, 48.

Sanitarium, the proposed, for invalided
nara men, in the Pacific, 128. Dr.
Rattray's opinion as to its proper site,
129

Sandstone of excellent quality found on
Vancouver Island, 154

Sandwich Islands, table of exports from
Victoria to, in Octi.ber 1864, 114.
Native liorsesfrom the, in Vancouver
Island, !95

Sansum Narrows, copper mines at, 48

Saskatchewan River district, its adapt-
ability for colonisation, 359. IVIineral
riches of the country, 360, Gold in
the river, 361

Sa«-mills in Victoria, 121. At Puget
Sound, 136

Scalping among the Indians, 470

Schools and Colleges in Victoria, 84,
Schools in New Westminster, 220

Scotch, the, in Victoria, 80

Scott, Cape, 49

Seals found at the mouth of the Fraser
Kiver, 168

Seaton, Lake, 225

Semiliamo, city of, 66

Septaria, nodules of, 42

Sewage of Victoria. 87

Sharks in the harbour Oi Carthagena,
7. Their fondness for white men, 7

Shawingan, Vancouver Island, 46.
Farming land at, 185

Sheep, breed of, in Vancouver Island,
195. In British Columbia, 294.
Mountain sheep in British Columbia,
301

Shells, list of, found on the coast of
Vancouver Island, 305

Shipbuilding in Victoria, 121

Shuswap diggings, the, 252. Two
routes to the, 238

Silver mountains, 26

Silver, yield of the mines of, at Washoe,
26. Mills in the state of Nevada, 27.

swi

At Hope di^

241

Similkanieen, diggings at, 242. Fi-rm-

ing land in the, 288, 289
Sitka, trade of Victoria with, 111. Table
of exports from Victoria to Sitka,
in October 1864, 113. \'ancouver
Island coal in demand at, 149
Skunk, the, in Vanco\iver Island and

British Columbia. 297
Sluicing, method of, in gold-mining

operations, 269
Smelts caught in the Fraser river, 167
Society, in Victoria, 3118. The un-
married couple, 400. Adventures
of widows, 401. Extraordinary wed-
ding scene, 402. Young colonists,
406. The 'Skedaddler,' 409. The
social pyramid reversed, 412. Ox-
ford and Cambridge men roughing
it, 413, Character of society in the
interior, 414. Slang in vogue among
miners, 415. State of religion, 417
Soils, character of the, of X'ancouver
Island, 182. Of British Columbia,
284
Somenop, Vancouver Island, 46. Farm-
ing land in, 185
Sooke, agricultural settlement of, 43,
Sooke River, discovery of gold on the
banks of the, 156. Evidence of the
richness of the district, 156-1()0.
Agricultural land at, 185. Panthers
at, 29S
South River, 46
Sowing, times of, in Vancouver Island,

202
Spain, her discoveries in the Pacific, 52
Squirrels, in Vancouver Island and

British Columbia, 300
Stags in Vancouver Island and British

Columbia, 300
Steamers, high-pressure, on the Eraser
river, 231,232. Prodigal iiiditlVrence
of American steam-boat men to
human life, 232
Sdckeen River, pure copper found at,

1 53
Stock used in Vancouver Island, 195.

Cattle, sheep, and horses, 195
Sturgeon, found in the rivers and lakes
of British Columbia, 16/. Immense
size of the fish, 167. Caviare, 167
Sumallow Valley, farming land in the,

288
Suniass, prairies at, 222, 286
Summer Bay, 45
Summer in Vancouver Island, 181. The

Indiaii .summer, 181
Swift River, 229

572

LNDEX.

TAB

rPABOGA, island of, 10

Tiiilmor in the "Wilderness, commerce
(if, 338

Tiiylor, Dr. I/iclilin, his statement re-
si)ecting farming in British Columbia,
'J 91

Telmantepec, Gulf of, 12

IVn Comniandments, the miners', 418

I'erceira, island of, 2

Thomas, St., island of, 3. Harbour and
town of, 4. 'J'rade of, 5. Inhabitants
of, 5. Freedom of its port, 92

Timber of the Somenos plains, 40. Of
South River, 40. Between Cape Scott
and Koskeenio, 50. At IJarelay
Sound, .51. Great demand for tim-
ber in, 122. Timber trade of Van-
couver Island and British Columbia,
l.'il. Table of the principal varieties,
131, 132. Value of the Douglas pines,
132. This timber compared with
that from Riga, 133. Messrs. Ander-
son & Co.'s export trade in timber,

134, 135. Comparative statement
of export of lumber, &c., from
Alberni Mills during lSG2and 1803,

135. Their trade in sawn timber,
135. Timber trade of other smaller
firms, 135. Advantages of Van-
couver Island over New IJrunswic'.*.
and Canada as regards the timber
trade, 137. Saving to owners of saw-
mills who build their own ships, 138.
Ti.nber more remunerative to the
common carrier than gold, 138.
Opening for an export trade in rail-
way sleepers, 139. Mode of render-
ing timber proof against the destruc-
tive action of a torrid sun, 139.
Prices of spars, masts, &c., in Van-
couver Island, 140.

Townsend, Port, American town

founded at, GO
Trnde sufficient for a steamer in the

North Pacific, 510.
Trades carried on in Victoria, 85. List

of trades and professions in Victoria,

89
Tranquille River, diggings at, 243
Trout of Vancouver's Island and

British Columbia, 107. Those of

Lake OKanagan. 107. Of the Lower

Fraser River, 107
Tsehudi. his classification of human

hybrids, 379
Tunnelling, in gold mining, 270
Turnips of Biitish Coiumbi;), 292

VAN

UNITED STATES, preparations of
the, to receive and distribute
ea.stern commerce by the construction
of an interoceanic railway, 342.
Appearance of citizens of the United
States in the British Colonies, 397.
Care bestowed by the, upon young
colonies, 511
Utsalady, saw-mills of, 130

TTALDEZ INLET, 49

Vancouver Island, description of,
39. The 'Enpland of the Pacific,'

39. Straits of Fuca, and first view of
Vancouver Island, 40. Vegetation
of, 40. Coast-line of, 40. Geological
structure of, 41. Records of glacial
phenomena in, 42, 43. Har-
bour of Esquimau, 43. City and
harbour of Victoria, 40. Saanich
Peninsula, 45. Sunnner Bay, 45.
Agricultural district of Cowiclian,

40. Mr. Peniherton's explorations
in 1857, 40. Mr. Brown's despatch,
40. Wild vegetation of Cowiclian,

47. Copper mines at Sansum Nar-
rows, 47. Copper mines of Nanainio,

48. Coniox valley, 49. Islands near
Cape Scott, 49. Coal of Quatsino
Inlet, 49. Koskeenio Sound, 50.
Quatsino Bay, 50. Timber between
Cape Scott and Koskeenio, 50. Cop-
per lodes and quartz veins at Ac-
cla, 50. Woody Point. 50. Barclay
Sound, 51. The Alberni Canal, 51,
Captain Vancouver's description
quoted, 52. Discovery of the chan-
nel separating Vancouver Island
from the main land, 57. The Island
first traversed by white men, 58.
Grant of it to the Hudson's Bay
Company, 58, 59. Terms of the
grant, 59-01. Proposed union with
British Columbia, as affecting the
free port of A'ictoria, 95. Reso-
lutions passed by the liCgislature of
Vancouver Island respecting the
proposed union, 105. Destructive
etfect of the monopoly granted to the
Company, 02, 03. General resources
of Vancouver Island, 131. The
timber trade, 131. Coalmines, 141.
Copper mines, 151. Magnetic iron
ore, 153. Limestone, sandstone, blue
marble, and blue clay, 154. Gold, 154
tt seq. Fisheries, 163. Agriculture,

INDEX.

rcparntions of
tul distribute
e construction
•ailway. 342.
of the United
'olonies, 397.
, upon young

scription of,
• the Pacific'
id first view of
, Vegetation
0. Geological
rds of glacial
43. Har-
3. City and
40. Saanich
aer Bay, 4.'5.
if Cowiclian,
explorations
yn's despatch,
of Cowicliau,
Sansum Nar-
s of Nanainio,
Islands near
of Quatsino
Sound, 50.
fiber between
no, 50. Cop-
veins at Ac-
50. Barclay
•ni Canal, 51,
description
of the chan-
uver Island
The Island
te men, 58.
udson's Bay
ernis of the
d union with
affecting the
95. lleso-
cgislature of
pecting the
Destructive
granted to the
^ral resources
131. The
il mines, 141.
lagnctie iron
ndstone, ])lue
54. Gold,! 54
Agriculture,

VAN

172. Climate, 174. Total nimiber of
acres helonging to Vancouver Island,
1S4. Agricultural districts, 184. Mr.
■Moffat's journey across the Island
from Nimpkish River to Nootka
Sound, 188. Average yield of crops,
194. Stock, 195. Prices of pro-
duce and stock, 197-199. Animals
and vegetables of Vancouver Island
and British Columbia, 297. Politi-
cal statistics of Vancouver Island,
310. Grant of the Island to the
Hudson's Bay Company, 310. The
germ of Colonial Legislature, 313.
Disputes between independent colo-
nists and the authorities, 314. The
first bill of appropriation, 315.
Disproportionate paraphernalia of
Government, 316. Sources of colo-
nial revenue, 317. Estimates of
colonial expenditure for 18G4, 318.
Opposition of the Legislature to the
proposals of the Duke of Newcastle,
320. Reception of Goveinor Ken-
nedy, 322. The question of union
between the two colonies. 323.
Society in Vancouver Island, 378.
Chinese in the Island, 386. The
Negro element, 388. Governor
Douglas, 393. Defalcations of
officials, 399. Religion on the Island,
417. Crime, 418. The Indians of
the colony, 423. Land proclama-
tions of Sir James Douglas, 528.

Vancouver, Captain, his description
of Vancouver Island quoted, 51.
Sent to adjust a dispute with the
Spanish authorities in the Pacific,
57, 58. His survey of the Straits
of Fuca and Admiralty Inlet, 58.
Roaches 100 miles above Nootka, 58

Vasco, Nunez de Balboa, his discovery
of the Pacific Ocean, 52

Vegetables, prices of in New West-
minster, 293

Vegetation of Cowichan, 47. Of
Vancourer Island and British Colum-
bia, 297

Vessels, number and tonnage of,
entered at Victoria, in 1801-1863,
108

Vermilion Pass, in the Rocky Moun-
tains, 362

Victoria, city at.d harbour of, 44. In-
Huence of the discovery of gold in
the growth of, 64, 65. Rush from
California, 65. Sadden rise in the
value of land, 65, 66. The rival cities
attempted by the Americans, 66.

VIC

Unequalled superiority of Victuri.i
Harbour, 67. Reaction in Victoria
and return of faint-hearted specula-
tors to California. 69. Riots of tlie
'rowdies' assembled in the city, 71.
Gloomy state of the city, 71. Yield
of gold for the first four months, 72.
Lowest point of depopulation, in
1858, 73. Cheering news from Ques-
nelle, 74. The immigration of 1>62
and disappointment and privation of
the inexperienced, 75, 76. Descriji-
tion of the city of Victoria as it now
is, 77. Population, 77. Beaconliill
Park, 77. Walks and drives, 77.
Public buildings, 78. The streets and
houses, 78. Volunteer firemen, 79.
Theatre and drinking saloons, 79.
Police barracks, 79. Reading-room
and library, 79. Associations for
various purposes, 80. Foreigners in
the city, 80. Volunteer rifle corp';,
80. The newspaper press, 81. Religi-
ous bodies, 81. Miss Burdett Coutts's
endowment of the diocese, 81. Col-
leges and schools, 84. Manufiictorics
and joint stock companies, 85. G;is
and water supply, 85,86. The muni-
cipal council, 86. Sewage of the city,
86, 87. Want of open spaces, ST.
Banks, 87. Augmented value of town
property in Victcn-ia, 88. List of
trades and professions in Victoria, S9.
Victoria regarded as a free port, 9 I.
Importance of guarding the ci!y
against the introduction of customs'
duties, 93. Proposed union with
British Columbia as affecting tlie fVoo
port arrangement, 95. Comparative
prospects of Victoria and New West-
minster, 97. Amount of imports into
the port of Victoria in 18Gl-18(i:!,
106. Number and tonnage of vessels
entered at Victoria in 1861-1863, IdS.
Trade of Victoria with the Amerir;ni
States on the coast, 110. Its trade
with Sitka and M>-xieo, 111. T.iltle
of exports of English or .\nierieau
goods for the six months ending De-
cember 1863, 112, Exports from
Victoria to foreign ports during t!ie
month of October 1864, 113. Coni-
niercial capabilities of Victoria, 1 1 »;,

117. Advantages of direct trade wi ti,

118. Proposal for a depot for Euro-
pean goods, 119, 120. Effect of the
increasing customs' restrictions of
San Francisco upon the tradi- of
Victoria, 121. Facilities for return

574

INDEX.

VIL

carpjocs, 121, 1-23. Saw-mills and
fislieries, 121. Ship-biiiidinf? in Vic-
toria, 121. Prospective advantages
of trade with China and Japan, 122,
12.'J. I'ifFect of the commercial rela-
tions of Vancouver Island with other
countries on the trade of Victoria,
12.'5. An American view of the pro-
spects of Victoria as a probable rival
of San Francisco, 126. Other circum-
stances bearing on its future as a free
port, 126. Its proximity to the har-
bour of Esquimau, 127. Tlie proposed
sanitarium for invalided naval men,
128. Increasing value of land within
fifteen miles of Victoria, 191. The
voyage from Victoria to Fraser River,
21 .'i. Facilities of Victoria for becom-
ing a vast emporium for Eastern
commerce, 33.5. Importance of the
proposed interoceanic railway to Vic-
toria, 346. Varieties of the human
race represented in Victoria, 378.
The ultimate effect of this hetero-
geneous mixture of types upon the
character of the population, 380.
White society in the city, 398. Har-
bour dues, .525

Villages, Indian, 443

^'ine, cultivation of the, in California,
22

Volunteer rifle corps in Victoria, 81

WAGES, rates of, in Vancouver Is-
land and British Columbia, 499
Washington territory, table of exports
from Victoria to, in October 1864,
115. Population of, in 1850, and at
present, 126, 127. Coal-fields of,
142
Washoe, silver mines of, 26. Rapidity
of the rise of the town of. 27. The
Corastock gold lead at, 155
Water-suiiply in Victoria, 86
Wedding scene, an extraordinary, 402
Wellitij,ftonca gigantea, the, of Cali-
fornia, 24

ZKA

Wesk'vans, in New Westminster, 221.

Westminster, New, its pros])i'cts com-
pared with those of Victoria, 97.
Position of the city of, 216. Com-
parative quarterly statement of im-
ports into, 217. Shipping returns
and customs revenue, 218. Rates of
duties of customs now leviable at
New Westminster upon goods, &c.,
imported into British Columbia, 219.
Plan of the town, 219. Public build-
ings, 219. Places of worship, 220.
Schools, 220

Whales in the Gulf of Georgia, 168.
Tiie fishing grounds of the Norili
Pacific, 168. The Indian mode of
capturing the whale, 168 note. Pre-
sent rendezvous of North Pacific
whalers, 169

Wheat, prices of, in Vancouver Island,
197

Whiting caught off British Columbia,
167

Winds of Vancouver Island, 178

Wild fowl, abundance of, in the forests
of Vancouver Island, 189

Wild-Horse Creek diggings, 258

William's Creek, 229. Diggings at
Cariboo, 246

William's Lake, paths from, to Cariboo,
235

Witchcraft, Indian belief in, 440

Wolves in Vancouver's Island and Bri-
tish Columbia, 300

W^omen, openings for respectable, in
tlie colonies, 496. The dance round
a bonnet, 497

Woody Point, 50

TTALE, Fort, diggings at, 2-11

Yale, town of, 231

EALAND, New, trade of Victoria
with, 125

LOVDOK

rniN'TED nv spottiswoode and co.

NEW-STBEET SQUARE

RECENT BOOKS OF TRAVELS, ETC.

stminstcr, 221.
prospects coin-

Victoria, 97.
)f'. 21(5. Coni-
itcmcnt of iiii-
ipping rt'turns
218. Uati'sof
ow leviable at
on pood.s, &c.,
Columbia, 21!».

Public build-
■worsliip, 220.

Georf^ia, lf>8.

of the Norili
ndian mode of
168 note. Piv-
North raeific

Qcouver Island,

itish Columbia,

and, 178

if, in the forests

189

ings. 2.58

Diggings at

om, to Cariboo,

^f in, 440
Island and Bri-

respectable, iu
he dance round

at, 21 1

id(; of Victoria

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