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THE WORKS

0»

HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT.

THE WOKKS

HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT.

VOLUME XXXII.

HISTORY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

1792-1887,

SAN FRANCISCO:
THE HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.

1887.

Entered according to Act of Congress in tlio Year 1887, by

HUBERT H. BANCROFT,
In tlie Office of tlie Librarian of Congress, at Wasliington.

All Rhjhla Reserved.

PREFACE.

More than a century elapsed after a charter was
granted by Charles II. to Prince Rupert and a com-
pany of seventeen others, incorporated as the Governor
and Coinpany of Adventurers of England trading into
Hudson's Bay, before the first trading posts were built
among the almost unpeopled solitudes of British Co-
lumbia, or, as the Mainland was then termed. New
Caledonia. And yet it was but an accident that the
construction of these little picket-fenced enclosures
did not lead to the acquisition by Great Britain of an
empire no less valuable than is now the dominion of
Canada.

In 1579, Sir Francis Drake ancliored in the bay
that still bears his name on the coast of California, and,
m behalf of his sovereign, took possession of the coun-
try, which he called New Albion, this name being
afterward applied to all the territory northward from
Drake's Bay almost to the Columbia River. Long
before the first American settlers, bringing with them
their flocks and herds, had crossed the snow-clad
mountains which form the eastern boundary of Ore-
gon, forts and trading posts had been established in the
valleys of the Umpqua and the Willamette. Toward
the north the English claimed, by right of discovery,

(V)

PREFACE.

the country in the neighborhood of Nootka Sound.
Fmally, in 1840, a proposition was considered by the
manager of the Hudson's Bay Company to purchase
the Ross colony, estabhshed by the Russians on tlie
coast of New Albion. That the bargain was iiot
concluded was probably due to the fear of troul)losonic!
complications with the United States. Thus to the
right of discovery and prior occupation in the far north-
west would have been added the right of purchase,
and if, at the time of the gold excitement, a few years
later, the English had gained a foothold in the coun-
try, it is probable tliat they would have laid claim to a
part of the territory ceded by Mexico to the United
States m 1848.

Originally a mere portion of the vast game pre-
serve of the Hudson's Bay Company, little has been
handed down to us of the early records of British Co-
lumbia, although that little forms perhaps the most in-
teresting portion of its history. Among the sources
whence I have derived the information that I novr
lay before the reader, are valuable manuscripts handed
to me by some of the principal actors in the events
which they describe ; as, Roderick Finlayson, James
Deans, and Alexander Caulfield Anderson. For other
portions of my narrative, I Iiave also depended largely
on manuscripts, all of which have received due men-
tion in this volume.

In 1856 gold was discovered In the bed of the Fra-
ser River, and in 1857 the San Juan Island difficultv
was approaching a crisis. It was probably due in part
to both of these causes, and also to the fear that New
Caledonia, already largely occupied by Americans,
might be absorbed into the territory of the United
States, that, in 1858, an act was passed by the parlia-

PREFACE.

mcnt of Great Britain to provide for the government
of British Columbia, by which name was known there-
after the domain of England <mi the western mainland
of North America. And now the reign of the great
monopoly had come to an end. In the following year
Vancouver Island was constituted a separate colony,
and so remained until 18G6, when, on account of the
enormous expense of maintaining the mrdiinery of
government among a handful of people, the two de-
pendencies were merged into one.

Between 1802 and 1871 gold was shipped by the
l)anks of British Columbia toth.^ value of more than
$1G, (550,000, while the amount of treasure carried away
by miners from the several districts cannot be esti-
mated at less than $0,000,000. But though rumor
of golden sands and gold-bearing river-beds seldom
fails to attract hordes of fortune-hunters from all quar-
ters of the globe, such an element forn s by no means
a desirable addition to the pofiulation of a young, am-
bitious, and thriving colony. As in California, in Aus-
tralia, and in New Zealand, the wealth thus acquired
was seldom turned to good account; and little of it
remained to enrich the country whence it was gath-
ered, those who collected it becoming not infrequently
a burden on the more staid and industrious portion
of the community. To British Columbia Hocked a
heterogeneous gathering of adventurers from the east-
ern and western states, from S[)ain, from Mexico, from
California, from China, and from Australia. Thus the
necessity for some stable form of government to con-
trol this lawless and turbulent population made all the
more welcome to the settlers who had established there
a permanent home the organization of the two colonies
as a province of the dominion of Canada.

viii PREFACE.

As to geograpliical position, British Columbia has
tlic same advantages over the Pacific states and terri-
tories as the eastern provinces enjoy over the states
bordering on tlie Atlantic. As St John's in New-
foundland is nearer by some hundreds of miles to the
great commercial ports of northern Europe than is the
city of New York, so Victoria is nearer to the great
seaports of western Asia than is the city of San Fran-
cisco.

Not least amonc: the factors that contribute to the
wealth of British Columbia is the construction of the
Canadian Pacific railroad, completed in November
1885, at the expense and risk of the Dominion gov-
ernment. On tlie line of its route, and at points nearer
to the Pacific tlian to the Atlantic seaboard, are
immense tracts of fertile land, certain erelong to be
occupied as farms and cattle-ranges, while mineral
deposits of untold value await only tlie capital needed
for tlieir devolopment. Until the completion of this
road, the commerce of the province was comparatively
insiiifnificant : but that a K)rtion of the rich traffic l)e-
twecn Europe and Asia will eventuall}^ pass through
this territory, is almost beyond a peradventure.

Compared witli the riper development of California,
Oregon, and other Pacific states and territories,
British Columbia is yet only in her infancy; but that
a brilliant future awaits this province may safely be
predicted. As capital and labor are attracted to the
country, and botli can be obtained at reasonable rates,
the Mainland will be more fully explored, and its
valleys and plains made fit for settlement. Although
the afrricultural area is somewliat restricted, it is never-
tlieless sufficient to maintain a very considerable popu-
lation; and that population will increase, slowly per-

il'!

I'REFACK. Ix

haps and unsteadily at first, like tlio ebb and flow of
an advancing tide, there can be httle doubt. Mines,
of Avliich not even the outcroppings have yet been
touched, will be made to unfold their hidden treasures,
connnercial resources still latent will be developed,
and the farmer will gather from the unwilling soil
abundant harvests.

Already fleets are being despatched from harbors
which a few years ago were unoccupied. Already the
province ships to South America, to Clilna, and to
Australia her timber and spars; to Citilfornia, her
coal; to Englisli ports, her fish, her silver and lead;
and to all the world, her gold; recciA'ii g in I'ftnrn i.av
produce and provisions from the United Siat(.s, man-
uuioLiired goods from Faigland, and luxuries from
Europe and Asia.

But in reviewing the condition and prospects of
British Columbia, we must look beyond her limits, and
consider her as linked witli her sister colonies, with
Vancouver Island as one with herself, and with the
dominion of Canada, of wliich she is the voimuest
member. The com[)lction of the overland railroad has
riveted yet more closely the ])onds which unite all
British subjects, wherever their lot is cast, and tlie an-
ticipations held forth in the speech from the tlirone,
when first the Mainland was declared a colony, liave
already been measurably fulfilled. "I ho]!)e," said her
Majesty, "that this new colony on the J\vcitic may be
but one steji in the career of steady progress, by which
my domini(ms in North America may be ultimately
peopled, in an unbroken chain from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, by a loyal and industrious population."

00]SrTE:NTS OF THIS VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

SUMMARY OF E^iRLIEST VOYAGES.

The Spaniards on the Coast of British Columbia— Perez, Heceta, and Ar-^*"'
teaga— Expedition of James Cook— Hanna— Maurclle— La IVrouse
— Portlock and Dixon— Guise— Lowric— Barclay— Meares-Gray-
Kendrick— Martinez— Haro—Colnctt— iJouglas—Elisa— Quimper—
Galiano and Valdds— Bodega y Cuadra— Vancouver i

CHAPTER II.

GENERAL VIEW OP TUJ! NORTHWESX COAST.

Eastern Parallels— Configuration of Nortli-western America— British Co-
lumbia Coast— Pugct Sound— Vancouver Island- Queen Charlotte
Islands — Climatic Sections of the Mainland — New Caledonia-
Heights of Land— 'J'ho Columbia and Fraser Plateau Basin— Skeena
and Stikeen— Oregon, Washington, and Idaho -Nortlnvest Coast
Climates— The Temperature of Various Localities— Fauna and Flora
—The Aborigines— Attitudes of the Fur-traders and Settlers toward
the Natives— Peaceful Regime under the Great Monopoly- Tlio Chi-
noolj Jargon

CHAPTER III.

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN'.
1841.

Aboriginal British Columbia-Forts nnd Fur-traders-Systems of Com-
munication-Inherent Power of Civilization over Savagism-Fur-

trading Districts-Stations— Missionary and AgrieulturalScttlcmentii
—Interior I'orts— Coast Stations— Tlio ISi'itish and tlie Russian Fur
Companies- -Tlie Hudson's Bay Company's Circulating Lil.iary-
Joint Occupancy of the Northwest Coast by England and the United
States- Tlie Treaty Dividing the Dumain-Tho Northwest Coast Im-
mediately Prior to tlic Beginning of British Columbia History Pioper

(XI)

CONTENTS.

FAOK

— ^Visit of Douglas to the Several Posts — Sitka and Etholin — Quarrel
between Douglas and McNeill — Survey of the Stikeen and Tako Re-
gion — References for This and the Preceding Chapter 52

CHAPTER IV.

CAMOSUN AND ESQCIMALT.

1842.

(Necessities of a Northern Metropolitan Post — Encroachments of Settlers
on the Columbia — The Dividing Line — Growing Importance of Agri-
culture — The Question of Locality — A Northern Rendezvous for
Whalers — The Southern End of Vancouver Island — Its Advantageous
Position — Douglas Surveys the Harbors — Camosun and Esquimalt
Compared — Report of Douglas 78

CHAPTER V.

FOUNDING OF FOET CAMOStJN.

1843.

Expedition from Fort Vancouver — Source of Agricultural Supplies — ^Tho
Cowlitz Country — Embark on the Beaver — Visit to the ClalJams
— Anchor iu Camosun Harbor — Beauties of the Surroundings — Abo-
riginal Occupants — Selection of a Site — Two Points Attract Atten-
tion — Location Settled — The Jesuit, Bolduc — His Conference with
the Natives — The Fort-builders Begin Operations — Portentous Signs
— Bokluc Celebrates Mass — He Visits Whidbey Island — Douglas
Departs for Tako — Abandonment of Tliat Post, and also of Fort Mc-
Loughlin — Return of Douglas to Camosun with Reenforcoments —
The Stockade Erected — Arrival of the Cadboro — Ross Placed in Com-
mand — Departure of Douglas Avith the Beaver and the Cudboro ....

CHAPTER VI.

AFFAIRS AT CAMOSDN

1844.

Death of Commander Ross — Roderick Finlayson — Sketch of his Career^
At Forts Tako and Simpson — Bibliographical Note on his Manu-
script — His Character — First Cargo of Live-stock — The Savages
Make Game of the Cattle — Redress Demanded and Refused — War
Declared — Tsoughilam and Tsilaltiiacli with their Allies Attack the
Fort — Strategy of Finlayson— Bloodless Victory — The Pipe of Peace
is Smoked — Descriptions of the Fortress — Warre and Vaxasour —
Bcrtliold Scemaun — Finlaysou's Letter — James Deans — His Charac-
ter and Manuscript — Interesting and Minute Description of tlio Fort
— Under Orders of Douglas Fort Camosun was Built without a Nail.

102

CONTENTS.

xiii

CHAPTER Vn.

CAMOSDN, ALBERT, VICTOEIA.

1845.

fAOK

Extermination of Savage Nomenclature — Camosun Becomes First A1-'
bert, and then Victoria — Food Supply— Douglas' Motto, 'Great
Ends from Small Means '—Wooden Ploughs and Rope Harness—
A More Liberal Economy Sometimes Profitable— Outward-bound
Ships from England now Come Directly Hither— Whaling Fleets—
The Mission of the /tmcnca- Captain Gordon as a Sportsman— Hos-
pitality at Fort Victoria— • Fifty-four Forty or Fight '—More Ves-
sels of War at Victoria — Also Surveyors and Appraisers of Territories
—The Northwest Coast not Worth Fightuig for— Adventures of Paul
Kane— Fort Victoria in Early Days II7

CHAPTER Vni.

THE SHUSIIWAP CONi^PIKACT.
1846.

Kamloop— The Old Fort and the New— The Romance of Fur-trading—
The Lordly Aboriginal and his Homo— John Tod, King of Kamloop
—His Physique and Character— Lolo, a Ruler among the Shushwaps
—Who and What He was— His Kingdom for a Horse— Annual Sal-
mon Expedition to the Fraser— Information of the Conspiracy— Lolo
Retires from before his Friends— Tod to tlio Rescue— One Man
against Three Hundred— Small-pox as a Weapon— A Signal Victory
—Chief Nicola Measures Wits with Mr Tod— And is Found Want-
^S 134

CHAPTER IX.

Anderson's explorations.
1840-1847.
Nccessityof a New Route between the British Columbia Seaboard and New
Caledonia— Must be WhoUy within British Territory— Anderson Pro-
poses Explorations— Authority an<l Means Granted— Biograpicil and
Bibliographioal Note of Anderson and his Manuscript History— Sets
out from Alexandria— Proceeds to Kamloop— Thence Explores by
Way of Anderson and Harrison Lakes to Langlcy— Returns by Way
of the Co(iuihalla, Similkamoun, and Lake Nicola— Second Expedi-
tion along Thompson and Eraser Rivers— Back by Kcquelooso and
the New Similkameeu Trail— Report and Suggestions \57

CHAPTER X.

• YALE AND HOPE ESTABLISHED.

1848-184;).
Establishment on the Fraser at the Lauding of the Sachincos-Jaraes
Murray Yale— Causes Whicii Led to the Building of Fort Yale—

XIV

CONTENTS.

PAOB

Orders Given Interior Traders to Break their Way through to Laiig-
ley — Three Brigades Join for That Purpouc — The Route Chosen not
Satisfactory — Anderson's Proposal — Building of Fort Hope — A New
E«ute Attempted — It Proves Worse than the First — Joseph W. Mc-
Kay on the North Coast — Sharp Practice between English and Rus-
sian Traders — The Constance iu Northern Waters — Effect in British
Columbia of the California Gold Discovery — Bags of Gold-dust at
Fort Victoria — The Excitement in the Interior 171

CHAPTEE XI.

ESTABLISniNO F0ET3 KUPEUT AND NANAIMO.

1849-lSo2.
A New Factor, Coal — The Existence of This Mineral Known from the
Earliest Times — Pacific Coal-fields — Discovery at Beaver Harlior —
The Quackolls and the Fort McLoughlin Blacksmith — Tolniio Ap-
pears — The Notable John Dunn — Warro and Vavasour Report the
Discoverj' — Which Attracts tlio Attention of Government — Fort
Rupert Built — Muir and his Scotch Miners Arrive — Another Arrival
— Examinations and Tests — Failure at Fort Rupert — Discovery of
Coal at Nanaimo Harbor — Another Blacksmith Story — McKay to
the Proof — Muir Moves from Fort Rupert — I'ort Nanaimo Built —
Visit of Douglas — Minor Discoveries 185

CHAPTEE XII.

CKQWJT GRANT OF VANCODTER ISLAND TO THE UDDSON'S BAY COMPANY.

1849.

Spirit of Monopoly — The Adventurers of England More Jealous of Brit-
ish Subjects than of Foreigners — Colonization to bo Rctardod by
Favorin.Lj rather than by Opposing It— Tlic Grant Solicited as Early
as 1837 — W'oea of the Monopoly — Failure to Obtain the Oiraut at
This Time — Fur-hunting and Settlement Antagonistic — Tho Liquor
Traffic —The Company Apply fur the Grant — Startling Pio[)usal —
Inllucnco of United States Acquisitions on British Pacific Tenitory
— Piety a Plea fur Power — The Fur-trado and Colonization Again —
The Draft Perfected — Tlie Mainland — Preamble and Grant — Comli-
tious of Grant — Differences of Opinion respecting the Wisdom of
the Measure 'JO J

CHAPTER XIII.

THE COLONY OP VANCOUVER ISLAND UNDEU HUDSON'S BAY COMIMNY UEGIME.

1849-1S:>9.
Prospectus and Advertisement for Colonists — Qualifications of tlie Com-
pany for Colonizing — Objections Raised — Tiiey were Fur-traders —
And yet Tlicy had Ships and Money — The Puget Sound Company

CONTENTS.

would have a Share — No Easy Matter to Please All — Land One
Pound an Acre — The Scheme a Foreordained Failure — Price of Land
too High — The Gold-fields of Californin. One Cause of the Failure —
Vancouver Island in Parliament— The Earl of Lincoln, Lord F^lgin,
and Mr Gladstone on the Situation — New Attitude of the Hudson's
Bay Company in Relation to the Natives 223

CHAPTER XrV.

TWO ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

The Do'jtor and the Divine — Robert J. Staines — A Man of Frills— His
Ir.terview witli the King of tlie Hawaiian Islands— The Man Mis-
taken for the Master — His Arrival at Victoria — Mud — Parson and
School-teacher — Mrs Staines a Most Estimable Lady — Quarrel with
the Company — Joins the Settler's Faction — He Cultivates Swine—
The Settlers Steal his Pigs— Hot Litigations— His Sad End— The
Doctor-Colonist — John Sebastian Helmckcn — His Physique and
Cliaracter — Enters Politics — Accepts Ollicc under the Governor —
Discovers his Mistake — And Becomes a Supporter of the ^lonopolists 238

185

CHAPTER XV.

SETTLEMENT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

1S49-1857.
What are Settlers? — Not Fur-traders — Nor Coal-miners — Nor yet tho
Nootka Diplomatists — The Mainland not Included in the Coloniza-
tion Scheme — The Mormons Cast an Eye upon the Island — Woman.
Hed and White — Tho Monopolists Seize McKenzie, Skinner, McAu-
ley, and Parsons — Bona Fide Settlers Obliged to Take What They can
Get — W. Colquhoun Grant— His Settlement at Solco Harbor — Lease
to Tliomas ilunroe — Grant Sells Soke to the Muirs — James Cooper,
Sailor, Trader, and Agriculturist — Builds One of tho Many First
Vessels— He Takes up Land at Mctchosin — Thomas Blenkhorn —
Tho Ilarjiooner, Xormnn Morrison, and the Tori/ Bring Settlers —
The Town of Victoria Laid out — Wails from Fort Victoria — James
Dcnna Arrives— Baillie and Langford — Progress of Settlement 217

20'J

ME.

CHAPTER XVI.

GOVERNMENT KSTADLISIIED.

1850-1852.
James Douglas Nominated by Sir John Pelly for Governor— Earl Grey
Rcfu><en to Appoint Him — Richard Blanshard Chosen— His Arrival
at Victoria — Reads his Commission — Visits Fort Rupert— Relative
Attitudes of the Governor and tlio Fur Company — Ruler of the
Queen's Wilderness— Settlers and Subji^cts — No Material for a Coun-
cil — Nomination of Council Postponed — John Sebastian llelmcken

XVI

CONTENTS.

FAOI

Appointed Magistrate at Fort Rupert — The Murdered Deserters —
Character of Blanshard — His Unpleasant Position — Heavy Expenses
and III Health — What the Settlers Think of It — Blanshard Appoints
a Council, Resigns, Shakes the Dust from his Feet, and Departs
from the Island — James Douglas Appointed Governor 263

CHAPTER XVII.

JAMES DOUGLAS.

Birth and Education — Enters the Service of the Northwest Company —
Friendship of McLoughlin — Opportunity — What He should Know —
His Life in New Caledonia — Overcome by Love — ^Mcets and Marries
Nclia Connolly — Establishes Fort Connolly — His Attention to Busi-
ness and liis Strict Obedience — Becomes Chief Trader — Then Chief
Factor — Visits California — Accountant and General Superintendent
of Forts — Active in the Establishment of Fort Victoria — His Cold-
ness toward Emigrants — Quarrels with McLoughlin — Removes to
Victoria — Is Made Governor — And Knighted — Visits Europe — Phy-
siijue and Character — Douglas and McLoughlin Compared 285

CHAPTER XVin.

THE ISLAND UNDER DOUGLAS.
18J1-1S59.

Reconciliation of Antagonistic Elements — The Terms of Settlement Un-
just and Impolitic — The Inauguration of Government Premature —
No (n)vuniinucnt but the Best Government — Continuance of the
Domination of tlie Monopoly — The Puget Sound Company — Provis-
ions of tlio Crown Grant in Regard to Government — Expiration of
the Fii'st Five-year Term and Renewal — The Offices of Governor
and Magistrate at First United — Illegality of Delegating Imperial
Autliority to a Colonial Governor in Council — Organization of a
House of Assembly — Farcical Perfonnauccs of the First Legislators —
The Wild Beasts and Savages Survive the Result — Touching Dis-
play of l'\iinily AlTectiou in the Manipulation of Government Allairs
— Douglas Compelled to llelinquish Some Portion of his Honors and
Emoluments 310

CHAPTER XIX.

THE JUDICIAKY.

1853-1859.
The Questions of Vancouver Island Government and Justice in Home
Political Circles— There is No Money in It — And tliercfore They may
Safely bo Left to Themselves — IMaushard, tlie First Governor, Like-
wise the FirstJudge — Douglas as a Man-t:iiner and Mcasurerof Retri-
bution — T.'o Thetis and the T r'uicomalce Expeditions — Bloodless

CONTENTS.

xvil

PAOS

Victory over the Cowicbins— The Brigheat Virtue of James Douglas-
David Cameron ]Made Chief Justice— His Antecedents, Duties, and
End— His Successors, Needham and Begbie — Revenue — Land and
Liquor—The Mighty Power of Rum 329

CHAPTER XX.

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

1858.
Gold! Hail All-powerful and Most Worshipful!— Its Presence not Se-
crctly Known to the Fur-traders — Discovery on Vancouver Island
—On Queen Cliarlotto Islands— On Skeena River— In the Cascade
Mountains of A\'ashington — At Colvillo — At Kamloop— On Thomp-
son River- On Frascr River— The Tidings Spread- The Matter
Laid before Government— Eflfect on California— Rush to the Mines —
Routes and Methods of Transportation— Whatcom versus Victoria —
Trail-making— Overland Expeditions — Licenses and Imposts — Effect
on the Fur-traders j 341

CHAPTER XXI.

DEATH OF THE MONOPOLY — THE COLONY OF BKITISH COLUMBIA ESTABLISHED.

1857-1858.
Shall the Charter be Renewed?— Discussion of the Question in Parlia-
ment— Referred to a Select Committee— Who Think the Charter
should not be Renewed— Gold aa a Revolutionist — Douglas Stands
by for England— Lato Fur Factors— Dugald McTavish— William
Charles — The Hudson's Bay Company's License of Exclusive Trade
with the Natives of the Mainland Revoked— Repurchase of the
Island of Vancouver by the Imperial Government — Change of Com-
pany Organization— Canada Purchases Rupert Land and tlic Nortli-
west Territory- Liberal and Humane Policy of the Company in
Regard to Gold-seekers and Speculators 37G

CHAPTER XXII.

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.
1S5S-1S03.

Authority at Victoria Disregarded by the First Comers— Douglas Looks
into Affai's- What the Natives Think of It— Douglas as Law and
Magistrate Maker— Indian Wars— Overtures of the Imperial Govern-
ment to Douglas— Roveiuic— Loan— Public Lauds- ^Miners' License
— Tlie British Ci-y Economy— Putting Things in Order— The Unau-
thorized Acts of Douglas Legalized— Arrival of British Vessels of
War— Men of Autliority Appear— Tlie United States Represented
—Inauguration of tlio Goverucr at Langley— The Moody-McGowau
Affi-ay— New Westminster Founded— Officers of tho New Govern-

inent — Smuggling

Hist. Dun. Col. 6

3Si

XVUl

CONTEXTS.

CHAPTEE XXIII.

ADMINISTRATION OF J0STICE.

I80G-I88O.

PAOB

Justice without Form — Inauguration of the Judiciary System — Jurisdic-
tion of Canadian Courts Withdrawn — Pearkca Drafts a Plan for the
Mainland — Lytton Refers the Matter to Begbie — The Gold-fields
Act — Appointment of Matthew Baillio Bcghie — On Uniting the
Courts Disestablished and Reorganized — Need ham Declines to Re-
tire — Two Courts Both Supreme — Character of Begbie — Ho Assists
Douglas in Organizing Gos'ernment — Justice at Cariboo — Jurors
Rebuked — Stipendiary Magistrates — Justice at Kootenai and Met-
lalikatlah — Convict Labor— Nobles along the Border — Vigilance
Committee 419

■4

CHAPTEE XXIV.

FIl.iSEB IIIVEB MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

1S58-1878.
New Developments in the History of Mining — Character of the Mines —
Mining Towns — Sluicing at Hope and Yale — Routes to the Diggings
— Steam on the Fraser — Boats Ascend to Hope and Yale — Extension
of Mining Area — Rush to Lytton — Roads — Prospectors Push North-
waril — Bars Named — Field — Region Round Lilloet — Fountain, Ca-
noe, Quesnel, and Thompson Mines — Quartz on Cherry Creek — The
Jilines of the Fraser Valley — Character of the Dry-diggings — Terrace
Composition — Gold Distribution and Yield 438

CHAPTEE XXV.

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

Cariboo Region — Its Deposits — New Mining Era — Golden Dreams —
Early Developments — Roads and Mountain Trails — The Great Pros-
pectors — Tlie Influx — Quesnel River Mines — Horsefly and Qucsnel
Lake — Keithley and its Town — Harvey and Cunningham Creeks —
^Vntlcr Creek Riches— Grouse Creek 47i

CHAPTEE XXVI.

MIXING IN CARIBOO.

18G3-18S2,

Rise of William Creek — Rich Discoveries — Large Yield — Decline — Deep
Mining — Marysville Lead — Drainage Operations — Richfield — Mos-
quito and Mustang Creeks — Outskirt Placers — Lightning Creek —
Van Winkle— Decline and Revival — Lowhee — Canon Creek and its
Quartz — Character of Cariboo Veins — Summary of Yield — Cariboo
Life— The Low and the Intellectual 495

CONTENTS.

PAOB

419

CHAPTER XXVII.

UPPER COLUMBIA JIIXE3.

18C4-1882.

PAGE

Columbia River Deposits -Fine-goM Theory -Ancient River-beds-
Early Diggings— Kootenai Excitement- Wild Horse Creek— Sas-
katchewan Expedition-Perry Creek-IIydrauIics-Subordinate Dis-
tricts, Forty-nine Creek, Mooyio River-Big Bend-Routes and In-
flux— Prencli, McCulloch, and Games Creeks-Later Exploration-
Extent of the Auriferous Region— Terrace Gravels— Rock Creek-
Okanagan and Similkanicen Districts r..^

iJ-.L>

CHAPTER XXVIII.

GOLD DISCOVEUIES IX THE FAR NORTH.

1SC1-I882.
OminecaCouutry-Peaco River Prospected-Government Expedition-
Prospecting Cl.ase-Vitale Creek-Omineca Overrated-Germansen
Cieek— Sluicing— Mansou and Lost Creeks- Finlay River— The
Skeena and Coast Placers-Prospects of Settlements-Cause of Do-
clme-The Stikeen Explored-Thibert's Discovery-Cassiar Placera

— Dease Lake Tributaries ..„

0-13

43S

47i

CHAPTER XXIX.

COAL.

Coal-bearing Formations East and West-California, Oregon, and Wash-
ington Fields Compared-British Columbia Coal-bearing Formations
-Bituminous, Lignite, and Anthracite-Brown's Localities-Rich-
ardson s Irough-Beaver Harbor-Quatsino Harbor-Nanaimo-The
Aanaimo Coal Company-Tho Vancouver Company-The Wellinff-
ton Company-Progress of Development at Nanaimo-Dunsmuir's
Adventuies-Thc Nanaimo Stone Quarry -The Harewood Miue-
Uorkingsof the Vancouver Colliery-Queea Charlotte I^lan.ls An-
thracite-Attempted Develop.nent of th. Mines-Brown and Rich-
ardson s Vxsits-Claudet and Isherwood's Analyses-Comox and
Bayno Sound-Developments-Discovcries on the Mainland-Minis-
ters Reports-Statutory Regulations-Summary . . ^g^

13-
00

495

CHAPTER

UNION AND CONFEDEUATION.

1SC3-1S7I.
A Legislative Council Organized for British Columbia-Inaugural Ad-

pZel ?'7Z ''''T'-' '^^'^"^ I^-Pon— Separate r' ler Ap-
point d for the Two Colonies-A Cordial Leavctakin.-Review of
Douglas Administration-Regime of Frederick S-.^uo^r- Excessive

CONTEXTS.

PAoa
Taxation— Union of the Colonics — The British North America Act —

Antliony Musgravo Governor — British Columbia a Province of the

Dominion — A Legislative Assembly Substituted for the Council —

Condition of the Province- -Indian Policy of the United States and

of Great Britain 582

CHAPTER XXXI

THE SAN J CAN ISLAND DIFFICtTLTY.

1854-1872.

The Archipelago do Haro — San Juan Island Occupied by the Hudson's
Bay Company — Customs Dues Demanded lor the United States —
Commissioners Appointed — Their Arguments — Indian Troubles —
The Affair of the Hog — A Military Post Established by General
Harney — Ari'ival of British Men-of-war — And cf the U. S. Steamer
MasHachusctts — Protest of Douglas — Harney's Bcply — Landing of
U. S. Troops— Casey's Trip to Esquimalt — Its Result — A Compro-
mise Offered by Lord Lyons — Attitude of President Buchanan — Gen-
eral Scott Ordered to the Pacific Coast — Negotiations — Harney
Recalled — Arbitration and Decision C05

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

1S71-1S74.
The Tide of Westward-bound Migration — Reasons for and against the
Railway Project — The Bill Carried in the Commons — Resolution
Passed by the Canadian Parliament — Policy of the British and Cana-
dian Governments — Preliminary Surveys — The Hugh Allan Con-
tract — A Modest Demand — The Contract Annulled — Change of
Administration — James D. Edgar's Negotiations — Their Failure and
its Cause — Mackenzie's Railway Scheme — Objections to his Project.

G40

CHAPTER XXXin.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC K.VILWAT.

1874-1885.

The Carnarvon Terms — Their Acceptance — Defeat of the Esqaimalt and
Nanaimo Railway Bill — Tlie Provincial Legislature's Petition to her
Majesty — Rejoinder of the Dominion Government — Visit of the Earl
of Dufferin — His Speech at Victoria — Threats of Secession — A Sec-
ond Petition to the Queen — Proposed Annexation to tiie United
States — One More Petition — Contract with the Syndicate — Engineer-
ing Difficulties — Poi-t Moody — Reasons for its Selection as the Ter-
minus — Completion of tJie Line — A Costly Undertaking — The Road
Built as a National Highway CGI

CONTENTS.

XXI

PAQB

. 582

ral
icr
of
ro-
eu-
icy

005

CHAPTER XXXrV

POLITICS AND GOVEKNMENT.

1S70-188G.

PA(jB

The Victoria and Esquimalt Railway — Protest of the Mainland Popula-
lation — The Carnarvon Club — Secession or the Carnarvon Terms —
Defeat of the Elliott Ministry — A Lively Debate — The Legislature
Votes for Separation — Discontent in the Capital — Cornwall Ap-
pointed Chief Magistrate — Government of British Columbia — The
Suffrage — Proceedings of the Legislature — The Judiciary G96

CHAPTER XXXV.

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDCCATION.

18G1-1886.
Victoria — The Ubiquitous Chinaman — Esquimalt — Nanaimo — The Victo-
ria Coal, Mining, and Land Company — New Westminster — Langley —

Lytton — Savona'a Ferry — Kamloop — Clinton — Barkerville — Yale

Indian Missions and Missionaries — Metlakathla— Forts — Indifference
of the Provincial Government — Civilization of the Native Tribes —
Churches — Charitable Societies — Public Scliools — Journalism Li-
braries J07

the
tion
ma-

^011-
3 of

and
ect. G40

CHAPTER XXXVI.

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.
1880-1S86.

Agricultural Areas — Public Lands— Stock-raising — Fruits — Fisheries

Salmon-canning — Manufactures — Gold-mining — Coal-mining — The
Alaska Boundary — Exports and Imports— Comparison with Other

Provinces — Banking — Insurance — Shipping — Inland Navigation

Revenue and Expenditure — Public Debt— Comparison of Customs
Returns— Elements of Prosperity— Biographical— Bibliograhical .... 7-10

Index 77-

band
o h.er
! Earl
. Sec-
uited
inecr-
iTer-
Road

GGl

AUTIIOrJTIES QUOTED

I\ TITK

HISTORY or lililTISll COLUMBIA.

A1)-sa-ra-ka, Homo of the Crows, rhiladelpliia, ISG8.

Allen (Alexanilur), Cariboo and the Mines of British Columbia. MS.

Anderson (Alexander Caultield), Dominion at the West. Victoria, 187-; Hand-
book and Map to the (rold ^■' a'""- San Francisco, ISuS; Notes on the
Indian Tribes of British North America. In Historical Mag., March
1803, I'.i; I\otes on North Western America. Montreal, 187(i.

Anderson (Alexander CaulKeld), North-West Coast History. M8.

Anderson (.Fames), Letter to Sir George Simpson. In Lond. Geog. Soc, Jour.,
xxvi. 18.

Annals of British Legislation. London, 185G et seq, 4:to.

Applegate (Jesse), Views of Oregon History. MS.

Armstrong (A. N.), Oregon. Cliicago, 1857.

Arrowsmith (.rohn), Map of the Provinces of British Columbia and Vancouver
Island. London, 18.")9.

Astoria, Or., A.storian, Marine Gazette.

Atlantic Monthly. Boston, 1858 et se(j.

Ballantyne (Robert M.), Hudson's Bay. Edinburgh, 1848

Ballou (William T.), Adventures. MS.

Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Alaska.

Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of California.

Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Nevada.

Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Northwest Coast.

Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Oregon.

Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

Bancroft (Hubert Howe), Native Races of the I'acitic States. New York,
1875. 5 vols.

Bancroft (Hubert Howe), Popular Tribunals.

Bancroft Library MSS. Scrap-books containing classified notes used in writ-
ing Bancroft's works.

Bancroft Library Newsi)aper Scraps, classified imder the following headings:
British Columbia, Fisheries, Shipping and Navigation, Trade and Com-
merce.

Bancroft's Hand-Book of Mining. San Francisco, 18G1.

Barkersville, Cariboo Sentinel.

Barrett-Lennard (C. E.„ Travels in British Columbia. London, 1862.

Bayley (C. A. ), Vancouver Island Early Life. MS.

Begbie (Matthew B.), Jouniey into the Interior of British Columbia, In
Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., xxxi. 2.37.

Blanshard (Ricliard), Vancouver Island. Despatches, 20 Dec. 1849 to 30 Aug.
1851. New Westminster, n. d.

Bolduc (J. B. Z.), Letter to Mr Cayenne, 15 Feb. 1844. In De Smet's Or,
Misaions, 51.

(xxlii)

XXlV

AUTHORITIES QUOTED.

■#

Springfield, 186G; Oiir New West.

Victoria,

Bowles (Samuel), Acror^a the Continent.
Hartford, etc., ISlJl).

British Columbia Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Reports.
IS7S ct seq.

British Columhia, Guide to the Province of. Victoria, 1877.

British Columbia, Memorial in Connection with the Oiiiiiioca Road Petition,
n. pi , n. d.

British Columbia Milling tand Mining Company, Prospectus. Victoria, 1878.

British Cohunbia Mining Stock Board. Constitution. Victoria, 1878.

British Columbia Public Documents cited in my notes by their titles and
dates, the title consisting of 'British C(>lund)ia,' followed by one of the
following lieadiugs: Acts; Collection of Acts, Ordinances, and Proclama-
tion; Consolidated Statutes; Correspondence on the Custom Stations
between Mctoria and Kootenay; Expenditure; Indian Land Question;
Journals of Legislative Assembly; .Itmrnalsof Legislative Council; Lamls
and ^\'o^ks; List of Voters; Minister of Mines' Reports; Ontinances;
Overland Coach Road; Papers Relating to Aflairs — Furtiier I'apers; i'ublic
Scliodls; Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages; Sessional I'apers;
Statutes.

British Columbia Railway Question, Opinions oi the English Press. Victoria,
1877.

British Columbia Sketches. i\lS.

British Nor '- America. London, n. d.

British Xoii . American I'rovinees, Correspondence respecting the Proposed
Union — Further I'apers. Loudon, ]8()7, folio.

British Xortli-AVest Aii>ericaii Enn,i;rants Settlement Association, n. pi., n. d.

Brown (R. C. liumlin), British C(dund)ia — An Essay. New Westminster,
ISGIt; British Columbia, The Indians and Settlers at Lilloet. London,
1870.

Brown (Robert), Geographical Distribution on Coal Fields of N. Pacific Coast.
Edinburuh, ]8(')'.!; On the Formation of Fjords, Canons, Benclus, etc. In
Lond. (leog. Soc, Jour., xxxix. I'-'o; S'ancouver Island Exploration.
\"ict(iria, ]8t'>-4.

Browne (J. Ross), Lower California. See Taylor; Report upon the Mineral
Resources of the States and Territories West of the Rocky Mountains.
AVashirgton, ]8(i7; Washini;ton, JSliS; San Francisco, 1808.

Bnlliucli ('l'hi)nias), Oregon and Fl l)orado. Boston, lS(i().

Burnett (I'ltcr 11.), Recollections and Opinions ot an Old Piouccx'. New
York, 1880.

Burnett (I'eter }l.), Recollections of the Past. MS. 2 vols.

Butler (W. F.), The 'WUd North Land. Philadeliiliia, 1874.

Caldwell (Robert), The Gold Era of Victoria. London, IS.lo.

California Academy of Silences, Proceedings fif the. S. F., ISoS ct scq.

I'anatla, llan..l>ook of Information for Intending Emigrants. Ottawa, 1877.

Canada I'ublic Documents cited in my notes by their titli's and dates, the
title consisting of ' Canada ' followed l)y one of tiie following lieaiUngs:
Addresses of (Jovernor; Agrieidtnre; Canal Eidargemeiit; Census: Coal
Trade; Customs; Debates of the House of ('ominous; Estimates; Extra-
dition of Prisoners; (leologieal Survey, Sehvyn (.\. R. C.), Director;
Reports of Progress, etc.; ln\migration and Colonization; Inland Reve-
nues; Ins\iranee; Interior; Lake Superior and Red River Settlement;
Ligiits; Marine and Fislieries; ^lessage Relative to the Terms of
Union; Meteoi'ologieal Magnetic; Militia; Navigable Streams; Northwest
Mounted I'oliee; I'ostmaster General; Public Accounts; Public Works;
Secretary of State; Statistics; Trade and Navigation.

Canadian l\.cific Railway, Saiulford Fleming, Engineer .n Chief. Correspon-
dence relating to. n. pi., n. <1.; Maps and Charts; Papers ccmnected with
the awariling of Section Fifteen. Ottawa, 1877; Reports 1872 ct seq.
Ottawa, 1872 ct seq.

AUTHORITIES QUOTED.

XXV

Canadian Parliamentary Companion, 1S74. Montreal, 1874.

Carilioo, The Newly Discovered Gold Fields of British Columbia. London,

1802.
Caril)oo Quartz Mining Compiiny, Memoranda. Victoria, 1878.
Cartography of the Pacific Coast. MS. folio. 3 vols.
Chicago Academy of Sciences, Transactions. Chicago, 1809 et seq.
Chinook Jargon, Dictionary of. 01ynii)ia, 1873; Portland, 1878; Victoria,

n.d. ; Vocabulary. San Francisco, 18(J0.
Chittenden (Newtou H.), Travels in JJritish Columbia and Alaska. Victoria,

188-2.
Churcliill (J. D,), and J. Cooper, British Columbia and Vancouver Island.

Loudon, 1800.
Claudet (F. (!.), Gold. New Westminster, 1871.
Columbia Mission, Occasional Paper. London, 1801; Pastond Address, n.pl.,

1804; Reports 1804 ct scq. London, 1804 ct scq.
Coniptou (P. :■«'.), Forts ancl Fort Life. M??.
Cooic (James), Troisiome Voyage i\, I'Oceau Pacifiquo en 1770-80. Paris,

178,"). 4tr>. 4 vols.
Cook (James), Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, 1770-80. London, 1784. 4to.

H vols, plates' in folio; London, 1784. 4to. 4 vols; Phila. 1818. 2 vols.
Cooper (.!:i;;ies), Maritime Matters. MS.

Cooper I .iihl and Silver Mining Company, Memorandum. Victoria, 1878.
Cornwallis (Kinalian), The New Kl Dorado. London, ISoS.
Coiirtercy (H. C.), Rritisli Colnnd)ia Mines. MS.
Cox (Ross), Adventures on the Columbia River. London, 1831. 2 vols; Nov

V.n-k, 1832.
Cridge (K.), Characteristics of .lames Douglas. MS.
Crosiiy {II. R. ), The San Juan Ditticulty. lu Overland, ii. 201.

Dallas (A. (r.), San Juan, ^Uaska, and the North-VVcst BouudiUv. JLiondon,
1873.

Dalles (Or.), Mountaineer.

Dawson ((Jeorge M.), (tencral Note on the !Mines and Minerals, n.pl., 1877;
Note on Some of the Most Recent Changes in Level ol' Coast, n.pl., 1877;
Notes on the (Jlaciation of IJiitish Columbia. In Canadian Naturalist,
vtd. ix., no. 1; Re'port of Fxiihirations in Kritisli Columbia. In Canada
(ii'ologieal Survey, 187.")-f>, 2.33; Supertieial <leology of IJritisii Colum-
bia, n.pl., 1878; Travelling Notes on the Surface Geology of the Pacific
Coast, n.pl., 1878.

Deans (.lames;,, N'ancouvcr Island. MS.

De Cosuios (Aiiuir), Britisl", Cobunbia ( bivernments. MS.

De Cosmos (Amor), Sjiei.ch on Dc Horsey "s Report, Feb. 18, 1878, Ottawa,
1878; Spei'ch on KMiuinialt Graving Dock and Caiuidiau Pacific R. R.,
Feb. 21, 1878. Ottuw;\, bS78.

De <i root (Henry ^ British (A)lumbia; its Condition and Prospects, etc. San
Francisco, i8.i!).

De Smet (P. J.), Letters and Sketclie.i. Pliiladelphia, 1843; Missions .lo
rOregon. (iand, n.d.; Oregon Missions. New York, 1847; Voyages au.f
Montagues Rocheuses. LiUe, 18.")1); Western Missions and Missionaries.
New York, 1803.

Directories, British CoUunbia and Victoria, Howard and Barnett; Victoria,
.Mallaudaiii >.

Dodge (Richard Irving), The Plains of the Great West. New Y'ork, 1877.

Douglas (Sir James), Addresses ami Memorials upon the Occasion of the
Retirenu'iit of. Victoria, bS()4.

Douglas (Sir .lames). Diary of Gold Discovery on Frascr River. In Douglas'
Private Papers. MS.

Douglas (Sir James), Journal, 1840-1. MS.

Douglas (Sir James), OlUcial Correspondence, In Cornwallis' New El Dorado,
317.

XXVI

AUTHORITIES QUOTED.

Douglas (Sir James), Private Papers. Ist and 2il series. MS. 2 vols.

Douglas (Sir James), Voyages to the North West Coast. In Id. Journal.

Douglas (William), A Summary Historical and Political of the British Set-
tlements in North America. London, 1755; Voyage of the Iphhjenia.
In !Meares' Voy. Edit. Lond., 1790.

Downio ( W. ), Explorations in Jarvis Inlet and Desolation Sound. In Lond.
Geog. Soc, Jour., xxxi. 249.

Dunn (John), History of the Oregon Territory. London, 1844; The Oregon
Territory and the British N. American Fur Trade. Philadelphia, 1845.

Edinburgh Review. Edinburgh, 1802 et seq.

Elisa (Francisco), Voyage 1791, Extracts from. In Papers relating to Treaty

of Wash., V. 176; also in Reply of the United States, 97.
Evans (Elwood), Re-annexation of British Columbia to the United States.

Olympia, 1870.
Evans (P^lwood), Eraser River Excitement. MS. and Scraps.
Evans (Elwood), History of Oregon. MS.
Evans (Taliesin), British Columbia. In Overland, iv. 258.

Ferry (J. M.), and G. J. Wright, Map and Guide to Cariboo Gold Mines.

San Francisco, 18G2.
Fery (Jules), Gold Searches. MS.
Findlay (Alexander G.), Directory for the Navigation of the Pacific Ocean.

London, 1851.
Finlayson (Roderick), Vancouver Island and Northwest Coast. MS.
Fitzgerald (James Edward), Charter and Proceedings of Hudson Bay Co.,

with Reference to Vancouver's Island. London, 1849.
Flemmg (Sandford), Memorial of the People of Red River to the British and

Canadian Governments. Ottawa, 18(53. See Canadian I'acific Railway.
Forbes (Cliarles), Vancouver Island; its Resources and Capabilities. A'ic-

toria, 18(32.
Foster (J. W.), The Mississippi Valley. Chicago, 1809.
Franchere (Gal)riel), Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of Amer-
ica, 1811-14. Redfield, 1854.
Eraser (Simon), First Journal from April 12 to July 18, ISOO. MS
Eraser (Simon), Letters, 1806-7. MS

Eraser (Simon), Second Journal from May 30 to June 10, 1808. MS.
Fremont (John C), Narrative of Exploring Expedition to Rockv Mountains.

New York, 1849.

Gibbs (George), Indian Affairs, Report on, March 4, 1854. In Pac. R. R.
Repts., 1. 402.

Good (John B. ), British Columbia. MS.

Good (John B.), St Paul's Mission, n.pl., n.d.

Goodyear (W. A.), Coal Mines of the Western Coast of the U. S. San Fran-
cisco, 1877.

frrant (George M.), Ocean to Ocean. Canada, 1873; Toronto, x877.

Grant (W. C ), Description of Vancouver Island. In Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour.,
xxvii. 2(iS; Remarks on Vancouver Isli.;ul. In Lond. Geog. Soc, Jour.,
xxxi. 208.

Gray(W. H.), A History of Oregon, 1792-1849. Portland, 1870.

(Treenhow (Robert), History of (.)regon anil California. Boston, 1844; Lon-
don, 1844; Boston, 1845; New York, 1845; Boston, 1847.

Grover (Liifayette), Oregon, Notable Things. MS.

Hakluyt Society. Hudson's Bay, Geography of. London, 1850.

Hancock (Samuel), Thirteen Years' Residence on the Northwest Coast. MS.

Hansard (T. C. ), Parliamentary Debates from 1803. Lontlon, 1812-77. [S.

E. Law liibrary.l
Harmon (Daniel Williams), Voyages and Travels in the Interior of North

America. Andover, 1820.

AUTHORITIES QUOTED.

xxvu

Harnett (Legh), Two Lectures on British Columbia. Victoria, 1868.

Harper's New Montlily Magjvzine. New York, 185<3 et 8ef|.

Harvey (Arthur), A Statistical Account of British Columbia. Ottawa, 1867.

Harvey (Mrs Daniel), Life of John McLoughliu. MS.

Hayes (Benjamin), Scrap Books, 1S50-74. 129 vols. Mining. 13 vols.

Hazlitt (William Carew), British Columbia and Vancouver's Island. London,
1858; (ireat Gold Fields of Cariboo. London, 1862.

Hector, Mining in the Upper Columbia River Basin.

Hines (Henry Youle), Assmiboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition.
Toronto, 1859, folio; Canadian Red River Expedition, etc. London,
1800, 2 vols. ; I'apcrs relative to the Exploration of the Country, Reports
of Progress. London, 1859, folio. 2 vols.

Hines (Gustavus), Oregon and its Institutions. New York; Oregon: Its His-
tory, Condition, etc. Euflfalo, 1851; Voyage round the World. Buffalo,
1850.

Historical Magazine and Notes and Queries. Boston, etc., 1857-09. 15 vols.

Hittell (Jolin S.), The Commerce and Industries of the Pacific Coast. Sun
Francisco, 1882. 4to.

Honolulu, Folynesian, 1857 et seq. ; Sandwich Island News, 1840 et a&i.

Hooper (W. H.), Ten ^lonths among the Tents of the Tuski. London, 1853.

Horetzky (C'liarles), Canada on the Pacific. Montreal, 1874.

Howard and Burnett. See Directories. British Columbia and Victoria.

Howison (N. M.). Report on Coast, Harbors, etc., of Oregon 1840. [30th
Cong., IstSfss., H. Miss. Doc. 29.] Washington, 1848.

Hudson's Bay Company, Extent and Value of Possessory Rights. [Montreal,
134',)J; Plans Referred to in tlie Report from the Select Comnuttee.
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Hudson's Bay Company's Charter and License to Trade. Papers relative to.
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Hudson Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural Companies, Britisli and Ameri-
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Hunt's Merchant's Magazine. New York, 1839 et seq.

Imray (James F.), Sailing Directions for the West Coast of N. America. Lon-
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Johnson (U. B.), Very Far West Imleed. Loudun, 1872.

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Knight's Scrap Books, A Cullection of 40 vf)lumes.

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xxviii AUTHORITIES QUOTED.

Lewis (Herbert George), Reiniuiscencea in British Columbia Sketches. MS.

Lewis (Meriwether), ami William Clarke, Expedition to the Sourcts of the
Missouri and I'acitio Ocean, 1804-G. Philadelphia, 1814. 2 vols.; New
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2 vols

1> !

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AIS.
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isia

Marysvillo (Cal.), Appeal, Telegrapli.

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AUTHORITIES QUOTED.

XXIX

Mofifat (Hamilton), Journal of a Tour across Vancouver Island to Nootka

Sound. In Pi;ml)ertoir.s V. I., 14:}.
Morgan (I ewis H. ), Tlio Aniuriean lJuaver and his Works. Philadelphia, 1S7S.
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I .SOU.
New Tacoma, North Paeitic Coast Times.
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Paeilic Herald, (Government Gazette, Mainland (Guardian, New Reimldic

.Idui'iial.
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Oreiron City, Enterprise, Oregon Argus, Spectator.
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Papers relating to the Treatv of ^Vasllington, vol. v., Berlin Arbitration.
Washington, 1872.

Parker (Sanniel), .Journal of an Exphiring Tour lievoud the Roek\' Mountains.
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Post (Aaron), Statement. In \'ictoria (lazeLte, July 4, 1858.

(vhi'.rterly Review. London, 180',) et scip

Rattray (Alexander), Vancouver Island and British Cohunbia. Lond., 1842,
Rawliiigs (Timmas), TlieConiederationof tint British N. American Provinces.
Loudon, lN(i5.

{

III

XXX

AUTHORITIES QUOTED.

Red River Settlement, Correspomlence Relative to the Recent Disturbances
in. London. 1870. folio.

Reniy (Jules), and Julius IJrenchley, a Journey to Great-Salt-Lake City.
London, 18t»l. 2 vols.

Reply of the United States to the Case <- : the Government of Her Britannic
Majesty, n. pi., ii.d. 4to.

Richards (George H.), Tlie Vancouver Islanil Pilot. London, 18(54.

Richardson (.Tames), Rei)ort on tlie Coal Fields of the East Coast of Vancou-
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Richardson (Sir Jolui), Arctic Searching E.xpeditiou. London, 185L 2 vols.

Ritz (Philip), CJreat Northern Interior. MS.

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Rosehiirj:, Pantagraph, Plaindealcr.

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1840; The Fur Hunters of the Far West. London, 185."). 2 vols.

Rowe (G.), The Colonial Empire of Great Britain, pt. i. Loudon, n.d.

Sacramento (Cal.), Bee, Record, Record Union.

Salem (Or.), American Unionist, Capital Chronicle, Mercury, Oregon States-
man, Willamette Farmer.
San Bcriuinliuo (Cal.), (Uiardian.
San Francisco Newspapers, Alta California, Call, Chronicle, Coast Review,

Evening Bulletin, llcraM, Mining and Scieutilic Press, News Letter,

Post, .Scieutilic Press, Times.
Sawney's Letters: or Curil)oo Rliynies. 1804-8.

Seattle (Wasli.), Intelligencer, Paeilic Tribune, Puget Sound Dispatch.
Suemann (Berthold), Narrative of the Voyage of H. M. S. Herald, 1845-51.

London, 1S,">:}. 2 vols.
Selwyn (.\. R. C.). See Canada Geological Survey.
Sc '■aril (W. H.), Speeches on Alaska, Vancouver, and Oregon, Aug. 18(59.

Washington, ISdl).
Simmonils (1'. L.), Sir John Franklin and the Arctic Regions. Buffalo, 1S.")2.
Simpson (Alexander), The Oregon Territory. Lon<lon, 184(5.
Simpson (Sir (Jeorge), Narrative of a Journey round the World. Loudon,

1847. 2 vols.
Snj'der, Letter from Yale, Aug. 17tli. In Victoria Gazette, Aug. 24, 1858.
Sproat ((UUiert Malcolm), Britisli Columbia. l,oudon, lS7!i; London, 1S75;

Canada and the Empire. London, IS7.'l; Scenes and Stiulies of Savage

Life. London, 18(i8.
Steilacoom (Wash.), Puget Sound Express.
Stuart (( iranville), .Montana ;us it is. New York, 18(55.
Stuart (JoluO, Autogra))h Notes. Torres, 1842.
Sutro (A.^, Review of Eraser River, etc. In San Francisco Bulletin, Aug. 27,

1858.
Swan (t)ames ti.), The Haidah Indians of Queen Charlotte Island. Wash.,

1874.
Swan (James M.), Colonizations. MS.

Taehe (Macgregor), Sketch of the Northwest of America. Montreal, 1870.

Tarbell (Frank), Victoria, Life and Travels. MS.

Taylor (Alexander S. ), Historical Sunnnary of Lower California. In Browne's

.Min. Res.
Taylor (.lames W. ), Northwest British America. St Paul, ISCiO.
Tennaut (Thos.), Nautical Almanac, Tide Register, etc. San Francisco,

1877.
Thornton (.T. Qniun), Oregon and California in 1848. New Y(U-k, 1848, 2 vols.
Tliornton (.1. Quinn). Oregon History. MS.
Tod (John), New Caleih.n'ia. MS.

Tolmie (William Eraser), Canadian Pacilii^ Railway Routes. Victoria, 1877.
Tolmic (William F.), Puget Sound and Northwest Coast. MS.

AUTHORITIES QUOTED.

xxxi

Townseml (John K.), Narrative of a Journey across the Rocky Mountains

Philadelpliia, 1839.
Truman (Bonjaniin C), Occiduntal Sketches. San Francisco, 1881.
Tnitcli (Josui)li), Coinplimeutary Dinner to, April 10, 1871. Montreal 1871-

Map of British Columbia, 1871. '

Turner (\Vm M.), Gold Hunting on Queen Charlotte's Island. In Overland

xiv. 107. '

<^ iiitiuiiia, \^iiiuiiiiiia X ress.

Uiiilreville (Edward), Tiio Present State of Hudson's Bay. Lon.lon, 1790

Liutod States Exploring Expedition. [Wilkes. J Philadelphia, 1844-58. 4to.

Umatilla, Columhia Press.

Uii

17 vols.; folio. 8 vols.

United States Government M>ocumcnts; Bureau of Statistics; Connnerce,
Foreign and Domestic; Commerce and Navigation; Commercial Rela-
tions; Indian xVfl'airs.

Vancouver (Wash.), Independent Register.

A ;iue()uver Island, Copies or Extracts of any Despatclies on Subject of Estab-
lishment of a Representative Assendjly. London, 18o7. folio; Explo-
ration, 18(14. n. pi., 11. (l; Returns to three Addresses. London, 1849
foho; Supreme Court of Civl Justice, Order in Court constituting. Viu'-
toria, 1S()."); Tile Necessity 01 Reform. Victoria, 1S.J9.

A letor (Frances Fuller), All over Oregon and Washington. San Francisco
I81I.'; River of the West. Hartford, 1870. '

Victoria, British Colonist, Cariboo Sentinel, Chronicle, Express, Gazette
1 ress, Standanl. . '

VowcU (A. W.), British Columbia Mines. MS.

Waddington (Alfred), The Eraser Mines Vindicated. Victoria, 1808- Over-
land Route through British North America. London, 1808; Sketch of
th-i 1 rf)pose(l Line of Overland Railroad. Ottawa, 1871.

\\ abb. (Daniel), Criti(pies. MS.

■\\'alla AVulla, Statesman.

u''"'',''.Hf''"P"''.'""' -^^- '^'•i^''^sseur, Report, in Martin's Hu<lson's Bay.

Weed (Charles E.), Queen Charlotte Island Expedition. MS.

Westminster Review. London, 18l'4 ct seip

AVhite (Elijah), Ten Years in Oregon. Ithaca, ISoO.

^\ hymper (Fredcriek), Travel and Adventure in Alaska. Now York, ]8()9

^\ likes (Chares), Narrative of tlie U. S. ICxploring J'lvpcdition. Pluladel-

AV,^ '/'■- -^"^f- fV'-,?''"^- ^'''il'^l'-'ll'l'ia, 184.-.. ovnls.; London, 1845.

Wilson (hh/alietli), Recollections. In Oregim Sketches. MS.

W ilsou (W illiam), Dominion of Canada, etc. Victoria 1874

A\iiithrop (Theodore), The Canoe and the Sa.ldle. Boston, 180.3.

.> ' i\" l\-^' J-';"-';^'ll'""'l"i«« fciin McCaw's Rapids In Puget Sound
lleraM, May 14, 1H.)8. °

Wdik (John), Journal, ]8l'4. "''
AN'ri^iht, Cariboo. In Overlan

.MS.
ill. .")L'4

\ale, British Columbia Examiner.

}

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liS

HISTOBY

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

CHAPTER I.

SUMMARY OP EARLIEST VOYAGES.

The Sfaniabds oy the Coast or Bbitish Columbia — Perez, Heceta, and
Arteaoa— Expedition of James Cook — Hanna — Maubelle — La P4-
EonsE — Portlock AKj> Dixon — Guise— Lowrie—Basclay—Meaees —
Gray — Kendrick — Martinez — Haro — Colnett — Dodolas — Eusa —
QcriMFEE— Galiano and VAhoia — Bodeoa y Cuadea — Vancodvee.

The history of British Columbia comprises six dis-
tinct eras. First, the discoveries, claims, disputations,
and diplomacies relative to the ownership and division
of the domain, commonly referred to as Nootka Aifairs.
The second epoch begins with the coming of the fur-
traders by land, by way of Peace River, first the
people of the Northwest Company, hard followed by
servants of the Hudson's Bay Company; and continues
until 1849, when colonization and colonial government
begin on Vancouver Island. The third term, during
v/hich the Hudson's Bay Company are still everywhere
dominant, ruling Vancouver Island in the queen's
name, and the Mainland in their own name, lasts until
1858, when the gold discovery overturns the existing
order of things, and raises the Mainland into a colony.
The fourth historic period, during which there are two
colonies and two governors, concludes with the union

Uibt. Bbit. Coii. 1 (1)

I.'

2 SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

of the Island and Mainland under one colonial gover-
ment in 1866. The affairs of the consolidated colony
constitute the fifth era, terminating in confederation
with Canada in 1871. What follows may be called,
at this present writing, the sixth and last period.

For more than three hundred years after the begin-
ning of European occupation on the North American
Pacific seaboard, its largest island remained practi-
cally untouched.

It is true that since Cortds built vessels at Zacatula
for South Sea explorations, Fuca and Maldonado had
made their hypothetical observations of the Anian
opening, had told the much expectant world the won-
drous tale of the long looked for ocean highway,
found at last, which should let pass vessels through
the continent, straight from Europe to India, which
passage, indeed, this monster isle would seem some-
what inconveniently to obstruct; it is true, that some
two hundred years after these reputed first discov-
eries of the Spaniards, navigators had surveyed the
Island's shores, that British, Russian, and American
trading-vessels had anchored in its bays and iidets,
and tliat on its seaward side many strange scenes,
many thrilling tragedies had been performed — it was
there that occurred the first pitched quarrel between
Spain and England for the territories adjacent; and
there the Boston and the Tonquin were captured, and
their crews massacred — yet all who hitherto had come
had gone their way, leaving to the aboriginal tenants
their sea-skirted domain in all its primeval quietude.

More than any happening thus far on the North-
west Coast, more than the later bluster at Fort
Astoria, or the bristling at Stikeen, the seizing and
sending to San Bias of two EiiLrlish vessels by ^lar-
tinez, in 1789, and the planting of a Spanish battery
at Nootka caused commotion amonix the bellieoua
nations of Europe, as has been fully shown in my
History of the Northwest Coast.

SPAIN, ENGLAND. FRANCE, AND RUSSIA. 3

Perez, Heceta, and Cuadra had explored and taken
possession of the Nootka country for Spain in 1774-9,
at which time there were no signs of European oc-
cupation in this vicinity. James Cook, who touched
at Ncotka in 1778, and La Pcrouse, who visited the
coast in 1786, brought to the knowledge of the world
the unappropriated wealth of furs which floated in
these .waters, and the arrival of the Russians on

Cook's Map, 1788.

American shores. For several years this source of
wealth remained untou'^hod, though much ill feeling
was caused among rival claimants. In 1788 Spain
was induced to send I.lartinez and Ilaro northward,
and later occurred the disputes at Nootka, all of
which have been fully related in previous volumes of
my works. ^

England had offered twenty thousand pounds to the
British subject who should discover and sail through

^iWHidca the Ifhtonj o/ the XorfhwrH Coast, sco early voliunos of /fixtory
qf OreyoH, Ilwlory of Cai{/'orHia, aim Uiatory of the 2forlh Mexican Stales.

:.r

illi

4 SUMMARY OF EARUEST VOYAGES.

any passage uniting the Atlantic and Pacific, north of
the fifty-second parallel. Under instructions carefully
to examine the coast north of latitude 65° only, James
Cook strikes the shore of Drake's New Albion just
above latitude 44°, coasts northward giving names to
capes Perpetua, Gregory,^ Foulweather, and Flattery ;
closes his eyes to the River Columbia and to Fuca
Strait, pronouncing them non-existent;^ and enters
an inlet which he names King George Sound, but
which the natives call Nootka.* Skins of the bear, fox,
wolf, deer, polecat, marten, raccoon, and sea-otter are
brought by the guileless savage, who is eager for brass
and iron, caring nothing for glass beads, tliereby show-
ing his knowledge of metals, and liis appreciation of
their value. Continuing his search for a strait north-
westward, the illustrious navigator departs from the
coast, wilfully oblivious of the existence of the great
islands and entrances adjacent.^

Following Cook, Captain Hanna crosses from China
in 1785, antl again in the following year he appears in

' Arago.

^Wliichsccma a little singular; for though his searcli proper for inter-
nceaiiio ooinniunicatiou ilid not begin at this point, yet being on the coast for
the express purpose of finding round or tlirougli it a passage by water, we
should luirdfy e.\i)uct to hnd tlie famous discoverer passing Ly the mouth of
the Columbia wliile writing of the discoveries of Martin de Aguilar in 1003:
'It is wortli observing that in the very latitude where we now were geogra-
phers have been pleased to place a. large entrance or strait, the discovery of
wliieh tliey take upon them to ascribe to tlie same navigator; whereas nothing
more is mentioned in the account of his voyage than his having seen, in this
situation, a largo river, which he would have entered, but was prevented
by tlio currents.' Still more strange is it when off Cape Flatter}', with a
strait under his very eyes, he should press northward, saying: 'It is in this
very latitude where wo now were that geograpliers have placed tlu; preteu<led
strait of Juau de Fuca. But we saw nothing lik i it; nor is tliero tlie least
probal)ility that ever any such thing existed.' C'ook-'/< I'oj/., ii, 'JCd-.S. Con-
Bideriug Ids mission, Captain Cook's survey of the coast in tliese latitudes was
certainly superlicial. hy chance he was correct in his conclusions, tiiough it
Would have been in a little bettor taste to have avoided tliesu]>ereilious8traia
in whicli he pronounces the discoveries of the Spaniards forgeries.

MJutweeii what he calls I'oint IJreakers, whieli lie places in latitude 4!)°
1.")', and wliat ho calls Woody I'oint, whicli lie places in latitude TiO', 'tho
shore forms a largo bay, wliicii I called Hope liay; hoping, from tlie appear-
ance of the land to find in it a good liarbour.' ('(iok-\i I oy., ii. t.'ti4.

•'' ' We were now passing the place where geographers have placed the pre-
tended strait of Admiral do Konto. For my own part, I give no credit to such
vague and improbable stories, that carry their own eoiifn'ition along with
them.' Cook's To//., ii. .S4;i. It is l)ut fair to add, that wliou in this latitude a
gale obliged him to keep well out to sea.

'^1^

PORTLOCK AND DIXOX.

the Sea-Otter, and conducts a profitable trade with
the natives of Nootka." And now is formed the King
George's Sound Company, which is to monopohze the
Northwest Coast far-trade; and there come to the
coast in 1787, by way of the Hawaiian Islands and
Alaska, Captain Portlock with the ship King George,
and in the Queen Clmrlotte George Dixon, the latter
visiting and giving names to Cloak Bay, Hippa
Island, Dixon Strait, and Queen Charlotte Islands,
at which last named place alone he secures eighteen
hundred and twenty-one fine otter-skins. Then ar-
riving off Nootka, he sails away without entering/
This same year we find another quite successful
English trader at Nootka Sound in the ship Imperial
Eagle, Captain Barclay,^ who coasts to Barclay Sound,
giving his name to the place, sends thence a boat's
crew into what was later named Fuca Strait, after
which, dropping below Flattery, some of his men
are murdered near where a portion of Bodega y
Cuadra's crew in 1775 suffered a like fate.

The following summer, Mcares arrives in the Felice,
and after erecting a house at Friendly Cove," in
Nootka Sound, and leaving there a party to build a
vessel, he proceeds southward, visits the village of

•Captain Guise, in the Experiment, was also there in the summer of 17S6,
as wol? as Captain Lowrio of the ship Captain Cook; from which latter vessel
t))c im'L'con, an Irishman named Joliu MiiKey, being ill was placed on shore,
Vx'lioi <; Ii J remained for more than one year, lie was stripped of his clothing by
the 11" '^ivc'i, and made to conform to tlicir customs, lie learned somewhat of
t'lcii' J.in;^uapo, ' made frequent incursions into tlic interior parts of the country
•jliD'H King ticorge'a Sound, and dicl not think any part of it was the conti-
ii'.Tir ui ixinurica, but a chain of detached islands.' The man and his opinions,
ho^' iver, u^ro dcri cd by the navigators. The following year, 1787, the
j",i. - !('a/c,i, Captain Colnett, tlic /'W^ccfs y.'oi/a/, Captain Duncan, and
the Imprricd Eajk, Captain Barchiy, were at Nootka.

' In his preface Dixon scourges ^lauroUo for failing to do wiiat Cook failed
to do; ho is elated, himself, for having made tlio discovery of t^ueen Cliurlotto
Islands, for which, indeed, ho is entitled to all praise. It was, however, only
Burniiso with him, as ho never circumnavigated tlie island. Its complete sep-
aration from the mainland was ascertained by Duncan the following year,
who called the isles adjacent, as was then the fashion, from his ship. Princess
lloyal Archipelago. Sec vol. i. p. 180 for Dixon's map.

* Written also Bcrkely.

•Sco Greenhow's Or. and Cat., 151.

6 SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

Wicananish in Clayoquot Sound, which he names
Port Cox,^*^ passes on to the entrance of Fuca Strait —
so named by him — and down tljo coast to Destruc-
tion Island," Shoalwatcr and Deception bays, and
capes Disappointment and Lookout,^" off which latter
point he turns and retraces his course to Barclay
Sound, which he enters, and anchors in a bay to
which he yives the name of Port Effinofham.^^ There
the natives bring to him a plentiful supply of salmon,
shell-fish, wild onions, and the fruits of the forest.
Under the first officer, Pobert Duftin, the long-boat
with twelve men is sent to explore the strait, and
enters several < oves and harbors alone: the southern
shore of Yanc> . Tsland to trade. After sailinof
some thirty leagu. ir enough to perceive that the
water to tl'e east-i..<rth-east increased rather than
diminished,'* tlie party is furiously attacked by na-
tives in two canoes, and driven back wounded to the
sliip; after which Meares returns with bis ship to
Xootka, where, not long after, the Iphigen'a, Captain
Douglas, and the sloop Waslii))(jton, Captain CIray,
arrive. The new vessel is christened the Northwest
America,^''' and launched.

'* ' 111 honor of our friend John Henry Cox, Esquire. '

" Where was situated the 'village of (,lueeniiitho,' and some seven miles
distant 'the town of (4)ueeiiuitett, ' wliosu iiilialiitaiits were ii .-eating ijeoplo.
Tlie country round Cape Flattery he calls Tatootclie, and the island Tatoot-
cliu Island. Having carefully searcheil for the Rio de San Roque of the
Spaniards, he might now safely assert that no such stream exists.

'^To which he gives their names, as well as to Cape Shoalwatcr, south of
the entrance, and to >tount Olympus. This coast he calls New Albion, fol-
lowing Drake and Cork.

'^ 'The port is suliicicntly capacious to contain an hundred sail of ships,
and so fortiuiati'y ;ihcltered as to secure them from any storm. The anchor-
agi- is also good, heing a soft mud, and the watering place perfectly conve-
nient. ' Mi'itrci I'oi/., 172.

" ' Sudi an extraordinary circumstance filled ua with strange conjectures
as to the extremity of this strait, which we concluded, at all events, could
not 1)0 any great distance from Hudson's Bay.' Mfuirn' Voij., 179.

'•' ' Being tiie (irst hottom ever built and launched in this part of the globe.'
Meares, Voij., '2'20, gives a full-page illustration of the launching of this i'i-.T.ft
amidst the Hying of tlags, the boom of cannon, and the shouts of the savages.
In the backurouiiil is the two-story house erected for the use of his men while
engaged in building the vessel, and in the distance, round a high rock' prom-
ontory, is seen the Indian village, with the sloop Waalun'jtoii anchored ia
front of it.

MEARES AND GRAY.

Meares' Map.

(ill

i Hi

8. SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

While yet are lying at Nootka tlic Iphigeriia, Felice,
and Northwest America, which in due time take their
departure, a vessel from Boston enters the harbor,
the Columbia, Captain Kendrick. This vessel and
the Washington winter at Nootka, 1788-9.^^ On his
way up the coast. Gray had been attacked by the
natives at Tillamook Bav.

^■

ii ^

MeanM'hilo, violent measures were adopted by the
Spaniards, and directed against the British traders
at Nootka, the distempers of which reached ^ladrid
and London, and culminated in the Nootka conven-
tion, 1790. The fortification erected at Nootka bv
Martinez in 1789 was temporarily abandoned before
the end of tlie vear, but not before tho arrival of Gon-
zalo de Haro and the seizure of the Argonaut, Colnett
commanding, the Tphigenia, which had returned to
Nootka in charge of William Douglas, the North-
li'cst America, and the Princess Royal, for attempting
to found estal)lishments within Spanish dominions.
Martinez sent two of his prizes to Mexico, while
Haro in the ^^ian Carlos prosecuted discoveries. The
following spring, Nootka was reoccupied by the Span-
iards under Elisa, who established there a Spanish
settlement, for wliich supplies "»vere brought from San
Bias by the Califoi.aan transports.

This same year, 1790, Manuel Quimper, command-
ing the Princesa Real, one of the three vessels under
Elisa, sailed from Nootka the 31st of May to continue
the exploration possibh' begun by Haro in Fuca Strait
the year previous. Touching at several points on the

'" On Meart's" map the entire seaboard from Fuca Strait to Alaska is laid
down as an irsland, or a group of i. laml.s, called the Northern Archipelago
and Princess Royal Islands, west of which are the 'Queen Charlotte's Isles,
BO named by Captain JJi.\on in 1787, first discovered l)y captains Lowrie and
(Juise in 176(5; ' and on the eastern side, 'sketch ot the track of the American
sloop Washinijtoii. in autumn 1789,' while beyond to the eastward is still ' tho
Bca, and yet fartlier ' land seen. ' On his way up the coast. Gray had attempted
to enti!r the Columbia, but failed; and the following summer, while yet in
command of the WuMmjIon, ho had explored the eastern shore of Queen
Charlotte Island, which ho called Washington loland. Then, taking com-
mand of the rV)/»<;H/;if(, Gray returned to Boston; and in a second voyage tO'
the Northwest Coast entered and named tho Columbia River.

iSS

MANUEL QUIMPER. 9

south-west side of the Island before visited by trading-
vessels, on the 11th of June he entered and named
Port San Juan, where he remained four days. Thence
continuing, he passed two points, which he called San
Eusebio and San Antonio, and entered Soke Inlet,
which he named Revilla Gigedo in honor of the vice-
roy of Mexico. Landing, he made short excursions
in various directions, and, following his instructions,
on the 23d of June he took formal possession of the
country for the King of Spain. Contrary winds kept
him in this port until the 28th, when, setting sail, he

Quimper's Map.

continued east -south -east, and passed the present
Beecher Bay, and the same day entered between three
or four inlets a beautiful harbor which ho named Elisa.^^

"Afterward Pcdder Bay. 'El mismo dia, so Icvaron y navegando ]x»r
rumbos pr6xiino3 al lessuestc, costcaiun doa grandcs cnscnadas y cntraron por
entre trca 6 quatro islillas y otra grando inmcdiata & la tierra liasta Imllarso
dcntro dc una Iwlla bahia que llamaron do Klisa, en dondu anclaron y fucron
Ids pilotosal reconocimiento do nquclloa parajes pr(iximos.' Qulmjicr, Seijuwlo
Reconocimiento dc la Entrada di" Fuca, in Viage.t ol Norte, ^iS., No. 11. The
text of the original is hero quite confusing, and but for the appendix, which
somewhat modifies and explains it, one might suppose the voyagers to have
now reached Esquimalt Bay. JJut by noticing the direction sailed, the time
occupied, and by a careful comparsion of the relative latitudes given — Elisa
being placed one minute fart'aer south than Revilla Gigedo, while the next

SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

On the 30th, the vessel proceeded round to Royal
Bay, which Quimper called Solano ; and the same day
he moved the ship up into Esquimalt Harbor, which
he named Valdes. While there tlie vessel lay at an-
chor, Quimper sent out in small boats his pilots, who,
five leagues to the eastward, discovered besides several
islands a broad passage extending toward the west-
north-west, and losing itself in the distance This
passage or strait was called Haro, in honor of his
sailing-master.

It was observed that a short distance to the east-
ward of Valdes Bay, or Esquimalt, was another bay,
which they pronounced "a port of good shelter, water,
and wild seeds for which the Indians came in canoes
from tlie other side of the strait." This was Victoria
Harbor, to which Quimper gave the name of Cor-
doba. ^^ While tliere the natives brought fruit and
roots, not having skins to trade. Indeetl, says Quim-
per, they did not need to kill animals for food, their
rich soil providing tliem abundance; and as for cloth-
ing, the tribes contiguous, even as far away as the
mouth of Fuca Strait, wore glad to bring furs, and
give them in exchange for these natural products, of
which they regularly laid in a winter's supply. This
quiet life, moreover, seemed to make these savages
less ferocious than their beast-killino; neiij^hbors.^"

On tlie 4th of July, Quimper crossed with his ves-
sel to New Dungeness Point, which he named Santa
Cruz, and behind which he anchored, calling the place
Quimper Bay."'^ Soon the natives appeared with

anchorage, which wo sliall fiiitl to he the entrance to Esquimalt Bay, ia several
minutes nortli of Elisa, or Soke Harbor — the positions of tlie several stations
become quite clear.

*" Cordoba Bay as laid down on modem maps is misplacea; that is, if in-
tended as the Cordoba Bay of Quimper. First, it does not correspond to the
M-ell -sheltered port described by Quimper; nor does it appear that either
Quimper or his pilots ever entered Haro Strait so far.

"See Natirc Races, i. 174-207. ' En cuya demora hallaron un puerto que
llaniarou do Conlolja de apreclables abrigos, agnas, y semillas sifvestres de
que salian provistas algunas canoas de los puertos que se hallan fuera del
seno.' Quimper, Seijumlo Rerotiocimknto de la Entrnda de Ftica.

'^ ' El mismo dia por la tarde anclaron al abrigo de una punta que Uamaron
de Santa Cruz, doudo encoutrarou un abrigado puerto de poca agua propio

TAKING POSSESSION.

Lis ves-
Sauta
place
with

mussels, fish, deer meat, mats, skins, tanned leather,
and featlieic;d blankets to trade. The pilots, starting
out in small boats, and exploring eastward, came to
an admirable harbor,"^ which they called Bodega y
Cuadra, with an island in front of it. The nature of
Admiralty Inlet, which he called Ensenada de Caa-
mano, was mistaken, and from this point, along the
land running northward, they saw two openings, which
tluy named Fidalgo and Deilon.^- Then they re-
turned to the vessel. On the 18th, Quimper set sail
for Xootka, but by reason of adverse winds was
obliged to enter Valdes Bay, where he remained three
days, when he again weighed anchor, and coasting
the southern side of Fuca Strait tcnvard its entrance,
on the 24th came to Xeali Bay, which he entered,
naming it Puerto de Nunez Gaona."^

Solenmly again on the 1st of August, amidst dis-
charges of musketry and artillery, he took possession
of the country, wishing witliout fail to secure it all;
and after repairing his vessel and sounding the bay,
on the 2d he sailed away for Nootka, but being pre-
vented entrance by a gale, he proceeded to Monterey.

Tlie explorations of Quimper served only to whet
the interest of the Spanish authorities, and to con-
firm the belief in an interoceanic strait in this quai'ter.
The verv next vear, accordin<;lv, Elisa received orders
to complete this survey, and at once prepared the San
Carlos, of sixteen guns, and the schooner Horcasitas,
of seven. He left Nootka in May with tlie intention
of seeking the sixtieth parallel, and thence to follow
the coast southward to Fuca Strait, but the winds
continued contrary, and he was obliged to sail direct
for the Strait. Leaving the schooner on INIay 27th, to
examine Carrasco Inlet,-* he proceeded with the San

para las enibarcacionea pequefias, y alii tomaron pose
Quimper.' Stijumlo Ileconocimiento de hi Entrada de huca.

^' Port Discovery.

'^■^ The former was evidently the present Rosario Strait.

'■^ The native name was Quinicamet.

^* Barclay Sound.

losesiou llam^ndolo de

!?!■'

SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

SURVEY OP HARO STR^VIT.

a.de Sn.Luls

>ta.de Arza

'XBiica de
^ JUoniiio

\Lu(iguada

K^4«

Boca ilf ;

"^-»-^..

Carlos to Cordoba Harbor. On May Slst, the armed
launch was despatched under Verdia, tlie second piloto,
to explore Haro Strait, but returned the same day
with the report that a fleet of canoes had surrounded
the launch, and made such hostile demonstrations that
the crew had been obliged to resoi-t to fire-arms.
Observing more Indians on shore preparing to reiin-
force the enemy, Verdia deemed it prudent to return,
after having sunk a big canoe and killed several natives.

In view of this cmitretemps, Elisa resolved to
wait for the return of the schooner before sending
out another expedition. She arrived twelve days
later, with an account of the archipelago and branches
of the Carrasco Inlet. The examination of the in-
terior channels had been effected for three leagues
only, owing to the stormy weather and the hostility
of the Indians, who had on three occasions to be in-
timidated with grape-shot, fired at a high range so as
not to injure them.

Elisa now instructed Piloto Josd Maria Narvaez to
take the scliooner and launch, with thirty sailors and
eight Catalonian volunteers, and make a four days'
nunute exannnation of the Haro Strait. He set sail
on June 14t]i, and entered the strait along the western
shore, with tlie intention of afterward letting the ves-
sels exj-lore one of the sides (?acli; but on reaching a
group of island i above the present Coi'doba Bay, this
idea was found impracticable. An anchorage was
sought for the night close to the east shore of Van-
couver Island, evidently near the present Coal Island;
and tlie lU'xt morning Narvaez steered eastward, to-
ward the large opening which had been noticed the
day bc'lore. After passing several islands, he was

11*1 »

ol)li;;v(l to enter for a fuw^ hours into the small harbor
of San Antonio.'-^' The same morning, he entered to

^■^ 'Roconoof nil 1)nci> piicrto aim<ine pe(inei"io pues lo mas larco dc I'l tione
una y media ^uill:l,^, y lo mas uiiclio una, puro resguarilada do todo viuiilo. . .y
so halla sitiiailo e.. lo mas sur de la isla de Saya-i.' Eii.iii'.s Voi/ni/p, 17!>1, in
f'lij'cr.'i nli/iii:ito flie Timty of WaMmjloii, V. l"7G. This is clearly Bodwell
Harbor on render Island.

SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

examine the present Plumper Sound, and then rounded
East point on Saturna Island,"" to behold spreading out
beft)re him, as far as his eyes could see, a very wide canal.
This being the most important discovery made so far,
he resolved to name it in honor of the patron saint of
the expedition, El Gran Canal de N"" 8" del liosario,
la marinera,. the Gulph of Georgia of Vancouver. ^^

Narvaez explored this canal very nearly to the
mouth of Johnstone Strait, noting a number of
places on his map, and among tlicm the entrance to
Nanaimo harbor, which lie names Wenthuysen, Tejada
Island, and the moutli? of Fraser River. '^'^

The exploration in Fuca Strpit and adjoining waters
terminated on Augusi '^Ui, when Elisa withdrew to
seek remedies for his scurvy-stricken crew and the
failing larder, lie himself had been confined by
sickness during the greater part of the time.^'

(jraliano and Valdds m the ships Sutll and Mexi-
can a leave Mexico soon after to prosecute discoveries
round Vancouver Island, which expedition we shall
encounter later.

! I

By the terms of settlement which followed the dis-
turbances at Nootka, Spain was tc restore all property
seized, and England was neither to navigate nor to fish
within ten leagues of any spot occupied by Spaniards;
elsewhere the naviofation of the Northwest Coast
should be free to both powers. And in the execu-
tion of these terms, commissioners appointed on either
side were to meet at Nootka for the settlement of
British claims.

George Vancouver,

being about to sail for the

'""'Marked in Pt" do Sta Saturnina on Elisa's map.

'•" ' Kii cl iiiuilio do el se distingiiia como a iierdor de vista un pequeflo cerro,
d. moda do I'aii do Aziicar, nieuilo advorteiicia que loa estromos d puiitas do
tierra que forinan e-sto canal cs sorrania iiiuy elevada, cubierta do nieve. ' Jb.

^^ These are marked as openings between 8onie islands, but behind them,
on the continent, is laid down a ^^(ler inlet, Boca de Florida Blanca, which
the Spanish explorers of the following year identified with Burrard Inlet.

'^ Sntd 1/ Mexiriina, Vinge, 2.

^"At this time lieutenant, afterward post-captain in the British navy.
He had served as midshipman with Captain Cook during his second and third

SfJ?

BODEOA Y CUADRA AND VANCOUVpai.

Ift

unded
ng out
canal,
so far,
aint of
osario,

to the
ber of
mce to
Tojada

waters
ircw to
nd the
nod by

\ Mexi-
3e)vencs
fo shall

the dis-
iroperty
to fish
iniards ;
Cwast
cxccu-
n either
iient of

for the

[uefio cerro,
puutas de

nieve.' 11).
hind them,

iica, which
•d Inlet.

■itihh navy.
A and third

Pacific on an exploring tour, is commissioned to act
for En,i:;land, and Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega
y Cuadra, for Spain. Vancouver appears upon tlie
coast, near Cape Mendocino, in the sloop of war Dis-
covery, with the armed tender Chatham, Lieutenant
Broughton, master, in April 1792, which was the
month following the departure of Bodega y Cuadra
from San Bias with the Santa Gertnidis, Actiia, and
Princcsa. Coasting northward, and scattering names
freely on the way, Vancouver calls Trinidad Head
Rocky Point; next, Point St George, ''and the
very dangerous cluster of rocks extending from
thence, the Dragon Hocks," also St George Ba}', fol-
lowed by Cape Orford, in honor of his "much re-
spected friend, the noble earl," and Point Grcnville,'*
"after the liight Honorable Lord Grenville." The
points JSIeares named he recognizes, and among them
Cape Disappointment and Deception Bay, though
like the others he passes unobserved the ent/ance to
the Columbia River, which otlierwise v.ould certainly
have had another name, and perhaps another history.
As Vancouver nears Fuca Strait he meets the ship
Columbia, Captain Gray, who is astonished at the
stories told of him in England, that he " had made a
very singular voyage behind Nootka," in the sloop
Washington. True, he had seen Dixon entrance, and
had passed into Fuca Strait some fifty miles, where
he had been told by the natives of an extensive open-
ing to the northward, but he had returned where he
had entered. In latitude 40° 10', he had discovered
the mouth of a river, "where the outlet or refiux was
so strong as to prevent his entering it for nine days."^^
He had })assed the winter at Clayoquot Harbor, where
he bad erected a fortification, naming it Fort Defiance,
and had built a vessel, calling it the Adventure, which

voyages. After serving in the West Indies and elsewhere, he died in IJngland
"* \'i^\' ^^^'''''' V'" '"if'^ttive of liis voyages was passing throu{;li tho press.

iMeares, Voy., 101), gave the same name to a headland just above Capo
Lookout.

^^Soo Vancouver's Voy., i. 215.

SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

1'; (

he had sent to Queen Charlotte Islands. After which
parley, each sails his way.

Passing between Tatooch Island and a rock to
which is given the name of Duncan, the Resolution
and Discovery enter Fuca Strait, and on the 30th
of April anchor near a "low sandy point of land,
which from its great resemblance to Dungeness in
the British Channel," Vancouver calls New Dunge-
ness. The lofty mountain toward the north-east, "dis-
covered in the afternoon by the third lieutenant," is
in compliment to him called Mount Baker. Survey-
ing thence in small boats. Protection Island, Port
Discovery, into which the ships are moved, and Port
Townsend are seen and named, the last "in honor
of the noble marquis of that name." An inferior point
receives the name of an inferior person, Hudson.
Some difficulty is experienced in obtaining fresh
water, but the country is pronounced charming, with
every move new beauties appearing. The 7th of May,
Vancouver embarks in the Discoveries yawl, with his
launch and the Chatham's cutter, with, a five days'
supply of stores. Dining at Port Townsend, the cliff
adjacent seemingly cou>posed of indurated clay is called
Marrowstone Point, wliile the round snowy peak that
glistens in the south-west is called Mount Rainier
"after my friend Kear-Admiral liainier." Oak Cove
and Hazel Point are so named on account of the trees
there ; Poulweather Blulf, because the weather changes
when i)assing it. Hood Canal is entered, and named
"after the Kight Honorable Lord Hood;" U[)on the
land and its peo[»le comments are passed, and the com-
mander returns to the sliijis.

Leaving luAv tlie Chatliani with instructions to
Ihoughton to make observations m that vicinity, and
then to follow, on the 18th Vancouver enters w ith the
Discovery th o inlet he calls Admiralty, and the nexi;
day orders a ]uuty in the launch and cutter, under
Peter Puget, lieutenant, and Joseph Whidbey, master,
to [>reccde him, discover, and reoort, while with more

GEORGE VANCOUVER.

)ii the

Vam-'oi'veu's U.\i', No. I.
UiiT. Unn. Col. 'i

SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

comfortable leisure he sounds the channel, makes
short excursions, examines strange sights, and bathes
in new beauties. While thus engaged, on the 23d
Port Orchard is seen, and the next day named "after
the gentleman who discovered it."

Broughton now appears with the Cliatham and
informs Vancouver that to the north of Port Dis-
covery is an archipelago, beyond which is a large arm
of the sea. Impatient of delay, on the 2Gth Van-
couver sets out in the yawl, leaving orders with
Broughton, should Puget and Whidbey return,
to have the arm running easterly cxamiaod. The
result is the discovery and naming of Vashon Island,
"after my friend Captain Vashon of the navy," and
"to commemorate Mr Pugct's exertions," Pugct
Sound being applied only to the southern extremity
of Admiralty Inlet. Next the explorers enter that
arm of the inlet extending toward the north-east,
and on the king's birthday, the 4th of June, tako
formal possession of the coast country, and so call the
place Possession Sound. The open water beyond
the islands is called the Gulf of Georgia, and the
continent adjacent and extending southward to the
forty-fifth parallel, New Georgia, "in honor of his
present Majesty." The westerri arm of this branch
of Admiralty Inlet is called Port Gardner, "after
Vice- Admiral Sir Alan Gardner," the smaller eastern
one, Port Susan. ^^ Penn Cove is so named "in honor
of a particular friend. '

Passing northward out of Admiralty lidct, Point
Partridge, directly ojiposite Penn Cove, and Point
Wilson, "after my much esteemed friend Captain
George AVilson of the navy," and Decej)tion Passage
are named. Sending fi'cquent parties in boats and
on shore in vai'ious directions, the expedition continues
through Ptosario Strait, which, however, is not here

"Vancouver's conception of tliecliariicteriui(I extent of these Blicefs of water
was quite erroneous, iiuil nioilern maps almost exelianjje tlitir roliUi\ e iiunies
and positi'Jiis. In pi'oof of uliioli \vc have later in this narrative, Deception
passugo leading into I'ort Uardner.

X\\V UiUWS
L)cCLl)t.lOll

\'\si-<\vvv.v.'< M.M'. No. '2.

SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

SO named, touching en route at a bay which they call
Strawberry Bay, on the shore of an island which,
"producing an abundance of upright cypress," they
name Cypress Island, and passes on by BcUingham
and Birch bays, and points William, Francis, Roi)crts,
Grey, Atkinson, Gower, Upwood, and Scotch Fir to
Burrard and .Tervis canals and Howe Sound, where
arc Passage and Anvil islands. The usual sound
reasons are generally given in the naming, such as
"in compliment to my friend Captain George Grey
of the navy;" Roberts "after my esteemed friend
and predecessor in the Discovery;' "after Sir Harry
Burrard of the navy;" "in honor of Admiral Earl
Howe;" "in honor of Admiral Sir John Jcrvis;"
and so on. Indeed, it were well for one coveting easy
immortality to be a friend of Captain Vancouver's
about this time, the aboriginal owners and occupants
being, like earlier Spanish navigators, wholly ignored
in this naming.^*

^i!

i li

At anchor, near Point Grey, on the 2 2d of June,
Vancouver being then out on a boat excursion discov-
ers two Spanish vessels of war, the brig Sutil, and
the schooner Mexicana, Galiano commanding the for-
mer and Valdt's the latter, both captains in t!je Span-
ish navy, sent by the viceroy of !^Iexico to continue
Spanish discovery through Fuca Strait. Tli(\v had
sailed from Acapulco in March, and i'rom Nootka
early in June, had entered Fuca Strait and ancliored
in the Puerto de Nunez Gaona, now Neah IBay.
There they found the Pn'nccstt, under Salvador Fi-
dalgo, who had orders to plant in tliat vicinity a Span-
ish establishment similar to that at Nootka. Thence
they crossed to Cordoba,"" or Victoria, which they pro-

"'Sarali, Mary, niul Susan must luivo been early inamoratas, or cUo lola-
tives 1)1' till! ctminiandt'r and liin fricmls.

^•'It hoiny not ahsolntcly certain that this port is \iotoria, the Cunloba
of Qiiiinpor, I will ni\a tho author's own (li'scriptinn of thu jilace ' ICl Cncrto
<le t'ortlolMJ, C's liennoso y jiroiMiiviona luirn alii'igo li los na\cguiitt'S! jicro eii
t''l I'suaseii cl nyua, scgun vinios, y nos iulornx') Tetacus; el turri.'no cs nuiy ilo-
Bigual, do poca ultura, y como maniiicstau laa ccrcauias do poco esposor la

SUTIL Y MEXICANA.

y call
vhich,
' thoy

)1)crts,
Fir to
where
sound
icli as
Grey
friend
Harry
tl Earl
crvis;
i<^ easy
Oliver's
jupants
iiTiiored

' June,
(liscov-
til, and
the lor-
Spun-
ontinue
i(>y had
Nootka
vichored
h Bay.
idor Fi-
ji 8pan-
Thenec
hey pro-

or clso rcla-

,hc Ccriloba
. 'Kl I'mrto
08; iicro eu
) OS iiuiy tlo-
) c!»|H"S'ir la

nounced a beautiful harbor, but lacking water. From
Nunez (iaona they had brought, to Cordoba, Tetacus,
a chief of that country, whoso village they visited;
but tlie natives were suspicious owing to the cannon-
ading inflicted during the previous }■ ear by the schooner
ISntuniina in defence of the launch of tlie San Carlos,
whicli liad accompanied her.

On the lOtli of June, the}' left Cordoba, crossed the
diannel, and ancliored on tlie east side of San Juan
Island,'" su<.'h being the name it bears on their map.
Thence passing through the strait south of what they
calk'tl (juiimes Island, now Lawrence Island, to the
mainland, they proceeded northward to Point William,
which they called Point Solano, and anchored in the
northern part of Bellingham Bay, which they named
Seno de (^laston.^" There tluy grounded, and so re-
mained a few lK)urs, when continuing their cours(^'
through (\inal Pacheco, east of Pacheco Island, now
called jMeLoughlin Island, they hugged the shore of
the mainland past Birch Bay, which they called En-
senada del (Jarzon, and entered Boundary Bay, naming
Peninsula de Cepc la and Punta de San Bafael."''^

While' seeking to })ass Point Roberts, not having
yet met Vancouver, thev encountered Brouirhton in
the Cliafham, and after exchanging courtesies, ( Jaliano
and Valdes continued clost; to the shore, until, as they
approacluul the mouth of Fraser Kiver, they noticed
the water assume a ditt'eniit coloi", but before they
could discover the river, they were carried by the
current out into the strait, and were forced to seek
anchorage for the night on the otlier side, which they
found at a place called by them Anclage, on Galiaiu*

eapa tU lutim que hay sobre la pioilra. Sin embargo cs fortil, esta cubicrta
til- iirlmlL's y i)liiiitii«, y cstiis proiliu'cionos son ([uasi las misiiuiM ijue las (lu
Nutka, abuiiilaiido mas los nisalus silvostrus.' Sii.'il »/ Mcrinnid, Vimji; A'l W.

^"Tliiir narrative says San Jiian Islan.l, but it was probably Lopez Jslaml
where they came to anchor, as in their map tho two islands arc joineil.

"' All this, of course, was l)efore Vancouver had been there.

'" The former applied to Point lloberts, an<l the latter to tho northern point
of Drayton Harbor. The present Boundary Bay is laiil down on their map as
Ensenada del Kng.iflo, so called on account of their failure to find there a pas-
sage into tho gulf of lieorgia, uiarked on their map as Canal del l<4)sario.

^^1

SUMMABY OP EARLIEST VOYAGES.

\i]

Island. Continuing, on the 1 5th they entered what they
called Portier Inlet, discovered the islands adjacent,
and, returning the same way, coasted the eastern side
of Valdes Island,^' seeking Point Gaviola, failing to
find which they rounded Gabriola Island, and entered
through Wenthuysen Channel a port called Cala del
Descanso, now Nanaimo. Landing, they obtained
water and provisions from the natives, after which,
on the 19th they embarked for the opposite side of the
strait, which they reached the following day, anchoring
off Point Grey, which they call Punta de Ldngara.

Very affable and polite are these strangers thus
meeting in the strange waters behind Nootka, who
are so ready on occasion to cut each other's throats.
The English invite the Spaniards to join expeditions.
Each with liberal courtesy shows the other what he
has found. Galiano is surprised that Vancouver did
not discover Fraser River; for the Spanish explorers
who had the previous year passed along this coast,
had observed between points Roberts and Grey an
opening which was either an inlet or a river, and
which they located on their map, calling it Canal de
Floridablanca,*' and the present Spanish captains as
they but now approached their present anchorage had
noticed that the water thereabout was almost fresh,
and that in it were logs and d6hris floating, sure evi-
dence of a stream near by. Vancouver, in common
wi+h other explorers, had passed the Columbia with-
out observing it, under circumstances reflecting no
great credit upon his expedition, and now he is greatly
chagrined no less in being unable to discover largo
rivers, after their existence has been told him, than
that the Spaniards should have been before him at

He wonders Ik

parts

they

gf*

"Some modern maps give two islands the name Valdes, this being the
more southern.

*" ' Named by one of their oiBcera Rio Blancho, in compliment to tlio then
prime-minister of Spain.' Vanrouvi>r')i Voy., i. 314.

" ' I cannot avoid acknowledging,' he writes, Voy., i. 312, 'that on thia
occasion I experienced no small degree of mortification.' ' En el ailo anterior

MOVEMENTS OF THE SPANIARDS.

Galuno's Map.

SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES,

i:.;

SO far and accomplish so mucli In a craft so ill suited
to voyages of discovery/'

As regards the discoveries of the Spaniards before
him in these parts, Galiano shows him a map on which
is laid down, besides nmch other new information,
Tejada Island and Rosario Strait/^ Vancouver is
also informed that Cuadra awaits him at Nootka.
Then the Spaniards dine the English, and the English
dine the Spaniards, amidst profound punctilios; after
which they continue their explorations for a time
together, the Sjinniards making now and then an ex-
cursion in one direction and the English in another.

On the 2:5d of June, entering Burrard Inlet, called
by thein, on their map. Canal de Sasamat, the Indian
name of the place, and in their text, Floridablanca,
indicative of the supposition that the stream they
found flowing into it was the true canal or river of
their predecessors, mistermed Blanche by Vancouver,
and later Eraser River, the Spaniards pass by Howe
and Jervis inlets, already examined by the English,
and the combined fleet sails on through Malaspina

liabiaii visto miestros olTicialcs tlol dopfirtameiito do Sau Bias a alguna dis-
taiicia csta i)arto ile costa, y no duvisando lo laas l)axo de ella habiuii crcido
que las tierras iuiiiediatas a Punta de Laiigara y la IV-uinsula de Cepoda fuesen
do3 i:slas situadas cu la 1)oca <li;l Canal do Floridablanca; asi las colocarou en
an carta. ' Siilil y Jli.ricaiid, Vid;/'', 04.

^^' They wore each about 4.'5 ton:! l)urden, inouuted two brass guns, and
were navi^^atod by 24 men, bearing one lieutenant, without a, .single inferior
officer. Tlicir apartments just allowed room for sleeping-places on eaeli side,
with a table in the intermediate .spaee, at which four persons, with some dilii-
culty, could sit, and were in all otiier respects tlu' most ill-ealeidated and
unfit vessels that could possibly be imagined for such an expedition.' !'««-
couvcr's Vol/., i. 313.

*^ Vancouver evidently misread this chart, as he calls the ialand Favida,
and placLS on his own map the 'Canal de Neiestra Senora del Rosario,' or
if we would choose between the bad Spani.di of the map and that of the text,
the 'Canal del Neustra Signora del Rosario,' between Tejada I.dand and the
mainland. Now it was the Llulf of Oeorgia itself to which the Spaniards gave
the name Canal del Rosario, and not to the narrow passage between Tejada
Island and the mainland, which latter they called Malaspina Strait, the name
it now bears. It were possible, as it is indeed the fact, that the Canal del
Rosario of the Spaniards h;is been crowded down by the Oulf of Georgia of
the English into the narrow channel at its soutliern end between the San
Juan Islands and the mainland; but we should hanlly expect to see our lady
of Rosario making at one leap su-'h dintanco as from Tejada to Fidalgo
Islands. Compare Carto'jniphy P. C, JIS., iii. l'J4. The present Rosario
Strait is called on early t'.paniah maps (,\inal de Fidalgo. It was in 1849 that
the British admiralty made this change.

-n-

JAMKS JOHNSTONE.

Strait, and anchors in the archipelago at an island
called by the Spaniards Quenia/* the English naming
Point Marshall and Savary Island on their way.

It is here agreed by the combined fleet to send out
three boat expeditions, the Spanish under Valdes
to proceed northward into the opening called by him
Canal de la Tabla,*^ misnamed by modern map-makers
Toba, the English under James Johnstone, an officer
on board the Chatham, to enter the long narrow
passage to which was subsequently given his name,
while Puget was to survey what, by reason of the
bleak earth and lowering opaque sky, Vancouver was
constrained to call Desolation Sound, (xaliano also
goes out, and finds what he calls Canal del Arco, now
Homfray Channel, which extends from Punta Sarmi-
ento**' to Canal do la Tabla. East of Punta Sarmi-
ento Galiano finds an inlet ending in two brandies,
to which he gives names, to the southern Malas})ina,
and to the eastern Bustamante. Many of the inlets
hereabout are entered and named by both the S])anish
and English ; thus the Punta do Magallanes of Ga-
liano is the Point Mudgc of Vancouver, the Brazo
de Quintano of Galiano is the Bute Inlet of Van-
couver, the Brazo de Salamanca of (xaliano is the
Loughborough Canal of A'ancouvcr, and so on. The
world lias indeed })rogressed when we behold in tliis
far-away wilderness the representatives of two greaf.
European powers laboring side by sidi; for the exten-
sion of knowledge, vying with one another in their
noble eftbrts of discovery. Such a siglit had never
before been seen in these parts.

The ;5d of July, Johnstone is sent a second time into
the narrow ])as'sage which he had found, and in com-
pany Avith Swaine passes through it to within full
view oi' the ocean.*^

** Probal)ly Cortes Islaml.

*'•' On account of a wooden table carved in alroriginal hieroglyphics found
there.

** Called by Vancouver Toint Sarah.

" ' In the atlas of La Perousc, 178G, No. 29, Scott Islands, at the northern
end of Vancouver Island, are called lies do Sartinc; Dixon calls thorn Beres>

1»6

SUMMARY OF EARUEST VOYAGES.

The Spaniards in their crazy craft being unable to
keep place with tlie finer vessels of the English, Gali-
ano j)olitely requests Vancouver to proceed and leave
him behind, which he does. Vancouver then follows
Johnstone's track to the ocean, naming Point Chatham,
Port Neville, Call and Knight canals, Broughton
Archipelago, Deep Sea Bluff, Fife Passage, points
Duff and Gordon, Mount Stephens, Wells Passage,
Boyles, and other jwints. In Queen Charlotte Sound,
so named by Wedgborough, captain of the Experiment,
in 178(5, the Discovery runs on a rock, but finally es-
capes without damage. The names Smith Iidct and
Fitzlmgh Sound, given by James Hanna in 1786,
and Calvert Islands, by Duncan, are recognized and
adopted by Vancouver, After entering Fitzhugh
Sound, wliere the vessels get aground, the expedition
procetids to Not)tka, where it arrives the 28th of Au-
gust, being waited upon by a Spanish officer with a
pilot, wiio conducts it into Friendly Cove.

After parting from Vancouver at Valdv5s Island,
Galiano and Valdes passed northward into Johnstone
Strait, through Canal de Cordero, naming the Ensen-
ada de Ali-Ponzoni, the present Frederick Arm;
Canal de Olavide, the channel running between
Valdes and Thurlow Island; the Bahias del Can6nigo
y de Flores; Canal de Retamal, the Call Canal of
Vancouver; Brazo de Vernaci, the Knight Inlet
of Vancouver; (^anal de Balda, at present Thompson
Sound; Brazo de Baldinat, corresponding to Bond
Sound. Wi'stward from the last-named place is Canal
de J'inedo, now Tribune Creek. The Johnstone
Strait of A^ancouver, (xaliano and Valdes call Canal
de Dcscubierta. The present Broughton Straits is
named by them Canal de Atrevida. Reaching the

ford lales; Map, Sutil y Mexicamt, Viaije, Isles de Lanz. Cartajraphi/ P. C,
MS., iii. 230. Ihis was certainly among the lirjt points seen in this vicinity;
HO th.'t Johnstone tliere found himself near what waa now one of the world'a
highways. Ihe islands on the eastern side of the northern end of Vancouver
I.iland are on the atLoses of both Vancouver and the Hutil y Mexicaini, aa
the islands of Galiano and Valdes.'

GALIANO AND VALDES.

He to
, Gali-

leave
oUows
ithain,
ighton
points
issage,
:^ouiid,
riment,
illy es-
ict and

1786,
•d and
tzhugh
edition
of Au-
with a

Island,
nstone
]lnsen-

Arm;
ctween
Ln6nigo
anal of
Inlet
)inpson

Bond

Canal
instone

Canal
raits is
ng the

ph;/ P. C,
s vicinity;
he world'a
k'"anco»ivcr

128 - - " •■- ■ --

^^/f 4

Vancouver's Map, No. 3.

SUMMAliY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES.

harbor where Foit Rupert stood later, they call the
place Puerto tic Guiimes. Then rounding tliii north-
ern end of Vancouver Island they sail for Nixjtka,

(Iracc, mercy, and peace continue the order of the
day. Vancouver offers to salute the Spanish flag if
Bodega y Cuii.dra will return the compliment with an
equal number of guns, which offer is gracefully ac-
cepted, and so from either side thirteen guns bellow
forth honors. At anchor here beside the Spanish
brig Activa arc Vancouver's store-ship Dfvclalus, and
the Thi'ce Brothers, a small merchant brig Irom I^on-
don, commanded by Lieutenant Alder of the navy.
Beside the chiefs of Spain and England his aboriginal
majesty Maquinna is conspicuous; but when, arrayed
in robes of Adamic simplicity, he attempts to board
Vancouver's vessel and is repulsed, the quality of his
savagism being unknown, lie is very angry at tlio
English, but is mollified and made gracious by the Span-
ish commandant. The representatives of the august
lival powers now eat : ar.ch together, and talk in genu-
liections. The Chatham is hauled on shore and re-
paired. Galiano and Valdes enter the port the 1st of
September. Letters pass, and deep diplomatism is in
order. To whom shall belong the several shanties on
this barbarous coast is of primary importance to civ-
ilization. It is unnecessary to follow here the sub-
tile logic of these ship-captains; the subject is ex-
hausted in another place. Suffice it to say, in aught
save urbanity and obeisance they cannot agree. Bo-
dega y Cuadra is ready to draw the line on this shore
Iwtween Spain and England; Vancouver's orders ex-
tend only to taking possession of his Majesty's huts.
Jointly to glorify themselves, and likewise to make
immortal the brotherly love which swells the breast
of both commandants in their distinguished disagree-
ments, Vancouver proposes, and Bodega y Cuadra
serenely smiles acquiescence, that the great island
whereon they now sit shall forever bo known as

CUAURO AKD VANCOUVI-ni.

lall the
north-
)tk!i.

• of the
I tlajjf if
\\\i\\ an
ally ac-
; bellow
Si)anisli
h(s, and
)ni I-.on-
10 navy,
^original
arrayed
to board
ty of liis
y at tb.o
ho Span-
10 august
in gonu-
and re-
lic Ist of
ism is in
antics on
ce to civ-
;he sub-
ct is ex-
in auglit
CO. Bo-
lis sliorc
)rders ex-
y's huts,
to make
ic breast
disagree-
y Cuadra
•at island
inown as

Cuadra and Vancouver Island.^" The Spanish armed
ship Aranzazu, Caaniano, conunander, enters tlu^ port
the 8th of September. Other vessels hero and else-
wHerc on t'ae coast come and go, some trading, some
waiting on the incii>ient settlemenU at Nootka and
Neah Bay, all jealously watching each other — an
English and an American shallop are on the stocks at
Nootka; a French trader is on the coa^i ; besides the
Spanish vessels named are the (lertnulix, Ctmapvurn,
J'rixrrsd, and the San (ViHok; further, the Fcnis and
>St Jimpk and tlie brig llape are nii'ntioned.

And now at Nootka, Bodega y Cuadra solemnly
possesses the Spanish huts, and Vancouver solenndy
)>ossesses the English huts; the questions involved are
leiorred to home arbitrament; tiien the several s<iuad-
rons sail each their w.y leaving the bland ^lacpiinna,
with bloodv appetite new \v hotted, as formerly lord
of nil.

On his way to San Francisco, Vancouver names
^AFoiuit St Helens, "in honor of his J^ritannic ma-
jesty's ambassadors at the court of Madrid," and sends
Wlii'lbey in tlio Jhtdalns to survey (iray Harbor,
Hid 1 'i-ougiiton in the CJniilimn to examine the Colum-
bia, I lis attem[)t to enter the latter with the Discovery
having failed.

Vet twice a^aiii befori' returninuf to England, N'aii-
corner ;!p[)earid ujion the Northwest Coast; once in
April 17'J3, J^roughton meanwhile sailing I'or home,
and again in A])ril 17S)4, after spending portions of
both w inters on the sontiiern coast and at tlu; Hawaiian
Islands." As Hitherto, whercMr he went ho found

"■ Hntli (•oiiiiiiaiiilcrs \vi'rew»:U aware that in thus giving so large a hody of
LiMil tlirir jiiiut n;inii;s, ii:i(l so rLc'oriling it in tin.- text and on tlic niajiM ol tho
(■xiii'.itioiH ol' Vaacouver ami of ( Jalia.io an.l \'aliU'-i, oac, ami liiit oni', wouhl
loniii 1. aa.l that wouM ilriicml entirely as to wiiidi nation tii-; t^iiitoiy f. II.

"in the I'Niiiilition of \'\y.\, Vancouver visited and nanieil Cain' Caution;
IJarkeCinal, 'aittrtlic Ui;.'ht Monorahle Kdnitmd;' Fisher Canal, 'alter a niuili
r -ii) '(te I triciid;' ]M.ints Wal!;ir, Ivlinu.id, Edward, and Kaiilioc; King Is-
land, 'altrr the faniiiy of my Lit,- l.iddy esteemed and iiiiieh lainentiil friend,
Captiin .lanu's Kin,' of tliu navy;' Tort John, I)ean, LVsca'!e, and Muselo
eiiial-, and Il.'storat.on a.i 1 J',.. -on eove ; the i li • entered Milhank Sounil,
.so na..icd hy Duncan, ami ^avo ih : nam • < f luj t.iird lieuteuant to t'ai)e Swaine,

'IIMl

SUMMARY OF EARUEST VOYACJES.

in almost every instance that the Spaniards had been
before him.

From this time down to the final abandonment of
this [)art of the coast by tlie Spaniards, and the phmt-

after which names were given to llanlner Canal, i)ointa Hopkins, C'umining,
Hunt, anil IVarce, HaM'kesbury Ishinil, Cape Ihhutson, I'itt Archipelago, ' after
the Riglit Honorable William Pitt, 'Stephens I:<laii<l, 'after Sir I'hilip .Stejihi'nH
of tlicuilmiralty,' and (Trenvillo Canal. Canal del Principe was navigated and
named liy Cuauiaflo. Some of the other places seen and named by Vancouver
in this voyage were Rrown Passage, 'after the commander of the BiUtrni'-iii/i;'
Dundas Island, 'after the Right Honorable Henry lunulas; ' Point Maskely no,
'after the astronomer royal; ' Point Ranisden, 'after Mr Ramsden, the opti-
cian; ' Cii; • Fox, 'after the Right Honorable Charles James Fox; ' Point Alava,
' in compliment to the SjKini^h governor at Nootka; ' Slate Islet; Point Nelson,
'after Captain Nelson of tlionavy;' Point Sykes, 'after (me of the gentlemen
of the J)iicori'n/; ' points TroUoj), Fitzgibbon, Lees, Whaley, Escape, Higj;ins,
Uaviilson, Percy, and Wales, the last named in honor of his schoolmaster;
Burrough Bay; Traitor's Cove; Revilla <iigedo Island; Behm Canal; Cape
Northumberland; Portland Canal; Moira Sound; Wedge Island, ' after the sur-
geon of ihc Chal/iam;' Walker Cove, 'after a gentleman of the C/int/unii;' B.ll
Island; 'after Mr John Stewart, one of the mates.' Port Stewart; points Lu
Mesurier, (irindall, Rothsay, Highticld, Aladan, Warde, Onslow, Blaipiiere,
Howe, Craig, Hootl, Alexander, -Mitcliell, Macnamara, Nesbitt, Harrington,
and Stanhope; Bradfield Canal; Prince Ernest Sound; Duncan Canal; Bushy
Island; Ihike of York Islands; points Baker, Protection, Biirrie, Beauderc,
Amelius, St Alban, Hunter, Nortii, Frederick, Buck, amlBorlase; Conclusion,
Coronation, and Warren Islands; Capo Pole; Capo Henry; AiHeck Canal; Ihike
of Clarence Strait; Engletield Bay; Prince of Wales Ai'cliipelago; Cartwri^ht
Sound; and Cape Decision, the last having been given on making up his mind
that tlie earlist reputed discoveries of the Spaniards were fabulous. The con-
tincn', between Itesolation Sound and (iardner Canal he named New Hanover,
to tlie northward of Gardner Canal as far as Point Rotlisay, New Cornwall,
and to the northward of New Cornwall as far as Cross Souiul, New Norfolk.
These with Nc v (ieorgia and New Albion completed a very pretty streteli of
new dedicated continent, extending from Lower California tc. Alaska. To t!iis
illustrious navigator be tlie further lionor of inflicting from his endless vocab-
ulary the nameless names of personal friendships upon the places visited by
him in his voyage of ]7'.'4 as follows: Point Macartney, Sullivan, Ellis, liarri),
Cornwallis, Kingsmill, Hobart,Vandennt,Walpolo, Astley, Windham, A Miier,
L'tike, Stylei.iai., Salisbury, Arden, Hugli, Gambier, Pybus, Napeaii, Wood-
house, Bingham, Sophia, Frederick, Augusta, Townshend, Cardnor, Samuel,
Parker, Marsdeu, Retreat, Bridget, St Mary, Seihiction, and 'after the se.-'.l
of my ancestors, Couvenlen;' Chatham Strait, 'after Lord Chatii-'vni, ' Caiio
Addiuntiin, 'after the Speaker of the House of Commons;' j>i cts Camde i,
.Maliuesbury, Houghton, Snettesham, Mary, ( 'oncliu^ion, Althrop, and I i-
ilalgo; I'rinee Frederick Sound; Capo Faiisliaw; liolkliam Bay; Dougl.us
Islaibl, Stepliens Passage, Barlow Cove, Seymour Cana!; Cape Edwartl; King
(ieorge tlie Third Arcliipelago; Berners Biiy; Lynn (.'anal: points Dunda.s,
Wimliledon, Lavinia, Latouche, Manby, Fremantle, Pel'iew, I'akonham,
Pigot, Nowell, ( ulross. Countess, Waters, ami I'yke; Knight Islands; l*igg.'S
Sound; Win^liam Island; Cape Spencer; Passage Canal; Capo Pu get; Haw-
kins Island; Bligli Island; and points Elrii gto:i, Bainbridge, Bentinck, Wil-
shed. Campbell, Mackenzie, and Woronzow. I think wo may safely say that
no one man ever ^ave so many geograpliical names, which remained perma-
nently i>laced as Vancouver; I wish I might truthfully mid tiiat no one ever
exercised better taste in the execution of such a task. Among the names
given by the Spaniards in this region, and for the most part ros^>vcted by Van-

GENERAL TRAFFIC.

mg of the post of Astoria at the mouth of the Colum-
bia Kiver, by the Americans, in 1811, many shij)a of
various nations coasted Vancouver and Queen Char-
lotte Islands and the adjacent mainland, chiefly for
purposes of traffic with the natives, and after and alonj^
with them the adventurers of England tradin*^ into
Hudson's l^ay, first in vessels oidy, and then with all
the paraphernalia for permanent <\stal)lishments, further
allusion to which is r.oi necessary in this coimection.

couver, were tlio C'iinal do Ri'vill.i Crlgoilo, as ropresentecl oii tlic chart of
Ciaiiiailo K.strecho do Fiu'iitus, I'l i-rtn dul Caftavi'ivil, Kiitrada del < 'lirinon,
Cape de t'liUL'oii, Isla de Z lyas, 1 a'xi i';uiiiiarK>, PtUTto dfl liaylio Bucareli,
discovcrt'd by Hodoga yCuadra in <77">, faliodoSan liiirto'omt', Piiorto do
Vuldi's, the Pui-rto (Jraviiia Fiihil^o; hut, as a riilf, tlio iiaiiu' jjivoii liy Kus-
Biaii and S[)aiii.sli i'X])h>ri'rs who had procudod •'aucuuvur iu tl one parts were
ia his re-iiaiiiiiig iguured.

1 ,;, .

1 1

'■. lii!

1 . ID'

ill

CHAPTEK II.

GEXERAL VIFAV 01;' THE NORXmVEST COAST.

Eastehx I'ahallels — Configuration of North-western America — Brit-
ish Colombia Coast — PrfiEv SorsD — Va.vcocveu Island — Queen
Charlotte Islands — Climauo Sectkns of the Mainland — New
CAt,EDOMA— IIekjhts OF L.vND— Tn:: Columiua and Fraskr Ti^teac
Basin— Skekna and S'ikeen— Oregon, Washington, and Idaho —
Noutiiwest Coast Climates— The Temperature of Various Local-
ities -Fauna and Flora — The Aiiorkmnes — Attitudes of the Fur-
ruADEus andSettlers towardthe Natives — Peaceful Heuime cndeb
the Great Monopoly— The Chinook Jargon.

II\viN'(j thus siifticioiitly refVcslioil ouriiiouiory as to
the earliest appearance of Europeans in these parts,
bel'oro i)r()eee(linuf in chi'onoloi^ical order with the
aflairs of IJritish Cohnnbia, I do not rejj^ard it tirao
lost to take a Lieiieral survey of the eonchtion of thlnj^s
at th's jvnu'ture tlirou^hout the north Paeilie sloj)e;
for altliou_nh the careful reader of that part of this
history entitled the Xorthircst Cocwit must have some
Icnowk'djLj^e of the jjresent state of allairs, another
{^lauce, as at a pictui'e of the whole, cannot fail to
gi\e a clearer and inoie lastin,L( idea of the country at
the heininniii'jf of what may be termed JJritish Colum-
bia history jiroj);!'.

California is opposite Siiain; Orejjjon and Washinaf-
ton are on the parallels of J'' ranee; Jjritish Columbia
is in th(! lalitutic of (jlreat l>ritain; as the world is
round and revol\in<jf, there is no reason why one side
of it should be better than another. Nor is it. Civ-

lization IS

hard(

er u|)on SOI

Is tl

urn .savatjfism; ant

I tl

steppes of Kussia and Siberia, thouyh perhaps somc-

(lat

PROMINENT FEATURES.

ICA— Brit-
D — QrEE«
AND— New

U Tl^ATKAC
1) lUAlUl —
O'^S Ll)CAL-
FTIIE FUR-
LJIXIE UNDER

)ry as to

so [nirts,

itli the

it tiiiio

* things

of this

ivo some

another

t fail to

)untry at

Coluui-

ic si

^Vnshing-
Dohunhia
woihl is
one siile
it. Civ-
and the
ips some-

831

what more <.ensely occupied, and with somewhat more
advanced indigenous populations, are neither so at-
tractive nor so virgin as the prairies, lake lands, and
river and mountain districts of noi-thernmost America.
Each hemisphere has its freezing eastern side, and its
warmer western side, thanks to the modifyinor ocean
streams which come sun-beaten from the tropics; and
for the rest, there is little to choose; that little, how-
ever, always being in favor of what each of us may
call OUT* own country.

The Xorthwest Coast, if we comprise within the
limits of that term the territory from California to
Alaska, and between the Rocky Mountains and the
ocean, is more varied in its configuration, some would
say more grandly beautiful, than the opposite eastern
plains. The rock formations of the former are more
disturbed; the region is mountainous, with a high
irregular plateau betw'een two principal ranges, subor-
dinate i)lateaus intervening in places between subor-
dinate ranges, and all having in the main the general
trend of tlie coast. Thus dropping the appellation of
the great continental chain which binds the two
Americas from Alaska to Patagonia, and adopting
local nomenclature, we have for the representatives of
the Bitter Koot ^Mountains of Idaho, taken collec-
tively, the Purcell, Selkirk, Columbia, Cariboo, and
Oniineca mountains of British Columbia; the Cas-
cade Ivaiige is a continuation of the Sierra Nevada;
Vancouver and Queen Ciiarlotte islantls arc a contin-
uation of llie Coast liange; the great plateau region
of the Columbia, the Fraser, and the Skeena rivers is
a continuation of tlie Utah and Nevada basin.

Western Biitish Columbia is essentially moun-
tainous, breaking on the border into innumerable
islands and ocean inlets, presenting a bold locky front,
heavily timbered to the water's edg«'.

Exceedingly beautiful and very grand is the water
system of Puget Sound, and the labyrinth of .straits,
inlets, bays, and islands all akn-.g the" coast of British

HUT, Brit. Cur.. 8

■\,

iJKNEUAL MEW OF IHK NORTHWEST fOAST,

^ 111!.
iili

Columl)ia. And while St Lawrence Gulf and Lake
Superior are wrapped in biting cold, roses sometimes
dare to bloom here, and green pease and strawberries
to prepare for their early gathering.

The island of Vancouver presents a mountainous
interior, subsiding at either end, and at places along
its eastern side. The shores are exceedingly pictur-
es((ue, bold, rocky, and rugged, brokt'U on the western
side into numerous bays and inlets like those of the
mainland, with intervening clift's, promontories, and
beaches, while on the northern and eastern sides the
absence of ocean indentations is remarkable. The
island is generally wofxled, the borders witli fir, back
of which arc lunnlock, and the mountains with cedar.
Between the rid<jes which cross and int(>rlace are
small valleys affording but moderate agricultural
facilities; but c>n the southern and eastern border
there are extremely fertile tracts susceptible of easy
cultivati(>n, th«' open s[)ots ottering tlu>. first fittraction
to S(>ttlers. Lakes, streams, and water-falls every-
where abound, though the rivers are none of them
large

The Que«Mi Charlotte Islands arc mountainous,
like all adjacent lands; and while there are tracts, par-
ticularly around the border, which might bo success-
fully cultivated, it is more to the nnneral resources
hero embedded that we nnist look for profitable re-
turns. Kast of the hli>li interior of !Moresbv Island is
a ilfit belt gv<'wiiig a,ld<'rs. All these islands are
densely wooded, cypress and s[>ruce being jirominent,
with redundant underorowth. The climate is mild
and moist; the natives are light-complexioned, intel-
ligent, courageous, and cruel.

Still following the all-compelling mountains, the
mainland of ihitish Celumbia may be ilivide<l into
three sections, the fii-st comprising the coastwise
strip between the o<ean and the eastern slope of the
(^ascade Kange, I'xtending back, for instance, on the
Fraser as far as Yale; the second, a j>arallel strip

RANGES AND PASSES.

yostern
'. of the
es, and
ties the
:. The
Rr, hack
,U cedar,
lace art!
icultural
I horder
3 of easy
.ttractioii
s cvery-
of them

^utauious,

[acts, par-
SUccess-
•csources
litahle re-
Island is
lands are!
in)uunent,
\e is mild
icd, intel-

Italns, the

lidi'd into

coasiwiso

■^';

whose eastern l)oundary line would be ujion the west-
ern side of the Cariboo Mountains, and cross the
Frascr, say at Alexandria; the third extending thence
to the Rocky Mountains.

Dense woods containing trees of gigantic growth,
pine, fir, and red-cedar, characterize the first section,
the low alluvial deposits about the rivers and inlets
being covered by jungle, with hero and there })oplars,
alders, l)alsam, and aspen, and sometimes meadows of
coarse; mitritious glass, all the products of rich soils
and copious rains. Upon the drier surface of the
second section a diflxrent vegetation appears. Indeed,
the ])n'sence of cacti, artemisia, and kindred shrubs be-
ve)nd Lytton are siijrnilicant of a hot as well as a dry
climate. In place of the massive forests and redundant
floia of the seaboard, we find an open country', hills,
jjastnres,and grassy vales, with intervening forest J>elts.
Less suited to agriculture, except in the more favored
spots, more wooded, yet still with vast luxuriant pas-
tures, is the third section. On the great plateau stretch-
ing i'ar to the north from the branch bends of the Fraser,
the climate is nnichmore severe than between Cariboo
an<l Kamloop. On the other side, tov.ard the south
and east, the temjierature is nmch milder, jjarticularl}'
between Colville anel the Dalles, where lies the great
Columbia cactus-bearing desert with occasional buncli-
^rass oases.

Tiio mountain jiasses are usually blockaded in
winter; yet in June, where lately rested ten or twenty
feet of snow the ground is llower-spangled, and the
forests ihish with the bursting green of tlu' sweet early
foliage. Crossing the gi-im Stony range from the
east j'.t IVaee lliver, whieh stretches its branches far
an<l witjf within the summit line of the continental
ridgi", and steals f(tr the eastei-n slope the waters of
the westerti, the lirst I'u^otch explorers found them-
selves in a lalivrinth (»f minor ridijres whose blue lakes,
among the puie-clad steeps, brought to mind the lochs
ami bens of their old highland homos; so they called

GENERAL VIEW OP THE NORTTTWEST COAST.

)I I I

I* 1*1
i

the place New Caledonia as elsewhere I have men-
tioned. Approaching McLeod Lake the mountains
put on a more stupendous aspect. Mackenzie found
the temperature there from 30° above to 16° below
zero; and though the ground was covered with snow,
the gray wren and mountain robin, the latter arrayed
in delicate fawn with scarlet belly, breast, and neck,
black wings edged with fawn, variegated tail, and
tuft-crowned head, came out hopping, and singing,
and eating, as though the dreary prospect only stirred
in them a higher happiness, just as adversity some-
times brings sweet music from otherwise dumb hu-
manity.

In this boldly swelling country of New Caledonia
the scenery is varied. In the forests the cedar, fir,
and hemlock assume magnificent proportions, while
the copses, separating jjlains and open undulations,
give pleasing variety to the eye. It is singularly and
beautifully watered. Rivers mark out the region in
natural districts often silver-edged with long narrow
lakes, which glisten in the sunshine like the waters
of paradise.

There are many lieights of land round which clus-
ter snow-chul peaks, parting the How of waters, parting
twin drops, sending one to the Pacific and its brother
to the Atlantic; sendinof one to ininiyle with the brine
of the Mexican Oulf beneath the vapor-beating sun,
and another to bo locked throuijliout the ajjes in the
icy embrace of the Arctic Sea. All along the conti-
nental range are such heights of land, and at many
l)oiiits along the north-western table-land. Between
the tributaries of the Saskatchewan and those of the
Columbia; between the tributaries of Peace River
and those of Fraser and Skeena rivers; between the
streams flowinix into the Fraser all alonj? its course
and those which feed the Columbia on the one
side and the Rellacoola and Skeena on the other,
there arc multitudes of these heights of land, not to
mention the ridges dominating the rivulets running

■^'

OKANAGAN AND KOOTENAI.

to thu Stikeen and Yukon, or to the Mackenzie.
He who camps upon the narrow isthmus joining the
lofty continental mountains and dividing the high
rolling seas of hill and plain on either side, may fill
his kettle from the limpid source either of the Sas-
katchewan or the Columbia. But more than this,
and most remarkable of anything of the kind on the
planet, at that grandest of Rocky Mountain passes,
the Athaba.sca, is a little lake called the Committee's
Punch Bowl, one end of which pays tribute to the
^Mackenzie and the other to the Columbia.

The plateau basin of the Columbia and Fraser
rivers comprises thickly timbered uplands interspersed
with woodland and grassy valleys bordered by pine-
dotted hills rolling gently upward from limpid lakes
and boisterous streams. There are few deserts or
worthless tracts, and in the forests but little under-
brush; the country is one vast pasture; prairie and
forest, valley and hill being covered with nutritious -
grass. In the Okanagan River district we find in-
dications of that sandy waste which hence extends
southward as the great American desert to Mexico.
The lake country from Chilcotin to Fort Fraser and
beyond is generally open ; the river region to the north
and east of the Cariboo Mountains between Fort
George and Yellowhead Pass is thickly wooded, with
few if any open spaces. Northward only the hardier
vegetation is able to endure the summer night frosts.
Between forts Kootenai and Colville, the trail winds
along lakes and streams from whose borders rise moun-
tains of black rock hidden beneath the dun pine
foliage, which, mirrored in the transparent waters,
turns them to lakes and rivers of dark and fathomless
depths, while the setting sun tips with gold the sum-
mits of these gloomy aierras.

Tired travellers do not always take the most hope-
ful view of the wilderness through which they toil.
Thus Sir George Simpson finds the Kootenai country
"rugged and boggy, with thick and tangled forests,

(GENERAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST.

craggy i)eaks, and dreary vales, here and there hills
of parched clay where every shrub and blade of grass
was brown and sapless as if newly swept by the blast
of a sirocco, with occasional prairies and open swards
interspersed with gloomy woods or burning pine
forests." Passing over the Fraser basin, Johnson ex-
claims: "Of all the dismal and dreary-looking places
in the world the valley of the Thompson River for
some fifteen or twenty miles from its mouth would
easily take the palm! We have thought the canons
of the Fraser rugged enough, but here was naught
Ijut rocks, whereon even the hardy fir refused to vege-
tate."

Their vocabulary is scarcely sufficient for the mighty
fissure of the Fraser, whose waters gathered from
scores of lakes and tributary streams dash through
gorges and l)etween high perpendicular rocks in suc-
cessive cascades and rapids, with here arid there brief
breathing-places. •'The Fraser Iliver Valley," writes
an observer, "is one so smgrlirlv formed, that it would
seem that some superhuman sword had at a single
stroke cut through a labyrinth uf mountains for three
hundred miles, down deep into the bowels of the
land." Again . "At no point of its course from Ques-
nelle to Lytton is the Fraser Eiver less than twelve
hundred feet below tlie level of the land lying at
either side of it; and from one steep scarped bank to
the other is a distance of a mile." AnotJier standing
at Lytton says: "Here, along the Fraser, the Cascade
Mountains lift tlieir rugged heads and the river fi(iws
at the bottom of a vast tangle cut by nature throuirh
the heart of the mountains." Yet "along the Xach-
arcole Iliver there will be found a country admirably
suited to settlement, and possessing a prairie land of
a kind nowhere else" found in British Columbia.

In the Skeena and Stikeen countries, which give
rise as well to the rivers of their respective names
emptying into the Pacific, as to the waters which
take their freezing flow round by the Macken-

THE SPOKANE COUNTRY.

zie to the Arctic, the wildest and most romantic
scenery is Ibiind. Mountains of stone and ice arc
tliere, and jjclaciers equal to any of Switzerland — Ljiant
jijlaciers and infant glaciers, JSIethusalehs and mud-
horn. Ascending from tlie sea, through the pine-
covered belt, through spruce, hemlock, and balsam,
willow, alder, and cottonwcod, which at every step
becomes more broken and the trees more scattering,
the traveller finally emerges into a fit home for piti-
less fate, glittering, cold, inexorable bowlders, and snow
succeeding sn(»w, and bowlders in mountain melange,
limitless variety in liniitless unity, here and there cut
into sections bv ice-plouirhed canons and chasms.

Tliat which was originally the bunch-grass country
of eastern Wasliington is noM' famous for its grain-
growing pntperties; for though the atmosphere is dry,
water lies near the surface. The intersecting moun-
tain rangt'S, and the deejvgorged water channels of
(astern Oregon, are less favorable to aijriculture than
the rolling plains on the northern side of the ( Vilum-
bia. And along this belt far to the north, and high
above the sea, the sheltered valleys aflbrd ample re
turns to the husbandman. At Fort Alexandria, with
an altitude of fourteen hundred and fifty feet, and at
other i)laces a thousand feet hiijfher, fortv bushels of
wheat to the acre are not uncommon, and other prod-'
ucts in proportion.

The lower slopes of the snow-topped mountains of
Idaho are furrowed with streams which clothe the
foot-hills in sturdy forests and the high i)rairies in
rich grasses. Nestling below the level of the plains
are warm, (|uiet valleys, protected alike from the arid
winds (»f summer and the cold blasts of winter; and
on winter pastures the snow seldom remains long.

Larcli, cedar, fi: and pine thickly overspread the
Bitter Koot iMountains. The Walla Walla Valley,
with its bright, winding streams, fringed with cotton-
wood, presents a pleasing picture. North of the Spo-
kane the country is wooded, and much of the soil

!''

'^1'

I ti

«0 GENERAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST.

arable. The Flathead country is warm, with good
arable land predominating.

The well watered and alluvial "Willamette Valley,
being alike free from the periodical aridity of Cali-
fornia, the desiccating winds of eastern Oregon, and
the general gravelly character of Washington soils, is
peculiarly adapted to crop-raising and fruit-growing.
For many years the Yakima country, now known to
be one of the most fertile wheat-fields in the world,
was regarded as fit only for grazing.

Thus the highest agricultural facilities of Oregon
and Washington are reversed; those of the former
lying west of the Cascade Mountains, and those of
the latter on the eastern side of that range. Let
each, therefore, be duly thankful. Not that western
Washington need ulush for its resources, for although
the surpassing fertility of the Willamette soils fails
on crossing the Columbia and entering the more
gravelly plains of the Cowlitz and the region round
Puget Sound and Admiralty Inlet, yet when this
old ocean-bed emerged from the waters with it came
coal and iron, and in due time grand forests arose on
the margin of beautiful waters, and crept up the
Olympian heights to the line of summer snow.

The climates of the Northwest Coast are many and
variable, but all are healthful, and by far the greater
part agreeable. Considering the surface covered, there
is a remarkable absence of marshy plains, miasma,
malaria, and consequent ague. Here, as elsewhere,
elevated districts are cold, but not so cold as in many
other places. A very severe winter in New Cale-
donia, such as happens once in ten years, may be as
severe as a very mild winter in Canada, but not more
severe.

The Cascade Range marks the two great climatic
divisions, both the heat and the cold on the eastern
side being greater than on the western. East of this
range the climate is dry; on the western slope it is

€

HEAT AND COLD.

Dregon
former
lose of
;. Let
kvestem
ithougli
lis fails
e more
1 round
len this

it came
irose on

up the

any and
greater
d, there
miasma,
e where,
in many
;\v Cale-
ay bo as
lot more

cUmatic
t eastern
,t of this
ope it is

'Af

wet, the humidity increasing toward the north. Sum-
mer is liot, and winter cold, on the eastern side; on
the western, summer is lovely, some days warm and
bright, some rainy, and winter never severely cold.

Temperatures vary of course with latitude, altitude,
and distance from the sea; but throughout the whole
of this region there are < omparatively small portions
not habitat )le by man, while by I'arthe greater part is
salubrious and delightful. The well protected valleys
arc seldom subject to extremes of weather, being free
from strong winds and heavy falls of snow, and in tin*
dry crystalline air of the higher plains even a low full
of the thermometer is easily endured. The rivers of
the east are often blocked by thick ice almost down to
their mouths, but navigation on the lower waters of the
Northwest Coast is seldom impeded. The rivers of
the upper interior freeze in winter, but on the elevated
plains snow is seldom more than eighteen inches deep,
and when the sun and spongy wind look in upon the
valleys, frosty coverings vanish as if by magic.

Heat and cold are both more endurable by man in
a dry than in a wet atmosphere. Add to this the
fact that the western sides of continents are warmer
than the eastern by reason of the warm air and
ocean-currents thrown upon them, and we may per-
haps understand why the mean temperature at Fort
Dun vegan, so called from the castle of the McLeods
built among the cold bleak rocks of Skye one tliousand
feet above the sea, differs httle from that of Quebec,
whose altitude and latitude are much lower. And yet
Dunvegan can scarcely be called west of the mountains.

Though bordering upon the high latitudes, the cli-
mate of British Columbia is more British than hyper-
borean. The traveller in crossing the mountains from
the east may find the same clouds arraying the one
side in snow and ice, and dropping gentle rain upon
the other. Indeed, along the border of the ocean as
far as the Aleutian Archipelago nature is always in a
melting mood.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE NORTH^VEST COAST.

ir li

li ri

As far back as Idaho and Montana the modifying
influences of the Japan currents are felt, spring, sum-
mer, and autumn there being dehghtful, wiiile winter
is less severe than in Iowa, Wisconsin, or Minnesota.
It is only on the higher elevations that the cold is
extreme, or the snowfall heavy. Both the country
and climates of Idaho and Montana are well adapted
to wool-ijfrowinjj ami horse and cattle raisinjj. The
mean winter temperature at Virginia, Montana, is not
far IVom iwenty-Hvo degrees above zero.

Some parts of Jiritish Cohnnbia arc better for
grazing purposes in winter than the elevated pastures
of Idaho. J3irds fly south when snow comes; but we
find tlie stock-iaisers of Idaho di'iving their cattle for
winter pasturage into British (.'oluml)ia, the low snow-
less valleys of Idaho being too small to accommodate
then), while the Columbia basin above Colville is
more hos[)itable than the winter-wra[)pcd upper plains
of Idaho. Sj)roat calls it the climate of England with-
out ihe biting east wind. " There can be no doubt,"
says Palmer, of the royal engineers, "that in })oiiit of
salubrity, the climate of J^ritish Columl)ia excels that
of (ireat Tlvitaiii, and iiidied is i>!ie of the finest in
the world."

Winter on ^ ancouver Island is not severe, and
sun)mer is charming. Ilain is plentiful, particularly
during winter; snow seldom lies long on the lower
levels. The climate here is similar to the mainland
seaboard, with insular |)eculiarities. On the coast
the temperature is seldom over 80" or under '20"
Fahrenheit.

The temperature at Stuart Lake is subject to
sudden Aariations, though these are exceptional. Wild
fruits llouri.sh and ripen there, even the susceptible
service-berry blossom being seldom blighted. The
hollows thereabout arc subject to occasional hoar
frosts in summer, which do not appear on the suimy
slopes. Here, as elsewhere in British Columbia, en-
thusiasts point to the humming-bird as proof of a

GAME.

gonial cliinate; yet I can hardly insist, as some of the
old Hudson's Bay Company's servants would almost
liavo mo do, that the winter climate of New (.'alodonia
is wholly free from inconvenient cold. On the upper
Frasor winter is capricious, intense cold comingf and
ori)ing suddenly. Round the rugged Cariboo Moun-
tains snow falls freely. Extremes are rare on the upper
Cf)lumbia, snow seldom remaining long. The climate
here is as delightful as the scenery is grand.

Everywhere north of San Francisco Bay, and
{dong the coast as far ar, the sixtieth parallel, wore
lounJ grizzly bears, the grassy Hats at the mouth
of rivers, and the rank vegetation on the banks of
inlets, where berries were abundant, being their fa-
vorite haunts. For some reason they did not seem
to fancy Vancouver Islantl as a dwell ing-j)laco, though
their black brethren were there in superabundance, as
well as on the mainhnnl.

Even more ferocious in this region than the grizzly
Mas the bi 3wn boar, which seemed to prcfc^r the in-
terior to the coast. On the island and mainland were
elk, black -tailed doer, and reindeer, the <'ariboo of
the voyageurs in tLo northern mountains of New
Caledonia. In the vicinity of the Kooky Mountains
were mountain-sheep, moose-doer, and wood-buifalo.
The fur-bearing beasts, whose skins constituted the
chief braiicli of connnorce on the Northwest Coast,
Were brown, black, an<l grizzly bear; beaver; badgers;
silver, (loss, and red foxes; Ushers; martens; minks;
llu' gray and spotted lynx; musquash; sea and land
otters; panthers; raccoons; black, gray, and coyote
wolves, and wolverines.

The natives of Vancouver Island speared salmon,
and caught herring, halibut, cod, sturgeon, and whales;
they hunted the bear, wolf, panther, elk, door, marten,
mink, beaver, and racco(.)n. On all the large streams
of the mainland,. salmon were plentiful from early spring
to late summer. They ascended the Fraser seven hun-

GENERAL VIEW OB^ THE NORTHWEST COAST.

dred miles. From staple food of the natives, salmon
became at an early day with the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany an article of commerce. Oysters and crabs were
common on the sea-shore. The eulaehon, or candle-
fish, is famous in those parts; sardine, anchovy, had-
dock, and dog-fish also may be mentioned.

Birds of song are less conspicuous than birds of
beautiful plumage. Grouse are common on island and
mainland. Then there are quails, ptarmigan, pigeons,
geese, ducks, and snipe.

Thus we see in this northern west, save upon the
briny border, a land of bright skies and buoyant airs;
of forested mountains and fertile plains; of placid
bays, large rivers, silvery lakes, and prismatic water-
falls; of coal, and iron, and gold, and other exhaust-
less mineral wealth; of fisheries, and agricultural,
commercial, and manufacturing facilities; with soils,
climates, and scenery equal to any of Europe, equal
to any on earth. What shall hinder tinpire, evolu-
tion, and all that elevates and ennobles, aiding man
here to assert his completest sovereignty?

I can say but a word here rtjgarding the aboriginal
nations inhabiting these parts, but must refer the reader
to the work set apart for that subject. The first vol-
ume of the Natii'e Races of the Pacific States contains
descriptions of the several peoples as first seen by
Europeans, and their manners and customs, and in
the third volume will be found something of their
mytlK)logics and languages.

Nt)r have I space to enter at length upon the atti-
tude (jf the Hudson's Bay Company toward the na-
tives, tlieir treatment of, or policy concerning them.
These matters will be fount! fully explained in the
Jlistory of the Northwest Coast.

This much I can say, however, by wav of remind-
ing the reader of what is therein stated. Probably
savagism was never so deftly and delicatelv stripped
of its belongings, and laid away to rot, as ni British

-■t-

THE NATIVES.

salmon
' Com-
)s were
3andlo-
jr, had-

irds of
,nd and
ligeons,

)on the
nt airs;
i" placid
! water-
xhaust-
iultural,
uh soils,
c, equal
, ovolu-
ng man

(Original
e reader
irst vol-
contains
seen by
and in
of their

the atti-

the na-

r them.

in the

Columbia. Never from boj^nnning to end was then' a
single outbreak or massmit; of any ininortancc, s{ivt>
along the sraboard, and theso were seldom directod
against the resident fur-tnukrs. Why was this, wlu'n
tlie United States Itorder Mas everywliure di-lugrd in
blood? Surely theso northern nations wore naturally
as fierce and vindictive as any south of them. The
answer is — J>usintss. The natives wore needed lor
hunters. Thoy had nothing of which the respectable
I'^uropcan wished to rol» tlu-in; so their possessions
were left for a time unmolested. Wlieu t'e eonij)any
wanted their land, as a matter of course tluv took it ;
but at first they re(|uirid only the skins of their wild
beasts, and these the natives nmst secure and bring
to them.

The natives <if tlu; .seaboard wi'rt; n-garded with
fear by all .uihsrs. As a rule, and especially to
strangers, they wi;re exc(;edingly dangerous, as their
capture of the Itoxtou, the Toin/nlii, and other vessi>ls
abundantly proves. ( )ften the traders fed them on lire-
water, aiid ill I'etuin the demoni/.id savages cai'ght
and killed tin iii whiiiover the y felt able. In e; rly
times, lapiiie and murder along this coast was the
iioniial eniidition of tilings. vXgainst every attiMiipt at
seUleiiieiit the na.tivt!s fought desp<rati ly.

And whv should tliev not resi. t ^ I'rom time im-
iii''iiiorial their tatlu^rs had Ik Id the l.uid ; and (lie .s(>a
was tliiirs, kindly yielding them f;io;| and « lothiiig.
They could not a, k tlieir <';(i<ls for more, unh s.s it
should ln' to make (Iiein alwavs diuiik.

(

Tilt! oHIcers ai!<l .sei-vaiits of the

Hud

son s

oiii]i:iiiy wcri' as niu* h gentlemen hv instiii<t in their

treatment of Indians as in their tnutnient of civil-

ized null ;tnd Women. Ilenc(> it w

.1 < )e J

Stat

is, wlun

(

( lu'ia

laiii', wlulom gov«>rnor of Oi-egon and I'liited

«'s sciiatiii' as he was once ridiny,' toward Niso.nllv.

> ex( laim r(- ;ai-diny' the natives there-

was heard t

about, "haiiiii tliemi it would d

be aCicr tin in I "his hearers could not understand it

o my soui gtiou to

d t(

I iit: !

H (JENEKAL VIEW OF THE NOIiriiWE.ST COAST.

Such W()r<lH could uoviT luivo falloii fVf)in the hps of
a McLoughhn or a J)(ni^his. It was a s|K'cies of l)l<)od-
thirstv ln'utahty totally iKjyoiul tlu; ooiii|»roheiisioii of
nun who had learned to look on these ehildren of the
forest as men of like creation and nature as them-
selves.

For the trial of the Indians han«jfed at St<'ilacooni for
tlie killinuf of Wallace at the Nis(|ually post, jurymen
were l>rou<j^ht all the way from Orey^on City. Well
may we say that therein was nuuli hollow form for a
little show of justice', when we are told that three or
lour of tliese men, durinjjf tlu'ir deliheiations, rolled
themselves in their hlankets. and hefore eom[»osin«;
theiiisi Ives to sleep remarki'd, "Whenever you want
ill) I ndian hani;-ed, awaki' us." liut this was intelliu'ent
and humane conduct in comparison with nuuh that
occuiTcil in the A iijulo- American occujiation of the
western United States. 1 admit that luither what
wei-e called jn'ood men nor th<' t;oveinment were
wholly ri'sponsilile for the wholesale butcheries of
men. women, and children for nimes which tluy
never committed; ami yet, whenever 1 am ohliycd to
allude to the suhject, I can hut notice this ditt'erence
ill the treatment (»f the Indians.

The lre(|iient hostility of the Indian does not orii^i-
nate in sava^o malignity <»r natuial hlood-thirstiiiess,
hill ill righteous retaliation for ( iidless pro\ (tcations.
" Many a iiiLi'ht." wi'iti's one l>y no means seiilimenta!
ill sneii niiitters, "liaNc I sat at the camp-firt! and

listened to tile I'ecital of hloodv and fcjociitus scenes,
in wlii< h the iiari'utors wei-e the actoi-s aii<l the ])oor
I iidtaiiK the victims; and I liii\e felt my hlood tin;4ie
with sliaiiM' and hoil with iiitlienation to lieai' the dia-
holiciil acts a|i|ilaii(led iiy those foi- whesr amusement
tiny Wel'e i-elated."

Unforluniitt'ly for the po(»r savaL^c. in his divinely
•reordained extinction, it was ordered that In; should
often hroULfht into contact with thosi' wh«» sou<»;ht
to Siive his so\il and tli(»se who destroyed his hodv.

RELIUlON AND < O.MMEKcK.

How mucli lu'ttoi- tor him w»»ukl it have been it' the
nii.ssioiiaiirs had dirrctLiI thiir otrorts toward iiii-
jtroviMi;' tht' htarts and morals of tlie di'sporato and
l)rutal l)or(K'r lucii, tht; knavt's and va^al)oiHls wlio
spent their lives in int'onninjx ujion and insultin^^ the
natives, and on the tirst sliiLi:ht appearance of detV neo
or rtitaliation on the j)artof the Imlian, in slauijrhterin^'
him. ]:Jetter a thousand times had the missionaries
sjK'nt their lives in eonvertin<^ these men, for they
nei'ded reufenenition far more than did the savaife.

Wherever tlie otHe«'rs and servants of the Iliulson's
J»a.y C'ompaiiy had theectimtry entirely to themselves,
there was Ijtth' trouhle with the natives. Their man-

aLTcment of tluin was perteet. They treated th«'m,
tiist of all. as human creatures, not its wild heasts.
They wei'e to thrm the ehiliUi'ii, not tlu' enemy of
civiii/atioii. In their inteicoui'se they Wi-re humane,
in theii' dealiu'ns, honest. ( )tlenees were follov.ed hy
jfj.'ine, not hy reveuLji'. No attempt WMs ma«le to
fi)st<ii upon them the I'eiiyions or molalities of civiliza-
tion ; though t^ross ei-uelty ami irdiumanity amoui;'
themselves were seveicly frowned u|)on, they were
left to marry (i>l h'hltnin or not to marry at all, and to
worship the yods of tluir creation after their own
fashion.

But the moment eom|ietitiv«' traders came in, all
(his happy state of thin</s was ehan^i-d. Fit-ry
<lrau'j,hts of intoxication were placol ti» the lips of
the savayu'S, no less hy the lienev(»li'nt and di^nitied
adventurers of Mnyland than hy the heedless Nankeo
skijiper and the ho|<|ei' desperado. ( 'onmieree ie\e|s

all moralities. Wlu-uevei- e\ en the most hitti-r rivalry
was conliued to larye and responsihie eoiiipjinie«^, tin;
sa\aMe xvas not mu<'li the f^uU'erer; indet d, his ini-
|iorlain-e was often therehy «;ri-atly ma^jnitied, and the
artl.'ss al»ori-4iiial was hv no means slow to make

vail of th

tries.

I hit

lis iiiereaseil purc|iasin|4 power o| Ins j

•1-

III sections where tree trapp' IS and irre-
'poiisihle holder iiK'ii ohtained peiniaiH nt foothold,

' Ifl

II GENERAL VIEW OP THE NORTHWEST COAST.

rapine, murder, and exterminating war were sure to
follow.

While treating all foreigners with politeness, and
while I'ver ready to rescue the distressed of any na-
tion, tiie Hudson's Bay Company were exceedingly
jealous of interference in their trade. They would
not have their prices changed, nor their hunters de-
moralized, if by any possibility they ct)uld ])revent it.
Compacts were often made with the Kussiaiis and
with the ca})tains of American vessels trachng on the
coast, not to deviate i'roni the company's tariH', and
not to sell li(iuor to the natives, which promises were
not always kept.

In the Fort Simpson journal, under date of Xovem-
ber 1, 18;iG, I find entered: "(^aptain Snow, of the
i>ank Lai/raiifjf, saluted the body of a Siniseyan chief
who «lie(l of sn»all-j)ox, with five guns, and now he is
getting all the trade of the tribe — a contem[»til)le
Yankee trick." Twentv years previous to this entrv,
a fight occuncd between an American coasting vtssel
and the Chilcats, in which one hundred of the latter
were killed. When the Hudson's Bay people estab-
lished Fort Tako, th(! Chilcats treated them with
marked sus])icion. *'lt is rather too bad,' writis
Douglas in his journal, "to hold us responsible for
tlie sins of others, parti«'ularly of a peo[)lt! t«) whom
we are indebted for no intenhangt} of goocl oftices."
The natives early learned to distinguish tiie iviiig
(iieorg(^ Uieii from the Hostons, not by ilress, but by
features and ^ju'ecji, and to the no small disparage-
ment of tlu' latter. Xor <lid tlu^ JIudson's Hiij Com-
pany exi'rt themselves t(> promoti; good-fellowsiiip
between their dusky ])r<)(('(/('s and vVmerican traders,
^'et J am very sure that no violent or unfair sfvjts
were ever t.iki'U by oflieers «>f the company to lid
themselves (»f interlopers. They would tell the na-
tives to beware of then», to have nothing to do with
tluMii, and that was all.

ThoU'di ri'adv on the instant to draw, the Hudson's

JUST TREATMENT.

«9

urc lo

58, and
,ny im-
(lin^ly

w»)uUl
CIS tle-
ent it.
us ami

oil tlio
•irt", ami
es were

M'ovem-
, of the
an chief
)W he is
'in\>tihU)
is entry,
itf vi'Hsel
»o latter
h> i>8tal)-
L>ni with
" writes
siltle for
t«) Nvh«)iu
otlices.

> Kiii'JC
hut hy
imraLye-
vj Co\n-
ll«»\vshil»
traileif*.
lir stol'H
y to rill
the na-
) ilo with

IucIsuu'h

Bay Company were slow to use their weapons on the
natives. The punishment of insolence or other petty
oftenee was to knock the offender down, and the offi-
cers, irom governor to clerk, prided themselves on their
superior skill in the manly art. "However expert the
Indians may be at the knife, or the spear, or the gun,"
says Simpson, " they arc invariably taken aback by a
white list on their noses." An offence was seldom
allowed to go unpunished, and the company were as
ready to do justice as to exact it. "It was a general
rule," says Tod, "to mete to the Indians justice.
They would bring sometimes two or three hundred
dollars' worth of furs ; they could not courit more than
ten. I would always try to make them count foi
themselves by explaining how to do it; but they
would always trust us to count "

It is a great nnstake to fling all aboriginal men and
women into one category and danni them as savages.
As elsewhere on this planet there are good Indiana
and bad Iiidians, honest men and tender-hearted
women, as well as thieves and murderers. I liave at
hand scores of remarkable instances illusti'ative of
the honesty and humanity of the natives of liritish
Co]und)ia. So reconciled to civilized supremacy did
they become under the just treatment wliich <hev i-e-
ceivi'd, that wherens at first, in this or other legit.ns,
white men could traverse the country only in l)ands
of thirty or forty, a single person belonging to tiie
all-])owerl'ul fur company, or havii»g its [uotection,
could ii(»w go and com(! at pleasui'e ;iny where in Urit-
ish Columbia, passing in safety thi'ough the lands of
.scores of triU's hostile to each other, as one whoso
life and luojuM'ty were things sacreij.

Their nohl(>r nature was easily worked upon; niany
of them would scorn to *lo things which white Chris-
tiJins jiractise on om; ant)ther without renuu'se of con-
science. They loved honor and power; Chinamen and
negroes they regarded with su|ireme contemi>t. I lalf-
breetls have not proved a suct-ess.

liur, Uui. Cut. 4

(JE.VEHAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST.

,i'-H

The statement ot'aii intelligent ofKcer of the Hud-
son's Bay Conjjiuny, as to their |)()licy with regard to
the natives, may be better than mine. A. C. Ander-
son devott'S e«)nsi(h'ral)le space in his manuscript His-
tortj itf thr XortJiH'rsf dodxt to this fsuhject. The great
fur eompanit's of ]]i-itish .Vmerica, lu; says, owe their
success to the rigid discipline maintained amoiiuf their
servants, and the ex<'rcise of prudenci; and humanity
in their transactions with the natives. Olfences and
iiisurrections were ni|)ived in tlu^ hud hy such cool
audacity on the part of tlie sui)erior race, as to excite
at once a<lni!iation and fiar in the hrt'ast of the
savage. l*unislnnent of crimes was swift and .sure;
but it was inllictcd onjv on tlie guilt v. To miard
against surprise, almost all stations were suiinountod
by stockades, with armed bastion-; at the o[)[)osito
angles. Against <lesultory outbreaks these forts were
proof, but not agaii;st wi>ll organized attack; but by
holding the balan<*e of pitwcr among co'itending chiefs
the fur-traders were almost always able to prevent
formlilable attacks. Ander.son regards the missionary
operations among the aljorigines as no less injudicious
than unsuccessful.

Peace, therefori^, wo may conclude < haracterized
the intercoui-.se of the resilient fui'-traders with the
natives, and that IVic iidshii> was absolutely essential
to tralHc. An affac/id of the comi)any sutliciently
otfentling was dismissed the s»>i'vice; this the s:>\ages
knew, though it seldom happened. It was sometimes
exceedingly tlillicult, however, for the tradei* to pre-
serve his patience. The natives of New (\dedonia
were often uncouth ami rude, sur1\ . la/v, autl to
stran-^ers in small parties, insolent and (juarrelsome
Yet tluiv Were the gi'utle Shu^hwaps, tlu Jolly Car
riers, the knightly C'ayuses, and others witii like good
^diti»>, whose li\es might pri'a«-h perpetual sernio.is

eon'^res.s«^>. of philosophers. There wei'e thefibjiy

mti

■\ il :iud iaithrul Kontenais, the b)'a\.' .uhI

uliiU . ToihI dOreilles, aiid ihu lierce Nehaunes ab )Ve

A TIIADK .TAUCOX.

Hud-

iir<l to
Liulor-
t 7//.S-
I great
3 their
r their
lumity
i>s and
;h tool
I excite
of the
1 «ure;
guard
iounted
)i)i)(»site
■ts were
l)ut hy
M- chiefs
prevent
•;sionary
uilieious

cterizod
iith the

■ssontial
llii'icntly

sjvages
liiH'tiiues

lalcdonia
:»nil tt>

illy ( 'ar
l^c< got id
s. -nnojs

V tihliy

|iw anil
OS ab. >ve

^:^

Stikccn, whose female chief rescued Mr Campbell in
the winter of 18:58-1), and treate«l hiiu with much
kindiu'ss. There was Xic(»la, chief of the Okanagans,
and ever the chanij)ion of the right; his neighbor,
King Wan(|uille, of the Shushwaps, patriarch an<l
philanthropist, and (»ld Kiiig Fi-eezy of the Songhics,
the last of a dynasty running down the ccjituries.
This last-named chieftian was u chiUJU'tcr. Indeed, all
Indian chiefs ai'e ntit.iMe men, else they would not be
ehiel's. King I'rei/y lii\ id (»bedienee, and commanded
it. lie l(»ved wives, ot which at one time he had no
less than fifteen, and lu; commanded them. It was
a favoriti' i)astiine of his to cut dlf a wife's head, and
(»ne in which he indulged so ol'ten, that in ISf)'.) In:
ha<l but six left. Jb; died in 1S(;4, and w;is duly
lamente«l by tlu; sorrowing survivors of the faithful
fifteen.

To facilitati^ communicatioji between lMir«»peans
and the native's of the Xnithwtst Coast, with their
ninnerous dialects, a trade language was adopted at
an early day, called the Chinook jargon, lu-ing for the
greater jiaii, a mixture oi' Chinook, Ficnch-Cana
dian, and Knglish words, wit' perhaps a tew additions
from the Hawaiian and Spanish languages. This
jargon varii-d somewhat with the various tribes, each
contiibuting ft»r local use some «»f the words of their
own language; but for the mo>t pail it was the
.same among all the tribes of a Nery wide area, and
was adopli (1 for geiiei'al nsf. not only U tween whitt-s
and Indians, but between tin- <litfer« nt tribes them-
selves. Of the aU»rigiiial languages the C'hinook was
taken as the ba^e, owing to the fact that tin; Chinooks
about the mouth of the Cohuubia were tho Hrst to
com(> into intimate and continuoiK l'iterc«'urse with
Mur«t| tan.s. After the building of Fori Astoria the
jargon ia]>idly spreail toward the east uud north.

CHAPTER III.

OCCUFATION OF THE DOMAIN.
1841.

AllORKilNAI. liltlTISlI Coi.UMHI.V— FoKTS AND Fi;R-TllAI>RR.S — SySTKM.S «)K
CtiMMI MCATIDN — ImIKKKM' ToWKIt OK Cl VII.IZA I KiN OVKll SAVACilSM-

Fru-iKAi)iN(i DisiUKTS — SiAiioNs— Mission All V and AtiRicuLTiriiAi.
Sk.iti.kmknts — Intkuiou Fours— Coast Stations— Tiik Bkitihii ank
THK Ri/HsiAX Frit CoMFA.N IKS— Tiik Himson's Bay Comi'Any'.s C'iiht-
latino Liiikaky — .Joint ()«;(n:i'AN('Y oK tiik Nouiiiwksi' Coast nv Eno-

LAND AND TIIK UnITKD StATKS— TiIK TkKATY UlVlDINU TIIK DoMAIN-

Tiik Nouiiiwkst Coasi- Immkdiaiki.v I'uioii to tiik Bkoinnino op
BitriTsii Coi.t'MiiiA llisrouY J'uorFi: N'isitok l)or<ii,ASTo tiik Skvkkal

I'osrs -NlTKA A.U>KtIIOLIN— (^1 AKKKI, IIKTWKKN IhHMJLAS AN 1) McNkII.I,
— tSl KVKY OK TIIK SlIKKKN AND TaKo HkhION - KkKEKKNCKS FOR TlllS
AND TIIK I'ltKCKDINC ClIAriKK.

Bkitish CoFJMiiiA ill 1841 was a silent wiltlcrnes!:'.
Its lords \\i'H' natural, healthful, and free, its wild
beasts, birds, uiid lislies wei'e multitudinous and fear-
less. Its f()rost-|>lunied hill-sides and its ravines whis-
pered ceaselessly their soft |»saln)ody; its plains and

transfixed billows bared their breasts to th

e cove

ted

war

inth oi' the all-enibracin<r sun; wliih; its sn

silvered mountain-tops, < aeli a sava;;"o ( )lyinpiis, marked
the earth's limits to the dusky intellects within their
iinbrace, and shed a dazzlin^^' radiance over the liappy
liuiitin!L(-<,n()Unds of the Invisiblt^ Nature's perfect

work was

hen

abl

I'; inexorai)le as evervwhere; now warm

and kind and beautiful; a^ain cold, cruel, jLjhastly.
Yet tho nations of this domain were doomed; the
shelterin*:;' forests and the innumerable forms of life
that animated them were impregnated with tho poison
of progress; for already the subtle, unfelt clutel>
civilization was on the land.

I W )

INLAND XAVKiATIOX.

^YSTKMS OK
SAVAliISM—
UU't'LTlIBAI.
lltiriHH ANI>

^sv's ClIUl •

lAST I»Y EN«1-
K DOMAIN-
KtllNNINU OK

IIIK Skvkuai.

VNoMiNKU-I.
i;il8 rOR TUIH

iUlcrucsf.

ItH wiM
aiul i'eur-
iius whis-
>luinH uiul
m covctou
its st»«)W-
IS, uuu'Uia
Jiiii their
the liavvy .
j's piTtV'Ct.
now wan a
J, j^hastly.
mull; tl'i'
•ms of lit''

thciH»is()ii
clutii> «>l

■lit!.

Tlu'so littU! i>ickoti.'«l onclosuros appearing at inter-
vals of two or tliree hundred miles, like seeliided fox-
holes in boundless prairies — what arc they? To the
unenlightened vision of the thoughtless red man they
avc. magazines of celestial comforts, arms which give
the possessor superliuman pf-wer in war and in the
rhase; containing implements of iron and steel whose
cunning causes even nature to blush; woven wool which
wards off cold, dist ase, and death; glittering trinkets
whose wealth raises wrinkled imbecility ai)ove the
attractions of youth and talents; and above all, tobacco
and that blessed driiik of heaven which, indeed, can
minister to a mind diseased, while ])lacing the body for
a time lu^yond tlie reach of jiain. To their builders, and
to the white race everywhere, these solitary and con-
tracted pens have a far diflerent signification. They
are depots of compressed ]>ower, dominating the land
and all that is therein; they are genns of the liigliest
human typi', wliich shall shortly spring uj) and over-
spread the wiklerness, causing it to witiier beneath its
latal shade.

The svstem of connnunication bctweiii Montreal
and Hudson ])ny and the tributaries of the Arctic^
and the Pacific was (juite complete Along the main
livers, along the links of watirs, where lakes and
streams suiceeik'd i-ach other so as to form a contiim-
ous line of travil, havlnn; the gicatest anumnt of navi-
gablt! waters with the shortest portiiges and the k-ast
possibk' amount of land travel, w»re chains of posts
with tuUjiosts, subordinate establisjinients or feedeis
on either side on all the minor streams, and in local-
ities t)lf the main chains wlu>re\ cr peltries were to bo
profitably purchased. Twice every year over all these
lines of connnunication passed regular brigadi-s or ex-
presses bringing into the central jtosts the furs on
hand, and carrying back fort supplies and trading
go«)ds. The Cohnnbia liiver and the Saskatchewan
with its two branches, and tlu; chain of lakes to the

( W )

OlCUrATION OF TIIK DOMAIN.

eastward, Imvo evin* been the artories of travel in the
Hudson's liny (^()iii|)aiiy'.s t<!rrit()ries.

(^aiKK'H and liorscs wt.TO oliu'f amon<^" the aids of
trans{»ortation, \Vh«ii tlu!so failed, the backs of voy-
a^ifi'urs and natives were eni[)l()yed. Sometimes in
winter the ubiquitous fur-buyers llitted hither and
thitlier on shnls and snow-shoes, often finding the'.n-
s('lv(!s amon<jf the tree-tops forty feet from solid ground.
And most fortunate were they if they eouKl hold to
their eourso, avoid precipitous banks and chasms, and
ke(!p themselves above the sut)W instead of being
buried under it.

Where shuH wi; soo more forcibly displayed the
power of trnini (1 and enlightened intellect over the
uncultivated mind and l)estialityl S(;attered in small
bands over jui area i-cjual to one half of Xorth Amer-
ica, in tlm midst of ferocious savaires outnund>erin<>
them a thousand to one, these few individual white
men luld .ibsolute sway; having first brought tlieir
own |i:isslt)iis under obedience to mind, they iinjjosed
obi'dienct! u})on the passions of these wild and l;i\vl(;ss
inliabitants of tiie forest. This living and laboring in
savaii^e countries was attended bv many danu^eis and
p(!culiari ties which lu-came as asecontl naturt* to these
hardy and coura<>eous men. Nor wis the influence
idtog(>tli(!r that of civili/ation u[)on savngism. To no
small exttint tiie traders and vovJi'^eurs bi'came so far
imbued with nature as to marry aborigines and adopt
many primitive cus<oms. Kven the Oregon ;>» ttlci-s of
IS.'{|-4 became half-savjigc in sonu; of their ways; the
womi'n, for (>xamph', l>eing unable to procure cloth for
dress(>s, adopted the vidiquarkc, or cedai'-bark petti-
coat of the natives, the fibres being twisted into cords,
or frayed from the waist to the knees. This with
a piece of gr(M'n or scarlet bai/.c; ovir the shoulders
<;om[)leted the ci)stume. The nun were glad to get a
shirt, with sometimes a bhudcet. The servants of
the fur companies vvere always comfortably clad, the

■m

GENERAL DIVISIONS,

aids of
of voy-
nu'rt in
ler and
f tho'.n-
»rn)un<l.
hold to

tyod tlio
owv tlu'
i in small
U Anu'V-
miilunn.!;
Lial wliiti"

rrlit tlu'ir

f iuiposod
1(1 liiwUi^^
Iturini; in
iM(>rs anil
to ibcso
inlluoncr
I. To no
lino so far
;iii(l ado[)l
;,,-tllors of
ways; llio
i flolli for
•urk poiti-
liiito c'ordb,
This with
shoulders
,d to ;-!,'*'t a
jrvants of
tlad, the

capote, or hooded cloak, being conspicuous. A uni-
form was worn at first, but afterward was laid aside.

In domestic economies, even in personal bearing
and mode of speech, the traders copied largi'ly, tliouf'h
evidently unconsciou.sly, from their aboriginal i'riends.
Like the Indians, the fur-traders were remarkable
for graphic diction whenever their habitual reticence
allowed their oral |)owers lull play. Now and then
a fur-governor from beyond the mountains illumined
nature by his presence, on which occasion traders
everywhere were tremulous with excitement, and the
denizens of the forest spellbound as the; mighty man
passed by.

On the consolidation of the Northwest and Hudson's
Bay companies in 1821 the uj)per interior was known
to the fur-traders as the Columbia tlistiict. Three
years later we iind Archibald Macdonald, then clerk of
one of the Thomi)sou Jviverposts, drawing a ma[)," with
much detail and wonderful <(nTection," as his editor,
McLeod .says, in which the territory between the
Columbia Kiver and the Arctic Ocean was laid down
as the Thomjtson River district. Soon after, and
while yet tlm whole region north of California was
generally designattjcl as the Oregon territory, the
>rew Caledonia district was ])ortioned off in tlie in-
terior, and on the coast we find, following the I'ancy of
Vancouver, and beginning at Mount St Elias, New
Norfolk, Now Cornwall, New Hanover, New ( Jeor-
l^ia, and Now Albion, the last named reaching down
to San Francisco IJay. New Georgia lay between
Nootka Sound and the mouth of the Columbia
River, and New Hanover next above to Queen Char-
lotte Island.

In early times all the country north of California,
all the region drained by the "Uiver of the West, as
well as the seaboard was called Oregon. It was then
a mystic land, a region of weird imagery and i'able.
In the spring of 18;{:» there was not a single United

Stat

.es settler in all the Oregon territory. It was

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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1.25

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Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WK T MAIN STRISY

WIBSTER.N /. 14380

(716) e,tr4503

4i^

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

during this year that American emigration to
Oregon began. Certain French-Canadian famiUes,
formerly servants or retainers of the Hudson's Bay
Company, with the fatherly advice and assistance of
John McLoughlin, had previously opened ftirms in the
rich valley of the Willamette and on the banks of the
Columbia. It was the French who were first in
Oregon, who had been first in the Mississippi Valley,
who had been foremost in Canada, and who at one
time had dominated four fifths of North America;
it was the humble descendants of this cliivalrous race
who first opened for cultivation these lands primeval,
and paved the way for the harder-headed Anglo-
Saxon.

On Twiss' map, London, 184G, Oregon extends
from latitude 42° to 54° 40' west of the Hocky Moun-
tains. It includes the Queen Charlotte and Van-
couver islands, and all the mainland drained by the
Fraser and Columbia rivers. McKinlay divides the
country west of the Rocky Mountains into two dis-
tricts : the Columbia, extending to Utah and California;
and New Caledonia, reaching from Thompson River
to the Russian possessions. Were this ever officially
the case, such partition did not so remain long before
the territory ,vas redistricted. Says Anderson : " The
extent of New Caledonia may be briefly indicated as
comprising the tract watered by the Fraser and its
tributaries from the Rocky Mountains and Coast
Range down to the point about twenty miles below
Alexandria, now known as Soda Creek." Then comes
the Thompson River district. Vancouver's territorial
nomenclature was never put into practical use, nor
were the fur company's districtings officially retained
after the erection of British Columbia into a province.
British Columbia to-day embraces broadly all lands
and islands west of the summit of the Rocky Moun-
tains lying between Washington and Alaska.

In 1839 the Willamette settlement, begun ten years
previous by a retired servant of the Hudson's Bay

THE VARIOUS POSTS.

d its

Coast

Dclow

comes

Itorial

nor

ained
vince.

lands
^oun-

yoars
Bay

Company, numbered fifty-four men, and about as
many farms. There were four other stations of Amer-
ican missionaries, one at the Dalles, one at Walla
Walla, one on the Clearwater, and one at Spokane.
Five vessels performed the coast service, Paul Fraser
was in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company's estab-
lishment at Umpqua when the influx of Americans
was so great as materially to jeopardize the interests
of the fur-traders in that quarter •

Upon a continental apex not unlike that in the
vicinity of the national park which separates the
waters of the Missouri, the Columbia, and the Colo-
rado, stood Fort St James, the capital of this west-
ern Caledonia. Old Mr Harrison once commanded
there, and so did young James Douglas before honors
and titles thickened around him.

Its site was the south-eastern end of Stuart Lake,
and it was the central figure of a cluster of forts.
Twenty-five miles south-westerly was Fort Fraser;
sixty miles south-easterly was Fort George; eighty
miles north-easterly was Fort McLeod, and one hun-
dred miles north -westerly was Fort Babine. South-
ward from this highland flow the waters of the
Fraser; northward and westward the Skeena; north-
ward and eastward Peace River winding through the
Rocky Mountains and thence onward to the frozen
ocean.

Later for a time in charge of the New Caledonia
department, was Chief Factor Ogdcn, whose head-
quarters were at Fort St James on Stuart Lake.
On Lakes Fraser, Babine, and McLeod were forts of
the same names. Fort Thompson was on the Kani-
loops River; and from Fort Alexandria on Fraser
River, the station of a chief trader*, the northern
brigade took its departure going north. At McLeod
Fort, where the genial wide-mouthed Tod used to
welcome governors to an empty larder, was one of
the most prolific fur-fields. Before Tod at this post
was Peter Warren Dease, and after Tod was Mr Mc-

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

Intosh, subsequently shot by the savages. The post
at Babine was built by Chief Trader Brown in 182G-7.
In charge of Fort Langley was Yale; Rae was at
Yerba Buena, and Simpson at the Hawaiian Island
agency Wilkes counted "six permanent establish-
ments on the coast and sixteen in the interior, besides
several migratory and hunting parties."

Kootenai and Flathead were outposts of Colville,
and yielded annually forty packs of peltries; Chilco-
tin sent in four packs, and Alexandria from twenty to
thirty packs. Fort St James was a profitable station,
sending down yearly furs worth in London £50,000,
if we may believe Wilkes, which I for one do not,
especially when coupled with the statement that only
twenty -five cents iu goods was there paid for a beaver-
skin worth at Fort Vancouver ten times that sum.
It was only one year prior to the date of this chapter
that Samuel Black, while in charge of Kamloops,
was killed by a nephew of Wanquille. Some few of
the company's posts, like the missionary establish-
ments of California, became subsequently the nuclei
of little settlements, particularly those in gold-pro-
ducing parts.

Every year the chief factor or chief trader having
charge of a district would go to Fort Vancouver and
thence conduct a brigade of supplies to his distribut-
ing depot, employing for that purpose boats, men, and
horses according to the nature of the region traversed.
From Fort Vancouver to Fort St James, for example,
the transport was made by boats to Okanagan, and
thence to Kamlooj) and Fort Alexandria by horses,
in bands of from two hundred to three hundred.
From Fort Alexandria to Fort St James merchandise
was conveyed in canoes.

It was a hazardous occupation, as I have said, a
large amount of imperfectly guarded ])roperty being
constantly exposed to the cupidity of the savages, to
sa}^ nothing of tlie dangers of navigation. The port-
ages made arduous the voyage up the Columbia, and

ROUTES OF TRAVEL

the land travel between Okanagan and Kamloop was
particularly rough. The distance from Fort Van-
couver to Kamloop, following the sinuosities of rivers
and trails, was seven or eight hundred miles, though
supplies wore carried in this direction more than twice
that distance.

Kamloop was the capital of the Thompson River
district proper. The fort was compact and well pal-
isaded ; and within the stockades, standing at a little
distance, there was room enough for the largest horse
brigades together with their accoutrements.

To the eye of the inhabitant of these lonely wilds,
whether white skm or red, the arri\al of the horse
brigade was a thrilling sight. Through the deep
ravines, round precipitous mountain-sides, and over
hills and plains they had come; sleek, fat animals,
usually perfect in form and color, bearing the burdens
which had been carefully brought so far, from beyond
continents and seas, and all to be laid at the feet of
the lordly savage.

The stations on the coast were Fort Langley and
Fort Simpson, the former the first sea fort iu British
Columbia, the latter tremblingly erected among some
of the wickedest savages upon the coast. Then there
were Fort McLoughlin on Milbank Sound, and Fort
Tako on the Take River, Yet, so well was the mat-
ter arranged, that a footing was obtained without
fighting for it, and an almost impregnable fortress was
erected. By the aid of these two establishments,
wliich were regularly served from Fort Vancouver,
first by the schooner Cadhoro, Captain Simpson, and
subsequently by the steamer Jkaver, the indomitabk!
More engineer, American opposition was finally driven
from the coast.

Plying the wilderness of water between forts Van-
couver and Tako, sometimes venturing boldly out to
sea, sometimes creeping more prudently through the
labyrinth of islands and canals between Nisqually and
Sitka, these historical craft of the Northwest Coast

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

;

': 1

I i

i''

1 1

III

^ t
1

1 ' ■

1 ; >

'1
ii

came and went, playing no insignificant part in the
u^reat work of human overturnings hereabout.

At first a few goods had been brought over the
mountains from eastern ports. But so difficult and ex-
]iensive was this mode of transport that it was soon
abandoned, and all supplies for the western slope
wore brought from England to Fort Vancouver round
Cape Horn. The coast trade was confined to the
coast tribes, and had nothing to do with the inland
trade conducted by the old route from Fort Vancou-
ver up the Columbia to Okanagan, Kamloop, and
Fort St James. Communication with the coast ports
was had at first by schooners sailing regularly from
Fort Vancouver, and subsequently by the company's
steamers. This coast trade was at the first not profit-
able, but was persevered in for many years at a heavy
loss, in order to clear the shore forever of Boston ships
and Boston men.

Between these two lines of traffic intervened the
Cascade Range, an obstacle to fi'ec commercial intei-
course which, might have been overcome by the com-
pany had they chosen to do so. But this partition
wall was not without its benefit, separating as it did
interior tribes from the influence and opposition of
foreign traders along the coast.

Prior to the discovery of gold in California, which
raised no small connnotion throughout all the Colum-
bia and New Caledonia regions, John Lee Lewes,
conspicuous among all the officers of the company for
dashing dress, held conunand at Fort Colville. He
was succeeded in 1848 by Alexander C. Anderson.
Besides fine personal appearance, Lewes possessed
many g(^od qualities. Indeed, since Northwest rivalry
had so sharpened wit, the service enforced the ap-
pointment only of able and energetic men. Where
strength of mind and body were so essentially requi-
site, favoritism went for less than it did formerly

FARMS ESTABLISHED.

In my History of the Northwest Coast I have stated
that in the lease of a portion of the Russian territory
to the Hudson's Bay Company for a term of ten years
from 1809, afterward increased several years more,
it was stipulated that during such occupation the
Russian American Fur Company should purchase all
their European goods from the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, who, also, alone were to supply such agricul-
tural products as the several Russian posts and vessels
should require.

Now the Russians were hearty eaters, and not
over-fond of work. Exercise sufficient for an appetite
they could get by beating their poor seal-hunters, the
Aleuts and Koniagas, who likewise grew hungry
under the process. Even these latter raised little or
no produce. But whence were to come the fruits of
the soil upon which the Hudson's Bay Company had
promised to feed them? Some little planting had
been done at Colville, Fort Vancouver, and the Willa-
mette and Cowlitz valleys, but barely sufficient for the
company's own requirements. The British fur-hunters
were but little more inclined to agriculture than were
the Russian traders. There were these points of
difference, however, between the two : the former had
suitable soil and climate with enterprise and thrift
to exercise upon it, all which the latter lacked. At
all events, before making their bargain, they wero
supposed to have sufficiently weighed results, and
would in due time furnish the provisions agreed upon.
Some they could get from California, some from the
Hawaiian Islands; but such in the main was not
their purpose. They preferred to develop home
resources.

To tliis end the management determined to open
other farms upon the banks of the Columbia, and in
the rich Willamette Valley; for which purpose, during
the same year of 1839, English and Scotch farmers
were brought from Canada across the mountains, and
placed in the several most favorable parts of the

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

country. Likewise French Canadians and half-breeds
retiring from the service of the company were encour-
aged to settle upon lands, the best of wJiich were to
be had without asking, and become tillers of the soil.

In the vicinity of Fort Vancouver, and else-
where, the areas of agriculture were soon greatly
enlarged, and grist-mills erected for making the
several grades of flour required for tho Russian
American trade. More sheep and cattle were being
driven up from California, and the Sandwich Islands
swine were permitted rapidly to increase. The plains
near Fort Nisqually were turned into sheep and
cattle ranges, and the Puget Sound Agricultural
Company was inaugurated. Hence it was not long
before wheat, flour, butter, pork, and other articles
in no considerable quantities were ready for shipment
to the Russian posts, not alone of the American, but
of the Asiatic coast, and four barks of eight hun-
dred tons each were built in London for the exporta-
tion of Hudson's Bay Company's produce.

Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour report: "At Nis-
qually, near the head of Puget Sound, is the farm of
the Puget Sound Company, commenced in 1839, and
supported chiefly by the gentlemen of the Hudson's
Bay Company. They here cultivate wheat and pota-
toes, etc., but the magnificent range of rich prairie
country between the shores of Puget Sound and the
Cascade Mountains to the east are chiefly used as
pasturage for the immense herds of cattle and sheep,
the greater number of which were brought from Cali-
fornia in 1840-1." Operations here were under the
management of W. F. Tolmie for the Puget Sound
Agricultural Company, an off*shoot of the Hudson's
Bay Company. Anderson and Niell did the honors
at this post upon the occasion of the visit of the
United States exploring squadron in 18-41. It was
then in the full beauty of growing fields and well-kept
gardens, with a fine dairy attached.

Crops were raised by the company at Fort Van-

A CIRCULATING LIBRARY.

cour-
;re to
3 soil,
else-
reatly
r the
ussian
being
slanda
plains
p and
Liltural
)t long
irticles
ipment
an, but
it hun-
xporta-

b Nis-
tarm of
39, and
dson's
pota-
prairie
nd the
ised as
sheep,
m. Cali-
ler the
Sound
udson's
honors
of the
1 It was
bll-kept

couver until 1850, but after 184G the farms declined,
and the Russian Company contracts, which, prior to
that time had been filled from Fort Vancouver, wer(>
afterward shipped from Oregon City and Champoeg,
the necessary produce being obtained by purchase.

W. F. Tolmie states that he first met Mr Ander-
son at Milbank Sound in December 1833, where he
replaced Anderson as clerk. There, in connection
with Chief Trader Donald Manson, he *• conceived the
idea of establishing a circulating library among the
officers of the company. Anderson, on readiing Fort
Vancouver, ventilated the matter. It was readily
taken up by Dr McLoughlin and Mr Douglas. A sub-
scription library was formed which did much good foi"
about ten years, soon after which time it was broken
up. The officers subscribed, sent the order for books
and periodicals to the company's agent in London ; the
books were sent out, and as everybody had subscribed,
they were sent to all the forts throughout the length
and breadth of the land. The library was kept at Fort
Vancouver, subscribers sending for such books as they
wanted, and returning them when read. Finally the
books were divided among such, of the subscribers as
cured about having them. The Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, by their ships, sent out the Times and other lead-
ing papers for circulation. This was the first circulating
library on the Pacific Slope, extending from 1833 to
1843."

It should be borne in mind that the territory west
of th(? Rocky Mountains and north of California was
at this time Jicld by agreement in joint occupancy by
Great Britain and the United States. That the par-
tition line must be drawn somewhere and shortly was
well understood. Some little ill-will had boon engen-
dered between the subjects and citizens of the two
powers thus brought into anomalous contact. Both
sides claimed a riglist to occupy the territory, thougli

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

neither knew mucli about it It was bad blood onl}
that was stirred ; it was ignorance and stupidity only
that became blatant. When the not most reliable or
refined element in the United States, poverty-stricken,
with barefooted and bareheaded wives and children,
and teams of bony oxen and empty wagons straggled
through the mountains, the officers of the Hudson's
Bay Company behaved most nobly. They fully be-
lieved their right to the territory as good as that of
the others. Though holding under the stipulated terms
of joint occupancy, their domination in these parts had
been from the beginning absolute and continuous.
They inherited from the Northwest Company, who
bought from the Pacific Company, which latter was
supposed to be an American incorporation, though
made up almost wholly of foreigners. Between the
shock-headed, dirt-becoated, tobacco -spitting, and
swearing ox-drivers from the United States border
and the educated and punctilious business men of the
fur monopoly there was a marked contrast, and the
latter, I say, behaved nobly.

There was much in this immigration to exasperate
them. The interlopers, as from their standpoint they
could but regard them, had come to spoil their trade,
to drive away the game, to demoralize the natives, and
to take the land for cultivation. Even if they did not
so declare, such would be the inevitable effect. And yet
they were kindly treated, and fed and clothed, as we
have many times seen in the pursuance of this history.
And I hold it churlish in any American, or in any
man, to deny McLoughlin, Douglas, Work, and Og-
den, and all the rest of these fearless, warm-hearted,
open-handed, and clear-headed Scotch, Irish, and Eng-
lish men, their full meed of praise. It is not a ques-
tion tliat turns upon the relative merits and demerits
of the nations; such discussion I leave entirely to
the stump-orators and long-eared logicians on either
side. I deal only with men; and it matters not one
whit with me the accidents of color, creed, or country.

FUll-HUNTEUS AND SETTLERS.

L onl}
r only
ble or
icken,
ildrcn,
aggled
idson s
illy be-
that of
d terms
rts had
:,muous.
ly, who
■ter was
though
een the
[ig, and
\ border
sn of the
and the

The representatives of the two nationalities, thus
meeting in oppugnant interests in the new Nortli-
west, were of totally different classes, and in review-
ing their character, they cannot be justly placed upon
tlie same plane. Among the self-sacrificing i)ioncors
of the Pacific tliere Avere many intelligent, high-
minded, and honorable men and devoted women, who,
it is scarcely necessary for mo to say to the reader
of the previous volumes of this history, arc worthy of
every honor, every gratitude that history and pos-
terity can give. Yet none of us can deny that among
the emigrants were ignorant and ill-mannered men
and slatternly women, who in their attitude and deal-
ings compared unfavorably with first-class business
men trained to strict accountability from boyhood.

Says my friend Elwood Evans, ever ready enough
to do battle for his country: "It was a motley settle-
ment, indeed, if we consider the caste to which each
settler belonged, or the influence which brought him
thither. There were the Hudson's Bay Company
and its retainers, holding almost exclusive possessic n
of the country, insidiously retarding and discouraging^
American settlement, and destroying by its policy of
trade every American enterprise. Here, too, were
the discharged or retired servants of the company,
located in the country by its permission, and over
whom it yet exercised controlling influence, men of
every variety of color and nationality. Here and
there were Americans who had dropped out of and
remained behmd the various companies and expedi-
tions which had been crushed out or supplanted by
the great monopol}' of trade enjoyed by the Hudson's
Bay Company, of necessity entertaining no very kind
feeling toward the company, nor friendship for its
studied and persistent attempts to convert Oregon
into a British province. Thsn came the missionary
colonies with denominational castes, each imbued with
a loading principle, true to themselves, yet zealous to
outvie in evidences of successful labor tlieir rivals in

llisr. Brit. (^or,. 5

OCCUPATION OF THK DOMAIN.

similar services; soon after whom, and last of all, fol-
lowed the American emigrants proper, men, women,
and children, seeking homes for themselves and their
posterity, each in proper person asserting faith in the
American title to Oregon, and prepared to struggle
against every effort and influence which would wrest
the country from the United States. Such was the
Oregon of that period, and it is difficult, indeed, out
of these heterogeneous elements, each having its own
peculiar history, to present an intelligible and intelli-
gent view of affairs."

The treaty of 1846, which drew the dividing line
between American and British territory on the Pa-
cific, befitting in my mind the history of Oregon
rather than the history of Britisli Columbia, has been
fully analyzed in a previous volume. Its effect upon
the interests of United States settlers was primary
and immediate; its effect on the fur-traders was to
remove their operations farther to the northward.
Nor should the fact be lost sight of in any discussion
of the differences arising between the fur-traders and
the settlers, that the Hudson's Bay Company was by
no means a free and full representation of the British
nation. They were simply an incorporated commer-
cial association, acting for themselves, solely in their
own pecuniary interests, and were a, deadly opposed
to opposition from people of their own nationality as
from those of any other nation.

1 cannot do better, in concluding this general view
of the Northwest Coast at the beginning of British
Columbia history proper, than to give a resume of
the doings of James Douglas immediately antecedent
to the opening of operations on Vancouver Island ;
that gentleman being then not only foremost in north-
coast fur affairs, but rapidly rising to sole rulership
in the commercial and political interests of Pacific
British America. The information here given is epit-
omized from his journals of 1840-1.

DOUGLAS* JOURNAL.

Leaving Fort "Vancouver the 22(1 of April 1840,
Douglas passed round by the Cowlitz to Nisqually,
where he learned of the total destruction of Fort
Langley by fire. The object of the present expedi-
tion was the occupation of the Stikcen post, lately
leased from the Russians, and the building of another
establishment on the Tako River, also within Russian
territory.

The destruction of Langley at this juncture was
ill-timed and inconvenient, depending as they were on
that post for salt provisions, which it was now too
late to obtain from any other source. The lessors of
the hyperborean domains, therefore, must depend
alone upon the ravens of their religion, as they had
often done elsewhere, to feed them. Douglas could
but remark in passing on the early depopulati : of
the Cowlitz country, for of the once numerous in-
habitants thern ]\o\y remained but sixty men. H.)
attributes the cause to ague and the mysterious ways
of proviJ' ace.

The first ague summer, says Plomondo, one of the
first to settle there, was in 1830, when "the living
sufficed not to bury their dead, but fled in terror to
the sea-coast, abandoning the dead and dying to the
birds and beasts of prey. Every village presented a
scene harrowing to the feelings; the canoes were there
drawn up upon the beach, the nets extended on the
willow boughs to dry, the very dogs appeared as ever
watchful, but there was not heard the cheerful sound
of the human voice. The green woods, the music of
birds, the busy humming of the insect tribes, the
bright summer sky, spoke of life and happiness, while
the abode of man was silent as the grave, and like it
filled with putrid, festering carcasses." All hail, sweet
sympathizing friends; providence, civilization, and the
ague await your coming to reap alike rich harvests in
the more virgin north.

Proceeding from Nisqually in the steamv.'»' to Lang-
ley, Douglas there found Yale busy erecting a new

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

stockade. Twenty men from the steamer were loaned
tlie fort-builders for a short time; after which tlie
vessel continued its war . takinu' in wood and water at
the north end of Tejada Island, buying Hfty beaver-
skins from the saucy natives of t])e Conmx village off
Point Mudge, who were yet unreclaimed by Chris-
tianity and undisciplined by civilized ague, and an-
choring in McNeill Harbor on the 8th of Ma3^

Opening trade with the Quackolls from Cheslakee,
twenty sea-otter and seventy beaver were bought.
Continuing, a few skins were traded at Port Bull;
500 bushels of potatoes, 500 pieces of cedar bark, and
thirty cords of wood were taken on board at Fort
McLoughlin, and on the 14th Fort Simpson was
reached. Thence by way of Stikeen, Douglas went
to Sitka and talked with Etholin, the Russian gov-
ernor, about their territorial bounds and trade, which
questions were satisfactorily settled. Each might
buy provisions anywhere, but furs only within their
own territory. A tariff' was agreed upon for the
Indian traffic, and some furs were exchanged between
themselves. Permission was granted the Hudson's
Bay Company to buy sheep at Bodega provided the
sanction of the California authorities could be obtained,
but not otherwise. The Russians offered to sell Bo-
dega for $30,000, with 1,500 sheep at one and a half
dollars cash, and 3,000 cattle and horses at ten dollars
each. Etholin had sugar enough to last him four
years, but he would take some blankets, and agree to
furnish two hundred pairs of Finland slioes at five
shillings each. Douglas offered to grind part of their
wheat into fine flour, but Etholin replied that his
people did not use much fine flour. The question of
selhng arms and alcohol to savages was opened and
closed without effecting anything; the Sitka people
did so love liquor, and arms were essential to success-
ful hunting. As to next year's supply of provisions,
the Russians would want one hundredweiglit of but-
ter; if they did not sell Bodega, they could there cure

DOUGLAS AND ETHOLIN.

all the beef they would require , they would receive
<;rain in California if the Hudson's Bay Company
would pay the freight to Sitka.

Thus these dignitaries dickered, each holding the
otlier's business methods in contempt. Douglas here
growls over several pages. The two Kussian estab-
lishments visited by him were crowded with lazy
and idle officers and men. It was bad, the appoint-
ing of naval officers to the command, who know
nothing of the service ; it was bad having officers
Avholly uncpialificd for business undertakings, wliose
t(;rm of service was only five years, and who drew ]iay
from both the government and the fur company. Fif-
teen vessels wei'e kept constantly alloat in the Rus-
sian service, and six thousand dollars were expended
annually for provisions. The seal islands were not so
l)r(tductive as formerlv, and thev were now obliiifed to
pursue a course of mirsing, <)nl3' fifteen thousand of
the superfluous young males being now allowed to Ijo
killed annually. Twenty-five tliousand beaver and
otter were traded each year, at a ncit profit not to ex-
<'eed twenty per cent on the capital employed. Their
furs were mostly exchanged on the China frontier ftr
teas, at the rate of seventy-five roubkss, or fifteen dol-
lars, for otter, and fifteen roubles for beaver. In all
which Douglas doubtless was right.

Returning to Stikeen, a misunderstanding arose
between Douglas, conunander of the i^x})edition, and
McNeill, ca[)tain of the steamer, a brief account of
which will best illustrate the nuitual relations and
duties of these officials in the company's service.

The hours of labor were from six to six. Jn taking
on wootl, Saturday, the 'M)t\\ of May, Douglas, being
anxious to expedite afiairs, ordered work continu(Hl
until nine o'clock at niglit. The captain disliked to
drive the men so hard,, lest they should coni[)lain,
and reasonably, as it was against the rules of the
ship. Prayers were held on Sunday between one and
two, and after further resting until four, Douglas

■il' ; ii:

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

ordered the wooding to proceed, the captain remain-
ing as] lore all day in an ill humor. Next morning
McN( ill was more angry than ever, and on encoun-
tering Douglas in the cabin, addressed him in an agi-
tated manner.

"Mr Douglas, if you interfere with the duties of
the ship, I will lca\ - her as soon as we get to Fort
Simpson."

"In what instance sir have I interfered with the
ship's duties?"

"In various ways."

"You would oblige me, sir, by more explicit infor-
mation. It was certainly never m}' intention to do
anything on board this ship to diminish the respect
due to you. However, in my ignorance of naval
routine, I may have inadvertently trespassed on some
point of etiquette, and I wish you to point it out, that
I may avoid it in future."

"The mate, an hour ago, asked me whose orders he
should obey — ^yours or mine."

"Call him. Sir, why did you put such a qusstion
to the captain?"

"Because you gave me several orders yesterday
when the captain was ashore."

"Did I ever tell you, sir, to disobey the captain's
wders?"

"No, sir."

"Well, sir, you have acted very improperly, and in
a manner more l)ccoming an inmate of the forecastle
than a gentleman and an officer."

"Very well, I will go away."

"Go to the devil, sir, if you please."

♦'Captain McNeill, I refuse duty," exclaimed the
mccce, as he left the cabin and went on deck. Douglas
followed him, and ordered him back to the cabin The
mate moved slowly and reluctantly. Douglas was
very angry. Seizing in his powerful grasp the collar
of the mate's jacket, he shook him as he would have
done a school-boy.

EXPLORATION OF THE TAKO.

"Would you lay violent hands on me?" shouted the
mate. Instantly remembering himself, Douglas re-
leased his hold, and the man marched quietly into the
<'abin. Douglas then assured the officers that he had
no intention of interfering with their duties, hut should
he deem it necessary at any time to issue orders,
they nmst be obeyed by every person in the company's
service, master and mate included. Mr Work was
now in charge of Fort Simpson, and Rae of Stikeen.

While at the former place a few days, the ship
Vancourcr arrived, whereupon Doviglas was perplexed
what disposition to make of the vessels, Avhich were
needed at once at the Columbia for gen(!ral scn'vice,
and there ujion the north coast to assist in making
ready tlie uvw establishments. He finally concluded
to send both the sailing vessel and the steamer to
deliver the outfits at Stikeen and Tako; tlience to
proceed to Sitka, returning to Simpson, when, if
Work deemed it necessary, he might ship his furs to
Fort Vancouver, meanwhile landing the outfit for
Fort McLoutifhlin, and touchinsj: on the coast below
for trade, that is to say, if a vessel unprovided with
boarding-nettings, as was the ra7icouvcr, might do so
with safety.

This plan Douglas proceeded to put into innnediate
execution, still retaining his place on board the Beaver,
with Roderick Finlays(ni of the party. Arriving at
Stephens Passages on the 17th of June, In the ixhvv-
noon of the same day he set out with two armed
boats and twenty men to explore the Tako River to a
distance of thirty-five miles, where his instructions
informed him was to be placed the post of Tako.
Three days were occupied in this expedition. The
higher elevations everywhere were covered with ice
and snow, the lower level with green grasses and flow-
ering plants in full bloom. So strangely beautiful was
it, so singular the contrast betwecm tho heavenly des-
olation and the earthly paradise, tliat Douglas called
it Eden. Yet so swift and dangerous was the cur-

OCCUPATION OP THE DOMAIN.

rent, moreover being blocked by ice during the winter,
that Douglas finally decided not to place the fort far
up the river, but to build it where an intelligent native
had directed him, some twenty miles south of Point
Salisbury. Pickets and block-houses were quickly
thrown up, and a salute fired on the fourth of July an-
nounced the guns in place. Trading • began, but it
was not wholly satisfactory, the savages being so ab-
sorbed in dealing in slaves, who were brought from
a distance and used in commerce as a sort of currency,
that they had but few skins left to buy whiskey with.
Arrived at Tako the 12th of August the Cadhoro,
bringing news from all the coast stations. Discharg-
ing and receiving her cargo she soon set sail on her
return voyage, Fort Vancouver being her destina-
tion, while Nisqually was that of the Beavei: Be-
fore leaving these parts Douglas made a short cruise
into the neighboring inlets to exhort the savaijces to
bring their skins to Tako and buy some tobacco and
blankets with them, and not waste tliom on iiltliy
human beings. A lengthy account is given in his
journal by Douglas, of the occurrences at the several
stations during ])is return trip, which it is needless
for me to reproduce. Year after year the company's
vessels, with but little variation and with few inci-
dents worth recording, coasted up and down, supply-
ing the stations, and trading on the vessel's deck
where no posts were established. During the follow-
ing winter, 1840-1, Douglas visited California to pur-
chase grain and send overland to the Columbia a largo
herd of live-stock.

Much has been written on the climates, physical features, natural wealth,
aborigines, and occupation of the Northwest Coast. I have given in the two
preceding chapters but an outline. A volume would not exhaust tho sub-
ject. I am obliged, therefore, to refer those desirous of further information
upon the subject to other works, among which after my Native Races of the
Piicijic Statea and the former volumes of this Ilistory of the Pacific States,
I may mention tlio following : A. C. Anderson, who in his Northwest Coast,
MS., 22&-32, discusses the climates of Stuart Lake and of Victoria, and dc*

AUTHOIUTIES ON PHYSICAL FEATUliKS.

'inter,
>rt far
native
Point
Liickly
ily an-
but it
so ab-
froni
Tcncy,
7 with.
idboro,
icbarg-
on her
cstina-
. Bc-
cruise
ages to
;co and
L lilthy
in his
several
cedless
ipany's
,Y inci-
upply-
deck
bllow-
bo pur-
ix largo

^1 wealth I

the two

tho 8ub-

lorniatioii

ces of the

Kc States,

ipst Coast,

ami de-

votes a large part of liia prize essay oii The Dominion of tine Went to the
p;e()graphical features of both islands and maiiiliind.

On tho conriguratiou and climate of Vancouver I^jland, sue Forhes' Essay,
(i'2, tho harbors particularly; Pemliertons V. 1., 118, 150, on timber; MoffaCs
Jour., ill Id., 14(5, Itfl, natural products; lloretzhys Cancilf. on the Pacific,
passim; JliUlmis Gniiic li. C, passim, on both islands and mainland; JIac-
donaliVs Lecture, 4:1-4; Ifazlltl's B. C, 217-18; Pook's Queen Charlotte Islands,
58-01, for a good description fif tho harbors of Vancouver Island and tlio main-
luiul f)ppositc; Martins If. li., .'52-'), copying Wai-re and Vavasours I'cport,
for physical aspect and resources of tho island; Brit. X. Am., 30G-9, for
game, timber, fish, fur, and coal. Victor says, Oreijon, 2r)4, that thero is but
littlo good land on tho i.'land, though slieep-raising is carried on largely.
Tho wealth of the island, is in its timber, coal, and iisheries; probably gohl,
cojjpc.T, .and salt miglit bo renmnerative. fJ^rant, London Geo'j. Sac, Jour.,
xxvii. 2()8-.'520, gives .a full description, remarking that tho soil is 'rich where
lIuTC is any. . .the singular system of inland seas by wliich it is environed
teems with lisli of every description,' .and tliat it is a lino scat for .a colony.
For tho western side, see tho voy.ages of Mearos, Dixon, Cook, Sutil y Mcxi-
cana, Vancouver, and for the interior, the journeys of Mackenzie, Lewis and
Clarke, Frascr, Stuart, Sim^json, Francliem, Cox, and other^^, and al:;o tlie
several geological, geograpliical, and road and railway explorations. McLeod,
Peace I'ircr, 5-0, states that tho rivers and lakes north of Cariboo are seldom
frozen after !March, even on tho phiteau. Harmon in \\\n Journal, I'Jl, calls
attention to the raid of the far reaeliing branches of I'caco River upon tlio
waters of tho western side of tl»e continental 'water-shed, botli Findlay and
I'arsnip rivers, before tlioir junction, running along the western base of tli^'
mountains with their stolen moisture, as if in search of a passage tlirough.

Uattray, V. /., 22-54, has a hmg ehapter on the climate of Vanctmver
Island anil ]?ritish Columbia, its salubrity and variations, tho foi'ce ot winds,
temperature, rainfall, barometric ranges, with tables and chart. Also 7:5-7
an article on timber, its produc^e, uses, and value. Oood, li. ( '., MS., 515-1 14,
gives a long description of a trip up the Fraser l)y steamer to Yale and thence
by road to Clinton. An cloepient antl graphic description is given of tho
country, its topographical features and sceni'ry, particularly of the Kandooji,
Nicola, and Oiianagan districts. Indeed, 1 might gi\o volumes of de»cri[(-
tion from tho hundreds of writers on tho subject, every ono of whom has
something to say of tho country that lie has either seen or lieard of. I
hav(" scarcely space in this volume for reference even, and thereldre will con-
dense as much as possible, and omit all but the nmre important. On general
features and climate see firth(u', LaiKjiriii's Bcj^t., 40-4; Con.irallis' A'i"»' AY
Dor<ulo, 27, .30, 11. . ...irfies V. I. and B. C, chap, ii.; Dc Snwf, Mis., dr
I'Or., 144, where an account is given of tho twelve voyagcurs swallowel in
tho Dalles des Morts in 18I5S; 'I'reeuhnw's Or. ami Vol., 27-!); Bii/lcrs Xnrlli,
Land, 1015; Fraser's Jd Jour., -MS., 3; U'iii/rerillr\i If. B., psussim; Cladmau in
Home Com. liejtt., 18.')7, :5!)0-2; Chiraijo Acad. ScL, i, 01-78, more especially
with reference to the geology of tlie Mackctizio River; Ilincs Or. awl its
Instit., 7, unil Iliiirs' Ki: to Or., cluap. xvi; Dodijcs' Plains, passim; Macdonald^H
li. C, chap, i.-iii. ; Ahsarahi, chap, iii., on Dakota- Taylor's Xor/hiirst Am

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

MS., 47, 65; NiW Register, xvi. 235; Dalles Mountaineer, April 4, 1868; Mae-
ketizie's Hist. Topog., 314-15; Cox'a Adv., ii. 300-92, about New Caledonia;
TliomUm'a Or., i. chap, xix; Parkers Tour, chap, i.; MaUe-Dnm, Pricia de
C6oij., vi. 310-14, compiled from Vancouver, Lewis and Clarke, and others;
Jiichards' V. I. Pilot, 1-255; Findlays Direct. iV". W. Am., 392-430; Imray's
Sailimj Direct. N. W. Am., 23^-15, 201-312, 357-CO; 7?oioe's Cohn. Emp., i.
117-29, 134-7; Tolmie's Piiget Sotind,'^iS., 13-14, on Committee's Punch Bowl.
Burnett in liisTPcco/., M.S., i. 115-16, tells about one Black Harris, atrapper,
■w'lo claimed to have discovered a petrified forest in the Rocky Mountains, on
lir.st coming in sight of wliich ho had supposed it a beautiful grove of gum
timber, ' and so sudden had been the petrification that tlie green loaves wero
all petrified, and the very birds that were tlierc singing in the grovo were
also petrified in the act of singing, because their mouths were still open in
tlio petrified state.' Black Harris must have been reading the Arabian
Niijliti; but stranger than the story of the forest is the fact that so sensible a
man as Governor Burnett should half believe it. Tlie ignorance of politicans
concerning tliis country is painfully apparent, when wo see congressman like
Mr Baylies as late as 1826, men who claimed knowledge sufficiently extra-
ordinary and accurate to warrant a printed coininunication of the same to
congress, coolly asserting the existence of five establishments subordinate to
Astoria, one ' at tlie moutli of Lewi.) lliver, one at Lantoii, a third on the
Columbia, six liundred miles from the ocean at the confluence of the Wantana
[.•i/f] lliver, a fourtli on tlie east fork of Lewis lliver, and the fifth on tlie
Multnomah.' Lewis and Clarke were not favorably impressed with the
country. It was a dreary time they had of it. At the mouth of the Colum-
bia they saw little land that tliey thought fit for cultivation, and the account
they gave was such that, for twenty year.) after their visit, Oregon Was re-
garded an almost desert region fit only for fur-bearing animals and hungry
savages. So says Jesse Apjilcgate in Soj-ton'-i Or. Ter., MS., 142. Con-
tinuing f)iir lists of references there is Fninrhirv's I^ar., 229, on the Columbia
region; Victor's Oregon, one of the best wor':j tixtant for general descrip-
tion; Townscnd's Nar., 07, who says of tlie Wind lliver Mountains: 'Tliia
chain gives rise to tlie sources of the Missouri, the Colorado of the west, and
Lewis River of the Columbia, and is the highest land on the continent of
North America,' which last assertion he was somewhat premature in making,
as he had not iiicasureil all the elevations; U. S. Ev. H. B. Co. Claims, 35-45,
67, on the soil of Idaho; Frt'mont's E.r., 274-0; DmujUis' Private Papers, MS.,
ser. i. 8-27, 73, for scenery on the Columbia and Cowlitz; Ross' Fur Hunters,
i. 34, 70, 3.")8, ii. 80-3, 360, for Okanagan, Grrand Conte, Falls of the Colum-
bia, and New Caledonia; Simpson's Jotirney, i. 150-5 et seq., et passim;
Howard and Burnett's Direct., 1803, 192-3; Dawson on Mines, 1-3; Overland
J'rom Minnesota to Friuser River, passim; Harnett's Lert,, 42-5; Churchill and
Cooper's B. C, 4; Sclwyn's Oeol. Sur. Rept., passim; Compton's Ah. B. C,
MS., 1-3; De Oroot's B. C, 6, 8; Canaila Hand Booh, 52; Joly's Rept. on For-
estry in Ag. Rept., 1877, 1-20; Waddington's Overland Route, 15; Rawlinys'
North Am., chap, viii., ix.; McLellans Golden State, 632; Johnson's Very Far
West, 94; Palmer's North Bentinck Route, passim, on Williama Lake and Cari-
boo; fsbister's Proposal, passim; Hist. Mag., March 18G3; Land ami Work'*

WRITERS ON THE NATIVES

liept., 1865; Jour, and Sess. Papers, B. C, 1873-4; MaUandaim's First Vic.
Direct., 18; Nevada Jour., June 11, 1858; Harmon'a Jour., passim; Dunn's
Or., passim; Remy and Bremhky, Jour., ii. 509; BulfinclCs Or., 156; Win-
ihrop's Canoe Jour., 284; Stvart's Montana, 89-92; W. McD. Dawson, in
Home Com. licpt., IT. B. Co., 1857, 399-^02; Wilkes Nar. U. S. Expl. Ex.,
iv., passim; McTavish's Dep., passim; Richardsons Polar Regions, 219-97;
Hoopers Tents of the Ttiski, 309-80, where is an excellent description of tlie
aurora borealis; Gray's Or., 010-19; Lee and Frost's Or., 81-95, 190-203; /'of-
ter'.^ Mi'isi. Valley, 30, 180, 197-9, 252, 257.

In relation to the j^. jli^ v of the European fur-trailers, settlers, ami mission-
aries, besides the authorities already quoted, I would mention Roberts' Rec. ,
MS., 14; Brit. Col. SketrMt, MS., 30; Compton's Forts, MS., passim; Tod's
New Caledonia, MS., 24-0, 29-.34; Hancock's Thirteen Years, AIS., 359-00,
Chinook jargon; McKay's Rec, MS., 17-18; Dean's V. I., MS., 22-4; Douij-
las' Primtc Papers, MS., ser i., 33-4, 55-6, 83; VoioelCs Miiiiny Dint., MS.,
S-11. Nobili, in De Smet, Miss, de I'Or., 153; Pub. Accts. Canada, iii. 43;
[laymeuts to natives B. C, 1870, House of Commons Rept., H. B. Co., 1857,
;ii)3-7; Anderson, in Hist. Mag., vii. 76; census carriers and remarks on
(lucrcase, U. S. Ind, Affairs Rept., 1809, 533-4, 558-00; Overland Monthly, ii.
200-7; Seemann's Voy. Herald, i. 104-6; Canada Year-Bool; 1878, 44;
Rept. Drpt. Int., 1875, xlvi. 44-0; Indian reservations, Columbia Missiou,
various reports; Kirchhoff, Reisehilder, ii. 81; B. C, Journal and Sejis. Pap.,
I, 1874, passim, and Rept. 1875, 673; 2'ith Cong. 3d Sess., House Com. Rept
101, 41; FitzgeraWs H. B. Co., chap, vii.; Douglas' Addresses and Met.}.,
68; Armstrong's Or., 25-6; U. S. Statutes at Large, passim; Sluis'a Courier,
Dec. 24, 1864; Isbister, in Jfouse Com. Rept., H. B. Co., 1857, 123; McKin-
lai/s Nar., MS., 13-14; Simpsons Nar., i. 210; Allen's Cont., MS., 20; FoH
Simpson Journal, MS., 11; Sproat's Scenes, passim; Simmons, in U. S. Ev.
IT. B. Co. Claims, 134.

As to original populations in these parts. Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour
ill their report of the 20th of October, 1845, give the census of the tribes in-
lialiiting the Oregon Territory between the forty-second and fifty-fourth par-
allels and west of the Rocky Mountains at 86,947. This census was made up
from the trading-lists of the several stations, and from other good authority.
Of the number named, 11,079 were arrived at by estimate, and 75,868 by ac-
curate census. The last named consisted of 33,950 males, 35,182 females,
1,584 children under twelve, and 5,146 slaves.

Lord, B. C. Naturalist, ii. 220, estimates the native copulation of Van-
couver Island and British Columbia in 1800 at 30,000. In the United States
the numbers have fallen from 2,000,000 to 300,000. Douglas, Private Papers,
MS., ser. ii., 7-33, gives census tables of native British Columbia populations
of the several districts in columns showing heads of families, women, canoes,
guns, etc., most of which are for the years 1838-9. These statistics were
found very useful to the Company in its commercial operations. Kane, Wan-
derings of an Artist, also gives tables of population, all which are contra-
dictory and unsatisfactory.

Aboriginal British Columbia, by P, N Compton, is a manuscript of 120
pages, filled with interesting and valuable detail concerning the geography.

OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN.

natural wealth, and native inhabitants of the country. Most of it is the re-
sult of personal observation. The style is plain, simple, anil practical, com-
mon sense characterizing every page. It is probably the most complete work
cxtiint on the aborigines, particular attention lieing given as well to their
fisheries, game, food, and commerce as to their character, customs, and lan-
guages. Not tlic least interesting part of the work is a division on the natural
history of this region, devoted chiefly to the bear tribe.

For fort-dwellers, settlers, and missionary stations I would refer more
especially to McLouijhlini* Prirate I'a}>ers, MS., ser. i. 1; Saxton's Or. Ter.,
MS., 38; the observations of Wilkes aiul Simpson before quoted. Belcher,
Vol/., i. 301, mentions as occupying the Willamette Valley 24 Canadians, 20
American stragglers, mostly from California, and ten Methodist clergymen
and teachers. The live vessels performing the coast service were the bark
Coluiiiliiii, 310 tons, 6 gims, and 24 men; the bark Vaticoiiver, 324 tons, G
guns, aiul 24 men; ship Nereid, 283 tons, 10 guns, and 26 men; scliooner
Citi/lioro, 71 tons, 4 guns, and 12 men; and steamer Beoivr, 10!) tons, 5 guns,
and 2(} men. See also y/oK.vr Cowwiow* Refiirnsfn Three Adilre.tsea,!; MeKityn
llec, MS., 2; F\i,Uvj,'*on's V. I. nml X. C, MS., l)t)-l; TolmieH JIht. Pio/et
Soiaiil, MS., r)!)-(50; ;J/,/h Comj. J.if. Se.« , Senate Doe. JC,..', 27-30, ill.; Kmn^'
Ulxt. Or., MS., xxi.

McKinlay states, Xarratire, MS., 13-15, that Waiiquille River Wii.s
named after the Indian chief Wanquillo, and Nicola Lake after the chief of
the Okanagans who lived there. MoT.eod, in MeDoiudd's Jour., 113, states
tliat Tt'te .Jaune Cache at Yellowhead or Leather Tass derived its name
from the fact that the Hudson '.s Bay Company, re(|uiring largt; quantities
of leather for their carrying service in tluj Cnhunbia, Tliompsou llivor, and
New Caledonia di.striils, brought from the eastern side by tliis pass dressed
moo.se ami deer skins which were here cached for convenienci'. Two miles
below Fort Vancouver the country was called Cox's Plain, ' from Old Cox,
the H. H. Co. swineherd, who had liis residence there among tlie oaks,
as mentioned in a former volume. Hines, Ex. Or., says that ten miles soutli-
west of Corvallis rises the most beautiful mountain of the ('oa.st Range,
Mary's Peak. Among a party travelling in that vicinity in early times was
Mary, an Indian woman, tlui wife of a white man. In crossing a river here-
about, her mule threw her, and she narrowly escaped drowning; in compen-
sation for which disaster both river and mountain were honored by her nan\i'.
Indian tradition says that the falls at tlie I )allcs were once so great that fi-li
could not scale them; also tliat from Swalalahhost Mountain south-east of
i'^oung Bay, tlunuler and smoke once issued; also that the waters at tlie ('ar-
cades on the Colundjia once llowed snumthly and ■without o))stacle beneatli
lines of projecting rocks until they fell; over since which time the water has
stumbled over tliem; also, that the chasm at the Ualles was once arched over,
and M'as subse([uently rent by an earthquake. Mt St Helens is siitl to have
enipteil in 1831 , The TacuUies called the reindeer of their region hotsec-
kaya; the Ctauadian voyageurs, caribou, whence the name of the Cariboi>
country. Many years ago the lieaver Indians iidiahited the country round
the rivers Beaver and Athabasca, formerly Elk, and lakes Deer and Wollas-
ton. Then came the Knisteneaux, th(( most warlike and powerful people in

f it is tlio re-
actical, com-
(inplete work
^-ell to their
ms, and laii-
n the natural

I refer more
'h's Or. Ter.,
tl. Belcher,
'anadians, 20
it clergymen
ere the l)ark

.TJ4 tons, G
en; schooner
;ons, 5 guns,
, 7; McKay K

in.f(. Putjet
', ill.; ErayiH

NOMENCLATURE

all these parts, and drove the Beavers +,.,r,.fi. •.. ., .

Slaves, .lown the Athabasca I i^t ami W^ '^^^^^ '"'«''^°- *''"

called Lake of the Hills. ThenrLriavT , 1" "^"''^''^^'^ I-''«. «"c-o
Slave Lake, thus ^^.^^^Ji:^:^^^^^^^^ to
turned mto Teacc Rver whfw „r,,.„ -x " ' ""'"^ "''"le. 1 ho Beavers

they halted and .nado L^ ^rtlt': "' '" f ^'"' ^'^"^ ''' "-">.
boundary, from which cirelltoLe t L 1'"'"' 'i"'^'" *'" '"'"* *'"'"
the river Unjigah or Peace RTver ^ ''*' '"^^"^ ^'*''^^« ^'"i"*' >^^

River was
the chief of
, 1 1 3, states
ul its name
e quantities
1 River, and
[)ass dressed
Two miles
tri Old Cox,
; tlie oaks,
miles soutli-
last Range,
y times was
L river hero-
in oompon-
y' her name,
at tliat iUh
uith-east oT
attiieCas-
L'le heneatli
e water lias
rchcd over,
iiid to have
ion hotsee-
ho Cariboo
ntry round
iid AVollas-
1 people in

CHAPTER rV.

CAMOSUN AND ESQUIMALT.

1842.

Necessities of a Northern Metropolitan Post — Encroachments of Set-
tlers ON THE Columbia — The Dividing Line — Growing Importance
of Agriculture — The Question of Locality — A Northern Kendi-z-
vous FOR Whalers — The Southern End of Vancouver Island — Irs
Advantageous Position — Douglas Survey^, the Harbors — Camosun
and Esquimalt Compared — Report of Douglas.

Several causes united at this juncture to render
necessary the building of a metropolitan post some-
where to the northward.

When John McLoughlin came to Astoria in 1824,
he saw at once that the mouth of the Columbia was
not the proper place for the chief factory, or general
distributing depot of his company on the Northwest
Coast. Here as elsewhere the adventurers of Eng-
land trading into Hudson Bay must have absolute
control of the country, its lands and waters, its forests
and prairies, its aborigines and its wild beasts. It
must be all or nothing. Competition might be en-
dured along the seaboard where the savages were
blood-thirsty and jealous, and where the silent sailing
of the ships neither disturbed the game nor mate-
rially changed the relative attitude of the inhabitants.
Astoria might be the best location for a fortress in
repelling foreign invasion, but there was something
more to be feared than foreign invasion. In fact, the
thought of forcible entry from the sea in such numbers
as to do much injury gave little concern. Game must
be preserved and the native hunters controlled. This

178)

QUARRELS OP THE FUR-TRADERS.

could be done only by keeping others away ; all others
rxcept members of the monopoly; for their own coun-
trymen, English, Scotch, and Irish, as wc have often
<)]),scrvcd, were as bitterly detested as opponents as
wore the Kus.sians or Americans — instance tlio long
and bitter rivalry of the Northwest Company, culmi-
nating in the bloody fueds of Red liiver.'

'Fully to realize the extent to wliich this brotherly hate was ciirrieil,
one should have been jn-eaent at a iiieet'ug of the clans iit York Factory
or Fort William ininiediatdy after the coalition. IJoforo me is a vivid
account of one such meeting, early in the summer of Ki'J'J, at the former
j)08t, forwhich I am indebted, among other kindnesses, to Mr .Tohn Tod. Tlie
liittemessof the Northwesters was somewhat intensilied because of their sup-
|)oaeil defeat, though, as a nuatter of fact, they were less defeated than tlieir
«il)l)onents. The loss of their name, and the scattering of the hitherto proud
and powerful Montreal associates, gave the retainers of the old chartered com-
l)atiy an opportunity to assume superiority, of wliich tliey did not hesitate to
make avail. A dinner at York Factory in those days was closely akin to a
tragedy. There were the h.aughty Highliuulers of tlie Northwest Company,
and the equally independent servants of the Hudson's Ikiy ( 'ompany, stalking
tlie sondire halls of the dilapidated fortress, and glaring deadly scorn from
under shaggy eyebrows as paths met. Company colors were still bravely
tiaunted, the former arrayed in gray, the latter in blue. At the sounding of
tlie hell, seventy or eighty of these two kindred souls marched promiscuously
into the dining-hall and stood along the walls in sullen silence, jealously
watching colors in the appointnicuts of place and precedence. But ' that crafty
fox. Sir George Simi>son, as my friend of the grays calls him, was liajipy with
his small talk and diplomacy, and presently the party was seated. Brought
thus into yet nearer and more nervous conjii ■ tion, it was interesting to sec;
them hivndling the knives intended for cutting their meat, but seemingly it
would have given greater satisfaction to have applied them to the throat of
their fh-d-riK. There was blind McDonnel savagely blinking at his enemy of
Swan Kiver, Chief Factor Kennedy, whom ho had fought with naked sword
within these three months, and who still carried marks of tlie encounter upon
his face. 'I shall never forget the looks of scorn and deliance,' says my
friend, 'as their eyes met. The Highlander's nostrils expanded; he snorted,
S(|uirted, and sjiat, while the other looked all that, and more.' At either end
<if the table sat the respective chiefs of the lately opposing companies. Sir
<leorge Simpson and Simon MeOillivray, who intcrposeil wine and good cheer
between the would-be combatiuits with such polished stratagem as to save
the dining-hall the scene of open hostilities. Indeed, under the Hudson's
]{ay governor preceding Simpson, the bluU' and rugged Williams, whose
ultimate appeal in matters of dispute w;is al""iys war, the coalition would
scarcely have been achieved. 'Immediately oii the right of McCiillivray,'
continues the gray, speaking of this special occasion, ' sat that llexible char-
acter, Mcintosh, his ever-shifting countenance and restless black eye in<lieat-
ing that nature had designed him for the harbingi'r of plots, treasons, and
stratagems. I allude to the same who, some years before, in I'eace Kiver,
tried hard to poison poor little Yale, but could not succeed, for so iiivuliicra-
lile had the integuments of the latter's stomach become by long aeijuaintaiieo
^vitll the tough tare of that inhospitable stop-mother. New Caleiloiiia, that the
diabolical attempt altogether failed. Directly in front of Mcintosh sat liis
gallant enemy of the preceding winter, the pompous but good-natured .loliii
I lark, with neckerchief and shirt-collar always up to his ears, and his head
above the level of ordinary men. ' I may remark that the two leaders, Mclritosh

CAMOSUN AND ESQUIMALT.

But to protect the dusky children of their adoption,
to watch white interlopers, to prevent the too rapid
slaughter of fur-bearing animals, and to delay settle-
ment, a location more central than the seaboard was
deemed advisable. Hence head-quarters had been
removed up the river, near the head of ocean naviga-
tion, and near the mouth of a largo river flowing in
through the fertile Valley Willamette, from far to
the southward. The northern bank of the Columbia
had been chosen, that should this stream prove event-
ually the boundary line between British and American
Pacific domain, as was then thought probable, the
chief post of the company might still be found planted
within British possessions.

In 1824 agriculture also began to assume impor-
tance in fur-trading circles. The subordinate estab-
lishments, of which there were a score or so on the
Pacific slope, needed supplies. The servants of the
company were no longer satisfied to trust entirely for
food to the game which they might kill or purchase.
Some of the interior forts might, it is true, and did,
cultivate vegetable patches, and Colville raised no in-
considerable quantities of grain and live-stock. But
every locality was not suited to growing grain ; further-
more, mills were necessary, and the more the occu-
pants of the several posts cumbered themselves with
the paraphernalia of civilized life, the more their traffic
was impeded. But the central establishment might
very properly and profitably turn some attention to
agriculture, and while securing land to themselves
prevent its falling into the hands of others. It was

and Clark, each on his respective side, •« re for several years close neighbors,
and constituted the advance guard of th t fierce rivalry which so long kept
the fur-traders in a turmoil. It was only ithin the past six months that after
a long day's march, side by side on sno hoes, they had agreed to settle a
dispute by combat ; and across the blazi camp-fire that night lively pistol-
lings began, which were unfortunately ini
These festive occasions, however, greatly
which could not long continue after their p
before this present York Factory feast is
with his late jailer who had burned brin-

thus giving him a somewhat unpalatable ioretaste of what might be bis fata
hereaiter.

•fered with by their companions,
sisted in healing personal feuds,
uniary interests became one; for
ver we see McVicor taking wine
one and phosphorus in his cell.

CHANliK OF LOCALITY FOR IIKAD yUAUTEUS.

option,
» rapid

settle-
,rd was
1 been
naviga-
ving in

far to
)lumbia
) event-
nerican
ble, the
planted

impor-
e estab-
on the
i of the
irely for
urchasc.
and did,
id no in-
k. But
further-
tic occu-
cs with
lir traffic
It might
ition to
msolves
It was

neighbors,
b long kept
[s that after
1 to settle a
vely pistol-
lompanions.
onal feuds,
ne one; for
t,king wine
In his cell,
[be his fate

wise policy on the j)art of McLouglilin and his asso-
cijitoa to move their Pacific licad-quarters from Astoria;
and all tilings considered, the site of Fort Vancouver
was as well chosen as was then possible.

And now in 1843 a second move seemed no less
necessary than had the first in 1824. Tlie ownership
of the territory was still in dispute. Settlers from
th(> United States and elscwh(>re W(Te coming in, and
the land ci)uld no longer be kept wholly as a game
preserve. The rej)resentatives of two powerful nations
occupied in common by agreement. In the very nature
of things, this partnership must be dissolved. In sen-
timent and in policy the subjects and citizens of the
two powers were to some extent an^^j^onistic. Still
more were the private interests of the fur company,
who, down to near the present time, had singly domi-
nated this common territory, oppugnant to the in-
terests of the incoming agriculturists. Some day, and
that' not far tiistant, either with war or without war,
there would be drawn the dividing line; and that
line it was now certain would not be south of the
('oluinbia, though it was possible the lower Columbia
might be upon that line.

But in any event, whether the territory was divided
soon or late, whether the forty-sixth or the forty-ninth
juirallcl should separate the ownership of the two
nations, it was no less important that the head-
(juarters of the fur company should be moved. It
was impossible to prevent settlement; it was impos-
sible to treat settlers as enemies, for the officers and
servants of the Hudson's Bay Co'mpany were, as a
rule, just and humane men. Nor was it any the less
impossible to conduct a successful peltry business in
the face of increasing settlement. For several years
l)ast these ideas had been patent in the minds of all
who thought upon the subject.

Having determined upon the necessity of a move,
the next consideration was the selection of a site.

Hist. Bbit. Col. 6

^^•4:!

m CAMOSUN AND ESQUIMALT.

The nearest northern post was Nisqually. Too near,
in fact, for already the agriculturists were upon them.
There were the Cowlitz farms; and round Fort Nis-
qually the Puget Sound Agricultural Company was
rapidly laying wide tracts under contribution. But
this was not the worst of it. The agricultural im-
provements on Cowlitz Plains and round Nisqually
belonged to the Puget Sound Company, which be-
longed to the Hudson's Bay Company. All this could
be easily controlled; and the agricultural interest
might indeed have been subordinated to the fur traffic
to the benefit of both. For it need not necessarily
follow that tlie principal post of supply sliould be in
the centre of a fur-bearin<>' region. But it was better
it should be back of settlement; and settlement in
earnest had already set in between the Columbia and
Puget Sound. Then Nisqually, while distant from
the northern posts 'vas likewise distant from the sea;
and too much threading of inlets would more than
offset any other advantages Puget Sound might offer.
But most of all to be considered, Nisqually might be
on the southern side of the line when the national
partition should be made, and it was surely desirable
that any further improvements made by the British
fur company should be on British territory.

Fort Langley might next be considered. The
Frascr was the next largest river on the coast after
the Columbia, and on it stood Langley, as Vancouver
stood on the Columbia. The Fraser could offer as
abundant a supply of salmon as the Columbia, and the
entrance was as safe. The Fraser should now become
the natural route to New Caledonia, and Langley was
well situated to supply all the interior posts. But
might not some point more accessible to the sea be
chosen which would offer all tlie other advantaijes of
Langley as well? The dividing line once determined
there would be little fear of present inroads of set-
tlers beyond it; and if in time a British colony within
strictly British territory and under British rule should

.»;J«iWI*.iJa,

WHALERS' RENDEZVOUS.

be established t)ii the Pacific coast, might not the
fur company's site be the best for a colonial capital
as otherwise? In the ordinary course of things, the
business of wild-beast raising and skinning must de-
cHne; and when it does, and agriculturists take the
place of savages, it would be as well for the proprie-
torship of the metropolis of the new empire to vest in
the company as in another.

Yet another consideration miq-lit be regarded. It
so happened tliat with tlie decline of the fur-trade
upon the Northwest Coast, the Avhaling interest had
assumed larger proportions. Since 1790 there had
been occasional vessels off tiie shore of California
cittching whales. Gradually the number of these ves-
sels increased, a large proportion of them now hailing
from Xew England ports, until the present century
was wellnigh two tliirds gone, when in the north
Pacific this fishery was at its height.

Meanwhile San Francisco Bay had its Whalers'
Harbor, now Sauzalito, and large fisliing fleets con-
gregated at Honolulu.^ And but for the narrow policy
of the Mexican Government and the apathy of the
people of California, the harbor of San Francisco
would have been tlie rendezvous of Pacific whalers
during tlie most important half-century of their exist-
ence. For, though the Hawaiian Islands, lying as
they did in the very track betwcHMi the northern and
southern fisheries, we^ e alwaj^s easy of access by
reason of the trade winds, nature oifered far more
bounteous supplies for the refreshing and refitting
of vessels upon the mainland tluin at the Islands.
Besides a plentiful supply of timber and resin which
California off*ered for ship-building, hemp grew spon-
taneously, and beef might be had for a trifle.

For several yeai's prior to active operations in that
quarter, the southern end of Vancouver Island had

^In 1823, tbrco years after the arrival at the Hawaiian Islands of the first
niissionaries, fifty or sixty whalers might ho .scon at one time at Honolulu,
••nul for twenty years thereafter tlic annual arrival at this port averaged not
h-.ss than sixty sail. Sim Janv-i' Hiur.n'dit /"liim/s, 'Ml.

CAMOSUN AND KSQUIMALT.

been thought of and talked of as a locaUty suitable
for an establishment. It was indeed better adapted
for the site of a magnificent city, than that of a fur-
trading fort. It was near the ocean, and yet protected
from it. It was on the broad highway between the
islands and shores of the Pacific, and a continental
interior equal to the whole of Mexico. It was at the
cross-roads of waters; to the west led Fuca Strait, to
the south Admiralty Iidet, and to the north tlie Gulf
of Georgia. Huge islands were back of it, and a huge
continent beside it. And the fact that as a place alone
whereat to buy furs it was not as desirable as some
others, shows that in the minds of the shrewd traders
and factors of the great comj)any who saw and seized
this opportunity, it was something more than a mere
trading-station.

The steamer Bearer had not been on duty in these
waters more tlian a year before she was prying into
the mysteries of Royal Harbor. For in the Fort
Simpson journal under date 10th August 1837, I
find written: "On his way to the southward (Japtain
McNeill explored the south end of Vancouver Island,
and found an excellent harbor and a fine open country
along the sea-shore apparently well adapted for both
tillage and pasturage, but saw no river sufficiently
extensive for mills.""' This clearly shows what was
wanted; not onl}'^ a fort site but a mill site; that is to
say, something more than a coimnon trading-post.

As Governor Sim[)son passed tlie place by the
same conveyance on his way from l'\)rt Vancouver to
the northern posts in September 1841, he remarked:
" The neighboring country, comprising the southern
end of Vancouver's Island, is well adapted for culti-
vation, for, iji addition to a tolerable soil and a mod-
erate climate, it possesses excellent harbours, and
abundance of timber. It will doubtless become, in

"The fact that tliis survey of Esquiinalt and Victoria harbors by McNeill
was recorded in the journal of so distant a post lu tiiatof I'ort Simpson, shows
that it was th^i regarded as a matter tif no small imx)ortaucu to the company,
and ono generally speculated upon by tho ollicers.

iJEORGE SIMPSON.

time, the most valuable section of the whole coast
above California."*

Simpson had seen this island twenty-three years
before, immediately after his overland journey and
passage down Fraser River in 1828;"^ but having no
need to think much about it at that time, Fort Van-
couver filling every requirement, he passed it by with-
out special conuuent. But now, and later, during this
visit of 1841, we find his mind dwelling upon the
subject, and connecting it with that of a whaling
station within British Pacific territor}^ which he
believed might be made at once attractive to ship-
masters and profitable to his company. Surely north-
ern forests were superior to southern; northern liarbors
equally safe, and as whaling operations worked north-
ward, a northern rendezvous might be more convenient.
As for supplies, if tlie Hudson's Bay Company could
I'urnish the Russians in America on terms advan-
tageous to both parties, as they were now satisfied
they could, surely tliey might supply the whaling
rtects of those waters."

When Simpson reached England, being while here
en route overland round the world, he laid the matter
of a new Pacific post before tlie London directors.
Ordinarily in planting a new establishment no such
formality was deemed necessary. But, involving as it
did an entire change of base in o})erations here, a vir-

* Siiiipsoii'it Joitniry, i. IS'J.

''Goorgo t-iniij-ioii was chief oHiccr in America, and governor of the Hud-
son 's Bay territories for an nnintcrnipted term of tliirty-seven years. He
had no lixed residence; part of tlie time lie spent at Ked River, part iu
Oregon, part in Athabasca, and part in t'anathi. Tliroughout that vast eom-
mcrcial empire as well iu Kuj)ert Lauil as in tlie north-west territories, his
atitiiority was absolute, his will unipKistioned except by the council or the
company. And during all this time, if wo may believe his own statement, it
was never questioned. A very able nuui of large physique, ho was a power
tliroughout the land.

''The governor's logic M'as sound enough, but it is not so easy to draw
tralhc from its accustomed channels. Vancouver Island never was greatly
uacl by whalers. In A'<7('.s' JicijiMfi; Ixx. 34 J, mention is made of four Amer-
ican whaling vessels that wintered there in 1845-0, one of which was tlio
Morrition of .Massachusetts, and one the Lnivrie, of Connecticut. Six sailors
d(!sertiiig from those ships with a stolen boat attempted to land, hut were
opposed by the natives; and bo, driven to sea in a storm, throe of them
perished.

86 CAMOSUN AND ESQUIMALT.

tual abandonment of the Columbia, and the beginning
of a new regime under new conditions, it was deemed
desirable to have the advice and sanction of the mag-
nates of the corporation, before proceeding with what
were now, in the minds of the managers, tolerably
well determined plans.

The fact is there could not be in this association
two opinions in regard to this measure. A move was

'tw*^tf!*^'

ym'

I <J/'( Fhlltt^tl'

'^.^v^>n;;.

-' PORT *N<lEV°*

Camosun and Vicinity.

inevitable. The life of a fur-trader or factor was one
perpetual lesson in observation. To study well the
country, its configuration and contents, was their
daily occupation. Hence the location of the chief city
of British Columbia was not, as has been so many
times the case in city-building, the result of accident.
The very best place that the very best men, after due
deliberation and examination, could find, was chosen,
and in the enjoyment of the refiults of this sound

DOUGLAS' SURVEY.

judgment their successors and descendants forever
may call them blessed.

Those to whom more immediate thanks are due are
James Douglas, John McLoughlin, Eoderick Fin-
layson, John Work, Anderson, Tolmie, and McNeill,
(lovernor Simpson and the London management were
only secondary in their influence as to location. It
was the chief factors and chief traders of the day
who really determined matters.

And first among these we may place James Doug-
las. McLoughlin was now in his decline. His retire
ment was already determined upon. He had been
the central figure in Northwest Coast affairs for a
})eriod of eighteen years. A new sun was now aris-
ing, which for the next score of years was to shine in
the north as had the other in the south.

In early sunnner 1842, Douglas made a careful
l>roliminary survey of the southern end of Vancouver
Island, more particularly of the region round what is
now called Royal Bay," it being by this time well un-
derstood that there was to be fimnd the most suitable
a\ailable spot on all the Northwest Coast.

At a place calicd by the natives Camosun,^ or Ca-

' At the extreme scnitli-eiistoru end of Vancouver I»liiud is a large open
Lay called Royal Bay, directly hack of -wliich is Ksquimalt Harhor, some
tliree miles east of wlxich is Victoria Harhor. Tliat part of Royal Bay lead-
ing more directly into Esquinialt Harhor, and heginniiig at Alhert Head, is
called lioyal Roads. Vessels may there anchor in tenor twelve fathoms, safe
Irom all winds save those from the east or south-eiwt. Esquinialt Harhor may
ho entered at all times, and tliere vessels of any size liud safe anchorage.
Victoria Hiirl)or, entered hetween points McLoughlin and Ogden, hy reason
of the sunken rocks which extend a mile in eitlier direction, from the oare,
tlat projection situated midway ))etween the two harhors, and know: as Sailor
<ir ^lacaulay point, is regarded as dangerous of entrance in 'jad weatlicr.
The cliannel is so tortuous that long vessels often run agrounf'.. ' It appears
not a little remarkahle,' says Iniray, Wed (Vi.si of North America, 239, ' that
with the excellent liarlior of Esquinialt within two miles, Victoria should
liave heen continued as the commercial port of a rising colony.' See also
Kdurs Wanderiiiijs, '208, and Sctiiituins Voi/. Ilcraltl, i. 101.

** So written by Finlayson, and by Douglas, Camosack. I give the prefer-
ence to the former, lecauso though Finlayson may not on all occasions have
heen as close an observer as Douglas, the visits of observation of the latter
were transient, and in some degree necessarily superficial, while the former
Wiw brought immediately into close and continued relationship with the
natives, where ho was obliged to know something of their language, and where
lie assuredly liad tlie opportunity to obtain the most correct pronunciation of
NO important a word. Lieutenant Vavasour, in March 184(5, J/oune of Common*

III

CAMOSUN AND ESQUIMALT.

mosack, signifying the rush of waters, such as occurred
at the gorge, Douglas found an open space some six
miles square in area, consisting of a range of plains
with timber convenient, and possibly v, ater-power for
mills on Camosun Canal, notwithstanding McNeill
had reported unfavorably in regard to mill sites.

I will permit Douglas to make his own report.
" Camosack is a pleasant and convenient site for the
establishment, within fifty yard.s of the anchorage, on
the border of a larue tract of clear land which extends
eastward to Point Gonzalo at the south-east ex-
tremity of the island, and about six miles interiorly,
being the most picturesque and decidedly the most
valuable part of the island that we had the good for-
tune to discover. More than two thirds of this sec-
tion consists of prairie land, and may be converted
either to purposes of tillage or pasture, for which I
have seen no part of the Indian country better
adapted; the rest of it, with the exception of the
ponds of water, is covered with valuable oak and pine
timber. I observed, generally speaking, but two
marked varieties of soil on the prairies; that of the
best land is of a dark vegetable mould, varying from
nine to fourteen inches in depth, overlaying a sub-
stratum of grayish clayey loam, which produces the
rankest growth of native plants tliat I have seen in
America. The other variety is of inferior value, and
to judge from the less vigorous appearance of tlie
vegetation upon it, naturally more unproductive.
Botli kinds, liowever, produce abundance of grass,
and several varieties of red clover ffrow on the ricli
moist bottoms. In two, particularly, we saw several
acres of clover growing with a luxuriance and a com-
pactness more resembling the close sward of a well-
managed lea than the produce of an uncultivated
waste. Being pretty well assured of the capabilities
of the soil as respects the purposes of agriculture, the

.■■'"'/(•«.'» to Three Addremen, 10, writes the word Cammuaan, which certainly
l(?an3 toward Finlaysoii's ortlionraphy. Holduc says Skapits called the south-
•>• '. i;iid of Vancouver Island Ramnon. De Smct'a Or. Miss.. CI.

DOUGLAS' REPORT.

climate being also mild and pleasant, we ought to b<.'
able to grow every kind of grain raised in England.
On this point, however, we cannot confidently speak
until we have tried the experiment and tested the cli-
mate, as there may exist local influences destructive of
the husbandman's hopes, which cannot be discovered
by other means. As, for instance, it is well known that
tile damp fogs which daily spread over the shores of
Upper California blight the crops and greatly de-
teriorate the wheat jjrown near the sea-coast in that
country. I am not aware that any such effect is ever
felt in the temperate climate of Britain, nearly con-
responding in its insular situation and geographical
position with Vancouver Island, and. I hope that the
latter will also enjoy an exemption from an evil at once
disastrous and irremediable. We are certain that
potatoes thrive, and grow to a large size, as the Ind-
ians have many small fields in cultivation which ap-
pear to repay the labor bestowed upon them, and I
hope that other crops will do as well. The canal of
Camosack is nearly six miles long, and its banks are
well wooded throughout."

About a league west of Camosun was a spot known
to the natives as Esquimalt;" that is to say, *a place
for gathering camasf.,' great quantities of which vege-
table were found there, where it was now well known
was a bettor harbor; indeed, Camosun could scarcely
be regard jd as a suitable rende/.vous for Avhalers; but
that did not prevent its being a bcttci- place for a fort.

' As usual in such cases, wc find both of these naiiios mixed and nuitilatod in
a variety of ways by diflerent writers. Thus (Irant, Loud. Gcoij. Soc, Juki-.,
xxvii. 272, and others repeating liis error, say the natives called Victoria Uar-
lior Tsoinus, 'from tlie name of the tribe which liven there,' which were the
Soiighies, and which name in fact he was endeavoring to pronounce. There is
' a bay within three miles of Fort Victoria,' say two very intelligent gentlemen
.specially appointed to see aiul speak correctly. Warre and Vimtmnr, Jfrpt.,
1845, ' called Squirnal by the Indians.' The native name of Cordoba, the Vic-
toria Harbor of the Siitil y Mcxicaiia, Viage, 38, is given by a Spanisli writer
Chachinmtupusas. Paul Kane, the artist, WandcriwjK, 209, writes most of
the names in the vicinity correctly; but he peoples the Songhio village with
Clallams, a scarcely pardonable mistake in one studying savages. I)ouglas
writes Esquimalt Iswhoymalth, which orthography, liowever correct it may
bo, is rather redundant for popular use. Tlio French Jesuit, Bolduc, Ik
iimet'8 Or. Miss., 57-8, calls the Songhies Isanisks.

CAMOSUX AND K8QUIMALT.

When once the shoals and covered rocks were known,
the channel would be found sufficient for the small
vessels of the company ; and as for whalers, the other
haibor was quite near enough for their not always too
pleasing presence. Little thought was then taken as
to which should be the great commercial port, or as
to where should be placed the future great commercial
city. Even should the station ever assume such pre-
tensions, Esquimalt would still assuredly be the proper
place, and Caraosun would still be near enough to it.
For the present, favorable surroundings, good open
lands, clear fresh water, and a beautiful periscope
were far weightier considerations than the accessi-
bility to shipping, which they did not care to have
too near them.

In reference to Esquimalt, Douglas says : " Iswhoy-
malth is one of the best harbors on tlie coast, beinjf
perfectly safe and of easy access, but in other respects
it possesses no attraction. Its appearance is strikingly
unprepossessing, the outline of the country exhibiting
a confused assemblage of rock and wood. More dis-
tant appear isolated ridges, thinly covered with scat-
tered trees and masses of bare rock; and the view is
closed by a range of low mountains, which traverse
the island at a distance of about twelve miles. The
shores of the harbor are iniggcd and precipitous, and
I did not see one level spot clear of trees of sufficient
extent to build a large fort upon. There is in fact but
little clear land within a quarter of a mile of the harbor,
and that lies in small patches here and there on the
declivities and bottoms of the rising ground. At a
greater distance are two elevated plains on different
sides of the harbor containing several bottoms of rich
land, the kigesc of which does not exceed fifty acres
of clear space, much broken by masses of limestone
and granite. Another serious objection to the place
is the scarcity of fresh water." ^"

'•Compare further MnrtirHs HwUorCa Bay, 35-7; Waddlngton'a Fraser
Mhifs, l,"}. ' Victoria may bo tlie farm, but Lsquimalt will be the trading-
port.' Seemanns Voij. Herald, i. 101.

THE MATTER DETERMINED.

Such report dated the 12th of July beino- dnlr
njadeat Fort Vancouver on the retuni'of D^uS
after due consideration hy tlie factors and traders there
assembled, it was determined to onen operations at thll
point as earl,^ in the following spring' asprcttaMe!

CHAPTER V.

FOUNDING OF FORT CAMOSUN.
1843.

Expedition fkom Foet Vancouver— Sourck of Agricultural Supplies —
The Cowlitz Country— Embark on the 'Beaver'— Visit to theClal-
lAMS — Anchor in Camosun Harbor — Beauties of the Surroundings
— ^Aboriginal Occupants— Selection of a Site — Two Points Attract
Attention — Location Settled — The Jesuit, Bolduc — His Confer-
ence WITH the Natives — The Fort-builders Begin Operations —
Portentous Signs — Bolduo Celebilvtes Mass — He Visits Whidbey
Island — Douglas Departs for Tako — Abandonment of that Post,

AND ALSO of FoRT McLoUUHLIN — ReTURN OF DoUOLAS Tl» CaMOSUN

WITH Reexforcements — The Stockade Erected— Arrival of the
' Cadboro' — Ross Placed in Command— Departuhe of Douglas with
THE ' Beaver ' and the ' Cadboro. '

The expedition tor establishing a post on the south-
ern point of Vancouver Island left Fort Vancouver
the first day of March 1843.^ It consisted of some
fifteen men, and was under the command of James
Douglas.'^ It had been determined that the posts of

' As to the date of the first e.vpedition to Royal Bay for the purpose of
planting an establishment there, and of the beginning of the Fort Victoria
buildings, tlicre is a multiplicity of statements, although there is not the
slightest difficulty in reaching the truth, strange as it may appear, if one goes
to the right place for it. Thus Cooper, Maritime Matters, M^., 2, who ont?
would tliink sliould know, says ' the fort was commenced in 1842 and com-
pleted in 1844,' when in truth the site was no more tlian selected at the date
lirst mentioned, while for nearly ten years after the time last named they were
adding to the buildings. McKinlay, Narrative, MS. , 7 was quite near it for
him when lie dates the founding 1840. Grant, in London Oeog. Soc, Jour.,
xxvii. 272, and Uazlitt, Brit. Cot., 157, copying him; Tolmie, Pu(fet Sound,
MS., 19, Fiiilayson, Hist. V. I., MS., 21, who was there and one of the
building party, give the date 1843.

^ Of this expedition, which will be forever interesting and important as the
beginning of active permanent operations on Vancouver Island, I have two
accounts, of the highest order of evidence, both narrators being of the party;
one is the journal of James Douglas, written by himself, and the other a let-
ter of Bolduc, a Jesuit priest, to Mr Cayenne, published in De Smet'a Or. Miss.

(92)

THE EXPEDITION.

Tako and McLoughlin should be abandoned, and the
men tlierc stationed should lend their assistance to
the builders of the new establishment; hence the small
immber of men brought from Fort Vancouver."'

First of all, arrangements must be made fou pro-
\isions. Unlike a regular fur-trading fort, the pro-
[tosed general depot on Vancouver Island could not,
in any considerable degree, sustain itself by hunting
and fishing. It was intended at once to pursue agri-
culture; but there could be but little raised the first
year, and while the first crops were growing the men
must eat. Therefore, Nisqually and the Cowlitz
Plains being of all the Company's farms the most
productive and accessible, it was deternuned to draw
supplies thence. A week was thus occupied in the
Cowlitz country,* and in the transportation of eflects,
and on the 9th the party reached Nisqually in the
midst of a heavy fall of snow. There the little black
/iearcr awaited them ; but it was the 13th before all
their effects were on board ready to start. Embark-
ing at ten o'clock on that day, and steaming north-
Avard through Puget Sound and Admiralty Inlet, at
dusk they came to anchor a few miles south of Port
Townsend.'* The water was still; over the sides of
the vessel fishing tackle was thrown, and soon a j)len-
tiful supply of cod and halibut w:is secured for the
next day's dinner.

WeijTfhing anchor the next morninijf, they ran into
New Dungeness, and landed ft)r the doiil>le purjxjse
of notifying the Clallams of their intended occupation
of Vancouver Island, preparatory to opening traltic
with them, and also to examine the neighborhood as to

^ 'According to instructions from tho governor, Sir ftuorgo Simpson, tlie
trailo ;it Tako and the neighboring inlands was to be carried on by tho liettrcr
Kteamcr, as a trading vessel along tlio coast there.' Fiiiliti/son'n V. /., MS., UI.

*The first night, camped at the mouth of the Cowlitz; second night, slept
below the forks; third night, above the forks; fourth and fiftli niglits, at
Cowlitz Farms; sixth and seventh nights, at Mountain Plain; eighth niglit,
at north end of Grand Prairie. We may judge somewhat of their occupation
by their movements. Douijlas' Jotimal, MS., 120.

"At a place named Pointe Per-hix, formed by a projection of the Isle
Whitby.' Bolduc, iii De Smet's Or. Miss., 55.

FOUNDING OF FORT CAMOSUN.

its resources. There was a plain of some two hundred
acres, eoiitainiiij^ chiefly granite bowlders, a stream of
water, and a large village of the Clallams, who in
autumn capture large quantities of salmon. In small
gardens on the plain the natives cultivated potatoes.
Their observations completed, they crossed Fuca
Strait to Camosun Bay, and anchored about four
o'clock just inside the entrance round Shoal Point."

It was indeed primeval in appearance. Before
them lay a vast ocean-bound body of land upon which
no white man now stood. Not a human habitation
was in sight, not a beast, scarcely a bird. Even the
distant murmur of the voiceless wood was drowned
by the gentle beating of the surf upon the shore.

There was something specially charming, bewitching,
in the place. Though wholly natural, it did not seem
so. It was not at all like pure art; but it was as
though nature and art had combined to map and
make one of the most pleasing prospects in the world.
So park-like in appearance was the region round and
back of the harbor, that the European first landing
would scarcely have manifested surprise had he en-
countered workmen, who, while subduing that which
was evil or ungainly, were yet subordinating art to
nature, and striving with their artificial changes still
to preserve nature's beauties. The fertile vales, warm
groves, and grassy slopes of the rolling plateau were
intersected by serpentine ribbons of glistening water,
and bound round by wind-chiselled rocks as smooth
and symmetrical as if placed there by design. These
gave the ground a substantial air, and a warning to
the encroaching sea, as if progress had specially pre-
pared the place, and the foundations of civ!li:5ation were
there already laid. Never danced cicavcr, purer water
in the sunlight than that which rippl; J in the coves
and bays around, and the Olympian Heights from this

*Some say that this expedition first entered Esquimalt Harbor, some
C6rdobaBay; botJi are in error. These sliores liad been previously visited
often enough to enable them to proceed at oucc to their objective point.

VmcJiN WIU)ERNESS.

stalidpoint, with tlie glistenin«^ water for a foreground
anil cloud-eut midway above their base, a.s they often
are, seeineil translated lieavenward. Never were
mountains more aptly named than these, thanks to
tlie old trinket-huekster, Meares; for if there is any-
wliere a spot on whieh an American Jove might
fitly hold his eourt, it is here on these high up-
lifted hills, their base resting on clouds and their
white tops bathed in celestial glory

The aboriginal occupants of the domain round Ca-
niosun, by which native a[)pellation we are permitted
for a time to call what was afterward known as Victoria
Jlarbor, were the Songhies," whose chief village was
situati'd on the western side of the channel, on a point
about one mile from the entranci>. At the })resent time,
however, they had ft)rtified themselves within stakes
enclosing an area some one hundred and fil'ty feet
s<(uare, at the head of the harbor,'"* through fear of
the fierc-c Cowichins, who livjii a little north of Fia.^er
River, both on the island and on the mainland, and
\\ ho crept stealthily down the strait in their canois,
entered villagers at night, massacred the men, and car-
ried the women and children into slavery.

On the present occasion the Beaver liad scaivcly
come to anchor when two canoes were seim, and ac
tlie discharge of cannon savages appeared upon the
l)ank, confusedly moving hither and thither like the
uni'arthed inhabitants of a disturbed ant-hill. The
niglit ])assed (piietly, and tlie following morning saw
the steamer surrounded by a swarm (kf boats.

Chief now anionu' other considerations was wood
with which to build the fort, and ground to place it
on. For tlie former, early on tlie morning of the
loth of !N[arch, l)oui;las set out fiom the steamer in
a small boat and be<»"an to examine the shore dircctlv
north of tlie anchorage, where he found the trees
.^liort, crooked, and not at all suitable. On the soutli

' Se« X<it!ir RaccM, i. 174-107. 297.

" IJoMuc says 'six iiiilos from the i«)rt, iit the extremity of the hay.' /)<•
Siiift'ti Or. MUs., 50.

li ?P

!ii

FOUNDINCr OF FORT CAMOSUN.

side the wood was better, and Douglas anticipated
no difficulty in obtaining sufficient of some kind for
liis purpose. Small, straight cedar-trees, such as were
most desirable for pickets, being lighter, and of greater
durability underground than other timber of this
region, he found it necessary to bring from a distance.

Meanwhile, never indifferent to food supply, he
questioned the natives, and learned that pilchard, or
herring, came in April, and that salmon ascended Fuca
Strait in August, when large quantities were taken,
the supply of the latter continuing until September.

Where to place the proposed fort was the next
question. "There are two positions," writes Doug-
las m his journal under date of 15th of March, "pos-
sessing advantages of nearly equal importance, though
of difl'erent kinds. Number one has a good view of
the harbor, is upon clear ground, and only fifty yards
from the beach; on the other hand, vessels drawing
fourteen feet of water cannot come within one hun-
dred and thirty feet of the shore. We will therefore
have either to boat cargo off and on, and at a great
destruction of boats, and at a considerable loss of
time, or be put to the cxpenf-:e of forming a jetty at a
great amount of lal)or. Number two, on the other
hand, will alhnv of vess'^Is lying with their sides
grazing the rocks, wliich form a natural wharf where-
on cargo may be conveniently landed from the ship's
yard, and in that respect would be exceedingly advan-
tageous; but on tlie other hand, an intervening point
intercepts the view, so that the mouth of tlie port
cannot l)e seen from it, an objection of much weight
in the case of vessels entering and leaving port.
Another disadvantage is, tJuit the shore is there cov-
ered by thick woods to the breadth of two hundred
yards, so that we nmst either place the fort at that
distance from the landing-place, or clear away the
thickets, which would detain us very much in our
building operations. I will think more on this sub-
ject before determining the point."

WLit^tjKm

BOLDUC, THE MISSIONARY.

In all which it is clearly evident the commander's
mind was dwelling more on proximate facilities than
on permanent advantages; for had he been aware
that he was choosing the site of a city, and not merely
locating a fort, such considerations as a view of the
entrance or a belt of bushes on the shore would have
weiuhed but little.

With the expedition was a Jesuit missionary, J. B.
Z. Bolduc, who claims to have been the first priest to
put foot on Vancouver Island; of the truth of which
supposition perhaps neither he nor any of those with
him were the best judges. However this may have
been, certain it is that Father Bolduc, on this same
15th of March, landed with swelling breast and head
erect, as fully bent on business as any there ])resent.
If we may credit tlie truth of the good man's state-
ment, the savages, with their chief, whose name was
Tsilalthach, at once recognized his apostleship, and
bowed submissive to that spiritual yoke which they
lioped would in its own mysterious way add to their
creature comforts.

Accom})anied by the commander of the expedition
and the captain of the steamer, the ]»riest directed his
steps to where the savages had congregated up the
channel, and was immediately embraced by six hundred
souls, which number swelled to twelve hundretl before
his dejnirture. Men, women, and children, all nmst
touch the hem of his garment, all must sliake hands
with him, and absorb in their being some of that divine
attiatus that flows from the Lord's anDinted.

ilepairinu, to the great public house of the village,
the i)riest harangued the people, and the chief ha-
rangued the priest: which was the more interesting
and instructive discourse 1 shall not attempt to deter-
mine.

•'0 man!" cried Bolduc, "red man, blind man,
beastly man; know you not of a creator, a heaven,
and a hell ? I knr v and I am come to tell j'ou, the

Hist. Buit. Col. 1

FOUNniNd OF FORT t'AMOSUN.

! Ml:

creator is such and such a character aw I shall describe ;
and he loves and hates such tilings as I shall tell you
are right aiid wrong."

"All that I know as well as you," returned Tsilal-
tliach. "Another told mo ten years ajjo." I UP'xl to
be bad; now I am good."

Lucky Bolduc! Lucky Tsilalthach 1 How wonderful
is knowledge, hidden as it is from the wise and prudent,
but revealed to babes !

"You must be baptized," continued Bolduc.

"Baptize our enemies," said Tsilalthacli; "do not
baptize us; for all the Kwantlums and Cowichins so
treated died immediately."

"Then you can never see tlie master," replied
Bolduc.

"Well, baptize, then," cried Tsilalthacli; "wc have
soon to die in any event."

So Bolduc baptized until arrestea by slie<n' exhaus-
tion; and the sheep now gatliered into the fold were
ready for the slaughter

Next day, the lOth, having determined on a site,
which was nuiiib(>r two of his recorded cogitations,
Douglas put his men at work squaring timber, and
six others digging a well. He then ex})lained to the
natives,^" now assi'mbled in considerable numbers, tliat
he had come to build among them, and to bring tJiem
arms and implements, clothing antl beautifnl adorn-
ments, which they might have for skins Whereat
they were greatly pleased, and eagerly [tressed their
assistance u}»on the fort-builders, who were glad to
em])loy them at the rate of one blanket for every forty
pickets they would bring."

The 17th was Friday; was it their lucky or un-

® Was it another first pviost, a RWcariti j:f sailor, or a siiponmtnrnl apparition ?

'"Tho 'SaiiioMi!,' Ill) uiilU tlium: which is liardly ho iu;ar 'Songhics ' as
' Cainosack ' is to 'Cainosim,'

" 'Tlio ])ickets W'TC twenty -two foot hint; and throofoot in ciri'iimU'rcncf.
I also lent thi'iu thrco larj^u axes, ono h.ilt' s(piaro head, and ton hiill'-rdiiiid
head axos, to bo ri'tiirno(l licroaftor, when they had iiiiishodthe joh.' 7>o«,v/»i<'
Journal, MS., iL't .").

THE nativp:s.

lucky day ? Was that luminous streak which lingered
in the heavens after the day went out, shining brightly
there until the moon came up and frightened it away
— was the sign portentous of good f)r ill to this begin-
ning? And did it speak to the savage or to the civil-
ized? For five consecutive niglits it did not fail to
make its appearance, and was the wonder of the timo.^'

Sundav was th(> 19th, and Rolduc decided on that
day to celebrate mass. Douglas kindly placinl at his
disposal whatever he sliould wisli from the steamei',
besides supplying him men to aid him in his holy work.
A rustic chapel was improvised: a boat's awning serv-
ing as canopy, and branches (^f fir-trees enclosing the
sides. During the service the rude sanctuarv was
gnv(".'(i wifb the presence of the ccmimander, and two
('.ii,hf^lj>- lies, by wliich term the polite Frenchman
dcsignati's the pious half-1 )n'('d wives of the Canadians.
No cathedral bell was heard that sabbath morning;
no soft and solenm peal fiung back by waving forest
on Georgia and Fuca straits; and yet the Songhies,
Clallams, and Cowichins were there, friends and
bloody enemies, in thick attendance, all anxious for
heaven after they should have received sufiicient of
some nearer and more present happy sensation.

Tlie Sonu'hies themselves wove soon enlisted in mis-
sionary service. Bolduc, desirous of carrying the gos-
])i'l to Whi(lb(\y Is.'uUvl, after })ui'chasing a canoe was
(levoutlv paddled ilieut c bv Tsilalthach and ten of his
most ettic'; (It m,. rrior!-, <)i\ the 24th. Tlu; captain had
given him a c. uj^'Ism mkI had tohl him which \\i\y to
st(H'r, else tins vaan wiio knew !Ue road to heaven so
well M'ould have iO." ]ii;'. way on a little stretch of
opaque sea of twenty-seven miles. The first night was
spent on Lopez Island; tlu^ new eonvt'rts, securing an
;il>undance of sia fi>od to gorge themselves Avithal, iHd

'- I)imi;l;is cvory (lay iiiiido a unto of it, pliiciiig it ' ihin soiiUi from tlio
pit itioii w(> <H'i'U|ii('() at tlio liincof its aiiiicarauci', ami cxtcmli'il from tlii-iifi'
III a I'ontiiiuoiis liiu' t' '.lie si iith-wcst imint of tlic liori/oii, foiiniiiij; an air of
viiicty tlc^rccs. It ■'. iiiiiisliod j,'ra'liially lowanl tlu' .soutliwi'st liorizoli.*
I'oiii/lim' joiinnil, M ■< i'."i.

JOO

F()UNl)iN(i OF FOK'J' lAMOSUX.

Ill

iK^t find it necessary, at this juncture, ti) eat tlic mis-
sionary. The next day lie reached Wliidbey Island
in safety ; and pitching his tent beside the cross planted
there by Blanchet in 1840, before the sun went down he
had shaken hands with a file of savages, numbering, with
those so favored the following da}', over one thousand,
enough to i)ut to blush Ulysses Grant, the greatest of
American hand-shakers. Signifying his desire for
something better than a cotton house, two hundred
Skagits immediately fell to cutting trees, and in two
days a wooden building twenty-five by twenty-eight
feet, covered with cedar bark, the interior lined with
rush mats, stood at his ser* ice upon an adjacent hill;
in return for which the S'. sits were tauij^ht to sinof.

The l}d of April the good ; )nary tleparted from

these shores, directing his boat ; k toward Nisqually,
naively remarking that although the heathen here-
abouts iiladlv received the word, he was not sure
they fully cominehended it; for when he attemi)ted
to reform their morals they straightway relapsed into
indirt'erence.

The beginning of these important t)perations having
thus been made, Douglas connnitted his little force of
fort-buiUlej's to the honorahle mercies of the yet un-
maddened savage, and steamed northward, transacting
the usual business on the way.

Proceeding to Fort Tako, he took thence all the
goods and otluir articles worth the transi)ortation, and
jtlacing tluMu with the men on boaril the vessel, aban-
doned the place. A^ Fort Simpson he took on board
Roderick Finlayson, leaving there another officer in
his place. Droj)ping down the Milbank Sound, he
gathered in the stores and men at Fort McLoughliii,
and abandoned that post as he had done Fort Tako.''
Then he returned to Camosun.

't '

"'This coui'80 was adopted in conHctjufiuic of instructions having been
sent from Red River settlement in Hudson's Bay, tlien tlie head-quart<!i'8 of
<»ur governor, Sir (ieorge Simp.son, to estalilisli a tlejiot for wliah'rs on the
south point of Vancouver Island, as there were many whalers then visiting
theNortli racitic' Fiiilui/soii'-i I'. /., MS., '_'!.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF EMPIRE LAID.

101

It was on the first day of June that the new
force landed from the Beaver at Caniosun. But Httle
pro<ifress hal been made in building since the de-
j)arture of the steamer, and tliere was as yet no
slieltcr for stores upon the shore. Carrying forward
to rapid conn)letion the few log huts already begun,
the goods were landed, and stored in them, the men
protecting themselves at night as best they were able,
until further buildings were erected for their accommo-
dation.

From the coasts of Vancouver, the neighboring-
islands, and the contisfuous mainland the natives
llocked in to sec the work that was being done, and
encamped on every side. Tliey were all well armed,
and were without their wive and children, whidi
st'cmed somewhat suspicious to tliu fort-builders. Tlu'
fur-trading force at Camosun now immbered fifty men,
j);ut of whom were from the abandoned posts of Tak»>
and McLoughlin, and j)art fi-om F U't Vancouver.
Tliis was almost too formidable an array, armed to
the teeth, and constantly on guard as tlicy were, fVn-
tlie natives to tliiidc of attacking; so they contente<l
tliemsclvi's with tlie }>iirering of sucji articles as provi-
dence threw in tlieir way, for they were tJiieves upon
|irincii)le.

Three months after the arrival of the parties from
tlic north, the stockade, with bastions at the angles
and store and dwelling liouses within, was conipl('te<i.
Wliile this work was in jtrogri'ss, the schooner ('(idhoro
arrived with supplies from Fort \"ancouver. ^[r
diaries Koss, wlio had been in chaigc^ of Fort Mc-
Ijongldin at the time of the abandonnuMit, being
senior otlicer, was placed in command, witli Mr Fin-
layson as second. Then in October, Douglas, })ro-
nouncingthc new establishment capable of self-defence,
departed with the livaver and tlie Cadhoro, and their
crews, midst loiig and lusty cheers from the shore.
Thus wc^re laid the foundations of a new empire.

HI •III J"
III IP
11 11

S< H I141

CHAPTER VI.

AFFAIRS AT C AMOS UN.

1S44.

Dkatii of Commaxper llos.s — lloPKRirK ]'iNLAVS0N — Sketch of his
C'aukek — At Fokts Tako axi> Simpson' — BinLioriUAPiiu'Ai, Note ox his
Maniscriit — His Ciiauacter — First C'ak(;o ok Livk-stock — The Sav-

ACIES MAKE GaME OF THE CaTTLK— UeIJUESS DeMANHED AX1> REFtrSKD—

Wah Dei'lared— Tsouohila.m and Tsilalihach avith their Allies
ArrAi'K THE Fort — STitArEiiY of Finlaysox — Bl(h)uless Viotory — The
Pipe ok Peace is Smokek — ]>esii!iitions ok the Fortress— »\'arre
and Vavasoiu — Ueutholo Sf.kmax X — Fin layson's LEriEK— James
Deans — His Character and Maxisoript — Interestincj and Minute
Description of the Fort — Under Ordehs ok Douolas, Fort Camosux
WAS Bi'Ii.t wriHoirr a Nail.

In the spring- of 1844 Ross, the oiliccir in charge, died,
and Finlayson reigned in liis stead. Tlio first duty of
the new comniander Mas to despatcli to Nisqually a
eanoo with a messenger for Fort Vancouver, announc-
ing tlie deatli of Ross. Tlie return express brouglit
from ^EcLoughlin authority i'or Finlayson to remain
in cliarge, with a promise of another olticer to be sent
sliortly to assist liini in carrying on operations.

On the western highlands of Scotland was uorn
Roderick Finlayson, thus destined for a time to rule
this island. His father was an extensive sheep-farmer,
and in assisting him, no less than in attending the
parochial school, the youth was preparing for his
successful future.

At the age of sixteen years he left home and began
making his own way in the world. Crossing the At-
lantic on an emigrant ship in 18o7 to New York, he
there met an uncle who secured him a position as ap-
prenticed clerk in the Hudson's Bay Company, and

RODERICK FINLAYSON.

io;<

reported himself at tlie office in Montreal. After re-
maining there several months he was appointed to
Bytown, a station on the Ottawa River. Thence in
1839 he crossed the mountains to Fort Vancouver,
where he wintered, hunting in the Willamette Valley,
•shooting duck where Portland now stands, and making
preparations meanwhile for an expedition northward
for the purpose of taking possession of the ten-league
sliore strip lately leased from the Russians. Thence
witli James Douglas in command of the party, of
wliichwere W. G. Rae, John Kennedy, and J olin Mc-
Loughlin, junior, in the sj)ring of 1840 he proceeded
hy way of the Cowlitz Jiiver, Nisqually, Langley, Mil-
hank Sound, and Fort Simpson to the Stikeen River,
wlicre woi'e left Rae, McLoughlin, and eighteen men;
Douglas, Kemiedy, and Finlayson, with tlie remainder
of the i»arty, proceeding in the steamer Beaver, which
liad hrouglit tliem from Nisqually to Sitka.

Ill June the party sailed from Sitka for the Tako
liiver, where they built a fort, which was loft in
charge of Kennedy, with Finlayson as assistant, aii<l
eighteen men, ] Douglas returning to Fort Vancouver.
Ai'ter a dreary winter Jit Tako, in the sununer of
1841 Finlayson was ordered to Stikeen to take the
place at that station of Mr Rae, who was sent to
Verba Ruena. There ho remained six months, Avhen
lie took liis place at Fort Shnpson as trader.

Upon the assassination of John McLoughlin, junior,
by his men at Stikeen, Finlayson proceeded thither
in a canoe to take connnand of that jiost, but on ar-
rival he found that Governor Simpson liad reached
the ])lace before him, and had provided for its gov(U'n-
nunt. Thereupon he returned to Fort Simpson,
where he remained tiirough 1842, and until he was
taki'ii thence by I)oui>'las to assist in establishinii' the
l>ost at Camosuu in the spring of 1843.^

*Iu a inuuuHcriut of 104 folio pages, cutitlod llktonj of y'tincoutrr
Ixland and the NorthwcHt Cmtxt, h// lioiU'vkk Fiiilaysmi, are given tho primary
l.icts relative to the first establishmoiit on VancnuviT Island subsocjucnt to
the doings at ^rod'.ka, loiiin l:;ilf-ii';!*r.rv jirovioiis. Vart nf this nianusuript

ill i'ii!

ill 'I

104

AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN.

There can be no evidence more satisfactory to the
historian in regard to an incident or episode not con-
nected with contending factions, than the testimony de-
rived from frequent and close converse, pen in hand,
with the chief actor in the event. If besides being
upon the spot and ordering, or doing, and seeing done
all that was done, we have a witness, intelligent,
high-minded, of the strictest integrity, careful in his
statements, precise in the use of words, unbiassed, un-
bigoted, neither seeking praise nor fearing censure, it
were strange, indeed, if one seeking facts only could not
under such circumstances find them. Such a witness,
touching one of the most interesting and important
events of British Columbia history, namely, clearing
the ground for the future metropolis, and setting there
the stakes of civilization, we happily have, in this in-
stance, in the person of Mr Roderick Finlayson.

is in the handwriting of tlie author; the remainder was taken by reporters
from Mr Finlayson 's dictation in my presence, and while suljject to my inter-
rogatories. Ho who would investigate the early affairs of British Columbia,
more particularly matters relating to tlic founding of its most important
establishment, and which led to the building of the present city of Victoria,
is surprised at the absence of material. There was scarcely a post upon the
whole Northwest Coast of which I had not more information than concerning
the founding of Camosun, or Victoria, before I began to gather it from un-
recorded sources. Fortunately in Mr Fmlaysou I found the man before all
others for the purpose. Well preserved in mind as in body, clear-headed,
courteous, intelligent, and public-spirited, he patiently sat with mo day after
day and week after week, until I expressed myself satisfied. And to liim
his fellow-members of the commonwealth, and all who care for a knowledge
of its early incidents, may tender their thanks; for without what he has
given me there would be little to tell. It is wonderful, indeed, liow quicklj'
unrecorded facts drop out of existence; and what blind apathy even the most
prominent men sometimes display concerning most important matters which
have lain nearest them all their lives, but which did not happen to come
within the routine of their duties. When asked by Mrs Victor for incidents
of the early life of John McLoughlin, Mr Douglas replied that he knew noth-
ing of McLoughlin's early life. Half their lives had been spent in intimate
business and friendly intercourse; both were wise and prominent men, and
yet the younger knew absolutely nothing of the elder except what he saw of
him. Mr Finlayson has a most happy way of presenting facts. His style is
lucid, exact, and at the same time comprehensive. The chief incidents of his
long and prominent career seemed already arranged in his mind in well de-
fined sequence. His manuscript, though not as large as some, contains as
much information as many three times its size, and the importance of his
information is not exceeded by any. Mr Finlayson jpresentetf as fine an ap-
pearance physically as one not very often meets. Tall, well proportioned,
erect, and crowned with gray, with fine, full features, expressive at once of
benevolence and intelligence, his would have been felt as an imposing pres-
ence in any community.

chakactj:r of finlayson.

105

y to the
not con-
lony de-
in hand,
es being
inf? done
:olligent,
■ul in his
ssed, un-
snsurc, it
30uld not
. witness,
mportant
, clearing
ing there
ti this in-

by reporters
t to my inter-
ioh Columbia,
pst important
f of Victoria,
post upon the
in concerning
r it from un-
lan before all
cleiir- headed,
mo day after
And to him
a knowledge
■what ho has
how quickly
iven the most
lattcrs which
pen to come
for incidents
e knew noth-
t in intimate
jnt men, and
lat ho saw of
His style is
iidents of his
1 in well de-
, contains as
•tance of his
J 6no an ap-
>roportioned,
re at onco of
iposing pres-

Every individual is composed of human qualities,
the worst having much that is good, the best much
tliat is bad. And the honest historian deems it his
duty to present, in every instance, without fear or
favor, without prejudice or feeling, botli pliases of
cliaracter, clearly and conscientiously. In rigidly ad-
lioring to tliis course, he must expect little else but
ct'iisuro from any quarter; for praise a man never
so long or loudly, once a fault is touched he or his
friends bristle with anoer in a moment. In the lives
of the best of us are some things which we prefer
sliould not be brought under too strong a light; the
worst of us do not relish the parading of our wicked-
ness, nor do we believ^e it true, or the statement just,
{before embarking in his too often thankless task, the
writer of history, if his work be worthy the lame,
must so incase himself in armor as to be wholly in-
different to attack, relying only on truth, and the
satisfacticMi of telling it, for his reward.

Applying this sentiment to the niatter in hand, I
Had nu'self at a loss in the consunnnation. Xo doubt
Finlayson has bad qualities; his })la(!e is not upon this
jtlanet otherwise; but unfortunately I have not Www
idile to find them. Though ah 'ays a leading man in
th(> conii)anv and in the colonv, ho has not been so
prominent as to have excited, to any general I'xtent,
jealousy or obloquy by reason of his position. Among
husiness men, among those who have met him almost
daily for a perit)d of forty years, or are intiinati* with
liis course and character, he is pronounced a shrtjwd,
practical, clear-headed Scotchman, who, though some-
times seeking office and assuming public duties, med-
dles little with his neighbors' affairs, but attends U)
liis own business, an<l does it so well and thoroughly
as usually to command success. Kind, ben(!Volent,
liouorable, and exceedingly courteous, showing him
sc^lf l)v instinct a gentlemen hi the hisfhest sense of
that much misapplied word, he possesses neither the
genius nor the weakness of McLoughlin, nor the chiv-

i; iy*:-'i

ill

106

AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN.

ulrous strcnnrtli or the cold calculating formality of
Douglas. He is not wholly self-abandoned in his well-
doing like the one, nor snow-capped, by reason of his
mond or jjolitical elevation, like the other. Being not
so crreat a man as either, his faults do not stand out
so conspicuously.

We will now crontinue our narrative of affairs at
Cyaiuosun.

When tiio Cadhoro and the Beaver sailed away
about their business the previous October, the lattt^r
proceeded to Fort Nisqually, and taking on board u
ear<>o of cattle and horses, returned with them to
( 'amosuu. Tliereafter regular trip,; were made, and
soon C-amosuu became the home station vt' the little
steamer, wlience she departed on lier several missions.

Tlie cattle brought fi'om Nisc[ua]ly were chiefly of
Mexican origin, and wt>re wild and uiimana2feable.
When first turned loose from tlie steamer, witli head
and tall erect they darted lilther and tliitlier, and then
j)lunged into tlie thicket; and it was with no small
dIflicuUy tl'.at they were finally corralled and c-ontrolled.
In due i'nnv, however, a sufficient number for building
and farnilug jHirposes were subdued and brought under
the yoke, and wluni not at work were turned out to
graze, as were likewise the liorses and other cattle.

The savaws re<jrarded with Wv)iider not unmixeil
with contempt this new species of game trained to
do women's work, and tliereby rendered wellnigh un-
lit for the accomplishment of their high destiny, which
was to be killed and eaten. Besides, if this thing was
to be, what would wom<!n do; what would wives be
good for? Not only would they become idle, lazy,
anc- too proud to work, but they would so fall in value
as materially to aftect the wealth and standing of
those possessing six or ten. Their blood-thirsty logic
was convincing to their own minds at least, and m-
deed overpowering, notwithstanding the white men
liad warned them, under penalty of severe displeas-

1 III

HOSTILITIES.

luo, to treat these civilized beasts with distinguished
consideration.

J', aumg tliose encamped in the vicinity of the fort,
ami who watched ojierations with as keen a zest
as any, was a hand of Cowichins, whose chief was
Tsoughilani, and wht) had come down from the nortli
on a plmiderino- expedition.

The horses and cattle of the fort-builders were
magnificent prey for these brigands, particularly the
work-animals, which were finer, fatter, and more
easily approached than the others. It was not often
the good gods sent them such abundant benefit at so
small a cost; and to decline them might seem ungrate-
ful. So some of the best of the work oxen and horses
were killed, and the Cowichins were filled to their
utmost content.

The day of reckoning quickly came. The fort-
Uuilders, having need of tlieir cattle, Avent out fur them
one morning, and found in place of tlieir faithful as-
sistants only blood and bones, the more valuable parts
of the carcasses being easily traced to the Cowichin
(•;iuip. Finlayson inunediately despatched a messen-
ger to Tsouijjhilam, di'mandiniif delivery of the ofl:\!nd-
irs, or payment for the slain animals. The savage
attempted intimidation, prt^tended ingenuousness,
tliough he knew well (niough he was criminal.

"\VhatI" exclaimed to the messenger the lordly
aboriginal, "these animals yours I ]3id you make
them ( Are these your fic'lds that fatten tliem ? I
thought them the property of nature; and whatever
nature sc>nds me, that I slay and eat, asking no ques-
tions, and paying no damages."

" These cattle were brouijlit from beyond the yreat
sea," replied the messenger; "they belonged to those
who brought them; and unless you make proper res-
titution, the gates of the fort will be closed ajjainst

VOU.

* Close your gates, if you like 1" exclaimed Tsough-
ilam, now thoroughly enraged, " and I will batter

11!:

mm.

108

AFFAIUS AT tAMOSUX.

tlicm down! Close your <]fat('S forsooth 1 Think you
\vo (11<1 not llvo before the wliite man came? and tliink
you we slioukl die wi're lu? s\ve])t from tliese si i ores f

It was no idle threat that Tsoucfhilam thus made.
There were others in the neighborhood, bold chief-
tains with their warriors, not least amoni; whom was
Tsilalthach, the ij^reatest and l)ravest of the Sonj^hies,
who had watched these many da} s, with itching palms,
the good things carried in behind the palisades, and
who would not scruple in the least to attempt to
secure some of them. Though not exactly upon his
own domain, Tsous>hilam almost felt at home there ])V
r(>ason of his oft-repeated depredations. Ho might
set U]) a sort of claim by right r^f eoiujuest. At all
events, his right was as reasonable as was the white
man's. Sunnnoning to a council all the chiefs within
liis call, he said to them:

'* lieptiles have crept hither, rt-ptih'S with strangr
stings, whom it w«>re well to crush upon the spot lest
they sliould soon overspread the Avhole island The
reward for such labor may be found behind the pal-
isades.

Then arose Tsilalthach, cliief of the Songhies, and
said: "We and our forefathers have lived in happiness
ujum this island for many ages before the existence of
these strangers was known. AVe have eaten the fruits
of the earth, have bathed in the waters and in the
sunshine, have hunted our forests uncpn^stioned of any,
and have fought away our enemies manfully. Is all
now to be taken from us^'

The spirit of butchery was aroused. " We will
meet this new infliction," cried another, "as we have
met those in the past. We can do without bedizen-
ments; or, what is better, we can take them without
the asking."

Meanwhile within the fort watch was kept day
and night to prevent surprise. After a lapse of two
days, during which a large force had assembled n)un<l
the fortress, the threatened attack was made. Midst

THK FOUT A'iTACKK!).

lOS)

SUV yolls aiitl terrifyiiitif antics, such as should put
to h.„lit a liost of liobgohhns, men, or devils, a shower
of musket-halls came })atteriiig down upon the I'ort,
riddlinjif the stockade and rattlin*? on the roofs of the
houses. Instantly Finlayson shouted his order that
not a sliot was to he returned, thougli it was with the
ntniost difficulty he could restrain his men. The sav-
ages conthmed tlunr fire for full half an hour, when
set'ing no pros[»ect of annihilation near, they rested
from their waste of anununition. Then the com-
mander of the fort ajipeared upon the parapet and
licckoned Tsoughilam within speaking distance.

" Wliat would you do?" exclaimed Finlayson.
-' What evil would you bring upon yourselves? What
folly with your peppery guns to think to demolish our
stronghold! Know you not that with one motion of
mv fin<;er I could Uow you all into the hay ? And I
will do it, too. 8ce your houses yonder ! And in-
.stantly ujx)!! the wonl a nine-pounder helched forth
wit^' astounding noise, a large k)ad of grape-shot tear-
in to splinters the cedar lodge at which it was

A hundred howls of agony rent the air, as if hy
tliat single shot all the women and children of the
island had been blown to atoms.

And so they would have been doubtless injured
somewhat had tluy been there, as many of their woe-
stricken husbands and fathers supiH)sed they were.
Hut the humane Finlayson had no desire to depopu-
late the isle, or even to injure a hair of a single abo-
riginal head. Before seeking a parley, and while the
bullets were falling thick around him, he had formed
a ])lan for teachino- them a salutary lesson without
(IdUig them mjury. He had ordered his interj)reter
1<> slip from the back gate and run for his life, as if
esca[»ing from a deadly foe, ar.d on arriving at the
lodges designated to warn the inmates to instant flight,
as the fort was preparing to fire upon them. Hence
no damage was done save the shivering to splinters

110

AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN.

' II I

:wn<w

5i !i

of some pine slabs. And much good was accom-
plished, as the result will shoiv.

Some little time was allowed to elapse after the
firing of the shot, that the savages might have oppor-
tunity to gather somewhat their dusky senses. Pres-
ently a deputation of their principal men appeared
before the fort and requested a parley with the wliite
chief. Finlavson told them thev mitjht come within
the stockade; and as a guaranty of his good foith, lie
would send out two of Jiis men as liostages. The
oft'er was accepted, and tlie deputation entered the
fort.

Then Finlayson fully explained t<j them how easily
lie c(>uld destroy them if he would. He showed tliem
his men, his big guns and his little guns, and powder
and balls, and knives and swords. He assureil them
that he wished them only good; but he insisted that
those who killed the oxen sliould l)e given up for pun-
isliment, or the cattle paid for. They preferred the
latter alternative, and before night fur to the full
amount of the damage was delivered at tlie fort gate.
The JHpe of peace was then smokeil, and promises of
fri(!ndshii) exdiaiiixed. Next dav tlie natives asked
to see the great gun tried again; whereupon Finlay-
son told them to station an old canoe out in the water,
and pointing the camion at it he fireil. Away went
the ball, and after cutting a great hole in the boat,
bounded along the surfa/'e of the water tt» the oppo-
site shore. The savages' respect for civilized institu-
tions was duly increased.

iUit tlu^ white manV, laws as gradually revealed to
them were seldom ]>alatable. For exanii)le, not long
after the cattle-killinyf atl'air certain Skatjits from
\\'hi<Ibev Island came to Caniosiin to trade. Their
business doiu' thev started for their boats; but before
reachin*'' them tlu! Son<>Iiies fell u|>on the visitors and
strip]tetl them of their go(>ds; for between the Ska-
gits ai'd the Songhies, just as betv<>en France and
Gcrnianv, feuds had long existed. Xow, in tli(> bi'^

DESCRIPTION OP THE FORT.

IS acconi-

hook of the fur-hunters is it not written that trading
skins is a sacred calhng, and that consequently the
l»crsons of skin-sellers are sacred? Therefore when
tlio Skagits returned with long faces to the fort and
told their tale, the connnander ordered the immediate
restoration of the stolen goods, under ]>onalty of his
displeasure and absolute cessation of trade, which
was done. Steal and butcher among y(»urselves, or
on any other occasion, as much as you will ; but at
vour peril touch tlij pilgrim who brings hither the
Liains we love.

The fort was situated, as we have seen, on the east
side of the hilet, directly opposite the chief village
of the Songhies, which was distant some four hundred
yards, and between which places was constant com-
numication by boat;.;. As usual, the cliiefs were ke[)t
friendly by presents and a judicioub balancing of
power by Mr Finlayson, for whom they encertained
tli(> Jiigiiest respect."

The scjuare enclose<l by the ciular ]»ickets, which
w ere eighteen feet above ground, was one huuilred and
fifty yards on every side, with two blov.'k-housi>s or
l»astif)ns at the angU's, and dwellings and storehouses
within the enclosure.^

Althouijh building was not entirely over for several
years, the fort })ro[)er and tlu; usual building within
the palisades wwe well advanced during tins year of
1844. As there is no period in the history of a com-
monwealth j)ossessing a mon; kc>eii and lasting interest
than that of the; rude inci[)iency of its metropolis, I

'■' ' On tlui o])i)oHito Nido of tlio liarlior is .a larf^i' luitivd village; tlic ilis-
t.ii\co across is only KM) yards, ami oaiicics k('i'j> mi CDiistint (■oiMiiniiiicatioii
lii'twi'i'ii it and the fort. Certain supiilies to tiu^ I'liiefs ke(|i tiii'in in jjood
IniiMiir with their intrudiiij^ visitors.' The house.s of tho natives 'ari^ liuilt
Aitli solidity, the tdiinato rendering it nt^eessary to >f\iiird aji;aiiist .'he coM,
iiiil arraiiuo vitli somo dc^gree of order in streets or lanea M'ith jiassa ,'es rnii-
iiiiig 11]) lietweeii till ni Several families oeeiqiy the same lioiis(! oiie largo
>*lu'd, littli: lietter than an o[K'ri cow house or stahle in an iiidill'erei't inn,
tlie eomiiartnieiits or walls hardly ex<diidiiiv; the sight of one family f''oin
■iiiotiicr. Siriniinii'n To,./. Hinilil, i. lO.V (i. See also A'ir/(C(' l!,\rin, i. \~ \ 'JdS,

"liiis is Mr KinliiysouH statement, lliil. W /., MS., ;U •-'. Other.s who
know less ahoiit it give otlior ligiireH.

112

AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN.

shall give the impressions of a few early visitors in
their own words.

Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour, wlu) were there
in 1845, report the 2Gth of October: "We visited the
Hudson's Bay Company's post, . . .where they have
established a fort similar to those already described,
a farm of several hundred acres, on which they raise
wheat and potatoes, and a depot of provisions, supplies,
etc., for the different trading-posts farther to the
north." And again the latter of the above-named
gentlemen says in a report to Colonel Holloway dated
the 1st ')f Marcli 1 84(5: "Fort Mctoria is situated at
the suutliern end of Vancouver's Island, in the small
harbor of Cammusan, the entrance t<^ whicli is rather
intricate. The fort is a square enclosure of one hun-
dred yards, surrounded by cedar pickets twenty feci
in height, having two octagonal bastions containing
each six six-pounder iron guns at the north-east and
south-west angles. The buildings are made of s<piared
timber, eight in numbor, forming three sides of an
oblong. This fort has lately been establislied; it is
l)a(lly situated with ngard to water and position, which
latter has bi-cn diosen for its agiicultural advantages
onlv. . . . This is the best built of the com pan v's forts;
it requires lotip-lioling and a ])latform or gallery to en-
able men to riiv over tiu; pickets. A tiitch might be
cut round it, but the rock ai)i)ears on the surface in

mai

aces

HtMthold Secmann, naturalist on board It. ]\[. S.
Hcrahl, who visited the place in July IH4(!, says:
"The fort is a square enclosure, stockaded with poles
about twenty feet high, and eight <»r ten inches in
diameter, placed close togetlier, and seamed with a
crof ., |)iece of n«^arly ecpial size. At the tiansversi;
corners of the scpiare there ixvv strong octagonal
towers, mounted with four nine-])ounder guns flank-
ing each side, so tliat an attack l)y savages would be
out of the question; imd if defended with spirit, a dis-

* //niitf (\)inniniis IMiini'i In Thru' Aililfd.^fn. 7, 11 V2.

LAYIN<; OUT A TOWN.

113

ere there
isited the
bhey have
described,
they raise
;, supphes,
er to the
)ve-iiaiued
way ilated
iitiiated at
the sinall
I is rather
' one huiv-
^veiity feet
contaiuinj;'
i-east and
of stpiared
ides of ail
ihvd; it is
ion, whieli
idvaiitages
nv's forts;
|h>ry to eii-
ini,l»lit he
urfaee in

111. M. IS.
\\{\, says:
Litli poles
liiu'hes ill
[d Avith a
Irans verse
loetnufonal
ins llank-
kvould l)e
(lit, a dis-

<'iphned force without artillery would find considerable
diHieulty in fou'ing the defences. The square is about
one liundrcd and twenty yards, but an increase, which
will nearly double its len«j;th from north to south, is
contemplated. The building is even now, though
plaiti to a fault, imj)osing from its mass and extent,
while the bastions or towers diminish the tameness
which its regular outline would otherwise; produce. The
interior is occupied by the officiTs' houses, or apart-
ments they should rather l,>e called, stores, and a trad-
ing house, in which smaller bargains an' concluded,
and tools, agricultural im])leineuts, blankets, shawls,
ixads, and all the multifarious products of Sheffield,
Hirmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, are offered at
exorbitant ))rices."

"In lHo'_',"says Kinlayson, "the town of A'^ictoria
was laid out in streets, then bounded on tlu' west by
the harbor, on the east by the present Goveinment
street, on the south by the old fort, and on the north
l>y the present Johnson street. Outside of these
boundaries were the fields whic^i were under cultiva-
tion."^ This will enable the nader to locate to-day
the exact spot on which the fort stood.

Hut by far the best account extant of the [)lace as
it existed at an early day is that give:i me by my
friend ifanu's Deans," of Vancouver Island, who de-
scribes it as he first saw it in January 185,']: "The
bastions were of hewn logs some thirty feet in height,
and were connected by ])alisades about twenty feet
liigh. Within the palisades were the stores, num-
hered from one to five, ami a blacksmith shop, besides

'■• /•'iiiltii/soii'.i h/lti-.i, MS., Oct. 18, 187!>.

''Si til. mint <)/' ]'iiiirniiitr Julmiil, MS., l>y Joinis Dvatin, A'ii'tdria, 1878.
Mr ni'iuis \V!i.s liorii at AriiiLstii'ld, HniMiiigtonshiiT, Scotland, on the ITtli ol'
•hiiic l.S'JT. Lcavinj^' LoikIoii tlio 17tli of August 18.VJ, on the II. 11. ('o.'.s
bark XiiniKiii Morritim, ho iirriveil at Victoria the Kith of .lanuary following.
Uritish Columbia ha.s Ix-en hin plucu <if rusiiiunce ever since. Thus, under lii.s
3«>iiunuou8 observation, society aiid the cnnnnonwealth have arisen and de-
veloped, anil being a close and intelligent observer, an original thinker, and
.'i fearless speaker, his uianuscrint constitutes no unimportant part of my
material for this por*iou of my history. I shall have occasion to refer to it
"li'uy times during the progress of this work.

11 1ST. llllIT. COL. 8

114

AKKA1K.S AT fAMOSUN.

V< m

dininj^-hall, cook-liouso, and chapel. . . .The site of the
tort was ail oak opening. The ground, to the extent
of an acre, was cleared and enclosed by a palisade
forming a square. On the north and south cornens
was a tower containing six or eight pieces of ord-
nance each. The north one served as a prison, tlu-
st)uth one for firiny; salutes whenever the jjfovernor
visited any place officially. In the centre of the east
and west sides were main gate-ways, each having a
little door to let peoitle out or in after hours. On the
right, entering by tlio front or south gate, was a cot-
tage in which was tlie post-office. It Avas kept by an
officer of the <'onipany, a Captain Sangster. Next in
order was the smithy. Xext and first on the soutli
side was a large storehouse, in which fish-oil, etc.,
were stowed awa}'. Next came the carpenter's shoj;.
( 'lose to this was a large rt)om provided with bunks
for the company's men to sleep in. Next, and last on
that side, was a large building, a sort of barrack for
new arrivals. Between this corner and tlie east gate
were the cha])cl and chaplain's house. On the other
side of this jjate was a larijce building which served as
a dining-room for the officers; adjoining this were the
cook-house and pantry. On tlu; fourth side was ;i
tlouble row of buildings i'or storing fur previous* t<>
sliipment to England, and goods before taking their
})lace in the trading store Behind these stores was
a fire-proof building used as a magazine ft)r storing
gunjtowder. On the lowei* corner was another cottage
in which lived Finlayson and family, who was tlu'ii
chief factor. (Jn the other side of the front or west
gate was the flag-staff and belfry. The central part
of the enclosure was open, and was always kept clean.
Through this enclosure ran the main road leading
from the two gates. On one side of this road was ii
well in which a lamentable accident happened eailv
in the rush of 1858. This well was about thirty feet
in depth, down to the bed-rock, which dij)pcd sutl
denly toward the harbor, leaving, when the water got

DOUGLAS AND FIXLAYSON.

115

low, tlio Upper i)art of it dry, wliilo at tlu; lower })art
there were tliree or tour feet of water. It was lined
witli stoiu'-work up to the surfaee, then covered with
wood. To tliis well the miners eanu; for their supply
of water, which was hauled up witli a rope and bucket.
Wliile one of them was haulinuf up water the rope
hioke and kt his kettk' fall to the bottom. In order
to save his kettle, he ga\(' an Indian a dollar to go
down and fish it up. The Indian went <lown and
stood on the dry part of tlie rock. After trying a
littk^ while, and unable to grap])le th:- kettle, in order
to help Jiim to recover it the miner swung himself
down by the rope. When about ten feet down his
t'fct struck the stone-work. In an instant the w1k)1c
wall fell <lown on the Inilian, who, p(K)r fellow, died
instantly, crushed to di>ath at the bottom. A nund>er
(if |)eople came and quickly recovered his bod}'. The
well was oidered to be tilled ii]), which was doni'.
Only one of all the old buildings now remains, which
is the store known as nund)er three. It is at present
used as a theatre" that is to sav in I S78.

( Miaracteristic of Douglas was the desire to accf)ni-
piisli the greatest possible residts with tlu' smallest
means, a praiseworthy (juality if not carried to(» far.
During his wide experience he had often been forced
to this economy of capital, and M'hat he had done he
»t(ni[K'IKd otluTS to do. If a fort was to be built,
Donglas wt)uld specify the nund»er of men to be em-
jiloyed, the tools to be used, among which the nevt-r-
failing Canailian chopping-adze was always promini'nt,
if indi'ed it was not the only one, if I may except a
few augers, chisels, and saws. Finlayson had beeii
the pupil «)f J)ouglas, as Douglas had In-en th(> ])U\n\
of Mcjjoughlin.

Under the iuHuenco of Douglas, Finlayson ind)ibed
similar ideas; so that when ordered to build Fort
( 'ainosun without a single nail, ho did it. Strange
!ts it may appear, houses, palisades, and bastions were

E|'i I

116

AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN.

erected without the use of one iron nail or spike,
wooden pegfs alone being employed."

' B(.'si(les Finlai/xonK I/iat. V. /., M.S., passim; Deans' Settlevient V. I., MS.,
])as.siiii; Doiii/his' I'oyni/e to the ^'oiihiirnt C'onxt, in Journal, MS., 120-7;
Holduo, in JJe Smet'a Or. Minx., flo-OS; ami Wtidtlimjton's Froficr Minen, ou
whose evidence this and the preceding chapter rest — I may infer to Emnn'
HiM. Dr., MS., 'JTit; Simp.soni* Or. Ter., 47; NIIc.h' Jierj., Ixix. 134; Svevmnu's
Vo;i. Ilcritld, i. 101-3; Maine 8 B. C, '2C>-!u; Kane's Wanderhvjn, 215; Guide
to }{. ('., 281-4; Martin's II. B., lU-."); (Irani, in London <>eoij. Soc., Jovr., xxvi.
272; MrKinUiy's Nar., MS., 7; Orerland Monthly, xv. 407; James Dontjlas, Jl.
B. Co. Er. If. B. Co. Claims, 40-01; Cooper, Mar. Matters, MS., passim; Ifaz-
lilt's B. C, 157, copied vcrhatini from (irant; Tohnie's Ptujet Sound, MS., 10;
/fon-ison's Bept., 30; Marjie's B. C, 58; Blanrhard, in House Commons Bept.,
1857, 2tH), 204; Cooper, in House Comvions Bept., 1857, 208; Good's Britink
Columbia, MS., 2; Toil's New Caledonia, MS., 10.

CHAPTER VII.

CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA

1845.

EXTKRMTTIATION OF SaVAOE NoMENCLATURK — CaMOST'.N BECOXrES FlFiST

Alhkrt, and then Victoria — Food Siri'LV — Doislas' Moito, «iuEAr
Fnd.s from .Small Means — Wooden I'loi(!1is am> Roi'E ITarnehs A
More Liberal Economy Somktimk.s Prokitarle — Outward-hound
Siiirs from Enuland now L'omh: DiitEiTLY HniiEii — Wilu-im; Kt.EETs
— The Mission of the 'America' — Captain (Jordon as a Sportsman —

HosriTALITY AT FoRT VUTORIA — 'FlFTV-FOUR FoRTY OR FHillT '— >[oRF.

Vessels of War at Victoria — Also Surveyors and Ari'raiser.s of
Territories — The Northwest Coast not Worth FiiaixiNti for- -
ADVFiNTUREs OK Padl Kanb— Fokt Victobia IN Early IUys.

Back into the woods, you greased and painted red-
skins I Go! And take your belongiiii^s — all of them,
that is, all except what civilization would have. But
cliiefly take yourselves, your past, your future ; take
your names of things and places ; take your lares ct
pniatcs, take your legends and traditions. Begone!
Blot yourselves out! Why should you be remem-
bered ( What liave you done as tenants of this domain
except to occui)y, and eat and sk'e[), and keep it fresh
and virgin as God gave it 3'ou, until some stronger
hand sliould come and wrest it from you? Thanks,
g(Mitle savage; but go! And please do not die liere
under our cultivated noses. You need execute no
testament; we will administer your estate. (Jio! Be
forgotten! Be not! And let not your late home
breathe of your former being.

For the first two years of its existence, as we havx-
seen, the post at the south end of Vancouver island
was called by the native name of the place, (^amosun.

(117;

1 i; 1 ]

Ii! 1 "

in:

III i:', ;

1 ! ■

'■j ' . '

' !
1 ii

M'i:

Ii ' '

tit

CA.MOSUX, ALBERT, VIlTOltlA.

It was HOW (leouictl advisable, not to say nocussary,
to eradicate all traces of nature and the natural man;
it was thought in better taste, with the levelling of
forests and the tearing uj) of rocks, to blast from
memory the sylvan race that once were masters there.
It happened there lived somewhere a man whosi*
name was Albert, whom it were well for the ailven-
turers of England to conciliate; therefore, in the year
of grace I 84;"), orders came from the London magnates
to damn the name Camosun, and call the place Fort
Albert. But even then tliey were not satisfied; for
behold, n[)on this planet there was one nnghtier than
Albert, even his wife, the queen; and so before the
year had expired Camosun was called Victoria, eacli
new baptism being celebrated by the usual .salutes and
ceremonies.'

Xo sooner were the stockade, storehouses, and
dwellings prepared than the people at Camosun
turned their attention to the production of food.
" Foi," sai<l Finlayson, "after the first year many a]»-
plications for agricultural produce from head-quarters
would be ascribed to want of energy on the part ot"
the otticiMs in char'>i> " and holdin»>' last to the motto
of Douglas, "great ends from small means," the
omnipotent adze was sharpened, and wooden ploughs
and harrows were made, tiie mould-board anil teetli
being of oak; old ropes obtained from the coasting
vesst'ls W(U'e used as traces for tlie lioi'ses to ])ull l»y.
Afterward, seeing how industrious and thrifty they
were, as a mark of h.is s[>ecial favor Douglas in^lulged
them in the e.vtravagance of a few iron ploughshares

FinlayHou wiys, J/!.i/. V. /., MS., 2fi: 'In the yc;ir IM'i tliu Uiuiie I'l'
CainoHiiii i(rcvi(m.><ly j^ivcii to tlio I'ort wii« cluingtMl to Fort Albert l)y onli r
from I'higlaiiil, unci tlio sui'ccodiiig your to that of Victoria. ' Tliis J slioiilu
regard at! tlic liigiicst autliority liiil I not find a hi^dier in tlic report of lleii-
tentants Warre and Vavasour, J/oii.ii' i)J'<'oiiimn,i.s lictHriiK to TInrc Aihlns :<<.
7, dated tlie 'JGtli of October 1S4."), in wliieli the j)o.st is |ilainly designateil
Fort N'ictoria. This may have been done witliout projior autliority, or ii
niiiy not have lioeu coinnioidy called by that name, or ba]>ti»!d into it lieforr
184(5. At most, the •li.'icrepanc;, in the time of the change of name involves
but a few monthu.

(iKKAT KX1>S FROM SMALL MEANS.

loccssary,
Liral man;

(last tioin
iors tUero.
an whosi'
]\c advou-
11 tlic year
I inaguatt's
place Foi't
tisfiod; for
rlitier than
luiforo tlu'
L-toria, eacli
salutes and

Kouses, and
^t Camosun
jn of food,
av laaiiy ap-
ad-quaitois

the part of
.o the motto
ueaus," the
U>n ploughs
d and teeth
lie eeastnii;
to \»uU hy.
thrifty they
las iudulgc>d
»loUghshares

>t Albert l>y «>'-'l<';
L ■ This 1 slioul'l
liic ni>oit of lii^^"-
1, 77/(W J«/'/cc.s •'■.■.
li.laiulv ilesiguiiU;!
authority, <"• "
lizetl into it hotor.'
of uiiiiie iuvolvos

iVtnii Fort Vancouver; and whetting their Scotch
ingenuity still further, they took the iron lioops from
old provision casks and with them lined the mould-
Itoards of the pKmgh and bound the wooden agricul-
tural machinery gricultural outhouses were built;
and urain was thravshed bv driving; horses ronnd a
ring in the barn. Flour was made witli a steel hand-
mill sent from Fort Vancouver.

i'erhaps a more liberal economy would have bettii'
Served the purpose, though it might not so well have
scrvt-d James Douglas. McLoughlin was making
ready to retire from the service, and remove from
Kort Vancouver to Oregon City the coming winter,
leaving Chief Factor ])ouglas first in connnand on
the Pacific. Tliis new post on A'^ancouver Island was
undoubtedly destined to great things. Mr (ilrant
savs: "As in sett) in IT there, no idea was entertained
by the Hudson's Bay Comj)any beyond starting a
fresh tra(ling-])ost with the Indians, the establishment
riMuained in ."fUifn quo until the j-ear 184!), when the
granting of the whole island to the com})any opened
out a fresh fieUl i'or their I'xertions;" but in this he is
mistaken. We know that the; com})any harbored far
more ambitious views for Camosun, or by the grace
of (iod, Albert, and Victoria, than the establishing
of an ordinary trading-]K)st there, thougli ]\Ir (Jrant
did not. The great men of the great monopoly were
\\h<»lly abk' to keep their own counsel, and those
ut^arest them, in point of time as well as of distance,
olten knew least i.s to tlu' project or [)oIicy revolving
in their mighty minds.

Had a trading-])ost ah)n(> been the nu>asure of their
expectations, Langley would have answered. At Lang-
ley were both furs and fisherii's; there was little local
trade on this south end of Vancou^■l'r Island. Xo.
the day was coming when ])rogres.s should demand
somewiieiv in this western noith a Ih'itish city.
Already the Americans were nj>on theni, and had
spoiled their st)uthern urounds. JNissiblv thev miijht

i'l4!!r:!.

120

CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VlLTOUiA.

nurse their western hyperborean game yet a century
or two as tliey had done in Kupert Land ; or, if hard
pressed, they might spare the island to civilization and
yet liold the mainland savage.

Howbeit, with metropolitan glories far or near, with
or without the assistance of the whale-catchers, this
new post would prove more than the usual trafficking
stockade. Therefore Douglas would begin his reign
with reform, and carry yet more tlian ever into rigid
practice his ])rinciple of the greatest results from the
least means.

Almost innnediately Fort Victoria became the sec-
ond depot of Hudson's Bay Company goods on the
Pacific coast, and shortly afterward the first. Out-
ward-bound ships from England now had orders to
sail direct for this port, and after landing here all the
goods destined for the coast trade, to proceed to the
(\)lumbia River with the remainder. Hence tlie sta-
tion rose rapidly in importance.

There were now three vessels in the company's ser-
vice between London and the Northwest Coast, the
Vancouver, the Coirlltz, and the Columbia. These ships
made yearly voyages, bringing outfits always twelve
months in advance, which enabled the fort to have on
hand one or two years' supply. The first to enter
Victoria Harbor direct from England was the Van-
couver in 1845.^

A fleet of five American whalers dropped in at
Royal Bay in 1845 for supplies. And yearly after
that they called at Fort Victoria, until finally it was
found that tlie Hawaiian Islands offered a more con-
venient port of call. Indeed, the hope of Governor
Simpson to establish here a general rendezvous for
whalers was never fully realized.

Durintr this same year Juan de Fuca Strait was
honored by a visit from her majesty's ship America,

'The Vatienrnvr is reported at Victoria again in Novemln-'r 1840, ami iti
1847 tlie bark t'otniiiltin at Honolulu twenty-six ilaya from Vancouver Islautl.

VISIT OP OORDON.

121

whose captain was Gordor, brother of the earl of
Aberdeen, tiien priine-iuinister of Enij;land. Knowing
little or nothing of Esquinuilt and Victoria harbors,
(lordon put in to Port Discovery, sending a despatch,
as lie was passing through the strait, to the officer in
cliarge at Fort Victoria to come on board his vessel.

Placing his first officer in charge of the fort, Finlay-
son returned with the messenger to the America, and
soon stood in the presence of the august commander.
A series of catechisings then set in, which lasted three
(lays, at the expiration of which, Finlayson, squeezed
of all information in his power to impart, was sent
l)iick to his post. Captain (iiordon aiul certain of his
officers accompanying him.

The object of the A)ticrivafi visit wns to obtain in-
formation concerning the coast, such as shoukl assi.st
tlic English government in settling the boundary
question then pending. To this end, while Finlayson
was yet on board, C{q)tain Parke of the marines,
and Lieutenant Peel, son of Sir Robert Peel, were
despatched by way of the Cowlitz to the Columbia,
to ascertain the value of that region to the subjects
of Great Britain.

As the time drew near when the rights of owner-
sliip and occupation must be finally determined, Brit-
isli statesmen asked themselves. Is the country worth
haviiiij? Further than this, is it worth fiyfhtinu: for?
These queries they put to the London management
of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the answers were
not satisfactory. The company cared nothing for the
value of the country, cared little whetlie-' England
should fight for it. Their interest lay in preserving
it as a hunting-ground. So long as that was done, and
they enjoyed a monopoly of the fur-trade, all was well.
If their plans wx-re to be spoiled, it mattered littK; to
them whether it was dime by the English governnuMit,
or by American settlers. When McLoughlin was
asked this question, he answered plainly that ho did
not think the country worth fighting for.

CAMOSUN, ALHKKT, VH TlJUlA.

It was not t'VL'iy (lay tliat ln'otlitTs and sons ot'rarls
and baronets tlroppi'd in upon tlic quiet traders, and
all were well aware that Kni;land now cxpeettnl Fin-
layson to d(t his duty. First of all, the A7ncricas
ottieers were duly feasted, this heinjr a eustoni whieh
EuLrlish ijentlenien as well as American sava»;c8 de-
lijjfhted in. Fatted calves were killed, also swine and
poultry' ; and hunters were sent out for ^anie. To
native delicacies wire add.cil liouie i)rotluctioiis, which
wi'll cooked and served with the choicest wines and
li(|Uors satisfied the stomach and warmed the heart
into solemn ufood-fi'llowship.

It w\is really necessary the dinner should pass oti
well if the service was to escape disgrace, for when
bedtime came there were no sumptuous apartments
into which to show the quests. Eatinijj and sleepiniL;
were two <|uite distinct afl'airs at Fort Victoria.
There wi-re no wives, civili/ed or savage, in the offi-
cers' quarters of the fort; indeed, Fiidayson's was the
oidy bed, and that was a singh.' "ot slung against the
l)are walls. This was gisen to the ca))tain, while
tlie others sle[)t on the floor.

At the breakfast table next morning a large, fine
salmon was placed before the guests, smoking liot.

"What is that '" demanded the captain. '

" Salmon," said Finlayson; "wo Lave plenty of them
liere."

" Have you flies and nxls :* ''

"AVe use lines and bait; the Intlians catch them in
nets ; we have no flies and rods '( "

" No Hies! no rods 1" resj>onded thepuz/led captain,
who, like many others, prided himself most on what
he knew least about, and could scarcely imagine a
greater disgrace to English sportsmen than the ado]>-
tion of aborifjinal customs in fishiui; or huntiuij. "No
flics ! no rods ! Well, vou have indeed turned sav-

ages.

Fishing in Fuca Strait being out of the question,
without the customary adjuncts attending angling in

OI'INIOXS.

i-.':»

eh theiii in

Hiitisli trout-sti
and Hc('t<'s

ilonul, tlu! finest

sircjims, hor.scs wen* (Htlonui, u\v. tiiicst
tlic island allordcd. The Jiritisli sailors

wtif now to show their hoiii«^htcd oountryinou liow
dt'ff Mrri' stalked.

Hvi'ii nature, tlattei'ed hy the [)resoiire ot" the illus-
trious visitoi's, had put on h. or gayest aj)))arel. llidiny;
tortli u|>on the wiKl sward carpeted with ilower-', ])e-
twi'cn forests and tern-frini;"ed thickets, the rich green
of the liill-top foliage ]>luniing the illimitahle ))lue, tlm
dancing waters i»elow, and the fro/en sunshiui^ ahove.
the hreast of the honest fur-trader heaved somewhat
t \ultant over the island's loveliness. After waiting
in vain for sonu' e\[)ression of appreciation on the
pari, of hi conipani(»ns, he modestly asked, "Is not
tlii.v he.iutiful f

Kiidayson," n-jtlied (Jordon, '"I

vould not give
luc of the hleakest knolls of all the hleak hills of
Scotbuxl for tweiitv islands arraved like this in l»ar-
liaric glories."

Finlayson could not h»^li> asking himself what the
government meant in sending such an ass to set a
\ahiation on ^.1 e Xorthwest Coast.

L'resonily a tand of deer started ui>, the party pur-
■-ued, and just as Gordon was ri>ady tt> shoot, the game
disappeared in a thicket whicji the mounted hunters
• •ould not ]>enetrate. The captain thereupon hroke
nut into new cursings, and demande<| how deer couhl
l)c shot in a country like this.

lave men who can average six a <lay, sai(

Finlayson. "and that without fatigue ; hut as the game
I'f the islautl is not yi't enclosed in park fenci's, and
ue caimot run it down through tliese thickets, we are
nhiiged to steal upon it imawares, which is easily <lone
hy those who understand it."

In a very had humor the sailors returned to th*
tort, and after a week of eating and drinking, which
iIkv most of all enjoyed, they wi-nt on hoard their
^liip. ^leanwhile, accouipanied hy Douglas, who was
doing the honors in that quarter, Parke and Peel re-

124

CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA.

turned from the Columbia River, apparently as dis-
gusted with the eountry in tliat direction as Gordon
had been with Vancouver Island. When the expe-
dition returned to Enu^land, and made its intelligent
.'irid valuable report, British statesmen were amply
.•'.l)le to give the subject the clearest consideration.

And now while the cry of "fifty- four forty or fight'"
was ringing throughout the United States, and while
in England there was likewise no small excitement
relative to the interests of Great Britain on tho
Pacific, there appeared before Fort V^ictoria several
British vessels, ,vhich had been ordered from tlu;
south Pacific to guard British interests on the North-
west Coast.

These were the Cormorant, Captain Gordon — not
the (Tord(m of the former visit, but another of that
name; the Fixijard, Captain Duntze; the Cousiancc,
(^aptain Courtney; tlie Jnconstinif, Captain Shepherd;
and the surveying vessels Jlcrald, Captain Kellett,
and Pandora, Ca[»tain Wood. Thus again in 184G
Finlayson was called upon to dance attendance on
maritime magnijicos. Beef cattle were driviJii up for
tlie officers to shoot, and wild hors(!S for them t<>
break. Douglas and Finlayson were often on the
vessels to diimer, and the officers used to ask them,
"Why do you leave tlie Colund)ia? If we could only
be sent there, we would take the whole country i»!
twenty four hours." After these came the frigate
TlietiH and other V-..^sels. All tliese sliips found tlie
fortress of Victoria revellinii: in fat tliinjifs; nor were
tlie officers slow to })rovision their v«!ssels from the
stock of cattle and jtroduce there al)ounding.

Several of these ships were given some; little coin
mission other than tiie primary one of guarding Jiritis'i
rights and fi'owning on the obstreperous t;neroac]i
ments of the Americans. Thus Cjiptain Duntze of

"Tlmt is to say, if (Jroat Britain did not yield to tliu Unittd States pcact
alilo poHHesiiioii of all territory west of tlie lloeky Mniiiitiiiiis, lietwecii tin:

Co8S('s.sioiis of Mexico mi 1ln' soutii ami IliiM.sia on tiie imi'tli, whicli latter
uund waa latitude Tit 40', tiie Amurieani would lijjht for it.

S I

SEYMOUR AND KKLLEIT.

125

Lly as dis-
ks Gordon
the ex[K'-
intelligent
jro amply
ration,
'or fight"'
and while
excitement
in on tlie
ria several
from tlie
ho North-

)rdon — not
icr of that
( \msiancc,
Shepherd;
n Kellett,
n in 1840
ndanoe on
veil uj) for
tliem to
I on the
isk them,
ould only
country in
10 frigate
ound t]i<>
nor Wi-re
from th(

ittle eoni
i«X Jiritis'i
(MU'roacli
)untze oi

the F'mjard was directed hy Rear-admiral G. F. Sey-
mour, commander-in-chief of her majesty's fleet in the
s, tilth Pacific, and whose rei)ort to tiie admiralty was
dated on hoard the CoIliiKjirood, Valparaiso, 8tli Fch-
ruaiy 1S47, to "ascertain wliether coals could be sup-
jilied in sufficient quantities for the use of steamers on
(^)uadia or Vancouver Island," and Diintze accordingly
sent the steam-vessel Coruiorant thither. The result,
so fai' as its bearing upon the coal interest is concerned,
will I»e given hereafter.^

Henry Kellett, (;ommanding the Herald and the
r<nt<lom, which appeared before Fort Victoria in July
IHtT), being tuu;u!'ed from deep su)Touiidin«ifs by the
(' mnorant, which was tlu>re before them, made a super-
ficial survey of Fuca Strait, and then sailed south-
ward. Subsequently Kcsllett became conspicuous by
three cruises to the Arctic regions, in search of Sir
.roliu Franklin.

Resides the war-vessels of the Pacific squad^o i,
whose officers were to leportoii the resources and joii-
dition of the country, as well as guard their govern-
ment's interests thert'in, a special commission of iixpiiry
was sent from Knglan<l by way of (^anada to ascertain
\( t more definitelv what the Northwest Coast was
worth, and how matters stood there. Two engineers,
lieutenants Warre and Vavascmr, were selected by
th(! governmc'it foi" this purpose, and tliey arrived
at Fort Vancouver in 1845 by the annual express
from York Factory, that year in charge of Chi«'f
r actor Ogden.

In addition to this commis.iion by the government,
these gentlemen were to perform a little sijcrct serv'ce
for the Hudson's Bay (\nnpany council in London,
wliich was no less than to act as spies on McTjough-
liii, esj)ecially in reftacnce to his intiircourse and deal-
ings with settlers from the United States.

1 States iK'ai'

<, llctWIMMl till'

which lattir

* 'Ah t witlidrtiw the Comiorant from the Northwest ('oast, on hearing;; <rf
thi^ arruiiguinunt of the Ontgoii i|UOMti(>ii, I pruHiiiiiti iioiio will l>u ru<iu.rt>d
Htiilcr prcMMit ciiciniiHtaiicoi for her inajeHty's nervico. ' Sq/iiinnr'n Itnrt. (•
Ailiiitii. i- .'*,,... ,o HoiiHT < 'omiimii* lielurm to Three AiHrvMHrH, 1848-U, 3.

I'jr.

( A.MOsrX, AI.HKUT, VKTOKIA.

P'V' 1,1

I <1<) not doubt tiitit these g'eutleimni port'ormed tlieii-
duties <'onsc'ientiou.sly. They exiimiiu'd tlie Columlua
River and tlie country soutli of it; they visited Puiifet
Sound and A'ancouvcr Ishvail, and made a lengthy
jvj)ort on its resounvs; tliey spoke of tlie coal, the
fisheries, and the tiniher; but they did not thhik the
country wortli fiir,ditini;- for. Their i'c[>ort coneernin»_(
^[eLouo'hlin was likewise^ unfavorable, so nmch so
tliat they s -nt it otf secretly, witliout showing' it ti>
lilni, wliicli was contrary to cu.^toin, and suspicious
if \u)t insultin*^. On the strenij^th of this rc[)ort, the
London inanau'enient wrote ^tcLousjfhlin a letter of
reproof, which, though subsocpiencly a[>olooized for.
](h\ to tlie inunediate resignation of that most valu-
a,l)le officer.

Travelhni«' was now iH'cominu: somewhat daniierous
along tlie middle ( 'olumbia, t'veii fni' the HudsonV-
Hiiy people, owing to animosities arising from con
llicting interests. As a rub', liowe\cr em-aged the
savages might be against Americans, tbi'ir faitii in the
liritish fur-traders remained unshaken. Ihit in 1844,
when J. W. McKay iirst came to Fort Yancouve!',
he found tliat tlie natives along some parts of the
rctute were not to be trusted.

After sj»en<lin!_, some time with Paul Eraser, wno
had established a post for the Hudson's Hay (.'om[»any
near the mouth of the IJmpipia and after being pres-
ent at several political meetings in Oregon, where, to
his no small amusement, he saw luuninated for offict
old servants of tlu! conipany, ignorant voyageurs, wliose
idc^as of government were but little ab(»vi^ those of a
grizzly bear, he was detaile(. to attend on the officeis
of tlie l^ritish gt)vernment in their examination of tin
country, to taki; charge of the baggage, and provide
animals, guitles, and («jui[)age. McKay tt^stifies that
with rt!gard to the Cowlitz country and the regioii
between tin? Columbia and Kuca Stniit, they declared
that it should be held at all )\azard. If by this he

(•i;>, \uir.s VIEWS

moans that such was t! j goneral and final impression
expressed by the officers of the Aberdeen ministry
lu'ie investigating in 1845, that being the time of
wliicii he s})eaks, I can <»nly say tluit the weiglit of
ividence is against liim. Doubtless both British and
Americans deemed it shameful that any part of the
Northwest Coast should be given up to the other,
doubtless both would tak(( and hold all territory pos-
sible, witlu)ut actual wai- ; but when it came to fighting
tor the gravi'lly pl>ins (»f the Cowlitz and tlie rolling
Itunch-giass prairur. of eastern Washington, tliey <li<l
not tiiink'it worth the while.

liarly in 184(j McKay was sent to California to as-
certain what arrangements might l)e ma«le for obtain-
ing certain sup[)lies nearer than Knglan«l, in cast' tin-
larming (\stablishments on the ( 'ohunbia and the (^>w-
litz should be given up to the United Statis.

Tlieie were thoughts in I'^ngland that ]»erhaps bef«)re
long settlement by l^ritish subjects W(»uld begin i'l Brit-
ish Columbia; lor about this time we fintl S. Cunard
suggesting to the athniraltv, that in granting lands on
X'ancouver Island the crown might as well reservi' to its
own use the coal-mines already pri'gnant with promise.

Meanwhile such of the company's men as conld Ik-
spared from the business of the fort, as well as all
natives desirous of taking on civilization, were ke[>t
at W(>rk clearing lands ami istablishing farms. The
savages Were soon c'onvinced that in this instan<-e em-
phatically wisdom's ways wire j)eaee; so they turne<l
ill iuid helped the white nun i !id the men half white
lo work, becoming good bulh. k-<lrivers, and lu'ttcr
phmghmen than the Canadians <r Kanakas, to whom,
iiev 'vthcless, they gave freely of their women to wife,
all which tended to promoti; good behavioramong the
v!iriegutc<l retainers of the conunercial despots. The
natives were treated with strict fairness, Ix'mg pai<l as
well as other laborers wln>n they w»»rked as well.

rill •

iheir wages were from £17 to £25 per annam.

128

CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA.

Within three years after the beginning of the fort
there were under cultivation one liundruJ and sixty
acres, on which were grown wheat, oats, potatoes,
carrots, turnips, and other vegetables, with a con-
stantly inert Mjing conversion of wild lands. Then-
was a dairy furnishing an abundant supply of milk,
wliicli took tlie place, in a great measure, of beer, wine,
and spirits as a beverage.

]^y the end of 1847 there were at this place two
dairies, each having seventy cows, which were milked
twice a day, the milk yielding seventy pounds of butter
to the cow each season. Thus the wild hunters, fish-
ermen, and fighters were fast becoming farmers and
dairymen

In this year of 1847, on the flat where now run
the most prominent business streets, where stand
the banks, the post-office, and the principal business
houses, threi> hundred acres were cleared and under
cultivation. The laiul was rich, ju'oducing fine pease
and })otatoes, and of wheat forty bushels to th(?
aciv, the most of whicli prodive was sent to Sitka.
Two llussian vessels came this year, and carried away
from Victoria Harbor over five thousand bushels of
wheat, beside beef and nmtton, payment for the
same beiiijif made with bills of exchanufe on St Peters-
buig. Fort Ijaiigley likewise cojitributod to the lad-
ing of these two s1ii[)S, the }>roduce being brought
thence to Victoria Harbor in small boats. Uj) to
the time of tlie bargain with the Jlussian American
Fur Comj>any, nothing like a foreign commerce in
any articles, other than those obtained hi the regular
fur traffic, was ever attempted on the Northwest
Coast. Although as a whaling dej)ot the establish-
ment at Victoria Harbor was attended with insignili
cant success, yet, as tlie Venice of the ntirthern wilds,
the home anchorage of the oidy steamer that had
'^v<'r puffed upon those waters, and the cliief commer-
<'ial port in British Pacific America of the liussian
American fur-traders, it fast budded into promise.

VISIT OF THE 'HERALD.'

129

Two or three years lati^r saw dianges yet greater —
the seeds of a city, with new goods and new jargons,
with a cash trade for goods, as well as a fur-trade,
where nierehandise was sold for money by those
who had hitherto seareely known a dollar from a
ducat.

While the fur-traders were delighted over any-
thing which broke the dead monotony of tlicir lives,
and were specially pleased by the opportunity to en-
tertain their countrymen, they were not always grati-
fied with tlie result. Leading, as they did, isolated and
simple lives, and accustomed to indulge only in plain
words and honest purposes, they were often treated
somewhat cavalierly by their visitors, while using the
best means at connnand for their comfort and amuse-
ment. And when once the guests had turned their
l)ack iipon the place, they did n(jt hesitate to speak
their minds. Thus Seemann, writing for the officers
of the //ero/f/, says:

" There being no competition, the company has it
all its own way; it does not profess to suj)ply the
puhlic; indeed, although it does not object to sell to
pc()j)Ie situated as we were, yet the stores are for the
trailu in furs, to supply the native hunters with the
goods wliich they most value, as also for the use of its
own deperuh .ts, wlio, receiving little pay, art; usually
ill ileht to the comj)any, and are tlierefore nmcli in its
}«»\v'(>r. In fact, tlie people employed are rarely those
to whim r(>turning lioine is an object; tliey have
iMiistly boi'U taken from poverty, jukI liave at

a I

t vi iits food and clothing. Tli<^ W(uk is hard, but
with Jieahii and strength this is a bh-ssing ratiier than
otherwise. Wart of wliite womtMi jn>pt;irs to be the

and generally
iVoni which

(hawl'ack to tliis j)rospect of succ

I'Hils to conncH'tioiis with tlw? natives,

S[iriTig jialf-castes, who from tlie specimens we saw

a;>|icar t() inherit the vic(>s of both races; they are

active and shrewd, but violent and coarse, while

neither their education nor conduct admits theiu into

llisr. iiiiiT. cdi,. y

■jm CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VKTOKIA

the societv of the European settlt^rs. This must eu-
i^eiider a bad state of feehiij^, and niiglit he remedied
by takinj:; more pains witli the education and traininji;
of these liardy and enter})rising, yet more than half-
hrutahzed, jH'ojde, We felt (juite disgusted in seeing
one of thesi! half-eastcs, hearing as good a name as
any in Scotland, heating and kicking a score of Indians
<»ut of the fort witli as httle compunction as if they
IkuI hccn doi;s, sc(irnin»r tlu>m as natives, tho«<xl! his
mother had hccn taken from one of their tribe, and
liad been no more educated than they were."

Thus slowly toward a more illustrious destiny pro-
ceeded affairs at Fort A^ctoria. Thouirh no danjj^er
was api)rehended from the natives, watch was usually
kept at night inside the j)ickets, where the liourly
cry of "All is well!" told the conscious sleepers that
the sentinel was on duty;- for, failing to hear the
cry, the sleepers would awake. Thus silently aroused
one night while on a professional visit to this ])ost,
])ouglas caught a Kanaka wacchman endeavoring t(»
imlock the door of tlu' storehouse, probably for rum,
but surely for n(» good purpose. Next m<»rning lie
was tied to a tree and given three do/en lashes, and
sent to work, nevermore to bo trusted.

The natural advantages of this lt>cality w-tc not
slow to be recognized, even by the aboriginals. Al-
though t>ach fitrt had its district," ami the inhabitants
of each district Mere expected to trade at their own
post, yet so nmcli more convenient was A'ictoria to
many points, and so nuich bettiT was the st<»ck of
g<MMls kept there, thattni^ trade of this stiition rapidly
increased beyond its K'gitimate dependencies.

'"This iiiioa tlu? authority of William John MaedoiiaM, sutiator, who wms
witii tlio company «'i;;ht years. //. C. Shfr/ns, MS., 30,

"For I'xamjilf, Ni.-iiually oxtiinU'il from tliu ( iichalix Ilivir toWhiilhiy
iNlaixl; I.aiii(h'y from Wliiilhcy iHlaml to MillHUik •Soiiiid; McLoiighlin Iroirt
Milliaiik Souml to thu .Skci'iia Uixcr; aiul SimpHoii from Ski'i'iia llivcr to tli"
Alaskan lioumlary. After Mcliouulilin wax aliamloucil, tiiu territory formci ly
iH-i'iipii'il liy that post was covorDil hy tlie ucigiihuriiig vHtubliahniuntM. /'<;/•
l,fi/.iii,i's l/iif. r. A, MS., ST.

lis must eii-
Ijo runiodied
and trajninji^
e tliaii halt-
ed in scoinj^-

a name as
"0 of Indians
I as if they

tliouorh liis

r tribe, and
e."

destiny pro-
i MO danyfor
was usually

the hourly
leepers that
:o hear the
itly aroused
) this ])ost,
eavoriiiy: t(»
)ly for rum,
norning he

lashes, and

y Wire not
,^inals. Al-
iidiahitaiits
t their own
A'ictoria to
lie stoek ot'
tion rapidly
ies.

ciiiitor, wlio WIS

viT to Whiillx y
[(■Lniighliii ii'otii
!ii;i lliver to tli"
•rritory foriiuil)
jlishmuiitH. /'<"■

PAUL KANE.

-1*NcX^tg^*« - eo..on enough nZ
184G Paul Kane nuuoZd ti^ '* ''^' "^* «« ^^^en i
"-r from Canada K,^^^^^^^^^^ Slaving com !
as Ins sole companions ^ti. '.^'""*-^^-^' ami mm
a tached himse/f in c:;;ssir ^irm^?". ^^^^^^'^^ '^^ ^
-i ^Ir Lane and wife, I^fr Cii nl .T"*^'''"'' ^'^"'^''sted
■serviee appointed to a wo.f. ' *\^'' '^ ^^^'^'^ in tlio

a'Hl sixteen men. '^'*'''" P''^^' ^^r MeGiJlivrav

J^ouglas ami O.^den ihn.. • ,

I'"''^"^''nan in the fonn of ^^^^>. ^nnidred men. A
w|^ stationed in the river iXe T!^': ""^7 ^^^^^"
y^ Kane met McKinlav w lo /'•^- ^^^' <>'-^>y<>„

^^alla gunpowder story; u.dlo ',"" '''"^ ^^^"^

!">^;;ilo recovered son.e st , ' I ''"^^'''''' <leseribin<r
'" Vnv Caledonia. He .^T \^T ^^'^^'^ -^t^^^'""-!
'^s Joss was serious t-f"^^ "^^*'. ^>ut <^'i'ee pounds ....

;;jo..ti, the ...uz.]e of t 'tr '"■;".';'"' '" )■'""• '" I '

'''""" to atoms. Scttiu" th ""•' V'^f' >™"W l^o
"">■ nearest him Wew Si'"-' ''■'"""l>'« i'iiuself, Z.
- - .."til all had Xne "o 3"; •■""'' "" ""^' ^
' ".,„e h,s turn, hung hi" hca/ * 'i' '""",' «'"' «''«'

'■' t','"'"'.'""' «'"tea ' ;S,,7";. t'K- coast k„„ .
''"• fjirnis -jn.l . , • 'Sa(Ja'*le book.^

;:':,;i--^Hntsandtiow.;:i .nr^!.::''''->^'^'^!^^^

;;; H-'t heavy, n./i,;; J ;; a Huui^u

^•"' Jiad ever y.-t been f n' K t' ^' '^'"•^ *^

ly'n./,r!„,.. ... . "^ . ^" 'airlv ploU'dlod I.Mf ...1

:v^v/!.,S---""i:3r'^i'^:/"/^"

tl.

»*'d, but onl

IV
10

/ '"'.y'v 7', ,•

n/ \„rth A

"I'riai.

.■"'«. •■■."M"t;;,s.;

from
'o)n-

132

CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA.

ii,;i",,'t

■.■11

scratched. While trading in furs, attention was like-
wise directed to fisheries, Fraser River now exporting
annnally from one to two thousand l)arrels of salted
salmon.

When Paul Kane was there making his sketching
excursions in the neifjhborhood, findinjx clover abun-
dant lie supposed it "to have sprung from accidental
sieds which had fallen from packages of goods brought
from England, many of which are made up in hay."
Xot a very brilliant supposition; for so correct an
artist, not to say naturalist, should know wild from
tame clover without 8upi)osing.

" The interior of the island," Kane continues, " has
not been explored to any extent lixcept by the Indians,
who represent it as badly supplied with water in the
summer, and the water obtained from a well dug at
the fort was found to be too brackish for use. The ap-
pearance of the interior, when seen from the coast, is
rocky and mountainous, evidently volcanic ; the trees
are large, principally oak and pine. The timbers of
ji vessel of some magnitude were being got out. The
establishment is very large, and in\uit eventually be-
<om',> the great depot for the business oftlie company.
Tliey had ten white men and forty Indians engaged
in building new stores and warehouses."

One da^ , while sketching not far distant from the
fort, Kane discovered, stretched naked on tlie rocks,
the l)ody of a young female slave slain and thrown
to the vultures by her mistress. The artist recognized
the victim as a comely maiden whom he had seen a
few days before in perfect healtli. Notifying Finlay-
son, the two visited the lodge of the mistress, who
was accused of tlie murder.

"Of course I killed her. Why should I not? She
was my sUive," replied the wonuMi.

"She was far 1 tetter than you," replied Finlayson.

'Whatl" exclaimed the female, now furious with
ra'i;e, "I, the daughter of a chief, no better than a
slave I" and wrapi)ing herself in her filthy dignity,

JAMKS BAY.

]33

was liko-
[ixporting
of salted

sketching
^cr abuii-
accidental
8 brought
) in hay."
orrect an
wild from

lues, "has

c Indians,

tor in the

liW dug at

, The ap-

le coast, is

the trees

timbers of

ut. The

tually be-

company

onijrai'ei

from the

the rocks,

id thrown

recognized

ad seen a

g Finlay-
tress, who

not? She

Finlaysou.
i-ious with
,cr than a
y dignity,

she .stalked from their presence, and a few days
tliereafter moved from that locality. Almost as in-
human in the treatment of her slave as are civilized
matrons in their treatment of outcasts, she was almost
as indignant as they when reproved by the voice of
liumanitv.

L(»ng after settlement set in, long after the tov.Mi
was laid out and city-building begun, the fort was tho
<hief feature of the place. "Upon my first visit to
Victtnia in 1849," says ]\[ayne, "a small dairy at the
head of James Bay was the oidy building standing
outside the fort pickets, which are now demolished,
i^ut shortly after, ujwn Mr Douglas' arrival, lie built
himself a house on the south sideof James Bay ; and Mr
Work, another cliief factor of the com])any, arriving
a. little later, erected anotiier in Rock Bay, above the
l)ri(ige. These formed the nucleus of a little group of
huildiiigs, which rose about ai-.d Ix-tween th(Mn so
slowly that even in 1857 there was l»ut one small
wliarf on the liarbour's edge."

At tlie time of his arrival in April 18G1, Good ol)-
s( rves: "The old fort of tlie Hudson's ]^ay Company,
together with several old buildings, all surrounded
with a strong picket palisade, still remained."^

* Material for this part of British Columbia history is meagre. T\\c trMt)i
IN, tht;ri! was little going on at the time at Fort Victoria, to whicii this
rliaptiT is cliictly devotoiT, exi'i'jit the usual routine at such ostahlishnients.
My authorities are, Fiiil'ii/son'ti JI'iM. V, I., MS., 2.">, 32— Jl; Aiif/irnon'-i Hi-sf.
Xi>r//,i'r.it ('(Misf, MS., I'lO-lii; MrKai/'ti Jive., MS., '2-3; noicjliut' J'rim/,:
JdiiriKil, MS., passim; Coojyer'it M'lmlinie MntU'rs, MS., l-'J; JlrLniiijIilhiH
I'rirtKfi PiipriK, MS., sor. ii., l.'J; lirit. Col. Skrtd;:% MS., 'Jl-'i, :W-:J; ' 7'«x/'.<
jVc/r Cdlafoiiiit, MS., 21-3; MrKiiiloy'n jVir/*., MS., 8; I'tiiil Khid's Wniiilir-
iHr/i, '2W; Mniinix B. C, JiO; Mnrifsrillc Oil. Apjmil, Sept. 17, 187.'); Onynn
S]ifi-/a/oi; Nov. 'JG, 184G; Sundwhii J/il<ui(l jVcww, ii. 23; J/owinons Jffyt., 30;
lliidittH B. C, 'Jir>-I(>; London ThncH, Aug. 27, 1858; Houxe Vommona llrpt..
If. Ii. Co. Afiiii-M, 1857, 208, 2".)0; (lood'n D. C, MS., 2; Fimlliii/H Dinrt., i.
4I7-I'.t; Wwldimftoii'ti Friwr Jiic. Milieu, 31; MacJiv'H V. I. luid B. C, 58.

CHAPTER VIII.

THK SHUSHWAI' t'ONSPIRACY.

1840.

Kamlooi'— TiiK ()i.i> FouT AM> THE New— TiiK Rom.vsce op Fur-trauino —
The Loudly AnoisiiiiVAi, and his Home— John Ton, Kixo of Kam-

I.OOP -IIlS PlIYSIQIE AND CrJARAC TEK— I^)LO, A Rt'LEB AMOSCJ THE

SiMsMNVArs — Who anhWiiat He was— His KiN<ii)o.M for a Horse —
Anntal Salmon Km-euitiox to the Fuaser— Information of the
CoxsriRACY — Loi.o Retires from refoue ma Friends — Tod to the
liEscTE —One Man AtiAiNsx Three Hpnored — Small-pox as a
Weai'on— A Skjnal Victory- Chief Nicola Meascres Wits with
Mb Tod — And is Foi nd Wanting.

;!'

i.:''l. I

John Tod reigned at Kamloop. Jolin Tod was a
cliit't' trader in the service of the llonorable Hudson's
Bay Company, and Fort Kandoop was the capital ol'
the Thompson Kiver district bordering on New Cale-
donia. The establishment was one of the oldest in
all the Oregon or Northwest Coast region, dating
back to the days of tiie dashing Northwest Company,
when with posts planted side by side, the two great
rival associations fought for the favor of the savage,
and for the skins of his wild beasts.

There were two forts which bore this name, tlic
old and the new, both situated at the junction of the
two great branches of Thompson Kiver with tluj
eastern end of Kamloop Lake, one on the north side
and the other on the south. Old Fort Kamloop was
first called Fort Thompson, having been begun by
]3avid Thompson, astronomer of the Northwest Com-
pany, on his overland journey from Montreal to As
toria, by way of Yellowhead Pass in 1810.

Next upon the ground, after Thompson, was Alex-

(134)

BL.VrK AND UOUCLAS.

135

0R-TKA1)TNG —
^IMO OF KaM-
II AMOSf. THE

•on A House—

ATION OF TUE

Too TO TUE

ALL-rOX A3 A

Ks Wits with

iiiilor Koss, wlio in IMI-J comliu'ttd ojKTations there
111 lu'lialt'of Ast(»rs J^uific Kur Company. After tlie
•i»aliti«»ii of tlie XortliNVest and the Irtudson's Hay

•ojnpaiu

•s ni IH'JI, wi

find the iur veteran Jol

^^^ Leed in chariLj*' of the Th«»nips()n Kiver distriet,
l"n» n ISii'J ti> ISiMi. Erinatinj^er presided tliere in
IS'JS, Avlien Sir (jeori'e Shnpson, the ilhistrious front
I if tlie fur traffi<' in British America, droppi'd in upon
the fort and liarangued the assenihled redskins, lie-
.seechinijf tlieni ti* he lionest, temperate, fru;,^al, to love

u'lr

frii'uds the fur-traders, and aliovi* all to hiinj

ill piles of jH'ltries, and rt'ceive therefor the useful
Mild ma^nifieiMit trinkets whieh the honorahle adven-
tiiicrs of I']niifland trading- into Hudson Uiiy had
lieen at so mueh cost an<l pains to hrini^ them fi'oiii
St) far; aftti' which pretty ]»ie<'e <tfai-tless suhtlety the
4t»vt'rnor continued his )»erilous di-si-ent of Fraser
IJivcr.

A thousand thrilliuL;" and romantic associations
liaiin' round the ]»laee. It was tlici'e the company's
otlicer in conunand, Samuel Black, challeni;'e<l his
brother Scot and i>iu'st, J)a\id J)oui;;las, the wanih-r-
iiii;" hotanist, to \v^]\t a duel, hecause the hlunt visitoi-
one ni^ht, while over his rum and dried salmon, had
stiL;niatized the ]ionoral)K! fur-traders as not ))ossess-
ino' a soul ahove a beaver-skin. But the enthusi-
astic pujiil of Ifookei" preferred to fight another day,
and so took his departure next inorninj^ unharmed,
l>ut only t<» meet his death shortly after l»y fallin*;;
into a ])it at the Hawaiian lslan<ls while liomtward

l»ound. Likewise mav

*^y. I

»oor J]la<'k I For it

was hut a short time after this chivalrous disnlav of

ill* • • 1 •/

lidehty to his company, that is to say, durintjf the
winter t»f 1841-2, while residinij; at thv old lort, that
lie was cruelly assassinated hy tlu; nejdiew of a

nendlv m

ighl

>orn»ir c

hief.

nainec
liavin»if cluirim'd his uncle's life awav

I \V

anquil

lor

It was Black's su<*cessor who huilt the new fort
n the opjiositu side of the river. The new estab-

136

THK SHUSHWAP CONSPL^ACY.

ll';'

lishment differed little from the later built fortresses
of the fur company; some seven houses, consisting
of stores, dwellings, and shops, were Liclosed in pali-
sades fifteen feet in height, with gates on two sides,
and bastions at two opposite angles. To the older
establishment, beside the compact and j)alisaded block-
house, were attached stockades for animals; for here
hundreds of fine horses were yearly bred lor the
transport service, which formerly was by boats from
Fort Vancouver to Okanagan, and thence by liorses,
in bands of two or three hundred, to Kamloop and
Fort Alexandria, on Fraser River, whence to Fort
St James canoes were again employed. It was
a sight never hereafter to bo repeated, two hun-
dred hor.ses laden with rich peltries, winding down
the mountains, through rugged passes and over the
waving plain, on toward the smoother highways of
commerce, along which are interchanged the varied
comforts of the world. Later, the route of the semi-
annual brigade from the districts of New Caledonia,
Thompson River, Okanagan, and the Columbia, was
from Kamloop to Fort Hope on the Fraser, and
thence bj'- boat to Langley and Fort Victoria on
Vancouver Island, now rapidly beoommg the metro-
politan post of British Columbia. Seven tribes
traded at this post when it was first built, namely
the gentle Atnah, the lively Kootenai, the chivalrous
Okanagan, the surly Similkaraeen, the fierce, vin-
dictive Teetjthe treacherous Nicoutamuch, besides the
always hospitable and friendly Kamloop. All these
nations were members of the family Shushwap. These,
however, were not all regular visitors, nor perma^ient
in their patronage. The simple-minded and ingen-
uous savage knew every trick of the trade, and where
opposition was, there were gathered his peltries.

The rough rolling surface of the Kamloop-Shushwap
plateau with its frequent depressions, is for the most
part open and grassy, with occasional patches of scat-
tering trees thickening at still wider intervals into

THE FRASER HEREABOUT.

137

forests, aiul all made bright ami eye-compelling by
an open sky and silvery waters, here dancing in
river-beds, and there in mirroring lakes softly and
silently bringing down heaven. The summers are
liot, the winters cold; the early spring enrobes both
plain and mountain in grass and flowers, and autumii
spreads before the phlegmatic aboriginal a bounteous
supply of food. Thompson River is sometimes seen

The SiiiTSHWAP ConNTRT.

elbowing its way among the rocks, but more frequently
it presents itself glittering between rich green borders
(tf alder and willow. Between Fort Kamloop and
the Papayou, or the Fountain wo will say, on Fraser
River, arc light sandy plains, with here and there a
gorge or valley running parallel with the river, a rocky
cliff, bounding a, valley covered with long grass, clumps

138

THE SHUSH WiVP CONSPIRACY.

of bushes and trees, all *j;rowi!.«^ wilder and more pro-
nounced as the rugged cliasni of the Fraser is a|>-
|>roaehed. Trap and basalt blurt's occasionally reaeJi
over the border of the lake into which the river
br()adens on leaving the fort, the plateau rising behind
in terraces. Everywhere the .scenery is bold and
varied, and the heart of man struggles ever outward
to meet it. And as many others before and since
have there ruled, John Tod reigned at Kandoop.
His kingdom was not extensive except in so far as
spa<-e was concerned. All above and below was his,
and on either side, surely as fai' into the wilderness
as hi^ sjiouid <-hoose to n'o. His sul)iects wei'e not
numerons, if we deduct the savages, the bears, and
the beavers; there were with him at the fort during
this s[)rlng of 184(1, besides the dusky motlur of his
three dusky little ones, (mlv half a dozen men and a
lialf-breed boy.

John Tod was n(»t a handsome man; neither was
lu' learned, nor polished, nor to any c(jnsidi'rable extent
dural)ly refined or remodelled by civilization. I le was
one of som»^ two tliousand Scotchmen, wju), coming into
America and tuiiiiiig themst']\(s out into primitive
pasturi's, fell l»ark .somewluit upon the «arly ways oC
mankind, and became what in the wilds of the Xortli-
wrst might be called Eurojiean saxages. Tall, bony,
and wiry, he did not, like Mcliough'in and Douglas.
|»rcseiit a phy^i<(ne at oii<-e p(.\\trful and cominanding:
Vet wliiii in tlie administratitiii of fur-tra<linu justici'
his right arm was driven <lown fr(»m the shoulder b\
I'iglitfoiis wrath and with spasmodic force, the I'ed
nobl»;s of his su/»'i'ainty Irll before it like tenJ)in^.
Ther-e was u superstition alu'oad among the .savago
that they could not, kill him. I lad he not been huntctl,
starved, »'ut at, and shot at bv waniors wli(»se arm
and cunning had nevei- hitherto failed them '. Upon
a small lu-ck lising from sloping shoulders was st t
a head narrow and high, which a half-century of con-
stant i'xposure to the rigors of a New Calerlonian

JOHN TOD.

l:{9

nore pro-
4or is ap-
illv read I
till! livoi
ii«^ hohiiul
bold ami

outward
[iiul siiiiT
Kanilo(»|).
so tar as

was his,
viMerni'SH
wert' not
M'urs, .11 r1
)rt iluriiiL;
u-r of his
U'li and a

'ithor was
hli' cxtrnt
1 [(' wa-

)nnn,!L!; into

jirimitivc

y ways ol

he Xortli-

'all, hon_\ ,

DoiiL^las.

iMiandin'L; :

«> iustici

midrr \>\

, the r."(l

t«'n|>ins.

savai4;«'s

II liunttMi,

liosc aim

'. Upon

1 was st't

y of r(»n-

al«>d(»niaii

cliniato had warped a little, and made otherwise awr} .

Tilt- liij[ht hrown hair was not lorijLj, falHnjif over the

shouldi'rs in carefully «(reased waves or curls, so coni-

iii(»Mly seen anion«^ the free trappers on frontiers; nor

was it short like a ])rize-fiijfhter's; it was «)f niodiuni

l( iiifth, sonu'what stiff, in places matted, and on the

\\!iol( tolerahly well kept in dishevi'Ued Hudson's

Hay respeetahility. Ahove a hroad, straight Seot<*h

iiitse, an<l high eiieek-l)<)nes, were glittering gray eyes,

wliicli ilaslH'd peipetual Inn an«l intelligenre. And

llu; mouth! Sujiport me, () my muse! What an

iipeiiing foi' gin and ehxpienee! Had the mouth hen.

small, the mighty hrain ahove it weuld have huist; as

it was, the stream of eoMmiuiiicat, on once set How-

iiig, ami evi'ry limh and lihre of the hody talked, tli<'

lila/ing eyes, the I'lectrified hair, and the wdl-poiscd

tongue ail (lancing attendance. It was a ti'iek the

t'ur-tradei's early fell into, that of copyii\g from sav-

agism its aids to declamation. Tod could no moi-c tell

his stoiT seated in a chair than ho could lly to .lupitfi

while chained to tlu* rock of (Jihraltai-; arms, legs.

and \crtehra' wer«' all hrought into re(|uisition, while

high-liucd infor'ination, homhed >vitli hroad oatlis, hurst

from his hreast like lava from Mtna.

Ihit although among eajlhs pretty ones, among
I he starched and veiu'cj-cd of hr'oailways and houlc-
\aiils. hisangular contour and disjointed gait Jiresen ted
anything hut an im[iosing appcaram , yet John Tod
was huilt a man from the gioun<i upward, and those
with eyes might see in him a king, ay, one every in<li
a king.

Xotahle n»»waml tor many years afterward through-
'lUt these jiaits was a whitewashed sa\age, a Shushwa|i,
likewise a king in liis way, christened hy the company
St I'aul, and hy tlu^ Catholie jtriists .lean Jiaptiste
l-o|o. 'I'h,> Shu.shwaps fre([uente<l Kandoop almost
as much as they di«l the lake that hears tlu'ir name.
Their |iassion was finery ; they loved it more than liipmi'.
Indeed, before the advent of the miners, beside who.so

140

THK SHUSHWAl' (.ONSIMUACV

mud -colored clothoa tlio brij^lit vesturos of the iiativos
shone like the rainbow on a tliundor-ljidon sky, tlio
Interior tribes did not wallow in drunkenness lik(! their
relatives alonj^^ thi; eoast, but rather afteeted horses,
aiul a wanhobe in whieli Avere eons]»ieuous caps with
^ay ribl)ons, seaih't legorinos, and red sashes, and for
th(! women bright-eoh)red skirts, and j^audy handker-
ehiet's tor tlie head.

Altliougli ]jolo liad been tlius <loubly liaptized, \u
was not yet wholly elean. Th(;r»' was mueh of the
aboiij^inal A<lam still in him; yet he was always ready
to s»'rve the god of the fur rompany, or of tin; mis-
sionaries, whenever he' <-ould innkr it pay ; i'vciythino
Ix'inn' »(iual. however*, he Kn't'ciicd liis «»wn. in i»l

Ig »((Ul

piiy-

si(|ue he was larg(\ with fine bold leaturrs, u Koinan
nose with dilated nostrils In-ing promin»Mit. His
blaek <'yes disjilayi'd a mdaneholy euMniiig rathei
than frrocitv, thouuh at tinus tiicv woe restless
and piercing.

His permanent «lweHing was a snl»stantial lint
sitnated near the old fort, aiul in wlii<-h he lived and
reared liis fainii\ and rnle«l his nation long aftei' civil
i/.alioii liad filled tlie Kamloop Plains with tarme)-s.
Ills autlmiity ann>ng his peoph- was absolute; even
alter old age and sickness had sent him permanentl\
to his Ik"<I, the naked sword and loadetl gun beneath
his pillow, or ever within his reach, were a terror {*>
the most distant inend»er of his tribe. He was a man
of intellect and iier\c as well as t»f peisonal iM<»wess.

The <'ompany's trade Jaigon did not satisfy him in his
intetioujse with white men, and so he leaiiied ('ana
di.-in Kreneli, which he spoke fluently in later lite.
Some time a\'Ur the events recorde<l in this chapter,
lu'lieving sonuthing at fault about his knee joint,
thinking perhaps it n«'eded scraping, and having little
faith in medicine-men. red (»r white, little l>y little as
he could l>eur it, with his i>wn hand la* cut the flesh
away, bored through the bone, and kept t»pen for a
time the woutui by forcing water through it. He was

10 natives
sky, thr
liko their
(I horses,
caps with
■s, and tor
handker-

pti/ctl, h<
ell of thr
ays ri'atly
f tlu! mis
vt'rytliinu
III ])l>y-
a KoMian
«Mt. 1 1 is
nu' ratliLM
•I! rt>stl('ss

intial hilt
« livt'd and

IlltiT fivi
t'liniitr;

llltr

rvrn

lrinaiu'iitl\
I hcliratli
tcnnr ft'

Iwas it nuiH
i»r(»w('ss.

llllM III

liii't

Ills

I ( 'ana
llat«'r lift'.
[s cliaitttT.

LIH'l'-jo

IviMir

1 1 til

I littl
tlic W

»> lis

CSll

II Inl" a
He was

\mjQ.

141

a great lover of liorses, and usually kept a score or
two for his own use.

Lolo's <lays were not few, nor did his name lack
rt'iiown; for twenty years hefore Tod's time ho had
lived there on friendly terms with tlie fur-tradors,
and for a dozen years thereafter his rusty old body
still enjoyed the hlossiiiLfs of sunlight. To the h(»iior
(»f the Hudson's Bay (Company's t»ffic«Ts stationed at
Kandoop, 1h! it said that in his old agt; tlioy tn^ated
r.olo not alone with kindness, but with rcspi-ct. A
(lutii'ul son to an aged parent could not have been
more considerate than was McLean in niinisterinir t«)
tlie whims and desires <)f this ancient sava«je. And
as for fame — who, frtim the Rocky Mountains to the
sea, did not know of Lolo {

Now, in this your 184G the two kings, the white
and the red, were in their prime; Tod was domineer-
ing and reckless, not kn»>wing tlu; name of fear, and
Lolo was net so wealthy in women and liorsis as
al'teiward.

One horse m particular, the be'st of a band of
(liifc hundred belonging to the fort, Lolo had long
•oveted. He would ^•(ve anvthin«; for that hors(', en-

(hire anv

hai'dsh

ii|>, kil

"'.V I

)ei's«ni.

Tod

was e<jiia

illy

olislinatc in his refusal to part with it; the savage
slioiild not liave the li«)rse; second best must sufiiee
tile niler of irilskins.

It was the ciisn Ml evi'ry spring or summer to send
a party from Kaniloop to the j'opayou. sevi'iity-six
mill's distant on h'raser liiver, near what was lat«r
known as the K(»uiitain, to jn'ocuic! for tlu; year's
siihsistiMK'e salmon there caught an<l cured by \\\v
natives. It had been agreed this year that, Lolo
should lead the party for the mutual beiielit of the
two soNrii ignties.

"Are your men ready r' asked Tod oiu' <lay.

"They lire nady," rt plied Lolo.

" llav«' the horses been driven in and hobbK-iir'

"Ves."

14-J

TJIK SIlUSIIWAr CONSl'IRAtY.

"The uion will leave day aller to-morrow, before
.layli^'lit."

"Very good."

The aeeond iii<,^]it after the departure of the expe-
dition, just an the ehief trader was ahout retiring, a
knock was heard at the door. Besides hiniself and
family and the half-breed lM)y, there was not a soul
aitout the place; every man was with the expedition,
and as the country was at j)eaee, oven the fort gati's
were not fastened at niaht.

oine m, exciaimet

d Tod.

Slowly the dooropt-ns a few inches until the black
eyes of Lolo were see!i glistening at the aperture.
Though amazed beyond measure, and fearful lest some
misfortunes had ha))j»ened to the party. Tod was Indian

noiigh never to be thrown so far out of balance as
to manifest surprise at anything. He continuid to
l>tisy himself as if the unwelcome apparition at th(
door was but part of his jneparations for bed. Nevi'r-
tlu'less, wa\es of uncpiletness began to roll over his
l>reast, ready to break out in wrath or subside in
ri'signatii»n, as the cas(! might recjuire, for Tod was
not a patient man, nor slt)W of speech, nor soft of
words; and for all the rascadly redskins this side
<»f perdition he would not long remain the Siivage stoic
lint uj>on (M'casion, the Gaelic lion could play the lamb.
pro\i«led tlu- pt'riod of enduraiu-e wiTe reasonable.

Left to himself, the Shushwai* chief pushed open
thi' dooi- and slowly entered. For several minutes In
stood bolt njtright in the middle of the room, until at
length Tod mi>tioncd him tt» a seat l>eside thi^ table,
and shov(<d toward him [»ipe and tobacco.

" VoiU' family will Ik; glad to sec you," Tod final)}
remarke(l, won<le)ing more than ev«'r what had hap-
pen»>d to the party, and why he had returned, ami
cMT'sing in his hiail the savage conventionalism which
debased a mail from any maiiifestion of cnrit)sity.

"The sorrel horse 1 spoke tt) you about," repliid

THAT SOIiUKI IIOUSK.

143

the cliief. "I slumld like to liavo that liorse, Afr

Tod.

The river has risen a little siiieo yesterday," ol)-

servec

1 To.l

"For twenty years I liavi' followed the fortunes <»t'
llic Hudson's Uiiy Company," eontinued Lolo. " 1
have shared my store of food with them, warned them
iif <lanii^ers, attended them in perils, an<l never hefop'
have 1 heen denied a recjuest."

Fill

y»)ur pipe, saul

1 T..d.

•/

Vlasl my wives and little ones," still sii^diril tlit

savaire. "Though 1 am old and not afiaid to dit
they ari' youiij;' and helpless; what would heeonie of
them should tiiis evil iiefall; where will they 'j;

What th(! devil is tin- matter {" now hhuted Tud,
thrown su<ldeidy hack by Lolo's j^ihherish fi-om \\\<^\\
forest I'etieeiiee to the collVentiiHial sjieeeh of ehi'i>-
teiidom. " Who talks of dyiiijLj^ ^\'here are the njen '
Why have you returned ( Speak I"

" .Nfatter I'UoULCh," answeretl the ehief, who now
(■hany;ed his tone from that of Avhininj^ lament to om
nCsurly eoneern, " When near our destination we met
a youn^ chief of the Atnahs, who, drawing' me aside,
iMlonned nn' that his father, who is a friend tif mine,
had entered into a eonspii'aey with llie ehiei's of sev-
eral other Shushwap trihes for the extermination of
the fur-traders. They had au^ree*! to open hostilities
hy tlu' «'apturi! of the ainuial Kandoo|> party just as

reached the Frasi'i'; an<l this wai"nin<^ was t;i\t'n
me that I mi^jht save mysi'lt'and mine."'

lere ai"e tile men and horses

1 h

I hid them as well as I eould hehind sonu> liusl

leS,

.1 little »>lf tlu' trail, telling them that I was n'oinu" to
hiMit a hetter (•am]»in|Lj-<^i'ound, and to let the animals
.;i;i/e theic until 1 retuiMied. I said iiitlhinL;' alioiit
the coiu;pi)acy, knowini;' that thi> attack would not he
made until the party reached the river, and that mv
III' II Would not I'emain shoidd they know olil. Time
\\ >s when I would not have turned my lta<k opon

'■ : '
J

ma-'.'- ;'.

m
■I

-.11

144

THK wSHU.SHWAP CON.SI'IKACV,

such a throat, but my iiiciulHliip and faithful services
arc no lonj^cr valuoil."

"Well, i^o to your family now, and let mo think
ahout it;" find so the eliief departed.

Was it true, or was it a trick on the part of Lolo
t;) ;,'et the horse? Tod was jL^reatly puzzled. There
ha<I uivii- liccn trouble with the; natives in this vicinity;
there was now no provocation that he knew of. And
yet it was a long ride for ho useless a (]uestion. Of
c(H(rst' if tliere was danger of an attack the chief
should not have left the party. As he thought it
over, tin' tradv-r's suspicions increased.

While fleep in these considerations as to what was
Iw'st for him to An, Mr T»)d saw the door again move
on its hing«'s, and liolo's head thrust in at the open-
inj;. "Will vou n<)t let me have the hor.se. Mr

Tod r

"No, damn you! go homci; and if y«>u say horse to
me again J 11 break tvery bonci in your l)ody." For
tin tradiTM patience had finally forsaken him. Hcj
was now almost sure that LoKi's only ol)ject was to
get the horse, and that the conspiracy story was
false; nt^vertheli'ss, tlie party must be looked after
immcdiatclv. How should he nuuun;«! it? His ])e()-
pie w«re all absent; there was not a whiti' man at
that mom«nt within seventy miles of him. For him-
self, his family, <.i' anything about the fort, the chief
tradei- did not fear the Shushwaji <'liief. As T.nio

liinix'

liad sjlid. hi" had been tl'Ue t' tl

e ( ompaiiy

for tweiitv years. The sorrel hors«' ho lon»;ed lor
with all a chiKls inti-nsity; but often it ha|ipened ti*
be neci*s.sjirv to denv tlu' childish covetin<jfs of tli.
aV»ori:^'inal, else his desires would run away with bin
and til. le uould be no living with him. Had not
T«»l krH»wn and trust*-' Lo|o imjilicitly he would not,
at - imeture li.ixe sjH>ken sharply to him as he tolii
lam li go jinim-. It was nwt a breach of etitjuette,
lioweN.r. for a mhitt- eJiief to speak ru<lelv or ev« ii t<>

culf or kick a icd ehiet ; bnt

WtH-

to the white rttan of

A DESPERATK RESOLVE.

14S

,' luvrsc to
ly." V«T
vim. lt^5
t was to
<tory was
lUi'd at'ttir
His peo-
f man at
For hiin-

( oin]>aiiy

rS «)t' tie

\vill» liii' •

\.ml<l iH»t
IS he told
»'ti(iut'ttc.,

|,1- I'V II to
ito IMkU of

.-|

low degree, the laborer, the voyageur, who insulted
a native nobleman. A king might bear a king's atiront;
not so a slave's.

At the seat of war, if war was to be, the position
of Lolo would be entirely different. It must be re-
membered that the conspirators were, likewise with
Lolo, members of the Shushwap family. The chiefs
proposing to unite for the taking of Kamloop wen-
till' heads of the several divisions of one family. Lolo
would be importuned, and perhaps in some degree
iuriuenced against his old friends. Even hens so
strong was his faith in him, Tod did not fear absolute
troaehi'ry. But after mature reflection he concluded
that he wculd rather undertake the management of
att'airs without the presence of Lolo than with it. The
cliii'f trader had his own way for the treatment of
such cases -a way always original and generally ef
fcctual.

Lolo was thunderstruck at tiie bold tone in which
Tod had denied his last rerjuest for the horse. The
Indian well knew of the truth of tl:o (■• nspiraey. Ife
kiK w , or at least he suppost'd, his fidelity and seivic. s
Would be of the first im[>ortance to tlu^ trader, i <>lati d
as lie was, and alone in tin; midst of niimen»tjs orgaii-
i/i'dand blood-thirsty eiieiiiies. Surely the Imrse would
not, be a feathvi's weight to him now, re;isoned Lolo,
whiii all the horses, the j'ort, and the ])roperty in it,
wife and children, and life itselt' lor the eliief well
kiH'W the trader Wt>uld not run away froni danger,
and that if he did not he would entalnly l»<' kilh^i-
\v< re in surh jeoj»anly. Tluirel'ore \\a> he eunfoimded
at Tod's rude and violent denial.

IJefoiv tin; doof had closi-d on the retfeatlnu- foj-ni
ol" the savage, almost before the projluu' wcrds ol
I' tiisal were out of his mouth, the trader lun' made
"I' his mind what to do. Calling the half-bj-. .-(l bov.

"i-'MTed hiiii to sai

hUe 1

wo o

t' the tle<'test liorsis in

th"' coi-ral. In as few w<»rds as possible lie expl. lined

the situation to his v.
II I -T iiiiiT. < ••! r>

Then he wrote a •••euerul

I: I

u t

i4i;

TMK SHUSHWAl' CONSI'IKAt V.

statt'ineiit of tlic case for luad-quarteis at Victoria in
ruse he slioulU iit'Vt'r retuiu. And shortly after mid-
iiiuflit, whilo liolo WHS asU'cp at liouu', tlio cliicf trader
and Ills l)oy woru on tiic trail for Frascr liiver, <^allop-
'u\*f over tiio «r|"()unil as fist as tlioir liorscs coukl carry
tluni.

\r«'an\vliilc tin- mind of tlu' chief trader was no loss
active tlian liis ImxIv. Here was a field for the «lis-
l»lay of liis l)ri;nhtest j^enins, Jiy slow decrees and
c(M)l ednsidetatioii hc had arrived at the eonelusion
that i^ilo had n(»t diceived him in rc«ifard to the con
spiracv. lie knew the Indian character thorouj^hiy:
iioi' was the cldef's fresh jiiea for the horse so wholly
ont of placo in such an emergency as in- had at first
rej^arded it. At all events, tlie safer way, the oidy
safe way, was to act as thoujj^h the reitort was true.

111! found no ditHcidty in reaching his men l>y noon.
They \\('»'e surprised to see him, had heaid nothiiiii; of
the thi'eatened attack, nor did he see fit at oiic(! to
eidiyhten tluiin. He merely ^ave ordi-is to j»i-epai'e
to move forward early the next mornin<4. The men
were accustomed to im|>licit ohedience. They couM
not understand why their ieadei- should he stiddeniy
f-it solicitous as to the condition of thcii' arms and tlu'
supply of anuMunition, seeing' no dani^tr portending.
Hut it was not their jirovince to question.

hy sunrise the |>aitv was on the ti'ail, moving at
tile usual pace toward the l''rasir. Some distance in
advance was T(»(|, ainnr; he juid told his men to keep
three huiidrrd \ai<ls Ix liiiid him, to march when lie

mai'clict'i, and stop when he s

ley approa(

'hcd

topi

»C(

1. I

iv iinu; o(

I sii.all open pliiiii elicloscii m

•lock
thick

hrushw d iiiid hortlciing on the I'ivci-. 'I\)d mo-
tioned his men to hall while he rode slowlv forward

into tlie open space, apparently careless and uncon-
cerned as usual, hut with a glance which scrutinized
with intense interest every rock and sluui* ar»»und the
Presently his eye caught unmistakahle signs

a»"

O! .'ppoHition.

INTO THE JAWS OF DKATH.

147

IS U<» U'SS

jreos ami
onclusioM
) the (•«»»
i»rou«;l»ly .
so \vlu>ily
L(l at first
, thi! only
UH true.
11 l>y >ioo»\.
n<»tli'n>!:; <•'

ut otK'e t'»
to |)r(l»ar(
Tlie mt II

lirV f()ul<l
siKMelily

lis and tl>'

„,vtciulin;^

liaovinjj; i»^
Idistaiu-r in
icn to k'' 1'
|l, ^vlu•n In
liiu! o'cl*)*'^
led in tl»i<"^<
Tod n»n-
[iv torward
iiid in\«'(>n-
isrrutini/«'d
[udund ill''

Boliind tiie Imslu'S on tlio iiortJierii side of iho
t)]HHiWj^, and closo to the rivor, lie saw a lar«^o hand
oi' ainu'd and |)aintod savajjfos. Xo women or cliikh'cn
wore anionuf tlu'ni, whicli circumstance, hcycMid jtcrad-
\«nturc, sijjfiiifit'd mischief, Ahtady they had dis-

vered him. and were niovin*^ ahout excitetllv. The\-

<•(»

were kihed up for liyl't; and now tliey hran«lis]ie(l
tlicii' knives and jj^uns tlireateninj^ly. Ijo'o was li^lit;
iiiid tlie clilef trader vowe«l tliat if lie survi\ed that
day tlu' chief should have the horse.

ihit what was lie to <lo ? lie had not ten nu'ii, all
told. Canadians and Indians, iind hei'e were tlirre
liumlred arrayed against liim. Xor were tluy a foe
to l»e despisi'd, these ])owerful and active Siiushwaps,
t\(iyoii('of whom » ouUl handle the rille as will as
;iiiy white man. ilow was he to co[»e with thcnH
ilrute force was certainly out of tin' question; hrule
courM'^-e here was powi-rless. And if intellect was to
lie kinn', Imw was white cunning' to circumvent the red ?

Then avose the mind of .John T(»d in the powei- ot
if-: iiiin'ht.

Tlif men. with the horses in t!.e icar, had hy this
time ;ippro;iched the openinLC, had seen (he saNjc^cs.
jiiiil h.ul witries.se«l th'-ir warlike demonstrations. 'I'hey
kii' w now why their leader ha<l ;.o unexpecte«lly ap-
p. ;ir< (1 iimony; them, and h.id hein .so singularly pre-
<><•( n|iic<| the ni'^ht hefore. Still with his f;i<'e t('V>ard
'he eiit'my, though he had now stopped his horse, 'j'od
iiiotiniu'd one ol" his party, (^eorj^e Simpson hy name,
tit ;itt< nd him.

■■< Jeorye," said he, as the Canadian came up. " I'.dl
liarl-. (juietly with the horses, and if thin!.;s ^ni wron^;
uitli me, make the hest of your wa\' hack to the foit.

<io''"

The ora\i' fellow hesitated a moment to lea\'e his

Mi alone m sut h pen

D.mni vou, tro!" shouted Tod. in av

oice Wllleli

i.iii'4 ihrounh the woods, and nuule to rattle in their
hands the Weapons of the startled savay^os.

148

THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY

And now to busincsB.

It w a inai'nificuDt animal that Tod bcstridcH, a
white mare, clean of Hnih, with flowing mane and
tail, a proud ste{)i)er, and strong and Hwift witlial.
The enemy, einergmg from the forest, gather on and
round a low knoll at the edge of the opening, and
there stand watching intently the fur-trader's every
movement. The battle begins; it is one man against
three hundred. There is little use for the usual
death-dealing machinery in such a contest as this.
Turning full front upon the glowering savages, Tod
put spurs to his iiorsc; and as he rushes on toward
them, they raise their guns. The hors( man ch»es not
flinch nor sla<;ken speed; but <iuickly drawing .sword
and pistol, he holds them aloft m one; hand, and with
the otiicr lifts hiy:h his y;un above his head. For an
instant only the murderous trinkets flash the sun's
light intt> the eyes of the astonished multitude; then
tlie ritlor hurls tliem all aheap upon the plain. Seiz
iiig till' rein wliicli hitlierto had lain neglected, the
rider next turns his attention to fi-ats of bors«'man-
>liiji. VV^ith head erect, eyes flasliing, and mane flow
ing, tlu! whiti' niai'e piances to tlie right, tlun to tlie
hft, and after ilescribing a half-circK-, chargi^ intn
their very nrnlsl.

\'erv stnnige, no doubt, and very silly, a <avahy
«'a|itaiM would say. Why did tht y not kill him ^ So,
indeeil, the 'cavalry ca|)tain would haxc bei'U killed,
and all his nun. Why did not those Mre who raised
their guns ^ Curiosity. Thus the interested ant<'lo|tr
will stan«l and be shot. They wished to see what tin
white man wouhl do next. Hundii-ds they had killed
belbre, and <'ould achieve a butchery any <hiy. Ihil

lev «'oU

Id not have exciv tlav an hononihle chii

tr;Mlel' Upon his best mettle before tlu'Ul for tin ii
amusement. Well was it that Tod unilerstood ITh
role, and had the coolness and couragt; to phi}' it, I'oi
the least mistake was death.

There sat the tsmiling Scoti hman upon hi.^ pantinii

OH, WOKsmi'FUL TOD.

140

M hit*' Htecd, ainulst tlu' tlii<'kost of thciu. T«k.I always
smilt'd in joy and in sorrow, and Ids snulo was enor-
mous. His anj^ry hmuIo was nioro fearful than his
itlis; th(' savanjos felt this, tItou<^di tluy couhl not
laly/.e the smtiini'iit. And now they saw his siuiK'

was ant,nT, tlioujj^h he spoke them fair; they iK'<j:an t
he afraid, though tliey knew not why; hut tluy woul<l
kill him presently.

"What is all this.'" deman<led the chief trader.
"What is it that vou wish to dof"

l.ol

We want to sre Jj(ilt>," they replied.

lere is

IV eanu

yi.U 1

lere

All! then you navt; uat heard the n«'Ws. Lolo u

it iiol

lU".
tWS

I'our felh.w:'
What utwi

IliW

iKisr

'(•, We have heard lie
tiiey cried, ai^aiii fui'oi'ttiiii; their hloody pur-
lijulh'd in euiiositv

1 am sorry for vou, niv frieiuh

And

now Ills

>miie on the outside was, oh! S(» sad, thouy;li inwardly

lilitd hv tlie softest, liicllie.st ellUekh

u> sma

11-

jiox is up(tn us; the terrihle, terrihK,' small-pox. It
was hroui;lit fiitni Walla Walla hy an Okanaj^an."

They well knew what tlu; small-[>t»\ was, and that
it lilted at Walla Walla and on the lower (^>lund>ia.
\Voi\s»( than death hey f»ared the seoui'j^e; the hare
i(l< a of it was horrihh^ to them. Tlu-y knew, likewise,
lit' Whitiiijiirs massacre, and the divine punishment
that had so (juiekly followi'd the olfeiidcrs.

"Av, the tlri'aded iliseasc is here," c(»iitimietl T<»»1,
i.i deep, sepuli'liral tones. "That is why I am conn-.
I cuiiu* to tell vou. I came to save vou. Vou are mv
IVuiids, my hrothei-s. You hiini; me fuis. I a-'wv you
Itlaiikits iiii<l «4uns wherewith U* jn'ct i'ood for your
tainilics, and I love you. Hut you must n«)t come to
Kaiiiloop until 1 jLjive you notice; else you will die.
Si'f, I have hioU'uht you medicine, for I would not
sec vdii ly in<r s«attere«l on the hank like yonder «almon,
"ttiii^, rottiii",'; ah! indeed, I would not."

Where now is the hattlc; who the victor^ W(Hi

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)

f/.

1.0

I.I

»- IIIIIM
a» IIIIIM

"■ m

120

1.8

1.25 1.4

1.6

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Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

,v*\.

'%'■

23 WEST MAIN STREII1

WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(716) 872-4503

1^ ^^^

^^^

"%"

160

THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY.

by a trick ; you may say, a lie. Partly so. The uni-
verse is but a trick, however, and half this world a lie.
Flown to remotest regions were all thoughts of mur-
der, fire, pillage. Kill him! their best, their truest
friend? They had never intended such a thing. It
was other adventure they were dreaming of, they
could hardly tell what. "0, Mr Tod! Mr^Tod! save
us! save us!"

Not more than ten minutes were occupied in achiev-
ing this wonderful revolution of feeling. It was a
conversion which would honor any apostle or priest,
aided to the full measure of the miraculous by atten-
dant spirits. And now black was white, and white
was black. It was true, however, that the chief trader
would help them as he was able. Though they would
cheerfully have killed him half an hour ago, John
Tod would no more have revenged himself on them
])y doing them injury than he would injure his child.
They were but children ; and if his boasted superiority
was real, he could afford to overlook so slight a fault
as intent to murder him. It was true, the small-i)ox
was abroad. It was true that in his pocket the chief
trader carried some vr^ccine matter. The Hudson's
Bay people were seldom without medicine. Business
still. Between his thumb and finger the fur-trader
held the will of that multitude as the will of one
man; but lest their erratic mind should change, it
nmst be kept occupied. It was not enough that
the white men should simply escape with their lives;
the yearly supply of salmon must be secured, and the
natives nmst be induced to sell to them, and that
speedily. Not a word about conspiracy and nmrder ;
not a word about wrongs and infelicities. Fear must
be kept alive, the threatening wrath of a mysterious
unseen power must be before them. Revenge is for
fools, for beastly idiots.

"You see yonder tree," pointing to an enormous
pine.

"Yes."

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN.

"Cut it down."

Away flew their weapons, off went their clothes,
and as many as could stand round the tree were in
stantly at work hewing it down. The women now
oanic forward from their place of concealment, and to
these the trader next directed his attention.

"Do vou sec the smoke beyond the bushes'?"

"Yes;"

"There is my camp. Carry salmon thither, and sell
to my men."

Xever was the annual requirement more quickly
completed, nor the price less questioned. Presently
down came the tree, and the trader wishing' to gain
yet more time, that his men miglit get well on tlieir
way toward home, said, "Cut it again, four fathoms
from the Imt; then level the stump, and roll the log-
up to it."

The horses were now all loaded with salmon, and
Tod gave orders to his men to hasten with their pur-
chase back to the fort. The last task given to the sav-
ages was completed, and there being no further cause
for delay, the chief trader dismounted, and seated
liimsclf with royal dignity upon the stump, his feet
restiuij: on the log.

"Let fifty of the bravest and best of you strip each
his right arm." Only the foremost chiefs were in-
cluded in this category. "Go down to the river and
wash that arm," was the next connnand. Soon they
returned, and the trader, drawing from his pocket a
knife and the vaccine matter, began to vaccinate. The
knife was old and dull; the trader used it princi-
l)ally in cutting his tobacco and cleaning his pipe;
therefore strength as well as skill was requisite in
his rough surger}^ I will not say that the trader
derived no pleasure in thus driving the blunt blade
into arms so lately raised against him, for he was
human. Indeed, Mr Tod admitted to me, confiden-
tially, that when the turn of certain noted rascals,
whom he was satisfied were the head and front of

152

THE SUUSHWAP CONSPIRACY.

1 ;

the conspiracy, came, he did cut away more than was
absolutely necessary, and did not perhaps feel that
solicitude for the comfort of his patients which he
ought to have done ; and if so be the arm — mark ! the
right arm — might not wield a weapon for ten days or
a fortnight, so much the better.

The trader was thoroughly fatigued before the
round was made ; and even then, as there was a little
of the virus left, he vaccinated another score. Then
he instructed them liow they were to carry aloft their
arm, and when the sore had healed, how with the
scab they might vaccinate the otliers. '' It was a
strange sight," says Tod, "to witness the Indians
going about with their arm upheld and uncovered."
As a matter of course, it would be fatal to handle a
weapon before the arm had healed.

And so the conspiracy of the Shushwaps ended.
Lolo obtained the sorrel horse, and Tod was worshipped
throughout that region ever after; for not a man of
the three hundred would ever after believe that he
did not owe his life to the cliief trader.

Another incident tliat happened the following year
I may briefly mention in this connection.

A band of Okanagans came one day to Kamloop
and asked permission of Mr Tod to camp close by the
fort. Nicola, they said, who lived some forty miles
south of Kamloop, near the lake which to-day bears
his name, was very angry with them, and wished to
kill them. The chief trader assented, stipulating
that they should behave themselves and obey the
regulations of the traders. It was a custom of the
company thus to balance powers aboriginal, taking
care that in the end they alone should be lords of all.

Nicola was furious when he heard of it, and swore
ill good stout jargon that white as well as red should
suffer for so unfair, so unholy an alliance. "A pretty
pass, indeed, things have reached upon these hunting-
grounds," he said, "when one cannot fight one's eiie-

NICOLA'S PLOT.

1611

niies without this foreign interference." But he must
curb his impatience until better prepared ; for in the
weighing of these rude destinies, arms, and ammunition
were the strongest factor. So degenerate had become
the times, since the advent of skin-buyers, that with-
out these infernal implements little could be done in
the killing line. The Okanagans were well armed:
Nicola was short of guns ; and as the chief trader was
at present opposed to slaughter, he would furnisli no
weapons knowingly for that purpose.

Nicola Avas shrewd as well as energetic. His intiu-
CMce was not so widely extended as Lolo's, but witliin
his narrower area he was absolute. His w^arriors were
active, experienced, brave; moreover, he was rich, and
loved revenge The fort people lined furs; better
tlian revenge, religion, or other earthly distemper they
loved them; furs piled mountain high; furs without
end.

One day certain of Nicola's men a})peared at the
fort wishing to buy guns, which were given them.
Shortly afterward others of tlie same nation came,
and asked for powder, balls, and more guns, which
were likewise sold to tliem. The Okanaixans watched
tliese ])roceedings narrowly.

"Why sjiould Nicola require so many guns?" they
asked of the cliief trader.

"For hunting, I suppose; I do not know."

" No, they are not for hunting, but for us."

" If I thought so, I w'ould sell them no more; bold
and vindictive as he is, Nicola would hardlv dare
attack j)eople under my ])rotection, under the very
sliadow of the holy tabernacle of traffic."

"He will dare; he will do it. Tliose bullets are
for us, for our wives and our little ones."

Again came others from Lake Nicola, antl asked
for knives and guns, and nothing else.

" Why do you buy only arms and so nmch ammu-
nition ? ' demanded tlie trader. " You will leave none
for others."

154

THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY.

" We are going on a long journey, beyond the
Kootenais, to hunt," they replied.

"Ah! my friends; your hunt, I fear, is nearer home.
You wish to kill the Okanagans. I will sell you no
more weapons ; and you may tell that old fox, Nicola,
that if he, or any of his men, dare lift a finger against
any person within five miles of Kamloop, I will be upon
him in a way of which he has never yet dreamed."

Tliis being told to Nicola, in no wise tended to
assuage his wrath. Summoning his warriors, and
such of the neighboring chiefs as he could prevail
upon to hear him, he talked to them, ho harangued
them ; breath failing him, he rested, and then again
harangued, until at length the presence of the spirit
was felt, and the converts acknowledged it their duty
to capture the fort as well as kill the Okanagans.
" Refuse us, indeed!" growled Nicola, as he expressed
his thanks, "we will take w^hat we require without
the asking."

Surely enough it was reported shortly after that
Nicola was marching with a large force upon the fort.
As usual Tod had but a few men with him, not more
than six; for it was by the power of mind, and not by
physical strength, that the fur- traders everywhere
held dominion. Again was strategy Tod's only re-
source; for even his few men became so frightened
that they fled to the woods, a most unusual proceed-
ing in fur-trading annals. The Okanagans, of course,
retired to a place of safety, and the chief trader see-
ing himself thus left alone, sent his wife and children
with them. One only of his men, a Canadian named
Lefevre, returned repentant.

"I cannot leave you, Mr Tod; I would rather die
with you."

"No, you had better go; we are too few to fight
them. Had the others remained and stood by the
company's property, as they were bound to do, we
might hold the fort until assistance from Langley
could reach us; as it is I would prefer to be alone."

THE GUNPOWDER FARCE.

155

Tod now bethought himself of the somewhat stale
gunpowder ruse. It seemed his only chance of sav-
ing the fort ; and he did not believe the trick had ever
been played in these parts. There was danger enough
attending it to make it deeply interesting to him, for
if he failed in the execution, or if Nicola suspected
that it was a trick, the fort was lost. Nicola was not
ii common native; he possessed a powerful will; his
intellect was keen; his hatred, when aroused, was
tigerish. But he was afraid of Tod; it is only the
dull and brutish savage that does not fear civilization.
Nicola was intelligent enough to know that the white
man, with his superior arts and appliances, held
the poor redskin at disadvantage. Another point
was greatly in favor of the fur-trader in the coming
combat: an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company
^'cry seldom deceived an Indian. It was the leading
maxim of their policy to inspire confidence as well
as fear. "Did ever I lie to you?" roars Tod, as ho
heaps oaths and blows on the liead of an offender.
" Did not I tell you I would knock you down? And
there! I have kept my word," as the redskin drops
sprawling.

So that when the chief trader sprang from an am-
bush and caught one of Nicola's men who was recon-
noitring close upon what he now supposed the
deserted fort; when he drove the captive within the
palisades, and forced him to bring from the magazine
three kegs of powder, upon one of which the trader
seated himself, driving in the heads of the two others
with his heel; when he asked the affrighted savage;
for his flint, coolly remarking that he was now read}'
to meet Nicola, and any number of his men, for that
the power was at hand to blow into atoms the whole
earth from Kamloop to Okanagan Lake; when this
was done, I say, and the terror-stricken captive, as
a mark of benign favor was permitted to escape and
save himself, upon the solemn promise that he would
not reveal the plot to Nicola or any other person, the

156

THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY.

man believed it, and Nicola believed it, when his scout,
more dead than alive, returned to him and told him
all, as the wily Tod had wished, and well knew would
be the case. These credulous wilderness men had
never seen so great a mass of powder, and had no idea
of the effect if ignited at one time. If the little
a nutshell will hold can bring down a buffalo, three
kegs might bring the world down. What Mr Tod
had said, that would he do. Besides, if while the buf-
falo was being brought down by the nutshell of pow-
der he who fired the shot remained uninjured, might
not he escape harm, who, with three kegs, blows the
Avorld up? So Nicola made overtures of peace, which
the chief trader required should include the Okana-
gans. The following summer John Tod retired from
Kamloop.

CHAPTER IX.

ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS.
1846-1847.

Necessity of a New Route between the British Columbia Seaboaki>
AND New Caledonia — Must be Wholly within British Territory —
Anderson Proposes Explorations — Authority and Means Granted —
Biographical and Bibliographical Note op Anderson and his
Manuscript History — Sets out from Alexandria — Proceeds to
Kamloop — Thence Explores by Way cf Anderson and Harrison
Lakes to Lanoley— Returns by Way of the Coquihalla, Similka-
meen, and Lake Nicola — Second Expedition along Thompson and
Fraser Rivers — Back by Kequeloose and the New Similkameen
Tkail — Report and Suggestions. _

Meanwhile brains were active in the interior as
well as at Fort Vancouver and on the seaboard. In
1845 A. C. Anderson/ who was stationed at Fort
Alexandia, New Caledonia, then the lowest post on
the Fraser except Langley, became convinced that
the boundary line between United States and British
domain on the Pacific would be drawn, by the treaty
then pending, north of the lower Columbia ; in which
event, a route from the ocean to the interior, wholly
within British territorv, would become a matter of
primary importance.

^ While at Victoria in 1878 I made the acquaintance of Mr Antlorson, and
spoilt nuich of my time with him iu studying Northwest Coast affairs. In-
dued, without tliat experic'.eo and the information then given me by Ander-
son, Tolinie, Finlayson, and others, I do not see how I couhl liavc written
« ith any degree of completeness or correctness a history either of Oregon oi-
of British Columbia. Anderson was the most scholarly of all the Hudson's
H;iy Company officers; Tolmie was keen and practical; Finlayson intellectual
i nd courtly. Sir James Douglas, Mr Work, and Mr Ogdea unfortunately
vere dead, but their respective families kindly placed at my disposal all tlie
information M'ithin their reach. I speak of all these gentlemen elscwliere. I

(157)

158

AN I )ERSON'.S P:XPL0KATI0NS.

Acting on tliis conviction, Anderson wrote Governor
Simpson, in council at Norway House, Lake Win-
nipeg, asking permission to explore a route from

>:!

will give here only a brief biographical and bibliographical sketch of Mr
Anderson and his works.

The more immediate residt of my many interviews with Mr Anderson is a
niamiseript llixlory of Ihe Korlhweat Coant, comprising 'J85 pages, and cover-
ing the entire field of Oregon affairs to 184(5, and of matters relating to New
C'iucdonia and British Columbia to date. So far as pos.siblu, the needless
repetition of facts rdready in print was avoided. He as well as I knew well
enough what was wanted, and as neither of us had time to waste, M'e confined
ourselves pretty closely to inquiries into the domain of luirevealed facts. A
tiiousand important events are thus for the first time placed upon record, and
a thousand incidents heretofore but vaguely stated are explained. In style,
Mr Anderson is somewhat pompous, pedantic, and ditiusive in parading him-
self before the world, while in bringing into proper prominence the deeds of
Ills associates a false delicacy makes him painfully reticent. This is a habit
common to all the officers of the great monopoly, who, after living in deadly
fear of s])eaking of company affairs for a score or two of years, almost tremble
in their old age to set their tongues wagging over these eld-timo and sacred
secrets. But for his honesty, courtesy, his sound business sense, and dis-
criminating analysis of character, we may well forgive him a few superlluous
words and high-sounding sentences. Throughout the whole work, particularly
in the first pages, the facts are sadly jumbled, being tiirown together as they
arose in our minds, without regard to chrcmological or other order; but when
segregated from the confused mass, by the system of note-taking obtaining
in luy Library, and being brought iirto conjunction with parallel facts and con-
temporaneous incidents, almost every sentence is a jewel which finds its proper
li tting. To the personal work of M r Anderson are appended certain A iUoijrii]ih
Xo/cs 111/ the lute John Slwirt, written at Torres, Scotland, in lS-12, and consist-
ing of caustic criticism of a previous narrative by Mr Anderson. While that
work of Anderson's is as a wliole iiighly eidogized by Stuart, parts of it were
pronoiniced apocryphal, and other parts exaggerated. This indeed would Ije
tlie case with any work which could bo written, i'lace three or even two of
these old Hmlson's Bay men in a room to discuss general atl'airs in which they
liad all participated, and hot words if not blow s are sure to follow. In his
A'o/(.<, Stuart takes exceptions to the dark side only of Indian cliaracter which
.\nder.sou chooses to dwell upon, and to the boundaries Anderson yives to
New t'aledonia, which Stuart saj's are too limited, and the like. To all this
Audurson replies in sucli a way as to bring out the real state of affairs in the
clearest possUile manner.

And now for a brief biography, leaving details to their proper place in the
lii.stcu'y. Alexander Caidlicld Anderson, a native of t-'.dcutva, eilucated in
Jliigland, was a youth of eighteen, having served the Hudt-on's Bay adventurers
as clerk but one year when in 1832 he first appeared at Fort N'aneouver.
After participating in the founding of the posts at Milbank Sound ami on the
Stilvcen, in the summer of JSIi5 he was appointed to !Mi' Ogden's district of
New Caledonia, and leached Fort (»ef)rge about the l)eginniiig of Scptendjcr.
He Mas then despatched m ith a party by way of Yellowhead I'ass to Jasper
House to meet the CoUnnbia brigade, and bring back goods for the New ( 'ale-
donia district. Two months afterward he was appointed to the charge of the
post at the lower end of Fraser Lake, his first independent connnand. In the
autumn of 1S.S9 he was removed to Fort Ceorge, and in the spring of 1840
accompanied the outgoing l)rigade to Fort Vancouver, and in the autumn
of the same year was apponited to the charge of Fort Niscpially. In the
autumn of 1841 Mr An(lcrsou left Nisqually and passed the winter at Fort
Vancouver. Next spring he went with the express to York Factory, re-

FORMER SURVEYS.

luy

ivcrnor
! Win-
3 from

;ch of Mr

lerson is a
ami cover-
ig to New
a needless
knew well
'c coutineil

I facts. A
-ecoril, anil

In style,
adiiig liini-
lie <lee(ls of
s is a habit
r in deadly
ost trendile
and sacred
ie, anil dis-
suiiertluous
[)articularly
;lier as they
•; but when
^ ol)taining
ctsandcon-
s its proper

II Aitloijn'pli
and consist-
While that
s of it were
1 would be
even two of
which they
iw. In his
iicter which
|(in gives to

To all thi;;
lirs in the

L)lace in tlu'
Jilucated in
lidvcnturcrs
IVaiicouvcr.
1 and on tlie
district of
ISeptendjer.
t to Jasjier
1 New ( 'ah-
large of tlie
lid. In the
Jug of 1840
Ihe autumn
ly. In tho
Iter at Fort
tactory, re-

Alexandria to Laiigley throuj^li a tract of country
tlieii practically uiikiiowii. His request was granted,
live men were detailed for the service," and the neces-
sary lioises and outfit provided.

The descent of the Fraser had been twice at-
tempted, and twice, after a fashion, made : once in
1808 by John Stuart and Simon Fraser; and once,
twenty years after, by Governor Simpson. It was
known to be unnavigable in part; it was then dcemetl
decidedly impracticable for boats. Some other path-
way must therefore be made, wluirc nature was less
(tppugnant.

tunie<l in October and proceeded to Fort Alexanilria, to tho charge of whicli
he had been appointed, and remained tliere till 184)S, liaviug meanwhile
been promoted. In that year he was appointed to ilie Colville district, suc-
ceeding Chief Factor John Lee Lewes. At Colville he remained, making an-
nual trips with supplies and bringing out tho furs to Fort Langley till IWol,
when he went to Fort Vancouver as assistant to MrBidlenden, and succeedeil
temporarily to the superintendence till ISM, when he retired from active
service. Marrying, he pa.ssed a few years near the house of his father-in-law,
.(ames Birnie, anil then purchased a home at Cathlamct. In 18.")8 he went to
X'ictoria to inipiire into the gold discoveries. Douglas urged him to accept
dtlice and bring his family and assist in the afl'airs of tlie colony, which he did,
since residing at Rosebaidi, Saanich, near Victoria. In bS7G he wa.s appointeil
by the Dominion government commissioner to settle tho Indian land <lif-
fereiices in British Colundiia, and continued to act in that capacity until the
cdinmission was dissolved in 1878. On his retirement from the Hudson's Bay
('(iiiipany's service in 1853-4, he received two years' retiring furlf)ugh in ad-
dition to the usual retired interest, which continued for seven yenrs snbsc-
(|uenily. It was as chief trader that he left the service of the company, his
I oiiimission as chief factor being dependent on his returning to take charge
ol New Caledonia, where be had already passed a year; but the education of
his family demanded that lie shouhl resid<' nearer the conveniences of civiliza-
tion. In lS4()Mr Anderson made an exploration for a route from Alexandria
chiwn the Fraser V(dley to Fort Langley, ami in 1847 a similar survey from
Kamloop down the Tliomi)son to the mouth of the Nicola; thence Ijy way of
Lytton to Yale and Langley. The lines then traced afterward became the
main routes of access to tlie interior. In IS.IS, in order to obtain means for
transport of goods to tho newly discovered gold-diggings, he recommended
and directed the opening of a road from the head of Hani.son Lake by way o.'
bake Anderson to the crossing of the I'raser, whei'e Lilloet was afterwaril
leea.ted. Five liundred miners were cmployoii on tlie work, and tlie road thus
constructed was used for the tran:-.poit of all supplies, until the r(Kid along
the Fraser was made. In per.sonal .ii)peaiance, at the time I saw him, be
being then sixty-three years of age, Mr Anderson was of slight build, wii-y
make, active in mind and body, with a keen, penetrating eye, covered by lids
which persisted in a perpetual and spasmodic winking, brouglit on years ago
by siiow-lield exposures, and now become habitual, and doubtless as di:;agi'ee-
alile to him as to his friends. In speech lie M'as elegant and precise, and by
no means so verbose as in his writings, and in carriage, if not so dignified as
l''inlayson, his manner would do him credit at St .Fames.

-Their names were Edward Montigny, .1. K. Vantrin, Abraham Charbon-
nedern, Theodore Lacourse, and William l)a,vis. Anderson n Nort/uoext Co'ikL
MS., 124.

160

ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS.

Anderson's journal dates from Kamloop, the capi
tal of the Thompson River district,' whence, on the
15th day of May 1846, they started, and passed down
Thompson River to Cache Creek, in the main by the
line of what is now the wagon-road. The first en-
campment was at the lower end of Kamloop Lake.
Crossing the Defunt River in an old canoe which
they found at hand, narrowly escaping being swept to
their death by an eddy into a boiling rapid in the
effort, they continued to the River Bonaparte which'
they found much swollen. Nearly the whole of the
I7tli was consumed in making a bridge for the men,
and finding a ford for the horses. At night they en-
camped at the Bivi^re aux Chapeaux.*

Through a cut in the hills they jiassod on next day
to a small lake, then to another lake, then to Pavil-
lion river and village on the Fraser, following which
southward they reached Upper Fountain at four
o'clock. In the early part of the day they ho.d
startled a village of natives, who, rushing to arms
midst terrific yells and fear-compelling antics, threat-
ened the party with instant annihilation. On An-
derson's riding forward and demanding what all the
uproar was about, they subsided into t!" ^ smallest
compass, saying they thought their enemies were at
hand.

Here the way was found too rugged for horses,^ so

' ' I remember the old, compact, and well-palisaded fort, and the stockades
a little distance off, large enough for three or four hundred horses, for the
horse brigades for transport of goods in and returns out for the district, and
for New Caledonia, generally numbered about two hundred and fifty horses.
A beautifid sight was that horse brigade, with no broken hacks in the train,
but every animal in his full beauty of form and color, and all so tractable.'
Malcolm McCleod, in Peace Jiiver, 1 14. The New Caledonia and Thompson
River brigades wore encamped at Kamloop when Anderson set out.

* N<nv called Hat Creek. ' This stream derives its name from an Indian
habitation connected witli a large granite stone on its left bank indented with
several hat-iike cavities; it llows throujTh a very picturesque valley richly
covered with herbage, and bordered by hills sprinkled by fir-trees. ' Andef'
sou'.i Xcirthwest Const, MS., 125.

'' ' The proposed track passes over a mountain 1,500 to 2,000 feet high, the
summit of^ which even at this advanced season is still thickly covered with
snow, and obviously impassable save with snow-shoes. Indeed, there does
not exist the slightest possibility of a horse-road in this direction suitable for
our purposes.' Amlcrmns }\oi-tlnvst Coast, JIS., I'JS.

DOWN THE FRASER.

IGl

capi

3n the
down

by the

:st en-
Lake,
which

v^ept to

in the
which'
of the

le men,

liey en-

ext day
Pavil-
r which
at four
ey had
,o arms
thrcat-
n An-
all the
mallest
ivere at

jrses,^ so

stockades
laes, for the
]istrict, ami
ifty horses.
|i the train,
tractable. '
Thompson

■i an Indian
lentcil with
Ulcy richly
Bs.' Ander-

hi high, the
Ivered with
1 there does
Suitable for

they were sent into the open country southward, to
the Vermihon branch of the Similkameen River, there
to await Anderson's return, and the party continu(^d
down the river, alternately on foot and by canoe.
Eni^aging several native lads to carry luggage, they
continued their journey next day and crossed Fraser
River at Lilloct. Anderson had hoped to be able to
follow Fraser River to its mouth, but this he now
found impossible. ** Precipitous rocks, ten to fifteen
liundred feet in height,'' he says, **rise on both sides,
and preclude the possibility of all progress by land,
save perhaps by scaling the craggy sides at some rare
points less precipitous than the rest." He concluded,
therefore, to strike westward by lakes Seton and
Anderson, and thence proceed southward by Lilloet
and Harrison lakes, whif^h was done. It was a rough
journey, but the natucs everywhere received him
with demonstrntions of joy, and lent him every assist-
ance, so that no insurmountable obstacles opposed
liini.

On the 21st, while in the vicinity of Lilloet River,
Anderson writes: "As far as my search extended, ]
did not see any favorable spot conveniently situated
for an establishment having the maintenance of a
horse-pasture in view. But it may be presumed that
should the idea ever be entertained, a narrower search
than the state of our provisions enabled me to insti-
tute would prove successful."

The journey by tJie line of lakes was made chiefly
in canoes obtained from tlic natives, though portages
Mere frequent. About noon on the 24tli, the party
foil upon Fraser River again, and at five o'clock the
same day reached Fort Langlcy.

Thus far Anderson was not particularly i)loased
witli his success, but he hoped to do better on his
return. Embarking at Langley, the 28th of May, in
company with a party from the fort who were asv .end-
ing the river for the purpose of establishing a salmon
fishery, they encamped the first night just below the

Hist. Biut. Col. 11

162

ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS.

Chilakweyak.* The second c!;xy thereafter, at noon,
they reached the mouth of the Tlaekullum, just below
the Quequealla'' River, where the town of Hope now
stands. There Anderson and his assistants were left
by the Fort Langley party.

Andkuson's RouTEa.

Anderson had broufjht with him an Indian chief
as a guide to the head waters of the Similkameen,
and, plunging througli the Cascade Range, ho|)ed
for the best.** Over a high ridge, he continued his
march through a labyrinth of huge bowlders which

* Written by Anderson Chilwhacook.

' Or as it is now called the Coqnilialla. On Trutch'a map Coquhalla.

'•This from all I coidd ascertain, botli at Kainloop and Fort Langloy, is
tlio moat probable if not only route by which it is likely wo may discover a
coinmunicatiou for horses, if such exist.' Anderson's X. Coast, MS., loS.

SKAGIT RIVER.

1G3

seemed to laugh at these searchers for a horse-way
through them, and the baffled party beat a retreat.
Another defile'' to the northward was next attempted
and with better success. Returning to the Fraser,
Anderson engaged a boat, which carried them into the
Quequealla, where disembarking they took a south-
eastward course by land, and soon found themselves in
a broad, well watered valley. Passing out of this
into a defile, they examined the country carefully on
both sides of the river, and though rugged, Anderson
discovered a route through which he thought a road
might be built. Of tlie surface over which his
proposed horse-path should go, he gives a minute
description, so particular that from it a contractor
might almost make an estimate of the cost of con-
struction.

The first day of June, while groping his way slowly
among the craggy hills and unexplored streams of
this region, Anderson fell in with an intelligent Indian
from the fork of Thompson River. He was hunting
beaver, and being well acquainted with the country
Anderson engaged him under promise of a few charges
of ammunition and some tobacco to show him the
way. The party were now at the Sumallow'^ brand i
of the Skagit River, down which they proceeded to
the fork, and then up the north-east branch, or the
head- waters of the Skagit. Tlieir way wps for the
most part through a rocky, thickly wooded country,
the elevations and even some of tlio vallc ■^•s being
covered with snow. Occasional patches of grass wore
Ibund on which horses miglit food. Wending tlioir
way north-east toward the lieiglit of land, they leave
flic little river and ascend tlio mountain from whose
side 11 ic foi-est liad been [nivtially burned by the natives.
Arrived at the summit, a vast expanse of wliite lay

'■•It was lip tlio 'riaokulhmi ilcfile the I^aiigh/y guide first took tluiin ; now
Amlorson proposed to follnw up the Quecpciula.

'^'Tho Jndiiuia call it .Siinalaouch, or Simallaow, and way that it talk, as
nearly as I can ascertain, somewliero in the vicinity of JJullingliuni IJay.'
Amlrrsoh'n Xorlhicfst ('oftft, MvS., 144.

164

ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS.

I'l

spread out before them," Close at liand was a small
lake having a striking resemblance to the Committee's
Punch Bowl at the sunmiit of Athabasca Pass. Here
their guide left them.

Missing a good Indian trail on account of its being
covered with snow, they wandered about, scarcely know-
ing where thty were. One of the party, Montigny,
lost himself while out exploring, and Anderson was
obliged to go in search of him. From Summit Lake
they followed, as best they might, its outlet, which
was a feeder of the Similkameen River, to Vermilion,
or Red Earth Fork, the appointed rendezvous, where
they found their horses.

Proceeding northward through a fine open country,
they reached the Louchamcen road, just above Rocher
de la Biche, which took them to McDonald River,
whence by Nicola Lake they continued their journey
with ease and pleasure to Kamloop, where they
arrived at eveninsc on the 9th of June. Thence An-
derson proceeded to Alexandria.

" This line," says Anderson, " in its main features
was afterward adojited for the government road, and
is the direct route of conmiunication witli the south-
western interior of British Columljia." It was the
intention that tlie trail from Kamloop to Hope
should be made suitable for horses. For, concludes
the journal, "a temporary establishment would of
course be required at the place where the horses
must remain, at the mouth of the Quequealla. Ac-
cording to all accounts, this vicinity aflbrds one of the
most prolific fisheries on Fraser River. The services
of a few men might thus be profitably employed in
the interval during whicli it would be necessary to
maintain tlie post. The boats necessary for the accom-
modation of tlie brigade were to be brought up by
tlie Laiigley peo[)le and Indians at the proper period,

"The I'iuiso was easily explained, hciiiy ' ascribablc to tho relative position
of the opposite Hi(le.i; tliat l)y wliiili mo asoeiuled has a soutlieni exposure,
lyiiif,' opei\, coiiseipieiitly, to the full iiititienee of the sun's rays, aided l)y tli'.'
iiouthcni winds, and ucc i:ci\-iii.' Amlcrsoiifi yorthwcttt <.'o(u4, MS., l-l'J.

THE SIMILKAMKEX COUNTRY.

105

conveying' salt and barrels; the products of the fishery
to be conveyed by the same means to Fort Langley,
after the return of the brigade."

From Alexandria, Anderson wrote the board of
management at Fort Vancouver on the 21st, and
again on the 23d of June, giving the particulars of
liis proceedings and his opinion concerning the result.
By waiting until the snow melted, and the streams
swollen tliereby had subsided, he pronounced practi-
cable tlie route by way of the Quequealla and Lake
Xicola. Fearful lest the opening of a roatl by the
wliito men sliould the easier let their enemicis of the
Similkameen upon them, tlu; natives of Frascr Kiver
(lid iiot kindly regard the movement. Indeed, Ander-
son was informcxl by Blackeye, a most respectable abo-
riginal and an attache o^ Kamloop, that Pahallok, chief
of the Fraser liiver Indians, had tampered with his
fidelity by attempting to persuade him to misl(>ad and
thereby deter the road-makers from their pur[)OKe.
Some delay might arise therefrom, but no serious
trouble was apprehended.

It was an important matter, this selection of a
route for the main line of travel between the liritisli
( 'olumbia sea-l)oard and the interior, and the stu-
})endous obstacles interposed by nature rendered it not
s(t easy of accomplishment. Anderson had learned
much in his late exploration, but yet he was not
llioroughly satisfied. Hence, in the following sum-
mer we find him examining Thom])son and Fraser
rivers between Kamloop and Langley, hiiving the
same purpose in view.

Setting out from Kamloop on the 19th of !May
L847, Anderson proceeds w^ith five men to Nicola
Lake, whence, following the Nicola Hiver by the trail
of the trading parties to its junction with the Thomj)
son, he sends back the horses, to meet him on the
Kraser near Anderson River, where there is a well-
known trail from that point to Similkameen. Tlu

1C6

ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS.

weather is sultry ; several Indian camps are encountered
on the way ; the country is remarkable for its rugged
volcanic rock, wormwood, and rattlesnakes. Crossing
the Nicola in a canoe, on the 2 2d the explorers con-
tinue along the left bank of Thompson River, crossing
the streams on fallen trees until next day, when thej^
reach Fraser River, and encamp near the Indian
village of Shilkumcheen, where now stands Lyttoii.
Here, contracted to a width of some sixty yards and
deepened correspondingly, the Thompson flows quietly
between ragged bounds of limestone and granite into
the Eraser. Soon Pahallok presents himself, and de-
livers a letter from Yale. Accompanying the chief
is a concourse of savages, men, women, and children,
a scampish-looking set of vagabonds Anderson calls
them, though exceedingly polite and affable.

Continuing along the left bank of the Fraser on the
24th, Anderson finds the road as well as the river-bed
exceedingly rough, and pronounces it impracticable
for a loaded horse brigade. Xor can Pahallok or any
native of that region point out a smoother way.^'
Still the natives at tJi') villages they pass receive them
with loud acclahns and bombastic oratory. At the
stream called Tumnmhl the aborigines are actively
employed in erecting a stockade for protection against
their enemies, and the superior death-dealing con-
trivances of the white men would be exceedingly ser-
viceable just now. Squazowm, a populous village, is
reached the 25th. The river banks in this vicinity
are wooded with cedar, pine, and plane trees, and the
hills which rise abruptly in the background are free
from timber in parts, aflbrding good pasturage. Herb-
age on the elevations is luxuriant, and the hill-sides
are decked with larkspur, red flowering vetch, and
the dwarf sunflower, which flaunts its glories in brave
contrast to the arid declivities so recently passed.

^'^ ' In the vicinity of the village called Skaoose is a succession of rocky
liills, some of which are avoidable oy making a circuit, while others appear to
otl'er no sucli alternative. . The rocky passages extend for a long distance.'
Anderson's Northwest Count, MS., Ki'i.

THE RETURN.

167

The horse-road which loads hence to the Similkameen
country, as well as the region between this point and
Nicola Lake, is well known to Montigny and Michel
Ogden, both of whom have traversed it; thoreforc
Anderson deemed it safe enough to order his horses
sent thither, and does not feel obliged to stop now to
examine it. The new road was but recently opened
by the Similkamcens.

Their way now lies along the Squazowm,'' which
they cross upon a fallen tree and follow for some dis-
tance, when they pass over to tlie Fraser. Anderson
iK)W seeks a suitable ])lace for a ferry across this man-
defying stream, passage by tlie left bank becoming
more than ever perilous, Kequeloose, near where
tlic suspension bridge has since been erected, is reached
the 27tli, and Spuzzum six miles below, which stands
on the right bank of the Fraser, and where Pahallok
proposes that the ferry should be placed. "The coun-
try is very rough," remarks Anderson, "and much labor
with many painful circuits would be necessary to com-
plete a road anywise practicable for horses." The ex-
plorers, after careful observation, think most of the
rapids hereabout can be run as safely as those of the
Columbia. Leaving now the rapids, their pathway
leads alonjif a causewav of cedar boards connectino-
several projecting points overhanging a precipice; t)b-
viously an exceedingly dangerous walk. Then after
crossing a stream they come on the 28th to the first
village of the Sachincos, where afterward the fort and
town of Yale were placed. After a hearty breakfast
next morning, on fresh salmon and potatoes furnished
by the natives, in hii-ed canoes they pass rapidly down
the river to LariL .v, , .

Returning, they leave Fort Langley the 1st of
Jul

lie.

having.

in addition to the canoes hired from
the natives, a large Northwest Coast canoe in which
Anderson proposes to attempt the ascent of the rap-

"Now, more appropriately tlian is always the case", called Ainlersoii
River,

1«8

ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS.

ids to Kequcloose, wJiere he proposes the horse-port-
age of coumierce by proving the navigabihty of the
Fraser thus far, Tlie ascent of the rapids is begun
on the 4th of Juno, a rainy day, the natives offi-
ciating with the boat.^' Two portages are made with-
out much difficulty, when tlie boat is liglitcucd, and
taker by a hue through the swollen channel; then
crossing to the opposite side, the ascent was continued,
one Indian being in the boat and the others dragging
by the line. All goes well until tlie middle of the last
rapid is about reached, when the line parts, and the
boat swec})s swiftly down the current while a wail as-
cends from the bank over the perilous position of the
boatman. Fortunately, with the boat but half full
of water, he succeeds in getting it into an eddy, and
so comes to land. But he cannot bo induced to enter
it au'ain : so the canoe is carried with no small diffi-
(iulty to the head of the falls, where they encamp.
After paying the natives for their important assist-
ance, they continue next morning, breakfast at Spuz-
zuni, and reach Kequoloose at eleven. Leaving the
canoe in charge of Pahallok, they sot out over the
l)roposed horse-portage by way of Lake Nicola to
Kamloop, clearing the way with their axes as they
go, and reaching the horse rendezvous tlie 8tli. The
last day they had merely indicated the route by chip-
ping the trees, the natives under tlie superintendence
of Pahallok vmdertaking to finish this portion of the
road for them. The natives below object to the prt)-
posed change of route, and one of them threatens dis-
turbance, but is soon quieted. On the 10th, Anderson
leaves the party in charge of ^Montrose McGillivray,
with orders to continue the opening of tiie road to
Lake Nicola, and tlien to proceed to Kandoop in
time to meet with the horses of the New Caledonia

'* ' Cross to tho cilily at the foot; make a short portage anil reiimbark , , .
A surica of eddies conducts to a socoml porttagc upon tho same side, right as-
cending. . .Cross iind breakfast at the foot of the rapid formed like tho first
by a rock which lies near the left shore.' Andersons Northioait Cocmt, MS.,
178.

ANOTHER ROUTE.

brigade at Okanagan. Anderson then presses on to
McDonald River and Kamloop, and thence proceeds
to Alexandria.

It would seem from these facts, taken wholly from
Anderson's journals and letters, that prior to these
^'xpoditions no route between Langloy and New Cale-
donia was open ; uone practicable was known to exist,
the nearest approach to it beinsj;' that p<jrtion of an
Indian or horse trail fn)m Siniilkamcen to Ketpie-
loose, a point on Fraser River six miles above 8puz-
zuni. His first return route, by the defile of the
('oquihalla and the Vermilion Fork of the Similka-
mecn, Anderson thouglit presented almost insurmount-
able obstacles; the snow alone preventing tlie road
fn)m being open for more tlian a brief [)eriod eacli
year. The second route, by way of Kecpieloose, lie
preferred, provided the rapids intervening iould be
overcome. Of the first he re})orts to the; board of
management: "I ha\e no oi)inion of its feasibility.
It is difficult to realize a conception of the ruggedness
of this extraordinarv res>-ion." And of the other route :
"Keeping in view tlie ol»vious disadvantages insepa-
rable from the route surveyed by me last sununt^r, as
being availaltle only for a comparatively brief season
of tlie year, I have no longer any hesitation in accord-
ing a decided preference to tlie route r(>cently exam-
ined by Avay of Kecpieloose. The series of raj)ids in
tlio vicinity of tlio tails, extending with intcirvals of
smooth water in all from two to three miles, presents
no insurmountable impediment to our pn^gress, from
the facility of making portiges if found necessary, as
they doubtless will be at the higlier stages of the
water. . . . For divers reasons I would suggest that the
N^ew Caledonia party, if intending to pass l)y the new
route, should not leave Alexandria Lefore the 2oth
May, timing their departure so as t^ reach Langley
about the 20th June, to admit of a oolay of ten days
there, and to depart about the 1st Jmy, a day or two

170

ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS.

later than the brigade usually leaves Vancouver by
the present route." We shall see later the more
definite results of these observations; suffice it for
the present to say, that several lines were ultimately
opened, and tluit Anderson was finally led to modify
his first marked preference for the route by way of
Kequeloose and Lake Nicola.

Understanding that it was the intention of the
board of management to open the new route the fol-
lowing spring, that is to say, 1848, Anderson coupleil
witli Ills report tlic following suggestions:

A sufficient number of boats, similar to those used
on the Columbia, should be constructed during the
winter, either at Kequeloose or Langlcy, and if built
at the latter place, they should be sent to the ren-
dezvous at Kequeloose before the river was swollen
by the melting snow. A gauge at Langlcy would at
all times determine the state of things above, the rise
or fall of one foot at that point being equivalent to a
rise or fall of eight or ten feet in the confined channels
of the inferior regions. It would be well for tlie
brio;ade to time its return with the ascent of tlie
.salmon, as well that provisions might be plenty as
that navigation would be easier, owing to the abating
of the waters, which considerations apply to all the
lines of intercommunication as far north as Stuart
Lake. Likewise by making the annual departure
from Alexandria as late in the spring as possible, agri-
cultural opei-ations would be less interfered with, and
horses tlien would be in better condition.

Anderson concludes with a lengthy discussion, de-
tailing regulations which should govern the spring
and autumn expresses to and from Hudson Bay, the
use of boats and horses, and the introduction, where
necessary, of sledges and snow-shoes, an Indian mail
system, intercourse between posts, protection of prop-
erty, treatment of the natives, and the like, all emi-
nently practical and interesting, but which for lack of
space I shall not be able here to introdutic.

CHAPTER X.

YALE AND HOPE ESTABLISHED.
1848-1849.

ESTAISLISIIMENT ON TIIK FUASKR AT THE LaNDIXI! OF THE SaCIIINCOS — JaMI.S
.\ri'llKAY VaI.K — CaISKS AViUCU Lk» Ti> THE BuiLDINT. OF FoilT YaI.K

Ohdeu.s (tivE.v Inteiuuk Tkadeus to Break tiieik AVay tiiuouoh to
LANiiLEV — Three Bhkiaoes Joi.v for That rrRPosE — The Roitk

C'hOHEN' not SaTISFACTOBV — AnIJERSON'm PrOI'O.SAI. — BriLDINli OF I'OliT

Jloi'E— A New Route Aitemited — It Proves Worse than tiik
First — .Tosei'H W, McKay ox tiie North Coast — Sharp PRACTrci;
i;r.TWEE\ Enolish ani> Ri'ssia\ Traders — The ' ( 'oxstaxce ' is North-
KRN Waters — Kffecis ]\ British Cohmria of the California Ooi.k
Discovery — Baos of ( Jolu-ucst at Fort Vit-roRiA — The ExcrrEMEM'
IV THE Interior.

Early in the sprinj:^ of 1848 a small post was
erected by the Hudson's Bay Company on the Eraser
River near a village of the Sachincos, and just below
the rapids ascended by Anderson the year previous.
Tlie establishment was called Eort Yale, in honor of
Chief Eactor Yale/ then in charge of Eort Langley,
and was the only point on the wild, weird Eraser
between Langley and Alexandria, a distance of some
three hundred miles, then occupied by white men, save
only the salmon fishery established below the Coqui-
lialla two years previous.

' James Murray Yale entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company
when but a boy, in about the year 1815. For a long time lie remained a boy,
not receiving any promotion until fifteen years after the coalition, or twenty -
<ine years after entering the service; and to the day of his death, and long
afterward, he was known to the officers of the company only as Little Yale.
Though small of statue he was strongly built, wiry, and active, and as coura-
geous and enduring as a young Hercules. Indeed, his reckless bravery was
for a time rather against him than otliorwise, as it rendered him in a measure
untit for the staider duties attending promotion and partnership; but this

.< 171 ^

IT'i

YALK AND HOPE KSTABLLSHEl >.

One iniTiiediatc cause wliicli led to this establishment
was the Waiilatpu massacre, which occurred iu the
autumn of 1847, and the hostiUties which followed.
Anotlicr was the conclusion of the Oregon treaty of
184G, which not only placed the boundary hne several
degrees north of the lower Columbia, but left tlic
matt^'T' of duties on foreign goods in such a sliape as
almost to stop business at Fort Vancouver. To Brit-
ish subjects was reserved the right of freely navigating
the Columbia and passing over the ])ortages with their
goods, upon the same terms accorded citizens of the

y;;;';

was afterward proved a grfiat mistake, or eko aa the i* i advanced in year*

111! clianj;ed materially, tor in all tlie company's Hi^rvivje there was scarcely a
hetter po.st-connnandcr than Little Yale. From boyhood, hardship .seemed to
mark, him for its own; his young hones were kneaded iu the trough of expos-
!U'e, and the .sword of ] )amoeles Heemed too often to hang from llie trees oi
the forest lie threaded. His lirst appearance in the arena of savage life while
yet a stri[iliMg is Kiguitlcant of the mans character and of his subsequent
career. It was at a time when feuds waxed warm between the brother skin-
buyers, each fearful lo.-:s the other should gain advantage. Tlie old adven-
turers of J''.nglanil had fully awakened to the fact that their more .shrewd and.
energetic rivals of tlie Is'orthwest Company v ere surrounding them iu their
operations, and if they would secure territory e(pial to their desires, they must
leave the .sliores of Hudson's Bay and take possession of it. S(» jiosts were
planteil along the Saskatchewan, the highest of which was then ildmoiitoii;
and as Ked Jliver blossomed under the benign smile of the Eail of Selkirk,
Ilia a.ssociate.s followed their more adviinturous opponents through I'oace River
I'as.s, and o[iened their eyes toward the I'aeific.

Just about the time Yale entered the service, John Clarlc, with one hun-
ch'ed men, set out for the Koeky Mountains, and beyond, for the purpose of
idanting new posts for the eircumventiou of the Northwest Company. Cer-
tain lisheries in the beaver country, upon whioh they had depended for a win-
ter's food supply, failed them, ami starvation stared them iu the face. Tiieir
rivals were there with food, and W(mld most eharitably have supplied them
on condition of tlieir renouncing allegiance so the old adventurers and joining
the Northwesters; but sooner than do this they would die.

And die they must unless relief should soon come. One day an Indian came
into their camp and reported that his people had been successful lishing, and
that they hud food. Though the Avay was long and perilous, a party, one <if
whom was the boy Y'ale, set out for the Indian camp. One after another fell by
the way, overcome by starvation and fatigue, and laid down earth's burden in
(h'spair. At length Y'ale's little legs began to fail him. A long tramp through
the deej) snow took him greatly at disadvantage. In tiiis, his lirst adventure,
he had bix'ome the pet and 'protajf of a stah\art old voyageur, who was as a
giant to this Jack, and Avho encouraged him by every means iu his power to
keep moving. But all was of no avail. The boy finally threw himself ontlio
snow and told his old friend to leave him there and to save himself. The French-
man coutinned a few paces, calling to his companion to eomo on and keep up
his courage. But finding it all of no avail, he retraced his steps, tearing his
hair, and swearing aa only a French Canadian can swear, meanwhile his big
lieart swelling, and as he came up to his now insensible little friend, bursting
into tears — the.so villanoiis voyageurs could sometimes cry like women — he ex-
claimed iu his doggerel French: 'Sacre! miserel C'est trop de valeur! Em-

ICXPEDITION UNDEll MANSON,

173

United Status. But this, of course, did not permit tlie
Hudson's Bay Company to import goods free of duty.
So long as Fort Vancouver remained the distribut-
ing depot, imported packages must there be broken
and parcelk^d for the several interior and coast stations.
To pay tlio same tarift' on goods destined for British
Columbia traffic which citizens of the United States
were obliged to pay on goods sold in Oregon, was not
for a moment to be thoujjht of. Less was said in
Oregon about tlie terms of the treaty, as the cause of
hastening a change of base, than of the hostilities fol-
lowing: the Whitman massacre, which set bristlini; the
savages of the Columbia as far up as Walla Walla,
but the former rendered the opening of a route be-
tween the seaboard and the interior within British
territory as necessary as did the latter.

The building of Fort Yale had, indeed, been i)ro-
jccted before the outbreak of hostilities; the terms of
the treaty were amply sufficient to warrant the move,
as well as to hasten the opening of a new route, but
each several event carried its d' 3 weight.

However all this might have been, certain it is that
early in 1848 orders were sent by express fiom Fort
A^ancouver to the officers in charge of the interior
posts immediately to break their way through to
Langley, where supplies from head-quarters for the
several districts would be sent this year.

Acting on these instructions, a party, consisting of
tlirce briij^adcs, namolv, one eacli from New Caledonia,

banjuc ! EiMliarquu !' by which Littur inarhio exclamation tlio Canadians woro
Mout to t^ll liti-lo people to p;et on their hack, and seizing Yule hy llic ar;n,
1k! swung hi;n over hij ahoulder on tol.ii p:;ck, and sturdily marched forward.
'I'liat nijiifc they reached the Indian canij), where an alL'cting scene took place.
"vVe generally associate in our minds with savages o:dy blood-thirstiness, incr-
cde.;.,:ie.:n, and cruelty". To many native •women we;-c given by the creator
lieartj Hi humane and tender as to many white-;;kin;ied dames. At siglit of
tlie afUoch'ss youth, says Anderson, to who:n the tlj was told, 'thewr)inen
of the ca::ip lULLed to tcar3, ruslieil forward, carried Yale into their encamp-
ment, rub1)0 1 luj limbs to restore suspended circulation, fed hi:n with choice
brotlia, and in every way treated him as if he had been one among their ov.ii
children.' Wo may bo sure the boy never forgot that old voyageur or thoic
liiilian wonic:i. About 1870, after over half a century of continuous Hud-
son's Bay Company service, Yale settled near Victoria, and died there, leav-
ing auveral childi-en.

174

YALE AND HOl'E ESTABIJSHED,

Thompson River, and Colville, after due preparation,
set out toward the end of May, selecting as their way
Anderson's return route of the previous summer.
Fifty men with four hundred horses, many of tliem
unbroken, comprised the party, wliich was under the
command of Donald Manson of New Caledonia, he
being senior officer present, Anderson, in charge of
the Colville district to which he had been recently
appointed, being second.

It is needless t6 recite the difficulties encountered
by the three brigades united under Manson. A small
party can often manage better in an untrodden wilder-
ness than a large one. In the present instance a large
band of heavily laden horses was no slight encum-
brance. Over the roughest part Anderson's formei'
journey had been on foot, and with the anxiety and
chacrrin attending the discomforts and curses of his
companions, his ardor for the new route began to
abate.

Nevertheless Fort Yale was in due time reached ;
and leaving there the horses, the party passed rapidly
down to Langley in boats. The return, which was
by the same route, was if possible more disastrous
than had been the journey down. The merchandise
carried back was more bulky and perishable than was
tJieir former cargo, and not only a large percentage
of the property was destroyed, but many of the horses
M'ere lost.

Tlie fact is, the course pursued by the united bri-
gades was over neitlier of the routes explored by An-
derson; or at all events, it w. ? over a portion only of
liis favorite road. He had e >ected to make Keque-
loosc tlie station on the river r the horses; but the
rapids had interposed objcctioi too formidable in the
minds of the management, an( heno Fort Yale had
been built below. The disasLrous results of the at-
tempt of the united brigades to open a road back from
Fort Yale turned attention once mcjve to Anderson's
exploration of 1 846, and to his return route of that year.

ANDERSON ON KOUTEW.

175

After their return to Tlioinpsoii River, in August
1848, Anderson addressed a written communication
to his associates there })rescnt, Donald Alanson and
John Tod, which was subsequently forwarded to the
management, setting fortli the importance of adopt-
ing innnediate measures for the opening of tlie Simil-
kamecn route, which was his Coquihalla route of 184G
with certain modifications suggested by Okl Blackeye,
tlie wise and scientific savage before mentioned.

It appears that a party had been sent by Yale from
Langley the previous year to take a second look at
this section, more particularly to ascer+iin its condi-
tion in regard to snow, and a favorable report had
been made. The snow was not an insurmountable
obstacle, and a band of workmen with horses in ten
or fifteen days would be able to make the way pass-
able.

As to the route over which they had just passed,
tliere could be but a single opinion, and that a condem-
natory one. "The question of navigation," continues
Anderson, "as far as Kequeloose, where I last year
proposed the horse transport to commence, being
negatived, the whole scheme of connnunication thence
depending necessarily falls to the ground. The pru-
dence, not to say possibility, of extending our horse
transport beyond that point has this year been fully
tested, and needs no comment on my part. As re-
gard.3 the question of navigation, my opinions have
undergone some change; for though as before I tliink
it practicable to bring up Columbia boats by making
the necessary portages, further examination teaches
nie that it must be by Aery arduous degrees at the
higher stages of the water, and therefore unadvisalilc.
At low water, however, the rapids have beeri [)rove(l
to be safely navigable with loaded bateaux, one port-
age only intervening. These points admitted, 1 am
still constrained, however reluctantly, to withdraw
the proposal of navigation formerly advanced by me.
My recent experience of the pass in question con-

176

YALE AND HOPE ESTABLISHED.

vinces me that no portage on a large scale could with
prudence be effected there during the summer season,
after the host of barbarians among whom we have
recently passed are congregated at the fisheries. The
risks of sacrificing both life and property — for it is
needless to attempt to cloak the matter — under cir-
cumstances where neither courage nor precaution
could avail to resist surprise or guard against treach-
ery, are alone sufficient to deter us from the attempt.
The losses by theft, in themselves nowise contempti-
ble, which have already taken place, are but the
prelude to future depredations upon a larger scale,
should the present system of operations be unfortu-
nately persisted in — depredations which it is to be
feared will be difficult either to discover in time or to
prevent effectually."

Anderson then prO|^osed that Henry Peers, as-
sisted by Montigny and certain natives, should be
appointed to the duty of making ready the new
route.

In view of all which, during the winter of 1848-9
another post was established a short distance below
Yale, on the left bank of tlie Fraser at the mouth of
the Coquihalla, to which was given the name Hope.'^

It '■

^Better fortune was expected another time. The Reverend Mr Good ab-
surdly dates tlie establishing of Fort Hope 1840-1. British Columbia, M8., 45.
It is a jjurely random statement, and nnght with equal propriety have been
placed a hundred years earlier or later. ' Fort Hope, ' ho says, ' was remarkablu
for the extraordinary beauty and grandeur of its situation, the fort being a
very old Hudson's Bay Company station erected in 1840-1. From hence the
company's brigade carried supplies, and communicated for trading purposes
with stations on tlie Columbia and other parts of Oregon, by what was called
the Similkameen Pass, and they also connected with Nicola, Kamloop, and
Okanagan l)y the olil and well-worn brigade trail.' The author of British
North America, SS.*}, calls it in ISGD the second town in British Colundiia,
moaning the mainland, and 'next in importance to the capital,' being 'about
o:ie hundred miles up the Fraser, at the elbow where the course alters from
south to west. Here the miners stop both going to and returning from t'.io
upper country gold-diggings; and a number of Cliinese have taken up their
abode in the town. It is making rapid progress, and roatls are l)eing pushed
forward north and east of it.' See al.->o Grtii/'n Or., 43, and Barrett- Lcnnrd'x
Trawls, 148-9, which latter work calls the river the Coquiklum, and tlie
mountiiin scenery around it graiul ..nd beautiful, while adjacent is the village
of the Tumsioux Indians, though where he obtains such a name it is difficult
to decipher, i^m' A)ii/irsnn's X'^fli •■I'f CtHis/, MS., ITT).

A NEW TRAIL CUT.

177

;ould with
er season,
L we have
[•ies. The
—for it is
-under cir-
precaution
ist treach-
le attempt,
contempti-
e but the
,rger scale,
)e unfortu-
it is to be
L time or to

Peers, as-
, should bo
V the new

of 1848-9
,.ince below
lie mouth of

me Hope.^

Liul ISIr Good ab-
\>litiiibia, MS., 45.
hriety have bueii
[' was remarkablo
the fort being a
From hence the
trading purposes
I what was called
L Kainloop, and
tuthor of JJrit:.'<li
ritish Columbia,
h\,' being 'about
|)urso altera from
turning from Vm
[ taken up their
ire being pushed
iBarrett-Lcn'trd'-i
liiklum, and the
Tnt is the village
[me it is difficult

Yale was the head of navigation on the Fraser, while
should the defile of the Coquihalla prov.e the most
advantageous passage to the interior, as was now be-
coming more than probable, to at least certain parts
of it, Hope would for the present be the more impor-
tant post.

In 1849 the New Caledonia spring brigade followed
the route of the previous year by way of Yale to

Yale and Hope.

Langley, the Hope road being not yet read'y^,"^but,
loturning, disembarked at Hope, determined at all
hazard to attempt the defdc of the Coquihalla. With
the briirado was brought a number of men from
Langley, and the whole force being sot to work, soon
cut a trail across the mountains, which dift'ered in
.some respects from Anderson's return route of 184G.

IIWT. Bnrr. Col. 12

178

YALE AND HOPE ESTABLISHED.

l!---i

And this was the main route followed until 1860, when
the government road was made.

To Joseph W. McKay now in 1 84G was given the gen-
eral supervision of the north coast establishments, up
to this time under the more immediate supervision of
James Douglas. Proceeding northward in the Beaver
in October, as was usual for the general agent to do, he
stopped at the several stations, and made such changes
and left such instructions as seemed to him best. The
Russians he found aifable and polite, but tricky. " In
August 1847," he says, "a chief of the Stakhine Ind-
ians, whom I knew well and had reason to believe
perfectly trustworthy, told me that he had been ap-
proached by a Russian officer with presents of beads
and tobacco, and that he was told that if he would
get up a war with the English in that vicinity, and
compel them to withdraw, he should receive assistance
in the shape of arms and ammunition, and in case of
success he would receive a medal from the Russian
emperor, a splendid uniform, and anything else he
might desire, while his people slujuld always be paid
the highest prices for their peltries."

Taking his position at Fort Simpson in 1847, Mc-
Kay became practically dominator of that region, and
so remained for many years, although his duties did
not confine him tli.cre constantly. Traffic being king,
and McKay king, we are prepared to learn that the
Hudson's Bay Com])any were more successful in
tliose parts than the Russian American company,
that the former secured nine tenths of all tl\e beaver
and land-otter taken in the country drained by tlio
Stikecn, and that even on the coast north of the
river, and toward tlie country of the Chilkats and
Tungass, all strictly Russian domain, no small pro-
portion of the catch fell into the innnaculato maw
of the English adventurers. Armed vessels were
sent at various times by the Russians to break up
this traffic, but the trading canoes sent by the Eng-

NORTH-COAST AFFAIRS.

170

jwhen

lie gen-
nts, up
ision of
! Beaver

do, he
3lianges
b. The
y. "In

ine Ind-
believe

)een ap-
3f beads
le would
lity, and
ssi stance

1 case of
Russian

else he
be paid

|847, Mo-
rion, and
uties did
tng king',
that tlie
lessful in
ompan y .
<c beaver
Id by the
1 of the
kats and
nail pro-
ate maw
els wore
break ui>
the Eng-

lish company into the intricate channels and inlets
easily escaped encounter with a superior force. Even
American and other vessels which went thither to
trade on their own account were brought into requisi-
tion by the Hudson's Bay Company in turning the
tide of this commerce into their own channels and
away from those of the Russian company.

Toward the end of 1847, while the Chimsyans and
Tungass were indulging in hostilities, Shcmelin, on
behalf of the Russian company, made a visit to
McKay, who was then at Bellabella, with the object
of inducing him, if possible, to use his influence to
stop the savage feud which so greatly interfered with
trade. For while fighting not only were the belliger-
ents diverted from hunting, but such furs as they did
secure fell into the hands of foreign, or, as the great
monopolists designated them, contraband traders for
arms and ammunition.

While Shemelin was thus engaged at the house of
McKay, the two being then at dinner, a native re-
tainer of the latter appeared at the door, and beckon-
ing McKay without, informed him that a large fleet
of his canoes heavily laden with furs surreptitiously
obtained in Russian teritory, was entering the port.

What was to be done? It would never do at all to
let Shemelin know how his company had been robbed
by the honorable servants of the honorable English
company, and to parade the spoils before his very
eyes. Surmise was one thing, positive })roof quite
another. In his dilenmia McKay bctliouijht himself
of the Muscovite love of liquor, and iuwardh' thanked
Bacclius for the suggestion. Instantly despatching a
messenger to the approaching canoes to await his signal
outside the liarl)or, he returned to his guest. There
was loss than a gallon of rum in the storehouse, and it
took nearly the whole of it to stretch the enemy hors
de combat. But it was done; and while Shemelin lay
unconscious, and his men were feasting in a house at
some distance i'roni the scene of action, the expedition

180

YALE AND HOPE ESTABLISHED.

landed, the peltries were speedily put out of sight, and
the canoes hidden in an adjacent cove.''

After the arrival of the frigate Constance at Victoria,
during the summer of 1848, she sailed northward, call-
ing at the company's stations along the coast. The
natives everywhere were impressed by her formidable
appearance, for she was a fine ship, well manned and
appointed. Some time after licr departure, McKay
was informed that just then the Chimsyans, Tungass,
and Stikeens were conspiring to join in an attack on
the Europeans. Russians and English at one fell
swoop were to be swept from their shores. But after
an examination of the death-dealing mechanisms of
the Comtaiice, they thought bettor of it. Howcvei-
the truth of it may be, it is certain that all through
the following year these savages were restless and im-
pudent, and it was only by exercising the utmost care
and patience that the Hudson's Bay Company i)rc-
vented their outbreak.

;t;u.;

There was little diftei'encu thus far Ijctwooii tlie
character of trade at Fort Victoria and that at otlui'
posts of tlie C()m[)any on the l.^acific, the general
routine of affairs becoming more and more similar to
business at Fort Vancouver, which establishment it
was destined in due time wholly to su^jersede.

The first startling innovation arose from the Califor-
nia gold discovery of 18-18, Mhich during the following
year stirred in the breastS of thousands the fires of
cupidity, and shook with monetary ague the financial
centres of the world. Fort Mctoria was then the
nearest and most accessible point, outside of San
Francisco, where miners could obtain their outfits.
True, th< y might have gone to Fort Vancouver, and

'The officer'^ nf tlu; Huvlsoii's Bay Company, not l(^s.s than Wasliingtmi
Irvinj,', love to dwell on tlio fonilnesH ot tlio KusMiana for limior, and how drunk
thi-y ubimI to gut on every i)0SHil)lu oeeasiou. How an intelligent and pioniin'rit
olUeer like ^IcKay rceoneiles hin aecu.-iation wlien he e.dl.-i tlm Russians iin-
U'iuciplcd and tricky witli this tstcjry, whieh he tells vitli unblushing gusto,
leave the reailer to judgv.

CALIFORNIANS IN A'ICTORIA.

181

did to some extent; but at the latter post the goods
had been raised in price by reason of United States
duties, and the stock was hkcwiso daily diminishing
there, while supplies were constantly increasing at
Fort Victoria. The custoin-houso regulations at San
Francisco were then not of the strictest, especially In
regard to miners' outfits. While at that point articles
not innnedlately desired could scarcely be sold at all,
such goods as were In dt^mand and of limited su[)ply
bore exorbitant prices. Hence many miners, })articu-
larly during the winter, when tliey could not work
their placers, found it more pi-ofitablo to take a
passage on a sailing vessel for the north coast, ami
there lay In their spring supi)ly. Instead of idling the
time in riotous living In any of the comfortless and
expensive towns of California.

It was a strange spectacle thus so suddenly pre-
sented to the staid officers of the lionoral)lc Hudson's
Bay Company, these curious characters on their sin-
gular errand, springing from so miraculous an event —
exceedingly strange, and it Is no wonder that the simple-
minded, methodical traders wore somewhat confused
by it. But though thus Isolated, knowing little of
what was going on In the great world without, and
accustomed to traditionary rote In their business
transactions, their instinctive shrewdness did not de-
sert them.

"These rough-looking minors," writes Finlayson,
"landed here from their vessels, which entered tbe
harbor early in 1841). I took them first to l)e piiates,
and ordered our men to prepare for action. 1, how-
ever, entered into conversation with them, and finding
who they were, was satisfied as to their friendship
for us. They had leather bags, full of gold nuggt^ts,
which they offered to me in exchange for goods. At
this time I had never seen native gold in my life,
and was doubtful whether to take It or not. Having
heard about pure gold being malleable, I took one of
the pieces to our blacksmith shop, ordered the smith

182

YALE AND HOPE ESTABLISHED

and his assistant to hammer away at it on the anvil, and
finding that it answered the description by flattening
out as thin as a wafer, I offered to take it at eleven
dollars per ounce, in exchange for goods. This ofter
was accepted readily, and as I could not go back from
my word, the trade opened on this basis. I would
then have been better satisfied had they complained
of the low rate, but no complaints were made. I
therefore tliought I had made a mistake. I traded,
however, all they had, and was doubtful about the cor-
rectness of the transaction until the express I sent
to the Columbia River to head-quarters came back
with the intelligence that the gold was satisfactory,
and also the rate at which I had traded it. Other
factors followed, so that we had a good remittance of
gold that year to send to England, in addition to our
furs."

The Hudson's Bay Company, on and iu the vicin-
ity of the lower Columbia, were in a position to de-
rive great advantages from this gold discovery. Not
sr great, indeed, as if they had held their post at
^crba Buena, yet their profits were very greatly
swelled thereby. Prior to 1846, they had placed a
post at Cape Disajipointment, consisting of a dwelling
and a storehouse, with which they claimed one mile
square of land; there was the fishing-station at Pillar
Rock, where salmon in large quantities were cured;
there were the granaries at Coweeman, where the
Cowlitz enters the Columbia, the warehouses and
wharf at Champoeg, and the mills above Fort Van-
couver; their cattle had increased abundantly, and
their farming lands had become widely extended ; they
had their own ships in which to send away their prod-
uce, and all under the most perfect system and the
strictest control.*

Anderson was appointed to the Colville district

- '')d yet Douglas teatified befoi-e tlie joint commission at Victoria, H. B.

O'- !- //. B, Co. Claims, 59, that 'the dividends on the general profits of

^' .^ in! son's Bay Company were not apprccialdy aflfected bjr the discovery

'• i ;. ,;•' -M Tdlifornia; ' which, if triie, showd a large falling-off in the fur trade.

iL'i

dfl

EFFECT OF GOLD ON MEN.

183

in 1848. 'It was there," he writes, "that I first got
notice of the discovery of gold in CaHfornia in a pri-
vate letter to Mr Douglas, who had just returned
from a trip to the Sandwicli Islands. Little excite-
ment, however, arose from this communication on the
])art of any one; and in fact, Mr Douglas himself
seemed half incredulous of the report. A few months,
however, served to dissipate this belief, and before
the autumn of 1849 the whole country was ablaze. I
myself felt fearful on my return from Langley in
August of that year, lest every man should leave me.
By prudent management, however, and possessing, I
flatter myself, the confidence of my men, I contrived
to confirm them in their allegiance, and retained their
services until their contracts were fully expired, a
period of some two years. In this resjiect I was
exceptionally fortunate, for while my men, some thirty
in number, adhered to me faithfully, the other posts
lower down the river, including Fort Vancouver, in
which about one hundred and fifty men had been sta-
tioned, were almost deserted, and Indian laborers were
hired to supply the deficiency.

"It is almost impossible to realize to the mind the
intense excitement which at times prevailed. Gold
appeared to be almost, as it were, a drug in the mar-
ket, and more than one of the French Canadian ser-
vants who had left Vancouver under the circumstances
mentioned, returned the following spring with aecu-
nmlations varying from $30,000 to $40,000. It is
needless, however, to add that the large amounts of
treasure thus collected with so nmeh facility, united
with the habits of extravagance which the unexpected
possession of wealth engendered, speedily disappeared.
The men who had thus dissipated their possessions,
sanguine of their capacity to replace them with equal
facility as before, returned to California only to find
that the field of their operations was fully occupied
by others, who, in the mean while, had flocked in, and
that their chance was gone."

184

YALE AND HOPE ESTABLISHLD

Mr Anderson would have been yet more confounded
had he known that at that moment, in the very dis-
trict he was then superintending, this precious metal
was so abundant as some day to cause a stir which
should rank among the prominent mining excitements
of the period.

When gold was found at Colvillc, the Hudson's Bay
Company had on Thompson River a small farm and
a trading-fort. As Fort Colvillc was situated some
twenty miles south of the boundary, that establish-
ment was removed northward across the line, in order
to avoid paying United States duties on English
goods. It was still called Fort Colville after its re-
moval.

rii'ii

■ ' I

CHAPTER XI.

ESTABLISHING FORTS RUPERT AND NANAIMO.
1849-1852.

A New Factor, Coal — The Existence of This Mineral Known from the
Earliest Times — Pacific Coal-fields — Discovery at Beaver Har-
noR — The Quackolls and the Fokt McLoughlin Blacksmith — Tol-
mie Api'eaiw — The Notable John Dunn — Wakre and Vavasour
Report the Discovery — Which Attracts the Attention ok Govern-
ment — Fort Rupert Built — Muir and his Scotch Miners Arrive —
Another Arrival — Examinations and Tests — Failure at Fort
Rupert— Discovery of Coal at Nanaimo Harbor — Another Black-
sjiriH SToitY — AIcKay to the Proof — Muik Moves from Fort Rupert
—Fort Nanalmo Built — Visit op Douglas — Minor Discoveries.

And now appears another factor in that progres-
sioual power which seems destined shortly to un-
dermine the sovereignty of the fur-traders in the
Northwest, and to drive thein still farther back toward
the inhospitable Arctic — coal ; a factor of civilization,
contributed direct by mother earth, second only to
agriculture, and although not so immediate or demon-
strative as gold, yet in truth far more potential.

The officers of the Hudson's Bay Company were
intelligent and observant men. It was part of their
profession to have their eyes open as they tramped
tlie forests, and the resources and possibilities of the
country whose sovereignty they swayed was never a
matter of indifference to them; hence, almost from
the beginning, they were aware of the presence of
coal in certain localities. But as they had no im-
mediate use for it, and as they were constitutionally
•ind corporately reticent, they said little about it.

'1861

186

ESTABLISHING FORTS RUPERT AND NANAIMO.

All through the interior, all along the coast, on
both sides of Johnson and Georgia straits, on both
sides of the Columbia from the Willamette to the
ocean, in the Willamette and Cowlitz valleys, on the
coast and in the mountains of southern Oregon, in
eastern Oregon, on Queen Charh^tte Islands and the
mainland district of Nass-Skeena adjacent, at inter-
vals in large or insignificant quantities, coal croppings
were seen.

Wood being abundant and always at hand, and
charcoal being for the most part used by the company's
blacksmiths, there was little necessity for drawing
from the deposits around them. Indeed, it was found
easier and cheaper for such posts as did not burn
charcoal, particularly for those accessible to the ocean,
to bring from England the small quantity required
by the blacksmiths, than to dig for it; but where it
was known to be convenient, and natives could be
employed to bring it in, it was obtained upon the
spot.

The existence of coal in considerable quantities at
Beaver Harbor, where later Fort Rupert was estab-
lished, was made known to the officers of the Hudson's
Bay Company in 1835.

It happened in this wise: A party of QuackoUs
from the north end of Vancouver Island were at Fort
McLoughlin trading, when one day, being of an in-
quiring turn of mind, they strolled into the black-
smith shop, and stood watching intently the movements
of the smith, as he drew from the fire the incandescent
metal and hammered it into shape upon t*he anvil.
Presently they saw him take from a little pile near
by some hard sooty substance, and lay it on the fire,
which under pressure of the bellows glowed with
intenser satisfaction over its crackling food. Their
curiosity was more than ever excited. Crowding
round the furnace, they saw the black substance trans-
formed to living heat. Then they went to the pile.

COAL AT BEAVER HARBOR.

187

and picking up some of the lumps, turned them over,
rubbed them in their liands, broke them, bit them,
then threw them down witli a questionable grunt.

"What is that?" they demanded.

"Stuft' to make the fire burn," answered the good-
natured smith.

"What do you call it?"

"Coal."

" How is it made ? "

"It is dug out of the ground."

"Where do you get it { "

"It is brought over from the other side of the
great salt sea; a six months' journey and more it
makes before it gets here."

Another more prolonged grunt, as of relief fol-
lowed this colloquy. Falling back before the sparks
which again flew from the anvil, they were sot)n in
warm and gesticulating converse among themselves.
Soon, however, their voices subsided. Then over
their sombre Cyclopean features gradually dawned a
smile, which soon stretched into a loud guffaw, abso-
lutely startling in a savage. And when to this they
added their former antics, now redoubled, the black-
smith stood amazed, and wondered if indeed they
were insane or drunk.

"White men are very wise!" they cried, in uncouth
irony. "The great spirit tells them everything, and
gives them strenssth for cunnings contrivances. The
red man knows nothing; he is poor, and the great
spirit is ashamed of having made him ; and yet he is
not such a fool as to bring soft black stone so great a
distance when it may be had at his very door."

The blacksmith stopped his work and called Tol-
mie and other officers of the fort, to whom the
Quackolls explained themselves more fully, telling-
how in different places in their country that same black
stone was found in hillocks at or near the surface, and
that the quantity of it was very great.

Word was sent to Fort Vancouver, and in due time

188

ESTABLISHING FORTS RUPKRT AND NANALMO.

McLou*^hliu ordored the Beaver to stop on one of
her U|)ward voyages, at the place indicated by the
Quackolls, and ascertain the truth of their report,
which was done. Duncan Finlayson was chief factor-
in charj^e at tlie time, and of the party was Jolm
Dunn, wlio reports: "Mr Finlayson, with a party of
the crew, went on shore, leaving me in the shij) t<>
conduct tlie trade; and after some inquiries and a
small distribution of rewards, found, from the natives,
that the original account given at Fort McLough-
lin was true. The coal turned out to be of excel-
lent quality, running in extensive iiulds, and even in
clumpy mounds, and most easily worked all along that
part of the country."^ The place where the steamci
anchored was first called McNeill Harbor in lionoi
of her captain, and afterward Beaver Harbor after
the vessel herself.

Indeed, the first use the company found for coal,
except what little the blacksmiths required, was not
until after the arrival of the steamer; and even then
the necessity was not actual ; for we have frequent
and abundant proof that for several seasons after en-
tering the ser^/ice wood was employed for her furnac^u ;

' John Dunn was a stupid observer, and an exceedingly desultory writer.
I give tliedato as nearly as 1 can decipher it. His hook, Jlintori/ of the Orcijon
TerrUory, was puldiahed in London in 1844. The information given is thrfwii
together in a confused mass, with but little regard to clironological or other
(ir:ler. The preface informs us that the writer waa eight years in the cmii-
pauy's service, but when he came to the coast and when he left it we are not
informed. Tlio Ganymede brouglit him, and he remained for a year after his
arrival at Fort Vancouver, in the capacity of assistant store-keeper. AihUt-
son inform us. Hist. Northwoit Coast, MS., 17, that Dunn was of the party
which went to establish Fort McLoughlin in 1833. Thsi': i?y many careful coiii-
parisons with reliable authors I am able in most iustai>ces *•. > determine about
tlie date of his several events. It is to be deplorii'J. that oii'- who should sutler
himself to write a book at all should perform the task .so y.>or\y. ' Mr Dunn's
book was written with the same view as his letters to liO Times newspripur,
namely, to draw the attention of this country to tiio value of Oregon and the
encroachments which the Americans made. Neither his disi)osition nor his
temperament admitted of his telling the Miiolo truth. Had he written hi ;
book himself, and had he not been compelled, according to his own statement,
to burn liis journal at Fort Vancouver by a regulation of the company prn-
liibiting their serviuits from retaining any record of what passes iTi the country,
liis liistonj of Ore<jon would be far more valuable than it is.' I'ariidiiifitt
Papers, 3d April 1849, 58. 'There never waa any such regulation.' «^^"'
Georye Siinpsoii, iu House Commons J.\-2)l. H. B. Co., 1857, 100.

JOHN DUNN.

189

and oven after she began tluj use of coal, sucli use
was only partial. It was the custom at the several
stations to have wood in readiness on tlie an-ival of
tlie steamer, while coal was not ahvays convenient.
Thus duiini^ her first nortliward voyage in 1830 Dunn
writes : "At Fort JMcLoughlin we took on hoard about
twenty-six cords of wootl for fuel, which was ready
cut for us; this generally lasted us, when running on,
between three and four days." ^Vnd again on their
return trip they wooded at Milbank Hound. -

Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour report, the 2(!th
of October 1845, that "there is coal in the neiglibor-
liood of Puget Sound, and on tlie Cowlitz lliver; the
specimens used by the Hudson's ]]ny Coni])any were
obtained from the surface, and V\ere i)robnl)ly on tluit
account not found good."^

Thus the attention of governiuent was directed to the
coal at Vancouver Island, and at his i-eijuest a report
was made to J. A. Duntr'e, captain of the shi]) Fi^'jctrd,
l»y Peter Skeen Ogden and James Douglas. Tlie
re})ort is dated at Fort Vancouver tlie 7th of 8eptem-
l>er 1840, and iiiay be relied ujion as containing all
luiowledgci of the subject up to that time.

Altliough the indications were that important strata
existed ah)ng tlie entire north-eastei'ii jtait of A'an-
I'ouvei" Island, namely, iVom Cape Scott, its northern
extremitv, southward to latitude 50" od', there was
niilv one spot known as the coal-mine, and this was in
\rcXeill Harl)or, in latitudt^ 50° IVf.'

Tliere tlie beds, wliicli were se])arated l)y layers of
sandstone, v/ere most distinctly visil)le upon the beaeli.
wliere, for a mile or thereabouts, the waves had washed

-' Williiiiii ri-;'.ser Tolmie claims all tl\e credit tUie liini in this coal discov-
1 ly at Beaver Harbor when he says, ( aiinilioii /'(tr'jlr I'liilirui/ lloultx, Int.:
'At the 11. ]J. post, Fort McLougliliii, Mill)aiik Soiiiul, having tor two yoai.-.
'iiiiteil the natives to search for that mineral, lie had the good fortune in l.S.H.")
to ascertain the existence on *he north-east shore of Vancouver Island of good
'litiuiunous coal, which w'as tested less tliau a year after ou board the coni-
paiiy's new steamer, Hearer, just out from London.'

■ irn:iseCorii)»o}iH hctiirus to T/iivr A(/(l/'i'<si's, 7.

' This according to the report, ard not in accordance with the facts.

190

i:oTABLI8HINCi FORTS RUPERT AND NANAIMO.

away the incuuibeiit mould, leaving the seams clearly
exposed, particularly at low water. Likewise a rivu-
let runninof eastward across the bed exposed the
strata tor three quarters of t. mile back from the
shore. The depth of the bed was unknown, as it had
been penetrated but three feet. Coal, however, had
been obtained by passing vessels, the natives for a
small compensation cheerfully lending their assistance
in loading.^

There were a few men employed by the Hudson's
Bay Company at this time in opening this mine, hut
from lack of proper implements they made slow prog-
ress. The quality of the coal was not highly s[)oken
of. The substrata, however, were better than the sur-
face lumps, which exposure had deprived of their bitu-
men. None which they had been able thus far to
obtain could be used in the company's forges, but for
steam-vessels it had been found very serviceable.
Ogden and Douglas concluded their letter with the
suggestion that if the government intended making
available tliis coal for its navy, it would be necessary
to establish works, keep on hand a sup[)ly, and pro-
tect operations with a sufficient force from dejireda-
tions by the natives, who were there numerous and
bold. But first of all, the directors of tiie Hudson's
Bay Company in London must be consulted, after
wliich all would be plain and easy for the subordinate
officers on this coast.

Upon receipt of this letter. Captain Duntze dircctotl
( 1. T. Gordon, commander of her majesty's steam-sloop
Cormorant, to proceed to McNeill Harbor and inquire
into the matter. Arrived at the mine. Cordon made
known his wishes to the natives through one Saiig-
ster, who informed him how to ju'oceed. A tub
which would hold abouc six hundred pounds was

^ ' On one occasion when we employed them for that purpose, thoj broii^'lit
in npwiirils of tK) tons in a few day^, which they dug witli hatchets anil otlni'
inconvenient inipU'inents, and there in no doubt that with propi-r excavatiiiL;
tools they would have done the work nnich more expeditiously.' Letter <;/
Ogden and Doir/lii.i, in /fousc of Cniiivwus Ixctiirn to T/inc AddreKi'es, 6,

GORDON AT McNEILL HARBOR.

181

slung from the foreyard. Presently canoes laden with
coals appeared, which hourly increased in number
during the several days' stay of the vessel at that
port. As the canoes came alongside, each in its turn,
the tub was lowered and quickly filled. Each tub
was paid for as it was hauled up, in trinkets of little
value. In this marner sixty-two tons, at a cost not to
exceed four shillings a ton, including presents to
chiefs, were taken on board in less than three days.

Gordon then went ashore, and after digging a little
amongst the coal-beds, fell to naming things. In
lutnor of the first lord of the admiralty, the peninsula
forming the north-west part of McNeill Harbor was
called Ellenborough ; a cove eight miles to the north-
westward he named Baillie Hamilton's Bay, because
the secretary of the admiralty was so called, and had
patronage. A fine seam of coal was found at this
last-mentioned place, which Gordon surmised was con-
nected with those at McNeill Harbor. The quality
was pronounced fair for steamer purposes, and from
the appearance of the country the seams were thought
to extend well inland. All which information m
due time reaching Sir George Seymour, rear-admiral
commanding the Collhtgirood, it was by him for-
warded from Valparaiso on the 8th of January 1847 to
the admiralty. As the Oregon (juestion was now
settled, the Cormorant had been withdrawn from the
north, and to any other part of tliat station it would
l)c cheaper to ship coal from England. Nevertheless,
tlu'sc mines could but add imj)ortance to the isliind of
X'ancouver, and a box of specimens was sent forward
liy the Frolic lumieward bound about that time.

lounds was

Miglit it not be better for the fur-traders to tui-ii
loal-miners at once than to wait for otiier i-esults to flow
Irom the })ryings of government ^ True, they had but
little use for such an article at present; but California
might take some if '.' reports jiroved true that gold,
in paying quantities, had been found there, and that

192

ESTABLISHING FORTS RUPERT AND NANAIMO.

Ir"

' ^ r

a line of steamers had been cstablislied between the
east and west coasts by way of Panamd. Hence it
was determined in due time to open operations at the
northern end of Vancouver Island.

William McNeill" was sent thither in his steamer
Beai er, with orders to establish a post, George Blen-
kinsop being second in command. McNeill had often
been there, and knew the place and people well. Land-

Ft^XsaiiiiboIn
.1)1' ••-■'I

vinspyr Ho

y EJiiionto

XoiiTUERN Forts.

iug ;it .MeXt'ill Harbor, which I shall hereafter call
Jicavor Jiarl)()r, with forty men, whites, half-breed:-.
and Kanakas, durnig the hiunmer of 1849 work wa -
vigorously jjiosecuteil, wliich resulted in due time in

" Often mentioned in my lli'ilonj of the Northwest Coant as captain of the lni^
Llama and tiic steamer Jlcufi r. He was a native of Boston dono into a Briti.-^ii
subjeet and Hndso .',s I'jiiy Comimny ollicer on the Northwest Coast. Ho once
took a run to London cuniniantling the conipany'd ship AVre/V, and was for a
time in charge of Fort Simpson. fSee Amhri-vn s Xorthwcst Coctf^t, MS., 70.

MICHEL MUm.

a quadrangular stockade, with interior gallery, two
bastions mounting four nine -pounders, and the usual
storehouses, workshops, officers' quarters, and laborers'
cottages. The establishment was called Fort Rupert.
A smaller stockade protected the garden and out-
buildings. Although established more as a protection
in developing coal-deposits, Fort Rupert was never-
thclcr ; a trading-post. In this respect it was made
partially to take the place of Fort McLoughliu on
Milbank Sound, whence, although as we have seen
the latter post was abandoned in 1843, certain articles
yet remaining were transferred to Fort Rupert.''

Fort-building was still in progress when in Septem-
ber 1849 the Scotchman Muir, with wife, daughters,
and so',«, arrived at Fort Rupert. Among these was
]\Ii' iicl ')' vn at Kilmarnock in 1840, to whom I am
porso;.ali\ udebted for this account.^

The cider Muir, with his family and a party of
luiueis, Wiis brought from Scotland by tlie Hudson's
Bay Company for the purpose of opening coal-mines
at this point. At the time of Muir's arrival, the na-
tives were engaged at Saquash cutting out surface
coal for the company. So inferior was the quality, of
loose and open structure as it was, and interspersed
with slate, that no remunerative market could bo
tbund for it. A shaft to the depth of ninety feet was
sunk by the Muirs, who, after further examination,
pronounced the seatM too small to be workable.

This shaft wa^ -ix miles from Saquash, and half a

' Either Fort ilr], )U; Mi ) »: in never wholly abandoned, nltlioiigh it is dis-
tinctly so staled by "Ctrii: :;uf'iuii: ic=, or else it was abandoned and icoceupicd
:-cverul times. Wiitii-^ cf i: tH, F.' '.'..lyson, , '.J^ F. /., M.S,,'21, says: 'At'tei-
tlie abandonment of I'ort ?.l "■< -JiUn on Milbank Sound, tho Jlcavcr, with
the ollicers and men at that jjlate, with those fron> the fort at Tako, proceeded
to tlio south poiutof Vancouver Island, 'and built Fort Canioaun. Anderson,
Xort/nctst Coiw', MS,, 22, atlirms that 'the post at Milbank was afterward
abandoned; or rather transfcn'cd to ita present position at Fort Rupert,
liiit subsecjuentlv tho company found it advisable to rei'st^iblish a small
trading-post on tlio old site of Fort McLoughlin, which continued to bo oc-
cupied in 1878.' See further on Fort Rupert, lkti-reH-Lennnv(Vs Trarclx, C7-8;
dntiit, in Lnml. Geocj. Soc.,Jour., xxvii. 275; Michd Muir, in lintish Columbia
iihli-hcs, MS., 20; 1) ;«'« lAUIement, V.I., MS., 10.

"S^c IJrlt. Vol. o ■ -lirs, MH,, 20-.').
Hist. Br i. ... i;i

'Jwt'

ESTABLISMrN^^-^ FORTS ilUrKRT AND NANAIMO.

mile from the fort. Troubles aroi^e with the native's,
who demanded pay for the land or its product; aud
when the white men refused, the savages surrounded
the pit, threatening to kill all present should they
persist hi their robbery. Other c«)m}>]icarious arose,
in wliich Blenkinsop was unpleasantly conspicuous,
McNeill having departed, leaving him in charge."
The result was that, excepting the elder !Muir and
certain members of his family, tlie men all left for
California.

Society at Fort Kuport at this time was a little
startling to European crves. The day after the
Muirs arrived, there app. : tn the harbor sixteen

war-canoes, whose occupant, re exceedingly happy.
Victory had crowned ^leir recent efTorts against their
enemies, and sweet content sat on every barbaric face
there present. Not that the white new-comers had
never heard of war, nor joined in shout of victory,
but the American way was a trlHo dinbrcnt from tlio
European way. That was all ; but it was enough to
shock the sensitiveness of those unaccustomed to e'ylvan
slaughter. For instance, after landing and setting on
each of sixteen poles one human head, taken from
each canoe as a specimen, the warriors first learned
that their isle was honored by the presence of a wlii^e
woman, to whom it was the custom of her peopJo to
sliow courtesy. There was nothing mean about them.
Though tlie coal-diggers had refused to pay for wliat
they seemed to prize so highly, tlie elated redslvins would
freely give this female stranger of their spoils of war.
Inviting Mrs IMuir to the ghastly display, they begged
her to accept her choice of any two. Where would
be found in any primeval centre of civilization such
delicate attention, such marked consideration toward

» ' Young Blenkinsop w.-is then left in comnianil, but lie caused inuch dis-
satisfaction among the uiiner.s, pui,U.;g three in irons, or in jail, Ivcauao tlicy
would not Buhniit to liis arliitrary orders and unrcasonalde re'^ulalious, ■which
he endeavored to force upon them wiUiout authority.' Mitlr, in Jir'U. Col.
Sketches, MS., 21.

C'OAlr-MINING.

105

a female visitor, from savarjkm? Their latest, best,
most higlil) prized possession, tlic bloody tropliy of
tlieir priceless success, tliey freely offered. Doubtle;:s
the simple-] lera-ted warriors, accustomed oidy to the
restricted killing of their foes, would have been as
overwhelmin'rly fhoclced on v/itnessin'^ the slaughtered
thousands of a European battle-field as was J^.Trs
!Muir on beholding these poor sixteen tropjiies of
aboriginal prov/ess.

Mr Gilmour continued t!ie first llmr shaft to tlie
depth of one hundred and twenty feet. Ho lihew;. e
instituted a thorough examination of the surface, and
finally arrived at the same co ^!u,;i;m, namely, that
co:d-minIng at Fort Rupert was a iliilure.^'^

Governor Elanshard visited the place in !Marcli
ISjO. He reported the mines a failure, and said th;:t
the men could scarcely be induced ^.o work at r.ll,
being dissatisfied with tlie'r employers, and liaving f w
proper tools." Nevertheless, the ship England loaded
here this year.'"

It was well known that if at Fort Rupert coal-mining
could not be successfully c^iri'Icd on, tliere were otiK r
])laces to try; or even here something mi[jht yet be
done. During the year 1851 more and better coal-
mining machinery, with some twenty-five practical
men, were brought from England in the ship Tory,
chartered by the company for that purpose, and landed
at Fort Rupert/' But this had been t)rdered and

'" ' jViiotnor bore was siuik directly at the hack of Fort Rupert to a (lej)tli
of 47.J f.ii,honi3. Two otlur boro j were sunk. I)ehiml Fort Rupert, towards llio
interior: one, sonic four niilas to I'.io north-west, where the borers were 8topj)cd
by loose quicksand at a depth of liO fathoms; another, two niiU's to the soiith-
wcst, totV depth of 4v) fathoms; again, ten miles from Fort Rupert, along tho
BKi-ciKist, two bores were sunk tlirou;^!! sandstone to depths of 47 ami 47 \
fiithoms respectively, without any signs of worliablo coal; these were sunk
at some di.stance back from tho shore. Close totlie shore two pits wore 8u:ik,
one seventeen, tho other 3 J fathoms. Tho thickest vein struck did not exceed
nix laches.' (irdiit, in Loudon Geotj. Soc, Jour,, xxvii. 270.

" lilanshanVs Dvirpntches, 2.

^■"Muir, in Brit. VoL Sl-vtchcs, MS., 22.

" Au oliicer on board this vessel was Herbert Georgo Lewis, who gave mo
tlio infonnation, this being bis second voyage from ]On;jland in tlio company's
Kcrvicc. Scei/>-t<. Col. Sketches, MS., 1, 2.

19G

ESTABLISHING FORTS RUPERT AND XANAIMO.

\\ii :

the men brought out Ijcforc it was settled that there
were no seams worth wor];ing in the region around
Fort Rupert. The arrival of this reenforcement, how-
ever, was not inopportune, as we shall presently sec.
Prospectw were better at Nanalmo; and thitlior in tht;
spring of 1851 Muir proceeded with all his men and
mining machinery, leaving Fort Rupert in possession
of traders only. ^^

The incidents attending the discovery of coal at
Nanaimo are not unHke those at Beaver Bay.'"'

One morning in December 1849, wliile Joseph \Y.
McKay, then prominent in the affairs of the Hud-
son's Bay Com]Dany on the Northwest Coast, was en-
gaged in the office at Fort Victoria, he was called
aside by the foreman of the blacksmith shop, wlu>
informed him that an old Nanaimo chief, from the
vicinity of v.diat was then called Protection Island,
had entered the shoo a short time previous to lunt;
his gun rcpau'ed. Vvliile ^raiting, and watching oper-
ations, he noticed the men replenishhig the fire wdtli
coal. Pickhig up some of the lumps, he observed
them closely, and finally remarked that there was
plenty of such stone where lie lived. Proceeding"
innnediately to the shop, McKay entered into con-
versation with the Indian who reiterated Avhat lie
had said to the blacksmith, giving further particulars
and with more exactnes;^. ^IcKay then said that if
he would bring liini some of the pieces of tlie stuff,
he should have a bottle of rum, and his gun repaired
for nothing, wliich magnanimous offer the Nanainn)
accepted. He was poor and feeble; the gun would
help to procure him food, and the rum would warm
his stiffened jouits, and dispel liis misery for a moment.

** 'There are now no miners at Fort Rupert,' writes Orant, London Oc^n-
Soc, Jour., xxvii. 'J7t), in R;r4, 'ami the estalilishuieut cousista of twenty
oliiours aiitl men,' Hva aho JMtiix' ScUloiieut V. I., MS., 19.

i^That ono is uot taken from the other, I am satisfied. Jt)lm Dunn tell-*
his story, not without due regard to tlramatio effect it is true, but in a numiur
wliolly original. Mr McKay states his facts clearly, concisely, and I am very
sure, truthfully; nor is it likely that ho wa^ f '.miliar with Dunn's story.

ANOTHER DISCOVERY.

197

Wliat (lid it matter if there were millions in it for
the white man ; civilization would soon get it in any
ovent, as it was getting everything else, and upon
terms equivalent, namely, a bottle of rum and a gun
repaired in return for a coal-mine.

The ancient aboriginal went his way, and the fur-
trader went his; and as nothhig further was seen or
h(>ard of the chief at the fort, little more was thought
of the Nanaimo coal discovery. But the old savage
had not forgt)tten his promise. All during t]\o cold
w inter he had lain sick, very near death's door, think-
ing of the rum, which did not greatly comfort him.
Reviving from his illness with returning spring, he
went to work, and surely enough one day early in
April he appeared in Victoria Harbor with liis canoe
loaded with coal.

It was hnmediately taken to the forge, and ex-
amined with no small cuilosity by all present. On
heiiig tested by the smith, it was pronounet^d of ex-
cellent quality. Then McKay remembered his prom-
ise. A Hudson's Bay Company's officer always keeps
his word. The bottle of rum was given to the na-
tive.

A prospecting party was fitted out at once; and
placing himself at the head of it, McKay landed
near where the town of Xanaimo now stands, about
tiie 1st of May 1850.^" Several days were then spent
in a careful examination of the country for miles
around After which, on the 8th day of !May, the
Douglas vein, which is still being worked at this
writing, was located by !McKay. And it was from
this very spot that was loaded the canoe of the old

""Tlio coal at Nanaimo was firat discovered liy Mr Joseph McKay in
May ]Sr)0, wlio M^as directed to it by tlio Imliaiis of tliu iieif,'lil>()rhooil.' (Iniiil,
ill Liviihii OciKj. Soc, Jour., xxvii. 'J77. Tho |)artieuliirs of tlio discovery are
from Mr McKay liimself, furnished through Mr I'etrotf while on his expedi-
tion in my behalf to Alaska in 1878. Tho dictation was taken at Fort himii-
•son, and is entitled liccoUectiom of a Chief Tmilcr in the, l/uil.ion's limj ( 'oiii-
V'liiy, hij Joxriih WiUiam McKay. Tho manuscript is exceedingly well written,
clear, concise, and very interesting and iniportant. Mr McKay is remarka-
hly intelligent, anil besides, a most courteous gentlemen. A brief bio;jraph-
ical sketch is given elsewhere.

198

ESTABLISHINa FORTS RUPERT AND XANAIMO.

chief who carried the first intelhfjence and the first
specimens of this famous mine to Fort Victoria.

On his return to Victoria, McKay made a circum-
stantial and favorable report, and it was forthwith
determined to make practical avail of the important
discovery ; but owing to other business, the mine was
for a time neglected. It appears that the natives had
first discovered a small seam al)out eight inches in
thickness, on the undulating sandstone surface af New-
castle Island; then on the opposite shore of Com-
niericial Inlet they noticed more of the black stuff,
whicli proved to be an outcrop of the same seam, wliich
at this latter point was but three and a half feet tliick,
though its general thickness was six or seven foet.^'

The natives took two hundred tons from Newcastle
Island by the 15tli of September. On tlie 17th,
Gilmour with ten experienced miners began a pif*
at tlie north-wx'st extremity of Nanaimo Harbor.
Another spot where the seam was six or seven feet
thick was struck, which was afterward worked in
several parallel galleries.^"

Muir arrived v.ith the men and machinery from
Fort Kupert in the spring of 1851, as I have before
related. The steamer Otter brought them thither, and
Douglas met them there. The machinery was landed
and set up, and temporary measures adopted for de-
fence. Muir's force was small, and should the natives
grow jealous or mercenary, as at Fort Rupert, they
could do little tliot year; ne\'ertheless they prospected
and dug heartily, wasting no time.

But it was not until 1852 that work was

begun in

•^h 1

i'i-

'iir

^' Eight or ton inches of fire-clay ran through the centre. The dircctiou
of tlie seam was to the south-west, and tlie dip 45°.

"'A shaft of 50 feet passed throu)i;h 12 feet of alluvium, 8 feet of sand-
stone, and 30 feet of slate. Grant is loose in regard to dates. McKay, Ha'.,
MS., 11, says 'the mine was not actually opened until August 1852.'

'■•* ' The scam hero runs nearly level, with a dip of only some seven degree.?
to the south-west; the greatest quantity of coal that has been raised from it
was at the rate of I'JO tons per week with ten regular miners.' Grant, in
London Clcoij. Sac, Jour., x.wii. 277. This was prior to 1854.

'^•' 'About 1851 Mr Muir staitod the Nanaimo coal-mines, which were suc-
cessful.' Muir, in Brit. Col. Skptcli<:<<, MS., 24.

THE DOUGLAS ON THE GROUND.

199

tamest at Nanaiino. Arriving on the 19th of August,
after diligent search with pick and shovel, McKay
found the Douglas seam on a peninsula at the northern
end of tlie harbor, and the men were put at digging,
tills making the fourth place ^^ at which work was done
iit an early day. Satisfied with his investigations, Mc-
Kay erected a fortress, with all the necessary build-
ings, and called the place Fort Nanaimo."" Thus was
tlic new industry of coal-mining taken in hand at
Nanaimo by the fur company, ^^ d pressed forward
with uncommon energy. Before the expiration of
1853 two thousand tons were shipped from this i)oint,
half of which was taken out by the natives. The first
sent hence to San Francisco was in May of that year
by the sliip WiUiam. The company's price at Nanaimo
was then eleven dollars; at San Francisco the coal
brought twenty-eight dollars a ton.'^

Ill 18o-'5 James Douijlas visits this mine in state.
Lea^•ing Victoria in the propeller Otter, with the
Mary Dan in tow, on the 18th of August he anchors
before Fort Nanaimo at precisely twenty minutes
jiast eight the same day.'* Early next morning he is
out examining the mine and buildings about the
fort. McKay and his men are highly complimented
by the chief "A prodigious quantity of work, for
the hands employed," he writes, " has been accom-
plished here; the place has quite the appearance of
a little village. The mines have cost a great deal
or labor and other outlay. The mine-shaft is now

I The directiou

lich were buc-

'■"' These were all the same scam of coal, which is called the Douglas '
Grant, in London Gco;i. Soc, Jour., xxvii. 278.

'■'•'See Douglas' Primte Payers, AI.S., ser. ii. 50. Though not as pretentious
as some other cstahlishments, it is dignilicd by Douglas with the name of fort.
It might, perhaps, more properly he called a hastion,

^■"For general description of mines at Nanaimo, aoo A^noltcrry's Geol. Jh'pl.,
fi.">-7, in Parijic li. R. licpt, vi.; llorctzky'a Canada on the Pacific, 170; Itav-
linijs' Confederation of Brit. N. A. Provinces, l'J'2.

^*It was with just such ponderous particularities that Douglas did evory-
tliing. After a detailed description of an msignilicant trip, ho conclutles in
tliese words: 'Made Lighthouse Point at .lusk, and came to an anchor off the
Fort of Nanaimo at 8:20 in the evening, having been 9 hours and 40 miautes
under weigh, ' Douijlas' Private Paiiers, M'.-i., sur. ii. 50.

sod

ESTABLlSHlXei FOltTS RUPERT AND NANAIMO.

full of water; that called McGreggor's headings and
north galler}'' give the miners employment at present."
Thence he is pulled to Newcastle Island, and visits
the outcroppings, observes the perpendicular cliffs and
fine white sandstone in rescular beds and on edjje
underlying beds of conglomerate. The 20th he ex-
amines with much interest a salt-spring which rises
in the bed of a fresh-water brook, now nearly dry.'''
"The coal-field between Chase River and Newcastle
Island," he writes, "has been proved, it being Mr
Gilmour's opinion, founded on the trials he has made,
that coal may be found anywhere in that district."
The 22d, "walked from the establishment to the
coal crop at the head of Commercial Inlet, into which
a gallery sixty feet long has been cut." Thence to
Chase Kiver, where is a gallery of forty feet; and so
on. Leaving Nanaiuio on the 24th, he surveys the
coast to Valdes Inlet, and then returns to Victoria.

About this time, 1852-3, coal was discovered at
Bellingham Bay by two axemen, who were cutting-
logs for a saw-mill. In the up-toni roots of a fallen
trees, on the side of a bank, they first saw })iecos
which led to an examination of the grt)und and the
finding of a seam several feet thick. A claim Avas
entered, and shortly after sold at San Francisco for
$10,000.^^ Several companies were formed to work
this and adjoining claims, among which the Puget
Sound Mining Company and the Mamoosie Mine
were consj^icuous.""

Other coal deposits attracting attention prior to

"' ■ The spring yields about two gallons of water per minute, or 2,880 gallons
in twenty-four hours. It yields about a pound of salt to a gallon, which, at
sixty pounds to the bushel, would make a daily yield of forty-eight bushels of
salt.' JhtKjUts' Private Papers, MS., ser. n. 52.

"* ' Altogether about 140 tons of coal had been exported from Bellinghaiu
Bay up to 1st January 1854.' Grant, in Lomlon Oeog. Soc., Jour., xxvii. 3irj.

^' 'Another bed a little to the north of this, belonging to Captain Fauutle-
roy and others, presented much better indications. Its thickness is sixteen
feeb four inches, and the coal brighter and freer from impurities than the
other. A small qiiantity got out here sold in Francisco tor $23 jier ton. '
Oibbs, in Stevens' Pac. 11. P. Pept., i. 473.

OTHER COAL DEPOSITS.

1854 wore those between Port San Juan and Cape
Bonilla;-** in the country back of Barclay Sound ;^ near
the coast west of Soke Inlet i^" at several points on
tl; western shore of Vancouver Island,^^ and on the
mainland opposite.^^ The deposits on Queen Char-
lotte Islands attracted attention at various times. ''■^

''** ' It is, however, almost worthless, as, though it croi)s out on tlie sea-
(■oast, there is no shelter for vessels near it.' (irntd, in Loud. Geoij. Soc., Jour.,
xxvii. 285.

'•"" There is no truth in the reports which have been circulated of there
licing coal on Barclay Sound; tlio Indians, however, dcscrihe some coal as
existing iit Munahtah, in the country of the Cojueklesatuch, some three days'
journey into the interior, at the back of Barclay Sound.' Grant, in Loml.
(Icoij. iSof., Jour., xxvii. 287.

•^ ' Traces of coal have been found on a small river called by the natives
(^tuaachuka, which here discharges itself into the straits.' (Irnnf, in Loml.
(tcoij. (S'oc, Jour., xxvii. 284. Few of the seams were more than one inch in
thickness.

^' ' At Nespod, a little north of Nootka, coal is reported by the Indians.
Ncspod is called Port Brooks on the charts. At Koskcemo, north of Ncspful
,111(1 opposite to Beaver Harbor, a seam of coal two feet in thickness has also
liecii discovered.' Oront, in Loml. Geo;/. Soc, Jour., xxvii. 28S. (traiit's Kos-
kcemo is Quatsino Sound. See Jiichnrdnon, in Gcol. Sur. Cunada, 1S7I-2, 70.

"■^ 'Between Burrard Canal and Home Sound, i. c, on the southern shore
of Homo Sound, close to the entrance, a small seam of coal lias been found.'
Grout, in Loml. Geoij. Soc, Jour., xxvii. 314.

"^'As early as 18.52 the brig Ilccovery, Captain Mitchell, the vessel that
was once the Orbit, was there for coal.' Olipwpia Vluh Cour.i., AIS., 3—1. 'An-
tliracite is known to exist at ''kidcgate Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, and
a seam of tlie same kind of coal is seen cropping out on the mainland opnosite,
;iliout forty miles distant. The extent of these deposits is not known, but
siiccimens have been sent to San Francisco wliich were of good quality, and
in 1871 there were 505 tons of it imxiorted.' MarJ'urluiw's Coal Hcgioiis oj
Aiinricn, 574.

CHAPTER XII.

CROWN PxRANT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND TO THE HUDSON'S

BAY COMPANY

1849.

Spirit op MoxoroLT — The AttVENTtTREUs of Enciland More JEALOca of
British Sdujeits than of FoREKiNEu.s— Colonization to be Retarded
BY Favorino rather THAN liv OrposiNO If— The Grant Solicited as
Early as 1837 — Woes of the Monopoly— F ..i^ure to Outain tiih
Grant at This Time — FrR-HUNriNG awd settlement Antaoonistic —
The Liquor Traffic — The Company Apply for the (! rant — Startlino
Proposal — Influence of United Stated Acquisitions on British
Pacific Territory — Piety a Plea for Power — The Fur-tuade and
Colonization AciAiN— The Drafc Perfected — The Mainland — Pre-
amble AND Grant — Conditions of Grant — Differences of Opinion
respecting the Wisdom of the Measure.

Now that the Northwest Coast between Fuca
Strait and the Russian possessions was wholly and
Indisputably their own, a vast territory without a
government, too vast and too important to be held
absolutely by a commercial corporation, while the
near south under the liberal policy of the United
States government was so rapidly being settled by
enterprising emigrants of their own Anglo-Saxon race,
it behooved the ligislators and rulers of England and
of England's colonies to cast a parental eye toward
this very far away and very wild and very little
Britain.

The history of the treaty of 1846, which determined
the dividing line between the possessions of Great
Britain and those of the United States on the Pa-
cific coast, having been given at length elsewhere in
ihis work,^ it would be superfluous to repeat it here.

^Jlisiortf of the. Northwest Coast.

SERIOUS QUESTIONS.

203

HUDSON'S

T' ^t event safely over, soon we see the hand of the
] ler country again moving in Northwest Coast
ai.airs; this time, however, confining her interest to
her own pecuhar case, and in the capacity of patron
ratlier than that of champion.

Tlie question was what to do next. The country
north of the lately defined United States boundary
wafi a wilderness held by an association of British sub-
jects under sanction of the British government, which
had gone so far as to grant the occupants the privilege
of exclusive trade with the natives for a period ex-
piring in 1859. The question now was, Shall anything
1)0 done toward colonizing or settling the country, or
any part of it, before the expiration of the fur com-
pany's present privilege of exclusive trade, and if so,
what ?

It so happened that about this time, namely, in 1 84G
and 1847, the directors of the fur monopoly presented
themselves before Lord Grey, quaking with fear lesi
American marauders should pursue them beyond tlic
->cw boundary, and spoil their traffic in British Co-

ubia, as they had already done in Oregon. Lord

.i3y lent a favorable ear; and from this beginning
arose important negotiations.^

Since the charter of Charles 11. to Prince Rupert
in 1G70, the policy of the adventurers of England
trading into Hudson's Bay had been, to say the least,
exclusive. Not alone had they been fearful of the
intrusion of foreigners, but most of all were they
jealous of their own countrymen.

During the first half-century of their occupancy of
those hyperborean shores, they had been forced to
battle French soldiery invading by sea; some of their
forts had even been taken from them during these
encounters. And later they had frequently been
called upon to resist the encroachments of French
iur-hunters from Canada. Wars with hereditary foes,

^ Compare IlansanTa Parliamentary Debates and Levi's Aniiah of British
Legislation, passim.

»1 ■! ''

204

GRANT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

however, were never to be compared in point of hatred
and disastrous results with tho rivalry between them
and tlie Northwest Company.

So ill regard to settlement. The occupation of Ore-
gon by emigrants from the United States had given
them nmch anxiety, and they had exercised every
means, but always within the bounds of justice and
humanity, to stop this tide of population which would
prove the total destruction of their traffic in those
parts. Yet as in former encroachments and opposi-
tion, the government and the people of the eastern
American states gave them less serious concern than
their own. The cause was obvious. The dividing line
between the North American possessions of Great
Britain and those of the United States thciy well
knew their government would see })roperly (Uawn
witliout assistance from them. The bounds oi' thoii-
dominion fixed they could easilv loijulatc their Imsi-
ness accordingly. They entertained no serious feai'
of being cramped for territory. J hit wlieii iMiglaiui
herself should attempt colonization on the Pacilir.
well misTfht Eno'lish fur-hunters look to their interests.

It was now considered certain thiit United States
territory on tlie western ocean would be speedily
settled; that there would be within the limits ofsucli
territory, and as the result of such settlement, one oi'
more large commercial towns con<lucting trade direct
with the coast above and below, with the Hawaiian
Islands, and with China; and that between the eastern
and western seaboards there would be safe ami lre<
intercommunication. Witli so powerful and pro-
gressive a people as neighbors, and with an over-
crowded population at home, it was clearly evident
that so broad and valuable a rooion as the British
Pacific possessions could not always be kept solitary as
the game-preserve of a conmiercial monopoly. And
none saw this clearer than the monopolists themselves.

Yet it was not by opposing colonization by any
means, but rather by eiuM)urj.ging it, that the company

ill

BEFORE PAllLIAMENT.

would attempt to control affairs for a time longer.
If they could be constituted England's colonizers on
tlie Pacific, then miglit tliey colonize after their own
tasliion, quickly or slowly — very slowly indeed, if such
sliould prove their interest. Such advantage, indeed,
had not Ix^en overlooked in arranging the terms of
the last license of exclusive trade, the grant of 1838.
When in 1837 the company petitioned for a renewal
of that grant, they sought extended privileges. In
addition to a license of exclusive trade, they asked title
to the land for purposes of colonization, urging their
services in excluding settlers of other nations as a
reason whv they sliould have the management of set-
tiers of their own nation.

J^oth Sir J. II. Pelly, governor of the Hudson's
liay Company in England, and Sir George Simpson,
governor of the company's afl'airs in America, after
magnifying tJie hazardous eflorts of the company to
enrich itself, after lamenting the lieavy losses sus-
tained in keeping the country clear, alike of British
subjects and foreigners, after gently chiding their be-
nignant mother for neglecting tliat probx'tion which
it was tlu>ir chief joy to see withheld, begged a fresh
continuance of their misfortune, together with such
liold upon the soil as should in^rpetuate them. The*
profits arising from the business, said they to parlia-
iiieut, are no more than a fair return for the ca})i-
tal employed; and the services rendered the motiur
country in securing her this connnertH>, which other-
wise would fall to forel-'uers, demand further favors.
Hesides their twenty-two trading-dej)ots on the west-
<rn sloiKV thev liave in tlie nein['h[)orhood of the
('olundtia large pastures fdlod M'ith stock, and grain
farms aftbrding abuiuhint supplies of every kind of
agricultural product, and it is their intention to aug-
ment such establishments so as to export n'ool, tal-
low, and hides, and at the sanje time to all'ord a quiit
home for retired servants of the company. Climate
and sod are all that could be desirijd, they continued,

»;„■■

200

GRANT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

but in order to justify the outlay necessary to the
full furtherance of the company's plans, protection,
that is to say, nioncjpoly, must be secured them; the
natives, body and soul, nmst be theirs, likewise the
soil, and every subject of Great Britain who dare in-
trust his keeninsx to their arbitrarv will.

Cunningly as these projwsals were advanced, in so
far as they related to proprietorship in the soil they at
this time failed. It was now pretty well understood
by England, after dreaming over it for nearly two cen-
turies, that the adv(mturers trading into Hudson's
Bay were not unduly anxious to make settlements
anywhere. In one instance only had they attempted
or permitted such a measure, and that was employed
as the deadliest engine f )r the breaking-up of a pow-
erful rival. The Ked liivcr difficulties had opened
the eyes of statesmin to the fatal effects of coloniza-
tion on hunting-grounds. It was becoming a pretty
well established fact that foxes, beavers, and native
liunters do not dwell long in apple-orchards. Savagisni
is essciutial to a game-j)rc serve a thousand miles square,
and settlement ;)f any kind is directly antagonistic to
savagisni. In a word, it was against the company's
interests to have their forests cleared, and their Indian
hunters demoralized by drink and civilized diseases.
This they had well known from the first, and had
managed their bushiess accordingly. Nor are they to
be specially blamed for adopting a self-protective pol-
icy, which is no less the first law of corporations than
of governments and individuals.

Notwithstanding the very n.atural desire to post-
])one the day of their downfall as far as possible, tlie
Hudson's Hay Company were liot blind to the fact
that the ultimate destiny, indeed, the near destiny of
their I'acific coast, was colonization. It would soon
prove as vitally important to them as to the British
nation at large, in or out of Britisli America. Tlieir
very existence, the preservation of their liunting-

:' 'i

ARDENT SPIRITS.

207

grounds to the northward, and between the ocean and
the mountains, would soon depend upon their ability
to guard their coast against the inroads of foreign
traders, who had always caused them much annoyance,
and were now becoming more troublesome. By these
lawless traders, many of whom were from New Eng-
land ports, the accursed taste for strong drink was
kept alive among the natives. So long as there was a
possibility of obtaining intoxicating liquor the Indians
would trade for little else. They were wild for it,
almost as insane in the desire as in the gratification.
From hundreds of miles inland past the doors of the
company's forts, they would bring their best skins
down to the sea-shore, and there hold savage saturnalia
as lojig as they lasted. There was no controlling thciii
or conu'olling business so long as rum was sold upon
the coast. It was as clearly to the interests of tlie
monopolists, or license-holders, to prevent this de-
moralizing traffic, as it was to the pecuniary profit
of transient traders visiting the coast to iiKkilijfe
ill it.

Not alone were traders from the United States
accused of selling liquors to tribes inhabiting British
American territory, but the Hudson's Bay Company
were charged with the like ofl'ence in disposing of
strong drink to the Indians of the United States.'*
However fatal the result to the poor Indian, the fur-
trading policy of the time w^as essentially retaliatory,
and although the truth of these charges was flatly

'The question in 1849 was mado one of official correspondence. On the
8th of December Henry W. Sibley writes Mr Clayton, asking a remonstrance
to 1(0 laid before the British govornnK'nt, to prevent the introduetion of
anient spirits into tlio Indian country. iT>, ^•••""ounces it 'a fact wliieli can be
"«t;il)lished by incontestable tes'iniony.' This letter was forwarded to
Ali))()tt i^aw icn':'»>. United States minister to Great Britain, who laid tiieconi-
pliiint before Lord Palniurston. Tiio matter was referred to the secretary of
state for the colonies. Finally Earl Clicy roccived ii tlat denial from Sir John
I'i'lly, and tiiero the subject rested. Since tiie IStli of Mny 184'J, v hen Sir
Cniirge Simpson and Adolplius Ktholin, governor of the Icusoi^in Aiuerican
i.iionies, signed at Sitka un agreement prohibiting the use of niiiiituous
lii|uors in the Indian trade of their respective territories, that region liad in a
iiu.'iiHure been free from this curse. But this agrcoment did not prevent resort
til the forbidden tiaiilo when competition with traders of o^her nationalities
rendered it necessary.

208

GRANT OB' VANCOUVER ISLAND

denied on both sides, there is no doubt that both were
guilty. ^

Again in 184G, when the much-agitated question of
boundary was being settled, the subject of coloniza
tiou was brouijht forward. As the right honorable
Edward Ehice, M. P., remarked to a select commit-
tee of the house of commons — "Being in possession
of the trade of the adjacent country under the license
. . . tlie company applied to Lord Grey for protection
in Vancouver Island, for fear of American marauders
disturbing their possessions there." Earl Grey replied
that the distance round Cape Horn was too far for
even tlie long arm of his government conveniently to
reacli, and that the company nmst protect themselves.
On tlie 7th of September a letter was addressed by
the company to Earl Grey, stating that their estab
lislimcnt on the south point of the island was annu
ally enlarging, and asking a grant of land. A lou^
correspondence followed, and negotiations were begun.
Then for nearly a year, that is, from March 1847 to
February 1848, the matter rested. From the modest
first request, which was to be confirmed in the pos-
session of the island only, the ideas of the company
had gradually enlarged, until, as Sir J. H. Peliy ex-
pressed himself in a letter to Earl Grey, the 5th ol
^larch 1847, the company were "willing to undertake
the <;overnnient and colonization of all the territories
belonging to the crown in North America, and receive
a grant accordingly."

It was this startling proposal, opening the eyes of
the government to the real designs of the conq)any.
which temporarily suspended negotiations. In Feb-
ruary 1848, with more modest mein, they again caiiir
forward with the assurance that "placing tlie whole
territory north of the 41)th degree under one governiiij^
power would have simplified arrangements, but the
company was willing to accept that part of the ter-
ritory west of the Ilocky Mountains, or even Van-
couver Island alone; in fact, to give every assistance

INEXORABLE NECESSITY.

209

in its power to promote colonization." In a subsequent
letter of the 4th of March the same writer goes still
further, and says: "In every negotiation that may
take place on this subject, I have only to observe
that tlic company expect no pecuniary advantage
from colonizing the territory in question. All moneys
received for lands or minerals would be applied to
purposes connected with the improvement of the
country.

Accompanying this truly disinterested offer was a
private letter of a somewhat differci.^t nature, which was
nothing less than a request that the privileges possessed
under the original giant of Rupert Land, giving the
adventurers of England power to establish colonies,
courts, and governments should l:>e extended over the
entire Xortlnvest and Pacific territories. The magni-
tude of the proposal at tliis juncture was alone enough
to insure its defeat. It was ut once decided by the
government that if a grant were made at all, it should
be confined to Vancouver Island.

Besides the tide of emijjration which since the
treaty of 184G was pouring into Oregon, the United
States had lately acquired California, and this alone
was more than sufficient to make that nation the
dominant power upon the Pacific, even should there
he no foundation in the reported gold discovery, rumors
of which were now reaching British Columbia and
England. .\nd if gold was plentiful in the Sierra
Foothills, might it not be found north of the 49th
parallel? Indeed, there had already been indica-
tions of the precious metal in this region. Where
tlien AtHild be the Hudson's Bay Company, with
its lar<'c and widelv extended interests, should the
I'aeilic coast bo brought into sudden prommence
before the world, as in truth it was even now being
brought?

* All thia was purely for effect, anil was, moreover, so palpably opposed to
the character and policy of the company, that none but the most simple minded
were for a moment deceived by it.
But. Bun. Col. U

210

<;RANT of VANCOUVER ISLAND

It was well, as cautious and prudent business men, to
think of these things and to provide for them. And
the officers of the company did so think and so pro-
vide, for they wore shrewd, far-seeing men. For their
subsequent policy as well as for their past deeds, many
writers attempt to bring odium upon them. I see
no special cause for praise or blame in the premises.
They were not professional patriots like our congress-
men and state politicians; they were a conmiercial
corporation seeking to make money by every lawful
means, and I ha^'c failed to discover anything more
dishonorable in their dealings than in those of mer-
chants and monopolists generally. When a man or an
association of men raise the signal of money-making,
the less they talk of piety or patriotism hi connection
with their commercial efforts, the less they will be
regarded as hypocrites.^

" It is in exceedingly bad taste, to say the least, for Mr Martin, who writes
as special advocate for tlic- company, to devote one of tlie five parts of which
his work is composed to expatiating on the 'Christian conduct and beneficent
policy of the H udsoii's Bay Company. ' Tlic fact is, tliere was not tlie slight-
est Clhristian conduct or beneficent policy about their business. Their occu-
pation was neither proselytism nor benevolence, but the fur-trade. As a
matter of course, there were religious and humane men among them— humane
I think they almost all were, and remarkably so; but in orthodox Christianity
tliey numbered many sceptics. Their lives were sucli as to engender thought,
and thought is unfavorable to faith. Away from the influences of form and
example, spending much of their time alone with nature, constant witnesses
of the diversity of beliefs in the surrounding nations, the servants of tlie com-
pany were apt to fall into an independent train of reasoning which led them
far away from the teachings of their childhood. So that I say for that time,
and as a class, the olticers and servants of the company were remarkably scep-
tical. In this part of Mr Martin's work the company itself can scarcely take
pride. It is made of prolix testimonials from church people who have received
favors from the corporation, and which a night's lodging would buy. Now, no
one has ever denied, tliat I am aware, that the officers of tlie Hudson's Bay
("ompany were composed of high-minded, courteous gentlemen. I should call
them exceedingly liberal, both in money-matters and in ideas. Their respect
for the opinion of others, whatever might be their own, and their kindness to
missionaries of wliatever faitli or nationality, were proverbial. Thercfon;
when Mr Martin cites instances of courtesy extended to bishops and others as
examples of piety, he renders himself ridiculous. One of his first assertions
here is that the company 'have well fulfilled the objects for which their
charter was granted in 1G70,' which, if I read the record correctly, is simply
not true. Exploration was made only as they were driven to it, and then
more to conceal knowle<lge tlian to reveal it; settlement was absurd on the
face of it; and altliough profoundly iudid'erent as to the belief the savages en-
tertained regardhig the future state, and altliough missionary establishments
interfered in some degree with their traffic, tliey were not insane enough,
while dependent upon public opinion for their very existence, to bring down

FUR-TRADERS AS COLONIZERS.

A fur company is a bad colonizer. The adventurer
of England never professed to be a colonizing com-
pany. Before this they had never specially opposed
colonization, for, except in the affairs at Red lliver,
the question had never arisen, and that settlement
was made, as before remarked, not so much for the
sake of colonizing as for retaliation. Tlie company
liad never refused an application for land for purposes
of colonization, because none had ever been made.

Land held under license to trade, tlie company did
not ]>rctcnd to have the right to sell ; but Rupert Lan<l,
held under cliarter of Charles II., they did claim as
theirs absolutely, to hold or to sell as they should
elect. A portion of tlic territory west of the Rocky
Mountains miglit be colonized without interfering
with the fur-trade; lands suitable for agriculture are
not fur-bearing.

In all parts habitable to progressive man, the fur-
trade, from its very nature, was from the beginning
destined to diminish. In the United States and in
the southern parts of Britisli America, it is already
comparatively extinct. During the present century
tlie trade in North America has diminished three
fourths. The Hudson's Bay Company by restricting
tlie slaughter have, for a time, and in certain localities,
caused the game, instead of diminishing, actually to
increase, but it is only in latitudes too cold for civilized
man that we may expect the peltry trade to be perma-
nent. All this the company had long understood, and
therefore were well aware that Vancouver Island could
not lonof remain untenanted.

Again, though constitutionally opposed to settle-
ment, it was interference with the fur-trade that tlie
company feared more than the mere segregation of

upon their heads the indignation o{ the religious world l)y throwing obstacles
iu the way of heathen conversion, or of trt^ating with coldness or indiB'er-
eiico the messengers of the gospel. They even had their own paid chuulaiiis
at many of tlieir posts, but this was rather for form's sake. Evidently Mr
Martin in his extraordinary ardor has here given the corporation credit for a
virtue which they themselves never claimed.

•212

flRANT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

M f

:U.I..

any small part of thoir vast tlomain for purposes
of cultivation. Could colonial operations bo strictly
confined to the Island, the Mainland meanwhile being
under the absolute dominion of the company, more
particularly if there was money in it, the adventurers
of England would scarcely remain long averse to
doing good in that way. Tliroughout their long and
eventful career, never had they for a moment hesi-
tated to serve their country when the largest profit
was to be realized in so doing."

In 1847 certain complaints were made at the colo-
nial office ill London against tlie Hudson's Bay Com-
pany by Mr Isbister, lately returned fn^u a visit to
the territories of the company. The answers given by
the company to these complaints not being satisfactory,
the matter was r-efcrred to Lord Elgin, governor-gen-
eral of Canada, whose opinion as rendered seemed not
adverse to the gfovernment of the fur-traders.

The Hudson's Bay Company were now emboldened
to present their request in due form, and the following
year, the draft of a charter granting them the Island of
Vancouver was laid before parliament. Mr Gladstone
spoke against the measure, believing the corporation
uiuiualified for the undertaking. Likewise the public
journals, as a rule, were against investing the company
with these privileges, and the chamber of commerce
of Manchester sent up a remonstrance against the
proposition.

Two principal objections were urged: first, that the
colonization of the Island at the present time was an
unwise movement; and secondly, were it not so, the
officers of the fur comj;any were not the proper per
sons to undertake it. (Objections were made to certain
features of the pro[)osed grant. F'.)r example, it was

* ' I eupposo tlio Iludaon'a Bay Company discourage liaviiig any snttlonient
as far as tliey can, within their torntory?' asked the chairman ot the house
of commons committee of Mr KUico. 'The Hudson's Bay, like all otliur
]ieo])le, would like very much to h: vc any settlement that was protitablc, ' was
the reply.

w: \

COMPLAINTS OF SETTLERS.

218

the intention to vest in the company tlie fisheries of
the Island, and it was said to be tlio purpose of Earl
Grey to let the provisions of act 1 and 2, George
IV., cap GG, regulate the administration of justice.
By this act, felony and civil cases involving over two
hundred pounds must be tried in the courts of Canada.
One of the chief arguments of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, in their effort to make it appear to the interest
of the British Government to continue the license of
exclusive trade in their hands, was that by so doing
tiie country might be kept in peace. It was not alone
to prevent competition with Canada that an act of
parliament was about this time pro])oscd, which should
enable the crown to grant the company a license of
exclusive trade, while the jMainland should be opened
to colonization, but also to hold the country from the
inroads of people from the United States. Unless a
monopoly was given to a particular class of British
subjects, citizens of the United States might trade
with the Indians the same as Britisli subjects. Ter-
minate our monopoly, they said, and you open the
country to the world.

In the house of commons on the I7th of July 1848,
the earl of Lincoln asked if the government intended
to make to the Hudson's Bay Company a furtlier
grant, giving tliem powers over Vancouv(!r Island
similar to these enjoyed over their other territories.
The under-secretary for the colonies replied that such
a measure had been talked of, but not yet determiniHl,
It was understood that tlie inquiry had been insti-
tuted through the instrumentality of the governor-
general of Canada, and, Lord Linccjln thought, merited
due deliberation. J^ord John liussell answered that
otlusr persons besides the Hudson's ]3ay (Company
were desirous of colonizing Vancouver Island, and he
did not deem expedient at that time such investiga-
tion as would lead to long delay.

A month later ISIr Christy remarked that he be-
lieved the complaints of those who had hitherto settled

214

GRANT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

on lands ruled by the fur monopoly at Red River and
elsewhere to be well founded. The system of this cor-
poration was utterly opposed to colonization, and he
hoped this valuable island would not be given them.
Mr Hawcs replied that none of the many persons
wlio had expressed a desire to colonize, had offered any
security to settlers, as did the Hudson's Bay Company,
wliich already had a flourishiiiii; post on the Island,
with the exclusive right of trading with tlic natives.
The distance was groat, the climate and soil were not
attractive, and the expense of colonizing was beyond
the purse of any private individual; the scheme would
likely prove disastrous to all engaged in it unless
backed by some strong power. ]\Ioreover, the pro-
posed grant was only a grant of territory, not carry-
ing with it any right to rule. The government of the
Island was a matter totally distinct from this grant of
land ; it should be perfectly free, with a governor and
an assembly making and executing their own laws, and
collecting and disbursing their revenues, wholly inde-
pendent of the Hudson's Bay Company. But for all
this, the proposed grant should not be made until the
complaints of the Red River settlers had been in-
quired into.

The world had already had experience in colonization
by companies, said Mr Gladstone. The Hudson's Bay
Company was at once a trading and a land company,
exclusive and secret in the strictest sense, all their
affairs being conducted in a spirit of absolutism wholly
inconsistent with imperial concerns, which throughout
the vast British empire were everywhere open and
public. If he read the thoughts of the company
rightly, they would say, " Colonization is undoubtedly
a great evil; but if it is to be, it will be better in our
hands than in the hands of anybody else, for so we
shall be able to keep it down to the minimum." And to
this same end they had first asked for all the queen's
dominions west of the Rocky Mountains.

Although Mr Howard believed it most unwise to

PELLY AND EAUL GREY,

216

confer the extensive powers proposed on a fur-trading
company, yet as California had lately been ceded to
the United States, it a[)peared to him a matter of
the highest importance that a flourishing British
colony should be established on the western Ameri-
can coast, in order to balance the increased maritime
strength of tlie United States in that quarter. Lord
John Russell explained that the company already held
exclusive privileges which did not ex})ire until 18f)9,
that they now held these western lands by a crown
grant dated the 13th of May 1838, confirming their
possession for twenty-one years from tliat date, that
these privileges could not be taken from them witli-
out breach of principle, and that if colonization were
delayed until the expiration of this term, American
sfjuatters might step in and possess tiiemselves of the
island, but Goldburn did not think the last-mentioned
event possible.

Earl (JJrey saw two reasons for making this arrange-
ment with the Hudson's Bay Company: no other
j)erHons were ready with the necessary cajjital for the
undertaking, and the fur conijiaiiy already possessed
the exclusive right of trade for a further period of
tleven years. The company were willing to vest the
appointment of governor in the crown."

When Sir John Pelly again brought the subject of
the grant to the attention of Earl Grey, proceeding
on the principle that he or his associates would not
derive any pecuniary benefit therefrom, but would
a[)])ly all funds accruing from the sale of lands or min-
erals toward the colonization and im[)rovement of the
Island, his astute lordship suggested that it might be
well to insert those terms in the grant, as they had
been wholly omitted in the original draft. The earl
himself, in a letter to Mr Hawes dated the 4th of
September 1848, would not hesitate to take the com-

*Tlie discuasion of this subject In parliament was very cxtendeil, and in
.ably reported in Jfansard'a Pariiamenii'ry Debates, ser. 3, c. 510-12; ci. 203-
305, 315, and 4G5-9

HidI PWHI

HKiy 'i

■1

ire

GRANT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

pany's word for it, but "in order not to leave any
grounds for thc^ jealousy of their intentions, which it
appears from recent parliamentary discussions is en-
tertained in other quarters, he thought it as well to
introduce all these now well understood conditions
formally into the grant "^ The Hudson's liay Com-
pany could do no less tlian to admit these stipulations
mto the grant, since they had originally proposed tlieni
in the former petition which the government had
denied. Hence on the Uth of September Sir John
Pelly wrote Earl Grey according to liis suggestion.

On the 30th of October 1848, the privy council
conunittee for trade and plantations, to whom the mat-
ter had been referred the 4th of Se[)ti.'nd)er, reported
to the court at Windsor on the grant of Vancouver
Island, that in the opinion of the committee certain
amendments and further conchtions sliould be inserted
into the original draft; as, I'or exann)lc, the com})any
should not have the lish about the Island, and should
not retain more than ten [)er cent, and so on, which
report was duly a})proved by luirMojesty. Alth ugh
there was nothing embo(Hed in the charter to cliangc
the administration of justice, yot in tlie proposed
scheme of government now made public, a guaranty
was given that application should he made to parlia-
ment to vest in local tribunals the power of adminis-
tering English law, tlius removing from this colony
the restrictions of the act named.

*In regard to tlie reinuncration of tln^ company for tlioir services — frr
although they liatl expressed the intention of rei:eiving no pay, it was well
understood that in some shape they woidd certainly reeeivo pay — Karl (Jny
named ten pi r cent of the gross receipts from lands and minerals as a fair
conipensati(jn. The remainder he suggesteil 'should l)c expendeil cither in
sending out emigrants, or in providing for the cost of roails, and hiiildinus
and other necessary charges for the settlement of the Island. As the mIioIc
of these charges, and eveiy other expense connected with the occupation of
the Island is to lie provided for by the comjiany, according to the original
understanding that no pecuniary demand of any kind wiis to he made upon
her Majesty's government, it is ohvioiis that the company coidd not expect
under any circumstances to realize as profit a larger proportion of the i)ni
ceeds of the laud sales than I have mentioned, and that therefore the intro-
duction of an express stipulation to the above effect into the grant would he
attended with no real sacrifice of their interest.' Letter from li. Ilawen to Sir
John Pelhj, 4th Sept. 1S48, in lloiine Cuminoita Jtetunm to Three Adtlresscit, 17.

ISLAND AND MAINLAND.

217

There was no provisicjii in the original draft that
any iH)rtion of the proceeds from the sale of lands, or
of the royalty reoeived from settlers for working
mines, should be expended for the beiu fit of tlie
settlers, Honce it threw upon the project quite a dif
f(;rent aspect when in addition to the restriction con-
cerning fisheries the grantees wore required t<J V xpend
nine tenths of all money so received in public im-
provements, reserving for themselves oidy one tenth
for tlieir trouble.

It was not at this time deemed advisable by tht*
govermnent to include the Mainland in this coloniza-
tion scluMue. There was work enough to do for tlu-
present upon the Island, and until a secure footing
should be established here, it was folly attempting
more difficult tasks. Upon the Island tin; natives
could be easily controlled; upon the adjacent coasts
colonists would be at their mercy. When all goes
well with tlie savage, he is indeju'iident and arrogant.
With a plentiful supply of fish for food, with fire-arms
and occasi< 'i.il copious supplies of spirituous liquoi's, the
natives .f II o Mainland would })rove very difficult of
management by colonists. The fur-hunters if left to
themselves could manage them. Tlu-y alone under-
stood tliem and were accustomed to their ways. It
Would be time enough to take the country out of their
hands when it was actually needed for settlement.

We liave already seen how in the forty-third year
of the reign of George II [. parliament j)asse(l an act
ext(jnding the jurisdiction of the provincial courts of
Canada over the British American territory adjoin-
ing, so that crimes committed in the Indian ti'rvi-
tories should be deemed offences of the same nature,
to be tried in like manner, and subject to the same
penalties, as if committed within the provinces of
ITppcr or Lower Canada. We have seen how upon
thu amalgamation of the Northwest and Hudson's Bay
companies in 1821, m order to secure to the utmost

*-iJ

218

GRANT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

such favors as the united interests of two such power-
ful associations could conuiiand, in order to obtain
ofttcial i(>cojj;iiition, a renewal of rights, more clearly
defined territorial houndaries, and power more abso-
lute and determined, jiretence was made that tlie
terms of tlu; former act were ambiguous; in fact,
that deubts were enti'rtained whether the provisions
of the act of the forty-third of George III. extended
over all the territory granted by the charter, and it
was expedient tl>-it such doubts should be removed.

W'liei'e tlie power was not wanting, it Mas easy
enough to make out a jilausible case, and to have a
new act })assed. The act of 1H21 was entitled "An
act for regulating the fur-tro.de, and for establishing
a criininal and civil juiisdiction within ceitain parts
of North America." Jiy tliis act it was made lawful
ibr the crown to make* grants or givi' royal license to
any pers(»n or c()nij)any for exclusive traflic with the
natives in any pai't of North America specified, other
than in d<»m;iin before granted, or not a })art of Brit-
ish North American ])ossessions. At the same time,
the provisions of the act of the forty-third of George
111. were declaied extended over all the territories
before granted to the governor and com[)any of ad-
venturers trading into Hudson's B;iy.

We have see!i how on the loth day of May 18;>H,
t\w time tlu'ii drawing nigh when the liciiise of 1H21
should terminate, ai)]»lication was made lor a renewal
of that license on the ground that large sums of
money were being expentled in the trade which, if it
was to l»e abandon(>d so shortly, the c()m|)any were not
justified in <'ontinuing; and that the license was re-
newed, as asked for, another term of twenty-one year-,
making it ex|)irc in 1851). We have seen how on
the 15th of June 184<l the 41)th parallel was made
the dividing line between the United States and the
liritish American possessions, thus causing the com-
pany to move their operations back to the north of
that lino.

TERMS OF GRANT.

219

Finally, with all this as a preamble, and in view of
the fiict that the letters-patent of Charles II. as ap-
plied to Rupert Land had been extended over the
western territories, so far as exclusive trade was con-
oorned, and the adventurers of England had built
i'oits at various points within that territory, and on
the Pacific slope, and on Vancouver Island; and be-
rauso it would conduce to the maintenance of justice
ami good order, and the encouragement of trade and
tlu! ])rotection of the natives," it vras determined to
vest in the company the property ii, the land of Yan-
eouvor Island for purposes of colonization, and on the
llJlh of Januar}' 1849 the grant was consuuimatcd.

liy the terms of this instrument the governor
and company of adventurers of England trading into
lludsf)n's Bay, and their successors, were given th'
Island, with the royalties of its seas, and all mines b'>
1miimIiio- to it. They were made Inrds and jjrop.ri'.'trr.s
nf tli(j land forever, tubject only to the domin .lion
of ilie ].)ritish crown, and to a yearly rent of seven
shillings, payable on the first day of every year.
VI ley were to settle upon the Island within live years
a colony of British subjects, for to this end alone was
the gilt made; and to dispose of land for purposes of
colonization at reasonable prices, retaining of all the
inonej-s recei^'ed from such source as well as from coal
or other minerals, ten per cent, and applying toward
[luhlic improvement upon the Island the remaining
nine tenths. Such lands as might be necessary for
a naval station, and for otlier government estal'lish-
nients, were to be reserved; and the con<j)any should
every two years report to the govermnent the number

•'It Moulil have been hotter for the in.njcsty of I'In'Tlnnd to li.ivi' said iioth-
ill" ;iliiiut the |)i'()tcction (if tlie natives in tiiis toniu'i'tion. It slmulil [uiva
I'll II liy this time will iinderstiKxl, tlie si;,'nilic!iiico of tiie term jiiotertion, as
iil'l'liril liy livilization to Havagism. Spain had f;ivi'ii full example. 'J'heonly
!-'ilit,iiy instance in all the two Americas, where the natives li:\d Keen uni-
I'lrriily and p< rnianently troatt'd with kindness, was hy the lliidsnn's l!ay
''uiiipany themselves, and no further eonnnent on the eomparativo lieiuHits
whiih were to How in n|H)n them hy reason of colonization is necessary thuii
to refer tlio rcmlor to the inigcs which follow upon the subject.

220

(;IIANT 01' VAXCOUVllK IfSLAND.

of coldiiists settled in the Island, and the land« sold.
If at the expiration of five years no settlement should
have been made, the s^^rant should bo forfeited; and if
at the expiration of the company's license of exclusive
trade with the Indiana in IH51) the i^overnment
should so elect, it mij^ht recover from the company
the Island, on payment of such sums of money as
had been actually expended by them in colonization.
That is to say, the crown reserved tlu; riijht to recall
the grant at the end of five years should the coiii-
[lany, eithei- from lack of ability (»r will, fail to coiu-
nize, and to buy it back at the end often \'e;irs by th*^
payment of whatever sum the company should have
in the nu-an time ex])end(.d. Kxcept <lurint»' hostili-
ties between (Jreat Jiritain and any ftreign power,
the conij)any should ({(^fray all exjUMises of all civil
and military establishnuMits for tlu; government and
protection of tlu; Island.'"

X*) small difh-rencc^ of opinion arose as to the wis-
dom oPth(! grant, and the act was consummated in tlu-
t'acf of strong ojiposition. The friends and tin; ein'
Miics of the measure arrayed themselves on either side ,
and a war of words follow(;d. As a matter of course,
there was much exaggi'ration, and many missta<( -
UHMits, wilful or otherwis(>, wen; madi; on both sides.
Ihit out of thef///*r/.s' brt)Ught down by the cond)ataids

"Ainnn^; ollu i ]ilafes, a cpiiy i>f tliiMnnint. may In- louml in //oh.vc h/ C'rn-
wnii.'i liitiiniii /() 'I hrif AililfiyKi <, i;{"l(i. 'llio (iri^^iiial ilral't in in Miirlint
//ii)/si,ii'.i Jiini, l(iS. IJivsiilcs :i iii|iy of llw; royal grant ot N'aiicouvcr l-Liinl,
llu^ lliiKsi III ( 'iiiiumii,.i /'ihiriii/n '/'/irri- .\i/i/rix.^iH, ilatid n'.'<]itH;tivi'ly llu! Illth
of AiigiiNt IS4S ami till' (illi ol I'fliiii.iry inil Uii^' l-^t <it Mar* li IS-l'.t, conuiiin
(opici ;)i ailiiiiralty Ictti rx aiwl <ic.-<|)ati:liis; oui; from Sir (>i(ii:,'c Sfyiii'iur; niic
troiii f.iptaiii ,1. .V iMmt/i! ol (Ik; .sliip i'liijunl, ti; Coii.iiiaiiili'r (ioriloli ot' tlii'
'loo[t r.);-(/i()/v(i,/, dated 7tli of OclolnT isiti; KatiT from I'ctcr Sk'cii e;,'ili'ii
•mil .)aiiii;s l>oii;j[las to ('a|il.iiii l>iir'^/.i'-, ri|iort of liculoiiaiitH ^\'arn• ami
\'avaM)iii, Manli iSJli, n!s|K'itiii.i^ h.iiI, ilimatf, miiU'raU, ami liarliors, ail-
ilri'.-i.sfil to llio -orritary ot statu tor tin- coloiurs; ri.'|iort liy X'.ivasoiir,
Marcli INKt, aiMi'.'^si'cl to (41I0110I llolloway, Caiiaili; iii>.tnt( lions of tliu
ailinirai'y r»'.s|ic(|iii(,' tin; coal of Vancouver ]-.lari(l; corrisiioiHlciico lirtwii'U
llu; '.'oloiiial otlico ami tin; admii-altv; leUi'r.< from 15, llawis to Mr .loiiu
IVily: from Sii .lohu I'dly to Kiil (Ir.'j, the Kth ami l.'itli Si-pt. ISJS; trom
UawtM to r.Hv the 'JTlii of S, |.t, ami tlu; 2ritl' of Oct. 1S4S; ami from A. lUr-
clay to \\ llawi's ;{il Nov ISJS. AIho rcjiort from pfivy oouiicil tommittfu
for traile ami iilaiiiatioiiH on tliu grant of Vanuoiivcr l.sl:iiid, daUsd !ilstO>'t.
"MS

MARTIN ASU FITZGERALD

221

2 lands sold,
nieiit should
sited ; and i f

of (.'xclusivi'
crovornineiit
lie company
)f money as
colonization.
!4lit to recall
Id the coin-
fail to coio
ve:irs l>v the
should have
rinii^ hostili-
eijii^n powei',

of all civil
rnment and

i To the wis-
inated in the
,nd the em'
1 either side,
^r of coui'sc,
ly misstafe-

hoth sides.

conihatanls

in Ildiixi' nf ('lim-
it \a ill Miirtin't
mcoiivcr l.^liiiiii,
iciitivcly tho Kith
li 1S41I, coia.iiui
,'i' Scyiii'Uir; imc
■r (l.inloii (il tlic
U T Skicii 0;j;(k'n
ants W'iirrc ami
ml liailiiirs. aii-
t liy \',ivas(>nr,
tiiic lion.s (if tliu

illllclH'l.' Ill tWil'U

ivis to Sir .liiliii
i|it. ISJS; Irom
1(1 Irom A. liiir-

Illicit coiiimittco
tlaUul olst Oct.

there is no diflieulty in irrivinLy at the truth, which
wiis .--iniply that the Hudson's Bay Company desired
to control colonization on the ]\icific coast; to press
or letard it as they should find it to their interest,
uiiicli persons interested in the settlement of the
countrv iH'eferred should be dom^ by those havm*^ no
idterioi' end to serve."

In the 7Vmcs' of the 27th of January 1841), a fort-
iiiylit after the ^rant was made, appeared an adver-

ViiKiiic; tlio iiifiss of "latter iiulili.Hlied in Ixiok.s and

iilicalu, two

aiitlinr.s .stand ])iv( iiiiiu'ii,. ■ cliaiiipuiiis, oikj oii citiicl Hid(;, K .\I(;:iti;(iiiu!ry
il.irtiii, riif //iii/iiiii's liity 'i'lrrltonr.siiiiil I'ninouri'r.s f.-ilnii't, for tiio '•■ imiany,
■mil .laiiii's K. I'itzm'rald, An Krainiinttioii of Ihi' C/inrti'i' ami /'ninii/iiiifi of I he.
Ilu'l.t'iti'.i 11(11/ ('i):ii]unij/, iri/.'i /'I'/in-iire. to thi' (1,-niit of I'ini'-oiinr's hlmul
iiiiiii^t it. .Sir Martin writes €avow<!dly to eiilij,diteii tlio world on Hir,lsiiii8
Kiy ('iiiniiauy atl'air.s. He K'^'cs, Hr.st, tins physioul fo.itiircs ./f the tcrntory;
liccdii.l, tlu! i'onstitutioii and workiiif^s of the coriioratioii; tliiid, tlnir ticat-
niL'iit (if iln! almrigiiics; fourth, tho conduct and jiolicy of tliii ' .iiini.iny ;

fifth,

•I"

ililications of tilt; conipany for coloniziiiL; Van

•r I.

d 'II;

liivt ]iart is made up lar^'idy of quotations; in fact, Mr .Martin iii.ikcs the
kuis.-iors do duty throughout the entire M'ork. In limf, the cimiitry is }4'M)d,
the system perfeet, the natives well treated, the conduct of tlie c'iiii|iaiiy
hciielie-.'Mt and < 'hri.-stian, ten thousand h.ilf lireeils testifyiiij; to *httir morality,
.Tnd to pn>V(! their (|ualilie.itions for colonizing N'aneouver l:^land, lie ijuotcs
ten lia;,'is from Wilkes, with scarcely a hreak — this, and to the lioinc nothing
more. Wilkes' testiinony goes to show that the ollicers of the lludscin's Hay
Ciinipaiiy were; intelligent, eiiteriirising, and liospitaMu gentlemen, w l;ii li ,is I
tiav(! Iiifore remarked no one has (.•ver denu-il With Martin's hocl. licfore
tiiiii, which M .supposed to lie all tho iiifoi illation and ai Liinncnts all alih' ad-

viicate enjoying the ]iatr(Uiage

.f t,l

10 companv an

1 lia\'iiig at h.'nd all

laterial extant for writing a good hook upon the suliject could ihimIhc",
Fitzgerald writes ( lladstoiK^ that there is little in the wmk t> iepl\ tn, ainl
what tlieic is, is 'neitlur fair or triu!.' lli.s repl.V is arranged in tlie follow-
ing order: First, he states .some n.'eent occurrences in connection wilh tho

suhjcct. Next III! examines th(! validity of the maiits made to tl

lo ((.nipany

lit various times, which he pronounces from the lirst invalid. Then he .speaks
ct till' iiiliiieiice of the charter on I'.ngland and America, and on eoloiiizatini'.
Until these writers are extremists Mr Fitzger.ald leans .is iniicli too t.ir
toward one side as Mr Martin llol^s toward the othci. It i* lictucen the tvo

I'lat the truth lies. Tin

i^'inal grant of (liailcs II. was undoiililcdly in

;did; liiit (piict occupation for om^ or two centuries was siiielv .siitlicienl to

give tiie iiiisiicssor

titk

e as claimed, which was owiicishi|i in tlies(

111, liilt .ilwaN s

siilijcct to the crown of Fiiiiland .Mr Fitzgenild's work is tai the ahh r of
till' two. AN'ith ungloved hands he strips the suliject o! its falsities; c.xiio.dng
die siiliterfiiges of special pleaders with nicreiless scveritv ; and W'.'r(^ In^ not;
a special [ilcider himself, his work would iviiry iniicli widght. The ditl'irciicc
hel'\',;(Mi these two writers was this: While Fit/jerald stood up to a sipi:ire,
taaioy light, .Martin played the juililic fniil, not only endeavoring to iiiaki' oik;
tliiii'_' appcii- another, liiit 'isserting unliliishinuly that one Ihi ig was aiiother
A just caiisi' mcds no such 'itcrary tiukiiy as that employed hy .Mr Martin
I ilo Hot say his '.Miise was not i> pist one 1 do not think the llii . .'ii s Bay
eiiiiipaiiy werv, specially to Ik! Iil lined lop .nlitaining the grant or lot what
tdllnwcd F.iilti'vy made .■loiiiu mistaliesas well as tlii! coiiipany. I only say
with respect to .Mr Slartin and his liook, that ri;,dit or wrong liu injured lint
'.■iiii.io liy resorting to bold deuuit.

U\ I

222

CRANT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

tiscment stating the reason why this act should not
have been consuniniated, or at all events, not until
the charges then stantlinf^ ajj;ainst the company hail
been tliorouirhly investigated and the matter decided
whether f.dditional power would be safe in their
hand

" Mr Finlayson says, V. Land Xorf/mr^f ('uttui, M.S., 26, tliat it was only aftci
Uritisli iiieii-<)t'-w;irlia<l visiti'il K.s(|uiiiuilt liar'M)riliiriiH:j the Oregon (lin[mtt:.siii'
liSKJ, tliat the gDViTiiinoiit lid'aine alivo to tlio iiiiportiiiife of tlie I.slaml, 'iiml
in ortlur to eiialile tliciii to estaMisIi courts of jii»tici', oU'ori'il tin; Lslainl of V in-
t'ouvor to the Huil.soii's Hay CVmipany, in foe-tiiii|>lo, on fomlitioii of cohmi/iiii^
it at (irst for ten years from 1849, reserving to themselves tiie riijlit of aiJiioint-
iiig tlie governor.' Si'C also liritixh Xurth Ainerim, 'J'.'.S, wliero the grant
is ealk'il a lease; Mtifl'n!« llmhinni* Boil, jiassiiti; W'lK/iliini/nn't Frasir JlhuK,
30; (I'nnit's /)(■,«•/•'";>. V. I., in Lonilim diiyj. Snr., Jour., x.w ii. 27- .'<; //o/.c
Cotiiiiioii.1 L'tjil. J,''i'\ i>ar. l)48-.51; Soiijmhi^ l'2s:i A, ]li:!."i 41. l(;C)(i-74, IS-IT-S;
Mayi"n-il, 41.J4;; liliin.luird, 5102, f)14y-.")."i; EliUr, r)S:U-(!7, rjlK)(>-:5;i; <*//////■
]na Clii'i Cours,, M.S., 1-IS); Lawirnn'x I'i'jif., 1; Cooyers Maritime JiliUltrn.
MS., :i, 4; Tod's Jlitt. New Cakdonia, MS., 21-2

' 1| !

CHAPTER XIII.

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND UNDER HUDSON'S BAY

COMrANY REGIME.

184!)-1859.

TnosrEiTrs and Advkutiskmknt idi: Colonists— Qualifications of the
Company for Colonizing — Ohjkitions Raiskp — Tiif.v were Fi;r-
ti:aiii:i;'<- Amj YET TiiKV had Ships and Money — The I'i-cet Socnd

I'OMIANY WOILD HAVE A SlIAKE — No EasY MaTTEII TO I'l.EASE AlL —

Land, One Pound am Acue — The Scheme a Fokeokdained Faih he
— I'liii E OF Land Too Ihcn- The (ioi.D i-iei.ds ok Cai.h'oisnia One
Cause OK THE Faih i;e— Vancouvek Island in rAiii.iAMENi- TheEaih,
OF Lincoln, Lokd Eloin, and Mu (Jladstone on tuk Situation— New
Attitude of the Hudson's Ray ( 'omi'any in Relation iothe Natives.

Upon the sii,'nin«^ of their j^raiit, tlie company pul*-
li.^hed a pro.sJ)cctu^■., aiid advertised for colonists.* In
the prospectus tlio })rico of land to settlers was fixed
at one pound an acre, and for every luuulred acres
bouncht at this rate the [)urchaser \vas obliged to con-
vey at his own expense three families or six single
men."

The qualifications for the colonization of Vancouver
Island posse, .sed hy the adventurers of England over all
other pir.sons or powers — if indeed they possessed any
sueh advantiigis as before intimated — may be bric;Hy
suninu;d up as follows : First, capital. AToney was rc-
(juired from some source to convey colonists thither,

'This tlieir enemies said was doiio more for display than with honi'st iii-
toiit. In any event, it woiilil ho a lonvi'iiiiMit arj;iini(.iit to liavo at hand fur
tliL ]iiii()ose of provHig nt, any time that tiio fiiihiro of the Hclu'inc was thnuifih
no fiiiilt of tlieirs.

- ' It is needless to ofTirconHnent on tlieso itn]i(i1itiuand auiciilal n'giilations,
wiiinat tiioHaniu tiniehoth in Oregon ami ( ahiornia, Mhi-regoM was itliuiidant,
l.uid was {luri'hascd at six shillings per acre. The fai't was, tlm Hudson's Riy
Ciimiiiiiiy wanted to keep ha<'k emigration for tlie sa'ie of the furs and other
pi'tty traflic with the natives; and so far as aiiti-eiv!li/ers they Huei'eedeil.'
CiinimitlM Xeir FA Ihriulo, 35. S»!o also Fiiiltii/snii's Hint. V, I., MS., 'JO;
Ciioju-r, Mar. Maltern, MS., 3-4, ealls the prospectus a nuTo sliani.

( •.'•ja )

224

UNDKll HUDSON'S BAY fOMl'^VNV'S KlXilMK.

Ir'

to protect tlicin from the savai^cs, and to provide
slu'lttr and the moans of subsistence until they should
be able to provide for themselves. This capital the
corporation liad at its command, and were willing to
employ it for that purpose. It is true, the crown could
have supplied tlie means; but if with relief from the
res[)onsibilit3'^ and care of the settlement, the expendi-
ture of ])ul)lic money might l>e avoided while the oh-
ject was attained, it was surely an argument in favor
of the persons willing to undertake the scheme on
these terms. Second, organization. The Hudson's
Bay ( 'om})any W(>re there upon the ground with ono
of the most complete connniTcial systems in the world.
Third, experience. For more than a century and a
half they had occupied tliese northern realms. Tliey
were familiar with the country adjacent and its
ca|)abi]ities; with tin* natives, ami how to control
them.^

On till! other hand, it was claimed that the company
liad been recreant in former trusts, that they had maii-
age<l their affairs so as to return to them the greatest
profit without regard to tlieir ].!()niises, and that tho
additional power now given them was of a nature to
tenii)t tlu'ir cupidity beyond the stittch of average
commercial integrity.

Already was tlieir grasping, overreaching disposi-
tion manifest in jnitting forward a draft Avitii scarcely
a binding jMovision in it, except that which niadi; tho
land their own. They were fur-traders, and fur-trad-
ing was directly oi)posed to coloni/ation. Tliey were
monojxilists, and monopoly is but a species of tyr-
anny. It is to that very end that monopolies are

'Mr Martin's lino of arguniPiit in attoniptinjr to prove tlio superior fltiic-^n
of tlio H\iiU<iir.s ]liiy (."(Hiipiiiiy ti.r tiii.s tni.st in uiii(pic. In the tirst placi'. In'
((iiott's tlio iiioncy tlicy liiul inaile, twenty millions sterling, in somewhat li-<
than two centuries, which poeket-stulling lie ealls cnrieliiiig Knglaiul. Tin n
lie (juotes tho Keil Uiver colony, which was not eonduetetl hy the eoiii]i,iiiy,
and which was a failure, iiml tlie I'uget Sound Company, which was nut tin-
Hudson's H:iy Company, and also a failure. Next ho (|uotes what \N"illi''.i
says of tliu forts and fort life, missionaries, McLoughlin and Diniglas, tlu' f.in"
at Fort Vaneouver, California hor.ses, the Cowlitz farm, all interesting in tluir
wny, Imt having little, so far ai I can see, to do with tho suhjeet.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

) provide
icy should
ipital the
willing to
own could
• from the
c cxpeiuli-
ile tlie ob-
it in favor
schome on

Hudson's
J with one
t the world,
tury and u
ms. Tlu-y
it and itji

to control

ho company
•y had nian-
IlIio ijjreatcsl
nd that tlu^
I nature to
)f avoran'u

iuiT disposi-
th scan-ely
I made tlie
(1 i"ur-trad-
They were
ies of tyr-
lopolies are

o HUiieriiir (Uiu'-^h
he tirst l'l:i»'>'. 1'"
I) soiiii'wiuit l"--*
Kiiglrtixl. Tliiii
l)y tlic coini'iiiiy.
hich was not ih^-
,t.'sw\iat\V>ll<''^
Donglas, tlu' {•"■m
toresting i» "»'""

lljt-'Ot.

made, that a few may reap advantage to the exclusion
of the jnany.

Further than this, by the terms of the grant as it
now stood, a premium was offered to mismanagement
and rascality. There was probably never made so
irrational an agreement by an English minister pn>-
tlissing to have his wits about him.* It was well
niuK-rstood at that time that the com}>any were ojt-
posed on general principles to have their business
broken in upon by settlers. Tlio grant would enable
them to suppress settlement ad lihiftnii. Again, the
government might buy the Island liaek in five or ten
years, by refunding to the company what had ])een
expended.

Xow the company had at command shi})s, forts,
servants, and all the appliances of <'olonization. Any
business man will readily uncK-rstand that the company
fould make a feint of coloni/ation, or begin settlement
in ai>})arent good faith, to the best of their ability, and
in so doing, in transmitting passengers, and in j>ro-
viding for the wants of the colony, could easily charn'e
to acct)unt a hundred thousand pounds for that which
did not cost them twenty thousaiwl ]>ounds, and
which, indeed, NNould have cost the governmiMit under
its own management all that the company might so
charge. With shijts of their own in regular com-
munication with England, and an abundance of land
at their c«)ntrol, the additional ex])enses of coloniza-
tion would 1)0 insignificant, and scarcely felt by them.
This was the advantage the c. mpany had by being
on the ground with an ohl I'stablished l»usine.ss and
cx[)crienced servants. It is a well-known fact that
private individuals or corporations will do almost
anvthint'- more economicallv than i»ublic officials. It
IS now a pretty generally settled }>rinciple that the

'Of Earl Grey 'h iniNnianagi'iiiciit Mr Fit/geraM and dtlirr.s Hjioak in tin
Ntrmigi'st turniM. 'The minister lias imMii'ly iluelaroil liy this edmliict that
III' IS iKmscssed of no tlistiiiet guiding iirinci]iles in respect to coloni/.atinn.
I.t't the i>ul>lie judge whether sueh a minister is tit to preside over the vast
ntloiiiiil interests of this enii)ire.' FUziji'iuiliI'!) V. /., 'JOO-7
Hist UltlT Coi.. l"i

220

UNDER HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY'S REGIME.

ii!

III.

public is a thing to be fleeced, and that no stain of
dishonor attaches to a wasteful expenditure of the
people's money; so that the company had but to
make a pretence of colonization, write down large
sums against the colonization account, and impose
upon the colonists until their situation should be un-
endurable, and so force the government to take the
Island oft' tlieir hands, and pay the money charged in
the account; most of which would be profit; the re-
mainder having been faithfully employed to the best
ability of the monopolists in retarding settlement.
Here wns apparent the far-sighted wisdom of Earl
Grey.'^

There was yet another reason wliy the colonization
of Vancouver Island might pcrhai)s bo better per-
formed by other hands. The Puget Sound Agricul-
tural Company, though not identical with the Hudson's
Bay Company, was closely allied to it. The former
was simply a distinct association of some of the nitiii-
bers of the latter. The ofticers ^>r the fur company
were the persons j)rincipally interested in the agricul-
tural company; the Puget Sound Company being
rather a farm than a colony. There remained only
the lied River settlement as a sample of fur-company
colonization, and this was a failure. Serious charges
were preferred by the settlers at Red River against
the governor and rule of the Hudson's Bay Company,
and the imperial government was begged to interfere.
The ]Iudson's Bay Company I'rankly admitted that"
the Red River colony was a failure, but claimed that
it was none of their doings, but the private scheme ol'
Lord Selkirk, and never should have been undertaken.
The colonists there were sujj'onntlrd liv a wilderness,

•'''Then; is sti-onj,' ie;i.';on to Huspcct,' says Fitzgerald, 'that the company
iicvor dill iiituiid to coloni/o any ]iart of their territories. They never ino-
posed to do so until it Mas inevitable that it must lie done by s-omo one; and
tlieir whole conduct Ku;.'i,'ests the itiea of a deisiro to j^et jiossessioii <>f the
countiy only for the purpose of keepin;,' otheis out. 1 )riveu out of this de.sipi
by public opinion, they havi; iindi rtaken to colonize or to give back the
island to the crown, to be <li.spo.sed of to those who will do so.' This was
Avritten ininndiatcly after the grant was made.

A TRYING POSITION.

> stain of
B of the
1 but to
ft'ii large
1 impose
Id be uii-
takc the
luirgcd in
t; the rc-
3 the best
ittlcment.
n of Earl

(Ionization
letter per-
il Agrieiil-
3 Hudson's
'he former
' the nieiii-
r company
he agricui-
)any beini;'
[lined only
r-company
as ohar!;t-s
er against
Company,
interfere,
litted that'
limed that
schemo of
mlertaken.
Iwilderness,

it tho company
['hoy never rio-
boiuc one ; iiml
|)ssession <it' <^1"'
lit of tlu« 'l''''''r'''
mvc IuhU the
so.' Thia vaa

with difficult communication with the world without,
and little market for their produce. The colonization
(»f Vancouver Island would be a totally different
matter. Already there was no inconsiderable trade
between the Northwest and Russian American coasts
and the islands of,the South Sea and Asia. Moreover,
the lands of the Puget Sound Company, since the
treaty of 184G, were within the territory of the United
States. The affairs of the association were not in a
vcrv flourishinjx condition. Now if with one stroke
they might dispose of their lands and improvements
;it a good price to the United States, and at the same
time secure a good footing in the most favorable })art
of an island set apart for colonization, thus forcing
settlers, should any come, to subdue wild lands adja-
cent and beyond their limits, thus greatly enhancing
the value of their own, it might surely be a good thing.

It was a difficult undertaking, this of the fur-traders,
exceedingly difficult, at once to please England, to
please the settlers, and to please themselves. England
would wish to see this rod:- bound, forested isle
speedily converted into fertile fields and flourishing
settlements, where her prolific poor might find hap[)y
homes and her manufacturers good customers. Tlie
settlers would like each the best and largest piece of
l.nid upon tho Island. If their farm was not upon the
main street of the metropolis it should be at least in
the suburl). They should be furnished for little or
nothing with everything they re(|uired; they should
not l)e expected to perl'orm much labor, for they could
have lived at home if they had labored hard; the
climate should not be allowed to breed diseases; i\iv
land with sliijht tillac^e shoidd vield abundantly, and
a really market should be always at hand. .Vs ini- the
coin[)any — those who had been lords of the wilderness,
would now be nothing less than dominators of the new
suhjugation society. Again, while there were many
iinj)lied obligations which the conijmny were expected

UNDKK HUDSON'S BAY COMrANV'S KK(iIME.

t'aitlifully to perforin, the govorniiiciit did r.ot hesitate
to impose duties which were not found written in the
ii^rant. As a matter of course, the crown would ajv
point the j^overnor. It liad been stipulated that the
land should be sold at a fair price; but what would
be a fair j)ricc a shillinj^ an acre, or two guineas an
acre ? The company made known their ideas, and then
it was that Earl Grey thought a pound an acre about
the rinht fiLCure, thouirh on what ground is not statctl.
That Mould be assuredly cheaj) as compared with tin
price of land in England, but it might be called dcai'
in a country where five bottles of rum would buy a
s(j[uare mile. It might lie thought high considerin;^
its cost, which was simply the taking of it.

The fur-traders knew well enough that this alone
was sufficient to kill the scheme. As they were iiow
situated, it really made little difference to them
whether it should prove a success or a failure; l)ut it
the latter, it would be as well for the fault to lie at his
lordship's door as at their own. The company claimed
that the .scheme, from the very nature of things, was
a foreordained failure It was a fine thing for tlie
government io thr(>w the expense of settlement ujton
them, but in due time they began to realize that tiny
never should have accepted the charge. There weic
other restrictions imposed l)y Lord (irey e(jUidly
fatal to success. Not only was a coh)nist recjuired tc
jiurehase the land at a high prict^ l)ut he was obliged
to ci'eate other colonists. To obtain a footing in A'an-
couver Island, the emigrant nuist be comparatively
a rich man, and rich men preferred to remain in I'^ng-
land. Besides the heavy cx})ense of bringing out liim-
self and his family, if he had one, hi order to obtain
a title to the waste lands of this far-away island, 1m
must bring out other men or other families." Another

IIUI

" FitZjjerald 8a}'3 'three fainilius or six single men.' fJrant says five siiiL'l
II, ' being at the rate of emo man for every twenty acres;

tial ci)niing_ out was alloweil to imrchase more than twenty acres. ' yM<'-n;i-

Si»\, Jniir., X '

tion V. 1., in London Giruj.

txvu.

no single iiidiviil

y acres. ' J>ixrri]>

Hlauslianl, in Ifounr Cimi

mona Uf\it., 287, says tliat ti\\; 1 itmiiT-i must he lirought out from K.iigl:i

A POUND PER iiCRE.

229

serious drawback was the anomalous condition of polit-
ical ati'airs, cngondered by impolitic admixtures of in-
tei -^sts, wherein the antagonisms of monopoly and free
1(1 islation were constantly being brought face to face,
which will more fully appear as the history pro-
ceeds.

The charge of a pound an acre as the price of the
liiiid, not to mention the condition coupled to it of rc-
• [uiring the buyer of every one hundred acres to place
upon tlu! Island five men or three families, was ab-
surd. In the first place, the Island did not otter the
finest attractions in the world as a place of settlement.
It was far removed from the mother country, and t]\v.
time and expense of reaching it were great. Thougli
no farther north tlian England, it was off the main
lines of circunmavigation. The surface was rocky,
ami in places heavily wooded, there being compara-
tively little good agricultural land. The market for
[iniduce was neither present nor secured. The pio-
n( tr would have difficulties enough to contend with,
were the land given him together with a bonus of a
pound an acre for preparing it for cultivation. Indeed,
tar better land at that very moment was being given
away in Oregon, where the climate was warmer, the
market nearer, and the government as free and as
favorable. Without impediment and without restric-
tion, upon exactly the same footing as a native of the
Lnited States, by simply declaring his intentions of
becoming an American citizen, a subject of Great
Britain might settle upf)n any unoccupied lands south
of the 49th parallel. Insteatl of five hundred dollars

lor every one hundred acres purchased. ' For every one hundred acres tlic
imrchaaer Wiis lM)und to import four persons.' Coojut'h Mtir. Matters, MS., ;i.
A story is told of J. M. Swan, who, it is sJiid, ou consulting with Dougliis,
('ciIvIUl', and Finlaysou, iu relation to the terms of settlement, M'as informed
tlwit for every twenty acres purchaaed cue male a<lult must settle on the
"ground; to secure one hundred acres, a man nuist have four male servants, or
tlirco marrietl couples. 'But I have neither servants nor wives,' said Swan.
' I hen get natives, was the reply; ' tliree Siwash men ami three Si wash women. '
I'liis report, tliough unreliable, was circulated south of the border to the no
^iiiall amusement of those who were securing their land without money and
iliiiost without stipulation. Oli/mpia Club Cmvs., MS., 1-19.

[ i

UNDER HUDSON'S BAY lO.MPANYS REUIMK.

Ill money, and the trouble of bringing six or more
])ursons to the coast for cvtjry hundred acres secured,
tliree hundred and twenty acres were given liini, or
if he could boast a wife, to the two were donated
aljHolutely and for nothing tlie magnificent area of
six hundred and f(>rty acres. Strong, ind«H'd, must
be the patriotism «)f the pioneer to deny himself thesi*
advantages in order to maintain allegiance to the
mother country.^

Nine tenths of the pound per acre, it is true, went
to puldic improvements, and so add(>d to the value of
the land; but seed, stock, and the implements of and
aids to husbandry are of far in(»re impoi-tance to tlie
struggling frontiersman than governnii'nt instituti»)ns.
Almost all the pioneering in the United States has
been done beyond the pale of goverinnent. It is true
that settlers upon the public d(»main of the United
States have suffered from outrajjfesand lawlessness far
more than settlers upon ]^ritish American soil; but
unlike the latter, the former svhile clearing their
lands and strui^ijling for subsistence have not l)eeii
Iturdeni'd in building institutions or supporting gov-
ernment."*

Failure to colonize, among other things, was charged
to the gold-fiekis of California. Finlayson, Anderson.
and others complain of the rush from the ranks oi
both agriculturists and traders. Grant says, of four
hundred men l)rought out by the company during the
first five years two fifths deserted, one fifth were sent

' Says Mr Ellice, referring to Lord ( Irey's restrictions: ' Any perso*. accu.s-
tniiicil to the settlement of land must know that if you take a pou^id from :i
man wlio comes to settle in a wild country, you take from him all the little
capital which he wants to establish himself on the land. The laud is uf no
value to auylMnly until it is c\iltivated.' Jloune Coihiiioiih Ji'^t., 3.'{4.

" 'Of the money arising from the proceeda of the sales of thatlu::<V l^- '>''■
in every pound sterlinjj was to be applied to the benefit of tiie colony, ;«idy
].'<. G(l. in the pound being reserved to the company to rcmuucrato them, as it
were, for their undertaking the agency of the disposal of the land. ColoiitHti
were to be allowed to work any coal they might And, on paying to the company
a duty of 28. dd. per ton, and a duty ot lOJ per load wag to be paid on all
timber exported Grant's Descrtnt. V. /., in Loml. Oeog. Sor., Jour., xxvii.
272-3. ' A settler was restrictetl in various ways in his operations, whicli also
tended to keep back the progress of the settlement.' Finlayaonn V. I. ond
Northwest Codxl, MS., 26

;:!..')

EFFECT OF THE COLD MINES.

to other posts, and the rcniaimler W(»re employed on
the Island. Adniittinj^ this, which I do not doubt, I
cannot regard the excuse as a valid one. The onmipo-
tt lit magnet of the Sierra Foothills drew settlers from
Oregon, hut in due time they returned, bringing with
thini newlv found friends. So would it have been
with regard to Vancouver Island, iiad general relations
thtit' hi'cn happy. The love of nationality within the
linust of an Knglishman is strong and enduring, and
many, williiig for a tiniu to ci'.dure foreign rule, would
not for twice what they might make renounce tlieir
native allegiance, or live long under any government
liut their own. After the first flush of yfold-y;atherin<>-
liad passed it was supposed the mines wen^ exhausted,
and when the miners were returning to their homes
tlien, had the attractions been strong enough, maiiv
wlio had learned to love the excittiments of pioneering,
and who still would chcjose to remain British, would
liavc taken ]tassage tf) Victoria with their little ca})ital,
and there have ^nade themselves homes; so that in
tlie end California would have proved a great gatherer
of settlers for Vancouver Island, as she did for other
parts of the north Pacific "oast.

Several did go from California, and returned disaj)-
]K)inted ; among others a Mr Chancellor, sent by a com-
pany of Englishmen whom he left still digging while
awaiting his return. His report being unfavorable,
they abandoned the project which they had formed of
settling in the Island. It was as early as December
1849, while the mines were flooded and mining was
regarded as an extremely hazardous business, that
J. 31. Swan visited Victoria and would have secured
places for himself and others as colonists had the terms
been regarded as favorable." Probably Blanshard
himself did as much as any other one man in prevent-
ing emigration from England, for being dissatisfied

I 19,

•Seo Blanshard, in Houne Commona Rept., 289; Oli/mpia Club Convn., MS.,
9._ ' Tliere are thousands of penplo in tho nuigliborhood of San BVancisco

Jind in California who would gladly go to a Britisli colony, provided it was
under a new administration.' CoojHr, i;i Jloiisi- ComtiioiiK llejit., 191.

2:tt

UXDKR IIUUSOS'S UAY COMPANV'S RKdIMK

liV

I ■

with liis rcrt'})ti()U and treati'iont there, naturally his
reports and lottors home were colored accordhijjfly.

T(» sum up the case, we see that colonization under
the crown j^runt of X'aneouver Island t«) the Jludsons
I^ay Company was u failure. The causes, we have
likewise seen, were several. Stripjted of the cant and
cunnini^ in which lcL:^islatois, fur-traders, and settlers
alike inwrap[»ed the subject, the naked truth presents
itse'lf in the forms followiiiiic. The primary object of
the impiTial government was to save itself trouble
and exi)ense; the field was n<»t sufficiently enticinn;- to
excite either the cupidity or the ambition of politicians.
There wei'o no spoils. While tlu^ settlers had abuu-
dant cause of eomplaint, and as a cla-;s such peojiK
complain with or without cau.se, the fur-traders de-
sired, first of all, to hold the country in their own
hands as hitherto. They preferred no C(»lonization at
prt'.seut. When it nmst come they j)refen»-'d to con-
trol it. Could settlement be confined to the Island,
and the Mainland still be kept by them iiitact as a
Lcame-preserve, it would make but little ditlerence witli
them; but they well knew that for many years the
Island would not support a lar^'e population, and when
once the limited agricultural fields were tilled it would
>pe<'dily overflow on to the Mainland.

And almost innnediately the grant was nm(h' tin-
crown npentt'd it. Jii'fore the end of the year J^oid
KIgiu had instituted further investigations into the
complaints made by the Ked Kiver settlers, to the
dis})aragement ttf the t)fficers of the Hudson's Jiay
('omjiany; and on the Gth of February 1841) the
Earl (»f Jiincoln asked in parliament that the new
charter or grant of Vanc()uver Island might be laid
on the table. The attorney-general and solicitor-gen -
• ral were asked their ojtinion whether the company
could hohl land at all as a crown grant.

In the house of conmions the 22d of February ^Ir
Hume remarked, that since the occupation of Cali-

(.'OKl'OliATlON COLON IZATION.

foniia by the United States Vancouver Island lin.d
htconiu more valuable than ever, far too valuaolo
t<» tiiiii; away on a fur conii)any, winch would do
Il..tlau!,^"'

In till' house of commons, the earl of Lincoln, on
the lUth of June 184D, made a lenuftliy speech which
sliowed that tlie hostility manifested from the first
tDWiird the jLJfrant of A'ancouver Island had in no wise
(Hiuinished. J le believed the measure a national <hs-
aster, and the jiarties to it culpable in a hi<,di de<;ree.
The course ])ursued l)y the j^'overiinient was wholly
informal, and what was done should be revoked, C< •<>-
iii/ation l»y absentee proprietary cr)mj)anies had always
|in>ved a failure, and were liively always so to ])rove.
Witness the colonies of Virj^inia, Massachusetts, ( ai-
olina, South Australia, and otiiers, l*enn, as a »nr-
|Mnation sole, managed well enough so hm;:,' as he
wiis on the i;round, l>ut disaster followed closely on
liis absenee. The superintendinif power of colonies
should rest only in the imperial «jf(^vernment. These
fur-traders were not oidy eomnuu'cial monopolists,
I lit in their transactions were despotic and secret, {iinl
tlierefore the very worst persons to whose care to in-
trust a tender infant colony.

in short, the leii^ality (►f the powers of the fur eoni-
|>aiiy in the matter of colonization occu]>ii'<l the atteii-
lii'ti of liritish statesmen durin«4 the jL,'ri'at(;r part ot"
the year 184U. The company presented no objections
to the fullest inouiry, thou^^h t!>ey ooi< rare tiiat the
(lecisicjn should ue ultimately in their favor. In the
house of commons, the oth of July, wluin the sub-
ject was aijain opened for discussioii, ]V[r (Gladstone
remarked that for Sir J«)hn IVily and other ottieers
'•t' tlie company he entertained tiie hiii^hest ri\speet.
hut that he was opposed to the system as ai){tlied to
«t>l()iii/atio!i. Aj^am, on the 1st of Aui^ust 1850,
-Ml' (Jhulstone demanded an iiujuiry into the rijjfhts of
the company over its territory in America. And so

" /A KM. (/•./% r.trl. D<k, 3.1 H.T. oii. 30.1, 704, 11 CO 71.

II r Hi

984

UNDKU HUDSON'S BAY COMrANVS KKtilMK.

'il

iiiattt;rs went on; the sottlers complained, tlie states-
men talked, and the fur conn)any ruled."

On the whole, aflairs in Vancouver Island, under
fur-tradini^ colonization rule, and up to tlie time (»t'
the <>(>1(1 diaeoverv, were jnanatjed ahout as mitflit have
lucii ex})ecti'd. There were no Hajj^rant otienci's, no
<»utra<'i'ous wronj»s, and there was much kindness and
liunuinit}'.

As a matter of course, tlie settlers and the fur-
traders ((uaii'elled. They had not hetni human, else.
'I'he id .a of vestiiiL,^ in a connnercial company suprenK-
power, makm)^ it l<>rd of the soil and of the lives <»f'
men. and then expectinjj^ fret; and intellii^ent suhjects
of a liheral and enlii^litened L^^overmni'iit to place theii-
necks volnniarilv under the yoke as colonists, would
never for a moment haNc! heen entertained hy a wise
and thouij^htful statesman.'"

The ]iudson's Hay CVtmpany were sound enou<,di
and content cnou<di t]irou<;hout. Fur-trudin«j was
their ciiief ohject. They did not care to colonizi-,
unless there was nuniey in it. Whatever the result,
they kncnv as husiness men that they had driven a
l^ood har^ain with the crown, and, notwithstiindin^" thi'
assertions of Edward EHic(> to the contrary hefore the
select conmiittee, whichever turn atlairs took, they
could make it profitahle.

Sh<»uld coloni/ation succeed, they wouhl find thrii-
reward, as 1 have said, in hrint^inj;- out settlers, in
furnishini^' them su|»|>lies, in securin<^ the hest hinds,
an<l in developinij;' the coal-nnnes. 80 far as the Island
alone was concerned, they could undoubtedly make
ni<»re out of it in this way than in holdinjjf it as a hir
jircserve. On the other hand, should colonization ful,
th<'y W(»uld not oidy have the country all quietly to
themselves a<^ain, hut they might collect from the

" //<fHXfnv/'/i Purl. D<h., M 8or. ciii. .140-04; cvii. 1.1155-62; cxii. fl.M7-H.
SiWi' h'lyiMtir, Ixxii. Vf74, 201: Ixxiv l.'iT. U77; I'olywmnn, v. 110; vi. 1'-''-'.

'- ' Miiftt KiigliHli j>cii|p1i' (ilijci't to Im uiiiliT iiiiy >{<>vi'riiini'iil i'X<'ci)t tli«
rottl trdu HritiHli gnvonimont.' Cimyrr, in lli»i>»> Coiiiinoni l'')'l., iSH).

THE UfSUAL COMMEKCIAL POLICY,

235

ciowii wollnij^h whatever sum tlieir consciences would
pciinit tlieni to charjjjo as expenses of tlio failure.

True to their princi[)les, nioro Machiavellian tliaii
patriotic, the company continued business nuieh att( r
tlit^ usual way, and nmcli a5 most other shrewd and
rt'spt'ctahle merchants would have done, careful to
tultil tlieir obligatitms, in the letter at least, to the
MONcnunent and to settlers.

Xor weie tliey sj)ecially tyrannical in their treat-
iiitiit of settlers, or disposed, as a rule, to take undue
advantaiic of their necessities. Their own interests
uiidouhtedly commanded the company's first att«'nti(»n ;
tlure were indiviiluals always to ()e found in new and
small societies who rendeied themselves ])arti<'ulai'ly
i»linoxious, whose chief delight was to hreed trouble
and stir up si.rlle, on whom the corporation, in self-
defence, was oblio'od to lay its stroniL,' lian<ls; but thi'st!
(■(tiitiny;encies satisfied, tiio fur-traders were disposed
til treat al' '*>on justly and liumanely, to walk circum-
^pecti}' Im;!'!' the world, uphoKling the di«^nitv of
their government, with all its time-honored institu-
tions, and commanding the respect and confi«lence of
all good men.

The lot of the setth'rs, however, was by no means a
hap[»y one. Obliged to pay a high price for land foi-
the most ])art difficult of cultivation, and far removed
I'min the protection of the fort, they were exposed to
privations, disease, and dangers.

As setth^rs scattered themselves about tlm Island,
the Jludson's Bay Comjiany felt obliged to modify
their treatment of the Indians. Not that they were
more strict with them, i)ut h'ss so, more conciliatory
I ntil the wliite po[)ulation became stronger it was
lint eonside!i'd wife to arrest and punish a native
ollender; else tfien; would sundy be retiiliation, and a
liloody and disiistrous stiito of things, akin to tiiat
then priivailing over the United Stiites l)order.

And here again the company displayed their consum-

•230

UNDKii HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY'S HF^iilMK.

■ i

mate knowledge of Indian character, and their cool-
ness and discretion. The native offender was by no
means passed unnoticed, but instead of general butcli-
ury the tribe was prevailed upon to send in the crimi-
nal, who would usually escape with a reprimand or
even after being won over as the white man's friend,
would carry home with him a present. This tlie set-
tlers called bribery, or premium on crime; yet the re-
sult shows the wisdom of the policy, for though the
nations of this region were as tierce as any describe*!
ill all this history, tlure are no massacres or outra<j^('s
to record. "Many sleepless nights have I spent,"
said Mr Douglas, "in my anxiety for the safety ot
the colony."

This forbearing policy, which effectually dissipated
the clouds of contention which now and then menaced
the Island, was quite marked. For examjile, when in
the spring of 1853 a shepherd was killed by a native,
the captani of the Theiif found the governor in no wis(;
disposed to turn the ship's guns on innocentand guilty
alike.>=«

In 185G an Indian who fired at a white man evi-
dently with intent to kill, woundhig the man, but not
mortally, was tried by a jury, the governor acting as
judge, found guilty and hanged. The offender was
apprehended by the assistance of a force sent from
the Trincomalce.

Should the question be nsked, whether on tlu;
whole the Hudson's Bay Company had been a bl«>ss-
ing or a curse to the country, the reply would depend
upon the view taken. Undoubtedly the lives of the
iiativ(>8 have been pn)longed by the guardianship and
<'are of the company. The seeds of destruction have
not been so rapidly sown by civilization. The country
has l>een kept longer a wilderness; development has
l)ocn retarded.

'* ' Captain Kupor, wlin woh in ci)ininan<l, hail to write soverol lottcni Ix!*
fi>ro ho could prevail on DotiglaH to not.' Cooper, in Jloitse Connnonn Hiyt,, I !•■'•.

•« T

liOT OVER -ANXIOUS.

If it is better to keep the savages in their original
state as long as possible, to preserve for them their
forests and their game, to place in their hands the
incans of obtaining food with greater ease and safety,
if it is better to keep back settlement, to keep out
white men, and use the domain only as a preserve
ibr iiir-bearing animals, and as a hunting-ground for
savages, then the c'oinj)aiiy has been a blessin"-. If
it is better to send the natives more swiftly To de-
struction, to let in upon them the dogs of dovelop-
luont, rapine, disease, and speedy externiiuutioii, in a
word, to throw open more rapidly the land to settle-
iiitiit, then the monopolists have been a drawback.

■J u

< 1 1

1 : t ' 1"

\i i is !

CIIArTER XIV.

TWO OIUCIN'AL ClIAKACTERS.
Tub DocTOit and tiik Divink UonKKT J. Stainks— A Man of Fkills—

Ills InTKUVIKW with TIIK KiMi ol'TIIK If WVAIIAV ISLANDS — TlIK Man

Mista!:kn ,'•< II riii: M.\srr.i: Ills Ai;i;ivai. vr \utoki \— Men — pAiisfis

AM> .SciKiOl,-TKA<HKU— Miss SlA INKS A MiiST i;STIMAllLK LaIA— QUAUUKL

WITH Tin: CoMi'ANY— Jdins thi) .Skitlkus' Faitiun— Hk CL'LTIVATKS
SwiNK— Tin; Skiti.i.ks Stkai. his l'ius~ll(ir Lirn: viKiss— His Sah
Fnd— TiiK Docrou (."ou'XisT — .Ioiin iSkdasiian 1Ii:i,mc'ki n — IIis I'liv-
siQi u AND CiiAUAcrKu — KiTKUH roi.rncfl— AciKi'Ts Oi'Kici-: UNi)i;u nil.
(•iiVEPNou— L)k,covKiis Ills Mistake— Amj Ukoo.mks a Sn'ronri-.k oi

Tin: MoNOI'OLISTS.

WiiH.E yet the colony v/hh youni;', there appeiUid
tipon the ;<ceno two iiu;n (4' uiarkod iiidivichuUity, a
(loetur arid a divhic. Oiu^ uiulertttok to cure uicuV
bodies, and the other (heir , souls; both dealt in (ho
unseen and unknowabK ; hence, tho ideas and ethics
of neither could be di.s|)id(d. And each carried ()
ci)n.<istent «-onclusions, more nearly than is generally
the case, the tenor of his own teai'hin<^s; ("or the di-
vine died, and so perhaps nii^hi sei how much at' all
he had been sayin^T ^^"^•'^ true, whi! iiie doctor lived.

The namo «'l' the cK'rijyman was Robert J. Staini's:
lie siLjned himsell' of I'rinity I lall, ( 'ambriilj^e; and Ik-
came ti> till' country in IS ll*. in tic b.iik C't'/u. hi'n,
us clia{)lain fur the comjjany at Fort ^ ictoria.

"lie was a man fidl ol' fiills," says Finlayaon, \\h<>
ei»«jlwavo' d ( ' ree ivi him politely and treat him
kindly, kmi vvlitsr jMtience was sorely tried by hiiu
Hi wa^' insutl rably conecited. without briuLj at ali
shall.. w -pal- .1. H'- well ku'W tin- diHereiic"' between
liiniself iuid tki! i\»uim<»u human herd, aud he wa^

THE REVEREND STAINES.

239

(letcnnined that others should know it. Ho was not,
indeed, tho first clergyman to make the mistake of
attempting to browbeat the company's officers in the
name of his master, and to his own disccmifiture.

Barbarians, ho thought, should know him at a
glance, even barbarian kings should delight to do him
hoiiiago. On the way out from London tho shi[»
tniuliod at the Hawaiian Islands, and Staines wrote
tlif king, intimating that he should bo [)leased to <lo
Ills lurgid-bloodcd majesty the honor to call on him.
The king replied tiiat ho should be glad to see him.
Staims ilelightc'd in display, and here was a rare oj)-
|nirtunity. Unfortunately that glitter which cajtti-
vatt's the barbaric mind, liis profession would not
|irnnit him to sport ui)on his own ]>erson. IJut there
was a ])oor lellow wliom lii- called Iiis servant, and
lie might b(! madc^ to bear tlu; master's burden o!'
priile. Hence, aii'ayliig himself in the sombre robes
I'f religion, he illuminated his man in gorgeou.-. livery,
and so presented himself in tho royal apartments of
his ILiwalian majesty. On entering the room wiiere
waited his visitor, the king's eye x .ught ihc da//,ling
vestui'e (»f the at t eiulaiit , and rushing past the master,
lie seized the hand of the servant, and sh(»ok it with
warm, pathetii' resjuct.

^^r Staines was a m.wiied man. and ]ii> wile was
with him: and hii\\> \er he may have felt callc<l upon

a "'ood

. o-

t > tight e\ il a> I'oiind in fur-traders, he wa^
liu:<han(l, and Mrs Staln< > stood true t<t him.
,i;cther (hey labored, for they W(>re l>oth hard-worUers,
teaching, preaching, and linishingg«'nei'ally what tin ir
creator had leftundonein tin ir litiK> world. TogetlK r

Vict

na, t

lev taiiLrht. 1 he tirs( si

■hool

in t 11 coll iiiv

')) the liud.->on's l>av servan' > wer»-' s.ld»)i.i without

children.

At this time there were no streets

(•CM

tuute

linlayson; "tin' traliic cut up the thoroughfares so
that evny oiH had to wear sea-boots to v ade through
till' mud and mire. Jt was mv duty to riei'i\»' the

240

TWO ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

clergyman, wliich I did, but I'elt ashamed to see the
lady fomi' ashoro. We had to lay planks through t\\v
mud in order to got them safely to the foi-t. They
looked around wonderingly at the bare walls of the
Iniilding, and expressed deep surprise,^ stating that the
<om[)any in England had told them this and that, and
had promised them such and such. At all events the.
n t( >n)s Wire litted up as best could bo done. Mr Staines
had bi-en guaranteed .t'.j40 a year for keeping a board-
ing-school, iind .£200 as chaplain. The services were
<'arri('d on in the mess-room of the fort, which was
made to serve for almost every purpose. Jlere also
was erected a temporary ])ulpit, and })rayers wen^ heltl
every Sunday. At tliis time Staines ])urcliased som.'
huid on the same conditions ;is othei's. But he ion
b(>came nmch dissatisfied with tilings, with J)ougla>
and his administration as governor of tlu' colony.'"'

Like manv others with whom the eompanv had
to deal in those days, and by whom they were ofttMi
severely and unjustly censured, Mr Staines wa
possessed of qualities more angular than aniiali!'/.
liidoubtedly, he in his turn had much to try hi-
|iatience; all pioneers have. He would not whollv
ignore the powers of darkness, nor even attem[)t to
overcome them, but rather on occasion allied himselt
with them, glad of a.ssistanec from any quarter.

He (>arly quairelled with the company, accusing
them of failure to keep their promises with him, more
particularly in the matter of prices of goods, which,
he had been assured before leaving London, should ho
lurnished him at servants' rates, that is, at fifty jht
cent on cost, instead of which, he was in realit}' charged
in some instances two thousand per cent profit." Ilenee
Mr Staines found it hard to ask a blessinjjf on their

' I'idiisly Hwenrini:; nt I'inlnjson in their hearts, ax travellers sometimes
awi'iir lit a way-side iiini{i'cp<!r.

- l-'iiil'ittnoii'x Ili/it. r. /., MS., 5'2-;{; Aiidernoti's Hist. NorthotU Coast, MS.,
lO'-'; Vooiter'K Mm: Md'hr-^, MS., 8.

' For exiiiiiiile, lifty oiiitH for ii sahnoii wliieh tlio company would obtain
from the IndianH for iv peimyworth of trinkets out of their shop. Coo^'er'n
.'..'.». .'•.(r/frv, MS.. S

THE CLERGYMaJTS PIOS.

241

mercenary souls; and although obliged to do so twice
or thrice every week, or forfeit his pay, inwardly he
cursed them. But to the company his blessing and
his curse were one. It was out of regard for public
sentiment, to which even the most powerful monopoly
cannot aftbrd to be wholly indifferent, that the fur-
traders tolerated gospel ministers, rather than in the
expectation that the arm of omnipotence would be
through such means swayed more especially in their
interests.

At an early day Mr Staines joined the settlers'
faction, and waged open war upon the company, still
continuing, however, his heavenly ministrations. But
with his own people he was not always at penect
peace.

Though brought hither as a bird of paradise, his
phunage was never wholly unruffled. His learning,
acquired at Cambridge at no small cost of time and
money, was given him in order that he might do
good. Now to the fur-traders he had no disposition
to do good, but rather evil; the settlers were not
much better, but he must begin his work somewhere.
The savafjcs needed cleansinjx within and without as
much as any, but that was not exactly in his line;
besides they were so like swine.

All ! swine — pigs — pork. Hero was an idea. There
was ah'cady a sufficient number at work improving
the savages, and his own race was cultivated too
niiuli already; every white man he met there carried
too keen un edge, so sharp, indeed, as to be dangerous.
Improved hogs might tend to nullify the effect of
human greed.

So tlic Reverend Staines affected swine. Throw-
ing to the winds all scruple, all the refined sensibility
o{' which ho so lately made parade, he gathered from
every quarter the finest breed, and prided himself on
his piggery. He strove to interest ship-masters in
I'ork, and brought the subject to the attention of his
larishioncrs. Success crowned his efforts. In less

Hut. Ubit. Ool. 16

i: r

212

TWO ORIOINAL CHARACTERS.

than two years tlie Island was well stocked with a fint'
breed of pigs.

But as riches increased so also did the good man's
troubles. His swine would stray into by-ways und for-
bidden j)ath.s, and the settlers regarded tlieir visits
with no inward displeasure. They rather liked the
parson's pork. As now and again a fat favorite dis-
appeared, the anger of the chaplain rose within him,
for ho knew his pigs were sure to come home unless
they were roasted.

IVocuring from a neighboring justice a lettre de
cac/xl, he saddled his Rosinante, the beast on which
it was his custom to make his round of visits, and
sallied forth armed for the right. Not only would ho
gather into the fold his stray pigs, but he would pun-
ish severely those whom he suspected of enticing them
from paths of rectitude. Endless litigation followed.
On C)ne occasic^n the parson himself narrowly escaped
prosecution and imprisonment by an enraged parish-
ioner, whom he had accused of stealing his pigs.*

Finally matters with the settlers grew dady worse,
and it was resolved to send Mr Staines to England,
to remonstrate with imperial powers upon the injus-
tice of so tyrannical a rule. It was easier to obtain a
promise from the reverend gentleman to go than to
get him started. His habit of procrastination in this
instance cost him dear, not to mention the loss to the
(!olonists thereby.

The vessel which he was to have talcen, and which
would have carried him safely to San Francisco, sailed
from Soke without him, as his pigs were not yet all
provided for. A lumber-laden craft, however, left the
same port shortly afterward, and on this Mr Staines
embarked. But scarcely had the ship left the strait,
when off Cape Flattery a storm struck her, throwing

*Thi9 character is not in tlio least ovenlrawn. These facts and othors
for wliich I liave not space wero given mo by FinlaysoD and Anderson, and jmr-
ticuliirly hy Caj>tuin Cooiut, who kiiuw Uie eccentric parson well, having com-
mand of tiiu siiip wliii-'h brought liini to this country, and who lived near him
un terma of intimacy during his stay in the island.

DEATH OF STAINES.

'243

lier on her beam ends. In.staiitly she was water-
loggi'fl and at the mercy of tlie waves. Most of the
crew were at once swept overboard. Mr Staines, who
was below, cut his way tlirough the side of the ship.
1 [is cabin was flooded, and without was the wild waste
of tumultuous waters. And there the poor man re-
mained, between the lowering sky and the lowering
sea; there he remained till he died. So the only sur-
vivor of the wreck reported when rescued by a passing
ship, and then himself expired.

Thus much for the unfortunate divine ; the doctor
is of quite another species. His name is John Sebas-
tian ITelmcken, and he turns up first among the coal-
iiiiners at Fort Rupert in 1849. He differs from his
friend the Reverend Stuines in many respects; and
first of all he can in no sense be called divine, even by
tlie widest stretch of irony. He had not been long
upon the Island before he found his bread buttered
on the Hudson's Bay Company's side of the disputes
then raging, while Staines was the ciiampion of the
indei)endent settlers.

In l)ody no less than in mind the doctor was one to
command attention. Short and slightly built, with a
huge head, always having on it a huge hat, balancing
itself upon his shoulders; with deep, clear, intelligent
eyes, in which there was self-confidence and critical
discrimination, but no malice; with a wide-spreadinj
and wi'll-projccting m(jutli, holding in it the ever
presctit cigar, and given to much laughter; with a
kind heart that gave the lie to many of his words and
actions — there has never been a man in British Co-
hunl)ia who, with an exterior so impenetrable by a
stranger, has for so many years maintained the respect
and confidence of the community, who has made more
friends, or performed more acts of unparaded charity,
than John Sebastian Helmckcn. In more paths than
one — in the pursuit of politics and medicme, in the
[uirKuit of wealth, honor, and distinction — he won the
success he so richly deserved.

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244

TWO ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

At a very tender age Helmcken had harbored in
his breast political aspirations. In boyhood he had
thought of himself as born to something, and he had
not long been among the savages and miners of Fort
Rupert before he arrived at the conclusion that he
was born to rule. He was sure he could rule, for if
his subjects would not obey him he would punish
them with physic. In such society he surely might
aspire to shine as a great medicine; in a government
so Utopian as to have an office for every citizen, surely
he might obtain one. Time with him was no object;
he had little to do ; eight coal-miners thus far were all
who could be legally compelled to take his drugs, and
the natives had no confidence in him, preferring their
own physicians, whom they might righteously kill
when they failed to cure. He had time enough; he
could attend to the affairs of her Majesty's govern-
ment in those parts as well as not, and he thought he
should like to do it.

As Helmcken, unlike Staines, declined to leave the
Island under any consideration, as he declined to die
in the service of his country or in any other service,
and as we shall meet him occasionally in the course
of this narrative, it is not necessary for me to dispose
of him Anally in this place. We shall see how he be-
haves in office, for office he obtained — office, the delight
of his heart. The tidings of his first appointment
pleased him hugely. His commission came to him in
the form of a letter from the colonial governor, of
which ho immediately broke the seal and read. It
was enough to win him to the cause of the corporation
for life. Here, indeed, was a new future opening up
to him, with endless and brilliant possibilities, the
thoughts of which engendered high aspirations, and
were attended with such thrilling satisfaction as those
only can appreciate who have themselves been thrown
upon the border-land of civilization, and have seen the
light of liberation thus breaking in upon them through
the wilderness. To one who has buried himself in a
new country, resolved there to remain, the develop-

JOHN SEBASTIAN.

245

ment of himself and his resources depending upon the
development of the country, it is a great satisfaction
to him when he is first made aware that ho is not
always to remain buried. Thousands and hundreds
of thousands, during the pioneer periods of American
settlement, have thus gone down into their graves,
lost to themselves and to their friends, lost to time
and to eternity.

Now, in the incipiency of colonial government on
Vancouver Island, Helmckcn was the devoted parti-
san of the Hudson's Bay Company. And though he
was not exactly the kind of a man that they had im-
agined him to be, in reality he was of much higher
and more lasting benefit to them than if ho had been.
What they thought they wanted, and did not want,
was a gnarled knot of human nature of so coarse and
unpleasing a texture as to be oppugnant to every feel-
ing of refinement, egotistical, boorish, never suspect-
ing the low order of his cunning, affecting irony, but
achieving only buffoonery, fit to wait on Aristophanes
or Rabelais though Juvenal or Lucian would none of
him, making up at table in wine and loud laughter
what he lacked in wit — such was the kind of instru-
ment on which the fur-traders would like to play their
new tune of colonization.

All the better was it for their purpose that he
should practice a profession, a business that was
neither law, divinity, nor commerce, but one which
would bring him in contact with people everywhere,
with those of both factions, when factions should
come. Luckily for them, ho had been taught to mix
and administer physic, in which he now succeeded well
enough; for, having no competitor, whether he killed
or cured his proceedings were deemed regular, and his
patients lived or died by the book.

A short time sufticed to show him that office under
the colonial governor was not his element. Though
openly friendly, the representatives of Fonchurch
street and of Downing street were secretly opposed.
And volatile as might be John Sebastian by nature,

246

TWO OBIOINAL GHABAC7IEBS.

he could not serve and satisfy these two masters.
Love, avarice, and ambition all beckoned him away
from imperial affairs, fleeting and fading as they were.
Therefore, as her majesty's presence on Vancouver
Island was at this appeal ing a somewhat shabby affair,
the little doctor returned to his origiral allegiance,
and soon turned himself out of oflSce.

It so happened, as we have seen, that both of these
men, the doctor and the divine, were brought hither
by the monopoly, whose servants they were; only the
clergyman would not wholly renounce his master in
heaven, would not at all renounce himself for them, he
who was inferior to no being of whatsoever caste or
cahbre on this or any other planet. And so he went
his way, and was swallowed by great waves of ad-
versity. The doctor, on the other hand, after a brief
departure from the traditional paths of fur-trading
rectitude, returned to the easier pursuit, and to his
pursuit proved faithful to the end, receiving to wife
a governor's daughter, with all attendant honors and
emoluments.

CHAPTER XV.

SETTLEMENT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.
1849-1857.

What ark Settlkr.s? — Not Fur-traders — NciR Coal-mixers — Nor yet

THE NOOTKA DIPLOMATISTS — TllE ^L\lNLANlt .SOT lN(.'Lr:)ElJ I.V THE COL-
ONIZATION Scheme — The ^[okmons Cast an P'vk iroN the Island —
Woman, Red and White — Tue Monopolists Seize McKenzie, Skin-
ner, McAuley, AND Parsons— Bona Fide SETTLEsts Oblioed to Taki-;
What They can Get — W. Coh^uhoun Grant— J[is Skttlement ap
Soke Harmok — Lease to Thomas Monroe — Grant Sells Soke jo
the MriRS — James Cooper, Sailor, Trader, and Aorici'lturist—
Builds One of the Many First Vessels — He Takes t p Land at Met-
chosin — Thomas Blenkhorn — The ' Harpooner,' ' Norman Morrison,'
AND the 'Tory ' Bring Setplers — The Town of Vkioiuv Laid oi r —
Wails from Fokp Victoria — James Deans Arrives — Baillie and
Lanuford — Prooress of Settlement,

The first white men in British Columbia were not
settlers. To win the favor of the savages, and not to
exterminate them, was their object. In obfainino'
the skins of fur-bearing beasts their profit lay; and
tliat this source of profit might continue, it was to
their interest, while drawing as largely from the for-
ests as possible, to preserve tlie country in a state of
nature, and nurse the game when' it Ix'gan to fail.
Tims the fur-traders were diametrically oppcjsed t(»
settlement, as I have said before.

Nor could the coal-miners properly be called set-
tlers. Their purpose was solely to disembowel the
cartli of its wealth, not to colonize the country. It
is only when men appropriate to themselves a portion
of the soil with the view of subduing, imj»roving, and
I'crmanently cultivating it for the benefit of 'themselves

iur

9iS

SETTLEMENT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

■i li

and their successors, tliat settlement in tlie true sig-
nification of the term begins.

There was thouglit of colonization at Nootka, but,
it was transient. Astor entertained visions of settle-
ment at the mouth of the Columbia, keeping the sur-
rounding country meanwhile as a hunting-ground.
Wyeth thought to settle, trade, and build a city,
beginning operations by establishing Fort William on
Sauvd Island. The originators of these and other
like schemes were doomed to disappointment. Tlu;
hour of permanent occupation had not ja^t como.
The opposers of settlement were too strong for sucli
efforts. It was only when the stomach of tlie great
monopoly began to feel cravings for something ilsc
than purely animal food, began to see profit in feed-
ing their fur-hunting brethren of Russian America,
that they allowed their hunting-fields to be in any
degree marred, and their servants to reclaim a few
fertile patches of ground for their own more proper
feeding. Thus settlement was permitted to begin in
a small and primitive way in the vicinity of the sev-
eral forts, and by the French Canadian servants of
the company in the Willamette, Columbia, and Cow-
litz valleys.

Nor, from their own, and from a commercial stand-
point, were the fur-traders wrong in opposing to tl
latest possible moment the inroads of agriculture upc
their fur-bearing domain. Their protestations of in-
difference, in political circles, as to the progress of
settlement, their denials of harboring any desire to
retard the permanent occupation of the country, might
be taken at their worth. Years before the consunniin-
tion of their fears tlu^y saw that their traffic on tlic
lower Columbia, and south of it, was doomed. And
when finally by the infiux into Oregon of emigrants
from the United States they were driven back beyond
the 49th parallel, only what they had long known to
be the inevitable was upon them.

It will be remembered that with the removal «»f

EUROPEAN MARITAL FASHIONS.

249

head-quarters to Fort Victoria the transport for the
j\Iainland interior was established by way of Fraser
River, furs being brought on horses down to Hope,
and thence by boat to Fort Victoria. Outfits for New
Caledonia and the other interior districts went out by
the same route. Yet in 1847 there was not a single
white man on the Fraser between Langley and Alex-
andria, save at the salmon fishery below Hope. For
some time yet the Mainland was destined to be kept
solemnly aboriginal.

As early as 1845 the Mormons had their eyes on
Vancouver Island as a haven of rest, Nootka being
their objective point. Even before the homely hard-
ships of agricultural ventures, the Island began to look
upward, began to put off that conventional prostitu-
tion which had so long been pronounced respectable
by commercial considerations, and to array marital
matters in the white robes of Christian purity. Mc-
Loughlin had been reviled by Beaver for living in
open adultery. Mrs Beaver would not permit her
petticoats to come in contact with those of Mrs Mc-
Loughlin for fear of defilement ; so after soundly cud-
gelling the clergyman for his impudence, to make up
for past defects the chief factor had himself married
to his wife ; was, in fact, married to her two or three
times over.

And as the light of parliament now dawned upon
this dark western wilderness with ever increasing
lustre, at the heels of many another officer of the fur
monopoly dangled the tawdry vestments of aboriginal
love unsanctified by any European formula. All this
must now be changed, and the Island must put on con-
nubial purity. Those who had incased the polluted
lilood of their ofispring in dusky coverings must re-
pent and be baptized, then sit in social sackcloth all
their days. But for those who had overcome, white
wives should be the reward.

From the Hawaiian Islands in 1848 came Mrs Gov-

m ■•

' .1 ;

2S0

SETTLEMENT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

ington, of blood pure and etiolated skin, the aurora
borealis of feminity, who reigned resplendent for forty
years and more. Others from England followed; there
were the Langfords, the Skinners, Mrs Staines, and
Mrs McKenzie; and so aboriginal wife-taking went
out of fashion forever. Miss Burnie, Anderson's
wife's aunt, arrived from Scotland in 1851.^

Among the first acts of the company was to work
out for themselves a tract of land comprising ten
square miles^ round Fort Victoria, and to have it sur-
veyed. The whole Island had been granted them, but
for purposes of sale and colonization. This ten-mile
tract they desired to reserve; this they would hold
and not sell.

Not that the company entertained the purpose of
paying at once into the colonial exchequer the pound
per acre to make good their title, unless it should be-
come necessary for them to do so, and unless they
should clearly see profit in it at that price. However
it should turn out in the end, they had the power at
this time to hold it, and to refuse to sell it at any
price. And this they did. When Mr Blanshard
returned to England in 1851 there were two or three
of the company's former servants located within the
tract; not more.

Great indeed were the monopolists in whatsoever
direction greatness was the fashion; if in fur-trading,
half the world was too small for them; if in farming,
they would be the largest farmers in British Colum-
bia. All the Island and Mainland were theirs, and

• 'Rev Mr Staines, who was also school-master aa well as chaplain to the
company, arrived at Fort Victoria from England about 1849, and remained
until ahovit 1853. Mrs Staines, his wife, was probably tlio first English lady
who landed on Vancouver Island.' Anderson's Hist. Northwest Coast, MS.,
102. 'Mrs Covington, now in Victoria, was the first white lady here.' Fin-
laysoii's Hist., V. /., MS., 90. Grant, Lond. Geofj. Soc, Jour., xxvii. 281,
says that Mr and Mrs Staines were there in 1854. 'Mrs Annie Muir, wife
of John Muir of Solse, died Feb. 18, 1875, aged 73 years. She came to thi ■.
country in 1848, being the second white woman who landed in the province
of British Columbia.' Olympia Traitscript, !M;u'cli C, 1875.

"This according to Blanshard, House Commona liept., sel. com., 1857, 207.
Grant including the Puget Sound Company makes the quantity much larger.

THE rU(4KT SOUNP COMPANY'S TRACTS

I'll

all the j)(>wcr; were they idiots that they should not
liave a door-yard to Victoria Harbor and fort? By
no uieans.^ On thu most fertile spots the two great
coiiipanios planted farms, one at Craigflower, one at
Lake Hill, and so on, and brought out men from
England to work them. In 1853 the Puget Sound
Company had under cultivation and in charge of three
hailiiis, twenty-five acres of their open patch of two
liundred acres lying bctwct'u Yii-toria and Esquimalt.

Skinner's fai'm, McKenzie's fai'in at Craigflower,
AEcAuley's farm, and Langford's, were settlements
made under the auspices of the Puget Sound Com-
[»any. Parsons' bridge was built, and there a saw
and grist mill was erected for the company, Parsons
superintending the saw-mill part of the structure, and
George McKenzie the grist-mill part/ The remains
of the mill were visible in 1878; by the freshet of
1854-5 the wheel was washed out, and the property
was otherwise badly damaged. Two or three families
besides several single men lived at Parsons' Bridge.

And because the company was great, if for no other
reason, the settlers early threw themselves into an
attitude of antagonism. They seemed to understand
from the first that they had the monopoly to fight,
and if no wrongs had already been committed, they
would do battle for those which were sure sooner or
later to be perpetrated.

Their standard complaints were the original terms

"Ou my arrival in thi! Island all the laud in the neighborhood of Victoria
.iimI Esquimau, which comprised some 40 square miles, and contaiueil nearly
nil ,the available land then known, was reserved 1)> tlie Hudson's IJay and
I'uget iSoiind companies.' Oraiit, in Loud. (ko<j, Sor., Jour., xxvii. '273.
Writing to Lord (Jrey, tlie loth of June 18.10, (fovernor Ulausharil says: 'The
lludsou's Bay Company have commenced a survey of tlie land reserved to
themselves, which is bounded l)y a line drawn nearly <hie north from the lu;ad
iif Victoria Harbour to a liill marked on the chart as Cedar Hill or Mount
l>ougla3, and thence ruiniing due east to the Canal de Arro. Tlie extent is
Intimated at about ten miles square, A tract adjoining of similar extent is
reserved for the Puget Sound Agricultural Association. . .This last contains
tlie liarbour of lilsrpumalt. . .Tliere is no water near; the water reipiireil for
tlie servants ;>i the Hudson's Ray Company is brought from a distance of two
miles, and during summer and autumn they are kept on allowance as at sea.'
Hf'hithiird's Dexjinfchen, 2.

' Di„n.i' kifUkiutiil V. I., MS., 19; Brit. Col Sketches, MS., 25.

252

SETTLEMENT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

' f 1

'i! n K

of colonization, the grasping disposition of the Hud-
son's Bay and Puget Sound companies in appropriat-
ing all the best lands, the fear of the Indians, the
absence of properly constituted courts, the withering
influence of monopoly on colonization, and the failure
to have been admitted into the Canadian reciprocity
treaty. These were the permanent troubles, besides
which was a multitude of near and transient woes
which well nigh overshadowed all the rest. They ob-
jected to the "truck system" as they stigmatized the
company's time-honored mode of barter; laborers or
any who had dealings with the monopolists being
obliged to receive pay in goods in lieu of money,
and at whatever prices the company should choose
to fix.**

There was one vessel belonging to the company
which made voyages between Victoria and the Ha-
waiian Islands several times a year. This ship would
take freight from Victoria hence, but would not as
a rule bring goods for settlers from abroad to Vic-
toria. The open land was first appropriated, where
neither milling nor shipping facilities were required,
this being less expensive to prepare for cultivation
than timber land. The open land was usually fertile,
and capable of producing from twenty-five to forty
bushels of wheat to the acre. Wheat was sown in
October, and among the best fields in 1856 were Old
Bay Farm and the farm of Mr Ross. The price of
wheat depended on the will of the Hudson's Bay
Company. They might give for it a shilling a bushel,
or ten shillings if they pleased, or they might not take
it at all."

The first and only bonajide settlement for several
years under the crown grant, and independent of the
Hudson's Bay Company, or not an offshoot from it,

^Deana' Settlement, V. I., MS., 3.

• Mr Grogan asked what was done with the wheat in caae the company re-
fused to buy it. 'A great deal of it ia in stacks to this day,' Mr Cooper replied,
'there being no market fur it.' Home Commons RepL, 203.

GRANT AT SOKE HARBOR.

'253

f the Hud-

appropriat-

ndians, the

e withering

the failure

reciprocity

)les, besides

iisient woes

. They ob-

matized the

laborers or

olists being

L of money,

ould choose

tie company
md the Ha-
s ship would
rould not as
•oad to Vic-
iated, where
ire required,
r cultivation
,ually fertile,
ive to forty
was sown in
56 were Old
The price of
udson's Bay
ing a bushel,
ght not take

t for several
ndent of the
oot from it,

;e the company rc-
Ir Cooper replied,

was made in 1849 by W. C. Grant.' Hearing of the
new colonization project, he sold his commission as
captain in an English cavalry regiment, and fitting
out a small colony consisting of eight persons, he
placed them with all his effects on board the ship
ILirpooner for Vancouver Island, by way of Cape
Horn, coming out himself by way of Panamd. The
Ilarpooner arrived in June 1849,** and the eight agri-
culturists and colonists with all their belongings were
brought wholly at Grant's expense. After a careful
examination of the country in the vicinity, he chose
wliat he regarded as the most favorable spot avail-
able, which was at Soke Harbor, at the head of Soke
Inlet, distant from Fort Victoria, south-westerly, some
twenty miles.®

Grant would have preferred settling nearer the fort,
where his little colony would have been less isolated,
less open to attack from the savages, and nearer the
source of supplies; but by the outspreading of the

'W. Colquhoun Grant was a captain of tlie Scota Greys, 2d Dragoon
Guards, and lieutenant-colonel of Turkish cavalry contingent. Ho waa a
nuiii of no ordinary natural ability, to which were added high intellectual at-
tniuinents, as is clearly sll0^vn by a Description of Vancouver Island, w 'itten
ill 18.14, read before the London Geographical Society the 22d of Juno ,'857,
and printed in vol. xxvii. of the society's Journal, 2G8-320. This article, which
is accompanied by an excellent map, I have often had occasion to quote in
tliis history. As I have before remarked, it covers the whole field of gec;.'ra-
pliy, geology, ethnology, and natural history, with a masterly applicati( n of
science to an entirely new domain. In describing a trip around tho Island,
ho gives particulars of the prominent features coming under his observation,
describing the harbors, their natural advantages, tho amount of available
Laid, with statistics touching climate, resources, and coal and trade prospects,
and an account of the natives. This statement of Grant, printed by so re-
spectable a body as the Geographical Society, carried great weight in England,
and influenced in no small degree the subsequent investigations of parliament.

"Finlayson, Hist., V. I., MS., 48, says that the fii.st colonists arrived in
1S51, but ho makes the statement erroneously from memory, (irant makes it
indisputable when he states, Lond. Geo;/, ilor.. Jour., xxvii. 27.3: 'In June
I H4',t, the first batch of colonists under tliis system arrived, and they consisted
of oiglit men brought out by myself; and from that day to tliis' — he was
w riting in 1854 — 'not a suigle other independent colonist has come out from
tlu; (jld country to settle in the Island; all the other individuals who have
taken up land having been in the employ of the company, and brought out
to 1 he country at its expense.'

'■'I i rant's distances were greater than those of later measurers. He says,
London Geog. Soc, Jour., xxvii. 273, that 'Matchousin, distant eleven milea
Ironi Victoria, was pointed out to me as the nearest imclaimed spot on which
I rould settle; not approving of which, as there was neither a harbour nor
mill-power there, I was recommended to proceed to Soke, distant 20 milea.'

254

SKTTJJ'-MKNT OF VANCOUVKlt ISLAND.

tiifri'

mil

skirts of till.' fur monopoly, and of those of its sister
association wliilom of Puget Soiiiul, ho was obhgtd
to butaku himself to the wilderness beyond their
sacred precincts.

Soke Harbor was large, larger than either Victoria
or Es(iuinialt liarbor. It was well shciltered; and
though the entrance was intricate, vessels could waip
in and out, or having a south-west wind they could
enter without difficulty.^" The soil was good, capable
of producing any tiring grown in England or Scotland,
and the a])original occupants, sixty nrale adults in
number, were peaceful. On the whole it was the best
he could do. Accordingly he selected there a tract of
land, built farm-houses and barn, and erected a saw-
mill at the mouth of a small stream flowing into the
harbor frorrr the north-east. Thirty-five acres wcri!
soon under cultivatioir, and a snrall stock of cattle,
horses, pigs, and poultry rejoiced over that act of the
British parliament which resulted in giving them so
much to eat with so little effort in obtaining it.

There ff)r two years resided the retired captaiir, a
solitary coloirist; he who lately figured so conspicuously
in the drawirrg-room and on parade, now reduced to
the abject rulership in a solitary wilderness of eight
farm-hands with their attendrut pigs and poultry.
"Being a patriotic Highlander, says Finlaysorr, "he
had formed the idea of establishing a Scotch colony,
and intended bringing out a Gaelic school-master arrd
a Scotch piper." Becoming tired of such a life, in
1851 he leased his farm to some of his men, Thonras
Munroe and others, and took his departure from the
Island. The laborers left to themselves speedily be-
came demoralized, so that returning after a time to
find his farm neglected, the land lying uncultivated.
and most of the property destroyed, the disgusted

'•Tlie ship Lord Weiiter7i, drawing nineteen feet of water, loaded there in
the Slimmer of 1853, litfore f4rant's article was written. This vessel was
w recked shortly afterward at Achosat a little north of Clayoquot.

THE MUIRS, McKAY, AND COOl'EU.

869

ciiptain sold the establishment for what lie could get,
and abandoned tlie country."

The purchasers of Grant's establishments at Soke
wore the Muirs, Michel Muir behig still there when
1 visited V^ancouver Island in 1878, at which time
the original sixty natives had been reduced by civili-
zation, disease, and rum, to five.^"

])uring the summer of 1850, Joseph W. McKay
Wiis commissioned to explore that part of the island
lyiiii;' between Victoria and the newly discovered coal-
uiiiies at Nanaimo, with a view of o])enin|L*' the country
to settlers. Several tracts w^ere designated; but if
tlio monopolists could not occupy a single ])oint on
Island or MamJand without the protection of j)alisa(!rs
ill 1(1 armed bastions, how was the solitary agriculturist
to ])lough his field and defend his family?

James Cooper,'^ in 1851. brought out from England
in sections a si. all iron vessel, which, on arrival, lie
])ut together in \'ictoria. Many call this the first
vessel 11 any manner constructed or 'aunched from

" Saiiuiul Hancock, Thirteen Years' JiesUknce oit the ^^orihwc.tt Co'ix(, MS.,
'J17-)S, wild, I)y stress of weather, was thrown iipon (Jrant in his iierniitago
liufdi-e his departure in 187)1, reports him 'a most generous gentleman....
iiavim; around him three or four servants, and amusing himself as liest he
cdidil.' In ISoO, besides Fort Victoria, there was but one small settlement
at Soke, jfoii.sc Cotittiioiis ]'<]>t. Set. Com., 18")7, '204.

'-'Sookewas the first place from which piles and spars were exported.
(San Francisco, Shanghai, Australia, Hong Kong, Sandwich Islands, South
America, and England, wer<> points of oxportation. ' Mirlicl Mnir, in Brit.
Col. Sh'/rh,:^, MS., •_'-!.

'■'Mr Cooper entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company in 184-1,
as master in command of a vessel sailing between London and Fort Vancou-
ver. In 1849 he was captain of the bark ('olniiihln. At the time I met him
ill 1878, he impressed me as a pleavuit Fii^ilish gintleiuen, with a mind more
tlian ordinarily subject to the war|> of fintuiie; consistent in his dislikes,
Mhicli Were lasting, harboring from year to year liis hatred of the Hudson's
bay (/dinpany with unwavering persistency. He soon left the service of the
('uiii[)aiiy and became a .settler on Vancouver Island. Visiting England in
]Sr)7 lie gave evidence against the company before the house of eomnions'
silict committee. 'Notwithstanding over twcnty-tive years have passed,' ho
saiil to nie, 'and any harsh feeling on my part may fairly be consitlered to
liavu vanished, I state with all candor that ditUeiilties experienced by myself
ill the early struggles of settlement in this country may be attributed to the
iiidiiopoly and adverse interests of the Hudson's Bay Company.' A plain
man, Captain Cooper told me a plain, unvarnished tale, but his amanuensis,
a young person of more pretensions than parts, .so cloudc'. it with high-sound-
ing worda as greatly to obscure the blunt old sailor's inea..uig.

2S6

SETTLEMENT OP VANCOUVER ISLAND.

the Island, but they forget Nootka." It was employed
during the seaso.; of 1852 in trade at Fraser River,
where the owner bought cranberries and potatoes
from the natives for the San Francisco market. The
Indians gathered cranberries, which grew in large
quantities on the delta at the mouth of the Fraser
River, supplying the vessel at the rate of seventy-five
cents a barrel. These berries were sold in San Fran-
cisco at a dollar a gallon.

It was a new industry, and was not regarded with
any degree of favor by the Hudson's Bay Company,
which still held a license of exclusive trade with the
Indians on the Mainland. It is true that this license
referred more particularly to the peltry traflfic, but
the company were jealous of any interference in that
quarter, and threw every obstacle in the way of any
kind of commercial intercourse with the natives of
the Mainland. ^^ Soon after Captain Cooper had opened
this traffic, Douglas sent instructions to the officer in
charge at Fort Langley, to buy all the cranberries the
Indians could gather, and pay such a price for them
as would keep other traders away.

Cooper took up land at Metchosin, seven miles
from the fort, and became a settler under the crown
grant, being the first defection from the Hudson's
Bay Company's service in that direction. He farmed
three hundred acres, and called himself a colonist from

" The owner, indeed, says it waa tho first on the Pacific coast. Cooper's
Mar. Matters, MS., 5. But we may surely count half a dozen before this, as
at Neah Bay, Astoria, and elsewhere on tho Columbia, and on the north coast.
It is unsafe to call a thing first unless one is sure that nothing was before it.

>* * To show how entirely dependent settlers were upon the Hudson's Bay
Company: I found it necessary to apply to the company for the purchase of
barrels, originally intended as salmon-barrels, for tho purpose of holding the
cranberries traded for on the Fraser River. Should I fail to secure such barrels,
the time, labor, and expense I had been put to, to collect such cargo, would
be lost. I had no thouglit, however, that a refusal would be made, coiisiiioi -
ing that to speak within bounds, the company had at that time at least a
thousand barrels on hand, the prime cost of which to them would not cer-
tainly exceed thirty cents each. . . .No barrels could be bouj^ht elsewhere

I therefore applied to the company to sell me one liundred barrels. . .when,
after much apparent concession, the favor was accorded to mo of being allowed
to purchase one hundred barrels at three dollars each cash.' Cooper's Mar.
Matters, MS., 5-6.

GRANT AND BLENKHORN.

257

1851 to 1857, by which latter date he had arrived at
the conclusion that the term signified little. High as
ran his expectations, he was doomed to disappoint-
ment as an agriculturist. Unlike Grant, he did
not run away and rail, but railed and remained, and
when last I saw him was still reviling the monopolists
who had tricked him in the cranberry trade, and had,
by their baneful breath, stifled his attempts at Met-
chosin.^"

Cooper's partner at Metchosin as well as at the
Fraser Delta was Thomas Blenkhom, pronounced by
Fitzwilliam before the select committee to be one
of the most energetic settlers on the Island. Before
coming hither he had been up and down the world
somewhat, had lived some time in Australia, possessed
a mind of wide range, and well tried by experience.
Blcnkhorn also carried on a lumber trade with San
Francisco, and was in most ways an estimable man.

Besides Grant's agriculturists, the Harpooner,
which arrived in June 1849, brought out eight coal-
ininers to work the company's property at Fort
Rupert. There were also on board two laborers for
the fort farm. In 1850 the bark Norman Morrison
arrived, bringing eighty immigrants; in June 1851,
the Tory came into port with one hundred and twenty
hired laborers, about one quarter of whom, with some
coal-mining machinery the vessel brought, were sent
to Fort Rupert." The Tory returned by way of
Honolulu and Shanghai, carrying tea to England.

Mr Blanshard, the first governor, states that when

'"After Grant cameCooper.'BaysFinlayson. Hist., V. I., "MS., iB. 'Hetoo
liad sanguine hopes. . .These two settlers who might be said to have complied
wilh the first conditions, spent all their means, and the venture proved en-
tirely unsuccessful.' See also Cooper, in House Commons liept. sel. com. if. li.
AfairK, IS')?, 190. Fitzwilliam, in ib., 119, states that ho purchased the land
from the Hudson's Bay Compajiy.

'' ' Some have already been sent to Oregon, and some toother posts of the
company. No preparation had been made hero for their reception, beyond
erecting a couple of log-houses, or rather sheds. In these the renainder are
luKldlcd together like cattle, as I have seen myself, to the number of thirty
111' thirty-five in each shed, men and women, married and single, without any
kiiid of screen or partition to separate them.' Jilamhard's Dexpatches, 12,
Hut. Bbis. Col. 17 i

258

SETTLEMKNT OF VAXCOUN'KK ISLAND.

r; II

lie retiiriu'd to England in 18G1, besides the officers
and servants of tlie Hudson's Bay Company, tlieri'
were about thirty settlers on the Island. Of these,
some had formerly been in the service of the com-
pan}^ but had withdrawn their connection, bought
land, and haO. become agriculturists or stock-raisers.
Januis Deans says that m 1852 there were in the
vicinity of Fort Victoria but st!ven independent set-
tlers, three of whom had formerly been in the com-
j)any's service.^"*

The town of Victoria was laid out in streets in
1852, the western boundary being the harbor, the
eastern, the present Government street, the southern
the fort, and the northern, the present Johnst(jn
street.^^ Two trails led from the fort; one to the
Songhies' camp, and on to McAuley Point, and
through McKenzie Plains to CraigHowcr and Colwood.
the other connecting with the town and also with Col-
wood, but })assi ng round the north sides of Victoria
and Esquimalt arms, and ci-ossing the former at Qua-
niassin, that is to say, Seatangle, at the present bridge.
When James Deans arrived, early the following year,
where the city now stands was thick brush, with
intervening cultivated patches. Besides the fort then'
were but twelve houses witliin the pn^sent city limits.

Again, on tlie KJtli of January, 185.S, appeared the
Norma)) Morrison, with two hundnxl additional colo-
nists, who had iMigaged themselves to the company for
five years, the reward for such .service being land te
the regal extent of twenty-five acres to laborers, and
fifty acrt^s to tradesmen, payable at the expiration of
the term. It was a noble enterprise, well worthy the

'" Their nainea were .hinu's Yates, Jiiiues Cooper, R. Anderson, R. Scott,
James M. Ri'iil, W . 'J'lKmipson, and (uutrge Deans. Iham Settlement, V. /.,
MS., 4. See also liril. < \<l. Shtehex, MS., 'J. Resides tlieahuve, we find sigiuvl
to a settlers' ju'titiipii t<i (ioveriKir Hlansluird the names f(f the Miiirs, at Soke,
Mieliel, Arehihahl, Andrew, Robert, and .Tohn, senior and junior; Thomas
Blenkhorn, "letelio^-in; 'J'liomas Munroe, .lames Sanjjster, K. J. Staiin'^,
William Fraser, .John Mdire^or, and William MeDonald. In his estimate of
thirty, Blanshard was as nsual vague and undeeided, though there may have
huen laborers enough to make up the number.

^^' FhtUiyiion's Letter.'*, MS,, l.Sih Oet. 1871).

JAMES DEANS.

269

the officers
)aiiy, there
Of these,
f the coiii-
on, bought
,ock-raisers.
vere in the
eiideiit set-
11 the eom-

11 streets in
harbor, the
he soutlierii
it Johnston
one to the
Point, and
lid Col wood,
iso with Col-
, of Victoria
iiier at Qua-
isent brido-e.
lowing year,
brush, with
he fort there
t city limits,
ippeared the
litional eolo-
eoinpany for
eing land to
aborers, aiul
xpiration of
worthy the

Icrsoii, It. Scott,
Sdlli-mcuf, I'. /•.
ve, wo liiiil si^Tioil
; Mu'.rs, iit Sivku.
1 junior; Tliom;i.s
'H. J. Staiiii^
la his cstimuti' ot
h there may have

(!onception of honest merchants and the management
of parliament, this seizing lands without pay, expel-
ling the natives, then putting men to subdue it who
should take as pay an infinitesimal part of the land
which their own hands had made of value.

zVmong these arrivals was James Deans, before men-
tioned, who came out as laborer, and after a few^ weeks*

./"(Ill rl,- Frli'd .s(r.\v

South End op Vancoi'ver Island, 1853.

service in the company's store was .s jt to work on their
larm at Craigflower, where he remained half liis term,
serving the remainder among the sheep at the Lake
Hill station.

T. F. McElroy visiting Victoria in September 1853
in company with Captain Reid and daughter, of the
Island, was met on lanchng by .Viuh-ew ^Inir, who

260

SETTLEMKXT OF VANCOUVKll ISLAND.

■\ rn

introduced hiiii to Mr Finlayson aiul WiHiain Atkin-
son, after which lie proceeded to Esquiiiialt, where
the United States surveying steamer Active, Captain
Alden, was anchored. McElroy states that James
C'oo})er was residing there at the time, though Michel
Muir affirms that there were no settlers at Esquimalt
m 1855, and that the first houses were built where the
navy-yard was subsequently placed. McElroy, an
American, was delighted with Staines, who scourged
hift own countrymen more thoroughly than any for-
eigner could have done. Next, the colonial academy,
conducted by Robert Barr, was visited; afterward
Thomas Baillie, whose residence was five miles from
the fort.

At the end of 1853, besides the 17,000 natives'"
there were on the Island, men, women, and children,
white and mixed, 450 persons, 300 of whom were at
and between Victoria and Soke, 125 at Nanaimo, and
the rest at Fort Rupert. Up to this time, in all, 19,807
acres and 16 perches of land had been applicrl for
under tl^'i grant, 10,172 acres being claimed by the
Hudson's Bay Company, 2,374 acres by the Puget
Sound Company, and the remainder by private per-
sons."' At first a deposit of only one dollar an acre
was required from purchasers, but that system was
soon abolished, and settlers were required to pay the
full price of the land, one pound per acre, before
occupying. At the beginning of 1854 not more than
500 acres in all were under cultivation; and of this
all but 30 acres at Boke and 10 acres at Metchosin
was worked by the monopolists." Three miles distant
from the fort, Baillie farmed for the Hudson's Bay
Company, while the lands of the Puget Sound Com-

'"' Adopting <; rant's estimate. Sen also linttrnys V. I., 8.

'' Sixteen settlers occupied 1,C1)G acres, two roods, and sixteen perches;
KTH unoccupic<l acres were claimed l)y absentees. ' Altogether," says (Irant.,
' including the fiir and farming numopolists, there are 5;} different claimants
of land, about .SO of whom may bo said to be bona Jide, occupying and im-
proving their land.'

"This is (^.rant's statement, and reduces to iusiguiticaaou the oflforts of
Cuuper with liil* 300 acres ^laintv)d.

CAPTAIN LANGFORD.

261

canco the efforts of

pany were worked under four bailiffs. The fur com-
pany had upon the Island 2,000 sheep, 1,700 of which
in 1858 were at Lake Hill farm.^'

Langford, after whom Langford Pl-.ins and Lang-
ford Lake were named, was a Kentish fanner and
whilom English army officer, who had been induced
to enlist as he supposed in the service of the Hud-
son's Bay Company, which treated its servants with
some kind of decency, and besides was reliable in
money or rather trafficking matters, for there was no
such thing there as money. He was to open a farm
for them on Vancouver Island;''* but on arrival, to
his infinite disgust, he found himself a servant of the
Pugct Sound Company, and for his quarters two log-
huts of one room each, one for himself and family, and
the other for his men.

A petition from the settlers was presented in the
house of commons, the 9th of March 1854, by Sir
John Packington, who stated that the same was
signed by residents of the Island, each of whom gave
his place of abode and professioa, and that he enter-
tained no doubt that it had issued from the greater
part of the respectable inhabitants of the Island.
After reciting the contents of the petition, which
stated that the five-years' grant to the fur-traders was
about to expire, that the high price at which land
was held, and the unsettled form of government, re-
tarded progress, and which concluded by praying par-
liament to provide a remedy, Mr Packington asked
whether the connection of the company with the
Island was about to cease, and whether it was the
intention of lier Majesty's ministers to establish a new
form ol f., . /ernment for Vancouver Island. To tliis
Mr Peel replied that the connection was not about to
terminate, and that the government had no power t<»
remove the company unless it could be shown that

"Deans' SeUlemetit, V. I., MS., 24.

"So Captain Langford aaaerted, House Commons Rept. .lel. com. H. B. Co.
.Ijl'iiirs, 1857, '290-7; Imt it would socm that such stupidity on Ids part
iiiurited but littlo better treatment tlinii ho received.

tl
i

SETTLEMENT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND.

W \

no settlement was establislictl on tlie Island, which
hypothesis the petition itself disproved. The com-
pany were simply proprietors of the Island in trust
for the settlers, and there need not necessarily be any
connection between the company and the governor of
tlie Island. It was true that the commission of gov-
ernor was now held by an agent of the company, but
it was open to the imperial government to appoint an
officer independent of the company, at any time they
sliould so please.

Earl Fitzwilliam urged the same measure in the
house of lords on the 12tli of June. The Duke of
Newcastle said that the government would bear it in
mind, and advanced the now somewhat stale argu-
ment that it was the gold excitement in California
which liad prevented speedier settlement; and so the
petition was laid on the table.

CHAPTER XVI.

GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED.

1850-1852.

James Douglas Nominated by Sir John Pelly foii Governor — Earl Grey
Refuses to Appoint IIim— Richard BlansiiardCuosen — ITis Arrival
AT Victoria — Reaiks his CoMJitssioN — Visits Fokt Rupeut — Relative
Attitudes of the Governor and the Fur Oompanv— Rhlkii of the
Queen's Wilderness — Settlers and Subjects — No Material for a
Council — Nomination of Coitn(;il Postponed John Sebastl\n

HeLMCKEN Al'POINTED MAGISTRATE AT FoRT Rl PERI— TuE MuRDERED

Deserters— Character of BL.VNSHARD--nis Unpleasant Positiun —
Heavv Expenses and Ill-health— What the Settlers Think of it —
Blanshard Appoints a Council, Resigns, Shakes the Dust from his
Feet, and Departs from the Island — James Douglas Appointed
Governor.

While yet the grauting of Vancouver Island to the
Hudson's Bay Company for the purposes of coloniza-
tion was in progress, six months and more prior to the
consummation of the act, the draft of a governor's
commission with instructions was made out, tlie only
things lacking for a fresh departure in the much-loved
line of domineering being a governoi- and a govern-
ment.

In a letter to Sir John Pelly, dated the 31st of
July 1848, Earl Grey intimated that the chief oflicer
of the Hudson's Bay Company might now, were he so
disposed, express Jiis opinion as to the proper person
to be recommended for the office of governor which was
his privilege under the grant. Sir John i\id not hesi-
tate to avail himself of his lordship's perniission, and
nominated for that office James Douglas, whoso name
appeared in a late report among certain papeis laid

(2C3 )

264

GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED.

I ''

before parliament, relative to the Island. The reasons
given by Pelly for nominatin*^ Douj^las were that he
was a man of property, a chief factor of the fur com-
pany, and a member of the board at Fort Vancouvei'
for the management of the company's affairs west of
the Rocky Mountains. This appointment Sir JoJui
did not intend should be permanent, but merely an
expedient to bridge the time until the colony could
afford to pay a governor not connected with the com-
pany. Meanwhile the writer availed himself of the
opportunity to submit to his lordship the names of
certain persons qualified to hold commissions of tlu'
peace under act 1 and 2 George IV., cap. 06. His
list comprised about all the officers of the company
there at that time.'

In reply to this letter, Earl Grey saw no objection
to the appointment of a chief factor of the company
to act as governor as a temporary arrangement, a)
though he apprehended that the issuing of a tern
porary commission would be attended with additional
expense.

This idea of Earl Grey, like others of colonization
conceptions, was, to say the least, singular. A man
upon the ground, with no additional expenses, no es-
tablishment to keep up, would, according to his economy,
cost more than would suffice to send out and support
one specially appointed for that purpose. And if there
should be additional expense, it would not fall upon
the crown, but upon the fur company. The fact is,
Earl Grey never for a moment intended that Douglas
should then be made governor. He had other ends
in view. It suited his purpose, however, to give tliis
answer. As regarded the names proposed for com-
missions of the peace, he had no objections to them,
and promised to take the necessary steps for their ap-
pointment.

'Their names were A. C. Anderson, John Tod, W. F. Tolmie, John Work,
•fames Douglas, R. J. Staines, P. S. Ogdeii, A. McKinlay, J. M. Yale, RiehanI
(rrant, Donald Manson, (!. T. Allan, John Kennedy, and Dugald McTavisli.

RICHARD BLANSHARD,

265

colonization

It was a most politic provision on the part of the
oompany, their right under the new charter or grant
to nominate the governor, leaving it with the imperial
i^rovernmcnt only to accept or to reject their choice.
Xaturally the first consideration in such selection was
a willing instrument, not too wise, nor yet wholly a
fool, for some fools are exceedingly stubborn.

Earl Grey certainly did well to decline Douglas; it
would have been a most impolitic measure, and one
by means of which his enemies might have made him
nmch trouble. What then should be the next move?
Tlie earl at length intimated to his friends of Fen-
church street that, as there were many members of
parliament opposed to the grant, and who would do
uU in their power to frustrate the harmonious work-
ings of colonial affairs under the fur company, it might
1)0 as well in this instance for tlie crown to nominate
as well as to appoint ; at all events, the company would
lose nothing in the end by waiving their right under
the grant, in this first instance.

The fur magnates expressed their unbounded confi-
dence in the good judgment and fair intention of their
noble friend of the government office, as well they
might. If they could not have Douglas, if some noodle
was required for a figure-head — for they knew that
no very able or sensible man would assume the office
nnder the circumstances — they could easily, even under
the cloak of courteous consideration, make it so unct)m-
fortuble for him that he would not long remain. So,
when the name of Richard Blanshard was suggested
l)y Earl Grey, never having heard ill of him, never
having heard of him at all, Sir John Pelly offered
no objection. The friends of his lordship's friend«
knew him, and that was sufficient.

In his subsequent intercourse with the fur-traders,
Blanshard was very precise on this point; he gavt;
tliem constantly to understand that he did not belong
tr» them, but to England. To her majesty alone he
owed his appointment, and to her he should do his

,11

OOVKKNMKNT KSTABUSHKD.

duty. His relations with the fur company ditTerciI in
no wise from his relations with any other inliabitants
of the Island ; he had no special relations with them.

Governor Blanshard arrived at Victoria on the 10th
of March 1850. From Panamd, tlie December pre-
vious, he had written Earl Grey of his arrival at tliat
port, of tlie non-appearance of Admiral Hornby, com-
mander of the Pacific squadron, and of the absenci'
<»f any means of conveyance in his long coastwise
journey. And now having reached his destination, lie
miglit as well have never come. Except tlic paHsadcd
square, which shut out more welcome tlian it enclosed,
there was little to govei.i but seals and savag(>s,
abundantly able these many centuries to manage their
afl'airs without the aid of her majesty's deputy.

But faithful to his trust, Blanshard would do what
he could. He had been sent tliither to rule, and tlie
rocks and the sea or whatsoever had ears should hear
from him.

Landing, he read his commission and proclamation.
And that he might not be wholly dependent upon tlio
almost tenantless isle for an audience, he begged Jolm-
son, captain of the government vessel Driver, which
had carried him there, to listen to him. The captain
kindly consented; likewise Gordon of the Cormorant,
with his officers in full uniform; the officers and ser-
vants of the Hudson's Bay Company also lent their
presence. The reading was in the mess-hall of tlio
fort; and the sterile ceremony over, those present gave
three cheers. The newly installed governor of this
wilderness then returned to the vessel, there being no
government house, inn, or other lodgings upon the
land to receive him. Douglas was on the ground,
ready to nullify with his superior powers any unfavor-
able influence arising from the antagonism of Lord
Grey's governor.

For some time thereafter the government head-
quarters of Vancouver Island were migratory. Being

A FLOATING GOVEENMENT.

267

(111 hoard the Driver, wherever that vessel went the
government was obliged to go. The Driver set out
to coast the Island, to visit Fort Rupert and many
other points of interest. Thereupon the government
concluded that its first duty was to survey its domain
tind minister to the benighted of distant parts accord-
ins: to their new necessities. At Beaver Harbor the
"ovcrnor looked into the workinjj of coal, which was
tluTi attracting the attention of the Hudson's Bay
Company, but he seems to have entertained no ver}^
high opinion as to the quantity or quality. He insti-
tuted a searching examination into the condition and
wants of his subjects at this point, who, besides the
savages and the eight miners, consisted of the oddity
doctor and the mine-manager. Then he returned to
Ills capital. And yet he was not happy.

Blanshard was to serve without pay. Had Doug-
las been confirmed, no expense wquld have been laid
on the government; and this was used as an argu-
ment why another should so serve. This of itself
shows that neither Blanshard nor any one else enter-
tained a very high opinion of Blanshard's worth, else he
would never have been ais.ied to serve his country for
nothing, or if so asked he would certainly have de-
clined. A thousand acres of land had been promised
him before leaving London, which promise the com-
pany construed into the use of a thousand acres, and
not a full title in fee-simple. Now we all of us know of
what value the use of a tract of wild land in a far-off
out-of-the-way region might be to a penniless poli-
tician, and who would be eventually the gainer were
he so foolish as to attempt to improve such land.
Such recompense was worse than no pay at all.

His peregrinations over, the governor deigned to
accept a bunk in the fort while a small house, offices,
tuid garden were being prepared for him outside tht;
palisades.*^ Then he desired to know where were his

" ' The piece of ground whereon now .itand the buildings known as the
Bank of British North America, Barnard's Express office, the Adelphi sidoou,

268

OOVKRNMICNT ESTABLISH KI >.

thousand acres of land; whereupon a rocky eminence
two or three miles away was pointed out to him, wliero
a tract had been set apai"t for govermnent use in that
vicinity wher- the government house now stands.
Thousands of pounds would bo necessary to make tin-
place respectal)ly habitable, and it was no wonder th»
governor's heart should quail, or that a huge disgust,
should take possession of hhn.

In April 1851, the governor was notified by tlie
managers of the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound
companies, that they were about to oc-cupy some land
on the Island, and tliat the sum of four thousand
pounds sterling was to be expended on public build-
ings under the governor's direction, but subject to tlie
approval of the monoi)oly management. Tlie build-
ings were to be erected near the fort. "Unless tlie
colony is intended to be merely an enlarged depot of
the Hudson's Bay Company," writes the governor,
"which I do not conceive was the intention of her
majesty's government in making the grant of tlie
Island, it will be a waste of public money to expend it
in the way they indicate, as the buildings will then
bo surrounded l^y their reserves, which they are neither
prepared to use nor sell."

The governor recognized no relation to the Hud-
son's Bay Company other tlvan that usually existing
between ruler and subject. That the company held
the contract for colonization, together with a monopoly
of the soil, was nothing to him politically. It miglit
aftect appointuK^nts and freedom of legislation, but it
could not change the natural attitude^j of crown gov-
ernor, crown colou , and fur corporation.

On the other ha ( 1, the company cared nothing for
the governor. As heir noble friend Lord Grey had
taken the trouble t appoint him, and the appointee

and the Colonist office becav ' the site of the government buildings. Tlic
well in front of the Colonist o .ce is still known as Governor Blanshard's well,
having been dug for his excellency's accommodation. Bril. ColonM, Aug. S,
1877.

THAT THOUSAND ACRES.

had taken the trouble to come so far over the two
iricat oceans, they would treat him politely, that is if
1 10 would be humble and behave himself; but as for
liis governing them, that was simply ridiculous. He
might issue all the mandates he pleased, but ho would
give little force to his authority without appeal to the
chief factor, to Douglas, to the very man who had
opposed him for the office, and who even now was in
fact, if not in name, governor of the Island.

Great indeed must have been his desire of ruling
this wild island of the north-west when he was willing
to accept the commission as governor, without salary,
and pay his own expenses. True, there was the prom-
ise of Sir John Pelly, of a thousand acres of land,
such as he should anywhere seh^c. This, at a pound
an acre, was a thc!usand pounds to begin with, and
when settlers should flock thither, as he was sure they
would, and a civil list should be formed, and fat colo-
nial revenue should roll in from land sales and royal-
ties on coal, then the whilom liberalityand disinterested
services of the first governor would be remembered,
and a comfortable consideration would be awarded
hiui, and he would be the father of his country for
many years to come. Moreover, his thousand acres
of land, from ono thousand pounds in value, might
increase to twenty thousand. Then who should say
that honor was not profitable?

But alas ! for human hopes. Sir John Pelly was
t,'overiior only of the London part of the Hudson's
Bay Company. Mr Douglas, who acted as agent for
the sale of the land on Vancouver Island, knew noth-
ing of Sir John's promise, which Mr Blanshard had
failed to secure in writing, knew nothing of thousand-
acre gifts, and referred the simple-minded governor
to England for the fulfilment of the promise. Mr
Blanshard then begged one hundred of the promised
thousand acres, that he might occupy them as a settler,
if they should not be given him as governor. But no.
The promised thousand acres, he was finally told, were

if' I -Ml

• ij

•270 GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED.

intended for the nae of the governor only while he
was upon the Island. He might select, subdue, and
beautify the tract for his successor, should he so
please, but he could not sell nor pocket any of the
proceeds of it.

This is Mr Blanshard's side of the story. The gov-
ernor might easily have misunderstood Sir John, or
the latter may wilfully have deceived him. However
that may have been, the company assuredly had no
right to give land to the governor, or to any one
else, unless they chose to pay for it themselves, and
that in this instance they were not likely to do, as
Blanshard was not their choice for the office, and they
were evidently not disposed to go far out of their way
to make his stay in their isle pleasant.

This we shall see amply demonstrated as we pro-
ceed. The Q-overnor's passage out cost him three
hundred pou ids. Of this the company paid one hun-
dred and seventy-five pounds; and this was all he
ever received from them. When he returned, a Brit-
ish sloop of war carried him to San Francisco, and
thence he paid his own passage to London. During
the time he spent upon the Island his living cost him
eleven hundred pounds a year, and for such articles as
he was obliged to purchase from the company he paid
what was called the cash price, which was the price
charged to strangers, and about three hundred per
cent over London cost.^

Nor did the governor's troubles end here. In-
deed, they had only just begun. He liad been in-
structed before sailing for this region, upon his arrival
to nominate a council. But whom should he nomi-

• ' The price of everything waa reflated by that in California; uuil as the
gold fever was then at its height, living there was of coursiMxtremely oxiioii-
aive. . .They had three several prices in the Hudson 'r IJay Company's storrs
;\t that time, one for the superior officers of the cotniiany, another for the scv-
Mints, and a third, which they called thuir ca.sli |iiiri\ ,it whicli tliey so].! tho
goods to settlers. . .The olficers received their goods at thii'ty-threc per cent
incrwiso upon the cost price; the .servants and inferior ollicers, varying from
fifty to one hundred.' liUinshard, in House Commons Hepl., '288.

AT BEAVER HARBOR.

271

>nly while he
i, subdue, and
should he so
3t any of the

>ry. The gov-
Su" John, or
m. However
iredly had no
r to any one
emselves, and
cely to do, as
ffice, and they
b of their way

id as we pro-
st him three
paid one hun-
ts was all he
irned, a Brit-
^rancisco, and
Ion. Durinty
ving cost him
ich articles as
ipany he paid
vas the price
hundred per

here. In-

lad been in-

on his arrival

iild he nomi-

ifomia; and as tlio
extremely oxihmi-
/ Company's stoics
iiotlier foi' the sei -
liich tliey soM the
rty-threc per cent
ccrs, varying from
'288.

iiate? At Beaver Harbor McNeill had informed him
tliat there were ten thousand natives thereabout, who
were fast disappearing, notwithstanding the sale of
spirituous liquors had been prohibited, and the pro-
liibition for some time past enforced. These might
do, for lack of better material, as subjects, but they
were hardly fit to take part in regulating the affairs
of a highly civilized colony. The council should be
selected from settlers, but as yet there were no set-
tlers there. Few of the fur-hunting fraternity pos-
sessed the landed property qualification necessary to
entitle them to vote for members of assembly; and
even had they possessed the requisite qualifications,
the council so chosen must have been wholly drawn
from the ranks of the Hudson's Bay Company, whom
it was the governor's determined purpose to control,
instead of being controlled by them.

His position was certainly anomalous. Made gov-
e)'nor of a colony which was no colony, ho was sent
to a wilderness to control settlers not yet arrived,
and who, should they ever be so unfortunate as to
reach that shore, would, in his opinion, find pre-
carious subsistence.* Nor was an immediate arrival
of settlers at all likely. In his dilemma he concluded
to ask further instructions of his government. The
material interests of his empire would scarcely suffer
in the mean time.

For the colliers at Beaver Harbor, who had mani-
fested a bias toward lawlessness, the governor thought
l>(>st to appoint a magistrate, and, as there was no one
else available, ho named for that office Jolin Sebastian
llclmcken, the newly arrived doctor, tov.honi I have
taken occasion to dlude before, then domiciled at Fort
Rupert.

In vain the governor had hoped tliat one coming

' 'Tlu! quantity of uriiblc land, or land tliut can bo made arable," he writes to
Karlftny, the Stli of April JS.IO, 'is, so far as I can ascertain, exceedingly
I'miteil throiK.'liout the Island, wliicli consist.') almost entirely of broken ranges
(if rocky hills intersected by ravines and valleys so narow as to render them
useless for cultivation.' Blawhard's Ihapiitchea, '2.

II i ,

ill

1 I

272 (lOVEKNMENT ESTABLISHED.

fresh from the mother-country, "a atranger," as ho
expresses it, "to the petty brawls that have occurred
and the ill-feehngs they have occasioned between the
Hudson's Bay Company and their servants," would
be free from the contaminating influences of selfisli
interests/ But this was, perhaps, too much to expect
of any man. In the evolution of civilization, even-
handed justice never flies west. At all eventt;, the
governor soon repented of his choice. He had made
the appointment contrary to his better judgment, being
impelled thereto by the necessities of the case.°

Meanwhile, time hung heavily on Blanshard's hands.
Set down upon the bare roclis of this mist-enveloped
isle, with the only white people on it, those on whom
he was dependent for everything, for subjects, foi'
society, and for creature comforts, opposed to his rule
in all their interests, he felt himself to be utterly
powerless and forlorn, and could scarcely realize that
he was governor except by taking out his commission
and reading it to himself occasionally.

During the summer of 1850, a case occurred at
Fort Rupert, while yet John Sebastian wore ermine,
which casts dark reproach, both upon the Hudson's
Bay Company and the officers of tlie imperial gov-
ernment, and which tended in no wise to reconcile
Blanshard to his anomalous position.

*The governor promptly acknowledged his mistake. Writing of limi
from Fort Rupert, on the l!)th of October ISilO, he says: ' Tiie only causes
are between the Hudson's Bay Company and their servants; and, as being a
paid servant of the former, he cannot be considered an impartial person.'
Again, on the '20th of March 1851, being then at Victoria, he states tliat Mr
Helmoken having been called upon since his arrival here, ' to give up, or
furnish copies of, his official correspondence wlnle magistrate, to the Hudson's
Bay Company's agent, who thus used his authority over Mr Helmckon ns
chief factor in tlie company's service, has quite confirmed me in my opiiiinii
of the impro})riety of making appointments among the company's servants.'
Blaushitnl's iMfpatrhfiS, 4, 9.

" ' As there are no independent settlers, all cases that can occur requiring
nuif^isterial interference are disputes between th'^ representatives of the Hiul-
soa s Biiy Company and their servants. To appoint the former magistrates,
would be to make them judges in their own causes, and to arm tliein with
additional power, which few of them would exert discreetly.' Blanshanl'a
Deapaiclua, 3.

CALIFOKNIA GOLD.

S7S

gcr," as ho
ve occurred
jctwecn tlie
,nts," would
;s of selfish
3I1 to expect
ation, eveu-
evontb, the
[e had made
^uient, beinji'
case."

liard's hands,
st-enveloped
)se on whom
subjects, lot'
;d to his rule
o be utterly
Y realize that
s commission

occurred at

wore ermine,

le Hudson's

mperial gov-

to reconcile

Writing of liuii
' Tlie only causes
„s; antl, aa bciiij; a
impartial person.'
hostatoathat Mr
_), • to give up, <;!•
«, to the Hudson s
Mr Helmcken as
me in my opinio"
mpany'a servants.'

an occur requiring
atives of the liuil-
)rnu'r magistrates,
to arm them witl>
jetly.' BUm^hard's

The sHip England, on her way from the southern
coast to Fort Rupert for coals, stopped at Victoria foi-
sailors, the vessel being short of hands. The Cali-
fornia gold excitement was everywhere raging, and
sailors willingly risked their lives to free themselves
from service. From one of the company's vessels
then lying at Victoria, three men deserted to the Eng-
land, which then continued her way to Fort Rupert,
Meanwhile notice was sent to Rupert of the deserters,
who thereupon became frightened, left the England,
and took to the woods, intending to join the vessel
at another port. Indians were sent in pursuit with
orders from Blenkinsop, then acting for the company
at Fort Rupert, to bring in the deserters dead or
iilive. Four days afterward the Indians returned and
claimed the reward, saying that they had killed them
all. It was true. The sailors had been shot down in
till' forest by savages set upon them by an oflficer of
the Hudson's Bay Company.^ Blenkinsop gave direc-
tions to have buried the bodies of the murdered men
where they lay, and let the matter be hushed, but
^luir insisted that they should be interred at the
fort, and it was done. Very naturally the colliers
were furious. They did not hesitate to charge the
Hudson's Bay Company with having instigated the
murder, and they refused any obedience to the officers
of the company or to Helmcken as magistrate. The
governor had no force whatever with which to appre-
hend the murderers, and no people from whom to draw
a force. Says Blanshard, * the only safeguard of
the colony," by which term the governor dignifies the
revolted colliers — for of a surety the Hudson's Bay
Company were always their own safeguard — "consists
in the occasional visits of the cruisers of the Pacific

"Two conflicting stories were in circulation at once, which, being traced
to the same source, raised suspicions of foul play, and caused the report that
1 have previously mentioned, viz.: that the unfortunate men had been mur-
(It'ied by order of the Hudson's Hay Company.' Letter, Governor lUavahiird to
tliivl Orel/, 10th Oct. 1850. Michel Muir, who was at Fort Rupert at the
time, contirtn.s what (loveruor Blonsliard said. /Ml. Col. Sketclies, MS., 15, 10,
Hut. Kbit. Ool. 18

(GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED.

i*';^!

.squadron, wliicli only occur at rare intervals, and for
short calls."

Fortunately for the governor's desires, on the 2 2d
of September 1850, about a month after the murderous
affair, H. M. S. Dsedalus, Captain Wellesky, arrived
at Victoria, when the governor went on board and
l)roceeded at once to Rupert.

Now mark the course of justice pursued by the
officers of the imperial government. Instead of pro-
ceeding against the instigators of the nmrder, and
iuresting the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company.
as they should have done, they direct the lull force
of their vengeance against the natives. Helmckcii,
the newly -fledged magistrate, cognizant of the whole
affliir, and well knowing who were the guilty i)ersons,
and what hand he himself had had in it, goes to the
Xewittee camp, twelve miles distant, and loudly de-
mands the surrender of the murderers. The savages
acknowledge the nmrder, but plead that they were
only executing orders. Truer to themselves and to
the right than were the white men, they refused to
give up the perpetrators of the deed, but offered to gi\e
up the pro}>erty paid them by the white men for the
commission t)f the crime. This did not satisfy the
European justice-dealers. Servants of the Hudson's
Bay Company had been slain by order of the officers
of the Hudson's Bay Company. Some one nmst be
punished ; and as thc}'^ did not wish to hang themselves,
they nmst find victims among their instruments. As
the magistrate was unable to accomplish their purpose,
VVellesley sent a force under Lieutenant Burton, in
three boats of the Dwdalus, against the Newittees.
Finding their camp deserted, Burton destroyed the
Aillage, and made a bonfire of all the property he coukl
find. The following summer, H. M. S. Daphne, Cap-
tain Fanshawe, arrived. Meanwhile the Newittees
liad rebuilt their village, supposing the white moti
satisfied with the injury already inflicted. One day
while holding a potlacli, and being at peace, as they

DISMAL <;UBKKNATC)RIAL PROSPECTS.

'J75

hrlieved, with the white men, the Daphne's boats,
under Lieutenant Lacy, crept into their harbor, and
announced their arrival by a discharge of musketr}-.
Men, women, and children were mercilessly cut down,
persons innocent of any thought of wrong against
tlieir murderers, and their village again destroyed.
Then tlie Z)ap^7<e sailed away. Justice was satisfied;
and Blenkinsop and the rest of them went about their
work as usual.

By this time the reader can judge pretty well the
cluiraoter of the colonial governor. First we cannot
hut regard him as a good, honest man, but assuredly
not a very shrewd one. In fact he did not claim worldly
wisdom or any special clearness of intellect. Name
and position were primary considerations witli him.
I f slielter and food came with them, well; if not, there
would still be greatness to feed on. Befoi-e the house
1)1' connnons select committee, five years after his
ivturn from the Northwest Coast, the ex-governor
could not tell whether the grant of the Ish.nd had
hcen made in 1848 or in 1849, he thought during tlie
former year. On his way out he lost his commission
jiapers in the Chagres River, and seemed every way
the son of misfortune.

Yet he was very nmch of a gentleman, and a strictly
conscientious man. His position at Vancouver Island
was a most trying one. The ill-feeling of the com-
jiany toward him, added to ill-health and lack of funds,
stripped his position of its dignity, and degraded him
to the level of a conmion practitioner in arbitrating
the disputes brought before him. . Vs he had been
called to the bar, he was coijnizant of the law and
itumliar with the practice. As there were no means
of paying a recorder, he was obliged to administer jus-
tice himself, and when he wanted a constable ho swort;
one in.

Ncnv he could but ask himself why he had accepted
this miseral)le ])ost. He had had experience as a colo-

27ti

GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHE1>.

W I

nizer in the West India Islands, in British Honduras,
and in India, and ho saw no reason why he should not
succeed in the newly granted isle. But he soon learned
to his cost and sorrow that 1 o was not wanted. A
governor was sadly out of place there at that time,
worse than a supernunierar3\ There was nothing for
him to do but to act as ordinary magistrate, and de-
cide disputes between the company and their servants.

This was exactly wdiat the Hudson's Bay Company
did not desire. Of all things they abhorred interfer-
ence. They were not accustomed to it. Absolute
obedience on the part of subordinates had been the
basis of their internal economy for the past century or
two, and to have now a magistrate come between
them and their servants, w'ho seemed suddenly to find
themselves surrounded by discomforts, and the vic-
tims of alleged impositions which they had never be-
fore thought cf, was unendurable.^

Hitherto he had regarded himself as a man oi .jonic
pret-'nsions, and under ordinary circumstances would
not be likely to forget himself or his mission. To be
governor of a crown colony, though his domain were
barren rocks, and tenantless, was to snuff the atmos-
phere of royalty, and dwell beneath the shadow of
the crown. It is sweet to rule, to dominate oui-
fellows, to walk as gods among men, to s' j the object
of even the hollow forms we know their adoration to
be, and our governor was by no means above tlu^
average man in this respect. He had come far from
home and friends for the poor privilege of being called
ruler of this wilderness; but never in his life was his
presence so insignificant, or his infiuence less felt. Hi'
was here a nonentity, and of all his liege subjects the
least.

It was the irony of delegated rule, this planting of

* ' Were there many of those disputes ? ' aoked Viscount Goderich of Mr
Blanshard. ' A great many, ' was the reply. ' On wliat ground ? ' ' Discon-
tent among the servants.' ' At being ill-treated by the company ? ' 'Tliev
considered themselves ill-treated; tliat they had been brought out there umlrr
a dt'lusidii, and had been j)roiniaed many things which vcro not fidlillcil.
BUiiishard, in J fotue Commons Ji<2>t-j i28U.

AWFUL IRREGULABiTT,

277

a poor man upon these distant and inhospitable rocks,
with dominion over them. Though backed by the
greatest nation on earth, he was more helpless than
the seventh wife of a savage. Nature was there,
whence man draws all his arts of governing, but he
was least of nature's subjects.

Yet in all things Blanshard was as straightforward
as the historiographer Yu, of whom Confucius wrote
that when good government prevailed in his state he
was like an arrow, and when bad government pre-
vailed he was like an arrow. The qualities of mind
and heart he might have displayed had opportunity
been his, it is useless for us to speculate upon. There
was absolutely nothing here for him to do, and like
a sensible man he saw it and determined to resign.
There was no glory to be obtained in so inglorious a
situation. The months passed by and no settlers ar-
rived, no sales of land were effected, and no coal had
been found which promised profitable returns. A line
of steamers had been put on between San Francisco
and the Oregon country, else the facilities for com-
munication with home and the busy world were of
the most meagre and unreliable description. To add
to the governor's unhappy forebodings, gold had been
discovered on the Spokane River, and there was now
every indication that the Scotch colliers and fur-hunt-
ers would hasten thither en masse, leaving him with-
out a solitary subject.

Although the temper of the governor was kept
continually stirred by petty slights and innuendoes,
there was but one open rupture between him and the
head of the fur company, which, considering the irri-
tating circumstances under which they were placed,
speaks well for both these gentlemen sides

The circumstance I allude to was the illegal sign-
ing of a ship-register upon a change of masters. It
appears to have been the custom of the Hudson's
Bay Company, and admitted under the navigation

278

GOVEiiNMENT EST.VBLISHED.

<fft?''

I If I

iKi:

act, in tlie absence of a crown officer, for the chief
factor to sign the registers of sea-going vessels.

One day tlie newly appointed master of the Hud-
son's Bay Coiupany's schooner Cad^oro brought Blan-
shard the register of the vessel, remarking that he was
not at all satisfied with some alterations which had
been made, and asked if the company's servants pos-
sessed the right to make such alterations. The gov-
ernor replied tliat they did not, at the same tiiii-!
telling him that if he would bring him the register liu
would sign it.

Next day the Cadboro put to sea, the master not
having again seen the governor, and the register haviiii;
been signed 1 )y Douglas. On the return of the schooner,
the oovernor summoned the master and Dou<das into
his presence. Botli promptly appeared. The mastci'
was then ordered to produce the register, which he
did, whereupon the governor pointed out to him tliat
it had been illegally signed. With this admonition tlu;
governor bound them in their own personal secui'ity
to appear again if called upon, and then discharged
them. As Blanshard left the Island shortly afterwarc I
this was tlie last of the affair.

On the 18th of Xovember 1850, Blanshard wrotc^
Earl Grey tMo letters, in the first of which he askrd
leave to visit England to attend to private affairs; in
the second he tendered his resignation, and solicited
an immediate recall from the colony, on the ground
of continued attacks of ague, remarking, also, tliat his
private fortune was "utterly insufficient for the nieic
cost of living here, so high have prices been run up
by tJie Hudson's Bay Company, and as there are iin
independent settlers, every requisite must l)e obtaiut d
from them."

His next despatch under date February 3, 1851.
embodies a report of occurrences on the Island siiur
his arrival. The only real land sale was that to Grant
at Soke, and lie had assigned his title to the Hudson's
Bay Company. Tod, a servant of the company, had

BLANSHARD RESKJNS.

•-•Tfl

ploughed a few acres near the ft)rt, but fearful lest
his title, held only by verl);il agreement with Douglas,
should nevor be secured to him, he became alarmed,
and ceased operations, leaving unfinished a house that
he was buildhig. "With the exception of a Canadian
who has squatted near Rocky Point, then^ is not
another cultiv-ator on the Island." He had written
fSir John J?elly requesting information concijrning
the Puget Sound Company reserve, but had received
no reply.^

In his despatch of the 12th of Fel)ruary, lie ro-
ports on an account <jf the Hudson's Bay C'ompany
against the colony i)resented for his approval, and
which he signed with a protest/" The public seal

1 discharged

" ' This traot contains, I am iuforuieil, nearly thirty scjuare niilos of the bust
jjiirt of the Island, and tlify aro already attempting to sell small lots to their
nun servants at {greatly advaneed rates. I consider this an extremely iint'air
iiidceedinj^. The terms of the grant of the Island exiinjssly .state th it "all
l;inils shall be sold except such as are reserved for pnlilic purposes," and in
c(iiisideration of the trouble ami expense tliey may incur, tlie Hudson's Bav
Cdiiipaiiy arc allowed the very handsome remuneration of ten per cent on all
Sides they may effect, and on all royalties. Not satistied with thi.s, they are
•grasping at the whole price of the land, by monopolizing tliis vast diotrici,,
iiiu'. iiig it a fn!e gift to tliemselvcs, and then selling it for tlieir own j)ri)tit, a.s
tlii^y aro attempting to do. In proof of tlii.s, I may mention that an Englisli-
iiiuu of the name of Chancellor arrived here from California a few weeks ago,
with tlio intention of settling. The agent oflfercd to sell him land on tlu?
"company's reserve," which he declined, as he preferred another i)art of the
Island, but found so many dili'culties thrown in tiie May that he at last pro-
iKiiiiced tlie purchase im])racticable, and is leaving the colony in <lis','ust. Ho
tolil me that lie was the forerunner of a party of several liritish sulijects
at present in California, who were merely waiting for his rcjiMrt to dec'dc!
whither they would settle in Vancouver Island or the UnittMl Stati's.' Jilnii-

'" ' The account asserts that they have.expended ^'J,?.?!), of whicli ^'2, 1. SO are
tiir j;.i(i(',s paid to Indians to extinguish tiieir title to the laml about Victori;i
and Soke harliours, the remainder also for goods paid to Indians for work
diini' for the colony, provisions ami amnnmition for the same Tnilians. The
receipts amount to .^1.489, from which ten per cent is to be deducted, accord-
ing to the ciiarter of grant to the Hudson's Bay Company, and consists en-
tirely of royalties on coal for the last two ye.irs; land sales there are none, as
I liavepreviou.sly informeil your lordsliip. ()n examining the account, 1 fomnl
that tor the goods paid to the Indiini; a price wa.s cliarged three tini' .s a ; great
as wliat they are in the haliit of paying the#i at for thi-ir own work; respect-
ing this, and some inaccuracies I detected in tlie account, 1 adilres.sed a lettiT
to tlie agent; he corrected the error.*, but made no alteration in the piices,
ami in the course of the conversation gave me to understand tliat tlieydid not
ex]iect the charter of grant to im renewed at the expiration oi the live years,
•1 uiii.iry KSr)4, and that they would be entitled toa reimbursement of their e\-
piaditure. At this rate, they may continue for the next three years, payinu:
away a few goods to Indians to extinguish their claims to the soil, a i I liy at-

280

GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED.

!, 1

of the colony of Vancouver Island, and her majesty's
warrant and sign-manual authorizing and directing
its use, were transmitted by Earl Grey to Governor
Blanshard, arriving in midsummer 1851.

Before sending in his resignation, Blanshard recom-
mended the home government to impose duty on the
importation and manufacture of ardent spirits, the
dangerous tendency of whose introduction was just
then freshly appearing in the demoralization of the
natives about Fort Rupert, and the riotous tendencies
of the colliers at Beaver Harbor. This liquor was
not supplied by the Hudson's Bay Company, which
treated the natives with every consideration, better,
some said, than their own servants. But being brought
thither by merchant vessels visiting the coast, it was
impossible to prevent the inhabitants of the Island
from obtaining it. Nor, indeed, could the government
have prevented it had the suggestion of the governor
been promptly acted upon.

Blanshard had suffered much from ill -health, as
well as from poverty; else, perhaps, he might have
fought his fate longer, if he had thought the place
worth fighting for. There had never been the slight-
est chance for him from the day of his appointment.
Being strong in London, being absolute upon the
Island, the monopolists were sure to prevail. And
they knew it from the first. Earl Grey might pre-
tend to drive, and Blanshard might amuse himself at
playing governor, but all this time the fur-traders
were manoeuvring for their man, and before Blanshard
had resigned, although Douglas had not then his ap-
pointment, yet he had received a letter from the Lon-
don office stating that he had been recommended, and
would undoubtedly re^jeive the appointment.

On the 3d of April 1851, Earl Grey wrote Gov-
ernor Blanshard, saying that her Majesty had been

taching an ideal value to their goods, they will at the end of that time appear
as creditors of the colony to an overwhelming amount, so that the foundatiou
will be laid of a colonial debt, w hich will forever prove a burden. ' Blanshard'^
Despatches, 8.

PROVISIONAL ( OUNt ' I T.

•^rarumsly pleased to accept liis resiijf nation as gov-
ernor of tlio colony of Vancouver Island. Whereat
Ulanshard was also graciously pleased, and tlie now
tlioroughly fagged officers of the Hudson's Bay C'oni-
waiiy were most of all graciously pleased.

Blanshard received this welcome intelligence in
August. His successor had not yet heeu ap])ointed,
l)ut it was now well understood that ])ouglas would
1k' the next governor. As lie deemed it necessary to
leave the little authority he had swayed in official
liands, on the 27tli of August Blanshard nominated
a })rovisional council, subject to the confirmation of
tlic imperial government, consisting of three members,
.Fanies ])ouglas, James Cooper, and John Tod, to
Nvhom he administered the usual oath. Then in the
slii}) J)(q)hne, on the 1st of September 1851, he turned
liis hack forever on what had proved to him a most
uiifurtunate isle."

" ^\'lu'Il the settlers learned what hail been done, they <lirected the follow-
ing' iduiinunication to tlie governor:
■ 'I'd /ii.< E.nrllt'iirif liirliitril Bliitinhnvil, EMjiiire, Gori'rnor of Vnwouvfr IhUhkL

' M.iy it please your excellency: We, tlie undersigned, iidiahitants of
\'an(.ouver's Island, having learnecl with regret that your excellency has re-
higiii'd the government of this colony, and understanding tiiat the goveru-
iiuiit liiis been coinnutted to a chief factor of the Hudson's Biiy (."onipany,
cuiinot hut express our unfeigned surprise and deep concern at such an ap-
piiiutnient. The Hudson's Biiy Company being as it is a great trading
'"Illy, nnist necessarily have interests clashing with those of independent
colonists. Most matters of a political nature will cause a contest between
tiie agents of the company and the colonists. Many matters of a judicial
nature also will undoubtedly arise, in which the colonists and the company
or its servants will be conteiuling parties, or the uppi^r servants aiul the lower
stTvants of the company will 1)e arrayed against each other. We l)eg to ex-
jiri'ss in the most emphatical and plainest manner our assurance that impar-
tial decisions cannot be expected from a governor who is not only a inember
of the company, sharing its profits, his share of such profits rising and falling
as they rise and fall, but is also charged as their chief agent with tlie sole
representation of their trading interests in this Island and the adjacent
coasts.

' Furthermore, thus situated, the cf)lony will liave no security that its
public funds will be duly disposed of solely for the benefit of the colony in
gi'iicral, and not turned aside in any degree to be .ipplieil to the private pur-
\Hisus of the company, by disproportionate sums being devoted to the im-
provement of that tract of land held l)y them, or otherwise unduly employed.
Under these circumstances, we b^g to acrpiaint your excellency with our deep
sense of the absolute necessity there is, for tlie real good and welfare of the
colouy, that a council should be immediately appointed, in order to provide
some security that the interests of tlie Hudson's Bay Company shall not be

28'2

GOVKKNMENT KSTAHLISHKD.

fe"

For twenty years subsequcJit to 18"J4, John Mc-
Loughliii, as fliiL'f factor of the irutlson's Bay Coiu-
auy, residing at Fort Vaiifouvor on tlie Ct)luiiil)ia
"iver, was sole tloiiiiuator of the Northwest Coast.
Then, as I liave elsewhere said, because of Jiis human-
ity toward distressed emigrants, or as the Loiuhtn
management might ex})ress it, because of his undut;
familiarity with United States settlers, and in order

lloweil to outweigh aiicl niiii those of the cohiny in gciiera.l We, who jdiu
I expressing these sentiments to your excellenoy, are unfortunately liut a
ery small number, but we resiieetfuUy beg your execUoncy to eousitler tliat
we, and wo alone, rciircsent tlie interr ts of t\w Island iis ii fr 'o anil imlc-
penilent British eolouy, for we eoustituie the wliole body ot the independent
Hittlers, all tlie other inliabitants being in some way or other so eonnectiMl
with and eontrollccl by the Hudson's Bay (Company as to be deprived of free-
dom of aetion in all matters relating to the publie afl'airs of the eolimy, smiie
iudeed by their own confession, as may be proved if necessarj'. And we fur-
ther allege our firm persuasion, tjiat the untoward inlluences to wliieli we
have adverted above are likely, if entirely unguarded against not only to
prevent any increase of free ami indejiendeut colonists in tlie Island, but pos-
itively to diuiinish their present numl)ers.

' We therefore hundjly request your excellency to take into your gracious
consideration the propriety of appointing a council befoi'e your excellency's
<leparture; bucIi being the most anxious and earnest desire of your excellency s
most obedient and liumblo serviuits, and her nuijesty's most devoteil and loyal
subjects.

' James Yates, Robert John Staines, James Cooper, Thomas Monroe, Wil-
liam McDonald, James Sangster, 'John Muir, senior, William Fraser, Andrew
Muir, John Mcdregor, John Muir junior, Michel Muir, Robert Muir, Archi-
bald Muir, Thomas Blenkhorn.'

The comnuinderof the Dapline, in return for the hospitality extended him
at Fort Victoria, charged the company, an behalf of the imperial government,
with Blanshard's passage to Panama, the governor, as before stated, paying
out of his own pocket his expenses from that point to England. A hill
amounting to £47 15«. had likewise been presented to Blansluird for the ex-
j)enses of the DmdaliiK in lier trip to Fort Rupert.

Cooper, Maj; Mnftcrx, MS., 4, states tliat Blanshard remained on tlie
Island eighteen or twenty months. Grant, LoiiiL ilroij. Soc, Jour., xxvii. .'^-'O,
says he remained 'little more than a year.' Blanshard liimsclf calls it, //mi.^t'
Commons licvt., II. Ii. Co. Affitirs, ISoT, 'nearly two jears. ' It is safe enough
to date his departure about September or October l.'i.")l ; his last letter Avritteu
Karl (rrey from the Island was dated the ;>(}th of .\ugust. Fiiildi/doH'i 1114.
r. /., MS,, 47 et passim. Finlaysonwas on tht ground during the entire resi-
dence of ( rovernor Blan-shard in the l.<laml. i ooper, M"i: Matters, MS., 4,
says 'the expense of living was so cnormims]-, in excess of tlie Huds(m's Hay
Company's representations, and eveiy i,»'>,v.'.lc difticulty being thrown in liis
way, . . .he was forced to resign.' The sutuers naturally sympathized with the
discomfited governor. Says Grant, Loml. Geo;/. Sor., Jour., xxvii. 320. 'His
loss was very much to bo regretted, as he was a gentleman in every way
•jualitied to fulfil the duties of his position with credit to himself, and with
prosperous results to the country. ' The Dexpatc/iv.i of Governor Blannlutrd to
the Secretary of State, 2('»th Decendier 1849 to 30th August 1851, subsocpiently
printed at the government office, New Westminster, contains all the letters
sent to Earl Grey ])y the governor during his stay upon the Island.

DOUOLAH APPOINTED GOVERNOR.

'2h:\

, John Mc-
i Bay Com-
i(j Coluuiltia
iwfst Coast,
f liirt hunuui-
tlic Loiuloii
»f' Ills undue
uid in order

i.l Wc, who jciiii
iforttiniitt'ly Imt ii
y to cdiisitlur tliat
i-( a fr e ami iinlc-
tl tho iiidepfiitliMit
othur so counuctiil
e iloprivuil of fnc-
f tlio colony, solium
ary. And wu lur-
eiicea to whioli wo
i^aiust not only to
he Islantl, but \>os-

iuto your gracious
u your excellt'iu y's
jCyourexeelU'iify's
t ilevoteil anil loyal

Hiias Monroe, Wil-
ini Frastr, Aiiilnw
o1>ert Muir, Ardii-

lity extended him
perial fioveruiiRut,
'ore stated, paying
Euj^land. A hill
iluird for the ex-

remained ou tliu

Jour., xxvii. H'iOt
i:lf calls it, //""«'•

It is safe euougli
! last letter writtou
.. /''//(/",'/«"' "■ ^/''(•
ring the entire risi-
. . M'ltti-rn, M.S., 4,
■ the Hudson's Bay
jiug thrown in his
npathized with the

xxvii. 320. 'His
nan iu every v>ay

himself, and with
iK'nior Bloiixlici'l 'o
1851, suhs^iuently
aius all the letttis

Islaml.

to weaken him in liis jjositionand pave the way toward
liis final overtlirow, the supreme power on the Pacific
was vested in a board of maua«^oment, consisting of
(I lief factors McLoughlin, Douglas, and Ogden. After
tlie retirement of McLouglilin, Douglas and Ogden
niutinued tt> manage matters as a board, with their
111 ad -quarters still at Fort Vancouver, Finlayson
nicanwhilc remaining in charge at Fort Victoria.

Ill midsummer 1849, nhie months prior to the ar-
rival of Governor Blanshard, Douglas comi)leted the
removal o^ the company's head-quarters to Fort Vic-
toria, ami took up his permanent residence on the
Island. '^ Subsequently he erected for his family a com-
modious dwelling on the south side of James Bay.
Dugald McTavish was k^ft in charge at Fort Vancou-
vir, Finlayson assumed the position of chief acc(juntant
at Fort Victoria, and the affairs of the company still
continued to be administered by chief factors Douglas
and Ogden, who constituted the board of management
the Pacific. '•''

on ine

Thus under this mighty pressure of gnat-straining
and camel-swallowing passed the first two years of
attempts at colonial rule on Vancouver Island. In
Sei)tomber 1851, James Douglas was made governor
of the colony, and took the oath of office the fol-
lowing November. Thus at last were united in one
person the authority and interests of the Hudson's
Bay Company and the authority and interests of the
folonial government. Wiser iu his day than Blan-
shard Doutjlas succeeded in securinjif to himself a
salary of eight hundred pounds a year as gcwcrnor of
tlic colony in addition to his emoluments as chief fac-

'-It was about the middle of June that Douglas with his family reniovt.l
til Victoria. An obituary notice in the Rrit'mh ColonUl, of 8th Aug. 1877,
places the elate of his arrival ' a few months after ' that of ( loveruor lilanshard,
and others give other dates. But Michel Muir, M'ho lauded in June 1849,
status that Douglas ".ame from Fort Vancouver with Ins family four ilays
after his arrival. Brit. Vol. Sketr/ics, MS., 21.

'■'''/v(^f, iu //. B. Co. Er., If. B. Co. <'hbih->, 107-9; Fiiiiiys.mK Hist. V. I.,
M.S., ;«; Bi-it. ColoiM, Aug. 8, 1SG7; JlcKinlay'-i A'kc, MS., 8.

-Ill

284

OOVKUNMENT E.STABUSHED.

tor of the Hudson's Bay Company. From tliis tiiiu'
up to 1859 he continued to fill both positions.

And now all is serene a«;ain throuffhout this rejrioii,
The fur-traders have triumphed. They have obtaim d
not only a crown grant, but a crown government. On
Vancouver Island thoy are the crown; and until tlic
settlers sliall become stronger than the ^ ompany, tlieii'
absolutism is assured. The next chapter I devote to
the life and character of James Douglas.

UW'iTI

CHAPTER XVII.

JAMES DOUGLAS.

>iiKTH ANTt FnrrATiov — Entkks TiiR Skkviok of tiik Northwest Comvany
— FiaENusHip OK McLomiHLiN — Opvortunitv — What Hk hhoi'i.k
Know — His Likk in Nkw Calkdoma — Ovkimome bv Love — Meets am>
AUuKiES Neua Connolly — Establishes Fokt Connolly — His Atien-
TioN TO Business and HIS Strict Obeijience — ■RFfOMEs Chief Tkahek
—Then" Chief Faotor — Visits California — Ait'oitntant and (Jen-

EUAl. SrPERINTENUENT OF FoRTS — AcTlVE IN THE EsTABLISllINO OF

FouT Victoria — His Coldness toward Emigrants — Quarrels ^VITH
McLoitiHLiN — Removes to Victoria — Is Made Goveunor — And
Knidiited -Visits Eukopk -I'liYsigiUP. and Character — Douulas
and McLoughlin Compared.

James J3ou(iLAs was born in 1803 at Jamaica. His
latlicii' M-as a descendant of the earl of Angus, the
lilack Douiilas of Scottish historv: his mother was a
Creole. At an early age he was taken by his father
to ]janark, Scotland, where he was educated. He
was scarcely seventeen years okP when he entered
tlie service of the Northw.'st Company as apprenticed
clerk, and was sent to ]^^)rt William, on Lake Supe-
rior, where IVIcLoughlin was then stationed.

Upon the coalition the following year, Douglas was
about to retire to Scotland in ( unpany with two dis-
satisfied brothers then leaving t!.. s«'rvici>; but he was
jxi'suaded by McLoughlin, who had taken a fancy to
liiui^ to remain.

'Tills aeooriling to Mrs llarvpy, L{fi' McTiomjUtn, MS,, 37. Waddington,
FruMT Milieu, 33, says lie was only fourttuui yoars of ago wlion ho left Kii>.'-
l.iiiil. Imt this authority is not relialile. Aitioiig tho many iiotices ami testi-
iiiciiiials extant of locul M-riters ami speakers, one would c.\])c('t to tinil
Miiiii'tliing conccriiintr the early careor of such a man; eveu the family aruhivea
MX singularly sil . i this regard.

(285^

JAMES DOUGLAS.

*l:

"Stay with nie, iny lad," he said, "and you shall he
to 1110 as a son."

&o when McLoughlin was appointed to what was
thtni termed the Ct)lunil)ia Department, he wrote tl it-
directory requesting that Douglas might accompany
him, which request was granted,^ an J young Douglas
made ready to cross his Alps.

Here, indeed, was opportunity. Look at it. Xiiic-
tcen years of age, full of youthful vigor and enthusiasm,
the friend and companion of the chief factor in com-
mand upon the Northwest Coast. In such a countr} ,
at such an age, and under such conditions, we shall
see in due time how he availed himself of tli em.

McLoughlin was determined his ]^rotccje should en-
joy every advantage, consistent with his duty to tlic
service, which might tend to his advancement. And
this might best he accomplished, not by confining tlio
young man too closely to office and warehouse work,
or to one particular or permanent thing, but by giving
him a succession of duties which should finally makci
him proficient in all.

He was already a good accountant, one of the l)est
in the service, and thoroughly familiar with tlie
French Canadian idiom. It was now for him to be-
come familiar, in all its minutest detail, with the pon-
derous and most perfect machinery of the united
companies. He should know not onlj the kinds and
cost of trading goods and fort supplies in London, and
the expenses of transportation to the distributing post
on the Columbia, and thence to the several interior
stations; the kinds, and qualities, and prices of furs;
the rules of the company in regard io traffic, presents,
and credit with the natives; the wages and duties of
the men, and the allowances due them : but he should
become familiar with the vast country over which his

*My very good friend, John Tod, .AV?m Cakdonin, MS., 4(5-7, who toll iin!
all he knew, aiul somewhat more, respecting lii.s former a.s»ociiito ami oliirl,
liriiiga Douglas to America in or before 1811, at wliich time he was ciglit
year^ old; and this assertion he backs by the remark, ' Mr Douglas rcmaiiHil
east <>t' the mountains at Fort Eel;', Athabasca l)istrict, for live or six years,'
bringing liini across the niountaiuij in 1824.

CONNOLLYS UAUOUTER

287

(lilef held sovereign sway; he should kiiow its config-
uration and climate ; its mountains, plains, and valleys ;
its forests and prairies; its lakes and rivers; its fruits
and animals, and plants, and all its possibilities. Most
of Jill, he should study well the aborigines, witli whom
]iis predecessors and superiors had taken so mucli
trouble to establi,s]i conurercial intercourse. Some-
tliiug of their languages he should know, that he
niiglit personally converse witli them. Of the bent
of tlieir minds and passions, tlieir present wants and
future hopes, their intellectual endowments, and, so far
;..> possible, of their several idiosyncrasies he should
make careful analysis.

To this end it was expedient he should spend scv-
onil seasons in the field; and first of all in New
Ciludonia, then tlie Siberia of the company, and the
i'i> st distant department of McLoughlin's dominion,
1 ' lorth-coast establishments not having yet been
f"U:id(M]. Therefore, instead of taking him at once
to licad-quarters at Astoria, he gave him in charge of
Jiuncs Connolly, a jolly Irishman, who with his family
iiiid twenty-four men crossed the mountains from York
Factory in the autumn of 1824, with sup[)lies for New
Caledonia. Mr Connolly succeeded John Stuart in
tliese parts

The young Scot was by no means averse to this
iiiTangoment; for while studying life under now con-
ditions, ho might study lov(!, which was likewise new
to Mm, and exceedingly comforting. James Con-
nolly had ii aaughter, a blushing half-breed beauty,
tlic.i SOU": tirt on years of age.^ How should a bold,
J!';.;]i^| ri' '(] 'handsome j^oung man but find favor in
li'Toyi^? 1, .w '•■.b)uld a warm-Iicarted, lovely, an«l
modest malu.^r' but find favor in his? Her pnjsoncu
^woetened toil; Ills presence made smooth to lier the

How many tliousands of

luggedest mountain-trail

■^Tlii'so ])articulnrH I got from Mr Tod, Xnr ('itlihmin, !N[S., jtaHsiiu, wlm,
i h'.i iiu'iiiory innvo.s not trt^iiclicroiu — for lio wii.s very old wlicii Iio yiivo inn
liH ilictiitinn — muy ho couuti'd correct, for lio \v;i8 tliero at tin time, anil re-
I'itud onlv ihat came under liio own oliservation.

288

JAMES DOUGLAS

■ -l

volumes of uuwritteu romance are there in the early
doings upon this weetern slope; tales of love as dee|i
and true as ever mailed knight carried beneath his
armor, true tales of daring venture, with mingled
failure and success, more thrilling, more noble, more
difficult and self-sacrificing than any fiction cudgelled
from prolific biain/

John Tod was then at McLeod Lake, having
crossed the mountains in 1823, and was in charge of
McLeod Fort for a period of nine years. Connolly
and Douglas went first to I'ort St James on Stuart
Lake, and the following year the latter was left for
a time in charge of the post. It was here, and at
this time, that Douglas played his first bloody tragedy
in which the i 'thn was the murderer of certain of
Yale's men, yoj 'onnolly and Douglas the execu-

tioners, the latti i nishing the performance by 1)0-
coming priibtner — all of which I have fully given in a
previous volume.^ The courage and coolness displayed
in this encounter with the savages brough i the young
man fame and favor not only among hi- associates,
but among the natives themselves.

Connolly as well as Douglas had much to learn
about the natives ; first ot all, that there was as much
difterence ui their individual and tribal character as
IS found among the civilized nations of Europe; and
next, that environment affected man here as well as
elsewhere. There was a vast dift'eretice between
mountaineers and the dwellers upon the sea-shoro,
between hunters and diggers, boatmen and horsemen,
fish-eaters aiil beast-eaters. It happened on one
occasion, as Connolly was descending the Columbia
with eight bateaux, the proud and chivalrous Noz
Forces gave him a lesson. On reaching the Dalles,
his boats being lightly manned, he eng.iged the na-

■

* Totl, j\>»' CalfdoHiii, WS., 28-82, gives a gniphic piftiiro of what In- lalls
RohiiiBon Crusoo life in this region at the tiiii'', Tlni skins of elk or -Hirr
animals served as clotliew, and their meet for food; or if otlier sources failtd,
they did not hesitate to sacrifice the dogs that drew their winter slcdgCH.

•" Sec History Nortliwcfl Coast.

AMONG THE NEZ rEIlLitS.

289

tivi's, for so iiiucli tobacco, to assist him at the port-
age. Their work being well and promptly done, they
liastily came forward in a body for their pay — so
lias ily and in such numbers, in fact, that Connolly
Avas frightened, and dropping the promised tobacco
oil the rocks, beat a rapid retreat to liis boats. The
savages paused, and cast toward the Hying trader a
look of ineffable disdain.

''Arc white men thieves and murderers that they
think all others so?" exclaimed the chief, swelling in
dignity and stature as he spoke. "Go! we scorn
you, and will not touch your trash!"

Saying wliich, the Xez Perccs turned loftily away,
leaving the tol)acco on the rocks. Upon seeing this,
certain l^douses, fishing in the river near by, did not
scruple with hot hasti; "^o sweep the stones of the
precious weed to the last slired.

Under such developing environment the course of
true love ran rapidly «nd smoothly. There were no
i'actious intluences at work in lorm of oppugnant l'ath(>r,
suhtly scheming mother, rival lover, or heavy villain,
so essential to the orthodox love-story. James Doug-
las was glad to win tlie love of Xelia Connolly, and
she was equally glad to give it him. Wlien he asked
licr to be his wife, she had not tlie remotest idea of
(Ki'linino-. nor- had )ier father. So the}' were counted
man ami wife, and began the half-century of serene
happiness which foll< wed in the rugged region of
New Caledonia. AVhen Beaver, freshly bleached by
St Peter's successor, ariived at Fort Vancouver with
a church-bouno wife, theal)original marriage ceremony
was denounced as devilish, and beside this innnacu-
late pair all wives there were only concubines, and
their progeny bastards, with whom it were disgraceful
to associate. And so for the sake of peace, Douglas,
among others, was remarried l)y ]^eaver in 1837 or
18 as."

''Uiiberts, liecoUfftiom, MS., 57, says 1839; but in this instance ho tlocs
ui't ri'colleet correctly.

Hist. Brit. Col. 19

980

JAMES DOUGLAS.

l.'li

i.4iii

Near the western limit of New Caledonia in 182G,
Douglas built a post which he called, in honor of liis
wife's father, Fort Connolly, on Bear Lake, some-
times called Lake Connolly at the head of a branch
of Skecna River.

After several years of this kind of service, many
incidents of which I have detailed elsewhere, and in
which persistent fidelity to business and temperate
conduct toward the natives were ever manifest,
Douglas was called to Fort Vancouver, where ho
proceeded with his family in 1828, there to render
his friend and patron the more immediate assistance
which the increasing requirements of the service
seemed to demand. There he rose rapidly, and soon
stood second only to his chief in all the Northwest
Coast, if not at once in name, yet ir power and im-
portance almost immediately.

There was an abundance of time and opportunity,
however, to become proficient in all the minutest de-
tails of the service, and this not in theory alone but
in practice. He revised and greatly improved the
system of accounts which required all the posts of
the Pacific to make annual returns to Fort Vancouver.
Several times he took charge of the York Factory
express, which duty was by no means unaccompanied
witli difficulties and dangers.'

In 1830 he was made chief trader, and two years
after, chief factor.^ Much of his time was now eni-
ploycd in selecting sites and superintending the es-
tablishing of posts. Annual visits of inspection were

' ' Sir James used to be one of the clerks who went across with letters. Mr
Anderson went once; Dr Tolmic went once, but he went to England to visit
his country. They used to have a little difUculty with the Indians, but not
much.' llarvcifs Life, of MrLowjIdln, MS., 4.

" I take this date from McKinlay, Narmtive, MS., 8, and Finlaysou, ///■'*/.
V. /., MS., 30, who agree. Anderson, Northu-fxt Coaxt, MS., 25, says tliat
it was ill 183.} he was made chief trader. But the time is not at all essential,
Tuhnic, Picjet Soinxl, MS., 2, saw him in 1833, when 'he was second in com-
mand at Fort Vancouver, where he acted as accountant.' He was now fast
becoming famous for his geographical and practical knowledge. In Hci'^H
U, S. to l[. B. M. Treaty of Wnsh'imjtou, 21, he is pronoimced 'one of the most
enterprising and inquisitive of men, famous for his intimate acquaintance with
every crevice on the coast;' a high compliment from such a source.

A NOBLE DEED.

i^'JI

da in 182G,
onor of his
jakc, sonic-
)f a branch

rvice, many
icrc, and in
temperate
[• manifest,
', where ho
c to render
e assistance
the service
ly, and soon
) Northwest
,ver and im-

opportunity,

minutest de-

iry ah)ne hat

iiproved the

,he posts of

Vancouver.

ork Factory

accompanied

d two years
s^as now em-
ding the es-
Dection were

s with letters. Mi'
o England to visit
Indians, but not

a Finlayson, 7/''-'-
dS., 25, says that
lot at all essential.
vas second in cdiu-
He was now fa-t;
R-ledgc. In neiJn
id 'one of the most

[acquaintance willi
I, source.

made to the several stations, both of the interior and
of the seaboard. In the summer of 1840 he was up
tlio coast on important business; in the winter of
1841 2 he visited Cahfornia, a full and interesting
account of which is given in liis journal.

There is something sublime in that quality inherent
ill noble natures which cannot overlook a duty, even
though its performance leads toward death.

In fording the Nisqually River, while en route
northward in April 1840 to take possession of the
tciritory leased from the Russians, and to build Fort
Tako, Lasseites, leadhig man of the party under
Douglas, was swept away and carried some distance
down the river. Just before reaching a drift of logs
iiiid debris, under and through which the furious
\\ titer was surging, threatening instant destruction to
;u)\' on whom it nnght once lay its grasp, he caught
till' end of a fallen tree and held to it as his only hope
of life.

Even to those accustomed to daily dangers, and to
prompt unflinching action whenever a conu'ade needed
licl}), the position of Lassertes was so perilous, the
(Instruction of whomsoever should attempt his rescue
ISO })robable, that tlie bravest of these brave men
drew back appalled. The air and water were icy
cold, so that the limbs would be quickly benumbed.
U'liding to render effort powerless. Fear fell upon
till' < ompany Lassertes was growing every moment
wiaker ; he was apparently a doomed man. " The
contagion weighed upon my own mind," says Doug-
las, "and I confess with shame that I felt not that
cheeri'ul alacrity in rushing to the rescue as a,t other
times."

Douglas soon saw that if he did not make the at-
tempt no one would. It were easy enough to hold
back, to dally, to seek for means less venturesome than
sucli extreme personal peril, that man's life was not
worth half as much as his own: no blame could bv
any j)ossibility ever be attached to lum; let him go.

i:'.»'j

JAMES DOUGLAS.

J i- " :

i V

He could not do it. His nature was not made of
such stuff. "Even then," he writes hi liis journal, "I
could not allow a fellow-creature to perish without an
effort to save him, while the inactivity of all present
was an additi<jnal incentive to redouble my own exci'-
tions. With a sensation t>f dread, and ahnost hojx -
less of success, I puslicd my horse by spur and wliij)
nearly across the river, sprung into the water, and
rushed towards the spot where the nearly exhausted
sufferer was clinging, with his head above water, to
the end (jf a tree that had fallen into the river. Upon
its trunk I dragged myself out on all fours; and great
was our mutual joy when I seized him firndy by tlie
collar, and with the aid of a canoe that arrived soon
after, landed him safely on the bank, where a blazing
lire soon restored wjirmth to both. And to my late-^t
breath may I cherish the remend)rance of Lassertes'
providential rescue from a watery grave, as I could
never otlierwisc have enjoyed tranquillity of min<l. "'
Which sentiment, supplementing such an action, tn
mo is fragrant with the highest nobleness of soul.

Durinijf the earlv part of his career he was riijjid in
liis obedience to the orders of his su[)eriors, and in
manifestations of res})ect toward them; and in later
vears when he began to rule, he demanded the same
respect and obedience from others.^

;h W

^ Domjlim' JoKi-niil, MS., 4, 5.

•^ As well to iiUbrtl tlio plainest insight into the chciracter of this remarka-
ble man as to clear myself from any possible charge f>f captious eriticisiii in
regard to him, I give the following extract from the Ijook of Matthew .MaciU',
a per.sonal acquaintance and countryman of Douglas:

' Tiicre is a resident in the country who, in con.sideration of his past ollicial
relation to it as first governor of British Columbia, deserves passing notici; in
this place. I refer to Sir James Douglas. This gentleman is completely un-
known in England, except at the colonial ofiice and to a few directors ol tlie
Hudson's Bay Company. But being a local celebrity, the reader may nut ob-
ject to be introduced to so interesting a character. In stature he exceeds six
feet. His countenance, by its weather-beaten appcivrance, still tells of inany
years spent ia fur-trapping adventure in the wilds of the interior. Intro-
duced 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 tliat of Indians, half-breeds,
and persons like himself occupying humble situations in the employ of tlu'
•company, eve»y jiraise is due to him for not being indiflferent to mental mil-

JOINT MANAGEMENT.

•J!I3

lot made of
journal, "I
L without an
F all y) resent
ly own extr-
Iiuost 1k>ih'-
ar and whip
! water, and
[y exhausted
ve water, to
iver. Upon
s ; and ^reat
irmly hy tlie
arrived seen
ere a blaziiijj;
. to my latest
of Lassertes'
3, as I could
ty oi mmd.
an action, to
J of soul.

was rigid in
'riors, and in

and in later
led the sanio

;cr of this rciiiarkii-
[iptious criticisiu in
)t' Matthew M^uiie,

II of his i)ast ojlicial
j8 passing notice in
n is completely un-
i;w directors of tlie
reader may nut ob-
iture he exceeds >ix
, still tells of iiKUiy
le interior. lutm-
1, the reputed place
during the proutLT
.dians, half-bree(ls,
the employ of tiu'
•ent to mental 'lu-

Both before and after 1843, Douglas was active in
choosing a site and establishing Fort Victoria. When
tlio board of management was organized in order grad-
Uiiliy to relieve John McLoughlin of his rule preparu-
toiy to his final di.scharge, Douglas was a mend)er.
Before the retirement from the Hudson's Bay Coni-
[laiiy's service of McLoughlin in 1845, papers were
signed by himself and Douglas jointly, showing that
tlie latter was gradually coming to the front. These
Wire troublous times for McLoughlin, and they were

tuio in those mountain solitudes in whieli the ilower of his manhood was
[las.^cd. The stutilinessof I'.is porstin, of which he always seems proudly con-
siioiis, and his natural force of character, suggest the relleetion to an oliserver,
liiiw vastly more agreeahle would have been liis address, and jiowerful tlic in-
ihuiue of his character and aliilities, had he enjoyed in early life a liheral edu-
tatiiiii and intercourse with persons of relinement and cultun^ De (,>uincey
iksciilics tlie Well-known .l>r I'arr as the Biniiingham Dv .Jnhnson, an e.\i)res-
siiiii .signifying tliat the former was out an electro-plated imitation of the latter.
I'he a|i[ilication of this remark may he left to the reader in reference to tliu
pretentious deportment of Sir James. His cfl'orts to appear grand, and even
uugust, were ludicrously out of proportion to the insignificant [population lie
govmuil, nnndjei'ing less than the inhabitants of many a country town in
lIiiL'land. When he spoke to any one within the precincts f)f the government
liniisc, liis Quixotic notions of his othce, which he evidently tlmught splendid,
[iioiiiptcd him to make choice of the scs(|uipedaliau diction he employed in
iii.s ilcspatches. The angle of his head, the ollicial tone, the extension of the
iiaiiil, the bland smile which never reached beyond the corners of his mouth,
all tiicse still' and artitleial arrangements were carefully got up and daily re-
pr;ited by him, under the dehusiou that the public imagined him to be natural
aiul a perfect IJrunnnell in politeness. His manm^rs always gave one the im-
]ircssiun that to make up for early disadvantages lie hail I'eligiously adjusted
iiis \\iii)le ))caring to the standard of Lonl (.'hestertield, and it is needless to
Niy hiiw amusing was the combination of his lordship and this ilignitied old
fiir-ti'a[iper.

'His attitude toward the olhcials serving under his government was aus-
ten and distant. This he had aeipiireil nnilcr the sort of military vnj'iiir ob-
sitvimI liftween the ollieers anil se-rvants of the lliuhion's 15ay ( ompauy. I
liavd heard magistrates adilresseil by him in a pompous manner that no Jlng-
lisli gentleman would assume toward Ids portci". But Sir .(aiiRs solemnly felt
that tin; machine of state could only lie kept in motion l>y his delivering coiii-
iiiaiiil-i, with licad erect, and with that rotund and p(rem[itorY utterance whieli
at ouec lietrayed and excused vulgarity, lie was I'arely visible at his desk <u'
ill the street without being arrayed in semi-military uniform; but the climax
ft his extravagance was probably capped l)y his being followed perpetually,
wlieilier taking an airing in the country or going to visit, by an imposing
•inlerly, duly armed and in unifoi'in. In so small and practical a town as
\ ietoiia, the temptation of the local wits to satiri/o so preiiosterous a spectacle
was irresistible. I'etty diplomacy was a passion with Sir James, doubtles-i
ilevildjied from his youth, in the wlieedling mode of transacting business with
tile Indians adopted by the Cf)mpauy in the interior. He never sent av.ay
any supjiliant for governmental favours without hohling out some hope,
which, at the same moment, he in numy cases determined to frustrate, A
taviirite plan of his with any wlmni lie tiiua sought to keep in good humor
Was to exhaust their patience by expedient an<l indetinito postponement of

ivA

■:4

JAME.S DOUGLAS.

the darkest in the niemory of Douglas; for it was
then he first deenicd it liis chitv to present himself as
a barrier to tlie liluiral dealings of jMcLoughlin, and
a supporter of the mijre merciless policy of his com-
pany. When McLoughlin had fairly left Fort Van-
couver, however, and Douglas was fully installed
as liis successor, he returned to the old and wise
ways which liad heen characteristic of Northwest
Coast management since 1824, wliich increases tlio
suspicion that Douglas was not just then whollv

the object dcsircil.' If I might he allowed a Yankee's ramlom guess I shouM
s.'iy that Mr Mactie liimself was one of those ilisappointed office-seekers upon
whom Sir James so iiiiprolitahlj' smileil.

After Douglas hail assiimeil the duties of governor of Vancouver Island,
t!ie Americans across tlie liorder used to ridicule, not always with the ln:>t of
taste, what they regarded in him as unwarranted jiomposity. I herew ith
extract the following inmi ihi} ()ti/iii]>i<i, Cliili ('(ninrnii-loiir, MS., <)-]H, wliieh
tliougli exaggerated to the Ijordcr of the hurlesijue, nevertheless contains a
tincture of truth:

'.Mrl'Ivans — Tlie oM governor used to walk the streets of Victoria ]iro-
ccded, about as far as from here to that door, by a big Scotchman with ,i
drawn sword. Ynu have si.'en that, haven't you ?

'Mr liillings— Yes [lauglihigj.

'Mr Evans — I have seen that. I saw it the very first time I went to
Victoria.

'Mr Hillings — It was Lieutenant IJowdon, now chief of police.

'.MrKvans — 1 went one time into Jlibhen & ( 'arswell s bookstore, and
Douglas and this man came in afti'r me. Tlicnext day, about the same tiiiif,
1 Went to the photograph saloon on a little idley tliat turns otl' from (ioverri-
meut street, and there he Went into tlie lower story as I went iijistairs. 1
made some remark aboiit it, and a man told me tliat that M'as always the
case with the governor when lie went out about live or six o'clock.

' Mr Billings — That is what Mason t( lis me. Lieutenant Howden was the
luad of his bo(iy -guard, lie was a large man, weigliiug '2(i0 pounds.

' Mr JIvaus — 1 have talked with Douglas wlicii he was governor wnder tlio
appointment of Queen \'ictoria, and governor by virtue of his being cliii f
factor in charge of the Hudson's IJay Company's atl'airs. The last time I was
tlierc, when lie was chief factor in charge, was when the Russian ofiicers
taken from Tetropavlovsk had a reception given them. Captain I'ease, of th^'
revenue cutter Jiff Ddr'm. had a reception, and these ollicers had a reception.

'MrTarlicU — After he was aiipoiuted governor under tlie (pieeii, he liad
a paid servant. This man IJowden was brought out, and Sir James took him
as his servant; but I never saw him going with a broadsword.

' Mr Kvans — lie was a great big fellow, and walked five or six feet ahead
of him. 1 have seen it as many as fou. . five times. He was there walking
ahead, in uniform.

'MrTarbcll — This man came out with Moody, ami was detailed from
that ser\-ice. He was a servant of Sir James Douglas, after he was governor,
and after he M-as knighted.

'Mr Evans — I was a great admirer of Douglas, and I thought that this was
a good deal too much hundmggcry. So I made fun of it in my way. It v:is
remarked that that was the usual way; that the governor never went out
otherwise. My recoUeciion in regar<l to the matter is, that when he \va»

8UI'EUSE1)K.S McLOUOflLIN.

2tt3

time I went t^

tnu.' to his most generous instincts, that he was not
iit all grieved to have ^leLouglilin out of the way
and hiniself hi his place. I do not say that he acted
a dishonorable part in the accomplishment of this re-
sult. Call it legal or commercial honor, and I do not
tliink he did act dishonorably; but on the other hand,
]iad their })ositions been reversed, McLoughlin never
would have permitted the London directors to frown
out of office his superior because of actions too noble
for the digestion of the corporation. ])ouglas not
only permitted it, Ijut assisted it, and then gathered
the spoils.

With himself high chief, and Peter Skeen Ogden
secriiid in connnand,'^ Douglas not only ably followed
up the system of farming and general business ar-
rangements originated and so long successfully ])rae-
tised by ^[cLoughlin, but he became suddenly kind
to tlie emigrants, and in short benevolently committed
all those crimes of eharity for which McL(JUghlin had
luen dethroned.

Jxoutes liaving beiMi opened to the interior by way
of Fi-aser River in 1848, and all being prepared for a
full transfer of the head depot from the Columbia

nu duty it was: "Make way for the governor, i)lea.so." There was much
cti'oniimy. Douglas himself \v;is the greatest man to staml on dignity you
ever saw.

' Mr Tarhell — O, of course when you went into his oilice lie wanted you
111 take your hat off the moment you went into tlie door,

' Mr I']vans — He had a man tliere with the liagpipes.

' Mr IJillings — Tliat was on the occasion of a recei)tion.

' Mr Kvans — Well, I guess the ohl man always adliered to tliat.

' Mr fciwau — It was a national trait; most Scotchmen are foinl of the bag-
liil'es.

' Mr ]']vans — I am a great admirer of Douglas. I think ho was a great
stiiicsman, and 1 tliink it was an unfortunate thing that they .supidantecl him
at the time they did.'

Tlie simple fact of tlie matter is, tliat (iovernor Douglas had a servant wlio
siiiiietimes accompanied his master, armed, and he may ui>on ocoa.sion liave
cx|ji!)ited liis weapon to (>pen the way through a crowd. Victoria during the
ilush tunes was lilled with a rough element, not too much in love with rigor-
oii:i rule, Althougli punctilious to w hat Americans might call a fault, 1 am
Vi ly sure that he possessed, too much sound sc-nse ever to have played the
liulloou, or to have nuulo himself ridiculous in the eyes of intelligent, fair-
miiidcd men.

" Says Jesse Applegate, Vicirs n/Oreijon History, MS., \'.\: 'Visiting Fort
Vancouver annually for supplies, I ther<3 met Mr Ogden in 1845. He waa
tiu'ii second to Mr Douglas in command.'

290

JAME.S DOUtlLAS.

1.;..

iwM

llivor to Vancouver Island, in 1849 Douglas removed
with Ills family to Victoria/" In 1850 he retired from
the service of the Hudson's Bay Com[)any, and dis-
posed of his entire interest in that concern."

We shall see in the succeeding chapters of this
volume how James Douglas behaved as governor of
Vancouver Island, and governor of British Colum-
bia, which latter jiosition he held until 18G4, wluii
he made a visit to Europe, and how he condueti d
himself in the many trying positions in which he was
placed during a long and eventful ])ul)lic service. lu
1859 he was created C. B., and knighted in ISd.j.
He died at Victoria the 2d of August 1877, at the
age of seventy-four years.

The world unites m according tlu; highest ])raise to
Douglas as well as to ]\[cLoughlin. It is the histo-
rian's duty, however, to incpiire further, and note in
the persons brought before him the distinguishing
characteristics which make every individual to dilKi"
fre)m every other individual. IV'rhaps we may rciu-h
the inner temple of the Douglas tabernacle the more
elfectuallv by placing him beside the man ho most re-
semblcs, and then marking the diiference.

The lives of both were essentially material. Pos-
sessing high mental and spiritual capabilities, they
were without moral companionship or intellectual
food; yet tlieir intellects, like their bodies, seenud
healthful, fresh, and vigorous. Their minds were
fashioned, to a great extent, by the same early pro-
ce[)ts and the same commercial training. Then later
there were the same interests, ambitions, and disci-
pline, the same fort life, forest travel, and primitive
domination, which for a score or two of years were

'■^ McKinlay, Xarnif/re, 'Mfi., 8, statess in his bungling waj' thattliis iimvo
was made 'in 1847, ujion the retirement of (fovcrudr Blanshanl, who li.iil
been appointed from Knghmd, and whoso office expired on aeeoiiiit of tho
transference of Vancouver Island to tlie Hudson's Bay Company by the Brit-
ish government. '

^^ Di'patition of JamcA Dowjlds on hihalf of the Ifuihons Bay Conqxini/,
If. B. Co. Claini.t, 49.

TWO MAGNIFICiLNT MEN.

'297

, removed

,ired from

, and dis'
s

's of tliifi
iveriior of
h Coluiu-
5G4, wluii
conduct* d
c\i ho "Was
rvico. Ill
[ ill 18(;;J.
77, at tlic

t ])ralse to
the liisto"
id note ill
in<jfuishni!4'
il to ditlVr
may reach
! the more
c most I'l-

;'i

O.S-

ities, they
ntelleetual
js, seeiiK'd
hids Wiie

early prc-
Ihcu later

and dlsci-

primltivo

rears were

tliattliis iiiiivo
iluiril, wlu) hill

lu'c'omit of tlio
,ny by the 15iit-

Boy Coiniiiiii!/,

their constant environment, and entered largely into
tlie composition of their character. Wo can scarcely
conceive the powerful intiuenee of the iron rule of a
coiiunercial corporation on the plastic mind of youth,
which fashionin»>; power is increased tenfold in this
instance hy its isolation and absolutism. More than
intuition, tradition, and early education all combined,
tlie Hudson's Bay Company made its servants. The
vcrv first thinur for a novice to do on enterimx the
service was to creep into the ever-ready mould, and
tlic quicker and more effectually he fitted himself to
it, the more useful and successful ho became/*

Standing a})art, both of tlioso men ])resent a dis-
tin;4uished front; botli are lavishly praised by their
contemporaries. I need not re})eat hero what has
litcn said of ^McLoughlin. Uurnett, once governor of
Oregon, and one competent to judge dis})assionately,
jM'onounces Douglas '*a man of irreproacliablc char-
iutcr, . . . of very superior intelligenci', and a finished
(^liristian gentleman;" and further: "In hi position
ef governor of British Columbia, ho was censured by
]\fr John Nugent of California, as I must tliink, witli-
out sufKcient cause. Errors of judgment Governor
])iiuglas may have conunitted, as almost any man
would have done, at times, in his trying i)osition; but
lie must have radically changed since 1 knew him, if
lie knowingly acted improperly." ^^ Grover of Oregon

^* 'I was sorry to hear of Zonulas' death,' says the uarruloiis oM Oregon
siiitliro, 1 );iiiicl Waldo, ( 'ri/i'/iu^, MS., pussim. ' 1 thought a lieap of Idm. ilu
vas :i mail horn to command men — a martial fellow. Ho never gave an evasive
answer. . .McLoughlin and Douglas were a good ileal alike. Tlie doctor wuuhl
flatter you a little; Douglas would not. I do nut Uiiow Imt Douglas was just
as liheral. He trusted everybody jii^it the samo as the doctor did, after tlio
doctor went out.' One of the most intelligent and fiiir-nunded of Oregon's
liioueers, Enrli/ D/s, MS., 2, thus writes: ' I recollect very distinctly tiie
dill'crenco in our personal intercourse with Governor McLoughlin, who was
thru tlio chief faetoi", and Sir .lames Douglas; lie was then Mr l>ouglas, and
sccciiul in command at Vancouver. The latter was adevoted believer in Vie-
tei'iiis right to all she could maintain, wliile the other rose above that. Doug-
las would do M-liat a civii gentleman was compelled to do towards assisting
the jidor emigrants, and nothing more. The one was cold, and showed Iiy liia
iiiauuer that he diil not wish the Americans to come here, wliile the other
was warm, Iiearty, and friendly.'

^^ Btirnett's Recollections, MS., i. 94-5, 27.3-4, 298, 301-3.

iLi

298

JAMES DOUGLAS.

says lie was very judicious in settling difficulties with
the American miners in 1858; that on one occasion,
when a little war was liable to be stirred up in regard
to rents, licenses, and water rights, he proceeded to the
mines in person, and made public speeches which in-
duced that rough element to settle their afiairs peace-
ably.^«

The author of* a pamphlet published at Victoria
in 1858, and who seems to me somewhat hyper-
critical, remarks : " So far, his acts, though tardy,
have been judicious and liberal, considering circum-
stances and tlie many difficulties he has had to con-
tend with."^'

Another writes: "The long service of Sir James
Douglas to tlie Hudson's Bay Company, his intimate
actjuaintance with the various tribes of natives, and
his knowledge of the requirements for developing the
resources of tliis tlie most im[)ortant colony of Eng-
land in the Pacific, rendered him at that epoch
eminently qualified to fulfil the duties of governor of
our Xorthwest An)erican possessions. I have no ob-
ject in bepraismg him other than a desire to record
niy humble sense of his eminent merits. But such I
know to be the verdict of all unbiassed men who had
tlu3 advantage of living under his wise and able ad-
ministration."'-

These are stronger testhnonials even than those of
countrymen and partisans, of which I have many.

" He performed the duty of governor of the two col-
onies," ,^ays one, ''with exceeding prudence and great
success." "* " He made himself popular 1)V cimtributing
to the ofeneral u'ood feelinix existiriir amonir the set-

tlers," remarks another."^ He "\vorl

iced his

way

gradually up to the highest rank by perseverance,
sobriety of conduct, and earnest application to l>usi-

"'• (f'mir )•','< PiihOc Lifi', MS., fir>-6.
" WivldhritnnH Friisrr MIih'm, ;$(5.
^^ /'oolf'\t Qucoi r/nirlotfr IMiinil, 6(5-7
^'' Aiii/criioii'n jXorf/iirts/ Cniisf, MS., 02,
'^"Gooil'n Jiritinht'oluiiibi'i, 1.

PERSONAL APPEARANCE.

ncss."'^^ Malcolm McLeod testifies: "Hewas an offi-
cer eminent for his skill, energy, and daring, and his
compeers ranked high in those qualities, for the ser-
vice then was one essentially militant, and extremely

U" 22
ous.

Saj's Mr Cridger^ "Governor Douglas treated the

Indians with the affection of a father. This coupled

witli his justice and firmness gave him unbounded

iiiiluence with them. AVhen they came from the

iii>rth in such numbers as to cause serious apprehcn-

sii)U, ho achieved by his personal authority wliai

under another might have cost blood, and induced

tliem to return. At the time of the influx of mAd-

miners in 1858, when some ten thousand men M'ero

(. iicampcd in Victoria, whose population at that time

iii'glit be some tlirce hundred souls, he conferred with

tlieni as a father aiul a friend; met and counselled

tliem on tlie eve of their various expeditions; and on

one occasion, when th(>v were beino- misled, caused a

]( tier to 1)0 printed and circulated among tlicm, signed

31. F. — miner's friend — with the happiest losults."

]\[ore were superfluous.

In personal appearance l)ouglas was little less
]) euliar than McLoughlin. Botii were striking, grand;
iiiiywliere in the world, in an American forest or a
J.ondon thorouLihfaro, in a tur-tradimr fort or in a
legislative hall, either would have attracted notice as
something out of and above the ordinary n)an.

Six feet and more in height,"' l)ut so admirably
]ir(>j)ortioned that one would not imagine him so tall
mitil one stood beside liim; eivet in his carriage,
]ii( iisured in his movements, but natural and graceful
Y\itlial, Douglas had not his like in all the Northwest.

■^> Fwloi/xoir.^ Hist V. /., MS., .m

'^- Mrhoiiiiltl's I'ltirc liirir, V-M.

'■'■' (liiiriiiierixtir.t oj' JditicM I )niiijlii.'<, AIS., 3-5.

"' Ai)j)l('j,',ito, r«(ra, <h; Hixt., MS., lit, .says scv':>n feet seven inchos; but
tlii.t \v;i.s eviilcntly a Ihjmoih liniiiin: Many liavo plai'Ml his lieiglit at six foot
t^ix or sevuu inches, but Fuilay»ou, LvUei\i, MS,, places it at six tuot.

JAMES DOUCJLxVS.

Toward the end of his life his long face seemed to
grow longer, his large features and high forehead to
assume yet more massive proportions, and the always
firm and earnest purpose which his eyes and mouth
presented, to deepen into seriousness akin to melan-
choly.

McLoiighlin's was a very handsome foce, full and
well proportioned, with exquisite features, e3'es, nose,
and mouth not too large, tlie whole exceedingly pleas-
ing, fascinating, denoting no great powers either of in-
tellect or intelligence, but with paramount mtegrity
of purpose and will enough to enforce it.

It is an exceedingly delicate task to press a closer
analysis in tliis instance; anil yet I see palpable
differences in these chiefs so singularly alike.

And first, and most salient, their predisposition.
McLouglilin was one to l)e loved; ])ouglas one to l)e
respecti'd. Throughout his wliole career, ^IcLoughliu
displayed a broad benevolence, an artless consideration,
for his fellow-man of whatsoever creed, ('ok)r, or nation-
ality. Tliis generous temper was from a native si)i'ing
which poured fortli purest kindness as the bird its
song, bi'<'ause it could not helj) it.'"' JJouglas was kind
and just; but his benevolence was not always nntinc-
turetl by policy, nor his sympathy by selfish interest.
Fort life was in many respects like that of a feutlal

''■' llciw bnundK'ss must 111' tin' liniiiim kindnoss of n. rrdiipd nature 'wliii.'li
umli Tu'oi's trial liko tlic fulldwiiij^ vi itiiotit ever susjirctiiiL;' it to l)o a dial!
S|i('akiii^ of tlii^ wi'V- of Mi'ljoiigliliii, tlio widow of Slclvay w lio was \">t mi
till' '/'I'nijiiiii, Mrs Wilson, (iri'/nii S/:if,;'i<.i, MS., I'.l ■_'!, savs: *Tliounii lii^
Avifo ^^■ls a lialf-lircfd of tlio Ojiliway nation, coarse, hi'nt, fiit, and tlaliliy, hi!
tii'ati'd lit'i' liki! a in-iiu'css. In imldic and in jirivato he was as loyal to Irh'
as if slio had hccn a dauLihtrr if (^MiotMi Victoria. . .He would .snllri' no indiL;-
Iiity or s!it;ht to her. Mis lino haiiclsoirie form ln'sidi' tlu'iiiu'orsi'tcd li;;uro of
the old Indian woman [priscnU'd a strani^i' contrast, as .she waddlcil lu'sidu him
liko a lioing iif aiiotlicr s|ii'i'ii's. Mis j^allantry to her kiuw m> liotiml. On
state oi'ca.sions, stiai;;lit as an arrow and maunilici'iitly ap[iari'lli'd, hi' woidd
Miami like ii sjilendid statue, while this female idiori;;inal rolled out lietoi''
liini in plain ehfthes mid no liuure w hatevi'r. ' in a eountry where le;;al m ir-
riaj^e was not the rule, ho was thiiee married to his wife, if we may li('lii'\e
Ji'diu lis' ItW., MS., (id, oiieo 'at Fort William hy a Mr MeKeii/ie, ami afler-
wanl hy .Mr I)oii),das ' in his eajtaeity of justice of the iieaee, 'at Vancouver,
uml a^aiu hy Archhishoj) lUanchet.'

COMPAUATl VE CHARACTERISTICS.

court. Both tliGSo factors were strict disciplinarians,-^
to svliich they had been trained from youth, and with-
out which they could not have held their position.
Before those who looked up to them as su[)erior
huings, they were the embodiment of a commercial
polity, of commercial probity, of commercial success;
to wliich business policy the individual must surrender
liimself v.iiolly: body, ftimily, and life itself ])otli
])osst-sscd i^reat powers in tliis and other directions,
but tlie autliority of Douglas was of sterner stufl'
tlian tliat of McLoughhn. Botli were men of prac-
tical sagacity, possessing minds of penetrating iiisight,
but while one reached conclusions quickly, as if by
intuition, the other was slower, and pondered well
Ix'fore opening liis mouth.

Douglas was the stronger; !McLoughlin tlie purer.
^EcLoughlin was weakened by his good (jualities;
])ouglas was strengthened by his l)ad ones. Sin
s.Muetimes breeds unhappiness; so do noble actions.
Far more misery has l)een engendered in the breast
ot" middle-aged respectability by benevolent acts than
in the breast of viilany by vicious acts. Intempei'ate
gt-nerosity and injudicious trustfulness drove ^Ic-
Jioughlin into unliapjty old age. Douglas can boa>'.
no unhappy old age.

Douglas was possessed of a cold, proud, formal
egoism, M'hoUy a[)art from the warm and ;^< m-rous

iipathies of ^IcLoughlin. His sluggish impulsi ^

^•' ' - . . . .

wore in the right direction, but they must all be

niiide to pli^y within the hard, passionless limits of

conventionalism and aristocratic tradition.

McLoughlin was in temperament CJaelic; he was

'■'"'Both the iloctor and Houglas,' Bays Rolierts, Itcrolli'iiioii.i, MS,, (!."),
' Mt'i(! tliscii)liiianaiiM, iind tlioir nuoi'i'ss was liigoly owing to tliat. I've olti'U
Itciii aniuaeil to see liow oourtoous J)ougla.s coiild hv. to the roughest jtioneor,
and even forco outward wyndiols of rusjiect from nii'u wlio liad jirohahly
^liiiwu as much to no one before. . 'I'lic eajitains often liatl to resort to tliu
doctor or Doughia; the latter was niueh the tirnier.' I cannot agne with
vliat I lind written in Coiii}>loii'n Fortn ami Fort L{/'v, MS., '2, where Me-
l<ougl\liu is mentioned as one whose 'name will go down from generation to
!''iit'ration, when Sir James Douglas will he lost.' MeLoughliii's name will
always live; at the same time, that of Jai.ies Douglas will never die.

fKtt

JAMKS DOUGLAS.

lively, social, hospitable. He could be diplomatic,
but not deceitful; hence his diplomacy often fell to
the ground. Douglas was hard, lethargic; more re-
served and hauglity, less charitable, more unbending,
presenting a moral outline of stony rigidity; one who
thouijht much of himself, which the other seemed
never to do. Their constant association made them
in a marked degree conformable in character, to the
im})rovement of one of them at least. Though con-
forming in the main to tlie rules of his commercial
order, McLougldin's life was plainly one of imi)ulse
and instinctive action. He would do no wrong bo-
cause his company connnanded it. The ideal of oljli-
gation was outlined in his mind as distinctly as was
Mt Hood V'cfore his physical vision.

McLoughlin loved what was genial, noble, honest;
Douglas loved what was imposing, successful, honest.
The former more than the latter was confined to the
humdrum duties of a prosaic life, and yet we find in
the factor of Fort Vancouver far more of sentiment,
of warm, tender, all-enfolding sympathy, than in his
more stiff and stolid subordinate and successor.

Douglas venerated the institutions under which he
was born, the conventionalities imder which he lived,
and thence proceeding, soon learned to venerate him-
self, which im[)ortant figure he never for a niomeut
lost sight of. Without knowing it, the comings and
goings of McLttughlin were directed by a spirit of
magnanimous disinterestedness.

That one could drop early instilled traditions and
adopt another faith, as McLoughlin is reported ti>
have done, shows at least independence of thought,
and, to some extent, freedom from sectarian l)ondage.
Douglas never changed his religion ; nor could he, any
more than the leopard could change his skin. De-
prive the one of his church ceri'monies, and his reli-
gion was gone ; whereas the })ractical piety of the other
shone out from the depths of the wilderness thron;j,Ii
every act, and a thousand miles away from ritual.

JOHN MiLOU(mLIN.

book, or priest. The loyalty of Douglas was to the
full letter and spirit of the law; McLou^-liliii lived in
the loyalty of liis divine iiiaiiliood, and tliougii obedi-
ent to the law, was yet above it.

The truth is, if I must confess it, ^NTcLoughlin's
piety, like Tolniie's temperance, was a garment for
occasions, and not to be worn if it interfered M'itli
more practical matters.

For example, while prayers wore beinfjj solenndy
read on Sunday in the u,reat hall of Fort Vancouver,
business was sometimes going on as briskly as evi-r.
An expedition was ])orha]'s on the tapi.'i, when, in tlie
open s[)ace without, saddle-horses were being lassi>ed
from a band of two or three hundred S(piealing, gal-
lo}mig animals, the thundering of whose hoofs, no
doubt, added solcnmity to the responses. So Tohnif,
thounh i)rofessing strictlv total abstinence before his
sor.s, l)eing a physician, took the liberty of prescribing
i'or himself liberal potations when in other company.
xVnd yet ]\[cLoughlin was pious, and Tolmie temperate.
Douglas was of the strictest sect a pharisee, abound-
ing in meaningless forms more hollow than he him-
self imagined forms could be. Forms to him were
indeed not forms, Init actualities; shadov.'s were more
substantial thinefs than the unseen substance that cast
the sliadow.

^rcLoughlin was of (juiek ])erceptions. Glaicing
<i\ ir the accounts of an adventure, he could tell vou
the profit or loss and the cause of. either before
anotiier had fairly begun his calculations. D(»uglas,
on the other hand, was slow, methodical, exceedingly
careful, and he never would be hurried. His work
Would 1)0 done, and to have it well and jiroperly done
lie was willing to make any sacrifice of [)ersonal com-
t'Tts or j)leasuro, but he nmst have tini(>. He' pon-
dered a matter long, but once resolved, he smete with
vigor ami effect.

Hoth wore men of dignity and lofty bearing; but
the awe McLoughlin sought to inspire was for the

304

JAMES DOUGLAS.

great corporation represented in him, while the pom-
posity of Douglas sprang rather from personal pride.
MeLoughlin was not only the wealth, the property,
and ])rotit of the place, but he was the law, the mor-
ality, and tlio religion of a vast area occupied l)y
every shade of savagism and civilization, which, witli-
out proper and enforced example, juust quickly re-
solve into cliaos. Douglas worshipped his God and
his king, and endeavored to do his duty; but yet lie
always reserved a full sliare of adulation for himself.

In bent of mind, in carriage, conduct, and tlie man-
agement of aflairs, Douglas copied closely from liis
master, McLoughlin; so closely, indeeil, so hone.'^tly
and faithfully, that the imitation almost equalled the
original. Although they diftered in many resju'cts;
although Douglas M'as cold and calculating, even
as ^[('Loughlin was Marm-hearted and benevoh'nt;
although the virtues of ])ou<>las were manufactured,
while those of McLoughlin were s})ontaneous; al-
though ])ouglas was civilization's courtier, while ^Fc-
Loughlin was nature's nobleman — yet they were nuitli
alike; so alike, in fact, that there could have been no
iitter successor to [McLouofhlin than Dou<;las. ]^otli
were able, honest men, both obedient to the call of
the higher i)o\vers; yet while the highest power that
Douglas recognized in the affairs of lousiness was the
voice of his superior, ^[cLoughlin used to listen to
the voice of humanity, and recognize something nobler
in this universe than obedience, even though the edicts
were thundered by the miixhtv men of Fenchurcli
street.

Alter some forty years of service, the only reproach
]\[cLoughlin's directors could cast upon him was tliat
of too nuK'h kindness to settlers. The company
wanted no interlopers; neither did McLoughlin want
them, and he used every effort to discourage tjnir
coming. But once there, his humanity would not let
them die of cold and hunger.

Sec the poor emigrants as they come stragglin*,'

POLICY, POLICY, POLICY.

305

down the river, staggering under fatigue and starva-
tion! Tliey are not pleasing specimens of the outside
l)usv world, they are neither educated, intelligent, nor
oeiitlciuanly ; they are coarse, uncouth, dirty, haggard,
raufgod. They are ground-tillers, who frighten away
tlic game; they are aliens, who would usurp the terri-
tory. They are improvident, foolish, and had much
1 totter have remained at home. They bring discom-
fort, sow discord among tlie natives, and are exceed-
ingly unprofitable every way. But thoy are men;
sutfcriug, sorrowing men. And this is enough for
McLoughlin. He sends out bateaux, gathers them
in, l>rings them within the palisades, foods, clothes,
and comforts theuL Warmed into manhood under
liis benignant sympathy, they yet lack every means
of sup[)ort — seed, supi)lies, and implements of agricul-
ture. But ]\IcLoughlin's company does not desire
the soil disturbed; neither does McLoughlin. Yet
lie credits them, these strangers; and when his direc-
tors comi)lain, he tells them to charge it all to him.
I'orish factorships and fur corj)orations, he cannot see
lulploss human beings starve. I tell you this Cana-
dian Scotchman was tlie very Christ of Xortiiwest oc-
cuiiatioul

Now, Douglas likewise was humane; to the children
of tlie forest he was as a father. But Douglas was
an exceedingly just man. He was kind to the settler,
to the miner, to the poor of every caste; but he
was scrupulously alive to duty. No earthly power
could make !McLoughlin disloyal to his humanity;
no earthly power could make Douglas disloyal to his
'•(inipany.

"My father always liked him," says Mrs Harvey.-'
"Toward the last something happened; I do not
know what. I could not learn what it was. He
was against my father in something, and my father
was very angry about it."

■' Li/<- qf MeLouijhliH, MS., 3
Hist. Ukit. Coi,. 20

306

JAMES DOUGLAS.

We know what it was. In the unpleasant diseiii?-
sion liotwcon IMoLoughlin and the London directors
relative to assistiriiX cniiixrants, Doutjlas took sides
ajT^ainst his old friend and benefactor, and so made
capital with the company. Douglas himself soon be-
came ashamed of his conduct, and repented; and after
!^^cLout1fhlin's retirement, lie pursued the righteous
policy of his predecessor. But this was not until
after the London directors had become ashamed of
their conduct — for there was really no profit in it, it
being impossible to prevent immigration by any such
means. After this exhibition of his heart to his patron
and superior, McLoughlin saw in Douglas what he
had never seen before, and never after that were they
the same to each other.

In all this Douglas made no mistake. The com-
pany remembered and rewarded him. He was a
model man for the company. McLoughlin's mistakes
were all errors arising from the nobleness of his nature.
Some men are too coldly calculating ever to make
mistakes. Obstinate and rigid as he was in his high,
aristocratic policy, Douglas was ever free from any
unworthincss; he lacked the sweet weaknesses of hu-
manitv, whence unworthincss is engendered. To be
a little faulty is lamentable; but to be absolutely free
from ftiult may be more lamentable. For virtue,
concrete and absolute, is unnatural, and to be un-
natural is crime ai^ainst nature. Douglas wouKl
be a party to no virtuous disloyalty: no, not for
his soul's sake. If less than his superior in innate
nobleness, he wt)uld be the greater in outward ap-
pointment.

Until selfish interest interfered, Douglas cherished
for McLoughlin a filial affection. But within tlie
breast of the youncfer man there did not dwell suffi-
cient kindly feeling or generous sympathy to permit
a sacrifice of self-advancement. His path of honor
always lay in the direction of his conn)any's interests.
Douglas could satisfy the requirements of a merciless

COLD AND HARD.

:io7

b discus-
directors
lok sides
so made

S(^on be-
and after
rin^liteous
not until
lianied of
it in it, it

any such
his patron

what he
were they

The com-
ic ^vas a
s mistakes
his nature.
r to make
■ his high,
from any
tscs of hu-
To he
utoly free
or virtue,
to be Un-
as would
lo, not for
in innate
itward ap-

cherished
ithin the

dwell sutti-

f to permit
of honor

s interests.

a merciless

corporation better than McLou<^hlin; for McLough-
lins duty was always on the side of charity, while
t]u> charity of Douglas was made subservient to
duty.

In guile ^McLoughlin was an infant; in ever>i;hing
covert or cunning he was unsophisticated. He had
spint his life, or at least the greater part of it, among
responsible men, whose words were single, whose
assurances signified something. They were business
associates, business brethren, strict in their dealings,
slower to promise than to perform. Thus the cold,
keen world and the darkest side of humanity had
remained hidden from him. He had not found it in
the forest or in the camp.

He had never met many bad men, except among
classes so far below him that their wickedness excited
his sorrow ratht-r than his auijer. The natives were
thieves, liars, and murderers, some of them ; yet even
these it was the policy of his company to trust, be-
cause in giving them credit they derived profit.
Surely there could not be among white Christians
('•reater villanv than among these scalping heathen.
Alas! it was forced upon him to know before he
die<l that there were worse men in the world than
savages; that there were, even among those who
claimed to be upon a !)etter footing with the Al-
iiiiglity than were some others, men more cunning,
more treacherous and vindictive, greater ingrates and
scoundrels, more diabolically wicked, than the aver-
ago aboriginal.

The incoming settlers to the Northwest Coast wcx'e
i)i a class totally different from any McLoughlin had
hitherto seen. They were well beaten and battered
uwn of the world. Many of them were conscientious
iuid honest; most of them were pecuniarily irrespcm-
>ihl('; too many were unreliable in thoir word; some
tew were downright dishonest. Few Hotspurs, few
Mercutios, were found in the ranks of the Hudson's
Bav adventurers; all here were under inexorable

8Q8

JAME.S DOUGLAS.

commercial rule; one must look away upon the moun-
tains, among the camps of the free-traders for Mer-
cutios and Hotspurs.

It is scarcely to be wondered at; it is exactly what
we should expect, when the single-hearted ruler of
Fort Vancouver, now well past middle age, was brouglit
into jarring relationship with such an element as this,
that by some of them he should be badly treated,
sadly imposed upon ; that after the most disinterested
kindness he should be cheated, vilified ; such being tliu
way some have in cancelling obligations. Douglas
might boast fewer enemies than McLoughlin, because
he had granted fewer favors.

During the last years of his life, McLoughlin sonic-
times showed signs of impatience, of which he was
afterward hejirtily ashamed. When much excited, ho
would rub his stomach, swear hotly for a moment, and
in the same breath beg God's forgiveness. It was
laughable, except to one who knew the man and tlio
occasion. Yet with all his injuries he did not become
a misanthropic Timon. In the singleness and noble
purity of his soul, he could not but believe that most
men were honest; he could not believe that men are
as bad as they are, and he never regretted havinii;
befriended the unfortunate. To the end he was gentle
and tolerant, though his sensitiveness to ingratitude
and wrong was often manifest.

Now, if in order to detect some slight flaws in
the grandest and most faultless character of British
Columbian history, it has been necessary to view it
by the light of one of the grandest and most faultless
characters of any history, it only shows our more just
and lively appreciation of the man. To the proper-
minded writer of history, it is indeed refreshing to
find the central figure in the early aflairs of a colony
or commonwealth so worthy of the proud pedestal on
which it is his greatest pleasure to place him. Neither
Douglas nor McLoughlin ever did a base or ignol
act; and side by side, even as in life they were so oft^

tie

LET BOTH BE PRAISE 1>.

30S)

found, their names shall forever stand unsullied in the
annals of the great Northwest.^

^The life of James Douglas is in truth the history of British Columbia
{roni its boginiiing, through all its early changes ami vicissitudes, down to
abriut 1875. I have in this chapter only outlined the salient characteristics
of this remarkable man, for a fuller knowledge of wlioni I must refer the
reader to the other parts of this volume, scarcely a page of which is not af-
fcctt-'d by his influence. My authorities for this chapter are: Doiujlas' Prmtle
J'lilM'rx, latacr., MS., passim; Dowjlfts' Journal, MS., passim; iMuijlas' Pr'i-
riite I'djiers, 2d ser., MS., passim; Hurveifa Life of John McLotujhUn, MS., 3(5
ft sc(i.; McLowjldinK Private Papers, ser. i., ii., iii., MS., passim; Fin-
I'li/Mim IJist. V. I., MS., 30-3, 67; Anderwn's NortlnncKt Coanf, MS., 14,
•J."), 5l)-03; Tolmiea Piiijet Sound, MS., 2; McKinlui/'ii Narrotit'e, MS.,
tj; Good's Brilixh Columbia, MS., 1; Grovers Puhlic Life, MS., G5, G*!; Oli/mjiiit
r/>i/>t'onvs., MS., 9-13; Jid>erts Rec., MS., 57, Go; Burma's Itcc., MS., i. 94-5,
-'7;M; McLi'wl's Peace Rieer, 25; Wilkes' U. S. Ejpl. Ex., iv. Sol-!); Address
and Jfeiiiorials v]>oii the Retlrenienl of Sir James Douijlas, passim; Refill/,
U. S. to H. B. M. Treaty qf Washimjton, 74; Waddiw/ton's Fravr Mines, 35 G;
If. B. Co. Er., II. B. Co. Claims, 49; To-t's A'em Cahdonia, MS., 4(i 7;
Eriiiis' Ilixt. Or., MS., 279; Cridije's Characteristics of Jaiiics Domjlas, MS.,
3-5; Waldo's Critii/ues, MS., 13-14; 27th Coiia. 3d Sexs., ]f. Rc],f.' Com. No.
,?/, i. 5G, 57; Or. Puli. Rec, MS., 4; Comptons Forts awl Fort Life, MS., 2;
B'icm's Mcr. Life, MS., 20-1; Ma-'s' Pictures, MS., 20; Petti, iroecs Or.,
MS., 1-G; Sartons Or. Ter., MS., 131-41; Minlos Earl;/ Ifal/s, MS., 2;
WiUoii's Or. Sketches, MS., 19-21. The biographical notices given by the
Iiulilic press iu different parts of the world upon the occa.sioii of his (luatli,
of wliich there are too many even to make mention, are remarkable not only
I'lir tlio information they do not contain, but for the remote distance fruin
truth of the statements given.

H J

CHAPTEK XVIII.

THE ISLAND UNDER DOUGLAS.
1851-1859.

llKfONCILIATIOX OK AvTAOONISTIC ELEMENTS — TlIK TkkMS OF SeTTLE^FKNI'

Unjust am> Imi-olitk; — The Inaugukatiox of Goveknmext rui.:MA-
TURE — No Government BIT THE Best Goveknmkni — Continuance or
TUB Domination of the Monoi'oly — The Puoet Sound Company-
Provisions OF THE t'liowN Grant in Regard to Government — Exii
ration of the First Five-vear Term and Renewal — The Okficks of
Governor and Ma(iistuate at First United — iLLEo^vLrnr of Delkuat
iNii Imperi.vl Authority to a Colonial Governor in Coincil —
Organization of a House of Assembly— Farcical Performances ok
THE First LEoisLAroas — The Wild Beasts and Savages Sukvive the
Result— Touching Disi'lav of Family Affection in the Manumi.a-
TioN OF Government Affairs — Douglas Compelleu to Relinquish
Some Portion of his Honors and Emoluments.

With the in.iu<j:uratIon of James Douiilas as cole-
iiial governor, two of the oppugfiiant elements which
(luring the past two years had riiHied the usual serenity
of tlic Island were harmonized. The manau-ement
of Hudson's Bay Coinpaii}'' affairs and the rulership of
the colonial g(5vernment being vested in one person,
faotor-in-chief of tlie commercial monopoly and rep-
resentative of the queen's authority, it only remained
for him to reconcile to himself differences between
tlie company and the crown according to jiolicy or
conscience. The third element, the colonizers, was,
fortunately for the peace of tlie Island, insignificant
at the first, and was now since the inauguration of the
new governor rapidly diminishing. If there was too
little governing south of the 49th parallel, north of
that line there was now altogether too much. Upon

(310)

TOO MUCH (JONKltXMKXT.

•Ml

tlu! devoted head ot* the poor settler, surrounded by
jtulous savages and under the niost arbitrary and
iii>ane reHtrictions that ever enianatt^d from a free
« >■< tvernment favorinj; fr(>o cohmizatlon, rested the iucubi
(if nioiiarcliy and monopoly. Not alone nuist the
pound per acre for wild, ancl thus far worthless, land,
.stolen from the savages, be paid the imperial govern-
ment, but to the re'presentative of the government as
the representative of a crushing moi!o2)oly must the
settler go for every necessity, every article of comfort
or form of requirement, paying therefor often two or
three hundred per cent on London cost; to this same
hydra-head he nmst carry his produce, and receive for
it whatever the company might please to ]»ay. Wlio
among nineteentli-century Englishmen would leave his
li;ii)py English home with all its hallowed memories,
and take up his residence in tliis far-away noiih-wcst
wilderness only to breathe "-o stifling an atmosphere
as tliis? Nobody. And so Douglas traded skins and
ruled, though he ])resently had few subjects except
Ills own hired servants.

He had now, I say, only to reconcile to his policy
oi' conscience any infelicities arising between imperial
ai-I commercial interests, but I do not say that Doug-
1i- ras disposed to deal unfairly in regard to cither
trust. He was wise enough to see that self-interest
l.ty in equitable adjustments. He was wise enough
to see that henceforth throughout this domain com-
uureial power must diminish and imperial power
advance. The combined sovereignty was not beyond
liis capabilities, yet both were not essential to his
permanent advancement. He could live upon the
emoluments of his chief factorship, or upim his salary
as governor. At present the two ((tmluned were bet-
t( f than either singly; he would be true, so far as hi
him lay, to the interests of both; but ready at any
time to relinquish either. When reUnquishment be-
came irresistible, he would let fjo the lesser and hold to
tlic greater; which would be permanently the greater.

311!

THE ISLAND UNDER D0U(;LAS.

and which the loss, his discriminating judgment and
clear foresight hud already told him.

Between 18j1 and 1856, in the absence of settlers,
the duties of imperial rule were light. The monop-
oly, having everj'^thing its own way, managed matters,
in the main, to suit its own interests. Whatever was
to 1)C done for England on these shores, that Douglns
did well and faithfully. The tranquillity of tlie nortli-
ern fur-fields was somewhat disturbed by the Indian
hostilities soutli of the border, but Douglas was too
well v'irsed in aboriginal traffic to permit op(.!nruptui(i
witli the natives so long as h(3 could have tlieni to
himself, and away from the demoralizing infiuence ot
strang(>rs.

During this time the Hudson's Bay Company, to
all intrnts and purposes, enjoyed monopoly the same
as if there had been no colony and no colonial govt ni-
ment. There were no merchants on tlie Island, no
manufacturers, no miners, other than the adventurers
of ]"]ngland, for none could compete with them. TIhiv
was no money on tlie Island; all business was barter.
Tliere was no inti^rcourse with the mother country (.r
wich the world, except through the medium of tlio
mono[»oly.

]]ven in agriculture, in practical manipulation, at
least, there was also monopoly — gra.iping, oversliadow-
ing, merciless monopoly. With nearest aiid best lands
secured, and every resource at con'mand, whatever was
recpiired ibr home consumption and more, whatevt r
could be profitably exported to Ilussian America, tlic
] lawaiian Islands, or elsewhere, the Paget Sounil ( 'oni-
pany could furnish at prices below what would be cost
to the distant and isolated settl«T.

In <jfran;ing the Island to the fur company for col-
onization, it had been stipulated by the crown, anions'
other conditions, that at the end of the fifth year from
1849, unless certain progress in settlement wis made,
the charter should revert to the imperial government.

OVEKREACHINfi.

ni3

And now, says Finlayson, owing to the hesitation of
colonists to come forward, "tlie company began to get
anxious." They l)egan to see tliat there was such a
thing as overreaching themselves in continuing too
far the exclusive system. They were in no haste to
colonize, but they could not hope always to hold the
halance of power if there was no settlement. Hence
they released some of their reserved lands, influenced
some of their servants to become settlers, and made
fresh efforts to induce fainilies from al)road to make
tlie Island their home. To give further color to their
liroceedings, a number of the officers, Douglas an<l
Work, Tod, Tolniie, and Finlayson, bought wikl lands,
jiiiyiiig therefor the one pound per acre. The ]*ug('t
Sound Com))any appointed ba'.Hfis, who, besides a
sakiiy of sixty pounds a yeur, were given o"e quarter
of tlie farm profits, with liberty to draw j^oods fVoni
<lu' Hudson's ]^ay Com]>any stores at fost and ex-
penses cliargeable to the farm account.^

It must not be su})])osed tliat su*']i )f the officers
.111(1 servaits of the JIudsou's l>ay « omi)any as liad
liecome landholders and settlei's on Vancouver Island
shared with the London manairement the desire for a

' ' Tlic cnni])any object to liringing the gomls of Hcttlors into the i.il.iinl,
Imt iiiit to tiikiiij; gomls away; tin: iiihrt'iico being that tticy object to aiiy-
tliiiitr bke <;oin])etitioii.' < 'ait] hi; in /loiiii' n/ Cwn. A'ljit., II. J{. l'i>., 1S,"i7, -'U.
'I'hii Ituvereiid Staine.s ' became liiueh dissati.sliiil witli things, witii Mr l>iiu^'-
las aiicl lii.s acbninistratiou un govei'Tior of thi' eohiny, others joined with hiii,
le^iflini; to a diviision among tlio setUers. And now a jiortioii ol' the Hudson's
Kay Comiiany truik'rs also I)eean>e dissatislird witli tlie cimrse of Mr hoii^^las
anil lii.s ollii'ers. Tliey coni^ilained that tile j;ovei nor could not lio jnstiee to
liiitli |iartie.s; that tho cliit^f factorsliip shouM be sejiarati! ami di.stiiiet from
tile govi rnorshiii; that tlie good;H for fLir-tiadin;;' |iuriMise.s were transferred
til the I'ugi't Sound Com] aiiy'.s eohiny at cost and. cli:irges, whereas they were
wortii seventy-livo l)er ••ent on the prime cost, for ea h, in the o|(eu n ari.et.
This was the complaint of the eiim|iany against the representatives of t!iu
ciiliiiiy, and they wished for a seii:iration.' /■V///"//.<i)/''.'( I'. /., MS., o.'l 4.
'There are Homo (jueer stories alloat respecting tiieso tinu's; such us enii-
graids brought out and imprisoned on their aoival for not ehc using to vorli;
•if others perein|it<)rily forbidden to loeati^ on certain lam's, o- the company
Would not protect them; of r-'speetable emigrants coming ewr to obtain the
necessary information and settle; am' having in disgust; of Workmen lloi^gid
for trilles; of a miner having Ids skidl cracked with a blacksmith's haninii r
by a foreman of the company at Nanaimo, and receiving a compensation in
land or money to make him hold his tongue; of agreements subscribed on the
Island, promising never to speak ill of the criinpany, etc. Some of these
stories have boou probably exaggerated.' WiuliUinjton'b Fiiuer Muk'k, 34,

314

THE LSLANi> UNDER DOUULA.S.

y.'i

IVt:

'■'!l!i

ofHitinuance of fur-trading rule. The settlers' i>ctitioii
tt> parliament, made in the autumn of 1853, to which
I have before alluded, askin*^ that the company's grant
should not be renewed at the expiration of the tivo
years' term ; that the Island should be taken under tlie
innnediate management of the iiiiperial government;
that a governor and subordinate functicmaries should
be a]>pointcd and i)aid by the home government; that
courts of justice should be establislied ; that the execu-
tive council should be se[»arate from the legislatisc;
that a majority of the legislative council should ho
elective for four years, by such of tlie colonists as held
not less than two hundred acres of land, and the house
of assendtlv to consist of nine mend>ers, to be selected
every three 3'ears; that tlic elective franchise, now
enjoyed only by persons holding twenty acres of land,
should be extended so as to include })ersons occupying
houses or }»aying rent to the amount of ten pounds
per annum, or owning fanning lands to the value (tf
ten i>ounds, or city laiuls to the value of twentv
]>oun(ls, and that the })rice of }>ublic land should be
r<(h:ced to ten shillings an acre, payable in five annual
instalments, with interest at the rate of live per cent
\n-v amuim the petition to parliament, I say, asking
these thin<>s, was siLined not onlv bv Stjiines, (iraiit,
Muir, l^lenkhorn, AVier, l^angford, Atkins-jji, Hall,
Sang tcT', Yates, Hawkins, Wilson, Kussell, Downie,
]*eny, ^[cKay, Humphreys, and otluTs. directly oj)-
]><)sed to the Hudson's Bay Comjiany in almost all
their interests, but by the highest company oHicials
tiiemselves, by every member of the govej-nor's coun-
cil, even by Tod, Cooper, Finlayson, Tolmie, Work,
Keimedy -all, in short, except tlie governor, his fam-
ily aiul ntore ijn.nediate )(>tainers.

No disloyalty to the CMmpany was attached to this
proceeding; it was only an expression of opinion that
at the expiration of the present live years the interests
of tlie government and the company should be wholly
distinct. They saw that Douglas, in his present

EXriRATlON OF THE TEltM.

anomalous j- ^sition, was doing justice neither to liim-
j^oit', liis cou'p-iny, nor his iijovernnient, and the quicker
t'lesc several interests were segregated, the better for
iill concerned.^

The truth is, these shrewd Scotchmen saw nothing
for themselves in the present arrangement. They
(duld manage the affairs of the company as well, or
1 litter, untrammelled by imperial forms. It was well
(■iu>a"j:h for Douglas, with his eiuht hundred pounds a
M iir salarv as governor, but the otliers were now
hind-owners and settlers as well as fur-traders, and
tlifsc n v interests were rapidly assuming pro}»urtions
ji;;rainount to the older ones, (jroverning could never
lt( profitable to them unless England was willing to
uav something for the satisfaction of immberinn' anion*;
lur colonial possessions the Island of Vancouver. If
till.' government of the colony was to be borne
mtirely by the colonists, they had better be without
it. for the natural wealth of the country they could
gather themselves.

Hitherto under the grant of IHth .)f January 1841),
giving absolute lordsliij) and ju'oprietorship of the
Island, its lands and minerals, at a yearly rental of
stveii shillings, witii the privilege on the jmrt of the
(iitwii of nsuming possession at the expiration of five
yr.us by reimbursing the fur company its colonial ex-
l»i'nsi's, little had been done in the way of governing.
There was, indeed, no special need of a government;
ill the absence of settlers, the old relations i)etwe».'n
Indians and Europeans Mere the bi'st, and these could
he maintained by the fur-company alone; the imperial
l>ailiament was powerless to ruU> American savages.
Tliev n»ight exterminate, but thev <'ould not n'overn.

As the ex|>iration of tlu> term of five years covered
I'V the grant drew nigh, the fur-ti'adeivs saw thatuidi'ss
they would lose their coloni/ation charter something
must bo done. A series of })lausible i-xcuses might

'Thin iliicuniuiit with all tli« Hijjuaturox is too IciiiJttliy to give here; it may
Im' found ill full ill the (>lyiii]>iit Colunihkin, Oi't. i.".*, IS.'li,

316

THE ISLAND UNDER DOUGLAS.

4 (it

be framed, which, if backed by sufficient of tlie right
kind of influence when placed before the government,
would be all-sufficient. First, they had carried out
the re(juirements of the charter; therefore it was no
fault of theirs that colonization had thus far failed;
.I'ld finally, it was the fault of the government in
making such ahsurd conditions. These weighty ex-
cuses at length prevailed, and in 1854 the Hudson's
Bay Company succeeded in obtaining from the Brit-
ish government another agreement granting them
Vancouver Island for purposes of colonization for
another pc^riod of five years.

We have seen how Douglas began his colonial reign
as cliief of the provi.sional council a}»p(»inted by Blan-
shnrd just before taking Jiis dr'parture, James C(H»piT
and John T(»d being the other nuMuhers of the council.
After having been nuule governor in the autunm ot
IS;") I, seeing no inunediate necessitv for anv chanur.
])ouglas continuetl to achninister iniju'rial authority
by the aid of a I'ouncil, adding only the name ot
Bodi-riek Finlayson to th(> former number."'

Thus goverinuei>t affairs «lrifted on till 1854, wlirii
endt'd tlie five vears' term of the grant,' afti-r whicli
the name of Jt>hn Wi>rk was substituted for tluit ot
James ( 'oo[>er as nuMuber of council.

Nor was it difficult for the company to obtain au
exttMision. They pointed to their jieaceful reign, to
the altsence of crime on the Island; they expressid
their willingness— nay, their earnest desire — to a<loi>t
any means the govermuent might suggest for the
extension of colonization. And so the grant was
renewed for anotlier five years; and the Huilson'sl^ay

TiHipor, Miir. MdHti'i. MS., 1-28, says that tlio nvr>wt'il olijoct to be ao-
ci>iii|i1i.sIkmI liy tlit> foriiiatiiMi of tliis (.■iiuiit'il was to Imlil in chock the auto-
criitic i>uwtr of tlio MikIhoh's ]ia\ ('oiiii>aiiy. If tliis wcio tlio ival iii.stca'l
of tlif jinti lulcil iiiii-|iosc — and, a.s 1 take it, it watt real with Hlaushanl, and
jiix'tcinK-il liy .some otiurs — it wiia iiiiinifci'itly no loss puurilo in its couceiilMii
tlian farcical in execution.

« 'In \SruV says Deans, Srftli'iiinif. V. /., MS., 14. ' MrTod. MrFinlaysoii,
and ('ajitain Coojmt formed tin; council.' So .Mr Fiidayson, JJlal. I'. /., M^-,
fiO, ' Wiu i4>[ioiutcd to tUu cuuucil which stood in 185'J-3,'

KENEWAL OK CUANT.

Company, with Douorlas chief factor and governor,
coutiuued to rule A'ancouver Island until 1851).

Soon after this arran^^enient was made, however,
till' question bei^an to arise in the mind of J^ritish
statesmen conversant with the principles of colonial
l;iw. whether the crown, in a settlement of Enijflish-
iiK II. could legally convey authority to make laws to
jMiv council or leijfishiture not elected whollv or in
jiait hy the settlers themselves.

Upon the founding of the colony of Vancouver
Island, Governor J^lanshard in his commission and in-
structions was directed to sunnnon general assemldies
of tVeeholders, qualified hy their ownership of twenty
a< ns of land, with whose advice ami the advice of his
(iiinnil, to consist of si'ven memhers, he was to make
laws for the good government of the })eoplc.

Governor J^lanshard's commission contained an(^ther
clause, introduced for the ]iurpose of permitting the
governor, if imssihle, to form a legislature which
should ])rovide for the immediate necessities <»f the
ci>l(»nv before an assend>lv could he convened. This
<lause empowered the governor to make laws with
the aid of his council ahme. The governor, at his
discretion, should divide the Island into electoral tlis-
ti lets, fix tiie numhei' of repres(>ntatives, and exercise
the usual power of proroguing or dissolving the as-
M uiltlv at i)leasuri'. The leyislature thus constituted
should have power to make laws, levy taxes, and regu-
late the affairs of the Island, always subject to the
ajiproval of the crown. It was the intention of the
iiiijurial government in these instructions, no doubt,
that an assembly should be formed as soon as ]>ossible.^
We have seen iiow, by the high j)rice of land, the
I'lf sence of an overshadowing monopoly, and the at-

■' ' I am couviiicod as well by tue eeneral tenor of tlie (loeuiiicnts theiiisclven
MS \<\ tlie iiiformtUioii whicli 1 liiiV'Tieen alile to obtain of the iiiteritioii nf lur
in ijisty's* ^overiiineiit in Irarniny lieni, tlint it Wiis then eonteniidati'il that
Mirli n.sseuililiex sliouM l>u suninioneJ ua soon on it Hlionlil bo nractioulilu tu Ju
hi>,' lAtl>our/nrt'« DcitpaWh to Oov, IhiKjlan, i!8tli February 18i)t5.

THE ISLAND UXDKU IMHULAS.

tractions over the border, coloi. atiou had been iv-
tardod. We liavo seen tlio difficulty, the impossibility,
of suinnioninj*' an a-^sendjly of freeholders, chiefly for
the reason that there were no freeholders to sununon.
Or if there were landholders, l)einof mostlv servants ot
the Hudson's Bay Canii)any, it was not legarded as
I'xactly the tiling to organize a popular tribunal solely
from the ranks of the monopoly.

Hence it was that Governor Douglas, for some time
after I^lanshard had resigned, deemed it advisable t<>
act on the power a})}>arently given him to manage
matters with the atlvice of his council onlv, and to
]iass such laws as the exigencies of the time n><juiretl.
And this action on the part of (Jovernor Douglas nut
the entire approval of the im[)erial governn\ent.

But at length the time had come when the true
spirit of English law must be given free play, even in
this far away and still almost tenantless isle. If it
were true that the ciowu could not legally confide the
law-making power to a governor in council, then the
clause in his commission on which the governor relie(i
was unwarranted, and his acts under it invalid.

At all i'vents, it appc^ared best that steps should be
taken to establish a legislature for Vancouver Island in
accordance with the spirit of the English law. Hence
on the 28tli of February ISitG, Lal)ouchere, secretary
of state, writes Governor Dougl is, instructing him
without delav to call toi^ether an assembly accordinu'
to the terms of his commission and instructions.

l^V the ninth clause of his instructions, the sjfovernor
had ]>ower to fix the number of representatives, and
if he should deem it essential, to divide the Island into
distj'icts, witii ] Killing-places in each. To the asseml)ly
thus sunnnoned, the govei'nor, with the advice of his
council, might suggest such measures as 'teemed to
him ri'cjuisite. Among the first steps to be taken l>y
tlie assembly, the secri'tary suggested that the a<l-^
of the government already performed without tht
authority of an assembly should be made valid.

A LEflLSLATURE.

319

been 10-
)ssibilitv,
hiciiy for
summon.
Tvants ot
''ardetl as
nal solely

-iomc tinu'
Ivisable to
o mana)j;r
Iv, and to
i> nHjuir* (1.
DUijlas mit
lent.

n the true
av, even in
i^le. If it
confide tlu'
.1, then tlio
rnor relu'd
alid.

s should 1h'
L'l* Island ill
AV. Hone*'
i^, secretary
uetin^- liim
y aeeordin,u'

tions.

The maintenance of a constitution on the model of
liii'^er colonies, \vitli a liouse of re})resent{itives and a
council, Laboucliere goes on to say, in so small a com-
iiiuuity mi<^ht be inexpedient for tlie ])rcscnt, and pc-r-
liaps for years a smaUer body miglit satisfactorily
jK rinnn tlie recjuisite functions of government. Such
a iMxly, however, could be organized oidy by enactment
of a legislature authorized by the commission, which
would be ail assembly .acting with the g()vernor and

his enUUcil.

That is to sav, a h^uislature mii;ht be formed umuT
the ])rovisions of the commission, aud when thus legally
constituted, it might, ft)r convenience or for purposes
ot' economy, surrender its powers into the hands of
a singk' power as had been done successfully else-
where.

"I leave it to you to consider," continues Labou-
cliere, "with the advice of the local authorities, the
luunher and projjcr qualitications of the mend)ers oT
such a single council; but in the event (»f your deter-
iiiining to introduce the elective principle into it, a
certain pi'oportion, not less than one third, should be
imuiiiiated by the crown. The power of assenting to
oi- iu>gativing, or suspending for the assent of the
crown, the measures passed by such a council should
he distinctly n^served to yourself. And it is very
essential that a constitutional law of this descri})tion
should contain a proviso reserving the initiation of all
money votes to the local government. An atlditional
reason in favor of the cours(> which I now prescribe,
namely, that of calling together the assembly, and then
it" the legislature so created think ])roper, establishing
a siiiipliT form of government, is to be found in the
t iivunistance tliat the relations of the Hudson's Hay
('oiii|»any with the ci-own must lu'ci'ssaiily un<leigo
iv\ i^ioii before or in the year liS.V.). The j)ositi()n and
tuture government of Vaiu'ouver's Lsland will then
unavoidably j)ass under revii'W, and if any ditticulties
should be ex]>erienced in carrying into execution any

320

THE ISLAND UNDER DOUGLAS.

present instructions, a convenient opportunity will be
aft'orded for reconsidering them."

To these instructions Governor Douglas, on tlio
2"2d of May, thus replies: " It is, I confess, not Avith-
out feelings of dismay that I contemplate the nature
and amount <^)f lahor and responsibility which will bo
imposeil upon me in the process of carrying out the
instructions t-onvtyed in your despatch. Possessiii;^
a vcrv slender knowled<;e <jf legislation, without h<ni\
advice or intelligent assistance of any kind, I approurli
the subject with diftidence, feeling, however, all the
encouragrment which the kindly promised assistance
and si!))port of her majesty's goverinnent is calculated
to inspii"."

While u^'^rsc to universal suffrage, or to making
population the basis of representation, the governor
(hcnied it expedient to extend the franchise to all
j)ersons holding in the colony a fixed property stake,
that class being more numerous than the other, and
having e(j[ual iutc;rest in the ])ermanent welfare of the
colony, lie therefore asked permission of the iui-
])t'rial government to extend the franchise so as to
give the re[)resentation a wider basis, but was told in
nply that it was thought best, for the present, not to
alter the commission, but to convoke the first assembly
in stiict accordance with its provisions, and then bring
before that l)odva measure for extending the sufiVage.
The council at this time eonsisted of John Tod, senior
niend)er, James Cooper, Roderick Finlayson, and Joliu
i\ I'ant. Calling a meeting of the council, the governor
laid before it tlie secretary's instructions concerninLj
the summoning of assemi)lies of the freeholders, and on
the 4th and 'Jth of June the same were duly consid-
ered. The result was a proclamation issued the Kitli
of June 1850, dividing the Island into four electoral
districts, apportioning the number of representatives,
and appointing returning officers for each."

"Tlic four districts wore as follows: Victorica to be represented hy three
members, Aiulrew .Muir rutuniiiig olHeer; Esijuitnalt and Metcliosiii, two inciii-
bers, H. W. O. Maryary reiurniiig otiicer; Nunaimo, one niemlwr, C E. Stii:irt

ELECTION

321

Dy will be

,s, on the
not with-
he naturi'
ch will 1)1-'
ig out the
Posscssin;4
thout legal
I apin'oiieh

er,

all tl

, assistant -e
i calculated

to making
le governor
chiso to all
perty stake,
e other, and
plfare of the
of the ini-
ise so as to
was told in
esent, not to
rstassenihly
i then bring
the suflragi'.
Tod, senior
n\, and John
he governor
J concerning
|lders, andou
duly consid-
ed the K'-th
lur electoral
[resentatives,

iresented 1>y throe
Itchosin, two iiuni-
Inlwr, C. E. Stuiirt

Seven members were to be returnea, wnose qualifi-
cation was the ownership of freehold estate to the
amount of three liundred pounds or more.' Tlie prop-
( ity (pialilication of voters jh niained as fixed by
tlie 'governor's connnission, twcntv acres or more of
fneliold land. "There will be a diliicultv in findin"^
pinpcrly (pudified representatives," writes Douglas to
Lahouclierc, " juid I fear that our early attiMupts at
]r 'islatioii will make a sorry fiLrurc; thouuh at all
events thev will have the i-tfect Vou contemiilati? of
unloving all doubts as to the validity of our local en-
actments." Following the examjile of JJritish Guiana,
the agents of the absentee freehold proprietors were
allowed to vote in })lace of their jn'iiicipal.'^ ^^'rits
calling a gi'Ueral assenddy of freeholders for the pur-
])i)se of electing mcnd)ers to serve in the gt'iieral assem-
l)ly were made returnable the 4th of .Vugust f<»llouing.
]']leeti(>ns were duly held according to notice; and in
tliree of the districts the electors were so few in mmd>rr
that tlie returns were little more than mei'e nt)miua-
tiniis. In N'ictoria disti'ict, however, there were no h-ss
tliaii five 1 i\al candidates, wli** liercelv contested for the
limior of mend)crshi[> of the first house of assembly ol
A'aiicouver Island. And thus wer<^ chosen "seven fit
and discreet persons," into whose hands the destiny of
the nation was for the time being eonfuled.''

r(t',niiiii;4(illic( r; Suko, ouo iiu'iidKr, .Inliii Miiii-, Juiiini', ii'tuniin^iollii'cr. Vic-
t'lru ilistrict L'oiniiriicil tlu^ tiniiitry viist of tln' Nictm ia Arm atnl of a line
nniiiiiig ill ii iiortliuily iliivitiuii tnwanl Saaiiiili, so as ti> iiKliido I'firs Farm;
lv'|uimalt ili.strict, llio oountryi'a.st of Vic-tniia Arm, ami iM.stol' rcildiT liiiy.
iiuluiliiiL; McKcii/U' .s ami tliu lai'iiis Mfst of l'iil|ii(it « JiiviT; Snki; distritt
liiiiii I'liMur Hay to Ottur Jlivul, tlu' lu.ullaml ImwhkI Sokr; Naiiaimo ili.n-
tiirt .simjily tlif town. Tin.' ritiiriiiiii,' oH'n'iT ul' each district was at the Mamu
tiiiu' dircitcd to give notii'o mIuii and mIh re tln' ]ioil Nliould lutalirii.

' ' To liavc tixt'd mpoii a liigluT st.iiularil of i|iial;lic'atioti woidd liavc dis-
i|M:ililic(l all till' jiri'SL'iit ri'ini'si'iitativi's, Icaviii;; no ilisjio alilc [ii'rsons to n'-
jil tie tlium, and it a]i|i('ari d to me imiiolitif a- \\rll :in uiironstitutioiial to ilis-
li'ii-o alto-ctliir with thu innjicny c(ualilication.' Litli f j'ruia Jhniijlm in
/."'.■„•/(. /r, datid •-'•Jd. Inly |.S.")tj.

" 'Tho goviTiior laiil I'own a.s a jirim'i|li' tliat tlic custom or j'racticc oli-
sirvid in Kiiglaiid .sliin " a.s f.ir as possililc, lie adopti'd in tlii.s coloiiN in
friiiiini,' the rules lor eleetn)ns.' Miim/i <;/' 'oin/c//, ilth .luiie l.S,")(i.

' riieir names were .loliu Muir, Soke disti'iet: 'I'homas Skinner and .1. S.
II ! leken, i;M|uinialt distriet; .lo!in !•". Kennedy, Xaiiaimo district; J. 1>.
r iiilierton, .lames Vates, and K. K. l.:i:i.;;onl, N'lctoria district.
in.sT. iJKIT. Col,. 2i

%»

THE ISLAND UNDER DOUGLAS.

The august body convened the 12th of August,
and the first house of assenihly was declared open fur
business. "Tlie afliiir passed off quietly," wrote tlio
governor, with a naivete which, in a less unsoj)histi-
cated statesman, might be regarded as siircasm, "and
did not appear to excite much interest among the
lower f)rders."^" Then followed the yjovernor's address,
which, thoujjh a kind of congratulatorv wail, was dr-
livered in a dignified and impressive manner."

'• Who tho lower orders upon the; Island at this time were, I am at a loss to
kno^^', unless we should seek them amongst the oily Indians, or Parson iStuiiius'
pigs.

"Hcrewitli I give the governor's adilrcss in full:

' OfntleiiKH of (he Lriii-<lalU-c VutiHfU ainl of the. Ifotue of Ansemhly : I con-
gratulate yiiu iiiKst KiiR'CTi'ly on this UK-'morable occiision; the meeting in lull
convention of tl:c f;;ener;il iissenihly of Vancouver's Island, an event fraii^lit
with consequences of tlie utmost importance to its present and future inlialii-
tauts, and rcmarlcahlc as the tir.st instance of representative institutions l.ciiig
granted in tlie infan-v of a liritisli colony. The history an<l actual positimi
of tliis colony arc niarki'il hy many other rcmarkalile circumstances. Callcl
into existence by an act of the supreme government, inniediately after tliu
discovery of gold in California, it has maintained an anhious and inccssiiut
struggle with tlie disorganizing etfects on labor of tliat discovery. ltiiin)te
fr>)m every other IJritisli setth'mcut, with its connnerce trammelled, and nii t
liy restrictive duties on every side, its trade and resr>urees remain umlcvcl-
oped. Self-supporting, and drfraying all the expenses of its own government,
it presents a striking contrast to every other colony in the Uritisli empire, uihI
like the native pines of its storm-lteaten promontories, it has acquired a .slnw
but hardy growth. Its future progress nuist, TUider pniviikiice, in a great
measure depend on the intelligence, industry, and enterprise of its inhahi-
tants, and upon the legislative wisdom of this assembly.

' ( Jentlemeii, I Icmk forwanl with conlidence and satisfaction to the aid ainl
support whicli the executive power may in the future expect to derive fmni
your local experience and knowledge of the wishes of the people and the
wants of the country. I feel assured that, as public men holding a solemn
and niomentims trust, you will, as a governing principle, strive with one accord
to promote the true and substantial interests of the country; autl tliat lUir
legislative labors will be distinguished alike by prudence, temperance, and
justice to all classes.

Mlentlemen, I am happy to inform you that her majesty's governmeiit
continues to expres.s the most livel}- interest in the progress and welfare of
this colony. Negotiations are now pt-nding with the govennnent of tho
United States, which may probably terminate in an exten.->ion of the reci-
procity treaty to Vancouver Island. To show the connnercial advantages cou-
iiected with that treaty, I will just mention that an impost duty of thirty
pounds is levied on every one hundred pounds' worth of IJritish jiroduee wliich
IS now sent to San Francisco, or to any other American port; or in oilier
Words, the liritish proprietor pays as a t;ix to the United States nearly tin;
value of every third cargo of lish, timber, or coal which he sends to any
American port. Tho reciprocity treaty utterly abolishes those fearful im-
posts, and establishes a system of free-trade in tho produce of IJritish col-
onies. The effects of that measure! in developing tlic trade and natural
resources of tho colony can, tlierefore, be hardly oven.itiniated. The coal, the
timber, and tho productive fisheries of Vancouver's Island will assume a

I !

GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS.

323

August,
Open for
vrotc the
isopliisti-
sm, "ai»(l
\\o\\\f the

1, was dt-
.11

am at a Iohs to
L'araou SUi"*;^

xmnhln : I <•"";

muuting m nill

n event frau-Ut

il futuro iiili^ilii-

istitutioiw''^'."'?
[ actual position

stances. t'>ll''l
iliately after the
lus and incessimt
;.)VtTy. K'li'";"
w\\i'i\, :""} "".'^
remain uihUvlI-
)\vu ^iiveruiiiciit,
itish cnil'ii'c, i»"'l
;u'.[uireil a slnw
,L me, in a j^nvit
lise of its inliiilii-

loutothcaiauua
{■t to derive frniii
^jeople and ln"'
Ih.AdinK' a soU'i'iiJ
. witlioneaccdi'l
try; and that our
|teu>i>eranci', an'l

Lty's noverinncut
Ls and welf:'.n' "f
T-ernnient ot 1U<!
Imou of live refi-
ll advanta-es cou-
It duty of tlui ty
[,h produced null

U.rt; or in oil"'''
States nearly tin:
|l,e sends to any
Ithose fearful im-
L of British onl-
Lde and ludund
La The coal, tbo
lid will assume a

The first legislature would scarcely be called a wise
oi- imposing body of uicii, or the representatives of a
powerful state. Exclude the rocks, trees, and sav-

vahiP before unknown; while every branch of trade will start into activity,
and become the means of pouring wealth into tlie coiuitry. So unbounded is
tlio reliance which I place in the enterprise and intelligence possessed by the
juciplo of this colony, and in the advantages of tlieir geograpliical iwsition,
that with equal rights and a fair fuld 1 tiiiuk they may enter into a successful
competition with the people of any other country. The extension of the
reciprocity treaty to this Island once gained, the interests of the colony
will become inseparably connected with the principles of free-trade, a system
which I think it will be sound policy on our part to encourage.

' Gentlemen, the colony has Ijccn again visited this year by a large party
of northern Indians, and their x^rcscnco has excited in our minds anotun
reasonable degree of alarm. Through the blessing of God they have been k< |>t
from committing acts of open violence, and been quiet atid orderly in their
deportment; yet the presence of large bodies of armed savages, who have
never felt the restraining influences of moral and religious training, and who
arc accustomed to follow the impulses of their own evil natures more than the
dictation of reason or justice, gives rise to a feeling of insecurity which must
exist as long as the colony remains without military protection. Her Majes-
ty's government, ever alive to the dangers which beset the colony, have
arranged with the lords commissioners of the admiralty, that the President
frigate should be sent to Vancouver's Island; and the measure will, I iiavo no
doubt, bo carried into effect without delay. I shall nevertheless continue to
conciliate the good-will of the native Indian tribes by treating them with jus-
tice and forbearance, and by rigidly protecting their civil and agrarian rights;
many cogent reasons of humanity and sound policy recommend that course to
our attention; and I sliall, therefore, rely upon your 8U[>port in carrying such
measures into cfi'cct. Wc know, from our own experience, that tho friend-
ship of the natives is at uU times useful, while it is no less certain that their
enmity may become more disastrous than any other calamity to wliich the
colony is directly cxiwsed.

' Gentlemen of the house of assembly, according to constitutional usage,
wit'i you must originate all money bills; it is therefore your special pro\-inco
to tonsidcr the ways and means of defraying the ordinary expenses of tho
^'o\ < rament, cither by levying a customs duty on imports, or by a system of
iliiot taxation. Tho poverty of the country and tho limited means of a popu-
lali' in struggling against tho pressure of numberless privations, must ncces-
.siiily restrict the amount of taxation; it should, therefore, be our constant
.still ly to regulate the public expenditure according to the means of tlie coun-
try, and to live strictly within our income. The common error of running into
spitulative improvements entailing debts upon tho colony, for a very uncertain
advantage, should be carefully avoided. The demands upon the public revenue
vill, at present, chiefly arise from the improvement of the internal communica-
tions of the country, and providing for the education of the young, tho
en ctinn of places for public worship, the defence of the country, and the
aihninistration of justice.

'Gentlemen, I feel in all its force the rcspon.'<il>ility now resting upon
lis. The interests and well being of thousands yet unlwru may bo alleetcd by
our (Icci.sions, and they will reverence or condemn our acts according as they
ai\' found to influence, for gootl or for evil, the events of the future.

(Jentlemen of tho house of the assembly, I have appointed Chicf-jnstico
Cameron to administer the oath of allegiance to the members of your liousc,
ami to receive your declarations of qualification; you may then proceed to
choose a speaker, and to appoint the oiBcers necessary for the profier conduct
of tlie business of th'i house. Ja.mls 'Dougl.\s, Governor.'

324

THE ISLAND UInDER DOUflLAS.

f'i >

i. f

'Ml

aijfca, the wild hcasts and AkIios from tlieir constitut'iiry,
niwl tlioro was little left.'- IikK'('<1, that the forest
Avus not failed ii|>oii to fui'iiish Soloiis was ahimst a
wonder, foi- the liat had n'oMt; forth that there should
he a eoloiiy and a i^ovennnent, an<l search the Ishiiid
tliroUL^h, not ni(»i'e ilian six or seven nii-n nii^ht he
foinnl eligihle foi- the iinpoitant trust, and these must
he returned hv one or two voters each. There were
then upon the Island hut ahout twojumdred and fitly
white meJi, althou;j,li there had heeii more. Nfost of
these Were servants of the Hudson's J >ay Company,
and few of them were liuu'.-owners.

J. S. ILelmelu II was ihosen speaker, and took his
scat smilinu' audihlv. J^efore tin.' heavv work of the
day was laiily un(h'i'taken. tlie machinery of govern-
ment was lirouiiht to a stand hv reas(.n of (luestitnis
heiuijj raised as to the ]iroperty «|ualifications of two
of the menih-rs, and tlie validity of the election ef
one, thus lea\ iiiiL>' an ethcient force of hut three meiii-
hers l)esides tlie speaker.

.\<4'ain the i^overnor i'ound himself in a dilenniin.
To one of the immortal sevcji, (»l:jections had het ii
raist'd purely from jtarty motives. J'ossihly these
might he <piicted or »»verrul;d. "In the territor;:!l
iHovermnt nt of the United States," writes Douj^las to
J^ahouchcre the -JOt]! of Au'j;ust, "tJie })ractice in
such cases is for the n'o\ernor to ^rant ci'rtificates of
(jualification to a majoiity of the memhers, wlio then
|)rocee(l to eoiistitute the house; hut r am not certain
if sucli a eouise Would he in harmony witli ]*]nnlisli
law; nevei'thele.-s, if the house should a])peal to me
on tht' suhjeet. 1 will have recourse to tliat (-'X[)edi( iit. '

J3ut hap[)ily the novernoi' was sa\ed from pursuing'
HO (questional »le a course. After adjourning i'rom day

'■^ 'There was a faniical aff.iir in tlic sliapi' of a Icgi: laturo lumse of assiia-
1»ly, wli. lU two iir tliii (• viitcr.i iitiinu'd as many iiiuiuln'is to tlii' lioiisi'. As
tluTo was no rivciiiic to cxjicihI and no ]Miwir conci'ihd to the lion.se, tin '-v
Irjci.dativo cH'ortx coulil only l>r and wvw almriivc . Tlii.s asscndily died a
natural death in IH.V.t.' ('ixijnr'n Mar. Mn'f'i-i, .MS., 1'2. .^''le also t'oojui's
tiitiniouy before the selei't eomniittee. J/oitsi: Com. J'cpt., 19l\

LEGISLATIVK PROi EKDI NGS.

tt) day, lueaiiwliilo |)ra('tisin;jf to tlic V)cst of tlieir
uiR'iilijjflitouod ability tlic political jj^yratioiis and •genu-
flections most I'ft'cctivc on such occasions, party dittcr-
ciici's wt'jo adjusted in so far as to admit of tho
fiamin}^ of a conunittoc, which j)roceeded at once to
iiKjuire into tho qualitic-atioii of memlK'rs »'lect. Tho
return of ACr Laiiijcford was declan'd void, on the
oround of his not posx-ssinj^* sufficient property, and
.1. W. ^TcKay wjis » lected in his plac»'.

Hv the l;{th (jf Xovenihcr, after nnmherloss vicissi-
tudes, the house declare(] itself ready for serious husi-
iiess; and therc^ was nothini^ of more somhre concern
than the wavs and m. ans of monev-raisin!jf: so that
at first the financial capahilities of the colony and the
detail of tlie ex}H'n<litui'es oeeu|)ifd attention. On
tho 18th of J)ecend»er a hill jiassed the assend)ly and
was carrietl to the council, i^rantini^ the sum (»f one
hundre<l and tliirty pounds for tho payment of tho
sifvants and the defrayini^ of tin- ordinary ex]>enses
el" the house. '* f am now preparing' a hill for iiu-
pusiu;^,- a custom duty on im[»oits as a means of nieet-
i.iH' the ti'dinary ixpenses of tlie oovernmeiit," writes
DoU'jlas on the Dth of Januarv 1 S57 ; "hut the suhiect
must he ajiproaehed with caution as tlu'rc is a very
''lUeral feelinu" i'' hotli council and assemhlv a<>'ainst
taxation undc'" any form, and I am prej)ared to eu-
inunter much clamour and opposition in i^irrying so
'.:ii]t()pular a measure throui^h the house.*'

.V French dancinjj^-master in a l?arisian s((l(ni could
not ha^■e heen more ])ainfully ]»olite th;ui were these
hhisterinn' Scotch and Ijij^lish fur-hunti'rs in this
Western wilderness, ijowevcr far short of its im-
perial ujodel the inci])ient n-oNi-rnmcnt mi^ht fall in
points of learniujn" and intelliu'eni-i-, dignity and cour-
tesy should not he wantiiii^'. Scarcely a messa<j;e is
tiansmittcMl hetween the son-in-law s[)eaker and the
tlither-in-law jj^overnor unless accompanied hy fulst)mo
flattery.

Tho governor se^lds"^^r Sjieakt r and CJentlomon

320

THE ISLAND UNDER DOUGLAS.

; m v^-.

«l

of the House of Assembly" a dry document on finance ;
on receipt of which it is resolved first of all, "that the
thanks of this house be presented to his excellency
the governor i'oi- the communication." With more
insignificant detail the governor "highly appreciates the
complimentary message," whereupon the legislators
immediately resolve "that the speaker bo requested
to thank his excellency the governor on behalf of this
house for the information so courteou.sly and i)romptly
afforded," which, as usual, constituted the burden of
the communication. But the climax of public
affection is reached when, on tlu 10th of December
18o(), on the receipt from the fatliei'-in-law of an
abstract of the income and expenditure of the colony,
the son-in-law "on the part of tlu; house of assembly
begs respectfully to acknowledge the i-eeeipt this day
of a gracious coinnnuiication and an abstract of the
income and exitenditure for the yeai" 185G from his
excellency the g«)vernor, and to inform his excellen<y
that the house of assembly unanimously resolved that
the thanks of this house be presented to his excellency
the governor for the same." Surely this man's merri-
ment was only exceeded by his family affection. Xor
is it at all difficult to perceive in this connection who
was the government.^'

They were, tbrsooth, a happy family, these fui-
hunting legislators. The Douglas was all in all.
lord [>aramount, d(miinator, imperial viceroy, and fur-
traders' factor-in-chief Work, Finlayson, and Tod,
chief factor, chief trad«M', and ancient pensioner,
respect ively, of the Hudson's Bay Company, com-
prised both secret council and hous«> of lords. The
seven wi.>!0 men, represi-nting the seven districis
of the Island as a house of assembly, were in their
several vocations almost wholly of the monopoly.
Jlelnicken was staff doctor of the company; IVni-

^^llHurn to an addrrf^* of the Iloiioral/l'' the J/inme of Common*, ilatoil 'J.')tli
no \sri7, for Cnpim ()/' hrtrnrlM of any /trujmtrhe^ iIkU havt Iteen receitri/ lnj

li
Juno ISIV, for Coph.t if krtrurt* of any lhnJH^Irh<'^ Ifml hait lieen rccchri/ li>j
her MiijrHty'ii Seen tar;/ <f Slitlc for thf roliniif, on the sutijrrl of thr rntiiltli'<li-
mrni of <> /{rjirftiftifatitf AimfVifily nl Vancouver'M Itilund,

END OF SECOND TERM.

327

hi-rton, surveyor and ardtiit attache; McKay, clt^rk of
tlio company; !Muir, t'ornur .servant of the company,
jiiid fatlier of tlie sherifl'; Skinner, aj^ent of the l'u«jfet
Sound Agricultural Company; Kennedy, a retired
ollicer of the conij)any appointed l>y the «:;overnor and
council to represent the district of Nanainio; Yates,
l>y the grace of the comjtany, merchant. 1). Cameron,
l»roth«"r:in-law of the <^overnor, was chief-justice, antl
A. C. Anderson, retired chief trader, was collector of
customs.

After the performance of their important duties,
wliicli a[>[)ear }»rincipally to have hoen provision for
the jiayment t)f their own expenses, the lirst house of
assembly lapsid into oblivion."

Thus the <;overiunei.t of Vanc()UV(>r Island con-
tinued until 1851), at which tiuK; terminated tin; sec-
ond five y(!ars of Hudson's ]iay Company colonial
domination. J)uring his term of «»(Hce, four distinct
and often antauconistic interests looked to J)ou!^las as
their head; namely, the Itudsons J^ay ( 'ompany's fur-
trade, the colony of VaucouNor Islaml, the Puget
Sound A<;ricultural Com{)any, and the Xanaimo Coal

Con

[.any

It was impossible for him to do justice t<> each <»f
these several trusts. Xo man eai serve two masters.
No honoral»le man will permit himself to serve as a
nianat;er of a corporation, or of a eemnioiiwealtli,
where his fullest capabilities are imt permitted free
play m the jn-rformaiu'e «»f Ins duty to shareholder or
eitizen. ])urim; this cntir • term it v,as obviouslv im-
jiossible'for ])oUj;las to throw his entire stren<i^th and
influence upon the side of every one of his several
e|>pu<i^nai\t trusts, and he should have lonj; sini'e le-
si^ned, or rather he should ne\ei* have accepted moi-e
than one of them at once. ]iut he loved the p«twer,

"'Tliis t(Mik jiliicc in •lu'.y, twd yrarH a^'o,' wiyK Alfml W.iiMinj^ton,
writing' iii IKAH, 'iuul tiolxxly i-aii till iin', nor ili> 1 Im'Iuvi' il is kimwii, wlu'U
till! axNciiilily iH to 1)0 n'iii'w»'il, \iiilc.ss it Im at ilit! will <il' llif t^nvii'imr.' Tliia
•i'*'*Lml)ly ilicd a luitunii ilciith in is.V.t. ( miytr'n Mm: Malttis, MS., VI.

'fr ^M

3i.»8

THE ISLAND UNDER DOUGLAS.

and lio loved the oiiioluinonts. For a veiy j];Tcat man
i)r a vory aiid)iti(>us man, the whole of this north-
W(>st wilderness, and all tiiat it contained, was at hi'st
a small s()V(>rei*^nty, whieh, to cut into ])arts, sonio
o^ them wellnigh h<jllow, were an exceedingly petty
business.

But the time had now come when he must rdin-
(juish his hold on .some of his several trusts. He must
erase either to hi' I'aetor or govern* »r.''' Thus the ease-
was i»ut hcforo him hy liis com|);niy. Jt was not dit-
ficult to dctormiiic which ])ow(r was in the ascendant.
Thci'cfoi'c Douglas chose to aliandnn tratlic, and hold
to rulcrsliiji. The icsult was, that in this year of
IS.V.) the management of the several associations was
given up, an<l the go\-ei-nors]iip retain«(l, Douglas
ahandoned i'oi-ever all interest in the lludson's i>ay
Company, and AXdrk, Tolmie, and MeTavish hecaiiie
the lU'W hoard of management. With the ivtinMiieiit
of McJjoughlin and Douglas the glory of the corpor:.-
tion departed from the J'acitie."'

' i^i

'■"'I'lit' fiir-(r:i(lf was tlir coniimiiy'H i-oinmcrcial o]>('rntioiis ]irn]>('r; tlio
I'ugit Siiuiiil ( '(iiii|iaiiy «.iH ili.->liii(t alio^illur, alilmu, li .■iiiiiM' lit till' niiil^nii's
li.i\ ( '(iiiijiaiiyN I'liiccis liildiiLJtil ti> (lii-t fiuiiiiaiiy likiw isc. Tlu" coal ruiiiiiaiiy
was I'arrinl uii liy hliarrlmlilcrs cii' tin- cuinp my, in wliicli tin' ollicers Iutc lial
imtliiii); ti> ilo. 'I'lusi' liiur intrioht.s wri'f umUr tlu' Mi|nTiiili'n(li'iii'o of Mr
I'l'iiLilas uiuil is.V.t, vlii'ii 111' liail tii«(\<r his I'liimi'i'ticui \v itli tlio niii!>iiii's
hay ('iim|iaii\ altot;ctlui'. lie liail lii-i c-lmiii' ti> ri'inaiii \\illi tlio Odiiniaiiy cr
I'l-idiin' jj;ii\ irimr ol tin inhmy.' /•' /(Aiyn/i','* I', /. nm/ \. IT. ('., MS., .">.").

'" My aiillmrilii's for tliis tliaptrr arc: /imrjli.^' I'liniU /'a;x/-.y, .MS.. 'J. I
Her. ;U ViO; r,^,ji,r'.i M'lr. Mn/lnx. MS., ]•_', I."!;' / V;(/.fv>.,//\ Hist. \'. /., .Ms.,
■•>> 7. •">'•; J'l'il ■< \i ir < '■itii/iiiiiii, MS. il'j. ]jot it 1h! oln'riii'il tliat on rry iiniii-
licr of tlie lirst I'lmiicil Iuti' gives in lii.s I'viJi ui'c, .ill lii'iiiu' in iiianiiscrijit, 1
iiiuy fiirtiu'r iiit'ii'iuii i\\v. Siiii Jtrninri/ino (t'lKirilinii, .Ian. 1 1, iSikS; Jlrit. ChId-
iiiJ, .\]iril t, 1S77; Viiinri i Si nn/iin/. An;.;. S, I'i77; }i i"/iliiiiiliiii .1 Fnixir
.1//;('.<, ;{.">; AV.'w, in //iiiixr i \,iiiiiiitiiH /'i]>l., II. It. Co., 1 S,"i7, .'{.■(■l ; ( 'hhjh 1; in /'/.,
I'.Ki; I'iiiliii/'.s hiriii., i., ;>;iil, 1K(; CiirinniUW Akc AY Doni'/n, ',V,\; tuul M--
Jhmolil, ill liril. Col. Sblr/n.H, MS., :t(».

jrcat man
lis north-
as at best
irts, some
idv pcttv

«~ w A. V

lUSt IH'lill-

He must
IS the <'USL'
as not <lit'-
asrrndalit.
, and hold
lis vi'ar o^
iations Avas
1 )ou;j,las
Ison's \\\\\
isli hft-atiu'

l\'lir»MUrlit

he eol'por;.-

ons iiroper; tin'
uf till' lluil-im's
n> iiiul civiniiaiiy
illiccl's lu'iv li:i'l
lU'iicU'lu'O (if Ml"
ih till' Hii.l-.iu's
tliii i'(iiini;iiivor

c, MS.. :..■>.

/',t,h/w, MS.. 'J.l

/ ./. r. /., MS.,

Itl^it t'viry iiicin-

iiwimis<'iiiit. I

ISlJS; lirit. Colo-

(hii'iliiii'-t /•';•"«)•

; r...ij";', ill I'f-,

„, :j;i; iiii'l .'/'-

CHAPTER XIX.

THE JUDICIARY.

1853-ia59.

The Questions of Vancouver Island Government and Justice in Home
I* ^iiiCAL CracLEs — There is no Money in it — .^Vnd Therefore They
lAY Safely re Left to Themselves — Blanshard, the Fik.st (Jov-
ERNOR, Likewise the First Jcuoe— Di)cul.\s as a Man-tamer and
Measurer of Retribution — The 'Thetis' and the 'Tuincomalee'
Expeditions — Bloodless Victory over the Cowiohins — Tuk 1>ri(;ht-
E.ST Virtue of James Doui;l.vs— David Cameko.v ^Iade CiiiKK-JtsTicE—
Ilia Antecedents, Dcties, and End — His Suiokssors, Nkkdham and
Beubie -Revenue— Land and Liquor — The Miuhty Power ok Rum.

Naturally among the iirst questions arising* in the
iiiiiuls of office-holders, hut more especially of office-
st.ckcrs, when it became certain that the grant of
^ iVH' Aivcr Island to the Hudson's Bay Company
would be consummated, were, How is the new colony
to he governed? How is justice to be ailministered
there? We have seen the Iirst rjuestion answered in
the persons of Mr Blanshard and Mr Douglas. The
otlier required more delay and further legi.slation; for,
as matters now stood, the law recpiired oU'enders on
the British Pacific coast to be sent to Canada for
trial. This would no longer do, now that Vancouver
Island was a colony. Therefore, when in the lioiise
(if commons on the 27th of Man-h I84'J, Mr (i lad-
stone asked the under-sei-retarv for t\\o colonies if
ii was the intention of the govei-nnu'nt to inti'oduee
during that session any bill i'or altering an}' existing
statute touching Vancouver Island, the answer was.
None, except to establish there courts of judicatuiv.
The bill was accordingly introduced on the 'Jjth of

■■ f !

I'j -»

l.>il!

i m

iH 1

Mh ;b'l

) I

I !

i I

330

THE JUIUCIAUY.

June. It was supported by Earl Grey, and bocanio
a law.

In sujiportinjx in the house of lords the bill lor
the athninistration of justice on Vancouver Island,
Karl (jrrey remarked that it Mas the object of the im-
perial jjjoveiinnent to reserve judicial power to tlic
local h'jLjislature of the Island, with right of ai)peal
from the eourts so constituted to the privy council.
N»» poHticid power was given by the grant to the
l[udson's Hay Conij>any. The gt)vernor niiglit l)o
selected by the company, but their choice nmst be
approved by the ci(»\vn. It was not }»roposed to enter
immediately upon K'gislation and taxation, but tlir
• •overnor miubt summon a le<fislative council wlieii-
ever ther»> were sulKcient colonists to make it advisa-
ble. As an excuse for the grant in the first inrstanee,
he said that it was necessarv tliat tlie rit^hts of tlie
<'rt>wn should be tletined at once, that ivgular authoiity
should bo planteil there to i>revent irngular t>ccupa
tioti, ami, if the govi'innu'nt were io do all this, it
would prove expensive. The result was that <juit(> a
little econ()nru'al delay happened l»efore Knglish gold
was spilt for N'ancouvi-r Islaiul government or justice.'

Ju^tice under Knglish law was first administered
on Vancouvir Island bv ]iichard J^lanshard, the first
governor. As there were no colonial funds, no im-aiis
of i)aying a recorder or other administratt)r of justice,
the i'overnor was oblij-cd to act in that «'a])acitv."
And so under Douglas, mitil legislators couKl be cou-
veneil, MJio .sliouM provide the nu'ans of paynu'iit fnr
judges, and sheritfs, an*! the usual parajtlu-rnalia t'

^ Jlitii-'tiril'H Piirlinmi iit^in/ / hhiiti.i, 3il sor. t;iii. 1371; fvi. l(M'ni-82.

'■' ' So tliat Jim wii-f uiivcniiir iiml jtiHticc t ' iwkc'<l U»hO>iu'V. : ' liinl ynu fHii-
st;il>lL'«?' * Vcs,' riplicil Itliii.oliiti'il, ' wlu'iilwiiiiti'iliiodiistaldo 1 swKi-i' our.'
JtmiM' Coiiiiiioiii Ji'i]'/., II. J{. i'li., 1S.">7, '-.10. 'Tlicy liiiil no courtH ter tii.il
Mi'st of tlu! iiioviittaiiiH. (iovt'i-iior Itlaiisliai'il m'iih tlii! lirxt to institute c'oui't.s
lii'i't'. Ho liiniMflf iisi'il to aiijinlicatu in cani-M. In oufcaMU li>>i-aniu into oi'l-
lision with tlie latu Sir .laiiicH iKiu^las in a matter in conneetion witli xliip-

Iiiii^r, anil in wliieli tlm pinver of Mr Mon^las Mas eillnl in i|ueMtiou liy Mr
llin^lianl. Tlie latter Kfateil tliat Mr OouuI.ih in the earn! linl no authority
to a< t. .Mr |)iiii;{tas wan Miiiiiiiioiieil liefnre Mr HlanHJianl, Ami this va.s tliu
lirst tiniu that Kngli.sh law was fell here.' /■'Iiiliti/noii's V. /., MS., IIX).

THE VOLTIGEURS

\ becaiiK'

B bill for
5r Island,
jf tlio ini-
t-r to tilt'

,y couiuil.
lilt to tlic
might bo
a must Ito
[>(l to I'littr
II, but tlir
moil ulu'ii-
i it advisii-
^t instant i',
vbts of tin-
irautlunity
liar ooc'U\'ii-
all this, it
hat «iu>t»^ 'I
n;j;lish ii'il'l
or iusti<»'.'
ministtrrtl
•«l, the tirst
s, no nu'uiis
!• »)f justii'i',
t cauacity."

uhl he »">i-
)aynu'nt f«'V
ihernalia <

um;.\-8'2.

ll.lt! 1 «W.'tV OIK'-

oourtH for tml
, institute C.MUtS
lu'i'Jiiiio into I'l-
(■i-tiim with ^lll^•

iim-ntioii Ity ^'''

Ji;i.l no lUlthi'lilV

lAn.l tliix wiw ^1'"
IMS., 100.

law courts, justice must bo administered by the gov-
ernor iu council. And in the place of sheritis and
standing armies, a mounted police, called Toltifjntrs,
was organized from among the settlers and servants
(if the company.^

I'p to 1857 tlierc was but one constable upon the
Island. There was no military force, if we except the
Villi ii/vurs, so that settlers scattered about the country
Wire at the mercy of the savagis. Yet outrages were
ixtrt'inely rare, thanks to the uniformly wise and hu-
mane management of the Hudson's l^ay Conii)any in
this regard. Still, an occasional disphiy of sui>erior
power Wiis not without wholesome eiVect. In the t>n]y
two instances of trouble occurring jirior to this time,
the natives had been induced voluntarily to give u;>
othiiders to punishment by the aj)pearance of men-of-
war, on one occa^sion by the Thetis, and on another by
thf Trint'omalvc.

In JX'comber 1852, one of the company's shepherds
Piter J^rown, at Christmas ]lill, was killod by two
natives, one of whom tied to Cowichin, and the other
to Xanaimo. The settlers were greatly alarmed,
fiarl'ul lest the terrible Cowlchins should annihilate
them, which, indeed, they might ca.sily do. Kuper,
ta|itain of the war-vessel Tlu'fix, lying at Ks((uinialt,
vohniti'ered assistance, ^\hich Douglas gratefully ac-
ci'ltted. A force sufticient for the puqutso was taken
tVniii the Tliciis, and placed on board the com[>any's
Vessel, Jin'orcn/, which was then, the 4tli January
If^.").'., towed by the steamer round into llaro Strait,
Douglas being in command.

Anchoring olf the Sjmnich village, .Douglas went on
sliore and began to talk to the heathen. The offend-
ns were not here, but the governor took this occasion
t'l iiii[)art a healthful lesson. He told those pi-eseiit

'Tlio MottlcrH were much annoyed liy rnttlo-tliii'vos, 'wliicli waa iu fiU't tim
iiri^'iu of tliin orKiuii/^itioii. Cows ^Mrt' Mlmt witliiu I'iill of 1 ui.'v. 'Oiio
! iiiiiif lout tliirty -six lu'iul of iMttlr in tlirt'i' NiNirs." Ih ails' Si ttUiiunt W /.,
M>., I,-..

33'2

THK .lUDIClAllY.

U ■ i

!i:M

of Queen Victoria. anJ tlu- Britisli parliament, of luw
and love, <;un|Mt\V(ler and nerdition. He assured tluiii
if white men injur«'<l then: tliev should have reditsH.
undif tin V injui('<l white men they should he punished.
Then, with his hlue-Jaek<'tsand marines, he proceeded
to Cowii-liin. airivins:,' thereon tlu' niornin«j; of the (Illi,
and tlirowiii}^^ the village into quite a flutter of e.\-
eitemcnt.

Tlie usual demand was then nuuh", that tlu mui-
d'-rer sh(»uld he delivei-ed Up. 'I'l. ehief asked time
to e<tnsidei-, wliieii. as I )onM|iis <lesin'd toaNoid hlddd-
shed, was granted, A meeting' was apjiointed I'm'
tinal eoni'ei'eiiee iie\t day on sliore, the saNa^es heiii'^
afiaid to tiu^t themselves among thi' rollitjtnrs and
others on hoard.

.\t the apjiointed time the fu-'-es iV»»m the vessels
I.Mided, the ( 'ttwichin ehiet". with a few attendants,
reeei\inL:' tlieni: on a kimll a tent was |»itehe»j. ami
the white men wailed the attendaiie.' of the ri -t.
The chief ad\ised tlu' witluh'awaj of the tiMop> ,i
littl(! out of sii^ht, lest his jM iiple shoultl lie at'iaid In
land. This was«lone. and yet nearly an houi" elaj)se(l
hefo?'e any of lliem apjieared. Then twoeanoes w. iv
set'ii niakiii!.;' their way (piietly out of the river Al'hi
them soon came si\ others, larger ones, all in ;i line.
I'adv!!in!4 slowly alon*:; the shcire. ehaiitini;' their war
Sony, <iinm<iiin^' on their cannes, and whooping liki
deinuns, they pasx'd l»y the cMuneil ground and lamltd
a little heyond ; then rushinu' up the hill, shoutinu and
(•lasliin;^ theii' arms as il t'» shaki- with terroi- any
army dai-ini.;' to opj>i»se them, they .stood ^l.irinjn' fere-
eiously ;if. t he inti nder->.

It was with dillienlty Diniylas eould restrain his
men tVom liriny; «_;radually the savages heeame (|uieter,
howe\«'r, and tin n tlie\ prudueed tin mardei"<r aniieil
and ]»ainted from head ttt f«»ot. A i;r;tndiltM|nent *\<-
fenc«' was then made hy ilu> ])ris(»ner, which wonld
have done honor to nnv erinnnal lawvi r, vhe hurdi ii
«tf which was that he was whoUv imioeent. Alter

rUXISHMKXT OF CKIMK.

333

iii,»if }mrlc'yin,u, he was finally lianded over to the
wliitu UU'M, to he tried at N'ictoria.

Moi'e tatheilv advice was now in

Ol'll

or.

ni-

tniiiu'd tlieni tluit the wiinlc couiitry NvaN a possession
dl' tiie Hrilisli Clown," writi's J)i>unl;is, tliou^di iiow
III (iiuld reconcile such a stati'meiit witli his piiyer-
li(iul< |)rece|>t, 'I'liou shalt not steal, which with sii- h
(li triMiincil jK rsistence lie endejivoi't'd always to in»-
piiss n|>on thcii' minds, the unsojihisticatcd sa\ane
(ulild not tell. Nevertheless. I'or the toliaeco whicli
wiis to follow, they jtroinised loyally, and whiti' a,nd
ltd cjich Went lii^ way.

On till' l()th,tlie expedition aj»peared hel'ore \a-
naimo and denuuided a conference, whicli was proin-
ixil loi' the t'ollowiiiL'' day. Meanwhile |)(>ii^las
(II It red tweiity-oiie rolfi'i/rin's mider McKay to eon-
ci al thenisiKes dui'ini^' the ninht in a canoe near the
nil of the Xanainio hM\tr, and when t!ie natiNcs
•lllMed ahoUt the \cssel. should the other cl-iliiinal

mill

asst

lint lie fortlieoinin'4, to search the vilhiLi'e for him,

W hlle the

•hief,

wln»

was the fatlii'.- of the niurdi I'er.

wtiild lie sei/ed. and kept on hoard as Iio>iat:"e for
tilt ir Nafety. MorninL;' came, and with ii the >a\a'^es,
liiiii'4iiiin' to the llidn," pies of \alualile peltries in
lit 11 of the murderer. Hut thev were informed that
ipi amount of preperty could hiiv the man's ac(|uiital.
Tile arnuMl hnats proceeded to the xiHa^'e. Tlieri-
all was deserted. .NhddlliL;" tlielMx lv( s as coinfortalile
as |io,ssilile, thonu'li witiiout destroyiiiu' anytliinu', 'lie
wllte men jiatiently awaitid cmiiIs, and wt re finally
rewarded hy the nuirdeier lieiii-_;' i;t!i\i'i'ed into thtir
hands without hjood.died.

Surely iiothiiiijf could he more noMe than coinhict
liuc this oil the jiarl of tiie ii'overnt>r. It wntdil lia\i'
hi fii so easy, so K-ss tr\ iiit;' to jk-uuiio' and ili^nitv,
t' have ni\('n the Word to fire, and so to haNc mowed
• l"Wn a hundred innocent men for the crime .)f the
eiiennilty. ■' ( Ml one or t wi> occa-ions." writer I )ou<^r.
las to Tod, imme(liatt }y at'tt r tin capture "f the first

334

THE JUDICIARY.

! !•:

criminal, "the affair had nearly taken a serious turn,
a misfortune wliioh could hardly have been avoidud
had it not been for the i)erfect arrangenients of Lieu-
tenant Sansum, and the admirable temper and for-
bearance exhibited by the force in cireumstauccs
infinitely more tryinjuf to bravo men than actual con-
Hict . . . Tlic surrender of a criminal without bloodslitd,
at tlie re([ui.sition of the civil power, by the nioht
warHke trilie on Vancouver Islantl, is an epocji in
the history of our Indian relations whicli uuj^urs for
the future peace and j)rosperity of the colon3\ Tell the
settlers to be prudent and vij^ilant; but at the same
time entreat them to dismiss those idle terrors ni
("owichin invasion wliich have so often distressed
tJieir minds." Arrived at Victoria, the Indians under-
went a form of trial, and were executed.*

Not loni;' afterward a white man was shot, but not
moi'tally, at Cowieliin, and soon the <jfovornor was
there anain with tlie TriiwoiiKthr towed by the Olt( r.
Vet mon; peremptory conduct on botli sitles marked
tliis occasion. The natives refused to give up the
cul[)rit, and desired to fiLj'ht. TlioULfh consi(h'rate and
humane, theii; was none braver or more determined
than Doui^las. lU^ would not liarm the poor saNaj^es
if lie could jiossibly avoid it; but he would have the
ofi'eiider and satisfy justice if he swept the Island int"
the Sea.

The governor landed his I'orces, and each side dr* \v
up in battle-ai'ray ; the red with tremendous and fearful
!n)isi', the white with mountain-howitzer and nuiskel.
Douglas beckoned the chief forward, and a parley
ensued, but without favoi'able result. The white men
then eneampi'd whei'e they were. Next morning the
governor stood before the Cowichin village, still in
the interests of })eaee and humanity. Behind him were
the muskets and howitzer ready pointed awaiting his
signal to fire. Instead of the chief, the nuu'dcrer

* DowiUui' Private Paptm, 2d Hcr., MS., 31-4; Dmim Seltteintut I' i
MS., 14.

BLANSHARD ANb UOUiJLAS.

333

liiiiist'lf, armed and painted, came out, hesitated a
moment, tlien quickly raised his <(un and pulled the
tiionrer. It misseil tire, else the jL^overnor had ja'ohably
liceu slain. And yet he did not ^j^ive tlu" sii^iial to
lire. Coolly and calmly he stood his i^fround, while
till' savaj^cs seized and bound the oftender, aiul handed
liim to the rrovernor for justice. The trial took j>lac«>
immediatelv, and the Indian was hansjed there before
,ill his people.'"'

Such was the administrati(»n of justice duiin.!.^ the
first years of the Douglas rule. But the jroveiiior did
111 it relish it. In his less diLjnified days he had fought
Indians and hunted cruninals to his heart's content.
And now to contiimc in hnnself the offices of sherilf,
judi^t', and executive, too'etlu'r with a do/en otiiers,
was more than he cared for. Miuht he not mak«' a
juili^e even before legislators were convened, and alter-
ward u;i't ufovernment to sanction the proceeding, and
tli(! c(»l<»ny t<.» [)a^ the cost^

There was, aliout the time of this last occuinnce,
lit ( 'ou'icliiu on.vl)av)(l ( 'ameron, Hudson's Hav Com-
paiiy clerk, and sui)ermtendent of the coalnunt'S at
N'aiiaimo Hi' was'i Itiother m-law of the yfovernnr —
it IS wouih'rful hew [)rt»liHc was the I'amily when ttlHcis

•w vacant, but

must also bear in mind how

scaiitv was suitable jrovcrnmu" material at this time.
Ibie was an opi)ortunity fot a little stroke of busi-
1USS. And it was all business, civili/mg, christian-
i/.in^', c(»lonI/ing, and go\i'rnino What sliall I '^ain
liy it.' was the question and that not in lu'aAcn or
lii'ieal'ter, but lu re *.ind now

( ameron nad been brought up a draixn*; he once had
iliarge of somebody's estate m tlie West Indies, and
111' now received from the .'ompany (.lie liuiKh'ed and
til'ty pounds a year for his ■;( rvices. Thougli he Uiiew

fettUmt lit • I

' 'Court WtniM Hnmotiincn bo liold a* wliuh ImliaiiH wiro tiiinl. Kl.';;i;iiig
■♦siiiiu'tinicM iiilli('t('ilu|)iiiiiliv. iiativrM. wli' Ji tliry iliciiifd viry tliMjjnii'cl'nl,
■ 'Ir.itli-i^njualty WiM iiillictcd on liiiliiiiis. Mr/Joiiulii, iii /Int. <'ol, Skili/ns,

TllK .lUDlClAUV,

•iU

T ■

in)t]iln«;' of law. never havlnj^ Irh'U i'alUd to the l»;ir,
yet lie iiiinlit make a most ex<-elleiit judm', IteiuM
Iji-otliif-'m-Iaw to tlie kiiii;*. In civil eas«'s, at le;i>t.
^vhel•e Immaii life was not at stake, he mijjjlit seiv-.
Well eiiouj;li; the eom|»aiiy lu-iiij^- iilways one of tin
pailies ill such suits, all he had to (h) was to (lecid*
in laNor ol" the <-om|iaMy. 'I'he matter of salaiy was
woitliN' ol' «'oiisideratioii; hut with his i»av as clerk he
minht li\ e : it woidd eost nothiniif exti-a to a<'t asjudije;
there was jioiior in it. the tiist ehief-justiee ot' tli-
(•(»l(»ny, and all that; he.^ides, it w<tuld not do to lit so
important an ofliec ^u out of tiie family or out of" thr
coni|iany. Su|i|>ose sonu' hir' wi^;' ha\inL;' a knowled'^e
(d' law and a mind of his o\ n should eonu- out tVoiii
England aiinrd with the authority of delcrminiii'^
hire, theie, e\ciy where, what miinht and what mii;! t
not he done, one wiio miLjht even jinsunie to instruct,
the governor in his duties, and |>re>crilM' limils to tlic
]»ower of the moiutpoly. Il Would lie I'earful; elitail-
in^'. hi'Sidcs. heavy expenses upon the colony I'ol' the
luxurv of a cuise.

nice

iilaiishard's da\', matters were not

hun^Ieil. Appoint ('aiiieron; m i t;-o\criimeiit torati'V
the appointment; then let him serve without pay I'T
tlu' present, trustin!^' that ail will coine out jirolita-

hlv in the end. .\nd so it was done

le SUplt \\\r

court of ci\ il judical me of N'aiicouxer Island wa-
cr»ated, and the <lrapei- hecaiile chief justict- of tin
coloiiv."

L'ules to he ohselNcd in (he siqu'clUe coUlt fif tin

adniunstration ol justice in ci\ il cases were su

ihmitti

i> K

IS tiiiTc any ili.Hsati.-.fai'ti<>ii cnju'cs (

.lat tliu tiiiu'of I

lis a|H>iiiiitnii'ii; ?
' ."sLroiiu ri'.ii"ii-

ii.skc(l Mr rliristy lit Mr< 'imi|ii r luioii' tiio m Ifit (■iniiiiiiUrf.

htiaiii'iM Wire iiiailt! !>> |»titinn t«i tlienuvfrimr, aii<l li.v pet i lion tn tin' Ih'w- it

('OilllllllllS, w

IS till! rcplv llnllil' ( ■

-I I :•),!, II. n. Co., is.-.T, •_';)•.•. -v.

Hi'lUi'i-.s at U.il ItiviT III isr.l |i('titiiiii till! n-iiiiival ol tiin ri'i-nnl.T, Ailaiii'l'liorn,
bcoitisi. Ill lii-i laviTin^ tint fur riiiii|iaiiy in liis ili'i'isinns. I'nlilinU, in //.. ;!ili.
Mrt'iiniH'i ju'fiiri' till' si'ici't I'oniiiiilti'f rriiiarki'<l of Mr Staines: 'llnwaqi r-
oiiiiil most vilily, f lulirvr, nivsill', tliioui_'li the iiistiiiiiiiiitality of tlii^ Mi'

< 'aiiiri'on. tor liu wan a

iiiii'iit inity t lire

lu-, i;

I- Stai;u'S. ^\a^ in

iloiilil olinoMouM to till' aiitlioritu's, an. I lio wa.s porsecuti-'il on that ari'oiiiit.

c«„iiiioiis I'rjif., II. li.r,,., i,s:.7, nci,

DAVID CAMKUOX.

Xil

l,H»-, 1 •••»'<;-;
i, Jit lta>t,
iolit scrvv
tut' of tin
i to <l«'<'i<l»
sularv Nva-
as cli'i'U li«'
I't asju(l.i'
tier of til
(1(» to ht >"
!• out ol" tli»'
1 ku(i\vlt'tl-v
lo out fi"in
,1,'tcnniiiiii;^
wliat iui;j,lit
r It. liistriK't
liniioS to tlu'
nful; riilail-
»loii\ for th'"

woro uot sn

iriit to ratify

|liout i>;»y for

out in-o'.it:!-

riio sujii' '•'■'■

Island \\a>

StlfO i'\' tin

[•ourt foi- til'-
IT sulduiUfil

his iqnioiiitim'iit '

I. • Mroiiji ri'-ii""'.

|iioliti>l'.i''li<'"-„"'"
1, -- •> >■> • 1 ,1'

inl.r, A.l.imTli"r.,
1,/,/,/v//, in /'..:•'"■
li,u->*: 'llcwa-l' ;■
IntalitV ol till- Mi-
ll !■ St:iiiu'«, «•■'■' "",
I oil tlial iica.uut.

liv Cliiof-justirc Caiiicroii to tlu; ooycnjor and coun-
cil, and w«'iv aj>|>rovt'd tlu' ITtliof Fclnuarv iHf)?. A
(•u|>y of tlicHo rules was transmitted to A[r Labou-
rjiere for final a[i[>roval, an<l proclaination made of the
same on Vancouver Island.'

Cameron reci'ived his nomination from J)ouj^la.s in
IS.);!.'* and his a[>|iointment was eonlii-med hytho colo-
nial olliee ahout the end of the year, at which timo lie
was still at Xanaimo, Karly in 1S.")4 he toctk up his
residence at Victoria, where he remained lo the day
of his death.'' ( 'ameron was suj)erseded hy Necdliam
ill ISj8, he hy licij^hic! in l«Jl>.

Hut ay^oviriuneiit caiuiot ht; carried on I'orever with-
out moiuy. It iiad lu-en stij>ulat«'d that the j>roceeds
iVoiii tli(^ sah' of |)ul>lic lands mii^Iit Ik; devoti'd toc«)lo-
iiial develo|tment, lit-fore leavinj^ the Island, (Jov-
enior Jilanshard had luen informed hy the J I udson's
Hay Comjiany that no salaries would he jiaid puhlic
otiicersoutof the proceeds of land sales. Such salaries
must Im! raised either hv taxes or duties. " This is, in
fart." ri'inarked the irovi^rnor, repudiating: tin; clause
ill their Ljrant which hiiuls them to jtros ide, at their

()\V

n ex|»enst>, all nt'ce.ssary civil and military «stal)lisli
iiients; their own arran!.jements tend to prevent a tax-
payiii^' population settlini^ here; and that the harhors
shall he <»|>en to all nation for the pui'|)os»'s of trade is
liiniiiiiiently put forward in the prospectus they have

"11

itiitlished,

After the departure of |{lanshak<l, liowever; after
■\(ry element and per.sou ohn(»\ious to fur-tradiii;j;

traditions

had I

teen remove*

I. wh

lell all revenue* leVhM

and collected should fall into the pockits or honorahh^
clerks, traders, and l'aetor« — there was no longer < lues-

'' llniixf nf Vommonn Itrturii* to nn .{ihlrrK-i, ilatrcl .Fmic •_'.'), I.S.'»7, IH.

*- TIiIh iK'uoriling to (.'iMipcr. Kiiilaysmi <l.it<-i Im ,'i|)|)i>iiitiiii'iit 'ul'tiT tlic
'I'l'iiture of Bliinshiir.l.'H.i.v in IS.VZ //«<. I'. / , MS., lOf).

'Me iliecl at Boliiioiit, V. I., tlio 14th <>f May IHT'J. (tlijiiijiui Trmi-irrijit,
'-'.".th May l«7i».

'" ' Mr Nouilham wum then kiuKhtvd ami a|i]M)iiitc(l to a Hiinilar poMition in
till island i>f Trinitlail, West Inilies." Finlai/MouH V. I., MS., 101.

^^ liluimhitrd'ti PfiijxUe/ieM, 11.
lliKT. ](HiT. Col. 22

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Corporatioii

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 873-4503

£><

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^

THE JUDICIARY.

tion as to the right disposition to be made of the pro-
ceeds of land sales."

Some revenue might be secured from sales of land
if settlers would come forward and pay their pound
per acre; but if the lands did not sell, the privilege
was of little avail. Was there no other agency
whereby patriots might secure profit as well as honor
for their services ? Yes : there was rum. As a civilizer,
rum had been always king. Whoever heard of tlie
accomplishment of great things in the new world — of
conquests, conversions, pacifications, and occupations —
without the aid of alcohol? White men and red men
both loved it, and would lay down their life for it.
Let this stimulant, then, do what every other stimu-
lant failed to accomplish ; let whisi:ey energize where
philantrophy, enlightenment, and progress could not
inspire. Let justice be supported by the emoluments
of vice, and let the noble institutions of Europe be
planted in America with empty rum-barrels for their
foundation. So, by order of the governor in council,
liquor-dealers in Vancouver Island were made to pay
each an annual license of one hundred and twenty
pounds. At the time when the first house of assembly
met there were four of these licenses on the Island,
one held by the Hudson's Bay Company, and three
by retail dealers.

By paying this annual license, keepers of public
houses might freely import liquors and sell without
further restriction. There were no duties on spirits
or groceries, and on this license liquors might be sold
in any quantities or to any persons except Indians.
No license was required to sell any article except
spirits. And although this license was by many
deemed exorbitant, yet if there had been no more un-
wise provisions in colonial regulations, as colonization
goes, immigrants would have been more than usually
fortunate. By this means, in duo time, the sum of

•'^ ' The revenue of Vancouver Island prior to 1858 arose principally from
the sale of land.' Finliu/iionn J lint. V. I., MS., 84.

REVETNUE AND EXPENDIITJIIE.

339

he pro-
of land
■ pound
rivilegc
agency
lS honor
jivilizer,
1 of the
orld — of
ations —
red men
fe for it.
ir stimu-
ze where
ould not
oluinents
arope be
for their
council,
e to pay
twenty
assembly
e Island,
,nd three

one hundred pounds per annum was provided for the
chief-justice."

For the year ending November 1, 1855, the public
expenditure of the colony was £4,107 2s. 3d The in-
come from all sources, including duty on licensed houses
and sales of public land, was £693 2s. lOd. Among
the items of expenditure were government premises,
£7 15s. lOd.; surveying department, £683 18s. Id.;
roads and bridges, £1,388 5s. 5d.; Victoria Church, par-
sonage and chaplain, £1,362 17s. 5d; public schools,
£320 4s. lid.; poor-rates, £10 10s. Sd.; administration
of justice, £100; jail expenses, £30 9s. 2d.; militia,
£81 8s. Sd. From land sales were received £334 17s.
C)(]., and from duty on licensed houses £340.

On the 6th of December 1856, the house of assembly
asked the governor what the revenue of the colony
might be. The reply was, "that the house can exer-
cise a direct control only over the revenue raised in
the colony through the act of the general legislature.
The revenue derived from the tax on licensed houses
is therefore, I conceive, the only fund absolutely at
our disposal; the proceeds arising from land sales^
royalties, and timber duties being remitted and placed
to the account of the reserve fund in England, which
is, however, also exclusively applicable for colonial
purposes, with the exception of ten per cent allowed
by virtue of the charter of grant to the Hudson's Bay
Company." The revenue received from licensed houses
was, in 1853, £220, in 1854, £460, and in 1855, £340."

Incipa

"And now, besides the £150 as clerk, Cameron 'receives also another £100
per annum from what is called the license fund. Tliere are heavy licenses
fnim the publicans; they pay about £1*20 per annum. I believe that gives an
income to th'i colony of aoout £400 or £500 per annum, and he receives £100
out of it.' Coop'-r, in Ilott.'ic Commons licfit., JI. B. Co., 1857, 19.3,

'* Between the 12th of July 1855 and tlie 10th of October 1856, there were
sold of public lands 2,1.37 acres. 'The extent of nnimprovablo rock,' says
William Cr. Smith, secretary of the Hudson's Bay Company, in his statement
rendered the governor, the Kith of October 1S.")(>, 'added to the allowanco
made for roads, somewhat exceeds 8.37 acres, leaving 1,'299 acres, three roods,
and 20 perches chargeable to purchasers; on which £512 llx. C(/. has been
ahoady paid in, and there remains payable by annual instalments the snm of
t'787 O.*. lOiI.' la addition to above, £0,193 was received from the Hudson's
Hay Company for lamls purchased or reserved by them. Up to the 19th of
•bdy 1855, the total amount received from laud sales was £6,871 O*. 4(1. The

;»

1,1

THE JUDICIARY.

An appropriation for £130 passed the assembly the
18th of December 1856, and was approved by the
council and governor the 14th of February 1857.
The items, all of which were to be paid out of the duty
derived from licensed houses, were as follows: £50,
to be placed at the disposal of the governor, to pay for
copying documents for the use of the house; £10 to
Robert Barr for services as clerk of house; £5 to
Andrew Muir for services as sergeant-at-arms; £25
for salary of clerk of house for 1857; £15 for salary
of sergeant-at-arms and messenger for 1857; £20 for
heating, lighting, and furnishing house of assembly
for 1857; £5 for stationery for members of assembly.^"

The truth is, government on the Island thus far,
with the sole exception of the legally appointed
governor, who could have performed all the duties of
that office equally as well had he been only chief
factor in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company's
affairs, was mere sham. The council was a sham, in-
competent to ordain; the chief-justice was a sham,
the hireling of the monopoly, knowing no law; and
the legislature was a sham, for there never had been
given, by act of parliament, sufficient power to con-
stitute a legislature. All that had been done was
■done by the power of the crown. The colony was
first ruled by a governor in council, which government
soon came to a standstill because it proposed to levy
duties on spirits, or issue liquor licenses, when it pos-
sessed no authority; then it was that an abortive
attempt was made to set up in the Island a free legis-
lature.

moneys received by the Hudson's Bay Company were remitted to London.
By the 10th of October 1853, they had remitted £3,577 5s. 2d.) the Puget
Sound Company had piaid in London £2,574, and £120 had been paid by W.
C. Grant and J. Huggins in London. Home Commona' Returns to an Address,
14.

" Minutes of Council 14th Feb. 1867 in House Commons' Returns to an Ad-
dress, 19.

CHAPTER XX.

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

1858,

Gold ! Hail All-powerful and Most Worshipful ! — Its Presence not
Secretly Known to the Jur-traders — Discovery on Vancouver
Island — On Queen Charlotte Islands — On Skeena River — In the
Cascade Mountains of WASHiNCiTON — At Colville — At Kamloop —
On Thompson River — On Frasf.r River — The Tidings Spread— The
MvrrER Laid before Government— Effect on California — Rush to
the Mines — Routes and Methods of Transportation — Whatcom
versus Victoria — Trail-making — Overland Expeditions — Licenses
AND Imposts — Effect on the Fur-traders.

High above all principalities and powers, above
religious fanaticism or love of empire, above patriot-
ism, philanthropy, family affection, honor, virtue, or
tilings supernal or infernal, there now arises in this
Northwest wilderness an influence which overshadows
every other influence, which shrivels into insignifi-
cance fur companies, licenses to trade, pounds per acre,
settlement, skins of wild beasts or lives of wild men,
missionaries, governors, parliaments, houses of assei -
bly, and even rum.

Here history begins anew. It is as though notii-
ing had been ; as though all was present and to come.

Amongst the many sins charged upon the Hudson's
Bay Company, by the hungry horde that invaded their
territories during the wild excitement of 1858, was
one in effect that the existence of gold on the upper
Fraser and elsewhere had long been known to the
company's officers, prior to that unwelcome appear-

(S41)

342

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

aiice, and that such knowledge had, through motives
of policy, been kept secret.

While it is not of the slightest importance to any-
one, least of all to those then upon the gound in
search of the metal, how long fur-traders had known
of its existence, if of that pestiferous crew there are
any now living to whom the fact that such previous
knowledge did not exist can bring comfort, let them
henceforth possess their souls in peace. It would
surely seem the last thing of which sane men could
complain, for had such knowledge been published,
where now would be their chance? Rather let them
thank the good traders for keeping the secret.

The fact, however, had not been known.^ Reticent
as were the traders by law and by instinct, they could
not long have kept secret a knowledge of the existence
of any large quantity of precious metal, even had it
been to their interest to do so. And as to their inter-
est, when such knowledge was almost sure to spoil
ft^rever their dearly loved hunting-ground, how could
those doubt who were unaware how near their end
the company were before the great gold excitement,
how a renewal of their exclusive trade license had
already been refused them, how great might be their
harvest with all their superior facilities of men, ships,
fortresses well stored with goods, of organization,
capital, familiarity with the natives, and knowledge
of the country, should the region rapidly fill with
energetic humanity ?

But although gold on the upper Fras5r was not
uncovered to any one long prior to the so-called
Fraser River excitement, its existence in supposed
inconsiderable quantities elsewhere in British Colum-
bia had been openly and for some time known. The
silly suspicion of the miners, that the knowledge

' ' No suspicion of the fact ever existed, as I can personally aver. Indeed,
it was not till after a considerable interval, and after mush careful research by
experienced miners from California, that the riches of the Cariboo mines were
^SirtiMy dfiveloped.' Anderson's Northwent Coast, MS,, 116,

EARLIEST GOLD INDICATIONS.

343

existed and was kept secret, never was true of any
part of the country, or at any time.

When during the summer of 1850 Joseph W. Mc-
Kay was exploring for farming lands between Vic-
toria and Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, he found
in various places particles of gold, but nowhere in
sufficient quantities to warrant further investigation.
Nevertheless, it was a gold-field that he had found,
and mines were worked there subsequently.^

During this same year, the mania for gold then
raging in California having penetrated savagedom,
a native of the Queen Charlotte Islands appeared at
Victoria with a bag of specimens.^

Writing Earl Grey the 29th of March 1851, Gov-
ernor Blanshard says: **I have heard that fresh speci-
mens of gold have been obtained from the Queen
Charlotte's Islanders. I have not seen them myself,
but they are reported to be very rich. The Hudson's
Bay Company's servants intend to send an expedition
in tlie course of the summer to make proper investi-
gations."* The brigantino i/uro/i was despatched ac-
cordingly, ostensibly to trade, but really to search for
gold. Failing in which, and for want of something
better to do, the men broke up part of a quartz ledge,

X) mines were

^ In August 1858 there was quite a flurry of excitement in Victoria respect-
inj,f the presence of gold in that vicinity, as if it were then a new thing. ' One
account asserts positively that five ounces were taken from diggings south-east
of Victoria, . . .while another changes tlie location to a nearly opposite point."
Virtorla Gazelle, Aug. 19, 1858. Rumors increased, until within a week after-
vard gold was everywhere — under the governor's houses, at Silver Luke, at
Saanich, and at Dead Man's Creek. ' It has been found back of Nanaimo,
ami is known to exist on other islands in these waters.' Vktoria Gazette, Aug.
2i). 1S58. 'One location about twenty miles from Nanaimo is now, 1878,
being worked by Chinamen.' McKai/'s Reenlleetions, MS., 11.

^ 'Gold had been discovered in Queen Charlotte's Island in 1850, but only
in small quantities.' lirititi/i. Coliimhia and Vancoiirer Inland, Vll, by Wil-
liam Carew Hazlitt. This little book, a lOiuo of 247 pages in yellow boards,
was published in London in 1858 with a map to all aiipuaranco much older
in its compilation than the text. Mr Hazlitt is evidently a journeyman
author, whose wages were too low to warrant good work. His book is mostly
extracts, well selected, and from widely extended sources, the original parts
being desultory, and lacking both preciseness ami consistency.

* Bkmsfuird's Despatches, 10. The governor was not very definite in his
iduas of metals, or precise iu his use of words.

814

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

and carrying the pieces on board their vessel, re-
turned in triumph to Victoria. Again on the r2th
of May, Blanshard observes: "Reports are current of
gold having been found by the Cowitchin Indians, in
the Arro Canal, but they are so vague as scarcely to
deserve notice."

Rowland of the sloop Georgina from Australia had a
mate named McEwen, who had been in the service
of the Hudson's Bay Company. In one of his expe-
ditions to the north, McEwen professed to have landed
on Queen Charlotte Islands, and to have chiselled some
gold out of a quartz seam. This was exhibited l)y
Rowland and McEwen at Olympia in the autumn of
1851. It was their opinion that if they could organize
a company and go to the spot in sufficient force, they
could load their vessel with gold. An expedition was
fitted out at Olympia, which sailed in the Georgina in
November 1851. Being forced to come to anchor at
Neali Bay, on account of bad weather, the Damcms
Cove, Captain Balch, was encountered at the same
place. Balch was out on an oil and fur-trading ex-
pedition, but on learning the destination of the Geor-
gina — in spite of the mystery that surrounded it — ■
he followed the sloop northward.^ The unfortunate
endinij of this venture is ofivcn else where. In the
summer of 1851, the Hudson's Bay Company, with-
out further showing, despatched the brigantine Huron
with a number of men, who had experience in mining,
to the spot indicated by the native who had brought
the specimens to Victoria some time previous. They
spent several months prospecting the islands, and
though they failed to find placers at the place indi-
cated by the native, after considerable searching along
a quartz outcrop they succeeded in finding a good
ledge which showed free gold in nearly every speci-
men. They were not prepared to undt rtakc quartz-
mining operations; and as it was now late in the
season, they gathered about half a ton of specimens

* Weed's Queen C/uirlotte Island, MS., 9-19.

QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS.

345

and returned to Victoria, intending to resume their
work on the ledge better prepared the following
spring.^ McEwen's specimens seem to have come
from the same place, and not improbably they were
obtained from the same native. It was in a little
harbor on the west coast of Moresby Island, the
southern island of the group, subsequently known as
Gold Harbor, also as Mitchell Harbor, named after
Captain Mitchell of the Recovery.

In the following spring of 1852, Queen Charlotte
Islands witnessed the arrival of numerous expeditions.
There were five vessels in Mitchell Harbor at one
time; and the hills were full of prospectors. A party
of miners from the Nanaimo coal-mines, taken there
by the Una on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company,
was well provisioned and provided with every requisite
for blasting on a large scale. The whole ended in dis-
appointment. A quartz vein seven inches in widtli,
traceable for eighty feet, contained in some places
twenty-five per cent of gold, but the hope of loading
vessels here with gold was forever abandoned.

In the Fort Simpson journal, the 8th of April 185'2,
is found written: "This day ona of the chiefs from
Skenar River that arrived here yesterday brought a
few small pieces of gold ore to the, fort; also two
largo pieces of quai'tz rock with a few particles of
fjold ore introduced. The chief. . . tells me that it
would take me seven days to go wliere the gold is to
be found and return back to the fort. I am told by
others that we can go to the place in two days, or
forty-eight hours, by trail. The chief tells me that
tlic gold is to be seen in many places on the surface
of tlie rock for some distance, say two miles. This is
a most important discovery, at least I think so, and
may prove more convenient for us to work tlian the
diggings on Queen Charlotte Island. I shall go or
send to have a look at this and examine this new dis-
covery so soon as possible. I gave the chief that

^McKay's Recollections, MS., 12-15.

340

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

brought the rock and ore a larger canoe, value five
elk-flkins, which pleased him much. We showed him
other civilities. I hope the company, and myself also,
will reap some benefit from this discovery, as I have
ten children that would be much pleased to finger a
portion of the precious metal. Who knows but this
discovery may prove more valuable than the diggings
in California." To which prayer the sailor McNeill
affixed his initials.

The 24th of the same month the fort scribe enters:
"Pierre Lagrace with his son and four Indians had
started in the morning to visit the place where gold
has been found at Skenar River. They had not pro-
ceeded far when the steamer was seen in the distance,
and they turned back, together with four other canoes
which had also started for the river on a trading excur-
sion . . . We were most pleased to hear that all our
friends to the south were well, and that the Recovery ,
one of our vessels, had gone to Queen Charlotte
Island to hunt for and obtain gold. Captains Mitchell
and Stuart and Dr Kennedy were the superior officers
of the party, in all forty souls."

May 5th: "About noon Chief Factor Work with
Pierre Lagrace, Quintal, and four Indians started in
a canoe for Skenar River to examine the gold re-
gions said to exist up that river. They will probably
be absent about fourteen days." Punctually to the
hour Work returned and reported no gold on Skeena
River, and his journey a failure.

The 8th of May word came to Fort Simpson from
Kennedy on board the Recovery, that "two American
vessels are lying in Mitchell's Harbour, viz., the Tepic
from Liverpool, and the Susan Sturgis from Nisqually.
The vein had been worked out by some vessel, and he
had no hopes of obtaining gold. Six more vessels
were expected soon from the Columbia and San Fran-
cisco. The Recovery had been leaking both at sea
and in harbour. This will be another bad speculation
in my opinion," concludes the Fort Simpson journal-

SKEENA RIVER.

keeper. Nevertheless, Kennedy wanted more raining
tools, an outfit of which, with beads and cod-hi)oks,
was despatched by canoe on the 12tii, and cliarged to
tlie account of the Recovery. Letters rece'ved the
Kith reported that "no gold had been procured by
blasting," and that "the American vessels had all

'o'

iroiie away quite disappointed."'

Another chief, arriving at Fort Simpson on the 5th
St-'})tcuiber from Skcena River, reported gold. Chief
Factor Work was fast catching the fever. For these
many years furs alone had filled his brain. Now he
found room for metals. It would be so pleasant to
have his old ajje made mellow with tjold. The natives
of Xass River had brought in specimens of various
uu'tals from their country, and thither, on the l;3th.
Work set out in a canoe to see what he could make
of it. If, indeed, another California might be found
in the north, how happy would be the Hudson's Bay
Company! Nevertheless, Work returned from his
adventure unsuccessful. "Nothing like gold was seen
during his cruise," writes the anxious father of ten
children.

Thus years before the great excitement, all along
the coast, from Fuca Strait to Skevna River, were
thought and talk of gold; and when men looked for
it, they generally found evidence of its presence.

George B. McClellan in 1853 found gold in con-
siderable quantities, as he expresses it, on the military

'•Fort Simpson Journal, MS., 1852. See also Compton's Abori<jina[ Brit.
Col., -MS., GO. William M. Turner elaborates to the extent of seven pages in
i\\ti Oirrlaml MoMhly, Feh. 1875, a statement to the etl'ect that in Fel). 185*2
one Jack McLean, a Scotch sailor, once in tlie service of the Hudson's Bay
Cdiiipaiiy, arrived at San Francisco, ami reported goM at Engletield Harbor,
CJueen Charlotte Islands. The fur-traders were then there, he said, gathering
tlic' metal, and jealous of any intrusion. On liis way down lie had been
^vrecked. On the evidence of sonic specimens he showed, sixty-five persons
embarked at San Francisco the 2!)th of Marcli on board the brig Tvpir, Cap-
tiiiii Lortt. Arrived at Englefield Harbor, they were soon overhauled by tlie
first mate of the Recovery, who informed them tliat they were within British
dominion, and that they were requested to depart from that coast. To wliich
tliL'y gave an impudent answer, and pushing ashore began prospecting. Tlieir
inunhood and independenco thus vindicated, after a month's stay they returned
whence they came.

848

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

road survey through the Naches Pass in the Cas-
cade Mountains, between Walla Walla and Fort
Steilacoom, and in his Northern Pacific Railway ( x-
plorations at Similkameen, his men panning it out at
the rate of two dollars a day. Alfred Waddingtoii, a
former Mariposa miner, saw in 1854 an Indian cliitf
in the Colville country who had placer gold in his
possession.

Henry De Groot, an indefatigable explorer, pros-
pector, and writer upon mining developments, havinn^
visited British Columbia in 1858, states that Chief
Trader McLean at Kandoop procured gold-dust from
the natives in that vichiity as early as 1852, since wlmh
time more or less gold has been received from the
natives at that and other posts, though not cnouuli
to awaken a suspicion in the minds of the traders that
paying diggings existed in the country; and that
various parties at different times prospected tlic
banks of the Thompson between 1855, the date of tlnj
discovery of the Colville mines, and 1858. It was at
Nicomnien, on tJie Thompson near its junction with
the Fraser, according to some authorities, that tlio
first gold was found in paying quantities in l^ritisli
Columbia. Chinese and Indians were engaged in
mining at that place in favorable seasons as lute as
1 87G. The account of the first discovery at Niconuneii
was very circu istantially given by Douglas in liis
diary under the date of August 14, 18G0, without
stating tlic date of the discovery. " Gold," he writes,
"was first found on Thompson River by an Indian, a
quarter of a mile below Nicommen. He is since dead.
The Indian was taking a drink out of the river; having
no vessel, he was quaffing from the stream, when lie
perceived a shining pebble, which he picked up, and
it proved to be gold. The whole tribe forthwith began
to collect the glittering metal." ^

Mr Finlayson says gold was first found in crevices

^Dmmon on Mines, 40; Douf/las' Private Papers, Ist sen, MS., V24:-5;
HazliU'aB. C, 127; De Groot's B. C, 13.

THOMPSON AND FRASER RIVERS.

d in crevices

ser., MS., l^i'^i

of the rocks on the banks of the Thonip.son River.
McLean, tlie officer in clinrj^e at Kamloop, inspected tho
ijround, and then sent down to Victoria for some iron
sjtoons for the purpose of digging out the nu,i,''gets.
The spoons were sent up as requested, and ^IcLean was
instructed to give every encouragement to the natives
to liave them procure and bring in tlic gokl, and toob-
tiiiii all that he could. Shortly afterward, an Amori-
cuii named Adams, a miner of some experience, began
■washing for gold on the Fraser. He g'athered a small
lia"' full of fine dust, which he exhibited, accordinijf to
!Mi' Finlayson, on Puget Sound and at other ])laces.
The news so attested went from mouth to mouth, and
spread rapidly tlirough Oregon and California." ^[r
Anderson states that the first intimatici.' the Hudson's
]]ay people had of the existence of gold in the interior
was in 1855, when Angus McDonn^d, dork in charge
at Colville, "wrote down to Fort \ ancouver that one
of his men, while employed hauling firewood, had al-
most undesignedly amused himself hy washing out a
pannikin of gravel on the beach near Colville." Par-
ticles of gold were found, which excited curiosity and
invited further search; parties went out to prospuct,
and at the north of Pend d'Oreille River near the
houndary, diggings were found which were moderately
remunerative. According to his account, it was in 1 857
that the existence of gold was ascertained near the
mouth of the Thompson, and it was the exaggerated
report of this discovery reaching California, he believes,
tliat caused the great rush of 1858.^*^ Douglas noticed
a later coinmnuication of McDonald's in a letter to
Labouchere of the colonial office, dated Victoria,
April 10, 1856, in which he states that according
to ^McDonald's report from the upper Caledonia
district in March 1856, gold had been found on
tlic upper Columbia in considerable quantities, the
daily earning of persons then employed in the dig-

^ Finlnyson's V. I. and Northwest Coast, MS., 56-GO.
liuro confused with McDonald's.

^'> Aiiderawi'a Hist. Northwest Coast, MS., 117-18.

Adams' doings are

8B0

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

h ir\

I 1 1

gings being from ten to forty dollars to the man.
James Cooper testified before the British parliamen-
tary committee investigating the affairs of the Hud-
son's Bay Company in 1857, touching the particulars of
the discovery, expressing the belief that it was highly
important, and that there would be a great rush into
the country. His language was prophetic, for it was but
twelve months later when from thirty to forty thou-
sand people came into British Columbia from the soutli.

Waddington affirms that some Canadians from Fort
Colville went over to the Thompson and Bonaparte,
and tlicnce to the Fraser above the Big Falls. They
prospected on their way, found gold almost every-
where, and concluded to tarry among the natives on
the Thompson in order to try their fortune at mining.
It was the report of the results obtained by these men
which induced others in the season of 1857-8 to em-
bark in mining; and results exceeding expectations,
the news was spread over Puget Sound and thence
carried to San Francisco. De Groot's version is that
in the summer and autumn of 1857 a number of per-
sons from Oregon and Washington territories, familiar
with the operations at the Colville mines, accom-
panied by a sprinkling of Canadians and half-breeds,
formerly in the Hudson's Bay Company's service at
Colville, made their way to the junction of the Thomp-
son with the Fraser. They found several rich bars in
that vicinity, and worked them with good success.
He also states that it was the news of their success
which caused the Fraser River excitement.

McDonald and Adams, two partners who were
engaged in mining on the Thompson and Fraser, in
1857-8 brought down some of the first gold from the
bars where the first profitable workings were carried
on. At the mouth of the Fraser, McDonald killed
Adams and secured his gold, which he carried to
Olympia, and there displayed it."

" Wothfliii/toi's Franc I' Mines, 5; Dp O root's B. €., 13, referring to Wiul-
diiigtou's second party. Douijhs, iu Coriiwaltis' iV. El Dorado, 351-4; Vooycr's

QUESTION OF OWNERSHIP.

861

The officers of the fur company at Victoria were
well informed at the same time of the mining opera-
tions that were going on in the valley of the Fraser,
and its tributary the Thompson, but not coming in
contact directly with the miners who emerged from
the mountains in the spring of 1858 with the evi-
dences of the auriferous wealth of the great river of
British Columbia, or for some other reason not ex-
plained, they did not realize fully the importance of
the facts, nor anticipate the effects that might be pro-
duced. Douglas, in a letter to Labouchere, dated
Victoria, December 29, 1857, speaks of the Coutcau
mines, so named after the natives of the Thompson
and Sliushwap countries, as having attracted atten-
tion. "The auriferous character of the country is be-
coming daily more extensively developed," he writes,
"through the exertions of the native Indian tribes,
^vllo, having tasted the sweets of gold-finding, are de-
voting much of their time and attention to that pur-
suit."

The product exported through the agency of the
Hudson's Bay Company, from October 6, 1857, to the
end of that year, and supposed by them to be all that
was carried out of the country, was three hundred
ounces. Douglas mentions the fact in the same con-
nection that the reported wealth of the Couteau coun-
try was causing much excitement in Washington
Territory and Oregon.^^ At Olympia, Ballou, Gar-
field, and Williams, as partners, were merchandising
during the winter oi 1857-8, and more or less gold
came to them from the Fraser. The specimens showed
them by McDonald particularly attracted their atten-
tion, and the attention of others. ]3allou (loul)ted
the report of the company's officials, that the gold was
mostly found by the natives, on the ground tliat more
would then have been realized. Deeming the discovery

Mnr. Matfciii, MS., 11; BnllotCs Aih\, MS., 3. Tlie alleged killing of Adams
rests wlioU)' on Ballou 's opinion.

'- Dougliw to Liibouchiire, in Coniwaltia' N. El Dorado, 347-54.

352

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

of sufficient importance to outweigh all other con-
siderations of trade, Ballou, accompanied by Jolm
Scranton, Governor McMullin, Secretary of the Ter-
ritory Mason, and several others, early in the sprin;^
went to Victoria to ascertain what the Hudson's Bay
people knew about the matter. They contirmed all
the reports. Instead of going to the gold-fields, Ballou
proceeded at once to San Francisco. Having under-
gone the excitements of the southern mines, and sub-
sequently of the northern mines of California as an
exi)ressman, he conceived the idea that whatever
might be the merit of the mines, there was certain
profit in the express business, and hence he forthwith
started Ballou's express from San Francisco to the
Fraser liiver mines/^

The state of knowledge of the mines, and the facts on
which the gold excitement was based, may be further
deduced from the official acts and tlie correspondeiieo
of Governor Douglas. Christmas week, 1857, at Fort
Victoria, had been enlivened by the sul)stantial com-
munications, accompanied with gold-du!st, that were
received from Chief Trader McLean at the post near-
est the forks of Thompson River, the results of the
washmgs by the Indians already referred to. On
the same day that he despatched the information to
the colonial office, December '20, 1857, Governor
Douglas issued a proclamation declaring that all the
gold in its natural place of deposit belonged to the
crown, referring in particular to the gold found within
the Couteau country, embraced by the Fraser and
Thompson districts. This proclamation " forbade all
persons to dig or disturb the soil in search of gold

'■' llillnii'.'i A<Ii'., MS., S. Billy Ballon, aa ho was callnd, was a wild wiiif,
ii l)ir ■ Ki'aiiiod ailvoiituriT of French dosoeiit, who since 184(i had lieun llo.it-
i g .ilxmt tho inouiitaiiiHaiid shurosof tiiu I'acilic. Bugiimiiig with tiie Mi'xi-
c ii war, lij passed Ihroujjh a pioiieor exj)uriuiice in California and the Smnul
coll ilry ln'foro going to British Colundjia. He was much hroken in henltli
will) I 1 too'; Ids dictation at Seattle in 1878, and died sliortly afterward. Mis
information was certaiidy as varied as that of any man I ever met, and iio
g ive it nie in good faith, yet while I have no reason to douht his word, be-
fore placing implicit coutidence iu an important statement, I should prefer to
see it vorilied.

SPOLIATION OF THE MAINLAND PARK,

353

)tlier con-
by John
f the l\i--
tlie spring
Ison's Bay
itirmt'd all
•Ids, Ballou
iug under-
!S, and sub-
irnia as an
b whatever
was certain
le forthwith
3VSCO to the

1(1, was a wiM f' <
fc4() haa lieeu ll.>:it-
luim with the NU'Xi-
luiaamlthoSou.u
I hroken ui hcaltli
llv afterward. Mis
i evermet, an.lho

flouht his w..r. , be-
T, I should prefer to

until authorized in that behalf by her majesty's colonial
government." Douglas acknowledged in his commu-
nication of December the 29th to Labouch^re, that
he had no authority to make such a proclamation
in regard to a country beyond the jurisdiction of his
government, but pleaded in excuse the fact that he
was invested with authority over the domain of the
Hudson's Bay Company, and that he was the only
1 eprcsentative of her Majesty within reach. A license
of ten shillings a month was demanded, in virtue of
which persons were permitted to mine under pre-
scribed limits and conditions.

On the 14th of January 1858, Governor Douglas
rc])ortcd further news from the mines to the colonial
office. " From the successful result of experiments
made in washing the gold from the sands of the tribu-
tary streams of Fraser Biver," says Douglas, " there
is reason to suppose that the gold region is extensive,
and I entertain sanguine hopes that future researches
will develop stores of wealth perhaps equal to the
gold-fields of California — the geological formations
observed in the Sierra Nevada of California being
similar in character to the structure of the corre-
sponding range of mountains in this latitude." On the
Gth of April he wrote to Labouch^re " that the search
for gold up to the last dates from the interior was
carried on almost exclusively by the native popula-
tion, who had discovered the productive mines, and
washed out almost all the gold, about eight hundred
ounces, thus far exported from the country; and that
they were extremely jealous of the whites digging for

" In addition to the diggings before known on
Thompson River and its tributary streams, a valuable
deposit has recently been found by the natives on the
bank of the Fraser River, about five miles beyond its
conriuenco with the Thompson; and gold in smaller
quantities has been found in possession of the natives
as far as the great falls of the Fraser, about eighty

Hut. Bbit. Ool. 33

t ^

854

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

miles above the forks." Seventy or eighty Ameri-
cans had gone to the mines without procuring licenses.
By a despatch dated April 19th the arrival of George
Simpson, bearer of despatches from Chief Trader !^Ic-
Lean, was announced, bringing news from the forks
of the Thompson, to April 4th, which was very flat-
tering, but not supported by a large return of gold-
dust. "Simpson reports," says Douglas, "that gold
is found in more or less abundance on every part of
the Fraser, from Yale to the forks, but I presume
those diggings cannot be very productive or there
would have been a larger return of gold."'

'14

And here begins the infection which spread with
such swift virulence in every direction. Though
Cooper considers it "almost imposible to trace the
origin of the gold excitement," it seems to me we have
it plainly enough before us. It is noised abroad that
gold abounds in British Columbia. Then men every-
where throughout the world begin to study tbccir
maps, to see where is situated the favored isle that
guards the auriferous Mainland. California is to be
outdone, as the rivers of British Columbia are larger
than those of California. The glories of Australia
shall pale before this new golden aurora horealis.^''
As in California the precious metal was most abun-
dant near the sources of the streams, and was thought
by some to have flowed in with the streams from t!io
north, so in the north, it is now expected, may be fouii!
the primitive source where the deposits were origi-
nally formed. And so the settlers on Vancouver Island,
on the Cowlitz, and on the Columbia, leave tlicii-
farms; then the servants of the monopoly fling olT
allegiance; the saw-mills round the Sound are soon
idle; and finally wave after wave of eager advent-
urers roll in from the south and east, from Oregon

^* Douglas' Official Correspondence, in Comwallis' N. Z/7 TJomrfo, 343-30'?.
*' Wculdinijtoti's Fraser Mines, 5; Anderson's IJist. Northwest Coast, MS.,
llG-17; Cooper's Mar. Matters, MS., 14.

PROGRESS OF THE FE\*ER.

355

Amcri-
licenses.
'George
,der !^Ic-
;lie f(3rks
rery flat-

of gold-
hat gold
•y part of

presume

or there

read with
Though
trace the
le we have
broad that
nen evcry-
.udy tl\cir
1 isle that
^ia is to be
arc larger
Australia

jiiost abuli-
as thought
is from the
^ybe fouu'l
were orii^i-
Lver Island,
ieavc their
hy fling off
]d are soon
•er adveut-
,m Oregon

^ado, 343-301,

oest Coast, sl^.,

and from California, from the islands and Australia,
from Canada and Europe, until the third great devil-
dance of the nations within the decade begins upon
the Fraser.

Ellwood Evans remarks that the newspapers of
Oregon and Washingtori Territory continued silent
in regard to the existence of gold in the Northwest
until March 1858, not believing that it would ever
be found in quantities sufficiently large to attract im-
migration in that direction. Gold, said they, had been
reported as found by the Northern Pacific Railroad
exploring parties in 1853. It was reported, and by
some surmised to exist, in large quantities on the bars
of the Upper Columbia, but the metal was not forth-
coming in quantity, and not really believed in. The
matter failed to excite the attention of the Hudson's
Bay Company till Angus McDonald reported the
Colville excitement to Governor Douglas March 1,
1856." On the 5th of March 1858, the Olympia.
Pioneer and Democrat, one of the first papers published
in Washington Territory, announced the rumors of
" Reported Gold Discoveries," brought from Victoria
by the schooner Wild Pigeon. March 12th the same
journal contained "Good News from the Gold Mines"
of Eraser River. March 26th it had an account of
"The Gold Regions of the North, Highly Favorable
Reports." April 9th there was " Further Encourag-
ing News." April 16th there was a spread of "Late
Rehable and Confirmatory Tidings." The San Fran-
cisco Herald, on the 20th of April 1858, recorded
that the excitement was fully equal in extent to that
which arose in the Atlantic States from the reports
of gold discoveries in California in 1849. At one leap
British Columb'.a had become the rival if not the peer
of California herself.

The Fraser River excitement began and was spread
from Puget Sound. Captain Prevost of H. M. S. Satel-
lite, stationed at Esquimalt, on the 7th of May 1858

^^ Evans' Fraser River Excitement, MS., 12-20.

336

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT

wrote to the admiralty office that the excitement was
much greater in Washington and Oregon than on Van-
couver Island, several hundred persons having at tliat
time gone to the Fraser River mines from Puget Sound,
where all the vessels were lying deserted by their
crews." These vessels were the ordinary means of com-
munication with San Francisco from that part of the
coast carrying 1 umber. Douglas' announcement in 1 8 5 G
had been received abroad with comparative disbelief.
Xo sooner was the fact of the existence of gold uj)oii
the Fraser in paying quantities established beyond a
doubt, tlian a logical effect worked itself out upon tlie
Californian mind. Action as prompt as the idea was
the result. An excitement arose tliroughout society,
which caused an unparalleled exodus. To the Cal-
ifornia miner the deduction followed naturally tliat
the history of California was to be reproduced. Tlie
foundation of the idea was clearly expressed by Douglas
in his despatch of January 14, 1858, the extension tu
the north-west of the same mountains and geological
formations, a fact well known in a general way from
the reports of the Oregonians and Canadians who Juul
been to the California mines. Only the additional
fact was net-'ded that the Fraser was another Sacra-
mento, to lead logically to the clearest demonstia-
tion that a s^rcat ij^old area was washed and sluiced
by the Fraser and its tributaries. Vague as were
the ideas touch inu' where or how the gold would be
found, whether in the Cascade canon or on the slopes
of the Rocky Mountains, there was needed no further
evidence than that to remove every doubt touchini];
the vast importance of this discovery. In the blind
hopeful way of the gold prospectors, it seems to luuo
been anticipated that the richness of the sands of the
Fraser would be found in some proportion to the size
of that river. Doubtless many who made this ven-
ture reasoned more accurately — that the discovery
was simply important in a degree proportionate to the

" Cormmllia' New El Dorado, 365-6.

H:!

EFFECT IN CALIFORNIA.

357

uicnt ^vas
n on Yan-
ng at that
ret Souiul,
' by their
HIS of com -
)art of the
jnt in 185G

disbelief,
gold ui»on

1 beyond a
it upon the
tic idea was
out society,
^o the Cal-
:urally that
Luced. The
, by Douglas
extension to
d geological
al way tVoiu
ms who ]uul
e additional

)ther Saera-
denionstra-

and sluict^d
;ruc as were
)ld would be
3n the slopes
)d no further
dbt touching
In the bliu^l
oems to have
sands of tlie
m to the size
Eide this ven-
,he discovery
tionatc to the

area of the new country to be opened by the mines,
and made accessible by the valley of the Fraser.
Untold auriferous wealth in connection with the great
commercial and agricultural region of British Colum-
biu with its European climate, though predestined for
discovery under the developments of time with the
necessary conditions thereto, justified these hopes
without rewarding the energy and enterprise of the
adventurers of 1858.

In California, the seaport of San Francisco was
almost in the gold-mines; the mines were near the sea,
with no intervening difficulties. A different kind of
test was in reserve for the mining industry in the
north, where the lofty sierra, and five hundred miles
of distance, and much geographical and geological
exploration had to be undergone, with trials and fail-
ures, before all the conditions of general prosperitv
to miners and traders could be fulfilled. Nor w^as it
all misfortune that was in store for those who vent-
ured blindly in search of profitable gold-deposits ; for
how could the knowledge be obtained without chance
to open the door, or action to seize the prize under
impossible conditions?

California was now rapidly losing population. Men
of all classes abandoned their occupations in the inte-
rior, and followed the crowd to San Francisco. Money
was borrowed at exorbitant rates of interest to be
advanced on goods for British Columbia. It was not
strange that the first fair opportunity would be seized
by the journals of San Francisco to stem the current
by giving to the northern regions under the guise of
the mistake of the IVascr mines, the worst possible
name. The whole of California in April 1858 was in a
ferment. Business in the interior was deranged, and in
many places broken up. Hundreds too impatient to
wait for the steamers mounted horses and hastened
overland, especially from the northern counties of
California, making the distance in eighteen days.
While towns in the interior were being deserted.

358

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

San Francisco derived the benefit of the influx and
of the outfitting of the miners, and the shippers re-
joiced at the prospects of the Fraser trade. Shrewd
store-keepers in the mountain counties hurried down
to estabhsh themselves in San Francisco.'^

During April and May, the rumors more or less
fabulous of gold discoveries in the north continued
to circulate throughout California, and Oregon and
Washington territories. Vessels left San Francisco
carrying three times the number allowed by law. Jolm
Nugent, special agent of the United States, estimated
that in May, June, and July, twenty-three thousand
persons went from San Francisco by sea, and about
eight thousand more overland — safely thirty thousand
or thirty-three thousand in all in the course of the
season ; and that out of these there returned before
January 1.859 all but three thousand.^" None were
too poor and none too rich to go. Young and old
and even the decrepit. Some out of restlessness or
curiosity; others for profit or prey. "In short," says
Lundin Brown, "never in the history of migrations
of men has there been seen such a rush, so sudden
and so vast."^"

I'] k

^^CornvyaUii' X. El Dorado, 11-18. Says the Nevada Journal of May 14,
1858, editorially: 'The spirit of '4i) is partially aroused, and quite a largo
number will probably leave the country in quest of adventure in tlio far
north .... Nine years experience has taught us never to be iu a hurry to
chase new and marvellous reports to their source. We have found it rarely
pays.' C C. Roberts, a correspondent of the Bulletin, from Grass Valley,
June 7, 1858, says: ' The Fraser excitement had the effect to augment the ditti-
cultie-i experienced by the quartz-mining interest, by drawing away a great
number of tlie underground hands, and l)y increasing the rate of wages, so
that many of the mills and mines had closed; and it Avould inevitably, if the
rise of wages continued, close the rest. '

^^Nwjenfs licpt., S-'dh Coinj., 2d Scss., II. Ejc. Doc, 3, p. 3.

^ Broinns Essay, 3, 4; Conimillis' N. El Dorado, 11-18. One of the best

I tainted pictures of the time was published in the Overland Monthly of Decem-
)er 18G9, hy Mr Wright. The worm-eaten wharves of Sau Francisco trembled
almost daily, he saiii, under the tread of the vast multitude that gathered to
see the northern steamer leave. The crowded stages landing the people from
the mining counties of California at Sacraniento and Stockton; the spirit of
speculation rampant at Victoria and Whatcom; the helpless and confused
mass of humanity swayed hither and thitlier by each conflicting report from
tlie gate of the Cascades in British Columbia; the towns of canvas at Victoria,
Whatcom, Lancley, Hope, and Yale; the upturned craft found among the
islands of the beautiful Haro archipelago, constituting the only record of

THE GRAND RUSH.

359

iflux and

ippers ro-

Shrowd

•ied down

re or less
continued
'egon and
Francisco
aw. Jolin
estimated

thousand
and about
■f thousand
irse of the
ned before
S'one were
ig and old
lessness or
hort," says
niigrations

so sudden

rnal of May 14,
d quite a large
turo ill the far
in a hurry to
found it rarely
_ Grass Valley,
igment the ditti-
ig aAvay a great
,te of wages, so
evitably, if tlie

)ne of the best
mthly of Decern-
ncisco trembled
hat gathered to
the people from
n; the spirit of
IS and confused
ing report from
jvas at "Victoria,
und among the
only record of

The first load of four hundred and fifty adventurers
left San Francisco on the steamer Commodore, on the
20th of April 1858. Between April 20th and June
9tli, twenty-five hundred miners, mostly from the in-
terior of California, had taken passage by steamer from
Stui Francisco; and it was estimated that five thou-
sand more were at the same time collected in Puget
Sound, on their way to the Fraser. Governor Doug-
las, in a letter to the head-quarters of the Hudson's
Bay Company in London, dated Victoria, April 27,
1858, speaks of the arrival of the Commodore on the
25th. The passengers were well provided with tools.
Said Douglas : " There seems to be no want of capital
or intelligence among them. About sixty were Brit-
ish subjects, sixty Americans, and the remainder Ger-
mans, French, and Italians.""^ On the 27th, the
Pacific Mail steamer Columbia landed eighty more
passengers at Fort Townsend, all bound, says Doug-
las, for the Couteau District.

The Fraser River excitement was encouraged by
tlie steamboat owners, who coined money as long as
it lasted. At first the crowds that came to Victoria
went from there to Whatcom, under the belief that
the great town of the north would spring up on the
Mainland. They brought plenty of money to invest
in land and other speculations, as much as two millions
of dollars being at one time deposited in Victoria.
The only safe in the country was owned by the Hud-
son's Bay Company, so that the money passed through
tlie hands of Mr Finlayson, the treasurer of the com-
pany. It was presented in sacks, which Finlayson

many too impatient for inaction, who had been swamped in the sudden storms
and trCfacherous tide-rips, reported by others who had wandered for weeks
aiiiiiiig tortuous passes, and at last returned to Victoria, not caring to venture
aiross the Georgian Gulf; tho toil against the rapid current of the Fraser
by tlie bolder and stronger, towing f'eir boats along tho sliore, climbing over
fallen trees, creeping under hanging bushes, and becoming from slieor neces-
sity almost amphibious; tho mosquitoes; tho riiHes and whirls of tho un-
known stream, which carried them liack half a day's journey, when they were
obliged to cross — all these matters and more are told as they can be told only
by one who liad seen.

'^Dowjlas, in Comtoallis' N. El Donulo, 3G1.

3G0

THE (JREAT GOLD l-IXCITEMENT.

li[

refused to receive unless they were sealed with tlie
names of the owners, as it was impracticable to count
the money. When any one wanted money, he would
take out his bag, get what he needed, and return it.
Not an instance ever occurred of complaint, says Fin-
layson with pride, of supposed loss.'"^- To the staid
and plodding officers of the Hudson's Bay Company,
the advent of the thirty thousand "half-wild Califor-
nians," distributing themselves broadcast over their
j>ossessions, caused a degree of uneasiness of mind
amountinsf to a commotion. "The rouijii-and-tumblo
rascals," said McDonald, " had not come for nothing;"
and their notions of meuin and tuum did not appear
to them to be very well defined.

This army of gold-seekers that besieged Fort A^ic-
toria threatened the suj)remacy of the crown as W( 11
as the stability of the territorial claims of the Hud-
son's Bay Company on the Pacific Coast. The miners,
three thousand of whom arrived at Victoria in one
day, encamped in tents around tlie fort. In rt>gard to
the general orderly character of the pilgrims, there is
cumulative testimony from all sides, notwithstanding
the fact tliat the jealousy and the unreasonable exac-
tions of the Hudson's Bay Company, practically in
charge of the government, met the strongest opposi-
tion, and called forth the unqualified animadversions
of the miners. In order to quiet the difficulties thus
arisinjTf, and to remove the restrictions au'ainst the ini-
migration of Americans, John Nugent was finally sent
to the country as commissioner and consular agent
by the United States.-^ The stringency of the laws

■'■' FhilaiMon'.-i V.I.andX. IF. 6'on.s<, M.S. , 5C-G0.

^■'California iimst liavo been pretty nearly emptied of loafers and ganil tiers
during the Fraser Kivcr excitement. ' Sniithers ' was depicted as one of tlio
typical cliaraeter.s of the time by a sketch in the Morniixj Call. Ho liad come to
California at an early period, and had wonderous tales to tell of '49 and ""lO,
and of the times wlien he was a millionaire; but 'the great conflagratiou of
1851 had done the business for him completely,' and ho could no longer get
trusted in San Francisco for a drink. A large number of the gamblers that
came to Victoria did not like the appearance of things on Vancouver Island,
and crossing over, established themselves at Whatcom. When that town came
to naught in consequence of the successful navigation of the Fraser by steam-
ers to Yale, they removed in a body to the latter place.

ARRIVAL OP VESSELS.

witli the
to count
he would
return it.
says Fiii-
the staid
I!ompany,
d Cahfor-
)vcr their
; of mind
nd-tuiidilo
nothing ;"
lot appear

Fort A'ic-
^'11 as W( 11
the I[u(l-
'he muK'i'!^,
iria in one
1 regard to
s, there is
istanding"
able exae-
ictically in
est opposi-
ladversions
ulties thus
st the iui-
finally sent
ular agent
• the laws

rs and gaml>ler3

id as one of the

Ho had coiuc to

of '49 and 'M,

conflagratio" of

no longer get

J, gamblers that

ncouver Ishuul,

that town eame

raser by steam-

united with the general good sense of the miners had
the effect to deter the many doubtful cliaracters —
gamblers, thieves, and swindlers — that Hocked into
the country in the hope of obtaining rich spoils from
the industrious and unsuspicious, and force them to
(juit the field. Perhaps the scanty product of the
F raser River bars, in comparison with those of tlie
American, the Yuba, and Feather rivers, had some-
tliing to do with their graceful yielding to the stern
authority of Mr Justice Begbie.

Nearly all the Californian emigration was landed
at Victoria, in consequence of Governor Douglas re-
fusing to grant permits and mining licenses elsewhere.
A large quantity of shipping, both sail and steam,
enlivened the aboriginal quiet of A'ictoria and Es(|ui-
Hialt harbors. From the middle of Ajtril 1858 for
several months, while the excitement was dailv in-
creasing, not oidy at Victoria but in San Francisco,
the lialcyo!! days of '41) appeared to have come again,
and fresli dreams of wealth floated through the minds
of multitudes. In the fortnight between the 5th and
•JOth of June, there arrived at Victoria from San
Fi'ancisco the ships Gcorfjina, a new craft under an old
name, and tV MlUiam Berry, the barks (iold Hunter,
Adelaide, Lire Yankee, and }[adonna, the schooners
(iiidietta, Kosfiufh, and Osprej/, and the sl(X)p Cnrleir.
Besides these, the steamers Republic, Commodore, Pan-
ama, Cortes, and Santa Cruz landed i)assengers and
freiolit durino- the same fortnight, makinsj in all a
contribution of about six thousand souls within the
period named.

The return of the steamers to San Francisco was
awaited by crowds impatient for news. The Panama
and Pacific had returned to San Francisco on the
oth and 8th of June, from which time there was no
fresh intelligence from the mines until the 19th, M'hen
the Republic returned, several days earlier than was
expected, amidst intense excitement along the water-
front and at the hotels. When on the 2 2d, 23d, and

3C2

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENl.

'km

24th of Juno the steamers Repuhlic, Oregov, and Com-
modore sailed respectively, there were twenty otlier
sailing vessels lying at the wharves announced for
immediate despatch. Some of the smaller sailinir
vessels went to Fort Langley, stopping at Victoriji
only long cncmgh to get the necessary permits. First-
class passage l)y steamer was sixty-fixe dollars; steer-
age passage thirty-five dollars; by sailing craft tlio
rates were from twenty-five to sixty dollars. To tliu
20th of June Cornwallis estimated that fourteen
thousand eight hundred persons had embarked at San
Francisco by steam and sail."* All that the adven-
turers desired was to be landed as near as possible to
the mining region on the Fraser, but the considera-
tions which governed the shippers modified the gen-
eral desire.

Fort Victoria was the head-quarters of the Hudson's
Buy Company, of the government of the country. Situ-
ated on Vancouver Island, with sixty miles of inland sea
to be traversed to the mouth of the Fraser, ana eighty
miles to Fort Langley, the entire immigration would
have souuht the Mainland for a landinjjf. An Anieri-
can port would have been preferred, other things being
equal. As opposed to Victoria, Port Townsend was
first chosen by the representatives of the Pacific Mail
Company ; but that was not satisfactory to the miners,
who found themselves left unnecessarily remote from
their destination. Then Whatcom was made the
objective point, being conveniently situated for a land
route to the diggings. Dense forest, however, ol)-
structed the way, and a trail had to be cut, requiring
botl time and money. The Fraser itself was inac-
cess ble, it was thought, for ocean -vessels; or what
wa^ quivalent, tlie owners of vessels did not choose
to i ur the risk of going np to Langley. Above
Lant -.^j it was not expected that river steamers
coulu go far enough to be an object to the miners.

'"A. lerson'a Northwest Coast, MS., 277; Cornwallis' New El Dorado,
141-51

WHATCOM ANJJ VICTORIA.

363

ieii) El Dorado,

TIk' general inquiry was for canoes from the most
convenient port. Under tlie specious cover of Ameri-
can patriotism, Whatcom obtained tlio ascendency ;
Victoria being only called at to jjrocurc the official
documents prescribed by Governor Douglas to admit
the miners to the freedom of the country, which sanc-
tion it was charged was granted only at Victoria for
till' purpose of l)ringing business. But it is doul)tful
wliether Victoria would have gained the ascendency
so soon, but for another circumstance more potent
than the government regulations. It was found that
tlie Fraser could be navigated all the way to the dig-
gings, so that the trail from Bellingham ]^ay, which
\viis cut in order to avoid the navigation and landing
fiom shipboard in British territory, was at once dis-
carded.

Steamers now began to run directly from Victoria
to tlio mines, leaving Whatcom aside. So long as the
miners were dependent entirely upon canoes, What-
com had continued to hold its own under the prospect
of the speedy opening of the pack-trail and i)roposed
wagon-road. ]^ut the trail was not opened s<K)n
ciiougli; much lews the wagon-ro.ad through the canon
of the Fraser, which alone could have presented
claims in competition with the lower Fraser and gulf
of 'jcorgia navigation. The mud-flats of Whatcom
being objectionable, also, the annex called Sehome
soon took the place of Whatcom, and the buildings
of the town became tenantless witli the departure of
the loose population to Yale. Some of the longheads,
as they were called, then went to Semiahmoo, and
two paper tow^is were laid out on oj)posite sitles of
the bay; but the Fraser travel could not be beguiled
over land to Semiahmoo merely because tlie distance
"Was short. Whatcom was early in the field as a pro-
sj)ective town, as the earliest mining below the Fraser
canon was carried on by people from Puget Sound,
wlio went to the mines and sent out their gold by
way of Whatcom. In March or the beginning of

864

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

April 1858, while the Fraser River was at its lowest
stage, parties of Canadians and others from Puoot
Sound had managed to get up the river, and wero
working some of the richer bars below Fort Yale.
Some of these even continued their operations beyond
the forks of the Thompson. They made their way
alongf the shores of Pu^ijet Sound in canoes. The cur-
rent to the mines from Puget Sound did not follow
tlic route by way of Vancouver Island until business
of every sort was running in a well-established groove
to Victoria.

The first body of miners that struck out from Vic-
toria in April crossed the gulf in skiffs, whale-
boats, and canoes. Numbers of these were believed
to have perished, as the craft employed were mostly
makeshifts constructed by the miners themselves.
At that time all American steamers were jealously
excluded from the Fraser. Inadequate steamer com-
munication was carried on by the Hudson's ]i'iy
Company. At length, Douglas, on the payment of a
royalty for every trip, permitted American steamers ti >
enter the river; and the Sea Bird, Surprise, UmafiIJa,
Maria, Jvnfcrprise, and others began rumiing, usually
from Victoria to Langley and Hope. Their use, by
the inHowhig and outgoing miners, proved the death-
blow to Whatcom. However, even after the steam-
ers afi'orded abundant facilities, many of the miners,
finding the twenty-dollar fare too high, continued t()
make thvAV own boats at Victoria, and to navigate
them to Yale. In July, nearly all the miners had
left; the majority, so far, in boats built l)y themselves.
One authority states that hundreds of them were
never heard from after leaving Victoria, and were
supposed to have been drowned in the tide-rips, or in
crossing the water."'' If they escaped the dangers of
the uulf, or the currents and counter-currents of the

2' Waiblinijlnx's Fni.'irr JH/z^w, 5-10; TarhrlVs !>., MS., 2; yu;init\i f.'n't.
Kv. Doc. r.ii, ikUk Coiiij., L.'(/ Si'M., 2; Fiiildi/nou',''' ]'. I. mid N. W. C'onxf., M'"' ,
r>G-(iO. Nugent say.s 'tlio fn-iiiht per ton from Victoria to Hope, 100 milis,
was ^0, and from Hope to Yule, 20 miles, §20.' Xiiijetd's Jiept., 4.

ROAD -BUILDING.

Haro archipelago, it was only to encounter the swift
current of the Fraser, with its occasional sedgy bor-
ders, and its whirls and rapids between Hope and
Yale. Thus, over many a manly heart so lately filled
with hope, rolled the waters of oblivion. By mid-
summer, the miners had crowded all the bars of the
Fraser as far up as the Thompson. They climbed
back and forth over the cliflfs above Yale, carrying
tlicir own supplies upon their backs. At length a
petty Indian war broke out, which drove thom all
down to Yale.^° The absorbing topic of the time was
the solution of a problem calling for all the energies
that were developed by the stirring days of the ex-
citement — how to transport supplies to the front.

It soon became obvious that it was necessary to
have this done in the cheapest and most expedi-
tious manner. Some returning miners were guided
by Indians, from Lilloet through Harrison Lake and
river, and over the Douglas portages, where a pack-
road leading into the interior could be constructed at
a comparatively moderate cost."'' In order to open a
trail along this route Douglas hit upoii the following
expedient: There were five hundred miners at Vic-
toria on their way to the mines. It was proposed
that in consideration of a deposit of twenty-five dol-
lars by each person accepting the terms, and an agree-
ment to work upon the trail until it was finished, the
Hudson's Bay Company should transport them to the
point of commencement on Harrison River, feed them,
and at the conclusion of the work furnish them there
with supplies at Victoria prices, or return the money
if dcs'-^ed. The length of trail to be opened, includ-
ing the lakes, was seventy miles. No difficulty was
experienced in getting the miners to accede to this
proposition. The money was paid in, and the work

•^ 21allap.latneU Mrat Victoria Directory, 14; Waddington' a Fraser Mines,
22-4.

"'Spence in Vowell'a B. 0. Mines, MS., 27, asserts that it was tho first
route utilized for the transportation of freight by animals. Early doings of
course are now ignored.

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

tij!

executed under the arrangement. It was really a very-
pretty by-play between credit, cooperation, and labor.
When the work was done, though they had given the
company the use of twelve thousand five hundred dol-
lars, and their labor, they all received their money back,
tlieir passage being a sufficient reward for their labor,
while the company was left with a valuable piece of
toll-road, worth much more than the transportation
and provisions had cost them. Those who became
tired of the bargain before the trail was completed
disposed of their scrip to others for what they could
get, and wont their way rejoicing. Disagreements
arose at the end in regard to the delivery of the sup-
plies promised in lieu of the money deposits, the miners
claiminjjc that the freiiifht should be delivered at the
upper end of the seventy miles, while the company
claimed the agreement required of them only to do-
liver it at tlie lower end. This point was compromised
satisfactorily to both parties by delivering it in the
middle. Beans at the time were worth one and a half
cents a pound at Victoria, five cents at Port Douglas,
the lower end of the trail, and one dollar a pound at
the upper end.

Nearly all the provisions on the Fraser above the
canon in the sunnner of 1858, with the exception v)f
the little packed on the backs of the miners and
Indians, was brought there from the upper Columbia
bv the half-breed traders of the Colville countrv.
Between the gulf of Georgia and the interior pla-
teau there were only trails, and in their competition
for ])0})ular favor the partisans of each declared the
other iuq)raeticable.''^~* That from Whatcom striking
the Fraser at Smess, twenty-five miles above ]jang-
ley, was subsequently used for local travel from Puget
Sound. The movements from Oregon to the Fraser
mines went east of the Cascade Mountains, striking
the Fraser near the mouth of Thompson Kiver.
Though an effort was made in IMinnesota, where the

'•<* OverluHtl J'l-om Minnoiotd to Frtmr liinr, 45-7.

FROM THE UNITED STATES.

367

Frascr excitement was also felt, to inaugurate travel
by way of St Paul and the Saskatchewan River,
none but trappers and explorers of the hardier sort
ventured the route till a later date, the current from
the Atlantic States flowing through the established
channels to Oregon and California. Two notable in-
land expeditions from Oregon may be cited as ex-
amples of numerous others. Owing to the dangers
iVoni hostile Indians it was necessary to organize and
to travel in force.

David McLaughlin's company made their rendez-
vous at Walla Walla early in July 1858. In ten or
twelve da3^s one hundred and sixty men were gath-
ered, all well armed with revolvers, ninety rifles and
twenty-five other heavy arms being in the party.
They had about three hundred and fifty horses and
mules. Before starting, Mr Wolfe, a trader from C V)l-
villc, arrived at Walla Walla and informed them of
the hostile attitude of the natives along the pro-
posed route, advising a thorough military organiza-
tion. Four divisions were accordingly formed and
placed .under the command of James McLaughlin,
llambright, Wilson, and another. The Walla Wallas,
Palouscs, Okanagans, and other tribes were hostile.
The party passed through the Grand Coulee to Okan-
agan. On their way over the Columbia plains a
German who lagged behind was seized by the sav-
ages and killed. Two or three days' travel after
crossing the Columbia near the boundary line on the
cast side of Okanagan River, the whole party was
attacked by the Indians in force, posted on a hill be-
hind rude fortifications on each side of the road where
they had to pass through a canon. McLaughlin dis-
covered an Indian's head peering over a rock before
tlie filing began. The men took promptly to their
work and fought till night. None of the animals
stampeded, but were retired in good order with the
trains to the plateau below. While the riflemen con-
tinued after night- fall in possession of the ground

I .

I >

3C8

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

facing the Indians, a detachment prepared rafts to
cross the river, the intention being to Hank the do-
fences and formidable fastnesses which the Indians
had evidently prepared for then).

Hurley, Evans, and Rice, all three Californians,
were killed, and seven others were wounded, but re-
covered. In the night the Indians set fire to tlio
grass, and the gold-hunters set counter-fires without
either of them succeeding in burning the other out.
Next morning the white men proceeded to bury tlicir
dead, and discovered that the Indians liad abandoned
their stronofhold. It had about a hundred breast-
works, each made to shelter one Indian, and wns
occupied at the time of the attack by eighty savages.
Two or three days after, the party was again attacked
on the west side of the Okanagan lliver. A hun-
dred mounted warriors rode down upon them, trying
to separate the company from their animals; tlieir
I urpose was anticipated, and prevented. After some
further trouble and parley, they made a peace with
the hostile tribe, the Okanagans, and the gold-hunters
continued tlieir march without delay. Xotwithstand-
ing the peace assented to, immediately afterward sixty
head of Wolfe's cattle were stolen by the Indians,
and a detachment of McLoughlin's men surprised
two of them engaged in jerking the beef from tlie
slaughtered cattle. They were taken along as prison-
ers, but at this juncture Chief Trader MclJonakl
from Fort Colville came up with a train bound for
Hoi)e, and at his request tlie Indians were discharged.
The same Indians afterward robbed a Spanish paelver
who had been left in the rear attending to his animals,
and the savages with hostile and thieving intent
continued to follow them to a point within three days'
march of Thompson River. They came upon tliat
stream twelve miles above its mouth.

Joel Palmer and thirty-five others, among them
P. H. Lewis, went to the Fraser mines from Port-
land with wagons, also following the inside or plateau

INTERIOR TRAFFIC.

route. The company encamped at the Dalles, and
departed thence in July, driving their own teams all
the way through to the Thompson. There were
nine teams, each consisting of three or four yoke of
oxen, the majority of them belonging to Palmer.
Four 'boys' from Yreka, California, were the coop-
erative owners of one of the teams. Provisions c(mi-
stituted the cargo, three thousand pounds to the
wagon. The route was by way of Wallula and Okan-
agan to Kamloop.

Steamer loads came from California to Portland
ajid fitted out at that place for tlie inside route. Com-
panies of four hundred and five hundred men accom-
panied by pack-trains, moving more rapidly than was
possible for the wagons without a road, overtook and
passed Palmer's train on the way.^ The latter, under
Palmer's experienced generalship, found occasion to
make use of all the arts of travel in the form of the
organized semi-military expeditions developed in the
Oregon emigrations of 1842-8. At the point of rocks
twelve miles above Priest Rapids, the country was
found impracticable for three quarters of a mile on
the east side of the river. Wagons and frciafht were
accordingly conveyed around this in canoes. At
Okanagan the Columbia was crossed in the same man-
ner, the cattle swimming. Two canoes were lashed
alongside and placed endwise to the bank ; the wagons
were then rolled or lifted into them empty, and the
freight was stowed in the bottom or in the wagon-
beds, as was most convenient. Three wagons and
tlieir contents were taken ovjr at one time in safety
by four men, one each occupying the bow and stern in
both canoes.*'

When the expedition reached Okanagan Lake it was

'^^ McLnughlin'a Ex., in Oregon StiUemuui, Sept. 28, 1858; Lewi-t' Co>il Din-
corcries, MS., 13-15.

^^ Palmer, in Oregon Statemnan, Feb. 14, 18G0. Palmer wrote a four-column
article giving the results of hia expeditions of 1858 and 1859, and making out
tli.it in carrying freight to the mines the route could compete with the roada
iiieu oKisting along Ifrusor aud Ilarriaou rivers.
MlsT. Brit. Col. 24

Mm f

THE (JKEAT (lOLD EXCITEMENT.

found necessary to build rafts in order to pass sonio
difficult forest-covered country, cut up by ravines.
Wa<jfons and frtiijj^ht were taken upon several lar<.,fc
rafts, j)oled and towed aloni^ shore with ropes, while
the cattle wore drivpn, und(>r the direction of ex-
])lorors, to a point where tho country was more open.
J*alnier had a party of men In advance all the way,
explorini^ and makinij^ a road, or cutting- timl)er as fjir
north, on his second trip in 1851), as Alexan(hia, and
later to Lightninj^ Creek, wlu-n^ he t!stablished a
tradini^-post and sold out his oxen for beef*'

•31

Douglas' frequent conununications to the colonial
office, touchiuLj the _u,old discoveries in British terri-
tory, Itift the oDvernment juepared for action as soon
as the news of the break inii»-out of the Fraser excite-
ment and the exodus to the north had reached
England. On the Hth of July, Sir C. R Lytton,
secretary of state for the colonies, brought the matter
before the house of connnons in i'.n form of a bill lor
the efovernment of 'Nt^w C^aU'donia.' Lord Lvtton
in pri'sentino- this bill did justice to the subject in an
able si>eech, pointinof uut the imj)ortance of the new
liff)ld-tields as a part of the British possessions in
North America, and of the empire in its future com-
mercial relations on the J*aciric.''" One of the earliest
communications of Douola^- had raised the question
of takine^ advant;i_o-e o\' the o()lil exciti>ment for revi--
nue. Before tlu; Fraser excitement had fairly betiun,
in Di'cimd)er 1857, he had prescribid a monthly tax
of ten shillinj»s upon every miner, afterward incnvis-
ini»- the amount to Hve dollars, thouoh the country was
not under his jurisdiction as jn'overnor of the colony
of V^ancouver Island, and the Hudson's l^ay Company
had no rights in tlu; territory, beyond their lict'iise
to trade. If the motive and the exceedini^ of his
authority as the nearest representative of the crown

" Palmer* Waqon Traim, MS. , n.'t.
«CV«HJa//«V .Vfw AV Z>om</o, 11-18.

DISCOVERY OF OOLD.

371

were not approved or deisiiied a sufficient excuse in
the premises, lie wrote to Laboucliere in the colonial
tlc'[)artinent, it would l)c easy tor ]>)uglas on receivin<:;
tlie colonial secretary's reply to jH^rinit the iniiH'is'
license to hecoine a dead letter. But as the license
iuid other similar acts in regard to the Mainlan<l wen?
ul'terward continued in force, it would appear that the
tcmjioiary assumption of authority by Douglas wjis
o\ (U'looktid, if not approved.

Additional exactions of the same kind were im-
posed upon the iidlowing masst:s before the erection
of the jVIainland region into a colony. J^esidi^s tlie
six and twelve dollars 'sutferance' for every open and
decked boat or canoe; that enteretl the mouth of Fraser
Ivivc!!', collected by the gun-boat Safclllfc, tin; treasurer
of the Hudson's ]iay Com[>any, Finhiyson, who ofli-
ciated at the same time; as customs officer and treasurer
of the colony of Vancouvi'r Jsland, exacted a ten per
c(!nt ad valornii tax ujion the supplies of the miniTs,
coiiipiising goods of every kind that went to the
mi lies.'"

Where domination was so autocratic and so reti-
cint as that exmcised by the fur-traders under the
l)(»uglas n'fjunc, the purest motives were not always
;isciil)C!d to the Hudson's Hay ('om|)any for theii' acts.
Hy th(! miners it was thought that the company was
averse to their taking [)ossi'ssioii of the territory; that
they preferred to hav(! the natives Hnd the gold aixl
hiiiig it to them with their furs, receiving therefor
IH'oods at exorbitant prici's.

lOhvood Evans and John Xugcnit both appear t<>
liiive had the idea that the; Hudson's Jiay Com-
Jiiuiy officials knew of the (existence of the gold in
till' valley of the Fraser for several years before the
Fiaser excitement; that they must have had sonu;-
thiiig to do with creating and <'xciting the rush, but
that thvy judiciously held back till a certain time,
uiid then unscrupulously fostered the excitement to

■"Finl<iy:ton.i r. r. >indB.C.,UH.,r)ii-(iO.

yMyHHIII

372

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT

V 1

the utmost.^* But it is not difficult to interpret
the motives that governed their action under the
progress of developments, without indorsing these
clashing opinions, or attributing to them unworthy
motives. Douglas had reason to fear the American
invasion, for he had seen Oregon pass out of the pos-
session of the company and of the crown by a similar
peaceful invasion.

That the company preferred, were it possible, to
hold the Mainland with its furs and gold exclusive,
there can be no doubt; that they resorted to dishonor-
able measures when they saw the inevitable upon
them is not true. Like any other bloodless and mer-
cenary association, when they saw their fur -field
despoiled by invaders whose presence they were
powerless to oppose, they turned to the best account
they were able their facilities for transportation and
trade, which was unquestionably their privilege. As
I have before observed, I can but regard the oflBccrs
and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company upon the
Pacific Coast, in points of integrity and humanity, as
far above the average corporation monopolist.

In California it implied not merely the loss of popu
lation and revenue, but of business and of commercial
supremacy. At first the reports were considered
doubtful, and only a few of the most venturesome
went to investigate for themselves; and when they
were confirmed, sceptical writers still cited Gold
Lake, Gold Bluflf, Kern River, and all the other
total or partial delusions of their day. When the
news was received in a reliable form, and from persons
well known in California, all agreeing that there Avas
really much gold in the sands of the Fraser, and that
it existed in extremely fine particles, though accom-
panied by the warning that the high-water season

^* Evans' Fraser River ExcHement, MS., and Nugent's Rept. Ex. Doc. cxL,
S5th Cong,, 2d Sess,, both attribute a great deal to the manipulation of tli<
company.

THE ORTHODOX THEORY.

373

was just commencing, which would render the bars
of the rivers, the only good ground so far known in-
accessible for several months, every old miner in Cali-
fornia undei.:}tood the significance of the fact. The
theory so well understood in every gold-mining
country in the world, of fine gold necessarily coming
from a coarse-gold region, furnished the plain, unvar-
nished, and all-sufficient cause for the unparalleled
st impede. Adolph Sutro at the time called attention
to the fact that the information received from Frasor
River alone did not suffice to produce the extraor-
dinary result; but that the miners had learned to
place implicit confidence in the theory of fine gold,
the fineness corresponding with the distance travelled,
and that the bars of the Fraser were understood by
thoni to be nothing else tlian the farthest tailings of
a sluice, where only sucli particles were found as were
minute enough to be carried away by the waters. It
was concluded by many of the most intelligent miners
and prospectors of California, that there must be an
extensive gold-mining district in British Columbia,
perhaps hundreds of miles above the bars yielding
the fine gold.'^^

I have already shown that to test this theory was
not a matter of years, but the season rendered it im-
possible at this time.

For some time past attention had been directed to
the Fuca Strait by geographers, but more particularly
to Puget Sound, by that portion of the Oregon en i-

^•' SiUro's Rerkno qf Fraxer River ami the Oold ProxpeclH cf New Caledonia,
ill S. F. liulletin, Aug. 27, 18r)8. Fiiuliiig the water high over the bars, tho
iiiiiiera hatl pressed on to Yalo and eiicoimtored otlier insurinouiitahio ohsta-
des, the great Fraser a foaming torrent heniiiied in by perpendicular rocks on
t'itlier side. Tlio timid turned hack and denounced tho tlieory as fiction.
Otiiers waited through dreary months; but a daring few, with a fortnight's or
a mouths provisions strapped on their l)acks, climbed the rocks anil slopes of
the Fraser cailon seventy miles fartlier to La Fontaine, where they found
good diggings, but only to prospect them before they were obliged to hurry
l)ack to avoid starvation. 'Fraser River,' says Sutro, 'has been put down aa
a humbug by tho majority of the California people, and why ? Have tliey
carried out their original intention to explore the country above ? No, they
liavo not.' Compare Wri'iht's Cariboo, iu Overland Monthly, Dec. 1809, 524,
for information of this motive.

874

THE GREAT GOLD EXCITEMENT.

gration which was imbued with commercial traditions
or influenced by nautical antecedents. Under the act
which initiated the Pacific Railway explorations by
the engineer corps of the army between 1853 and
185G, Governor Stephens of Washington Territory
led one of the best executed series of explorations
over the line of the proposed Northern Pacific Rail-
way, terminating on Puget Sound. Notwithstanding
the existence of gold in California, it was believed
by many that Puget Sound was to be the terminus
of the great future trunk railway of the northern
states.^

The immediate effect of the gold excitement was to
lay the foundations for the Canadian Pacific and North-
ern Pacific railways as commercial enterprises, eacli
of which had, however, to await the more permanent
kinds of mining development before the superstructure
could be properly carried forward. Evidently the
final great value of the discovery of the new gold-
fields in British Columbia to the colony, to the Do-
minion of Canada, and to the Empire of Great Britain,
consisted mainly in the crowds of adventurers that
were attracted into the country, from whose energetic
proceedings permanent developments were to follow
in many ways.

Communications for trafl^ic and general intercourse
thus sprang forward at a bound, and the country was

'" In the midst of the Fraser excitement, California newspapers quoted
Lieutenant Maury's opinion on the subject. The great telegraphic plateuti
on wliich the Atlantic cable was laid was reported by Maury to extend around
the world, the Minnesota divide between the gulf and Arctic waters forming
a portion of it. Tlie whole country between Lake Superior and Puget Sound
was claimed to be loss barren and less rugged than the country south, and
coal as well as timber was known to exist in abundance on Puget Sound.
Maury sliowed that the course of a ship from China to San Francisco, ' until
she gains the offings of the straits of Fuca, would be the same as though she
■were bound into Puget Sound or the Columbia River, ' and that the nearest
way from China, Japan, and the Amoor to the Mississippi Valley was by way
of Puget Sound. Attention was also directed by Maury to the isotherms, and
wind and ocean currents of the north-western Pacific coast. See Neviula
Journal, June 11, 18.58, and Letter to President of St Paul Chamber of Com-
merce, Jan. 4, 1859, in Eawliim' Confederation, N. A. Promncea, 217.

POSSIBILITIES.

375

transformed as by magic from staid savagery to pan-
demonium. Agriculture, and shipping to carry away
thu products of the soil iu exchange for the many
returns of commerce, became a possibility for the
great Northwest, and in virtue thereof Vancouver
Island, commanding the north Pacific coast, was dis-
tinctly outlined as the England of the Pacific. So
far as could be seen into the immediate future, it
then appeared superficially that only gold and silver
were wealth. What varied experiences or revolutions
this country would have to undergo before its wealth
in the precious metals should be fairly realized, or its
metals become precious in fact by the fulfilment of
their special and only precious function, the setting
in motion of human industries, were at that time as
undefined as the shadow of the moon.

:i 1

i i

CHAPTER XXI.

DEATH OF THE MONOPOLY— THE COLONY OP BRITISH
COLUMBIA ESTABLISHED.

1837-1858.

Shall the Chartef be Renewed? — Discussiox op the QrE.STioN in Pai:-

LIAMENT — REFEItRED TO A SELECT CoMMirrEE — WlIO Tui.NK THE C'lIAU-
TEIi SHOULD NOT BE RENEWED — GoLD AS A REVOLUTIONIST — DoUOI.A.S

Stands by for England — Late Fur-factors— Duo ald MoTavisii—
William Charles — The Hudson's Bay Company's License uv
Exclusive Trade with the Natives of the Mainland Revoked—
Reitrchase of the Island of Vancouver by the Imperial Gov-
ernment — Change of Company Organization — Canada Purchases
Rupeut Land and the Northwest Territory — Liberal and Hu-
mane I'oLicY OF the Company in Regard to Gold-seekers and
Speculators

Nations die ; worlds grow old and perish ; and so,
thank God, sooner or later must every monopoly. Xot
that the honorable Hudson's Bay Company now
foils, becomes defunct, or otherwise disappears. It
is only that branch of the association which might
well be labelled tyranny and despotism that is now
doomed. The adventurers of England trading into
Hudson's Bay, trading on and between three oceans,
holding as a hunting-ground for wellnigh two cen-
turies an area equal to all Europe, must now step
down from the royal pedestal on which they were
placed by Rupert and Charles, and become as any
other adventurcife trading in any other region. In a
word, the company's exclusive license to trade, now
expiring, is not to be renewed; the country between
the Rocky Mountains and the sea is to be thrown
open to settlers, and the Mainland is to be colonized

(376)

THE EXPmmO CHARTER.

and have spread over it the mother-wing even as hith-
erto it has Deen extended over the Island.

Wo have seen how in 1821, when after a rivalry
which well nigh consummated the ruin of both, the
Northwest and Hudson's Bay companies united their
interests, parliament granted the new association the
exclusive right to trade for furs in the region west of
Rupert Land for twenty-one years, and how in 1838,
four years before their term had expired, their license
was renewed for another twenty-one years, which lat-
ter term would expire in 1859.

Three or four years before the expiration of the
trade license under which they held control of the
Mainland, the Hudson's Bay Company began manoeu-
vring for continuance of power, and during the winter
of 1856-7 the directors flatly asked the government
for a renewal of their license. If they were to retire,
tlicy should know it; and if the imperial government
was to take charge of affairs, they should have time in
which to prepare for it. The claims of the company
were then laid before the ministers, who referred the
matter to parliament.

On the 5th of February 1857, Mr Labouch^re asked
in the house of commons for the appointment of a
select committee to consider the state of those British
North American possessions which were under the
administration of the Hudson's Bay Company, or over
which they held license to trade.

Labouchere said that although the extensive re-
gions referred to were for the most part adapted only
to fishing and fur-raising, yet, besides containing great
mineral wealth, there were large districts fit for agri-
culture, and for the support of industrial populations.
Imperial policy, justice, and humanity alike prompted
government action. Although by reason of long
occupation under royal charter, their ciaim to Rupert
Land might be deemed valid, it was not so witli regard
to the region west of the Rocky Mountains, their
"l^^enure to that district being the result of a royal

ilti \ •!

378

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

It!

l| i M :

license givin*; them exclusive trade with the natives,
and this license would now soon expire. So far as he
knew, the coni})any had performed its obligations t(j
the government, and throughout their whole domain
the twelve hundred servants of the company had
treated the three hundred thousand savages under
them witii due legard to humanity.

Mr Kocbuck remarked that he did not like to see
a country such as the United States grow so great as
to become insolent, and dominate the rest of the
world; therefore settlement should be encouraged in
Canada in order to balance this power. ^Ir Adderhy
thouglit every one would anticipate with eagerness
the expiration of the company's license which should
open the whole country to settlement. If England
did not do it, American squatting, and annexation to
the United States, would be the result. The giving
of Vancouver Island to the fur-traders was the oreut-
est blunder a colonial minister ever committed. For
Nootka Sound Mr Pitt had risked a Spanish war.
The country should be free from the grasp of the
monopoly, lie thouglit, at any hazard.

Edward Ellice^ next rose, and remarkcid that the

'EJwaril EUice, mcTnlior of parliament, ami for half a century or more a
proiiiiiient partner in tho Northwest and Huilson's Bay companies, in his tes-
timony before tlie select committee, iilfected to regard colonial affairs with iu-
tliti'erenee, and the government of colonies as detrimental rather than othcrwiso
to the interest of fur companies. If Canada coveted the management of Red
River affairs, he thought there wouhl bo no difficulty in coming to terms with
the Hudson's Bay Company. The company were then in possession of Van.
couver Island, l)ut were very ready to give it up; if the government did not
deem it advisable to avail itself of the services of the company, it had better
assume the management itself. It was a wise move, he thought, on Lord
Grey's part, particularly in an economical point of view, the granting or tho
Island to tlie company. In answer to the question, ' Do you think that tho
right of exclusive trade by the Hudson's Bay Company could be rendered com-
patible with the territory being given to a colony?' EUice replied: 'AVhy
eliould it not be so? It is compatible with the government of this country,
and it would be compatil)le with the government of a colony. I do not think
that it should exist one iiour longer than the colony, or the legislature or
government of that country, thought it for their good. The Hudson's Bay
Con:pany have no claim to it; it is not like the Hudson's Bay territory. 1
may add that beyond the Hudson's Bay company being paid for their
outlay, which payment they are entitled to under the agreement with tho
crown, I do not think they have any claim upon the public on the west side
of tho Rocky Mountains, otherwise tho.n as you may ttiink it for your interest
to employ them.' House Commons Bcpt., 33G. Up to this time tho company

\e natives,

far as he
igations to
jle domain
Lipaiiy had
Lgcs under

like to see
so great as
est of tlie
!OU raged in
r Adderhy
. eagerness
lich should
[f England
lexation to
riie ffivinij

1 the great-
itted. For
)anish war.
asp of the

that the

titury or more a

ies, in his tos-

ifi'airs with iu-

thau othenviso

g(!ment of llud

to loriua with
iscssiou of \'au.
rnmeut <litl not

it had better
lUght, on Lonl
granting of tlio
think that tho
rendered coni-
•eplied: 'Why
f tliis country,
I do not think

legislature or
Hudson's Bay
y territory. I
paid for their
nient with the

the west side
ir your interest
e tho company

PARLIAMENTARY DISCUSSION.

379

honorable gentleman knew nothing of what they were
discussing, else they would know that northern North
America was wholly unfavorable to colonization.
Then, should the present benignant rule of the Hud-
son's Bay Company be withdrawn, how would they
oovern, how would they hold the eountr}^? Throw it
open to free-traders, and you would speedily see as bad
a state of things as has ever obtained on the United
States border; and surely the imperial money-vaults
must be overloaded when statesmen are so eager to set
u|» and koep in motion civil and military machinery
for the oc)vcrnment of a wilderness of savages and
wild beasts. On behalf of the directors he might say
tluit the company were ready for the fullest investiga-
tiin and the fairest adjustment.

For the five hundredth time in public, the history
of tlie company was reviewed and their doings dis-
cussed by Mr Gladstone, who favored investigation
and equitable and amicable adjustment. Others fol-
lowed in similar strain on one side and the other;

hi expended in bringing out settlers and coal-minors, and in performing
t'l'' tithor obligations of their trust, according to tlieir account, eighty
thousand pounds. All was outlay; there was no return. I'olitically tho
Ishuid was an interesting possession; its position was superb. Opportunity
V as there for investing money in improvements to an unlinuted extent. Rocks
might 1)0 turned into palaces, forests into gilded temples, and the land and
the water become alive with industry. But the wealth requisite for all this
\\;iis not to be found in the Island. Like the mother country, it must have in-
ttrest elsewhere to become great. ' The sooner the public reenter into pos-
session, and the sooner they form estal»lishmcnts wortliy of the Island, and
worthy of this country, the better. Krom all accounts which we liear of it, it
is a kind of England attached to the continent of America.' EUke, in Iloum
CviiiiiioDn lieyt., IW.l. Either the company were now in reality becoming tired
(if liieir bargain in regard to the Irland, or else, foreseeing tliey could liold it
11(1 hinder, they protended to lie tired of it. liut their actions did not always
iucdi'd with their expri '-ed sentinients. All that was to be made out of this
ciihuii/ation scheme they '. ,id made, some of them thought. And in a pccu-
iiiiiry point for the'iiseU us they had done well. There was profit for them
ill loiiueetion witli .lii^ir other business, in carrying emigrants in tlieir own
vcsriels, provided there were any to carry, in manipulating land sales, e.fpecially
in .setting aside the bi'st part of the Ldand for themselves, anil in performing
Viiiiims little duties for the government. An account like this with the
giiverninent WiOs exceedingly convenient in many ways; it grew on their books
<(sily and naturally, antl assisted the company in carrying out its plans iu
many ways. But now all had been done that there was to do. The settle-
luint had been l)egun, but the settlers were dissatistieil. Tho plan was in
t;a't a failure. Clearly it was now to tho interests of the company, so some
<it them arjjUed, to give up the Island ami get their money back.

380

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

after which the vote was taken, and the motion sus-
tained.^

The governor-general of Canada was notified of the
intention of government to institute this inquiry, in
order that an opportunity might be afforded that
colony of giving such information and advancing'
such opinions as they might deem proper. Accord-
ingly Chief-justice Draper was commissioned by the
government of Canada to watch proceedings, "^he
legislative assembly of Canada likewise appointed
a committee of their own to investigate these same
affairs, a full report of which was laid before the par-
liamentary committee. The law-officers of the crown
were freely called upon from time to time during the
investigation for their opinion respecting title and
vari(>us points connected with the company's charter

After sitting for nearly six months, the pron ^juti i
of parliament occurring in the mean time, and jvX
jecting twenty-four witnesses to the most sear ci in--
examination, the c<jmmittee found the territory over
which the company exercised rights to be of three
descriptions: the land held by charter, and called
Rupert Land; the land held by license, called the
Indian territory ; and the land held by crown grant
for purposes of colonization, which was Vancouver
Island. The wishes of Canada, the committee said,
to annex such territories as were available for settle-
ment should be met. The Red Riverand Saskatchewan
districts should be ceded to Canada. The connection of
the Hudson's Bay Company with Vancouver Island
should be terminated, and means provided for ex-
tending the colony over the whole or any portion of
the Mainland. Such portions of the Hudson's Bay
Company's territories as were not required for settle-
ment, it would be well to leave in the hands of the
company with their present rights of exclusive trade
with the natives.^

'See HnnmnVs Parliamentary Debates, 3d ser., cxliv. 21C-41; oxlv. 07;
Levin Annals uf British Let/ishUion, iv. 224-39.

" The rusult of the labors of this conm;ittee ia a folio volume of 547 pages,

DEATH OF THE MONOPOLY.

3tion sus-

ied of the
iquiry, in
ded that
idvancing^'

Accord-
id by the
gs. ""he
ippointcd
ese same
) the par-
ihe crown
iring the
title and
3 char<"er
ore ^Juti: n
anu jI'J.
seai'cl- in:,"
tory over

of three
lid calk'd
illcd the
\vn grant
aucouvcr
itee said,
or settlo-
atchewan
lection of
3r Island
for v\-
ortion of
on's Bay
'or settli'-
h of tlic
live trade

41; cxlv. '.IT;
of 547 pages,

Indeed, the company had no objections at this time
to the government assuming control of the whole
country, provided the license of exclusive trade with
the Indians on the Mainland was left them. There
was little danger of an immediate influx of settlers,
unless some excitement should spring up like that
which did in fact follow ; so that if the expense and
responsibility of protection could be thrown upon the
government, while the profits of trade should be loft
exclusively with them, nothing would suit them better.

If gold should be found in any quantities on the
^lainland, as it was even now talked about on the
Island, that region would be lost to the fur-trader in
any event. Even were the government willing, a
reckless, promiscuous population would not long sub-
mit to the arbitrary rule of a private corporation. All
til is the company foresaw, and shaped their policy ac-
cordingly.

And now suddenly in these primeval shades each
man finds himself in a whirl of unrest. The cold
and barren desolation of New Caledonia is all at once
transformed into a field of glittering promise, of prom-
ise so radiant as to draw innumeraljle human bats
from every quarter into it. The position of Douglas

oiititled Report from the Sihrt Committee on the Hudson s Bay Comjxini/, to-
ijilher with the Proccediinjs of the Committee, JIini(/e.i of Eviiienre, Ajijiem/ij;
tinil Index. Ordered hij the Ifoune of Commons to he Printed 31 Jxly unit 11
. I uijiiat 1S'>7. The cominitteo consisted of niiietecu persons, as ff)ll<>w»: Henry
I ralxniehfcre, chairman; Messrs (jrladstone, lloelmck, Lowe, Grogau, (lref,'s(in,
Fitzwilliam, Giimey, Herbert, Matheson, Blackburn, Christy, Kinnaird,
K'lice, Viscounts Godcrich and Saiidon, Sir John Pakington, and Lords Kus-
•R'll and Stanley. The committee sat from the ISth of February to the ."list
of .Tuly, and examined 24 persons, namely, John Ross, J. H. Lefoy, .Tohu
ilac, iSir (Joorge Simpson, William Keruaghan, C. W. W. Fitzwilliam, Ahx-
I' 'I' r Isbitior, G. C*. Oorl)ett, Sir John Richardson, J. F. CVofton, Sir George
li.i.'k, James Cooper, W. H. Draper, David Anderson, Joseph Maynard, A.
K. Roche, Davi.i Herd, John Miles, John MoLoughlin, Richard Blansiuird,
William Caldwell, Richard King, James Tennant, and Edward Ellice. The!<o
gentlemen 'were all either experts in Hudson's Bay Company atl'airs, or had
l)oen in some way connected with the company. Some of tliem were accident-
ally in London at the time, some were there by appointment, and some were
permanent residents of England. There were among them those both in favor
<if a continuance of the license system and those opposed to it. A large
mass of valuable evidence was drawn from those wituesscin, of which I have
made free use in writing this history.

' n

382

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

becomes an exceedingly important one. The north-
west fur-fields seem doomed. Beside this tempest,
the occupation of Oregon was summer quiet. What
shall the governor say to these panting new-comers;
what shall the chief factor do? The company, with
the license of trade as its only weapon, cannot hold at
bay the hungry thirty thousand. They must be per-
mitted ingress, else they will obtain it without per-
mission; they must be overawed and governed, else
they will riot in lawlessness. Months must elapse
before action here can be directed by imperial powers,
and meanwhile to hesitate is to be lost.

In this emergency, as he is the chief and almost
i>ole representative of the British crown on the North-
I ' '^oast, Douglas determines to act for his govcrn-
mc a matters pertaining to the JMainland, as best
he ma,y, until definite instructions reach him. He
will levy contributions for the benefit of his govern-
ment on those entering the domain for its treasures,
and maintain order among the uncouth comers to the
best of his ability.

As from the depths of primeval slumber affairs now
awake to the wildest activity. There is no further
need of anxiety over the absence of colonists. Who
would have thought as the company were bringing
out here a farmer and there a coal-miner, religiously
entering all expenses in t ■ o colonization account to
be presented to the crown on that fearful day of reck-
oning, to see so soon these thirty thousand thus madly
j)ressing forward, well nigh burying both company and
crown beneath their too heavy presence?

Head of the Hudson's Bay Company affairs on the
Pacific coast, after the retirement of Douglas, was
Dugald McTavish, chief factor in charge, with Tohnic
and Finlayson as associates, the three comprising tlic
board of management. To the succeeding manager at
Victoria, Mr William Charles, I aui indebted i'or
many favors. In ransacking foi me the company's

THE NAME.

333

e north-
tempest,
. What
-comers;
my, with
t liold at
it be per-
lout per-
med, else
st elapse
il powers,

id almost
le North-
is govcrn-
d, as best
liim. He
s goverii-
treasures,
iers to the

fairs now
lo further

5. Who

bringing
cligiously
ccount to
y of reck-
lus madly

pany and

rs on the

i?, was

li Tohnie

ing- the

anager at

bted ioi"

ompany's

archives, in briiiging from distant posts the fort jour-
nals, and in the generous sympathy he has ever ex-
tended to my work, he has won my lasting gratitude.*

When the investigation of the attitude and conduct
of the company was first approached, the question with
the imperial government was whether the exclusive
license to trade with the natives of the Mainland
should be revoked at the expiration of the term
granted the company for the colonization of Van-
couver Island. The publication of the gold discovery,
and the influx of population, however, put an entirely
dilforent aspect upon aftairs. The fur-trade in its
ancient proportions was at an end, and the prevention
of demoralization and disorder was as essential to the
company as to the crown. It was better on both
sides that cJ^ exclusive rights of the monopoly on the
Mainland should at once and forever cease.

Ilencc on the 2d of August 1858 parliament passed
an act to provide for the government of British Co-
hunbia, by which name hereafter should be designated
the territories between the United States frontier on
tlio south and Simpson River, now Nass River, and
the Finlay branch of Peace River on the north, and
between the Rocky Mountain summit and the sea, in-
cluding the Queen Charlotte and all other adjacent
islands, except Vancouver Island, and investing tlio
queen, by order in council, with power to appoint a
governor, provide for the administration of justice,

* Dugald McTavish was senior member of the board of management fi'om
IS.'f) till November 18(i3, when he was called to England. lie was a nephew
of .'ohn George McTavish, and brotluir of William McTavish, who, prior to
tlio transfer of tho ncth-wcst territory to the dominion government, was
governor of Ilndson's Bay Company ailairs at Hod River. Dugald McTavish
came to the Columbia in 1840, and was stationed at dilTercnt times at Fort
Viiiicouver, the Hawaiian Islands, and Verba Uuena. Ho died in his batliiiig-
I'oiiiii in ^lontrcal, about 1S73. He 'was a bachelor who could at any tiiiio
start upon a j(/urney at a halfdiour's notice. An excellent accountant, an
ollice num. and had long l>ccn manager of the Hudson's ]jay Company's ailairs
at tlie Sandwich Islands. He was a clear-headed, able man, small, stout,
coiii|)actly built, largo hoad, largo jierccptive organs, dark complexion, largo
liglit eyes, a very practical man, ni;t much imagination about him. Sold out
Yirba JJueua for a song before the gold excitement, as agent for tho company. '
Tolniica Hist. Puget Sound, MS., 51. See also Ander8u7i,''a Northioest Coa.it,
ilS., 82-3.

384

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

make laws, and establish a local legislature. One
month later the license of exclusive trade granted the
Hudson's Bay Company for twenty-one years from
the 30th of May 1838, with right of revocation re-
served, in so far as it covered the territories com-
prising the colony of British Columbia was revoked.
James Douglas was appointed governor of British
Columbia, his commission for Vancouver Island being
renewed.

This is the last of the great monopoly as such. There
is a vast mercantile machine in fair running order
which still offered great advantages to the old associa-
tion, but there are here no more exclusive privileges
for them. Their million or two of square miles of
domain, with their several hundreds of pacified nations,
are now free, nomiiiaily and actually open to any
others of the British nation for purposes of hunting,
trading, or colonizing on the same terms as at presiiit
enjoyed by the late monopolists. But for some years
in certain back parts of this region, such is the in-
fluence exercised by the company upon the natives,
such the advantages of their established posts, their
knowledge of the country, their facilities for commu-
nication, that this abrogation of their former rights
makes but little difference and is but little felt. Com-
petitors sometimes enter the field, but almost as often
wirndraw baflfled. In the more proximate precincts,
however, in mining and agricultural settlements, and
about some of the northern seaports, where inter-
lopers and squatters now begin in a restricted way
to plant themselves, their autocratic rule rapidly de-
clines. By law they are now simply subjects of
Great Britain, possessing no more rights than other
subjects.

A letter was directed to Governor Douglas by John
Work and Dugald McTavish, chief factors, under date
of November 24, 1858, calling the governor's atten-
tion to an accompanying list of claims, consisting of
fourteen forts, including New Fort Langley, with the

THE GOVERNMENT TAKES VANCOUVER ISLAND.

33J

surrounding lands, asking that the same might be in
due time confirmed to them by her majesty's govern-
ment.

With the expiration of the term of the company's
exclusive licens(.' to trade with the natives of the
j\Iainland, the i'.nperial government repurchased the
company's rights in the Island of Vancouver for
£57,500, the last instalment of which was paid the
Gth of October 1862. An indenture of relinquishment
of rights was executed on the 3d of April 18G7, the
company retaining, besides the fort property, certain
town lots and farming lands amounting to several
thousand acres.

By 1863 the Hudson's Bay Company's stations in
British Columbia were reduced to thirteen, as follows :
Fort Simpson, W. H. McNeill in charge; Fort
Langlcy, W. H. Newton; Fort Hope, W. Charles;
Fort Yale, O. Ailard; Thompson River, J. W. McKay;
Alexandria, William Manson; Fort George, Thomas
Charles; Fort St James, Peter Ogden; McLuod
Lake, Ferdinand McKenzie; Connolly Lake, William
Tod; Fraser Lake, J. Mobcrl}-; Fort Babine, Gavin
Hamilton; Fort Shepherd, A. McDonald. Among
the above traders are many names long familiar to us,
but which at this day belong mostly to the sons of
those we first knew. In Fort Victoria and other posts
on Vancouver Island the amount invested in 1856 was
£75,000.

In 1871 the organization of the company was
changed; there were more factors and traders and
fewer clerks, and lessened operations and expenses.
Ill fact the association now partook more of the nature
of a copartnership than of a corporation. Meanwhile,
Canada purchased the company's right to Rupert
l^and and the Northwest Territory, and out of the
purchase made the province of Manitoba.

During the incipient stages of the government the
Hudson's Bay Company were of far more use to the
government than the government was to them. "At

Hut. Bbii. Col. 25

389

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

this moment," writes Douglas to Lytton the 20111
Octohcr 1858, "I am making use of the Hudson's
] )iiy Company's establishments for every public ofRcc,
and to their servants, for want of other means, I com-
mit in perfect confidence the custody of the public
money."

It was but human nature for the foreign rabble,
gold-hunters from California and elsewhere, to ciy
down the Hudson's Bay Company, cursing it as an
all-devouring monopoly, and holding up the fairest
transactions as atrocious tyrannies.

How ignorant and unreasonable men arel Had
they not been blinded by wrath and stupidity these
wise ones might have seen that now for the first
time on the Northwest Coast, the Hudson's Bay
Company had ceased to be a monopoly. It is but
fair to say that in this emergency the company
behaved liberally, nobly. Never at any time did
they seem to desire to take unfair advantage of the
necessities of others, but employed their power and
position to keep the prices of supplies within reason-
able bounds.

Undoubtedly they reaped a rich harvest, as was
their right. Their system of trade was attended by
large accumulations of merchandise, a year's supply
or more being kept always in store against emergency.
When they saw the incoming multitudes they replen-
ished their forts from their abundant resources. Know-
ing the country, and being provided with means of
transportation, they were assuredly in a condition to
compete with any. But the Scotchmen were slow
and careful by nature, and it was against fur-hunt-
ing tradition to advance prices at once five or ten
fold. And the only way the hot speculators, who
were the loudest in their denunciations of the com-
pany, could carry prices to the desired height was
first to exhaust the company's supply by buying it,
and so control the market for the season, which was
in many instances done. Douglas even went so far

POSITION OF DOUGLAS.

387

10 20111
udhfon's
c office,
, I com-
3 public

rabble,
, to cry
it as an
3 fairest

i\ Had
ty these
the first
m's Bay
[t is but
company
time did
Tc of the
3wer and
n reason-
as was

as to refuse permits to steamboats charging cxor-
l)itant freights."

It could scarcely be expected otherwise than that
] )ouglas and the company would eventually quarrel.
The monopolists were grasping upon principle, inordi-
nately grasping, for had they not before this been fre-
quently dissatisfied with the half of North America?
They had quarrelled with McLoughlin, their best man
on the Northwest Coast, quarrelled with him because
of his innate nobility and manhood, which could not
descend to the plane of their mercenary abasement;
and now they quarrelled with their second best man,
because he could not perform impossibilities, because
ho would not risk his position and popularity with
the imperial government. He had been made gov-
ernor of two colonics, with a double salary. Lytton
bad praised him, though he had early warned him
not to allow the fur-traders to get the better of him;
and he would not give him as much of the mother's
money as he would like. But Douglas as usual held
fast to the stronger; as in the troubles between his
old friend McLoughlin and the company he had stood
by the company, so now in the disagreements between
tbe company and the government regarding the lands
claimed round the forts, and expenses of colonizing
Vancouver Island, Douglas stood by the government.
Ho stood by the government because, first, it was
right, and secondly, no fur-trader could knight him.

^For revocation of license sec B. O. Acts and Ordinances, 1858. 'The
company had obtained a charter for Vancouver Island on condition of pro-
moting its colonization ; but it being evident that they Ycro unable or un-
willing to do this the license was withdrawn, compensation being made them
for the amount they had expended in the attempt, amounting in all to £100,-
000.' British North Am., 254. This writer is somewhat confused in his facts.
Sec also Ohjmpia Club Convs., MS., 19, 20; Deans' Sctlkment, T. /., MS., 5 ;
Tachi's Northwest, 63; Waddington'a Fraser Mines 20-7; llouard and Bar-
netCs Dir., 1803, 144; U. S. Ev., II. B. Co. Claims, 78: Finlayson''s V. I.,
MS., 103; Tarbell's Victoria, MS., 4; Douglas' Private Papers, MS., 1st scr.
90-108. A copy of the relinquishment of rights may bo found in Langevin's
Itept., 237-40. For discussions of the Hudson's Bay Company's affairs in tho
colonies see Victoria Gazette, July 7, Aug. 31, Sept. 2-5, and Oct. 5, 1858; and
for discussions in parliament see Hansard's Par, Deb., exlviii. 1260-9, 1368;
cxlix. 1494; cli. 1788-1844; cUi. 1676-7; clxvii. 497-9, 1404-12.

CHAPTER XXII.

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

1858-18G3.

Authority at Victoria Disrhcardkh hy tiik First Comers — Dorciivs
Looks into Affairs — What tiik Nativks Think of It — Douglas as
LA^v AM> Magistbatk ^LvKKit -Indian Wars — Ovkktures ok iiik
Impkrial Kovkkxmknt to Doici.As — Kkvknuk — Loan— PuRi.ic Lanhs
— MiNER.s' License — The British Cry Economy — I'l rnxo TiiiNiis i\
Order — The Unauthorized Acts ok Douglas Lkgai.ized — Arriwi,
OK British Vessels ok AVar — Men of Authority Aitear — The Unh i;i>
States Represented — Inauguration* of the Governor at Langlev —
The MdoDV-McflowAN Akkrav — New Westminster Founded — Offi-
cers OK TIIK New (Juvernment — Smu ogling.

In tlie bogiuiiing of Ma}' 1858, information roaelicil
the fac'tor-fjovernor of A'aiicouver Island that swaiiiis
of small craft from the United States shores, laden
with passent^er.s, arms, and merchandise, were entti-
ing Frasi'r liiver in violation of her majesty's customs
laws, and to the damage of the honorable Hudson's
Bay Companj'. Wherefore, on the 8th of this montli
he issued a proclamation warning all persons that any
vessels found in British northwest waters after foui-
teen days, not having a license from the Hudson's
Bay Company and a sufferance i'rom the customs offi-
cer at Victoria, shoukl be declared forfeited, and lie
called on Captain Prevost of H. ^I. S. ISateUite f'«ir
men sufficient t onforce the measures proclaimed.

Then the factor-governor proposed to the agents of
the Pacific !Mail Steamship Company that they should
place steamers on the route; carry Hudson's Bay
Company's goods into Fraser River, and no otlicis:
carry no passengers except such as had a gf)ld-miniii:4

(388)

COMMKRCIAL MEASURES. Ml

license and permit from the Vancouver Island govern-
ment and compensate the Hudson's Bay Company by
the [)aynient of two dollars for each passenger carried
— if so the Pacific Mail Company might monopolize
the traffic for one year. It was certainly very pret-
tily arranged, and no wonder Douglas hoped, in
writing to Lord Stanley the 19th of May, "from its
so thoroughly protecting every interest connected
with the country," that it would meet his approval.

The factor-governor would do this for- his company
and his country if he could; for ho was now con-
\ inccd that it was impossible to keep closed the gold-
fields against foreigners, and there remained as alterna-
tives whether they should enter and help themselves
t'lec of duty, or be made to pay for the privilege.

Although invested with no specific authority to act
fur the imperial government upon the jMainland,
James Douglas was the man to whom all looked,
lioth in England and in America, as the one to as-
sume control of afiairs in tlu.' present emergency. As
governor of Vancouver Island ho was the nearest to
I' lasor River of any representative of the queen, and
as chief fur-factor he had exclusive right of access for
the purpose of trading with the natives. It was but
natural and right, therefore, that he should regard
the interests of his sovereign in the premises, as well
as those of his company.

With the orinfinatinff and executing of much that
was wise, and which permanently remained, there is
little wonder that ho fell into some errors. For exam-
ple, in his declaration that no goods should be carried
to the Mainland except by or for the Hudson's Bay
Company, and that no shipping, save the company's
vessels or those sailing under the company's }. 'mis-
sion, should carry passengers thither, he Sv'Ji.vsvhat
overshot the mark; he forgot that it was only exclu-
sive trade with the natives that his company could
claim, and that so long as strangers did not so traffic,
their right was as full and free to go anywhere and

800

fiOVI'.RXMKNT OF THE MAINLAXI*.

!"l

take whatever tliey slioukl please as was that of +ho
fur-tradeis.

Very sound in many matters, however, was Am
practical mind of the factor-governor. He knew he
should 1)0 safe enough in asserting the dominion of
the crown over the gold-fields, in declaring all lands
and minerals the property of the government in foe ;
though what kind of righteous robbery that should
be, others besides savages might wonder. For whore
was the European sovereign who ever yet had taken
offence at the assertion of his rights to American
lands or gold, by whomsoever made?

He stationed the Satellite at the mouth of Frasor
River with revenue officers on board to collect toll
from thove filtering the territory; he called tlio
Plumper to assist in enforcing his regulations, and
em])loyed the company's vessel, the Otter, in the gov-
ermnent service; and he notified the fur-traders at
the several posts along the boundary to watch inroads
in that direction, though in all this he was wrong, for
he had no right to enforce a tax for enterii ^ tlio
country; any one might enter, only, until t oni-
pany's exclusive license should be annullc, ..^ma
might trade with the natives; and as for the license
duty which he saw fit to impose on miners, that could
be legally collected from those who actually did mine,
and not from those who simply entered the domain.
But to govern this rabble, so he argued, would cost
money, and the rabble themselves must pay the
charge ; at all events, he would try it, though, as a
matter of fact, he was soon checked in this proceeding.

Early in the season Governor Douglas went ov( r
to the Mandand to see for himself the workings of
this wonder. Ever alive to the maintenance of peace-
ful relations with the natives, he made that matter his
special care. And he acted none too soon; for how
could this uncouth, obstreperous element from the
purlieus of civilization be turned into quiet aboriginal

ATTITUDK OF Till': N'ATIVKS.

891

liuiitiiig-i^roumls without collision with the natural
Idids of the (loniuiii?

Tliu siniplo savages behoved the gold their own;
thcv were not ver.sed in tlie laws of Christian nations
tliat made might right. In their own crude way, they
were well aware that they must defend their domain,
else their neighbors would take it. But this was
savagism, in which wore no betterments inculcating
})recepts of love and honor and happy future rewar-l
conjointly with rum and strange diseases. The fur-
traders had taught the natives to regard them as
fiiends who had come amono" them to do them ijood,
to bring them blankets, and guns to kill the deer,
that thereby they might the more comfortably pro-
vide for their families They paid for w^liat they got,
and dealt justly wdth them; so that they had come t<»
regard the Hudson's I3ay Company as their friends
and allies. With regard to strangers it was quite
diilerent.

Those who came into the country by the route east
of the mountains struck the Fraser at two points,
namely, Lytton and the Fountain. There they began
tt) dig for <>fold without a license, and there Dounlas
found them, and made them pay,^ The natives knew
and cared nothing for any license imposed by others ;
it was they who nmst have })ay for their gold, or for
their sticks or stones should foreigners desire such ar-
ticles, even as they had always received pay for their
furs, and if white men would not treat them fairly in
the matter, they would fight for it.

Meanwhile l)oufjlas ascends the river in the Otter
with the Satellite's launch and uiu: in tow. At Fort
Langley, where it was thought })robable might be

-Palmer, in the Oref/on Statesman, Feb. 14, ISCO, chiirgea upon Douglas tlio
motive of securing to liis company the trafhc which wouM accrue hy forcinj,'
the foreign .nining population, so far as possible, to enter through the front
gate, namely, ))y way of Victoria, rather than of obtaining revenue for the
gnvernment. In this, however, I must differ from liini. 1 Knil nothing in
the conduct of Douglas to warrant the suspicion of any desire on his part to
favor unjustly citlier the company or the government one a;^ainst the other.
See Papers B. C, pt. i. 1-15 et seq.

802

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

I !

the Maialand metropolis, he finds speculators seizinr^
lands and staking out lots.^ Sixteen unlicensed canoes
are there, which he takes into custody, but releases
them, and grants passes on the payment of five dol-
lars for each canoe. The owners of certain merchan-
dise for trade, found there, fare worse, their goods
being f ^ized and held as contraband. With a warn-
ing to the squatters against their illegal and fruitless
proceedings, he continues his journey toward Fort
Hope on the 27th of !\[ay, stopping frequently to
converse witli the excited people who pass and repass
him on the way."'

J^etters are received from !Mr Walker, in charge at
Fort Hope, saying "that In<lians are gcitting plenty
of gold, and trade with the Americans. Indian wages
are from three to four dollars a day. Letters from
i^'ort Yale dated ISth inst. state that tliere arc mineis
working two miles below Fox't Yale, who are making
on an average one and a half ounces a day each man.
The place is named Hill J^ar, and employs eighty
Indians and tliirty white men. Pierre Maquais lias
built a log-house and ntocG below Fort Yale, and
another store altout five miles beyond the fort. York
has put lip a log boarding-house a short distance
l)eyond the fort." Thus the fur-trade is forever
ruined, the natives themselves having cauLifht the
gold infection as l»adly as others.

liefore tlie (pieen's authority roaches them, after
the old Calil'ornia fashion the miiuu-s of Hill I^ar
inaugurate self-government. On the l*lst of May are
posted laws rt>gulating mining claims on tltat bar. A
claim consists of twenty -five feet frontage; one man

'-' ' ScviT.il aitiilio.itioim for jTct'iiiptions of liiiul rights wore made hy par-
tii's (Icsinius ot settling oil Fraser ivivcr. Kofuscil to I'litcrtuiu tiie saiil aji-
plications for want of autiiority. I liink wc ought iiiiiiu'iliatcly toooiniiK'nn;
tho sale of laud, for if wu refuse to make sales, jieople will sijuat on every
part of the eountry, and there will he a great ditlieulty in ejecting tlu'iii.'
/Hiin/ oj' (toll/ l)isi'or<r)i on. Fnmrr Itirn; ill Jhvu/lim' Pri'iitf I'lijur", .MS.,
I.st ser. JK). .Iaiiie.s li. liay staked oil' l.LHM) acres, tiud hegau selling lots.
VirUria (iiiziUf, Sept. 14, KSr)8.

"He is iiiHcli i'terested in returns from tiio mines, and his diary is full ot
statistics on that suhjeet.

EXPEDITION OP DOUGLAS.

393

can hold two claims, one by preemption and one by
purchase, provided he works both; any white man
caught stealing, or molestin;^ Indians, shall be punished
as a committee of the miners shall direct ; he who sells
(ir gives spirits to the natives shall for the first offence
])ay one hundred dollars, and for the second offence
shall be driven from the bar. For mutual safety a
captain and two lieutenants are elected and endowed
with power absolute. And of this first meeting of
law-makers thereabout, P. H. Furness is president,
and George W. Tennent secretary.

Arriving at Fort Hope on the 29th, Douglas makes
his hcad-quartors there. Owing to the mineral dis-
coveries in this vicinity, Hope is now the most impor-
tant place on the Mainland, and serves foi* present
and i^ractical purposes as the capital of the country.
It is here the queen's representative sets up his little
government, and publishes a plan lor establishing
order and administering justice on Fraser River.

Douglas nov,' calls at the several mining -camps in
the vicinity. Gold is everywhere plentiful; more
plentiful the minors think than formerly in California;
strange some one should not have found it before.
Provisions are scarce ; pork, coffee, and flour each
one dollar a pound, and that with the fur-trading
posts so near.

At Fort Yale lie meets a number of chiefs, Copals
• if Spuzzum, Tellatella Quatza of the falls, and Lay-
koutum of Sposun, and converses with them upon
the strange destiny so suddenly falling upon t\\v'w
country. To keep any of his men he is obliged to
raise their wages ten pounds per annum, but where
this sum could be duof out of the ground in a single
(lay, the increase of wages proved a temptation only
to tlie more stolidly virtuous. As revenuo-olliccr
lor the district of Yale he appoints an Englishman
mining there named liichard Hicks, with a .udary of
£40 a year, to be paid out of the revenue of the
country.

394

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

I ■■ ,i

! I

At Hill Bar, besides creating George Perrier, a
British subject, justice of the peace, he appointed
Indian magistrates, who were to bring to justice any
members of their tribes charged with offences. For
this atom of authority every chief was ready to sub-
scribe himself a slave.

Other things were also talked about at this camp at
Hill Bar. The natives were now threatening to sweep
the country of the white men, whose presence became
every day to them more distasteful. Bands were
arming at various points, and no small tumult had
been raised at this bar. Douglas called up the sav-
ages and lectured them roundly ; to the white men ho
talked as plainly; then he went his way hoping all
would be well.

But all was not well. Within a fortnight a hun-
dred natives appeared at Robinson Bar, armed, to
fight the eighty white men there. Some half-breeds,
who felt themselves aggrieved in the settlement by
the miners of a dispute about a claim, retired in
wrath, and told the Indians that the white men had
prohibited all but themselves from working there.
When they were assured to the contrary, they laid
down their weapons and went to work beside the
white men in apparent poace; but the stripped and
headless bodies of prospectors and straggling miners
that came floating down the Fraser, told of the in-
auguration of a new era in British Columbia society.'

The Oregonians and Californians who came to 1 he
mines by the plateau route in July encountered tl :
alternative of returning, or fighting their way throuj^li
the hostile tribes on the Okanagan,^ while the Hud-
son Bav traders from Colville were moving throuiirh
the same country and encountering the same bodies

* Victoria Gazette, July 20, 1858; Papers B. C, pt. i. 10; Good's B. ( .,
MS..r)7-8.

* Mr Tucker, fonnorly of Tehama, California, at Yale Auj^. 17th, reported
that ho imd left tiio Dalles with a party of 100 men r.nd 400 animals, iiml
that they ha<l a severe fight with the Indiana near Fort Okanagan, tliite
whiti'8 being killed and six wounded before the Indians were beaten off. Vic-
toria Gasette, Aug. 24th, 1858.

INDIAN HOSTILITIES.

395

Good's n. ( .,

of Indians unmolested." In the canon of the Fraser,
(lis{)utes between wliite and red frequently arose about
caiiou transportation and mining-ji^round, and in con-
se(|uence of the scarcity of the means of subsistence.
The strife led to retaliations, and there came a time
wlion, through evil counsels, possibly derived In'
affiliation from the plateau, it appears to have bet n
ileoided u))on by the Indians to forci))ly arrest the
advance of the miners above the cauon. Demonstra-
tions in force had been made by them on several occa-
sions, but open hostilities were prevented for some
time through the personal interventif»n and influence
of ( fovernor Douglas, with miners as well as Indians.
Finally, about the 7t]i of August 1858, two Frencli-
nun were killed on the trail above the Big Canon, and
when the news reachid Yale, a party of forty minns
organized immediately, under Captain Rouse, and loft
with packs im their|b;icks to force a })assage to the
forks. At Boston Bar they were induced to com-
bine with the miners who had gathered there t(t tlie
number cf one hundred and fifty. On August 14tli.
the hostih3 Indians were encountered near the head of
Big Canon, and a three hours' figlit ensued, wherein
seven braves were killed. All the Indians in this
]iart of the canon, whetlu-r hostile or ])oacoablo, were
thereupon driven out, and the company returned to
Yale."

'Mt does not follow that the officers of the Hmlson's Bay Comiiany couh-
tiiiiiiK'i'd the hostile attitude of the Indians, nor were tliey suspfiti'd ol dniii^'
So. On tlie contrary, it was through their intluencu tliat an Indiau w.ir was
avdidi'd (in tlie British side of the lioundary line. Ou the American side,
Mvi'vc ciiL'agenients took jilaee hetween t'olonel Steptoe and the Indians of the
upinT ('oluuil)ia, M'ho were actuated liy tiie feeling that the Americans, liring
w'tili I.-,, ,1,.' 'wvf nierely trailers, should he opposed, and prevented from
oci'iiiyiug the crtuntry.

It is evident that the Indians were not prepared for a commencement of
general hostilities at this time. Their ciiastisement had hecn hasti'ued hy the
overt acts of a few thieving and liuliting hraves, who, relyiug on the gemr.d
'li-i^llcction among the Imlians, haiT imposed upon the miners to a degree th.it
lieeiiine uuhcarahle. Tiiree accounts were puhlishol of the expedition alter-
wai'd, varying somewhat in details. Que announced the return of the last of
till' litle company, on the IDth, bringing in as prisoner the chief Copals. Smitli,
tlie expressman, attrihuted the immediate cause of the light near Boston Biir
tn a nil (hery committed ou r.n Irishman at Spu/zuin, ami he reported tiiat
tell Indians, one white man, and a white woman, from Hill's Biir, were killed,

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

Meanwhile the miners came flocking into Yale from
tlie surrounding camps, and on August 17th over two
thousand attended a meeting to consider the manner
of dealing with the Indians The majority were in
favor of a demonstration in force, partially to overawe
the renegades in the camps of the well-disposed Ind-
ians, but mainly to reopen communications, to exact
assurances of good behavior by every eftectivc peace-
able means, and to chastise such bands as they mii>]it
encounter which could not be dealt with in any other
manner. This policy found expression simply by the
election of its reprjscntative, H. M. Snyder, to a cap-
taincj', and by the enrolment, under his cimmiand,
on tlie 17t]i and 18th, of the largest number of men.
A minority were in favor of teaching tlie Indians ;i
severe lesson of tlie sort just administered by Captain
House; and for their conunander they elected Captain
Graham. ^

Over one hundred and fifty men were enrolled,
three fourths under the leadership of Snyder, and of
his aid. Captain John Centras, who represented tlie
French Canadians. Without deciding u[H»n a plan of
cam])aign, the whole party «et out the same day, jnn-
vided in ]>art with arms from the Hudson's J^ayCoin-
])any's establisliment a. id carrying a few days' provision.
They camped for the night at Spuzzum nuicJurfa,
where the force was increased to nearlv two liun.h'ed
men from among the large number of miners wlio had
abandoned tlie upper bars to seek refuge here. Snyder
now called a meeting, and represented the necessity fur
united action in order to carry the expedition to ;i
speedy and .successful close. He also pleaded in favor
of conciliatory measuri's, and after some discussion,
he managed to overrule the blood-thirsty policy of

lifter whicli tlic Indian ciiinps ^^■^^r^^ liiirni'il. According to .T.inics Stewart, vliw
Iiiilians weru killed, one of tlicin a chief, several were wounded, and llirn'
taken prisonerM. (juite a nund)er of i)aekages of powder and lead, mniposiil
to liavo Ijeen furni«lied by the Chinese, were found in the Indian e.iiiiips.
Three rnncherld'i were hurned above the Big Caflon, and two belov.'. Siii/il(.i'>i
Letter from Yidv, Auj,'. 17th, in Victoria, (inzcttc, Any. 24, 1858.

CAPTAINS SNYDER AND GRAHAM.

397

CJialiam, and to gain an almost unanimous approval
tor Ills own plan. By this vote he was practically
recognized as commander-in-chief of the expedition.^
Snyder now proceeded with the main portion of
the expedition to Long Bar, where a treaty was made
with the most troublesome of the trihes, who })ro-
fessed a desire for peace. Five natives were there-
upon sent with a white Hag down througli the canon
to (rraham's party, whicli was met four miles above
wlivre tliey had promised to wait. Graham took the
Hiig, tlirew it on the ground, trampled it under foot,
and <'ami)ed on the spot. During tlm night an attack
was made on the camp, and (;lraham and his lieuten-
ant fell at the fii wt fire. This act is supj)osed to have
been prompted by the outrage on the Hag," and may

*'Onc report divides tlicm into four eoiiipanica: CaptJiin Snyder's, witli 51
ini'ii; Captain Centras', witli 7- men; (.'aptain (iraliairi s, willi L'O men, ninstly
iiiiiii Whatcom; and Captain (Jalloway's, with about the saino niitiil)er.
AnotluT account j,'ives SnyiU'r 75 men, and mentions two otlier eompanie.^ of
'Jil Mien each; all of whom left Yale on the 18th with live days" iirovisions.
Tin; organization, iu the manner of an army of foreigners coiumanded Iiy a
f(iiii:,'rifr, was not wholly to the liking of the cautious Hudson's 15ay nun at
Vale, wlio characteri:;ed Snyder's expedition as a inol» acting without autlior-
ity ir. T. (I., Yale, Aug. 'JSth, cor. Victoria (l,r.ttt<; Seiit. 1, KS5H. 'J'!u!
Vh-iiiria (litT.ittc of August i;5th gives the captains now as Snyder, Cridiam,
and Vates, anil places the total force at ID-t men. A little liclow the Spuz/um
rnnr/ifri I, Snyder fell in with some Indians, and persuaded the ehii'f to tall
thiui all together to have a talk. He with Ceiitrasand an interpreter accom-
]iiiiic(l the chief down the river two miles, when the latter ga<-e a whooji. and
instantly about 70 Indians emerged a.s if l)y magic, out of the rocks. 'I'luwo
Will' peacealilo Indians, simjily ahirmed at the attitude of all'aii's, and in
liiiling. 1'lu'y wc^re delighted witii Snyder's reassurances, and hound them-
.-■t Ivis to kei[> the peace. At the rnnrhiria Snyder's command iiiund .">iM)
white iiii'ii, the greater part of whom had come dow n the livir on acciiunt of
the Indian dillicidties. From this point tlie force was inei'cased to IS,) men
ia all, wlio proceeded toward tho J5ig Canon, ^'all■. Virforia (luzilti', Sept. I,
1 \"iS.

'■'Tlie tirst report as published by the Viclnna <!(izittc, Aug. 25, 1858, says
that at the riiiir/irria near China liar, Snyder ealhd tngillicr L'O;) Indians,
Minle a treaty with them, and left a letter for<lraliam inuirming him ol tlio
I ii't. On till! '20th (Iraham arrived at tiu! same place, Snyder's connnand
having gone on. The Indians hoisted a wliite lla,L', and showed (iraham the
I'tter. riie p.irty camped at the ninr/irriii with four or live nun out as siii-
li'ies. At night they were suddeidy attacked, and ( iraham and his lii'Uteiiant
wi iij killed at tho tirst lire. Tile news of tlii-' so far inaccurately related
I vciit as it reached Yale and Victoria was iu the lirst few days exaggerated
iMtii a general massacre. All but two of (iraham's nun were reported kiilid.
A (iiTuiaii who escaped into tiio liushes Wiis said to have witnessed the Ind-
mutilating .'W of tin; bodies, and throwing them into tho river. In con-

tiriiiation of tho alleged massacre, sixtei^n of tho bodies, many of the

ipituted, Were rcporteil to havo been pickeil up along tho river, including

398

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

account for the fact that only the leaders were killed.
At China liar, Snyder's command, August 19th,
adopted a resolution, the matter having been duly
submitted to tliem, that in consequence of the report
believed b}' many that the Chinese had been selliii<i;
amnmnition to the Indians, if not inciting them, the
former should all go below, while they were assured
possession of their claims as soon as peace could be
estal)lished. Snyder's party left on the 20th, accom-
panied by the chief of the tribe above the Big Canon,
Boston liar and all the bars above the ranchcrkt were
found deserted. Nineteen miles above China Bar an-
other tribe was brought under regulations by a treaty.
On the 2bst two more tribes signed treaties of peace,
and shortly afterward Snyder's command fell in with
Spintlum, a noted Thomj)son Iliver chief, accompa-
nied by six other chiefs and three hundred Indians,
and speeches were made which were considered veiy
sensible on both sides, regretting the ovei*t acts of
the bad white men and bad Indians. On the 2*Jd of
August, Snyder and Ids men reached Thompson ]{iver,
made treaties of peace with several additional tribes.
and at 2 p. m. on that day they began the return man K,
impelled thereto chielly by the lack of provisions,
Yale was reached on the 2r>th. Five chiefs of those
with whom treaties had been concluded accompanied
the party voluntarily, Snydi-r ph^dging himself i'or
their safety. Two thousand Indians in all had sub-
mitted between Spuzzum and the Forks.

In the course of the whole cam[)aign thirty-one
Indians were killed, nearly all by the ritie company in

the Iwdics of Johnson of Whatcom and Miller of Yale, From a later iictimnt
it apiteared that a jtarty of Indians who wore reiurniii;,' from a scout at II r. m.,
antl unaware «tf the treaty formed, tintliiig (iraham'ii company eainpi il iinir
the roiir/icria referred to, at once tired upon them, hut that the friondly Inil-
iauH whom Snyder had met the day heforo as promptly interfered. Of tln^
cif^ht iKxlie.s of white miners that were taken out of the river on the I'Jtli ami
5J0th of Augii.st and later, some were drowned, and only part of them wrii!
headless. Vtctorin ddzHtt; Aug. 2(5, 18.58. This unfortunate event, instead of
still further rousing the Idooil-thirsty minority composed chiefly of thoWli.it-
com men, tendetl rather to conciliate them to the peaceful puliuy of iSuydcr,
whose plans were no longer interfered with.

SLAUGHTER OP THE INNOCENTS.

399

ere killed.
:ust 19th,
been duly
the report
en selliiii:;
tliein, the
re assured
c could be
th, accoiii-
V\^ Canoii.
•hcria wnv
iia Bar an-
>y a treaty.
s of |U'ace,
fell ill with
', ac('oiii[)a-
d Indians,
dered viiy
ert acts <»f
the 2"Jd of
^iH)n lliver,
)nal trilKs,
urn niardi,
provisions.
Is of tllosc
conipanicd
iniself ior
had wul»-

thirty-ono
[ompany in

l.-itcr aciniiiit
lout at II r. M-.

Cilllllll'll III'"'

Ic frioiidly liiil-
Iferftl. Of \U>'
liitho I'Jthaail
I of them wm:
lent, iiisteiul nf
lyof tho^Vllat•
ley of feJujiKr,

their onslaught at the beginning. The Indians killed
utro innocent, the killing of white men was traced by
Snyder to the Big Cafion tribe, enemies of the tribe
hclow, whose rancherias had been burned by the riHe
((mi|)any,'"

No sooner had the expedition returned than the
iiiiiiers were again at work on their claims; and the
trail was again crowded on the 2yth of August with
individual miners carrying their packs up the river
towaid Lvtton." The Indians above Yale were re-
jiorted to be quieter, frendlier, and more accommo-
dating in the first week of September fidlowing the
campaign than they had been at any time since the
ni)ld excitenuint liegan. The Indians ahmg the Fraser,
iii(h'('d, proved themselves useful ever afterward in
kfcping order among the miners, by rendering a.ssist-
ance in the arrest of gandders and other outlaws who
ui>on occasion saw fit to move out of the reach of the
local magistrates.*'^

1 )()Uglas wrote tlie colonial office, August 27th, that
lie proj)osed to make a jouriuy to the front himself,
accompanied by thirty-five sajtpers and nuiu-rs, and
twenty marines from the ^uiiU'de, though lu; con-
sidered that force "absurdly small for such an occa-
sion." ]^ut as the occasion for it had ])assed, the
si;l(liers and sailors were not called into action at this
time, nor until January 1851), when arose the Mc-
(lowan ahirm, to be hereafter describe<l, of which the
incsint suddtni dmclopment of armed forces may have
laid the foundation in part.

" I'liriiit,' the jirogrcssof tlio cainpaigii and for tliroo wccUh in Auynxt end-
in ; with tlio ri'tuni of Snyder's exiH'illtion, tlio iHiilie.i of wliito mm in a
iiiuiT (ir li'ss mutilated and only partially rocogni/al>lu condition were daily
li lud out of tiio river and picked up along its lianks. In the origin of these
iliiiiculties it was conceded tliat the whiten wtTo not free from Manic. On the
111 tlie men marche<l .'J8 miles over the worst part of tho canon trail under

I- nici'iitivo of hunger, their provi.sions having hy that time entirely give
I. Yale cor. Virtoiia (InziUi; Sept. 1; also Aug. UG, 27, '2K, ]8.")«.

^^I'litnria (lazitk; Aug. 2t), 27, 28, and Sei.t. 1, 7, 18r>8. Tho Yale coi
^Iinndiiit, 'T. W. (J.,' of the (lazcUr, Aug. 2sth, dated tho start ami rei,urn

Snyder's expedition a day later than tue otlicial report, which I have as-
iiii'd to l»e correct.

'-.W/a/('sC'arWoo, MS., 19.

i»»

400

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

In the mean time Douglas had returned to Victoria.
On the 9th of June 1858 James Yates, fur-trader, and
five others, petitioned him on behalf of the public,
who had met four days before, to remove the restric-
tions imposed upon trade by the fur company ; but ho
refused. As the miners were suffering for food, he
permitted the Surprise and the Sea Bird to make
each one trip, and for the present no more.

In July, Sir E. B. Lytton, secretary for the col-
onies, writes asking Douglas in case he is appointed
governor of the Mainland at a salary of £1,000 j)cr
annum for six years, if he will sever his connection
with the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound companies.
Lytton likewise proposes to send out an engineer
officer with two or three subalterns and one hundred
and fifty sappers and miners, to survey the parts (if
the country most suitable for settlement, designate
where roads should be made, and suggest a site lor
the seat of government. Lytton further insists on
kind treatment of the natives, and that no jealousy
be shown Americans; he susxijests a council of advice
to be formed partly of British subjects and partly
of forciixncrs.

Although t'.iO revenue collected by impost was con-
siderable, it was regarded as too small in the present
emergency by Douglas, who asked the home govern-
ment ilrst for money, and next to guarantee a loan.
Both of these requests were at first refused, but
finally permission was granted to borrow one hundred
tliousand pounds at six per cent.

Among the first suggestions of the colonial secre-
tary, was that public lands should be sold, and towns
laid out, and the lots disposed of. Douglas was net
slow to act on the hint. He sent Pcmberton and had
town .sites surveyed beside the forts of Langley, Hope,
and Yale.

The government price of land, except town sites
and mineral lands, which were to be sold by auction,
was fixed at ten shillings an acre, half cash and half

DOUGLAS" SECOND SURVEY.

in two years. The miners' license was five dollars
monthly.

Lytton never failed to instil into the mind of Doug-
las the colonial principle of self-reliance. A youth-
ful and vigorous community must find moans to
defend itself, to govern itself, and to improve itself
The mother would hold over it a ready protecting
liand, but the child must learn to walk by itself Any
course tending to engender ill-feclinijc, or to bring
about a bloody conflict between the government and
the adventurers should, if possible, be avoided. But
in the event of the failure of pacific measures, and the
inability of the colonial government to maintain order
and defend itself, England's sword would always lie
ready. The infant Colony should not burden itself
Avith debt; the officers should work together in har-
mony; free ro])rescntative institutions should be es-
tablished, but in this as in all things precipitate action
should be avoided. The electoral franchise should be
framed to suit the community.

In a second visit Douglas arrived at Fort Hope
the od of September in the steamer Uiiud'dla, and was
received with demonstrations of re«pect. The governor
was much interested in the cutting of a road from
llojie to Yale. Ho saw Spintlum, chief at the Forks,
as the place at the junction of Fraser and Thompscm
rivers was then known, then the objective point of the
^•i)l(l-seekers, and after making him a present instructed
him how he should treat the miners. For tlie estab-
lishment of public government meatiures wore taken
on the Gth in the appointment for Fort Hope of one
justice of the peace, two regular and ten special con-
stables; for Fort Yale, one sub-commissioner, ten
troopers, and ten .special constables; for the Forks,
one sub-commissioner, ten troopers, and a warden of tiie
river. He committed Kiiiir for the murder of Eaton'^

"7>OK.7?a.s' Private Papers, MS., ser. i. 103. A case of stabbing arisiiiir out
of nil old quarrel. King was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to
tiiuisportation for life. Victoria Gazette, Sept. 10, 1808; Pa^i:^, JJ. C, pt. ii. 4.
Bi8T. Kbit. Col. 20

402

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

on the testimony or six witnesses from Hill Bar, and
visited Murderer Bar, On the 7th Douglas gave
directions to lay out the town of Hope, granting titles
to lots by sufforence, terminable at one month's notice,
tlie monthly sum of ten dollars paid by the occupant
to be considered as part of the purchase-money wlnn
valid conveyance was made.'*

Wednesday, 15th September, "met the people and
read them a short address," Douglas writes. "Gave
notice of the opening of court to-morrow. Granted
permission to occupy town lots. Tl»e document issued
is not a lease at all, but simply pci-mission to occupy
the land on certain conditions ... If administered with
economy, a very moderate sum will be required to
meet the expenses of the government. The chief ex-
penses will be the salaries of the different officers, and
some necessary improvements, such as court-houses,
roads, etc., which will cost a considerable sum, and
providing public buildings. Tlie revenue of the country
will fully meet that, and soon yield a large excess for
other purposes." Douglas was attended at this time
by George Pearkes, crown solicitor, who presided at
Fort Yale, bringing several offenders to justice. B.
C. Donnellan, formerly of the police force in San
Francisco, was made chief of police there, and P. B,
Whannell justice of the peace. At Lower Fountain-
ville, a trader, Alexander McCrellish, was appointed
police magistrate.

The 4th of September, the governor proclaimed
at Fort Hope lliat any person convicted before a
magistrate of selling or giving spirituous liquors ti)
the natives of Fraser River or elsewhere would bo
mulcted in the penal sum of from five to twenty pounds.
Aliens might hold lands, subject to forfeiture by the
crown at any moment, for tliree years, after whieh
time they nmst become naturalized British subjects,

'* 'Front street to \to 120 feet wide, the other main streets to be 100 fii t.
!iii(l the cross streets to be 80 feet broad.' JJouglaa' Private Papers, MS., scr,
i. 102-3.

WAYS AND MEANS.

40S

or lose their lands, or convey them to British subjects.
Tlic 2 2d of December, to defray the expenses of the
new government, Douglas imposed by proclamation
at Victoria a duty of ten per centum on all articles
not otherwise specified, entering British Columbia."
The port of Victoria, which was free, as concerned
Vancouver Island, was declared the port of entry for
British Columbia, and a collector of customs was ap-
pointed.

On the 4th of October Douglas answered Lytton,
agreeing to withdraw from the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, promising to sell his Pugct Sound stock, and
to accept the office of double governor. But £1,000 a
year was too ridiculously small a salary for so high an
office, he said. He supposed the government wished
its chief officer to live in a manner befitting the posi-
tion, which would cost, he estimated, at least £5,000
per annum. And for general purposes he thought
parliament should grant the new gold colony either
as a gift, or as a loan, £200,000.

In reply Lytton talked economy as usual; hoped
that the colony would want nothing given it outright
by the imperial government but the governor's salary,
wliich for the Mainland and Island should not exceed
£1,800, except, indeed, the excess be raised by the
ctjlony, in which event England was not at all par-
ticular how much he got. The imperial government
Would advance the money to pay the engineers sent out
from England, but it mu;.>t be in due time refunded.

In the main the secretary sanctioned the unauthor-
ized proceedings of Douglas; he acknowledged his
difficulties and praised his zeal. Nevertheless, he
warned him against the use of his authority as gov-
ernor for the profit of the Hudson's Bay Company.

'HHour jiaid 2,'*. hi. a, barrel; bacot, 4ii. 2<I. per 100 lbs.; spirits, 4.s'. 2</. a
gallon; wines, 2.<. Irf. a gallon; iile, G.^i /. a gallon; beans and pease, G^d. per
100 lbs.; b.irloy and oats, G\d. per 200 lbs. Coin, quicksihor, fresh meats and
vegetables, timber, hay, wheat, books, and Ijaggagc were free. The duty on
spirits was a-lvanced the following year to C.s. '6d.

41 M

(tOVEllNMKNT OF THE MAINLAND.

:iil

In tho first flusli of tlie Fraser River discovery, and
while yet tlie liallowed exclusiveness of the coiiipany
was not seriously disturbed, Douj^las proclaimed tiiat
for vessels other than their own to navigate the
Fraser was an infringement (»f the rights of tli<'
♦•onipany. This Lytton Hatly denies; the rights of
the company extended to I'xolusive trade with the
natives, and to nothing else. So when Douglas
ordained that the l*aciHc ^Nfail Steamship C(Mnpaiiy
sliould carry tho Hudson's Bay Company's goods and
no others, and passengers having a miner's license
and no others, the secretary said no; men might wish
to go there for other puri)osi'S than to mine or trade
with the iiativi'S, and the fur company nmst not ]nv-
vent them. Miners' licenses were well enough, hur
they must he required of those intending to mine.

On the 17tli of October there arrived at Esquinialt
H. B. M. ship (iiwijes, three decks, eighty-four guns.
and seven hundred and fifteen men, in which Aduiiial
J^aynes came from Valparaiso to command the naval
Heet which was to guard the newly found wealth of
Britisli Columbia. Th admiral called on the <'n\-
ernor, and the ^Satellite fired her guns; then all -"as
calm; arid in the forest the wild beasts revelled iii
unwonted freedom, while savage and civilized alike
scrand)led for gold. The (ra/^^/^'S sailed for Vulpaiiiix*
in December. The steam frigate ^fh'ibiuw, Captain
Hornby, and the steam corvett*; Pleiades, Captain
^[ichael de Coucey, anchored in Esquimalt Haihnr
on the 14th of February 1851); also the ship Thunxs
( 'ill/, with government stoves.

On the 8tli of November Chartres Brew, of the
Irish Constabularv, who had served with distinction
in the Crimea, came to Victoria under appointment
to organize a constabulary police in British Columbia.
Joseph T>. Femberton was colonial surveyor, under
whose auspices was established a land-office at Vic-
toria, where districts were laid out, and one-hundred-
acre sections offered at fixed rates. Pemberton was

ANOTHER NOTABLE EXCURSION.

405

nominated surveryor-gcneral of the Mainland, but the
c()h)nial secretary made other arrangements. W. T.
U. Hamlcy was appointed by the queen collector
of customs for British Columbia, and later (t. H.
Cary was sent out as solicitor-general. Travaillot
and Kicks were nominated assistant commisioners
of crown-lands at Thompson River and Yale, and W.
H. Bevis revenue officer at Langley.

Owing to the large number from California, Oregon,
and Washington among the ranks of the gold-seekers,
it was deemed advisabh; by the United States govcni-
nRiit that a connnissioner, or special agent, should l)e
a[t|)()inted, the result of which was tlie sending of
John Nugent to British Columbia.

At c dinner given him on the eve of his depart are
by liis rountrvrien at the Hotel de France, Victoria,
the loth of Xovcmbcr, Mr Nugent paid a high com-
plinient to Captain Prevost and his officers of the
^<a((llitc, who, while true to the interests of their own
government in guarding tlie peace of the ^lainland
clui'ing tlie heat of tlie gold excitement, had not been
unmindful of those of the subjects or citizens of other
govi-rnnu'iits. Tlie United States steamer Activeh-dd
taken her station in Victoria Harbor the 2d of Au-
gust previous.

Again, on tlie 17tli of Novcmb(>r, in company with
lieur-iulniiial Bayni s, David CanuTon, chief-justice
of Vancouver Island, and ^Matthew B. Bi'gbie, chic f-
justice of British Columbia, embarked on board If.
B. ^[. steamer Hatdlitc for Fraser Kiver, the (HUr
attending. At the mouth of tlie River was moored
the Hearer, and at Langley the Jiecorcn/, now turned
into a revenue-cutter by the Hudson's Bay Company.
Arrived at Fort Langley, Begbie and others holding
•imperial appointments took tlie oaths of office, and
Douglas was sworn in as governor of British Columbia,
rroclamations were read revoking the Hudson's ]^ay
Company's license, indenmifying past irregularities,

ill

*i!S"~'l

406

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

I
llfl!:

and adopting English law. Guns were fired, flags
flaunted, and amidst a drizzling rain mother England
was delivered of a new colony.

Thus the Mainland wilderness, called by the fur-
traders, according to its respective parts. New Cale-
donia, and the districts of Thompson River, the
Columbia, and the like, was erected into a crown
colony under the name of British Columbia,^® with for
a time the governor of Vancouver Island its governor,
and the capital of Vancouver Island its capital, Wil-
liam A. G. Young acting as colonial secretary.

Such acts as had been performed by Douglas, or by
his order, for the collection of revenue and the maiii-
tenence of order while the country was 3 et without
law or established government, were by proclamation
of the governor made valid. English law was then
declared in force in British Columbia, and the gov-
ernor, by proclamation, was enabled to convey crown-
lands.

After Hope, Langley was for a brief period distin-
guished as the capital of the Mainland. The former
site of the old fort and the land about it was sur-
veyed by Pemberton and Pearse, and laid out as a
town, to which was given the name Derby. On the
25th, 2Gth, and 2l)th of November the lots, sixty-
four by one hundred feet, were sold by auction at
Victoria at an upeot price of one hundred dollars.
Adjoining the town site were ten square miles of
land reserved by the Hudson's Bav Company. The
sale occupied three days. About 400 lots were
sold at from $40 to $725, aggregating $G8,000, a
pretty sum for a piece of swa?npy wildf^niess; but
Derby was at this tune to be the capital of tht'

'•Soveral names wuro HUguusteil l>y varinuH jiersoim for tlio MaiiilaiDl. In
pai'liauient, UiiiiHanl'i* I'nr. JMi., ili. 1,*M7 8, I'ac'itica was proposetl. Soini'
tlmuglit the tixteusif.ii of the term New t'aletlniiia over the Mainlaml .Jtiipro
priate. But the name C'olumMa, from the advent of the Northwest Compaiiy
to tlie present time, had been the favorite apuellatiou for a largo ami promi-
nent j>art, anil often at a distance for the whole, of the Northwest Cootit, uml
BO British Columbia became the favorite.

MOODY, GOSSET, AND CRICKENER.

491,

Mainland, and play the Sacramento to Victoria's San
Francisco."

Richard Clement Moody, colonel of royal engineers,
was sent out by Secretary Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton,
September 1858, as chief commissioner of lands and
works, and office for the sale of public lands and the
direction of public works, with a dormant commission
as lieutenant-iTovernor of British Columbia, to ad-
minister the government of the colony in case of the
incapacity or absence of the governor. He was also
cliiof in command of the royal engineers destined for
]^ritish Columbia, his second being J. M. Grant, who
arrived at \^ictoria with the first detachment of twelve
men on the 8th of November ; the main body coming
round Cape Horn in the Thrmcs City. Among tlie
ortieers were H. li. Luard, A. R. Lempricre, H. S.
]*{ihnor, and Siddell, surgeon Moody's regimental j)ay
was £330, and his colonial allowance £1,200, making
.l'l,r)30 per annum. Begbie's salary was £800. At
this time Moody was onior officer commanding all
lier majesty's land forces in British Columbia and
A'ancouver Island. It was expected that the royal
eiii^ineers would act in a militarv as well as in a civil
t'ii[>acity, as occasion recjuired. Among thorn were a
few experienced in cavalry and artillery tlrill wlio
mlglit form a nucleus for further increasing the mili-
tary force of the colony by enlistments of disappointed
Jlritish gold-seekers, should occasion require. Those
wlio came with Grant were first stationed a F^angley,
and material was furnished >vith which to build them-
selves houses.

Moody arrived Christmas-day, took the oath of
oftiee, Cameron administering it the 4th of January
1H59, and domiciled himself for the time l)eing at
Victoria, With Moody came W. J)riscoll (Jossct,
treasurer of British Columi>ia, and B. Crickencr,

' 'Proveil a, failure, ami many perMons lost money piircliaHiii); lot.s wliicli
turned out of no value.' FhiUtjiHoit m V. I., MS., (iO. TcuilorH were askcil in
•lamiary for liuililing a oliurcli, pai.ionuge, court-liouae, anil jail at l^m^luy,
vliit'li naturally exulted the [Hjojile to exi>eot great things of the place.

408

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

afterwards chaplain at Yale. The Plumper, Captain
Richards, formerly there in 1857 to determine the
point at which the 49th parallel touchtd the sea, and
the boundary line thence to Fuca Strait, had since
assisted the Satellite in her duties, and was in the
present emergency generally useful.

The rumors of the miners' disturbance at Yale, in
which figured Edward McGowan, of inglorious im in-
ory, brought the Plumper to Derby only to find that
Moody, with twenty-five of his engineers, had gone
before in the Enterprise. Between the fiery justici' of
Bogbio, who was present, and the span-new arms (-t'
tli*^ engineers, the roughs of Hill Bar had notliiiiijf
to say, and soon her Majesty's forces were permitted
to fall back to Ho[)e, where they found the Plinitper
awaitinii' them.

The story is told in this wise, and begins back with
the o[R'ning of this memorable season of 1858. Tlio
b<Hin(lMry line not being then clearly plain in tin-
minds of some, there were those who believed. (»)•
aifeeted t(» belio^■e, that the lower Frasor, including
j^angley and Hope, were in United States territory.
Tlu! fur niono})oly, the restrictions on shij)j)ing, the
duties on goods, and the tax on miners luul rendered
the government at Victoria very unpopular amoUL,'
the adventurers, who were accustomed to think and
act for themselves. On various occasions duriny; the
spring and summer, in a s[)irit of bravado rather than
of open resistance, the incomei's had quietly delied
the autliorities, who in return held the rude strangers
in some little awe. Xot that Douglas entertaineil
any fears as to tlie result in case of war. In various
w .ys 1r' held the mineis at a disadvantage. Besides
the fore<> which at any moment might be brought
from the British men-of-war at the mouch of the
river and at Victoria, he couM have cut off theif
suppli(>s of food, and have turned in upon them leu
thousand savages. But such measures were not for a
moment to be thought of; Douglas and Lytton were

LAW IN THK MINES.

Captain
Qine the

soa, and
lad since
s in the

Yale, ill
(US nifni-
find that
lad gone
justice i)t'
arms ot'
nothiiiL,^
(crmittcd
Pliuiijx'r

)ack with

38._ The

11 in (lie

ioved. (»r

inchidiiig

:c!iTitorv.

)iiig, till.'

roiiik'ivd

r among

link and

[ring the

icr than

y (h'tied

t rangers

crtainod

I various

Besides

brought

I of tlu^

off theii'

hem tell

not tor a

on were

l)oth decidedly opposed to bloody encounters except
as a lost resort.

Acting with his accustomed promptness and pie-
cision fortunately, American ideas were not allowed
lielligerently to germinate in British Columbia; so
that the present incident, dignified at the time by the
\vt)rd 'outrage,' was the only occasion of a combinetl
military and naval campaign in the settlement of the
country.

Hill Bar was now the richest and njost populous
mining camp on the river, and the head-tjuarters in
the nature of things of the opposition element. This
consisted, firstly, in village rivalry, and secondly, in
the ascendency of the foreign element, which pro-
tested a«jainst the onerous restrictions iiv whit-h
Douglas liad aiim;d to i)reveiit the country from being
i|uite overrun and rided by tlio Americans. Yale was
('(tiiservative and commercial; Hill Bill was inhabited
cxchisivelv bv miners, and was consiMiiieiitlv radical,
if not rexolutioiiarv, rcijfardle.ss of cvervthiiiLj in fa<-t
but gold, witli fair play as its single ten«'t serving as
a c(»de of law, Untler such conditions, nothing beyond
a pretext was wanting to creab^ an event character-
istic c»f the situation. First then' gr«'W up a rivalry
iii'tween the magnates who served as magistrates
• if the two places. Jn J)e«'ember I8r)8 the resident
magistrate of J fill IJar, IVrrier, took occasion to claim
jinisdietioii ovei* a prisoner named Farrell, fiom tlu'
liar, wliom his constable had arrested for an otftnco
"itinmitted at Yale. He was incarceiated at Yale by
the rival magistrate, Whamiell, who in the exerci.sj!
of his judgment and prerogatives considered it also
\\U duty to arrest and to incarcerate for eoiitem[>t of
<'»ui-t the arresting constable of .lustice IN-rrier, and
to refuse to give u[f either of his prisoners.

Tt) enforce the majesty of the law, as administert d
at Hill J:Jar, Justice I'errier thought proper to swear
in special constables from the J^ar, to recover his own
constable by force, antl to bring the original prist>ner,

410

GOVERNMENT OP THE MAINLAND.

Farrell, ""vith the rival Justice WhanncU, under a
charge of contempt before the court at Hill Bar.'''
Among tlie specials so sworn was a miner from Hill
Bar, who had attained some notoriety as an object
of attention from the Vigilance Committe of San
Francisco, an ex-judge of California, the redoubtable
Ned McGowan.

The posse from Hill Bar, under the leadership of
special eonstiible Kelly, effected the removal of tlio
three prisoners. Whether from his notoriety as u
rough, or the part enacted by him as a special
constable, McGowan was made out to have figuncl
conspicuously in the affair, but further than counte-
nancing the transaction, and guiding it within lawful
bounds, such does not appear to have been the fact.
Meetings were held both at Yale and at Hill Bar
for the purpose of supporting their respective jus-
tices. At Hill Bar one liundred and fifty men placed
themselves 'under arms' in the cause of magisterial
dignity as represented by Justice Perrier. Farrell
was tried according to law at Hill Bar, and fined
seventy-five dollars; the Yale constable vas released,
and Justice Whannell was adjudged guilty himself o\'
contempt, and fined fifty dollars, and then allowed to
return to his bench at Yale. The outraged magis-
trate of Yale next invoked the aid of the armv aixl
navy. Desj)atches were sent down the river to tuc

"*Tlio p.'irticularsof tlie origin of this early caae of inutiuil oontemi)t in tlie
k'giil liistory of the colony are as foUowH: Farrell and Itiirnii, two miners from
Hill Har, on the '2i)th of Oeci^nilxT 18.")8, went to Yalo and got drnnk. Tiny
M-ent into a harhor's shoii, M'liere tln^y fell into an altereaticrti wit)', ilio pro-
prietor, a colored man named lliekHon, wiio was severely beaten by a pistol
in the hands of Farrell. Complaint having been made before .lustiee Whan-
nell, warrants were issued for the arrest of the offenders. The Vale constabli'
not being able to make the arrest, tlie Hill Bar constable, Hieks, belonging to
I'l'rrier's eonrt, arrestt^d the miners, and brought them before Justice VViian-
nell at Yale, but saying soinetliing whicli oli'endcd Whannell, was him.oclt'
locked up with liis prisoner. Justice I'eriier then issued a warrant for the
urresb of Justice Wliaiinell for contempt. Kelly, the 8iH,'cial who was ile-
jmted for the service, along with Medowixu and others from H ill Ikir, miinap'd
the iiusiness so M-ell tiiat no violence was done, nor was the letter of tlit; law
transgressed. MeOowan took caro to participate in the procee<ling8 only as
adviser and siiectjitor. Tlie diiiiculty arose from the overbearing manner,
and perhaps alsi, tlio want of legal knowledge, of the justice at Yale. VUiorin
O'azcUe, Jan. 8, Tl, 185<J.

ON THE WAP, PATH.

411

effect that the notorious ex-judge, an outlaw o.^ the
worst character, was at the bottom of it rM, and the
ringleader of a dangerous body of men of his own
stripe, and of American sympathizers who had vio-
lently rescued a criminal from the clutches of the
law at Yale. Hill Bar was reported to be the liead-
quarters of " as desperate a gang of villains as ever
went unhanged."'* The gold commissioner at Hope
notified the governor, who applied to Colonel Moody
of the army, and to Captain Richards of the navy, for
assistance in the maintenance of the law. Stories
were rife of the deeds by which the supposed ring-
leader of the incipient rebellion had gained his noto-
riety. Several companic of marines, sappers, inin(TS,
and police were sent to Hope and Yale tt) unra^■el tlie
farce.

Early in January 1851), Moody started from Lang-
lev with the company of engineers stationed there,
nuinbering twenty-five, who had just arrived in the
colony, forming the advance guard for the scene of
action. Prevost, of the Plumper, sent a party to
sui)port Moody, and lieutenants (toocIi and Mayne
embarked with a Imndred marines and sailors from
tlie Plumper and Satellite, taking also a field-piece.
This detachment proceedi'd as far as Langley in the
Plumper, ]Moody having gone on in llie steamer Kn-
Urprm, the only steamer on the river at the time
oapable of navigating above Langley. iStayiu^ was
sent on with despatches from Kiehards, recpiesting
instructions. The police force under ]irew joined the
excursion.

a^[r Yale, the Hudson's Bay Comjiany's oflicer in

'• Victoria GnwUe, Jan. 11, IS.')!). A later iasuo of tli« H;iin<» jonnial, o:i
Jail, iritli, gave tlio traiiAMctiim ({uito a ilitlcront coloritiK, iiiui tlio Rir a Ix't -
tcr ii:i!!iv. .l,\8tiu() iVrricr camo out in a <lefeiiov of 1 1 ill liar a.s an iiiiUMiially
onlirly place, and exnlaiiiuil further that it was by tliu iiiHiiliouH ailvii-e of an
iuiliviilual not nainea that Whaiuiell hail ooniinittiMl the iietH which <.'aUH*-il
till' (lirticulty. This person iiroeeeilcd down the river after the ilenonenieiit
in tin; courts, aiul 'hy his lying ami drunken r-itorts wherever he Htonped on
liis way to Victoria, cauuitt serious aluriii.' Vorrier'a letter, in Virtoiti
(i"vtlv, Feb. 1, 1839

4\'2

(iOVKIlNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

cliargc at Fort Laiigley, supplied Mayne with a
eanoc and niiio stout paddlers, four half-breeds uiid
five Indians, under the command of Mr Lewis. Be-
fore startinjjf, Mr Yale harangued the crow to impress
them with the importance of the service, and presented
each man with streamers of bright red, blue, and y«l
low ribbons, which were attached to their caps as a
substitute for war-i)aint. Travelling through the niglit
in midwinter, among tioating blocks of ice, tlie Indians
chanting dolefully to the movement of their paddles
as they passed the miners' cabins on the shore, the suc-
cessive cam[)s were startled and the sleei)ersavvaken«'(l
to conjure visions of nuirder as the only probable
cause for such a movement at such a tinu;.

The gold commissioner at Jlope was surprisi-d ;it
tlie promptness with which his re(|uisltion for troops
had been lionored by the governor, and was ajtparcntly
a littlt! end)arraKsed, having learne<l in tlie mean time
that the rebellion was exaggerate<l, and that the fctl
ing of the mining population at Yale and elscwliiiv
had In-en Ljrosslv misrepresented. Lt^avinijfCii-aiit and
the engineers at Hope, Moofly, I^egbie, and ^la\ m
accompaniid the conunissioner in his canoe; to Y.dt
for a pa)iey.

The town was «piiet, and ^[oody was surpris(;d on
entering it to nn-i t a reception the most cordiid,
accompanied by lusty eheering. Finding the situa-
tion peaceful, and the next day heing Sunday, ^[oody,
ills', ad of "projecting redoubts antl parallels, pt i-
formed divine service in the <'ourt-house — the first
occasion of juiblic Christian worship in i\io town of
Yak'. Jiut after church IVIoody cr(>ssed the j)atli
of NedMe(«owan. The consecpience was, that Mc-
(jlowan said something and did something which was
constiued as insulting, as an unprovoked assault u|)oii
the majesty of the law re[)resented in the person of
Moody. Probably it was: Xed was fully cajmble of
such tlnngs. Finding sundry other suspicious circiiin-
stances significant of insubonUnation on the part ol

NKI) THK UBUiUITOUS.

with a
oeds uihI
/is. Bts
) impress
)resontt<l

and y<l
aps as :i
tiieni<«lit
) Indians
• paddles
, the sn<;-
Lvvakened

probaltlc

[)rised iit
or troops
)])ar«'ntly
lean tiiiif

tilO feel

Isewliciv

I rant and

I ^layn(

to Yalr

)ris(!d (111
eordial,
le situa-
, ^[ood\ ,
els, p« r-
tlio first
town of
he }>ath
,hat Mi-
ll iel I was

Lult U[>oH

)erson ot
ipahle of
s «'irenni-
i part of

^[cGowaii's fricndw, Moody directed Mayne to drop
(juiekly down the river at niglit and order up the
forces. The utmost precaution was taken to maintain
secrecy. Allard, of the Hudson's Hay Company's es-
tahlishment, liad a small canoe launched in the dark-
ness an«l taken a mile down the river to a point on the
rin'ht hank, where Mayne end)aiked. The lattiT was
afraid oven to lij^lit his pipe until he had passed Hill
I Jar, fearinuf that ho would he stopped hy the mf»l).
Hut the miners had the advantage of him in this
movement, being well awan; of it, and <(>nsiderahly
amused thereat. To the surjnise of every one, how-
ever, Grant and the whole body of engineers ap-
peared at Yale the next morninu: bv davlit»ht. The
ll(»tilla of canoes lay bows op beneath tlu' bluH'.
When the sleeping diggers awoke, the atmosphere
ajtpeared lM>Hig<'rent. Meanwhile, Mayne sped on to
liangley on boanl the Knftrjiri.sc, arriving th(> same
afternoon.

At nightfall tlu^ Kutcriyrixc was turned u)) the
riv(T with the niariius, sailors, ])olice, and the tield-
|»iece on boanl. At Hope tlu; otKcer in charge re-
ceived despatches from Moody to the effect that only
the marini'S were to Ik; .sent on to Vale.

When they arrived at Vale the next morning they
foimd the war was ovtir. XLcdiowan, having cnjoyt'd
the sensation, pai«l the gohl eommissioner a formal
visit, tendered a gentlemanly apohtgy lor his assault
on Moody, ])rov«'d satisfactorily that he had lucn
acting only the part (»f special constable under the
nrdcis of tlu^ magisti'ate, committed himself frankly
into the hands of justice foi* making' the assault under
sMpposetl provocation, and [>aid his fine. With chai-
acteristic impudt-nce, be then took upon himself to do
the honors of Hill Jiar. ( 'onductinn' l)e<!bieand Mavne
over the diggings, he washed some dirt for thcii' en-
lightenment, and joined by a dozen others, gave them
a champagne collation, which all enjoyed. And so
the affair passed off. l*errier and his constable were

414

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

'-• 'i

;!■

Vi'i

dismissed from office for straining a point of legal
dignity.**

The fears of Douglas, concerning the danger to Im'
apprehended from the unchecked life of the early
mining ]>eriod in these parts, appear to have been
allayed afUr the event just described. In his de-
spatch of January '2'Jd to the c-olonial office touching
the " outrage at Yale," he testifies to the fact that
the Americans and other foreigners had developed a
stati' of feeling of the best description. "Their num-
bers," he says, "are now so nmcii reduced that the
danger of insurrectionary movement on their part is
not imminent."

Mcdiowan's career in this part of the world was
brought to a conclusion l)y shooting at a man at Jlill
l^ar, but though he missed his mark, he remembered
the cut of Bcgbie's features, and deemed it valor to
depart, which he did, escaping across the boundary.''

On his way up the river. Moody had closely scru-
tinized the banks with a view to the best site for the
metropolis of Jie Mainland. He did not like Derby;
perhaps because of its distance from the imfutli of
the river, of the swampy character of the ground
thereabout, of the difficulty of approach l)y sea-going
vess((ls; perha)>s because Douglas had selected it, and
the Hudson's liay Company liad ten scjuare miles of

''" Miii/m't li. C. , 58-70. DougliiH said Wliaiiiicll was not properly suppnrtcil
liy tlie l"'ort Villi! policf, M'lio fell away at tiu; first apiioaranue of (laii^ci'.
Di'spatfli .(an. H, Ih.'iK, to tlio colonial otlico, in IJ. Col. /'hjmth, ii. .Vi li.
Tin- niovoint'iit from Mill liar was oviik-ntly orj^anized and timed with a viiw
of pri'Vunting tiir chances of a collision.

" Maync coninu'ntM appreciatively upon Mdiowan's gentlemanly traits
and on his pnhlished Miitoliio^raphy \\ liile at Hill Har he was tiie owm r
of a rich claim, and i)o]iidar anion..^ his fellows. Not havin;; citiier the l^ve
or fear of Itruish rule in his 'leart, he was a character f)l»noxious to tlie
authorities at this ;<nictnre. <t the course of this ditiicnlty he hail also a
personal altercation w;t!: *.i. W. I'liifer. See \' if toiiti <iiiZ)'H>\ •hui. '2^2, 1S.'>.S,
and ill St; II I'mnfitio lUiUitin, Feb. 'J8, 18.V.(, article entitled 'Ned MctJowaii
and his eoloiiy,' in whieii a writer speaks of the judge as ' lord of the manor,'
■who 'entertains on liehalf of his sulijects all distinghished strangiTs. . .p"i'-
Hoiial like or liislike of tile host is not considered . . .pledges the ((ueen's healtil
in chaiiipa;;iie. . .Tliere was a row Imt Met towaii apologized and pledged him-
8j!f a^auist any reenrreiice, '

FOUNDING OF NEW WESTMINSTER.

415

of legal

rcr to bo
he early
ivo been
. his (Ic-
touehinin;
faet that
kreloped a
leir iiuin-
that the
r part is

'orkl was
II at Hill
iR'inbend
b valor to
)un<hiry.-'

iSol}' 8<-'l'U-

^ tor the
Derby;
mouth ttl'
jTrotiiul

sea-goiii'j;
I it, aixl

ileh t»t'

rly suiiportcl

.•c (if liaiin^i'.

'l■■^, ii. •"'■"' ''■

with a viiw

•manly traits
IS til*' iiwini-
,lier till' 1"V.'
ixious t" till'
V liail also .1
an. '2'2, lS.-»i.
•d Mt'«io\v,iii
it tlif iiiaii'T,
inj{(;r». . -l'"'-
u«'L'irnlit'altli
|l>U!ilgt'<l hiiii-

land in reserve adjoining it. Of what avail were the
r(»yal engineers with their technical training if they
could not see further into the mysteries of forest-
taming and empire-building than common fur-traders i

On the north bank of the river, just above the
tlilta, a high beach had been noticed, a l)each which
was thought a fitting place for an imperial city. The
iil)i)roach from either direction was magnificent, and
any siiip that could enter over the bar at tiie mouth
(if the river might moor beside its wharves. True,
the expeust! of city-building there w<>uld be greater
than at I)er])y; the former spot was high and thickly
f(»refste<l, while the latter was low and open; but surely
!:;(»ld was now plentiful enough to allow them to choose
the best.

So that when the Plumper dropped down the
fjcream some fifteen miles from Deiby t<; the beach
hel'ore mentioned, it was determined that both from
Ideographical and stratcjgical points of view, this was
the best })lace on the river. The men therefore wei'c
jiiit to work cutting trees, and soon a field of stumps
ii|»|M'ared which outnumbered the houses built for
twenty years and more." To this imi)erial stum|)-
lield was given at fiist, and until her majesty should
indicate her royal pleasure, the name Queeiisborongh;
li\it when such })leasure was known, it was called New
Westminster.-''

Notice was given by the governor tlij 14th of F«'b-
niaiy 18;V.), that it was intended innnediately to lay
nut, on the north bank of tlu^ lower Fraser, the site
et' a city to be the capital (»f liritish (Columbia, the
Ints to be sold by auction in April, one fourth of them
tn bf reserved in blocks for purchascTs in other ]>arts
"f her majesty's dominions. Purchasers of lt)ts in

■" ' ))r Campliell ami I went to examine a part a little north of where the
liiwu stands, ami ko thick was the hush that it took uh two "hours to force our
w.i.v ill rather less than a mile and a half.' MitynrH Ii. ('., 7-.

-'On the '2()tii of .Inly IS.W, it was jiuldicly iiroclainn-il tliat tiie town liere-
t'.tMi'r known as (juuunaboruugh or Queunltorough uhould be hereafter cuUecl
N' w Westminster.

«1«

(lOVEUXMENT OF THE MAINLAND.

1:1

Derby the Xt)veinbi'r previous were at the same time
informed that thiy might surrender such h)ts and
receive their equi'ak'nt in Queenshorougli |)ro|toitv.
Ah'eatly a revenue otticer was stationed near C^ U'»'ii>-
borough t(M-ollect tolls from those failing to tall fur
tliat purpose at \ ictoria,'' and from the 15th of Juiif
tlie port of Queensborough was the publicly declarti I
j)ort of entry.

lleturning to A'^ictoria, the Plumper spent a week
.surveying the harljor; then on the 10th of A]>ril she
sailed for Xanaimo, crossed thenct! to tlic mouth (if
the river, rnibarked from her the marines hroughr
out by the Trihioic, and with twenty engineers landtd
them at Queensborough, which place was already th»'
military hejid-<(uarters of ]^ritish Columbia. l*it(hiii.r
llicir tents a mile ea.st of tlu! town site, they joined in
the work of clearing, (irlm as was the pleasure of in-
exjierienced axemen in felling trees, that labor w;i>
light as comjKired with removing the logs, stump-.
and the network «>f roots which the centuries had
been v, ('avin<if under<jround. Nevertheless a cliurdi.
a treasury, and a court-house soon disputed posstssiun
with the bears; also dwellings, restaurants, stores, and
wharves

An<l so affairs c<mtinued until the first gold flush
had ])ass(<l away. Moody took up his residence at
Xcw Westminst«'r, built the government house thtir.
o]»enetl roads, and sold lands, J)ouglas s[)ending mi»>t
of his time at \ ictoria."'" AEore gun-boats were want' d

^'Opi'ii hoats not carrying lifiuors, imr nioro than 4(M) ll>t. of iirovisioiis i'i>r
each pii.s.si'ngri-, and not having; I'luarcd at Victoria, wcrt; now allowcil to jia.-s
up tliu river liy ]>a\ ing forty Hliillings, and livu MliillingM for every pa.-'*<iii.''T.

^■'Tlie Kale of t,tiiccn.sliorougli lots did not take place until the 1st of .luin,
at wliii h time l.'tv! lots tiO liy l.t'2 feet fouml purchasers at prices from S^I li' tn
.^jl.HT.") earn, agi,'ngating over .^4(),(HtO. This for the first day only; at tin-
second ilay's sale an etjual nnniher of lots was disposed of, hut at lower priie.i.
]'irti)ri(i tldzttti; June 15, l.S.">lt.

■^"For the government of the colony of British Colunihia the following' [irn-
visional appointments were made hy (itivernor Douglas, between .laniiary I
and June M), 18.VJ: Stipendiary magistrate and justice of the pea<'e at t^neeii.<-
horongh, W. K. Spaulding; at Langley, Poter O'Reilly; at Lillnct, Tlio'iiaj!
i;iwyn; at Lyttou, H. M. llall. High-sheriff at Port Douglas, Charlei s.

INCOUl'ORATION iW THK MhmtOl'OLIS

417

by T^ouffliis, and tlie T('rniii)/(iuf, Tojtazc, uinl Clio wore
i»rilorc(l to join tlio nortli-wcst sijuudron.

In iL'j^ard to revenue and I'xpenditure, tlianks to
tlie |)aternal precepts of the sfcretarv of the (polonies
L'vrv ineul<"atin!^ Helf-suj»[)ort and eeononiy, tlieso wcie
well niannued. Ineludinij; niinin;^ anil sjjirit licenses,
(ustoins duties, and sales of lands and town lots,
and after l»«iyiiig f'«>r road-ltuildin*; and <»tlier ]tul)lie
wuiks, extra ]»ay for services performed l>y the Safrl-
lllc and the J ItuiijK'r, <((»vernnient evpcditions, and
salaries of niaj^istrates and otlu'r ofti< ils, there was a
halanco on the 8th of April I 8j'J of over £8,000 in
favor of the colony.

Sniu<»;<^lin<; was pra<'tised lari^ely from the; first ap-
•e of the <'()ld fever. Particularlv alony the

praranc

I'nited States border it was found impossible, where
all was hurry and lu'lter-sk«lter, and j^oods were carried
oM men's backs as well as by horses and canoes, to pie-
vt lit lart,^e <|uantities of merchandise from jiassini,^ tlu'
liiM- untaxed. So "jfreat bi'came this contiaband traf-
lie, that a serious commercial depression which pif-
vailed at New Westminster in the wiiit<r of IHOO I
w.is char^rd directly to it. This view of it, however,
the i^ovirnor did not take, but thought it rather the
result of over-importation.

J 11 the sununer of 18(50 the inhabitants of Xew
Westminster asked the privilege of incorporating their
town, appointing nmnicipal ofticers, taxing themsrlvcs,
and im[»roving the metroi)olis. 'i'lu^ ])oweis of tlu;
(iiuncil, which was to consist of si v«'n nn-mbcrs, wire
liiiiited on the one side by the conunissicjuer of lands

Nicdll. At Flirt Vail!, asHistant K^l'l coiiimis.sioin'r, K. H. SaiuicliTs; cliitf
tli'ik I'oloiiial «cori!tary'n olliix', CliaiU's (hmhI; i-hirf clerk <'l tiio treaKury,
•liiljii (doin'r; I'li'rk in tho oii.stniii-liuii.sn, W . II. McCrra; rii;i.strar of tlic
Miiiri'iin' court, A. I. Bu.ililiy; revciiiu' ollicor at I^aiiglcy, CliarUss WyMf.
Oilier olliccrs wurc apitoiiuHl at other times aii<l iilacu.s as necessity seciiicd to
<li!iiiaiic|. Ciiloiiial oliiccrs resiiling ut New Westiiiiiister in the autumn ol
\SM Were U. i'. Mooily, lieutenant-governor, military commaniier, ami com-
luissioner of laiuls ami workH; Matthew H. li«'j;l)io, jmlge; Cliartres Hrew,
• hief ins]:)ector of police; W. 1>. (ioNset, treasurer; F. <i. Clamlct, assayer;
('. A. Itiicnn, inciter; VVyiiiond ilanilcy, collector of custoiiiH; W. R. Spaultl-
iiig, postmaster.

JIisT. Brit. Col. 27

418

GOVERNMENT OF THE MAINLAND,

"I,

Ml!

ami works, and <>ii the other by the tax-|)ayors. Tin-
pr()iK)S('(l tax for eadi of two years was two per cent
on tlie assessed value of town property. The j^ov-
crnor reeonnni-nded the measure, and it was iliily
[iroelainied at Victoria on the HIth of July 18G0. To
itii, it was ordered that uiion notice <j;iv(ii

Iiro(
)e^r

rni w

ever' man should fell the trees on his own lot.

\y ctoii asked Douijlas what thev should do witli

the 1

nOians, aii<

lift
tl

!ia<l not hotter settle them in

•linion,

and

VMla<»»s, and jjfive them law, taxation, re
woik. DoUi^las answered yes; that is the hest that
can he <lone with thiin, hetter than the United 8tat» s
way, that and a land ivserve with <-ivili/.ed self-siip-

portmn" savau^es.

le natives themselves, had tl

IHV

been asked, miujht have solvi'd t]\v dilliculty better
than any kin<;<lom t)r republic, better than any min-
ister or i^'ovcrnor in Christendom. "Jict us alone,"
tluy would ha\e siiid, "or, if you will not, what mat-
ters it bv what rules of stranijulation you rob and

a. O *■

nmrder usT'-'

■-' Furtlii'.- I'l'forono may he mado to D>' CoitmtM, fl<ii\ B. C., MS., jiai^r'iiM;
< 'oojHr's Mil,-. Md/fir-^, MS., l;{-)7; Ol'inqihi ('lull Cnitr.i., M.S., IK; (lixul.^
li. i '., MS., (•.:•; AV.»;/s' />'(.>'(• Ilirir, MS, 'l'J-*JO; Ltninn'iii'x AV;-/., I ; MrToii.^li'.t
1>']K, iKi.ssiiti; Jl. li. <\t. Ei:, ill 11. H. Co. Cluimti, 5<S; /IowiOim' ,1 (/<//•< .<.« .< ((//'/
Mr„>., .")l; AiuKiU liril. /.<;!., viii. ]M'i; Ji. ('. .\fh •mil <),:, IS.'iS 7(»; //<'«•
xiii-i/'k /'iir. /)</,., I'li. i:n7-«; fliv. .")'."_' 5, vc.to f4'-','.KW lor su]iii<irt of jjovcni-
iiiuiit, IIS!>-'.».") ami 1401; clx. i:Ui:M, .t;i."),(K)l» iiioi-f v.itcil iiiiilst iimdi
griiinliliiii.'; clxiv. KtllS; clxvii. 4'.Mi-7; cl.vxii. ."il4 17, wln'i-o coiiipbiiiits
ai;ailist goVLTiiiinjiit otliecrs of VailcouviT l.slaml an; iiiti'i>chu;cil; Fur I at'
Amiii/, J]ij}., 17; Mr/k>iiiil<ri B. C, 374-7; ('(UkU'm llixt. Kinj., viii. iV.'.");
('iiniinitlls S^iir Kl J>or<iil(>, !.'{; .MiiUiiinlniiK's I'irsI \"n\ l>ir., \'2; Br'il, ("I.
Jitiif liiHiks, iia.s.siiii; Vii-loriii (•'iizHli; .lulv "JS, Sopt. '2\ '.i, .'$<>, Oct. 1, ami
Nov. IS •_'.-), )!S.-,8, an.l Mairli U), May h, 14, 17, lit, ami .luiiu 4, IS.V.l;
Jlil>l,<u.t (.'ii!,/,- li. C, 1; /}. ('. <'<)/()»yV, May 19 aiul Dec. 'A', 1871; Til<»'^
Biit. ,4/»., I.'l, 14; /liinrt/.-Lcnniiri/'i Tnir., '2<M-'M1; Mwjii's B. ('., v., xiii.;
(•'or. <l>izA.Uv, 18G;{-4; Tolmk's ('. /'. liailway JioiiU; Jul.; Turbcll'n Vklurin,
MS., 5.

•S. The

Mie };'<»v-
'a^s duly
iGO. To
.'o jjjivcii
t.

do with
■ them ill
;i(>u, and
)t'st that
•a states

St'lf-Sll]'-

had they
tv hotter
any miii-

IS al<»!K',

rhat luat-
. rob and

MS., jiaf^r'iiii;
4., l'.»; '>'<x«/'i
1; MrTiiii^li'i
I (/<//•(. i.-'< mill
Is.'iS 70; //"«■

H-t 111' M,,\ (Tll-

iiiiclst iinuli
;! ciinipliiiiit'*
U'lul; t'lirliK
|,,/., viii. ">-■"';
i-_'; liril. '■■'.
Dct. 1, aii.l

uiio 4, IV.'.l;
1871; 7'".'//"' <
('., c, xiii.;
lt»'(< Vkl'irhi,

CHAPTER XXIII.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

1856-18S0.

JusncE wrraouT Form — Inapopration of tue Judiciauy Systkm —
JpRisDicnox OF Camadun Courts Withdrawn— Peaukes Drafts a
Plax for the Mainlani) — Lytton Eefers tue Matter to Beobie—
The Gold-fields Act— Appointment of Mattuew Uaillie Beouie —
Ox Unitino the Courts Disestablisued and Rkokgaxized — Need-
ham Declines to Rktire — Two Courts both Scpuemk— Cilvracikh
of Begbie — He Assists Douglas in Organizing Government— Jus-
tice at Cariboo— Jurors Rebuked — Stipendiary Magistrates —
Justice at Kootenai and Metlaiik-vti^vh — Convict Labor — ^Nobles
ALONG the Border — Vigilance Cojimittee.

We have seen the forms of justice, or rather justice
without form, as administered by the factors and
traders of the fur company, by poor Blanshard who
could not afford to keep a judge, by the petty justices
of the Island and Mainland, and by the brother-in-
law, Chief-justice David Cameron, And must we
confess it, that although far-reaching and strong
enough, justice hitherto has been barely respectable,
appearing oftener in elk-skin than in ermine, and quite
frequently with gaunt belly and tattered habiliments.
Now we come to the refined and assayed article; no
more retired drapers, but a genuine judge, stamped
sterling by her Majesty's commissioner, and bearing
upon his brow nature's most truthful impress.

The administration of justice under a formally con-
stituted judiciary began with the order in council
of April 4, 1856, wherein her Majesty created the
supreme court of civil justice of the colony of Van-
couver Island with a chief-justice, registrar, and sher

(il9)

4-M

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICK.

itf By patent from the n^overnor, the functions of tlir
clncNJustice were extended to criniiiuil eases; lie acted
also as judge of the vice-adniiridty eourt of A'aii-
(U)uver Island. Prior to the establishment of a lei^ns-
lative council and assemhly, the stt'itutory laws, as
Avell as the common law of Enj^land, were in force.
Of the supreme court, there were two branches, tlif
supreme tribunal and the summary or inferior court,
tiio latter havinj^ orij^inal jurisdiction in sums n<it
exccediii!^ fifty pounds. On Vancouver Island tlinv
was a j)oliee ma<jfistrate and constabulary force, and at
Victoria, Es<juimalt, Xanaimo, and Barclay Sound
there were in all six or seven persons holding com-
missions as justices of the peace; in 18()2 there were
tiiree practising barristers, and four ])roctising .solici-
tors. In the province of British (Ndunibia, in 187i3,
there were three supreme court and five county judges.

The act <»f parliament of the 2d of August is.lS,
authorizing the estal»lishment of a colonial govern-
ment for the ^[ainland, ammlled the jurisdiction nt
the courts of Canada, which had hithei'to extendeil
over this region.

( )n being asked to draw up a plan for a judiciary m
Frascr liiver, (ieorge Pearkes, crown solicitor of ^'an-
couvcr Island, appointed by Douglas, proposed a sii-
])rcme court with a chief-justice and two puisne judges.
Iiolding 7//,9/ j>r/».<? and a.ssi/c; in the several districts,
a registrar, a district judge presiding at tiie coui't n|
<piartcr-si>ssi(»ns, two or more justices of the peaiv.
a high-sheriff for each district, and an efficient con-
stabulary, l^eing referred to Lytton for his aj)i)rti\al,
the secretai-y for tlu^ colonics remarked that it ap
peare«l well adapted to the purpose, being sim))le and
practical, but tliat Hegl)ie had by tliat time airivfd,
and that it might as well be refi'rred to hiui.

iVcting upon the suggestion of Ijvtton, made the -id
of Septend)er 1H.')S, on the .'{1st of August following;
was instituted bv proclamation at Victoria the gold-
fields act of 1851), under which gold eommi-ssioiicrs

GOLD COMMISSIONER.

4l'l

ilin«»; coni-

injjf solici-

niSSlOIRTS

appointed by the governor might grant licenses to
mine for one year for five pounds, which gave the
miner holding it the exclusive right to his claim during
the time covered by the license. Leases of auriferous
lands might likewise be granted by the gold commis-
sioner for a term of years.

In .so wild and extended an area, with population
drifting hither and thither before whirlwinds of ex-
citement, the creation of this office was a most wise
and l)eneficent measure. Such an office properly fille«l,
and its duties ))roperly enforced by the l^^nited States,

would have saved t<» society rume of the worst features
of the California '41) Infern;).

In tht absence of otlier imperial authority, execu-
live or judicial, the gold commi.ssioiier was both gov-

1 indi

II.

e was uuanlian of ''overiimei

crnor and j

interests and custodian of government property witliin

Ins )uri

sdicti

on.

I s

ueh jil

ices, w

here one but not

both the offices of gold conimlssioner and Justice of
the peace wi're filled, the former fulfilbxl all the func-
tions of the latter, and ricr verm, a])peal being hail to
the supreme court from [»enalties beyond thirty days'
iiripris(»nment t>r a fine of twenty pounds. Alining
disputes were cUtei mined absolutely by the gidd com-
missioner, who, without a jury, was sole judge of law
.111(1 facts. In the larger districts, mining boards were
instituted, consisting of six or twidve niendtfi's, (dccted
l>y the {'vrv nuners, with ])ower to make and execute
mining regulations, subject to the ai)proval ot' t!ie
govi-ruoi.

I'nder the g<dd-lields act of I8")i), it was ordaiiud

loss

hi.

that mining claims must all be, as nearly as |
rectangular in tbi-m, mark.d by four pegs, the si/.',
when not otherwise l(»cally establishe<i, to \n\ for dry-
.li'igings twenty-live by tldrty feet, .ir if bar-diggings,
a strip twenty-five feet in width acr<.)ss tin? bar fr.»m
lii;.;h-water mark down int.> the liver; (|uart/, claims
<'M. lumdred feet along the seam. The first diseoM-r.-r
of a mine was entitled to two elaim.s, or, if a party «d'

422

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICK.

'II ;

lli

irMiii

- ( .:

I!,; !i

lill

four or five wore first discovcrors, tlu-n a claim and a
lialf tacli. Claims must l>o rojjfistorod, and could only
bv li'ijally transferred l)y entry at the <jfold commis-
sioner's office. Ditch and leased aurifiTous lands were
under seven s[tecial ro^-ulations.

Simultaneously with the appointment of Doujjflas
as iTovernor of the Mainlan<l, tliat is t(» say, the 'Jd
of Si'jitemher 1858, a conunission was issued hy the
imperial j^ovirnment to ]Matthew l^ailTu- Be«^d)ie as
chief-justice of liritish C\>luml)ia, sii" which time
to thti ])resent writiu'j;, throujjfh all the vicissitudes of
ct>nsol illation and confederation, he has <-ontiimed to
hold it.

It was proclaimed hy the jj^overnor at Victoria tlie
Hth of June ISol), that this should he the supreme
<'ourt of civil justice, with jurisdiction in ci'iminal
cases as well. IJe^hie was ;it first conunission»'d only
for the ^fainland, and early in 1800 he took up liis
residence at Xew Westminster; hut after no sinidl
talk amoni«' tlu> maixiiates of tin* three <jovi'rnments,
home and col(»nial, he hecame cliief-justicc? of the
wht»le of British ColumhiM, supersediiiL,^ Xei'dham iit
\'ictoria, where he d'terwaril resided.

Accompanied hy iiis hin'h-sheriff, XieoH, and hy liis
cl(>rk and re.i;istrar, l?ushi)y, the 2Hth of March IBJ'.*,
!Mr Justice JJej^bie hei,'an a notuhle journey, notahlr
hy reason of the shortness of the journey, and for the
len!j;tli of its descri[»tion.' A report of the trip was,
addressed to (Jovernor Diumlas, who sent it ti» the
duke of Xewcastle, wh(> i;avi' it to the uft'OLTraphiciil
society peojije, who jtrinted it, which, when dt)ne,
noihinn" more remained to he said of it; for the infoj'
mation it contains, however inten-stinj^ at the tim» ,
is of little ])resent or permanent viduo.

David Cameron was ]« rmitted hy act of the I Ith of
^far.'h 180 t, tt» retire from the judiciary «»f Vancou-
ver Island on a pi-nsion of five hundred pounds ster

' It iH'cnpit'M clcvi'ii iiiiyi'M (if tin' /.nni/on Widij. Six'., Jimninl, xxxi, 2H7 •l'^-

MATTHEW BAILLIE BEOBIE.

423

linjjf per annum, to be paid out of the general revenuo
of the colony.

A little tracasscrie attended Needham's rctiro-
ni'nt. The act of union terminated the court offices.
N< 'tice to that effect was served, among others, i>n Ucg-
hit and Needham, but accompanying Bcgbie's notice
Nvas his commission as judge of British Columbia.
Nt'odham toi)k exceptions to Governor Seymour's
abolition of the ofHce of chief-justice on the Islaixl,
ami appealed to England, and for a time h(^ managed
tt) sustain himself in his position. An anomalous .s*tate
of afllairs ensued. For a time there were two dis-
tinct judicial establishments, with nothing roordinate
or subordinate between them; each was indcpendi'iit
of the other, and n(>ither ])ossessed jurisdiction further
tli;m before the uiiit>n. IJei^bic! was the commissioned
jiKJge of British Columbia, and Needham was liojd-
iiig court upon the strength of what was, jirior to
the union, chief-justice of Vancouver Island. The
source of the trouble was in the framiii''' of the
union bill, which, while consolidating every other
hranch of the colonial government, left the courts as
distinct as ever. The Island office was fuially in due
form abolished, and Sir Matthew reigned alone

Probably more than to any one jiersou the com-
monwealth of British Columbia owes obligation to
Mr Hegbie for its healthful ordinances, for the wise
iiiwl liberal provisions of its govermnent, and for the
jiiniost uid)roken reign of peace and order during his
lung term of office. Nfoi-e than any person I have
met in my long historical pilgrimage lVon\ l)aricn to
Alaska, he was the incarnation of just ice, the embodi-
niciit of that restrainini; inllucjice \vhi<*h society is so
strangely forced to jdace uj)on its members, a man
nitist truly sims jtcur vt satis irprin'lic. Setting aside
lii> early training, his education, which gavi- him
,L;ivat advantage over hi-" asNociates, an<l placii i; him
upon the plane of inherent manhood, there were none
t" match him. Physically as fearless as Tod, .Mc-

424

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

r- 'i'j

Tavisli, or Yale, in that highest attribute of human-
ity, moral courage, ho far Hurpassed Douglas.

Ih Htudying the requirements of the colony, in
maturing plans for the Jidministration of affairs, ami
in bringing in and punishing offendijrs, Mr BogKic
was ever active. '* Although invested with the very
important office of judge," wrote Lytton to Douglas,
"lie will ncvcrtluilcss have the kindness, f<»r the ptcs-
ent at least, to lend you his general aid for the rf)ni-
pilation of tlu; ni'cessary laws," wiiicli was efficiently
and faithfully done. For, reporting to the eail nt'
Xewi'ustle the 2()tii of January liS(>0, the governor
says: "The day after the arrival of Mr liegbie, tlie
judge, hi! accompanied me to ihitish Columbiu, and
after his return to Victoria, he was of tiie greali st
assistance to me in discharging the functions (•!'
att(niiey-general, which otHi-e he kindly fulHlle«l with
the concuii'ence of her majesty's govi'rnini'nt. Sint c
the ai rival at N'ictoiia \)\' tlu> attorney-general, Mr
Jjeghie lias passed long [teriods in and lias iK-en nu
ciivuit over the gi'catir jioition of ihitish ('oIunilt"a,
and his personal <'onnnunieations to me ujx)!! his ict in ii
have l)«in most valuable, and have assisted ine niate-
rially in framing laws, and in adapting the general
system of government to the actual rinjuirements of
the people."

lie was an eecentiic man, but his eccentiicities
se»'med always to take a sensible ilireetion. I iilike
Xeedliam, be came to th»! colony whil- \et his luaiii
was acti\»' and his tbouulits oi-iyinal and iVesJi, and
before being wholly and hopelessly bound to the ser-
vice of foolish traditions, lie was an ardi-nt lovt r >•['
music, and also of athletic spoit.s.'

it is inqiossible that such a man should live witiieiit

'On till) 'JlUli of .fiinuary IHrtl* tlio Vietnria I'liilliiuiiioiiic SiM-ii.ty wn* <'i-
gaiii/uil, witli till' I'liicf-jiiMtiro a.H )ii'<'r.iili>iit; Siliiii l''niiikliii, vii'i'iii'i-siiliiit;
Artliiir l>. UiiNliliy, Hi'i'i'i'liiry; Ali'XiiuiUr I'". Mam, trriutiiii't ; .lulm lliily, run-

illli:t<ii'; ailil AllUllMtilH I'l'liilirrtdll, A. ( ', AlliIrt'Hiiii, .liiK<'|iii I'urtrr, .l.liiH'H

Jx-iuli. H. W. I'lsirN)', l^iiiiili'y Fruiikliii, uiul Jiiiiica F. Cruwly, iliri'< im's,
I'icluriii <t'iiZiUi, l''t;li. I, lMr»W.

D. G. FORBES MACDONALD.

425

making enemies. Every bad man was his enemy.
Every sycophant ; every pohtieian whose airbition was
greater than his honesty; every coward who dare not
uiaintain the right in the face of pubhc opinion; every
schemer for personal profit or advancennmt at the
expense of pubhc good — these and the like were his
natural opponents. With Douglas, who loved too
well at times to try to reconcile public polity to j)er-
soual caprice or interest, and at other times would
ijriKue legal forms altogether, he was not always ou
the best of terms. As to the succeeding governors,
who were most of them professional [)oliticiaiis, serving
for [)lace or pay, ho troubled himst^lf but little about
them. His own duty was always plain, and hv did
it; and the service he rendered was a lit se<|U(l to
thiit so well begun by the Hudson's ]?ay (V)ni[>any.
Considering the circumstances surrounding the bigin-
ning, the unruly wild nun and the unruly gold-gath-
I rtis, society during theso iiicij)ient stages was, 1 say,
a marvel of order and »)be«lien('t; to law.

It is truo that when iawKss u\cn first flocked in
along the Frasci', and began shooting natives afUr
tlii'ir old fashion, with as little com[)un('tion as iUvy
wiiiild shoot deer, the Indians re'taliated, and between
tlir two there wi r»' manv nuu'ders. liut when tlu;
niiiicrs found by cxpcrienci! (hat crinios connnittt'd
ujioii the person of a sjivagc^ were as sv. iltly ;ind as
scMvi'ly punished as were crimes (joniniitted by sav-
ages, tliey were more careful how they threw iUv'ir
shots about.

! have found no one more ready to find fault w <th
the a<lniinistration <»!' justiee, as indeed with most
ether niattiU's in the early days, than D. (i. l-'orlxs
Maedonald, who with many initials of honor to his
I'.iiiie wrote a book'' on this eountry in I H(»«, elegjuit
enough in tvpogiapbv and paper, but noj wh(»ilv
tnitliful.

' l!ritlnh (olumhia ami Viiuv(iUVi'i''» IhUiihI, i-imii<rliiii',i <i dfticriptioii ••»' Ihmf.
ilijirntlnifiiii, i'tc. Till! lMH)k i-oacl'od a tliinl 'tlitiini in |H»i;i. A larir ami
much iiioiu trIiubW authority wiys; ' ']'hc pcojilo aro u lau-ubi<ling ixtiplv,

Iflfn

420

ADMINISTRATION OP JUSTICE.

" How is it that crime is on the increase?" he ex-
olairas. " Neither Htb nor property, female chastity,
1 louse nor home is safe from the depredations of the
many villains who sojourn there." " Because," he an-
swers, "puni: liniont is invariably over-lenient!" Were
it any oilier writer I should regard his words as in-
tended irony. Bcg'oie over-lenient! The man is ditli-
cult to please, and were he once on trial before Sir
]\Jatthew, as he deserved to be, he would erase i'nmi
future editions the lies he has told, in which case, in-
deed, there would be little left of his book.

When we consider for hov many unknown centu-
ries the savajxes had been rijj^itintj their own wrongs,
how reveng(^ with them was the highest form of jus-
tice, how widely scattered they wer(\ and so compara-
tiscly little under the influence of white men, it is
wonderful how <|uickly they were brought to place
theuiselve;' under restraint, especially where white men
were concerned.

(*. A. Bayl(>y, coroner at Nanaimo in 1853, was
coi'-nizant (if as manv cool nnirders among the natives
as one often tiiids in Christendom. "Indian law pre-
vailed for many yoars," he says, " until the colony had
f nined a legislalivt^ and executive council, and the
coloni.sts felt they had tlu' power to enforce the laws."

'fhe natives wei'e qtiite curious as to what was going
on amoug llu^ white men, an<l woidd ol'len come from
a (listaiu'e and in large numbers to see the strangers.
They eanje down iVoni Queen C'harlo<t(> Islands dur-
ing .summer, in bands of \'nm\ live to iifteeii hundred;
and the little colony at Fort Victoria, near whi<'li
th* y encamped, was seriously I'rightened by them in

criiiU! of any Hvrioim inoinotit lieing .ilni<>.st uukuown. I i-lioultl tliink it (|uitc
within ll)c iiiarU. that not nioro thnn •• w \h-v cnxi it tliu Imliini |M)]iuluti(in of
tliu iipjMT 1 •)untiv i»i'« f>'<«tnil in mir priMonx. M-liieli «|H>akH vohiiiii'ii in bchiili of
tlifir iVKiKvl for fuw, aiui may In- wiiil to Ih.- in pari attrihnUilih', liist, to thiir
ndiiiifalifo m.uuiv' ■•K'oi iiiiiltrthf UnilHoii's Hay ('"mpany"* r<i/i«i(' . wcond, to
till' iiiiiuiriMl mliniiiistralioMof juHtici'; iiiul thiri! to thti'tloi'tH niaihi in thiir
bfhaif l>\ th« various iiUHMonary cntcrpriKCH whii h liuvu tiofii ciiKa^'i-il umlcr-
takmu to pi"»)inotc th«ir t«MK>Ht welfuiv.' (!ihkI'» llwt. It. <' , MS., I III.

INIHAN KILL1N<!.

427

e?" he CX-
3 chastity,
ons of the
se," he an-
tit!" Were
Drds as in-
lan is ditH-
bcfore Sir
:)rase IVom
jh case, in-

)\vn coiitu-
vn wrongs,
►rni of jus-
3 compara-

incn, it is
it to place

white men

1853, was

he nativcis

II law j^re-

poloiiy had

, and the

tlio laws."

wast'oiiii'

otne from

HtranL((rs.

.'Uids diir-

hundrod;

■ar which

►y them in

tliiiik it iiiiito
|MiI)iit:tti(in (if
•a in bvliali of

, lili<t, to their

'Ml' . H«'con<l, to
iiiiiiIk in tluir

n><u/if<l unik'i-

<.. IKJ.

isr)4. The Haidahs wen; fierce and in had repute;
t!i<y had <aptured numy wliite men, iiaini^, th<> ship-
hiiilder, and J^enjaniin (lihhs, and othors from a
r lilted States vessel, and hold tlu-m as slavos until
i;iiis()med. On this occasion, J)onL!:lusi'alh'd hiscoun-
ril to sit upon the matti'r. an<l loaded tho fort iirnns;
hut the Haidahs did not moan mischief now. 'I'hey
eiily happened to remeinher tiiis sunumr wiiat their
old \varri«>r-nod J^elus had ](y\\*x a^^o told tht'in of the

iiinj.^ of whit»! njen witii whom they should shake
hands and ira<Ie.

During the Knisi'r excitement the sa>an"s as well
jis others swarmed at N'ictoiia on theii- wy to and
f'nMii the mines, and so great was their love for the
|ii>illigat«' life of civilization, that it was only hy moral

>ii;:sion and force eo

tml»ined that thev ccuild aKva\ s h

lli(|l|ce(

1 to 1

novo on.

'I'l

ley weic n<'t. long m learning

iiow to dig I'or gold; «>!•, having it, h«»w to dissipate it,
I have noted the indivi«hial issues, seldom hloody,
hit ween the white fur-huyers and tin- red fur-
si'licrs that spi'ang from this interc(tiu'se up to the
tiiiu> of .settlement, TIm-ii came the alfair ending in
tile apjK'araiice of I )oug!as with a vessel <»f wai" at

(

e\VI(

hit! in 185:). 'i'he lirst old-fashiomd American

iiiassaj're in the interior of Ihitish ( 'olumhia was that
oil Kra.ser Jiiver in 1S.)S, when, if we may credit
\\ addingtctn, the miners iVom ( 'alifornia surprised and
massacred thirtv-threi umoeeiit pi-rs(His uf a iViiiidly
tiihe.*

rile liiig Siri.^s llui/, ( 'aptain Weldeii, of San Vr

an-

ci-eo, on the way from J'ort ( >r( hard to \'ictoiia, put
into Xitinat Sound ahout the .'Mst ot' .lanuary ls.V.>.
Ne\t day several h'liulfed .savages appeai'ed, .sei/.f«l

aiK

I .str

ipjtei

I th

NeS.st

1, and held the caiitain nud

'Vowill, V/z/JH:/ Dhf,-i,-t n. '■., NfS , 31 •_', stntts that mi Hum nrcaKJon
lillv iiii'ii iiimIit ouv SiiyliT, I .\in<'i'ii'aii. iilkIc iIic unsluiiii^jil, ithij thit ^ii'.it
Biilli'i-in^' fiiUt'Mc'il tile !>iiro\ oi-H III tlic ni.tM.nri', iiiwliiiliail tluir i.^hI v\.iit
<li'>lii.yt'(l. Killnn, .!</»■., MS., I".', utlirin^ tliut tin' IniliiiU'- liiMt kili< 'i wliitu
111! II, iinil that the shiunhtcitHl uiiih'r SnyiUr riiiinlH'ii'cl fi^lituun, ainl llial
thM wuH tlic (inly luihiui w.iv llicrc.

428

ADMINISTRATION OP JUSTICE.

crew prisoncrH for several <iays, they at length luckily
escaping with their lives. The Satellite immediately
went nn«l recovered the brig and cargo, which was of
liiinlHT, but everything that could be carried away

was missing

Seventy canoes from Queen Charlotte Islands with
six liiiii(lred Ilaidahs on board entered Victoria Har-
bor oil the 30th of March. And these wore but tlu;
vangujird of a general convention reported by tlio
ftteanier f/ihoiichere as on the way hither. They iii-
t'aniiud luiir rinlayson's farm, and the whole town
turned out to see them. The company consisted of
men, women, and children, with their effects. A
second nrrival the 'Jlstof April increased the nunilur
to thirteen Imiidr^d. A few of them had a veiy little
gold-dust to sell. Besides the Ilaidahs, there were
S(ik<ens, ( 'iiimsyjuis, iJell.icoolas, and other savages,
numbei'iiiy; in all at tin- encampment threc^ thonsaiid
persons. 'I'lieir \isit was t(( them a[)[)arently \tiy
pleasant ; they traded a little, drank a gn-at deal, ami
if there be anything worsi- they did that too. A'ic-
toiia grew uneasy under the association, and inviti d
tlu' redskins to leave.

A |taity sent out in Ih(l4 by Waddington to open
a trail iVoni Ihilte Inlet acro.ss the ('hilkotin plains
toward KortAlexandiia, was attacked tlu- .'iOth of A | nil
and thirteen out of s<!Venteen slain. Intt-rferenee with
their women on the jtart of the white men had ><•
exaspei-ati'd the Chilkotins that they resolved to rid
tlu'niselves of the evil by the most dii'eet means. A
puek-train under McDonald, en route from iM-ntim k
Arm to Kort Alexandria was attacked three weeks
later hy the ('hilkotins at Xancootioon Lake. Three
Were killed and several wounded, 'flu' savages took
the train woith ."<.■),()()(), and committed other murdeis
in the vicinity. 'I'lu' marines at New Westminster,
and volunteers from Victoria ami elsewhere, set o'lt
immediately and caught a jKirtiou only of the niiii'
deiers, and with the lo.ss of McLean of the Hudson >

WAULIKK SCKXES.

420

Bay Company. The criminals caujjflit wore tried and

liaui^ed.''

Ill the autumn of tliis year, Ca|>('lia, cliief* of the
Ahousets, dt'('oyi'<l the tradinj^ scliooncr K'nniji.^licr to
the sliore near Clay oquot, i»ri't«'ndin«^ that hr liad sonjo
oil to sell. Then Ca[)eha anil his warriors kilhMJ the
(■a|itain and rrcw, and plundered the vessel. II. M. S.
JhniKfdtinn and Admiral Dennian in tlu' Sii:l(j has-
tened to the spot and demanded the oflenders, and as
tiny i'ailed to appear, openeti fire and destroye<l several
^ illaiTi'H. Yet on the whole Capeha r(^<^ard«'d his l»usi-
iirss op«'ration as a success. The r//o the followinjif
yeai' was ohlijjfcd i-o throw a shell into a native villaj^e
lit ar Fort Kupert hef'ore the inhabitants would j»ive
ii|i a munlei'er.

These events are the nearest approa<-h to war
Ik twe«'n tlu! natives and the settlers of Hritish
('uluml)ia that I have to record. The sava'^cs louuht
each other lu.stilv, and it was some time l>etor»' tlu^
law thought hest to intert'ere. Even the siiperretined
race sometimes saw thint^s in a violently (liH'erent
iiiaiiiier. Then' was what was called in local annals
tlic (irouse Creek War, whi«'h was a dispute hetweeii
t'le Canadian Company and the (Jrouse Creek Flume
( 'uiiijuiny.

Sdiiie j-round <'laimed hv the (Jiouse Creek Flume
(I'liipany was in the early pait of the season of lS(i7
'jiiiiijted' hy the Canadian ('oiiipany and held in
vitijation of the oi'dei's of the sliniH'. 'j'liat ollieial
acci >!•( I in«i|v organized at Williams Creek a small arm\'
of several do/en men, armed them with such weapons
and such nerve-and-muscle-iLjeiiei'atinLj e(|uipments as
tlie service! rcjpiired, and marched over the niountain-
tiail like Lochmvar. The ( 'anadiansdoi^t^edly rtfiised
to suirendi r. (iovernor Sevmour then went into tli<'
licld and succeeded in (ompromisiuii; matters so tar as
to arran<^e for a new trial. John (jlrant, the hi'ad of

"nonrit R, C, MS., .in -42; fi.niln/'M V. /., MS., 5<J-7; U'hnnjx;'^
.VJ Ci; Virton.i r/ii-oiiictr, Miiy 14, IHlVl; IWthml Ai/i:, Miiy •-•!, 18(4.

Manhi,

4:tt)

AIJMIXISTUATION OF JUSTICE.

: (M^

i;t

the Canadian (\»inpuiiy, wuh meanwhile committed Uj
]>rison for tline uioMth.s lor contempt; the remainder
of his rehellioiis company hein^ let oii* each with two
days' imprisonment. Sevt.'ral months later Jud«;e Need-
ham decided the ease adversely to the elaims of the
Ci\nadian ( '(»m()any."

The n iners of Cariboo did not like Mr Justice
|{("'l»ie's method of eoiistruiny their mining; laws; so
they met in mass-meetinj^, the '2'Ad of June 1 H(W», and
<lenounced him, after which thev felt better, althoM<di
the chief-justice still lived. It was the lar«:;i'st nm-
<*ours(! ever ctdivt'ni'd in the colony, they .said, and 1
may add, the most Ibolish. Jt was the pi'culiar way that
IJeiL^bic ha<l of setting" aside the verdicts of their juries
and the decisions of their ^old eommissioneis when
manifestly illi jual and absurd that they did not like.
lie was aibitrary, partial, ami dictatorial, they said,
an<l tluy (hsin-d his removal and a coui't of apjiral.
Xevi'rtheh'ss, simultaneously with the publication (»f
these p!(»cecdini;s, comes the report of the foreman <»f
the ijranil juiv of Cariboo, who "is hi«'hlv i)l<'a.>td In
notici' t\\v absence of all crime in tht; (.listri<'t," which,
indeed, was the stereotyped clause in all jj^rand-jury
re|>orts throughout thc^ country all throuj^h Jiej^bie's
entire term. Jle was loudly complained of by a certain
(•la.ssat XewWestmiiistt'r, Lilloet, and X'ictoria; nevti-
thele.ss he continued his course, I'etaiiied his place, and
was finally kni!^lite<l in ri'coi^nition of his ,servier>,
as he richly desi-rveil.

Be<d»itj was almost as jjfoodas a viijrilance committee;
sometimes (pi ite as j^ood; ofttimes evi!n better. There

« rirtorlii Coloitisf, .Tilly '2;\. Au^. (!, i:«. 'JO, '-'7, Sipt. 10, Oct. 1, S, \..%. .j,
IHr>7; .\<ir H'lstiiiiii-^ti r ( (iliimliiKii, May II; /». ( '. K.ninir., .Inly *J7 iili'l Au){.
*.'N, ISti7. .Si't> also, tor till' ((Mu'cii ( 'hurliitto litliitiiU'rH ami otiii'i' liiiliaii troiil>Ur«,
VifUtiin fr'.c.//., i. No.-,. 1(», 'J7, '.'it, :<l» •_', :»."), 44, 4(i, iV.I, aiiil t»l. INVS, ii. :?.»;
llouM- Coin, h'ljit., II. Ii. Co., 1S.")7, !'.(-; CiirilHHt Sinliiirt, i. I; Olyinyiii I'imifr
iiwl Ihmtx-iiil. .M.inli IH, l,S.V.); C,liiil>. Mmsii., Sl/i Idyt., ."«>: (iiu: <liiZ)l/-, li.
No. 8; Sprout'^ .S<-iiiis, <»; roinll':! Miii. iHsls., MS., 'M 'J; liril. Col. .SLrt ■>,■<,
MS., •?.•; OI,/,;],iaCl„l,Co„r'<., MS., l.i l."); Dmm HMttintiU T. /., M.S., -JO 4;
JhiiKjUiH Printtc Poiia-n, MS., '-M Hur. 34-0.

DIRECT JUSTICE.

481

v't'io in his rulings tlio intensity antl directness which
K iidur popular tribunals so terrible to evil-doers with-
out the heat and passion almost always inseparable
tVoni illegal demonstrations. Altlumgh in common
with jurists generally he placed law before justice,
siilleiing the guilty to escape and go in search <it*
t'mtlier prey provided they could not be convicted by
the book, yet he never was so blinded by the book as
to take wrong for right because the law affirmed it.
And ho would sometimes do right even in spite of
the liiw.

All through his long and honorable career he was
more guardian than judge. He was not .satisfied to
sit upon the bench and with owl-like gravity listen
to tli(! wranglings of counsel hired for the defeating
of the law's intention, and with much winking and
blinkinij to decide accordin}; to law and then lto uneim-
ccrnedly to dinner. He felt the peace and gond-
liiliuvior of the whole country to be his immediate
care, and woe to any constable or magistrate derelict
in liis duty in bringing criminals to justice. Babine
Lake was no farther from his arm than Government
street, and an injury done an Indian or a Chinaman
was as sure of prompt punishment as in the case of a
wliite man.

The consequence of it all was that never in the
pacification and settlement of any section of America
have there been so few disturbances, .so few crimes
against life or property. And when we consider the
clashing elements that came together just as Begbio
reached the country, the nature and antecedents of
these wild, rough, and cunning men, it is wondei lid.
First of all there was the savage, physically unweak-
eiied thus far by contact with Europeans, though in
iiiihtl subdued somewhat by the more comprehensive
iiitclhgi'iice of the shrewd Scotchmen. TIkj country was
his, and ho was as tierce and as ready to fight for it as
f'Ver, The fur-traders were their friends, but these
interlopers who seized their lands and robbed them of

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)

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*i? WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. 14580

(71«) e72.4S03

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432

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

their gold were their enemies whom it were righteous
to kill. The ancient professional prospectors and dig-
gers with whom the gold-fields of the north were plen-
tifully sprinkled, were many of them but little higher
in the scale of humanity than the Indians. Aniono-
them were many despicable men who regarded the
natives as brutes whom to kill was no crime Add to
this the presence of intelligent and good men who
were the real dominators of the realm, and scatter
them over a wilderness area of five hundred miles
square, and we may form some faint conception of what
it was to hold the inhabitants in order. And yet the
intensity of character and personal influence of the
chief-justice were everywhere felt. His presence per-
meated the remotest parts of the country like that of
no other man. When once it was understood by sav-
age and civilized alike that justice in his hands was
swift, sure, and inflexible, the battle was won. No
one cared to kill, being sure he would hang for it.

It is not often we hear from the bench such refresh-
ing words as frequently fell from his lips. They puri-
fied the atmosphere, so that even Ned McGowan
found it somewhat stifling, as we have seen. "There
were not many of that class on Fraser River," said
Billy Ballou. ''They soon cleaned them out there.
Old Judge Begbie soon made them understand who
was master. I saw a fellow named Gilchrist," he con-
tinued, "who had killed two men in California, on
trial there. He killed a man on Beaver Lake, in the
Cariboo country, who was gambling with him. While
sitting at the table a miner came in, threw down liis
bag of gold-dust, bet an ounce, and won. Gilchrist
paid; the man bet again, and won again, flippantly
inquiring of the gambler if there was any other game
he could play better, as he drew in the stakes. Gilchrist
took offence at the remark, and lifting his pistol shot
him dead. Gilchrist was tried, and the jury brought
in a verdict of manslaughter. Turning to the prisoner,
the judge said: "It is not a pleasant duty for me to

RIGHTEOUS JUDGES.

433

have to sentence you only to prison for life. Your
crime was unmitigated murder. You deserve to be
hanged. Had the jury performed their duty, I might
now have the painful satisfaction of condemning you
to death. And you, gentlemen of the jury, permit
me to say that it would give me great pleasure to see
you hanged, each and every one of you, for bringing
in a murderer guilty only of manslaughter."

Sproat tells some good stories emanating from his
experiences as magistrate in 1864, one of which was
an attempt at an inquest at Alberni over the body of
a native shot unintentionally to death, while stealing
potatoes, by a pea-loaded gun in the hands of an
American. Determined to close their eyes to the
facts, the jury first brought in a verdict of "worried by
a dog," and when returned from a second attempt,
found "he was killed by falling over a cliff." The
American was finally sent in charge of a constable to
Victoria, but effected his escape.

The stipendiary magistrates, or county-court judges,
at the time of confederation, were A. D. Bushby,
New Westminster; W. R. Spaulding, Nanainio and
Comox; P. O'Reilly, Northern Mines; A. F. Peni-
bcrton, Victoria ; E. H. Saunders, Lilloet ; H. M.
Ball, Cariboo. Salaries, from Ji^2,250 to $3,400.

An act was passed by the province of British Co-
lumbia March 2, 1874, for the better administration
of justice, but failed to receive the governor-general's
confirmation The county judges did not apj)rove of
a certain provision of this act wliich enabled the lieu-
tenant-governor in council to appoint the times and
places at which court should be held; hence they
]>ctiti(med against the act. An act enal)ling the lieu-
tenant-governor to divide the country into county-
court districts was passed the following year.

There were other righteous judges in the land; and
in due time the people began to like justice anil hate
bribery and corruption. Those who cared least for
popularity became the most popular. On his way

Hist. Brit, col. 28

434

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

across the country in 1872 Grant talked with theni
about itJ

Since 1874 the influence of the mounted police of
the Northwest Territory has been felt alonar the bor-
der. Numbering in all about three hundred, and cs-
tabHshed in camps of from fifty to seventy-five men,
their presence in those wild, thinly peopled regions
was most beneficial. They wore the scarlet uniform
of the British army, and made it their business to
protect at once border settlers and travellers from hos-
tile bands of natives, and well disposed natives from
white ruffians and liquor- sellers. This was a Cana-
dian rather than a British Columbian institution; the
nearest port available on the western slope was about
one hundred miles from Kootenai.

Shortly after taking up his residence at Metlahkat-
lah, Duncan, the missionary, was requested by the
colonial government to act as magistrate. It was
an exceedingly strange mixture, both of duties and
material, that this man found himself called upon to
encounter. Here was law and barbarism, divinity
and demon ism, incoherently mingled until the poor
fellow scarcely knew his own mind. The liquor traffic
troubled him exceedingly, and also the retaliation prin-
ciple of the natives, who murdered the last murderer,
in theory at least, ad infinitum, until none were left
to kill. Three Indians murdered two white men.
The natives gave up two of the murderers, a life for a
life being their idea of justice; the other, after six
months, gave himself up, was sent to New Westmin-
ster to be tried, and was acquitted. This was brought
about by the magistrate by means of his religious
influence.

' ' There isn't the gold in British Columbia that would bribe Judge
O'Reilly, was their emphatic indorsement of his dealings with the miners.
They descri) ed him arriving as the representative of British law and order
at Kootanic, immediately after thousands had flocked to the newly discovered

fold-mines there. Assembling them, he said that order must and would be
ept, and advised them not to display their revolvers unnecessarily, ' ' for, boys,
if there is shooting in Kootanie thero will bo hanging;" such a speech was
after the miners' own hearts, and after it thare were no more disturbances in
Kootanie.'

POPULAR TRIBUNALS.

486

Convict labor began to be utilized in 1859. The
jail at Victoria was then the general receptacle for
Island and Mainland, and in it were some sturdy fel-
lows with nothing to do but to attempt escape. The
chain-gang system was then adopted, and finally a
penitentiary was built. To George W. Bell belongs
the honor of being the first white man hanged on
Vancouver Island, which was done on the 5th of
November 1872, for killing one Datson the previous
May.

It was perhaps more difficult than might be im-
agined for a person to commit a the^t or a murder, and
escape the country. Obviously his way out by water
was difficult, for every movement on the coast was
watched. Then, throughout the interior, the natives
wore always ready to lend their aid, as of old, in
catching criminals; and they constituted a widely
extended, swift, and sure police.

In the immediate vicinity of the United States bor-
der it was more difficult to maintain order. Horses were
plentiful. No man so poor that he could not own one ;
or if he was, he might steal from his neighbor. Hence
to place himself, if not beyond the reach of justice, at
least where justice soon became entangled in difficul-
ties, the offender had but to mount and ride southerly.
On Perry Creek, where in 1871 was a customs station,
a case occurred, insignificant in itself, but illustrative
of the times and place. A merchant received one day
some hams in bond, on which he had not the money
to pay the duty. A hungry miner swore he would
have a ham; the merchant offered no objection; so
attended by several comrades, he proceeded to the
edifice called the custom-house, kicked open the door,
and carried away a ham. Swearing in special officers,
Carrington, the constable, after a show of figlit on the
part of the offenders, succeeded in arresting them and
conveying them, ironed, to the jail at Wild Horse
Creek. Haynes, the Kootenai judge, being absent,
Carrington, after waiting a while, started with his

436

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

prisoners for Victoria, intending to commit them there
for trial. But meeting Haynes on the way, the party
returned, and the prisoners were finally discharged
on condition of their leaving the country.

I have often been assured, and by those who should
know, that there never was a case of popular or illegal
hanging in British Columbia. Sir Redmond Barry
made the same statement to me regarding Australia.
I am satisfied that my informants were in error regard-
ing both countries.^ A mob may sometimes cat<h and
hanj; a man, makins; little stir about it. A han"riiiir
scrape at Jack of Clubs Creek in the Cariboo country
in 1862 is mentioned by R. Byron Johnson in Very
Far West Indeed. While the writer cannot be called
a very truthful or reliable man, judging from all tlio
circumstances, I do not think this story is wholly
fiction.

While Johnson was absent from his claim, liis
partner, Jake Walker, engaged a man at Williams
Creek to help him sink his shaft a few feet lower.
One day, while Walker was in the shaft and tlio
hired man at the windlass, the latter deserted liis
post, robbed Walker's cabin, and leaving the owmr
in the ditch to die, make tracks across the mountain.
Contrary to the villain's expectations, Walker suc-
ceeded in climbing out. The first question witli
Walker was then whether he should pursue the man
alone, and kill him, or summon the neighbors to his
assistance. He chose the latter course. The man
was caught, brought back to the cabin, and there
tried by the miners, and executed.*

In my Popular" TribnnaU, i. 644-51, I have given several cases of arlii-
trary justice, a native, however, being generally the victim.

• My authorities for this chapter, which I am obliged to make brief, arc
Allans Cariboo, MS., 19; Finlaysona V. I., MS., 101, wliich says of IJeglnc:
' He dealt out justice with a stern and vigorous hand, and was a terror to
evil-doers, especially in the gold excitement of '58 and after years;' Balloii's
Adv., MS., 10, 11; VawelCs Mining Districts, MS., 3-6; Deans' Settlement V.
I., MS., 14; Waddington'a Fraaer Riivr, 20; Grant's Ocean to Ocean, 315-16;
Jlnyea' Scraps, iii. 66; Olympia Standar-d, Nov. 16, 1872; Consolidated Larm,
B. C, 1877; Lond. Oeog. Soc., Jour., xxxi. 243, 247-8; Victoria Gazette, Dec.
30, 1868; Victoria Direct., 1863, 179-«9; Mister's Proposal, passim; Heviaed

AUTHORITIES

4S7

tT'^'^iaS.' ^^71; Goi;. <?^<te, Aug. 9, 1873; Cariboo Sentinel, June 25 and
July 2, 1866; Pernbertm^s V.I., 128-9; Nanaimo Free Press, April 22, 1874;
forbe^ Essay, 32; CoUmut, Jan. 19, 1864; Apr. 10. June 11 Dec 11 ISfifi
Nov. 26 1867; Jan. 30. Aug. 29, 31. Sept. 2. Lc. 17. 1869 Feb 9 Auir 24*
1870; Feb. 22. Dec. 30. 1871; Dec. 18, 1872; July 28 Aug 6 10 12 15 fs'
25, 29 Sept 26 Oct. 10. Nov. 4. 1875; Marc/4, JuneVNov. 15. isje-
CoMution Sup Court Acts a„d Or 1858-70; SpnHit's B. C, 32; Sessional

cases of arbi-

CHAPTER XXIV.

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

1858-1878.

New Devetopments in the History of Mining — Character of the Minks
— Mining Towns — Sluicing at Hope and Yale — Routes to the Dk;-
oiNGs — Steam on the Eraser — Boats Ascend to Hope and Yale-
Extension OF Mining Area— Rush to Lytton — Roads — Prospectors
Push Northward — Bars Named — Field — Region Round Lilloet —
Fountain, Canoe, Quesnel, and Thompson Mines— Quartz on Cherkv
Creek — The Mines of the Eraser Valley — Character of the Dry-
diggings — Terrace Composption— Gold Distribution and Yield.

It is as necessary to tell what the Californians who
sought gold on the Fraser River did not find, as to
tell what they did find; that is to say, what failed
them in their expectations, and what they found nevv
which will profitably illustrate the mining history of
the coast.

First of all, then, the forbidding grandeur of the
Fraser canon overwhelmed them, and drove thou-
sands of them southward no richer than they came.
Nevertheless, despite this reaction, the country was
settled ; towns were built ; and in the course of sev-
eral years after the Fraser excitement, mineral re-
sources and lines of transportation were developed in
the great northern interior of the Pacific slope, which
were destined to assume a national and continental
significance. The temporary drawbacks were due to
the physical features with which the advancing tide
of population had to grapple. No road nor trail prac-
ticable for animals existed along the Fraser canon
during the early stages of the gold excitement, so that

(438)

THE FROWNING FRASER.

439

it was quite impossible to follow up and to support
any large number. Hence all but a few fell back
until the completion ' of the road, which Douglas
caused to be opened through the western rim of the
high plateau.

The twenty thousand who went to Fraser River
from California in 1858 were warned that the bars
wlicre gold was reported would remain inaccessible
oil account of the high water until after midsummer,
and that to wait for the opportunity to mine in that
Avilderness would be costly, to say the least, and might
l»c death.^ But reasoning from their experience in
California, too little importance was attached to this
feature of the new mines, as it was concluded that in
tlie mean time the ravines and the smaller tributaries
could be more or less profitably worked. But here
arose the first and most grievous disappointment.
Tliey found no ravine diggings like those in the
mountain counties of California, with gold lying in a
concentrated form on tlie bed-rock, and the latter ex-
posed by the eroding streams. Such of the higher
bars of the Fraser as were accessible, including the
Hats occasionally forming the banks of the river, and
])rospected in the early stage of the mining excitement,
lliilcd even to yield the prospects of the American and
Yuba rivers. It was almost entirely fine gold dis-
tributed in thin streaks of gravel and sand, and
through the benches and terraces of the hills and
valleys running back often far from the river. That
fine gold was also found concentrated in really rich
deposits in some of these bars is beyond a doubt, but
it consisted of thin layers or lenticular patches, covered

'Frasor River ia <at flood height annually in Juno and July. ArrotrsmifJi^'i
Miip of B. C, London, 1859. Its gold-bearing bars are really aucessiblo to
advantage only for a few months in tlie autumn. After November the fi-osts
set in, and miuing can be followed only at intervals during the ■winter. After
tlic severe ■\"co ther and before the snowa ai o melted, between February and
April, there were two months of favorable mining season. Altho\igh there is
liiw water about the 1st of January, both the climatic conditions, and where
•liiicksilver is used, the amalgamating conditions are unfavorable at that time.
•Simple and well known as were these facts by the settlers, the miners of 1858
p;iid dearly before they became acquainted with them.

440

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

frequently by very heavy masses of barren g'^ound.
In this respect it was comparable to the higher ground
deposits of the ancient rivers of California, the profit-
able handling of which rendered indispensable an out-
let grade and the use of the hydraulic pipe. On tlie
Harrison and other tributaries coarse gold was to bo
found.

Before the river fell, thousands had left the country
under the conviction that the water would never fall
sufficiently, or that they had seen enough; yet the
di<x(jin<ifs were overcrowded when this event took
place, notwithstanding the fact that the size of the
claims was limited to twenty-five feet square. Those
who had no claims, or whose claims were worked out,
advanced uji the river, clambering over the rocks of
the canon in the direction of the fork of the Thomji-
son, where there was room enough for all who could
ol)tain supplies. The greatest number were employed
between Hope and Yale, but among the best diggings
were those at the Fountain, six miles above the great
falls, and for some time the northern limit of mininsf.^
From Murderer or Cornish Bar, four miles below
Hope, innumerable bars, sionifying simply accessible
river-bottom formed by the angles in the current, were
prospected, and most of them worked, for a distance
of 140 miles along the Fraser, and along the Thomp-
son to a point fifteen miles above the mouth of the
Nicola.^ Nearly all of these were wiped out of
memory as the inhabitants migrated and the traces
of their existence were washed away by the recurring
floods of the rivers; so that a few only have found a
permanent place in the geography of the country.

The first place above Langley which contained gold
in appreciable quanity was Maria Bar, between tlio
Sumas and Harrison, followed by Murderer Bar, four

^ A few of the adventurers penetrated to the Canoe country in latitude 'A"
30', named after Canoe Creek, a tributary of the Fraser, where Simon Fraser
in 1808 left his canoes. Nuijent, in U. S. Ex, Doc., iii., 35th Comj., Hd Si:-<.<.;
Allan's Cariboo, MS., 1-4.

* WiuldinijtoHS Fniaer Mines, 8.

GOLD-BEARING BARS.

441

miles below Hope, and subsequently known as Cornish
Bar.* Between these existed other bars which were
disregarded at first, owing to the fineness of their gold.
Tlie localities above Hope arc given as Mosquito, or
Poverty, Fifty-four Forty, Union, Canadian, Santa
Clara, Deadwood, Express, American, Puget Sound,
\'ictc)ria, Yankee Doodle, Eaglo, Alfred, Sacramento,
Texas Hunter, Emory, Rocky, Trinity, Hill, Casey,
Yalo.'^"

It was observed by Douglas that the bars grew
riclitr in ascending order, Hill Bar being the bc^t,
and appearing to bear a resemblance to some of the
river bars of California. Discovered early in 1858"
by Hill, an American, it progressed so rapidly tliat
in September Douglas laid out a town here on the
system followed at Hope. Two months later, the l)ar
proper being worked out, the bcnclics were resorted
to, and in 1859 a ditch was constructed at a cost of
twelve thousand dollars, which yielded a monthly
jtrofit of fifty per cent. This ground also declined,
and tlie population was transferred to Yale.'

In June 1858, the miners were distributed between
Langley and the canon thirty or forty miles » bove
Y;ilo, and advancing in successive stages toward the
Folks, where it was known that the authors of the
Fraser excitement had been mining successfully dur-

* 1 >ougla8 found 125 men at work here in September 1858, and doing fairly.
I'rimtr Papers, MS., i. 103; Tnttck's Map of li. C, 1871.

•' To these may be added Cameron B;ir, which was discovered by Thoniaa
Sjiuiicu, a steamer striking tlie bar and revealing the goM to liini. Vowcll'n B. ('.
Miiifn, MS., 20-7. Waddington'a list of bars is the most complete, as given
ill Virtoriii Gazette, Sept. 15, 1858. Douglas records a shorttT list at the same
tiiiK', \\i Primtte Papers, MS., i. 104-5. Tndrlis Map, 1871, locates Ameri-
can lirst, then Emory, and Texas Bar last and next to Yale. Vornwallis' X.
El Dorai/o, 285. O'Reilly, the gohl commissioner in I S(!0, mentions also Trafal-
gar and French bars, and by Cornisli Bar, below Hope, lie places I'rospect,
UliR! Nose, and Hudson bars. Ji. C Papers, iv. 10. Several of the bars
cannot lie exactly located.

" It was here that the first discovery of gold upon the lower Eraser M'as
made, Emory's and Union being found next, followed by Chapman's and Bos-
tdii, above Yale. Alhn's Carilioo, MS., 1-4. Waddington names Hill iia
the richest, then Emory, Texas, and Puget Sound; the jioorest as Eifty-four
Forty, Express, and Yale. Virtoria QazeMe, Sept. 15, 1858.

' Soon every vestige of Hill Bar was gone. CornwalUs' N. El Dorado, 195;
Douylus' Private Papers, MS., ser. i. 103-4, 106; Howe's Col. Empire, i. 131.

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

ing the winter and spring, till scarcity of supplies and
high water obliged thein to retreat. By October,
according to official estimates, a population of ten
thousand was distributed along the river. The num-
ber between Cornish Bar and Yale, in November,
was four thousand, Hope contained four hundred

The Lower Minino Region-.

more, and Yale thirteen hundred.* In Hope district
an ounce a day was common wages, while some miners
earned two or more ounces for weeks together; so
that most of those who had been engaged with rock-

^Douglas, in B. G. Papers, ii. 29. Waddington counted early in Sep-
tember 800 rockers actually at work between Hope and Yale, and doing
well. Victoria Gazette, Sept. 15, 1858. Smith, of Kent and Smith's express,
reported to the same paper, of Aug. 20th, that Puget Sound Bar had 40 rockers
and 120 men at work; Texas Bar, 8 comi)anies, who were partly sluicing and

SLUICES, DITCHES, AND FLUMES.

443

crs on these bars up to Yale, returned at the close of
the season of 1858, with from two to four thousand
dollars clear of expenses.

Toward Yale sluicing entered largely into mining
operations, and the yield rose as high as twenty-five
dollars a day to the man, although the general aver-
age was considerably lower. Occasionally rich strikes
were made, and created more or less wide-spread ex-
citement. In October 1858 the benches at Yale
developed some coarse gold, and the miners were with
difficulty restrained from digging away the town.°

Sluicing yielded about twice the return obtained
with rockers, but as this method involved considerable
preliminary and often costly labor, the wooden p;;!,

Sn, and rocker retained the favor of the majority,
any places, particularly the benches and higher
ground, could not, however, be worked advanto .; ously
without ditches, and these came into use quite early
ill the seas.i .f 1858. Between Cornish Bar and
Hope alone there were thirteen ditches in operation
ill November, and more in process of construction.'"
The yield of forty sluice-heads in April 1859 was six
thousand dollars a day, and the ditch company at Hill
Bar received five dollars a day from forty claims."

making §15 to $40 to the hand; Sacramento Bar, 15 rockers; Emory, 36
rockers, averaging $6 to $8 to the hand; Hill, 100 rockers and 400 men,
averaging $10; Yale, 9 companies, averaging $15 to $20 to the man.

"The consequence was, however, that garden leases on the left bank
between Hill Bar and Yale v.ere refused, and the ground held for mining.
Douylas' Private Papers, MS., ser. i. 105-6. In May miners here made an
ounce and a half a day. Id., 90. Victoria Gazette, Sept. 15, 1858, classes the
Yale diggings among the poorer. Five sluices here yielded in August $25 a
day to the hand. Id., Aug. 24th; and on Aug. 13th the 150 rockers yielded
723 ounces. Id., Aug. 25, 1858, Macfie'a V. I., 240. At Cameron Bar nineteen
miners made each $75 a day for three weeks. VowdVa B. C. Mines, MS., 26-7;
Comwallis' iV. Eldorado, 203-15. At Hill Bar the men were making from
82.50 to $25 a day. B. C. Papers, iii. 9, etc. Ten ckiims, each with 20 feet
frontage, produced in June, July, August, and part of September, $30,000.
Duii'jlas' Private Papers, MS., i. 106. Eight of these companies were making
$15 to §40 a day to the hand. Victoria Gazette, Aug. 20, 1858.

^" Some cabins erected in connection with one of these enterprises received
the name of Mariaville, after the steamer Maria. Victoria Gazette, April 1 9, 1 859.

" Four men sluiced out $4,000 in six days. Douglas, in B. C. Papers, iii.
9. At Hudson Bar, just below Cornish Bar, a flume a mile in length was in
operation in April 1859; and still further down the river was a wheel 30 feet
in diameter, used in raising water for a sluice which paio. ^ve dollars a day to
the man. Victoria Gazette, April 19, 28, 1859.

'iili '

I'll I

44i

ERASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT,

In the spring of 1860, the Hope district was still
occupied by o^er two hundred miners, who were mak-
ing an average of six dollars a day on old ground/-
This rate was approximately maintained for a long
time, chiefly by means of sluices, since the ground all
alonjr the river was in a sense inexhaustible. The
winter of 1876-7 was particularly favorable for sluic-
ing. The operations were desultory, however, and
the field was left more open for Chinese and Indians,
who followed improved methods, and continued year
after year to dig up the bars and enter into the benches.
Already in 18G1 two thousand Chinese were digging
around Yale.^*

During the first half of 1858, Langley was regarded
as the head of steam navigation, and consequently as
the centre of Fraser traffic, to which the Otter and tlio
Sea Bird were making regular trips from Victoria.
Deterred by the passage rate of twenty dollars, canoes
ventured also to cross from Victoria and other points,"
and proceeded up the Eraser direct to Hope and Yale,
while steamer passengers were often detained at Lang-
ley for want of boats. This inconvenience induced tlio
steamer Surjmse to try the current above, and on Junt;
4th she reached Hoi)e without difficulty, transferrin^'
by this coup the head of steamboat navigation to tlio
latter place. But this was only for a while, shice tlu'
feat of the Surprise was surpassed on July 21st, wlu'u

*•' The official report for the spring gave Victoria Bar 40 men, earning.' SI^
to .95 a (lay; I'ugct Sound, 50 men, $\i to §5 a day; Frcncli, 15 men, §10 to
§12 a day; Trafalgar, 9 men, §5 to §7 a day; Mariaville, 10 men, $4 a day;
Union, 20 men, §4 to §5 a day; Cornish, lo meii, $\i to .54 a flay; Prospect, ()
men, §4 a day; Blue Nose, 8 men, §4 a tlav; Hudson, 30 men, $8 to §10 a
(fay. Ji. C. J'<ipi-r.s, iv. 10.

'^if. V. Piqwr.'i, iv. 40. In 18(55, the Cliineso between Hope ami Yalf
were making §2 to §5 a day. Mdcjic'n V. I., 240-1. A company of Indians
took out §1,800 near 18 Mile Post in the spring of 1877; and some San Fran-
cisco capitalists applied for extensive terrace grounds opposite Yale. Jiq>t
Min. Mines, 1872, 400-7.

"On July (), 1858, 50 boats with 400 miners left Victoria for the Fraser.
Victoria Onzetle, July 7, 1858. T) j following night there arose a gale v.hiili
caused much fear for their safety. M., July 10th. On July 13th anotluT
tloet of 75 boats left Victoria. Id., July 14th.

ENT.

RIVER NAVIGATION.

445

'ict was still
o were mak-
•Id ground. ^^
[ for a lono;
iG ground all
stible. The
jle for sluic-
owever, and
and Indians,
itinued year
the benches,
v^ere digging

vas regarded
scqucntly as
Jtter and tlu'
>in Victoriii.
)llars, canoes
pier points,"
10 and Yale,
cd at Laiin-

induccd tlic
and on Juno

transferrin <;•
ation to tlie

c, since tlio

21st, when

men, earninp §3

15 men, .?10 to

men, $4 a <lay;

(lay; Prospect, li

lien, $8 to $10 a

Hope anil Yalo
pany of Indians

some San Fran-
)sito Yale. J{qit.

a for the Frascr.
nae a gale v.hii'li
ly 13th another

the American boat U7natilla succeeded in reaching
Yale, and made this the steamer terminus. In an-
nouncing this triumph, Douglas informed the colonial
office that he had licensed two American Acssels to
ply on the Fraser. He also claimed the merit on
behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company of having laid
in large supplies and tools for the miners, and of sell-
ing them at barely remunerative prices; and yet, a
month later, the papers were complaining of the mo-
no[)oly in Fraser trade and navigation in the interest
of the Hudson's Bay Company. ^"^

Canoes could readily come u[> to Yale near the falls,
but beyond this the difficulty and danger of the jour-
lu y were appalling, even at low water. The obstacle
consisted in the rapids of the lower canon, four miles
above Yale, and in those of the great canon, eighteen
miles below the Forks. The route by land along the
Fraser, from Yale to Quayome, afterward Boston
]iir, was a mere goat-track with inclines of thirty to
thirty-six degrees, and with yawning precipices.**' 80
long as the miners had to carry everything on their
back through these canons, partly for want of horses,
mining was necessarily retarded; for travelling to
and fro with heavy loads was a sc^vere task on
energy, time, and labor, and this was besid<\s in-
ternipted by the snow and cold which set in with
J)e('einb('r,

At Spuzzuin, six miles above the Fraser falls and ten
miles above Yale, an old horse-trail formerly reached
the river from the Siniilkaineen on the plateau, and
followed the Kequeloose River for six miles. It had
hi'cn opened in 1847-8, but was abandoned as iui-
])ra('ticablo, chiefly on account of the break caused by
the falls. When the miners came into the field the

'•''/?. C. Pafters, i. 2;»; Victoria Gmcttc, Sept. 2-4, 18r>8; Cnniintllh' A'.
I'll Dortiilo, 170-4. Tho EnterprtKe anil J/dciVr raised the freights in October
from Victoria to Hope to 5!>t>0 a ton. Vir/oria Oazfttf, Oct. Id, 1».")8.

"Lieutenant Mayno declares it the roughest trail he ever travelled. li. C.
I'lilH-rs, iii. 40. Justice Begbie, who went up this way in April 1859, and
returned by Harrison River, remarks on this roughness. Id., 17-24.

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

route up the Fraser, first used by theni, followed the
old Kequeloose horse-trail away from the river some
distance, and then descended H'long Anderson Kiver
to tlie Fraser at Boston Bar. From five to eight
days wore usually expended between Langley and the
falls, and thence onward, according to the load.

Anothc. route for which great advantages were
claimed was by the Whatcom and Smess trail, con-
tinuing along the Fraser to Hope, and thence across
the mountains and along the plateau to Thompson
River, by which it was possible to reach the mines
above the canon independently of canoe navigation
and canons/"

The acliievcment of the Umatilla decided the ques-
tion in favor of the more direct road along the west
side of the Fraser, and the marches then on the
Hojie and plateau trails were transferred to it, when
the part between Yale and Spuzzum was opened for
pack-trains in August 1858. At Spuzzum a bridge had
been constructed by Frank Way, and a mile above
he conducted the ferry which could carry ten loaded
animals. Although the road was not yet quite clear,
five hundred mules were on the way, and the first
train reached the Forks September lOth.^^ Pedes-
trians still preferred the foot-trail along the bluffs, and
in 1859 a ferry was established at Boston Bar, which
enabled them to pass by Spuzzum. This trail had

blocked by snow early in

the disadvantajje

of being

''Some miners from Whatcom reached Hope 1>y this trail about tlic first
of July; but theywere reported as sorry-lookiug objects, their clotlies torn to
rags, and they were represented as 'cursing the Whatcom trail.' The lirst
party to reach the forks of the Thompson by this route came in August IS-'iS.
They were also represented as complaining of the route. But these reports
came through the Victoria press, actuated by jealousy, perhaps, of a ri\;il
and outside route. Tlie partisans of the route declared that it was as easy as
it was direct. The trail had been cut for ten miles into the wood and tlu'ii
abandoned. Bai/li'i/'x V. I,, MS., 42.

'"The trail to Spuzzum was opened by 60 volunteers. In September it
was opened to the ferry. The freight by the first train was 40.^ cents a pound
from Yale to the Forks. Victoria Gazette, Sept. 1, 15, 18i)8. Many could ill
aflford this rate, and as the water fell they ventured to tow canoes through
the cation^ at the risk of life and property. Seven men were drowned whdu
I^ouglas was at Yale in October. Ji, C. Papers, ii. G; Waddingto/i'a Fraser
Jiiver, 8.

ROUTES TO THE MINES.

447

the winter, a difficulty averted by the opening in
Xoveinber of the Harrison-Lilloet road.

Another route to the upper country in 1858 was
the ^IcLouglihn trial by way of Priest Rapids, fol-
lowed by the regular Oregon packers. It was more
direct than the Palmer branch, and ascended the
Siniilkameen to Red Earth Fork, whence it struck
across a divide to Nicola Valley, reaching the Thomp-
son at Nicaomeen, thirteen miles above its mouth.^"
The oldest travelled route on the plateau beyond this
was the brigade trail of the Hudson's Bay Company,
which connected at the Forks with the Hope-Spuzzuni
trail, and passed northward by way of the Fountain.
It had been brought into use on the abandonment in
1847 of the Columbia River route.-*^ The land and
water route opened between Harrison River and Lil-
loet l)y October 1858, became for a considerable time
tlic main line for traffic with the upper country, ]^y
October 18 GO, a new and easier road, practicable dur-
ing winter, was opened between Yale and Lytton, and
it needed only the Cariboo excitement to set in motion
the transformation of the trail into a wagon-road, the
cutting and blasting for which began at Yale in 18G2.
The road was gradually extended under different con-
tracts, and by 1864 the era of freight-wagons had set

Above the little canon at Yale, mining was prose-
cuted to a considerable extent even in 1858, notwith-
standing the difficulty of transporting supplies; and
Boston Bar and Lytton rose to be geographical points
of note. Boston Bar lay at the mouth of the An-

"5. C. Papers, i. 79-83,

^"William Hutchinga of California travcllcil \>y it in July 1S58, on his way
fmm Hope to tho Fountain. In May the trapper Wolfu led 'M> Oregonians ti»
tlio saino place by the old Colvillo brigade trail. Vkloriu Guzi'ltc, July !.".•,
lS-)8.

^' Replacinc tho pack-trains, which had charged $1 to $l.r)Oa]>ouud freight
to Cariboo. Tlie operations on the trail had been under the direction of
SiTgoant McCann; these were under Captain (Jrant, K. E. Fiiilttj/soiis ['. I.,
MS., Gl; Victoria Gazette, May 5, July 7, Sept. 10, 1858; Ji. V. Directory,
lbG7, 203.

,| .!:r

448

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

derson River, midway between Yale and Lytton, and
was the representative camp of the uunavigable por-
tion of the canon. It was often referred to by its
Indian name of Anayome. The buildings were pleas-
antly situated on a low flat, and a ferry connected with
the rich island bar on the opposite side. BetwcL'u
Xale and Spuzzum, known also as Rancheria, were
named Wellington, Sailor, Pike, Madison, Steamboat,
Humbug, Surprise, AVashington, and Kelly bars; and
between Spuzzum and Boston Bar, the ferry, Chetman
or Chapman, Steamboat, Cross, and Nicaragua bars.''
At all of these places mining was at first almost en-
tirely confined to the river-bed, and within six inclies
of the surface, so that the deposit did not last lon<;-.
Similar strata existed beneath, but they were not so
readilv found, nor so accessible on account of tlio
water, combined with much barren ground. Most
claims yielded early in 1858 twelve dollars to the
man, but Sailor diggings were reported in June as
the richest, and averaging one ounce, thousch four
ounces were not uncommon."^ Before the completinu
of the mule-trail above Yale, mining was necessarily
interrupted by intervening journeys for supplies, and
in A :gust the Indian campaign brought it to a stand-
still for a short time. In November 1858, the po|)U-
lation of the district M'as three hundred, who carried
on tliolr mining throughout the winter, and made
good wages, although the ground had frequently to
be thawed by fires."*

"Pi^iTO Maqiiais of Hill Bar lia<l also a store fivo miles ahovo Yale, ami
York kojit a boariling-houso a short distance from the town in May IS.'S.
Doiijldti' Prir '/e Payers, MS., scr. i. !)0-l. At the nim'h'ria were G or 8 \\\\x-
■warns with 200 Indians. The ferry was one mile and Cross Bar 1) miles ahovo
it, i:i the h'g canon. Virforid <!a:.itlc, ^lay ">, IS.")!).

-^ Don^l IS heard in Juno 18^/8 of 3 men here who had saved nearly 9 ounces
a day to the hand; '2 otiiers had made 4 ounces a day each with a rocUi r.
For'.;, Hour, and coCee sold at %!l a pound. 7>o»;//(w' Prinxte, Pa}H'rs, MS., h;ir.
i. 92-ii; B. C. Pnyif-t, i. 13. MeCaw got 50 ounces from Indians, with nu;,'-
gcts of i'.i to ^4 in wei;:ht. Oirrldiid/rom Miiinvsola to Fraser, 40. At Nii-
aragua Bar 5 men showed §118 an a day's yiuKl. y^ictoria Oazvttc, Mav 5,
ISijy.

"$25 a day. Virforia Gazette, May 5, 7, 1859. In March 1859, 3 men took
out S10,(XK). /'/. Two men came from Boston Bar in April with GOO ounces
of uuot, wadhud out during the winter. B. C. Papers, iii. G.

ON THE THOMPSON.

449

The prevalent impression that the country at and
beyond the confluence of the Thompson was rich and
contained coarser gold, had attracted many to Lytton
A party of miners returning from the Forks reached
Victoria in April 1858, and reported one hundred
and fifty men at work there, while as many more
wore on the way to the place."^ The mule-trail from
Yale not being opened yet, the Forks were precari-
ously situated from want of supplies, and several
miners returned to Yale empty-handed in conse-
quence, though the diggings were believed to be rich.
The Hudson's Bay station at the Forks being the ob-
jective point of all those who advanced beyond Boston
Bar, and the depot for the miners who reached the
Forks, was itself so far reduced in June and July
1858, that the company's men were glad to avail them-
selves of berries for food, while the miners all along the
river above Boston Bar were reported to be actually
starving.'-' The transportation difficulty was over-
come in September, when the mule-trains and express
companies poured into the camps, and mining was
entered upon with spirit, chiefly within a circuit of
six miles from Lytton. Before the close of the year
some of the high branches were prospected, and found
to yield coarse gold up to five-dollar lumps. In
Januarj' 1859 a hundred men were digging around
Lvtton, and averaging eight dollars a day. Favorable
rc})(»rts were freely circulated by traders and others,
and early in 1859 the influx from the lower country
l)egan on a large scale. By March 24th it was re-
ported tliat three hundred boats, carrying an average
of tive miners each, had passed Yale, and were try-
inj^r tc '^"^rk over the rapids during the low water. A
still larger number proceeded by land, so that upward
of three thousand persons had entered the Cascade
region before the end of the month.'^'' Many of these

" Douglas, in Coriiwallia' N. Eldorado, 304.
'■'« Post, in Victoria Gazette, July 14, 1858; B. V. PaperK, iii. ."ia.
" DoiKjlas, in B. C. Pupern, ii. 02; iii. 0; Victoria Gazette, Feb. 5, 1859.
Hist. Brit. Cor,. 39

450

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SEiTLEMENT.

i ,';l

remained round Lytton, which, in October 1858, had
already attained to fifty houses or tent-dwellings, and
promised to advance rapidly.

Determined to further its prospects, Douglas, in
September 18 GO, despatched a party to seek a route
in the direction of Van Winkle Bar and Lilloet,
and granted twenty-five hundred dollars for opening
the I'oiid to Bonaparte River by way of Hat Creek.
His object was afterward attained in a more decisive
manner by the construction of the wagon-road along
the Thompson to Cache Creek, which branched to
Cariboo, and commanded the entire area between
Kamloop and Okanagan Lake. In September 1800,
Douglas found two hundred white and five hundred
Chinese miners in Lytton district, yielding a license
revenue of four thousand dollars. In 18G4 several
companies were still taking out considerable sums
from the river-bed at Kanaka Creek, tv>'elvc miks
below Lytton, and at other points, the dirt being
secured while accessible, and washed afterwards."^

We have now ascended the Fraser to the borders
of the region referred, to by Douglas, in hisdespatelii's
at the bcijinnini:: of the cfold excitement in British
Columbia, as the Couteau minino: countrv."" At
Lytton the Fraser receives the waters of the Thomp-
son, a large river, which after draining the soutlunu
sides of some of the Cariboo parallels of the Rocky
Mountains, traverses the northern plateau, containing
the earliest found placers in the Fraser River basin.
Here the stream of prospectors pressing inland iu
the spring of 1858 divided; but owing to the larger
extent of the river bars, and profitable ground on the
Fraser, the great majority continued up the main
artery. In April 1858, both bank and river mining
were in progress between the forks of the Thompson
and the Fountain, and miners were reported to bo

^* At Dog Creek some miners claimed that they couhl take out S250 a clay
each. Weeklif Colonist, January 10, lo(J5. Dow/Ian' Primte Papers, ^l!i.,\'22-'.\.

'''^ Couteau, a knife. In the earliest mining on the Thompson croviciug was
tlono with knives.

FOSTER AND OTHER BARS.

451

making from eight to one hundred dollars a day, the
average being from nine to ten dollars.**

By November the number of those engaged in
mining between this point and the Fountain had
greatly increased.^^ Mormon Bar, Spindulen Flat,
Cameron Bar, McGoffey Dry-diggings, Foster Bar,
Willow Bank, and the great falls were localities in
order between the Forks and Cayoosh, afterward
known as Lilloet, at the junction of the Harrison
River route with the Fraser. Robinson's Bar and
French Bar were between Lilloet and Bridge Biver,
and a few miles above that were upper Mormon Bar
and the Fountain, the limit of extensive or profitable
mining in 1858, Wing-damming was tried at Mormon
Bar, and succeeded well, even after the bed had been
worked for some time. Ditches were also introduced
at several bars with success, particularly at McGof-
fey Dry-diggings, where the benches were reported
very rich. Lumps were obtained here weighing from
fifty cents to twelve dollars, and at the falls coarse
gold was found in considerable quantity i;p to six-
ounce pieces "

^^ London Times, cor. from San Francisco, May 19tb, quoted in Overland
from Minnesota to Fraser Itiver, 39. A miner who arrived at Victoria on May
Sth from these diggings, estimated the total number of miners on the Fraser
at 1,000.

^' Three thousand. Douglas' Despatch, Xov. 9, 1858, in /?. C. Papers, ii. 29.

'■At Monnon Bar, five and a half miles above the Thompson forks, Com-
missioner O. Travaillot reported in July 1858, that a single rocker obtained in
Light davs $830 from the bed of the river, another $800 in twelve days, and
ii third J!248 in live days. B. C. Papers, i. 19. During the winter of 1858-0
two little wing-dams were constructed, from which several parties took out
^'4,000. lu May 1859 the same parties dug a ditch to wash the bank. Curioso,
lioston Bar, May 6th, cor., Victoria Gazette, May 17, 1859. Spindulen flat, fif-
teen miles above the Thompson forks, and named after an old chief, averaged
from §8 to §10 a day to the man in May 1859. A small water supply was
obtained from a little stream. Victoria Gazette, Jlay 7, 1859. Cameron Bar,
toil miles below Foster Bar, paid well with rockers iu 1858. Early in the
sapling of 1859 a company of eleven men brought iu at great expense a ditch
upon a, flat opposite the bar, half a mile long by three hundred yards wide,
■\vhcro it was necessary to sluice ofT ten feet of surface ground before the pay
(lilt was reached. Foster Bar cor., May 5th, Victoria Gazette, May 17, 1859.
At McGofl'ey Dry-diggings, three miles above Cameron, and seven miles below
Fostor Bar, was a wide flat overlooking a cafion, on which McGofl'ey and Com-
pany had sluices, and were washing ofi six feet of surface dirt to reach the jmy
stratum. This was said to be rich, and the company were reputed to bo taking
out fortunes. At the great falls the Indians, in May 1858, were said to be

452

FRASER RIVER MIXING AND SETTLEMENT.

Foster Bar was one of* the earliest and best known
localities. Here Cornwallis and his party in July

1858 washed out with rockers, in six hours, from
three to five ounces of gold each; and the Indians
at the same time were carrying in skin pouches from
$1 00 to $500 worth of gold-dust. In May 1865 there
were still some sixty miners at this place, working
chiefly with rockers, and making from $3 to §8 a day,
while a sluice company was averaging $8 to the man.
This bar was noted for the only case of open resistance
to the authorities that took place during the whole of
the Fraser excitement in 1858. A man named D.
Brown being charged with some criminal offence,
jour of the miners posted themselves in a log-house
and undertook to defend their companion against
arrest. A severe fight ensued, in which Brown was
shot, and the pa-^t-y was forced to surrender.^

Some distance ."bove Foster Bar lay the Indian
village of Cayoosh, where miners had been occupied
long before the Harrison River route transformed the
place into the trading town of Lilloet, which by May

1859 boasted of several houses and a number of tent-
buildings. With the opening of this route mining
sprung up at several points along its course, for the
loam on Lilloet River covered a bed of clay which
was associated with placers ; while quartz veins cropped
out along the banks of Lilloet Lake, and extended
through the entire ridge to the Fraser at Lytton.
The yield on Lilloet River was not very alluring, how-
ever, and varied in March 1859 from $2 to $4 with

digging out great quantities of geld with the simplest of all implemeuts—
mere sticks. IV. C. Johnson's Statement, in Douglas' Private Papers, MS., i. 99.
Thirty miners from the great falls returned for provisions to Yale in May
1858, and reported to Governor Douglas that they had been making from
$\0 to $S0 a day in coarse gold. Dowjlas' Despatch, June 10, 1858, in I>. C.
Papers, i. 14. At the Willow Bank, a locality near the falls, Cornwallis'
party, in July, found in the gravel of the river-bed half a dozen nuggets
weighing from four to six ounces. Cornwallis' N. El Dorado, 203-215.

'^Douglas' Despatch, Dec. 24, 1858, in £. C. Papers, ii. 46. A miner
pursued hence a partner whom he accused of absconding with the joint
snvincs. He found and shot the man at the mouth of the Fraser, in May 1858,
and thereupon escaped across the boundary, but was arrested at Whatcom.
Cornwallis' N. Eldorado, 203-15; Victoria Gazette, May 17, 1859.

LILLOET AND VICINITY.

453

the rocker, and $5 to $S with the sluice. These
rates were still obtainable in 18G7, when sluicing was
carried on by several parties.'*

Some of the most successful mining operations on
the Fraser from June 1858, and throughout 1859, were
witnessed between the great falls and the Fountain,
including the Bridge River, which entered the Fraser
a little above Lilloet. At Robinson Bar, near Lilloet,
about one hundred miners were engaged in June 1858,
making from $80 to $90 a day each during the first
four or five days, after which the yield fell to $5 or $6.^^

At French Bar, close above Lilloet, the prospects
justified the construction of two ditches, each a mile in
length, which were worked in the beginning of 1859
by a dozen miners. Their receipts in jMay were from
eight dollars to twelve dollars, while rockers made
about half of this amount to the man. Here a ferry
crossed the Fraser to Fort Behrens, and connected
with a trail to the Fountain.^^ Bridge River, .so named
from the bridges constructed hy Indians as well as
white men, became popular in 1858 from the discovery
of some coarse gold, not exceeding one and a half ounces
in size; but it was soon found that the chief yield was
scale gold, which required great care and much quick-
silver. The river was prospected to the Cascade Moun-
tains, wing-dammed, fiuined, and mined in the bed as
well as in the bank; and although the diggings were
shallow, the prospect, as reported by Bishop Hill and
others, was so encouraging that the fliith in their pro-
ductiveness became abiding;. Nuo^cnt estimated that
it possessed suitable placers for fifteen hundred miners.
A little town was founded here by Frai:er and Davis,

'* X. Wrxtminxter Eramhwr, July 6, 1SG7; Douj las' Private Papers, MS.,
i. !IS 9; B. C. Pnper.-^, ii. G7.

^" Hutchings, iu I'ictoria Gazelle, July 29, 1S5S. Cornwallis records that
w liL'u he reached this point in July 1858, another party had already diverged
many miles iu the direction of the coast mountains toward the south-west,
wiiure it was reported they had found good diggings. -V. El Dorndo, '203-15.
Ki'ference was hero made probably to Cayoosh River and Anderson Lake.
At Horse Beef Bar, three miles below French Bar, miners were digging out
iu February 1859 from |!2 to 86 a day.

^" Lieutenant Palnier, iu B. C. Papers, iii. 47.

454

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

which in May 1859 contained seven business houses
unci several tents.''

Impressed with the common behef that richer phicors
miglit be found farther up tlie river, the government
fitted out a prospecting expedition under Andrew J.
Janneson, which started from Lilloet August 7th, and
ascended the south fork of Bridge River for seventy
miles above its junction with the main stream. Here
was found a slate nmch resembling tliat of Williams
Creek in Cariboo, with stream placers.

The pay dirt was from three to five feet deep, and
resembled the deposits of so many other places already
described in not occurring on the bed-rock. Quartz
veins and indications of silver were found everywhere,
and on Gun Creek, a tribn+ary of Bridge River, fifty
miles by the trail from Lilloef, fine gold placers were
discovered, yielding from six to fifteen dollars a day.
One feature of the entire region was the abundance
of black sand in the bed of the river. A map of tlio
country explored was made, and exhibited at A'^ictoria,

The Chinese formed a large portion of the influx
to the new field, and soon became the chief holders
of claims, carrying on quite extensive dam operations.
One of their wing-dam claims yielded hi 1806 $55,000
to a party of twelve. Ten years later the Indians
were in almost exclusive possession, and still securing
fair returns.'"

The Fountain, or Fountains, a few miles above
Bridge River, at the mouth of Fountain Creek, on
the left bank of the Fraser, was so named by the

^' It stood a few hundred feet from tlie mouth of the river, where this
firm had replaced the Indian bridge by a 40-foot toll-bridge, costing $1,450.
NtKjeut's Report, in U. S. Ex. Doc., Ill, 35lh Coixj., i.'(l SeM.; Victoria Gazettt;
May 28, 1859; B. C. Papers, iii. 35.

»8 Victoria Colonist, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, 1865.

** Brown s Emny, 35. The Chinese had costly fluming works thirteen miles
above Lilloet, on Bridge River, in Nov. 1805. Victoria Colonist, Nov. 28,
1805. ' Nodules of pt re copper ' (copper pyrites) were found in the bed of tlio
stream. Rawlimja" ConfedenUion, 117; N. Wedminiiter Columbian; Victoria
Colonist, April 7, 1866. A family of Indians took out in March 1876 $1,500
ten miles below Lilloet. Min. Mines Rept, 1870, 423. One of the largest
nuggets found in the Fraser country, ^\0 in weight, was obtained on this
river in January 1859. Victoria Gazette, Feb. 8, 1859.

TlIK FOUNTAIN.

455

Fit'iicli Canadians on account of some natural fea-
tures of the vicinity. It was the ultimate camp of
the nunin<]j emigration of 1858, and had in 1859
licconie a village of half a dozen log-huts and two or
three large stores scattered over the lower of two
vast terraces that swept around the base of the moun-
tain behind.'"^ Its mining consisted in 1858 of dry-
diggings, thirty yards from the bed of the river,
wliich yielded remarkably well/^ The auriferous de-
posit came evidently from the hills, for a ])arty of
eight persons averaged two ounces a day to the hand
with rockers, thirty feet above the highest water level
ill tlie river, and finding the ground rich from the
level of the stream to an altitude of eight or nine
liundred feet, they threw up a ditch seven miles in
length, which was completed before the coming of
frost in the autumn of 1858. In the first five days'
washing, before they were interrupted by the frost,
the company took out of the sluices one thousand one
liundred and ninety-eight dollars.*'

In 187G the placers were still yielding a little gold,
and the sixty Chinese then engaged on the river banks
Avere making about two dollars and a half a day. One
of them had just constructed a ten-mile ditch from
tlie Fountain Creek, one third flumed, at a cost of
fourteen thousand dollars, and was delivering five
hundred inches of water along the left bank of the
Fiaser.*^ Above the Fountain on the Fraser were
])ay Bar, Haskell Bar, Big Bar, and Island Bar in the
Canoe country, and British Bar and Ferguson Bar, ex-

different

*° Bvi/hlc, ill B. C. Papcr.i, iii. 17-24; Mm)ne, in Id., 35.

"Douglas inentioiia in liis despatch of July 1, lH'tS, that five diffc
rdokcrs M'ero each averaging at this place 447 a day. B. C. J'apcm, i. 19.

*^ Walter Moberly, who visited this ground in the winter of 1858-9, was
of the opinion that tlic river gold, at the Fountain in particular, wa.s rusty,
and came primarily from the hills and mountains, then from the terraces and
lihiffs in slidos, and did not travel far. JUoherly'n Jonrnei/, in Victoria Oazr/le,
I'ol). 17, 1859. Opposite the Fountain, on tiie right bank of the Fraser, was
the upper Mormon Bar, where rockers in May 1859 were saving from $4 to
$12 to the man, an<l sluices, $\G to $25. B. C. Papers, iii. 48-75.

" The season for hydraulic mining lasted from March to November. Miii.
Mines liept, 1870, 422.

4.-0

FRASER RIVER MIXING AND SETTLEMENT.

tending for ov^cr one hundred and fifty miles to the
mouth of Qucsnel River and into the Canoe country,
and forming the stepping-stones to Cariboo. The
Canoe country so designated from Canoe Creek, in
51° 30', is described as beginning fifty miles above the
Fountain, and extending indefinitely to the north, over
the undulating plateau, through which the Fraser cuts
a deep channel."

In 1858 this region was scarcely touched except by
prospectors. In May and June 1858, Aaron Post, a
miner from El Dorado County, California, penetrated
alone to near Chilkoten River, one hundred and sixtv
miles above the mouth of the Thompson, prospecting
on every bar, and finding plenty of gold. His pro-
visions giving out he had recourse to berries, and
occasionally to horse-flesh, obtained from the Indians,
though ho reported them as generally hostile."" Sev-
eral prospectors followed in the footsteps of Post, and
although none were able to remain for want of provi-
sions, yet all brought gold and good reports. The
opniing of the southern roads brought to this region
a fresh influx of permanent diggers, who made from
five to sixteen dollars with rockers on the various bars,
with occasional rich discoveries. It was not rare to
find })laces above high water which yielded better
than those below it, but tlie bars remained the chief
resort during 1859 and 18G0. At Island Bar, so
named from the island formed here at high watrr,
w^erc several parties who in December 1858 had each
from eight hundred to three thousand dollars' worth
of dust, yet this autumn had proved a hard time, for
want of supplies, and numbers had been compelled to
depart.*"

■" The origin of the amo Canoe Creek is thus accounted for by A. C.
Anderson. In 1807 Sin ■ Fraser of the Northwest Companj', after descend-
ing the Fraser to this ce, here caeheil liis canoe and travelled on foot to
the upper Tcet village, the site of Fort Yale. His Canadian voyagcurs
in referring to the cache v led the village there Lf I'aiiot, and the stream I. a
Riviire duCanot. I'icloru. ■azetie, Feb. 1, 18.}9.

** PoDl's IStiitemeiit, in I toria Gazette, July 14, 1858.

'"At Day Bar, two m ;s above the Fountain, worked by Captain iJ.iy
and four others in the wi er of 1858-9, the pay averaged from $8 to §10 to

QUESI.EL RIVER

The bars above Alexandria, as far as the mouth of
the Quesnel, and also those of Quesncl Kiver, were
first occupied in the spring of 1859 by the advancing
prospectors, who wandered restlessly from bar to bar,
looking further all the while for coarser gold and moie
of it. As early as May 1859, rumors began to reach
Bridge River of rich discoveries in this direction;
vague as tliey were, they travelled fast, and attracted
enough attention to induce many persons who wore
arriving at Bridge River oi route for the lower
Fraser to hesitate and turn back/"

Late in the season of 1859 definite reports came
that the search for gold had proved successful on tiie
Quesnel; and in 18G0, by the time tlie i)ioneers of
the column reached Antler ^^reek, six hundred white
miners were said to be engaged on tliis river, making
from ton to twenty-five dollars per day, and occasion-
ally turning up nuggets weighing from six to eiglit
ounces. Simultaneously with these developments, sev-
eral bars above Alexandi'ia were brought into promi-
nence, and mining advanced so ra})idly that this very
year a gold commissioner was appointed, who stationed
himself at Williams Lake.

At British Bar, al)out fifty miles above Alexandria,
tlie yield was so promising as to induce six Cornish-
men, in Novemher 18G0, to open a ditch five miles in
length. At Ferguson Bar, three miles higher, sixty
dollars to the man were made for some time, and the
sand overlying the pay streak was found sufliciently
rich to justify the construction of a four-mile ditch,
ut a cost of $12,000. Tliis region continued for years

the man, ami was better above liij,'li-watcr mark tliati lielow; the hirgest
Jiioec of gohl taken out weighing eight dolhirs. Vitlorin (I'lizif/i; Feb. 17,
Is,")',). Lieutenant Palmer staU-.s t'lat in May IS,")!) roukiTS here were aver-
aging from §8 to §12. £. C. I'opvr.f, iii. 47. H:i*k<:ll Har, eii^htecu niih'.s
alicivo the Fountain, yielded from $!(> to $\'2 with rockers, and .'ji(j to i'"M iit
shiicing; and Big Bar yielded at tlie same time from 5=.') to i^i with rockers. ./(/.
*' Victoria Gazette, Miiy'28, IS")!). 'Curioso,' my aiithority in this instaneu,
Weighs in his own mind the points in fjvvor of going to these new diggings,
being satisfied apparently that 'some few claims ' might lie ricli; but he de-
scribes the route as much more difficult and daUgerous than any so far experi-
cn;;e(l, while the country was so far removed from the base of supplies as to
rciuicr tlij venture extremely hazardouij.

'\ '\

408

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

to give empnyment to miners, and occasional ricli
strikes served to keep up the interest of prospectors.*^

Thompson River, . the principal tributary of the
Eraser, and the first to disclose its auriferous ground
after the announcement of the discoveries on the
Columbia, had a comparatively insignificant mining
record after 1858. Early in the Fraser excitement
the small nuggets at Nicoutameen, ten miles from the
mouth, attracted much attention; but the supply ap-
jiears to have been soon exhausted.

The whole course of the stream lay in a gold-bear-
ing formation, but the yield never equalled that of the
Fraser, nor was the mining population ever extensive,
and the towns of Cache Creek, Kamloop, and Sey-
mour grew up rather as transportation depots than as
mining villages.'*'' In 1858, Wanquille River, on the
north sh' j of Kamloop Lake, was prospected for
some forty miles, and found to promise from five to
six dollars to the man with sluices. Mininj; here
attained a greater degree of permanency than else-
where along the Thompson, and cradling and hill-
digging were for several more years carried on by
whites, Chinese, or Indians. The discovery of coarse
gold in pieces up to three quarters of an ounce in
weight, and of a layer of pay dirt three or four feet
in thickness, above the level of the river-bed, caused
an increased activity in 18G1, with a larger yield.'"*
Several other parts of the Thompson, though less per-

■''^ Black water tributary, 45 miles from Quesncl, created a brief excitement
in 1870. Victoria Colonist , July 20, 1870; B. C. Papers, iv. 41; Marjie's )'./.,
24:}-4.

*' Victoria Gazette, Jan. 2r>, 1859; Overland from Minnesota, .39.

''"Tlie Cliinese were averaging §7.15 each in June 18G1. Brown's Essai/,
34. In I8G7 forty men were at work liere, many of whom settled down ami
cultivated gardens. Cnarso gold was the chief attraction, but preparations
vere made to work the hill-diggings. jV. Westminster Esaminer, July 10,
Aug. .", 1807. T,ater still the mining population consi8te<l of about 50 C'hiua-
inen, who were reported as taking out half an ounce to the man near tli<
mouth of the river. Dawson on Mines 40. In 1870 there were 20 Chinese
miners with claims, yieldinc $7,000 for the season. In 1877 only a dozen
remained, earning §3,500 for tlio season. Min. Mines Rept., 1870, 1877; B. V-
PaiKrs, iv. 55.

ENT.

THE UPPER COUNTRY.

459

)asional rick
Drospectors.*^

tary of the
rous ground
ries on the
cant minin<'
' excitement
lies from tlie
16 supply ap-

a gokl-bear-
[l that of the
er extensive,
)p, and Sey-
spots than as
liver, on the
ospected for
from five to
^lininof here

than else-

g and hill-

rried on liv

ry of coarse

Hn ounce in

or four feet

jed, causeil
rger yield.''"
gh lews per-

hrief excitement
Murjies V. J.,

.39.

Brown H Eftxai/,
ttled down anil
nit preparatiiins
mine?; July 10,
about 50 C'hiaa-
a man near t\\v
rcro 20 Chinese
77 only a dozen
7(5, 1877; B. C.

manent, yielded good returns. At one place five men
were in 1859 making nearly three hundred dollars
a day with the sluice, while others obtained ten to
twelve dollars with rockers. In September 1860,
two hundred Chinese were digging near the mouth
of the river, and in the autumn of 18G1, one hundred
and fifty miners were reported at work not far from
Wanquille River, making sixteen dollars a day.®^

The Upfeb Gold Districts.

The deposits on the north branch of the Thompson
came first into notice in 18G1, when a tributary from
the east, twenty miles above its mouth, was mined to a
small extent and yielded eight to ten dollars a day. At
the same time the Indians found coarse gold above the
junction of the Clearwater, and on the Barri6re Riv-
er a community of French Canadians was making as

''^Douglas' Private Papern, MS., 1. 122-3; liawUnga' Confederation, 110;
B, C. Papers, iii. CO. Seven miners on Lake Kamloop were in 1804 earn-
ing $10 a day. Afacjie'a V. /., 243.

jTiiUttaitiiii'""'

Illll in

III

460

FRASER RIVER J^IIXINO AXD SETTLE:SIENT.

"■it

11!

¥l li

i; ^1

much as fifty dollars a day."^^ In that creek rich quartz
and alluvial diggings were reported in the summer of
1869, and regarded as a rediscovery of the spot whore
a Swiss miner ten j-ears before claimed to have found
some ledges.^^ Besides these localities, Moberly
Creek, Adams River, Shushwap River, and Cherry
Creek received considerable attention during the Bisr
Bend and upper Columbia excitements, between
18G4 and 1867. In 1864 Factor McKay bi ought the
news to Victoria, that all along the Shushwap and its
tributaries four to five dollars a day could be made with
the rocker. This pay was also obtained on the Cherry
Creek tributary, better known for its silver ledges.
In 1869 a quartz-miner from Nevada opened the
Cherry Creek silver-mine, without making any very
substantial developments; and in 1876 the company
of I. Christian was workinij an eifjht-foot vein whicli
yielded one thousand five hundred dollars in a month
and a half, while at the same time Bissctt discovcretl
a ledge of gold and silver ore, five feet in thickness, on
the north branch of the Cherry. The following year
new placers of coarse gold were found on a hin'Ii
bench further up the creek, yielding twenty-five cenis
to the pan, so that between quartz and placer dr-
posits. Cherry Creek continued to stand high among
mining localities.''*

Moberly Creek, on the upper Thompson, was
brouojht into notice at the commencement of the Biij
Bend excitement, by W. Moberly and Mountaineer
Perry, who examined it in 1865, and gave a good
report. On Adams Lake, and Adams Creek, ex-
tending into Shushwap Lake, there was found in July

•*' Factor !McKny of Kamloop reported in 1804, that seven or eight niiles
from tlierc some CaniiiUans were making ^40 a day. Victoria Wcekli/ Colonial,
March 129, 1804; liattiiiigH' Vouj'ede.raiion, 115-10; Map, in U. O. Papers, iv.
-|4.

-'■' The Swiss died, says the record, without making them known. Victoria
Wcekhj CohiiisI, July 31, 1809.

**The Chinese were making from §4 to $10 in 1876. Victoria Daily Coh-
vist, Nov. 10, 1870; May 18, 1877. Victoria Weeklif Colonist, March 29, 1804;
July 24, 1809.

CHARACTER OF DEPOSITS.

lountainccr

Iknown. Victoria

1SG6 a bed of gravel eight feet in thickness, yielding
from three and a half to four dollars a day.^^ The
Thompson River bars continued on the whole to yield
steadily throughout the decade of 18G0-70, and Talie-
stn, Evans, and others estimated the annual product
at from twenty thousand to thirty thousand dollars.^

Tliroughout the Fraser and Thompson placer dis-
tricts the operations upon the bars led into the banks ;
aiul tliese on the Fraser and its tributaries consisted
of benches rising in successive levels behind each
other to great altitudes. At first, all the remunera-
tive gravel-beds a little above the level of the river
wore called dry-diggings, a classification wliich im-
plied that the earth had either to be carried to the
river to be washed, or that water had to bo carried to
tlio ground in ditches. This class of diggings did not
receive much attention until the deposits accessible
by the natural sluice-ways of the country were nearly
exhausted ; yet the line of demarcation between bench,
bank, and river-flat diggings, where sluicing was car-
ried on, was scarcely perceptible, as the river occa-
sionally rose above them all. The term 'dry-diggings'
came to be applied after a while more jiarticularly to
tlio higher ground, as equivalent to bench-diggings,
Avhicii were never touched by the flood-waters, and, in
lAhort, to the terraces of the Fraser. The terrace de-
posits of the northern plateau covered many thousand
sijiuire miles of territory, following not only the river
Viilkys, but extending far back over the plains, and
Hanking the mountain ranges of tlie interi(»r; and
tliey cimsisted of tlie more or less rich gravel and
sand so eagerly sought for by the river, placer, and hy-

''■'Tliia was underlaiti by a solid blue cement, said to resemble deposits on
Williiims Creek. From ten feet down the cement contained plenty of quartz,
wiHlioil travel bowlders, Bulphurets of iron, and black sand, with every intli-
c.ition of good placer ground. Fifteen miles below this, seven Frenchmen
Were engaged at sluicing in the summer of 186G. ' Ji. D.,' iu Victoria Wechly
VoloniM, Sept. 18, 18(56.

'•''(hrrliiiid Monfhlt/, March 1870, 262; Yale Euamhwr; Virtori>i We.vkly
Colonist, April 24, 186«.

illMttl)ll»K

nil I

ill

468

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

draulic miners. It was not long before the intelligent
miner became aware that the river diggings must
soon yield to these extensive terrace and lake-sliorc
deposits, for the bar formations were different from
those of California streams; tliey were recent, made
since the formation of the bars, while the bed-rock
contained nothing of value. Bright prophecies were
indulged in touching the yield of the higher benches;
buc the change was, on the whole, not to the taste of
the diggers, and terrace operations form so small a
portion of mining on the middle and lower FrastT,
that in omitting the narration concerning them the
incompleteness of the record is scarcely observed. Yet
there is in reality no subject more vital to the mining
history of these districts.

The gold of the river bars consisted of fine Hat
scales, comminuted by long-continued liannnering
between bowlders during its transport from the origi-
nal sources. All the gold found below Yale was so
fine that even with the use of blankets in the rockers
there was a loss of about half, and with the use of
amalgamated coi)pcr plates and quicksilver there was
still a considerable loss."'' The abundance of tliis
fine n'old in the river-beds of the j]freat Columbia and
Fraser was not unjustly regarded by the Californians,
when the discovery was first announced to them in
1858, as evidence of untold wealth in these river
valleys.

Ninety per cent of bhe gold extracted during the
first year of mining in the Fraser basin was fine gold,
which had been distributed by river, lake, and ice
agen(ues, and finally concentrated at different points.
Moberly's observations at the Fountain traced tlie
deposits from the dry -diggings into the higher ter-
races, and a number of transient geologists, travellers,
engineers, and scientific ex})lorers have followed simi-
lar investigations, the principal of them being aUat'}tr'<
of the army and navy, stationed for a time at the

*' Wiuldinfjton'n Fraser MIiim, 41.

VARIATIONS ACCORDING TO LOCALITY.

3 intelligent

served. Yet

colony ;^^ but the results were detached and incom-
plete, and before the beginning of the geological
survey no systematic attention was given to tiic sub-
jeet. The mining operations simply proved the fal-
liU'V of the Californian idea that the river itself had
eiirried the gold from some extensive placer basin a
long distance above, and the terrace or lake detritus
completely batfled the pursuit of its sources.

While the fine gold could be found along the Fraser
from its sources to the sea, the coarse gold, indicatir.;:^
the origin of the particular tine gold on tiic middle
anJ western plateau, coincided in its distribution witli
the slaty rocks of the And<.^rson lliver and J^oston
Ikr series, recurring in spots of undetincd area along
tlie principal streams. ^^ Beyond the region of the
iUK-ient plateau, lake, or lakes, described by Begbio
and Selwyn, far up in the slaty mountains of Cariboo,
coarse gold was finally found in quantity witliin tlie
leach of practicable mining operations — in the beds
of the ancient streams, meandering ])eneatli the
howlder clays and the ice-marked gravels of the
modern river-channels. It has been asserted tliat
tlie auriferous sections of California and of the Fraser
do not bear any resemblance to eacli other; but on
LiUoet Lake the eye readily detects many of tlie
characteristics of the California gold-regions."" In fol-

"" Doctors Forbes, Brown, and Rattray, Lieutenant Mayne of the navy,
and Lieutenant I'alniLT of the army, made ollieial ve[)orts. l)e(lroot, Ri','^-
liii', Harnett, Sproat, and in fact nearly all the writers on JJritisli C'olunihia,
tiiiK'hed paragraphieally on the sulijeet.

■''•'/>(( H'.soH on Minis, ;{(). Scale and dour gold were found along the wliole
course of the Fraser without regard to the formations over whieii the river
]i.issed. Coarse gold was foun<l hesiih's at t)ie localities of '^,'icoutanieeii, ( J reat
i'"al!s, Briilge River, etc., already mentioned, also at ■'''iika Flat, near J^ytton,
and from that point down to Roston Rar. /(/., Hi. iJeghie and Silwyii in their
reports lioth noted tlie occurrence of slates alon,thiH portion of Fraser River.

'"' '( 'urioso,' an intelligent and experienceil Californian, who witiiesseil and
iloscrihed in a series of letters the mining in progress hetween Yale and (ho
i'oUMtain in ]Sr)8-l>, stated, in summing up, that tlie tine Hat scales found in
tile river were ' precisely sinular tr) those found in nearly every [iirt <>f the earth
wished inindreds of feet ahove the pres(!iit bed of tiie river, ' in from one to
liUy colors to the pan. 'This,' says the correspondent, ' sustains tlio theory
tliat tlie bars are tlio resnlta of lieavy Ifvndslides, tlio lighter soil of whicli is
tikeii almost entirely away by tlie current.' The formations at Nicaragua
IJar proveil this to lie ;i fact. The I)ar3 previously worked paid a second timo

iTi II ki II II 11 1 " 1

464

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

lowing the Lilloet River to Harrison Lake, the Cali-
fornian is at home. Quartz, so scarce on the Fraser,
here abounds; and the hills are of that reddish gravel
with a blue clay from which so much gold has been
extracted in California. B'^idge River, which yielded
so many nuggets, traversed the same formation.

Dry-diggings first received particular attention
between Hope and Yale about the middle of Octobci-
1858, when it was observed that they extended along
both sides of the Fraser to the foot of the mountains,'^'
Among those that were successfully worked in 1858
and 1859, named in ascending order, were Emory Bar
and Hunter Bar diggings, seven miles below Yale;
Bond dry-diggings, five to seven miles below Yale; the
Prince Albert diggings, four miles below Yale* the
benches at Hill Bar; the George dry-diggings, three
miles above Yale; the benches at Nicaraijua Bar in
the great canon, a little below Boston Bar; McGof-
fey dry-diggings, seven miles below Foster Bar; the
benches at Cameron Bar; Hovey bench-dig- Ings on
the left hand of the Fraser, eight miles below the
CO ifluence of Bridge River; and those at the Fountain
already described. Bond, tlie George, Hovey, and
the Fountain dry-diggings were worked in the autumn
of 1858; the rest in 1859. At Lytton, and at many
other places not mentioned, bench-diggings were trietl
in later years at times with rockers, but as a rule the
benches were found to be unprofitable without the use
of water delivered in ditches, a want which could not
always be supplied in a country where the rainfall
itself was rather light.

for working. . The operations of the miners were almost entirely superficial, in
heiiig conlined to the bars and immediate edges of the banks. Victoria Oazvttr,
Juno 16, 1S,")9. A correspondent of the London Times in 1863 also described
fully, and dwelt largely upon, the fine gold contained in the terraces extendin;^
along the whole course of the Fraser from Hope to Alexandria. Lundin
Brown described the gold of the Fraser 'as remarkably fine,* incapable of
being saved without quicksilver, and as ooming from the terraces. Brown a
Eumy, 28. It was associated with black sand not unlike that of the Australian
diggings. McDonald's B. C, 91-2. Specimens of the black sand of the
Fraser were described by Dr James Blake. Procecdimji Col. Acad. Sciences.
*^ Waddintjton's Fraser Mines, 46-7.

»; H

, the Cali-
de Fraser,
lish gravel
1 has been
ich yielded
tion.

attention
of October
ided alono-
lountains.*"
ed in 18o^i
Emory Bar
slow Yale;
vYale; the
• Yale* the
fings, three
^ua Bar in
ir; McGiot-
T Bar; the
lig^.ngs on

below the
e Fountain

[ovey,

and

ihe autumn
|d at many
were tried
a rule the
»ut the u^^e
could not
he rainfoll

ly superficial, in
Victoria Gazette,
alao described
tacea extoiuliu^
idria. Lundin
p,* incapable of
rraces. Browni
1 the Australian
sand of the
\ad. Sciences.

COARSE AND FINE GOLD

Coarse gold was much more frequently met with in
the terraces than in the river-beds; and the yield by
sluicing ranged from four to twenty dollars a day to
tlie man. At Prince Albert diggings the extensive
terrace or table-land, which rose sixty feet above the
hii^hest water level of the Fraser, was pronounced
liighly auriferous, and extensive enough to give em-
ployment to four thousand miners, allowing each
tw(>nty-five feet frontage and five hundred feet depth.
Shafts were sunk in October 1858, and as there was m>
water on the ground, several companies organized to
hrino; in ditches. ^IcGoftey disjcmnLjs were amouijcthe
richest in coarse gold, the pieces weighhig from fifty
cents to twelve dollars."'"

]\Ir Justice Begbie was one of the first to comj)re-
heiid the nature of the terrace detritus as observed
during his journey to Lilloethi April 1859. To him
tlie terraces recalled the Grampian formation in Scot-
land, and he traced in them the shores of a former lake
covering most of the country brought into notoriet}'
by the Fraser mines, and extending from Boston l^ar
to some miles above the Fountain, a distance of eii>htv
or ninety miles. The tine <xold phenomena of the river

"-/?. C. Pnpert), ii. 27. Hond-diggings, discovered by T. Bond, early in
1S,">8, and located on the hij^her portion of lluntor IJar, yielded coarse gold,
.siHiie pieces wcigliing six dollars. Victorid (liizttlc, .luiie '2.'), ISoS. At Hill
and ilniory bar, the Iiar-diggings were abauiloned after 1S5S, ami iu Mardi
IS.'iit the miners began to construct ditches for sluicing the benches or table-
lands. jy.odiUiH Dis]Hiti-li, March 10, 18r)0, in li. V. r<i}»r.t, ii. (17. Tlio
Oidigo ilry-diggings yielded eight dollars a day wilii the rocker, and twenty
dolliii's at sluicing. JhiUijldK' I'rinile I'njifiv, -MS., 1st ser., ]().")-(). On the
Iiiiili terrace at Js'icai'agua IJar. l.">0 feet above the river, some miners were in
April KS.")"J engaged in bi'ingiiig in a ditch. Virlitrld (iazitlc, .May 7, IN.'lt.
1 lie gold was a dirty yellow, rather coarse, not water-worn, yielding .'?10lt a
d.iy to the sluice. Jonah Yale, May 'J4th, cor. Virforia Oaziiti; May 'M, bS.")'.l.
Tlio bar itself was at the same time paying handsomely. At (.'ameron ]{,ir
till' sluicing, partly by costly Ibimes, was conducted at a considerable altitude,
and yielded four dollars a day to the hand. Virloria (/icr^c, .Inno 14, IS.'i'.).
-NbiidU'ey dry-diggings Were fifty feet above the river, and contained Inmii.s
ot gold from 50 cents totl-.i'jO in value. Hovcy diggings were I'J.") feet aboMj
tlie river, and yielded, iu the fall of 18.")8, 148 ounces of sh.it gold, in tiiri'o
Weeks' time, to tea men using four sluices. DowjUis, in B. (\ Pim-v^, ii. ;<!•.
Tile rocker-diggings at the P\)untaiu were rich to an altitude of S0() or St(M)
feet. These devi'lopments established pretty conelusively that the sources > if
tlie lino river gold were in the terraces; but it existed there in a less concen-
trated form.

Hist. ]!rit. Col. 30

'" if

4GG

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

i ' ^' i.

above and below the outlet of the ancient lake, ho
compared to the results of the M'orking of a rocker;
remarking that all the gold found between Hope and
Yale was transported 'Hour gold,' not a 'scale' iiaving
ever been found below Yale; while at Lvtton eightv-
five per cent of the gold found was scale gold, and
but fifteen per cent Hour gold."'' The material of
the terraces was shown by others to be neither more
nor loss than the ordinary detritus of the surrounding
country — loam, gravel, sand, and more or less water-
worn bowlders. Milton and Cheadle, who were in the
country in 18G3, conceived that there were three suc-
cessive tiers of terraces, representing, as in some other
terraced countries, three successive epochs of elevation.
They described them as universally impregnated with
fine gold, and remarked upon their co-extension with
the bunch-grass country of the plateau.**

The odium of the 'Fraser humbug' has been out-
lived. It is not necessary to do more than refer to
that title, proclaimed as it was in 1858 and 1859, likt'
a political shibboleth without fairness and for a single
object — to turn the tide of emigration. But the dis-

•

"^VA ('. Pafcfx, iii. 17-20. Begbic expressed lii's belief that the benches
might pay iiiulor a suliicicmly large system of mining. The terrace deposits,
fr(Mii 100 to ],(K)0 feet in tliickness, eontained in las opinion not a spadeful nf
dirt that was not auriferous. Whenever beueh-digging.s have been worked,
said the eorrespondent of thi' London Thnvs, Victoria, .Ian. 20, 18G2, ' Wwy have
paid Well, but they have been neglected for the placer-diggings.' With an
aliundaiu'o of water, and of timber for Humes, an inviting field here opened
itself for I'jiglish capital. J/nzli/t'n Citrilino, l.'iS— 1.'5.

*'* X<irf/iiri.-<t P<iK,s-ii<je 1)1/ Li I ml, SSi). ])r Robert Brown's scientific exaiiii-
nation and descrij)tion was the first comprc'hensivo treatment of the subjeit,
and lie assunie<l thiit the terraces were formed by the successive cutting away
fif the barriers of interior lakes. Loud, (tco'j. Soc, Jour., xxxix. 125-G. Tlic
prairie character of so much of the terraced interior he showed to be due to
c .•■.parative dryness, caused either by scanty rainfall or by the porosity of
the soil, niodilied by prairie fires and other local causes. Jd., 127-9. This
•was also the belief of Newberry, promulgated in his Or'nfmof Pntirks, Tmiif.
Am. Scii'iitijtc. Axxoi'hUion, Bufl'alo, 18G(i; and of Foster, in his M Usix.siirpi I'ul-
If'!/. Hector's stutly of the terraces of the Columbia, in connection with tlie
I'alliser expedition in ISGi), extended through two or three years of explora-
tion, anil were very valuable. Miiiiiii/ in the Umtcr C'obunhia Hirer jinsin.
Selwyii made a comprehensive rcxitnii of the whole subject, and added a gninl
deal from his own observations made in a journey from \'ictoria to Ycllow-
hcad Pasa iu 1S71. Canada ileol, Sitrrci/ /'qiort, 1871-2, 54-(5,

RUSHES AND REACTIONS.

409*

b lake, ho
a rocker;
Hope anil
le' having
on eighty-

ofokl, and
laterial < »t
thcr move
irrounding
less water-
A^crc ill the

three suc-
5oine otlKr
f elevation,
nated with
iiision witli

, been ont-
in refer to
. 1859, like
'or a singli'
lut the dis-

iat the benches
jrrace (loposits,
)t a spadofnl nf
le been worked,
l8G2, ' they hiivo
ligs.' With ail
lid here openeil

[icntitle exauii-
lot the sulijeot,
cutting away
^. ]>J5-G. The
pel to be ihic to
the porosity of
[, 127-9. This
P/v»'/vV-», Tram-
y'i.t.-iiMqrpi Val-
Iction with the
irs of exjilora-
|i Hirer Bai^in.
aiMed a f,'oi"l
ria to YeUiiw-

appointments experienced by the thousands who went
to Fraser River, and failing to be successful returned
in inisfoi'tune, are worthy of a candid record in the
history of the times, while a picture of the wave of
depression into which the colony was plunged belongs
to the history of the country itself. British Coluin-
1 )ia was called the Land of Hopes Unfultilled."'' Thirty
tlioLisand Californians rushed north to Victoria, and
as hastily returned. A large part of this migrating
population being moved by incentives of trade and
spi'culation, incidental t«) the mining discoveries, came
no nearer to the mines than this port; but those who
ai>j)roched them did so at the very worst time, when
the river bars, then the only diggings looked for, were
e(Aered by water. They found themselves further-
more in a wild country, aftbrding none of the com-
forts and conveniences of a miner's life in California,
tl;e greater part of it being beyond the reach of sup-
plies and almost untrodden.

To the natural diiiicultics wei-e added the illiberal
restrictions of trade enforced by tlie governor and
oilicers of the Hudson's Bay Com])any,'"' who allowed
no trading with the Mainland and interior to be cai-
licd on by the merchants of Victoria and Whatcom
till after midsummer. The only exception to their
own monopoly of the trade of the mines was the pcr-
missuni ufranted bv (loveriior IJouulas to several
])arties to sell fresh meat and vegetal)les. The coii-
st'([uence was, that even the departure of the miners
from Victoria into the interior after the lirst rush
had the eflect of making Victoria dull.

The foundering of the steamer Brother Jonatlian
olF Crescent City, July 8, 1.858, with the loss of many
(»r lu'r passengers, was a shock which gave the final
iiu[)ress to the idea that the rush had continued too

'" Wriijlit, in OrrrliOiif MoiiMif, Deceniher 1S()0.

'"'Sonio attribnted the hard times to the fact tliat the f.'oM-dust was kept

mt of circulation by tlie company's reeeivin;,' it for floods, wliich were only
|iiiiil for liy bills of cxchanue on IjOiidoii. ('nrniiutUW AVw El Dormlo, 300;

(

piiiil for liy bdls .. _- - -

Vitildiiujtons Fnvsvr Miius, '_'2-4; Browii'-i Essay, 3, 4.

4C8

FRASER RIVER MINING AND SETTLEMENT.

long. The immigration suddenly stopped ; and more :
in a few months the adventurers were nearly all back
again in 'God's country,' as they called the sunnier
regions of the south,**' full of bitter denunciations
of the route, the country, the resources, yet knowing
no more, after their return, of tlie extent and wealth
of the mines than they knew before leaving in quest
of tlicm. It was argued that the deposits on the
lower Eraser must be small, and if the hcud-wators
contained greater wealth, the remoteness, Indian diffi-
culties, want of supplies, and the short duration of
the mining season, would forever make them inferior
to California as a mining resort.

After the river fell there was a reaction, for a largo
immber had with commendable patience remained t
await this event, and now that the gold began to How,
the departures were not only clieckcd, but a fresh in-
flux took place. The yield did not come up to tlicir
expectations, however, and in November 1858 tlie
winter exodus set in, a hundred persons leaving Vic-
toria every wcck.*^ Good, deputy minister of mines,
who had access to every source of information, placed
the total yield for 1858 at $500,000, and for 1859 at
$1,000,000, while the known exports were $390,2(;5,
the respective years. To this one third may be added,
to include what had been carried away by private
hands. The number of miners actually employed in

" Victoria Gnzetle, Sept. 9, 1858; Overland Monthh), M.ay 18(59, 410. Huu-
ilreds were rotuniiiig to Victoria with but little gold, and were leaving the
country, to the dismay of the store-keepers. Business was dead. Woddimi-
ton's Fraxcr Mines, 38. In July and August the San Francisco newspapers
were filled with the folly of the northern exodus. ' The mania,' said the Jiiil-
to(« of July I'itli, 'exceeded all bounds of reason and priidenco.' HungLT
and despair had now overtaken them. Hundreds who liail left good eniplny-
ment were unable to return. When Nugent arrived at Victoria as consular
agent of the United States, he found ' multitudes in a state of actual starva-
tion,' and was obliged to send numbers of persons to California at the piililic
expense. TarMl's Victoria, MS., G; McDonald's B. C, 121. Througlinut
the rnontlis of August and September the Victoria Gazette contained frecjucnt
admissions of the depressed condition of affairs. Vide Aug. 10, Sept. 25, 2!t,
1858.

^B. C. Papers, ii. 39; Lewis' Coal Discoveries, MS., 13-15. It was lianlly
just, perhaps, to compare the fields of British Columbia with California bcforu
her deposits had been fairly opened.

GOLD YIELD.

4G9

1858 was assumed to be 3,000; in 1859, 4,000; and in

1860, 4,400. The highest estimates were those given
by McDonald, who had the benefit of the books of
McDonald and Company, and who claimed to have
based his calculations on the returns of the bankers,
the express companies, and the surveyor-general.
He placed the yields of 1858 and 1859 at $2,120,000
and $1,375,000, and the total population in 1858 at
17,000; in 1859, at 8,000; in 18G0, at 7,000; and in

1861, at 5,000 — one sixth being British subjects. The
United States consular agent Nugent, on the other
luiiid, thought that the entire yield from May to
October 1858 did not exceed $500,000; while the
number of miners employed during the first three
months could not have been less than 2,000, and dur-
\\\\X the remainder of the season 10,000. Lcavinor the
iirst three months out of the question, he figured the
average earning of each miner at $50 for the season,
against $350 expenses. Waddington estimated the
yield till October at $705,000, and the investment of
labor and capital in steamers, wharves, Ijuildings, real
estate, and various improvements at Victoria and
l']squimalt, with native and imported capital, at

si,o(;o,ooo.'''

"•'Alfred Waililin;j;ton made an attempt to show that the yichl of the
FrasL'P iiiiues during the first six months was as good as that of California and
Australia. During the same period, at the coinnicncement of their mining
history, California had made a showing of $240,000, Australia, .^725,000,
iind Fraser Rivlt, 3705,000; allowing for only .^00,000 as a circulation in the
Frascr mines in October ISoS, though ho thinks this must have been nearer
.•?'_'.")(), 000, at SoO apiece, among 5,000 miners. l'cnd)erton, another author-
ity, states that the total product for that year amounted to §!l,4',)l-,2Il, and
for the following year to .*;2,000,000, or a total for the Iirst t%\'o years of at
least $3,000,000. The number of miners actually at work at any time during
this period could not have exceeded 3,000 — the number of miners' liot'nses
issued indicating only §2,000 — which makes the average anmuil earnings of
each miner $500. Pvmhvrton's B. C, 36-41; Vic an-.., April ]!), June !), 1S,")9.
The number of working miners in California in lS(iO was estimated at 200,000,
or one third of a population of 000,000; the yield being ,<!.")0,000,000, or .?250
to each miner. Dou^'ias reported 10,000 foreign miners on the Fraser in
August 1858, and upwards of 3,000 as actually engaged in mining. li. C.
I'lqicrs, i. 27, 41. Douglas wrote in February 1858, that Thompson Kiver
had then produced an ascertained export of. 500 ounces, ami probably 500
ounces more which re'-..ained in private hands. Coniirdlli.s' X. El Donvlo, 308.
The amount of gold-dust bought by the Hudson's 15ay Comj)any at Laiigley,
up to May 25, 1858, was C4Sij ounces. Dowjlnn Private /'aptrs, MS., i. 91;

470

FRASER RIVER MIN1N(} AND SETTLEMENT.

Whatever figures arc correct, it is certain that tlie
pcold shipinerits were small in coniparisou with those

of C^ilitoniin, .'ind herein wns found a stron

L,'' ar'ijfii-

nient a^-ainst the valui^ of the mines. Tlu; ])n)('ess of
de[)o{)ulatIon and the stagnation in trade <'oiitiinied
throiiL^hout IHiVJ and 1 800. Of tlie thousands who
had suddenlv made Victoria a citv, oidv alumt fifteen
liundred remained. Affairs tlu'n readied the lowest

c'hl). There was hut little husii

d 1

ness, and Jt'ss \\\ pros-
pect. " Let us look disaster in the face," couns'.'lh'd
the mentor of the local tlaily, as he reduced his issues
and omitted the title of daily."" Tlu^ depression con-
tinued foi- some time aft<'-; liopeful intimations canic
at the close of 1800 from the fork of the Quiisnd,
followed hy a jjjradually increasiniL!^ flow of dust, which
estahlished hoyond a doubt the existence of rich
placers in tlie country."^

The historv of minin<^ on the middle and westt>rii
plateaux was lienceforth chief!}' statistical in char-
acter.'"' Enough had been found and accomplished

U. S. Er. Doc. ;;/., .l-,ih Cnii;/., M Sr.^.i.; MrDnmUl'^ ]i. C, 82; J^•/^ J/;;» s-
Ji'ijif., 1875, 1. Tho 0/,Vy arrive.l at Victoria, May S, IS.kS, witli ^.H-NiMH) in
j,'ol(l-(lust, ami .S'J(),()(K) was tlio listimatcil rcci'iiits at Wliatuom (hiring tin;
week. Orciiniiil j'rdiii Jlliii/i.'iotii, 4()-'J; \'!rforlii d'nyt/i , Aug. '20, I85f>; ^iilrm
An/iix, Sfjit. 4, iS.")S.

'" Virlnr'iii (h'~<ttf. On May '28, ISJjO, tlio editor observed that the pay of
tlireo to iive (h)llar.s a <lay oti'ore<l i)y average claims was too even ami low to
attract tlio gamhling spirit of Calit'oriiiaiis. Tiio government was severt'ly
rated for its unwise regulations concerning land, roads, ami mines, wliicli it
■was alleged had repelled Americans.

^'This was owing partly to tlio remoteness of the mines, anil partly to tlie
want of hopefulness and energy amoi'.g a not over-prosperous community. On
the failure of the Big Bond excitement the editors were imly too reatly to
morali/c. 'We are experiencing a season of depression and misfortune only
equalled hy the disastrous years of l8.")',)-(i0. (Quartz-mining was recom-
mended as a remedy. Virtorlfi Wirkli/ Colonist, i^iitt. II, 18(i(j.

^'- Wells, Fargo, and Company shipp'id from \ ictoria in 1S,")8, .S3H7,70.">; in
ISoil, ?S'23,4S8; and in 18()0, §1,'_".)8,4()(}. A'lon Francis, in U. S. Comiwrchil
SiiitUlrn, 1803, li)4. All of that b'iipipcd m ,8r>8aud ] 8.J1) was Eraser River
gold, hut a large part of the shipment-i in 18li0 came from Qiiesnel Forks in
the coatines of Cariboo. A. V. Ai'iii-r.-i' n augments these tignrcs to cover
the total export, thus: for 185!>, %i,l". 1,339; 18()0, .«!l,3().3,32i». Amlcrson'i
J'Ji.i(ti/, appendix, iv. Charles Crooil, deputy minister of mines, gives us the
amounts actually known to have been exjmrted by the express com])'.ny and
banks in 1858 at P!K),2(;5; in 1859, at $1, '21 1,304; and in 18(iO, at $1,(571,410.
To these figures he adds a third to include the estimated amount carried away
by private liauds, making the total amounts, for 1858, $.V20,353; for bS.")!*,
$l,(il5,072; and for 18(J0, ,%»,'228,543. The largest yield was in 18(54, §3,73"',-

EFFECT OF (}> Ll> DISCOVERY.

471

hat the

II tlioso
if argu-

'ocess of
)iitiiiiUMl
ids ^vllo
t fifU'i-n
c lowi'st

ill pros-
luns'.'lli'd
lis issiu's
siou ('»)n-
»us caiiu'
Quesiu'l,
^t, wliicli

of I'icli

I Avostcrn
in diiu-
un)lislu'(l

; Mill. Mill! -I

h !?:!r),(HH) in

I (hiriiij; till!

l!So8; iSaleiii

it the pay of

III ami low to

uH s(!vcri'ly
[us, which it

Lartly to thu
luuuity. Oil
loo roaily to
[fortune only
Iwas recoin-

|s.W,7t>r); in

Cnmiwrci'il
•Vaser River
licl Forks in
Ires to cover
Aiulerxoii''
l^ives us till!
-null ny ami
,§1,()71,410.
larrieil away
]• for IS.V.t,
504, §3,7:!.-', •

cluiiuG: the Fraser inininuf (kivolopmonts to evolve a
i^ovorinuciit; to open a road into the interior; to lead
the way into several lieh and lasting' niininiij reunions;
and to suu^jL^est at once overland ('«)ninuinieation, and
confederation with ( anada. lentil in the |)roL,ni'ss of
development the new conditions foreshadowed shouhl
he finally hrou^ht ahout hy the coniinenoeini'nt of a
railway throuu,h the Fraser pass to the Cascadi;
.NFountains, the dawnintjf of a lU'W era in niininy' and
iimnis'ration had to ahide its time.

S.'O, .iftiT M-hich it lUrliiicd to !? I. SO."". 74!) in 1S7:1; it roM! ai'iiiii to .S'2,474,.
!MI4 in IH7.'>, and thtii fi'll oil' a sicoiiil tiiiif, Min. M'uiim I!i)>I., IS7.V i!S77.
Till' nuiiihcr of jicrsoiis fiijiaj^i'il in mining tlunng this tfst pfrioil- no dii-
fiiiiitly t'stimatfd l>y \\';iddington and IS'um'nt — was ]>l:i('t'd liy (idud at
'.'.(KM) 111 KS.kS, ;{, UK) ill lS.".it, and :{,'.)00 in ISC.O; wliil.- tlio editor of the I'/V-
liiihi (lir.itlv, Mari'h 10, IS.V.), fstimatcil tho iniiiiii:,' ]io|iiilatiiiii in M.inli |S,V.)
a> lii.^ii lis 4,<H)0, and tho antiiipated niiiiini^ jKundation in May fullnwiiiLr,
.-)..'i(M). Till! lattir authnrity dofs not ilistinmii.sh lutweeii tln! iiopnlatiiiii in
till- minis and those ai'tually engaged in mining, a faet whieh may aeemint
fur the diserepaiicy. In 1S(U) the iii)])ulatioii of N'ancouver Islaml was etli-
lially estimated at o.OOO, and the Mainland at "),fl<)0. Curilioo (lobl-jiiliU, (i'.K
Thus it apjiiars that the tendency of the gold discoveries on the Mainland
was to settle tlie Island ".-.ther than tlie Mainland e\en from the eomnieiiee-
lueiit, the jiojiulatiou of the Island prejionderatiiig over that of the .Maiidan 1
also in later years. Viih' chajiters oil Railway, In ISCiI the Lomhni Tiim.-i'
e(irres])()ndt!iit estimated that ;i.")(H) miners were working in the Fniser and
Cdliimliia hasins exclusive of Carilioo, where lie allowed on general testimony
].■")()() more, or r),000 ininer.s in all. Mai/in'M li. ('., -W'l. (Jood's estimate for
that year was 4,"J(H); from Mliieh data it may he inferred that .several tliou-
saiid miners were still distrilmted along the Fraser as high as Fort (leorge,
ami along Bridge River, Thomiisoii River, .ami others of the lower Fraser
trihutaries. Along the Fraser they were earning from .*;{ to .'?1.") jier tlay, and
siijiiiosed to 1)0 averaging !»."> a day. TIihk' cor., in Ihr.litt'n ('nrHino, lli.S-4I}.
Ill 1S71 Lilloet district yielded .s'|."i,0()(); Vale and Lyttoii districts together,
81 lO.tHK), scarcely a tenth of the total yiehl of the iirovinee. Retweeii .sl.'),()(l()
and .S'JO,()(l() was annually coiitrilmted to the wealth of the province hy the,
Indians mining on the hars of the Frailer and Thom[ison at low water in
winter, hodies of them heing seen at work cradling at favorahle times during
the coldest Weather. I'irforin W'nl.li/ ('itli)iii.<t, Nov. 27, lS7l'. In isy.") the
statistics collected hy the deputy minister of mines showed that ol) Chinese,
engaged on liar-diggings in Lilloet district, washed out .s,")(),0(M), while in
l.ytton district 'JO Chinese and two white men took out oiilj- .S1,0((0. In the
Vale district only four Chinese were einployeil, getting .SSOO. In 187() the
Lilloet district, including Rriilge River, had (JO Chinese at work, hut pro-
duced only S'2r),(XH); wliiTo the Yale ami Hope districts had two white and
nine Chinese miners who obtained .s'.), 1 14. The latter in 1S77 employed thieo
white mea and 13 Chiuuso, who obtained §12,000. Min, Mines Ji'iil., 187.") -7.

CHAPTER XXV.

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

C.uiiiioo Region — Its I>ErosiTs — New Mining Era — Golden Dreams-
Early Developments — Roads and Mountain Trails — The Great
Prospectors — The Influx — Quesnel River Mines — Horsefly and

QtESNEL L.KE — KeITHLEY and ITS ToWN — HaRVEV AND CUNNINGHAM

Creeks — Antlek Creek Riches— Grouse Creek.

!' Ir

On the head-waters of Fraser River tlie»mmmg
operations previously confined to tlie beds of the main
rivers spread in 18G0, 1801, and 1802 over a lar^-e
area of elevated country wliich was somewhat iii-
<lefinite]y desiii'nated as the Cariboo Re^ion.^ It mav
bo described in ^•enei-al terms as situated between
the head-waters of the main Fraser and its principal
tributary, the Thompson, upon the inner or western
ridges l)ranching from the Rocky Mountains, in latitude
52° to 54" north, five to seven thousand feet aV)ove tlu'
sea." In the heart of the New Caledonia of the fur-
traders, its principal river, the Quesnel, and doubtless
a portion of the country itself, was more or less known
to them as far up as the lakes of the Quesnel. Tlis'

' Douglas said in regaril to the ntvme given to the rejzion by the iiiiiu r-i,
projiei'ly it shoulil lie written C<trth<iiij\ or reindeer, tlio cimutiy liaviii^ lutii
ho named from its luinf,' tliu favorite liau'it of that speeie.s of the deer kind.
JJniii/ld'!' J)(!i<ya/</i, Sept. ](i, 18(jl, in JJi'zli/t'x C'lrihim, 117. Cirj'-li<riif(<\vi'r-
ox) appears to have been tlio original. This was corrupted in its application
to the large species of reindeer inhabiting llritlsh America.

^ r.ieutenant H. S. I'almer described this mountainous region as consistiiii,'
of .steep downs, clotlied with tolerable grans, and dotted with small jiiiii^
plantations, etmtrasting on account of their bareness .tith tho valleys aiil
lower slopes in a manner so marke<l as to have received the title of tiie 15iiM
Hills of Cariboo. Lnnd. (Itmi. Sor., Jour., Sept. 1S04, 18(). The samo region
■vvas described by K. .M. |)awson as a 'high level plateau,' averaging from
r),()()Oto 5,r)00 feet in altitude, and entirely covered, more or less thickly, with
drift or detrital matter concealing the greater part of the rocky substratum.
JJitirsoii on MiiiM, 0.

( -in )

GOLD-MINING GEOGRAPHY.

473

OLDEN Dreams—

LILH — The (tKKAT

I — Horsefly and
AND Cunningham

' the* mining
i of the main
over a largo
r)nie\v]iat in-
on.^ It may
ted between
its principal
I' or Avestei'ii
IS, in latitude
t a hove tilt'
of the ill I'-
ll d doubtless
les.s known
icsnel. Tlic

II liy tlic iniiur-;,
itiy liavinj^ ln'cii
if tlie iluir kiiLil.

in its application

gioii as cuiisistiiiL,'
with small jiiiii'

tho valluys aiil
title of tho B;iM
The sam'3 n'^'inii

averaging t'luni
less thickly, witli
)cky substratum.

( •JT'J )

Hudson's Bay fort of Alexandria and the old high-
way of the traders along the Fraser were in full view
of the Cariboo Mountains, and but forty miles distant.
These forts and lines of communication were estab-
lished and held by the Canadians in the peaceful
routine of their traffic for fifty years before the gold
discoveries; yet the region had received no general
distinctive name.

The appearance \ipon the forest plateau of the upper
Fraser in 1859 of a new and stranu;e order of white
men, whom the Indians, by this time well accustomed
to tlie fur-trade, may be supposed to have distin-
guished as the dio-crcrs, introduces a new area of ex-
])]oration and occupation. The new-comers devised
tor its geographical titles, in their own peculiar way,^
under which the regions and the localities in question
wore at once brought prominently Avithin the field of
industry and of history. The Cariboo region seemetl
in the autum of 1860, when the first intimations were
received of mining about the fork of tiic Quesnel, to
1)0 as remote and as difficult of access as the arctic
legions. Impressed with the belief that the coarser
gold of the country would be found higher, a hand-
ful of miners' had this year penetrated along the main
and north branches of the Quesnel to the Quesnel and
Caril)oo lakes. Launching their rafts, they voyaged
along the winding and extended shores, prospecting
the tributary streams with varied adventure and suc-
cess. The particular scenes, cliaracters, and incidents
(if their progress must l-o left to the imagination of
the reader. The ])enci) of the artist will in a future
(lay picture the wild beauties of these lakes and valleys.
From Cariboo Lake was visible, a short distance to the
Westward, a group of bald mountains, subsequently
known as the Snowshoe, and ]\[ount Agnes ]]ald

^In tho early goM-mining geography of British Colunil)ia, sixty miles
alinvu the Thompson River country began tlio 'Canoe Country;' to tiio nortli
of wli- ' vasthe 'Balloon Country; ' aiulbeyonil that figain was the 'Cariboo
Com.' ' — terms of an intletlnite character, yet generally used. J/ittelCa Jltiiul-
liook of Miniiuj, S. F., 1801, 100.

riiUMMXMI

474

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

Mountains. Behind these the prospectors were now
penetrating. This was the core of the auriferous
slate country, wkence radiated the four great rivers
of the Cariboo region, the Bear, Willow, and Cotton-
wood rivers, and the north branch of the Quesnel,
hitherto unexplored and unnamed, but destined to
bee Dine famous through their respective tributaries,

TuE Oaridoo Countrt.

Koithlcy, Antler, William, and Lowhce creeks — insig-
nificant streams issuing from the same Bald Mountain
group. A year later they were the sites of the prin-
cipal mining-camps of the Cariboo region, known
throughout the world; and the Snowshoe and Mount
Agnes Bald Mountain chain, like the Sierra Nevada
of California, the main range of the country, was

DOUGLAS' REPORT.

475

were now
auriferous
reat rivers
nd Cotton-
3 Quesnol,
estined to
:ributarics.

5i..ii«i.»i'

t.liii.v

cs — insij^-
Vlountaiu
the priii-
a, known
id Mount
a, Nevada
itry, was

rendered familiar to the sight of men in places where
solitude and the wild animal had reigned from a pri-
meval day.*

In August 1859, Governor Douglas was able to
reijort to the colonial sccrctarv that ''the nowlv ex-
plored tract of mining country about Fort Alexandria
and Qucsnel's River' possessed "more of the general
features of a gold country than any yet known part of
British Columbia."" This conclusion was simply a
reflection of the opinions expressed by miners, who
luul reached the Quesnel Fork diggings, touching
the character of the Cariboo Mountain region in
its relation to the gold in the rivers; abundance
of coarse gold having been found in the diggings,
where it was evident it had remained in tlie vicinity
of the oold-bearinij rock. Here were mountains of
gold-bearing slate, looking familiar to tlie Califor-
nians; yet the diggings were not in all respects like
tliose of the gold regions of California. It was a})-
parent above all that this auriferous slate formation
was more extensively develoi)ed than in tlic Cascade
^Mountain l)order of the ])lateau. There was no inuni'-
(.liate geological connection between the fine gold of
the Fraser mined in 1858 and the coarse gold discov-
ered in tlie mountains of Cariboo;'^ yet there was an
actual and an historical connection as well as continu-
ity. It was partly the theory concerning the origin
of til • former that led t(^ the discovery of tlie latter.
Mi'iing romps and mining distr'icts on the Fraser and
it trihitaries, just as in California aiid elsewhere,
•Vi r.: Movitably abandoned at a certain stage, under
t!ie /-'ippi.'sioion that they were exhausted, and Fraser

S^llv. t' \\ asatch Mountiiiiis of Utah ami tlio Bitter Root Mountains
of l(l:iliii, tliu range waa tlie western nieniher of tiie system of tlie Jloeky
Minintains. In British t'oluinhiau latitudes this mountain ranue jierfornieil
the noteworthy funetion of giving origin to the gi'eat IhmhIs of tiie Coluniliia
and I'raser rivers, which, Uowing to the luirthwanl hehind it, hcnt around to
tlie southward after hreaking througii the gohl-liearing range, and then
striuk over the jilateau, in courses (juite simihir, to the sea.

''It'.sjHifrl,, (latc.l Aug. '2:i, 1 «.')!», in /i. <'. l',i)»TX, iii. 50.

^ ' Fine gold will not travel far without the aid of sonic earthy Huhs'^-anee.'
7'(r»(,';'(t Lixturvn.

■l;1

476

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

River afforded a direct and speedy route for prospec-
tors and their rear-guard in search of new and richer
deposits on the plateau and within the parallels of the
Rocky Mountains, so that the movement across the
plateau from its western to its eastern flange was
accomplished at a comparatively early day. In the
course of a few years there was disclosed to the world
a counterpart of California, equally rich, and extend-
ing at least from the Horsefly branch of the Quesncl
and the Clearwater tributary of the Thompson at the
south, to the Cafion Creek tributary of the Fraser in
the north-west, over two degrees of latitude, in tlie
direction of the range. But a new lesson was to Ijc
learned ' >)' the gold-miners. Hitherto the surface liad
bec^n ski; . ' with the aid of rocker and sluice, and a
few insigni. t liydraulic enterprises had been uudti-
takci' on the benches; Ijut in Cariboo, the mystiiy
and art of deep [)lacer-mining in its true terlmical
sense were to be practicallv studied miuI unravelled liv
means of shafts and drifts, i)umps, ami hoisting nia-
chinery. On tlie Fraser, as in tht Cohuubia ItiviT
basin, the richly concentrated goltl leads of tlie aneiciit
rivers lav in l)uried channels below the level of tlir
modern streams, and drifting underneatli the clay
strata in search of tliese deposits became in Carilxio
the main feature of mining. Exceptionall}' raised
strata on the streams had in se\ ''al cases reveaKd
the ricjier leads l)elow; but this indication was not
always found, nor was the lead eontiiuious. Peculiar
diflicultios were encountered in following the winding's
of the buried channels, ccMifused and obliterated as
they vere by the later glariol action, which had, also,
fretjuently modified or altered the courses of the
modern streams. From Yale to Lilloet, from Al'X-
andria to the Quesnel River, the miners only left one
kind of deposit to enter upon another. Thus the
'Fraser River humbug' was, nevertheless, a continued
mming operation; it was a repetition of the liistoiy
of gold-mining in California; and the i.ransition on

EFFECT ON -VaCTORlA.

477

the Fraser, in view of the remoteness and inaecessi-
bihty of the diggings, was as speedy as it was suc-
cessful.

Tlic significance of the discoveries in the Cariboo
countr}^ did not become apparent at Victoria until
very near the close of the year 18G0. After the sea-
son of depression and depopulation which had been
t'X}»crienccd almost from the connncncement of mining
on the Fraser, everything had the ajjpearance of
pi'oniature death and dissolution in the colony. But
in Xovember 18G0, with the return of the successful
miners from the fork of the (^uesnel, came bags of
nuggets which revived the fainting hopes of the trading
comnmnity by the sea. These were the assurances
that the country :'as safe. Hesitation in regard to
erecting permanent >uildings at Victoria gave place to
confidence," and the town gained its footing for a sub-
stantial growtli. Had the government been able to
retain the twenty thousand Americans and other for-
eigners, whom they feared, to this time, wliat stridis
of development might have been made on tlie road t<»
tlio Rocky IVfountains in the north! What an aspect
might have been given to coinmercial developments
on the North Pacific had the first railway to tlie
llocky ^Mountains l)een completed in J^ritish territory!

Fraser River and Cariboo l)ecanie as famous nnd
as widely known throughout tlie world as Sacramento
J'i\er and Ballurat, and minei's from California and
Australia were emphatic in their declarations touch-
ing the comparative merits of Cariboo.^ AVith a po])-
ulation of fiiteen hundred people, the district sitipited

' Mur/lr'.'i V. [. ami. U. <\, 73.

*■ 'There were big iiiiiu's ill Cariboo. Tlie Cunningham claim yieldoil six
(luiicca a (lay to the hand.' Lurii' Conl J>l-i., -MS., Id. 'A coniparisim of
tlie retiirnH, says Lit^uteiiant J'almi'r, '«itii tiiose of the most notorious
<li.striets of California and Australia, encourages the heliof that the aurifrrous
rii'iies of Cariboo are the greatest hitherto discovered.' Lnml. (lai'i. Sur.,
Jour., KSlU, 171. Tho richest poiiioiis of California in its most paliny days,
said Major Downio of l)ownievillu, California, were as nothing comiiarcd
with what ho had seen since he left Victoria foi'Cariboo. Viiioi-ia Daibi I'lrs",
Oit. ]."), 18(jl, (pioted in J fnzlitf'iCiirilioo, l.'{4. 'Never in tiie iiistory of gold-
iiiiuiiig have tliuro been 8uvh fubuluuti »unis umuissed in so incredibly tihort a
i*pacc of tiino,'

478

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

to Victoria Vicfore tlic cud of the season of 18G1 two
inillious of dollars. Though the opportunity which
had proniisotl to place the Fuca ports on an equal
footing with the harbor of San Francisco was lost, tlie
developments now made showed what might follow at
a later dav, when the Canadian l*acitic I'ailwav should
])lacc within the great Fraser basin a large popula-
tion ; and the reports of its great mineral resources
were not onl}' apparently but really and undoubtedly
justified.

The fii'st effect of these discoveries was to prod

luce

i ':

anotluu" movement of population from Calilbrnia and
Oregon into the basin of the Fraser. The abundant
yield of gold this time created a 'stampede' for the
new mines, which held out with every elenu'nt of
genuinent'ss. based as it was upon known develop-
ments ratlier tlian on a fanciful or imperfect and
illogical de(hiction from mining exjieriences in Cali-
fornia; and altliough comparatively insignificant in
luunbers beside that of 1858, the influx carried a pui-
pose which left its mark upon the countiy. From
lS(if to ISfJa, inclusive, the innnigration continued;'
and the losses to the country in conseipience (d' tlie
abandonment of the lower Fi-aser after a temporary
occupation were recovered in all but poi)ulation.

During the first sunnner following the Fraser ex-
citement, while mining upon the ri\'er bars was still
at its height, small (.letatdiments of ])rospectors from
the Canoe Countiy and the Balloon Country, above
Fort Alexandria, found their way a distance of ninety
miles u}) Quesnel Kiver, and worked succ(>ssfully upon
its bars.'"

Xumerous letters weri^ received at Yale exhausting
every power of persuasion to induce miners to join
their covfrcns on the Quesnel, especially at Quesnel

'•''A far grciitiT stiiinpodo that that of tho Fraser cxcitumciit. ' /)<(Ih-'
Si/tli'iiicii/. V. /., MS., (1. 'Tlie l)i;Nt yi'ars of Cariltdo wort! ill KSIi.S, lS(i4, atnl
ISli."!. After that was a gradual dei'liue.' A linn's CiiriUx), MS., 11.

^"Dowjliut' Jh'tipatc/i, Aug. i-'.'l, IS."',), ill JI. ('. Pnjicrs, iii. 50.

THE RUSH OP 1861.

Fork, and at some localities on the southern tributary
called Horsefly River. During the same season of
1859 the north fork of the Quesncl was ascended to
the little and great Cariboo lakes; but no striking de-
vi'lopments appear to have been made in that quarter
imtil the following summer and fall. While a number
of miners, led by Rose and McDonald, proceeded
to the head- waters of the Bear River, and there de-
veloped rich ground, others continued up the north
lork of the Quesnel to Cunningham Crock, to mako
almost equally great discoveries; but the excitement
for the season was not fully started till tlie finding in
January 18G1 of the extraordinarily rich prospects
on Antler Creek, about twenty miles from the mouth
of Kcithley Creek, constituting the principal attrac-
tion ill the rush of 18G1. The news spread fast; all
who could go to Cariboo, or to the Cariboo lakes and
their wonderful tributaries, went at short notice, until
about one thousand five hundred miners from the
coast, from Oregon, and from California had crossed the
(.livide separating the waters of the Quesncl from Dear
lvi\cr, and speedily overflowed into the adjoining
vWcY valleys of the Willow and Cottonwood, around
the Hanks of Bald Mountain."

" il/((r/-'',>' r. /. amlB. C, 74; Malhindnimi's li. C. Dircctoni, IS0.1, 201.
It \\a» llic reflux to the scalioard of the successful miners on Kcithley and
llarvcy creeks in the full of ISCO, and the exhibition of their gold nt Vic-
toria says Allan, that started the Caiihoo excitement. Allan's Varihoo, MS.,
3-4. During this lirst rush to Cariboo there was enough travel for a titno to
crowd to sullbcation the steamer Entcrjtrlsc, the only boat nt that time ply-
ing liotwecn Victoria and the Mainland. I'roni Yale the men carrieil their
fo !(1 ;iud blankets on their back, ('niirtrrci/'n Miii., li. ('., MS., ■'!. On Antler
Crcik thi'i'o were a few score of men in the autumn of lS(i(). Is'otwithstanding
the sc crecy the discoverers endeavored to maintain, the discoveries were so
t('iii]iting that when the news reached the Quesnel a rush took i)lacc to Antler
in ilii' middle of the wintcrof KS(!0-1. Up to its falls, live miles below th<! little
t'aiiliiM) l,akc, the north branch had been found to contain more or less gold.
Then there wasablaidv in ascending the valley of that stream, where sc.ii-cely
anything was found. Hut the discoverers of the diggings at Antler ( 'rirk,
not cnntiMited with these results, on their way thither had crossed the lower
Cariliiio Lake to the mouth of Kcithley Creek, and ascended that stream
into (he midst of the Ikld and Snowshoo mountains. From this point tlicy
Were able to sec to the northward in the direction of the descent of Antler,
or Hear Kiver Valley. The route from the fork of the Quesnel, taken by the
l)ody of pioneers who in the autunni of l.SOO followe<l the discoverers to Antler
iivik, was up the left bank of the north branch to Mitchell's bridge. Mitchell

ill

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

One important result to the country was the ini-
petus given by these discoveries to road-buildino,
arising from the necessity of carrying sup|)Hes into tlio
mines. Botli governments and individuals assisted at
this, and l)eft)re the close of 18G1, efficient pack-trails
gave free access to all inn)ortant mining localities.''
Incited by the discoveries on Keithley,. Harvey, Ant-
ler, and Cunningham creeks in the spring of 18 01, a
number of miners wandered farther in various direc-
tions to prospect. First Grouse Creek, forming witli
Antler Creek the head-waters of Bear liiver, Mas dis-
covered to be equally entitled to attention, and lioiii
the head of this creek the valley of William Creek,
on the head-waters of Willow liiver, was not only
visible to the enterprising explorer's, but within easy
reach. The same ridge, culminating in Mount Agnes,
disclosed to them on looking westward the valKys
of Lightning and Lowhee creeks, tributaries of Swift
and Cottonwood rivers. Nothing was wanting but
the disa])pearance of the snows to enable the pros-
pectors to descend these several valleys, and to com-
plete the series of discoveries which in the course of
that notable season made most of them famous/"^ The
actual mining developments of 18(11 began with the
arrival of additional forces from every mining distiict
in the country, forming at the end of !JiIay a })opulatit>a
of from one thousand to one thousand four hundretl

luiule bloaks aiul windlass, and built the piers of the bridge witliout a.s.sist-
auoe, a work rctlucting great credit upon liiiii for both skill and jiersevenuici'.
Thence the trail followed the riglit l)auk to little or lower Cariboo Lake,
distant from Quesnel Fork twenty miles. Crossing lower Cariboo Lake, it l.l
to the mouth of Keitidey Creek, ascended that .stream for live or six iiiilis,
and struck north-east through the IJald, Snowshoc, and Swift Rivermountaiiis.
JS'imI, in B. C. I'apir.i, MS., iv. Ttl.

^-Jf>izlit\i Citrihoo, lli>; Ximl\f Jiept., March 18G1, in B. C. P<t2^,'r.i, iv.
51-'J. See also Tnitrli's Majh Freight from Yale to Quesnel Fork in If^til
was $1 per pound. Tliencc to Antler, before the comj)letion of the pack-trail,
the Indians carried provisions in the early part of the season of 18(il for S't
cents to $1 per pound. By July the trails were opened, and pack-traiiw
reached Antler, reilucing the price of provisions to 55 and 65 cents a i»ouiul,
and of beef from 50 cents to 20 cents a pound, li. C. Diredon/, 18ti3, 201.

'^On the completion of the Cariboo wagon-road from the mouth of the
Quesnel to Lightning Creek in 1865, there was a reversal of the order in which
the several streams became known to the world.

CARIBOO IX CALIFORNIA.

481

,s the iui-
l-buildinj;,
iii into tlu'
assisted at
|)ack-tiails
localities.^-
rvey, Ant-
of 18()1, a
ious diii'*'-
:'inin*;" a\ itli
^•r, \vas dis-
j, and iVoiii
am Cni'k.
,s not only
^vithin '-iisy
unt A;4iK'S,
the valli'vs
OS of Swift
antin;^" hnt
c the \-r»>s-
md to eoni-
course o\'
.us.^^' Tl.r
1 with tlio
n;j; distri<'t
population
Lir hundnil

without .-vssist-
k1 jiorsi'VLr:iuct'.
r (.'aiiljixt L:iki',
•il)oi) Lake, it U'l
livo or six iiiiUs
Uveriuouiitiiins.

<\ /•((})'''••'-■. i^>
lel Fork ill I'^'il
)f the pack-trail,
,11 of IStil I'.M- N.>
ami iiack-trams

cents a itouml,
,/, 18(i», 201.
le mouth ot the
10 order in which

miners, a large portion of whom were occupied with
tiansportation trade in its various branches, and in
road-making. Further accessions later in the season
fuinished a total prospecting, exploring, and actual
niiuing population of about fifteen hundred." The
country now for the first time became known as Cari-
boo. This was simply the extension to the entire
ifo^ion explored, of the name of the Cariboo Lakes,
situated on the north fork of the Quesnel, from which
tiic explorations may be said to have started.

The Fraser excitement was never a more universal
topic of conversation in California than was Cariboo
at Victoria in the autumn of 18G1; it seemed hardly
n edible even to those who had been accustomed to
SIC rich diggings and lucky strikes. The news spread
iluther, and tliousands of people from California,
Canada, England, and every other quarter of the
^lohe ascended the valley of the Fraser early in the
season of 1802. Owing to the unexpected distance,
and the difficulty of reaching Cariboo before the com-
pletion of the wagon-road, many turned back without
entering the mines, while others consumed on the way
the provisions intended for the relief of tho.se who had
wintered in the mines; consequently there was almost
a famine at Cariboo.^'

Exploration in 18G2 was, nevertheless, vigorously
prosecuted by an actual mining poj)ulation estimated
at five thousand in Cariboo district. Although extend-
ing over an area of fifty miles scjuare, the operations
were chiefly in contiguous ground, and resulted in the

" Lomloii Times' cor., quoted in Cnrilioo GoU-Jidd.% 49-52. At tlie end of
i\w. sejiMoii of I8(>1, the TIiiick' eorrespondeut nioditiud Homewhat his previous
ligureH of 1,400 at the eiul of May, and gave the total number of actual miners
ill tlie (Jariboo district, including yuesuel Fork and fifty miles below, during
till' whole season, at 1,500. Lomloii Times, Feb. 6, 18(52, in Mnyne's B. ('.,
442. He furnished no estimate of the proportion engaged in trade and trans-
portation, but loft it to be inferred that tliese were to be added. P -obably
the l!irg(!8t number of miners actually at work prospecting and mining at any
one time during the season ot 1801 never exceeded 1,000; while the general
Work of exploration under consideration engaged the whole 1,.')0(). In June
K**!)!, Douglas estimated the total population at I,.'V}0. B. C. Pupern, iv. B(J.

''Miners and prospectors togetlier were obliged to travel out after pro-
visions, paying one dollar to cme dollar and a half per pound.
Hist. Brit. Col. 31

482

(lOLD IX THE CAltlllOO L'OUNTR\.

production of a total yield from Cariboo thus far of
about $3,000,000."

Of the lieroic deeds of the early prospectors there-
is evidence on every hand, but such exploits were of
every-day occurrence in the pioneer army that was
advancint^ upon the strongholds of the country under
the pressun; of the <^old mania; and it was not the

'*The American coiihuI ustimated the total initiing ixiimlation of British
( 'oluinbia for ISfi'iat ir),0()(), three fourths of tlie people being from C'alit'oriiia,
Oregon, and Wiishington. Allt'it Frnnrlit, in l\ ,9. Cotnmerdul lid., 18(i'J, 14,S.
Discoveries continued to lie made as ainattcr of courHt every year after JStll,
hut they were of local rather than of geographical iiiiportanue, and i)ertaiii(i!
chiefly to mining developments, in localities henceforth having a history of
their own. The three principal niiniiig-camps in 18(>'i were \\'illiam, Li^ht-
inng, and Lowhec creeks, employing a total niunhcr of ."), (MM) miners, ('(mi-
tcrry'n Mill., B. C, MS., 10. BVom these local discoveries important miiiiuj,'
developments were made in all directions. On Last C'lianee Creek, atrilm-
tary of Lightning Creek, hill-diggings wtire found early in KSi;2 which
were deemed highly important; Van AVinkh^ ]>avis, Anderson, and oUnr
gidches in the same neighhorhood were sueeessfully worked, and on Kiiiiis,
Lowhee, Nelson, Sugar, and Willow creeks, simihir tli'vc^lopmeiits were md<\v
the same season. Ji. V. JJlrcrtonf, 18(W, 2(1*2. Up to \SM tlie list of rii lur
creeks developed hy sinking shafts into the deep cliannels eml)raeed lv(itlih\,
(roose, Cunningham, Lightning, J.ack of t'luhs, (Jrouse, Cliisholm, Sovcreij;ii.
Last Chance, Anderson, Fountain, Harvey, Nelson, Stevens, Snowshoe, Cali-
fornia, Thistle, Sugar, Willow, McCallum, Tahahoo, Conklin, Lowliec, ami
William creeks, etc. Miicjie's V. I. mid li. C, ]4(!. A series of letters written
in the autumn and winter of 18()l-2, l»y JJonald Fraser, the Lonuon Tiimt'
correspondent, pictured the discoveries and excitements of the preceding _>i';ir
in somewhat roseate but not overdrawn coloring. Fraser simply omitted tin-
dark side of the picture; and he was i>articularly blami'<l l>y the English arrivals
for speaking prematurely of the stage-eoaclies on tlie proposed wagon-ioail,
when it appeared, to their grief, after travelling 7, (MM) miles, that a walk ni
4(M) or 5()0 nnles farther, carrying a load, would l)e necessary to lini>Ii the
journey. Allann Corilioo, MS,, 8. In all several thousand Uritisli siil)ji'it>.
from England, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, wtsre induced by tluM'
letters to undertiike the journey to British Columbia in the spring of ISti'J.
Macfie vouched for the sub.stantial correctness of the statements made by
Donald Fraser. V. I. and Ji. C, 75. Some of the British immigrants brought
M'ith them placards of a speculative transportation company, circulateil in
England, where tickets were sold for Canlioo direct, picturing tiie stai;( ■■
coaches that were to carry them from Yale. But the holders of such tiekitti
ascertained as soon as they landed in America that there were no ai-raM^i-
ments to make good the promise. On the way from Yale to Cariboo tlu n
were comparatively few houses, so that provisions had always to be canieil
at leaat from one to three days. An overland party from Canada by way nf
Y'ellowhead Pass, late in I8G2, ■ ' ndoned their horses at the head-waters
of the Fraser, and turning tliem l.)0se, built rafts to float down the river
to Fort George. Four of the party, not caring to venture on so perilous a
journey, turned back, but not finding the horses, they finally nnciertook to
reach Fort George on foot, two of the Ilennie brothers perishing durini; a
snow-storm. Those on the raft soon entered a cafion where a number of tlnin
were drowned. AHaiCt Cariboo, MS., 15-18. In 1862, V. H. Lewis and otln r
Oregoniaos went to Cariboo overland by way of Okanagan. Lewis' Coal Dii-,
MS., 16.

I, Ilium II xu

THE HEROIC IN O OLD-MINING.

453

cu.stoiii of the time to dignify the search for the sor-
did metals with any title of he?oisni. Yet had such
deeds been performed in the name of war, science, t)r
iL'ligion, doubtless their stories would have been told,
and the names of the heroes [)re«erved and honored.
The prospector's fame depended upon his success in
fiiidinj^ gold; and it was restricted to the small circle
tliat shared in the benefits of the discovery, to be lost
si^ht of as soon as the last nuggets })arted company
with him. The romantic and tragic extremes seemed
iiiiturally united in his career, but otherwise tiian as
jiiospectors and discoverers, the lives of Keithley, Mc-
J)<)nald, Rose, Dietz, and Cunningham were blank,
and might have been fitted to any imaginar}' previous
or* subsequent career belonging to the scene. Kose,
an American, and McDonald, a Canadian from Cape
Breton Island, are credited by Governor Douglas as
tlie greatest of the discoverers in Cariboo. McDon-
ald worked hard for three years, and amassed con-
siderable wealth, with which he came down to Victoria
to recruit himself Kose left sjiortly after this dis-
covery in (juest of nisw mines, and was found in the
woods dead from starvation. William ])ietz, the dis-
coverer of William Creek, the richest stream of all,
survived till 1877, only to die a i)auper at Victoria.
Keithlev, who mive his name to the first discovered
ol the rich creeks of Cariboo, held a valuable claim at
Quesuel Fork in 1800-1."

'' Kiiitlilcy's claim at Qwesnel Fork was on the hill-side, ami was one
III' tile richest iu that vicinity. B. C. Ptijitiv, iv. 50. Kcitliley (,'rcek, the
lir'st discovered of the characteristic ricli creeks of Cari])oo proper, was
iinly twenty miles distant. In regard to the discoverers of Antler Creek, an
riitry in Donglas jonrnal made at Lytton, June 5, 18l!l, mentions that
'Rose, an American, and McDonald, a Canadian, are the two great pros-
jicutors who have discovered tlie Cariboo diggings.' Douijlnx' Primte Pn^icrii,
-Ms., l.st ser., 14(). In a despatch to tlie duke of Newcastle, written on his
roturn to Vancouver Island, ho said that 'the Cariboo gold district was dis-
covered by a line athletic young man of the name of McDonald, a native of
tliu Island of Cape Breton, of mixotl French and Scotch descent, condiiniiig in
liis personal appearance and character the courage, activity, and remarkable
Jiowers of endi. ranee of both races. His health had suffered from three years'
iiMistant exposure and privation, which induced liiin to repair with his well-
tunuil wealth to this colony for medical assistance. His verbal report to me
is interesting, and conveys the idea of an almost exhaustless gold-field extend-

,l|li II II !>>)»>

484

(iOLh IN TIIK CAUIBOO CUt'NTRY.

• Tlio luirtl,slil[)s of cxploratif)!! umlerijoiio in thcfst-
reiiiotu and iuh'lC('c1 regions uftoidt'tl t'i('(|U('nt cxann)le8
<»t' the miracles that can be ^vroUlL;llt l)y tlie will ovei'
the boily. From Quesnel Fork, the hi<;liest point in
tlie basin of" the Fraser Kiver where supplies could he
delivered by nutans of })ack-animals in 18(10, journeys
of several months were undertaken throuu^h tangled
forests, rui^^ged canons, and over lofty mountains, bur-
dened until late in the sprin_i( with snows. The pros-
pector ventured hundreds of miles, in tlie face of
starvation, into a country which contained little game,
and was scarcely- visited even by Inilians. The ad-
venturer of the Hose type threw himself into the
mountains witli reckless abandon, risking body and
soul in their fastnesses, and trusting to the genius
of tlic region to take pity and guide him into tlic
subfluvial caverns lit up by the yellow light he loved
s<j well.

The miner, like the sailor, had glimpses of nature in
supernatural moods. Hv learned the lesson of a soli
tary man's helplessness. Fancies and superstitions
took hold on iiimin one form or another. Alone witli
his thouij^hts sometimes for davs and weeks tosjfethcr
delving in unfamiliar surroundings, under the infiu

iiig tliiMUgli the ((uart/ ami slate toriiiatidiis in a iiorthcrly direction from Cari-
liiio J^akf. ' li. < '. I'lipi r.t. iv. 'iS. Ko.sc w as one ul tlie most ailveiiturous of tlu'
pioneers. .Milton ainl C'lieaille, Wliynijier anil oljiers. all tell the same stories
«)1 tlie tirst-nanud author, only dill'ering troni honylas in calling him a Scotch-
man. \\ lien tiie crowil rushed in upon Rose, McDonald, and l)icty., on
Antler Creek in 18G0- 1, Kose and J)ietz left in search of new dig;^''.;{^s. jvusi
disa])peared for months. J Lis ahsence gave no concern to his friends, anion;;
whom similar prospecting journeys into the wilds were of every-day occur-
rence. Finally, another party of prospectors happened to follow his track
far into the wilderness, and came upon his bocly in the woods. Near it
on the hranch of a tree was hanging his tin cup, on which was scratclicil.
with the point of a knife-ldade, the legend, ' iJying of starvation, liosc'
K, W. PiiM. Ill/ Lmid, 'M'A-'y; W/ii/iiijiir'-i Alo.ikd, 85. William I>ictz, tlio
discoverer of the diggings (ui William Creek, ascended Bald Mountain from
Antler Creek early in ISlil, and was the lirst to report the position of tliu
valley of Willow Kiver. lie afterward prospected its head-waters, hut witli
little success, and announced the (liscev-ry of gold on the stream callcil
A\ illiam Creek hy some, and Huml)ng Creek by otiiers. JJiet/ died a pau]Kr
at Victoria in 1877. Another of the earliest miners on William Creek, wlin
Itecame wealthy as the owner of the Black Jack mine, was at Victoria in tli'
winter of 1877-8, dcpcudeut oil charity tor his daily broad. Allans Carilimi,
MS., 11.

THE QUESNEL AND HORSEFLY.

48S

3 ill tliu^v
■j cxaiiH)lLs
J will OVlT
it point ill

;S could 1)1;

), j(»urucys
j;li tunglitl
itaius, bur-

Tliu l»r(is-
liu faru of
littlu ji,aiuf,
. The ad-
if into tlu'
; l)ody aiul

the genius
111 into tlu'
lit he loved

L)f nature in

>n of a soli-

u])erstitioiis

Alone witli

together

the infiu

octioii fromC'ari-
■uturous (if till!
tliu same sUirii'-i
ng liiiu fi Sciitcli-
aiul Diutz, on

1 friends, uiiioiij:
!very-ilay dccur-
follow liis^ track
woihIs. Nt'ar it

was scratclit'il,^
arvatioii, llnsc.
illiain 1 >it!tz, the

MdUiitaiu fnii:'

position of IIh!
waters, I'ut with
le stream calU'l
;tz tlio'l ii I'liuF''
liani ("reek, wIim
t Victoria in tli'-

AUaa's Cariboo,

ence of natural objects, encompassed by the evolu-
tion imps of the dark canon, the elevated region, the
lonely lake, the unknown stream, not unfreqiiently his
dreams or haps of a trifling nature formed his sole
mental pabulum; and the imagination found wing hi
the direction of his desires, often shaped by some
creed spiritualistic. Hera, the goddess who loved
Jason and all his crew of adventurous Greeks, would
keep an eye on his fortunes also, and would lead him
straight to his goal, as among the thrice worshipful
of the Argonauts. In some of these men a mental
or moral bend due to prior life, furnished the tragic
woof that ran through their web of romance, forming
its most essential part. Everything had gone wrong ;
there was no human remedy. All that could bo done
was to throw themselves away, to give themselves
wholly over to wickedness, since the worst fate staring
them in the face might be modified and tcjiupoiarily
or partially escaped by the aid of the appreciative if
not pitying spirit of evil. Whatever th ir fancies,
scores of venturesome miners were lost; some never
more to be heard of.

Having accounted for the settlement of Cariboo,
wc are prepared to survey the history of the several
creeks in detail. At Quesnel Fork, the Fraser River
miners worked during the larger part of the season of
1859, and this was the first point, aside from Fraser
River, to develop into a permanent camp. Quesnel
Fork had an important geographical position, and
was easily reached by the plateau trail from William
Lake. It was the point of divergence in two or three
diflerent directions, chiefly along the north and south
forks of the Quesnel, the latter branching into Horse-
fly River, and formed the supply depot for the Cariboo
region during the discovery period, and even after-
wards to some extent. The mining-cainp here was
beside the centre of an extensive mining district,
with tunnels, dams, and water-wheels, and as such it

486

GOLD IN THE C^VRIBOO COUNTRY.

early Sussumed the dignity of a village or town.
Though much of its prestige departed on the com-
pletion of the Cariboo wagon-road, by way of the
mouth of the Quesnel, its permanency and local im-
portance were sufficiently well established to maintain
down to 1875 three well-filled stores doing a large
business with pack-trains, and two butcher-shops,
besides the usual miscellaneous establishments of a
mining town ; but the white miners had by this time
abandoned the diggings to Chinese, who were content
with the less yielding bench deposits."

The enterprising men who worked the bars of the
Quesnel in the summer of 1859 were most successful
in the valley of the main stream or south branch,
opening into Quesnel Lake. Proceeding on rafts along
the shores of that lake, the}' came to a larg<3 river
entering from the south, which was named HorseHy
River. They ascended the stream until it branched,
and on the smaller tributary, Horseliy Creek, leading
to Horsefly Lake, they disccfvered the richest placers

'*H. M Ball reported to CTOveruor Douglas imderdate of Lytton, Dec. IS,
1859, that at the fork of the Qiiesiiol a.nno miners had struck the 'Mtu'
lead,' a depoHit t)f auriferous gravel, ' well kuowii in Califoruia.' It w;i8 most
extensively developed, wrote }lall, at Horsefly River, and was supposed to
cover large aresis of country. B. C. Papers, iii, 1)3. lu tlie wintiT of
18(>0-1, during the low stage of the water in Quesuel River, mining wiis
carried on actively and successfully in the bed of the river at the i'"iirks.
Several coi ipanies constructed wing-dams and water-wheels, extracting con-
siderahle nnantities of gold from the river in that manner. Ihe river fornuTJ)'
ran in different channels through the alluvi;d llats, and at ditt'erent U'nhIs
along the benches. Good prospects were obtained on the benches 100 to l!(M»
feet above the river, which it was supposed would reuinucmto a large body
of miners under more favorable conditions in the future. Kcithlcy and
IHUer had a claim on the hill-side, sixty feet above the river. This wa.s
discovered in 1800, and proved, after some tunnelling iu search of the loail,
remarkably rich. Afterward the lead appeared to have been lost. Aiw/, in
/?. C. Pi'iurs, iv. .W. 'Both branches of the Quesnelle,' wrote DonaM
Fraser, in tlie midst of the Cariboo excitement, 'are highly auriferous. Tlu!
returns for last summer, 1801, were that nine out of ten of the claims paid
over an ounce a day to the haud...T)ie diggings nuist be r.'ch to have k-
tained any miners so close to Cariboo, where fortunes were made in tlic courMe
of a few M'ceks.' Lomloii TimeiC roi:, I'inieoiiirr /ultnnl, Jan. 20, ISli'J, in
Jiiiwliwit' VonJ'i'deriition, 117-18.

'•In 1875 no white men remained in tlio diggings, nor in the district in-
cluding Keitnley Cnaik. In order to work tlie largo flat back of the village
of Quesnel Fork, a ditch a mile in hugth was constructed in 1875 by t'l'
Chinese, who anticipate<l that the ground M'ould yield them from $3 to $<• a
day each. Hare, in Jlin. Miim Rqit., 1875, 13-14.

COQUETTE AND fEDAR CREEKS.

487

c or town.''^
on the coin-
way of the
Lud local hii-
1 to maintain
oing a large
utcher-shops,
<hnients of a
bv this til IK'
were content

c bars of tlic
jst successful
juth branch,
)n rafts along
I large river
led HorseHy
[ it branched,
reek, leading
?hest placers

»f Lyttou, Dec. IS,

struck the 'Mill'

uia.' Itwiisiuost

WHS Buppo8e<l to

[ii tlie wintir ol

»iver, milling w;i.s

ur at the Forks.

. extracting con-

Lhe river foriiurlj'

it ditlerent IcxAs

enches 100 to l!(H>

rate a large body

Keithli'v iiutl

river. This wii.s

iarch of the kail,

en lost. A'iwl, ill

wrote DoiiaM

auriferous. 'I'lu!

the claiin.i paiit

r.'ch to have re-

lade in tlic ooursc

aa. 20, 18l>2, in

the (libtrict in-
ck of tlie villas:!-
I in 1875 by tii.

from $3 to $<i a

found up to that time in the basin of the Quesnel,
hearing a close resemblance, if the declarations of
Cahfornians could be trusted, to the 'blue lead'
gravels in the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada. One
j)arty of five miners working near the close of the
season of 1859, with two rockers, took out one hun-
dred and one ounces of gold in a week; after whidi
they were obliged to abandon their operations on ac-
count of the severity of the weather.^

Owing doubtless to the common difficulty here en-
countered for the first time, in reacliing and following
the bed of the old channel, mining failed to be perma-
lu'iitly profitable on the Horsefly and the region lying
to the northward of Quesnel Lake. After 1867 opera-
tions came to a stand, to be revived for a short time
only in 1870, when some good prcspects created a
lusli. This failed to realize the expectations formed,
and the district nilapsed into oblivion. From Ques-
iii'l Lake to Fraser Kiver, at the mouth of the Ques-
nel, extending all along Quesnel River, there Wi'-s
supjtosed, from innumerable developments, to be a
i^ood hydraulic mining country, which in the future
would prov(> to be valuable. On the south branch,
lielow the outlet of Quosnel Lake, mining continued
to be prosecuted, and in 1872 a Chinese ccmipany was
.supposed to be still making ten dollars a day to the
man.'"' M(>anwhile developments had been made at
C'lHjui'tte and Cedar creeks, pointing to the exist-

"*/j'rt//',y /{>)w/, l>(>i;, 18, 185J)', in Ii. ('. Pnfxrs, iii. OX It was rouorttid
liofori! till' close of JSiVJ that they had Htiuck the idcntioul 'lilue leaif,' pre-
soiitiiig tlic same indications ot an almndance of gold, and extending ni a
(lirri^tion nearly north and south across Horsefly < 'roek, with a lateral extent
of nearly ten miles. This 'blue lead ' was traced 'a di,stance of thirty miles.'
.\it flic indiciitions of the upper straUv were said to be similar to thoMC of the
Mile lead in California, the first gohl stratum being found at a depth of twenty-
five feet. Tliero was a false Ik.'(1- 'ock of 'biistard talc,' which the miners did
not understand. The whole country to the sontliward of (jhiesnel Lake was
fiiiind later to contain deep gri'vcl deposits resembling tlie Iiliie leads. /Arc.
mil's l.iituriK, Itt); /hiirson oil. Mines, 41.

'•'They worked on a bench of the south fcrk of the Quesnel. (JO feet abo>-!;
the river, bringing water upon their ground by means of a wlieel. l'(irilnm
Siiitiml, Aug. \'A, l.S7'J. B»'ing easier of «ci.ess than William Creek, with
I'i'tteri'liiiiateaiid longer season, anil perhaps less exjvn.Hive to work, these ilig-
jiiie^M were considered to have importiint ailvantagc^i. //(iriutJ's Ln'/tiirs, '2S(.

«8B

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

I III "

: riii

ence, probably throughout the entire basin of Ques-
nel Lake, of a widely extended and important placer
region. The Cedar Creek diggings proved to be val-
uable, yielding steadily as well as largely for sonu-
time. The Aurora claim, with flumes and sluices
costing $8,000, yielded, mostly in 1866, $20,000; thf
Moosehead claim, costing $2,000 to open, paid $7,000
the first year; the Barker claim, also located in 1866,
and costing $7,000 to open, paid $2,000 in a year;
and the Discovery claim was yielding, in SeptemboT'
1866, $15 to $20 a day at a jwint where it was shallow.
In August 1867, the Aurora was paying one hundred
ounces a week, and other claims from $10 to $20 a
day to the man.'^ Coquette Creek failed to respontl
to the prospects first obtained in 1866, and was chiefly
given over to Chinese.^

On the north branch of the Quesnel there were de-
velopments not unlike these oii the south brancli,'-^

'•'■■' Victoria Weekly Colonial, Juue 25, 1868. Cetliir Creek was first ascetideil
by a pro8t)ectiiig party in 1SC2, but was abandoned until 1865. In 186(i
a party of miners from William Creek obtained there a prospect of $11!),
causing a rush. Id. In September 1867 both the Aurora and Discovery were
averging $20 a day to tiio man. Carilioo Sentinel, Sept. 26, 1867. The
Discovery company, which had taken out several thousand dollars, ex-
pended that amount further upon their claim. A few miners still work-
ing in Juue 18G7 were taking out from $5 to $20 a day. The pav dirt
was from 6 to 8 feet thick. V isionary Califomiaus pronounced it to be tliu
' blue lead ' tliat had paid so well at William Creek, ' commencing on Homu-
fly Creek, aud running direotly through this section.' The Aurora Company.
in July, 1867, completed a flume 2,000 feet in length, dumping into Quesufl
Lake. Some of the ground on the bed-rock yielded $2.25 to the pan. A/.,
July 30, 1867.

'* The discovery of Cov\uette Creek was creilited, together with that «if
Oilar Creek, to J. E. Edwards, one of tlie prospectors of the Aurora claim on
William Creek, in 1866. Victoriii Coloimt, July 28, 1866. Another a«i
thority states that Coquette Creek was originally opened by a Curnishniun,
presumably Edwards, who lost the lead, whereupon it was sold to the
Chinese. JTarnett's Lecturf^t, 29. No prospects were found by tlie conipans
ia the opening made by tliem on the supposed bed-rock, which it was rooonlcH
resembled an ash-pit, a cut 60 feet in width having been >tluieed acroMS the
creek to test it. For twenty days expended in accomplishing tliat work thiTc
was a yield of oidy $52, Victoria Colonist, Sept. 25, 1866. Liinng and Company,
after pros|)ecting at another place for a month, also abandoned their grouiul.
/(/., Dnilij, Got. 1 1th. The pertinacity of the <'hine8e in 1867 again attraiteil
white men to the creek, but without pnxlucing any important results.

"Black Bear Creek in the same range of mountains as Cedar and Coijiu'tti'
creeks, but on the opposite side, draining into the north fork of the Quusnwl.
was mined by a discovery company in 18t)7. Tliey sluiced int«) a blue clay,
finding coarse gold. Victoria Coloniet, Aug. 6, 18G7.

GENERAL MININ(J UKVELOPMENT.

489

ti of Ques-
tant placer
1 to be val-
j for sonit'
md sluices
!0,000; the
)aid $7,000
ed in 1860,
in a year;
September
as shallow,
ne hundred
[) to $20 a
to respontl
was chiefly

re were de-
h branch,"^

t8 first ascended
1865. In 18ti(>
ospect of $119,
Discovery were
2G, 1867. The
1(1 dollars, ex-
lers still work-

The pay dirt
ed it to lie the
icing on Horse-
irora Company,
ig into Quesnel

the pan. /'/.,

with tliat of
urora claim on
Another a«-
(.'ornislinian,
! sold to the
tlie company
t was recorded
iced across tlie
liat work tlieri'
and Conipaii} .
their ground,
gain attraeted
reniilts.
and C'oipiette
f the QuwsnMl,
,o a blue clay,

particularly on the right-bank tributaries, tiie Keith-
ley, Snowshoe, Harvey, and Cumiinghain creeks,
draining the eastern slopes of the Bald Mountains,
iiiid whereon modem erosions had laid bare, for short
distances, the deeper channels of the ancient streams.
When the bed of the north branch was prospected in
1859-60, it was found to contain profitable placers as
far up as the Cariboo lakes,"' but here in the absence
of gold-bearing soil at the surface, want t)f success
liad the effect to throw back the advance upon Cari-
boo proper for that year, so that Keithley, Harvey,
and Grouse creeks were not worked until the autumn
of 1800.

On Keithley Creek mining was so successfully
prosecuted in 1860 that several stores were erected
tliere/^* and near its mouth the town of Keithley came
into existence in 1861, as supply depot for the entire
rcjgion of the north branch of the Quesnel.''' The gold
on tlie creek consisted partly of solid nuggets paving
tlie bed-rock within a few feet of the surface. A party
of five men, in June 1861, divided one thousand two
hundred dollars between them as the product t)f u
single day's labor, and their daily average for sonH>

'-*In the spring of 1862 preparations were made on a largo scale lor wing-
damming at diflferent places; hut u\ early tliaw raised the waters of the hike
and river, sweeping away all the dams anil water-wheels, thi- result of several
inoutha of hard work in the coldest part of the winter, li. < f)irirfi)n/, ISOIi,
200. The north fork was rich down to the bridge, where tie- trail from (Ques-
nel Forks crossed it. Below that point the climate changed. llarwU's Lrr.
Iiiren, 27.

'•"Two store Imildings were erected near its month at lower Cariboo Lake;
another store was built and opened by Davis in advance of the first-meni-
tioiieil six miles up the stream, on the line of the picmeer trail. Alinl'ti lie-
)mrl, March 27. 1861, in B. C. Pajicni, iv. 50-1. Keithley wa.s reached by
Cominissioncr x'fiud in the winter of 18<)0--1; eros.sing over (.'ariboo Lake, lit;
found the two store buildings not yet oceupied, while Davis' stoi-e was already
a centre of ♦raiie a,i::l Uiining. Many thou.sand feet of lumber M^ere whip-
sawed and ready in March 1861 at tlit! latter point for thuning the bed of
Keithley Crock.

'" In June 1861, the town of Keithley consisted of three grocery stores, a
liakery, restaurant, butcher-shop, blacksmith-shop, and several tavern."., kept
in tents and log houses, lieef cattle were driven to that point from Oregon.
There were, in June 1861, 200 men in the creek, of whom To were engaged in
mining, Cnrilioo Ould-Jivlilx, 5;t-8. In 1875 it still supported three or four
stores, one of them kept by a Chinaman. J/iir>; in Mhi. Miin'-i Hint., 1875,
b<. It continued until recent years t<i be the principal mining and trading
IKiint in the vicinity uf the Caribou Idkes.

400

GOLD IN THE CMUBOO COUNTRY.

time was said to be a pound weight of gold. In Sep-
tember iSGl, several companies were making from fifty
to one hundred dollars a day to the man in the bed
of the creek, and one Imndred dollars in the dry-dig-
gings on the hill-side. Flumes were built of enormous
size and length, and numerous wheel-jmmjis were set
in motion.'-'* In 18G7 the lead was lost; yet tlu;
Chinese on the creek continued to make money, the
claim at the mouth of the creek paying from twelve
to sixteen dollars a day to the digger. After lS7b
the yield fell oft'.^

Harvey and Cunningham creeks, also tributaries
of the n(jrth branch of the Quesnel, and discovered
in tJie autumn of 18G0, received no attention until
the Antler Creek excitement in 1 801, and were not
entered upon in larger force till 18G4. t)n Harvey
Creek the conditions and history of minhig resembled
those of Keithley. Droughts and ticjods and other
serious difficulties of deep mining stood here also in
the way of develo[)ment; so that the stereoty})ed
verdict of exhaustion was passed upt)n it in 187().
On Cunningham Creek, a stream about thirty miles
in length, a number of claims were taken up in the
middle of February I8G1; and in the foUowing yc;u'
the deep diggings were prospec\ed to some extent, but
abandoned as unprofitable.

In 18G4 further developments were made whicli
surjirised the old mincirs who were acquainted with
the ground. Four of the white men made a dis-
covery near the mouth that the old bed of the
creek was not IxMieath the present stream, but in
a deep channel parallel to it, a hundred yards

''"*The lumluT \v:is supplied by a saw-iuill cninpldtcd in Septeinltor. This
was a mill ' iii itxelt, luniiMhiii^'luinlicrat '_^■^('t■llt.^ a focitautl upwards. Loiiilim
T'hikk' rm: Virttmn, Nov. Ul), 18U1, in Curihao (lold-jieldx, ol-S. .lu.st'pll
I'attcrsoii and Itrotlior iiiloniied (rovenuir l)(iiij,'l;i.s that tlio iiiinerHat Ktuthley
C'rork ill 18<il were making from two to tlirei; oiiuccsaitay. houijlas' Dvqiiili'li,
Oct. 'J-l, 18(J1, ill //irMt/'.'< C'trihon, ]-_'4.

-^ llnnult'x Lirfitrrs, '21. Tho creek was protitalily w<irked as l.itf as
1877, Imt till! In'st ground w;w lidievcd to ]tv wcrkcd out. Ki'itliUy Crock
v.ia always Mulijuct cither to a tlrougiit or a llood. Miii, Miiicn Neid., ]Sli<,
iiO; 1877, 399

VERY MANY CREEKS.

401

aside.'" The deeper they went into this channel the
richer they found it, and in one day four hundreil and
sixty dollars apiece were ojjtained. The result was,
that about two liUTidred miners located fresh claims
(Ml the creek, many of tliem yielding well.*" The ex-
citement continued tlirouuhout 18G5, and then fol-
lowed another decline, the result of failure in tracing,
or working the deep lead.^"

Antler Creek, tlie original objective pt)int of the
g(»]d-seekers wlio ex})l()red Cariboo hi 18G1, was the
first in that region to attain a decided reputation after
Keitliley Creek, and the first to establish the char-
acter of the Cariboo region. Its fame, like that of
Keitlile}^ and William creeks, also rested upon the
tircunistance that the present stream had in one or
more places cut down into the ancient channel. The
London Times' correspondent wrote tliat the bed-rock
was found paved with gold. Every shovelful con-
tained a considerable quantity, in some cases as nmch
as fifty dollars. Nuggets could bo picked out of the
soil by hand, and the rocker yielded fifty ounces in a
few hours.*' The secret of tlie wonderful riches of tlie
deposit in Antler Creek was too important to be kept.
It drew all the venturesome members of the popula-
tion domiciled in the neighborhood over the dangerous
winter trail (►f the Snowshoe IVIountuin in the months
of January and February 1861.''^ A single log-cabin

"^ I litre, in Miii. Minen nt., 1870, 42(); Nhidx, in/?, C. Papern, iv. 51.
Tlioy liail found that the cliaiuiel worn in tlio luMl-roek. under tlio present
utri'iun had a rim on one siilolHiynnd wliich the liud-rock fell otfintoa deeper
old channel to a depth then unknown.

•" Virtoria Wevllii Coloiiiil, Sept. ti, \HM. The jiroprietors of the Ken-
tucky elaini engaged in grouml Rliiicing, took out $750 one day in 18(15, and
SI.CHM) the day following. J,l., July 11, 1805.

■"'^vV 'iotoria company employing twenty men erected cowtly machinery
uiiou tlie creek in lS7(i, for the piirpo.se of exploring the deep ground, hy all otli-
crs NO far unsucce8,>«fully attempted, lioivmn, in Miii. MiiKu /{ijif., 1870, 418.

■^•^ M(trfii:'s V. 1. iind li. (,'., 1244. The dixcovcry was made ho late in the

autiunn of 1800 that on the morning following it a foot of huow liad covered
the grouml, and notiiing could be (lone at mining until the Hpring of 1801.
H Wy/i/, in Oirrluml Monthbi, Dec. 1809, 5U0. CommiMHioner Nind testitie.s

m a narrow

tiiat the hed-roek was but a short difitaneo under the Hurfaee
v.dhiy. U. (\ /'ii}>,'rx, iv. 51.

■"^Oold ComnuHxioner Nind, who wiw called to settle mining disputes here,
arrived ut Antler Creek uurly in March, and found the snow six or seven feet

492

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

III

I Hi; i

built by Rose and McDonald, the discoverers of the
diggings in the fall of 1860, was at this time the only
evidence of settlement, but by June ten houses and a
saw-mill had risen, and during the foUowhig months
mining was at its heighti Eleven companies wore
working with large profits, and individuals wore mak-
ing as much as $1,000 a day, while the yield of tlu-
several sluice and flume claims was GO ounces a day
to the man, and the daily aggregate of the cfeck
during the summer of 1861 over $10,000. Much of
the ground yielded $1,000 to the square ft)ot. Tlirco
quarters of a mile below the town of Antler two part-
ners were said to have obtained from 40 to 60 ounces
a day each, with the rocker.""^

The town of Antler grew as if by magic, and counted,
in August, twenty substantial buildings, comprisiiin'
stores, whiskey-saloons, and dwelling-houses, sur-
rounded by a much larger immber of tents,** yet the
conmiunity was on the whole remarkably sober, la^ -
abiding, and quiet.'^

tleep, and the miners living in holen, which they had dug in the snow, subsist-
ing nn the scanty supplies carried in ovi-r the Suowshoe trails. Tlie cmii-
nussiouer wiis ocunpiea six days in ascertaining the claims to ground, uml
everything w.os finally settled witliout disturbance, for ' English law, ' it was
maintained, uorhl not be traneigressed ' with the same impunity as California

C. P,

fJXTS,

iv. 60-1.

law.' Ninii, i

•* Water .a selling at 50 cents an inch. Tinies^ cor., in Variltoo Golil-
JieUlx, 53-8. In a leader of Feb. 7, 1801, the lioudou 7V//i«v» summariznl
the developments on Antler Creek from May to September 1801, anil ])oii,iM
Eraser's statements as correspondent were reviewed, and accepted as trust-
worthy. A miner unnied Smitli was spoken of as liaving obtained 'A\ ponihls
of gold per day with the rocker. Otlier claims working with sluices wen;
reported to bo yielding regularly us nuich. Quoted in McDomdd's B. t'.,
110-15. SnuiU claims on Antler Creek yielded from 100 to V.Vi ounces ;i
day. In 3 weeks' washing one oompaiiy of 3 men obtained ^3,3U0; anotlit r
of 3 men, $.')7,500; still another of 5 men, $'20,000; and another of men,
$28,000, in the same period. Loiulon Tiinv«' cor., in jlncjic'a V. I. ami B. ('.,
*244-5. Governor Douglas vouched for the authenticity of the statenii'iit
that 4 men obtained regularly from 10 to 37 ounces a day, or from 4 to iU
ounces each. Id.

*^Cnr'd>oo Oold-Jieldn, 55. A Spanish nuiletiter, when asked in regard to
tlie merits of the Carilwo mines, from winch he liad recently r turned, re-
plied that ho had doubts iiutil he had seen the gaming-table at Antler Creek.
Tlireo miners gambled away 1^27,000 at a sitting.

" Begbie wrote to the colonial secrefciry in September 1801: ' I never wiw
a mining town anything like tliis. Tliere were some hundreds in Antler, all
Hol)er and quiet. It was Sunday aftennHin. Only u few of the claims v< '<-
worked that day. It was us (juivt as Victoria. . .They told me it was liku

COMPAIIATIVE YIELD.

40.'l

As in tlie case of Keithloy Crook, and as any one
mij^lit have anticipated had the facts of the limited
rxtont of the old channel laid bare hy erosion been
understood, there was difficulty and disappointment
ill store. Expectations had been raised which could
not be realized at that time, though the conclusions
in regard to the wealth of the creek had been entirely
correct. After the shallow part of the old channel
was exhausted, the problem of working the buried
portion was encountered, and without systematic work
the lead could not long he followed.''** The declension
can 10 about gradually. In 18G7 the town of Antler
was deserted, and only a few men remained on the
cieek, cleaning up, for the second tune, the old gn)und.

Grouse Creek was mined to a limited extent in
l8(>l-2, and then abandoned until 18G4,'^" when the
Heron claim was located upon it. After an expendi-
ture of .$150,000 the Heron claim yielded $300,000.
Inder the supposition that the ground was worked
out, it was then sold for $4,000; but on cutting an
outlet 18 inches deeper the claim continued to yield
tV<tni 80 to 100 ounces a week throughout the i-nsuing
season.^" The creek was again abandoned until ISGG,

I'Hliforniii iii '49. Why, you wuuld liavu 8ucii iill thuse follows rutiriiig tlruiik,
;iii(l jiistols au<l l>aro kuivcii iii every hiiiul.' //. L'. I'ajHTH, iv. 61.

"* III 18(>4 a lu'il-roi'lc llimie company Wiui formed at Antler. Tlio company
«il>tiiiu('d a tea veiira' lo.usu of sixteen and one half utiles of tlio creek, in-
chuliiij^astrip of ground 100 fi-it in width along thooroek, with the intention
of introducing hydranlio mining. No heavy nu^ohanical appliances had liecn
used on tho creek up to that tii'io. Murjien V. I. ami li. C, 245. Incouncc-
tiou with the mining operations on the creek, and tho proHpeeting that mnih
iloiie for the recovci-y of tho lost lead, tlio fact was di'veloped, ana remarked
iip<iu, that on tho one Hido of tho creek there M'as nothing but lino gold, while
oil tho otlier side it wiu» all coartto. At tho head of AntliT Crock, formerly
tliu continuation of Sawmill Flat, extended a plain many inilca in thooppoHitu
tlircctiou, and it was supposed that the oxtcnsivo area emhraced l>y thcNi)
physical features was fornicrly thositoof a great lake. Tho nioi-o ancient
stream or deep chaumd of AnUer Creek w;is supponvd to liavo come, much
like llio present creek, from tho mountains at tlio west. Its gravels M-crc a
]iiirti(in of an auriferous fomintion extending to (iron«o (.'reek. //<iriieft'n
lATfiiirs, 27.

^"Ik'causo three mon in 1801-2 would not investigate properly their in-
ticrests, having lost faith. J/<irmtf'x LirtimH, 24. 'ifui creek is onlv live
mill's eiuttof William Creek, running ]>arallel to it, and draining with Antler
and William creeks tho eastern slope of tho Agues liidd Aroiuitaiii.

*• Victoria Colomt, Jan. 21, 18(18; IlarneU's Lcduitu, 33.

494

GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRY.

wnen the lead was rediscovered ; and the Heron, Dis-
covery, and other claims yielded from $15,000 to $20,-
000 to the share," raising the creek to the dignity of
one of the principal mimng fields in Cariboo for tlio
ensuing season.*^ In 1867, thirty-five mining companies
were at work; a saw -mill was in operation; and two
respectable villages sprang up in the valley/'

Rich strikes, alternating with failures to keep the
leads, varied the history of Grouse Creek throughout
subsequent years. Bear River, emptying into tlie
Fraser above Fort George, had numerous lakes and
former lake-beds along its course, but beneath their
recent and ancient sediments the miners do not a\
pear to have found any old channel

*^ Allan's Carilxx), MS., 10-11.

*■■' Miiny »>f the claims were yielding from ^.'> to $50 a day. Victoria WeekUi
Cohuixt, Oct. i>:J, 18«i(;.

*^A chartor Wiis procured for a Insd-rock tiume company, but this was suit-
BUi|ueutly revoked, and, as a result, many additional claims were lnuateil and
recorded upon the creek. During 18(57, some Frenchmen were washing out
.*i4 to §t» a clay witli tlio rocker, while sluicing in California fashion paid from
§10 to $12, and hydraulic work ^20 to §25 a day. Jlaniett's Lectures, 24-5.
The Heron Conipfvny, in March 18(i7, paid a dividend of ;^S00 to the share;
and tho Full Rig Company a tlividend of $200 for a week's work. Carilnx)
Seiitini'l, March 30, 180/. These companies worked out the lead for a thou-
sand feet on the channel, while above and below them it could not he found.
In May 1807, the BlackhaM'k and Canadian companioa were seeking it by a
tunnel and incline. The Water Witch Company sank a shaft near tho centre
of the creek, and drifted into deep ground, causing an excitement, but it
proved to be only an nndidation like that in the Hard-np Company's tunnel.
VlHoi-id Voloiii"/., May 7, 1807. There were two distinct leads, the more an-
cient lieing aside from the present channel. From tho boundaries of the
Heron au«i Hard-up claims, at the lower end of the diggings, the creek con-
tinued in a series of Hats wliere tho channel was never founiL

"In 181JS), a 'new creek ' w;is reported '75 to 100 miles north-east from
Cariboo,' which was much lower than the Carilwo diggings, had been burmd
over, and •was overgrown by small tind)er. It was said to prospect 12^ cents
to the pan at the surface. Victoria Colonist, March 10, 1809.

CHAPTER XXYI.

Victoria Wevlchj

MmiNO IN CARIBOO.

1863-1882.

Riss OF William Creek — Rich Discoveries — Large Yield— DiOLiins —
Deep Mining — Martsvillb Lead — Drainage Operations — Rioh-
FiBLD — Mosquito and Mustang Creeks — Outskirt Placers — Light-
ning Creek — Van Winkle — Decune and Revival — Lowhee —
CaSon Creek and its Quartz — Character of Cariboo Veins — Sum-
hart of Yield — Cariboo Life — ^Ths Low and the Intellectual.

William Creek has a history in many respects
similar to that of Antler Creek. Its first-discovered
rich deposits were shallow, and in the bed of the
present stream, above the canon. Below these dig-
gings was a flat, supposed to have been the bed of a
former lake, in which the channel sank and was lost.
Here the problem of working the deep ground by
means of shafts and pumping, was for the first time
systematically attempted, and profitably solved. The
crossing of Snowshoe Mountain by the inflowing
prospectors of 1861, and their descent into the bfc\sin
of Bear River (Antler Creek), thence into the basin
of Willow River (William Creek), changed the centre
of operations from Keithley to William Creek, and
with it the approach from a circuitous to a mo'.e
direct route into the Bald Mountains of Cariboo. On
the completion of the road along Lightning Creek,
in 1865, Barkerville on William Creek became the
principal distributing point for the Cariboo region,
the aggregate product of which amounted in seven
years to $25,000,000. The creek received its name
from William Dietz, a German who prospected upon

(495)

406

MINING IN CAKIBOO.

the head-waters of Willow River, and was the first in
the spring.

The discoveries in the summer and autumn of 1861
of the astonishingly rich lands on William/ Lowhee,
and Lightning creeks gave an immense impetus to
further prospecting.''

A rush at once set in, and claims were worked in
the shallow ground with great success, for the gold
lay thickly studded in a layer of blue clay consisting
of decomposed slate and gravel, which in some cases
gave prospects of over $G00 to the pan. In the
State claim this layer was six feet thick, and had a
top tripping which ranged from a few feet to three
fathoms in depth. Others had less difficult ground to
work, and the yield was rapid, amounting in several
claims to over 100 ounces a day for the season. The
Steele party was reported to have obtained in t^^•(>
days 387 and 409 ounces, and in two months $105,000.^

'The name of Humbug Creek, at first applied to thitt most famous of
Cariboo streams on account of its supposed worthless character, was soon
abandoned, and the proper name of William Creek gained the ascendency
to which it became ]ustly entitled when the first noteworthy discovery was
made at the Cafiou. Three seasons elapsed before the richest deposits found
in the deep ground of William Creek were fairly developed. 'B. x).,' Barker-
ville, Oct. 23d, cor. of Victoria Weekly Colonist, "Nov. 7, 1865.

' Thomas Brown, an American, also laid claim to the discovery, and to
having located the first claim. Douglas' Despatch, Oct. 24, 1861, in HazUtl'it
Carilmo, 124 It was months, says a writer from the spot, before any authentic
news of these discoveries reached Victoria. Reports came first that great
quantities of gold were being obtained in a small stream near the summit of
tiie mountains; no names being then attached to the localities. The daily
yield was said to be first 20 oz., then 50 oz., 100 oz., 300 oz., and at last 400
oz. a day, to four or five men. Many of the companies were reported t(i
have so nmch gold that they were obliged to detail men to watch it day and
night. At Victoria these rumors were not confided in until the gold began
to arrive. Ragged miners finally came to the sea-coast, staggering under tliu
weight of their summer's accumulation. Mules were loaded with the jnt-
vious metal. Men were paid $20 and $50 a day to carry the gold whicli tlic
owners of it had not the strength to bring alone. Wright, in Overland ^^orUhbj,
Dec. 18C9, 520-7.

'Governor Douglas took down from the lips of Mr Steele, an American,
the following statement in regard to the Steele claim in 1801: Their claim
did not prospect so well as some of the others, and it was furthermore a tlilli-
cult one to work, having from 8 to 18 feet of stripping overlying the aurifei'-
ous dirt. Tlie latter was a blue clay layer 6 icet m thickness, contain-
ing decomposed slate and gravel. A space of 25 by 80 feet of t)iis gronml
produced in two months $105,000. A sluice was con8tructe<l, and four adili-
tional men were lured to clear away the tailiug. JtawUngs' Confedernthin,
118. In tlie f:iU of 1801 Dawson and company took out of their claim uu

WILLIAM CREEK.

407

the first in

mn of 1861
1,* Lowhee,
impetus to

( worked in
JT the gold
y consisting
I some cases
tn. In the
, and had a
;et to three
It ground to
g in several
eason. Tho
,ined in two
IS $105,000.'

1 most famous of
Eiracter, was soon
[d the ascendency
,hy discovery was
!8t deposits found
'B. !>.,' Barker-
Is.

[discovery, and to

' 1861, in HazUtl's

fore any authentic

first that great

)ar the summit of

lities. The daily

,, and at last 400

|Were reported to

watch it day and

il the gold began

jgering under the

[ed with the pro-

.e gold which the

^verlami y.<M^i^il<

Lie, an Americim,
1861: Their claim
thennore a ditli-
llying the aurifui-
■ickness, contain-
It of tliis grouiul
tl, an<l four ail<li-
L' Confeihrath'ii,
\t their claim on

Toward the close of the season of 1861, all previ-
ous discoveries were exceeded by the developments in
the rich ground lying fifty or sixty feet under the fiat,
below the * Caiion.* To the Barker Company belongs
the credit of having sunk the first paying shaft into the
new deposit, and in honor of this event the nucleus
of a town which here sprang into existence was named
Barkerville. Supported by the underground mining,
tlie town grew rapidly in population, and maintained
for years the position of the principal town in Cari-
boo.* The Diller Company were among the next in
order to bottom a shaft into the deep ground, wash-
ing out in one day, it is said, two hundred pounds of
gold, the largest yield recorded for one day in Cari-
boo."^ A number of claims were located all over the
flat, and by means of the systematic drifting and tun-
nelling introduced in 1862, and carried on through-
out the year, the old channel of William Creek was
traced for a considerable distance beneath the surface.
Some claims yielded 100 ounces and more daily, dur-
hig the season, three taking out $100,000 each between
October 1862 and January 1863. The Cunningham
turned out over 600 ounces a day on several occasions;
the Caledonia yielded at one time from $5,000 to
$G,000 a day ; and the Cameron and Tinker were not
far behind."

William Creek $600 in a single pan. Abbott and Company tf)ok out $900
iu one panful of dirt obtained three feet under the surface. I/nzliU'a Cariboo
Oold-jivbU, 153-8.

* It was destroyed by fire in the summer of 1868, but by the end of Sep-
tenilier 40 new buililiugs liad risen. Gowrnor'a Despatch, dated Sept. 16, 1868,
in Cariltoo Senlincl, Se^jt. 29, 1868.

'' Allan /I Curilioo, MS., 10, 11. Mr Allan, as editor of the C(tril>ooScti/hiil,
wiiH in a position to know the fact, and ought to be good authority. That
amount ecpials 2,400 ounces, at $16 worth §C^,400.

^Cottrlney^n Miiu B. C, AIS., 6. The Cunningham Cxaim averaged $2,000
a day tliroughout the season. It had a frontage of 600 feet. On several occa-
sions 5'2 poiuuU of gold were taken out of it in a day. The bishop of British
Columbia witnessed the taking out of 600 ounces, or 50 pounds, from one day's
work. Tlie Adauia Company in 1802 paid $40,000 eacn, clear of expenses, to
three partners. Bmwn'a En-iaif, 30-1. The claim of William Dietz, tlio dis-
cnvurer, proved to be one of the poorest on the creek; but generally the claims
whii'li were first worked at a depth not exceeding 12 feet yiulded remarkable
ritiirus. T. Emm, in Oifrland Mont/ily, Mareli '8^0; B. (\ Directory, 1863,
'202.

Hist. Brit. Col. 32

Uis

mining; in <'akiiu)0.

Lai-^c ;i> WHS tlii! yirld «»f' IH()'2, tlic followliiii;
HtJi.soii j>r<»vr<l rvt'ii iiioro ))r(»s|u'r()us, uiid roccivfd

tl.

ip[

•Uati

KMi or till! y;()l<lt'M your

1(K

cconliiiuf to

Arjicfio, the crct'k was tli<M woi-kimI ovit an ana of
scvi'ii miles, and of tho nuim-rous claiins alutut 10
y'uldtd liaii(ls(»ii!(ly, whilo al>out 20 prodiicod steadily

K'twicii 7') and 400 ounces a day. l*alnier states tliat

tin; eliiel' owner of the Cameron <-laim went honu
with ."-^l.iO.UOO saved l)y liim in one year, and Miltot.
and ( Ilea' lie witnessetl tlie ])roeess id'ekianiiii^ up from
a day's wasliinLf in the llaby, of '110 ounces, while
they r<»und tlie Cameron yielding; Trom 40 to 112
ounet's daily/ A numlxr of elaims wore only nuichin^''
the hi'd-roelv in I8G4, and obtaining the usual ridi
jn-ospects, ilw. Wake U[» .lake Company, for instance,
wasliini;- j2 ounces frt)m a paidid (»f dirt. Other
claim ai;ain were yielding even better than before,
as tlie Kricsson, which opened in 18(13 and turned out
an average weekly amount of 1,400 imnces during tlie
summer. I ii 18(55 this claim paid nearly twice as large
dividends as before."*

^Tlii- aviTiij;o toiil yirlil of the claiinsi ( Williiim Crt'ok was not 1. -s
lliaii 'J,((iM) oiiiit'(!s. 'I'lircii jiartniTH of tlio Ifa.d C'uiry Coiniiaiiy iliviiUiil 111'.'
{iiiiiiuU troy, tilt! result of ii Niii!.;lt) day's WiiHliing. I'lilimi; in l.oiul. ilctxj. Soc,
Juki'., xxwiii. l'.!| '_'. 'Ill IStl.'t iilioiit 4,(KM) wero ungageil on tiiis orcik.'
Mdc/li'n v. J., 'JIS; XorfMirtMt l'ii.-<Miijf hif l.iuid, '^T^.

'" 1 11 lS.;i I tail iiis says ;,lu! flaiiii pai.l'j^S.CKM) to tho Hliarr, or a total of .?<.M),-
(KH> clear of cxiieiises; ami 'li ISii.") tliii iliviileniU wero !?l I.IKK) to tiiONliare; Init
of tile aliose tlie goveiiiiiuiit received ^'>,(K)0. lhmijl<i.t' /'rlrufi: /'kjic/w, MS.,
i. I."il •_'. Iliniiill'x /.irhiiix, \'2. For wvuil HUfOOSsivo M'eekM tlio followiii;;
yield was ir|(iiiN il from tlio Mriessoii elaiin: .Iniio 17, lSl>4, ".M)0o/., .*ll,HMt;
Jlliie'Jt, ISCt, tilO,,/,, !*I(),1'M»; .llllyl, 1S(U, l,4(tO o/., .*'_>•-', 4«H»: .IlllvS, IStil,
I, !»•_>(•) o/., .SfO.SlC; .Inly lo, I.S(i4, l.'jr.f. o/.., §-JO,(HUi; July •_"_», 1S(;4, I.IKM)
o/.., .t-'O.SlK); .liilv '-".I, !S(hI, 2,(><M)o/,.,!*-H,!l'J0; In all M),()4'-» ounces, %!l(»,(i7l.'.
r/./„W<f (■<./(.//;..V,".liuie -Jl, May •_'4. lS(i4; J/«r,-y!/V'.v I'. /., '2W. Wake up .like
claim was sold in IS.i? ior !?!()!). Curi/KH) Siii/hitl, ."day '2'\, IS()7. Tho .Adiiiis
C'omiiaiiv ha<l yiildrd, no far as known, in all !?.')0,lM)() to 100 feet; the Stii Ic,
$l'_'(»,(MHi fioni\sO fe.t; tli.! Dillcr, !8y40,0;K) from M feet; tho l'uniiiiij;li.iMi,
^•-'TO.tHH) from WH) feet; the Hums, !?14(),()00 from 80 feet; tho Canadian,
!?IS(>,0;K) from I'JO feet; the Neversweat, .?1(X),000 from ll'O feet; the
Moll'att, .'^•'.lO.CKM) from 50 fuet; Uio Tinker, $120,000 from 140 feet; tlir
Watty, ):<i:!(),(KM» from 100 feet. In addition t(» those already naiiinl
vero the Hirkir, Baldhead, (irier, (irilliii, \Vils(»n, Heauregard. Kil'V,
i'ameroii, I'riiiee of Wales, and many others, whoso fame went throii-li-
out tho world. Cnnr/iirirH I' imjxr/im Artt'uhtn Vomjtitny, ijuotcd in Mni-jh'i
I'. /. twd li. (\, '-US; MtDoiialU'x Ji. I'., 110; fialem ,St(Ue.imnii, Nov. -':!,

LiVBOR AN1> KKTUKNS.

400

Despite tliir^ HlM)\vin<;, the fact« could not bo tlis-
i,nilH«'(l that tlio exeiteiiieiit wa.s over, aiul that the
miners were dhninishin^ in nunihor. Of the fifteen
hundred fonnin«if the cstiniated jtopulati >n of William
(^ree)- in NovendnT 18(14, half only remained through-
out the winter, and the fornn r mimber was not made
up again. For this there were good reasons. The
huge yield eame ehirtly from few claims, while the
larger number had returned but a shall share. Tho
sliullow dii'i'inj's which formed tlu^ attraction for the
girat majority were now pretty well worked out, and
the Indications for locating deeper claims on the more
cisily worked ground were becoming less sure. The
tust of working the deeper claims was a further draw-
hack, and as the mim^rs were now chieHy interested in
this class of ground, it bevame a momentous question
to solve the pro'.lem of <'lieap and elective operations.

The gr«'at difiiculty, the How of water, had liitherto
liccn overcome with the aid of the limited water-power
of William (*reek, and with the home-made wooden
|>uni[>s of small capacity. But these moans had failed
in several operations, such as drifting the meadows
hclow Jiarkervillt!, which had been undertaken on an
xteiisive scale coveriny; a distance of three milt^s."
The Artesian Company wliich had obtained a twenty
vcars' h'asi' of one half mile of jj^round three eijjhths
of a mile in width, below ]3arkerville, proposed under
( 'rawford's direction to pros[)eet by meansof an aitesian-
wtll auger bringing up a panful of tlirt at eacli raise;
hut th(^ How of water was not (hsposed of ])y this scheme.
Adit levels or bed-rock flumes with powerful steam-
punips aj»peared to bo the oidy eff(!ctive nieans. In
1 SO;"), accordingly, a costly 'bed-rock Hume' 1,000 feet
in length was laid, at a first cost of ^120,000, com-

'Ami at a cost of suveral liiiiulrtMl tluniHaiid dollars. This work oxt«'iiili><i
iiuiii Marysvillu to tins junction of William tJrcek with Willow Kivcr, a tlis-
t.un'»! (if tiircc miles, wIhto a formrr lakf, or scries of lakes, was siijiitosed to
lin )• existed, <lisi;hargin){ its waters into .lack of Clubs Lake, l>y the western
''!■« i>f the Island Mountain, instead of hy tho eastern, as at present. Mnrjie'n
C. /. iiHil H. (• . -JW.

BOO

mining; in LAKIBOO.

inencini»' at the Caium, Uolow the Black Jack tuniul,
and several companies be<;an washing into it with a
j^reat increase of forces, taking out some coarse gold,
including a thirty-seven ounce imgget.'" Among the
claims most successively worked at this time were the
Conklin (iulch and Ericsson companies; the former
being reported aw taking out an average of 127 ounces
a day, and the Ericsson from DOO to 2,000 ounces a
week."

Although the decline of the district was a conceded
fact after 1805, there were in 18(57 still over sixty
j)aying claims, apart from the Hume companies and
hill claims. Some of them had been producing foi'
six years, and were still producing remarkably well,
the potjrer {»aying wages of frt)m eight to ten dc ilars
u day to the hand. The Cunningham, California, and
Tontine claims stood each credited with a yield up t(»
18G5 of $000,000.'-

'" A (litih foiniilcte.l from .Tiu;k of Clubs Crcok in 18f4 ata costof .?20,0()0
w;i« usf'.l ill cotiiu'otioii with the rtuinc. The ditch oiiturprise HuB'ereil uiidt r
legal (litliciiltii'.s iliiriiig 1805. Cnrilioo St'iiliiu'l, (juotetl in Virtorin Wiiil/i
f'nliiiiitil, .hily 4, IS(i'>. Tilt! tluniu had not liccn long in ojuTiition wlnri
William Crrek exjicrieiieed a tlooil which rcHulted in great injury to imitrovc-
nientH of cvrry sort, fsiti^ciully at ( 'anieronton. A/., Sept. I'.t, ISOr- Mi'
(ieiitile in Octolier IHIi.') photograplu'd most of the iiromineut claims ami
Imihlingsat liarkervillc. A/., Oct. M, )S().").

''This was in .luui! and .Inly 18(15. I'iiforin <'oloiii«t, .Inly 4, 25, iSti.'i.
One day l,'.h!(» oun''OH were washed out. M/ii/iujmt'm Alnnkv, .'14.

'-.•\n idea of tlie costs and individual iii'otits in the years l8t»*2-7 may he
olitaiucd from the following statistics: The Cunninghani claim altove t!:.-
Curioii, located in I8(>l, with tour interests, cost !?l<H),0()0 to work, and yieldul,
up to lS(i.">, !i!5(M»,(M»(>. The Tyack claim, htcated in 18(11, had four interests

anil paid fr .i<l(> to .*-»(» a day. The ^'alifoniia, located in 18(il, cost .*ir.(l,

r.)'> to work, and yielded, up to I8(i5, !i*.'i()(»,0(M). In ISdd and I8(i7 thiscliim
was still [laying from i?l5 to:|ftK)a day. The Hlack .lack, located in 18(»'J, \* itli
(i interests. g;ive in '2 years .ft!0(t,(KK», under a total expenditur- of ^")(».(HK)
for work at !JI(» a day. In 18(>7 it was worktMl uf a hydrjuiiiu claim. I ln'
Tontine, located in I8(i4, with 4 interests, cost up to i8(>5 inc'usivi! .^KM),-
(NK) for devehipmt^nt and working, and yielded ^')()0,(KIO. Tiie Diet/, lo( ,it. .1
in 18(»4, paid good wages stea<lily. These were all ahove the Caflou. lii'l.iw
the I'afion mining was lieguii in 18(>:i at tlu! month of Stout (iuL'h 'I'lic
claim of High Low .lack, located in IS(i4, with ti interests, itaid in.lunc ISii?
SI-.IHX) to tile share. Tin- rioneer yielded as well. The Alturas, locatcil in
IS(U, with 8 inleri'sts, paid oil' in 5 weeks, tluring 18(i(i, an indehtediicHN of
gi'ACKK). On t)ie TaftV.de claim 5 shafts were ' lost ' hefore the diaiii,i|.'i'
used by the miners lie' iw was ttxtended to its boundarieii, Jt cost !*;M),(KKI
to ojien, and yieldei' iinally from 1(H) to 'HW ounces ner week, tlnnnll's l.n-
turvH, 12-1". T'tio deepest shaft in the vicinity of William Creek, or Mohawk
Gul' i., wuH 134 fuut, without reaching the bed-ruck, or leiit> than half tli<'

BENCH CLAIMS

Jack tunnel,
to it with a
coarse gold,
Among the
inie were the
; the former
»f 127 t>unces
)00 ounces a

IS a concecli;(l
11 over sixty
unpanies and
producing tor
larkablv well,
bo ten cU liars
California, and
a yield up to

atacostof .*!2(MMMI
)ri«e Hutt'eri'il uiuli r

ill VirloiitI iVnilil

ill <>iH'r;iti(m wlnii
iiijurv toinipriivr

|.t. !'.», IStif- Ml'
niiiii'Ut cliiims ami

July 4, -Jr), KStl").

•I'lrs 18()iJ-7 iiiiiy If

a claim iil«)vu t!;.

work, anil jit'lilrd.

Iliad four iiitcn-its

III 1.S«>1, i'oct*l''l>.

iiiid IW>7 tliiMiiiiiii

(I'iiU'd in IWi'J, vith

iiulitui- of *.'«t>."'<Hl

Iriv.iiic clllilll. 'I"

1(5 iiii-'usivi' !?IIHI. ■

Till! I>i«^t.z, li».il"l

;li«! Caflnli. Ii''l'«

■itout (iuLh Tlir

, uaiil in.luiii' IsiiT

AitnraH, locattil m

[ill ilKlflltlMllU'HS I if

Lforo tlir (IriiiiiiiUi'
Im. It o(.st !?:W>,IHMI
.■I'k. Iliiniitl'" '■"'
iCi-Duk, i>r Mi"!!.'"'^
Ie88 than lialt tin

The bed-r(K'k tlrain constructed in the lower })art
of William (^reek was damaged by the high water of
IS()7, and as a result the product of one tliir«l of the
lust claims on the creek was lost for the season, all
the clahns dependent upon it lying idle from June to
])tcember 18(17 Great pri'cautions were taken to pre-
vent a recurrence of such a misfortune. High bulk-
heads were erected round th«J mouths of shafts, and
ii general bulkhead was proposed for the protection of
till' town <>f Barkerville. By the end of January 1 8(18
the repairs were v/ell advanced, and provisions being
coiujtaratively ch ;ap, operati<»ns were renewe<I with
good prospects ft. r the ensuing season, aided to a great
extent by the mining board which had been formed
here in 180(1 with twelve mend)ers. In 18(17 a strike
was made by the United (\)inpany on the Kreiich
and Canadian creeks, which revivea to some extent
the hopes formed of tlu-m as earl; as I 8():{ 1, owing
to their proximity to the suppose d fountain-head of
tJK' William Creek deposits.'" IkMU'h oi' hill claims
wen developed the same year hetween KichHi'ld and
i\\v Canon, but suftered greatly foi* want of water.'*
During the prosperous days of William (Jreek, the

licptli of tliu i-iclicHt (litpoMitH ill AuHtralia, ami this faot wiih lu-lil uii as an
aigiuiiciit auaiiist tlioso who iKigaii to tli;s|ioiul. yirtoria Co/om/V, Nov. 7,
hii.'i; AtliiiiM CiirilxH), .MS., 10, II. .Vftcr IS(;!> tlio hwal iiiiiiiiig history wiw
fully ivcoriliul liy thi; jirosperoiis though not very long-livml I'liriUii) Sintiwl,
IhiIpIisIumI liy AliiXaiiilcr Allen at the town of lUrkerville. .\ eoiii|ilete liHt
III tli(^ ooiiijiaiiio.'^ working u|)on William Criiek, with the nuiiiher of shares,
iiaiiii's of toremeii, anil what the}' weru iloiiifT, was (iiihlisheil iu the iiiimlier
Im- May 'J8, IHUCi, ami cojiied in the I'iHoriii. hnilij i'lditiiiM of .hiiie ••<, I8(i(>.

"Three iiuiiilreil oiinees were taken from one slii:t of tiiiilur in a liill
tiiniecl liy the Ullittul Culiiliaiiy. These creeks iiad heeii prosjieeteil during the
winter of IStlli 4, under tlieln'lief that from their iiositioii in the liald Muuntain
tin > must he near the fcmntaiii-heail of the rieii deposits uf William, tirouse,
:mi|.iaekof Cliihseieeks. yiftitrinWnklii ('<il«iii.-i,V\\>. I-, -•">. ISliT, In tiiiMihl
I'liirand I'oillt claims the Chinese in IH(i7 extracted iiJtlO.IHK) from a small
iiivice. < 'arilioa S<'iiliiiil, Oct. 14, IS(>7. Conklin (!uhh w is stakecl anew on
Ixitli nidi^s, and from one side to the other a immlM'r of I uiiikIs were run under
the lull-siclea for the iuir|iose of striking the rich ehauiiei worked hy the
I'luti'd Coiii]iaiiy. VirUtria hnilii CoioiiiM, Keli. I'.'t, IS'.iT; >'i</< I'lnuniwr, .Ian.
I, ISllH.

'' \ hack ehannul wa<t discovered iti .liini! IS(i7, !ttN) feet in the hill liehind
till jiciwnie claim, and tlu^ West Itritain Company in the same vicinity hot-
tinned a shaft at the depth of 47 feet, oht4iiiiiiig a prospect of ^'J.,JU to tliii
iKiii. I'iitoriii M'ld/// C()Ai/((V, .luiie II, LS(t7.

I I

502

MINING IN CARIBOO.

gold deposit was traced in paying quantities down
the stream to beyond Marysviile, several miles below
Barkerville.

Wherever tlie dee[» ground had been prospected by
means of shafts — usually about sixty feet in deptli —
it i)roved remarkably good, yielding from ten to
twenty-five cents to the pan But here, unfortunately,
»>ccurreil the excess of water, after tlie gravel was
reached, which prevented the shafts from bt-ing worked;
and with the failure of the district the village of Marys-
viile was deserted. This, and the similar fate wliicli
overtook the Meadows, add* 'd to the gradual exiiaus-
tion of the available and profitable grountl on Willian:
Creek, proved a heavy blow, not for the creek aloiif,
but for the whole of Cariboo. From 180.'{ to 18(')7 the
deep ground on William Creek had been the main-
stay of Cariboo, as the latter wtis the main-stay of
British Columliia, and mining was j)n>s|»erous in pro-
pi>rti»Mi to the engineering skill brought into play, the
pr«)blen> being simply one of gaining access to the gold
deposits in the old channels. It was eviilent that llie
late engineering methods had not answeri'd the pur-
j)ose, anil that a still more ett'ective system of drainaj;*-
nmst bt; adopti'd to overcome the obstacle in llie way
to this rich grt>und. A deep cut wjis proposed for
.sluicing the old claims along the whole l«ii«^th of Wil-
liam Creek, from tlu; ( Wkhi to the Mead»>NVs.^'

Jiut nothing was dont> for a hmg time; finally soiin'
San Fi'aiK'isco capitalists obtaini'd a leasts of ground for
four miles along the creek for twenty-one yeais, and
the Jane and Kurt/ Company in (S7() ertu'ted powt i-
ful steam-pumping machinery, on a scale hitherto
unknown in the eolonv. A shaft of one hun«lred and
twenty-fi' e fi'et was sunk, partly in rock, and drifting;

"* Till) tirxt ]inMic pro^iuH.il ni ii hi'Ik'hio fur driiinint; tlio Mi'iuliiws wiih i. I'li'
in IMM, HiiKp'Hliiii; tliat t\w ^ovt'riiiiiriit mIiduIiI ^riiiit a l<>ii^ l<sit«- tit f;ri>iiii<l
(■<|iiiklliii^ 4(MI rhtiiiiM, I'arli .'lO \vvt Whit', ainl t'.\ti'ii<liii^ at'i'iiN.< the valliy: iIh'
i>i'ti[iiiHt>il i.'t>iii|)aiiy jHiyiiif,' SlOtt t't)r I'at'li I'laiiii. Vklorin WnUji ' '(*((i;i/</, (•■ i.
M, l^'(>8. TliiH i>i'<t)i<i".ilitiii wuH Hiiliiiiitt(3il til II iiit^ftiiiK '*' tliu iiiimrs on
William (Vet'k, I'ut >va-< uliji't'ti'il tn im tin- gnmiitl tliat it wtmlil iiutiiii[i<'li/.i;
t<M> lurgu Mi ui'uii. III., iluly 17, l8(iU.

rilOSl'K(TIX( ; KXPKI (ITIONS.

Ix'i^a i ill tlio (liroctioii of the old cliaiiiitl, wlildi was
striu k after a run of on(> ImiMircd and fortv feet, vidd-
iii^' a j»roHj»t'('t of t\v»'nty-tiv(! iloHa's, Inllowcd l»y i;"ood
returns. 'I'lic water soon coniix-llod a sus|)riisioii of
ojicrations, but tlicy were roncwed in .luiie 1.^7;!, with
a tliiitccn-iiu'li jtunn), and a new douliK' sliall was
>uiil<."' Xo important result followed, liowrvrr, and

till

in l.s7() the Meadows <lraina«j;e (|Ui'stn>n was s
suhjeet of an'itiition.''

In IH(>l)ther«^ had heen aeonsiderahlf iinpnivmient
ill the niiniuix interest; Harkei'villc as^uniid Micater
II' [)(»rtanee than it ha<l I'njoycd l>cfoi>' the fnc of
ISdH; |>ros|)oetini;' expeditions cann' |iroiiiiii(iit!y !»<'-
fnretho [»uhlic, and t|uart/.-niinint;' lici^an to he thought
of Anxwij^theelaiins still worked with sueccss in I ^7(1
Nwre th(»sc of the F()rest IvoHe and l>laek .lack eoiii-
paaies, which had eomnieneetl hydi'auhr iniiiiii^' in
the hill, at tlu' foot of tlu! ('anon, htloii'^iiiL; t » tho
same series of ijrravel dcjiosits tliat formed the ca^t sido
of till" ereek ahove it.and where the former eomitaiiN had

"''Tlif j;ovt'riiiiit'nt griiiiti'il tlu'iioi lr;i«f fur 'J| yfiiv, with tlif jMivilfgi' of
rxti'iiiliiiK it till- 10 years llicnMlttr. I'. S. rn„ii„'rri'/'U /.'./., |s7(), 'SM. Tlii>

li'^l^r WilH si^'lU'iloil tlu' |>ayill<'llt(>l' II ImllUrt III' Srj.'l at tile riilllliK'lli'i iiiciit, ami
S'jriO a.s rental annually tlieieatter; the ^niiiinl e\t>ii.liiij{ iVniii tin? Rillarat
elaiiii to Mi(si|iiit<> ( 'reek. !i (listaiiee ot 4 iiiih-s, iMU' mile or lens in \\ iilth. 'I'lio
iiiiii|iatiy a^ireeil tnhuilil a .saw-niill ainl a t<n-slanii>>|iuir!/.inill, eti . Virfuriii
W'riUii < 'itliiiinf, Ann. .'{, IS7(t. Kil),Mr heuilney ma^ie mui'Vinh fur the i-mn-
tiieiKetiient (if olxratiiiiiH. /(/., .Inly •_•(), I.s7t). 'I'lie eapital eiii|iliiyicl liy Knrta
aiicl l.ani' was a In in t ST'i.'XK). This was all the caiMi.il iii\e-.|iil hy Aniiiiiaii
riii/ens ill this |inivinee, e\ee|it a I'lrtaui tliietualiiiu aiiioiiiil li\ a l>i:tiieh ullii'O
el the liini 111 Weils, Kar;;ii, ami t 'c>nii>aiiy. hniil h.'k^ii'ni, I'liilid S/hOh
( iiiiinl 11/ i'iiiiiriii, in (iiDiiiiirriitl liil., |S7I,(»4I. I,.invevin, (ho Canuliaii
iMiiii.ster of imlilii! works, visiied the Meailows in Is7l. 'I'hi' uinuml, he
Ka\s, \ lelileil larm'ly lieiiire it w lus ahamhim il tiie lirst time. The ea|iilal of
the eoiniiany was noniiiially !^ri(H),(NN>. /,.in./» i-iriw A'.;)/. /'//'.. \\ nrku, |.S7-, 7.
Alter eighteen months of Work the Laiie ami Kurt/. <'oiii|i:imv siis|ien>leil
olirratiolis on aeeolint of the iiu'leaseil <|ll.llliil> ..I w.iler. ( 'ntii'in n-u'l A'./,
I^T'J, 4',t.'i; Cii rilHMi Si n/iiii I, No\ . 'J, 1^7'J. Alter a nOui t eoMHiiliuu ilny lie'jaii
|i>iiii|>mi; ik^aiii, .liiiie L>7, l^7i'>. wilh thirleeiiiiii h |iiiin|>~. .iml ilriiiieil the
wiirk-i ^'rikilualK . A new ilonMe slialt was sunk; .i iliteh .t m.h' in leii^lli
Vis eniistnieteil iiiiiler a eoiitraet I'V llolroy>l aiel ( 'oni|i in\ . mil i s.tw-inill
«as eiiiii|i|eteil, I'liii'iiiiSiiiliini. .1 line I'l , *J^, l><7!t.

'' A heil Idek lllime was e.iii iilend neeessary l« o ainl ;• loll miles in lellfjtll,
ami eoslinn .*s|."tO,(HKI. This sln.nhl start on ii ^ri.le Iroiii the I ills of VaJU-y
' rei k ami striki' the lieil roek ol William ereek at the ihpth ol 70 leet from
the Niirlaee, olieiiiin; to miners tlie most vai.iaMi' |iortli>li oi the eieeU lietWeiMl
llie Uallarat elaim ami the ('anon, emliiaeiii^ the town of Kirkerville. Uidi-iiih,
111 M'l,. ,l/„„w A'.|./., 1S7«, W'^.

504

MINING IN CARIBOO.

ill 1871 already obtained rich yields.**^ Tlic Black Jack
Company constructed a ditch a mile in length. Hy-
draulic minin<>^ was also proposed for the west side of
William Creek, where *^food prospects had heeu fountl
at Mink G ulch. The shallow diggings above the Canon
were still worked, and the bed-rock laid bare for mili\s
with moiv or less success. A costly yet profitable
bed-rock Hume occupied the ground nearest to the
Caiion. The representative settlement of this upper
section was liichfiekl, tlie only other collection of
houses along the creek, besides Barkerville, dignified
by the name of a town, and consisting of the court-
house or government building, a saw-mill, and a dozen
other buildings.

In 18G5 the government granted $2,500 for an ex-
pedition to jtros[)ect the Bear Iliver country, and to
the north-east of William Creek, but seven weeks'
search fiiiled to develop anything of value, and the con-
clusion was formed that further prospecting must be
directed to the north-west. Among the prospecting
movements, therefori', wliich in I8G7 were made from
AV'illiam Creek in search of new fields, several took
the direction ^A' William Kiver. On this route lay
Mosquito Creek, five miles below Barkerville, wiii* li
had been ])ros|>ected in l8();3-4, and had now six com-
])anies at work. Their receii)ts for the season were
^1,000 and upward, the Minnehaha and Kocking yield-
ing from twenty-five to fifty ounces per week. In
18G8, the !Minnehalia returned three hundred and
twenty-four ounces to one pick in a week.'* To the
north-west lay Sugar Creek, where the coarse, well-
washed gravel deposits lying on a iiard blue slate weie
found to vield fairlv. Four miles beyond this, L'r-
quhart and party nanu>d Mustang Creek, and took u|)
a discovery claim, which, in September 1807, yield* d

'*Tlie Fori'«t Host', in 1871, i>r(«liieeil in a week, iluriiif^ Lmgovin's visit,
203 ounces, iiiul in anotlitT wt^ek i!45 «mnc«m. Lamjivin'x lityt. I'nl>. Works
1S71, 7.

** //.irmn'H Lrrliirii, ISC.7. 21: VHorht Woili/ Coloiil>,f, Hv\>t. 3, 18(57. nn.l
March 31, 1608; CurUHM .>)iutiml, Aug. 11), Out. J4, lt>(i.'i.

THE BAL1> MOUNTAINS.

lit. 3, 18«7. !iii>l

iVoin eiglit to ten dollars a da}' to tho maii.^ The
nport hereof attracted more ininers, and fine gold was
found upon all the bars of Willow liiver, whieh ran
longitudinally through the rieh rocks of the Bald
^[ountain zone ; one company sank a shaft in search
of the deep gravels, hut after descending s«>nje fifty
foct, with alternate drifting along a pitching bed-rock,
the water compelled them to abandon the work. Good
prospects were found, however, and eftbrts M'cre made
to form a company with more funds, wherewith to
prosecute the search for the deep deposits ; but the
miners failed to respond."'

In the region east of the Bald Mountains were
several other less [)rominent creeks and gulches, as
^[cArthur, Steven, Begg, Whipsaw, and ]*ate, mined
ill 1875-7,'" besides considerable rivers which remained
undeveloped on account of their remote situation.
Ill the list miyfht be included the di!j:«j:in«'s on Clear-
water, and the upper north Thom[)S(»n, referred to
ill a preceding cha[)ter,'" and rediscovered by the
piuUers of Selwyn's liocky Mountain geological ex-
[tloring party."* The position of the latter region
upon the map indicates an area of still wholly un-

''*Vtiril)oo iSi'iitiiiil, Sept. .5, 18(>7. It was also c.ilictl Ik'iiviT CriM-k on ao-
ciiuiit of tiio iiiiiiit'rous ItoaviTs. The gravol-<leiio«its, at tiiiios only cijlit fot't
ilnji, anil lying njjon a hanl l)lno slatis reseniliU'd tluiso of Sugar lYoi-k, with
an altiindanue of water. Curilioo >Siiiliiict, <|Uote(l in Vkt.oriii Coloiiint, Sept.
•2:1, l>Sti7.

'^^ Ctirilioo Soidml, Oct. 7, 1S(17. SiiltHi'riptionH were niailo in iSOS to tho
rxtent of 5!«<>,(KK), where the matter renteil. i"ho iiitrntion was to sink shaftH
:iiiil tlien drift nntil the main deci* ehainid was found. Virlnrin Dniti/ ( 'dIihiM,
.I:mi. 7, KS(i8. The Hehenie was revived in IS"-, in the form of a iiro))osition
tnr a grant of mining gronnd, and in Au^iixt 1K7-, resolntions were iiasseil at
lltrkirville recommending the (iroject, with the eoiidilion that honds shoidd
l)>' ^;i\t'n hy the company for flu^ performancu of eertiiin work. Viiioria Col-
oiiid, Aug. 18, 1S7"-'.

'''-Neo taliular tttatoment of elaims, yield, and population, note .*)(), this
thai'tcr.

''Mentioned bydov. l*ongla.s, as rejmrteil liy the Indians in IS(!1, anil
liiratcd im his mining map. /iriti.-/i ('obniiliia l'ii}iir*, iv. .')4. The Oir pros.
l"i ting e.\j>edition in May 1^(>."» ascended from Kiindoop as far as tlie torks
111 lin' Clearwater, without linding anything «>f value. CkiU'ih) Si iitiii< I, Sipt.
;tO, I SI).-).

^'l>onald McFee, an old t'alifornian ami Carihoo miner att.n'hed to ,Sel-
«\ii's party, rept)rted '\t\^ iliggings' yielding eiKirse gold titty miles from
(K.irwater liiver, in the same range of mountains that striktr throtii{h llu^ i 'ari-
hou mines. C'ooiki/'h /{iivrt, .'iept. 'SM, in \'kti)ria J)aily Ctloiii"!, Oct. 8, 1871.

■1\

J If

irii

MINING IN CARIBOO

(Icvolopod iiiiiiinij^ comitiy in tlio Cariboo zone, twice
tho siz«' of tliat liitlirrto < upicd l»y tlio iniuors, not
to nicntiv)!! the region witliin the Koeky Mviuutains
[>roper.

Crossing to the western slopes of tlio Cariboo Bald
Mountains we Hnd the ]>rineii>al mining, district upon
the l^ightning and Swift lliver blanches of Cotton-
wood liiver, and the niost important camps on \ an
Winkle and Lowhee creeks, with a history parallel to
that of Antler and William cre<'ks. The valley nf
Ijightning Cieek was explort>d early in 180I by thni'
pn »spectors, Hill (\inningham, Jack Hume, and Jim
Bell, who first descended to Jack of Clnbs Creek,
and thi-nce struck southward over the fori'st-covered
mountains. The hai'dshijis encounteivd in descendinn-
the steep banks of the creek evoked fioni Cuimingham
the expn'ssion, "B«tys, this is lightning;" whereupmi
his companions jocosely accept«*d this as the name
of tlu' stream.'"' After a rough Journi-y tlu>y weif
obliged t<» fall back upon tlu'ir base of supplies at
Antler (^reek, without discovering the riches which
sh(»rtlv afterward placed Jji«>htnini'' ( *i'eek amoni»" the
famous localitii's of (.'aribdo.

In July I HOI Ned Campbell and his com]>anioiis
ojH'ned a rich chiim several hundred yards above tlie
site t»f till- town ot' \ an \\ inkle, known as the second
canon, from which tlu'V tool, out st vi;nteen bundled

ounces m tliree«lavs was|im<j

A «!reat rush followrd

.loh

•.vans. 111

.1//

.)//

|S7.\ 1(1.

lis Htiirv Kvaiis. tli

liiiiiiii)i siirv»'\ cir (it Linlitiiiiii; ( rfck, ilmilitlcss olitaiiu'il troiii tlic ivjilnnrs
♦ IiciiimIm's. T.iln'slii Kvaiis \aiii's IIk' acfiiiiiit l>> attriltiif inn "•'" r<Mi;iik tn
tlif iK'cui TiiH'i' lit iiiif lit till' ti II itic tliiiiiilirstiiriiH ('iiiiiiiiiiii at rtrl.iiii scasmn

ill tlit^ 4 '.'ii'iiMiii Miiiiiitaiiis

T. h'rn
.1.1

ill n,irt<iii,l Miiiilliln. Mairli |S';(», 'Jii'J.

-'' IJiill, till' assistant giilil iiiiiiiiii.>.siiiiiir, ic[iiiitiil tlial Nrd ('aiii]ilirir«
I'laiiu yii'Mfil !KH( (iimcrs iHu- ila\ . .">((0 miiicfs lui .iiiitlur, ami H(H) uiiiiriw nii
ii tiling .lay. Ih.Kjl.iH />< sjHifrl,,' {hi. -Jl, iMll. in /!. C /•((;«/•>■, iv. Cil. Tin'
ii|it'iiin^ nf ('aiii|iiii ll's claiiii o.wt .y_'.">.(MK>, Imt it yii'l.l.'.l .<|IK».(KK) in tin..'

itli

SS<tlf,

:u. Til.- .1

i-iotivii'v was nil (i

latt

lli't- (nlli-

iiaiiy'n jii.'iiii.l, I'livi'i-inn Ned < 'aiii|ili)'irs aii.l llic Wliittliall I'liiiii ailj.iiniiii;
liiiii". whi'li yi.l.li'il !*'jit<MHH» tnuftli.r. ' hrrl.iii'/ M«ii/U;i, .Manli ISTO, -.'li'.'.
It wa.s r.']iiirt.'il that N.'tl raiii|ilii II an. I liis Irit'iiiU tonk out two unit. 'is to
tlio |iiinl'nl, ami wartlii'.l nut .>I.IO() in a .lay, iilliiiwt IM mihiii uh tlicv i'mn-
int'iii'cil Iti wnrk. l/irjif/'s i'lirilnn), \'2'>.

LAST ( IIANl K AM) LKiHTNINO

)ue, twice
iners, nt»t
Ii)uutains

iboo Bald
trict 11] toll
(f (.'ott( ni-
ls on \ an
parallel to
valU'y I't'
I l>y tlirrc
, and Jim
il)S Crei'ls.

st-C-OVl'Vctl

K'HcondiiiL;'

mninijfliaiH

^vheroui>"ii

tlu' naiiir

tlu>v WClr

U|>|»li*'>i at

ics whirli

noipj; tlif

nnpanioii^^
abovi' tlic

in* second
huiidud

1 t'ollowi ll

ry Kvaiis. till'

till' iNJllol' I'-

tlu^ rciiiiiiU t'l
I'lrtaiii siMsiiiK
ivli 1S70. 'Jii'J.
Ill Caiinil" W'-"

:«H» ..\iii<i 1 "II

s, iv. til. 'I'll''

O.tMH) in tinv

SiM-iiri' Cni-

laini ;iili<>iiiiiii;

nh ISTO. •-Mi-J.

two llUlll'i ■- to

as tlifv I""'-

this discovery, particularly to Xiin WiiikU? Creek,
wliere 2,000 \'vet at the lower end yielded from }:<|00
to $250 a day to the man, through the st'ason. ITp
the creek the K-ad disappeared. The total product
of this stream in Octoher 1870 was }?jOO,1M;4 from
l,()00 feet of j^round runninj;' with the creek, and
varying from 200 to ;500 feet in width.

The diggings on Last Chance Cre«'k, another trib-
utary of Jjiglitning Creek, ntar Van Winkle, were
likewise opened in ISCtl. The ])is»-oveiy Company,
'oiisisting of four men, toidv out forty pounds of gold
in one ilay, and the yield that season, fiom half a
mile (»f the creek, was at least .^2r)0,000. 'I'he Chis-
JKilin, JJavis, and Amh-ison tributaries, lu'ar tin; same
place, yielded also (juite a (juantity of gold from their

shallow

])art.-

■cond season on l^iiihtninuf

Creek yielded com[>aratively little, for tin; giavel,
hting loose and porous, was diihcult to woik, though
the [say deposit was only from eight to thirty feet
1m 'low the surface.""*

From Eagle Creek t(» the Water Lily «-laim every
loot (»f ground was (»ccupied, and shafts were sunk in
many ))laces; but they all proved misu<-ci's,s|'ul owing
to the ineth<-ien«'y f.t'the draining machinery, and aftei-
tW(» more seasons of disasti't)Us trial, in the autumn of
IS()t they w«'re all abandonc<l. In I .S70, the Spi'uce,
then called the Davis, as well as the Hoss, Lightning,
\ all WinkK', \'ancou\«'i", and \'ict(»iia companies re-
>umed Work by sinking shafts into the «leep channel,
aii<l with the aid (»f improvrd ma< hlnei'v and methods

thf water was «'ontrol!ed. 'i'lie last thr

I'e com|»ani»

situati'd below the; town of \'an Winkle, effected their
ohji'ct by sinking through the bed-roek at the sltle of
thi' creek, and tluMice diifting into the channel. At
the same time a costly 'bed-rock «hain' was ojtened
at the lowe»' end of tlii' diggings. The «le\ elopnieiits
made undeig!'onnil at ilitferent times provetl the e\-

i>.

Mi,

'(iirMoii oil
tiiiirn's tjssii

,,, -M.

7; Jii/iii Kraiis, in Min. Miin'i /I'ljit., IsT.'i, 10.

I fi

' '\

5U8

MINING IN CARIBOO.

istciice of separate old ehanncls at different eleva-
tions, consequently of different aj^es.""

As a result of this successful en«,nneerin;4; feat fresh
localities were opened fcjr a distance of five miles along
the creek, and gold be^MU to flow an^ain to some
extent, tlie total yield of thirteen claims amounting
in Xovemher 1875 to $2,17i),272, of which the Vic-
toria produced ^«!451,G4-J, the Van Winkle $;3G3,983,
and the Vancouver $274,190.*' But this showing was
by no means so atitisfactory as it seemed, for it (embraced
only the successful companies, and did not point out the
expenses, which were vtsry larire, amounting in many
claims to from ^40,000 to" $7 01000.-"

Quite a iiund)er of fortunes were paid out, in fact,
on inefficient machinery, and in battling with excess-
ive difficulties of ground and water to reach the ricli
strata from which a few were drawing large returns,
while others were doomed to comparative disappoint-
ment. Both the expenditure and the yield served,
however, to resuscitate the district, and by 1875 tlic
diggings and towns on Lightning Creek, Van Wiidvli',
and Stanley liatl t;iken the first place in Cariboo for
production, pros[)erity, and population, while William

'■"Tlie Butcher and Discovery ciaiiiis were on a bench at a coiisiilenililL'
hei^lit above tlie present cliannel, ojipiwite the Sontli WalcH claim, workiiii,'
below it. Similarly tiiu Dunbar and Kl I )4>ra<lo deposits were on a iiigb beach
of the bed-rock opposite the I'erseverance and Koss claims, working the (lcc|»
oiiaunel.

""In nine months tiieVan Winkle, A'ictoria, and Vancouver mines almu'
yielded about iiJoOO.OOO, of which $*218,'2(!'2, came from the Van Winkle. 'J'liu
whole of William Creek during the same time produced only §«)8,(K)(), a third
of which was extracted at Conklin (Julch. The total amounts yielded liy
the thirteen leading claims fnun the renewal of mining operations to Novcin-
l>er 1, 1875, were api)roximately as follows: Dutch and Siegel mines, now tlic
I'rescverance claim, $13(),(HK); l)uid)ar, ^'K),(KK); Discovery and Butclui,
*1'20,(KM); Campbell and Whitehall, !«;l'(H»,0(K); South Wales, .^141,5:11; ].i,i,'lit-
ning, $l"):i,SM)-_'; I'oint, $i;<(),()2r); Spruce, %i!>!>,!M)8: CostcUo, l?-J<),47»i; VuKaii,
^")<>,t»5r>; Vancouver, .t274,lSH); Victoria, !5!4r)l,(;4l»; Van Winkle, .*:{ti;{.il.s:t;
total, ^2,l71»,'-'7*2. Miii. Mhivx HcjU., J87.'>, II. In 1871 the South Wales C.hm-
pany produced during the last three weeks of Aug. ;W8, Hl.'i, ami 250 nunn s
of gold resiM'ctively. htiii/rrhi's Hiftt. I'lih. Workx l)<]it., 1872, 7. Duiiiil;
1872 a number of claims ou Lightning Creek continued to yield handsoiiiil\.
/-*. Erkvtein, U. S. I'oiixul, in ('omiiwiriiil liiL, 1872, 4W5.

^'Onc third of tin; money would have been enough in most cases had tlji^
companies jiossessed machinery of suHicient capacity at the commenceiuint,
but they were mostly poor, coping with enormous ditficulties in their 8trugi;lu
fur existence. John Em nx, in Min. Minvti livjtt., 187<), 11.

LOWHEE t KEEK.

BOB

rent eleva-

y feut fresh
miles along
n to some
amounting
cli the Vic-
^ $:3G3,98:5,
howing was
it embraced
»oint out tlie
iig in many

out, in fact,
with exccHS-
ich the rich
irge returns,
.' disappoint-
•ield served,
by 1875 tiic
l''an Winkli',
Cariboo for
lile William

[it a coiLsiileni'ili'
H (^laiiii. wiirkiiin
(Ml ii liigli ln'iicli
|wiirkiiit; tilt ikt'l'

kiver iiiiiic's aluiic
[ill Winkle. T\iv

.*»)8,000, a tliinl
[units yieldcil liy
latioiis to Ncviiii-
^l mines, now thu

•y and lintilni,
J.*14l,r>:{l; Lii,'lit-
|.*20,47<i; Vuli-.iM,

■iiiklc, «!:«■':<.'>:';

luitli Wales Ckim-
p, and '-'50 tmiirn
isT'J, 7. I'liiiii^'
lield handsonitly.

|)8t cases had tlit^
1 eoniuieiieei-.iiiit,
I in their stni^'gli-'

Creek, witii its principal town of Barkerville, had falleu
into decay. The southern branch of Cottonwood Kiver
liad also a rich district on Lowhee Creek, one of its
lK;ad- waters, which at one time promised to rival Wil-
liam Creek. Among its first locators was Kichard
Willoughby, an Englishman, who from July to Si'p-
ti'inber I8(»l worked a (daim having a blue slate bed-
rock within four feet of the surface, and obtained as
much as 84 ounces in one day, the latter yield being
>i; 1,000 a week. The Jordan and Al)bott claims were at
about the same tinit; proilucing 80, DO, and 100 ounces
daily,"'" and Patterson with his brotlier took out ^10,-
000 in five weeks, one day yielding 73 ounces, puitly
ill nuggets up to ten ounces in weight. Notwith-
standing these and other good yields, the creek did not
attract the attention that might have been expected,
jiartly owing to the rich discoveries elsewhei'e, and
tlieir greater accessibility to travel. The develop-
ments of 180.') -4 excited a little more interest when
the Sag(!-Miller claim, for instance, yielded for a con-
siderable time at the rate of .'500 and 400 ounces a
day. After being workfjd profitably for nearly two
seasons, it still continue<I to yield 80 «»unces daily. "^

The de[)osits were evidently not of even value, for
ti:e mining })opulation, which was ne\X'r very large,
It 11 off ijfraduallv after this .season, and little t'flbrt was
madi^ to bring in water for sluicing pur]»oses. Tim
X'uughan-Sweeni'y ditch, carrying (Uie hundred and
• ighty inches from Stony ( rulch, partially supplied this
want in the autumn of I8(»r), but the following si'ason
(lid not prove sufficiently reinuii('rati\(\ and in 18(57
most of the claims were allowed to fall into the hands
of the (^himise, whose t-arnings could never In; asci'i-
taiimd.''^ (^ihon Creek, a sn)all tributary on the left

•'-' Patterson f-nnul 1!)5 ounces, the result of a day's work hy four men. //a:-
lilt's Cirilxw, 124 ■• Doiii/l'is' l),.-<v<ttch, Sept. 10, 18(11, in Ii. r. I'nyirs, iv. .">«.

" Mxrfii's V. I. ■,,!<//{. C., '24'X

'*Thi; Calaveras I'ompany in A'ljjust IStiT washeil out l(K) ouiifes in 4
il.iys. Another ohtained "m oiinees in a week. l'nril)imSiiil'ni<l, Sept. .'<, 1807.
'I'Ipiv whs in 1800 ii population of 50 white men and 'il (..'hiiie.su on the creek.
Atw Wvntmiiuiter Herald, July 24, 18(i0.

■I

rtlO

MININc; IN CAllIBOO.

bunk of tliL' Fraaer, midway between the mouth (tf
the Quesiiel and Fort Goor*;e, formed the extreme
north-western limit of the Cariboo region. Prosper
tors were probably acquainted with the creek at an
early date, but the first reports of tlio;gini,^s were made
in 18G5.'''' The following season Hixon's party of
five men ascended it for twenty-six miles to a small
tributary which was named after the leader. 01)tain-
ing good prospects, they fonncxl two companies and
brought in ditches to work ground which yielded
from forty to sixty-five cents to the pan.'^

In 1 807 the whites abandoned the main creek to
the Chinese, and occupied Fery Creek tributary,
when- the shallow diggings yielded from six to eight
dollars a day.^" Canon Cri'ek tributaries were still
occupied in I 875, and worked with the aid of ditches.'*'
Although the yield was unimportant, the .stream
excited some interest bv the indication it jxave of
strata formations diflerent from those of central Cari-
boo, as exemj)lified by false bed-rocks.'"' Of still
greati-r interest was the discovery by Hixon's |>arty,
in IH()('), of gold (piartz, which was soon found to

^■''Thc approiirli t<» the Cafton Creek appears to have been inailu liy \v;iy
of Willow IxiviT, a.t tlu' diggings when fi^^^t reporteil were (k'»erilied to l»e ' t<ri
mili'« from licavcr I'a.^M. Ten men were on the grounil in 18()i>. Canlxnt
.Vi ///(■/'(/, iiuotoil in Victoria W'nk-l;/ Colnnitl, .]u\y 4, ISti.").

^'' Finiling good ground, they at first worked the hanks <if Hixon (.'rerlv
while the water was hij;ii. Tiie riciiness of tlie plaeers discovered was siitli-
eii'iit to ena!)lo the owners of claims to pay wages of 5=10 a tlay. Tiie placii
mining operations licgan liy finding prospects of ^1 and .^l.'J.J to the pan. lu
a plact; '2'j feet hy 10 leet .^Tfi was taken out in one day. IlciiU. of Wtthlimi
mill llijon, in Virtnria CiAuniM, .Inly 'A, 'M, 1N()(5.

^' The main ereek was occupied hy l.'rtf Chinese. Ciirilioo Scntitirl a.\i>\ tlu^
Mrtori'i Colon is/, .lulv 2:}, ISOT.

^•'' Russian ( 'riM'i; does not appear upon the record till IST."). It is descrihc •!
as located nine miks nortii of fleaver I'ass. A prospect M'as olitaineil tluii'
in the autumn of IST-i which was deemed siitlicii'nlly good to justify lirinj,'iii:,'
in a ditcli, wliich was duly completeil ready for the hydraulic machiniiy.
(\iril)oo Si'ii/iiu'l, March '27, 1875.

'"On all of till' lower part of Hixon Creek, including the Blue Lcail «orii
pony's groiiml, and half a mile beyond to the Oo-aluNul ( 'ompany's grounil,
the ' bed-rock ' was a ' soft sautlstone,' supposed to have gravel under it. I •' ■
t.oria Coloiii.-it, July ;{|, I8(»(>. On Fery (..'reek there was al-o a 'false 1" ■!•
rock," deserih""' as a kiml of lava. The miners never penetrated thi-oni;li
these .setlinientary strata, but contented themselves with cleaning up tli''
' seraggly ' gold of local origin which the creeks had eoneuntrated upon tlicir
surfaces. /</., .luly '.'3, 18G7.

THK SHOUl' sKASOXs.

511

't'litiml inul till

ixttiiul Oil all .sides, some of it in u[>[>jiifutly wt-ll
dcfinoil k'tli(i'8 so as to justify a systematic devclop-
iiicnt thoroot'.*^

Among tlu! elements wliicli <jfovernod mining events
ill the Cariboo region wer<' the eonijtarative inaecessi-
l)ility of the diggings, and tlie sliortiii-ss of the (jpeii
season, alternating' with tiie 'close season,' the severe
winter; but it has l)een seen that wherever a suflicient
diiiinage could, be provided by bed-rock drains, or by
means of sutticieiitl} pow«'rful itum})ing machinery,
the conditions of the countiy permitted und' iground
work, and to this tlie severity of the climate proved
no obstacle. So rich were the concentrations on the
bed-rock of the old channels, that drifting for them
was indeed ])rofitablo to a degree j)robably never
(■(jualled in any other gold-mining country. They lay
in heaps at the angles, and in crevices and pockets, on
thi' bed-nuk t»f the burie<l streams; but in tlie smaller
sti'i'ams particuhirly the leads were subjeet to abru[)t
changes in level and direction that batHed th«' most
fxperienced. This inequality of distribution, caused
partly by glaciers and slides, was in many easts more
apparent than real/' however, tlie ditKculty >alling
simplv for svstematic wt)rkini'- and a sufficient expeii-

• liture of money. A layer of day e\ cry where cover-
ing the ileep cliamiels protected the subHuvial drifts
along the old beds, fmm what would otherwise have
amounted to an extraordinary and ruinous iiiHux of

*"Iii IStiCi al)out JS.VH) wr.rtli of coarse CafKiii Cnik ;.'olil, wliicli had 1)C'0U
litilo suliji'ctcil to the action (It Mater, was exhihiti'l at the liitiik of Uritish

• 'liiiiiliia 111 N'ietorii. It was r.litaiiieil from a streak three feet l)eh)W tliu
Milt, ii-e ami Mas iiiixcil M'ith fia.:iiieiits of (|uartz. Virlorii. ('')liiii'<f. M.iy 'Jll,

\^M. 'i'lie ijiLirt/ hdges for M'liieh tlie ereek afterM'anls heeame noted Meru
ii>ro\ereil hy llixoii's Jiarty tliree miles !•• lnw their diju'iie^s. Itiymi. nj' //i.roit
tii./ii,/,/,' S}iii!'/hfj, in Vii-t„r'iii W'lii/i/ Col'iiiist, .\\\\y 'A, ISimJ.

"If tli(! streams had run in exactly tliu same chatmels as they did Mheii
till' ;;cilcl came doMll. the matter M-ould have heen sinqile eiioin.'h, lint >:reafc
iliaiiiics had taken place since then. The chanires hero refi'rred to Meru duo
lnrtly to the slides M'hicli had chaiiued the jiosition of the stri'aiiidiciis, hut
tiny Were nioru conimonly, jierhajis, the result of ;;laciers occiipying tlio
canons after tlio old eonecntrations had heun deposited. Mi'in/i (iitil ( '/iciulle'a
A art/nn'<f I'asait'je l»j Lund, 30b.

512

MlNn:»;. iS CARIBOO.

wator, and reiulereu umlergrouiid placc'r-ininin^ alto-
«^i'thor inii>ractic'al)le. On William Creek, and nearly
everywhere in Carilxm, the pay sstrata consisted of bliu
clay, with various admixtures.*^

In connection with the difficulties mentioned eauu-
this, that the rich deposits were, as a rule, from twelve
to one hundred feet beneath the surface, under the
he<l8 or banks of streams, fre<[uentlv rumiint^ throuj^'li
swami)s and lakes, and on the beds of former lakes.
Su<*h a state of thiny^s could not fail to render the field
unattractive to individual adventurers, sinee pnispeet-
injif witliout abundant resources became unprofitable.'"

These «^ravel-tleposits on the hills jijave rise to the
reiterated hopes of developments like those of the oltl
river hill-unravels of California, but they often proved
vain," because the altitude of the j^ravel-layers was not
thesame. Insome instances, as on William ( Veek, there
were two distinct leads with different (jualities of gold,

''On sinking a Hhaft thrnugh tliu ulluvial ilcpoHitx nf the strcain-lteilM nf
Carniiio, tli(! iiiiiuT eonicM to a clay Htrutuiu wliicli in soiiietiiueH ait iiiucli
as 3 fuot in tlii>'kiu-H8. 'Tliis Htratiiin of clay was a ^'reat heiictit to tlm
iiiiiiurs, liciiij^ a prott'ctioii a^aiiiHt water.' Uinlcr tlio clay Wiw tlio older allu-
vial (U'poHit varying froiu 'J inchen to 18 feet in tliickneuH, in which lay the
gold, /■'ifi/'s (I'olil Si'iiri'/ii'x, MS . 2, 3. The pay dirt on William Creek wa.s
generally from H to .') feet in thicki<OHH, and was worked out in low galleries.
MHloii mill Clii'iuHvH Xorf/iiifxl PiMMirir hif Luinl, 37H. In the Steele claim ou
WilHim I'reek it Wiuj feei thick, and cuiHisted of a Idiie clay mixed with dc-
com]ioHed slate and gravel. /)oii<il<in, in Riiirliiii/M^ I'lm/nli'm/ioii, 118. The gold
in ('aril)oo wau found ' in the bluiHli clay wiiich is on and in tlie Hlaty liottom
8ouietimcM as far (is a foot deep; streaks of yellowish clay are also fimnd, whieli
are sometimes very rich.' /{roii'ii'.t Kmmiuj, 'J'J. On William ('reek it w:i.s
'scattered through hard blue clay in pieces weigliiug from 50 cents to!*.').'
It cost ahout §4,000 in 18(i"i to sink a shaft to thuLed-roek, less than 100 feet.
i'unrtiieijn Min. It. ('., MS., (i.

'''Much faith was entertained amcmg the miners in the richness nf the deep

?;round on Willow Jliver, .lack of C'lulis, .\ntler, Cnnningiiam, and otln r
avorahly situated creeks; and claims that were well openeil in many instanos
paid steadily as nuieh as $000 a day to the man. The Niison ( 'ompany, on
the other hand, expeiuled $:M),000 to teat tiie <le'-.p ground on Antler Creek
up to 1875 without suicoss. Ju/in lioirroii, in J/.'/y. Miiwn Jlrpl., 1875, 1'2.

**The great problem of tinding gold in tlio hills was solved this ytar.
wrote 'li. I).,' Biirkerville cor., Oct. '2'M, in Virlorin WirUi) Cdloninf, Nov. 7,
18G5. Another writer more definitely expressed his Wlief that hill-ilig;:nigs
wouhl he found along a supposed ancient "itrtjum running from the H.dd
Moimtains across the head ot McCallum (iuleh thi'itigh the hill on the isi^t
side of William Creek, thence to the middle or upper portion of Coidiliii
(inlcii, Iieliind the line of tiie United and Aurora claims, and <»n to the Fnn.-it
Hose and I'rairie Flower claims at the Meadows, formerly a lake, or one of a
scries of largo lakes. IlanicU'ii Lvctuns, lU, 17.

PRODUtT.

ni3

ling alt<t-

,cd of bluc

nuitl cam*'
mi twi'lvi'
uikUt till-
r tliroui^li
nor laki's,
;r the fiulil
> prosncM't-
irofitablc/''
riso to tli«'
of the «»1<1
ton provi'd
3rs was not
I reek, there
ios of gold,

8trcain-1 Kills cif

itiiiU!H iiH imicli

l)eiu'tit to tlii^

tlioohleriillu-

which lay tin;

iaiu Cnrk m;i.s

I low galleries.

lst«Hlc claim on

Imixuil with ili-

118. Thej^ol.l

n! slaty liottoiii

lo fouiiil, wiiieli

Ofck it was

cunts to !*•"). '

than 100 flit.

less of the ilicp

litii, ami otlit-r

liiaiiy instances

li ('onii)an.v, on

|i Antler t'reek

1875, 1'-'.

fvil this yi'ii;-

^>lolli'<t, Nov. 1,

It hill->ligj;ii>H^

Ironi the HiM

liill on the ea>t

lin of L'oiikliii

|i t<»the Forest

He, or one uf a

Itelow the level of tho present stream,** and it was
observed in most mining operations upon tho gohl-
Itearing creeks of Cariboo that the paying ground
was usually limited to an area of a mile and a
half to two miles along the centre of their course,
or within that area, at least tho principal mining was
(lone, urdike that of the gold-bearing streams of Cali-
fornia, which paid throughout from source to mouth.*"
The rocks of the Bald Mountains, consisting of
inetamorphic clay slate traversed by broad bands
impregnated with auriferous quartz, were indeed only
a s{ini[)le of numerous other zones in the slaty gold-
hearing rocks of tho northern j)lateau, to be brought
into prominence as soon as the progress of devolop-
iiitnts would permit*^ — dovclopmonts which during the
two decades commencing with the discovery of gold in
Jhitish Columbia were retarded chiefly by the great
cost of supplies and transportation.

Among those who went to Cariboo in 18G1, oiu;
tliini, according to Macfio's estimate, made iinh^peii-
(kiit fortunes, another third netted several hundred
jMHiiids sterling, and the remaining third returnetl
from the mines wholly unsuccessful.** A.11 who were

*''Tho one coiitair.^d jjolil alloyed with a gon<l deal r' silver, tho other gohl
of a Inyher color v.ul much purer — iKith hattered ai d worn to such a degree
as to imiily transportation for some distauce. The gold of Lowhoo Creek
was less worn than that of William t'reek; that of Lightning Creek was more
HO, and found in smaller particles. Milton ami ChauHrH Noiihiifnt Panaiuie. hy
l.iiwl, ;{(i7-8. A talih; of assay.s of gold from difl'erent jKirtions of Card)on,
iiiaile Ity Agrell at Portland, Oregon, in 18(51, showed the average to he $\ti
to tlie ounce, Hazlitt's ( '(iriltoo, IIW. The gold from the several creeks of Cari-
Ixio differed, however, lioth in appearance and value. On William Creek it
wassin(K>th, water^worn, and largely alloyed with silver. On Lowhee Creek,
live miles distant, the golden particles had a more crystalline structure, were
exceedingly pure, ami worth §"- an ounce more than on William Creek. Lieut.
I'litiinr, in /.oiiil. Oiioij. Sor., Jour., xxxiv. 101.

*''Thi9 'singidar and rcliahle fact' wa.s attrihuted to glacial action by the
im'al ol)ser%'ers, some of whom supposed that the old deep channels were
eriHlcd hy the action of ice. There Wiis no regidar stratitication v( the gravel
as in California. Tho clay of tho liuttoni varied from light blue to very dark.
AUaii'H ('itrilmo, MS., }).

*' Murchison, ForlKJS, Hector, Bauernian, Selwyn, and I>awsou have writ-
tiii more or less about tho position of these rocks in connection with their
gc'lil In'aring character.

' M.i.-ji,"H V. I. and B. C, 74-5.
Hist. Bbjt. Col. Si

i M

514

MININf} IN CARIBOO.

interrogated by Governor Douglas in October 18()1,
ill regard to tlie amouiit of their earnings, mentioned
^2,000 as the lowest, while many had made $10,00()
in the course of the suinnier. Rose and McDonald,
the first discoverers, both declared that in their opinion
the new diggings were at least as rich, and probably
ri(rher, than those of California or Australia; and
Major Downle, of Downieville, California, went so
far as to say that there was nothing in California to
be compared to William Creek; while Lieutenant
Palmer (quoted experienced Califoniian and Australiiui
miners to the effect that on William Cretk more i;(tld
had been extracted from an area of three miles than
from a corresponding space In any other country/"

General statistics show that in twenty years a totid
product «»f between $^0,000,000 and $40,000,000 was
obtiilned from half a dozen principal creeks witliiii
a region of rotten shale less than fifty miles squarr;
and the average po]>ulatlon for the same [Uirlod was
probably about 1,500."

** Linitcnniif Pnlnin; in fMul. Ofotj. Soc., Jour., xxxiv. 190; Dowjliui' I'ri-
nttr I'lijHin, MS,, i, 14(1. •Iiulgo llcjjliio, writing from QiuiHiu'l fork.H muli i
iliito <>t S)'|it. 2"), I8GI, Hiiiil, ill rcgnnl to tlio qiiantitv of golil-diiMt in tli>'
IijiikIs of till- iiiiiuTM: * I Imvc no <loul>t tliiit tliuri^ ix littn; Hlmrt of a ton l\ i'li;
lit till! ilitlcrcnt crcrkx. 1 lit'iir tluit A1il>ott'H anil Stcclt^'s <'lainm (Williain
(.'rt'fk) ari' workin){ ln'ttcr than ever tU)to4()iiouiiilHa>lay «!ai;li. Tlicy rt'cknii
rit.'li I'laiinH ax oftrn liy poumlH r\H ouni'cH now; it nuiHt lie a {HNir claim tliit
in nicaHui-fil liy "lollarM. . .Tlit! gold in a inTfcct nuiNaneis on they liavn to carry
it to their claims every morning, and wateli it while tlicy work, and carry ii
iMick again — HomctimcH an mnch oh two men can lift — to their calmiH at ni^'lit,
anil watch it whilo th'y hIccji. ' //. (', Pujh r.t, iv, (50. Tho ilctailed Mtatciiients
of rich yiehls from individual clainm, which have heen i|notcd in the jireseiit
chaMter, eimld lio multiiiiiei' indetinitdy, and in moMt iiiNtances vcrilinl
iM'yond i|iieNtion. .lulew Pery iinc of iho miners, iiil'ormed tlie writer that in
thu month i>t .St'ptendter or Octuher IHiU )■(• saw taken out of one claim |IU
llw. of gold, the rcHult of tweidy lumrM' work. Fi ry'n Hold Sun-flu m, MS., •_'.

''•The )io[>ulation of Carihoo in .luly IH(iI waH CHtiniated liydovernor hniiL'-
Ion

J HIT |i<ijiiiiiii Hill iM \ <ii iiMiii 111 *i Illy I <^i I Wtin t'nLiiiiai.i'ii ii v i ■!>« t'l ik'i i 'om^.

an at l,.')00. liriiish I'ohiinliin /'njur/i, iv. ,">■'{. 'I'hat wan the tiguro acceiitiil
>\ the /jiiiiilttii 7V//11.4' I iirres|iiinili'nt witii independent Hourcim of inforniiitinii,
Jt wax at ienHt iloiilileil and prohalily iiu.idrupled during the next few yiar'i,
U. S. C'ouHul FranceM in |.S(»'J estimated tiin total numlierH in the country, '»■
eluding CarilxM., at l.">.(»00, whde .Mr KerygneHHcd at 'JO,(K»0, both exaggi nti •!
Iigurt>a. In INO.'i, 1 find Wwii'dhniMl givcH tiio total of Carilioo inincrHat I, .'IS.',
of which l,(MH> were on William (n'l'k, ti.S on l.ouliee, (10 on HuruH, 15 on ( 'mi'
ningham, 'M) on Antler and SteVeiiM, KM) on Lightning, and I'.l) mom on otii' r
creeks, i'irhirin H'ri /(•/// fo/d;//'*/, Oct. HI, 1805. The records of tlio niitiiMti 1
of niiniiH nhoweil tiie total population of ('arilmo, inelinling children, fenwil' -,
iuid t'luucHo, tolmvo hccii, in 1875, l,;«)5, in ISTti, l.'-t)*-', and in 1877, I,:''".

COST OF HUPl'UES.

SIS

tober 18 01,
, incntioiuMl
ule $10,000
MrDouald,
heir opinion
id probaUly
itraliti; and
ia, went so
]!alif()rnia to
Lieutenant
I Austral! Jill
k more <;ol(l
! miles tluiii
ountrj'.*''
years a totul
000,000 was
veks witljin
liles squan-;
L' period wius

00; /)oi/<//.w' I'ri-
Hiii'l forks niiilrr

^Illll-lluMt ill till'

rt of a toil lyiiiK
(■lniiim (Willi.iiii
Tlicy rcckmi
HKir claim tli;>l
iry liav»! to carry
lik, ami carry it
rcaimmat iii),'l>t.
ailcil HtatciiH'iits
il ill tlio ]ir<sciit
Hlaiiccs viritiiil
11! writer tliat in
>f r)iii! claim KM
Sitiri'liis, MS., 'J.
liovcriior Kiiiii:-
!• ligiiro ai'cijitcil
I'M otiiiformatiiiii.
next few years.
, till! ooiiiitry, in-
liotll exaggirateil
I miiuTKat l,;W'>,
iiiriiM, ir>oiH'tiii-
H) mori! oil otlii r
i of tlio iiiiiii'<ler
liililrcii, fcnmlrs,

.1 ill 1877, l,:i''i-

i:ll

i IM

■til

>■

After 18C.1 the facilities for transportation were
MTeatly improved. In the winter of 1801-2 freijjfht
l)y dojjj-sleds between Alexandria and Antler alone
was 30 eents a pound, and flour sold at Quesnol forks
tor $72 a barrel, beans 45 eents, and bacon 08 cents,
a [)ound. On the completion of the branch wajjfon-
roiid in 1805, frcij^ht from Yale to William Creek was
ivduced to 7 and 12 cents a pound, according to the

Tlio winter pniinlatinn in 18C4-5 wiia lictwcen 400 and 500 on William, ami
iiiiiii .'{() to 40 on I^iowlicu Cruok. A/., .Ian. 10, ISOn. Alumt 1,000 perHonM
wiiitereil in ami alxmt t'arilifMi in 18(50-7. Miiiiiiij ami .SV;V';////r> /'/v^ai, ,I,»ii.
I'J, ISO". Tlio >,'ol<l jimiluut of Caril)oo in I8»il wius OHtiinatc'd hy tlm I'irtorin
hnili/ /'riM at J'J.O^W.OOO, ami hy the LoiuIoh 7V/h(.v) corrcHiiomlcnt at ^J,'-"*.)!,-
Hl'.l. The latter figure wax olitainod liy CHtiinatincf that then! More 4(K> claim
uwiicrs who cleared ijMiOO.OOO; 7'.> niincrH who c!a*;;mI .«i!tL>0,(WO; and ^O-.M
lalmrerH at if7 a day, M'hooo share wax ;J7(i4,72{); t>;.il, ^2,'J0I,40D. In I.S7I,
Laii^cvin, the Caiiadiari mininter of {mitliu workft, ]ilaccd the total yieM of
«aril"M>at?l.047,'J4.'». .{ijif. Piih. IVorh, IHI'2 '. After 1875 the HUti.ttieal
ir|iiirt.i imliliNhed liy the. iiiiniHter of milieu fiirniHluid anthcntie lij;iireH which
showed a eon«ideralilii rtMliiction; for 187.">, I*7<i0,'i48, tif which ?.')(K>,000 canii!
triiiii Lightning Creek; for I87(», S44H,84!<, .showing a falling oti', ehiclly in
l.i;;lit,iiiiig Creek; and for 1877, ^404,77-. The fnllnwing Htinimary is eom-
|iihd fniiii the tJihular Hheetfi'acconipanyiug the reports of 187.'>-7, giv ing the
Itrodiiet of uooli crouk:

MTNKS IN IIIK (AUIlKdi KISTUK T.

CRKBKN.

Mt'titnlnR.
Iliinis

.Scl.MIIl.

IW.

1««.

W77.

a is

'■> I a I if I 2
'.i 3 if {2 I •£

- — 4,

3 if

y » «

HI
i«

Ciittoiiwrxxl B

swittK . In

William Xi

iMiikllii (iiileli. . . I 5

St.. Ill, (iiiii'ii. 18

<tr..ii^<M'reek I (

Viiriiii|.< CreeliK- .is 1

l.'.\vlii'i<, .lack ol > !ul)H, I '

M..M|iillo. McArth.ir, ,'

Antler J '20

.V. iiiid S. Korks (jiiCHnvl
Ki'illilfyCreek
Harvey, SnoWklloc, etc

Totall

i«m

192 117

11 24

»Ms,r.27 mi
to,oyO| .'i

nooo' It

3,!t00

«8,7tU) r,
■ii.jmi 1

4,'JOO ■!
•1,111 l>

afi,400 I

(aj
40,040

in.itia

, -HW 172 iflSViaOt.

f (I')

188 iX^

j«76A,aU|

2'24,071| ym-iv.

(■1)

i»c^W,0t7

82,4fi0

,lN4a.837

(oj

.18?

Ki i:

ify,;**!

20,W0
.♦4W,77i

'a) Inrlinllnn bIko (liinnlnBltani, Ht(nen», IIcrkh, and Whlji Saw rreeki..
I'i llH'liuliii({ CiiiillerM, llniKi.n, IJoeliiiiii, l>n\ Is, I'elers ( iifnui, iniil IichiIwim
rrci'ks,

' ■) In. Iiidlim I'Hte Creek.

(il) I'li'liiilinu rerkiiiN (iiiluh, l.«iil(.'lianee, AiulvrMiii, Chinliulm, l>n\ i>, ( luilter,
Mill Cftnou crcoku.

ilUIIOIX"'*'

i H

urn

MINlNf} IN CARIBOO

sc^ason, and prices in Caril»o<> becanio lionccforth not
only more moderate, but were better regulated, wliilf
capital and labor stoml comparatively secure.^' Ot
the nien wh<» explored, mined, traded, and lived in
the Cariboo region during the period described, twci
thirds were British subjects, accorditig to ]3ouglas'
estinmtcs for 1863-0, but the rest were as cosmopolitan
in mixture as the early inHux to California.''"

Fortunes and misfortunes commingled made these
people generous and hospitable in a high degree,
always ready to share with an impecunious friend (»r
stranger, while as a mass they wen* probably tlu
reckless and ungodly creatures that the Reverend
Mr Brown depicts them. '"^ The (»ld and well-known
classic and thne-honortHl traits of tin- animal man
came to the surface once more, developing characters
that fitted into the remote and isolated forest and lake
country of the far northern cordilleras. "I know ef
no place in the world," says a witness, "where more wit
is recpiired, or where a larger amount of small cunning;
is the shicqna wm for getting on in life, than in Cari-
boo." Without 8500 to buy into a good claim, ami
without the necessary judgment to buy shn'wdly, a
man had a hard battle to avoid ruin."'^ Winter life
had its noteworthy features. During tlu' first few

''III NdVfiiilxr IS(»4 wa^jcM at Tiirkcrvilli' wito ?I0 a day; llmir wan W'l
cuiitH a iiiHiiul, l)ai'i»ii .W I'l'iitM, |Hitatiii'H 'JO »'c<nts, Murjir'n I'. /. nml It. I'..
-.VJ. 'riiONo jirici'H wtTO rarely aitproat'lu'il after thoo imph'tioiiof tlm wajioii-
riiail. Ill tli« Hpriiif; of |St>r> tlio iiitrtHluctidii of tlio ikw Irri^lit tarid lixikiii:;
ti> till' <'iiniiilt'tii>u (if the wajjim-mail wan made tlio ni't-iuiioii for a * conuT ' in
lloiir, c'i^arH, Hii^'ar, cliaiiiiiagnc, I'to., every piireliiMaltlu nrtiele of wliiili wm
liou^lit ill from the Hiiiall dealerH. The MuiImoii'm Riy ('omp.iny in tlir
liirxoii of Mr riiilayHoii mad<* arrangemeiitH in lHr>7 for o|ieiiiiig Htorcs at
<,Mii'Hm'lnioutli ami liitrkervillo, Xfin WiMtininKhr K.i<iiniiin\ .luiio 5, IStiT;
J/dzlitt's CiinlnHt, 11").

■" l'rli'':ti' /':!)» r.i, MS., i. I.Vi. The following lint of HhareholderM of tlui
KricMHoii ('oiii]iaiiy, on \\ illiain (.'reek, though not altogether an iiiilex of jin-

;i: a: tit :o ^ a.^ ..i ai ..:.. i ;..;.. ..f aI .

■*■"""'• •••r'-'v » • •' " •••••••i. »^.^».», uii.'..^i> ...-w <->v.'^. v« ■ ...» ^

prevailing nationality, will s./ve to hIiow tite varied origin of tliocomiininit) :
.John NeUon, fori'inaii, Norway; .lohii Taggart, Ireland; Ale.x. Krii'MMoii,
Sweden; I'eter I'lrifMnon, Sweden; Alex. .MiKeii/ie, Si'otlaiid; K[ilirHiin Harper,
4'anaila; K. H. Milt, Canada; Ihtvid <irier, Wali'N; Kvan l>aviN, WahiN; ili'lin
I'erriii, CnitetlStikteH; Samuel ThompNon, Norway; I'eter I'eterHon, heiimark;
\V. .J Miller, Unitud Sfaitosj CliarluH Taft, United SUteu; M. Smith, Uiiilcil
^" .teH.

"* Fifth /ffjx. rot. MiMM., I8ft3, «: Courtw/M Min., B. (., MS., II.

''* I'iioIi'm (Jiiiiii (Viiirlotfr Ixlmnl, London, !.S7t», ilH. The u)ii« and ihiwim

StttteH

MININCi LAWS.

617

ctbrth not
,tod, whil«'
!urc." ()t
(I lived in
•ribc<l, two
) Doufjjlas'
sniopolitan

iiadc those
jjh dej^rof,
s t'rieud or
i)l)al)ly tilt
! Revorond
well-known
luimal man
rharm-tors

Ljst and laki'
"I know of
•ri^ more wit
tall eunninii
lan in Ciir\-
elaim, and
shrewdly, a
Winter lite
Hrst t»xv

liv; (\tiur w.iM ;W
I'l . /. itii'l /'• ''•-
Liiiof tlx! wap.ii-

n.ir a 'iMirmr' m
Vlf «'f wl"''!' ^*''-''
•,>iiiii.iny '" *'"'
tjii'iiiiin Htori'n at
[,•, Juno r», t^'t'T;

lin hoMcFH of tlio

Ir MX iii'lf' "f ''"'
If tliocoiiiiiumi'y:

1 Ali'X. Kri<-!*^|'"<.
JKi>l»riiitnll.irii.r,

JviH. WhIoh; .l.'tm

|t.rwm, l>»;iiiniirk:

\\. Hiiiitli, t'liitu'l

I MS.. 11.

ii)m Will •I"*'"'

years of mining, in 18(>1 and 18G2, under»jfround
working had not yet l)egun, and as it was too eold to
work in the mountain <'reeks, many of tiie miners wlio
retainetl tlu'ir oal)ins on tiio Fraser retired tliitlu'r to
work the bars during the low water of winter, while
others who had money made it a rule to spend the
reason in Victoria or San Franeiset>, often in reckless
debauchery.'^''

Falling into the custom of the country, originally
from necessity, the mining laws provided for tbe
'laying over' t)f all claims during the inclement soason,
under which arrangement miners were permitted to
absent themselves without losing their title. Although
work underground st»on became a common winti'r
occupation,'* yet one third or om; half of the popu-
lation continued to leave for the wintir; friMgbting

T life, tlic glnrioH of huccohh, ami tliu (Kiwcr uiiil iiulitiiiuiiiiahility i>f }{ol(l aru
;iptly (lepiutuil in tin following wriif.

1 kciit a Imtly make n )>trlko~

III! looktMl a null' liinl'
An' liHil H clan o' followtTH

AiiianR a iivody Iwinlo.
Wlinnc er lii>'(l t-ntvr a »Hlonii

Vou'J Hi'o the liMrkt'c)) smile—
IIIn lt)ril!ihl|t'H liiiiiililu MTviiiii. i)c

Wltlumlathot'tiiu' Kiiilv!

A twal' nioiitliN pant an' a' In uano,

KhUI) frcvnilH an' lininilv Ixittlo;
An' noo the ituir hoiil'H loit hIhiio

Wi' UDcht to wucl hU tliruttio!

.Intmrii' LfUfr (o Sttwnic in t\fi . ,TnimA Amhrsnu, William (Voek, 1H(»8.

" A Ciiriltnonian, h.iviiiK iniuli; ^U),()OU or ^O.IMK) in tin- hciimoii of ISO'J,
uriit to Victoria to enjoy liiiuMelt'. At u HiiliHin hit treateil all \\v rniitil \'nil tu
all llio eltanipa((iie liu coulil make tlittni drink. The >'haiii|iat;ne iulil nut luiig'
I'Ht, all of tliu eoMiiiany gathered from witliin ami from without liein;; unahle
tcii'oiiHiimu thulMirKee|>er'HHto>'k, Our man then ordcri'il e\<i'y ^:\aah remaining
III the eHtalilixhment to Ih! tilleil, and with ono grand HUeep nt liin imiic Heiit
tliiiiii Miiiniiing oB thooounti'r. Still the chamiiaf^'ne held out. To win hix vie-
tory iiver the lawt hamiHT he jumiied n)iiiii it, iiittiii^ hi.-> xhiti.s. ILiviiii; xtill
a handful of gold {lieeeH with hiiii, Ih' walkicl up to a lar^e ii.irror Nvnith ncxeral
hundred dollam adorning one end of tlut room, and to |irove that ^oM wanHov-
eri'iun of all tliingM, hu ilaHhed a Mhower oi his heavy pieeeH into the faee of
Ills own imiige, HJiivering it to fragmentH. The next year he was workiiiu an

a laliorer. Milton nml ( imulli , .\'iiitliir,.st /'il.tmhif lilj /.ilii'l, .'I7l>. Thrre olher.-i

with 'an enormouM Ing^apMif gold 'reieivid on their arrival at San Frammeo,
III |N(iH, Hpeeial notiee troni the lu'WMpaperM. They were Kraser Kivir miiierH
I'l \bM, From Hill liar tliev had gone to William Creek to wurk iiu.siiiieKt.
tiilly for Ruventeeii moiitliM; tiut linally they took out .<■.'.■>(»,( KM) in two moiitliM,
aiiil their elaim wiu« Htill g<Nid for ^KNIitday to thohhare. ,s'. /'. Hiilli fin, Ht>\it,
'.'. lS(i;i; F'ni'Hdold Sntirlim, MS., .'{.

''Thu following eompanieH on William Creek worked tlirou^hont the
VTiuleruf liMiU-7, with giHMl HUceeNM; tliu Caleilouiil, Lttt Chaiue, I aiiieroli.

MININd IN CARIBOO.

'\ i:

ceased; the mails were periodically interrupted by
snows, and even the newspaper hibernated till sprin<^. '

The remainder set about to make themselves com-
fortable tor the season, and their snugly thatchul
and mud-plastered loj^-cabins, with large cheerful tir<-
places, aided to impart to winter life in Cariboo a social
and hospitable cast, not equally developed in more
southern latitudes."'^ With sociability came a peaceful
intercourse which became nioreand more manifest by
the gradual disuse of carrying weapons, which hud
been the custom, on the road at least, in early days."'"

Gambling followed as usual in the wake of tl.t-
diggers, and piles of gold might be seen changiiii,'
hands over green tables tt> the strain of merry music,
particularly at such jilaccs as Antler and William
creeks. A check was early placed on this vice, but it
continued, nevertheless, to Hourish in private.**

Priiic)^ iif Walt'H, Kangmni, Wiilo Wi!,>it, lluuriettii, and Fiirwanl, Well Mary
Ann, Hi'oUM!, Ihitcli Kill, IV!uli% Stviuliiiitii, mid Six-Utvil I'vtu. Tlio ForcKt
I^iHtt w.'iH workuil ihiriiig tlio >rruiiter piirt of tliu winter witli u rocker, ami
<l('t'lure«l a iliviileml, after paying tlio wageH of 11 men, of ^140 to tho Hharc
i'nrilHHi Srntiiiii, May (i, IS(i7.

'' yV»,'.S'<///i/«7aniioiiiiet'<l Oet. '28, lS(i7, that the mining Heauon wan alioiit
tn eloHU, although a few coiimanii!M were still at work iiiiaer tho ilrawliarks
(if frosty weather, and that tliu puhlieatiuu of tho paper would auuurdiiigly
1m- HUHiiended until Hpring.

•* Many were the ' yariiH ' evoked l>y the wild xurroundingH and the daiic-
ing ttaineH. On a lonely mountain trail near IWkerville, in I8(>'i, an iiiexjili-
faille traniiiing down of the niiow whm olmerved liy tho piutiera-hy from tiim'
to time. No one had ever Hoen or iMien ahle to trace in thcHU pliouomeiia any
eoniiection or a^^i'iiey of tlexh and lilood; hut near tho Mpot fay a Mhiirt li>^,
and tho HiKiw hail no Hooiier ohliterated the Higna than liunian fiMitHteps n'-
app'.^ared, and the lo^' wax found in a ditlerent poHition. An inveHtigatmn

>g wax found in a ditlerent poHition.
wiut tinally held, and diHi'loHed the Hiiiiplu fact that the tramping waa iirodiu'i'

I ....«_;.. ..!.._ : i ..e :.... 'im.:.. i; ;i . i

liy an eei eiilric flergyiiiaii, in (ineHt of exereiiie. This diMcovery Hpoileci ;i
congenial mystery. Vi<-Utria llVil///' 'o/ooiw, .March HI, I8()fl. Tin limu'liali.i
claim on MoNiiiiito (Julcli, William ('reek, gained tho notoriety in iSU? <>l' Im'-
ing haunted by a ghoMt. Loiiu, weary, and eoMtly ilelviiigH l>y tho ]iliii'Ky
individuaU of the eomiinny iiad failed to develop anything. At hist tin y
Htriiek the had, taking out ei;^ht ounces of gold from the liottoni of tiieirMli itt,
and tho ghostly ineideiitx were forgotten. CifrilnM) Sciiilml, Sept. 'A, I.Sti7.

''•In tho milieu pro|ier, noliody went armed, even in the early days. 'Iln'
ciiHtom of carrying weapons fill into ilisnse with the disaiiitearaiice uf 'llie
ehiiik of i.ioney and tho sound of gamlilers' voieea ' in pu hi io places, Firift

Holil SnirrhrM, ,MS., I, '.».

"As lato an 18(W, our llarkerville poet made mention of tho fact that—

AiiiaiiK the liiitiilerM llvln' here,

'I'liert's Imrely leu iier eeiit
TImt hiniii the vice o eiinlH an' dire,

Much ia tho natural bout

Jtamet' l.iiiir to Havmir.

MININfJ SOCIETY.

519

c fact tliat—

Missioiiarios did lujt fail to obst^rvo that minors were
iis much in need of tlioir sorviccs an tlic nativon, and
us early as 18G1 clerj^ymen hogun t<t visit Caril)o{)
t!Vory summer, under the auspices of the Columbia
mission of the Episcopal chun-h. But the fi«^ld proved
unprofitable, since the miners contributed but lightly,
;ind it was abandoned aftt^r a few years."' (Ine cause
of the failures lay doubtless in the lack of good female
iiiriuen(!e. Not a single married woman livi^d in Cari-
1mi(> even as lato as 18G7, and the sex was r«'presented
iiiiTely by a few single females, and some of tlieui dis-
jvputable."'" Ii» the absence of so essential a comple-
ment to respeetid)le society, the less refined i>li^asures
iiiiturally predominated, and the time not devoted to
ifambling was often spent over the bottle at j»ri\ate
caiousal or at public dinners, and with the votaries of
Ter[)8ichore, gathered in the teaiples of the hurdy-
i^'urdies, on whose lives hung many a whisper and
many a romantic tale."^

A relieving feature of Harki;rvillo was the public
reading-room, wliich in IHdo was already comforta-
l>ly fitted up, and well patronized. ITere also the tal-
<iited portion of the conununity (Milivt^ned ti.e long
winter nights with publiir debates, recitations, plays,
and musical perf(>rmanees for thv* amusement of them-
sijves and the rest."

"'Tlio Ili'v, U. ('. Liuiilin Drown livt-d for mine tiiiiti during 18(i'2-3 in ii
iiijiht'o rul)iii ill < 'imtiirontoii, Williiini e'nsek, HuH'erinjj; grout Iii;nlMlii|is. I-'inil
iii^' tliu niint-TH Honutwiiat iniUU't.'reiit to religion, iiu iittiickcl th<t guinMcrM in
tliiir tli'UB, Imt wii« ultiiiiati'ly olilipMl to witli<!r;i\v tmni the lifM unsiu'cess
till. Bivirii'n Kmhuii, ii;i.sHini, and h'ijili Itijil. <'ol. MiKsimi, !8(iH, 0-7.

'■' TaUh liiyl. Vol. Mksion, 18G8, 'Jo ti.

"^ ntdiiiie !in! tlu' liurdifN O!
T'lO (iurniiin Imrdy-i^unlie.s ()!
Thu diitU'st hour tliat t''t!i' 1 Mpcitt
Wiia diincing wi' tlio iinrdi(!ii (>!

Ji mill s' l.iltrr to Siiiriiii-

"* A manuscriiit wjM'kly nt'W!«i>a|H'r ronilni-tt d liy MiL.o'in and Andciwon
in iMiO, anil rcaii on tlicsr ixtMHrnnN, ^avc j^nat sati^l.K tion, and allordt'd
nuiuli aniUMuinont. I'ii-torin M rcil7</ To/ohm*, A[iril H, IH(iO.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Ul»PKR COLUMBIA MINKS.

1864-1882.
Columbia Rrv'ER DKiH>arrs— FtNK-(ioi.i> Tiif.ory— AsriF.ST Rtvur-hf.ph—

EaULY DutlllMlS - KOOTKNAI KXCITHMKNT — \Vll.l> HoKHK CuKKK
SasKATCIIKWAN EXTKHmON — PkKKY CkEKK — HyDUAI'LH'S — SuiUMil'l
NATE DlSTKKTH, KoilTV-NINK CkKKK, MtMtVIK RiVKH- lil<l HkM'

RoirTEs AMI Inki.ix Fhentii, Mci'ri,i,<MU, ANi> Carnes Ckkkks
Later Exi-umATios — Kxtext ok the Aluikekoi .s Rwiios— Trurai k
Oravelh — RixK Creek — Okanaoan ash Similkameen DiHTRrcrs.

The littlo flurry of tlio fur-hunters round Colvillf
over the sprinklinjr of j^old alon«; tlie aborip^inal liiyli-
waya, so Ion*;- familiar to tiu'in, in a measure ))assr(l
away, or was absorbed l>y intensor interest elsewhc ir
until 18(14, when it finally beeame respectably (;|ti
deniie.

Concerning this northern retjfion, into which as by
a divining-rod they had been led by their (ine-<j;»>l(l
theory, California's wisi* ones werr somewhat ]>uz/l<'<l.
Howt'ViT true their speculations, which appoan-d, in
deed, to ln' founded «)n fa<-t, they scenu'd Iutc at tin
north to fail in their apjtlication. \ jKutial knowl
edy;e of the fu'ts had raised in the brt'ast of tliirtx
tlumsand ii(t|Hs of slui»'in«; fortuuts (»ut <»t' the riv« i
banks of tlu'sr northern iatituths, di'stin»'d to be it.il-
ized tmly by a tew of the more patient.

For here was to them an unknown aud compit \
scatterinij of irold-bcariiiLj rocks, where the lU'Wer ;iinl
obliT tjfravels ba<l bmi r«>distributed by tl'e ic»' aiLrencv
of the drift peiiod. Hen- w»re uiicieijt river-bc.l>
uruli'r ti falsi- Utl-roek i>f bowlder, clay, and ancient

COLVILLE MINES. 1

river erosions dcepor than the modern. Such ancient
river gravels as were found were not eap|)ed in all
cases or preserved by volcanic matter. If they were
s(i preserved and tapped by modern streams, there
was the drawback that the whole country was cov-
(•red by a mantle of drift, hiding the lead from tht;
judspector. If found, it was not provided with an
outi«'t j^rade into the modern canons; .so that minin<j^
had to be done under«fround with the aid of jmmps
and Jioistinsjf machint'ry. The ri<her jjfold-bearinuf rocks
wen^ remote fr(>m tlie coast, beyond rum't^cHl mountains
more dithcult to overc«>me than tlu' Sierra X»'vada of
Culifoniia. It was not jtossible for tlu^ prosj)ectors,
uiidei" such conditions of transportation as «'xist«'d in
J >iitish Columbia from 1858 to 1 808, to remain lonijf
ill the mountains muU'r heavy costs for their .sui)plirs.
The search was checked from tin* neccssitii's of tlu'
case; yet the expectations which filled the country ii.
lsr>8 proved n»'<'essarily to thosi; who insisted on find-
iiiii thiniifs otherwise than they were, an infaituation
so stupendous that between Keni Kiver and Gold
lilutfs there never had been its e(jual.

Mention has ln'en made ot' the fin<lini; of jjfrains of
i,'nl(| on the bank of the (^tjumbia at ('»»lville in IS.');'),
■iiul of tlu' prospectinuj exp»'ditiou in the siinu' s/ason
l'\ AiiLfUs jSIcJ)onald's nun, tindini^ moderately remu-
nerative di«4'<j^iiiii,s at tin- mouth of the IVnd d'Oreille,
Hear the luMnidary line; also ot" the eonummieation of
nKiiMJas to the edjoiijal oth<'e in I8.")(» aniiouiieini;" the
uorkiMijf of di«jjuii|os in th' upper (\>Iunil»ia district
> ieldiny; froir ti'U to forty dollars a day to the man.'
l)iMin«*the Fraser liiver excitement in 1 8a8-'.>, atten-
tion was tliverteil tVoin the u)>per ( 'ulnnibia. and for
several yeais little was <lon. ilien ; but the lir>t tlush
e\tr, tlevi'lopnuiits aboNeColvilleon the ( 'olumbia an<I

' S(.(« rluii). x\., tliiM vnlniiU'. 'Tlii'i \ ioinity,' H«yx Kiws I'.rnwiii', ' liim at-
lintrtl iiiiu'li uttciitioii iiM :i m>lil-iiiitii' ; r«-i;iiiii Hiiict- |S,>4. Mnn ml l,'iMiiiif-rn,
Ikti'.l, .ViS.

522

Ul'I'KR COLUMBIA MINK ;.

its tributaries liavo a history parallol'to that of tlif
Fraser, aiul after I8(il to that of Carihoo, wludi
overshadows all but the Kootenai and W\<x licnA
exeiteineiits.' Some rieli speeinieiis of (juartz wv.w
brouijfht to Victoria in 1851) by members of the Brit-
ish boundaiy eommission from the liead-quarters of
Kootenai River. The placer gold in the l»asin of
the up})cr Columbia was found on the bars and banks
of the streams l)etween latitude 4U and oT, compris-
inif, j^eiurally, shallow dii^gini^s not very rich, but
extending over a lari^e area, ^liners haviii'C jjfraduallv
worked up the valli-y of Kootenai lliver, rich dig-
gings were at last discovered not far from the boun-
dary line, which gave rise in 18G3-4 to the Kootenai
gold-mining excitement. Kemote fr«>m Victoria as
was this portion of the country, its mining operations
Were betttr known in, and were in fact tributary to,
Oregon; yet many Victorians went thither, and some
trade was carried in that direction in later times, not-
withstaniUngthe inconveniences of the route. But tlif
Kootenai excitement was much less felt at Victoiia
than was subse(jui'ntly that o ' the liig Bend country.'
Wild Horse C'ret'k, or, in the eaily vulgar. Stud
Horse Creek, tlu' centre of the K<»oteMai mining dis-

■'()ii tlif iliNCovt'ry of tin' Fl'iuser iiiiiics in IS'iS, ;ill Imt a fiw <if tliosc wlio
li:iil Ih'I'U jiroviuusly mining oii tlitCnlnniliia liivor itars transfi'iTfil thi'niHolvi's
inti> tilt' valley of tlio Kru.str, ami tlio i'(in«f(jut'ni'e \v;i« that ilivclojinii'nt:* in
tlu' Coluinliia lia.-sin wtri' arri'stcil Cur M'ViTal years. Ot what waMilnnc in
this district between the Cnlvilli' uinl Kimtenai exeitenieiits tlie iiiitsiiie wurM
hearil littlo or imthili^. ('aril)n<>, as an extension of tho Fraser exeitiiiient,
made, uimli all the hiose |iii[mlatioii of tiie nortli-west, a seeonil draft wliieli
was nut t" 1)0 resisted. \\'a.-.hi(e and F.smeralda alon>^ at this time ftirnislieil
liehl enough fur ull the sjiare population and capital that Califuruia could
all'ord.

•'The Kootenai mines were almost inaci'essilile, remote, and hidilen in .1
romantic valley within tiie parallels of the Uocky Mountains, 70 or 75 uiili'S
aliovo the 'I'dliacio plain.-i. The other ilistricts of the upper Coliimhia, Ok.iii-
aj^an, and Uock Creek, were also heset hy unusual dilticultius of eommuriii i-
tion from the directioiv of the Fraser. All the streams ainl mountain ranj.'!-!
of the nothern plateau, tho latter often forest-covereil, had to ho I'rossed in
succession. From the lower Colundiia tluy were moru remote, and separat^'l
hy a wall of no small magnitude the houndary line, for it was the settli 1
policy of till' j;overnment at X'ictoria to Mock the w,iy alonj; this line as lir
as possible east of tiie Cascade Mountains, in order to keiji tho territory and
Its trade within thu control of the iiolitical uml comuiurcial cupitul ol tlic
l>ro\ iucc.

KOOTENAI DIOfJINOS.

")•-»»

it of tlu'
M>, whirl 1

irtz weir

tlio Brit-
lartors «>t"

Imsiii of
iiid hanks
, tMJinpri^-

lich, hut
•gradually

rich dii;-
thc houn-

Kootenai
icUiria as
operations
hutary to,

and some
timos, ni»t-
Buttli.'
t Yittt)ri;i

; country."

<j;ar, Stud
.dniuL? dis-

Iv of thiiso will.

11 il tllflllHflvi H

]\il<>liiiii'iits in

|t was iloiu' in

(lutsiilc WKil'l

!r I'Xiitiiiit'iit,

1,1 araft wliiili

iiuf I'uniislic'l

filitoruiii loiiM

ll huliU'ii ill a
(to i>r "5 iiiil"'^
|liiiiil>ia, Ok.iii-
If comimiiii' '•
lumtaiii rail,::' •<
1)0 orossiil ill
ami si-paiat'-'I
lis tlif Slttl.'l
liis line a.-- In'
tcTiitciry aii'l
|cai)iul ot til':

trict, discovered in 18G3, and wliich in 1864 l)ccanic
the site of an important canij>, was a small trihutary
of the Kootenai River coming from the main Rocky
NEountaiii range, fifty miles north of the houndary line.
This name arose from the abundance of horses in tlie
district. By May 18<54, 400 miners had distributed
themselves along the bars and canons oi' the creek,
and more were on the way. Prospects were obtained
there of $1 to the pan and of 25 cents to the shovel ;
nuggets were found in the gravel weighing from .^2.50
to ^78, and ordinary claims were paying ^20 to ^.'iO
a day to the man.* The excitement grew, and in
August, Hudson's Bay Factor McKay reportt'd 5,000
miners in the district, for whom provisions were being
rushed in from the Dalles. This report was doubtless
exaggerated, for in Novendjer it was asserted that
only 800 to 1)00 renmined, 500 of wh«)m pn'ferred to
winter in the diggings,'' and trace the distribution of
the gold-bearing rocks in the northern Rocky Moun-
tain region.*

Mining experience in the Kootenai country the
first year developed the fact that sluicing could be
carried on for nine months in the year. Hill tunn«'ls
were in progress during the winter where i)ay had
Iteen struck, and Birch, the colonial secretary, who vis-
ited the region, reported veiy hopefully in regard t«»
these hill deposits, one of which yielded dollar nug-
gets and prospects of seventy-five cents to two dollars
a pan. Several c«)mi)anies late in tlu' siason of 1H04
stiuek i)ay also on Toby Creek, and now Fislieiville,
thi' name given to the priiiei|)al camp o\\ tlie creek,
h»;gan to figure in the chronicles, though the place was

* Ihiirson on Minis, IW; Ji. ('. Dinrtori/, IStl,'?, "JIK); /{rou-ni'i Miii. h'l^imini,
li.VJ; Allaii'n CiiriUiO, MS., II, I'J; WtiUn W.'Un Slal,.-:„i.ui, All>;. I. ">. '-'•-'. I.S(i:i.

' KiMitciiai liatl almost tU'iinimlatfil the Hoisr cnuiitry. .1. A'. Hiililli '« l.<iii r
III Hill livachji, I'irlorin ('oloiiiil, .luiu' 'JIS, Aii^, !(!, lS(i4.

'Two nKi<U to tile iiiincM loading rt'siu'otivuly fruiii the ColiiiiitiM ami Ti-.i-
xiT inisai'n were constnictoil the xame yoar, in i'oii»i.'i|iu'no«' of tlic rii.sli. 'I'lu'
liist Wiuj a wugon-rnail louding from ("olvillo to Poml irOiiiilc, fioni wliioli
point the Oregon a|i)iroiu-h wan l>y a niuli'-trail to Wild Horse Crook. 'I'lio
lludHon'H l^y ('oni|iany also oponoil a rough trail fmui Hope liy way uf Siiuil-
1> iiiiooii, Rock Creek, aud IViid d'Orcillo.

UPPER COLUMBIA BONES.

more often referred to under the general name of
Kootenai. Diggings were also reported on the raaiii
upper Columbia, eighty to one hundred and twenty
miles from Kootenai, paying from four to eight dol-
lars a day ; and at the crossing of the trail to Hope;
there were others said to equal Wild Horse Creek.'

In the early part of the season of 18G5 Fishervillc
had a famine, but this was remedied by the arrival of
the first supplies as soon as the roads were cleared ol'
snow.* Reenforcements also arrived, and by July a
thousand men were said to be camped on and round
Wild Horse Creek. The gold commissioner reported
forty or fifty claims being worked on the creek, pro-
ducing from one to three ounces to the hand with nug-
fets weighing several ounces. The Wild Horse Creek
)itch, just completed at a cost of twenty-five thou-
sand dollars, was carrying two thousand inches of
water, and aflbrding facilities for working a hundred
claims.' During the summer there was quite a stam-
pede to Helena, in the Blackfoot country, and to the
Saskatchewan and Big Bend, but many returned in
October to work the well yielding though shallow sur-
face diggings of Kootenai.*"

' Fred. White, in Victoria ColoniM, Sept. 6, Nov. 22, Dec. 27, 1804. During
1804 J. C. Ha3mca otFiciatcd as gold coininissioucr. In 1805 ho was auccccilud
l>y Mr O'Ruilly. Tlio favorablu comlitioiiH for agrieulturu and stock-raising
together with the plcn^ingBccniciiMiiect of the terniced valley of the Kootenai
gave to the region attmctioim and lulviintagea over niuny other miuiug dis-
trictH in British <J<)Iuin)iiu. Famin were esttihliHhcd on the tenuccs, oiul irri-
gation wua resorted t(j in places, tho\igh this was not necessary on St Joscpli
t'mirie.

'A letter from Wild Horse Creek, dated May 4th, mentioned tliat provi
. sions were very scarcis the miners living on hare, marten, and tish. All tlir
lX)wdor and shot and lishduMjks in the camp were sold; those who hud n
nuiined in the diggings were shut up uU winter with inadetjuatc supplier.
When the tirst provisions airived potatoes sold rapidly at$l a pounu, and tlniir
at 811.25.

"Mr Dewdney estimated that there were n thousand men on Wild Horse
CreekattliocndofJulv. VoweWn It. i'., MS., l.^j Vic. Col., Dec. 27, Istil,
June G.Muly 18, Aug.8,'l805; C'nr;6oo,SV///;«(/in/(/., Juno 20, 1805. Mr Ljon,
a trader, reported in Oregon that Kootenai rivalled Cariboo; two men iiml
taken out sixty pounds of gold in two days.

'T<'c<o)'ia (Ai'oniV, Sept. 19, 1805; Wmt Colitmhianin Virtorin Colunlnt,}iw.
7, 1805. On the dry torraoed plains of tiie motmtain valleys bunch gnws gnw
in abundance; and the Indians having l.irgo herds of hor-ses they readily wijil
them to the miners, so that almost tn-cry onu owned a horse, and could iiixm'
freely about. This led to a 8tat« of nlTairs very unsatisfactory to the gold

TOWARD THE EAST.

525

The Blackfoot and Saskatchewan countries ha<l for
some time been reputed rich in gold, and a large
number of miners was attracted to them, not only
from Kootenai, but from Cariboo and other districts."
A. G. Smith and several others, who in 18GG went to
Helena in Montana, worked successfully until August,
when an excitement was created about the Saskatch-
ewan diggings, which fanned into action the general
desire to prospect the eastern slope of the Rocky
Mountains, opposite the upper Columbia. Smith set
out at once with seven others, for Edmonton, by way
of Kootenai Pass, and arrived there safely in thirty-
eight days, despite the hostile Indians. The gold
deposits were found scattered for a hundred miles above
and below Edmonton upon the Saskatchewan bars, but
these could be worked only for a short time in the
spring and autumn, when the river was low and the
yield was merely two dollars a day or less, with
rockers."

In 1866 Fisherville was pulled down for the purpose
of working the ground on which it stood, and the
operation is said to have been highly renmnerative.

coinmiaaioncr, who was also tho niugistmto au<l pcnoo officer of tlie ilistrict.
if tho lawless adventurer fell into trouMc with tho anthuriticH he lia<l only to
Hitilillo hia horse and escape across the iMumlary hito Idaho, or acrosH tlio nioun-
tiiiiis into tho conntry oi the Blackfcet. A «legree of freedom bordering on
outlawry was the consequence. The route travelled from Victoria to Koo-
ti'iiiii in 1805 was jiartly by steamer ria Portland to White KluH's, thence by
hiiiil to Colvillo and on by the wagon roa<l oiicuod in 18(W from there to Tend
.roieillc. Voweli'a U. V. MiiH.^, MS., 1-.1.

" Sweeney of Carilxx) went tliere and wrote Iwick that lie had made more
iiioucy in tho Blackfoot rejjion duriiij; tlio .scn.soii 'tlian anylnnly ever did in
t'iuiboo.' Victoria Colonist, Oct. 'M, 1.S<m.

" The Blackfeet were very troubleaonie away from tho fort, and it was
iliclarod that they IukI killed i.s many as-SOrt of <lic <iver-ventur«some miners
.iiiil prospectors in the neighborliood of the Elk Kivci- and Fort lienton |)aM.se8.
Smith returned by the northern pass ami reacht^d New Westminster in April
ls(i7. One of tho memlH-Tsof 'Alobeily's party of explorers for thi^ railway,
wlm went to tho Kocky Mountiiins in .lune 1871, made a nioii! thoi-oiigh ex-
ploration of the gold-bearing country aromul Fort Kdiiionton, and re|K»rtcd
lli:it the gold extended lifty mih's west and for I'oui- liunilrcd niiles to
till! cifSt ol the fort, all the luirs of the Saskatchewan within that area con-
t'lining auriferoua deposits. This was nearly all fine gold, but the tributaries
•tere also auriferous, and promised to contain heavier metal, while it was
fxpc:;tcd that quartz veins wtndd l>o discovered near tin,' foi-t. X< ir H'mt minuter
KxaminerarulVo/.umhiannuoUHl in Virturid^'olonisf, May 1,7, It^uiCawpbelVt
h'fpt., in Collingwood BuUeti'i, quoted in Victoria CohniM, May 11), 1872.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY 14580

(7V'i) 871-4503

n.-"- ..A >>

P.
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S2B

UPPER COLUMBIA MINES.

The

soon

leave

Hydraulic mining was carried on extensively after the
completion of the large Victoria ditch, and yielded
well; yet the prospects in general were not suffi-
ciently bright to retain the large mass of miners,
diggings, though extensive, were shallow and
exhausted, and white miners were content to
them to the less exacting Chinese. ^^

In 1868 mining gained a fresh impetus, and several
claims sold by Johnson, the expressman, in 1866, for
$75 were now resold for $1,200, while the whole hill
near Fisherville was covered by fresh locations of
mining ground.

Chief among the discoveries in Kootenai district
next to Wild Horse Creek, and twenty miles from it,
was Perry Creek, a branch of St Mary's River, some-
times called New Kootenai mines. It was opened iii
1867 by Dan Kennedy, Little Sullivan, and a half-
breed named Frank Perry, who had been fitted out
by the miners on Wild Horse Creek to make locations
in their behalf. The three men took out $225 in five
days, obtaining occasionally thirteen and eighteen dol-
lars to the pan in coarse gold resembling that of Koo-
tenai. Still coarser gold with larger yield was found
above on the creek. So far as prospected at the end
of the season of 1868, the ground generally yielded an

" Voweliy B. C. Mines, MS., 1-3. C. Oijpenheimer brought $20,000 of dust
to Victoria in September 18G6. He reported that claims had changed hands
at high prices, and that there were 700 miners at work in the diggings in
August, when he left. Victoria Coloiiint, Sept. 4, 1866. Later in the season
parties from Kootenai rej)orted tliat tlie Chinese were bidding for claims,
and that many of the miners had sold out for $1,000. The Chinese wiro
bidding high for everything else about the town, ami almost entirely takiiij;
possession. Id., Nov. 1*0, 1866. In 1867 a nund)er of miners at Kootenai
organized a prospecting expedition on a large scale which started on the 1st
of May, and followed up Kootenai River for the purpose of prospecting tlio
head-waters of that stream in the Rocky Mountains. Umatilla Columhia I'n «,
Oct. 17, 1867. The company were well provided for an extended cainpaij;ii,
but I find no record of the result.

**Dove and Company carried on hydraulic minii-g extensively, clearing
up on one occasion, about midsummer, $1,400 from three days' workini;.
( 'aptain Wilson in the Cafiou was making from ten to twenty-hvo dollars a
(lay in 1869. The Price, (Jriflith, Saunders, Schroedcr, and Dove claims wiru
all profitably emploj'cd. Indicative of general developments was the uomiilu-
tion of a saw-mill by Wood, who was also preparing to erect a flour-mill,

NEW KOOTENAI.

627

after the
d yielded
not suiR-
ers. The
and soon
; to leave

nd several

1866, for

whole hill

cations of

lai district
es from it,
iver, some-
opened in
tnd a half-
fitted out
:e locations
225 in five
j-hteen dol-
lat of Koo-
was found
|at the cud
yielded an

I $20,000 of (lust

changed liaiids

the diggingH i»

r in the suii-sou

ling for claims,

p Chinese were

[entirely taking

ra at KootiMi:ii

rted on the 1st

Prospecting tlio

U^oliimhia I'riA",

Vied camiiai};!!,

lively, cloaring
Idays' working.
ly-fivt! doUais a
T)ve claims wi^ru
vos the coiniilc-
. flour-mill.

ounce a day, though two out of the eight claims
opened this season gave one hundred dollars daily to
the man.^®

As soon as the news spread, a large rush took place
and a town was formed composed largely of the popu-
lation from Fisherville and Wild Horse Creek. About
one hundred and fifty of the arrivals of 1868 wintered
in the mines while the rest prepared to return in the
spring with the still larger influx which then took
place.^^ At first the blue clay was regarded as the
bed-rock for the auriferous gravel below the falls; but
this was penetrated during the winter of 1868-9 by
a number of shafts, and gravel was struck which paid
in the poorest claims eleven dollars a day to the man,
and frequently three times that amount. In 1869 fif-
teen to twenty miles of the creek had been staked off
chiefly with the expectation of securing a share of the
deeper rich deposits; but this met with almost general
disappointment. Only a few favorably located shafts
reached a rich yet dry stratum, while the rest were
driven out by water."

Good prospects were also found in 1868 by the
packer McGraugh on the divide between the Koote-
nai and Pend d'Oreille rivers, and in 1869 a new
camp was located on Mooyie River, a stream running
parallel with Perry Creek, and debouching into Pea-
vine Prairie Lake. At its mouth lay bars four or

" The gold first found below the falls, was like cucumber seeds and only
four to six feet from the surface, in a layer of gravel resting ou a clay bed
about four feet in thickness. Above the falls the gold was found on the bed-
rock, and sevei'al parties in November took out from $110 to $156 in a day.
Victoria Colonist, Oct. 24 and 31, 1868 ; Daioson on Mines, 38.

'^ Victoria Colonifit, Dec. 20, 1868, containing quotations from the Walla
U'nlla Statesman ; H. B. Ward, in Victoria WeeMy Colonist, March 27, 1869.

" Victoria Colonist, April 24, 1869. The Hough Company in May took out
?l,r>00 in 2 days from a space 8 feet square beneath the clay. W. J. Church,
ill WiiUa Walla Union, May 22, 1869. McGuill's claim, the iirst one below
the falls, took out $18 to $20 a day to the hand in July and August, and the
Discovery Company $20 to $.'J0. All the claims in fact from the falls to Jack
Tay's shaft were working profitably. Tay's shaft was down 40 feet, and like
the other deeper claims had great trouble with tlio water. According to
some of the miners the ground was spotted. Pari/ Crci-lc, Aug. 2; Victoria
Colonist, Aug. 22, 1869. R. Finlayson, however, reported in 1870 that none
of them had oeen able to bottom a shaft yet. V^ictona Colonist, June 10, 1870.

UPPER COLUMBIA MINES.

five miles in extent which yielded from two and a
half to eight dollars a day to the hand, and thence
to St Joseph Prairie, over a large area, the prospects
showed three to five cents to the pan. Ditches were
projected the same year for working the ground.
Aided by the discoveries made from time to time,
Kootenai had managed to maintain a prominent posi-
tion as a mining district, chiefly in the hydraulic
branch, for which it enjoyed better advantages than
Cariboo; but in 1872 Mr Vowell, the new gold com-
missioner and magistrate for Kootenai, reported the
principal mines worked out, with the exception of
those on Wild Horse and Perry creeks, which still con-
tained some of the rich deposits; but, reasoning by tlic
Cariboo and other developments, miners still believed
that the district would maintain itself, particularly
as the deposits resembled the latter developed cement
strata which had yielded so well in California.^

i'l

*" Walla Walla Statesman, Oct. 9, 1868. It was stoutly maintained by tlie
nowsi)aper8 at Victoria that the Kootenai and other mining localities of tlio
Selkirk, Gold, and Purcell ranges, here forming the inner parallels of the
Kooky Mountain flange of the plateau, comprised rich and extensive jductT
fields, and tliat 5,000 or even 10,000 nnners could readily find profitable
employment in their stream-beds and gulches. Generally speaking, the claims
had hitherto paid six dollars and upward a day to the hand. Daily Colonid,
Jan. 19, 1809; Sj.)ro(it^s B. C, 70. If unlucky explorers failed to make their
fortunes on the new creeks, this was not a sufficient reason for declaring the
field exhausted, for it was shown by similar experience in Cariboo that thu
main deposits were seldom reached. The gravel and pay-dirt of the Koote-
nai region appeared to the miners diflferent in many respects from the super-
ficial auriferous gravel of California. The latter was friable and easily
worked, wliilo that of the Kootenai mines, as exposed by the hydraulic hose,
was like the cement worked in California at a later date, only with larger
outlays of capital. The value of the deep ground on Perry Creek remained a
mystery. Though the Purcell, Selkirk, and Cold ranges, together with the
main Rocky Mountain parallels, were all proved to be gold-bearing, tiio
favored formations were but imperfectly traced. Between the widely dis-
tributed gravel formations of the terraces, or benches, that might be worked
profitably by hydraulics, and those which obviously could not no so worked,
trial had failed to develop any satisfactory distinction. The terraces of the
Kootenai and upper Columbia rivers, like those of the PVaser, constitutd a
noteworthy scenic as well as mining e.nd agricultural feature of these mnuntaiii
parallels. Tliey are wide ancient river valleys filled to a great deptii w itii
more or less auriferous detritus. Benches rise 600 feet above the streams
and 4,000 feet above the sea in successive steps to what is tlie ancient filleii-
up river valley level. Though the streams have sliiieed down to great deptliM
into the gravel and lighter detritus, they have not yet, it appears, peiiotraten
to the l)ed-rock as in California. Air llector of Palliser's exploration vis-
ited this country and described its terraces in 1859. He afterward visited

SALMON CREEK.

529

Impressed with this .belief, prospecting was largely
pursued, particularly in 1874, under the stimulating
impulse of government appropriation, designed to
encourage new developments. Good prospects were
obtained on several streams, such as Sloken liiver,
emptying into the Kootenai a short distance above
its mouth, but they were not of sufficient importance
to check tlie decline. In 1875 Kootenai yielded only
$41,000 from the bench and creek diggings, and two
tliirds of this came from Wild Horse Creek, the
remainder being from Perry, Weaver, and Mootsai
creeks, containing in all twenty-rught claims, many
of them supplied by costly ditclies, and worked by a
total mining population of forty white men and fifty
Chinese. In 187G most of the white men left the
district, and the total yield dwindled to .$25,000.^" In
1877 the total yield increased to .$37,000, obtained
from twenty-five claims on Wild Horse, Perry, and
Palmer creeks, cluetly by Chinamen. During this
year a trail was cut by a govermnent road party to
connect Kootenai with Fort IMcLeod on the eastern
slo[)C of the Pocky !Moun tains, and to open a jjath
tlirough regions where gold had previously been
1'uund.

lleturnini; to the earlier years of jnininfj; in the
u]>l)er Columbia l)asin, let us glance at the otlu^r
mining localities which have a history subordinate or
|i;u'allel to that of the Koottniai region. Salmon
(.'reek, emptying into tlie l*end d'Oreille near its

the liydruulio iiiiiiiiig re^'idii in Yulia ;iii(l Xcvaila cniintii'H, California, ami
!■ iiNuktid ni)oii ' tliu great similarity 1)et\vei'ii the Hiiperticial iKjiosits of tlio
f iiiioim gold country and tlioso Avitliin tiio British torritory to tlio iiorlii,
Mliifli,' lio coiitiancH, •encourages me to assert tiiat tlio vliolo country uji to
tilt! Kootenai Kiver and the hase of the lloeky Mountains, wherever the

i vm (iiieiies weru couijiniua, iiowe\ur, lo « asn ine
Horso Creek, namely, the Victoria and the Hang, the latter hy a Chinese eoni-
p.iuy, delivering (iOO and 300 iuchcti of water, respectively. Mnt. Mines Jicpt.
1S7."., l-l(i; 1870, 4'J4.

IIIST. nillT. COI,. 31

680

LITER COLUMBIA MINES.

junction with the Columbia at Fort Shepherd, waa
wing-dammed in September 18G5 by John Thornton,
ahas Jolly Jack, and coarse bright gold obtained.
Bars on the creek as well as on the main Columbia
were at the same time worked by a great number of
Chinese; and Forty-nine Creek, ninety miles from
Colville, was a cause of excitement in March 1807.
About twenty miners wintered at this place in 18GG-7,
and reported that the diggings were not only easily
reached, but extensive and readily worked, ,vitli coarse
gold like that of Kootenai yielding six to eighteen
dollars a Jav to the man.^*^

TJie bars of the main Columbia above Colville had
been mined to some extent for several years before the
Kt)otenai and Big Bend excitements attracted nmlti-
tudes from a distance. At the time of the Kootenai
excitement in 18G5 there were several hundred Chinese
at work upon them above Fort Shepherd, and doing
well according to all accounts."^

As early as February 18G5 a person brought news
to Victoria that extensive diggings had been found
"about one hundred and seventy miles north of the
old Kootenai district, equal in richness to the best
known in Cariboo."^' The report was not lost, for arri-

^'' Those who wintered on the creek worked bench diggings contaiuiiig
coarse gohl from the surface down. In one instance two ounces were taki'u
from a single prospect hole in the hank. Forty-eight t'reek, near by, was
also rcporte<l rich, and quite a number of boats left Ff)rt Colville for the two
creeks in March 1807, followed soon after by nearly one hundred ])ers()iis
from Portland. During the summer another excitement and rush was crcatt'<l
by the report that twelve men had early in the season found ricli diggings in
the basin between the high mountains forming the southerly continuation of
Kootenai Valley, on botli sides of tlie boundary line aiul southward as far as
I'end irOreille. Four of the discoverers, Allen, Moore, Ahern, and Anthony
Cavanaugh, returned t(t the Spokane l)ridge for a(hlitional supplies, whence the
information spread. On their way back to the mountains they were murdeicd
by the Indians. They had eighteen luirses and a large quantity of supplies.
In tlie excitement wliich followed the announcement of tlie discovery, a con-
siderable force of miners was directed into that country. Victoria Coloni-^l,
Sept. 17, 18(57.

'■" So absorbed were they that Dcwdney found it impossible to engage more
than seventy-five to work upon the Kootenai trail at seventy-five (h)llars a
month. Victoria Colonist, Aug. I'l, 1805 Findlay Creek diggings, fifty iiiilrs
north-west of the town of Kootenai, were discovered in 18G5, a short time
before the rush of that season was started by some half-breed miners from
Colville.

■■"* Victoria Colonist, Feb. 14, 1805. Some prospectors who returned to

ROUND BIG BEND.

531

vals at Victoria from Colvillo in June stated that two
Imnclred men had ascended the Cohimbia to Big Bend,
and that the river had ahnost the appearance of the
Eraser in 1858, laden with canoes, boats, barges, and
scows. At Dalles dcs Morts good diggings were said
to exist, and on the creeks emptying into the Columbia
the yield was twenty -five cents to one dollar and a
(|uarter to the pan. The excitement had begun, and
it was expected that thousands would enter tlu;
country during the summer.'*

The centre of attraction became known as Big
Bend, named after the great bend of the Columbia in
latitude 52°, where the river turns from a north-west-
erly to a southerly course after breaking though tho
Selkirk range. The mining district was, however, a
short distance from the bend where several small
streams came down from the western slope of these
mountains. The first discovered to contain rich })lacers
were French and McCulloch creeks, branches of Gold
Creek. W. S. Stone was despatched thither as ex-
pressman, and on arriving at French Creek in August
lie found the ground staked oft* for two miles, one hun-
dred and twenty men, including many ' fifty-eighters,*
being employed on the various creeks. The pioneer.s
were four Frenchmen who had settled on French
Creek early in the spring of 18G5, and obtained sixteen
dollars from eleven pans of dirt. All the bai's along
the Columbia to Big Bend were found to yield well in
coarse gold not unlike that of Kootenai, but here all

\\'iillii Walla about the same time reported the upper Columbia diggings a.s
'liunibug.' W(tUa Walla StdtMiimii, March 10, in Virtorht Colonist, March '28,
lS(i5. Both of these parties travelled in winter, the former reporting the
climate as 'splendid.' It will be seen from tliese authorities that Big Bend
was probably discovered by persons who descended tho C'oUunbiii from
Kootenai.

-^ Perry, 'tho well-known explorer,' reported that sevond !!iiiici'a iiad
taken out $700 apiece in a very short time, and ho himself was saiil to be
making .^100 a day, obtaining as much as SiJ^ to tho pan. Tins was at tlie
lioint where tho Shusliwap trail struck the Columbia, and (iO men were work-
ing there. W. Robertson M'rote in June that 18 boats had ascended the Co-
himbia that spring, and that the diggings mostly aimed for were '250 miles
above Colville. Victoria Colnmhian, quoted in Viflnri i Colniiist, duly 11, 18GE;
''ariljoo Sentinel, quoted in Victoria Colonist, Aug. 1, iFuly 4, ISGo.

UPPER COLUMBIA MIXES.

trace of the metal was lost."^ 11. T. Smith, who acted
as irokl commissioner for the Bijj Bend district in
18()5, left there in November and reported to the
jT^overnment at Victoria that the known vield of Frencli
Creek for the season was $32,000 ; of McCulloch Creek,
$2,700; and of Carnes Creek, $;], 000 ; but on account
of the gold exjtort tax tlien in force, it was understood
tliat not half of the gold taken out had been reported.^'
Flooded streams and tlio lack of provisions and mining
inq)l(;ments had besides retarded tlie work of the season
materially, but during the coming year it was evident
that efforts would be made to forward supplies to
meet all demands, for tlie colonial government was
o[)ening a trail from Kamloop by way of Sliusliwup
l^akc, and a steamer was building above Colville to
navigate the upper Cohunbia.

In tlic spring of ISdO miners began in fact to Hock
in, and Portland was doing a large business witli these
districts.'"*' Finding that the trail would be inadequate
to compete with Oregon roads, the government im-
proved the Shushwap route early in the year, and the
Hudson's Bay Company built a steamer, the j\[artln,

^*rrom Fort Shepherd it was reported September 2, 1805, that on Frciicli
Creek they liad hottoiiied Home shafts without success, and that there was
iiotliing ill the cmiitry to eat hut ' Uoiir sti'aiglit.' Virtorin Wfcliii CoIowkI,
Aug. li"), and Sept. IS), lS(i5. On the ]'.)th of Scjitemher there were 9.") iiuu
on t!ie creek, mostly eiigaj^cd in wiii^'-daiiimiug the stream. The I.a Flt'ur
( 'diupany drifted into the liill-side and took out i5.")()0 in two daj.s. Tlie gravel
for some distance ahove llie hed-roek jirosjieetcd lietween two and twilvc
dollar.s to tlie pan. Id., Oct. U), 18.1."). ()ne third of the miners at ]5ig Ik'inl
(luring the season had come from Colville and returned there in October In
M'inter. 1(1., Dee. 4 and 12, ISii").

'-'Kootenai was said to he eompai'atively abandoned in Novemlier ISCi.'i
on account of the more attractive features of the liig Bend diggings. If the
Bcasoii kept open it was certain that boats idled with miners would contiiuu^
to go \ip all winter, and in any event there would be a great rush in iSlanli.
lir'd'sk Colli III hi III, (juoted in \',(/orlii Dinij Co/nnisf, Jan. ]">, 18()ti. li.
December the Vktoria t'ohiiist, Dec. 4, lS(i,"), urged that they should t;ik'' :i
lesson from the Americans by advirtlsing the miner:d wealth of the countiy.
and begun by pnuiouncing Big Bend the greatest gold-mining region yt
discovered on the Baeilic coast.

-" Victori I Voloiii.tt, Dec. Ti, IStJ"), April 10 and 24, ISiiti; (hrijon Sl'/enimiii,
?*lareli 23, ISdti. The attention of the mining population winterim^ < t Port-
land was divided between Big Bend anil Blackloot, pre[ionderating ii. favor
of the fornu'r. A Dalh's correspondent mentioned that numbers were daily
crossing the river at that point, travelling on horseback for Big Bend by way
of Okanagau and Kamlooji.

STEAM NAVIGATION.

533

r\io acted
istrict in
il to the
)i' French
cli Creek,
u account
nderstood
•eported.'"
id mininijj
the season
as evident
applies to
nicnt was
Sliushwa])
:olville to

ict to tiock
witli these-
inadequate
tnment ini-
Lir, and the
o Marl ill,

lat on Fii'iu'h
lat there v:is

were D.") ni'U

The l.a FKiir

Tlie gravel

) anil twelve

at Big ]5enil

iu October to

foveniher IMi.")
jiniis. If tlie
vvoulil continue
•iisli in I^iareli.
15, KSIU;. li.
Hhouhl taki.' :>
if the country,
ling region yt

■(/()/( Slili'-'<iii""<
iteriiK^ i t Tort-
rating' il. l':ivor
hers were iliiil.V
r Ucutl byway

which on May 27th hosj^an to make senii-wcekly trips
on Shiishwa)) Jjake to Seymour, eharijing ten dollars
Tor tares and twenty dollars a ton for freight."' Sey-
mour on Shushwa[) Lake rose rapidly in conse(jU(>nce,
and contained in Api'il about twonty huildinos. Quite
a munher of miners had arrivod before the openino- ol'
navigation, tlrawing hand-slods over the ice, and early
in June tlu're wert^ five hundred men waiting here for
the creeks to fall and for definite news from the mines. "^
The disaster to the steamer LaltDUvhcre caused a
ris(! in the lares and freights from San Francisco to
Victoria, and aided to throw the N^ietoria route into
the shade for the year, while White's steamer, Fortij-
ii'nir, and other boats plying regidarly betwtsen Col-
vilie and J)eath Ka})ids, rendered tin; approach by
way of Portland so easy as to attract even Victoria
ti-ade.'"'' At Dalles des Morts, tlie head of steamer navi-
gation, quite a nund)er of American busine^sH houses
opened trade with the miners; near the mouth of
(iJold Iliver the town of Kirbyxille was stai'ted, and
Homano's lund)er-mill began turning out lumber in
Ma}' ISGO at S^l'io a tliousand feet, offering facilities
hotli for mining and building operations.'*"

■'The lake eoutaineil many boats whieli were brciu^ht into us(^ in npposi-
tiou to the steamer, carrying passengers for two ami a half ami frciuiht U<r
lifteen dollars. There were two lari'e eanoes at the terminus of tlie roail to
ediivry ]iassengei's over Siiushwap Jj:ike to Seymour. Ih're and at Kamlini|)
a:i iibundance of jiro'.isinns was aniiduneed to be in readiness for tlie miiu's.
\'if/<iri(i Coloiii.d, April 17, lfi(>(i. N'ietorian.s ailvertised and plaeanieil the
new mines on every wall, and esjieeially the route Ihereto by way of N'ietoiia
and Kaiiiloo)), whih; the I'ortlaiid journals diil tlii'ir best to eouuteraet them
by easting discredit on tiie JJritish Columbians and their route. \'irti>ri" I'nl-
o'iii.-</, April L'li, May 1, lSt;ti.

'■"A character named Thousand I)og .loe, alias Tcllias, had a siven-ilog
team and a toboggan with which he eari'ii^l su|i|)lies to the Hig Hend Mines.

-'•'The /'(i/V//-;//«(' made lier tirst triji from Colville to l>eafli Jxajiids w ith S't
piissengei's but little freight, and arrived at the latter ]ilace Apiil '_'('), INIili,
being ten clays iu mahiug tlie trip up tiirough the ice, taking passelig' is for
S'J") and freight at .V-'OO a ton. She paid for h<'rself tin^ lirst si'asou. ]'!'■/, ,rii(.
Coloiiisf, Ajiril 7, IStiti; A'( »' ]\'r.i/,'iiiii-ifcr K.iiiiiiiiki; Sept. 'J."), l.S(i7. I'rom
Dalles des Alerts freight was carried in boats. There was but one mail io
tl:e Kootenai mines from Victoria for six months, owing to tiie fact that th<;
legislature of 18(»8 failed to make tho usual arraiigiunents with .lohnson, tlie
1 xpn^ssman and mail-carrier. In the season of ISli'J the service was restorcil.
Vii-tonii Coloimt, Sept. 22, 18(i9. Farming was by this timi! carried on here;
to a considerable extent.

•'"' Supplies were dragged in boats through the rapids to Wilson's landing, 'J.">

f '

Ulllll

534

UPPER COLUMBIA MINES.

The particular advantages claimed for the Big Bend
mines were that they were easily reached and at first
easily worked, while the gold was widely scattered
and provisions cheap, so that miners could live on
eight dollars a week. Dupuy's hill claim on French
Creek was reported to have yielded $2,500 in a week,
the Discovery GO ounces in one day, and the Shcp
Bailey .$1,500 within a few days. But although
many claims yielded richly, and the field was exten-
sive, yet the population of Big Bend district at this
time, estimated by some into the thousands, was too
largo for all to obtain a share of the treasure and the
disappointed ones were apt to declaim against the
country.^^

By the middle of June the lead had been tapped
on the crock for u distance of one and a quarter miles
from the town, and it became apparent that the better
diggings were not shallow, as had been at first
assumed, but required expensive work, parti}' on
account of the large bowlders in the bed of the dec[)
channel. This gave a further impetus to the largo
exodus which had already begun, and in October 18GG
the failure of the Big Bend diggings was bruited far
and wide by those who had returned unsuccessful.
Provisions now became scarce, and entire camps lived
for weeks on a little flour and beans. But for the
services of the steamer Forty-nine they would have
perished. A number of parties were doing well,

miles further up the river; thence they were packed on the shoulders of carriers
to Gold River, a distance of three miles, and boated up the river to the mouths
of the several mining creeks. At French Creek there was another portage of
two miles to the stores. On the 19th of May one of these boats containing
23 persons came down over the rapids. Being overloaded and carelessly man-
aged it capsized and all but five were drowned.

^^Westminster Columbian, in Victoria Colonist, May 22, 18GG. Seven nicu
who had remained on French Creek through the preceding winter sank a shaft,
but at a depth of twenty-eight feet they were flooded out. By the end of
May fourteen companies were preparing to wash. In Orr's claim an (iight-
ounce nugget was found in deep ground. Ji. Cameron in Victoria Colonist,
June 7 and 14, 1860. Monroe and Company on French Creek washed up in
one day in June nineteen ounces. Victoria Colonist, June 26, 1866. On the 2d
of July a flood on French Creek destroyed ail the wing-dams, wheels, and
sluices. Id., July 24, 1866.

CHARACTER OF DEPOSITS.

lig Bend
1 at first
icattcred
live on
1 French
1 a week,
ho Shop
although
as cxtcn-
3t at this
5, was too
c and the
ainst the

en tapped
irtcr miles
the better
1 at first
partly on
" the deep

the large
,ober 1 SGG
jruited far
jsuccesst'ul.

,mps lived

it for the
[ould have

,ing well,

iers of carriers
• to the mouths
tber portage of
kta containing
farclessly man-
Seven men
Ir sank a shaft,
iBy the end of
llaim an (iight-
ttoria ColouisI,
Iwashcil up ill
1. On the 2a
••vhccls, and

however, and in August the Thompson Company
took out between $2,000 and $3,000 in a week, the
Eidge Company seventy-nino ounces, and the Guild
Company fifty-nine and a half ounces one week and
seventy-one ounces another week. The Black Hawk
tunnel on French Creek excited particular attention,
and as the two men working it took out in one week
twelve ounces of gold, the experiment was considered
isuecessful.''- In regard to the results for the season,
Mr Oppenheimer estimated the total returns of the
district at $250,000, and yet the season had, in his
opinion, been particularly unfavorable to mining opera-
tions. Of this amount French and McCulloch creeks
yielded each about $100,000. A. G. Smith on his
return from the Saskatchewan early in the spring of
18G7 passed through the Big Bend district and found
that a hundred miners had partially or wholly win-
tered on French Creek alone. But the prestige of
the district had departed; the deep ground, still
sought by a few, was doomed to wait for more favor-
able conditions in a new era, and surface mining was
continued as the only resource throughout the season
of 18G7. Some of the claims paid from six to eleven
dollars to the man, but as a rule the miners who
reached New Westminster in the autumn expressed
themselves dissatisfied with the returns.^ French
Creek declined rapidly, and in 1869 only thirty-seven
men were reported at work there, partly in deep dig-

'-The same men obtained $112 from the Ijenchcs in four and a lialf days,
and a nugget of $38 was also found. W. L. Wade of Walla Walla reported
in November 1800 that 1,000 men were in the mines on French, McC'uUocli,
and Games creeks, and tlic bars of the Columbia between Gold and Carnca
creeks — a far too high estimate according to other accounts — and that very
few made expenses, the only two creeks that paid being Frencli and McCul- ;
loch. 'On all the streams npon which gold lias been discovered,' said Wadc,
' the bed-rock — which was generally expected to prove rich — is so dccji that
it cannot bo reached without better appliances for protection against water. '
More than three fourths of those who came down with Wade were unable to
pay their fare on the Forty-nine. Fifty men remained on French Creek in
hecember 1866; the Discovery and the Half-breed claims continued to pay,
and also the Wingdam and Black Hawk. Victoria Colonist, July 10, Sept. 18,
Nov. 27, and Deo. 11, 1866.

3' New Westminster Examiner, Nov. 13, 1867.

136

Ul'PEll COLUMBIA MINES.

gings, though it was still maintained that six dollars
a day and Uj)wards could l»c madi; in the district."'*

McCulloch Creek was but a reproduction of French
Creek. It yielded as much as one hundred dollars a
day to some claims, while the Clemens Company took
out in 1S()5 from twelve to thirty-five ounces daily;
and in connection with the coarse gold nuggets ranging
from twenty-tivo dollars downwards, fragments of rich
(juart/ were found in the .creek-hed helow."'' A few
men wintered on the creek in 18(^5, while their part-
ners went to C^olville for supplies, and a little town
arose which in June 18()(» counted half a dozen log
huts. In the spring shafts were suidv, hill-side tunnels
were worked, win<jf-dams constructed, and tail-rac( s
cut. As on French Creek, the presence of large
l)owlders proved a serious hinderance and rendered
many claims worthless. The lower mile and a halt*
of the creek was considered of no Aalue, hut above,
particularly in the gravel beds, it was yielding steadily
from four to six and e\en tweh e ounces a day. As
the creek was ascended the coarse o-old increased into
regular nuggets, one of which resendtled a j)late, and
weighed two hundred and fifty-thn-e dollars. A num-
ber of miners persevered in the main object, which Mas
to penetrate to tb bed-rock, and this was found by
some at six feet, but others sank even sixty feet with-
out reaching it, and weri eventually f(jrced out l)y
water. ^^

•'* Tlio Wolsh hydraulic was at work whilo the watur lasted, but ceased
<>liorati<)ii3 ill June on aocouiit of the ilryiiess of the season. Tlie winter ni
181)0-70 wa.s mild and open, so that the Bailey Company lost but tliree work-
ing days during the season ending March Ittli. A steady yield avergiii^
much over laborer's wages continued to attract the small nuuing population.
I'irloria Volotii.if, May 7, 1807; Jan., .luly, 18()1); Ai)ril 1870. French I'reek
had been tlio ricliest, and in many other respects the representative, creek ni
the district, tlio Half-breed claim, its most famous spot, yielding as it diil
JrlOO a day to the man, tiiough not regularly.

'^* Vonrll'ii Jirlt. Col. Mines, MS., II, I'J. This creek went also under tin'
name of Clemens Creek after tho Clemens Company. On one occasion i?l<l."i
was obtained in a single pan. In common with French Creek, tins wiis
reported and believedjat the time to be ' the biggest discovery on the coast.'
Victoria Colomut, Dec. I'J, ISti;').

■"•There were a dozen companies at work in August 18G(5, extending a mil'
and a half above the town, but most miners were awaiting the result of tlif.

A HUXDUKD CUKEKS.

-..•»7

t dollars

f French
dollars a
liHiV took
L'S dailv ;
h ran^iiiU"
ts of rich
' A few
leir part-
Ltle town
lo/AMi lou'
.0 tumn-'ls
tail-rac'(>
of large
rendertHi
lid a halt'
ut ahovc,
o- steadily
day. As
fased into
)late, ami
Aiium-
hioli was
found by
oet with-
1 out hv

P, but ccasiil
I'lic wiutor ni
three woik-
plil averj,'inL;
poimlatidii.
ji-ench CfLTk
live, crook oi
lig as it dill

Lo umlor tlif
V'casion 8 HI''
Lk, this WHS
lu the coast.'

killing a iiiik'
Icsult of tho.

In niidsuninier McCulloch Creek was said to have
a popluation of 120, while French Creek had 150,
and the entire district about JJjO. Tlie J)art Coni-
|>any's claim had a shaft 40 feet deep, in tlie i)ottom
of whicli $200 in coarse gold was obtained, wliile the
Discovery Coni})any found a prospect of 322 to the
pan."'' Half-way from here to the l^])p(>r Arrow
l^ako, on a little strc^ani running parelh'l to (}ol<l
Uivcr, Hank (^irnes in the spring of iSOf) prosp(>ct«'d
a small creek named after hin), and obtained from i'our
[)ans of dirt three dollars and thirty-s(nen C(^iits of
coarse <»()lil. A rush followi-d this discoverv, and
Carnos Creek was occupied nearlv sinudtaneouslv
with French Creek, GO miners l)eing rep( i'.^<l on tlie
ground in tlie autunm, sulfering somewliat fiv-m a lack
of provisions. Tiie de})osits were declared identical
with those of French and McCulloci crocks, bill
Robert Nobles, one of the membei's oi' the (Vuihoo
ComjKUiy, who prospected the bed of the cret !: in the
autunm of 18(15, satisfi(>d liimself that ili<^ diggings
'v'ere even d(K>per and the Ix'd-n.-k still UK^re uiiattain-
ahle.""^^ The shallower gi'ound, liowev(tr, offeied a fair
thou":h limited field, which was worked for some tinit;
l»y a small number.

(iliurations of the Yalo Company, M'ho liad sot out with tho ileterininatiou of
rxplorins,' the gutter of tho deop ground. All tho luipos of tho orook nstid
u|ioii thoir suoooss. Tlioy wore down oO foot in Auj;ust lSii(), puuipiiig with
llu! aiil of a wheol, and liually thoy slruok a pitohiiij;' lioil-rock. I'i'-f'iri'i Col-
uiiM, Aug. 28, Oot. 10, 18(!(). llouco thi'y drifted toward tho deep ground
;ind sunk throo Mind sliafts. From tho List of those they drifted a.^ain, and
Were in tliroo sets of timlur wlieu tlio tlnw ef water oMiued thorn to retire. Xrin
i\'i-4iiiiiisfi'r L'.idiiiiiK'i; (Sept. '2'), IS;!7; Wallii \\'iiU<i Sidlc.-tniiin, Aug. li). ]8()(1.

'" A bateh of $!!iO,OUO of gohl-dust was tak( u Inmi here to Walla W.dla by
.1. Kauflfmann. Virforiii ('oloni-^f, July I?, 1 !, Aug. 11, I'idi); M.iy 7, IStiT. Abevo
tlie canon tho country is opo:i, having gentle slopes not unlike tho.se of Mink
' iuleh oil William Crook, wliieh theso mines wore thought to resemble. On
pirt of First Flat in tlii* open country tlio creek was found to ti'averso a
[liuoo of high bed-rook wiih jiatehes of gravel, having probilily been foreed
iisido from tho deep channels by a slide. The gohl was of a blaekisli brown
Ime, colored by the o.xi.le f)f iron with wliieh tho gravel wa.<i impregnated.
•15.1).,' in Virforla Colonist, Sejit. IS, ISGti.

"■^ />airsoii on JliiicK, ;UI; Vh-lorid I'idoimt, April 24, .Juno 7, 18GG. Mc-
Donald and Company attempted it in ^May 18(Ui, and reaohed a depth of 45
t'l't without striking bed-rock. A miner wlio arrived at Yale in tlio spring of
IS()(i, with some gold directly from (Ernies Creok, reported tlio existence of
rich buudi or baiik diggings with many small inggots weighing up to .^1 1.

038

UPPER COLUMBIA MINES.

Fill!

it i

Oil tlie bars of tlic Columbia twelve miles above
this creek, Hank Carues in the same spriiii^ found four
men at v ork with rockers taking out fine gold resem-
bling tliat of the Eraser, at the rate of one hun-
dred dollars a dav, and in 18(50 the bars al)ove the
Arrow Lakes were occupied by miners wlio managed
to ol)taiii a living, and even to make ten dollars a (hiy.
lint these deposits could be worked only a short season,
as tlie river was liable to rise over them at any time.
Tlie district held out through the usual vicissitudi>s of
partially abandoiu>d cani})S until IHTl, and oven in 1878
tlu>re were a few miners and })rospectors who appeared
to have settled, taught l)y tlie logic of tlie facts brought
out ill tlie ])ig ]->end rush that there was Avealth in
the district if it could only be reached.'''' Carnes
asserted that he had ])rospected the Columbia from
the head-waters of the Kootenai to Carnes (^reek, and
had always found color. Prospecting and mining had
indeed, with more or less success, been followed on
the east side of Selkirk jMountaiii and also at Moberly,
Cherry, and other creeks, on the west or Gold Range
side of the river. The gold-bearing tract of the Sel-
kirk ran<>e which formed tlie Bit>' BtMid district
extended evidently for at least seventy -five miles along
the western slope, and whatever its value, the failure
of the district must be a':tributed chiefly to the flow of
Avater, i)reventiiig miners from reaching the deep
g'round under the clay which was everywhere reported
to exist in the Big Bend as well as in the Kootenai
tlistrict. ^[uch of the shallower oTound had been
condi'iuned as spotted before it was fairly tested, and
till! i-arly prosjiects on the surface at French and ^fc-
Culloch creeks were regarded as the only decidedly
rich yields.

The milling developments in the C(>lunibia basin,
as well as those made in the Fraser liiver basin after
the excitement in 1801, were not unnoticed by scien-
tific men. A correspondent of the I/yndon Times

»» VownCs B. C. Mines, MS., 10 !•_'; Victoria Coloim', July 3, 180(i.

GOLD EVERYWHERE.

539

jiiosented evidence on which lie ventuivd tlio o[)ini()n
that the whole inouiitaiii system of British C'oiunihia
Avas auriferous as f\ir as the Stikeen River, "the Ioml;-
( st stretch of continuous inland oold-producinijf country
vt-t discovered in the world," from which incalculable
advantaire must result to the colony as well as to
the mother country. Sir Roderick JVEurchison also
expressed the ojunion, hased upon oroui'raphic data, tliat
tlio auriferous matrix would he found to extend alon^,'
tlio slo[)es of tiie mountains of ^he whole eordillrra
system, including the plateau hetween the Cascade and
iiockv rano'es. The ])lae(n' diij^niuLifs he showed were
uiideniahly hut ihe alluvial deposits l)roUL>ht down from
ili(!sc mountains hy the streams.'" This was contirmed
liy numerous developments, amoni*' them the diii^^tj^iiiLjs
at liock Creek in the centre of tlie plateau on the l)ouu-
(lary line. The upper Columbia and its tributaries
iti euttin*^ throuijfh the o'old-bearini;" belts of the i)la-
tt au had revealed tlu; fact that tlie wholi; country imt
ciivered l)y comparatively recent formations was au-
rit'i'rous, but outside of the deep and ancient cliannels
ZDiies were disclosed oidyin afew localities rich enough
to })ay. Rock Creek acquired a reputation in the
siuumer of 18()0, and a considi>rable population flocked
in, formin;^ a town and mining lK»th in bench and creek
diggings. One or more ounces a day were often ob-
tained, and during the season of 18(51 a party of white
iiK'U Secured twelve thousand dollars, besides ex]ienses,
the average earnings a day beuig seven dollars to
the man.^^ The Cariboo excitement caused Rock
Creek to be almost abandoned in 18()2, and for sev-
iial years little was done in f)r heard from it. Contem-
li'M-aneously with the ]Tig Bend excitement, however,

*" li(iirl!iiij.-i' Coiijiilcrti/hii, IIS; Maijiii's Brilixli Coliniiliin, 441-2.

'' About a iiiilo from ita iimutli the I'lvok (liggiiii,'^ jiaiil froiii oiu! to two
iiuiift's, ami soiuotiiMis oiio huiidrod dolLirs a day to tlio Iwiiid, tlio lioiiolios in
iiiu iii.stiiiK'o yielding an ounoo a day for tho soa.son. It was olisorvod that
llii' Iio.st diggings occurred where the crook had cut through a liolt of soft rook.
I'liirxon on Xliiics, 41. To the history of tho crook lK'lonj,'s tiio shooting dur-
iiiua (lis])ute, in July 18()1, of David ]J;irr liy P'rank Porter, who escaped ucrosu
tlic frontier. Mf Donald' x Brltixh. i'olumliid, \S0.

.a.. ,i„

r>4()

UPl'Ml COLUMBIA MINES.

tlic report .spread tlmt ricli tligginjj^s liacl again bcnn
found, and the place reci-ivrd greater attention/'

In 18G8 tlic bed-rock flunie was conn)]eti'd, Avliicli
enabled tbe liolders of claims along the creek to take
■>ut from eigbt to twelve dollai's a day by ground-
sluicing. During tbe season of 1^70, tbe company
op-, rating tbe flume in tlie bed of tbe creek took oul
six tbousand dollars at tbeir first clean-up ; and baviiig
as yet barely toucbed tbe edge of tlu! pay-dirt, wbicli
consisted of a layer of iiravel and sand twelve fet't in
tbickness, tbey exi)ected in Auijfust to take out tbrec
times as mucb.'*''

J)escending still fartber towai'd tbe inner flank of
tbe C^ascadi' Mountains, I find a I'ecurrenco of tlic
T^ock (^-eek developments. Along tlic Okanagaii
brancb of tbe Columbia, not (»nly on tbe (>ast side as
far as ^[ission Creek, but also on tbe west side at
SimilkametMi, ])lacers (>xistcd wbicb wwv tbe scen( s
I if cxcitenu-nts durin!"' tbe (.'arliest da\s of niinini>' in
llritisb Columbia; and on the AVasbington sideof tln'
boundary around J^ake Cbelan, a large area of counti y
Avas found to contain ([uait/ xcins and local [daceis.
Along Okanagan l»ivec, tbe (l('[)osits were scattcicd,
and in mo>t cases woi-ked fbi- but a short time, cbielly
pei'baps, from want of water. ( )ut of ninetei'U streams
falling into ( )kanagan Lake, seven Avere, in I Sfi 1 . found
to be gold-bt-aring. and Mission ('reck, (lowing into it
from tboeast.bad }ila.ct>is\vhicb yielded in f Hr)l>-(iO bot li
(in(> and coarse gold, at tbe rafe of I'roni two to forty
doliai'sji day to the man.^' Xenr l'\>rt ( )kanagaii, sixty

'-'III Manli ISlii!, 14 wliitcs ;uul 40 (liiiujsu \\oiv ;it WdiU oii the cii i k
l;;iiiil;ill iiiul ('iiiiiiKiiiy wa.slicil .^1 1 out <il' iOlt liiU'la'ts of (lilt, iiinl in l.^'s II
till! lii'iliiick Klimu! ('i)iiiiiaiiy lit 7 lut'ii was milling Huci.'i'sstull\ . 'I'lic lly-
(liaiilic < '(>iiij>aiiy nf ;> iiirii was iiiaUiiij; in lS('i'.) tVoin i; S to SlO a day. Mi'-id, s
tlii'sc, 'J;t Cliini'si' \vt fi- iMgaui'il in sluicing, lic/nri'i i'oloiii.-'l, Aiiril 7. ISiili;
Jmio ."), ISd'.t.

^■'Tliry Miro iiiiiili troiiliK'd witli (juiiiksanl. luit iiia.sti'ri!il it. J{(i(uir;aL'
80,000 fi'i't of IuiiiIht for tlu'ir (ipi'ratioiis in I.S71, 't Avas tlio iiitriitinn of t!ii'
cdinjHiuy to cTiit a .>»aw-iniU in tlu' ini'an tinii;. Tliioo coiinianit's of ("liim -■(
Woro at work on tlio itci k iiiaking .*.'! a day to tlio liaiiil. I'/r/orln ('dIoh'xI.
.Inly •-'7, 1S70.

" In 1S77 Mfl>ougall iind Coniiiaiiy wcro making, on Mi.ssiou (ViH'k, Irmii
U'n to liltt'cu iloUars a i!ay to \'.\f Ikui'I. Jhiir.ioii on .]fiii<s, 41; Loml'^n

THE OKANAltAX MINES.

541

miles south of the boundary liuo, a population of
twenty-six minors wore in 1801 dividiniif their tinio
In'twoon ujininij: and luisl)andrv, avoranin'jc four dollars
a tlay in tlio diggini^s. The small population tlion in
tlie valley consisted mainly of French Canadians and
( atholie missionaries. On Similkameen llivor, en-
tninu' the Okana<>'an at the boundary line, ijfold was
found'*' in sharp, unwashed particles, which in IHGl
yielded some miners one ounce a day, but on an ayer-
'A^sy the rocker produci-d four, iive, and eight dollars a
day each to the t\vo hundred miners then said to bo at
work in tlio digijfiuLJ's: one hundred and iifty of these
wc'i'e Chinese, who soon oi)tained almost solo posses-
sion; but they also abandoned the ])lace giadually.
in the spring of 18<!(), however, a little excitenu'nt
again attracted a number of them from ] [ope, and in
Srptend)er, betwi't-n forty and fifty wore at work,
making good wages. ''^

The year 1800 witnessed the crossing of tlie west-
eiu rim of the ])lateau by bodit^s of miners, moving
eastward in British Columbia as well as in ( 'alifoinia.
An observer from the remote stand[)oint of histoi-y
ctiuld have then seen at the same instant excited
iiiimrs sluicing in the canons at Gold Hill, Similka-
meen, Cariboo, and i*ike's Peak — tlu^ Kocky Moun-
taliis having l)een first reached from thc^ west by ihi>
eastwarxi-llowing current through tin' inviting valley

7V,, I V, cor. .1:111. i-'O, ISti'J, in /^^("•///(;/.^■' ('(infuli nilioii, 111; I'. S. Min. S/ii-

/if':', i;a;s, r.C)>s.

'■ .\ ilKsnu'tor known as .Tackass .lolin ^n-osju'i'tfcl Siniilkanu'i'u liivcr in
ISiiO aiil \vinj^-ilani:iu'(l a poi'tion if it. AttiT \\oi'i;i:ii; tw'o ilay-i, anil ta!;ing
mi! .' ',{). tho w attT rose ami ilrovo liini out. .lolin (lii')i wi nl to S:ilino:i l;i\ i-r,
l!'i (', 111 u'Atoot, anil Koolcnai in tnin. In OctohiT ISlKi, ln' ii'tni'ui' I lolhi'
Mil' 111' lii-i pi'i'vious mi t'ortnnrs liy llooil, anil \n fourtcisi day <, u-.iiiiili'il ami
aloiu', lie \\:u!n'il out .t'.'OO. A party of tluvi' nun rngaj;i'il in shilling took
nut ; L'l ) in tlii'L'c iliys. I'irfoii i Cnhnlst, Fdi. ,'>, ISliT.

' TliiTi' was I'l'iioi'tiil to 1)1' a ' lal ;i' Ix'.l-roi'k ' also in tlii-i u'i'ouml. umlri'-
laiil liy a lu'il of ).;ravi'l. Vir'ori" ( ','liiiii.^f, M ly '-2, Oct. 'J. ISHd, in li'tirr ; from
1 1 HI"', ilali'il May ISthaml S.iit. 'J.")tli rri|H'<'t iv. ly. Similiiami'i'ii ami O'^aiia-
^ri rountrii's wore a'lmitti'il tiy liotli I'al iirr a nl M lyno to jio-i-i's-i sui'i'iior
aiivauta:'i's in agriculluro an \m 11 as niinia;;. 'Il'o mim'-i iiciu',' o|i|iosit • llo|)i',
til y ro'ill l>o I'lai'lii'il from tlu're liy a 'J.'')-iiiili' waiton-roal to tin' Irail of
•'^'. ■".\t Kivi-r, ami tlu'ni'o liy trail, 'rii,' artirlcs ri'ii'iiriiij; tiati ;|iortation by
\v :.;ii'i w ri' larg' ly su)i|)lii' 1 to tlm I'onntry at that timo frmn llio Anii'riuiUi
"siilo of thu line. Jiuwliiii/s' Vonjhlintdon, 114; Mnyiir'n li. <'., .'Wit.

r>42

UPPER COLUMBIA MINES.

of the Fraser. But no sucli p(ipulatioii coukl be in-
duced to cross the Cascades in the north as veenforced
the camp upon the croppings at Virginia and Gold
Hill, otherwise it niiolit have puzzled the historical
prophet witnessing the operations of 18()1 to deter-
mine wliether mining in the northern interior should
not liave liad an equal prominence in the folloAving
decades. In subsequent years a like metalliferous
country was developed with the same series of geologi-
cal formations. But quartz bonanzas, unless exceed-
ingly rich, were not wanted by the men, who with
pans, shovels, and rockers clind)ed over the Cascades
hi the north. What they wanted was simply placrr
gold. Had they found anything more, there existctl
no lines of travel nor hives of population within reach
of these outlying districts that could pour in thv
necessary additional forces, machinery, appliances, and
capital for exploration underground. To follow the
deposits in that direction, however strongly they might
have been indicated, was clearly out of the question.
The day of roads, of machinery, and of cheap supplits
had not yet come. Between 18(50 and IHdCI Washoo
and Keese River were taking their first lessons in
silver mining. When the most su})erficial bars and
placers had been worked, the lid of clay in the ancient
channels was reached; when machinery, capital, and
skill were recjuisito to proceed further, the wandering
fortune-hunters betook themselves to other fields. All
the evidences of decay, failure, recklessness, and ruin
which pn^sented themselves to the vision of the aftn-
comers, oidy assisted to render the stereotyjied but
superficial and not final verdict — exhausted.

i n

oukl be in-
s voeiiforci'd
Lx and Gold
10 liistoririil
1)1 to dcter-
cTior sluiuld
he follow in;j;
uotalliforous
!S of goolo;4i-
dess exceed-
n, wlio witli
tlio Cascades
dimply idat'ir
there exisU'd
withui ivaili
pour in the
l>pliaucea, and
L\) fohow tlio
rlytheyinii;lit
' the question,
dieap supplies
18(')(; Washoe
•st lessons in
loial bars and
lin the ancient
f, capital, and
[he wanderinii'
„r fields. All
|iess, and ruin
11 of the aftei-
reotyped but
ed.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

COLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

18(51-1882.

Omin.-;ca Countuy — Pk.$ k River riiosPECTEn — Govf.rnment ExrEPnios —
X'uosrErriNO Chase — Vitai e <'|{Ek.k — Omink.ca Overkated — <!ekman-
SEN Cheek — Si.riciNC, — Mansiis and Lust Cheeks I'im.av Rivek -
The Skeena and «.$ast rt.AtEHs— VHosrEcis ok Sivitlk.ments— Caitsk
OK Decline — The Stikeen Explohed— Thiiiekt'.s Disidvehy— Cas-
siAK Pi-ACEHs — Dease Lake Tkiih takies.

Bkyoxd Fraser liiwr basin the plateau of the Cor-
/(illera continues northward in two prinei[)al HaMu;i'S
l)ordered by slaty jj^old and silver-bcnirini^ mountains
similar in character to the Bald ^[ountains of ( 'ariboo.'
1 1 descends ijraduall v toward the sea at J^eriny Straits,
forming for sixteen hundred miles the trough of Yukon
I liver. Between the Fraser and Yukon river basins
tlie Oinineca and (^assiar mining districts, repn'sent-
iug the northward nu)vement of the miiung [)opul;i-
tion of the coast, came into existence soon afk'r the
sottleinent of (.\iriboo, each rising along a great river,
wliicli interlacing its head-waters on the plateau with
tliose of anotlu'r gre;it river of the opp<»site (>astein
slo[)e, aflbrded a broad avt'iuie for the prospectors and
traders who began to occupy this region.

Oinineca," the nai:;e givi'ii to the mining district of

eciia ai

id 1^

eai'e

iver sec

tioi

1 of

eau.

tlU' I

Tlio identity in iixis or striko was not traw.'tl to a niocty. Some thought
iiiuutaiiii drained hy tlio Finlay and Oinineca Iiranehes of 1

e.H'O Jiiver

Were tlio continuation of the mountainous eountry exjdored liy Hlaek and
I'l'Mton cast of Carihoo, if not of tiio Carihoo IJald Mountain Kanue. ('(irilmii
Sri.lliirl, Oct. 2;«, 18GU.

•'After a species of whortleberry growing there and forming a Htaple arti-
cle of fodd of the Indians. Mackaizk o/ Ifw lliidsou Hoy <'<)iii]iiniii, in Vtrlorht
('■iloiii-^l, Jan. 8, 1870.

( .". i;; )

: I. ■

;

J *

' •1 i

I'l ^

jnl

iiitWillll

844

({OLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

may be described as 1.500 to 2,000 feet lower than
the Cariboo section, and more gentle in its undulations
than usual with mining districts on the coast, yet a
cold, cheerless, and barren region.^ It nevertheless
presented noteworthy and attractive features, and
was the earliest portion of the Pacific slo]>e visited
by English settlers from the north Atlantic coast.

Peace lliver* cleaving the liodvy Mountains to their
base led Sir Alexander ^Fackenzie and his Canadian
voyageurs into New Caledonia, or Oniineca, in the last
century, and after 180(5 tlie country was permanc>nt]y
occupied by the fur-traders. J^y the Peace and Skeena

^ At Oniineca diggings proper, situatod near the lioad-watcrs of tlio IVacr
and Skeena rivers, llio country resembled (i>uesnel nioiitli in Fraser llivi i-
basin, a thickly voodeil jdateau region, free from higli mountains and of ea^y
transit. In regard to the climate and agricidtural value of the country,
accounts did'ercd. The ColoiilM described it as ' free from the extremes of cohl
and heat,' winter setting in at the end of October, ami ending alxmt the iMIli
of Aiiril, the snow in exceptional winters attaining a depth of only three feet.
]5y April jr)th the whole country was open and the Hudson's ]>ay C'om[iany
usually despatched tlu'ir winter collection of furs down the Fraser River.
I'otatoes and turnips llourished; but cereals liad not been brought to perfec-
tion on account of the early fidsts. ]..ieut. H. S. rainier, on the other hanil,
Avriting in ISd-t, said: 'All that portion fof Rrili.sli t'olnndiiaj lying to l!ie
north of the .')4th ])aralkl remains, and is likely to remain, an uninliabitcd
wiUb'rness. ' From the Hudson'.siiny Company's .servants we barn that all liough
not entiri'ly devoid of attractive features and occasional jiafehes of good soil,
tills portion of the colony is on the whole cheeiless an<l uninviting, and
i'speiially ill adapteil for Ihe occnjiation of man. Aloreover, its high l.ititiido
and extreme elevation and tlie ri;;(irous eliniatic inlhiencei to which it i.< sidi-
jeeted are elements little likely to encourage its fpeedy development. Loii'l.
Hco'j. So<\, Jdiir., vol. I'll, J7J-I!. The country along I'eaec; River, above l!ii^
junction sif Finlay River, resendiled that of the I'ra.ser at Alexandria, and
tiiough farther north it Mas all much lower and not so culd a ennnli'v as Cari-
boo. Ji. ('ill. D/rirfiirif, ]Si','.\, 'JlM 5. JIarnian, a jiartner of the Northwe t
Company, stationeil at Sti^wart Lake in ISII, made mention repeati'c.ly In
Ills joui'nal of the soil lieing good in places. I'lU'nijis and potatoes jlantcd In
181 1 proiluced well. 'The hd'A in many ]ilaces in lU'W Cileiionla is tolciaMy
good. 'Tlierc is not a niontli in the whole year,' he aihls, ' in vhleh water
does not congeal, though the air in tlie daytiiiu?, in summer, is warm, and we
even have a few davs of sultrv weather, llarnuiii'a Jour. (Andover, 1' 'JOl,
1 IT, 'JIS, 'J.-.T, 2l)'J; ioitylCt Ji. C. Jlinci, MS., i;i-M; I kioria Dally Cohiil-i,
Fel). -j:!, 1S70.

*'J'iie name of Peace River was derived from ' Peaeo I'oint.'a landmark
on lower I'eaee River a !;liort di.slance aliovc it.i outlet in Alliaba.sea Lala',
where a jieaee had been eonelndi'd between the '"■'nisteneaux and lieavir
Indians sonu! time lieforo Sir Alexandt'r Mackcn/ie's exploration, its ]ii'i)]icr
Indian name was also the name of tlie eimiitry through which it ran — Unjigali
country and rher — tlie ownershii) of which was in dispute and was settbd at
tlie time and ]ilaee mentioned. Tiiese facts were stated ]>y Mackenzie's inter-
preter, from which it is to be inferred that the name of I'eaeo J{'"er wa-! alnaily
111 use among the fur-traders at the time of Mackenzie's famouti journey to its
source ill 171)2. Murl-tiirlvK \'oii., I'J.'t.

PEACE RIVER.

545

Nver than
idulations
ist, yet a
rertheloss
ires, and
pc visited
coast,
lis to their
Canadian
in the last
nnanently
nd Skeena

•s of the IVaci'
I Frasur Uivcr
ins anil of •-'''>■
f the country,
xtromes of ^'M
al.out tlio l.Stli
(inly tliri'o fi'it.
1 r.ay t'onipany
I Frascr Rivir.
mglit to |)urfcc-
tlu' other hand,
^il lyin^' to tl;c
ui iiuiuhahitcil
,thatiiU!um^!i
s of Jiooil i-ioil.
ninvitini,', ami
:s hii.;h l.ititiuK'
hit'h it i-i Mih-
pnient. I.iiirl.
\vv, iihovc t!u'
oxandria, ami
intry as t'ai'i-
tlio ^'oi-thwo t
i-c[)catoi,ly lii
,.()i_'s jlantfil ill
nia i-i toliTal.ly
n whioh \vali I-
warm, and uc
nilovei', V ->ll.
J)iuli/ Colivii-^l,

t,' ii lanilniark
lluihara ],a'.a',
IX anil JJiavc r
|[in. ltd piopiT
i-an — Uu.;.i:;:ili
was .scttli'il at
ckonzio's intor-
•erwa-t already
, journey to in

river route, the continent is traversed at the lowest
altitude existing north of the isthmus of Teliuantopcc
in a line tlie most direct from tlie north Atlantic to
China, and tlio discovery of gold ])lai'(>rs uj)()n ]*eace
IJiver and in Omincca foi-cshadowcd the cstahlisliment
of a new city on tlie north Pacific coast, ^v■hich might
^onle day lay claim to the terminus of the Canadian
Pacific railway.'" On this line tlie metalliferous axis
of the Cordilleras was intersected, and i'ound to he
iontinuous in all its force to a high nortluTn latitude.
'I'lie evidence of pr()S})ectors estahlished the t'xistence
of from ein'ht t<> twenty dollar diu<»in<'S.'^ Even if
tlie diggings were remote, the climate severe, and the
summers sliort, here lay a vast extant of still su])er-
ficially prospected country wliich possessed, and would
he likely hereafter to maintain, the character of attract-
ive "poor man's diggings."' Tlie development of
mining in the ()miiu>ca region must also IxH'ome a
means of ])opulating the houndh'ss agricultural legions
of tlie nortli-west territory of Canada adjt)ining.

The first discoveries north of Fraser Iliver basin
Were made during the summer of 18(]1 on Peace Iliver,
hctween the source and the passage through the llocky
^lountains. Two miners named J'^dward ( arey and W.
Crest left Quesnelmouth in the spring, simultaneously
with the movement U}»ou Cariboo, and ])roceed(>d by
way of FortCJeorgo to Fort 8t James, theiici! iollow-
ingthe Hudson's J Jay Company's trail over the ])ort<tge
to jMcLeod Fort. During the high water of June

'' T. Ki'(tHK, ill (htrldiiil Mont/ili/, March ISTO, 2(i4. Mr llvans rceoi^'ni/cd
tlie Yellowlicail or Li'athcr Pass as a rnlini,' jioint from the railway to tin;
I'liea .Sea, hut saw in tlie river system of t)iiiiiieca the foreshailowiiig of a rival
tenninns at the moutli of the Skeciia River.

"After the discovery of gold in (.'alifornia ami on Frasi-r River the Incliaiis
fiei|uently hnuight nuggets and gdld-di'st (to the value of wliich their atteii-
tiiiii was then for the iirst time dircctt'd) fi-uni their liunling-grounds to IIk^
lliidsDu's Ray Company's ])osts in the 1' aci: River, Omini'ca, and Cassiar
lej^ion. 'Viewed in the light of re<'ent discoverii's,' said thi; < 'olmiisf, during
tlic excitenieiit these Indian linda hecaiiio of interest. Vktoria Wcili/ l.'olo-
"'■-/, .Fan. I!), 1870.

• /''. /'((;/(', ill Victoria Daily Colonint, Aug. 8, 1871; /'/., Weekly, April 6,
1S70; Sitrml's li. ('., 7ti.

IIisT. Bkit. Cor.. 35

540

GOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

tlioy doscendotl Peace River for two hundred miles,
passin<»' througli the canon, lieturning at low water,
they prospected all the bars and brought with them
to McLeod one thousand dollars in dust, the result of
a few days' washing at one point. The largest day's
work performed yielded ^75 to each.** After W'intering
at Quesnelmouth they repeated their journey in
18()2, accompanied by Peter Toy, Joseph Oates, and
Ezra Evans, and obtained from fifty days' washing
each ^1,200. Nearly all the bars yielded from ten
to fifteen dollars a day to the man, those on Einlay
liiver for twenty miles from its mouth being the best.
Five others followed them to Peace Pivcr the same
season, four of W'hom workinijf tooether took out in
twelve davs nearlv $1,000. The i>-old was d(!scribed
as scaly surface gold, somewhat heavier than that of
the Eraser His or bars.^ In January 18(!3, Bell, Ciold-
sniith, and thret others left A'ictoria for Peace Iliver
and obtained half an ounce a day to the man on almost
every bar down to the junction of Einlay Iliver. No
excitement api)cars to have resulted from these dis-
coveries, owing chiefly, no doubt, to the deveh)pments
in the Cariboo country, which overshadowed every-
thing else for the time. Influenced by discoveries on
the main or southern branch of Peace River, a party
of Cariboo uuners reached Fort St James in 1804, and
taking a different route, followed the canoes of tin'
Hudson's Bay Company north, through Stewart and
Tatla lakes, to a point opposite the head-waters of the
Omineca tributary ; thence striking over the Peak or-
Blue ^[ountains, they entered the Peace River basin
and mined till the following year, returning home with
four or five thousand dollars. One of the men,
Michael Eoy, remained behind and mined successfully

"Oil a 8iui(l-1>iuik of Fiulay Rivur about throe miles above ita mouth, thoy
found a hiyer of hhick saml overlying gravel which yielded three to four ouiiwm
a day to the hand, tlie whole being covered by five or six feet of hmse sand:
want of provisions oldijjed them to leave their ground and continue up the
river to Fort St .John. Virtoria Wcikly t'ohmst, S'eb. 23, 1870.

»Ji. Col. Directory, 18G3, 204-5.

OMKNICA RIVER.

547

tor five years, reiiiittiiig several thousand tlollara to his
daiiLjliter.*"

Ill 18(')8 Huinplireys, Gaykml, Evans, and Twelve-
toot Davis struck xVrrtic Creek. llunn)lireys rc-
turned to Qucsnclinouth tlie sanii^ year and endeavored
to form a prospretinji^ P'^i'ty to riMnain in tins fields
tlirouffh 18(>!)and 1870. In this cflort he was aided
hy Mieluu'l Byrnos and Yitalle La Force, two ex-
plorers in the employ of the Western Union Telegraph
( 'ompany, wlio had wintered on the head-waters of
Ominera Kiver in 18()8-D. Traders and others, in
\ iew of the depressed condition of affairs at (^arihoo
and Kootcniai, also favored the search for a new gold
tield, and l»etwcen government and private aid twenty-
two hundred dollars was made up to di^fray the v.\-
jtenses of the ex[)edition. The choice for leadership
tell Upon ]3yrnes, with Humphreys and l^a Force as
lieutenants, and ICawkins, (h'ant, Kelley, and several
others as mend)ers of the com[)any; the expialitiou
hi'iiiu known as the 'oovernnuMit partv,' to tlistinijuish
it from the 'Chapman j)arty,' which followed in the
same direction. Both left Quesnelmouth in the hc-
ginning of IMay f 8<il), and were not heard from until
Octoher, when news arrived from the government
ix[)cdition reporting an important discovi^ry. Soon
alter, however, all of this party except La Force and
Kelk'y returned with unfavorahle re[)orts. ]^yrnes
stating that after leaving Bulkley house at the north
end of Tatla Lake, June Dth, they turned tcnvard the
head of Finlay River, distant fifty miles, in a north-
easterly direction, over a iliflicult route!, on the 2 1st
they found gold on a small creek, and took out thirty-
tive ounces from 800 feet of ground. " There is a
narrow range," said the report, "of hlut; and yellow
talcose slate, with innumerable small veins of <piartz

'" Mwmwliili) fiir-triulcrs coutiiiuud to ic'i«)rt rich digging's in tiiL-i n'gi«ni,
ainl iJavis iiiul Johns, who in lS(i() iiiid lS(i7 tnidotl tlii'ough tlio country for
furs on their own account, brought with tiicni to X'ictoriii a coiiMidcriililo
i[uiiatity of gold-dust which tliey had obtained. Victoria U'ciklif VolonUt,
J'cb. i>3, 1«70.

f)iS

GOLD DISCOVERIES IX THE FAR XORTH.

intersecting it — general course from north-west and
south-east. . .This ranj^o is cut off at the south fork
of the Finlay branch (Omineca River) by a moun-
tainous range of granite," and ought to be prospected
the next season, for a rush of miners at this time, it
was ui'ged would be unadvisable. The party found
also a few pieces of native silver and some indications
of copper. To their particular friends the leaders
made a more favorable report, and Humphreys, after
depositing on his own account in the assay office at
B.irkerville seventy ounces of gold-dust, immediately
returned to Peace River with several companions and
a stock of supplies. These circumstances cast a sus-
picion on tlie integrity of the leaders of the govern-
ment party, whose discoveries were claimed to be
public property; while this was under discussion at
Quesnel and JBarkervillo, a letter arrived, wherein
Ogden, tlio Hudson's Bay Company's agent at Stew-
art Lake, stated that the members of the govern-
ment part}" on their way back for supplies had de-
posited $2,500 with him, and that if tools had been
obtainable at Stewart Lake, they would not have re-
turned to Quesnel until the end of the year ; one of
the party having admitted, while under the influence
of liquor, that they had taken out $8,000 in thirty-
five days.

Some of the Barkerville miners promptly de-
patched two men, Kane and Sylvester, to follow the
returning leaders to the new diggings and ascertain
the truth. Leaving Quesnel October 30, 18G9, they
took the telegraph trail to Fort Fraser, reaching Fort
St James in advance of the ex-government party,
which had gone by boat up the Fraser and Stewart
rivers. Another party of pursuers from Quesnel
led by Black liad overtaken Byrnes' boats near Fort
George, from which point onward there was a race
between them, in which Black with his light boat had
every advantage. They arrived at Fort St James
November 27th, and the Byrnes party now became

AUt'TIC CRKKK.

r)4!>

still more enraged at tiiulinjjf themselves not only inter-
cepted, but uiiniasked. Still ;uu)tlier party from Qut>s-
ncl, known as Buekley's, was f'ollowiii*;- Ity water.
Before reachinuf tlie mines Byrnes' }»arty overtook
Sylvester and Kane lyinuf in wait for them, and their
'intrigues and dodsji^es' to elude the ])ursu(>rs were
uiiavailiniif. At len<j^th the matter was compromised hy
an ajj^reetnent under which the discoverers were permit-
tt'd to stake off their own claims first. The pui'suers
were now led to the south of the Omincca Mountains
— referre<l to in tlu^ governnuMit party's ie])ort as con-
sisting of granite — instead of to the iiorth ; to the
Omineca tributary ov south branch, instead of the
north or main fork oi' Finlay lliver; and to Vitalle
Creek, where the mining had been done." Kane
learned further in i-euard to tlie doiui^s of the u'overn-
mental i)artv durinu' the i)reci'dini'- sunnner, tiiat thev
liad joined forces with (Uia])man's party, and while
some of them went over to Arctic Creek, discH)vered bv
llum[»hi'eys in hS(;8,the majority remaiiuul on Vitalle
Creek, which was nuicli richer — tlu^ total sum taki-n
out being $S,000 — and a, third division Avas kept con-
stantly engaged in carrying provisions from Tatla
jjake. It was finally explaint^l that the motive^ for
tlie secrecy was the supposed existence on X'italle
Creek of a wondirful silver l(Ml!»e which they desired
to discover and secure; before a rush S(>t in.

The confirmation of the rumors thus [)resented,
tog(!ther with the remittance of some gold, set in full
action the excitement which had been roused by the
mystery surrounding J^yrnes' movements,"' and it Mas

"Reports of Kauo and Sylvester in Carihoo Scnfiin'l, Dee. 11 and 1(>, 18()!t.
Syivi'sttT reiiiiiiiuHl in charge of the Ailair elaiiii on N'italle ( 'reek, while Kane
ri'liii'iicd to Carihoo and re[iorted these results of tlieir expeditioii. Kroiu
l''ort St .lames tliey hail traveUed hy hoat hy way of Stewart, Treinhh', ami
Tatla Lakes to the lauding on the north-east side, l(il) miles from i'lirt St
•lames, and thenee in live days' journey over the mountains to N'italle Creek.
yirloria nWUi/ColoiiM, Feh. '-M, KS70; Jhiily A/., Dee. Ul, KSCilt; Carihoo
Snitimt, Get. 'J7, ISCJi).

'-In addition to the gold produced in 1S()'.) giving rise to the excitement,
Mr Linhart brought down to Victoria 00 ouucoa iu January 1870. Victoriit
Wnkly Colonist, Fel). '2, 1870.

"! i

j: i

CIOLD DISCO VKUIKS IX THK I'AK NORTH.

prophesied at one timo that three fourths of tho popu-
hitioii at AVilHam Cn-ck wouhl have for Oinineca in
the followiiijL^ sin'iiiLj; as it \vas, a coiisiderahh' flow
of miners from Cariboo and other portions of l^ritisli
(Columbia, and even from Cahfornia, sot in for the
diggin<jjs, uith Vitalle Creek as tlie centre of attiac-
tion. Tliis creok. named after A'itahe La Force, wlio
Jiad been directed liy trap})ers to seek for L;'old up(»n
it, was ah'eady fully occujjied l)y \'italle and liis (^ues-
uohnouth associates, besides a iuunber of others, and
the yield was already falling oil".'"* The first work
had 1)0011 done one and a quarter miles from its numtJi
ill from two to four fet't of ground, a depth which in-
creased further up. Oiu; tenth t)f the metal found
was native waslu'd silver, partly in nuggets wi>ighing
as much as three ounces, Joliii Adair obtaining thirty-
five ounces thereof in as many days.'^

A number of diggers had remained on the creek
during the winter of 18(>l)-70, but the mining opera-
tions were not generally successful. Black and ^Ic-
^tartin and others bottomed a .shaft to find only
'color,' while Sylvester and Company struck slum
and water on a sliding bed-rock at a de[)th of twenty-
five feet, which obliged them to abandon their shaft.''
This was certainly not encouraging to the new ar-
rivals, and many turned back at once, while others
])assed on to the lower tributaries.'" Black with
thirty or forty others prospected the adjoining valley

^Killan'sCtrlhoo, MS., 12, 13.

'*Wht'n they cca.sutl to liml silver thoy ceased also to fi ml gold. I/istoni
of the Peiirc Ji'irir Mhii'.% in Vicloria Wtrkli/ C.'nlotit.'<f, Fel). '2'i, 1870. -Mr
Ogdeu at Stewart Lake purchased lii8 ounces of Vitalle Creek gold from the
government prospcctii'.; party wliich was worth ., 17..">0 the ounce. It wa.s
mixed with lumps of s ver worth a ' hit.' /'/., Ajiril li, 1870.

^'■^ CarUioo ISoitiw I, i Victoria Wv<klijColoiii-tt, July '20, 1870; /'/., Aug. 17,
1870.

•"No sooner had ti ?rowd overrun the diggings than munhors started
back, ahandoning their lims, and in .July and xVugust between 100 and l.")0
miners remained in the . mtry with the determination to give the ground a
fair trial. Peter Davis i I a party left Omineca .Tune '28th, and returned by
way of Skeena River an Nanaimo by canoe. Tliey reported that only fom-
clanna M'ere paying smal' vages. A small piece of ground below the Discov-
ery claim paid nine ouni i in one day, after which the yield was light. J'.''-
toria Wceklt/ Colunist, July 27 aiul Aug. 17, 1S70.

t;KKMAXSKN.

RSI

of Silver Cnvk in ISTO, fiiKliiiii: only two-aiid-a-lialf-
(lollar <lijjfgin«;s; l)ut oHht inospcctors wcrt! more suc-
cessl'ul oil (litU'reiit stivains, aiul later in the season
a consulcral )lo (luantitv of "jfold was taken out. in the
jiMnri-eirate, a })arty of liftoen Chinese niakinjj^ $7,000
in three weeks, and ahout one hundred miners pri'-
l>ared to carry on their operations durin<^ the v/inter/'
This added zest to the inij)ulse, and in US71 the
Oniineea excitement attained its heiij^ht. By the mid-
dle of June, it was reported that eii;ht hundred ani-
mals had crossed Fraser Kiver at Quesnel, mostly
with ])rovisions, and that nine hundred men had
arrived at the di,;j;<j^inijfs, hy the Fraser and Skeena
routes.'"* C)[)erations were actively prosecuteil, and
creek after creek aloui,^ tne Omineca achieved mort^
or less notdtiety for a time, as Arctic, Quart/, Man-
son, Slate, Skeleton, Lost, and various others, partic-
ularly ({ermansen, which now l>ecami> the leading
creek in the district. It was named after James ( ler-
mansen,"^ who discovered the first gold on the ci'eek
in July IS, 1870. Good shallow diggings were found
lor three miles, usually within four feet of the l>e<l-
rock, yielding twt>nty-Hvi^ cents prospect to the pan,
ill clean coarse gold lying on a layi-r of sand twt) i'eet
htiu'ath the gravel in the IkhI of the creek. Cust
reported that everybody o)i the creek was making
from 810 to three ounces a dav, and hv October .'ii^70,-
OoO had been taken out. Lumps of silver were also
found, the largest weighing $'-)00, and the country
around was seamed with (piartz. Cermansen Creek,

'•In tlio wintor of 1S70-1 several ooiiiiiaiiies wen; niiiniiij,' tiiiiui'ls <iti
M.iiisDu Creek, and SO to U)0 miners wiiitereil in tlie several creeks. A do/en
siiuulit the forks of tiiu Skeena for winter ([iiarters tlie same .season; ami
aliiiiit three dozen doscemled tliat river still further to Woodcock's Landing.
Vh-ioria Wt'dli/ Coloiiiif, Dec. 20, 1871.

''Sylvester, expressman, in I'drilxm Siiifinil; \'irtori miners on (ierniansen L'riM'k ami more
arriving daily. /(/...TulyO, 1871. O'Reilly wiis the first goKl commissioner;
tiien followed Vowell.

''••Uormansen was a native of St ]*a\il, Minnesota, who came in KSCdJ to
IJritisli Columbia by way of Saskatchewan River with cattle, lie mined
with a party on Peace River in 18G8 and made ^00. Victoria Wcfkli/ Colo-
hl-t, Dec. 14, 1870.

552

GOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

: ;i; ii

in fact, surprised many by its superiority over the
other streams.^"

At the junction of the creek with Omineca Hiver
rose a settlement spoken of as Germansen Creek town,
or as Omineca, which during the winter contained
eighteen inhabitants, but by the summer of 1871
counted twenty substantial wooden houses comparing
favorably with those at Barkerville. It was like this
town the centre of trade for the district, supplied
partly by the Skeena River route, by way of Babine
and Tiitla lakes, but chiefly from Quesnelniouth
through Port St James, whence a trail led direct to
GcTiuaiisen Creek, skirting Nation Lake. Competi-
tion being great, freiglit from Yale was only eighteen
cents in 1875, and Hour had been sold as low as twenty
cents a pound. "^

Life alone ditfered from Cariboo in being more iso-
latt ' and remote Tliose wlio remained over winter
were entirely cut off from the rest of the world, since
the season in temperature if not in duration approached
the arctic in character. The rampant life of the flush
pc riod in Cariboo and California found less congenial
soil for germination in Omineca, and although saloons
and cards flourished, the hurdy-gurdies never pene-
trated thither." In 1871 most of the miners in tlu'
district concentrated on the creek, and some good
yi(>kls were reported. Three men near the mouth took

™ )('. jr. Flty/cntli/, (loirriiment Ai/nit at, Port St James, Oct. 24, 1870, Lit-
(<i; ill Viclorid tVcckli/ (Wo/z/V, ])ec. 7, 14, 11S70. Some of the olaiiiiH paid
!?ij0 a (lay to the liaiul. In tlio Froiicli Company's claim aliovo the t'afloii a
2'.t-ouuco nuggot was foiiiul. Pat Kelly's Cnupany made from SIO to §30 a
<lay to tlio mail. Varrisiiomlctifc, in lil., Nov, 30, IK'O. 7, 1870. Anotliur
largo wati'i'-woi'u uiij,fi;ut, weigliiug '1\\ ounces, was brought to Victoria by
Mr (iuiclion. LI., Dec. 21, 1870; Cariboo Sentinel, in /'/., Nov. 10, 1870;
I'ort ToiriMiiil ArijKs, Aug. 1, 1871.

^' Freight from Quesnel to Maiisoii Creek was from 10 to 15 cents, anil Ihnu-
was solil lierc for from 20 to 40 cents a pound. I'ai/e, in Jlin. Iliiit'.t Jfejil.,
1875, 10.

■^"Saloons, cards, fur-hunters, miners, and Hyilah squaws iorycnre: ditches,
ilrains, log-cahins, and stick forests for scenery, tliese made up what was
regarded as the somewhat miserable picture of the town of Manson Creek, ns
ween by Captain Butler in 1871. The important personages of the town were
(Irahame, postmaster, and Rufus Sylvester, expressman. Butler's Wild North
Land, 30'i-Si Lawjevin 8 Jfept., 1872, i)-10.

CLAIMS AND YIELD.

553

out ten ounces a day to the man, and Kelly's party,
»vorking six miles above the Discovery claim in the
bed of the creek, obtained one hundred dollars a day.
But the majority taade little or nothing, either because
the rich de[)osits were in patches which had fallen to
the few, and were now nearly worked out, or because
tlio lead could not be followed. When in the course
of the summer rich discoveries were reported on Man-
son River, fifteen miles farther down Omineca River,
ii <>eneral stampede ensued.""^ Germanscn Creek re-
sunietl, nevertheless, its position as the centre of the
district upon the collapse of the rival excitements.
Hydraulic mining was applied to the thirteen claims
ill operation in 1875, half of the wliolo constituted
number worked in Omineca. Several of these paid
fail 1 V with the aid of winu'-dams and bench-sluices, the
best yielding $(5,200 for the season, but others suftered
not only from exhaustion, but from floods, and th.'ii
IVoni a want of sluice water, and were abandoned."'

!^[anson Creek diggings, fifteen miles east, and run-
ning parallel to Cirerniansen, were discovered in July
I; 71 by R. Howell, formerly of the royal engineers,
and yielded about twenty dollars a day, ineluding nug-
U'ots, some of them eighty and one hundred dollars.
Two hundred miners were engaged on the creek dur-
ing the season, working the surface of the creek-bed,
or sluicing on the hill and beneh ground; but there
was also a deep channel like tliat on William Creek,

-' During tho last woek in August the cruek yiddud S10,()()0. I'lti/r oiid
111 III. iu Virtoriii Dttil'i Colon iM, Aug. 8, Oct. S, 1S71; Litiiijevins h'cpt., 187'-,
>; Voiirirnli. <'. Miiw.-i, MS., ];{, u.

'-''I'lio cruok laiiui^ paid will cimugh until Juui", wiioii a lldiid hurst \\\)tin
till! canip and Maalu'd oul; all tlu; wiiig-danis. At'tiT tlioso wt'i-e it'iiaired iiuly
a iiKinth irniiinod fiU' workin,,' 1r'Io:i' tlu; long winter .si't in. Tiio Koyuton
( '(imii:iny tlu'u lost the l)i(l-riiok a;ul with it tlifir X)ay. The < lood-as-Auy
' iiinpiny oI>taiue<l good pay, although tho lead was spotted. Tiie hill claims
nwued hy tho same company ]irospected exceedingly well, hut the water sooh
iiii short and a sliile Idled tiieir sluices. The Morri.son Conipany paid h'ss
tlim ,'?;{ a flay du. ing the s'eason. Tho Kim Rock ('oni[)any, a hydraulic
claim having a hank from 'JO to 50 feet iu height, paid hetter than any otiier
I laiiu, yielding .*!(»,'J0O for tiie season. Tho scarcity of water succeeding a
tliiod hrcd disc(mragcinent, and the Reliance, Marshal, ami Discovery claims
Were ahandoned, wlulo several others were sold to tho Chiuoso. /'. P(t(j°-, in
J///(. Milieu lii'iif.., 1875, 15; Diiwson oii, Jliiia, 38.

r !

Ii i

' 111

554

GOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

wlicrein two companies sank shafts to the bed-rock
with profitable results. On the north bank of the
creek, near the mouth of Slate Creek, thirty lots were
laid out by Commissioner O'lieilly a's the nucleus of a
town, and several substantial houses were erected l)y
traders and otliers.^ The creek proved patchy, yet
manaued for some time to retain the second rank in
the district as a gold-producer. In 1875 nine com-
panies were working it, four of which were located on
the slate tributary, but the Ibllowing season only two
remained.""

Lost Creek was for some time thought to be one of
the most nourishing of mining localities, the Irwiii
company of five men having washed out, in one week
in 1871, 102 ounces, and another company $500 to the
man. The creek was discovered by a company of
Cariboo miners who sajik 50 to 70 feet and obtained
large pay They remained here until 1875, when
their dividend for the season amounted to only $210."'

Among other locations made known l)y the prospec-
tors who overran Omineca was Skeleton Creek, whicli
received its name from tiie discovery in 1871 of the
skeletons of tliree white men supposed to have died
from cold or starvation."^ A 'new creek' staked otf
five miles S(juth of Vitalle Creek was never deenird
worthy of a name. At Black Jack Guhli, five miners
in 1871 made about $200 a day continuously. At
Elmore Gulch the ^Manhattan Compan}niined profita-
bly in 1874, but the following season proved a failure
for want of sluice water."''

-■'' Sliito Creek, '20 a day. J.atiiicnii'n Ji'tjiL,
1872, 8-10, 88.

-'^ Mill. Miiici^ Jicpt., 1875, 15; Dairxoii on Miiic.% .S8; F. Pcije, in Vktorin
Daili/ ColoiiM, Aug. 8, 1871; Voirdl'.'i li. V. Mliien, MS,, 1«, 14; Allan's Carl-
Imo, MS., \'2, 1.'5; Jferre, in dtrUioo Si n/hicl, Aug. 17, 1872.

''' Tlu-eo hundred feet above tlieni, wliere the ohl ehaniiel ran deeper, se\ -
eral vain attempts were ma*le in 1S71 to lind bottom. Puyc, in Mi n. Miii<<
Ii'cpt., 1875, 15; Jfirrc, in Cm-i'ijo Snitiml, Aug. 17, 1872.

■'*' Virforia Jhvhj Cnloimf, Oct. 8, '.SJl.

-"•• The New Zealand Company's idaiin paid «'X])enses in 1875, and was pn-
jiared for winter work. Pmjc, in Miti. Mines Jlvpt., 1875, 15; Lainjedn's J'ljif.,
1872, 8-9.

SKEENA RIVER.

655

Fair prospects were found on the bars of Omineca
and Finlay'" rivers near their confluence, and the latter
stream was in 1870 prospected by a party a hundred
miles from its mouth, revealing promising bar diggings
as far as they went, some yielding seventy-five cents to
the pan.^^ At the head-waters of Nation River from
thirty to fifty miles south-east of the central Omineca
diggings lay a cluster of auriferous creeks, which had
been visited at one time by Peace River miners, and
were supposed to be rich f^ but no developments
worthy of note appear to have been made.^ Parsnip
River, further down, and Peace River itself west and
east of the Rocky Mountains were found to contain
gold placers, though unremuuerativc so far as their
accessible deposits were explored.**

The mining on the bars resembled that of Frascr
River, the gold being fine and found in thin sheets,
deposited and buried again, by massive sediments ot
the river, out of sight of the bed-rock. The valley
further resembled the Fraser in having a lake or fresh-
water tertiary formation basined within it containing
liixnite coal.'^

Tlie first arrivals quickly exhausted the shallow river
bar deposits, and operations soon dwindled to noth-
ing. On the Pacific slope of the auriferous range,
represented by Skeena River and its tributaries, min-
ing was never carried on to any noteworthy extent,

'" This stream was named after James Finlay, one of the Northwest Com-
pany's fur-traders, who in 1768 started from Michillimackinac and penetrated
to Nipawee on the Saskatchewan in latitude 434° north, longitude 103° west.
Mnchmic's Voif., xi. Ho was stationed and engaged in building a fort on
Lower Peace River in 1 792. Jd. 12,5.

" Peter Toy, Evans, and others prospected up Finlay River to the cafion,
a distance of eighty miles, and found goUl on all tlie bars, in some places as
much as seventy-fivo cents to the pan. Just below the cafion a branch joins it
from the soiith, whereon Toy obtained line gold for a number of miles. Paije,
in Mill. Mines Itfpt., 1875, 15; Victoria Weekly Colonist, Dec. 7, 1870.

^■Qiiemel, March 20, 1870, cor. Victoria Wcckhj Colonist, A]iril G, 1870.

"Alexander Fraser and a party prospected the head of Nation River in
1870. Victoria Weekly Colonint, Aug. 17, 1S70.

" Parsnip River and Peaoo River oast of the Rocky Mountains carried
free gold. Dawxon on Mines, p. 39.

'" Tiutch's Map of British Columbia indicates coal at tho mouth of Trout
or Piinais Rivers near latitude 55".

1 ii

'fii

550

GOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

although prospects were found of so encouraging a
nature as to induce parties to overrun the Babine and
the country between the Nass and Skeena riv(!rs;
yet the Omineca excitement itself was somotiiui-s
referred to on account of its geographical position as
the Skeena River excitement. Near the coast, Mof-
fatt of the Hudson's Bay Company found at Moft'att
River, fifteen miles north of the Skeena and twelve
miles south of the Nass, an extensive deposit of l)laek
sand containing gold of the size of number four shot,
and the steamer Wright early in 1871 reported the
discovery of new diggings at or near the same
locality.^"

Omineca district certainly failed to justify the ex-
pectations formed of it in more than one respect;
the peaceful conquest of the country by tlie goM-
scokers' predecessors, the pionc!ers in quest of furs,
had been unattended by immigration; for seventy
years the country had ivmained without roads or
other notable improvements beyond tlie erection of a
few trading stations with gank'ns, and the perfectiiin'
of natural routes of communication by cutting trails
over portages brtweiMi the canoe termini. Mucken/ic
neither saw nor heard from the Indians of the exist-
ence of tlie precious metal in tlie bars of Peace liiver
during liis laI)orious ascent of that stream. With tlie
new inHux of miners a new era was to l)e expected.
Towns would 1)0 ))uilt, pack-trails and roads would l)o
opened into tlio mountains and outlying districts,
fields would l»e planted for the sustenance of the
connnunities liencefortli dependent directly upon the
resources and identified with the history of the coun-
try, and Omineca would become the nucleus for settle-
ments extending evi>n east of tlie Rocky Mountains.
For the first time in the liistory of the country, the
imaginar}' line of Fifty-four Forty, tJie shibboletli of
the party in power at Washington in 1845, assumed

^^ Vic/oria Weiklij Colonist, Aug. 17,
MS., p. .T

1870, Feb. 22, 1871; B. V. Hhvkln

OmXECA GOLD.

557

the definiteness of realty, though its actual signifi-
cance was simply that of the natural water-shed
boundary between the Fraser and Peace river basins,
rendered noteworthy in being crossed by the advanc-
ing wave of population of the Pacific coast. Beyond
+hat water-shed no other power than England ever
c aimed dominion. But these visions melted away as
soon almost as they were formed, and with them the
fame of the pioneer prospectors of whom nothing of
note is recorded thereafter.""

The season of the great influx proved unfavorable;
the water remained so long at a high level that only a
few weeks' work could be done, and the yield as a con-
sequence was not very attractive. Langeviu estimated
the product for Omineca in 1871 at $400,000 dis-
tributed among 1,200 people, and Ireland, the express-
man, at $80,000 or $90,000 only, up to September, most
of which had passed over to the traders, he said, to
pa}' for supplies which owing to the length and diffi-
culty of the route were very dear.^^ Besides climatic
and geographical drawbacks including freshets and
the subsequent dwindling of sluice water, there were
obstacles in connection with the tracing of the lead
and the separation of the metal. A peculiarity of the

ings on Omineca River was that native gold and

\l; B. C. .S7(.*/"-'.

'■ Samuel Goldsmith, one of the Peace River miners of 18C3, resided at
Biirlurvillc in 1S70. Victoria Wcekhj CoIonUt, Feb. '2.1, 1870. Peter Toy, one
of tli(> jiioneers of ISOiJ, was still minini; in the fall of 1 SCO on the bars of
I'inl.'iy Piivcr. New Wtnlmiiislcr Exainiiwr, May 11, 1S07. 'Peace River
Siiiiih' was a resident of the town of (Itrinansen Creek in 1871. Duller s Wild.
}\(:rth IauhI, 1)07. ' Bill Parker, .Fim May's companion to Peace River,' was
ftt Colville, W. T., in ISOo and ' very well oil'.' Victoria Weekly ColoiiiM, Aug.

1, isi;,-).

""Lan^evin gives $.100,000 as the known y'-rld and adds the remainder.
Pull. Woks JJejit. llcjil., 1S7-, 8-10. In Octol or I'JO miners returned on tho
Ottcrto Victoria with only 810,000. Some asciihed tiie general want of success
to tlic lateness of the season, to higli water, and the great cost of jirovisions.
Six or se\en hundred men still remained in the diggings in Octolier, wiiilo
200 01- ;J00 were making' preparations to remain over winter. 1). EcLstiiu, in
V.S.Commerrial I'll., 1871,040; Victoria Dailii Col mist, Oct. A, 1871. (ieorgo
lic'iit arrived at Victoria in October witi» §3,1)00 of Omineca gohl. Iil., Oct.
S IS71. On tlie steamer Otter in I)ecend)cr, 3.1 of the piwsengers were 'flat
hiolic' and had free passage. Some of them pronounced Omineca a failure,
wiiilo others spoko favorably of the diggings. Victoria Weekly Coloniist, Dec.
2."), 1871.

VI it;l

558

GOLD mSCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

silver ran together in the placers, worn by fluviatile
agencies into particles and nuixijets of the same size.
Tile gold resembled that of Keithley Creek in size,
shape, and weight, but was not quite so bright."'" Tlie
silver was not alloyed vith the gold but nearly puic,
worth Ji^20,000 to the ton, and usually water- worn and
rounded though occasionally rough. Tlie admixture
was found on aiuilysis to be a small ])ercentage of
m(>rcury, consequently a native amalgam.^'*

Ten })er cent of the metal M-aslied out of the placers
on Vitalle Creek was silver, and when the miners
ceased to find this metal they also ceased to find gold.
Although tlie field was large, the deposits were too
patch}' and thin to afford satisfactory returns to all;
nor was there sufficient inducement to pursue di-cp
n)ininij to anv extent, although deei)er channels of
older streams liad been found here as elsewhere. All
this could not fail to accelerate the exodus which set
in on the approacli of winter, and in 1872 the re-
maining population of Omineca receiveu a com])ara-
tively small accession. The yiekl for the season was
estimati^d by tlie gold commissioner at $8 a day to
the man. The miners decreased in number year by
year, and in 1875 there were only (58 persons left, who
produced from 2(j claims $32,000." In 187G the yield
was so insignificant that the minister of mines Id't
the district entindy out of consideration, and aftt'r
this onlv a few miners remained striviiuj; to vkv. out
an exist(Mice during the short season allotted.*" Oiiii-
neca was not, however, the oidy hope of this northcin
region, for beyond it had risen another mining field,''

'" V'uiona Diiilii ColonM, Nov, 4, ISOl). It was rich orango iii color liko
thiit of LoLch River. Id., March i», 1870.

♦" Vir/oria H'tcki/ Coloiiinf, March 2, 1870; Dawson on ^^n<•s, H-lf).

■"Oil (rcrinaiiseii Creek in 1875 there wore 13 claims; on Slato Creek, 4;
oil Alansoii River, Lost Creek, etc., 9; total, 'JO cliiinis, employing 41( white
anil 10 Chinese miners. All were bar and creek <liggings. Mia, Miiua liiyt.,
187"), 14, 15; SproiU's B. C, 70; (,'iwle Ji. C, 1877-8, 94-5.

*■' Voireir.'i n. C. Minos, MS., 13, 14.

*'Ever since the (^neen Charlotte Lsl.and goM excitement in 1851-2, sli,i,'lit
gold-tinds had heen reported from there at intervals, which tended to ktrn
tliis region before the public, without causing an actual muvenieut of guKl-

CAS81AR AND STIKKKN.

559

iuviatile
Line sizi\
in 8*17.0,
■J^ The
rly \mn',
A'orn and
dnuxtuie
nitago of

\o placers
10 minors
iind gold.

^voro too
lis to all;
vsuo dt'oj)
lannols ot
lorc. All
^vllioll sot
r2 tlio ro-
, ot)nipara-
scason ^vas
a day to
•r year Ity

s loft, \vlio
|g the yield

inines lott
and after

to eke i>ut

Id."' ^^»"''
IS north 0111
liing field,"

L in color liU^'

L u-ir>.

Islato (.'rofU, »;
Lying 4'.t wluU'

L 1851 -'2, sl'.J't

Itciule.l to U.'f}'

^roiueut o£ goU'-

which promised t(^ more. than compensate for her de-
cline, and tliis was the Cassiar district, also known as
Stikeen Kiver district, since the first gold excitement
li;i(l centred on tiiis stream.

In the autumn of 18G1 a French Canadian l)y the
name of Cluupiette ascended the river with some
Indians for one Imndred and fifty miles, and found
!^()od prospects which continued to improve during the
additional forty miles of his ascent. Every har showed
more or less of the gold which resembled that of
Fraser River in behig fine and difiicult to wash on
tlio lower bars, while it increased in coarseness toward
tlie head-waters. The valley st)il was also everywhere
impregnated with specks to an altitude of 2,000 feet.
The I'oports hereof created no little excitement, and
despite the attractions of Cariboo, over 800 men sot
out for the district in the spring. Only a little over
lialf the number had the courage, however, to face
the hardships of the ascent to the gcdd-fiold, and their
(xpoctations hardly met wnth the results that they
dosi'rved. Of the bars below the canon only C ar-
l>oiitor 13ar proved good, the average yield being from
ton to twenty dollars a day, though a few miners
iiiado as much as three ounces ; but in the cafuMi nearly
100 miles in extent and on the north branch, the
jiatoliy coarser gold again prospected ton to fifteen
dollars a day in a number of places, while the head-
waters looked most ]iroinising; still the averagi^ pay
was not large, and the mining population remained
small, partly for want of ready communication and
su[»jdies. The river despite its sloughs and currents
provod navigable during several months of the year
fnr liglit-draught steamers as far as Shakesvilli;, 170
miles from its mouth, and to this point the FIi/i'ikj

Ml k( is; but in 1859 a nugget, partially composed of quart/ aiul weiuliiiif,' 14^
iiiiiiccs, valued at ^50, waa ohtaiuud from the iHlander-s ami exiiibited at
Victoria. An eflbrt was then iiiado to form a prosjwetiiig exiieditioii to tlio
isl.iiid; to which the Hudson's Bay C'oinnany lent their aitl; hut a Miillicinit
imiiilmr of uieii failed to subscriho towards it, and it was ahaudouod. i'ktoria
<■' rj'tk', March 2*2, May 3 and 7, 1859; B. V. I'njyer/i, ii. 70.

060

GOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

I !'^

I ■'

Dutchman, Captain Mooro, iiiade several trips; but
the canon which bci^an twenty miles beyond this i)laoe
could not be entereil by canoes even during low water,
except at frroat risk. This part of tl\e country was
besides arid, owing to 'the summer droughts, and lilli-d
with waslied gravi'l hills and masses of lava and ba-
saltic rocks, producing m)thing but straggling bushes.
Lower down, however, timber existctl suitable for
boat-building.'" Tlie eiforts to establisli a gold-field
did not, tlierefore, achieve success, and mining was i'ov
years followed only by odd prosj)ecting parties.

In 1872, however, the intre[)id Thibert wlio luui \vl\
Minnesota in 180D with one companion on a l)unting
expedition in this direction, found gold in the Kocky
]\Iountains on one of the j\[ackenzie tributaries, near
Dease Lake. After wintering on Stikeen Hivi'r tlu y
returned in c()m])any with one INIcC^dloch^' to J)ease
Lake to j)ros}tect its creek waters, anil found a deposit
vieldino; as much as two ounces of rouu'h m)ld a dav.
The gold lay on a slate orbed-rock or black rock within
one or three fV'et of the surface. On one creek, named
after Thibert, the party took up thive claims, and ia
the course of the season they wevv joined by some
thirty men who all wintered on the ground. (Jood
pros[)ects we'o also obtained on JJease Creek, which
enters the lake near Thibert's outlet, and up Laird
liiver on ^EcDame and Sayyea^** tributaries.

Iveports of these finds were eagerly listened to hy
the desponding miners in southern districts, and dur-
ing the following seasons a large influx took place,
so that in 1875 about one thousand men were oecujiicd
in the district chiefly on creeks named.'*' On ] )eas('

** rorfl,ui</ Ihilhlhi, Feb. i;$, Jiin. 15, May 7, July '21, 1874; Wall, Wrik
Iiitii., Fol). '_'(), 1S7-4; Ji. V. Diirctori), 1SG3, LNW-S; I'ictoria Vdoiii.H, •\m\.
5, IS;!'.'.

^■' Tlie C'ilssiiir gold iiiinos were discovered by another niau named Mot'idL m1i,
who sul>.se(juuutly lost his lit'o in the pursuit, uu I uUier.s who crossed over limu
the other side of tlie Rocky Mouutaias. VoiirWs Ji. ('. Miiirs, MS., It.

■"'Named after its discoverer. Mhi. J///kw />')}>/., 1S75, 7-9; li. C. Onhi';
1877-8, OO-l; Oli/myin Echo, Sept. 8, 1874; Tarhdl'.H IV., MS., 8, !».

" 'Tlie population estiiTiated here I eoneludo to he alxnit 801) whiles, Ml
Chiiuimen, and 'JOO lndiuu.i exclusive of the t'assiar natives, /. c, in tlio

SAYYKA CREEK.

501

trips; but
[ this place
low water,
Duntry ^v^s
s, and iilled
tva and ba-
Ino- buslus.
iui'ta\)lc I'or
a o-old-iii'lil
lino- was I'll'
rties.

.vlu) had left
)U a liuntin;.;'
11 the lloel<y
utaries, near
1 lliver they
\i*'' io ])easc
And a deposit
1 gold a day.
k roclv Nvithiu
creek, named
kainis, and in
ned hy SA)inr
Lund. (-MhhI
ICrcek, which
nd up Laird
;ies.

Istenod to hy
icts, and dm-
V took place,
jverc oeeujiied
On Dease

|l874; W'ltl" "';'""
\orki ColoiiiM, .1 !"•

InaincaMcCull."!",
lo crossed ovoi- 1 r.'iii
ir-S MS., It. .
1 7-9; n. V- <■"""'
IMS., 8, 9. . ^,.
Vut 8(K) wluU's ^1'
Lives, (. <■., 1'^ ^''^

and Tliibert creeks nearly all the miners were doing
well, taking out from one to three ounces to tlie man,
wliile some claims were yielding even better. MoDame
Creek was occupietl by about three liundred miners,
I)ut tlie ground was more patchy, and the dams had
heen more exposed to slides and freshets; those, how-
ever, who liad maintained their dams were turning
ouj( as mucli as two hundred ounces a week, and
proving the richness of tlie creek.

( )n Sayyea Creek the return averaged ten dollars
a day in coarse gold, with nuggets welgliing m^arly
thirty dollars, and tlie most glowing anticipations
were formed. The value of the ground was perhaps
hest demonstrated by the returns, which for 187o
amounted to nearly $1,000,000, and for 1874 to Imt
little less.'*"^ This result did not fail to liave its effect,
tor the next season witnessed an influx still larger
than before, amounting to fully 1,700 men, a great
part of whom came with no definite purpose and
remained idlers, while the nvst assisted in extending
the district by means of nc'W developments. By this
time it had been learned from the damaiio effected bv
tlie early sunmier floods that the early spring with its
low water preceding the freshets was the best time for
working the diggings, despite the trouble in cutting

niiiiiiij,' portion of the <listriot. ProlKil.ly 2()0 wliitcs may bo aililod to tlu'
iilidvo estimate and form tlio total population of t'assiar.' JIlii, Jliiwjt Ji<]>t.,
IST."), 5.

■"■ 'It is now wull I'staldislu'd that IK^asc, TliiluTt's, and MeDanio's ereoks
liavo yielded in two seasons nearly S'J,0OU,(M)0, and tiio two latter streams
"ill, undoul>tetlly, produce far more in the future tlian tliey have yet done.
Tlircu otiier streams have been prospected, tributaries of iJeaso lliver and l>c
l.i'iid, and gold in paying; (juantities has been found upon each.' Andrews'
claim on Dease Creek yielded 500 ounces in one Meek, and on McDamc Creek
tlic Discovery Comjiany washed out 170 ounct^s in one week and 200 ounces
tlic next. On (Juartz Creek, a trii)utary of Mcl)ame,'iMr McLoughlau and
liarty of two others, for one day'a wasliing took out S.")0. Some have great
f.iith in these creeks, while others doid)t tlu'ir richness. There arc sixteen
men at present prospecting those creeks, Tlio gold obtained is of a rough,
net Water-worn api)earanee, and quartz veins may bo traced in various places
in th.it vicinity.' On Sayyea Creek, Sayyea's party of four took out ' for 1 15!,
(lays' work, 77 3-10 ounces, making an average to each nuin per day of .*;10.80,
nearly. The gold abstracted therefrom is coanso autl seems to bo of excellent
(|uality; some pieces weigh, respectively, .¥28, !?l 8, ^17, and a number of pieces
•average about $10.' Min. Mincn li'rj'f., 1875, 4, 7.
IIisT. BniT. Coi,. 83

562

GOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

Si I

I ■

!■'

ice and rcmovinj:^ siiow/" During the winter tunnel-
ling was the rule and the dirt was collected for sum-
mer washinij. Owing to the extreme cold it was often
necessary to thaw the drift.'" By this season unfortu-
nately much of the old ground on Thibert, IMcDame,
and other creeks had been skimmed of its riches, and
the now discoveries failed to prove of any extcMit, so
that the yield for 187G fell to a little over -3500,000.'^^
Among the new discoveries were Snow Creek, a
tributary of the McDame, which yielded as nuu^h as
$50 a day to the man, but for a time only; the Tako
country, 100 miles north-west of Dease Creek, and
the head- waters of the Stikeen, which promised to
afford an opening for the many disappointed men.
The diggings on Sayyea Creek on the other hand,
which held out so many hopes, dwindled into very poor
ground, and the Liard itself had raised great expec-
tations in 1875, by turning out a nugget of seventeen
dollars, but the prospectors who were led by this iind
came back disheartened in the following season. '

*' ' Tho damage on Deasc Creek so far has 1)ccn immense; tlio melted snow-
coming down that course in torrents, tore away all tho wing-dams, tho tim-
bers of which lie iloating on Dease Lake; a much to bo regretted loss of iiurdy
miners' enterprise and industry. The damage, I am of opinion, Jj-lOjOOO
would not repair. ' Min. Minen llept., 187">, 4.

'" ' So extreme is the cold that it is found necessary at times to roll lai'^'o
heated bowlders into tho tunnel's mouth in order to thaw out the frozen grounti.
In one tunnel of 120 feet at 40 feet down, the ground was found to be frozen.'
VoiccWa Jirit. Col. Mines, MS., 17.

6' Deaso Creek, $1GO,.100; Thibert Creek, $1.19,720; McD.ame Creek, 61 li'--
700; total, §403,720; to which may be added 20 per cent for other groiiiul,
making a total of §550,474 for Cassiar district. This amount must bo dis-
tributed among perhaps 1,800 men. 'Some ;{.")0 on Dease Creek Chinamen
included, about 400 on Thibert Creek and its tributiiries, between 700 and SOO
in the vichiity of McDame Creek, and several parties prospecting in other
portions of the district. ' ' Tho unexpected, and from the results of tho past two
seasons, tho unjustifiable rush to Cassair this spring in a measure accounts for
the general depression which aflccts alike tho miner, tho merchant, and the
packer. Such an influx instead of helping tho district has had the contrary
cflect.' Min. Mines Kepi., 1870, 411-12, 410-17.

^■- 'On Quartz Creek a great deal of prospecting is being done, but as yot
no definite idea can bo formed as to its richness or otherwise. A discovery
has been made in a place called Pleasant Valley, about two and one half niihs
from Snow Creek, and very nice gold taken out. It prospected §22.50 to 1 ID
buckets. On McDame Creek very few creek claims have been prospected,
owing to the amount of water constantly in that stream.' Min. Mines llrpt.,
1 870, 412. A number of miners returning with considerable gold from Cassini-,
including Gold Commissioner Sullivan, sank witli tho steamer /*ocj/i'c in 1S70.
VoweWs B. C. Mines, MS., 15.

11.

iter tunncl-
Dtl for sum-
it was often
on unfortu-
,, !McDamc,

riches, and
y extent, so

.$500,000."^^
i\v Creek, a

as niu(^li as
r; the Tako

Creek, and
promised to
Dinted men.
other hand,
to very poor
^rcat expec-
of seventeen

by this find
ncr season.'-

; tlio melted snow
ig-ilams, the tiin-
ttcd loss of liiirdy
opinion, $oO,m)

imca to roll liiriri'
;lic frozen pronnd.
und to be frozen.'

!une Creek, !?H!i>.-
for other grounil,
unt must bo dis-
Creek Chinamen
ween 700 and NOD
pccting in cthti-
Itsof thcpa-sttwo
isuro accounts fill'
lorchant, and the
had the contrary

done, but as yot
ISC. A discovery
md one half mih s
cted $22.50 to MD
been prospected,
][in. Mines I'rpl.,
old from Cassia r,
cr Pacijic in ISTO.

A HUNDRED GOLDEN STREx\MS.

The natural result was that the population for
1877 did not exceed 1,200, about one tliird of whom
were Chinese; but the prospecting was carried on
ivcn more vigorously than before, with good results,
and the excellent showing of the benches on Thibcrt
as well as McDame creek gave {)romise of a bright
I'uture, and tliis was the more a matter of congratu-
lation, since the creek claims had not only been pretty
well explored, but were accessible for only a very
short season.

The north forks of the McDame also assisted to
restore to this creek its prestige, as did the discovery
on the Walker tributary, entering near its mouth, of
twenty -dollar prospects in granulated gold. Gold
(jutirtz had been found on this main creek, largely
mixed with copper and lead; and on the Liard a lode
of argentiferous galena had been explored to some
extent; but the failure of the (juartz operations at
Glenora on Stickeen head-waters showed that the
miners were not as yet prepared for this branch of
mining.

The yield for the season was placed at $500,000,
and this, in view of the smaller number of miners and
the severe Ireshets, which rendered the creeks un-
workable till the middle of August, may be regarded
as more favorable than the result for 187G.''" The
supplies for the district were in part brought by way
of Fort Eraser, but chiefly up the Stickeen and by
pack trains. The centre of trade was at Laketown,
on Dease Creek, where several substantial business
houses had risen, and whence quite a fleet of boats

" ' Dease Creek, $81,300; Thibert Creek, .*!173,700; McDaino Creek, S144,-
HOO; amount taken out of which no deliuito returaa could bo procured, say
.'?45,000, which, with the sum of $o5,000 allowed for the probable yield from
the di^to upon which the statistics wcro completed rmtil the 31st of Deccnd)er
next, will bring the gross amount to §-iyi),S30. Deaso Creek suffered most
from the incessant rains, and the returns from that creek arc in conseijucnee
fiir below what they otherwise would have been. Tho majority of claims in
that creek have been transferred to tho Chinese.' Min. Minis Itepl,., 1877,
400-1. Cassiar as a consequence assumed greater strength, and the following
season the population again approached tho figure of 1870. VoweU'a li. <J.
Mines, 10; Ji. V. OnlUe, 1877-8, 88-90.

(lOLD DISCOVERIES IN THE FAR NORTH.

tl(>partocl every week over Dease Lake in tlie (lircction
of the various creeks and rivers conneetini; with its
waters/* In 1877 the jjfold eonnnissit)uer was abk'
to report tlic opening of land I'or tlio cultivation of
cereals and vegetables, with results that promised to
render the district independent in some degree of out-
side markets.'^"'

■'* ' Prices in IST'T at Liikctowu were: flour ]>rr Hi., '2'> ocnts; bacon per ll».,
f)() cents; sugar per 11)., 4."> cfiits. In 1S77, Hour jicr l!i., 1!0 conts; hattoii
ju'i* 11>., 45 cuut.><; Hugiir inr Hi., 4.') cuut.s.' Miii. MiiiM Jti}>l., 187."), 5; 1S77,
402.

'■'Tlio lakes anil strcaina were bcsiilcH rich in fish, ami gaino abounded.
Voirdl's B. C. Mill's, MS., 21; Miii. Miiicn Ufjit., 1877, 4(V.'.

CHAPTER XXIX.

COAL.

CoAL-iiKARiMi Formations K.\sr anh Wksi— Cai.ikoknia, Ouk.oon, a".i>
\VAsiiiX(iTo\ Fir.i.ns CiiMrAnr.u — ISitrrisii Commiiia Coai.-iikakim;
FoKMATioNs — Bni'MiNois, LuiNii'K, AM> Antii KAi'iir. — Ukown's 1,o-

CAMTIKS— K.niAKIiSON's TltOI (ill — 1?F.AVKU 1 1 AKllol! — (^tlATSISO 11 A K-

I'.ou— Nanaimo — Till'. Nanaimo Coai. ("oMrAW — TiiK VAsrorvKi; Com-

I'ANy — TlIK WKM.INtil'ON CoMTAN V— riUKIKKSS OF DkVKLOI'MKM' Al'

Nanaimo— Dinsmiik's Aovkntikks — 'I'iik Nanaimo Stonk yiAuiiv —
TiiK Hakf.wooi* Mink — \\'ouKiN<is or tiik VANcofviiK t.'oi,i,ii;uv —

QUF.KN (.'llAUI.OTTK IsLANIW ANTIIKAri IF.— A r IKMI'TF.O Dl'.VFLOFMKNr OF
TIIK MlNK.S — r>IiO\VN ANI» UiCHARIWON's Vi.SIIS — ( "l,.\rilFI' AN1> IsiIKi;-

wook's Anai.vsf.s — C'oMox anu Bayne Soiini> — Dkvfi.oi'mknt.s — l>is-

COVKKIKS ox TIIK MaINLANH — MINISTERS* IIEI'OKT.S — SlATLTORy ReuU-

i.ation.s — Sum MAI v.

In connection with tlie establishing of forts Rupiit
and Nanaimo^ I liave given a full account of the
larliest coal discoveries in British Columbia. I wil]
iK>\v briefly glance at later developments, bogging
the reader meanwhile to remember tliat it is tlic
history of coal and the development of the coal inter-
ests of the country rather tlian technical descriptions
(»r analyses tliat I am attempting to write.

The coals and lignites of western North America
are found, as a rule, in formations diiferent from those
ill which tl ley occur at tlic cast; tlie secondary and
tertiary rocks, at various liori/.ons, in tlie west, taking
the place, as coal-producing formation, of the carboii-
it'erous strata of tlie east.

B( tween California and Alaska are three distinct
coal sections behmging to three distinct geologic for-
mations respectively; the tertiary, tatending thrt)ugh

'Seo ''hapter xi., this volume

( m:, )

!i:

666

COAL.

Oregon and Washington; the cretaceous, covering,
for the most part, Vancouver Island ; and the cretaceo-
jurassic existing chiefly in Queen Charlotte Isilands,
California has little to boast of in the way of coal
deposits of economic importance. True, in the Coast
Range, and in many places along the Sierra Foot-
hills, from one end of the state to the other, coal is
found scattered ; but usually in such small quantities
and of such poor quality or so unfavorably situated as
to be of little value.^ Actual developments in Oregon
are not so far in advance of those in California, as are
the possibilities of Oregon superior to those of Cali-
fornia.^ Expectation, however, seems thus far pri-
marily to have been directed to Washington and
British Columbia, and that with fair success.* The
rule seems to be that as we follow the coast nortli-
ward tlie quality improves.'^

In Britisli Columbia only we find thus far bcarinu'
coal the throe formations; on A'ancouvcr Island and
the coast adjacent, two tertiary rocks with bitu-
minous coal and lignite, and cretaceous rocks witl:

^Ja'oii of till) Monte Diablo ficM, the only ono wuitli has thus far assunu.l
any c-dn.siilerahlo doyroe of (inanciiil importance in th<! f^tatu, W. A. (ioodyLNU-,
after (lovotinj^ sjonio sixty pagos of his Coal Jliiii-i of Ihc ]\'(k/i'i'» Con.'it to it-
(luscriptiiin, liiially conuhuloa 'that the days of tlie old ^\t Dialilo nuncs arc
luunhcrcil.' LikewioO as to Orcuon, which in respect of niinural fuels In-
regards as next least iu importance to California, ho devotes consideiaMi
.•^^)ace, althoiigli the only mines worked witli profit, ho says, aro at Coo.s Ha\,
and t!ic.-c aro not of extraordinary value. This was a safe assertion, thf
Coos Hay mines lieing the only ones in Oregon upon whieli work to any ciiii-
sideralile extent had lieen done at the time of his writing.

^No (hmlit tlie opening of mines on tiie lower Columhia lias been retarileil
by I'ortland eapitalists, jealous of the building of a new metropolis in tliai
(juartir. I\Iauy liave expressed the opinion that the coal resources of Orej;<iii
aro iipial to those of Washington.

■■ 'It is umpiestionably to the mines of Washington Tomtory, and of Brit-
ish Columbia, tliat this i'acilio Coast must look hereafter, both for its chii I
domestic ami its nearest and most relialdc foreign snpiilies of that indi.spens.i-
ble necessity of all civilized communities — a good article of coal.' Voinlyvai'-
Coal Mliifx of the WvMtrn Coit.ft, p. 1,")!}.

''In tlie endeavor to establish the comparative value of fuels for steaiii-
raising purposes, the United States war tlepartment give the following est i
mate: One cord of good oak Wood was found ccinal to 1,8(X) Itis. Nanaime,
'J.'JOO U)S. IJoUingham Bay, 2,4!H) ll.s. Seattle, 'J.'tOO II'S. Rocky Mountain, 'J.li'Kl
Itis. Coos Bay, or2,()()0 IKs. Monto Diablo coal. The average composition ei
\'ancouver Island coals as deilueed from liis analysis is given liy Harringtuii
as follows: Water, 1.47; voli;'.;! combustible matter, hIow coking, 'J8. 1!), fast
eokiug, 32.(1'.>; llxed carlm :, ; 1 w ci<';'!i;j, Cl.O.'i, fait cokiii;;, C'J.iV); usli t).'.".l.

iiKli

KIND AND QUALITY.

5t)7

coiupitsitio" "'

bituminous coal, and on Queen Charlotte Islands
lower cretaceous, or cretaceo-jurassic rocks holding
anthracite.*^

Robert Brown locates the secondary coals of Van-
couver Island in the following order, proceeding north-
ward: In the Chemanis district near the river of
that name ; ^ at the De Courcy Islands, on one of which
a seam two feet in thickness was found; at Nanaimo,
where cretaceous coals attain the fullest develop-
ment; at Baynes Sound and vicinity; at Sukwash,
near Fort Rupert, and across the Island, following a
coal basin, to Quatsino Sound.^

James Richardson, on behalf of the geological sur-

*The most scrutinizing and able exposition of British Columbia coals, in
my opinion, is given by (ieorge M. Dawson in the t'ttiinillaii I'acijic llailinvj
llcporl, reprinted in pamphlet form. Of western authracitic coals lie says :
' X'aluable coal deposits may, however, yet be found in the carboniferous for-
mation proper of the far west; and where, fis on some parts of the west co>st,
the calcareous rocks of this age are largel}' replaced by argillaceous ami are-
nacecms beds, the ])roliability of the discovery of coal is greatest. I believe,
indeed, that in a few localities in Nevada, coal shales, used to some extent as
fiul in the absence of better, are found in rocks supposed to be of this agr.
The <liscovery of certain fossils iu 187(5 in tlie limestmcs of the lower Caciie
< reek group now allow these, and probably also the associated (piartzites and
iithrr rocks to be correlated witli this period; and it is worthy of mention
tiKit black shales, witli a considerable pireentage of autlu'acitic carbon, occur
ill cnnuection with these in several plaee.i, and may yet l)e fo\ind iu some parts
<il tlieir extension, to become of eeonomie value. Mr liicliardson has also
toiiiul snudl fragments of tnu! anthracite in rocks which are very probably of
this age, on the shores of C'owitchiu IJay; and inland, seams of anthracite, with
ri!,Mrd to wliich nothing certain is yet known, are rc])orted to exist.' And
ai^aiu: ' Hocks of the same age with the c(ial-be:u'ing st'ries of the (i>neen C'::ar-
lotto Islands are pndjalily present al>o on the Mainland, Mhere fossils indicat-
ing a horizon botii somcwliat ili^hcr an<l a little lower iu tlie geological scale
have already been found, and appariiitly occur in dili'erent pai'ts of a great
iiinformabli! rock .series, thougii this cannot yet be eoulideiitly stated.
Tiiese rocks are extensivi'ly devehiped on tiio easti'rn llauk of the Coast llange,
near the head-waters of Ixith l)ranches of the Jlouiatlico, and pvobably occur
ni considerable force, with a similar relation to tlii:. axis of disturbance
tiiroughout its lengtli, as tlie t ■ ilorations of last summer iiave led to the di:i-
nivcry of rocks near the same li^ izon, on the lltasyoiico and Salmon rivers,
IU latitudo T)'-'" oO'.' l>'ur.<;,i o/. Mhir^, 17-111; A'r;.. C^in. I'uc. U. J,'., 1.S77,

•Ji.'7_-:u.

' 'Coal has been bore I for livrc; but I am not aware that, so far as the
sinkings have progressed, the seams liave liCeu jiasscd tiirough.' Ilnurn's Cunl
l-'idi/x, 10. This was prior to iMi'.t. Tlie same paper is given in the Tninyiti'-
li'iii.t of th<' L'tlniliiiiyh (Itnl. ,Sor., \ShS-\).

"See Brown's map in I'lli ruinnnH Oioij. MitthciluiKjcn, ISd'.t, and Aiiini-
ri'lttj ('hdit, No. 17 ly. ' Jt is no exaggeration, imleed, to say tliat coal exists all
along the shores of lioth colonies; and when any of th.e inlets beconu! of sulU-
'ient importaiico to make the work remunerative, tlure is no doubt it will be
four ' '.• working position and sullicient (piautities.' Malm's B. C, 3b0.

i VI

COAL.

vey of Canada, examined the southern part of the
eastern shore of Vancouver Island in 1871. Between
Cape Mudge and within fifteen miles of Victoria
there appeared to extend a narrow trough in which
coal seams were apparent in twelve or fifteen dif-
ferent places, in five of which were held divers claims
by their respective companies.

At Coniox Harbor several claims, prominent among
which was that beloiitjinu: to the Union Coal Mininij
Company, were taken up about 1870." Xf)rth-wcst
from the Union and not far distant, several seams
were discovered and reported by P. J. Leech in 1804.
Sixteen miles from Comox Harbor, in the same direc-
tion and near the coast, was a seam four feet in width.
Near Comox was the Beaufort mine, where was good
hard coal, the seam being three feet and more in
width. It was situated on the left bank of ]:JradIry
Creek, down which, half a mile, a seam appeared, and
half a mile further another seam. These were dis-
covered by Henry Bradley, one of Richardson's men,
and upon examination proved to be from one to two
feet wide. Westward from the point last named, one
and a half miles on Trent Kiver, was a seam nine feet
in thickness. Xot far distant were the Perseverance
and the Baynes Sound claims.^" To the Comox Basin
]ie gave a length of sixty-four miles, or if limited to
Kc>okooshun Point and the Qualicuui Kiver, forty
miles.

I have elsewhere in this volume noticed the first
intelligence conveyed by the natives to the officers of

' Here is ' tin iilinost; pcriicndiculiir cliff, which rises on the north side of a
sniall brook, trilmtiiry to tlie runthicii Uivcr,' where occur cual seams in
iU'.jcen(Ung sections. ' None of tlic seams iit tiii.s h)cality have yet l>oeii tuiciii'il
for protluetive working;.' I'irlninlsoii, in I'ij)t. (liol. Sur. ('(Uimlii, 1871-2, 7(1 7.

'"'On the coast no rocks are seen fnmi the path leading to the Hayius
Sound claim all the way to Qualicuni Kiver, a distance, in u general hhiiUi-
eastward course, of sixteen nules. ]5ul on 1 )eninan Island, lying on the nortli-
cast side of Baynes Scnnid, tliere is a continuous exposure for ten miles, wliii li
is nearly the whole leugtli of tlie i.^ilaml, in an escarnment rising up from ten
to seventy feet, ami running pretty much with the strike. Jiic/iantnoit, ia
Jiept, Geol. ISui: Canada, 1S71-2, 71).

BEAVER AND NANAIMO HARBORS.

569

the Hudson's Bay Company of tlio existence of coal
in the vicinity of Beaver and Nanaimo harbors, and
the knowledge of outcroppings elsewhere. Work at
Rupert was begun but soon ceased, the deposits being
too scattering, but at Nanaimo coal-mining developetl
into large proportions. The coal at Fort Kupert still
continued to attract the curiosity of strangers. The
Plumper in 18G0 gathered specimens whicli were pro-
nounced by Mayne " quite equal to the Nanaimo coal ;
and the Indians brought some from the Mainland
opj)Osite, which was also very good,"

Some work was done at Quatsino Harbor by tho
Hudson's Bay Company, but the seam opened being
but eighteen inclics in tliickncss, the venture was
soon abandoned as unprofitable."

The Hudson's Bay Company contiimod to work
the coal seams of Nanahuo, under the designation ot"
the Nanaimo Coal Company, until 18GI, when they
sold the mines to a luimber of iMigli.sh gentlemen,
wlio associated under the name of The Vancouver
( 'oal j\[ining and Land Com[)any, Limited,'" the mines
lliereafter l)ecoming popularly known as the- Van-
couver Colliery, The company's land embraced G,00(>
acres, A marked ini[)rovement in working the mini's
was soon discovered under the new company. New
machinery was brought from iMigland; new shafts
were sunk; the facilities for loading vessels were in-
creased by wharves, jetties, and barges. The Douglas,
Xi vcastle, and Dunsnmir veins were now all success-
fully "V(.)rked, the first mentioned particularly so, with
'•'^..^lant improvement in the (juality, until competent
jii i',;ed pronounced the J)ouglas vein but little inferior
t> to bst Welsh coal.'"' From the Dunsnmir mine

^^ PemJiertons V. /.,4V. M'o.il has liccii found in tliin inli't of tlu; s:mic
cl\aracti.T apparently as that at Kurt Uupcrt and Nanainm, and will hoijio day
lii^ Worked to advautaj,'e. ' Forhvn' IJ.isoii, ilO.

'-CaiMtal £100,000 in 10,000 sliaroVof tlO eacli. Directors, lion. Mr Jus-
tice Halitmrton, (JeorgcCaniplK'll, C. W. W. Fitzwilliam, .hwepliy Fry', Janu h
^'. II. Irwin, and Trideaux ScUiy. Resident manager at Nanaimo in 18().'{,
I'. .1. Niiol; and in 1877, Mark Rate.

^^ Jlownrdnndliwmtt's Dim-L, 18C3, 144; JfMen'itB. C. f7(/iWr, 3.17; /)'»»*•-
"M on Mints, I'J.

870

COAL.

tiiat is to say Dunsmuir, Digglo, and Company, or
the Wellington, situated three miles south-west from
Departure Bay, several hundrec' tons were taken
about 18GG-7.

Under the management of practical men and an
abundance of capital, the works at Naniamo progressed
favorably. Indeed, it is noticeable than whenever the
Hudson's Bay Company stepped aside from fur-trading,
failure almost always followed — instance the early
efforts at the Red Kiver settlement, and the agricul-
tural speculations of the Puget Sound Company at
the Cowlitz and Nisqually."

When on the coast, the steam-sloop Plumper coaled
at Nanainio in December 18o7/'' Mayne re})<)rts along
the sho] '+i'o colliery buildings, and about a dozen
remarkabr by houses inhabited by the miners and

the few Hu< i- I's Bay Company's officers here. There
is a resident doctor in tlie place, who inhabits one of
these houses, and tt) the left of them, stands the coni-
jiany's old bastion, on which are mounted the four oi'
five honey-combed twelve-pounders with wliic'h tlio
great fur company have been wont l;> awe tlie neigh-
boring Indians into becoming respect and submis-

sion

" 10

'* 'They ini.sinanagoil afl'airs at Nauaimo, certainly.' Jfai/iii'.i B. (^'., SS'J.
Koportiiig alumt KStiO, Nicol, tliu iiiaiiagor, remarks: 'We have got the cual
ill ii htire nearly live teet tliick. 1 have now fnlly proved I,OtK),tM)0 tons. A
shaft 50 or 52 fathoms deep will reaeh tlie coal; di;- . iu 7; a very good woiii-
ing seam. 1 have no donlit tiiere is another seam underlying this one, of au
inexhanstihle extent. 1 have got the oiiterop iidanil, ami from dip to .striK''.
I am sure it is about 30 fathoms below; so tiiat by eontinning the same sh.iti.
if neei'ssary, another largo seam eontaining millions will lie arrived at; Inii
the tirst seaii will last my life, even wiLlx vi':y large uorks. ^\'itll abmit

.t'5,l.tK) or i'S (XK) I could get alcng will, and start a business doing fi'

0(),(X*') to IIH),000 tons a year. The prii e is *J5.<. to 'JS.-i. alongside the ship.'
Says ilaucrmanu, geologist of the bounda-y expedition: 'Two seams of eo.il,
averaghig six or eight feet each in thiekneiis, oeeur in these beds, and an; e\-
tinsively Morked for the supjily of the steamers running between Metoriaaihl
Fraser Kiver. The coal is a soft blaek ligidte, of a dull earthy fraeture, intn -
spersed with small leidieular bands of briglit crystalline coal, aii<l reseiuMi s
.some of the duller varieties of coal pro<lueeil in the south Derbyshire ami
other eeutral coal-lields in Kngland.'

'■' ' Tlie only spot in the lslan<l wliere the coal ia worked, ulllunigli it appears
in si'veral other jilaees.' Jfdi/nc'n B. (.'., '^7^.

"'Ho eomphiiiiM that the eoal was ' excessively dirty.' A lineent ('f Nanaiiiio
is given by .Mayne, Brit. Co/., ;(5, sliowing the fort and the coiil-works witii
the row of cottagi's on (he ban!;, an I .i vessel loading coal at a wharf.

rKO(iUE.SS AT XANAIMO.

571

Captain Richards of the Pliim2)cr, reports to the
governor of Vancouver Island in October 1858: "A
good pier has lately been built, alongside of \vhieh
vessels may lie and coal with great facility. As much
as one hundred and fifty tons have been taken by one
vessel in a day, and several vessels together might
take in the same quantity. Several thousand tons
arc ready for shipping, and the miners easily keep
tliat quantity on hand." James Hector, geologist
under Palliser, 1850, writes: ** Already it is exten-
sively used by the British navy on that station, and it
was found to require only a slight modification in the
method of feeding the fires to make it highly effective

» 17

as a steam-generator.

Pemberton sa"s there were fifty buildings and two
sieam-engines av ^Tanaimo in 1800. Accortling to
Forbes tliree mines were being worked in 18(52, New-
castle Island, Number Three Pit, and Parkhead Level
and Slope.^**

For the further advancement of the coal interest
tlius cverywiiere a])pearing, an ordinance was issued
in 18(59, under wliich b}'" si)ecial license any person
(ir association might seek for coal I'or the time tlesig-
iiated, and it' successful obtain a crown grant for the
land under certain conditions. The ])rospi'eting license,
fi'r v.'hich a small i'ee vas paid, entith'd tlie holdci to
exclusive rights 'tf search within prescrilx.*] limits.
'Die desired grant of land was obtained on these tt>rms,
I'ollowing And(>rson: "For any (luantity up to and
including one thousand acres, at the price of five dol-
lai-s ])er acre, jn-ovided always that on pi-oof to the sat-
isfaction of the government tliat the sum of S 10,000
lias be(>n biMieficially expended on any land held under
[trospecting license for coal, a grant of one thousand

'"See London Qwtr. Jour., Oco'/. Sm:, Nov. 1S(>(); MrlhtiKild'.'^ Jl. ('.,

;m'.) 7:i.

'''From which thivo iiii'ics for tho year ciuliiij,' Api'il KS(i(), ]l,4.">.") tmn
"iTi! tiiki'ii hy IT.'J vi'SHi'ls; till! yiNir t'ullowiii;,' i;t,;iOit tons \\cro riii.si'il.
Vnrr ,i\\ (If .S7; nuiiihcr tit iiu'ii at this tiTiio t'iiii>hiyi'il I I'S. Soo /•'urhi.i' L^sai/,
IS, •_•(>, o7-8, li'J; Haltiaif.t V . I., «!>, ItJ'J; JlrJk>ii<'ild's Lniuir, b).

572

COAL.

acres of the land held under such prospecting license
shall l)c issued to the company holding it without pay-
ment of the upset price of such land. In other words,
they receive virtually a bonus of $5,000 in considera-
tion of the preliminary expenditure of the larger sum."

" When I was in the bush," writes Robert Duns-
nmir to H. L. Langevin, minister of public works,
"in the month of October 1809, not exactly for t\w
purpose of prospecting for coal, but being thorouglily
acquainted from past experience witli all the coal
formation in this country, I came across a ridge of
rock, which I knew to be the strata overlying the
lowest .seam tliat had as yet been discovered here. A
sliort time afterwards I sent two men to prospect, and
in three days discovered a seam of coal three anil ;i
half feet in thickness, tliirty feet below the tops of
tlie ridge, dipping south-east one foot in six. Aftci'
procui'ing from government a right to further pros-
pect, 1 sunk aslope ninety-seven and two-tliirds yards
in t];e seam, and mined therefrom about 500 tons,
twenty-tivo tons of which were taken on board of
H. ]\[. S. Boxer for trial. The same quantities weie
taken from the Vancouver Coal Company's Douglas
Pit and New Castle Mine."

Andrew Watt, the engineer of the Boxer, made a
lengthy report which pronounced in favor of the
J3unsmuir.^'* In several other places Mr Dunsnuiir
found coal, once among the roots of a fallen tree, under
which was a valuable seam. His estimate of the yield
of his field was 7,000 tons to the acre.

When at Xanaimo in 1871, Richardson found 1].
E. Emery raising gray sandstone for the new mint
building at San Francisco from the quarry opened on
their claim by the Vancouver Company,'^" who wen

'" ' With Diinamuircoiil the throttle M-as nearly wide open, with New Castle
and Douglas from one tliird to one half open.' Tlio lirst made less soot aii'l
less dirt tliau the others. Lduijcrin's B. C, 12.

^^ ' iSix hlocks for pillars had lieeii prouureil from the ten-feet bed, oiio of
which was heing dressed into shape for use. When finished, the lengtli ot tlio
pillars would be 27i feet, with a diameter of 3 feet 10 inches. Mr Emery was

VAXCOUVER, HAREWOOD, AND WELLINGTON.

working with small steam-engines tlie two seams on
Newcastle Island, where little had been done for some
time past. Piled on the wharf wer3 several hundred
tons of coal, whence an occasional schooner or steamer
was supplied. The main works of tliis company, how-
ever, were at Xanaimo, distant from the Newcastle
Island works two miles. Here work has been more
continuous for the past twenty years tlian on New-
castle Island, 40,000 tons being taken out in 1870
against 14,000 tons in 18G0. Ilichardson places the
area of the Nanaimo coal-field, which includes several
minor and unworked seams, at about ninety stjuare
miles, having a length from Gabriola Island to the
IXmsmuIr claim of sixteen miles by a breadth of six
miles

Sproat returns 241 miners in 1872, the entire pop-
ulation then numbering 1,000. Wages at tliat time
were from one dollar for Chinese and Indians to four
(If)llars for white men per dicm.'"^

Early in 1874, T. A. Bukloy began operations three
or four miles back of Nanaimo, on what was afterward
known as the Harewood Coal Mine, w^hich holds land
to the extent of nine thousand acres. Cameron Island
ill Nanaimo Harbor is the point of shipment for this
mine.

In 1877 there were three companies at work in
the Nanaimo district, the Vancouver, the Wellington,
and the Harewood, the first working two seams, six
and three feet in thickness respectively. The Wel-
Fmgton Company worked one seam nine and a halt'
feet thick, and held another six feet in thickness.
They had three wharves, with all the faciliticvs fi)r
loading vessels. The Harewood seam was five or six

also quarrying flag-stones from the 12-fcet Tied, from which are ohtaiiRMl very
I'ven-surfacud slabs, from one to six inches thick. One of tlie latter tliiiliiu-i.i,
wliicii I measured, was ten feet square.' lUchardmn, iu licpL O'col. Siir. Ccu-
'III", 1871-2, 84.

^' 'The coal shipped l)y this company during the ten years ending Hl.st
Kucotnher 1872, reached 330,395 tons, nearly one half of which was for the
Sim Francisco market.' Sproot'a B. (,'., 78. See eX&o Andersons lioin. of the
Wint, 84, and app., ii.-iii.

674

COAL.

feet tlilck.^^ From the Vancouver and \Vcllin<::fton
mines coal was carried to the wharf by short steam
railways ; the Harewood mine used an elevated wire
tramway.

Under a judiciously combined system of capital
and labor Nanaimo has developi^d into a busy incor-
porati'd town. Beautifully situated witli brij^'lit skies,
pure air, and seaboard attractions and utilities, with
schools, churches, nuuiicipal council, and meml)er of
parliament, it presents little of that sooty, opaque
appearance, cither physical or moral, so common to
the colliery villages of Enjjfland. From the first tin-
Vancouver company, of which the manag'cr is some-
times mayor, as was the case with Markliato in 1877,
adopted a wise and humane policy, selling lots at low
prices so tliat the poor might have a home, and
encouraging settlement and improvement by various
means.

A trough of coal-bearing rocks had been conju-
tured in regard to Queen CI larlotte Islands not wholly
unlike that before mentioned on Vancouver Island.
It is said to extend from the northern part of Morseby
Island northward eighty-four miles. Besides tlic
Queen Charlotte Company's mine at Cowgitz, in
Skidegatc Channel, for some time past anthracito
has been known to exist at Cumshewas Harbor, and
!Masset at the northern end of the islands.

Bobert Brown, botanist of the British Columbia
exploring expedition, visited the Queen Charlotti'
Islands in 18G6 in company with a party of miners
who went thither to examine the coal deposits of that

^'' ' Tho coal is worked, I believe, on the pillar anil stall system, though iiiirts
of tho seam liavo Iteeu so steeply inclined as to require stoping. Tlie ihIikim
einployuil are whiti's, C'iiinese, ami Indians. Mr Good states tho uunilirr of
each for tlio year 1875 to be as follows: whites, 396; Chinese, 170; Indians,
i")!; giving a total of 023. The wages earned by tho whites vary from twn
dollars to live dollars a day; by the Chinese and Indians, from one doll:u' i'>
«);ie dollar and a half.' Tlio total output of tho Nanaimo mines for 187') "an
1!:),145 tons; for 187G, ]4!),I87 tons; price at tiie mine, live or six doUu's;
v( Sau Francisco, ton doUar.i. J!"'in\i Guide B. C, 98; Dawson on Mhi"<, -0.

QUEKN CirARLOTTE ISLANDS

lort steam
vatod ^vire

of capital
busy iucor-
ri<^lit skies,
iliVics, ^vitii
iuoml)er <>t
)ty, opaque
common to
ho first the
vcr is some-
lato in 1877,
f lots at low
home, and
t l)y various

[been conjec-
s not wholly
uver Island,
of Morsehy
Besides tlio
Cowgitz, in
anthracite

Harbor, and

jh Columbia

n Charlotte

•ty of miners

osits of that

Istcm, thongln'^irt''
Iping. Tho imiKis
Itcsthc uunilii'iM'i
fieae, 170; lixli^'"^'
Itea vary from U"
[from one doUiu' t"
Imines for 187') w;!-!
Kive or six «l"ll'''j;j:"'
Vwson oil M>iii-; -'■'■

section. At Skidegate Bay where was then the chief
diivelopiucnt ho spent several weeks. " Two rival par-
ties of miners were there prospectini!;," he says, "and
one of tliem had driven an adit into the hill-sido some
two or three hundred feet above the sea-level.""'

Tliese early prospectors were at first unsuccessful.
Xow and tlien tlie pick would strike a block of good
anthracite,^* but for tlie most part it upturned only
"a material not unlike wet or damp gun[)owder."
l^ater tliey were more successful, so much so that a
coni])any was formed at Victoria, called the Queen
Charlotte Coal Mining Company, whicli began opera-
tions there, but were obliged to abandon them (»n
account of the irregularity of the deposit.

liichardson was there in 1872, and reported that
the best seam, which for GO or 70 f».'et had a tliicknc^ss
of six feet, was lost in shale and linustone. Tliere was
another bed of good anthracite, two and a half feet
thick, and many smaller seams discovered in various
directions. This was on the north side of Skidegate
Channel. On the south side, fourte(>ii miles south-
east from Cowgitz, where the Queen Charlotte Com-
])anyhad opened their mines, the existence of anthracite
was reported by the natives.'^ " Xothing can bo better

"^ ' lloro tlioy li;i(l goiio tlinnigh a ;;ri'at l)i'tl of coarse! cnnfrloiiicniti-, a fiiif
liaril slato wlioii tlio coal waa ri:aoln'il. Tliid c(iii;;l()iii('rat(! was in every
H's|ie(;t similar to tliat associated with tiio Naiiaiiiio <?()al-ticlils; but tlio slate
was jKiculiar.' Broii'iist'oal Fkldt, 1.'0.

■^' At the goveruiiieiit assay otlice, New Westminster, an analysis made liy
( laudot showed carbon, 71.-0; moisture, "). 10; volatile eomb\isiii)le matter,
17. "27; asli, (i.4;i, which bringH it close to I'ennsylvauiaautliracite. Tiie chief
( ii;4ineer of tho United States navy, B. F. Islierwood, gives as the result of
Ills ex](eriments at the Marc Island navy-yard, on some of the coals of the
Mcst and east for tho purpose of ascertaining their relative strength and
ei'Diiomie vaporization under various coiulitions of combustinn, among other
vuhiablo information, tho relative weights of steam obtainable from eijnal
liulivs: From a cubic foot of IVnnsylvania anthracite, at a slow rate of com-
bustion, 471.51 ll>s. ; (^)ueeu C'harlotto Islands anthracite, 3(ii).:!7; Welsh,
i'MM.iVJ; Rocky Mountain, .Monte Diablo, Coos Bay, and Seattle, SID.OS; Bel-
liiigUam Bay, 371.8(1; Nanaimo, Ii7'J.('>4; Na?iaimo coke, l',t'J.47. See Ishcr-

VllOll'

,s' /'(port, in Ex. Dor. i*
* This would give an c

tVo. ;.w;, 1871-2, JdSi'

'</ (■

iiiij., passu. I.

give an extent of at least twenty mili's to the coal-bearing
stnita which have tlnis been partially examined, and tlie facts iuentioncd indi-
liiti! a general presence of coal in it, however much wliat may be considered
the same seams may vary in their distances from one anotlier on tlio strike, in
liieir thickness and their rpialities.' liicharditon, in d'rol. Siii: Citnw/it, 1872-3,

«7ft

COAL.

or more substantially constructed," reports Richard-
son, "than tlio wharf, the houses, tramways, inelinos,
dunipini^-slieds, and tunnels of the Queen Charlotte
(yoal Miiiini;' Company, and it is nmcli to be regretted
that their tlforts have not been more successful."

ExtensiM^ deposits were reported discovered on
Skeena Kiver by Downie in 1859.'-*' "I saw seams
of coal to-day," writes an cxj)lorer on Simpson lliver
to Governor Douglas, "fifteen feet thick, better than
any mined at Vancouver."

The coals of Baynes Sound and vicinity are pro-
nounced bv some better than that of Nanaimo, but
the liarbor facilities are much inferior.-' Before 1 8(!9
this region had been thoroughly prospeeted.

The Baynes Sound Colliery ('onq)any, Limited,
liaving 5,000 acres of coal lands, began operations ten
miles south-east i'rom Comox in 1870. By the expira-
tion of the followintj year, a narrow-uiiaLie trannvav
from the mine to tide-water, three and a half miles,
liad been constructed, with a locomotive, rars, and a
wharf with two shutes."^ A saw-mill was built, a town
site surveyed to which was given the name C^uadra,
and a store, driidiing-shoj), hotel, and post-offiee erected
for the acconnnodation of the dozen settlers who were
there in 1877.

At Burrard Inlet, coal was found by Henry N.

^^ 'Tho Skeena River i.s s.iitl to piiaa through an extensive coal formation,
with coal hiMls 3 to 35 feet thiek. This may, however, he lignite.' J)aii:ion
on Jliiic.f, 44.

'•'' 'Tiie coal here is of hotter quality than at Nanaimo, and iiroiluces ex-
cellent colee.' Jiroirit'sCcxd Fields, 13. * The Comox area has prohahly a greiitir
extent of iiroductivo measures, aiul may eventually become more important
than Nanaimo.' Dniivon on Miiie-% 20.

'" 'The mine Is opened from tho hank of a small river, adit.or level free,
from whence tho coal is delivered '-o bunkers near tho mouth of the adit.
From the liunkers it is let into the c; rs and delivered on shipboard without
being again handled. Tho bunkers already constructed have a capacity of
12,000 tons. There are two coal-seams being worked, one overlying the othci-.
The lower seam is seven feet thick, and the upper one six feet. I'lie coal in
tlie upper seam is very similar to the Douglas seam of Nanaimo, while that
in tlie lower seam appears to ditfer from all the other coals as yet discovered
on the Island. It is a dense hard coal, free from sulpliur, gives a deuso
hard coke, and requires a strong ilraft to ignite it.' B. C. Giihle, 1877-8, 107.

Ricliard-
, inclines,
Charlotte
reoTcttcd

vercd on
aw scams
son llivcr
jtter than

y arc pio-
luiinio, but
icforc 18(;«.)

', Limited,

^rations ten
the cxpiia-

•o tramway
lialf miles,
pars, and a

milt, a town
no C^uadra,
ttiec erected
s who were

Henry N.

icoal formation,
liiguitc.' Jhiirson

liul produces CN-

|rol>al)lyiv great, r

! more imvortaut

idit.or level free,

louth of the a.lit.

lipboard without

[vo a capacity ot

Irlying tlic otlur.

let. The coal 111

iaimo, while that

lis yet (liscovorcil

Ir uives a deiiso

Ide, 1877-8, 107.

OUTPUT AND ITJCES. 577

Peers; and in 1859 six bal,^s, taken by the Plumper
from the outcrop from a ]>lacc which was called Coal
Harbor, were |.ronounce(l by the cns]fineer of fair
quality. Coal was likewise seen in the delta of Fraser
liiver, but even if the bed was of any importance the
water could scarcely be excluded so that it could be
worked. ""

The minister of mines reporting in 1875 is pleased
to notice the increase of the output of that year ()Vi>r
the year previous. He places the yield for 1874 at
81,000 tons, and that of 1875 at 1 l'o,000 tons. All
the coal-mines then beins::^ worked in British Columbia
were at or in the vicinity of Nanaimo. The diamond
drill was broujj^ht into recjuisition in searching for
fresli seams bv an enijfineer brou!»'ht from Kni>la>id
for that })urp()se.

In 187() tire broke out in the AVcllington mine,
causing some damage. The Baynes Sound and Hare-
wood mines that yi-ar began putting their coals in
market, and the price throughout the province gener-
ally was reduced from ten and eleven dollars to eight
(Idllais and seventv-five Ci-nts.

The depression of the market at San I'ranciseo,
with other causes, resulted in the cessation of oi)ei'a-
tionsattho Ifarcwood in 1877; notwithstanding which
the output for this year was 15,000 tons more than
that of 1 876.

Hy act of the legislative assembly, April 18, 1877,
th(> coal-mines of liritish Coluniliia were ]>laccd undei'
stilniicntand healthful reuulations. ]3v this act women
and girls are not allowed to work luider ground, nor
any boy under twelve years of age; and when a hoy
inidiT fourteen is employed by reason of tin' thinness
of the seam, or from any other cause, tt) work bt'low
ground, he shall not so work more than live tiays of

'-"' MfBonald is quite mistaken when ho says, Bri/,. Col., rti), 'The lirst
(liscovtry iiiatlo of this mineral in British Colnmhia,' mcaiiiii;^' tlurchy the
M;iiiilaiicl, 'was at Burranl's Inlet, six miles troui New Westminster, uhout
tliiee years ago.'

lUsT. Brit. Col. 37

I ''

! S

578

COAL.

six hours each in any one week. Wages must not be
paid in a liquor saloon; persons paid according to
quantity raised might nominate their own check-
weigher; single whafts were prohibited, except in
opening or proving a mine or other specified cases.
Tlien the act tells how a mine shall be divided into
parts; how examiners for granting certificates of com-
petency to managers, and how managers shall be ap-
pointed, and in which a[»pointment the greatest care is
to be taken by the board and by the minister that only
competent, experienced, and temperate j)ersons shall
be selected. Annual returns nmst be made to the
minister of mines; notiee nmst be given of all acci-
dents; and when a mine is abandoned tlie grounds
must be fenced. lns[»ectors were to be appointed wjio
should make theii* ammal rejKut; and provisions were
made for the regulation of arbitration, and the holding
of coroners' incpiests on accidental deaths. Pages of
rules and penalties follow, rules concerning ventila-
tion, fencing, stations, withdrawal of men in time of
danger, safety-lamps, blasting, water, man-holes, roofs,
slides, signalling, working shaft, machinery, engines,
breaks, gauges, barometei', wilful damage, inspectio
by both employers and employed, and so on at lengtl

Summarizinjx the results of coal and linnite disc()\ -
cries in British Columbia to 1877, we liave, beginniiin'
on the coast at the north, the reported discoveries ot"
Downie on Skeena Iliver; the specimens ot anthra-
cite brouglit from Masset, the anthracitic seams devel-
oped at Cowgitz, and the anthracite reported by the
natives on the south side of Skidegate Channel, all
on Queen Charlotte Islands; the bituminous coal at
Beaver Harbor, near Fort Bupert, and at Quatsiiiu
Sound; specimens brouglit by the natives to the
Plumjicr while at Fort llupeit, from the Mainland
opposite; the discoveries and developments in the
Comox, Baynes Sound, Valdes Inlet, and Nanainio
districts; on the north side of Cowitchin Bay and the

SUMMARY.

ft7(»

interior; specimens mentioned by Brown from the
(^hcmanis district, and from tlio l)e Courcy Islands ;
the head of Alberni Canal; at Saanich, a ver^' infe-
lior quality; at Soke, a shallow horinsjf passing? throu«^h
one inch of coal, near the coast west of Soke Iidet
and back of Barclay Sound; sjK'cimens shown by tiu-
natives at Nitinat; at Burrard Inlet, in the delta of
tiio Fraser, and between Burrard Inht and Howe
Sound; in which vicinity in the flat lands thin seams
of lignite, probably of upper tertiary formation, ap-
])ear; ftirther back, on the lower Fraser, particularly
near Langley, thin seams of bituminous coal are found
l)robably in lower tertiary beds; on the Chilliwack
Kiver, five miles from the Fraser, Dawson reports
bituminous coal of good quality; also at the junction
of Nicola and Coldwater rivers, and at several otlui-
jilaces on the latter stream ; on the north Thompson
River, forty-five miles above Kandoop; in the vicinity
of Jjilloet; lignite at (Tuichon Creek, near Nicola
Iviver; on the south branch of the Similkauieen above
tlu! Passyton, and again four miles ab<)\e Vermilion
Fork, and on the north branch of the Similkameen,
three miles above Ver)nilion Fork; more lignite at
the Cold Spring House on Lightning Creek; on the
Fraser between Soda Creek and Fort Ccorge, and at
(^uesnel ; coal on Bear Kiver nc^ar latitutle 54°, on
Peace and Pine rivers, described in Selwyn's Ke])ort,
IS75-G; on Simpson Kiver ; lignite on Parsnip ]{iver;
on the lower Nechaco River, east of Fraser Lake ;
on the upper Nechaco, south-west from Fraser Lake,
and on the streams Blackwater, Chilaco, Nasco, and
Punchaisco.^"

'"Those desirous of investigatinf; furtlicr tlie coal iiiton.'st of tlio \orthwoat
Coa.st iiiiiy consult J/cA'((//'.v AVc., MS.,10, 1 1 ; Doi/'jlu-i' />r/r<i/c Pnpci-.-i, }>]>>.,
-M scr., 5l)-«; Di'iiii.sSiHlcniciit V. !., MS., •_>(); //. ( '. Sbf''/,,.-:, MS., passim;
M'u-j'arlniic'i I '(xil licjiom of A ni., passim; ( 'oniirnlU.t' Scir El Dormto. 4.'5,\vliioli
wiys: 'Coal abounds over the whole of tlie north-eastern territory, that is to
sHy, from Cheslaker's, lat' '.lule 50° 3<)', to Cape Scott at its southern extremity; '
H'mtxbi'n Canada on the Pndjic, 170; Punfii: Railroad licjiort.t, i. 473, and vi.
•>- 4; House Commons Rfturn-ito T/nre Addresxe-i,!; Blan-ihurd, \n Ifoiise Com.
/l'';|^, 28(5 ; Dunn's Or. Ter., 24() : Orant, in London Oeni/ntp'tiral Soriefi/, Jour-
ikjI, .\xvii. 275-315 j Victors All over Oreijon and Washin-jton, 337; Reyt. Com.,

■ t

680

COAL.

27th Cong., 3d Seas., H. Reft. SI, 35, where Mr Baylies says in 1842; 'Coal in
prodigious quantities has already been discovered;' Wilkes' Nar. U. S. Ex-
■pW. Ex., iv, pasfim; 34lh Cong., 3d Seas., U. S. II. Kept. 171, i. 2; Ex. Doc.
No. 20G, 42d Cong., 2dSess., JI, llept., 206, x.; U. S. Commerce Stat., 18C3,
193; Mai/ne'a ri C\, 35, 379-82; Gray's Hist. Or., U9; Goodi/ear'a Coal Mines,
passim; Ji. C. Directory, 1863, 50, 142-3; Pemberton's V. /.,43-8; Forbes' Essay,
18, 20; Macilonald'a Lecture, 50; Rattray's V. I., 89, 1C2; Macdonald's D. C.,
37, 3G7; Dawson on Mines, 17-27; Guide B. C, 18,7-8, 4, 49-50, 97-109, 330,
Imray's Sailing Directions W. Coast iV. Am., 278; Gonaol. Laws, B. C, 1877,
401-96; Statutes B. C, 1878, 59; Rept. Min. Mines, 1875-6, and 1877. passim;
Sjiroat's B. C, 6, 22, 77-9; Anderson's Dom. West, Si-G, app. ii., iii.; Flem-
ing's Rcpts. Sur. Can. Pac. Railway, passim; Brown'a Coal Fields, passim; and
Langevin's B. C, 11-13, 86-7, 129-31; Compton'a B. C, MS., passim; Victoria
Colonist, Aug. 16, 1364, July 17, 1866, March 22, May 17, 1871, Jan. 29, 1873,
April 22, 1874, etc.; Victoria Standard, April 23, 25, May 8, Juno 1, Aug. 19,
Nov. 19, May 14, 23, 1877; British Columbian, Jane 5, 1867; Seattle Tribune,
Feb. 23, 1877; Mining Mag., i. 309-10; Com. Rel., 1868, 293-7; and Bayky's
V. I., MS., 11-14.

Among other works consulted in the preceding chapters may be mentioned
B. C. and V. I., by W. C. Hazlitt, and The Great Gold Fields of Cariboo,
with an Authentic Description of B. C. and V. I., by the same author. The
former, which is compiled from various authorities, and consists largely of
quotations, gives brief sketches of early voyages, of native life and habits,
of tho resources of the country, and of the gold discovery. In the latter wo
have a well-writieu account, containing all the reliable information then ac-
cessible to tho author, who was not a resident of cither colony. Both vol-
umes appear to have been written mainly for the information of intending
cmigranti. V. I. and B. C, Where They are. What They are, and What
They may Become, by A. Rattray, M. D., Edin., R. ^., is a cleverly written
little book, which shows that its author has been at somo pains to inquire
into the conuitiou and prosj^ccts of tho two colonies. Prommcnce is given,
however, to V. I., and the object of tho work is apparently to display, in the
most favorable liglit, its advantages for settlement. As indicated in the titlc-
pago, the subject-matter treats, not so much of what had been, as of what
Mas to be; and comparing, as I turn over its pages, tho colored lithographs
of Hope and Yale, 1 cannot but admit that the predictions of tho author have
already been measurably fulfilled. When and after tho gold excitoincnt
brought the mainland into piomiucuce, the journals of tho I'acilic coast wcic
teeming wiMi par.i.graphs and articles touching tho Kl Dorado of Uritirli
America, though before 1853 I iind but scant reforcuco to ritlu-r colony. Fui-
items and comments, see, among others, S. F. Bulletin, July I'J, Dec. 5, IS.Vi;
"Mireh 22, ISr.G; Apr. L'4, May 7, IS, June 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12', IS, 10, 21, '22, l^.',
•JS, 30, July 2, 3, 6, 7. 8, 9, 12, l.">, 10, 17, 19, 23, 20, .TO, Aug. 2, 7, IS, 19. 2;;,
21, 27, Sept. 1, 2, 3, 0, 7, 9, 17, 25, 29, Oct. 1, 4, 12, 13, IS, 23, JO. ;iO, Nov.
-', -1, 5, 10, 12, ].•!, 17, 22, 23, 21, 29, .'50, Dec. 0, 8, 9, 20, 21, 22, 21, 27, 28, :!(•,
:il, 1S5S; Jan. :!, 11, 12, 1.3. 11, 19, 20, 29, Feb. 15, 17, 28, March 3, S, 10, 17.
21, 2.-), 29, 30, Apr. 1, 15, IS, 23, 2S, ;iO, May 12, 13, 11, 17, 18, .30, 31, Jum
10, 11. 13, 14, 21, July 13, 1.-), 29, .30, Aug. 1, 11, 2."), 20, 8cpt. 30, Oct. 1(»,
Kov. 30, Dec. 14, 23, lS59; Apr. IS, July 0, Aug. 20, Sept. 2V, Oct. 18, 20,
ISGO; May 31, Juno 11, 14, July 2, 15, Sept. 2, Oct. 17, ISOl; Jan. .30, Manli
5, 22, 31, Apr. 4, 21, May 9, 10, 13, 20, 27, June 9, 14, 21, July 1 1, 10, 22, 2i;,
An-. 1, Oct. 13, 23, 27, 31, Dec. 15, 1802; Feb. 10, 23, March 12, 23, .30, Apr.
20,'^27, May 19, Juno 29, July II, 21, Aug. 3, Sept. 9, 19. Oct. 7, 21, 29, Doc
10, 1803; Apr. 25, Juno 10, 30, Julv 19, Aug. 9, 10, 27, Sept. 6, 12, 20, 27.
Oct. C, 10, 13, 14, 24, Nov. 1, 15, 22, JSOi; Jan. 12, Feb. 3, March 4, May .M,
.luno 19, Julys, 1805; Feb. 14, Apr. JO, May 8, Juio 11, July 3, Aug. II,
."^cpt. 1, 1860; F'eb. 1,1809; March 24, Apr. 20, Juno 17, 1870; Juno 22, July
13, 1871; Jan. 8, 29, Feb. 11, Sept. 4, 2."), 1872; Oct. 1, 1873; Apr. 5, 1S7S;
Apr. 7, 1879; Alta, May 17, Uwl; Jan. 27, Juno 30, 1857; M.iy IS, June 7,
8, Aug. 2, 12, 25, 20, Sept. IS, 2(1, Oct. 3, 21, 22, Nov. 4, 30, 1858; Jan. .'). 11,

AUTHORITIES.

581

n 1842: 'Coal in
' Nar. U. S. Ex-
'1, i. 2; Ex. Doc.
nerce Slat., 1863,
lear^s Coal Mines,
S; Forbes' Essay,
[acdonald'a B. C. ,
)-50, 97-109, 330,
jaws, B. C.,\^Ti,
and 1877. passim;
pp. ii., iii.; Fl^m-
'*cM«, passim; and
.passim; Victoria
571,Jan.29,1873,
1, Juno I.Aug. 19,
f; Seattle Tribune,
13-7; and Bayletfs

may be mentioned
Fields of Cariboo,
amc author. The
consists largely of
,'0 life and habits,
, In the latter we
formation then ac-
colony. Both vol-
lation of intending
hey are, and What
I a cleverly written
10 pains to inquire
ommenco is given,
y to display, in tho
Idicated in the titlc-
d been, as of what
;olored lithographs
I of the author havL
,0 gold excitement
,! Pacilio coast wcio
iDor.ido of Briti.<li
either colony. l''<'''
ily !•-', Dec. 5, 18.V>;
1-2; IS, 19. 21,1!.;, 'J',

'u--.2,7,isi9.;j;;,

S, U3, 2(5. 30, Nov.
1,22,21,27,23,30,

, March 3, S, 10. 1 . ,
7, 18,30, 31, JuiH'
Kept. 30, Oct. H»,
,t. 2V, Oct. 18, 21 >.
SOI; Jim. 30, Man Ii
[July 11, 10,22.211.

'rch 12, 23, 30, Apr
Oct. 7, 21, 29, Dec.
lept. 5, 12, 2t), 2,,
i, March 4, May 3(i,
, July 3, Aug. 11,
870; Juno 22, July
873; Apr. 5, 1S7«;
; M.iy IS, J""0 "
I, 1853; Jan. 5. H,

14, 20, 21, 27, 31, Feb. 15, 10, 17, 21, 24, March 1, 4, 5, 9, 17, 19, 25, 30, Apr.

I, 3, 11, 15, 17, 21, 25, 28, 29, 30, May 10, 13, 14, 10, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27,
30, 31, Juno 11, 17, 25, July 13, 14, 30, Aug. 4, 11, 27, Sept. 2, 20, Oct. 11,
14, 15, 31, Nov. 3, 14, 30, Dec. 11, 24, 1859; Jan. 25, Feb. 4, 19, March 5,
Apr. 4, 13, 18, May 21, June 13, 20, July 4, 18, 27, 30, Aug. 1, 5, 7, 9, 14,
20, Oct. 1, 19. 22, Nov. 8, 11, 23, Dec, II, 22, 29, 1800; Feb. 7, 8, May 23,
.rune 17, 18, July 11, 21, Aug. 8, Sept. 9, 23, Oct. 8, 11, 22. Nov. 3, 25. 1801;
.rune 25, Aug. 2, 25, Oct. 14, 21, 1802; Jan. 22, Apr. 24, June 9, 19, 30, July

II, Aug. 10, 20, Sept. 7, Nov. 10, 1803; Ju;y 19, Nov. 2, 1804; Jan. 20, Apr.
!i. May 22, July 3, Aug. 10, 20, Dec. 0, 10, 1805; Feb. 20, Dec. 28, 1800;
Apr. i2, July 29, 1807; March 25, 1809; March 24, July 15, Dec. 3. 1871;
Aiiril 15,1877: Call, Jan. 12, Apr. 19, Juno 24, July 19, Aug. 10, 11, 20,
Sept. 13, 27, Oct. 0, Nov. 13, 1804; June 1.3, 18G5; Feb. 8, March 20, May
2(;, Juno 13, July I'J, Aug. 2.-S, 1807; Feb. 27, March 1, Apr. 30, July ir>.
Aug. 9, 20, 30, Sept. 18, 19, Nov. 24, 1868; March 5, 1870; Jan. 4, 1871;
Nov. 7, 1872; Feb. 13, June 2.5, 1874; Jan. 2.3, 1878; Times, Juio 4, 1807:
-May 10, Juuo 25, July 20, Sept. 2, 5, 1868; i'eb. 17, March 10. 22, 30, Apr.
28, Oct. 14, 23, 1809; Ilei-ald, Apr. 23, Juno 10, Sept. 0, 1858; March 31,
Nov. 10, 1859; March 5, Apr. 20, May 9, Dec. 13, ISOO; Ml ch 10, 12, 1809;
Pout, Sept. 15, 1873; Jan. 7, July 25, 1878; Chronicle, Jan. 5, 20, 1809; July
10, 1871; Golden Era, March 15, 185/; Aug. 27, 1865; Mercantile Gazette,
June 19, 1858; Sac. Record- Union, Aug. 10, 1855; Feb. 27, Apr. 9, 16, May
22, .Sept. 17, 135G; Jan. 22, Feb. 5, Apr. 5, 12, 21, 23, May 24, 28, June 8, 9,
10, 11, 12, 19, 22. 23, Sept. 27, Oct. 18, Nov. 24, Dec. 29, 1858; Jan. 3, Apr.
19, Juno 21, 25, 1859; March 21, Apr. 30, Aug. 22, Sept. 27, 29, Oct. 9, 1800;
March 9, Apr. 29, Juno 1, Sept. 24, Nov. 9, 12, 10, 21, Dec. 12, 1801; jNIarch
3,5, 1802; Portland West Shore, July, 1879; Standard, Sept. 7, 1877; West-
ern Oreoonian, Jan, 10, 1878; Pioche Record, March 14, 1873; Tuscarora
Times-Review, Feb. 10, 1878.

CHAPTER XXX.

UNIOX AND CONFEDERATION.

18G3-1871.

A Lkgisl.\tivk CorxciL Okgamzed rou British Columbia — Inaugural
Address of Goveknou Dofolas — A Meek Response — Separate
KrLKRs Appointed ki>r tiie Two Colonies — A Copdiai. Leave-taking
— Review of Doiglas' Administration — Regime of Fisederick Sev-
Mori:— ExcE>MVE Tax.\tion — Union of tue Colonies — The British
North Aaiei;k'a Ait — Anthony Mtsgrave Governor — Bkitisu

CoLnMBIA A l'l:OVI.ME OF THE DOMINION — A LEGISLATIVE AsSEMPi^Y
SCBSTITCTKl' ri>KTllE COINCIL — CONDITION OF TIIE PROVINCE — InHIA.'.

Policy of the United States and of Great Britain.

Those ainon;:^ my readers wlio may chance to liave
lived ill a British colony have probably observed how
little there is to relate concerninij the fjovernment of
that colony, and how void of interest is that little.
There are of course the usual changes (»f administra-
tion, the usual squabbles in the legislature, some of
them as disgraceful as any which occur at Sacramento
or Salem, or wheresoever else amateur law-makers
lay burdens on the people, and contend in unseemly
phrase for the people's spoils. As a rule, however,
though with many exceptions, the colonies are lightly
taxed. They pay no tribute to her Majesty's gov-
ernment; they do not even pay for the support or
expenses of the troops or vessels of war sent forth
for their protection;* and they object very strongly
and decisively to too much amateur legislation,
especially when it touches their pockets. In brief,

* Except tbo so-called colonial allowance of sixpence a day made to the
troops.

( 582 )

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

583

most of the British dependencies are virtually re-
|)ubhcs, with the privilege of becoming at any time
actual republics, and have, free of expense, the pro-
tection of Great Britain, while the governor wields
little more authority than does in the mother country
the queen of England, who cannot obtain, except from
her private revenues, a sixpence wherewith to pur-
chase her breakfast, unless it be voted by parliament.

But in 18G3 Vancouver Island and British Colum-
l)ia were merely colonics in name. During the regime
of Douglas, and for several years thereafter, it can-
not be said that responsible government existed cither
on the Island or on the Mainland. In the former
there was, as we have seen, an elective house of assem-
bly, but its vote could not remove the executive
officials, as was the case in other colonics. The
legislative and executive functions were vested in the
governor and his council, whose acts were ternu'd
ordinances, and had almost the force of statutes in
])arliament.^ On the ^Mainland a legislative council
was organized by authority of a royal order, duted
tlie 11th of June, 18G3,'^ and consisted at first of
thirteen members,* of whom five were govcrnnuMit
officials,^ five were magistrates appointed by the gov-
ernor, and the remainder were elected by t' c j)eopK',
certificates being issued to them on the reporting of
tlieir names by the returning officer.

The council met for the first tinio at New West-
minster on the 21st of January, 18G4, nine members

^ />e('o.wios, ]\ I. and Brit. Col. Govt, MS., 19.

Hm)!' copy of this orilcr, bco Jour. Lr<j(Kl. Council, D. C, 1SG4, 4-5.

^Tlio mcinhcra for the lirst session were Arthur N. Bircli, colonial secre-
tary and presiding member; Henry 1'. 1'. Crease, attorney-f,'encral; Wymond
O. llamley, collector of customs; (^hartrea Drew, Tctcr OUcilly, I'ldward II.
.Sanders, "enry M. IJall, and I'liilii) II. Xind, niai,'i.stratcs fur Xcw West-
niinstjr. Cariboo, ialo and Hope, Lyttou, and Douylas; and Jcjshua A. 1!.
Jlonur, Robert T. Smith, Henry Holbrook, James Orr, and Walter S. Wack
for their respective districts of New Westminster, Yalo and Lytton, Doug-
las and Lillooct, Carilioo East, and Cariboo West. Durin;^ this session a
resolution presented by Mr Homer praying that a legislative assembly be
organised was negatived by tlio casting vote of the presiding member.

'The colonial secretary, attorney-general, treasurer, chief commissiouer
of lands and works, and collector of customs.

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

•; • I

being present. In his opening address Douglas con-
gratulated them on this first step toward representa-
tive government and popular institutions, which, ho
declared, her Majesty had withheld during the in-
fancy of the colony, only from a sincere regard for its
happiness and prosperity. He urged on them a vigor-
ous [)i'osccution of the public works as a measure of
vital importance to the colony, and one that would
give to the waste lands of British Columbia a value
which they did not then possess. With a view to in-
crease population and encourage settlement, he had
thrown open the public lands to actual settlers on the
most liberal terms, and had done his utmost to en-
courage mining and every species of enterprise that
tended to develop the resources of the country, though
the result of these measures had not, as yet, answered
his expectations. The Indian tribes, he said, were
quiet and well disposed. Reserves, embracing village
sites and cultivated fields had been set apart for them,
their area in no case exceeding ten acres for each family,
and this being inalienable and held as joint prop-
erty.*' Appropriations were recommended for reli-
gious purposes, and for the establishment and su[)port
of schools, though it was far from his wish to estab-
lish a dominant or endowed church in a colony to which
people of all religious denominations were invited, lie
promised soon to lay before them a communication
from the secretary of state for the colonies, with pr
posals for opening telegraphic and postal communi
cation between British Columbia and the head
Lake Superior. Finally he laid before them an esti-
mate of the expenditure for the past year, amounting
to £192,860,'' while the revenue for the same period
was but £110,000.' Meanwhile bonds had been

* Though aa iudiviJuala they hail the samo right of acquiring and holdhi^
land by purchase or occupation aa other classea of her Majeaty's sul)jccts.

'Of which £83,937 waa for public roada, £12,650 for redemption of roail
bonda created in lS(i2, £15,288 for public worlia, buildinsa, and transport,
£13,725 for iutereat on loans and sinking fund, and £31,G15 tor the civil cstab-
liahment.

•Of which over £55,000 waa obtained from cuatoma duea. Macfies, V. I.
and B. V.

GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS.

685

glas con-
prcscnta-
vhich, lie
r the iu-
rtl f<jr its
iiavigor-
easure of
at would
ia a value
iew to ill-
it, lie bad
ers on the
ost to en-
■prisc that
ry, though
/answered
said, were
ling village
t for them,
ach ianiily,
oint prop-
d for reli-
nd support
h to estah-
[ly to which
Ivited. He
inunicatiou

[ with pro-
communi-
tc head of
am an csti-
[amountiug
imc period
had been

Lg and lioWing
Pb subjects.
Imption of roa.l
land transpoit,
\ the civil cstal)-

Macfien, V. I-

created and loans contracted to the amount of £65,-
805, leaving still a deficiency of £17,055, in addition
to a sum of £10,700 due to the imperial government
for the expenses of the royal engineers. For 18G4
the outlay, including the debit balance, was set down
at £107,910, and the income from all sources at £120,-
000, thus leaving a balance of £12,090; but this, it
was explained, made no provision for the mainte-
nance of a gold escort, or for the expense of pubhc
works. Asking the advice of the members whether
it was expedient to undertake such works during the
current year, and if so, how their cost should be de-
frayed, the govrnor took his seat.^

Thus did the lordly Douglas give to the colonists
of British Columbia a foretaste of the blessings of
representative government. At this date the white
population of the colony was probably loss than eight
thousand, and of this number a large proportion was
of the migratory class. To lay on them, at this early
period in their history, a tax exceeding §120 per cap-
ita was a measure unheard of in the history of British
colonization, and one that elsewhere would at least
have provoked much angry discussion. But not so
among this staid and dutiful assemblage. The s[)eoch
was received with profound respect; the oath was
administered by Mr Justice Begbie, who declared
the session duly opened. His excellency then took
his leave; and after some unimportant business, the
members adjourned, presenting, threu days later, an
humble address, wherein they expressed their earnest
resolve to act in concert with the governor to the
best of their ability.

There is a refreshing simplicity about the early
sessions of the legislative council, and one that con-
trasts strangely with the stormy incidents of a later
[H'riod. On the 5th of February this body went into
committoo of supply, and on its rising, a few minutes

•A copy of lua addrcsa will bo fomul in Ii!., 18(54, 1-4.

580

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

'\ ■■ '

later, the presiding member^'' reported the adoption
of a bill of supply, amounting to £135,639, for tlio
service of the ensuing year, together with a recom-
mendation that it be now read a first time. The
question of the first reading being then put to the
council, it was so ordered, and the bill was read ac-
cordingly. A few minutes later it was read a second
time, and committed; reported back without amend-
ments; passed to a third reading, the standing orders
being suspended; and thus, probably within the space
of an hour, the supplies were voted, an additional
sum of £80,700 being granted during the session by
varicnis resolutions."

The term of the governor's commission for Van-
couver Island expired in September 18G3, and for
British Columbia one year later. Partly on account
of his free-handed disposition of the public funds, how-
ever, and also with a view to sever the last link that
connected them, directly or indirectly, with the Hud-
son's Bay Company, many of the colonists, both ol'
the Mainland and Island, had already petitioned for
the appointment of separate governors,*^ and before
the close of 18G3 it was ofticially announced that
tlicir request would be granted. That, nevertheless,
Douglas was still supported by the wealth and intel-
ligence of both colonies, is sufficiently apparent from

'"In the absence of the colonitil secretary, the chair was occupied by tliu
attorney-general.

^'Joiu: Lfi/isl. Council, li. C, 1804, l.'l; sjiecnh of Gov. Seymour, in Id.,

iso:., ;t.

'^As early as October 1858 a iictition, signed by 117 residents of Victoria,
was forwartled to Sir JJulwer Lytton, praying for the removal of Douglas.
The inlitiiiners asked that 'an Kuglisii gentleman, free and independent of
any interest save tlic public welfare, may be appointed by her Majesty's go\ -
ernment.' J)c Cokhios, I'. I., and Brit. Vol. Govt, MS., -">. Amor Dc Cosmos,
a native of Nova Scotia, came to Cal. in IS.j.l, removing to Victoria in 1SJ>,
whore he began the publication of a newspaper in the autumn of that year.
Ho commenced his public career by drawing .ip tlic petition above rcfernd
to; and though on principle opposed to the government as it then existed,
was elected a member of the second legislature of \. I. From his Vonrii-
inrutA of Vancourir Inland and liriliih i'oluinbiu, MS., I have gathered itoni.^
of interest extending over tlio period between tlic founding of Victoria ami
the confederation. In the opening pages of his MS. is an account of vai iou.i
newspapers published at Victoria, between 1858 and 1S03, of which mention
will be made later.

SIR JAMES DOUGLAS.

587

the addresses presented to him by the people of Van-
couver Island, at his oflScial leave-taking in Septem-
ber, and by the people of British Columbia a few
months later. The former was signed by all the
bankers and professional men, and nearly all the lead-
ing merchants of Victoria, while to the latter were
appended more than nine hundred signatures." But,
as he declared, it was his earnest desire to withdraw
from further public connection with the colonies, and
this desire he had long ago intimated to the secretary
of state. In fact, it may be doubted whether Doug-
las was ever really willing to accept office as governor.
In doing so he added nothing to his income; on the
contrary, it is probable that the increased expense of
his establishment made him a loser thereby; while
in freedom from harassing cares the position of
governor under the Hudson's Bay Company was in-
iinitely preferable to that of her Majesty's represent-
ative in the colonies.

By the October mail arrived a number of the Ga-
zette, in which appeared the announcement that Doug-
las had been knighted. A few months later, after
beinff feasted and flattered to more than his heart's
content, ho bid farewell to the settlement which he luul
founded in 1843, as a mere trading post, with little
certainty that it would ever become the metropolis of
a thriving and ambitious colony. As he proceeded on
foot, accompanied by his staff, from the government
house to the Hudson's Bay wharf, every llag-stafF in
the town was decorated with bunting, the citizens
raising their hats as he passed, and manyof them join-
ing in the procession. The steamer Enterprise, gayly
tlcikcd with colors, awaited his arrival, and as he
leached the foot of the gangway, the cheers which had

'^Copiog of them will bo found in Atldr. ami Mvmor. Sir Janice Doii'jla.i,
;!, I!_'-;{. The former enclosed a memorial, and the latter was iu tlio form of
an ;iiM"css, both to bo forwarded to the iluUo of Newcastle. Addresses were
presinted by the legislative council and asscnd)ly at Victoria, and by tlio
legislature at New Westminster, for which see /t/., 18 '20; Jour. Lerihl.
Council, B. C, 18G4, '20. The government olBcials, the iuhabitauts of Yale
and Hope, and others, also forwarded addresses.

58S

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

\f i

greeted him along his route burst forth with redoubled
volume, the multitude thronging round to grasp him
by the hand. As the vessel moved off, the band sta-
tioned on board the O^^er struck up the tunc of AuM
Lang Syne, and a salute of thirteen guns was filed
b}'' the Hudson's Bay employds. Then followed tlh
strains of the national anthem; and thus was Sir
James Douglas, K. C. B., sent on his way to tin
Mainland, there to be again banqueted, toasted, and
plied with addresses, and then to retire for a whil
into private life at his home in New Westminster."

Twenty-two years had now elapsed since the native-
of Camosun had first seen the calm waters of thcii
harbor ruflflcd by the little steamer on board of which
Douglas came and determined the site of the present
city of Victoria. During many of these years he had
controlled the affairs of the great monopoly in the
north-west. How skilful had been his manageuiei.t,
how mild his rule, and how judicious his policy, the
reader is well aware who has followed his career
throughout the narrative which I have laid before
him. If his administration as governor is open to
censure, the faults which he committed are such as
detract but little from his fame. That he was lavish
in the expenditure of the public funds, laying upon
the infant colony burdens greater than it could boar,
cannot be disputed; but this outlay, incurred mainly
for opening roads to the mining districts, then the
main source of wealth, and without which Victoria
would have remained a village, must be regarded rather
as an investment than as a tax on the industries of
the people. Insignificant as were then the British
possessions in the north-west, remote from the mother
country, with which there was no prompt communi-
cation, except through foreign sources, with a sparse
but heterogeneous population, composed largely of

'*A description of tho fOtes and banquets iiold at Victoria and New West
minster, witli tho addresses and memorials presented by tho citizens .'iimI tlio
comments of tho press on tiic occasion of Douglas' rrtiroment, will bo found in
AUilr. and Mcmor. Sir Jamcn DoiujUih.

GOVERNOR SEYMOUR.

580

Americans, impatient of British rule and imbittered
by the disputes incidental to the San Juan difficulty,
without the moans of competing with older and more
favored communities — amid all these difficulties the
colonies had developed with a steady and stalwart
growth. And to none was this result so largely due
as to him from whom we will now take our leave,
quoting in conclusion a few words from his reply to
an address presented by the citizens of New West-
minster — words uttered in no spirit of vainglory or
boastfulness : "This is surely the voice and heart of
British Columbia. Here are no specious phrases, no
hollow or venal compliments. This speaks out broadly,
and honestly, and manfully. It assures me that my
administration has been useful ; that I have done my
duty faithfully; that I have used the power of my
sovereign for good, and not for evil; that I liavo
wronged no man, oppressed no man; but that I have,
with upright rule, meted out equal-handed justice to
all."

Toward the end of April 1864, a few days before
the close of the first session of the council, Frederick
Seymour, successor to Douglas on the Mainland, ar-
lived at Now Westminster. Seymour had formerly
held office as governor of British Honduras, whore
Ills health had been seriously impaired, llv. was a
man of mediocre ability, of no great force of character,
somewhat timid and over-conservative in policy, and
apt to place too much dependence on those by whom
ho was surrounded; one who might liavo reigned with
'•rcdit in a settled and j)rosperous connnir.iity, as
among the sugar-planters of Belize, but was ill litted
lor the control of a young and ambitious colony. The
fask which he had now before him rofjuired the ser-
\ ites of a more capable ruler, and this lie soon made
apparent to the members of the council. Broroguiiig
that body, on the 4tli of May, he remarked that lie
I'und himself obliged to C(.)nsi(ler a measure involving

500

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

i I

the wliolc iiiianciul arrangements of the colony; an-
other proposing to regulate its paper currency ; a third
affecting its internal navigation; together with some
twenty resolutions, many of them of grave import,
and involving a considerable expenditure. As to most
of the important measures, especially those concern-
ing the supplementary estimates, he deferred his deci -
ion until the winter session, or reserved them for lui
Majesty's consideration. He gave his assent, howevti',
to the inland-navigation ordinance, and to resolutions
for the survey of a road from the moutli of the C^ues-
nel to C\iriboo, together with an extra exj)eiuliture ol
£40,000 in that district. He also assented tt) several
others wherein no outlay was involved, among them
being regulations for the postal service, for amendiiiL;
the customs duties, for declaring the legal rate of in-
terest, and for registering documents relating to real
estate."

On the 21st of October a proclamation was issued
(hssolving the legislative council, "for divers good
tauses and considerations," and a week later a notiic
was published, containing a list of the new appoint-
ments, eight out of the thirteen members of the former
council being reelected.'" At the opening session,
hekl on the 12th of December, the governor stated
that only £135,039 out of the £210,400 voted for the
public service of 1804 had been expended, the dis-
bursements for the current month being estimated at
£8,000, tims showing an expenditure less by £72,000
than had been sanctioned. Meanwhile, however, the
revenue had fallen short of the estinuites by some
£13,000. Under an act of the previous session, a
loan of £100,000 had been authorized, agains't whieli
thev had drawn but £20,300, the remainder bein.r
available for the service of 1805. Amoni; the items

'■'' Also to ordinances rcliitin,i» to patents, facilitating tiie formation of joint-
stock iiiiiiiiii,' conipanii's, ami for tin; ri'liuf of certain naval unit military si t-
tlers. Spoei:li of Frcdericii St'vnioiir, in ./u»;-. Lkj'isI. Coiiiiril, Jl. ('., 1804, •11).

"'Tiie names of tlic nK'nihers will lie foiind in A/., 1S(m, after tlic tabic of
contents.

COLONIAL AFFAIRS.

SOI

of expense for the j)ast year was one of £10,000 for
the suppression of the CliilUotin massacre,'' of which
Seymour ^ivcs a detailed account in his address, lie
rcj^rets that several needed improvements liave been
tlehiyed through lack of funds, amoni^ them beini,' the
t'stablishment of a light-ship at the mouth of tho
b'raser. Finally lie calls the attention of the council
to certain resolutions passed by the assembly at \'ic-
toria in favor of a conditional union with British Co-
lumbia under one governor. Ex[)ressing his own
views on this subject, he remarks that, while it would
he better for imperial interests that Gieat Uritain
should be represented west of the Kocky Mountains
hy a single ruler,'^ he does not think that at present
Ihitish Columbia would j^ain by the suufujested chan''f,
and advises them to consult only tht'ir local interests.
At the next meeting the council res[)onded, as usual,
ill meek and lespoctful phrase, and the business of the
session commenced.

Thus did the colonial ship of state sail forth «>ii
these untroubled waters, her course .seldom disturbed
hy the faintest breath of popular discontent. Most
of the measures brouij^ht before the council were ini-
tiated by the attorney-general, those which [)assed to
a third readinvj and received the governor's sanction
relating mainly to municipal alKiirs, [)ublie imi)rove-
ments, and matters of local interest.''

Let us turn now to Vancouver Island, where, as
will be remembered, the iirst term of the legislative
assembly expired in 18j'J. To the mention already
made of this assembly'"" theie is nothing worthy of

"Tlio crowii iTfusod to rcfiiiid any part ot' tliis sum.

'" As in ciiHO of war, ill wliicli ovuiit tin; oliictT in fomniaud of tlio naval
foirua niiylit ho seriously fnibarrasHcil liy tln^ oonllKtini; jxiliiy of two gov-
•mors.

"'rabies, showing the progress of the various iiills introiliu'cd, will he
I'liiiid fiir each year in Jour. Lf'jM. Couiiril, IJ. ('., facing' p. I. See also
Ciiiisul. Stilt, lint. Col. (ed. 1877), passim; Actn and Oriliu. H'e.stt'rn ('oL,
IS.")S-70, passim.

'"'Sco pages 22-7, this vol.

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

! i!

note to bo added, except that the members stoutly
refused to n;rant supplies, or become responsible for
debts incurred by the Hudson's Bay Company. When
the second legislature met, in 18G0, the connection
between the colony and the company having then
been dissolved, the question was again brought for-
ward, Who was to pay the debts of the latter? It
was resolved that, as the former assembly had in-
curred no responsibility, the present one won^.d adopt
the same policy, and leave the company to settle its
claims with the home government.

For the year 1861 the legitimate revenue of the
colony was £25,291; for 1862, £24,017;" for 186a,
£30,000; and for 1864 it was estimated at £37,704.
The receipts for the last of these years were increased
by sums due from British Columbia, advtcnces to
crown agents in London, balance of loan, and other
sources, to about £77,000, while the expenses were
SL't down at £59,062, of which £15,616 was for pub-
lic works and buildings, and £10,360 for roads, streets,
;uul bridges. It is worthy of note that only £1,000
was devoted to educational purposes during this year,
while the appropriation for police and jails was abo'it
double that sudi.'^'^

In 1864 the \diite population of Vancouver Island
was estimated at about 7,500, or somewhat less than
that of British Columbia, the rate of taxation bein<4
nearly £8 per capita, as against £24 in the latter col-
ony. The principtd sources of revenue at this date
were from land sales and liquor licenses, from a tax of
one per cent on real estate, and from the sums col-
lected under the trade licenses amendment act of
1862.'^^ By the provisions of this act, merchants and

*' The reason for the slight decrease of this year was that the iiist.ihneiit s
due 1)y farmers on hind purchased from go^■crn^lent were jjostjioncd on ar-
coiint of losses sustained during au unusually ecvcro winter. Alacjtc'/i I'. /.

'-Tor the administration of justice, £7'21 was voted; for the mail service,
£'2,',Hi0i for light-houses, £1,400; and for charitable allowances, £ooU. /(/.,

siy.

""The real estate tax produced £]^,OCiO; trade licenses, £5,Q1G; liq lor
licenses, £4,800; and land sales. £0,nS2. A/., lUS.

ECONOMY.

r.93

toutly
)lo for
When
lection
r then
ht for-
jr? It
had in-
i ndopt
jttle its

3 of the

)r 18G;},

£37,704.

ncrcasod

Lances to

[id other

ises were

for pub-
strcots,

y £1,000
his year,
as abont

ler Island
less than
lion hc'iwA
ittcr col-
this dati'
La tax of
liunis ctA-
it act ot"
liants a\ul

Jioucil on ii'--
miarj'i>'''i !'• '■

[mail scrviio,

Is. i:ouO- Id;

[j,5lC; Uq lor

traders were required to pay an annual assessment,
varyiii<^, according tc a jjfraduateil scale, I'rom £2 a
year for those wliosc sales were less than £200, to
£G0 a year for those whose receipts exceeded £100,-
000. For bankers and auctioneers the license was
£50 a year; for lawyers and real estate agents, £10;
for civil engineers, architects, surveyors, and proprie-
tors of billiard-saloons, £5.

In one of the most distant portions of the British
empire we have now two colonies mustering together
.some twelve or thirteen thousand white inhabitants,
paying on an average under tliis crude system of tax-
ation nearly £19 a year per capita, or at least eight
times the rate levied in the mother country, witli lici-
arniy and navy, her peers, lier princes, her [)aui)ers, and
her frightful incubus of debt. Under such conditions,
the extinction of the two colonies was but a mat-
ter of time. It did not follow that because Great
Britain had placed lierself in the condition of a coun-
try squire, whose estates though heavily encumbered
were not hopelessly encumbered, her youngest off-
spring sliould thus follow her example. J^oans foi-
British Columbia were barely negotiable in the Lon-
don market,^' and could be placed only at excessive
I'ates of interest. Moreover, her sister c(;l()ny, sepa-
rated by less than twenty leagui^s iVom tlie JMainland,
was undergoing a severe financial dejirc^ssion, oeca-
sioned in part by over-trading and s[>eculation. Some-
thing must be done in the matter, and at least tht;
expenditure for the civil list might be curtailed.
Wlien, therefore. Captain Kenned}-, successor to
IJouglas at Vancouver Island, landed at Victoria in
1 804, liG was received with every manii'cstation of
loyalty, enthusiasm, and respect; but his gratilication
was somewhat modified by the announcement that
his salary, and that of other officials, had been struck

°*Tho total debt of British Columbia in 1867, <lediictin,£( sinking fiiml in<
vestments, was ?l,002,i)S3; of Vancouver Islauil, §'J9;},ti"J8. Jour, Lcgisl.
Council, U. C, 18G7, app. xvii.
Hut. Bnn. Col. 38

594

UNION AND CONFEDEUATION.

from tlie cstiniates i'ov iliu year by a unanimous vote
of tho logislatuic"'

TIk! cstinuitos i'or the civil list of this year were
proposed by tho duke of New<astle, iiis jLjraco inti-
UKitiiijjf tliat the ciowu lands, then about to bi' con-
veyed by the J[(id,son's Jjay (.\»ni[)aMy to tho home
i;-ovi'niMtent in ruiKidation ordainis, slioidd be assigned
to the h'i;islatur«', and that iVoni tlte prtx-ceds <»!' sales
the salaries of the ^ovei'nor and otht^r ollicials shoulil
\h) paid. JJut th(! sales fi'oni crown lands foi- (hr
pi'(.!vi()ns year had anioinited <»nly to .1' 4,500, \vhil<'
thi! necessary expenses of j^'overnnient were .I'oOjOOO.
The pro|)osilion of his i^rai^e was of coui'se njectetl,
whereupon her iSrajesty's government decideil to unil,e
the two col(»nies, though probably somewhat against
tlui will of the pei>ple of liritish Columbia. In \ iew
of the facts that have been stated, however, it does
not a[)pear that the ministiy wen; t«) blame in the
matter. A yearly expenditure of .l"G'.),000 for the
mere civil list of the two colonii's, with their handful
of inhabitants, was a somewhat no\'el phasi; in tin
|»rogress of JJiitish ('(►loni/ati(»n.

According to tlu; piovisions of the union ret, enli

tied the iJiitish (\)lumbia a( t of I.SGd, the auth«»rity

of the executive government and leixislatun'of Jhitisli

( 'ohnnbia was ijxtiuided over Yancouv«'r Island, llh

number «>f mend)ers of tlu; legislative council beiu-

incieasiMl to twenty-three'. "^Ihe existin>jc oi'dinaMce.^

• . . .

wi^'e to i-«!main in forci; until otherwisiMletermined hy

law, e\<'ept that those I'elating to the customs iivi

nues of IJritish (-olumbiu were to be extended t '

Vancouver Island, and that i'; tlu^ governoi- ucre

vested all powei's as to the a[>pt»intment of waj'ehous

ing ports, and of warehouses in such ports, togethir

with all matters relating thereto. Nothing contained

in tho uct was to take away or restrict the authoiii \

" Kcnnrcly -, aa o\ti-"int'ly t'cmrlciiiH in niaiiiu'i, uniiu'W lint <il' ii ll.itli'ii i,
niul nil «'xr«'''.i'lit HI It'll kiT; liiit tlio |p»'ti|ilo hoihi iiIincivi'iI lluit IIh'x' « . ic ali'u!
O'^ iiuHC chai'iii'li'i'iMtii'M ho |i<>hsi'ssi'iI, In Iriitli, tlitin \\:^n at tins ilalu liltli
for a govcniur to do fxcipt to Ik; ioiiiIiouh. EHioU'h Ii, < '. i'olili' ■<, .MS.

4 4»

KNI> OF TIIK VANCOUVER COLONY.

505

JUS

vote

:»ar were
lice inii-
, bo fon-
l\o lionu'

s ol' saU's
lis shoulil
i for tilt
00, Nvliil''

Xijr),ooo.

. n'jiM'tt'il,
.(I to uuitf
it :>t;:uii^t,
III vii>\v
i-r, it tU'(>s
ino ill tlu'
)0 for tlu'
r'w haiull'i'l
uso ill til-

11 ."ct, cnti
'. ;illtlit>lit.V
M»r Jiiitisli
Ihlaiul, til''

nicil Uciii,'-;
onliiuiiK'. ..

Miuiiu'^l li.v
tonis rc\"

s, ti)i;vth' r
^f (•(mtiiint'tl
" juillit'i'i'}

tins iliilo liUlt

of the j^ovojiior to make lou^iilutious Ibr the peace,
or(l(T, and jjf«)o(l i;-ovoi-mmiit of the two eolonii's,
.jthei- lu'loro or al'ttr tl»e union. '" This act, which
licars (l;i(t! thi^ (Ith ot" August, 18GG, was proclaiincd
\>y th'! L;-overnor on the I7th of Novenihei* in the
same year,''' untl tlieneeforth the colony of Vancouvci-
Island ceased to exist, the attorney-general, a lew
weeks later, introducing a bill for assimilating its
hiws witii those of iJritish Colund)ia.

The confederation, or rather the legislative union
of Upper aid Lower Canada, was a measui'e first
mooted in U'J'J, and one that took eflect in IHH.
\evertheles^•, the parly contests between the iidiab-
ilants of the two regions, diviilvnl as thi;y were by
lace, religion, and interests, beca.ne so bittei* that, ;i.s
I lie I'eader is aware, matters jame to a <l»\'id-lock.
Hence the iilea of a legislativv! miion of all tlu; Jiiit-
ish American colonies, though reserving to each its
iiidividnality and its loca! government. Moreover,
he tiangers to which tluy were afterward exposetl
liy the possible i.ssues of tl^e civil war formed an ad-
ilitional incentive tt) their union. Tlnis it was that,
llie leaders of the several nartii's i)ut asi«h' theii-

issues and agi'eed to mak(! conunon causi-, li> which
the home govermnent responded bypassing the Hril
i>h North Anu'ii«'a act of 1807, wherebv the cold-
;iic.s could unite at, will in a confederation to he
known as the Donnnion of ( anada.

After tlu! pas,-.ag(; of this act nout; were molt; eagii-
to he admitted into the confederation than the peo|)l('
of Ih'Jtish (/ohunbia; but. this was not, yet, to be. ( )n
tlie 17th of Deci'mber, I. SOS, the legislature met foi
llie lirst, time' at Victoria, accoi'dii'g ti» the (\ pressed
(iesiro of the colonists, including (he re.->idt;nts of the

Aft Ji) ami ill) I'ii-I., in Joiir. Lfiji^l. ('

<7, /;. ('., isti

I •_'. r.v

lliis act, 'Jl and '2'1 Vict., to proviilo for tiu> govcrunuiit of H. C, autl -ti an. I
~i Vict., to dutiiio till) lioiuularies of tho colony, nntl for otlit'i- piirpo^c^, wcro
ri'iK«ulo»l

iries
I'Vr copy of piuclainution

/./.

:>96

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

mainland, though very much against the governor's
wish.* His excellency remarked that it was his
pleasing duty to state that the colony did not appear
to bo in a condition to create despondency; that by
unmitigated economy he had reduced the expenses of
government by §88,092, and that he had never taken
upon himself "to appoint a higher officer than a con-
stable." They must wait, however, for admission as
a province until the intervening territory under con-
trol of the Hudson's Bay Company^" should havo
been incorporated.

The people of British Columbia did not want sueli
government. They would very much have preferred
such a ji'uler as Douglas, with his courtly mien, and
even with his reckless disregard for the credit of the
colony, to this negative and timid magistrate. Though
his lavish hospitality may have saved him from being
unpopular, at his decease, which occurred in June ot
the following 3'oar, there were few wlio sincerely
mourned his loss.*' In his successor, Anthony Mus-
grave, C. M. G., who held office until the 1st of July,
1871, or, as it is known, tlie first donn'nion day, tlu
people gladly recognized a. governor whose tact, de-
cision, and ex[)ei'ionce fitted him for the control of men.

•'* Seymour's .iJilrcsij to tlio council on the ))rop()iC(l t'liaii'ic of the sent ni
govi I iHiiont is i-iinitly pitiful. It conrliidcs: 'JIo tiuHts tliiit no iininodi.itc
action may he nrgcil iipon liim,' Imt, slioiilil any I'C jc'(|iiircil. 'liowiil lninil/l\
I'ccoinniouil to tlic (jucen that liu anil lii.-s tiiic'tc.-i.idra in oili(:u liu cdmnianiUil I '
rcsi(h^ porinanintly in tho {ircso-.tt oaja'.al of tho coUjny.' Juiir. Lcij'tnL Couk
ril, li. C, IStiT, ti'-'. To this tho IhisIir'-s men, tavnicr.s, Tuinirs, etc"., ol
tilt! island anil niainlanci ic-'iiundcil that \ ii lotia was tlic must fiiiitaMc .«i"'i.
A ',H!titinn t'l thi< imri'ort V. as .'i,L,'iucl Iiy TO ii'^idcnt^^ <if \(\v WLv-lniinslri .
Anion;^ tlu- 1.107 iidialntants of \ai:cuuv< r l-^hunl w lio intitioni'd liiscxnl
lency wiic W". .1. Maciiouald, mayor oi Victoria, and lioiKriclv rinlaysi ii,
cluif factor If. It. Co. Froia Ihe nmiiilnnd th(? total nigiLiturcs niinilicii i
84"_'. /'/,. ft|>. x\ j. In tho legislative council a resolution wa.i jiasscd, liy ;..i
ulllnnat \x' Aotc of II to .">, Iliat Victoria was tho most suitahlo jilaco for tla-
scat of leu'i.slatnrf. /./.. iJStlS, ll-l'J.

"Mauitoha.

•"'Seymour clicd on Ixtaril II. M, S. S/Ko'i-onhoiil; while on at ip to tin'
northern ]iortioi) of tlie colony. ('im/i)r'n Maiilinte MnUif, MS., 'Jl. If \vc
<an believe Mr Klliott, lie spent all his salary ami iuipaired his private furtniH
liy hh foolish hospitality. In Urili-h < 'ohimhia Polilks, hy A. (', IJliioH, MS.,
I have Ijcen furnidiod with .-i hricf nketch of the ciiaracteristies and career ft
the rnlera of H. C. .incl \'. 1., troin the regitne of (Jov. .Seymour to that <f
4<ov. Truli'li, with some incidents in the political annals of both colonics.

GOVERNOR .MUSGRAVE.

597

(ii his inaugural ailthcss, ^lusgravo expressed his
conviction that, under certain conditions, which lie
thoupfht it would not he difficult to arrange, the colony
might derive substantial benefit iroui tlie union, and
that with the advice of his council he had prepared a
scheme which he would cause to be laid before them;
that, while the views of her JMajesty's government
had been clearly and foi'cibly expressed on the niatter,""'
there was no desire to urge the union, unless it were
ill accordance with the wishes of her Majesty's sub-
jects. The resolutions presented by ^fusgrave were
adopted with but slight alterations."-

A delegation was sent to Ottawa to lay before llu;
dominion government the resolutions adopted by the
council, to explain the views and wants of the colony,
and to ascertain how far they eouM be fulfilled. In
Iiis address at the opening t»f the session of 1871, the
governor laid before the legislature the report of the
|nivy council of Canada on the subject, remarking
that tlui terms accepted were as liberal as the colony
could fairly expect, and in some respects more advan-
tageous than those submitted by the colony. ] le
then>fore recommended them at once to pass an
address to her ^lajesty, in accordance with the j>ro-
visions of the ]3ritish Xorth America act of 1S()7,
|iiaying for admission.""

■"Sec Jniu: Lri/isl. Couinil, I!. C, 1S7S, '2S <>t ^(-4. Ou tho '.Mtli o[
.\]iril, ISGH, nil nddross to t\w ([iiooii wasi niovcil, in wliicli tliu foiulitii.ii.s {>f
tlif union wcic Liid <lo\vu ill a isomcwiiat liiuli-liaiulcil in;iiiiii'r. ;\'i !iiii(iiil
iiiiiitvas ciiriicd, in vliich it was tlcclarcil tlnit, wliilo tim eoniiL'il \\:nin
favcir of till) n;iion, they woro uitliout siilliiii'iit iiiforniutiou and i'\|ii'iiiiui-
iif tlio ]iractical working nf conlcdiiatiim in tlio Nuilli Aiiu'ii''aii iiro\iiiii's to
I'll justilicd in ik'finin^' tlio terms f>n wlddi s^iicii a union woidd lit' to tliiir
adviintagc, ,

°- In a ilcs|mteh to Gov. Mnst;ra\i, dated Ang. U, ISO'.), Karl Granville
■^tati ;) that till) queen would ]irohali! y be iid\ ised l)erore Ion;,' to is-mo an order
111 eoiineil, ineorporatinij in tlio dominion all the liritish juis^essioiis in N. Am.
"itli the cxce|)ti(ni of li. ( '. 'Ihe iiiustion tin rct'oi'e jireseiitid itself, whether
this single coiiiny tiliould ho «'\eluiled. On that <|m'stion the eolonists did not
Jipjiear to iio unaliiinons; hut, jildijini,' from his deNpatelns, the jiiexailinu'
opinion iippeared to 1)0 ill fiivor ot uni >i. He had no hesitation in statin;,'
that siicii was also tho opinion of hei Miijostv's K"^'^''''""'-'"'- ''^"'''- ''"/'"'S
Ji'i'. I '..!., 1881, 1.19.

^'Joitr. L'ljiHl. ('ou)icU, B. C, 1871, '2. For proposed and accepted terms,
sec6't*«. I'aj)ir<, JJrit. Vol., ISoii, 140-3.

598

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

According to the terms of the union of British
Columbia with Canada, the latter was niaile liable
ior the debts and obliij^ations of the colony existing at
the time. British Columbia, not having incurred lia-
bilities equal to those of the provinces then constitut-
ing the dominion, was to bo entitled to interest at the
rate of five per cent on the difference between her in-
debtedness and that of Nova Scotia and New Bruns-
wick, pro rata of their population.''* For the support
of her government and legislatui-e a subsidy of .*i^35,00O
a year was to be ])aid, together with a grant of eighty
cents ])cr capita of tlie inhabitants, then estimated ai
GO, 000,^^ such grant to be augmented according to the
incrc^ase in population until it should amount to -lOO,-
000, after wliich the grant should not be further in-
creased. The dominion was to provide an eflicient
mail service I'ortnightly by steamer between Victoria
and San Francisco, and twice a week between Victoria
and Olyiupia, the vessels to be adapted for the con-
voyance of freight and passengers. Canada was to
assume and defray all charges incidental to the ser-
vices which, by the British North America act of
1807, i)(>rtain to the general government, as tlie salary
of tlie lieutenant-governor, the expenses of the su
preme and district courts, of the customs,'"' the postal
and telegraph services. Pensions were also to be prt>
vided for those whose position and emoluments woulo
be alfected by these changes.

British Columbia was to be represented in the sen-
ate of the dominion by three members, and in the
commt>ns by six, this representation to be increased

^* 111 1871 tho in(l<'1)ii;ilue8a of Novii Suotia ami New Brunswick was §27.77
per Iliad. I'liis pn'visioii \va3 altcrcil in tiio iciiiis of tlui union not, nssontiil
to March '2, 1S7I. wlicrcliy H. C. was to reocivo I'roni tlio (ixiiiinioii govern-
ment from tiino to tiuio sums of money not to exceed tlio diHereiu.o lictwcen
the actual ticht and tho iillowi d delit of the province. Mc^xdijc ni. to Tfiitin o'
llnii'U Act, TiS.

'••Tliis is prohably nn exaggeration. In a work iiisued hy tiie agcnt-geti-
era! of tho province in London, eontainin!:; much reliublo and well-eondeustti
iiifoniiation, and entith-cl Jlrit. i'ol. lii/onn, /or Emiijrantu, tlio population,
iucliiding Indians, id e^^tiinatcil in IS72 at 4>'},(KK).

'*Tiie cu«toii;8 and fxciso duties wero locontinuo iu force uutil the I'ttciliu
coast was conncoteil by rail nith ( aiiada.

UNION WITH CANADA.

609

Lil the Tttcilio

from time to time under the act of 1867, the pro
visions of which were to apply to British Columbia as
fully as if that colony had been one of the provinces
ori'^inally united under the act.

And now follow the most important clauses in the
Mi^rcemcnt, portions of which I present tt) the reader
verbatim: "The government of the dominion under-
take to secure the commencement sinniltanoously,
within two years from the date of the union, of the
construction of a railway from the Pacific towards
ilie Kocky Mountains, and from such i)oint as may
l>o selected cast of the Rocky Mountains towards the
l*acilic, to connect the seaboard of British Columbia
with the railway system of Canatla; and further, to
secure the completion of such railway witiiin ten years
from the date of the union. And the government of
Hritish Columbia agree to convey to the dominion
government, in trust, to be appropriated in such man-
ner as tlie dominion government may deem advisable,
In furtherance of the construction of the said railway,
a smiilar extent of public lands along the line of rail-
way throughout its I'utire length in British Cuhnn-
l>ia, not to exceed, however, twenty mil(\s <in each
side of said line, as may be appropriated for the same
purpose by the dominion government from the public
lands in the north-west territories and the province
"t" Manitoba. . .In consideration of the land to be so
conveyed in aid of the construction of the said vail-
way the donunion government agree to pay to ]Jritish
( 'olumbia Irom the ilate of the union the sum of
."?100,00() per annum, in half-yearly ]>ayments in ad-
vance. The «lominion gov(>rnment shall guarantee
the intei'cst lor ten years iVom the date of the com-
pletion of the works at the rate of live per centum
per annum on such sum, not exceeding X'lOO,v)U(t
sterling, as may be reipiired for the construction of a
lirst-dass graving-dock at Esquimalt."^'

" By llio tonus of uniuu ampiulnicnt m-t, assented tc Miir. 2, 1S74, Britisk
Columbia wjis to receive from tlio iloiuiniou goveriiiiieiit i,'.>0,000 towiml tho
lonstructiou of tho dock in lion of intere"* Missayr nl, to Trrms of Union, C.'J.

600

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

M f^

The care of Indians ai, I the nianagonient of lands
reserved for them were to be assumed by the domin-
ion government. Tracts of such extent as it liad been
the custom of British Columbia to appropriate were
to be conveyed for that purpose by the local govern-
ment to the dominion government as they might bo
needed, and were to be held in trust for the use and
benetlt of the natives.

Finallv, the constitution of the executive and Iciris-
lature was to remam as Jt cxiotcd at the tmie of the
union, until altered under the authority of the British
North America act, it being understood tliat the do-
minion would consent to the introduction of responsi-
ble government when desired by the inhabitants ol'
Britisli Columbia, and that it was the intention of the
governor, under the authority of the secretary of state
for the colonies, to amend the constitution of the legis-
lature, by providing that a majority of its members
should be elective, the province having also the right
of specifying the districts ft»r which the first election
of members for the comnjons should take place.""

It was provided that on the presentation of ad-
dresses I'rom the legislature of British Columbia and
the Canadian houses of parliament, the union should
take eflect on such day as her Majesty might appoint.
On the 20th of January, 1871, an address was adopted
by the former, without i\ dissenting vote, and the
above terms and conditions having been previously
agreed to by a committee of the privy council of the
dominion after considerable discussion with delegates
sent from British Columbia,'^" the measure received
the queen's consent and the union was consummated.

No time was lost in taking advantage of the clause
in the terms of confederation relating to the establish-
ment of responsible government, which was in fact
provided for before the agreetnent had received the

'"The full text of the agrconient will also bo found in Jour, Legisl. Council,
li. a, 1871, 14-16.

••Trutch, Hchnckon, ami Cair.iU. Id., 4.

COXSTITUTION ACT.

601

iuiporiul consent. At a iMoctin<; of the t'ouncil, liold
on the 12tli of January, 1871, it was resolved that the
i^overnor ho requested to transmit to tlie house, in
accordance with his inauijural address, a bill increasinyf
the number of elective members and excluding nomi-
nated members, so that responsible government should
(ouje into operation at the first session of the legisla-
lure subsequent to tlu union with Canada.'*'^ On the
1 4th of Fcbruar^'a bill received tlic governor's signa-
ture, entitled the constitution act of 1871, whereby it
was provided that the legislative council sljould be
abolished and a legislative asstHiibly substituted in its
stead, the latter to be elected once in four years, and
consist of twenty-five members, chosen by twelve
il(;ctoral districts.** No public contractor, and no per-
son liolding office whereto a salary or emolument <A
any kind was attached, payable from the revenues ot
the colony, was eligible as a member; though members
ot" tlic executive council were eligible, provideil they
wore elected while holding such office, 'i'he latter
were to be coniposed (»f sueh persons as the governor
might select, not exceeding five in number, and in the
lirst instance wuie to include the colonial secretary,
the attorney-general, and the chiel" conunissioner of
lands and works. The powers of the executive were
to remain in force as they before existed, so far us 1 hey
wei-e unaltered l)y the constitution act, or l)y the Brit-
ish North America act,^'^ or by ordii- <»f her Majesty
ill council, or by act of the Ih'itish parliament.*'
A month later an act was passed, entitled the (^nali-

^"/il., 1871, 0-10. Tlio resolutiou was iiiovod liy Mr Iloli'.uUcii.

*' Afterward iiicro;is(ul to i;i.

*• l>y this act it was prctvidiul that the chief in.ngistrati! of the colony .siioidd
laiiiv as lieut-^;ov., uiid Lo aiipointi^d by tho gov.-^'eii. of L'aiiMil.i, liis rc.s|iiinsi.
Iilo advisers lieilig llio atty-gen., who also held ollico as colonial sc( it t.iiy, (Ik;
iiiiiiislci' (if linaiice, uiid tliu chief coiiiinissioner of lands and woilis, 'I'liiis it
will lie seen that tiio composition of tho execntivo council v.a-t altcnd liy I hu
iiiiislitiitioiiaet, though tho alterations mado in its j)owcrs were of slij;lit, iin-
imitancc, thu principal one being that uo part of tho revenue of tlie colony
.-linuld be paid out from tlio treuaury except by warrant over the governor 3
tigiKiture.

" For text of tiio constitution act, sec Ads Lrgisl, Council, It. C, 1871»
.\ o. 3 of 34th Vkl.

fli~

UNION AND CONFEDERATION.

fication and Registration of Voters act of 1871," in
accordance witli the provisions of which no person
could bo elected a member of the legislature who had
not been a resident within the colony for at least one
year })revious to the date of his election, or who was
a minister of any religious denomination, whatever
might be his nuxk or title. Concerning the franchise,
the regulations were unusually restrictive, when com-
pared with those of other British colonies, in some of
which, as in New South Wales, suffrage exists in its
simplest form, six months' previous residence being tlu'
sole qualification. In British Columbia the elector, if
a British subject, must be able to read the Englisli
language, or, if a foreign-born subject, the language of
his native country, and must have resided in the colony
for six months before sending in his claim to vote. ] It-
must possess a freehold estate, situated within his
electoral district, of the clear value of $250, or a lease-
hold estate of the annual value of $40, or be a house-
holder or lodger occupying premises or apartments
rented at the satue valuation, or pay for board and
lodging at least 62C0 a year, or must hold a duly
recorded preemption claim or mining licens(\ flie for-
mer of not less than one hundred acres."

Thus was British Columi)ia fairly launched on her

^'Tliis being the sliort title, the net, in cdiniiion with many otiiera passed
l>y tlio legislature, li:iving a longer title for ita heading, Miiich reads in tliis
case, 'An act to amend the law as ti) tlic (jualilication of electors ami of elec-
tive nienibers of the legislatuie, and to provide for tho registration of persons
iiitillcd to vote at eleetion.s id' Kuch nieniliers.'

'•'/(/., IS71, A'u. lJi>/J'/f/i I'irt., p. '2. No foreign-born siil)jeet who liad
renonncid his allegiance or lieconie n citi/en of a foreign state could be M'yis-
tered under tlio provisiouM of this aet until ho had ag ilu taken tho oatli of
allegiance to her Majesty. With regard to aliens, the regulations were the
wmie as those existing in tho dominion, as provided in cap. (JO, .'tist Vii't.,
iSiiS. After an uninterrupted residence for three years, an alien who iiail
taken or I'aused to bo tiled tiie oatiis of .alhigiancc and residence became en-
titled to a curtifieate of naturalization, and enjoyed all tho rights of a natural-
liorn subject. Tho only charges wore '25 cents for tho certilleatoand ;"»() cents
for reei (riling. An all en -born woman when married to a liritisli subject !"■•
eanio theri'l)y naturali?:ed. On tho 2'2d <'f March tho election regulations a>'t,
1871, received tho governor's signature, its provisions relating mainly to the
appointment ami duties of returning ollicors, election clerks, and poll clerks.
For text, huo Ads Lf<jl4. Council, li. (-'., No. 13 of 34fh Vi't. Five days
later tho Corrupt Practices Troventiou act was passed, ' to prevent bribery,
treating, and undue influcneo at elections of members of the legislature.'

COLONIAL PROGRESS.

71,** in

pcrrton
rho biul
jast one
k'ho was
liatevcr
audi i SIN
ici» fo\u-

somo ol"
sts ill its
)eing thy
jloctor, il'

! English
iguago ol
ho colony
otc. li''
,-'ithin his
31- a leasi -
3 a liouso-
partmcuts
)oard ant I
a a duly
tho for-

od on her

otUere vassol
1 rcaila i" ^'''^
■3 anil of i-'l^'* ■
tiou of persons

Ibject who Iwiil
Toulil l>o >''"-'^,

jpll tllO Olltil I't

liions woie Hk'

1^0, :ust Vi't .

Jalion who li^'l
Ico becniiie t n
laof a natural
Ioantir.Ociiits
\\\ suhjt'i't 1»'-
IguUitionsix't.
[mainly to the
lul poll cUiK^-
It. Five Uiiys
Tvcnt bribeiyi
Igislature.'

career as a province of the dominion under the forms
(if responsil)le govt'nniujnt, and with a prospect of
heeoniing at no very distant day one of the most val-
uahle of England's colonial possessions. Since the
close of the Douglas regime tlie linancial status of
the colony had materially improved; her deht liad
h('t;n extinguished by the terms of the confedera-
tion, while her exjienditure had been greatly reduced,
the ap[)ropriation for the service of 1871 being $017,-
,135, or some $25 per capita of the white po[)ulalinii.
then estimated at about fourteen thousand, as against
s;)0 for 18013. Meanwhile, as we have seen, loads
liad been opened to the [»rincipal mining districts, and
public works had been j)ushcd forward viL,'on)Usly.
Though slow of growth compared with other gold-be;ii-
iiig regions, in pros[)erity and industrial enterpi'ise tiie
province con)pared not uni'avorahly with many ]>or-
lions of the l*acitic coast. Her cereal eioits livalled
in quality those of California, and her ro(»t crops were
not inferior to those of Oregon. On her }iastuies
were raised sheep and cattle whose ilesh was not ex-
celled in flavor by the stall-fed beef of Aberdeen and
the South-Down mutton of En<>land. ^lanufactuies
\veio not inconsiderable, and were expanding year l)y
year.*" The value of exports, including, besides gold,
twenty-one articles of home production, was estimated
for 1870 at $1,848,803, and of imports at $l,r)0."),SO'J,
liaviuLj a balance of trade in lavt)r of the eolonv
amounting to }?24-,Ul)l.*' Labor was in fair demand,
at rates fully equal to those j)revailing in California;''
and a thiifty mechanic could save I'rom each < lay's
wages the price of an acre of land.

'"Jn ISTI tlioro wt'i'c in varicms )i:irta of tlio iirDvinci' 11 (<!i\v-niillH, 11
llouiiiij; mills, 3 breweries, II (listilleries, '2 tanneiiis, '_' sa^li faL-tnru'tf, a slii|)-
yiiril, an iion-fou > 'ery, a soap factory, and a beet-8U;,'ar factory. Ji. ' '. Injunu.

./''/• i'.,iiUjf., .'t;i-4.

'■ iMiiinj; IS7I, -i>- vessi'ls intereil tlio jiorts of '{. C'., «itli an ai.',i.'re>.'nlL'
t,iiiii;i_'i) (if l.'n,t)!Mi. Clearanecs numbered iVsri, tlieii tonna^o iK'in;^ l"_".>,Nit.

^'Ciii'l^iontei-s were paicl §;j to §4 a day; masoii.><, painters, plastiieiK, and
lihu ksiiiiiliH, ^.'t.riO to $4; cooperH, cabinet-makers, tinsmiths, ami wheel-
«ii;^litrt, §1; common laborers, ^'J.oO a day; and farm laborers, ^20 to $10 jier
iiiiiiiili, with lioard.

UNIOX AND CONFEDERATIOX.

„ I,

I. fi

Not least amouj^ the noticeable features in the
records of the colonial authorities is their kindly
treatment of the natives; and iu later years the num-
ber and extent of Indian i-eserves/" which were seh'oted
not because they were uninhaliitablu by white men.
but with a view to the preservation of the <lifterent
races, on sites well adapted to agriculture and <,aaziiiL;,
and well supplied with timber and water. In I8(j(i
the native population was estimated, as we have seen.
at 30,000,*^ and in 1871 it was about the same num
bcr.'^^ At the latter date Indians were lar<>ely em-
ployed in the interior as laborers, herders, and farin-
hands, those wiio understood how to treat thorn beinL;
j^lad, in return i'or their services, to feed and house
them, i»aying them besides $20 to $30 per nxtntli.
Some ol' them displaced ability as artisans; ;iome wer>
engaged mi placer mining on the Thompson and Frasei'
rivers, antl not a lew had farms and cattle of tlieii- own.

*■' For location of resorvi'S in ISGi-.*], .see li. ( '. Iiiil. Lniid Qnfstion, •_'(!, iJ!)-
30; for description of Kainloop, Sliusliw.ip. ncs I and "_', Aiianis Lake, and
Lower I'rascr Uivir reserves in 18GG, sec /(/., ."S-l>, 41-.'{, 47, '>\-~\ i'orKktteii
of fcion^ibli reserve and list of other reserves in 1S09, /(/., tJl-H, 1('m-()(!; {•'{•
libts, location, andarc;iin 1871, Id., '.).">-(l, 101-U; funorrespondenco relutiiii;
to reserves in 187;{-.">, Jour. Lcijixl. ^Iss., 1S7j, app. (iUo-SO; lor Itr/d ( 'vtn. E.i.
< 'o"H';(V eoncerninj; reserves iu l87r>, ^i.s*.'. J'ajicrs, Itrit. Vol., 1870, pp. •"'7-7-.
lOj-oi'S; forpapcr.s ielatinj{ to reserves in 1877, Id. 1877, 4.S3-4. For iiiissioii
on Naas Itiver in l.Sd'J, .sec li. C. Ind. Land (Juedioii, G.'i. In 187.'l-4 ^j4,0(K)
was appropriated by govt for llic expenses of reservations. Id., l."J4.

■"'Sec p. 7"», thid Vol.

^'Chittenden estimates the Indian population of B. 0. in 1882at35,0(K), tln'
Haidahs and Cliinisyans being among the most jiopuloiis tril)C3. Trairls hi II.
('. and Ala.sta, 12-l.S. For report on the c(mdition of tlio Kootenai Soiiiid
Indians in 188.'!, sec Ses'i. Pcqiivn, D. C, ISSt, p. 3-."). The outbreaks thai
occurreil among Indians before the gold discoveries were not, as wo have sci m,
of a formidable nature. The more importimt ones that occurred later iiavr
already been mentioned. Sec p. 420-1), this vol. For Indian troubles at^^^l
couver Island in 1850, sco<9a<T. Union, Oct. 4, I8.'iG; for massacre of miners \t\
Indians at Nicola lliver, iS'. /'. Bulletin, Oct. o, 1858; for murders by Indian^
in 1S5!(, /(/., March 8, 185!), Savr. Union, Nov. '23, 1S50; for depredations aii' I
disturbances in 1870, S. f. BnllHin, June 13, July 13, Nov. 22, 23, lS(iO; N.
/' Alia, Juno 13, July 3, 1800; Sacr. Union, June 21, July 1.3, 1800; forout-
rages in ISOS, ^V. /'. Alia, Juno 28, 18G8. In 1872 there was an Indi.'in out-
break at tho Forks, during which anumbcr of white men were massacred. /(/.,
July 23, 1872. In lS7t) an uprising was feared in tho Kandoops distriiL
among the Nicola Indians. For an account of this aCFair, sto Brili.n'i Col"-
iiist, Dec. 13, 14, IG, 18, 28, 31, 1879. For Ind. murders in 1884, sec S. I.
f'lill, Jan. 12, 1884. Small-pox among Ind., S. F. Bulletin, Jan. 22, V-^KV.
I'ietnrin Chronicle, in iSVtor. Union, Jan. 24, 18G3; <S'. F. Times, Sejit. 30.
1SG8; S. F. Call, Juno 28, 1808, Nov. I(i, 1870. In the last of these years two
tltirds of an entire tribe were swept away.

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

1854-1872.

The Arcbifelaoo db Habo— San Juan Island Occufied bt thk Hud*
son's Bat Company — Customs Duks Demanded for th' United
States — Commissioxeks Api-oixted — Tiikik AncrMEMs -Indiam
Tboubles— The Affair op the Hoc— A Mimtarv Post Ehtabmshed
BT General Harney — Arrival of British Men-of-war — And of
the U. S. Steamer 'Massachusetts'— Protest of Docolas— Hau-
mky's Reply— Landing of U. S. Troops— Casey's Trip to Esqui-
MALT— Its Besult— a Compromise Offered by Lord Lyons — Atti-
TUOE of President Buchanan — General Scott Ordered to the
Pacific Coast — Negotiations — Harnrt Recalled — Arbitration and
Decision.

Since the treaty of 1846 the people of British
Columbia and those of the United States had each
1 ogarded the group of islands forming the Archipelago
(le Haro, lying between the continent and the south-
ern end of Vancouver Island, as belonging to tlioni,
according to the first articles of that compact, which
leads as follows: "From the point on the 41)th par.il-
lol of north latitude, where the boundary laid down
ill existing treaties and conventions between (jrieat
Ih'itain and the United States terminates, the lino of
liniindary between the territories of her Jiritaniiic
AFajesty and those of the United States shall he <'oii-
tinued westward along the 49th parallel of north lati-
tude to the middle t)f the channel wliich scparutes
ilie continent from Vancouver's Island; and thence
•outhcrly through the mithlle of said channel, and of
l'\ica Straits, to tiie Pacific Ocean; provided, how-
ever, that the navigation of the said chamiel and

( 6C5 )

606

THE SAN JU/X\ ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

straits, south of the 49th parallel of* north latitude,
remain free and open to both parties."

A reference to the map of this region shows a pas-
sajxe about seven miles in width between the archi-
])olago and Vancouver Island, known as the Canal do
lliirc). Between tiie i.slands a[)poar numerous small
passiit^es, and betwi'cn the <^r()Up and the mainland,
another channil Its.s tluin huh' tUv width of Canal do
llaro, known ns I'osario Strait, lying some distance

Archifelac.o de IIaro.

to the east of the point in the n^.lddle of the channo!
at the 49th paralkl. The archipelago consists of Sun
Juan, as the Spaniards had named it — Bellevue, as
the Enghsh called it — Orcas, Lopez, Waldron, l^Iako-
ley, Decatur, Shaw, and several smaller islands.
The largest, San .Fuan, contains about .lO.OOO acres.'

'li<;pt of U. I[. Cr<isl)iu, ii: //. I.'.i: /!•>■. 7^, xii. 7, Mtn <'oii<j., 1st .S'(.«.,

BEGINNING OP THE QUAPwREL.

007

About the time that Fort Victoria was Ibuiidod,
and wliilo tin; govoriuncnts of Great Britain and iho
United States knew but little of the actual hydrog-
ra[)hy of tiie region, and were discussing the line of
actual boundary, the Hudson's 13ay Company took
possession of San Juan, by placing upon it a few of
1 heir servants in charge of their herds. On the other
hand, the Oiegon legislature, in 1852, organized
Whidbey Island and the Haro Archipelago into a tlis-
trict called Island county, which became, by the divis-
ion of Oregon in 1853, a part of Washington.

In 1854 the collector of customs for Puget Sound,
I. N. Ebey, first camo in conflict witli the Hudson's
I Jay Company, the latter having recently imported u
large number of sheei), cattle, horses, and hogs, and
j'laced them on the island of San Juan, for which
customs dues were demanded by the collector. Ebey
found on the island (Jharles John (Jriffin, a clerk of
the company and a colonial justice of the peace, who
rlaimed it as liritish territory, and who at once noti-
I'lL'd Governor J)ouglas of Ebey's pretensions. The
latter repaired to San Juan harbor in the compan}'^
steamer Otter, bringing with him the collector of
(Mistoms for the i)ort of Victoria, ^Ir Sankster, who,
noing on shore, demanded Ebey's busi '.ess on the
i>kui(l, of which he was bluntly inforn.ed. Sanksti-r
then Ljave notice that ho should s( ize all vessels and
arrest all persons found navigating the waters Mcst of
liosario Strait and north of the middle of the strait
I if Fuca. To this Ebey re|)ru'd that ho should leave
upon the island a deputy collector of customs, who
would dischartjfe his duty, and that he trusteil no
persons would be so rash as to interfere with its
performance. Sankster tlien suggested that ICbey
nIiouIcI <xo on board the Uticr and confer with (jjov-
rriior Douglas, which invitation was declined. Sank-
ster then carried the British lla<j ashore, hoisting it

Olympia Transcript, July IS, 18G8; MHton\t San Juan, l-t-'JS; <SVm. Uoc, S9,
i., iUth Cong., 2d Ses»., geographical mcinoir, witli maps.

I , ;.|,

60S

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

over the quarters of the company's servants, Ebcy at
the same time flincfinjj to the breeze the United States
revenue flaj; which he carried in his boat. Sankster
then landed a boat's crew from the Otter, and pre-
pared to take up his quarters on the island, while
Governor Douglas returned to Victoria. Ebcy the
next morning swore in his deputy, Henry Webber,
in presence of Griffin and Sankster, and left the
island, fully expecting that Webber would bo arrested
and taken to Victoria.'* A writ was indeed served on
him,' but as he refused to obey, the colonial author-
ities refrained from pushing the matter further.

The same year the property on San Juan Island
was assessed by the officer whose duty it was to ap-
praise the property of Island county; but the colloc-
tiou was not enforced until March 18, 1855, when tlir
.sherilV of Whatcom county, Ellis Barnes — San Juan
and the adjacent islands having been attached by tlic
loLl^iwlature of 1854-5 to Whatcom — seized and sold*
thirty or more of the sheep belonging to the Hudson's
J>ay Company at auction.'' These proceedings caused
Governor Stevens in 1 855 to address a communication
oM the subject" to the secretary of state, who instructed
him that the territorial officers should abstain i'roiii
all acts on tlie disputed ground calculated to provoke

'^Oh/inpi<i PloiKcr (tiiil Ihnt., Miiy i:i, IS.'tl.

' Till) JSriti.sli colciiii.il nutliDiities, call the ai'clii[ieIn;,'oSun Jiiaii county.

*I iiiii iiiili l)U'il ti) IClwiioil I'lvaiis till' II Miliialilo cdllcclion of papers (jii llii;
'Northwest IJoimdary Intwccn (Jivat llritaiii niul the United Staler,' in « liiili
I liiul, ]). It.'Sri, n Htatunicnt of tlieso (»;cnrri'ni'C8, taken from thn /'ir/niiinnl
ICA/'/ of July ID, iStiO, und copioil into tlio XatioitiU J iilelliijeiicii; Washm ■
ton, I). C.

"For this si'i/.nre tlio coinjmny Buhscfpicntly jtroHcntnl a elaini of al" i.t
$1.',(MM), 'I'lie liill made ont liy (irillin av!1h fur '.U imported rams, \vliich wi iv
Bci/ed ami Mil. I, estimated to l>e worth §;t,7.")l). 'Ihe remainder was for In i ,
siist.iined in cont^eiiuence of Shcritl' Ikirnes' violent acta in driving' the xlic |i
into liie woods, and the cost of eolleetini,' such as wcro not nlto;:elht r h ■'
'ilie American nut horilien state that (Irillin himself caused the Hlici'p t.l ■
dis|»i rsed in order (o e'. ado a si'i/ure, and that tlioso taken wero u liaml \\l i !i
till y lonnd in a corral in n ri mote part of the island. 'I'lio men w ho ai ■ ' in-

Iianii d the slierilt' win; Mr Cuilcn, county eommisttioner and a;;ent ot ili"
'ugct Sound Coal jMinini; Company, K. (.'. Kitzhuj^ii, ailerwanl lieiit-ei.l of
volunteers and associate justice, and two others, who hecamo purely. Hers, iit
low iiriics, of the company's blooded stock. .S'. /'. Alt't, July 1(1, 180J; !!•
Ec hor. 77, '.', .W/A <'i''i<i., /'' StsM.
•Suo Wanh, Juiir. Coiiiiri/, l.s.VI, 101.

JOIXr OCCUPATION.

coo

Sbcy at
i States
ankstcr
nd prc-
\, while
Ibey tlic
W'cbber,
left the
arrested
ervctl on
I author-

icr.

,n Islaiul

ras to aii-

hc colloc-

whcn till!

Sail Juan

eel by the
and sold*
Hudson^

|j<rs caused

lunicatioii
instriut»'d
ain iVt'Ui
o provtil^'

mm county.

papers on t! '■

;vl,.t<,'invh.'l'

111.! Hirliiii'""'

lor, Wauluir.;

Maim of rtl"><it
„^, which wi !<•
■ \vii8 fi>r 1" ' ■
viiij,' the hIh' 1'
Oto-Hhtrh •'

,10 nli<'.'l> '"';■

,,al>anil\\l i '■>
,11 \\lli> 11(1. in-
I a^.nt <il l!"'
^nl lii'iit-i''l of
pr.rch;.rti'i-s "ti

y :u, ihoa; li'

conflicts, "so far as it can ho done without implying
the concession of an exclusive right over the premises,"
and that the title ouc;ht to bo settled before either
party shouivl forcibly exclude the other. He prom-
ised, moreover, to notify the British govermncnt, and
to have the boundary established at an early date."
Deputy Collector Webber remained on San Juan
Island only about one year, when fear of the northern
Indians forced him to leave it. lie was succeeded by
Oscar Olnoy, whose stay lasted but a few months for
the same reason, and who wan replaced by Paul K
IIuIjIks. Each of these Amcrijcans was compelled at
(Hlferent times to seek the protection of j\Ir Gritlin,
<lirk of the Hudson's Bay Comp;;-^', and ]>ritisli
iiia'istrato on the island. This was aivvays cliit rfully
ivndered, but tho >'on)pany never did anything to pre-
\t'!it the recurrence of these incursions from the north
coasi, which tended to frighten away American set-
tlors.

Th(! shoritFof Wliatcitm county continued regularlv
I • ini[)oso taxes on the island, but wiiliout again eu-
I'liviiig tlieir collection, until in 185'.) Ihcy auiMunted
1 > .^1);];"). The customs inspe>ctor ])ursued tho same
romse, merely taking account of t!io goods landitl and
ve-sels arriving. In IS.VJ tho I [ndson's Bay Coiupanv
h.il on San .)nan Island, i>csides (Jrillin, eigldoen

■ MUtniCaSan Jiinn I4aiiil, .'30-7. 'I'liis lonipilation, ina(h! hy Viscount
Miltciii, mill puhlislii'd lit .1 time \s\Kn tho himnclary (|Ui'stion w.im almut to hci
uliiiiiilcl Id !ul)itnUii)n, is viihuiKlo as a c olhcti'tn ut il<ntiMK!nt.-', imt ;i f an
n nnitiit i:* wiUiout fiircp. 'llio ailvanta!.'o itclainii'il uw tho i^iilii of (inal
I', iiaiu w.iH in poinlinjf fuit il. , lil,iii<lrnjoI' .\iiu'rii;m cxploiur^, w ho, hy thrir
< "iiir.i, f^'avo \M'i;lit ti) fT' Uiiii 'i ilaiin. l\ir exainiilc, l''ii'in'>ni,'H iiiapHaif
.•iiM:n.'ci| ns proof, v htn I'^ii'^iimnrH aciiuainlanro wilh ric/rt Soiiiiil ^v;;' no
):i.al.L'r tiiaii MiltouK l(o;ii hinii,' lioivoweil from other aiiUioritii'^, anil thosi;
ly no means ,:oriec:t AeLiinlin;.' lo ,1 ;,;/. rM.i'n //(.»'. A'. IT. ' '•■a ', MS., ;;|-
'i, Willies, inapiivato letter to him in ISII, j;avo iiu ojiiiiinn whieli wuiiM
li.i'O j,ono far ill net llin;,' tlio nrhil ration in I'avor of (ireal I'liiUiin iia'l it heon
|:i. ill evidriue. Tho pcoph) vlio nettled tlio eouniiyand (".[ilorccl cxery
iiii'k and corner in ciinoes !;iu\v more alioiit it than tho ho-eall' d ixidorera ut
tli.iL timo could Know; lieiuu; J.ord Miltoii had Imt little to re^t Ids jiiil^^nn nt
>il"iii. ,Seo Milton's Nrui Jiimi Walt f J!t>nn<>(ii<f (^hir.ilivli, hnwdim, lS(i'.». Aw
I'lllier Work til. Ill Milton's, tind le:s valiialjle, i.^ Uiliiliiiii.^ Iittim n llir I'nilt'tl
Sin'm n,,,( X,,rlliiri^t HiiiUh Annri'i, \>y .lame^ \V. '{".lyl.T, \VaMliin;.iton,
l^<>-', a mere coiii|iilalioii, w iiliout jiid;.,'iiuiit or fiiieo.
Hj.tr. liuir. f oi,. o'J

fttO

TUK SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

;^^

kii

servants, three of whom only were white, and these
were naturahzctl citizens of the United States. The
American settlers numbered twenty-nine, chiclly men
who had drifted thither from the Fraser Hive- mines,
or, not being able to reach that district, had decided
to take land claims instead, the northern couniit ,
of Washin'j-ton leceivinij about this time considerabh
accessions to their population from thcj same source.

The correspondence between tlie United States and
Great Britain, on tlie subject of the north-west boiiii
dary, had led, in 185G-7, to the appointment of coin
missio-.ici-s by each government, to examine into uy
furnish the data upon which the lino should be drawn
througli the straits east of Vancouver Island. Tin
eonunissioners on the part of Great Ih'itain wc:v
Captain Prevost and Captain llichanis ol" the [loyal
Navy; on the part of the United States, ArchibaM
Campbell, assisted by Lieutenant John (*. Parke an i
(George Clinton Gardner of the t(»[)(>graphical engi
neers, ami John F. Taylor and George P. liond as-
tronomers. Prevost left JOnglaiid in J)ecend)er 185C>,
in 1[. !M. S. Satclh'ti\ arriving at Esquimalt harbor in
June 1857, Richards I'ollowing in 11. M. H. J'luiu/irr,
wliii'h did not arrive foi- several months latiM*. Tin
United States commissioner had placed at his eoni
mand the surveying steanujr Actirr, anil the \iv\s
Juiitiitfcroi/, and arrived at Victoria about the saiii«
time with Prevost, the first mi^eting taking ])lace oti
board the.SW/<'////(', June 27tli, when tliecoinniissioners
agreed as to their initial [)oint of survey.

At a meeting which took place inSemiahmoo Pay'
in ()ct<»ber, Prevost state(l tliat he had vcirilied thr
general accuiviev of tiie United States coast survey
map of IS.")!, and would take this chart as the uii.

'Tlicro is a moniunent of iron oii tlio iiorMi slioro of Sfiuiiilmio') I'ly '
feet lii;;l», 4J iiiclicii H'Hiriro at tlio top, ami (5 iiiclics Mi|u;ii'e at tlio lu«i
pliii'C'il llurc ti> iii;u U the l>oiiii>l;iry liiiu. On tlio iinlli «iilo uro tlio w i.;
'Treaty of \Viisliiiii;t<iii,' uiul on llui Hoiith Hiile, Miiiiu !.'>, ISUl.' M ■■ •
IJ'.mA. '/',<•., M.S., xxii. 10. See also /.'. ('of. SLtrhtx, MS., 'Jl; Coii-j. t,.o'n
IS-Vh-O, ii., ni>. l.">-2;>; Ur. An/HM, Nov. '2'.), lS."<(»j //. Lx. Doc, jiii 100, ^/'i

( 'Ollij., .Ill Si •!!.

A BOUNDARY QUESTION.

911

these
The

f men

uincf:,

L^ckled

uuiu'-;

,erablr

uree.

:csaiul

bboun

if coin-

inl») "'
; drawn

1. Thr

11 wer

. Iloyai
L'ohibiiM
U'ko an 1
ul en;^i
)()iul :> -

cr IS.')''.

arbor In

V. Tl"
lis f<ii!i
he bii;
he sa'.i.
place oil
issioiiti'-^

Loo Ikiv
ilied tii«
It, surv<}
the oil'

Ilimoo T'ly '
lut tUo I'ifi''

via.' ^Vw-.w

i. 100, i""*

upon which tlie general line of bounilary should be
iletermineil, leavinjjj t . . correct tracinijf of the lino to
lie carried out by tlu; .surveyint^ officers. But when
it eanu- to the iliseu.ssion of the treaty of 184(], Pre-
voist argued that the llosario channel would answci
the lan^uatjc of that instrument, while Caniijbell eon-
tended for the Canal do llaro.

At a meeting which took place the 27th, l*r^\(>^^t,
lornudated hi.s views as follows: "By a careful e(»ii
sideration of the wording of the trea( v, it would seem
distinctly to provide that the channel nieidioned should
possess tiiree characteristics: 1st. It should sepaialc
the eontinentl'roin Vancouver's Island; 2d. It should
admit of the boundarv line being carried thron<T:h th<
middle of the ehannel in a southerly dircM'tion; ;Jd.
It, should be a navig;djk! channel. To these tlirv>
pt'culiar conditions the ehannel known as llosarii'
Strait most entirely aiiswers." The arguments broughl
forward are too lengthy f»)r even a review in thest
pages, and arc moreover immaterial.

Cam})beirs answer was, in substance, that the liin
of boundarv described in the treatv began at th'
»l)th jtarallel, in the nuddle of the channel wdiich sop
arated the continent from Vancouver Island, whieh
point was clearly west of the Ito>ari() Sti'ait. As i>.
ilii' boundary line rtnming ctxitinuously in a southerl
direction from this [>oint, or any other, that was im
p'>-^sil)le. If it followed the Kosario Strait it defleeti'd
Well to the east, and when it canu; to the strait <>l"
FiKM its coiu'se was north of west. The term 'soutli
t'llv' could, therefore, be; used t>nly in a txeneral scnsi .
liosario channel was not the main ciianmd that sc[i:!
rated A'ancouver Island from the continent, but oii'
\vhi( h sojiarated certain islands i'roin certain other
idatids, as did another navigable chanm 1 through tli<
archipela«^o. And as to the navii/ability of the tw^^
' liamicls, they w<'r'j both pronctunted good; l>ut tlx
Canal de Ilaro was, according to the latest surveys,
"thi widest, deej>ost, and best chaimel," besides being

612

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

I 1;

a much shorter coiiiniunioation between the gulf of
Georgia and the Pacific Ocean tlian that by the way
of llosario Strait.

This narrowed the discussions down to what wws
in the minds of the framers of the treaty when it was
(hawn uj); it being reasonably clear, from Campbell's
]K)int of vitw, that the deflection of the boundary line
iron I the 49th parallel was a concession intended bi
avoid cutting oft' the southern end of Vancouver
Island, and thereby greatly injuring it as a British
possession, but one that did not give to that govern-
ment any right over the archipelago to the cast of il,
which belonged to the continent; and the language of
the plenipotentiaries was quoted in su[)port oi' this
position.

Here was in fact the whole of the argument; mid
although it was long drawn out in voluminous conv
spondcnce, it never amounted to anything more, 'flu
IJritish colonial authorities brought forward the elaiin
of priority of occupation, tlu; ]ludson's Bay Company
having kept iheir herds uj>i)n it ever since the eslah-
lisjnnent of Fort Vietoria in 1813; but as the treaty
<tf Is'lG nban(htni'(l to the Unitod Slates all soiiih i>\'
the -lOtli ]>arallel, except ilio southein i»ortioiior \ ah
<ouver Islam!, it was claiiued that })iior oecupanry
could not alVeet, the title, although prior occupali';:!
of an island in the niid.st of an archipelago constitiitt -
title in international law. Two years were spent iii
a disenssion which t(>rmiuate<l in nothing, its laes!
noticeable result being that it strengthened \\u
ieeling of American ownership ain<Mig tlie people <•;
Piiget .Sound, and led to a settlement of Americaii-
to the nund)er of twenty-nine, as I have said." I:
the nieaii time the survey was compiett'd from th'
gulf of Georgia to the Columbia IJiver, and tli'
line marked l»y stone monuments at a distance ''
twenty miles ajiart, a ti'ail being cut through li.'

* IiDHHi'.i S'luiriilr^, lS(i-!M . I'm- ii jiail iiiiiiir luvoiuit of the bouiiilaty sur-
vey, BfO //. /,'r. J)()r. ,s/;, .rlii. ^..', J"'/* ( oii'J., uU HtHK,

INDIAN TUOUllLES.

613

licavy timber for the |)laeiijg of iron monuments at
intervals of one mile. l)urin<^ the progress of the sur-
vey the town of Scmialnuoo on tlie frontier sprang up,
us also a settlement at Point lloberts, and in the min-
ing region of the upper Columbia American Town.
(Ml the head wnters of Kettle llivei'.

Before proceeding I'uilhei' with the story of the
San fJuan diflicuUy, it will be necessary to refer to a
I'lW ineidents in w jiich lh(> affairs of Washingtoti ter-
ritory and of tlie Hudson's ]{ay Comjiany are son»e-
wliat intcirnjiiigled. The invasions of northern In-
dians were the great drawback to the occupancy ol'
San Juan, and of all ihat part of Washington border-
ing on the straits. At ]>ellingham ]]ay in ISjj-O
there were but thirty white inhabitants. To protect
tliemselves, they had crcctciL .a block-house with
bastions inside of a stockadt', luang furnishotl from
the United States vessels in the Sound with -.k howit-
zer and detachment of twelve men (o garrison their
little fort." Congress ami the military authorities
were more than once mem»»rialize<l as to ihe deleiu'e-
less condition of the lowei' coasts of l^uget, Sound,
mitil, in 18 JO, (ient;ral Wool announced his intention
iif establishing a post at Ijcliingham l»ay as soon as
he could spare! tlu) troops from the tield. Accoid-
ingly, in the sunumi' of iSjCt, when the war had been
lirought to a close west of the ( *ascades, ( 'aptain
(h'orge IMckett was sent witli a. co;njtany of the '.Uh
inl'antry to garrison a post aiiout two and a half miles
fhdn the settler's block-Iiouse, and Majer ( ). ( i. 1 lalhr
to establish a jiost about the same distance from l*ort

ith

ownsend, with another mlanti-v conu)anv

V
long

hue

lesu
ex-

Were, howi^vev, mere specks <>n (h<
pesL'd coast, and seldom wvw Ihi- barbaritit s ef the
savage pirates of the north either prevented or pun-
idied. Tho nmrder of 1. N. Ebey in 1857, to which
1 have referred in my Jliston/ of Wimhi nylon, illus-

" Iloder's liiUiwjham liay, MS., '1\ 1.

614

TIIK SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

"■

i'
It 1

i' ■

i V

) 'i

tiiit

tratcd the powcrlcssness of a handful of infantry to
(leal Avith these dangerous foes.

Tlie lirst odicial act (»f Mc^Iulhii, who was a]i-
pf)inted governor of the territory about this time,
was to visit Douglas at Vietoria, and ascertain whether
tlie latter would join in an attempt to take the guilty
individuals; but Douglas could do nothing whidi
might bring on a war with their tribe without lir>t
obtaining tlie sanction of the h()nu! goveriunent,'^
and would not have wished in anv case to involvr
the company in a war with these sea-kings, who, like
the barbarous northmen of Europe, revelled in visions
of ]tlo(»d. ]\r('^[ullin had neither an tirniv nor navv
at his eonnnand, and I'jbev's death, with that of maiiv
others, went unavenged.

San Juan Island hiy directly in the route of the
nortlicrn In<l!ans, who paid many unwelcome visits tu
its sliores, while du account of the then peculiar pe-
litical ;ituatit)n of the island, no troops could be sta-
tioned thei-e, nor any adequate defence of the settlers
bo made. On the 21)tli of May 1850, the schooner
C((i'olii)c, Captain Jones, fell in with three largo canoes
iilltd with nortlu.'rn Indians, evidently bent upon mis-
chi'l'. On being hailed and questioned as to their
destination, ihey replied they were going to lUuiitoi'
Smith Island, where a iiixhtdiousc had been erected,
and where tlx- only residents were the light-keejici',
Vail, and his family. The captain of the schooner
immediately turned back and informed Vail of his
danger, urging jiim to leave the })lace without delay.
This he did, going (^n board the schooner which sailed
for Port Townsend. But Vail's deputj', J. K. Ap|i
gate, chose to remain. He barricaded the doors an. I
windows of Avail's house, and j)i'epare<l for deleinv,
knowing that jielp wt)uld be sent IVom I'ort Townsend
at the earliest moment possible. Hardly hatl lii--
j)r' parations been completed when the Indians landed,

*'0ll/7npiii P'loiKir uiiil Don., Oct. 10, 1357.

APPLEOATE AND THE INDIANS.

i i

and approached the house, endeavoring to induce
Applegatc to leave it, which he declined to do.

Ill the mean time the schooner had run over to Port
Townsend, and a volunteer company was quickly
raised,^'' which, placing itself under the command

• if Deputy Sheriff Van Valzah, proceeded to Blunt
iskind, where tliey arrived the next iiiorning, having
lioen delayed by variable winds. The Indians, on
^'cinir the schooner about to land, ran to their canoes
with the intentivm of boarding her, but she put off
licfore the wind, and their design was frustrated.
Then, through their interpreter, they challenged the
\olunteers to light, which the latter declined doing,
l)oing only twenty in number, to eighty or ninety of
the natives. Their errand was simply to rcscuu
.\.pj)legate if ])ossible, whom they had little hope ot
linding alive, but who had ke[)t the Ind'ans iVom
fdicinjx an entrance to his loni^lv fortress lurou'jjliout
: he night. A landing was effected, and the Indians

leparted, ostensibly lor A-^ictoria, vowing vengeance
iv^ainst Captain Jone.s and a half-breed sailor who
!iad llrst warned Jones of their designs. On the fol-
lowing day, liowever, as Applegatc passed the tower
window in the light-house, he was shot at by a party

• -f these Indians in ambush. He returned their lire,
and wounded one of them, when the}' finally left the
island." Vail brought his family back to their liome,
hut the feeling of insecurity was great, inasmuch as
lh(; Indians had declared they were seeking revenge
I'lir the hanging of three of their tribe at Port Towns-
'11(1 for previous murders.

Two weeks before the alfair of Blunt Jslaml, a
Mieeting had been called at Port Townsend to con-
>i(ler the best means of preventing the northern Iii-
ilians, then on a visit to Victoria, IVom landing at the
I'l inner place; and it was resolved to give notice to

'■ This comimuy included threo of the famous Chapman trouiio of i>luy-
aotors, who crossed tiio pliiins, nn<l wci'o the first regular theatrical conipauy
aa far uorth and west as tlio L'oluinbia uiil I'ujjct Sound.

"Letter of J. K. AjipUgalo, in O/ymjri, I'ionrer ami Drm., Juno 17, 18."j9.

li UJ

61G

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFK'Ll/rV.

thern that they would not be permitted to visit Port
Townsend, coniiiiittcos being ajjpoiiited to keep strict
watch, and to use the best means in tlieir judgment
for preventing their a[)proach, while Major Ilaller was
requested to cooperate.'*

A crisis was, however, approaching which involved
the international as well as the Indian (juestion. One
Lyman A. Cutler, who had located himself on San
Juan Island in April 1850, and planted a garden, was
nmch annoyed by tlie predatory habits ot" a hog be-
longing to the Hudson's IJay Company, and on the
15th ol' June he shot and killed the offending animal,
lie then called Griffin and offered payment lor it, but
the latter claiminij: $100, Cutler refused the demand.
On the following day A. (I. Dallas, son-in-law of
(lovernor ]3ouglas, with Tolmie and Fraser of Hk;
colonial council, arrivcul at the island in the com[)aiiy's
armed steamer Bcdver, when Dallas pereni[>torily
claimed the island to bo British soil, and ord<'re(l
Cutler to j)ay the i?lOO «»r be taken to Victoria for
trial. Cutler refused to do either, threatening to kill
any who should try to force him.'"'

After this encounter Dallas returned with his party
to Victoria, when it was determined to place a magis
trate on the island, and to arrest Cutler. ^MeanwhiL ,
as will be remembered, the Pacific coast jjortion ol
the Hudson's J;>ay Company's territt^ry had been

"Olio resolution of the inft'tiiip; reveals the cause of lair invasions as \vi;ll
H.3 llio aociiil uoniUtion of tiio country: ' Tliat (ill men luivinj; nortlu'rn woniLii
1)0 notilicil that if tiicy do not, on or before tiio li>t tl;iy of June, sonil tlicsuiiiu
out of till) country, that le^'al action will lie coiiiiiuiici'il aj^ainst them, as hy
act jiasscil January -M, I8.i7.' From thiti it appears that tho legialuturo hiul
I'oiinil it nccijssjiry to interfere with the practice of cohaliiting with women of
llio liritish Colnmlii.v triiics, wheruliy occasion was given to their mule rela-
tives to visit the settlements.

'^'I'liis alFair is diU'eientlv represented by Jlilton, who says that Dallas and
(Jrillin only remonstrated with Cutler, who threatened to ^ihoot any other of
tho company's ^^tock which should iutcifero with him. San Juan, '1'}\-<k
Other Uritish writers say that he threatened to shoot Dallas; but the .\iiu'ri-
can autliorilicM and tho dei)ositioii of Cutler agree with tho above. //. Ilx.
l>ot\ C'l, ix. iid, Mill Ciiit'i., 14 Sisii.; Uolcr'ii tli lllinjham lluy, MS., IW-I;
(Irovn'H /'ill), life in (Jr., MS., tiS; Mursen IKtw/i. 7Vc., MS., xv. 15-10;
Ihan'n Si'lllduiiit <>/ Vane. Isli\ MS., 11-12; Anwrkan State I'a[)erii, 'JiiU.
Cutler died atSnanish scltlcinent in 1877.

A MILITAUY I'OST.

017

(loclarud ]3ritisli colonics. In May of this year the
Americati settlers at San Juan petitioned (Jeiieral
IL'irney, the connnander of the niilitaiy doj)aiiint nt
of Oregon, to send them a small guard of twenty
soldiers as a i)roteetion against the northern Indians,
which the general, with the usual reluctance of niili-
lary officers to credit the alarms of citizens, withiield.
ill the following July, however, being on a tour of
inspection of his department, and having paid a coin
plimentar}' visit to Douglas, he ran over to San Juan
to see for himself the condition of the Americans,
and to take some notes concerning th(^ vahu- of ilic
disputed territory in a military point of view, the
JJritish at this time terming San Juan the Cionstadt
nf tlie Pacific iUid the key to the gulf of (jieoigia.
Tlie settlers, taking advantage of thtir op[)ortunity,
addressed another j)ctition to Harney, asking for pro-
t(.rtit)n from the natives, who a shoi-t time bel"(»ri> had
cnnnnitted sevei-al mur<lers, and (»f whom tlioy stood
in constant dread,'" the |)etitioners taking occasion to
add that the island was LTnited States territory, antl
that they had a right to claim a snllicient military
loice tt) prevent Indian outrages and encourage sd-
llcinent. At the same time tin; general was inl'oi imd
as to the affair of the hog, and that Dallas iiad coinf
ill an aimed vessel to take Cutler to Victoria. Al'ter
a week's icflection he decide»l that if the Ijritish au-
liiurities could proceed to usuip sole jinisdictiou of
di.s|)uted teiritory, so could lie. uVecordingly, on tlie
isth of July he issued an ortler to Captain IMikctt
to ti'ansfer his company from Fort IJeHingham'' to
San .hian Island, anil the steamer Massdi-fidscfts was

'"Tliu petition wits sIljiu'iI l)y .f. M. JFiivL'aret, Saimirl Mi'l ',iiil\ , .1. Iv
llii:-ii.H, Cli.-irka II. Ilubl.a, L. A. Cutler, William I'.utlcr. .1, D. WmIt. ii, II.
\\i..ii!oii, ,lr, .liiliii Wiltyi i>- S. .\nili-i'\v.-<, .lulm llunti r McK.iv, \im1 l!iit,
Miiliiiul I'anis, (Icorgd l'iiliiii>4, Ali'\aiui> r Mr| (dnalil, I'l'tir .liilinsi.n, Aii'^u*
McDonald, William Smith, Cliailis McKay, D. W. OaLcM. i'aiil K. lluMi.s,
■'i. ami I'.uil K. Jluldis, Sf. Mil/oii'.t Snu .lunii It mil, '2'i~.

'■ l''i)rt liollingliam waa cstablialiotl by (.'(ilonul ( 'ascy in IS.'ili, ami \ as tlio
M' Olid cstablisiicil on tlio Sound, Fort Toxvnm'iid liiiiii; Icji.'ati'cl innnuiliatuly
altirit. ir.wA. T<r. ,S/.Wc/ir.v, MS., lOO-L'; Llilridni'H SLtcli, MS., '2[); Kbeifs
Jvurifil, MS., iii. ■!!>.

'f=

ti f;!!

Hj' !■:

018

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

''J

Kont to remove tlic troops and government propcrt}-.
Major ]Ialler's company was afterward ordeied on
briard the vessel, which was to bo enij)Ioyud whcnvt r
tho servlci's of tlio men were required. On the 'J7tli
Pickett Inidcd liis command on San Juan, l;. mi'^
1hr<»UL,di the i'ollowiiiL,' formula: "1st. In com[)haii(i!
with ohUts jind instructions from tho conimandiiii;
gciK-Tid, a military jjost will be established on this
island, on whatever site the conmianding ollicer may
select; 2(1. All the inhabitants of the island are rc-
(juested to I'cport at onco to the commanding odicci-
in case of any incursion by the northern Indians, so that
he may take such steps as he may deem necessary to
prevent any further occurrence of the same; od. 'J'his
I K-ing United States territory, no laws other than th< "si'
of tlio United States, nor courts except such as an
held by virtue of said laws, will be recognized or
allowed on this island. By order of Captain Pick
t'tt." This document was signed by James W. Foi-
syth, second lieutenant in the 0th infantry, and post
adjutant.

It happened that the SxtcIItte brought from Vic-
toria on the same day !Major De Courcy, whom Pic
\dst was to install as sti[)endiary ujagistrate on tlic
island by <lirection of J3oU'>las. No maijistrate ac-
com[)anied Pickett, although it has been so stated
by a colonial writer.'** Great surprise was I'elt by l)c
('(»nrcy, wliose commission was fouiul to antedate the
arrival of Pickett, by one day. It could not tlniv
fore be denied that the colonial government hail
intendi'd to do what l*ickett had done — establish
jurisdiction, notwithstandinu: the aLrreement betwe( ii
th(! respective powers to refi-ain from such acts.

These occurrences caused a profound seiisation at,

'" Doniiltl Frascr, inuiiilicr of tho fxi-cutivo council. On the 'JDlh, iwo
(lays attir tlic military occupatiKU, II. It. Crosbic, magistrate of Whattiiin
county, vi)<itc(l the iHlanil out of curiosity, as did many others, and lindiug
an l')n<^lisli mairistratc there, remained to be useful to tho American residents
in case of an attempt to arrest Cutler, which was expected. Kept of Cros-
bie, in JI. Ex. Doc. 77, SGlh Comj., 1ft Sess.

READY FOR WAR.

Victoria. Two war vessels, tho Tribune, a thirty -j^un
(Vij^ate, and the Plnniper, wen; oiderctl to j<»iri the
Sdfr/litr at San Juan, to prevent tho hmdiiii^ of nioro
United hJtati'S troops, while the Pleiades was sent to
San Franeiseo with despatciies for Eii'^iand. On the
;;Olh (Trillin notified Piekett that tiie island was t\\r
property of and in occupation l»y the ] tudson's JJay
( 'onipany, an<l requested him to leave it with his men.
' Should you 1)0 unwillini^ to comply with my re-
i|iicst," he added, ** I feel hound to apply to the civil
luthorities." Pickett replicl that he did not ai -
knowledge tho ri;.jht of the Hudson's Lay (Company;
that ho was on tho island by virtue of an order fmni
liis tjjovernment, and should remain unlil recalh.'d hv
I h(! same authority.** This reply of Pickett's was n<»t
strictly true, though he may have so construed ihr
■ituation. He was on tho island hy order ol"(Jeneral
I larney, his superior <jllicer. Upon receiviiig (jlrillln's
iioti(;o to leave, l*ickett wrote to Colon(d Case}' at
I'ort Steilacuom, that the attitude assumed hy tin!
Hudson's liay Company was threatening, and n-
(piestod him to .send (ho Mitssdchusetts at once to Sai:
.luan. "I do not know," he said, " that any actual
collision will take place, hut it is not condortahle lo
\n^ lying within range of a couple of war ste'amer>.
The Tribune, a thirty-gun IVigate, is lying hroadsjdc
to our camp, and from pres(Mit indications «.'\eryLhing
li ads mo to suppose that they will attem[>t to pi'cvent
my carrying out njy instructions."

On tho 31st Pickett was reeiiforc<:d l»y another
'ompany I'rom Port Steihu-oom, tlu: Massdchusefts
• laveying them to San Juan, together with rain])
I i[uipago and all necessary tools for co!istructing
'luartcrs, besides a few howitzeis. Provost now has-
tiiied to San Juan to hold an intei'view wilh Camp-
i»!|, who was ab.sent. From .l*icki;tt he Karui'd,
however, that ho intended to obey orders, would pie-
vent tho landing of any inferior force, light any equal

" Milton's San Juan Idand, 2U2.

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620

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

force, and protest against any superior force of Brit-
ish troops being placed on the island, the proposition
having been made of a joint military occupation by an
equal number of troops of both nations, and rejected.
The captain could well afford to assume this position,
for he was aware that the American population of
Victoria, outnumbering five to one the available Brit-
ish force, and more skilled perhaps in the use of arms,
would rally to his aid, and were indeed already in
communication with the island.

Douglas now issued a proclamation protesting
against the invasion, and declaring that the sover-
eignty of the island was and always had been vested
in Great Britain.^" Armed with this demand, on
the 3d of August Captain Hornby of the Tribune
and connnissioners Provost and Kicbards sought ;i
second interview with Pickett, in which they
again urged the joint occupation of San Juan by an
equal force of both nations, and the establishment
of military rule thereon until the boundary questioii
should be settled by their respective governments.
To this Pickett replied that he had no authority to
make such an arranajement, and susTgested that thev
mio^lit refer the matter to Governor Douglas and
General Harney. He assured them that any attempi
to land a British force on the island before an ai -
ranorcment was made would bring on a collision,
which it was desirable to avoid, and advised them to
remain in their present position until instruction ■<
were received from those in authority.

Immediately after this interview Pickett wrote
to Adjutant-general Pleasanton at Vancouver, ot
all that had taken place, and asked that instructions
be sent hira. The adjutant replied that General
Harney approved of his course, and told him to allow
no joint occupation. In answer to Douglas' protest.
Harney addressed a communication to him, of which
the following is part: "As the military commander

'"See Olympia Club, MS., 0-10.

HARNEY AND DOUGLAS.

621

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lon

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[encral

alloNv

Ire )t est.

liantlci'

of the department of Oregon, assigned to tliat com-
mand by the orders of the president of the United
States, I have the honor to state for your information
that, by such authority invested in me, I have
placed a mihtary command upon the island of San
Juan to protect the American citizens residing on that
island from the insults and indignities which the Brit-
ish authorities of Vancouver Island and the establish-
ment of the Hudson's Bay Company recently offered
them, by sending a British ship of war from Vancou-
ver Island to convey the chief factor of the Hudson's
Bay Company to San Juan for the purpose of seizing
and forcibly transporting him to Vancouver Island,
to bo tried by British laws. I have reported this
attempted outrage to my government, and they will
doubtless seek the proper redress from the British
government. In the mean time I have the honor to
inform your Excellency I shall not permit a repetition
of that insult, and shall retain a command on San
Juan Island to protect its citizens, in the name of the
United States, until I receive further orders from my
government.""^

To this Douglas replied that he was glad to find
that the general was acting under orders from the
president, and not by positive authority from the
cabinet; denying that any British ship of war had
been sent to San Juan to seize an American citizen;
asserting that the Hudson's Bay Company's officers
exorcised no official power or authority, but declaring
thorn as entirely distinct from the officers of the
i-xecutive government as any other inhabitant of Van-
<'ouver Island; alleycinnf that no outrafjo had been com-
i:iittod on an American citizen, and no attempt had been
made to arrest one and take him to Victoria for trial."

'•^' Ilar.icy committed an ovorsiglit in giving tliia as tlio solo roason for
] 'lacing troops on tlio islauil, hut this lie afterward athibiitcd to 1ih iudi;,'-
iKitioii in viuw of tlio circumstances of tlio attempted ancst of Cutler. It
nuulo hit) Htatcmcnt difTcr from I'iciictt's.

■^-'Croshio iji ilia rcpoit in //. Lx. Doe. 77, 5-0, SGth Cowj., 14 S'.-w., f^aya
!'i'\t Douijlas' letter is incorrect on two points; that altliotigh it was the licacpr
uud not u mau-of-wur wUiuli brouj'ht IJallas to tlia island on tlio ocoaaioii re-

G2-2

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

Having made this denial of Harney's accusations, he
called upon him, if not as a matter of right, at least
as a matter of justice and humanity, to withdraw the
troops stationed on San Juan, their presence still
further complicating the question of sovereignty, and
being calculated to provoke a collision between two
friendly nations. But Harney replied as Pickett had
done, that the step having been taken, he would now
await the expression of the president's pleasure in Ihij
matter.'"

During the progress of this correspondence, Harney
on the 7th of August ordered Casey to reiinforcc
Pickett, and also wrote to the naval officer in coid-
mand of the Pacific squadron a request to send vessels
to Puget Sound for the protection of American in-
terests thereabout. On the morning of the 9th Casey
left Fort Steilacoom with his whole command, con-
sisting of three companies, and with howitzers and
fifty tons of ammunition, on board the passengoi'
steamer Julia. He was met by the surveying steamci'
Active, commanded by Captain Alden, who advised
him not to attempt to land his troops on the island,
as it would be likely to bring on a conflict, the Tribiuu'
lying broadside to the landing with her fires banked.
Nevertheless Casey, somewhat imprudently if not

ferred kO, Mr Dallas waa at that time, and had Tjccn for some time previous,
a member of the executive council, as was also Mr Donald I'Vascr, wlio accoiu-
pauied him; and that immediately on their return without their iuteudcJ
prisoner a magistrate for the island waa determined on, and Mr Giilliu
ilireotcd to lodge a complaint against Cutler, not only on the ground of kill-
ing the hog, but as a trespasser upon lands belonging totho company, of -wliicli
Dallas was a director. The arrival of Do Courcy as magistrato soon iiftcr
conlirma CrosCic'a statement, as do the affidavits of Paul K. llubbs uiul L.
iV. Cutler, in //. Ex. Doc. Go, ix. 53, SGth Cong., 1st Sens. Sco also stiitemeut
of Cajitain Aldca concerning an American, R. W, Cussans, who was forced to
abandon liis improvements on Lopez Island, and who was ordered, after ii;ty-
icg for a license to cut timber, to clear his vessel at the Victoria custom-lioiisu.
Sea. Doc, i.'9, i. S7, 30th Con>i.,2dSesa.

'■'' Milloii's San Jaan Island, 273-8. Harney was in error conconiiir^
Bomo minor matters. For instance, he eaya that when Douglas heard of the
arrival of I'ickettV command on tho island he appointed a justice of the peace
and other civil authorities, and sent them over on tho I'lumper to cxecuti;
British laws on tho island; wlicn tho truth was, as I havo previously stated,
tho magistrate was commissioned 0:10 day before I'ickett's arrival, and eaiiio
over in the commissioner's stcaincM-, i\\o Sutellitc, instead ot the Plumper, as
Harucy states. Puijct Sound Ihiahl, \wj,. o, 12, and 20, 18o9.

ALMOST A BATTLE.

623

impudently, landed his men under the frigate's guns,
thus throwing on the British officers the responsi-
bility of beginning hostilities, though, as he relates,
"he fully appreciated the terrible consequences of a
liostile collision with his quasi enemy, which would
probably be no less than involving two great nations
in war."^*

There were on service in Pugct Sound, according
to Harney's statement, five Britisli vessels of war,
with 1G7 guns and 2,140 men, of whom GOO were
marines, or of the engineer corps; and, reports the
general, "this force has been employed from the 27th
tlay of July until the 10th day of August — the day
on which Colonel Casey with reenforcoraents reached
the island — in using every means in its power, except
opening fire, to intimidate one company of infantry
but sixty strong. The senior officer of these British
ships of war threatening to land an overpowering force
upon Captain Pickett, he nobly replied that whether
they landed fifty or five thousand men his conduct
would not bo affected by it, that he would open his
tire, and if compelled, take to the woods fighting.""^
This statement of General Harney's must bo taken
with due allowance. There is little doubt, however,
that Pickett intended to fight, and would, when joined
by Colonel Casey's command, have opened lire on
the British had they landed. He would then have
retired to a strong position in tlie mountains, where
ho could hold them in check until the arrival of further
rcenforceraents.

Finding the aspect of affairs somewhat serious,
however, the colonel sent an officer on board the
Tribune^ requesting that Captain Hornby would call
oil him with a view to a conference. The captain
tliought it would have been in better taste had tli(^
colonel called on him; nevertheless, he returned a
courteous answer, and after despatching his business,

" Casey's Rept, in //. Ex. Doc, SOth Conrj., M Semt., ix., no. Co, p. 30.
''^ MiUoii'a San Juan Island, 2'J2; I'. /. lirillsh Colonist.

I 'I'i

024

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

repaired to the camp, in company with Prcvost and
Campbell. Casey asked for the officer higjicst in
command, and where he was to be found, and was re-
ferred to Admiral Baynes, then on board the flag-ship
(hiiifjcs at Esquimalt. The next day, accompanied
by Ca])tain Pickett and the American commissioner,
the colonel steamed over to Esquimalt on board the
Shiihrich; and, per favor of Pickett, who, as he says,
was courteously received, Douglas being also present,
sent a note to the admiral desiring his presence, witli
a view to a conference. The request was declined,
the adm'.ral remarking that he should be most happy
to see the colonel on board the flag-ship. "I was of
the opinion," writes Casey, "that I had carried eti-
quette far enough in going twenty-five miles to S(. o ;i
gentleman who was disinclined to come a hundred
yards to see me." Thereupon he returned in dudgeon
to San Juan, and in his report a few weeks later ac-
cused Hornby of lying."" Harney, when infoiiiied
of Casey's visit, disapproved it, and the colonel was
naturally mortified at the result of his attempted me-
diation.

It is admitted by British authorities that Douglas
had ordered a landing of troops,"'' but the admiral le-
fuscd to do anything that might provoke a collision,
and especially to take advantage of an inferior ibree,
even withdrawing his squadron, and keeping, merely
for show of occupation, a single vessel at a time In
the harbor of San Juan,-^ although, after the ar)'l\;il
of the Afassachusettt^, the Americans built a redoiilit
near the Hudson's ]jay Company's station."' For t his

^'^Cftsqf's Rrpr, in //. IJr. Doc, SGth Coiirj., M 6Vs-»., ix., no. 6'.7, .'11, C:!.
Miictloriiilil, Ji'nt. Col. and I'niic. Jul., t2.")S, siiya tlint Hornby, llioimli ninlor
pDsitivo instructions from Douglas to dccliiro war at once, took on liini'^ilt' tlio
responsibility of delaying llio execution of his orders until the arrival cf tliu
admiral, who wiia daily expected.

'■" Sec Milloii'a Sen Juan (Question, 284; ZlavdonaliTj B. O. and Vaif. J^!.,
2r)8.

'^ The Tr'ihune was relieved by the Satellite, and tho latter by the /'/. inda.
Ovcrhind Monthly, ii. 211.

■■"Tho earthworks extended on tho Mcst water-front .IfiO fcot, on thosniitli-
cast 100, on tho east 100, and on tho north-east 150 feet, tho north side being

NEGOTIATIONS.

025

line of conduct, though acting in disobedience to orders,
Baynes was complimented by the British govern-
ment.*' ,

On the day when Douglas issued his protest he
addressed a message to the colonial legislative council
and assembly in extra session, in which he reiterated
liis belief in the right of Great Britain to the archi-
pelago lying west of Rosario Strait. But owing to
the condition of Victoria at this period of her history,
the town being about as much American as English,
many Californians and Orcgonians having purchased
])roperty and entered into business there during the
lieight of the Fraser River mining rush, compara-
tively little impression was made by the governor's
proclamations, the interest on the British side being
confined chiefly to official circles.

Meanwhile the commissioners could not agree, and
the governments of Great Britain and the United
States were in correspondence, endeavoring to conic
to a satisfactory understanding as to their rights — an
iin])ossibility, since both claimed exactly the samo
thino'."* On the 24th of Augfust, however, Lord
Lyons, minister at Washington, received a dospatcli
I'rom the foreign office, instructing him to oH'or a
(ompromise, adopting as the line of water boundary
between Vancouver Island and the continent a passage
botween Rosario Strait and the Canal de Haro, ruii-

kft open, with tho garrison ground in its rear. Tlio embankment had a Ijaso
I'f tvvcnty-livo feet, and a widtli at top of eight foot. Inaido of tho redoubt
wi'i';! (ivo gun-platforma of cartli, reaching to witliin two feet of tho level of
tho parapet, each twelvo by eighteen feet, two of them being at cdi-neir, of
tliQ redoubt. Tho parapet was seven feet abin-o tho inteiior, and tiii! slniic
<if llio interior twelve to fifteen feet, tho exterior tslopo being tw(iity-li\e to
i'lvly feet, with a ditch at tho bottom from three to five feet (hup. Moi'sc'.i
ll'</x/). To:, MS., XV. 41-.'); V. I. llri/i^h ('i>h}ii^t. On tho 'Jbt .)f -August
'i(i\ernor Ciholaon addressed acomumniealion to (ieneral Harney, ii; uhieii ho
in formed him that liiero wero li^s than J, 000 stands of arms iu XVashinglon,
and tli.it there was not a shot, shell, or cartridge for any of them. Supplies
Were tjcnt to I'ort Stcilacoom, eubjeet to llio order of tl'.o governor.

'■" Millon'n San Junn Question, '281. This author intimates that Douglas
li.id ni)t at thi.i tiuio tho full powers of a Dritish colonial governor. Macdou-
a!d lakes a diirercnt view.

'^^Annuh BrU. Lcijia., x. 141-.'; Y. I. /lri'!-h Colonist.
liiHi-. lliur. OoL. 10

626

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

ning through the iniddlo of the archipelago, which
boundary would give Orcas and Lopez islands, the
two largest after San Juan, to the United States.
This concession Lord Lyons thought would fulfil the
terms of the treaty, though the channel was inferior
in some respects to the others ;^^ her Majesty's gov-
ernment being willing for the sake of peace to rcsi'ni
its claim to three islands, though maintaining its
right to all. At the moment this ofter was made the
intelligence was received at Washington of the occu-
pation of San Juan by an armed American force.

Harney first wrote to army headquarters ou the
subject on the lOtli of July, but for some reason his
letter was delayed, and does not appear to have
reached the commander-in-chief until the 1st of Sep-
tember, the latter sending it to the president; bu!
the newspapers got hold of the information, and in
this way Lord Lyons and other statesmen obtained :;
knowledge of it, when there was profound agitaticn
in diplomatic circles.

President Buchanan directed Acting Secretary of
War Drinkard, on tlui 3d, to say to General Harncv
that although he believed the Canal de Haro to be
the true boundary between Great Britain and the
United States, yet that he had not anticipated so de-
cisive a step being taken without instructions; that it
was not customary to disturb the status of territory
in dispute between friendly nations while the question
was pending before a joint commission; but if the
general had good reason to believe that the colonial
authorities of Great Britain were about to do so by
assuming jurisdiction over the disputed territory, he
was right to anticipate their action, and the president
would wait for further details before expressing any
opinion.

Upon the 5tli Lord Lyons held an intervie" with

'' This third midcllo passage was used by steamers during the Frn cr River
gold excitement, and surveyed by the Active, after which it was named, but
Oapt. Richards renamed it Plumper Pass, and as such it was offerei'. to the
United States as a boundary — a narrow channel between islands.

Mr (

Han

notifi

be ni,

the I

line t

Lyon;

'JO niG

jurisdi

pains •

try. :

sent t
origin
orders
spondei
'•iitions
order G
"lid inqi
'ley's ac
Ijiuj, the
merely i
the title
the two
the inte
I'crniitt
J>iaced

After

^"aiicouv

'"ail stea

'joard th

-ath to C

rary arra

should be

(-'ach natic

t'-'ction of

Property.

/'Itwasaa
""gilt bo allow
o»i' superiors.'

SCOTT IN PUGET SOUND.

627

Mr Cass, when ho was informed of the contents of
Harney's tiespatcli. On this occasion Secretary Cass
notified Lyons tliat ^vhile the actual status should
bo maintained, no orders had boon sent to withdraw
the United States troops, but that they were to con-
lino themselves to the protection of American citizens.
Lyons understood this to mean that Harney was "by
no means to take possession of San Juan, or set up any
jurisdiction there" — a construction which Cass took
pains to disavow before the London mail left the coun-
try. In the mean time further despatches had been
sent to Washington, with full explanations of the
origin of the difficulty, the depositions of citizens, the
orders of Harney, and the proclamations and corre-
spondence of Douglas. So warlike did all these indi-
cations appear, that the president felt constrained to
order General Scott to proceed to the Pacific coast,
and inquire more particularly into the causes of Har-
ney's action. The adjustment of alFairs was left to
him, the instructions of the secretary of war being
merely to preserve peace and prevent collisions until
the title to the Island could be determined between
tho two governments; it being suggested that during
the intervening period a joint occupancy might bo
permitted, in which American citizens should bu
l)laccd on an equal footing with British subjects.

After an interview with Harney"^ and Pickett at
Vancouver, Scott proceeded to Puget Sound in tho
mail steamer Northerner, and took up headquarters on
board the Massachusetts, addressing a letter on the
25th to Governor Douglas, and proposing as a tempo-
rary arrangement that separate portions of the island
should be occupied by an equal number of troops of
each nation, not to exceed one hundred, for the pro-
tection of their respective countrymen in person and
property. But Douglas, who, notwithstanding his

'^ It was said that when Harney expressed a hope to Scott that matters
might bo allowed to remain as they were, Scott testily replied, ' We both have
our buperiors.' He then proceeded to show Harney that he was his superior.
Evans' JV. W. Boundary, 36.

iiil; I

nil

ill

028

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

disavowal of any collusion between the Hudson's Bay
Company and the colonial authorities, intended that
the former should own San Juan, and who did not
really desire the home government to become too
much concerned in the military value of the Island,
disapproved of a joint occupation, and expressed his
desire to have the order of civil magistracy restored,
remarking, as to the protection of the inhabitants, thut
"the principal protection that may be required is from
dissensions among themselves, and not against hostile
Indians, from whom I do not apprehend there is the
slightest danger of molestation;" and further reminded
the general that the sole reason furnished in Harncy'.s
correspondence with himself for placing troops on the
island had been that he wished to protect citizens of
the United States from the indignities offered tlicm
by the British authorities, of which they stood in no
danger.^* His final argument for not accepting Scott's
proposition was that the general was an accredited
agent of the government of the United States, where-
as he did not occupy that position toward the govoni-
ment of Great Britain.

To this Scott replied that his government had not
authorized him to evacuate San Juan; and to hiui it
was apparent that if a magistracy could bo legally
established on neutral territory, it could not l)o niatlc
subject to the orders of any military ofScer, nor even
to the direct control of the president, and therefore it
would not be discreet at this juncture to intrust such
an officer with matters affecting the peace of nations.
"Besides," he continued, "I have adopted the im-
pression of my countrymen generally on this frontier,
that the few citizens settled on San Juan Island,
though like all other American pioneers, brave, and
possessed of effective weapons for defence and attack,
do in reality stand in need of troops for protection, not
only against predatory bands of Indians coming from
foreign parts, but also from such bands residing within

'< Milton's San Juan, S-27-9; //. Ex. Doe. 65, ix. 65-7, SGth Cong., 1st SeiS.

our
fron
duri
mem

tOWl]

(•an i

there

settle

sider,

whei'i:

The

■sent t

tion oj

nniinU

not th;

Britaii

to resl

uithou

oncy o

dispute
jcct his
ence to
to pers(
(he sett
volunta
treachei
Whe
ment,
forcibly
gon sett
the rem£
Hate for
"ot Dou
Douo-]
(-'ommittc
ulations,

o "There.,
^ HeeoUecti

SCOTT AND DOUGLAS.

629

our own limits;" and further that he had just come
from BelHngham Bay, where an attack had been made
during the summer, and again threatened, a detuoh-
ment having been recently sent from San Juan to the
town of Whatcom.

Thus sliowing Douglas that he entertained Ameri-
can and not English sentiments, with his reasons
therefor, Sc(jtt submitted a project for temporary
settlement, wliieh he requested his Excellency to con-
sider, deelaving that he could sec no other principle
whereupon a present adjustment could be ma^e.

The reply of Douglas was that he could not con-
sent to a joint military occupation without the sanc-
tion ol' his government;"' that he was authorized to
maintain but not to make treaties, and that he did
not think it advisable to anticipate the action of G rcat
Britain; that protection against all ordinary danger
to residents on the islantl could be i'ully attained
without military occupation. Moreover, the expedi-
ency of aflbrding protection to persons settling on
disputed territory might be questioned; on that sub-
ject his instructions left him in no doubt with refer-
ence to his colony; "protection could not i>o afforded
to persons who, by wandering beyond the precincts of
the settlements and the jurisdiction of the tribunals,
voluntarily expose themselves to the violence or
treachery of the native tribes."

Whether this was an order of the home govern-
uient, the governor did not say; but it reminds one
forcibly of tlie accusations brought by the early Ore-
gon settlers against the Hudson's Bay Company, and
the remark made by some of them, that it was fortu-
nate for the first immijxrations that McLouGjhlin and
not Douorlas-was in command.

Douglas denied that the colonial authorities had
committed any act in violation of existing treaty stip-
ulations, or had been guilty of discourtesy toward the

'^ There wero some Hudson's Bay Company men who agreed with Scott.
See Hecoilectiona, MS., 30.

Til

iif

)Hi

:!H|

•I

'M.i

G30

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

United States government, but said tliat they had
exliibitod a degree of (brbearaiiee wliieli r'lititlcd
l.lieni to tvei'v confidence; and aufain be ururd the
withdrawal of the troojis IVoni the ishmd, when lie
prt>niised that the naval force in the haibor should be
removed, at the same time assuring Sccjtt tliat there
was no intention on his part to dislodge bv force the
troops in possession, without orders from the homo
government.

This assurance Scott accepted. IJeing persuaded,
he said, that the cordial relations existing between
the two governmer.trt precluded the probability ol
war, he would at once order the number of troops on
the island to be reduced to one company of infaiiti'v,
and enclosed sudi an order to Douglas on the otli ol
November. It was his first intention to leave Pickett
in command; but fearing, lest there niiglit be a l>reju-
dice against this rt.'cldess ofKcer, in whose honor the
Ibrt on San Juan v^as named, another company under
Captain Hunt was substituted, and Pickett was yent
to Fort Pellingham; not that Hunt was less fearles.s,
but that he was possessed of more prudence and coui-
tesy, and had not given cause of offence. On the
departure of Scott, however, Pickett was at onco re-
instated hy General Harney.

The withdrawal of tl. United States forces, exce])t
t)ne company, could not be complained of, especially
as the govdnor was invited to place a company on
the island, Douglas replying that he should take
pleasure in reporting this action to the homo govern-
ment, which, he doubted not, would accept it as proof
of a desire of the United States to restore the former
status of the islands; and expressing a hope that the
commander-in-chief would direct his officers to ab-
stain from all acts provocative of conflicts, or from
attempts to exclude British subjects by force, or in
any inanner interfere with them;*^* and on his part he

^"Thia caution arose from the arrest of William Moore, a British subject,
for selling liquor on the island, which was forbidden. Moore, after being

GENERAL HARNEY.

631

would enjoin upon the British authorities the same
abstinence from exclusive jurisdiction.

Scott replied tiiat he should direct the American
ifliccr in command not to permit the territorial func-
tionaries to interfere with any British subject on the
island while it was in dispute; but should add the
iVirthcr instruction, that if a British subject disturbed
the peace, or sold strong liquor to American soldiers
without leave from their commander, that officer
must represent the case to the nearest British author-
ity, asking for the removal of the oftbndcr; and if
ho should return to the island without permission, the
officer must expel him without further ceremony.^'

This ended the correspondence between k^cott and
Douglas. By v\-ithdrawing the main f roe and tbi
batteries from Fort Pickett, the fcuier liad lol't
(ilreat Britain to take the initiative in any iutiire lios-
tilitiL.>, i)ut without yielding any right.- or njaking
my binding concessions. Scot*" was made aware, be-
ibre leavinij Washinjjton, that tlie British ijovcrnnu'nt
would demand the removal of Harney from the Ore-
L;on department; and the president, reluctant to ro-
licve from his command a popular officer, though one
whose excessive zeal in the interests of the people and
the government had almost involved the countr}' in a
war, had suggested reuniting the departments of Cal-
ifornia and Oregon, whereby Harney would, without
jirejudice to his standing, be forced to take a com-
mand in some other part of the United States terri-
tory. But Harney, not at first perceiving the motive
of the commander-in-chief, placed before him strong-
arguments against throwing the two departments into

|)ut to work iu the trendies for half a day, was tried before Justice Crosbio
iiiul lined, according to his deposition, §75. II. Ex. Doc, ix., no. C5, pp.
7:>-4, oOth CoiKj., 1st Sess. The case fully illustrated the trouble that would
arise from a divided jurisdiction.

■^' Sen. Doc. 10, To, v., SGth Cong., 1st Sess.; II, Ex. Doc, 11-13 — Mvss.
amlDoc.jtti. — 36lh Cong., 1st Sess.; Iil.,pt ii., 39-90, 577; House Jour,,
U45, SGlhCong., 1st Sess.; Sen. Jour., lOiiG, %th Cong., 1st Sess.; II, Ex.
Doc 29, 8-10, 22-9, 37-63, SGth Cong., 2d Sess.

'A'

632

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

one, and cited the condition of the country when the
headqu xrters were at San Francisco.

At length, just as he was taking his departure from
the Columbia, Scott gave Harney his true reason for
making the suggestion, and left with him an order to
repair to St Louis and assume command of the de-
partment of the west, placing Wright in command of
the department of Oregon, but giving him leave to
decline or accept the order as ho should elect. Har-
ney, however, did not wish to go to St Louis just at
that time. He had begun the erection of a residence
about one mile east from Vancouver, then nearly com-
pleted,^ and did not find it convenient, had it been
otherwise agreeable, to leave the territory. Neither
did he believe that his action with regard to Sau
Juan would embarrass the president. That, at all
events, was the opinion expressed in reply to the
commander-in-chief's suggestion, written on the spur
of the moment.

Two days later I find him entertaining the idea.
In a long communication to the adjutant-general, in
which he recommends the continuance of the Orerjuii
department, he concludes by saying that, although lie
would not make a formal application to be relieved
from his command lest it should derange any coursc
already decided upon, he would esteem it a favor il'
the president would at his earliest convenience allow
him to return to the east and to his family, from
which he had been for five years separated. He was
not recalled until the following summer, althouL>li
Scott, vexed on account of some private official mis-
understandings, used his influence against him. On
the other hand, the legislatures of Oregon and Wash-
ington, on being informed of the contemplated change
in their military department, memorialized congress

"This structure went by the name of Dundaa Castle. It was beautifully
situated in a plateau overlooking the Columbia, and surrounded by a^'ovo
of stately fir-trees. Hiriiey wished to sell it for an arsenal, but the title to
the land was unsettle I. It came later into the possession of J. E. Wychc,
and was afterward again suld.

rOPULAR FEELING.

against it, and prayed to have Harney retained in
command; and Scott, whose visit had been received
with deference, began to be severely criticised, which
was nothing new for him.**

Not until March did Admiral Baynes disembark
on the disputed island a company of marines equal in
number to the force of Captain Hunt, under the com-
mand of Captain George Bazalgette, his instructions
being the same as those given to the American cap-
tain. The respective commanders observed the ut-
most courtesy toward each other, as they had been
instructed to do. In the mean time the American
population of San Juan was doubled, farms were
opened, and manufactures started.

Nor did the Fourth-of-July spirit die out; but in
November a public meeting was held to express the
sentiments of the settlers with regard to the sover-
eignty of this bit of insular territory. At Olympia
the democratic portion of the legislature, at a meeting
held for the purpose, nominated Harney as their
choice for president in 18G0, It was quite clear that,
whatever the government might do, the people in-
tended to sustain Harney.

The American aspect of the case descends now to a
disgraceful quarrel between two of its officers, a posi-
tion in which they are too often found in the history
of the nation. Nor will it bo of any import to this
liistory to follow a private quarrel between Scott ;ind

'"According to tlic Oregon Statesman of Jauuary 2i, ISOO, tho iiitcrvciitioii
of tho cominundor-iu-cliief had done more harm than good. When lie arrived,
saiil that journal, the San Jnau qucstiou was practically .settled. There was
no occasion for him to interfere. The British lloct had retired to Esfiiiiinalt
Imrbor, except the SatcllUc, which still lay in the harbor of 8an .Tuan. 'i'he
Americans had peaceable possession, and exercised civil and military jiiris-
iii;tiou. lint iiiat(;ad of letting matters remain as they were, he ordenil off
I'icUctt, offered joint occupancy, and recommended the recall of Harney and
tho abolition of tho Oregon department. Nor were the Oregon and I'tigct
■Sound papers the 'iidy journals to question the wisdom of the commander-in-
chief in sacrificing Pickett and Harney, whom tho government and himself
indorsed, by leaving a military force on tho island, and by abolishing IJritish
civil jurisdiction, but the western press in general lamented tho ueccssity,
real or imaginary, of the implied censure. See National Inldlijcncer, July 28,
18(30; Emns' N. W. Boundary, 'XV, V. I. Unthh Colonist.

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

Harney, except so far as it affects the question under
consideration. On the 10th of April, 18G0, Harney
.sent a despatch to Pickett from Fort Vancouver,
wlierein he informs him: 1st. That Scott left no in-
structions with him to grant a military occupation
of San Juan Island by British troops; nor had any
authority been delegated by the government to Scott
to offer or accept such occnpation; nor was the offer
made by him accepted by Governor Douglas, or any
such arrangement subsequently made, so far as lie,
Harney, was informed; 2d. The British authorities
had simply submitted an assurance that no attempt
would be made by them to dislodge the American
troops, in view of which they were permitted to land
troops for a purpose similar to that of the commandei'
of the department, to protect the British residents;
3d. Under the organic act of compress for the estab-
lishment of Washington territory, the legislature ot'
1854 had passed an act including the island of San
Juan in Whatcom county, which act on being sub-
mitted to congress was not disapproved, and was there-
fore the law of the land, and being such, Pickett would
be expected to regard the civil jurisdiction of Washini;-
ton, any attempt to ignore which would be followed
by deplorable results. In the event of British in-
terests being involved, Pickett was required to iiotilV
Captain Bazalgette, who would pro])ose some ari'ango-
nient satisfactory to his instructions, as well as tlios(>
of the civil officer, no action in any case to be taken
until it had been referred to the British admind and
the LTovernor of Washington.

No sooner had the reappointment of Pickett boon
made known in Washington city than the ]3ritisli
minister called the attention of Secretary Ca^^s to
the event, expressing his confidence that the United
States government would not lose anytime in })r(>vid-
ing against the deplorable consequences likely to follow.
Lord Lyons, as well as General Scott, endeavored to

ARBITRATION.

635

arouse the government against Harney,*" and tbo
secretary of war was directed to recall him at once.
Accordingly Harney went to Washington, Hunt was
ordered back to San Juan," and Colonel Wright was
placed in command of the department of Oregon.

The reprimand which General Harney received
t'rom the secretary of war was a mild one. The sec-
lotary disapj^roved of violating the order of General
Scott; but while expressing his disapprobation, he en-
tertained no doubt of the proper intentions of General
Harney, "and from his known high character and
distinguished services, he was not disposed to be severe
ill his condemnation."

There remains little that need be told of the history
of San Juan. Unable to settle the boundarv, the
British government authorized Lord Jjyons, on the
1 0th of J)eccmber, 18G0, to propose arbitration by
(»iic of three European powers; namely, Belgium,
Denmark, or the Swiss republic; but for the tiuK;
tills proposal led to no result. Then came the civil
war in the United States, when the cabinet had
enough to do to manage its domestic aftairs, and tlio
Sau Juan question was suifered to be forgotten.

It was not until 18G8 that Adams, minister to Eiiijf-
land, v.'as notified by S<3cretary Seward that among
other important questions to be negotiated the San
■luan boundary should be included. In 1809 Adams'
successor, Reverdy Johnson, was instructed to give
liis attention to the adjustment of this question, accept-
ing the proposal made ten years before that it should
U' settled by arbitration ; and on the 17th of October
a i)rotocol was signed by Stanley and Johnson, agree-
ing that the question should be referred to some

"Scott wrote: 'Ii t]iis docs not lead to a collision of arms, it v ill njiiiiii
111' duo to tlio fofbciirancc of tlio British (lutlioritics.' Milloii's San Jitan, li."il.

^' Pickett was a southerner, and when tlio civil war broke out joined the
0(jufc(lcracy and was made a general. He commanded a division under Long-
street at Gettysburg. lie, bko moat of tho southern oliicers who resigned
from tho United Statos army, died in a few years after the close of the war.

636

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

friendly sovereign or state, and that within three
months after the ratification of any treaty ;^iviu<''
effect to the agreement the referee should be selected,
the naturalization treaty being mentioned as the one
that must be first disposed of On the 10th of No-
vember, the claims questions having been relern'd to
four commissioners, two chosen by each government,
it was also agreed that the boundary question should
be determined by the president of the federal council
of the Swiss republic on the conclusion of the treaty
above named.

When the first proposition was made in 18G8 to
accept arbitration as a means of ilisposing of tlu;
question, the officials of Washington territory sent ;i
remonstrance to congress, entreating the senate to con-
sent to no protocol nor convention admitting a doubt
of the right of the United States to the line of the
Canal de Haro, or a possible surrender of the Haro
archipelago.^'"

Mr Seward, however, not being satisfied with the
claims convention, wrote Johnson to allow the natural-

^-TIic rcnionstrnnco was signcil by ^Itirsliall F. Moore jioveriior, Jliizanl
Stevens collector, S. D. IIowo assessor internal revenue, Joscpli Ciishinan
receiver of tlic same, E. Marsli register of tlic lanil-ofiiee, .J. E. Wyelie U. S.
ilistriet jvulge, Leander Holmes U. S. attorney, S. Garfield surveyor-general
Philip D. jMoorc collector of internal revenue, E. L. Smith territorial secre-
tary, T. JI. Rccil chief clerk in laiul-olDce, Cliarles A. White surveyor, (_'.
11. Hale cx-sujierintcndcnt Indian atlairs, W. \V. Miller the same, E. (iielc-
liug late acting surveyor-geueral, Benjamiu llarncd territorial treasurer, ( '.
S. King Indian agent, Levi Siielton territorial librarian, William lluntin.'loii
U. S. marshal, ]J. F. Deunisou U. S. district judge, O. B. McFadden ex-U. S.
chief justice, Frank Clark, II. G. Steiuer, I'lhvood Evans. U, S. Sci>. J/(>''.
J)i)C., '11, JfOth Coiif/., 3d Se.is. In reply to a letter from the president of tlir
Norllieru I'acilio railroad, George Gibbs wrote a. letter, afterward pubUslied
in j)amphletl'orm, on the protocol of 1809, in which he reviewed tlio ai'iee-
ment in no friendly spirit, lie declared the president of the Swiss confeilna-
tiou a myth, which, regarded in the light of a sovereign, he really was; saiil
that England meant that San Juan Island and I'oint Huberts were to be given
up for the naturalization treaty; hoped that to avoid a war the U. S. wuiiM
adopt tlie middle or President's passage, as the Active-Plumper elianml \\a>
nowealleil; and declared tiiat if England was to lose her possessions on tlu
Paeide, as she must eventually, she wished to make the U. S. pay the lii.;liest
price for the ae(|uisition, a price that would bo enhanced by the po3ses:;iim el
San .luan and Point Rol)erts, for which slio was striving. IIo concliidiil 1 y
s.iyiug that it would never ilo to have I'uget Sound entirely under lliiiisli
guns, as tlie eonunand of the Sound involved that of the Columbia llivcr.
Uilih.i' San Jiiiui Tnaf'j. Point Iloberts is a neck of laud extcniling bcloff
the I'Mi parallel, directly bou'.li <4' the mouth of Fi'aser River.

TREATY OF WASHINGTON.

637

ization and San Juan questions to remain in protocol
unless Great Britain agreed to amend the former, and
the reference to arbitration was rescinded by this
action. An amended convention was then accepted
by Great Britain and forwarJud to the United States,
but rejected by the senate, which rejection rendered
nugatory a second agreement to submit the boundary
question to the arbitration of the president of the
♦Swiss confederation.

Thus this question was suffered to drift along until,
in 1871, England sent five commissioners to Wash-
ington city to negotiate a treat}'', which was concluded
May 8th of that year, and is known as the treaty of
Washington, the thirty-fourth article of which is in
the following language: "Whereas, it was sti[)ulated
by article 1 of the treaty concluded at Wasliington
on the 15th of June, 1846, between the United States
and her Britannic Majesty, that tlie line of boundary
between the territories of the United States and tliosc
of her Britannic Majesty, from the point on the 4l)th
parallel of north latitude up to which it had been
already ascertained, should be continued westward
aUnig the said parallel of north latitude *to the mid-
dle of the cliannel which separates the continent from
Vancouver's Island, and thence soutlierly through tlie
middle of said channel and of Fuca Straits to the
.L'acific Ocean;' and whereas, the commissioners ap-
pointed by the two high contracting j)artics to deter-
r.iine the portion of the boundary wliieh runs southerly
llirough the middle of the channel aforesaid were
unable to agree upon the same; and whereas, the gov-
* rnment of her Britannic Majesty claims that such
' nundary line should, under the terms of the treaty

- .0 recited, be run through llosario vStraits, and
the government of the United States claims that it
slioidd be run through the Canal do Ilaro — it is agreed
that llie respective claims of the government of the
United States and the ijovernmcnt of her Britannic
Majesty shall be submitted to the arbitration and

i,'

:5I

638

THE SAN JUAN ISLAND DIFFICULTY.

award of his Majesty the emperor of Germany, who,
having regard to the above-mentioned article of the
said treaty, shall decide thereupon, finally and with-
out appeal, which of those claims is in the most accord-
ance with the true interpretation of the treaty of Juno
15, 1846.""

Emperor William of Germany accepted the odic'
of arbitrator, both governments presenting a carefully
prepared case, with documents and maps, George
Bancroft, the American minister to Germany, and
Mr Petro, the British charge d'affairs, having the I'e-
sponsibility of laying before him all the arguments on
either side. Present in Berlin, and laboring for the
acceptance of his views, was Captain, now Admiral
Prevost, the British commissioner of 1859. The
award was not made until October 21, 1872, when it
was given to the United States. There are some on
both sides of the line who hold to the opinion that
the decision was wrong; others believe it right; still
others say that it is a matter of small moment to
which of the great powers this little patch of earth
belongs. Great as was the disappointment of tlu'
people of British Columbia, the award was most
courteously accepted, and within a few weeks orders
were given by the imperial government for its troops
to evacuate San Juan. The greatest good feeling had
all alona: existed between the officers and soklicrv.
and three hearty cheers were given by the American-'
on the departure of the royal marines; none the less
hearty, because on this occasion the Yankees coultl
well afford to cheer.**

*^ Treaty of Washhir]ton Papers, v. 25C; Cmhing^a Treaty of WiHihUvjiun,
npp., 257-74; Ex. Doc. 1, j)t 1, 4^d Gong., 3d Sesa,; Foreign lidatlin^, [.,
xxv.-vi., 4Jd Coiuj., LilSess.

*' Paget Sound Despatch, Dec. .5, 1S72; Butler's Wild North Lnirl. WW.
The cost to Englaml of occupying San Juan was between twelve and lliii ticii
thousand doHars a year, besides the pay of officers and men. J/aiisunl-^ I'liri
Del)., excix. 123S. The cost to the United States was that of kocpiiit; up :i
jiost where it was needed to watch the nortiiern Indians. Sec uienioiiiil of tlic
Washington legislature in Wanh.Slnt., 18t)7-8, 183-5, asking relief for isaiic
J'l Higgins, a 'persecuted' settler, and that Captain Grey bo punished f<ir
abuses of power. Also correspondence of Acting Gov, AIcGill witli the sec. of

END OP THE CONTROVERSY.

639

state, in Ecaua' X. IV. Boundary, 39, and the decision of Judgu Fitzhugh on
|). 40, also the opinion of Judge li. h\ Deiiniatm in tiie Port Towiiseiitl Mrs.iaijc,
Oct. 1 and 8, 1808. The award, which removed all the disabilities coiiiplaincil
<if, left the United HUites for the lirst time in the history of Iho nation without
a boundary dispute with (ireat ISritain, and consequently in a condition to
iiulgrow, (111 both sides, many prejudices and imaginary causes of dilFcrcnce.
Some year;! before tiio emperor's decision was rendered the Hudson's Uay and
l*a,i,'et Sound Agricultural companies brought forward claims against the U.
S. for loss of territory. They were finally disallowed, on the ground tlwit it
iiad been decided by the emperor of (Jernuiny that the islanda rightfully be-
longed to the U. S., although the eonmiissioners appointi^d under the treaty
.jf KSt;3 had awarded §150,000 to the II. IJ. Co. and §1200.000 to the rugc'fc
Soi'ud Co. Claims were also brought forward by ISritish residents of Nan
.luan, and Hazard ytcvcns was appointed commissioner for tlio purpose of
inquiring into and settling them. After visiting the inland and making an
investigation, ho reported to the president that no claims existed which the
government was botind to recognize. Htcvcnx, San Jtuiu Cluims, MS. Mr
Stevens remarks that the numner in which the demands of tiie two companies
v.erc presented by the l>ritish minister at Washington, and investigated by
iirdcr of congress, forms a curious episode in thisiirotracted dispute. In IS.Sl
Mr Stevens was practising law in Boston. Tiio evidence fur the companicj
and for the U. S., with tiie memorials and arguments of claimants, tiie argu-
uunts of counsel for the U. S., the opinions and award ot the connnissiouci.-,
and the opinions of the press, were puljlished in live volumes and part;,!, undri-
tiie general title of t'laims of lite JIudsoii'ti Dan and I'mjit Sound A</ricidlurii
I'oinpnnlcx, ^Montreal, ISOS, Washington, 1807, 1808.

In thus presenting an account of the San Juan dilliculty, I have stated the
facts as I have founil them, making little conmient thereon. Hundreds of
oi)inion3 and ver.sions have bi^en ])ublislied in newspaiiers, books, and maga-
zines, as, for example, that of William John Maedonald, though by no means
a reliable writer, but an employe of the Hudson's IJay Company, who, witii a
party of French Canadians, was stationed at San Juau two or tliieo years be-
fore the dispute occurred, and afterward became a citizen of Victoria, lie
states that the American;! never considered the island as any portion of their
territory until about the year IS.").'}. Captain Aldeu.of the surveying steamer
Active, found deeper water in the Canal de Harothan in tlic liosario channel,
iuid claimed the former as, under the terms of the treaty, ' the channel which
separates Vancouver's Island from the mainland.' Afteriiegotiations and sur-
veys extending over two years, Capt. I'revost being sent from Kngland in the
SaUU'dc, to protect British interests, and, if possible, to arrange matters, the
ciiunnissioners appointed by both nations faile<l to agree. In 1S.")9 Gon. Har-
ney came from Oregon iu the sloop of wiiv Dccatnr, with about 150 men.
Anchoring in Griflin Bay, he threw up rougli earthworks on the high land
above the harbor and planted some cannon. Sir James Douglas went over in
a sliip of war to remonstrate, and re(piesled Harney to remove his troops,
wliieh the latter declined to do. The people of Victoria were sorely annoyed
■dt the aggressiveness of the Ameiicans, and as there were at this time, in the
iiurbor of Victoria, nine vessels of war, recently arrived from China, all were
in f:ivor of resorting to arms. At tiie instance of Admiral Bayncs, however,
a council was held and milder measures prevailed, llarney, who, it was I)c-
licved, acted unier the advice of Commissioner Campbell, was severely cen-
sured for his conduct. lirit. Col. SLctrhex, MS., 24-0.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

1871-1874.

TnB Tide of Westward-bound Migkation — Reasons for and aoainst
THE Railway Project — Tub Bill Carried in tub Commons— Reso-
lution Passed by the Canadian Parliament — Policy of the BniTisii
AND Canadian Governments — Preliminary Surveys— Tiik llrcu
Allan Contract — A Modest Demand — The Contract Annullkd—
CnANGE of Administration — James D. Edgar's Negotiations— Tiu-n;
FAiLURk, and its Cause — Mackenzie's Railway Scheme — Objections
to his Pro.ect.

The project for interoceanic communication between
the British possessions on the Atlantic and Purilic
was one mooted long before the confederation gavo it
definite form. It was the dream of Mackenzie and
his fellow-explorers, who set forth for the great north-
west in their bark canoes, and whose journeys ante-
date by nearly half a century the existence of rail-
ways in this quarter. Not until 1837 — the year di'
the Canadian rebellion — were the first sixteen niik^s
of railroa.d constructed in Canada, the line beinL;" in
operation only some ten years later than the first one
completed in the United States, and about sewn
years later than the first one completed in England.
At that date the greater portion of British North
America was as yet a wilderness, a i'ow trails tliroiiL^h
the forest between lakes Huron and Ontario bcii)'j;
then the grand trunk roads of Canada.

Until the gold discovery in California, the idea was
perhaps never conceived that England's domain in
the north-west would form one with her Canadian

(C40)

KA8T AND WEST.

641

possessions; but alter that event another condition
ot'aftairs prevailed. The stream of inimii^ration tliat
Howed steadily westward throuLjh the British posses-
sions, finding itself barred by Lake Huron and the
mountainous rc<;ion to the north, passed onward into
Michigan and the western states, there beinjx absorbed
in the tide of American travel. It now became evi-
ilent that the surplus ])opulation of Canada West was
destined to overflow into the United States; while, on
the other hand, Vancouver Island ami the mainland
were in damper of fallini; into the hands of foreigners.
Then it was that Great Britian first realized the im-
portance of her })OSsessions on the Pacific.

If England now proposed to maintain herinfiuence
on the western continent, she must not delay much
longer, as it seemed, tiie task of establishing overland
communication between Canada and the Pacific,^ this
heing the only means by which her power could be
consolidated, and the principal reason for establish-
ing colonies on the western shores of the Hudson's
ixiy Company's territory. Such, at least, were the
views ilerived from an inlimale knowledue of tlie
great northern iutisrior, as well as of the Pacitic coast,
and entertained by the advanced intelligence and
statesmanshiji of the mother country. l>y Canada,
liowever, these \iews were not shared, until the fiicis
disclosed durinu* the confederation movement brou'-iit
ho'iiie to her the need of a western outlet; until it wa:s
shown that several hundred thousands of her citizens
liad within a few years been absorbed by the union.
''Canada," write her jNTajesty's emigration counnis-
.■-ioners in their rept)rt for 1871, "cannot at j);'escnt
absorb more than ;]0,000 or 40,000 emigrants a year,
and the e.\cess beyond that number can obtain em[)loy-
iiient only in the labor market of the United Stati-s."^

^ In Filzgi'rald's I'. /., 1 '20-8, it ia i'CCi>iniiiciulcil that a cIkuii of ixists bo
wt.'iblishcd by tho IIiuLsou'a 15ay Co. a tliousaiul miloa in Inij^th, aL'ii.j tho
Ijauks of tho Saskatchewan llivcr, niul theuco wcstw anl, ami that a higliway
Ijc opened for trallic between tho two oceans.

MVilson, Canada and the Can. Par. lia'dimij, 1-', states that between
Htsr. Burr. Col. al

m
m

641:

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

It was not until tlio discovery of the Frascr River
gold-fields in 1858 that tlio project for a railroad l)e-
tween the Atlantic and Pacific, and the idea of a
united British American cmj)ire, first took definite
shape. The Grand Trunk railway, completed about
that (late to Sarnia, was extended in imagination in
New Westminster. Sarnia was to compete witli ])uf-
falo, Montreal with New York,'' and Boston looked
on and said : "While congress is postponing the con-
sideration of the Pacific railway bill from May to JJc-
cend)er, and from December till ^Eay, Great Britain
has her railway to the Pacific already coinnienetd.
. . .Let any one who doubts the joint ability ot
the Canadian and English governments to accomi)Iis]i
so great an enterprise take down the map and look at
the lino of the Grind Trunk, already connecting the
Atlantic with the lakes, and then look at the compar-
atively short distance from Lake Superior to Van-
couver Island."'

For so important a stake as the control of inter-
oceanic commerce, it was of course supposed that
Great Britain would ]>lay boldly; nor did her govern-
ment remain an idle spectator of the events that werr
transpiring in the north-west. "I hope," said hvv
Majesty, in her speech from the throne in 1858, "that
this new colony in the Pacific may be but one stej> in
the career of steady progress by which my dominion>
in North America may be ultimately peopled in an
unbroken chain from the Atlantic to the Pacific b}- a
loyal and industrious population."^

Will tiie line of the Pacific railroad traverse British
Columbia? was now among the absorbing questions of

ISGOand 1870 Can.ula ili<l not absorb any population, busing his statement
on tlio ligures given in tiio Caiiadian Year-Book for 1S73, v here the increase
of population in the province of Qtiebce between ISGl anil 1871 is given at 7.-
per tent, and in Ontario at 1(!.()9 per eent, against 28.01) anil 57.0 percent re-
spectively for the previous decade. In the former province the increase for
ISO 1-71 was below tlie natural rate.

" Lc Journal (Ic Vh'iiijiin', Paris, ISoS.

* Boston Ec. Trauxcrlpt, Juno 5, ISoS.

'' Brawling £stia]/, Brit. Col., 04.

SLOW PROGRESS.

tho day, and ono ot\ijrave import to the newly created
coloiiios and to tlie ootnmercial world, liut, save tliat
an (Miginoers' camp was established at Xew Westmin-
ster in cliarLje of Coloiirl ^[oody, to whom im})()rtant
interests were afterward confided, little was accom-
plished; lor at this date the proje(;t seemed almost
impracticable. No suitable pass liad as yet been dis-
covered;" no column of emigrants, bringing wagons
and herds from the Canadian settlements, had pene-
trated the forest and snow-dad mountains, which, a
few degrees to the south, presented to the early set-
tlers of Oregon no insuperable d'.fticulty. INIoreover,
the country was far too remote from Canada for tlu;
dominion government to construct a road in advance
of emigration. Says Palliser, in his report to the sec-
retary of state for the colonies, in 185'.), after the i'ail-
uve of his ettbrt to find a practicable route to the
Fraser: "Tho manner in which natural obstacles have
isolated the country from all other British possessions
in the cast is a matter of considerable weight; indeed,
it is tho obstacle of the country, and one, 1 fear, almost
beyond the remedies of art."' Then, for a time, the
[troject was forgotten.

In 18G8-9, h vever, British Columbia was yield-

"Tlic Kooteiiai pass, discovered by Capt. IJlakiston, some forty miles north
iif the bouudury, was r),OUO feet above tlic sea-level, ami for seven and a half
miles after entering it, the rise would be one in ISO. 'I'lienec u cutting of
^uinc three and a half niiles would lead to a tunnel 5 miles in length, at a
u'ladient of one in l.'W. Tho line would then skiit the base of the mountains
until it reached a second riilge, with an elevation of T), 10(3 feet, a few miles
fiuni which there was a gradient of about one in '.)'>. J-'or extracts from the
captain's I'eport, see MardoudUl's B. (/. u)ui V. /., 'Jl!7— b'{.

' /(/., '242. The Papers It( lulirc. to tlie. Kfjilonitliui Inj the Expedition iiii'i< r
( 'tifitniii Pallixcr of tlud portion of liriti^h i^'urth Aim rif(i irhirh lii ■< bi/irrc n
'If, Northern Branch of the llivcr SanLdti-hcirnn and (he Frontier of the United
Stdten, and between the lied Riccr and the Itockij Mountain-^, and thenee to the
Piieijic Ocean (London, IS.'iS), form merely .a preliminary report, consisting
M],-iinly of copies of letters to the secretary of state, though containing several
L'cnlogical reports ami maps of tlie country nt;ir Winnipeg, cuinpiled and ar-
luiiged by Dr Hector in systematic form. In the Fnrthir I'ti/iers (London,
iS(it)), the title being otherwise the s'' me, are recorded the I'csultsof his exjic-
ihtiou. In addition to copies of olficial despatches are reports on special suh-
j<'rts, relating to physical features, natural productions, climate, the aborigines,
Iiiilian missions and settlements, tho fur trade, means of transpoi-t, mail antl
telegraph routes, and other matters. Following the title-page is a map, show-
ing tiio routes taken by Palliser and Hector.

;. ■ -s;

Mil

fifl

C44

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

ing a largo amount of gold ; and it was at the former
date, and partly duo to the efforts of Viscount !Mil-
ton in the two houses of parliament, after his ox[)l(j-
ration of the Yellowhead, Thompson, and Frasor
route, that the subject of transcontinental communi-
cation was revived. At this juncture Alfred Wad-
dington presented in the commons a petition in favor
of a Canadian Pacific railway, urging in an elaborate
argument ^ that British Columbia was the key to tho
commerce of the Pacific, the possession of which was
coveted by the United States;" but as yet little inter-
est was awakened in the mother country.

In the Canada Official Gazette of September 28,
18G9, appeared the first notice of the existence of
such an incorporation as the Canadian Pacific llail-
way Company, setting forth that application would
be made at the next session of the Canadian parlia-
ment for a charter to build a railway from Canada to
the British Columbia boundar}'. In the Montreal
Gazette was published the prospectus of tlie promoters,
containing twenty-nine paragraphs, and without sig-
nature.^" If wo can believe Waddington, this jdaii
originated with jNfr Burpee, a Canadian engineer of
his acquaintance, and was compiled fromhi.s own noti's,
without further object than to bring tho nialfri'
before the attention of the public. Burpee's scheme
proposed to raise a capital of £20,000,000, to be ex-
pended mainly on the building of a road from ]\Iiunc-
sota, over the plains of the Saskatchewan, to the
eastern end of the Yellowhead pass. Through AYad-
dingtoii's influence at Ottawa, whither he repaired,
in 1870, by the advice of b's parliamentary friends in
London great prominence ^vas given to the proposi-
tion foi' '; railway in connection with the negotiation

*TIic tcx, f which is yiven in tho Brit. Colonist, Aug. 15, 18CS.

' Ilia viev were not eharcd by Charles Wcntworth Uilke, who remarks,

' In all histor; there is nothing stiangcr than the narrowness of mind that lias

I'.d us to sec Canada a iiicca «t l-'ngland, and in America a hostile countiy.'

O renter Brilo i, i. G7.

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'Copied in the C'olovi

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IN PARLIAMEXT.

of tho terms of union between Britisli Columbia and
Canada; and the Canadian Pacific railway henceforth
had a history apart, and one involving the action of
the two govermncnts.

When the subject of the coniederatior was dis-
cussed in the dominion parliament, the terms relating
to the construction of tiie railway seemed to most
disinterested persons almost impossible of fulfilment,
and many of the strongest friends of the government
\vcr<; opposed to them. In the commons, where the
^[acdonald ministry, then in power, had usually a
majority of three to one, the measure was passed
with difficulty, one motion against it being lost only
by ten votes.*' It is almost certain that the govern-
ment would have been defeated had not the })remier '^
l)romised to introduce a resolution modifying tho ob-
jectionable features, though one altogether inconsist-
ent with the intent of tlie address adopted by tho
house ten days before. It was couched in the follow-
ing phrase: "That the railway referred to in the ad-
dress to her Majesty concerning the union of British
Columbia with Canada, adopted by this house on Sat-
urday, the 1st April instant, should be constructetl
and w^orked by private enterprise, and not by the
dominion government; and that the public aid to
be given to secure that undertaking should consist
of such liberal grants of land, and such subsidy in
money, or other aid, not increasing the present rate of
taxation, as the parliament of Canada shall hereafter
determine." '^

If the construction of the railway was to await
private enterprise, it seems only just that it should
have been so stated, not only in the address, but in
the resolutions that were afterward made bindini>' on
the province and tho dominion as terms of union.

" The numbers were 75 to 85. Eighteen of the regular ministerial sup-
porters voted against it, and many declined to vote. Machenzie'a Can. Pac.
li. Ji., MS., 3; Jour. Commons, 1871, IGl.

''Sir George Cartier, then acting premier.

"/d, 3-4; Jour. Commons, 1871, 264.

646

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

Considering the great difficulties ot' the task, the cer-
tainty of its enormous expense, the fact that by many
sliilt'ul engineers it was considered ahnost impossi-
l)lc at any cost, that most of the route lay through a
wilderness, that the San Francisco of British Cohmi-
bia was then but a village, while the entire whito
population of the colony was less than that of a thiid-
]'ato town, and that transcontinental trathc was already
in tlie lumds of the Central and Union Pacific, it was
extremely improbable that j)ri\ate individuals, pos-
sessing sufficient enter[)rise and capital, would come
ibrward at this juncture. It is certain, moreover,,
that when ]3ritish Columbia merged her individuality
in the dominion, her ])eople believed that the terms
v.ere made in good faith, and that the road would bo
begun and comj^leted within th(! specified time. When,
therefore, as will be mentioned later, the province iii-
s'-ted on the contract, she re[)udiated the resolution
Wiiich the dominion legislature had passed in order to
protect Canada from unreasonable demands, and if
necessary, to avoid the literal fulfilment of its obliga-
tions."

Other events besides the confederation brought the
matter prominently before the minds of the peo[)le.
It was generally understood, when the railway agree-
ment was concluded at Ottawa, that Mr Campbell
went to England for the purpose of ascertaining what
assistance would be given to the enterprise by the
home government.^^ On the American side of the
line the Northern Pacific railway project took shape
simultaneously with the Canadian Pacific, the people
of Minnesota and the western states being fully
awakened, in 1870, to the advantage of an enterprise
that promised to free them, whether at the hands of

'* For a year or two later it appears to have been an open question v. hctlior
tViO line could bo constructed. In liis report, dated Ottawa, Jan. *2(>, IS74,
however, the chief engineer says: 'The practicability of establishing I'ailwiiy
coinmunication across the continent, wholly within tho limits of the domin-
ion, is nu longer a matter of doubt.' Paper/i rcl. Mlmou De Cosmos, 'I'i.

''' Ottawa T' men, quoted in ('olo)iiKt, Aug. 10, 1870.

ENGLISH POLICY.

647

St Louis or Dulutli, from the monopoly held by
Chicago.^"

The English government, to which appeal was
finally taken, decided, as will presently appear, in
I'avor of the province, and it was probably due to the
skill of her statesmen that, during the controversy
which ensued, British Columbia did not sever her
connection with the dominion. The policy of the
secretary for the colonies was somewhat in contrast
with that of Canadian statesmen, though doubtless
there were selfish motives which caused England to
iavor the construction of the road.

The British empire, of which the Canadian Pacific
railwa}?^ would be one of the main lines of intercom-
munication, contained at this time 8,500,000 s(piare
miles, and 239,000,000 people in Europe, Asia, Amer-
i' a, and Australia. Though British America con-
tained but 5,000,000 inhabitants, Great Britain on
the one side had 32,000,000, while India and Austra-
lasia on the other had nearly 200,000,000. It was one
of the problems which the future alone could solve,
whether this great commercial empire could be main-
caincd in its integrity, and especially whetlicr the;
boundary line of tlie 49th parallel, and of the lakes,
fould be held ajjainst the United States with theii-
;>9, 000,000, and their bond of union already estab-
lished by a railway. Moreover, the population of
British Columbia, with an area of 233,000 square
miles, was comparatively far more insignificant in
relation to Canada than was Canada herself to tlie
mother country. When, some few years later, Mr
llo.scoe was taken to task in the dominion parliament
lor demanding on behalf of the province, after it had
refused a fair money equivalent,*' the fulfilment of the
original contract, he denounced in no measured phrase
the sor'lid [)olicy which would lose to Canada her

■it

ill

f
'■):;

t' f"
I' j '

Br I

iifil

^'^ MinneaimU!) Tribune, Jan. 14, 1870.

"The sum of $750,000, aa will be mentioned later.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

frontage on the Pacific, the only thing that could
ever make of the dominion a nation.^®

When British Columbia was admitted into the con-
federation she did not ask a dole of money, nor was
she in need of it. In the Fraser-Thompson district
there were estimated as fit for agriculture GO, 000
square miles, in the upper Columbia district 50,000,
and on Vancouver Island 1C,000 square miles, their
value depending, of course, on means of communica-
tion, being not less than $2.50 to $5 per acre. Lands
along the Grand Rapids and Indiana railway aver-
aged, in 1872, seven dollars an acre; in Ohio, where
wheat was worth ninety cents a bushel, $40 an acre;
unimproved lands in Indiana, where wheat was worth
forty cents, $7.50 per acre;^* the difference in the cost
of forwarding being the main difference in their value.

The interest of the Canadians in the proposoil
transcontinental railroad was mainly directed to the
construction of the eastern end, known as the inter-
colonial road, whereby the ocean voyage was reduced
to a hundred hours, while avoiding the dangers of the
thousand miles of fog and storm-girt coast between
Newfoundland and New York. By those holding
liberal and patriotic views of the destinies of the em-
pire, however, there was manifested a lively interest
in the success of the scheme; and it was argued that
there must have been serious apprehension of a diver-
sion of the trade of the east from the hands of the
English through the opening of the Union and Cen-
tral Pacific railways, or there would not have been so
much haste to insure the completion of the Canadian
road.'"'

England meanwhile supported, though in a some-
what equivocal manner, an enterprise which promised
to complete the chain of her American possessions.
In the British house of commons, on the 24th of

"For copy of Roscoo's speech, see Brit. Colonist, May 28, 1870.
"Canda Year-Book, 1873.

'" Montreal corregpondence of the New York World, on the intercolonial
and Canadian Pacific roads, quoted in Brit. Colonist, Aug. 19, 1873.

PRELIMINARY SURVEYS.

June, 1873, Mr Hugesen oxplainod, on the second
reading^ of the Canadian loan jijuarantGO bill, that the
sum of £2,500,000, which it was then proposed to
raise, was to be appropriated for the construction of
the Canadian Pacific. Sir Charles Dilkc denounced
this guarantee as in the nature of a bribe to Canada,
for the concessions she had made in regard to the fish-
eries, in order that the provisions of the treaty of
Washington might be executed; and declared that
i he railroad was nothing more than a gigantic parlia-
mentary job. To this Gladstone replied that the
guarantee had no connection with the treaty of Wash-
ington, the action on this bill having been purposely
delayed until after that treaty was disposed of, and
its object being, not to give Canada a certain amount
of hush-money, but to recognize her just demands
against England on account of the Fenian raids on
her territory. Canada had suffered on England's ac-
count, and desired thus to cancel the debt.'*'

The time for commencing the construction of the
railway expired on the 1st of July, 1873; but at that
(late none of the surveys were approaching comple-
tion on any portion of the line, and in British Colum-
bia only such exploratory surveys had been made as
were required to determine the direction in which in-
strumental surveys should bo carried on. Between
1871 and 1878 the dominion government expended
some $3,250,000 for explorations and surveys before
the chief engineer finally decided that the route

should be alonsr the val-

through British Columbia

'' London telegram, in Colonist, July 0, 1S73. Wlicn this matter was ar-
ranged, more than a year before, the Tinirs had commented upon tlio matter
in connection witii the decision on the San Juan question, and the (Jauadian
I'aeitio railway scheme. 'This,' said tho Timet, 'is tho Canadian dream, to
wliich it will 1)0 remembered wo aro so far couunitted that, as au iuducc-
mcut to tho Canadian ministers to press the acceptance of tho treaty of
Wiiahington upon tho Canadian parliament, wo undertook to guarantee a loan
(if two millions and a lialf, to be expended on tlio railway which is to make
the dream como true. Wo heartily wish wo wero freo from all complicity in
what we cannot but regard as a very wild undertaking; and wo especially ro-
gict tho way in which wo were brought into connection with it.'

C50

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

leys of the Thompson and Fraser rivers," and its
terminus on Burrard Inlet.^

It was now the prevaihng sentiment among the |)oo-
plo of British Columbia that if Canada vas unwillinL;-
or unable to bind together by means of a tr-iwsconti-
nental railroad her vast possessions west of the great
lakes, she had l)etter at once abandon all idea of em-
pire, since no weaker bond would suffice to hold it to-

'' Flemhni's Hcpt Can. Pac. Railway, 1S79, 17. It would seem tliat Mr
Fleming was somewhat tardy in arriving at this conclusion. In liis rcpoii
for 1874, p. 11, he states that in order to acquire a correct knowledge of the
physical cliaracteristics of tho entire territory in line of route, and to ohtain
such information concerning its engineering features as only a personal exam-
ination could furnish, he started, early in ,July 187-, in charge of an explor-
ing expedition, across tlio continent. On Sept. l.")th he reached Yullowliciul
I'uss, and thence following tho Fraser from its Yellowhead source to Tctu
Jauno Cache, crossed to the Canoo River, and tho Albreda; and from t'.iat
point followed tho north Thompson to Kamloop. Touching, on his way, at
Ly tton, Yale, and New Westminster, and examining Burrard and Bute inlets,
Barclay Sound, Seymour Narrows, Dent, and Arran Rapids, and other inter-
mediate points, he arrived at Victoria on the 11th of October, 'thus complet-
ing a reconnoissauce which altogether extended over 5,300 miles.' Ihipcn
ret. Mh-Moii J)e. Cosmos, 23. Tho journey and reconnoissauce, thus accom-
plished in about 90 days, over a most difficult country, were at least swifter
than the conclusions at which ho arrived; but why some iive or six years
were needed to arrive at these conclusions, the chief engineer does not state.
lie was certainly not stinted for means wherewith to employ a corps of com-
petent assistants.

■■^^Tho chief engineer states that, being required to give his views as t(j a
terminus on the I'acilic, lie submitted that it would be desirable lirst to ob-
tain complete information concerning .a northern route, by way of I'eacc or
I'ine Rivev. The government, however, desired that construction filioulJ
coinnieiico immediately in British Columbia, and as no further postponi'nu'nt
could be allowed, ho recommended tho above line of route. In the same re-
port he admits tliat the choice of Burrard Inlet as a terminus had not given
satisfaction to the people of British Columbia. In a report of the piivy
council of Canada, dated June 0, 1S73, it was ordered, as wo shall see later,
that I'^sipiimalt shou : 1 bo the terminus, though tho alignment on tlio main-
land had not then Ijcen determined. Pnjiers rd. Mission. JJe Cosmos, 7. In
tho same report it was recounnended that a lino of railway bo located be-
tween I'^sqtiiinalt and Seymour Narrows, V^. I. Scss. Papers, P. C, ISSl. In
1S7.") an exploration was made of tho Peace River pass and valley, in ehargo
of Mr Selwyn, with Professor Macoun as botanist, and A. Welister us geo-
logical assistant, in connection M-ith tho choice of a route for the Canadian
Pacific. Tho party left Quesnel, on tho Fraser River, on the oth of June, le-
turning on tho 20th of October, after a journey of 1,700 miles, extending'
over three and a iialf degrees of latitude, and 7 of longitude. The results
will bo found in tho progress report for 1875-0. During the same summer,
George M. Dawson examined tho district between the Homatheo River ami
Fort Ceorg.i, on tho west side of tho Fraser. In 1870 Mr. Dawson was again
in charge of surveys in British Columbia, the results of his investigations oc-
cupying about 140 pages of tho progress report for 187G-7. Tho region exam-
ined lay chiefly in the basins of tho Blackwater and Ncchaco rivers, and
included largo tracts of densely wooiled plateau.

SURVEYS AND LANDS.

681

gether. They had no desire to insist too strictly, as
they declared, on the limit as to time; nor did they
expect tlie dominion to impoverish itself in order to
build the road; but as the construction of the inter-
colonial road from Halifax to Quebec was one of the
terms under which the Atlantic provinces joined the
confederation, so the building of an interoceanic rail-
way was a condition, and the main condition, under
which the Pacific province became one with the do-
minion."*

Although, apart from surveys, little had as yet been
(lone toward the fulfilment of the contract, on the
2Gth of April, 1872, a bill was introduced in parliament
by Sir G. E. Cartier, in which it was proposed to grant
a subsidy of $30,000,000, together with 50,000,000
acres of land, for the construction of a railway from
Lake Nipissing to the Pacific coast. The government
was authorized to make contracts with a single com-
pany for the construction of the entire line, provided
that such company possessed a capital of $10,000,000,
of which ten per cent must be deposited with the re-
ceiver-general. As it might not be possible to come
to terms with a single company, an agreement could
be made with amalgamated com[)a!;;e.>, and, failing
titlier arranfjement, a charter mii»ht be u^ranted to
other capitalists by order in council, under the general
lailroad act. It was desiral^le, howexer, that the
road should be constructed and worked by a single
('or|)oration. The land grant was to be made in alter-
nate blocks, twenty miles in depth, the remaining

-'On the other hand, the orcrau of tliu oi';.o8itif);i party in the dominioii
iiailiainent spoke in 1872 of tlic(j;iiiaili;ii) ; aciiio vail\v;iy project as 'an insiiiic
II iiitract with a handful of pLdiilc \n rriUbh Cohinihin.' Drit. CoJo^iUt, Apr.
I-, 1872. Cartwright, tlic iiiini.^lcr 'i linaticu uiulur Mackenzie's admiiiistra-
lioii, on the overthrow of Macdo:i,;lira a(hniidstration, declared in his sjiooch
at Diinville that 'confederation was Uio mere eh ildi.s'i vanity of haviuLj to nay
tliat they had extended tiie doiiiiiii m from oocan to ocean.' Spcakin'j; of the
I'acilie railway project, he Hr.id; 'li' ever a hody of men wore looponsihh' for
inllieting a great evil on tlie country, it was tin; government wliieli forced on
y\>, in 1871, the task of constructing the Pacific railway, and which thereby
inovided the way for their own downfuU, and also caused great niiseliief and
loss to the people of the whole dominion.' Standard, Oct. 25, 1870.

652

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

blocks being reserved b}-^ governrnent.^^ As to the
money grant, it was anticipated that most of it would
be reimbursed by sales of land. The imperial guar
antee on a loan of £2,500,000, of which notification
had already been received, would reduce somewhat
the rate of interest on the sums to be borrowed; and
it was believed that, without increasing her taxation,
Canada could pay that interest, and establish a sink-
ing fund which would cancel the entire debt within
thirty or forty years.

Alexander Mackenzie replied to Sir G. E. Cartier'.s
speech, characterizing the bill as one which gave to
the government power to do whatever it pleased as to
the construction of the railway. It was notorious, ho
said, that there were already two rings, between wliieh
there was the utmost hostilitj'-, each striving to obtain
the charter, and each largely composed of members of
the dominion parliament. The bill was then read a
lirst time without further discussion, and after beini;
passed to a second and third readin^^, was approved
by the cabinet. News of this measure was immediately
telegraphed to Victoria, and an application for the
charter was at once made by a political clique,"^ which,
as was understood, was about to combine with the
party represented by Sir Hugh Allan, then reputed
one of the richest men in the dominion, and who, with
his associates, Abbott, Foster, "..nd Brydges, arrived
at Ottawa in December 1873. About the same time
John Carling and Major Walker made their appear-
ance at the capital as the leading representatives of
the rival company.^'' Thus there was no difficulty in

^•' Every alternate block of that size along the line of route, then estimated
at about 2,700 miles, would give only 34,r>UO,000 acres. It was proposed to
furnish the remainder from government lands in other parts of the dominion.
As tlio reader will remember, according to tlie terms of the union the land
grant in ]J. C. territory was to be 20 miles in depth. The main provisions of
the bill, as explained by Sir G. E. Cartier, will be found in tlic Brit. Colony,
May 10, 1872.

^"Do Cosmos, Powell, Robertson, Walkcni, Drake, Haymur, 'Wallace, ami
'i'honipson.

'-'' Id., Jan. 1, May 23, 29, 1873. The first was known as the Montreal oi-
(}achcc company, and the sjcond ai t!ic Toronto or Ontario company, from tlie
fact cf their loaders being from Montrcr.1 and Toronto respectively.

A COMPANY FORMED.

forming an association in command of the requisite
amount of capital. It was the policy of the cabinet,
however, to select the most responsible and best qual-
ified men from either party, and before the close of
the year the charter was granted to an association
composed of members of both companies, together
with some of the wealthiest residents of British Co-
lumbia.

On the 1st of March, Allan and his colleagues met at
Ottawa and elected as directors the charter members."*
A synopsis of the articles of agreement of the Pacific
Railway Construction Company was published in the
Colonist of May 14, 1873, giving a list of the names
of its members, among whom were Sir Hugh Allan.
Sandford Fleming., J. H. Helmcken, and Sir John
Macdonald. Allan's prospectus appeared immedi-
atcly afterward in the newspapers of tlic dominion,
stating the work proposed to be accomplished, and
the moneys needed for the purpose.

Proceeding to London, Sir Hugh attempted to raise
the sum of $108,000,000 in behalf of his venture — a
railway to bo built through an almost uninhabited and
unexplored country, with a subsidy of $30,000,000.'''^
But capital is conservative, and cspeeiall}'' English
capital. Attempting, therelbrc, to forge in England
his financial chain. Sir Hugh met with little encoiir-
ageiaent. That money invented in a wiklernuss, though
for the most part a Ibrtile wilderness, would, merely
tlirough the construction of a railrotid, yield within
i!ie span of a generation, or even of two generations,

■■* J>rit. Colonist, Miuxli 19, 1873. Four of the ilircctovs were to retire at
C.ic cud of the first and secouil ycar.s, five at the ciul of the third, aud so on
(!':iiii'4 succeeding years.

-'■'Aljout this date the Xorthcrii Pac. railway failure occtirrod, vliilo for tlie
iiiirthern colonization road iJl.OoO.OOO was asked, aud for other roadd fr7,0'J0,-
''.)'■). La JJincrvc, hi I>ril. Culonisf, ^liiy 14, 1^7.■). On the '27th of Octoher,
I^SJ, the Northern Pacifio made application to tlio X. Y. f^loclc exchan;^o to
iiit iJ'-'0, 000,000 eecoud-mortgago bonds, its statcinent for the jirevions niontli
: iiowing aa Ri'0S3 earnings 1?1, '-'-•'>, 000, a;;ainst operaliu',' expenses aud taxes
;■. mounting toii!r)CO,000, or §000,000 1 if net earnings. At tiiat date tiie connnoa
•'-'lOck was quoted at about §ild, preferred at H'.i, and first-niortga; ; bonds ati
l.)'J. ,S'. /'. Bulleliii, Oct. 27, ISSo.

It-

-1

654

THE CANADIAN PACT PIC RAILWAY.

a fair return on the outlay, was a proposition that
found little favor in Great Britain. Said the carl
of Dufferin, addressing an audience at Victoria somk!
three vears later, and uiludinfj of course to the terms (jt
the union: "When the bargain was made, everythiu<r
in Canada was prosperous, and it was supposed that a
Canadian PaciHe railway could be easily constructed.
]iut ignorance of the route was not taken into consid-
eration; and obliging herself to commence the wor]^
in two years and finish it in ten years, Canada assumed
a phj^sical impossibility, as the surveying alone would
require several years."^'

Thus the contract made with Sir Hugh Allan and
his com))any in 187.5 fell through, and was formally
annulled, the $1,000,000 of cash deposited as security
being of course returned.

Meanwhile an election had been held, and one at
which the main point at issue was the railway scheme.
The American road, it was said, had cost $200,000,000,
and the Canadian Pacific would cost $300,000,000, no
heed being paid to the fact that the cost of the former
was computed in greenbacks, and at a time when
greenbacks were worth only fifty to seventy per cent
of their face value in gold. Moreover, early in 18G;]
it became known that Sir Hugh had obtained the con-
tract by advancing a largo sum of money in order to
carry the elections, and a formal charge was brought
against the ministry in the dominion parliament."

3' Victoria telegram, in S. F. Alia, Sept. 2.3, 187G.

■^^Mackenzie's Mem. Can. Pat: Railway, MS., 5; Drit. ColouUt, An,'. 7,
1873. L. S. Huntington of Montreal, on tlio 2cl of April, 1873, niado tln-lnl-
lowing specific eliargca in tlio domiuiou parliament: Tliat lio w;;s credibly
informed, and believed lie could prove, that in anticipation of tlio Icgi.slatidii of
last session in regard to the I'acilio railway, an .ngrcemcnt w.ns iiuulo butucuii
.Sir Hugh Allan and other Canadian promoters, and G. W. McMullen, .Tctiiii;
on the ]iart of United States capitalists, whereby the latter agreed to fiiiiiisli
all tho funds necessary for tho construction of tho contemplated railwiiy, iunl
to give the former a certain percentage of interest in consideration ol tlicii'
positi()n giving tho company the character of a Canadian com[)any with lliicrh
All, m at its head; that tlio Macdonald government wore aware such iiogoti-
ations were pending; and thatsubsecjnently thereto an undcr.standing wa^ coriio
to l)etw(!en tlio government, Hugh Allan, and Abbott, ono of the members of
tho house of coninions, that Allan and his friends should advance a large sum
of money for tho purpose of aiding in the election of ministers and their sup-

MORE WRANGLING.

055

An extra session was called for October, in order to
deal with this charfje, and durinijf the debate on a
motion of want of confidence, moved by Alexander
Mackenzie, Sir John JVIacdonald resij^ned, the for-
mer being called upon to form an administration. In
-luly 187;J the executive council of British Cohuu-
l)ia, Josepli W. Trutch being then governor of the
province,^' fornudly called the attention of the domin-
ion government to the non-fullihnent of the terms of
union so far as they related to the commencement of
;i railroad.^'* Thus the new ministrv soon Ibund itself

linitei's lit tho ensuiug election, ami that Allan ami his friends Khould receive
the contract for constructiug tho railway; that Allan did advaneo such
iiidiicy; nud that part of tho nioncya so expended by him in connection witli
tho obtaining of the act of incorporation and charter were paid by U. S.
cipitalists under the agreement with him. lioyal C'ommlxsiun Ji\'}jt Pac.
/.'(ulirai/, 3-'.'). Sir John Macdonald moved the appointment of a eonimitteo
ot'hve to iuvcstigato the cliarges, which was agreed to; l)ut before further
progress had been made, the gov. -gen., Lord Dntl'erin, by the advice of the i;i-
nilpated ministry, suddenly jirorogued tho parliament, without obtaining it.s
consent to the discharge of tho committee. In lieu thereof, he appointed a
royal commis.sion to luake tho investigation. Macdonald acknowledged re-
ceiving .^4.">,000 fi-oni Hugh Allan to control tho elections; but claimed that
it was an independent transaction. It was shown that Allan had advanix'd as
much as §100,000, and it wiis presimied that those who took the money and
used it for political purposes well knew that it was given in tho cxpeetatiun
:iiid with tho understauiling that tlio railway sehenio would receive the sup-
port of tho niinistiy; tho eonseipienec being that everything in eonnoction
uitli the ))i'oject was tainted with suspicion, even thougli it did not appear
tiiiit the interests of the country had been really sacriliced. Londun 'J'inifn,
Sept. ID, 1S7<'>. Huntington's charges were founded upon tho eonteiit.j
iif a package of letters left by Hugh Allan with Mr Starnes for safe-keeping
lifter his ilisagreement with Mc.Mullen and the American capitalists, being
the correspondeneo between them on +!ie subject of tho railway. A rumor of
their existence got abroad, and tlie party in opposition to Maedonald'sadinin-
istiation became aware of their contents through tlio instrumentality of the
ihsappointed cx-partuers of Allan's company.

''■'Trutch, a native of England, and a civil engineer by profession, emigrated
to C;d. at an early day, and obtaining a contract for suiveying lands in Or.,
I oou afterward removed thither, where ho married a sister of the sur. -gen.
AlK)ut the year lSo8 ho arrived in \'ietoria, where, on the departure of Col
Moody, ho was appointed acting chief eommi.soioncr of liuidsand worl;:i, belli;;
elected, before the confederation, a member of tlio legislative eouneii. He
was accounted a shrewd politician, not over-trutliful of j-pjeeli, !;n able ri'.ler,
.'iiiil one having always at heart the interests of tho jirovinee, though nmer
titigetting those of Joseph W. Trutch. JJc Co'^iiio.i (j'oct, JIS., 'Jl-"_'; HV.'y
lirit. Col., Feb. 15, 1871; Brit. CuL, May 2:?, 1870. lu his Uritix/i dliini-
hill and the Canadian Pacijic Jtailwui/, Sjiaechhi/ and Contjilim' ular;i llinu'i-
ly) llic lion. Mr Trutch at the liussiU Jlouyc, Ottawa, April 10, ISil, Montreal
I S71, is clearly brought out tho then condition of the railroad <iuestion, its
completion within the specified time being insisted upon as a fiuidamental
ecmclition of tho confederation.

'■"Tho committee regret that the construction of tho railway has not

^ 'fl

656

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

hampered with this lonjif-vexed question, and in the
liopc of arriving at some agreement with the province,
sent to Victoria, as a special agent, James 1). Edgar,
a Toronto barrister.^

Reaching the capital in the spring of 1874, Edgar
addressed a letter to G. A. Walkem, attorney-general,
wherein he states that the scheme originally adopted
had, for a variety of reasons, proved almost imprac-
ticable, and that it was now the aim of the cabinet to
devise a more feasible plan. The main difficulty was
the stipulation as to time, and in requesting an ex-
tension of time, the government asked only for a
reasonable concession. The engineering difficult its
were so much greater than had been expected, that it
would be impossible to build the road within the datos
specified without wasteful expenditure and fiiiaiieinl
embarrassment. In order to make amends for tliis
disa[)pointment, the dominion cabinet proposed to
begin at once the lino between Esquimalt and Xa-
nainio, completing that portion in the shortest po.s.sil)lo
time. As to the mainland, it was useless to b^'giu
construction before oven the entire route had beeu
{{uall}'- selected; but the government would ininitdi-

bccu commciiccil, and therefore sh-oiigly iirotcst npainst the brcacli hy llio
dominion govt of a condition of tlio terms so lii.^hly inipovtiint to llie
[irovincc' Order in council, in Sws. Papern, Brit. Col., ISSi, 1-1(1. To tl-.is
minute, forwarded by the lieiit-gov. to the .secretary of suite, K. J. Laiii," viii,
mider-secrotary, merely replied that the despatch and its enclosures would l)-.;
at onco laid lieforo the gov. -gen. In Kov. a second minuto was forwardcu,
couched in somewhat peremptory phrase. Taking into consideraliuii that no
reply waa made to the former protest; that the donnnion jiarliameut liini
l.iccn prorogued without making any provision for the construction of the rail-
way; that the legislature of 13. 0. was convened for the 18tli of Dec; aud tli;;i
the non-fulfilment of the terms of union had caused much anxiety auil dis-
couragement throughout the province — the committee of council advi^icd tlio
licTit-gov. to ask for a decided expression of the policy of the dominion govt.
The answer was, that the eahiuet was giviug its most earnest cousider.itioa
to the project for the construction of the Pacific railway, an outline (if Asliiili
v/as given iu the speech delivered hy .^Ir Macken/ic at Sarnia on tlio 'J5ili 1 1
Nov., a scheme which they believe will be acceptable to the whole doniiiii'Hi,
including li. C, and that they hope to be able, Mithin a short lime, to i "i.i-
iiiuiucate more deliuitely with that province on tho subject, /'/., It. SI, !•">-.
Jlero we have probably tho inception of tho Pacific railway bill, of wIimIi
more ])rescutly.

^' In one of hia letters of introduction, Mackenzie states that he ^yould liave
sicnt a member of the cabinet but for tho near approach of tho meeting of par-
liament.

VVALKEM AND EDGAR.

057

ately open a wagon-road along the portion that lay
within the province, and constiuct a telegraph line,
placing British Columbia in direct communication
with Canada. Although the terms of the union con-
tained no provision for the amount of expenditure
during any special period, or on any particular portion
of the line, and although the length falling within
the province was not estimated at more than one fifth
of the entire length, the dominion government pro-
posed, as soon as the surveys were completed, a mini-
mum expenditure of $1,500,000 a year on the work
of construction within the province, thus securing its
progress without intermission.

Walkeni replied that ho would submit Edgar's pro-
posals to the local administration, but could not advise
the lieutenant-governor in council to treat them as
official until he was assured that the former was spe-
cially accredited as agent of the general government.
At this letter the barrister took offence, freely ex-
pressing his disgust, and requesting that the proposals
of the dominion government should receive tlio con-
sideration to which they were entitled. The answer
of the attorney-general was again somewhat insulting,
though covered with a thin lacquer of professional
courtesy. Ho had received but one letter froni Mr
^Fackenzie, he said — and that not an ofliclal one —
wherein Mr Edgar's mission was expressly stated to
l)e for the purpose of holding personal interviews wltli
the members of the executive council, in order tliat
the policy of the provincial government might be
ascertained without a tedious correspondence. lie
must be pardoned, therefore, when he considered it
his duty to ask for Mr Edgar's oflicial authority.
This information he had not yet received. In his
further efforts to negotiate with tlie executive, Edgar
fared even worse. His letter of introduction to the
lieutenant-governor, couched in somewhat ambigu-
ous phrase for the credentials of a plenipotentiary,^''

"It reads as follows: Fob. 21, lS7t. Sir: The bcaror is James D. Edgar,
Hut. Brit. Col. ii

658

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

was not even delivered, as tlie executive council
objected to any coninmnication being made except
through themselves.'^'' Nevertheless he sent a brief
note to the chief magistrate, enclosing a copy of his
communication to the attorney-general, though it dots
not ai)pear that any notice was taken either of his
missive or of its enclosure. On the contrary, the
executive council, by advice of the attorney-general,
(jn the day when the latter received a curt reply frum
the barrister, reconnnendcd his Excellency to ascertain
by telegraph whether Edgar was empowered to nego-
tiate with the provincial government, and whetlier
his ])ropositions would, if accepted, be considered bind-
ing by the dominion government. Mackenzie's answei-
was brief and somewhat emphatic: "I refer niinistiy
to my letter by Mr Edgar, which sufficiently indi-
cated his mission, and which they recognized. He is
now recalled, and I await his return and reports."
Three days later, on the 21st of May, 1874, the attor-
ney-general sent word to the premier of the dominion:
"Will you kindly answer governor's telegram fully?
Do Mr Edgar's propositions to change railway terms
bind your government?" On the 8th of June Trutch
was informed that the proposals were withdrawn;
whereupon the latter at once appealed to the home
government,*' complaining of a breach in the terms
of the union, a petition being also forwarded to her
Majesty.

Thus through a want of precision in the negotia-

Ksq., barrister, Toronto, who visits Columbia as the agcut of the ilominion
government to consult with your gc>vernmcnt with reference to the late a;;!-
tation concerning an extennioa of time for the construction of the I'acilic
railway beyond that prc>>i'<ist d in the terais of union. Mr Edgar will ex-
plain to your Excellency our aiixicty to do everything in our power to incut
the views of your people, Fj v. ill be f^'lul to receive your suggestions cou-
ccrning matters which may .equiro attention. I am, etc., A. Mackuuzio.

'"lu a despatch to Trutch, dated Ottawa, Mar. 24, 1875, Mackenzie slates
that if he had known this to bo the case he would have directed Edgar to de-
liver the letter notwitlistanding the objection.

" Copies of tlie petition aud of all the correspondence, including Edgar's

Erivate instructions from the premier, his communication to the atty-gen., and
is report to the sec. of state for Canada, will be found iu the Railway Papers,
in Seas. Papers, D. C, 1881, 155-79.

people

W(>re t]

liad b(

almost

diminii.

1874,

project,

'lividod

to the

I^ake ;^

from Ii(

ton and

<"roni th

some pc

was to I

into subs

the line,

tractors ^

together

'juality a

tracted f

interest l

l>o stipula

to own ar

tions as tc

'ind numb

'I'oin time

.i,^ovornmci

•'ill the Ian

i'l>"n by tl

to the latt

^^■ay, or an

actual cost

land and m

" Wihon'a C

PACIFIC RAILWAY BILL.

tions with tho provincial executive, through want of
statesmanship on one side, and through want of for-
bearance on both sides, a serious rupture was tlireat-
oned between the province and the dominion. Tiiu
l)eoplc of British Columbia — now sorely discontent —
w(!re not to blame if their hopes and their ambition
had been unduly excited by promises which it was
almost impossible to fulfd. Nor was their discontent
diminished by the passage, late in tho session (»['
1874, of the Pacific Kailway bill. According to this
project, introduced by Mackenzie, the line was to bu
divided into four sections: first, from Lake Nij)issing
to the western end of Lake Su})erior; second, from
Lake Superior to lied River, in Manitoba; third,
from Red River to some point between Fort Edmon-
ton and the foot of the Rocky Mountains; fourtli,
from the western terminus of tho third section to
some point in British Columbia. The government
was to be at liberty to divide any oi' these sections
into subsections, and might at its discretion construct
the line, or any part of it, as a public work. Con-
tractors were to receive a subsidy of $10,000 per mile,
together with 20,000 acres of land, of fair average;
(j^uality and in alternate sections, for each mile con-
tracted for, and also a guarantee of four per cent
interest for twenty-five years, on such sum as niiglit
be stipulated in the contract. The contractors were
to own and run their sections, subject to such regula-
tions as to rates of fare and freight, accommodation,
and number and description of trains, as might be made
from time to time by the governor in council. The
TOvernment reserved the risjrlit to sell two thirds of
all the land grants at such j)rices as might be agreed
U[)on by the contractors, the proceeds to be paid over
to the latter, and also the right to purchase the rail-
way, or any portion of it, for a sum not exceeding the
actual cost, with ten per cent added, the subsidies in
land and money being first deducted from the amount "

" Wilson's Canada and Tlie Can. Pac. Raiboay, 13-14.

(JGO

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

To this measure there were several weighty objec-
tions. First of all, it was framed in such a manner
that detached sections of the road might be built and
operated by several companies, and those interspersed
with other sections owned by the dominion. It was
a moral certainty that if responsible parties could bo
Ibund to accept contracts they would take only those
which would give them the best sections, leaving the
rcuiainder to the government. No transcontinental
rail'.vay in America, whether built or in contempla-
tion, would lay open to settlement so vast an extunt
of agricultural land as the Canadian Pacific, and tl'c
more valuable sections should have been so distributed
as to aid in the construction of inferior portions.
Second, the condition whereby government retained
the right to sell two thirds of the land grants, at sucli
prices as might be agreed upon, was one that few busi-
ness men would entertain, for the dominion would
possess as much land along the line of route as tlic
contractors, and could force the latter to accept its
own terras. Tlien the clause depriving contractor.^ of
the privilege of determining rates of laro and frciglit
was most objectionable, for on this matter, even il'
traffic were abundant, the profits would mainly de-
pend. Finally, tlio power reserved by government to
buy up any or all of the sections, at ten per cent
above tlieir cost, was n stipulation not likely to find
favor with capitalist.s. Under such an agreenient, a
[portion of the line might bo worked, for in.stance, I'u'
a term of twenty years, by a company of stockludd-
er;s; and if, at the end of that period, their section
had developed into a paying property, they might ho
called upon at any time to surrender it, recclvinc,^
back barely their purchase money, with one hali' of
one per cent a year added by way of interest, and
losing perhaps, meanwhile, several millions iu work-
j ng expenses.^"

'" 'Xilmii'n Canada and Cnn. Pur. Unihrajf, passim. Mackrnziu's project
waa vijjorously attuckcil iu iiriUsli Coluuibia iu coiiuoctiou with iiulilKal
iinyuca.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

1874-1883.

The Caknarvon Terms— Their Acceptance — Defeat of the Esquimait
AND Nakaimo Railway Bill — The Provi.vcial Lf.gisl,\tciie'.s Tetitiom
TO HER Majesty — Rejoinder of the Dominion Co\'ernmi:nt — Visit of
THE Earl of Dcfferin — His Sfeecii at Victoria— Threats of Se-
cession — A Second Petition to the Qi-een— PRorosEn Annexation
TO THE United States — One Moi:e Peiition — Contract with the
Syndicate — Engineering Difficulties — Port Moody— Reasons for
its Selection as the Terminus— Completion of the Line — A Costly
Undertaking — The Road Built as a National Hichway.

On the 11th of June, 1874, the secretary of state for
the colonies was informed by telegram that a delegate
was about to proceed to London for the purpose of
laying before the home government the complaints of
the provincial legislature as to the breach in the terms
of union. Exactly one week later a confidential mes-
sage from the banking firm of Faulkner, Bell, & Co.
was received by Governor Trutch, stating that the
oarl of Carnarvon had consented to arbitrate, and that
both parties had concurred. In a despatch to the
governor-general, liearing the same date, the earl re-
marked that it was neither his wish nor any part of
his duty to intcifero in the controversy. It seeiiied
to be one which the dominion jjovernment and le<xisla-
ture should bring to a satisfactory conclusion, and lier
Majesty's government was reluctant to take any action
which might imply a doubt whether the former would
deal with the province in a fair and liberal spirit. Ho
. \dercd his services only because he was re;- jlved

662

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

that no means should be spared to bring about a speedy
and amicable settlement of a question which could not,
witliout disadvantage to both parties, remain the sub-
ject of a prolonged and acrimonious discussion,^

After some correspondence on botli sides, Earl
Dufferin forwarding for consideration a report of the
privy council, in which it was made to appear that tlut
government of British Columbia had no just or rea-
sonable ground of complaint, while on the other lian (,
the attorney-general for the province argued his cajso
with considerable acumen, on the I7th of November,
1874, the decision was rendered. Only in two mate-
rial ])oints did it differ from the terms proposed hy
Mr Edgar: first, the minimum expenditure within llh
province after the completion of the surveys was to
be 62,000,000 instead of $1,500,000 a year; seconc
the limit of time for the completion of the road'' ^Voh,
the Pacific seaboard to a point at the western nnd tl
Lake Superior, at which it will i'all into connection
with the existing lines of railway through a portion ot
the United States, and also with the navigation on
Canadian waters," was altered to the 31st of Decem-
ber, 1890. To construct thus early the remainder of
the line north of Lake Superior, extending to the Ca-
nadian lines then in operation, ought not, as the carl
considered, to be required He hoped, however, that
at no very distant day a continuous line of road would
be built throusjhout the lenofth of the dominion.^
The earl's decision, or as it was afterward known, the
Carnarvon terms, was accepted by both parties, though
with a reservation on the side of Canada, providing
that, in accordance with the resolution passed by tho
dominion parliament in April 1871, the lino should bo
built without increase in the rate of taxation.'

'For copy of despatch, sec Sess. Papem, D. C, 1881, 182-3.

^/d., 210-11; Mackcnzir's Miin. Cdii. Par. Rnihmy, MS., 5-0.

"Ill a niiuuto of council dated March 13, 1870, wo read: 'It must bohonie
iu mind that every step in tiio negotiation was necessarily predicated upon
and subject to the conditions of tiio resolution of the house of conmons passed
in 1871, contemporaneously with the adoption of the terms of union with IJ.
C. subsequently enacted iu the V. l\ rail.- ay act of 1872, and subsequently

const]
was a
]lowe^
j)ose ii
<'arrie(
hy a n
it bein
huildir
tended
apart f
obligat
Thus t:
as prac
the ne<
the bre
Earlj
nor Tn
cl OS i no-
it Avas c
almost (
von set
huildin
Jand, nd
intendec
iiicnt re
>*ection
'■arried
had fulfil
■• 'anada,
•"minioi;
uiution

rt^nacted, af
<-• 1'. lailway
inishniciitof 1
siicli subsidy
taxation, as t
termination r
tained by pub
necessity cont
* The vote

'.&.

THE QUESTION REOPENED.

663

The portion of Mr Edgar's proposal relating to the
construction of a railway from Esquimalt to Nanaimo
was also embodied in the Carnarvon terms. When,
liowever, the premier introduced a bill for this pur-
pose in the dominion parliament, the measure, though
carried in the commons, was defeated in the senate
hy a majority of two,* among those who voted against
it being several members of the premier's party. The
building of this road, it was argued, was merely in-
tended as compensation for delay, and was altogether
apart from the terms of union, in which there was no
obligation to extend the line to Vancouver Island.
Thus the entire question, whicli had been considered
as practically settled, was reopened for discussion, and
the negotiations which ensued served but to widen
the breach between the two governments.

Early in 187 G a despatch was forwarded by Gover-
nor Trutch to the secretary of state for Canada, en-
closing a copy of a petition to her Majesty, in which
it was complained that the dominion government had
almost entirelv disregarded the terms of the Carnar-
von settlement. They had neither commenced the
building of the railroad on the island nor on the main-
land, nor of the wa":on-road or engineering trail
intended to facilitate railroad work ; nor had the agroo-
Hient relating to the construction of the provincial
section of the transcontinental telegraph line been
• arried out. It was claimed that British Columbia
!);k1 fulfilled all the conditions of her agreement with
( 'anada, while, through the repeated violations by the
iominiou of the railway terms, all classes of the pop-
ulation of the province had suffered loss. Distrust

». i'

rcLnautud, after a Inrgo addition had been iiiado to the rate of taxation, in tho
<A 1*. railway act of 187-4 — that the public aid to be given to secure tho accom-
lilislnnontof the undertaking should consist of such liberal grants of land and
such subsidy in money or otiier aid, not increasing the then existing rate of
taxation, aa the parliament of Canada should thereafter determine. This de-
termination not to involve tho coiuitry in a hopeless burden of debt is sus-
tained by public opinion everywhere throughout tho dominioD, and must of
necessity control tho action of tho government.'

*The vote was 23 to 21. Papers rcl. Mmion De Cosmos, 74.

664

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

had been created; trade and commerce had been un-
settled ; the progress of the country had been checked,
and the confident anticipations of commercial and
political advantage to be deiived from the construc-
tion of the line had given place to a feeling of depres-
sion. The petitioners therefore submitted that the
conditions of the settlement effected through the in-
tervention of the secretary of state for the colonics
should be carried out in letter and in spirit.^

In a report of a committee of the privy council of
Canada, dated the 13th of March, mainly in answer
to these allegations, is a review of the whole contro-
versy as it then stood. The western terminus of
the road, urged the dominion, was a question that did
not enter into the agreement between Canada and
Bri .'^vi Columbia, but one to be determined by the
govej; aneral in council. The first action taken
in this .. ,ter was in June 1873, when, most injudi-
clously in the opinion of the committee, an order in
council was passed selecting Esquimalt as the ter-
minus. If this decision had nc<t been reversed, the
government would have been c mpelled to construct
thence more than a hundred and sixty miles of rail-
way to some point opposite Bute Inlet, at a cost of
about $7,500,000, while the bridging of the Narrows
— the latter a most gigantic undertaking — would re-
quire a further outlay of more than $20,000,000. The
Mackenzie administration had from the first declined
to adopt this portion of the policy of its predecessors.
They had offered, however, as compensation for delay,
a cash bonus of $750,000, or about $75 per capita of
the white population of tiic province; but this offer
had been refused." So far from the province having

^Sess. Papers, B. C, 1881, 329-31.

'As to thia matter there was soino misunderstanding on the part of thi
government of B. C. In a report of tlio privy council dated Sept. 20, 187''.
and referring mainly to the construction of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo rail-
way, it is recommended that the people of B. C. should construct this line them-
selves, or undertake such other local public works as they think best, and that
the compensation granted by Canada 'for any delays whicii pis'.;' take place
in the construction of the Pacific railway should be in the for:n of a ca^li

SEPARATION THREATENED.

666

suffered loss and deprivation from the union, as was
alleged, it had already derived therefrom no incon-
siderable advantage. Apart from railway expenditure,
Canada had, between the date of the union and the
close of 1875, spent $1,204,388 over the amount
derived from rcvenuc.'^ The object of the provincial
legislature appeared to be, not to secure the com-
pletion of the road as a national undertaking under
such conditions as would tend to the welfare of the
entire community, but to enforce an enormous ex-
penditure, at whatever cost to Canada, within their
own province, and for which that province could
render no equivalent. The urgency with which the
government of British Columbia demanded this ex-
penditure, with a view to secure vast profits for a
small popu> -tion, would not encourage the people of
the dominion i,o support their rulers in the effort to
fulfil, as far as possible, the appalling obligations to
which they were committed. In conclusion, it re-
mained only, undc^ the circumstances, to endeavor to
construct the railway as rapidly as the resources of
the country would permit.

Here for the moment negotiations practically ceased,
and separation from the dominion was for the time
openly threatened, the executive council expressing
in their reply the fullest confidence that her Majesty
would noi, require her subjects in British Cohuubia,

bonus,' to 1)0 expended aa the legislature might determiuc. lu the petition to
the queen this was interpreted as an indemnity to bo paid on condition tliat
the agreement for a yearly expenditure of §2,000,000 within the province, and
for tlio completion of the road to Lake Superior before tlic end of 1800, siiould
bo sun jndercd. In a letter to DafTcrin, dated Jlay '2.?, 1870, Carnarvon says:
'I cannot but suppose tliai the complaints tl;at have readied mo from tlie
govt of 13. C. have been founded on a misapprehension, witli reference to llio
•expression used in tho Canadian minute of council,. . .as well as to tlm in-
tentions of the dominion minister.' Correspondence Can. I'ac. ItaiUcay, 11.

' 'J'lic total expenditure for tho four and a half years was §;},0S;i,.')(i.').'JI , and
the total revenue $l,S70,'2"2ll.3!J. ^leanwliile the railway expenditure was
.?fi70, 144.39, making a total excess of expenditure of §2,080, l^s^.oO, or about
5208 per capita of the population. Sesn. Puper.^, B. ('., 1881, '2;]'J. 'I'd this
tlie executive council of tlio province replied that a large part of tlie expendi-
ture was incidental to the extension of the system of coiifodoration over a new
province, and that the disbursements would be greatly reduced after the com-
pletion of the public buildings and works provided for in tlic terms of union.

609

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

however few in number, to submit to injustice from the
majority to which they had united themselves on dis-
tinct and carctully considered terras. Unless means
were promptly taken to remove this sense of inju.<^-
tico, and to satisfy the people that their rights would
bo maintained, the " growing alienation of sentiment
must result prejudicially to the interests of the em-

In a despatch to the earl of Carnarvon, enclosing a
copy of the report to the privy council, the governor-
general states that he is about to visit the western
portion of the dominion, mainly with a view to bring
about a settlement of the diiferences with British Co-
lumbia. From this visit much was expected. With
the authority of his rank and office, Duflferin com-
bined, in no limited degree, sound, practical judg-
ment, tact, and temper, together with much official
experience. He was an adroit and versatile diplomatc,
one who never gave offence, and who well knew how
to make allov\'ance for local prejudices, and to smooth
artificial impediments. If he failed in his efforts to
adjust the dispute, then the difficulty might almost
be regarded as insurmountable. So hopeful, how-
ever, was the secretary for the colonies of his suc-
cess, that he postponed his reply to the minutes
of council from British Columbia and Canada, and
deferred laying before her Majesty the petition of
the provincial legislature until he was informed as to
the result of Dufferin's visit.®

After making a tour of the provinces, northward
as far as the borders of Alaska, and eastward to
Kamloop, on the 20th of September, 1876, the
governor-general addressed a deputation of the rocon-
tion committee at Victoria. Dufferin was a trained
and polished speaker for an English nobleman, some-

^Id., 18S1, 245. Tho report of the executive council is dated June 3,
187G.

* Correspondence Can. Pac. Railwat/, 11.

DUFFERIN'S ADDRESS.

Mft

what ornate, but still an orator of marked ability.
All his eloquence was thrown away, however, on this
self-willed audience. In vain did he exert to the
utmost his well-known powers of pleasing; in vain
did he compliment his hearers on their unswerv-
ing loyalty, and the province on its amazing resources;
in vain did he dwell on the idyllic beauty of its scen-
ery, its noble harbors, and its labyrinth of navigable
channels, winding for thousands of miles around
islands, promontories, and peninsulas, unruffled by
the faintest swell from the neighboring ocean, and
adapted as well to the largest merchantman as to
the frailest canoe ; in vain did he point to the agri-
cultural and pastoral resources of the country, its
wealth in gold and silver, coal and iron, fisheries and
forests, winding up his glowing picture by declaring
British Columbia to be " a glorious province — a prov-
ince which Canada should be proud to possess, and
whose association with the dominion she ought to
regard as the crowing triumph of federation." Of
all this the people of British Columbia were well
aw'ire, though probably they did not object to being
reminded of it. They had nev^er doubted that their
country was one which Canada should be proud to
possess, and had always regarded their union as the
brightest jewel in the dominion crown. What they
complained of was that Canada did not keep faith
with them, and thereb}'" show a becoming pride in her
new acquisition, instead of appearing entirely indifFer-
out as to the stability of the federal edifice. Passing to
the main point of his address, the earl assured his audi-
ence that he came on no diplomatic mission, nor as
• •no intrusted with any announcement either from the
imperial or the dominion government. His visit was
in order to become acquainted with them as the rep-
resentative of her Majesty, to ascertain their wants
and wishes, and to learn as mu<:h as possible concern-
ing the physical features and resources of the prov-
ince. He had no desire to persuade them into any

.1)

668

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

line of action that did not accord with their own
interests, and he would neither make any new prom-
ises on behalf of his government nor renew any old
ones; least of all did ho wish to force upon them any
I'urther modification of the Carnarvon terms. Nev-
ertheless, the greater part of his speech was devoten
to an elaborate exculpation of the Canadian govern-
ment, though he did not deny that British Columbia
had suftcred in many respects through the non-ful-
filment of the terms of union.

Touching on the question of the Esquimalt and
Nanaimo railway, he stated that he well knew the
importance which they attached to this portion of
the work, and admitted that its immediate execution
was definitely included in the Carnarvon settlement.
He was not surprised, therefore, that the miscarriage
of this part of the bargain should have caused so much
irritation. "Two years have passed," he said, "since
the Canadian government undertook to commence the
construction of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo railway,
and the Nanaimo and Esquimalt railway is not even
commenced, and what is more, there does not at pres-
ent seem a prospect of its being commenced. What,
then, is the history of the case? and who is answerable
for 3'our disappointment? I know you consider Mr
Mackenzie. I am not here to defend Mr Mackenzie,
liis policy, his proceedings, or his utterances. I hope
this will bo clearly understood." Notwithstanding
this disavowal, however, the earl proceeded to defend
the premier's administration, as an advocate would
plead before a court.^° As to the proposed money

'" 'It is asserted, and I imagine with truth,' ho said, 'that Mr Mackenzie
.lud his political friends Iiad always been opposed to many portions of Canada's
bargain with li. C. It therefore came to bo considered iu this jjrovinco that
the new governnicut was an enemy to the Facific railway. i>ut I Ijclieve this
ti) liavo Ijeen, and to be, a complete misapprehension. I believe the L'acilic
lailway has no better friend than Mr Mackenzie; and that ho was only op-
posed to the time terms in the bar^'ain, because ho believed them inipossihlo
of aceonipli.shment, and that a eoiisi:ii'ntioii3 endeavor to fullil them woiiM
unnecessarily and ruinously increase the linaneial expenditure of the country;
and in both these opinions ^laeken/.ie was undoubtedly iu the right.' So
persistently had the liberal premier been accused of breach of (aith, insiucer-

SPECIAL PLEADING.

6G0

compensation, he could not hold out any hope that its
amount would be increased, and he was of opinion
that, in making this offer, alter the defeat of the rail-
way bill in the senate, Mackenzie had adopted the
only alternative left open to him. Otherwise, every
item in the Carnarvon terms was in course of fulfil-
ment. The thirty millions of money and the fifty
million acres of land were ready; the surveys were
being pushed forward to completion; the profiles of
the main line had been taken out; the wagon-road
would follow ^9rt/'i jxessii with construction; several
thousand miles of the telegraph line had been built;
and now that the terminus on the mainland appeared
to have been selected, at Bute Inlet,'* tenders would
probably be invited at an early date. If the railway
was once completed to Bute Inlet, it could not stop
there, and as soon as the tide of traffic fairly set in
with Australia, China, and Japan, the line nmst, of
necessity, be continued to Esquimalt. In that case
tlic Nanaimo road would almost spring into existence
of its own accord, and the people of Britisli Colunil)ia
would be in possession not only of the $750,000 ol'
compcnsaiion money, but of that for which it was
paid. As to the throat of secession, of which more
later, he remarked tliat, if hasty counsels sliould s.)
far prevail as to render necessary a readjustment oi'
tlieir political relations, he feared tliat Victoria would
be the greatest sullerer, Tliere wove men with wliom
he had Jield much pleasant intei'course, and from whom

i;y, and (loublo-dcalin^j, that at tlii^ time tliroo fourths of tlic people of 1!. C.
v'lTo opposud to liiin. In tlio !iUt.iiiJ'ir<l of .Jan. I, 1S7."), was imhli.sIiL'd ii val-
(.■di,:tii)ii to tlic (dosing srcno of l:;7'>, dedicated, \vit!iont in'rmissiiin, to t'lO
caliiiiot of tlio doiniuinii of Cinail.i, aud especially to Alexander Mackuii/io,
by tiie autlior, Jaiuc-i Macljiaiio Smith.

• Tli'ii iiliiiT' nil view, in (liC ronti'iiiiiiil Park,

Our 111 r I'rt ;>i.iini', l.bi'IU',!, llroljni 'i'l'r.ua;

Alul if, ill lli-i'i, llio jiirUMil In lliosn lines

SlinllM KWl'll lllO rr(j\\\l ell Ill.li'prlnlCIl.O Pay,

lliN 1' liiiii 11 »' I'iii II w'.K re Ml \.r. grc^-s hliiucn,

llurki'il, I'lii'ii In II 11 s u.Ihu 1 I'M is il i.i iliu.ul'i.
I'lti-' Weill Till' pi 11 lili-U iicvtr rust

That wroti' ItiimUiiitioii Ww Uiy (lu.~t.'

" At tliis date it w:i3 eoiniiioiily in liuved thnt .saeh was the case, llioiifjli,
;a fact, 110 turiniiius had a.s yet hinii liiially yelccted.

670

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

lie liad received the utmost kindness and courtesy,
but wlio declared that if the legislature of Canada was
not coni[)elled forthwith to build the Esquinialt and
Nanaiuio railway, they would, notwithstanding thu
jiremier's ofler of a money equivalent, bring about the
separation of the province from the dominion. This,
lie dLC'larcd, they could not do, or, at least, such .1
proposition would find no favor on the mainland. In
rejecting the railway bill — and this was now their
main grievance — the senate had merely exercised its
leijitimato functions, and on this matter there was
nothing more t > be said. Should, however, the iii-
lluence of these persons prevail, what good purpose
could it serve? IBritish Columbia would still remain
a portion of the dominion. The line of the railway
would probably be deflected toward the south, in which
case New Westminster would become the capital of
the province, the seat of government and of justice,
the social centre of the British domain in the north-
west, and would doubtless develop into a prosperous
cit}'. Burrard Inlet would contain a thriving com-
mercial port, where the miners of Cariboo would ex-
pend each winter their stores of gold-dust. Esquinialt
would, of course, be retained as a naval station on the
Pacific; but Vancouver Island and its inhabitants,
M'hose influence was due rather to their intelligence
than their numbers, would sink into insignificance.
Nanainio would become the principal town, while
Victoria would lapse into the condition of a village,
until the growth of a healthier sentiment should jiavo
the way for her readmission into the dominion.^"

Though Duffcrin's visit allayed somewhat the pop-
ular discontent, it failed altogether in its main purpose,
which was to obtain from the people of British Colum-
bia their consent to lie premier's latest proposal to
evade the obligations of the dominion. It must bo
admitted, however, that his task was one of peculiar

'•* A copy of the carl's addrcRS will bo found in Sesa. Papers, B. C, KS81,
249-Gl.

THE EAltl'S FAILURE.

071

difficulty. Ho was coin[)clle».l to appear before them
ill the dual character of a rc!)rcsentativeof the crown
and of an indc])en(lent constitutional system — func-
tions always difficult to reconcile, and especially so at
the time of his visit. In I'uKilling his mission, ho was
compelled to assume in a measure the character of a
(li[)lomatc. While attemping to show that Canada
had acted in good faith, he urged the province to
accept what was in fact merely the compromise of a
compromise, the offer of a government, which had
virtually lepudiated its obligations, to pay so nmch in
the pound to a creditor. It must be admitted that,
on tliis occasion, the viceroy failed to do justice either
to himself or to his office, pleading, as he did, before
her Majesty's subjects the cause of the Mackenzie
administration. Granted that he found it necessary
to keep his ministers in good humor, to remedy their
blunders, and if possible to prevent the secession of
British Columbia, it was no part of his duty thus to
attempt the negotiation of a bargain between his own
cabinet and the executive council of one of his prov-
inces, still less to enact the role of apologist for his
own government."

In an address presented by the people of British
Columbia to the governor-general a few days before
liis speech at the capital, it was stated that the wide-
spread feeling of dissatisfaction caused by the action
of the dominion ofovernment had been intensified bv
the remarks of men prominent in affairs of state, who
ai)peared to regard the province merely as a source of
trouble and expense, and as one whose withdrawal

"The comments of the English press on Earl Dufleriu's visit and tln^ rail-
way questiou were for the most part ad verso to tlio dominion, andsoiii'M.t"
tiicm were a little severe. See llic London S/aiid'iril, (Jet. 17, ]S7(i; /'n/l
Mull Gazette, Sept. '22, 1870. On the otlier hand, tlie Lowlon Tinir.i remarks:
' ft is, judging by past cxi)ericucc, a moderate estimate to sii|)|)()se that pr'i'
ahly a generation will elapse before tlie (Canadian raeille railway eaii pay i!.<
working expenses. Is it wortlj Canada's while? We doulitit. AtalicvciiL,
it must bo apparent to any mind that its construction means probably an addi-
tion of at least from forty to fifty millions sterling debt to tiio already licavy
Canadian debt before the lino has been worked live years.' Victoria Stand-
ard, Nov. 10, 1877.

i-nm

672

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

would not bo regretted. The allusion was in part to the
premier, whose speeches implied that the connectior
was embarrassing and unprofitable. The minister (
justice" had also declared that, should British Colum-
bia not be content with what Canada chose to give
her, she had better withdraw from the union.*" " If,"
continues the address, "the Canadian government
fail to take practical steps to carry into effect the
terras solemnly accepted by them, we most respect-
fully inform your Excellency that, in the opinion of
a largo number of people of this province, the with-
drawal of the province from the confederation will be
the inevitable result."

Nearly two years elapsed, and notwithstanding the
assurances of Dufferin and Carnarvon," no decisivo
action was taken. The Wasatch Mountains wero full
of surveyors and theodolites; but nothing had boon
done toward the actual construction of the line witliiii
the province, nor had even tenders been invited, Ju
September 1878, therefore, an address from the pro-
vincial legislature was forwarded to her ^Majesty, in
which, after once more setting fortli their gricvai ^ns,
the petitioners ask that in the event of the doi n
government failing to carry out before the 1st o. ^
the aci^rccmcnt of 1874, "IJritisli Columbia shall Ikivo
the right to exclusively collect and retain her cus-
toms and excise duties, and to withdraw from tlio
union; and shall also in any event be entitled to bo
compensated by the dominion for losses sustained by
reason of past delays, and the failure of tho dominion
government to carry out their railway and other obli-
gations to the province."^^

'* Mr Blake, one of the leaders of the liberal, or as it was termed, the 'grit'
party.

'■'lli.'j remarks were indorsed 1)y J?ir Alexander Gait, a prominent con-
serv.iiive leader. Pall Mull O'ar.' If r, 'Sept. 22, ISTO.

"'Ill a despatch to DtiU'crin, dated Deo. 18, KsTO, Carnarvon says: 'I fully
hope and Viclievc that, after tho very limited delay of a single HUiiimcr, the
province of ]!. O. will find that tliere is no longer any ohstacle to the activo
pro.seention of tlie undertaking.' Corrc^jioiidencc Can. Pac. L'ailiray, ]'>.

" For copy of the address, see Jour. Lcjid., B. C, 1873, 105-7; ISc s. Poperi,
B, C, ISSl, -JTS-SO.

ANNEXATION.

U73

This was sufficiently decisive, and if, at this juncture,
British Cohinibia Imd detonnined to secede, neither
England nor Canada could have prevented it ; lor it
is the long-established policy of the home government
that colonies shall not be retained against their will.
In accordance with constitutional law, a court would
probably have held that the union could not be
severed, and that the dominion must fulfil its part of
the contract or make compensation for failure and
delay. But the dominion could no more have insisted
on the integrity of the union than could the province
have compelled Canada to do her justice, for British
colonies arc no more liable to coercive jurisdiction
than are sovereign states. It is almost certain that
the separation of British Columbia would have been
followed at no long interval by annexation to the
United States; nor would the imperial government
have had any just grounds for exception to such a
measure.

Long before this date, annexation, ii not opeidy dis-
cussed, had at least suggested itself to men's tlioughts
as one way, and perhaps the best way, out of the dil-
liculty.^^ Nor can it be believed that the United
States would have refused to accept this ])orti()ii of
England's domain, which, lying between Alaska and
Washington, is the only break in the stretch of
their Pacific seaboard. The province is indeed a
magnificent one. With a vast area, a scant popu-
lation, and boundless resources, as yet almost un-
touched; with ports on the most direct line of travel
l)ct\veen Europe and Asia, Victoria being but twenty
(lays' distance by steamer from Hong-Kong — the trade
!>f this country is destined to become a not inconsider-
able factor in the commerce of the world. Taking
Yokohama as a central point, its distance from Liver-

^pii m

■i'i'i

iii«i

" For comments of the Pacific coast press on tbo threatened secession and
probable annexation of the province, see, among others, S. F. Alia, Dec. 29,
1S74, April IG, Auq;. 14, 1870; Brit. Colonist, April 23, 1S70; Portland Teh-
gram, March 22, 1879.

UlBX. Lbit. Col. 43

074

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

pool via Montreal and Port Moody is computed at
10,963 miles, and by way of New York and San
Francisco at 12,038 miles, a difference of 1,075 miles
in favor of the former route. At this date the
Panamd canal was believed to be impossible of ac-
complishment at any reasonable expense of life, labor,
and capital. If Great Britain sought for means of
commercial intercourse with the far cast and her
Australian colonies, other than these which Cook and
Vancouver had discovered in the eighteenth century,
and Do Lcsscps had endeavored to improve in the
nineteenth, where was she to look for them save to the
dominion or to the United States? And what would
be the prospect for England's commerce with tlic east
should British Columbia become one with the United
States? — a danger all the more imminent because
British Columbia still contained a very large percent-
age of Americans. Tliough the dominion miirht
afford to shi'lit tlicsc considerations, the home tjov-
ernment could not. The question was no longer as
between Canada, with her four millions of inhabitants,
and British Columbia, with her few thousands; but
between the mother councry and one of her most dis-
tant and sparsely settled, though most valuable, colo-
nies.

Fortunately there occurred at tbisjuncture a change
of administration in the Canadian goveriimcnt. In
answer to a telcuram from Victoria, dated tlie IGtli
of January, 1879, wherein it was stated that no an-
swer had yet been received to the last petition of the
legislature, the following reply was returned by Sir
John A. Macdonald: "Bailway matters are now
under consideration, and your representations and
claims will receive our best attention." Tlien followed
one, dated a few weeks later: "The attention of the
present ministry, on taking ofilee, Avas not called t<»
this petition, and it remained unnoticed. On its lin-
ing discovered, it was transmitted to England. The
government here greatly regret the oversight." After

awaiti
reply t
dian g<
this sc;
Alactloi
strong!
iwtniei
Kamloc

'looks,

paper h(

taineil a

■Tfrcsli.

•'anno C;

tlio cross

—on tlie

joining tl

tiiia route

survey of

cral lines

'-^anlncr,

proniiso h

could ?)o f

mentally f

clients tow

rcpresentc

route. Tl

t lie railway

«ation, Ijot

cult. The

they never

I'Vedcric A

-*'>'> miles.

hor ciiual t(

Vuat-iuo.

'■lu<lin;,'JJut

•iml Tliompi

■'"it Tort M,

minu.s for se

<o I'ort iMooi

"o gradient <

were gradien

let route con

K'll'le, and ex

'-5 miles to

I'rovinco. ^it

''uld yet disci

READY TO BEGIN

"Jn \v]i ,•/.». , _ '■

; r T,^' and to 7)resa i> v;^^ ^""'racnco w,

— on tho cMtcrn ?In, . t ., ^^'^'"^0 aljovo Biff Hon ) , '•''^''- t'HIio J',;,,,,.-

;^i"ing the Bu iS t nLS^'':^'^'^''" ^=^"^^ u^ W ''^'ll^'- ^'^^^^^^

tiu3 routo to 1,0 imSc *blr ' a1 '""'"''^^M. ato frTn?* ^'i? W'ilkoti,,.

;™^?«?s,s!jS^ /-i- -"i E^ r -=»^

<lient,s ton-ar.l t ,o s.i /^]orahl^ lino marlcM ou t/"^'f '""^^^•>'i« instn

!sss ^£!f rSis &!;sar ps;":a,? -sr

"l"<i''"^'Buto In ;4 L ''" •'''"^■•'Iti-s conn S ' \v , ''V^"^'^'- ^"'-'^t of V. {'"ft

'"> gradient 0x^00^ L OO L "'^ V,"''''I'^T *''^''' t!'o ono > u fM'''"^' *''« '""•

'1^0 gradient, of n, ro^ 1 n , 1?'" ""^''' ^»I"I" ou tL l/u r /'r*' "''• ^^.'^ f

'<; route could l.o conm , '"i ' , *. ^'^^,^" ^''^' '"'l'^^- I T / '/' ^r*"'" <'"''''-'

K^>le. and oxtcnde-l to M i ' ^■"•' *" "^'i^J* Point f nV ' ^''"■'■"•'' J""

open t,oj, could be reachcil

676

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

the virtual fulfilment of the railway clause contained
in the terms of union, a telegram was received on the
9th of January, 1880, from the secretary of state for
Canada, asking that, in accordance with these terms,
twenty milcb of land on either side of the line be con-
veyed to the dominion government. On the 8th of
May the conveyance was authorized, and on the
25th of March, 1881, an act was passed by the legis-
lature of British Columbia, providing that "the su-
preme court of Canada and the exchequer court, or
the supreme court of Canada alone, according to the
provisions of the act of the parliament of Canada
known as the supreme and exchequer court act,"
should have jurisdiction in controversies between the
dominion and the province.^^

Thus did British Columbia, possibly of her own
free-will, though probably through a slip of the Hoii-
orablc George A. Walkem, bind herself once raoro to
the dominion, and by a statute which neither Eng-
land nor Canada had power to enact. Yet one more
petition was presented to her Majesty, wherein the
oft-recited grievances were rehearsed, the constructioii
of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo branch insisted upon,
and the threat of secession repeated." To this the
dominion government replied : "As regards the prayer

much nioro easily than by way of Bute Inlet. Mackevzle'n jMetn. Can. Pac.
Railway, MS., 8-11. A description of each year's explorations and surveys
will 1)0 found in I'kmiiKfn lieports, Can. Pac. liailway. lu this connection
may bo mentioned the geologic survey of Canada, undertaken in 1871 l>y Al-
fred 11. C Selwyn, F. 11. 8., assisted by J.imcs Jlichardsou of the gcologio
stafT, for tho purpose of ascertaining tho physical character of the country,
Iho general distribution of tho geological formations, and tho facilities for
travel in tho several districts. Tlio route examined was ono of thoso which
attracted attention in connection with tho surveys fur tho Canadian Pacilic,
extending obliquely across tho province through tho valleys of tho Frascr aiid
Thompson to Leather Pass in tho llocky Mountains. Surveys were afterward
conducted by Richardson on V. I. and tho mainland. For description, see
Id., Mem. Oeol. Survey, MS.

'■" Also in cases of controversy between B. C and fny province of the dn-
minion which might Lave passed a similar act, and in suits, actions, or pro-
ceedings in which the parties in their pleadings raised tho question of the
\-alidity of an act of tho Canadian parliament, or of an act of tho provincial
U'^islature, when, in the opinion ot a judge of tho court in which they wcro
pending, such question was material. 44th Vict., in D. O. Stat., 1S81, 17.

**For copy of petition, see Jour. Legist., Brit. Col,, 1881, 50-2; PapernreL
Mission De Cosmos, 3-5.

PROVINCIAL REVENUE.

817

of the proposed petition to her Majesty, that the
province bo permitted to regulate and collect its own
tariff of customs and excise, until through communi-
cation by railway be established through British Co-
lumbia with the eastern provinces, the committee of
the privy couccil desire to observe that this request
involves a breach of the terras of union, and the vir-
tual severance of British Columbia from the domin-
ion."^ De Cosmos pleaded in London, in 1881, the
case of the provincial legislature, and was politely
heard, though doubtless her Majesty's government
was now somewhat weary of the matter. Said the
earl of Kimberley to the marquis of Lome, in a de-
spatch dated August 25, 1881: "The request of the
legislative assembly of British Columbia for permission
to regulate and collect its own tariff is, in my opin-
ion, inadmissible," "Far be the day," remarked Duf-
ferin, in his speech at Victoria, "when on any acre of
soil above which floats the flag of England, mere ma-
terial power, brute political preponderance" — what-
ever that may be — "should be permitted to decide
such a controversy as that which wo are discussing.
A governor-general is a federalist by profession, and
you might as well expect the sultan of Turkey to
throw up his cap for the commune as the viceroy of
Canada to entertain a suggestion for the ui&integration
of the dominion.'

Meanwhile work had been progressing, though
somewhat slowly, on the Canadian Pacific. Early in
1880, 264 miles of the eastern section, commenced in
1874, were in operation, and up to the 1st of July, 1880,

'' On the other hand, it was claimed in tho petition that, under the terms
iif the treaty, B. C. was allowed to retain its own tariff until tho C. P. should
bo ';ompit:UJ, but, 'believing in the good faith of the dominion, and boin;?
desirous of promoting confederation in its truo sense,' surrendered its turiif
in 1872. It would seem tliat tho dominion government was in tiio right.
Tho clause to which reference is made reads: 'It is agreed that the existing
customs tariff and excise duties shall continue in force in 11. C. until tho rail-
way from the Pacifio coast and tho system of railways in Canada are con-
nected, unless the legislature of B. C. should sooner decide to accept the tariff
and excise laws of Canada.'

673

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC UAlLWAY.

about 816,500,000 had been expended on surveys and
construction."* In June of this year it was also an-
nounced by Sir John A. Macdonald that negotiation;;
had been concluded in London whereby the complution
of the road was to be undertaken by a syndicate
composed of capitahsts in New York, St Paul, Lon-
don, and Paris."'^

According to the terms of the contract, the por-
tions of the line not yet constructed were to be
divided into three sections: the first or eastern sec-
tion extending from Callander station, near Lake
Nipissing, to a point of junction with the Lake Su-
perior section, then being built by the government;
the second or central section from Selkirk, on Ivctl
Piver, to Kamloop; and the third or western section
from Kamloop to Port Mood}', The syndicate agreed
to construct by the 1st of May, 1891, and keep in
running order, a line of uniform gauge,-^ and pay to
the dominion the cost, according to an outstanding
contract of one hundred miles of road westward from
the town of Winnipeg, a few miles south of Selkirk.
The dominion agreed to complete the portion of tliu
western section between Yale and Kamloop by the
end of June 1885, between Yale and Port Moody by
the 1st of June, 1891, and the Lake Superior section
according to the contract The road was to be the
property of the syndicate; but until the eastern and
central sections were finished, the Canadian govern-
ment reserved the privilege of working those already
constructed. On the completion of the former sec-
tions, the dominion agreed to convey to the syndicate
the portions of the line then constructed, or to bu
constructed by the government, and meanwhile to

°*In Papers rcl. Miniiiun Dc. Cosmos, CD-Gi, arc tablca showiiig approxiiiuitc ly
the sums voted and actually cxpcuilcd for each year bctwocii 1671 and 1 '>">■-'.
The total amount voted mulcr :iU heads up to the latter year was §10,(1117, •
Sl'2.48.

"John S. Kennedy of New York, Richard IJ. Angus and James J. Hill of
St Paul, Morton, Kose, & C'(j. of London, and John Kciuach & Co. of Paris.
Chillp)i(lni'.i n, C. (iiKlAliisLu, :',-2.

'" I'uur f<H>t eight and a lialf inehei.

THE CONTRACT RATIFIED.

670

grant to them subsidies of $25,000,000 and 25,000,000
acres of land,^^ both of which, as wc shall sec later,
were afterward largely increased. As soon as any
jiart of the road, not less than twenty miles in length,
was in operation, the government would transfer to
the syndicate their pro rata of cash and land, and
agreed to admit free of duty all material needed for
the construction of railway bridges, and of a telegraph
lino in connection with the road. For twenty years
I'rom the date of the contract the government also
Mcrreed that it would not authorize the buildin<x of
any line near the Canadian Pacific unless it ran in a
south-westerly direction, nor of any that ran to within
liftoen miles of the international boundary. The en-
tire railway and its equipments were to be forever
exempt from taxation, and the land, unless previously
sold, was to remain untaxed for twenty years.

On the motion to ratify this contract arose one
of the warmest discussions ever witnessed in the
dominion parliament. The ceaseless friction which
had occurred, however, while the government was in
charge of the work, and the fact that there was no
prospect of its completion within the stipulated time
unless some radical changes were made in the method
of prosecuting the enterprise, were strong arguments
in its favor. Moreover the ministry stated that
under its provisions the line would bo finished for
some $22,000,000 less than if completed by the gov-
ernment. The measure was finally carried by an
overwhelming majority,-^ and immediately afterward
the syndicate entered upon the execution of its con-
tract, the work being thenceforth prosecuted with
energy.

Accordinjr to a measurement in 1882 of the various

" Fur the central section §10,000 a milo for tho first 000 miles, and for tlio
remaining 430 at the rate of $i:),:).')3 per mile; and for tho eastern section of
010 miles, $15,3S4.G1. The Ir.nd-grant was for tho central section, l'J,500
acres for each of tho first DOG miles, and 1C,GC0.C7 acres per milo for tho tt-
raaindcr. For tho eastern section tho f^rant was $9,01.'). .I.") per milo.

"The vote waa 140 to 45. S. F. Bulletin, Nov. la, 1885.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

sections as finally located, the entire length of lino
from Callander to Fort William, on Thunder Bay, at
tho head of Lake Superior, thence to Winnipeg, ami
from that point to Savona's ferry, at the foot of
Kamloop Lake, crossing the Rocky Mountains by
way of Kicking Horse Pass, and from Savona's lorry
to Port Moody, was 2,557 miles. To this must bi;
added the sections between Callander and Ottawa, a
distance of 228 miles, and from Ottawa to Montreal,
119 miles, making a total of 2,904 miles as tho grand
trunk road of the Canadian Pacific, though it may be
presumed that the entire line from Halifax to Port
Moody will eventually be under tho control of a
single company.'^'

Of the sections between Callander and Kamloop
Lake no further mention is required in these pages;
but of the one between Savona's ferry and Port
Moody, lying as it does entirely within British
Columbia, a description may not be without interest
to the reader. The length of this portion of tho lino
was 213.5 miles, and it was divided into five subsections,
from Port Moody to Emory's Bar, a distance of 85.5
miles, from Emory's Bar to Boston Bar 29 miles,
from Boston Bar to Lytton 29.5 miles, from Lyttoii
to Junction Flat 29 miles, and from Junction Flat to
Savona's ferry 40.5 milcs.^'' Tho contracts for all
these subdivisions, of which tho first was awarded
early in 1879 and the remainder in the winter of 1882,
fell into the hands of A. Onderdonk, an engineer and
contractor of good repute, and one who represented
several prominent capitalists in California, Oregon, antl
New York."^ Their amount, including the cost of
a bridge across the Fraser at Cisco Flat, was about
$11,900,000,^' apart from tho expense of the rails

2' From Callander to Fort William G50 miles, from Port Arthur to Winnipir!,'
433 miles, from Winnipeg to Savona's ferry 1,250 miles, and from Savouii 's
ferry to Port Moody 215 miles.

'".S'cs,*. Papers, 11. C.,1881, 295; D. C. Directory, 1882 ? 373.

"D. O. Mills of Cal., S. G. Rcid of Or,, and H. B. Laidlaw and L. V.
Morton of N. Y. Sm. Paper.'*, 11. ('., ISSl, 2i)5.

"'Fur tho Bubsuctiuu iictwccit Ihnury l]ar and Uostou Bar $2,7-7,300,

CONSTRUCTION OP THE ROAD.

ttl

and fastenings, which for all but the first subsection
were furnished by the dominion.

Early in 1880 ground was broken; and from that
date work was continued almost without interrup-
tion until the lino was completed. On portions of
the road, and especially between Emory and Boston
bars, it is probable that the diflBculties were greater

Canadian Pacific.

between Boston Bar and Lytton $2,57.1,640, between Lytton ami Junction
Flat $2,050,050, and between Junction Flat and tsavona's ferry §1,809, 150, or
ftn average of nearly $43,000 per mile. Tlio first was to bo linislicil by J)oi'
1, 1883, the second by Juuo 30, 1884, tho third by December 31, 1SS4, imc
tlio fourth not later than Juno 30, 1 885. It appears that contracts were (iiigi
nally made with other parties, but, remarks Walkcni, in tho report of his
negotiations at Ottawa with tho dominion government, 'tho manifest ad van
tages of dealing with one firm of uncjuestionablo means and ability, instead o
with three or four firms, in tho construction of tlie work, iiilluenced tho govern
mcnt, as I learned, to consent to tho transfer of tho contracts mentioned.'
For tho portion between Port Moody and Emory I5ar llio contract was
$2,487,000, or an average of $.30,000 per niilo, and tho estimated cost of tho
bridge across the Fraser was $250,000, li. ('. Dlieclorif, 1882-3, 373-4.

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAi.

than liad hitherto been encountered in railroad build-
ing, except perhaps in Switzerland and Peru, the aver-
age cost per mile being $80,000, and of some miles as
much as $200,000. Other lines, difficult of con-
struction, as the Central and Union Pacific, passed
around and over the mountains by gradual ascents;
but on the Cascade Ilange no practicable gradients
could be found, and it was necessary to run through
it, on a line almost parallel with the canon of the
Fraser. For almost the entire distance between
Yale and Lytton the river has cut its way through
this range, plunging in foaming cataracts through deep
lateral gorges, flanked in places by spurs of perpen-
dicular rock. Along nineteen miles of the route thir-
teen tunnels were bored, one series of four being within
a mile of Yale, and another of six occurring some
2,500 yards farther in the direction of Boston Bar.
Elsewhere the roadway was literally hewn out of
rock, the crevices being filled with masonry, and
the ravines and rivers spanned by truss and trestle
bridges, of which there are many between Savona's
ferry and the sea, among them being a three-spanned
iron and steel truss-bridge crossing the Fraser below
Lytton.^^

The road-bed throughout the entire section was
substantially built, the cuttings and tunnels being
twenty-two feet, the embankments seventeen I'eet in
width, and the track laid with sixty-pound steel rails,
and heavily ballasted. To perform this gigantic task,
an army of laborers and mechanics was employed,
mustering at times more than 7,000 men, and witli the
aid of the best modern machinery. They were fairly
paid,^^ and humanely treated; and it is worthy of note,

'^ The total length of the biidj^e is 5.30 ft, and of the central span 31.") ft,
the ends of the latter resting on piers of solid masonry 90 ft high. The
superstructure contains 0,000 tons of iron and steel. The total cost was §280,-
000. Porlland West Shore, Dec. 1885, 300.

*' According to a schedulo of wages issued at Yale, Marcli 1, 188.3, laborers
reccivc<l ij 1 .75 to §'2 a day; hewers, §3.50; choppers, §2 to §2.50; drillers, §ii
to §2.25; blacksmiths, §3 to $3.50; masons, §2.50 to §3.50; stone-cutter.s, §3
to §3.50; carpeatets, §3 to §3.50; foremen, $2.50 to $4. These rates were for

A GRAND ACHIEVEMENT.

that although some of the work was of an extremely
hazardous nature, men being often lowered hundreds
of feet down almost perpendicular rocks, in order to
blast a foothold on the mountain side, only thirty-two
fatal accidents occurred between April 1880 and No-
vember 1882, though the average number employed
during that period exceeded 4,000. Supplies were
ibrwarded on pack-animals, over trails never before
deemed practicable except by Indians, and by them
only with the aid of ladders. Building materials were
landed at enormous cost, the toll of ten dollars per
ton on all freight passing ever the Yale and Cariboo
road being strictly enforced. As the work advanced,
transportation becauK) each year more costly, until it
was resolved to attempt the passage of the Eraser
caiion to the navigable water above, in order to supply
the more distant camps, the steamer Skuzzy being
built for the purpose. But who could be found daring
enough to steer this boat up the swift-running river
and through the frightful canon, where the pent waters
rushed down in foaming fury? One captain after
another, looking at the tiny craft and at the Scylla
and Charybdis beyond, declared the feat impossible.
At length two brothers, Smith by name, well known
for their daring exploits on the upper Columbia,^"
consented to undertake the task. Witli a steam-winch
and capstan, and several large hawsers, they set forth
on their voyage with a crew of seventeen men, the
steamer being in charge of a skilled engineer, J. W.
Burse. The severest struggle was at a point called
China Riffle, where the power of the engines and
.steam-winch, with fifteen men at the capstan, and of
150 Chinamen laying hold of one of the ropes, barely

ten hours' work aiul for white labor. Boarding-houses were provided at con-
vonicat distances, where tlie rate M'as §4 per week, though none were required
to patronize them. U. C. Inform. /or Em'njr., 15; li. C. JJirccton/, 18S'2-;I, IMG.
•'•'S. K. Smith ran the steamer (S7io.iAo?j(^ down the Snake Kiver for a dis-
tance of 1,000 miles, a portion of the route being through the rapids near the
base of the Blue Mountains. Up to 188.3 this was the only boat that had over
attempted this perilous passage. lie also carried a steamer safely over the
Willamette Falls, near Oregon City. VhUteiiden'-i lirit. Col. and Alaska, 36.

' .ji|

TlIK CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

suflSccd to pull the vessel over the shoals. Over-
coming this difficulty, and passing safely through Hell-
gate and Black Canon, where the stream runs at the
rate of some twenty miles an hour, the Skuzzij started
with her first load of freight from Boston Bar.

Along the entire route between Port Moody and
Savona's ferry, and apart from tunnel-boring, some
10,G00,000 cubic yards of earth and rock were re-
moved by pick, powder, and nitro-glycerine. On the
line between Emory and Yale were complete works
for the manufacture of explosives, with a capacity of
about 2,000 pounds per day,^° and at Yale were con-
struction and repair shops, supplied with all the ma-
chinery needed for the building of cars and engines,
and for general work.

Port Moody is distant seventy-five miles from Vic-
toria and overland from New Westminster about five
miles.*'' That it is a safe and commodious harbor is
proved by the fact that within fourteen years after
the first saw-mill was built, in 1864, six hundred ves-
sels of large tonnage, and countless smaller craft, loaded
at and left it, not one of which was injured.^^ In 1882

'* The cartridge cases for giant-powder wero made of paper dipped in hot
paraffino and wax, 5-8 to 1 inch iu diameter, and wcigtied, when tilled, about
5-12 of a pound.

*'In section 2 of a report of the privy council of Canada, dated May 10,
ISSl, the reasons for the change of terminus arc thus given: 'Ou the Gth of
June, 1873, in view of tho then probability of tho railway running by Jiiitu
Inlet, an order iu council was passed declaring that Esquimalt should '.. lie
terminus of the railway on tho Pacific coast, but tho alignment on th main-
land was at that timo wholly undetermined. In May 1878, the gover mtnt,
on increased information, determined, however, to select Burrard Inlet 'sthc
objective point on tho Pacific coast to bo reached by tho railway; and they
cancelled tho order relating to Esquimalt. Still further examinations wore,
however, deemed necessary, particularly with reference to the advantages of
a still moro northern route which should terminate at Port S'.npson; aiul to
keep tho whole question entirely free until additional exploratory surveys
should be made, the order in council of June 1873 waa in April 1870 re-
vived, and continued iu force until October 1879, when the selection of Bur-
rard Inlet was finally made.' Papers rel. Misfiion JDe CoamoK, 15.

'* Letter of Capt. Jas Cooper to the gov. -gen., in Fleming's Rept. Can. Pw.
liciilway, 1877, 300. See also Brit. Colonist, in Can, Pac. Railway RoiiIik, 4.
Admiral llichards, hydrographcr to tho admiralty in 1882, describes Tort
Moody as a, snug harbor, and capacious for shipping beyond all probable re-
quirements.

CHOICE OP TERMINUS.

685

a substantial wharf had already been constructed 1,370
feet in length, and with a breadth, for GOO feet I'rom
its centre, of 150 foot. It was supported by more
than 1,700 piles, from twelve to twenty inclics in
diameter, strongly capped and braced, the front and
sides of the structure presenting a solid wall of four-
teen-inch timber, and the surface being covered with
four-inch planks, fastened with eight-inch spikes.
On this structure, freight and passenger stations,
offices, work-shops, warehouses, and other buildings
needed for traffic were completed; and here ships
could unload in a depth of water never less than four
and a half fathoms at low tide.

Nevertheless it cannot be disputed that Port jNIoody
was selected, not as the best terminus, but probably
because, as the privy council of Canada remarked in
its report touching the latest petition of the provincial
legislature, "it rendered unnecessary the lino between
Nanaimo and Esquimalt as a condition of the union
with British Columbia."^' In his official report to
the premier, dated April 26, 1878 — some eighteen
months before the selection of the terminus — the cn-
i^ineer-in-chief stated expressly that Burrard Inlet
was less eligible than Esquimalt. Navigation to the
ibrmer point from the ocean was more or less intri-
cate ; nor could it be reached at all by vessels of large
tonnage without passing within cannon-shot of a group
of islands belonging to a foreign power. As to the
Bute Inlet route, supposing even the wide channels
of the Valdes Islands bridged at an enormous cost —
one which it was almost impossible to estimate — and
the road extended to Esquimalt, the travel thence by
rail to Bute Inlet would be at least 150 miles farther
than direct by steamer to Burrard Inlet, while to
substitute a ferry for the bridging between the former
inlet and the mainland would entail a very consider-
able and unnecessary expenditure. From the crossing

'Papers rel. Mission De Cosmos, 15.

68G

THE CANADIAN PAanc RAILWAY.

of Lalio Manitoba, about midway on the continent,
to Burrard Inlet, the distance was more than eleven
hundred miles, and to Esquimalt more than fourteen
hundred. In this entire region there were not more
than 12,000 white inhabitants.*" It was difficult, in
hin opinion, "to recognize any commercial advantage
in carrying the line to Esquimalt at this period in the
history of Canada to compensate for these grave objec-
tions;" and after considering the engineering leuturcs
of each route, and weighing carefully the eoniniercial
considerations,*' he was forced to the conclusion that,
if a decision could not bo further postponed, souk
point on Burrard Inlet should be selected as the t( i

mums

*'Thc actual figures wcro probably nearer 20,000.

*'Wliat tlio cliiL'f engineer had to do with commercial considcratioua lu-
does not explain.

*' FlciiiiiKjn J,'<pt. Can. Par.. linlbraii, 1S78, 12-14. Tho chief engineer,
in tho correspondence, queries, and nautical evidence respecting? harbors and
waters in 1?. C, 2S3, says: 'Tiio railway Hues which have been rirojoctod
across the lloeUy Mountain zone touch tho navigable Waters of the I'acilio at
tlio following inlets: 1. Ihirrard Inlet; 2. llowo iSound; 3. Buto Iide^; 4.
Bi'ntiok Arm, North; 5. iJeau Inlet; 0. Gardner Inlet; 7. Skcena llivcr.' lu
reply to (jiicstions propounded by Fleming to naval ollicers in hi^h coinniaml,
as to the selection of a terminus, there was little diUercnco of opinion. Iti
answer to the question, ' Could largo sea-going ships approaching by the niid-
i\\\' channel pass witlic.ut danger or difliei ''y through ny Johnston Stiait to
Ihirrard Inlet, Howe Sound, or \Vaildiugt(.n Harbor (near tho heail of Unto
Inlet)?' Ailniiral Cochrauo answered, 'No;' Admiral Richards: 'The ap-
proach wouhl always bo attended with some danger; ' Admiral Farquhar,
tluit he understood from ollicers under his orders that tho navigation was
'intricate and dillicul'; for large vessels (even steamers), and impracticable
for ocean sailing vesseh.' In answer to the request, ' Having regard to naval
and commercial considerations, mention tho point on tho coast which ap]ioars
to you tlio most suitable for the railway terminus,' (.'ochrane answered: ' I am
of belief that the most advantageous site for the terminus is, as before stated,
that of Burrard Inlet; Kicliards: 'From a nautical point of view, Burrard
Inlet is everyway prefera I lie;' Commander render: 'Burrard Inlet is, in my
opinion, preferable to either of the other places named.' Carnarvon's de-
spatch to Earl DuQ'erin, in Id., 1S77, 278 ct seq.

To Dean Iiih^t a line was instrumentally burvcyed, and a very favorabli!
route was found, but it had high gradients for some distance from the sea.
While neillier the harbor nor the sia apjiroach to it proved as good as was ex-
pected, tho route and terminns at Dean Inlet '.vero found in every respect su-
perior to Buto Inlet. To Bute Inlet tho railway was, Inisides, fifty miles
longer, even to tho head of tho inlet; and it was quite clear that it wouM
have to bo built on to Frederic Arm, at tho north side of tho mouth of the
inlet. Furthermore, tho navigation, either north to Queen Charlotte Souml
or south toward Fuca Straits, iiresented serious diiriculties. So well aw.\ri!
were the Butc-Inlct-or-not'dng party of the dilliculties here mentioncil, tl.;it
the inlet as a terminal harbor, or as of any iicriiiauent importance to tiie rad-
waj', was thrown out of the calculation (says Mackenzie); and the teriiiiiial

COMTLETION OF THE ROAD. Mf

Early in November 1885 tlio Canadian Pacific rail-
way was completed from Montreal to Port Moody,
the last rail being laid at Eagle Pass," some twenty
miles from the second crossirtjj of the Columbia.**
The work was finished more than five years before
the date required in the Carnarvon terms, as much as
four miles of road having been built on some sections
in a day, and twenty-two miles in a week. The co.st
of the undertaking far exceed jd the early estimates,
some of which were placed as low as $00,000,000,
while the actual outlay was probably more than doublt;
that sum, most of the amount expended being drawn
from Europe. In London and Paris the syndicate
raised nearly all its fuutls, mortgaging for this purpose
its enormous land grant, btssides selling at fair prices
considerable portions of the most fertile tracts.

That the r'anadian Pacific would, in the near future,
pay dividiMids on the original outlay was not expected.
The main purpose was to establish overland commu-
nication within British America, and to open up for
settlement tlic vast, uninhabited, and roadless wilds t)f
interior Canada. In the work of exploration ah^nc^
more than 50,000 miles were surveyed, of wliich at
least 15,000 were carefully measured, at an expense;
of some $4,000,000, by chain and spirit-level, througli

(liiGcuIty was avoided by proiiosing to continiio tho railway 250 or 300 iiiik's
farther than to the head of Doau or Burrard Inlet, aud to iiiako tho tcriiiiiiiis
at Esnuinialt, on Vancouver Island.

"So named by Engineer Walker Moberly, who in 1805 was ordered (o
search out a pass for a wagon route througli (Jold Mountain-^. Ho had wt'U-
uigh abandoned his task as liopcless, when out; day lie (ib-i<!rved an caglo llying
up one of tho narrow valleys near Lako Shuswap, and following the direction
of its ilijiht, discovered tho pass. J'ortlnii'l West Shore, Dec. 18S5, liliO.

"On this occasion a train, consisting of tho oilicial car, a Blocpcr, and bag-
gage-car, arriveil from Winnipeg, making tho distance of 1,0'_''_' miles to tiie
lir.st crossing of the Columbia in ',V2\ hours, aud 8to])ping a short distanco from
tho end of tho track. Tho honor of driving tiio last spike was granted to D.
Smith, Major Rogers, a civil engineer in llio company's employ, holding the
tie. TIio ccrcmouy was not a very di'inonstrativo one, not more than ITit)
persons being present. As tho last blow was struck, cl'ecrs were given for
tho success of tho enterprise, ami Manager Van Ilorno, being requested to
make a few remarks on tho occasion, merely replied, 'All that I havo got to
say is, that tho work was well done in evei'y way.' Van llorim had been con-
nected with tho lino since 187J, when tliere were but I'i miles constructed.
-S'. I'\ Alia, Nov. 9, 1885.

6(N THE CANADIAN J'ACIFIC RAILWAY.

mountain, forest, and })rairio. Tlic coast of Britisli
Columbia, with its countless iiords, flanked by moun-
tains rcachinj^ far above the limit of perpetual snow,
was repeatedly explored in the search I'or a suitable
terminus. The northern portion of the province was
mapped, at least as far north as Port Simpson, by men
who, alter laborinj^ in vain amidst extreme peril and
hardship, were compelled to abandon it once more to
its J)! imeval solitude.

In the interior of ]3ritish Columbia are still vast
districts as yet almost untrodden by the foot of civi-
lized man, though forming little more than a spcc-k
when compared with the deserts of the dominion.
The entire area of Canada is but little smaller than
that of Europe; and excluding irom each, is almost
worthless, the portion within the Arctic circle, it will
be found that the surface of the former is equal to
that of all the empires, kingdoms, principalities, and
republics between the Adriatic and the Black Sea.
Covering the broadest and not the least fertile portion
of the continent, with an almost endless extent of
vacant land, an invigorating climate, and unlimited
resources; with valuable fisheries in ^hc lakes and
rivers, and around the coasts; with boundless forests
within reach of navigable water; with immense de-
posits of coal and iron, gold and silver, copper and
lead, on the seaboards and in the interior; — with all
these elements of wealth, the question was, how to (K-
velop a region thu;^ lavishly providetl. This railway
is the answer.

]i)Ut the railway was projected also as a portion of .i
great national highway, extending fron) Great Uritaiii
to the Indies, and to many ]>ortions of the Ihitish
om])ire. EsquimJilt, the naval station, antl prol>ahly
destined to be the arseial (<f the province, was from
Liverpool at least a three months' voyage l)y steamer,
while via Halifax and by rail it could be reached in a
fortnight By the construction of this line, the Au.s-
trr.!ir.:; colonies. New Zealand, and every portion of

COMPARISONS.

England's possessions, both in the North and South
Pacific, would be more or less benefited; while to Can-
ada herself, ranking already among the great maritime
powers of the world, with a shipping trade greater
than that of Germany, and at least twioe that of
Spain or Russia, a transcontinental railway under her
own control was an advantage worth any n-asonable
outlay.

Whether the buildinj; of tlie Canadian ]*acific
railway ^'as a somewhat premature enterprise, und
whetiier the lino could have been built at smaller cost
to the domi lion, are questions which I shall not dis-
cuss. With the overland roads between San Fran-
cisco and New Yorl-', or betwe-Mi San Francisco and
New Orleans, no fair comparis( n can be made, not
only on account of the disparity of population, but
because tlie latter were mainly .ommercial enterprises.
IVrliaps the nearest counterpiit may i)e found in the
Australian railroads, and t^sj)! cially in the one between
Sydney and ^Melbourne, n; ny of tiiese lines being the
[U'operty of the governnunt, and mo^t of tliem oper-
atetl at a small profit, on an average proli^bly some
two or tiiree j)er cent. In the; Aiistrahan ('(tionies, as
in tlie dominion, a larger extent of (Hflieuit but wortli-
loss ami unoecupitHJ coiuitry was ti'a\ersed, though
tlie ob.staeles eiieouiitired in tlie luriner were by com-
])arison of little; moment.

In 1H7;3, Canada, with a population somewhat under
four millions, a traije of about .'^•J I H, 000,000, a d.-bt
'if at least Si 00.000,000, and a rate of laxalioii e(|ual
to $l.r)8 j)er capita, eontaiii'd '2,('>'-)\) miles ofrailroad;
while in Australia, with less than two millions of peo-
ple, a trade of .s;u;0,000,000, a debt of .i?;{L',O00,000,
•iiid an inct>nic derived iVom taxes and land sales of
!^."). .'>;") per capita, there wi're at the same date some
l,.")00 miles in oj)eration. The volume of lra<le in
cither instance includes only exiun'ts and imports, and
the difference in its ratio to population may be i)artly

IIiiT. DniT. Coi., 44

,^i

THE CANADIAN TACIFIC RAILWAY.

explaincd by the paucity of manufactures in the Aus-
tralian colonies, their most valuable products boin'i-
shipped to England. Apart from this consideration,
it will be seen that in relation to the revenue, debt,
and population of the two countries, there was no yreat
disproportion in the extent of their railroads, and
twelve years later the disproportion had certainly not
been altered in favor of Canada. It would appear,
however, that, in the construction of the Canadian
Pacific, the dominion added to her burdens all that.
she could bear, and that the completion of the ta.sk
according to the strict letter of the terms of union
would have driven her to the verge of bankruptcy.

Nevertheless, it is not improbable that if the men
bcrs of the provincial legislature had been less pirsi.st
ent in their demands; if they had acted in the matte r
not merely as colonists, but as representatives of an
integral portion of the dominion and of the 13riti>h
empire; if tluiy had accepted the spirit as well as the
letter of the Carnarvon terms, whereby the comple-
tion of the road was to be deferred until the close ol
1890, not insisting on the immediate fulfilment of the
contract at whatever cost — Esquimalt would have becii
finally selected as the terminus. Nou'* knew better
than did the citizens of Victoria that the senate ot
the dominion was not bound to ratify an agreement
proposed by the ministry," and the rejection of the
Esquimalt and Nanainu) bill l)y the upper house ol
Canada was no fair |)retext for an overt threat of
secession. The warning uttered by Dufl'erin was not
in vain. The lino of the Canadian Pacific has heeii
deflected toward the soutli. Burrard Inlet alivadv
contains a small but tliriving commercial port, and
th' ca|)ital of the proviiiei! has thus far reaped hut,
little benelit from the transcDntinental line of Jhiti.sh
America.

"Tlio action tukcu '>y the Rcnato wuh iiidor.Md l.v iii(> imjiuriiil govern-
nifut. tiw tital. Hi it. Cut., 188'J, '.").

NEW RAILWAYS.

Meanwhile new lines of vond have been projected
n several portions of the province. In April 1882
an act was passed incorporating tlie New Westminster
and Port Moody llailway Company, with a capital
stock of $200,000.*" In May 1883 the New West-
minster Southern was incorporated by statute, with a
capital of .SGOOjOOO."*' On the same date were also in-
•orporated the Columbia and Kootenai Railway and
I'ransportation Company with a capital of .$."), 000,000,
and the Fraser River Kailway Company with a capi-
tal of $500,000. By the terms of its contract, the
former was required to construct, <<iuip, antl work a
continuous lino <>f road from the outlet of Kootenai
J^ake, throui,di the Selkirk Range, to a poiiit on the
Columbia as near as practicable to its junction with
Kootenai River, and to luiild and run a line of
steamers from that point to the spot on the west bank
of the former stream where the Canadian l\icilic
strikes it, near Eagle Pass.*^ The route of the latter
was from a point on the forty-ninth parallel near
Semiahmoo J3ay," to connect with the Canadian
X'acitic near its western terminus,*^ and thence to New
Westminster district.

^"Tho original stockliolilcrs wore Klionezor Brown, Janioa (!!unninglitun,
ilobt Dickinson, John Hendry, \\'n\ N. IJolo, Loftua 11. Meliuii's, ami .lo!in
Irvin;', nil of New Wostniinsfi-r. Tlio lino \\nn to bo coinnioni-cil w itliin ono
yoar unil to bo conipU'toil within fouryoars frt)ni Iho passing' of tho act, 'from
:i point in the city of Now Wo.stniinHtir to ii point iit or noar I'ort Mooiiy, or
'Isowiicro on I'liUTaril Inlot, or to a jioint botwoon Port Mixuly iind I'itt
Kivcr.' Still, lirit. Col., ISSI, (Jj-(J. J!y mt <if l'\I>. IS, 18S), tiio tinio for
loinincuucmcut was oxtcndod to .Ian. I, 1(>S0, and for couiiiiolion to .hiu. I,
ISSS.

*'• Hugh Nelson, Tho8 11. Mclnno.s, Jo.shua A. 15. lloinor, Kboiu/.or llrowii,
.lo8. Hunter, Chaa M. Carter, auil (Jordon !■'. Corboidd wiTo tho lirst nharo-
In)ldcr8. Tho lino of ronto was a little indclinito— 'from .sonu^ point ncir tho
C.llli purallol of nortli latitude between •Seiiiiahnioo l>.iy and 'rovMi.sliiji l(i, in
liiu district of New Weatndnsler, to tiio oily of New Westuiiuslir, and (o
KKUio point on Burrard Islet.'

"Also a lino of Hteaniers 'from that point on Kootenai Uiverwiiere the
(iiiutliern boundary liiKMif Briti--h Cohiniliiii inl>r,srot3 the H.ii.l rivei-, Iheiieo
down tho said river to Kootenai l^ke, and lliriiu;,'h and tliroughout aaid laku
and its navigablt^ tributaries.'

*• Between tiio bay aiul tho eastern lino of to\vnshi[i 'J'J, New West-
iidiister district.

''"Between tho ternunii i ami the eiistern lino of townshiii 'J7, New West-
milliter district, 'i'iie linu was to bo eoinnieneed within twoyearaand linished
within (ivo ycara after tho lussing of I lie act. Tho stockholders wcro llobl

HI THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

Finally, in August 1883, a contract was niado with
a party of capitalists lor the construction of the Es-
quinialt and Nanaimo railway and telegraph line, with
a subsidy of $750,000, the amount to be contributed
by the dominion government, together with a liberal
grant of land," the capital stock being $3,000,000.
The contractors were required to commence work im-
mediately, and to complete and equip the line on or
before the 10th of June, 1887, time being declared as
of the essence of the contract; and in default of sucli
completion within the date sjtecified, the contractors
were to forfeit the subsidy, land grant, and tlie amount
to be deposited as security with the receiver-general."^
The road, with its equipments, was to be exempt from
ta.Kation for ten years after completion, and all the

A\'. Doaiio, Loftus I'. Mcliinos, Justus Ilowison, Jus A. Clark, Ilonry ];ili(»tt,
Jas A. J.aidlaw, llciiry V. Kdmomls, Donald Chisholin, C'liastt. Major, Alex.
I'lux'U, .lolm A. ^V^•ll.^tor, Jolm S. Mcf)on;dd, Joliii Adair, and Sam. Tripi).
/ /. 18S:>, 10.">-1. Ou tlio 1-tii of May, ISSH, llio Victoria Transfor Cuinpany
Limited was iin-orporated, uitlj a capital of .':?.'>(>.(H)0, its main purposo lirini^ to
liiiild and work strict-railroads in Victoria and J-^siniinialt, and tlieirnci,:,'hl)iii-
liood. Acts of incorporation for uadi company will U; found in St'if. 11. ('.
for tlicir several ycais.

•'' Ou tnc eastern side of the island; bounded Uy str.-ii^'lit lines drawn from
1'u' liead of Sa uiicii Inlet to Muir Creek, on the Kaca Strait.i; <Iriicc west to
Crown Mouhlaiii, and llicncc noitli to Seymour Narrows, and ou tliu east liy
tliocoaat Hue t i tlic pointof commouecment, 'iiu'hulim,' all coal, en:d-oiI, ores,
8tones, clay, niarlile, .'late, mines, minerals, and sulistances wiiatsoever tliere-
ui'ou, therein. ;md then iindci'.' I''roin this tract there was excepted lhe|ior-
tioii lyii'.i.; to tlu! northward of a line rumiinL; east and west lialf-w;iy lictween
the mouth of Courtenay iiiver ami Seymour Narro\» «. l''or four years, eniii-
meuciu,' from I'ec. |;(, IS.S,'i, the entire ^raiit, exeepliu;^ of course tl\e miiier.il
lands, ^^as to lie open for iijirieultural seKlcnu'ut Jil the rate of $!| per aei'e,
the ;,'overnmcnt is-uiu;; prceni|ition records I'nr lliO acres to actual sctlh'!''.
Seo '.\ct niatiii.,' t't the Ishmd Itailwav, the Cia\iu;,' Pock, and Ihiiluav
I/Mid.i of the I'roviuee' (approved l)c.;.'l!t, ISS;l), in Stol. Jl. ('., ISSI, <ii.
01, (>7. lu the same slalule it\\as enacted that the douiiuion noveriinieiiL
nhoulil lake o. er and eomph'tc, aiul operate as a dominion «oik, the dty-dnrl;
at i']s(pumall, lieinj; « ntitled to the lands, jipi/roaehes, and plants beloni^in.;
to it, nud the .'ippropriation < f tlu: imperial govcrument, i)aying to the pio\
iuco the iiinount expended or lenrduiri,!,' due for work and mateiial, anil a
furllier nun of $'2.'iO,0(K). In onh'r linally to settle all disputes wilh the d"
million, it was also enacted that ;i,ot)0,(Hi() acres, in tiio i)ortiou of the I'eaiK
l!i\er district lying cast of the itocky Mountains and ad joinim; the ni.rlh-
\\ est territory of Canada, should lie transferred in one rectangular hlock. t.)
lie located \ty the dominion. l'"or concspomlence, reports, etc., reli tin.; to
these disputes nud their settU'nient, seo Sfx^. I'uiicrx, II. C, ISSf, l.")7 7-,
1.S7 S, 'JOl-'i.

■'''Tho sum of $'2.jO,00() in cash, ou which they wcro to bo imid four per
cent intcrtst after the fullilment ami aeeeptiinco of tho contract.

PLtVNS FOR THE FUTURE.

«98

material used in its construction was to bo adniittcil
free of duty. The character of the lino was to be in
all respects equal to that of the Canadian l*acific,'''
and the company was required to maintain it in run-
ning order, and to work it "continuously and in good
faith."^* It is among the possibilities of tlio future
that this lino may be extended northward, and that
the terminus on the mainland be eventually at Bute
Inlet, and on the island at Esquimalt, the former
point being connected witli Vancouver by suspension
bridges, or steam-ferries, when traffic shall be sutH-
eiently developed to justify tlio outlay.'^

" With tlic same gauge, tlic aligniiieuts, gradients, niul curvatiirca bting
tlio best that the physical features of ti)o country would permit, the grades
not to exceed 80 feet to the mile. Tho width of cuttings was to be -6 feit,
and of embankments 1(5 feet. All bridges, culverts, etc., were to be of ainplo
size and strength, equal to tiie best description of Mork on tiio Canadian I'a-
ciljc. Sullicient rolling stock, and all buildings necessary for tlie acconnnoda-
tion of trallie, were to be furni.shed by tlio contractors.

'■♦The full tcNt of the contract will bo found in «SV»vt. Pajx'iit, li. ('., 1884,
183-0

'•' Among the most valuable authorities consulted in this and the preceding
chapter may be mentioned a Mi imiraii(Uuii uii t/ic Tirmn of Union and ihc I'a-
iijic I'ailwdi/, hij Ah Xiiinlrr Mucbir.ir, MS., wherein I havo been supplied
\»ll!' a clear, brief, and succinct accouiit of tho subject-matters. The mate-
rial furnished by tho former pi'cmiertif the dominion contaiua, not a statement
of his own views, but a statement of the facts, so far as ho knew them. It
vas fortunate for the doMiiuion lii.it. ii*, tliis juncture in her liiatorj', a man of
Mackenzie's intuitive i.-iution .•iihI I'liri.-ij^ht had sway for a limo over tho
interests of bis adopted ci'untry, and fur several years, as leader of the oiipo-
."^ition, held in «'he<'U tlio more ambitious designs (if Sir .lohn A. Macdoiiald.

In the P<ij» rn in Connrilinn irit/i Ihv ('onslrnrtioii <;/' Ihr Ciinitiliiiu l\tcij!c
I'dilirfti/. liHir. I'll tlic ])itmiition, Inqurinl, and i'rorini '<(d (<'on rinn< nf.'', in
.'\i xsionid I'li/iir/i, It, ('., IsM, i:W ;il(>, are coiiits of all tho ollieial eorrc-
s[)ondenco relating to the Caniulian I'arilie, between the 1 Uh of August, ISti'.i,
ami tlio 8th of May, 1S81>. On tho fonuer date, while yet tho tpnstiouof
conlederatioii iutd notassuuied ditiniti> sliiipe, I'larl (!r;inville, inades|iatcli to
(lovernor Alusgravi>, then recently apiiointed, says; 'It is evident that the
establishment of a Itritish lino of iMi'miuinicjition belweiMi the Alliintie and
I'acilio oceans i.s f,ir more feasible by tlie o|ieration3 of a siii;;Ie goMinmeiit
responsiblo for llio )irogress of both shores of (lie contimnt tluiii by the b;ii'-
gain negotiated between separate, jk i haps in some re,s[)cets liv.il, gourumenta
luul legislatiins.' On theMliof May, INSO tlir pioviiui.il h ^i.^I.iiiiii- gianted
to th(> dominion, as we lia\e himii, tin- lands reipiired in llie tiiius \>i tin' re-
vised agreement, the contiaet with the S3udieate haviiii; been ihi ii pidb:d»ly
eoncludi'd, though not ollieially aunoiiuced. In the ('•!! n fj' ■n'li m-i n Idllmj
to Ihf Ciinadian J'oriiii- /i'.i/7»'fj^ aro a few of tin; more inipnrlaiil despatches
relating tv) this e introversy, though all of tln'ui are eontaiued in the Si ssii 'd
rn/Mn of ISSI. In that year, A. De (.'osmos vas ordered by the provincial
h';^islatnr(' to proe>'eil to London in onhr to support tlie jielilioii to the im-
perial government, llo opjicars to havo jicrforined his duty faithfully. In a
dc8i)atcli to tho Maiquia of Lonio, dated Aug. iVi, 1881, acknowledging the

*'■;!

694

THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.

receipt of the petition ami of the report of the privy council, the earl of Kim-
bcrlcy writes: 'I have also h:> ' tlie advantage of several interviews with Sir
J. A. Macilonald and with Mr Do Cosmos, and I will now proceed to com-
niuuicato to you tho conclusions whicli I h;ivo formed on the subject. . .Hav-
ing regard to tho statements and representations whicli have been made to me
on tlio part of tho dominion goveriuncnt and of tho province respectively, I
am of opinion that: Ist, the constiucUon of a light lino of railway from Na-
naimo to Eaquimalt; 2d, tho extension without delay of the lino to Port
Moody; and Sd, tho grant of reasonable compensation in money for the failure
to complete tho work within tho term of tea years, as speciliod in tho condi-
tions of union — would oiler a fair basis for a settlement of tho whole question. '
An account of tho emissary's negotiations will bo fouml in the Papem relaliiig
to the Mission of the JIun. A. De Cosmos, The O/dmons of the Enqlish Press
oil (he Uritish Coluvihiaii lluilway Question, Victoria, 1877, and the Canadian
Pacific Jiailway Jtoutes, Victoria, 1877, are pamphlets containing extracts
from tho Pall Mall Oazelte, Saiurdan lieview, London Standard, and British
Colonist, the last touching only on tho question of the terminus. In The Do-
minion of Canada and the Canadian Pacijic liailway, by \\m Wilson, Victoria,
1874, is an ex parte statement of tho case, as it then stood, from tho provincial
standpoint, and ono for which tho preface is a rather unfortunate selection
from Duffcrin's speech at Simcoe, on tho 27th of August, 1874: * The time has
como for laying aside sectional diflcrcnces, and for combining in ono grand
cQ'ort to create a nationality that shall know no distinction from the Atlantic
to tho Pacifio Ocean.'

Vancouver Island and British Columbia, tJieir History, Besourcea, and Pros-
]>ects, by Matthew Macjie, F. B. O. S., London, 1805, was, as its author
claims, tho first work, published in Great Britain, containing full and classiticd
information on tho various topics relating to tho colonies of V. I. and H. C.
In scope and arran;;emcnt, it must be admitted that tho book is much to be
preferred to tho one published by D. G. Forbes Macdonald under a similar
title, although tho latter reached a third edition in I8G3. Mr Maclie, who
resided for live years in Victoria, devotes tho first six chapters of his work
mainly to an account of tho topography, geology, geography, history, and
resources cf V. I,, which ho terms *tho England of tho Pacific,' two of tlicm
treating mainly of the gold discovery, and of tho trade, progress, and coudi
tiou of tho capital. Then follow chapters relating to the commerce, the min-
ing ami agrieultuinl interests, and the faun% and ilora of tho mainland; con-
cluding witli n description of society and of the Indian tribes, the last chapter
containing some excellent advice to intending emigrants.

The fmlowing is an additional list of referunces to authorities consulted
in tho preceding chapters: Hansard's Pari, Deb., vol. clxxii. 61-01, clxvi.
2023-4, and clxvii. C45, 1404-5; Confcd. Mcsb., 35-40; Dam. Miii.
Priry Council, Dec, 18, 1884; ^.ess. Papers, B. C, 1875-85, passim; The
Oenl. Survey, Can. (B. AVestn.inter & Co,, N. Y,, Dawson Bros, Montreal,
1880); Papers Proposed Union B. C. and V. I. (London, Eyre & Spottis-
woodc, 1800); tho files of Iho London Times; E». Mail; Pall Mall Gazelle;
Hat. Bevieie; Standard; Victoria, Brit. Co!., Standard, Tdegraph; J)om. Par.
Ifrrald; Mainland Guardian; Toronto Globe; London (Ont.) Advertiser;
Qood'» Brit. Col., MS,; ])e Cosmos, Government, MS,; Sketches, B. C,
MS,; Bayley'a Vancouver Island, MS,, passim; Acts, It, C, 1871, nos ."t,
13. 14, 10, 17, 23; Stat. B. C, 1880, .10-40; Id., 1881, 17; /(/., 1882, .1,
05-75; /(/., 188.3, 25-8, .39-45, 05-101, 103-11, 11.3-1.''., HO-.VJ; Jour. Lr<,UI.
roHHci/, 1804, 2, 4-5, - --

1800, 1-4, 39-40, app,
1-.1, 1 1-12, 2.5-7, 40-1, app.

29, 31, 39, 41-4; /(/„ 1804-5, 1-.5, app, iv,-vi,; /-/.
I), app, i.; /(/., 1807, 1-0, 01, 04, 71-2, app. xvi.; Id., ISOS,
7, 40-l,app, i,-iii,. xvii,-xix.; Id., 1809, 2-.'), 44-0, 70-1; A/.,
1870,2-4, 28-3.-., 02-3, app, i.-ii.; /d., 1871, 2-0, 14-17, 2.3, 27, app. .V2;
Jour. Leiiisl, Ass,, 1873-4, v,-viii,, 1-3, app, iii. 3 !0, vi. 1-8, vii. 1-4, 49-07,
8V-90; Id., 1875, vii,-xiii, 1-2, npp, 487-541, 58.V90, OO.VSO; Id., 1S70, vii.
xiii.; Id., 1877, vii,-xi, 3; Id., 1878, vii.-xi, .3, 71-0, lO.'MJ; /(/., 1879, xiii.-
xiT,; /(/., 1880, xi,-xvi,; /(/,, 1881, 3-4, CO-2, app. 04; Id., 1882, ix,-xv. 3,

AUTHORITIES.

60B

26, 29, 34, 44, 46-8, 60-3; Id., 1883, 2; Sesa. Papert, B. O., 1876, 57-72,
165-328,565-92, 637-46, 673-6, 731-2, 737, 751-7; Id., 1877,359-72, 375-84,
389, 400, 431, 449-74; Id., 1873, 379-88, 415-16, 549; Id., 1880, 327-59;
Id., 1881, 189, 260-1; Id., 1883, 453; Id., 1884, 157, 183, 325; Indian Land
Question, Brit. Col., 26, 29-36, 38-9, 41-3, 47, 54-7, 64-8, 95-6, 104-6, 154,
165-6; 8. F. Alia, Bulletin, Call, Chronicle, Herald, Post, Times, passim;
Sacramento Union, Aug. 24, 1855; Oct. 4, 1856; Apr. 25, 1857; June 9, July
9, 10, Aug. 9, 26, Sept. 2, 6, 1859; Mar. 3, Aug. 29, Sept. 15, Nov. 23, 1860;
June 21, July 13, 20, 1861; June 1, 1863; Feb. 15, 1834; St Jhlena
Star, Aug. 27, 1880; B. G. Directory, 1882-3, 1884-5, passim; Chittenden's
Travels tn Brit. Col., 31-7; St Helena (Cal.) Star, Aug. 27, 1880; Har-
per's Mag., Aug. 1882; Portland (Or.) West Shore, Dec. 1886, 359-62; Ev.
Telegram, Feb. 20, Mar. 22, 29, 1879.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT.

1870-1886.

Tax VioroitiA and Esquiualt Bailwat— Fbotest of thb Mahtland
FopcLATiON— The Cabnabvon Club— Secession ob tbb Cabnabtok
Tebms — Defeat of the Eluott Ministbt — A Litelt Debate— The
Leoislature Votes fob Sefabation — Discontent in the Capital—
CoBNWALi. Appointed Chief Maoistbate — Gotebnhent of Bbitish
Columbia— The Suffbage- Pbooeedinos of •nm Legislature— The

JUDICIABT.

In the preceding chapters I have endeavored to lay
before the reader the main incidents in relation to the
Canadian Pacific Railway, avoiding, as far as possible,
the political i-Ksues to which the project gave rise in
British Columbia, as a matter apart from the disputes
and negotiations Oetween the province and the do-
minion. At the first mention of the scheme, in con-
nection with the terms of union, certain parties in
Victoria raised the cry of "no terminus, no confed-
eration;"* and the question of the Bute Inlet route as
against Burrard Inlet was discussed and remarkably
well understood as early as 1870. In December of
that year a petition was presented to the governor-
general, praying that if, after the surveys had been
completed, it should be found impracticable at once to
extend the line to Vancouver Island, then a road
should be constructed between Victoria, Esquimalt,

*Tho Victoria Standard of Oct. I.*), 1870, declared that no candidate ought
to bs returned for that city who would not pledge himself to vote for con-
federation onlv on condition that Victoria or Esquimalt be made the termiuuB.

RAILROAD POLITICS.

and Nanaimo, on the same conditions as were granted
to the mainland sections.'''

When it was announced by the !Macdo!jald ministry
that Esquimalt had been selected as the terminus, ar.
incorporation was organized and chartered by the
locallegislature, early in 1873, under the style of the
Victoria and Esquimalt Railway Company, the length
of the proposed line being three and a half milcs.^ In
July of that year certain members of the government
proceeded to Esquimalt, and after driving the first
stake for the location survey of the Canadian Pacific
at the south-east corner of the dock-yard fence, hoisted
a flag upon it, and quaffed champagne in honor of the
occasion. Two days later the location for the termi-
nus was selected by the same parties, the ceremony
consisting of marking one of the posts at the north-
west corner of the fence enclosing the admiral's resi-
dence at Thetis Cove with the inscription, C P. R.
S., July 19, 1873. Several hundred yards of trail
were cut through brush, though no sod was turned
under official authority, Helmcken, who was present
as the representative of the Allen company in the
Pacific province, declining to officiate. On the same
date a telegram was received from Ottawa, stating
that the commencement of the location survey was
not in conflict with the terms of union, the limit of

*Tho petitioners desired to havoa clause to this effect embodied in tlio
terms of union. In his reply, dated Ottawa, Dec. HI, 1870, Lord Lisgar said
that tlio routo could only bo determined after coufeduiation, and after explor-
ation and survey, in which B. C. would bo duly rtprostMitcd; that tho
interests of tho whole dominion, including those of V. I., wouUl then be con-
sidered; butnot until then couUl tho question of a brancii roiul Ikj entertained.
Urit. CohniKt, Jau 11, 1871.

•Tho company was empowered by its charter to condemn lauds, and was
required to commence building within a year, and to complete the road witliin
two years. In tlio Comol. Slut., It. (J., 1877, (ill, tho time for comnuMice-
ment was extended to July I87(i, and for completion to July 1S77. Thus,
remarked tho Colonist of Feb. 'J(S, 187.'1, 'there wero two great railway com-
panies— tho Canadian Pacilic, with a capital of Sl.S(),0(K),(X)(), !510,()(K),0(iO paid
up, and >,'i? Victoria and Ksrpiiinalt Railway Company, with §17."> paid up;'
tlie objccv jf tho latter being to capture the situ of the termiuus, and tha
principal parties interested being tho champions of the 'no terminus, no con«
federation' idea.

698 POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT.

time for the commencement of the line expiring on
the following day.*

A year later, after the downfall of Macdonald,
njeetinijs were held at i^ale and New Westminster,
at which the entire action of the people of Vancouvci
Island on the railroad issue was repudiated, and their
right denied to speak in the name of British Coluni
bia. It was also declared that the bcfjinniniif or com-
jiletion of the island road would in no way affect the
Canadian Pacific.'^ On the defeat of the island rail-
way bill, however, and the refusal to accept $750,000
as compensation, the premier of the dominion dealt
with the provincial administration as with one whose
interests were entirely identified with the island line,
which placed that line before the Canadian Pacific,
and whose tenure of office depended on the persistence
with v.hich they urged the fulfilment of this portion
of the Carnarvon terms. Thenceforth, as we have
seen, the principal bone of contention between the
two governments was the Esquimalt and Nanainio
railroad.

Early in 187G the attention of the people of Vic-
toria was called to the fact that E. Brown, president
of the provincial council, and Forbes George Vernon,
chief commissioner for lands and works under the
Elliott administration,^ were in favor of accepting the
offer of the dominion government.^ In the summer
of that year was organized at the capital the Carnar-

*BrU. Colonist, July 20, 1873.

'At Lillooet and Spellmans, in the Lillooct district, meetings were also
held, at wliich similar resolutions were adopted. Colonist, July 12, 15, 1874.

" Winch succeeded to that of George A. Walkem in Feb. 1S7G. A list of
the members of the legislative council and assembly of V. I. during the co-
lonial period, and of the members of the executive council during tlio provin-
cial period, will bo found in the Brit. Col, Direct.

' Wherefore the ministry was roundly abused by a portion of the Victoria
press. 'Do not trust a premier,' said tlio Standard, in its issue of Tel). 9,
1870, 'who says one tiling and moana another.* To this tlio governmLut or-

§an rejoined that one would have thought the Walkem administration hud
one enough to injure the country, in linking its fortunes with the conscrva-
tivep, to cure its contemporary and tho men whom it supported of tiieir pen-
chant for party politics. B. C. had no interests in common with either of the
political jHurtiea at Ottawa. Jirit. Colonist, Feb. 17, 1876.

CARNARVON CLUB DEMANDS. 1^

von club, by the members of which threats of seces-
sion were openly avowed in tlel'ault of the execution
of tlic Carnarvon terms, the visit of Lord Duflferin
appearing rather to increase than diminish their
clamor.

When, in reply to an address from the citizens ot
Yale deprecating the threat of secession. Governor
Albert Norton Itichards* observed that his ministers
"did not sympathize with the view that separation
must follow as a result of the non-commencement of
the island railway," the Carnarvon club demanded
an interview with Elliott on business of g' at public
importance." Giving audience to a deputation from
the club, the premier was asked: "Did the govern-
ment indorse the sentiment expressed in the governor's
reply to the Yale address?" The answer was in the
negative; the premier observing that the address was
of a mixed nature, containing "a little good and a
great deal of an objectionable character;" whereupon
the members urged him not merely to repudiate the
responsibility of what the lieutenant-governor had
said, but to "make him take back his words or stop
his supplies." Ellio*.t remarked that the governor
received his supplies in the form of a stipend from
Ottawa. The Carntrvon club then asked whether
the provincial legislature could not reach the matter
in some other way — by refusing to pay the salary of
the governor's private secretary, or to supply materials
needed at the gubernatorial residence. For a moment
the premier was staggered ; but he was equal to the
v)Ccasion, and with the versLtility of a statesman, re-
plied that he was hardly prepared for such a question.
Ho hoped that before the next session of the house
the railroad difficulty would be adjusted, and that
addresses and replies would be forgotten. Ho could

•Successor to Trutch, who lield office from July 1871 to July 1870, Eifh-
iirda being appointed for the ensuing live years.

• Richards had said, moreover, to the people of Yale: 'I have no doubt
liut what your views arc those entertained by the people of the province at
large.'

700

I'OLITICS AND GOVERNMENT.

not say, however, at a luoiuent's notice what the
govcrnnjcnt might or might not do it' no satisfactory
settlonient were nmdo."' Tho deputation thou de-
parted, fully satisfied that tho interests of tho province
were safe in Mr Elliott's keeping."

In January 1877 there wore oh.served at Victoria
evidences of unusual activity among the leaders of the
two parties. On the convening of the local 1» gislature,
Elliott was vigorously attacked by Walkem, iieavon,'^
and others, for sacrificing the island railway, and aid-
ing Mackenzie in his repudiation policy." A public
meeting was held at Victoria on the 3d of March, with
a view to demand separation or the Edgar-Carnarvon
compronuse terms, the one or the other, and in any
event the removal of Elliott's non-Carnarvon minis-
ters. A connnitteo was appointed to wait on tho
premier and ascertain what course he intended to
pursue with regard to the chief commissioner of lands
and works, who, it was reported, had declared himscll'
opposed to forcing tho island railway and the Bute
Inlet terminus on the dominion government. Another
mass-mooting was hold shortly afterward, wbon reso-
lutions wore a(lor)Lod demandinir the rosiufna'.ion of
Elliott. In tho local [parliament Walkem, in discussing
a motion respecting tho Edgar-Carnarvon terms, re-
marked that tho secret of the chanfje in Carnarvon's
views, as to tho island railway, was to be found in tho
influence brought to bear on DufTorin by members ol
the Elliott government; and Vernon did not donv
having advised the governor-general not to undertake
tho eonstruetion of this line.

The change to which ho referred is probably the

>» Toroiilo Globe, in lirit. Colonist, Dec. 12, 1S70.

" If wo can helicvc tlio Olluwa Tiinc>*, tlio Carnarvon club woa regarded at
the ciipital of tlio dominion as a da)i;{croii3 org-anization, an<l oiio witli pri'-
American leanings. To this tlio .SVir.-if/an/ replied, in its issue of Nov. I, I^Tii:
• The cIuIj is iindt.)id)t'.'dly dangerous t<) e'.ii^adian repudiators, but there is ii i
fear of ))ro-Ainerican leanings if the railway I'lntract Ik; carried out.'

'•'I{ol)ert Heaven was chief commissioner of lands and works from Hn-
177'2 to Jan. I.S7(>; was a|)[ioi!ited minister of linance and cgriculture Feb.
•J8, 1S7:», and held tho latter otiice from .June 187^ to June 1882.

'•' AV««t/a,(/, .March 2, .">, Feli. 27, I.S77.

THE ELLIOTT MINISTRY:

one mentioned in the carl's despatch to tlio governor-
general, dated December 18, 187G, Nvlicrcin, after
weighing the considerations on either side, hu says:
"I wish you to inform your advisers and the j^iovin-
cial government that, while I do not feel myself in a
position to decline to entertain the representations
pressed upon ntc by the province, I am ncvortht'less
at this moment unable to pronounce an oj^inion as to
the course which should be taken, either with regard
to the Esquimau and Nanaimo railway, or with
regard to the delays which havo occurred or may yet
occur in the construction of the main line."'* Tiio
follonors of the government said that Waliu-m slioulil
be ashamed to follow a leader who had not the cour-
age to show them where the battle was. The min-
istry must not be allowed to sliirk such an important
question.''

Elliott's ministry endeavored to control the move-
ment by giving way to it; but in vain. Jn !March
1878 Walkom introduced a resolution in tlieass(;Mibly
'Icclaring that if railway construction wei-e not coni-
inencecl by May 1879, the legislature would ilemand
separation. The Elliott I)arty oppc^sed, pleading that
it would l>c better not to press Canada ibr another
year.

In Juno the Elliott ministry resigned, (jioorge A.
WalkcMi, whose second term of oflieo lasted I'or i'our
vcars, being aijain called to the head of allairs.
I'^irther action on the resolution was deferred until
September. Meanwhile the ^Mackenzie administra-
tion was attacked by the conservatives at Ottawa on
the island railway question. On the; '_*3d of ^ranli,

'^( 'onrnjiouilfiicc rd. Citn. Piir. Jiiiiliraij, 15-I0.

'"'Mr M.ira, a iiieiiibcr for the iiiaiiilaii<l, siid, on tlio ltd of Ajiril, ls77,
iliiit 111! had strongly opposed the a<lniiiiistratioii of W.ilkcin, in In; had lieiMi
■ tnignliii^ liard for surveys down tlio Frascr llivcr. Il' llie l!si|ii'.iiialt lino
Mid JJiitc Inlet lino had heeii coninu'incil, it would ha\c> hiin tatal to liie
I Vasur Kiver route. There were no landn lit foi- .sittltuiint (•n the inland, and
I lie expcndituro would be uselesa. In the iiiteiior was a ri'^^ion whiili iniist
lie opened up to Lo in any manner available. It was not in the interest of
llie wliolo province Hint the Esquimalt and Nauainio railway should bo com-
menced first. Sluiiihiril, April 4, 1877.

708

rOUTICS AND (lOVKIlNMKNT.

1870, JKiUfHiKdi \va.saskc«liii tlio . senate as lo tin; |»iir-
cliascof r),00() Umsot'.stocl rails wliicli liad Im-ch laiidi i|
'M J^sqiiimalfc heloic i]\v lino had ovi'ii Ih-cii siiivrM ,|.
'Vhr answer was, thai. Ilio Esr|uiMialt and Nanainm
pntjcet liad bein indorsed l)y the coniinons, and tlial
IIk! froverinnent was justified in takinij; advantaLje i>\'
a low markets loi- the piircliuso of rails. 'I'liu I'aft.
Iiowever, that in 1878, sonio three yeais al'tc^r tin
railway hill was delealed in the senati', the r:iils wer(
in process of n.'inoval to Yale, was rej^jarded Ity tin
opposition in the provincial loj^islatun! as an elect i

(III

eeiini^ loo.

On this and other points, issu(! was taken in (In
loi'al parliaint;nt, and when Walkein's resolution \\a
attain hroujj^ht helore the honse a lively debate ensued
Jiasil Jluniphreys, jtrovincial seoretaiy and niinisti i
of mines, sai<l no one eoiild think that th<^ removal <>
till! lails was in j^ood faith, tor the purpose uC cdnst na-
tion; and tlu>y should scout this lust deliherate insull
of the ('anadian .LifoV(!rnnH'nt. They were nowap]»e;il
inn '<» the imperial t^^ovenuncnt in a maimer not iv
snited to hitherto, and one which would urove efl'eel iial.

veiv ar<Mimen

t had

ted.

iK'cn exnausie(l,anvery

IcL^ti

mat(! means used, to obtain their just ii;jfhls, witlmni
.-iuccess. Mr iJeaveii said it was evident that Canada
never intended to build the; road. Sinc<! coid'ederatieii,

the expiMiditures of the dominion had ex< led the

revenue by over a million dollars annually. Was it,
leasonable, Ik; asUed, fer thi;m ti» e\|»eet that a rail
way to cost more than a hundred million d(»llars c<»ultl
be built without increasinjj^ the rate of taxation? Jb
observed that tenders ueic invited jbi" the construct ion
of I'J,") miles of i-oad iVom \'ale to Kandoop, but tlii>
he re'j^arded as a mere ti'iek, disi^iied for elect ioneei'
in;j^ purposes. j\lr Abiams said a iL;overnment that
couM stoop so low as to crijiple, in the way they had
done, the late Walki-m administration, was an enemy
to the pio\ince.

J)r Asli. w lio, as provini'ial .secretary under \\'alk( iii,

FINANCIAL ASI'KCTS.

70.1

UH.si.slcd ill <)l)taiiiiii^llM,' Kdi^ar-Carnarvon scitlciiK ni,
ppoHcd <li(' i('S()luii<»:i oil (Ik; •,'i<)Uii(l iliat it would

<lc{)rivc< liiitisli Coluiiiliia of ail claiiii i<> (Im; htiild-
iiig <>r 111*' road. ]\v. rocoiiitiiiMidfd a iiiodilicat ion, if
iKM'cs.sary, ol'tlu! Carnaivoii Icniis. 'I'o Hiis Widkciii
replied that tlio doctor well knew that I'Mi^ar's |»ro
posals weiL; imaut!iori/,(;d,and lliat it ir(piin'dan onli i
in couiU'il to saiietioii tliein liulore tliey roiild Ix; eiiter-

taidet

I. (

(nmiiis.su>ncrs wore inej(

■i.y <•!

laniK

lis of

eoin-

niunieatioii; with negotiations tliey had nothing to do.
The resolution was adopted l>y a vote of .seventeen to

nine

lietweeii 1871 and 1H7H h< iik- Icn niiilions of d(»l-
lars were expended l»y the d* iuinion government lor
tin; .surv(!ys and construeiion ol" IIk; Canadian i*a(ili<'
railway, of which sum ahont .*?!,.'!()(),()()() was appro-
priated for survi-ys in Ihitish ( 'ohimhia; hut as yet
not a.sin''le dollar had heeii e.\i)end(,'d on eoiistruclion

within th

rovniee

was el.iiined. nioreovei

that
mil

during this pciiod 1 he cftntrihiif ion ol" jhitish ('ol
hia to the eonsolidateil I'lind of the <lomiiiion excccd.d
its jiroportion to th(! liahility nioiH; than a million, tho
average! taxation lor 1S7H heiiig i?!) per capil.-i lor the
province, as against .i?.")..']t lor tlio dominion." ]l
W(nild Heeiii that as ' et the lornicr had ;i"aincd nolli
ing by confederation j^ave the phantom ol" an unreal-
ized tiream. No wonder that tluro were not a liw ,
and these by no means destitute ol" iiilclligtiinc, who,
after eoiisi<l(;ring the geiieial iM-arings of the matter,
• •aine to the c* iiclusion Ihat it would have been bettei- lo
remain an mdejiciidcnt colony tiiidrr I In- home govern-
ment f l;ah io have unilid w il li ( '.uiada. Moi'covci*, ;is
I \m\'c said, llu; ])opuIatiou of (he capital contained a
large iiercentage of American-:, always imp.it ii iit, o

ontrol, and especially of dominion control. 1 1 .should
not be i'.!fnori-d, lio\\c\(r, that before coufcdi ration

m province w

as burdened v. il h a debt t hat liun'i' lit

\('.

All IK.'i'olllit of till! tlilililc Will III' foil I II I ill tlic Sill I. dill-'', Si'iil. I, IS7S.

UJIl

i7. Mi

/'(• f '

h ■■ t

704

POLITICS AXD OOVi:RNMENT.

a inillstonc around its nock, was virtually bankrupt,
and that men had lost laith in its power of recupera-
tion. The terms of union relieved the people of their
most oppressive burdens, enlarged their interests, and
made them rich, at least in promised greatness.

Concerning the government and political annals of
Britisli Columbia, there is but little more worthy of
record. It may indeed be stated, however, that for
many years the latter were so intimately connected
with the affairs of the Canadian Pacific railway, that
the history (tf one is almost the history of the otlier.
As ill other provinces, the chief magistrate was aji-
pointed by the governoi'-geneial «>f Canada ajid held
oflice i'«>r live years, this j)osi(iuii being filled, between
July 1S81 and July J 88(5, by ( 'lemeii't Francis Corn-
wall, I'oniierly a mcinbir of tlic Canadian senate.'^
]i('gulations jieitaining to ciistoins and excise, trade
and navigation, the militia, the jiostal service, and the
administration of justice, together with such other
matters as elsewhere in Canada fell under domiiiioii
control, were for the most part framed by the privy
council, with the advice and consent of parliament,
while tlu^ province, of course, i-etained control of its
local aH'aiis. In that [)arriament l>riti>li Columbia
was represented by tlii'ce senators and six members of
the ((nnmons, her own ligislative assembl}' consisting
of twenty-five members, elected by the people from
tliirtei'ii disti'icts*' for ;i term of lour years, while of
ihe" cMcutive council there were but three iiienibers.*"

' Ml' l'onn\all, a ^.'racluatc <.f Caniluidne, nml ii uh'IiiIht of tin- iiimi'
lcm]>lr, is 11 iiativu of l';ii;L;laiul, ati<l a koii of Allan tiariliirr ('oiiiwall, fliaii-
lain ill oi'iliiiary to tliu (|iii'( ii. Jii iSli'J Ik; raiiif Id It. ('., iiii<l in iiartncrNlni)
with M-i liiutlirr I'liL'agi (I in Htoilv-raiNln^' in tlu! iii'i;;li)ii'i lioml of Asliirofl,
wlii'ii' in IsT'S was liix conntry Kcat. Umiil'ti Ii. ('., MS., ."i.'S. Mlcitiil Hinatur
iiiiiii< illati'ly aftd' llio ooiifcdi'i'ution, liu' luJd that IK-Hitiun until liis a|piiuiiit-
nionla.i ;;()V('rniir.

''M''oi' tli<! Iniirtli |iai']ianicnt, flcctol in 1S82, tlicro wrro four nn-inlMTs for
\ ii'Idi i.i ( ity, Iwufiir Vii.'loriii ilisli iif, oni; for tlm city ami two for tluMlistritt
of Niw Wi^tiiiinsti-r, tlirro for ('aiil)oo, two each for ^'alo, l'lK(|uiinalt, Koo-
tciiui, L'ow icliaii, ami LillooLt, ami oiio cnili for Nanuiino, Cuniox, uiid Cussiur.
Ihcir iiaiiH')! uio given in i!. <'. JJinrt.. 168*2-3, Jlt>4.

'''In isn't tlio inuiiiliurH of tlio council wcro Wni Smitlio, premier and cliiof

The
durii
been
donct
subjc
Tl
anrl
impr
tolls,
publi
later,'
the ]ii
In
justice

LKGISLATIVK I'llOCEEDINGS.

705

The cumbersonio rostrictioiis on the suirrai><> existing
<luriii<^ tlio lirst years of llie eonredeialion luul now
been abolished, registration and twelvt; months' resi-
dence i)eing tlio only <|naliiications nei'ded lor British
subjects,-^ and vote being by ballot.-'^

The proceedings of the legislature between 1872
and 188G related mainly to municipal affairs, to public
iinnrovementa,"'' to the incorporation of eomi)anies, to
tolls, taxes, and revenue, to the disposition of the
public lands, of all which matters mention will be made
latei','-* and to the administration of justice, so far as
the |iro\ inee was not under the control of the dominion.

In 1H8G Sir Matthew B. Bcgbie, appointed chiel
justice, as will be remembered, in 1858,-* was still at

cijinniissii)iK;r of lumlii au<l woiks; A. K. j>. Daviu, atty-guii.; anil .loliii Kuli-
nun, jdovinciiil ki'c.

'-' Accunliii;; to tiK' ti'mi-" nf tlic (jiiulilii'iitiiin anil l!fL,'istiatiiiii of \'<itir.'*
act, iSTli, ic))L'aliii<x !i similar ai't jias-scil in IST"', tlio latlir rciieaiin;^ .'i liiiii-
lar act (it Is7l, ami tlii.< araiii n ]i(.'aliii,' iu.'ls of \>,'l and ls7-. Im' li">t of
tho lii'Mt lino, Kcu Slut. II. ('.. IsTii, '_'l-(>. Aoiordinf; to itn luovisions, tln'
fraiii.liisu was willilitld Ironi jucl'i >, Ktiiiciidiary n>a,L;isti'afi-'H, ami I'onstuMc-',
(■xcc'iit in (.ci'tain cases provide I in tliii act ; iiKo from ]Hr.sciMs nnd'i'j^'oin^ n ri-
tcnrc for treason, felony, orotlic^r infamous ollciicc. 'I'lii'unly i|iialiliratioii fi

' of tho Icgi.slutui'o was tliat hi: hhnidd In' duly ciitcK

ii imnilii'

tci* 111 chctors, nnd bhould 1

liavi

PC' n ii resident of tlie iirovinee lor at lea

;i the red-
t K

twi'lve inontliM hcforo tho date of his election.

'-■' Aecordin'/ to rules ijre.icriijed in II., 1>77, M 7, the iioilinL;-|i!aee i well!
to ])i! fiiniiahcil with ii nunilicr of eMni]);ii'tniiiit i, in whii'li tlie elcrloivt I'l.idd
mark tin ir vote.s wliilo r.ereencd from ohsi rvation. Jvicli liallot-papi r was to
eonlaiii 11 list of the cmdidates id[iIialK't ii-.dly ai laiiu'' d. 'I ho ( leifor iii u-
I'eivini,' tiie liallot-iiaiier must enter on'M.f iho enmii.iVtmi ills ami mark il with
;v cross o|i|i(isiU! llio naniu of tho eandid.iti s for w hoiii ho pii lerred lo\ole.
Ho liillit then told it so as to ci aecd I ho nanii'l of the candidal es. the marks
on its face, ami tho |irinted nnmirals on its liaeli, lli(>ii;^li dis[ilayin;,' tho olli-
eiiil mark thereon to tho jiresidin;^ otlieer, and di'iiositin;,' his iiaper, ica\e ihi-
lioliin.; hitation williout making known to any onu lor wlmni lie had toted.
Women wcru enlilled to vote at municipal elcetions.

-■' l(y .'lit of I'i7-, it was declared lawful for the lieiit-gov. to appicpiiite
any real estate, titre.ims, watercourses, etc., which ini^ihl. in Ids opini'in, ln!
necessary for tho usu, constiiielion, maintenance, or iinpiovcineiiL of any jiul

lii! wiiik, and especially siielj as 1
of tho dry-dock at J'.sipiiinalt.
eonimissioner of lands and work.s
aide vaiili', villi notici,' that the
and ;;;>diiys llieieattcr was author
I'd. I i77h 7!».'.

e mi'.'ht li

In e.isK t

II)

mi;!ht te

maltcr w

ri/cd to t

ni lieccMsaiy tor the e iiisMuetlon
ow lier n filM'il to Hell, tlie cliief
Icr wiiat lio eiMlsiderc I ;i leaHon-
Id he suliiiiitti'd to iii'liilralion,
lion. ( oitiiiil. Soil. It. (',

v. lios less

I he lawM iiiaetod hy llie luuislature up to I

he lollll

i| III /./.

i'or p

lianshii, aiel alti r that date in tho yearly \ "lumejof the A^'^ /.'.
<eedint,'s of the Ic'rixjativc* assembly, scu Jmir. Lcji I. A--'*. Ii. C, t'urcuch year,
wiiere will alsii he hitiiid tlio jjovcmor's upcochcs.
'■Seo p. 4'.':', this vol.

IIMT. Unit'. Cui,. ii

TOG

I'OLITK .S AND GOVERNMENT.

the head of the judicial y, buing assisted by four puisne
judges.'^ Next in rank wore the county court judges,
many of whom had held office since 18G1,"' and for
each settlement and electoral district were one or
more justices of the peace, of wlionj more than 20()
were in office in IS8G.^ Thus the law has hern
lirought to every man's door. Of late years it has
l)eon matter for congratulation that, notwithstandin-^-
variety of race and diversity of interests, [leace and
order have been maintained without resorting to any
unusual expedients. Absolute protection has bccii
afforded to all, without rcigard to creed or nationality,
and even during the construction of the railroad the
Aast iniiux of workmen belonging to every nationalitv
merely rendered necessary the appointment ofai'ew
additional constables.^'

'^11. r. 1*. Crease, J. Ilaniiltou Gray, John l'\ McCrcij;lit, and (Joorgo A.
Wnlkcni. At this iliile tlicro were '_'.") members of tlio IJ. <J. har.

'^'Uood'ii Jirit. I'lil., MS., 101, suy.s that ill l878thoy were favf)ral)ly Uiiowii,
iKit (iiily for their cxiiericnce, hut fur the Hkilftil and conscientious iliscliurge
lit' their duties.

'^' l'"or names, witii jurisdiction and address of thoao in (illico iu 18S.">, see 11.

I'. Dinrt., iss4-r>, -j;;!-:.

'• For particulars as to the ndinitnstration of justice between IS.'tfi and 1 SM),
seueluip. x.xiii., this vol. .Vmon;.^ the enactments relating to the judiciary diir-
in;.; tho coufidenilion period may be mcniioned the County Courts I'ractitiDiu im
act, ISTU, where))y all jiersons were i-ntitled to ap]iear in tlio county eonrt.s,
lh>) courtsof stipendiary iiiaj,'i!^trates. and of justices of the iieace, as the advo-
cates of parties to any proceedings in such court.s, thoiirtji n,,f, (juaUiicd [irac-
titioners. t'oiixol. ,Slaf. li. ('., 1877, 141. 15y net of I.s77, the |iro\ine(^ was
divided into county court districts. In 187- an net was passed to pniviiic
lor the holding of circuit courts in coimoetion with tho suprcirio courts. Km-
acta relating to legal professions, see hi., (;()U7: Slat. li. ''., KS7><, HD-'.'O;
1S8'_', f)7; ls8t, 101-11. JJyacts of 1S7!>, judicial districts were estahiishtil
for t lie jmlgea of the suprenie court, and tim j)ractico and ])roe()dure of the
supremo court were amended. In tho Jjocal Administration id Justice act,
Issl, pruviMion was made whereby iiroceediiigs in the siiprenie court could liu
deterinin"d in any of the judicial districts as ell'cetuallj' as in the city of Vic-
toria. \>y tho I'rovincial .Superior Court act, KSSJ, there was estaliii.shi-d a
court of record and of original and a|ipeliate jurisdiction, btyled Her Majesty's
Court of (^tueen's rieudi for l>iiii.<li Columbia, l''oract regulating tlio powers
of NiilJlTino court judges in eases of appeal, .see /(/., ISS.'i, lll-l I. The A :fnizo
( 'uurt act, lss.">, appoint ) the datej lU' hoMiii ,' courts of as>i/o and nisi prill-,
and <if oyer and iiiniiner, and geiiiv,'! j :ililrlivi ry, :it \'ictori.i, \aiiaiiiio,
Ni'W WeslniinsU r, Vale, Kaiiiloop, CliiiLni, l.ytti n, and lli.hlield. I'oracl
lela'.iiig to the jinisilictinn aiiil procedure of c luii; v courts, hco /i/., IsVi,
l7-(il; for acts 11 lilting to juriis and jurors, .SCO CoK.si,/. S.'at. /A C. (ed. l.'iTT),
;tl5-lti; ,'i!al. J!. ('., I8t>;i, 17 71; l!Jo4, G'J; 18SJ, 71).

CHAPTER XXXV.

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND IsDUCATlON.

1801-188G.

VicToniA— The UnnjiiTurs CniNAMAN— Ksyi i\im i- Nawaimo— Thk Viu-

TOItlA C'oAl,, MiNINO, AND LaSD CoMl'AN V -Ni \V \Vi;.STMIN8TEU—
LaN'OL!.Y— LyTTOS- SaVoNA's TEPatY — KaML0(j1' -(.'I.INTOV— lUUKEK-

VILLE— Yaix —Imhas Missions am) MishionauiisMitlakatiila -
FouTs — Indiih i:i;nck of tiik I'udv.si tal GovERN''KNr— ('iviuzvimv
OF THE Native Tiiibes — Ciiri:riir-i CinniTxni.E SoriETiEs - I'lui i •
Schools— Joui:NALisM—LiniiAi;n:!».

"Barely two c(!uturio.s ago,' exclaiiiiod JJr Piek-
oring, wlio in 1841 passed through the straits of
.ruan do Fiva on board the "xploring shi[) Vinccnncs,
"our New Enghind shores preseiitovl only scenes likt;
that l)eforo nic; and what is to he tlie lapse of tlio
third?" At this date an huhan trail and a i'ew Iniliaii
wigwams alono marked the i)resenee of man amid
the idmost nntt'iKuitcd solitudes where now stand tlic
• •itit's of Victoria and New Westminster. In 1801
Ihe ])opulation of Victoria mustered aoont .'5,oOO white
iniial)itants, of many nationalities, Jv.iglisli and Amer-
icans predominatii'g. At that date the grades and
cli(|Ues into which society resolves itself in oldei" set-
tlemeids did not as yet exist, even the lordly i^oiighis
heiuLT esteemed no better than his fellow -man. Mori*
cosmopolitan, pcM"haj>s, than were even the San I'' ran
•iscans in the days when bonanza society and the

l>oard of brol

;ers were unknown

<o intiml'irs o

f tl

lieterogen(M»ns conununity, gatluTed from all (juai'teis
of {\\o earth, plaei'd themselves on a cuuunon h , ■ ;.
and had but a conunon interest — to better their -

( Ti,7 )

701

SETTLKMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATIOX.

(lition, v}ing with each other only in niakiiiiif their
id especially their lei.-^ure hours, as at>reeablo

ives

)OSSI

j)Ossihl»? uiuler their altered contlition. Free i'l

oin

eoiiveiitioiial restiaint, (iwelliiii*' in a spot woi'ld-lanioiis
lor the Iteaiily of its scenery, amid nia^nilicent vistas
of forests and mountains clad with richest verdure,
and in a < liinatc softer than tiiat of the south of J'jil;'-
land, IIhi'i,' are few anion^- the present citizens of Vic-
toria who, after enjoying this brief resj)ite from the
hirl and strife ol" j)ro:nress an<l civilization, d(» n(»t

recall with a tinue of sadness those ''ood old tint

I'S.

At this date the Hudson's Day fort, witii its 1

lOLT

l)uildin<;s and its picket palisade, wa^. crunihlini;- into
ay. There wen* hut four sti-eets/ and the mo.^t

<le(

(iiildinirs, a

proniimnt buildings in the; capital were the Hudsun's
J]av stoiij and the bank of .l>rilM>h North Ameiica.
Two years later tin; city had made considerable [)r»i-
gress, c(tnt;iining, «^arly in I 80;!, about G,()(.)() peojiK'.
apart from the migratory pojuilatittn that tiirongid
tlu! town diuing the winter season, and sonn; l,jU()
monu' which were substantial warelaaiscs
tnd stt)res, several connnodious hotels, a theatr''. a
!ios[»ital, live churches, and live banking-houses. Tiir
value of I'eal estate; was also inciea>ing r;i[>iilly, front
age on good business streets cnmmanding a montlilv
rental of thi'ee to seven dollars a loot. In 1807 Vic-
toi'ia was incorporated, being divided into three wai'tb,
and the nuniici[)al council, which consisted of a mayei'
and seven councillors, having power to ni;tk(! by-laws
for regulating, among other matters, the trailie of the
city, and the maintenance, lejiaii', and construction of
highways, wharves, and bridges; to purchase, hold,
and erect buildings on leal estate needed ibr cor[»or;i(i'
use; to establish markets; to frame mi'asures I'er tlie
preveidion of lire,' ;md tin llglitiiiL' of streets; to

' Niiiiiiil Wliaif, \'ulf.(, I'lPit, luui .loliiiMiii. (•'(((/(( .< JSrit. < 'ol., MS., I.

■ Kor till,' uuiiporl nt iiu illiiiiut- liii' lU imrtiin lit, i tax of | (/t oiio jicr ci'iit

voir Was to Ijo Irvii'l oil till! \iili of all builili

uiiil till) h;iui ot i:'Mi !i

your \iaH to l)ij (laitl liy larli Ini i iiiaiii ■■ < niajiaiiy, toijDlin i' with ii rate not
i'xcuti(liii{{ Olio <'i{j;iitli i>('i- niit n > (lie ;iri..uiit (f 'lieir i:i 'luaiicc .. In (Im

CITY OF VICTORIA.

709

regulato the drainaufo, .s(!Nvciago, and sanitary condi-
tion of tlio city; and to provido for tho taking' of a
census.^

In 188G tho capital contained at least 12,000 inliah-
itants/ and in manufactures and commerce ranked, as
we sliall sec later, among tlie foremost cities of the
coast. In the excellence of its hi'diways and drives,
Victoria is almost unsurpassed, \vell-macadami/,ed
roads, built during the colonial period, extending for
miles through dens(! forests of pin*.', across strc^tches
(•f green mcadow-huid, over undulating downs, and
skirting the pebbly beach along tiie n»argin of the bay.
Contigut)ua to tho city on its south-eastern side, and
bordering on the straits of Juan de Fuca, is the
l)ublic park, enclosing a spacious tract of great natu-
ral beauty. In its c«;ntre .stan<ls a mound, Maiiicd
lioacon Hill, from which a view is obtained of tln'
eastern [>ortion of the straits, the islands clusteietl in
the Georgian Gulf, and the rugged, snow-eap|)ed sum-
mit of Mount Baker. Here it was that, during tin;
early days of the company's regime, signal-fires wen-
lighted each night wlu'n the anmud supply \(;ssel
became due, and hence, as slie passi.'d Jlaee Hocks,
news of her an ival was cariied to I Ik; niiiiialnic; settlt;-
ment jjfathered around the walls of (he old lo'' fort.

)iM!4iiici<H ]>:il't ot the town ::'> wixidiii l>uil(lili;{ wiih ti> lie (recti il iiiuro tliaii IS
feet, oriiiH- stuiy, lii.^li, uiid i- ;i j>'iij|l(y of XoOO fureiuji inoiitii during wliieli
Kiieli Imililiiii; wua erei^t.'d or in eciiii^e ni WirCiDU,

^'J'iii! textof tlu) ordiiKincn will lie I'oiiinl ii: the ''.i/.id/. Slut. II. ('. (eil.
1^77). 7''>'t-l»!'. Ill If^li-i l>il'iiie till' iHiinii of tlie twi. • cilmiies, ail act lial
already heiMi |iassed for tile iiic'i iwiraliuu uf tiie city <if \ uii.iri, forwldch
fvo J!. ('. mid r. /. Itirrrt., |sii;i, !»l I US, A list i>f the mavorsaiid coiineilloiH
fl'din ISIi'J to ISS'i will lie foimd in /.'. C ll,,:rl., Kss.' :i, H,". H. At the latter
date Noah Shakespeare, a native ot M.lllordsliire. l';ii:;I,inil, tilled IJK' liosition
of mayor. .Vi'riviii;^ lit \ictori.i in lMi;t, lieiiiv; then in hj-i 'JHh ye.if, ho va-i
(.'lad to liiid emiiloymcnt at one ot tlu; Ninaiino i ollieiic*, ami aitiT acMuiinii
latin;.; a little money, returned to tlii! cajut.d anden'^a'^ed in hii^iiies's. |''ioin
tlii.s hiiiall liei.'inniiiu' he mad • his way in lite, ImIii',' elected in \S~H to the city
eoiincil, and in iSS'ia meinlicr ot the timnimon coinnioiix. and |irertiilent of the
Mechanics' Institute. In politics he was termed a liheral coiiMcrvatiie; iilwav .s
had tlio KU|iport of t'le woiking classen. In IhS.'i tlii' mayoralty w.a.s liidd hy
IJohert I'ateison Ititlnt.

ei'his was tho estiiuato of tlircctorv compiler . The eensiiH ot ISbl ','ives
till! population at l'_',(H)l), exeliihive of liidliuiH. In the X. /■'. Hiillr/in of Ni'ircU
12, IHS.'i, it is giv( n nt lO.dlKM > J-.'.tKK).

710

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

Viewed from any of the iieighboriiiL,' omiiieiicos, as
from tlie liill near j^overnment house, from ^fount
'rolmie, iVom Church liill, or from tlio hracl of l^in-
(lora avenue, the city, which was hiicl out, not in rec-
tauLjular l)locks, but following the configuration of tin;
land, i)res(;nts a beautiful appearance. Many of the
private dwellings arc embowered in ivy, clematis,
honeysu(.'kl(', or other creeping plants, and surrounded
with orchards, lawns, luxuriant shrubbery, and neatly
I rimmed gardens. The business j)ortion was (piite
early for the most part built of brick or stone, and,
tliough none of the structures were pretentious, not a
few displayed considerable taste and architectural skill.
The govermnent buildings, ctjutaining the provincial
ollices, were situated on a neck of land connected by
a substantial brid-n; with .Tames Bay, and in their
front was a gray granite obelisk, erected by the people
to the meiiKH'v of Sir James Douiflas. Thedomiiiiou
Imildings, ineliiding the custom-house, post-oflice, and
matino hosj)ital, and containing accommodation for the
federal ollicers, were well and substantially constructed.

Like San Francisco, V^ictoria had its Chinatown,
oei'U[»ying a considcn-able portion of the city, and en-
(•roaching rapidly on some of the most valuable pro|>
erties, while its denizens came into active competition
with the mechanics, operatives, and business men of
the ('a[)ital. Apart from the onmipresentlaund'ryman
and domestiij servant, there were, in 188G, Chinese
contractors, mei'chants, importers, grocers, dry -goods
m(3n, dealers in [jrovisions, vegeta des, tobacco, cloili-
iiig, tea, fancy goods; there were Chinese druggists,
doctors, tinsmiths, tailors, barbers, bakers, and reslaii
rateurs; and there; were Chinese establishments ['<<{■
tlu; manufacture of shirts, clothing, and cigars, J)ni-
ing the previous one or two years, acts were passed In
forhid the immigration of Chinamen,'Hi) prevciit tli'iii

'■' It was (lc('liiri.tl unlawful foe ( 'liiiiiuiu'ii ti) enter tln^ jncviiiee, tin we wlm
bhoiilil ufterwiii'd iiiuke tlieir uiiy iiilo liritiKJi ( 'uliiniliia liciii^ jiiiltle to ii line
of $.~iO, or bix iiKinllui iniiirisoiiiiient. 'I'lie pi r»iin wlm ^1 iilil lirin:; tii'Mi) to
or in any w;iy assist tlicni to reauli I!. C wu!* to (orieJt ^L'Ol) for cutli Cliiutt-

TMK CIIINKSK (^UKSTION.

711

from Jicfjuiriiif^fi row II I;iii<l.s,*';in(l <<> control tho Chinese
))opul;itioii tlirii in tlu; province. Tlu- first of tiiesc
jicts I'ailcd, however, to receive tiie ■•i|»[)rovul ol' the
<h)niinion j^ovci iinicnt," and Ji committee, sent, from
Ottawa to inquire into tlic matter, rtported in lavor
of Chinese immiL;rati<»jj;'' wlu'renjton another hill,
almost identical with thc! former, was passed hy the
|)ro\incial K">islatiiri', hut >vas anain thrown out hv
the cahinet.^ Thus, <»n tlie Chinese question, Jiritisli
Cohnid»ia was, in relation to the dominion, sonuiwhat
as the Paciiic United States were to the federal gov-
ernment, little hope heinL;" entertained hy either that

lu.'iii 80 coiivuyt'il or assistcil, or in ili-fiiult lie iiii]>ri.H()ii(;(l for a pt-rioil not i?x-
ct'ccliniL; Kix luontlid. (ATtilioatos of txrniption nii^lit Ito ^'lanlcil to tlio.su
wi.shini,' to l(':ivc llic iiioviiico tcniiioiarily. St,if. J!. ('., Issi, ,")-(i.

" Jn tliu iirofiinlili' of tlii.s .'ut, tlu' text of wliidi w ill ln^ f uiml in />/., l.'SS4,
7-1 -, It i-t .slat Oil tiiat lliu iulliix of Cliini'-.o lai'/iIyM'Soccdeil tliiit of any otlicr
nationality, tiirc.itcninL! .soiiu to outniinilxr tliowliito jiopulation; that tlicy
woiilil not (inljniit to tlio laws of tin! provimo, cvadLMl the jiaynii-'nt of taxes,
anil \\v\M generally ;>\il)Vti-.si\c of the coihrortaml uelM)iiny of the oonnnunity.
All (,'hinainen WLio niailo li.ililu to a tax of SlOiiyear, on the p.iynient of
which licen.sc.i were to bo handeil to tiieni liy olliciai.s, called (Jhine.so eol-
leet(jr.^, appointed for caeh eiictoral district. All < inployei.s of Chinamen
wcro reqnircd to demand of them their lieen.ses, and retain Ihcni dnrinj,' (heir
term of Hcrvioc, produeim,' them for inspection liy the eidlector whenever I'l'-
•piirod to do so. 'J'ho fee for miners' cc>rtilicate.s, when issned toChinanan

vas increased to Sl.'i a year. J'lxhnmati

d tl

if opium

except for

medicinal or KUrj^'ical ))Ui-po.seM, were fi.rliidden, and it was deciiircd unlawrni,
nncler a pi n;dty not exceeding,' $'i{), to let or occupy any room eontainin.i; less
than .'ISl cubic feet of Hpuco for each occupant, or (inlcss such room contained
a window that would open, not lean than two feet H(jimre.

' For rejiort of tlio privy council disallow in;^ the act, ami contuinini; a copy
of the opinion of the minister of justice, seo .SV.s.i. I'<i)i< ra, li. ('., ISSI, -ril'-;!.
fn answer to this, the assembly, at its next Hcssion, forwarded nn address to
tho ffov.-u'cn in louncil, extremely re;^i'etting that the act had been disaU
lowed, Ktatin^' that the disillowanco was not caused by its being iinconslitu-
tional, but on the ground of inexpcdiiMuy, nn<l that they saw no reasons to
cli,int;e tho carefully considereil re|>resentationa, which from time to time
had i>eeri urged \ipon tho dominion government. Joiir. IjCijUL Am. IS. ('.,
IHS.">, .">•_'. 'i'lii.s is h.ndly a fair statement of the ca.se. In his report the ndn-
ister of justice expresses much doulit as to tiie authority of tin- le^'islatuie to
pa.ss such an act, stiites that it should not be ])ut in I'orce without due con-'iil-
(latiiin, anil that, nnder its ]U'ovi.siiins, time was not allowed tor smdi consid-
eration. 'A law,' ho remarks, 'which )>revents tiie pcoph^ ol' any country
from coming into a pro\iiico eiinnot be cud to be of a local or jirivatc natui'

On th" contr.'uy, it is one invoh in

linioii I, nil po-sibly imiieri.il interests.

A copy of the report will bo found in (he ,S'. /■'. ( 'nil. I'd

"In .'ici tion !t.') of the llritish Norlli .Vmcrica Act, I

S((( , It IS plo

I ss.l
\ided tli;.t

the legihl.itiiie of each |U'ovinee may enact laws regardie; inmiigratlon, but
th.'it tho pai'lianicut of ('anaihi may al.o pa.s.s siuiilar laws >or all or any of tho

Sroviiiccs, and that the former shall take eliccL only ho fura.'j tlioy do nut oon-
ict with the dominion sl.ittites.

'i 1

7li!

Sini'LKMKNTS, MISSIONS, AND Kl)l( ATION.

niiy riulicul <'liai)^o in ilio l.iw would he iinuU' until ilio
luuttor ciiiuo Itoiiu! luoru closely to the duois of iiuii-
eastern brethren.'"

Thou*;h still containin<^ in I88G a laiijc pentiiitaLje
of Ainerieans, and as u community hy no means ]a(;k-
ini^ in enterprisi;, the citizens oi' the capital were not
disposed to imitate the examjde of the I'acilic coast
metro[K)lis, wIuto presided tiie ^'enius of unrest, and
where men liad barely tinu; to livi; their allotted span
of life. They took lifo (piiclly and somewhat (visily,
the merchant walking leisuielv to his store at nine or
t(m o'clock, closin*^ often at four, after a IoU'L,' interval
for lun(!h(!on; and to tlie stian^cr within his jjjatcs, who
inii^ht take him to task for his uid)usini!ss-like habits,
ho would reply that he; was sullicitintly well-to-do, and
would probably «'njoy loULjei' days and c<!rtaiidy bett(!r
dii^i;sti<ni than his American <'ousin. As in other
«'olonies, the people of Jiritish (Jolumbia were much
<;iven to holiday-makiiiLj, pii;nickin<j[', and junketin*;.
Lej^al holidays wnc plentiful," and when they oc-

'" For (inlcr in ('((1111011 ciilliiijL; tlio nt.ti^iitioii of tlio (lominioii govcrniiK'nt
to il>(j iiiiincnso iiillux of CliinuBo into tlio provintM", wee •Vrvx. I'n/irrn, It. ('.,
iSiiW, '.W'l {'). Altliiildalullicru wcro.'ilionl J'J.OlMX^Iiinanimiin JS. C, of wlioiit
nioro than oiio half wcro cniitloyiMl on tlioC. I*. It. l''or ri'soiiilion iM'>;in;{
tlio iirovincial f^ovi'i'iinioiit to lulopt incaii.s for rrHti'ictini,( fiirtlicr (Jliiiicso
iiiiiiii;^lulioii, for i'oiii|ii.'lliii;.' tlioso iilroady in llic |ir(ivillcu to coiiiply willi
till! rcvciiiio mill otIiiT laws, and for inaii,!.;iiraliiig :i liWcnil hcIiciiu! of UMslstcil
uliito iiiiini;L;riitioii, hi'o Jmir, /a'ijIs. Amm. II, O., \SS'A, 17. in April iNSOii
I'cHolntioii was iiassoil in tlio aH:^('nilily, n'ljiii'stin;^ lliu iloliiiiiioii ;;ovoi'iiiiioiit
loaiitliori/o tlio [laHHiii;^ of llio Cliino.so tax aot, .'i oo|iy of wliioli will lio fuiinil
ill til., ISSO, '2\. l'"or [lolilion to tlio lo;,'isla(iiiu of llio Aiiti(;iiiiioMo Amho-
ciatioii, Noo (S'('>i. l'(i}<ir^, /I. ('., ISSO, •10(1; for aoL to piov iilo for tlio liolloi
oollootion of la\o^^ from (liiiicso, Sltt. It. <'., ISIS, }•_",( .'!_'; for jiaiioix .lad
rosoliitioiis of asMi'inlily loladii:^ to Cliinosu iiiiliii,L;ralion Itotwocn ISjti .iiid
ISSI, .SVx.s. /'(tin-", It. <'., ISSi', •2-M i. For viow'-i of Mr .lii.Uioo 15o;,d.i(! on
lli(! ( 'liinoso (|iiostioii, HOC Sac. Uniml-Uiiinii, March VI, IH8.">; for aiitiClii-
iio.so n^'it.ition at. \ ioioria, lil.. May o, 'I'A, iNS.'i; ,S'. /'. t'lu-oniiic. May "J.'!,
ISS.'t. In liSSI tlioii? v.asa railroad nlriko and anti-( 'liinoso riot at \'alo, an
aooount of w iiicii i;i^;ivoii in tlus.V. /''. .\lli', May !<•, ISSI; Sue. L'riitrit-f/iiinii,
May 1(1, ISSi. .\s lalo at ha ;t jis IS7.S tiu! Ciiiiioso invasion wa i iidI ooiisid
oro;| to lio ii Horioiin evil. (IihuI'h Itrit. Cnl., .MS., |()|. |'"or adilitioiial itotii-;
and t'oininont.s on tlio (liiiio.so (jnostioii, sou Jlril. ('oIudikI, Ayv. \'-\, IS7S;
Torniilo l.inilii; in \'ir. Slitiiitari/, Apr. 17, 1S7S; S/aiidurd, A)ir. 17, IS7S,
A])r. .'to, .May l.">, IS7!); A'<»» IW.iliuiiistn' (lirinlinii, M.'iy It), |S7l>; Ihtntln-
inn l',u: Ihrald, Maioli '11, 1,S7!»; .S'. /■'. Ilnl/rliii, A\v^. .".I, lSt).">, Aug. fl,
Oct. II, Nov. I, 1878, Maivli II, I,s7!»; Cnlf, M.iy 11, IS7l!, Juno i:i, Is7'.i;
/'o.s7, May;t, lS7(i; Alia, .liiiio i:i. .Inly l, l.S'.IO; Vhr.nudi', .Sept. i;i, I.S7S.

"Tho principal oiio \\a, tlio 'J I III (;f .May, tlio ipuon'ii hirthday, aiul

AN KAHY LIIK.

71 J

currc'd at too Iomlt intti'vuls, lit Mr ixcusr was incdcd for
procliiiiiiiiij^ otiicis. Kc'iciitinii was r<»iisi(l<n!(l a.s a
portion oI'IIk! |>ni<^iainiii<! oI' life; aii<l llnoii'^lioiil ili(>
warm si-asun and the lonLf Iwilii^lii of tlic Indian
suninur, ilicn; wcir Irw rvcniniLjH on wliidi llif l»ay
was not dotted with phiasiire craft," and tin- id.ids
t lironj^-cfl with vchirirs, anion*; tho (avoriti- drives
hi'in'^ t.hos(! to IOs(Miinialt, to |{icliniond, and to iM.-iroii
J I ill."

In IK(;i,and lor several years tlierealter, the in-

eoniiiiLj voya;^(M* was j(»lted over some

Ihi

and

a mil

miles of exeerahle road on his way IVoni lvs(|uinialt to
Victoria. Tiie intervening space; was ap|)ropriated
hv Ihoiisands of ln<iians IVom the nei<;lihorliood of
Nootka Sound, the western <'oast, of Vancouver, and
the horders of Alaska, and hy human waifs 1*10111 the
.l*acili<r I'oast settlements men attracted in e\er-
increasiii}^ nunihers sinc(j the «(oId excitement of IHaH.
There may havi; hoen some who cam<! with hoiMJst in-
tent, hut the majority wert; gathered lor no i^ood
purpose, insomu«:li tliat tlu; place was turned into a
|iand('monium, hecamc! tin; receptach; lor stolen ji;ood>,
the site of trattlc in illicit whiskev, and illiiat amours.
()r<;i(;s ol' tile most rovoltinj' characttir ceased not hv
day or nii^lit; there wr-re hundreds of .sava;,^,', dniiikeii,
and Iren/it^d heini^s in human <juis(; eiicoiinteird at
almost every tuin ol' tlio path, beini^rs aiiioni; uiiom

amiiii!^ iitlici-H may lie iiK'iitinnuil tlio illi of July, (Ih^ |iiiiic'c r,!' W'alri' l.iitli-
(lay, (.'(iroiialioii ilay, iiiiil (Inininioii ilay,

"'I'lic fdvorilo i(!S()ifc for lioaliii;{ itaitics was tln^ Ooijii', Ji iiarro« ami of
tlic liarhor, and (i|iciiiii;.^ iiilo it, liy a ])aMsa;;i) ho iiairow tlial one: niit^'lil alnio>l
leap across it. .S'. /'. Itnllrlin, Manli i'J, iMS.'i.

'^n ISSl Vii;loiiii waH li-<lit<!(l l.y cilcctricly. .S'. /■'. /!iil/,ii,i, .Nov. -Jl. |.ss|.
I'V)r tlio Corporation of N'iilori.i, Water-works iii;t, \^l'.i, ;ihn iichd liy ii l of
\H'ii, BPO Consul. Slat. 11. (!. (nl. IS77), 77.'t-S7; for Wahrworki l>. Im ntiir'^
<iiiarautuo act, lS7t, A/., "ST-'.M). 'i'lii; water was convi yi.| fiom i'ilU l..ikr,
a (Ii:{tanc(! of seven niilis, tins cost of tlio works liciiii,' .':<20il.0<Ki. lii-ii. Cul.
Diirrt., 1S8.'{, II. For iiK'ntion of (:aitlii|naki -i Jit Victoria, kii' .s'. /•' Itnlhiiu,
Nov. 1«, 1804; Dec. 17, iH7-'; (Jail, Oct. (I, iHliJ; Ahmd /'<,^f, .Ian. s, |s7<»:
S(ir, Urr.ord- Union, March II, ISSl. l'"or coii<lilioii. proi,'ics,-i, etc., atv.irioiis
dates, SCO S. F. liullrlin, Juno LMi, July (i, S, "Jd, •_'(;, ll.c '.I, l>S.".S; |M). I.., !(!,
Apr. I,'», 18, 1850; May 10, Nov. 10, IWiJ; 1.1). I, IS7(): .Mhi, .1 uno 'J.'., An>,'.
'jr., 1878; May'JT, KS.V.I; M.iy'21, Isdd; .May 1:1. iMiJ, .Mar. Ii •.'.(. ISO-'; Call,
Jan. 'J'J, 1SC5; TimcH, Nov. i', I8(i7; I'l.rllfi'nd HV«/ .SAo/v , July 1877.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

m\l^ 1112,5
S IIIM

2.2

lAO

2.0

1.8

1.25 1.4 16

■• 6"

►

'c*l

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

«'

'"%'■

23 WFST MAIN STREET
WEBSTEi<,N Y. 14S80

(716) C7:M5C"H

.A' €P.

U.x

714

SETTLEMEXTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

tlio strong arm of the law could scarcely preserve
the semblance of order."

In 188G Esquimalt, wliere two or three u)on-of-war
were still usually stationed, liirnishcd to the leaders of
the city's fashion recruits for their balls, parties, kettle-
drums, and lawn-tennis, while among the blue and
scarlet attire of the marines and naval officers figured
the gorgeous uniforms of tlie local artillery and mili-
tia. Second only to the capital in the beauty of its
sight, and far surpassing it in harbor facilities, the
town once selected as the terminus of the Canadian
Pacific railway', and, as many think, the future termi-
nus, contained at the latter date probabl}'' less than
a thousand white inhabitants,^'

Nanaimo and its neighborhood contained a popula-
tion of about 4,500, the number being constantly
increased by tiie arrival of miners, mechanics, and
laborers. The line of the island railway passes
through its centre, and from the point selected ibr the
company's depot has been locatetl toward Departure
Bay. in the midst of a rich mineral and agricultural
region, with extensive collieries in full operation, the
bituminous coal of this district sellinfT;: at higher rates
than xYustralian coal, or than any as yd produced on
the Pacific coast,'" with an excellent harbor, and with
steamers and sailing craft from San Francisco, Port-
land, Sitka, and other foreign and domestic ports

'* On one occasion it required the presence of two or three vessels of \var
anil a ilcnionstratiou in force to restrain them. Good'n B) it. Col., MS., o.

'^According to the census returns for 1881, the white population of tli(>
Esquimalt tlistrict was 014, and the Chinese population 4,1)50. In 1880 the
graviug-ilock, which, wlicu finished, will be one of the largest on the I'acilio
coast, had not yet been completed. For papers relating to its coustructioii,
see (S't'N.f. Pajfru, B. C, 1880, 327-'M; and lor reports of the committee
thereon, Join: Lti/iil. A.'<s. B. ('., 1882, 12, "27, G'). For act to incorporate
the Esquimalt AN'atcr- works Company, sj^i S/ut. B. ('., 188.'), 157-00.

'"At the close of 1885 t!ie piico of Nanaimo coal was !$7 to ^S.'2') per ton,
according to quality, against S5. 87 a ton for Australian cual, §5.10 fur (.'oos
Bay, and §0 for Keattlo coal. S. J'. Bulktin, Dec. 22, I8S5. 'J -lie several de-
.scriptiona of Nanaimo coal were known us Douglas, Wellington, New Douglas
(or Chaso liiver), Newcastle, South Fields, Alexandra, nnil llarcwood. B. C.
Direct., 1885, IIG. The output of Nanaimo and Wellington coal was from
Jan. I to Nov. 30, 1883, aljout 192,000 tons, the total deliveries for that
period being some 887,190 tons.

NANAIMO AND NEW WESTMINSTER.

715

constantly at hor wharves, Nanaimo, incorporated as
a city in 1874, contained one of the most i^rosporous
and contented communities in British Columbia.^'
Wellington, a short distance toward the north, and
(or \\hich the shipping point WtS Departure Bay, a
picturesque inlet of the Georgian Gulf, contained in
I88G about 1,200 people, and Comox, a thriving vil-
lage in the most northerly agricultural district of
Vancouver, some 300 inhabitants.

Of coal discoveries, collieries, and coal-mining suf-
ficient mention has already been made in this volume.
It remains only to be said that in 1885 the Victoria
Coal Mining and Land Company, in addition to their
Nanaimo estate, which included the site of the city
and many square miles of adjacent land, were the
proprietors of the Wellington mine, the island of New-
castle,^^ and the Protection Islands, and the Frew and
liarewood estates, the latter consisting of some 9,000
acres. The company gave employment to about GOO
men, at fair rates of wages,^^ and at a depth of (500
foot the well-known Douglas seam was found to be
eight feet in thickness.

Passing to the mainland. New Westminster,^^ with
its neat and tasteful residences, built on wide and well-
defined streets, rising in regular gradients from the
bank of the Fraser, with its salmon-fisheries, its
farming and manufacturing interests, and its general
air of respectability and thrift, contained in 188G a
population of more than 4,000. Near its centre stood
the dominion government building, a handsome brick
structure with facings of freestone. On the outskirts
of the city were tlio provincial asylum for the ii)«ano,

'' For act iiicorporating llio Nanaimo Water-works Company, sec S/nt.
B. (\, ISSo, lGr.-77.

''* Whore ia n valuablo stonc-rjuarry.

'"Miners earned from ^J.-jO to §."> a day; Indians and Chinamen, of w!iom
about 100 Were cmploycil aa hiborcra, received §1 to $1.'2j. JJ. C. .Direct.,
1884-.-), 119.

'■'^ Of which a description ia given in tho Portland West Shore, Feb. 1880.
For reports of superintendent and commiasioncrs, sec Sess. Papers, 11. C,
1884, 281, 33J-45; 1883, .'{21-31.

716

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

and one of the provincial penitentiaries,"^ the former
a brick edifice, commanding a panoramic view, and
partially surrounded with evergreen trees.

Langlcy, distant about seventeen miles from the
former capital, was a favorite rendezvous for sports-
men; and Lytton, some sixty miles beyond, a town
which, like Lillooet, contained during the gold ex-
citement a floating population numbered by the thou-
sand, was again developing, after a long period of
decadence, into a thriving town." In the Chilli-
whack municipality, east of Langley, were several
thriving settlements, the one tliat bears that name
beingf built on one of the most beautiful sites on the
mainland. ^^ Savona's Ferry was at this date a grow-
ing and prosperous settlement, and Kamloopbade fair
to become one of the leadino; towns of the mainland
interior. Clinton, situated 2,700 feet above the sea-
level, at the junction of the Cariboo and Lillooet
roads, and noted for the beauty of its scenery, was in
a prosperous condition; and Barkerville, at the termi-
nus of the Cariboo wagon-road, with a population of
nearly 300 persons, enjoyed a good share of tlie gen-
eral business of British Columbia.^^

Soda Creek, some forty miles above the mouth of
the Chilkotin, was the point from which the upper
Fraser was deemed navigable, the river between that
village and Yale being obstructed by rapids. In its
neighborhood were several flourishing farms, and here
the wagon-road to Cariboo, which diverged at Lytton
fi'om the line of the stream, again struck the Fraser.
Quesnol, about sixty miles beyond, and on the left

"' Reports of the superintendeut of police on provincial prisons will bu
found in Id., IS84, 441-C3; 1883, 471-90; 1882, 457-500. Tliere wcro also
jails at Victoria, Nanaimo, and Clinton.

'■'-'At one time it contained only a dozen dilapidated buildinf;s. Good'x
lint. Col., MS., 07. In 1885 Lillooet contained only one broad sti'cot. New
gold discoveries were constantly being made in its neighborhood, and the sci-
called ISridgo lliver mines paid fair wages during the seasons of low water tm
the Fraser. B. C. Direct., 1885, 'Jl.1.

'■'' Among others wcro Centreville, the steamboat landing for Chilliwliack,
Sumas, I'opcuin, and Cheam.

^'In 18G0 Barkerville was almost destroyed by fire. 8. F. Call, Sept. 23,
1808.

TOWN OF YALE.

717

bank of the river, was the point of dehvery by the
steamer plying thence to Soda Creek, and shared with
Barkerville the trade of the Cariboo country. At
Alexandria, i'orty miles below Quesnel, was still one
of the Hudson's Bay Company's posts, in the vicinity
of which were also profitable farms, though the soil
in parts required irrigation.

Next to New Westminster, Yale ranked first among
the settlements of the mainland, containing a resi-
dent white population of five or six hundred souls,
though during the construction of the railroad the
number was considerably increased. Built entirely of
wood, in 1881 the town was partially destroyed by
fire.-' A border place between the mainland coast
and the mainland interior, and approached at various
epochs by canoe, bateau, and steamboat, it contained,
among other buildings, several excellent country-side
hotels and stores, two churches, episcopal and catholic,
and the provincial government school."^"

Among the residents of Yale in 1878 may be men-
tioned John B. Good,-^ who in 1861 arrived in the
province as an evangelist under the auspices of the
London Church Missionary Society for the propaga-
tion of the gospel. Landing at Esquimalt in 1801,
at a time when the usually gentle savages had been
roused to i'renzy by the greed and aggression of miii-
Wix adventurers, and the wholesale introduction of

^■' The loss was estimated at 6200,000. During tlio previous year a lire lia: 1
occuned, causing damage to the amount of 87i),UOO. .S'. /'. UuUcthi, Aug. )!•,
'JO, 18S1; Sacramento Union, Aug. UO, 23, 1881; IStocldon Independent, Aug.
'JO, KSSl, July 80, 1880.

''^ For further mention of towns and settlements in 1882, bco Chitlfndin'n
Tract Is in Jlril. Col., 13-15, passim.

^' A native of Wrawby, Linconsliiro, Knglnnd. He vas in eaily y<iuth
a |iui)il (if Jolni West, the first Hudson's liny Company's chaplain of I'liiKo
Rupurt Land, and completed his education at St Augustine colic;;!', (,'anU r-
buiy. Hi:4 iir.st calling as a missionary av:is to Nova Scotia, 'i'o Mr «J(k,'i1 I
am indchtcd for a valuable manuscript, one often quoted in these pai^cs » i
Uood^s lirilixh Coltimhia, and in which there are niiiny interesting n.'fords a ;
to society, politics, industries, and settlement. The most valuable jiortiou
ol Ilia narrative, however, is in connection with his experience as a missionary
among tiie native tribes.

!4h

I \\m

718

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

fire-arms and fire-water,^^ Mr Good labored faithfully,
and not in vain, for the improvement of their moral and
ph}' sical condition. Among others who have devoted
themsclvos to the same cause may be mentioned Wil-
liam Duncan, who, arriving at Fort Simpson as a
missionary sent forth by the same society in 1858,
afterward established a mission of his own on the
oastern shore of Metlakathla Bay. By 1886 this
establishment had developed into a town containing
some 1,500 so-called civilized natives, with noat two-
story houses and regular streets. The settlement was
almost self-supporting, no outside aid being received
except the voluntary offerings of visitors. The prin-
cipal industry was the weaving of shawls. There was
also a salmon cannery with a capacity of 10,000 cases
a year; a sash and door factory; and a saw-mill and
a brick-yard. The church, built entirely by the
natives, and the materials for which, with the excep-
tion of the windows, were of home production, had a
seating capacity of nearly 1,000, and was one of the
larorest in British Columbia.'^''

Among the Kootenai tribe a catholic mission was
for many years in operation under Father Fouquett,
of the Society of Jesus, and in the Okanagan Valley,
Kamloop district, near Williams and Fraser lakes,
in the Chilkotin country, at Lillooet, and on the lower
Fraser were missions belonging to the same order,

''^ About tliia date Good states that men-of-war were constantly needed to
(heck the depredations of roving bands of Indians, hundreds of armed and
drunken savages infesting the waters in the neighborhood of Nanaimo. In a
passage above Cowitclian gap, just Ijcfore entering the Nanaimo narrows, was
:i veritable cave of Adullum, the rendezvous for the members of several law-
less tribes, wlio, under their cliicf, Archewon, waylaid and murdered parties
of explorers .nnd cmigi'ants. It w;i3 resolved to break up this pestilential
crew, several men-oC-war being sent for the purpose, among which was tiio
JJemisldtioii, commrinded by Oapt. Pike. Five of the principal offenders,
among whom was Archewon, were arrested, and four of them sentenced to
bo luinged. Mr Good, wiio attended them during their last hours, relates
that tliey showed not tlie slightest symptoms of compunction, and seemed
only to regret that more of those whom they regarded as their legitimate prey
liad not fallen into their bands, which behavior was more consistent than that
of tho average white villain about to be hanged. Brit, Col., MS., 'J7-8.

^"A descri[)ti(>u of this mission, among other placea, will bo found in the
S. F. UiiUcihi, Aug. •::, 18S:!.

INDIAN POLICY.

719

their central missionary ist.ition hciu^ that of St
Mary's, some thirty miles above New Westminster.*'

By the missionary society for the gospel propaga-
tion missions were established also among the Chim-
syans and Nishtacks, the Tahkats, the Cowitchins,
and the Fraser and Thompson river tribes, $10,000
being expended annually, and during several years
previous to 1871, for the support of eight mission-
aries and the industrial training of these tribes.^^ At
the latter date some 5,000 natives were under instruc-
tion, and though considerable progress had been made,
more teachers were needed. In a letter to the New
England Company, the episcopal archdeacon of Van-
couver remarks: " The government of this colony has
hitherto had no definite or tangible policy with re-
gard to the native Indian tribes. They have preserved
for them crown lands under the name of Indian re-
serves; they have prevented their lands being en-
croached upon; they have in existence a liquor law,
with penal clauses, stringent and severe, but honored
more in the breach than in observance. Beyond thin
they have done nothing, so far as I know. There does
not exist an Indian hospital in the colony to ameliorate
the evils which contact with a too advanced stage of
civilization has brought upon its unprepared victims."
Out of an estimated government expenditure in 18G9
of £122,250, the amount put down for expenses con-
nected with the Indian tribes was £100.^'

In Canada the interests of the Indian population
have always been guarded with special solicitude by
the ofovernment; but in British Columbia the con-

'■^^ Good's Br'it. Col., MS., 97-8. It is related that at tlio Okanagan mis-
sion, many years ago, tlio venerable French padres invited tlicir scholars, one
festal day, to partake of some nicely cooked frogs; whereat tho savages scat-
tered iu terror to their homes, the appearance of a frog being regarded Ly thn'r.
as tho premonition of calamity.

^'la 1881, according to tho return of tho Indian deparhncnt, tho natives
settletl on tho banks of tho Tiiompson, above Lytton, owned .5,()'J.") horses.
557 cows, a number of work-oxen, and raised LIj tons of cereals, G.'i^ tons of
hay;, and 12,570 bushels of potatoes. ]i, (J. Direct., ISSl-l], M.

*'//. C. Paper.% Ind. Land Question, ISJO-'iTi, 97-S. The urchdeacon'i
letter was published iu tho Columbia report for 1870.

720

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

dition of the natives was, until recent years, less satis-
factory than in other portions of the dominion. In tliis
province no Indian title to land was recognized, as was
the case elsewhere in British America. Under the
auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company, and under
the regime of Sir James Douglas, the title was in-
deed conceded, but not so in later years. Although
there may never have been any danger of serious or
permanent revolt, there were, as we have seen, several
formidable outbreaks, and frequent danger of collision.
There may be seen to-day throughout British Colum-
bia nations and individuals in all conditions, from
untutored savagism, attired simply in a verminous
blanket, and perched like a bird of prey on a rock,
catching his dinner of fish, to the well-clad and in-
dustrious inmate of comfortable homes. In the former
condition the Indian is neither a producer nor a con-
sumer; in the latter he is both; and in proportion as
his condition is improved will he contribute to the
wealth of the province.

The task of improving the condition of the natives
has been rendered less difficult by the fact that the
intrusion of the white man has not diminished
their supplies of food. Fish and game, which, as in
Alaska, form the staple diet of the aboriginal, and
were as necessary to him as bread and meat to the
white man, or the plantain and banana to the dweller
within tlie tropics, are still as plentiful as ever. To
the nouiad tribes of Canada the buffalo was their solo
resource, supplying them not only with food, but with
fuel, clothes, and shelter. The extinction of this ani-
mal brought upon them starvation and beggary; while
in British Columbia the Indian has not only been
furnished with better implements for securing his food,
but has been taught how to farm, and thus acquired a
new source of food supply. Not only is this the casC;
but, as I have said, natives are largely employed as
herders, laborers, porters, and in various Industrie,?,^

"Especially iu the Mainland interior, where their well-known honeity

FOUTS.

721

and this from no motives of'pliilantliropy,
said tl>e marquis of Lome,"* during his

"I believe,"
visit to the

reconiincuds tliein for employment. Aiuoiig tliu instances of tlio trust reposed
in thcni may bo nientionod one that occurred in tlic aiituinn of 1S72 or IS7H,
when a mcrcliant ou his way to Lillooct with a cargo of Hour, his craft being
stranded on a sand-bar, stacked the entire freiglit on tlio river bnnlc, simply
covering it with tarpaulin. There it was loft until tiie following spring,
when it was found undisturbed. The nearest house was but three miles away,
and during the winter the Indians were buying flour in tliat neighborhood at
very high rates. In 7'he Northwest Tfrrilorkt ami liritinh Cdliunbia, by
AjiieciH McDoundl JJawsoii, Ottawa, 1881, is a description of the food, habits,
and condition of some of tho natives at that date. 'J'liero are hero also re-
marks on the climate, vegetation, fisheries, industries, fauna, flora, and general
resources of IJ. C. Tho work is of little value, except for tho index, whicii
contains items of information culled from various resources.

^^JJomiiiion of Canada Guide-Book, 1885, 75. The following catalogue of
forts, with reference to fuller descriptions, points to sono of tho early centres
of occupation. Chanipoeg, 35 miles from tlio moutli of tlic ^Villamcttc, was
a trading post established by the Hudson's l?ay Company in 18-10. 6'/vr//',<
Oreijoii, 42. In 185(i it was still in existence. //. J!. Co.'n Ji'(j>f, 3ti7. Fort
Kandoopon the Tlioinpson; forts Alexander, William, Carey, and Abercrom-
bie, in New Caledonia; IJupert, on north side of V. I.; JSimpson, on the main-
land, near tho I'ortland canal; W'raiigcl, a stockade, originally on Dundas
Island, at tiie mouth of the Stickeen, and afterward removed GO miles up the
river, and known as I'oi't Stickeen — all belonged to the 11. 15. Co. tinu/s Orajuu,
4;?. Fort Tliompson was established by l>avid 'J'lionipson in 18l()on the site of
Kamloop. Fort Franklin was erected in lS.;.")onCrcat IjcarLakc for Franklin's
expedition to the Polar sea. J.drdiicr, iii. 240. Chinook i'oint post was in the
Colundjia district. Jf. B. Co.'s Hfi'f, liOT. Tho Cowlitz post in \V. T. was in
existence in 1850. A Spanish fort at ^Icali Bay, V. I., built in 1792, and sur-
rounded by a stockado, was soon afterward abandoned, anil then burned by
Indians. Lfaim' Or., MS., (17. Fort Santa Cruz, on the north point of Nootka
entrance, Mas also a Spanish stronghold and settlement. Vldjci <d Norte, MS. ,
.'185. Long before the conquest of Canada, tho French liad a post at I'asfjuia, on
the Saskatchewan. Mdrlviiz'tc's Vo;/. , Ixix. On the same river was I''ort Augus-
tus. /(/., Ixix., Ixxiii. Fort Carlton, on the sontli side of the Saskatchewan,
was protected by high palisades, an<l at each angle was a small square tower.
In 18;i5 it Mas attacked by Indians. Martin's J hidson^sJUni, 17; iSiiiil'ti Jli-'.''.,
124; MillniKtnddididlc'sN. W. Passcitjc, 41). Fort Cumberland, on Sturgeon
Lake, at the mouth of the Saskatchewan, was built in 1774. I''ronHiH'sN(u-r.,
i. 91; Sm('l\i J/Z-.^., 124; ^facl■clr.ic\^i Vvy., Ixix. Fort a la Crosse -was also in
tho Saskatchewan district. If. B. Co.'s Rfjit, 30.'). Fort Edmonton, on tho
north branch of the Saskatchewan, was built in the form of a hexagon, M'itii
liigh pickets, bastions, and battlcnicntcd gateways, and lay on a commanding
iieight. MiniiiCs Ihidsoit's Bdij, 18, 124. ^n ]84(i it contained about l.'iO in-
habitants. Kline's ]V(iiid( riuij^, I'M. It was the chief post in this region, and
was also known as Fort Auguste. Smr.t's Mi'<-^., 122-4. Fort Conlidencc was
a mere log structure, -without defensive Morka, forming three sides of a square,
and sto> 1 at the northern end of Croat ]5car Lake. l!ichardi.oiis Jour., ii.
(!;i-5. bunvegau post lay in the Athaliasca district. Hudson's Bay Co.'s Itrjit,
.'i()5. In 1787 tlicre was a fort on Klk JJiver. Mnrlrnd'-'s I'c//., 12it. Fort
Chipewan, one of tho most important posts of tlio N. AV. Co. was liuilton
a rocky point of the northern shore ot Athabasca Lake. Murhriizic's Voy.,
Ixxxvii.; Martin's Hudson's Binj, 18; //. I'. Co.'s l!(]>f,','X)T\; Fritiil.iin's Narr.,
i. 2.'{7. Fort Assiniboine was built on the Athabasca. J/. B. f'o.'s Brpf, 'Mrt;
•Smct'-i .!/;«., 124. On the Assiniboine and its tributaries w( i-(i three posts of
the N. \V. Co. and twoof the IF. B. Co. Lrir:s and Clarb's Map. Fast Main
Factory stood opposite Albany Fort at tho foot of James Bay, in about lati-

HlsT. Burr. Cor.. 40

722

SE1TLEMENT8, MISSIONS, AND KDUCATION.

capital in 1882, "I have seen tlic Indians of almost
every tribe throughout the dominion, and nowJierc

tudo a-r 30' N. liouchette, lirit. Dom., i. 33. A log fort was huilt J)y Frank-
lin in 1820, nt Winter Lake, about liJO miles north of Slave Luke, and named
Fort Enterprise. A dwellingdiouso and storehouse were iidilod. I'rcnil.lin'-i
Xarr., i. 1-14. Here Franklin i)assed the winter of 1821-'J. U''chunl<oii'.-i
Polar, 148. Fort Franklin, on the west shore of Great licar Lake, wlxne
Lieut Hooper passed the winter of 184!), was merely .'i, log hut 20 hy IS fuut,.
J/oopcr'n Tent.i of Ike TimH, 1505-0. In the AthaLasea district was a post
named Fond du Lac. 77. U. Co.'a Rcpt, 305. Fort Francis, in lied Itiver dis-
trict, consisted of a number of buildings in the form of a .s(Hiajc, surroumleil
by a ten-foot stockade. Grant's Ocean, 40. In the same disUict was a ]iost
known as Lower Fort Garry. 77. JJ. C'o.'s Hcpl, 305. This was one of tiio
■strongest forts in the 11. B. territory, the walla being built of stone and with
bastions at each corner. It stood on the north bank of Assiniboine Itivcr,
about 200 yards from its junction with lied lliver. Kaia'.-i Wundcrhif/", 00;
Coriumllis,(i'2; M iitoii and Chradles' N. ]V^. Paxsar/e, iW. At (Jcorgetown, on
lied Rivei', there was in a 1808 a warehouse belonging to the 11. 15. Co.
Coffni'ii Seal of Empire, 70. Fort Good Hope, in the ^lacken/.ic district, was
moved in 1830 about 100 miles above on the Mackenzie, on account of Hoods.
7/. ]i. (!o.'k lirpt, .SGo; Iiichnydsoii's Jour., i. 213. At (trocn Lake post, in
English Ilivcr district, the II. IJ. Co. and N. W. Co. had establishmcnls on
opposite sides of the river in 1820. 77. B. Co.'h liept, 305; Frajiklln'K Aarr.,
i. 102. For mention of Fori George on the Saskatchewan, see Marken:.k'<
Vol/., Ixlx., l.xxiii.; of Fort George and Great Whale lliver post, in East Alain
district. 7/. JJ. C'a.'.s Ji'rpt, 300; of Grand Lac post, in the Temiscamingue
district; of Godbout po^t, in King's Posts district; of Fort Ilalkett, in the Mac-
kenzie district. On the northern branch of the Saskatchewan there was, in
1820, a post named Hudson House. On the east bank of llarricanaw Ilivcr was
a small establishment belonging to the H. B. Co. Uouchcttcx Brit. Dom., i. 3;>.
In the Moose and Temiscamingue districts were posts named Hannah Bay and
Hunter's Lodge. 77. B. Co.'n liept, 300. On Ho d la Crosse Lake, near Beaver
River, the H. B. Co. and N. W. Co. had forts in 1820, situated close togotluT
and on the south side of the lake. About 1815 the II. B. fort was captured
by the N. W. Co. Id., 305; FranUlii'x Aarr., i. 190; Cox'k Adcev.t, 227-8. The
lake was named after an island therein, where the Indians used to play the
game of la-crossc. Frankl'ai'H Aarr., i. 197. In the King's Posts district was
the Isle Jereniie post. 77. B, Co.'s Uept, 300. The Jasper House post, on
the Athabasca, 300 miles above Fort Assiniboine, contained in 1840 only
three log huts; but was the centre of communication between the Columbia
district and Fort Edmonton. In 1872 it was almost abandoned. Kane's Wan-
derimiH, l,").3-4; Smefs Miss., 124, 127, 130; Graiit's Ocean, 2?,2. In Fort
Coulonge district was the Joachin post; in Eskimo Bay district, Kibokokpost;
in St Maurice district, Kikandatch post; in Temiscamingue district, Kakabca-
gino post; in Rupert's River district, Kaniapiscow post; in the Kinoguinisse
district, Kuckatoosh post; in Albany district, Lac Seul post; in Lac la Pluio
district, Lac do Bonnet and Lac dc Bois Blanc posts; in Lake Superior dis-
trict. Long Lake and Lake Nipigon posts; and in Lake Huron district, Littlo
Current post. Jf. B. C'o.'s Ji'cpf, 305-0. On (Jrecn Bay, Lake Jlichigan, was
a stockade much dilapidated when \isiicd by Mr Carver in 1700. AftrT its
surrender to the English, in 170;!, it was garrisoned by 30 men, who were
made prisoners soon after the surprise of i\iichillimnckin;ic, after which it was
neither garrisoned nor repaired, (.'(irrcr, 22. Lac l:i Pluie was a Hudson's Bay
Co.'s trading post on the height of land dividing the waters which How into
the St Lawrence from those which fall into Hudson Bay, and distant sonic
1,300 miles from Montreal. The N. W. Co. had a post herein ISOO. .l/in-
tiii's Iliuhon'.i Bay, 123; Cox'^ Adcrnt, ii. 209-70; Lcu-U ami Clai-Ix'n Mciji.
La Mont(''e was a N. W. Co.'.t post about tiirce miles from Carleton. Frank-

THE GENTLE SAVAGE.

72S

can you find any who arc .so trustworthy in regard to
conduct, so willing to assist the white settlers by their

///i'd Xcirr., i. 1C2. Lesser Slave Lake niul J^in; la Biulie posts were in the
Saskatcliewan district. Jf. JJ, Co.'n llcpl, Sii."). l'"ort La Crosse, on the lionUr
of Long Lake, was in exi.st<:'nce in 1848. Mnrtin''.'i Jlii(l<on'n A'li//, IS. Lai)ierre's
House and Fort aiix Liards were in tii(! Macker.ziu district. //. A'. Co.'n L'(/'t,
otl.">. Lake Ncjiisinguc post was in tlic Tetniscaiiiiiigiic district; Lacloelie ])(i.st
m Lake Huron district; Lau d'Original in Lake Superior distiict; I^iittle Wiiale
Liver post in East Main district; Lacdes AlIuinetteH j.n.stin Fort Coulfn)!,' dis-
trict; and Lacliine House post inLacliinc district. On tiioSuskatclicwau tlicie
was in lS4.>a postnamed Fortdca Montaigncs. Snuf'.iMixK., l'J4. MooseFue-
tory, about 700 miles from Montreal, was t lie iiriiuipal depot cu the south sliore
of Hudson's Vioy, and theie were numerous statiui; j coiuiccicd w ith it. Mnrtin'.-i
I[iuhon''s Bay, I'-'Ii. Li the Cumberland districts a.; a small post named Mooso
J^akc. II. B. Co.'.i Jt'rpf, 'M'). The trading; posts on Methjo Lake ■< mo mere
liuts, erected in 181 it. J'miihliu''sXarr., i. "JOI. Jn lUd lliver district was the
Manitobah post; in Albany district, Marten'.s F'a !s ]ii).*t; in Kinoj^umissc dis-
trit, AIalawaL;amin;.nie po.>t. //. B. Co.'s U<'iit, liUO. Michipicotoii post, on the
shore of Lake Sujierior, was in 1840 the chief factory in Lake Su]icrior district.
Ibid. ; Marlln\ J/iidxoii'.i Baij, 1'2.'(. At the south end of Lake Winnijiej; Ava.s
Fort Maurepas; on the north branch of V.w Saskatchewan there was, in \Sl{),
a post named Manchester House; on ll.d Jxis'crono named Marlboro' JIni;.,i',
and on Peace lliver, amid the Locky ^Mountains, one named ?ib I.cii.i'.i
Fort. At a council held at Xorway House, in ISK), it was resolved U> e.;.al)-
lisli missions at that point, and also a Lac la Pluieand Kdmonton. A i atholie
mission was established at Ho h. la Crosse in 1840. Murlin'n llrd-<oii'.i Bui/,
127-7; Bichardfion'it Jour., i. 104. Norway Honsc, at the north end < f Lake
Winnipeg, was in 1843 one of the chief depots of the H. L. Co., and it wau
intended to make it the residence of the general superintendent of missions.
Martin's II udiou\<i Baij, 124. It was founded in 1819 by a party of Norwe-
gians, who were driven from Red lliver in 1814-15, and took up their abode
at Norway Point. Franklin's Aarr., i. 07; Bouchcfte's Brit. Dom., i. 41.
Mamaiuso post was in Lake Superior district; Fort Macpherson • n Peel lliver
near the Mackenzie; Mississangco post in Lake Huron district; M; ^tasinny and
Mechiskau [losts in Rupert'.':. River district; Matawa post in Fort Coulouge dis-
trict; Musquarro post in Mingan district; Jlingan post in the dis-trictof that
name. II. B. C'o.'s I.'cpt, 300. Long before the conquestof Canada, the French
had a settlement at Nepawi, on the Saskatchewan. In 170O it was named Xe-
pawillousc. Mackenzie's ro//.,L'{ix., l.wiii. Fort Nascopio was in Eskimo Lay
district; Natosquan post in Mingan district; and F'ort Norman in Mackenzie
district. //. B. Co.'s Bcpt, ?,G(i. Port Nelson River post was captured by the
French in IGGo. The French port on Port Nelson Rivtr was named in 1007 Port
Bourbon, and afterward York Fort. Forstcr'sIIl'-t. 10?/., ."77, 37!). InlSiDit
stood on the west bank of Hayes River, five miles above its mouth, on t kj
marshy peninsula which separates Hayes and Nelson Rivers. The buildii, •;;)
formed a square, with an octagonal court in the centre, the servants' hoiiscs
being outside the square, and the whole surrounded with a stockade 20 feet in
height. Franklin's Narr., i. 37-8. F'ort New Severn was on the south-eastern
shore of Hudson's Bay. North West River jiost was in the Eskimo Bay dis-
trict; Nitchequon post in Rupert River district; and New Brunswick post iu
Mooso district. JI. B. C >.'s I'ljil, SCO. Old Establishment was built in 1778-0
on Peace River, some forty miles from Athabasca Lake, and was tlie only fort in
■ that region till I'iS't. In 17S8 the post was transfcrrc<l to tiic southern side
,of Athabasca Lake, about eight miles from the month of Athabasca River, its
J name being changed toForti'hipcwyan. Mackenzie's I'oij., Ixxxvii. On Peace
"River there was, in 1820, a post named New F^stablishnient. In 1819 Oxford
House post, in York district, w.-.s falling into decay. //. B. Co.'s Bepf, 3CG;
Franklin's Narr., i. 57. In Albany district was a post named Osnaburg.

724

SKTTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

labor, so independent and anxious to learn tlie secret
of the white nian'.s power. While elsewhere arc met

//. ]>. Co.'h /If/'t, 'MO. Fort <le rraiiies belonged in 1817 to tho N. W. Co., ns
jil.so I'ort l'nj\ iilpiicc, north of Ut Sluv o Lake. ('ox''< Adccnt, ii. 'JGo; I'ntiildia'.i
iVfov., i. 3111. 'J lio I'ns post mim in (.'unibuilanil di-itiict; i'ortago la Loclif
l)();jt ill luiglisli lliviT (listiict; ami I'eul'.i iiivci- pust in tho Mackenzie tli^itritt.
JI. Ii. ( '().',•< Ill I'l, ;j(l">. I'oi't I'itt lay on tho JSaskatchuwan, in kit. i>V',\i)', loii^'.
\Wi'. Siiirt.\ .l/(«,, 1"_'4. J'Virt IV'Uy wan a coiiii)ac:t post on tlic route l)c:t\vuLii
ivria Oarry and (Jarlton, having tlio As.iinilioino Itivcr in front. J/urlhru
J/tidsoii'.iJj(ii/, 17. Forniciition of Fort < 'hnrcliillor Frinco of WuIlm Foi-t, kcu
(.'ox'n Adn III, ii. ,'i!)7. I'iko Lake jxjsit was in Itupcrt's Fiver di.strict; Figcoii
llivcr post in Lake Superior district; and Fie post, in tlio name di.strict, on the
jiortii sliore of the lake, bclonjrcd in 1.SI7 to thu :"i. W. (,'o. JI. Jl. ^'o.'.v Hij,!,
.'J(iO; Vox'x Adrctit, ii. 'J!)."). Ficrru an Calumet, alhoii post of tho Jl. J 5. (,'o.. on
a higl), steep bank on tho Atliabasca, a little aliovu the conllucjice of the Clear
Water, waa so named from tlio jjlaeo where the fitune for Indian ]iipes was
obtained. A poyt of the 11. IJ. Co. on the opposite bank was al)aniloned in
1819 for want of supplies. Fiunldui\-< Xmr., i. 1*1.'!. i'embina jiost was iu
Ked Fiver district; (,Ju'appcllo Lakes ]iostiu.Suan Fiver district; Fort Fae
in Mackenzie district; Fapid Fiver post in English iUver district; Itoeky
Mountain House in the Saskatchewan district; and Fort llesolution in tli(!
Mackenzie di.strict. 11. Ii. Co.'s lUpt, ',Vj7>. Fed Deer Five.' Fort was onnr
near Lake AVinnipeg. MdckeirJt's Voy., Ixv. Fupert's Fort was in 17(Jlial
the moutli of the river of thr.t name. //. J>. Co.'d IiCjit, ,'iU(5. In 1740 tho
French had, on the ujiper waters of the Fupert, a factory which secured all
the trade of that region. Jhbb.i' Jhidsoa's Uai/, ot). Figolet post was in tlic
Eskimo district; lliviero Desert post in La- dea Sables district; ILced Lalie
post in Eed liivrr district; I'at I'ortagc post in Lac do Fhiio district; and
Shoal River pvjst in Swan lliver district. Jl. 11. Co.'s licpf, oti.j-tJ. In 178U-
J'.'t there were five principal factories on the Saskatchewan, and one named
tho South Branch House. Madcendc's Voy., l.\ix., Ixxiii. On the Swan Iviver
w as a post of the same name, and one named Somerset House. Fort St Louis
was built by the Canadian viceroy de Traccj', nt the mouth of llichclieu oi'
Irofiuois River. It was afterward named Sosel, and then William Henry. Li
J 817 it wag the principal entrepot of the N. \V. Co. JI. JJ. Co.'s JiCpt, 'Mir,
Co.r'.s Adroit, 'JGS-93. Near Swan Fiver Fort, on Lake Winnipeg, were .sev-
eral detached posts. Id., Ixv. Shoal Lake post was in the Lac do Fluie dis-
trict, and Severn post in York dis'rict. Jl. JJ. Co.'n Jlvpt. .'i'jd-U. Sault St
Claire post was also in York distri , at tho jioint where Lake Superior di ;•
charges into Lake Huron. Iu ISk' the K. AV. Co. had laigo stores at this
point. //. Ji. Co.'.i llept, .*501j; Cox\h Advent , ii. '2'.);). Lake St John's, Tadouaar,
and Seven Islands posts were in King's Fosts district; Touchwood Hills po: t
ill Swan River district; Trout Lake post in York district; Tcmiskamay po^t
in Fupcrt'.s Fiver district; Teniiscaminguo house and ])osL w ore in the district
of that name; Three Rivers post was in St Maurice district; and Vermilion
wasa post in Athabasca district. JI. Ji. Co.'s Jiepf, 305-0. On tho Saskatcia-
wan was a post named Upper Establishment. MwJxnr.ie's Voy., Ixix., Ixxiii.
Tliorburne House was a post on Red River. Fort Frontenac, originally eallc I
Fort Cataraconi, founded iu 1070, on tho present site of Kingston, was rebuilt
in 107S. In 17()8 it was captured by tho English. Monettc's Hist. JJiscov. awl
S<llli:iiii:}il, i. 120, 132-3. Fort George was iu 1842 alargo trading post twelve
miles below Fort Lancaster (Colo.), ami was under St Yraiu's mauagemeut.
Srau's llody Mts, 100. The N. AV\ Co. had iu 1800 a post on the wt.t
shore of Lake .Supei'ior, near Grand Fortage. Lewis and Clarke's Map. Fo't
Wedderburno was built by tho II. 15. Co. on Coal Island, at the western cx-
trenuty of Athabasca Lake, about tho year 1815, when tho company iirst
began to trade iu that region. J'mnlliii'.f Aari:, i. 230. AVhito Horso Flaia
post was in Rod River district; White Dog post in Lac la Fluio district;

FORTS.

constant duniands for assistance, your Indians liavo
never aj^ketl for any; for in the interviews givt;n to

Wliitefish Luko post in Luko Huron district; \Vr)8\vonaby post in Itiipert'd
IJivtr district; and Wcyniontachingiic post in St ilauricc district. //. Jl. Co.'-i
ft'itf, ."JCJ-G. I'ort C'asH, bnilt in IbJO at tlio mouth of l>ig Horn i;iv('r, willi
lilock houses and u lo^jwall 18 feet hiyh, •\vasRoon afterward removed llOiuilca
lower down the Yellowstone. IkrkwourllCii Life and Atlrrnt., 'Jl'J-KI, U20, ,'fO;i.
The French colonists under Roherval and (';irticr Imilt Fort Cliarlesljoui-g
near the jireseut -site of CJiieheo about l.")H. J t was tlio lirst Kuropcan .settle-
ment in thii ]]iirt of America. Tijtlir.f I'rinjr. cf Jlisruv., 07. Fort CaroliiK!
was erected hy Landonnierc on .\I;iy lliver, just above the spot afterward
known as St .John'.s lllud'. It was in the shape of a triangle, fronting on the
liver, with the v.oods in real'. In l.')(j.> it Ma i destrciyeil by tlio Sp;uiiardi3.
Unjaiit, i. l'J8. Fort Campbell was in the eoiinlryof the IJlacUfeet, 700 miles
from Fort Union. Uollrr'ii Atiioii;/ the Jiidiaii", '11. Fort Laneaoter was fni
the south bank of the Flatte, VVM miles i'rom its mouth, and 'Ao miles from the
Kocky Mountains. Scenes ItorlijMtx, Ilil-."), I'ort Laramie, or, as it was sonic-
times termed. Fort John, .i jiost of the American Fur Couipimy, was one miles
south of Fort I'latte, and on the left bank of Lanmiie IJivei-, and was name d
after Joseph Laiamic, a Freneli trapper, killed near its moul' . It stood on
ii rising ground, was picketed and bastioned, had adobe walls, .i, I was sur-
mounted by a wooden palisade. Thornton's Ortfjmi, ll'.'-lli; \'i',! Tnrmji'fi
Prairie ami liocL;/ Mt. Advnif., :«;0-l; S''n,<-H Ilu'.-hn Ml.i, (i(i, 131. Six mile-!
below Ft George (Colo.) was tbe post of Lock and liandolph-

IJelow the Simeon branch of I'cace itiver was built at ; i arly d.. , a little
fort named St John. About 1S2;> it was attacked by abani. i^l l)ca\or Ind' ns,
who shot the commander ami four men, and burned the fort. Another Fort
St John ■' 'milt at the bend of the river above. The X. W. ('■•>. liad a
post on tlie west side ot Bullalo Lake, near Beaver River. Fr'nkVii'-iA'arr.,
i 19'J. Fort Eric was on the north side of Lake Erie, nc.ir it.-! nutlet. Six
I..UCS below the mouth of la l''ontaine(]ui JJouit thereexistc d in I.^IJ,") tlic ruins
of an old fort, occupied many years before by Capt. Craut as a trading post.
In 180(i the fort at AJinetarecs was occupied by Indians. JJolli r'.i Aiiiomj l/ii'
IndinuK, 410. In 184S Michi[>icoten w.us the chief factory on Lake Superior.
Martin's Hudson's liuij, \'l',i. Cercn.s Kivcr post was in Norway Jlouse dis-
trict; Big Island post in the IMackenzie district; Batchcwana post in Lake
Superior district; Cliicoutimic post in King's Posts district; Buckingham post
in Lac de Sables district; Abitibi post in Moose district. Jf. U. Co.'s I'lpt,
SGo-O. Brochetllouse was on Lake Winnipeg. j\farl:riizir's Fo(/.,lxix. ; M:,n-
ucl's Fort on the Yellowstone. Lciris and Clarke's 31ap. Fort Isle an Niox,
or Fort Lennox, on an island in llichelieii Kivcr, was fortified by the French
in 1759, and by Schuyler in 1775. Green Lake post was in Lake Huron dis-
trict, and Egg Lake post in Swan Biver district. J J. JJ. Co.'s J!ipt, SO.J-Ci.
Fort Uauphin, probably near Lake Winnipeg, was established by tho French
before AV'olfe's victory at Quebec. Mackenzie's Foy.jlxv. Deer Lake post was
in the English River district, at tho southern end of Deer Lake; Cawccman
post in Columbia district; Fort EUicc in Swan district. If. B. Co.'s I'cpf, 305,
.S07. Fort Charlcsbourg, built by the French about loiO-l, near the site of
Quebec, was the first settlement in this part of America. JJrit. X. Aincr., 10.
The first fort on tho St Lawrence was built by Cartier in 15.35, Fort Charles
was on the south side of tho Lake of the Woods. In ICUS Capt. Gillam built
for the English their first fort on Hudson's Bay, at the mouth of Rupert River,
naming it Fort Charles, lorster's J list. Voy., 378. Russell, Hint. Amcr., ii.
204, agrees with Forster as to date, but says that Grosselicz, a French rene-
gade on Whito River, 80 miles north-west of Fort I'latte, was a fur-trading
post. Scenes in liockij Mts, 72-3. Tadoussac post stood in 1050 at tho mouth
ot Sagucnay River. Shea's Missis., xlv. Fort Platte, at the junction of the
Laramie r.nd Platte, was built of earth, and in 1842 contained about a dozen

726

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

the chieff-i, their whole desire seemed to be for schools
and .school-masters; and in reply to questions as to

buildings and.:. .no 30 employ Ld. Scciicd lioch-// Ml-<, CO; I'kii. Tramp's I'rdirie
(u:d Uoclcy Mt. Advent., 300-1. .St Vr;.iii'.s Fort vas on tlio rigiit Ijunlc of tho
south fork of the Platte, 17 miles cast of Long'a I'eaU. /'rcmoiit, in Id., 357.
I'ovt Alexander, nt the outlet of Winnipeg liiver, contained in 1817 only five
iiunatos. Fort Abcrcrombio w.is on Ked llivcr, uljovc tlic ]ioint navigable for
K^caniers. Coffin's Stat of Emjiire, 7'.'. Fort Alliany was at tlie foot of James
]lay. JJouchdtc\iBi-il. J)om., i.o'i. It v>as established lieforo 1780. .Seo /or,^-
li r's Hint. Vol/., 379. Fort Augustus was in Queen's eo. , Can. Fort Uintah,
on a tributary of the Colorado, and one day's journey south of Aslilcy's Fork,
v,;-,9 also known, in ISJ."), as Ilubidcan's I'ort. Scnir.'i Ji'ncki/ Mis, 178, '2()L'.
1\ rt L.awrence was .i seaport of Nova.Scoti:i. On (honortli-eastsidoof Atha-
basca Lake was Fort Fond du Lae. I'igcon Lako llouso was at tho source of
Uattlo River, like Lake llouso and Green Lake House wtie north of Stink-
i!:j Lake; llapid River lIou<c was near Lac la Itouqe; and Sturgeon River
Ibmsc between .St a-gcon and Leaver lakes. Fairford House and ]\lission was
bilwceii Lakes Winnipeg anil .Manitoba. Fort Tmieliv.ood Ilillslay between
tlio Assiniboinc and (JaWppello rivers. Monntain House was in the Itiding
fountains, west of Liko .Manitoba. Fort I'elley was ou tho Assiniboine.
Old Fort, on IMieaa Lake, v.as near tho head waters of tho Llaelc or West
Riiad River. In recent maps tho first Fort iSinipson, near the mouth of Kass

< r Naas River, is also tcrriied Old Foit. Jasper House was at tho head wa-
teis of the Alh;djasca; Rocky ^louniain House and Victoria House at tlic
lu ad waters of tho Noilh .Saskatchewan; ^altRixer llouso ou Slave liivcr,
.so'.itli of .Slave Lako. Robidoux Fort, in tho Green l-.iver country, was, like
ii;.:ny others in its vicinity, the post of a private trader, having in his employ
a number of trappers who made tlieir lieadquarlers at tlio fort. Pctcr'.H Kit

< t'r.ioii, L'i'J. Oa tho cast side of Okanagan Lake was a catholic mission.
I'lU't Bulkley House was at tlieuortli-eastsideof TaelaLake. Fort Buclianan
1, y soutli-west from Tuscou, near the .Santa Cruz brancli of tlio Gila River.
T\iar the liead waters of tho tiihi were forts Bayard and Mimbrcs. Fort
.'•l.:nini.on was at the source of the Rio Bonito, which discharges into the I'ico,
a;id on the i'ico, .ibovo tlic former river, was Fort Summer. Fort Bascom
\'. ::s on t!ie Canadian River, cast of Santa IV; Fort Breckenridgc, ou tho San
Frdro Iiraueh of the Gila, near tho mouth of the former. Of Fort McPherson
Alisaraka says that it consisted originally of shabby log cabins, but Bubse-
fjuently liecamc a welbbuilt fort. Ihune oj'lhii Croirs, 40. Kearny or Kearney
I'.irt, built on Pincy fork of I'owdcr River, at the base of Big Horn Mountains
ill 18G0, was pronounced one of the bjst stockades in north-western America.
I'ort Reno, originally Fort Connor, near Salt Lake Citj-, and so called after
(icneral Connoi', \\.'is built in ISlij, and New Fort Reno, 40 miles to the west-
ward, in ISOO. Fort Mitchell, a .':ub-post of Fort Laramie, was in coiii[iact
and rectangular .shape, til'' sides of tho buildings doing duty for walls, and
their windows looplioled for defence. /(/. , 70. La Pierre's House was on the
west side of the Rocky Mountains, near Pci 1 River. ,Sinitli'<OHian I'rpt, 1801,
TiO. Fort Wright was in the western part nt' Round Valley, 100 miles from
Cliico. Iiul.Af. Jicp', 18(]:?, 40J. Fort Crocket, also called Fort Misery, from
itr appearance, stood, in IS.'iO, <ju tho left bank <if Green Itivcr, two days'
jriurney from Henry "h Fork, (Jol. WiJiz' im'-i Aii^jlii'/, '.)l. For description of
Fort Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia, in IS! i-oO, see ('ox\i Adiriif., i.
8:!, 10:)-10; OrmfsOr., 'JO-1; l'>ir>ihat,i\-i Trnvtb, 10,"i; and of Fort Bow-e, Or.,
in 18;!2. For mention of forts Yukon, .St Michael, ami Wraiigell, Alaska, sec
Hi-it. Alalia, passim, this series. I'ort Goodwin was in 'i'ularoso valley,
tlireo miles from Gila. Lti, id <>[)'. Hi pi, 1805, ll."i-l(). Fort Cmnmings wa<(iii
the road between .SaiiLi V6 ami Cubac, OJ miles from Las Cruees, New Me\.
/./., ISC"), 11."). For mention of forts Laramia and Leavenworth in 1840-7,
Beo Ilisf. Utah, passim, this r.ries; Parhmaii's Cal, and Or. Trail, caps, iii.,

FORTS.

727

111.,

whether they would assist themselves in securinof such
institutions, they invariably replied that they would
be glad to pay for them."

ix. Fort Whipple was on Granite Creek, cue mile below Proscott, Ar. Land
Off. Ilept, ISGo, 121. Fort Bowie, in NcwMcx., was on tlie road between
.Santa Fu and Tubac, 153 miles from the latter. Id., lSOr>, 115-lG. Fort Owen
was built by a trader of that name on the site of a mission at St Mary or Flat-
iiead village, Jlont. Pac. It. It. llc])t, i. "JGI, -lYl. Fort Lane was in 1So.j a
eavalry station on Koguc IJivcr, near its junction with Stewart Creek. Camp
Wortli, also called I'oit Worth, and C;inip (jiahaiii were in Texas. Willidm'a
Khlldh U. B. li'f., ii. 1:2, 28. Fort Llisa was at YX Paso, New iMex. Id., ii.
l.'J. Fort Orford was on the Or. coast; Fort Harmony on Wood Creek, Utah.
Ind. Af. licpt, 1S5-1, 270; IS.'G, 2;};}. J'V.r list of posts oucu pied by the eiijlith
infantry with location about 1840, sue ]\"dhclm\-i E'njhlh U. S. Inf., ii. 20.1-82.
In Id., ii. .32-dG, is inentioii oi a luuiibcr of posts in New Mev. and 'i'exas, but
they are difficult ti) locate. lu the Xfilior. Uki., \^A.]-o\, >"p8G-!)1, is a list of
U. .S. military posts, inchidiiiL,' those on the I'acilic eoatt, with geographic
))Osition in KSl9-.5t. In the >iavni() eonntry, Xow Mex., there was in iSSJDa
fort named Deliancc, soon atteruard abandoned, and in Utah, on the St.T,
Clara lliver, was Fort Clara. Iiid. Aff. Il<]it, IS.VJ, 'M^; IsGS, IGl; IS.JG, 2:!4.
Fort Simeoe, in east \\'asliini;ton, was abaniU)ned as a military post in 18J9
or before, the Yakima Indian agency taking possession thereof. Fort AVest
was in IStio on the headwaters of the Cila. /;;'/. Aff. Jt. Com. Pcpt, 1SG7,
111. In Colo, stood ill ISG.") forts Riley, Lamed, and Lyon. Fort Randall
was in Todd eo., l>ak.; Fort Wingatc in the Navajo country, NewMex. Ind.
Aff. Pcpt, 1807, :i;]G, 412. For list of forts in New Mex. in 18G3, sec Ind.
Aff. Jt. (,'om. li'i'pf, 1SG7, passim. For list of U. S. forts and military stations
in IS2j see Sen. Doc, i. vol. i. ISO, JDth (!oii<j., ;M Si-ss.; in 1851, Home E.i\
Doc, 2, vol. ii. pt. i., ,".?d Con<j., IntSi'if^. The names and locations of 70 U. S.
forts in existence in 18;17. with number of guns and garrisons, arc given in Id.,
.1, vol. i. 201-S, i^ath t'oii'j., ,,'d .SV'.<s. l"or description of II. IJ. Co.'s forts in
\Va5h., Or., and Id. in 1S,')4, sec Stn. 1)0''., no. V>7, vol. vii. u,'JdCon;).,L'dS('.sf!.
Adaes, 14 miles from Natchitoches, w.is a military post founded in ISOG.
Monvttc, Hist. Discov. and iScllliincnt, ii. .■!41. Adams ]'\)rt was found(>d
in 1798 on the jNlississippi, in Natchez district, .a few miles beyond the
.Spanish line. A stockade fort of the same name was built in 1704, on or
near St Alaiy's River, 47 miles from (Jreenville, O. Albany was so named
by the Ihiglish, after its capture, in 1GG4, from the Uutcli, Ijy wlioin it was
termed Fort Orange. Jlr>/(inf, ii. 2GG. Altonn, e.qitured from the Dutch in
IGJd, was originally called Fort Christina. Id., ii, 102. Amite River, Fla— a
.•^m.all fort on this river was surrendered to Spain in 177!). Monctlc, i. CIS,
-\msterdam Fort was founded in 1G2G; for mention see Uri/nnt, i. .'{OG-7; ii.
20G, oil, 31S-'.), 3,")l. Ailmcklc Fort was on the Washita branch of Red
River, Tex. A little to the cast of i: was Fort Washita. Arkansas I'ort was
established in IGSG by the chevalier de Tonti, near the mouth of the -Arkansas.
I'lal'., i. r>, 7; Moni'ltc, i. map. Another lujst of tlie same name was built by
the French in 1721, al)0ut GO miles above the mouth of the .Arkansas. Ou
the upper waters of the Arkansas there was, in ISOG, a block house .and U. S.
factory. Lrwinand Clctrl.c, map. -\ssiimptioii I'oi'twas builtby the French us
a depot in 1739, on tlie east bank of the Mi::sissii)pi, near the mouth of .Mar-
got or Wolf River. The following year it was dismantled. Mmntlc, i. 2!IO-l ;
Pn/ant, ii. CAd. Atkinson Fort was built at the vilhige of Mundan before
1858. In 18G0 it was named Fort Rirthold, ami dining that year was
destroyed by the Sioux. Poll'); ',]~, 72, .'}.")8. On IIk^ Arkansas River,
below the Fort Rcit, were forts Aubrey, Uodge, and Zaran. Augusta Fort
was on the right branch of the .Suscpiehanua, opposite; the month of the west
branch. I'ort St .Vngnstine, for mention see MoiicUc, i. GO; Pnjanl, i, 2i;i.
Axacan Mission was founded in 1570, on tho lUppaliannoek River, by a party

ii!

728

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

With cliurches, charitable societies, schools, libra-
ries, and local journals, British Columbia has always

of priests, friars, and Indian converts, among them bcin^ P. Segiira, licad of
the Jesuit mission of Florida, and Don Lids, brother of the caci(iiic of Axucan
or Jacan. The latter relapsed into savagism, a)id aided in the massaerc of
the party, of whom only one Indian boy was saved. IJaker's (Station, a
stockade on the cast side of the Ohio, at the head nf Crc-iap Pxittoni, was
huilt for protection against Indiana in 17S'J. Monrllc. ii. 140. Baraueas, a
stockade huilt at Pcnsacola in 1795, and termed by the Spaniards Fort San
Fcrdinam'' de Barancas, was blown np by the Britisli in 1815. Baton llougc,
a post on tlie Mississippi, about half-way between Red Iviver and New Orleans,
was surrendered to Spain in 1770. Bedford Fort stood about 100 miles south-
east from Pittsburgh. Benton Fort w;;s at the heail of steam navigation on
the Missouri, just above Xasia lliver. Bent Fort on tlic Arkansas, above
Sand Crock, was occupidid by Bent and St Vrain as a trading jiost. Among
their hunters was Kit Carson. Fort St Bernard was built by La Salle in
1085 at the mouth of a river whieli ho termed the St Bernard, west of tlio
Mississippi. I'ratz, i. 5. Beversidc Fort was Ijuilt liy a Dutchman about
1054, near the banks of the Schuylkill, but was not long in existence. Brijant,
ii. 151. Big Falls, a trading post abo\o St Anthony'.s Falls, on the Missis-
sippi, remained standing in 1800. Black's Station stood, in 1770, on the site
of Abington, V'a. Mow tic, ii. 82. Bledsoe's Station, in Cundjcrland River Val-
ley, was founded about 1778. /</., ii. "JOli-O. Uooncsborough Fort was founded
by Daniel Boone in 1775, on the sito of the present town of Boonesborough.
Ky. Bowyer Fort, built at Mobile Point in 1813. was so named after the first
lieutenant in eonunand. Brewerton Fort was at the west end of Oneida Lake.
Brown's Station, six miles from Nashville, Teun., was iu existence in 1792,
and Bryant's Station, a stockade fort on tlie south bank of Elkhorn Creek,
between Lexington and Marysville, in 1782. Buford Fort was being erected
by the U. 8. go\ernment in 1800, on the sites of tho old Fort \Villiam3 trading
post. Boiler, 42, 415. Bute Fort was built in 1 705 on tlie north bank of Bayou
Manciiac, near its junction with the Mississippi. Within a few hundred
yards of it tlie Spainiards built a .«mall fort, in 1770, for protection against
smuggleis. MoiK'/Ze, i. 4011, 400. Cadot Fort stood, in 1770, at the south-
east end of Lake Superior, near tlie falls i)f St Marie, ("ahokia, throe miles
below St Louis, was in 1770 a small post dependent on Fort Gage. Cainpuj
Martius, the !irst fortified settlement west of the Ohio, was built in 1788 at
the mouth of Uie Muskinguui River. Fort Carolina, named after Cliarles IX.,
was founded l)y Rib.iult in 1502, in South Carolina, a few miles above St
Helena Souud. In 15(>4 it was abandoned, and the same year a new one,
with the same name, was built b^' a Fi'cnch colony, on tlio south batdc of May
River, six leagues above its mouth. Tlie latter was destroyed by the Spaniards
in 1505, Cassiinir Fort was built by tho Dutch iu 105;? on a blutF in the Dela-
ware, four miles below the mouth of tho Christiua, to take the place of Fort
Nassau, which occupied tlio present site of Newcastle, Del. In 1054 it was
captured by the Swedes and named Trefalldighect (Trinity Fort). It was re-
taken by the Dutch in 1055. Bryant, ii. 15.'3, loO, 158. Chagwageman Mission,
founded in 1009 ]>y Father !Mcsnard on the southern shore of Lake Sujierior,
but soon afterward abandoned, was reestablished in 1085 by Father AUouez.
/injaiit, ii. 501. Cliarles — of tiic three forts so named, one built in 1502 by
Riliault, at Port Roy.al, Fla, was soon afterw.ard abandoned; another was
built by tho Spaniards at Pcnsacola in IGUO, and a third stood, in 1795, above
Council Bluifs. LcwU and Clarhe^s Travels, X\. Charlotte Fort (originally
Fort Conde), built on tho site of Mobile, controlled until 1813, when it was
surrendered to tho U. S. , a considerable region cast of tho Mississippi. Monette,
i. St, 100; ii. 389. Charlotto Camp, a stockade enclosure with citadel, on the
cast side of tho Scioto, was built in 1774. Chartres Fort, founded in 1720, on
tho lcf^ bank of tho Mississipiii, and considered one of tho strongest posts iu

FORTS.

TSQi

been abundantly supplied — somewhat over-abun-
dantly, as it would appear, in proportion to the popu-

North America, waa a century later a massive ruin. Cherokee, or Old Chero-
kee Fort, 40 miles above the mouth of the Ohio, was ia oxisteiuu in 177S.
Christina Fort was founiled by the Swedish West India Co. , in lOIiS, at the
junction of Christina Creek with tlie Brandywine, near Wihnin^'ton. Bryant,
i. 4GG-7. Fort ISt Clair, on the Miami, 20 miles north of Fort liamiltun, was
built in 1791. Monette, ii. 4t)0. Chiirburno Fort, built in ISKJon Weather-
ford Bluff, on the east side of Alabama River, 85 miles above F(irt Stod-
dard, was a strong stockade with three block-houses and a lialfinoon liat-
tery. Clark Fort, named after the explorer, was in lSo8 a dilapidated
trading jwst on the Missouri, near the Riccareo village, and belonged to
tiio American Fur Co. Boiler, 33. Conception Mission was foundi d among
the Illinois in April 1(575. Shcd'n MissiKS., 5(5 Concord Fort was built by the
Spaniards on tlic site of the village of V'idalia, on tiio west bank of tlie Mis-
sissippi. Monette, i. 540, Crawford Camp, on the Chattahoochy, ju«t above
ti\o Florida line, was established in 181(5. Crove-Coeur Fort, built by I^i
Salle in 1G70, near the head of Illinois River, and so named on account of the
tinancial misfortunes that overtook the founder at this time, appears to have
been abandoned tlic same or the following year. Bryant, ii. .Til; J'rafz, i. 5.
Cumberland Fort was built by the English about 1754, on Will's Crct-k, near
the present town of Cumberland, Md. Defiance Fort was a strong stockade,
built in 1G94 at the junction of An (ilaize and Maumeo Rivers. Muncltc, ii.
304, 308. Dcnham Station, near Naslivillo, Teun., was in existeiue in 1792.
Detroit was in 1707 a large stockaded village with about eiglity houses.
Carver's Travels, 15'2. Dover Fort, X. H., contained, in 1089, five garrisoii
houses, into wliich all the inhabitants withdrew at night. In 1754 the Eng-
lish began to erect a fort and trading post at tlic ' forks,' a point of land just
above tlie junction of the Alleghany and Monongahcla, where now stands Pitts-
burgli; but they were driven off l)y French under Contrecoeur, who at once
built a fort and named it Du Quesnc, after tlio governor of Canada. In 1758
it was attacked by the English, when the French set fire to it and fled, the
former naming it Fort Pitt. Easley Station, at the forks of the Alabama
an<l Tombigbec, was built in 1813. Edward Fort was on the left bank of tiie
Hudson, near its northern bend. Ellswortli Fort was on the Smoky Hill
Fork of the Kansas. Elfsborg or Elsingborg Fort, built by tho Swedes at
the mouth of Salem Creek, Aid, was abandoned about i().'>'_', when the
Dutch erected a fort near its site. Bryant, ii, 152, Ely and Curtis' trading
post was in 1821 on tho Missouri, near tho mouth of the Kansas. Bcrkiroiirlh,
31. Mission St Esprit was near to tho western corner of Lake Superior.
Estill Station was on the south side of Kentucky River. Monvlle, ii. 124.

Fairfield Fort, in Maine, was in existeuco in 181(i. Fariiurs' Castle Sta-
tion, a stoekad'i with block house on tho Ohio, twelve miles lielow tlie uioutli
of tlio Muskingum, was erected in 1789. Monetic, ii. 247 8. Fincastle I'ort,
afterward named Fort Henry, on the east bank of tho Oiiio, near tlie nite of
Wheeling, was built in 1774. ii. 90, 95, Fiuley's trading post, in the ]nesent
Clarko co, in Kentucky, was in existence in 17(i9. Florida Fort was founded
in 1801, a few miles above Fort Stoddard, on Mobile Itiver. Florida M ission
was a Franciscan establishment in central Florida, in existence in l.")SI: or
earlier. Floyd Station, on Bear-grass Creek, about six miles from tho falls
of tho Ohio, was established in 1775. Fort St Francis was built in 17.'!9 by
tlio French, on tho west bank of tho Mississippi, near the mouth of the St
Francis.

Gadsden Fort, on tho AppalacliicoUi, below Fort .Scott, was in existrnce
in 1818. Monette, i. 93. Gago Fort, u stockade on the east bank of the Kas-
kaskia, opposite tho town of that name, was, after 1772, tho hoadtpiarters of
tiie commandant of Illinois. George Fort was built on tho southern extremity
of Lake George. Fort King George was erected by tho English on tho Alta-

730

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

lation, estimated in 188G at not more than GO, 000.
At the capital there was a Jewish synagogue; the

malia, Ga, about 173'2. Bryant, ii. 5G0. Gloucester House was on the Albany
Kivcr, near Osnabur^h House, llarmoufi' Jour.,\\v.\\\. tJood Hope Fort was
built in lGo3 liy tlio Duti'Ii West Inilia Co., on the jiresent sito of Hartford,
Conn. Drijaiit, i. 547. Gore Fort was crcetcil in 177 1 at the mouth of llock-
incc lliver. Monrtte, i. .181. Gosnohl Fort, on IClizaht-th lyland, Mass., was
built in 1(502 by Bartholomew Gosnolil, who, under instructions fron» the earl
of Southampton, examined the eo.ast southward from Capo Cod. IJnjniit. i.
2&2 ct scq. Gottenburg, or New Gottcnbur:,', was a fort built by the Swedes
in tlic 17th century, on Tinicnm Island, Del. After being captured by the
Dutch in lGo5, it was known as Kotteuberi,' Island. Gratiot Fort lay, in
ISUr), at the south end of Lake Huron, about 73 miles from Detroit. Green
15ay Mission, in Wisconsin, was opened in 10(iD. Monill<', i. TJl. Greenville
Fort was built near the present town of Greenville, 0. Id., ii. '297. llallelt
Fort was on Liard Hivcr, west of the great bend, llarmar Fort, built in 178.")
at the mouth of the Muskingum, was the first U. S. military post in 0!iio.
JloiHlle, ii. 218, 223. Harrod Station was a military post founded about
1771, near the present Harrodsburg, Ky. /(/., i. 304. Hawn Fort was on
GulK't Dlult', near the Tombigbee. Hayes' Station, near Nashville, 'J'enn.,
was in existence in 1792. Henry House was near and east from Moose Lake;
Iloy'j Station, on tho Ohio frontier, was some 20 miles from I'ppcr ])lue
Jjieks. Mission St Iguaco was built on Michilimackinao Strait in 1070, and
near 1;) it the llurons built a palisade. Moneltv, i., map 1; Shcn'.-t }[is4s'i. Ixi.
Ignatius. St, or St Imigoc, as tho common corruption is, was a Jesuit mission
founded in ild in 104:!. linjaitt, i. 497, 512-13. .laekson Fort was built in
ISbt on the site of old Fort Tallassce, near tho mouth of the C.io-a. .Uoiirllc,
ii. 425. James lliver liad on its banks two forts in 1070, and tli'! Potomac,
Uappahaunoeli, and York one. each. Jelierson Fort, built in 1791. was 20
miles nortli of Fort St Clair, and about from Greenville, (). Joseph Fort was
at the soutli end <if Lake Michigan. Kaskaskia, about live miles from tho
moutli of ]\.askaski;i Kivcr. and tlio oldest settlement in tlie lllipois country,
was in 1770 a missionary .-station, containing a Jesuit college. Monrtte. i. 102,
lGO-7. Kenhawa, at tho mouth of Great Kenliaw.i lliver, was, in 1770, a
militi.iy post, in command of Capt. Arbucklc, and then known as t!ic ' i'oint.'
Iveunebeo Kiver; tlio I'opham colony, arriving in 1G07, in tho ship (lift afCtod,
buik hero a fort mounting 12 guns. Labargo Fort was a little alwvo Fort
Uenton, on tho Missouri. Li Itayo Fort was at the southern cxtremitv of
Green liay. L.aurens Fort, .a military post, was built in 1778, on the right
bank of tho Tuscarawas, just below tho mouth of Samly Creek. M'oiieiti , ii.
107, 21S. Lo Hoeuf Fort was built by tho French in 175.'( on Lake Lo I'luuef,
15 miles from Prcsciuc Isle. Leech Lake Post was a block-bouse beloii'.'iug
to tho N. W. Co. Liard Fort was on Liard lliver, above tli(> Nahiumi. Ligo-
nier Fort, GO miles cast of Fort Pitt, was in existence in 170.!. Lisa Fort, a
trading post belonging to Manuel Lisa, of t!ie Missouri Fur Co., was .about
live miles below Omaha. Logan Fort, in Lincoln co., Ky, near the Ken-
tucky River, waa founded in 1775. London Fort was a stockado post built
by tho iMiglish in 1757, on the nortli bank of Litllo Tcnncssco lliver, on tho
present site of Fort Winchester, Va. Lookout Fort was built on the Mis-
souri, near Council Blull's. llirhirrturlh, 85. Fort St Louis lay, in 1719, near
the mouth of Mobile lliver. Pruiz, i. 138. Another fort of tliat name was
founded, between IGSO and 1G83, near tho junction of Illinois River and Lake
Peoria. Monvttf, i. l.'(5, 140. A third was built by La Salle, in 1G85, on Mc-
tagorda Bay, Texas. Bryant, ii. 517-18. Madison Fort, Iowa, was established
in 1808 as a frontier post. Monctte, ii. 501. Manchester Fort, with its stock-
ade, was founded in 1790, 12 miles above Limestone, in tho \'a military dis-
trict. Id., ii. 314. Mission St Marie, founded in IGG9 among tho Chippewas,
was tho oldest settlement in Mich. Shea's Miinins., xlvii. St Murk waa

FORTS.

781

prcsbytcriaris were represented by seven, and the
nietliodist church of Cana»hi by sixteen ministers, wliile

in ISIS ii post six miles above tlio mouth of Appalachy lliver. Jfuinllt'. i. 'M.
Marliii Station, on Stonir fork of Licking Kivcr, was ikstroycd l)y tlio
J'n,i;li^!i in 1070. Massac I'ort was a, .stockade built by tlic I'Vench, in \''}\),
on tlio liglit bank of the Ohio, about 'tO in'no above its mouth. Mateo, Fort
San, was erected by the S]ianiar(ls Boon alter their capture of Fort Caroline,
in 13(!r>, and iirobably close to its ruins. Jirijitiit, i. 'Jit. McAfee's Station
was in 1781 a frontier post near the Ohio. Momiff, ii. 1-1. McClellan'a
.Station lay, in 177(5, on the north fork of the I'.lkhoin, near the jiresent vil-
l.igo of Clcorgetown, Ky. ^[cConneU's Station was in 17S'2 near the town
of Lexington. McDowell Fort v.as on the l!io Verde branch of tl'.o Sal.nlo,
near the month of the former. M'IntJsli Foit was built in 177S, on tin! north
bank of the Ohio, near the mouth of Jliglieaver Creek, I'a. FortHt Michael,
near Fe'.isacola, was in existence in ISl."). Of the numerous forts in thu
state of Michigan, and in the neighborhnod of the great lake-^. most of them
crcctdi by the IL Ii. Co., may be mentioned the following; Tlio fort ef tho
Mianiis was built by La Salh; in Uu'J as a trading post, on St .Joseph Liver,
near its entrance into Lake ^Michigan. Fort Laurimie, on the head waters of
(Jreat Miami llivcr, w.^s in existence in 171.J. Li 17.")- tho l^'niicli li;id a
stockaded trading jiost on Mad River, a tributary of the (Jreat Miami. A
Lritish post nameil Mian.i, on the north bank of Maumeo Liver, about two
miles below the rajiids, was built before 17lj;l. In 17^'iit was ubandoiied,
;uul in 17911 reoccupiod. Columbia, a seltlement wi;!i bl k!; h'>use, was com-
menced in 17S8, on tho north bank of the Ohio, three miles below the l^ittlc
Miami. Fort Hamilton, on the Miami, ill) miles from Foi t Washington, was
in 1791 an advanced post. Fort Deposit was built in I7!H as a miiifaiy store-
house, near the head of Maumec Lapi<ls, seven miles from Fort Miami. .Vo-
vrtlr, JI;m. iJiscov. and Hdtlcmcnt, i. L'if; ii. 'Jll, L'lS. -Jl'.*, •J..7, 'J90, •_'(; I.
l'\)rt Mackinaw stood on tho south side of i\w. strait of Mieliilimackiuac, be-
tween lakes Ilnron and Michigan, and was a repository and place of departure
for tho upper and lower country. The stockade enclosed nearly two acres
and about 30 houses, and was garrisoned by about 9.") men, tho bastions being
lirotectcd by brass guns. Li 17lJ.'J it was eaptiued by Indians. LL, i. .'!.'>0.
In 1700 Fort ^liehiliniackinac, at the junction of likes Huron and Michigan,
enclosed by a strong stockade, an<l garrisoned by about 100 miii, was the
most remote of Iwiglisli posts. The name sigiiities a tortoise, and ap[)lie3
probably to an island a few miles to the northeast, which in a|ipeaianco
I CFcmblcs a tortoise. The place was captured by Pontiac in 17ii.'', but was re-
stored tho following year. Carrcr, ix. 19. Miro Lost, on the Washita Liver,
M-as built in 1795, on the site of the tnwn of Monroe. Moudic, \, ISS-O.
Mitchell Fort, on the Chattahoochy. Ca, was in existence in IS!,"), ami Mont
gomery Fort, near Lensacola, in ISIS. X,ish\ illc was a trading post ereeteil
I y tho French near tho ]iresent city of X:islivil!e about 177S. Moiirttc, ii. "200.
■Nassau Fort, a large trading ]x)st ereeteil by Heiidrick Christiansen, a Dutch
captain, in 1011, on Cr.stle Jslan<l, ne.ir Albany, was tho lirst one built on tlii'
Hudson Liver, nrtjmil, i. .'i,")9. S'alcliitoehi-, i>ii Lrd Liver, was oci'U|iieil
i'l 171'2as a trading post, and in 1717 as a military post. Mnui'lte, ii. 1(11).
N'eccssity Fort was built by Mio J'higiish in 17."il, a few miles west of L'uioii-
t ■' bur, was surrendered the i-aino year to the French. Nelson Fortwai
i iii. ii) 1780 on the Ohio, near liear-grass Creek, and Newberry, a settlement
with iiloek house, in I7S9 on the same rivcr. '11 miles V.elow the Muskiii"i;:ii.
Niagara Foi't was built by the Freiii'h in 17-0, iicar the mouth of Niagar.-i
Liver. Old Fort, or Leilstone Old I'ort, on the Monongalida, was named
I'.rownn'ilh^ when the latter town w.is laid out in 178.">. Momi^i\ ii. I!t4.
Orleans I'lnt was built by tho French in 17-0, on an island above the mouth
of Osage Liver. Oswego Fort, at the mouth of Oswego Liver, was captured
by tho French in I7.")0. Ouiatcnon or Ouatanon Fort stood, in 1707, on the

732

.SKTTLK.MKXTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

the baptist and refi)niietl episcopal churches were cn-
ofacfctl ill orjijaniziiiyf various branches throuu[]iout the

left liaiik uf the Wabash, near the juuctiuii of its sources. P.iuiiiure Fort, at
Natchfi!, MuneiKhneil to the Spaniards iu 1779. Monetle, i. 4l{iS. reiiibiiia
Fort \v;is oil Iti'tl Kivev, near the mouth of the I'eiubina. Tensaeoh* Fort \v;is
cai)ture(l by the Frciicli in 171'J, and soon Afterward recaptured by tlie Span
iarda, and again captured by tiic French, Pralz, i. 93 et seq. It was oocii-
pied l)y the Americans in 181S. Fort St I'eter stood, in 172"), near thn
mouth of the Y'uzoo liiver. Monelle, i. '2'1'i. I'ickering Fort was near Memphis,
below Wolf River. I'icrro Fort, on the Missouri, 1,'JOO miles above St Louit;,
was formerly one of the larycst forts iu the Sioux country, but iu 180('> nu
vestige of it remaineil. Jlollcr, '2'J, 417. On hearing of tlie massacre in Virginia,
iu It)--, the pilgrim fathers built a fort within tlie palisades that HUi-re)unded
tlie nine liouscs then comprising the town of I'lynmuth. Pre.siiu' Isle was
on the southern shore of I^ake Frie, near I'resqu' Isle Bay. IVinieau Fort wiis
in KSoS a dilapidated post on the Missoui'i, near the vilhigc of tlie Iticearee.s.
Uolkr, ;i.'!. I'rince George Fort, about IIU miles east of Fort London, was in
existence in I7i")7. -Moiutlc, i. 314. Pueblo Fort, a trading post at tlie junr-
tion of the Fontaine (jui ISouit and Arkansas, was built in 1842 by a company
of traders. Sn iics Jt'ocky M(k, 17"-. I icco very Fort was l)uilt in I7!I4, on tin;
scene of St Clair'.-i defeat, between St ^lary Kiver and Oreeiiville, O. J/c-
iiettr, ii. ;{00-.'{. lio<l Cellar Lake Post, belonging to the N. W. Co., is laid
down on L( win ami Clarlx'n map. Rice Fort >\as on Buffalo Creek, about 12
miles north of Wheeling. Moiicllc, ii. 140. Robertson Station, founded in
1780, near the site of Nashville, afterward became the centre of the Cinnber-
land settlements. Rosalie Fort was built by the Frencli in 1711), on the bint!
where Natchez now stands. Fort St Rose, Jiear Pcnsaeola, was in existence
iu 181").

Sackvillc (the old French Fort St Vincent) lay, iu 1770, on the left bank
of the Wabash, 150 miles above its mouth. Mviatfe, i. 413. Sandusky Fort
was built on the site of Sandusky Citj'. Saybrook Fort was built about
1U3."); fur mention, sco y>'rj/iuit, i. o.lO, ojo. Schlosser Fort was on the right
bank of the Niagara, opposite Grand Island. Scott Fort, on the Georgia fron-
tier, was in existence iu 1810. Momttc, i. Ul, 93. Simon, Mission St, was
located, in 1070, at Great Manitounin Island, Lake Huron. Id., i. map, p. J.
.South River Post was built in 1024 by settlers belonging to the Dutch AVcj t
India Co. They soon afterward abandoned it for Manhattan. Itri/aiif, i.
300-7. Stanwix Fort, also known as Fort Schuyler, was on the right bank of
the Mohawk, near its source. Station Prairie, on the Scioto, was built in
17i-'J, near tlie site of the town of Ciiiliicothe. Mointic, ii. 315. Steuben Fort
stood iu 1782 near the falls of the Ohio. Stoddard Fort was founded in ISO!,
on Mobile River near the Spanish line, and Strother Fort on the Coosa, mar
Ten Inlands, about 1813. Talassco Fort, six miles above the mouth of tlic
Coosa, and built on the site of Fort Toulouse, the latter being erected in 1714,
was reconstructed in 1814 as Fort Jackson. J/oHr/^e, i, 213, 415. Thompson's
Creek I'ost, a small fort in west Fla, was surrendered to the Spaniards in
1779. Tombigby Fort was built by the French in 1730 on the river of that
name, about 250 miles above tho site of Mobile. Union Fort, on the Mis-
souri, six miles above tho Yellowstone, and in 1830 tho headquarters of the
American Fur Co., was one of the oldest and best equipped of the comiiany'.s
forts. Jlulkr, 9, 43; Beckwourth, 300. Valle's Post, on tho Missouri, just
above Cheyenne, was occupied in 1804 by the French trader Valle. Lcirin awl
Clarke, 70, Venango Fort was built by the French in 1753, on tlie site of
Franklin, Pa. Mouttte, i. lOS, 171. Vincent, Post St, on the Wabash, some
distance above White River, was in existence in 1745. Id., i. map. Washing-
ton Fort was founded in 1789, on the Ohio, opposite the mouth of the j^ick-
ing. Moiictti', ii. 2."'l-2. Washita Post, built in 1713, on tho site of the town
of Monroe, was in existence in 1700. Wayne Fort, named after Gen. Wayne,

CHURCHES.

788

province."' Two years before there were five catholic
or episcopal dioceses, with nearly sixty clcrij^ymen.^"
At Victoria tlierc were three liospitals,"' an or[)hans'
home,"^ several benevolent societies,''^ and tlie inevi-

was litiilt ill ]~'M at tlic coiiiliionce of St Mary'a and St Jdscph's rivers.
Wciithurloril was in ISi;} a stroii^iiold and town near tlio soiitli l)aiik of tlio
Alabama, in a swani)) known as Kcclianacliaca, or Holy (iroiind. ^VillianlS
Fort, tlirt'o niilcn lu'low tlio Ycliow.sto'u', was moved in ISoS f-0 nii'.i's alxjve
on tlic! Missouri. Holier, 42, Winclifster, on the site of a sloikado fort luiilt
in I7'~ili iu tlic valley lietwocn the JUuo Jtidye and Alleghany ranges, wad
declared a military fort ill I7">7. William Henry I'oi't wiis huilt in 17">">, on
tlic southern extremity of Lake (Jeorge. A fort of the .same name, situated
at I'eiiiagnid, Me, was demolished liy the Kieiieh in ICi'.Mi. JJri/'iiil, ii. 44!).
Mission St Francis Xavier was founded on (!reeu liay. Illinois Lake, in l(i70.
jS/i(Yt's J/(.s,s('.ys., n, xi., vii.; Mom lie, i. map, j). I.

^^'itllout venturing to pi'esent the ivader with liililiogiiiiihieal notices of
the various authors from whom this ih'suiik? lias lieen written, it niiy not be
out of place to notice a manuscript handed to mo at X'letoiia in 1S7S, and
entitled Furfu <iiid Fort Life, in Xi lo (.'aldloiiia, uin/cr II ikUoh'h Ji<n/ (ompaiii/
Jicijiinc, 1)1/ I'. A'. Complon, MS. In a few pages Mr Coiii])toii lias eoiidensed
more information as to the subject-matter of his manuscript than can be
found elsewhere in such brief space. Landing at Victoria in 1S.")',>, in the
service of the If. B. Co., Mr Comjiton was ordered to l''ort Simpson, where,
as ho says, ' the daily routine was to get up at six o'clock, dig potatoes, chop
wood, clean furs, and shovel sikjw.' After three yeais' .-service he travelled
in jMiropo, principally in Servia and Turkey, returiyjig to N'ictoria in 1S71).
In 'J'/ic. iliiilaou'.'i I'xi'i Tcrri/arici tnitl \'iiiir(>urtr\i l.fiind, v'lth an cr/ioniUnii
if the Clidrlcrid Ithiht.-t, (Conduct, iiud J'olicif of the Jloil. Ilndsoii's Jmi;/ Cor-
jioraliuii, />!/ 1!. M. Mnrlhi (London, 1849), the author gives a good gener.-d
description of the geography and i)hysical features of the company's tenitory
in the north-west, together with information as to site and condition of tlu ir
forts and stations. Much of the work is devoted to the constitution and
working of the corporation at home and abroad, their policy and .system being
(contrasted with those of American fur-traders. Most of tho leading; authori-
ties then extant have been consulted, among them being parliamentary jia-
pcrs, the reports of missionary societies, tho ollicial papers deposited at the
colonial ollice, the ijoavd of trade, and the admiralty, and the several charters
granted to the company, Tho book is fairly ami impartially written, though
.■somewhat tetlioua and luuntcresting in stylo. Facing the frontisiiieco is a
map showing tholocatiou of tho company's forta and stations throughout the
territory.

^'' Tlierc were also three branches of the upper Canada auxiliary of tin.'
IJritish and Foreign Bible Society. B. C Inform, for EmhjraHtx, .^G-?.

^''In 1SS4 Areldjishop Scghcrs of Oregon was appointed to the episcopacy
of V. J. and Alaska. Sac. liccord-Uniov, March )8, 18S4.

^'Tho Itoyal hospital, the expenditure of which averaged, brtwccn 1S7<>
and ISSO, about §j,5U0 a year, tho Maison do Santo Fran^aiso, and St Joseph's,
the last being in chai'go of the sisters of St Ann.

^''Thc B. J. I'rotestant Orphans' Home, established in 1872, and of which,
iu ISS.'), A. A. Green was president. ]>. O. Jtirct., ISSl-o, [)[.

"*A;non,!T th.oin may bo mentioned the 15. C. Benevolent Society, which
disbursed about ij^.'yOO in charities, tlie iiisignilieance of tlie amount due rather
to the small number of deserving poor than to lack of funds. Li the supple-
mentary estimates for 1SS.")-C, the sum of $-'."i() was voti^l in aid of this soci-
ety. Stat. Ji. C, KSy-l, \-\. The St Andrew's Society, organized in 1800,
and tho Caledonian ]>cnevolcnt Association, in 180H, were consolidateil in
KS70 into one association, named the St Andrew's and Caledonian Society.
There were also several seci'ct t^ocielies, including the Far \Vcst Lodge of tho

7PA

SETTLEMENTS. MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

tabic Younfj Men's Christian Association and Youns:
Women's Christian Temperance Union. At New
Westminster, Nanaimo, Yale, Cariboo, and elsewhere,
there were also institutions for the care of the sick,
for mutual aid, and for charitable purposes similar to
those in operation at the capital.*^

Although an act for the establishment of public
schools wo -4 passed by the legislature of Vancouver
Island as early as 18G5, and by that of the united
colonies in 1809,^* it was not until several years latei'
that provision was made for an efficient educational
system. In the estimates laid before the former foi
18GG, the sum of $15,000 was included for school pur-
poses; but on August 31st of this year the assembly
of Vancouver practically ceased to exist. At that
date no appropriation had been made by the legisla-
ture, and thereafter none could be made. The chief
magistrate thor :>fore informed the superintendent of
education that, as there were no means at his disposal,
ho could not further guarantee the payment of rent,
salaries, or other Items. Thus the responsibility of
maintaining the public schools was thrown on the
Ijoard of education, and for several months they were
maintained by that body under some arrangement
unknown, as the colonial secretary remarked, to the
executive.*'^ In a supplementary message, dated Feb-
ruary 27, 1867, Governor Seymour states that on the
Island an attempt had been made to lay the burden

Knights of Pythias, the Victoria Loilgo of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen, the American Legion of Honor, the IndopLMident Order of Ciiosen
Friends, Dominion Lodge No. 4, luid Columbia Lodge No. 2, of tlio Independ-
ent Order of Odd-Fellows.

*" At New Westminster was the lloyal Columbia Hospital, of which a com-
mittee appointed to infjuiro into its condition in ISS^ reported favorably. See
.Vcsf. Pa/ieri^, B. C. , 1S84, 1283-4. There were also branches of tlio A. O. U. ^V.
and Ancient Order of Foresters. Of the Nanaimo Hospital, J. I'awson was
president in I8So, and in this town were also lod'^cs of the A. O. F. and A.
0. U. W. For masonic statistics of B. C, see I'rocccdiiKjs Grand Lodje oj
Xcw Mex., 1S79, 55.

^'Tlio latter, which was entitled the Common School ordinance, 1800,
repealed the Common School ac\ 1805, of tlio former colony of Victoria.
This was again altered by the C' nmon School Amendment ordinance, 1870.
For text of Iwth, see the revised Lawn li. ('., 187 1, 392-C, 434-7.

"Jour. Liijid. Council, li. ('., 1807, a pp. xi.

SCHOOLS.

78S

of expense for educational purposes on the community,
while he was compelled to acknowledge that on the
mainland the population was yet too sparse and scat-
tered to admit of any regular and organized system.
The state, he considered, might aid the parent, but
ought not to relieve him of his natural responsibility,
"else it might happen that the promising mechanic
might be marred, and the country overburdened with
half-educated professional ])oliticians, or needy hang-
ers-on of government." But unto Governor Seymour
was not vouchsafed, as we have seen, the wisdom of
a Solomon, and his views must be accepted for what
they are worth. Under his administration the con-
dition of the public schools was deplorable. Between
September 18GG and the close of 18G8 their total
cost in the several districts of Vancouver was about
$15,000, of which sum more than $4,000 remained un-
paid at tlic latter date, mainly on account of teachers'
.salaries, although there were but five teachers in all
Vancouver, none of them receiving more than $75,
and the average being $05, per month. During 18G7
and 18G8 six out of the eleven schools established
under the act of 18G5 were discontinued for want of
funds," and of the 425 children receiving instruction
early in the former year, nearly one half were turned
adrift, while to several of the teachers discharged or
suspended there were still due sums varying from
$109 to $253, and to all of those retained from $215
to $588.

In 18G9 matters were but little improved. During
that year only twelve public schools were maintained
in the several districts of British Columbia, seven
boin''" on the island,** and live on the mainland.*^ A
grant of $10,37G in all was made by the government,

*'Tlio Esquimalt, Soutli Saanicli, Cowiclian, Cedar Hill, Salt Spring, and
the eentral school for girla at Victoria. Those still in operation were tho
central school for boys and the district school, Victoria, tlio Crai;,'llo\vcr, Lake,
and Nanaimo schools. 6V.s.s'. I'(ij)ci:'', in /./., 1809, apji. vii.

*' Those mentioned in the previous note, Jind one at Saanicli, and one at
Cedar Hill. Id., 1870, app. i.x.

*^Ouo each at New Westminster, Langley, Yale, Lytton, and Sapperton.

736

SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDUCATION.

of which $5,900 was devoted to the payment of
teachers' salaries.^^ The entire amount received from
local aid was hut .$330. In six out of the twelve dis-
tricts no local aid was voted, and from three others
no returns were received. The average attendance
at each school was less than 30, and at all the schools
about o[)0" out of a school population probably little
short of 2,000. No regular accounts were kept by
the local boards. Teachers were appointed without
cxanu nation as to fitness, and sometimes without
inquiry as to character. There was no inspection, as
there were no funds wherewith to pay inspectors' sal-
aries, and there were no regulations as to the manajje-
mcnt other than those framed by the local boards.

In this condition, or very nearly so, the educational
affairs of the colony and province remained until
1872, wlien an act was passed providing that a Ijoard
of education should be appointed ibr tlio province,
defining the duties of such board, and also those of
school trustees, school-teachers, and the superintend-
ent of schools, and autliorizin'j^ the lieutcnant-govcr-
nor to create additional school districts."*^ After this
date there was a marked improvement, and in 1874
we find 1,245 names enrolled on the various i-egisters,
or more than double the number contained in 1872,
provision having now being made for annual in-
spections and for the examination of teachers.*' For

i6 Pqp each school $500, except the one at Sapportoii, for which §100 was
nppropriutoil.

*' At ten of them the total attendance gives an average for the year of "20(!,
and from others uo returns were received, fbkl.

^sFor text, SCO Stat. JJ. C, 187.J, 30-41). By thia act the ordinances of
18G9 and 1870 were repealed. In the report of a select eomniittcc on the
act of 1S7-, it was recommended that compulsory education bo made general
throughout the province, taking aa a precedent the compulsory clauses of the
Ontario school act, whcreliyall children between seven and twelve years of
ag(! were required to 'attend some school or bo otherwise educated for four
months in the year.'

"'J'lie snperintenilent reports a scarcity of efficient teachers, only 8 out of
IV] cmidoyeil in the department during the school year ending July .ll, 1871,
having undergone a regular training. ^lany of them failed to pass, or did
not attempt to pass, the teachers' examination, as will be seen in Jour. Legist.
Ash. B. C, 187.'), G;J-9, where is a copj'of the cxaminatioa papers. Tho ques-
tions put were exceedingly simple. A full report of the superintendent for
this year will bo found in Id., 187."), 14-73.

ISSi

PUBLIC MKASURES.

the j'car ending the 31st of July, 1876, there was a
school population of more than 2,500,"^" of which 1,G85
attended the public schools during a portion of 1875,
the average attendance for all parts of the province
being 984, while there were still 385 children who did
not receive instruction of any kind. During the five
preceding years the number of schools had increased
from 14 to 45, and of teachers from 13 to 50, the
average cost being $22.38 per capita of the pupils."

On the 19th of May, 1876, an act was approved
for the maintenance of public schools, whereby each
male resident of the province was required to pay an
annual tax of three dollars for educational purposes."
On the same date the Consolidated Public School
act, 1870, received the governor's signature. The
latter was repealed by the Public School act, 1879,"
and after some further legislation," the laws then in
force were consolidated in the Public School act,
1885, wherein there were no salient features, except
that clergymen, of whatever denomination, were in-
eligible for appointment as superintendent, teacher,
or trustee, and that all children from seven to twelve
years of ago were required to attend one of the public
or private schools, or otherwise to receive an educa-
tion, for not less t^^an six months in the year.'''

Turning to tlic thirteenth annual report of the
superintendent of education for the school year ending
July 31, 1884, we find 57 public schools in operation,^'*

'•" Tlic number actually reported to tho superintendent was 2,4S'l. Fifth
ann. ropi of the supt of cduc., in Sess. Papers, B. C, 1877, 87.

'"For full text of supt's report, sec Id., 87-1 oD. At this dato high schools
had been cstablislied at Victoria and New Westminster; but wiBx tho ex-
ception of these two cities and South Cowichan, none of the settlements con-
tained more than one public school building.

'"''Slat. B. C, 1870, 111-12. For petition signed by Bishop Scghcra and
G3 others, protesting against all taxation for tlio support of non-sectarian
schools, and particularly against this special tax, sec Sess. Papers, B. C,
1870, 725.

'"'^Stat. B. C, 1870, 111-23. It was first amended by acta of 1877 and
1878, for copies of which, see /</., 1877, 111; 1878, 71-2.

^♦Amending tho act of 1879. Id., 1882, 77; 18SI, ipi-.").

'•''^ Under penalty of line, not exceeding §5 for tlio first wilful offence, and
$10 for each subsequent offence. For text of act, sec Id., 188J, 125-11.

^"Of whicli 49 were common schools (this being tlio phrase usually applied
Hi8X. Bbit. Col. 47

lis

SCTTLKMKNTS, MISSIONS, AND KKICATIOX.

with 75 toadiers and ;{,4L*0 pupils unrolled, tlio aver-
age daily attendance! being 1,800 — an increase of 420
over tlio preceding year, and of 1,'J34 over the scho-
lastic year 1872-3. The total expenditure i'or educa-
tion proper in 1883-4 was $58,301,'^' the sums appro-
priated for buildings, repairs, insurance, and similar
items being considered a portion of the government
assets. The actual outlay for all educational [)urposes
was.$GG,G55.15,and the amount voted in the estimates
for the year $08,415, leaving an unexpended balance
of $1,750.85. At no period in the history of the pro-
vincial schools had so much interest been shown in
the cause of education,"'' and at no period was the
standard of education so high. Among the six per-
sons to whom were awarded teachers' certificates ol'
the first grade in the lirst class, at the examination
held in July 1884, were four university graduates,''
although the highest salary paid was but ^llO,*^ and
the average salary $00. 04, per month.

While the public schools of British Columbia com-
pared not unfavorabl}', considering her scant popula-
tion, with those of her sister provinces and of the
neighboring states and territories, it must be admitted
that as yet her educational system was but in its in-
fancy. As late as 1880 there was no university in
existence, and there was not even a normal school
or a teachers' institute. Much, however, had been
accomplished, and at moderate expense.**^

in the home country to what are termed public schools in the United States),
7 were graded schools, and one a iiigh school (at Victoria). Sess. Papers, JJ.
C, 1885, 151, 109.

'''It is worthy of note that of this sum $50,702.55 was expended for
teachers' salaries, while only §2,988.07 was appropriated for the education
ofiicc, and §4,010.02 for incidental expenses, including rent.

'■'^ Tho total nunbcr of visits to tlio various -oliools in the province increascil
from 2,922 in 188 -3 to 9,480 in 18y;!-4.

^•Of whomtw were grantc<l renewal^, tho hoMer of a first-class certili-
cato having the ; ivilego of renewal without further examination. There
were three chisse: nd to each class two grailcs.

•"To the princ 1 of tho high .school at Victoria, the principal of the boys'
school at New AVe; linster, where the high school hiid now been abolished,
receiving $100 per : >iith. For text of report, eeo M, 1S85, 151-2,10.

"In tho report f a select committee, appointed in 18sl, it was recom-
mended that a tuiti i foe of $5 per quarter shoulil be charged for scholars iu

NEWSPAPKUS.

78D

"This,"' said Amor do Cosmos, liandiiig mo a grcon-
papcr- cove rod file of the Victorid Gazette, printed ho-
tvvoeii Juno 2C) and July 2a, 1858, ''waji the first
newspaper published in Victoria." In JJ)eeemher oi'
that year was issued the iirst number of the Jirifish
Colonist/'' continued until tlu> autumn of 18G;5 by
the ex-governor of British Colundjia.*^' In i88r) the
Dailjl and Wcehhj Colonist, established in 1858 by D.
W. lliggins, who was still the proprietor at the former
date, was one of the prominent newspapers of tlie
province, among others published at the ca[)ital being
the Daibj and Weeldy Standard, Times, and Dalli/
Ei'eninj Post. At Xew Westminster was issued the
British Columbian and the Mainland Guardian, at
Nanaimo the Free Press,'^*' at Kamloop tin; Inland
Scntinvl,^'^ and at several of the mainland interior
towns were weekly or semi-weekly publications.*''' Tlio
Mechanics' Literary Institute at V^ictoria contained
in 188G about 7,000 well-selected volumes, and at
New Westminster, at Clinton, and other of the main-
land settlements, were smaller libraries, all of them
well su))plicd with periodical literature.

the high school. Joitr. Ler/itl. Af^. Ji. ('., ISSl, 7-. For other x'cparts of tlio
supcriiitcnduut of educjitiou .aiicl of coininitteca on public schools, rcc Scas'.
Paper.^, Ji. C, 1878, 7-<i8; 1871), 17!)-230; ISSO, 159-227; 1881, 447-0, 4.V.-
04; 1882, 24!)-.'J22; 188H, 183-270; 18S4, Ol-loO; Jour. Le'/td. Am. H. C, 1877,
tipp. xxvi. ; 18S0, app. iii.

''^Tho last issue of tho Victoria Gdzrtic was dated Juno 23, 18J9. Duiin.,'
IHoS was published tho Vnncoaver Idund Gazette, by Frederic Marr.iott of tlio
A't'fM Letter. It passed througii eight or ten numbers, and enriched its owner,
by his well-known process of money-making, to tiio amount of some 88,000.
lie was then advised to remove. A Frencii newspaper, published by Paul do
Gara, expired almost still-born. In this year also was published for a few
weeks the North American.

•■^ Meanwhile a newspaper was published named tho Press. Tlieu fol-
lowed the Evening Express, Prices Current, and other minor publications,
somo fifteen in all up to 1805. Z)e Cosmos' Govt, MS., 3.

"'A eemi-wcekly, established in 1874 by George Norris. JJ. C. Direct.,
18S4-5, 119.

"^ A weekly paper, formerly published at Yale. Id., 1884-.'), 202.

**For list of publications in 1878, see PettinrjilVs Neicspaper Direct., 2jr>.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE,

1880-1S80.
AoEictJLTURAL Areas — Pdblic Lands— Stock-iuisixg — Frcits — Fisheries

SALMON-CANXIXO — MaNUFACTCRES — GOLD-MINIXG — COAL-MININO —

The Alaska Boundary— Exports and Impouts — Comparison with
Other rRoviscEs — Baxkixg — Insurance — Shipping — Inland Navi-
gation — Revenue and Expenditure — Public Debt— Comparison of
Customs Returns— Elements of Prosperity — Biographical — Biblio-
graphical.

In 1-;3G British Columbia was not adapted to any
large immigration of poor families. Abundant as
were her resources, there v .is lack of funds wherowitli
to develop them; and for persons without means,
excepting laborers and perhaps a limited number of
mechanics, there were few openings.^ But for men
possessing even a small capital there were few more
profitable investments than a cereal farm or cattle
ranclio within her borders. As an ao-ricultural rcijion
the mainland is divided into sections bv the Coast
Range, the interior having a climate of extremes, the
coast a mild and equable temperature, and the soutli-

» In 18C1 immigrants were in demand in P.. C. S. F. Bulletin, Oct. 28, 18G1.
In 1SG7 the Icgisiativo council rcconimcndc<l tliat ihe department of lands and
works, in ad lition to its other functions, lio used as nu immigration depart-
ment, and tliat in tlio absence of power to make free grants of land to bona
Jlilc settlers, 'a bounty bo oflcrcd to actual ecltlers equivalent to the pre-
emption price of the land that they may bo liable to pay under the land ordi-
nance.' Jour. Legid. Council, 1807, UO. For inunigratiou statistics in 18G'.^
SCO U, S. llnreim of Stati.''tics, no. 'J, 1S79-SO, 173, 83. In 1881 there was a
scarcity of laborers. S. F. UiilUtiii, Oct. 2i, ISSl. While the construction
of the C. P. 11. R. was in proj^ress, laborers and mechanics could always lind
emplcymcnt at fair rates. In the first annual report of tho immigration
agents for 1883, it is stated that about 3,000 Chinese arrived in tho provinco
duri'-.g that year, and some 5, S.IO Mhito persons. Sess. Papers, U. t'., 1884,
297.

ATTRACTIONS FOR SKTTLERS.

741

ern portion, with its wide, trough-liko valleys, requir-
ir^fj irrigation durinuf the summer months.''

Though containing large tracts of good arable land,
the entire province is better adapted for stock-raising
than for the production of crops. Even of the delta
lands of the Fraser, with their rich clay loams, where
forty bushels of wheat or barley to the acre and sixty
of oats were no uncomaion yield, but a small portion
was under cultivation as late as 1884.^ In the south-
ern portion of the mainland interior, east of clie
Frazer, were 500 square miles available for agricultu-
ral purposes, the most valuable portion being in the
Chilliwhack municipality, where an average crop gives
about twenty bushels of wheat and forty of oats or bar-
ley to the acre. Near the estuary of the Fraser, and
in the neighborhood of Hope and of Okanagan Lake,
are areas in all of about the same extent. North of
the fifty-first parallel and west of the Fraser, in the
basin of the Nechacco and its tributaries, is an area
of about 1,230 square miles available for tillage,
thougli partially covered with forest, and without
means of conmmnication. In the Peace Kiver coun-
try are immense tracts of land which, tliough in
part densely wooded, are fertile of soil, one of them,
west of Smoky Iliver, and known as Grand Prairie,
containing at least 230,000 acres capable of produc-
tion."* In all Vancouver Island there are not more

'For fnrilicr mcaticn of climato, see p. 40-3, this vol.; Dom. Can. Oulde-
Bool; 1SS5, 71; Dawson's N. W. Terr, and D. C, 50, C2-4. For act relating
to inigatiou, draiuago, and diking, see Utat. B. 6'., ISS'J, 4; for accouufc of
Fraser River dilics and diking enterprises, sco W. T. Intelligr ncc.r, June fJ,
1S79; Western Oreijonian, Juno 14, 1870.

•' ii'. C fiifo .n./or Emigrants, ISSl, .'!.">. These were tho average rcturna
of several well-known farms. In a few favored spots as much as SO bushels
per acre of wheat has been harvested, and in ono locality, where the surface
was a light sandy loam, mixed with alluvial soil, tho yield was 40 bush'ils of
oats or barley and 'Jj of v/hcat.

* ' My observations tendeil Id show,' remarked Alacouu, tho botanist of tho
r. R. survey, ' that nearly all tho I'caco River district was just as capable of
successful settlemciit as Manitoba.' Dom. Can. In/arm. fur licUlcr.-i, ISSl, 2'i,
In his evidence before a parliamentary conunittce, Dawson states tliat tho
Peace River country cjntaius an area of agricultural laud which, if all of it
were sown in wheat, woniil produce over 470,000,000 bushels a year, or at tho
rato of '20 busiiels an acre.

742

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

than 300,000 acres of fanning lancl,°of which loss than
15,000 were under cultivation in ISSO,*^ though on the
southern and eastern sides oi" the island there was a
considerable iarniing population.

In the Queen Charlotte Islands, believed, like most
of those adjacent to the north-west coast of the conti-
nent, to be merely the mountain tops of a submerged
tract, from which they have been separated by volcanic
action, there arc some 15,000 acres of lltit and un-
Nvooded land, but of this only a i'cw hundred arc suit-
able for agriculture, the largest patches of cleared
arable land not exceeding twenty acres.' Of level
pasture land the area is also limited, a tract of some
400 acres, south of the entrance to Skidegate Inlet,
being the largest, and this containing only a scattered
growth of coarse beach-grass."^

^Dom. Can. In/urm. for Seltl< r.-s, JSS4, '2\. lu hid l^iticouvcr Idand,'Mii.,
.'ij, Ml' Bayloy roiimrUis: 'Of all tho ijnor apolo.^iua for an agricultural coun-
try, V. I. cxuui:il.s aiiyUiing tliat 1 liavo as yet JjclicUl. Its surfaco is divcr-
siljcil with rocks, auil for a chango, swamps, ami swamps aud rocka.' In tliu
Earbj Life on \'anroiivi:r Island, by V. A. Bnijliij, MS., to which rcfercuco has
hucn made in furnicr chapters, I have liccu furnished with sonic interesting
annals touching V. I. and the niaiidaud during the n'ginio of tho II. 1>. Co.
]vcaching Victoria in May 1S.')1, tho author says that there were then no signs
of cultivation in its iieighljorhood. l^andiugou the beach, near to which stood
tho old fort, he found iu its ucigliborhood only a few log Khantica tenanted by
Iroquois, French Canadians, and kauakas. J'hnploycd lirst as a school-
teacher, and then appointed coroner by Douglas, ho relates many remarkable
adventures among the native tribes during his sojourn in tho north-west.
lie af lerwai'd became a member of tiio legislativo assembly for V. I.

"In ISSl there were only about 1(),006 acres in tilth.

'There are, however, several thousand acres of lightly timbered spruce
and alder lands, bordering on the bays and streams, which, if there should
ever be a homo nuuket, might be cultivated for root crojja aud dairy purposes.
f'lii/t(iid< )i,'.^ Kxjdor. Qui I II ('Iiarloiti' I.fland,<, IU.

"Almost the entire surface of the Queen Cliarlotto Ishinds is covered with
dense forests of spruce, hcudock, and cedar, containing large (juantitica of
valuable timber, aud many spots where spruce can be obtained in abundance,
but none where large saw-mills can bo jirohLably worked. The Douglas lir
.iiul yellow cedar were iu lS(i() the only timber which could be prolitably ex-
]iorted from tho province, anil tho forui n- was not found on this group, while
tiie latter did not grow soutli of Skidegaic Inlet in suilicieut quantity to fur-
nish a good supply of logs. Nearly all tho Dest varieties of lish taken in tho
waters of 15, C. abounded iu those of the Queen Cliarlotto Islands. IJctween
ISS.'J and ISSO tho Skidegato Oil Company produced from 35,000 to 40,000 gal-
lons (jf lish-oil a year, giving employment, during sunimer, to a largo number
»jf Indians. For many previous years tho natives had extracted oil simply by
throwing heated stones into hollow logs tilled with dog-lish livers; but the oil
thus obtain(!d was barely luarketable. Dy tho uso of retorts the company
inanuiacturcd uu oil ko pure and clear that it mot with ready sale at fair
prices, being especially in demand for lubricating purposes. Fur-bnaring

AGRICULTURE.

743

Of Texada Island, acquired under circumstances
that called for an official investigation/ it maybe said
that it contains no area adapted either to agriculture
or pasturage, or none that is appreciable.^^

With such areas of available agricultural land, suf-
ficient to maintain more than ten times her popula-
tion, it may not be unworthy of note, that in 1884
<j:urrcnt retail market prices at Victoria were, for oat-
meal more than six cents a pound, for flour nearly 3^
cents, and for wheat $2.50 the cental, other articles
of consumption selling in the same proportion, and
this in a comuumity where wages were not above those
paid in the metropolis of the Pacific coast, in which
most of the necessaries of life could be purchased
at little more than half the rates demanded in the
metropolis of Ijritish Columbia."

Public lands in British Columbia were, with the
exception of the railroad belt, vested in the provincial

iinimals, especially bears, laud-ottois, aud iiiartuis, were very plentiful, wliilo
fur-seals were killed iu considerable numbers, ami a few sea-otter were taken
every season. With minerals the islands were poorly supplied. Jiai/lri/'s
r. J., JNIS., 9-11 ; though it has been stated that jiold, silver, iron, au<l eojiper
M'ere discovered between IS.j'J and IS.V,). Sec ib'. /'. Alfa, March 8, IS.'/J;
Bulletin, Dec. D, 1838; April 15, ;U), \b'>0. Tiie only discovery of gold worth
namiu;; was that made at MitehoU Harbor iu IS.ri, for whicli sec p. 34.">, this
vol. From the Official Ilcport of t/ic E-vjilordtinaoj' the Qii('r)i ( '/larlolln Ixlaiuls
for the Oovernmcnt of Urilish Columbia, hji Neicton. 11. Chittenden, Victoria,
1811, and the ileoloijicnl Survey of Cmiudd, Alfred J'. (.'. S'dwj/n, F. It. S.,
1\ a. S. Dirertor, Report of Proijre>if for ISi'S-'J, Montreal, 1880, the reader
will gather all the information of which he may bo in search as to the soil,
climate, geology, fauna, flora, and resources of the tiueen Charlotte group.
I'erhaps the most interesting portions of both works are those relating to the
physical peculiarities, social customs, and traditions of the Haidahs; but as
i have already treated of these subjects in my Native Jtuceii, it is unnecessary
to mention tliem further,

"For papers in the case, see Jour. Leftsl. Axx. Ji. C, 187."), lSl-ii4(j.

'"Its nuiia value was a deposit of rich magnetic iron ore, varying fi'om '2
to '2o feet in thickness, and assaying in spots as much as 08 jier cent of metal.
Tlio mine was witiiin Ui) mile.s of Comox harbor, whenci', in ISS;i, a Muall
ipiantity was shipped to llie eastern states for treatment. Jlrit. <'oloiii'<t, Sept.

19, issa.

"In Brit. Col. Inform. fur Einhjrants, 188-i, 17-18, isalistof ivtail pri( ciat
the Victoria markets in Alarch of that year. For furtiicr iti'ins as to agricul-
ture in B. C, SCO ])om. Con. Inform, for Settle rx, ISSl, 'JO-,"); l)vin. Can.
Guide-Book, 1885, 74-5; Uhitlemlen'ti TravuU in It. C, passim; Jianson'.'i A'.
W. Ter. andB. C, 50-'2, 5.>-Gl, G4, )iassin); S. F. Bulletin, Oct. 12, .Mar. '2\,
1881; Chronicle, July'22,1878; Alia, May 'Jl, ISGJ; May i:J, 1871; Marcli.'il,
1872; Oct. 25, 1875; Sac. Becord- Union, Jan. 1, 1884; Portland Wc*l Shore,
June 1, 1880.

744

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

government. British subjects, or those who had de-
clared their intention of becoming such, could pre-
empt, at the rate of one dollar per acre, a half-
section north or east of the Cascade Ran^^e, or a
quarter-section elsewhere in the province, tl\e price
being payable in four annual instalments. Unsurvoyed
or unreserved crown lands, and surve3'ed lands not
being town sites or Indian settlements, could, after
being oflFered for sale at auction, be purchased for one
dollar an acre, payable in cash.^^ As elsewhere in
British colonies, it was the policy of the government
to reserve its domain for actual settlers — men who, by
developing and in part consuming the resources of the
province, added to its wealth, rather than to dispose
of it for a nominal price to speculators and capitalists.
Moreover, the public lands were a source of revenue
which could be utilized to better advantage, as from
year to year the population gradually increased.

For stock-raising purposes the mainland interior,
and especially its southern portion, east of the Fraser,
was considered the most favorable region.^^ The
higher plateaux of this district, though little culti-
vated on account of summer frosts, are for the most
part covered with nutritious bunch-grass, which, un-

'^The fee for reconliiig was §2 au acre. The first instalment for preemp-
tion elaims need not be paid until two years after date of record. After sur-
vey, and on proof tliat, from date of occupation, improvements liad been made
to tlic amount of not less t'.au §2.50 an acre, the settler was entitled to ii
'certificuto of improvement,' and on full payment to a grant in fee simple.
Naval and military ofHcerd could, after seven years' service, obtain free grants
of land under the Military and Naval Settlers' act, 1803. Lands and im-
provements, duly registered, could not bo attached for debt up to a, value of
82,r)00, and goods and chattels up to $M0. Dom, Can. Inform, for Settlers,
1884, '20-8; I)om. Can. Guide-ISook, 1885, 77-8. For reports of commissioners
of lands and works, see JJ. O. Lands and ]Vorks Depart. New Westminster,
1800. Jour. Lfigisl. Ass., 1875, 301-481; Scss. Papers, JJ. C, 1870, 419-503,
iii.-xxii.; 1877,240-350, i.-xxxvi.; 1878, 203-378,455-03; 1870,247-54; 1880,
205-310; 1881, 380-418. For land acts, see Stat. JJ. C, 1877, 114; 1882, 0,
13-18; IS83, 17, 77-8; 1884, 16.

'^ Dawson's evidence, in Dom. Can. Inform, for Settlers, 1884, 23; JJ. C.
Inform for Emigrants, 20. Good is of opinion that the section forming tlie
b.'isin of tho Thompson, Nicola, Bonaparte, and Spillemeechen rivers, and bor-
dering on lakes La Ilache, Kamloop, Nicola, Shuswap, and Okanagan, was
tho best field for pastoral enterprise. IJiit. Col., MS., 77-8.

GRAZING LANDS.

745

Jess eaten closely, and not allowed to seed, never ceases
to grow, its heart remaining green throughout winter,
when the exterior is dry and withered.^' On this
pasture cattle and sheep thrive, grass-fed beef and
mutton being of excellent quality; while, with some
provision of winter food, in case of severe weather,
sheep and cattle require only the protection of a shel-
tered spot with little depth of snow.

Extending from the railroad line to the heart of
the northern interior, the Yale and Cariboo wagon-
road passes through or near considerable areas of rich
grazing land, in which, beyond the 52d parallel, the
grasses are mainly what are known as the red-top
and blue-joint, interspersed, on the southern slopes of
hills, with the pea-vine. Although these grasses
could doubtless bo cut and preserved for future use,
thus saving the necessity of wintering stock elsewhere,
the experiment has never yet been tried on any con-
siderable scale. In the Peace River district, and in
the north-east angle of the territory, are vast areas of
land too remote for agricultural settlement, and which
as yet are but little utilized, even for stock-raising.
In the coast region the richest lands for pasture, as
for agriculture, are found in the delta of the Frasor,
although for the former purpose their greater value
and limited area render competition with the interior
almost impossible.

In Vancouver the area available for pasture is some-
what limited, the flat, untimbered region in the
southern and eastern portions of the island being
turned to more profitable use for agricultural pur-
poses. In many parts, however, there arc patches
of soil, covered with short, tliick, nutritious grasses,
where, as in the more thinly wooded sections of the
hill country, small herds may thrive the year round
without shelter, except protection for the weaklier

** Bunch-grass is found at intervals between the western elope of the
Black Hills and the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. For description, sco
my JJint. WaslMigton, Idaho, and Montana, and Jlist. Nevada, Colorado, and
Wyoming.

746

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FIN.YNCE.

stock from excessive rains. Among the islands be-
tween Vancouver and the mainland, in all of which
agriculture and pasture lands arc of small extent, may
he mentioned that of Salt Spring, adjacent to the
Cowichin district, and sharing in its geologic for-
mation, where herba2;e is abundant and of excellent
quality,^^

Indigenous to island and mainland are many of
the excellent berries and small fruits,^" while in the
orchards of Victoria, New Westminster, and other
towns and villages may be seen most of the fruits that
thrive in temperate climates, the crops, especially in
the district of New Westminster, forming no incon-
siderable source of profit.^"

Among the most valuable resources of the pi evince
aie its fisheries, the seas, bays, lakes, and rivers
swarming with excellent food-fish. Besides the sal-
mon, the herring, bass, flounder, halibut, S'^;, smelt,
sardine, and eulachon are found in abundance, and
.s.airgcon weighing more than 500 pounds have been
caught in the rivers, estuaries, and larger lakes. The
silver salmon bcijins to arrive in March or earlv in
A[)ril, the run lasting till the end of June, their weight
usually ranging from four to twenty-five pounds,
though some have been captured that weighed more

^^ For further items as to stock-raising and cattle-ranges, see GooiVn lint.
Vol., MS.; Bai/l(')/'s Vanronvfr Island, MS., passim; Chittciideii'n TnivcLi iii,
Brit. Col., G-S; S. F. Bul'diii, Sept. 22, 1881; Alta, July 11, 1803; Victoria
Standard, Dec. 10, 187!'. In the licporlx of the Jfinitilfir of Ai/ricult/ur
for the Dominion of Canada, one almost turns in vain for information, their
subject-matter relating principally to immigration, patents, quarantine reg
Illations, ])lagues, pleuro-pneunionia, public archives, art statistics, copy-
lights, statistiques criniinelles, statistics of insolvency, and, in brief, to all
eonceivablo statistics except those which the reports should contain.

"•On V. I. are found the strawberry, barberry, blackberry, rasp])erry,
gooseberrj', mulberry, cranberry, blueberry, bilberry, whortleberry, yellow
plum, cherry, and several kinds of currants. B. C. Inform, for Einhjrar.ta
(18S-1), :i2; Jlaylci/'.H V. I., MS., G3-G.

"y>'. C. Dircci., 1882-;}, 200. For mention of the flora and fauna of the
province, see cap. ii., this vol.; Good's B. C, MS., passim; Daylefs V. I.,
MS., (i;j-8; Chittenden'' s Travels in B. C, passim; Uawson^s N. W. Terr, and
Brit. ( 'oL, 0o-71. For Game Protection act, 1883, see Stat. B. C, 1883, 37-8.

.Ml

FISHERIES.

747

f the

and

17-8.

tlian seventy pounds. From June until August are
taken the finest varieties, wliilc in the latter niontli
every second year coniinenees the run of the hump-
hack salmon, followed hy the hookhill, which contin-
ues until winter. JierriuGf and haddock arc cauuht
during' the winter months; anchovies in tlu; autunm:
trout weii^hini:; from three to seven pounds are I'ound
in the lakes'"* and streams; and doo'-fish, valuable for
their oil, in many of the havs and iidets. The eula-
clion, a delicate table-fish, about seven or eioht inches
in length, and yielding an excellent oil, enters the
Eraser in vast (quantities during spring." For shell-
fish there are oysti^rs on many parts of the coast,
small, but of excellent fiavor,-" and there are crawfish,
crabs, and musstJs.

Of late years the salmon-canneries and otlier I'liter-
prises in connection with the fisheries of Jiritish C*o-
lund)ia have, notwithstanding low })rices, increased

'*Oii Suit Spring I.slantl is ;i largo liiko almut l.'O fi'ct uliovo the seii-levol,
with deep water up to its edge, and iu the middle nt' wliieh no hottoin has hieu
found. Here are siieekled trout over tliree ft^^t long, and weighing more
tiiaii 40 pounds. 'Jiicy will not take bait, but iiru ttpearcd by the Indians
during winter. Jiaiilcifn V. I., MS., (Jl).

'*At eertaiu seasons it is tiie ehief Iiusiiu'ss of some of the tribes to ealt'Ii
and euro these tisli for winter use. Ere<'ting loilges near the l)ays and inlets
where they abound, their lishing is done by moonlight, tor it is then only
that the eulaehon eomes to tlie .surfaee. For taking the lish a largi; lake is
u.sed, witii teetii of bono or iron, four inelies long and one iiieh apart. ]n
the stern of (iaeh eanoe sit.s an Indian, who propels it toward tliv .shoals of
eulaehon, while auotlier, holding it iiiiidy in liotli hanils, sweeps it tiiningh
the niais of lish, bringing it to the suifaee with one or more on each tootii.
After being loaded the eanoes are paddled to land, drawn on tin; beaeh, over-
turned, ami again launched for iinother eateli. Tins work tontinius until
the setting of tlie moon, when the fish disap|H.'ar. Tiie take is then liandrd
over to the women to be cured and dried, and the oil tried out. fico Aa/irc
//(fees', this series. I>iiir.ion-i Xorthmst T' rr. iiii'f Brit. Cn/., DS-O. ]n bsM
eulaehon oil \\as beli(^ved tobeagood sulistitnle for eodliver oil. Cdl/j'urniit,,,
Aug. KSSl, 177. Later c;.x]ierieiice has show n it to be of little value tor me-
dicinal purposes. For furilu'r items touihing H. ( '. lislieries, .sec Jii'i/l' ;/'■■,
7; llitusc K.i: J)i>i\, //i://i ('oin/., iUl Sess., /., pt. 1, TiOl; l!i]il-<. ('onuii. I'i^ln rh -i
(Ottawa), with supplements,' 1 874-80; S. F. Alf^i, Apr. ]{), bSS-J; Jl„ll,/:,i, ,)ii,y
•Jl), 1S8I; S/nd-foil Jliiiijirw/iii/., Aug. 10, ISSl; |r. '/'. h/'rlll,!,;,,; r, .\:\\\. Ili,
1870; l'iif<>ri'i.St<ui(l<ii'/, .Inly 'Jo, Oct. :il, IS77; Jlrl/. (■.■ImiUl, Itee. Jl, I.s77.

^•' At Oyster liay, in the Cowichan district, were found the bot oyster-
beds, but the limited demand, ami the ditliculty in landing tlii! jiroiliict at
Victoria iu good condition and at small expense, prevented their extensive
use. li. C. Dim-'., bSS'J-H, l.'JS. As early as IWIl, oystcr-beils vci.' pointed
out by the Indians at Nitinat ]?ay. JJniirurk'/i T/tiikni I'lct/vi, MS., 'J80.

748

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINA^CE.

largely the exports of the province. In 1876, there
were but three canneries in operation, the total out-
put being only 8,247 cases of 48 one-pound tins each.
In 1881 the number had increased to twelve, with a
yield of 177,270 cases; and in 1882 to twenty, with u
production of 255,001 cases, valued at $1,402,835.
The total yield of the fisheries for the latter year was
estimated at Jii?l,842,075.^^ The estimate for the catch
of fur-seals was $187,250. At that date the various
industries in this connection gave employment, during
the season, to more than 5,000 men, and to a fleet of
14 steamers, 12 schooners, and nearly 1,000 boats and
canoes." Thus, since 1851, when fresh salmon sold
at San Juan Island at the rate of sixty for a four-dol-
lar blankct,'^^ smoked salmon, cured at Fort Langley,
was worth, in the Sandwich Islands, $10 a barrel,
and canned salmon was exported in small quantity
from the mouth of the Eraser,^* the fisheries of British
Columbia have given rise to one of the leading indus-
tries of the province.

Apart from lumber and canned salmon, manufactures
in 1800 were inconsiderable, though all that might
be expected in a new country. With concentration of
labor and capital, it follows, as a matter of course, that
the home country, where four dollars a week are proba-
bly more than the average earnings of operatives, out-
does her colonies. There were, in the province, at that
date, boiler and machine shops, iron and brass works,
Hour-mills, biscuit-factories, saw-mills,"^ book-binder-

^' Including §50,146 worth of barrelled and smoked salmon, .^14,291 of
liarrollud and smoked herrings, $10,4(50 of fresh fish, .*il08,113 of fish-oil, and
§58,000 for various items. Sc.fs, Papers, B. C, 1883, 379.

^'■^ III. For additional items concerning the canneries, see S. F. Bulletin, Aug.
29, 1881; H'. T. Jiitdlii/oicei; Sept. 3, 1879; Virtoria SUmdnnl, April 25, 1877;
Xew Wcxtmin-fter JleruU, in Portltml Standard, Aug. 10, 1877.

'^^ British Columbia Sh'tches, MS., 22. At this date there was a small
establishment on the island for the curing of salmou.

" See p. 132, this vol.

^■'Tlie first saw-mill was built in 18G1 at the Sooke copper mines. Baj/let/'s
V. /., MS., 01. Among tlie Hour-mills may be mentioned the one at Chilli-
whack, of -which in 1885 Robert Stevenson, a native of Williamstown, Ont.,
w;i ^ the proprietor. Mr Stevenson iirrivcd in Victoria on boanl the Orizaliu
in 1859, and two years later tried l;i i fortune at the Cariboo mines, being one

MANUFACTURES AND MINES.

749

ies, brcworios, tanneries,^* and factories for the mak-
ing of boots and slioes, furniture,"' pianos, sashes
and doors, soap, matches, and cigars. Nevertheless,
most of the wool and other raw material, which in
California were largely made up into goods of homo
production, were in British Columbia almost entirely
expoi'ted,"'' to be returned, for instance, as textile fab-
rics, with the added charges of freight, conunission,
and manufacture.

In the report of the minister of mines for the
year 1884 there arc statistics which may not be with-
out interest to the reader. At that date the yield of
gold had fallen to $730,105, or an average of only
$39G for each of the 390 men engaged in gold-mining.
Between July 1858 and the close of 1884 tlie total
output was estimated at $48,072,1*28, and the average
at about $1,900,000, that for 1884 behig tlic smallest.

of the first wliite men to winter there. Prominent among the lumber mer-
chants of Victoria vas William Parsons Sayward, tins ]in)[iriotor of the Rock
Ray saw-mill, a native of Thoiiiaston, Me., and a t'al. pioneer arrived in the
colony in 1 S'lS.

^''lu 1884 tlicre were six tanneries in operation — one at Rock Ray, the Ray
tannery in close proximity, one at Relmoiit, seven miles from Victoria, one
near Parson's bridge, live miles from tlio capital, and one each at Nanainio and
New Westminster. In connection with the Rock Ray and Relinout tanneries
wore boot and slioo factf)ries. Tlie hides and skins were of local prnduction,
the surplus ))eing maiidy exported to S. F. Hendock bark, frr)m the Snoku
and Otter districts, was chielly used — though oak bark Mas imported from
Cal, Jfi:ii/Jior)i\^ Iii'hi<(rk'.-< of B. I'., MS. The Rock Ray tannery, built in
18G2 by W. Harthiy, was the lirst one established in Vancmiver, and in bss.")
was the largest in the province. At tlic latter date it was producing .seme
400 sides of sole, and 'JOO of ii]iper, leatlier per month, l)esides calf, kii>, sc:al,
goat, sheep-skin, harness, bridle, and aparejo leather. ,Most of the product,
however, was nscd in tlie boot and shoe factory. In 1875 the business Avas
purchased by William Heathoru, a native of (Juildford, Kngl iu<l, who arrived
at Victoria in 18(i'J, and to whom I am indebted for this information.

'''' In Victoria there \vere tlnve furniture factories — tlmse of .Inlm Wcilcr,
Jacob Sehl, aud.Toseph Somner, the two lirst being for liousehoM and the last
for ofllce furniture. Weiler and Sild arrived in the eohmy at an early date,
the former, a native of Nassau, (Germany, reaching Victoria in ISiil, and the
latter, a native of Coblentz, in ]sr)8. Roth came by way of ( 'al., wiirre Weihr
engaged in mining, and Sehl was a manufacturer and general dealer iu furni-
ture.

"*'In 1884 a premium of $.3,000 was ofFered by the government for the first
one-set mill erected in the })rovinco witii a capacity for manufacturing not
less than 50,000 pounds of 'wool into yarns, blaidvuts, llannels, and tweeds.
SUit. J}. C, 1884, 3"). For mention of Moodyvillc Saw-mill Co., see C'/iUfcmlvn'i
Travels in B. C, 6(3; and for further items couccruing manufactures, sec Brit.
Colonkt, June 17, Oct. 13, Nov. G, 1879.

760

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

Thu largest (.'iirniiigs per capita wciu in 1875, when
they reached i?l,222, and the average {'or the 25,^- years
covered by tlie report did not exceed $G00. Of those
^vorking for wages during tlic season there wero 492
white men and 1,30(5 Chinamen, rates ibr the former
averaging about $3.75 a day, and for the latter $2.75.

Of coal, the total yield for 1884 was 304,070 tons,
the output for that year being the largest so far re-
(.'orded, and showing an increase of 40 per cent over
that of the preceding year. It is worthy of n(jte that,
according to an accepted commercial authority in San
Francisco, then the best available market for the sur-
j)lus coal of the province, the in)ports of that city and
of Wilmington included 291,540 tons of British Col-
umbia coal out of a total of 1,035,070 tons, and against
77,485 tons of California coal, Vancouver Island thus
furnishing nearly 30 per cent of the entire supply."^

In his message ibr 1885, the president of the
United States mentioned that her ]^Iajesty's govern-
ment has been requested to consider the question of
settling more definitely the boundary line between
Alaska and British Columbia, suof'.festinQf that it " be
established by meridian observations, or by known
geographical features, without the necessity of an
expensive survey of the whole. As yet, indeed, it
may be said that no exact line of demarcation exists,
for, through lack of geographical knowledge of this
region, the one determined in the convention between

-''The local consumption of B. C. for 1884 was 87,388 tons, and 15,136 tons
were sliipped to various countries, mainly to tlio Sandwicli Islands. Tlio
text of the report, preceded by tables of statistics, will be found in Sens.
Pcqjeiv, B. C, 1885, 417-30. For acts to consolidate and amend laws relat-
ing to minerals, see Slat. D. C, 1S8'2, 8; 188.3, 10; and for act to encourage
prospcctin,^ for coal, Stat. B. C., 1783, 5. In 1855 C. A. Bayley lirst di.s-
coverctl copper near Sausomc narrows, and in 18(J0 the vein was opened, but
as the ore did not assay more tlian '23 per cent, it could not be worked at a
profit, and the mine was abandoned. Bai/ley's 1'. 7., !MS., Ul. For additional
itfuis as to mining, mineral yield, and mining enterprise, see the reports of the
commissioner of mines for each year, in Sess. Papers, B. (,'.; Chillcndcii's
Trov<'i'< ill li. C, 3-5, 20-2; Scidmore'.'i Alaska, 6-15; Brit. Coloninf, passim;
Portland Tdeqram, Oct. 31, 1879; ]Va--ihuiiilon IiitfUi'/encer, May 22, Sept.
10, July 23, 1870; .S'. /'. Bulletin, May 25, 1875; May 22, June 24, Julv 1, 20,
Aug. 2.), Oct. 17, Sept. 20, Oct. 1, Nov. 9, 1881, Jlay 6, 1884; Alta, 'July 3,
1884; Jour, of Com., May 23, 1877; Com. Herald, July 6, 1877.

PORTS OF ENTRY.

751

Russia and Great Britain in 1825 \vas so vague that
it is impossible to follow the text of the agrceiucnt.^'^
So long as, apart from her fur-seals, fisheries, and
land peltry, Alaska was considered practically worth-
less, and the northern part of British Columbia
nearly so, the boundary question was of little moment;
but the discovery of mineral wealth in both territo-
ries, and in more than one instance near the limits
agreed upon in 1825, would seem almost to render it
necessary that those limits be defined more clearly,
in order to avoid future complications. Moreover,
the trade of the province is seriously disturbed by the
present condition of the matter. The mouth of the
Stikeen River, for instance, is in American territory,
Fort Wrangell being the nearest port of entry.
There goods intended for the mainland interior must
be transshipped, or an officer placed on board the ves-
sel, a part of whose duty it is to see that they are not
landed on American soil in transitu. Some thirty
miles toward the south a port of entry could bo estab-
lished within the British line, and one which sea-
going vessels could enter without breaking bulk; but
until the line of demarcation is territorially defined,
it may not be advisable to select the site for a port
of entry on the verge of the northern boundary.
Meanwhile complaints have been made of the illib-
eral and sometimes inexcusable conduct of the custom-
house officers at Wrangell.'^^

For 1884 the exports of British Columbia amounted
to $3,099,814, and of the dominion to $80,521,175;
while imports were for the former $4,142,280,^' and

^Tor description of tlio liouudary line, sue Illd. Alasla, 543, this scries;
Scss. P«/)er.s n. ('., 188.J, 4.-):3-4.

^' Kept of Conim. Ex. CouiK'il IJ. C. on tlic Alaska Boundary Question,
in Sens. Paperii, 1883, 451-GO, ■\viiero it is stated that Capt. Irving, manager
of tlio Canadian Pacitic Steanilioat and Navigation Company, was on one occa-
sion subjected to such treatment, liis vessel being ille£,'ally seized, and a loss
tluis incurred of several thousand dollars, for which ho was compelled to seek
redress in the U. S. courts. In ls78 a conditional boundary line in the val-
ley of the Stikeen River was ti'nii)oi':irily acce[)teil liy the governments of
Canada and tho U S. House £x. Dor., .'I'lth Coiaj., jd 6V.ss-., »., ;5;i9— 48.

'-Of dutinblo goods, §3, 445, 40!), and of goods exempt from duty, princi-
pally railroad material, §090,877.

7MI

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

for the lattor .$108,282,001. Thus, apart from domes-
tic trade tlio commerco of this province, with a pop-
ulation then estimated at 00,000, was nearly four per
cent of that of the entire dominion, with a popula-
tion of about 4,500,000, the ratio of population being
as one to seventy-five, and of imports and exports as
one to twenty-five. Due allowance being made for
the fact that competition in trade was less severe on
the Pacific than on the Atlantic coast, and that
between them there was a vast and almost unpeopled
interior, it must be admitted that thus far the young-
est offspring of the mother country has not been slow
of growth. Compar'Mg British Columbia with Que-
bec, for instance, we find for the latter province, with
a population in 1884 of about 1,500,000, an external
commerce of $82,545,184, the ratio of population
being as twenty-live to one, and of imports and
exports as one hundred to nine.

Exports in 1884 consisted mainly of coal and gold,
fish and fish-oils, peltry, hides, and lumber, of which
Great Britain purchased to the value of $878,883, in-
cluding canned salmon valued at $070,758, the United
States $1,091,707, and Australia $257,202. For the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1872, the twelvemonth
following the confederation of the colony, tlie total
exports amounted to $1,912,107.^^ That with the
completion of the railroad and her advantages for inter-
oceanic communication, the commerce of the province
will develop yet more rapidly, is almost beyond a per-
adventure. Supported by British capital, it would
seem that British Columbia may, in the not very
distant future, be no inconsiderable factor in the traf-
fic, not only of the dominiov, but of the mother coun-
try.3*

"Of which G. Brit, took ^iit-M, and the U, S. $1,405,217. Tables of
Trwle and Kav. Dom. Can., 1872.

" For statistics and items as to trade, see Tables Trade and Nav. Dom.
Can. Ann. Jlepts B. C. Board of Trade, passim. In the Acts of Incorporation
and By-lawa, B. C. Board of Trade, Victoria, 1879, 34-5, are tariflFs of fees
that compare somewhat to the disadvantage of those collected in San Fran-
cisco. San Diego, Portland, Port Townsend, Sitka, and Wrangell. For addi-

BANKS AND nANKINO.

7o3

With banking and insuianco facilities liritish Co-
lumbia was but poorly su|>j)lio(l. In 1885 tliuro were
but three banks in the entire j)r()vince — the bank of
British Columbia, with a capital of $500,000, with its
head otiicoin London, with branches at San Francisco,
Portland, Victoria, and Now Westminster, and agen-
cies in Mexico, South America, India, China, and
Australia; the bank of British North America, with
its main office at the capital; and the Dominion Sav-
ings Bank, with its headquarters at New Westmin-
ster,"' and with numerous branches. There was not
at this date a single local insurance company, though
there were several agencies of Canadian, liritish, or
foreign companies, the British Columbia Insurance
Company, incorporated in 1877,"° having then ceased
to exist. In this respect British Columbia contrasted
somewhat unfavorably with her sister provinces, and
with the Australian colonies, in which latter there
were few settlements nuistering say 500 inhabitants
wherein there could not be found one or more branches
of colonial banks, and several agencies of colonial life,
fire, or marine insurance companies.

iJuring the fiscal year ending the oOth of June,
1880, there arrived at the port of Victoria 471 sea-
going vessels, with a total measurement of 305,049
tons, and of which 135 were British or Canadian, 319
belonged to the United States, and the remainder
sailed under the flags of various foreign nations. Tiie
clearances for the same year numbered 4G5, of which
118 carried the British and 333 the United States

tioniil iiifonnatiori as to trrulc and cuinmcrcc, see House Er. Dor. 4ol/i Co/iff.,
2(1 ScKs., xxi., no, DO, -^-'2, l.'U-70; Id., xx'tii., no. 102, .507; hi., Jt'Jlh
Cowj., 2<l Scss., '.rri., no. 7, yO-7S, ] |-J-t'S, "(il-^tX); Jour. L('ji~l. Council,
lS(j6, l.j, app. ii -iii.; U. S. Burtau of Sin'., vo. Q, 187!)-SO, ])p. 113, 102, ICI,
1st). n,-U. Colonht, May 14, Ks78; i\])r. 1 1, July li.', Oct. 'Jl, 1S7!); Victoria
SUuidnr./. Apr. 20, lS7!t; Stamlnnf, Jan. 2S, March 10, 1S80; S. F. Ihdtrtin,
Juno 7, 18:)S; May 14. lb.".!); An;,'. IS, X^ijW; Oct. 'J4, ISO!; J.siy 22, 1874; yl//rt,
Mav'21, 1800; Feb. 22, 1800; I'd). 10, 1S07; Sept. 12, 1871; Feb. 3, 1877.

■^'••li. C. Direct., ISSI-,'), 88, 108; 1882-3, xxiii. I'or further items as to
banking, sec .S'. /'. Altd, July 20, 1804, May 5, 1873; Com. JlerM, Aug. 20,
ISOJ.

"'For act of incorporation, boo Stat. B. C, 1877, 141-7.
Hut. Hun. Col. 48

754

IXDU.STRIES, COMMERCE, AND FIXAXCE.

flag, their aggregate measurement being 353,087 tons.
Of the arrivals only 73, and of the departures only
53, were sailing ships, and of these a large [)roportion
sailed or reached port in ballast. The preponderance
of American vessels is, of course, explained by the
traffic between Victoria, San Francisco, Portland,
and other points on the Pacific coast of the United
States, all of it, or nearly so, being in the hands of"
American ship-owners.^^ There were about this time
five steamers plying on the Eraser, between New
Westminster and Yale, Victoria and Yale, Soda
Creek and Qucsnelle, Kamloop and Savona's ferry,
all of them belonging to the Pioneer Line, which sue-
ceedcd to the British Columbia Navigation Company,
then under the mana^rement of John lrvin<jf."'^ Before
the line <jf the overland railway was located, the
Thompson River, containing, with its aflluents, some
300 miles of navigable water, held in its mountainous
basin a population sufficient to sup[)ort several small
steamers.^' On the completion of the projected canal
between Okanagan and Shuswap lakes — the two be-
ing almost on the same level, separated only by a
single valley, and with the Thompson as the outlet of
the latter — more than 100 miles would bo added to
the navigable channel of this stream.

Thus, since the davs when the little black steamer
Beaver — the first to perform such an exploit — i-ounded
Cape Horn on her voyage from London to Esquimalt,
beinix used first by the Hudson's Bay Company to

" Complete navigation returns for the province will Lc found iu the Tablc.i
of Trade and Xav. ^Dom, Can. fur ISSO, 700-7, 80i2-:3, S.IO.

^''Tho only son of Win Irvin;.', who arrived iu S. F. in 1843, in charge of
tlic bark John W. Calon. In 18..2 tlio latter engaged in the nteaniboat busi-
ness on the Cohinibia, whence, in IS'if), lie removed to tlio Eraser to take
ehargu of the affairs of the IJ. 0. X;iv. Co. Tlic names of the five steamers
were tho WH'inni Irvinrj, the UiUaivo, the V'ldnrln, t!io Pccrlc^.t, and the JJ,
J. IrriiHj, tlio last, n lino vessel of G'_'o to: >', lieing hiuned at IIopo in Sept,
1881. The entire capital invested in them was .^i7o, COO. In 1SS2 two new
steamers, ono of 800 iiml tho other of -100 tuns, were being built for the Pion-
eer line. lli(lfV\i('om. and I lid. Par. Cua^t, 193.

"Built by Mara and Wilson, of which linn J. A. !Mara was one of tho
leading men in tho Kamloop district, and a member of the provincial parlia-
mont.

REVENUE.

75.-)

collect peltry and convey supplies, then as a gov-
ernment survevinri: vessel,**^ and endincj licr career
as a tug, vast strides have been made in the shipping
interests of the territory. From one sup[)ly-siiip a
year, with an occasional visit from some storm-bound
o*' dismantled craft, in 184G, to an average of at leaf>t
four vessels a day, cleared or entered in 188G, is a
somewhat startling contrast. Whv it is that British
Columbia never, as yet, ranked ship-building among
her industries, does not at present appear. If, within
this century, Sitka could, to a small extent, compete
with Okhotsk*^ and Port Townsond with Batli and
Bano'or, tlierc would seem to be no ijood reason why
Victoria and Poit jNFoody should not enter into com-
petion with Halifax and St John."

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, the total
revenue of British Columbia amoimted to 6887,G8(J,
of which $207, 99G was received from the dominion
government,*^ §91,433 on account of land sales, $48,
G8G for provincial revenue tax, and $384,512 for the
transfer to the dominion of the graving-dock, and for
money expended on its construction by the province.
For the same period the expenditure under all heads
was $590, G29, of which $81,953 was on account of the

'"Tti winch cap.iuity she did excellent service. Bai/lcy'fi V. /., !MS., 70.

"See /Jilt. Atautt, this scries, p. G91, note 45.

*- Additional information an to shipping matters will bo found in Tahl(;i of
Tnide nml Kav. J)om. Vui>., passim; Bcn/li'i/'.i V. /., MS., 7o-7; t'uopir s
.Uarittmc Mutters, MS., passim; .S'. F. Call, Juno 4, 8, ISOo; Apr. HI, 1870;
BuUctin, Juno 11, ISOl; /'or/laii't ]re4 Shore, July 1S77. Vov account of
wrcclc of the steamer Georqe S. Wri'jhf, and niassacro of licr crew, sto S. F.
Bnllcthi, M;irch ;i, 4, 10, 1873; July 2\ 1877; Call, Apr. <:, July -J,), 1S77;
Po^t, Apr. 7, Juno4. 1S77; /t/^x, jNIarch 3, 1873; Vir'jininCi/>/Cliroii!r,',i,Aiv\
7, 1877; Stcilnroom(W. T.j :.\rprcM, July20, 1877. For lossof tiio/SVfW((y/ar,
SCO iS'. /•'. Pout, Juno H.;, 'J,"), ' -,,',3; (/«//, Jnno 'J2, 187.'i; and fnr ()tliii'(".i,..jtcr3
by sea, N. F. Alln, .]m,o '20, 1872; Cnll, Dec. '2(1, 1874; BuUdin, Sipt. ."JO,
Oct. 1, 1881. rilota;40 "cenlations will ho found in tho I'irlorid, (imt L'squi-
ma't rVolarjc B>/-laih, Victoria, 1880; B. C. IX'rrr/., 18S2-.'i, 'MKi-O. I'or
information aa torulcsand custouisof port and harbor in;i;t(r.-., port-wiirdens,
and quarantine rcrulation-., t^oo ihiiiil-Booh-i of the Baard of Trade. As Uito
03 1875 there wcro hut thid' light-houses in tli" entire province, one eacli at
Raco Rocks, at tlio cntraucc of Kscpiiinalt Ilarhor, and on South Sand Head,
at tho entrance of tiio Frascr. LUt of L!iih(<, Dom. Can., 'M.

^'Of the latter sum, li?-J4,<l'JG was for interest, ?:}j,Of>0 for subsidy, §48,000
for -^rant per capita, and §100,000 for lands convej'ed. S( ■<.■<. J'a/irrs, B. C,
ic ,41.

7oG

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

public debt, $47,323 for the civil service, $97,480
for the administration of justice, and $217,491 for
public works. At that date there were debentures
outstanding to the amount of $747,500/* Compared
with other provinces, and considering the large per-
centage of expenditure devoted to public works, it
must be admitted that finances were in a healthy
condition, one of the most noticeable features in the
comparison being that the average debt per capita
was for the province little more than $12, and for the
dominion about $4G.*' In the amount of customs
paid into the consolidated revenue fund of the domin-
ion, pro rata of population, the contrast was still more
remarkable. Taking, for instance, the fiscal j'ear
1878-9, for which there are exact returns at hand
for all the provinces, we find that British Columbia,
with a population amounting only to 12^- per cent of
that of Nova Scotia, paid more than 43 per cent of the
sum contributed by the latter; nearly 11 per cent of
the sums contributed by Ontario and Quebec, where
tlie ratios of population w^cic respectively as 40 and
30 to one; 88 per cent more than was paid by Mani-
toba, with about an equal population; and 150 per cent
more than was paid by Prince Edward Island, with
double the population.

iii

In presenting to the reader the annals thus far re-
corded of British Columbia, I have spoken of a people

^' A sUiluincnt of llio public accouuts fur each year will bo found in the
n ports of tlic minister of (iiuiuoo, in jSc.m. Papers, B, C. Soo also Joia\
Lii/iil. At!/i. Jl. v.; Stat. H. C, passim. For 1S7U the revenue waa $.'('27,514;
i;;;a, S.370,ir.O; 1874, S:{7'2,417; 1S75, S:ir>1,'241; 1870,8.181,120; 1877, §108,
:11S; 1S7S, §i;<0,7SG; for llie first six niontiia of 1870, §213,0J7; for the liscul
vc'.ir July I, 1870, to June ISO, 1880, SitOO.OOS; 1880-1, $307,0.1."5; 18S2-'2,
!:'1.):(,'2I1; lSS2-;t, S12."),808. 'I'liu exiienditiiro was, for 1872, §432,082; 1873,
!?,.;HI,'JI',); 1874, S.'')81,282; 187."), inuluuini,' f213,400of the sum raised under
liio n. C. loan act of 1874, Ss2'J,277; 1870, including §00,000 for balance of
1 Kin, 8700,710; 1877. §008,34.5; 1S78, S:)18,070; 1870-80, S4o7,02G; 1880-1,
ii^37!»,700; 1881-2,5174,402; 1882-3, §.')04, 102.

*■> For furtlier items as to revenue and linancc, see Mackenzie's Mem. Can.
l\ic. liailway, MS.; Canada I'uldic Accounts, 1870-7; Canada Inland Hev.
lleptx, 1870-80, passim.

*" Speech of l)e CosmoM iu tlio dominion liouso of commous, Apr. 10, If SO.
Sco Hansard's Vchata: J)awson'.i X. W. Terr, and U. C, 178-0,

G ENER AL DEV ELO I'M KNT.

757

wliicli, if not among the richest, is {iniong the most
contented, hopeful, and thrifty communities of the
Pacific coast. The youngest offspring of the mother
of nations, this province contains a population wliose
members regard their adopted country as one not
merely as a place in M'liich to grasp at wealth, but as
one in which they arc content to live, in which they
arc proud to live. And in their a(lo[)ted country the
impartial observer may lind mucli that is worthy of
admiration. The territory com[)i'ises within its area,
entirolv or in part, the streams which bevond the
Ibrty-ninth parallel How westward into the Pacific,
and tlio tributaries of the j\Iacken/,ie that ilow north
toward the Arctic. With a shore line of more than
7,000 miles,*^ containinLi" many liarbor.s and naviL!al)le
inlets, with her magnificent fiiuua and ilora, her wealth
of minerals and fisheries, her £jrowin<j: commerce, her
commercial position, and her facilities for coinmumca-
tion*^ and manufacture, it is not improbable tliat, even
within the life-lime of the i)resent generation, BiiLlsh
Columbia may rani: among the foremost provinces of

*' As computed by A. A. Anderson, inspector of fiaherica, in his report for
\810. IlittcU'a Commerri'.nnd Indunlntx, 41.

■•'In 1S85 it \\aa olliciiiUy announced tliat a mail service was to \>c cstal)-
iishcd between llonij-lvong and Victoria. S. l\ Iliillrtiii, Oct. '24, 188."). For
jiostal convention witii the U. S., kco Mcs/i. aud Doc, 1S70-1; Xavy and !'.
O. Dcpt. ll!;}-;"). In ISSO there were '11 postal routes in the province, of whicii
7 were l)y Kteamer or sailing,' yessel, the number of tri[)3 varyin;,' from two
each day between Victoria, and Esquimalt, to one every two months between
Hope and Kootenai. The subsidies paid for regular services varied from §7">
■i year, fur the route between Maple I'ay and Soineno.^, to $l.'{,I5.'i;i.ri4 .a year,
i'lr the one between Uarkcrvillo and Vale, the tot.-d being .?;]», O'-'S.l I. i;,pt
'),• I'ont.-Grii./or ISSO, 11'J-1.'5. Of course, after tiie completion of the railway,
ho cost of tfio more expensive routes was greatly reduced. In ISS'2 there
Acre G'2 post-oHicc3 on the island and mainland. For list, sec JJ. (!. Direct.,
• SS2-:?, ;J70. In ISOS mails were first sent direct to S. F. by steamer. iS'. /'.
: 'u'.', Apr. 30, 18(i8. In 1880 steamers sailed from S. F. to Victoria cvciy
eig' • '.'. day. \t this date, also, a 8nl)marino cable connected Victoria with the.
I- a;iand, crossing th.c gulf of (leorgia at Nanaimo, while anotlier cable, laid
iicross the straits of San .Juan do Fuca, connected tiie capital with Washing-
ton and thcncQ with all p.arts of the world. IS. (.'. Dlrcrf,, 1884-."), {). Sound-
ings for n, submarini' cable were taken in 1881. S. F. liulktln. May I'J, 18S1.
In 18U8acablo had already been laid between Victoria and S. Ju;in. .S'. F.
C<dl, Sept. 8, 18G8; and in 18G.'> across the Fraacr. S. F. Alln, April 1, 18(i.").
For mention of the propo.scd Russian-American tclegruph line, see (S*. /'. ('all,
Apr. 12, 18()4; N. Y. S/ilppaKj LUf, in S. F. Mo: t,'<nctl<; Nov. 12, 18(J4; S. F.
liulkliii, Jan. (5, ISO.I.

758

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCK, AND FINANCE.

'o the stern realities of their coridi-
i'roni a (Ircaiii of paradise. To such

the dominion. Meanwhile slie can claim, at least,
the distinction of being' one of the most progressive
regions of British North America, and though but a
lew years ago considered almost i7s a cipher when
compared with other provinces, may prove to be a
cipher which contributes untold value to all the rest.
As in other parts of the Pacific coast, and as in
Australia, tlie rcscourccs of British Columbia would
not have been even i)artially developed but for tlie
discovery of gold; and here, as elsewhere, though of
the thousands lured by expectation of sudden riches
a few acquired a fortune, and a considerable number
realized modest gains, the majority not only became
bankrupt in pocket, but, suffering hunger and priva-
tion, had cause to rue their folly in forsaking more
substantial '^ains, and awoke from their visions of
phantom v i '
tion, as an ou.

daring, open-handed, and often noble-hearted njen,
countries which have since attained to prominence are
indebted, not only for their origin, bu'j for much of
flieir progress; and on the forgotten graves of these
reckless adventurers, abandoned in life to the bitter-
ness of despair and degradation, will rest the pillars
of mighty states and empires.

In closing the records of British Columbia, it may
not be witliout interest to refer once more to the
Canadian Pacific railway, which, as 'le reader will
I'emember, was completed in the sunnner of 1885, the
terminus being at lV)rt !^^oody, tliougli it would prob-
ably have b >en n^moved to Aancouver, at the mouth
of Burranl Ink't, but for the destru^ttion of tliat town
by fire in June IH8(;.-"^

It is claimed that the distance frtnn Chinese or

'"('iiused liy the Lru.sli firi's on tlu; i-iilroud lots. In thi.i cniiHiigi-iitioii
.sovurul Uvea ;ii"i(l i?80(),()U0 worth of jiropurty wt-u lost. At least 3,(»U0 per-
Koiis woro n'lult'i'oil lioiuolcss. <!>'. I'\ ( /ironiili', ..•mo 14, lS8(i. Fordeseriiitioii,
Hi'u Ji/., .lune 15, 1880. A few weeks Liter a largo fire oecurred at Vietoria.
J(l., Sept. .1, 188(5.

KAILROAD FACILITIES.

759

Japanese ports to Liverpool by way of tlio Canadian
Pacific is from l^COO to 1,200 miles nearer than by
other Pacific railroads. Moreover, vessels bound, let
us say, with cargoes of tea from Canton to Victoria
would, while in the trade-winds, take about the same
course as if bound for San Francisco; but those des-
tined for the former port would save about 700 miles
of sea route, in addition to a considerable savhig in
])ort charges and wharfage. From Vancouver to
Montreal by rail tlie distance is 2,905 miles, and
from San Francisco to New York by the Central
and Union Pacific it is 3,3();5; thus in the transit of
the cargo there wt)uld be a furtlier saving of 458
miles. TJie dominion i>overnment has determined to
establish a steamship line bctweiMi J^iverpool and
Quebec in sununer, and between Liverpool, Halifax,
and Perth id, ]\[aine, in winter.""^ Arrangements
have also been matle for a service between San Fran-
cisco and the western terminus of tlie Canadian ] Pa-
cific, the traffic to be under the entire control of the
company. It is daimed, also, notwithstanding state-
ments to the contrary, that i\\v. line can be operated
throughout its entire lengtli ev(uy day in the year.''
Finally, it is probal)le that a line of iJritish mail
steamers will be established between Vancouver and
ports in China, Japan, and Australia, and that this
line will be subsidized by the British govermncnt.
Thus it will be seen that the Canadian I*acific is by
no means .'m insignificant rival for the transconti-
nental traffic of North America.

In this relation other factors nuist .also l)e consid-
ered The Canadian Pacific is virtually national prop-

•''" Circulars wort! aililrcssoil to stoanishij) owners in Oot. 188(5, askiiij,' for
tenders for a wei^kly mull serviw;. Tlio contract was to In' for ten _\cars, tlio
vessels to have a speed of not less than liftccn knots, and tlie contractors
nnist not diseriniinatu against Canadian frei^lit. Ii/., Oct. 'J4, ]SS(i.

■''' Letter of C \:in Horn, vice-ju'esident Can. I'ac. l\. i\., in />/., I'eli. IS,
ISSfi. Mr Horn states that a very largo amount of money has heeu exjiendid
with this purpose in view. 'On our main line,' he writes, ' from (^hiehcc to
Canmorc in the Rocky j^lountains, which is as far as we have heen operating
the lino this winter, a distance of '2,5(M) miles, we have not heeu oljligod to
oaucol a siuglo train on account of huow or any other reason.'

700

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

erty — the property of the doiuinioii of Canada — and,
as tlie reader is aware, government railways seldom
earn more than nominal dividends. In Great Britain,
whence the greater portion of the capital for this pro-
ject was derived, and where railroads were built by
private enterprise, four and a half per cent is consid-
ered a good return on ordinary stock, and on preferred
stock less than four per cent. In Australia, wlierc the
railroads were built by government, the returns are
probably between two and three per cent on tlie capi-
tal invested. Encumbered with the huge load of debt
which tlie dominion government incurred by its sub-
sidies, at least working expenses nmst be earned, and
as soon as possible some reasonal)le interest on the
outlay. But as yet the line runs for the most part
throuijch a solitutle, thouixh a solitude fertile in agri-
cultural and mineral resource.

To earn expenses merely, and to build up a business
that gi\es prospect of niodei'ate dividends, it may
he necessary to enter into aggressive competition
witJL ot] er transcontinental lines. The road is well
equipped; the rolling stock, especially the passenger-
cars, is of excellent quality, and in all the provinces
the line has naturallv absorbed the bulk of the traffi<!
which was formerly in tlie hands of American railway
companies. ]3uring the summer of 188(5, freiglit by
way of St Paul was taken for Chicago and points on
the Missouri ^^iver at from $10 to .$12 per ton, and
during the same vear the Canadian Pacific offered to
convey farming produce and ore, whether for assay or
working, fn)m JSavona's Ferry and intervening stations
to Port Moodv at 64 per ton — a rate which would en-
able nuners to forward ores to San Francisco at 6<i per
ton.''" At such rates it would appear that there should
be no ureat difficultv in obtaininjif traffic. First-class
fares from San Francisco or Port Moody to New
York were in November 1886 $70, against $81 from

'''■'The rato on cauucd gooila Wiis $11 a ton, ami by other lines §18. /'/.,
Aug. 'J'J, 188G.

TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.

San Francisco over the Central or Southern Pacific.
Tlie trip by the northern Hue possesses at least the
charm of novelty, and many who have already trav-
elled over the Central and Southern routes will take it
for that reason ; the more so as the province of British
Columbia presents scenery of surpassing beauty and
i:^randeur. In conclusion, the Canadian Pacific is out of
debt, or very nearly so/^and considering^ the low rates
of wages prevailing in Canada, and the low prices of
material and supplies, the working expenses of the
road will be considerably smaller in proportion than
those of American railways.

In 188(5, the immense telegraph system of the
company, extending from Montreal to the Pacific
Ocean, was completed, and connection made with
American lines. United with the Atlantic cable at
Halifax, as proi)osed, British Columbia will be placed
in telegraphic communication with the J^ritisli pos-
sessions in the East, soundings having already been
taken between Vancouver Island and Japan.

Fears have been expressed that tlio establishment
of a British steamship between China and the Pacific
coast may result in a large importation of coolies.
This would seem improbable, in view of the fact that
under the Chinese regulation act a tax of $50 is col-
lected on each Chinese ])assenger before he is allowed
to land. The people of British Columlna are as much
opposed to Chuiese labor as are those of (^difornia,
but as yet there has been little anti-Cliiuese agita-
tion."* When, however, it was ascertained that one
of the Mexican states was in need of coolie labor,

'''^ III 1880 tlio company owed the government ^20,000,000, and it was pro-
posed to settle the claim hy cancelling $10,0(K),0(K) worth of its land grant,
and the monopoly clause of its cliartcr, giving the comiiany exclusive lights
in the Northwest for a term of twenty years. Oltutni Ttiiut, in S. F. Vhroii.,
April 12, 188G.

''*0n the 7th of September, 188,'), a hody of working men visited tlu; va-
rious establishments where Chinese were emidoyed, ami demanded work.
The proprietors refused, except the owner of a shoe factory, who, knowing
that there were no Chinese in the crowd, ofl'ereil an advance of 25 per cent
ou the wages paid to Chinamen. (S. /'. Chron., Sept. 9, 1885.

rG2

INDUSTRIES, COMMEKCE, AND FINANCE.

offers were at once made to the authorities to supply
them with all that tliey needed, and on their own
terms.

As to the affairs of government, there is little more
to be said. Of late, excej)t for a collision between
the dominion and provincial police" in September
1885, and a slight Indian disturbance in the northern
part of the province in September"'* of the same year,
the placid current of events has seldom been dis-
turbed by even a ripple of excitement. As in most
British colonies, the people are contented and prosper-
ous, receiving absolute protection under the law and
from the law, living in perfect security as to rights,
person, and property, and secure also from all danger
of legal oppression.

Some dissatisfaction has been caused by the want
of reciprocal action on the part of the American gov-
ernment as to the extradition treaty. In 1886 a noted
criminal," who had escaped from British Columbia,
was discharged by the United States court, although
a deputy attorney-general was sent to watch the case
for the crown. On the other hand, all prisoners de-
manded by the United States for extradition have
been promptly surrendered. A fugitive convict cap-
tured some years ago on British soil was sent back at
an expense of $2,700 to the provincial government;
but in 1886 this sum had not been refunded by tlie
United States.

Another question which has given rise to some dis-
satisfaction is tlie seizure in 1886 of British vessels
engaged in seal-hunting in the Bering Sea. The
crews of the vessels thus seized laid their case before
the minister of marine and fisheries at Victoria, and
their statement was forwarded to the home govern-

''■' Caused through tlie seizure by the dominion police of liquors held by
parties having a provincial license. For description, see Id., Sept. 5, 1883.

''" Among the Metlakatlas, who refused to permit the civil engineer to s)ir-
vey tlie Imlian reserve on behalf of the dominion government, claiming that
the entire country was theirs. S. F. Bull., Sept. 16, 188(5.

"' Known as Bull Dog Kelly. S. F. Chron., Feb. 15, 1886

BIBLIOORArHY.

703

ment for consideration. By act of congress, dated
July 27, 18G8, it was made a penal oftbncc to kill fur-
bearinj^ animals within the limits of Alaska or Alaskan
waters. But how shall the i)iiraso Alaskan waters he
interpreted :' During tlie earlier period of the Kussian
American company's occupation it was alleijfed tliatall
the v.aters hetween Alaska and Siberia helono-ed to
Russia; but that country did not succeed in making
good its claim. Moreover, by referring to the impe-
rial oukaz, granted to the company in 17U9, and <j[Uoted
in my History of yilashi,'"^ it will be found that no
mention is made of anv special riijfhts in tlie l^eriui"'
Sea, or even in inland waters, but only to "use and
profit," in certain territory, "by every tiling which has
been or shall be discovered on the surface and in the
bosom of the earth." In 1 8(57 this territory was trans-
ferred to the United States, tlie consideration being
67,200,000. The dividing line, defined merely to in-
clude all of this territory, runs nortliward into the
Arctic, and soutliward into the north Pacific Ocean;
but it does not appear that by the payment of this
sum of $7,200,000 the United States acquired an ex-
clusive right to the Arctic Sea and the north l^acific
Ocean.^''

^8 Pp. 379-80.

^* In the Maratim : Matters on the Northwext Coant, and Affairs of the Iltid-
mn's Bay Company in Early Time^, by James Cooper, MS., 1 have been fur-
nished with much valuable information. Coinmencin;^ with the year 1844, at
which date Mr Cooper, a native of Wolvurlianipton, J'jnf,'land, entered tlio
service of the Hudson's Bay Company, and when tlic three supply-ships
Vancouver, Cowlitz, and Coliimbin were the only regular traders, his narrutivo
is contiucd until the death of (Jov. Seymour in ISO!).

British Columbia Sketflict, MS., is the title of a work also relating in part
to maritime affairs. One of these skotciies is by l[crl)ert George Lewis, who
sailed for Vancouver in lS4S,as an otUcoi- in tlio l'ou-tilz,imil ai'terward found
employment ou board various craft. J Ic has supplied me with many items
coueerning the company',s ships and the mcn-nf-war stationed on the coast.
At this date the vessels of the JI. B. Co. traded with several countries. The
Coivlitz, for instance, after discharging cai'go at Fort Vancouver, iu ISlS,
loaded w'ith wheat for Sitka, and thence sailed for the Hawaiian Islatuls, with
lumber and lish, returning with a freight of sugar and molasses to luirt Van-
couver, wliencc she was despatched with a cargo of furs to London. Of
Michael and Robert Muir, of whom the .-(/.r^f/c's supply partial memoirs, men-
tion is made on p. 103-4, '2J5, this vol. William John Mncdonald, a native of
the Islo of Skye, also came out to Vancouver in the company's service, land-
ing at Victoria in 18ol. Ordered to Sun Juan Ibiaud duruig this ycur, to take

764

INDrSTUlK-v COMMKUCi;, AND FINANCK.

cbarf,'e of a party of I'rcuL-li Cauailiaihs cinplityed in saltnon-curini.', and bciiif^
still ill the coiiiiiaiiy's .si'r\ icu at tiic tiiiio wlifii the foilx'araiii'i! of Admiral
Baynca alunc pri'vcntcd war butv.Lcii (iivat ISritain aud Anaiiia, hi ( account
of the S.iii .luMii dillictdty, already recorded in these paqcH, is of si)eeial value.
Ill LS.V.t Mr Macdonalil waa elected a lueiiiljer of the legislative asseiidily of
Vancouver f(ir tlie .Sooke district.

lu l'(ttiiii r's Waijoii 'J'rtiiiw, MS., I have been furnished with an inter-
e.-itiiig ace(jimt of a journey iiiade'ljy Joel I'alnier, from ludependc nee, ^SIo., t <
()rei,'iiii in l(SJ."). A native of Canada, though of American parentage, (ien.
rainier, when fjrou n to manhood, found eni|iloynii'nt in I'enn. on piiblie
Works and canals, lieiny afterward placed in clufgc of u 'J5-niile .section ol
the I'cnn. canal. In KSM he was elected a menilier of the I'enn. leyi.sliitnre.
J)uriiig Ills i(Jinncy across the plains and mountains lio took notes of the
road aud tlislances traver.sed, w hich were subsequently cnibodicd in a (I'liiili ■
JJook /or L'liiiijni Ills, imltVmhvd in Cincinnati, licsidiny for a brief spnce in
Vii.toria, at tlio time when J)uuglas was tlie leading spirit on the island and
nniinhind, he has su]iplied me with items of viduc euncerninL; this period.

'I o tlie i'h(ii(icUi-i-tks of Jaiiun J)oii>i(a-t, !MS. , by V^. Cridgc', 1 ;un also in-
ileblcd for a (les;ciiption of the means whereby this tkilfid luU r i)f men, ably
sciiinded by A. F. J'enilK'iton, whom ho a[)[)()inted eonnnis.siiiiur of ]iolice,
made J]n;;lis!l law le^pected iuid obe) ed during iiie troublous tiiir s of the
gold e.\citeinent.

Of the few works thus far pul)lished concerning British (.'oluniliia, menliiii
lias for the most part been miide. Jn the I'lU'l.i ami J<"njiirn Hihit'imj lo V. J.
and 11. (.'., ItijJ. /'(s/i(iiil r< inbciloit, Loudon, looO, we liavea brief descriiil ion
of the 'jcncral eondilion of the euuntiy, its fauna, llora, and giolo.iry, of the
progress and commerce of the two colonics, with their principal settlements,
anil of the society which they contained, with some excellent advice to intend-
ing emigrants.

Thr. j\'alnndi!it in V. I. aud B. C, by John Keast Lord, F. Z. S., in two
vol-', London, ISDti, besiiks the natural Instory of the island and mainland,
contains .some interesting ilescriptions of travel, sport, aud adventure in the
north-west. In the ap|)endlx is a detailed Hit ot the zoiilogieal collcetioiis
made Ijy Mr Lord, w hilc eui])loye(l as naturalist to the boundary commission.

In J'ruKcl.t ill Ji. iJ. (tiid AlasLa, bj Nciclon II. Chilleiidmi, Victoria, ISS'J,
arebiielly oullineil the resuurees and cai)abilitics of the province, and there
is al.-o Some nientiim of various si^tllenients and industries, with an acconnt
of the railroad, as matters stooil with this enterprise at that time.

In the Ji'i/Hirls of J'nujrc^i.i of Ihc (j'c<jto(jkal Surinj of Cmiada arc containcc I
Sclwi/a^-i Joufind and Jicporl of PrclimiiKiri/ Uxplonilion-i in JJri/ish Colttmhid:
Juchard-ion on the Coal - Field .•< of Vancouver and (Jwen ClairloUe Islandit, with
map of former, an app. by J. W. Dawson on fossil plants, another by Hillings
on inesozoic fossils, and a third by ITarriugton on the coals of the west coast;
Setn'i/n'ti Olhtervalions in (he A'orthwcut Tenilori/, with app. by ]j. J. Harring-
ton on western coals; lilchardaoii on O'eoloijical E.riilonUionn in Urilixh t'oliini-
hia; Whilcavix' ^otes on the Cretaceous lo-s^ila collected by Mr Jas Ilichardson
at Vancouver and the adjacent Idand.-t, with lithographed jilatc; Selwijn'.^
/'iport on Explorations in British Colundtia, with appendices by Macoun,
Whiteaves, and LeConte; l>aicson'n liepiort on Explorations in British Colum-
bia; Scudder on the Insects of the Tertiar;/ Beds at Quesnel, British Columbia;
Daicson^s (t'eniral Notes on the Mines and Minerals of Economic Value of British
Colnmbi'i, ivilh a List of Loccdities, reprinted with additions and alterations
from the railway report, 1877; Whiteaves' Notes oil some Jurassic Fossils col-
lected by Mr G. M. Dawson in th^ 'oast liaiifie of British Columbia; Uirhard-
son's Ill-port on the Coal-Fields of Aannimo, Comox, Cowitchan, Burrard Met,
andSooke, British Columbia, with three illustrations and a map; Scuddcr's Ad-
ditions to the Insect-Fauna of the Tertiarij Beds at Quesnel, British Columbia;
iJaivson's Preliminarii lleport on the Phi/sical and Geoloffical Features of tlie
Southern Portion of the Interior of British Columbia; Dawson's Report on the
Queen Charlotte Islands, and app. A to (I — ap. A relating to the Ilaidahs; li

RIBLKViRAPHY.

7G5

to their vocabnlnry; C, l)y J. F. Witcavi's, to some iimiiiu' iiivcrtclir.-ita from
tlio Queen L'lini'Iolto Islands; J), liy S. .1. Smitli, to (.'riistaocii fr-oin tlio (^>uccn
Charlotte imd Vancouver Isljinds; K, liy.l. Miicoun, eoiitjiiiiin'; list (.f iil.inla
from the (^tiutu Clmrhitto Islands; ]•", iiiL'teorologii'.'il oliscnations; and (i,
notes on latitude and liinf,'itnc|»; Jhiicxou'.i /I'fjiort on riii L'.iji.'oriiiinii/niiii J'oit
Siiiijisoii, (III til.' J'diijic ('odsl, to Kiliiioiiton, on the. Sn-'Lut'ln n-aii, with a|i|).
oontaininy list of ]>!ants collected, an<l nicteorological ohsi rvatinns in tlio
noitlicin jiart <it' liritish Coluniliia, tiie Peace Uivtr <listrii't, and iictwccu
Kdniont(jn and Maniloha, t(iL;ctli< r with notes on latitude ;;nd lungitudc; ( 'uvi-
■}tarnt'ivr Vordhiiltirii s of Ihf Juiliiiii TiHhk of Jlrilish t'ohnnliiii, uilli a map
illuslratingdiistrihutidn, liy \V. Fias^t r'l'iilniieand(Icor;^c M. ])a\\s(>n; J.'ijiorl
on till' J'ol;j'Ma oj'lhi' (Jim n Chnrliitfr Jn'miil.-), l>y 'J'Ikjs llincks, reprinted Ironi
the Anna U and Mfii/fizi lie i>j' ^(ituitil Jl'islurij, J.ondoii, Dec. IfS.S'J, Juno l^Mi,
March 1884; Mc-'OZuir loxnilit, hyJ. K. Wliiteaves. N'lil. i., parts i.-iii., with
lithographed plates, Mimtreal, l.S7(i, 1S7!), KSSl. V,,v list i>f geologi<'al and
other maps, sec Lixf, <;/' riilil'iialhinx of the d'cu/iii/inil mnl ^Xtilnriil //ixlori/
Surr(>/ o/Ccniadit, Ottawa, ISSl, passim, lii'.tldi Moilli Ann rU-a is tho title
of a \<)\. published hy the Jteligious 'J'ract Socii^ly of J.nnildn. 'I'lie wiiter
resided in several of the jirovinees, ami had advantages of making hiuiself
acquainted Viith their lomlition. He like« isc drew mucli inforiiiaiion from
JJluc r.uoks i.ssued hy the Canadian govt, and jiarliamentaiy papers. It
hrielly toueiics upon the early history and discoveries of .'.eveiai portions of
the tcnitory, and aflords considerahlc statistical information. A good deal
of tho hook, however, is about the aborigines and Canada, not seiviceahle for
historical purposes, and the haml and stylo of tho missionary is traceable
throughout.

Of the various guide-books, directories, and ]n-ospectiis'.'3 of mining aiul
other associations, published from time to time in the colonies or the pro\ ince,
no further mention is reipiired in these jiages. On tho'Jftth of October, Istil,
the colonial government of \ . I. by iiuhlic notice invited essiiys on tlic w-
sources of the island and the ailvautaucs which it ollcred to .settlers. A jire-
mium of i'.jl) was ollered for tho bestc.ssay, and .i^lOfor the secoiul best. 'J'lio
competing essays were to be sent to tho colonial secretary sealed, no ii;ime or
mark being attached whereliy tlie authoi-s ndght bo known to the ailjudira-
tors. To tho manuscript, however, must bo allixcd a distinctive nK)tto, v. iioio
duplicate should bo written on the outside of a sealed envelope, within which
tho name of the author should bo written. All cssay.s received were to re-
main tho ]iroperty of the government, liut the sealed envelopes of unsucceso-
ful canilidatcs were to bo returned unopened if desired. A hoard, coiisisiing
of C 'J'. Woods \V. F. Tohnin, and tr. M. Spro;it, was appointed to decide
upon the relative merits of the compo.sitions. In accordance with tliis aii-
nouncomcut, several essay.-} were received, and after careful examination tlie
prize was awarded to Charles Forbes. Mr Forbes' productioi\ was jirinted in
ISO'2 by the colonial government, under the title of I'riza Exsaij: \'(i,iroiir< r
Inland; Its I'tsourccs and CapalAid'ics an a Colon;;. K'l jifcjr^, Sro. It is divided
into five parts, embracing climate, physical features, society, products, and
prospects. It is statistical ratlier than historical, and pos.sesscs tran iiiit
rather than permanent interest. Desultory in its construction, tho .se;irclur
iu any one liranch of information is obliged to glean from every pa"e ;nid
closely to regard every paragrapii. Vet tho pampldet answereil very well tin)
])urposc for which it was written. It seems that tlin mainland was expecting
about the same time a similar resunn'', setting forth its good qualilie;s but
was disappointed. Xonc of the attempts made did justice to the caii.^e. ]n
this cniei'gcncy, following the example of the island, rewards wero olhreil, on
tho 11th of March, lS(i'2, of like amounts for like productions, snbjec' ;.. . le
same conditions. As tho result of this action, tiierc appeared, ])rintf 1 :>■ ' iio
Royal Engineer Press at New Westminster in ISi'i'.l, Jli-ilish Colinidiia: An
Exnay hij the Iiei\ li. C. Lundiii Brown, M. A., Mhii.-itir of St Mari/n, Ldlooit,
an unbound octavo of ninety-seven pages. The second chapter opens w ith a
description of Fraser River and Now Westminster, written by Sheepshanks.

766

INDUSTRIES, lOMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

Brown's proiluction is ninch clcnrcr, more cdinprclicnsivc, nnd yet more con-
cise tliaii that fif l-'orlics. In 1^7- A. (,'. Aiiilt'i'aon pulilislicil ii (.'ovcriiiiiciit
prizo fSHiiy, cntitloil Tin JJuiniii'ion at the W'ikI, fiiilpiaiiii'^ all points of inter-
est touflicil l)y any of iii.-i jji'ciliccssors, ami ov ciiiii; liotli islan<l and main-
land. 1"o ii tlioi'ougli knowledj^o of tlio country Mr Amkison linited lino
literary tastes and much eNpciicmc! as ii wiiter. llcncc; wo iind liis voik in
every icspcct wcllni;,'h peifecl. in it.sway. In tho latter part of ISTS I wrote
.Mr Anderson for inlurniation further thiin that in my jjo^scs.sion concerning
hi- prize es.say entitled Th<' Dominion oj' the WvM; a IlitvJ' hi-tcrijilioii of thf
I'roviiicc of Itrilinh Cdliiinljin, it-* ('Umntc und Kixoiircdi. Onvcnimfiil J'rlzf
Ij<xu>i (flSTJ, anil pulili>h(d at Victoriii the same year. 'J'liis isonc of !i scries
of excellent essays on tin; features of the country and its attiaetions, written
and printed under the auspices of government. I also asUed Mr Andoison
concerning the other i)rize essays. He answered me the ;{()th ot J)eceudjer:
'I rather tliink that tlic prizes for V. I. and Ii. C. were oliered siiuiillanconaly
at the time you state; and that the necessary comi)etition not liaviug been
elicited for the J5. C. essay, the jirizo was not adjr.dged, and a new invitation
was issued. 'J'his elicitrtl Mr IJrown's cssaj', winch took the first jirizc. 1
myself wrote, too, on this occasion, my essay being, with necessary altera-
tions to suit the time, almost a counterpart in chief particulars of my last
published essay. 'J'o my production of ISO'i the second prize of £10 was.
awarded, but it was not printed. I am not aware of any other pulilieations^
of a local nature save two or three tours, chiclly of geographical iinpoit,
printed by ofliccra of the royal engineers, entirely of an oflicial nature. In
J808 1 completed my l.-n-ge map of B. C, scale ten miles to the inch, which
comprised all that was tlien known of the country, including my own note;,
and those of the lato Mr Black. A descriptive ti'catise, cliielly on natural
iiistory, accompanied tliis. 'J'ho whole was accepted by the government of
(he period, but save as allording a foundation for other maps siiiec published,
!ny map has never been brought forward. Indeed, the more accurate surveys
I liected by the railway parties render it out of date f(jr utility.' For further
items concerning Mr Ander.son, see pp. liiS-O, Ki'J-TO, lS'2-4, this vol. ; and for
biography and decea.sc, <S'. F. Atta, May II, 1884. Alexander Allen, after
mining in Cal. for six years, removetl to Victoria in I8C0, and in 180(5-7 edited
Ww ('(irihoo Sfiitinel. Allen's Cariboo, MS., 1. J)r Baillio, an old resident o'
\'ietori:i, was drowned by the capsizing of the brig Florciitia, near Capo Fl(
tcry. liarrttl-LenurtVs TraveU in Ii. (,'., 113-14. London, 1S(}'2. Tiie p
thor of this last-mentioned work came from England in 18')!), and passed
nearly two years in V. I. and tlie mainlaml, sailing round the former in a
small yacht whicli he brought with him. The book relates mainly to his own
observations and adventures, and contains little of historic value. John Bis-
sell, a pioneer, for decease of, in 1883, see Rdc. Ihrord- Union, Feb. 0, 1883.
Hubert Brown, in his Vancouver Iti/aiul Exploration, Victoria, 18G4, has
written the narrative of an expedition, undertaken for tiie discovery of gold,
to Cowichin Lake, Barclay Sound, San Juan Harbor, iSooke, ijceeh Bivor,
and various points on the island, a reward of $.5,000 having been ollcred for
such discovery by the colonial government. (J. C. Coilin, in The Sent ofUnijiire,
Boston, 1870, gives an account of a tour in the nortliom U. S. and B. C.
with observations on the advantages of the north-west as to settlement, soil,
mining, and farming. Nicholas Cooke, a native of Germany, camo to B. C.
in 18." 8, being one of the first miners on the Eraser. His decease occurred at
his homo at Plumper I'ass, Oct. 18, 1870. Seuille Intelligencer, Oct. '27, 1870.
K. Comwallis, author of The Xew El Dorado, London, ISoS, amvcd in \'ie-
toiia in June 18.18, and after making a short trip to the Eraser diggings,
considered himself qualified to write a book about the two colonies, wliich ho
did, in a rambling style, somewhat after the fashion of a cheap Sunday news-
paper. H. C?. Courtcrcy, a native of Dublin, arrived at Victoria in 18t)l in
the Kaffir Chief from London, and tried his fortune at the Cariboo mines.
Courtcrcy's Min. Ii. C, MS., 1. W. E. Crate, an employ^ of tho 11. B. Co.,
•first crossed the Rocky Mountains in 1828, and again in 1850, on this occa-

UlBLKWlUAl'llY

707

Kion in i(jni[)aiiy witli l-onglns mid otliors wlio nftcrwnnl liccaiiie iironiinciit
ill tile Ki rvicr. Jlo larly Imilt u saw and i^ii^^t mill at Fort V anudiivc r. Altor
4',\ years' cxi trii-'iiLc of linnticr and colonial life, lie died iiL Cowichiii dnrin;^'
tlio year of tlic confedciation. Oli/iii/iin Tniii^riijit, Ort. 7. Ili7l; Jiri/. ''oA<-
ninl, Get. I!, InTI. (.leorjiu iJixon, i'or IS years in tin; service of the If. JJ.Co.,
died at \ic'LOiia. in IS.'iO. Tlioniaa J'^iiiie, ii native of Lan^(lo\Mlc, (Jut.,
reached Vieto i.i in 1S()-, via the J:.thinius, and dpeiicd Iiusinesji an a ^vll',)!(■^all•
grocer, hecoinin;.,' one of the Ijest and most intelligent of eitizen.s. J iiles Fi ly,
in his <i'o!(l i^ran In ", MS., fiiiiiislu s u hricf aeeoiint of the (.'arilioo anil ( 'iis.iar
mines diirint; the « inter of ItiOl-'-', a portion of which was iias.seil l>y the
author ill hunting for jjold,

Simon I raser is the author (jf an OrirjiiialJoitrval, April 12 to July 18, ISOO,
MS.; hi., May ;)() to June 1(», KS(W, xMS., and of Lcl/a.^ j'rniii the Hurhij Mi.iin-
lain", Aiij,'. 1, ISUO, to Feb. 10, 1N07, MS., the former giving a narrative of a.
journey to tlie head waters of I'eaco liiver, to a pest on Trout ].,ala', ainl
tlicueo of a .southerly exploration lor the ))uriiosc of examining tlie country
and di.seoverin;; sites for new tiadin;,' jiostM. In the latter is ii dcserijition i f
tiic pro^L;ress of I'raser, Stuart, and (,>ucsni'l, down the {,'reat river of the
mainland, and through the country of the Chilkotins. The dauj,'erous charac-
ter of the rapid?!, and the diiiicultiis of each day's journey, are tiilly leeonii d.
(jeorgc (Jladman, whose father was ii chief factor to (he If. ]>. Co., was em-
ployed by the company as a clerk l)etwei'n 1614 and Ib'M, at the latter date
receivin;,' a commi.ssiou as chief trailer. Apiiointed store-keeper and account-
ant at jMooso and York factories, he resitjneil in 181.'), was reeomndssioned
li\e years later, and again resigning in iS.Mt, retired to his J'arm near the set-
tlcuu-nt of Hope. J.'rjd If. Ji.Co., July, Aug., 1S.",7, .T.fO. C. M. (Irant, t';e
authoi of Oil fill / > Uriaii, i,ondon, l'>~',i, was Kceretary to the ex])e(liti(in made
i.i tlie intcrc. t.s of the overhuid railv.ay in 1.S7-, lii^* Jiarty follosung about tlie
.same route as tlie one tak' a by Milton aiul (dieadlo. The book eonsi,-,;s
mainly of a diary of his journey, with the adventures incidental thereto, and
contains little inluraii/iun of value. 'J'lien there was a (irant — James, 1 tiiink,
was his U'lme — ii native of Canada, anil ftr .several years stationed at Fort
Hall, in the service of the II. 1>. (_'o. lie was 'rather a mediocrity,' sa^s
Roberts, 'fond of tipple, ami a very large, I may say an extra fine-looking,
man. It is related that, when attired in uniform, he was the observed of all
observers by the sex.' Itivolltxl'tonK, ^l.S., 51. JCbty speaks of him as 'a liiir
speeimeu of the oM JCnglish gentleman, active as a eat at 70 yeai's of age, and
with hair and beard wldto as snow.' Journal, MS., 107. JIardisty, in |N.")I,
clerk ill charge at Fort Yukon, was in 1SG7 eominander of the .Mackcn/ie
llivcr district, northern department. J). W. Harmon, a native of Vt, ami a.
chief factor of the H. \\. Co., was in charge of Fort St JaUK.s, in lSll-17.
His diary or journal was published in book form, and the frcpicncy w ilh
which it has been quoted is some evidence of its merit. Jerome and Thail-
deus Harper, Americana by birth, were lor many years the proprietors of a
grist-mill at Clinton, which supplied the Cariboo miners with Hour. On vlie
decease of his elder brother, about 187."), Thaddcns 1 farper took change of the
business, and bcsiilcs his other interests, was in 1878 the largest owner of
live-stock in 1). C. d'ood's Brif. Vol., MS., b',l. J. S. Helmckcn, a native of
London, Fiigland, and by profession a medical practitioiii r, arrived at Victoria
in 1S.")(), and with the exception of a few months in 1870, continued to reside
in the capital. In l>S.")ii he married a ilaughter of Sir James Douglas, ami in
18(18 was eliicted a member of the legi-;lative council. Further mention may
be founil oil ]). 'J4."}-(!, this vcd. \V. J I. iloopi.r, in his Ten. Jfoiilli.-i Aiiifjicf
till' 'J'l ii/.-i of the Tiiski, London, 18,").'!, gives an account of the expedition of
H. ^1. S. Plover ill search Sir John Franklin and his party in 1S48-5I.
Though descriptive mainly of the F>kinio trib's, Arctic exploration, and the
incidents of the voyage, the work al.so contains iuforniation as to several of
the H. 15. Co.'o posts. J. S. Kennedy, one of tlu' earliest pioneers of ]J. C,
and for 'JO years acting as surgeon to the H. 11. Co. at Fort \'aiieouver, Nis-
qually, and Kanaimo, was also a niember of the Vancouver house of assembly.

768

rSDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

Ho died at. Victoriii in the l^pI■ing of lSol\ W. Kauc, a native of Ireland,
Bervcd for 12G years under the II. IJ. Co., and being rccoinniissioncd in 184G,
after a visit lioine was jipjiointed, in I80O, to the charge of Fort Liard. Kaiic'»
]Va)i<l>'rhvi-i </nii Arll'^t, GS-9; Jloopcr'n Tevis of the Tiiski, U87-8.

A. McDonald, < liief factor of tho H. B. Co., ^\iX3 married to the daughter
of a lilackfoot .saclicn), Ijy whom lie had a child, named '^Iliristine, who, n-heu
i-ho grew to won'unhood, was described as 'a very modest, well-bred, and line-
looking young woman.' She was an expert horsewoman, riding astride, and
with a scrape buckled round her waist. McDonald was a man of remarkably
line physiijuc, six feet high, erect and of stately carriage. His long, flowing
hair hung down over Lid slionlders in Indian fashion. JIc spent most of hia
time in tlic saddle, and wouhl never get into a wheeled vehicle. Piiijct Sound,
M.S., 10-11. There is a McDougal. mentioned in W/ii/m/icr's Alaska, *JJ1, as
in coniniaud at Fort Yukon in June 1807. For mention of Thomas McKay,
son of Alexauilrr McKay of Tontiuin massacre fame, ixo A iidrr>;on'n North
CoaM, ^IS., 74-«i. John ^IcLcan, in his Notca of a Twvutii-ficc Years' Service
ill the IIiulxoii'i, Bay Tirriloi;/, '2 vols, London, 1840, treats mainly of trap-
ping and trading experiences in Vfiucouver and New Caledonia. Sir liichard
Maitland, in 1601 iu command of the llag-ship ISacfhante, at Esfjuimalt, is
mentioned by Mr Goo<l as an oflicer remarkable for his strict discipline; in
consequence of which, twenty of his men. including warrnnt-oilicors, deserted
tlio vessel and escaped aciosa the Sound, livit. Cut., MS., "J. W. Jlitchell
was in 1800 chief trader in charge at I'orfc Rniieit. Jlnnr'l LuiariVs Trarv/n
ill llril. (Jul., OS. For further items, .see I'ri/. (,'o/oi!l<f, Jan. V^, IS'Ct; Victo-
ria Staiidtird, Jan. 19, 1S70; Vt'illtninlle Jlinio r, Feb. 18, 1870.

W. S. Mitchell, furuierly fine of 1 he proprietors of tUn J:rlliih<'u!niii4,\\ai
killed ill 1807, by falling down a mining .shaft at Cariboo. N. A'. (Mil, Juno !l,
1SU7. William iIi)or>' lir.at attempted toruua.steamer up the.Stikeen in 180'-',
but Kufl'ered Bhip'.'rci'- fleeting willi snccesi ;it tho Cassiar minc.v, ho built
another t;teand)oat. Atleu'-iCttrilioo, ]M"i., 10. ]\lr Reynolds settlctl as a farmer
in the Frascr Valley, we^t (f Okauagan, in 18.")f). Two years later liis land
])roduced abundant crop:'. V-'tiy'/Za--, I'ri rate l'((i)' r.-i, lir.sc faeries, M.S., ll'.t.
Jluchj Mountain Jovruul, Die. I'O, l.sO.'i, to Feb. 28, 1 800, JIS., pives merely a
rt'cord of tlic daily labor and roulino at one of tlio Xort Invest Company's out-
lying forts, and is otherwise entiivly uninte-c.uing. 11. R. Schoolcraft, in his
I'crsuiial JIcmolr-<, i'liii., 1S.")1, has P'.attered throughout his n;irrativc a few
brief notices of the fur-ti'adir'-:, ;,ii(l tlieirinodoof traliic. ]Iise';periencc was,
fur the most part, limitc'l to the ( 'aiiadinn frontier, near (he lower end of Lake
Superior, and at Michilniaekenaek, wlaro he was slationeil as Indian agent.
Thomas Spcnce, a native of Dr.ndcp. reached Yictori.i in ^Iny ].S,"iS, ami kooi\
afterward began business as a contractor, biiildin;; tho ]iortiou of tin Cariboo
road between ijoston liar and Lytton v.iihin f (ir months, and employi.ig on
this work nearly 000 men. in conucetio-.i ■., itli Tniteh, h.^ obtaim il tlic con-
f ract for liuildingthc Ale;;an iria bridge, and supeiiui ended many other public
works, among tliem tlio removal of the Sister ro -ks in the I'lvuci', and tho
lieav.r rock in Victoria jinrbor. ]'oiri/l'.-i .Miinni/ JJlstriffii, MS., '2:)-'.]i). (J.
M. Sprciat, in his Scriic-i aiid H'ii<iii ^ ff linraiicLif., treats iiKiinly of tlutrilies
in the vicinity of IJaroIay Sound, and on tlie west coiK-^t of \'. I., their ens-
tonis, characteristics, Ixngiiage, etc., as they ajipeared to him during a resi-
dence of IK years, iicginning Aug. 1800, while in charge of the Kettlemeiit of
Alberni. liritlshColumhln., lufornintlon fir Emi'iranti, issued under the direc-
tion of the agent-general for the province, London, 18711, liy the siimn author,
is a model emigration p.ijnjnilet, and gives ii:'>i'c exact anil eondensed infor-
mation than any similar work at that time extant. ^Ir Tait V..13 in 187-
iigent for tho II. ]J. Co. at Kamloop Francis Tarbell, anati .0 of >,ev.- York,
arrived in Victoria in July I80S, bringing a stock of goods from S. F., on wliiclx
ho realized a fair j.rolit. About 18(i7 he bought an interest in tho steamer
ileortie S. Y.'rojht, whicli ran between Portland, Victoria, and Sitka, in oppo-
bition to Ren lloUiday's line, to wliich ho sold out, some two years later,
afterward settling at Olympia, wlicrc, in 1878, ho was tcriitorial treasurer.,

]J115LI0(!UAPHY.

769

TarhcU's Vidorin, MS., 1-10; Oh/iiqiiaii Clnh ('onvcivalioii.t, MS,, 17. John
Toil, of whom full incution i.s made on \>. 1:>8-."J(), this vol., dioil in l'^S-_'. S.
F. Call, Sept. '2, 1SS2. P. F. 1 ylcv, in hi^i JIh/orical View of the /'nMin:".^ of
Dixotrry, lulinljurgh, 1S.'J3, merely gives a <'oinpilixtion from the ori;^'in.il
accounts of the diseovcrcrs themselves. A. W. Vowell, for several years L'ohl
coinmissiont r in various districts, and author of Jliiiiii;/ J'inh-i'ia of Ih-it. < 'oL,
MS., i.-3 a reliable authority as to the gold rcfjions, to wliich the subject-matter
of hi.s manuscript .solely lefers, Altred Waddington visited the mines and
MToto a brochure of 40 pa;;cs, entitled Tlf; Frasor Minc^ VhuJii-atril; or, Tha
ni'urii of Fuiir MIontlif;. i'rice lilty cents. It is printed in \'ietoria by 1'.
Do ()arro, Wliarf street, and the preface is dated Xov. ],"(, 18.")>i. 'J'lie 'his-
tory,' a.i its title indicates, i.s an aigumcnt in behalf of the mines, v.hich a
Eimplo Btatemer.t of their jivoduct ■would much more satisfactorily explain;
and but for the fact that business revived just before the iniblication c.f llie
book, one iiii:;ht be led to believe that its issue hnd Fonielhii;g t:j lio uitli tlie
improvement of tho times. In his preface Waddington claims thia to be "tlie
first boolc published cu Vancouver Island,' but corrects the nistakc before
publication in favor of tho Hn'a of Pr.trlke. . .;'» /'.? liiiproiic Court ofChil
Jt'.sl'.rr, printed one or two months previous at tlic C'l-.fUi: olhce. Ho might
also Lavo rightly fdiled another, a Email pamphlet of y^/'O'Vfny.'O'/o//.^ relative
to tlie governmer.t of IJritir'h Columbia issued fintu tho (arxlle press, shc.rtly
after the I'nhm (f Practice, and so have placed his book third. A tiaet ad-
dresicd tu the coki!iisl3 of \'ancouvcr Island, published at Victo.ia in lS-"(),
and entitled The 2^\'Ci':='>'iti/ rf J.'rft.rni, wna merely a tirade against tlio re-
stricted fi'anchise, and the ]'ctty infelicities of the day. 'Ihe iir.-t editinn </f
tho iSl.xlch of the I'ro>Ki!<(l Line if On rlrnul J'fiHruri'l throixjh JJri/i/'h A't-rZ/i
Aimrica, OllaMa, ISTl, by tho same author, vaspnblishrcl in J^ondon in bStlt>.
AUho!!gh ^Vaddington had tra\(llcd over but a fu all porliou of the route of
tho Canadian Tacilie, ho -was well aerinaintrd \vit!i tho conliguration of tho
country, nnil, ihcluding data from published and otl.'or survey.'", made an vx-
ccllcnt pjreliminary report, Aviiichvas ]irol.)ably not vithout inlhic co in tho
1 nibinlinient of tlio lailway terms. lor further mention of ids career, see
/j'ri'. CJy.M, Oct, '2-.', ISiij, March (i, '27, 187-'. Fred, lick Wliymper, Avho
came from Ihiglaud in IPiJi', passed tiirco winters in Metorin, and travel.'eil
lhro;igh the interior of Vancouver and along tho coast of the mMinhind.
.loining tho Western Union Telegraph expedition under Capt. Ihdkley, an
;icco;;ut of which is given ir. my J/lftori/ of Alai-ki, ]). o70-S, lio set forth lor
norlliorii Al.iska, his y-wty jouijicying iivcrland in .sledges from Unnlaeiilet!,
oil I>orton Wound, to Fort ]\ulato, and thence in canoes to Fort Yukon. Jlis
vari us journey.s, with tliiir iucidcr.ts, arc descriheil in an interesting' volume
entiUcd Trarcl cn:'l Adrriitinr ill (hu Ti rritorn of Ahi/'l'i, ol which tho lir.st
live cliaptera arc devoted to Vancouver Island and ]]ritisli Columbia.

lioolrs arc v,:ittcu mostly in prai.iO of men or thing.;. Wa lia\e r.iany
biogi'apliies of Cinist, very few of J]clial. This ii a hopeful feature of i.Mmau
nature. 'J'ho l)ad v."o heartily denounce, but we do not care to dwell upon it.
Colonists parlictdai-ly fekhjui write except in commendation (.f tin ir coLintry;
and few, v.iio are merely U-av^llers, tid;e the trouble to jnint a fat octavo in
proof ot what n;;luro h;\ i v,ron';fuliy done, or has failed to d", for a eor.ntry.
Most of the book'! o:i IJritish Columbia seo little but iho good; therefore, it
starllci one somewhat to iind a writer who ilis.'overs little that is nnt bad.
If llio country presents it.«df to the mir.d of D. C. J'. Macdnn.dd, beforo
mentioned, with quite au alphabi't of honors following, only in ri pulsivo
shadow.s, CO does not the ■•'uthor of this man's works jipj>e;ii' to himself, ' To
advance opinions on the rc^ourcel and ea[)abilitie3 of our colonial possessiom,'
ho i.i abnndantly ' (jualilied by education, knowledge, and experience.' Had
the country any good thin;.; ? ' I v; ;iturelo belii've 1 possess tlie (jualiiication»
whi(;li alone can enable ;i man to discern tin so imiiorlant charaetcii^tie.., and
to arrive at a jirl: estimate of them, since the subject has buiiiecl the educa-
tion "f my youthand tin; study of my maturer years.' Toan audience beloro
whom h(! is delivering a lecture on Ihilish Colundiia, he says; ' You are not
IIht. I;i;::. iHi.. I'J

INDUSTRIES, C'O.MMKRCE, AND FINANCE.

listciiin<{ to a man who never !-ii\v a Jdatlc of grass grow, or slept uiMkr tho
iniiicrvioua Bliailes of llic eternal forest.' The wild ass nii.','ht ailv.-iiico tlio
winie ar;4unient, and with as (Mushiiig an ellect. Then follows a liai^o of hi;i
acc(iiii|ili.slinK'nts, v.liicli, howevir <'ntertaiiiin.Lr, I cannot rceito. 'I'lioi .luiitry
he lulls |)ietiue.s(iue l)iit gloomy. ' llritish ( 'oliinihia is a niitierable country,'

! groalisi.

That tliroi

ihll.

iViilo tloiiiain llK re are

1 lialiMiiiLC 1

irooks.

no Kootliin,:^' sliadt s, no softly swellinj,' hills,' is news iiid<'ed to those ^^ ho have

sjient till ir lives there.

i'.iit ill their shad slieains w hite w ilh foam, l iisli

iloliL

lie.uei II e

liii:

s, down raviiK s, and over walci

-falls

deaf.

iiig
niii'r tliiiii-

di:r; treiiieiidous ineeipices, yawiiiiii,' f:;iiirs, and n;diiil towering roihs, s])l

111-

tered w

1 wilh t

hlorillS Ol I'olll

tless y

li.

lie

f..ii

fiarful in Uiiir

^loolii, jiiid tearful in tin ir houliiig idastsof [ircy.' Filled in v.ith speetnd
:i,i;!its and lalndoiis nponsteis, sinh as titraie.i' countries are oi'teii aei'iedited
v.iili, hy vi ly alile writeis, we would ha\e a go(,d glio^t .slriy t ) fri,.,'hten

ihild

ren witlr

Sol

iiii^ht go ou throu

e"otislie«l Ml iter. It' wi' heliive iiiin, il

;Iit!
a ]i

lie shallow I'll'r.sioii of this

liildf(

r man or iieast. jt is

bail tor the Inalthful man, iiiid lail i'c r the luvalid; IkiI for the settler, and

had i\eii for the .student il

'tiiral historv.

IV no means a

lile [ilaei' of lesideliei',' and

<leed, it is doiihltul whether the island
lill evir he jilih) to in-odiieo enoiedi for its own coiuii. iiiitioii.' 'J'lic floiait
forbiildiiig; the savages are a disgiaee to savagisin, and the .aiinial kingdom
to brutes. It seemsajiily that .-o able a man hliould waste so much time
over so worthless a suhjiel ! Mr -Maeilniiahl has ])iiblisheil twowoihs on

and till) other nn
I I

llritish Coliinib

biitli in I.iiiidoii, IS(

i.i, one a

lof .VJl pages, with map, entitled UrtHshCul

lUtihia mil

(I neon n /•,< .

lanil, already nolieed on p. •lli.'i-O i f this \iil. Of these writings Mr. A. 0.
erson, who is freipienlty cited in them as an anthorily, remarks, I'rh'.

And

vai iaiM e w itli t !i

ippendix, p. ',>,'>, that they 'convey an imiirc;

itlKllS

.Ih.

itterly

that, were tin: eontrarv not know n,

le miiilit have inliriid that to

nice. .;\nd y
Toward the elt

\nd vet .Mr -M.iel.

if his lectin

ithor had never set foot within the pr
oiiald .■ic'em.i in-irlieiilarly desirous of being bclievei

ti luhing'ly a: serfs: ' I have no intci-est.i to

serve but those of hiimaiiily; no fcelingi to graiil'y but sucli as must animali
tho brca: t of every one who sees li:.rd-uin king men drawn to tiicir ruin wiih

ill I ) I'lre and none toserv

J t is hard to attiibuli^ di

)nest motives to any

d some have juit I'orlh luisstatcmeiils w lioou.;ht to be al

jove suspicion;

hut it rei|iiircs the exjic.ic nee of a practical farmer to form a correct estimato
of the value of s:)ils, and it l'ei|nires a Icugtlieiied residence, and oxtcnsivo

tliivi

1 th

irouiih a eouiiti v, to enahle evin the larmi'r, with

to give iiii opinion
A\ id

it all. X.

w, none ot the gentlemen who h.i\e put

dl I
h

lis e.Npcricnee,

f .I'tl

such glow ing stalcviicnts are jmsscssi d of eitlnrof thiso (pialilicatioiis. '1 lu y
appear to lia\e \isited the colonies at the most favoialjle .'-eason, and to ha\ e
relied for the rest upon the repoi'lsof n sidcnts — men, perhaps, w ho had spent

their w hole lives in the-'^e n

IS, and lir.d come to think that extreme heat

sumiiieraiiil intense' cnhl in winter, v.iiied by i:i tenia I ions of snow and

and ilecl and fogs for ei'dit moiilh.s in

versa 1 eoiir.so ol llie seasons

the y.

ir, formed t'.iu iiat lira

1 and

n ni) otlier way ca

n I

eeoiiii

t for tho boldnes.s

with which as:jertions have bei n made which h few nioatlia' residence nnust

scatter to tho winds, liiit the!

men w iio (lest

rvo no Rueh niereifnl con-

ration — hai'pieswho nevir meant tothvcll in the colony — who invested
ir caniial in buviiiLi ni) all the best rlloliiients, in order to nsell them .-t

!v:iiiced luices to tho icil setlh ; . 'I'licy now liiid they liav.j made a bad

Hpeeiilation, and are eager

to dispi

f till

but eustonicrs aro not

tiiere. and they neither stick at anv fa!s' 'lood to iiuluce them to come, nor

eare what becomes of them after tliey ha\o lleieed them, 'i'li

th.

par<'iitsof the iiiL';^liii',' p.'iragraphs w liieh appear from time to time in (he
new <|iai)crs, and th" no less jug'^in ,' h'tleis; the e ."re tlicy w ho ruin colonics

iiud colonists; and it is in the hrpe of kccjiiag t!;e emigrant out of their
clutchca tli.it 1 have raised my voice, and bIuiU conlinue to laiso it, as lon.u
as I think ! can be of ,iiiy service tvi ilu- poor i'lllows who have to light this

imJLIOCillAl'llV.

world's hard battlo with scanty moans.' Mr Macddnald is not alone in lii:j
condemnation of false statements iiiado conccrnint; this county. Says Mr
li. ]>yron Julmson, ia his I'tvi/ Fur ]i'( d lu'l'id, ji. ilTT-!^, London, IST'i: 'I
havo.secn many .shameful accounts l)ldlli^li'■d liy intcicstiil iicisoiis from wliicli
wc Would imagine the country to have liciii tlio oii.;iuid .--ilc of tlio (iardcii
of Kilcn. Tlio real fact is, that it dcjicmls on C'alil'ornia and Oreijon for al-
most cv(.iy i)onnd of Hour that is coll^.u^K•d in it; and that ci.i'i|iarcd to tlioso
iicigiiboiiiig cc)untiics it is what I liav) h' iird it Ir fore (h'sciil)ed hy a jar-
Koa who knew it well, a iKJ'.vlinj^ wiliK'iiicss. ' Undoulitcdly tlieio has lici a
exaggeration. 1'lic bueocs'tVd enthusiast will certainly i)raise, whik' tho
disa)>))oiided will rail. I'roliahly no countries have lieen more heartily
curs;ed than Oregon and ('.ilifornia. Jlore men Iiave leftOre^'oa fur Tu'^'t
.^ound than have ever left I'ugct Sound for Oregon. Ihitish (,'ohiml)i.'.'.i
best days have nut yet couio. Her resourecn are inexhaustihle, and her
greatest gold tliseoverits, tints far, as compared witli her yet undrvelojud
resources, will he rcnundifred in history only .'i-; flu- little llusii of IS.'iS-O.
Vo'ii Far Wtal Jii'htit is a sprightly little liock from tlie spiightly littK-
nnml (f 11. liyron Jolinson. It was printcil in London in 1S7'J. ("arricil
away by immigration [.auipldets and nit\v<i)a]icr nu'.iirs, the aul hor yiehicd
to tile mtieeuM ntsof ad'.i uture and started for tin' isw Id l>(>i'ado. lie .saw
uiar.y thint;s never seen before or since; he heard dialects as they were never
beiijie fi.olicn; hence he v.as constrained fo \\ rite a book. 1 1 is well for thoho
who ha\ : travelled in the I'uited States by rail t\\euty-rive or lil'ty tlion .and
miles to know at ].•■■'., that 'neai'ly all .\:iu ric.in trains havi; g'lt a her' v. hero
intoxicating drinks .■ rot;olil. The clu'ii.!.; national animosity be( wetn ISri.'ona
iuid i\inciieans w;:sillustrate(l by the s'.iooting of jin laiglishman by .a ' wi stvra
man ' on the I'anam/i iuid ;-an rr.-iiieisco steamer, lor i-elcbraliu'; tlie (,r.e'jii'.i
birt'alay too broai'ly — an iucid<iit to every one else uuknow n. \\y tlie lime .Mr
Jo' asoa has reached \ ietoria he has become bo aecustomeil to the Yanki't?
dialect, whicli he invented while crossing the Isthmus, that he does not imw
hesitati! to pat it in the meuth iiidi^iaimiiinlely <jf lai'jjisliman, Dnlchman, and
-Vfrican. After numberless perils by .' ea and l.'.iid, after r.ndcrgoing t,'V( ry ex-
perience written ill books, I'eciied I'ouimI cauip-tli'es, or told under forecastles.
Indian and b',aradventnres, iubbcry a ad gambling .scenes, boiler-bursting, ship-
wre( k, battle, and murder, after having encountered all tlm varied phenomen i
of KiiecesM ai.<l starvation, IIk? author linally returns to Kngland a wiser and
a belter m;in. Vet, iiotuilhstaiidiii',' these ipiite innocent iadiilgencts, of
which the liook is full, and which no intelligent person is cxp 'ted to liclieve,
Mr Johnson has ijroiic.eed a very inlcrestin; ai.d valuable iiii,;. ]t li.-ia llie
great nuiit of being natural, and I \\\\\ venture to say that Jlr Johnsoa is not
only a good friend and a good Icllov.', but an intelllTont, honest man, find a
good eilizen.

Of many of t'.ie pio'us is and ])roiiiinent eolonist*, want of space forbids nio
to make more than [la ■••ing mention. Subjoined ic:»
have not yet apiiearcil in these pages, together wi;!i the source? from v.Iiicli
information can bi^ obtained as lo their r.rrival, oaieci-, or decease, and addi-
lionrd items coneerniiig others already noted.

W iliiam Atkinson, Jkii//f '/'.i Vanrourrf Idtinu, MS., (i; ,Tos. .\ustcn, '''7.,
July 4. 1671; Taul Aiignr, S.'iiii,l"r,l, July LJ, 18;tl; A. X. r.irdi, X. If.
Juil. <J(i/iiii,hhtit, Jniu! 'Jii, IsCT; .\. S. I'atcs, ('.-/., Jan. .s, IS7!); Wm IJouilcn,
/(/., Jiilv 12;», no, Ls7!l; Jos. 1. Ihown, Col., Jtdy 10, ISO;); Thos Ihiie, /,/.,
Ap-. •_':!, 137:1; David lUirus, A/., Jiils' ol, is.HI; Jis hurn i, r' ■/., X .v. 'J.;.
INTO; A. T. I'.ushby, A'. IT. /'•'•. J/<n'!f, .\:ay 'J-.», ls7o: .M. Cameron, Co'.,
.luno 17, 187(i; D. Cameron, /■'., May l."i, ls7-; Sir (i. Carticr, /(/,, May 'J J,
lS7;i; (Jary 0. Uunlcr, C'o/., Sept. IS. ISdO; Charles, TarlxICn I'ir/ >ri'i,'Sl:-.,
o; T. Clarke, Co/., .luno J(i, I,s7!l; Clcryou, I<f., March 1, ISCI; J. J. Coch-
rane, II., ibirch 1-', I '.117; 1*. F. Coibiniere, //., .May 17, bs71; W. 11. Cor-
mack. III., Mtiy Hi, KSOS; John Costello, A/., .Ian. '_'.'>, 1n7I; I'. Coupe. Col.,
Jan. L 1870; J. Cox, Vol., Oct. I."., IS7:!; \V. I'. Ciate, r, /.,0,g. ;i, |S71; J,
€. Davie, (,W., May 1."., IHli'.l; I'. 1'.. I >.!;;, 'c(!. /,/., July 10, I ,i:i; C. i:. Dennis,

INDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, ANU FINANCE.

Col, Aug. 24, is;]; S. M. Driiml, Coi., March 1."), 1804; Geo. Dunhar, Id.,
Dec. 11, 1S7-.'; A. ('. Elliott, CoL, Jan. !>!», lS7(i; W. Emery, Co/., May 10,

Ans;. as, IST'I; J. FleniinK, Co/., May 24,

187!: .7. E

.V. /'. BivJifi

1871; Mitcliell Toy, Id., Fcl). '2, l.'S70; L. Fr.nildin, Co/., Aug. 10, 1873; J.
(jraluini, iSrntlle /n/i Hi'ifinrrr, Oct. "j;!. 1871; E. (Iraiiciiii, ''o/., Nov. I'i, 1879;
Stai:tlt'nl,'i'',ov. ]•_>, 1879; Grant, L'«v/i '/'••* ' • /.,MS.,'J; C. J. Grillin, Co/., Aug.
19, 1S74; .1. i;. (Jriflith, LL, May l'7,'lS71; A. 11. Guild, Id., Nov. l-J, 1873;
T. Hall, Co/., Due. 19. Is74; O. Dare, Jd., Deo. 'Js, yi, 1870; S. Harris,

Sfa

ml, V.

1877; S. \V. llerrin'j, /Jc-/

Jlrmld, Auk. '-*7, 1879;

E. Dead, Co/., Apr. 11, ISGS; A. (i. Hellley, Cul., Juno 1 1, 187-2; A. Uibbard,
Co/., June -'(i, 1S09; .sir F. llinck.s, Co/., Srpt, 14, 187'2; A. Hoflnieistcr, Co/.
SeiU. :ia, 1874; S/andord, Sept. :](>, 1874; J. llowe, C<,/., June 11, 1873; E.
H. Jackson, Standard, .lune '28, 1877; Kennedy, Col., March 'I'l, 1804; J.
James, ^tc. Ucrord-Uh'ioii, ^r\n. '2.'!, 1884: A. Lane, Co/., Sept. 12, IfSO."); R.
Lewis, CoL, Jan. 3, 187'"»; J. Livcrniore, Cut., Jan. .'SO, 18(19; J/. !McLure, /(/.,
March 8, ISfM; X. K. JJri>. Co/»wW/», Juiic2(;, 1807; T. (J. Marshal, Stand-
an

187

/, Ajir. 4, 1877; W. Milc^, CoL, Nov. i'O, 1872: M. M.

/r/., Oct. i:

itt, /(/., Apr. '20. IS71; \V. 15. Naylor, Xn:i(ihiio G<izMi\ Oct. 1.^,

1800; Co/., Oct. 3, LS(iO; R. Nt'welL K

li;^t. X. Coa.-'t, :M.S.; R. O-de

Seatl'c IntrUl'ii'ua r, Oct. 27, 187<'; John Flia-e, Sac. J,'icord-(7iiinii,'Sov. 2.1,
IS.V2; C. J. i'ritchard, C<7., July 20, 1870; AVin Rohertson, A/., Dec. 18,
1872; J. Roc;eis, Standard, Oct. 29, Ls79; Co/., Oct. 20, 1879; J. RuetK, /(/.,
Sept. 1, 187..); H. Schultz, Standard, .March 11, 187,S; Sleigh, <"o/., May 22,
1S09; i:. Sianrp, /(/.,. Jan. 31, 1872; C/.. July 23, 1872; .Y. W. Par. //n-ald,
Jan. 24, 1872; ]]. A. Starr, C„/., July 1."), lS7(i; M. .). Stone, LL, iHc. 19,

1874; J. Sv

/(/., Oct. 22, 1872; CoL, Oct.

1.872: J.Il.Ti

Port-

land H'cst Shore, Sept. 1879, p. 204: D. '1'!

Tim

merman

/(/., Mi

C'L, Sept. 11, lMj(i; J. 15

J.Titcoinh, y.7., July 10, 1.m;9; J. \V. Trahe'

CoL. Dec. 2S, ]Mi8; .1. W. W.-iitt, CoL, July 13, 1870: J. R. Wnt-son. S,afll<;
Inl'in^enctr, July 12, 1809; Oli/wpia Hojai'hUca.n, July 19, 1809; J. Whcrtv,
Co/., Dec. U, 1872; IL Wilkinson, Co/., Nov. 20, 18G9; IL C. Williston, CoL,
.\ug. l.l, 1808; IL Wootton, CoL, Dec. 29, 187:>; A. Young, Col, Scjit. 13,
1872.

Final list of reference.;: Good's Brll. CoL, MS.; DrU. Col Sbtcfi''^, MS.;

lltjhj'ii Vanconvrr Ldav.d, il.S. ; l)e Cox

Govcrnmvnt, MS. ; ( 'ooprr'i

Maritime 2[atl':r<, MS.; Pidinrr\i Wai/on, Tradu, M.S.; Crid<jf''s Chara'-leri-t-
llcs of Jas Doii.jla-u MS.; Mach-nrMs Mem. Can. Par. P. P., MS.; ElUotfx
Brit. Col. PcFi'k-^, MS.; JAon. Geol. S,trveys, XiS.; Finlai/.<i,n\f V, I. and X.

IV. Coa.-I, MS.; TarUlC-i Vidorki, MS.; Pr

EcauK, Prater JUrcr P.vci'iinrnt, MS.; J/anro'l'n 'jliirlcin )'

Ind

lan.t (in

I S> tiler.-; -MS.

, ^IS.,ri

is.smi;

lloufxi E.V. Dor., 4',th Con;}., Jl Sci-i., x.vi. no. DO, 28-72, 131-70; o'xiii.
.10. JO.?, 507; 4'jlh Conn., CI .SV.w., i., pt 1, 339-47; .;o'/,'t Co,;7., M Sc.^^.,
.rvl, 110. 7, 30-78, 142-9S, 201-;U10; .J07/i Con;t., .7(Z .SV.>(.-<., i., pt J, TiOl;
.Mr.f.9. and Dor., 1870-1. Xan/ and J'. O. Prjit, i:i3-.'>; .S'.'.«. Paprr.-'. J!. C

1870, 79-1. ')2, 4 t'.)-,-,(i.3,.0'^S, 061-2; ~

7-<]S, 20,3-113, 4. -..-.-93; 1.S79, 179-

187

83-l."i9, 2 I9-3.-1C., 4111-48; ls7

-'0,

•1-87; 1880, I.-.9-3I0; |S81, 3I.1-404;

18.82,249-322, 30.3-408, 43.-) 7, 4:.7-.'U0; ISS:!, 107-:;04, .321-'il, :!1,-), :r.l-72,
.379. .399, 471-!H): 1.884, 7-Sl. 91-l.J!), I>,9, 229-8:!, 29.-.-307, 3:r)-4r), 399-423,
•1:j2, 'i 11-0.3, .809; 18S.'., 129-:!0, 1 ."i ! -2.3' ;, 4.".1 -00, pi.ssim; Ptrlsrd Enir<, Prd.
'.'ol. n.'-71): Con-oL Slat. Brit. CoL, (1877) pasMin; Siaf. Jlril. CoL, 1877,91-

k 111-13, 13.3, 141. (538-9; 1878. 71-2, 89-9 ), V.]-

129-32: 1879, 2.3, .•i7-4S,

<;9-7."
ISS3,

111-23. l.-iO-O; LSSO, 1-8, 49, .''.9; 1'81, 43-0; 1S.S2. 4-8, 13-.-).1

7-8, 47-C9.

-8, 81-2; ls84, 10, 32, :(.">, ISl; 188."),

(\, 12.")-1l, p.'issim; ,/onr. E':i!.d. Comird, /!. C, 1804,32, 30; 1807,29-30,
00-7; lS(i8, 2, .ipp. iv.-viii.; lso',>, 1."), (iO-7, -pp. ii., iii., v.-vii; 1870, ii]ip. iv.-

i>c.; 1871, 51-00; Colonial p.-limatct, in Id., 1871, 2-12; Joi

Crd.CoL, 1873-4, l-C

■.()

ip.

-49, ii

.1-00, V

'.7'-

:/. A-^

I, Vll.

-8. ;(,".; is:

2-;«. 47-8, npp. 3-12, 14-73, l,Sl-210, 301-481, 5J.V7S, 0:!9; lS7(i, 2 .3, 03;
1877, 1-2, 13, 07, n])p. .\xvi.; KS7S. 1-2. 08, 78-9; 1879, 1-2, (U; IsSO, 1-2,
21, 4.-), app. iii. 18s|, j.-j, .vm;;>, 72; 18.82, 1-2, .1, 7, l2-,')4; ls.S3, 3, 17, 05;

FIXAI. AUTHORITIES.

778

1SS4, 'J, ;.|, SS; 1S;S."), 1-4, .">"i, .VJ, passim; I'. S. JJiiniui oi' ,i)/ii(i.-/ic<, 7,0. ,7,
1879-80, p. l-K), !(;•_>, 104, 17."), ISS-'J; Jlin„l-li,;>l:.<, JJnl. Col. lUmnl 0/ Tr.'dc,
passim; Jiri/. < <,'. /I'd. /.fiid (Jii< stioi\i):], U7; Zam<'n(, \\.'-^- '.'>; Chilti mldi'.i
Travel 1 ill Jlrll.Cul., 5-8, -JO-l), 40--', 4S, .">(), (17: ll7(.'/»)//( /.s ,l/'r,s/,Y(, L'.IS,
passim; JJcih-sok's j\'. W. I'ci: and JJrit. C\J., o\)-'2, r).">-77, S-Vli;?; iS'c hi 11 10 re\i
Aiai-la, ri-l."i; llittilis Commcne nnd Induct rUn, pas.-im; Jlariiiln/\i L>/c and
Lnhor, 8S-l.")l>; T/t<: Mines, Miners, etc., ,"(07; fJdmar'fi Jliiif. I'ri'i-ioiiK Metal".
lO'J; The Miniuij lndu<lnj, 'JJ; ,Seirard'sfipeeeI,(U Vletoria, 18«!), 17-'J0; Jhit.
Col. Ajj'dirs, fl.i 1, 2, J, lS.")S-()0; Jlrit. Col. L.rpforationn, lirit. \t.rfh
Amer.; lirit. Col. Lcouh und Work J)e/d J!) ]i'/<. Ilril. Col. MiniMer of MineK
llejits. lirit. Col. I'ltiiers conneelid vlth the ludinn Land Question, 18.")0-7r>;
Urif. ('<l. Pidilic Aeconnt:, lS7t)-7, ] 880-1; Canada Censii.'^, 1880-1; Canadii.
i.'».s/o;)(s Turijr, 1877; Canada J )i>;uI(h inJ'arlf, 1877, 1878; Canada l)i jit 0/
(he Interior, Ann. L'epti, 1.S74-80; Canad'i ]!< iits Coniin. /'-/io-ff--, 187l)-'j;
Can. Cenl. Siirveij J'epts. of I',-oijr(.<f<, 1870-0; Canada Inland liev. Ilei.t.t.
Canada Marine and Fixherii a, Ann. ll< id.-i, 187 1-^0; Canada Mini-^ti r of Aijrie.
Heptu, l>S77-80; Canada I'lis/inaxler-CeM ral !.'( J orl", hs7--80; Canada J'iddie
Aeconnt'', 187">- 7; Canada Tidihaof Tradi-and Xari'jalion, 187;!- SO; Taijlorx
Sj,ee. J'res-^, 470.'.; ::rit. Colonist,' },\ny 7, Deo. 'J, 'lS77; .Tail. 'A, Ve\>. It, •_'8,
Apr. 1:1, May 14,'Jiily 10, l,s78, March •JU, Apr. II, 1!), i2J, '2.), July 1, -Mny
i;i, .lulv '2:', Aii.^'. 10, 2:i, Sept. L'5, Oct. 1:!, it), -20, 124, 'JO, Nov. 0, l!S7!l; He-
loria WerlJii Siavdunl, Oct. '22, >>ov. 'Jd, Dec. 10, 187!I, .Tan. L'S, IVli. 4,
March 10, Apr. -JS, ilay 5, 18^0; A''/ Htnndard, Apr. '_'.'», ^lay '-', .rtilv"2.'i.
Oct. 17, :il, Nov. 'Jl, 'lS77; Apr. 17, 1878; Apr. lO, 20, :!0. May l."., |.S7;):
Dom. I'lic. J[erald,l\Rveh 19, -_', 1879: Xeic \Ve:<tm!:i>~ter Muiuhindnimrdinn,
I'Yb. 8, .>hiy 10, 1(579; Nanaimo I'nc /'(•'■«, May 10. 1880; ,S'. /'. Attn, March
8, 18.V_>; ,lulv7, 18ri:!; Nov. 7, 18.17; Aj.r. '_'«, :.iav27, .fiine •-'(!, ■_'7, An-. '_'.">,
Oct. 7, 1.-, •-'•■!, Kov. K!, l,sr)S; May 21, .Juno 1.1, .luly.'!, 1800; IVh. 11, .March
10, Apr. 1:!, May 2, l,i, .lulyO, Oct. l.S, Nov. 20, 'j'cc. 21, 1801; .Jan. 14,
Marcli 11, 22, 2;'f, Apr. 14, M, .May 12, Ki, 21, Jiuiu 11, .July 11, 12, Au- 2 .,
Sept. i), Oct. i:t, Nov. 10, 18(12; .);.n. :!0, .Mar.li 22, Apr. 21, May II, Sept.
8, Oct. no, ISiJ.-l ,Ja;i. 10, 14, 28, 20, JVh. 20. March 7, 22, .31, Apr. I, 0, 19.
May 1, 4, 10, 10, 21, 27, -Tunc 9. 10, 21, :!0, .July 12, 20, 27, Au','. 10, 12. 14,
27, S.pt. 12, i;f, r.i, 17, Oct. (1, 14, Hi, 21, .\ov. 11!, 2:!, Dec 2S, 1,S(J4; I-Vh.
24, Apr. 1, :!0, .-.lay I'.l, .Juno 2. Aug. f., L^(l."; Feb. 22, Apr. 2.'., .May 10, ISOO;
.Ian. 4, 9, Kl, 19, lib. S, l(j, March 4, 7, 12, 2.", Apr. 14, May 24, 2S. .\\v:.
7, 2.'., Sept. 12, Oct. 1, 21, 1807; Jan. 14. Oct. 20, 180';; Ajir. I.'!, 2.'!, July 4,
ISd'i; Feb. 21, b>70; -M..y i:!, .Sept. 12, Dec. 27, lt.71; Jan. 2(), Feb. 14, .March
;JI, Apr. 2S, June 1(1, 20, July 15, Auu'. 18, 28, !,s72; .March ;!, 18, May 5,
Oct. 29, 1S7;{; Oct. 22, IS74; ."^ept. 19,'Oet. 2."), 187:'; May IS, Xivj:,. 2."., .Sept.
10, 1870; I'cb. .*!, May 12, 1877; Aur. :?, 1S7S; .May 19, FSO; M^'V Hi, 18>->l;
Apr. 1(1, l8->2; .\pr. .^ .May J I, July ."t, 1;vS4; Jinfl.iin. Jnnu l-.'>, 7, 11, 12,
2(i, July 0, 8, 1"), 20, 2(1, Kov. :t, Dec. 8, •), 2S, 18.",8; Jan. :!, II, 12, Feb. M,
10, Apr. 1.-), 18, .".0, .May I !, IS, .'{l, Juuc'l, 10, II, 2.-), ;;o, July l.->, l.S, 29, nO.
Aug. 1, Sept. 1, 14, 19," Oct. 2S. l.'co. 0, 1S."9; Feb. 2:!, .M.ay 4, July 7, 18G0;
.March 27, June 11, IS, Oct. l.">, 17, 2S, Ni.y. 4, 0. It, 2:!, Isul; .May 10, July
:;, 21, Oct. 2:;, Xiiv. 10, Dec. 12, IS(12; Jan. 12, IVb. 10, ^ilarcii I, Apr. 21,
Aug. 1, 19, I>cc. 1(1. lS(i:i; June 9, Sept. 20, Oct. 21, Nov. 10, 1801; Jan. 10,
Feb', .-t, Au','. ;U, lS(i,-;; July ;!, ISCd; Jan. 20, Sept. 4, Nov. ;!, ISOS; Feb. 10,
Oct. 2:!, Nov. 2:!, ISdO; .Jan. 0, I'eb. 1, Juno .'>", Js70; Ajir. 1, Juno 20, Dec.
17. 1S72; .March :!, 4, 10, S<.pt. 4, 1S7:'-; .luly2J, 1.^74; ^iav2.^ IS7,-); Feb. 7.
.May :i, AuL.'. .'lO, |.s70; .luly 21!, Au'j^. 1. I.s77; Au'.'. 0, Oct. II, Nov. 4, ls7S;
Maivh 11, Ai.r. 2.-), 28, Juno 11, Aug. 27, 1S79; Apr. 29, May 7, 12, .luno S),

21, July I, 12, 20, 21, 20, Aug. 2, 19, 20, 2:!, 2.'., 29, Sept. 22, 20, :;(», Oct. 1,
12, 1 1, 22, 21, Nov. 8, 9, 24, IS8I; Aug. 27, Jhn:!; Apr. 4, MayO, ISHl; Feb.
27, .March 12, Oct. 21. INS.-); Call, .Ian. 8, .March ,'11, Apr. 12, .May 27, .luno
19, Oct. 8, Nov. 2, l.S(i4: .Ian. 22, Juno 4, 8, ;iO, Sept. :!0. 1s(m: Jan. 0, 19,
1m b. 1(1, Marcii 22, .May 24, Aug. 7, S«'pt. 12, Oct. 24, lS(i7: Feb. 27, March
10, Apr. ;{0, Aug. ."), Sept. 8, 2:t, Oct. 2.'), ISlJS; Apr. 21. IS70; .lunc S, Oct.

22, 1.S72; Dee. 20, 1^74; June 22, lS7."i; .NFay 12, 1870; Apr. «, July 2;!, 1-577;

774 IXDUSTRIZS, COMMERCE, AND FINANCE.

March 8, June 10, 1878; June 13, 1879; Juiio21, 1882; Jan. 12, Feb. 2, Apr.
14, 18S4; Feb. 2.'), Morch 11, Deo. 4, 18So; Chronicle, Dec. l.'), lS7(i; JulyJ2,
Seiit. 13, 1878; Ai)r. 14, ISSO; Apr. 1, 1884; Jan. .">, M.iivli I, i:5, May 23,
1SS5; Conwi. //(»•<//(/, Aug. ;ill, 1.^07; Aug. 2!), I.S(i8; July."», 1S77; .four, of
<'onivifrr<; May 2;i, 1877; Jlor. O'uzcUr, Nov. 12, 1.SG4; Nov. !t, lS(i"); Posl,
Oct. 2:i, 1873; June 22, 2."., 187"); Apr. 27, May 3, Aug. 24, 28, ;{(», 31, Sept.
13, 2!), Oct. 14, 19, 30, Dec. 4, 7, 1870; Apr. 7. June 4, Aug. 4, 1877; July
1(1, 1878; July 24, 188."); Padjic Chiin/nndii, Nov. 19, 1808; Thms, Miircli
:;0, Nov. 2, 22, 1807; Jan. 14, Apr. 1, July 20, Oct. 20, 27, 1808; Feb. 10,
jMai-cIi 1."), 1S09; AhiiidPoM, Jan. 8, 20, 1870; Slotktoii ludcju'tidnit, in\y^y<l,
]f-Si); Aug. 19, 20, 18SI; St<il<icooinExiir(>-.<,i\\\y'M, 1877; Jii(i'Uh]ciicer,3sxu.
13, May 22, Jun<.' 5, 17, July 2.3, .Sept. 3, is:!); Alfiinix (Modoc co.,Cnl.)Jii-
i>'/,rii'.li lit, .Sept. 29, 1.S77; Asldund 'J"id\ii<js (Or.), A\\<^. 3, 1877; Ohjmpht
'J'liuiKcrijtt, July Ti, 1879; Port Tou-iixi iid Arijii.t, May 31, 1883; Portland
('(ttholic Sentinel, .Sept. II, 1S79; ]\'e.-<leni Omjoniitn, ,Iuuc 7, 14, 1S79; (Jidi-
fiivniaii, AvLg. 1S8I, j). 177; I'injinid (Xer.) (.'/ironic/c, Ayiv. 7, 1877; Orerjon
Stale (Enijene C!li/) Joitrmil, Apr. 10, LSSO; Ou/il Hill A» "-x, Juno 12, 180G;
/;/ Fronte'rizo (Ti'irson), Jan. 27, 1S82; I'orlland Tvhiirmn, Oct. 2!», 31, 1879;
Pirtland Standard, Awj,. 10, 1S77; Portland West <V//o/v', Jan., July, 18/7;
Feb., March, June, 18s6; Sac. hWorfl-l'nlo'i, Feb. 29, 1S.'>0; Aug. 22, 1800;
Oct. 13, 31, 1879; March 14, May 10, June 28, Aug. 20, 23, Ks'sl; July 2o,
1SS2; Jan. 30, Feb. 0, 1883; Jan. 1, 12, 19, Feb, 2, March 18, Apr. 20. i884;
Jan. 14, Alarcli 12, May Ti, 23, 1SS5.

INDEX.

"Activa," sliip, 1."), l'S.

"Ai^tivc," U. S. sUaiiicr, 200, 40."), (ilO,

li-J-'.
Adiiir, JdIiii, iiiiiicr, ,").")0.
Ailaiiis, iiiiiiing mi FiT.stT Kivcr, ;M!)-

M.
Ailiims Clock, golil (li.sciivtitMl, 4(iO.
Adiiiiis Ivivfi', iiiiniiig on, 4(10.
Adiiiiis Liikc, gold di-scovficil, 4G1.
Addurloj-, Mr, on 11. J>. Co.'.s cluii'tiT,

;{7.s.

".Vdclaido," ))aik, .'((ii.

.'Vdiiiiiiilty liili^t, original iiaiiu', 1 I.

Agrioiiltui'o at loit.s, (il •_', ,SO,!):t, 1 10,

"j-27 0, l:!l, IS-i -.'O."), -JliO; among

fur tiailur.s, SO, SI, .'il'J; growing

iiiiporluiice, 80; areas and condition,

KSSO (i, 740-4.

Ague, i)rcvalcncc of, 07.

Ahcrn, miner, murdered liy Inds, ~>'.\(),

Alimisets Jnd.s attack w Iiites, 4l.'I).

Aideii, {.'apt., ill eonid of "Active,"
li(iO, V,-l-2.

Alder, Lt, in eoiiid of the " Three
JJrotlieis," '28.

Alfred I5ar, mining nt, 441.

Allan, (i. 1"., ju.sticc of peace, '204.

Allan, Sir ilngh, railway contract,
(;.V2 4.

.Vlhird, ()., ill charge at Ft Yale, ;iS."),

Allen, miner, murdered liy Inds, ");{0.

"America," H. M. S., 1-20-4.

American ]?ar, mining at, 441.

.\nder.soii, A. C, on H. li. Co.'s policy
to Inds, nO; comd at FtColville, 00;
at Ft Ni.s(iually, 0'2 H; liiog. and
hihliog., l.")7-!M expl(jr. cxpedts to,
157-70, 17")-(); map of route, 1(!'2;
oil gold discovery, .'{40; report on
gold yield, 470; on mining licensi's,
.")71; hildiog., 701.

Andrews, ]{. S., Aniei. M:ttler on .S,
Juan, 017.

Aiulerson, David, Ijcforo eoinni. in
Eng. oiiH. H. Co., :WI.

I Ander.sou fliileh, mining at, 4S2.
j .\iider.son River, ex|)edt. on, l(i7.
'Antler (,'it'ek, mining at, 4r»7, 470,
401 ;!, ,".12, 51.5; town at, 402 3;
I .society, 4!I2.

.\nvil l.-land named, '20.

Applegate, .). K., .-ittacked liy Inds,
IS5'.I, 014 15.

".\iaii/a/u, " Spani.sh ni;in-of-war, 20.

Arctic Crt'ck, prospectors on, 547;
mining, 551.

".\rgonaiit," slii[i, seized l)y Span-
iards, 17>S0, S.

Artcsi.-iii Co., lease and plans, 400-500.

Assenilily, lirstoiiV. I., .'{20 -7; calle<l,
.'(20; (lualiticatioii of incmhers, ,'{20
1; incmhers, ,'{21, ;i2(i 7; husiiiess,
.'122 7; gov. 's address to, .■{2'2-;{.

Astori.i as a trading post, 7S SI.

Atnahs Inds, character, I.'IG; consjiir-
acy of, \4'A.

Auriferous region, extent, 5.'i0.

Authorities (pioted, xxi-xxix, 72 7,
:W0, ,570 81, (i04 5, 700 0.

"Axeiiture," ship, huilt hy N'ancoii-
ver, 15.

liabine River prcspceted, 5.5G.

Iiack, Sir (!., before; conini. in Fug.

on II. 15. Co., ;{S1.
IJaillie, 'I'., visited hy McKlroy, '200.
liaillie, llainilton's l>ay named, 101.
linker, I.t, in N'ancoiner's expeilt., 10.
Hakerville, ])rosperity of, 710.
Italcli, ('apt., gold-hnntiiig expeilt.,

.•{44.
Maiil Monntiiiiis, mining about, .505;

geology, 5i;{.
Hall, H. .M., justice of peace at Lyt-

toii, 410; on gold discovery, 4.S0;

gold eomniissioner, "200; of tirst

legis. council, 5S;{.
I'allou, \\'., starts express, .•f51 2.
liaiiking facilities, 1S8.5, 7.5.'{.
Barclay, (.'apt., vi.sit of, 1787, 5.
I 775 I

INDEX.

Harclay Souiiil named, 5; Spiiiiisli

imiiie for, 1 1.
IJatf, .M., niiiiiiiger V. Coiil Co., oG!);

mayor Naiiainui, .")7-l.
.BaiuTiiiiiu (111 ('arib(jo geology, r>l.'$;

on 15. ('. coal-tiuM-s, ")70.
I'lurliir ( 'laini, milling at, 4S8, 497.
I!;u kcrvilio, iiiiportaiici^ 4!)."), 50.'),

.jl II; iiani(Ml,4!t7: buriuil, lS(iS, 4!t7;

'lagis, i>rovision.-i, r>l(); Jt. IJ. Co.

at, ."jKi; loading-rooiii, iJlit.
Harms, I'lllis, .stlls Jl. \\. Co. 'a prop-
erty oil S. .Iiiaii Isl., (iOS.
Wiur, 11., coiidiK'tiiig colonial acadi-

iiiy, '-'(iO; ulork of ass'Mul.ly, .'UO.
IJariiiMi! KivtT, mining on, 4.">'.) 00.
ikalo Co., work, lS(j(i-7, <"ilS.
Boar llivir, mining at, 17!); coal dis-
covered, .■)7i).
Beautort mine coal .seani, ,")liS.
"JSeaver," steamer, M, 71 2 84, !)-',

!).•!, !),■>, 101, 101), l.SS, ±S1), 405, (illi.
Beaver JlarlKd', coal discovered, 18U-

!•(!; named, IS8.
Bedrock I'lumo Co., yiild, iSLiS-K,

.VIO.
Bcgg Creek, mining on, 50,").
I>e^l)ie, M. B., chief jntitiee, .■?.')7, .'>lil,

405, 408, 41-', 417, 42(1, 4-_'-J; lirst

cirenit, 4-_*'J; eharaeter, 4-j;{ (i, 4:iO -

'A; disliked iiy miners, I'M; on Fia-

ser Kiver, 4 !5; on mining, 4();!, 4li5 -

ti, 514.
Bell, (i. \V.. hanged, V. 1., 4.).-).
Bell, .las, explores Lightning Crtek,

50(i.
IJell.icoolas Indsat \'h toria, 4-J.S.
Beliim;hain Biiy named, 'Ji'; Spanish

name. 'Jl; coal liiscoverc d, l!i)(); fori

on, erected, tji;i.
15evis, W. 11., revenue oliirer, 405.
Big liar, loeality, 45."j; minmg at, 457.
Big Bend gold e.\citemei:t, 470, 5l''_',

5-.24, .VJO, 5S!!; ndning, 5;{1, Xi.'t;

failure, 5:{t.
Birch, .V. N., of llrst legis. council,

.Vs.'l.
Bireli B.iy, named, "JO; ."spanish name,

•J I.
lilanslinrd, 1!., visit to coal mines,

J:)5; inliuenii' on colonization, "J-'tl;

Upptd gov. \. 1., '.'tM; ariival, "JOI!;

to serve without pay, '-'07; relations

•with 11. B. Co., iHiS 7-', '-^O-NO;

character, 275; resigns, 280-1; Ik -

fore comm, in I'aig. on 11. B. (Jo.,

.-(SI.
Bl ikily Ishiml, ()0(i.
Blanehet, plants cross on A\'liitliey

Isl., 1840, l(X».

Blenkinson, (1., at l'"t Itupert, 102-4;

has sailors killecl, 27.'<.
Blue Nose Bar, gold discovered, 411,

444.
Blunt Island, luil. attack on, is.-.it,

014-15.
Bavley, (,'. .v., I'oroner, N'aiiaimo,

42li.
Baynes, Admiral, arrives at Esipii-

malt, 404-5; in comd of Knglisli

lleet, 024; actions in S. .luan all'.iir.

024 5.
Baxalgette, (.'apt. (i., in eomil of I'.ng.

troops at S. .luan, 01!.'!,
r)0<legav <'uadra, comm. for Spain in

Xdolka, all.iir, 1702, 15.
Bolduc, .1. B. Z., at Camosun, 07-8;

ceh'l,r:ites mass, !)0; at W'hithey Isl,

00 100.
Bond, <i. 1'., r. S. commissioner in

S. .luan tiMul.ie, 010.
Boston r.ar, ndning at, 117-8.
"Boxer," II. .M. S., 572.
I'radley, II., di.s<M)vers coal, 50S.
liradley Creek, coalmining, 208.
ISrew, Chartres, estahlishes con.stahu-

lary, 4(»1; Hill liar tremble, 411; of

first I'gis. council, 585.
Bridge liiver, mining at, 45;}-l.
Ihitish .\mi riea, jurisdiction of Ca-
nadian courts in, 217.
Hriti.-li l'>Mr, ndning at, 45.5-7.
I'riti-iJi ( 'nlonist, new.spaper, 7'!0.
Britisli Ccjliimliia, summary of Parliest

Voyages, 1 lU ; confignration, li:{- 40;

l)hysie:il divisions, ;14 5; elim.atc,

k)-:!; fauna, 4:1 4; natives, 44 51;

fdiis, ,52-72; cxpluratioiis, 157-70,
175 (!; .gold diseovered, 341-75;
travel to mines, .'!51-70, '^^2; ell'eets
of iliseovery, .■!74-.5; colony ami
govt est^il.lishcil, .'is:!; II. B. (jo.
stations, ;{S."); govt of 1858 (t',\, ;{88-
418; creuteil einwii colony, 400; law
estalilislied, 400; acct of gold-lield.',
420 2; mounted pi'lice, 4.'!1; ])opii-
lar triluinals, 4;!0; gidd yield, 470-1 ;
mining population, 471, 4S2; coal
discoveriis, 5()5 80; legis. cniineil
organized, 58;{; a province of the
diiminion, 50S (iOI; S. .luan Isl.ind
diilirulty, (i05 !i:i; Caiiiidian I'ae.
Uail\v:iy, 010 it."'; polities and govt,
l87OM"),0;t0-7O0; settlements, j.SOl
80, 707-717; missions, 717 27;eilii-
cation, 7'!4-8; newspapers, 7'{0;
imlustries, 700-0; coininerce, 74(i-
,52; linanee, 75.'1 0.

I)i'iti<h ('ohind)ian, ncwsp.'iper, 7.'!0.

Brooks, I'ort, corl discovelcil, 201.

INDEX.

ttt

Brother Jonatliaii," tlio steamer, | C'ani'roii, D., chief jiiatiii?, .'(•JT, 335-

wrecked, 4(i7

7, lO.'i; le.sij,'lis, l-J-J

IJroilj^litim Aichi|)fl;ii,'o iiaincd, •_'(!. , C'aiiin^im, ixaiiiincd hy Uuuglaa, S()-8;
Hroiightoii, Lt, iiiciiiiiil ol' tlio "Chat- ' f-irl built, !tl 101.

(.'aiiiiilx'll, Ari'ii., L'. S. Loiiiiiii-ssiuinr
ill S. .Iiiiui truiiliK', (iiO.

Canadian l>:ir, niiniu'' at, 4(1, CIS.

nun.

1.-

dt. ot I7W-' IS.

ISriiUghtoii iSti'uits, Spuni»ih naniu for,

2(i.
IJrowii, I)., shiKitin^ of, 4."rJ.

la.itr ixcitcmi'nt.

JU'own, L., on !•

:{.vS.
Itruu'ii, I'., killed l>y Indians, :t:!l.

C'aiuidi.iii I'acilic Itailway, causo ol
roiindiup;, .">74; n.isuns for aiiil
iiguinst i)roj.'i't, (UO I; hill carried
in th(! conMnon.s, (ill; iixulution <

Dr It., on gold discovery, passed hy Canadian j'arli.iincnt,
KKI; on goicl-licid lorniation, 4(i(i, i 04."> ti; prciinnnary .sni \ e>s, (i4!)- ."i'_';

iJn

HI v. I.

Charlotte l.^l.
K

II, .i(ii ; on (.Mieeii

iluifli .Ulan contract, (i."i'.' 4; tin

(,'anar\ou iirnis. Old

It Will

.\1.

deck, .")l!l; Jiri/e essny liy, ',{',{) |.

jcsty, (ii;

[u^tilion to

I; i;..rl of Di

111 .s .s|n>ccli, tidlj ((I; contiact uitli

)ro\vii, I lios, 1,'old discoverer, llHi.

JJr.

'o« ne, Ivosa, on

( 'oluiiil

jia ''o

Id-Ueld

syiidicali', h,>\ enginci'iin,

illiciil-

' I

tie

i;sl !; I'ort -M

jiiclMiiaii, I'
a I lair, liJii.

ooily, reasons
selection a.s teriiiinus, ()64 (i;

actions in S. .Iiian i eoni|)letioii of the Ii

lie, (,•>,

Ct ts

Buckley "s [Lirty i>rospecting, ."ill).

undertakiii,^, (i>i7 IM.
( 'anal ile .S,i.-,aiiiat. .See 11

islly

Inlet.

ikl.
M

1". A.

lie

Ihi

,),.

II a re wool I Coal ( Miioe coiintiy inining, h'lfi. I7.'I.
I ( 'aii.m (.'reck, iniiiiii'' at,."iO;i Id.

rns ( reel
IS7.-)

on, 4^J;

.1."

CaiK'lia Jnil. attac
lisjier," l^ill.

o.i liu

ving-

liin|)ee, Mr, ()ii.;inales Canadian I'ac. (ajie hi-iMiipoinlnicn', Caii'.. .\leuii

JlaiU

(144.

at, l7vSS, »>; iradiiiL' ("i.-it at, I.S'J

Jliinard Inlet, S|)ani>h nanie foi', 'JI4; ; Cape Jjocikont, (.'aptaiii .Mearcs at,

coa

1.1

iseovi'iei

>s-(i.

I'.irton, Ijeilt, destroys Iii.iiMii \ il- Cape (Mfonl ii:i

III

'4.

Kutler, Cai>t., at Ma

j "Ciiptiiin Cook,' siiip, 17S.

nsoii I reel

( :irrv.

lilt uiscoveri r,

Carilioo. iniiiiii'' in, 47<i, 47'-' "-, .">l(»

Hull, r, \V:

-•ttlc

S. .h

111; I

por

t, ,"i47 !l.

ild-liuntiii^' i'.\peilt. ic- i .")l(i.

it ri':;ion, 17 t; ini.ssionai its
itlii

IMp

>l;i; intllUlice of excitelnellt.

C'uainano, coind of the "Ariiiixji/.i

•J!).
Cache Creek tov.ii, in'outli of, 4.'iS.

•Cadl-i

•h

;», 7-', ltd, mm;.

('aid«el!. Will, licfoie coinin.

II II. 15. C

:!si.

C:i.Iiforiiia, eU'ect of I!. C.

in V.

(,'ariiar\ou Cliil) oiL'ani/ed, (illj

mauds of, li'.l'.l.

Carnarvon tci

(i(il -1.

acei:|>tanco of Ih

( 'M-\n
( 'arm

( 1

eel; inlliing, , (.i'J, .i.l

a UK,

d di.i

ISO

' (.'aroliiu

ii|>, III I.

('aritenter r>iir, luiiiiii;.; at, .Vi!(.

( .in ler.-

Inds

cli.iraci. ;r,

Caitier, Sir C. Iv act'o

Id ill r

xeilie

cove;

U X,l,

■J.M, 47.S;

Uail

wav, <!.»! ■_'.

c.xodiiH oi iioijuiation.

.TiS 1», ;(»;•_•; , C

II.

licitor u'cncral IJ. ( '

reseiiihlance to li.,ser Kiver
liclds, 4((ll: coal formaiioii, ."lOti.

K'^

hl-

4(l.>.

(•

Col,

recllloli

I'ic

•U at .S.

alitoiiiia miiuns a
ISO I.

t I'oit \'ict<

California Creek, mining on, 4;'

lOO.

Call »'

iiiai named

•_'(l

Calvert Island named, "il!.

Cameron liar, miiiii
4.'>1, 4(5 J, Hl."i, 4'.I7,

it, 411

4 1:

liaii, (iJ'_'; liupiudeiice ot, (i'JJ ;i

Sec, action

Casey liar, gold discovered, 441.

( 'ass^

Cassiar milliner district, location

s III >. .Itiaii all. Ill

■.4;{;

lid 1 \i itcnient, iSCil, .I."!'.!; mining,
"ill (II.

INDEX.

Cattle bronght into N. W., (»'2; at

iorta, 100-7; stealing, XU.
Cavunaugh, A., miner, n;uiderc(l by

J nils, 230.
Cayoosli, Ind. village, 4.")2.
C'ayusoa, Inda, cliaractfr, 50.
L'etlar Creek prospucteil, 487-8.
Centraa, Ciipt. Jolni, treats witli In-

(liaMH, liiHi.
Cliiuicellor sent from Knj,'. t(j report

on mines, '2'M.
<'lia])man party prospeeting, 1800,

.-.47.
Cliiuliomiedern, A., in Anderaon*!*

explor. expdt., l.")0.
CliarleH, Wm, manager Hudson's IJay

Co., I'acilic coaxt, '.iS'2.
"Cliutham.'JI. M. S., l."., IS, 21, '-'S.
('Iicadle, report on gold formation,

4S(i; at Cariboo mines, 4!).S.
Cliumanis district, coal discovered,

.")7'.>.
Cherry Creek, nuning on, a.SS.
Cliileat.s, Inds, .attack ■whites, 48.
Chilkotius, liids, altuck on pack-train,

428.
Chilliwack Kiver, coul discoverd on,

.■)71».
Chimsyans, Ind.s, at Victoria, 42S;

missionaries among, 71!'.
Chinese, Jml. regard for, 40; mining

in golddields, ;(20, .'WO, ;!4:{, MS, :{II8,

444, 4.">4-5, 458-0, 471, 487-8, .■)01,

.'.00, 511, 520, 540, 541, 551, 5.">:i,

.")0;{; at Victoria, 710-11.
Cldnese ipicslioii in Jl. C, 711-12.
Chinooks, laiiiiuage of, 51.
Cdisliolm Cruck, mining at, 482, 507.
CldtLciidon, X. If., l)il)li(ig., 750.
Christian, .)., opens mine, 4(iO.
Christy opposes il. J{. Co., 21:5.
('lallams, Inds, country of, o;!-4; at-
tend mass, !)!).
(Ilayoijuet ilarhor, N'aueouver winters

at, 15.
(;i;iyton, traile controversy, 207.
Clearwater Kiver, nuning on, o05.
Clinton, j)roMperity <if, 710.
"Clio," il. M. .S., 417; attacks Ind.

village, 429.
(Jloak Hay named, 5,
Coal discoveries, 180-06, 196-200,

16."»-80; formations, .Wo-S; license

to discover, 571-2; nunc regulations,

577-8; nnnister's rei»ort, 577; yield,

1884, 750.
Colnett, Capt. , ship of, seized by

■Spaniards, 8.
"Cohunbia," U. B. Co. ship, 8, 15,

120, 2.18.

"Colund.ia.'T. M. Co. steamer, 3.">9.
Colund>ia Kiver, failure to enter, 1792,

29; settlers' encroachments on, 81;

ndncs, 520-42; geology, 528.
Cohunbia and KiMitenai Kailway Co.

incorporated, G9i.
Colvillc Coty, gold discovered, 348;

mining, 520-1.
Connnercial Inlet, coal discovered,

198, 200.
"Coiinnodore," steamer, .SfiO, 361.
"Cormorant," ship, KU, 100,200.
( 'omox coal seam, area, 570.
Comox Harbor, coal mining at, 508,

578.
"Concepcion," ship, 29.
Confederation (irst mooted 1822, 595;

in efl'ect 1841, .'>95; l>. C. a province

of the donuiuon, 598-002.
Conklin (lulch, mining at, 482, 500,

508, 51.-).
Connolly, Nellie, marries Douglas,

289.
"Constance," frigate, 124, ISO.
Convict labor at N'ietoria, 4.Vi.
(Jook, (Japt. .lames, at Nootka 1778,

3; map, .'{; on I'acitic coast, 4.
Cooper, .las, trader on Fiaser Kiver,

255-0; settles at .Metcliosin, 2.")0-7;

at Ksipiimalt, 200; signs si'ttleis'

petition, 314; befoic connn. in Kng.

on II. 15. Co., 'Mi\; on gold dis-

coveiy, .S50, 354; of council, 281,

310, .320.
Cop;ds, Indian chief, 393.
Corbett, (1. ()., before comm. in Eng.

on 11. r.. Co., :wi.

Citrdoba Harbor, 10. See N'ictoria.

Corn\>all, * '. 1'"., cliief magistrate
1881 0, 704.

"Coitc's," steamei-, .3(il.

CJottonwood Creek, mining at, 515.

Coucey, ('apt. .Michaelde, at Ks(pn-
malt, 404.

Council, pi-ovisional, of V. I., 310.

Courtney. Capt., at V. I., 124.

Courts, Canadian, jurisdiction in l>.
A., 217.

Cowiehins, Inds, attend ma.ss, 95 99;
attiiek l''t Camosnn, 107-10; i)oug-
las' policy toward, 331; nussionaries
among, 719.

Cowitcheli Jiav, coal discovered, .567,
578.

"Cowlitz," H. IJ. Co. ship, 120.

Crease, 11. I*. 1'., of first legis. coun-
cil, 583; judge, 706.

Crest, W., gold di.scoverer, .')45.

Crickener, B., chapluiu, arrives V. I.,
407.

INDEX.

Cri(lj;e, view of Douglas, 299.
Croitoii, J. 1"'., lifforo coniiii. in Kiig.

on 11. B. Co., .-{SI.
Ciuiil a, fxploratioii of, 1774 9, ',i.
Cuniiin^liani Ci'cck, iiiininj,' at, 477, !

479. 4.S9-9I, 497, .'>(H).
('iiniiiiii,'liani, W'., exploration (,f, .")(MI.
( 'unislifwas Harljof, toal muini at, r)74.
" Ciiilt'W ," wloop, .'{til.
Ciitlir, L. A., lioj,' aH'air of S. .Iiiun

Ifsl. lh.-.9. (ill) 17.
(.'ypi'oss i.tlantl named, "JO.

"DaHlaliis," II. M. S., -.'S, '2'.), -274. |
Uaily I'M'ninj,' I'o.st, ncw.sjiiiper, 7<{9. '
l»aily anil Weekly (Jolonist, news-

jjiiper, 7;{9.
Daily anil Witikly Stanitanl, news-

l)apiT, 7.">9.
Dallas, A. (i., claims S. .Iiian fm- j

liiitisii »oil, (!l(i.
" Dameraii C'ovi!," sliip, ."{44.
"Daplme,"!!. M. S.. 1274, -JSI.
Datson, nnirdei' of, 4;i."i. ]

Davis, AVm, in Anderson's explor.

expdt., I.")9.
Davis (iuleli, minin;,' at. 4.S'2.
Dawson, (1. M., on Caril)oo mines,

47-', r)l.'{; on 15. C. coal, r.ti7, .")79:

railway survey expedt., ().")().
Day Bar, mining ;il, 4.->.">-7.
Deadwood l>ar, gold iliseovered at,

441.
Deans, (I., .settles at \' . I., "J.^S,
Deans, .la.s, lilog., IKi-l."); at V. I.,

•2.">.S-9.
Deaso Ijiike, mining at, .")<iO "J.
Deeatur Island, (i(Hi.
l)eeeptioii Day, Captiiin Meares at,

I77.S, (i.
Deei'ption Passage named, IS.
De ( ouiey Islands, eoal diseovered,

.■)(i7, ."i79.
De Courey, -Maj., niagistiate at S.

.hian, (ii.S.
Deep Sea lilnlV namnl, "JO.
De (Jroot, il., on gold di.scDverv, IMS,

;r»o, 4(i;{.

Demnan, Admiial, destroys Ind. \il-

lag',-, 42!).
Derliy, town, 4(Hi 7.
Desolation fSoniid named, '_*•").
Destruetiou Island, ('apt. .Meares at,

I7SS, (i.
"Devastation, " 11. M. S.. 4'_'!t.
Dewdney, K., surveys William Creek,

50-; on vootenai trail, r».W.

Deitz, W., miner, 483-4, 49.">; claim,

497.
Diller, miner, 480.
" Discovery," 11. M. S., 1.5, 1«, t-'d.
Discovery claim, mining at, 4SS. 494,

r.07, rios, r>-_»7, rm, h'M, :m, 5Ui.

Dixon, ({ec, visit of, 17S7, 5.

Dixon Strait named, 5.

Dog Creek, mining at, 4.')0.

Donnellan, 15. C, eidef of police, 402.

Douglas coal mine, work !it, 509;
compared with Newi'astit!, .')7"-'.

Douglas, ('apt., visit (jf, I7SS, (i.

Doit-las, David, death of, Ki.').

DonL;l,'is, .lames, hnilds foi-ts. (S, {)'>-
nil, "JilO; .piarrel with Me.Veill, (i!»-
71; explores Tako river, ()7-'i2;
visits CmI., 7"-', 291; surveys Hoyal
IJiiy, S7; report on ( 'amosini, SS-9;
on Msf|iiimaU, S9-9(l; character,
ll.'i, IIS, 120, 292 ."i, .SS7; chi. 1'
factor, 119, 2!>.'>; at Ft N'iineonver,
l.'U; at Ft N'ieloria, IS.'i; repr)rt on
coal discoNery, IS9-90; visits coal
nnnes, I '.19 -2(MJ; opposes lllansliaid,
2()ti, 27S; on eouinil, 2S1; on hoard
of manML'einent, 2s;!; uov. of \'. 1.,
2S:t, .•{|0 2S; hio-., 2s.-)-9(i; early
relations to .Mid.on_'idiii, 2S(i; edu-
cation, 2S.")-90; marriage, 2SS-!I;
rescues Lassertes, 291 2; personal
appearance, 292-;{, 2l)!t-:i()(); retires
from II. |{. Co., 29(1; death, 29li;
compared to .McLouirhlin, 29li, .'{(M)
9; calls lirst assemlily, .'{20; policy
to Inds, 299, ;{:!l-."); policy to set-
tlers, :;o.")-(); iid<lress to ,\ssend)ly,
.'^22-;!; rept on ;,'old discovery, '.Us
i)\, .■{.'>;{ 4, .'{70, 47.'>, .'i2l; mining
proclamations, ;i.""i2 ;i, 402 .'!; ]'<diry
to golil nailers, :{(il, :iM II, :{70-l.
.•{SI-2, .•(S(!-94, 400, 4(IS; (lov. of 15.
C, .'{Si, .'iS7, 401 ;<, 40.'); examines
mines, ;)90 t; witlidraws from II.
H. Co., 40.'{; adilress presented to,
r)S7; l;ni;,'hted, .■|S7; character as
gov. ."iSS 9; proclamation jigainst
inxasiiin of .S. .hian, 020; comnnm.
on S. .luau all'air, 021.

Doii.Lrias, Wni, ship of, seized l>y
S[)aniar(ls, S.

Downie, Maj., leport on nunes, .")14,
."i70, ."•7S.

Dr.'igon Kocks namecl, I,").
Draper, W. H., hefore comni. in Kng.
on II. U. ('.., .•!s|.

" Driver," ship. 2(;(;.

Dnll'erin, Karl, visit and speech, 0.')4,

(>(;(>-72.
DutHn, Kobt, explor. trip of 17S8, 0.

INDKX.

iHiiiluir tliiiin, yicM, ."lOS,

JJiiiicuii, Wtii, iiiisNiDiiary act. »n

ii)iii.'intrate, 4;U, 71'S.
Dmiii, J., hihlioj,'., KS8 !».
|)iiiisiiiiiir, Kol)t, coal discovery, 'u'2,
|)uii.simiir coal mine, .")(!'.( 7(*, ")7-.
|)iiiit/e, Capt. J. A., visit of, I'-M .'),

lay.

K.ijrie Bar, ;.">iil (liscoviToil at, 441.
KiiliU- l'a.si,'i;ist lail of ( '. 1". laid lit,

US7.
KVicy, 1. \., autioiis la S. .Iumm

tlouldc, isr)4, (i()7 !S; iiiui'der of.

iii;t.

Ivl^'ar, .lan'cs I)., autioiu-i in Canadian
I'ac. Kail'.vay aliiiir, (!.")() -S,

KiliiL'utiuii, !lHr(.V,S4, 7;!i S.

i'Msvaids, J. I']., discovcr.s ;,'()Id, 4S0.

Kljiin, i,oril, i;oiiiijlaint.s a;^aiiist il. I>.
Co., lM'_'; iiivc.sli.;ati'.s, •JJi'J.

Kli«,v, f.\i)dt. of I7!)|, 11 14; niai., !•_•.

Klisa i!ay. See I'eddcr Uay. I

Mlleiil)Oi(n'.^'!i peiiiii-iiila named, I'.ll.j

J'lllice, K., I\l. P., on enloniziilion, 'MS;
on V. I. grant, '2'.\0; on cliaiaeter I
II. li. Co., .'{78; ln'foie connn. in |
Kng. on II. li. Co., .TSl. I

JOimoie ( iuleli, ndniiig at, ."..'>4.

Jhnery, 11 Iv, at Naiiaimo, |n7I, .'>7-. |
/ Knioiy ll.ir, ndniiig at, 4 Hi, ilil, |(i."). j

lOhvyn, 'i'liomas, ju.stii e of tlie peaet'
at J.iiioet, 4l!i.

" Kngland,'' sliiii, ll'."). '2~,'.',.

l']nglanil olleis reward for discovery
of N. W. iia>i.sage, ;{-4; .siiid.s eomm.
to Wa.s'i. to negotiate treaty l!i«l,

ij;i

lelield lialli.

■Ad

il7

discovery at,

Fansliawe, Capt., attaek.t Tndiuns,
•-'74 .->.

Karri.s, Mieliael, .Amer. settler on S.
■hiun, (il7.

" Katintltu'oy," brig, (ilO.

" Kelice,'' sidp, ."i, H.

" Fenis," shi]., -Jit.

I'Y'vy Creek, ndning on, .'10.

I"'ery, .iLdes, on Carilioo mines, .")I4.

Ferguson liar, locality, 4ij.")-(l; min-
ing at, 4."i7.

Fidalgo, S., (apt. of tlic " I'rin.tesa."
•JO.

I'"it'e l'ass;ige namitl, •_'(!.

Fittv-loiir Forty liai', golil discovered,
111.

Finance, rexeniie, iind expeniiitMic,
IS(i;{, r>,S4; |SI»4, .V.H) I; I.S70, (i(W.

Finiay, .las, i'\ploi-es Finlay Uiver,

Finlay Uiver, nninng on, '>'M), "(4 ().").*>.

Finlayson, li., witli Dongl.is, 71, 10(1;
conid at Ft Cunio.sun, lOl l.'i, I IS-
.•{•_';l.il.liog., l();{-4; ehaiactei', lOt ■
(i, I."i7; defends Ft Camosiin, lO.S-
10; at Ft Victoria, Isl; discovers
coal, ISS; chief aieount.int, '-'.S'J-.'l;
signs sittleis' petition, .•{14; mem.
of eonneil, .■>'J(); on gold diseoviiy,
:i4S !», .TiO (;(); trea.s'urer II. I?. Co.,
;i.")'.l-tiO; eiiief factor, 'Mi'2; at unnes,
.-)!(), .-.1:7.

"Fis-ai(l,"ship, l-J-l-5.

Fislierii , valui^ and e\tent, 740-8.

Fislieivalc, rise, 1^04, ."rj;{-4; famine,
!:*(;."), .VJ4; tiniled down l>S(;(i, ."i-_Vi.

•it/Lreral(

■■2-S> (I

Fit

/huuii .Sound iKinii

it of v. I.

'20

luit, Noel, Amer. settle)- on .'^. .hian,

017.
" Fntcr))rise," steamer, .'{04, is~.
l-a-ic.sson .Mining Co., yield, 41(8, 500;

nieiulieiv

Mrniatin''er at l*'t Kamk;

'1'

l.i.-

l'jiji|utmalt li.irlioi', original name, 10;

iji'iption.

Dounl;

i.s exannnes,

Fit/.william, C. \\ . W., hel'ore eomm.

in Fug. on II. I!. Ci)., :{.SI.
Fit/.william, ivirl, on .settlement \'. 1.,

•J(W.
Flattery Cape n.imed, -f.
Fleming, San<lford, of the Pac. Jlail-

way construction i 'o., 0.j.'}.

Forl»i

l>r.

on nnnes, ,>

<':i go
i:i, .-)7I.

Id di:

'•y.

SO !KI; society at, 714.

'.siiuima

1 X,

niaimo railw

contiact for const luif ion, OICJ

>y.

Kthol

m, uov. o

f Sitka, OS, L>()7

kdle.l l.y Indians, .'{(iS.

Kll

|{. C

on gold discovery.

x)ieiimeiit,' s

hip, •JO

Forhes, ('liarles, ]irizc essay by,
I'ort Alluit. See i*'t Caniosun.
h'ort Alexander, location, 57.

40.'^;

700.

Fort
1'

location, .")7-8.

ort r>ellinL;han

1 estahlibhed, (il7.

F'ort Caniosun founded, !C2 -101 ; pur-

)f. !K(; cattle at, 100-

at-

Kxiiorts, list and value, ISS4, 7">l
E.xpresd liar, gold diseovereil, 4^ I.

tacked liy liids, 107-10; description,

111-10:

name change

IIS.

Fort (Jolville, removal of, 184.

INUKX.

781

Tort Connolly l)iiilt, '2W.

I'ort Uuliunco I'lectrd IT!*-. !•'•.

Kurt K(liii()ht(jii, niiiiiiiL; at, ^)'2Ck

l''ort Fni.si r, location, .'>'.

l''ort <!f(jif,"'') location, r»7.

l-'oit llop'j fstiiMi^iiiiMl, 17<>; iniiMjr-

tancf, .■{!»:{.
!''irt Kuiiiloops, location, 1.'14, l.'{(!;

(.■oMiiiiaiiiliis ot, I'M ."i; 'l"o(l .'it, l;>4-

r»(>; ln>ls liacliiiL? at, i;fti; MiualiWii /

conHpiiacy, l.'Urili.
I'oi't Lanjilcy. nitiiation, .V.t; tU--

stroyeil, 07; an a trailing jiost, S'J.
I'liit Md.coil, loratioii, ,"i7.
l'"oit McLoii^'liliii, location, ."(!l; ubun-

i\nu>:\, !i;{, 100.

I 'oil Ni-ii|nally, ngric. at, 02.

I'oi t Uii|r.Tt i'stul)lisli»Mt, li»;{-4; fco-

ciily at, l'.)4-."i; coal mining, l!K{-(i.
I"( It St James, lor;ilion, ."iT-S.
l''oi' SiniiJ.son, situation, .'I'.l.
I'oi't Tako esl.'ilili-ilicil, -IS; location,

:>'.); Iiiiilt, 7-'; alandoncil, 'Xi, 100.
I'oi't 'riicjmp.soii. ."^1 c I't Kaml<io|i.-i.
I'(ji't Vancouver, ligric. at, OJ-.'!; li-

lirary at, ti;(.
I'ort Victoria, . -^ a post, IIO-L'O, i;!0;

lio.spitality at, I'Jl .'); iigric. iil, J'_'7-

!), 131; as a ulialing station, I'JS;

ri.sing importance, l'_' , \'M); town

lai'l out, 'S>S. See J'ort Camosiui.
l''ort Vale cstalilislicd, 17l-<i.

I'oi'tsof 15. v., r<:i-',-2, i;!i».

l''ortH, catalogue of, 7-1 ">•!.
l''oits, nortlurn, liiapof, l',):{.
'• I'orty-Xinc," .slcanur, r)."!:i-4.
i'orty-niiiu Creek, niiiiini; at, in 1807.

rj.'io,

Foster lJ;ir, mining at, 4'>\.
Fou'iiictt, Fatiicr, mi -sinnnry, ~\S.
l"'oiil\vcatli(;r lllull'niimcil, 1(1.
I'oiilweatlier Ca|ie n.'inied, 4.
Fountain, the, mining at, 440, 4.")l-

5, 4r.l, 4.S-2.
Koy, M., miner, r)4G.
Foy, r., miner, Ti.'u

l''r

isef, A

LS70, o.

pros pec

ts JS'ulLou Uive

]''ra.'!er, 1)., on Carilioo miiu
on gold discovery, 4.S('>, 4'.rJ.
l''ru.ser, I'aul, at Umpi

4S':

i-_'ii

Friiser liiver, iliseoveiy of, 24; Sir <i.
iSimjison descends, l.">'.); eliaractt'r
of, llil; gold discovered, 'A'<'.\ A;
excitement begin^i. ;}."),'i-(i; mining
on, 4:{S, 401, 4(j.s-71; cliaraeter of
mines,42!t 40;asceniledl)yMte,nners,
444; overlanil routes to, 44.")-7, 410-
.■)0; kinds ot gold in, 4I)'J, 40.')-0;
rusli to, 400-8, 5-'--'; yield, 408-71;

coal discovered, ."i77, •"'"!•; liridgo

across, (ISO.
Fra.ser Rixcr i{ail\v:iv ( 'o. incorpo-

lateil, OKI.
I'laser, .Simon, bililiog., 702. li*^
l'"rederick Arm, .Spaiiisli name for, 20.
I''ree Press, iiewspiijier, 7'i!'.
I'leezv, Ind. cliief, cliaraeter, .'>l.
Frem'li ii.ir, mining at. 111, III. I.M,

4.".:t.

Freneli (,',in:idia:is ;is m ttlers, .'ill, (;2,

2 IS.
I''rineli Creek mines dlscoNCled, ."iJJl ,

\ iiid, .">!!2; lioiided, ."i;!!; .lecline,
■ V).
I'ririiiUy Co\i', .Meares erects Ilouso

at, in I7>>s, ,"i.
I''ry, .1., director \'. (,'oal Co., 'M).
I'lica Sir.iit n.'inied, (!.
I'ur-tia'lers, language, ol-.": in 1'.

('., ."i.'i 72; dress, .Vl-."); .•issimilation

witli ii.itives, ,-i4-.-i, 120 :iO, 210;

horse lirigaile of, ."■!); hospitality,

120; as colonizers, 221, 217; life of,

28S.

Caliano, C.'jpt., expedt. of 17l>2, 2i)-

8; ma]i of, 2.'{,
( J.'imliling in C.irihoo, ijis.
"(iiinges," II. M. S., 401, 021.
(I.'udiier, (J. C., U. S. eommi.s doner

ill .S. .Iiian tronlile, 010.
(leni'ge, di'y-diggiiigs, l<ic:ilioii, 101;

iiiiidie/ at, 40'i.
"(;,oi'giana,"ship, 341, .'tOl.

< lermanscMi Creek, miniie.', .V)], .").3.

< •erniaiisen, .las, gold discuverir lS70,

.-..■) 1.
• ienuaiiy, .S. .Iiiau (|iiestion referri-il

to eiiini Till' of, O.'iS-O.
"(Jcitrii. lis, "slop, 20.
(JiMis, I!., captured liv Iiids, 127.
(iilchrist, tiial fur murdir, l.".2-.">.
(iladstone, W. Iv, ii])l)o.sc.s 11. n. Co.,

212, 214, 2:!:{, :i7o.

(lo!d

(ioM ili

commissioner, iio

scovei'y,

1'
15. C, IS.-,

jwers, 421.

ill

.'., 4:!8-02; on the Fi'aser Hive

4, 4;!S; efTect

A\'i

Or., .•{.■.(;; elVect on Cal,, :r»7-'i'2, .'172
;>; ellect on 15. ('., '.i~ \ ,">; ell'ect on
fur trade, .T)2; on Iiids, .-{02; in Car-
ilioo .'(uintry, 472-01; in .North,
."r20 (11.

tiohl lields act, the, provisions 420 2

"(ioi.l-llnntei'," ship, .'{Ol.

( ioldsmitii, S., miner, .■i4(i, .")."'(7.

(Jouuh, Lieut, Jlill IJar tnjuble, 411.

79Z

IXDEX.

(JcKxl, Rev. J. B., jicct of Ft Hoj)e,

170; \iH)H. and bibliog., 717-1^.
(i(xi(l, ilejiy liiiiiisttr ut' iiiiues on 13. C.

gold yield, 4tiS-!».
(Jood-as Any Co. claim, vield, .m;!.
<ioodyeur, \V. A., on Mciiie Diablo

I'oal, .*>(»(}.
(iDo.ii: L'lfek, iiiininir on, -!.->:.'.
iiordoii, La[it., H. -M. S. ••Anicricji,"

exaiiiiiic:4 \. \V. coast, 121-4.
(ior<loii,Cai)t., Il.il. S. '•Cormorant,"

at \ iotoria, 1:J4; examine.i coal, I'.IO.
<ii-aliam, C.ipt., attiicks Indiuuti,

di'atii, :UHi-7.
Ciaiit.'Capt., Imild.s road, 447.
(Irant, C. .M., l.il.liog., 7<>-'.
(iraiit, .Toliii, on i-oiwu'il \'. 1., ;(-!J.
<lrant, I!., justice, 'it>4.
(inint, W . C., .sottli.sat Soke lidi t,

•J.');i-."i; Ijiblio;.'., '2'>',>.
Cray, Cunt., visit of, 17i>S, li; ut-

tiicked l)y Inil.s, vS; meets N'ancou-

VlT, 1.1.
(iiay, .1. ilamiltoii, jiid;.'e l!SSO, 70(i.
(iray HarlHH- Kurveyid, -J.
(■leLfoiy, Cape, named, 4.
(ilev, Karl, attituilc to 11. 15. Co.,

•j6.(, -jus, :!:2>S, :iii;> .".; on iri-intof \'.

].. "Jl.'); api>oints gov., •Jii.'}-.').
(Jiiliin, C. J., aetion.s in S. Juan

troillile 1>S.")4, lil»7-S.
( H-illilli elM-m, yield, ."'•Jtj.
(iroiise Creek, mining on, 480, 4y;J-4,

l.roiiso Ci'eek Flnmo Co., (iroii.se

Cr.'uk War, 42;i.
(aou.su Creek war, the, conte.st;int.s,

cause. 4'Jl); rusnlt, 4:iO.
(iuieliiyi Creek, coal discovered, ii'U.
"(inilietta," «ohr, .•'.lil.
(inlf (it° (ieorgi.'i named, IS.
Ciui CruL'k, golil discovered, 4.">4.

Tfairgarct, J. .M., Anier. settler on

•S. ,hian, tils.
Ihiidaiis, liiils, luMtility of, 4'J7.
llalf-liriM'd claim, yielil, .");{."Mi.
Halilmrton, J., dir. V. Coal Co., .".(it).
Haller, Maj. O. <i., establiuhes i>ost

at I'ort 'I'ownsend, (il.'{,
Hanlcy. W. O., of lii-st legis. council,

r>S3.
Han ley, W. T., col. of customs, 40."),

417.
Hang IMteh completed, r>'Irf.
Hanna, ('apt. .1., trade with natives,

17SG, 4 ."i; Imydi'- , named l>y, I'ti.

Hani Curry Co. claim, yield, 498.

Harewoijd coal mine, jieKl, 573,
.177.

Harney, (icn., actions in S. .Tuan
affair, GI7; connnun. on, 020-1; re-
ealle(l, 0.'{2; tjuarrcl with ( lun. Scott,

C3:{-.").

Ilaro, fionMiloM de, northern c.xpeilt.

17SS, .'i; at NootUa, S.
Ilaro Strait named, 10; sui'voyecl

17!ll, I.!- 1 4.
" llariiooner," sliip, 'dXi, 2.17.
Harvey Creek, mining at, 479, 489-

!H), ."il.-).
Haskell liar, mining at, 4.m, 4.">7.
Ilawes, aids Hudson's Bay Co., 214.
llajnes, J. ('., judge', i'Ao; gohl

commr, .')'-4
1 la/el I'liiiit niuned, l(i.
Ila/.lilt, \V. ('., gold discoverer, '.U.'.
Ilecetu, exploration of 1774 II, ',i.
Hector, .las, on gold-tield formation,

lliO; -Ml Niui'.inio co.il, .")7I.
llelnK'keti, (I..S.,at fort Uiipcrt, 21;)-

li; i)ers()na» appearance, "JUi; magis-
trate, I'll 5, 271, 27.'); as a doctor,

24."i; speaker lii.st asscmlily, ;>24,

.•127.
"Herald," sur> eying ship, 124-.").
Herd, David, hefore eoiiim. in Kug.

on II. li. Co., ;!^l.
Heron ('iaim, yield of, -!'.).'{-4.
Iliiks, , eonnnr for crown lauds,

Jl).-..
lliggin.s, .1. K., Anier. soitlur on S.

Juan, ()I7.
High Low Jack claim, yield, oOO.
Hill ISar, govt at, .■>U2-;); livalry with

Vale, 4US>-I4; miiiiiii: iit, 411, 441!,

4()."); town laiil out, 441.
Hill, liisliop, refiorts gold discovery,

•..■.;{.

Hippa Island named, .").

lli\on, miner on ('aiion Creek, illO.

Dlxson Creik, mining on, i)IO.

Hog affair ot the s! ,luan Isl. IS.l!).

(ill).
Hollirook, H., of first iegi-;. council,

.is:!.

Homer, .loshuj' A. I!., of lirst h'gis,

i-ouneil, .iN.'t.
Home Sound, coal discovered, 201.
1 lorn fray (Jhannel, Spanish name lor,

2.1.
Hoixl Canni named, 10,
'• Hope," brig, 29.
Hope, town surveyed, 400; laid out,

402; mining in dist, 442, 444, 404,

401), 471.
" Horeasitas,' selir, II.

INDEX.

788

Honiby, Capt., at Esquiiiuvlt, 404;
urges joint ouuupatiou uf >S. Juan,
020; interview witli Col Casey,
623-4.

Horso ]Seef ]kir, mining tit, 4.'>3.

llorselly, the, mining on, 4S(»-7; re-
resenililaneo to Culitoruia gold-
lields, 487.

Ilovey tliggings, minin<^'at, 405.

Howe iSouiitl nuiiicii, 20.

Howell, R., gold •li.-se<iveier, d,")3.

Hul)l)8, 0. 11., Amor, settler on S.
•luiin, 017.

JLul)l)M, I'aiil K., Amer. i>ettler on S.
Juan, 017.

lliulsiju J5ar, gold (iisoovered, 441,
4i;i, 444.

Jluilson's IJjiy I'o., tieatmentof Inds,
44-.") 1, 207, 2S(', .TU-.-), :{78, ;i:)l;
drive oppositiiiii from cua.-t, .".!) Ill);
policy to uettleri, 04, 81, 204 ."»,
2;!."), 246; rt'lat^jii to JUi.^8. ..Vmi'r.
Co., 01, OS !l, I2S, 17S-0; t' ara.rUr
of otlicers. 81, i20, 210, 372; illect
on, ot' Cul. gold discovery, ISO I;
policy, 20.i-7, 210-11, :i8l, :i7'.>; :\.s
eoloiuxerH, 211, 22.{, 'SM, 2."iO-2.
2(iO-l; claim ti> Iluinit. Land, 211;
opiiositioii to, 212-17, 2;;2 4, 2">l 2,
201, 313-14, ',iM>; i\'\\r\\;\[ ot cliar-
ters, 217-1'.', 3li>; coloiiiAti V. J .
223-.'{7, 31.'{; cuiisc.-i cvf lailnre, 337
40, 2ol-2, 3ll-i;(, :.7'./; ride in V.
1., 2.J4-7; relation to (iov. lila'i-
duml, 20S-72, 270 80; ii'oni.i)!!^
ou V, 1., 312; ellect on, of gnl.l di.s-
eovery, 34l-.")4, 3!).'{, -ii'ti; gnld ex-
port, 3")1, .3.")3; attitude to miners,
300-1, 371-2, 380; decline of power,
370-87; discusNion on charter, 370-
81; union with N. W. Co., 377;
station.s, liSll, 38."); I'e.strictiona on
ti'ade, 4oV; Iniis discover gold and
coal, .">4.">, o(i!); eoal-iiiiniiig, i'M);
take |)o>M!!<.sion of .'-'. .luan, Oi(7.

lliinx', .1., opposes 11. i>. Co., 2.'>2-3;
explores Li^lilnnig Creek, .")00,

Hunt, Cajit., la eomd of Annr. troo[)8
at S. .luan, (i;!(».

Ifurliy, killed liy Indians, 308.

"liurou," brig, 313-4.

Idaho Terr., coiiligu'ation, .31); climate,

42.
"Imperial Kagle," ship, r».
Im|>orts, value 1884, 7")l.
"Inuouataut," ship, 124.

Indian!), early trade with, 4-.~); attack
•Meares' pai'ty, 1788, 0; under H.
IJ. Co. rule, 44-51, 207, 2.35 0, 274 -
5, 280, .331-."., 3!»l; hanged, 40, 2.30,
324, 420; persecutions of, 40, 274
5, 425-7; rcgiird for Chinese and
negroes, 40; intlueneo of eivili/.;ition
on, .")4-5; writers on, 75; settle X.
W. terr., 70 7; hostility of, 108-
10, 173, 104, 230. .331, .305-8, 301-5,
427-8, 434, 014; as farmers, 127;
blavery among, 1.32; small-j)OX
among, 140; liipior trade witii, 207,
271, 280; character, 2S8 0, 420,
431-2; as gold disco\erers, 315, 348,
351, .V)3,' 302-3, 545; treaty with
ndners, :>ll(! 0; law iimong, 420; at-
tack on ships, 427, 420; lh)ck to
Victoria, 42n; discover coal to II.
15. Co., .")tiS-0; missionaries among,
71.'-? 10; govt tr.atni.'nt, 710-27.

Inland Sentinel, m wsijapei-, 730.

■' Iphi ;eiiia." ship, 0; sii/.ed hy Span-
iard.- 17S0, 8.

Irwin, \'. II., ilirectoi' \'. Coal Co.,
500.

Ishi.-it M'. Alex., before coiiini. in Eng.
or. II. I!. Co., 3SI.

Isli.'rxNood, l'>. J''., nil niei'its of castem
>,nd webtern coals, 575.

.lack iif ( 'lubs Creek, liP.ngiug 8t, 4.30;

mhiing on, -.*S2, ."»1.>.
JauiicHon, A. .1., lead.s prospecting

expedt., 4;>4.
.rer\is Caii.il named, 20.
.loiiiisiiii, I'ctei', .\mt!r. settler on .S.

luan, til 7.
.loiinsKii, Kcveidy, instructions to, im

S. .luan iiilestii)U, ti.3.").
.Idhnstoni'. .lami's, in \'aneouvcr .->

e\pcilt., 25.
.loiinstone ."^trait, Spaiii-.li mime for.

20.
•lones, ('apt., mreting with hostih'

liids 18.50, 014.
.^ord.^n and Abbott claim, yield, 500.
Jndiciarv, admin, of justice, 410-.'t7;
dan for, 420.

plan I
"Julia,

" steamer, 022.

Kamloop Like iiros|M)cted, 458-0.
Kamloops, gold discovered at, 348;
growth of, 458.

INDKX.

Kaniloopy, Iiiil», cliaractcr, I'M.
]viiiiaku8 at Furt Cuinuciun, I'iVi 130,

1 !)•_'.
ICaiic, iiiintT, 54S-0.
Kane, I'., aitist, in nortli-wcst 1846,

i;)i--2.

Kaitfrniau, .!., ii.'JT.
Ktithlt-y, niiiK r, 4S3-), 4SG.
Iviitliltv Creek, mining on, 486, 489-

!»0, .".15.
IveUctt, Capt. ] [., surveys I'uca Strait,

1 •_'.-).
Keinliiek, Cajpt., visit of, 1788-0, 8.
Ivoiuiedv-, C'a[it., guv. at V. 1. 1804,

Keiiiiuily, J J''., mem. of firat as-

Kinil.ly, .-{Jl. :{J7.
Kerna','iiaii, Wui, l.efore conim. in

Kngiaiwlon J I. 1'.. Cc, SSI.
l-'iiij;, imii'iltT liy, 401.
Kiii'^, Uii lianl, jieforo comiii. in Kiii^.

on H. '<. Co., ."Wl.
" Kin^'lislier," scln-, |ihindereil by

Inds, --M!).
" Kin;,' (i'DrLTo," sliip, .").
Jvinj^ (iii)i;,'e Soiui'l nameil, 4.
Kin^j < !e((r;j;e's SiMind Co., fornieil for

liir-lra<liiig, IT^^'i, <").
KiiUyville started, ri;!;*.
Kni^lit (Janal liaineil, '2ii,
Kootenai niin'~', i")"-'!-!!, i't'.V2; in.icces-

isihility «jf, .'>2'2; roads to, ,~t'2'.\.
Ivooteiiais, Inds, eliaraetiT of, 00, l.'ili;

niissionaiiis among, 718.
"Kossuth," Bclir, 3l)l.

" J^abonchero," steamer, 533.

]ial)oneherc, dcBoateli to Dongl.'ia, .T17;

instructiuni to eol. i;ovt, i!i8-"J0;

I'll Jl. I>. Co. cliartcr, ."{77-8.
Laeoiirse, 'J'., ill A!i<lel>,un'H e\|)cdt.,

l.V.t.
Licy, Lt, massacres Imls, '2~r>.
1.1^ i'leiirCo. elaini, J ield, 5ii2,
" I i.Ljnmge," !<iiii), 4.S.

ruling, , eaiituied liy Tiidsi, ■i'2'i.

I.aird Jviver, mining on, ."i(iO _',

Lai;,-, Hill Farm, *Jlil.

'jlketoMi: trado nt, .^(i.'l— I.

Lane ill l.ortli-west. 111!.

l.anunevin, iniiiiste>' ot jmldio works,

:>(r2, ."((H; (III g. Id yield, .'i.'.7.
l^uigford, K. K., Hettleral V. 1., •J.")0,

'J(il; farm of, L'.'il; mem. of tiist un-

H.!mbiy, :c.M, :ir>.

Langley, site surveyed, 400; as mining
locality, 444; descrij'tion of, 7 Hi.

iji Perouse, on N. W. coast 1786, .?.

Lasscrtes, accident to, 2!)l-'2.

Last Clianco Creek, mining on, 482,

507, r)17.
Lawrence, A., U. S. miniater, 207.
Lawrence Island, Sj)aiiisii name for,

21.
I-ay, Koc'tum, Indian eiiief, HO."?.
Leeeli, 1'. J., discovers coal, .")(i8,
Lefoy, J. H., before coiiuu. in Eng.

on H. n. Co., .SSI.
Legislative c(mncil, organized 180.*?,

58:i.
Legislature, jirocccdinga of 1872-80,

7(r..
Lewis, H. I!., voyage 18ril, 19,5; bicg.

and bib'.iog., 7."'8.
Lewis, 1*. li., v.itli overland party,

;iOS, 4S2.
Liard Kiver, mining on, oO.'?.
Library iiinong fiir-tra<lers, 0.3.
Lightning Co., work, 507; yield, 508.
J^iiglitniiig Creek jirosipected, 4S0 '_';

rush to, 4'.Mi; history, 500; mining

at, 50(i, .50.S, 5i;{, 515; coal i!is-

eovereil, 570.
lyilloi't IMver, mining at, 452, 471.
Lincoln, i'larl of, opiioscs Hudson's

I'.ay Co., 2i:?, '2:V2--A.
"Li\"e Yankee," bark, .'501.
Lolo, .1. 15., Ind. chief, character,

1 10 I ; reveals conspi racy, J4I-5.
Loniloii, Allan's attinipt to raise loan

in, (io.'i; syndicate funned to build

railway, ti7S.
FiOiie/ Lsland, 000.
Lor<l, .1. K,, bii^liog., 7''>0.
'• Lord Westrni," .sjiip, wroekod, 2.54.
(jost Creel';, iiiiniiii,' on, 551, ,551, 55S.
Lo(vhe(! Creek, mining on, 4S2, 400,

5(t0, 515.
Lyon>, Loll], Lug. ininiHiter nt Wash.,

025; j'etioiis in .S. .hum allair, 025-

7; propciscH abitratidii, (!,'!5.
Lyttoii (listiiet, milling at, 447, 110,

"4.50, 401, ICO, 471.
Lyttoii, Sir C. U., oii gohl discovery

n.c, :!70.

Macdonald, A., map of N. ^\'., Tm.
Maedon.ihl, Win. I., biog., 758-9.
.Mailie on t'arilioo mines, 40.-'.
Maeoim, I'rolessor, in railw ly sur-
vey expedt., 0.50.
" Madonna," bark, .'101.
Mainland (iuardian, newspaper, 739.
.Mamoosie mine, coal yield, 21)0.
.Manitoba created, 3Ho,

INDEX.

7sr.

Mii on, D., ill Anderson's cxpedt.,
1 7 J ; justice, '2(54.

mining on, 5ol, 553,

River,

siir-

7.TJ.

Mau! on

5i' j.

Manufactures of tuiTitury, 603, 748-9.

Maps, Cunio»un and vicinity, 80;
Shushwap country, 137; Anderson's
routes, 162; Yale and Hope, 177;
northeni forts, 192; south end of
Vancouver Island, 259; the lower
mining region, 442; the upper gold
dists, 459; Cook's 1788, 3; Meares',
7; Quimper's, 9; Elisa's, 12, Van-
couver's No. 1, 17; Vancouver's No.
2, 19; Galliano's, 23; Vancouver's
No. 3, 27; Cariboo country, 474;
An-liipclago de Uaro, GOG; Canadian
Pacific, 681.

Maquinna, Ind. chief, 28,

" Maria," steamer, ,S64.

Maria Bar, gold discovered, 440.

Mariavillo established, 443; mining
at, 444.

Marriiwstonc Point named, 16.

" Martin," stwuner, 532.

Martin, R. M., on iwlicy H. B. Co.,
210-1 1 ; on grant of V. I., 221, 224;
bibliog., 221.

Martinez, northern expedt. 1788, 3.

Mary's Peak nained, 76.

Mason, Sec, visits Victoria, 352.

"Massachusetts," steamer, 017, 619,
624, 627.

Maury, Lieut, on geography N. \V.
coast, 374.

Maynard, Joscpii, l)efore comni. in
Kng. on H. H. Co., 381.

Mayne, Limit, Hill Ikir trouble, 411-
13; on tlie Fraser, 445; on gold dis-
covery, 463; on coal discovery, 569,
570.

McArthur Creek, mining on, 505, 515.

McCalluni Creek, mining on, 482.

McCauly, Samuel, Anier. settler on,
>S. Juan, <il7.
cClelliin,<:.B.,di8COvei-8gold,. 147-8.

McCroiglit, .John F., judge 18,S0, 70().

McCuUoch Cri-ek, mines discovereil,
531; mining at, .Wi, 53P.

McDame Creek, mining on, 5(i2-3.

McDonald, mining ou Fraser River,
kills partner, 3.'>0-l.

McDonald, gol.l-hunter, 479, 483, 492;
character, 483-4.

McDonalil, Alex., Amer. settler on S.
Juan, 617.

McDonalil, Angus, clerk at Ft Col-
villo, 349, ,355; chief trader, savt
Inds. 36S; at Ft Siiepherd, 38:>:
prosjHjiting expedt., 521.
IliHT. Dan. OoL. no

McEwen, gold discoverer, 344.

McUofi'ey dry-diggings, mining at,
451, 4G4-5.

McGowan, Ned, Hill Bar trouble, 408,
410, 412-14; altercation with Phifer,
414.

McCiraugh, gold <li8coverer, 527.

McUuili 8 claim, yield, 527.

Mcintosh, at Fort McLeod, 58.

McKay, Charles, Amer. settler on S.
Juan, 617.

McKay, J. H., Amer. settler ou H.
Juan, 617.

McKay, J. W., examines N. W.
coast, 126-7; visits Cal., 127; chief
factor, 178-80; outwits Sliemelin,
179; discovers coal, 196 9; char-
acter, 197; builds Ft Nanaimo, 199;
explores V. I., 255; mem. of first
assembly, 325, 327; with Douglan
among Inds, 3.33; discovers gold,
343; reports discovery, 460.

McKcnzie, F„ in charge of McLeod
Lake station, 385.

McKenzie, Geo.', at V. 1., 251.

McKenzie, Mrs, at V. I., 2.')0.

McKey, treatment of by Inds in
1786, 5.

McKinlay, A., among Inds, 131; jus-
tice, 264,

McLean, chief trader at Kaudoops,
348-9, 3.VJ, 3.-)4.

Meljcan, J., gold disco vei*er, 347.

McLeod, John, at Ft KaiidiKjp, \',\ii.

McLeod, Malcolm, view of Douglas,
299.

Mclaughlin, David, leads overliLiid
party, 3()7-8.

McLaughlin, James, with overland
party, 367.

McLaughlin Island, Spanish namu
for, 21.

McLoughlin, John, idea of Astoria an
a post, 7S; retires from II. B. Co.,
87, 119, 126, 29;»-4; as chief factor,
282; mem. of board of management,
283; trains Douglas, 28.V6; char-
acter, 296, 300-9; personal appeiu-
ance, 300; policy to settlers, 297,
304 5; before coinm. in Kng. ou U.
B. Co., 381.

McLoughlin, John, .Ir, at Stikeeii
River, lO.S- asiiassinatiou, 103.

McMuUin, Go>.., visits Victoria, .3.V2;
visits Douglas rel. to S. Juan
trouble, 614.

McNeill, Capt. W.. quarrel with
Douglas, 09 71; explores V. L, 84;
estJillishes Ft HiiiH.rt, I ',12 1; at
Beaver Harlior, 271.

786

INDKX.

McTavish, Dugald, cliief factor, '2H3,
'S'lH, :i8'2, 384; {Mirsouul appearaiiue,
38:(.
Meares, C'apl., \isit of, m 1788, .VS;

inai> uf, 7.
"Mfxicauo," hchr, 20.

Miles, Jolin, licforc comni. in Kiig.
oil H. li. Co., 381.

Milton, Viscouut, ou golil-lield forma-
tion, -Kilj, 498.

Minuhuiiu vluiiii, yiukl, o04.

Mines, flciii'city of (n-ovixion!) at, 303;
govt, 393, 421 2; elentuiits govorn-
llig, ."ill- 12; gold yield, ril4, ulii;
population at, ."iM-lo; li.st of, 51.");
iiUHsioiiarica at, olO; M'oinea at, 5IU;
on C'okiinbia, r>"_'0-4"_'; Kootenai, 622 -
!); report of ininiHter 1884, 74!l-."0.

Mining on Frasei Kiver, 438, 442;
uame of loealitic8, 441, 448, 4.") I,
4."m; sluice nietliod, 443; dry-dig-
gings, 401, 4(14; in Cariboo, 472-
.)19; jdll, 512; underground, .j17.

Milling license, .Stil, 370, 388, 300-),
401, 421.

Mink (iiileli, iniuing on, .'>04.

Missionaries on tlie N. ^V. coast, 57;
at mines, 51!).

Mission (.'reek, mining on, 540.

Mitciiell liarlior, gold-hunters in,
340-7.

Molieily Creek, mining on, 400, .">.'{8.

Moberly, \V., jit tiie fouutaiiis, 4.">5;
iliscovers mine, 400.

".Modesk," h. M. S., 151.

Moliut, gold discoverer, Hob.

Mollat claim, yield, 4i)S.

MoH'it Kiver, gold discovered, 556.

Moiitigny, K., in Anderson's o.xplor.
expedt., I.V,).

Moody, K. C. , colonial ollicer W. C,
407-8; settles Hill iJjir troul)les,
411-13, .velects site for capital, 414-
15; lugins .New Westminster, 410;
lieutgov., 417.

Moore, \Vin, ;u-rest of, O.'IO.

Mooyie Kivi r, mining at, .527.

Moresliy isl., i)liysical description, .34;
coal si'ani. 574.

Moriiioii lijii, mining at, 451-2, 455.

Mo.sipiito Creek, mining ou, 441, MH,
515.

Mountain system of N.W. coast, 33-40.

Mount llaker nituied, 10.

Mount Itainer iiaiiied, Ift.

Mount St. Helens naineil, 29.

Mount .Stepiieus named, 20.

Miiir, A., at Victoria lh.i3, 259-<}0.

Muir, .lohn, eoal-niiniiig, ht.'^-8; mem.
of tir'it assembly, 321, 327.

Muir, Mrs, reception by Inds, 194.

Muir, M., at Fort Hupert, 273.

Murcliison, .Sir K., on Carilioo geolo-
gy, 513; on gold deposits, 539.

Musgrave, A., gov. 1809-71, 09b;
otfacial acts, 507.

Mustang Creek, mining ou, 6(M-&

Nanhcs Pass, gold discovered at, 348.

Nanainio, iSpanisli name for, 22; coal
discovered at, 100-200, 569, 578;
fortlniilt, 100; gold discovered, Mli;
development of town, 574; descrip-
tion of, 714.

Nanaimo Coal Co. sell interest, 569.

Nauaimo mines, work at, 570-1, 573;
output, 571, 574; area, 573.

Narvacz, Jos^ M., survey of Haro
Strait 1701, 13-14.

Nass Uiver, gold discovered, 347.

Nation Uiver prospected, 555.

Neali Bay, original name, II.

Nei;liaoo Kiver, coal iliscovered, 579.

Needham, chief justice, 337; retires,
423.

Xehannes, Inds, charncter, 50.

Nelson Creek, mining on, 482, 515.

Neversweat claim, yitdd, 408.

New Caledonia, conliguration, .36-9;
climate, 40 3; fauna, 43-4; natives,
44-51 ; fur-traders' life in, 288; govt,
370; intlux of gold-minei-s, 381-2.

Newcastle, Duke of, ou setaement V.
I., 202.

Newcastle Isl., coal discoyered, 198,
2(H>, .573.

Newcastle mine, work at, 569, 571;
compared w it!i the Douglas, 572.

New Dungeuess named, 10.

Newittei^a, Inds, ma.-isaere of, 274-5.

Newspapers in H. C, 739.

New \Vesiminster laid out, 41.'>-16;
port of entry, 41(i; incorporated,
417-lH; k'gis. council at, 1804, .58;^-
5; banijuetto JJouglas, .">8S, descrip-
tion of, 715 10; newspapers, 7.'19.

New Westminster and I'ort Moody
Kailway Co. incorpoi'at«<l, 091.

New Westminster Kailway Co. incor-
porated, 091.

New Zealand Co. claim, yield 1875,
5.")4.

Ve/. Toro^s, Infls, character, 288-9.

Nicaragua liar, milling at, 448, 464,
4*i5; formation, 403.

Nicol, C. J., manager V, Cool Co.,
509; reiH>rt 1600, 570.

INDEX.

787

Nicola, Iiiil. chief, 51 ; conspiracy of,
15'2-ti.

Nicola Lal{() iiaincd, 7<).

Nicoll, C. «., liigli-sheriu, 410-17,

422.
Nicontamuch, Imls, cliarocter, 136.
Nind, P. 11., g)l<l coniinr. 489,491;

of tii'.st lejis. cDiiiicil, ."hSU.
Nitihtacks. iniusioiiurics uinuiig, 71!).
Nohlea, Kobt, |)ro8pect8 Curuc.s Creek,

537.
Nomeuclatiiro, anthoritica on, 76-7.
Nootka, poHso.ssioii uf, taken for Spain

1774-i>, 3; nIiIiw at, in 1778-!l, S;

al)an<loneil and reoccupied 1789-!K),

8; meeting at to nettle Eug. clainm

17!h>, 14, 28 9.
"Norman Morrison," siiip, 257, 258.
" Northerner," Hteanier, ()27.
Northern I'aeilic Railway founded,

374.
North Mutro(M)litan Post, neceiwitieM

of, 78 0.
" Nortliwetit America," sliip, (i, 8;

tsei/ed l)y Spauiardu 1789, 8.
Nortliwest Kur Co., feud witli Hud-
son's Hay Co., 7i>.
Northwest Terr., eastern parallels, .'(2;

limits, 33; contigaiatiun, .'{.'i-4();

climate, 40-3; fauna, 43 5; natives,

44-51; iteeupied \>y Eng. and U. S.,

63 «, 81, 121 7; settlements, 248;

sold by H. B. Co., 385.
Nugent, John, U. S. couunr to B. V.,

lioH, mo, 405, 453, 468 9.

Oak Cove named, 16.

Oakes, D. \V'., Amer. settler ou >S.
Juan, 617.

Ogden, 1'. 8., chief factor, 57; at Kt
Vancouver, 131; rejwrt on coal dis-
covery, 1H9-!M), justice, 2G4; ou
l)oard of eiiief factors, 283; at Et St
James, 385; at Stewart Lake, 548,
5ij0.

Okamigan Luk(!, mining ou, .540.

Ukanagans, liids, character, 136; Ims-
tility, 368.

Olney (Xscar, dept. collector on S,
.luan Isl., 609.

Dmineca mines, locatimi, .544; gold
excitement, .547; winter iifis at, 552;
yielii, 55'_ 3, 'm'-H; hydraulic min-
ing, .mS; I'ailurii, .556-^7.

Omlcrdonk, t- ., contract for Imilding
railway, 680.

Opi>enheimer, C., miner, 526, 535.

Orcas Island, 606.

Uregon, soil of, 40; settlere' character,
64; early limits, 55 (i; settlements,
56,248; early |V)litics, 126; ellect of
Cariboo goM di.'icovery, 356, 478;
coal formation, 566.

Oregon treaty 1846, termn, 172-3.

O'Keilly, I'eter, justice ot piace, 416,
433; chamct^'r, 4:14; gold conunr,
441, 524, 551, 5.')4; ot lirst legis.
council, 583.

Orr, James, of first legis. council,
583,

"Osprey,"' schr, 3iil,

"Otter," steamer, 334, 390, 44-1, 607,
608.

" Pacific," steamer, wrecked, 562.
Pacific Railway Construct, n Co.,

members of, 65,3.
Palmer Creek, gold yield, 529.
Pabncr, Lieut, II. S., ariiM's at Vic-
toria, 407; ou gold discovery, 163;

on mining dist, 472, 541, 544.
Palmer, Joel, with ovcrlanil party,

368-70; bi(jg., 7.")9.
Palmerston, Lord, trade controversy,

207.
" Pandora," steamer, .361.
" Paudoni," surveying, sliip, 124-5.
Parke, Cupt., examines Columbia,

121, 123.
Parke, Lt John <!., U. S. commis-
sioner in S. Juan trouble, 610.
I'arkiugton, Sir J., i)rc.seuts settlers'

petition, 261.
Parsnip River, mines on, 555, 579.
Parsons' i)ridge built, 251.
Possjige Cani'T named, 20.
Passage Island iiamcd, 20.
Pate Creek, mining on, M\'>.
Pat Kelly's Co. cluim, yield, 552.
Peace River named, 77. 544; mines

on, 545, 579.
Pedder liay, original name, 9,
Peel, Lieut, examines Columbia. 121,

123.
Peers, 11. N., tliscovors coal, 576-7.
Pelly, Sir J. II., g..v. H. 15. C. in

Eng.. 205, 2(»7, 'JOcS, 215; nominated

gov. ol IJ. C, 2(»3 1.
PemlK'rton, .\. I'"., judge. 433.
I'emberton, J. I)., mem. ot first as-

send)ly, 321; coloiiiiil ^urveyor, 400,

104; ou gold yield, 469; bibliog.,

759.
Pend d'Oreille River, grdd iliscovyred,

521

INDEX.

Pend d'Oreilles, Inds, character, 50.

Penn Cove named, 18.

Pearke.s, G., crown solicitor, 402;

plan for judiciary, 42U.
Perez, exploration of, 1774-9, 3.
Perkins, Geo., Anier. settler on S.

Juan, 017.
Perputuu (Jape named, 4.
Pcrrier, Geo., justice, Hill Bar, 394,

409-10; dismissed, 413.
I'erry, F., miner, 400, 520, 531,
Perry Creek, excitement at, 526.
Phifer, M. W., altercation with Mc-

Gowan, 414.
Physical features, authorities on, 72-.'?.
Pickett, Capt. G., with troops to Bel-

lingham liay, (313; to iS. Juan Isl-
and, 017-18.
Pine lUver, t;oal discovered, 579.
Pioneer and Demociut, newspaper,

on golil discovery, 355.
Pleasanton, Adj. -Gen., instruction in

8. Juan atluir, 020.
"Pleiades," H. M. S., 404, 619.
"Plumper," H. M. S., 390, 408, 416,

509, 570, 610, 019.
Plumper Sound surveyed 1791, 14.
Polmllok, Ind. chief, 105-6.
Point Atkinson named, 20.
Point Cliutham mimed, 26.
Point Dutt' named, 26.
Point Francis named, 20.
Point G> rdou named, 26.
Point (jower named, 20.
Point (Jrenville named, 15.
Point (irey named, 20.
Point Marshall, 25.
Point Partridge named, 18.
Point Roberts named, 20.
Point St (leorgo named, 15.
Point William named, 20; Spanish

ships at, 21.
Point Wilson named, 18.
Police, mounted, character of, 331,

434.
Popular tribunals in B. C, 436.
Port Cox namcil, 6.
Port Discovery named, 16.
Port Kthngham named, 6.
Porter, F., slioots liarr, 539.
Port (iiirdner named, 18.
Portloek, ('apt., visit of, 1787, -.
Port Moody, reasons for selectioi. as

ternunus, 684-6.
Port Neville named, 26.
Port San .Fuim named, 9.
Port Susan named, 18.
Port Townsend named, 10.
Possession Sounil named, 18.
Poverty Bar, naning at, 441.

Prevost, Capt., on gold discovery, .155;
at Victoria, 388; commr in S. Juan
trouble, 010; urges joint occupation
of S. Juan, 020.

I'rince Albert Bar, mining at, 464,

465.
' Princesa," ship, 15, 20, 29.

"Princess Royal," ship, seized by
Spaniards 1789, 8.

Protection Island surveyeil, 16.

I'uget, Lt Peter, in Vancouver's
expedt., 16.

Puget Sound named, 18; early im-
portance, 373-4; Eng. men-of-war
on, 623.

Puget Sound Agricultural Co., in-
augurated, .Vi; growth, 82; attempt
tocoloni/-e V. I., 226-7; fanning by,
251, 20O-I, 313.

Puget Sound Bar, gold discovered,
441-2, 441.

Puget Sound Mining Co. formed, 206;
colonize V. I., 251-2, 260-1.

Quackolls, Inds, inform H. B. Co. of

coal-tields, 186-8.
Quadra, town, founded, 576.
Quarts Creek, mining f i, 551, 562.
Quatsino Sound, c(><>' mining at, 201,

509, 578.
"Queen Charlotte," ship, 5.
Queen Charlotte Coal Mining Co.

formed, 575-6.
Queen Charlotte Island named, 5;

configuration, 34; coal discovered,

201, 567, 578; gold discovered, 343-

5, 558-9.
Queen Charlotte Sound named, 26.
Qu'j.snel River, miuuig on, 457, 473,

485-6, 515.
Quimper Bay named, 10.
Quimper, Manuel, explorations of,

1790, 8-11; map, 9.

Raby claim, yield, 498.

Hae, John, b'^fore comm. in Eng. on

H. B. Co., 381.
Itae, W. (!., at Stikeen River, 10.3.
Randall Co. claim, yield, 540.
liattr.ay. Or, on gold discovery, 463.
Rjiy, .1. R., prc(-m])ts on Fniser, ,392.
" Recovery,^ shin, 331, 346-7, 405.
Red River settlement, colonization

of, 226-7.

INDEX.

789

Reese River, mining on, 542.

Keid, Capt., visits Victoria, 'ioU-flO.

Kenuie Bros, death of, 482.

"Republic," steamer, 361.

" Resolution," ship, Iti.

Revenue, 330, ;W7-40, 370-1, 390, 400,

402 3, 417-18, iM-Q.
Rice, killed by Indians, 3(38.
Richards, Capt., report on Nanaimo

coal, 571 ; comniron S. Juau trouble,

010; urges joint occupation, 020.
Kichiirdson, coal discoverer, r)07.
Richardson, Mir John, before comm.

in Kng. on H. B. Co., ,'i81.
Richfield mining settlement, 504.
Kiilge Co. claim, yield, 535.
Rim Rock Co. claim, yield, 553.
Roberts, C. C, on Fraser excitement,

358.
Robertson, \V., on Big Bend excite-
ment, 531,
RobiuMou's Bar, mining at, 451, 4.'>3.
Roche, A. R., before eonnn. in Eng.

on H. B. Co., 381.
Rock Creek mines, yield 1800-1, 539.
Rocky Point named, 15.
Roebuck, on Hudson Bay Cu. charter,

378.
Kosario Strait, original name, 1 1 .
Rose, miner, 470, 483, 492; death,

483 4.
Ross, Alex., at Fort Kamluop, l.'{5.
Ross, Chas, connnands Fort Camo-

sun, 101; dies, 102.
Ross, .lohn, before comm. in Kng. on

H. B. Co., 381.
Rouse, Capt., attack on In<l8, 395.
Rowlanil, discovers gohl, 344.
Royal liay, original name, 10; situa-
tion, 87.
Rupert Land, sale of, l)y H. B. Co.,

385.
Russell, Lord .lohn, opposes H. B.

Co. 's charter, 213, 215.
Russian American Co.'s relation to

H. B. Co., 01, 08-9, 128, 178-9; to

Kng. tradei-8, 178.
Russian Creek, mining on, 510.

■Sacramento Bar, mining at, 441, 443.
Sailor Bar, iinning at, 448.
St (Jeorge Bay named, 15.
"St .loseph," ship, 29.
Salmon Creek, mining at, 529.
San Antonio Point named, 9.
San Blaa, suppiiua sent from to Noot-
ka, 8,

"San Carlos," ship, 8, 11, 21, 29.
Sanders, K. H., judge, 433; of first

legia. council, 583.
San Kusebio I'oint named, 9,
"Santa Gertrudis," ship, 15.
Sai(gster, Jas, signs address, 282;

signs petition, 314.
San Juan Island, area, GOO; H. B. Co.

take ])OssesHion of, 007.
San Juan island ditticulty, 1854-72,

005-49.
Sankster, Mr, actiims in S. Juan

trouble 1854, 007-8.
" Santa Cruz," steamer. 361,
Santa Cruz Point. See New Uunge-

ness.
Saskatchewan, gold excitement 1866,

524- .5.
"Satellite," H. M. S., 355, 388, 389,

405, 428, 010, 018.
"Saturnina,"ship,"21.
Saunders, K. 11., asst gold comm. at

Ft Vale, 417.
Savary Island named, 25.
Savona's Ferry, growing prosperity

of, 710.
Scott, (Jen., sent to Pacific coast, 627;

actions in S. .luan ati'air, (i27-3l;

quarrel with (ien. Harney, (i33-5.
Scranton, J., visits Victoria, 352.
"Sea Bird," steamer, 304, 444.
" Sea Otter," whip, 5.
Seemann, B., on Ft Camosun, 112-13;

on H. B. Co. s tra«le, 129-30.
Selby, P., din .:tor V. Coal Co., 569.
Selwyn, Mr, railway survey expedt,,

050.
Semiahmoo Bay, meeting of S. Juau

commissioners at, 010-13.
Settlers, encroachment on the Co-

hunbia 1843, 81; restrictions on,

210-11; term deline.l, 247; of Ore-
gon, 248; of V. I., 252-01; iHjtition

to purliumeut, 201; [jetitiou to gov.,

281-2; character, .•«»7.
Seward, vSec, action:^ ui S. Juan

affair, 035-7.
Sej'mour, town, 468, 533.
Seymour, Fred., succeeds Douglas as

gov. of B. C, 588; otticial actions

1804-5, 589-1; <leath, 59ti.
Seymour, (!. F., cnmmander of fleet

in South I'acitli', 125.
Shaw Island, 000.
Shemelin, Russ. agent, 179.
SliephenI, (apt., at V. I., 124.
Shilkumchecn, liid. village, 106.
Ship-building, V. I., 255.
Shipping, tiist vessel built on N.

W. coast 1788, 0; arrivals 1880, 753.

790

INDEX.

Shoalwater Bay, Capt. Mearei at,

1788, 6.

" Shubrick," steamer, 624.

Shushwap River, mining on, 4(iO.

Shushwaps, IiiiIh, cliaracter, 50; hos-
tility, 134-50; touiitry, 137; dress,
139-40.

Siblt ', 11. \V., trade controversy, 207.

Siddt'' surgeon, arrivts V. I., 407.

Silver (Jreek, mining on, 1K70, 551.

•Simill(unieeii, Indo, character, I'M.

Siniilkameeii River, mining on, 348,
541, 570.

Simpson, f'iv (J., in Korenais country,
37-8; at V. I., 84-0; at Ft Kani-
loops, 135; descends Fraser river,
159; gov. H. B. Co. in Amer., 205,
207; before comm. in Eug. on II.
B. CV 381.

Simpsur River, coal discovered, 576,
570.

Skeena River, mining on, 345-7, 555,
5V«, 578.

.Skeleton Creek, mining on, 551, 554.

Skidegate Isl., coal discovered, 201.

Skinner, Thomas, mem. of first as-
sembly, 321, 327

"Skuzzy," steamei; 68.3.

Slavery among Indian», 132.

Small-pox among Indians, 149.

S)>uth, A. G., miller, prospecting,
525, 535.

Smitli Inlet named, 26.

Smitli, R. T.,gold conui i-iioner, 532;
of first legis. council, .'■).S3.

Smith, S. R., takes steamer ip tiic
Fraser, 683.

Smith, VVm, Amer. settler on S. Juan,
617.

Smitli, W. G., secy H. B. Co., re-
IJOrt, 339-40.

Smuggling in B. ("., 417.

Snow, Capt., voy. of 1836, 48.

.Snowahoe Creek, mining on, 482, 489,
515, 562.

Snyder, H. M., treats with Indians,
396 8.

Soke Inlet, Spanish name, 9; settled,
2.")3-4; eoal disco vere<l, 579.

S(mgides, natives V. I., 95, 111; at-
tend mass, 99; attack Ft Camosun,
108-10.

Sovereign Creek, mining on, 482.

Spaniards op. coast of B. C. 1774-9,
2 3.

Spaulding, W. R., justice of peace at
Qucensborough. 410; postmaster,
417.

Spence, T., gold discoverer, 441.

Spinduleii ¥\-\t, mining at, 451,

Spintlum, Indian chief, 401.
S<|uazown, lud. village, 166.
Staines, Mrs, at V. I., 239, 260.
Stoines, R. J., at Victoria, 2.38-41;

opposes H. B. Co., 240-2; death,
; 243.
; Stepiiens, Gov., leads' exploring ex-

pedt., 374.
Steptoe, Col, fights Indians, .395.
Stevens (.'reek, mining on, 4S2, 505.
Stevens, (iov., comm. on S. Juan

trouble, 608.
Stikeen country, description, .38-9.
Stikeea River prospected 1861, 5."i9.
Stock-raising, favorable regions for,

744-(>.
Strawijerry Bay named, 20,
Stuart, John, descends Fraser River,

159.
Sugar Creek, mining on, 482, 504.
Sullivan, gold commissioner, drowned,

562.
"Surprise," steamer, 3(»4, 444.
"Susan Sturgis," sliip, 346.

"Sutil," Spanish brig, 20,
Sutro, Ad
C, 373.

on gold discovery B.

Suan, J. M., visits Victoria, 229, 231.
"Swiss Boy," brig, captured by
lacU, 427-8.

Talmboo Creek, mining on, 482.
Tahkats, missionaries among, 719.
Tako River, Douglas explores, 71.
'I'aylor, J. F., U. S. commissioner on

S. Juan trouble, 610.
Teet, Iiids, cliaracter, 136.
Tellat.Ua Quatza, Indian chief, .39.3.
Tcnnant, .lames, before comm. in

Kiig. on H. B. Co., 381.
Tennent, <i, W., secy Uw-makers,

393.
"Tepic,"8hip, 346-7.
"Ternuigant,"H. M. S., 417
"Thames City," ship, 404.
"Thetis," II. M. S., 124, 236, .331.
Tliilie'rt Creek, mining on, 660-.3.
Tliistle < 'reek, mining on, 482.
TliDinpson, I)., bi.ilds Ft Thompson,

134
Thompson River, mii)iiig on, 458-61;

469, .•)79.
Tiiomps(m Sound, Sjuin. name for, 26.
Thornton, ,lohn, miujr, on Salmon

Creek, 1865, 5,30.
"Three Brothers," s.ir W.
Tillamook Bay, nativi i attack

(Jray'smcu 1789, 8.

1NI>KX.

791

41:
th,

BX-

lUIl

or,
cr.

Tocl, John, at Knniloopn, 134 '><]•. jht-
BOiial upp«!!iniii('<', i;<8^ !(; itusIk's
lud. coiispii'acy, 141 -.VJ; outwitM
Nicola, l.V2-fi; justice, 'IM; fainui-,
278 9; on council, ^81, 316; at Ft
McLeod, 288.

Tolmie, W. F., ninnngcr agric. co.,
62 3; cliaractcr, l."(7; tliscKVi-rs coal,
187; justice, 2(J4; (jii nianagcnicut
• H. B. Co., 328.

"Ton«inin," ship, seized hy IntU, 45.

"Topaze," H. M. S., 417.

"Tory," ship," l!)-). 2.-)7.

Toy, 1'., iiiiuer, 546; pruBpects Finlay
River, 5tM.

Trafalgar IJar, gold discovered at, 441,
444.

Travaillot, O., eoiiimr for erov n lands,
405; gold coiniii;', 4t")l,

"Tribune," H. M. .S., 404, 619.

"Trinconialee," H. M. S.. 236, 3.34.

Tsilaltach, Songhies chief, U7-'J; at-
tacks Ft Caniosun, lOS-IO.

Tsonghilani, tViwichiu cliicf, attacks
B'ort Camosun, 107-10.

Tucker, atta.ukcd by Lidiaus, 3i)4.

"Umatilla," steamer, 3(>4, 401, 445.
"Una," ship, 345.
Uidon Act, provisions of, 594-5.
Union IJar, gold discovered at, 441,

444.
Union Coal .Miiung Co., work, 568.
Uripdiart, ndncr, 504.

Vail, light-keeper at Blunt Isl., 614.
Valdi''s, Capt., cxpcdt. of, in 1792,

20-8. .
Valdes Harl)or. See E8(|uimalt.
" Vancouver," ship, 71, 120.
Vancouver Coal Mining and Laud

Co. organized, 5<I9.
Vancouver, <!., com. tor l^ng. in

Nootka nlVair 1792, 14-15; voy.

and places nanicd 1)V, 15-29; maps

of, 17. 19, 27.
Vancouver Island named. 29; eontigii-

ration, 34; iliniatc, 42; f:iuna, 43;

ini^( rtanie of .situation, S.'t 4; oceu-

pat < of. 'Xi Hfl; eoal diseovereil,

lOti; gianted to 11. B. Co., 202 22;

colonized by U. B. <'o., 223 37;

settlements, 247 62, 314; map, 259;

population, 1853, 260; govt es-

tablished, 263 84: seal ''f, 279 80;
under Douglas, 3IO-2S: legislature,
317 27; electoral (lists, 320; judi-
ciary of. 329 40; revenue, 330, ."{.37-
40, 51)2; supreme court created,
419-20; first capital execution, 4;i5;
mining population 18.")9-(il, 471;
c(xil nnning, 566-80; (Kjpulation
18(i4, 592.

\'an N'alz^h, exi)cdt. against Inds
1S.V». 61.'..

Van Winkle Creek, mining on, 482,

\'ashou Island named, 18.

Vantrin, J. B., in Anderson's ex|X)dt.,
159.

N'aviiNOur, Lieut, report on Nisrjually,
52; census of Tnd. trilies, 75; de-
scribes Ft (Jamosun, 112; examines
X. \V. coast, 12.V-6, 1H!»; report ou
eoal discoveiy, 180.

Verdia, pilot in Klisa's expedt., 13.

Victoria laid out, 113; settlers, 258;
population 18.".3, 2()0; 1861, 707;
18«i3, 708; 1S66. 709: g(dd dis-
covered, 343; port of entry, 403;
Inds (lock to, 426 7; business de-
pression I860, 470; revival, 477;
lmn(|Uet to l)ouglas, 587-8; incor-
porated, 70S; city ileseribed, 709
11; newspaiiers of, 739. See Ft
Victoria.

Victoria Bar, gold discovered, 441,
444.

Victoria Coal Mining and Land Co.,
mines and huiil ownetl by, 715.

Victoria and Ksi(iiitnalt Railway Co.,
charter granted, (i97.

Victoria (Jazctte, first newspaper iu
Victoria, 739.

Vitalle Creek, ndniug on, 549, 558.

Waddington, A., miner, .348, .350;

attacki(l by Inds, 428; estimate of

gold yield 15. C., 469.
Waldron l.shiiid, (i06.
Walkeiii, < i. A., attorney-general, 656-

8, 676, 701 3.
\Van(|llille, I lid. chief, 51.
Wanijuille Kiver named, 76; mining

on, 4.".8.
Warre, Lieut, report on Nisoually,

52; census of Or. terr. Inds, 75;

examines \. W. ei)ast, 125 6, 189;

report on gold diseov<uy, 189.
Warren, .1. 1)., Amer. settlor on S.

Juan, 617.

792

INDEX.

•' Wnshlngton," Bhip, 6, 8.
Wav, l\, atarU fvrry, 446.
Wcbsttr, A., iu railway survey

expedt., a'lO.
Welileu, Capt., captured by IiiiUiuih,

427.
WellcHley, Capt., attauka Induns,

274.
Wellington mines, work at, S70, fi73;

fire at, 576.
Wells I'osaago named, '26.
Whalers, northern rendezvous for,

88, 100, 120.
Whanuell, P. B., justice, 402, 40(»-10.
Wharton, H., Amor, settler on 8.

Juan, 617.
Whatcom, rise and fall, :i')i)-64.
Whidlxiy, Joseph, in Vancouver's

cxpedt., 16, 24.
WhipsAW Creek, mining on, 50^.
Wicanunish, Ind. village, 6.
Wild Horse Creek, mining on, 523,

C24, 521).
Wild Horse Creek ditch completed,

529.
"Wild Pigeon," schr, .155.
WillameU„ Valley, settlements in, 56,

61, 80.
William, Emperor, H. Juan question

referred to, (i.'W.
"William llerry," ship, 361.
William Creek, mining on, 482, 484,

495-509, 512, 513, 515, 517-18.

Willow River, mining on, 481-2, 4«2,

no;>.

Wilson, with overlaml jMirty, .T67.
U'ilson, Mra, on Mclx>uglin, 300.
Witty, .lohu, Ainer. settler on S.

Juan, 617.
Wolf, trailer, with overland part*',

.367.
Women, first arrival of whites, 24{ -

50; at CarilMH) mines, 519.
Wool, Oen., establishes |M>st at Bel-

lingham Bay, 613.
Work, .John, chief factor, KW, ;J28,

384; justice, 264; signs settlen4'

petition, 314; on councu, 216; hunts

for gold, 346-7.

Yale, gamblers at, 360; site surveyed,
400; govt established, 401; mining
troubles at, 408 14; mining at, 441 •
7, 471; town descri))ed, 717.

Yale, J. M., at Ft Langlcy, 67; char-
actor, 171-3; justice, 2VA.

Yankee Doodle Bar, gold discovered,
441.

Yates, James, settler on V. I., 258;
signs petition, 314, mem. of first as-
sembly, 321, 327; fur-truder, 400.

Young, W. A. U., colonial sec. B. C,
406.

iih h. .imr ■„ I

482.

167.
1)0.
on N.

party,

I, 24f -

t Bel-

I, ;<28,
ittlent'
hunts

eyed,

lining

441-

char-

ered,

258;

)t 08-

00.
I.C..