IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) J x ^ 1.0 I.I ;f iiM iiM !»" '■ IIIIM ;; S|||a ■ 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" ► V ^ / 7: ^c2 % *# x'*' y ^^. i>^,' r /!S Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^ iV :\ \ ^ A- .1* 0^ c^... # 1>^^ i CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 i Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The institute has attemptsd to obtain the best original copy available for filming, .features of this copy which may be Libllogrnphicaify unique, which may alter any of the imagef. in the reproduction, or which may ttigniVicantiy change the usual method of filming, e^re checked below. L'Institut a microfilm6 le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t^ possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibiiographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la m6thode normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. n n n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^e et/ou peilicul^e I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes g6ographiques en couleur □ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) n 0l Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documants D D Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serr6e peut causer de I'ombie ou de la distortion le iong de la marge intdrieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut f:|ue certaines pages blanches ajout6es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppldmentaires; D D □ D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagies Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur6es et/ou pelliculdes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages ddcoiordes, tachetdes ou piqu6es Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthrough/ Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ D Quality indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont M filmdes i nouveau de fapon d obtenir 'a meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est fiimi au taux de rMuction indiqud ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X • 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: National Library of Canada L'exemplaire filmi fut reproduit grflce d la g6n6rosit6 de: Bibliothdque nationale du Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition at de la netteti de l'exemplaire filmd, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUED "). or the symbol V (meaning "END "), whichever applies. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimie sont film6s en commengant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmis en commen^ant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniftre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, scilon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN ". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmis d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■ 6g Hubert ^ome Bancroft NATIVE RACES OF THE PACIFIC STATE.S ; five volumes. HISTORY OF CENTRAL AMERICA; three volumes. HISTORY OF MEXICO; six volumes. HISTORY OF TEXAS AND THE NORTH MEXICAN vSTATES; two volumes. HISTORY OF ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO; oue volume. HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ; seven volumes. HISTORY OF NEVADA, COLORADO AND WYOMING; one volume. HISTORY OF UTAH ; one volume. HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST COAST; two volumes. HISTORY OF OREGON ; two volumes. HISTORY OF WASHINGTON, IDAHO and MONTANA; one volume. HISTORY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA ; one volume. HISTORY OF ALASKA ; one volume. CALIFORNIA PASTORAL ; one volume. CALIFORNIA INTER-POCULA ; one volume. POPULAR TRIBUNALS; two volumes. ESSAYS AND MISCELLANY ; one volume. LITERARY INDUSTRIES ; one volume. CHRONICLES OF THB KINGS ; several volumes. HISTORY T Of BRITISH COLUMBIA r / >^:^- y'^- ?^_ . ,^ V X \ BY HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT 1792-1887 SAN FRANCISCO THE HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 1890 /889 167018 ^1-} Ncecrf^hi.H. Entered according to Act of Congress In the year 1889, by HUBERT H. BANCROFT, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. All Bi'jlUa 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 Company 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 anchored in the bay that still bears his name on the coast of California, and, in 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-dad mountains which form the eastern boundary of Ore- gon, forts and trading posts had been established in the valleys of the Umpqua and tlie Willamette. Toward the north the English claimed, by right of discovery, VI PREFACE. the country in the neigliborliood of Nootka Sound. Finally, in 1840, a projiosition was considered by tho manager of tho Hudson's Bay Company to purchase the Ross colony, established by tho Russians on the coast of New Albion. That tho bargain was not concluded was probably due to the fear of troublesome complications with tho United States. Thus to tlui right of discovery and prior occupation in the far north- west would liavc been added the right of purchase, and if, at the time of tho gold excitement, a few years later, the English had gained a foothold in the coun- try, it is probable that they would have laid claim to a part of the territory ceded by Mexico to the United States in 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, altliougb that little forms perhaps the most in- teresting porticm of its history. Among the sources whence I havo derived the information that I now lay before the reader, are valuable manuscripts handed to me by some of the principal actors in the events which they describe ; as, Roderick Finlayaon, James Deans, and Alexander Caulfield Anderson. For other portions of my narrative, I have also depended largely on manuscripts, all of which have received due men- tion in this volume. In 185G gold was discovered in the bed of the Fra- sor River, and in 1857 the San Juan Island difficulty was approaching a crisis. It was probably due in part to botli of these causes, and also to the fear that New Caledonia, already largely occupied by Americans, might be absorbed into tho territory of the United States, that, in 1858, an act was passed by the parlia- PREFACE. ^ a Sound. j(l by tlio purchaso 118 on tlio I was not )ul)les()nu! us to tlio farnorth- purcliaso, fow years tlio coun- claini to a le United ^aniG pro- I has been Jritisli Co- o most in- 10 sources at I now s handed le events on, James j^or other d largely due nien- the Fra- difficulty lie in part ihat New merieans, c United lie parlia- ment of Great Britain to provide for the government of Biitish Columbia, by wliicli name was known there- after the domain of England on the western mainland of North America. And now the reign of the great monoi)oly had cor.ie to an end. In the following year Vancouver Island was constituted a sei)arato colony, and so remained until 1800, when, on account of the enormous expense of maintaining the machinery of government among a handful of people, the two do' pendencies were merged into one. Between 18(52 and 1871 gold was ship|)cd by the banks of liritish Columbia to the value of more than 31(),(»oO,000, while the amount of treasure carried away by miners from the several districts cannot bo esti- mated at less than $(>, 000,000. But though rumor of golden sands and gold-bearing river-lx.'ds scildom fails to attract hordes of fortune-hunters from all quar- ters of the gh)be, such an element forms by no means a desirable! addition to the population of a y«)ung, ani- l)itious, and thriving colony. As in California, in Aus- tralia, and in New Zealand, the wealth thus ac(juired 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. vMi I'UKFACK. As to geographical position, British Columbia has the same advantages over the Pacific states and terri- tories as tlie eastern provinces enjoy over the states bordering on the Atlantic. As St Jolin'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 among 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 the lino of its route, and at points nearer to the Pacific than 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 the capital needed for their devolopment. Until the complctiim of this road, the commerce of the province was comparatively iiisignificant ; but that a portion of the rich traffic be- tween Europe and Asia will eventually pass through this territory, is almost beyond a peradventure. Compared with 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 both can be obtained at reasonable rates, the Mainland will bo more fully explored, and its valleys and plains made fit for settlement. Although the agricultural area is somewhat restricted, it is never- theless sufficient to maintain a very considerable popu- lation; and that population will increase, slowly per- ill I'RKFACK. imbia has and torri- tlie states in New- lies to the ban is the the great ^an Fran- ute to the ion of the November inion gov- iiits nearer board, are ong to be e mineral :al needed m of this laratively traffic be- through ire. ahfornia, rritories, but that safely be id to the |ble rates, and its Jthough is never- ale popu- |)wly per- haps and unsteadily at first, like the ebb and flow of an advancing tide, there can be little doubt. Mines, of whicli not even the outcroppings have yet been touclicd, will be made to unfold their hidden treasures, conimercial ri'sources still latent will be developed, and the fanner will gather from the unwilling soil abundant harvests. Already fleets are being despatched from harbors wliicli a few years ago were unoccupied. Already the province sliips to South America, to Cliina, and to Australia her timber and spars; to California, her coal; to English ports, her fish, her silver and lead; and to all tlie world, her gold; receiving in return raw produce and provisions from the United States, man- uiactured goods from England, and luxuries from Europe and Asia. But in reviewing the condition and prospects of Britisli (^olumbia, we must look beyond her limits, a!id consider her as linked with her sister colonies, with Vancouver Island as one with herself, and with the dominion of Canada, of which she is the youngest iiienibcr. The completion of the overland railroad has riveted yet more closely tlio bonds which unite all Britisli subjects, wherever their lot is cast, and the an- ticipations held forth in the speech from the throne, when first the Mainland was declared a colony, have already been measurably fulfilled. "I hope," said her Majesty, "that this new colony on the Pacific may be hut one step in the career of steady progress, by which n»y dominions in North America may be ultimately })(M)pled, in an unbroken chain from the Atlantic to tlu! Pacific, by a loyal and industrious population." mm I Tlio Sp,ii uag — \\ Oali Kastprn T liiiiil) aiiil ; C'liiiu -Tli( tin: X uuuk Aboriginal miinioi trad; 111 —Into Cuinpa Joint I Sutcs- iiiLiliat CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME. CHAPTER I. 8UMMAHT OR EAKLIKST VOVAOES. PAoa Tlio Spanianlaon tlio Coast of Britisli Coliiinliia — Perez, flecota, uv 1 .'ir- tt'Uga — Expedition of James Cook — Huiiim — Maurcllo — I. IVrou-.n — roitltM-k mill Dixon — Giiiso — Lowrio-Harciuy— Mci -(!ray — Kciiilntk — Martinez — Haro — Colnott — uouglus — Elim— yuinipei - Galin 1'' -.'111 Valdiia — Bodega y Cuadra — V'ancouvei 1 CHAPTER n. GENERAL VIEW OF TUB NORTIIWKST COAST. Ka.storn Parallels— Contiguration of North-western America — British Co- liiinl)ia Coast — Puget Sound — Vaueouvcr Island — Queen Chailotte Islands — Climatie Scctioua of tlio Mainland — Xew Caledonia — Heights of Land — Tlio Columbia and Fraser Plateau liasin — Skeeiia anil Stikeen — Oregon, Washington, and Idaho — Northwest Coast Climates — The Temperature of Various Localities — Fauna and Flora — The Alwrigines — Attitudes of the Fur-traders and .Settlers toward the Natives — Peaceful Regime under the Great Monopoly — The Chi- nook Jargou 32 CHAPTER III. OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN. 1841. Alidiiginal British Columbia — Forts and Fur-traders — Systems of Com- iiiuiiication — Inherent Power of Civilization over .Savagism — Fur- trading Districts — Stations — Missionary and Agricultural. Settlement* — Interior Forts — Coast Stations — The Itritish and the Russian Fur Companies — The Hudson's Bay Company's Circulating Libiary — Joint Occupancy of the Northwest Coast hy E.";land and the United .States — TheTreatj' Dividing the Domain — The Northwest Coast Im- mediately Prior to the Begiiming of British Coluinbiu liistiiy Projicr (xli xtt CONTENTS. — Visit of Douglas to tiie Several Posts — Sitka nnil Ktholin — Quam'l l>utweeii Douglas and McNeill — Survey iif tliu Stikeen uuJ Tuku Re- gion —lleferi.'uce8 for This und the Preceding Cliapter 52 CHAPTER r\^ CAMOSDN ANIi ESQUIMALT. 1S42. Necessitien of a Northern Metropolitan Post — Encroachments of Settlers on the Colnnil)ia — The Dividing Line — Growing; Importance of Agri- cnltiire — The Question of Locality — A Northern licmle/.vous for \V aaU'rs — The ISouthem End of Vancouver Island — Its Advantageous Po^:ition — Douglas Surveys the Harbors — Cainosuu and Esqiiinialt (Joinpared — Report of Douglas 78 CHAPTER V. rOtJNDING OK FORT CAMUyDN. ExprditioTj from Fort Vancouver — Source of Agricultural Supplies — Tho Cowlitz Country — Embark on the lifaver — Visit to the Clallams — Anchor in Camosun Ilarbor — Beautici 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 — Uoliliic Celebrates Mass — He Visits Whidbey Island — Douglas Departs for Tako — Abandonment of That Post, and also of Fort Mc- Loughlin — Return of Douglas to Camos\m with Reenforccnients — Tiie Stockade Erected— Arrival of the Cadhnro — Ross Placed in Com- mand — Departure of Douglas with the Beaver and the Cudboro .... CHAPTER VI. AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN 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 Tsilalthach with their Allies Attack tho Fort — Stiategy of Finlayson— Bloodless Victory — Tho Pipe of Peace is Smoked — Descriptions of the Fortress — Warro and Vavasour — l>"rthold Seemann — Finlayson 's Letter — James Deans — His Charac- ter jipi Wunuscript — Interesting and Minute Description of the Fort — Under Orders of Douglas Fort Camosun was Built without a Nail. 102 CONTENTS. xiii — Quam'l Tako Kc- PAOB nf Settlers ue of Ajjri- ezvoiis for I'antageous Esqiiiruult 78 iplies — Tho lu Clallains lugs — Abo- Iract Atten- rt'tice with itoiis SigU8 jl — Douglas f Fort Mc- ■cenienta — :ed iu Com- idboro,... 92 1 Career — \na Maiiu- Savages Ised — War Attack tlie le of Puaiie avasour — lis Cliarac- tlio Kort it a Null. CHAPTER VII. CAMOSDN, ALBERT, \nCTORIA. 1845. PAOS 102 Extermination of Sav&ge Nomenclature — Camoaun Becomes First Al- bert, anil then Victoria — Food Supply — Douglas' Motto, 'Great Euds from Small Means' — Woo- ing 134 CHAPTER IX. Anderson's explorations. 1840-1847. Necessity of a New Route between tlje British Columbia Seaboard and New Caledonia — Mustbo Wholly within British Territory — Anderson Pro- poses Explorations — Authority and Means Granted — Biograpical and Bibliographical Note of Anderson and hi.^ AL-muscript History — Sets out from Alexandria — Proceeds to Kamloop — Thence Explores by Way of Anderson and Harrison Lakes to Langley — Returns by Way of the Coquihalla, S'milkameen, and Lake Nicola — Second Expedi- tion along Thompson and Eraser Rivers — Back by Kequeloose and the New Similkameen Trail — Report and Suggestions 1">7 CHAPTER X. TALE AND HOPE BSTABLLSHED. 1848-184<». Establishment on the Fraser at tiio Lauding of thd Sacliincos — Jamea Murray Yale — Causes Which Led to the Building of Fort ¥al«^ ^ mmm xir CONTENTS. PAri« Orders Oivcn Interior Traders to Break their Way tlirougli to Lang- ley — Three Biig:ides Join for That Purpose — The Ilontu Chosen not Sulislaotory — Ancrial Govern- ment to Douglas — Revenue — Loan — Public Lands— Miners' License —The British Cry Economy — Putting Things in Order — The Unau- thorized Acts of Douglas Legalized — Arrival of British Vessels of War — Men of Authority Appear — The United States Represented —Inauguration of the Governor at Langloy — The Moody-McGowan Aflfray — >iew Westminster Founded — Officers of the New Govern- ment — Smuggling 38t Huz. Barr, Col. k iviU CONTENTS. CHAPTEB XXin. ADMINISTRATION OF JC8TICB. 1856-1880. vAoa Justice withont Form — Inauguration of the Judiciary System — Jurisdic- tion of Canadian Courts Withdrawn — Pearkes Drafts a Plan for the Mainland — Lytton Refers the Matter to Begbie — The Gold-fields Act — Appointment of Matthew Baillie Begliie — On Uniting the Courts Disestablished and Reorganized — Needham Declines to Re- tire — Two Courts Roth Supreme — Character of Begbie — He Assists Douglas in Organizing (Government — Justice at Cariboo — Jurors Rebuked — Stipendiary Magistrates — Justice at Kootenai and Met- lahkatlah — Convict Labor — Nobles along the Border — Vigilance Committee 419 CHAPTER XXrV. FRASER RIVER HIMINO AND SETTLEMENT. 1858-1878. New Developments in the History of Mining — Character of the Mines — Mining Towns — Sluicing at Hope and Yale — Routes to the Dig^'ings — Steam on the Fraser — Boats Ascend to Hope and Yale — Extensica of Mining Area — Rush to Lytton — Roadj — Prospectors Push North- ward — Bars Named — Field — Region Hound Lilloet — Fountain, Ca- noe, Quesnel, and Thompson Mines — Quartz on Cherry Creek — The Mines of the Fraser Valley — Character of the Dry-diggings — Terrace Composition — Gold Distribution and Yield 438 CHAPTER XXV. GOLD IN THE CARIBOO COUNTRT. Cariboo Region — Its Deposits — New Mining Era — Golden Dreams — Early Developments — Roads and Mountain Trails — The Great Pros- pectors — The Influx — Quesnel River Mines — Horsefly and Quesnel Lake— Keitbley and its Town— Harvey and Cunningham Creeks — Antler Creek Riches— Grouse Creek 47i i CHAPTER XXVI. HIMINO IN CARIBOO. 1863-1882. 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 — Lowbee — CaSon Creek and its Quartz — Character of Cariboo Veins — Summary of Yield — Cariboo Lifa— The Low and the Intellectual 49i| CONTENTS. sU CHAPTER XXVII. CPPXB COLUMBIA MINIS. 1864-1882. Colnmbia River Deposits — Fine-gold Theory — Ancient River-beds — Early Diggings — Kootenai Excitement — Wild Horse Greek — Sas- katchewan Expedition — Perry Greek — Hydraulics — Subordinate Dis- tricts, Forty-nine Creek, Mooyie River — Big Bend — Routes and In- flux — French, McGulIoch, and Games Greeks— Later Exploration — Extent of the Auriferous Region — Terrace Gravels — Rock Creek — Okanagan and Similkameen Districts 620 CHAPTER XXVIII. OOLD DISOOVSRIES IN THE TAB NOBTH. 1861-1882. )mineca Country — Peace River Prospected — Government Expedition — Prospecting Cha-^o — Vitale Creek — Omineca Overrated — Germansen Creek — Sluicing — Manson and Lost Creeks — Finlay River — The Skeena and Coast Placers — Prospects of Settlements — Cause of De- cline — The Stikeen Explored — Thibert's Discovery— Cassiar Placers — Dease Lake Tributaries 643 CHAPTER XXIX. COAL. ftlbearing 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 Trough — Beaver Harbor — Quatsino Harbor — Nanaimo— The Nanaimo Coal Company — ^The Vancouver Company— The Welling- ton Company — Progress of Development at Nanaimo — Dunsmuir*s Adventures — The Nanaimo Stone Quarry — The Harewood Mine — Workings of the Vancouver Colliery — Queen Charlotte Islands An- thracite — Attempted Development of the Mines — Brown and Rich- ardson's Visits — Glaudot and Isherwood's Analyses — Comox and Bayne Sound — Developments — Discoveries on the Mainland — Minis- ters' Reports — Statutory Regulatiuus — Summary 666 CHAPTER XXX. OMION AND OONrEDKRATION. 1863-1871. Legislative Council Organized for British Columbia — ^Inaugural Ad- dress of Governor Douglas — A Meek Response — Separate Rulers Ap- pointed for the Two Colonies— A Cordial Leave-taking— Review of Douglas' Administration — Regime of Frederick Seymour — Excessive XX CONTENTS. Taxation— Union of the Colonies — The British North America Act — Anthony Musgrave 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 682 CHAPTER XXXI THX SAN jaAN ISLAND DlirFlC'in.TT. 1854-1872. The Archipelago de Haro^San Juan Island Occupied by the Hudson's Bay Company — Customs Dues Demanded for the United States — Commissioners Appointed — Their Arguments— Indian Troubles — The Affair of the Hog — A Military Post Established by General Harney — Arrival of British Men-of-war — And of the U. S. Steamer JUasnach .aellt — Protest of Douglas — Harney's Reply — 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 60S CHAPTER XXXn. THB CANADIAN PAOIFIO BAILWAT. 1871-1874. Tlie 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 bis Project. 640 CHAPTER XXXm. THK CANADIAN FACIFIO BAILWAT. 1874-1885. The Carnarvon Terms — Their Acceptance — Defeat of the Esqnimalt and Nanaimo Railway Bill — The Provincial Legislature's Petition to her Majesty — Rejoinder of the Dominion Government — Visit of the Karl of DufTerin — His Speech at Victoria — Threats of Secession — A Sec- ond Petition to the Queen — Proposed Annexation to the United States— One More Petition — Contract with the Syndicate — Engineer- ing Difficulties — Port Moody— Reasons for its Selection as the Ter- minus-Completion of the Line — A Costly Undertaking — The Road Built as a National Highway Victoria— Tl riaCoal, Lytton- Indiau \ of the P Churchei braries.. Agricultural Salmon-c! Alaska B Provinces Revenue Returns— Index. 661 CONTENTS. nt I Act — of the uncil — tea and PAM 682 [adson'a Jtatea — mMes — General Steamer ding of Dompro- n — Gen- -Harney 605 Linst the lolution id Cana- M Con- nge of lure and :oject. 640 lalt and to her Ihe Rarl \a Seo- lUnited Igineer- lie Ter- iRoad 661 CHAPTER XXXIY POLITICS AND OOVEKNlfUrr. 1870-1886, FAOI Tlie 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 — Tlie Legislature Votes for Separation— Discontent in the Capital — Cornwall Ap- pointed Cliief Magistrate — Government of British Columbia — The Suffrage — Proceedings of the Legislature— The Judiciary 6M CHAPTER XXXV. SETTLEMENTS, MISSIONS, AND EDnOATION. 1861-1886. Victoria — The Ubiquitous Chinaman — Esquimalt — Nanaimo — The Victo- ria Coal, Mining, and Land Company — New Westminster — Langley — Lytton — Savona's Ferry — Kamloop — Clinton — Eta.kerville — Yale — Indian Missions and Missionaries — Metlakathla — Forts — LidiiFerence of the Provincial Government — Civilization of the Native Tribes — Churches — Charitable Societies — Public Schools — Journalism — Li- braries 707 CHAPTER XXXVI. IKDUSTRIES, COMMERCE, AMD FINAMOJL 1880-1886. Agricultural Areao — Public Lands — Stock-raising — Fruits — Fisheries — Salmon-canning — Manufactures — Gold-nuning — 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 .... 740 Inskx. 775 HIST Ab-sa-ra-ka Allen (Alex Anderson U book a Indian 1863, 7; Anderson {J Anderson (J XX vi. 1( Annals of B: Applegate (i Armstrong ( Arrowsmith Island, Astoria, Or., Atlantic Moi Ballantyne (] Ballon (Willi Bancroft (Hu Bancroft (Hu Bancroft (Hu Bancroft (Hu Bancroft (Hu Bancroft (Hul Bancroft (Hu 1875. 5v Bancroft (Hul Biincroft Libr ing Ban CI Bancroft Libn British C( uierce. Bancroft's Hai Barkersville, ( Barrett-Lenna) %ley(C. A.) Begbie (Matth Lend. Geo Blanshard (Ric , 1851. Ne' Bolduc (J. B. 2 Missions, £ ATJTHOEirrES QUOTED IN THE niSTORT or BRITISH COLUMBIA. Ab-sa-ra-ka, Home of the Crows. Philadelphia, 1868, Allen (Alexander), Cariboo and the Mines of British Columbia. MS. Anderson (Alexander Cauliield), Dominion at the West. Victoria, 1872; Hand- book and Map to the Gold Region. San Francisco, 1858; Notes on the Indian Tribes of British North America. In Historical Mag., March 1863, 73; Notes on North Western America. Montreal, 1876. Anderson (Alexander Cauliield), North- West Coast History. MS. Anderson (James), Letter to Sir George Simpson. In Lond. Oeog. See., Jour., xxvi. 18. Atmals of British Legislation. London, 1856 et seq, 4to. Applegate (Jesse), Views of Oregon History. MS. Armstrong (A. N.), Oregon. Chicago, 1857. Arrowsmith (John), Map of the Pp ■ inces of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. London, 1859. Astoria, Or., Astorian, Marine Gazette. Atlantic Monthly. Boston, 1858 et seq, 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 Pacific States. New York, 1875. 5 vols. Bancroft (Hubert Howe), Popular Tribunals. B;incroft Library MSS. Scrap-books containing classified notes used in writ- ing Bancroft's works. Bancroft Library Newspaper Scraps, classified under the following headings; British Columbia, Fisheries, Shipping and Navigation, Trade and Com- merce. Bancroft's Hand-Book of Mining. San Francisco, 1861. Barkersville, Cariboo Sentinel. Barrett-Lennard (C. E.), Travels in British Columbia. London, 1862. Bayley (C. A.), Vancouver Island Early Life. MS. Bcgbie (Matthew B.), Journey into the Interior of British Columbia. In Lond. Geog. Soc, Jour., xxxi. 2.37. Blanshard (Richard), Vancouver Island. Despatches, 26 Dec. 1849 to 30 Aug. 1851. New Westminster, n. d. Bolduc (J. B. Z.), Letter to Mr Cayenne, 15 Feb. 1844. In De Smtt's Or. Missions, 51, (xilil) I it J. K in IP ;^^« i^ 'li xx:* AUTHORITIES QUOTED. Springfield, 1866; Oiir New We»t. Victoria, y H<)wlc8 (Sainnol), AcrosH tho ('(intineut. Hartford, etc., iNtil). liritiiih Culuiiiliia Agriculturul and Horticultural Society. Reports, 1873 ct 80(|. BritiHli Colunil)ia, Ouido to tho I'rovinco of. Victoria, 1877. hritiHli (.'oIuiul)ia, Muiiiorial iu Cunuuctioii witli tliu Uiiiiiicca Road Petition, n. pi., n. d. British C(ilund)ia Milling and Alining Company, Prospectus, Victoria, 1878. Briti.sh Columhia Milling >Stock Board. t'oiiHtitution. Victoria, lh78, Britiuh Columbia I'ultlic Uocuincnts cited in my notes by their titles and dates, tho title conHisting of 'British Columbia,' foUowod by one of tiio following headings: Acts; Collection of Ai'ts, Ordinances, and Proclama- tion; Consoliilated Statutes; Correspondence on tiio Custom Stations between Victoria and Kootenay: Kxpenditure; Indian Liind Question; Journals of Legi.dativo Assembly; Journals of Legi.sliitivo Council; Lold and Silver Mining Company, Memorandum. Victoria, 1878. Ciiriiwallis (Kinahan), Thu New FU Dorado. London, 1858. ('imrtcrt'y (H. C), British Columbia Minus. MS. Cox (Roiiit), Adventures on the Columbia River. London, 1831. 2 vols; New Yorl4, 18:}2. ('ri(lj,'o (K.), Cliarocturistics of uames Douglas. MS. Crosby (11. K.), The San Juan Dilliculty. la Overland, ii. 201. Dallas (A. G.), San Juan, Alaska, and the North- West Boundary. London, 1873. Dalles (Or.), Mountaineer. Dawson (George M.), General Note on the Mines and Minerals, n.pl., 1877: Note on Some of the Most lieoent Changes in Level ot Coast, n.pl., 1877; Notes on the Gl.iciation of British Columbia. In Canadian Naturalist, vol. ix., no. 1; Report of F^xplorations in British Columbia. In Canada (reological Survey, 1875-0, 233; Superficial (ieology of British Colum- bia, n.pl., 1878; Travelling Notes on the Surface Geology of the Pacific (Jiiast. n.pl., 1878. Deans (.James), Vancouver Island. MS. ]>>■ Cdsiiios (Amor), British Columbia Governments. MS. J)u Cosmos (Amor), Speech on De Horsey's Rei)ort, Feb. 18, 1878. Ottawa, 1878; Speech on E^quimalt (iraving Dock and Canadian Pacific R. R., Feb. 21, 1878. OtUwa, 1878. De (Iroot (Henry), British Columbia; its Condition and Prospects, etc. San Francisco, 1859. De Sniet (P. J.), Letters and Sketches. Philadelphia, 1843; Missions de I'Oregon. Gand, n.d.; Oregon Missions. New Yorii, 1847; Voyages aux Alontugnes Rouheuses. Li'.e, 1859; Western Misitions and Missionaries. New York, 1803. Directories, British Columbia and Victoria, Howard and Bamett; Victoria, Matlaudaine. Dodge (Richard Irving), The Plains of the Great West. New York, 1877. Uoiiglas (iSir James), Addresses and Memorials upon the Occasion of the Retirement of. Victoria, 1804. Douglas (Sir James), Diary of Gold Discovery on Fraser River. In Douglas' Private Papers. MS. Douglas (Sir James), Journal, 1840-1. MS. Douglas (Sir James), Official Correspondence. In Comwallis' New El Dorado, 31.7. 4 ■i XXVI AUTHORITIES QUOTED, Douglas (Sir James), Private Papers, lat and 2(1 series. MS. 2 vols. Douglas (Sir James), Voyages to the North West Coast. In Id. Journal. Douglas (William), A Summary Historical au-7. MS Fraser (Simon), Second Journal from May 30 to Juno 10, 1808. MS. Fremont (John C. ), Narrative of Exploring Expedition to Rocky MountainH. New York, 1849. Gibbs (George), Indian Afifairs, Report on, March 4, 1854. In Pac. R. R. Ropts., 1. 402. Clood (John B.), British Columbia. MS. Good (John B.), St Paul's Mission, n.pl., n.d. Goodyear ( W. A. ), Coal Mines of the Western Coabt of the U. S. San Fran- cisco, 1877. Grant ((ieorgo M.), Ocean to Ocean. Canada, 1873; Toronto, i877. Grant (W. C.), Description of Vancouver Island. In Loud. Geog. Soc, Jour., xxvii. '2G8; Remarks on Vancouver Island. In Lond. (ieog. Soc., Ji-'-'r., xxxi. 208. Gray (W. H.), A History of Oregon, 1792-1849. Portland, 1870. CJreenhow (Robert), History of Oregon and California. Boston, 1844; Lon- don, 1844; Boston, 1845; Now York, 1845; Boston, 1847. Grover (Lafayette), Oregon, Notable Things. MS. Hakluyt Society. Hudson's Bay, Geography of. London, 1850. Hancock (Saiimel), Thirteen Years' Rtisidonce on the Northwest Coast. MS. Hansard (T. C), Parliamentary Debates from 1803. London, 1812-77. [">■ F. Law Library.] Harmon (Daniel Williams), Voyages a^id Travels iu the Interior of Nortli America. Audover, 1820. AUTHORITIES QUOTED. xxvu icifio Ocean. {Mt of Amer- Harnett (Legh), Two Lectures on British Columbia. Victoria, 1868. Harpur's New Monthly Masazine. New York, 185G et seq. Harvey (Arthur), A Statistical Account of British Columbia. Ottava, 1867. Harvey (Mrs Daniel), Life of John McLoughlin. MS. Hayes (Benjamin), Scrap Books, 1850-74. 129 vols. Mining. 13 vols. Hazlitt ( William Carew), British Columbia and Vancouver's Island. London, 1858; Great Gold Fields of Cariboo. London, 1862. Hoctor, Mining in tho Upper Columbia River Basin. Hincs (Henry Youle), Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition. Toronto, 1859, folio; Canadian Red River Expedition, etc. Ijondon, 18()0. 2 vols. ; Papers relative to the Ex[iloration 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. ''Buffalo, 1851 ; Voyage round the World. Buffalo, 1850. Historical Magazine and Notes and Queries. Boston, etc., 1857-(>9. 15 vols. Hittell (John S.), The Commerce aud Industries of the Pacilic Coast. San Francisco, 1882. 4to. Honolulu, Polynesian, 1857 et seq.; Sandwich Island News, 1840 et seq. Hooper (W. H.), Ten Months amonfj the Tents of the Tuahi. London, 1853. Horetzky (Charles), Canada on the Pacific. Montreal, 1874. Howard and Burnett. See Directories. Britisli Columbia and Victoria. Howison (N. M.), Report oil Coast, Harl'ors, etc., of Oregon 1840. [30th Cong., IstSfss., H. Miss. Doc. 29.] Washington, 1848. Hudson's Bay Company, Extent aud Value of Possessory liiglits. [Montreal, 1849]; Plans Referred to in the Report from the Select Couimittoc. London, 1857; Report from Special Committee. London, 1857; Return to an Address, 10 March, 1857. n ])1., n.d. Hudson's Bay Company's Charter and License to Trade. Papers relative to. London, 1859. Hudson Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural Companies, British aud Ameri- can Joint Comi.iission. Montreal, etc., 18C8. 4 vols. ; Lvidcuco for the United States. Washington, 1807; Memorials presented to tlieiCommis- sioners April 17, 1805. Wasliiiigton, 1805; Supplement aud Appendix to Arguments in Behalf of tlie U. S. n. pi., n. d. Hunt's Mercliant's Magazme. New York, 1839 et seq. Iinray (James F. ), Sailing Directions for the West Coast of N. America. Lon- don, 1808 Isliister (Alex. K.), A Proposal for a New Penal Settlement. ..iondon, 1850. Lslierwood (B. F.), Report of Experi;;unt,s on (.'oals of t'u; I'acific Coast. [42d Cong., 2d Sess., H. Ex. Doc. 200.J Washington, 1872. Jarves (James J.), History of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands. Boston, 1843; London, 1843; Honolulu, 1872; Boston, 1844. .lohnsoii (R. B. ), Very Far West ludet'il. Loudon, 1872. .Idly (II. (J.), Report on Foiestry aud Forests of Canada. In Canadian Agri- cultural Report, 1877, 1. Kane (Paul), Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of N. America. London, 1859. Kingston (W. H. G.), Snow-shoes and Canoes. London, etc., 1877. Kirohhotr (Theo(h)r), Reisebilder und Skiz/en. N. Y., 1875-6. 2 vols. Knight's Scrap Books, A Colleetioii of 40 volumes. I.angevin (H. L.), Report on British d iiui Langley (Henry (i. ), Trade of tlie Pacitic. I iumbia. Ottawa, 1872. San Francisco, 1870. bi'e (Daniel), and J. H. Frost. Ten Years in Oregon. New York, 1844. Levi (l/cone^, Annals of British Legislation. London, 1850-08. 18 vols. Lewis (Philip H.), Coal Disc^'eries in Washington Territory. MS. u AUTHORITIES QUOTED. Lewia (Herbert George), Rominiscencos in 75ritiiih Columbia Sketches. MS. Lewis (JMuriwcthcr), and William C'l;irl:o, l..\;ionitioa to tlio iSourcus of the Missouri and I'aciiic Ocean, IC^-l-C. 1 h.kidulpliia, 1814. 2vil.i.; New York, lf>llj. 2 Vdb. ; Travels to the y>);:rcG of tli'- Missouri River and across the A:iicrican Continent. Lon;'.o:i, lul4. 4to; London, 1815; numerous other e '.ii.;ons. Lockiagton (W. N.), Notes o:i Pacific Coajt I'ioli and Fisheric.i. n.pl. 1879. Log of tha air J(tr)ic.f DoiujIok. I;i Caiui.'.a, Marine and lialiories. 1870-7. London, Chronich', Morning Post, Pr.ncli, I'.^ijctatur, Times. London (Juoj,'rap!:ic;-l Society, Jounuil. Lcnu'.oa, 1;a/1-73. 40 vola. Lord (John Keast), The Naturalist in Vancouver's Idand, etc. London, 1866. 2 vols McClellan (R. fhiy). The Golden State. Ran Francisco, 1872. MelJoaahl (Archibald), Canoe Voyage from Hudson's liay to Pacific. Ottawa, m72. McDoa:;l.l (]). G. Forbes), British Calund)ia and Vancouver Inland. London, IoG;>; Lecture on Dritiah Coluiabia. London, iyj3. MeL)on;dd (Vv'. John), Narrative. In Bi-ivi.h Columbia Sketches. MS, McDonald (.1. L.), Hidden Treasurcj. (llouceatcr, 1G71. f.Icfarlaue (.lameii). The Coal Ke;rion;i of America. New York, 1S7.3. Maclic (.Matlhuw), Vancouver Island and I-ritioh Columbia. London, 1865. Mac'j're^'or (John\ Commercial Statijticj. London, lu53. 5 voU. ^IcKay (Jamoi William), Ilocollections of Hudson's Bay Company. MS. Mackenzie (Ale::ander), Voyage from ?.]ontreal to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, I70'.)-'J3. London, 1801. 4to; New York, 1814. Mackenzie (il). Historical, Topograpl-.ical, and Descriptive View of one U. S. etc. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 181'.). McKinlay (Archibald), Narrative of a Cliicf Factor of Hudson Ikiy (Company. M.S. McLean (John), Notes of a Twenty-live Years' Service in the Hudson Bay Territory. London, 1843 McLeod, Pi:aco River. See McDonald (Archibabl), Canoe Voyage, McLou^'nl'n (John), Private Papera, 18'_5-5j. ?^IS. Macoun (Jolui), (ieolo^ical and Topc'rapliical Notes. In Canada, Geol. Survey, 1875-0, 87; Report on Ijotauical I'eatures of the Country. In Id., IIJ. Mallandaine. See Directory, Victoria. Malte-])run (V. A.), Precis de la Geographio Universelle. Bruxelles, 1839. G vols. Martin (R. Montgomery), History of the British Colonies. London, 1835. 5 voli; The Hudson s Bay Territories and Vancouver's IslamL Loudon, 1840. Marysvillc, (Cal.), Ap[)eal, Telegraph. Mathi:is (Franklin), Eraser and Tliompson River Gold Mines. In Olympia Pion. and Dem., May 14, 1858. Matthew (J. H.), The North-West Bound.ary. In Overland, vi. 297. Mattliieu (l'\ X.), Refugee, Trapper, aii-7. .Ion, 1866. ;. Ottawa, . London, MS. 73. idon, 1866. ,'. MS. iiud I'acitic icw of one f Company. Luason Bay 3. lada, Oeol. )untry. Ill ellea, 1839. on, 1835. 5 Loudon, lln Olympiik Report of Lxxi. 213. \\, Coast of Ition. Lon- by Land, I, 18.58. lb. 17, 1859, MoSPat (Hamilton), Journal of a Tour across Vancouver Island to Nootka Sound. In Pembertou's V. I., 14,3. Morgan (Lewis H.), The American Beaver and his Works. Philadelphia, 1878. Muir (Michel), Recollections. In British Columbia Sketches. MS. Nanaimo, Free Press, Gazette, and Tribune. Nevada (Cal. ), Oazctle, Journal. Newberry (J, S,), Origin of Prairies, In American Scientific Assoc, Trans,, 18(50. Now Tacoma, North Pacific Coast Times. New Westminster, British Columbia Examiner, British Columbian, Dominion Pacific Herald, Government Gazette, Mainland Guardian, New Republic Journal. New York, Herald, Journal of Commerce, Methodist, Sun, Times, Tribune. Nilos' Register. Baltimore, etc., 1811—49. 76 vols. Nii'-d (Philip Henry), Report of Diggings on Antler Creek, In British Colum- bia Further Papers, iv. North American Review, Boston, 1819 et seq. North Pacific Review. San Francisco, 1862-3. 2 vols. Northwest Boundary, Discussion of, etc. Washington, 1808. Ogden (Peter Skeen), and James Douglas, Letter respecting Coal in Vancouver Island. In Martins, H. B., 37. Olympia, Echo, Columbian, Pioneer and Democrat, Puget Sound Courier, Iranscript, Washington Standard. Olympia Club Conversazione. MS, Oregon City, Enterprise, Oregon Argus, Spectator. Ottawa Times. Overland Monthly. San Francisco, 1808-75, 15 vols. Overland Route, Report from a Select Committee. St Paul, 1858; Sketch of the Proposed Line. Loudon, 1858; Ottawa, 1871. Pacific Railroad Reports. Washington, 1855-60. 4to. 13 vols. I'alliser (John), Papers relative to the Exploration of British North America, London, 1859. 4to; Further Papers, Loudon, 1860. 4to; Index and Maps, London, 1805, 4to. Palmer (H. Spencer), Report on the Hairison and Lilloet Route, In London Gcog. Soc, Jour., xxxi. 224; Report of a Journey of Survey from Vic- toria to Fort Alexander. Now Westminster, 1803; Report on Portions of the Williams Lake and Cariboo Districts. New Wcstininstor, 1803. Papers relating to the Treaty of Washington, vol. v., Berlin Arbitration. Washington, 1872. Parker (Samuel), Journal of an Exploring Tour beyond the Rocky Mountains. Ithaca, 18::8; Id., 1840; Auburn, 1842; Id., 1840. Peace River Mines, History of. In Victoria Weekly Colonist, Feb. 23, 1870. Poiuberton (J. Dospard), Facts and Figures relating to Vancouver Island, Loudon, 1800. Perkins (James H.), Annals of the West. St Louis, IS.TO. Potermann (A.), Mittlieilungen aus Justus geographiacher. Gotha, 1872. Piimeer (The). San Francisco, 1854-5, 4 vols, I'oolo (Francis), Queen Charlotte Islands. London, 1872, Portland New.spapers, Advertiser, Bulletin, Commercial, Commercial Re- porter, Deutche Zeitung, Herald, New Northwest, Oregon Herald, Ore- gonian. Pacific Christian Advocate, Standard, West Shore, Post (Aaron), Statement, lu Victoria Gazette, July 4, 1858. Quarterly Review, London, 1809 et seq, Rattray (Alexander), Vancouver Island and British Columbia, Lond,, 1842, Rawliugs (Thomas), The Confederation of the British N. American Provinces. Loudon, 1866. zxx AUTHORITIES QUOTED. Red River Settlement, Correspondence Relative to the Recent Disturbances in. London, 1870. folio. Remy (Jules), and Julius Brenchley, a Journey to Great-Salt-Lake City. London, 18G1. 2 vols. Reply of the United States to the Case of the Government of Her Britannic Majesty, n. pi., n.d. 4to. Richards (George H.), Tlie Vancouver Island Pilot. London, I8G4. Richardson (James), Report on the Coal Fields of the £!ast Coast of Vancon- ver Island. In Canada, Geol. Survey, 1871-2, 73. Richardson (Sir John), Arctic Searching Expedition. London, 1851. 2 vols, Ritz (Philip), Great Northern Interior. MS. Roberts (George B. ), Recollections of Hudson's Bay Co. MS. Roseburg, Pantagraph, Plaindealer. Ross (Alexander), Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon. Jiondon, 1849; The Fur Hunters of the Far West. Ix)ndon, 1855. 2 vols. Rowe (G.), The Colonial Empire of Great Britain, pt. i. London, n.d. Sacramento (Cal.), Bee, Record, Record Union. Salem (Or.), American Unionist, Capital Chronicle, Mercnrj', Oregon States- man, Willamette Farmer. San Bernardino (Cal. ), Guardian. San Francisco Newspapers, Alta California, Call, Chronicle, Coast Review, Evening Bidletin, Herald, Mining and Scientific Press, News Letter, Post, Scientific Press, Times. Sawney's Letters: or Cariboo Rhymes. 1864-8. Seattle (Wash. ), Intelligencer, Pacific Tribune, Puget Sound Dispatch. Scemann (Berthold), Narrative of the Voyage of H. M. S. Herald, 1845-51. London, 1853. 2 vols. Selwyn (A. R. C). See Canada Geological Survey. Seward (W. H.), Speeches on Alaska, Vancouver, and Oregon, Aug. 18(59. Washiugtou, 1869. Simmonds (P. L.), Sir John Franklin and the Arctic Regions. Buffalo, 1852. Simpson (Alexander), The Oregon Territory. London, 1846. Simpson (Sir George), Narrative of a Journey round the World. London, 1847. 2 vols. Snyder, Letter from Yale, Aug. 17th. In Victoria Gazette, Aug. 24, 1858. Sproat (Gilbert Malcolm), British Columbia. London, 1873; Loudon, 187.'); Canada and the Empire. London, 1873; Scenes and Studies of Sivvagu Life. London, 1808. Steilacoom (Wash.), Puget Sound Express. Stuart (Granville), Montana aa it is. New York, 1865. Stuart (John), Autograph Notes. Torres, 1842. Sutro (A.), Review of Fraser River, etc. In .San Francisco Bulletin, Aug. 27, 1858. Swan (.Tomes G.), The Haidah Indians of Queen Charlotte Island. Wash., 1874. Swan (James M.), Colonizations. MS. Townsend Philad Truman (B Trutcli (Joi Map of Turner (Wi xiv. 16 Umatilla, C Umfreville United .Stai 17 vols. Ifnite-.l Sta' Foreign tions; I Vancouver ( Vancouver I lishment ration folio; Si toria, 18 Victor (Fran: 1872; Hi Victoria, Br Press, Sf Vciwell (A. V W'.iddington land Roi the Pror Waldo (Dauie W.iUa Walla, Waire (Henry \\Ved (Cliarlei Westminster ] White (Elijah; Wiiymper (Fn Wilkea (Charl pliia, 1844 Wilson (Elizali Wilson (Willia Winthroj) (Thi Woods (W. H Herald, M Work (John), I Wright, Caribc Tache (Macgregor), Sketcli of the Northwest of America. Montreal, 1870. | ^'''e, British C Tarbell (Frank), Victoria, Life and Travels. MS. Taylor (Alexander S ), Historical Sunxmary of Lower California. In Browne's 1 Min. Res. Taylor (James W.), Northwest British America. St Paul, 1860. Tennant (Thos.), Nautical Almanac, Tide Register, etc. San Francisco, 1877. Thornton (J. Quinn), Oregon and California in 1848. New York, 1848, 2 vola. Thornton (J. Quinn), Oregon History. MS. Tod (John), New Caledonia. MS. Tolmie (William Fraser), Canadian Pacific Railway Routes. Victoria, 1877. Tolmie (William F.), Puget Sound and Northwest Coast. MS. i!i ' . I'l AUTHORITIES QUOTED. XXXI iturbances ake City. ' Britannic I. if VdJicou- il. 2 vols. Tiondon, is. n.d. gon States- st Review, iwa Letter, latch. Id, 1845-51. Aug. 1809. uffiilo, 1852. . London, Ig. 24, 1858. udon, 1875; s of Savagt! |in, Aug. 27, d. Wash., Itreal, 1870. In Browne's Franoisoi), |848, 2 vols. toria, 1877. Townsend (John K.), Narrative of a Journey across the Rocky Mountains. Philadeli)hia, 1839. Truman (Benjamin C), Occidental Sketches. San Francisco, 1881. Trutch (Joseph), Complimentary Dinner to, April 10, 1871. Montreal, 1871; Map of British Columbia, 1871. Turner (Wm M.), Oold Hunting on Queen Charlotte's Island. In Overland, xiv. 167. Uiuatilla, Columbia Press. Uinfrevillc (Edward), The Present State of Hudson's Bay. London, 1790. United States Exploring Expedition. [Wilkes.] Philadelphia, 1844-58. 4to. 17 vols.; folio. 8 vols. United States Oovernment Documents; Bureau of Statistics; Commerce, Foreign and Domestic; Commerce and Navigation; Commercial Rela tions; Indian Aifairs. Vancouver (Wash.), Independent Register. Vancouver Island, Copies or Extracts of any Despatches on Subject of Estab- lisliment of a Representative Assembly. London, 1857. folio; Explo- ration, 1864. n.pl., n.d.; Returns to three Addresses. London, 1849. folio; Supreme (jourt of Civil Justice, Order in Court constituting. Vic- toria, 1865; Tlie Necessity of Reform. Victoria, 1859. Viotor (Frances Fuller), All over Oregon and Washington. San Francisco, 1872; River of the West. Hartford, 1870. Victoria, British Colonist, Cariboo Sentinel, Chronicle, Express, Gazette, Press, Standard. Vdwell (A. W.), British Columbia Mines. MS. Waddington (Alfred), The Eraser Mines Vindicated. Victoria, 1858; Over- land Route through British North America. London, 1868; Sketch of tlie Proposed Line of Overland Railroad. Ottawa, 1871. Waldo (Daniel), Critiques. MS. W.iUa Walla, Statesman. W;irre (Henry), and M. Vavasseur, Report, in Martin's Hudson's Bay. Wood (Charles E.), Queen Cliarlotto Island Expedition. MS. Westminster Review. London, 1824 et seq. White (Elijah), Ten Years in Oregon. Ithaca, 1850. Wliyniper (Frederick), Travel and Adventure in Alaska. New York, 1869. Wilkes (Charles), Narrative of tlie U. S. Exploring Expedition. Philadel- phia, 1844. 4to. 3 vols.; Philadelphia, 1845. 5 vols.; London, 1845, Wilson (Elizabeth), Recollections. In Oregon Sketches. MS. Wilson (William), Dominion of Canada, etc. Victoria, 1874. Winthro]) (Theodore), The Canoe and the Saddle. Boston, 1863. WiM)(ls (W. H.), Correspondence from McCaw's Rapids In Puget Sound Herald, May 14, 1858. Work (John), Journal, 1824. MS. Wright, Cariboo. In Overland, iii. 524 Yale, British Columbia Examiner. 'i. Bi 1 i ■ \ 1 ''■( j^u|j' %■■■' ...V ' I A 7^ J ■•m^J^r^ «»!•- — .. /A tf" ) **''•«. •< M .*-':, / )..iw-. r/' ,./ C "nf ^^- -v -'■•^ .^ .*•— •>• ^# -^ » .•X: AIA1» OF iilHTISH CDLVMB'iA /'..». /.I) AV».' .Vol/. J SinlaUUtIrt "•m^tiir . "i*>^ittim 1 rio- sr -fw ITT bniitt>>">' Wtiit ' "■»■" "" J3 The Spani Artka EonsE- Gray- QaiMPi The h tinct era md dipl( )f the do riie secc traders 1 )eople ol servants itil 184 ^cgin on l^vhich the lominant lame, anc 1858, wh( )rder of t 'he fourt Colonies a HISTORY OF BEITISH COLUMBIA. CHAPTER I. SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES, [he Spaniards on the Coast of British CoLUMniA — Perez, Heceta, and Akteaoa — Expedition of Jamhs Cook — Hanna — Maurelle— La Pfi- RonSE— I'ORTLOCK AND DlXOX — GuiSE — LoWRIE — BARCLAY — MeaRES^ Gray — Kendrick — Martinez — Haro — Colnett — Douglas — Elisa— QUIMPER— GaLIAXO and VaLD^IS — BODEOA Y CaADRA — VaNCODVEE. The history of British Columbia comprises six dis- tinct eras. First, the discoveries, claims, disputations, ukI diplomacies relative to the ownership and division )f the domain, commonly referred to as Nootka Affairs, ^lie second epoch begins with the coming of the fur- traders by land, by way of Peace River, first the lenple of the Northwest Company, hard followed by servants of the Hudson's Bay Company; and continues until 1849, when colonization and colonial government )cgin on Vancouver Island. The third term, during [which the Hudson's Bay Company are still everywhere loininant, ruling Vancouver Island in the queen's lame, and the Mainland in their own name, lasts until 1 858, when the gold discovery overturns the existing )rdor of things, and raises the Mainland into a colony. "'he fourth historic period, during which there are two polonies and two governors, concludes with the union UiKX. liBiT. Col. 1 (4> I SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOVAfJES. of the Island and Mainland under one colonial govcr- nient in 18GG. The afl'airs 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, tvhich passage, indeed, this monster isle would seem some- what inconveniently to obstruct; it is true, that somej two hundred years after these reputed first discov- eries of the Spaniards, navigators had surveyed thei Island's shores, that British, Russian, and American trading- vessels had anchored in its bays and inlets, and that 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 mastiacred — yet all who hitherto had couiel bad gone their vvav, leaving to the aboriginal tenants their sea-skirte'l r'omain in all its primeval quietude.] More than any happening thus far on the North- west Coast, more than the later bluster at Fortl Astoria, or the bristling at Stikeen, the seizing and! sending to San Bias of two English vessels by Mar- tinez, in 1789, and the planting of a Spanish batteryl at Nootka caused commotion among the bellicousl nations of Europe, as has been fully shown in ni)| History of the Northwest Coast. SPAIN, ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND RUSSIA. t Perez, Ilcccta, and Cuadra had explored and taken )o,s.scssion of the Nootka country for Spain in 1774-9, it which time there were no signs of European oc- cupation in this vicinity. James Cook, who touched )it Nootka in 1778, and La Pdrouse, who visited the [joast in 1786, brought to the knowledge of the world ho unappropriated wealth of furs which floated in [hcsc waters, and the arrival of the Russians on M t\. v:" "^,0. •■.. » scourges Maurelle for failing to do what Cook failid jilo; he isolated, ' ■ ^elf, for having made tho discovery of (Jiicen Ciiarlolto lands, for which, indeed, he is entitled to all praiat!. It was, however, only piiiiso with him, as he never circumnavigated tho island. Its complete sei- ktiini from the mainland was ascertained by Duncan the following year, jio lalled tho isles adjacent, as was theij tho fashion, from iiia ship, rrmcess r 'il Ai'vliipelago. See vol. i. p. 180 for Dixou's map. ^ Written also Berkely. ".Sec Uri:e7ihow'ii Or. and Cal,, 151. 6 SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES. Wicananiah in Clayoquot Sound, which he nahiesj Port Cox/'* passes on to the entrance of Fuca Strait- so named by Jiini — and down the coast to Destruc-j tion Island/' Shoalwater and Deception bays, .iiul capes Disappointment and Lookout,'" off which latter! point he turns and retraces his course to Barclavj Sound, which he enters, and anchors in a bay toj which he gives the name of Port Etfinghani/'^ Thcrej the natives bring to him a plentiful supply of salmoiij shell-fish, wild onions, and the fruits of the foresti Under the first officer, Robert Duffin, the long-b i;it| with twelve men is sent to explore the strait, a, enters several coves and harb(H's along the southeni| shore of Vancouver Island to trade. After saili!!j some thirty leagues, far enough to perceive that tliJ water to the east-north-east increased rather thaij diminished,'* the party is furiously attacked by iiaJ tives in two catioes, and driven back wounded to tlitj ship; after wliich Meares returns with his ship ti Nootka, where, not long after, the Iphlgeiiia, Captaiii Douglas, and the sloop Washington, Captain (Ji'avJ arrive. The new vessel is christened the yortlucm America,^'' and launched. '° ' In honor of our frieml John Henry Cox, Esquire. ' " When; was aituateil tlio 'vilhigo of Oueeiiliithu,' and some seven luilej distant 'tlie town of CJueenuitutt, ' liiosf inliahitanta were nian-catingpenii The country round Cape Flattery lie calls Tatootuhe, and the island Tiitcii'tl die iMland. Having carefully seai'ched for the Rio de San Roque of til Spa".iards, he might now safely assert that no such stream exists. '^To which he gives their nanu^s, as well as to Cape Shoalwater, soiitli' the entrance, and to Mount Olympus. This coast ho calls New Alljion, 1»1 lowing l)rake and Cook. '■' ' The port is sulliciently capacious to contain an Imndred sail of slii|ii| and so fortunately sheltered as to secure them from any storm. The amln age is also good, heing a soft mud, and tlie watering place perfectly coiivii nient.' Mi'hixh' To//., 172. '^ ' Such an extraordinary circumstanco tilled us with strange conjectimi as to the extremity of tliis strait, which we concluded, at all events, cdiiJ not he any great distiince from lluilson's liay.' Medrrn' Vol/., 179. '■' ' Being the first hottom ever Imilt and launched in this part of the ghiKj Meares, I'o;/., 2'i(), gives a fnllpiige illustration of the launching of thi.s amidst the flying of tlags, the boom of cannon, and the shouts of the sav.ipj In the liackground is the two-story house erected for the u.se of his men vi engaged in ouilding the vessel, and in tlie ilistance, round a high rocky pniJ ontoi'y, is seen the Indian village, with the sloop \V anhiwjtoii, uuchoreilf front of it. i MEARES AND GRAY. e names I Strait— j Destruc- ,ays, -ludj ich latter! Bai'clayl a bav to I '■^ fhcrel )f salmon,! he forest.j lonj_'-b m:| itrait, am 3 southei'i Der saili!>.J i that tliJ ,ther thail ed by m :lcd to tlij lis ship in, Captaii^ tain ^Arayl yorthicd )me seven milej ii-catingpei'pl' islaiut Tiiti»'t| Roque of tl^ Ists. ]\vati:r, south'^ jw Allnou, fii 1(1 sail of i^Uil The ami'.' lierteetly cniivij liigo conjectuR 11 events, (.'("'l 1 Hit. , _ Ji-t of the filu'^l ]iug of tlii.-< ii'" J ol the saviij:^ If his men vli| l^h rocky l'i'"| ^^i^ Meakks' Map. SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOVA(tES. While yet are lying at Nootka the Ijthigona, Felice, and Northwest America, which in due time take their departure, a A'cssei from Boston enters the harbor, tlie Columbia, Captain Kendrick. This vessel and the WasJii)ir/fon winter at Xootka, 1788-9.^"' On his way up the coast, Gray had been attacked by the natives at Tillamook Buv. Meanwhile, violent measures were adopted by the Spa; i"-"' aiid dhected against the British traders at !No. the distempers of which reached Madrid and Lou-, a, and culminated in the Xootka conven- tion, 1790. The fortification erected at Nootka by Martinez in 1789 was temporarily abandoned before the end of the year, but not before the arrival of Gon- zalo de Haro and the seizure of the Argonaut, Cohiett commanding, the Ipldgenia, which had returned to Xootka in charge of William Douglas, tlie North- vest America, and the Princess Royal, for attempting to found establishments within Spanish dominions. ^Martinez sent two of his j)rizes to Mexico, while Haro in the ^an Carlos prosecuted discoveries. The following spring, Xootka was reoccupied by the Span- iards under Elisa, who established tliere a Spanish st^ttlement, for which supplies were brought from San Bias by tlie Californian transports. This same year, 1790, ^lanuel Quimper, command- ing the Priiiccsa Real, one of the three vessels under Llisa, sailed from Xootka the 31st of May to continue t!ie exploration possibly begun by Haro in Fuca Strait the year previous. Touching at several points on the '"Oil Mcarcs' iiKq) tlie entire seaboard from Fuca Strait to Alaska is laid down as ail i,5laii(l, or a grouji of i laiidis, willed tlie Xortheni AreliilielajiO and I'l'iiiL'e.sH Royal l.dands, west of wliich are the ' (^>iieeu Charlotte's Isles, Ko iiaincd by Captain Dixon in 17S7, lirst discovered hy captains Lowrie and (l.iise i:i ITHC); ' and on the eastern side, 'sketch ot the track of the Ainericau Fhiop Wdsliiii'itoii, in autnnin 1 T.'^O, ' while beyond to tlie ea.itwarrl ii still 'the sea, and yet farther 'land seen.' ()n his way n[i thecoa.st, (ir.iy h ul attempted to enter the Colnmbia, but failed; and the f. Pti <' '^■J- V'/s— i^S 'r- ® continued Dt'ocher I or four iuL " Aftcrwar rnmbos [in'ixiii (litre tres li qu iluiitro do una 1 '■( ])ilotosal r< /'"■'iiiociniiciito text of tho on !^ inu'what mod iiiiw reached K '"xMipicd, !ind lii^^iiig placed I MANUEL QUIMPER. I, Felice, :e their harbor, sel and On his by the by the traders Madrid couven- otka by I before of Gon- Cohiett irned to i Nortli- .empting iniuioTis. o, while s. The c Span- S[)aiiish oiu San inniand- Is under lontinue li Strait on the bka is liiiil Irc'liiiiclami tto's Isliw, (owiic mill lAiueriucin still 'the littuinptuJ Tile yet in I (if Quucii viiig' coni- l-oyago to south-west side of the Island before visited by trading- \essels, on the 11th of Juno he entered and named P(n't 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, ho made short excursions in various directions, and, following his instructions, on the 23d of Juno he took formal possession of the country for the King of Spain. Contrary winds kept liiiu in this port until the 28th, when, setting sail, he 1^ •D •*> -§ l!.;vi|la IJiuido iCv,, , ISL.DL DA ROSA V^'^|2^Pia.(ie Moror.o do la Vti Al J /I. U it S A Pta.d(. MeriEndez'^ Quimper's Map. continued east -south -cast, and passed tlio present Bcecher Bay, and the same day entered between three ur four inlets a beautiful harbor which he named Elisa." "Afterward Peddcr Bay. 'El mismo dia so Icvaron y navegando por ruinlios [H-iixinios al lossuoate, costoaron dos grandcs ciiscuiidas y cutiaron por citru trcs o quatro islillus y otra grande inmediata, ;l la tlcrra liasta liallaiso (k'utro do una boUa baliia (|uc llamaron de I'^lisa, en dondo anclaron y fiioroa In jidotosal rcco'iociniionto do aqucllos parajea pruxinios.' Qnhnixr, Scuuiulo H'liitiuciiniciito lie Ir Eutmda dc Fucn, in Vimji's ol Xorlv, MS., No. 11. Tho text of tho original is here qnito confusing, and but for tho appendix, which s iiiK'what moditics and explains it, ono might suppose the voyagiTs to havo iiiiu' reached Ks(|uinialt IJay. Hut by noticing tho direction sailed, the time ii'oiiiiicd, and by a careful comparsion of tho relative latitutles given— Kli.sa bciii',' placed one minute farther south thati lievilla Gigedo, while tho uext 10 SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES. On tlie 30tli, tlie vessel proceeded round to Royal Bay, which Quiniper called Solano ; and the same day he moved the ship up into Esquimalt Harbor, which he named Valdes. While there the vessel lay at an- chor, Quimper sent out in small boats his pilots, who, five leagues to the eastward, discovered besides several i'slands 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 Baj', or Esquimalt, was another bay, which tlicy pronounced "a port of good shelter, water, and wild seeds for which the Indians came in canoes from the rther side of the strait." This was Victoria Harbor, to which Quimper gave the name of Cor- doba. ^^ While there the natives brought fruit and roots, not having skins to trade. Indeed, says Quim- per, they did not need to kill animals for food, their rich soil providing them abundance; and as for cloth- ing, the tribes contiguous, even as far away as the mouth of li'uca Strait, were glad to bring furs, and give them in exchange for these natural products, of I which they regularly laid in a winter's supply. This quiet life, moreover, seemed to make these savages less ferocious than their beast-killing neighbors.''' On the 4th of July, Quimper crossed with his ves-l sel to New Dungeness Point, which he named Santa Cruz, and behind which he anchored, calling the plare Quimper Bay.^" Soon the natives appeared with anchorage, which wc shall find to ho the entrance to Esquimalt Bay, is several minutua nortli of Elisa, or Soke Harhor — the positions of the several staticiasl heconie quite clear. "'Cor(lol)a Bay aa laid down on. modem maps is niisplacea; that is, if in- tended as the Coiiloba liay of Quimper. First, it does not correspond to tiiiil well-sheltered port described hy Quimper; nor does it appear that either I Quimper or his pilots ever entered Haro Strait so far. I "See Niilire Races, i. 174-207. ' En cuya demora hallaron un puerto (iue| llamaron de Cordolja do apreciables abrigos, uguas, y seniillas silvestres ilo que saliau provistas algunas canoas de los puertos quo se liallan fuera ilfl seno. ' Quimper, Sei/timlo Reconochniento (/« In Eiitrndn de Fiicn. I '■"• 'El mismo dia por la tarde aiiclarou alabrigo do unapunta quo llaniarnnj de Saiita Cruz, donde eiicontrarou uu abrigado puerto do pooa agua projiio I mussels and fea out in an adm Cuadra Admira niano, \ land rur tliey na turned i for Xo( obliged ■ (.lays, vf. the sout on the i naming i Sol em cliarges < of tlie cc and aftei on the 3o vented en Tlie e: the inter( firm the 1 The very to coinpk Carlos, of of seven. of seeking the coast continued for tlie St] examine C para las emha Quinnifr. ' ,y,y!. ^' Port Disc( " The forme '■' The native ^' Barclay 8i i ''3 TAKING POSSESSION. 11 i i mussels, fisli, deer meat, mats, skins, tanned leather, a; id feathered blankets to trade. The pilots, starting out in small boats, and exploring eastward, came to an admirable liarbor,^^ which they called Bodega y Cuadra, with an island in front of it. The nature of Admiralty Inlet, which he called Ensenada de Caa- mauo, was mistaken, and from this point, along the land running nortiiward, they saw two openings, which tlicy named Fidalgo and Deflon.^' Then they re- turned to the vessel. On the 18th, Quimper sot sail for Xootka, but by reason of adverse winds was ol)liged to enter Valdes Bay, where he remained tliree days, when he again weighed anchor, and coasting the southern side of Fuca Strait toward its entrance, on the 24th came to Neah Bay, which he entered, naming it Puerto de Nunez Gaona.^^ Solemnly again on the 1st of August, amidst dis- cliarges of musketry and artillery, he took possession of the country, wishing without fail to secure it all; and after repairing his vessel and sounding the bay, on the 3d 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 tlie interest of the Spanish authorities, and to con- firm the belief in an interoceanic strait in this quarter, The very next year, accordingly, Elisa received orders to complete this survey, and at once prepared tlie San Carlos, of sixteen guns, and the schooner Horcasifas, of seven. He left X( otka in May with the intention of seeking the sixtieth parallel, and thence to follow tlie coast southward to Fuca Strait, but the winds continued contrary, and he was obliged to sail direct for the Strait. Leaving the schooner on ^Fay 2rth, to examine Carrasco Inlet,'^* he proceeded with the San 4 9 1 -4 para las cmliarcaciones pequeflas, y alU toinaron posesiou Uaniiiudolo de Qiiiiiijic'i'. ' Scijnmlo liecoimcintii'iito i/c In Eiifniiln, de Fiiea. ^' I'ort Discovery. '''' 'L'lio former was evidently the present liosario Strait. '■'■' Tlui native name waa Quiuicaniet. "'Barclay Sound. 12 SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES. Pta.J< •-"c-rronl >y^ .•ei.\\- //is d ■^ Sn.Jose i^Ptii.v-^Bajode Vto.de Nra.^^ 5,^0 ^o^ ^.- .^ ^ <> #,.. .uc. 1 r, . AiWuaV"-. ,^?>^ •■•'' ^'^ \Pta.dt. Herrera ] '"."-'""^A \ C siy Boca Jc V/iiivasifdS^X <'t~,_N /^ ' '' .t'.i"'i'r^^_-'.'r^L-,5yEMJ'.''. _..m'to:(5el Socorro' IS. DEO .,'V.' - ■ , , j-.e-v, . . I^DI'I' 'A , .- r:r^-. fiilEME'.<^ ^• ■%>. 1(1 30 Eusa'h Map. "' ' Recoiiocf ii'ia y media im SURVEY OF IIAIIO STRAIT. 18 iP Ci'irlos to C6rcloba Harbor. On May 3Lst, the armed launcli wasdespatclicd under Verdia, tlie second j>//o to, to explore Haro Strait, but returned the same day with the report that a Heet of canoes liad surrounded the launch, and made such hostile demonstrations that tiie 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, alter having sunk a big canoe and killed several natives. In view of this contrdevips, Elisa resolved to Mait for the return of the schooner before sending (lilt another expedition. She arrived twelve days lati^r, with an account of the archipelago and branches of tlie 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 ^osd Maria Xarvaez to take the schooner and launch, with thirty sailors and eight Catalonian volunteers, and make a four days' minute examination of the Haro Strait. He set sail on June 14th, and entered the strait along the western shore, with the intention of afterward letting the ves- sels explore one of the sides each; but on reachmg a o'lcmp of islands above the present Cordoba Bay, this ider. was found impracticable. An anchorage was souglit for the night close to the east shore of Vaii- conver Island, evidently near the present Coal Island; and the next morning Narvaez steered eastward, to- ward the large opening which had been noticed the day before. After })assing several islands, he was ohliged to enter for a few hours into the small harb : of San Antonio.^" The same morning, he entered to ill : 'ti hf \ ! -fKf- "■^ ' Recnnocl un buen puerto annque pefjueno pucs lo mas largo de ol ticne iiiKi y inelim Mit to him called Mount Baker. Survey- ing thence in small boats. Protection Island, Port Discovery, into which the shii)s are moved, and Port Townsend are seen and named, the last "in honor of the nolde manpiis of that name." An inferior poiiit receives the name of an inferior person, Hudson. Some difficulty is exi)erienced in obtaining fresli water, but the country is pronounced charming, li every move new l)eauties appearing. The 7th of Vancouver embarks in the Discovery s yawl, witJi iHs launch and the Chathavis cutter, with a five days' suj)ply of stores. Dining at P(jrt Townsend, the cliff I adjacent seemingly composed of indurated clay is called Marrowstono Point, while the round snowy peak thatj glistens in the soutli-west is called Mount liainier "after my friend Rear- Admiral Kainier." Oak Covol and Hazel Point are so named on account of the trees there ; Foulweather Blulf, because the M'eather changes wluMi })assing it. Hood Canal is entered, and named "after tiie liight Honorable Lord Hood;" upon the i land and its people comments are passed, and the com- mander returns to the ships. Leavhig now the Chatham, with instructions toi Broughton to make observations in that vicinity, and then to follow, on the 18th Vancouver enters with tlit'l Discovery the inlet he calls Admiralty, and the next day orders a ])arty in the launch and cutter, undeij Peter l^uget, lieutenant, and Joseph Whidbey, master, to precede him, discover, and reuort, while with uiurel UlST. Bbi GEORGE VANCOUVER. 17 ck to il alio II I aotli land, less in )uu!i;i'- :, "dis- mt," is lurvcy- i, Tort d Port I liontir )r poiiit ludson. f fresh k " ^' of vitli iUs e days' blic clill'! IS called 1 ak tliat I llainier i\i Cove I he trees i changes nanudi pon tilt-' he coin- Lions to I [ity, «'»^^ ;itli tliel Jic next I undt-'i'l niastev, ■ bli more "i -^' t^'i. ^.^ y^ %-f — t ■ \v>sg3Pt.Fr«V)ai A 1 n 1^ VAvrorvEii's Map, No. 1. UiBT. Brit. Col. % IS 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 CliatJiam 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 26th Van- couver sets out in the yawl, leaving orders with Broughton, should Pugot and Whidbey return, to have the arm running easterly examined. The result is the discovery and naming of Vashon Island, "after my friend Captain Vashon of the navy," and "to commemorate Mr Puget's exertions," Pugot 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, take I formal possession of the coast country, and so call the place Possession Sound. The open Avater 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 western arm of this branchj of Admiralty Inlet is called Port Gardner, "after! Vice- Admiral Sir Alan Gardner," the smaller eastorni one. Port Susan. ^^ Pcnn Cove is so named "in honor| of a particular friend." Passing northward out of Admiralty Inlet, Point! Partridge, directly opposite Penn Cove, and Pointj Wilson, "after my much esteemed friend Captainj Geor'go Wilson of the navy," and Deception Passagel are named. Sending frequent parties in boats un(l| on shore in various directions, the expedition continucl through Rosario Strait, which, however, is not liorer ''Vancouver's conception of thecliaractcrand extent of these sheets of wateij was iniite erroneous, and nioilern maps almost er';hdn^;e tiieir icl;itive uumif and positions. In proof of which wo have hiter in this narrative, Uec'.'j'fi''' passage leading into Port Gardner, i ! akes ,thes 23cl after and Dis- It, Point! Id Point! I Captainl Passage! kits unci Lutinuci Vet Uevel leetsof^atej l,..,.„>liol| Vancouver's Map, No. 2. I ,1 i : 20 SUMMARY OP 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 Bellingham and Birch bays, and points William, Francis, Roberts, Grey, Atkinson, Gower, Upwood, and Scotch Fir to Burrard and Jervis canals and Howe Sc , where are Passage and Anvil islands. The us^ -1 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 Jervis;" 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.'^* A At anchor, near Point Grey, on the 22d of June, Vancouver being then out on a boat excursion discov- ers two Spaiiish vessels of war, the brig Sutil, and the schooner Mcxicana, Galiano commanding the for- mer and Valdes the latter, both captains in the Span- ish navy, sent by the viceroy of Mexico to continue Spanish discovery through Fuca Strait. They hatl Bailed from Acapulco in March, and from Nootka early in June, had entered Fuca Strait and anchored in the Puerto de Nunez Gaona, now Neali Bay. There they found the Pruiccsa, under Salvador Fi- dalgo, who had orders to plant in that vicinity a Span- ish establishment similar to tliat at Nootka. Thence | they crossed to Cordoba,"'' or Victoria, which they pro- •* Sarah, Mary, unit'i'ta Ik' arlioles y plantas, y ijsta.s iirddiKoumes sim (juasi las misinas ([uu las do Nutkii, almudaudo mas los rosalos silvostros.' Siilil y Mcdirann, Viaiji', 4li-.S. '''Thoir narrativo says Siii Juan Island, but it was probably Lopez Island will ii; they canii/ to anchor, as in tiiuir map the two islands are joined. ' All tiiis, of course, was before Va ico\iver had been tliero. ■' The fonner applied to Point Roberts, and the latter to the northern point "f I 'ray ton Harbor. The [>resent Boundary Bay is laid down on thoir map as Kii-'riada del Kiigano, so called on account of their failure to find there a pas- iHigc: iutu thu gulf of Guorgia, uiarked ou their map as Canal del itusurio. m ■'J, 22 SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES. ,. Island. Continuing, on the 1 oth 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 1 Oth they embarked for the opposite side of the strait, which they reached the following day, anchoring off Point Grey, which they call Punta de Langara. 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 ho has found. Galiano is surprised that Vancouver did not discover Eraser River; for the Spanish explorers who had the previous year passed along this coast, had observed between points Roberts and Grey au opening which was either an inlet or a river, and which they located on their map, calling it Canal do Eloridablanca,'"' 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 dthris floating, sure evi- dence of a stream near by. Vancouver, in common with 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 large rivers, after their existence has been told him, than that the Spaniards should have been before him at all in these parts. *^ Pie wonders how they can go ^"Soine modern maps give two islands the name Valdds, tliis being tlic more soutiiern. *" ' Named 1)y one of their officers Rio Blnnclio, in compliment to the tluu prime-minister of Spain.' Vnni-onvi'r'n Voij., i. ,'{14. *' 'I cannot avoid acknowledging,' lie writes. Voy., i. .SI2, 'that on this occasion I cxpcrieuctd uo bmall degree of murtilicatiun.' ' En el auo outenor MOVEMENTS OF THE SPANIARDS. PjnfaC ^-'.c*' \ f I't.i.iU' \s> J>- i^.iv-itovaii . o\ Cabo de Yy .'^ P.«"ta da Zoballo* ^iM^adel Pesiu^r^- ■ 'H^^^^--^A X:x> I f "I ■'it H K t'^^l i fl ::iii ^ |fl f'U » ->.l .« 1 hH i fjt'-a S . H Vl'jfi i.t H iR'" 1 ! "',• ■ •| "}'■ 1 4 ''> \ 1 ^i ~''^H '1 k'l M;|| >i™ Its ^ i' t i| J': ', 'i Galiano'.s Map. mi i II 24 SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES. SO far and accomplish so much m a craft so ill suited to voyages of discovery.*^ As regards the discoveries of the Spaniards before liim in these parts, Galiano shows him a map on which is laid down, besides much other new information, Tejada Island and Rosario Strait.*'* Vancouver is also informed that Cuadra awaits him at Nootka. Then tlie Spaniards dine the English, and the English dine tlie Spaniards, amidst profound punctilios; after which they continue their explorations for a time together, the Spaniards making now and then an ex- cursion in one direction and the English in another. On the 23d of Jii c^, entering Burrard Inlet, called by them, on their map. Canal de Sasamat, the Indian name of the place, and in their text, Eloridablanca, indicative of the supposition that the stream they found flowinii; into it was the true canal or river of their predecessors, mistermed Blancho 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 habiau visto nuestros ofilciales del departameiito de San Bias a alguna dis- tauoia esta parto de costa, y no dovisando lo mas baxo de ella habian creiilo que las ticrnis inmediatas & Punta de Langara y la Peninsula de Cepeda fuescn dos islas situadas en la boca del Canal de Floridablanca; asi las coloc^ron en 8u carta.' Siitll y Mcxicana, Viwje, G4. " ' Thoy were each about 45 tons burden, mounted two brass guns, and were navi;^atcd by ^4 men, bearing one lieutenant, without a single inferiiir officer. Tiieir apartments just allowed room for sk'cping-places oneacli side, with a table in the intermediate space, at which four persons, with some ditli- culty, could sit, and were in all otlior respects the moat ill-calcidated and unfit vessels that could possibly be imagined for such an expedition.' Van- couver s Vol/., i. 313. ** Vancouver evidently misread this chart, as he calls the island Favida, and places on his own map the 'Canal de Xciestra Sonora del 1'osario,' or if we would choose between the bad Spanish of the maj) and that of the text, the 'Canal del Neustra Signora del Kosario,' between Tejada I.sland and tlie mainland. Now it was the Gulf of Georgia itself to which the Spanianlsgavo the name Canal del Kosario, and not to the narrow passage between Tejaila 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 Kosario of the Spaniards has been crowded down by the Gulf of Georgia of tlie English into the narrow channel at its southern end between the Sail Juan Islands and the mainland; but we should hardly expect to see our Inily of Kosario making at one leap such distance as from Tejada to Fidal,.;o Islands. Compare (.'(irtn;ir'ip/ii/ P. ('., MS., lii. ]'J4. The present Rosaiiii Strait is called on early Spaninh maps Canal de Fidalgo. It was iu 1849 that the British admiralty made this change. JAMKS JOHNSTONE. 2S Strait, and anchors in tlie arcliijiclago at an island <'!illud by the Spaniards Quenia," the Enghsh naming l*(jint Marshall and Savaiy Island on their way. It is here agreed by the combined fleet to send out tliico boat expeditions, the Spanish under Valdes to jti'oceod northward into the opening called by him Ciiiial de la Tabla,^^ misnamed by modern map-makers Toba, the English under James Johnstone, an officer (HI board the Chatham, to enter the hmg narrow p;issage to which was subsequently given his name, uliilo Puget was to survey wbat, by reason of the lilcak earth and lowering opaque sky, Vancouver was c'liistrained to call Desolation Sound. Galiano also n-dos out, and finds what he calls Canal del Arco, now Hoinfray Channel, which extends from Punta Sarmi- riito^" to Canal de la Tabla. East of Punta Sarmi- ciito Galiano finds an inlet ending in two branches, ti) which he gives names, to the southern Malaspina, and to the eastern Bustamante. Many of the inlets lu'icabout are entered and named by both the Spanish and Enijlish: thus the Punta de Mao;allanes of Ga- liano is the Point Mudge of Vancouver, the Brazo do (^uintano of Galiano is the Bute Inlet of Van- couver, the Brazo de Salamanca of Galiano is the Loug]d)orough Canal of Vancouver, and so on. The world has indeed progressed when we behold in this f.ir-away wilderness the representatives of two great l']uropean j)Owers laboring side by side for the exten- sion of knowledge, vying with one another in their noble eftbrts of discovery. Such a sight had never before been seen in these parts. The od of July, Johnstone is sent a second time into the narrow passage which he had found, and in com- pany with Swaine passes through it to within full view of the ocean.*' " I'lobalily Cortes lalaiul. * Oil account of a wooaliano and Valdes call Caiiall de Descubierta. The jiresent Broughton Straits isl named by them Canal de Atrevida. Reaching tliel f. rtl Isles; Map, SiilH 1/ Jr<:ricaii(t, i'lei/c, Islos Jo Laiiz. Car/oijniphif P. l\ MS., iii. 230. ihis was certainly aTiiong tlio tiiMt poiiitH seen in tliis viciiiitv;! so tliat •lolmstoiio tlicre f;ni:i(l liiiiisi'lf near what was now oiu! of thu wnrMil highways. 'J hu islands on the eastern side of the northern end of Vaneouvt.'l Iiland are on the atlases of both Vancouver and the Sutil y Mexiaimi, ^U the islands of Galiano and Valdes.' GALIANO AND VALDES. 27 ,S Jof dP^"^--^^^^^^.^ r^ S " Vancouvlks AIai', No. 3. 28 SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYAGES. if harbor whore Fort Rupert stood later, they call the place Puerto do Guenies. Then rounding the north- ern end of Vancouver Island they sail for Nootka. Grace, mercy, and peace continue the order of the day. Vancouver offers to salute the Spanish ilag if Bodega y Cuadra will return the compliment with an equal number of guns, which offer is gracefidly ac- cepted, and so from either side thirteen guns bellow furth honors. At anchor hero beside tlie S[)anish brig Aetiva are Vancouver's store-ship Da'dalus, and tlie Three Brothers, a small merchant briiif from Lon- don, commanded by Lieutenant Alder of the navy. Beside the cliiefs of Spain and England his aboriginal majesty Maquinna is conspicuous; but when, arrayed in robes of Adamic simplicity, he attempts t(j board Vancouver's vessel and is repulsed, the quality of his savagism being unknown, he is very angry at the English, but is mollified and made gracious by the Span- ish commandant. The representatives of the august I rival powers now eat much together, and talk in geiiii- Hections. The Chatham is hauled on shore and ru- ])aired. Galiano and Valdes enter the port the 1st of September. Letters ])ass, and deep diplomatism is in I order. To whom shall bolono; 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 I save urbanity and obeisance they caimot agree. Bo- dega y Cuadiu is ready to draw the line on this shore | between Spain and England; Vancouver's orders ex- tend only to taking possession of his ]\rajcsty's huts. Jointly to glorify themselves, and likewise to makei innnortal the brotherly love which swells the breast of both commandants in their distinmiished disai2:it'0-| ments, Vancouver proposes, and Bodega y Cuadial serenely smiles acquiescence, that the great islaiidr whereon they now sit shall forever be known asl CUADRO AND VANCOUVER. 29 Ciiadra and Vancouver Island.** The Spanish armed sliip Aranzazu, Caamano, connnandcr, enters the port tlio 8th of September. Other vessels here and else- wliere on the coast come and go, some trading, some waiting on the incipient settlements at Nootka and Neah Bay, all jealously watching each other — an Knglish and an American shallop are on the stocks at Xodtka; a French trader is on the coast; besides the Spanish vessels named are the Gcrtrmlis, Covcepcion, I'r'nurm, and the ISan (Jarlos; further, the Fenis and St Joseph and the brig Hojie are n)entioned. And now at Nootka, Bodega y Cuadra solemnly possesses the Spanish huts, and Vancouver soknnnly ])()ssesses the English huts; the questions involved are leforred to home arbitrament; then the several squad- rons sail each their way leaving the bland Maquinna, with bloody appetite new-whetted, as formerlv lord I of all. On his way to San Francisco, Vancouver names Mount St Helens, "in honor of his Britannic ma- j jesty's ambassadors at the court of Madrid," and sends Wliidbcy in the Dndalus to survey Gray Harbor, land J^rouj/hton in the Chatham to examine the Colum- jbia, his attempt to enter the latter with the Discovery liaviiiijf failed. Yet twice again before returning to England, Van- [couver appear'^d upon the Northwest Coast; once in April 1793, Broughton meanwhile sailing for home, jaiid again in April 1794, after spending portions of liotli winters on the southern coast and at the Hawaiian j Islands. ^^ As hitherto, wherever he went he found 1 1 111 ^''Both commanders were well aware that in thus giving so largo a body of I land their joint names, and so recording it in the text and on the maps of the j expeditions of Vancouver and of Galiano and Valdes, one, and but one, would Iremiiin, and that would depend entirely as to which nation the territory fell. I '-'111 tlie expedition of 1793, Vancouver visited and named Cape Caution; iBurkc Canal, ' after the Right Honorable PJdmund ;' Fisher Canal, * after a miioh Ircspected friend;' points Walker, Edmund, Edward, and Raphoe; King Is- lland, 'after the family of my late highly esteemed and much lamented friend, ICiiptaiii James King of the navy; Tort John, Dean, Cascade, and Muscle IcaiiHls, and Restoration and Poison coves; then ho entered Milbank Sound, Iso iiaiiiud by Duncan, and gave the name of liis third lieutenant to Cape Swaiue, f: aO SUMMARY OF EARLIEST VOYA(!K.S. in almost every instance that the Spaniards liad been heforo him. From this time down to tlic final abandonment df this j)cirt of the coast by the Spaniards, and the [)laiit- aftiT wliit'li names wore given to Ottrdncr Canal, jioints Hopkins, rumniiiig, Hunt, anil I'latxc, Hawkeahnry iHland, Cape Jlii>i't.s(iii, I'itt Aruliiiielago, 'aftir till! Right Hduoralile William I'itt.'SteplieuH Island, 'a'ter Sir riiilip Steiiliri i of tiiu ailniiralty,' and (irenville Canal. Canal del I'rincipo was navit>atfd iind named l)y Caamailo. Some of the other jilaoes seen and named by Vaaoonvcr in tiiia voyage were Rrowu Passage, 'after the eomuuMuUa'of the lhiltiriiiu-lh.' I)unda8 Island, 'after the Right llonorahle lli^nry l)nnilas; ' Point Maskilyno, 'after the astronomer royal; ' Point Ramsilen, ' after Mr Ramsdiai, the opti- cian;' CaiieFox, ' after the Kiglit }lf)noral)le Charles .lames Fox; ' Point Alava, ' in eoniplinient to the Spanish governfir at Nootka; ' Slate Islet; Point Nelscui, 'afterCaptain Nelson of tlm navy; ' Point Sykes, 'after one of the gentleniin of the Disconrij: ' ^joints TroUoj), Fitzgihhon, Lees, Whaley, Escape, Higgiiis, l)avidson, Percy, ami Wales, the last named in honor of his schoolniastir; Burrongh Bay; Traitor's Cove; Revilla (iigedo Island; Behm Canal; Cain; Nortluunherland; I'ortland Can/d; Moira Sound; Wedge Island, 'after the siir- :e vtr exercised better taste in the execution of such a task. Among the naiiiM given by the Spaniards in this region, and for the most part respected by N'au- ! I GENERAL TRAFFIC. 31 iii'j,' of the post of Astoria at the mouth of the Colum- liia River, by the Ainerieaiis, in IMll, many ships of vuiimis nations roasted Vaneouver and Quceii Cliar- lotte Islands and the adjacent niainlaiKi, eliirfly for juu|M)Si's of trartie with tho nativi'S, and after and ah)ni; Willi tluMU the adventurers of England trading- into Jludson's Bay, first in vessels only, and then with all t lie i);iraphernalia for permanent •■stahlishnu'nts, furth"r allusion to which is not necessary in this connection. (liver, were tlio Canal 'H m ml his miiiil The 0(111- llaiioviT, I Corinviill, Mort'dlli.l Btrotdi ci To this I loss voci'i- visited livl is, Harri=,| ,111, Anni'-T, an, Wdiiii- Sainu(-1, 1 or the stall am;' ''<]*\ (. ai I)<)llL'l,Ul ard; Knisl ts Dun.husj Pkeuliaiii, iliuilrfl ..tick, ^Vit• ■ly say that I lod poniw- lo one ( vt'l the iiani(?i| edby Vm-[ '0 CHAPTER II. GENEKAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. Eastern Parallels — Coxfiguration of North-western America — Brit- ish Columbia Coast — Puoet Sound — Vancouver Island — QuEf»i Charlotte Islands — Climatic Sections of the Mainland — New Caledonia — Heights of Land— The Columbia and Fraser Platead Basin — Skeena and Siikeen — Oregon, Washington, and Idaho- Northwest Coast Climates— Thb: Temperatcre of Various Local- iTiES — Fauna and Flora — The Aborigines — Attitudes o" the Fur- traders and Settlers toward the Natives — Peaceful Regime undeb THE Great Monopoly — The Chinook Jargon. hi Having thus sufficiently refreshed our memory as to the carhest appearance of Europeans in these parts, before proceeding in chronological order with the affairs of British Columbia, I do not regard it time lost to take a general survey of the condition of things at this juncture throughout the north Pacific slope; for although the careful reader of that part of this history entitled the Northwest Coast nmst have sonic knowledge of the present state of affairs, another glance, as at a picture of the whole, cannot fail to give a clearer and more lasting idea of the country at the beginning of what may be termed British Colum- bia history proper. California is opposite Spain; Oregon and Washing- ton are on the parallels of France; British Columbia is in the latitu i} S : 'I I ;: 'il ^1 -if M flENERAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. '■ m Columbia. 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- esque, bold, rocky, and rugged, broken on the western side into numerous bays and inlets like those of the mainland, with intervening cliffs, promontories, and beaches, while on the northern and eastern sides the absence of ocean indentations is remarkable, Tlie island is generally wooded, the borders with fir, back of which are hemlock, and the mountains with cedar. Between the ridy'es which cross and interlace are small valleys affording but moderate agricultural fticilities; but on the southern and eastern border there are extremely fertile tracts susceptible of easy! cultivation, the open spots offering the first attraction to settlers. Lakes, streams, and water-falls everv- wliere abound, though the rivers are none of theiiij larije The Queen Charlotte Islands are mountainous, like all adjacent lands; and while there are tracts, par-j ticularly around the border, which might be succcss-i fully cultivated^ it is more to the mmeral resourcesj here embeilded that we nmst look for profitable re- turns. East of the high interior of Moresby Island isl a fiat bolt growing alders. All these islands arcf dense^ly wooded, cyjiress and s[)ruce being promineiitJ with redundant undergrowth. The climate is niiklj and moist; the natives arc liglit-coinplexioned, intel-j ligcnt, courageous, and cruel. Still following the all-compelling mountains, tliej mainland of British Colund)ia may be divided intoj three sections, the first comprising the coastwisel strip between the ocean and the eastern slope of tliel (^ascade Bange, extendiuL^ back, for instance, on tliJ Fraser as far as Yale; the second, a ])arallel .'^trijf Lake timt'S erries linovis along )ictur- estcrn of tlie s, and es the Tlie r, back L cedar. ice are -ultural I border of easy! traction j every- f tbeuil ttalnous,] lets, par- success- |esourcos| ^abie ri island \i\ tnds artl unmL'utl is mm ;d, intel- ims, tliel hcd Intol toast wii^ej le of m on M llel ^trip RANGES AND PASSES. 35 whose eastern boundary lino would bo upon the west- ern side of the Cariboo Mountains, and cross the Fraser, say at Alexandria ; the third extending thence to the Rocky Mouiitains. 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 here and there poplars, aldersj balsam, and aspen, and sometimes meadows of coarse nutritious grass, all the products of rich soils and copious rains. Upon the drier surface of the second section a different vegetation appears. Indeed, the presence of cacti, artemisia, and kindred shrubs be- yond Lytton are significant of a hot as well as a dry climate. In place of the massive forests and redundant Hora of the seaboard, we find an open country, hills, pastures, and grassy vales, with intervening forest belts. Less suited to agriculture, except in the more favored spots, more v/ooded, yet still with vast luxuriant pas- tures, is the third section. On the great plateau stretch- ing far to the north from the branch bends of the Fraser, the climate is much more severe than between Cariboo and Kamloop. On the other side, toward the south and east, the temperature is much milder, particularly between Colville and the Dalles, where lies the great Columbia cactus-bearing desert with occasional bunch- grass oases. The mountain passes are usually blockaded in winter; yet in June, where lately rested ten or twenty I feet of snow the ground is flower-spangled, and the forests flush with the bursting green of the sw(!ct early j foliage. Crossing the grim Stony range from the east at Peace River, which stretches its branches far land wide within the sunniiit line of the continental h'idge, and steals for the eastern slo[)o the waters of the western, the first Scotch explorers found thcm- Iselves in a labyrinth of minor ridges whose blue lakes, jamong the pine-clad steeps, brought to mind the lochs land bens of their old highland humes; so they called i 1 ill • 4; ii %i I i,.; 1 I H 36 GENERAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. the place New Caledonia as elsewhere I have men- tioned. Approaching McLeod Lake the mountains put on a more stupendous aspect. Mackenzie ibund the temperature there from 30° above to 10° 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 l)oldly swelling country of New Caledonia the scenery is varied. In the forests the cedar, fii', and hemlock assume magnificent proportions, while the co[)ses, separating plains 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 -edi>'ed with long narrow lakes, which glisten in the sunshine like the watoiJi of paradise. There are many heights of land round which clus- ter snow-clad peaks, parting the flow of waters, partin;,' twin drops, sending one to the Pacific and its brotlur to the Atlantic; sending one to mingle with the brine | of the Mexican Gulf beneath the vapor-beating sun, and another to be locked throughout the ages in tlie icy embrace of the Arctic Sea. All along the conti-| nental range are such heifjhts of land, and at maiiv points along the north-western table-land. Between the tributaries of the Saskatchewan and those of the Colund)ia; between the tributaries of Peace River and those of Fraser and Skeena rivers; betvveen the streams flowing into the Fraser all alonrj its conrsel and those which feed the Columbia on the onel side and the Bellacoola and Skeena on the otiier, there are nmltitudes of these heights of land, not toj mention the ridges dominating the rivulets runain^'l I "lugged anc OKANAGAN AND KOOTENAI. 37 to tho Stikcen and Yukon, or to the Mackenzie. }[c who camps upon the narrow isthmus joining the Idi'ty continental mountains and dividing tho higli rolling seas of hill and plain on either side, may till 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 jSIountain passes, the Athabasca, is a little lake called the Committee's I'nnch Bowl, one end of which pays tribute to the Mackenzie and tlie other to the Columbia. Tlie plateau basin of the Columbia and Fraser livers compi'isos thickly timbered uplands interspersed witli woodland and grassy valleys bordered by pine- (l(jtted 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 ijrass. In the Okanagjan River district we find in- dications of that sandy waste which hence extends southward as the great American desert to Mexico. The lake country irom 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, Avith few if any oj)en spaces. Northw^ard only the hardier ve'fctation is able to endure the sununer niyht i'rosts. 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 wat\;rs, turns them to lakes and rivers of dark and fathondess dcpihs, while the setting sun tips with gold the sum- mits of these gloomy wii^rras. Tired travellers do not always take the most hope- jful view of the wilderness through which they toil. Thus Sir George Simpson finds the Kootenai country "rugged and boggy, with thick and tangled forests, If f jii I II ''V ■ ■ ■ c m 38 GENERAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. \ii\ I : Sr ' (- \ri craggy peaks, and dreary vales, here and there hilb 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 jirairies 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 Thonii)son Kiver for some fifteen or twentv miles from its mouth would easily take the palm! We have thought the canons of the Fraser rugged enough, but here was naught but 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 throuj^ii gorges and between high perpendicular rocks in suc- cessive cascailes and rapids, with here and there brief breathing-places, ''The Fraser River Valley," writes an observer, "is one so singularly formed, that it would seem that some superhuman sword had at a single stroke cut through a labyrinth of mountains for three liundred miles, down deep into the bowels of the land," Again: "At no point of its course from Quos- nclle to Lytton is the Fraser Kiver less than twelve I liundred feet below the level of the land Ivino; at either side of it ; and from one steep scarped bank to j the other is a distance of a mile." Another standiii^n at Lytton says : "Here, along the Fraser, the Cascade Mountains lift their rugged heads and the river Hom's at the bottom of a vast tangle cut by nature throuifli the heart of the mountains," Yet "along the Nach- arcole River there will be found a country admiral )ly I suited to settlement, and possessing a prairie land of a kind nowhere else" found in British Columbia. In the Skeena and Stikcen countries, which give! rise as well to the rivers of their respective nuiiie3| emptying into the Pacific, as to the waters wliicl take their freezing fiow round by the Mackcii-I THE SPOKANE COUNTRY. 89 y.'io to the Arctic, the wildest and most romantic scenory is found. Mountains of stone and ice arc there, and glaciers equal to any of Switzerland — <;iant glaciers and infant glaciers, Methusalehs and niud- hoi'ii. Ascending from the sea, through the pine- eovercd bolt, through spruce, hendock, and balsam, willow, alder, and cottonwood, which at every step heeonios more broken and the trees more scattering, tlie traveller finally emerges into a fit home for piti- less late, glittering, cold, inexorable bowlders, and snow succeeding snow, and bowlders in mountain melange^ limitless variety in limitless unity, here and there cut into sections by ice-ploughed canons and chasms. That which was originally the bunch-grass country of eastern Washington is now famous for its grain- growing properties; for though the atmoH})here is dry, wiiter lies near the surface. Tlie intersecting moun- tain ranges, and the deep-gorged water channels of eastern (jregon, are less favorable to agriculture than tlic rolling plains on the northern side of the Colum- liia. And along this belt far to the north, and high above the sea, the sheltered valleys atford ample re turns to the husbandman. At Fort Alexandria, with an altitude of fourteen hundred and fifty fe(^t, and at other places a thousand feet higher, forty bushels of wlieat to the acre are not uncounnon, and other prod- ucts in proportion. The lower slopes of the snow-topped mountains of Idaho are furrowed with streams which ch^the the fiiot-hills in sturdy forests and the high prairies in ricli grasses. Nestling below the level of the plains are warm, (juiot valleys, protected alike from the arid winds of summer and the cold blasts of winter; and on winter pastures the snow seldom remains long. Larch, cedar, fir, and pine thickly overspread the Bitter lioot Mountains. The Walla Walla Valley, with its bright, winding streams, fringed with cotton- wood, presents a pleasing picture. Xorth of the Spo- kane the country is wooded, and much of the soil 40 GENERAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. arable. Tlic Flathead countiy 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 tlie general gravelly character of Washington soils, is [)eculiarly adapted to crt)p-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 hijT^hest afjricultural 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 WashinGfton need blusli for its resources, for althou<;]i the surpassing fertility of the Willamette soils fails on crossinix the Columbia and enterintx the moi'c gravelly plains of the Cowlitz and the region round l*uget 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 arc many and variable, but all are healthful, and by far the greater l)art 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 verv 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 casteiii side beiiime reason they did not seem to i'uncy Vancouver Island as a dwelling-place, though their black brethren were there in superabundance, as well as on the mainland. Even more ferocious in this region than the grizzly was the brown bear, which seemed to prefer the in- tt'iior to the coast. On the island and mainland were elk, black-tailed deer, and reindeer, the cariboo of the voyageurs in the northern mountains of New Caledonia. In the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains were mountain-sheep, moose-deer, and wood-buffalo. The fur-bearing beasts, whose skins constituted the chief branch of commerce on the Northwest Coast, were brown, black, and grizzly bear; beaver; badgers; .silver, cross, and red foxes; tishers; martens; minks; I the gray and spotted lynx; musquash; sea and land [otter.s; panthers; raccoons; black, gray, and coyote wolves, and wolverines. The natives of Vancouver Island speared salmon, jandeaught herring, halibut, cod, sturgeon, and v/hales; they hunted the bear, wolf, panther, elk, deer, marten, mink, beaver, and raccoon. On all the large streams of the mainland, salmon were ]>lentiful from early spring to late summer. They ascended the Fraser seven hun- Pl Wt \m jii 44 OKXKUAL VIEW OF TIIIC XORTIIWILST COAST. Wl .i (Irod inilos. From staplo food of tlic natives, .salmon became at an early day witli the Hudson's Hay Com- ])any an article of commerce. Oysters and crabs were conunon on the sea-shore. The (Mdai-hon, oi candlc- fish, is famous in tliese parts; sardine, anchovy, had- dock, and dog-fish also may be mentioned. ])ir(ls of song are less conspicuous than birds of beaut ifnl i)lumage. Grouse are common on island and mainland. Then there arc quails, ptarmigan, pigeons, geese, ducks, and snipe. Thus we .sec in this noi'thern west, save upon the briny border, a lanut at first they re(|ulred only the skins of their wild heats, and these the natives nmst secure and l)rin<^ to tlicm. Tilt! natives of the seaboard were refjcarded with fear hy all .sailors. As a rule, and es[)ecially to stiaiiL;( rs, they were exceed in>uttleuient the natives fought desperately. And why sh.ould they not resist ( From time im- lueiiiorial their fathers had held the land; and tlie sea \vas theirs, kindly yielding them food and clothing. Tiny could not ask their gods for more, unless it should oe to make them always drunk. The oflicers and servants of the Hudson's T>ay i Company were as nmch gentlemen hy instinct in their 1 treatment of Indians as in their treatment of civil- ized men and women. Hence it was, when (Jeneral [Joe jjane, whilom governor of Oregon and United Stati's senator, as ho was once riding toward Niscjually, wa'< heard to exclaim regarding the natives there- liiliinit. "Damn them I it would do my soul good to Ijo alter them 1 " his hearers could not understand it. it 1 1 a ! ' 46 GENERAL VIKAV OK THE NOR'niWESl,' COAST. Sudi words c'.yald never have fallen from the lips of a ^McLongliliii or a l^oughis. It was a speeies of blood- thirsty brutality totally beyond the conipreliension of men mIio had li'arned to look on these children of the forest as men of like creation and nature as them- selves. Foi' llie trial of ti)e Indians hani^ed at Steilacoom for the killiiiu; of Wallace at the Niscjually post, jurymen were brought all the way from Oregon City. Well ma\' we say that therein was much hollow form for a little sliow of justice, wlien we are told that three or four of these men, during their deliberations, rolled tliemselves in their blankets, and before composing themselves to sleep remarked, "Whenever you want an Iiidiar. hanged, awake us." But this was inteHigeiit and jiumane conduct in comparison with nmch tliat occurnMJ in the Anglo-American occupation of the western United States. I admit that neither what were called good men nor the government were wholly responsible for the wholesale butcheries of men, women, and children for crimes which they never committed; and yet, whenever t am obliged tn allude to the subject, T can but notice this difiereiur in the treatment of tlie Indians. Tlie frequent hostility of the Indian does not origi- nate in savage malignity or natural blood-thirstiness, but in righteous retaliation for endless provocations, " Many a night," writes one by no me.'ins sentimental in such matters, "have I sat at the cam[)-fire and listened to the recital of bloody and fei'ocious scenes, in which the narrators were the actors and the r-xn Indians the victims; and I have felt my blood tingle with sliame and boil with indignation to hear the di.i- bolical acts applauded by those for whose amusement they were related." Unfortunately f n- the poor savage, in his divinely preordained extinction, it was orden^d that he shonlti be often brought into contact with those who sought to save his soul and those wln) destroyed his bo' the natives, and on the first slin'ht appearance of defence or retaliation on the part of the Indian, inslauf^hfering him. Better a thousand times had the missionaries >|)oiit their lives in converting these men, for they iK'fdid regeneration far more tlian did the savage. Wherever the officers and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company had the country entirely to themselves, there was little trouble with the natives. Their man- aijeuient of them was perfect. They treated them, first of all, as human creatures, not as wild beasts. They were to them the children, not the enemy of civilization. In their intercourse they were humane, in their dealings, honest. Offences were follov/ed by justice, not by revenge. Xo attempt was made to fasten upon them the religions or moralities of civiliza- tion ; thougli gross cruelty and inhumanity among themselves were severely frowned upon, they were left to marry ad lihiinm or not to marry at all, and to woi'sliij) the gods of their '"reation after their own fas] lion. But the moment competitive traders came in, all tliis happy state of things was changed. Fiery diaughts of intoxication were placed to the lijis of the savages, no less by the benevolent and dignified adventurers of England than by the heedless Y'ankee •'kippi'V and the i)order des[)erado. Conuneivo le\els all moralities. Whenever even the most bitter rivalry was confined to large and responsible comj)anies, tb savage was not nnich tin; sufferer; indeed, his im- portance was oftiMi thereby greatly magnified, and the artless abori<>inal was bv no means slo\; to make iivail of this inci-eased purchasing power of his pel- tries. But in .sections wluMc free tra[)pers and irre- ^poii.sible border men obtained permanent foothold, 4S GENERAL ^lEW OP THE XORTHWEsT COAST. i-apine, luimlcr, and cxtermiiiutin*^ war were sure to follow. While; treating all foreignrrs with politeness, and while ever ready to rescue the disti'esscd of any na- tion, tlie Hudson's Bay Company w(.'re exceedingly jealous of interference m their trade. They would not have their prices changed, nor tlieii' hunters de- moralized, if by any posi?ihility tliey could ])revent it. Compacts were often Ustade witli the JIussians and with the captains of AiiK'rican vessels trading on the coast, not to deviate from the company's tariff, and not to sell licpior to the natives, wJiieh pr(^)niises were not always kept. In the Fort Simpson journal, under date of Xovem- hcr 1, 183G, I find entered: "Cai)tain Snow, of the hank Ldf/nnif/c, saluted the body of a Siniseyan chief who died of sinall-j)ox, with five guns, and nt)W he is getting all the trade of t, le tribe — a contem[)tibk' Yankee trick." Twenty years previous to this entry, a fight occurred between an American coasting vessel and the Chilcats, in wliicli one Jiuntlred of the latter were killed. When Hie Hud.soia's Bay people estab- lished Fort Tako, the Cliilcats treated them with marked sus])icion. '"It is rather too bad," writi.s J3ouglas in his journal, "to Imld us responsible fm- the sins of others, particularly of a people to whom we an; inilel)ted for no i;iterchange of good ofiSces. ' The nativ(!s early learned to distinguish the Kinu' (jleorge men from the ]3o)*toni^. nv»t by th'ess, but ly features and s])eecli, and to tlw- no small disparage- ment of tht; latter. Nor did the Hudson's Bay Com- pany exert theuitselvcis to promote go('rior skill in the manly art. "However expert the Iiuruuis may be at tlie knife, or the spear, or the gun," says Simpson, "they are invariably taken aback by a wliite list on their noses." An offence was seldom aliiiwod to go unpunished, and the company were as rcaily to do justice as to exact it. "It was a general ruli.'," says Tod, "to mete to the Indians justice. They would bring sometimes two or three hunch-ed dollars' worth of furs; they could not count morands III' tliirt-y or forty, a sjngh,' person belonging to the all-piwerful fur conipany, or having its protection, I'liii! I now go and come at pleasure anywhere in JJrit- i-^h ( 'ohunbia, [)assing in saiety through the lands of Iseoi'i s of trilx's hostile to each other, jis one svhoso I lil'e and [)i'operty were things sacred; Til; ir nobler nature was t^aHiily \vorl&<5d upon; many |"i''them would scorn to do things wliidi white C'liris- itiaiis practise on one an(;ther without remorse of e'on- HJoiiee. They loved honor and power; Cliinamen and lingiiH's they regarded with .supreme contempt, llalf- jhiceiU Iiave not proved a success. UlHl'. IJUI 1'. CUL, 1 BO OEXERAL VIEW OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. The statement of an intelligent officer of the Hud- son's ]-Jay Company, as to their policy with regard to the natives, may be better than mine. A. C Ander- son devc^tes considerable space in his manuscript Ilis- tory of the Northwest Coast to this subject. The great fur companies of British America, ho says, owe their success to tlic rigid discipline maintained among their servants, and the exercise of prudence and h\ manity in their transactions with the natives. Offences and insurrections were nipped in the bud by such cool audacity on the part of the superior race, as to excite at once admiration and fear in the breast of the savag^c. Punislinient of crimes was swift and sure; but it was inflicted only on the guilty. To guard against surprise, almost all stations were surmounted by stockades, with armed bastions at the opposite anofles. Ao^ainst desultory outbreaks these forts were proof, but not against well organized attack; but bv holding the balance of power among contending chiefs the fur-traders Mere almost always able to prevent formidable attacks. Anderson regards the missionary operations among the aboiigincs as no less injudicious than unsuccessful. Peace, therefore, we may conclude characterized the intercourse of the resident fur-traders with the natives, and that friendship was absolutely essential to traffic. An attache of the company sufficiently offending was dismissed the service; this the savages knew, though it seldom happened. It was sometimes exceedingly difficult, however, for the trader to pro- serve his patience. The natives of New Caledonia were often uncouth and rude, surly, lazy, and to strangers in small parties, insolent and quarrelsome. Yet there were the gentle Shushwaps, the jolly C.ir riers, the knightly Cayuses^ and others with like good (juaHties, whose lives might preach perpetual sermons to congresses of philosophers. There were the filllij little civil and faithful Kootenai^, the brave aiul Sitately Pcnid d'Oreilles, and the fierce Nehannes above A TRADE JARGON. 51 Stikcon, whose female chief rescued Mr Campbell in tlir Avinter of 1838-9, and treated him with much kindness. There was Nicola, chief of the Okanajjjaus, and ever the champion of tlie right; his neighbor, King Wanquillt!, of tlie Shushwaps, ])atriarch and pliiliinthropist, and old King Freczy of the Songhies, the last of a dynasty running down the centuries. This last-named chicftian was a character. Indeed, all Indian cliiefs are notable men, else they would not bo chiefs. King Freezy loved oliedience, and connnandcd it. He loved wives, of which at one time he had no K'ss than fifteen, and he commanded them. It was a 1'avorite pastime of his to cut off a wife's liead, and (inc in which he indulj^ed so often, that in 1859 lie had but SIX left. Ho died in 18()4, and was duly lamented by the sorrowing survivors of the faithful fitteon. To facilitate communication liotwecn Eurf)peans and the natives (»f the North \vi\st Coast, with their mnncrous dialects, a trade language was adopted at ail early day, called the Chinook jargon, being for the tiTcater part a mixture of Chinook, French-Cana- dian, and English words, with perhaps a few additions tVoiii the Hawaiian and Spanish languages. This jaigoii varied somewhat with the various tribes, each coiitiibutinij; for local use some of the words of their CD own language; but for the most part it was the same among all the tribes of a very wide area, and was adojited for general use, not only bcjtween whites. : iiiiii liuliaiis, but between tiie dirterent tribes them- j .sclvrs. Of the aboriginal languages the Chinook was taken as the base, owing to t\\c fact that the Chinooks al)()ut tlie mouth of tlie Cohanbia were the first to I iiiino into intimate and continuc)Us intercourse with Eiiio{;eans. After the building of Fort Astoria the jjiir^oii rapidly s]ir».>ad tow-ard the east and north. CHAPTER III. OCCUPATION (W THE DOMAIX. 1S41. AliOliKlINAI. 15lUTI.S!I C'ol.r.MniA — Folil'S ANTi Fri! -I'lIAIlKItS— SVHTKMS (ir ('(l.MMIMCATIDN — In II UliKNT I'nWKI; (IK ( 'l V [Ll/.AllON l)V Kit SaV'ACISM ■ Fl K-lHADINi; Dl.STKKT.S — .SlAlIONS — Ml.SSlONAUV AM) AciHII'UI/l'lllAI. HK'ri'LKMKNrs — Intku[ok Fohts^Coast Siations— Tuk Hiiinsii ami THK Rr.NSiAX Fill ('(iMiANiKs — TiiK IlriisoN's Bav ('(i.mi'any's ("ii;ii- LATINC TilliKAUV JdINT OccI'I'ANCV oh' TIIK N( HI TllWl-sr ( '(lAST ]iV KnC- land AM) THK UNITED STATKS— TlIK TuHATV DlVIDlNO THE Do.MAIN- The XoiiiiiwK.sT Coast iMMiniiAi'Kr.v Pkioh to the Beuinsinu ok BurnsH CoLIMIilA lIlMTDUY I'UDl'KK- N'iSIT OK DoldLAS TO THE SeVE1;AI, Posts — ,Sitka andEtholin — (^»iAi;iii;i. iikiwekn INhci.as and Mc.\k:i i. — SiiiVKY OF the Stikeen AND Tako Uecjion — Keeeue.sces eok This AND THE PUECEUIXO CUAPTEIi. British Columbia in 1841 was a silent \vikk'rues^•. Its lords were natural, healthful, and free. Its Avild beasts, birds, and fishes were multitudinous and fear- less. Its forest-plumed hill-sides and its ravines wliis- peered et'aselessly their soft psalmody; its ])lains and transH\e(l billows bared their breasts to the eovetij | warmth of the all-t'nd)raeing sun; M'liile its snow silvered mountain-toi)s, each a sava<»'e ( )lympus, marki d the earth's hmits to tlie dusky intellects within tlitir end)race, and sIi.mI a dazzlinu;' radiance over the haiijiv liuntinj^-ii-rouuds of the Invisible. Nature's pert'ntj work was here; inexorable as everywhere: now wariu and ki.ul and beautiful; a^ain cold, cruel, jHrbastlv. j Yet the nations of this tlomain Avere doomed; tli sludterino- forests and the innumerable forma of lip that animated them were impreLjnat»d with the poisoiii of ]>rooress; for already the subtle, unfelt clutcl civilization was on the land. (62) INLAND NAVIGATION. r>:i Tliosc littlo ] (ifketod i-iirlosuros appeariujj; at inter- vals of two or tlirco liundred miles, like secluded fox- lidK'S ill boundless })rairies — what arc tlieyl To the uiKiiliylitened vision of the thou^yhtless red man they are nian'a/ines of celestial condorts, arms which _!:>'ive tlio [)ossessor superhuman powi^r in war and in the iliasc; containing inij)lements of iron and steel whose (■U!iiiin,i>' causes even nature to hlush; woven wool which wards off cold, disease, and death; glitterinu^ trinkt'ts wlinsc wealth raises wrinkled imbecility aho\'e the uttiactions of youth and talents; and above all, tobacco and that blessed drink of heaven which, indeed, can minister to a mind diseased, while ]tlacing the body Ibr a time beyond th.o reach of pain. To their builders, and to the white race everywhere, tliese solitary and con- tnictcd pens have a far different signitication. They are de[)ots of compressed pow< r, dominatino; the land and all that is tlu^rein; they are germs of the highest liuman type, ^vllich >hall shortly spring \ip and ovcr- ^pi'cad the Aviklerness, causing it to wither beneath its I'utal shade. Mi Til- system oif connnunication between Montreal and Hudson Bay and the tril)utarifS of the Ar. s bringing into the central posts the furs on liuiid. and carrying back *brt suij'plies and trading |,i;"n(l>. The Cohnnbia lliv--r and the Saskat( howan Iwith its two branches, and tliA-" chain of lakes to tin; UviJ M OtJC'Ul'ATION OF THE DOMAIN. eastward, liavo ever been the arteries of travel in tlit- Hud.son'^4 Hay Company's territories. CanofS and liorses were chief anionj^ the aids of transportation. Whi'n these foiled, the l)acks t)f voy- a:L>eui's and natives were eni[>]oyed, 8onu!tinu;s in winter the ulticjuitous fur-buyers tlitted hither and thitlu'r on sleds and snow-shoes, often finding the^.u- selves among tlii^ tx'ee-to[>s forty feet from solid ground. And most fortunate were tluy if tliey eould iudd ti their ctjurse, avoid precijiitous banks and (diasnis, and k(tp themselves above the snow instead of being l)uiicd under it. t£ii AVhei'c sliiiil we sec more forcibly displayed tlic ]iower of trained and cnliglitened intellect over tin' uncultivated mind and bestiality! Scatten-d in smai! bands over nn area e((ual to one half of Xorth Ann i- ica, in tlie midst of i'eroeious savages outnund)eriiiL; tliem a tliousand to one, these few indi\ idual wlntc men Iudd absolute swji,v; having first brought tlnir own passions under obedicaice to mind, they imposi il obedience upon the ])assi()ns of tliese wild and law](s> inhal)itants of the forest. This living find laboring in savage countries was attended l)y many dangers ami ]>eeuliarities which became as a secontl nature to these hardy and courageous men. Nor was the iuHueiirc altogetlier tlia,t of civilization u[K)n savagism. To lU' small extent the trader's and voyageurs became so far ind)ued with nature as to marry aborigines and adopt many primitive customs. Even the C)regon settlers df is;) 1-4 Ijocame half-savage in some of their ways; tlio women, f)r examjde, l)eing unalde to procure cloth tm' dresses, adopted the Cdliijnartcc, or cedar-bark petti- coat of the natives, the fibres being twisted into cord>, oi- frayed fi'om the waist to the knees. This A\ii:li a ])iece of green or s<-arlet baizi; over the shoulders completed the costume. The men were glad to g( t ;i shirt, M'ith sonietinn s a blaidvet. The servants ut' tlie fur com[)anies M'ere always comfortabl)' clad, tin' GENERAL DIVISIONS. 55 tl 10 Is of voy- ■s in and )UIh1. lid t> i, ami beiiii;' 1 the ;r till' small :Vnni'- l)criii,^' whitf \, tluir )()Srll \\ 1( >- ll^• ill mill thr>. Urtii'' \> li SO far adnjit s; the .til t'"V prlti- (•oi'i!>, ^\ '. ill ultiv ( *onipan_v, witli the fatherly advice .'iiid jissistanee of Joliii jMcLoughhn, had previously ojx'ui'd fii'uis in the ricli valley of the Willamette and on the hanks of the Columhia. It was the French Avlio were first in Oregon, who had been first in the !Miss;ss![)pi Valhy, who had heen foremost in ('anadn.and wlio at one time had dominated four filths of North America; it was the humble descendants of this chivalrous race who fii'st opened for cultivation these lands ])rimeval, and paved the way for the harder-headed xVnglo- Saxon. On Twiss' map, London, 184r), Oregon extends from latitude 42° to 54° 40' west of the liocky ]\[oun- tains. It includes the Qu(>en Charlotte and Van- couver islands, and all the mainland drained by tlie Fraser and Columbia rivers. McKinlay divides the country west of the Rocky Mcmntains into two dis- tricts: the Columbia, extending to Utah and California; and New Caledonia, reaching from Thompson River to the Russian ])ossessions. Were this ever officially the case, such partition did not so remain long before tlie territory was redistricted. Says Anderson : " The extent of New Caledonia may be briefly hidicated as C(nn[)rising the tract watered by the Fraser and its tributaries from the Rocky ^Mountains and Cojist Range down to the point about twenty miles below Alexandria, now known as Soda Creek." Then conios the Thompson River district. Vancouver's territorial nomenclature was never put into practical use, nnr were the fur company's districtings officially retaincil after the erection of British Colundjia into a province. British Columbia to-e'ay embraces broadly all lands and islands west of the sunnnit of the Rocky Moun- tains lying between Washington and Alaska. In 183i) the Willamette settlement, begun ten j-cars previous by a retired servant of the Hudson's Ixi) Till'; \' A mot's POSTS. 67 m ('(inipanv, ninnl)t'r('(l fifty-four nu^n, and uUout as many fariiis. Tlicrc wrva four otlii'r .stations of Amer- jciii niissionai'ics, one at the ])all('s, ono at Walla Walla, one on the ( Icarwatcr, and ono at KS[)okanc. Five vessels pei'fonned the eoast servieo. PixvA Fraser was in eliarUi'i' of tin; Jtudson's liny ('onii)any's estab- llsliiiient at l"inp(iua when the inllux of Americans was so oTcat as materially to jc'o[)ardi/e the interests ((f the fur-trader.s in that (juarter I'pon a eontiuontal apex not unlike that in the vicinity c)f tilt! national [>ark which se|)ai'ates the wat( IS of the ^lissouii, the Columbia, and tlu^ Colo- rado, stood Fort St James, the ca})ital of this wi'st- • iii Caiedonin. Old jMr Harrison once commanded tli( re. and so tlid younij;" ifames J3ouglas bisfort; honors and titi(\s thickened around him. Its site was the south-eastern end of ^ tuart Lake, and it was the ccMitral iiijfure of a elusti-r of forts. Twenty-five mik'S south-westerly was Fort Fraser; sixty miles south-easU-i'ly was Fort (leorn'o; eis^hty mill s north-easterly w£is Fort McLeod, and one hun- ty larder, was one of the most })roIi{ic fur-fields. Before Tod at this ])ost was Peter Warren Dease, and after Tod was Mr Mc- III.' 13 mm '■ ■,v.;: i ! .1 . !l ! ! V] ^ m A e. v: r^ o o 7 /A IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 - IS 1110 1.8 U 11.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation J Z; .^ a Bueiia, and Simpson at the Jlawaiian Island agency Wilkes counted "six permanent ostablish- ments on the coast and sixteen in the interior,, besides several migratory and hunting parties." Koot(uiai and Flathead were outposts of Colvillc, and yielded annually forty packs of peltries; Chilco- tin sent in four {)aeks, and Alexandria from twenty t(» thirty packs. Fort St James was a j)rofitable station, sending down yearly furs worth in London £50,00(', if we may })elieve Wilkes, which I for one do not, especially when coupled with the statement that only twenty-five cents in goods was there paid for a beaver- skin worth at Fort Vancouver ten times that sum. It was only one y( ar 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 conquuiy's posts, like the missionary establish- ments of California, became subsecjuently the nuclei of little settlements, particularly those hi gold -pro- ducing parts. Every 3'ear tlie chief factor or chief trader haviiiij charge of a district would go to Fort Vancouver ami tlience conduct a brigade of sui)plies to his distribut- ing depot, employing for tliat 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 Kamloop and Fort Alexandria by liorses, in bands of from two hundred to three hundred. From Fort Alexondria to Fort St James merchandise was convcyi'd in canoes. It was a hazardous occupation, as I have said, a large amount of im])erfectly guarded j)roiX3rty bein-^ constantly exposed to tlie cujtidity of the savages, to say nothing of tlie dangers of navigation. The poit ages made arduous the voyji^e up the Columbia,, and I I ROUTES OF TRAVEL SO the land travel between Okanagan and Kamloop was l)articularly rough. The distance from Fort Van- couver toKandoop, following the sinuosities of rivers and trails, was seven or eight hundred miles, though supplies were carried in this direction more than twice that distance. Kamloop was the capital of the Thompson River district pro[)er. The fort was compact and well pal- isaded; and within the stockades, standing at a little ilistance, there was room enough for the largest horse brigades together with their accoutrements. To the eye of the inhabitant of these lonely wilds, whetlier white skm or red, the arrival of the horse l)iigade was a thrilling siglit. Through tlie deep niviiies, round precipitous mountain-sides, and over hills and plains they had come; sleek, fat animals, usually perfect m form and color, bearing the burdens Nvliicli had been carefully brought so far, from beyond ciiiitinents and seas, and all to be laid at the feet of the lordly savage. The stations on the coast were Fort Langlcy and Fort Simpson, the former the first sea fort iii IJritish ('(iluinbia, the latter trend)lingly erected among some t»l' the wickedest savages upon the coast. Then there were Fort McLoughlin on ^lilbank Sound, and Fort Tako on the Tako Kiver, Yet, so well was the mat- ter arranged, that a footing was obtaiiuid without liuhtiiig for it, and an almost iin[)r(>gnab]e fortress wa.s I'lected. By the aid of these two establishments, which were regularly served from Fort Vancouver, Ih'st by the schooner Cddhoro, Cn])tain Simpson, and subst'(juently by the steanx-r Jkarcr, the indomitable .More engineer, American opposition was finally driven from the coast. Flving the wilderness of water between forts Van- cnuver and Tako, sometimes venturing boldly out to si!i, sometimes creepitig more prudently through the lahyrinth of islaiuls and canals between Xiscjually and ISitka, these historical craft of the Northwest Coast if:' m '< :■ >1 ■■! )- ii^ GO OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN. -i\ ! came and went, playing no insitijnificant part in the yicat work of human overtuiiiinj'S hereabout. At first a few ^oods liad been brouglit over the mountains from eastern ports. But so difficult and ex- ])ensive was this mode of trans|)ort that it was soon abandoned, and all supplies for the western slo[>e were 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, Kandoop, and Fort St James. Communication with the <-oast ports was had at first by schooners sailing regularly from Fort Vancouver, and subsequently by the c()nn)any's steamers. This coast trade was at the first not profit- able, but was persevered in for many years at a Jieavy loss, in order to clear the shore forever of Boston ships and l:J(>ston men. Between these i\\\ lines of traffic intervened the Cascade Bange, an obstacle to free connnercial intei- course which might have been overcome by the com- pany had they chosen to do so. But this partition wall was not witliout its benefit, separating as it did interior tribes from the influence and opposition ot foreign traders along the coast. Prior to the discovery of gold in California, wliicli raised no small commotion througliout all tlie Colum- bia and New Caledonia regions, John Lee ]jewis, conspicuous anuMig all the officers of the comj)any for dasliing dress, held command at Fort Colville. Jl'j was succeeded in 1848 by Alexander C. Anderson. Besides fine personal appearance, l^ewes possessed many good (jualities. Indeed, since Northwest rivalry had so sharpened wit, the service enforced the aj>- ]>ointment oidy of able and energetic men. Where strength of mind and body were so essentially re<|ui- slte, favoritism went for less than it did formerly FARMS ESTABLISHED. 61 111 my Ilistor}/ of the Nort:>Avest 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 1H09, afterward increased seveial 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 sliould require. Now the Russians were hearty eaters, and not ovcr-lbnd of work. Exercise sufficient for an appetite tho}^ 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 n<» ])r()duce. 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 coni|)any's own requirements. The British fur-hunters weie hut little more inclined to agriculture than were the Russian traders. There were these points of ditl'eretice, 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 were su})|)()sed 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 rosoiu'ces. To this end the management determined to open other farms upon the banks of the Columbia, and in tlie lioh Willamette Valley ; for which purpose, during the same year of 1839, English and Scotch farmers wore brought from Canada across the mountains, and l)laeed in the several most favorable parts of the ! f r I .4 I \' it. if ' ' wli IB ri m ^ i C2 OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN. country. Likewise French Canadians and half-breeds rctirin*^ from the service of the company were encour- nj^ed to settle upon lands, the best of which 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 the Russitm 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 sheej) and cattle ranges, and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company was inaugurated. Hence it was not lon^; before wheat, flour, butter, pork, and otlier 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 uhe 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 slieip, 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 offshoot of the Hudson's Bay Company. Anderson and Niell did the honors at this post upon the occasion of the visit of tlie United States exploring squadron in 1841. It was then in the full beauty of growing fields and well-kt'i)t gardens, with a fine dairy attached. Crops were raised by the company at Fort Van- couver 1 and the that tim • fterwarc tJie neces A aRCULATING LIBRARY. on couver until 1850, but after 1846 the farms declined, and the Russian Company contracts, which, prior to that time had been filled from Fort Vancouver, were ifterward shipped from Oregon City and Chanipoeg, 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 iilea of establishing a circulating library among the oHiccrs of the company. Anderson, on reaching Fort Vancouver, ventilated the matter. It was readily taken up by Dr JMcLoughlin and Mr Douglas. A sub- siri[)tion library was formed which did nmch good for altout ten years, soon after which time it was broken Ujt. The officers subscribed, sent the order for books and periodicals to the company's agent in Loudon; the hooks were sent out, and as everybody had subscribed, tilt y weie sent to all the forts throughout the length and hrcadth of the land. The library was kept at Fort ^'alH•ouver, subscribers sending for such books as they waiiti'd, and returning them when read. Finally the books were divided among such, of the subscribers as caicd about having them. The Hudson's Bay Com- jiaiiy, l)y their ships, sent out the Times and other lead- ing papers for circulation. This was the first circulating lihrary on the Pacific Slope, extending from 1833 to 1843." It should be borne in mind that the territory west of the Rocky Mountains and north of California was at this time held by agreement in joint occupancy ! Great Britain and the United States. That the par- tition lino nmst be drawn somewhere and shortly was woll understood. Some little ill-will had been engen- tlercd between the subjects and citizens of the two powers thus brought into anomalous contact. Both sicks claimed a right to occupy the territory, though [{ I i, fj m ' II .1 It Hi r 5h '! II i "'• ''M J.. 'J I t-ii 'ij i t i 1. J t i ^ J M OCCUPATION OF TlIK DOMAIN. noithor know much about it It was bad blood onI\' that was stirred ; it was i^iioranco and stu})i(Hty oidy that b(!camo bhitant. Wlien the ii<»t most rehablo or refined element in tlie United States, ])()verty-strirken, "W'ith barefooted and bareheaded wives and children, and teams ot" bonv oxen and emiitv wa<>ons straLJuled throu bought from the Pacific Company, which latter was supposed to bo an American incorporation, tliough made up almost wliolly of foreigners. Between the shock-lieaded, dirt-becoated, tobacco -spitting, and swearing ox-drivers from the United States l)ord(r and tlie educated and j)unetilious business men of tlie 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 s[)oil their trade, to drive away the game, to demoralize the natives, and to take the land for eultivation. ICven if they did nut so declare, such would be the ijievitable effect. And yet they were kindly treated, and fed and ( lothed, as we have many times seen in the pursuance of this history. And I hold it churli.sh in any American, or in any man, to deny ^IcLoughlin, ])ouglas. Work, and Olj- den, and all the rest of these fearless, warm-hearted, open-liand(Hl, and clear-headed Scotch, Irish, and Eng- lish men, their full meed of praise. It is not a ques- tion that 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 tnie whitM'ith me tlie accidents of color, creed, or country. IJlO 1 meetinjjf FUR-HUXTERS AND SETTLKRS. » Tho roprosontatives of tlio two nationalities, tlius met'ting ill o^jpugnant interests in the new North- west, were of totally different classes, and in review- ing their character, they cannot bo justly })laccd upon the same plane. Among the self-hjacrificing jiioneers of tlic Pacific there were many intelligent, higli- niinded, and li<)n()rable men and devoted women, wlu), it is scarcely m^cessary for me to say to the readood. 8a\s jny 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 belon<;ed, or the influence wliich brourovidence. 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 scone 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 brigiit 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 steamer to Lang- ley, Douglas there found Yale busy erecting a new ) I I a ^ 111 1^ I OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN. stockade. Twenty riu'n from tlio stoanior worn loanod tlu! tort l>iiilf se frnin both t a (., tile superHi '^'"ed anni otter were <'e(| t\vent\ DOU(JLAa AND ETHOUN. CO all tlio bcof thoy would require, tlioy woiild receive iffinn \n ('nlitonua it' the Hudson's May Company would |)uy tlio tVoii^ht to Sitlvu. Thus these dii^uitaries diusiness undertakinj^s, whose term of service was only five years, and who drew ])ay from both the government and the fur company. Fif- teen vessels W(Te kept consi,.t.i '.y afloat in the Kus sian service, and six thousand dollars were expended iiimually for provisions. The seal islands were not so )i!(t(Iuctive as formerly, and they were now obliged to |MUsue a cf)urse of rmrsinj^, only fifteen thousand of the superfluous young males being now allowed to be kilK'd ammally. Twenty-five thousand beaver and otter were traded each year, at a net profit not to ex- ceed twenty [)er cent on the capital employed. Their fuis wen? mostly exchanged on the China frontier for teas, at the rate of seventy-five roubles, or fifteen dol- lars, for otter, atul fifteen roubles for beaver. In all whicli Doutjlas doubtless was ri<;ht. Ktturning to Stikeen, a misunderstanding arose hetween Douglas, connnander of the expedition, and McNeill, captain 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 Jiours of labor were from six to six. In taking on wood, Saturday, the 30tli of May, Douglas, being anxious to ex])edite affairs, ordered work continued until nine o'clock at night. The captain disliked to •T-iid snow, W'iiig plant it, so singu olation an( it Kden. \'es' Essay, (!•_', tliu harbors particularly; Pemlicrtons V. 1., 148, 150, on timber; MoffaCa Jiiiir., in /(/., 14G, 140, natural products; lloretzkys Camula on the Pacific, p.isisim; Jlihln'ns C'lddr J}. C, passim, on both islands and mainland; Mac- diinaUVs Lecture, 43-4; Hnzlilt's li. C, 217-18; Poole's Queen Charlotte Islands, riS-fil, for a good description of the harbors of Vancouver Island and tlie main- liiiid opposite; Mnrtip\t II. D., 32-0, copying jrhm(l and Rritish Columbia, its salubrity and variations, the force of winds, temperature, rainfall, barometric rangits, with tables and chart. Also 73-7 an artUlo on timber, its produce, uses, and value. Good, Jl. ( '., MS., 53-114, gives a long description of a trip up the Eraser by steamer to Yale and thence hy rreid to Clinton. An eloipmiit and graphic description is f;iven of tlie conntn, its topographical features anil scenery, particularly of the Kamloop, Xicoli, and Oiianagan districts. Indeed, I might give volumes of descrip- tiim from tlie hundreds of writers on the subject, every one of whom has siiiiirthing to say of the country that he has either Keen or heard of. I have se.ireely space in this volume for reference even, and therefore will con- diMisu as much as possible, and omit all but the more important. On giuieral ffatnrcs and climate, see further, Lamjemns Rept., 40-4; Conncnllis' Xew El l>nr,„l„, 27, 3G, 113; Macfie's V. L ami li. C, chap, ii,; T)e Smrt, Misx. de ("r., 1 14, wliere an account is given of the twelve voyageurs swallowed in tiio Ualles des Morts in 1838; (hrenhow's Or. ami (\il., 27-9; Butlers Xorth I.iiiiil, 11)3; Eraser's 2d Jour., MS., 3; Umfreville's II. B., passim; (iladman iii UmiM' Coin, /fi'pf., 1857, 390-2; ('hicaijo Acad. Sri, i, GI-78, more especially witli reference to the geology of the Mackenzie River; Nines' Or. and its IiiMil., 7, -ind J fines' E.r. to Or., chap, xvi; Dotlijes' Plains, passim; Macdonald'a R. C, chap, i.-iii.; Absaraka, chap, iii., on Dakota- Taylor's yortf(west Am 1 :!l m '•( I n OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIJf. MS., 47, 65; N7W Heginter, xvi. 235; Dalles Mountaineer, AprU 4, 1868; Mae- loizie's Hist. TojHxj., 314-15; Cox's Adv., ii. 300-92, about New Caledonia; TliomUm's Or., i. chap, xix; Parker's Tour, chap. i. ; Malte-Brun, Precis de Giog., vi. 310-14, compiled from Vancouver, Lewis and Clarke, and others; Richards V. I. Pilot, 1-255; Findlays Direct. N. W. Am., 392-436; Imray's Sailinrj Direct. A\ W. Am., 23»-45, 261-312, 357-60; Bmoe's Colon. Emp., i. 117-29, 134-7; Tolmie's Pwjet Sound, MS., 13-14, on Committee's Punch Bowl. Burnett in his ^ecoZ., MS., i. 115-16, tells about one Black Harris, atrapper, who claimed to have di8coverei; Johnson's Ven/ Ftu Went, 94; P(diiier'i North Bentinck Route, passim, on Williams Lake and t 'ari- boo; Isbister'a Proposal, passim; Hist. Mag., March 1803; Laml aiut Work's Rept., 1865; , Direct., 18; j Or., passim; throp's Canoe House Com. 1 iv., passim; , Hoojier's Tern aurora boreali ter's MLvii. Vo In relation ariea, besides IIS., 14; BrU. Ni'in Caledonu Chinook jargo /(w' Primte Po 8-11. XoInU, payments to n 3lJ'f-7; Anders decrease, U. S. 200-7; Seenuin Hi-p. Dej>t. /, various reports I, 1(^74, passim 1% 41; Fitzge WRITERS ON THE NATIVES 75 Efft., 1865; Jour, and Sens. Papers, B. C, 187»^; MaUandaine'% First Vic. Direct., 13; Nevada Jour., June 11, 1858; Harmon's Jour., passim; Dunn's Or., passim; Remy ar ' Brenshley, Jour., ii. 509; BulfincKa Or., 15C; Wtn- Ihrop's Canoe Jour., ^ i; Stuart's Montana, 89-92; W. McD. Dawson, in Hou»e Com. Kept., H. £. Co., 1857, 399-402; Wilkes' Nar. U. S. Expl. Ex., iv., passim; McTavish's Dep., passim; Richardson's Polar Regions, 219-97; Hmi>ers Tents of the Tuski, 309-86, where is an excellent description of the aurora borealis; Qray's Or., 610-19; Lee and Frost's Or., 81-95, 196-203; Fos- kr'n Mmi. Valley, 36, 180, 197-9, 252, 257. In relation to the policy of the European fur-traders, settlers, and mission- aries, besides the authorities already quoted, I would mention Rol>erts' Rec, M.S., 14; Brit. Col. Sketches, MS., 30; Compton's Forts, MS., passim; Toil's N,'w Caledonia, MS., 24-6, 29-34; Hancofk's Thirteen Years, MS., 359-60, t'liiuook jargon; McKay's Rec, MS., 17-18; Dean's V. I., MS., 22-4; Dowj- Iud' PriixUe Papers, MS., ser i., 33-4, 55-6, 83; Voioell's Minimj Dmt., MS., 8-11. NMli, iu De Smet, Miss, de I'Or., 153; Pub. Accts. Canada, iii. 43; payments to natives B C, 1876, House of Commons Rept., H. B. Co., 1857, 3GIt-7; Anderson, in Hist. Mag., vii. 76; census carriers and remarks on decrease, U. S. I ml. Affairs Rept., 1869, 533-4, 558-60; Overland Monthly, ii. 2i)G-7; Seenuinn's Voy. Herald, i. 104-6; Canada Year-Dook, 1878, 44; Rrp. Dept. Int., 1875, xlvi. 44-6; Indian reservations, Coliiinlmi Mission, various reports; KirchJioff, Reisebilder, ii. 81; B. C, Jnurnid and Sen",. Pap., 1, 1874, passim, and Rept. 1875, 673; BiJth Cong. 3d Sess., House Com. Rept. 101, 41; Fitzgerald's H. B. Co., chap, vii.; Douglas' Addresses and Mem., tj8; Armstrong's Or., 25-6; U. S. Statutes at Large, passim; Sliasta Courier, hue. 24, 1864; Ishister, in Hou-^e Com. Rept., H. B. Co., 1857, 123; McKin- liujH Xar., MS., 13-14; Simpson's Nar., i. 210; Allen's Cont., MS., 20; Fori Simpson Journal, MS., 11; Sprout's Scenes, passim; Simmons, in If. S, Ev. Jf. B. Co. Claims, \U. As to original populations in these parts, Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour ill tlu'ir report of the 26th of October, 1845, give the census of the tribes in- liiil)iting 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. *)t the number named, 11,079 were ari-'-ved av by estimate, and 7.j,8li8 by ac- curate census. The last named cot. ni 33,956 males, 35, 182 females, l,jS-l cliildren under twelve, and 5,M',> jLiVos. Lord, B. C. Naturalist, ii. 22(), estimates th»> native population of Van- couver I.-iland and British Columbia in 1860 at .30,000. In the United States the munbers have fallen from 2,000,000 to 300,000. Douglas, Primte Papers, M.S., ser. ii., 7-33, gives census tables of native British Columbia populations ot till' several districts in columns showing heads of families, women, canoes, guns, etc., most of which are for the years 18.38-9. These statistics were louiiil very useful to the Company in its commercial o^ierations. Kane, Wan- deriit'ii of an Artist, also gives tables of population, all which are contra- dictory and unsatisfactory. Ah)nginal Britlih Cnlumhia, by P. N Compton, is a manuscript of 120 pages, tilled with interesting and valuable detail concerning the geography. I % ii'i i'l ' M I 7« OCCUPATION OF THE DOMAIN. natural wealth, anrl native inhabitants of the country. Most of it is the re- sult of personal observation. The style is plain, simple, and practical, com- mon sense characterizing every page. It is probably tlie most complete work extant on the aborigines, particular attention being given as well to their fisheries, game, food, and commerce as to their character, customs, and lan- guages. Not the least interesting part of the work is a division on the natural history oi this region, devoted chiefly to the bear tribe. For fort-dwellers, settlers, and missionary stations I would refer more especially to McLowjhlins Pnmte Papers, MS., ser. i. 1; Saxtmis Or. Ter., MS., 38; tlie observations of Wilkes and Simpson before quoted. Belcher, Voy., i. 301, mentions as occupying the Willamette Valley 24 Canadians, '20 American stragglers, mostly from California, and ten Methodist clergymen and teachers. The five vessels performing the coast service were the bark Columhiti, 310 tons, 6 guns, and 24 men; the bark Vancouver, 324 tons, C guns, and 24 men; ship Nereid, 283 tons, 10 guns, and 26 men; schooner Vwllioro, 71 tons, 4 guns, and 12 men; and steamer Beaver, 109 tons, 5 guns, and 26 men. See also House Commons Returns to Three Addresses, 7; McKmjii Hec, MS., 2; FinUiysons V. I. and N. C, MS., 90-1; Tolmie's Hist. Pwjet Sound, MS., 59-60; i'4o estal fur Com] as other ImisIik^ss f'linc; an place of torsliip o: the comp, Yet an so liappui upon the fissunied hei'M occa c'ltcjiinir \ WHALERS' RENDEZVOUS. 83 1)0 catablished on the Pacific coast, might not the fur company's site be the best for a colonial capital iiH otherwise? In the ordinary course of things, the business of wild-beast raising and skinning must de- cline; 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 might be regarded. It so happened that with the decline of the fur-trade upon the Northwest Coast, the whaling interest had assumed larger proportions. Since 1790 there had been occasional vessels off the shore of California cateliing whales. Gradually the number of these ves- sels increased, a large proportion of thenj now hailing from New England ports, until the present century uas wellnigh two thirds gone, when in the north I'aeific this fishery was at its lieight. Meanwhile San Francisco Bay had its Whalers' Harbor, now Sauzalito, and laige fishing fleets con- ^q-etrated at Honolulu.'^ And but for the narrow [)olicy uf the Mexican Government and the apathy of the people of California, the harbor of San Francisco would have been the rendezvous of Pacific whalers during the most important half-century of their exist- ence. For, though the Hawaiian Islands, l3ing as they did in the very track between the northern and Southern fisheries, were always easy of access by reason of the trade winds, nature ofl^ered far more houiitoous supplies for the refreshing and refitting of vessels upon the mainland than at the Islands. Besides a plentiful supply of timber and resin which California offered for ship-building, hemp grew spon- taneously, and beef might be had for a trifle. For several years prior to active operations in that quarter, the southern end of Vancouver Island had 'In 1823, three years after the arrival at the Hawaiian Islands of the first niissiouaries, fifty or sixty whalers might be seen at one time at Honolulu, aiiil for twenty years thereafter the annual arrival at this port averaged not *8a thim sixty sail. See Jarves' Hawaiian hlande, 361. , ''1 !■ f i 1 [ >' mm ]■■ :;-^H jf \M iii-- 'hK ' ! '■ 84 CAMOSUN AND KSQUIMALT. been thought of and talked of as a locaHty suitable for an estabhshnient. ]twas indeed better adapted for the site of a magnificent city, than that of a fui- trading fort. It was near the ocean, and yet protected from it. It was on the broad highway between tlie islands and .shores of the Pacific, and a continent^] interior eqnal to the whole of Mexico. It was at the cross-roads of waters; to tlie west led Fuca Strait, to the south Admiralty Inlet, and to the north the (julf of Georgia. Huy;e islands were back of it, and a hiiL;e continent beside it. And the fact that as a [>lace aloiiu Avhereat to bu}' furs it was not as desirable as soi:ie others, shows that in the minds of the shrewd trader,, and factors of the great company who saw and seized this opportunity, it was something more than a mere trading-statuMi. The steamer Beaver had not been on duty in tlu'so waters more than 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 southwiird C'aptiiiii McXeill explored the south end of Vancouver Islaiul, and found an excellent harbor and a fine open country along the sea-shore aj)parently well adapted for both tillage and pasturage, but saw no river sufiicieiitly extensive for mills."^ This clearly shows what was wanted; not 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 territory, 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 harbors (([U'llly safe, and as whaling operations worked north- want, a northern rendezvous might be more convenient. As for supplies, if the Hudson's Bay Company could furnish the Russians in America on terms advau- taij^eous to both parties, as they were now satisfied tliey could, surely tliey might supply the whaling fleets of those waters.^ VVben Simpson reached England, being while here (II riiufe overland round the world, he laid the matter ef a new Pacific post before the London directors. Ordinarily in planting a new establishment no such formality was deemed necessary. But, involving as it (lid an entire change of base in operations here, a vir- ' Siiiiyxoii's Jouniei/, i. 182. '(iidige Siunisou \v;.s cliiiif oUieer in America, and (.roveriior of the Uml- siui's IJuy torntdries for iiii nninterrupted term of tlurty->ovin yturs. He liiiil 111) lixed resilience; part of tlic time lie spent at K''d River, part iu C)icgiiii, part -n Atliabasca, and part in Canada, riirougliont that vast com- iiiiTciid empire as well in Kupert Land as in the nortli-west territories, his iiiitlidTity was absolute, his will umpiestioned except l>y tlie council or tlie omipiiiiy. And during all this time, if we may believe his own statement, it w:is iirvcr questioned. A very able man of large physitpie, he was a power tllr(.ll^hmlt the land. 'Tlie governor's logic was souml enough, but it is not so easy to draw tratlii' trnin its accustomed channels. Vanccmver Islanil never was greatly u 111 'ly wlialers. In A'/>a' lieijistir, Ixx. .'Wl, nu'iition is mado of four Amcr- ii.:ui wlialing vessels that wintered there in 184r>-(), one of which was the Mon-i.-im of Massachusetts, and one tlie Loirrif, of Connecticut. Six sailors ('n'scrting from these ships with a stolen boat attempted to land, but were fil'lHisiil by the natives; and so, driven to sea iu a storm, three of them liorisliLil. 11 I I J '! I'M!'! il §w 86 CAMOSUN AND ESQUIMALT. tual abandonment of the Columbia, and the beginniiijT 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 w VA RQ^ Ktca'no ft^ '<„"X.-^J . ^p Cuf't Flatter ff^ "'■, m'S fM. PORT ANOI ,Eyo8( Camosun akd 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 tlioir 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 iluo deliberation and examination, could find, was chosen, and in the enjoyment of the results of this sound n DOUGLAS' SURVEY. 87 judgment their successors and descendants forever may call them blessed. Those to whom more immediate thanks are due are James Douglas, John McLoughlin, Koderick Fin- layson, John Work, Anderson, Tolmie, and McNeill. (Governor 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 aniciig these we may place James Doug- las. McLoughii'i was now in his decline. His retire nient was already determined upon. He had been the central figure in Northwest Coast affairs for a period of eighteen years. A new sun was now aris- ing, which for the next score of years was to shine iu the north as had the other in the south. In early summer 1842, Douglas made a careful preliminary survey of tlie soutliern 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 found the most suitabb available spot on all the Northwest Coast. At a place called by the natives Caniosun,^ or Ca- ' At tlie extreme south-eastern end of Vancouver Island '.a a large open Iwy called Royal Bay, directly back of which is Esquitiialt Harl)or, somo tlinc miles east of which is Victoria Harhor. That part of Royal Bay lead- ing more directly into Esquinialt Harhor, and hcginuing at Alhort Head, i.s called Royal Roads. Vessels may there anchor iu tenor twelve fathoms, safj fnimall winds save those from the east or south-east. Escniinialt Harhor may lif (iitcrcd at all times, and there vessels of any size lind safe anchorage. Victoria Harhor, entered hetween poiats ^IcLoughlin and Ogden, by reason (if the sunken rocks which cxtcml a mile in eitlier direction, from the harvt, tiat ]irojection situated midway hetween tlic two harhors, anil known as Sailor • 11' Ma<:aulay point, is regarded as dangerous of entrance iu bad weather. Tlie channel is so tortuous that long vessels often run agrouiul. ' Ft appeari nut a little remarkable,' says Imray, Wrd Conxt of Xortli Aiiiirini, '2'M, ' lint with the excellent harhor of Esijuimalt witiiiu two miles, Victoiia slioul I have been continued as the commercial port of a rising colony.' See al u) Kiiiir'.'< W(iii(leriiiij.% 208, mid SctiiKiiins Vcij. llimil, i. 101. ■■ So written lly Finlaysou, and by Douglas, I'ainosack. I give the preft r- I'lici: to the former, because though Einliyson may not on all occasions have liicii as close an observer as Douglas, the visits of ohserv itioa of the latter ^^ ire transient, and in some degree necessarily superficial, wliile the former Was biiiuuht immediately into close and continued rchitionsiiip with the iiilivcs, where he wasobligcd to know soMiething of their language, ami wlur; 111 assiiieilly had tlie opportunity to obtain the most correct pronnnciation of siiiiiipoi'taiit a word. Lieiiteuant Vuvajour, in Marcli IS^ii, llotistvf Voiuiiioii4 V 1 ' 1 , ! ! J ■•ill 'Hi Hi i; Mil imiii ,„: ■'■!•;•: ■'- if ■ ■ ^i '1 :i i|-i 1- 4 AM \i '% iH'l fefll 88 CAMOSUN AND ESQUIMALT. iiiosack, 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 water-power for mills on Camosun Canal, notwithstanding McNeill iiad 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 yards of the anchorage, on the border of a laroe 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 cither 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 tlie 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 that I have seen in America. The other variety is of inferior value, and to judge from the less vigorous appearance of the vegetation upon it, naturally more unproductive. Both kinds, however, produce abundance of grass, and several varieties of red clover grow 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 tlie purposes of agriculture, tlio I'i'tiirnsto Thri'C A'UrcKM'x, 10, writes the word Caniiiuisaii, which cortaiiily 1 .ans toward Finlaysoii's orthography. IJohUic saya Skairits calld tlio auutli- eru ond of V^aucouvcr Ishiud Kaiiiocin. Df Sniet'n Or. M'tn.^., Gl. DOUiiLAS' PvKPORT. 89 !! 1 1[; :; ! lii m (Tiinate being also mild and pleasant, we ought to be 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 camiot be discovered liy other means. As, for instance, it is well known that the damp fogs which daily spread over the shores of Upper California blight the crops and greatly de- teriorate the wheat grown near the sea-coast in that countrv. I am not aware that any such effect is ever i'elt 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 Lope that other crops will do as well. The canal of Cainosack 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 gatliering camass,' great quantities of which vege- tahlo were found there, where it was now well known was a better harbor; indeed, Camosun could scarcely l>e regarded as a suitable rendezvous for whalers; but that did not prevent its being a better place for a fort. " As usual in such cases, we find both of those names niixeV'(n'cr 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- WMid 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 ])len- tiful supply of cod and halibut was secured for the next day's dinner. Weighing anchor ihe next morning, they ran into Xew Dungeness, and landed for the double purj)ose of notifying the Clallams of their intended occupation of Vancouver Island, preparatory to opening traffic with them, and also to examine the neighborhood as to f !■ 4 I • r t ^ 'According to instructions from the governor, Sir George Simpson, tlie tr;iiU^ at Tako and the neighboring islands was to be carried on by the lUriii'r striiiiuT, as a trading vessel along tlie coast tliere.' FinldynouK V. A, MS., 21. *Tlie first night, camped at tlie mouth of the Cowlitz; second night, slept liilow the forks; third night, above the forks; fourth and fifth nights, at C'lwlitz Farms; sixth and seventh nights, at Mountain Plain; ei\,'hth night, at uiirth end of Grand Prairie. We may judge somewhat of their occupation liy their movements. Domilns' Joiiiitnl, MS., 120. ■^ ' At a place named Points Perdrix, formed by a projection of the Isle Wliitby.' BoLluc, i;i />« Smet'a Or. Miss., 55. :i' t 'i i I f ■* 94 FOUNDING OF FORT CAMOSUX. its resources. There was a plain of aome two hundred acres, coiitaiiiiiio- cliit'Hv {granite bowMers, 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 ai', and a warning to the encroaching sea, as if progress had specially pre- pared the place, and the foundations of civilization were there already laid. Never danced clearer, purer water in the sunlight than that which rippled in the coves and bays around, and the Olympian Heights from this * Some say that this expedition first entered Esquitnalt Harbor, some C(irdoba Bay ; both are in error. These shores had been previously visited often enough to enable them to proceed at once to their objective point. ptaYidpoi and clou are, see ni(»untaii tlie old AvJiere a fitly hol( lifted hil white to The al iiiosun, b for a time Hiiibor, f^ituated > al lout one however, (-'iiclosiniT square, ai the fierce Eiver, bo wlu) cre|)t entered vi rii_'d the a\ On the come to tlu! dischf hank, conf unearthed iiiij:ht pass the steauK Cliicf n witli whic] oil. For lath of M a small bo noilh of 1 short, croo VIRGIN WIU>ERNESS. M Rtalidpoint, with the glistening v/ator for a foreground and cloud-cut midway above their base, a.s they often aie, seemed translated heavenward. Xever were mountains more aptly named than these, thanks to tlio old trinket-huckster, Meares; for if there is any- where a spot on which an American Jove might fitly hold his court, it is hero on these high up- lifted hills, their base resting on clouds and tlieir white tops bathed in celestial glory The aboriginal occupants of the domain round Ca- niosun, by which native api)ellation we are permitted for a time to call what was afterward known as Victoria Harbor, were the Songhies,^ whose chief village was situated on the western side of the channel, on a point al)()ut one mile from the entrance. At the present time, however, they had fortified themselves within stakes enclosing an area some one hundred and fifty feet S([uare, at the head of the harbor,^ through fear of the fierce Cowichins, who lived a little north of Fraser River, both on the island and on the mainland, and w]u> cre[)t stealthily down the strait in their canoes, entered villages at night, massacred the men, and car- ried the women and children into slavery. On the present occasion the Beaver had scarcely come to anchor when two canoes were seen, and ac tlio discharge of cannon savages appeared upon the hank, confusedly moving hither and thither like the luuarthed inhabitants of a disturbed ant-hill. The niij^ht passed quietly, and the following mornhig saw the steamer surrounded by a swarm of boats. Chief now anions other considerations W'as wood witli which to build the fort, and ground to place it on. For the former, early on the morning of tl.c 15th of March, Douglas set out from the steamer in a small boat and began to examine the shore directly? noi-tli of the anchorage, where he found the trees short, crooked, and not at all suitable. On the south 'Sue N'atiiv Jidces, i. 174-207, 297. '' lliilduc says 'nix iiiilod from the port, at the extremity of the bay.' De Sii,rt\f Or. Mis.t., 50. I '.'I ■31 it > .tsi i 'ifcifctsJ- V. M FOUNDINO OF FORT CAMOSUN. side tlic wood was botter, and Douglas antlcipattd no dittit'ulty iu t)btainin};" 8uilicK'nt of somo kind for liis purpose. Small, straiy,lit cedar-trcea, such an wore most desirable! tor jiickcts, being li;!jliter, and of greater rlurabilitv underground than other timber of this roijion, he f;)und it necessary to bring from a distance. Meanwhile", never inditi'erent to food supply, he questioned the natives, and learned that p-ileliard, or herring, came in April, and that salmon ascended Fuca Strait in August, when large (juantitics were taken, the supi)ly 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 ditlerent kinds. Number one has a good view t»f the harbor, is upem clear ground, and oidy fifty yar'' had ho hcen aware that ho was choosing the site of a city, and not merely locating a fort, such considerations as a view of the cfitranet^ or a hi'lt of bushes on the shore would have weighed but little. With the expedition was a Jesuit missionary, J. B. Z. l>t»ldue, wlio claims to have Ix en tlie first ])riest to put fo(»t on Vancouver Island; of the truth of which su|»])osition perhaps neither he nor any of those with him were the best judges. However this may have been, certain it is that Father ]^olduc, on this same 15th of March, landed with swelling breast and head erect, us fully bent on business as any there present. If we may credit the truth of the good man's state- nunt, the savages, with their chief, whose name was Tsilaltliach, at once recognized his apostleship, and howcd submissive to that spiritual yoke which they liojH'd would in its own mysterious way add to their creitture comforts. Accompanied by the commander of the expedition and tlie captain of the steamer, the priest directed his steps to where the savages had congregated up the cliiinne], and wasinnnediately embraced by six hundred souls, which number swelled to twelve hundred before liis departure. Men, women, and children, all must touch the hem of his garment, all must sliake hands with him, and absorb in their being some of that divine atrlatus that tlows from the Lord's anointed. Rcj)airing to the great public house of the village, the [)riest harangued the people, and the chief ha- raiii^ued the priest: whic!i was the more interesting and instructive discourse I 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 know, and I am come to tell you, the UisT Brit. Col. 7 '''^^B^ra ''' 1 F'^ul^En I ' I 2. 1 1 w ' w^^Mm ^ ^HRi f^^MBtf^K 1 ^^^F^^^a 1 iPi' : .1. 1 ji|..: . ■'',''. -W 1 W-'- ' ■ W '■'- Phi ■■■I'M ibjifl m !» >^ 08 FOUNDING OP FORT CAMOSUN. creator is such and such a character as I shall describe ; and he loves and hates such things as I shall tell you are right and wrong." "All that I know as well as you," returned Tsilal- thach. "Another told me ten yeais ago.^ I used to be bad; now I am good." Luekj'' Bolduc ! Lucky Tsilalthach 1 How wonderful is knowledge, hidden as it is from the wise and prudent, but revealed to babes 1 "You nmst be baptized," continued Bolduc. "Baptize our enemies," said Tsilalthach; "do not baptise us; for all the Kwantlums and Cowichins so treated died immediately." "Then you can never see the master," replied Bolduc. "Well, baptize, then," cried Tsilalthach; "we have soon to die in any event." So Bolduc baptized until arrestea by sheer exhaus- tion; and the sheep now gathered into the fold were ready for the slaughter Next day, the IGth, having determined on a site, which was number two of his recorded cogitations, Douglas put his nien at work squaring timber, and six others digging a well. He then explained to the natives,^" now assembled in considerable numbers, that he had come to build among them, and to bring them arms and implements, clothing and beautiful adorn- ments, which they might have for skins Whereat they were greatly pleased, and eagerly pressed their assistance upon the fort-builders, who were glad to employ them at the rate of one blanket for every forty pickets they would bring.'' The 17th was Friday; was it their lucky or uu- • Was it another first priest, a swearing sailor, or a supernatural apparition f '*Tho 'Saniosc,' ho calls them: which is hardly so near 'Songhies' an ' Gainosack ' is to ' Camosuii,' " 'The pickets were twenty-two feet long and three feet in circuiiiferctu'e. I also lent tiiom throe largo axes, one half square head, and ten half-nnii'.il head axes, to be returned hereafter, when they had finished the job. ' Duwjiit* Journal, MS., 12*-5. THE NATIVES. 99 lucky day ? Was that luminous streak ■which lingered in the heavens after the day went out, shining brightly tliore until the moon came up and frightened it away — was the sign portentous of good or ill to this begin- ning 1 And did it speak to the savage or to the civil- ized ? For five const cutive nights it did not fail to make its appearance, and was the wonder of the time.^^ Sunday was the 19th, and Bolduc decided on that day to celebrate mass, Douglas kindly placed at his disposal whatever he should wish from the steamer, 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 of fir-trees enclosing the sides. During the service the rude sanctuary was graced with the presence of the commander, and two Catholic ladies, by which term the polite Frenchman designates the pious half-breed wives of the Car.?dians. No cathedral bell was heard that sabbath morning; no soft and solemn peal flung back by waving forest on Georgia and Fuca straits ; and yet the Songhies, Clallams, and Cowichins weni there, friends and bloody enemies, in thick attendance, all anxious for heaven after they should have received sufficient of some nearer and more present happy sensation. The Songhies themselves were soon enlisted in mis- sionary service. Bolduc, desirous of carrying the gos- ])cl to Whidbey Island, after purchasing a canoe was devoutly paddled thence by Tsilalthacli and ten of his most efficient warriors, on the 24th. The cr»j)tain had j^ivon him a compass and had told him which way to steer, else this man who knew tlie road to heaven so well would have lost his way on a little stretch of ejtiique sea of twenty-seven miles. The first night was f^peiit on Lopez Island; J . new converts, securing an ahundance of sea food to gorge themselves withal, did '■'Douglas every day made a note of it, placing it ' due south from the Ji'isition we occupied at tlie time of itn apjiearance, and extended from thence 111 a continuous line to tlie south-west i)()int of the liorizoi., forming im arc of tiiiiity decrees. It diniinishful gradually toward tlie soutiiwest horizon.' ■^uuijl,i.i' Jounml, MS., 126. m 100 FOUNDING OF Fy twenty-eigl.t feet, covered with cedar bark, the interior lined witJi rush mats, stood at his service upon an adjacent hill; in return for which the Skagits were taught to sing. The 3d of April the good missionary departed from these shores, directing his boat back toward Nisqually, naively remarking that although the heathen here- abouts gladly received the word, he was not sure they fully comprehended it; for when he attemi)tcil to reform their morals they straightway relapsed into indifterence. The beginning of these important operations having thus been made, iJouglas committed his little force of fort-l)uilder8 to the honorable mercies of the yet uii- maddened savage, and steamed northward, transacting the usual business on the way. Proceeding to Fort Tako, he took thence all the goods and other articles worth the transportation, and ])lacing them with the nicTi on board the vessel, abaii- dtmed the place. At Fort Simjison lie took on board Roderick Finlayson, leaving there another otticer in his place. Dropping down the Milbank Sound, If gathe»-«'d. in the stores and men at Fort ]\rc]joughliii, and abandoned that post as he had done Fort Tako." Then ho returned to Camosun. "'This course was adopted in consequence of instructions liaving Ihmti Bent from Red River settlement in Hudson's Bay, then tlio licad-quartcrs nf our governor, Hirdeorge Simpson, to establisii u dejiot for wlial'.TS om tlm Boiitli j)oi:it of Vancouver Island, as there were many whalers then visitiiij,' th-) fo.tli I'acilic' Fi:ilai/son'd I'. /., MS., '21. THE FOUNDATIONS OF EMPIRE LAID. 101 It wa'', on the first day of June that the new i'orec landed from the Beaver at Caniosun. But httle progress had been made in building since the de- j)arturf of the steamer, and there was as yet no slielter for stores upon the shore. Carrying forward to rapid comi)letion the few log huts already begun, the goods were landed, and stored in them, the men jirotocting themselves at night as best they were al)h}, until further buildings were erected for their accomnjo- (liition. Prom KtC "o,i4s of Vancouver, the neighboring islands, and tii jontiguous mainland the natives Hocked in tu see the work that was being done, and (.'ucamped on every side. They were all well armed, and were without their wives and children, which seemed somewhat suspicious to the fort-builders. The fur-trading force at Camosun now numbered fifty men, j)art of whom were from the abandoned posts of Tako and McLoughlin, and part from Fort Vancouver. Tliis was almost too formidable an array, armed to the teeth, and constantly on guard as they were, for the natives to think of attacking; so they contented tlicnisclves with the pilff-r'i'.g of such articles as provi- dence threw in their way, fur rlicy were thieves upon principle. Three months afte* t!) airival of the parties from tlic north, the stocka h;, sviilt bastions at the angles and store and dweHln:^ hoi os "'thin, was completed. While this work '.WIS in prognv-s, the schooner Catlboro arrived with supplies from Fort Vancouver. Mr Charles Ross, who had been in charge of Fort Mc- Louglilin at the time of the abandonment, biding Hrnior officer, was placed in command, with Mr Fin- laysou as second. Then in Octoi)er, Douglas, pro- nouiK'iiig the new est.' Ushment capable of self-defence, •K'jiarted with the IfC' vrr and the Cadhnro, and tlieir • Tews, midst long and ' .,ty fheers fi'om the shore Tims were laid the foundations of a new empire. i I 1 i tl it ■ i ij t u ; T1 i: ■ \\ i 1 : 1 ' 1 ^ ' •i> n.^\ 1 CHAPTER VI. AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN. Death ov Commander Ross — Ronr. , Finlayson — Sketch or nis Career — At Forts Tako and Simpson — Bii!Lio«raphical Note on his Manuscript — His Character — First Cargo of Live-sto(jk — The Sav- ages MAKE Game of the Cattle — Redress Demanded and Refused — "War Declared — Tsouohilam and Tsilalthach with their Allies Attack the Fort — Strategy of Finlayson— Bloodless Victory — Tub Pipe of Peace is Smijked — Descrutions of the Fortress — ^Warkk AND Vavasour — Berthold Seemann — Finlayson's Leiter — .Tamks Deans — His Character and Manuscript — Interesting and Minute Descrxition of the Fort — Under Orders of Douglas, Fort Camosun WAS Built without a Nail. In the spring of 1 844 Ross, the oflicer in charge, died, and Finlayson reigned in his stead. Tlie first duty of the new commander M'as to despatch to Kisquallya canoe with a messenger for Fort Vancouver, announc- ing the death of Ross. The return express brouglit from McLoughhn authority for Finlayson to remain in charge, with a promise of another officer to be sent shortly to assist him in carrying on operations. On the western highlands of Scotland was born Rodc^ick 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 tho parochial school, the youth was preparing for liis successful future. At tho age of sixteen years he left home and begnii making his own way in the world. Crossing the At- lantic on an emigrant ship hi 1837 to New York, Jie there met an uncle who secured him a position as aj)- prcnticed clerk in the Hudson's Bay Company, and reporte muinin^ Rytowi 1839 h where ] shooting ]irepara for the shore st witli Ja wliicli w Louglili hy way ( bank 8o wlicre w Douglas, of tlie pa had hrou III Jui River, A\ chai-go o eigliteon After a 1841 Fin place at Verba Ri he took ]i Vpon t I'.vJiis mc 1" a canoe lival ]jc i RODERICK FINLAYSON. 108 reported himself at the office in Montreal. After re- maining there several months he was apj)ointed 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 Valle}', shooting duck where Portland now stands, and making preparations meanwhile for an expedition northward for the purpose of taking possession of the ten-league shore strip lately leased from the Russians. Thence wltli James Douglas in command of the party, of wl lid I were W. G. Rae, John Kennedy, and John Mc- Jjoughlin, junior, in the spring of 1840 he proceeded hy way of the Cowlitz River, Nisqually, Langley, Mil- biink Sound, and Fort Simpson to the Stikeen River, where were left Rae, McLoughlin, and eighteen men ; ])ouglas, Kennedy, and Finlayson, with the remainder of tlio party, proceeding in the steamer Beaver, which liad brought them from Nisqually to Sitka. In June the party sailed from Sitka for the Tako River, where they built a fort, which was left in charge (^f Kennedy, with Finlayson as assistant, and eigliteen men, Douglas returning to Fort Vancouver. After a dreary winter at Tako, in the summer of 1841 Finlayson was ordered to Stikeen to take the place at that station of Mr Rae, who was sent to Yorba Buena. There he remained six months, when he took his place at Fort Simpson as trader. l^pon the assassination of John McLoughlin, junior, by Ills men at Stikeen, Finlayson proceeded thither ill a canoe to take conmiand of that post, but on ar- rival he found that Governor Simpson had reached tlie place before him, and had provided for its govern- iiunt. Thereupon he returned to Fort Simpson, where he remaiut'd through 1842, and until he was taken thence by Douglas to assist in establishing the jHJst at Camosun in the spring of 1843.' i '■ i i^ 1 I ? 'In a manuscript of 104 folio pages, entitled lI'Morij nf Vancouttr lnhiiil anil the Xoitliwcat ConM, hji Uodcrick Ftnhiijsou, are given the primary I uts relative to tlio lirst estalilisliinent on VaiR'ouV(-r Island subsequent to tile doings at Nootka, so.ne half-century pruvioua. Tart of thia manuscript i' -"^w ■ ) I ■ l'' ) 104 AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN. There can be no evidence more satisfactory to the historian in regard to an incident or episode not con- iiccted 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 bein*; upon tlie 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 fui.ure metropolis, and setting there the stakes of civilization, we happily have, in this in- stance, in the person of Mr Roderick Finlayson. ia in the handwriting of the author; the remainder was taken by reporters f:-om Mr Finlayson 's dictation in my presence, and whilu subject to my inter- rogatorips. Ho wlio would investigate the early affairs of British Columbia, more particularly matters relating to the founding of its most important c.itabli.slniient, and which led to the building of the present city of Victoria, i:i surprised r,t the absence of material There was scarcely a post upon the whole Korthwcst Coast of which I had not more information than conceruiug the founding of Caniosun, or Victoria, before I began to gather it from un- recorded Sources. Fortunately in Mr Finlayson I found the man before all others for the purpose. Well preserved in mind as in body, clear-headed, ciiurteous, intelligent, and public-spirited, he patiently sat with me day after day ami week after week, until I expressed myself satisfied. And to him his felliAv-members of the commonwealth, and all who care for a knowledjie of its early incidents, may tender their thanks; for without what he has given mo there would be little to tell. It is wonderful, indeed, how quickly unrecorded facts drop out of existence; and what blind apathy even the mo.st prominent men sometimes display concerning most important matters which Iiave Iain nearest them all their lives, but which did not happen to come ^^ itiiin the routine of their duties. When asked by Mrs Victor for incidents of the early life of .lohn McLoughlin, Mr Douglas replied that he knew notli- iiig of McLout'hlin's early life. Half their lives had been spent in intimate InisinesH and friendly intercourse; both were wise and prominent men, and yet the younger knew absolutely nothing of the elder except what he saw ef l;im. Mr Finlayson has a most happy way of presenting facts. His style is l;!cid, exact, and at the same time comprehensive. The chief incidents of Ins long and prominent career seemed already arranged in his mind in well de- fined seijuence. His manuscript, though not as large as some, contains as nuieh iniorination as many three times its size, and the importance ( f his information is not exceeded by any. Mr Finlayson presented as line an :ip- pcarance physically as one not very often meets. Tall, well ju-oportioiu'l, irect, and crowned with gray, with line, full features, expressixe at once m { Are these your fields that fatten tliem I I thought them the property of nature; and whatever nature sends me, that I slay and eat, asking no ques- tions, and paying no damages." " These cattle were brought from beyond the great sea," replied the messenger; "they belonged to those wlio brought them; and unless you make proper res- titution, the gates of the fort will be closed against you." ' Close your gates, if you like I" exclaimed Tsough- ilam, now thoroughly enraged, " and I will batter i 11 1. 1 i ''■11 i : ii 1? ' i.l:* ill' ,"»; no AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN. of some piiio slabs. And much good was acconi- plished, as tlie result will show. Some little time was allowed to elapse after the firing of the shot, that the savages might have ojjpor- tunity to gather somewhat their dusky senses, i'rcs- ently a deputation of their principal men api)ear((l before the fort and requested a parley with the white chief. Finlayson told them they might come within the stockade; and as a guaranty of his good faith, lie would send out two of his men as hostages. I'lie offer was accepted, and tiie de[)Utation entered tlie fort. Then Finlayson fully exjilained to them how easily he could destroy them if he would. He showed tlieiu his men, his big guns and his little guns, and powder and balls, and knives and swords. He assured them that he wished them only good; but he insisted tliut those who killed the oxen should be given up for pun- ishment, or the (;attle paid for. They preferred the latter alternative, and before night fur to the lull amount of the damage was delivered at the fort gate. The ])ipe of peace was then smoked, and promises of friendship exchanged. Next day the 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 cannon at it he fired. Away went the ball, and after cutting a great hole in the boat, bounded along the surface of the water to the oppo- site shore. The savages' respect for civilized institu- tions was duly increased. But the white man's laws as gradually revealed to them were seldom palatable. For exann)le, not long after the cattle-killing affair certain Skagits from Whidbey Island came to Camosun to trade. Tlieir business done, they started for their boats; but before reaching them the Songhies fell upon the visitors and stripped them of their goods; for between the Ska- gits and the Songhies, just as between France and Uermany, feuds had long existed. Now, in the big DESCIIIPTIOT^ OF THE FORT. Ill l»()ok of the fur-liuntors is it not written that tradiiiir skills is a sacred callinj^, and that consequently the persons of skin-sellers are sacred? Therefore when the Skajrits returned with long faces to the fort and told their tale, the commander ordered the immediate restoration of the stolen goods, under penalty of his displeasure and ahsolute cessation of trade, which was done. Steal and butcher among yourselves, or on any other occasion, as much as you will ; but at your peril touch the pilgrim who brings hither the jifains we love. The fort was situated, as we have seen, on the east side of the inlet, directly opposite the chief village of the Songhies, which was distant some four hundred yards, and between which places was constant com- iiiunic 'on by boats. As usual, the chiefs were kept frier by presents and a judicious balancing of powv.. ,j Mr Finlayson, for whom they entertained the highest respect.'^ The square enclosed by the cedar pickets, which were eighteen feet above ground, was one hundred and fifty yards on every side, with two block-houses or bastions at the angles, and dwellings and stoi'ehousea witliin the enclosure.^ Although building was not entirely over for several years, the fort proper and the usual building within the palisades were well advanced during this year of 1844. As there is no period in the history of a com- monwealth possessing a more keen and lasting interest than that of the rude incipiency of its metropolis, I t til :?; "On the opposite side of the harbor is a large native village; the a. > tancc across is only 400 yards, and canoes keep up constant coniunmication Lotwcc'ii it and the fort. Certain supplies to the chiefs keep tiiein in good huiiior with their intruding visitors. The houses of the natives 'are built ^('itli solidity, the climate rendering it necessary to guard against the cold, ami arrange with some degree of order in ntrects or lanea with passages run- ning up between them. Several families occupy the same house — one large slicil, bttle better than an open cow-house or stable in an indifferent inn, till! ('(iiiipartments or walls hardly exduiling the sight of one family from aiiiitliiT. Sefiinnin'.'i Voij. Hemll, i. I05-(). See also Xnt'nr Races, i. 174-'i08. ■'Tliisis Mr Finlayson 's statement, llist. V. /., MS., ol-li. Others who kuow luss about it give other figures. iS'J'! 112 AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN, shall give the impressions of a few early visitors in their own words. Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour, who 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 describt^d, a farm of several hundred acres, on which they raise wheat and potatoes, and c depot of i)rovisions, supplies, etc., for the ditferent tradinL,^-posts farther to the north." And again the latter of the above-named gentlemen says in a report to Colonel Holloway dated the 1st of March 184(): "Fort Mctoria is situated at the soutliern end of Vancouver's Island, in the small harbor of (^.unmusan, the entrance to which is rather intricate. The fort is a square enclosure of one hun- di'ed yards, surrounded by cedar pickets twenty feet in heiyfht, haviuLT two octau'onal bastions containiiio' each six six-pounder iron guns at the north-east and south-west angles. The buildings are made of squared timber, eight in immber, forming three sides of an oblong. This fort has lately been established; it is badly situated with regard to water and position, whicli latter has been chosen for its agricultural advantages onlv. . . . This is the best built of the conii)anv's forts; it requires loop-holing and a platform or gallery to en- able men to tire over the pickets. A ditch might be cut round it, but the rock appears on the surface in many places."* Bertliold Seemann, naturalist on board H. M. S. Iff raid, w] A) visited the place in July ]84(), says: "The fort is a S({uare enclosure, stockaded with poK'S about twenty feet high, and eight or ten inches in diameter, jilaced close together, and seamed witli ii cross-|)ie('e of nearly equal size. At the transveiso corners of the scpiare tliere are strong octagonal towers, mounted with four nine-pounder guns Hank- ing each side, so that an attack by sf vages would he out of the question; and if defended with spirit, a dis- qut * Home Comvtnm netnrnx to Ttiixe Addressee, 7, 11 li ' 1 LAYING OUT A TOWN. IIS ■^ " Fiulm/son'a Letters, MS., Oct. 18, 1879. '^Sill.lciiK'iit qf y'ancQuvcr Mand, MS., by James Deans, Victoria, 1878. Mr Diaii.s was l)orn at Arniisficld, Haddiugtnnshirc, Scotland, on the 17tli of Juiiu 1.S'.'7. Leaving Londou the 17th of August 1852, on the H. B. I'o. 'a bark Xnrman MorruoH, lie arrived at Victoria the IGtli of January following. British Columbia has been his place of residence ever since. Thus, under hi.i soutiimous observation, society aad the commonwealth have arisen and de- viilopcd, and being a close and intelligent olmerver, an original thinker, and '. 'liirlcsa speaker, his manuscript constitutes no unimportant part of my inatirial r<,r this portion of my hiatory. I slia'.I have ouuosiou to rufec ta it^ liiuiiy times during the progress of thia work. UiHT, Uhit. Col. 8 ' ciplined force without artillery would find considerable ditficulty in forcing the defences. The square is about one hundred and twenty yards, but an increase, which will nearly double its length from north to south, is contemplated. The building is even now, though plain to a fault, imposing from its mass and extent, wliile the bastions or towers diminisli tlie tameness which its regular outline would otherwise produce. The interior is occupied by the officers' houses, or apart- ments they should rather be called, stores, and a trad- ing house, in which smaller bargains are concluded, and tools, agricultural implements, blankets, shawls, beads, and all the multifarious products of Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, are offered at exorbitant prices." "In 1852," says Finlayson, "the town of Victoria was laid out in streets, then bounded on the west by tlio har-bor, on the east by the present Government street, on the south by the old fort, and on the north by the present Johnson street. Outside of these boundaries were th' fields which were under cultiva- tion."'' This will enable the reader to locate to-day tbe exact spot on which the fort stood. But by far the best account extant of the place as it existed at an early day is that given me by my friend James Deans,® of Vancouver Island, who de- scribes it as he first saw it in Januarv 1853: "The l)astions were of hewn logs some thirty fee"!; in height, and were connected by palisades about twenty feet liiyli. Within the palisades were the stores, num- beied from one to five, and a blacksmith shop, besides i , ' i, t'l t i: ! 114 AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN. dining-hall, cook-house, and chapel. . . .The site of the fort was an oak opening. The gro Tid, to the extent of an acre, was cleared and enclosed by a palisade forming a square. On the north and south corners was a tower containing six or eight pieces of ord- nance each. The north one served as a prison, the south one for firing salutes whenever the governor visited any place officially. In the centre of the east and west sides were main gate-ways, each having a little door to let people out or in after hours. On the right, entering by the front or south gate, was a cot- tage in which was the post-office. It was kept by an officer of the company, a Captain Sangster. Next in order was the smithy. Next and first on the south side was a large storehouse, in which fish-oil, etc., were stowed away. Next came the carpenter's shop. Close to this was a large room provided with bunks for the company's men to sleep in. Next, and last on that side, was a large buildiny. a sort of barrack for new arrivals. Between this corner and the east gate were the chapel and chaplain's house. On the other side of this gate was a large building which served as a dining-room for the officers; adjoining this were the cook-house and pantry. On tlie fovirth side was a double row of buildings for storing fur previous to shipment to England, and goods before taking thoir place in the trading store. Behind these stores wa.s a fire-proof building used as a magazine for storin;' gunpowder. On the lower corner was another cottage in which lived Finlayson and family, who was then chief faupil ( of McLouj lender t similar ide ^'ainosun ^ fis it may a DOUGLAS AND FINLAYSON. 115 low, the upper part of it dry, wliile at the lower part there were three or four feet of water. It was lined with stone-work up to the surface, then covered with wood. To this well the miners came for their supply of water, whicli was hauled up with a rope and bucket. While one of them was hauling up water the rope broke and let his kettle fall to the bottom. In order to save his kettle, he gave an Indian a dollar to go down and fish it up. The Indian went down and stood on the dry part of the rock. After trying a little while, and unable to grapple the kettle, in order to help him to recover it the miner swung himself down by the rope. When about ten feet down his feet struck the stone-work. In an instant the whole wall fell down on the Indian, who, poor fellow, died instantly, crushed to death at the bottom. A number of [)cople came and quickly recovered his body. The well was ordered to be filled up, which was done. Only one of all the old buildings now remains, which is the store known as number three. It is at present us(;d as a theatre" — tliat is to say, in 1878. (vharacteristic of Douolas was the desire to accom- plish the greatest possible results with the smallest means, a praiseworthy quality if not carried too fan During his wide experience he had often been forced to this economy of capital, and what he had done he oonipolled others to do. If a fort was to be built, Douglas would specify the number of men to be em- ployed, the tools to be used, among wliich the never- faihng Canadian chopping-adze was always prominent, if indeed it was not the only one, if I may except a few augers, chisels, and saws. Finlayson had been th<> pupil of Douglas, as Douglas had been the pupil of McLoughlin. Under the influence of Douglas, Finlayson imbibed similar ideas; so that when ordered to build Fort Caniosun without a single nail, he did it. Strange as it may appear, houses, palisades, and bastions were m 'm IN ■-!:■! >l ;;H I = 1:1 ,M ~ — rr 116 AFFAIRS AT CAMOSUN. erected without the use of one iron nail or spike, wooden pegs alone being employed/ ' Besides Finlayson'g Hut. V. I., MS., passim; Deans' Settlement V. I., MS., pafisim; Douglas' Voyage to the Northtoest Coast, in Journal, MS., 120-7; Bolduo, in De Smet's Or. Miss., 55-65; and Waddmgton'a Fraser Mines, on whose evidence this and the preceding chapter rest--! may infer to Emm' Hist. Or., MS., 279; Simpson's Or. Ter., 47; Niks' Ren., Ixix. 134; Seemanii'^ Voy. Herald, i. 101-3; Maine's B. C, 26-57; Kam'a Wamlenwjs, 215; Ouiile to B. C, 281-4; Martina H. B., 34-5; Orant, in London Geog. Soc., Jonr., xxvi. 272; McKinlay'a Nar., MS., 7; Overland Monthly, xv. 497; James Douglas, H. B. Co. Ev. H. B. Co. Claims, 49-61; Cooper, Mar. Matters, MS., passim; Haz- litt'a B. C, 157, copied verbatim from Grant; Tolmie's Puget Sound, MS., I'J; Howison's Rept., 36; Macfie's B. C, 58; Blanchard, in House Commons Rep/., 1857, 290, 294; Cooper, in House Commons Rept., 1857, 208; Good's Brilixk Columbia, MS., 2; Tod'a New Caledonia, MS., 19. EXTERMINAl Albert, E.VD.S FI! More I Ships fh —The A: Ho.SPITAi Ves.sel.s Tkhritoj Adventu Back ir skin.sl G tliat is, alj t'liiefly tal youi' nam pmates, ta Blot your bered> V t'xccpt to ( and virgin liiiiid .shou ^'I'litle sav£ under our t<'stainent; ^'"'•.Lrottcn! IjlViltJlO of For the ■ st't'M, the p was called 1 CHAPTER VII. CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA 1845. Extermination op Savage Nomenclatcre — Camosun Becohts First Albert, and then Victoria — F(X)D Supply — Douolas' 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 HrrHER — Wilalino Fleets —The Mission of the 'America '—Captain Gordon as a Sportsman — Hospitality at Fout Victoria — ' Fipi'y-foiir Forty or Fioht '— Morr Vf.ssf,i,s of War at Victoria — Also Surveyors and Appraisers of Territories — The Northwest Coast not Worth Fiohtinq foR' - Adventures of Paul Kanei^Fort Victoria in Eably Hays. Back into the woods, you greased and painted red- skins! Gro! And take ycur belongings — all of them, that is, all except what civilization would have. But cliietly take yourselves, your past, your future; take VDUi- names of things and places; take your lares et pnnitcs, take your legends and traditions. Begone 1 Blot yourselves out! Why should j^ou be remem- l»er(xl i What have you done as tenants of this domain ox('tj)t to occupy, and eat and sleep, and keep it fresh and virgin as God gave it you, until some s^^ronger liand should come and wrest it from you? Thanks, liiii tie savage ; but go! And please do not die here under our cultivated noses. You need execute no testament; we will administer your estate. Go! Be toi'n^ottcn! Be not! And let not your late home breathe of your former being. For the first two years of its existence, as we have seen, the post at the south end of Vancouver Island Was called by the native name of the place, Camosun. '. 1 i' . fil ill Hi' Till HI IIS CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA. It was now deemed advisable, not to say necessar}', to eradicate all traces of nature and the natural man ; it was thought in better taste, with the levelling of forests and the tearing up of rocks, to blast from memory the sylvan race tliat once were masters there. It happened there lived somewhere a man whose name was Albert, whom it were well for the adven- turers of England to conciliate ; therefore, in the year of grace 1845, orders came from the London magnates to damn the name Camosun, and call the place Fort Albert. But even then they were not satisfied; for behold, upon this planet there was one mightier than Albert, even his wife, the queen; ^iid so before the year had expired Camosun was called Victoria, eacli new baptism being celebrated by the usual salutes and ceremonies.^ from No sooner were the stockade, storehouses, and dwellings prepared than the people at Camosun turned their attention to the production of food. "For," said Finlayson, "after the first year many ajt- plications for agricultural produce from head-quarters would be ascribed to want of energy on the part of the officers in charge," and holding last to the motto of Douglas, "great ends from small means," the omnipotent adze was sharpened, and wooden plouglis and harrows were made, the mould-board and teeth being of oak; old ropes obtained from the coastinj,^ vessels were used as traces for the horses to pull by. Afterward, seeing how industrious and thrifty tliey were, as a mark of his special favor Douglas indulged them in the extravagance of a few iron ploughshares Finlayson says, Hist. V. I., MS., 26: 'In the year 1845 the naiiu; of Camosun previously given to tlie fort Wiis changed to Fort Albert by onlfr from England, and the succeeding year to that of Victoria.' This I .shmilil regard as the highest authority did I not find a higher in the report of liiu- tentants Warre and Vavasour, House of Commons Rtturns to Three Addiri^'i, 7, dated the 26th of October 1845, in which the post is plainly desigiiattJ Fort Victoria. This may have been done without proper authority, or it may not have l>een commonly called by that name, or baptized into it bitnre 1846. At most, the discrepancy in the time of the change of name iuv>)!ve9 but a few mouths. GREAT ENDS FROM SMALL MEANS. 119 from Fort Vancouver; and whetting their Scotch iiif^onuity still further, they took the iron hoops from old provision casks and with them lined the inould- l)oards of the plough and bound the wooden agricul- tural machinery. Agricultural outhouses were built; and grain was thravshed by driving horses round a rlnir in the barn. Flour was made with a steel hand- mill sent from Fort Vancouver. l*erhaps a more liberal economy would have better served the purpose, though it might not so well have served James Douglas. McLoughlin was making ready to retire from the service, and remove from Fort Vancouver to Oregon City the coming winter, leaving Chief Factor Douglas first in command on the Pacific. This new post on Vancouver Island was undoubtedly destined to great things. Mr Grant says: "As in settling there, no idea was entertained by the Hudson's Bay Company beyond starting a fresh trading-post with the Indians, the establishment remained in statu quo until the year 1849, when the granting of the whole island to the company opened out a fresh field for their exertions;" but in this he is mistaken. We know that the company harbored far more ambitious views for Camosun, or by the grace of (lod, Albert, and Victoria, tlian the establishing of an ordinary trading-post there, though Mr Grant did not. The great men of the great monopoly were w] lolly able to keep their own counsel, and those nearest them, in point of time as well as of distance, t)l"ten knew least as to the project or policy revolving in their mighty minds. Had a trading-post alone been the measure of their oxpec'tations, Langley would have answered. At Lang- \vy were both furs and fisheries ; there was little local trade on this south end of Vancouver Island. No, the day was coining when progress should demand somewhere in this western north a British city. A heady the Americans were upon them, and had spoiled their southern grounds. Possibly they might i H? 1 ' [ '"'-^8 It' i'i '' ' ■■.-■j.j.' f i.' n 1 '■n 'V'i j:t :!' ' ■ 1 - f M ■ fet' •' I i ■ i4\ , ' 1 i;W^. ,;1 ■ ! ■■! H 'i ' I i:|lh , 1 i ' W- ■; 1 . 1 Wti (1 '. i- ' 1- ) '. ' i i^r ;; J 120 CAM03UN, ALBERT, VICTOUIA. nurse their western hyperborean game yet a century or two as they had done in Rupert Land; or, if hard pressed, tliey might spare the island to civilization and yet hold 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 Ktockade. Therefore Douglas would begin his reign with reform, and carry yet more than ever into rigid ])ractice his principle of the greatest results from the least means. Almost immediately 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 Columbia River with the remainder. Hence the sta- tion rose rapidly in importance. There were now three vessels in the company's ser- vice between London and the Northwest Coast, tlie Vancouver, the Cowlitz, 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 Ray in 1845 for supplies. And yearly after that they called at Fort Victoria, until finally it was found that the Hawaiian Islands ofi^'ered 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. During this same year Juan de Fuca Strait was honored by a visit from her majesty's ship America, 'The Vnvcom'cr ia reported at Victoria again in November ]84(), an 1 in 1847 tiie bark Columbia at Honolulu twenty-six days from Vancouver Islarul. til VISIT OF GORDON. 191 wlK)se captain was Gordon, brother of the earl of Aberdeen, then prime-minister of England. Knowing little or nothing of Esquimalt and Victoria harbors, Gordon put in to Port Discovery, sending a despatch, as he was passing through the strait, to the officer in charge 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 clays, at the expiration of which, Fiidayson, squeezed of all information in his power to impart, was sent back to his post. Captain Gordon and certain of his officers accompanying him. The object of the America's visit was to obtain in- formation concerning the coast, such as should assist tlic English government in settling the boundary question then pending. To this end, while Finlayson was yet on board. Captain 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 (Jreat Britain. As the time drew near when the rigiits of owner- ship and occupation must be finally determined, Brit- ish statesmen asked themselves, Is the country worth having? Further than this, is it worth fighting for? These queries they put to the London management of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the answers were nut satisfactory. The company cared nothing for the value of the country, cared little whether 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 were to be spoiled, it mattered little to them whetlier it was done by the English government. Ml- bv American settlers. When McLoui^hlin was asked this question, he answered plainly that he did not think the country worth fighting for. , i: ! ' J if'''' ' ' 11 'lii ■•i K'Jf I i ,' i:"- ' i i 1 ! h ?H 't ^ > .LJ ud 1 182 CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA. ,»i ■•l^f It was not every day that brothers and sons of earls and baronets dropped in upon the quiet traders, and all were well aware that England now expected Fin- layson to do his duty. First of all, the Americas officers were duly feasted, this being a custom which English gentlemen as well as American savages de- lighted in. Fatted calves were killed, also swine and poultry; and hunters were sent out for game. To native delicacies were added home productions, whicli well cooked and served with the choicest wines and liquors satisfied the stomach and warmed the heart into solemn good-fellowship. It was really necessary the dinner should pass off well if the service was to escape disgrace, for when bedtime came there were no sumptuous apartments into which to show the guests. Eating and sleeping were two quite distinct affairs at Fort Victoria. There were no wives, civilized or savage, in the offi- cers' quarters of the fort ; indeed, Finlayson's was the only bed, and that was a single cot slung against the bare walls. This was given to the captain, while the others slept on the floor. At the breakfast table next morning a large, fine salmon was placed before the guests, smoking hot. "What is that?" demanded the captain. " Salmon," said Finlayson; "we have plenty of them here." " Have you flies and rods ? " *'We use lines and bait; the Indians catch them in nets ; we have no flies and rods ? " " No flies! no rods !" responded the puzzled 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 adop- tion of aboriginal customs in fishing or hunting. " Xo flies ! no rods ! Well, you have indeed turned sav- ages." Fishing in Fuca Strait being out of the question, without the customary adjuncts attending angling in Ill-; OPINIONS. 123 ' ij' British trout-streams, horses were ordered, the finest juiJ fleetest the island aftbrded. The British sailors were now to show their benighted countrymen how deer were stalked. Even nature, flattered by the presence of the illus- trious visitors, had put on her gayest apparel. Riding forth upon the wild sward carpeted with flowers, be- tween forests and fern-fringed thickets, the rich green of the hill-top foliage pluming the illimitable blue, the (lancing waters below, and the frozen sunshine above, the breast of the honest fur-trader heaved somewhat exultant over the island's loveliness. After waiting in vain for some expression of appreciation on the part of his companions, he modestly asked, "Is not this beautiful f "Finlayson," replied Gordon, "I would not give one of the bleakest knolls of all the bleak hills of Scotland for twenty islands arrayed like this in bar- baric glories." Finlayson could not help asking himself what the government meant in sending such an ass to set a valuation on the Northwest Coast. l^resently a band of deer started up, the party pur- sued, and just as Gordon was ready to shoot, the game (li.sa[)peared in a thicket which the mounted hunters could not penetrate. The captain thereupon broke out into new cursings, ard demanded how deer could he sliot in a country like this. "We have men who can average six a day," said Finlayson, " and that without fatigue ; but as the game of tlie island is not yet enclosed in park fences, and we cannot run it down through these thickets, we are obliged to steal upon it unawares, which is easily done l)y those who understand it." In a very bad humor the sailors returned to the fort, and after a week of eating and drinking, which tluy most of all enjoyed, they went on board their ship. Meanwhile, accompanied by Douglas, who was doing the honors in that quarter, Parke and Peel re- ■1.1 .i >'' I ".,1 s 1 . 1 ■'■V " - I ! : II' 11 ;i ;■ : m ' i .- ■ 124 CAMOaUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA. turned from the Columbia River, apparently as dis- gusted with the ccuntry in that direction as (rordoii had been with Vancouver Island. When the expe- dition returned to England, and made its intelligent and valuable report, British statesmen were amply able to give the subject the clearest consideration. And now while the cry of "fifty-four forty or Hght"^ was ringing throughout the United States, and while in England there was likewise no small excitement relative to the interests of Great Britain on tlie Pacific, there appeared before Fort Victoria several British vessels, which had been ordered from the south Pacific to guard British interests on the North- west Coast. These were the Cormorant, Captain Gordon — not the Gordon of the former visit, but another of that name; the Fhgard, Captain Duntze; the Covstance, Captain Courtney; the Inconstant, Captain Shepherd; and th(^ surveying vessels Herald, Captain Kellett, and Pandora, Ca^^tain Wood. Thus again in 184(! Finlayson was called upon to dance attendance ou maritime magnificos. Beef cattle were driven up for the oflficers to shoot, and wild horses for them to break. Douglas and Finlayson were often on the vessels to dinner, and the officers used to ask thciii, "Why do you leave the Columbia? If we could only be sent there, we would take the whole coun+ry in twenty four hours." After these came the frigate Thetis and other vessels. All these ships found the fortress of Victoria revelling in fat things; nor were the officers slow to provision their vessels from the stock of cattle and produce there abounding. Several of these ships were given some little com- mission other than the primary one of guarding British rights and frowning on the obstreperous encroacli- ments of the Americans. Thus Captain Duntze of 'That is to say, if Great Britain did not yield to the United States peace- able jtosaession of all territory west of the Rocky Mountains, between the tiossessions of Mexico on the south and Russia on the north, which latter •ound waa latitude 54° 40', the Americans would fight for it. tlie Fisi niour, c( -vHlth P (lat(^d oi niiiry 1 > plied in Quadra sent tll( so far as will be \i Henr^ Pandora, 1S4(;, be dorm oral ficial sui ward. {■ three cri Jo] in Fn Beside whose ofi (lition of incut's in< was sent yet more M'orth, an licutenani tint govei at i^'ort from Yo] Fn-t. O In iidd: these gen fur the w' icji wa ^■11, especi mgs with iifiii^ lil ni- Ml 11 SEYMCiLR AND KELLETT. HB tlio Flsr/ard was directod by Rear-admiral G. F. Sey- mour, counnander-iii-chief of lier maje.sty'8 fleet in the s.)utli J*acific, and whose report to tlio admiralty w.is (hitc^d on board the Collingivond, Valparaiso, 8tli Feb- ruiiry IH47, to "ascertain whether coals could bo sup- plied ill Hufticient quantities for the use of steamers on Quadra or Vancouver Island," and Duntze accordingly sent the steam-vessel Cormorant thither. The result, so far as its bearing upon the coal interest is concerned, will be giver hereafter.* Henry Kellett, connnanding the Herald and the Pandora, which appeared before Jb ort Victoria in July 1H4(), being tugged from deep surroundings by the (Utrmoraiit, which was there before them, made a super- ficial survey of Fuca Strait, and then sailed scath- ward. Subsequently Kellett became conspicuous by three cruises to the Arctic regions, in search of Sir Jojui Frankli)\ Besides *he vvar-vessels of the Pacific squadron, whose officers were to report on the resources and ,. ^ House Commona Returm to 'f'iiree Addresses 1848-9, 3. •r-h m '11: f i : 1 1£3 CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA. I do not doul>t that these gentlemen performed their duties conscientiously. They examined the Columbia River and the country sor.th of it; they visited Puget Sound and Vancouver Island, and made a lengthy report on its resources; they spoke of the coal, the fisheries, and the timber; but they did not think the country wort! fighting for. Their report concerning McLoughlin was likewise unfavorable, so much so that they sent it off secretly, without showing it to i.im, which was contrary to custom, and suspicious if not insulting. On the strength of this report, tlio London management wrote McLoughlin a letter of reproof, which, though subsequently apologized for, led to the immediate resignation of that most valu- able officer. Travelling was now becoming somewhat dangerous along the middle Columbia, even for the Hudson's Bay people, owing to animosities arising from eon- ilicting interests. As a rule, however enraged the savages might be against Americans, their faith in tlio British fur-traders remained unshaken. But in 1844, when J. W. McKay first came to Fort Vancouver, he found that the natives along some parts of the route were not to be trusted. After spending some time with Paul Fraser, who had established a post for the Hudson's Bay Company near the mouth of the Umpqua, and after being pres- ent at several political meetings in Oregon, where, to his no small anmsement, he saw nominated for office old servants of the company, ignorant voyageurs, whose ideas of government were but little above those of ii grizzly bear, he was detailed to attend on the officers of the British government in their examination of tlie country, to take charge of the baggage, and provide animals, guides, and equipage. McKay testifies tluit with regard to the Cowlitz country and the region between the Columbia and Fuca Strait, they declaicd that it should be held at all hazard. If by this ho means tl expresse( here inv which h( evidence America! Northwcj doubtless sible, wit for the g] i)unch-gn not think Early i certain w ing certai farming a litz shoulc There v long settle ish Colun^ suggesting Yaiu'ouvei own use th Meanwl spared fro natives de at work cl savages wt pliatically in and hel tl) work, I ploi'.glunen :ieverthele! all which t vari( gated iiati\t's wei Well as ot Their wage CUNARD'S VIEWS 127 means that such was the general and final impressicn expressed by the officers of the Aberdeen ministry here investigating in 1845, that being the time of which he speaks, I can only say that the weight of evidence is against him. Doubtless botli Britisli and Americans deemed it shameful that any part of the Northwest Coast should be given up to the other, doubtless both would take and hold all territory pos- sible, without actual war ; but when it came to fighting for the gravelly plains of the Cowlitz and the rolling bunch-grass prairies of eastern Washington, they did not think it worth the while. Early in 1846 McKay was sent to California to as- certain what arrangements might be made for obtain- ing certain supplies nearer than England, in case the fanning establishments on the Columbia and the Cow- litz should be given up to the United States. There were thoughts in England that perhaps I -^^ore long settlement by British subjects would begin in Brit- ish Columbia; for about this time we find S. Cunard suggesting to the admiralty, that in granting lands on Vancouver Island the crown might as well reserve to its own use the coal-mines already pregnant with promise. Meanwhile such of the company's men as could be spared from the business of the fort, as well as all natives desirous of taking on civilization, were kept at W(n'k clearing lands and establishing farms. The savages were soon convinced that in this instance em- phatically wisdom's ways were peace; so thoy turned in and helped the white men r.nd the men half white to work, becoming good bullock-drivers, and bettor ploughmen than the Canadians cr Kanakas, to whom, iievcitheless, they gave freely of their women to wife, all wjiieh tended to promote good behavior among the varic gated retainers of the commercial despots. The natives were treated with strict fairness, being paid as well as other laborers when they worked as well. Their wages were from £17 to £25 per annum. 'ill ;l I ■ i I (> i 1^1 V 1'^: I '■ '.!! i I mn 128 CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA. fl? Within three years after the beginning of the fort there were under cultivation one hundred and sixty acres, on which were grown wheat, oats, potatoes, carrots, turnips, and other vegetables, with a con- stantly increasing conversion of wild lands. Tlin;' was a dairy furnishing an abundant sui)ply of milk, which took the place, in a great measure, of beer, wine, and spirits as a beverage. By the end of 1847 there were at this place two dairies, each hiiving seventy cows, which were milked twice a day, the milk yielding seventy pounds of butter to tlie cow each season. Thus the wild hunters, fish- ermen, and fighters were fast becoming farmers and dairymen In this year of 1847, on the fiat where now nm the most prominent business streets, where stand the banks, the post-office, and the principal business houses, three hundred acres were cleared and under cultivation. The land was rich, producing fine pease and potatoes, and of wheat forty bushels to the acre, the most of which produce was sent to Sitka. Two Russian vessels came this year, and carried away from Victoria Harbor over five thousand bushels of wheat, beside beef and mutton, payment for the same being made with bills of exchange on St Peters- burg. Fort Langley likewise contributed to the lutl- ing of these two ships, the produce being brought thence to Victoria Harbor in small boats. U}) to the time of the bargain with the Russian Amerit'un Fur Company, nothing like a foreign commerce in any articles, other than those obtained in the regular fur traffic, was ever attempted on the Northwest Coast. Although as a whaling depot tho establish- ment at Victoria Harbt)r was attended with insignifi- cant success, yet, as the Venice of the northern wilds, the home anchorage of the oidy steamer that had ever puffed upon those waters, and the chief commer- cial port in British Pacific America of the Russian American fur-traders, it fa;;t budded into promise. VISIT OF THE 'HERALD.' 129 Two or throe years later saw clianj^es 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, wliere merchandise was sold for monev bv those who had hitherto scarcely known a dollar from a ducat. While the fur-tradei'S were delighted over any^ thing which broke the dead monotony of their live?- and were specially pleased by the opportunity to en tcrtain their countrymen, they were not always grati- li((l with the result. Leading, as they did, isolated and sliii[)le lives, and accustomed to indulge only in plain words and honest purposes, they were often treated sonicwliat cavalierly by their visitors, while using the best means at connnand for their comfort and anmse^ nient. And when once the guests had turned theii back upon the place, they did not hesitate to speak their minds. Thus Seemann, writing for the officers of the Herald, savs: " There being no competition, the company has it all its own way; it does not profess to supi)ly the public; indeed, although it does not object to sell to pi'(tpl(; situated as Ave were, yet the stores are for the tiiuli' in furs, to supply the native hunters with the <><)i)(ls which they most value, as also for the use of its own dep(3ndents, who, receiving little pay, are usually in debt to the company, and are therefore nmch in its pnwcr. In fact, the people employed are rarely those til wlu ni returning home is an object; they have mostly been taken from poverty, and have at all events food and ch)thing. The work is hard, but witli health and strength this is a blessino- ratlier than (itbeiwise. Want of white women ap]>ears U) b(^ tlie (liawi)ack to this prospect of success, and generally leads to connections with the natives, from which Hl'iing lialf-castes, who from the sp> rimens W'j saw appear to inlierit the vices of both races; they are active and shrewd, but violent and coarse, while neither their education nor conduct admits thom ir.to !;« i? t ' m m 111 '■■!■' ' ; 'I -' "I'll ^^t Ilisr. ItiiiT. Coi,. y 130 CAMOSUN, ALBERT, VICTORIA the society of the European settlers. This must en- gender a bad state of feehng, and might be remedied by taking more pains with the education and training of these hardy and enterprising, yet more than half- brutaUzed, people. We felt quite disgusted in seeing one of these half-castes, bearing as good a name as any in Scotland, beating and kicking a score of Indians out of the fort with as little compunction as if they had been dogs, scorning them as natives, though his mother had been taken from one of their tribe, and had been no more educated than they were." Thus slowly toward a more illustrious destiny pro- ceeded affairs at Fort Victoria. Though no danger was apprehended from the natives, watch was usually kept at night inside the pickets, where the hourly 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 post, Douglas caught a Kanaka watchman endeavoring to unlock the door of the storehouse, probably for rum, but surely for no good purpose. Next morning he was tied to a tree and given three dozen lashes, and sent to work, nevermore to be trusted. The natural advantages of this locality were ndt slow to be recognized, even by the aboriginals. Al- though each fort had its district," and the inhabitants of each district were expected to trade at their own post, yet so much more convenient was Victoria to many points, and so much better was the stock of goods kept there, that tne trade of this station rapidly increased beyond its legitimate dependencies. '' This upon the authority of William John Macdonald, senator, who was with tlie company eight years. B. C. Sketches, MS., 30. *For example, Niaqually extended from the Chehalis River to WhiMhey Island; Langloy from Whidbey Islaml to Milbank Sound; McLoughliu fiDin Milbank Souncl to tlio Sheena River; and Simpson from Skecna River to the Alaskan boundary. After McLouahlin was aI; Wwldinijton's Fraser Riv. Mines, 31; Macjie's V. I. andB. €., 58. I I ,U, f: *'i 1 1 \\\ :i ;1> -Mi Ii'' CHAPTER VIII. THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY. 1846. Eamloop — The Old Foet and the New — The Romance of Fue-teadino — The Lobdly Aboriginal and his Home — John Tod, Kino op K^m- LOOP— His Physique and Ciiaeactee — Lolo, a Rdlee among tub Shushwaps — Who and What He was — His Kingdom foe a Horse- Annual Salmon Expedition to the Frasee— Information of thk Conspiracy — Lolo Retires from befoee his Friends — Tod to the Rescue — One Man against Tueeb Hundeed — Shall-pox as a Weapon — A Signal Victoey- -Chief Nicola Measuees Wits with Me Tod — And is Found Wanting. John Tod reigned at Kamloop. John Tod was a chief trader in the service of the Honorable Hudson's Bay Company, and Fort Kamloop was the capital of the Thompson River 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 the 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. Thero were two forts which bore this name, the old and the new, both situated at the junction of the two great branches of Thompson River with the 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 David 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) ander on beh coaliti( compai McLec from 1 1828, \ of the the for .scechin, their fr in j)ilc6 and nia; turers ( been at so far; j governo Kiver. A th liang ro officer i brother ing bota one niuh stigniati; ing a so astic pu| and so t but only into a pi bound, was but fi'Jelity t winter of he was friendly liaving ch It was on the oj BLACK AND DOUGLAS. 135 111 aiider Ross, who in 1812 conducted operations there on behalf of Astor's Pacific Fur Company. After the coalition of the Northwest and the Hudson's Bay companies in 1821, we find the fur veteran John McLeod in charge of the Thompson Kiver district, from 1822 to 182G. Ermatinger presided tliere hi I 828, when Sir George Simpson, the illustrious front of the fur traffic in British America, dropped in upon the fort and harangued the assembled redskins, be- seeching them to be honest, temperate, frugal, to love their friends the fur-traders, and above all to bring in piles of peltries, and receive therefor the useful iuul magnificent trinkets which the honorable adven- turers of England trading into Hudson Bay had l)een at so much cost and pains to bring them from so far; after which pretty piece of artless subtlety the ii,()vernor continued his perilous descent of Eraser River. A thousand thrilling and romantic associations liang round the place. It was there the company's orticer in command, Samuel Black, challenged his brother Scot and guest, David Douglas, the wander- ing botanist, to fight a duel, because the blunt visitor one night, while over his rum and dried salmon, had stigmatized the honorable fur-traders as not possess- ing a soul above a beaver-skin. But the enthusi- astic pupil of Hooker preferred to fight another day, and so took his departure next morning unharmed, but only to meet his death shortly after by falling into a pit at the Hawaiian Islands while homeward bound. Likewise may we say, poor Black I For it WHS but a short time after this chivalrous display of fidelity to his company, that is to say, during the winter of 1841-2, while residing at the old fort, that lie was cruelly assassinated by the ne[)hew" of a fiiciiidly neigliboring chief, named Wanquille, for lui\ ing charmed his uncle's life away. It was Black's successor who built the new fort on the opposite side of the river. The new estab- ;;ii!!^ .1 f. *"!;■ 186 THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY. lishmcnt difFcrod little from the later built fortresses of the fur company; some seven houses, consistiny the company St l^aul, and by the Catholic priests Jean Baptiste Lolo. The Shush waps frequented Kamloop almost as much as they did the lake that bears their name. Their passion was finery ; they loved it more than liquor. Indeed, before the advent of the miners, beside whose P- )■■ I 4M i i i; , ! V i 140 THE SHUStlWAP CO>,\SriRACY. inud-colorerl clothes tlie briolit vestures of the native;, shoiie hke the lainbovv on '". thuntlcr-laden sky, tlio interior tribes did not wallow in drunkenness like thiir relatives along the coast, but rather affected hors(.\s, and a wardrobe in Vvdiich. were conspicuous caps with gay ribl)()ns, scarlet leggings, and rod sashes, and for the women bright-colored skirts, and gaudy ' andker- chiefs for the head. Although Lolo had been thus doubly baptized, he was not yet wholly clean. There was much of the aboriginal Adam still in him; yet he was always ready to serve the god of the fur company, or of the mis- sionaries, whenever he could make it pay; everything being equal, however, he preferred his own. In phy- sique he was large, with fine bold features, a Roman nose with dilated nostrils being prominent. His black eyes displayed a melancholy cunning rather than ferocity, though at times they were restless and piercing. His permanent dwelling was a substantial liut situated near the old fort, and in which he lived and reared his family and ruled his nation long after eivil- izat*ion liad filled the Kamloop Plains with farmers. His authority among his peojih' was absolute; even after ohl age and sip' i ': i'i^ ! 11'! ail ■>s. lis la- vr, It, tl as ■sli f a as ii great lover of horses, and usually kept a score or two for his own use. Lolo's days were not few, nor did his name lack ivnown; for twenty years before Tod's time he had lived there on friendly terms with the fur-traders, and for a dozen years thereafter his rusty old body still enjoyed the blessings of sunlight. To the honor of the Hudson's Bay Company's officers statiojied a*t Kauiloop, be it said that in his old age they treated Loll) not alone with kindness, but with respect. A. dutiful son to an aged parent could not liave been more considerate than was McLean in ministering to the whims and desires of this ancient savage. And as for fame — who, from the llocky Mountains t(j the sea, did not know of Lolo ? Now, in this year 184G the two kings, the white and the red, were in their prime; Tod was domineer- ing and reckless, not knowing tlie name of fear, and L(»l() was not so wealthy in women and horses as afterward. One liorse in particular, the best of a baud of tliice hundred belonging to the fort, Lolo had long coveted. He would give anything for that horse, en- (\mv any hardship, kill any })erson. Tod was equally iilistinate in his refusal to part with it; the savage .slidiild not have the horse; second best u.ust suffice till' luli'r of redskins. It was the custom every spring ov suunner to send a luirty from Kandoop to the .Popayou, seventy-six !iiilrs distant on Fraser liiver, near what was later known as the Fountain, to procure for the vear's siilisistf, nee salmon there caught and cured by the iiativos. It had been agreed this year that IjoIo slioidd lead the party for the nmtual benefit of the two sovereignties. "Are your men ready?" asked Tod one day. "Tlicy are ready," replied Lolo. " Have the horses been driven in and hobbled?" "Ves." Mini 142 THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY. "The men will leave day after to-morrow, befoiv dayliujlit." "Very good." The second night after the departure of the ex])(> dition, just as the chief trader was about retiring, a knock was hoard at the door. Besides himself and family and the half-breed boy, there was not a soul about the place; every man was with the expedition, and as the country was at peace, even the fort gatts were not fastened at night. "Come in," exclaimed Tod. Slowly tlie door opens a few inches until the black eyes of Lolo were seen glistening at the aperture. Though amazed bevond measure, and fearful lest some misfortune had happened to the party, Tod was Indian enough never to be thrown so far out «>f balance as to manifest surprise at anything. He continued to busy himself as if the unwelcome appswntlon at the door was but part of his prcparatif»ns for bed. Never- theless, waves of unquietness began to roll over liis breast, ready to break out in w-ath or subside in resignation, as the case might require, for Tod ^^as not a patient man, nor slow of speech, nor soft ef words; and for all tlii^ rascally redskins thi« side of i^erdition he would not \onrr remain the savage stoic. But U])on occasion, the Gaelic lion could play the lanili, provided the period of enduranct were reasonable. Left to JiiniKelf, the Shushwstp chief pushed o[>*n the door and slowly entered. For several minutes he stood bolt U|)right in the middle of the room, until at length Tod motioned him to a seat beside the taMe, and shoved toward him pipe aiid tobacco. "Your family will be glad to see you," Tod fiiiallv remarked, wondering more than ever what had luip- pened t<^ the party, and why he had returned, and cursing in his heart the savage conventionalism whieh dei)as<-?d a man frmn any manifestion of curiositv. ■'Tlie sorrel horse I spoke to you about," reidied THAT SORREL HORSE. 143 tlic chief. "I should like to have that horse, Mr Tod." " The river has risen a little since yesterday," ob- s(!rved Tod. "For twenty years I have followed the fortunes of t!io Hudson's Bay Company," continued Lolo. "I lijive shared my store of food with them, warned them of dangers, attended them in perils, and never before have I been denied a request." "Fill your pipe," said Tod. "Alas I my wives and little ones," still sighed the savage. "Though I am old and not afraid to die, thoy are young and helpless ; what would become of tlicin should thi^- evil befall; where will they go?" "What the devil is the matter?" now blurted Tod, thrown sudde ' back by Lolo's gibberish from high forest reticem i > the conventional speech of chris- tcMidom. " Who talks of dying ? Where are the men ? Why have you returned? Speak!" "Matter enough," answered the chief, who now cliangod his tone from that of whining lament to one of surly concern. " When near our destination we mot a \i)uiig chief of the Atnahs, who, drawing mo aside, informed me that his father, who is a friend of mine, had .'iitered into a conspiracy with the chiefs of sev- eral other Shushwap tribes for the extermination of the fur-traders. They had agreed to open hostilities by tho capture of the annual Kau)loop party just as it readied the Fraser; a>nd this warning was given mo that I might save myself and mine." " Where are the men and horses T' " I hid them as well as I could behind some bushes '' little otf the trail, tellinof them that J was yroino- to hunt a better camping-ground, and to let the animals jjrazf there until 1 returned. I said nothing about the (-((nspiracy, knowing that the attaek would not be 'tiaack upon m\%, 144 THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY. such a threat, but my friendship and faithful services are no h)nj^er valued." "Well, go to your family now, and let me think about it ; '' and so the chief departed. Was it true, or was it a trick on the part of Lolo to get the horse? Tod was greatly puzzled. There had never been trouble with the natives in this vicinity ; there was now no provocation that he knew of And yet it was a long ride for so useless a question. Of course if there was danger of an attack the chief should not have left the party. As he thouglit it over, the trader's suspicions increased. While deep in these considerations as to what was best for him to do, Mr Tod saw the door again move on its hinges, and Lolo's head thrust in at the open- ing. "Will you not let me have the horse, Mr Tod?" "No, danm you I go home; and if you say horse to me again I'll break every bone in your body." For the trader's patience had finally forsaken him. He was now almost sure that Lolo's only object was to get the horse, and that the conspiracy story was false; nevertheless, the party niust be looked after immediately. How should he manage itl His peo- ple were all absent; there was not a white man at that moment within seventy miles of him. For h.ini- self, his family, or anything about the fort, the chief trader did not fear the Shush wap chief. As Lolo himself had said, he had been true to the com[)aiiy for twenty years. The sorrel horse he longed lor with all a child's intensity; but often it happened to be necessary to deny the childish covetings of the aboriginal, else his desires wt)uld run away with him, and there would bo no livinij with him. Had not Tod known and trusted Loh) implicitly he would nut at tliis juncture have spoken sharply to him as he told him to go home. It was not a breach of etlqui'ttc, liowever, for a white chief to speak rudely or even t<> cuff or kick a red chief; but woe to the white man of pp '#! MM A DESPERATE RESOLVE. 145 low degree, the laborer, the voyageur, who insulted a native nobleman. A king might bear a king's atfront; not so a slave's. At the seat of war, if war was to bo, the position of Lolo would be entirely different. It must be re- membered that the conspirators were, likewise with Lolo, members of the Shush wap family. The chiefs proposing to unite for the taking of Kamloop were the lieads of the several divisions of one familv. Lolo would be importuiH'd, and perhaps in some degree influenced against his old friends. Even here, so strong was his faith in him, Tod did not fear absolute trciu'liery. But after mature reflection he concluded that he wculd rather undertake the management of afiairs without the presence of Lolo than with it. The chief trader had his own way for the treatment of such cases — a way always original and generally ef- fectual. Lolo was thunderstruck at the bold tone in whiclx Tod had denied his last request for the horse. Tlie Lidiau well knew of the truth of the conspiracy. He knew, or at least he supposed, his fidelity and services woukl be of the first importance to the trader, isolated as ho was, and alone in the midst of numerous organ- i/A'd and blood-thirsty enemies. Surely the horse would not 1)0 a feather's weight to him now, reasoned Lolo, when all the horses, the fort, and the property in it, wife and children, and life itself — for the chief well knew the trader would not run away from danger, and that if he did not he would certainly be killed — Were in such jeopardy. Therefore was he confounded at Tod's rude and violent denial. Before the door had closed on the retreating form of the savage, almost before the profane words of refusal were out of his mouth, the trader had made U[) liis mind what to do. Calling the half-breed boy, he ordered him to saddle two of the fleetest horses in tlie corral. In as few wori*v as p*>ssible he explained Theft ht wrote a ovneral the situation to his wife, IllST. BBIT. COI,. lU m I* I r l::i 146 THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY. statement of the case for head-quarters at Victoria in case he should never return. And shortly after mid- night, while Lolo was asleep at home, the chief trader and his boy were on the trail for Fraser River, gallop- ing over the ground as fast as their horses could carry them. Meanwhile the mind of the chief trader was no less active than his body. Here was a field for the dis- play of his brightest genius. By slow degrees and cool consideration he had arrived at the conclusion that Lolo had not deceived him in regard to the con- spiracy. He knew the Indian character thoroughly; nor was the chief's fresh plea for the horse so wholly out of place in such an emergency as he had at first regarded it. At all events, the safer wav, the onlv safe way, was to act as though the report was true. He found no diflSculty in reaching his men by noon. They were surprised to see him, had heard nothing of the threatened attack, nor did he see fit at once to enlighten them. He merely gave orders to prepare; to move forward early the next morning. The men were accustomed to implicit obedience. They could not understand why their leader should be suddenly so solicitous as to the condition of their arms and the supj)ly of ammunition, seeing no danger portending. But it was not their province to question. By sunrise the party was on the trail, moving at the usual pace toward the Fraser. Some distance In advance was Tod, alone; he had told his men to keep three hundred yards behind him, to march when lu; marched, and .stop when he stopped. By nine o'clock they approached a small open plain enclosed in thick brushwood and bordering on the river. Tod mo- tioned his men to halt while \\<.' rode slowly forwatd into the open space, apparently careless and uncon- cerned as usual, but with a glance which scrutinized w'xih intense interest every rock and shrub around tlie arena, l^rescntly his eye caught unmistakable siun.'S of opposition. c Behinc opening, of armed were amc venture, covered h were kilt tlieir kniA and the dav the c But wl told, Can liundred j to he desf every one any white Brute for courage h< 1k! king, h( Then ar its might. The mei time apprc and liad wi knew now [•eariid am occn[)ied tl the enemy, motioned ci to attend 1: "Cxeorgt hack (juietl witli me, n ho. The bra leader alon " Danm T'an'j throu Land- the ^ '' It INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH. 147 Behind the bushes on the northern side of the opening, and close to the river, he saw a large band of armed and painted savages. No women or children were among them, which circumstance, beyond perad- vcnture, signified mischief. Already they had dis- covered him, and were moving about excitedly. They were kilted up for fight; and now they brandished tlieir knives and guns threateningly. Lolo was right; and tlie chief trader vowed that if he survived that (lay the chief should have the horse. But what was he to do? He had not ten men, all told, Canadians and Indians, and here were three liimdred arrayed against him. Nor were they a foe to 1)0 despised, these powerful and active Shushwaps, every one of whom could handle the rifie as well as any white man. How was he to cope with them ? Brute force was certainly out of the question; brute courage here was powerless. And if iriiollect was to lie king, how was white cunning to circumvent the red ? Tlien arose the mind of John Tod in the power of its .night. The men, with the h«»rses in the rear, had by this time approached the opeiaing, had seen the savages, and had witnessed their warlike demonstrations. They knew ru)W why their leader had so unexpectedly ap- {)eared among them, and had been so singularly pre- occupied the night before. Still with his face toward tlie enemy, though he liad now stopped his horse, Tod motioned one of his party, George Simpson by name, to attend him. " George, " said he, as the Canadian came up, "fall hack (|uietly with the horses, and if things go wrong with nie, make the best of your way back to the fort. ho. The brave fellow hesitated a moment to leave his Jea(hT alone in such peril. "Damn you. go!" shouted Tod, in a voice which ran'j through the woods, and made to rattW in their ham I- the weapons of the startled savasres. ^■'.ifl n • 1 : -■ ■ i' :: in 148 THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY. And now to business. It is a mai^nificent aiiinuil that Tod bestrides, a white mare, clean of hnib, with flowing mane and tail, a proud stepper, and strong and swift withal. The enemy, emerging 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 imndred. 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 horse; and as he rushes on toward thxt turns his attention to feats of horsemaii- shij). With head erect, eyes flashing, and mane flcjw- ing, the white mare prances to the right, then to tlie left, and after describing a half-circle, charges into their very midst. Very strange, no doubt, and very silly, a cavalry ca[)tain would say. Why did they not kill him? So, indeed, the cavalry ca[>tain would have been kilKd, and all his men. Why did not those fire who raised their guns? Curiosity. Thus the interested antelopi; will stand and be shot. They wished to see what the white man would do next. Hundreds they had killed bt'fore, and could achieve a butchery any day. l>ut they could not have every day an honorable cliiet trader upon his best mettle before them for their anmsement. Well was it that Tod understood his role, and had the coolness and courage to play it, lor the least mistake was death. There sat the smiling Scotchman upon his pan ling OH, WORSHIPFUL TOD. 149 \vhito steed, amidst the tliickest of them. Tod always Hiniled in joy and in sorrow, and his smile was enor- mous. His angry smile was more fearful than his oaths; the savages felt this, though they could not analyze the sentiment. And now they saw his smile was angry, though he spoke them fair; they boyjan to 1)(: afraid, though they knew not why; but they would kill him presently. "What is all this?" demanded the chief trader. "What is it that you wish to do?" "We want to see Lolo," they replied. "Where is Lolo? Why came you here ?" "Ah ! then you nave not heard the news. Lolo is at liome. Poor fellow!" "News! What news? No, we have heard no news," they cried, again forgetting their bloody pur- ]K)so, ingulfed in curiosity. "T am sorry for you, my friends." And now his smile on the outside was, oh! so sad, though inwardly lined by the softest, merriest chuckle. "The small- pox is upon us; the terrible, terrible small-pox. It was brought from Walla Walla by an Okanagan." They well knew what the small-pox was, and that it raged at Walla Walla and on the lower Columbia. Worse than death they feared the scourge; the bare idea of it was horrible to them. They knew, likewise, of Whitman's massacre, and the divine punishment that liad so quickly followed the offenders. "Ay, the dreaded disease is here," continued Tod, in deep, sepulchral tones. '*That is why I am come. I eame to tell 3'ou. I came to save yt)U. You are my fVieiids, my brothers. You bring me furs. I give you lilaiikets and guns wherewith to got food for your families, and I love you. But you nmst not come to Kainloop until I give you notice; else you will die. ^10, 1 have brought you medicine, for I would not see you lying scattered on the bank like yonder salmon, lotting, rotting; ah! indeed, I would not." Where now is the battle; who the victor? Won .1-' il 150 THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY. if i 1 ■ ! 1 , ■ffit > 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. KUl 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. "O, Mr Tod! Mr Tod! save us! save us!" Not more than ten minutes were occupied in achie\- ing this wonderful revolution of feeling. It was a conversion which would honor any apostle or jiriest, aided to the full measure of the miraculous by atten- dant spirits. And now black was white, and whitt' 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, Joliii Tod would no more have revenged himself on them by 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-jxfx was abroad. It was true that in his pocket the cliiof trader carried some vaccine 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 must be kept occupied. It was not enough that the white men should simply escape with their livis; the yearly supply of salmon must be secured, and tlie natives must be induced to sell to them, and that speedily. Not a word about conspiracy and murder; not a word about wrongs and infelicities. Fear must be kept alive, the threatening wrath of a mysteii()ii8 unseen power must be before their.. Revenge is for fools, for beastly idiots. "You see yonder tree," pointing to an enormous pine. "Yes." "Cut Away and as stantlv a canje for these the "Do V "Yes".' "Ther to my nu Never complete( down cai yet more way towa from the up to it." The he Tod gave cliase bad ai^es was for delay, liimself w resting on "Letfii his right fluded in wash that returned, j knife and i knife was pally in c therefore his rouo'h derived nc into arms human. ] tiallv, that whom he THE GREAT PHYSICIAN. 161 "Cut it down." Away flow their weapons, off went their clothes, and as many as could stand round the tree were in stantly at work hewinj^ it down. The women now came forward from their place of concealment, and to tliese the trader next directed his attention. "])<) you see the smoke beyond the bushes?" "Yes!" "There is my camp. Carry salmon thither, and sell to my men." Never 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 might get well on their Avuy toward home, said, "Cut it again, four fathoms from the but; 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- cliase back to the fort. The last task given to the sav- aiifes was completed, and there being no further cause for delay, the chief trader dismounted, and seated himself with royal dignity upon the stump, his feet resting 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 command. 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- pally in cutting his tobacco and cleaning his pipe; therefore strength as well as skill was requisite in his rough surgery. 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 :;! Mi ^> ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 9- m %^% 1.0 I.I "" IIIM IIM ^ Photographic Sciences Corporation V «> 'o' «?* *<.•. 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 ■^"Ly^ I ^> ^ m THE SHUSHWAP CONSPIRACY. ri irin I s* f 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 how they were to carry aloft their arm, and when the sore had healed, how with the scab they might vaccinate the others. " 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 lie did not owe his life to the chief trader. Another incident that 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, stipulatiniif 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 swoie in 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 huntinj^- grounds," he said, "when one cannot fight one's eiio- loo[) the nilcs >ears d to itiiiiij the the all. NICOLA'S PLOT. 163 lilies 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 strorifjcst factor. So dejjenerate 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 furnish no weapons knowingly for that purpose. Nicola was shrewd as well as energetic. His influ- ence was not so widely extended as Lolo's, but within his narrower area he was absolute. His warriors were active, experienced, brave; moreover, he was rich, and loved revenge The fort people loved furs; better than revenge, religion, or other earthly distemper they loved them; furs piled mountain high; furs without end. One day certain of Nicola's men appeared at the fort wishing to buy guns, which were given them. Shortly afterward others of the same nation came, and asked for powder, balls, and more guns, which, were likewise sold to them. The Okanagans watched those proceedings narrowly. "Why should Nicola require so many guns?" they asked of the chief trader. "For hunting, I suppose; I do not know." " No, they are not for hunting, but for us." " If I thought so, I would sell them no more; bold and vindictive as he is, Nicola would hardly dare attack people under my protection, under the very shadow of the holy tabernacle of traffic." "He will dare; he will do it. Those bullets are for us, for our wives and our little ones." Again came others from Lake Nicola, and asked for knives and guns, and nothing else. " Why do you buy only arms and so much ammu- nition ?' demanded the trader. " Yo ■"ou will leave noiM fur others." : i < V 1 i;J 1 !. ' n i' ■ : -t ■ i^ 4- [ .1 'in J ; I i- i: 154 THE SHU8HWAP 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." This 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, he 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 1" growled Nicola, as he expressed his thanks, "we will take what 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 Lefevrc, 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, wc might hold the fort until assistance from Langloy could reach us; as it is I would prefer to be alone." THE GUNPOWDER FARCE. m 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 a 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 very 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 he heaps oaths and blows on the head 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 ready 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 i I iu MM i 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 world 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. Nkcessity ( AND Ne Ankers Bkkikai Manusc Kamloc Lakes ' MKKN, , Fkaher Trail— Meanv well us ai 1845 A. Alexandi tlio Fras the bouni (loinain o tlieii pen< event, a 1 within B primary i ' Wliile at spfiit much o iluoii, withoul 8011, Tolmie, ] witli any ilegi of British Col Bay Coiiipanj and courtly. WiTc (lead, bu iufdnimtion m I i CHAPTER IX. ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS. 1846-1847. NKCEasmr of a New Rottte betwkkn the BRmsii Columbia Seaboard AND New Caledonia — Must be Wholly within Britlsh Territory — Anderson Proposes Explorations— Authority and Means (iKanted— bimiraphical and bibliographical note ov anderson and iiis Manuscript History — Sets out from Alexandria— Proceeds to Kamloop — Thenck Explores by Way of Anderson and Harrison Lakes to Lanoley— Returns by Way of the Coquiualla, Similka- MEKN, AND LaKB Nk'OLA— SecOND EXPEDITION ALONG ThoMPHON AND Fraser Rivers — Back by Kequeloosk and the New Similk/meen Thail — 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 territory, would become a matter of jniinary importance. ' Wliile at Victoria in 1878 I made the acquaintance of Mr Anderson, and 8i)t'iit mucli of my time with him in studying Northwest Coast affairs. In- (fecil, without that experience and the information then given nie by Ander- fiiiii, Toltnie, Finlayson, and others, I do not see how I could have written witli any degree of completeness or correctness a history either of Oregon or «f liritish Columbia. Anderson was the most scholarly of all the Hudson's liiiy Company officers; Tolmie was keen and practical; Finlayson intellectual luid courtly. Sir James Douglas, Mr Work, and Mr Ogden unfortunately Wen: articularly in the first pages, the facts are sadly jumbled, t)eing thrown together as they arose in our minds, without regard to chronological or other order; but when segregated from the confused mass, by the system of note-taking obtaining in my Library, and l>eing brought into conjunction with parallel facts and con- temporaneous incidents, almost every sentence is a jewel which finds its proi)er fitting. To the personal work of Mr Anderson are appended certain A uUxjroyh Notes by the late John Stuart, written at Torres, Scotland, in 1842, and consist- iiig of caustic criticism of a previous narrative by Mr Anderson. While that work of Anderson's is as a whole highly eulogized by Stuart, parts of it were pronounced apocryphal, and other parts exaggerated. This indeed would l)e the case with any work which could ho written. Place three or even two of these old Hudson's Bay men in a room to discuss general affairs iir which they had all participated, and hot words if not blows are sure to follow. In his Notes, Stuart takes exceptions to the dark side only of Indian character wliich Anderson chooses to dwell upon, and to the boundaries Anderson gives to New Caledonia, which Stuart says are too limited, and the like. To all tliis Anderson replies in such a way as to bring out the real state of affairs in the clearest possible manner. And now for a brief biography, leaving details to their proper place in the history. Alexander Cauliield Anderson, a native of Calcutta, educated in England, was a youth of eighteen, having served the Hudson's Bay adventurers as clerk but one yeax when in 1832 he first appeared at fort Vancouver. After participating in the founding of the posts at Milbank Sound and on tlie Stikeen, in the summer of 1835 he was appointed to Mr Ogden's district of New CaJedonia, and reached Fort George about the beginning of September. He was then despatched with a party by way of Yellowhoad Pass to Jasjier House to meet the Columbia 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 command. In tlie autumn of 1839 he was removed to Fort George, and in the spring of 1;j40 accompanied the outgoing brigade to Fort Vancouver, and in the autumn of the same year was appointed to the charge of Fort Nisqually. In the autumn of 1841 Mr Anderson left Nisqually and passed the winter at Kurt Vancouver Next spring he went with tht expres* to York Factory, re- wav mui FORMER SURVEYS. IW Alexandria to Langley through a tract of country then practically unknown. His request was granted, five men were detailed for the service,* and the neces- sary horses and outfit provided. The descent of the Fraser had been twice at- tempted, and twice, after r. 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 deemed decidedly impracticable for boats. Some other path- wav must therefore be made, where nature was less ()j»pugnant. turtieeeu appointed, and remained there till 1848, having meanwhile Iteeii promoted. In that year he was appointed to the Colville district, suc- oei'diiig Chief Factor John Lee Lewes. At Colville he remained, making an- nual trips with supplies and bringing out the furs to Fort Langley till 1851, when he went to Fort Vancouver as assibtant to Mr Ballenden, and succeeded teiriporarily to the superintendence till 1854, when he retired from active Herviue. Marrying, ho passed a few vears near the house of his father-in-law, Janiug Birnic, and then purchased a home at Cathlamet. In 18.'>8 he went to Victoria to inquire into the gold discoveries. Douglas urged liim to accept ntlice and bring his family and assist in the affairs of the colony, which he did, Hincu residing at Rosebaiik, Saanich, near Victoria. In 1876 he was appointed liy the Dominion government commissioner to settle the Indian land dif- ferences in British Columbia, and continued to act in that capacity until the voiinnission was dissolved in 1878. On his retirement from the Hudson's Bay Company's service in 1853-4, he received two years' retiring furlough in ad- dition to the usual retiretl interest, which continued for seven years subse- quently. It was as chief trader that he left the service of the company, his (ommission as chief factor being dependent on his returning to take charge ot New Caledonia, where he had already passed a year; but the education of hi8 family demanded that he should resitle nearer the conveniences of civiliza- tion. In 184G Mr Anderson made an exploration for a route from Alexandria ilnwn the Fraser Valley to Fort Langley, and in 1847 a similar survey from Kaniloop down the Tliompgon to the mouth of the Nicola; thence by way of Lytton to Yale and Langley. The lines then traced afterward became the niaiii routes of access to the interior. In 1858, in order to obtain means for transport of goods to the newly discovered gold-diggings, he recommended Knit directed the opening of a road from the head of Harrison I^ke by way of l.iike Anderson to the crossing of the Fraser, where Lilloet was afterward loeatod. Five hundred miners were employeil on the work, and the road thus constructed was used for the transport of all supplies, until the road alo;ig tlie Fraaor was made. In personal appearance, at the time I saw him, he lieing then sixty-three years of a^e, Mr Anderson was of sliglit build, wiry make, active in mind and body, with a keen, penetrating eye, covered by lids whiuh persisted in a perpetual and spasmodic winking, urought on years ago by anow-tield exposures, and now become liabitual, and doubtless as disagree- al'le to him as to his friends. In speech he was elegant and precise, an>anin day Thus f{ vith his I return. I company > ing the ha fishery, th III ST DOWN THE FKASEH. ta they were sent into the open country southward, to the Vermilion branch of the Siniilkanieen Hiver, there to await Anderson's return, and the party continued down the river, alternately on foot and hy canoo. Kii> maintain the post. The boats necessarv for the accoiii- modation of the brigade were to be brought up 'ty the Langley people and Indians at the })roptT [urnxl, t i', "Tho causo was easily explaiiicil, ln'iiig 'ascrilniMoto tlui relative; pusitiuii of till! npposito Hides; tiiat l)y wliicli we ascciiiiccl lias a Hiuitlicni i!X|n)suiv', lyiiii; n])t>ii, ooiiRe(|Ui!iitly, to tlio full iulltionco «if the huii'h rays, aided liy I lie Buuthurii wiiuls, and vice verm.' Aiitti'i-Moii'ii ^orUuiMniC t'txi-it, SiS., 14'J. M TIIK SIMILKAMEEN COUNTRY. 165 ility by attempting to persuade him to mislead and tilt reby deter the road-makers from their purpose. SoDio 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 British Columliia sea-board and the Ulterior, and the stu- [u'ikIous obstacles interposed by nature rendered it not so easy of accomplishment. Anderson had learned iiiiicli in his late exi)loration, but yet he was not tlioroughly satisfied. Hence, in the following sum- iiur W(! find him examining Thompson and F'raser livers between Kamlooj) and Langley, having the saine ])urpose in view. Sotting out from Kamloop on the T.»th of Mny 1^17, Anderson proceeds with five men to Niet)!a liiiko, wlienee, following the Nicola Kiver by the trail of the trading parties to its junction with the Thomp ^oii, lie sends back the horses, to meet him on the i'^rascr near Anderson lliver, where there is a well- liiiown trail from that point to Similkameon. The n I ' 1 ? I ii: rf 1.;' ■( it iff •r, 166 ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS. weather is sultry ; several Indian camps are encountered on the wr^v ; the country is remarkable for its rugged volcanic rock, wormwood, and rattlesnakes. Crossing the Nicola in a canoe, on the 22d the explorers con- tinue along the left bank of Thompson Kiver, crossing the streams on fallen trees until next day, when they reach Fraser River, and encamp near the Indian village of Shilkumcheen, where now stands Lytton. 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 Fraser. Soon Pahallok presents himself, and do- 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 brii^ade. Nor can Pahallok or aiiv native of that region point out a smoother wuy.'^ Still the natives at the villages they pass receive them with loud acclaims and bombastic oratory. At tlie stream called Tummuhl 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 I'ne from timber in parts, aflbrding good pasturage. Ilei b- age on the elevations is luxuriant, and the hiU-sidcs are decked with larkspur, red flowering vetch, and the dwarf sunflower, which flaunts its glories in bravo contrast to the arid declivities so recently passed. " ' In the vicinity of the villaee called Skaoose is a succession of rocky hills, some of M'hich arc avoiilahlo l>y making a circuit, while others appiMi- to offer no such alternative . . The rocky iiassagus extend tor a long distiiucu. Amlerson'a Northwest Coast, MS., I(j5. THE RETURN. ler The horse- road which leads 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; therefore 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 Similkameens. 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 the Eraser. Anderson now seeks a suitable place for a ferry across this man- defying stream, passage by the left bank becoming more than ever perilous. Kequeloose, near where the suspension bridge has since been erected, is reached the 27th, and Spuzzum six miles below, which stands on the right bank of the Fraser, and where Pahallok l)roposes that the ferry should be ])laced. "The coun- try is very rough," remarks Anderson, "and much labor with many painful circuits would be necessary to com- I)lete a road anywise practicable for horses." The ex- plorers, after careful observation, think most of the ra[)ids hereabout can be run as safely as those of the Columbia. Leaving now the ra})ids, their pathway leads ahmg a causeway of cedar boards connecting several projecting points overhanging a precipice; ob- viously an exceedingly dangerous walk. Then after crossing a stream they come on the 28tli to tlie 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 hired canoes they pass rapidly down the river to Langley. Keturning, they leave Fort Langley the 1st of June, 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 rnp- "Now, more appropriately than is always the case, called AiiderBon KiviT, .1 i u 1. 1 I'll F 168 ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS. ids to Kequeloose, where he proposes the horse-port- age of cotnincrce by proving the navigabihty of the Frasor thus far. The ascent of the rapids is begun on the 4th of June, a rainy day, the natives offi- ciating with the boat." Two portages are made with- out much difficulty, when the boat is lightened, and taken by a line through the swollen channel; then crossing to the o])posite side, the ascent was continued, one Indian being in the boat and the others dragging by the line. All goes well until the middle of the last ra})id is about reached, when the line parts, and tlio boat sweeps swiftly down the current while a wail as- cends from the bank over the perilous position of tlic 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 be induced to enter it again ; so the canoe is carried with no small diffi- culty to the head of tho falls, where they encanij). After paying the natives for their important assifst- ancc, taey continue next morning, breakfast at Spuz- zum, and reach Kequeloose at eleven. Leaving the canoe in charge of Pahallok, they set out over the proposed horse-portage by way of Lake Nicola tn Kamloop, clearing the way with their axes as tluy go, and reaching the horse rendezvous the 8th. Tlie last day they had merely indicated the route by clii[)- phig the trees, the natives under the superintendcnee of Pahallok undertaking to finish this portion of the road for them. The natives below object to the j)nt- 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 McGilli\riiy, with orders to continue the opening of tlie road to Lake Nicola, and then to proceed to Kamloojt in time to meet with the horses of the New Caledonia '* 'Cross to the eilily at tho foot; make a short portage and rcc'inl'irU . A scrii'8 of cilclios ioinluot« to a secoml jiortago upon tlio same side, rij;lil :is- I'ciiiding. . .Cross and l)roakfa.st at the foot of tlie rapid formed like tlic lirst ))y a rock which lies near the left shore.' Amleraon'n NorthtWHt Coa.il, MS., 178. li' i ANOTHER ROUTE. 169 Itrigade at Okanagan. Anderson then presses on to MrDonakl River and Kauiloop, and thence proceeds to Alexandria. It would seem from these facts, taken wholly from And(>rson's journals and letters, that prior to these expeditions no route between Langloy and New Cale- donia was open ; none practicable was known to exist, the nearest approach to it being that portion of an Indian or horse trail from Siniilkameen to Koque- loose, a point on Fraser River six miles above Spuz- zuni. His first return route, by the defile of the Coquihalla and the Vermilion Fork of the Similka- iiicon, Anderson thought ])resented almost insurmount- alile obstacles; tlio snow alone preventing the road from being open for more tban a brief period each year. The second route, by way of Kequeloose, he preferred, provided the rapids intervening could be overcome. Of the first he reports to tlie board of 'iiunagement: "I have no opinion of its feasibility. It is difficult to realize a conception of the ruggedness of this extraordinary region." And of the other route : "Keeping in view the ol)vious disadvantages insepa- rable from the route surveyed by me last summer, as being availal)le only for a comparatively brief seastm of the 3'ear, I have no longer any hesitation in accord- ing a decided preference to the route recently exam- ined by way of Kcfpieloose. The series of raj)ids in the vicinity of the falls, extending with intervals of sniooth watf " ■ all from two to tliree miles, jiresents no insurmoui'aible imi)ediment to our ]>rogress, from the facility of making portages if found necessary, as tluy doubtless will be at the higher stages ci the water. . . . For divers reasons I would suggest tiiat the New Caledonia party, if intending to pass by the new route, should not leave Alexandria before the 2oth AFay, timing their departure so as to reach Langley about the 20th June, to admit of a delay of ten days there, and to depart about the Iht July, a day or two I ;i! H ' l^ ' ,1 ( : : :l n \\\\\. iir 1 , ; • ! il 1 1 \\\ 170 ANDERSON'S EXPLORATIONS. 1 H H 1 1 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 that 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 coupled with his report the following suggestions: A sufficient number of boats, similar to those used on the Columbia, should be constructed during the winter, either at Kequeloose or Langley, 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 Langley 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 the brigade to time its return with the ascent of the salmon, as well that provisions might be plenty as that navigation would be easier, owing to the abatiiiy 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 operations would be less interfered with, and horses then would be in better condition. Anderson concludes with a lengthy discussion, (^!. - tailing regulations which should govern the s])nn!if and autumn expresses to and from Hudson Bay, tlie use of boats and horses, and the introduction, when' necessary, of sledges and snow-shoes, an Indian mail system, intercourse between posts, protection of })ri p- erty, treatment of the natives, and the like, all emi- nently practical and interesting, but which for lack «if space I shall not be able here to introduce. CHAPTER X. YALE AND HOPE ESTABLISHED. 1848-1849. K*I AllLISIlMENT ON THE FrASER AT THE LANDING OF THE SaCHINCOS — JaMES MuKRAY Yale — Causes Which Led to the Buildinu of Fokt Yale — Orders Given Interior Traders to Break their Way thbouoh to Lanuley — Three Brigades Join for That Purpose — The Route Chosen not Satisfactory — Anderson's Proposal — Building of Fort lIorE— A New Koute Aitempted — It Proves Worse than the First — Joseph W. McKay on the North Coast — Sharp Praiticb HKTWEEN EnuLISH AND RUSSIAN TRADERS — ThE ' CONSTANCE ' IN NoRTH- r.RN Waters — Effects in British Columbia of the California Oold ]>iscovERY — Bags of Gold-dust at Fobt Victoria — The Excitement IN the Interior. Early in the spring of 1848 a small post was civ(;ted by the Hudson's Bay Company on the Eraser Kivor near a village of the Sachincos, and just below the rapids ascended by Anderson the year previous. Tlio establishment was called Fort Yale, in honor of Chief Factor Yale,^ then in charge of Fort 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 estabhshed below the Coqui- halla two years previous. ' .fumes Murray Yale entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company wluMi liut a boy, in about the year 1815. For a long time ho remained a boy, lint rcctjiving any promotion until fifteen years after tlio coalition, or twenty- dill' years after entering the service; and to the day of hia death, and long afterward, lie was known to the officers of the company only as Little Yale. Tliimgh small of statue he was strongly built, wiry, and active, and as coura- giiiiis and enduring as a young Hercules. lnilee : '1 lii^m i I ■ I'l ,1'. I: triiiili m fi ; ; '' 'i 'At w' J; I ' ' 172 YALE .VNI) HOPE e;:tabusiiei). Olio immediate cause which led to this estabhshmeiit was the Waiilatpu massacre, wliich occurred in tlic autumn of 1847, and tlie liostihties which fohowed. Anotlier was the conclusion of the Oregon treaty of 184G, which not only placed the boundary line seven;! degrees north of the lower Columbia, but left tlic matter of duties on foreign goods in sucli a sha[)e as almost to stop business at Fort Vancouver. To Brit- 'u\\ subjects was reserved the right of freely navigating the Columbia and ])assing over the portages with their goods, upon the same terms accorded citizens of tlic was afterward proved a great ini:4tako, or else as the man advanced in years li i changed materially, lor \\ all the company's Bcrvice there w as scareily a better post-commander than Little Yale. From boyhood, hanlship seemed to mark him for its own; his young bones were kneaded in the trough of expos- ure, and the sword of Damocles seemed too often to hang fiom tiie trees of tlio forest lie tlireiided. His first appearance in tlie arena of savage life while yet a stripling is significant of the man's character and of his subserpient career. It was at a time when feuds waxed wurm between the brother skin- buyers, eacli fearful less the other should gain advantage. The old ailven- turers of Ijij;land had fully awakened to the fact that their niorcslu'ewd and energetir rivals of the Northwest Company were surrountling them in their operations, and if they would secure territory ecpial to their desires, tliey nuist Ijave the sliores of Hudson's Bay and take possession of it. So po.sts wire planted along the Saskatchewan, the highest of which was then K Iniontoii; a. id as lied Kiver blossomed un I M [* ' \m m YALE AND HOPE ESTABU8HED. 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 thtm unbroken, comprised the party, which 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 to 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 former journey had been on foot, and with the anxiety and chagrin attending the discomforts and curses of liis companions, his ardor for the new route began to abate. Nevertheless Fort Yale was in due time reached ; and leaving +here 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 their former cargo, and not only a large percentage of the property was destroyed, but many of the horses were lost. The fact is, the course pursued by the united bri- gades was over neither of the routes explored by An- derson ; or at all events, it was over a portion only of his favorite road. He had expected to make Keque- loose the station on the river for the horses; but the rapids had interposed objections too formidable in the minds of the management, and hence Fort Yale liad been built below. The disastrous results of the at- tempt of the united brigades to open a road back from Fort Yale turned attention once more to Anderson's exploration of 1846, and to his return route of that year. ANDERSON ON ROUTES. I7i After their return to Thompson River, in August 1848, Anderson addressed r written communication to his associates there present, Donald Maiison and John Tod, which was subsequently forwarded to the management, setting forth the importjince of adopt- ing immediate measures for the opening of the Simil- kameen route, which was his Coquihalla route of 1846 with certain modifications suggested by Old Blackeye, the 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 ascertain its condi- tion in regard to snow, and a favorable report had been made. The snow was not an insurmountable ()l)stacle, 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, there 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 ])roposed the horse transport to commence, being negatived, the whole scheme of communication 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- gards the question of navigation, my opinions have undergone some change; for though as before I think it practicable to bring up Columbia boats by making the necessary portages, further examination teaches nie that it must be by very arduous degrees at the higlier stages of the water, and therefore unadvisable. At low water, however, the rapids have been proved to ho safely navigable with loaded bateaux, one port- age only intervening. These points admitted, I am still constrained, however reluctantly, to withdraw the proposal of navigation formerly advanced by me. My recent experience of the pass in question con- 's 1 1 ■tr n « \ \i'' 176 YALK AND HOI'K KSTAHLISHKl). vhices mo that no ]K)rtJigo on a lar;^o walo could with |)ruther parts of Oregon, by w'vat w;us called the SindlUanieen Pass, and they ■> connected with Nicola, Kandooii, an. I Okanagan hy the old and well-we brigade trail.' The author of BrU'.