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Archives Edition

CANADA AND ITS PROVINCES

IN TWENTY-TWO VOLUMES AND INDEX

(Vols. I and 2)

SECTION I

NEW FRANCE, 1 534-1760

(Vols. 3 and 4)

SECTION II

BRITISH DOMINION, 1760-1840

(Vol. 5)

SECTION III

UNITED CANADA, 1840-1867

(Vols. 6, 7, and 8)
SECTION IV

THE DOMINION:
POLITICAL EVOLUTION

(Vols. 9 and 10)

SECTION V

THE DOMINION:

INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION

(Vols. II and 12)
SECTION VI

THE DOMINION:
MISSIONS; ARTS AND
LETTERS

(Vols. 13 and 14)

SECTION VII

THE ATLANTIC PROVINCES
(Vols. 15 and 16)

SECTION VIII

THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC

(Vols. 17 and 18)

SECTION IX

THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

(Vols. 19 and 20)

SECTION X

THE PRAIRIE PROVINCES

(Vols. 21 and 22)

SECTION XI

THE PACIFIC PROVINCE

(Vol. 23)

SECTION XII

DOCUMENTARY NOTES
GENERAL INDEX

GENERAL EDITORS

ADAM SHORTT
ARTHUR G. DOUGHTY

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Thomas Chapais Alfred D. DeCelles

F. P. Walton George M. Wrong

William L. Grant Andrew Macphail

James Bonar A. H. U. Colquhoun

D. M. Duncan Robert Kilpatrick
Thomas Guthrie Marquis

VOL. 21

Section xi

THE PACIFIC
PROVINCE

PART I

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2008 with funding from

Microsoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/canadaitsprovinc21shoruoft

FSictogravure Annan Glasacr/r

CANADA

AND ITS PROVINCES

A HISTORY OF THE CANADIAN

PEOPLE AND THEIR INSTITUTIONS

BY ONE HUNDRED ASSOCIATES

ADAM SHORTT
ARTHUR G. DOUGHTY

GENERAL EDITORS
VOLUME XXI

1006

PRINTED BY T. & A. CONSTABLE

AT THE EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS

FOR THE PUBLISHERS' ASSOCIATION

OF CANADA LIMITED

TORONTO

GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY
1914

ST. JOHN FISHER COLLEGE LIBRARY

CONTENTS

BRITISH COLUMBIA IN THE DOMINION : INTRODUCTION.

By Sir RICHARD M<^Bride ..... 3

THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION. By T. G. Marquis

I. THE SPANIARDS . . . . . . . I3

II. CAPTAIN JAMES COOK AT NOOTKA SOUND ... 23

III. WEST COAST FUR TRADE ...... 30

IV. THE NOOTKA AFFAIR ...... 39

V. THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY IN NEW CALEDONIA . . 52

VI. THE REGIME OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. . . 62

COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871. By R. E. GOSNELL

I. THE FOUNDING OF THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND . 75

IL THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS . 97

IIL THE FOUNDING OF THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA . 1 25

IV. THE PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION . . . I54

POLITICAL HISTORY, 1871-1913. By F. W. HowAY

FORMATION OF THE FIRST LEGISLATURE . . . .179

THE M^CREIGHT MINISTRY, 1 87 1 -72. . . . . 181

THE DECOSMOS-WALKEM ADMINISTRATION, 1 872-76 . . . 182

THE RAILWAY DIFFICULTY . . . . . . 184

THE CARNARVON TERMS . . . . . -193

THE DEFEAT OF THE WALKEM GOVERNMENT . . -195

THE ELLIOTT MINISTRY, 1 876-78 . . . . . I96

THE DEFEAT OF THE ELLIOTT MINISTRY .... 200

THE WALKEM MINISTRY, 1 878-82 . . . . . 202

THE SECESSION RESOLUTION OF 1 878 . . . . 202

THE THIRD APPEAL TO HER MAJESTY .... 204

Vlll

THE PACIFIC PROVINCE

THE GRAVING-DOCK QUESTION

THE LAST DAYS OF THE WALKEM MINISTRY

THE BEAVEN MINISTRY, 1 882-83

THE SMITHS MINISTRY, 1 883-87

THE CHINESE QUESTION ....

THE EXTENSION OF THE RAILWAY TO VANCOUVER

THE A. E. B. DAVIE MINISTRY, 1 887-89

THE ROBSON GOVERNMENT, 1 889-92

THE THEODORE DAVIE MINISTRY, 1 892-95 .

THE TURNER MINISTRY, 1 895-98

THE SEMLIN MINISTRY, 1898-I900 .

THE MARTIN MINISTRY, MARCH I TO JUNE 1 4, I900

THE DUNSMUIR MINISTRY, I900-2 .

THE PRIOR MINISTRY, NOVEMBER 21, I902 TO JUNE I, I903

THE M<^BRIDE MINISTRY ....

BETTER TERMS .....

ECONOMIC HISTORY. By C. H. Lugrin

THE FUR TRADE .....

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION ....
TRANSPORTATION .....

INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR. By J. A. Teit

TRIBES AND THEIR HABITAT
POPULATION, PAST AND PRESENT .
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TEMPERAMENT
MIGRATIONS AND TRIBAL MOVEMENTS
INTERMARRIAGE ....

THE NATIVE SHELTERS AND DWELLINGS .
TRADE AND INTERCOURSE OF THE TRIBES
CLOTHING AND PERSONAL DECORATION .
INDUSTRIES .....
THE FOOD SUPPLY OF THE INTERIOR TRIBES
WAR : WEAPONS OF OFFENCE AND DEFENCE
GAMES AND PASTIMES
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
CRADLES OF THE INFANTS .
TRAINING THE YOUNG

PAGE
205

207

208

209

211
212
214
215
218
220
224
225
226
228
229
234

241
250
273

283
287
288
292

293
294

295
296

299
300
302
304
305
308
308

CONTENTS

MARRIAGE ......

BURIAL CUSTOMS .....

RELIGION ......

INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST. By E. Sapir

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS .

LINGUISTIC STOCKS .

THE QUESTION OF ORIGIN .

PHYSICAL SUB-TYPES .

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE

THE FOOD OF THE WEST COAST INDIANS

DWELLINGS ....

CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTATION .

INDUSTRIES ....

GAMES AND DECORATIVE ART

MUSIC .....

CLASSES OF SOCIETY AND CLAN ORGANIZATION

MEDIA OF EXCHANGE AND THE POTLATCH

CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS AND TABOOS

BELIEF IN THE SUPERNATURAL

MYTHS ......

PAGE

315
316
321
323
324
326
328
329
330

333
335
336
339
340
342
344

ILLUSTRATIONS

SIR JAMES DOUGLAS ..... Frontispiece

From a portrait by Savannah

JAMES COOK . . . . . . . Facing page 24

From the painting by J. Webber in the National Portrait
Gallery

CALLICUM AND MAQUILLA (MAQUINNA), CHIEFS

OF NOOTKA SOUND „ 34

Photographed by Savannah from Meares' s ' Voyages '

LAUNCHING THE NORTH-WEST AMERICA AT

NOOTKA SOUND, 1788 .... ,,36

Photographed from Meares's ' Voyages '

GEORGE VANCOUVER ,,48

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery

SIMON ERASER . . , . . . , „ 56

From a portrait by Savannah

JOHN M^^LOUGHLIN ,,64

Photographed by Savannah from an oil painting

THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF VAN-
COUVER ISLAND „ 112

SIR MATTHEW BAILLIE BEGBIE . . . „ 148

From a portrait by Savannah

PREMIERS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA . . . „ 180

From photographs by Savannah

xii THE PACIFIC PROVINCE

A GROUP OF THOMPSON RIVER INDIANS . Facing page ^ZZ

From a photograph by Maynard

INDIANS OF THE INTERIOR OF BRITISH

COLUMBIA ,,296

SKIDEGATE, HAIDA INDIAN TOWN, QUEEN

CHARLOTTE ISLANDS .... ,,316

KOSKINO INDIANS AT QUATSINO, VANCOUVER

ISLAND ,,320

From a photograph by Maynard

HAIDA INDIAN TOTEM -POLES AT SKEDANS,

QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS . . . „ 328

A GROUP OF INDIANS NEAR NEW WEST-
MINSTER, B.C ,,336

From a photograph by Maynard

BRITISH COLUMBIA IN
THE DOMINION: INTRODUCTION

VOL. XXI

BRITISH COLUMBIA IN
THE DOMINION: INTRODUCTION

OF recent years there has been abundant evidence that
) British Columbia bulks large in every way in the
federation of which it forms a part. The import-
ance the province has attained is shown by the amount of
space allotted to it in this work dealing with Canada and
its provinces. The editors have seen fit to give the Pacific
province the same prominence they have given to the older
provinces of the Dominion.

An examination of the contents of this section will show
that the greatest care has been taken by the general editors
with regard to the organization of the material and the selec-
tion of the writers. No department of knowledge concerning
British Columbia has been neglected. Trained specialists
have been chosen for the preparation of the various articles
— ^men who have made a close study of its general and political
history, its ethnology, the administration of its laws, its
educational development, its forestry, its mining, its fisheries
and its agriculture. The names of the writers and the
subjects are a guarantee that British Columbia has been dealt
with in an accurate and exhaustive manner.

It may be asked, why has British Columbia been studied
at as great length as Ontario or Quebec ? Why should a
province that has had a corporate existence of fewer than
fifty years — a province that was formed out of two feeble
colonies, the one but seventeen years old and the other but
eight at the time of their union in 1866 — ^be taken as seriously
as provinces with several centuries of history behind them ?
The answer is that the history of the Pacific province does

4 BRITISH COLUMBIA IN THE DOMINION

not begin with the union of the colonies of Vancouver Island
and British Columbia, or even with the organization of Van-
couver Island as a crown colony in 1849. Its roots are in
the remote past. Long before any political organization
existed, its island stretches and its mainland were the
theatres of empire-making events.

The beginnings of the history of the north-west coast
were in a way similar to those of the eastern seaboard of
Canada. The explorations of the Cabots, of the Corte Reals,
of Verrazano and of Gomez on the Atlantic coast had their
counterpart in the voyages of Spanish captains who, from
New Spain, timorously felt their way along the Californian
shore until the island fringe of what is now British Columbia
was reached. Then, in the year 1778, the greatest of the
world's navigators, Captain James Cook, cast anchor in
Nootka Sound. In the wake of Cook came the traders
seeking sea-otter pelts. The codfish of the Atlantic waters
attracted hundreds of mariners to the banks and bays dis-
covered there by the early explorers, and the beaver during
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries tempted the feet
of traders and trappers to the Arctic seas and to the foothills
of the Rockies. So the sea-otter turned the eyes of commerce
to the north-west coast. This was the magnet that drew
hundreds of sailors to its island-dotted shores. These sailors
and scientific explorers such as Vancouver were to make this
coast known to the world. Trade ever breeds strife, and as
an outcome of trade rivalry rose the Nootka affair and the
Oregon boundary question — the one before the mainland
of British Columbia had been reached, and the other at a
time when from Yerba Buena (San Francisco) to Fort Dur-
ham on Taku Inlet the north-west coast was uninhabited
save by the aborigines, the employees of the Hudson's Bay
Company, and a lonely, struggling settlement of Americans
in the Willamette valley of Oregon. But the most in-
teresting phases of early north-west coast history are the
founding of New Caledonia and the Columbian district, and
the overland journeys of such men as Mackenzie, Fraser
and Thompson.

The blare of the war bugle has never been heard on the

INTRODUCTION 5

north-west coast, save for the faint, half-farcical note at
the time of the San Juan affair ; but the soil of the Pacific
province has been hallowed by the footsteps of a long line of
heroes. Nothing in the history of exploration is more inter-
esting than the dash of Alexander Mackenzie to the Pacific
in 1793, or the tumultuous passage of Simon Eraser to the
shores of the Strait of Georgia in 1808, or the quiet, unob-
trusive scientific work of David Thompson on the Columbia
between 1807 and 181 1. The fur-trading explorers played
an important part as empire-builders ; but for their work
another flag than the British might now be waving over
British Columbia and the western boundary of the Dominion
might have been east of the Rockies.

The Pacific Ocean having been reached, the next step was
the establishment of trading-posts in the interior. New
Caledonia, as the region now constituting the northern and
eastern part of the province was called, had its beginning
in 1805, when the Nor' westers commissioned Simon Eraser
to invade the territory west of the Rockies. Fort M^^Leod
at M^Leod Lake marks the commencement of the history
of settlement on the mainland. Gradually the interests of
the company broadened out till its posts dotted the region
from the mouth of the Columbia to the Peace River.
After the North-West and the Hudson's Bay Companies
united in 1821, coast and inland were extensively occupied,
even as far south as San Francisco. Had the Hudson's Bay
Company been far-sighted, not a foot of this territory need
have been lost. It failed to encourage settlement, though
it should have seen, from the success of agricultural efforts
put forth at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia and elsewhere,
that the soil offered sources of revenue equal to and more
permanent than the fur trade. Keep out settlers it could
not, and with the coming of the Americans in the early
forties and the establishment of a provisional government
under the United States flag, Great Britain lost her hold on
the territory south of the 49th parallel. At this time England
was sending thousands of settlers to the hard conditions
of pioneer life in Upper and Lower Canada. Had she but
directed some of them to the north-west coast, Washington

6 BRITISH COLUMBIA IN THE DOMINION

and Oregon might now be British. Settlement would have
carried greater weight than mere discovery, or the establish-
ment of a trading-post such as Astoria.

Shortly after the Oregon boundary problem was solved the
crown colony of Vancouver Island was formed ; then came
the rush of gold-seekers and the settlement of the mainland,
and another crown colony, that of British Columbia, came
into being ; eight years later, in 1866, came the union of these
two colonies. The new colony formed by this union showed
from its beginning a sturdy, progressive life. Its leaders
were men of action who had been trained under Dr John
M^Loughlin and James Douglas, both of whom deserve high
rank as builders of Canada, despite the fact that M^Loughlin
in the end threw in his lot with the United States and is now
known to history as the ' Father of Oregon.* British Col-
umbia had in its early days a leaven of men matured under
the strict discipline of the Hudson's Bay Company — ^men
who had learned to obey and were thus well fitted to rule,
even if inclined at first, like their company, to be autocratic.
A large part of the population was made up of gold-seekers,
many of whom, seeing the possibilities of the colony, made
it their permanent home. There were, too, some who in the
early days had ventured from Great Britain and from the
eastern provinces of Canada round Cape Horn or across the
prairies and through the mountains. The bulk of the popu-
lation was therefore British, speaking the English language
and possessing British ideals. A few had been subjects of
the United States, but these, too, spoke English and were
quickly assimilated. As a result the Pacific province is to-
day intensely British in all its undertakings and aspirations.
Its climate, in many ways so similar to that of Great Britain,
has continued to attract men and women from what is affec-
tionately termed the Old Country.

British Columbia has not reached her present position
without experiencing storm and stress. There was deter-
mined opposition to the union of the colonies, and many
influential men displayed the same spirit against Confedera-
tion. When the federal union of the Dominion was con-
summated, the threatened delay in the construction of the

INTRODUCTION 7

transcontinental railway strained Confederation almost to
the breaking point. There were cries for separation, but the
province weathered the storm and remained in the Dominion
family, to the advantage of herself and of Canada as a whole.

\Vhen the last spike was driven by Donald Smith (after-
wards Lord Strathcona) in the line of steel uniting in a material
way the Atlantic with the Pacific, a new day dawned for
British Columbia and the Dominion. The efforts put forth
by the latter in the gigantic enterprise and the sacrifices made
showed that the young nation within the Empire was capable
of undertakings of the greatest magnitude. The knowledge
that, though thousands of miles of land and water had to be
passed, a direct route was now open to Europe gave confid-
ence to the Pacific province and made possible the establish-
ment on its shores of a city which in a space of twenty-five
years was to become in population the fourth city in the
Dominion.

It seemed to many in old Canada that the sacrifices made to
build the Canadian Pacific Railway were not worth the mak-
ing, but the Dominion has been repaid a hundredfold. But
for this railway the growth of Canada would have been re-
tarded for many years. That the two new prairie provinces
have come into being and have reached such astonishing pro-
portions in population and wealth, that vessels daily leave
the west coast for the Orient and for the Atlantic ports of
America and of Europe, are the immediate results of British
Columbia's stand for a faithful fulfilment of the terms under
which it entered Confederation. And now, in 1913, only
twenty-eight years after the completion of the first trans-
continental line of railway, two more lines are being rushed
to completion, and undoubtedly along their paths vast stretches
of land will be cultivated, with the resultant development
of the coast cities. For, situated as is the coast, within a
thirty-six hours* journey from populous centres of prairie life,
its ports must become at once an outlet for the products of
the plains and a source of supply for the dwellers in the
interior of the continent. When the Panama Canal is opened
and cold storage facilities are supplied on the Pacific coast
similar to those on the Atlantic, the beef of the plains, the

8 BRITISH COLUMBIA IN THE DOMINION

fruit of the orchards of British Columbia, and the fish of her
lakes, rivers and ocean will find their way to Europe, and to
the Orient, where the inhabitants are rapidly adopting Euro-
pean standards of living. This will mean much to both the
province and the Dominion.

During the discussion regarding Confederation an eminent
politician of Ontario spoke of British Columbia as a * Sea of
Mountains.' He seemed to forget that among those moun-
tains nestled lakes, that through them meandered magnifi-
cent rivers — ^all teeming with fish ; that in the regions around
the lakes and along the river valleys were stretches of rich
land ; that the valleys and mountain-sides were clothed with
forests of fir, cedar, pine, spruce, oak and maple — a timber
wealth unequalled in quantity or quality in any other part
of the world ; that these mountains stood, as it were, on guard
over treasures of gold and silver, copper and lead, iron and
coal ; that at the extreme west of these mountain ranges lay
the ocean, teeming with inexhaustible marine life. He for-
got, too, that this * Sea of Mountains ' combined with the
ocean to give to British Columbia a climate unsurpassed by
any in the world.

The history touched on lightly in this general outline and
the natural resources indicated in the preceding paragraph
will be found fully detailed in this work.

Since Confederation was consummated by the completion
of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Hfe of British Columbia
in the Dominion has been on the whole a pleasant one. There
has been friction between the provincial and federal govern-
ments on several important questions, but peaceful settle-
ments have always been reached, and each year the oppor-
tunities for conflict are becoming less.

It is unwise to assume the r6le of a prophet, but the man
would be very short-sighted who could not forecast for British
Columbia an exceptionally high place at no distant day.
The province, with its British name, stands in the same posi-
tion regarding the Pacific Ocean that the British Isles hold
regarding the Atlantic. It possesses the best harbours on
the Pacific coast, it is favourably situated as a distributing
centre for goods coming from Europe or from the Orient, and

INTRODUCTION 9

it has a population of workers who on sea or on land are never
thrown out of employment by the severity of the climate.
So far its work has been preparatory. It has been building
for the future, laying the foundations for trade and commerce.
Busy factories will soon be heard on its shores, turning the
abundant raw material of forest and mine into manufactured
articles. It is no mere dream of an enthusiast to see, in the
not distant future, a province on the Pacific equal in popu-
lation to the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and — owing
to its situation — a province of paramount importance to the
Dominion and to the Empire.

THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

THE SPANIARDS

DURING more than two hundred and sixty years
after Balboa discovered the Pacific the region now
called British Columbia was but vaguely indicated
on the maps of the ancient cartographers. Little was known
of its climate, inhabitants or resources ; and had it not been
for the mythical Strait of Anian that was supposed to lie
through it or to the north of it, the country might have re-
mained a terra incognita until Mackenzie, Fraser, and Thomp-
son penetrated its wilds from the east. Indeed, until their
arrival the mainland was practically a sealed book — only
the maze of islands that skirt its shores had been visited by
the mariners of Spain, Russia, England, and France.

In a sense, however, the story of British Columbia begins
with Balboa. In 15 13, when that adventurer crossed the
mountains of Panama and sighted the Pacific, he laid claim
for Spain not only to the land on which he stood and the
waters which he beheld, but to all the territory washed by
those waters * for all time, past, present, or to come, with-
out contradiction, . . . north and south, . . . from the Pole
Arctic to the Pole Antarctic' For nearly three centuries
Spain, backed by the papal Bull of 1493, asserted her right to
this vast territory largely on the ground of this preposterous
claim. But it was many years before she put forth strong
efi^orts to substantiate her claim by discovery and settlement.

In 1520 Magellan sailed through the strait that has since
borne his name and the world became aware that a new
route was open to the rich East, and that a vast continent
of untold wealth, judging from what the Spaniards had dis-

14 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

covered in Mexico, stretched from the Strait of Magellan
to the icy regions of the north. Meanwhile Hernando Cortes
had conquered Mexico and the wealth of that kingdom flowed
into the coffers of Spain. Hoping to find other rich regions,
Cortes journeyed to the Pacific side of Mexico in 1523 ; and
at Tehuan tepee in Oajaca he established a naval base, intend-
ing to build ships and promote his search for other Mexicos
to the north. A series of misfortunes hampered him in his
preparations and delayed explorations for five years, but in
1528 Pedro Nunez Maldonado, whom Cortes had left in
charge of his arsenal and shipyard, set out from the mouth
of the River Zacatula and examined the coast as far north
as Santiago. Four years later Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
is supposed to have reached the 27th degree of north lati-
tude. In the following year Hernando Grijalva and Diego
Becerra made voyages of exploration. Grijalva does not
seem to have examined the coast, but Becerra pressed north-
ward. In a quarrel with his pilot, Fortuno Ximines, he was
slain. Ximines afterwards made a landing on the Cali-
fornian peninsula at Santa Cruz, where he and those with
him were massacred by Indians. In 1535 Cortes led a strong
expedition consisting of 140 men and 40 horses along the
shore of the Gulf of California and reached the spot where
Ximines had been slain. He formally took possession in
the name of the king of Spain of the region he explored.

Further progress in Pacific exploration was made when
in 1539 Francisco Ulloa sailed round Cape San Lucas and
reached the ocean coast of California. The gulf, which had
hitherto been called the Vermilion Sea, Ulloa named the Sea
of Cortes. On this voyage the 28th degree of north lati-
tude is supposed to have been reached. Meanwhile reports
had been received of a rich country lying between Florida
and the Pacific to the north of New Spain. Mendoza, who
was now viceroy, dispatched a friar named Marcos de Niza
to locate this region. Niza had a fertile imagination, and on
his return reported that he had been successful ; that many
large towns and no fewer than seven populous cities lay
north of the 35th parallel. The chief of these were Cibola
and Tontonteac. According to de Niza gold, silver, and

THE SPANIARDS 15

precious stones were to be found there in even more pro-
digious quantities than they had been found in Mexico and
Peru. This report for the moment checked coast explora-
tion and the energies of the Spaniards were turned to the
interior of the continent. But Mendoza was soon unde-
ceived and once more directed his energies to the explora-
tion of the Pacific shore. In 1543 two vessels under the
command of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed from the port
of Navidad. Little is definitely known of Cabrillo's voyage,
but it is possible that he discovered the port of San Diego,
the Santa Barbara Channel and the Bay of Monterey. In
a storm that overtook his vessel he is thought by some to
have been driven as far north as Point Arena. His pilot,
Bartolome Ferillo, pursued his way still farther to the north
and may have reached latitude 44*^. But all is conjecture.
The Spanish mariners lacked skill, and were so badly equipped
with the means of taking their bearings accurately that their
recorded latitudes and longitudes are not reliable.

In the thirty years that had elapsed since Balboa first
sighted the Pacific only the fringe of the southern part of the
North American continent had been surveyed, and some
time was to pass before the Spaniards were to make further
attempts at northward exploration. The work already done
had been most disheartening. The primitive vessels in which
the voyages had been made proved death-traps ; in many
instances the commanders and pilots died from scurvy or
exposure, or were shipwrecked or slain by savages. Moreover,
the region that they were endeavouring to penetrate lay
concealed behind fogs and held out but the vaguest promise
of treasure — the sole object of the Spaniards. For over
fifty years after Cabrillo*s voyage no expedition left Mexico
for the north.

Meanwhile a new force appeared in the Pacific. Spain
had been so long unmolested in the vast South Sea that she
felt secure, and without fear of attack loaded her treasure
ships from the mines of Peru and welcomed at the Isthmus
of Panama the galleons laden with the riches of the East.
The famous English freebooter (he can scarcely be desig-
nated by any other name) Francis Drake saw in the Pacific

i6 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

a chance of gaining wealth and taking vengeance on the
Spaniards, the enemies of England. In 1577 Drake set sail
for the Pacific with five ships. Two, the Christopher and the
Swan, were lost to him while he was on the Atlantic, a third,
the Marygold, disappeared during a time of storm near
the Strait of Magellan, and a fourth, the Elizabeth, deserted
him and returned to England ; but he fearlessly pressed
on into a region where for over half a century Spain had
been strongly entrenched. In the Pelican, with her name
changed to the Golden Hind, Drake entered the South Sea
in September 1578. He swept up the coast with fire and
sword, burning and plundering Spanish towns and capturing
Spain's richly laden argosies. To return to England by way
of the Strait of Magellan would be dangerous, so Drake
decided upon a course of unparalleled boldness. Some-
where in the dim and misty north lay the Strait of Anian
—a mythical passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. He
determined to sail northward, discover this strait, and sweep
back in triumph through it to his native land. Nothing
seemed impossible to this audacious mariner. The prow of
the Golden Hind was turned northward, but as the heavily
laden vessel crept up the coast a strong, steady north-west
wind beat upon her and she was soon wallowing in a region
of fogs. The biting cold chilled the mariners to the bone.
The crew became scurvy-smitten, and after reaching a point
claimed by some to have been in latitude 48°, by others 43°,
Drake decided to abandon the attempt to reach England by
a northern passage. The vessel's course was shaped to the
south-east, and in * a faire and good bay,* under the 38th
parallel, the vessel rode peacefully at anchor for five weeks.
This bay is now known as Drake's Bay. Here the crew were
refreshed, and while at this spot Drake formally took pos-
session of the region for the queen of England and named
it New Albion. By this name it was to be known for at
least two hundred years, for, in the instructions given to
Captain Cook in 1776 by the Earl of Sandwich, the first lord
of the Admiralty, there are the words : * You are to . . .
proceed on as direct a course as you can to the coast of New
Albion, endeavouring to fall in with it in the latitude of 45°

THE SPANIARDS 17

North.' Drake was thus the first Englishman to land on
the Pacific shore of the North American continent, and his
farthest north was probably at a point beyond that of any
Spanish explorers. He was certainly the first to take pos-
session of the country north of Lower California, and that
apparently with the consent of the inhabitants, who, he reports,
crowned him king of the country. Other freebooters, English
and Dutch, frequented the Pacific during the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, but only Drake's exploits, through
the fact that he laid claim to New Albion for England, have
any bearing on the history of the north-west coast. The
hardy mariner sailed home by way of the Cape of Good
Hope and arrived in England in September 1580, the first
British seaman to circumnavigate the world.

^y 1596 the Spaniards were again turning their thoughts
to the north country. In this year Sebastian Vizcaino with
three ships sailed from Acapulco and explored the Sea of
Cortes, by this time known as the Gulf of California ; but
this expedition added nothing of importance to geographical
knowledge. In 1602 Vizcaino again set out from Acapulco
with the object of surveying the west coast of North America.
On January 12, 1603, he had attained the 41st parallel, but
the stormy winter seas prevented his further progress. In
this expedition the Tres Reyes, commanded by Martin
d'Aguilar, was driven northward before the storm. D'Aguilar
sighted the entrance of a large river thought by some author-
ities to be the Columbia. He certainly reached latitude
43^ and named Cape Blanco. The crew suffered extreme
hardship, and both d'Aguilar and his pilot, Antonio Flores,
died from exposure before their vessel made San Diego
harbour.

For over a century and a half no other attempt was
made by Spain or any other European power, save Russia
in the extreme north, to explore the North Pacific waters.
Scurvy, cold, and inhospitable shores seem to have deterred
Spanish mariners from venturing into those unfrequented
seas. There was, perhaps, another reason. Rumours were
rife of a Strait of Anian having been discovered, and the
Spanish authorities feared that if such a route through the

VOL. XXI

I8 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

continent or around the north of it were discovered their
security in the Pacific would be at an end, and so until 1774
Spain remained content with exploiting the riches of Mexico
and of South America.

A word is now in place with regard to this mysterious
Strait of Anian. The first mention of it is in 1555, when one
Martin Chake (or Chaque) claimed to have sailed from the
Atlantic coast to the Pacific, arriving at a point north of
California in latitude 59°. In 1574 a mariner named Ladrillo
stated that from a point near Newfoundland he had sailed
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In 1588 Lorenzo Ferro de
Maldonado, a Portuguese, in a memoir that he presented to
the council of the Indies, made the claim that he had sailed
from the Pacific through seas and channels north of America.
In 1625 a story appeared from the pen of Michael Lok, who
declared that a Greek sailor known to history as Juan de
Fuca, but whose real name was Apostolos Valerianos, had
in 1592 sailed through a broad strait situated between latitudes
47° and 48°. After the discovery of the strait named Juan
de Fuca by Captain Charles William Barkley, this story was
believed to be true and is still given credence by many non-
critical students. A careful examination of Lok's narrative
shows its absurdity. De Fuca's strait was thirty or forty
leagues wide at its mouth ; the actual strait is not as many
miles wide. The country, too, was * very fruitful and rich
in gold, silver and pearls, and other things, like Nova Spania.'
This, to any one familiar with the strait and the people in-
habiting the country washed by it, is the clearest evidence
that the story was made out of whole cloth either by de Fuca
or by Lok. According to the story, de Fuca, who was in the
service of Spain at the time of his pretended discovery, had
been plundered by the freebooter Cavendish. To obtain
for the old Greek mariner compensation for his losses, and
employment, Lok further states that he had written the
English authorities on his behalf ; but nothing in the archives
of Mexico or Spain or among the state papers of England
shows that such a man as de Fuca ever existed. In 1640
Admiral Bartolomede de Fonte, according to an account
published in 1708, claimed to have sailed from the Atlantic

THE SPANIARDS 19

to the Pacific by means of a chain of lakes and rivers extend-
ing across the continent. These stories were long believed
by many and had numerous defenders. They were accepted
by some scientists at the time and had not a little influence
on map-making. At a later date the scientific surveys of
Captains Cook and Vancouver definitely put an end to them.
They served their purpose, however, for they kept alive
among mariners the ambition to find a passage from the
Atlantic to the Pacific through or around the continent of
North America ; and they prove that Baron Munchausens
were not uncommon during the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.

In the meantime, as we shall see later, Russia was
active from the north and had gained a foothold on the
islands in Alaskan waters and on the mainland itself. The
extent of Russians explorations was but vaguely known, but
the stories of Russian operations, combined with the powerful
hold England had gained on the eastern shores of North
America, impelled Spain once more to turn her attention to
the region lying north of California. San Bias, on the
west coast of Mexico, was made a base of operations. Here
arsenals, shipyards and warehouses were built, and energetic
preparations were made to send a strong and well-equipped
expedition to survey the coast as far north as the 6oth
degree of latitude. The commander chosen for this expedi-
tion was Don Juan Perez, who was accompanied by Don
Estevan Martinez, whose high-handed action fifteen years
later was to be the cause of ousting Spain from the Northern
Pacific. The explorers sailed in the Santiago from San Bias
on January 5, 1774. They beat their way northward through
storms and fog, catching occasional glimpses of the coast,
but making no accurate survey, until on July 18 they
reached the Queen Charlotte Islands between latitudes 53°
and 54°. A high mountain on Graham Island was named
San Cristobal, and what is now North Cape they christened
Cape Santa Margarita. About latitude 53° 58' natives were
seen. These mistrusted the strangers, and although they
paddled about the ship in their canoes, they would not go
on board, and any trading they did was from their vessels.

20 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

Father Crespi, who accompanied Perez on this voyage, gave
a detailed account of these Indians, which is of pecuHar
interest as it is the earliest description we have of the
powerful and highly interesting Haida Indians. He writes :

All appeared with the body completely covered, some
with skins of otter and other animals, others with cloaks
woven of wool or hair, . . . and a garment like a cape and
covering them to the waist, the rest of the person being
clothed in dressed skins or the woven woollen clothes of
different colours and handsome patterns. . . . Most of
them wore hats of leaves. . . . The women are clothed
in a similar manner, they wear pendants [labrets] from
the lower lip, which is pierced, a disk painted in colours,
which appeared to be of wood, slight and curved, which
makes them seem very ugly, and at a little distance
they appear as if the tongue was hanging out of the
mouth.

Perez does not seem to have had the courage to continue
his journey to the 6oth degree of latitude, but shortly after
leaving the Haida decided to turn southward. Water was
running short, but either through fear of the savages or on
account of not finding a good roadstead, the Spaniards did
not land to replenish their water supply. Southward they
sailed until on August i8 they made a landfall about lati-
tude 49° at a spot Martinez afterwards claimed to be Nootka
Sound. The place was called by them San Lorenzo. From
the description of the coast and the character of the anchorage
found it was clearly not Nootka Sound, but in all probability
a point under Cape Estevan several miles to the south. At
San Lorenzo they were again visited by natives, who were
in many respects like the savages of Queen Charlotte Islands.
A little trade was carried on with these Indians, but no land-
ing was made. From San Lorenzo the Santiago, with a crew
suffering from scurvy and with provisions running low, made
her way for Monterey. On this entire trip no landing was
made on the coast or on any of the islands lying opposite it,
and yet it was mainly on the strength of Perez's explora-
tions that Spain, in the controversy which later arose, based
her right to occupy Nootka and to prohibit other nations

THE SPANIARDS 21

from sharing in the trade of the North Pacific between
Lower California and Alaska.

In the following year another and better-equipped expedi-
tion was fitted out for northward exploration. This was
composed of two vessels, the corvette Santiago under Lieu-
tenant Don Bruno Heceta with Juan Perez as quarter-
master, and the schooner Felicidad, afterwards called the
Sonora, under Lieutenant Juan Francisco de la Bodega y
Quadra with Alfrez Antonio Maurelle as quartermaster.
The expedition left San Bias on March 16, 1775. Land was
sighted at latitude 48° 26'. The strait reported to have
been discovered by Juan de Fuca was supposed to lie between
latitudes 47° and 48°, and Heceta carefully explored the coast
and definitely proved that in this region no such strait existed.
A landing was made under Point Grenville in latitude 47°
20'. A cross was erected here and formal possession taken
of the country in the name of the king of Spain. This, so
far as has been recorded, was the first time that Europeans
set foot on the north-west coast of North America north
of Drake's Bay. Here a number of sailors from the Sonora
ventured ashore, only to be massacred by the natives. The
scene of this tragedy was named Punta de Martires (Martyrs'
Point), and an island in the vicinity was called Isla de Dolores
(Isle of Sorrows) . At this point twelve years later a number
of sailors from the Imperial Eagle, commanded by Captain
Barkley, suffered a similar fate and the island was then
named Destruction.

Heceta soon grew weary of buffeting the northern seas
and counselled returning. Perez, Quadra and Maurelle
overcame his objections and it was decided to continue the
northward voyage ; but Heceta, after reaching the 50th
parallel, in a time of storm turned his vessel about and steered
for Monterey. In latitude 48° 17', from the strong current
sweeping from the shore and the wide opening in the land,
Heceta believed he had discovered a mighty river. This
was the Columbia, of which Jonathan Carver in his wander-
ings in the West in 1766-68 had heard and which he had
named the ' Oregan,' and the bar of which Gray in the
Columbia Rediviva was to cross seventeen years later.

22 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

Quadra and Maurelle, in their tiny, ill-manned craft,
bravely swept northward and at last sighted a towering
snow-capped mountain, which they named San Jacinto —
the Mount Edgecumbe of Captain Cook. At what is now
Norfolk Sound they were visited by natives. A boat was
sent ashore and an attempt was made to get wood and water
without payment, but this was fiercely resisted by the natives
and the cross that the landing party erected was torn down
in derision as soon as the Spaniards had returned to their
vessel. Farther northward exploration was out of the ques-
tion and a return course was taken. At Port Bucareli, on
the west side of the Prince of Wales archipelago, Quadra
again landed and took possession of the country for Spain.
Storm-shattered, with a scurvy-smitten crew, the little Sonora
staggered back to San Bias, which port she reached on
November 20.

The next important exploring expedition into the North
Pacific was that under the English captain, James Cook ;
but before considering his notable voyage one other Spanish
expedition needs to be mentioned. In February 1779 Captain
Ignacio Arteaga in the Princessa, accompanied by Quadra
in the Favorita with the sturdy Maurelle as second officer,
sailed from San Bias. After voyaging for four months the
vessels reached Port Bucareli, where several weeks were spent
replenishing the water supply, equipping the ship and trading
with the natives. Northward they once more directed their
vessels until a tall snow-clad mountain peak towering above
the clouds was sighted. This was Mount St Elias, which
thirty years before had been discovered and named by the
heroic Dane, Vitus Bering. Shortly afterwards it was
decided to turn back, and on November 21 the Princessa
and Favorita cast anchor at San Bias.

The majority of the Spanish expeditions had ended in
disaster. Few of the captains made a landing, and those who
did accomplished but little. They merely touched at isolated
points, and while the general trend of the coast was known,
so poor were their nautical instruments that their landfalls
are inaccurately located. Moreover, what journals the ex-
plorers kept were hidden in the archives of Mexico or Spain

CAPTAIN JAMES COOK AT NOOTKA SOUND 23

and the world was little the wiser for the efforts they had
put forth. It was left for Captain Cook and Captain Van-
couver and the fur traders who followed in the wake of
Cook to survey the coast of what is now British Columbia,
and to make known to the world its character and resources,
and the manners and customs of its inhabitants.

CAPTAIN JAMES COOK AT NOOTKA SOUND

BRITISH mariners had long been hammering at the ice-
bound seas adjoining Hudson Bay and Davis Strait
in search of a north-west passage to the South Sea.
Parliament had, in 1745, offered a reward of ;£20,ooo for
the discovery of a passage to the Pacific. In 1775, about
the time of Captain James Cook*s return from his second
voyage around the world, it was decided to extend the scope
of this reward. The money had been offered only to com-
manders of vessels who should discover a passage through
Hudson Bay, but it was now decided to open it to * any ship
belonging to His Majesty, or his subjects,' which * should
find and sail through any passage by sea, between the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, in any direction or parallel of
the northern hemisphere, to the northward of the 52d deg. of
northern latitude.' When Cook returned from his notable
second voyage he had been made a post-captain and appointed
one of the captains of Greenwich Hospital, a position that
assured him a liberal income and the rest he needed after
many years of almost continuous battling against difficult
seas. When the subject of the discovery of a passage from
the Pacific came up for discussion he was naturally consulted ;
the greatness of the undertaking took hold of his imagination,
and he volunteered to lead an expedition into the icy seas
known only to the world through the vague reports of the
work done by Vitus Bering and Chirikoff and by the traders
who had ventured to the lands discovered by them. The
Admiralty gladly accepted Cook's services, and an exploring
and scientific expedition was fitted out to settle definitely the

24 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

question whether the Strait of Anian, of de Fonte, Mal-
donado, and de Fuca, had any real existence.

Captain Cook had already played an important part in
the history of Eastern Canada. It was he who was in charge
of the scout vessels that enabled the fleet bearing Wolfe's
forces to Quebec to navigate successfully the difficult waters
of the St Lawrence, and he had afterwards surveyed a part
of the coasts of Newfoundland and of Nova Scotia. He was
now to take the initial step in British exploration on the
north-west coast of North America, and by his efforts was
to give England a fighting claim to the western shores of
what is now the Dominion of Canada. In a way Cook was
the greatest of Great Britain's empire-builders. That the
British * morning drum-beat, following the sun and keeping
company with the hours, circles the earth with one con-
tinuous and unbroken strain of the martial airs of England *
is largely due to the explorations of James Cook on his three
remarkable voyages.

The Admiralty equipped in a most efficient manner the
Resolution, of 462 tons burden and 112 men, and the Discovery y
of 300 tons burden and 80 men. Cook had command of the
expedition and was to sail in the Resolution, while his second
in command, Captain Charles Clerke, was given charge of
the Discovery, Clerke, although a comparatively young man,
was a mariner of great experience, having already circum-
navigated the world on three occasions — ^as a midshipman
under Commodore Byron (1764-66), as a master's mate of
the Endeavour under Cook (1768-71), and again under Cook
as second lieutenant of the Resolution (1772-75).

The officials of the Admiralty left nothing undone to
make the expedition a success. Every detail was looked
after ; and while exploration and discovery were uppermost
in their minds, they saw to it that scientific investigation
should not be neglected. The surgeon of the Resolution,
Anderson, was a trained naturalist, and an artist named Webber
accompanied the expedition to make sketches of the harbours,
the natives, the animals, and any other things of import-
ance that might be discovered. The instructions were most
explicit. After visiting the regions discovered by him on his

Emery Walker Ltd. photo & imp.

JAMES COOK

From the painting in the National Portrait Gallery

CAPTAIN JAMES COOK AT NOOTKA SOUND 25

previous voyage, Cook was to sail from the Pacific islands
direct to the north-west coast of North America and was
to make a landing at New Albion in latitude 45° N. Here
he was to refit his vessels, replenish his ships with wood
and water, and procure refreshment for his crews. He was
then to proceed northward as far as latitude 65°, or farther
if possible. He was to lose no time on the way exploring
inlets or rivers, his aim being to reach latitude 65° in the
month of June. When this point was attained he was to
search diligently for a passage pointing toward Hudson Bay
or BafBn Bay. He was furnished with an Eskimo vocabu-
lary so that he might be able to converse with the natives
of the extreme north. It might happen that his ships would
not be able to sail through the passage if one were discovered,
and he was provided with the frames of two small vessels,
which he could put together and use in case of necessity. If
he failed to find a passage in his first attempt, he was to winter
at the port of St Peter and St Paul (Petropavlovsk) in Kam-
chatka, or wherever else he might judge more proper ; in
the spring of the following year he was to make another
attempt, then, whether he failed or succeeded, he was to
return to England ' by such route ' as he might * think best
for the improvement of geography and navigation.' The
coasts visited * for the benefit of the navy and commerce '
were to be surveyed, charted, and sketched, and the nature
of the soil and the produce thereof observed. The animals
and the fowl and fish of the regions touched at were to be
noted, likewise the metals, minerals or valuable stones ; and
if any * extraneous fossils' were discovered, specimens of each
were to be brought home, *as also the seeds of such trees,
shrubs, plants, fruits, and grains peculiar to those places,
as you may be able to collect.' The genius, temper, dis-
position and number of the natives and inhabitants were
to be observed, and all proper means were to be adopted to
cultivate their friendship. Finally Cook was instructed to
take possession of lands that had not already been visited
by the navigators of other European powers.

On July 12, 1776, the Resolution and the Discovery set
sail from Plymouth Sound. They shaped their course

26 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

around the Cape of Good Hope, passed through the Indian
Ocean, visited Kerguelen Land, Tasmania and New Zealand,
and on January 19, 1778, discovered the Sandwich Islands.
On February 2 the expedition sailed from these islands direct
for New Albion and on March 7 made a landfall in latitude
4A^ 33'' The explorers stood northward for a time, but a
severe gale drove them back to latitude 42°. When the gale
subsided, the northward course was again taken and land
made at 47° 5'. The appearance of the shore well to the
north promised a good harbour, but the mariners were dis-
appointed and Cook gave vent to his feelings by naming the
spot sighted Cape Flattery. Between latitudes 47° and 48°
search was made for the Strait of Juan de Fuca. No opening
was found, and Cook wrote in his log-book with regard to
this strait : * Saw nothing like it : nor is there,' he added,
* the least possibility that any such thing ever existed.'
While he penned these words, within a day's sail, under
favourable conditions, lay an arm of the sea deep and broad,
leading to the most picturesque scenery on the western
coast. Had he persevered in his explorations in this quarter
he might have been convinced, as was Captain Barkley nine
years later, that the de Fuca story was a true one ; but
storm and sleet kept him from the entrance of the strait, and
he pressed northward until he came within sight of a pro-
mising harbour, lying between the 49th and 50th parallels.
The region about the bay was full of high mountains, whose
summits were covered with snow. * But the valleys between
them, and the grounds on the seacoast, high as well as low,
were covered to a considerable breadth with high, straight
trees, that formed a beautiful prospect, as of one vast forest.'
Thus, on March 29, 1778, Nootka Sound was discovered, and
this date marks an important event in the growth of the
British Empire. Through Cook's discoveries and surveys
England was to have a better title to the region lying between
California and Alaska than Spain, whose mariners, although
they had named headlands and bays along the coast, had up
to this time made no landing on the shores of what is now
British Columbia.

As the vessels approached the inlet the wind fell. Three

CAPTAIN JAMES COOK AT NOOTKA SOUND 27

canoes set out from shore toward the becalmed ships. As
they drew near, the natives in them cast feathers and a red
dust or powder in the air, while one of their number holding
in each hand a rattle, which he kept shaking, uttered a wel-
coming harangue. One native * sung a very agreeable air with
a degree of softness and melody ' that astonished the explorers.

* One canoe was remarkable for a singular head, which had
a bird's eye and bill of enormous size painted on it ; and
a person who was in it, who seemed to be a chief, was no
less remarkable for his uncommon appearance, having many
feathers hanging from his head, and being painted in an
extraordinary manner.* On the following day when the
ships came to anchor a fleet of canoes surrounded them
and a brisk trade was carried on. The natives offered in
exchange for the goods which the explorers possessed skins of

* bears, wolves, foxes, deer, racoons, polecats, martens ; and in
particular, the sea-otters.* This marks the beginning of the
fur trade on the north-west coast south of Alaska, and was
the most important scene yet enacted in the Northern Pacific.
A steady and lucrative trade was to follow. It was the initial
step in bringing the north-west coast under British rule.

The natives had with them * little ornaments of thin brass
and iron, shaped like a horse shoe, which they hang at their
noses ; and several chisels or pieces of iron fixed to handles.*
It was clear from this that they had previously been in con-
tact with Europeans. Whence did they obtain the iron ? It
is not easy to decide, but we know that there was wide trade
between tribes, and that goods of Mexican make have been
found among the Indians of Eastern Canada ; so it is quite
possible that the iron weapons and ornaments had passed
from tribe to tribe either from the Russian traders of the
Aleutian Islands or from the settlements of New Spain. The
Indians of Nootka Sound were a savage people, possibly in
some instances given to cannibalism, for Cook records that
^ the most extraordinary of all the articles which they brought
to the ship for sale were human skulls and hands not yet
quite stripped of the flesh, which they made our people
plainly understand they had eaten ; and, indeed, some of
them had evident marks that they had been upon the fire.*
For their furs and other articles the Indians * took in exchange

28 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

knives, chisels, pieces of iron and tin, nails, looking-glasses,
buttons, or any kind of metal.*

Four weeks were spent in Nootka Sound, to which Cook
first gave the name King George's Sound, but before leaving
the inlet, understanding that the Indians called it Nootka,
he altered the name. The sojourn at this place was a busy-
one. Some of the spars and masts had rotted during the
two years since the vessels left Plymouth and new ones had
to be made before they could venture into the northern
region. While the majority of the officers and men were busy
refitting the vessels. Cook explored the west side of the
Sound and, thence crossing to the eastern side, proved that
the land off which his vessels lay was a small island. During
the sojourn at Nootka, Dr Anderson made numerous scien-
tific notes ; of particular value are his ethnological observa-
tions on the manners and customs of the natives. At the
same time Webber was busy ; the natives, their implements
of war, their household utensils, and other striking features
of their lives and surroundings were sketched. While the
Resolution and the Discovery stayed at Nootka the Indians
behaved in the most friendly manner. In the light of what
we now know of their character it seems very probable that
this friendship was inspired by the powerful armament of
the British ships.

On April 26 the vessels were once more ready for sea and,
dropping out of Nootka Sound, sailed for the polar regions.
Through boisterous gales and seas they beat their way
northward until on May 11, in latitude 60° at Kaye's Island,^
Cook landed, and * at the foot of a tree on a little eminence,
not far from the shore, I left a bottle with a paper in it, on
which was inscribed the names of the ships and the date of
our discovery. And along with it I enclosed two silver two-
penny pieces of His Majesty's coin of the date 1772.' A
careful survey of this part of the coast was made, and then
Cook directed his vessels past Cape Prince of Wales and
thence towards the Asiatic shore. He named the strait
between Alaska and Asia in honour of its first great explorer,
Bering. The northward voyage was continued until latitude
70° 44' was reached, but here a compact, impenetrable wall

1 Named after the Rev. Dr Kaye, then Dean of Lincoln.

CAPTAIN JAMES COOK AT NOOTKA SOUND 29

of ice, black with multitudes of walruses or sea-horses, was
encountered. Cook was now convinced that there was no
passage through the continent south of latitude 72°, and
this voyage of 1778 had thus the effect of going far towards
settling the myth of the Strait of Anian. Cook sailed for
a time along the Asiatic shore, then visited the Aleutian
Islands, and in September set out for the Sandwich Islands,
where in February he was murdered by natives. Thus
ended the career of a naval officer who occupies the same
place in exploration that Nelson occupies in naval warfare ;
the one displayed the British flag on every sea, the other
gave Great Britain a supremacy on the ocean that was to
make secure her widely scattered empire.

Captain Clerke now took command of the expedition
and Lieutenant Gore was given charge of the ship Discovery.
In 1779, following out the instruction of the Admiralty,
Clerke decided to make another effort to find a passage
leading to the Atlantic. This young captain — ^he was only
thirty-eight — ^was of heroic mould. At this time he was
suffering from consumption, and it was almost suicidal for
him to venture into the northern seas, but he obeyed the
voice of duty. The expedition reached 70° 30', when further
progress was prevented by an ice barrier similar to the one
met with in the preceding year. The ships were headed
for Kamchatka, and there at Petropavlovsk Captain Clerke
died. Captain Gore then took command of the expedition
and Lieutenant King was placed in charge of the Discovery,
It was decided to return to England by way of China and
the Cape of Good Hope, and on October 4, 1780, the two
sturdy vessels with their weather-beaten crews reached the
Nore, after a trying voyage of over four years. So wisely
did Cook and his officers look after the health of their men
on this famous expedition that only five were lost through
sickness, three of whom were ill before leaving England.
The Discovery during four years had not suffered the loss of
a single member of her crew.

The voyage of the Resolution and the Discovery had a
threefold interest. It gave England good ground for laying
claim by right of discovery and survey to the north-west

30 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

coast of North America ; it trained a number of future
explorers and traders such as Vancouver, Broughton, Colnett,
Portlock, and Dixon, who were with Cook, to North Pacific
conditions ; and it marked the beginning of the trade in
sea-otter pelts on the north-west coast.

HI
WEST COAST FUR TRADE

WHEN the Discovery and the Resolution reached Macao
on their return trip to England, the sailors found that
the furs secured at Nootka Sound, particularly the
sea-otter pelts, were a valuable asset. Skins that they had
bought for a few glass beads sold in some instances for over a
hundred dollars. A sum equal to about ten thousand dollars
was realized for the furs the vessels had collected in the
brief stay at Nootka Sound. The sailors were for returning
at once to the north-west coast, and Gore proposed that the
East India Company should enter vigorously on the sea-
otter trade, but it was not until 1785 that further attempt
was made to exploit the wealth of furs to be gathered at
Nootka Sound. When the expedition returned to England
there was delay in publishing the account of the voyage,
and it was only in 1784 that the commercial world became
fully alive to the possibilities of the sea-otter trade.

The first voyage to Nootka Sound solely for furs was
made in 1785 by Captain James Hanna in a vessel of sixty
tons, but the fur trade is dealt with elsewhere ^ and will be
considered here only in so far as those engaged in it explored
the coast and charted new lands. Hanna, in his first voyage,
apparently made straight for Nootka Sound, loaded his
vessel, and returned without adding anything of importance
to north-west coast history. In the following year the
Captain Cook and the Experiment^ commanded respectively
by Captains Lowrie and Guise, arrived at Nootka. A month
was spent on the Sound and then a northward course was
taken. When the expedition was ready to sail from Nootka

* See ' Economic History ' in this section.

WEST COAST FUR TRADE 31

the surgeon, John Mackey, who was suffering from scurvy,
was left behind at his own request to recover his health,
and incidentally to gain a knowledge of the region and of
the language of the natives.

The Captain Cook and the Experiment reached the north
end of Vancouver Island, examined a portion of Queen
Charlotte Sound, skirted the coast of the mainland to Princess
Royal Islands, then, turning westward, rounded Cape St
James at the south end of Queen Charlotte Islands and
cruised northward until on August 29 the north end of
Graham Island was reached. Somewhere between the
southern and northern ends of Queen Charlotte Islands they
passed in a heavy fog the vessels of La Perouse, the first
French explorer to venture into the waters of the North
Pacific. A rough chart of the route was prepared, a chart
that was to be of great aid to future expeditions.

In August of the same year Hanna again arrived at
Nootka, this time in the Sea-Otter of one hundred and
twenty tons. He had rivals in the field and furs were scarce
at the Sound, so he sought them in more northern waters.
In the course of this voyage he entered and named Smith
Sound and Fitzhugh Sound, and also located and named
Virgin Rocks and Peril Rocks ; the latter was afterwards
placed on Vancouver's chart as Pearl Rocks. Also, in
July of this year two of the members of Cook's expedition
appeared upon the north-west coast — Captain Nathaniel
Portlock, who had been a master's mate under Cook and
was now in command of the King George, and Captain George
Dixon, former armourer of the Discovery, who was now com-
manding the Queen Charlotte, These vessels spent three
years trading along the coast from Prince of Wales Island
to Vancouver Island, making, as Dixon — ^after whom Dixon
Entrance was named — ^wrote, considerable additions to the
geography of the coast. How vague was the knowledge of
the traders regarding the region can be gathered from
Dixon's remarks : * So imperfectly do we still know it [the
coast] that it is in some measure to be doubted whether we
have yet seen the mainland ; certain it is that the coast
abounds with islands, but whether any land we have seen is

32 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

really the continent remains to be determined by future
navigators/

The British parliament had granted the East India
Company a monopoly of the trade in the South Sea, and
this included the north-west coast of North America. To
avoid the necessity of obtaining a licence from the company
the owners of the ship Loudoun, who were, in fact, connected
with the company, and were making preparations to trade
on their own behalf, changed the name of the vessel and
called her the Imperial Eagle, and decided to sail her under
the Austrian flag. On this ship Captain Charles William
Barkley sailed from Ostend for the north-west coast in the
autumn of 1786, taking with him his young wife, the first
European woman to appear on the waters washing Vancouver
Island. The Imperial Eagle reached Nootka Sound in June
1787. When the vessel cast anchor the traders were sur-
prised by a visit from a white man dressed in native garb.
This was Mackey, who had been left at Nootka in the pre-
vious year. Mackey accompanied Barkley on his expedi-
tion southward past Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds, and
as he knew the best places for obtaining sea-otter skins, and
was familiar with the native language, he was of invaluable
service. Towards the end of July, as the Imperial Eagle
sailed southward, skirting the shores of Vancouver Island, a
wide strait opened before the astonished and delighted gaze
of the traders. This was evidently the strait about which
rumour had been ri'fe for nearly one hundred and fifty years
— the long-lost strait of Juan de Fuca. Believing this to be
the case, Barkley charted it under that name. Mrs Barkley,
in a careful diary she kept of the voyage, thus narrates the
discovery of the strait :

In the afternoon, to our great astonishment we arrived
off a large opening extending to the eastward the entrance
of which appeared to be about four leagues wide, and
remained that width as far as the eye could see, with a
clear easterly horizon, which my husband immediately
recognized as the long-lost strait of Juan de Fuca, and to
which he gave the name of the original discoverer, my
husband placing it upon his chart.

WEST COAST FUR TRADE 33

The Imperial Eagle had on board a rich supply of furs,
and, as her captain was but Httle interested in exploration,
no attempt was made to navigate the strait, Barkley being
content with a passing glimpse of its wide waters. A south-
ward course was kept, and at latitude 47° 43', at the mouth
of the River Ohahlat or Hoh, a landing was made to collect
more pelts. It was at this point, near Destruction Island,
as previously stated, that the natives murdered a number
of the crew of the Imperial Eagle, including the mate and
the purser. Shortly after this tragedy the ship set sail for
China. Besides the discovery of the Strait of Juan de Fuca,
Barkley seems to have gathered information that was to
have a profound influence on further exploration from
Mackey, who, from the reports of the natives and from his
own observations during excursions he had made into the
country about Nootka Sound, was led to believe that the
region known as Nootka was not a part of the mainland, but
was separated from the continent of America by ' a chain
of detached islands.*

No name stands out more prominently among the eariy
fur traders of the Pacific than that of Captain John Meares.
This mariner^s first voyage to the north-west coast was
made in the year 1786 in the Nootka, He had previously
sent the Sea-Otter under Captain Tipping to North America.
When Meares arrived at Prince William Sound he found
that the Sea-Otter had left for the north, and the next news
he had of the vessel was that she had been wrecked some-
where on the coast of Kamchatka. He spent a year trading
with the natives in the region of Prince William Sound, and
in the autumn of 1787 returned to China. On this voyage
he apparently touched at no part of what is now the coast
of British Columbia.

In January 1788 Meares sold the Nootka, and, in partner-
ship with several merchants connected with the East India
Company and who were not above trading on their own
account without the permission or knowledge of the cor-
poration, purchased two vessels, the Felice and the Iphi-
genia. At this time all vessels trading with China, save
those under the Portuguese flag, had to pay heavy port

VOL, XXI c

34 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

charges. To avoid these charges, to use the words of Meares
himself, he and his associates had

obtained the name of Juan Cawalho to their firm, though
he had no actual concern in the stock ; that Cawalho,
though by birth a Portuguese, had been naturalized
at Bombay. . . . That the intimacy existing between
Cawalho and the governor of Macao had been the
principal cause of their forming this nominal connection,
and that Cawalho had in consequence obtained his per-
mission that the two ships above mentioned, in case it
should be found convenient to do so, should be allowed
to navigate under, or claim any advantages granted to,
the Portuguese flag.

Thus the expedition carried with it a Portuguese who, In case
of necessity, could act as leader, while the real leaders appeared
as supercargoes. This duplicity excuses in a measure the
act of Martinez in seizing the Iphigenia in 1789. There was
undoubtedly another reason why the Portuguese flag was
used — a similar reason to that which inspired the owners
of the Imperial Eagle to sail her under the Austrian flag —
that the necessity of obtaining a trader's licence from the
East India Company would be avoided. Meares and his
associates were most unscrupulous traders, and unfortunately
every act of Meares is marked with duplicity.

The Felice, commanded by Meares, and the Iphigenia,
in charge of Captain William Douglas, reached Nootka on
May 13, 1788. The traders received an enthusiastic welcome
from the Indians ruled by Chief Maquinna — called Maquilla
by Meares — ^and from Chief Callicum. When the vessels cast
anchor, the scene enacted on the arrival of Cook ten years
before was repeated. Meares gives a detailed account of the
natives, and although much of the narrative of his voyage
is unreliable, he could have no reason to write otherwise than
truthfully about the welcome extended to him by the Indians.
His description of their singing shows that in respect to this
art the natives of the north-west coast were the superiors of
any other Indians in North America. Meares writes :

We listened to their song with an equal degree of sur-
prise and pleasure. It was, indeed, impossible for any ear

CALLICUM AND MAQUILLA (MAQUINNA), CHIEFS OF
NOOTKA SOUND

Photographed by Savannah from Meares's * Voyages '

WEST COAST FUR TRADE 35

susceptible of delight from musical sounds, or any mind
not insensible to the power of melody, to remain unmoved
by this solemn, unexpected concert. The chorus was
in unison, and strictly correct as to time and tune ; nor
did a dissonant note escape them. Sometimes they
would make a sudden transition from the high to the low
tones, with such melancholy turns in their variations,
that we could not reconcile to ourselves the manner in
which they acquired or contrived this more than untaught
melody of nature. There was also something for the eye
as well as the ear, and the action that accompanied their
voices added very much to the impression which the
chanting made upon us all. Everyone beat time with
undeviating regularity against the gunwale of the boat
with their paddles ; and at the end of every verse they
pointed with extended arms to the north and south,
gradually sinking their voices in such a solemn manner as
to produce an effect not often attained by the orchestras
of European nations.^

It must indeed have struck the mariners as an astonishing
entertainment, especially as the greater part of the performers
were * clothed in the most beautiful skins of the sea-otter
which covered them from their necks to their ankles. Their
hair was covered with the white down of birds, and their
faces bedaubed with red and black ochre.'

Meares at once proceeded to carry out his intention of
establishing a permanent post at Nootka, and according to
Robert Button, first officer of the Felice, he purchased the
land about Friendly Cove, a snug harbour at the entrance
of the Sound, from Maquinna * for eight or ten sheets of
copper and several other trifling articles.' On this land a
substantial house of two storeys was erected. A breastwork
was thrown up about it and a cannon was placed in such a
position as to protect it from attack, either from the water-
front or from Nootka village. Meares had brought Chinese
carpenters with him, and these were set to work at once to lay
the keel of a vessel. A few days were spent trading with the
Indians ; then, leaving a part of his crew to man the newly
constructed fort and to complete his vessel, Meares left

* Meares's Voyages,

36 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

Nootka on a trading expedition southward. The Iphigenia
likewise departed and voyaged north to trade and to chart
the coast as far as Cook's River.

The Felice sailed first to Clayoquot Sound, where the
traders were welcomed by Wicaninish, the chief ruUng over
that district. After securing a number of fine sea-otter pelts,
Meares continued his southward voyage. On June 29 the
Felice arrived at the entrance of the strait discovered and
charted by Barkley. In his account of the voyage Meares
speaks of the strait as being from twelve to fourteen leagues
wide — the clearest evidence that he did not enter it, as its
width is only between fifteen and twenty miles. He adds,
however : * The strongest curiosity impelled us to enter this
strait which we called by the name of its original discoverer,
Juan de Fuca.' At this time Meares was fully cognizant
of Barkley's discovery. He was in China when Barkley
arrived there after his celebrated voyage and was now em-
ployed by the very men who owned the Imperial Eagle,
Moreover, Mrs Barkley advances indisputable evidence that
Meares was well informed regarding her husband's voyage
and asserts that * Captain Meares got possession of my
husband's journal and plans.' Without entering the strait
Meares continued down the coast, searching for a river of
which he had heard, the Columbia. Failing to find this
river he retraced his course, and on July 12 the Felice dropped
anchor in Barkley Sound. Meares now sent Robert Dutton
in a longboat to explore the strait, but Dutton got only as far
as Port San Juan (Port Renfrew) when his little vessel was
viciously attacked by natives and he was compelled to beat
a hasty retreat. Meares once more displays his lack of
veracity by recording that Dutton * had sailed thirty leagues
up the strait.' Dutton's journal proves this statement a
false one.

On July 29 Meares was back at his headquarters at
Friendly Cove. Meanwhile the Iphigenia had arrived in port
with a goodly supply of furs from the north, and Captain
Gray had also appeared at Nootka in the Lady Washington.
These captains and their crews took part in the demonstra-
tion connected with the launching of the new vessel which

^ ^

WEST COAST FUR TRADE 37

had just been completed — the North-West America^ the first
vessel, save the canoes of the natives, that was constructed
on the shores of what is now the Province of British Columbia.

Meares now took on board the Felice all the furs that had
been collected during the season and sailed for China. He
instructed the Iphigenia and the North-West America to
remain on the coast until autumn and then to sail to the
Sandwich Islands to winter. Meares^s venture had proved
so successful that when he reached China the company for
which he operated decided to send two additional vessels to
Nootka in 1789 — the Princess Royal, Captain Hudson, and
the Argonaut, Captain Colnett.

The Princess Royal had already visited the coast under
the command of Captain Charles Duncan. In July 1787
this diminutive craft and her consort, the Prince of Wales,
under Colnett, first arrived at Nootka. Barkley had
depleted the vicinity of furs, and the vessels therefore sailed
northward and spent the summer trading at the Queen
Charlotte Islands. In August of the following year Duncan
was once more off the coast near Nootka Sound, where he
was visited by Meares. On August 15 he reached the Indian
\dllage of Classet on the south side of the Strait of Juan de
Fuca, a short distance east of Cape Flattery. This was the
farthest point in the strait yet reached by any trader or
explorer. While at Classet Duncan learned from the Indians
that a broad sea lay at the eastern end of the strait. Accord-
ing to them this sea * ran a great way up to the northward,
and down to the southward.' This is the first definite in-
formation we have regarding the waters afterwards named
Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia.

In 1787 a trading and exploring expedition was fitted out
in Boston for the north-west coast. This consisted of a
square-rigged two-decker, the Columbia, two hundred and
twelve tons. Captain John Kendrick, and a sloop, the
Lady Washington (afterwards converted into a brig), ninety
tons. Captain Robert Gray. The vessels arrived at Nootka
Sound in 1788, and the United States flag was for the first
time unfurled in North Pacific waters. The American
captains decided to take the unusual course of wintering in

38 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

the Sound. In the following summer Gray explored much
of the coast, but added httle to geographical knowledge. At
the close of the season the commanders agreed to exchange
ships, and Kendrick took command of the Lady Washington,
while Gray in the Columbia sailed for Canton and sold his
furs, and, taking on board a cargo of tea, returned to Boston.

During the dispute regarding the Nootka Affair it was
asserted by Meares that Kendrick had circumnavigated
Vancouver Island in 1789. This assertion might be dis-
missed with the brief statement that it is one of Meares's many
fabrications, but it later played such an important part in
the Oregon Boundary dispute and was so widely believed,
especially in the United States, that it demands at least
passing notice.

All the evidence is against the claim. Meares is the only
authority for it, and he acknowledges that he had his infor-
mation second-hand, information of the vaguest kind, and
very possibly manufactured by himself to strengthen his
claim for damages against the Spaniards. Neither Kendrick
nor any of his friends or acquaintances or any members of his
expedition ever hinted at such a voyage, and several of the
Boston traders of 1789-90 have left records proving the false-
ness of Meares*s assertions. When Vancouver met Gray in
1792 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the American captain was
greatly surprised to learn that such a story as the circum-
navigation of Vancouver Island by the Lady Washington was
abroad. He certainly knew nothing about such a voyage.
Kendrick's voyage is in the same category as those of de
Fonte and de Fuca, and its details were no doubt con-
structed by Meares on the information he had gathered from
the Indians and others regarding the eastern side of the
region known as Nootka.

Of greater importance was the work of Gray in the
Columbia in 1792. Gray arrived at Clayoquot in June 1791
and spent the summer trading. In the following spring he
set out to find a river which he had reason to believe de-
bouched into the Pacific about latitude 46°. Gray, it may
be stated, had already, in 1789, in the Lady Washington,
penetrated farther than any previous explorer into the Strait

THE NOOTKA AFFAIR 39

of Juan de Fuca — probably for a distance of fifty miles.
He now sailed past the entrance to the strait and, sweeping
southward, came to the mouth of the river of his search.
On May 11 he crossed the bar and proceeded upstream for
about ten miles. The shallowness of the river and the
difficulties of its navigation prevented him, according to his
account, from cruising farther up its waters. This river he
named the Columbia, after his vessel. The discovery of the
Columbia was an important event, and some fifty years later
was much in evidence in the Oregon Boundary dispute.

There were other voyages of minor importance during
the years dealt with. Robert Funter in the North-West
America had visited Queen Charlotte Sound and charted
part of the coast ; Joseph Ingraham in the brigantine Hope
had in 1791 sailed along the Queen Charlotte Islands on both
the east and west sides and charted the coast with a remark-
able degree of accuracy. Thus, through the work of the
early fur traders, the general character of the north-west
coast was gradually becoming known ; but there was still
much to be done. Only the island fringe had yet been ex-
plored to any extent.

It is now necessary to deal with a question of the greatest
importance in early north-west coast history, a question
which overlaps the story of the voyages of the last three
years just narrated — the Nootka Affair.

IV
THE NOOTKA AFFAIR

ON July 13, 1728, the heroic Danish explorer in the
Russian service, Vitus Bering, engaged on an ex-
pedition of discovery in North Pacific waters, set
sail in the Gabriel, a vessel he had built at a stockaded
post in lower Kamchatka. Bering voyaged northward to
a point about latitude 67° 18'. During the time he was in
what is now known as Bering Strait a heavy fog hung over
the sea and he failed to catch sight of the North American

40 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

continent, but he was convinced that the broad sea upon
which he was saiHng separated Asia from an unknown region
whose existence he conjectured from the driftwood he saw.
Many tall trees differing from those on Asiatic shores were
seen, and birds of passage in numerous flocks passed his
vessel. In the summer of 1729 Bering attempted further
exploration, but on account of continuous fog he accomplished
but little. On his return to Russia plans were made on a
gigantic scale for exploration and scientific investigation and
settlement. So cumbersome was the outfit, and so numerous
the body of men on this expedition, that although it left St
Petersburg in 1733, it was not until June 4, 1741, that Bering
was ready to venture out in search of the continent believed
to lie to the east. With Bering in the St Peter was Steller,
a distinguished German naturalist, while the St Paul was
commanded by Lieutenant Alexis Chirikoff, a man in every
way worthy to be remembered as a daring and skilful
explorer. Bering reached the islands off the coast of Alaska
and saw and named Mount St Elias. He charted this region
and, turning southward, discovered the Aleutian Islands, but
as provisions and water were running low and his crew
scurvy-smitten, it was resolved to return to Kamchatka.
On November 4, in a time of storm, the island afterwards
named Bering was sighted. The commander of the expedi-
tion was at this time prostrated in his cabin, battling for
very life against disease. The St Peter fortunately drifted in
safety through the reef fronting the island. A landing was
made, and on this lonely spot, remote from the inhabited
world, the winter was to be spent. The island teemed with
marine mammals — ^the sea-lion, the sea-cow, the fur-seal, the
sea-otter — ^and the Arctic fox. Here, shortly after landing,
the noble Dane passed away, and his followers eked out
a miserable existence until spring. The St Peter suffered
wreck in the harbour, and from her material the sailors con-
structed a rude vessel in which they escaped to the mainland.
Chirikoff did quite as important work as Bering. He
sighted the Alexandria archipelago about latitude 55° 21'
and may have passed inside Chatham Strait. He after-
wards sailed north-west and visited the broad harbour where

THE NOOTKA AFFAIR 41

Sitka now stands. Here a boat landed, and as it was long
ashore without showing any signs of returning, another boat
was dispatched to learn the cause. Both boats were seized
by the natives and the crews were massacred. With his
ship's boats lost and his crew greatly diminished, Chirikoff
was unable to continue his examination of the coast, and
was forced to return to Kamchatka. This expedition under
Bering and Chirikoff has great historical importance. It
gave Russia a title to the Alaskan shore as far south as
latitude 55° — a title it held until the sale of Alaska to the
United States in 1867.

The voyage of Cook marked the beginning of the sea-
otter trade at Nootka ; the story of the expedition of Bering
and Chirikoff had a similar effect on Russian traders ; ^ pro-
myshleniki,* as they were called, at once began to exploit
the fur wealth of the islands the explorers had found.

Reports of the Russian operations among the islands of
the North Pacific and on the shores of Alaska gradually
reached the world, and New Spain heard that it was the inten-
tion of the Russian-American Fur Company to establish a post
in the vicinity of Nootka. To examine the Russian establish-
ments and to learn what truth there might be in this rumour,
Estevan Martinez, who had accompanied Juan Perez as
pilot in 1774, was, in 1788, sent from Mexico to the North
Pacific. On his return he reported that the Russians claimed
the entire coast as far south as California by right of the
discoveries of Bering and Chirikoff, and that an officer of the
Russian - American Fur Company had stated that in the
following year the company would establish a post at Nootka
Sound. The viceroy of New Spain thereupon decided to send
a strong expedition to Nootka to take formal possession of
the place and establish a post there. This step was the
beginning of the Nootka Affair.

British traders were already on the ground and, as we
have seen, had purchased from the natives the right to erect
buildings at Friendly Cove. Of this fact the Spaniards were
evidently ignorant, for when Martinez set out on his second
expedition in 1789 his only thought seems to have been to
forestall the threatened invasion of Nootka by the Russians.

42 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

With his armed ships the Princessa and the San Carlos, he
sailed from San Bias for Nootka on February 17, 1789. The
Spanish commander claimed that in 1774 Juan Perez had
entered the harbour and named it San Lorenzo. Martinez had
been pilot on this voyage, and it is a most remarkable circum-
stance that, for the navigation of the waters at Nootka, he
now relied not upon his own knowledge or on Spanish charts,
but on Cook's chart, a copy of which he had obtained from
Cook's recently published Voyages, He was instructed to
assert the superior right against Russia that Spain had to the
whole coast, and if he met foreign traders he was to endeavour,
even if he had to use force, * to prevent as far as possible
their intercourse and commerce with the natives.'

When Friendly Cove was reached on May 5, 1789, the
Spaniards found two vessels there at anchor — the Iphigenia
flying the Portuguese flag, and the United States ship
Columbia^ then commanded by Captain Kendrick. This
British-owned ship under Portuguese colours and having a
Portuguese captain named Viana aroused the suspicion of
Martinez. He was at first friendly with Douglas, the real
captain, but later arrested both Douglas and Viana and
seized the Iphigenia. This act took place eight days after
the Spaniards arrived at Nootka and was witnessed by
Kendrick and by Gray, who had in the meantime arrived in
the Lady Washington. No attempt was made to interfere with
the American ships. The crew of the Iphigenia, according
to Meares, were ill-treated and the vessel plundered * of all
merchandise which had been provided for trading, as also
of her stores, provisions, nautical instruments, charts — even
to the extent of the master's watch and articles of clothing.'
The Iphigenia was later returned to the British, and Douglas
left Nootka declaring his intention of sailing to China, but
instead of making for Macao, he shaped his vessel's course
to the north and engaged with success in trading. Evidently
he had not been plundered of all his trading goods and
nautical instruments, or Martinez must have returned much
of the property. The little North-West America had been
on a trading cruise while these acts were taking place, but
on June 8 she returned to Nootka. Martinez promptly

THE NOOTKA AFFAIR 43

seized the vessel and confiscated her goods. He evidently
intended to keep the craft, and rechristened her the Gertnidis,
after his wife.

On June 24, 1789, Nootka Sound was formally taken pos-
session of by Martinez, and the region was claimed by right
of discovery and by the Bull of Pope Alexander VI.

Meanwhile the Princess Royal, Captain Hudson, had
arrived on the scene and was allowed to depart unmolested.
On July 2, the day on which Hudson left port. Captain Colnett
arrived in the Argonaut. At first the intercourse between
Colnett and Martinez was friendly, but later angry disputes
arose between the choleric British captain and the domineer-
ing Spaniard, and these disputes resulted in the seizure of
the Argonaut. On July 13 the Princess Royal returned to
Nootka Sound and was straightway seized by Martinez.
Four vessels had now been captured, two of which were un-
doubtedly British, and the others, as has been related, British
save in flag only. The Argonaut and the Princess Royal and
their crews were taken to San Bias. This high-handed
action of a Spanish officer on the remote north-west coast
of America was to set the dogs of war barking in Europe,
and was, without bloodshed however, to cause the abandon-
ment by Spain of her long-asserted right to supreme control
on the western shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Early in 1790 vague rumours reached England that a
Spanish ship-of-war had seized a British trading vessel in
Nootka. On February 10 the Spanish ambassador at London
addressed a note on the matter to the British secretary for
Foreign Affairs. He referred to the seizure of the Argonaut,
which had, according to his note, come * to take possession
of Nootka in the name of the British king.' This vessel and
its crew had been seized, but the prisoners, it was stated,
had been afterwards released. A request was made that
His Britannic Majesty ' may punish such undertakings in a
manner to restrain his subjects from continuing them on
these coasts which have been occupied and frequented by
the Spaniards for so many years.' The note added that
* His Majesty flatters himself that the Court of St James will
not fail to give the strictest order to prevent such attempts

44 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

in future/ The Spanish ambassador was either poorly in-
formed regarding the situation or concealed the fact that
four vessels had been seized and that only the Iphigenia
with her crew had been freed. At the time he wrote, the
men of the Argonaut and the Princess Royal were prisoners
in New Spain.

The reply to this note must have startled Spain. The
action of Martinez made * it necessary henceforth to suspend
all discussion of the pretensions set forth in that letter until
a ust and adequate satisfaction shall have been made for
the proceeding so injurious to Great Britain. In the first
place it is essential that the vessels in question shall be
restored. To determine the details of the ultimate satisfac-
tion which may be found necessary, more ample information
must be awaited concerning the circumstances of the affair.'
After this exchange of compliments both nations made pre-
parations for war. On June 13 Florida Blanca, the prime
minister of Spain, had a memorial of the court of Spain
delivered to Alleyne Fitzherbert, the British ambassador
at Madrid. In this memorial exclusive jurisdiction was
claimed over the entire coast of North-West America as far
north as the Russian trading posts. The claim was based
on the discovery of Nootka by Perez and on the papal Bull
already referred to. So far as the latter was concerned, the
English government had since the days of the great Elizabeth
treated it with a measure of contempt. That astute sove-
reign * knew no right they [the Spaniards] had to any places
other than those they were actually in possession of ; that
their having touched only here and there upon the coast
and given names to a few rivers and capes, were such insig-
nificant things as could in no way entitle them to property
further than in the parts where they actually settled and
continued to inhabit.*

In the meantime Meares had arrived in England with a
full report of the affair. On receiving his report the cabinet
submitted a recommendation to the king in which it was
advised * that it would be proper in order to support that
demand [the restoration of Nootka and satisfaction to the
owners of the vessels seized] and to be prepared for such

THE NOOTKA AFFAIR 45

events as may arise, that your Majesty should give orders
for fitting out a squadron of the line.'

Both nations, therefore, continued their hurried and ex-
tensive preparations for war and sought alliances with other
powers. Holland and Prussia expressed their readiness to
support England, while France took its place with Spain ; but
as the French Revolution was in full swing, the Spanish court
had no confidence in the French National Assembly. Both
powers approached the United States, but the government of
that nation decided to maintain a neutral position unless the
Spanish possessions on the Mississippi should be attacked.
In such an event it might have to join forces with Spain.
Jefferson had no desire to see a British colony planted
at the mouth of the Mississippi. Even before Fitzherbert
reached Madrid as ambassador, Florida Blanca had showed
signs of weakening and had informed the then British ambas-
sador, Anthony Merry, that an arrangement on a friendly
basis might be arrived at if it could be shown that Great
Britain was not making the Nootka situation a pretext for
war. Then followed a declaration from Spain that the
government was * willing to give satisfaction to His Britannic
Majesty for the injury of which he has complained.' Spain
further engaged to make full restoration * of all the British
vessels which were captured at Nootka,* and to * indemnify
the parties interested in those vessels for the losses which
they have sustained, as soon as the amount thereof shall
have been ascertained. It being understood that this declara-
tion is not to prejudice the ultimate discussion of any right
which His Catholic Majesty claims to form an exclusive
establishment at Nootka.

This note from Spain was met by a counter-declaration
from England, in which it was set forth that * His Majesty
will consider this declaration,* but that while Fitzherbert
accepted it, * it is to be understood that the acceptance was
not to preclude or prejudice, in any respect, the rights which
His Majesty may claim to any establishment which his
subjects may have formed or may desire to form in the
future, at the said Bay of Nootka.'

Florida Blanca was in an unenviable position. The

46 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

Spanish treasury was practically empty ; the army and navy
were on a wretched footing ; he had only one European
power at his back, and that one might fail Spain in a crisis.
At the same time he knew that to yield to the demands of
England would be a most unpopular act. However, he
bravely faced the situation and, to save his country from
grave disaster, decided to submit to the British demands.
An arrangement was entered into between the two powers,
and on October 28, 1790, the Nootka Convention, which for
ever put an end to the Spanish claim of supremacy in the
Pacific, was signed.

By the articles of this convention it was agreed : that
the buildings and tracts of land of which Meares and his
associates had been dispossessed should be restored, and that
reparation should be made and just compensation given for
the losses sustained ; that the respective subjects of Spain
and Great Britain should not be disturbed or molested either
in navigating or carrying on their fisheries in the Pacific
Ocean or in the South Seas, or in landing on the coast of
those seas in places not already occupied, for the purpose of
carrying on their commerce with the natives of the country
or of making establishments there ; that the navigation and
fishing of the British waters were not to be * made a pretext
for illicit trade with Spanish settlements,' and, with this in
view, British subjects were not to navigate or carry on their
fisheries in the said seas within a space of ten sea leagues
from any port on the coast already occupied by Spain ; that
in the places to be restored and in all other ports on the north-
west coast of North America or on the islands adjacent,
situated to the north of the ports already occupied by Spain,
wherever the subjects of either power had made settlements
since April 1789 or should make them in future, the subjects
of the other were to have free access and to be permitted to
carry on their commerce without disturbance or molesta-
tion ; that on the eastern and western coasts of South
America and the islands adjacent, neither power was to form
permanent settlements to the south of the ports already
occupied by Spain ; and that in case of complaint or infrac-
tion of the articles of convention an exact report* was to be

THE NOOTKA AFFAIR 47

made by the officers concerned to their respective courts,
so that an amicable settlement might be reached. There
was a secret article in which it was agreed regarding the
eastern and western coasts of South America that the stipu-
lation regarding those coasts should remain in force only so
long as no establishment was formed there by the subjects
of any other power.

The terms of the convention were unpopular in Spain
and ultimately caused the overthrow of Florida Blanca.
They were at first hailed with the greatest enthusiasm in
Great Britain, but when it was realized that the government
had agreed to forgo the right to make permanent settlements
in the part of North America discovered and charted by Cook
in 1778, there was some sharp criticism of the terms.

Before the news of the insult to the British flag at Nootka
Sound reached Europe an expedition had been organized in
England for completing the work so ably commenced by
Cook on the north-west coast of North America, but on
account of the threatened outbreak of hostilities the project
was laid aside for the time being. After the Nootka Sound
Convention had been concluded a new expedition was fitted
out with a twofold purpose — (i) to receive formally from
Spain the surrender of the properties claimed by Meares
and his associates, and (2) to make a careful survey of the
coast from the Spanish settlements of Lower California to
Alaska. George Vancouver, who had been a midshipman
under Cook, was given command of the expedition in the
Discovery, a. sloop of three hundred and forty tons ; with him
went Lieutenant Robert Broughton in the Chatham^ a vessel
of one hundred and thirty-five tons. Vancouver was in-
structed particularly to acquire accurate information regard-
ing any water communication ' between the north-west coast
and the countries upon the opposite side of the continent,
which are inhabited or occupied by His Majesty's subjects,'
and to ascertain as precisely as possible ' the number, extent
and situation of any settlements which have been made
within the limits above mentioned [the 30th and 6oth parallels
of north latitude] by any European nation, and the time when
such settlement was first made.' It was evident that the

48 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

supposed Strait of Anian was still worrying the Admiralty,
and Vancouver was to set at rest the question whether or
not there was a navigable passage between the Pacific and
the Atlantic. In the light of our present knowledge it seems
strange that this question should have been seriously re-
garded. In 1789 Alexander Mackenzie had reached the
Arctic Ocean by way of the river that has since borne his
name. He had traversed the entire region from the Great
Lakes to the Arctic, and had proved beyond the shadow of a
doubt that no such passage through the continent existed.
News of his explorations and discoveries had reached England
before Vancouver left its shores.

The expedition sailed from Falmouth on April i, 1791,
and a year was spent in visiting the new lands discovered by
Cook and others in the southern seas. It was not until
March 1792 that the shores of New Albion were sighted in
latitude 39° 27'. Vancouver skirted the coast northward,
but failed to discover the Columbia River. On April 26
the Discovery and the Chatham sailed into the Strait of Juan
de Fuca and, keeping to the southern shore, entered and ex-
plored Puget Sound ; then, turning northward, the explorers
continued their careful survey, naming capes, islands and
bays. They visited Points Roberts and Grey but failed to
locate the Eraser River, although the swift current rushing
into the Strait of Georgia and the detritus from the interior,
both of which they noted, should have convinced them that
a river of some magnitude lay between those points. Near
Point Grey they met two Spanish vessels, the Sutil and the
Mexicanay commanded respectively by Don Dionisio Galiano
and Don Cayetano Valdez, who were completing surveys
made in 1790 by Quimper, de Haro and Elisa. Vancouver
learned from them that Bodega y Quadra was awaiting him
at Nootka, prepared to carry out the terms of the Nootka
Convention. The Spanish ships accompanied the Discovery
as far as Johnstone Strait. At this point Vancouver sent
Johnstone and Swaine with a ship's boat through the strait
to discover if there was a navigable passage around the head
of Vancouver Island. The trip proved the existence of such
a passage, and Vancouver, bidding farewell to the friendly

GEORGE VANCOUVER

From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery

THE NOOTKA AFFAIR 49

Spanish captains, sailed through Johnstone Strait and on
August 5 reached * an expansive ocean.' This was undoubtedly
the first time that a European vessel passed through the
entire stretch of waters leading from the Strait of Juan de
Fuca to Queen Charlotte Sound. A few days later the
Spanish ships followed the British vessels into the waters
at the north of Vancouver Island. It is a noteworthy fact
that on this expedition Vancouver was careful to honour
the sturdy seamen who accompanied him by naming many
of the capes, bays, islands and straits after them : Whid-
bey Island, Mount Baker, Cape Mudge, Johnstone Strait,
Broughton Strait and many other geographical names bear
imperishable record of the work done by the boats' crews
under Vancouver's direction. Vancouver was generosity
itself, and in entering places on his chart he did not forget
his Spanish friends, as Valdez Island and Galiano Island attest ;
but the most striking evidence of his nobleness of spirit is in
the name he gave the island he was the first to circumnavigate
— * Quadra and Vancouver.' This he did because, as he
says, after his first meeting with Quadra at Nootka :

Sigr Quadra requested that in the course of my further
exploring this country I would name some point or island
after us both, in commemoration of our meeting and the
friendly intercourse that on that occasion had taken
place, which I promised to do ; and, conceiving no place
more eligible than the place of our meeting, I have there-
fore named this land (which by our sailing at the back of
we had discovered to be an extensive island), the Island
of Quadra and Vancouver.

The our and we in the parenthetical passage are signi-
ficant. As the SuHl and the Mexicana circumnavigated
the island almost simultaneously with the Chatham and the
Discovery, Vancouver felt it his duty to share the glory of
this discovery with the Spaniards.

After passing out of Queen Charlotte Sound, Vancouver
charted the coast as far north as Fitzhugh Sound and then
decided to make for Nootka and receive the surrender of the
place in accordance with the agreement entered into between
Great Britain and Spain. Friendly Cove was reached on

VOL. XXI D

50 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

August 28 and the British vessels were cordially welcomed
by Quadra. It was evident from what Vancouver observed
on his arrival at Nootka Sound that a real effort had been
made at settlement since the British were ousted in 1789.
Officers' quarters, a storehouse and barrack, a hospital and
buildings for labourers had been erected on an island at the
mouth of the sound. Gardens had been planted, and cattle,
sheep, pigs and poultry had been imported.

Negotiations for the taking over of Nootka were at once
begun, but the Spanish commander and the British captain
could not agree on the interpretation of the first article of
the Nootka Convention. Quadra maintained that only the
land actually occupied by Meares was meant, * but little
more,' as Vancouver informed Quadra, * than one hundred
yards in extent anyway.' Vancouver claimed that the terri-
tory * to be returned to them [the British] by the first article
of the convention and from Florida Blanca's letter, is the
place in toto and Port Cox.' Negotiations were carried on in
the most friendly spirit, but neither commissioner would
give way, and towards the end of September Quadra sailed
from Nootka, leaving matters as they stood, both negotiators
having decided to await further instructions from their respec-
tive governments. Early in October Vancouver too sailed
southward. A few days later the mouth of the Columbia
was reached and Lieutenant Broughton with two ship's boats
ascended the river as far as the point where in 1825 Fort
Vancouver was erected by the Hudson's Bay Company.
Broughton believed he was the first navigator to enter the
river and made light of Gray's reported discovery. He took
possession in the name of His Britannic Majesty of the
region drained by this mighty river. After this delay the
British expedition sailed for Monterey, where Quadra was
awaiting Vancouver. Broughton then accompanied Quadra
to San Bias, intending to bear dispatches overland to the
Atlantic and thence to England, while Vancouver sailed for
the Sandwich Islands.

On May 20, 1793, the Discovery was back at Friendly
Cove, where Senor Fidalgo was in charge. This ofificer
was shortly afterwards superseded by Saavedra, who arrived

THE NOOTKA AFFAIR 51

in the San Carlos, Vancouver remained four days in port
and then sailed northward to continue the charting of the
coast. On this trip he reached a point named by him Cape
Decision, at the mouth of Christian Sound, and prepared
an admirable chart of the coast with its bays, islands and
canals. He was back at Nootka on October 5, but there
was no word for him from his government, and so he left the
harbour, visiting San Francisco and Monterey on his way
south and examining the coast of Lower California. Once
more he spent the winter in the Sandwich Islands.

On Vancouver's return to the American shore in the
following spring he reached Cook's Inlet, in the region of
Alaska, where he met Russians who made claim for their
government to the islands in that region. Vancouver's
farthest north on this voyage was Port Conclusion, a little
to the north of Cape Ommaney. He was thoroughly con-
vinced that there was no extensive waterway leading to the
Atlantic, and yet, despite his careful, painstaking labour, he
failed to locate such rivers as the Fraser, Skeena and Nass.

On September 2 Vancouver was once more at Friendly
Cove. Don Jose Manuel Alava was now in command. The
British expedition remained in harbour until October 17,
receiving every courtesy from Alava, but as there were still
no instructions from London, and as Vancouver was led to
understand by Alava that according to his instructions the
terms that had been offered to Quadra in September 1792
would ultimately be accepted, and as he was informed that
another officer had been commissioned by Great Britain to
conclude the Nootka Affair, he decided to sail homeward.
The Chatham and the Discovery returned to the British Isles
by way of Cape Horn, and reached the River Shannon on
September 12, 1795, after having circumnavigated the world,
and having for three years conducted the most important
exploring expedition that ever charted the Pacific coast.

Meanwhile, in Vancouver's absence, the Nootka Affair
had been finally laid at rest. By the Nootka Claims Con-
vention in 1792 Meares and his partners had been awarded
210,000 Spanish dollars damages. By the Convention for
the Mutual Abandonment of Nootka, signed on January 11,

52 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

1794, Spain was to surrender the buildings and districts
of lands of which His Majesty's subjects had been dispos-
sessed in April 1789. The British flag was to be * unfurled
over the land so restored in sign of possession. . . .* After
these formalities the officers were to * withdraw respectively
their people from the said port of Nootka.' The subjects
of both nations were to * have the liberty of frequenting said
port whenever they wished and to construct there temporary
buildings to accommodate them during their residence on
such occasions/ But no permanent establishment was to
be made. Nor could either * claim any right there to the
exclusion of the other.' Both nations further agreed * to
maintain for their subjects free access to the port of Nootka
against any other nation who may attempt to establish there
any sovereignty or dominion.*

On March 23, 1795, the final scene in the Nootka Affair
was enacted. On this day, in the presence of Lieutenant
Thomas Pierce of the Royal Marines and Brigadier-General
Alava, representing respectively Great Britain and Spain,
the Spanish flag gave place to the flag of Great Britain. The
fort was then deserted, and Nootka, and indeed the entire
north-west coast from Lower California to Alaska, was for
thirty years to be a no-man's-land.

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY IN NEW CALEDONIA

THE history of the north-west coast during the years
that elapsed between the settlement of the Nootka
Affair and the coming of the Astorians does not make
pleasant reading. The withdrawal of Spain and Great
Britain from authority over these waters left the coast open
to the unrestricted trade of all nations. British ships from
Asiatic ports and from the homeland, United States vessels
from New England, and Russian traders entered actively on
the search for sea-otter pelts. The Russians in the north
and the * Bostons,* as the Americans were called, soon had
an almost complete monopoly of the trade. So successful

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY 53

were the traders that in one year as many as eighteen thousand
sea-otter skins were collected on the islands and the main-
land of the Pacific coast. The only thought of these traders
was the amassing of wealth, and by fair means and foul they
gathered their cargoes. The trade had a demoralizing effect
upon the Indians. They soon grew passionately fond of
the white man's * firewater/ with the dual result of debauch-
ing and degrading them and depleting the coast waters of
the sea-otter. The natives, to obtain intoxicating liquor,
searched indefatigably for furs to exchange for it. By the
time the Astorians and the North- West Company reached
the Pacific the sea-otter was so scarce that the trade had
grown unprofitable.

There were frequent conflicts between the natives and
the traders. The * Bostons ' and the Russians did not
hesitate to plunder the owners of skins when they would not
part with them in trade. Sharp fights occurred and natives
were ruthlessly shot down on numerous occasions. They
retaliated in kind and never lost an opportunity to take ven-
geance on the whites. It must be said in defence of the
traders that from the beginning of communication with
the north-west coast the Indians had never failed to take
advantage of visitors to their shores whenever they thought
themselves strong enough to attack with success a boat's
crew or even a ship. Their friendliness was generally feigned,
inspired by superior force. In 1 802 the Indians massacred
the Russians at the fur-trading post of Sitka, and in the follow-
ing year destroyed the Russian establishment on Norfolk
Sound. In 1803, too, at Nootka, the ship Boston was seized
by strategy by Indians under the leadership of the famous
Chief Maquinna, and all on board, excepting John R. Jewitt,
the armourer of the vessel, and John Thompson, the sail-
maker, were brutally murdered. The vessel was beached
and burned, her goods distributed among the tribes repre-
sented in the attack, and Jewitt and Thompson were held
as slaves in Maquinna's service until 1805. In that year
the Lydia under Captain Hill arrived at Nootka. Maquinna
was anxious to open up the old relations with the traders,
and himself bore a letter from Jewitt to the captain. In

54 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

this letter Jewitt had inserted a request that Maquinna
be held prisoner until he and Thompson were released.
Jewitt*s scheme was successful in winning freedom for him
and his fellow-prisoner. In 1805 the Atahualpa, from Rhode
Island, was attacked by a number of Indians who had
come on board ostensibly to trade. They were repulsed,
but not before the captain, mate and six men were killed.
The sea-otter trade enriched many people, but demoralized
the Indians of the north-west coast and left them worse
than when the first white man visited them. Up to this
time no attempt was made to civilize the savages ; they
were considered only as gatherers of valuable furs. The
treatment they had received made the lot of the British
traders who later came overland difficult and dangerous.

In 1793 Alexander Mackenzie, in the service of the
North- West Company of Montreal, who had in 1789 reached
the Arctic Ocean by way of Mackenzie River, decided to
make a dash for the Pacific. His journey^ was one of the
most trying in the history of exploration, but his dauntless
courage and determination carried him through. He arrived
at Burke's Channel about five weeks after Vancouver's
boats had been in those waters surveying the coast. This
feat of Mackenzie gave Great Britain the same right to lay
claim to what is now the central part of British Columbia
as the Lewis and Clark expedition gave the United States
to lay claim to Oregon. But while Mackenzie reported the
region he had passed through as rich in fur-bearing animals,
the partners of the North-West Company showed little
enthusiasm over his achievements. The newly explored
country was too remote and too difficult of access to admit
of a profitable trade in furs, and little advantage was taken of
Mackenzie's journey — ^not, at any rate, until twelve years
later, when his experiences aided Simon Eraser in penetrat-
ing the region beyond the Rockies.

In 1803 President Jefferson, having extended the boun-
daries of his country through the Louisiana Purchase, looked
farther afield, and meditated planting the flag of the United

* For a full account of Mackenae's journeys see ' Western Exploration, 1760-
1840/ in section 11.

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY 55

States on the Pacific Ocean. With this end in view, he
planned an overland expedition. He let the world under-
stand that it was to be purely for scientific purposes, but in
a secret message to Congress he put the question as to whether
or not it would be wise to annex the territory west of the
Rocky Mountains discovered by Gray in the Columbia,
His arguments won the consent of Congress, and in 1804
a well-equipped expedition under Captain Meriwether
Lewis and Captain William Clark set out from St Louis
for the Pacific, and arrived at the mouth of the Columbia
in 1805.

When news of the Lewis and Clark expedition reached
the partners of the North- West Company, they became
alarmed. It was evident from the information gathered
by Mackenzie and from the experiences of the traders
who had visited the coast that a wealth of pelts awaited
energetic traders in the vast territory lying between the
Columbia and Peace Rivers. In 1805, while the United
States expedition was slowly making its way to the Pacific,
the North-West Company resolved to invade the extreme
west of the continent and extend its line of posts from
the Great Lakes to the mouth of the Columbia, and Simon
Eraser, a youthful bourgeois of the company, was chosen for
the work of penetrating the Rockies ; thus in the year 1805 the
history of New Caledonia, as the region lying between the
49th and 58th parallels came to be called, was begun.

Before entering the mountains Eraser established his base
at Rocky Mountain Portage on the Peace River. Here he
erected a rude post called Rocky Mountain House. Thence
he proceeded to M^Leod Lake and in the autumn of 1805
established Eort M^Leod, the first fur-trading post built
in British Columbia. Eraser spent the winter at Rocky
Mountain House in company with his lieutenant, John
Stuart. In the following spring he returned to Eort M^Leod
and then proceeded to Stuart Lake, where he founded Eort
Nakasleh, afterwards known as Eort St James. Erom Eort
St James the traders went to Eraser Lake, where Eort Eraser
— the Eort Natleh of Eraser's letters — ^was built. A rude
trail was made between Eort M^Leod and Fort St James,

56 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

the first roadway, if such it could be called, regularly tra-
versed in British Columbia.

It is evident from Eraser's letters that he early had
in mind the opening up of communication between New
Caledonia and the Pacific. In 1807, while he was at Fort
Eraser, he wrote : * 1 have another plan in view, that is if it
could be done with ease, to get all the goods for going down
the Columbia in the spring.* Late in the year 1807 Jules
Maurice Quesnel and Hugh Faries arrived in New Caledonia
with the necessary supplies for such a trip, and explicit
instructions from the company to Eraser to lose no time
in exploring the * Great River ' to its mouth. When these
instructions were written the partners of the North-West
Company do not seem to have been aware that Lewis and
Clark had already reached the mouth of the Columbia and
were safely back in the east with news of their achievement,
for it was their expressed desire to have Eraser reach the
coast before the Americans. As a preliminary step toward
the exploration of the Columbia, Eraser established Fort
George at the point where the Nechaco River enters the
Eraser. In the spring of 1808 he assembled at this fort the
men who were to accompany him on his hazardous under-
taking into the unknown. The party included twenty-four
men. With Eraser went Quesnel and Stuart. From the be-
ginning Eraser mistook the river he was on for the Columbia ;
but this in no way affects the greatness of his exploit.
The journey* was attended with even more thrilling experi-
ences than Mackenzie had met with in 1793 ; but the efforts
of the explorers were crowned with success. The party
pursued their way with dauntless courage and indefatigable
energy until in the beginning of July they stood on the shores
of the Strait of Georgia. But on taking his bearings Eraser
found that he was far north of the river discovered by Gray
and navigated by Broughton. On the second day of July
he sorrowfully records in his journal : * The latitude is 49°
north, while that of the entrance to the Columbia is 46° 20'.
This river, therefore,. is not the Columbia.*

* For a full account of Eraser's journey see * Western Exploration, 1760-1840/
in section 11.

SIMON FRASER

From a portrait by Savannah

«. JOHN FISHER COLLEGE LIBRARY

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY 57

Eraser seems to have lost heart through his failure to find
the Columbia. At any rate he is on record as being sick of
the country. Shortly after his journey to the Pacific he
left New Caledonia, going first to a district in Athabaska
and then to the Red River Settlement, and about the time
of the amalgamation of the North- West Company with the
Hudson's Bay Company he retired from the fur trade. But
by his work and the work of his fellow-explorers he had won
a noble domain for the British crown.

By means of the four forts established by Eraser in New
Caledonia, his company secured a firm grip on the wide country
tributary to them, and when the boundary dispute arose
there was no doubt, save in the minds of the unthinking mob
in the United States, as to what nation this region rightly
belonged. When Eraser left New Caledonia in 1809 John
Stuart took charge of the district and until 1824 made his
headquarters at Eort M^Leod. He was ably assisted in his
arduous work by such men as James M^Dougall and Daniel
Williams Harmon. Harmon is of peculiar interest to the
student of the history of British Columbia, as he kept a diary
in which he set down the daily life of the men at the fort
and an account of the Indians. He proved, too, that New
Caledonia had agricultural possibilities, and was the first
farmer west of the Rockies.^

Life in New Caledonia was hard. On account of the
quantity of goods that had to be brought to the new country
for trading purposes, only the absolute necessities of life
could be carried by the traders over the route of the Peace
River, the Parsnip River and the Pack River. Eor their
ordinary food the dwellers at the posts had to depend on the
country, and they subsisted largely on salmon, fresh when
they could get it, but for the most part dried and unpalatable.
When the Yellowhead Pass {Tete Jaune Cache) was later
discovered, it did not in the slightest degree ameliorate con-
ditions in this respect in New Caledonia.

Stuart was instructed, as Eraser had been, to find an out-
let from his district to the ocean. By 18 13 the course of the
Columbia was well known, and when in May of that year

1 See pp. 523-4.

58 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

he set out to find a passage to that river, he was in no danger
of erring as Eraser had done in 1808. His effort was success-
ful and he arrived at Astoria about the time the post was
taken over by the agents of the North- West Company. But
little is known of this trip made by Stuart. However, he
must have discovered a satisfactory route, for in October of
the following year Joseph Larocque reached Stuart Lake
with two canoes heavily laden with supplies. The route
Larocque followed from the Columbia was long to be used
for supplying the posts in the interior.

Meanwhile an explorer as courageous and enduring as
Eraser or Stuart, and better fitted by education for his tasks,
was at work to the south of New Caledonia in the region of
the head-waters of the Columbia. David Thompson, fur
trader, surveyor, astronomer and map-maker, was a man
whose achievements should be known to every Canadian.^
He began his labours beyond the Rockies in the spring of
1807, and on June 22, at a point between Donald and
Moberly, reached a river which he knew must lead to the
ocean. When he first saw its waters he was not aware that
he was on a branch of the Columbia, but he felt the moment
an important one and prayed that it might be given him
to see where the waters of this river flow into the ocean.
His prayer was not to be answered for four years, and then,
when he arrived at the mouth of the Columbia, he found he
was a few weeks too late. Another flag than the British
flew there over the rude beginnings of a fort. While at
the head-waters of the Columbia Thompson built Kootenay
House, the first post erected in the region. He could not
pursue his discoveries farther in 1807 as he had to return to
Eort William to report progress. But in the following year
he was back at Kootenay House. In 1809 he established
posts at Elathead and at Pend d*Oreille Lakes, and left
Einan McDonald in charge of the district. He again visited
Eort William, and while there in 18 10 he learned that John
Jacob Astor of New York had determined to enter the
western country. This prominent figure in the early fur

* For a full account of Thompson's explorations see ' Western Exploration,
1760-1840/ in section ii.

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY 59

trade organized the Pacific Fur Company, and to forward
his plans had induced a number of men engaged in the
service of the North-West Company to join his force.
Among these were Duncan M<^Dougall, Alexander Mackay,
who had been Mackenzie's Heutenant in his notable journey
in 1793, David and Robert Stuart and Donald Mackenzie.
Astor planned to have his men reach the Pacific coast by two
routes. One party was to go round Cape Horn in the ship
TonquiUj commanded by Jonathan Thorn, while another
under the leadership of Wilson Price Hunt was to follow the
route from the Mississippi taken by Lewis and Clark.

The partners of the North-West Company determined
to forestall Astor if possible, and commissioned Thompson
to hasten to the Columbia and establish a post on the Pacific.
Unforeseen difficulties were encountered ; his progress was
delayed, and not until July 15, 181 1, did he reach the mouth
of the river, only to find the Pacific Fur Company already
there, with a fort in process of construction and a thirty-ton
vessel intended for coast trading on the stocks. Thompson
made the best of the situation and the North-West Company
prepared for a trade war with the Astorians in the Columbia
district.

The Tonquin had arrived in March and Astoria was
founded on the twenty-second of the month. While the fort
was being built the Tonquin was sent on a trading expedi-
tion along the shores of Vancouver Island. She reached
Clayoquot Sound and was freely visited by the Indians of
that place. The natives pretended friendship, but plotted
to massacre the * Bostons ' and seize the ship and cargo.
The plot succeeded, and all excepting five of the crew of
twenty-three men, including the officers, were slain. These
five, one of them, the ship's clerk Lewis, mortally wounded,
escaped to the cabin, and with loaded arms kept the Indians
at bay, and eventually forced them to leave the ship. On
the following morning four of the men left the Tonquin, only
to be slain by the savages. The wounded man remained ;
when the Indians returned to plunder the vessel he had a
train of gunpowder connected with the magazine, and as the
exulting savages crowded the deck in search of plunder he

6o THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

set a match to the train, and the explosion that followed
hurled the vessel and its occupants to destruction. Fully
one hundred warriors were killed, and as many more in the
canoes flocking round the ship were wounded. Early in
August wandering Indians brought vague rumours of the
fate of the Tonguin to the Astorians. The Indian inter-
preter, Lamazee, escaped death, and, after several months of
captivity among the natives of Clayoquot Sound, gained his
freedom and brought to the settlement an account of the
tragedy. The loss of the Tonguin was a severe blow to the
Pacific Fur Company, and was only the beginning of a series
of calamities which ultimately caused it to abandon the
Pacific coast.

The overland party of Astorians under Hunt suffered
heartbreaking experiences. It advanced through the moun-
tains, its members in constant dread of the savage warlike
tribes that beset their path. Provisions ran low and they
were forced to sustain life on horse and dog flesh. When
the travellers, exhausted and disheartened, reached Astoria,
the prospect was not enticing, and few of them remained
in the country. Some of them returned to St Louis under
the leadership of Robert Stuart, who bore dispatches to
the partners of the Pacific Fur Company. Astor and his
partners held on for a brief period. Intense rivalry existed
between the North-West Company and the Pacific Fur
Company, and energetic operations were conducted along
the Columbia. Opposing forts were built in close prox-
imity to each other, and at Fort Okanagan, Fort Thompson
or Kamloops, and Fort Spokane brisk trade was carried
on with the natives. The more perfect organization of the
North- West Company soon gave it pre-eminence in the
trade, and those in charge of Astoria decided to sell out to
their rivals. On October r6, 1813, Astoria, with its furs
and supplies, was turned over to the North- West Company.
Duncan M^^Dougall, one of Astor's partners, negotiated with
the agents of the rival company for the sale. Some American
historians have maintained that the deal was put through
by treachery. But as the business was being conducted at
a loss and the future looked unpromising, M^Dougall no

THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY 6l

doubt thought he was doing a good stroke of business for
the company, in which he was personally interested, especially
as war had broken out between Great Britain and the United
States and a warship was already on its way to the Pacific
to seize Astoria. At any rate, when Hunt returned from a
visit to the Sandwich Islands, he approved of abandon-
ing the post, although he afterwards expressed his indigna-
tion at the terms IVPDougall made with the North- West
Company. On October i6, 1813, the British sloop-of-war
Racoon arrived at Astoria and took possession of the Oregon
district in the name of the king of Great Britain. The
name Astoria was changed to Fort George, and the British
flag was unfurled over the post. By the Treaty of Ghent
all places captured during the war were to be restored, and
on October 16, 18 18, a United States commissioner, J. B.
Prevost, arrived in the British warship Blossom^ and Great
Britain formally restored to the United States * the settle-
ment of Fort George on the Columbia River.* By the con-
vention between the United States and Great Britain signed
on October 2, 18 1 8, the * Oregon Country * was to be free
and open for a period of ten years, and the citizens and sub-
jects of both countries were to have joint occupancy. By a
convention of 1827 the joint occupancy was made indefinite,
but might be terminated after October 20, 1828, by either
country giving the other twelve months* notice. In April
1846, in accordance with the terms of the convention, * Con-
gress passed a joint resolution giving the president authority,
at his discretion, to give such notice to the British govern-
ment, and on April 28 of this year President Polk gave such
notice.' The British government then proposed the present
boundary, and by the Treaty of Washington on June 15, 1846,
the British were deprived of all right south of latitude 49°.

While the North- Westers had been exploring new terri-
tory and energetically visiting the encampments of the
Indians in search of furs, the Hudson's Bay Company had
been largely content with waiting for the Indians to come to
Its forts ; but the activity of Its rival alarmed the officials and
they awoke from their lethargy. The keenest competition
went on between the two companies. Sharp practices were

62 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

common. Liquor was freely employed among the savages,
resulting in crime and injury to the trade. Goods were in
many instances sold at a loss, and it was not long before both
concerns found themselves engaged in a profitless business.
At length the rivalry culminated in armed opposition, and
with the Seven Oaks affair at the Red River Settlement, and
the killing of Governor Semple of the Hudson's Bay Company,
a crisis was reached. A legal war began in the courts, and a
general investigation into the affairs of both companies was
threatened. In order, no doubt, to block this, the partners
of the North-West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company
concluded that it would be wise to amalgamate their forces.
They accordingly pooled their interests and formed a trust
that was to control the trade of nearly half a continent.
The amalgamation took place in 1821. The North- West
Company passed out of existence, and the Hudson's Bay
Company extended its operations until there was no part of
the continent from Hudson Bay to the Pacific and from the
Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean that was unfamiliar with
its brigades. But the influence of the men of the North-
West Company was to live on. The majority of the partners
were taken into the new company, and their experience,
energy and courage proved invaluable.

It must never be forgotten that it was due to the fore-
sight and energy of the partners of the North- West Company
that British Columbia is now a part of the British Empire.
Mackenzie, Eraser and Thompson were, as has already been
stated, the men who gave Great Britain an indisputable
title to the north-west coast north of latitude 49°.

THE REGIME OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY

THE imperial act of 1821 gave the Hudson's Bay Company
a monopoly of the trade in the territory east and west
of the Rocky Mountains not included in the famous
charter granted in 1670 to Prince Rupert and his associates.
The act made provision for regulating the trade. The district

RfiGIME OF THE HUDSON^S BAY COMPANY 63

west of the Rockies was known under various names. The
north-east was called New Caledonia and the south-west
the Oregon Country. To the company the whole of the
territory west of the Rockies, from the Arctic Ocean to
California, was known as the Western Department. Under
the act, civil and criminal matters came under the jurisdic-
tion of the courts of judicature of Upper and Lower Canada,
but this could only apply in the fullest sense to the territory
east of the Rockies. In the Oregon Country the joint
occupancy gave Canada no authority over American citizens
or traders, but gave both nations equal authority over the
aborigines. To maintain law and order in the Western
Department a benevolent autocrat was needed, one who
could win the fear and respect of the Indians. Such a man,
Dr John M^Loughlin, appeared on the scene shortly before
the amalgamation of the trading companies.

The Western Department included a vast domain —
larger than Germany and Great Britain combine. It
stretched from latitude 42*^ on the south to latitude ^4° 40'
on the north, and included all the lands between the JS-Ocky
Mountains on the east and the Pacific on the west. Not
only was what is now British Columbia in this department,
but also the territory that now constitutes the States of
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Montana and
Wyoming. Thus the Hudson's Bay Company had added
to its territory over four hundred thousand square miles.
At this time the number of natives in this wide region could
not have been fewer than one hundred thousand.

Dr John M^Loughlin was chosen to govern this vast
territory. M^Loughlin was a Canadian, bom on October 19,
1784, in the parish of Riviere du Loup. He was educated
in Canada and in Scotland, and in his early manhood joined
the North- West Company. At the time of the union of the
great trading corporations he was in charge of Fort William
and was strongly opposed to the amalgamation, but, once
it was a fact, he threw in his lot with the Hudson's Bay
Company, and what was of great importance to the history
of British Columbia, he induced young James Douglas also
to take service under the new company. Douglas was a

64 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

clerk in the North- West Company who was so disgusted with
the union that he, with two of his elder brothers, had de-
cided to retire from the fur trade.

M^LoughHn was in every way a born ruler of the patri-
archal type. He was about six feet four inches in height,
and of dignified bearing. When he came to the Oregon
Country his flowing hair was already snow-white. This,
together with his stern attitude towards evil-doers, caused
the Indians in their fondness for picturesque names to desig-
nate him the * Great White Eagle.' Later, through his
generosity towards the settlers who flowed into the Columbia
district in the early forties, he came to be known as the

* Good Doctor * and the * Good Old Doctor.' He is now
affectionately remembered in the north-west states as the

* Father of Oregon.'

M^Loughlin arrived in Oregon in 1824. During the
three years that had elapsed since the union of the companies,
operations had been at a standstill in the Western Depart-
ment. But preparations were being made for the founda-
tion of a strong trading community on the Pacific coast.
So important was the enterprise that George Simpson,
governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, accompanied
M^Loughlin and his party to the Columbia. It was found
that Fort George was not well situated for the purposes of
a trading-post such as the company desired and so another
site was selected. The spot chosen was on the north side of
the Columbia, some seven miles above the mouth of the
Willamette River and about two miles from Point Vancouver,
so named by Broughton. In 1825 a fort was erected on this
spot ; but five years later another site was selected about a
mile westward of the first fort and nearer the river. Here
M^Loughlin had his headquarters and from this point ruled
his vast territory with an iron hand, but with a kindly heart.

For twenty years his rule was that of a Czar over the
territory that stretched from Alaska to California and
from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Un-
counted thousands of Indians — Cayuses, Walla Wallas,
Okanagans, Nez Perces, Flatheads, Spokanes, Klickitats,
Wascopans, Molallas, Callapooias, Tillamooks, Chinooks,

JOHN M^LOUGHLIN

Photographed by Savannah from an oil painting

RfiGIME OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY 65

Clatsops — obeyed his behests and feared his displeasure.
Over every waterway in that immense region he sent his
Canadian voyageurs ; through hundreds of miles of forest
he dispatched his trappers and traders ; in and out of the
fringing North-West islands, to Sitka itself, his schooners
plied ; through the San Joaquin and Tulare valleys, over
the Shoshone country to the shores of Salt Lake, and
in the Yellowstone, his brigades pitched their tents ; all
alike bringing home rich tribute to the company, and
restlessly seeking further and ever further regions to
subdue.^

The employees of the company and the Indians at once
feared and loved M^Loughlin. During the whole period of
his rule there were no Indian wars, and the boats of the
company, which before his coming had passed in fear and
trembling through the Indian country, now threaded the
intricate maze of lake and river without fear of attack. And
yet he had at his back no soldiers, no armed guard ; his
dominating personality was sufficient to keep peace in his
domain.

Fort Vancouver soon became a hive of industry. There
were no idlers about the place. Military discipline pre-
vailed, and every moment in the lives of those employed by
the company was regulated. By 1836 a farm of nearly three
thousand acres was under cultivation in the vicinity of the
fort, producing wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and vegetables,
while an orchard of ten acres planted with apples, pears and
quinces yielded abundantly. There were also two saw-mills
and two flour-mills, supplying the needs of the company
and enabling it to carry on an export trade with the Sandwich
Islands and the Russian settlements. Both as a fur-trading
centre and as an agricultural community Fort Vancouver
flourished under M^Loughlin's rule.

But all was not smooth sailing. The Americans had as
much right to trade in the Oregon Country as the British,
and several parties ventured both overland and around Cape
Horn into the region. The American traders had but little
success. They were at a disadvantage from the beginning.
The goods they brought for trading purposes were of aa

* Coats and Gosnell, Sir James Douglas, pp. 111-12
VOL. XXI E

66 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

inferior quality to the British goods, and moreover were
taxed, while the British imports entered the country free.
As a consequence, the Hudson's Bay Company was able to
undersell its rivals. Again, the Americans were hated by
the Indians, who never lost an opportunity to attack and
plunder them. On several occasions M^Loughlin saved
parties of rival traders from destruction. He was ready to
fight them in a trading duel, but his big humane heart would
not allow them to be molested by savages, and he treated
in a summary manner any Indians guilty of theft or murder.
He went even further, for when some of his rivals met ship-
wreck and misfortune he aided them with food and money
in their time of calamity. Later, when the settlers came
overland and arrived at the Columbia in an exhausted and
impoverished state, M^Loughlin reached out a helping hand
and extended to them the same treatment he gave the
employees of the company, who, after their time of service
had expired, desired to remain in the country — giving them
provisions and seed on credit, and lending them cattle. He
likewise treated with every consideration missionaries of
all denominations — Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists and
Roman Catholics who came into the country found him
their friend. To the early Methodist missionaries he was
particularly kind, and yet, in his decHning years, some of
the very men of this body whom he had helped succeeded
in having him robbed of land that was rightfully his, and
vilified his character. Belated justice was done him years
after his death, and the property taken from him by process
of law was restored to his heirs.

When trade rivalry was keen, liquor, the most advan-
tageous article with which to secure furs, was freely sold to
the Indians. At Fort Vancouver the sale of liquor was pro-
hibited to both employees and natives. So determined was
M^Loughlin to keep intoxicating liquor from the servants
of the company and the Indians that on one occasion when
an American vessel, the Thomas Perkins, arrived with a
cargo composed mainly of spirits, he bought the entire cargo
and stored the liquor in the fort, and it was still there when
his resignation went into effect in 1846.

RfiGIME OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY 67

While a strong settlement was being built up at Fort
Vancouver, the trade of the company was extending in all
directions. When Governor Simpson was at the fort in
1824 it was decided to begin operations on the coast of the
mainland north of latitude 49°, in the lower Fraser country.
James McMillan led an exploring party to the Fraser in that
year and paddled up the stream a short distance beyond the
spot where old Fort Langley was built three years later.
On McMillan's return he gave a favourable report regard-
ing the soil and the possibility of obtaining furs. The
building of Fort Langley in 1827 was the initial step in
the occupation of the seaboard of British Columbia, and
the schooner Cadhoro, which carried the men and supplies
for the new post, was the first sea-going vessel to navi-
gate the reaches of the lower Fraser. From Fort Langley,
for a few years, the trading on the north-west coast was
conducted.

American traders were active on the coast. Their vessels
visited the country between Vancouver Island and the Nass
River, and to drive them from this territory, as they had
been driven from the Columbia district, it was decided to
dot the coast with Hudson's Bay Company trading-posts.
In 1832 old Fort Simpson was built at the mouth of the Nass
River, and there, among treacherous savages, the company's
employees laboured until 1834, when the fort was moved to
the present site on the Tsimsean peninsula. In 1834 Finlay-
son, Manson and McNeill established Fort M^Loughlin on
the waters of Millbank Sound. In the same year Fort
Nisqually, so important as an agricultural centre, was built,
and in the following year Fort Essington was founded to
serve as an intermediate station between Fort Simpson and
Fort M^Loughlin. Thus the whole coast between Puget
Sound and the territory claimed by the Russians was occupied
by the company's posts.

In 1825 a convention had been signed by Great Britain
and Russia, and under its terms the subjects of both countries
were free to navigate the Pacific and to trade with the natives
of any district not yet occupied by Europeans. The traders
might land at the posts of their rivals for shelter or repairs,

68 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

but for no other purposes, unless express permission was
given. Prince of Wales Island was named as the southern
limit of the Russian territory. The right to trade in the
Russian lisiere and in the port of Sitka was granted to the
British for ten years, in all things save arms, ammunition
and spirits. As the Russian coast strip debarred the British
from access to their northern forts in the interior, they were
granted in perpetuity the privilege of using the streams
traversing this territory. It was not until 1834 ^^^^ the
Hudson's Bay Company endeavoured to make use of this
right. It was then decided to send a party north under
Ogden and Anderson to establish a post in the Russian hinter-
land drained by the Stikine River. When Baron Wrangel,
governor of Alaska, heard of the intention of the company,
he feared the effect this move would have on Russian trade,
and at once sent a message to his government requesting
that the clause of the convention granting the privilege of
navigating the Russian coast strip be rescinded. In taking
this step he claimed that the British company had violated
the agreement of 1825 by selling liquor to the Indians. The
czar granted Wrangel's request, and the governments of both
the United States and Great Britain were notified to this
effect. But Wrangel did not wait for a reply to his message
to take steps to prevent the British from invading his terri-
tory. When the party sent to the Stikine arrived in the
Dryad, it found a Russian blockhouse at the mouth of the
river and also a corvette and two gunboats waiting to turn
them back, by armed force if necessary. The vessel was
forbidden to enter the river and the British were ordered,
if they wished to save themselves, their cargo and vessel,
to retire from those waters without delay. The company
entered a claim for twenty thousand dollars damages sus-
tained to their trade by this high-handed action of Governor
Wrangel. In 1839 a convention met in London to consider
the situation, and a decision advantageous to both the
Russians in Alaska and the Hudson's Bay Company was
reached. The company agreed to waive its claim for damages
on condition that the Russian government would grant it a
lease of all its mainland territory lying between Cape Spencer

RfiGIME OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY 69

and latitude 54° 40'. For this concession it was to pay an
annual rental of two thousand land-otter skins and to supply
the Russian posts in Alaska with provisions at moderate
rates. This arrangement was renewed on three occasions ;
the second period was for ten years, and the third and fourth
for four years each. Immediately upon receipt of the result
of the convention of 1839 M^Loughlin sent a strong ex-
pedition to the Stikine in the steamer Beaver , the pioneer
steamboat of the Pacific, to establish a fort there. This
expedition was led by James Douglas, who was accompanied
by W. G. Rae, Roderick Finlayson and John M^Loughlin,
Junior, and fifty men. Shortly after they arrived at Taku
Inlet, Fort Durham, named after Lord Durham, was built
there.

While these coast posts were being established the inland
country was not neglected. John M^^Leod in 1832 ascended
the Upper Liard to Dease Lake, where in 1838 a post was
built by Robert Campbell. In 1840 and the years immedi-
ately following, Campbell extended the influence of his com-
pany into still more remote districts and discovered Lake
Frances, named in honour of Lady Simpson, and after a
journey in the farther west returned to this lake and finally
reached the Pelly River. With the hinterland of Alaska
invaded by the traders of the Hudson's Bay Company, and
the coast dotted with British posts, the trade of the Russians
was now confined to the Alaskan peninsula, and the American
traders found the business so unprofitable that they practi-
cally retired from the north-west coast, and the Hudson's
Bay Company had the field largely to itself.

In New Caledonia M^Loughlin had able lieutenants.
After 1824, when John Stuart retired from the district,
William Connolly reigned in his stead until 1830. Connolly
was followed by Peter Warren Dease (1830-34), who
gave place to the eccentric, daring, humorous Peter Skene
Ogden (1834-44). While Connolly was in charge at New
Caledonia, young Douglas was assigned to that district in
order that he might receive a thorough training in wilder-
ness trade. As has been stated, M^^Loughlin took a deep
interest in Douglas's career. He caused him to be placed in the

70 THE PERIOD OF EXPLORATION

Stuart Lake region, where conditions were trying, in order that
he might receive an all-round development. In 1830 Douglas
was transferred to Fort Vancouver and in 1833 was promoted
to the rank of chief trader. Until the founding of Fort
Camosun (Victoria) he was M^Loughlin's right-hand man.
Without detracting from Douglas's prestige, it is an indis-
putable fact that his career was shaped and his character
moulded by Dr John M^Loughlin.

The development of the company's interests went on
south of latitude 49°. Fort Nez Perces (Walla Walla) had
been constructed in the days of the North- West Company
at the scene of a valorous resistance to an Indian attack by
a party of traders under the leadership of Ogden. This fort
was followed, under the regime of M^Loughlin, by Forts
Colvile, Boise, Hall, Umpqua, Cowlitz and others. About
1827 settlement began in the Willamette valley. Far to the
east in the Snake country Peter Skene Ogden, who had
played his part in the development of the company's interests
in New Caledonia and on the coast, vigorously conducted
trading operations as far as Salt Lake. It seemed that the
British had firmly rooted themselves in the territory from
latitude 42° to 54° 40' ; but the years from 1840 to 1845
changed the whole situation.

The missionaries had already invaded the country and
brought with them a few settlers. These were followed in
the years just mentioned by ever-increasing numbers. The
policy of the Hudson's Bay Company was opposed to settle-
ment, save by their own time-expired men, who were in most
cases still on their books. M^Loughlin watched with alarm
this growing stream of immigrants who arrived through the
difficult passes of the Rockies, but under the principle of
joint occupancy he was powerless to prevent it. Many of
the immigrants were sick, helpless and poverty-stricken on
their arrival, and M<^Loughlin gave generous assistance to
them all. Soon the cry of * fifty-four-forty or fight ' was
heard in the Eastern States. In Oregon the newcomers
refused to submit to the rule of the British company and a
provisional government was formed. The governor and the
partners of the company did not approve of the help

RfiGIME OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY 71

M^Loughlin had given the immigrants, and he was instructed
by Simpson to cease giving such aid. He was Hkewise cen-
sured by the company for his conduct ; but he had only
followed the dictates of common humanity, and could not
possibly have acted otherwise. To the company's demand
he replied : * Gentlemen, if such is your order, I will serve
you no longer.* He sent in his formal resignation in 1845.
It took effect a year later, and, as M^Lx)ughlin shortly after-
ward became a citizen of the United States, he passes out of
Canadian history, except in so far as his work lived on. The
structure he had so firmly based was later, when his protege,
James Douglas, became the governor of the colony of Van-
couver Island and afterwards the governor of the colony of
British Columbia, to grow into a noble edifice.

The * fifty-four-forty or fight ' cry brought about the
settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute and the ulti-
mate retirement of the Hudson's Bay Company from the
territory south of latitude 49°, but before this the inevitable
had been foreseen. A fort to replace Fort Vancouver was
needed as the north-west coast headquarters of the company,
and the task of selecting a location for this fort was assigned
to Douglas. The company had no fear that Vancouver
Island or the mainland north of latitude 49° would be handed
over to the United States as no American settlement had
been attempted in this region, whereas the Hudson's Bay
Company had posts at every point of vantage and a fleet
of well-armed ships, schooners and one steamer, the Beaver,
in those waters.

tX •t Ih'X^CKyiyyju^-^^

COLONIAL HISTORY
1849-1871

SI. JOHN FISHER COLLEGE LIBRARY

COLONIAL HISTORY

1 849- 1 87 1

THE FOUNDING OF THE COLONY OF
VANCOUVER ISLAND

'HF^ HE Hudson's Bay Company no doubt has its share
of sins to answer for — the common sins of modern

finance ; but among its shortcomings lack of fore-
sight or of broad business and poHtical acumen were not
to be numbered. As in its scheme of administration all
the details reflected a system of perfect discipline and rigid
commercial rules, so politically nothing was overlooked which
affected in a large way the fortunes of the company or
those of the country over which its jurisdiction extended.
In Great Britain the shareholders and directors were men of
wealth and influence, who were intimate with public affairs
and closely in touch with men in public life. Their local
representatives in British North America were shrewd, active,
wideawake men, trained from boyhood in the science of fur-
trading, knowing every phase of its intricate mazes — hard-
headed, practical, vigilant partners. Officials of the stamp of
Sir George Simpson, Dr John M^Loughlin, James Douglas,
Peter Skene Ogden and others were men of brains, of keen
intelligence and broad vision. No great corporation was
ever more thoroughly and wisely administered, and the system
of surveillance and control was complete.

When the Oregon boundary question^ became acute, the
London directorate, while bending all its energies toward a

1 For a full discussion of the Oregon boundary question see * Boundary
Disputes and Treaties ' in section rv.

76 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

settlement satisfactory to its own interests and to British
interests in North America, saw the possibility of a compro-
mise that would exclude the greater part of Oregon as a
sphere of operations, and made preparation for whatever
might occur. Contemporary records go to show that the
company exercised its great influence discreetly, but as effec-
tively as possible, and they also exculpate the servants of
the great corporation from many of the charges that were
laid at their door. The best evidence of the wisdom and
foresight of the company^s officers was the decision to remove
their headquarters to a point which in all human probability
would be safely within acknowledged British territory. With
characteristic sagacity they had concluded that the 49th
parallel would ultimately form the boundary between the two
countries and that Vancouver Island in its entirety would
be British. The southern extremity of the island, with its
picturesque environment and striking outlines, had attracted
the attention of Captain McNeill in 1837 ^nd later that of
Sir George Simpson, and it naturally suggested itself as an
eligible site for a future post.

After the decision had been reached to select new quarters,
the responsibility of reporting upon a site was assigned to
James Douglas, first and confidential assistant of Dr
M^Loughlin. Early in 1842 Douglas left Fort Nisqually in
the schooner Cadhoro, and after a careful examination of
the adjacent coast he selected what he called the * Port of
Camosack,* which was considered to be the most advan-
tageous situation for the purpose in hand within the Strait
of Juan de Fuca. Douglas called the place * Camosack *
and always afterward used that name, but it is more than
likely that ' Camosun ' was its Indian name. At all events,
the fort of Victoria was first called Fort Camosun,^ a name
that has lingered under various forms since that time.

Fort Camosun, as we shall call it, was chosen after several
weeks' minute examination, during which other possible sites

^ The origin of the word Camosun is unknown. It has been suggested that it
comes from Camass, a plant with an edible root that grew abundantly in the
district, and that the name indicated ' the place of Camass ' ; but excellent
authorities think this mnlikely.

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 77

were located. In his elaborate report to Dr M^Loughlin,
Douglas dwells upon the advantages and disadvantages of
each. The objections to all but Camosun seem to have been
poor harbour facilities, or too rugged surroundings or lack
of water. He even discarded the fine harbour of Esqui-
malt on account of its unattractive surroundings — rock and
wood and mountainous background. The open park-like
aspect of the Camosun district, the fertile nature of the soil
and the general picturesqueness of the situation appealed
strongly to Douglas. The abundance of nutritious grasses,
especially the luxuriant growth of clover, is remarked upon,
and when we remember that agriculture was included among
the operations of the company w^e can understand more
clearly his reasons for the selection. On the whole, it must
be admitted that he chose well, although, had he been locating
a future commercial city, he might more wisely perhaps have
considered the advantages of the harbour at Esquimalt.

Douglas was also influenced by the fact that on the * Canal
of Camosack * — now known as * the Gorge * — about two
miles distant from the proposed site of the fort, was * bound-
less water power,* which he proposed to use for operating
mills. The * boundless * power was to some extent a fiction.
At the narrow point where the tide rushes to and fro at ebb
and flow, boats pass at nearly all stages of the tide, and at
full tide the water is almost placid. At this time there were
a number of Indians in the vicinity, and what was afterwards
the Songhees reserve in Victoria West, on the opposite side
of the harbour from the fort, was a favourite gathering-place.
This may have had something to do with the selection of the
site, as the invariable policy of the Hudson's Bay Company
was to locate its posts where the Indians were wont to
assemble.

The report of Douglas was acted upon promptly. The
state of feeling in the United States was no doubt an incen-
tive to haste. In the following March James Douglas, in
charge of a party for the purpose of erecting a fort, embarked
at Nisqually in the old Beaver^ and Camosun was soon the
scene of great activity. The company had previously estab-
lished posts at Taku Inlet and Millbank Sound, and it was

78 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

now decided to concentrate forces at Camosun. The Beaver
went north and soon returned with reinforcements — Roderick
Finlayson and the men who had manned the northern forts
— ^bringing the total number at the new fort up to fifty. In
addition to these, Indians were employed to cut timber for
the stockade. Whether from motives of economy or as a
matter of necessity, the entire buildings as well as the stockade
were constructed without a single nail being driven, wooden
pegs being used instead. By the end of the summer the
establishment, erected on the well-understood lines of Hud-
son's Bay Company design, was completed and Douglas
returned to Vancouver. Charles Ross was left in charge
of the post, with Roderick Finlayson ^ second in command.
Ross, however, did not live long to enjoy his honours. He
died in about a year, and Finlayson was left in charge of Fort
Camosun.

It is worthy of record in this connection that along with
Douglas came Father Bolduc, the pioneer missionary of
British Columbia. While the fort was being built Bolduc
went among the Indians and preached to them, and was so
successful in his endeavours that large numbers of the Indians
were baptized. His apparent success was not unlike that
of the earliest missionaries on the Atlantic coast, w^ho, as
recorded in the Jesuit RelationSy baptized the natives whole-
sale, and were highly elated as a consequence. It does not
appear, however, that any definite or lasting spiritual effect
was made.

The name Camosun was not retained. Shortly after
the establishment of the post it was named Fort Albert in
honour of the Prince Consort, and soon afterward was
changed to Victoria, in compliment to Her Majesty the Queen.
No sooner was the fort erected than attention was paid to
agricultural pursuits, and the operations in Oregon were
duplicated in a more limited way. Several farms were
established. Land was cleared and tilled and stock was
imported from the farms at Nisqually and Cowlitz. At

^ To Roderick Finlayson's diary, printed privately years afterwards, we are
indebted for the details of the work and for much interesting history in connection
\yith the progress of Victoria.

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 79

that time there were no settlers on Vancouver Island. The
white inhabitants were servants of the company drawn from
various posts. As ' ships from England had orders to sail
direct for this port, and after landing all the goods destined
for the coast trade, to proceed to the Columbia River with
the remainder,' Fort Victoria gradually grew in importance.
The buildings were added to from time to time, agricultural
implements were imported or improvised, wheat was ground
into flour, wharves and warehouses built.

In 1846 there were one hundred and sixty acres under
cultivation and two large dairies had been established. In
1847 three hundred acres were under cultivation, and in the
same year two Russian vessels took from Victoria for Sitka
large quantities of wheat, beef and mutton — all local produce.
In 1849, three years after the settlement of the boundary dis-
pute, Victoria became the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay
Company for the Western Department. Hither, instead of
to Fort Vancouver, came the ships from England with
supplies, and returned home laden with the furs collected
from the various western posts of the company.

No sooner had the Oregon Boundary Treaty been signed
than Sir John Pelly, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company,
began to negotiate with the home government for a firmer
control of the lands north of the 49th parallel. His corre-
spondence with Earl Grey, secretary of state for the Colonies,
displays great astuteness. The desire of the company to
absorb the entire territory north and west of Rupert's Land
was clothed with adroit suggestions about * the conversion
to Christianity and civilization of the native population,' the
colonization and settlement of the country, and the exclu-
sion of the unruly element that had populated Oregon. At
first Earl Grey was not quite satisfied as to the right of the
company to receive and hold in its corporate capacity lands
within the dominion of the British crown, but, satisfied as
to that, he politely intimated that the company should
submit * another scheme which should be more limited and
defined in its object, and yet embrace a plan for the coloniza-
tion and government of Vancouver's Island.' Under the
terms of the * licence of exclusive trade ' of 1821, which in

8o COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

1838 had been extended for twenty years, the company had
a monopoly of the mainland for trading purposes, and whether
Sir John Pelly, in his sweeping request for territory, really
wished to place the whole western country under the Hudson's
Bay Company's control or was simply aiming at making sure
of the small realm of Vancouver Island cannot be determined.
At all events, if he over-reached himself in the original pro-
posal, he finally succeeded in having the island granted to
his company by royal proclamation of January 1849.

By the terms of this instrument the ^ Governor and
Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson's
Bay,' and their successors, were given the island, with the
royalties of its seas, and all mines belonging to it. They
were made lords and proprietors of the land for ever, subject
only to the domination of the British crown, and to an annual
rent of seven shillings payable on the first day of the year.
They were to settle upon the island within five years a colony
of British subjects, for to this end alone was the gift made ;
and to dispose of land for purposes of colonization at reason-
able prices, retaining of all the moneys received from such
sources, as well as from coal or other minerals, ten per cent,
and applying to public improvements upon the island the
remaining nine-tenths. Such lands as might be necessary
for a naval station, and for other government establishments,
were to be reserved ; and every two years the company
should report to the government the number of colonists
settled upon the island, and the lands sold. If at the expira-
tion of five years no settlement should have been made, the
grant should be forfeited ; and if at the expiration of the
company's licence of exclusive trade with the Indians in 1859
the government should so elect, it might recover the island
from the company on payment of such sums of money as had
been actually expended by it in colonization. That is to
say, the crown reserved the right to recall the grant at the
end of five years should the company, either from lack of
ability or will, fail to colonize, and to buy it back at the end
of ten years by the payment of whatever sum the company
should have in the meantime expended. Except during
hostilities between Great Britain and foreign powers, the

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 8i

company was to defray the expenses of all civil and military
establishments for the government and protection of the
island.^

The grant of Vancouver Island to the Hudson's Bay
Company on the terms recited in the foregoing was not made
without much opposition in the British parliament, in the
British press and from various individuals. Loud complaint
had been made about the manner in which Rupert's Land
had been administered, and among others W. E. Gladstone
was on principle strongly opposed to the arrangement.
James E. Fitzgerald, who wrote An Examination of the
Charter and Proceedings of the Hudson's Bay Company, with
Reference to the Grant of Vancouver's Island, a strong but
extreme attack upon the company, made a determined effort
to obtain a grant of the island for a company proposed to be
formed by himself, upon terms generous in the interests of
the public ; but as he could give no sufficient guarantee for
the undertaking, his application was not seriously con-
sidered. Nevertheless, Fitzgerald's attack was adverse to
the interests of the company, and had he been more moderate
and less obviously moved by personal motives, he might have
met with greater success. In many respects the grant to
the Hudson's Bay Company, more especially at that par-
ticular time, was a wise one. That corporation had, as has
been stated, a sort of blanket charter over the whole of the
western British territory by reason of its exclusive right to
trade with the natives. It had sufficient capital to carry
out successfully any scheme of colonization it might feel in-
clined to inaugurate. Monopoly of the fur trade was almost
a necessity in view of the fact that competition was invariably
accompanied by traffic in ardent spirits, whereby the natives
were demoralized and the trade itself seriously injured. The
experience of the past in the Middle West and on the north-
west coast had sufficiently demonstrated that. The com-
pany was familiar with the country and its resources. Its
officials thoroughly understood the natives and could influ-
ence and control them. Through almost unbounded facilities
they could conduct trade and develop the country in a way

* Bancroft's British Columbia, pp. 219-20.
VOL. XXI F

82 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

not possible by individual effort. The Puget Sound Agri-
cultural Company, closely allied to the Hudson*s Bay Com-
pany, had for its object agricultural development, and,
strongly entrenched on Vancouver Island, it would be able
to increase the trade already begun with the Russian settle-
ments of the north-west coast and with the islands of the
Pacific. It all depended upon the bona fides of the company
and the conditions surrounding the settlement of the island.
The company could do great things for the island and for
the coast, or it could, under the pretence of carrying out its
agreement, throttle all real progress and practically keep the
country as a fur preserve.

As it was, without implying premeditated bad faith on
the part of the company, what happened was the very reverse
of the ideal and the possible. Corporations are popularly
supposed to be without soul, and being an impersonal aggre-
gation of persons consequently without either conscience or
imagination. It would be useless to expect a corporation,
whose sole object was to make money out of furs, to under-
take earnestly a campaign of settlement and development,
the early and logical conclusion of which would be the extinc-
tion of its raison d'etre. In control, and far from the seat of
government, or, as alleged of the Russian Fur Company in
Alaska, far from * God and the Czar,' it was easy for the
company so to manage its affairs as to make the possible
impossible and still keep within the letter of the law. For
instance, it was stipulated in the grant that lands should be
sold at a reasonable price, and judging somewhat, no doubt,
by conditions in England, E^rl Grey thought a pound an
acre would be * reasonable,* to which with the best possible
intention was attached the further stipulation that the pur-
chaser of every hundred acres was to place thereon five men
or three settlers. When we take into consideration the cost
of clearing and putting into a state of cultivation this land,
and the expense of bringing out men and families to place on
it, it is obvious that only rich men could become colonists,
and rich men enjoying the comforts of an English home were
not apt, pro bono publico, to become pioneers in a new and
rough colony. In allowing Earl Grey to fix these onerous

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 83

conditions the company was serving its own purposes ex-
tremely well, and the policy adopted worked out precisely as
might have been expected. The company reserved all the
land within ten miles of Victoria — the best land for farming
purposes and the most easily cleared — ^and settlers were
obliged to go into districts more remote to obtain land, most
of which was heavily timbered and without adequate com-
munication with the fort, the then centre of western civiliza-
tion and the depot of supplies. Moreover, by virtue of the
monopoly in trade, settlers were obliged to buy supplies from
the company at the company's highest price and to sell to
the company their produce at whatever price the company
chose to fix. Any attempt at private trading, or any enterprise
not contributing to the Hudson's Bay Company's profits or
that came into competition with its operations, was promptly
stamped out by those methods in restraint of trade that are
invisibly applied, but most conspicuous in effect. Captain
James Cooper, an immigrant of 1851, took to trading on the
mainland on his own account with the natives in cranberries
and potatoes for the San Francisco market, but the Hudson's
Bay Company immediately began to pay such prices for
those commodities that Captain Cooper abandoned the field
and took to farming at Metchosin, an experiment scarcely
more successful.

If, however, Earl Grey erred in making the arrangement
he did with the Hudson's Bay Company for the coloniza-
tion and administration of Vancouver Island, it was with
his eyes open ; or, rather, he did not do it without being
warned of its consequences, and that, too, by a commissioner
of his own appointing. While Sir John Pelly was at his ear
with soft and enticing appeals, he chose to take advice from
another quarter. Lieutenant Adam D. Dundas, of the royal
navy, had served for two years on the north-west coast,
and at Fort Vancouver, where he had spent much time, he
had had an opportunity of studying the system under which
the company carried on the government of its domain — the
term ' government ' being used deliberately, because the
Hudson's Bay Company was a law unto itself — and he was
requested to report upon the possible advantages or disad-

84 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

vantages that might accrue from an imperium in imperio
such as was proposed. His report was entirely unfavourable,
and he had no hesitation in saying that such a system, the
operation of which he had observed, * would be wholly and
totally inapplicable to the nursing of a young colony, with
the hope of ever bringing it to maturity.' Remarking on
what appeared to him * overbearingly illiberal usurpation of
power on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company,* he con-
cluded that however necessary its system might be found in
dealing with savages, it would not accord well with the feel-
ings of colonists. His objections were well expressed in the
following paragraph of his report :

That this powerful company have the ability to form
advantageous Settlements in these unfrequented parts,
there is not a doubt, but when their trade is wholly
carried on with the Aborigines, is it to be Supposed, that
they would aid in the advancement of Civilization when
from time immemorial it has been proved that progress
of the one has ever been at the expense of the other ?
and should the natives cease to exist, why, their occupa-
tion is gone. It is only a natural Conclusion then to
arrive at that the efforts which the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany are putting forward to obtain either a direct or
indirect influence in Vancouver Island are with the Sole
motive of protracting to as late a period as possible a
monopoly which they have so long enjoyed and which
could not benefit the country, the only object of establish-
ing a Settlement in Such a distant quarter. The Puget
Sound Company are doubtless equally anxious for
Hudson's Bay jurisdiction, but it must be at the same
time remembered that these two Companies are wholly
incorporated in each other, and their interests are mutu-
ally blended, their object being to engross all those other
available sources of revenue to which the fur trade is not
* immediately applicable.'

On the other hand, his report was entirely favourable to
Vancouver Island as a field for settlement. Lieutenant
Dundas was probably extreme in his characterization of the
company's methods and did not take sufficiently into con-
sideration all the circumstances of the case, the primitive
elements with which the company had to deal, and the neces-

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 85

sity for stern discipline and for what one might almost be
excused in calling devious methods ; but in the main he
arrived at a just, and what in the end proved to be a correct,
conclusion. Of course, Earl Grey in rejecting his report
undoubtedly recommended what he considered to be the
best thing to do at the time, and fortified himself with a
saving clause for revision, or if necessary cancellation, of the
grant after a short term of years. Considering all things, it
is not possible, even now, to say that it was not the best
course. It cannot be safely concluded that the grant, under
the conditions upon which it was made, was a real impedi-
ment to progress or development. It is not at all likely that
at that period any settlement would have taken place before
the discovery of gold, and the Hudson's Bay Company made
substantial improvements in the vicinity of Victoria and
formed the nucleus of settlement and civilization that was
highly useful and advantageous when the rush of miners
took place in 1858. Law and order were established, the
machinery existed for the administration of justice ; there
was a depot of ample supplies, and to some extent means
of communication were provided. What is very important,
the Hudson's Bay Company, by its operations throughout a
vast extent of territory which centred at Victoria, saved the
country for Canada, Great Britain and the Empire. Its
traditions and influence were thoroughly British, and to what-
ever extent it colonized, it colonized for the homeland, and
without its practical control of the country it is easy to con-
ceive that the inrush of American miners might have created a
community in British Columbia whose sentiment would have
altered the political destiny of the Dominion of Canada.

It is now in order to consider what may be termed
the constitutional fabric of the government of Vancouver
Island. Earl Grey, while ceding outright the lands of the
new colony to the Hudson's Bay Company, did not propose
that the company should derive any pecuniary benefit beyond
ten per cent of the receipts, which was a fair allowance
for management. All profits arising from the sale of lands
or minerals were to be applied toward colonization and the
improvement of the island. Moreover, the grant was still

86 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

further encumbered by provision for local self-government.
As Sir John Pelly had disavowed any desire on the part of
the company to make profit out of the land, he could not
object to the stipulation about the application of the funds ;
and as to the question of representative government, it was
accepted no doubt with the mental reservation that it would
be respected more in the breach than in the observance. A
few white settlers in a remote part of the Empire, wholly
dependent upon the Hudson's Bay Company and the Puget
Sound Agricultural Company for their existence, were not
likely to wish to govern themselves or to have a voice in the
management of their affairs. But Sir John had not reckoned
on the instincts of the free-bom Britisher whom he proposed
to transplant to the virgin soil of the Far West, where the
very air was redolent of freedom, and it was inevitable that
some, if not all, of the colonists, knowing their rights, would
demand them. Earl Grey made provision for the represen-
tative institutions usual among Anglo-Saxon communities,
and for a governor. The latter would be directed to summon
an assembly, elected by the general vote of the inhabitants,
to exercise, along with himself, the law-making power. The
secretary of state for the Colonies was not unwilling to re-
ceive suggestions from the Hudson's Bay Company as to the
choice of a governor, and Sir John Pelly availed himself of
the opportunity to recommend James Douglas, the company's
chief representative on the Pacific coast. At the same time
he submitted the names of fourteen men as justices of the
peace, all officials and all prominent in the service. It will
be interesting for that very reason to enumerate them : the
Rev. R. J. Staines, chaplain at Victoria ; Peter Skene
Ogden, joint manager with Douglas west of the Rocky
Mountains ; James Douglas himself ; John Work,^ a chief
factor — explorer, scholar, essayist and local historian — well
known throughout the Oregon territory ; Arch. M^Kinlay,
afterwards one of three commissioners for British Columbia ;
Dr W. F. Tolmie, physician, botanist, self-constituted mis-
sionary, and manager of the Nisqually farm ; Alexander

* This pioneer was registered as an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company
as John Work, but his real name was Wark.

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND S7

Caulfield Anderson, a chief factor, explorer, scholar, essayist
and local historian : John Tod, the eccentric and fearless
trader and factor ; Dugald M^Tavish, another chief factor,
far-famed in the West ; Richard Grant, Donald Manson,
James Murray, George T. Allen and John Kennedy. These
recommendations found favour and were confirmed ; but in
the case of James Douglas as governor, though Sir John Pelly
in September 1848 was notified of his acceptability for the
post, the honour did not at first fall to him. Earl Grey did
not think it would be judicious to appoint a governor so
closely associated with Hudson's Bay Company affairs as
was Douglas, though, as it turned out, it made little difference
to the actual situation, as the Hudson's Bay Company was
supreme, and Douglas was the uncrowned king. The white
population, exceedingly limited in number, were servants of
the company, the officials of which not only directed its
affairs but were lords of the domain. An independent
governor was not of much more service than a fifth wheel to
a coach, and, so far as the company's interests — the entire
interests of the colony — ^were concerned, not less of an im-
pediment. Richard Blanshard was the governor chosen,
unluckily for himself. For the present, however, it is de-
sirable to turn back and review some of the events that
intervene between the founding of Victoria and the date
of Blanshard's appointment before dwelling upon his brief
experience in a gubernatorial capacity.

The operations of the Hudson's Bay Company fort under
Roderick Finlayson were watched with great interest by the
Indians, various tribes of whom assembled in the neighbour-
hood, well armed and alert. Bancroft speaks of two chiefs
in particular, Tsilalthach, of the Songhees, and Tsoughilam,
of the Cowichans. We are informed that the natives stole
and feasted upon some of the company's Mexican cattle,
and that their chiefs, when brought to task for the theft by
Finlayson, assumed a defiant attitude. They referred to
these animals as * the property of nature,' roaming in fields
which were theirs from time immemorial. The gifts brought
by kind nature they took, asking no questions and account-
ing to no one. By a demonstration of force— the firing

88 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

of several cannon shots — they were speedily convinced of
the superiority of the white man in war, and were glad
to make good with furs the loss of the cattle and to
smoke the pipe of peace. On another occasion the Songhees
attacked the Skagits, who had come to Camosun to trade,
and filched them of their goods, whereupon Finlayson
demanded, under threat of severe penalties, full restoration
by the Songhees, and he was obeyed. Thus was the majesty
of Hudson's Bay Company law made supreme, and trade
relations continued uninterrupted. Fort Victoria was secure
thereafter.

From 1843 to 1849 nothing of extraordinary interest or
importance transpired. Farms were cultivated in increased
acreage and trading in furs went on. The monotony of the
social life of the fort was occasionally relieved by visitors, some
of them distinguished. In addition to the company's ships
which soon came direct from England, a fleet of American
whalers arrived at Victoria for supplies in 1845. This was the
first of a number of such visits. In 1845, too, came Captain
Gordon, Captain Park, and Lieutenant Peel, son of Sir Robert
Peel, in H.M.S. America. Gordon was a brother of the
British prime minister, the Earl of Aberdeen, and his mission
was to gather information respecting the country to aid the
home government in settling the Oregon boundary question.
Finlayson gives in his diary an amusing account of Captain
Gordon's disgust with his hunting and fishing experiences
in the country. Gordon was the officer concerning whom
the pleasant fiction originated that Oregon was lost to Great
Britain because, as the Columbia River salmon would not
rise to his fly, he reported the country as worthless. It is
probable that his report was not optimistic, but the issue did
not hang on so trivial an incident. When the excitement
in the United States about the Oregon boundary was at its
height, and the slogan of * fifty-four-forty or fight ' was heard
throughout the land, some half-dozen ships of war appeared
on the north-west coast to guard British interests, and called
at Victoria, among them two surveying vessels, the Herald
and the Pandora, the former commanded by Captain Kellett,
afterwards of Arctic fame. Captain Duntze of the Fisgard,

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 89

one of the fleet, was subsequently commissioned to report on
the coal supply of Vancouver Island for steaming purposes,
and reported favourably on a seam in the vicinity of M^^Neill
Harbour. The existence of coal there had been reported to
the Hudson's Bay Company officials as early as 1835 ^^^
at various times after that year. About this period, too,
Lieutenants Warre and Vavasour, two British engineers,
whose reports on the north-west coast in connection with the
Oregon boundary have become classics of Western Americana,
visited the island. Berthold Seeman, naturalist, was on
board H.M.S. Herald, and wrote, among other things of local
interest, a description of the fort. Perhaps the most interest-
ing of these visitors was Paul Kane,^ an artist, who was enter-
tained by Finlayson in the fort and who spent some time in
the vicinity of Fort Victoria and on the coast of the mainland
studying the Indians. Captain Mayne, who wrote such an
interesting and authoritative work on British Columbia, paid
his first visit to Fort Victoria in 1849. These occasional
visitations from the outside world greatly relieved the tedium
of what must have been a monotonous and isolated existence
in and around the fort.

Several notable events occurred in 1849. In this year
Vancouver Island from an unorganized geographical division
attained to the status of a colony, and provisions were made
for a governor, and for representative government after
a fashion. Richard Blanshard was appointed governor in
July. The existence of coal at Nanaimo was disclosed to the
Hudson's Bay Company, a discovery which more deeply
affected the future of the island than any other known cir-
cumstance. The first truly independent settlement took place
when in June Captain W. Colquhoun Grant and eight others
arrived in the ship Harpoon.

Probably the political development may be regarded as the
most important of the events enumerated. Blanshard's brief
experience as governor was a tragedy. He was an Englishman
with aspirations, learned in the law. As the Hudson's Bay
Company had proposed that James Douglas should serve, as
a temporary arrangement, without emolument, in accepting

* See section vi, pp. 516, 517, and 596.

90 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

the office Blanshard could not expect more than the empty
honour pertaining to it. Of what passed in secret between
him and Earl Grey or Sir John Pelly there is no record, but
he no doubt anticipated that when settlement had advanced
and political conditions on the island had been satisfied he
would be accorded consideration similar to that enjoyed by
the governors of other crown colonies. His conception of
the dignity and status of the governor of Vancouver Island
coincided with his impressions of colonial governorships in
general, and with little or no knowledge of the actual con-
ditions to which he was foredoomed we can readily imagine
his buoyancy of spirit as he looked forward to the role he was
to play in the newest part of the New World. When he
arrived at Victoria, on March 10, 1850, in H.M.S. Driver he
was destined to a rude awakening. His passage out cost
him three hundred pounds, of which the company paid one
hundred and seventy-five pounds. This proved to be the
full extent of his indemnity then or afterwards. Douglas
must have had notification of his coming, but Blanshard
found no accommodation of any sort provided for him, and
he was dependent for * bed and board ' upon the captain of
the Driver, in which vessel he read his commission and
proclamation to the officers of the Driver and Cormorant and
the officials of the Hudson's Bay Company. As Bancroft
naively expressed it, * for some time thereafter the government
headquarters were migratory. Being on board the Driver,
wherever that vessel went, the government was obliged to go.'
Later on, he resided in the fort until quarters were provided
for him just outside the palisades. His plight was truly
pitiable. Before leaving England he had been promised,
verbally, one thousand acres of land. When he applied for
this land to James Douglas, who had no knowledge of the
arrangement, he was referred to headquarters. It transpired
that the company viewed the promise as referring to land to
be occupied and used only while he acted in the capacity of
governor. He was refused one hundred acres, out of the
thousand, as a settler. He had no government offices and
he was allowed no clerical assistance. He paid all his ex-
penses out of his own pocket, and his living cost him at the

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 91

rate of eleven hundred pounds a year. His presence and his
authority were practically ignored by the Hudson's Bay
Company officials. For all articles he purchased from the
fort stores he was obliged to pay the cash price charged to
settlers, which was three hundred per cent above the London
prices ; and as there were only about two dozen settlers to
govern and no governmental institutions to administer or
preside over, his official duties consisted, in the main, in
settling petty disputes among the servants of the company, of
which it appears there were not a few. This is the gist of
the grievances presented in his letters to Earl Grey and in
his statement before the select committee of the House of
Commons, appointed in 1857 to inquire into the affairs of the
Hudson's Bay Company in North America. From his own
testimony we learn that his only work was that which would
form part of the duties of an ordinary justice of the peace, and
we cannot wonder at, and can readily forgive, the irritation
and lugubriousness displayed in his dispatches and letters
home, of which Earl Grey seemed to tire. At all events,
instead of sympathizing with Blanshard's misfortunes, the
secretary of state for the Colonies was more inclined to be
censorious. The governor's position was anomalous and
humiliating ; he was without a population to govern, without
recognition of office and socially isolated, and without official
residence or stipend.

Richard Blanshard was undoubtedly an honest, well-
meaning man. He was not afraid to do what he conceived
to be his duty and to act promptly, but unless we assume that
he was cruelly deceived by promises made to him prior to his
coming to Vancouver Island, and was practically the victim
of conspiracy, he must have been exceedingly simple-minded
and trustful and unused to the ways of the world. His treat-
ment, on either assumption, reflects no credit on the Hudson's
Bay Company or on the secretary of state for the Colonies.
Notwithstanding the really inferior position Her Majesty's
representative occupied in the new colony, his coming was
historically and politically most important in its signifi-
cance. It portended the early elimination of the fur trader's
sovereignty and was at least the outward and formal sign of

92 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

the establishment of British supremacy and British institu-
tions on the North Pacific coast. To contrast the conditions
that Blanshard encountered with those that exist tp-day,
sixty-three years later, is to measure an era of development
which prior to 1800 would have taken centuries to achieve
in equal degree. Agricultural operations then represented
scattered patches of cultivated land, pastured fields and
dairies, to which from the fort led winding lanes and beyond
which was wilderness. The countryside presented as yet
the original aspect of a state of nature. Deer roamed in the
natural parks surrounding the fort ; coveys of grouse abode
in the thickets or perched on the rocky eminences ; wild
fowl in flocks frequented the swamps and marshes within the
present site of the city of Victoria, and the lordly elk had not
then quitted the peninsula, but grazed with the cattle in the
fields.

Governor Blanshard was voluminous in his correspondence,
and his dispatches had a pessimistic note throughout that must
have been irritating to the minister of state, who was more or
less responsible for some at least of the conditions of which he
complained. At the same time, the governor's observations
often displayed a measure of ability, and, on the whole, gave
a correct estimate of the situation. His public service, apart
from the magisterial duties already referred to, consisted
largely in a visit to Fort Rupert and vicinity and his investiga-
tion into the Indian troubles, for a time critical in their nature,
and into the coal-mining industry and the relations of the
miners with the Hudson's Bay Company, which were far from
being satisfactory. The miners he reported as being ex-
tremely discontented, their discontent amounting at times to
open revolt. He remarked on the thinness of the seams and
the poor quality of the coal. The acreage of arable land on
the island, he stated, was exceedingly limited. The Indians,
then estimated at ten thousand in number, he reported as
diminishing and described them as * savage and treacherous.*
An Indian massacre of white men at Fort Rupert greatly
excited the miners, who refused obedience to employers
and magistrates, refused to act as constables, insisted upon
abandonment of the settlement, and even openly accused

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 93

the Hudson's Bay Company of instigating the murders. He
warned the home government of the dangers to settlers and
miners in the outlying districts, and in one of his dispatches
refers to complaints of Indian outrages at Sooke, where
Captain Grant, who asked for protection, had located. He
pressed upon Earl Grey the necessity of a garrison at
E^quimalt, a detachment of which should be stationed at
Fort Rupert for the safety of the colony. His dispatches
were a series of complaints and forebodings. That nothing
very serious happened and that the colony survived is perhaps
evidence that his views were coloured by the mental effect of
his own disappointing experiences. In respect to carrying
out his instructions to appoint a council, he dwelt in one dis-
patch upon the scanty material for such a body to be found
in the colony. There were no settlers, and few officers of the
Hudson's Bay Company possessed the qualifications for mem-
bership in a house of assembly, and he requested the home
government to send him further instructions in the matter.

The Indian troubles at Fort Rupert, which have been
the subject of much discussion, deserve particular mention.
A contributing cause of discontent, previously referred to,
was the excitement in California over the discovery of gold.
Farm labourers, sailors and miners in the employment of the
company, all under contract, were only too willing to break
their bonds and escape to the gold-fields. In one instance,
at least, such conduct had a tragic result. Three sailors
belonging to company's vessels lying at Victoria deserted to
the ship England, on the way from San Francisco to Fort
Rupert for coal. At Fort Rupert, news of their desertion
having been forwarded to officials there, they escaped to the
woods, and it was alleged that a Mr Blenkinsop, acting for
the company, sent Indians in pursuit with instructions to
bring the deserters in, dead or alive. The Indians returned
with a report that they had killed the white men, and claimed
the reward. It being easier to kill them and leave their
bodies than to bring them back, the natives naturally followed
the line of least resistance. This is the story told by Ban-
croft, whose prejudices against the Hudson's Bay Company
are frequently revealed, but the tale was obtained from biased

94 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

sources. It is not at all likely that the Hudson's Bay
Company, whose policy was always to respect and protect
the lives of its servants, would have been guilty of such a
palpable crime. When the natives killed an employee, it
was an invariable rule to punish the death, not so much in
the spirit of revenge as for the deterrent effects of punish-
ment. Pro pelle cutem has always been the motto of the
company, and this might fittingly be translated * an eye for
an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.* The truth seems to have
been that Fort Rupert Indians had been sent after the
deserters to a district where they were said to have been
seen, and found that the three men had been killed by
Newittees, a tribe which had no concern in the pursuit.
The Rupert Indians reported the facts to Blenkinsop, and
the bodies were brought in and buried in the garden of the
fort with Christian rites. It must be remembered that
there was a great deal of excitement at the time among both
the whites and the Indians. The entire force of white miners
ceased work and hid themselves with the object of taking
passage to San Francisco in the England, The men and the
natives had secured intoxicating liquors from the ship, and
matters assumed a critical aspect. It is not unnatural that
with such a condition of affairs a distorted version of the
whole incident should have gained publicity. It may be
explained here that shortly after Governor Blanshard's first
visit to Fort Rupert, in order to preserve quiet among the
miners, he appointed Dr J. S. Helmcken, the company's
physician at the mines, who had recently arrived in the
Norman Morrison with a number of settlers, a justice of the
peace. One account of the subsequent proceedings, which
is believed to be fairly accurate, is taken from the Biographical
Dictionary of Well-Known British Columbians^ and is as
follows :

A month or so after the departure of the England
H.M.S. Daedalus arrived at Fort Rupert with Governor
Blanshard on board. When the governor was placed in
possession of the true facts of the case it was decided that
Dr Helmcken should go and demand the surrender of the
murderers, in the usual manner. The doctor accordingly

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND 95

set off with an interpreter and a half dozen Indians for
Newittee. On entering the harbour he was met by four
or five hundred Indians, painted black, and armed with
muskets, spears, axes and other weapons, and all making
the usual hideous noise which they employ to strike terror
into their enemies. Dr Helmcken explained his mission
to them from the canoe. The chief answered him that
they would not and could not give up the murderers, but
were willing to pay for the murdered men as many
blankets, furs and other articles as might reasonably be
demanded, this being their law and custom in such cases.
Of course this was declined, and they were told that they
were bringing great misery on themselves by not acceding
to the demand of King George^s law [sic]. When
Dr Helmcken returned and made known to Governor
Blanshard and Captain Wellesley the decision of the
Newittee chiefs, it was decided to send boats and men
to seize the murderers or to punish the tribes. The boats
arrived only to find a deserted village. The crew partly
destroyed the village and returned without having seen
a member of the tribe. Shortly after this the Daedalus
left Fort Rupert and, when near Cape Scott, she was
fired at, and a sailor slightly wounded. This may not,
however, have been the work of the Newittees, but of
some other Indians, who simply intended saluting the
ship. The year following H.M.S. Daphne went up to
punish the tribe if they still refused to give up the
murderers. On this occasion they were found in a new
camp They peremptorily refused the demands of the
captain and accordingly the crew prepared to attack
them. The Indians fired and wounded several of the
sailors, who thereupon went at them. The Indians,
however, fled to the thick woods in the rear, where they
could not be followed. Only two Indians were killed in
this skirmish. The village huts were then destroyed and
the Daphne left. Governor Blanshard now ordered
rewards to be offered for the delivery of the murderers.
The Newittees by this time had had quite enough, and
fearing another attack they determined to make their
peace by handing over the malefactors. They made an
attempt to seize these men, but it was so clumsily done
that in the scuffle a young chief was killed and another
wounded. So the murderers were shot and their dead
bodies brought to Mr Blenkinsop at Fort Rupert, where

96 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

they were buried. It is believed, however, that one of
the murderers escaped, and to make up the full number
a slave was substituted. The reward offered by Governor
Blanshard was asked for, but Mr Blenkinsop declined
to pay it. He gave the Indians who had a right to
the money a letter to Governor Blanshard at Victoria.
Whether it was ever delivered is unknown.

While the Daedalus was at Fort Rupert, Governor
Blanshard held a court of inquiry, but after hearing the
evidence he gave a very enigmatical decision. The fact
was that his first dispatches to the Imperial Government,
concerning the affair, which he had sent before he left
Victoria, were based on ex parte statements, and when he
came to inquire into the matter he found his error ; an
error, however, which he did not choose to acknowledge
in view of the unfavourable light in which such an
admission would undoubtedly have placed him. He made
no complaint whatever of the conduct of Mr Blenkinsop
or Dr Helmcken in the affair, and as Blanshard was inimi-
cal to the Hudson's Bay Company, he certainly would
not have omitted to censure the officers of the company
had there been any reasonable ground so to do.

In due time answers came to Governor Blanshard*s dis-
patches, urging him to appoint his council without delay and
informing him that Her Majesty's government could not
undertake to maintain a detachment of troops on the island.
He was even censured by Earl Grey for taking steps to
punish the Indians, it being laid down that * Her Majesty's
Government could not undertake to protect, or attempt to
punish injuries committed upon British subjects who volun-
tarily expose themselves to the violence or treachery of the
native tribes at a distance from settlements.' Blanshard,
tired of his thankless position, and pleading ill-health and
lack of means, sent in his resignation, which was promptly
accepted in a letter that expressed no regrets at his action
and no appreciation of his services. The colonists, however,
deplored his intended departure and prepared a memorial
setting forth their fears on account of the colony being left
to the exclusive control of the Hudson's Bay Company.
The memorial was signed by the Rev. R. J. Staines and
fourteen settlers, out of the thirty who Blanshard subse-

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 97

quently said were on the island at the time. The governor's
resignation was dated November 1850, and the letter of
acceptance, dated April 3, 1851, reached him in August,
nearly ten months later, a circumstance well illustrating the
isolated situation of Vancouver Island in those days. On
August 2^], 1 85 1, Blanshard nominated his council, which
was composed of three members — James Douglas, James
Cooper and John Tod. On September i, sailing in H.M.S.
Daphne, he turned his back on the colony for ever. He is
next heard of giving evidence before the select committee in
the House of Commons in 1857. That he was not so poor
a man as he represented himself to be is manifest from a
paragraph in Begg's History of British Columbia :

He reached England in due time, and subsequently
lived as a country Gentleman, highly respected, on his
estate near London, dividing his time between the country
residence and the city mansion. Toward the end of
his life his eyesight failed, and before his death he became
totally blind. He died, June 5, 1894. His will, when
proved July 3rd, showed his personal estate valued at
;£i30,ooo, or about $650,000.

THE COLONY OF VANCOUVER ISLAND
AND JAMES DOUGLAS

IN November 1851 James Douglas was appointed governor
of Vancouver Island. Under the arrangements that
had been made in connection with the grant of this
territory to the Hudson's Bay Company, the appointment
was almost inevitable, and perhaps at the time the best solu-
tion of the difficulty in respect of a representative of the
crown. Douglas was on the ground ; he was a man of
ability and character; he was familiar with every detail of
the coast and thoroughly understood the Indians and how
to control them. The last mentioned was a very important
consideration, as outside the few settlers and the servants

VOL. XXI G

98 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

of the company there was no other population than the
natives, then very numerous on the island and on the main-
land coast. Moreover, practically all the interests repre-
sented on the island were company interests, and no matter
who was governor it could make but little difference as to
actual results. During Douglases dual control of the island
from 1 85 1 to 1858, while there were a good deal of dissatis-
faction and many complaints on the part of settlers and
of servants of the company, in some instances, at least, the
grievances were theoretical rather than actual, and in any
event it does not appear that they were of such a character
that they would not have existed under an independent
governor. The Hudson^s Bay Company was supreme and
its high officials would have snapped their fingers, as they
did in the case of Blanshard, at any attempted local inter-
ference on the part of the crown.

It is interesting to note the personal characteristics and
career of James Douglas, who by common consent was the most
prominent figure of the colonial period of British Columbia
history. The history of the two colonies during the period
of their existence is little more than a history of the life of
James Douglas. Very little is known of Douglas's younger
days and he has left nothing of autobiographical interest
bearing on his early years. He was born in the West Indies
in 1803. His father was John Douglas, described as a mer-
chant of Glasgow, who, it is said, was descended from the
celebrated Earl of Angus, the Black Douglas of Scottish
history. His mother was born in the West Indies. At an
early age he was taken by his father to Lanark, Scotland,
where he received a portion of his scholastic training. He
was also at school at Chester. At an early age — informa-
tion on this point is not exact, but probably he was sixteen
or seventeen years old — he was apprenticed to the North-
West Company and was sent to Fort William, where Dr
M^Loughlin was stationed, a fact that had a controlling in-
fluence over the rest of his life. When the coalition of the
fur companies took place in 1821, like many others he was,
as already stated, inclined to leave the service and return to
Scotland, but he was induced by Dr M^Loughlin, who had

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 99

taken a great liking to the lad, to take service with the re-
organized Hudson's Bay Company. It is stated that he was
slated to go with M^Loughlin to Fort Vancouver to organize
and administer the Western Department ; but to give him
experience he was sent to New Caledonia, there to be under
the wing of William Connolly, whose daughter, the beautiful
Amelia Connolly, he was afterwards to marry. Douglas
stayed six or seven years in New Caledonia, where some of
his experiences were far from pleasant. He left for the
Columbia River in 1830. Bancroft states that his journey
to the Columbia took place in 1828, but the Rev. Father
Morice, who is the better authority on this particular point,
gives the date as 1830. He became chief trader, accord-
ing to Anderson, in 1833, and was then made accountant at
Fort Vancouver and second in command, so that his rise was
unusually rapid. He was already acquiring a reputation for
his practical grasp of affairs and his familiarity with the
geography of the West, and particularly of the entire coast,
of which it is said that he knew the most minute details.
Thoroughness was one of his distinguishing characteristics
in business and state affairs. In 1845 he succeeded Dr
M^Loughlin as head of the Western Department.

In estimating his place in British Columbia history we
have to take into consideration all the circumstances which
affected his career ; and, having regard to the relatively high
place to which he attained, he may truly be described as
having been a * remarkable ' man. In this connection the
writer will be pardoned for reproducing at some length his
own appreciation of Douglas which appeared in a former
work : ^

A Scotsman . . . associated during his earlier years with
the members of the North-West Company, who were his
countrymen, he both inherited and acquired many of
those distinguishing characteristics which seem to reflect
the ruggedness and strength of their native mountains,
and much of the picturesqueness and charm of Cale-
donian scenery. Sir James was a large man mentally
and physically. He had alike strength of physique and

^ R. E. Gosnell, A History of British Columbia, 1906.

100 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

character. Although at the age of sixteen he sought
the wilds of the North-West in the employ of a fur
company, he had a liberal education, and throughout
his career he aimed to increase his stock of knowledge
and increase his accomplishments. He retained and
strengthened the moral rectitude of his youth. In his
principles he represented the old-fashioned punctilious-
ness in regard to details of all kinds, with progressive
and far-seeing views of business and public policy. He
combined a genius for business with a love of nature,
of family, of literature, of devotion. His love of order,
his respect for the conventionalities of office, his be-
coming self-respect, gave rather too much the impres-
sion of pompous display and an assertion of superiority,
both of which were foreign to his nature. Sir James
loved to magnify the office, but not the man. He was
a strong masterful man, with the faults that such men
have — the tendency to rule with too firm a hand, to
brook no opposition, to be perhaps overbearing, which
traits were unusually developed under the one-man
rule of the Hudson's Bay Company, and necessary in
the conditions under which that wonderful corporation
n carried on its operations over a vast extent of the New
World. He had a good mastery of French, which he
spoke fluently . . . had a wide knowledge of history
and political economy ; conversed with ease and enter-
tainingly ; rose early and walked a great deal ; was ten-
derly devoted to his family ; was constant in religious
exercises, assiduous in the performance of official duties ;
and generally was a man who acted well his part in life
and did honour to his high position in the state. Of
splendid physical proportions and herculean strength, he
had an imposing appearance. He possessed the quality
of personal magnetism in a high degree and exercised
corresponding influence with all with whom he came in
contact. Cool, calculating and cautious, he was also
courageous and prompt to act, combining the dominat-
ing characteristics of Anglo-Saxon and Celt. . . .

To my mind the most remarkable feature of his career
is the development of a character and a personality unique
in its fulness and strength. It was a character that grew
up in and out of a western soil almost barbaric in rude-
ness and primitiveness . . . and yet so diverse in many
respects that had it not been for its ruggedness and

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS loi

strength it might be termed exotic. . . . Launched on a
sea of Far West adventure, entirely removed from the
social influences and culture comforts of his home in
Scotland, associating for years with the uncivilized
Indian tribes of the country, and moulded by the stern
experience of an isolated life on prairie, in forest and on
mountain ; out of touch with the civilizing forces of the
wonderful century in which he began life ; engaged in an
occupation that begat no aspirations of a future that
such a man in other walks of life might reasonably
entertain — with such environment it is remarkable, I
contend, that he should not only retain the accomplish-
ments of his youth throughout life, but increase and
perfect them, acquire a knowledge of many subjects of
an academic nature, and principally of the principles of
political economy and statecraft ; develop a strong liter-
ary style of composition and familiarize himself with the
formalities of government and parliamentary procedure ;
nurture the moral and religious instincts of his youth ;
observe a becoming temperance and abstemiousness ;
cultivate a striking dignity of person ; in the midst of a
busy life, full of practical and unromantic details, keep
abreast of the thought of his day, and that when he was
called upon to fill the responsible and dignified position of
governor of one of Her Majesty's colonies, without any
previous experience and training for such a post, he
should do so with the utmost ability and acceptability.
It is true that in many of the qualifications possessed
by James Douglas — education, intelligence, tact, force
of character, physical prowess, bravery, resourcefulness,
systematic habits, dignity, moral rectitude — ^the Hud-
son's Bay Company service was a splendid school, and
it is only fair to say that our hero was but one, though a
conspicuous unit, of a long list of pioneers in the nobility
of the fur trade to whom history can never do too much
honour. In this respect, however, Douglas was particu-
larly notable, that while he evinced many, if not all, of
the better qualities of men in his class, he was singularly
free from the moral defects and excesses, not unnatural
in a rough and ready school of ethics through which all
alike graduated, that distinguished some of them. In his
day Sir James was undoubtedly remarkable among many
remarkable men, and it is not unnatural to conclude that
under other conditions of life, and with a wider oppor-

102 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

tunity, would have equally distinguished himself as a
man of affairs and as a leader of men. We can, therefore,
honour him not only for what he was in life but for what
he might have been. . . .

Whatever differences of opinion there may have been
among his contemporaries as to his policy as a governor
or whatever may have been the varying estimates of
his character as a man among men with whom he had
personal relations — every strong man has his enemies
and in all politics there is strife — that to-day he is by
general consensus of opinion regarded as the man re-
presentative of his times, the one about whose in-
dividuality must cluster as a nucleus the materials for
the history of the early life of British Columbia, is the
strongest possible testimony to the part he played as a
pioneer and statesman.

All things are relative, and men must be judged by their
opportunities and peculiar environment. It must not be
assumed that Douglas was without faults. In some respects
he fell below the standard that he set for himself. For in-
stance, his treatment of Blanshard cannot be justified except
on the score that he was obeying the instructions of his
superiors in thwarting his plans, and not that he had personal
preferment in view. The Hudson's Bay Company was cold-
blooded, as corporations mostly are, and as it was the religion
of its officials to give its policy effect, it is to be assumed that
Douglas in his official capacity was compelled to do many
things that from his own point of view were distasteful.
After the fashion of successful self-made men he was egotistical
and in a measure self-seeking. Privately he had many home
virtues which contrasted with his official attitude. His
influence over the Indians was very great, and at his funeral
in 1877 they assembled in large numbers to do honour to his
memory. He was also popular among the miners, with whom
his relations were always satisfactory. In brief, Douglas as
a chief factor or as a governor may be described as a despot,
but an exceedingly benevolent one.

It will now be in order to consider the events which
transpired between 1851 and 1859, the period during which
Douglas combined in himself the responsibilities of headship

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS los

of colonial affairs and of the fur-trading in the Far West. It
will also be interesting to note some of the personalities, as
associates in government and as settlers, who were prominent
figures of this regime. Governor Blanshard, in accordance
with his instructions from the Colonial Office, and as his last
official act, as previously mentioned, appointed a council
consisting of James Douglas, John Tod and James Cooper.
When Douglas became governor, Roderick Finlayson took
his place at the council board. From 185 1 to 1856 Vancouver
Island, as a colony, was administered by the governor with
the advice and assistance of this council. As there were few
settlers and as the lands and public works of the colony were
exclusively controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company, the
duties of the executive were not arduous. Douglas virtually
ruled, but the council on more than one occasion exercised a
restraining influence on a governor inclined to be autocratic.
The council did not meet on stated occasions, but as public
business required.

John Tod, one member of the council, then living in re-
tirement at Cadboro Bay, had been a chief factor of the com-
pany and had had an adventurous career in the Western
Department. He was as eccentric as he was fearless and
resourceful, and was the hero of many exploits in the Nicola
and Thompson districts. He was a profuse letter-writer on
a variety of topics, and his correspondence with Edward
Ermatinger, who afterwards settled near St Thomas, Ontario,
is particularly interesting. Roderick Finlayson, the son of
an extensive sheep-farmer, was born in Scotland on March
16, 18 1 8, and entered the Hudson's Bay Company's service
at Montreal. In 1839 he crossed the mountains to Fort
Vancouver and served under Dr M^Loughlin, with whom
he was on confidential terms. In 1840, accompanying James
Douglas on an expedition, he visited the posts along the
coast as far north as Sitka, and assisted in building the fort
at Taku Inlet. He spent a dreary winter there, and then six
months at Fort Stikine. Thence he went to Fort Simpson,
where he remained until called to assist in building Fort
Camosun, of which he had charge for some time. Finlayson
was a fine specimen of the Hudson's Bay Company officer, and

104 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

as late as 1889 was described as * well-preserved in mind as in
body, clear-headed, courteous, intelligent and public-spirited/
His History of Vancouver Island and the North-West Coast is
the main source of authentic information of the time of which
he writes. Later on Finlayson took a prominent part in the
affairs of the city of Victoria, being for three years alderman
and once mayor. Captain James Cooper was of another
stamp, a man who impressed Bancroft as * a pleasant English
gentleman, with a mind more than ordinarily subject to the
warp of fortune ; consistent in his dislikes, which were lasting,
harbouring from year to year his hatred of the Hudson's Bay
Company with unvarying persistency/ Cooper had been in
the employment of the company as captain of one of their
ships, the barque Columbia, entering the service in 1844. He
remained but a short time, preferring to do business on the
coast on his own account. In 1851 he brought an iron ship
from England in parts and engaged in trade, but his enter-
prise was discouraged by the company, which soon drove him
out of business by relentless price-cutting. He then consoled
himself by seclusion on a three-hundred-acre farm at Sooke
and was a settler until 1859. Cooper, Staines, Langford and
Blanshard stirred up disaffection on account of Hudson's
Bay Company rule in the colony, and in each case there
were personal grievances at the back of the complaints. It
is true, no doubt, that the personal grievances were well
founded, but it does not follow that all they alleged of
Hudson's Bay Company administration was true.

Proceedings of the council were kept in an old minute-
book, extremely interesting as the sole record of the questions
agitating the limited public of the colony of that day, and the
methods of dealing with these questions. The labour problem,
as old as the hills, had its recrudescence in these pages and in
this remote island. The discovery of gold in California in
1849 had a demoralizing effect upon the servants of the com-
pany, who, though under contract, did not scruple to flee to
the newly discovered gold-fields. Those who remained were
subject to fits of insubordination. The governor, whose
notions about these matters would now be considered archaic,
proposed a law more clearly defining the relations of master

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 105

and servant and providing for ' punishing offences such as
insolent language, neglect of duty and absence without leave
of the employer, by summary infliction of fine and imprison-
ment.' This was wisely deferred for further consideration
and left to moulder in the archives. One of the earliest and
ever-present problems of the colony was that of raising
revenue. Under the terms of the grant the proceeds of the
sales of lands and minerals were to be devoted, less ten per
cent to the Hudson's Bay Company, to the building of roads
and the making of public improvements, and there were
no other sources of revenue left to the government except
the liquor licences. Governor Douglas advised the Colonial
Office that he intended recommending to the council the im-
position of a duty of five per cent on all imports of British
and foreign goods, for the purpose of raising a permanent
revenue, but at the same time cautiously anticipated an
objection against taxation in any form. The council strongly
opposed the proposed duty. The members thought that it
would prove a bar to settlement by imposing a heavy burden
on settlers from Great Britain ; and anyway, owing to the
few settlers on the island, then about twenty, the cost of
collecting the duty would be greater than the revenue from
this source. Free trade, therefore, remained the settled
policy of the colony until its union with British Columbia.

Another time-honoured subject of contention and legisla-
tion agitated the minds of the early law-makers of Vancouver
Island — the liquor question. So great was the thirst prevail-
ing among the population in those days that in one private
diary it was declared that * it would take a line of packet ships
running between here and San Francisco to supply this Island
with grog.' Evidently there was some necessity for restraint
and regulation of the traffic. The governor proposed that a
duty should be charged on all licences granted to inns and
public and beer houses. The schedule of levies decided upon
was as follows : For a wholesale licence, £100 ; for a retail
licence, £120. A wholesale licence was defined as meaning
sale of spirits in cask or case as imported, and a retail licence
the sale in smaller quantities, for ' reasonable refreshment ' to
be consumed on the premises. It was, however, allowable

io6 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1 849-1 871

to sell liquor to * fanners and other persons, possessed of
landed property/ residing at a distance from any licensed ale-
house, in any quantities not under two gallons, intended
strictly for home consumption and not for sale. That the
liquor interest was even then obtruding itself is evident from
a petition presented requesting a modification permitting
publicans to sell spirits by the bottle to be consumed off the
premises.

The next important subject to engage attention was that
of providing facilities for education.^ The prominent mem-
bers of the community, being officials of the Hudson's Bay
Company as well as being mainly Scottish, had a due
appreciation of * book-learning,* and so far as the meagre
resources of the colony would admit of it, made generous pro-
vision for education. In response to various applications for
schools, appropriations were made for two, one at Maple
Point and the other at Victoria. The population being
scattered, it was necessary to have boarding-schools. The
schedule of rates fixed by the council for the first colonial
teacher, Robert Barr, was as follows : Eighteen guineas per
annum for children of colonists and of servants of the Hudson's
Bay Company, and any sum that might be agreed upon for
the children of non-residents.

The council did other important work. Five hundred
pounds was appropriated, each, for a court-house, the build-
ing of roads and bridges, and the erection of a parish church.
Under the Hudson's Bay Company regime religion was a
state affair. Nominally at least the corporation was pious.
Justices of the peace were appointed — Edward E. Langford,
of Langford Plains, for the Esquimalt district ; Thomas
Blenkhorn, for Metchosin ; Thomas J. Skinner and Kenneth
Mackenzie, for the peninsula. Sooke, not possessing the
qualified material, was left over for later consideration.

In this connection is introduced a historical personage
whose life for nearly sixty years was associated with the
religious welfare of Victoria. Reference is made to the late
Bishop Cridge, whose death took place on May 6, 1913, when
he was in his ninety-sixth year. In February 1856 he was

* See the ' History of Education ' in this section.

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 107

recommended by Governor Douglas to be appointed a member
of the committee to inquire into and report upon the state
of the public schools. This recommendation being acted
upon, he thus became the first inspector of schools, a posi-
tion he occupied for many years. The Rev. Edward Cridge
came to the colony in April 1855 as chaplain to the Hudson's
Bay Company, and subsequently became district minister of
Victoria and rector and dean of Christ Church Cathedral.
He was a graduate of Cambridge University and had served
in holy orders in England, as well as in a teaching capacity.
Apart from his great age, his long residence in Victoria, his
saintly character and his literary and musical accomplish-
ments, his place in local history is fixed by an ecclesiastical
trial in which he was the defendant, and which has become
a cause celebre in ecclesiastical law records. In 1875 he was
accused of insubordination to his bishop, and other offences,
because he protested against the high-church proclivities of
the bishop and against certain sermons preached in the
cathedral, resulting in a clash of authority. He was tried on
a number of charges before an ecclesiastical court appointed
and presided over by the bishop, the Right Rev. George Hills.
Cridge conducted his own defence. He protested against
the constitution of the court as being illegal and irregular,
and denied any violation of the canonical laws of the church,
alleging that it was rather the bishop who was guilty of
exercising * unlawful authority * and who by virtue of his
doctrines had seceded from the church, and, therefore, had
ceased to have authority. The court found him guilty on
nearly every count, which, technically at least, could not be
gainsaid. An appeal was made to the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, who, while brushing aside the proceedings
of the ecclesiastical court as irregular and unconstitutional,
nevertheless decided against the dean and gave an order
restraining him from preaching or officiating as a clergyman
of the Church of England. The upshot of it all was that
Dean Cridge joined the ranks of the Reformed Episcopal
Church, then being organized throughout Canada, and
followed by about three hundred of his congregation, estab-
lished a church of the new denomination. A site for a build-

io8 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

ing, still being used, was donated by Sir James Douglas.
This defection from the church with which he had so long
been identified was a notable incident and occasioned wide-
spread and heated controversy. Not long afterwards C ridge
became the first bishop in British Columbia of the Reformed
Episcopal Church, and until within two or three years of his
death, when he was afflicted with blindness, he occupied the
pulpit every Sunday. From the very first he had the respect
and esteem of the community in which he laboured, and
during the declining years of his life his residence was a shrine
for many admirers.

The question of defences for the colony had also serious
consideration, and the local conditions were of such a char-
acter as to render it one attended by some difficulties, the
principal being that the population was too small to provide
an effective force and that under the terms of the Hudson's
Bay Company's title to the island that corporation was
obliged to defray the expenses of all civil and military estab-
lishments, except during an international war. In 1854,
when war had been declared between Great Britain and
Russia, its relation to the peace and welfare of Vancouver
Island was solemnly discussed in the council, to which, in
1853, John Work had been appointed. The governor's
proposal to call out and arm all the men in the colony capable
of bearing arms and to levy and arm an auxiliary body of
native Indians was vetoed for two reasons : one was that the
number of whites could offer no effectual resistance against
an invading force, and the other was that it would be danger-
ous to arm and drill the natives, who might become in that
event more formidable than the Russians. It was sensibly
concluded to leave the matter of defence to Her Majesty's
government. It was, however, in the meantime decided to
arm and man the steamer Otter with a force of thirty hands
to watch * over the safety of the settlements ' until the home
authorities could take proper measures for their defence.
This was not the only Russian scare that occurred. There
was another a few years later, when earthworks and emplace-
ments for heavy ordnance were erected all along the coast
from Duntz Head to Beacon Hill Park, the remains of some

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 109

of which are still to be seen. The Indians, however, really
gave more cause for anxiety than the Russians. The latter
were far away and not likely to cross the ocean to gain so
small a prize as the fur-trading post at Victoria ; but the
natives in great numbers were near at hand and at some times
threatening. In 1855, owing to differences arising between
Indians and settlers, the governor suggested the raising of a
paid force to meet possible emergencies, and he was authorized
to organize a c®mpany of ten and appoint a commanding
officer. The following year, more trouble being anticipated
from an invasion of northern Indians, a rifle company of
thirty men and officers was formed. It does not appear
from the record that amidst all these war's alarms the
* colonial forces ' were called upon to take the field. The
influence of Douglas over the native tribes of the coast was
very great, and it must be remembered, also, that the ships
of the royal navy lying in Esquimalt harbour were an effec-
tive reminder to the natives that an attack upon the whites
would result in very serious consequences to themselves.
It was during the Crimean War that Esquimalt was made
a naval base, which it continued to be until a change in the
British naval policy in 1905, when Canada undertook to
look after its own defences. During the European conflict
the ships of Great Britain might have given Russia a body
blow by attacking and reducing her Alaskan possessions,
but no attempt was made in that direction. The explana-
tion is offered that through the influence of the two fur com-
panies, the Russian-American and the Hudson's Bay, at the
outset of the war, it was secretly agreed between the two
governments that their trade should not be disturbed.

A land policy, among other things, was discussed, and in
March i860 it is recorded in the minutes * That the council
are unanimously of the opinion that a low price . . . com-
bined with occupation and improvement, would conduce to
the general settlement of the country.', This extremely
statesmanlike proposal was followed by other recommenda-
tions to the effect, in case the price were reduced : that
conditions should be imposed to prevent large quantities of
land being bought for speculative purposes to the prejudice

no COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

of settlers of limited means who wished to cultivate it ; that
provision should be made for pre-empting, and settlers going
on, the land without waiting for it to be surveyed ; that pre-
emptions should be limited to one hundred and sixty acres ;
and that — and here the council entered upon extremely
debatable ground — though advocating a low price the mem-
bers did not wish to see all the waste land tied up in pre-
emptions, but rather the adoption of some system whereby
the capitalist could secure * extensive quantities of land when
required for laudable [?] purposes,* in which cases more might
be charged for the land, and that grants should be hedged
about by * conditions that would prevent abuse.*

We come now to a very important stage in colonial
history — the establishment of representative government.
It was contemplated that with the formation of a colony and
the appointment of a governor these steps would be followed
by the assembling of freeholders, qualified by the ownership
of twenty acres, with whose advice and that of the council
laws should be made for the good government of the state.
At the same time the governor had been empowered, with
the advice of his council, to make laws for the colony — a
provision undoubtedly intended to meet the immediate re-
quirements of Her Majesty's subjects on Vancouver Island ;
but it is quite clear that it was also intended that a regular
form of representative parliamentary institutions should be
established as soon as that was feasible, the governor being
vested with some discretionary powers as to the exact time
of their introduction. Instructions based on these funda-
mental principles of representative government had been
sent to Governor Blanshard, who, in the circumstances pre-
viously described, can readily be excused for not giving them
effect or even attempting to do so. Similar instructions
were issued to Douglas on his appointment, but he was not
inclined to regard them as imperative. The colonial secretary
had anticipated rapid development on the island ; the reverse
was the case ; and Governor Douglas on the spot, seeing no
particular need for assistance in his task of governing his
handful of subjects, hardly gave the matter consideration.
No one in the colony had asked for a parliamentary system,

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS iii

and the population was so sparse and so widely scattered
that it did not seem practicable. However, in a dispatch
dated February 28, 1856, Henry Labouchere (Lord Taunton),
then secretary of state for the Colonies, opened the governor*s
eyes to the fact that he could no longer assume that, on account
of the smallness of the population, he was entitled to act with
the advice of his council only, but the statement was softened
by the words : * In doing so, you proceeded on a fair under-
standing of the authority conveyed to you, and Her Majesty's
government are fully satisfied with the course which you
took.* It was, on the other hand, doubted whether * the
Crown can legally convey authority to make laws in a settle-
ment founded by Englishmen, even for a special and tempo-
rary purpose, to any legislature not elected, wholly or in part,
by the settlers themselves. If this be the case, the clause
in your commission on which you relied would appear to
be unwarranted and invalid.* Douglas was accordingly in-
structed to take steps at once to call together an assembly.
Many details — the division of the colony into polling districts,
the establishment of polling places, the size and character
of the parliament (whether composed of a single or double
chamber), the proper qualification of the members to be
elected — ^were left in the hands of the governor and council
to settle as local conditions and requirements might suggest.
* The power of assenting to or negativing, or suspending, for
the assent of the Crown, the measures passed by such a
council should be distinctly reserved to yourself,* wrote
Labouchere. * And it is very essential,* he added, * that a
constitutional law of this description should contain a pro-
viso, reserving the initiation of all money votes to the local
government.' Labouchere suggested the advisability of the
simplest form of government possible consistent with the
principles that had been laid down. His reason for this
was, more particularly, as he very significantly and ingeni-
ously interpolated, that the relations of the Hudson*s Bay
Company with the crown would undergo revision in or
before 1859, and * the position and future government of
Vancouver's Island will then unavoidably pass under review,
and if any difficulty should be experienced in carrying into

112 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

execution any present instructions, a convenient opportunity-
will be afforded for reconsidering them.'

Douglas was clearly surprised and perturbed by the turn
of affairs. He expressed a feeling of dismay at the prospect
of carrying these instructions into effect, and remarked upon
his * very slender knowledge of legislation, without legal
advice of any kind,* but he felt encouraged and inspired by
the promised support of the home authorities in seeing him
through the ordeal. Douglas was not a man to shirk a re-
sponsibility when it stared him in the face, and he immediately
laid the dispatch before his council. He was not essentially
democratic, but he was in favour of going even further in
the direction of an extended franchise than his instructions
required. In addition to twenty acres as a qualification to
vote, he would have extended the franchise to all persons hold-
ing a fixed property stake, whether houses or lands, in the
colony, although at the same time he expressed himself as
* utterly averse to universal franchise.* The executive de-
cided after a good deal of discussion that the ownership of
^£300 worth of freehold property or immovable estate should
qualify a member for the assembly, that absentee proprietors
should be permitted to vote through their agents or attorneys,
that the ownership of twenty acres should qualify an elector,
and that the colony should be divided into four electoral
districts — ^Victoria, with three members ; Esquimalt and
Metchosin, with two members ; and Nanaimo and Sooke,
with one each. The electors were so few in all the districts
except Victoria, where there were five rival candidates, that
the returns were mere nominations. Elections over, the
house of assembly, the first to meet west of Upper Canada,
was convened for August 12, with the following representa-
tives : J. D. Pemberton, James Yates and E. E. Langford,
Victoria ; Dr John Sebastian Helmcken and Thomas Skinner,
Esquimalt and Metchosin ; John Muir, Sooke ; and John
F. Kennedy, Nanaimo. Douglas informed the colonial
secretary that * the affair [meaning the election] passed off
quietly, and did not appear to excite much interest among
tiie lower orders.* Luckily for him there were at that time
no labour unions or socialists to resent the obvious inference.

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VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 113

The house was duly convened and Dr J. S. Helmcken was
elected speaker, but, owing to certain objections that had been
raised as to the validity of election or qualification of members,
no work was done until the difficulty, which the governor
was at first at a loss to meet, was overcome. Langford, one of
the members against whom objections had been raised, retired
and J. W. M^Kay was elected by acclamation in his stead.

The opening of this miniature parliament marked an epoch
in the West, and Douglas, as governor, seems to have fully
realized its significance. Representative government came
not by demand of the people who were affected by it, but by
mandate of the British crown. It was not the responsible
government for which the people in the other provinces had
fought and, literally, bled ; but it was the first step toward
that goal which was finally achieved when British Columbia
entered the union of the provinces in 1871. The speech from
the throne was a carefully prepared and dignified document,
which did much credit to the governor. In it he described
the opening of the first session of the legislative assembly of
Vancouver Island as * an event fraught with consequences
of the utmost importance to its present and future inhabitants,
and remarkable as the first instance of representative institu-
tions being granted in the infancy of a British colony.' Re-
marking upon the peculiar political situation of the colony
and the difficulties in the path of progress, the governor
further stated : * Self-supporting, and defraying all the ex-
penses of its own government, it presents a striking con-
trast to every other colony in the British Empire, and like
the native pines of its storm-beaten promontories, it has
acquired a slow but hardy growth.* In view of political
events in Canada in 191 1 the following paragraph is of more
than usual interest :

Gentlemen, I am happy to inform you that Her
Majesty's Government continues to express the most
lively interest in the welfare and progress of this colony.
Negotiations are now pending with the government of
the United States, which may probably terminate in an
extension of the reciprocity treaty to Vancouver Island.
To show the commercial advantages connected with the

VOL. XXI H

114 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

treaty, I will just mention that an impost duty of thirty
pounds is levied on every hundred pounds* worth of
British produce which is now sent to San Francisco, or
to any other American port ; or in other words, the
British proprietor pays a tax to the United States nearly
the value of every third cargo of fish, timber or coal
which he sends to any American port. The reciprocity
treaty utterly abolishes these fearful imposts, and
establishes a system of free trade in the produce of
British colonies. The effects of that measure in developing
the trade and natural resources of the colony can, there-
fore, be hardly over-estimated. The coal, the timber,
and the productive fisheries of Vancouver's Island will
assume a value before unknown ; while every branch of
trade will start into activity, and become the means of
pouring wealth into the country. So unbounded is the
reliance which I place in the enterprise and intelligence
possessed by the people of this colony, and in the ad-
vantage of their geographical position, that, with equal
rights and a fair field, I think they may enter into suc-
cessful competition with the people of any other country.
The extension of the reciprocity treaty to this island
once gained, the interests of the colony will become in-
separably connected with the principles of free trade, a
system which I think it will be sound policy on our part
to encourage.

The speech referred to the danger which had been antici-
pated from a visit of the northern Indians, and the feeling of
insecurity which their presence engendered, but at the same
time expressed thankfulness that acts of violence had been
averted and that the natives had been kept quiet and orderly.
It stated that Her Majesty's government had arranged to
send the frigate President to the island as a measure of pro-
tection. Notwithstanding possible outrages, the governor
averred that

I shall nevertheless continue to conciliate the good will
of the native Indian tribes by treating them with justice
and forbearance, and by rightly protecting their civil and
agrarian rights ; many cogent reasons of humanity and
sound policy commend that course to our attention ;
and I shall, therefore, rely upon your support in carrying
such measures into effect. We know, from our own

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 115

experience, that the friendship of the natives is at all.
times useful, while it is no less certain that their enmity
may become more disastrous than any other calamity to
which the colony is directly exposed.

Dwelling upon money matters, Douglas spoke at some
length of the poverty of the country and counselled the
strictest economy, remarking upon * the common error of
running into speculative improvements entailing debts upon
the colony, for a very uncertain advantage,* which he said

* should be carefully avoided.* The demands upon the
treasury would be, principally, provision for internal com-
munication, education, places of public worship, defence of
the country, and the administration of justice. Rising to a
high sense of their responsibility to posterity, he said :

The interests and well being of thousands yet unborn
may be affected by our decisions, and they will reverence
or condemn our acts according as they are found to in-
fluence, for good or for evil, the events of the future.

And so the memorable speech, which was addressed to the

* Gentlemen of the Legislative Council and of the House of
Assembly' in due traditional form, ended. It is a curious
admixture of the elements of modern and old-fashioned
political economy. Douglas was a good representative of the
principles of the old school, and at the same time was alive to
present-day necessities and altered conditions. The inaugura-
tion of representative government in this far colony of the
Empire, a highly significant and important fact in itself, took
place unobtrusively.

The legislative assembly created in 1856 continued until
1859, when the relations of the Hudson's Bay Company and
the colony of Vancouver Island were severed, and the qua si-
sovereignty of the former came to an end. The assembly
did little else than register the will of the governor, and there
was, indeed, little else to do. As remarked by Bancroft,
during Douglas's term of office four distinct and sometimes
antagonistic interests looked to him as their head, namely,
the Hudson's Bay Company, the colony of Vancouver Island,
the Puget Sound Agricultural Company and the Nanaimo

ii6 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Coal Company. On the whole, he held the balance very
evenly, administering affairs in a way that won him the
respect of the corporate interests and of the settlers.

As strikingly suggestive of how theoretical formulas do
not always square with practical requirements, in 1857,
Douglas, notwithstanding his free trade declarations of the
previous year at the opening of the legislature, proposed to
submit a measure to impose a customs duty on all imports as
a means of meeting the ordinary expenditures of the govern-
ment. He was apprehensive of the way this departure would
be received, and, as we have previously seen, the proposal
was shelved by the council. The question of revenue, how-
ever, was a grave one with the first legislature, as it con-
tinued to be under many legislatures, colonial and provincial,
thereafter. As previously noted, the revenue derived from
the licensed houses was all that was at the disposal of the
assembly. Other revenues, derived from the sale of land,
timber and minerals, were appropriated by the Hudson's Bay
Company for public improvements, with the advice and con-
sent of the governor. Licences yielded {^220 in 1853, ;£46o in
1854 and ;£340 in 1855. The first supply bill to meet the
expenses of the house of assembly amounted to ;£i30, divided
as follows : ;£50 to the governor to defray expenses of clerical
work ; ^20 for the past and present services of the sergeant-
at-arms ; ;£35, ditto, for the clerk of the house ; £20 for
lighting, heating, etc., and £^ for stationery. The real income
of the colony was much greater than the figures indicated.
Up to the end of 1853 about twenty thousand acres of land
had been applied for, upon which had been paid about £9000,
which would leave a little over ;£8ooo for public works, etc.
This sum was not, however, under the control of the legisla-
ture, but a statement of revenue and expenditure had to be
submitted to the house by the company. For the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1855, such expenditure was stated to be
;^4I07. All sources of revenue produced for that year about
£700, and these figures did not alter much throughout the
period of Hudson's Bay Company control. To Douglas's
credit and that of J. D. Pemberton, his surveyor-general, and
of the latter's assistant, B. W. Pearse, a fine system of roads

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 117

was installed in the southern end of Vancouver Island, with
highways leading in all directions, and they are to-day among
the best in the province. Douglas was essentially a road-
builder, or, as described by the late Sir Henry Crease, * a king
of roads/ The Cariboo wagon road which was begun by him
is a splendid example of his enterprise in that respect. For a
population of less than ten thousand whites to have under-
taken a road three hundred and fifty miles long, through an
extremely rugged country, at a cost of one million dollars, was
something to be proud of. His other dream, not realized, was
a highway through the southern part of British Columbia to
connect with Eastern Canada. A sort of partial fulfilment of
it was what is known as the Dewdney trail, completed at a
later date, and a more perfect fulfilment was the Canadian
Pacific Railway itself.

In connection with the opening of the legislature there
looms up another notable figure in colonial affairs, that of
John Sebastian Helmcken, who, apart from the fact that he
has lived throughout the entire political history of British
Columbia, is entitled to be referred to as the Grand Old Man
of the province. Helmcken was trained for the medical pro-
fession in London, England. Having accepted an appoint-
ment as medical officer from the Hudson's Bay Company, he
arrived in the Norman Morrison from England in 1850, along
with eighty other persons for the company's establishments.
As we have seen, his first post was at Fort Rupert among the
miners, where he was made a justice of the peace by Governor
Blanshard in order that the laws might be properly ad-
ministered and the peace preserved. The task was a most
disagreeable one, not unaccompanied by bodily risks, and he
shortly relinquished the honour. When the mining opera-
tions ceased at that point, Dr Helmcken went to Victoria
and practised his profession. He was elected speaker of
the legislature of 1856 and remained a member of the
assembly, representing the people of Victoria, until the year
1 87 1, occupying as well the position of first commoner. A
son-in-law of Governor Douglas, he was also guide, philosopher
and friend to him and to the assembly in matters political
and parliamentary. Although opposed to Confederation as

ii8 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

premature and as to some extent unsuitable to the needs of
the colony, he assisted in preparing the terms when agreed
upon by the legislature, and was a delegate to Ottawa to
discuss them with the federal authorities. At that time he
could have had any position, either federal or provincial, in
the gift of the people of British Columbia, but he refused all
posts or honours and retired permanently from public life.
He is still (19 13), forty- two years later, in the active enjoy-
ment of all his faculties.

The administration of justice was a matter of moment, and
one, too, that occupied the attention of Governor Douglas. The
Imperial Act of 1849 repealed a previous act for * extending
jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice in the provinces of Upper
and Lower Canada to the Trial and punishment of persons
guilty of Crimes and Offences within certain parts of North
America adjoining the said provinces,' and a subsequent act
for * regulating the Fur Trade and establishing Criminal and
Civil Jurisdiction within certain parts of North America,*
so far as they related to the Island of Vancouver ; and made
it lawful for Her Majesty to provide in that colony for
the administration of justice by the constitution of courts
and the appointment of judges, etc. In pursuance of such
powers Douglas, in 1853, recommended his brother-in-law,
David Cameron, for the position of judge of the supreme
court of civil justice, and as such he officiated pending
his appointment by the imperial authorities. Cameron was
not a lawyer; in fact, he had been a linen-draper in the
West Indies, and being in ill-health had been advised to
remove to Vancouver Island. Nevertheless, being a man of
common sense, of * business habits,' * liberal education,* and
' some legal knowledge,' as vouched for by Douglas, he filled
the position satisfactorily. Indeed, there was no legal talent
available for the office without importing a professional man
from some other part of the Empire. The appointment was
severely criticized by a number of the residents, who sent a
petition signed by James Cooper, a member of the council,
E. E. Langford, Thomas Skinner, William Banfield, after
whom Banfield Creek cable station is named, James Yates
and sixty-five others, to the secretary of state for the Colonies

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 119

in protest. The main and real objections to Cameron were
that he was a brother-in-law of the governor and a servant of
the Nanaimo Coal Company, but incidentally it was stated
that he was a recent arrival from a slave colony and therefore
a stranger in Vancouver Island ; that he was no lawyer ;
and that as justice of the peace he had aroused * the extreme
disgust and indignation of the community/ The aristocratic
and landed element, represented by high and retired officials
of the company to the number of about sixty, came to his
defence in a counter petition, alleging among other things that
the complainants had not any * real grievance to complain
of and deprecating * unreasonable clamour' on their part.
As a result the appointment stood. Moreover, in 1856
Cameron was appointed chief justice of the island by the
home government, and in i860 his salary was increased from
;£ioo to ;£8oo per annum. Governor Douglas, in an official
letter to Sir George Grey in 1854, spoke of the satisfactory
state of affairs socially in the colony, and stated that

since the departure of the Reverend Mr Staines and his
coadjutor Mr Swanston — ^two men who had played a
leading part in the agitation for the dismissal of Judge
Cameron — I have not heard a complaint from any person
in this colony, except in regard to the price of land, which
seems to be the only real grievance affecting the colonists
generally, and that grievance I have no power to redress.

There do not appear to have been any further complaints
until 1862, when E. E. Langford preferred charges against
the administration of justice in the island and personally
against the chief justice, who was able successfully to refute
the charges. These were not listened to in high quarters,
and throughout his official career Cameron gave satisfaction
and proved himself a sound judge.

There were several men belonging to the early days
of Douglases regime, prominent in public affairs, who were
thorns in the flesh of officialdom. Captain James Cooper
has already had mention. The Rev. R. J. Staines, who
enjoys the distinction of being the first Protestant clergyman
to minister to the spiritual wants of the colony, was another.
Staines arrived in the colony in 1849 as chaplain to the

120 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Hudson's Bay Company and in a teaching capacity. Finlay-
son, who was never a captious critic, speaks of him as a * man
full of frills * and one who sorely tried his patience. Staines
was not without ability, but Bancroft says he was * insuffer-
ably conceited,* and evidently of a litigious disposition, as he
was continually in trouble with his neighbours, as well as at
loggerheads with the company. One cause of disaffection was
that he, along with Blanshard, Langford and others, had been
disappointed in finding conditions not as they had been re-
presented to them before leaving England, and their dissatis-
faction did not decrease as time went on. They formed the
nucleus of what unrest and agitation there were in the colony,
and the malcontents finally decided to send Staines to England
to remonstrate with the imperial authorities on account of
the Hudson's Bay Company administration of affairs. Un-
fortunately for him, the lumber-laden ship upon which he
took passage was wrecked off Cape Flattery, and he and all
the crew save one were lost.^

Edward E. Langford, after whom Langford Plains was
named, was another who was active in opposing Douglas and
the Hudson's Bay Company administration. He had been
a Kentish farmer and an army officer and came to the colony
as bailiff of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company's farm
at Langford Plains. He had the not uncommon complaint
to make that he had been employed by one company and
found himself when he arrived in the country a servant of
another, and that conditions generally were not as had been
represented to him. Whether the companies were really
guilty of this manner of juggling or whether these people in
their optimism took too much for granted, as in the case of
Blanshard when he accepted the governorship, there is no
means of knowing. Certainly, in most instances things were
not as they were expected to be, and one can readily under-
stand that without imputing bad faith to the officials of

* Mrs Staines remained in Victoria for some tima after her husband's death.
She and her husband were the first teachers on the island, and A. C. Anderson says
she was probably the first Englishwoman who landed there. Finlayson states
that Mrs Covington, who came from the Hawaiian Islands, was the first white
woman in Victoria. Mrs Annie Muir, who married John Sooke, pioneer coal-miner
and settler, is said to have been the second. All three came in the same year.

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 121

the Hudson's Bay Company. The conditions were what the
company's employees were used to and enjoyed. It was
quite different with the average EngUshman, who, wholly
unacquainted with pioneer life in the West, found actual
conditions a stem reality, shorn of all the romance with which
he had associated life in a colony.

In this connection the first settler of Vancouver Island,
Captain Colquhoun Grant, must not be overlooked. He
was not an ordinary man. A paper read by him before the
Royal Geographical Society in London in 1857, and printed
in the Journal of the society, is an able document and stamps
the author as an educated and scientific observer. Grant
was attracted by the colonization scheme in connection with
Vancouver Island. He sold his commission in a cavalry regi-
ment and set out for the colony, arriving at Victoria in the
ship Harpooner in June 1849. Grant brought with him eight
farmer colonists. Not finding any land open for purchase in
the immediate vicinity of Victoria, he settled at Sooke, and
soon had thirty-five acres under cultivation and his farm
well stocked. He reigned there in solitary state for two
years, dispensing hospitality in true Highland style to the
infrequent visitor, but tiring of the life he rented his farm to
his men in 1851 and left the island. Returning again after
a time, and finding his land in a state of neglect and the
establishment in decay, he sold out, bidding good-bye to
the colony for ever.

Blanshard gave thirty as the number of the settlers in
his day, but the following names only are found signed to
the petition presented to him upon leaving the colony :
James Yates, James R. Anderson, R. Scott, James Reid,
W. Thompson, George Deans, Michael, Andrew, Archibald,
Robert and John Muir, senior and junior, Sooke ; Thomas
Blenkhorn, Metchosin ; Thomas Moore, James Sangster,
R. J. Staines, William Eraser, John McGregor and William
McDonald, most of whom were or had been in the company's
employ. In 1854 Grant affirms most positively that the
eight men brought out by himself were the only independent
settlers in the country until that time, all the others having
been brought out in the employ and at the expense of

122 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

the company. Some of the latter, however, became inde-
pendent settlers. In addition to the eighty passengers who
came by the Norman Morrison in 1850, the Tory^ in 1851,
brought out about one hundred hired labourers. Of all the
four hundred men who arrived during five years. Grant
alleges that two-thirds deserted from the company, one-fifth
were sent elsewhere, and the remainder were employed on the
island.

Perhaps the most eventful feature of the Hudson's Bay
Company regime was the discovery of coal. Its existence
in the vicinity of McNeill Harbour^ became known to the
officials of the company at Fort Vancouver as far back as
1835. Further discoveries were made in this locality, and
as a consequence it was decided to build a fort there and
to commence coal-mining operations. The fort was built in
1849, and during the course of erection the Muirs, a family
of Scottish miners, arrived and found the natives taking out
surface coal for the company at Suquash, a few miles distant.
The Muirs sank a shaft to a depth of ninety feet, but reported
the seam too small to be workable at a profit. Owing to
troubles with the natives and other complications, the men,
with the exception of the Muirs, left for California. Boyd
Gilmour came out in 1851 as an expert in the employ of the
Hudson's Bay Company, and with him came his nephew,
Robert Dunsmuir, with his wife. Incidentally, James Duns-
muir, afterwards premier and lieutenant-governor, was born
at Fort Vancouver, July 8, 1851, while the party was en route
for its destination. Gilmour and Dunsmuir were engaged
under three years* contract. They continued the Muir shaft
to a depth of one hundred and twenty feet and prospected
for nineteen months at Suquash, finally reporting the seams
as too small to be worked profitably. Subsequent opera-
tions were continued at Nanaimo, where coal had been dis-
covered by Indians and its existence revealed to J. W. M^Kay,
who afterwards personally confirmed the statements made
to him in 1849. Experience at Fort Rupert, through Indian
and labour troubles, had been extremely disagreeable and
dangerous. The Indian tribes there were probably the most

1 Named after Captain William McNeill, an old-time Hudson's Bay official.

VANCOUVER ISLAND AND JAMES DOUGLAS 123

savage on the coast — ^at one time said to have been canni-
baHstic — and it is indeed surprising that a tragedy had
not occurred. The Muirs and Gilmour and Dunsmuir
joined forces at Nanaimo, development proceeded success-
fully and the foundation of a great industry was laid. In-
directly, the consequences to the island' and the Province of
British Columbia were momentous. A market was found in
San Francisco for the coal in small shipments, and the output
constantly increased until ultimately thousands of tons daily
were being raised. Gilmour returned to Scotland after his
three years* contract had expired. Robert Dunsmuir pro-
posed to do likewise, but was persuaded by his wife to remain,
and in time he amassed a huge fortune as a coal operator.
The Muirs, too, retired from mining. They purchased the
farm of Captain Grant at Sooke and became permanent
residents there. John Muir, the elder, was the first repre-
sentative in the legislature from the Sooke district, and his
four sons, John, Michael, Andrew and Archibald, were well-
known pioneers.

There was an interesting group of men in Victoria and
on the island from 1843 to i860 — Richard Blanshard, the
political Selkirk ; Douglas, fur chief and governor ; J. S.
Helmcken, physician ; Captain Grant, Highland laird and
scholar ; Captain Cooper, victim of disappointed hopes ;
Captain Langford, optimist turned to misanthrope ; the Rev.
R. J. Staines, energetic parson, pedagogue and Ishmaelite ;
Captain McNeill, pioneer captain who first indicated the
site of Victoria to the company as a point with possibilities ;
James Yates, merchant ; Thomas Blenkhorn, partner of
Cooper, said to have been the most energetic settler in
the colony ; George and James Deans, the former retired
agriculturist and the latter an antiquarian and a bard ; the
Dunsmuirs, millionaires in prospect ; Mark Bate, mining
superintendent and pioneer of Nanaimo ; Kenneth Mackenzie,
farm manager ; Robert Barr, schoolmaster and first clerk of
the legislature ; David Cameron, first judge and first chief
justice of the island ; John Work, retired chief factor, member
of the council, pioneer of the Oregon country and grandfather
to four families of fur traders — the Tolmies, Finlaysons,

124 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Grahames and Hugginses ; Roderick Finlayson, builder of
Forts Taku (Durham) and Camosun, a shrewd business man
and careful diarist ; A. C. Anderson, explorer, chief factor,
student and writer ; Joseph Despards Pemberton, surveyor
and engineer, who, along with Benjamin W. Pearse, built
roads and planned for the colony ; Joseph W. M^Kay, one
of the most intelligent and versatile of the Hudson's Bay
Company officials ; Thomas J. Skinner, agent of the Puget
Sound Agricultural Company ; John F. Kennedy, retired
officer of the company, and first representative of Nanaimo ;
Dr W. F. Tolmie, trader, physician, botanist, ethnologist
and farmer ; and many others whose names have become
household words in British Columbia.

It is difficult, especially at this date, when conditions are
so different, to appreciate the situation as it was in the early
days of the colony or to judge impartially of the exact nature
and effect of these first ten years of colonial rule. All opinion
on the subject must be speculative. If we strike an average
mean between the views held by the company and those held
by the disgruntled settlers towards each other, we shall pro-
bably arrive nearer the truth than if we accept the estimate
of either one. The time, then, does not appear to have been
ripe for all that the settlers demanded ; it was necessary
that the government of the colony should be to some extent
autocratic, because within the company lay the power to
enforce law and order and upon it rested the responsibility
for the same ; the colony of Vancouver Island was essentially
a Hudson's Bay Company creation for company purposes,
and without that condition the colony would not have come
into existence ; where at least the company's own interests
were not especially affected, its actions were just, and Douglas
was a man of ideals higher than the average ; the grievances
complained of in some instances undoubtedly were, if not
wholly fictitious, highly theoretical and at the best likely to
have been exaggerated. On the other hand, the company
took full commercial advantage of its position and displayed,
even if in moderation, the selfish tendencies of all corporate
bodies of its nature. The system was in no sense ideal, and
fortunately, as far as the home government was concerned,

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 125

was only experimental. As is shown by a petition sent to
the imperial government in 1854 asking that the grant be not
renewed at the end of the first five years, many of the local
officials were convinced that it was not in the interests of
either the people or the company that it should be perpetuated,
and felt that a full measure of government, untrammelled
by corporate interests or control, should be substituted. The
settlers had real grievances, but they related rather to the
system of which they had voluntarily become a part than to
the officials who administered the system. On the whole, it
cannot be said that the Hudson's Bay Company's monopoly
and autocracy were any real bar to progress, because, as has
already been observed, settlement of a satisfactory character
would not otherwise have taken place during that period.

Ill

THE FOUNDING OF THE COLONY OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA

SEVERAL years prior to the expiry of the Hudson's Bay
Company's trade licence extending over the Indian
territory of British North America, the directors in
England asked the government for a renewal, in order that in
1859 the exact status of the company might be known and
preparations made in advance to meet any new conditions.
The question then became one of parliamentary inquiry,
which was conducted by a select committee of the House of
Commons in 1857. Twenty-four witnesses were examined,
among them Richard Blanshard, James Cooper, John Rae,
Dr M^Loughlin, Sir George Simpson, Alexander Isbister,
Sir John Richardson, Sir George Back, David Anderson,
Chief Justice Draper (Canada), John Ross and Edward
Ellice. The last named was a large shareholder of the
Hudson's Bay Company and a member of parliament. It is
unnecessary to dwell upon the details of the investigation.
Although the evidence is highly important, especially that of
Cooper and Blanshard, as throwing sidelights upon affairs in

126 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Vancouver Island, the existing conditions have, incidentally,
been indicated in previous chapters. Among the recom-
mendations made were that the relations of the Hudson's Bay
Company and the crown in respect to Vancouver Island
should be terminated and that provision should be made for
the ultimate extension of the colony over the contiguous main-
land territory west of the Rocky Mountains. In the main
the report of the committee upheld all the objections that
had been made to the character of the company's sovereignty,
based on many matters of fact as well as upon considerations
of public policy. In any event, whatever might have been
the report of the committee, with the discovery of gold and
the inrush of population the speedy end of the monopoly
was inevitable. Indeed, the directors of the Hudson's Bay
Company made no serious effort to maintain their hold upon
the island. They hoped at the best to have their exclusive
licence to trade with the Indians extended. By tradition
and interest the great corporation was an aggregation of
traders, not of colonizers, and no one knew their limitations
better than they did themselves. With the gold excite-
ment, however, their hopes were extinguished. In September
1858 the licence of exclusive trade over the mainland granted
to them was revoked. In the previous month parliament
provided for the government of British Columbia by an act
defining its boundaries, appointing a governor, and providing
for the administration of justice and the establishment of a
local legislature.^

^ The boundaries of the province, as subsequently modified, were delimited
in effect as bounded on the south by the 49th parallel and on the north by the
6oth ; on the east by the Rocky Mountains, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean,
including Queen Chariotte Islands and all adjacent islands, except Vancouver
Island and its immediate adjacent islands. The name British Columbia, now
appearing for the first time as designating the country north of the international
line, is accounted for in the following way :

The origin of the name * British Columbia ' is explained in Captain Walbran's
instructive work on the coast names of British Columbia. The name Columbia
had been often indefinitely applied to the territory drained by the Columbia
River, more famiharly known as the Oregon territory (from the ' Oregan ' river of
Carver's naming). The Western Department of the Hudson's Bay Company was
frequently referred to as the ' Columbia Department,' on account of the head-
quarters having been on the Columbia River at Fort Vancouver. WTien, there-
fore, the mainland was about to be organized by act of parUament, the name to

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 127

With the revocation of the licence to trade came also the
end of the company rule on Vancouver Island, which was
repurchased by the British government and placed under in-
dependent political control. The company received ;£57,500
on account of its vested rights in the colony and retained the
fort property, certain town lots and several thousand acres
in the vicinity of Victoria. Much of this property grew ex-
ceedingly valuable and was held by the company until quite
recently, and some of it is still retained. In this same year
Dugald M^Tavish, Dr Tolmie and Roderick Finlayson, who
upon the retirement of Douglas from the company to accept
the governorship of the two colonies constituted the board
of management, filed claims in connection with the fourteen
Hudson's Bay Company stations in British Columbia.^

James Douglas was now offered the position of governor
of the new colony of British Columbia in addition to the
governorship of Vancouver Island, and perhaps the best
tribute to the manner in which he fulfilled the duties of the
latter post from 1851 until 1859 was this additional proof of
confidence in his integrity and ability. Bancroft, with his
disposition to pick flaws in the character of Douglas and the
Hudson's Bay Company administration, states that it was
inevitable that the company should quarrel with Douglas, as
it had quarrelled with M^Loughlin, regarding lands around

be used was a matter of dispute, and it was referred to Queen Victoria, whose
decision, dated July 24, 1868, was expressed in the following terms :

* The Queen has received Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton's letter. As the name
of New Caledonia is objected to as being already borne by a colony or island
claimed by the French, it may be better to give the new colony west of the Rocky
Mountains another name. New Vancouver, New Columbia and New Georgia
appear from the maps to be the names of subdivisions of that country, but do not
appear on all maps. The only name which is given to the whole territory in every
map the Queen has consulted is " Columbia," but as there exists a Columbia in
South America and the citizens of the United States called their country also
Columbia, at least in poetry, " British Columbia " might be, in the Queen's
opinion, the best name.'

* These stations with their officials in charge were as follows : Fort Simpson,
W. H. M^NeiU ; Fort Langley, W. H. Newton ; Fort Hope, W. Charles ; Fort
Yale, O. Ellard ; Thompson River, J. W. M^Kay ; Alexandria, William Manson ;
Fort George, Thomas Charles ; Fort St James, Peter Skene Ogden ; McLeod
Lake, Ferdinand M^Kenzie ; Connolly Lake, WiUiam Tod ; Eraser Lake, J.
Moberly ; Fort Babine, Gavin Hamilton ; Fort Sheppard, A. McDonald ; New
Fort Langley, A. C. Anderson.

128 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

the forts ; and that Douglas, as was his wont, took sides
with the government, as the stronger party, adding this
rather gratuitously : * Because first it was right, and secondly,
no fur-trader could knight him.' Naturally, Douglas would
accept the honour of governorship in preference to remaining
chief representative of the Hudson's Bay Company on the
Pacific coast, if it came, as it did, to the question of accepting
the one and relinquishing the other. It was a legitimate
ambition. That he still regarded himself as a servant of the
company, and, so to speak, at its command, when offered
the position, is proved when he wrote :

With the consent of the Hudson's Bay Company, I
place my services unhesitatingly at the disposal of Her
Majesty's government, and I will take early measures for
withdrawing from the company and disposing of my
Puget Sound stock, trusting that the allowance as to
salary from Her Majesty's government will be adequate
to my support in a manner worthy of the position I am
called on to fill.

There was not much evidence of a serious quarrel in that
statement, however much of difference there existed as to the
rights that the company might have claimed.

Douglas was not satisfied with the emoluments of the new
ofiice, which he thought should have been ;fi5000 per annum,
instead of the ;£i8oo actually received. He asserted that his
fortune had been impaired as the result of insufficient pro-
vision while governor of Vancouver Island ; but the colonial
secretary bade him wait for developments in the new colony
that might, from the point of view of public revenue, justify
a substantial increase. Here we have one of Douglas's
extreme characteristics. He was a man who appraised office
highly and believed in a personal dignity and ceremonious
display as concomitants corresponding in degree to rank.
He discriminated justly between the office and the mere man.

The status of the Vancouver Island colony in a political
way continued unaltered after 1858 ; except that the Hudson's
Bay Company's control had been eliminated, there was no
change. The executive council, legislative assembly and the
governor worked on in their old relations, Douglas still being

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 129

supreme in matters of state. He had now to meet in the
assembly, it is true, new elements which disturbed his mental
equipoise, but which made no material difference in results.
The governor's bias in regard to autocratic rule will be seen
later in connection with the colony of British Columbia, in
which he opposed representative government as long as
possible, as he had done in the case of the older colony of
Vancouver Island.

It is difficult to find pen-pictures written from personal
impressions of those days, but D. W. Higgins, then active
in the newspaper life of Victoria, several years ago furnished
the author with some interesting reminiscences. It may be
that he, as a newcomer, unduly assimilated the current
prejudices against the system he attacked, but his impressions
were mellowed somewhat by the fifty years that had elapsed
since the events described had taken place. Higgins states
that the American element predominated in the community,
but that there was a fair sprinkling of British subjects from
all parts of the British Empire, including many from Canada
and the Maritime Provinces. These men, who had lived
under representative institutions won at the price of much
political agitation and personal sacrifice, fretted and chafed
under a system that had many of the archaic elements of
absolutism in it, and began a movement in favour of re-
sponsible government. Some of them had been experienced
in public affairs in their old homes and had ability and force
of character. Higgins writes :

The Pacific colonies at that time occupied an anomalous
position politically as well as commercially. Victoria
was the centre of commerce and trade. It was the place
where the immigrant landed from the ship that conveyed
him to these shores. It was there that he outfitted for
the mainland mines, and it was the place where he bade
adieu to civilization and plunged into the trackless wilds
of New Caledonia in search of hidden treasure. There
was a staff of officials for each colony, but both staffs
resided at Victoria. Governor Douglas held the reins,
presided at both council boards, and curbed with a strong
hand any attempt to curtail his powers as the irrespons-
ible head of two irresponsible executives. There was a

VOL. XXI 1

130 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

semblance of representative government, but it was a
mere mockery. A few popular members were returned
to what may properly be designated a *mock' parliament,
but the official members of the legislative assembly, who
were all nominees of the governor, were largely in the
majority and were ever ready, under pressure from the
ruling hand, to vote down any measure that proposed
to confer constitutional rights upon the people. The
manner in which the popular members were returned
was unique. It would have been amusing if it had not
possessed an intensely dramatic side, in that it was de-
vised with the object of stifling the voice of the people,
and for years the object was successfully attained. No
elector could vote unless he had a property qualification
of ten pounds and had been registered a certain length
of time before the election.

A concrete instance is given of how, at open polling in
Nanaimo, a solitary voter on nomination day nominated for
the legislature a Victoria hotel-keeper, the nomination being
seconded by a bystander who was not a voter, and the nominee
was solemnly declared elected after the solitary voter in
question had recorded a vote in his favour. The proceedings
in other districts were equally farcical, the only difference
being that the number of voters ranged from half a dozen to
twenty. Some of the electors, by virtue of owning land, had
votes in every district.

Amor DeCosmos, editor and publisher of the Colonist,
the pioneer newspaper of British Columbia, was at this time
a conspicuous figure in public affairs. As DeCosmos and
Higgins as rival editors were for a long time sworn enemies,
who used the most offensive epithets toward each other, the
latter* s estimate of the former after many years is exceedingly
interesting :

At that time the undoubted leader of the Colonials,
who had gathered at Victoria, was Amor DeCosmos.
He was an energetic and able worker, and being fearless
and having had some political experience in Nova Scotia,
he was admirably fitted for the position. He started the
British Colonist and bombarded the governor and his
friends with literature of the fiercest kind three times a
week. In his writings Mr DeCosmos was assisted by a

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 131

contributor who wrote over the signature of * Monitor,*
but whose name was Charles Bedford Young. Mr
Young was a bitter and sarcastic writer. Many of his
articles were libellous, and, looking back over the many
years that have elapsed since that warfare was waged,
one is surprised when he is told that Young and De-
Cosmos never found themselves on the wrong side of the
lock-up. On one occasion the government did essay to
* muzzle the press * by ordering DeCosmos to discontinue
the publication of his paper until he should furnish bonds
to the sum of one thousand pounds, as required at that
time in Great Britain from all publishers. DeCosmos
suspended his publication, the people espoused his cause,
the bonds were furnished with a rush and the publica-
tion was resumed. On another occasion, in i860, the
publisher was brought before the legislative assembly for
libelling the speaker. He was arrested by the clerk of
the assembly — a mite of a man named Captain Doggett
— and an apology was demanded. The apology was
offered and accepted and the prisoner released.

Particulars of other equally interesting incidents are given
which throw sidelights on the situation. In 1859 George
Hunter Cary, an able lawyer, but of irascible disposition, was
made attorney-general. * In his bursts of passion,' says
Higgins, * he was known to denounce the (then) Chief Justice

Cameron as a ** old fool," cast his wig and gown on the

floor and rush from the courthouse, remaining away until he
was coaxed to go back by his client and resume his toggery
and argument, but he was never asked to apologize.* De-
Cosmos was as short-tempered as this peppery attorney, and
it was not long before they clashed.

The water question in Victoria, ever to the fore, was then
acute, and the city supply was obtained from springs at
Spring Ridge and distributed by carts. Cary, seeing an
opportunity to monopolize the supply to his own advantage,
bought the lots with the springs on them, fenced them round
and proceeded to charge a shilling a barrel for the water.
This occasioned a popular uprising, and the fence was torn
down and the carts were filled with water as before. Cary
got back his money for the lots and the sale was cancelled, but
he was thereafter the object of public detestation. He built

132 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Cary Castle (long afterwards used as a government house and
on the site of which the present government house stands),
became impoverished, returned to England in 1867 and died
in a madhouse. In 1863 the franchise was extended and De-
Cosmos was returned with several supporters, * but what,'
asks Higgins, * could six popular members effect in a legislature
of fifteen ? *

One more extract will serve to complete in a measure
the impressions sought to be conveyed respecting political
conditions at the time. In i860 the assembly was opened
with unusual ceremony, and the account goes on to state :

The speech promised a great many things that were
never carried out and which were probably only inserted
to quiet the public mind, which by this time had become
very pronounced and often threatening in favour of re-
sponsible government. This House only lived through
two sessions, but during its existence a strange thing
happened. One of the popular members who sat for
Esquimalt was George Tomlin Gordon. In 1861 he
was made Colonial treasurer, and the government con-
ceived the brilliant idea of causing him to resign and
stand for re-election, although there was no constitutional
provision that required him to take that step. In fact,
there was no constitution. DeCosmos was put up to
oppose Gordon. The vote five minutes before the poll
closed stood ten and ten. DeCosmos' real name was
William Alexander Smith, but in California, by an act of
the legislature, he was permitted to assume the name of
Amor DeCosmos. On the occasion of the Esquimalt
election he stood as William Alexander Smith, commonly
known as Amor DeCosmos, and his friends so voted for
him. The last man made a grievous error. He forgot
the long formula and voted for * Amor DeCosmos,' and
his vote was so recorded. The polls being closed, the
sheriff announced a tie between Gordon and Smith, and
one vote for Amor DeCosmos. He then voted for
Gordon, whom he declared to be elected. Above the
Legislative Assembly there sat the governor with his
executive council, who promptly stifled every measure
of a popular nature which the government nominees in
the lower house might permit to pass. The sittings of
the Assembly were open and the reporters took and

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 133

published notes of the proceedings. So a government
member, who did not wish to incur pubHc opprobrium
by opposing a popular measure in the open, voted for it.
The measure then went before the executive council
and was quietly strangled there, no reporters being
present.

DeCosmos in his fight against the government, which
was in fact against the governor^ himself, had on the main-
land staunch backing in John Robson, editor of the British
Columbian, an able writer and a forceful speaker, who
in post-Confederation days became prominently identified
with several governments and died premier of the province.
Robson broadsided the government weekly in his paper.
Later on, Thomas Basil Humphreys was a coadjutor of De-
Cosmos in opposition, and as a public speaker, especially
in the vituperative strain, he has had few, if any, equals in
the West.

It is now time to consider the organization of government
on the mainland of British Columbia and the various cir-
cumstances and conditions that affected it. The genesis of
political life was the discovery of gold and the consequent
influx of population. Since the descent of Simon Fraser from
Fort George to the sea in 1808 until the miners came it is
not recorded that a single white man outside the servants
of the fur-trading companies, David Douglas the botanist,
Paul Kane the artist, and one or two others, had ever set
foot in the country that now became the scene of such
eager quest by hosts of adventurers. It was a * no-man's-
land,' and even when, early in 1 858, Douglas, governor
of the adjoining territory of Vancouver Island, chose to
exercise a sort of vicarious sovereignty over it, he did so
irregularly and illegally, although his action was approved
as necessary in the circumstances. Naturally, a sudden rush
of miners and adventurers into this wilderness, where there
was no delegated authority, created a perplexing problem.

* It is interesting to note that in 1875 DeCosmos as agent for the province
lx>rrowed thirty thousand dollars from Sir James Douglas, upon which he received
a commission of six hundred dollars. He could not then have been on the dd
terms of enmity.

134 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Douglas did what any strong and sensible man would have
done. Instead of waiting months for instructions from the
home government, he assumed authority as governor of Van-
couver Island and as head of the Hudson's Bay Company,
which had an exclusive right to trade with the natives.
Had any person chosen to dispute his authority in the pre-
mises, Douglas would legally and constitutionally have been
out of court, but as there was no court other than that
of his own making, and general ignorance as to his exact
status, he was perfectly safe. Between the rush of miners
and the legal formation of the colony he governed the main-
land by proclamation in the name of the queen, without Her
Majesty's knowledge or consent.

A word or two is now in place as to the people who came
to British Columbia at this time. Just how the news of the
discovery of gold which brought the immediate rush was
spread abroad is not certain. There had been rumours of
gold in the Columbia and the Fraser Rivers as far back as
1853 and very definite information regarding it in 1856 and
1857. Douglas had referred to it in his dispatches to the
Colonial Office, and in Washington and Oregon it is stated
that the newspaper editors had heard of gold for several
years, but did not believe it existed in large enough quantities
to pay, and so kept quiet about it — a. discretion that would
be unaccountable in these days of journalistic enterprise.
Bancroft says the excitement began in and spread from
Puget Sound, where the ships were deserted by their crews.
H. B. Hobson, in the British Columbia Year Book of 1897,
states that in February 1858 the Hudson's Bay Company's
vessel Otter reached San Francisco with a consignment of
gold dust for the United States mint there, and when this
news was spread abroad prospectors rushed for the new field.
They reached Hill's Bar on the Fraser, where the gold was
plentiful, and then sent letters and gold dust to their friends
in San Francisco. That city was full of adventurers, and
the news created the greatest furore California had ever
known. The story of the memorable exodus which followed
and of the experiences of that summer and fall has been told
so often and in such a variety of ways that to import into

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 135

the telling the smallest degree of novelty, consistent with
the facts, would be impossible. All kinds of persons, to the
number of probably twenty-five thousand, left for the new
diggings in all sorts of craft, with only the vaguest idea of
their destination. The Fraser River was their objective
point, but Fort Victoria, the Hudson's Bay Company's strong-
hold on the North Pacific coast, perforce became the common
assembling-ground before the miners made the final rush for
the gold-fields. Advantage was taken of the situation for
speculative purposes. Mushroom towns sprang up at rival
points — Port Townsend, Whatcom (now Bellingham) and
Semiahmoo — on the American side of the line, to exploit the
exodus for real estate gains. An ignis fatuus known as the
Bellingham Bay Trail, which supposedly led direct from
Whatcom to the new gold-fields, was the lure, and the pro-
moters hoped to build up a town as a distributing centre.
The scheme was launched, as Bancroft describes it, ' under
the specious design of American patriotism * to induce miners
and others to buy supplies there, and, incidentally, to sell
lots. Semiahmoo was projected with a similar object in
view. Those thus lured were woefully disappointed and,
after berating the originators of the scheme, went on to
Victoria.

Victoria was blessed by the fact that it was already an
organized community. It was the depot of Hudson's Bay
Company supplies and there were existing facilities of com-
munication. Thither the argonauts flocked in thousands,
and the primitive streets of Victoria thronged with a cosmo-
politan crowd of eager men. These people, largely foreign
in appearance, birth and sentiment, were provocative of some
alarm as to the possible results of the invasion. Alfred
Waddington, one of the army of invaders, and afterwards a
prominent citizen and the original promoter of the Canadian
Pacific Railway, so far as British Columbia was concerned,
has given us a lively picture of the situation in a little brochure
entitled The Fraser River Mines Vindicated, which has the
distinction of being, so far as known, the first book to be
printed on a Vancouver Island press. Waddington tells us
that * never, perhaps, was there so large an immigration in

136 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

so short a space of time in so small a place. Unlike Cali-
fornia, where the distance from the Eastern States and
Europe precluded the possibility of an immediate rush, the
proximity of Victoria to San Francisco, on the contrary,
afforded every facility, and converted the whole matter into
a fifteen-dollar trip.' The coming of the gold-seekers had
many of the aspects of a fair. It does not appear that the
forebodings of trouble on the part of the citizens were well
founded ; on the whole, the behaviour of the newcomers
was good. There was some rowdyism, and some blatant
talk about the Americans taking the country, but the ever-
present sense of British law and order and the presence of
warships in Esquimalt harbour curbed any general disposi-
tion to marauding, if indeed it ever existed.

The Hudson's Bay Company has been praised by Ban-
croft and other writers for the way in which the incoming
people were treated. The officials exerted themselves to
the utmost to supply the wants of all without resorting to
those exorbitant charges for supplies and other services
which they might readily have made by taking advantage
of the extraordinary demand for everything and the limited
means of satisfying requirements. Bancroft points out that
the company was of far more value to the government than
the government was to the company at that particular time.
Douglas made use of the Hudson's Bay Company's estab-
lishments for public offices, and to its servants he committed
* in perfect confidence the custody of public money.'

Altogether, notwithstanding the theoretical objections to
Hudson's Bay Company government and the anomalies
under which it existed, it was a fortunate thing for the country,
when the rush came, that Douglas was in the dual position
of governor of the colony and head of the company. The
dubious relations of crown and company could not but create
a delicate situation for one placed as he was, but all con-
temporary evidence goes to show that, while he allowed all
reasonable profits to accrue to the company, he nevertheless
held the balance fairly even as between the two interests
involved. It is true that he appeared to unduly favour
Victoria, the headquarters of the company, by compelling

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 137

miners to have permits issued there ; it is true, as Bancroft
states, that by proclamation he warned all vessels found in
British waters without a licence from the Hudson's Bay
Company * and a sufferance from the customs officers at
Victoria,* that they should be declared forfeited ; it is true
that he proposed to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company
that they should place steamers on the route, carrying exclu-
sively company's goods and carrying no passengers except-
ing those having gold-mining licences and permits from the
Vancouver Island government — a rebate of two dollars to
be paid the company on each passenger so carried ; it is
true that he levied a tax on canoes and decked vessels going
up the Fraser River ; that he stationed vessels at the mouth
of the Fraser to enforce his regulations ; that he refused
* permits to steamboats charging exorbitant rates ' ; and it is
true that in doing all these things he exceeded his authority*;
but it is also true, which even Bancroft admits, that there was
a wisdom of a public as well as of a corporate nature in the
general principle involved. It was in the very best public
interests — those of the incoming population chiefly — that
there should be an effective regulation of immigration and
of mining operations, and that there also should be revenue
derived from the commerce and settlement to ensue in order
to provide for the proper administration of the country and
for its future requirements. The secretary of state for the
Colonies could not officially endorse the policy pursued by
Douglas. He could not recognize the Hudson's Bay Company
as a political entity. On account of international considera-
tions alone he was bound to administer a warning on the
subject, but while he did so he was careful to absolve the
governor from all blame, in the circumstances, and com-
mended, in the light of the emergency, his assumption of
authority over the mainland. The conduct of the Hudson's
Bay Company throughout this rather trying period of in-
choate political organization was admirable.

Waddington, to whom reference has already been made,
has left several vivid impressions of the situation at Victoria :

On landing we found a quiet village of about eight

138 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1 849-1 871

hundred inhabitants. No noise, no bustle, no gamblers,
no speculators or interested parties to preach up this or
underrate that. . . .

As to business, there was none ; the streets were grown
with grass, and there was not even a cart. Goods there
were none, nor in the midst of the * comedy of errors *
had a single California merchant thought of sending a
bag of flour to Victoria. The result was, that shortly
after our arrival, the bakers were twice short of bread
and we were obliged to replace it, first by pilot bread, and
afterwards with soda crackers. At the same time flour
was worth eight dollars at Whatcom. . . .

This immigration was so sudden, that people had to
spend their nights in the streets or bushes, according to
choice, for there were not hotels sufficient to receive
them. . . .

As to goods, the most exorbitant prices were asked and
realized, for though the Company had a large assortment,
their store in the fort was literally besieged from morning
to night ; and when all were in such a hurry, it was not
every one that cared to wait three or four hours, and
sometimes half a day, for his turn to get in. The con-
sequence was that the half a dozen stores that were
established did as they pleased. . . .

So far none but miners, mechanics, retail traders, or
men of small means had made their appearance ; but
merchants and people of standing, men who had so far
hesitated, now began to arrive. Some of them without
exactly understanding the situation, or caring to under-
stand it, for the sake of the trip and solely out of curiosity.
But others might be seen coming on shore with certain
heavy bags of gold coin, which they were obliged to have
carried. They had expected to get ground for nothing,
and buy the whole city cheap, and were sadly disappointed
to find that they had come a little too late. Many of them
had the trouble of taking their bags of gold coin back
again, without even opening them, and all of them cursed
the place.

These * big bugs ' were closely followed by another
class, and Victoria was assailed by an indescribable array

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 139

of Polish Jews, Italian fishermen, French cooks, jobbers,
speculators of every kind, land agents, auctioneers,
hangers-on at auctions, bummers, bankers and brokers
of every description. Many of them seemed to think
very little about the gold diggings, the Company's rights,
or their consequences. Nor did they trouble themselves
much about the state of the interior, the hostile feelings
of the Indians, or anything else of the kind. They took
it for granted that gold would soon be coming down, and
whether it did or not was not their object. They came
to sell and to speculate, to sell goods, to sell lands, to sell
cities, to buy them and sell them again to greenhorns, to
make money and be gone.

Waddington may have exaggerated the situation some-
what, but he tells us that to those described above are to
be added gamblers, thieves, drunkards and gaol-birds, * let
loose by the government of California for the benefit of
mankind,' and all that disorganized class of humanity, the
flotsam and jetsam accumulated in the slums of cities, in-
cluding even the halt and the maimed and the blind and
the mad, who trek in the wake of large moving forces —
epitomized in Waddington's sweeping characterization as * the
offscourings of a population, like that of California, contain-
ing the offscourings of the world.* Even the infamous Paddy
Martin, desperado, and *bad men' of the type of Boone Helm,
found their way to the scene, although they discovered an
atmosphere of law and order uncongenial to their vicious
tastes, and most of them left soon, cursing British respecta-
bility. Among this heterogeneous class of immigrants there
was, however, a considerable element of respectable people,
hard-working and honest, not a few of whom remained in
the country and cast in their lot with the intending per-
manent residents. The marvel was that the early history
of British Columbia was, in the circumstances, marked by
so little crime and vice ; and here it is to be noted that the
fact was due to the settled conditions already existing and
the firm administration of justice.

The sudden and extraordinary influx of an adventurous
and speculative population had its immediate effect in sur-
prising activities in business of all kinds. It precipitated a

140 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

general boom. Shop-buildings and shanties sprang up like
magic, and the business portion of the town was flanked by
an array of tents that conveyed the impression of an army
in quarters. The price of lots rose suddenly and increased
from day to day. So active were real estate operations that
the Hudson's Bay Company had to suspend the sale of lots
in order to allow Pemberton, the official surveyor, time to
plot them. For a short period speculation was fast and
furious, and the land office of the company was besieged with
buyers who ranged themselves in line early in the morning.
Commercial business flourished in an equal degree. Cali-
fornian merchants brought in large supplies and opened
stores. Esquimalt and Victoria were declared free ports,
and thus the company monopoly was broken and eliminated
for ever, though the company suffered in no way, as the
business to be done was greater than its servants could
handle.

In the meantime, miners and many others found their way
to the mainland and up the Fraser River. Soon the auriferous
bars from Fort Hope to Lytton were fully occupied. Several
of them — Hill's, Murderer's and Boston bars — proved to be
rich, and from them was taken gold in large quantities, in-
dividual miners recovering as high as from twenty-five to
one hundred and fifty dollars a day each. Unfortunately for
the continuance of the excitement, most of the miners reached
the river during high water, and it was necessary to wait for
some time for the water to recede in order to work their
claims, which were only twenty feet square at best. When
the falling water finally permitted mining, there were many
disappointments over results — the history of all placer camps.
The collapse of the mining boom was as sudden as its rise,
and the backward rush to Victoria and San Francisco soon
began. The effect on conditions in Victoria was imme-
diate, and alarm took the place of optimism. There was
at first a stringency in business and then a general exodus,
preceded by a wholesale sacrifice of goods and property.
Those left in Victoria were consoled by the incoming con-
signments of gold dust, which aroused hopes for the coming
year.

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 141

Angus McDonald, in charge at Colvile, had informed
Governor Douglas that gold had been discovered on the
Upper Columbia, in British territory, and the latter, under
date of April 16, 1856, straightway reported the fact to the
secretary of state for the Colonies, Henry Labouchere, and
suggested the advisability of considering the raising of revenue
by taxing the miners, but qualified his suggestion by intimat-
ing that it would be impossible to collect such a tax without
the aid of a military force, and that would probably be too
expensive. In reply Labouchere informed the governor that
as the government did not expect to raise a revenue from so
remote a part of the British possessions, neither did it propose
to incur any expense on account of it. Another dispatch
followed in October informing the Colonial Office that the
number of miners at work was limited on account of the
hostility of the natives to Americans. Gold-digging, there-
fore, was confined mainly to retired servants of the Hudson's
Bay Company, who were on friendly terms with the Indians,
with the exception of Americans who happened to be able
to pass themselves off as British subjects. In the same dis-
patch Douglas reported that gold had been washed from the
tributaries of the Fraser. In June 1857 he wrote again con-
firming the reports of the auriferous character of the country.
At that time Americans had pushed their way in to the
Thompson River district, and as the Indians between Lytton
and Kamloops objected to their presence, it was feared that
there might be serious conflict between the two. It seems
that the Indians were concerned about their supply of salmon
being insufficient if white men had to be supplied with food.
They wished to, and did, engage in gold-digging on their own
account, regarding the fruits of the soil as inherently their
own. In a dispatch of December 1857 Douglas expressed
high hopes of the rich character of the * Couteau * country, a
general term intended to apply to the interior north of the
49th parallel. He also expressed fears that unless effective
measures of prevention were taken there would be trouble
with the natives and the country would * soon become the
scene of lawless misrule.' Douglas, no doubt inspired by
the knowledge of what had occurred in California, had always

142 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

been in dread of a foreign population which he would be unable
to control, and his policy and his recommendations to the
Colonial Office were largely based upon such considerations.
It was not his fault that the Colonial Office did not advise
him sooner as to his lawful prerogatives, as he had undoubtedly
enlightened Downing Street as to the situation in ample time
for it to have anticipated the rush of 1858. But Douglas was
forced to act on his own initiative, and the first proclamation
issued affecting New Caledonia, or, as it was soon to be offici-
ally designated, British Columbia, bore the date of December
28, 1857. This proclamation, intended to apply particularly
to what was known as the Couteau, Quaatlam and Shuswap
countries, predicated that gold was the property of the crown
and that nobody was permitted to dig for it and take it away
without authority. A licence fee of ten shillings a month,
to be paid at Victoria, was imposed. Notice was given that a
gold commissioner who would make regulations with reference
to the * extent and position of the land to be covered by each
licence ' would be appointed. This was the beginning of
government in British Columbia, informal and irregular as it
was. As we have seen, similar and additional regulations
were applied to the Fraser River mines in 1858. In that year
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton succeeded Labouchere as secretary
of state for the Colonies, and he entered into the formation
and government of the new colony with an enthusiasm quite
in contrast with the attitude of his predecessors. His dis-
patches to Governor Douglas display a profound apprecia-
tion and grasp of the difficulties of the situation.

Lytton told Douglas that a governor with a salary of
;£iooo would be appointed, and that, in appreciation of his
past services, he would receive the appointment for a term
of six years, to be held, for the time being, in conjunction
with his position as governor of Vancouver Island, but under
a separate commission. The legal connection between the
Hudson's Bay Company and the island colony was to be
severed, and the administration of both colonies would be
entrusted to officers entirely unconnected with the company.
It was intimated that his acceptance as governor would be
conditional upon the giving up of all connection with that

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 143

corporation as servant, shareholder or in any other capacity,
and the same condition applied to any interest in, or connec-
tion with, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company. Douglas
was told that in case his decision should be in favour of re-
taining his position with the Hudson's Bay Company, his
services as governor of Vancouver Island would not * escape
the recollection of Her Majesty's government.* Having thus
cleared the way, by a precise explanation of the personal
relations of Douglas to the new administration, the colonial
secretary detailed a code of instructions and suggestions
equally explicit, the dominant note of which was the need
of careful consideration and conservation of public interests
and the equal rights of all. It was pointed out that British
Columbia * stands on a very different footing from many of
our colonial settlements,' whose chief element of success
was the possession of arable lands. British Columbia pos-
sessed in a remarkable degree many elements of prosper-
ity to furnish a revenue which would * at once defray the
expenses of an establishment.' Lytton's view was that
' moderate duties on beer, wine, spirits and other articles
usually subject to taxation would be preferable to the im-
position of licences,' and from these sources he expected a
large and immediate revenue. For town lots there would
be a great demand, a ready source of obtaining funds,
and it was intimated that early steps should be taken to
select a site for a seaport town. The colonial secretary
did not dwell too much upon how a general revenue
should be obtained, leaving that for Douglas to decide
from local knowledge, but it was expected that the new
colony would be self-supporting at the earliest date possible.
He added with emphasis :

You will keep steadily in view that it is the desire of
this country that representative institutions and self-
government should prevail in British Columbia, when by
the growth of a fixed population, material for these in-
stitutions shall be known to exist ; and to that object you
must from the commencement aim and shape your policy.

The governor was informed that a party of Royal
Engineers would be dispatched to the colony to survey the

144 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

parts suitable for settlement, to lay out roads and generally
to superintend public works. The cost of sur\^eying lands for
private purchase was to be added to the price of the land. It
was intimated, too, that the force was intended for scientific
and practical purposes and not merely for military objects,
and that an officer of the force would be detailed to report on
the value of the mineral resources. An experienced inspector
of police would be sent out, and no time should be lost in
considering how a police force might be organized from the
people on the spot, who must depend upon themselves for the
preservation of peace.

Special emphasis was laid upon the humane treatment of
the Indians, though the best solution of that question was
left to Douglas's o\\*n judgment. In all bargains with them
for the cession of lands * subsistence should be supplied in
some other shape,* and above all attention should be given
to ' the best means of diffusing the blessings of the Christian
religion and of civilization among them.* The governor was
commended for the steps he had already taken in regard to the
Indians, and he was further appealed to, in connection with
the fur trade, * to save them from the demoralizing bribes
of ardent spirits.'

In the series of dispatches from Lytton to Douglas the
latter is constantly reminded that * representative institu-
tions * and * self-government ' are the goals to be kept con-
stantly in view, and to be achieved as soon as conditions
warranted. He was particularly enjoined to * secure by all
legitimate means the confidence and goodwill of the immi-
grants, and to exhibit no jealousy whatever of Americans
or other foreigners who may enter the country. You will
remember that the country is destined for free institutions at
the earliest possible moment.* It was even suggested that he
should form a council of advice. Nevertheless the governor
was clothed with extraordinary powers, as witness :

There has not been time to furnish you by this mail
with the order-in -council, commission and instructions
to yourself as governor which are necessary to complete
your legal powers. You ^^•ill nevertheless continue to
act during the brief interval before their arrival as you

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 145

have hitherto done, as the authorized representative in
the territory of British Columbia, and to take, without
hesitation, such steps as you may deem to be absolutely
necessary for the government of the territory and as are
not repugnant to the principles of British law. . . .

Her Majesty's government feel that the difficulties of
your position are such as courage and familiarity with the
resources of the country and character of the people can
alone overcome.

Certain acts of the governor, such as the appointment of
revenue officers, a justice of the peace and a gold com-
missioner, and the raising of revenue by customs and the
levying of licence fees, etc., were approved ; but he was
informed that officials as heads of the various departments
would be sent from England, and- certain significant cautions
were given that * no distinction be made between foreigners
and British subjects as to the amount of licence fee,' and,
especially, * in the second place it must be made perfectly
clear to every one that this licence fee is levied, not in regard
to any supposed rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, but
simply in virtue of the prerogative of the Crown,' for revenue
purposes. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton was particularly
jealous in regard to the influence or control of the com-
pany in any manner whatsoever, that having been the cause
of so much complaint, and he took pains to state :

Further with regard to those supposed rights of the
Hudson's Bay Company, I must refer you, in even
stronger terms, to the cautions already conveyed to you
in my former dispatches. The Hudson's Bay Company
have hitherto had an exclusive right to trade with the
Indians in the Eraser river territory, but they have had
no other right whatever. They have had no rights to
exclude strangers. They have had no rights of govern-
ment or of occupation of the soil. They have had no
rights to prevent or interfere with any land of trading,
except with the Indians alone.

The immense resources of the new colony appeared, from
the enthusiastic reports of the governor himself, to warrant
the assumption that the local revenue would be sufficient

VOL. XXI K

146 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

for all purposes of government, and the principal uses to which
it should be applied were police, public works to facilitate
landing and travelling, payment of necessary officers, and,
above all, surveying. Accurate accounts of everything were
to be rendered. Postal facilities should be provided. Douglas
was empowered to govern and legislate on his own authority,
but he was enjoined that * popular institutions ' should be
established with * as little delay as possible.* There were
numerous injunctions and suggestions of a general character,
the spirit of which is epitomized in one sentence : * You will
carefully remember that the public interests are the first
consideration.*

A land policy that should have been a guide for all future
governments was clearly outlined. Douglas was authorized
to sell land wanted solely for agricultural purposes at an upset
price. Land for town purposes, to which speculation was
sure to direct itself, was not to be placed at too low a price.
With a view that * mere land-jobbing may in some degree
be checked,* he was * to open land for settlement gradually ;
not to sell beyond the limits of what is either surveyed or
required for immediate survey, and to prevent, as far as in
you lies, squatting on unsold lands.* It was * the strong
desire of Her Majesty's government to attach to this terri-
tory all peaceful settlers, without regard to nation,* and
with naturalization the right of acquiring crown lands was
to follow. In the sale of land, it was intimated that the

* slightest cause to impute a desire to show favour to the
servants of the Hudson's Bay Company * would be watched

* with jealousy * by the home parliament. These were the
more important references of Lytton*s dispatches bearing
upon the government and administration in British Columbia.
A careful perusal of the dispatches in full will show how
deliberately and intelligently the wants of the colony were
thought out and what an advanced and liberal conception of
colonial institutions Lytton possessed.

Two detachments of Royal Engineers sailed from Eng-
land for British Columbia : one in the steamer La Plata on
September 2, 1858, under command of Captain Parsons,
who was accompanied by twenty non-commissioned officers

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 147

and men ; and the other, made up of two officers, one staff
assistant surgeon, eighteen non-commissioned officers and
men, thirty-one women and thirty-four children, the whole
under the command of Captain R. H. Luard, in the clipper
ship Thames City, Captain Parsons was the bearer of impor-
tant communications to Governor Douglas. One contained
Douglas's commission as governor, another defined the scope
of his authority, and another notified him of the revocation
on May 30 of the Hudson's Bay Company charter as far as
the mainland was concerned. By the same mail came advices
of the appointment of Colonel R. C. Moody, R.E., as com-
mander of the forces and to the office of chief commissioner
of Lands and Works, with a latent commission as lieutenant-
governor. He was to be second in command to Douglas,
from whom he was in certain matters to take orders, but
with special duties that were not to be interfered with
unless ' under circumstances of the greatest gravity.' Simul-
taneously came the advice of the appointment of Matthew
Baillie Begbie ^ as chief justice of the new colony. There
also came copies of proclamations declaring British law in
force in British Columbia and indemnifying the governor
and other officers for acts performed before the establish-
ment of proper authority. By various routes and at different
times the different high officials arrived from England and
entered upon their several duties. The first civil list of the
colony included the following: Governor, James Douglas, C.B.,
£1800 ; chief justice, Matthew Baillie Begbie, ;£8oo ; chief
commissioner of Lands and Works, Richard Clement Moody,
;£8oo ; colonial secretary, W. A. G. Young, ;£500 ; treasurer,
Captain W. Driscoll Gosset, R.E., ;S500 ; attorney-general,
George H. Cary, ;£400 ; inspector of police, Chartres Brew,
;£500 ; collector of customs, Wymond O. Hamley, ;£400 ;
harbour master. Captain James Cooper, ;£400. There were
also the following ecclesiastical appointments : the Right Rev.
George Hills, D.D., bishop, and the Revs. Gammage and
Crickmer. The bishopric was endowed by Miss Burdett-
Coutts, while the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
paid the stipend of Gammage and the Colonial Church Society

* See pp. 3901.

148 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

that of Crickmer.^ It may be stated here that the act
of the imperial parliament providing for the government
of British Columbia and defining its boundaries was intro-
duced on July I, 1858, and in moving the second reading
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton made a highly illuminative and
eloquent speech. One part of it was instinct with the pro-
phetic spirit :

More rational, if less exciting, hopes of the importance
of the colony rest upon its other resources [than mining],
which I have described, and upon the influence of its
magnificent situation on the ripening grandeur of British
North America. I do believe that the day will come, and
that many now present will live to see it, when, a portion
at least of the lands on the other side of the Rocky
Mountains being also brought into colonization and
guarded by free institutions, one direct line of railway
communication will unite the Pacific and the Atlantic.

Now that we have seen the machinery of government
fairly set in operation, it will be necessary only to review
the association and sequel of events in a series of paragraphs
before the chapter dealing with the settled state of affairs is
introduced to the reader's notice.

The Royal Engineers were a picked military force, to be
maintained at the cost of the imperial government for a

1 Between January i and June 30, 1859, Douglas made the following pro-
visional appointments for the colony of British Columbia, and the names of nearly
all the appointees have become more or less historical : stipendiary magistrates
and justices of the peace — Queenborough, W. R. Spaulding, afterwards county
court judge of Nanaimo and Comox until 1881 ; Lillooet, Thomas Elwyn, after-
wards deputy provincial secretary ; Langley, Peter O'Reilly, who came to occupy
a very high and honourable position in official circles in the province ; at Lytton,
H. M. Ball, afterwards county court judge of Cariboo from the time of Con-
federation to 1881 ; high sheriff at Port Douglas, Charles S. NicoU; assistant
gold commissioner at Yale, E. H. Sanders ; chief clerk colonial secretary's
office, Charles Good, son-in-law of Douglas ; chief clerk of the customs house,
W. H. M^Crea ; registrar of the supreme court, A. T. Bushby, son-in-law of
Douglas, and afterwards a county court judge ; revenue officer at Langley, Charles
Wylde. Among the colonial officials not mentioned in the civil service list given
above were F. G. Claudet, assayer, and C. A. Bacon, melter in the assay office.
His very early appointments, in 1858, were Richard Hicks as revenue officer at
Yale and O. Travaillot, gold commissioner at Thompson. Various other minor
appointments were made before Douglas was created governor, in their nature
necessarily temporary.

SIR MATTHEW BAILLIE BEGBIE
Frotn a portrait by Savannah

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 149

limited period only. Their purpose has already been indi-
cated. Upon their arrival, as soon as they were settled in
their barracks at Sapperton, a little to the east of the original
site of New Westminster, they began their work of laying
out roads, surveying the lands of the district and erecting
public works. It was under their auspices that the Cariboo
v/agon road was begun. Never but once — at the time of
the Yale riots — was there an occasion for their services in a
defensive capacity being called into requisition. They did
good and effective service until their disbandment in 1 863,
when a number of them elected to remain in the country.

Among the first things to be done in launching the new
colony was to select a seat of government and a capital.
Langley, in the open fields surrounding Fort Langley, was
the first choice, but was abandoned for the adjoining town-
site of Derby, where a sale of town lots was held.-^ Both
Langley and Derby, however, were considered by Colonel
Moody as unsuitable for the purpose, and his recommendation
of the present site of New Westminster, for many obvious
reasons, military, residential and commercial, was confirmed
by the governor. A curious dispute arose among the officials
as to whether the capital should be named Queenhorough. or
Queenshorough, reminding one of the time-honoured differ-
ences between * tweedledum and tweedledee.* As in the
case of naming the colony itself, it was left to the arbitra-
ment of the sovereign, who with peculiar appropriateness
and diplomacy offended none of the disputants by naming
it New Westminster. A sale of lots was held, those who had
invested in Derby being allowed to change locations.

On November 17 an imposing party of officials left
Victoria for the headquarters of the new colony. The
governor was in command. He was accompanied by Rear-
Admiral Baynes ; David Cameron, chief justice of Van-

* Fort Hope was really the recognized headquarters of the mainland until
Langley had been selected. It was here that the first proclamations were made,
the first officials appointed and the first town-site laid out. The first court was
held there, George Pearkes, crown solicitor, presiding, and several offenders were
punished. On September 3, 1858, a man named King was committed for the
murder of a man named Eaton — a case of stabbing arising out of an old quarrel.
King was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to transportation for life.

150 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

couver Island ; and Matthew Baillie Begbie, the new chief
justice of British Columbia, who, with several officers of the
Royal Engineers, had now arrived. Their mission was the
formal launching of the colony of British Columbia. They
sailed in H.M.S. Satellite with the Hudson's Bay Company's
Otter in attendance. Within the mouth of the Eraser the
Beaver and the Recovery received the party, which landed
at New Langley. The day of the ceremonial broke dark
and lowering. A guard of honour received His Excellency
amid the firing of a salute ; and in the presence of about one
hundred persons assembled in a large room of the fort, the
weather rendering a meeting in the open air impossible, the
oaths of office were taken, first by Begbie as judge and after-
wards by Douglas as governor. Proclamation was made of
the act establishing the colony ; of an instrument indemni-
fying the officers of the government from any irregularities
that might have been committed during the interval prior
to the establishment of the act ; declaring English law as the
law of the colony ; and revoking the exclusive privileges of
the Hudson's Bay Company. The governor did not leave
the fort until the following day, when a salute of fourteen
guns pealed forth in his honour.-^ This apparently was the
only important function held in the first capital of the colony.
At the very outset several grievances came into exist-
ence which developed into a serious sectional feeling against
Victoria, which was later rendered bitter by the removal of
the capital thither after the union of the colonies in 1866.
It was held by the purchasers of lots that some of the pro-
ceeds should have been devoted to clearing the heavy timber
from the town-site, an undertaking as expensive as the lots
in the first instance, and such had been the original under-
standing at the time of the sale. Victoria, too, had been
declared a free port, while New Westminster was subject to
the schedule of customs duties, which gave Victoria a decided
advantage as a port of commerce. And then — and this was
a fact greatly resented — the chief officials of the mainland
colony preferred to live in Victoria, for social and other
reasons. The sectional feeling thus engendered existed until

^ R. H. Coats and R. E. Gosnell, Sir James Douglas.

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 151

very recent years. It was very conspicuous during the fight
over the capital and subsequently during the * battle of the
routes,* when Esquimalt and Burrard Inlet were rival candi-
dates for the honour of being the terminus of the Canadian
Pacific Railway, and even much later, when in 1893 the new
parliament buildings were projected.

On June 9, 1858, James Yates, merchant, and five others
petitioned Douglas on behalf of the public to remove the
restrictions imposed upon the trade of the mainland in the
interests of the Hudson's Bay Company.^ This petition, or
rather resolution of a public meeting, had ostensibly for its
object that there might be no distress for want of provisions
on the part of the miners. The governor replied that he
had no authority to grant the prayer of the petition, but
stated that he would recommend the opening of the Eraser
district for settlement, and, further, expressed the opinion
that such a course would be adopted.

Reference has previously been made to the hostility of the
Indians of the Eraser and Thompson Rivers to the incoming
of American miners in 1857. When in the summer of 1858
Douglas made a trip up the Eraser, in company with Captain
Prevost of H.M.S. Satellite, he found upon arrival at Hill's
Bar a state of great alarm existing on account of the tumul-
tuous disposition of the natives, who, in his own words,
* threatened to make a clean sweep of the whole body of
miners assembled there.' The trouble was of mutual pro-
vocation. The miners were not disposed to treat the Indians
with much consideration, and the latter were jealous of their
lands and rights held from time immemorial. Douglas held
conferences with both. He used his great influence with the
Indians in the interest of peace, and spoke plainly to the
miners, to whom he made it clear that they were there simply
on sufferance, and that the Indians had rights which he was

1 Douglas imposed by proclamation a duty of ten per cent on all articles not
otherwise specified entering British Columbia. Flour paid 2S. id. a barrel ;
bacon, 4s. 2d. per hundred pounds ; spirits, 4s. 2d. a gallon ; wine, 2s, id. a
gallon ; ale, 6^d. a gallon ; beans and pease, 6\6.. per hundred pounds ; barley
and oats, 6Jd. per two hundred pounds ; coin, quicksilver, fresh meats and
vegetables, timber, hay, wheat and books were free. The duty on spirits was
subsequently advanced.

152 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

bound to respect. Immediate trouble was averted, but he
left expecting serious trouble sooner or later, and so reported
to the home government. In this connection, it may be
stated that the governor mingled freely among the miners
and learned all he could of the prospects. Upon his return
to Victoria he was highly optimistic, and his rose-coloured
dispatches created a too favourable impression of what the
country would be capable of in the way of revenue, as he sub-
sequently discovered to his embarrassment when obliged to
write home for funds.

The trouble that he anticipated between Indians and
whites occurred in 1858. There was a serious outbreak and
actual hostilities, in the course of which thirty-two Indians
and a few white men were killed ; moreover, a number
of white men fell victims to Indian outrage, as the headless
bodies of men that came floating down the river gave
ample testimony. It was the Americans against whom hos-
tilities were generally aroused. Bancroft tells us that the
Oregonians and Californians who came to the mines by the
plateau route from the south in July encountered the alter-
native of returning or fighting their way through the hostile
tribes on the Okanagan, while the Hudson's Bay Company
traders were moving through the same country and meeting
unmolested the same bodies of Indians. In the canons of
the Fraser River disputes arose and strife resulted. On
August 7, 1858, two Frenchmen were killed on the trail
above Big Canon, and when the news reached Yale a force of
miners was organized under Captain Rouse, and on August 14
an encounter took place in the canon. The Indians were
driven out after a three hours* fight and the loss of seven
braves. At Yale, in the meantime, a large force of miners
was organized under H. M. Snyder, as captain, and Captain
Graham, as assistant, with a separate force. The object of
the expedition was not so much revenge as the administering
of a salutary lesson to the Indians and the bringing about of
peace, which was effected after a march as far as the Thompson
River. The Indians submitted and entered into treaties of
peace, with no shedding of blood other than the killing of
Graham and his lieutenant during a midnight attack by

THE COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 153

Indians four miles above Long Bar. The natives proved
friendly ever afterwards.

It had been proposed by Douglas to go to the front
himself on this occasion, accompanied by thirty-five sappers
and miners and twenty marines from the Satellite^ but as
peace had been declared before the start was made, it was
not until later, during the M^ Go wan riots, that the force was
called upon to act. Ned M^Gowan, an ex- judge of California,
was a notorious character who in San Francisco had been the
subject of attentions on the part of the Vigilance Committee.
The riots were occasioned by a dispute as to authority among
local officials, but were magnified not only by the number of
persons involved but by the exaggerated reports that were
sent to the authorities. Colonel Moody, with twenty-five
engineers who had just arrived in the colony, reinforced by
one hundred marines and sailors from the Plumper and
Satellitey the police force under Chartres Brew, and a field-
piece, set out from Fort Langley and proceeded to Hope,
where they learned that the disturbance was not so serious
as reported. Colonel Moody, Chief Justice Begbie and
Captain Mayne went on in a canoe with the gold commissioner
to Yale, where they found the town quiet and where they were
received with lusty cheers. Nevertheless the situation was
not without its possibiUties of trouble, and Ned M^ Go wan
having assaulted Colonel Moody — for what reason is not
certain — the full force of engineers, marines, sailors and police
were soon in Yale. M^ Go wan apologized to Colonel Moody
for his conduct, proved that he had taken part in the riots
under orders of the magistrate, and promptly paid his fine
for assault. He afterwards conducted Begbie and Mayne
over the diggings and gave a champagne luncheon in their
honour. The incident, however, was not without its moral
effect upon the miners. The promptitude of the authorities
in appearing on the scene and the formidable display of force
impressed the unruly members of the community with the
fact that the course of justice was swift and its punishments
sure and severe. While the M^Gowan affair was trivial, its
outcome had the effect of rendering any further punitive
expeditions unnecessary.

154 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

THE PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION

THE year 1859 began a new era in the two Pacific colonies,
one in which the Hudson's Bay Company had been
entirely eliminated from the political background and
had been reduced to the status of an ordinary corporate
trading concern, still with large interests and not a little
influence, but nevertheless shorn of its prestige and power.
In Prince Rupert's Land the company remained supreme for
ten years longer, but on the coast, after the retirement of
Douglas, it was not influential, except in a commercial way.
Upon the retirement of Douglas, A. G. Dallas, his son-in-law,
became head of the Western Department and president of the
Victoria board of management of the company, of which
John Work and Dugald M^Tavish were the other members.
Ogden had died in 1854 ^^^ Work died in 1861. Dallas being
removed to Fort Garry and promoted as governor of the
company, Dugald M^Tavish succeeded to the management,
with Finlayson and Tolmie on the advisory board along with
him. In 1870 M^Tavish was removed to Montreal, and was
succeeded by James A. Grahame, William Charles and others.
Owing to changing conditions of trade, revolutionized among
other things by the building of the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way, the centre of the fur-trading operations was shifted to
Winnipeg.

Gold-mining and the increased population completely
changed the slow current of events on the British north-west
coast. After the unwonted excitement of 1858 there was
a corresponding depression. The Fraser River region had
proved disappointing to hosts of prospectors who in their mad
rush expected to find gold in quantities rivalling in richness
the mines of Peru. In their disappointment they declared
the whole country worthless. There was, however, a more
stable and enduring element among the first comers, who,
noting the evidences of gold everywhere in the waters of the
Fraser and of its tributaries, followed them restlessly towards

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 155

their sources. At Lytton the South Thompson River joins
the Eraser, and at this point the miners parted ways, some
ascending the Thompson, mining and prospecting as they
went, and spreading out over the wide extent of country
lying between the watersheds of the Columbia and Eraser
Rivers, of which Kamloops was the distributing centre. The
area of prospecting included North Thompson River, Tran-
quille River, Louis Creek, Salmon River, Shuswap River, the
Nicola district and even the Similkameen. The other move-
ment followed the Eraser and its tributaries northward in
every direction, the miners prospecting a large area on each
side of the Eraser in what are now known as the Lillooet
and Cariboo districts. Many parts of Lillooet proved to be
rich, and the Bridge River country, at the present time (19 13)
attracting so much attention, gave promise of gold and was
widely prospected. The potential placer district was, how-
ever, in the heart of the Cariboo itself. The region got its
name from the number of deer of the caribou species seen
there, and which formed a staple of fresh meat supply.
* Caribou * was almost immediately transformed to * Cariboo '
in the indifferent spelling of the men who brought the district
into prominence. Early in 1859 men were prospecting as far
as the mouth of the Quesnel, and late that year definite news
came of substantial strikes having been made. In i860 the
Cariboo rush began ; Victoria again became a busy centre
and New Westminster also enjoyed a season of prosperity.
Until the decline of the placer-mining industry in the late
sixties, through the richest of the claims being worked out,
Cariboo contributed more to the upbuilding of these two
cities and to the stability and wealth of the two colonies than
all other known factors.

The greater part of the gold of the district was found in
a comparatively small area comprised within the territory
drained by Williams, Cedar, Keithley, Antler, Lowhee and
Grouse Creeks, and the bars of the Quesnel River. Various
estimates have been made of the aggregate yielded by this
district. Erom 1859 to 1871 the total was probably about
$25,000,000. Of the population engaged in mining there have
also been various estimates, running from 1 500 to 5000.

156 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Bancroft says that the number never exceeded 3000 during
the early period. The population on the mainland, estimated
at 17,000 in 1858, dwindled to 5000 in 1861, between 2500
and 3000 of whom were in the Cariboo district. The gold
output was mainly recorded in the shipments by the express
companies, but a large quantity of gold dust went out each
year of which there was no record.

The Cariboo mines proved rich, and shortly became as
famous as the Australian or the Californian fields. The pay-
dirt lay deep in old channels and, unlike the bars of the lower
Fraser, where the gold was extracted by means of rocker and
sluice, had to be reached by shafts and drifts and pumping
apparatus. Williams Creek was the most important of the
mining camps, and on its banks was Barkerville, which was
a local distributing point and where for a time the giddy
distractions of the social side of mining life had full sway.
Commercial business was active there for a period, and in
1864 a newspaper was established, a small four-page sheet,
which sold for a dollar a copy and inserted no advertisement,
however small, for less than five dollars. It lasted as long
as the mines justified its existence.

Douglas was always a road-builder. From the time he
assumed governmental control in 1851 his efforts were con-
stantly in the direction of making roads. Reference has
already been made to the splendid system of highways in the
southern part of Vancouver Island. As soon as the colony
of British Columbia was established, the building of roads was
the first thing to which he turned his attention. He had
invaluable assistance from the corps of Royal Engineers, one
of whose special duties was to lay out and supervise the con-
struction of highways. Douglas's efforts in the direction of
improving communication were only limited by the funds at
his disposal. These were usually insufficient for his purpose.
In a country of great distances and exceedingly rough con-
ditions he judged accurately the especial need of roads and
trails in conjunction with the numerous waterways. The
Indians had their own trails from time immemorial. The
route travelled by the old Hudson's Bay brigade from Fort
Langley to Kamloops had served its purpose. The Whatcom

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 157

and Smess trail by way of Hope and thence across the
mountains and the plateau to Thompson was another route
for which claims were made ; but both lacked the practical
requirements of the miners, to whom expedition meant money.
These problems were soon partially solved. The Indians
knew of a way from Lillooet through the Harrison lake and
river region and over the Douglas portage. Douglas seized
upon this route as a suggestion. There were five hundred
miners in Victoria who wished to reach the diggings, and he
tried the experiment of co-operation. Each man as an
evidence of good faith was to deposit twenty-five dollars with
the Hudson's Bay Company and to sign an agreement to
work on the trail until it was completed. The company
agreed to carry them to the starting-point on Harrison River,
to feed them while they worked, and to refund the twenty-five
dollars when the contract was completed. The length of
the trail to Lillooet was seventy miles, and the contract was
successfully completed under these terms. This road was
extended by the Royal Engineers after their arrival and was
for a time the main line of traffic with the upper country. By
October i860 a new and easier road between Yale and Lytton,
open during winter, was laid out. As Bancroft remarks, it
only required the Cariboo excitement to set in motion the
transformation of this trail into a wagon road, the cutting
and blasting for which began at Yale in 1862 under the super-
vision of the Royal Engineers. The Cariboo wagon road
was the crowning achievement in road-building during this
period. It was four hundred and eighty-five miles long, and
was commenced and practically completed during Douglas's
tenure of office at an outlay of over $1,000,000. The Yale-
Cariboo wagon road from Yale to Clinton is one hundred and
thirty-six miles long, and the rest of the road, including the
branch from Lillooet to Clinton, extends three hundred and
forty-nine miles. It required, also, two expensive bridges.
* From Yale along the rocky canons and defiles of the Eraser,
it wound past Lytton and the Thompson by way of Ashcroft
and the Bonaparte, joining the road from Lillooet at Clinton,
and forming with other units of the plan a mighty artery
of trade deep into the heart of the gold country. Evea

158 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

by present standards, it was no mean feat of engineering.' ^
To-day the remnants of the old road which winds along the
canons of the Fraser from Yale to Ashcroft are the wonder of
the traveller on the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Douglas
portage and Pemberton portage roads, largely unused after
the main wagon road was built, are to be credited to this
regime. These were used in connection with steamers on the
intervening waters.

Douglas had larger visions in connection with his pro-
gramme of road-building. The Similkameen road from Hope
was commenced as, and afterwards converted into, a wagon
road. It was intended as a toll road to Kootenay and across
the Rockies, but construction was discontinued for the time
being on account of local opposition at Hope and for lack of
funds. Only twelve miles were built, but it was afterwards
extended to Skagit Flat, and thence there was a trail to Prince-
ton. In 1865 Edgar Dewdney continued this trail, familiarly
known ever since as the Dewdney trail, across the southern
part of the province to Fort Steele. This road afforded access
to the Kootenay country and was travelled for many years
before railway communication was established, and is still
used locally. In fact, in certain parts it is being converted
into a wagon road. Sir Henry Crease wrote that the trail
was built * out of the tax laid on the export of gold, just as
they are [in 1897] talking at Ottawa of doing in the Yukon
and Klondyke, but it was found that on the border line not
half the gold paid duty — only the honest ones paid it. In
the case above alluded to the act had to be abandoned. Like
Captain Cosset's mule tax, it died a natural death.' The
route of the Dewdney trail was that proposed by Governor
Douglas for a wagon road to cross the Rockies and meet a
similar road from the eastward at Edmonton and to form
together a great national highway.

The problem which chiefly concerned Douglas was that
of finance. The sole sources of revenue were the land sales,
the customs impost of ten per cent, and the liquor and miners*
licences. The fees for mining licences were difficult to collect,
and were paid only on compulsion. It was true that the

1 R. H. Coats and R. E. Gosnell, Sir James Douglas, p. 253.

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 159

country was rich in gold — the returns from Cariboo and
elsewhere were proof of that — ^but while the royalty on gold
produced was evaded, millions of money taken from the
diggings meant nothing to the public coffers, except in the
indirect way in which it affected the volume of business done
in the country. No industries had been developed to any
appreciable extent, and to meet the requirements of the popu-
lation and open up the vast interior country was a task that
required large annual expenditures. A tariff was necessary
for revenue purposes. As Vancouver Island, the adjoining
colony, from or through which the mainland purchased all
its supplies, had free trade, a tariff for revenue would be an
added detriment to business on the mainland ; but a govern-
ment could not be carried on without money, and either a
revenue tariff or direct taxation was necessary. The gover-
nor's instructions were to maintain a balance between ex-
penses and revenue, but the first financial statement showed
a deficit of about $10,000. It was necessary to ask for aid,
and in the imperial budget of 1859 there was a sum of $42,899
on account of the new colony. Objections were taken to
the vote on the ground that British Columbia, as other
colonies had done, should pay its own way, but it was pointed
out that conditions were different on the Pacific coast from
those elsewhere. In the following year there was a surplus
of over $40,000, but that it was secured at the expense of
necessary public works is shown by the fact that Governor
Douglas had applied to the imperial government for a loan
of $50,000 for such a purpose. In the following year
Douglas, commenting on the public accounts, stated that
unless the expenses of the Royal Engineers were paid by the
home government as theretofore, there was only one alter-
native left him, that of abandoning all the * essential public
works * then under progress ; and so, in order to carry out
the programme of building roads, the colony went heavily
into debt, from which it had not entirely recovered at
Confederation.

As governor of Vancouver Island from 1849 to 1856, a
period when the Hudson's Bay Company was in complete
control and when the percentage of independent settlers was

i6o COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

so small as to be almost negligible, Douglas had practically
disregarded his instructions about arranging for the election
of a legislative assembly to aid him in his government.
When the new colony of British Columbia was established
under circumstances which permitted of no delay, and he
was clothed in his own person with all the authority and all
the functions of state, Douglas was cautioned that such a
condition of affairs was intended to be temporary only and
that provision must be made for a representative form of
government at the earliest possible moment. That was in
1859. It does not appear that Douglas during his tenure
of office ever saw the necessity of dividing his authority
with any other man or set of men, nor did he make any
effort to carry into effect what Lytton had so precisely and
insistently impressed upon him. Douglas was no lover
of representative institutions. Scarcely, however, had the
colony of British Columbia been organized than an agitation
was set on foot for representative government. In April 1861
a memorial was presented to Governor Douglas by J. A. R.
Homer and others, advocating a representative assembly and
the abolition of dual government. The criticisms of the
existing state of affairs were to the following effect : that
the high officials of the colony did not reside in it ; that the
tariff was excessive and the incidence inequitable ; that
there was no land tax ; that the city of Victoria was a free
port and was stimulated at the expense of the mainland ;
that money had been injudiciously expended on public
works and the contracts let without public notice ; that the
public lands were improperly administered ; that there was
no registry office for the recording of transfers and mortgages.
This memorial, which was forwarded by Douglas to the im-
perial authorities, does not appear to have materially influ-
enced the home government, and nothing was immediately
done towards remedying the conditions complained of. In
a measure the memorial was the outcome of the sectional
/ feeling existing in regard to Vancouver Island, which had
"^ for some time been enjoying representative institutions. Its
capital, Victoria, occupied a much more advantageous position
than did New Westminster, the capital of British Columbia.

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION i6i

It was the residence of the chief officials of both colonies and
was practically the social and political centre. It was the
headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company, and Esquimalt
harbour, near by, was the naval station for the North Pacific
coast. Douglas did not hesitate to express his views freely
and frankly in replying to the memorial. His experience /
did not lead him to look kindly on representative govem-»/
ment. The assembly there was largely the creature of his
will, and, according to his successors, Governors Kennedy and
Seymour, was a most inefficient body. The former said in a ^
dispatch : * There is no medium or connecting link between
the Governor and the Assembly, and the time of the Legis-
lative Council (which comprises the principal executive
officers) is mainly occupied in the correction of mistakes, or
undoing the crude legislation of the lower house, who have
not, and cannot be expected to have, the practical experi-
ence or available time necessary for the successful conduct
of public affairs. On financial subjects they are always at
fault.' Governor Seymour in a dispatch on the same subject
remarked : * The loss of the House of Assembly would not,
I think, be much regretted.' Douglas had no wish to share .
with any legislative or representative body the responsi- ^^
bilities of government. A man who had been chief factor
in the Hudson's Bay Company, an aggregation of autocrats,
with a long experience of supreme authority in his depart-
ment, could not adapt himself to the limitations to be imposed
by what he could not but regard as inferior officials. Douglas
believed in direct methods of government and undivided re-
sponsibility. Moreover, the system of government in vogue
in England as the result of centuries of development was
inapplicable to a new country with unstable and unsettled
conditions. These reasons he set out ably and clearly in a
dispatch to the secretary of state for the Colonies, dated
April 22, 1861. He pointed out that what the memorialists
had in mind was a general reduction of taxation, and that
instead of a system of import and inland duties levied on
goods, which were regarded as oppressive, they proposed to
carry on the public works necessary for the development of
the country by means of public loans, their object being to

VOL. XXI L

i62 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

throw a portion of the burden upon posterity, a proposal
which he regarded as contrary to sound policy.

Regarding the request for a resident governor in British
Columbia, Douglas observed : * I may, however, at least re-
mark that I have spared no exertion to promote the interests
of both colonies and am not conscious of having neglected
any opportunity of adding to their prosperity/ On the
subject of representative institutions similar to those enjoyed
by other colonies, he said : * This application should, perhaps,
be considered to apply more to the future well-being of the
colony than to the views and wishes of the existing popula-
tion.' He was decidedly of the opinion that there was not
v/ yet a sufficient basis of population or property to permit of
the establishment of a sound system of self-government. He
said : * The British element is small, and there is absolutely
neither a manufacturing nor farming class ; there are no
landed proprietors, except holders of building lots in towns ;
no producers except miners, and the general population is
essentially migratory — the only fixed population, apart from
New Westminster, being the traders settled in the several
inland towns, from which the miners obtained their supplies.*
He considered it * unwise to commit the work of legislation
to persons so situated, having nothing at stake, and no real
vested interests in the colony.' His opinion was that the
memorial did not express the sentiments of the majority of
the people and, under the existing circumstances, he was
sure that the * majority of the working and reflective classes '
preferred the government as established to one of party rule,
until * the permanent population of the country is greatly
increased and capable of moral influence by maintaining the
peace of the country, and making representative institutions
a blessing and a reality, and not a by-word or a curse.' The
population represented by the petition — New Westminster,
Hope and Douglas — consisted of only 305 male adults. The
rest of the province had taken no interest in the movement.

Douglas pointed out that as governor he had a divided
duty to perform, and that the colonial secretary and attorney-
general had almost necessarily to reside where he did, and
although the treasurer resided in New Westminster, he had

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 163

no hesitation in saying that the public would have been better
served if that department had remained in Victoria.

With respect to over- taxation, Douglas stated that the
people in Washington Territory paid an average of twenty-five
per cent on all foreign goods. Spirits and articles of luxury
paid a much higher rate. The citizens of Washington Terri-
tory, too, had to pay the assessed road and school taxes levied
by the territorial legislature. In British Columbia the tariff,
with the exception of a few articles, was ten per cent and all
other taxes were proportionately low. Two-thirds of the
taxes raised in British Columbia were expended in road-mak-
ing and other useful works, producing a reduction of not less
than one hundred per cent on the cost of transport, and so on.
Incidentally, Douglas made a correction in regard to a state-
ment in the memorial, in which the population, exclusive of
Indians, was said to be seven thousand. He stated that the
actual population, Chinese included, was about ten thousand,
which with the Indian population, exceeding twenty thousand,
made a total of over thirty thousand, thereby reducing the
taxation to £2 per head, instead of ;^7, los. as given in the
memorial. He pointed out that the white population was
almost wholly adults, and that it was a mistake to say that
the Indians paid no taxes. * They have,* he states, * especially
in the gold districts, for the most part abandoned their former
pursuits and no longer provide their own stores of food. All
the money they make by their labour, either by hire or gold
digging, is expended in the country, so that the Indians have
now become very extensive consumers of foreign articles.'
He stated that every attention had been given to render the
Eraser River safe and accessible, so that foreign vessels could
go direct to New Westminster without calling at Victoria. A
great many applications, he said, had been received by him
for remission of duty, under various pretexts, but these he had
always resisted, on the ground that class legislation was vicious
and led to injustice and discontent. He did not think a re-
mission of duty on shipbuilding materials would advance that
industry. As to the other complaints in regard to money
being injudiciously squandered on public works and that the
public lands had been wrongly administered, he had referred

i64 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

them to the chief commissioner of Lands and Works, and
from the copy of that officer's report it would be seen that the
complaints were without foundation. The remaining com-
plaint, about the want of a registry office, he was taking steps
to have remedied. He then proceeded to state at length
the conditions on Vancouver Island and on the mainland of
British Columbia, * explanatory of their distinctive features
and their applicability to the colonies respectively.* The
public revenue of Vancouver Island, he pointed out, was
almost wholly derived from taxes levied directly on persons
and professions, on trades and real estate ; while it was by
means of duties and imposts on goods carried inland that the
revenue of British Columbia was chiefly raised. Victoria,
from the conditions surrounding it, had to depend upon
commerce, while the circumstances of British Columbia were
materially different. The latter colony, he said, had large
internal resources which only required development to render
it powerful and wealthy. Mining, being a valuable branch of
industry, was essentially the vital interest of the colony, and
he asserted that the laws were framed in the most liberal
spirit, studiously relieving the miners from direct taxation,
and vesting in the mining boards a general power to amend
and adapt their provisions to the special circumstances of the
district.

From a practical point of view the dispatch was a complete
answer to the memorialists, and yet the governor and the
imperial government strangely misjudged the spirit of the
times and failed to realize that a large majority of the people
of British Columbia had been educated in the school of popular
government. Douglas himself had lived the greater part
of his life in an atmosphere of one-man government, perfect
and absolute in its mechanical details, but fundamentally
antagonistic to representative institutions.

It was not until 1863 that the Duke of Newcastle informed
Douglas that the act for the government of British Columbia
would expire in a year and that it was proposed to make pro-
vision for a legislative council and for separate governors
for the colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island.
At the same time, the opinion was expressed that many

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 165

advantages would be obtained and numerous economies
effected by the union of the two colonies. Two governors
with two sets of expensive officials were unnecessary. The
recent representations made by Governor Douglas had, how-
ever, had considerable weight in Downing Street, because,
while the authorities would have been pleased to give British
Columbia the same representative institutions that existed
in Vancouver Island, it was felt that under existing con-
ditions it would be impossible. Newcastle went on to say :

Under these circumstances, I see no mode of establish-
ing a purely representative legislature, which would not
be open to one of two objections. Either it must place
the Government of the colony under the exclusive control
of a small circle of persons, naturally occupied with their
own local, personal or class interests, or it must confide
a large amount of political power to immigrants, or other
transient foreigners, who have no permanent interest in
the prosperity of the colony.

For these reasons I think it necessary that the govern-
ment should retain, for the present, a preponderating in-
fluence in the Legislature. From the best information
I can obtain, I am disposed to think it most advisable,
that about one-third of the Council should consist of
the Colonial Secretary and other officers, who generally
compose the Executive Council ; about one-third of
magistrates from different parts of the colony ; and about
one-third of persons elected by the residents of the differ-
ent electoral districts. But here I am met by the diffi-
culty that these residents are not only few and scattered,
but (like the foreign gold diggers) migratory and unsettled,
and that any definition of electoral districts now made,
might, in the lapse of a few months, become wholly
inapplicable to the state of the colony. It would, there-
fore, be trifling to attempt such a definition, nor am I
disposed to rely on any untried contrivance which might
be suggested for supplying its place — contrivances which
depend for their success on a variety of circumstances,
which, with my present information, I cannot safely
assume to exist.

By what exact process this quasi-representation shall
be accomplished, whether by ascertaining informally the
sense of the residents in each locality, or by bringing the

i66 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

question before public meetings, or (as done in Ceylon)
by accepting the nominee of any corporate body or society,
I leave to you to determine. What I desire is this, that
a system of virtual though imperfect representation shall
at once be introduced, which shall enable Her Majesty's
Government to ascertain with some certainty the char-
acter, wants and disposition of the community with a
view to the more formal and complete establishment of
a representative system, as circumstances shall admit
of it. . . . With these explanations, I have to instruct
you first to proclaim a law securing to Her Majesty the
right to allot the . . . salaries to the officials of British
Columbia ; and, having done so, to give publicity to the
enclosed Order-in-Council and to convene as soon as
possible, the proposed Legislature.

A legislative council on the lines indicated in the Duke of
Newcastle's dispatch was convened. It consisted of officials
of the colony, of magistrates and of elected representatives
in about equal numbers. The first council came into exist-
ence in 1863 and sat for the year 1864. The members were:
Arthur N. Birch, colonial secretary ; Henry (afterwards
Sir Henry) P. P. Crease, attorney-general ; Wymond O.
Hamley, collector of customs ; Chartres Brew, magistrate,
New Westminster ; Peter O'Reilly, magistrate. Cariboo
East ; E. H. Sanders, magistrate, Yale ; H. M. Ball, magis-
trate, Lytton ; J. A. R. Homer, New Westminster ; Robert
T. Smith, Hope, Yale and Lytton ; Henry Holbrook,
Douglas and Lillooet ; James Orr, Cariboo East ; Walter
S. Black, Cariboo West. Douglas's son-in-law, Charles
Good, was appointed clerk of the council.^ This council
remained in office until the union of the colonies in 1866.

Captain Arthur Kennedy, who succeeded Sir James
Douglas ^ as governor of Vancouver Island, was strongly in

^ Charles Good is still living. Arthur N. Birch, still living in England, was
appointed to an important position in Ceylon, and was subsequently knighted.
Four of the number died during 1912-13 : Peter O'Reilly, who was for many years
Indian commissioner for the province ; Sir Henry P. P. Crease, who was knighted
after retiring from the supreme court bench ; E. H. Sanders and James Orr.
Lieutenant-Colonel R. Wolfenden, who at the time of his death had the distinc-
tion of being the oldest civil servant of the British Empire, was queen's printer
and was the first to serve Her Majesty in that capacity in British Columbia.

* Governor Douglas was knighted in 1863.

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 167

favour of the union of the colonies, whilst Frederick Seymour,
who succeeded him as governor of British Columbia, was as
strongly opposed to it. For some time the Colonial Office
had looked forward to the union of the two colonies as the
only logical outcome of the political situation on the Pacific
coast of British North America, and it was frequently referred
to in dispatches as highly desirable. The expense of main-
taining two civil lists, including high-salaried officials, was in
itself a consideration of importance in colonies with small
revenues. Then, again, it was anomalous that two contiguous
colonies should have separate parliamentary institutions and
distinct postal and fiscal systems. The main difficulty which
existed in the way of bringing about consolidation was the
sectional feeling already referred to. For three years the
matter was keenly discussed. Vancouver Island, generally
speaking, was favourable to the union, but wanted free ports ;
while British Columbia was in favour of protection, though
not opposed to the union provided the capital of the united
colonies was to be on the mainland.

In Victoria an election was held in order to test the feel-
ing, and two representatives of union and tariff won against
two candidates taking the opposite side. A largely signed
petition, mainly from the interior districts, came from British
Columbia in favour of union. The council of New West-
minster memorialized the secretary of state for the Colonies
strongly in opposition. From their memorial it was quite
obvious that the question of the location of the capital city
was the main one. As the result of much discussion it became
the settled conviction throughout Vancouver Island and
British Columbia that union would be highly advantageous.
The imperial parliament by an act of 1866 settled the matter
by annexing Vancouver Island to British Columbia, and the
colonies were proclaimed one on November 17 of that year.
Then the battle for the capital began and the fight waged
furiously for over a year. Governor Seymour was among
those most actively opposed to the selection of Victoria, but
subsequently withdrew his opposition, and the island city was
finally chosen as the capital of the united colonies.

With the organization of the legislative council of British

168 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Columbia, whose members met for the first time in January
1864, Douglas's work was practically completed. His speech
upon the opening of the first session of that body was char-
acteristic. Douglas loved to talk and write in ponderous,
dignified sentences. The more official the subject, the more
ponderously he treated it. His address on this occasion
was no exception to the rule. He congratulated the council
on this first step toward representative government and
popular institutions, which, he declared. Her Majesty had
withheld during the infancy of the colony only from a sincere
regard for its happiness and prosperity. He urged on the
members a vigorous prosecution of the public works as a
measure of vital importance to the colony, and one that would
give to the waste lands of British Columbia a value they did
not then possess. With a view, he said, to increase popula-
tion and encourage settlement, he had thrown open the public
lands to actual settlers on the most liberal terms, and had done
his utmost to encourage mining and every species of enter-
prise that tended to develop the resources of the country,
though the result of these measures had not as yet fulfilled
his expectations. The Indian tribes, he said, were quiet and
well disposed. Reserves embracing village sites and culti-
vated fields had been set apart for them, their area in no
case exceeding ten acres for each family, and this land was
inalienable and held as joint property. Appropriations were
recommended for religious purposes and for the establish-
ment and support of schools. He promised soon to lay before
the council a communication from the secretary of state
for the Colonies, with proposals for opening telegraphic and
postal communication between British Columbia and the head
of Lake Superior. Finally, he laid before it an estimate of
the expenditure for the past year, amounting to ;^ 192, 860 (of
which ;£83,937 was for public roads, ;£i2,650 for redemption
of road bonds created in 1862, ;£ 15,2 88 for public works,
buildings and transport, ;£i3,725 for interest on loans and
sinking fund, and £31,61^ for the civil establishment), while
the revenue for the same period was but ;£i 10,000 (of which
over ;£55,ooo was obtained from customs dues). Meanwhile
bonds had been created and loans contracted to the amount

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 169

of £65,805, leaving still a deficiency of ;£i7,055, in addition
to a sum due to the imperial government for the expenses of
the Royal Engineers. For 1864 the outlay, including the
debit balance, was set down at £107,910, and the income from
all sources at £120,000, thus leaving a balance of £12,090, but
this, it was explained, made no provision for the maintenance
of a gold escort, or for the expense of public works.^

Douglas's term of office as governor of Vancouver Island
expired in September 1863 and his governorship on the main-
land ended in the spring of 1864. He decided to take up his
official residence in New Westminster for the remainder of
the term as governor of the mainland, although his successor
in Vancouver Island, Captain Arthur Kennedy, did not arrive
in Victoria until the following year.

The retirement of Douglas was marked by general ex-
pressions of goodwill, in which all classes joined cordially,
and he was the recipient of many testimonials of esteem in
various forms. There were historical associations connected
with his long career in the West as fur trader and political
chief that rendered him then, as he still is, unique in the annals
of British Columbia. His position as a political founder and
organizer of two colonies was singular and exceptional. Hav-
ing relinquished office and turned his back upon political life
for ever, he set out upon a long tour — the dream of years —
of Europe, during which he visited Great Britain, France,
Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. After an
absence of a year he returned to British Columbia and his
Victoria residence, and from that time until his death on
August I, 1877, his life was uneventful.

As to the careers of Governors Seymour and Kennedy
little is to be said. Seymour was a man of small stature and
of nervous and active temperament, timid in action and
inclined to be over-conservative in politics — in other words,
of mediocre ability — ^whose previous experiences as governor
of British Honduras scarcely fitted him for achieving the best
results in a colony like British Columbia. Governor Kennedy,
on the other hand, was a man of considerable ability, of
striking military appearance and a fluent speaker. He was

* H. H. Bancroft, History of British Columbia^ pp. 584-5.

170 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

suave in manner and strong in character. He worked hard
for the union of the colonies, although, when union had been
accomplished, Seymour, who had opposed it, succeeded to
the governorship of the united colonies. Already the agita-
tion for a larger union with Canada had begun, and Seymour
'at first opposed it as strongly as he had that of the union of
British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Before his death ^
his position was modified, presumably on account of official
instructions from the Colonial Office.

Seymour had been greatly exercised and hampered by the
question of finances. In British Columbia there was a con-
stant series of deficits, and the public debt of the mainland
, colony in 1867 was, less sinking fund, $1,002,983 and that of
, V^ Vancouver Island was $293,698. At the time of Confedera-
tion in the united colonies, on the average of a basis of 10,000
white population, the rate of taxation was about $100 per
W head per annum and the per capita debt about $200. While
this was true, it was also a fact that industry was languishing
and commerce was slack. Indeed, all activities in the pro-
vince were stagnant. Placer-mining, which had flourished
from 1 86 1 to 1866, had greatly declined, and no new field of
promise outside Cariboo had been opened for exploitation. In
addition to all this, British Columbia was almost completely
shut off from the rest of the world. San Francisco was her
nearest mart, and the other centres of trade and civilization
were only to be reached by long and circuitous routes via the
Isthmus of Panama or round Cape Horn.
"^ Under the circumstances it is not surprising that the
terms of Confederation finally agreed upon were accepted
in British Columbia in a spirit of rejoicing. It was not a
matter of imperial sentiment to the general public, only a
small proportion of whom were affected by feelings of such
considerations. There were a few leading men, Canadians,
such as Dr I. W. Powell, Robert Beaven, Amor DeCosmos,
G. A. Walkem, J. A. Mara, F. J. Barnard, John Robson and
others of similar standing, who worked for Confederation
because they were Canadians and desired to see British North

1 Seymour died in 1869 while on a trip up the northern coast in H.M.S.
Sparrowhawk for the benefit of his health.

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 171

America under one government ; but among the British-
bom and the Americans, who together formed the majority of
the population, there was, with few exceptions, no such con-
sideration. With many of the inhabitants * Canadians * were
unpopular, and there was for a considerable period much
hostility between the two elements. Many, like Dr J. S.
Helmcken, who was a leader against the movement, were
honest in their opposition because they believed that com-
munication by railway at the time was impracticable, and
that without a feasible system of communication the union
would be barren of results either of a sentimental or a
material nature. Even those who are regarded as the
Fathers of Confederation ^ in British Columbia did not
believe in the practicability of a railway. A Confederation
League was formed, the first meeting of which was held in
Victoria on May 21, 1868, and the promoters of the league,
after great difficulty and much correspondence and advertis-
ing, succeeded in getting only thirty-five persons to attend
a general convention at Yale in September of that year.

The effect of the convention was to consolidate those in
favour of the union and to show that the mainland was largely
a unit in its favour. The principal opposition came from
Vancouver Island. The official element almost to a man
was opposed to union at first, but Governor Musgrave, who
upon his arrival came armed with instructions from the
home government to do his best to bring about a union with
Canada, exercised a powerful influence among those strongest

* James Trimble, mayor, A. DeCosmos, I. W. Powell, R. Wallace, J. G. Norris,
Chas. Gowen, M. W. Gibbs, Wm. Thain, G. Jenkinson, J. A. Craigg, George
Pearkes, Charles E. Bunting, Noah Shakespeare, Peter Lester, Thomas Russell,
Thomas Wilson, Francis Dodd, C. McCollem, James Kirk, John Gordon McKay,
J. F. McCreight, G. C. Gerow, John J. Jacobs, John Dunlop, Joseph Blackboum,
John Jessop, J. C. Timmerman, Henry Waller, A. Couves, Aaron Workman,
T. H. Giffin, W. B. Toleson. S. B. Toleson, Stephen Burt, John Wilson, W. C.
Seeley, T. C. Jones, John Lachapelle, W. A. Robertson, George Creighton, George
Fox, WiUiam Mackay, Ed. M<=Caffray, WilHs Bond, John Leach, James Orr,
Warren Harvoough, James Hutcheson, A. H. Frances, John Jeffrey, Guy Huston,
Alex. Wilson, Robert Beaven, Leigh Harnett, W. M. Keohan, David James,
Thomas Hodges, James Crossen, William Backster, Stephen Sandover, Charles
Pollock, John Stewart, John Jackson, Alfred Syne, J. H. Doane, R. H. Austin,
Richard Baker, George Deans, Wm. Webster, James E. McMillan, Wm. R.
Gibbon, Stephen Whitely, J. B. Thompson, H. E. Wilby, Edward Phelps.

172 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

in opposition, and the course of union thereafter was smooth
and rapid. Previous to that time such men as Trutch,
O'Reilly, Cox, Wood, Pemberton, Helmcken, Smith, Elwyn,
Ker, Ball, Walding, Crease, Drake, Davie, Sanders, Ring,
Holbrook — ^all then or subsequently men prominent in public
affairs — ^were in opposition.

Two elements in favour of union had been acting in
concert long before Confederation was mooted in British
Columbia, and the strong influence exerted by these forces
brought the province into line. At the Quebec Conference
in 1864 it was decided that for the purpose of making a united
British North America, affording a seaport on the Pacific, and
for other important reasons, British Columbia and the Middle
West should be brought into confederation. Even before that
the imperial authorities were determined that sooner or later,
for imperial purposes, such a consummation should, if pos-
sible, be brought about. In the British North America Act
of 1867 provision was made to admit * into the union ' British
Columbia and the North-West Territories, and when the
issue became a live one in the Pacific coast colony, the pro-
moters found that they had the strongest kind of support
in the Canadian statesmen and the imperial authorities. So
thoroughly had the matter been thought out and decided
upon at Ottawa, that at the time the delegates from British
Columbia proceeded there to negotiate terms, they found
that when they asked for a coach road and ultimate provision
for a railway they were offered a railway to be commenced
within two years from the date of union. Sir John A. Mac-
donald was keen about bringing the extreme west into the
Dominion, and it was his hand that directed the appoint-
ment of Anthony Musgrave to succeed Frederick Seymour
as governor, as this letter from him to the governor-general
shows :

I enclose a letter from a newspaper man in British
Columbia to Mr Tilley, giving, I fancy, an accurate
account of affairs in that colony. It corroborates the
statements of Mr Carrall, whose letter I enclosed to you
some time ago. It is quite clear that no time should be
lost by Lord Granville in putting the screws on Vancouver

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 173

Island, and the first thing to be done will be to recall
Governor Seymour, if his time is not out. Now that
the Hudson's Bay Company has succumbed, and it is
their interest to make things pleasant with the Canadian
Government, they will, I have no doubt, instruct their
people to change their anti-Confederate tone. We shall
then have to fight only the Yankee adventurers and the
annexation party proper, which there will be no diffi-
culty in doing if we have a good man at the helm.

It has been hinted to me that Mr Musgrave, whose
time is out in Newfoundland, would have no objection
to transfer his labours to British Columbia. Such an
appointment would be very agreeable to the members
of your Government, and to the country generally. Mr
Musgrave has acted with great prudence, discretion and
loyalty to the cause of Confederation. He has made
himself personally very popular in Newfoundland, and I
have no doubt would do so on the Pacific as well, if he
had the chance. Almost everything, I may say, depends
upon the choice of the governor, as we found to our cost
in New Brunswick, where we were thwarted and for a
time defeated by the Lieutenant Governor, Mr Gordon,
Lord Aberdeen's son, who took strong ground at first
against us. All his subsequent endeavours on the other
side, after receiving instruction from the Colonial Office,
were fruitless, as his private opinion was known to every
one ; hence the necessity for his removal to Trinidad,
and the substitution of General Doyle.

It was the obvious desire of Canada and the imperial
authorities to see Confederation include the whole of British
North America that brought the movement in British Col-
umbia to an early and successful conclusion.

Governor Seymour was succeeded by Anthony Musgrave
on August 23, 1869. Musgrave was entrusted with the
delicate task of carrying out his instructions in regard to
Confederation and of reconciling the opposing interests,
which he most successfully accomplished. When the next
meeting of the legislature was convened on February 16,
1870, the representatives were practically all of one mind on
the subject and considered at length the resolutions framed
by the governor himself, with the assistance of the mem-
bers of the executive. The discussion in the British Columbia

174 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

legislative assembly was memorable. Although sentiments
varied very much as to the aims and desirability of union,
the conclusion was practically unanimous in its favour.

The terms of union proposed by the governor to the council
were briefly : Canada was to assume the colonial debt of
British Columbia ; the population was to be rated at 120,000,
and as the per capita debt of British Columbia was less than
that of the other provinces, interest at the rate of five per
cent per annum, payable half-yearly in advance, was to be
allowed on the difference between the actual amount of the
indebtedness and the indebtedness per capita of the popula-
tion of the other provinces ; for the support of the local
government, the Dominion was to grant yearly the sum of
$35»ooo, and eighty cents per head for each inhabitant, the
population being rated, as mentioned, at 120,000, and the
grant of eighty cents per head to be continued until the
population should reach 400,000, when the grant was to
remain fixed ; the survey for a line of railway was to be
commenced at once ; a wagon road was to be completed
within three years after Confederation and not less than
$1,000,000 was to be spent in any one year in its construc-
tion ; the Canadian government was to guarantee five per
cent interest on a loan of $100,000 for the construction of a
graving-dock at Esquimalt, to provide fortnightly steam
communication with San Francisco and regular communi-
cation with Nanaimo and the interior, to build and maintain
a marine hospital and a lunatic asylum at Victoria and a
penitentiary in any part of the colony it might think advisable,
to defray the expenses of the judicial, postal and customs
departments, to use all its influence to retain Esquimalt as
a station for Her Majesty *s ships, and to establish a volunteer
force in the colony ; the same protection and immunities
enjoyed by the other provinces of the Dominion were to
be extended to British Columbia ; the province was to be
allowed eight members in the House of Commons and four
in the Senate ; and the then oflicers of the colonial govern-
ment were to be pensioned by Canada.

As soon as the legislature had approved the proposed
terms, a delegation consisting of J. S. Helmcken, Joseph W.

PACIFIC COLONIES AND CONFEDERATION 175

Trutch and W. W. Carrall was appointed to go to Ottawa to
negotiate terms of union with the members of the Dominion
government. The delegation left Victoria on May 10, 1870,
and on July 7 of the same year the British Columbia pro-
posals were accepted almost in their entirety, a few altera-
tions having been made in respect of the number of repre-
sentatives in the Canadian parliament and the allowed
population, which was reduced from 120,000 to 60,000. The
important change effected, however, is contained in the
following, which became the subject of years of controversy :

The Government of the Dominion undertake to secure
the commencement simultaneously, within two years
from the date of the union, of the construction of a rail-
way, from the Pacific towards the Rocky Mountains, and
from such point as may be selected, east of the Rocky
Mountains towards the Pacific, to connect the seaboard
of British Columbia with the railway system of Canada,
and further, to secure the completion of such railway
within ten years from the date of such union :

And the Government of British Columbia agree to
convey to the Dominion Government, in trust, to be
appointed in such manner as the Dominion Government
may deem advisable in furtherance of the construction
of said railway, a similar extent of public lands along
the line of rail throughout its entire length in British
Columbia, not to exceed, however, twenty miles (20) on
each side of the said line, as may be appropriated for the
same purpose by the Dominion Government from the
public lands in the North- West Territory and the pro-
vince of Manitoba. Provided, that the quantity of land
which may be held under pre-emption right, or by
Crown grant, within the limits of the tract of land in
British Columbia, to be so conveyed to the Dominion
Government, shall be made good to the Dominion from
contiguous public lands ; and, provided further, that
until the commencement within two years, as aforesaid,
from the date of the union, of the construction of said
railway, the Government of British Columbia shall not
sell or alienate any further portion of the public land of
British Columbia in any other way than under right of
pre-emption, requiring actual residence of the pre-emptor
on the land claimed by him. In consideration of the
land to be so conveyed in aid of the said railway, the

176 COLONIAL HISTORY, 1849-1871

Dominion Government agree to pay to British Columbia
from the date of the union the sum of one hundred
thousand dollars per annum, in half-yearly payments in
advance.

The document containing the Terms of Union reached
Victoria on July 18, 1870. In the meantime a representative
had been dispatched to England to secure the needed change
in the constitution of the colony and the guarantee of the
imperial government for the completion of the Canadian
Pacific Railway. Elections followed in November, the issue
being the Terms of Union. The new house consisted of
fifteen members, six appointed by the crown and nine elected
by the people. The elective members were Helmcken and
Nathan, Victoria City ; Amor DeCosmos, Victoria District ;
Arthur Bunster, Nanaimo ; Hugh Nelson, New Westminster ;
Clement F. Cornwall, Hope, Yale and Lytton ; T. B.
Humphreys, Lillooet and Clinton ; W. W. Carrall, Cariboo ;
and Robert J. Skinner, Kootenay. The council met in
January 1871, the chief work of the session being, of course,
the ratification of the terms. An act was passed abolishing
the council and establishing the legislative assembly in its
stead, each parliament to have a life of four years, and the
first parliament to contain twenty-five members chosen by
thirteen electoral districts.

The debate on the resolution for the admission of British
Columbia into the Dominion began in the federal parliament
on March 28, 187 1. Four days later, after the question had
been thoroughly discussed, the terms of admission were passed
by a majority of eighteen. The question then went to the
Senate, where the terms were adopted by a majority of seven-
teen. British Columbia entered the federal family on July 20,
1 87 1, and five days later celebrated her first Dominion Day.
On the day of the celebration Governor Musgrave left for
London, and was subsequently knighted in recognition of his
important services in connection with bringing about the
union with Canada.

POLITICAL HISTORY

1871-1913

VOL. XXI

POLITICAL HISTORY, 1871-1913

Formation of the First Legislature

BY article 14 of the proposed Terms of Union with
Canada, dated July 7, 1870, it was declared that
the constitution of the executive authority and of
the legislature of British Columbia should, subject to the
provisions of the British North America Act, continue until
altered under that act. The Dominion government agreed
to consent to the introduction of responsible government
when desired by the people of British Columbia ; and the
same section stated the intention of the governor of British
Columbia to amend the existing constitution of the legislative
council so that a majority of its members should be elective.
Accordingly, by an order-in-council passed on August 9, 1870,
that body was thereafter to consist of nine elective and six
appointive members. The election of these nine popular
members took place in November 1870 ; and the first meeting
of this quasi-representative body was held on January 5, 1871.
The Terms of Union which had been tentatively settled in the
previous July were formally agreed to and embodied in an
address as required by the British North America Act.

To this council British Columbia owes representative
government. One of its first measures was the Constitution
Act of 1 87 1, whereby a legislative assembly of twenty-five
members, thirteen elected by mainland and twelve by island
constituencies, was substituted for the legislative council.
Although passed on February 14, 1871, the operation of the
act was suspended until Her Majesty should assent thereto
and fix a date for its coming into force. By a proclamation
of June 26, 1 87 1, Governor Musgrave declared that the act

1^8

i8o

POLITICAL HISTORY

should come Into operation on July 19, 1871, the day prior
to the entry of British Columbia into the Dominion,

Immediately thereafter the governor, who had been
appointed for the purpose of carrying this union into effect,
left the province. His successor was Joseph W. (afterwards
Sir Joseph) Trutch, one of the delegates who had arranged
the Terms of Union. Trutch was a pioneer road-builder in
the colony, and was, moreover, a man peculiarly fitted, by his
long and intimate acquaintance with its conditions, to be the
first lieutenant-governor under the new order of things.

Even before the date of the formal entry of the province
into the Dominion, steps were taken by the central govern-
ment which showed its good faith and its intention to live up
to the Terms of Union. On July 14, 1871, Hector Langevin,
the minister of Public Works, left for British Columbia to
ascertain exactly the existing conditions and the requirements
of the new province ; and about the same time two exploring
parties in charge of Moberly and McLennan set out to
examine the Yellowhead and Howse Passes to ascertain their
suitability for the line of the proposed Canadian Pacific
Railway.

The election of members of the first legislature took place
in the latter part of 1871. The nominations were oral , the
voting open. In this election the Chinese had the right to
vote, and what is more, exercised that right, especially in
Lillooet district. The elections were not simultaneous. They
extended from October to December, and resulted as follows :

Victoria City .

J. F. M^Creight

New Westminster

H. Holbrook

Simeon Duck

New Westminster'
District

J. C. Hughes

Robert Beaven

W. J. Armstrong

James Trimble

Cariboo

George A.Walkem

Victoria District

A. DeCosmos

Joseph Hunter

A. Bunster

Cornelius Booth

Esquimau

A. Rocke Robertson

Kootenay

John A. Mara

Henry Cogan

Charles Todd

Cowichan

William Smithe

Lillooet

T. B. Humphreys

John P. Booth

A. T. Jamieson

Comox

John Ash, M.D.

Yale . .

Robert Smith

Nanaimo .

John Robson

J. A. Robinson
Charles A. Semlin

^ 1

O 5

2 s

THE M^CREIGHT MINISTRY i8i

The M^Creight Ministry, 1871-72

J. F. M^Creight, who had been attorney-general during
the last days of Governor Musgrave*s regime, was called upon
to form a government, though he was opposed to the introduc-
tion of responsible government, regarding the conditions as
unsuitable. As at first constituted, his ministry consisted of ;

J. F. M^Creight, premier and attorney-general.

A. R. Robertson, provincial secretary.

H. HoLBROOK, chief commissioner of Lands and Works.

A few months later G. A. Walkem became chief commissioner
of Lands and Works, while Holbrook took the unsalaried
office of president of the council.

The first legislative assembly met on February 15, 1872.
No party lines had been drawn ; with the union all things
had become new, and it was difficult to determine just where
the line of cleavage would run, or what forces would compel
it. The opposition to the government developed principally
on two points. The first was the old * Mainland v. Island '
feeling, which for many years effectually prevented that close
union so necessary to progress in any community, but especi-
ally so in one so sparsely settled and so peculiarly situated
as British Columbia. This sectionalism was introduced, by
one side or the other, into every political discussion. Its
origin in this instance was the fact that, of the three salaried
portfolios, two were held by island members. The second
objection was that the government refused, or at any rate
neglected, to increase the sessional indemnity. Although
hard pressed, M^Creight retained control of the house during
this session. The opposition was sufficiently strong to have
defeated him, but was held in check by public sentiment,
which desired the government to have a chance to carry on
its work, and opposed a new election so soon after the elections
of 1870 and 1871.

A great deal of the legislation of this session was formative,
owing to the changes wrought by Confederation and the in-
troduction of responsible government. The province was
fortunate in having M^Creight at the head of affairs at this

i82 POLITICAL HISTORY

important juncture. But, though a barrister of exceptional
abiHty and a man of the highest honour and probity,
M^Creight had no bent for poHtics and no patience with the
narrow and local views which prevailed so largely among the
members of the house.

Two measures served to make the government popular,
the immediate adoption of the Canadian tariff and the
abolition of the road tolls. By section 7 of the Terms of
Union, the province, pending the completion of the railway,
had the option of retaining its own tariff or adopting that of
Canada. By following the latter course the province showed
faith in the Dominion and a desire that the union should be
one in all essentials. As to the road tolls, it will be remembered
that in order to provide for the construction of the Yale-
Cariboo and other roads a certain toll per pound was exacted
on all merchandise passing over them. During the period of
dull times, then existing, an agitation had sprung up for their
abolition, owing to the great increase which they made in the
cost of living in the mining district.

Nevertheless wild rumours were flying that the M^Creight
ministry would go down to defeat on the reassembling of the
house. The second session opened on December 17, 1872,
and two days later, on a motion of T. B. Humphreys that,
* Whilst entertaining the fullest confidence in that form of
administration known as responsible government, still we
believe that the administration of public affairs has not been
satisfactory to the people in general,' the government was
defeated by a majority of one. M^Creight, thoroughly dis-
gusted, resigned ofhce on December 23.

The DeCosmos-Walkem Administration, 1872-76

At this time, dual representation being permitted. Amor
De Cosmos represented the electoral district of Victoria in the
House of Commons and was also the senior member of
Victoria district in the provincial legislature. DeCosmos was
one of the pioneer journalists of the province ; in 1858 he
had founded the British Colonist, and in 1872 the Victoria
Standard, He had always taken an active part in the politics

DECOSMOS-WALKEM ADMINISTRATION 183

of the colony, and had been a member of the legislative
council almost continuously from 1867. He was one of the
earliest, most consistent and most energetic supporters of
Confederation. In the opinion of a prominent politician of
the time who knew him intimately : * Mr DeCosmos was,
when in his prime, one of the most capable public men the
province has had. He was truly a statesman.*

He now undertook to form a ministry, and in a few days
announced its members as follows :

Amor DeCosmos, premier and president of the council.

George A. Walkem, attorney-general.

Robert Beaven, chief commissioner of Lands and Works.

John Ash, provincial secretary.

W. J. Armstrong, without portfolio.

Walkem, who had been chief commissioner of Lands and
Works in the M^Creight ministry, entered the new administra-
tion with the entire concurrence of the late premier. In
February 1873 Armstrong was placed in charge of the newly
created portfolio of Finance and Agriculture.

As the house was only a year old and the parties had not
yet crystallized, the new government, known as the DeCosmos-
Walkem government, with the same watchword * Retrench-
ment ' and the same policy as its predecessor, felt assured of a
majority and continued the session without an appeal to the
people. Indeed, it accepted with but a few verbal alterations
its predecessor's address in reply to the speech from the
throne. John Robson and T. B. Humphreys, who had both
been energetic opponents of the M^^Creight government,
led the opposition, which numbered but eight, against this
government also.

During the session of 1873 the DeCosmos- Walkem govern-
ment passed an act whereby the ballot superseded the old
system of open voting. This was but carrying out the policy
of its predecessor, which in the opening speech had stated :
' A Bill will be introduced and recommended to your accept-
ance, providing for the taking of votes by ballot in the election
of members of your honourable House.' This was, of course,
a popular act, which aided in making the administration

i84 POLITICAL HISTORY

secure. Considerable fault was found with Its retrenchment
policy, which, while lopping off some thirty or forty officials
who had theretofore been regarded as necessary, and altering
the form of payment of others, from a salary to the fees of
office, nevertheless added to the cost of government the new
portfolio of Finance and Agriculture. The reply was that
this portfolio had been added for the sake of harmony, to
end the * Mainland v. Island ' cry, as there was now equality
between them — two of the portfolios being allotted to the
island and two to the mainland. DeCosmos*s position as
premier and president of the council carried no salary.

By acts passed by the Dominion parliament in 1872
and by the provincial legislature in 1873 the system of
dual representation was abolished. DeCosmos, therefore, on
February 9, 1874, resigned his seat in the legislature and his
leadership of the government. Walkem, who had been the
uncrowned king during the enforced absence of DeCosmos
in Ottawa, now became premier in name as well as in fact.
No other change occurred in the ministry.

The Railway Difficulty

We now come to the consideration of the troubles arising
out of article 11 of the Terms of Union. The dispute waxed
so hot and lasted so many years — in fact, is written so large in
the history of British Columbia — that the first and important
part of that article is reproduced :

The Government of the Dominion undertake to secure
the commencement simultaneously, within two years
from the date of Union, of the construction of a railway
from the Pacific towards the Rocky Mountains, and
from such point as may be selected, east of the Rocky
Mountains towards the Pacific, to connect the seaboard
of British Columbia with the railway system of Canada ;
and further to secure the completion of such railway
within ten years from the date of the Union.

Intertwined with the larger railway question Is the smaller
question of the location of the terminus. Before the final
order-In-council effecting the union was passed by Her
Majesty*s government, the newspapers and the public were

THE RAILWAY DIFFICULTY 185

warmly discussing the merits of various suggested terminal
sites. And even before that, while the terms were being
debated in the legislative council, a movement had been made
to alter this article so as to stipulate that the railway should
terminate at Esquimalt. It required the straightforward
avowal of Governor Musgrave that such an amendment
would jeopardize the whole agreement to prevent its being
seriously urged. The subsidiary questions of line of route
and location of the terminus so far as they entered into the
local political strife may be considered as but one question
and as merely a phase of the * Mainland v. Island ' cry.

In Langevin's report of his mission to British Columbia,
dated March 1872, we find him discussing the location of the
terminus, before the topographical knowledge on which the
location of the line depended had been obtained. In May
1872 DeCosmos brought up, in the House of Commons, the
question of the terminus, and Langevin replied that, if practic-
able, the Dominion government intended to carry the railway
to Esquimalt. In June 1873, although Canada had only
agreed ^ to connect the seaboard of British Columbia with the
railway system of Canada,' the Dominion government passed
an order-in-council stating that * Esquimalt on Vancouver
Island be fixed as the Terminus of the Canadian Pacific
Railway and that a line of railway be located between the
harbour of Esquimalt and Seymour Narrows on the said
Island.* This order-in-council also recommended that British
Columbia be asked to convey to Canada, under article 11 of
the Terms of Union, a strip of land twenty miles in width
along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island between Seymour
Narrows and Esquimalt.

On July 19, 1873, Marcus Smith, the engineer-in-chief
in British Columbia, commenced a location survey at Esqui-
malt, and two days were spent in what turned out, to use
the language of DeCosmos, * to be a disreputable farce.'
But now the two years had expired, and while explorations
had been vigorously carried on and a considerable amount
of information obtained, yet the location of the line had not
been settled, and of course the work of actual construction
had not been commenced. In fact, it may be truly said that

I86 POLITICAL HISTORY

these explorations had only served to show the magnitude
of the difficulties to be overcome between the Rocky Moun-
tains and the coast.

The provincial government on July 25, 1873, formally
protested against this * breach of a condition of the Terms.*
No action, except a bare acknowledgment of the receipt of
the protest, was taken by the Dominion government. This
was, no doubt, because of the political crisis then occurring.

A further protest, complaining that the parliament had
met on October 23, 1873, and had been prorogued without
making provision for the construction of the railway, was sent
to the Dominion government in the following November. The
circumstances surrounding that meeting of parliament are
so well known that this protest seems altogether unreason-
able. Alexander Mackenzie, who had come into power on
the resignation of Sir John A. Macdonald, replied by calling
attention to his most undiplomatic speech at Sarnia on
November 23, 1873, indicating his intention to endeavour to
effect a modification of article 1 1 of the Terms of Union.

The provincial legislature was then in session and had
under consideration a bill to alter the form of the aid to be
granted by the Dominion to the graving-dock scheme. So
sensitive were the people that this proposed alteration might
weaken the binding effect of article 11 that on February 7,
1874, a meeting was held in Victoria at which at least eight
hundred persons were present. This meeting resolved that :

It is unadvisable to enter into any negotiations for
capitalizing the dry dock guarantee or to borrow any
money from the Dominion government until the scheme
of the Mackenzie ministry for the relaxation of the
Terms of Union shall be made known. And, further,
that it is distinctly opposed to the provincial govern-
ment interfering in any manner with the terms, or agree-
ing to any new terms offered by the Mackenzie govern-
ment until the same shall have been submitted to the
people for adoption.

The meeting determined to present the resolution at the
bar of the house. The whole excited crowd swarmed to the
legislature. They filled the galleries, hooting, shouting and

THE RAILWAY DIFFICULTY i87

cheering. All semblance of order disappeared, and the
speaker, being unable to quell the tumult, left the chair.

The answer of the province to the suggestion of relaxa-
tion was embodied in the following resolution, unanimously
passed by the legislature on February 9 :

That in view of the importance of the railway clause
of the Terms of Union between Canada and British
Columbia being faithfully carried out by Canada, this
House is of opinion that no alteration in the said clause
should be permitted by the government of this province
until the same has been submitted to the people for
endorsation.

It is difficult for us to-day, as it was difficult for the people
of Canada then, to realize how much the railway meant to
British Columbians. We must remember that the total
white population was under 10,000, of whom the great
majority would be directly benefited by the enormous ex-
penditure which actual construction would involve : those
in business, in trade and in agriculture would feel the stimulus
instantly ; while all who had invested in real estate would
be enriched by the increased value of their property. Thus
every person had a direct material interest. But those who
had worked for the union, who wished to see a united Canada,
also fully realized that no real union could exist without the
railways that would open markets and lead to an inter-
change of products. The people of British Columbia literally
hungered for the early, vigorous, and continued construction
of the railway. The early seventies in the province was a
period of depression ; but every one had been buoyed up by
the hope of immediate construction. To people so situated
the necessary delays, which prudence and a proper regard
for all interests required before the location could be settled
and construction commenced, were irksome in the extreme ;
but when to these was added the feeling that the Mackenzie
government regarded the agreement as impossible of fulfil-
ment and, instead of making an energetic effort to perform
it, were leisurely carrying on surveys and arranging a policy
of modification, British Columbia assumed an attitude of
almost stubborn adherence to * the Terms,^ the whole Terms,

i88 POLITICAL HISTORY

and nothing but the Terms.' The language of Mackenzie
in characterizing the agreement while speaking in parlia-
ment as * a piece of madness/ * a piece of deliberate treason
to the country,' was not calculated to pacify the province or
to cause the people to believe that he was anxious to com-
mence work on such a scheme.

This was the situation when, in March 1874, Mackenzie
sent J. D. (afterwards Sir James) Edgar to British Columbia
to ' confer with the Government of British Columbia, and
[he] will be glad to receive your views regarding the policy
of the Government on the construction of the railway.' Such
vague and indefinite powers, at a time when a feeling of dis-
satisfaction and lack of confidence existed, must necessarily
bring their own destruction in any negotiation. Edgar
came, discussed the vexed question with a government almost
hostile, whose hands were tied by the resolution of the legis-
lature, and made suggestions for a settlement of it along the
following lines. The Dominion government, he said, would
agree :

1 . To commence at once and finish as soon as possible
a railway from Esquimalt to Nanaimo.

2. To spare no expense in settling as rapidly as possible
the line to be taken by the railway on the mainland.

3. To make at once a wagon road and line of telegraph
along the whole length of the railway in British Columbia,
and to continue the telegraph across the continent.

4. The moment the surveys and road on the main-
land are completed, to spend the minimum amount of
$1,500,000 annually upon the construction of the railway
within the province.

Immediately upon these propositions being laid before
him, Walkem took high ground and required to be informed
that Edgar — ^with whom he had been discussing the railway
question for two months — had been * specially accredited
to act in this matter as the agent of the General Govern-
ment, and that they will consider your acts or negotiations
in the matter binding upon them.' Here came a deadlock
and Edgar was recalled. As Leggo says :

The negotiations between Mr Edgar and Mr Walkem
are not very creditable to the frankness of the Dominion

THE RAILWAY DIFFICULTY 189

Ministry or to the temper of the Columbian Attorney
General, ... for on the one hand the Dominion Agent
had really no power to bind his employers, and his mission
partook therefore of a kind of * fishing * adventure offen-
sive to the Provincial Government . . . while, on the
other, the abrupt conduct of Mr Walkem was hardly
compatible with the dignity of the representative of such
an authority.

Edgar left Victoria on May 19. His mission had accom-
plished nothing, and tended to strengthen the growing feel-
ing of distrust of the Mackenzie government. Edgar had
scarcely been recalled before the provincial government re-
pented of their brusqueness and telegraphed to the Dominion
government to ascertain whether that government would
be bound by Edgar's offer ; the only reply was a withdrawal
of that offer. The situation was that the provincial govern-
ment were unwilling to consider any modification of the
terms ; the Dominion government regarded it as a physical
impossibility to fulfil those terms ; Edgar's overtures being
rejected, Mackenzie seemed inclined to let matters rest.
But now the provincial government determined upon action,
and the scene of the conflict changed to London. British
Columbia complained to Her Majesty the Queen, as one of
the parties to the agreement, of the failure of the Dominion
to carry out the Terms of Union.

A lengthy memorial, dated June 15, 1874, was prepared
reciting that the province had, at the instigation of the home
authorities, agreed to a union with Canada, and that the
great inducement thereto was the very liberal terms in refer-
ence to the railway. The memorial then pointed out that,
in accordance with the Terms of Union, British Columbia
had withdrawn all lands from sale ; that by the order-in-
council already mentioned, Esquimalt had been selected as
the terminus, and a line of railway was to be located between
Esquimalt and Seymour Narrows ; that, as requested by
the Dominion government, a strip of very valuable land
along the coast of Vancouver Island between these two
points, containing about 3200 square miles, had been with-
drawn from settlement. The various protests made by the

190 POLITICAL HISTORY

province and their scant treatment by the Dominion were
next mentioned ; and then the memorial took up the sug-
gestions of Edgar for a change in the terms, complaining
that the first direct communication they had received that
his proposals were authoritative was contained in the same
document that withdrew them. After suggesting that the
surveys were not being vigorously prosecuted, it submitted
that the province had fulfilled its part, but that the Dominion
had been lax and had not made adequate efforts ; that
though the terminus had been selected and a large area of
land withdrawn from settlement, yet construction had not
only not been commenced, but the Dominion virtually refused
to commence, unless the province would consent to alter
materially that sacred eleventh article of the Terms of
Union. The concluding paragraph gives a graphic picture
of the conditions :

That, in consequence of the course pursued by the
Dominion, British Columbia is suffering great loss ; her
trade has been damaged and unsettled ; her general
prosperity has been seriously affected ; her people have
become discontented ; a feeling of depression has taken
the place of the confident anticipations of commercial
and political advantages to be derived from the speedy
construction of a great railway uniting the Atlantic and
Pacific shores of Your Majesty's Dominion on the Con-
tinent of North America.

Walkem was selected to present the memorial and urge
upon the home government the claims of the province. The
Earl of Carnarvon, secretary of state for the Colonies, was
notified of Walkem's intended departure on this mission ;
and in a dispatch to the Earl of Dufferin, the governor-
general, dated June i8, 1874, after stating that * it is not my
wish, nor is it a part of my ordinary duty, to interpose in
these questions,* he goes on to say :

So in the present case, it may possibly be acceptable
to both parties that I should tender my good offices in
determining the new points which have presented them-
selves for settlement. I accordingly addressed a tele-

THE RAILWAY DIFFICULTY 191

gram to you yesterday to the effect that I greatly
regretted that a difference should exist between the
Dominion and the Province in regard to the railway,
and that, if both Governments should unite in desiring
to refer to my arbitration all matters in controversy,
binding themselves to accept such decision as I may
think fair and just, I would not decline to undertake
this service.

The province accepted Lord Carnarvon's offer categori-
cally ; but the Dominion informed him that * they would
gladly submit the question to him for his decision as to
whether the exertions of the government, the diligence
shown, and the offers made have or have not been fair and
just and in accordance with the spirit of the agreement.'

Early in July 1874 the governor-general forwarded to the
Earl of Carnarvon the reply of the Dominion government.
This pointed out that the railway terms had been strongly
opposed in parliament, and that Sir John A. Macdonald,
whose government at the time usually had a majority of
from fifty to seventy, had only carried them by a majority
of ten, and even this small majority was only obtained by
the promise of a resolution, subsequently passed, that the
public aid to be granted to the railway should not increase
the rate of taxation. Characterizing the terms as ' incapable
of fulfilment ' and as * such extravagant terms,' Mackenzie
next pointed out how greatly they were in excess of anything
British Columbia had asked. In this connection he quoted
the words of Joseph W. Trutch, one of the British Columbia
delegates to arrange the Terms of Union, and the lieutenant-
governor at this time :

If they had said twelve or eighteen years, that time
would have been accepted with equal readiness, as all
that was understood was, that the line should be built as
soon as possible. British Columbia had entered into a
partnership with Canada, and they were invited to con-
struct certain public works ; but he, for one, would
protest against anything by which it should be under-
stood that the government were to borrow $100,000,000,
or to tax the people of Canada and British Columbia
to carry out these works within a certain time.

19^ POLITICAL HISTORY

The efforts to fulfil the terms were then detailed, and
the necessity for a modification pointed out. Then followed
Edgar's instructions and his offer, and it is declared that ' the
reason alleged for refusing to consider the proposition Mr
Edgar was finally directed to make, that Mr Edgar was not
accredited by this government was evidently a mere technical
pretence. . . . There is also reason to believe that local
political exigencies alone induced the Government of British
Columbia not to entertain these proposals.' After stating
that public opinion in the Dominion would not go beyond
Edgar's proposals, which were also even acceptable to a
portion of the province, the reply concluded by mentioning
the liberal treatment accorded to British Columbia in the
matter of the aid to the graving-dock, where the Dominion
government had granted $250,000 in cash, in lieu of the
guarantee of interest provided by article 12 of the Terms of
Union. In a subsequent minute it was pointed out that the
only grievance was the non-commencement of construction
within the two years, and in reply thereto the difficulties
surrounding the location of the line in the mountainous section
of British Columbia were presented.

Walkem had, in the meantime, departed for London.
Immediately upon his arrival he presented to Lord Carnarvon
the memorial already referred to, and supported it with the
necessary explanations and such further representations as
were required. In his many interviews Walkem dealt with
the vexed question in such a lucid manner as to evoke the
thanks of his lordship for the judicious way in which he had
discharged his duty of making * a full exposition of the views
of the provincial government.'

On August 16 preliminary suggestions looking towards
the settlement of the matter and indicating the modifica-
tions which he deemed desirable were made by Lord Car-
narvon. On September 17 a reply thereto was made by
the Dominion government, in which exception was taken
principally to two of the proposed changes — the doubling
of the engineering force and the completion of the railway
by 1890. As to the former, it was pointed out that already
a larger force was engaged than could, with profit, be em-

THE CARNARVON TERMS 193

ployed until the route was definitely located ; with regard
to the latter, the Dominion strongly objected to * another
precise engagement,' but suggested that if absolutely neces-
sary to save further difficulties they would agree to con-
struct the portion west of Lake Superior by that time.

On October 31 Walkem closed the discussion with a very
lengthy review dealing principally with the proposals made
by Edgar. He concluded his discussion with the expression
of his * desire that matters should be forthwith placed on a
fair businesslike footing, and above all, on a footing of cer-
tainty, with proper safeguards to ensure that certainty, so
that a good and cordial understanding may be restored and
not again be disturbed.*

Lord Carnarvon gave his decision in a dispatch to the
governor-general, dated November 17, 1874. After express-
ing satisfaction at the temperate and forbearing manner in
which the points at issue had been argued, and indicating
that his decision must necessarily be * as both parties are
aware in the nature of a compromise, and as such may,
perhaps, fall short of giving complete satisfaction to either,*
he proceeded to point out that while his suggestions went
further than the Dominion government wished, yet they
were nevertheless considerably less than British Columbia
had been promised as a condition of her entry into the union.
The modifications which he suggested are known in Canadian
history as the * Carnarvon Terms.' They are important,
not because they were carried out, for they were not, but
because they were, for the ensuing seven or eight years,
constantly referred to in the discussions concerning the
railway, and they also formed the basis of a great deal of the
island railway dispute.

The Carnarvon Terms

These terms were as follows :

I. That the railway from Esquimalt to Nanaimo shall
be commenced as soon as possible, and completed with
all practicable dispatch.

VOL. XXI N

194 POLITICAL HISTORY

2. That the surveys on the mainland shall be pushed
on with the utmost vigour. On this point, after consider-
ing the representations of your Ministers, I feel that I
have no alternative but to rely, as I do most fully and
readily, upon their assurances that no legitimate effort
or expense will be spared first to determine the best route
for the line, and, secondly, to proceed with the details of
the engineering work. It would be distasteful to me, if
indeed it were not impossible, to prescribe strictly any
minimum of time or expenditure with regard to work of
so uncertain a nature ; but, happily, it is equally im-
possible for me to doubt that your Government will
loyally do its best in every way to accelerate the com-
pletion of a duty left freely to its sense of honour and
justice.

3. That the wagon road and telegraph line shall be
immediately constructed. There seems here to be some
difference of opinion as to the special value to the Pro-
vince of the undertaking to complete these two works ;
but after considering what has been said, I am of opinion
that they should both be proceeded with at once, as,
indeed, is suggested by your Ministers.

4. That 2,000,000 dollars a year, and not 1,500,000
dollars, shall be the minimum expenditure on railway
works within the Province from the date at which the
surveys are sufficiently completed to enable that amount
to be expended on construction. In naming this amount
I understand that, it being alike the interest and the wish
of the Dominion Government to urge on with all speed
the completion of the works now to be undertaken, the
annual expenditure will be as much in excess of the
minimum of 2,000,000 dollars as in any year may be
found practicable.

5. Lastly, that on or before the 31st December, 1890,
the railway shall be completed and open for traffic from
the Pacific seaboard to a point at the western end of Lake
Superior, at which it will fall into connection with exist-
ing lines of railway through a portion of the United States,
and also with the navigation on Canadian waters. To
proceed at present with the remainder of the railway,
extending, by the country northward of Lake Superior,
to the existing Canadian lines, ought not, in my opinion,

DEFEAT OF THE WALKEM GOVERNMENT 195

to be required, and the time for undertaking that work
must be determined by the development of settlement
and the changing circumstances of the country. The
day is, however, I hope, not very far distant when a
continuous line of railway through Canadian territory
will be practicable, and I therefore look upon this portion
of the scheme as postponed rather than abandoned.

The Dominion government expressed their satisfaction
with the result in a minute stating that these suggestions
upheld their policy in the main and were subject only to
mere modifications in details. The provincial government
accepted it much as an unsuccessful litigant does an adverse
decision.

The Defeat of the Walkem Government

The last session of the first legislature commenced in
March 1875. The Walkem government was subjected to
fierce attacks by the opposition for having, without mandate
from the people, so acted as to allow a variation of the Terms
of Union in the face of the unanimous resolution of the house
that any proposed modification must be submitted to the
people. It was pointed out that the ministry had never been
before the electors, and it was claimed that the country would
not return them. In this session the government introduced
and passed an unjustifiable measure known as the Registration
and Qualification of Voters Act, whereby different qualifica-
tions were required in the various sections of the province.
For instance, to be entitled to a vote in Cariboo or any
other mining district a male British subject only required
to be the holder, for three months, of a miner's licence,
costing five dollars ; he could qualify for a vote in all the re-
mainder of the province except Victoria and New Westminster
cities on a leasehold of the annual value of twenty dollars,
but if he wished a vote in those excepted spots the lease-
hold must be of the annual value of one hundred dollars.
Naturally this act was looked upon with suspicion as dis-
franchising opposition constituencies. It was clearly most
improper legislation, as being discriminative in its nature.

196 POLITICAL HISTORY

By another act of the same session the Chinese were deprived
of the franchise, and their names ordered to be expunged from
the voters* lists.

The elections took place in the fall of 1875. The charges
against the ministry included not only the matters above
mentioned and the stock charges of extravagance and incom-
petence— ^always launched against a government — ^but also
the old * Island v. Mainland * cry, the opposition claiming
that by submitting the dispute to the Colonial Office and
obtaining the Carnarvon Terms the result was that, while
the whole province was injured by the delay in the con-
struction of the railway, the island obtained the whole
benefit in the promise of the early construction of the island
railway.

The result of the election — ^the first election by ballot —
appeared to be the return of the Walkem administration by a
majority of two.

The first meeting of the second legislature took place on
January 10, 1876. The railway situation was naturally the
main issue in the proceedings. A lengthy address complain-
ing of the failure of Canada to fulfil the Carnarvon Terms was
passed unanimously. Soon afterwards the fact came out that
the Walkem ministry had borrowed from the Dominion a sum
of about $450,000. For about a fortnight the session dragged
along until, on January 25, T. B. Humphreys moved ' That
the House strongly disapproves of the policy of the Govern-
ment in borrowing large sums of money from Canada at a time
when Canada is a serious defaulter in respect to the most im-
portant obligation of the Treaty of Union.* On this motion
the government was defeated by a vote of thirteen to eleven
— two members who had been elected as its supporters
voting with the majority.

The Elliott Ministry, 1876-78

The Walkem government at once resigned, and the
lieutenant-governor called upon A. C. Elliott, one of the
members for Victoria City, to form a ministry. On Feb-
ruary I he announced his cabinet as follows :

THE ELLIOTT MINISTRY 197

A. C. Elliott, premier, attorney-general, and provincial

secretary.
T. B. Humphreys, minister of Finance and Agriculture.
F. G. Vernon, chief commissioner of Lands and Works.
E. Brown, president of the council.

The first two members represented island constituencies ; the
others mainland constituencies. The president of the council
was supposed to draw no salary.

One of the first acts of the Elliott government was to repeal
the obnoxious Qualification and Registration of Voters Act,
1875, and to substitute over the whole province the simple
requirement that a voter must be an adult male British
subject who had resided in the province for one year and in
the electoral district for two months.

In July 1876, owing principally to a difference with his
colleagues on some matters relating to the administration of
the finances of the province, T. B. Humphreys resigned the
portfolio of Finance and Agriculture, which was thereupon
placed in charge of William Smithe, the senior member for
Cowichan. In September Brown resigned the presidency of
the council, owing to the stand which, in deference to the
opinions of his constituents, he had taken on the Carnarvon
Terms. Thereafter the premier also occupied the presidency
of the council.

In the meantime, in pursuance of the Carnarvon Terms,
the Dominion government had, in the session of 1875, intro-
duced the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Bill to obtain
authority to build this line, which Mackenzie had always
claimed was not a part of the railway as set out in the Terms
of Union. The bill passed the House of Commons by a large
majority ; but it was defeated in the Senate, owing, it is said,
to the speeches of members of the Walkem ministry (then
in power) having arrived in the interval, whereby it appeared
that it was their intention, nevertheless, to require Canada
to fulfil the original terms.

This unexpected set-back removed to a distant date the
actual commencement of railway construction. For on the
mainland the surveys were still proceeding, and it was un-
certain whether the railway line would be located to Dean's

198 POLITICAL HISTORY

Canal, Bute Inlet, or Burrard Inlet. As compensation for
this disappointment, the loss of immediate construction of
the island railway and for any future delays, the Dominion
government offered the province $750,000 ; but the Walkem
ministry, then in power (September 1875), unhesitatingly
refused the offer. The feeling of dissatisfaction with the
Mackenzie government's railway policy became greater day
by day. This feeling was stronger on the island than on the
mainland ; because on the mainland the location of the rail-
way had not been settled, and it was felt that further explora-
tions and surveys would result in the selection of the Fraser
valley route with terminus on Burrard Inlet ; whereas, upon
the island, E^uimalt had been selected as the terminus in
1873, and it was thought that if construction were commenced
there and carried through to Seymour Narrows, it would be a
great factor in settling the location by way of Bute Inlet, and
then the two sections must ultimately be linked together. On
the island dissatisfaction deepened into distrust, especially
as the Esquimau and Nanaimo Railway Bill had been defeated
in the Senate by the votes of two senators who usually voted
with the government. Open threats of secession were made.
In January 1876 a resolution to sever from the Dominion
was actually presented in the legislature, but it received
no seconder. The mainland was dissatisfied ; the island was
distrustful and angry.

This was the condition of affairs in the summer of 1876,
when it was announced that Lord Dufferin, the governor-
general, would visit the province. In the public mind this
visit was naturally connected with the railway trouble. The
feeling on the island, but more especially in the vicinity of
Victoria, was evidenced by the arch which was erected bearing
the threat, * Carnarvon Terms or Separation,* and by the
secession address which it was resolved at a public meeting
to present to him. That this feeling was general and was
shared by the political leaders is shown by the names of the
delegation selected to present the address. Those names
included the following public men : A. Bunster, M.P., A. C.
Elliott, the premier, T. B. Humphreys, minister of Finance
and Agriculture, James Trimble, the speaker of the legisla-

THE ELLIOTT MINISTRY 199

ture, Robert Beaven, J. W. Douglas and W. F. Tolmie, mem-
bers of the legislature, and J. S. Drummond, the mayor of
Victoria. Lord Dufferin very diplomatically refused to receive
the address.

The visit of the governor-general did much to allay the
bitter feeling both on the island and on the mainland, to create
a better spirit, and to induce the people to be patient. He
spent about two months in the province, visiting many parts
of the seaboard and even journeying as far into the interior
as Kamloops. Wherever he went he found the railway
question always to the front, though secession sentiment was
practically confined to the city of Victoria. In his memorable
speech in Victoria, while sympathizing with the people in
their disappointment at the delay in construction, he pointed
out that the remedy was not separation. He cast the horo-
scope of Vancouver Island if separation occurred, saying :

Vancouver [Island] and its inhabitants, who are now
influential by reason of their intelligence rather than
their numbers, would be ruled as Jamaica, Malta,
Gibraltar, Heligoland, and Ascencion are ruled, through
the instrumentality of some naval or other officer.
Nanaimo would become the principal town of the island,
and Victoria would lapse for many a long year into the
condition of a village, until the development of your
coalfields and the growth of a healthier sentiment had
prepared the way for its re-incorporation with the rest
of the Province.

Joseph Trutch's term of office expired in July 1876, and
Albert Norton Richards succeeded him as lieutenant-governor
of the province.

In December 1876 Lord Carnarvon acknowledged the
receipt of the address of the legislature, which had been
passed in the preceding January, complaining of the failure of
Canada to commence the construction of the railway. He
stated that it might be fairly expected that before the spring
of 1878 many doubtful points connected with the route of the
railway would be settled, and intimated that, as it was his
belief that thereafter British Columbia would experience no
obstacle to the active prosecution of the work, the province

200 POLITICAL HISTORY

should not refuse to submit to construction being deferred for
that period. Perhaps Lord Dufferin*s visit and his speech
had rendered the province more pHant, for the delay requested
was readily granted. In doing so, however, the Elliott
ministry pointed out that the repeated failures of the Canadian
government to fulfil their agreements had * produced a feeling
of disappointment and distrust so wide-spread and intense
as to severely and injuriously affect the commercial and
industrial interests of the province and seriously retard its
general prosperity.'

In May 1877, '^^ order to strengthen his cabinet, Elliott
appointed A. E. B. Davie, one of the members for Cariboo,
provincial secretary ; but Cariboo was the stronghold of
Walkem, the leader of the opposition, and he succeeded in
defeating Davie in the by-election. Davie accordingly re-
signed his office in August 1877. This defeat reduced the
government's already small majority.

The Defeat of the Elliott Ministry

At the opening of the session of 1878 Walkem moved a
vote of want of confidence on the ground of the ' necessity for
a far more economical administration of the public revenue.'
He claimed that the Elliott government's policy of performing
public works by day-work was improper and wasteful and was
adopted solely to strengthen their hold upon the country.
The motion was defeated by a vote of thirteen to eleven.
During the whole session the opposition, although in a
minority of two, by a consistent policy of obstruction
hampered the government and delayed its measures. Elliott
especially desired to pass an amendment to the Constitution
Act, whereby the number of members would be increased to
thirty-three, being sixteen from the island and seventeen from
the mainland, and the sessional indemnity, which had been
increased by the DeCosmos- Walkem government, would be
reduced ; the bill also included the reduction of the repre-
sentation of Kootenay (where only thirty-two votes had been
polled for its two members in the election of 1875) to one
member. Both the members for Kootenay were supporters

THE DEFEAT OF THE ELLIOTT MINISTRY 201

of the opposition, hence Walkem was fierce and uncompro-
mising in his resistance and clung to his policy of obstruction.
In this course he had no stronger supporter than T. B.
Humphreys, ex-minister of Finance and Agriculture in the
Elliott government. Elliott was equally firm in his determina-
tion to carry his redistribution measure, and declared that he
* would insist on its passage had he to sit till Christmas next.'
On April 5, on the suggestion of Walkem, a conference took
place to establish a sort of modus vivendi, but nothing was
accomplished, as neither leader would recede from his position
on the redistribution bill. Matters drifted along for a few
days. The excitement both in the house and in the country
was intense. The galleries were crowded at each sitting
with the supporters of the opposing parties, who frequently
became so boisterous and unruly that the speaker had great
difficulty in keeping even a semblance of order. Finally, on
April 8, Elliott announced that the house, which had sat for
two months, would be prorogued on the loth with a view to
an early dissolution and election. At that time no real pro-
gress had been made with the legislation, and supply had not
been voted. It was an impasse. Neither party wished to
face the electorate under these conditions, but the leaders
were obdurate. Ultimately, on the suggestion of W. J.
Armstrong, one of the members for New Westminster district,
a conference was arranged between three members of each
of the contending parties. They succeeded in making an
arrangement whereby a measure which both parties regarded
as of the first importance — ^an act to encourage the mining of
gold-bearing quartz — ^was to be passed, six months* supply to
be voted, any other bills to be taken up by mutual consent,
and then an immediate dissolution and election.

The house was dissolved on April 12, 1878, and the elec-
tions were held about the end of May. The result was
the complete overthrow of the Elliott ministry — only eight
of its supporters being returned. Among the defeated was
Elliott himself.

Elliott's limitations as a politician never appeared more
clearly than in this crisis of 1878. He lacked the determina-
tion and energy to enable him * out of this nettle, danger, to

202 POLITICAL HISTORY

pluck this flower, safety ' ; and he allowed his plans and his
policy to be altered and controlled by the minority. His
quiet and studious nature was unfitted for the fierce strife
against such an active and aggressive opponent as Walkem.
In a house where he had a majority of two he was unable
to control the proceedings ; while his opponent, Walkem, in
the session of 1882, carried on the business on the casting
vote of the speaker.

The Walkem Ministry, 1878-82

On June 25, 1878, the Elliott government resigned, and
the reins of power fell once more into the hands of George
A. Walkem. His ministry consisted of

George A. Walkem, premier, attorney-general, chief
commissioner of Lands and Works, and president of
the council.

Robert Beaven, minister of Finance and Agriculture.

T. B. Humphreys, provincial secretary and minister of
Mines.

In a house of twenty-five this government had, originally,
seventeen supporters.

As supply had only been voted up to June 30, it was
necessary that the house should be immediately called
together. The first session of the third legislature opened
on July 29, 1878. The speech from the throne contained
the following pointed reference to railway matters :

In considering these and other railway papers which
will be laid before you, I would remind you that the time
has come when delay in the construction of the work,
both on the mainland and island, can no longer be
justified ; and it is therefore incumbent upon us to
take measures much more decisive than the mere entry
of protests, which however firm and just have been
systematically disregarded by the government of the
Dominion.

The Secession Resolution of 1878

After supply had been voted the house took up the rail-
way question. Walkem moved a lengthy address to the

THE SECESSION RESOLUTION OF 1878 203

queen, which, after reciting the Carnarvon Terms of 1874
and their almost total disregard by the Dominion govern-
ment, mentioned the address of 1876 and Lx)rd Carnarvon's
reply asking the province to be patient until the spring of
1878. After pointing out the failure of the Dominion govern-
ment to live up to this, the latest arrangement, and showing
the injurious effects of these constant delays on the interests
of the province, the address concluded with the following
remarkable prayer :

That British Columbia shall hereafter have the right
to exclusively collect and retain her Customs and Excise
duties and to withdraw from the Union ; and shall also in
any event be entitled to be compensated by the Dominion
for losses sustained by reason of past delays and the
failure of the Dominion government to carry out their
railway and other obligations to the province.

The opposition first offered an amendment asking that
the Dominion be urged to commence railway work at once
on both island and mainland. The house was in no humour
for such colourless conduct. The amendment was defeated
immediately.

On the following day, August 30, Ash, the member for
Comox and a former government supporter, moved an
amendment the last clause of which was :

That this House, recognizing the difficult position in
which the Dominion government has been placed and
actuated by a sincere desire to maintain the union of
British Columbia with the other Provinces of the Con-
federation, pledges itself to abide by the result of an
arbitration having for its object such modification of the
settlement of 1874 as will fulfil the spirit, if it be found
impracticable to carry out the letter of that agreement.

Thus the question of secession was put squarely before
the house. That body, however, was in no temporizing
mood ; the amendment was declared out of order ; and the
secession resolution carried that afternoon on a vote of
fourteen to nine. It was at once forwarded to the secretary
of state for transmission to the imperial government. It
reached Ottawa about the time of the Dominion elections,

204 POLITICAL HISTORY

and in the changes occurring at that time was lost sight
of — * mislaid ' — and did not reach London until January 24,
1879. In the meantime a better feeling had arisen, and
therefore no action was taken on it.

This better feeling arose from the return of Sir John A.
Macdonald to power in Canada, as the result of the elections
of September 1878. Then, too, the time was ripe for action.
The surveys had resulted in the selection by the Mackenzie
government in July 1878 of the Fraser valley route ; the
location of the terminus at Esquimalt had been cancelled ;
some 5000 tons of rails were already on the ground ; tenders
had been asked for the construction of 125 miles of the most
difficult portion — the section between Emory's Bar and
Savona's Ferry ; only the financial arrangements remained
for adjustment before actual construction could commence.

The marked change in feeling was shown in the lieu-
tenant-governor's speech at the opening of the house in
1879. There was no further talk of secession ; on the con-
trary, it was stated that correspondence had taken place
between the two governments ' and an assurance has lately
been given that our representations and claims are now being
considered by the Dominion Cabinet and will receive their
best attention.*

From this time the railway question disappears from the
political arena on the mainland. Early in 1880 the contract
for the construction of the line from Emory's Bar to Savona's
Ferry was let to Onderdonk and Company. The terms of
the arrangement for the building of the main line were soon
settled ; the contract was signed in October 1880. The gap
between Emory's Bar and Port Moody was placed under
contract early in 1882. The details of these arrangements
scarcely fall within the purview of this article.

The Third Appeal to Her Majesty

But the Walkem ministry was determined that the island
railway should be built. In the fall of 1880 it appointed
Amor DeCosmos as special agent * to press upon the Dominion
Government the importance of carrying out their agreement

THE GRAVING-DOCK QUESTION 205

to construct the Island section of the Canadian Pacific
Railway/ Sir John A. Macdonald refused to recognize any
liability upon Canada under the Terms of Union to con-
struct a railway on Vancouver Island, claiming, as Mackenzie
had, that the line to Port Moody was to the ' seaboard *
of British Columbia and that any railway upon the island
was a purely local work.

This interpretation did not satisfy the legislature, which
in March 1881 passed a resolution to petition the queen in
reference to the refusal of Canada to build the * island section *
— as they called it — of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The
petition was sent to DeCosmos for presentation. After
reading it and the minute of the Dominion government in
answer, and hearing DeCosmos and perusing his reply, which
contained sixty-three pages of closely printed matter, the
secretary of state for the Colonies, Lord Kimberley, sug-
gested as a basis of settlement * the construction of a light
line of railway from Nanaimo to Esquimalt, the extension
without delay of the line to Port Moody, and the grant of
reasonable compensation in money for the failure to com-
plete the work within the term of ten years as specified in the
Conditions of Union.' But, in spite of these suggestions,
the Dominion government stood resolutely upon the ground
that they were carrying out the Terms of Union, and that in
so doing they were straining the credit of Canada to the
utmost. When the Carnarvon Terms were referred to, they
answered that those so-called terms were mere suggestions
which depended for their efficacy upon their adoption by
parliament, which in 1875, by refusing to pass the Esqui-
malt and Nanaimo Railway Bill, had completely nullified
them.

The Graving-Dock Question

Thus matters stood when the legislature met in 1882.
In the speech of the lieutenant-governor, C. F. Cornwall, who,
in the preceding July, had succeeded A. N. Richards, refer-
ence was made to this dispute, and the papers relating to
DeCosmos's mission were brought down ; but it was soon

206 POLITICAL HISTORY

eclipsed by the graving-dock question. As this was the
rock upon which the Walkem government was shattered and
the Beaven government was also wrecked, a short statement
of the difficulty is given.

The desire for a graving-dock at Esquimalt was deeply
embedded in the people of the island. Under the Terms of
Union Canada had agreed to guarantee the interest at five
per cent for ten years on ;)£ 100,000 to aid the scheme. In
1873, at the solicitation of the province, this assistance was
altered to a grant of $250,000, payable as the work progressed ;
and as a result of the visit of DeCosmos to England in
December 1873, the imperial government consented to grant
;g30,ooo in aid, payable when the work was completed. With
these promises in hand the province undertook to build the
dock as a provincial public work. Its estimated cost was
about half a million dollars. Of course the mainland people,
or at any rate a portion of them, taking up the * Island v.
Mainland ' cry, objected to the province putting into this
dock money that they thought would be better spent in
building roads and bridges on the mainland. In 1874, when
Walkem was in England on railway matters, he applied to
the imperial government to increase its grant to ;£50,ooo.
It consented, and thus the grants equalled the estimated
cost. Very little in the way of actual construction had been
done when the DeCosmos-Walkem government went out
of office in 1876. Its successor, the Elliott government,
while arranging preliminaries to construction, negotiated
with the Dominion government to take over the work and
thereby relieve the province from what was already a burden.
These arrangements had, however, not been completed when
that government was defeated in the elections of 1878. On
resuming office the Walkem government immediately cut
short all these negotiations, and in 1879 entered into a con-
tract with F. B. M^Namee and Company for the construction
of this great work. One of the terms in that contract was
that the provincial government should supply all the cement
required therein. This was supposed to be merely an item
of about a hundred tons — a matter of only $3000 or $4000.
Being pressed in the house upon the subject soon after this

LAST DAYS OF THE WALKEM MINISTRY 207

contract was made, Walkem had assured the people that the
dock ' would not cost the province one cent more.* But
early in the session of 1882 it came out that the item of
cement — the mere negligible item, as had been supposed —
represented between 4000 and 5000 tons, or in money, the
considerable sum of $175,000 or $200,000. The house was
alarmed. A committee was appointed to investigate, and
a month was spent in taking evidence. The majority report
was adverse to the government, finding great lack of busi-
ness ability and serious mismanagement in connection with
the work, and that the ministry had misled the house as to
the actual condition of affairs. On the motion to adopt the
report the house was evenly divided — twelve to twelve —
but the casting vote of the speaker saved the day.

The Last Days of the Walkem Ministry

During the session of 1881 a resolution had been unani-
mously passed that * in the opinion of this House it is desir-
able that at the next session the question of representation
should be dealt with, with a view of equalizing as far as
possible the various political interests.' As the government
showed no sign of bringing in such a measure and the session
was drawing to a close, a resolution requiring the govern-
ment to take the necessary steps to carry it into effect
was offered. Two supporters of the government moved in
amendment :

That in view of the approaching general election, it
is not advisable for this House to change the constitution
of the province in respect to its existing provisions for the
representation of the people in the legislative assembly,
without first consulting the people and obtaining their
sanction to such a change as they are directly interested
therein.

In justification of the movement for a readjustment of
seats, it was pointed out that in the last election — that of
1878 — ^in Kootenay electoral district, which was represented
by two members, only fifteen votes had been polled ; while
the important and comparatively populous district of New

208 POLITICAL HISTORY

Westminster had only the same number of representatives.
The house again divided equally on this question, and again
the speaker*s casting vote saved the situation.

Soon after these divisions Smithe, the leader of the
opposition, moved a vote of want of confidence in the Walkem
administration. The principal grounds of this motion were
the graving-dock mismanagement and the failure to bring
in a redistribution measure. Then occurred one of those
strange changes of front which were frequent at this period
of the history of British Columbia : a member who had con-
sistently opposed the government, even in the late divisions,
suddenly gave it his support. The result was that the motion
was defeated by a vote of thirteen to eleven. The house
was prorogued on April 21, and dissolved on June 13, 1882.

The Beaven Ministry, 1882-83

On May 23, 1882, Walkem was appointed to the bench,
as a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Robert Beaven, the chief commissioner of Lands and Works
in the Walkem government, was called upon to form a
ministry. The Beaven government was composed of :

Robert Beaven, premier, chief commissioner of Lands
and Works, minister of Finance and Agriculture and
president of the council.

T. B. Humphreys, provincial secretary and minister of
Mines.

J. R. Hett, attorney-general.

This government was, therefore, but a continuation of
the Walkem government ; and was so regarded by the people,
who held it responsible for the deeds and misdeeds of its pre-
decessor. This is clearly shown by the issues discussed in
the press and on the platform during the election in July
1882, The more prominent were the mismanagement of the
graving-dock construction, the demand that it should cease
to be a charge upon the province, the demand for a more
equitable representation based upon population, and that
the policy of * fighting Canada * should cease. Tacked to
these were the usual complaints — inefficient handling of

THE SMITHE MINISTRY 209

public moneys, the failure to build roads and bridges and
to supply schools in distant places, and general incompet-
ency in every branch of the public service.

The election resulted in the complete overthrow of the
Beaven ministry. T. B. Humphreys, the provincial secretary,
was defeated in Victoria District ; and the attorney-general,
though elected by a majority of one, was unseated as the
result of an election petition. W. J. Armstrong was appointed
provincial secretary in the place of T. B. Humphreys, who
had resigned.

The opposition newspapers clamoured for the resignation
of the government, claiming that it had lost the support of
the people. The lieutenant-governor, C. F. Cornwall, how-
ever, did not force the situation, but allowed Beaven, though
he could only muster nine supporters in a house of twenty-
five, to retain office until the legislature met in January 1883.
At the opening of the session the ministry, consisting of
only two members, Beaven and Armstrong, faced a house
overwhelmingly hostile. Still they held on. But on the
second day Smithe, the leader of the opposition, moved a
vote of want of confidence and condemnation of the ministry
in not having called the house together at an earlier date.
The government was defeated by a vote of sixteen to eight.
On the following day Beaven resigned, and the lieutenant-
governor at once called upon Smithe to form a government.

The Smithe Ministry, 1883-87
The personnel of the new ministry was at once announced :

William Smithe, premier and chief commissioner of

Lands and Works.
A. E. B. Davie, attorney-general.
John Robson, provincial secretary and minister of

Finance and Agriculture.
M. W. T. Drake, president of the council.

This government and its lineal successors, the A. E. B.
Davie government, the Robson government, the Theodore
Davie government, and the Turner government, held office
from January 1883 till August 1898.

VOL. XXI o

210 POLITICAL HISTORY

Immediately upon its accession to office the Smithe
ministry commenced negotiations looking towards a settle-
ment of the island railway difficulty, the claim for compensa-
tion for the delay in the construction of the Canadian Pacific
Railway, and for relieving the province of the graving-dock.
These negotiations had reached such a stage that in May
1883 the act relating to the island railway, graving-dock,
and railway lands of the province was passed. The desire
of the ministry to sweep away in a few months the incubus
of these troubles — the accumulation of many years — neces-
sarily required expedition, and it is not surprising that the
act, as passed, was not regarded as accurately representing
the real agreement.

Later in 1883 Sir Alexander Campbell, the minister of
Justice, visited the province, and as a result the small differ-
ences remaining were adjusted. An agreement was entered
into which in the following year was given legislative sanction.
This act provided for a grant of about 2,000,000 acres of
land by the province, to be supplemented by a grant of
$750,000 from the Dominion as aid to the construction of
the island railway ; for the Dominion government's taking
over, completing, and operating the graving-dock and re-
paying to the province the moneys already spent thereon,
amounting to over $182,000, and a further sum of $250,000 ;
for a grant to the Dominion of 3,500,000 acres of land in the
Peace River country as satisfaction for lands alienated by
the province out of the forty-mile belt on the mainland
which had been granted to the Dominion in aid of the con-
struction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The act also
contained provisions in reference to the administration of
the forty-mile railway belt and the lands to be granted to
the island railway. This arrangement was to be a complete
settlement of all matters in dispute — for all claims in con-
nection with the delays in the commencement and construc-
tion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in respect of the non-
construction of the island railway, and all claims by the
Dominion for additional lands under the Terms of Union.

Thenceforward the island railway and the graving-dock,
which had figured so prominently in the history of the pro-

THE CHINESE QUESTION 211

vince from the time of union downwards, ceased to be political
factors. The island railway was shortly afterwards built by
Robert Dunsmuir, with whom were associated the American
capitalists, Crocker and Huntingdon of the Central Pacific.
The contract for the graving-dock completion was let to
Connolly and Larkin, and the work was at last satisfactorily
completed.

The Chinese Question^

From the earliest days of the colony a small though steady
immigration of Chinese had existed. At first, while gold-
mining was the chief industry, their presence was scarcely
noticed, as they were content to work the ground abandoned
by the white miners or regarded by them as not of sufficient
value to warrant their attention. But with the decrease of
gold-mining and the advent of a period of depression they
entered other lines of employment, and consequently their
competition soon came to be regarded as a serious menace.
In the session of 1876 a resolution of the legislature was
passed that steps be taken to prevent the country's being
overrun by them. During the building of the Canadian
Pacific Railway large numbers of Chinese were imported to
work as navvies ; and this aggravated the situation, as it was
felt that the people of the province were not obtaining the
same advantages from that work as would have been obtained
had it been done by white men.

The exclusion of the Chinese was a popular topic at every
election ; and, until 1884, resolutions were almost annually
passed by the legislature asking the Dominion government
to take steps to prevent the entry of these people into the
province, but without avail. In that year the Smithe govern-
ment introduced and passed three acts dealing with the
subject : an act to prevent Chinese from acquiring crown
lands, an act to regulate the Chinese population of British
Columbia, and an act to prevent the immigration of Chinese.
Though the last of the acts was disallowed, their passage
had the effect of awakening the Dominion authorities to the

* For a fuller discussion of the Chinese question see p. 250 et seq.

212 POLITICAL HISTORY

conditions prevailing in the province. Consequently, when in
the session of 1884 a motion was made in the House of
Commons, * That in the opinion of this House it is expedient
to enact a law prohibiting the incoming of Chinese to that
portion of Canada known as British Columbia,' Sir John A.
Macdonald promised that, if the motion were withdrawn, he
would appoint a commission to investigate the whole subject.
Reference was made to the Chinese question in the speech
at the opening of the legislature in 1885, and later the house
by resolution expressed regret at the disallowance of the act
of 1884 and urged the Dominion government to act in accord-
ance with the oft-expressed wish of the legislature. In 1886
the legislature prepared a standard Chinese clause to be
inserted thereafter in all private bills granting franchises,
but it soon became a dead letter. Although the Dominion
parliament in 1885 imposed a tax of $50 on every Chinese
person entering Canada, and in 1900 increased this tax to
$100, the exclusion of the Chinese still continued to be a
favourite plank in election platforms and to be the subject
of constant discussions in the legislature. In 1903 the tax
was still further increased — to the sum of $500 ; but never-
theless the question, with its closely associated question of
the exclusion of other oriental races, remains unsolved.

The Extension of the Railway to Vancouver

The terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway as fixed
by statute was Port Moody, the extreme eastern end of
Burrard Inlet. The Smithe government were desirous of
having the line extended to Coal Harbour, a point near the
entrance of that inlet. To accomplish this an agreement
was made in 1884 whereby the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company undertook to extend the railway to Coal Harbour
in consideration of a grant from the government of 6000
acres of land in the vicinity. In addition to this govern-
ment grant the company received from private landowners
a grant of one-third of their holdings for the same considera-
tion. This led to the founding of the city of Vancouver.
Before the agreement was made by the government and

EXTENSION OF RAILWAY TO VANCOUVER 213

while rumours were rife on the subject, a number of persons
squatted on lands in the neighbourhood of Coal Harbour.
These lands were included within the area proposed to be
granted to the railway company. The conflicting claims
were the subject of a parliamentary inquiry in 1885 and again
in 1888, with the result that a considerable number of claims
which had been refused by the company were held to be
valid. The government was fiercely attacked for having
made this grant, as it was contended that the interests of
the company would have ultimately compelled it to extend
its line to that point. Indeed, on one division in connection
with the investigation of 1885, the government was only able
to command a majority of three.

From 1 87 1 down to 1886 the house had consisted of
twenty-five members, thirteen being from the mainland and
twelve from the island. Originally the representation was
divided in the following manner : on the mainland — Cariboo 3,
Kootenay 2, Lillooet 2, New Westminster City i, New West-
minster District 2, Yale 3; on the island — Comox i, Cowichan
2, Esquimalt 2, Nanaimo i, Victoria City 4, Victoria District 2.
The bill which aroused the fiercest opposition during the first
session of 1878 was one introduced by the Elliott government
having in view a redistribution of seats ; Walkem's firm front
and obstructive tactics forced Elliott, as already shown, to
abandon this bill and go to the people. On the return of
Walkem as the result of that election he had come to the
conclusion that some measure of redress must be granted.
Accordingly he passed an amendment providing that at the
next election Kootenay with its fifteen voters — the Old Sarum
of the time — should have but one member, and that the seat so
taken from Kootenay should be given to the Cassiar district,
then coming into prominence as a mining section ; the act
also provided that at the same time one member should be
taken from Cowichan and given to Nanaimo. The net result
of these changes was to abolish some anomalies, but to retain
the same relative standing of the two sections. The legisla-
ture remained thus constituted until 1885, when the Smithe
ministry, owing to the growth of the New Westminster district,
granted it a third member, and at the same time, to retain

214 POLITICAL HISTORY

the balance of power, the representation of Cowichan was
increased to two, thus bringing that district to its original
standing under the Constitution Act of 187 1, and in a house
of twenty-seven members allowing fourteen representatives
to the mainland and thirteen to the island.

In March 1885 the portfolio of Finance and Agriculture,
which had been held by John Robson from the formation of
the Smithe ministry in 1883, was transferred to Simeon Duck,
one of the members for Victoria City.

In June 1886 the fourth legislature was dissolved. The
elections were held in July. The Smithe ministry was strongly
attacked on account of its * give-away ' policy. It was
charged with having given away to the Dominion the graving-
dock ; with having given away 3,500,000 acres of land in the
Peace River district ; with having given away 2,000,000 acres
of land in connection with the island railway ; with having
given 750,000 acres of land in Kootenay for a reclamation
scheme near the source of the Columbia River ; with having
given away 60,000 acres of land in aid of the Eagle Pass wagon
road ; and with having given away 6000 acres of land to the
Canadian Pacific Railway for the extension to Vancouver.
The government's reply was that the graving-dock was a
burden from which the whole province wished relief ; that
the Peace River lands were as a recompense to the Dominion
for the lands which the province had sold out of the forty-mile
belt ; that the land given to the island railway was land which
from the days of Confederation had been put aside for that
purpose ; and that as regarded the others they were simply
aids to the opening up of the country. This answer was
satisfactory, for the ministry was returned with a majority
of about eleven in a house of twenty-seven. Duck, the new
minister of Finance and Agriculture, however, was defeated
in Victoria, and in the following October the portfolio was
resumed by Robson.

The a. E. B. Davie Ministry, 1887-89

Owing to his continued illness Smithe, though elected,
was unable to take his seat in the session of 1887. He died

THE ROBSON GOVERNMENT 215

in March of that year, and the ministry was reconstituted
under the name of the A. E. B. Davie government. As
originally framed its members were :

A. E. B. Davie, premier and attorney-general.

John Robson, provincial secretary and minister of

Finance and Agriculture.
F. G. Vernon, chief commissioner of Lands and

Works.

To these were added in August 1887 :

J. H. Turner, minister of Finance and Agriculture.
Robert Dunsmuir, president of the council.

During the time of the Smithe and A. E. B. Davie
ministries the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway
and the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway, and the influx
of population incident upon the completion of the former
especially, created a period of great growth and advance-
ment in the province. After the final settlement of the
railway and the graving-dock questions by the act of 1884
there were no momentous public questions at issue in local
politics, and even the old * Mainland v. Island ' cry, which
had so long been heard, gradually lost its power with the
arrival of new blood in the country, with the growth of a
closer acquaintance, and the more firmly knitting together
of the various interests It may be truly said that the
province came into existence only twenty years after Con-
federation ; so tenacious of life are sectional jealousies.
The legislation during these two administrations was such
as naturally resulted from the changed conditions ; legisla-
tion which in the main provided no subject for divided
opinion, but was such as the condition of an expanding and
growing community required.

The Robson Government, 1889-92

In June 1889 Dunsmuir, the president of the council,
died ; and in the August following A. E. B. Davie also died.
Again the ministry was reconstructed under the name of the

2i6 POLITICAL HISTORY

Robson government. The members of this administration
were :

John Robson, premier, provincial secretary and minister

of Mines.
F. G. Vernon, chief commissioner of Lands and Works.
J. H. Turner, minister of Finance and Agriculture.
Theodore Davie, attorney-general.
C. E. PooLEY, president of the council.

In the session of 1890 the Robson ministry passed a re-
distribution measure, whereby the number of seats was there-
after to be thirty-three, of which seventeen were allotted to
the mainland and sixteen to the island. The mainland re-
presentation was divided as follows : Cariboo 3, Lillooet 2,
New Westminster City i. New Westminster District 3, Yale 3,
Kootenay 2, Cassiar I, Vancouver City 2. On the island the
constituencies were : Comox i, Cowichan 2, Esquimalt 2,
Nanaimo District 2, Nanaimo City i, Victoria City 4, Victoria
District 2, Alberni I, and The Islands i.

The legislature, the fifth since the union, was dissolved in
May 1890, and the elections were held in the month of June
following. Apart from the stock charges of incompetence and
extravagance, the chief question discussed in this election
was the late redistribution bill, which was regarded as unfair,
not so much on the basis of * Mainland v. Island * as on the
unit of population. It was pointed out that on the island
71 1 1 voters elected the whole sixteen members, while on the
mainland 6556 voters elected but six members. The govern-
ment frankly admitted that the representation as fixed by
this bill was not wholly satisfactory, but urged that a new
measure dealing with the question could not be brought down
until after the decennial census to be taken in 1891. An
independent party was formed on the mainland with the
slogan * Fair Representation ' ; it succeeded in electing ten
or eleven supporters. This party was not at the outset
opposed to the ministry, which on the first division showed
great strength — having a majority of seventeen.

An unusual incident occurred in the session of 1892. Two
private bills to incorporate companies, to be known re-
spectively as the Vancouver and New Westminster Short

THE ROBSON GOVERNMENT 217

Line Tramway Company and the Twin Cities Railway
Company, were introduced. At that time a Hne of electric
railway operated by the New Westminster and Vancouver
Tramway Company was actually in existence and practically
in operation. Neither of these two private bills ever got
beyond the first reading, being strongly opposed by the exist-
ing company. The Kennedy brothers, the owners of the Daily
Columbian, a newspaper published in New Westminster,
printed a leading article entitled * Outrageous Presumption,'
in which the action of the private bills committee in report-
ing that the Twin Cities Bill was not in the public interest
was strongly commented on. The house, regarding this
article as a libel and a high contempt of its privileges, sum-
moned the publishers to appear at its bar and answer therefor.
The Kennedys refused to obey the summons. The house
then resolved to refer the matter to a select committee. While
it was before this committee the discovery was made that
there was no statute in existence defining the privileges,
immunities, and powers of the legislative assembly. A bill
was, therefore, hurriedly introduced for this purpose on
April I, which passed through all its stages and was assented
to on April 8. On the following day the committee reported
recommending that the offending publishers be proceeded
against under the act just passed. They were accordingly
summoned once more to appear at the bar of the house to
answer their alleged contempt. This summons they treated as
they had its predecessor. The house then resolved that in not
obeying the summons the publishers had been guilty of con-
tempt, and that they be brought before the house in custody
of the sergeant-at-arms and that the speaker issue his warrant
accordingly. At last, on April 21, the sergeant-at-arms re-
ported their presence at the bar by virtue of the warrant. In
reply to a question from the speaker as to why the second
summons had been disobeyed, they challenged the power of
the house to punish for contempt committed out of its doors,
and contended that the Legislative Assembly Privileges Act,
1892, so hastily passed, did not and could not apply to any-
thing done before its existence. The house, however, com-
mitted them to the custody of the sergeant-at-arms till the

2i8 POLITICAL HISTORY

following day. When brought to the bar of the house on
April 22 they were asked whether they had any apology to
make to the legislature for their conduct. They replied that
they had none, and were committed to the same custody
during the pleasure of the house. Prorogation followed on
the 23rd of the month, the imprisonment was therefore ended,
and the incident closed. In the various divisions on this
matter the ministry's original majority of seventeen was
decreased to eleven, most of the independents marshalling
against the government. In the country at large the feeling
ran very strongly in favour of the Kennedys, and the bringing
in of the Privileges Act and the subsequent proceedings there-
under were regarded as almost in the nature of persecution.
The whole affair scarcely redounded to the credit of the
administration.

The Theodore Davie Ministry, 1892-95

By the death of the premier the Robson ministry came to
an end in June 1892. Robson had been prominent in the
province since 1861, and whether in or out of the house had
exercised a marked influence upon the destinies of the country.
He was a strong and logical writer, a forceful and fluent
speaker. His views were generally broad and progressive.
With the knowledge of men and things necessary to the
successful poHtician he combined the prophetic vision of the
statesman.

In July 1892 the ministry was reconstituted under the
name of the Theodore Davie government.

Theodore Davie, premier, attorney-general and pro-
vincial secretary.
F. G. Vernon, chief commissioner of Lands and Works.
J. H. Turner, minister of Finance and Agriculture.
James Baker, minister of Education and Immigration.
C. E. Pooley, president of the council.

In the same month the term of office of Hugh Nelson, who
had succeeded C. F. Cornwall as lieutenant-governor, expired,
and Edgar Dewdney, a pioneer of the province, assumed this
high office.

THE THEODORE DAVIE MINISTRY 219

The opening speech in 1893 stated : * The time has arrived
when the altered conditions of the province demand a change
in the method of popular representation in the legislative
assembly, and a measure of redistribution will, therefore, be
submitted to you.' After the house had sat for about six
weeks, the promised measure not having arrived, the opposi-
tion moved : * That the government, by neglecting to bring
down a redistribution bill, as promised at the opening of this
session, has broken faith with this House and forfeited its
confidence.' The government was sustained by a vote of
twenty-one to ten.

The speech from the throne in 1894 contained the follow-
ing reference to the question : * The measure of redistribu-
tion, which was necessarily postponed on account of imperfect
census returns, will be introduced during the present session
for your consideration.* By this bill no change was made in
the number of members, which remained at thirty-three ; but
a great change was made in the proportion existing between
the island and the mainland representatives, showing quite
clearly that old things had passed away. The former division
had been seventeen mainland members and sixteen island
members ; this division was nineteen mainland members and
fourteen island members. The mainland representation was
arranged as follows : Cariboo 2, Cassiar i, New Westminster
District (four ridings) 4, New Westminster City I, Kootenay
(three ridings) 3, Vancouver City 3, Yale (three ridings) 3,
Lillooet (two ridings) 2. On the island the allotment was :
Cowichan-Alberni 2, Comox i, Esquimalt 2, Nanaimo City i,
Nanaimo District (two ridings) 2, Victoria City 4, Victoria
District (two ridings) 2.

From Confederation the legislative assembly had met in
the legislative hall, one of five quaint pagoda-like buildings
which were scattered over the parliament grounds. The
progress of the province and the growth of public business
made it imperative that a new home, more in keeping with
present conditions and future requirements, should be built,
not only for the legislative assembly, but also for the various
departments of the government. To accomplish this end
Davie, during the session of 1893, introduced and passed an

220 POLITICAL HISTORY

act to authorize a loan of $600,000 for the erection of such
new padiament buildings. Construction was commenced in
1894 ^^^ completed in 1897 ^t a cost, including furnishings,
of about $960,000. At the time the proposal to undertake
this work raised considerable opposition, especially upon the
mainland, but it was not long before the wisdom and the
necessity of the expenditure were fully conceded.

Soon after the close of the session of 1894 ^^^ legislature,
the sixth since the union, was dissolved. The elections took
place in July. No great or important question was at stake
in the contest. The country had begun to feel the pinch of
hard times and the record of the government had been one of
constant and continually increasing deficits. The burden of
the opposition cry was the extravagance of the ministry in
undertaking the erection of the costly parliament buildings at a
time of such financial depression, and generally in failing to keep
the ordinary expenditure within the income. It was claimed
that the increase of the net public debt from $701,418 in June
1 891 to $2,398,767 in June 1894 was proof of incompetency in
the management of the public business. The assistance granted
to various railways, notably the Nakusp and Slocan, a short
road in the Kootenay — ^where the government had guaranteed
both principal and interest on $647,500 — ^was vigorously con-
demned. The result of the elections was the return of the
Davie government by a majority of about nine. One cabinet
minister, F. G. Vernon, was defeated in Yale by thirteen votes.

The Turner Ministry, 1895-98

On March 4, 1895, which was about a w^eek after the pro-
rogation of the first session of the seventh legislature, Theodore
Davie resigned the leadership of the government to accept
the office of chief justice of British Columbia. Once more
the ministry was reconstituted under the name of the Turner
government.

J. H. Turner, premier and minister of Finance and

Agriculture.
James Baker, provincial secretary, minister of Mines

and minister of Education and Immigration.

THE TURNER MINISTRY 221

G. B. Martin, chief commissioner of Lands and Works.

D. M. Eberts, attorney-general.

C. E. PooLEY, president of the council.

On June 30, 1894, the net public debt had stood at
$2,398,767 ; four years later it was $4,845,414 — ^an increase of
$2,446,647, a state of affairs most truly appalling. The era
of annual deficits had been a long one, though the yearly
additions were comparatively small ; but these enormous
accretions of the last few years naturally raised many com-
plaints, particularly in view of the increase of taxation which
had been granted by the act of 1896. It had been hoped that
the added revenue thereby obtained would be sufficient to
allow a satisfactory increase in the appropriation for public
works necessitated by the growth of the province, especially
in the new mining region of the Kootenay district, and at
the same time establish that much-wished-for condition — a
nearer approach to an equality between income and ex-
penditure. Criticism of the government's management of
the public business became more frequent, more general
and more emphatic. It was insistently demanded that the
province must live within its income. This demand was
strengthened by the fact that the fiscal year 1897-98 showed a
deficit of over half a million dollars. No doubt this situation
resulted, in part at any rate, from conditions created by the
last administrations ; but the opposition refused to recog-
nize this distinction, claiming that the line of deficits was
unbroken from the days of the Smithe ministry in 1883 down
to the Turner ministry in 1898.

The Turner government was also subjected to very severe
attacks on account of the grant of 10,240 acres of land per
mile made by them in 1896 in aid of the construction of the
Columbia and Western Railway, a branch of the Canadian
Pacific Railway ; and for the unconditional extension of time
granted to the British Columbia Southern Railway, another
branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in which to earn its
land subsidy of 20,000 acres per mile in the Crow's Nest Pass
coal-fields. The aid which the government agreed to grant
to the Cassiar Central Railway caused considerable dissen-

222 POLITICAL HISTORY

sion among its supporters, and during the last session — that
of 1898 — the speaker, D. W. Higgins, who had presided over
the deliberations of the assembly since 1890, handed in his
resignation as a protest against its policy in this regard,
although he did not withdraw his support from it on other
questions.

During that session the premier and the president of
the council were bitterly assailed in the house and by the
opposition press for allowing their names to appear on the
directorate of a trading company, known as the Dawson City
{Klondike) and Dominion Trading Corporation^ Limited, In
this connection occurred a very protracted prosecution of the
editor of the Province, W. Nicol, for libel ; the jury, however,
in the end found a verdict of ^ not guilty.'

All signs portended a very exciting, close, and bitter
election ; but before that came, in the session of 1898, the
ministry proceeded to another distribution of the seats. The
extraordinary activity in mining which had existed for the
last three years had greatly increased the importance of the
Kootenay district, where new towns had arisen, rich mines
had been developed, and large interests had suddenly come
into existence ; and justice demanded that these should have
representation. Then, too, the phenomenal growth of the
city of Vancouver entitled it to greater consideration.

By the redistribution bill of 1898 the number of members
was increased from thirty-three to thirty-eight, of whom
fourteen represented island constituencies and twenty-four
represented mainland constituencies. The island members
were allotted as follows : Victoria City 4, Victoria District
(two ridings) 2, Esquimalt 2, Comox i, Cowichan I, Albemi i,
Nanaimo City i, Nanaimo District (two ridings) 2. Thus
far the bill was practically a re-enactment of the redistribu-
tion bill of 1894, the only alteration being that Cowichan-
Alberni, which under the old bill had returned two members,
were divided into two sections returning one member each.
The mainland members were allotted as follows : New West-
minster City I, New Westminster District (four ridings) 4,
Yale (three ridings) 3, Cariboo 2, East Kootenay (two
ridings) 2, West Kootenay (four ridings) 4, Lillooet (two

THE TURNER MINISTRY 223

ridings) 2, Cassiar 2, Vancouver City 4. Thus the five new
members were given to the Kootenays, Vancouver City and
Cassiar.

The legislature, the seventh since the union, was dissolved
on June 7, 1898 ; the elections were held in the following
month. As a result new blood was infused into the house.
Six of the old members were defeated ; and of the thirty-eight
members elected, but sixteen had sat in the last house.
Among the new legislators were Joseph Martin, who for
many years had been a prominent politician in Manitoba,
and Richard (afterwards Sir Richard) M*^ Bride, the present
premier. The former was one of the representatives of
Vancouver City ; the latter sat for Dewdney, one of the
ridings of New Westminster District. For the first time in
the history of the province, election petitions against the
members-elect were issued wholesale — no fewer than twenty-
three petitions being filed against the return of thirty-two
of the members — but they were ultimately abandoned except
in the case of Esquimalt, where, on a recount, D. W. Higgins,
the ex-speaker, was declared elected. Owing to technical
irregularities six of the members elected resigned, and were
re-elected.

While matters were in this unsettled condition and even
before the deferred elections were held in Cassiar, Thomas
R. M^Innes, the lieutenant-governor, on August 8 took a
most remarkable and unusual step. For some time prior to
the elections the relations between the lieutenant-governor
and the Turner ministry had been very inharmonious ; and
now, without waiting for complete returns or the calling to-
gether of the house, he summarily dismissed them, claiming
that they had not the support of a majority of the elected
members and had therefore lost his confidence. He then
called upon Robert Beaven, an old politician, but who was
at that time not even a member-elect, having been defeated
in Victoria City in the recent election, to form a ministry.
This, Beaven, after taking a few days to consider the situation,
acknowledged himself unable to do. The lieutenant-governor
then called upon Charles A. Semlin, the recognized leader of
the opposition in the late house, to undertake the work.

224 POLITICAL HISTORY

The Semlin Ministry, 1898-1900
The members of the Semlin ministry were :

Charles A. Semlin, premier and chief commissioner of

Lands and Works.
Joseph Martin, attorney-general.
F. L. Carter-Cotton, minister of Finance.
J. Fred Hume, provincial secretary and minister of

Mines.
R. E. M^Kechnie, president of the council.

Owing to the absence of some of the members-elect, who,
as stated, had owing to technical irregularities resigned their
seats, this ministry in the early stages of the session of 1899 —
the first session of the eighth legislature — had a majority of
six ; but later, when the house was filled, this majority
decreased to three or four. However, Semlin retained control
during the session, though the inherent elements of discord
in the ministry began to be apparent. The legislation of the
session was of a much bolder type than at any previous one,
and embraced such novelties as the Alien Exclusion Bill and
the Eight-Hour Bill. Prorogation occurred on February 27,
and five months later, as a result of a government caucus, the
premier requested the resignation of the attorney-general.
The vacant portfolio was then conferred upon Alexander
Henderson, the member for New Westminster City.

When the next session opened, Joseph Martin, the ex-
attorney-general, went into opposition, and during the whole
session most bitterly attacked the actions of the ministry
and its members. Nevertheless, for about six weeks the
ministry struggled along, sometimes with a majority of one on
the floor of the house, sometimes on the casting vote of the
speaker, until on February 23, 1900, having brought in a bill
for a redistribution of seats, they were caught napping, and
were defeated on the second reading by one vote. Again
the lieutenant-governor stepped in and allowed Semlin three
days to decide whether he would resign or go to the country.
In that interval Semlin succeeded in securing sufficient support
to assure his carrying on the government. Notwithstanding

THE MARTIN MINISTRY 225

assurances to that effect, the lieutenant-governor dismissed
this ministry also. On February 27 the legislature by a vote
of twenty-two to fifteen expressed regret at this action of
the lieutenant-governor. Upon whom would the lieutenant-
governor now call ? The uncertainty was ended on the next
day when Joseph Martin announced that he had been en-
trusted with the duty of forming a cabinet. Then the legis-
lature on March i passed a resolution which clearly showed
their feelings. By a vote of twenty-eight to one it was re-
solved that the house had * no confidence in the third member
for Vancouver [Joseph Martin] who has been called in by
His Honour the lieutenant-governor to form a government.*

Immediately afterwards Lieutenant-Governor M^Innes
arrived to prorogue the house. There were no bills to be
assented to, as, owing to the tactics of the opposition, the
whole session, of almost two months, had been occupied with
questions and discussions upon amendments and motions of
an obstructive nature. Then occurred a scene absolutely
unique in the history of representative government. On the
entry of the lieutenant-governor every member but one
left the hall, and the speech was read to vacant seats. It
certainly augured ill for the possibility of Martin's success,
that out of a house of thirty-eight, just elected, but one
member was willing to remain at his side at this juncture.
As D. W. Higgins has said : * It was an extreme measure, but
it was deemed necessary to mark popular disapprobation of
the course of the lieutenant-governor in calling upon a gentle-
man with not a political friend in the House.'

The Martin Ministry, March i to June 14, 1900

Joseph Martin, in forming his cabinet, went outside of the
existing house altogether. Its members were :

Joseph Martin, premier and attorney-general.

C. S. Ryder, minister of Finance.

Smith Curtis, minister of Mines.

J. Stuart Yates, chief commissioner of Lands and

Works.
George W. Beebe, provincial secretary.

VOL. XXI p

226 POLITICAL HISTORY

This ministry has the distinction of being the shortest-lived
in the history of British Columbia. Its term of existence
was just three and a half months.

The legislature was dissolved on April lo, 1900, and the
elections held early in June. In April Ryder resigned the
office of minister of Finance, and J. C. Brown, a former
member, accepted the vacant portfolio. Martin issued a
comprehensive platform, outlining a strong and vigorous
policy, but, although he made a brilliant campaign, he was
unable to carry the country. Among the defeated were the
chief commissioner of Lands and Works and the provincial
secretary, who lost his deposit. Twenty-one of the members-
elect had occupied seats in the house just dissolved. Five
days after the elections the Martin ministry resigned.

As soon as the elections were over a majority of the
members signed an address to the governor-general asking
for the removal of Lieutenant-Governor M^Innes from office
because of his action in dismissing the Semlin ministry and
calling to office Martin, who had failed to secure the endorse-
ment of the people. The governor-general acted promptly.
The lieutenant-governor was dismissed on June 21, 1900.

The Dunsmuir Ministry, 1900-2

Before his dismissal the lieutenant-governor had called
upon James Dunsmuir to form a new ministry. The Duns-
muir government was a compromise, a sort of coalition of
the various factions then existing in local politics. When
completed it consisted of :

James Dunsmuir, premier and president of the council.

D. M. Eberts, attorney-general.

J. H. Turner, minister of Finance and Agriculture.

Richard M<^ Bride, minister of Mines.

W. C. Wells, chief commissioner of Lands and Works.

The new legislature, the ninth since the union, was opened
on July 19, 1900, by the new lieutenant-governor. Sir Henri
Joly de Lotbiniere. Its principal purpose was the voting
of supply and the taking up of the work which had been
left unfinished owing to the hasty dismissal of the Semlin

THE DUNSMUIR MINISTRY 227

ministry in the preceding February. This was the second
time that two sessions were held in one calendar year.
The other occasion was in 1878, on the defeat of the Elliott
government.

In September 1901 Dunsmuir made a junction with the
party of Joseph Martin, then the leader of the opposition, by
offering to J. C. Brown, the member for New Westminster
City, and late minister of Finance in the Martin ministry,
the portfolio of provincial secretary. This seemed antagon-
istic to the raison d'etre of the Dunsmuir government ; and
accordingly M*^ Bride, the minister of Mines, who had taken
a very prominent part in the conciliatory arrangements out
of which that government had sprung, resigned his position
in the cabinet as a mark of his disapproval of the step. When
Brown came for re-election before his constituents in New
Westminster — M^ Bride's natal city — all the influence of the
latter was thrown into the scale against him, with the result
that he was defeated, and resigned the portfolio on September
30, 1901.

At the opening of the session of 1902 M^ Bride, who had
been elected president of the Liberal-Conservative Union of
British Columbia, appeared as the leader of the opposition.
Strangely enough, by a vote of the house, Martin was given
the seat of the leader of the opposition, although all through
the session he consistently voted with the government.

In February 1902 Colonel E. G. Prior, who had repre-
sented Victoria in the House of Commons, was appointed
minister of Mines vice M^ Bride, and in the subsequent elec-
tion Prior gained a seat in the legislature as one of the members
for the city of Victoria. Although hard pressed, the ministry
succeeded in keeping control of the house, sometimes, how-
ever, only by a majority of two or three.

In response to the call for a fairer representation, the
Dunsmuir ministry, in this session, passed a redistribution
bill. The number of members was increased to forty- two :
on the island, twelve ; on the mainland, thirty. They were
distributed as follows : on the island — Victoria City 4, Esqui-
malt I, Cowichan i, Alberni i, Comox i, Nanaimo City I,
Newcastle i, Saanich i, The Islands i ; on the mainland —

228 POLITICAL HISTORY

Delta I, Chilliwack i, Dewdney I, Richmond I, New West-
minster City I, Vancouver City 5, Atlin i, Skeena i, Cariboo
2, Lillooet I, Yale i, Kamloops i, Okanagan i, Similkameen
I, Greenwood i, Grand Forks i, Revelstoke i, Slocan i,
Ymir i, Nelson City i, Rossland City i, Kaslo i, Columbia i,
Cranbrook i, Femie i.

On May 5, 1902, there was placed before the house a
message from the lieutenant-governor transmitting a bill,
containing the ministry's railway policy, intituled * An Act
respecting certain Railway Agreements/ This bill pro-
vided for the construction of a railway from the Yellowhead
Pass by way of Bute Inlet to Victoria, in consideration of a
grant to the company of 20,000 acres and $5000 in cash per
mile, exemption from taxation, and other valuable considera-
tions. Under the able leadership of M^ Bride this bill was
fought so vigorously, and such obstructive tactics were
pursued, that, although the session was prolonged till June
22, it was never reported to the house. The opposition was
not to the railway, but to the extravagant terms which had
been granted.

In November 1908 Dunsmuir resigned the leadership,
and Colonel E. G. Prior was selected to continue the govern-
ment.

The Prior Ministry, November 21, 1902 to June i, 1903
The members of the Prior ministry were :

E. G. Prior, premier and minister of Mines.

D. M. Eberts, attorney-general.

J. D. Prentice, minister of Finance and Agriculture.

Denis Murphy, provincial secretary.

W. C. Wells, chief commissioner of Lands and Works.

W. W. B. M^Innes, president of the council.

Denis Murphy, however, only retained office for about a
week — resigning on November 29. W. W. B. M^Innes
accepted the vacant portfolio. In the by-election conse-
quent upon the resignation of Murphy, C. A. Semlin again
entered the house and took his seat with the opposition,
thereby decreasing the government's small majority.

THE M^BRIDE MINISTRY 229

During the session of 1903 a bill was passed ratifying
the cancellation of the grant of certain lands in the coal
and oil region of the Crowds Nest district to the Columbia
and Western Railway Company, a subsidiary company of
the Canadian Pacific Railway. These lands lay some two
hundred miles eastward of the terminus of the Columbia and
Western Railway and were not even within the area in which
that company's subsidy lands were to be selected. The
circumstances surrounding the whole matter, which had
occurred during the regime of the Dunsmuir ministry, were
the subject of an inquiry by a select committee which sat
from April 20 to May 22, 1903. As a result of this investi*
gation Prior on May 26 asked for the resignations of the
attorney-general and the chief commissioner of Lands and
Works. On the following day W. W. B. M^Innes resigned,
to facilitate, as he said, an appeal to the country on party
lines. The Prior ministry was certainly going to pieces
with a vengeance — only two ministers remained in office, the
premier and the minister of Finance.

On May 28 the attention of the house was called to a
charge against the premier. It was stated that, while acting
as chief commissioner of Lands and Works, he had awarded
a contract for the cable for the Chimney Creek bridge to
E. G. Prior and Company (Limited), in which company he
held a controlling interest. The select committee to which
the matter was referred reported the following day, and the
house at once agreed to place the evidence before the lieu-
tenant-governor. On Monday following, June I, the legis-
lature was informed that Richard M^ Bride, the leader of the
opposition, had been called upon to form a ministry.

The M^^Bride Ministry

M^ Bride at once took a decisive step. Between July
1898 and June 1903 the province had had five ministries —
the Turner, the Semlin, the Martin, the Dunsmuir and the
Prior — owing somewhat to the fact that the support of a
ministry was largely a personal following of the premier in
power, without any bond of party affiliation. To secure

230 POLITICAL HISTORY

stability in the government and in response to what he con-
sidered the view of the people, M^ Bride resolved to make a
radical change by introducing party lines and forming a con-
servative ministry.

As originally constituted in June 1903 the M^ Bride
ministry consisted of :

Richard M^ Bride, premier and chief commissioner of

Lands and Works.
A. E. M^ Phillips, attorney-general.
R. G. Tatlow, minister of Finance and Agriculture.
R. F. Green, minister of Mines.
A. S. GooDEVE, provincial secretary.
Charles Wilson, president of the council.

The legislature, after passing the estimates, was prorogued
on June 4 and dissolved on the i6th of the same month.

M^ Bride, on his entry into office, found an empty treasury,
an immense overdraft, and a credit practically exhausted.
The following figures show concisely, but graphically, the
way in which deficits and debts had been piling up. The
deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, the first year
of the Dunsmuir ministry, was $681,901 ; for the next year it
was $729,448 ; while for the year ending June 30, 1903, the
year of the Prior administration, it reached the high-water
mark in the history of the province, $1,348,552. The net
debt on June 30, 1898, the last year of the Turner government,
was $4,845,414 ; on June 30, 1 901, it stood at $6,450,465 ;
on June 30, 1903, the practical commencement of M^ Bride's
administration, it had increased to $8,539,878. The young
premier set himself resolutely to the task of ending this
condition of affairs and placing the province on a sound
financial basis ; but the urgency of the financial situation
was such as to admit of no delay, and he was compelled
to meet the electors in October 1903. In this contest the
parties were very evenly divided. However, although both
the provincial secretary and the attorney-general were
defeated, the result was the return of the M^ Bride ministry
by the narrow majority of two. Charles Wilson, the pre-
sident of the council, took over the office of attorney-general ;

THE M^BRIDE MINISTRY 231

while F. J. Fulton, the member for Kamloops, entered the
cabinet as provincial secretary.

The legislature, the tenth since the union, was at once
summoned for the dispatch of business. The dire condi-
tion to which the province had been brought is shown by the
Loan Act, the last in the history of British Columbia, which
M^ Bride at once introduced, whereby the sum of $1,000,000
was borrowed at five per cent payable in ten annual instal-
ments. His next step was to cut down every expense which
could be reduced consistently with efficient service. He
then proceeded to increase the income by raising the rate of
taxation. The result was to swell the income from taxa-
tion from $343,646.85, the figures for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1903, to $757496.39 in the year ending June 30, 1904.
Now came the termination of the era of deficits which had
prevailed continuously since Confederation, with the single
exception of the year ending June 30, 1881, when there was
a surplus of $18,257. The first year of M^Bride's adminis-
tration is also the last year of the deficits. That year, end-
ing June 30, 1904, the deficit was only $224,534 as against
$1,348,552 for the preceding twelve months. The second
year of M^ Bride's administration showed the first respect-
able surplus in the history of the province, $618,044. For
1906 the surplus was $716,316 ; for 1907 it was $1,595,114 ;
for 1908, $2,292,705 ; for 1909, $915,320 ; and for 1910,
$2,491,748. Thus the M^Bride administration had in a
business way solved the problem which its predecessors had
failed to solve ; and on June 30, 1910, it had actually on
deposit in the banks the enormous sum of over $8,000,000,
drawing interest at four per cent. In the meantime the rate
of assessment, which had been raised in 1903-4, was gradually
reduced until it is to-day (191 3) in some respects even lower
than before 1903.

With his small majority in the house M° Bride was sorely
pressed by the opposition, but he had ordinarily the support
of the socialist members, and succeeded in keeping control.
In the session of 1906 he was strongly attacked in connec-
tion with the grant of land at Kaien Island, the proposed
terminus of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, now the site

232 POLITICAL HISTORY

of the city of Prince Rupert. This arrangement figured
largely in the issues in the election of 1907, but his actions
were affirmed by the electors on that occasion.

In December 1906 the tenth legislature was dissolved,
and the elections took place in February 1907.

The personnel of the M^ Bride ministry as it faced this
election was :

Richard M*' Bride, premier and minister of Mines.

R. G. Tatlow, minister of Finance and Agriculture and

chief commissioner of Lands and Works.
F. J. Fulton, attorney-general.
F. L. Carter-Cotton, president of the council.
William Manson, provincial secretary and minister of

Education.

Although Manson was defeated in Alberni, when the smoke
of battle had cleared away M° Bride found himself with a
good working majority of about thirteen in a house of forty-
two. Dr H. E. Young, the member for Atlin, was selected
for the vacant portfolio, and assumed office in February 1907.
In the following March Tatlow resigned as chief commissioner
of Lands and Works, but continued to hold the portfolio of
Finance and Agriculture. Fulton, who had taken over the
Lands and Works department, retained also, until July, the
office of attorney-general. In that month W. J. Bowser,
one of the members for Vancouver, became attorney-general.
In the fall of 1909 the M^ Bride government, which had
been promising to bring down a railway policy, made public
the agreement that had been entered into by them with
the Canadian Northern Railway Company, and obtained a
dissolution of the house to secure the opinion of the country
thereon. This agreement provided, among other things, for
the construction of a line of railway from the Yellowhead
Pass through the valleys of the Thompson and the Eraser to
the coast, and also for the building of a railway from Victoria
along the west coast of Vancouver Island. The government
agreed to grant assistance to these works in the form of a
guarantee of the principal and interest on the company's
debentures up to the sum of $35,000 per mile for five hundred
miles on the mainland and one hundred miles on the island.

THE M<^BRIDE MINISTRY 233

Further concessions included the free grant of right of way
through crown lands, such timber and other material as might
be required in the construction of the line, and the exemption
of the whole line from taxation until the year 1924. The
agreement also provided for the grant to the company of
certain areas for town-site purposes, the proceeds from which
were to be divided in the proportion of two-thirds to the
company and one-third to the government. In return the
government received the right to supervise the rates to be
charged on the line.

Fulton and Tatlow differed from the other members of
the ministry in regard to this agreement, and just before the
election resigned their portfolios. When appealing to the
country on this occasion the M<^ Bride ministry consisted of :

Richard M^ Bride, premier and minister of Mines.

F. L. Carter-Cotton, president of the council.

H. E. Young, provincial secretary and minister of

Education.
W. J. Bowser, attorney-general and minister of Finance.
Thomas Taylor, minister of Public Works.
Price Ellison, minister of Lands.

The elections were held in the latter part of November 1909.
The result was the practically unanimous return of the
M^ Bride ministry. Every constituency in the province but
four elected a supporter of the government.

In October 19 10 occurred a further change in the ministry.
F. L. Carter-Cotton resigned the presidency of the council,
and was succeeded by A. E. M^ Phillips, the member for The
Islands District ; while Ellison was transferred from the
Lands department to that of Finance and Agriculture ; and
W. R. Ross, the member for Femie, became minister of Lands.

Among the changes which have occurred since 1903 are the
placing of the finances of the province on a sound footing —
the accumulated surplus being sufficient to pay off the whole
bonded debt ; the Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk
Pacific transcontinental lines have been brought into the
province ; legislation has been passed conserving the water
power and the timber ; a move has been made towards
keeping the land for the actual settler ; timber cut on crown

234 POLITICAL HISTORY

lands must now be manufactured in the province ; a large
expenditure has been made on public works, especially on
roads through the country ; new British Columbia — the
undeveloped northern portion — has been opened up ; a pro-
vincial university has been inaugurated ; and a new and up-
to-date hospital for the mentally afflicted has been established,
and a model farm put in operation in connection therewith.

Better Terms

/ This article would scarcely be complete without at least

a short statement of the claim for * Better Terms,' a question
which was very prominent in the days of the Dunsmuir and
Prior ministries and in the earlier period of the M^ Bride
administration.

From the date at which British Columbia entered Con-
federation down to the year 1905 there was practically one
unbroken chain of annual deficits, varying from $2468 in
1872 to $1,343,552 in 1903. The single bright spot in all
that stretch was the year ending June 30, 1881, when the
Walkem ministry had a surplus of $18,257, but this happy
result was obtained by the simple expedient of starving the
public works. From the union down to the day of the Duns-
muir ministry there had been twelve ministers of Finance,
but under every one of them the normal condition at the
end of each fiscal year was a deficit. This fact led Dunsmuir,
while he was premier, to conclude that some permanent
condition lay at the root of the difficulty. When the province
entered the Dominion she gave up her customs and excise
revenue in return for specific subsidies for the support of
the government and legislature and for other purposes —
the Dominion at the same time assuming certain services.
The only class of taxation left to the province was that of
direct taxation. Dunsmuir made a careful examination of the
accounts and financial statements relating to the matter, and
ascertained that the income which the Dominion had received
from the province, in the thirty years that Confederation had
existed, exceeded by some $13,000,000 the amount which
had been expended by Canada in relation to the province.

BETTER TERMS 235

The question was taken up very energetically by Dunsmuir
in 1 90 1, and a large mass of statistics was prepared and sub-
mitted to the Dominion government. A lengthy correspond-
ence took place, but no result was accomplished.

In 1903 the Prior government followed up the discussion
of the claim for better terms. The position taken by it was
not that the Dominion had violated any term of the union, as
was the case in the railway question, or that British Columbia
was entitled to compensation for lack of fulfilment thereof
in any substantial respect, as the performance of a legal
contract could be construed, but that in the development of
the constitution, in its actual operation since 1871, a state of
affairs had grown up in British Columbia and in the Dominion,
as the result of the union between the two, which established
a moral right and a sound constitutional claim on the part of
the former for increased recognition — a state of affairs that
was not anticipated by either party to the federal compact.
The debates on that compact in the legislative council and
in the parliament of Canada, Prior claimed, showed that in
neither case were the framers of the terms able to foresee
accurately, or even approximately, what the results would be,
and that for both it was in a great measure a leap in the dark.

It was further claimed that the cost of administering local
government owing to the mountainous condition of the pro-
vince and the consequently sparse and scattered population ;
the distance from the commercial and industrial centres and
from the markets of Eastern Canada ; the non-industrial
character of the province, whereby the contributions in the
way of customs were increased in the proportion of about
thrice those of the other provinces, — ^were special circum-
stances which morally entitled the province to receive a larger
grant and more liberal treatment than was provided by the
Terms of Union. The various statistics to support the above
statements are too lengthy and intricate to be entered upon
in this article.-^

Linked to this main claim were subsidiary ones for an
adjustment of the income arising from inland fisheries, for a

> For full details see British Columbia's Claim for Better Terms, by George II.
Cowan, K.C.

236 POLITICAL HISTORY

larger share in the revenue derived from the Chinese exclusion
tax, and for an understanding and adjustment of the rever-
sionary interest of the province in the large area of land held
as Indian reserves.

Though the Prior ministry in 1903 sent a delegation to
Ottawa, as the Dunsmuir ministry had done in 1 901, to get
this question adjusted, nothing was accomplished.

On February 24, 1905, ' Better Terms * was the subject
of a resolution of the legislature, which was introduced by
Premier M^ Bride and seconded by J. A. Macdonald, the
leader of the opposition, and carried unanimously. The
resolution was :

That in the opinion of this House the province is
entitled to such distinct and separate relief from the
Dominion of Canada, based upon an equitable con-
sideration of conditions in the province, the large con-
tributions made by the province to the Dominion by
way of Customs duties and otherwise, and the exception-
ally high cost of government in the province and of the
development of our natural resources.

Fortified with this resolution M^ Bride took up the matter
with the Dominion administration.

The main claim of the province — that above outlined in
reference to an increased contribution by the Dominion —
was admitted by the latter at the conference of the provincial
premiers in Ottawa in 1906. Premier M^ Bride then applied
to the federal government for the appointment of a special
tribunal to whom the whole question should be referred, to
ascertain what sum would be fair and right in view of all the
circumstances. This was refused, and instead the Dominion
ministry referred the question of the proper amount to be
granted, to the provincial premiers then in session. Premier
M° Bride opposed this reference, claiming that the matter was
one which concerned only British Columbia and the Dominion
and did not fall within the purview of that conference, and in
protest retired from the gathering. The provincial premiers
decided that British Columbia should receive $1,000,000, in
annual payments of $100,000 each, and that this should be
in final settlement of the province's claim. The Dominion

BETTER TERMS 237

government accepted this finding and embodied it in the
petition to the imperial government for the amendment of
the British North America Act. M^Bride objected to this
award as being * final and unalterable,' as stated in the petition
and in the draft act. In 1907, when the act in question was
to come before the imperial parliament, he went to London to
combat the words * final and unalterable,* with the result that
these words were not inserted in the act as finally passed.
Thus the claim for * Better Terms ' still remains open, and no
doubt more will be heard on the subject in the future.

Over and above the sum of $1,000,000, so granted to
British Columbia to meet her special case, the province by
virtue of the imperial act of 1907, already mentioned, also
receives, as does each of the other provinces, an increased
grant, based on population, from the Dominion for the support
of government. This grant is, of course, perpetual and is on
a sliding scale. It provides for the payment to each of the
provinces annually of the following sums : until the popula-
tion reaches 150,000 the sum of $100,000 ; then and until the
population reaches 200,000 the sum of $150,000 ; then and
until it reaches 400,000 the sum of $180,000, and so on until
the population exceeds 1,500,000, when it remains stationary
at $240,000.

In the spring of 1906 the term of office of Sir Henri Joly de
Lotbiniere expired, and James Dunsmuir, the former premier,
was appointed lieutenant-governor. Sir Henri Joly came to
the province as a practical stranger to the people and held
office during very disturbed political times ; but his genial
manner, his uprightness, his high ideals made him beloved by
all, and his departure from the province was deeply regretted.
In December 1909 Lieutenant-Governor Dunsmuir retired
from office, and Thomas W. Paterson, the present incumbent
(1913), was appointed.

ECONOMIC HISTORY

ECONOMIC HISTORY 1

THE FUR TRADE

STANDING on the shore of Nootka Sound is a totem-
pole erected in memory of Maquinna, the last of the
great Indian chiefs of the north-west coast, and the
only one whose figure is outlined against the background of
prehistoric times. Maquinna knew personally such men as
Cook, Vancouver, Quadra, Meares and the other English,
Spanish, and American navigators, who, prompted by the
desire for discovery, the yearning for adventure, or the less
noble pursuit of wealth, ventured into the uncharted seas
that washed the unknown shores of the North Pacific.

Surmounting the heraldic devices on Maquinna's totem-
pole is the figure of a man in European dress, wearing a top
hat, and on the pole itself is an inscription stating that the
originals of this incongruous costume were presented to the
chief, who gave sea-otter skins in exchange for them. The
transaction thus recorded was probably not the first in the
early trade of British Columbia, but it was certainly among
the first. It serves as a pioneer record in the history of the
north-west coast, and marks the beginning of an industry
that has continued ever since and even now forms an important
item in the trade of the Pacific province.

The fur trade of the coast began shortly after 1741, the
year in which Bering sighted the North American continent.
It was at first wholly in the hands of the Russians, whose

1 As the economic importance of mining, farming, the fisheries and forest re-
sources has been dealt with in the special articles on these subjects in this section,
it has been thought unnecessary to touch on them in this artide.

VOL. XXI Q

242 ECONOMIC HISTORY

rapacity was not only a disgrace to their alleged civilization,
but served to embitter the natives against all white people.
A better state of feeling existed after 1778, when Baranoff
came to the island which bears his name, as the head of a
strong company. This organization was afterwards merged
in the Russian American Fur Trading Company. In 1778
Captain James Cook made his famous voyage to the north-
west coast. He was primarily an explorer, and such trade
as he carried on with the natives of newly discovered lands was
incidental to his main purpose. When in the course of his
explorations he reached Nootka, he became possessed of a
quantity of sea-otter pelts, and when news of this reached
Europe, the United States, and Asia, great interest was at
once manifested in the opening for trade along the shores
south of the Russian sphere. It was not, however, until
seven years after the departure of Cook from Nootka that
any attempt was made to turn his discovery to material
advantage. The first known English trader to venture into
the field was Captain James Hanna, who in 1785 sailed from
China in a brig of sixty tons, for the express purpose of
trading on the coast of which Nootka was looked upon as the
centre. He was successful in securing no fewer than 560
sea-otter skins. A second voyage, made in the following
year, was not so fortunate. Hanna contributed something
to a knowledge of the coast by his explorations, which he
made public in a chart, but his great service was in showing
the way not only to the source of supply of a profitable
article of commerce, but also to the market in which the furs
could be readily sold.

Captain John Meares, who followed in the wake of Hanna,
must be looked upon as the pioneer business man of British
Columbia. Meares was bom in 1756, and in due course
entered the royal navy. After the Treaty of Paris in 1783,
when peace was proclaimed between Great Britain, France
and the United States, Meares, finding the service of the
crown too barren of promising adventure, obtained permis-
sion to take command of a merchantman bound for Calcutta.
His destination reached, he was of no mind to spend his life
in sailing along the established routes of commerce, and

THE FUR TRADE 243

therefore organized a company of Calcutta merchants for
the purpose of engaging in trade in the distant waters along
the American shore. Stories of the wealth of furs to be found
there had reached India, not only from the reports of Cook's
voyage, but also by way of China, where the Russian traders
were accustomed to exchange the pelts of sea-otters and
seals for tea. Meares left on his venture in 1786. It was not
attended with much success, but in 1788 we find him pur-
chasing from Maquinna at Nootka a site for a shipyard and
trading-post. He built and launched a vessel of forty tons
for the purpose of carrying on a coasting trade. His plans,
however, met with opposition. The Spaniards resented his
attempt to set up a claim to sovereignty over the coast for
the crown of Great Britain, and in consequence he found
himself dispossessed of his trading station and shipyard, and
his business venture completely ruined.^

Meares played an important part in broadening the foun-
dations of the British Empire. Unlike his predecessors in
the fur trade, he was more than a mere trader, content with
the profits of one or more voyages. He came to the coast
intending that his stay should be permanent, or at least to
establish a permanent business. Hence his purchase from
Maquinna, and his effort at shipbuilding. He left Asia pre-
pared for such an enterprise. He brought with him copper
wherewith to buy the land, and Chinese carpenters to build
his ship. Moreover, he refused to acknowledge the preten-
sions of Spain to sovereignty over the country. A British
subject, he claimed the right to acquire property anywhere
beyond the recognized territorial limits of other powers,
provided he obtained the assent of the native occupants.
His intention was clearly to make Nootka the headquarters
of trade, as the factories established by the East India
Company on the coast of India had been a century and a
half before his time. It is probable that he was inspired by
the triumphs of Clive, then fresh in the mind of every English-
man, to attempt among the red men of the north-west
coast achievements similar to those of his fellow-countrymen
in India. First a trading station, then the conquest of an

* See p. 33 ei seq.

244 ECONOMIC HISTORY

empire had been the story of the * John Company,' and
whatever uncertainty there may exist as to the intention of
Meares and the Calcutta merchants who lent him their
co-operation, there is none as to his course of action, which
was essentially the same as that adopted at the outset by
the merchants who were the pioneers of British supremacy in
India. But Meares*s efforts ended in failure, and there was
little, if any, action on the part of British traders to recover
the ground lost. The fur trade fell into the hands of men
from the United States, the first of whom had visited the
coast in 1788. Between 1788 and 1800 more than forty
American ships traded with Vancouver Island, and at the
beginning of the nineteenth century American traders enjoyed
a virtual monopoly of the business of the whole region south
of Alaska. But a new competitor was about to appear on
the scene, one which in the course of time was to overcome
all rivals and establish what seemed likely to be a permanent
supremacy.

In 1783 a number of Montreal merchants, impatient at
the attempt of the Hudson's Bay Company to assert a mono-
poly over all the vast domain lying between the St Lawrence
valley and the Pacific coast, formed a rival concern known
as the North- West Company. Associated with this company
was Alexander Mackenzie. This intrepid pioneer, after his
return from the Arctic in 1789, resolved to find a way to the
Pacific Ocean, and for that purpose set out overland in 1792.
He reached the sea at Burke Channel in 1793, and was greatly
impressed with the possibilities of trade with the Indians.
He was apparently not able to convince the directors of the
company of the desirability of establishing posts west of
the Rocky Mountains, and ten years later he visited Lx)ndon
in an attempt to organize the Fishing and Fur Company,
the object of which was to exploit the fisheries of the Pacific
in connection with the fur trade of the interior. In his pro-
spectus he proposed that a chain of trading stations should
be established between Montreal and Nootka, which, he said,
* would open and establish a commercial communication
between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, to the great advan-
tage and furtherance of the Pacific fishery of America and

THE FUR TRADE 245

the fur trade of Great Britain, and in part indirectly through
the channel of the possessions and factories of the East India
Company in China.*

In view of recent developments it will be conceded that
Alexander Mackenzie had a prophetic vision of the future
trade of the Pacific Ocean, and was able to assign to the
British Columbia coast its proper place in the economic
development of the world. His project failed in London for
lack of financial backing. Later, others followed in his
footsteps and some part of his great programme was carried
out ; but if his plans had been supported in the beginning,
the history of the north-west coast and of trans- Pacific
trade would have been different. Possibly the disturbed
condition of Europe at this time, rather than a failure
to appreciate the magnitude of his project, compelled its
abandonment. We who, in these later days, with all the
appliances of modem transportation, look forward to the
development of a great commerce between Canada and the
Orient, are no more far-seeing than were such men as Meares
and Mackenzie. When William H. Seward, United States
secretary of state, in announcing the completion of the
negotiations for the purchase of Alaska, declared that * the
greatest triumphs of mankind will be won on the greatest of
the oceans,* he was only expressing the dreams of the adven-
turers and explorers who nearly a century before his time had
sought pathways across seas and mountains to the new Land
of Promise. These men realized that a great commerce was
possible between the densely populated areas of China and
the sparsely settled regions of what is now Western Canada,
and all their plans were formed with that object in view. It
is recorded that when Mackenzie was endeavouring to pro-
mote his company, the question was raised in London as to
the capacity of the great oriental empire to absorb the pro-
duce of the north-west coast, and to this the conclusive
answer was given that every pelt that had yet been shipped
across the Pacific had been purchased in the city of Canton,
and yet the demand of that market was unsupplied.

More than a century has passed since these gallant
adventurers dreamed of a great west-bound commerce from

246 ECONOMIC HISTORY

Nootka. The little snows in which Meares and his fellow-
traders sailed, whose tonnage was often not more than forty
tons, and which required several months to cross the ocean,
have given place to the monster i6,ooo-ton floating palaces
of to-day. The waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, then
rarely visited even by the most daring navigators, are now
furrowed daily by great argosies. The little vessel built by
Meares has as her latest successor a splendid steamship
named Princess Maguinna, after the daughter of the great
chief. Nootka has surrendered her early supremacy to rich
and prosperous cities. Instead of difficult mountain trails
we have long lines of steel, and the stations which Mackenzie
sought to have established in a chain across the continent
are represented by centres of population with great farming
areas around them. We are witnessing the fruition of the
hopes of all the gallant company who were the pioneers of
commerce, and who, long before the first white man had
made his home in this vast province of the West, were able
to foresee its marvellous future.

The Far West in the early days was not only a country of
magnificent distances, but one calling for no ordinary degree
of energy, strength, and courage in those who endeavoured
to exploit its resources. Thirteen years elapsed before the
North- West Company determined to take advantage of Mac-
kenzie's discoveries, and to establish trading-posts beyond the
mountains. In 1806 its representatives, Fraser and Stuart,
built forts at the outlets of the lakes which bear their names,
and in the following year Fort George was built. Thus the
fur trade of the interior of British Columbia was inaugurated.
Four years later the Pacific Fur Company, organized by John
Jacob As tor of New York, built Fort Astoria, near the mouth
of the Columbia River. The operations of this company
extended all along the coast. Nor were they alone in the
field, for in addition to such individual ventures as were
carried on, the Russian American Fur Company was active,
not only in the seal rookeries of the north, but also in trade
with the natives as far south as California.

Meanwhile the North- West Company had been pushing
its sphere of operations south-westerly, and the rivalry

THE FUR TRADE 247

between it and Astor's company was keen. In 1813, during
the hostilities between Great Britain and the United States,
the American company decided to withdraw from the coast,
and the North-West Company purchased its interest for
$80,500. In 1 82 1 the North-West Company and the
Hudson*s Bay Company entered into a partnership, which
was to be for a term of twenty-one years, but which proved to
be a permanent absorption of the Montreal concern by the
older organization. Eight years later the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany secured the retirement of the Russian company from
the field, except so far as the rookeries were concerned, by
leasing a strip of the continental coast, ten leagues broad, at
an annual rental of two thousand east-side land-otter skins.
This area is now known as South-Eastern Alaska. At this
time, owing to the co-operation of the two Canadian com-
panies, nearly all individual fur traders had been driven from
the field, so that by the year 1829 the Hudson's Bay Company
had obtained a monopoly of the fur trade of both the coast
and interior of British Columbia.

As a rule the Russian fur traders concerned themselves
chiefly with the taking of seals, which were killed on the
rookeries, these being located exclusively in Russian territory.
Seals, however, were sometimes taken on the shores of what
is now British Columbia. Mackenzie reports that he saw
numbers of them on the shore of Burke Channel. But it
was the sea-otter that was mostly sought after by the
English-speaking traders. This beautiful animal has be-
come almost extinct owing to the greed of hunters, and
is now seldom seen. Captain William Sturgis, a Boston
trader, gives what is perhaps the best available description
of it. He says :

A full grown prime skin, which has been stretched for
drying, is about five feet long and twenty-four to thirty
inches wide, covered with very fine fur, about three-
fourths of an inch in length, having a rich, jet black
glossy surface, and exhibiting a silver colour when blown
open. Those are esteemed the finest skins which have
some white hairs interspersed and scattered over the
whole surface, and a perfectly white head.

248 ECONOMIC HISTORY

Captain Meares wrote of the sea-otters :

They are sometimes seen many leagues from land,
sleeping on their backs, on the surface of the water, with
their young ones reclining on their breasts. The cubs
are incapable of swimming until they are several months
old. . . . The male otter is, beyond all comparison,
more beautiful than the female.

After the lease of South-Eastem Alaska by the Hudson's
Bay Company there were few changes in the control of the
fur trade on the north-west coast. New posts were estab-
lished, however, and the business was prosecuted more
systematically. About 1880, when pelagic sealing was intro-
duced as a regular enterprise, Canada had no seal rookeries.
The greatest home of the fur seal in the North Pacific is on
the Pribyloff Islands, which formerly belonged to Russia,
but which were sold to the United States when that nation
acquired Alaska. Russia and Japan also have rookeries.
These breeding-places of the seals were closed to the people
of British Columbia, but a method of preserving pelts in salt
having been discovered, pelagic sealing was begun. Seals are
migratory. They journey from their rookeries as far south
as the equator, and return again at breeding time. The
Canadian hunters were accustomed to take them on their
way back to the north, and hence the term pelagic, which
means * pertaining to the open ocean,' and is used to dis-
tinguish the killing of seals at sea from killing them on land.
The headquarters of the pelagic seal industry was Victoria.
It was prosecuted vigorously for a long time, although the
sphere of operations was subject to important restrictions.
Bering Sea was declared closed to sealers by the United States
government. The Canadian sealers refused to recognize
the jurisdiction of the United States over those waters and
several of their vessels were seized. Great Britain made
claims on their behalf for compensation, and these claims
were allowed after arbitration. The ultimate result of the
international negotiations was that an area adjacent to the
Pribyloffs was designated as a sanctuary for homing seals.
In 191 1 an agreement regarding pelagic sealing was reached

THE FUR TRADE 249

between the United States and Canadian governments.^
Thus was terminated a Canadian industry in which as many
as sixty-four schooners were engaged at one time, the value of
the annual catch reaching millions of dollars.

The fur trade remained the only important industry in
British Columbia until the year 1858, when the gold dis-
coveries on the Eraser River gave the energies of the people
a new direction. It continues to hold an important place,
though almost lost sight of by the public in view of other
greater activities. No statistics exist by which the value of
fur products can be approximated. At present trapping is
confined to land animals, which include the species usually
found in north temperate latitudes. There are considerable
areas in the province which, under a judicious system of
conservation, will keep this primitive industry alive for an
indefinite period.

As the years have passed, the fur trade has lost nearly all
the features which made it so alluring to adventurous sailors
and enterprising merchants. We no longer hear of ships
laden with priceless cargoes of sea-otter pelts ; the fascinating
tales of the sealing ventures will never be renewed ; but it
must be remembered that the fur traders won and maintained
for the British flag a place on the north-west coast. From
Cape Horn in South America to Singapore on the Malay
Peninsula, is a long coast-line, broken only for a few miles
by Bering Strait. It extends across, approximately, one
hundred and eighty degrees of latitude, or more than twelve
thousand statute miles. Along this great distance, equal to
one-half the circumference of the globe, or, if the sinuosities
of the coast-line were measured, probably equal to the entire
circumference, the only part, with the exceptions of Hong
Kong and Wei-hai-wei, over which the Union Jack flies is that
embraced in the less than six degrees of British Columbia
coast-line which the fur traders claimed and held for Britain.
When we reflect upon what the possession of this coast has
meant to Canada, when we endeavour to grasp the potential
development of commerce on the Pacific, and when we try to
pierce the future and contemplate what a globe-encircling

^ See ' The Fishery Arbitrations,' section rv, pp. 747-8.

250 ECONOMIC HISTORY

empire may mean to the British people and to the world at
large, we are able to form some conception of the value of the
services of Meares, Mackenzie, and their successors in the fur
trade. The record of their deeds is an honourable one. It
is one of the few stories of the supplanting of an aboriginal
race by a civilized people that can be read without a blush.
Justice, equity, fair dealing have marked it no less than
daring, energy, and splendid manliness. In the long record of
British achievement there is no chapter which reflects more
credit upon the race.

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION

THE problem presented by oriental immigration has had
such an important bearing upon the economic develop-
ment of British Columbia, is likely to have such a far-
reaching effect upon its future, and is so certain to assume
grave international magnitude, that it deserves treatment
in a special chapter and in greater detail than would be
possible in the political history of the province. Up to the
present it has affected only British Columbia among the
provinces of Canada, and the Pacific coast alone as a part
of the American continent ; but it is generally realized that,
while hitherto purely local in its interest, it may become one
of the greatest of world problems.

It is of all the greater importance because It no longer
affects but one Asiatic race, a race which can, when it suits
its purpose, show indifference to the fate of its representatives
in any quarter of the globe. To a nation of four hundred
millions of Chinese still in a condition of semi-torpor, the
treatment accorded to a few thousands of its people in Canada
or elsewhere may easily be a matter of indifference ; but now
that such a nation as the Japanese, inspired by racial pride
and believing in its fitness to compete with the white man on
his own ground, has begun to demand for its people equality
of opportunity everywhere, and our fellow-subjects in India

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 251

are asking why the vast unsettled lands of the Empire should
be closed to them, the considerations which were sufficient
to be taken into account, and the remedies that appeared to be
effectual, a few years ago have suddenly become utterly in-
adequate. The white race is rapidly coming to realize that
its conception of the yellow races has been a mistaken one.
British Columbia has learned much regarding these people
since the first Chinese laundryman arrived in the province
from San Francisco nearly half a century ago. It has come
to know the yellow man as a skilled workman, a shrewd
dealer in real estate, a man of capital and enterprise. The
Chinese, the Japanese, the Sikh and the Hindu of British
Columbia to-day are vastly different people from the coolies
against whom Dennis Kearney and his * sand-lot * followers
waged war forty years ago in San Francisco. The progress
which these people have made in British Columbia, in spite
of the handicap of unfavourable conditions, is one of the most
remarkable achievements in the economic history of mankind.

The advance-guard of the Asiatic invasion came to
America, not to force themselves upon a hostile people, but
to fill a place that no others were prepared to occupy. They
were ready and anxious to begin at the very foundation
of occidental social and industrial organization. They were
willing to serve. It is rapidly becoming evident that they
have no intention of remaining servants. The Japanese,
whom we were accustomed to regard, only a few decades ago,
as an interesting and somewhat childlike race, have shown
themselves to be the very incarnation of aggressiveness.
The shivering Sikhs and Hindus, who only a few years ago
huddled together in the immigration sheds at Victoria and
Vancouver, are now a prosperous people, exhibiting an
aptitude for occidental business that is astonishing.

The Chinese, who began the oriental invasion of America,
were attracted by the gold discoveries in California, and they
were welcomed by the white population, who spoke of their
coming as proof that the wealth of the country had challenged
the attention of the whole world. The Chinese participated
in the first Fourth of July celebration ever held in San
Francisco, and much was made in the descriptions of the

252 ECONOMIC HISTORY

incident of the brightness and variety which their costumes
added to the occasion. They did not immigrate in large
numbers, but when the construction of the Central Pacific
Railway was undertaken, the contractors were quick to learn
that an inexhaustible supply of cheap labour was available
in Asia, and Chinese were soon imported by the ship-load.
At what date the first of these people found their way to
British Columbia is uncertain, but it was some time before
1870. None of the witnesses who gave testimony before the
Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration in 1885 would fix
a date, further than to say that they began to come to the
province fourteen or fifteen years before that time. They
arrived in small numbers at first, and, as was the case in
California, they seem to have been cordially welcomed.
They came to supply a serious lack in the sparsely settled
community and to do work that white people either could not
or would not do. They first set up as laundrymen ; then they
took up menial labour of any kind that offered and soon
entered households as domestic servants. Female help was
at that time, as it is now, exceedingly difficult to obtain in
British Columbia, and, even if it had been plentiful, women
could not have been expected to go out alone to the very
frontiers of civilization. The Chinese were more than
welcome on the skirmishing line of advancing settlement.
The pioneer of the West is in his way an aristocrat. The
spirit that inspires a man to seek new frontiers causes him
to look upon household work and menial tasks generally as
unworthy. The pioneer will do such work if he must, but he
will avoid it when he can.

In the late sixties the white population of California
began to realize the serious nature of the problem presented
by the unrestricted influx of Chinese, who then formed about
one-tenth of the population of the State and were rapidly
increasing in numbers. An agitation arose against them,
inspired by the working classes, who saw in them formidable
competitors, and declared that they only awaited an oppor-
tunity to become masters of the industrial situation. Mer-
chants also became disturbed over the outlook. The Chinese
declined to adopt American standards of living. They

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 253

adhered to the food and clothing to which they had been
accustomed in their homeland, and it soon became evident
that in proportion as the number of Chinese residents in-
creased, the opportunities for white merchants would decrease.
These facts were soon brought home to the people of British
Columbia, and a considerable section of the then small popu-
lation sought to prevent the occurrence of conditions that
might lead to the menacing state of affairs fast developing
in California. The agitation did not assume any practical
form until after the province had entered Confederation ;
but in the first session of the provincial legislature held after
that event, on February 26, 1872, John Robson, who repre-
sented Nanaimo, moved that * an humble address be pre-
sented to His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor praying
that a Bill may be sent down to the House during its present
session providing for the imposition of a per capita tax of
fifty dollars per head upon all Chinese within the province.'
In moving this resolution, Robson referred to the fact that
Chinese were employed in connection with the coal mines
and were thereby displacing white men. There was appar-
ently no attempt to answer his arguments, the opponents
of the resolution contenting themselves with calling him a
demagogue, anxious to win the political support of labouring
men. The motion was lost by a vote of fourteen to six.
Two days later it was moved by Robson and seconded by
Robert Beaven, the latter representing Victoria :

That a humble address be presented to His Excellency
the Lieutenant-Governor, praying that effectual steps
may be adopted for the purpose of preventing the em-
ployment of Chinese labour upon the public works of
this province or upon any federal works within the
province, whether such works may be given out by
contract or carried on under the immediate control of
either government.

In the discussion of this resolution stress was laid upon the
fact that the Canadian Pacific Railway was to be built, and that
fully $30,000,000 would be spent west of the mountains. It
was contended that if Chinese were permitted to be employed
in its construction, most of this vast sum would pass into the

254 ECONOMIC HISTORY

hands of merchants of the same race, and ultimately find
its way to China. It was also contended that the Chinese
would not occupy the land which the railway would make
available for settlement, whereas white men would very
likely do so in large numbers and thus the development of
the province would be promoted. The answer to this argu-
ment was that white labour was unattainable, and the com-
pletion of the transcontinental line would be indefinitely
postponed unless Asiatic labour were employed. This re-
solution also was defeated, only five members of the house
voting for it and seventeen voting against it.

In the session of 1874 Robson returned to the attack and
moved that

Whereas under the existing system of taxation the
Chinese residents do not contribute their just and
equitable quota towards the public revenue ; and

Whereas in the opinion of this House it is expedient
that a per capita tax should be imposed upon Chinese
residents ; therefore

Resolved that a respectful address be presented to
His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, praying that a Bill
for the aforegoing purpose be sent down during the
present session.

The government of the day had no intention of permitting
this resolution to pass, or even to be discussed, and on motion
of one of the ministers the previous question was adopted
and the resolution was thus disposed of. The next action
taken was during the session of 1876, and the following is an
extract from the journals of the house of that day :

Pursuant to order the House again resolved itself into
a committee of the whole for the purpose of considering
the expediency of taking some steps toward preventing
the country from being flooded with a Mongolian popula-
tion ruinous to the best interests of British Columbia,
particularly of the labouring classes.

A point of order having arisen in the committee, the
Speaker resumed the chair and decided against the
following motion moved by Mr. Smith : namely * That
in the opinion of this committee it is expedient to impose

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 255

a tax of ten dollars per capita per annum on every male
of eighteen years who wears long hair in the shape of
tail or queue, residing in the province of British Columbia.*

The ruling of the speaker was the subject of an appeal
to the house. He asked for a day to consider the point
further, and then repeated his ruling, being sustained by a
large majority of the members when a vote was taken. The
peculiar phraseology of this resolution was designed to over-
come the objection to the constitutionality of any provincial
legislation imposing a special tax on aliens, the exclusive
right of legislating in respect to such persons being reserved
to the federal parliament by the terms of the British North
America Act. Here the matter rested for two years, but
with an increasing Chinese immigration the feeling against
them increased, and in 1878 a new ministry decided to face
the question squarely and test the powers of the legislature
by a determined effort to check oriental immigration and
regulate the employment of Chinese already in the country.
Accordingly an act was passed and was assented to by the
lieutenant-governor, which provided that every Chinese
person over twelve years of age residing in the province
should take out a licence every three months, paying therefor
ten dollars in advance. The act also provided for a minimum
wage to be paid these people, for their hours of work, for their
registration, etc., and prescribed heavy penalties to be in-
flicted upon them and their employers for contravention of
its provisions. This act was declared unconstitutional by
a provincial court and was subsequently disallowed by the
governor-general. In opening the following session, the
lieutenant-governor said in the speech from the throne :

Although your legislation upon the Chinese question
has been considered unconstitutional, this circumstance
should not deter you from adopting every legitimate
means for the attainment of the end of your late statute.

Two special committees were appointed to consider the
question. One of these, presided over by J. W. Williams,
in its report made reference to the disallowance of anti-
Chinese legislation passed by the Australian colonies and

256 ECONOMIC HISTORY

New Zealand, and an address to the Dominion government
was suggested, setting forth the baneful effects of oriental
immigration and asking for legislation that would effectually
prevent it. The other committee reported through G. A.
Walkem, recommending that the federal government should
co-operate with the other British dominions in view of the
action of Australia and New Zealand.

The question appears to have been brought up for the
first time in the Dominion House of Commons on March i8,
1878, when A. Bunster, one of the British Columbia dele-
gation, moved the following resolution :

That the government Insert a clause in each and every
contract for the construction of the Canadian Pacific
Railroad that no man wearing his hair more than five
and one-half inches in length be deemed eligible for
employment upon the said work, and that no man wear-
ing his hair longer [sic] shall be eligible to any contract
on said railroad.

The penalties proposed for violation of this provision
were, one hundred dollars for the first offence, one thousand
dollars or three months* imprisonment for the second offence,
and one year's imprisonment without the option of a fine for
the third offence.

Bunster's observations on moving the resolution were
brief, but in the course of them he pointed out that there
were in California 80,000 Chinese, in Australia 50,000, in
South Africa 5000, and in British Columbia 3000. Alexander
Mackenzie, who was then prime minister of the Dominion,
declined to take the motion seriously ; nevertheless, in the
course of a short speech he stated : * While there may be a
good deal in what was said about the habits of some of the
Chinese who crossed the ocean in search of employment, I
do not think it would become a British country to legislate
against any class of people who might emigrate to this
country.* He went on to emphasize the fact that most of
the Chinese in British Columbia came from Hong Kong,
which is British territory. Charles Tupper also opposed
the resolution ; it was supported by J. S. Thompson, the
representative of Cariboo. The motion was defeated.

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 257

The anti-Chinese speakers, not only in parliament and
the local legislature, but elsewhere, continually dwelt upon
the alleged gross immorality of the Chinese. It is probable
that the objections made to them on this score were greatly
exaggerated. It is clear, moreover, that the principal forces
behind the movement were the fear of competition in the
labour market, and the apprehension of merchants that they
would be driven out of business by Chinese traders. The
moral side of the argument was emphasized because of a
desire to strengthen a case which at that time did not greatly
commend itself to the public in general.

In the session of 1879 Amor DeCosmos presented a petition
from Noah Shakespeare and fifteen hundred labouring men,
asking for the passage of an act to restrict the further immi-
gration of Chinese, that in the construction of the Inter-
colonial Railway no Chinese should be employed, and that
the British Columbia act of 1878, referred to above, should
be confirmed. It is evident from the speech of DeCosmos
that the Canadian Pacific Railway was meant by the expres-
sion * the Intercolonial Railway.' He dealt to some extent
with the moral aspect of the question, but he laid chief stress
upon the economic side of it. He said there were then six
thousand male adult Chinese in British Columbia, or double
what there had been the previous year, and placed their
annual earnings at an average of three hundred dollars.
This totalled $1,800,000. Allowing sixty dollars a year for
the cost of living, he claimed that $1,440,000 were annually
sent out of the province to China. On the other hand,
he declared that if the places of these Chinese had been
taken by white men, it would have meant an additional
resident population of twenty-four thousand people, all of
whose earnings would be spent in the country. DeCosmos
moved that a special committee should be appointed to
investigate the whole question with the view of providing
some relief.

Sir John Macdonald, the prime minister, was noncom-
mittal, while admitting the need of inquiry. Alexander
Mackenzie opposed the motion on imperial grounds, taking
the position that it was not seemly that Canada should

VOL. XXI R

258 ECONOMIC HISTORY

legislate against men who in some cases were natives of a
British possession and in others of a foreign country with
which Great Britain did a very large trade. DeCosmos in
his closing speech essayed the role of a prophet. He said the
people of China had again begun to migrate, and sketched
briefly the terrible march of the Mongolians under Genghiz
Khan and Tamberlane. He spoke of the approach of a time
when mothers in British Columbia would whisper to their
children, * The Chinese are coming.' Nothing resulted from
this motion, and the matter remained in abeyance, so far
as the House of Commons was concerned, until May 12,
1882, when DeCosmos drew the attention of the house to a
telegram from Victoria stating that twenty-four thousand
coolies would shortly arrive there from China. This, he
said, would swell the number in the province to thirty-two
thousand, or more than the total white population. He
urged prompt action by the government. Sir John Mac-
donald was not disposed to consider the dispatch seriously,
and while expressing himself as not favourable to Chinese
immigration, said that British Columbia would have to put
up with a temporary inconvenience in order to secure rail-
way construction. He quoted Onderdonk, the contractor
for the Pacific section of the railway, as saying that he
had utterly failed to get a sufficient number of workmen
from the United States, and therefore, said he, * You
must have this labour [oriental] or you cannot have the
railway.* Sir John expressed the opinion that after the rail-
way was completed the Chinese would go back to their
own country, but added that it might become necessary
in the future to introduce what he called ' representative
legislation.*

It is evident from what was said in the House of Commons,
in the public press, and by some of the more prominent men
of British Columbia that the real nature of the problem arising
from Chinese immigration was appreciated by only a few
people. The opposition to their presence in the country was
almost universally attributed to the hostiHty of labouring
men to competitors who were willing to work at a lower wage.
Even a statesman so far-seeing as Sir John Macdonald failed

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 259

to realize that the stay of the Chinese would be permanent
and would have a lasting effect upon the industrial develop-
ment of the Pacific province.

Influenced, doubtless, by events in California, where the
presence of Chinese had led to serious racial riots, by the
strong antipathy of the labouring men of the province to a
people who were satisfied with a low rate of wages, and also by
a growing feeling that the true significance of the oriental
invasion had not been fully understood, the anti-Chinese
agitation continued to gather strength. On May 19, 1884,
Noah Shakespeare, one of the representatives of Victoria in
the House of Commons, brought up the subject again by
moving a resolution setting out that it was expedient to enact
a law ' prohibiting the incoming of Chinamen to that part
of Canada known as British Columbia.* He mentioned the
numerous petitions that had been sent to parliament by the
government, the legislature, and the people of the province,
and then went on to deal with the characteristics of the
Chinese which rendered them objectionable. His speech
disclosed the changing ideas of the people on the subject.
He said very little about the alleged moral aspects of the
question, resting his case chiefly on the ground that Chinese
had already driven white men out of employment. In the
course of his remarks he made use of the following expression,
which is an admirable epitome of the whole case against
Asiatic competition : * The white men, handicapped by the
responsibilities of civilization, the Chinaman prepared to
struggle for his solitary existence — ^the result is obvious.'
For the first time in the discussion of the question in parlia-
ment, Shakespeare pointed out that the Chinese were shipped
into the province by wealthy Canton merchants as if they
were so much freight — a statement fully warranted by the
evidence of Robert Ward before a royal commission, when he
spoke of several thousand coolies being consigned to his firm.
He also declared that the condition of these people was
practically that of slaves. He said there were then eighteen
thousand of them in British Columbia, and claimed that
the presence of so many slaves in a great province sparsely
settled by white people invited disaster. On the strength of

260 ECONOMIC HISTORY

investigations made on the ground, he alleged that there were
a sufficient number of white labourers in the province to
complete the Canadian Pacific Railway within the time set
by the contractors. E. Crowe Baker, also a representative of
Victoria, supported the resolution. He directed the attention
of the house to the fact that Australia had felt the necessity
of restriction and that New South Wales had legislated on the
subject as far back as 1865. In view of the fact that during
the first three and a half months of 1884 over four thousand
Chinese had landed in Victoria, Baker thought the house
should realize the perilous outlook and the necessity for
prompt action. Students of this question will find in Baker's
speech, reported in Hansard of the session of 1884, one of the
best resumes of the case against oriental labour as far as the
facts in relation thereto had at that time developed. There
was some opposition to Shakespeare's resolution, chiefly from
Ontario members, and an amendment was moved to the effect
that the proposed inquiry should deal with the question of
restriction, not prohibition, and should be made applicable to
the whole of Canada. After some demur the amendment
was accepted by the mover and seconder, but only on a
promise by Sir John Macdonald that a commission should be
appointed forthwith.

Accordingly, on July 4, 1884, a royal commission was
issued to Joseph Adolphe Chapleau, secretary of state, and
John Hamilton Gray, one of the judges of the Supreme Court
of British Columbia, to investigate the question of Chinese
immigration. This action was far from satisfactory to a large
element of the population of the province, and the commis-
sioners were not cordially received on their arrival in Victoria.
The people were incensed because prohibition seemed in-
definitely postponed, and also because they regarded it as
absurd to suggest that two commissioners would be able to
reach a wiser conclusion in a few weeks than had been reached
by those who had been in touch with the subject for years.
It was also felt that the commissioners were favourably dis-
posed towards the admission of Chinese. The commission
examined a large number of witnesses not only in British
Columbia but also in California, and the facts collected are

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 261

of great historic interest. They made separate reports:
that of Chapleau fills 134 pages, that of Gray 102 pages,
while the evidence fills 415 pages. The testimony covers
every phase of the question as it was then understood. Great
emphasis was laid upon the unsanitary conditions under which
the Chinese lived, and even those who were not unfavourable
to their admission into the province were disposed to place
them on a very low moral plane. On the economic side of the
question, Onderdonk, the railway contractor already referred
to, said he was at that time employing four thousand Chinese
and three thousand white men, and he claimed that the
former were employed at a loss. He gave as his reason for
engaging them that he was required to complete his contract
with all speed. S. M. Robins alleged that the Chinese
employed in the coal-mines were brought in to meet a strike
situation. He expressed the opinion that it would have been
wiser to have engaged Indians, but claimed nevertheless
that the opposition to the Chinese had been fostered chiefly
by white merchants, whose trade was reduced by the fact that
the proportion of white labourers was so small as compared
with the Chinese. Many witnesses examined by the com-
missioners declared themselves favourable to the admission
of Chinese without any restriction. According to the evidence
given, there were at this time four hundred Chinese working
in the coal-mines at Nanaimo, nine hundred in the mines
at Wellington, fifteen hundred in the Cariboo district, and
six thousand on the railway. These figures do not agree with
the statement made by Noah Shakespeare in his speech in the
House of Commons as to the number of Chinese then in the
province, which he placed at eighteen thousand. Onderdonk
testified that he wanted two thousand more Chinese for rail-
way work, but could not get them.

Justice Gray gave a summary of the opinions expressed
by the witnesses. He said there were three classes, holding
different views :

A well-meaning but strongly prejudiced minority,
whom nothing but absolute exclusion would satisfy ;

An intelligent minority who consider that no legisla-
tion whatever is necessary ; but that as in all business

262 ECONOMIC HISTORY

transactions, the law of supply and demand will apply,
and the matter will regulate itself in the ordinary course
of events ;

A large majority who think there should be a moderate
restriction based upon police, and sanitary principles,
sustained and enforced by local regulation for cleanliness
and the preservation of health.

Chapleau expressed the opinion that * in British Columbia
those persons who are not in any way dependent upon the
labouring classes are, as a rule, unfavourable to anti-Chinese
legislation.*

In their reports the commissioners recommended that a
head-tax of ten dollars should be imposed upon all Chinese
entering Canada ; that a special tribunal should be appointed
to deal with legal matters in which Chinese were concerned ;
that there should be provision made for the registration of
Chinese ; and that a law similar to the Agricultural Labourers
Act of the United Kingdom should be passed to regulate
Chinese domestic service.

Perusal of the evidence and of the reports discloses the
fact that only a few persons, generally regarded as extrem-
ists— the * well-meaning but strongly prejudiced minority *
mentioned by Gray — appeared to appreciate the real nature
of the problem to which Chinese immigration had given rise.
The grounds of opposition to the entry of Chinese chiefly
relied upon before the commissioners were : their unsanitary
habits ; unfair competition with white labour ; that they
would retard the settlement of white people in the province ;
that by the purchase of Chinese goods and by remitting their
savings to China they would seriously interfere with the
development of trade ; that they would be a constant source
of trouble by reason of their criminal propensities and their
general untruthfulness ; and that they were utterly un-
reliable.

The recommendations of the commissioners were received
with a storm of protest. The legislature hastened to record
its opinion that the investigation had been * hurried and
imperfect,' and later passed a resolution protesting against
the disallowance on the ground of expediency of the

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 263

provincial legislation of 1884, whereby a licence fee was
imposed upon every adult male Chinese in the province and
regulations were made for their employment. It was felt
that the Ottawa authorities were in no position to judge of the
expediency of a measure enacted to meet conditions peculiar
to British Columbia. Popular feeling rose to a high pitch.
A public meeting, called by the city council of Victoria,
passed a resolution expressing * unreserved dissent ' from the
report of the commissioners, and protesting against the
admission of Chinese on the terms therein recommended.
Later an open-air meeting, attended by four thousand, de-
clared in favour of very stringent restriction and asserted that
* the patience of the people was exhausted.*

It was impossible for the Dominion government to ignore
the determined expression of the views of the people of the
coast. Public opinion was daily gathering force, and the
success of the anti-Chinese legislation in California was causing
invidious comparisons to be made between the condition of
affairs in Canada and that existing in the United States.
Moreover, the Canadian Pacific Railway was fast approaching
completion, and there was little evidence that the expectation
of Sir John Macdonald would be realized and that the Chinese
employed in that work would speedily return home. The
influx of coolie labourers continued ; white settlers seemed
unwilling to go to the province, and it was apparent that the
object of the transcontinental railway — the building up of a
strong British community on the Pacific seaboard — might be
defeated by the very means employed to expedite the com-
pletion of the road. Sir John Macdonald resolved upon what
it was believed would prove a sufficient measure of restriction.
On April 13, 1885, Chapleau introduced a bill to restrict and
regulate the admission of Chinese. The principal feature
was the imposition of head-tax, the amount of which was left
blank in the bill but was subsequently fixed at fifty dollars.
Chapleau's speech on the second reading shows evidence of
careful preparation. He declared himself unalterably opposed
to the prohibition of the objectionable immigration, since the
presence of Chinese in British Columbia was of great economic
advantage, because it was only through their labour that the

264 ECONOMIC HISTORY

mining, fishing and agricultural resources of the province could
be developed. He dwelt upon the importance of developing
trade with China, and expressed the opinion that the welfare
of the whole Dominion ought not to be sacrificed to what he
regarded as the unreasoning prejudice of a small part of the
sparse population of British Columbia. The members for
the province stoutly opposed the bill. They contended
for total exclusion, pointing out that the proposed head-
tax would have no restraining effect and asking that, if
there could not be absolute prohibition, the tax should be
placed at five hundred dollars. Sir John Macdonald told
the British Columbia members that they had better be
satisfied with what they could get, and the bill was there-
upon passed.

That the British Columbia representatives were right as
to the inadequacy of the law was soon apparent. Chinese
continued to enter the country in as great numbers as ever,
and it was evident that they looked upon the province as a
favourable field for exploitation, and for ultimate occupation
to as great an extent as possible. The agitation for total
prohibition was soon renewed. The legislature passed re-
solutions on several occasions, all substantially to the same
efi^ect : namely, that oriental immigration would prevent the
settlement of the country by white people. Petition after
petition was sent to parliament. In 1891 more than seventy
were tabled from representatives of every industry in British
Columbia and from nearly every labour organization in the
Dominion, setting forth that this immigration was not in the
best interests of Canada, and praying for its total prohibition.
In 1892 an even greater number of petitions were presented,
and from that time forward for seven years these petitions
and resolutions of the legislature of British Columbia formed
regular features of the proceedings of parliament. In the
session of 1899 Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who was then prime
minister, realized that something would have to be done to
meet the demands of the Pacific province, and a measure was
introduced to increase the head-tax to one hundred dollars.
It was passed, but met at once with a protest from the legisla-
ture of British Columbia and from many petitioners on the

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 265

score that the tax was too low, and should be increased
immediately to five hundred dollars.

A new problem of oriental immigration had by this time
begun to make itself manifest. About the year 1896 a few
Japanese had settled in the province. They were not un-
welcome, for they proved active, industrious, eager to please
and ready to accept almost any wages for any employment
for which they were fitted. There was a disposition to
regard them with interest as representatives of a nation that
was seeking to acquire occidental civilization and had, in
the war with China, shown itself to be the leading x^siatic
power. There was unquestionably a demand for cheaper
labour, which the Japanese seemed able to supply. But
public opinion soon changed. The Japanese crossed the
ocean in rapidly increasing numbers, and in five years between
fourteen and fifteen thousand entered the province. In the
twelve months ending July i, 1900, the arrivals numbered
ten thousand. Not all of these remained. A considerable
number returned home after a short stay and many went
to the United States. The census of 1901 showed 4578
Japanese resident in British Columbia. Opposition to the
Japanese was not confined to the working classes with whom
they came into competition, for it was apparent that, whereas
the Chinese confined themselves to a limited number of occu-
pations, the Japanese were ready to invade every depart-
ment of industry. They assumed European dress, and, as
far as they were able, adopted European habits, making
no concealment of their intention to strive for equality with
the white people.

The new competition in the labour market increased the
agitation against oriental immigration, and once again parlia-
ment was petitioned to pass a measure absolutely prohibiting
it. It was pointed out that between January i and April i,
1900, no less than 4669 Japanese and 1325 Chinese had landed
in Victoria, a fact that naturally caused much anxiety,
especially as one very important industry, the fisheries,
seemed likely to pass almost wholly into the hands of the
Japanese, to the exclusion of white men and Indians. The
latter joined in the protests to parliament, complaining that

266 ECONOMIC HISTORY

they were likely to be deprived of one of their most remunera-
tive occupations. So strong was the agitation that the
federal government took prompt action, and a royal com-
mission was issued to Roger C. Clute of Toronto, Ralph
Smith of Nanaimo, and Daniel J. Munn of New Westminster,
authorizing them to investigate the whole question of Chinese
and Japanese immigration. Smith resigned his appoint-
ment and his place was taken by Christopher Foley of Ross-
land. The commissioners heard a large number of witnesses
and collected much valuable information. There was a very
noticeable difference between the testimony given in 190 1 and
that submitted to the commission of 1885 in respect to the
Chinese. Many witnesses before the last-named commis-
sion laid stress upon the unreliability of the Chinese and
their criminality. Very little was said on these points in
1901, but on the contrary it was freely admitted that in
these respects the Chinese averaged at least as high as white
people. It was now apparent that the true nature of the
oriental menace was beginning to be understood, that it was
economic and not moral in its character. Opposition to
the Chinese was by no means universal among those who
testified, but only one opinion was expressed regarding the
Japanese, and that was hostile. It was not so much racial
hostility as a feeling that the Japanese were too formidable
competitors to be permitted to enter the country in large
numbers. They were ready to accept any sort of work at
any rate of wages in order to obtain a foothold in Canada.
Moreover, the influx of Japanese seemed a menace per se,
as those who saw the hundreds of arrivals were quick to
appreciate.

The commission of 1 90 1 stated in its report that the
population of British Columbia was 177,000, of whom 129,000
were white people. There were 16,000 adult unmarried
Chinese males, and it was contended that if their places were
taken by white people it would mean an addition to the
population of from 50,000 to 70,000 men, women, and chil-
dren, and that the money received by the wage-earners
would be kept in the country instead of being sent to China.
The commissioners recommended that Chinese immigration

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 267

should be regulated by a treaty * heartily supported by suit-
able legislation/ and that in the meantime a head-tax of
five hundred dollars should be imposed upon every Chinese
immigrant. The commission made no recommendation in
regard to the Japanese, the government at Tokio having
issued a decree forbidding emigration to either Canada or
the United States. In the ensuing, session of parliament,
1902, a head-tax of five hundred dollars was imposed upon
Chinese. Subsequently an agreement was reached between
the Canadian and Japanese governments placing a limita-
tion upon the number of Japanese who should be permitted
to enter Canada in any one year.

The immediate effect of the increase in the head-tax was
to reduce the number of Chinese immigrants and to increase
the wages demanded by Chinese already in Canada. The
advance was from fifty to one hundred per cent. No sooner
had a new standard of wages been established than the
Chinese influx was renewed, and it became clear that the
employers of Chinese labour were paying the head-tax, not
only upon the new immigrants but upon those already in
the country. The Chinese merchants and others engaged
in the importation of coolie labour raised no objection to
the increased tax. One of them voiced the general opinion
when he said : * I always thought the white people were fools,
and now I know it. You pay the tax in higher wages and
we make more money out of financing the immigration.'

Concerning the immigration from India little need be
said, for after a period of great activity, it was arrested by
government regulation.

The contention has been made and is still upheld by many
people that the incoming of the orientals has retarded the
settlement of the country by white people and has had a
tendency to reduce wages. On the other hand, it is claimed
by a large and influential element that its influence has been
wholly advantageous and that much of the progress of
British Columbia is due to the presence of orientals, who
have furnished a supply of labour that would otherwise have
been unattainable except at prohibitive prices. The truth
probably lies between these two extremes. Oriental immi-

268 ECONOMIC HISTORY

gratlon has not been altogether bad for the province ; neither
has it been wholly beneficial.

The opposition to the presence of Chinese was in the
first place based largely upon the belief that they would have
a demoralizing influence. In the earlier speeches in the
legislature and elsewhere on the subject this view of the case
was always prominent, and the picture presented of what
would happen if many Chinese women entered the country
was lurid and alarming. Stress was also laid upon the con-
sequences likely to result from the fact that the great body
of the Chinese were unmarried males. All such fears have
proved groundless. The line of demarcation between the
two races has been so strongly drawn that the influence of
the Chinese upon social morality has been negligible. It is
true that Chinese are inveterate gamblers, but no one can
seriously claim that they have caused any increase in this
practice among white people.

A second objection was that the Chinese were criminally
inclined, were untrustworthy and given to falsehood, and
that it would be necessary to establish special tribunals to
deal with them. It was also asserted that they would recog-
nize their own clubs or guilds as of greater authority than
the courts of the land. Experience has shown these fears
to have been without foundation. In criminal tendencies
and untruthfulness in testimony, the Chinese are in no way
different from white people. It is exceedingly rare that they
abuse the confidence reposed in them as domestic servants,
and they are as a rule punctilious in carrying out any obliga-
tions they assume.

A third objection was from a business standpoint. It
was claimed that, as they ate Chinese food and wore almost
exclusively Chinese clothing, they would not trade with
white merchants. It was further contended that they
would not remain in the country, but would return home
when they had accumulated a little money, and that most
of their earnings would be sent to China. This objection
had some foundation in fact. It is still a serious detriment
to the community in which any large number of Chinese
live.

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 269

Those who claimed that the immigrants would not remain
were mistaken. Many Chinese of the merchant and con-
tracting class have become wealthy and have large interests
in British Columbia. In respect to their mode of living,
there are indications of a disposition to adopt European
habits, but progress in that direction has hitherto been slow,
although there has been a notable advance since the inaugura-
tion of republican government in China. The Chinese in
British Columbia were prompt to fall in with the new order
of things at home.

A fourth objection was that in proportion as Chinese
labour displaced white labour it retarded the increase in
population, for only a few of the Chinese have families,
whereas a very considerable number of the white men are
married and have children. This is a well-founded and grave
objection to the oriental immigration. To appreciate it
one has only to compare the homes of white miners with the
quarters occupied by Chinese working in the mines. In the
former will be found children being trained to take their
places in the general life of the community ; in the latter
there is only a hive of men with no other interest in the
country than the day's wage. The contrast is so great that
there is little wonder that the coal-miners are among the
most determined opponents of Chinese immigration.

The fifth objection, that the Chinese have kept down the
rate of wages, is scarcely borne out by the facts.

What, then, is the objection to oriental immigration, and
what, if any, are its injurious economic effects upon the
country ? The problem is not without its difficulties, but
as the contact of the Orient with the Occident is likely to
become closer as the years pass, it is well that the lessons
taught by experience in British Columbia should be under-
stood. There is no historical warrant for assuming that two
races as widely different as the Caucasian and the Mongolian
can live side by side on terms of equality. All historic pre-
cedents oppose the suggestion, favoured by no inconsiderable
number of people, that we can safely admit into Canada a
limited number of oriental people to occupy a species of
servile relation to the majority. To attempt to build up an

270 ECONOMIC HISTORY

occidental civilization with oriental labour at the base of
the industrial edifice is to invite disaster. For — and let this
primal fact not be forgotten — the white man will not work
side by side with the yellow man on terms of equality. Place
the two in one industry and the question that arises is one of
the survival of the fittest. The fittest workman is not neces-
sarily the best ; he is merely the most capable of coping with
existing conditions. The white man will not do * China-
men's work' ; the Chinese is ready and eager to do white man's
work. Hence in competition between the two in the same
field the white man is under a handicap. This fundamental
fact has had a serious effect upon the economic progress of
British Columbia and will have a profound influence upon
its future if the influx of orientals, whether Chinese, Japanese
or East Indians, is continued.

However, it must be admitted that without the relatively
abundant and cheap Chinese labour available, British
Columbia could not have achieved the progress made during
the past thirty years. The remoteness of the Pacific coast
from the centres of population has naturally retarded the
settlement of the province while vast unoccupied areas lay
between it and the sources of white immigration. While
there has always been a claim that Chinese were driving
white men out of employment, there has been little basis
for it in fact. They made possible the early completion of
the Canadian Pacific Railway ; they aided materially in the
development of the lumber industry ; they helped in the pro-
motion of mining ; they have been absolutely necessary in
fish-canning ; they have made it possible to clear up large
areas of land and fit it for farming ; they have done much to
solve the problem of household help. Admitting all that can
be urged against the presence of orientals because of the
money that they have sent out of the country, it cannot be
denied that they have been of value to the province. That
they have in any material degree prevented white people from
settling in the country has not been established ; that to a
limited extent they have driven white labour out of the
country may be admitted, but on the other hand they have
enabled the white population to live in greater comfort than

THE ORIENTAL QUESTION 271

would have been possible without them. All these things
may be freely admitted as a summary of the beneficial
economic effect of oriental immigration during the first two-
score years of its existence. What is there to be said on the
other side of the question ? They have absorbed the market-
gardening industry, and have thereby practically closed a
desirable occupation to white people ; the Japanese have
almost driven the white fishermen from the coast ; the
Chinese and natives of India have monopolized the lower
grades of industry. They have created an industrial stratum
into which the white men will not descend. The fact last
mentioned is one that seems to possess an enormous economic
significance. The reference so far has been only to the past.
What is the position and attitude of the oriental in British
Columbia to-day ? The answer to this question is important,
because what applies to this province now will apply to every
other community where the Orient and Occident come in
contact upon terms of equality of opportunity.

The experience of half a century has shown the oriental
that in America there is a field for his industry and ability
that is practically unlimited, and in British Columbia he is
rapidly occupying it. There is no line of activity that he is
not ready and eager to enter. Only a few years ago the
Chinese were content to live in * Chinatowns.* They are
breaking away from that habit. Only a short time ago a
Chinese store was a sort of curiosity shop to white people ;
a place wherein picturesque men, smoking long pipes, or with
children in their arms, stood listlessly about, making no effort
whatever to push sales while possible customers examined
their wares. Chinese stores now carry many classes of
necessary commodities, and are managed by alert salesmen in
European dress, who know how to cater to the public taste.
Chinese tailors have built up a large trade in clothing for both
sexes. The curio shop is rapidly disappearing ; the up-to-
date business house is taking its place. The Chinese capitalist
may be seen driving in his electric brougham ; the Sikh, who
a few years ago shivered in his scanty clothing on a Victoria
dock, may be seen riding out from his real-estate office in his
own motor-car, or bringing in milk from his own ranch. The

272 ECONOMIC HISTORY

Japanese asserts his ability to compete with the Canadian
in any occupation except those which are closed to him by
law. Chinese, Sikhs and Japanese have a common ambition,
which they are rapidly satisfying, to become landowners.
Such are some of the changes that a short period has brought
about. Their lesson is obvious.

A few words may be added as to the effect of the imposition
of a head-tax upon Chinese. It has doubtless served to reduce
the influx of these people, but only to a limited extent. It is
probable that if there had been no restrictive legislation the
whole of the Pacific coast of Canada would have been overrun
by Chinese, who would practically have taken possession of
the country ; but when a heavy tax was imposed upon them,
it became impossible for coolies to come to the country except
when assisted by some person of capital. Hence the influx
was restricted automatically to such a number as the con-
tractors could find employment for. When the tax was
raised to five hundred dollars, the immediate result was that
immigration practically ceased until a new standard of wages
was introduced in British Columbia. Then it increased again.
The Chinese importer of labour raises no objection to the
heavy head-tax. He knows it serves to increase the earnings
of the Chinese already in the country and increases his own
profits upon the new importations. It is perhaps not an
exaggeration to say that the average earnings of Chinese in
British Columbia have doubled since the imposition of the
five-hundred-dollar tax.

To sum up the situation, it may be said that oriental
labour has, on the whole, been thus far an advantage to
British Columbia, but in the conditions that have developed
and are now developing, it is evident that the continued
influx of the Asiatic peoples would mean that an economic
situation would be created, the outcome of which would be
antagonistic to the building up on the Pacific coast of a strong
British community capable ' of sustaining and increasing
British prestige there. If the advantage which the North-
West pioneers gained for the Empire a century and more ago
is to be maintained, oriental immigration into Canada must
cease. As was said at the beginning of this chapter, the

TRANSPORTATION 273

contact of the Orient and Occident has created a problem of
world-wide interest, and the lessons which British Columbia
teaches in that regard are of immeasurable value.

Ill
TRANSPORTATION

FROM the time of its earliest occupation by Europeans
transportation has been the most important and most
difficult problem presented in British Columbia. In
all countries this factor is one calling for serious considera-
tion, but it is especially so in the Pacific province because of
its area and the contour of its surface. In the other pro-
vinces of Canada settlement readily advances from some
central point, and the occupied area grows as the frontier
of the wilderness is gradually pushed back. This sort of
development is impossible in British Columbia. The moun-
tain ranges prevent continuity of settlement, which proceeds
sporadically, and long and difficult distances have to be over-
come to connect the several centres with each other and with
the outside world. Owing to these natural characteristics of
the province, and the enormous expense necessary to over-
come them, the occupation of the colonizable areas within its
borders has been greatly retarded.

For nearly a century after its first discovery by Europeans
what is now British Columbia was one of the most isolated
parts of the world. It could be reached only by a long sea
voyage either round the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn,
or by a land journey of thousands of miles across prairies
and over inhospitable mountain ranges. Until about fifty
years ago there was hardly a highway in the province worthy
of the name, except in the immediate vicinity of Victoria.
There were, of course, no railways. A few small steamers
plied in the coast waters. The discovery of gold in the
Cariboo made necessary the construction of the famous high-
way, the Cariboo Road, a work of vast difficulty, and one of
the greatest achievements in the world in the way of road-

VOL. XXI s

274 ECONOMIC HISTORY

building. The work was done by a corps of Royal Engineers.
This highway, which is upwards of three hundred miles in
length, has played a very important part in the development
of the province. It proved also of great political value, for it
united the great unsettled interior with the centre of govern-
ment at the coast, and thereby prevented a disruption of the
western part of British North America, which might have
ensued on the arrival of thousands of gold-seekers from the
United States, if the main line of communication had been
established by way of the Okanagan direct from the State of
Washington. The Cariboo Road made British law, British
justice, and British administration paramount north of the
49th parallel, a consummation the value of which has often
been overlooked in the consideration of the advantages which
flowed from it.

To understand the nature of the transportation problem
as it affects British Columbia — ^and this problem is only as
yet on the threshold of solution — it is necessary to have a
general idea of the geography of the country. Although the
surface and the coast-line of the province are exceedingly
diversified, and present upon the maps ordinarily in use an
almost inextricable tangle of mountains, fiords, lakes and
rivers, close examination shows that a few general features
dominate the topography. The greater part of the province
lies west of the summit of the Rocky Mountain range and
a line drawn north-westerly in prolongation thereof. This
range, which is a consistent and distinct structural feature of
the continent from the 49th to the 56th parallels, begins to
lose its distinctive character north of the latter. There is a
great structural valley lying west of the Rockies. In its
southerly part it is occupied by the Kootenay and Columbia
Rivers, and a tributary of the latter, the Canoe River, flows
through it from the north, its tributaries interlocking with
those of the Fraser in the vicinity of Yellowhead Pass. Going
yet farther northward we have the Fraser occupying the valley
up to the 54th parallel, where a low ridge crosses the valley
and separates the waters of the Fraser from the tributaries of
the Peace River. The Parsnip and the Findlay, the former
flowing from the south and the latter from the north, unite

TRANSPORTATION 275

at the 56th parallel to form the Peace, which finds its way to
the great Mackenzie River system through a tremendous
canon which cuts the range of the Rockies in twain. The
head-waters of the Findlay interlock with those of one of the
tributaries of the Liard River, a great tributary of the
Mackenzie ; and the Liard itself, and its tributary the Frances,
mark the line of the great structural valley northward until
the head- waters of the Pelly, one of the forks of the Yukon,
are reached, whence the valley proceeds northward and
westward to Bering Sea.

The Rocky Mountain range is traversed by several
passes, the chief of which are the Crowsnest, through which
the southerly line of the Canadian Pacific Railway runs,
the Yoho, the Kananaskis, the White Man, the Kicking
Horse, through which the main line of the Canadian Pacific
runs, the Howse, the Athabaska, the Yellowhead, where
the lines of the Grand Trunk Pacific and the Canadian
Northern are, the Pine River and the canon of the Peace
River.

West of this great valley is a mountain range which is in
a sense continuous, but which is cut by several valleys and
is known by several names, such as the Selkirks, the Gold
Mountains and the Cariboo Range. West of these lies the
great Central Plateau, extending from the 49th parallel as
far at least as the 56th. The term * plateau * must not be
understood as meaning a level plain, for it is used only to
distinguish the central and generally undulating part of
the province from what are the distinctively mountainous
portions. West of this plateau is what may be called in
general terms the Coast Range. This range is broken by
many passes, such as the Fraser Canon, utilized by the
Canadian Pacific and the Canadian Northern Railways,
Howe Sound and the Squamish River, utilized by the Pacific
Great Eastern Railway, Bute Inlet, recommended by Sand-
ford (afterwards Sir Sandford) Fleming as the best route to
the western ocean frontier of the Dominion, Burke Channel
and the Bella Coola River, Dean Channel and the Kimsquit
River, Douglas Channel and Kitimat Arm, the Skeena
River, utilized by the Grand Trunk Pacific, Portland Canal

276 ECONOMIC HISTORY

and the Nass River and Alice Arm, and farther to the north
the Stikine River.

West of the Coast Range is a remarkable structural
feature, which for convenience may be called a line of sub-
mergence. This begins at the south in the lower part of
Oregon, where the valley thus formed has in the process of
centuries been filled by the soil formed from the silt from
the adjacent mountain ranges and in part by glacial deposits.
The Willamette River flows through it to join the Columbia.
North of the Columbia the depression has been filled, chiefly
with glacial deposits, for approximately a hundred miles, at
which point the southern extremity of Puget Sound is reached.
Thence northward the alluvial or glacial deposits are not
extensive except in what is called the lower Fraser valley,
and the depression presents a series of deep channels, en-
circling islands which seem to form the higher parts of a
submerged mountain range. At one point, just north of
Bute Inlet, between latitudes 50° and 50^ 30', the channels are
very narrow, forming * stepping-stones* between the continental
shore and Vancouver Island. The islands and islets in the
archipelago formed by this great subsidence, which extends
across some seventeen degrees of latitude, are practically
innumerable, varying in size from Vancouver Island, with
an area about equal to that of Switzerland, or 15,000 square
miles, to the smallest rock pinnacles rising above the sea.
The islands of the Queen Charlotte group lie some distance
off the coast.

Beyond the archipelago is the continental shelf, which is
the loo-fathom line. This is of great importance : first to
fishermen, as upon it are found extensive halibut grounds
and resorts of other food fish ; and, secondly, to mariners,
because it is so well defined that it is an infallible guide to
vessels approaching the north-west coast.

To the above general geographical features of the pro-
vince must be added the numerous large navigable lakes
scattered over the interior of the province and the many
navigable rivers, furnishing possibly three thousand miles
of useful waterways, a large proportion of which are open
throughout the entire year»

TRANSPORTATION ' 277

The problem of transportation in British Columbia is to
correlate these structural features of the country. The pro-
blem is not difficult, although its solution will necessarily be
expensive. If we include, as is proper in this connection, the
water stretches between the islands of the archipelago, the
area for which transportation must be provided is upwards
of 400,000 square miles, approximately 383,000 of which are
land. Highways, railways and water-craft of every sort
will all play a part in it. Fortunately numerous water-
powers are available in all parts of the province, and these
will materially simplify the providing of transportation facili-
ties by furnishing an abundance of power for the generation
of electricity, a factor of much importance because there are
many areas that can be more readily and inexpensively
opened up by electric railways than in any other way.

The transportation problem was fully appreciated by the
men who had control of the affairs of British Columbia in
the earlier period of its history. We find in the Terms of
Union with Canada that provision was made for the subsi-
dizing of a line of steamships from Victoria to San Francisco,
for the building of a graving-dock at Esquimalt, and for
the establishment of connection with Eastern Canada. The
last-named demand on the part of the western province
originally took the form of a claim for a highway road in
continuance of the Dewdney trail. A transcontinental rail-
way was an after-consideration.

Land transportation in British Columbia has been chiefly
along lines from east to west. Beginning at the extreme
south we have the Great Northern, which will shortly have
completed a road traversing the province from east to west ;
next we have the Kettle River and Crowsnest Pass railways,
which will in combination give the Canadian Pacific an east-
and-west road south of its main line ; the latter, although
not very direct, may also be considered as an east-and-
west line ; the Canadian Northern's line, technically the
Canadian Northern Pacific, is chiefly designed for east-and-
west transportation, although, with its southern extension
from Kamloops to Okanagan, it will to some extent become
a north-and-south line ; lastly, we have the Grand Trunk

278 ECONOMIC HISTORY

Pacific, essentially an east-and-west line. The Pacific Great
Eastern, which as far as at present (1913) planned will
extend from Vancouver to Fort George, is the first step
primarily intended to provide north-and-south railway trans-
portation in British Columbia. What appears to be the
next pressing need from the standpoint of economic develop-
ment is the completion of north-and-south lines of com-
munication, to unite the great outlying and undeveloped
parts of the province with the more settled areas, to supple-
ment the east-and-west lines, and to give an all-Canadian
land route to the Yukon and Alaska.

Mention may be made here of the railways on Vancouver
Island. The three transcontinental companies are repre-
sented, the Canadian Pacific as the owner of the Esquimalt
and Nanaimo Railway, the Canadian Northern as the owner
of the Canadian Northern Pacific, and the Great Northern
as the owner of the Victoria and Sidney Railway. The main-
land divisions of these railways, as well as the line of the
Pacific Great Eastern, either are or will be connected with
the island by means of car-ferries. The plans of the two
companies first named in this paragraph embrace the com-
plete opening of the island by railways, involving the con-
struction of about one thousand miles of lines. The trans-
portation requirements of the island may be said to be fully
provided for from a local point of view. There remains the
question of all-rail connection with the mainland by way of
the * stepping-stones ' at Bute Inlet, a project that has been
before the public for forty years.

Transportation in British Columbia may be regarded
from four different points of view : namely, as it affects
local development, as it affects the commerce of Canada,
as it affects the commerce of the Empire and of the world,
and as it affects the relations of the several parts of the
Empire to each other. The description given above of the
geographical features of the province, taken in connection
with its great area and the fact that in every part of it are
colonizable lands and great resources in forest and mineral
wealth, demonstrate that many miles of railway and many
miles of highways will be needed before the province has

TRANSPORTATION 279

reached a stage when its economic development can be said
to have been thoroughly provided for. In respect of Canadian
trade, the western shipping of grain to ports that are always
open, to be sent thence to Europe via the Panama Canal,
or to Asia to supply the growing demand for this grain among
the hundreds of millions of people there, renders the problem
of great interest and importance. In considering this ques-
tion, it ought not to be overlooked that the ports of the Pacific
coast are nearer any district of Canada lying west of the
central part of Saskatchewan than are the ports at the head
of Lake Superior. This fact must have a potent influence
in determining the course of a large part of the export trade
of the Dominion.

The imperial aspect of the transportation problem pre-
sented by British Columbia is of the greatest importance.
The shortest possible route from the United Kingdom to the
Orient would be by way of Hudson Strait to Fort Church-
hill or Fort Nelson and thence by a combined Canadian and
United States railway to a point at or near the mouth of
the Yukon. Such a route would only be available for a few
months annually because of the harbours at both termini
of the railway being closed by ice for the greater part of the
year, and it therefore possesses only an academic interest.
The shortest practicable route from Western Europe and
the whole of that part of the North American continent
lying east of the Mississippi to the Orient is by way of the
ports on the western seaboard of Canada. Transportation
companies will adjust themselves to this controlling fact in
their own interest as the saving of time becomes more
important in the transit of goods.

A very important question arising in this connection is
the character of the harbours on the western coast of Canada.
Here we have another geographical factor to take into con-
sideration. Between the Panama Canal and the entrance to
the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which is the southern boundary
of Canada on the Pacific, there is only one first-class har-
bour, that of San Francisco. Portland, in Oregon, would
be of the first class, if it were not for the great bar at the
mouth of the Columbia River. North of the strait there are

280 ECONOMIC HISTORY

a number of excellent harbours. As Captain Devereux
wrote in 1876, ' Nature seems to have revelled in making
them/ Some of them are : on the mainland — New West-
minster and other points on the lower Fraser River, Van-
couver, Howe Sound, Bute Inlet, Frederick Arm, the other
inlets mentioned in a preceding part of this article in connec-
tion with the passes through the Coast Range, Prince Rupert,
Port Simpson, Nasoga Gulf and other points on Portland
Canal ; on Vancouver Island — ^Victoria, Esquimalt, Barkley
Sound and Albemi Canal, Nootka Sound, Quatsino Sound,
Hardy Bay, Nanaimo and others, all capable of accommo-
dating shipping of every size, and all readily accessible
from the sea and also from the land. There is no very
material difference in distance between any of these ports and
Yokohama, which may be regarded as the first port of the
Orient, and the average may be placed at 4200 miles. There
are various factors to be taken into consideration by trans-
portation companies which will determine the choice of
ports and of land routes to reach these ports, but the great
basic fact remains that commerce has a choice of all these
various excellent harbours, approachable from the land side
through the several passes in the Coast Range and on the
direct line of the shortest possible route of transportation
between the most populous continents of the world, one of
which is the most advanced and energetic and the centre of
modem civilization, and the other about to enter upon a
period of development, the magnitude of which no one can
pretend to foresee.

\yf

INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

Tribes and their Habitat

A LL that part of the Province of British Columbia lying
/ \ east of the Cascade or Coast range of mountains is
JL \^ known as the interior. The aboriginal inhabitants
of this region, classed according to their linguistic affiliations,
belong to several distinct stocks, which are divided into
various tribes and bands, many of them speaking languages
and dialects only partially intelligible to other members of
the same stock. From south to north in the interior these
linguistic families are distributed as follows :

(A) Kitunahan. — ^This stock is represented by two tribes
speaking dialects differing very slightly from each other.
Their language is thought to have some similarity in gram-
matical structure to the Shoshonean tongues. They are :

1. The Upper Kutenai, or Kutenai proper, inhabiting the
East Kootenay valley from the international boundary north
to the head of the Columbia River.

2. The Lower Kutenai, or Flatbow, living along the
Kootenay River and on the lake of the same name, below
the Upper Kutenai tribe.

Both tribes inhabit the neighbouring parts of the United
States.

(B) Salishan {Interior Salish), — ^All the people of this
stock belong to what is known as the interior Salish group,
which linguistically, physically, and culturally differs con-
siderably from the Salish group of the British Columbia coast.
In point of numbers the Salish is the most important stock
in the interior. Their tribes are also distributed over large
portions of the eastern part of the State of Washington, and
the States of Idaho and Montana. The Salish languages

283

284 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

resemble the Chimakuan and the Wakashan in structural
type, and appear to have remote points of similarity with the
Algonquian. Five Salish tribes are found in the interior :

1. The Senijextee or Lake tribe is found along the
Columbia River and near the Arrow Lakes from Revelstoke
south ; along the Slocan River and Lake ; along the Kootenay
River below the Lake ; near the west arm of Kootenay Lake
and in a part of the Kettle River valley.

2. The Okinagan live along Okanagan Lake and River,
from the head southwards, in parts of the Kettle and Simil-
kameen valleys, and in a portion of the upp)er Nicola valley
near Douglas Lake.

Both of these tribes extend into the United States, and
both speak the Okinagan language, while the other three
tribes speak closely allied but separate languages.

3. The Ntlakyapamuk, also called Couteau or Knife
Indians, and Thompson River tribe, etc., occupy the country
along Eraser River from near the foot of the canon north to
the Lillooet ; the main Thompson River from the mouth east
to Ashcroft ; and the greater part of the Nicola country.
Most of the people of the upper Similkameen are Ntlakya-
pamuk, but in late years they have tended to assimilate with
the Okinagan. The hunting country of the Ntlakyapamuk
extends south a short distance into the United States.

4. The Shuswap occupy the Eraser River country from
the Lillooet north to Soda Creek, and the plateaus eastward
to the Rocky Mountains, the Thompson River from Ashcroft
to its sources, the Bonaparte River, and the Columbia River
from near Revelstoke to its head. The Kutenai formerly
claimed the upper part of the Columbia down to about Golden,
but in later years this tract of country was also hunted by
Assiniboin and Shuswap, and finally, about ninety years ago,
a band of the latter located there permanently in close
proximity to the most northern settlement of the Kutenai.

5. The Lillooet have their main habitat in a valley ex-
tending through the Cascade Range from Harrison Lake
north-east by Lillooet, Anderson and Seaton Lakes to Eraser
River. On the latter stream they occupy the country around
the mouths of Cayuse Creek and Bridge River. Westwards

TRIBES AND THEIR HABITAT 285

they extend to the head of Squamish River. The Fountain
and Pavilion bands east of the Eraser River are of mixed
Shuswap and Lillooet blood.

(C) Athapascan (Dene). — Members of this great family,
noted as the most widely distributed of any linguistic stock
in North America, occupy most of the central and northern
interior, covering a greater area than any other stock in the
province. The Athapascans of British Columbia are an
extension to the south-west of the northern division of the
stock, the main body of which occupies all the adjoining parts
of Canada northwards to the Eskimo. They may be divided
into three linguistic groups, each comprising a number of
tribes, some of them differing considerably in dialect, physical
characteristics and customs :

1. Southern Group, — (a) Tsilkotin, occupying all the
Chilcotin River region westwards to the upper Bella Coola.
They are divided into several bands speaking the same
language, (b) Carrier, also known as Porteur, and Takulli
or Takenne, occupy the country between the Tsilkotin and
the Kitksan of Skeena River, and most of the upper Eraser
River above Soda Creek. Eather Morice classes them in
three branches speaking slightly different dialects, and ten
septs : viz. Southern Carriers (six septs), Northern Carriers
(two septs) and Babines (two septs). The Babines are some-
times recognized as a distinct tribe.

2. Central Group. — (a) Sekani, occupying the head-waters
of the Peace River, and the Rocky Mountain region from near
Eraser River north to near the Liard. They are divided into
a number of loosely connected bands or septs. One of these,
called the Bear Lakes, range north-westerly across the sources
of the Skeena and Nass Rivers to the head of the Stikine, and
some of them within recent years have settled among the
Tahltans. (b) Tsattine, also known as Beaver or Castor,
inhabiting the Peace River region immediately east of the
Sekani. A few of them live within the confines of British
Columbia, and the rest in the neighbouring parts of Alberta.
The Sarsi tribe, now located in the Blackfoot country, is
claimed to be an offshoot of the Tsattine.

3. Northern Groups or Nahane. — (a) The Tahltan, who

286 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

have a distinct tribal organization, and differ considerably in
culture from the other Nahane, occupying the upper waters
of the Stikine River and its tributaries, the Tahltan, the Tuya
and the Nahlin, and other southern branches of the Taku.
They range easterly to Dease Lake or beyond, and north to
near the head of Teslin Lake and Jennings River. Southerly
they extend to some of the northern sources of the Nass.
(b) The rest of the Nahane, who appear to consist of a number
of loosely connected bands rather than tribes occupying the
country east and north-east of the Tahltan to beyond the
confines of British Columbia ; some of these are the Kaska,
inhabiting the Dease River country, the Upper Liards or
Deloires, the Mountain Nahane or Goat Indians, etc.

The exact divisions and dialects of the Sekani and Nahane
groups are not well known.

Detached Athapascan tribes :

1. Probably belonging to the Nahane group is the Tsetsaut,
who until recently inhabited the country around the head of
Portland Canal and over to the head of the Iskut River.
They are now reduced to a very few individuals, and their
language has become extinct under Niska influence. Their
habitat is rather on the coast than in the interior. Formerly
a band of Athapascans, probably a part of either the Tahltan
or the Tsetsaut, lived a considerable distance down the Iskut
River in close proximity to the Tlingit. They were exter-
minated or dispersed by the Niska.

2. Another tribe of Athapascan lineage called the Stuicha-
mukh occupied the upper parts of Nicola and Similkameen
Rivers, and at one time may have extended to the mouth of
the latter river within the confines of the United States.
Gradually they have been absorbed by the Ntlakyapamuk
and their language is now extinct.

Tribes of other stocks inhabiting portions of the interior
are :^

I. The Tlingit of the Koluschan family : a branch of the
Tlingit, generally called the Stikines, claim the Stikine River

1 The customs of the Taku and Kitksan are not dealt with in this article
because their social organization and culture are mainly the same as that of
the northern coast, and they belong to typical coast stocks.

POPULATION, PAST AND PRESENT 287

valley for about 140 miles of its length, but have no camps
much above the mouth of the Iskut. Another branch called
the Takus claim the country along the main Taku River, the
Nakina River, and all the sources of the Taku towards Atlin
and Teslin Lakes. A band make their home around Teslin
Lake and range via Nasutlin River over to the head of the
Liard. Another small band live on the Big Salmon River, and
remnants of a third band, called the Tagish, reside in the neigh-
bourhood of Atlin Lake. Although more or less intermarried
with Athapascans, they nearly all speak the Tlingit language.

2. The Kitksan : one of the three main divisions of the
Chimmesyan or Tsimshian family. They occupy all the
country along the upper Skeena River above the canon, and
are closely related to the Niska.

3. An Iroquois band, occupying part of the country about
the head-waters of the Eraser River, and east through the
Yellowhead Pass to the sources of the Athabaska River.
This band appears to have originated about ninety years ago
by the settlement of some Iroquois trappers in the country
west of the Yellowhead, and developed through intermarriage
with the neighbouring Shuswap and Cree to be a mixture of
these tribes with Iroquois and French elements.

The Cree of the Algonquian stock, and the Stony or
Assiniboin of the Siouan stock, claim some hunting grounds
within the eastern boundary of British Columbia, but neither
of them appears to have had any permanent camps or head-
quarters within the province.

Population, Past and Present

All the interior tribes have decreased in number since the
advent of the whites, and at the present time are only about
one-third as numerous as in former times. Sixty or seventy
years ago the Indian population of the interior was probably
at least 38,000, of which about 20,000 were Salish, 12,000
Athapascan, and 6000 were of other stocks. The present
population is estimated at 11,500, divided about as follows :
SaHsh, 6000 or less ; Athapascans, between 3000 and 3500 ;
Kutenai, between 500 and 600; Kitksan, between iioo and

288 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

1200 ; Tlingit and others, about 200. In the early sixties
many tribes were reduced one-half by an epidemic of small-
pox, and some bands were practically exterminated. Since
then other epidemics, venereal diseases and intoxicants intro-
duced by the whites have gradually diminished their numbers.
The sudden changes in their methods of living, forced upon
them by new conditions, resulted in the breaking down of
almost all their laws and customs and in the loss of authority
by their elders and chiefs. The removal of the old restraints
undermined their power of resistance and left them prac-
tically without protection against the evils of the white man's
civilization, resulting in both moral and physical degenera-
tion. They had no adequate guidance or protection from
the white men who had forced the new conditions upon them,
and the change in life was too abrupt and far-reaching for
them to adapt themselves to it with readiness. Of late years
the Dominion government and church missions have done
something in the way of providing education and medical
attendance, but these provisions have been quite inadequate.
Where the conditions are favourable, the Indians appear to
have recovered their lost ground to a considerable degree,
holding their own in population, and showing even a slight
increase in numbers in some places. There are also signs of
moral improvement, particularly in those bands more or less
remote from the main settlements of the whites.

Physical Characteristics and Temperament

The physical characteristics of the interior people vary a
good deal from tribe to tribe and even within the same tribe,
as might be expected in people belonging to different stocks,
living in different environments and, in some cases, inter-
marrying with alien neighbours. Several distinct types can
be recognized. Statures, on the whole, are higher in the
east and south, and lower towards the west, the smallest
natives living near the lower Eraser River. The following
average statures of adult males are based chiefly on the
investigations of Dr Boas :

The Southern and Eastern Shuswap and the Okinagan,

o
o

H
O

o
p^

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 289

about 169 cm. ; the Senijextee, probably about the same ; the
Kutenai, 169 cm.; the Shuswap of the North Thompson River,
167 cm., and those of Eraser River, 166 cm. or less. The
Ntlakyapamuk of the Thompson and Nicola Rivers average
about 166 cm., while those bands along the Eraser River
range between 161 and 164 cm., decreasing in height towards
the west. Statures decrease in like manner among the Lillooet,
who average between 164 and 165 cm. along the Eraser
River, where they border on Ntlakyapamuk and Shuswap,
whilst westwards along Seaton and Anderson Lakes they
decrease to between 162 and 163 cm., and become still shorter
towards Harrison Lake. Of Athapascan tribes the Tsilkotin
are probably the shortest, averaging 165 cm. or less. Accord-
ing to Eather Morice, the Carriers of Stuart Lake are 166
cm., and probably none of the Carrier bands will average
any lower than this. Statures between 166 and 168 cm. will
probably be the average of the Athapascans farther north.
The Kitksan probably average about 167 cm. Most of the
southern interior Indians belong to the prevailing physical
type of the Salish of the interior plateaus. Dr Boas says of
the Shuswaps :

The Shuswap represent a type which is found all over
the interior of British Columbia, Idaho, Washington and
Oregon so far as they are inhabited by Salishan and
Sahaptin tribes. Their stature is approximately 168 cm.
The head is shorter than that of the tribes of northern
British Columbia or of the Indians of the plains. The
face has the average height of the Indian face. The nose
is high and wide and has the characteristic Indian form,
which is rare in most parts of the coast.

Again he says :

The Kamloops and other Shuswap tribes are closely
allied to the Thompson River type, but it seems that
the dimensions of their heads are a little larger, their
statures a little higher.

The latter type appears to embrace most of the Ntlakya-
pamuk and Lillooet. Dr Boas describes it as follows :

The Thompson River type is characterized by a very
small head, both diameters being much shorter than

VOL. XXI T

290 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

those found on the coast, while the proportions are nearly
the same. The transversal diameter of the face is much
shorter than that of the coast Indians, being nearly the
same as that found among the Indians on the plains.
The face is much lower than that of the Kwakiutl type,
and also slightly lower than that of the northern type.
The nose is convex and heavy ; its point is much longer
and heavier than the points of the noses of the coast
types.

The Kutenai appear to approximate more closely to the
type of the western plains. No systematic studies have been
made of physical types obtaining among the Athapascans of
British Columbia with the exception of the Tsilkotin, who
appear to resemble the Shuswap of Eraser River. Dr Boas
says of them : * The Chilcotin resemble the Shuswap much,
but their faces are flatter, their noses not so highly elevated
over the face.' According to Father Morice, the Athapascan
tribes of British Columbia exhibit numerous points of dis-
similarity in their physical characteristics. Speaking of the
Carriers and others, he says :

While the Carriers are in stature perhaps above the
average, and stoutly built, with coarse features, thick
lips, prominent chins, indices generally more brachy-
cephalic than otherwise, and noses straight with extended
nostrils, the Sekanais have fine, almost delicate, features,
wiry limbs, well formed, and sometimes rather long noses,
thin lips slightly protruding, and very small eyes deeply
sunk in their sockets. Their size and weight are certainly
much below the average. On the other hand the Chilcotins
and Babines are short and broad, with heavy features,
and flattish faces, though the women of the latter have
abnormally round and fat heads, with remarkably thick
lips. The fair sex is more attractive among the Nahane,
who enjoy an even whiter complexion which in many
cases is not far from rosy.

The Kitksan appear to have the general type of head
and face common to the Indians of Nass River and the
Tsimshian and Haida of the coast, and thus belong to
what Dr Boas calls the northern type (on the coast of British
Columbia). He says of them :

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 291

Among the northern type we find a very large head.
The transversal diameter is very great. The same may
be said of the face, which has an enormous breadth. The
height of the face is moderate, and therefore its form
appears decidedly low. The nose is often concave or
straight, seldom convex. The noses of the women are
decidedly concave. Its elevation over the face is slight.
The point of the nose is short.

Generally speaking, the interior people are taller and of
a slighter and more athletic build than those of the coast.
They are also darker skinned, although the colour of skin
varies among individuals in every tribe. The Athapascans
of the north are lighter skinned than the Salish and Kutenai
of the south. Individuals with wavy hair and others with
brownish hair are occasionally to be met with in some tribes.
Among the Salish, light hair is often coupled with very dark
skin. Among all the tribes there appears to be a greater
tendency towards growth of hair on the face and body than
among the plains tribes. The so-called mongoloid type of
features and eyes are much more common in the north than
in the south. In temperament and mental and moral traits
there is just as much divergence between tribes and among
individuals as in physical characteristics. The Kutenai
and most of the Athapascan and Salish tribes have been
praised for their honesty and hospitality. All the Atha-
pascan tribes are noted for their receptiveness and propensity
to copy from strangers. They appear to be of a more
mercurial and emotional temperament than the Salish and
Kutenai, and many of them are of a lively, talkative disposi-
tion. Father Morice remarks : ' The Carriers are proud,
touchy and naturally progressive, the Sekanais naive, honest
and credulous, the Babines loquacious and stubbornly
attached to their ancestral customs, while the Chilcotins are
energetic, violent, and somewhat prone to profligacy.' His
description of the Carriers would also be quite applicable
to the Tahltans. Of the Salish tribes the Shuswap are
reticent and self-contained, and their women somewhat
reserved ; the Ntlakyapamuk are more sociable, obliging,
outspoken and easy-going. The ethical standards of the

292 • INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

latter were high, as also was the general morality of all the
Salish tribes, before the advent of the whites. The Kutenai
are distinguished for sobriety and the higher morality of their
women. The tribes of the interior are possessed of a rather
high general intelligence, and the reasoning powers of many
individuals are very good. Many of the men are excellent
speakers, and nearly every one has a fine ear for music.
Oratory and singing were formerly much practised.

Migrations and Tribal Movements

Migrations no doubt occurred throughout the interior in
early times, but nearly all traditions of them have disappeared.
According to legends still extant among the Ntlakyapamuk,
their remote ancestors came originally from some place to the
south. There appears to be some evidence, at least in later
days, that the Ntlakyapamuk language spread from around
Lytton up and down the neighbouring river valleys ; the
Shuswap from the vicinity of the west end of Shuswap Lake ;
the Okinagan from the lower part of Okanagan River ; and
the Lillooet from around Pemberton Meadows. These appear
to have been the districts from which the peoples speak-
ing these dialects spread, and in course of time gradually
occupied all the territories known to have been recently
inhabited by them. It is by some considered probable that
the Salish tribes originally came from farther south and east,
but whether they were the first inhabitants in the parts of
the interior of British Columbia where we now find them,
or have dispossessed Athapascan or other tribes from those
parts, is a question on which so far there is practically no
light. As stated already, an Athapascan tribe occupied the
upper Nicola and upper Similkameen, but have lately been
completely absorbed by the Ntlakyapamuk. Although said
by some to be descendants of a Tsilkotin war-party that
arrived there about one hundred and fifty years ago, there is
other evidence to show that these people at one time occupied
probably the entire Nicola and Similkameen valleys, and
must have been located there for a longer period than one
hundred and fifty years. Archaeological researches, conducted

INTERMARRIAGE 293

in parts of the Eraser, Thompson and Nicola valleys, have
brought to light no remains other than what can be ascribed
to the immediate ancestors of the present inhabitants. So far
no different type of man has been discovered, nor any remains
showing overlapping of cultures and peoples, excepting to a
slight extent along the present lines of contact between tribes.
Nor has anything been found to prove that the present tribes
have been there for any great period of time. Several migra-
tions and movements have taken place within comparatively
recent times : a band of Shuswaps, now called Kinbaskets,
shifted to within the borders of Kootenay territory less than
one hundred years ago, and remained there as a distinct
people ; the Nicola valley was gradually occupied by Ntlak-
yapamuk and Okinagan since the advent of the horse ; the
Shuswap blood and language was slowly but surely displaced
by Ntlakyapamuk in the Thompson valley between Spences
Bridge and Ashcroft, and the same thing happened in the
Eraser valley around Eountain and Pavilion by Lillooet ;
some Tsilkotin have moved eastward since i860 and occupied
old Shuswap grounds. Traditions are also current of an
invasion of Shuswap territory on the North Thompson by a
large body of Sekani in the latter half of the eighteenth cen-
tury, and of their finally having been driven out by Shuswap
and Cree parties. At a still earlier date Shuswaps are said
to have occupied for a number of years the central part of the
Lillooet country. In the Similkameen valley at the present
time the Okinagan is gradually displacing the Ntlakyapamuk.
It appears to be certain that at least part of the Kutenai
formerly lived east of the Rockies.

Intermarriage

Intermarriage between the various tribes of the interior
was frequent in neighbourhoods where they came in contact.
In the organization of most tribes there were no restrictions
in this respect, and in the families of chiefs intermarriage
with strangers was encouraged. The Lillooet intermarried
with their neighbours of the coast more often than any other
interior tribe, and thus acquired many of the habits and

294 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

customs of the coast Indians. The tribes nearest the Rockies
had less opportunity to intermarry with their eastern neigh-
bours, but there were instances of the Kutenai marrying
Blackfoot, Assiniboin and Flathead, and members of the
Shuswap sometimes married Crees. There is little doubt
that most tribes brought in extraneous blood by marriage
with women captured in war. Among the Ntlakyapamuk,
Okinagan and Shuswap the majority of these slaves came
from the lower Lillooet and the coast, but some were from
the Athapascan and other tribes.

The Native Shelters and Dwellings

The winter dwelling of the Salish Indians was a semi-
subterranean lodge, formed by a circular excavation, over
which a conical roof of timbers was built and covered with
earth for warmth. These huts varied from twenty to fifty
feet in diameter, and the usual entrance to them was by
means of a ladder or notched log passing down through
the smoke -hole at the apex. There was sometimes an
opening on the south side as well. Certain families of the
Tsilkotin and Southern Carrier tribes also lived in dwellings
of this type. During the season of mild weather mat lodges
were generally used, and most of these were of conical design.
Single and double lean-tos, some of great length, were erected
at fishing points and other scenes of large gatherings. The
Kutenai lived in mat lodges of both types. The common
dwelling among the Athapascans was of the double lean-to
style, constructed of poles and covered with coniferous
boughs. Some of the Western Lillooets and Carriers dwelt
in houses made of planks, somewhat similar in design to
those of the coast Indians. The Tahltans built large struc-
tures of poles and bark, which were used partly for fish-drying
purposes and partly as dwellings at the chief salmon fishing
places. Caches for fish and other provisions were made of
logs and poles on the ground or were raised on posts. Many
were roofed with bark. Among the Salish most caches con-
sisted of circular pits in the ground lined with bark and
covered with poles and grass. Sweat-houses were used by

TRADE AND INTERCOURSE OF THE TRIBES 29s

all the tribes, and were made of a framework of wands
covered with bark, mats or robes, if temporary, and with
earth if intended for permanent use. The southern tribes
used separate lodges for pubescent girls and menstruating
women. These were conical and covered with boughs of fir,
and sometimes with bark and skins. The young men of the
tribes, while undergoing a course of training, lived in the sweat-
houses. Tipis of skin were used in British Columbia only
by the Beavers and those Athapascan bands in the extreme
east, who probably adopted them from the Cree. A few tipis
of buffalo skin, imported from the south and east, were used by
the Kutenais and Okinagans. None are to be seen to-day, for
canvas tipis and tents of drilling have long supplanted them.

Trade and Intercourse of the Tribes

The tribes of the interior had frequent intercourse with
the Indians of the coast and of the plains, and also with the
tribes of the plateaus north and south of them. As the
great mountain chains hemmed them in east and west, the
outlets for trade in these directions were confined to a few
points where rivers had forced their way through these
barriers, or where low passes existed. Along some of these
routes an active inter- tribal trade was carried on. In early
times the Indians usually travelled on foot from place to
place. Canoe transportation was employed wherever pos-
sible or convenient, but ordinarily goods were carried on
people's backs, supported by tump-lines passing over the
head. These lines were usually straps of hide, but were
sometimes woven of hair or bark. Dogs were employed for
packing by many tribes, and among the northern Atha-
pascan they were also used for drawing sleds in the winter
time. After the introduction of horses, which were brought
in from the south about the middle of the eighteenth century,
travel became easier, and all the southern tribes soon learned
to ride and pack. North of the Tsilkotin, however, owing
to unfavourable environment, the tribes never became horse-
people, and horses are scarce there even at the present
day. The canoes used in the interior were of three kinds :

296 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

dug-outs, hollowed out of cedar, cottonwood, and pine logs ;
canoes made from bark of white pine, spruce and occasionally
birch ; and skin-boats made by stretching hide over a wooden
frame. Dug-outs were used principally in the western parts
of the country bordering on the coast tribes, being for the
most part copies of craft own'ed by the latter. After the
introduction of iron tools they were in more general use.
Bark canoes were of two types: the so-called * sturgeon-
nose ' kind, with points at the water line, used by the Ntlakya-
pamuk, Okinagan, Senijextee, Shuswap and Kutenai ; and
those approximating to eastern and Yukon River types, used
by all the Athapascan tribes and most of the Lillooet. Skin-
boats were generally of the same shape as the Athapascan
bark canoes and were used chiefly by the Nahane. Among
the Okinagan and Ntlakyapamuk and some other southern
tribes, a temporary canoe was made occasionally of several
thicknesses of tule tent-mats spread over a frame. Rafts of
bundles of mats -or of bunches of tules tied together, were also
employed in some localities. Rafts of logs and poles were
sometimes used by all the tribes. Snow-shoes were much
employed for travelling in deep snow, especially in the north,
and were of several different styles. Those used by the
Ntlakyapamuk, Okinagan, Senijextee and Kutenai were of
the Columbia River type — small, round-headed, and without
cross-bars. Those in vogue among the Athapascans, most
of the Shuswap, and many Lillooet were much larger, with
finer meshes, and had wooden cross-bars. The style called
* shovel-nose,' lately much used by the Tahltan, appears to
have been introduced originally from Alaska through the
Taku tribe.

Clothing and Personal Decoration

The full dress of men among the southern interior tribes
consisted of moccasins, long leggings, breech-cloth, belt, shirt
and head-dress. Many men when indoors or when going
about the camp in warm weather, or when engaged in games,
wore simply a breech-cloth or a breech-cloth and moccasins.
The common style of moccasin consisted of a single piece of
skin folded over and sewed along the outside of the foot and

CLOTHING AND PERSONAL DECORATION 297

heel. To this was sewed a short gaiter, which folded around
the ankle and was held in place by the moccasin strings.
Another style, almost as common, had the seam down the
toe and was provided with a small tongue-piece. It was
similar to the ordinary moccasin used by certain Athapascan
and Algonquian tribes. Leggings reached to the hip and
were fastened with loops to a belt around the waist. Nearly
all were decorated with cut fringe at the sides. Old men
sometimes wore an apron consisting of a long piece of skin
hanging in front. Breech-cloths were of several kinds. A
piece of skin passing between the legs with long flaps hanging
before and behind over the belt was worn, and also the same
with short flaps, a single flap in front, or without flaps and
fastened at the sides. Shirts, like most other clothing, were
made of dressed leather of the deer and elk and other animals.
They were commonly of two styles. One kind reached
almost to the knees, and was made of two doe-skins, and the
other sort reached to the hips and was made of a single buck-
skin. Head-bands and caps of fur, bird-skin, and buckskin
were worn, and many of these were ornamented with feathers.
Shamans, chiefs and warriors had distinct styles of bonnets
or head-dresses. Hunters often wore head-bands with a
feather set at each side, or caps made of the head-skins of
deer and other animals. Sometimes caps were set with the
horns of deer ; and small ponchos, made of entire skins of
coyote, wolf or fox, were worn by some. Sleeveless shirts,
laced at the sides, made of buffalo or other skin, were also
in vogue. Women's moccasins were similar to the men's.
Their leggings reached from the ankle to the knee. Their
skirts or dresses were loose and reached to the ankle or half-
way below the knees. The skirts were of several styles,
some being made of two skins and some of three. A belt
was generally worn to keep them in place. Some shirts of
both men and women had full sleeves, but many were without
true sleeves. The head-bands and caps were of dressed
skin, and the caps usually had a short tassel or were decorated
with fringes at the crown. Robes, ponchos and cloaks made
from the skins of marmot, otter, coyote, deer, buffalo and
other animals were much worn by both sexes. Robes of

298 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

woven rabbit skins were also used, especially in the winter,
and in the western part of the country robes of woven goat
hair were common. Some of the elderly women, especially
those of the poorer class, wore, instead of dresses, a skirt
reaching to a little below the knees, the lower half of which
was cut in a long fringe. In the neighbourhood of the coast
tribes many of the poorer class used robes, ponchos, skirts,
caps, and socks woven of the bark of sage, willow, and cedar,
or of rushes. These were often ornamented with buckskin,
fur, and feathers, and the best clothes of both sexes were
elaborately decorated with fringes, quill-work, beads, shells,
and painted designs. The clothing of some of the men was
fringed with hair and ermine skins. Necklaces of shells,
seeds, beads and quills were much used by women for adorn-
ment, and men also wore necklaces of claws, teeth, or bones.
The clothing of the northern tribes was generally the same as
that worn in the south, but there was a considerable differ-
ence in details of cut and decoration. Garments of fur were
naturally much more used in the north than in the south,
and the leggings used by women were longer. Mittens and
fur caps were used everywhere during the winter. Earrings
of shells and beads, and hair ornaments of various kinds
were common to all the tribes, both north and south. Nose
ornaments of shell, bone, or quills were worn by the women
of practically all the tribes. Among the Babines and Kit-
ksans labrets were also worn. Painting of the face or body
was a universal practice of both sexes, red being the colour
commonly used. Tattooing of the face and wrists, and
occasionally of other parts of the body, was more or less
common, particularly among women. The usual style of
hair-dressing in the southern interior was to wear the hair
in two braids, but several different styles were common in all
tribes. Women generally wore the ends of their hair braids
tied to each other behind the back, but the men usually
allowed their braids to hang in front of the shoulders.
Warriors frequently tied their hair in a knot on the top of
the head, or at the nape of the neck, and pubescent girls wore
theirs in knots at the ears.

INDUSTRIES

299

Industries

The tools of the interior Indians were usually made of
stone, antler, bone, or wood. Trees were chopped down with
antler chisels driven by stone hand-hammers. Adzes of
serpentine and jade and knives of chert were common.
Stone and wooden mortars and pestles were used in the south,
and spoons were made of wood, horn and bark. The dress-
ing of animal skins was an important industry in every tribe,
and most of this work was done by the women. A deer's
ulna or the rib of a horse was used by the southern tribes
for fleshing, and the skins were afterwards softened by severe
rubbing with a sharpened stick or with a stone scraper
mounted on the end of a wooden handle. Skins were some-
times smoked, especially those intended to be used for mocca-
sins. Sewing was usually done with a bone awl, and thread
was made of sinew from the backs of animals or of Indian
hemp and other kinds of vegetable fibre. Coiled basketry
of split cedar roots and of spruce roots was made by the
Salish tribes, the Lower Kutenai, and the Tsilkotin, but the
industry appears to have been unknown to the most northern
Athapascan tribes of British Columbia. These baskets were
ornamented with strips of grass and bark, and designs were
produced by the process known as imbrication. The nearest
coast tribes who make similar baskets appear to have learned
the art from the Lillooet and Ntlakyapamuk ; and the Tsil-
kotin also may have adopted it from the Shuswap or Lillooet.
Birch-bark baskets were made by all the tribes. Many were
ornamented about the rims with stitching of spruce root,
quills and dyed hair, and some had designs and pictographs
incised in the bark around the sides. Bags were woven of
twine, bark, thong, and grass. Wallets of twined weaving of
the Sahaptin type were made by the Okinagan and Ntlakya-
pamuk. The Athapascan tribes made game or carrying bags
of babiche, using the coil without foundation weave. Many
kinds of bags Used for various purposes were made of dressed
skin. Some of these were highly ornamented with quill and
bead work. Mats of tule and rushes were manufactured by

300 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

all the southern tribes and were of various types ; but the
Athapascan tribes, with the exception of the Tsilkotin, did
not weave mats. Blankets of twisted strips of rabbit skins
were evidently made by all tribes, and some of goat's wool
were woven by the Lillooet and the Lower Ntlakyapamuk.
Bags and parfleches of raw hide were made by the Salish
tribes, and by the Kutenai after the horse had been intro-
duced among them. Many of these were painted with
designs in colours. Saddles and all horse equipment were
similar to what were used among the tribes in the neighbour-
ing States and on the plains. Pipes were made of soapstone.
Originally most of them were of the tubular or straight type,
but these were later superseded entirely by pipes of the elbow
type. Carving on wood and stone was but little practised
and was always rude in execution. None of the interior
tribes manufactured pottery. Paints and dyes of several
kinds were used by all, but their decorative art was quite
distinct from that of the coast tribes. Wallets were occa-
sionally woven of goat's wool and of bear and buffalo hair,
but dog's hair was never used in manufactures as it was upon
the coast.

The Food Supply of the Interior Tribes

The Indians of the interior of British Columbia subsisted
principally by hunting and fishing, and those living near the
chief salmon streams made fish their staple diet. On the
banks of the Eraser and other rivers were numerous villages,
which were occupied in the north during the summer season
by the southern tribes, and in the south during winter by the
northern tribes. The Sekani and the majority of the Nahane
were nomadic and had no permanent residences. Even among
the tribes which had more or less permanent homes there
were many families which were migratory in their habits.

The methods of fishing were with nets or traps or by spear-
ing. The spears used were of two types — a. harpoon spear
with single or double points, fitted with barbs which became
detached when a fish was struck ; and a three-pronged
spear which was used when the fish was swimming directly

FOOD SUPPLY er THE INTERIOR TRIBES 301

below. Gaff -hooks were used in pools and at weirs, and hooks
and lines were also employed.

A great variety of snares and traps were made by the
various tribes for capturing large and small game, and dogs
were used for hunting deer and elk. The more skilful
hunters secured large game by still-hunting with bow and
arrow, and sometimes a large number of Indians partici-
pated in driving, ringing and corralling the animals. Driving
game over steep precipices was another method employed
in capturing it. The Lillooets were the only tribe that
employed pitfalls in hunting. Among the Ntlakyapamuk
and Okinagan enclosures for trapping game were made by
stretching nets between patches of bushes in the form of
a half-moon or circle. Many Kutenai and some Okinagan
went on buffalo-hunting trips to the plains.

Beavers were caught in nets, or were speared with lances
having notched bone heads. Eagles, which v^ere highly
valued for their tail-feathers, were difficult to secure. In
the south a common method of catching them was to con-
struct a pit and cover it with brush. Bait for the eagle was
placed on top, and when the bird came for it its legs were
seized by an Indian concealed within the pit. Young eagles
were sometimes caught in their nests by men who descended
the cliffs with ropes.

With the exception of a little tobacco, grown by the
Kutenai, no agriculture was practised among the tribes.
Tobacco seeds were sown by the Ntlakyapamuk around
camping places, but were not cultivated in any way. Roots
of many kinds of plants were dug by the women, and among
the southern tribes formed an important part of the food
supply. The implement used for digging was made of a
bent piece of hardwood with a handle of birch wood or of
ram's horn ; sometimes it was entirely of antler. Nuts and
seeds of several kinds were gathered. All kinds of edible
berries were used in their season, and service-berries, soap-
berries and huckleberries were cured for the winter. In the
south they were generally spread on mats and dried in
the sun. Some varieties were mashed with wooden pestles,
kneaded into cakes and dried. Several kinds of roots were

302 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

cooked In pits in the ground, with or without steaming, and
afterwards threaded on strings and dried. Tradition says
that eggs and meat were also sometimes cooked in this manner.
Fish, especially salmon, were split and dried for winter use.
Among the tribes living along the Cascades, where the climate
was damper than farther east, curing by heat of fire and
smoke was resorted to, the fish being hung in houses, or in
shelters erected for the purpose. Meat of large game was
jerked by the ordinary methods employed on the plains. In
some places both salmon and meat pemmican were pre-
pared for food. Salmon oil was preserved in sealed fish-
skin bottles by all the tribes living near good salmon streams.
Both fish and meat were roasted on spits, and certain kinds
of roots and nutlets were baked in hot ashes. A great deal
of food was boiled in kettles by means of hot stones. The
vessels used were chiefly of basketry in the south and of bark
in the north, but occasionally the paunches of animals were
also used as kettles. Fire was produced by twirling between
the hands a small sharpened bit of dry wood set in a notched
stick.

War : Weapons of Offence and Defence

War was frequent between the various interior tribes, and
also between them and the neighbouring tribes of the coast
and the plains. Although battles were generally in the
nature of raids and surprises, determined fighting sometimes
occurred and open attacks were made. The Ntlakyapamuk
fought chiefly with some of the coast tribes of Puget Sound
and the lower Eraser, and with the Lillooet and Shuswap,
but not with the Okinagan, who were sometimes their allies.
The Lillooet fought principally with the Ntlakyapamuk,
Shuswap and Tsilkotin ; the Shuswap with the Lillooet, Ntla-
kyapamuk, Okinagan, Tsilkotin, Sekani, Cree and Kutenai ;
and both were generally friendly with the Carrier and Assini-
boin. The Senijextee were sometimes at war with the Lower
Kutenai ; the Carriers and Tsilkotins occasionally fought
each other. The Tahltans warred with the Niska and Taku
tribes, and the Kutenai frequently fought with the Black-

WEAPONS OF OFFENCE AND DEFENCE 303

feet. Cree war-parties sometimes raided the Sekani country
to the confines of the Carriers and across the Shuswap region
as far as the Eraser River. In like manner Shuswaps occa-
sionally crossed the Rockies by the Yellowhead Pass into the
Cree country. The weapons used in warfare were bows and
arrows, lances, knives, daggers, and clubs of various kinds.
A war club, consisting of a stone enclosed in hide attached
to a short wooden handle, was very common among the Salish
and the Kutenai tribes. Other kinds used by these tribes
were : a wooden club with a point of antler set in the striking
end ; an antler spike or a chipped stone placed crossways in
the end of a wooden handle ; a club made of stone, wood,
copper, antler or bone in a single piece with sharp striking
edges ; and a club of wood or bone, with saw-like edge.
Some of the Lower Ntlakyapamuk and Lillooet used a hard-
wood club with a round head, or a head consisting of a knot
with a natural spike. Daggers were of chipped stone, antler,
bone, or of wood tipped with stone. Lances were about five
feet in length with stone and antler heads. Arrows were
usually made of service-berry wood or rosewood. A number of
different types were common. Harpoon arrows with detach-
able heads of bone or wood were used for rabbits ; a notched
arrow without head for squirrels ; arrows with three-pronged
heads for birds, and others with a cross piece of wood at the
end for fish. Arrows used for big game had leaf -shaped
stone heads, and some had grooves along the shaft to facili-
tate the dripping of blood. Many war arrows had detach-
able foreshafts. The heads of war arrows were usually in-
serted in a line parallel to the nock ; those of hunting arrows
were placed at right angles to it, to allow them to penetrate
more easily between the ribs. The feathering of arrows
consisted of three split feathers applied spirally, or two whole
feathers laid on flat. Shafts of arrows were finished with
smoothers made of sandstone. The Salish tribes often
poisoned the heads of their war arrows. The bows of the
southern tribes were short and usually made of juniper, dog-
wood or yew. Some were made of ram's horn. All the
best bows were sinew-backed and covered with snake-skin.
They were of several different shapes. Some were narrow

304 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

and round, others wide and flat, some had a single curve, and
others a double curve, some had upturned ends, and others had
the ends turned downwards. The arrow release was generally
primary. Quivers were made of skins of wolverine, otter, wolf,
and other animals, and were of several styles. Hand-guards
of skin were used when shooting with certain kinds of bows.
Among the Athapascans arrows were generally made of
service-berry wood, and the feathering appears to have been
flat. Arrow heads were of bone, antler, and stone (mostly
obsidian among the Tsilkotin and Tahltan). A war arrow
with detachable antler head was used, but none with detach-
able foreshafts. For birds, an arrow with thick, blunt point
was much in vogue. Arrows were not poisoned. Bows were
made of maple, juniper, and other woods. Among the Carriers
and Tsilkotin they were about four feet in length, but among
the Sekani and Nahane about five and a half feet. The best
bows of the Carrier and Tsilkotin were sinew-backed like
those of the Salish, but the tribes farther north used a wrap-
ping of sinew. A crossbow was in Use among Sekani chil-
dren. A cuirass made of slats or rods of hardwood was worn
in time of battle by some warriors of all the Salish tribes,
and by the Tsilkotins, Carriers and Tahltans. Skin tunics
reaching nearly to the knees were also used for protection
against arrows. For the same purpose oblong skin shields
about five feet in length were in use, also oval shields made
of rods of hardwood twined together. Small board shields
were in use in the Salish tribes, as well as small circular shields
of hide. In some places earth-covered houses of logs, built
over pits connecting with underground passages, the entrances
to which were hidden, were erected as places of refuge.
Stockaded forts were also built by some tribes.

Games and Pastimes

When not busy in hunting or fishing or in raiding their
neighbours, numerous athletic sports and games of chance
were engaged in by all the tribes. The Lehal game of hiding
bones was popular with all, and according to Father Morice
it was probably introduced among the Athapascans from

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 305

Algonquian or Salish sources. The game of hiding sticks
in the grass also appears to have been universal. A dice
game, in which marked teeth of the beaver or marmot were
used, was common ; and some tribes used buttons for the
same purpose. Dart games of various kinds were also popular.
Another sport, confined to the Salish tribes and the Kutenai,
was played by throwing a lance or rod in front of a beaded
ring. The Athapascans had a different game of throwing
rods, and also played a variety of the snow-snake game.
Ball-playing was popular among all the southern tribes, and
many kinds of shooting games were engaged in. Tug-of-
war, wrestling, jumping, running, putting the stone, and
swimming were popular forms of athletics everywhere, and
among the women cat*s-cradle games, played with strings
on the fingers, were universal. There were also many kinds
of games for the children. Singing and dancing, accom-
panied by drumming and the beating of sticks, were popular
pastimes among all the Indians of the interior.

Social Organization

There were two main forms of social organization among
the interior tribes. The western tribes adopted a type
based on the complicated system of the coast tribes, while
the eastern peoples maintained the simple organization
characteristic of the plateau tribes in general, which was
no doubt the form originally followed by all the interior
tribes. Accepted custom and public opinion were the only
laws among the Salish tribes that adhered to their original
organization. As a rule the family was the basis of society,
the elder men being always the leaders, advisers, protectors,
and practically the rulers. A group of families, generally
related to each other and making their headquarters in
certain districts, composed the local community, the elders
of each family acting as an informal advisory council, which
was presided over by a chief whose position was hereditary
in most bands. The chief was the acknowledged head of the
band and his advice on all questions was listened to with
deference. Through him, also, matters affecting the com-

VOL. XXI U

306 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

munity were negotiated with strangers, and he was expected
to supervise all things for the benefit of the band as a whole.
However, he had no real power without the practical aid of
all the people. If the hereditary chief proved incompetent,
a suitable successor was chosen from among his close relatives,
or, when necessary, from an entirely different family. In some
bands there were certain men who became prominent because
of their wealth, wisdom or their prowess in war, and these were
always consulted by the chief on matters of importance. In
the majority of bands there was a war-chief who was chosen
by election. If he failed in an expedition, he was likely to
be superseded in power before the next foray took place.
Aggregations of bands, based partly on geographical dis-
position and partly on ties of relationship and intercourse,
formed the tribal divisions, and these in turn the tribe, the
chief basis of which was the community of language dis-
tinguishing it from surrounding peoples, and the general
assumption that all its members were at least distantly
related and had sprung originally from a common group.
The Interior Indians were accustomed to affiliate with one
band or another, according to inclination, convenience or
relationship. There were no e^ogamous groups, and there
were practically no restrictions on intermarriage, except
between close blood-relations. There were no privileged
classes, no hereditary nobility, no clan systems and no secret
societies. Nor were there any totemic institutions, as
among the coast tribes. Young women who were captured
in war and made slaves, became acknowledged members
of the tribe when they had borne children. Hunting terri-
tory was considered to belong to the whole tribe, there being
no private property In land, although in some bands certain
salmon fishing stations, deer-fence sites and eagle breeding
places were the sole property of families or individuals.
The earth and all that grew upon It, and all the game and fish
of the country, were the common property of the tribe. A
wife's property was separate from that of her husband.
The home generally belonged to the wife, and in case of death
the mother's property was Inherited by the daughters and
the father's by the sons. When there were no children, the

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

307

property of a deceased person passed to the nearest relatives,
males generally taking precedence of females.

The father had the first right in naming children, particu-
larly sons, but the names, which were hereditary in families,
were taken from both maternal and paternal lines. Some-
times family or individual names were sold or given away to
strangers.

The tribes arranged several varieties of social festivals,
at which there was much feasting, exchanging of presents,
dancing and games. Some of these gatherings were arranged
by formal invitation, and others were in the nature of surprise
parties. There were a few fixed festivals, which took place
invariably at certain seasons of the year.

The Kutenai had the same general social organization as
the Salish. Among the Athapascan tribes in the north-eastern
portion of the interior the social structure appears to have
been even more simple than among the Salish and Kutenai.
The tribes living north of the Ntlakyapamuk, and near the
coast people, copied the social organization of the latter,
each tribe following the particular form belonging to its
nearest coast neighbour. Thus the Tahltan followed the
customs of the Tlingit, the Carrier copied the Kitksan and
Tsimshian, and the Tsilkotin had many of the customs of
the Bella Coola. The system among the Shuswaps of Fraser
River had both northern and southern coast features, the
latter derived from the Lillooet and the former from the
Tsilkotin and Carrier. This social system was not intro-
duced among any of the bands much more than a hundred
years ago, and had not been fully adopted by some in 1858,
when the advent of the whites put an end to its further
growth. The most striking features of the system were the
clan organization, the division of the people into castes, the
formation of numerous secret societies with special songs,
rituals and dances, the use of crests, and the adoption in
some tribes of mother-right instead of father-right. The
hunting grounds were parcelled out between the clans, or in
some cases the nobles, the privileges of hunting, fishing and
trapping being controlled by them. In some places trading
was also a special privilege of either the clan or the nobility.

308 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

Cradles of the Infants

The carriers or cradles used by the southern tribes for
carrying their infants were of several varieties. Most of
the Shuswaps, some of the Ntlakyapamuk and Lillooets, and
a few people of other tribes used for babies cradles of birch
bark which were carried horizontally. The western bands
of the Ntlakyapamuk and Lillooet used cradles which were
constructed of coiled basketry. The Kutenai and Okinagan,
part of the Ntlakyapamuk and some of the Shuswap used
board carriers of several different styles. Skin carriers were
much used for transporting older children. They were con-
structed like a sleeveless shirt, with straps to pass between
the legs and fastened over the shoulders with thongs, a tump-
line attachment passing around the back and over the mother's
head. All the best bark carriers were covered with skin.
Different kinds of skin sacks and swaddling-clothes were
also in use. The Tsilkotin used a carrier made of willow
wands, which were covered with skin on the outside and fitted
with a board inside. Many cradles of the Tsilkotin, Lillooet
and Ntlakyapamuk were supplied with conduits of bark or
wood. Hammocks for babies were used in homes, particu-
larly by the Lillooet. Most families among the Ntlakya-
pamuk, Okinagan and other southern tribes had the custom
of attaching navel-string pouches to the heads of cradles.

Training the Young

A great many ceremonies were performed at the age of
puberty, especially among the Salish tribes. Adolescent
young people of both sexes were obliged to undergo hard
systems of training for the purpose of preparing them for
their future spheres in life. In some tribes the training ex-
tended over a number of years, and consisted largely of
physical exercises which were designed to make them healthy,
strong, active, and enduring. Some ceremonies were of a
religious character and were intended to assist the young in
acquiring special or supernatural powers.

BURIAL CUSTOMS

309

Marriage

Marriage appears to have been a rather simple and informal
affair among most of the Athapascan tribes, being chiefly a
matter of arrangement between the man and the parents of
his prospective bride, followed in most cases by the payment
of a certain amount of goods to the woman's relatives. The
most common form of marriage among the Salish was also
somewhat in the nature of purchase. When a union had
been arranged, the man and his relatives gave presents to
the woman's people, an equal amount being afterwards
returned to them. Feasts were given later by each group
of relatives to the other. Marriage by betrothal, in which
the girl's parents took the initiative, was also common.
Another form of marriage was by * touching,' a dance being
held at certain seasons to permit the young men and women
to choose life partners. A young man might choose a wife
at a certain period of the dance by taking hold of her belt or
by merely laying his hand upon her. If accepted, she allowed
him to dance with her to the end, when the couple were led
out before the people by the chief and proclaimed man and
wife. A girl could choose a man in the same way. Polygamy
was common in every tribe, the chiefs and wealthy men often
having several wives. Levirate also prevailed, and there
was a strong tendency among men in many tribes to marry
sisters.

Burial Customs

It was the universal custom among the southern tribes to
bury their dead. The body was bound up in mats or in
skins and interred in the ground or in rock-slides. Stones
were piled on the spot of burial, or a small tipi was erected
over it, and sometimes a pole was inserted at the head of the
grave to mark the place. Certain belongings of the deceased
were buried with the corpse, or were hung up or destroyed
at the grave. In some cases one or more of the dead man's
horses or dogs was slaughtered at the grave, or actually

310 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

buried with him, and occasionally slaves were also forced
to follow their master to the spirit land. The practice of
bundling and rewrapping the bones of deceased relatives
was practised by wealthy people among the Salish. Among
Athapascan tribes the Tsilkotin generally interred their
dead and built small log enclosures over the graves. The
Sekani and Eastern Nahane disposed of their dead on scaffolds,
or placed the bodies in hollow trees, covering them with piles
of brush or logs. The Babines, Carriers, and Tahltans
burned their dead, a custom they probably borrowed from
the neighbouring coast tribes. The most western bands of
the Lillooet and Ntlakyapamuk deposited their dead in
wooden vaults or boxes above ground and erected wooden
images of the deceased at the graves. This custom was also
borrowed from the coast tribes. In the south-west part of
the interior canoes were sometimes placed over graves and
grave goods placed in them, or underneath them if the canoe
was inverted.

Religion

The religion of the interior tribes may be described as
a sort of animism, or nature-worship, based largely on the
belief that a certain mysterious power pervaded all nature,
its manifestations varying in different objects as to kind and
degree. It was the effort of the Indians to obtain as much
as possible of this power from those animals and objects in
nature that appeared to possess it in the greatest degree
or that manifested the type of power considered the most
valuable. Thus the sun and day-dawn were among the
chief objects of veneration and supplication, as were certain
mountain peaks, the thunder and rocks and trees. In the
animal kingdom such creatures as the eagle, raven, owl, wolf
and grizzly bear were venerated, and young men tried to
obtain them for manitous or guardian spirits. The acquisi-
tion of power from the spirits was generally accompanied by
the receiving of songs. The bulk of the Ntlakyapamuk
music is supposed to have been originated in this way. The
spirit of the sweat-bath was looked upon as a deity of great
power, and was prayed to by Indians who were purifying

RELIGION

311

themselves before embarking upon some important under-
taking. This spirit was frequently supplicated as an inter-
mediary and asked to obtain power from animals as well as
to bestow his own. He was also asked at times to take away
the power of animals and enemies, in order that they might
fall easy victims to the supplicant. A manitou dance was
regularly performed among the southern tribes, the parti-
cipants dancing, singing their manitou songs in turn, and
giving exhibitions of powers they claimed to have obtained
from their manitous. A dance was also held at the summer
and winter solstices, during which prayers were offered to
the sun. Everything was supposed to have a soul, and the
soul was thought to possess a shadow which remained on
earth as a ghost for some time after the real soul had departed.
Souls were supposed to go to the spirit land, which most
tribes claimed lay underground, and to the west, the trail to
which was guarded at several points by spirits who turned
back the souls of persons whose time had not come to die.
Farther on the trail entered a valley and reached a river
spanned by a log, which rolled over whenever souls attempted
to step on it. Only the souls of persons whose time had come
to join the shades could cross it. Sickness was supposed to
be caused by the soul leaving the body, and as long as it
remained absent the victim remained ill. Shamans, who
claimed to see souls, or the tracks of souls, when other people
could not, were employed to search for the lost soul and return
it to the body. They might find it wandering about the
earth or gone on the long trail to the shades. As soon as it
was returned to the body the patient recovered, but if the
soul remained away too long the victim died. The spirit
land was supposed to be ruled by a chief, who was a very old
man and had existed from the beginning of time. He was
claimed by some to have been the creator of the world. The
coyote, who is the combined hero and trickster in the legends
of the southern tribes, was said to have been sent by the
* old-one,* or chief, to set the world to rights, and many
stories are told of his travels and exploits while performing
this task. Eventually the chief visited the world to examine
the coyote's work, and afterwards both of them disappeared.

312 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

It was supposed that they would return some time from the
east, as the sun does,^ and bring the shades with them, and
henceforth there would be no more death or separation. A
big * praying * dance was formerly held by all bands at
irregular intervals, at which prayers were offered to the
spirit chief. The object was to hasten the reunion of the
living with the shades, as well as to make the living more
acceptable to the dead and to preserve the supplicants from
harm. Several varieties of war dances were performed, in-
cluding a victory or scalp dance, but little is now remem-
bered of the latter. One variety of dance was performed by
men about to go to war, and another by their wives and
relatives during their absence. Practically all the interior
Indians believed in the existence of races of dwarfs and
giants. A belief also obtained that the various animals went
to spirit worlds of their own. The earth was often spoken
of symbolically as mother, and sometimes the sun was referred
to as the father of all life. A ceremony and feast of first-
fruits was regularly observed, and there was also an elaborate
ceremonial when the first tobacco of the season's crop was
smoked. The coyote legends and many other stories of the
southern tribes are closely connected with those current
farther south, while other legends show greater relationship
with coast and northern myths. Traditions of a great flood
which had occurred in early times were universal, and in many
tribes there was also the legend of a great fire. The beliefs
of the Athapascan tribes regarding manitous, shamanism and
the soul are, on the whole, similar to those obtaining among the
tribes of the southern interior. The Kutenai beliefs appear
to have been like those of the Salish, and their dances were
practically the same. In later days their ceremonies appear
to have been modified by the influence of the tribes of the
plains, and the same may be said of the Okinagan.

^ According to some of the Indians, the East is the quarter of life and the
West that of death.

INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

General Characteristics

THE Indians of the north-west coast of America from
Southern Alaska to Juan de Fuca Strait consist of
a group of tribes which, differing as they do very
materially in language, physical characteristics and details
of culture, are nevertheless conveniently grouped together
by ethnologists as exhibiting several distinct cultural traits
which separate them definitely from their Eskimo neighbours
to the north-west and from the various tribes of the plateaus
to the east. The coast tribes have developed a character-
istic aboriginal culture which exceeds in complexity and in-
tensity that of their neighbours ; the north-west coast culture
area may indeed be considered as the most specialized of the
ethnological areas recognized by anthropologists north of
Mexico, unless perhaps we except that of the Pueblo Indians
of Arizona and New Mexico. Nowhere north of Mexico
have the aborigines brought certain industries, particularly
wood-carving and blanket-weaving, to such a high degree
of perfection, and few areas offer to the anthropologist such
interesting problems of social organization. In the course of
the last fifty years or so the native industries, customs and
beliefs have suffered considerable decay owing to the influ-
ence of the whites, with whom the Indians have been coming
in contact from year to year. In certain parts of the coast
region the natives have become almost completely demoralized
as tribal units, and are largely dependent for their economic
subsistence on the neighbouring whites. In others, however,
as in some of the villages of Northern Vancouver Island,
they have been more conservative ; but even here much of
the early intensity and picturesqueness of aboriginal life

S16

3i6 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

has vanished. In one important respect the anthropolo-
gist's task in Western British Columbia is simpler than in
Eastern Canada. The tribes of the latter area, even where
they have distinctly maintained their identity, have become
assimilated in both physical type and culture to their neigh-
bours of European descent to a much greater degree than
in the Far West. Hence the student has constantly to
deal with the ofttimes perplexing problem of just which
elements in any given industry, custom, or belief are European
in origin, and which truly aboriginal. Such considerations
have far less weight in the study of the aborigines of the
coast of British Columbia, not so much for the reason that
the influence of the whites has been less profound, as that
it has been of shorter duration. This means that the old
life of the Indians and the new life with which they are now
confronted have not had time to be thoroughly welded
together. Hence it follows that most of the traits of abori-
ginal culture among the coast tribes can be studied in relative
purity. Often enough this or that industry or custom has
dropped entirely out of use, or, in extreme cases, has been
entirely forgotten, but survivals of the older life in the form
of compromises are, fortunately for the anthropologist, less
frequently met with than in the eastern part of the Dominion.

Linguistic Stocks

The tribes of the west coast are most easily and satisfac-
torily classified according to the linguistic stocks to which
they belong; in other words, according to the various un-
related groups of languages that are spoken by these Indians.
Of these linguistic stocks, which can no more easily be shown
to be divergent forms of a common stock than can Aryan
and Semitic, there are no less than five in the region from
Yakutat Bay to Puget Sound : the Tlingit, Haida, Tsim-
shian, Wakashan or Kwakiutl-Nootka, and Salish. Of these,
all but the Salish are confined to the strip of coast just
defined. Salish languages, however, are spoken in the
southern interior of British Columbia and in large parts of
the adjoining States of Montana, Idaho, and Washington,

'^CiAiii

LINGUISTIC STOCKS 317

most of the coast of the last state being occupied by tribes
of this stock ; a Salish tribe, the Tillamook, is found in
North-Western Oregon not far south of the mouth of the
Columbia. The division of tribes according to linguistic stocks
is made primarily from the point of view of the linguist, yet
it so happens that a purely ethnological classification can
be brought into correspondence with the linguistic one. The
Tlingit tribes inhabit the islands and fiords of the long strip
of coast of Southern Alaska as far south as Portland Canal.
Though the dialects spoken by the Tlingit tribes seem to
differ only slightly from one another, these can hardly be
said to form a political unit, but must be considered as in-
dependent of one another. These tribes, proceeding from
south to north, are : the Tongas, Senya, Henya, Kuiu, Kake,
Sundum, Stikine, Taku, Auk, Hutsnuwu, Huna, Sitka,
Chilkat, and Yakutat Though falling outside the limits of
British Columbia, the Tlingit Indians are typical representa-
tives of the west coast culture area. The Haida occupy the
islands forming the Queen Charlotte group as well as the
southern part of Prince of Wales archipelago, where they are
known as Kaigani. Haida is now chiefly spoken in two
dialects, that of Massett on the northern island (Graham)
and that of Skidegate in the southern part of the group.
There were several important villages besides Massett and
Skidegate, such as Cumshewa, Tanu, and Ninstints, but
these are now practically abandoned. The Tsimshian stock is
represented by tribes occupying the shores of Nass River and
Skeena River (from a point some distance above Hazelton),
the main coast from Portland Canal to about as far south as
Douglas Channel, and the islands along the coast as far south
as Millbank Sound. There are three dialectic subdivisions
in Tsimshian spoken by as many groups of related villages :
the Niska of Nass River, the Kitksan of the upper Skeena,
and the Tsimshian proper of the lower Skeena and of the
islands to the south. The Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian
Indians may be grouped together both physically and cul-
turally in contrast to the coast tribes south of them. In
regard to social organization they may be considered as the
most typical tribes of the region ; their technical achieve-

3i8 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

ments (as, for example, the Chilkat blankets, canoes, and
horn spoons) often reveal a finish not attained by the other
coast tribes.

The Wakashan tribes inhabit a long stretch of coast land
and adjacent islands from Douglas Channel to Juan de Fuca
Strait. The stock is composed of two linguistically quite
divergent members, the Kwakiutl and the Nootka, also
known as the Aht. The Kwakiutl tribes embrace the Haisla,
of Douglas and Gardner Channels ; the Heiltsuk, who
occupy the country between Gardner Channel and Rivers
Inlet, and whose best known village is Bella Bella ; and the
Kwakiutl proper, a number of tribes that are divided between
the mainland of British Columbia, from Rivers Inlet to
Valdez Island, and the northernmost part of Vancouver
Island from Cape Cook on the north-west of the island
round to Cape Mudge on its east coast. The various tribes
collectively referred to as Nootka (though this term is used
locally only to refer to the natives of Nootka Sound) occupy
the west coast of Vancouver Island from Cape Cook south
to Juan de Fuca Strait. There is a distinct line of dialectic
cleavage at Barkley Sound, the Nootka Indians south of
which are often known as Nitinat. To the Nitinat belong
properly also the Makah Indians of Cape Flattery in the
extreme north-west of the State of Washington. The Salish
tribes consist of two main groups, which differ markedly in
physical characteristics, culture, and grammatical features
of the languages respectively spoken in the two areas. Here
we need refer only to the coast Salish, whose tribes, as we
have seen, are continued south to the lower Columbia. The
coast Salish of British Columbia include two geographically
disconnected peoples, the Bella Coola of Dean and Burke
Channels, who can be shown to have separated themselves
some time in the past from the main body of coast Salish,
and the coast Salish proper, who occupy the mainland south
of Cape Mudge and Bute Inlet to the American line as well
as the east coast of Vancouver Island south of the Kwakiutl
to Juan de Fuca Strait. The coast Salish Indians are com-
posed of a rather large number of distinct tribes speaking
mutually unintelligible languages, which, for British Columbia,

LINGUISTIC STOCKS

319

can be grouped into six divisions, excluding the Bella Coola.
These are the Comox and allied tribes near the present town
of Comox and at Toba Inlet on the opposite mainland ; the
Pentlach, a small tribe now practically extinct, south of the
former ; the Sishiatl of Jervis Inlet ; the Skomish of Howe
Sound and Burrard Inlet, in the neighbourhood of the present
city of Vancouver ; the Cowichan of the lower Fraser ; and
the Songish and related tribes of the south-east of Vancouver
Island. The Kwakiutl and Bella Coola are the most typical
representatives of the west coast culture area among all
these southern tribes, the northern Kwakiutl (Haisla and
Heiltsuk), who are nearly cut off from the southern tribes
of the group by the Bella Coola, in particular more closely
approximating in culture the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian.
The Nootka and coast Salish are generally reckoned the
least typical of the west coast tribes, though the Nootka
have attained considerable complexity of cultural develop-
ment in ways peculiarly their own.

Differing as the various languages of the west coast do
in grammatical structure, there are several phonetic charac-
teristics which they have in common ; naturally this does
not mean that they do not differ more or less markedly
among themselves in phonetic respects also. To European
ears these languages are apt to sound remarkably harsh,
the flow of speech seeming to be interrupted at every step
by uneuphonious chokes and clicks. To some extent this
harshness of acoustic effect is due to an accumulation of con-
sonants such as we are not used to in English or other Euro-
pean languages ; to a larger extent, however, it is due to
the occurrence of types of consonants that are entirely un-
familiar to European ears. Among these are deep ^-sounds
which are pronounced much farther back in the mouth than
ordinarily (ordinary ^-sounds also occur) ; peculiar /-sounds,
which have often been inadequately rendered by untrained
observers as it or kl ; and a set of consonants of peculiar
formation which impress the ear as cracked or exploded in
quality.

Grammatically the five linguistic stocks represented on the
west coast differ very considerably from one another, some,

320 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

particularly Kwakiutl and Nootka, being more synthetic in
character, that is, expressing by formal means a greater
number of concepts within the limits of a single word, than
such others as Tlingit. The west coast languages are one
and all characterized by grammatical systems of great com-
plexity, a complexity that may seem startling to one who
occupies himself with their study for the first time. Thus,
in Tsimshian, Kwakiutl-Nootka and Salish there exist dis-
tinct series of numerals for various classes of objects, while
in Haida there is a large series of elements prefixed to verb-
forms indicating the class of object with which the action
of the verb is concerned. Local ideas, such as position at
or movement to or from, are grammatically expressed with
great nicety in many west coast languages ; various parts of
the body are also often referred to by means of grammatical
elements, affixed to verb or other forms, that in themselves
have no etymological relation to the independent words
expressing such parts of the body. An interesting example
of grammatical complexity of a type that is unfamiliar to
speakers of European languages is the suffixing in Kwakiutl
to verbs and nouns of grammatical elements that define with
exactness the demonstrative relation of the nouns of the
sentence — that is, whether they are thought of as being near
the person speaking, the person addressed, or the person
spoken of — and the fact of their visibility or invisibility from
the point of view of the speaker. Thus an English sentence
such as * He killed my dog,* is rendered * He killed my
visible (or invisible) dog near you (me, or him).'

The various west coast languages differ considerably in
regard to the formal means employed to express grammatical
concepts. Thus, while Haida and Tsimshian make a very
liberal use of prefixed elements, such are absolutely unknown
in Kwakiutl and Nootka, which, on the other hand, possess
a truly astounding number of suffixed elements. Again,
Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, Nootka and Salish make an extended
use of a grammatical device known as reduplication, that is,
the prefixing to the word itself of a fragment of it (in a
manner parallel to the formation of the perfect tense in
Greek). There are several types of this grammatical device,

o
u

a:
H

3
g

O
1^

THE QUESTION OF ORIGIN 321

which are employed to express the ideas, among others, of
repetition, plurality, and diminution. Tlingit and Haida, on
the other hand, know no more of reduplication than does
English.

Unlike the more advanced Indians of Mexico and Yucatan,
the west coast Indians did not develop any system of
expressing ideas that could be truly termed a system of
writing, though symbolism in decorative art is naturally not
lacking. This fact, however, did not in the slightest militate
against the growth of a vast body of what may be termed
oral literature, handed down in practically unchanged form
from generation to generation. This oral literature embraces
innumerable legends, myths, and songs, chiefly such as are
of ceremonial importance. The mind of a typical old-time
Indian was, and in many cases still is, saturated with such
literary lore. It is thus strongly borne in upon us that
neither in language nor literature can the Indians of the
west coast be termed truly primitive. It is well indeed to
remember that the term * primitive,' as applied to so many
native peoples less advanced in most respects than ourselves,
has but a relative meaning.

The Question of Origin

The question is often asked, * What is the origin of the
Indians ? ' and close upon this is apt to follow the inquiry,
' Are not the East Asiatic peoples of Mongolian type physi-
cally related to the American Indians ? ' The first question
has not perhaps now the interest for anthropologists that it
at one time had ; at any rate, it can be answered only by
more or less plausible surmises, hardly by tangible evidence.
The second question, however, gives more opportunity for
arriving at definite results. The high cheek-bones and
straight black hair of both American Indians and Mongolians
are points of physical similarity that must undoubtedly be
assigned considerable significance. Add to this the fact
that though the American Indian is not characterized by
the so-called slanting eye found among peoples of the Mon-
golian race, there is nevertheless some tendency for this type

VOL. XXI X

322 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

of eye, or rather characteristic fold of eyelid, to be found
among American women and children, with whom it tends to
disappear with age. It may be too much to say that the
American Indians and Mongolians form together one of the
great races of mankind, but there is good reason to believe
that the American Indians as a whole form a sort of diver-
gent sub-race of the Mongolian race. At any rate, the
American Indian contrasts far less with the typical Mon-
golian than with either the white or the negro.

In comparing the west coast tribes with the Mongolian
tribes of Eastern Siberia we find that there obtains between
them a degree of physical similarity that exceeds the general
similarity between the American Indians taken as a whole
and the Mongolian race. This similarity extends not only to
the colour and texture of the hair, but also to the colour of
the skin and to the shape of the head and face. The main
differences between the west coast Indians and the Mon-
golians of Eastern Siberia are stated by Dr Boas to be the
more constant appearance of the slanting eye among the
latter and the greater absolute size of face among the former.
The physical similarity between these two North Pacific
peoples is accentuated by the great divergence physically
of the west coast Indians from such American Indian types
as those of the prairies or of Southern California. From
the point of view, then, of physical anthropology, it seems
necessary to look upon the west coast Indians and the
Mongolians of North-Eastem Asia as members of the same
fundamental race of mankind. Whether the west coast
Indians should be considered as representing a transitional
type, between the American Indians and the Mongolians
proper, which is historically of secondary origin, or whether
they should be regarded as a definite sub-type falling within
the limits of variation of a generalized Mongolian-American
race, is, of course, not easy to decide. There are several
striking resemblances in culture between the west coast
Indians and some of the primitive tribes of Eastern Siberia
(Chukchee, Koryak, Yukaghir), but it cannot be too strongly
emphasized that such resemblances need have no connection
at all with the points of physical similarity that have been

PHYSICAL SUB-TYPES 323

noted, as they more likely than not represent purely secondary
borrowing of cultural elements from tribe to tribe, Bering
Straits and Sea naturally forming no insurmountable barrier.
The importance of the raven in the mythology of both the
Koryak and the northern tribes of the West Coast Indians
may be given as merely one of the points of cultural
similarity.

Physical Sub-Types

Taking the Indians of the coast of British Columbia as
a unit, there seem to be three distinct physical sub-types,
which Dr Boas has called the Northern type, the Kwakiutl
type, and the Lillooet type. All these are distinguished
from the generality of American Indian tribes by their
lighter hair and skin colour ; they are of medium stature.
The Northern type embraces the Haida and the tribes of
Tsimshian stock, very probably also the Tlingit, of whose
physical characteristics, however, very little is known from
actual measurements. The typical Indian of this sub- type
has a large head with great diameter from side to side ; to
match the head, the face also is extremely broad. In height,
however, the face is not above normal, so that the general
effect is of a low face. The nose is not markedly elevated
above the face and is either concave, particularly among the
women, or straight. The Indians of the Kwakiutl sub-type
have heads of similar relative dimensions to those of the
Northern sub-type, though the absolute measurements do
not seem to be quite so great. The type of face, however,
is very different, being remarkable for its great height. The
nose is high and narrow and is greatly elevated above the
face. It is typically convex in form. The existence of the
third, or Lillooet sub-type, as distinct from other types, is not
quite satisfactorily determined. The name of the sub-type
is taken from the Lower Lillooet Indians of the neighbour-
hood of Harrison Lake, where it seems to appear in its greatest
purity, though culturally the Lillooet are generally considered
an interior tribe (yet they have been very considerably
influenced by the neighbouring tribes of the coast). The
Lillooet sub-type includes the coast Salish of the Eraser

324 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

River region and of Southern Vancouver Island south to
Puget Sound. The main characteristics of the sub-type are
very short stature, marked breadth of head as compared
with length (they would be described as markedly brachy-
cephalic by physical anthropologists, though the former
practice of head-flattening in childhood makes it difficult to
secure reliable data on the natural dimensions of the head),
great breadth of face, flat nose, thick lips, and receding chin.

Environmental Influence

It is one of the favourite ideas of to-day that the geo-
graphical environment exercises a profound influence on the
life of a people. To a not inconsiderable extent geographical
environment undoubtedly does play its part in the mould-
ing of a type of culture, particularly in less advanced stages
of society. The west coast of British Columbia affords an
excellent example of such environmental influence. Being
a coast country, it gives the life of its native inhabitants
a distinctive tone. The natives were primarily a littoral
people whose villages were generally drawn up back of the
beaches, whose sustenance came primarily from the fish and
mammals of the sea, and who therefore had developed
numerous ingenious devices for the obtaining of these, and
whose chief means of transportation from village to village
were dug-out canoes. The influence of the sea makes itself
strongly felt even in the less material aspects of their culture.
Thus, much of the ceremonialism of the Indians was bound
up with the performance of rites intended to bring about
success in fishing or sea-hunting ; the legendary accounts
told by Nootka families often dwell on the whaling achieve-
ments, generally under supernatural guidance, of their
ancestors ; among the Haida the dreaded killer-whale is
invested with the powers belonging to a supernatural being ;
and so on indefinitely. The west coast is one of the most
rainy parts of the American continent, and this environ-
mental factor also has left its mark on the life of the natives.
The heavy rainfall meant that the tent-like lodges covered
with hides, bark or mats, which are characteristic of the

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE 325

Indians of the plateaus and plains, could hardly be of service
here ; hence we find that the west coast Indians built heavy
plank houses of great size and durability, the presence of large
trees easily worked into lumber assisting the Indians materially
in solving the problem of shelter. The rainy climate of the
coast has also had much to do with determining the char-
acter of the clothing worn by the Indians. A coast people
continually splashing in and out of canoes would be hampered
by tight-fitting skin garments and by moccasins ; hence we
find cedar bark garments in use, and note the absence, on
the whole, of moccasins and leggings. Conical hats woven
of vegetable fibres and cedar bark rain-capes, both of which
are characteristic west coast articles of wear, again indicate
a rainy country. A third environmental factor which we
may note is the heavily wooded character of the coast,
coniferous trees (red cedar, spruce, hemlock, and yellow
cedar) being particularly characteristic of the coast flora.
The red cedar is indeed to the coast natives what the palm
is to many tropical peoples. From the hollowed-out trunks
were fashioned dug-outs, often gigantic in size, hewn timbers
of cedar served as material for house-posts and totem-poles,
while cedar planks were used to form the roof and walls of
the houses ; cedar wood was worked into a vast number of
useful or ceremonial objects, in many cases carved, such as
boxes of various types, trays, dishes, ladles, canoe bailers,
buckets, masks, whistles, and numerous other objects ; out
of twisted cedar withes were made stout ropes strong enough
to hold a harpooned whale ; cedar bark was used for a great
variety of purposes, its strands being twisted into cordage
or utilized as woof in twined basketry, cedar bark strips
serving as material for matting, bags, and garments, shredded
cedar bark being often employed for ceremonial head, neck,
arm, and leg wear, while the innermost bark could be pounded
so fine and soft as to serve as a wool-like padding for the baby
in its cradle ; finally, the roots of the cedar v/ere split into
strands suitable for basket-making. The inner bark of the
yellow cedar was woven into blankets and garments of finer
make than those of red cedar bark.

So obvious is the influence of the coast environment on

326 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

the culture of the aborigines that we run more danger of
overestimating than of underestimating its extent. For it
is, after all, clear on further reflection that by no means
all the elements of west coast aboriginal culture are im-
mediately or even indirectly traceable to the character of
the land and climate. The physical environment has given
the west coast culture a colouring all its own, and has in
many cases, as we have seen, even directly called forth some
of the elements of that culture, yet by far the greater part
of the mental culture of the Indians can hardly be explained
on the score of geographical environment ; this environment
is doubtless reflected in innumerable ways in the beliefs
and customs of the people, yet their actual form and content
must owe their origin to historical causes lying largely
beyond our knowledge. Even in material culture the geo-
graphical environment often hardly does more than deter-
mine the material of the object. We can point out that the
cedar forms an indispensable factor in the industries of the
natives, yet the mere existence of the cedar does not help
us to explain why the utensils have such and not other
definite forms, or why the totem-poles are carved into such
and not other definite figures. In other words, the geo-
graphical environment, here as elsewhere, cannot be made
to explain more than the superficial aspects of a culture.

The Food of the West Coast Indians

The diet of the west coast Indians was almost exclusively
animal in character, though vegetable foods were by no
means wholly lacking. By far the most important source
of the food supply was the many varieties of marine fish,
the most important of these being the different kinds of
salmon that come up the rivers at different seasons to spawn.
Various kinds of fishing took place at definite times through-
out the year ; besides salmon, some of the more important
kinds of fish secured were herring, halibut, and a number of
varieties of cod. The oulachan or candle-fish was particu-
larly valued for the oil that was obtained from it, and candle-
fish grease mixed with berries was to many of the tribes the

THE FOOD OF THE WEST COAST INDIANS 327

greatest delicacy that could be offered at a feast ; among
the Nootka, however, where whale oil was plentiful, the
oulachan was of much less importance. The methods em-
ployed in securing fish were quite diverse. Some of these were
spearing (both three-pronged spears, of a type found widely
distributed in North America, and spears with detachable
points were extensively employed) ; fishing with hook and
line (a typical method of catching halibut was by means
of bone-pointed hemlock-knot hooks and kelp line) ; fishing
with nets ; and trapping with weirs and a great variety of
types of basket traps, this last type of fishing being particu-
larly adapted to the securing of salmon in the creeks. Fresh-
water fish were also utilized, particularly salmon trout, but
to a much less extent. Fish were either boiled in cooking
boxes, the water being heated by means of red-hot stones,
or roasted in ashes ; a supply was dried and smoked to be
set aside for use in the winter.

Next to marine fish may be noted the use of sea mammals
(whales of various kinds, sea-lions, hair-seals, fur-seals, and
sea-otters), though these formed a far less dependable source
of the food supply than the former. The majority of west
coast tribes, including even such expert seamen as the Haida,
did not go out whaling, but contented themselves with such
dead whales as stranded on the shore. Among the Nootka,
however, certain families possessed the hereditary privilege
of going out in canoes to harpoon whales. A whaling
harpoon consisted of a long shaft of yew wood and a double-
barbed bone harpoon head tipped with a cutting edge that
was formerly of mussel shell, latterly of iron ; the harpoon,
which was socketed on the shaft and came loose on striking
the animal, was secured by means of a lanyard of whale-gut, to
which was looped a long rope of cedar withes which was paid
out till the exhausted whale came to a standstill, whereupon
it was killed and towed to shore. The stranded or caught
whale was invariably cut up and distributed, generally
according to fixed hereditary rights, to the leading men of
the village, who thereupon might proceed to give whale feasts
to their tribesmen. Sea-lions were harpooned in a manner
similar to that of whales, except that the sea-lion outfit

328 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

was less strong and that the lanyard was generally made of
sea-lion gut. Sea-otters and seals were generally secured by
spearing.

A large number of invertebrate animals of the sea was also
utilized for food purposes, chief among these being several
kinds of clams, which were gathered in large open-work
baskets and steamed. A certain amount of land hunting
was done by most of the coast tribes, yet the deer was hardly
used at all as an article of food by the Kwakiutl and Nootka
tribes. Among the mainland tribes whose territory extended
into the interior, such as the Tsimshian and Bella Coola,
the hunting of land animals was of economic importance.
Of vegetable foods, the most important were various kinds
of berries and edible roots ; the former were partly eaten
fresh, partly dried and laid aside in the form of tightly packed
cakes for winter use. Less normal types of vegetable food
that were in use among the west coast Indians were dried
cakes of hemlock sap and kelp.

No agriculture worthy of the name was practised by
the natives of the coast, though tobacco and clover patches
were looked after with some care. This fact is interesting
as showing that a very considerable advance in culture can
be reached by a society not economically dependent upon
agriculture. There is more than one American Indian tribe
farther to the east, among whom agriculture was developed
to a fair extent, whose degree of industrial and social advance-
ment must nevertheless be considered as below that of the
west coast Indians. The only domesticated animal known
before contact with the whites was the native dog, more
savage and long-haired than his successor of to-day.

Dwellings

The dwellings of the coast Indians, as we have already
seen, were large quadrangular structures built of hewn timbers
and planks. The framework of the typical west coast
house consisted of a pair of heavy posts at either end of the
central line of the house supporting a ridge pole, and four
comer posts to support beams parallel to the first ; cedar

'-/T

CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTATION 329

planks were used for the walls of the house and the rafters
of the roof. The floor of the house, which was simply the
stamped-down soil, was generally excavated a few feet below
the level of the ground, leaving a surrounding quadrangular
raised space that was utilized for storage and bed platforms.
The fire was built in the centre of the floor space, exit for
the smoke being provided for by pushing aside two or three
of the rafters of the roof. The door was often an opening
at the base of a huge heraldic column, generally known as
a totem-pole, erected at the front of the house. Not only
these totem-poles, but frequently also the house-posts, were
carved into human or animal figures referring to the legend-
ary history of the family occupying the house. The plank
houses of the coast Salish were generally communal houses
occupied by several families, whose quarters were separated
from one another by means of partitions, each section having
its own fire. These houses, in consequence, often reached an
astonishing length, some of six hundred feet or more having
been reported on good authority. Among the coast Salish
the houses lacked a central ridge pole, though the roof was
given a gentle pitch for the shedding of rain by having one
of the side walls a trifle higher than the other ; on the roofs
of the houses ceremonial dances were often performed and
speeches delivered.

A typical west coast village always consisted of a single
street levelled in front of the line of houses facing the beach.
A long row of totem-poles and the many canoes drawn up
on the beach lent a very picturesque appearance. In front
of the houses were often erected summer platforms, where,
early in the morning in fair weather, the old men were fond
of lounging and conversing.

Clothing and Ornamentation

The clothing of the west coast Indians, as we have already
seen, was rather scanty. Blanket robes were made either
of animal hides (sea-otter skins were in particular demand
among the wealthy) or woven out of mountain-goat wool,
dog*s hair, or yellow cedar bark strands ; among the coast

330 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

Salish woven fabrics were also made of a mixture of the
last two materials. Besides hats, woven of spruce roots
and cedar bark, and rain capes, which have already been
referred to, mention may also be made of cedar bark women's
aprons, forming the chief article of dress among the women,
and woven ponchos and dancing aprons.

Curiously differing in this respect from most of the North
American Indians, the men did not remove the hair of the
face with tweezers, but allowed it to grow ; scraggy beards
are thus not uncommon among the Indian men of the west
coast. Various styles of head flattening were practised by
the Kwakiutl, Nootka, and coast Salish tribes ; among
these tribes it was a mark of social inferiority to have the
head of normal shape. Tattooing was practised to some
extent, particularly among the more northern tribes. Ear
and nose rings, chiefly of abalone, were worn, also neck-
laces of dentalium shells, bear claws, and other materials.
The women of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian were careful
to wear lip plugs or labrets, which were made of various
materials. These latter were often quite heavy, pulling
down the lower lip and exposing the teeth ; inconvenient
as they must have been to the wearer, no self-respecting
woman would dare show herself in public without one.

Industries

Of all the industries of the coast Indians, wood-work was
by far the most characteristic and highly developed, easily
worked wood being plentiful in the well-forested coast-land.
For the great majority of objects of daily use red cedar,
which is easily split and carved, formed the most suitable
material, while implements requiring a stronger material,
such as bows, whaling-spear shafts, and needles for rush-
mat making, were made of yew, spiraea, or other hard woods.
The process of felling a full-sized cedar in the days when iron
tools had not yet come into use required considerable care
and often lasted several days. The chief implements used
were wedges of wood or antler and stone hammers, which in
the north were attached to long wooden handles, while in the

INDUSTRIES

331

south, where they were pestle-like in shape, they were operated
directly with the hand. Planks and other wooden objects
were fashioned out of timbers by means of bone-bladed or
stone-bladed adzes with handles of peculiar form, which
were generally carved into animal figures. The wood was
carved by means of long curved knives and was often given
a smooth polish by rubbing with dog-fish skin. There seems
little doubt that before the use of iron tools the accomplish-
ments of the natives in wood-work were somewhat more
limited than in recent times, yet the use of iron tools seems
to have been responsible rather for work on a larger scale
than for finer finish. Perhaps the most skilfully constructed
objects of wood were the boxes which were used for storage
of valuables, cooking, burial, and other purposes. The sides
of a box were ingeniously constructed out of a single plank,
which was steamed and bent into the desired shape, the
comers having first been provided for by cutting out notches.
The bottom of the box was made of a separate piece of
wood fitting tightly into the side frame. Various types of
box-lids were employed, and were often tied to the boxes by
means of cedar bark strings. The most striking objects of
wood were the totem-poles and canoes. The latter were
dug-outs constructed out of a single tree-trunk, which was
hollowed out by a careful process of charring and adzing ;
the proper width amidships was secured by steaming and
tightening with thwarts. These dug-out canoes were of
various characteristic models, differing according to tribe
and purpose for which used. The longest of all was the
Haida war canoe with separate bow and stem pieces ; sixty
feet was quite a normal length for canoes of this type.

The natives were not only expert in the use of wood, but
also worked in stone, horn, and bone. Archaeological evi-
dence discloses the former existence in the coast region of a
considerable number of types of stone implements, such as
mortars, hammers, spear points, and adze blades or chisels.
A variety of stone material was employed, including slate
and often beautifully polished jade or nephrite. It is worth
noting that the practice of fashioning stone points by means
of flaking, which was almost universal in other parts of

332 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

aboriginal America, was unknown here, its place being taken
by rubbing and pecking. Perhaps the most remarkable
examples of stone-work in this area are the hammers of the
northern tribes, which are often carved into realistic figures ;
even masks of stone were made to some extent. Bone was
used in the preparation of a number of types of implements,
such as points of hooks, spears and arrows, awls, spindle whorls,
sap scrapers, bark beaters, bark shredders, adze handles,
and various ceremonial objects, such as medicine-men's
charms and ceremonial war clubs. Horn was naturally less
extensively used than bone ; yet many beautifully carved
examples of horn-work, particularly the horn spoons of the
Tsimshian and Haida, were found. Work in metal was of
far less consequence than work in wood, stone, horn, and
bone. Before contact with the whites, copper was the only
metal employed, and even this hardly to as great an extent
as in more recent times. The copper was merely beaten
into the desired shape, the art of smelting metals being
entirely unknown in aboriginal America. The most char-
acteristic objects of copper among the west coast Indians
were the so-called * coppers,' large or small plates of con-
ventional form, often with incised designs ; these * coppers,*
which seem to have been in particular use among the
Kwakiutl, were symbolic of wealth, being often exchanged
at ceremonial feasts in the manner of our paper currency.

Upon the women devolved the work of spinning, netting,
matting, and basket-making. Thread and cordage were spun
of cedar bark strands, spruce and cedar root fibres, nettle
fibre, and sinew ; spindle and whorl were used in the process
of spinning. Nets were constructed chiefly of nettle fibre with
the help of netting-needles and mesh blocks of wood. Mats
were of two types, some being made of rushes sewed together
by long wooden needles with thread ; other mats, as well
as bags and certain garments, were made of strips of cedar
bark that were woven into checker-work or twilled patterns,
ornamental border effects being often obtained by dyeing
certain strands red or black (chewed alder bark and black
mud were respectively used as dyes). The basketry of the
west coast Indians is much less highly developed than in

GAMES AND DECORATIVE ART 333

the interior of British Columbia, its place being largely taken
by wooden vessels. Besides the twilled cedar bark bags
already spoken of, which are almost as much examples of
matting as basketry proper, all the baskets made in this
area were of twined technique, coiling being entirely un-
known. Many of the larger twined baskets were of open-
work, others, often ornamented in geometric patterns with
coloured overlay, were closely woven. Baskets of this latter
type were made particularly by the Tlingit and the southern
tribes among the Nootka.

Games and Decorative Art

Quite a number of games, both of chance and dexterity,
were played by the coast Indians. Gambling for stakes was
an invariable accompaniment of most games of chance, the
chief of which were the stick game, played with a large
number of smooth cylindrical sticks that were often orna-
mented with painted designs ; the hand or guessing game
played with a pair or two pairs of cylindrical bones ; and
a dice game played with marked beaver teeth. The two
former were games for men, the last a game for women. The
hand game was practically universal in one form or another
among the aborigines of North America west of the Rockies ;
the guessing side sang gambling songs to the accompaniment
of beating of sticks.

Decorative art was highly developed. Simple geometric
designs were brought out in matting by dyeing and in basketry
by coloured overlay strands. This style of art, however, is
more characteristic of other parts of aboriginal America than
of the west coast Indians, whose decorative art was pre-
eminently one of conventional realism. Despite the great
diversity of forms in which this style of art is expressed, it
has throughout the same general characteristics. Whether
the designs are carved in relief on totem-poles, house-posts,
boxes, and trays, painted on boxes, house-boards, or at bow
or stern of canoes, woven in blankets of mountain-goat wool,
or even incised in modem copper or silver bracelets, thev are
unmistakably west coast in character and treatment. The

334 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

subjects represented are practically always either animals
or supernatural beings, but often so stylicized and distorted
by the conventions of artistic tradition as to be quite unrecog-
nizable to the unprepared observer. In massive relief work
the figures preserve their realism best of all, but a typical
design painted on a Haida hat or woven in a Chilkat blanket
suggests little, if any, of the intended realism. Conven-
tionalization is due primarily to two factors : first, the
desire to cover the whole field of decoration ; secondly, the
substitution for realism pure and simple of conventional
symbols which, in the mind of the native, unambiguously
refer to the animal or being represented. In consequence
of the former tendency, parts of the field that would normally
be empty are filled in with oval designs or * eyes,* which seem
originally to have symbolized joints ; moreover, the animal
must often be thought of as cut through and spread out, or
distorted in some other conventional way, so that the parts
of the body may be disposed in symmetrical fashion (thus
the two halves of an animal's tail are often represented in
the right and left of the design). By virtue of this conven-
tionalizing tendency animals are often given human form,
but are provided with characteristic decorative elements
that make them recognizable as animals. Thus the beaver
is indicated by his flat incisor teeth or cross-hatched tail,
the eagle by his curved beak, and the bear by his erect ears
or lolling tongue. In actual practice several distinct designs
are often combined or interlaced in complicated fashion (as
in the superimposed series of figures of a totem-pole, which
hold, sit on, or support one another), whereby the symbolic
interpretation is rendered more difiicult. Painted designs
are chiefly in black, white, or red, sometimes also in blue or
green ; relief designs on boxes are not infrequently painted
at the same time. Among the Nootka and Salish this con-
ventionally realistic style of art is only slightly developed,
true realism, though often crude in execution, taking its place.
Such realistic designs, representing supernatural beings and
animals, have been found carved into the rock at various
points on Vancouver Island.

MUSIC 335

Music

The musical art also of the west coast Indians is far
from being truly primitive in character. It is chiefly vocal,
drums and rattles being often used as accompanying instru-
ments. There are several types of skilfully constructed
whistles or trumpets in use, which, however, serve merely to
produce various kinds of calls and other sounds in religious
ceremonials. Among the different types of drum used are
the hand-drums or tom-toms and the large box-shaped drums
of the northern tribes. Many different types of rattles are
found, among them being the large bird-shaped wooden
rattles of the Nootka, the globular wooden rattles of the
Kwakiutl, the smaller bird-shaped rattles of the Tsimshian
and Haida, which are very elaborately decorated in relief,
pecten-shell rattles, and hoop-shaped rattles with attached
penguin beaks. Besides rattles and drums, hand-beating
and striking of sticks on planks are also often employed to
mark time. The singing of songs plays a very important
part in the life of the Indians, particularly in the conduct
of the rituals. There are quite a number of distinct types
of songs, which differ considerably in their melodic and
rhythmic qualities ; particular types of accompaniment are
often limited to definite classes of songs. The music of the
songs offers interesting problems in intonation, the intervals
apparently not corresponding exactly to those that we are
accustomed to, and in rhythm. In the latter respect the
songs exhibit a complexity that not seldom far surpasses such
rhythmic subtleties as we are familiar with. Such time
schemes as 5/4, which are quite uncommon in even our most
daring modern music, are not at all infrequent here ; more-
over, drum beats do not always follow the accents of the
song, but follow their own course, yet in a manner definitely
related to the song beats. Much attention is given by the
natives to the proper execution of the rhythmic niceties of
their music ; in earlier times mistakes in rhythm made by
dancers in certain sacred songs of the Kwakiutl were punished
by death.

336 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

The texts of the songs are in some cases definite words, in
others meaningless syllables or burdens. Not infrequently
the words are not in the ordinary prose forms of daily speech,
but are special song- words modified, phonetically or other-
wise, from the normal forms. Many types of song are used
in connection with dances, in which various steps, accord-
ing to the character of the music, are used. Women have
dance steps peculiar to themselves ; their dancing consists
largely of posturing and of swaying movements of the arms
and body.

Classes of Society and Clan Organization

Three distinct classes of society are recognized in the
social structure of the west coast Indians — ^nobility, common
people, and slaves. The chiefs may be looked upon as consti-
tuting the highest subdivision of the nobility. These three
classes were, at least in theory, fixed once for all, each indi-
vidual being assigned his rank by inheritance. The chiefs
exercised considerable authority and enjoyed a number of
privileges and property rights that went with their ofiice.
Not only did the nobility constitute a class higher in rank
than that of the common people, but they were carefully
graded in rank among themselves, the bearer of each grade
of nobility being distinguished by a hereditary name, which
inhered in a definite family, and by a definite seat assigned
to him at ceremonial gatherings.

Intercrossing the division of the community into social
classes was the clan organization, which, however, obtained
in strictness only for the more typical west coast tribes. A
clan is a group of individuals held together by ties of real or
fancied relationship, and generally supposed to have common
descent from a legendary ancestor ; there is good evidence
to show that the clans of the west coast were in every case
merely village communities in origin which, by migrations
and intermarriages, came in time to lose their distinctly
local character. Closely connected with the clan organiza-
tion was totemism, or a system of clan crests. A crest is an
animal, supernatural being, or object, generally an animal.

W
H

CLAN ORGANIZATION 337

which in the mind of the natives is associated with a par-
ticular clan and which often, though by no means always,
gives it its name. A crest animal or totem is not, as a rule,
thought of as the ancestor of the clan, nor are there, generally
speaking, specific taboos in force against killing or eating
it ; among the Kwakiutl, however, belief in the ancestral
character of the crest animal is not entirely absent, though
it is not as systematically developed as in other parts of the
world, as, for instance, in aboriginal Australia. Each clan
has its stock of names, songs, privileges, and traditions.
These traditions always recount the manner in which, in
the remote past, the totem became associated with the clan
ancestor, the most typical style of legend in this respect
being that in which the ancestor is believed to have met the
totem (the mythological prototype of the animals, super-
natural beings, or objects that to-day bear his name) and to
have been awarded privileges and supernatural gifts by it.

The clans are subdivided into families, which often have
their own special traditions, privileges, and crests. In the
more typical tribes of the north the clans are not the
largest totemic units of society, but are grouped into larger
social units, known among ethnologists as phratries. These
are always few in number and have their distinctive crests.
Among the Tlingit there are two such phratries, whose
crests are respectively the raven and the wolf. Among
the Haida the two phratries, corresponding respectively
to the Tlingit raven and wolf, are the eagle and the raven ;
the Haida raven phratry, curiously enough, corresponds
to the Tlingit wolf phratry — ^not the raven phratry — and
indeed its chief crest is not the raven but the killer-
whale. Among both the Haida and Tlingit the phratries
are exogamous ; in other words, an individual is debarred
from marrying a member of his own phratry, but must seek
his or her partner from among the individuals of the opposite
phratry. Both clan and phratry are, in these tribes, in-
herited through the female line, whence it follows that a
man is in some respects considered more intimately related
to his mother's brother than to his own father. Among
the Tsimshian there are four phratries, whose crests are

VOL. XXI Y

338 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

respectively the wolf, raven, bear, and eagle. The same laws
of exogamy and maternal inheritance that we have noted in
the case of the Haida and Tlingit apply to the Tsimshian
phratries. The grouping of clans into phratries seems to be
absent in the other west coast tribes, but the Northern Kwa-
kiutl clans resemble the phratries of the Haida, Tlingit, and
Tsimshian in that they have animal names, are exogamous,
and follow the rule of maternal descent. The rule of exogamy
is not carried out in other west coast tribes, the Southern
Kwakiutl clans being apparently indifferent on this point,
whereas among the Bella Coola it seems that the opposite
tendency obtained, at least among the nobility, of the
members of a clan marrying among themselves (endogamy).
The Southern Kwakiutl system of inheritance is in effect
maternal, yet not purely so in form. Among the Nootka
and coast Salish the crest system, though apparently not
entirely absent, does not seem to be as definitely connected
with social units as in the other tribes.

Properly speaking, a definite clan with its crest or crests
is represented in but one of the phratries of the tribe, yet
this is not quite consistently carried out : thus we find that
among the Haida the raven is used as a crest by certain clans
of both the raven and eagle phratries. To illustrate the
fact, however, we may enumerate some of the more important
crests of the Haida phratries. Among the ravens we find,
in the order of their importance, the killer- whale, the grizzly
bear, the rainbow, a certain supernatural being, the sea-
lion, the moon, the thunder-bird, the cumulus-cloud, the
dog-fish, the wolf, the flicker, and the raven ; among the
eagles we find represented the eagle, the beaver, the sculpin,
the frog, the whale, the raven, the halibut, the humming-
bird, the cormorant, the dog-fish, the heron, and another
supernatural being. Crests are not only obtained by in-
heritance but, in the case of the chiefs and nobility, may
be acquired by purchase or gift from neighbouring tribes,
whence is explained the fact that families and clans often
possess several crests subsidiary to the main one. A crest
is concretely symbolized in carved figures, masks, tattooing,
and face-painting. Not all the figures of a totem-pole, how-

MEDIA OF EXCHANGE AND THE POTLATCH 339

ever, necessarily represent crests of the owner of the house ;
the crest or crests of his wife, and supernatural beings that
have reference to the legendary history of his family, are
also sometimes represented.

One of the most deeply rooted ideas in the culture of the
Indians of the coast is that of property'-, with which is con-
nected that of inheritance. Not only is property in the
narrow sense of the word inheritable, but many intangible
forms of wealth, such as names, songs, legends, dances
(which generally go with certain masks), membership in
religious societies, ritualistic privileges, and knowledge of
secret rituals of many sorts, are transmitted by inheritance.
It is indeed these latter quite as much as material wealth
that give one social position and prestige. Inheritance of
privileges does not necessarily take place at the death of
their former possessor. One of the most characteristically
developed procedures among the west coast Indians is the
transfer of status and accompanying privileges to the heir.
Thus it frequently happens that the titular chief of a village
or clan is a young man whose maternal uncle, father, or other
appropriate predecessor in office is yet alive and active.

Media of Exchange and the Potlatch

Though a definite coinage can hardly be said to have been
developed in aboriginal times, there were several media of
exchange whose value was as much symbolic as real. Among
these were the * coppers * already spoken of, strings of den-
talia, triangular-shaped box-covers, which often formed part
of dowries, and, in later times, blankets of unit value.

A chief or nobleman was ever on the alert to exhibit in
public his wealth and prestige, seeking at the same time,
wherever possible, to add to both. The chief means em-
ployed for these purposes was the potlatch or ceremonial
feast at which the host gave away property (consisting of
slaves, canoes, strings of dentalia, sea-otter skins, blankets,
or other objects) to the assembled guests. Such a potlatch
was often given in connection with some such event as a
marriage, the coming of age of a daughter or niece, a religious

340 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

ceremonial, a memorial feast, the assignment of adult name
and status to a young man or woman, and many other occa-
sions of ceremonial or social significance. A typical potlatch
was always rather an elaborate affair, consisting partly of cere-
monial activities, including songs and dances appropriate to
the particular type of potlatch, and of the potlatch proper,
that is, the distribution of property. This distribution was,
however, rarely in the nature of a gift pure and simple, as it
was always understood that the recipients were to return
the gift at one hundred per cent interest in a potlatch given
before the end of the year. Thus a potlatch was to a large
extent the public announcement of business transactions of
one kind or another, at which debts were paid and invest-
ments made. Failure to return with interest the value of
the property obtained in a potlatch meant loss of prestige
and would arouse the contempt and derision of the rest of
the tribe. Not infrequently a tribe as such invited another
tribe to a potlatch, and the mere expense of feasting all the
guests for a number of days was in such cases very consider-
able. A spirit of rivalry between chiefs and tribes often
ran high in potlatches, each seeking to outdo the other.
Grandiloquent speeches delivered by formal speakers extoll-
ing the wealth and dignity of the host and his ancestors, and
taunts levelled at the rival chief, were the order of the day.
Sometimes a chief would destroy much of his own property
(the killing of a slave was one form of such destruction) in
order to show how reckless he could be with the disposition
of wealth. If his rival failed to do likewise, he was deemed
outdone. The most dreaded form of destruction of pro-
perty was the breaking of a * copper,* whereby the destruc-
tion of a very large amount of wealth was symbolized, for to
copy such an example might lead to impoverishment. The
desire to amass wealth and the spirit of rivalry may be said
to have been the mainsprings of action among the west
coast Indians.

Ceremonial Customs and Taboos

Many ceremonial customs and taboos, that is, prohibi-
tions or restrictions of various kinds, accompanied the most

CEREMONIAL CUSTOMS AND TABOOS 341

important periods of an individuars life. The chief of these
periods may be said to have been birth, puberty (in the case
of girls), marriage, and death. At birth the parents of the
child had many rather irksome taboos to observe in regard to
eating certain kinds of food and sharing in certain activities.
The ears of the child were pierced and its head flattened ;
it received a child's name from among the stock of names
owned by the family, later to be exchanged for an adult
name, this in turn to give way to an old man's or old woman's
name. The arrival of a girl at the age of puberty was pro-
bably the most important event in her life and was hedged
about by ritual performances and many taboos. Until the
prescribed period, often lasting for a year, was over, she was
looked upon as unclean, and lived in seclusion from the rest
of the household. During this period she was trained in her
future duties of a full-grown woman. Marriage, generally
preceded several months before by a formal courting visit of
the bridegroom and his people to the house of the future
bride, was accompanied by the giving of purchase -money
to the bride's people, and, in return, the granting of a dowry.
The marriage ceremony, which took place on the arrival of
the bridegroom at the house of his bride's people, his suit
having meanwhile been granted, often took the form of a
dramatic performance symbolizing the legendary marriage
of an ancestor. Death was followed by the burial or destruc-
tion of the personal property of the deceased. The methods
of burial differed somewhat in different tribes, one of the
characteristic forms being the burial of the body in a box,
which was then placed in the branches of a tree ; some
families possessed private caves in which they buried their
dead. There was a definite period of mourning followed by a
memorial feast, at which the various taboos in force during
this period were lifted. One of the most interesting of these
taboos was the avoidance of the name or of any word sound-
ing like the name of the deceased, a consequence of which
was that many individuals in the tribe changed their names
and that certain words would drop out of use for some time.

VOL. XXI

342 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

Belief in the Supernatural

The west coast Indians believed in a large number of
supernatural beings who were supposed to be powerful for
good or ill. The idea of a supreme being is not absent ;
thus among the Haida we find a belief in an all-powerful
being called * Power of the Shining Heavens,' while among
the Nootka prayers were addressed to the * Sky Chief/
However, it cannot be said that this belief in a supreme
being occupied an important place in the religious system
of the natives. Of far greater importance, as reflected in
their mythology and rituals, are a large number of beings,
definitely localized in air, sea, or land, that are believed
capable of bestowing definite powers on mankind. Among
the Haida the sea was believed to be peopled by a vast
number of such beings, who were regarded, curiously enough,
as members of either the raven or eagle phratry. The
thunder-bird, particularly among the Nootka, was looked
upon with great awe ; it is the flapping of his wings as he
leaves his mountain home to go out in pursuit of whales
that constitutes thunder, while his belt, itself a super-
natural serpent-like being, twists in the air and makes the
lightning. Besides supernatural beings of this sort, there
were believed also to be a great many kinds of more or less
uncanny supernatural peoples corresponding to our own fairies,
mermaids, and other imaginary beings. Some of these could
bestow favours on men, others were of small account.

Some of the religious ceremonials of the natives were per-
formed in connection with specific events, such as the arrival
at maturity of girls, the first appearance in the season of
salmon, or the capture or stranding of a whale. The most
important of all rituals, however, was held in the winter,
which was looked upon as the sacred season. The masks,
whistles, and other ceremonial regalia that were used in the
course of the winter ritual had to be concealed during the
rest of the year, and their exposure constituted a sacrilege
that was sometimes punished with death. The main idea at
the basis of the winter ceremonials may be said to be that

BELIEF IN THE SUPERNATURAL 343

of the introduction of novices or initiates into the protection
of certain supernatural beings, who were supposed to reveal
themselves in secluded places and to bestow their customary
gifts upon them. We are here face to face with the wide-
spread American Indian belief in the acquirement of power
or * medicine * from some manitou or guardian spirit. The
west coast practice, however, differs fundamentally from
the normal process in that the individual does not put him-
self into religious association with any supernatural being
at will, but always with one to which he is entitled by virtue
of his inherited privileges. Moreover, the supernatural
beings involved were strictly limited in number and graded
in rank. Among the Kwakiutl, who seem to have developed
the winter ceremonials in their greatest complexity, this state
of affairs resulted in a peculiar social organization which
obtained only during the course of the ritual season. In
place of the clan organization in effect during the greater
part of the year, the so-called profane season, the members
of the tribe were divided into religious fraternities (the so-
called secret societies), which were each composed of members
initiated by the same supernatural being. All the mem-
bers of the tribe that had already been initiated into some
fraternity were grouped together as * Seals,' in contrast to
the uninitiated and superannuated individuals, who were
grouped together under the name of * Sparrows.' The frater-
nities constituting the * Seals * had each its assigned rank, its
definitely prescribed mode of action, its songs, its dances,
its whistles, its masks, and its cedar bark regalia. Many
also made use of symbolic objects of various kinds, while
among the Nootka and other tribes specific face-paints were
used. The most important fraternities were the Cannibals,
who were initiated by the cannibal spirit and who acted in a
frenzied manner and practised ritualistic cannibalism, the
Ghosts, the Fools, whose function it was to police the pro-
ceedings, and the Grizzly Bears. The general conduct of
the ceremonials was dramatic in character and the state of
mind of the participants was often one of religious ecstasy.
A novice was never introduced at his initiation into the
highest fraternity to which his inherited privileges entitled

344 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

him, but advanced from one fraternity to another in the
course of successive winter ceremonials. A typical initia-
tion consisted in the abduction of the novice into the woods,
theoretically by the supernatural being, his ceremonial cap-
ture and return after a stated period, the exorcism of the
spirit that caused his frenzy, and the performance of the
dances that he is supposed to have learned from his newly
acquired protector.

Disease, as among most primitive peoples, is believed to
be due to the entry of a disease-object or * pain ' into the
body of the sick person, and it is the business of the shaman
or medicine-man to find the nature and seat of the * pain,'
also, if possible, the one responsible for its entry, who, if
discovered, may then be summarily dealt with. A medicine-
man is believed to have gained supernatural power from
some uncanny or rarely seen being that he has met in the
woods or other secluded spot ; most medicine-men claim
more than one such tutelary spirit. There are different
types of doctoring procedures, in most of which the singing
of medicine songs plays an important part. Generally the
medicine-man puts himself into a supernormal state, often
a trance, in the course of which he is enabled by the help of
his medicine spirits to ascertain the cause of a disease. The
main object was always to expel the foreign substance causing
the disease, and this is often shown in the shape of a hair
or other small inconspicuous-looking object. Distinct from
shamanism or primitive doctoring, which might for revenge
or other reasons be employed to cause as well as to cure
disease, is witchcraft, in so far as it may be practised by any
one, of which many forms were in use among the Indians.
Among the Nootka each family had its own inherited stock
of curative herbs and other medicines for ailments of different
kinds, methods of bewitching, and methods of warding off
witchcraft.

Myths

The existence of a large body of mythological lore among
the natives of the west coast has been referred to more than
once. As a rule, a strict difference is made among all the

MYTHS

345

tribes between myths pure and simple, which are the common
property of the whole tribe, and family legends, which,
though for the most part quite mythical in content, have a
more historical ring about them than the myths of the first
type. The clan or family legends are the property of par-
ticular clans and families and detail the acquirement of
powers and privileges by ancestors of the families laying
claim to them. It is not possible to draw a hard and fast
line between the subject-matter of myths proper and that of
family legends, as much of the myth motives and folk-lore
current in west coast mythology, and, for that matter, in
some cases in American Indian mythology generally, has
been incorporated into the pseudo-historical framework of
the legends. Not infrequently genealogies are introduced
into these family legends.

The typical myths, in the narrower sense of the word, tell
of the experience of animal beings who, as so often in American
Indian mythology, are believed to have existed in human or
semi-human form in a remote mythological epoch, and who
constitute the progenitors of the transformed animals of
to-day. The idea of a definite creation of the world, such
as we find in typical Calif ornian and other Indian mytho-
logies, hardly finds a place here. The world is always sup-
posed to have been very much as it is now, except that things
were originally in a much more chaotic state. Culture
heroes are believed to have transformed various features of
the mythological world into those we are familiar with now.
Among some tribes the culture hero is thought of as a human
being endowed with supernatural power, in others he is
an animal being. Curiously enough, the culture hero is not
always spoken of with unmingled respect, for many incidents
are told of him which reveal him as clownish, gluttonous, and
obscene. This so-called 'trickster' note is often conjoined in
American Indian mythology with that of the culture hero
or transformer. The raven is the culture hero and trickster
of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Some of his exploits,
as his liberation, for the benefit of future generations, of
daylight, which had been kept enclosed in a box by a greedy
individual, almost entitle him to be considered a kind of

346 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE COAST

god ; yet almost in the same breath incidents are related of
him that would put him on the level of a Reynard the Fox
or Till Eulenspiegel. Among the more southern tribes his
role as culture hero is assumed by other characters and he
has degenerated into a trickster pure and simple.

Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty
at the Edinburgh University Press

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